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bluepod4

180 karma · joined April 17, 2023

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bluepod4··on Children of married parents do better, but America is moving the other way
> In the US, the trend leaders when it comes to having kids out of wedlock are the poorest parts of the population, mostly blacks, where "unmarried" and "unpartnered" tend to go hand-in-hand.

I know you’re talking about “trend leaders”. But you must have forgotten about Native Americans and Latinos. Native Americans and black people tend to have children out of wedlock at about the same rate. Latinos have children out of wedlock at a high but lower rate. But there are more Latinos in the United States than there are black people, so there’s actually more Latino children born out of wedlock. And Latinos have the highest birth rate too.

Same goes for white people in the United States. If the rate for black people is about 70% and the rate for white people is about 30%, there are still hundreds of thousands more white children born out of wedlock than black children each year in the United States.

(Sorry, the whole “trend leader” thing rubs me the wrong. It’s like when people talk about welfare recipients based on race. Someone always says “X percentage of black people are on welfare, tsk.” But then when you look at the numbers, Native Americans have the higher percentage within their own race. But again, most welfare recipients are white so there are literally hundreds of thousands more white people on welfare than black people lol. Why doesn’t that fact get a “tsk”?)

Someone replied to you saying/asking “aren’t black people religious”. Your “mostly black” comment limited the discussion. Imagine if you had said “mostly Latinos” instead. There could have been a discussion about Catholicism. There could have been something more, something else at least.

bluepod4··on Predictive policing software terrible at predicting crimes
It’s like that in Boston too, according to my CVS manager friend from years ago.
bluepod4··on Predictive policing software terrible at predicting crimes
> and cracking down on them would be considered racist (well, most of them are white, the argument is confusing).

Most of the shoplifters are too lol!

bluepod4··on Pava Marie LaPere, 26, murdered in Baltimore is Forbes 30 Under 30 tech CEO
That didn’t acknowledge anything that I said and was no different than the grandfather comment lol. You just pretty much reworded your original comment.

(Although, I do slightly agree less with this wording. It’s too absolute and doesn’t apply to all situations. But you know this.)

bluepod4··on Pava Marie LaPere, 26, murdered in Baltimore is Forbes 30 Under 30 tech CEO
True, but people tend to act like similar programs don’t exist in red states also when they make statements such as yours…

(Also, Maryland had a republican governor up until recently)

bluepod4··on [dead]
Good thing you can’t do anything about it lol

(Also, please don’t forget all of the degenerate white people who were also the cause of “Stop Asian Hate” (i.e. the ones who voted for Trump and complained about Chinese people eating bats.) Speaking of CEOs, there was a viral video of a SF CEO who was fired for harassing an Asian person which was at the start of that movement lol.)

bluepod4··on Synthetic opioids deadlier than fentanyl are showing up in overdose cases
What are the effects? What’s the science? What are the calculations you’re speaking of lol? If they’re so basic and can be done on the back of an envelope, can you provide them right now?

Are you saying that fetanyl is no more deadly than heroin?

Or are you just saying that the “wind blows substance in face” is only a thing seen in movies?

bluepod4··on Synthetic opioids deadlier than fentanyl are showing up in overdose cases
Uhh sure. What are the actual effects? Have you tried it?

I’m all for calling a pig a pig. Let me know.

Are you saying that fetanyl is no more deadly than heroin?

(Also, if anything, the whole “illegal substance flying in a person’s face” thing comes from comedy movies… Is this what you’re saying is untrue?)

bluepod4··on Synthetic opioids deadlier than fentanyl are showing up in overdose cases
There are plenty of stories of the wind accidentally blowing illegal substances into people’s faces…

Based on the death rates, it seems like no one really has a higher “tolerance”. Even fetanyl users can’t handle fetanyl…

bluepod4··on [dead]
Remember that HN’s guidelines say that “if a story is spam or off-topic, flag it.”

This is neither spam nor off-topic. Flagging this means that you’re triggered.

Let’s have a civilized discussion. I know you guys can do it! Can’t you?

bluepod4··on [dead]
@gnicholas @dang

See what I was talking about 4 days ago! Just the name Gebru is triggering to (some) HN users.

