That AI is going to be copying a lot of "I put on my robe and wizard hat"
How many different sentences of the form:
Trump demands ________ deny the reality of what his _______ are doing to _________
can you make?
For the factory workers in the industrial heartland it will be good.
So we should expect to see more manufacturing jobs? How long will they take to show up? What kind of products will they build?
Thanks for putting some numbers on it. A lot of people are just downvoting and saying "well it's bad!". I want to know why and I think some of those numbers above really help to quantify it. Collecting 0.8% doesn't seem very effective, so if someone tried to defend this as a replacement for Income tax, I would say that gets an F.
We already know. We already know they’re bad.
I don't find that a convincing argument. If this is such an economy ending thing, certainly you could say "Well, just look at X!" and it would be really bad. There should be some chart showing good before and bad after. Where's that chart?
Trump is supposed to be in office for only 4 years, at best, after which his tariffs will go away. it would be easier to simply just not ship to the US. which is how trade partners responded to the Hawley-Smoot Act in 1930, and which made the Great Depression that much harder to get out of.
Yes, I think this is very wise. So, unless we are just saying "well, I guess this 3.7 years is a loss now..." that's the end.
If they worked, we would see manufacturers almost instantly beginning construction on US factories, opening new ones and reopening shuttered plants.
I think the almost instantly is the problem there for me. If I was someone that could afford to build a factory, I know that it would take a couple of years to come up to speed. I also know that if the tariffs disappear, that my money is gone. It won't work under "normal" conditions. So, I'll want some assurance these will be in place for a while. Since no one will make that assurance, or at least someone who would would be lying, I wouldn't feel confident enough to build anything.
I assume anyone with enough money to build a factory would think about some variation of that above. I think for that reason, no serious numbers of factories will get built. And, if none get built... what are we doing?
Well, this is what I want to know. If someone wanted to open the door in the winter, I could take the temperature and say "It was 20F in our house last night. That wasn't a good idea." What do you measure here? What's the long answer?
Will we listen? No, because experts don’t count for shit in the US anymore.
You know, in a world where most people don't listen to experts and follow data, there's a lot of money to be made in just doing your research. It seems like over time the people and places that learn to use data to guide their hand will outperform the ones of those that do not.
I guess we will see which one is a winning strategy.
I don't think it's a good idea. I just want to know if the badness of the idea can be quantified. Otherwise there's the chance that in the future, someone decides to do it again.
How Will We Know If The Trump Tariffs Were A Good Idea?
I’ve been reading up on the tariffs that were imposed during the Trump administration and I keep seeing mixed reviews about their effectiveness. On one hand, they seemed to protect certain domestic industries by making imported goods more expensive; on the other hand, there’s a lot of talk about higher prices for consumers and retaliatory measures from trading partners.
The thing is, these tariffs aren’t exactly popular among everyone. If we were to look back 1 year out, 2 years out, and even a few more years down the line, how will we actually know if this was a good move?
Surely there are some metrics or outcomes that can help us evaluate their success or failure. I guess it's not as simple as checking stock market performance alone, although that’s probably part of it, right?
Is it primarily about looking at changes in trade balances with countries like China, or do we need to consider the broader economic impacts, such as job growth within certain industries? And how much weight
They are just sick in the head and short of the ICE Nazi’s dragging away the Trumpers own family to the concentration camps they will defend and excuse every bit of Trump’s bullshit.
Totally... but the excuses are already pretty thin and they are getting thinner and thinner.
EDIT: not sure what I said that was so controversial as to being deserving of downvotes.
I try to never just slam that button instead of replying, because then we all lose out on learning a bit more. When I read your comment, especially the bit:
Of course if you only scroll the news you’ll feel depressed because we live in a dystopia, but that’s not information overload, it’s just sad. On the other hand if simply reading anything makes you overwhelmed that just seems like a lack of reading stamina so you can just not do that, or develop that stamina.
That feels a lot like telling someone depressed: "Hey idiot, ever thought of just not being sad?" I think the really tragic point is there are some people extremely addicted to doom-scrolling, despite feeling awfully sad about it. Classical addiction.
And then, some other gems, like:
Transient relationships: He warned about shallow, fleeting social connections — something social media, dating apps, and global mobility have absolutely amplified. I don’t think this is a bad thing.
This feels profoundly against human nature. We seem predisposed, almost since birth, to try to form deep, lasting relationships with other people. You might feel this way but I'm not sure it's a typical state.
