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bodono

242 karma · joined November 20, 2014

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bodono··on Marc Andreessen says he’s for new housing, but records tell a different story
In my experience a lot of YIMBYs are actually NIMBY but YIYBYs - Not in my back yard, but yes in YOUR back yard. A classic example is so-called progressive Robert Reich who has many times opined about the lack of affordable housing, eg,

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/07/22/time-invest-af...

But strongly objected to a plan to build affordable housing in his own neighbourhood:

https://www.johnlocke.org/good-for-thee-not-for-me-robert-re...

bodono··on Twitter set to accept Musk's $43B offer – sources
To me the best option would be to massively expand the blue tick / verified accounts to include anyone who can prove their real world identity (and tie their actual name to their accounts), but continue to allow anonymous accounts, and allow users to only view verified accounts and anonymous accounts they follow if they wish. This would cut off trolls, disinfo bots, and spam at the knees while still allowing people who want or need anonymity to have it.
bodono··on “Click to subscribe, call to cancel” is illegal, FTC says
I wonder if this strategy could impact your credit rating though?
bodono··on U.S. declares more than 20 species extinct after exhaustive searches
Even more tragic is that after the bird flew away the scientist played back the recording and the endling returned, thinking it another from its own species.
bodono··on G7: Rich nations back deal to tax multinationals
Right, so the question is will those 'deductions' still be allowed or not? If so, then get ready for endless deductions from countries that want lower tax rates than 15%.
bodono··on G7: Rich nations back deal to tax multinationals
The way the government creates incentives is by creating loopholes

https://smartasset.com/taxes/tax-loopholes

"The basic definition of a tax loophole is a provision in the tax code that allows taxpayers to reduce their tax liability."

And corporations readily exploit loopholes (or incentives if you prefer) to dramatically reduce their tax burden below 15%. See, eg, here:

https://itep.org/amazon-has-record-breaking-profits-in-2020-...

Amazon has enjoyed an effective tax rate of 4.7% over the last 10 years by using tax breaks, tax credits, and depreciation, that have nothing to do with offshoring cash.

