Hacker News Reader

Acrobatic_Roadon Maine is about to become the first state to ban major new data centers

There's this thing called taxes...

Acrobatic_Roadon Maine is about to become the first state to ban major new data centers

It's emblematic of Maine's wider anti-business and anti-growth climate which may explain why the state now has the highest median age in the US and one of the lowest fertility rates of any state.

Acrobatic_Roadon Maine is about to become the first state to ban major new data centers

With low fertility and little reason for anyone to move there the northeast will turn into a barren backwater.

Acrobatic_Roadon Maine is about to become the first state to ban major new data centers

They sure have a right to enact policies that keep them economically & demographically irrelevant.

https://cdn.xcancel.com/pic/orig/638FA4CD35438/media%2FF5jNt...

Acrobatic_Roadon How to get better at guitar

as somebody who practices from tabs I have no idea how I would begin doing this.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

It depends, it depends. You need to look at other signals. Are they extremely absorbed? Is it somewhere extremely quiet (like a library), or somewhere louder (like a coffee shop)?

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

Yes, possibly. But they also don't talk to each other. It's pretty unlikely that nobody in that room likes anyone else. It's more likely that they just don't know how to socialize. And when I start talking, people tend to open up and laugh at my jokes. So I wouldn't say anybody dislikes me.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

I understand social cues. I am just more than willing to push the envelope. And I have nothing to lose by possibly causing some mild discomfort to a stranger by "gasp" talking to them like a fellow human being.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

I think your idea of a social situation is too limiting and contributes to the loneliness epidemic. I moved to a completely different state where I didn't know a single person so I can't leverage an existing social circle to make friends. So I'm not going to refrain from talking to you just because you might want to be left alone. If you don't want a conversation, just say so. It's not hard.

Sure, I might be doing something you don't want, but that's also true of asking a girl out (and I mean in real life, not on snapchat). She might say yes, she might say no. Either way, you I never get anywhere unless I ask.

Here are some places I think its perfectly acceptable to talk to strangers:

- A class (barring when the professor is speaking).

- On a bus or at the bus stop.

- A coffee shop

- Airplane ride

- DMV

- Waiting for a table at a restaurant

Maybe you disagree. I can't read minds.

As for what makes phones particularly bad, its because they discourage social interaction. Why talk to people when you have endless stream of dopamine in your pocket? In economic speak, phones dramatically raise the opportunity cost of actual social interactions. So everyone just stares at their phones, and this negatively affects even those who choose to opt-out of technology because we are deprived of human engagement because we are unable to compete with those little dopamine machines.

Oh, and unlike with books, everyone has a phone at all times, and when things get boring (even a little), then the phones come out and you're left talking with yourself.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

Depends on the layout. If its a large, sit-down restaurant with wide gaps between the tables, then yes it would be weird for me to go up to you and say "Hi, Stranger!". But at a coffee shop you might be sitting right next to me. We might even be sitting at the same table waiting for our food. Am I not allowed to talk to the person sitting right next to me? I ordered some food the other day and realized there were no free tables, so I asked a stranger if I could sit at his table and had a conversation with him and his buddy.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

Depends. In a library? No. In a social setting? That's fair game.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

>This is a wild projection of your own experience onto someone else's actions.

I asked a friend who doesn't use a smartphone about how it feels walking into a room full of people with phones and he told me the same thing. I have a smartphone but I don't take it out reflexively. I don't even consider myself a very social person or an extrovert, yet it always has to be ME to start a conversation in a room full of people because they would rather stare at a screen that say a hello.

I'm going to talk to you whether you like it not. If you don't want to talk to people, then maybe don't put yourself in a social setting? Imagine entering a coffee shop and finding it dead silent. I would just go home and make some food. If you have a problem with me talking to you, go ahead tell me how much you don't appreciate it or whatever, I don't care.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

Oh, it's everyone's business. Phones are eroding the social fabric.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

It's a more social activity in a world that is increasingly isolated. A book is a nice conversation starter. I'm not going to come up to you and ask about what's on your little screen. Even if you're just reading an e-book the phone contributes to the perceived loneliness of those around you.

If you really want to read a book in peace, try a library.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

It's not hard to bring a book with you. People did it before phones.

And I don't know what you're doing when you're transfixed by your phone and I'm not going to peer over your screen to find out.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

No, he's right. Smartphones are a socio-demographic catastrophe. The fact that they exasperate mental illnesses is just a detail.

Acrobatic_Roadon Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.

Yes! Phones should be treated like smoking.

Acrobatic_Roadon When legal sports betting surges, so do Americans' financial problems

you can always go back and finish later...that's what I'm doing.

Acrobatic_Roadon Gold overtakes U.S. Treasuries as the largest foreign reserve asset

they are trying and its backfiring on them

Acrobatic_Roadon Neovim 0.12.0

You should be able to code without the bells and whistles.

Acrobatic_Roadon FTC action against Match and OkCupid for deceiving users, sharing personal data

There's so much shady and unethical behavior from these companies I'm surprised there's not more lawsuits and litigation against them.

Acrobatic_Roadon The EU still wants to scan your private messages and photos

They only have to win once. You have to win every time.

Acrobatic_Roadon Migrating to the EU

Countless innocent people are in the epstein files and you want to ruin their lives with ZERO evidence.

Acrobatic_Roadon Migrating to the EU

So you think SCOTUS should have entertained Trump's frivolous claims?

Acrobatic_Roadon Migrating to the EU

>What about pedophile-run government where nobody ever gets arrested?

This is just complete nonsense. We are not run by pedophiles. Nobody is being arrested because the people you want arrested have committed no crimes. Being in the Epstein files doesn't make someone a pedophile.

Acrobatic_Roadon Migrating to the EU

>The US has had a 24% drop in the Liberal Democracy Index score

Yet another index detached from objective measures.

>your supreme court is owned

The same court that declined to take up Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election?

Acrobatic_Roadon Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

For now.

Acrobatic_Roadon US national debt surges past $39 Trillion

We won't be able to inflate our way out of the debt because government spending is tied to inflation.

Acrobatic_Roadon US national debt surges past $39 Trillion

Tax the rich all you want, you won't raise enough money to balance the budget, let alone pay for all the additional spending that Sanders et al. wants.

Acrobatic_Roadon Bringing Semiconductors to Kazakhstan

You're right, and I want to slap myself because I didn't even notice the obvious at first. I need my coffee.