My comment from 4 days ago:

“”” Sidenote: HN isn’t all fun and games. Please don’t paint it as that. When I (and peers that I’ve spoken with) talk about HN, it’s usually characterized as a forum where really smart people like to bump heads. A place where people like to outsmart each other. A place where people nitpick article titles. You get the idea.

Your behavior-correcting skills were needed during plenty of more appropriate times. For example, when someone with a username like “koreanguy” said that he wanted to personally kill Timnit Gebru if he could. No downvotes or flag after many refreshes. Want to know why? Because plenty of other men were leaving similar disgusting comments in that post. This is just one example out of many of “weird” behavior on this forum. How many times has the mod here left that “be nice and follow the guidelines” comment on charged articles? (Some) HN users love a good dogwhistle! “””

Not to say that this recent comment is absolutely negative in any way. But the floodgates are about to open lol

(Context: I left a very innocuous comment about SAT scores on that TI-83 calculator post and someone was trying to reprimand me for it lol. They called it strange behavior. I’m like “wait… huh… but isn’t this Hacker News? These people start acting like apes whenever Timnit Gebru is mentioned!”)

bluepod4··on TikTok is changing the way books are recommended and sold
That’s good to hear!
bluepod4··on TikTok is changing the way books are recommended and sold
Yeah, I can definitely believe that TikTok is changing the way that books are being recommended. But I’m not sold (haha) that TikTok is changing the way books are being sold.

There are quite a few stories of books going viral through BookTok, Bookstagram, and BookTube. But it does feel like slightly different. On TikTok, a random user can make an unknown book go viral. But on Instagram, it’s usually an already established influencer that makes a book go viral and often it’s their own book lol. YouTube is more for longform discussion and the level of virality has changed. But some influencers do still sell books similar to what the influencers on Instagram do.

Related to books being sold in Britain, I wonder how the demographics of these communities affect the stats. Most of the members are white teenage girls and women that live in the United States.

Also, related to books being sold in general, many of the members of the various book communities have similar opinions to HN’s users. They don’t like ads or affiliate links. They’d prefer to go to the library or buy from a local/indie bookstore. They’re anti-Amazon. They discuss overconsumption. On YouTube, they really dive into the ethics of it all.

I do believe that TikTok has gotten people to read more. But that’s different than recommendations and selling.

(I’ll admit that I started reading Cain’s Jawbone due to TikTok. I had heard of it before for years but never bothered to try it out.)

bluepod4··on CSS Findings from the Threads App: Part 2
I think the person took “do the same” too literally lol. Likely there was no ill intent.

They also might have been asking the question: “Does 0.5px vs 2px matter in any significant way?” The answer to that question is still no. But I could see how someone who’s unfamiliar with the outline property could ask the question.

bluepod4··on The End of Scantron Tests
I, too, have been using HN for over a decade. I never add my email to the accounts for recovery lol.

> perhaps even more!

And that’s also part of the disconnect here. I don’t believe this to be true fully. Growing up, the people who performed the best were the ones that really delved into the features of the calculator. They also installed more games. Did programming. The ones that did more than what the teacher taught. They would be the ones to remember whether not there were “devastating?!?!” contrast or battery issues. That’s just my opinion and experience (which is also why I provided other relevant personal details for perspective).

I do understand your line of thinking though (e.g. people who perform the worst use the calculator more because it takes them longer to do homework). The question then becomes this. Who has the better, unbiased memory of how the calculator functions: the struggling student or the one who cultivated a fondness and really explored its capabilities?

I did mention that I used my calculator(s) a lot in the same sentence that you had an issue with at least lol

Also, I just searched for HN comments related to SAT. There are a few from high schoolers and adults. Not many. But enough to satisfy me lol!

bluepod4··on The End of Scantron Tests
No. My goal was to provide evidence/an anecdote to back my thoughts/opinion about these calculators. I didn’t do any of the math competitions like AMC or olympiads or whatever like people on HN talk about on occasion. This would have probably sounded more appropriate: “As someone who did AMC and was really interested in math and used those calculators a lot, …”

But I couldn’t say that. So I came up with the closest thing I could have at 5AM after a night of partying. I did notice that it might sound a little douchey which is why I added the “I’m not bragging” part.