Job instability: He nailed the rise of the gig economy, freelancing, and how fast-changing industries make it hard to stay trained up and secure.
This is all basic capitalism and it’s consequences.
But it's not though... capitalism is hundreds of years old, yet the gig economy is not. If it's just "basic capitalism" wouldn't we have expected to see "ye Olde Ubere" workers in 1560?
Well, one thought is that when he heard the shoddily constructed carbon fiber and titanium composite pressure hull collapsing, ALMOST CERTAINLY one of his last thoughts were "oops". It would take some CRAZY delusion if that didn't happen.
postscript: And yes, I know that total compression takes on the level of milliseconds at those depths... I'm just wondering if there was any creaking or "pops" like had happened on earlier dives.
When it comes to self-centered exceptionalism, USA is #1!
Hmm, that's an interesting one. As a hypothetical, it feels possible to have a world that is crime free, but still has racism, so I see a possible hole. I guess another thing that will complicate it is that the definition of hate crime has evolved over the years.
Serious question: if someone claimed deaths by smoking are up or down, there's stats we could rely on to tell if that's the truth or not. How do we tell the amount of racism in 2025? What statistic or statistics are indicative of racism?
I don't find it too hard to indicate some things that were actually better in the 1970s:
- Consumer goods and appliances were typically more reliable and designed to be repaired
- Less additives in the food supply
- Obesity was less of a problem
- College education was more affordable with an entry level job
- Children had more freedom (would roam the neighborhood for hours unsupervised)
- Less surveilance
I can make all these points without saying "1970 was better in every way than 2025". Why does it have to be all-or-nothing? Can't some things have been better then and not worse?
If you make an analogy, then have to explain the thing you are comparing the first thing with, what is the point of the analogy?
The explanation is about as redundant as a third wheel. You know, the awkward extra person tagging along with a couple on a date.
Tho I think people from 70s would very much still choose 2025 living over 70s. People really underestimate how much better we have now.
Couldn't I yearn for a time that has neither the bad points of 1970 and none of the bad points from 2025? Not everything was worse in the 1970s, and not everything was better, either.
If you're bad at tornado chasing you spend hours driving around in cloudy weather with nothing to show for it.
Are we all suffering from "future shock" in 2025?
Back in 1970, Alvin Toffler wrote Future Shock, where he introduced the idea that too much rapid change could leave people feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and disconnected. He called it "future shock" — and honestly, reading it today feels almost eerie with how accurate he was.
Toffler believed we were moving from an industrial society to a "super-industrial" one, where everything would change faster than people could handle. The book was a huge hit at the time, selling over six million copies, but what's crazy is how much of what he talked about feels even more true in 2025. Some examples:
- Disposable culture: He predicted throwaway products, and now we have single-use plastics, fast fashion, and gadgets that feel obsolete within a year.
- Tech burnout: Toffler said technology would become outdated faster and faster. Today, if you don’t upgrade your phone or update your software, you feel left behind.
- Rent instead of own: Services like Airbnb and Uber fit his prediction that we’
Is 4chan dead forever? Where are the refugees going?
For those of you that haven't seen, 4chan was hacked:
https://boingboing.net/2025/04/17/4chan-hacked-obliterated-and-unlikely-to-be-back-soon.html
A deadly blow? Will a copycat spring up? Where are the users going in the meantime? Does any of this really matter?
Every time someone says "just relax," I think about how relaxing is both a state of being and a verb in motion, which makes it paradoxically stressful.
If every time you blinked an angel got its wings, we'd be surrounded by a veritable flock of celestial beings by now.
Hot take: Get your game reviews from gamers, not from collectors
I was watching some YouTube, trying to find some forgotten gems from retro systems. I ran into one about the Jaguar and decided to watch it.
Well, the fellow said a lot of the games were great, and I was kind of curious about that because I don't think it's controversial to say there's only a handful of decent games on the Jag, but this fellow was rating everything highly.
Later on I sat down to think about it and I realized something... after every game the fellow would say "Oh, and you can get it for about $XX.XX."
At that point the light-bulb went off and I realized this fellow is probably deriving enjoyment from collecting the Jaguar games, not playing them. To him, if he buys a game, plays it for a few minutes to make sure it works, it's probably a winner for him.
For me, who is getting Jaguar games from uhhhh a friend, I don't care about collecting them, I just want some fun stuff to play.
Anyway, I learned my lesson: I'll believe non-collectors' opinions more than collec
trusting the only two satellites in space
YOU CAN PROVE TO YOURSELF ITS NOT A GLOBE
Anyone using Docker Compose's "Bake" feature? Is it worth integrating into your workflow?