bodono··on G7: Rich nations back deal to tax multinationals
Yes I understand that, but I believe that many corporations today pay even lower than a 15% effective tax rate. I suppose you're saying that these loopholes will be closed up to that minimum?
bodono··on G7: Rich nations back deal to tax multinationals
The US tax code is absolutely riddled with tax loopholes. Many of these loopholes were designed to act as an incentive, such as tax breaks for hiring former felons, building factories in certain locations, investing in R&D etc etc. Major corporations often pay far lower than the US corporate tax rate precisely because they respond to these tax incentives (and sometimes abuse them, but that's a different story). Does this deal mean that the US will close these loopholes? If so, then 'rich nations' have lost a major tool for creating desired outcomes. If not, then how can this deal prevent other countries just offering whatever loopholes they want that reduce the effective tax rate below the minimum?
bodono··on LOL just got kicked out of @ycombinator
Can you post your original message to the forum here too? That way we can know for sure what was said precisely, otherwise it's just he-said / he-said.
bodono··on The persecution of the Uyghurs is a crime against humanity
This is the major humanitarian issue of our time. It's time to put aside profits and apply economic pressure to end this (and other crimes against tibetans, mongols etc). Does the enlightenment project in the West have any energy left?
bodono··on Loss of smell could be a 'highly reliable indicator' of Covid-19, research says
For me it was at the end of very mild flu-like symptoms (general malaise, sleeping a lot etc.). It's possible I was still contagious when I lost my smell and taste so people should probably self-isolate if they experience the same. Though my guess from personal experience is that this is a lagging indicator and possibly anyone with this has already been infectious for a while.
bodono··on Loss of smell could be a 'highly reliable indicator' of Covid-19, research says
Not sure, I don't recall trying spicy food. I had sensation in my tongue so any physical harm I would feel no problem, just no taste.
bodono··on Loss of smell could be a 'highly reliable indicator' of Covid-19, research says
It took about a week to be back fully.
bodono··on Loss of smell could be a 'highly reliable indicator' of Covid-19, research says
I ate a little less, mostly because the lack of taste made it less interesting. I felt fine otherwise and my smell was back in about 4-5 days.
bodono··on Loss of smell could be a 'highly reliable indicator' of Covid-19, research says
I had a mild case of covid and the loss of smell and taste was unlike anything similar I've ever experienced. It's not like having a stuffed nose or just being less sensitive to smell. For me I could breathe just fine but could not smell or taste anything, literally zero. Even very strong smelling things did nothing for me, and food had zero taste. It's a very unusual experience and I think a dead giveaway that you had the virus (it appears near the end of an infection typically).
bodono··on Swift for TensorFlow – A system for deep learning and differentiable computing
I know where you're coming from, but TF in my opinion was very user-hostile even on arrival. I can't tell you how much hair-pulling I did over tf.conds, tf.while_loops and the whole gather / scatter paradigm for simple indexing into arrays. I really think the people working on it wanted users to write TF code in a certain, particular way and made it really difficult to use it in other ways. Just thinking back on that time still raises my blood pressure! So far Jax is much better and I'm cautiously optimistic they have learned lessons from TF.
bodono··on Swift for TensorFlow – A system for deep learning and differentiable computing
I'm not sure this is really going to take off, it seems that most people who are abandoning TF are moving to Jax or pytorch. My own experience with Jax is that it is much easier to use then TF, just an all round more pleasant experience. It would be interesting to try this, but at this point I'm not really willing to learn 'yet another deep learning framework' and the extreme anti-user problems that TF had make me loath to give it another shot, even with a presumably better frontend. Moreover, I think that python is just a better all-round ML/data science language at this point. Has anyone tried both Jax and this and would be willing to give us their thoughts on strengths and weaknesses of each?
bodono··on Wildlife in ‘catastrophic decline’ due to human destruction, scientists warn
Google 'black market'.
bodono··on Intel MKL on AMD Zen
Yes, and this highlights something that bugs me about many tech articles - using acronyms without ever defining them.
bodono··on Rideshare operations are being suspended in California
Lol. Do you think they'll pay more or less in unemployment benefits now that Uber and Lyft have left entirely?
bodono··on CEO of Uber: Gig Workers Deserve Better
Yes, the ideal thing would be for Walmart to go out of business and all those people who currently need partial government assistance instead requiring full government assistance. Think of the tax savings!
bodono··on Theoretical CS toolkit – full course by Ryan O'Donnell
99 lectures and lecture notes.

YT link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm3J0oaFux3ZYpFLwwrlv...

bodono··on Apple has €13bn Irish tax bill overturned
Ireland has a low tax rate, other countries are free to lower theirs. This is not a 'race to the bottom' for the simple reason that people will vote out a government that gives too much to multinationals at the expense of the people. Low corporate taxes are extremely popular in Ireland, so it's obviously working there.

On the other hand, if you're referring to where taxation occurs, then other countries are free to change their rules to make sure taxation occurs where they want it.

Simply put, Ireland is successfully out-competing high tax, high waste countries (like most of the rest of the EU), and they are sore losers about it.

bodono··on Apple has €13bn Irish tax bill overturned
Yes, taxes should be 100%, for the nurses!

/s

bodono··on Apple has €13bn Irish tax bill overturned
Seems like Ireland is doing fine, it's one of the best places to live in the world. So it is ethical then, by your argument.

By the way, in case anyone claims that the tax revenue was 'stolen' from other countries- it's not up to the Irish government to charge higher taxes in order to subsidize other countries services (be it directly or by presenting itself as more expensive tax-wise than it needs to be).

bodono··on Apple has €13bn Irish tax bill overturned
Your quotes are from the decision that was just overturned, ie, the commission was found to be wrong. The fact is those taxes were legal and not preferential state aid, as was just ruled.
bodono··on I Am Deleting the Blog
Scott is such a clear and important voice today. I really hope the NYT sees their error and corrects it, with apology to Scott, asap and Scott comes back online.
bodono··on 'Into The Wild' bus removed from Alaska wilderness
Go on
bodono··on How much do we need the police?
And yet the protests in London turned violent and attacked the police:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/03/george-floyd-pro...

Either the metropolitan police are not perceived as well as you think they are or these protests aren't about what they claim to be about.

bodono··on How much do we need the police?
And yet the protests in London turned violent and attacked the police:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/03/george-floyd-pro...

Either they are not perceived as well as you think or these protests aren't about what they claim to be about.

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