But thanks for assuming the worst! I believe that’s against HN’s guidelines. What I said is not much different from saying “As someone with X years of experience in Y engineering field, I think that…” People say things like that all of the time on HN, right? Many of us have similar X years of experience in Y engineering field. But we still say it.

> (especially because many HNers got 800 on their math SATs, I would imagine).

For sure.

I guess I was also shocked that people who have similar math backgrounds would be complaining the way you were about these calculators, again given my fondness for them. In my first comment, I did also mention that I don’t tend to exaggerate. So maybe that’s partially the disconnect here?

The other part was that I was pretty sure that you guys were talking about calculators from the 80s or 90s. I asked that question also but no one responded at that time. People just kept complaining about problems/issues with the calculators lol. (Someone finally replied and mentioned 1993!)

Sorry, but you guys were starting to turn this into some sort of Texas Instruments bashing circlejerk, which didn’t seem fair to the product.

Sidenote: HN isn’t all fun and games. Please don’t paint it as that. When I (and peers that I’ve spoken with) talk about HN, it’s usually characterized as a forum where really smart people like to bump heads. A place where people like to outsmart each other. A place where people nitpick article titles. You get the idea.

Your behavior correcting skills were needed during plenty of more appropriate times. For example, when someone with a username like “koreanguy” said that he wanted to personally kill Timnit Gebru if he could. No downvotes or flag after many refreshes. Want to know why? Because plenty of other men were leaving similar disgusting comments in that post. This is just one example out of many of “weird” behavior on this forum. How many times has the mod here left that “be nice and follow the guidelines” comment on charged articles? (Some) HN users love a good dogwhistle!

But my little SAT comment is deserving of a reprimand lol?

bluepod4··on The End of Scantron Tests
Hmm. I’m not bragging at all but as someone who got a perfect score on the math section of the SAT (since scantron/bubble answers are being talked about) and enjoyed math a lot, I don’t recall this at all lol. Do you mind mentioning the year(s)? I said early 2000s in my first comment. The batteries lasted, at least for me. I recall having to replace them for sure. But it was never a big deal. And I’m speaking as a Black, lower middle class person growing up. It wasn’t that serious to me or the other people with similar backgrounds at my school(s). But still, I can understand why/how it would be serious to others (as I mentioned in my original comment).
bluepod4··on The End of Scantron Tests
Have you seen the newer calculators? TI does still sell the older calculators but the newer ones have color screens at least. The interface is different (from my 2000s TI-83+ and TI-89) too.

Also, I would have appreciated the app/online version when I was in school. The iPad app looks really nice. I felt a bit of jealousy when I saw it lol. I know you mentioned College Board’s calculator rules and iPads obviously wouldn’t apply but you were also speaking about the calculators in general.

But are the calculators actually “shitty”? I have fond memories of my TI-83 and TI-89. They worked well. I don’t recall being annoyed by anything. But also I don’t tend to complain about things like this. Never have. For example, is a high schooler really complaining that much about battery consumption for their calculator? I don’t recall this at all in middle school or high school.

I can see though how the general student could benefit from something slightly better. I can also see how these calculators would feel outdated to a current high school student. I just don’t think they were or are that bad lol. But again, I’m not one to overexaggerate things in the first place lol.

bluepod4··on Nonograms - Japanese Crosswords
They’re not crosswords. But they are logic puzzles. Regarding your skill cap comment, even children’s jigsaw puzzles that have 4 pieces are still considered puzzles lol.

Wikipedia says NP-complete under “Nonograms in computing”.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonogram

bluepod4··on Ask HN: How do you make time for side projects and Leetcode grinding
> I’d like to do some projects both because they’re fun and they are also helpful to highlight your skills. Additionally, Leetcode grinding is important in case you need to find a new job.