I noticed docker compose is now telling me I can set COMPOSE_BAKE=true for "better performance".
Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it worth it? I get suspicious when a program tells me "just use this, it has better performance", but it's not the default.
Does Anyone Else Find the Sega Genesis' Sound Annoying?
I've been revisiting some classic games lately, and while I love the Sega Genesis library, I can't help but find its sound chip a bit grating. There's something about the harsh, metallic tones and often scratchy quality that makes it hard to enjoy games at full volume. I know it has its fans, but compared to systems like the SNES or even some older consoles, it just seems unnecessarily rough.
Am I alone in this? Does anyone else struggle with the Genesis' audio, or is this part of its charm for you?
Are any calls without caller ID legit?
I’ve been wondering about something that probably resonates with many of us who still use our phones for calls and not just texting or apps. What percentage of phone calls are actually legitimate?
Even with my carrier's "junk call" blocking, I find myself receiving 4 to 5 calls daily with no caller ID. It’s become second nature now to reject these unknown callers. But if I do answer, it often turns into a choice between being pitched a Medicare scam, a car insurance scam, a social security scam, or even a utility scam.
It makes me curious -- how much of our call traffic is just a relentless barrage of marketing ploys and fraudulent schemes? The few times I still get a phone call, they either have caller ID and it's someone I know, or it's just a phone number and there's a 99% chance it's junk.
WARNING: "furries" are actually an alien psyop!
don't give in!
What If History Had Taken a Different Path?
Today, let's take a nostalgic trip down memory lane with a little "What if...?" scenario. Remember the Sega 32X? It was this ambitious add-on for the Sega Genesis that aimed to catapult the beloved console into next-gen territory. While it didn't quite hit its mark, it left us wondering: what other classic consoles could have benefited from a similar leap forward?
Let's imagine—what if the N64 had gotten an "N128" upgrade? Could it have kept up with the PS1 and Saturn in that fierce console war era? Or maybe there’s another platform itching for a second wind, like the SNES or even the beloved Game Boy!
What other consoles do you think should've received their own "next-gen" add-ons?
Why Does Dr. Wily Keep Getting Away? Is the Legal System in 20XX a Joke?
In nearly every Mega Man game, Dr. Wily is captured at the end—usually after unleashing an army of killer robots and nearly destroying the world. And yet, by the next game, he’s back at it like nothing happened.
So what's the in-universe deal? Is the 20XX justice system just that incompetent or corrupt? Is there some official lore reason he's constantly released or escapes? Or are we just supposed to suspend disbelief for the sake of Saturday-morning logic?
Curious what theories or canon explanations people have!
Why Do Sites Keep Shoving Features We Don’t Want Down Our Throats?
Why are sites forcing us to deal with features we explicitly don’t want? Take YouTube Shorts for instance. I’ve made it clear I hate these things, but they keep popping up on my homepage every other week. Every time, I have to click the “Temporarily Hide” button like a damn whiner.
I can just picture the internal YouTube meetings:
Manager: “We’re not getting enough engagement on Shorts.”
Developer: “Maybe our audience doesn’t like them?”
Manager: “I’ve got an idea! Let’s force Shorts onto everyone’s homepage for a week or two each time!”
Then, later, they celebrate like they’ve invented the internet.
Is this really how it’s supposed to work? Why else are companies shoving features down our throats we clearly don’t want? Is there no better way than to just keep throwing stuff at us and hoping we’ll stick around long enough to click “Hide This Annoying Feature” again?
🤔 What’s the deal with this endless pushing of features we hate? Are they just ignoring user feedback
Do people really think setting up domestic manufacturing in the USA is easy?
With all the talk of tariffs, I've seen more or less this argument:
"Once the tariffs go in place, companies will start manufacturing in the USA and that's good thing."
However, when I think about being able to manufacture something like a laptop computer, or a car, these are both operations that require a lot of things:
- the input components to build the thing
- skilled labor that can manufacture the thing
- supply-chains that are in place from initial build all the way to retail
The premise seems to be: "OK, tariffs go in, someone INSTANTLY sets up a company that manufactures X, then USA wins".
However, for someone to want to take the "bet" on setting up a really expensive factory, they'd have to believe that the tariff will be in place a long time, because if it is NOT... then they have made a terrible investment and the new factory will be instantly non-viable.
Am I crazy? Am I missing something? I understand that it would be great if we had domestic manufacturing but it