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modwest

176 karma · joined September 4, 2011

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modwest··on Skies went dark: Historians pinpoint the 'worst year' ever to be alive
i read this and think, well small wonder Christianity persisted all this time. the baseline level of suffering they endured is something most of us reading this will never know in our lifetimes, if we’re lucky. (though the hounds of climate change howl outside our doors)

skies go dark, plagues. it’s literally biblical. what comfort could anyone turn to when it seemed like the very land and sky around them wanted them dead? Must have been terrifying on some level to feel God in nature all around you and it was so hostile.

and just think of the psychic trauma that gets passed down the generations from that. How it shaped society. How it maybe helped religion take hold. People have seen in their lifetimes, or their parents, grandparents and so on have seen in theirs, the terror of biblical plagues. So you want to do right by your God.

small wonder indeed.

modwest··on The role of officer race and gender in police-civilian interactions in Chicago
Ah yes let’s get bogged down in silly “rationalism” like this. Because of course before you can determine whether they under- or over-use force, you need to determine the _proper_ level of force in each circumstance. And let me tell you it’s going to depend case-by-case! And gosh since it’s so hairy to determine whether something was over- or under-use of force, let’s just broadly leave it up to the officers’ discretion.

Lol. This is exactly how white supremacy & other power structures reinforce themselves

modwest··on Zero arrests in 6 months of health care professionals replacing police officers
uh huh

one "certain political ideology" stormed the capitol and murdered a police officer. maybe you saw it, it was led by a centaur furry right through them beating a cop to death on the steps of the capitol building. But sure, yeah, absolutely, it's the libs who are destroying america. Give me a break.

You're not a serious person. Go back to qanon or whatever new conspiracy theories you "liberatarians" are on to next.

edit: But since you're obviously struggling with a social life, I'll give you some help.

> I can't get people I am close with to even consider engaging in conversations about firmly held beliefs they have if I even remotely present myself as possibly holding a different opinion.

Yeah because you're an annoying asshole my guy. All you do is cast yourself as the victim. Gee whiz I wonder if you're a mediocre white-passing guy in tech, it's really a whole mystery. Have fun responding, I'll see you in 6 months when I check this account again.

modwest··on Zero arrests in 6 months of health care professionals replacing police officers
Literally every individual thing you wrote is wrong.

1. Suicide rate doesn’t “measure death from mental illness.”

2. The suicide rate isn’t “the death rate from mental illness.” (See #1)

3. What do you even mean by “we are doing a bad job”? Who is “we” there? Also, this “conclusion” you’re drawing is supported only by nonsense predicates (see #1 & #2).

4. The “mental health profession” isn’t responsible for moderating the suicide rate. Also literally every mention you make of “mental health profession” is fallacious because the suicide rate is not an actual metric for evaluating the efficacy of the “mental health profession”, so even addressing anything you’re saying about “measuring how good of a job the mental health profession is doing” would be legitimizing a nonsensical claim. This one covers how pretty much everything else you wrote here is wrong.

modwest··on Zero arrests in 6 months of health care professionals replacing police officers
Never fails IME people who say they favor “limited government” really mean “government for thee, not for me.” They want laws enforced, sure, but mostly just the ones about keeping the rabble from getting in the way of the fReE mArKeT.

It’s painfully obvious to me, now, after everything, that pursuing a “limited government” requires making it harder for certain groups to vote and gerrymandering. Can’t have the rabble voting in their own welfare; that means higher tax rates on top earners —- aka “getting in the way of the fReE mArKeT” —- to pay for it.

It’s the inevitable conclusion, as we are seeing in the United States.

modwest··on Zero arrests in 6 months of health care professionals replacing police officers
This comment expressing support & encouragement for state-sanctioned violence against its citizens is authoritarian propaganda employing classist and racist tropes.
modwest··on Zero arrests in 6 months of health care professionals replacing police officers
The former does not implicate the latter. Total non sequitur.
modwest··on Zero arrests in 6 months of health care professionals replacing police officers
> If you send a mental health professional to all sorts of situations, their solutions will be mental health related (medication, treatment, commitment, etc...).

> If you send a cop, their solutions will involve the criminal justice system (citation, fines, arrest, jail time, etc...).

The fact you list both of these out then say policing is the one with a "long history of strong checks and balances" (what does this even mean?) is appalling. It reads like authoritarian propaganda.

You're taking the classist and racist position, that force employed by agents of the state should be deployed against the poor & otherwise marginalized to prevent them from being a "burden to society." Also that employing people who are tasked with _helping_ instead of _enforcing laws_ should NOT be allowed to do that.

To be clear, you're not really making any falsifiable claims. It's just an endless appeal to emotion. "a long history of strong checks and balances and improving itself over time" is a bold claim about municipal agencies with their own regulations, city, and state laws to adhere to. Not to mention different missions, run by different organizations with different lines of reporting. Totally different cultures, etc. It's so vague but that's the beauty of it: you can make it mean whatever you want under scrutiny.

modwest··on Bonhomme Richard, fate uncertain, would be one of largest ships Navy has lost
It’s not. Commenters on HN know jack shit about this topic but love commenting like they have any idea. It’s the thing HN is most known-for: non-experts speaking out of their ass with top-tier confidence.