You need to be more clear about your intentions. Are you looking to find a new job soon?

bluepod4··on Ray and Tom Magliozzi, MIT 1999 Commencement Address [video]
> Typing 130 vs 90 is 3 button presses vs 2

For me, it’s not about the difference in number of button presses. I switch between “seconds” and “minutes” depending on the situation. (Sometimes the instructions for frozen food are in seconds. Sometimes they’re in minutes and seconds. But this is just one reason why I might switch between two. There are others.)

Also, number of button presses varies depending on the microwave (e.g. express cooking).

One could even argue that pressing the same +30 second button 3 times is simpler than moving your finger to press 2 buttons for 90 seconds.

(Personally, I tend to press a single “1” for express cooking 1 minute and then click the +30 second button to get 90 seconds. But again, not always).

bluepod4··on Someone keeps trying to reset my Facebook password
I get shipping and delivery notifications from Zara because someone (accidentally I believe) entered my number when ordering. It’s sort of creepy because it shows me their address and I see a photo of the package on their doorstep.
bluepod4··on ‘Psychonauts’ by Mike Jay review
Hilarious. Yes, I didn’t click on the article.
bluepod4··on Sag-AFTRA votes unanimously to expand its strike to include the games industry
I enjoy spoilers also. But if the game is story-driven, then I do feel skipping cutscenes makes me miss out on the story or become confused and start to care less about the game (e.g. Diablo IV)

But yes, a point I made in my original comment is that this all depends on the specific game and your circumstances whether and how much sound you listen to.

bluepod4··on ‘Psychonauts’ by Mike Jay review
No. There is/was another post on the front page about the SAG-AFTRA strike related to voice acting and its relevance to gameplay. I wanted someone who has played Psychonauts (more than I have) to give their opinion about the voice acting in this game lol.
bluepod4··on Sag-AFTRA votes unanimously to expand its strike to include the games industry
> But if I recall the musicians are not on strike and not the topic of the article that was shared.

I know, but you said in general that you don’t listen to any sound. Maybe you shouldn’t have ended your original comment like that lol.

bluepod4··on Sag-AFTRA votes unanimously to expand its strike to include the games industry
> I want to play a game not watch a movie.

But then you miss out on the story. (Also, cut scenes usually aren’t that long lol.) I do sometimes speed up when NPCs speak because I can read faster. But when I do this too much, it actually begins to feel like the game is pointless.

> I suspect my style of game play is more common that you would believe.

Nope. If you read my original comment, I also acknowledged that I sometimes play games without sound. I also use YouTube while playing games.

bluepod4··on Sag-AFTRA votes unanimously to expand its strike to include the games industry
Exactly.

> and I often will play the game on silent with some other source of audio playing alongside.

GP doesn’t listen to any sounds coming from games. That means sound effects, background music, etc.

That claim is so interesting to me. I don’t doubt it. But following GP’s logic, he must also think music composers for games aren’t important either.

Imagine Ocarina of Time being played without sound lol. Or even a music game being played without sound.

Or even games like Overwatch. There might be accessibility modes but if you don’t turn them on, you’re going to be SOL when someone on the enemy team does an audio cue and is about to ult and you can’t see them.

I do play games without sound sometimes. (For example, you don’t really need audio cues for League and I won’t listen to sound if my hair is drying and I don’t want to put the headphones on.) But it depends on the game and the circumstances, of course. That’s what I think a reasonable person would say lol

Back to specifically voice acting, I do recall the Overwatch voice actors having a huge fan base early on.

bluepod4··on The B Lane Swimmer (2009)
Yeah, I saw some recent clips from women’s gymnastics for the individual all-around.

Beijing 2008: Shawn Johnson was favored to win the all-around title but came in second to Nastia Liukin. They both smiled. Maybe this is because they were on the same team and the Olympics is a “country vs country” kind of competition.

London 2012: Gabby Douglas wins the individual AA and the 2 Russian girls are in tears. They were distraught (Aly Raisman came in 4th. She didn’t smile but hugged Gabby immediately.)

Rio 2016: Simone Biles had no competition. Either way Aly Raisman was happy to place second.)

Tokyo 2020: Rebecca Andrade of Brazil appeared happy to place second to Suni Lee of the USA.

bluepod4··on The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
Yep
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