Edit: it’s not even halfway through its projected lifecycle.

modwest··on Bonhomme Richard, fate uncertain, would be one of largest ships Navy has lost
When I was deployed aboard Naval vessels in 2000 a hole was blown in the side of a ship in our group, the USS Cole.

My real life includes attacks on US naval vessels that kill people and destroy equipment.

modwest··on Bonhomme Richard, fate uncertain, would be one of largest ships Navy has lost
If the fire was in control it wouldn’t still be burning. This isn’t a forest fire where controlled burns can keep smoldering for days. If the fire was in control it wouldn’t still be burning.

edit: Downvote all you want but if the fire was in control it wouldn’t still be burning.

modwest··on Bonhomme Richard, fate uncertain, would be one of largest ships Navy has lost
The halon system was switched off because it was in maintenance.
modwest··on Bonhomme Richard, fate uncertain, would be one of largest ships Navy has lost
Extremely ironic given your username.
modwest··on Kerbal Space Program 2 release disrupted by corporate strife
I can't read the article. Did everyone except the developers get laid off? Or did Take Two hire literally everyone from the smaller co?

edit: Ah I see they hired only about 1/3 of the staff.

modwest··on Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?
People don’t like Spanish I guess
modwest··on Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?
"longer life expectancy" is a very optimistic thing to say
modwest··on Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”
it's almost like the president of the united states is held to a higher standard than some random jackanapes with a "blue check" next to their name.
modwest··on Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms
it's not censorship. not even close. good grief.
modwest··on With remote work plan, Facebook dashes hopes of paycheck arbitrage
dunno i’ve been fully remote for 6 years now. Many reasons people get together. Several times a year is my experience. Would be a tough pill to swallow to have to secretly travel to town, get a hotel, all on my own dime. What a huge stress & pain in the ass.

edit: In fact, “get the team together quarterly” is, last I heard, pretty standard guidance for distributed teams. I think it’s a fair assumption if you have little experience working remote. There’s more travel involved than you think though.

modwest··on With remote work plan, Facebook dashes hopes of paycheck arbitrage
Just pray travel expenses never pop up I guess?
modwest··on Habits of High-Functioning Teams
Hoo doggies I need management at work to read and internalize this.
modwest··on Amazon VP Resigns, Calls Company ‘Chickenshit’ for Firing Protesting Workers
There's no way to respond seriously to someone who is suggesting we ought not learn from history.
modwest··on Amazon VP Resigns, Calls Company ‘Chickenshit’ for Firing Protesting Workers
Yeah, totally. People are so annoying with how they want to learn from history! Like you, I too wish people would just be total morons and not ever learn from the past.
modwest··on Amazon VP Resigns, Calls Company ‘Chickenshit’ for Firing Protesting Workers
Oh ok thanks, that makes a huge difference.

Sincerely,

A little enslaved saint

modwest··on Amazon VP Resigns, Calls Company ‘Chickenshit’ for Firing Protesting Workers
"everyone"

"always"

"I haven't read the article but..."

"always the evil ones"

"always little enslaved saints"

Thanks, I just filled out my bingo card

edit: Sorry gang but some comments just don't warrant being taken seriously. Especially when using inflammatory, offensive language designed specifically to be maximally confrontational. So you'll excuse me if I take a little pleasure on Monday morning taking the piss out of this bootlicking comment.

modwest··on NZ considering $100M contact tracing ‘CovidCard’
I have wondered why Tile here in the U.S. doesn’t do exactly this. Tile “cards” are about the thickness of a credit card. I have one in my wallet so I can “beep” my wallet when I can’t find it.

The power needs must be miniscule, I assume.

Anyway I think its technical feasability is established vis a vis powering electronics in that form factor.

And gathering a lot of recorded contacts is exactly what the goal is, so that’s not a bad thing.

modwest··on Covid-19’s impact on Tor
A great example of..?

This comment seems more like you taking an opportunity to flex on someone in a comment instead of refuting my underlying point. That’s great the ruling this saying was used in was overturned (I’m taking your word for it) but citing that fact completely misses the point...

modwest··on Fear of an impending car-price collapse grips auto industry
Because of 2nd order effects
modwest··on Fear of an impending car-price collapse grips auto industry
I wouldn’t caution against it because I know for a fact what I said is 100% true.

The piece about auto sale vs. service as proportions of total revenue is a different data point.

modwest··on Covid-19’s impact on Tor
The famous “yelling fire in a crowded theory” test for free speech is an example of contextualizing liberties. There is nothing truly Orwellian about it.

“Your right to swing your arms ends just where the other man’s nose begins” is another example.

Society is a context where we exercise our liberties.

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