• 7 Posts
  • 365 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 1st, 2023

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  • I once looked at a job listing for something with very specialist technical knowledge in specific programming areas, for a Japanese company based in Tokyo (pre-covid so remote wasn’t really a thing yet). Pretty niche stuff and needed at least basic Japanese language skills too, so I assumed it would pay ok - even if it wasn’t good or great in comparison with jobs where i was.

    After conversion it worked out to be around USD$40k a year, which is probably just over 1/3 of what it would pay at minimum elsewhere. More like 1/4 or less for Silicon Valley type locations, but the rent for a tiny Tokyo shoebox is about the same price even if food is a cheaper. There was no way I was applying for that.

    It isn’t just about a weak yen, it’s much more about hugely underpaying people.





  • Yep, got a Samsung evo 870 in there, still going strong for like a decade. The HGST spinner I have is also pretty longlived. Weren’t they bought out by WD though? I feel like I remember hearing that the quality has declined severely.

    Having said that, I do also have a WD … black? In there that has also lasted. I will check out gold though, and the mx500

    backblaze drive failure report

    Excellent, this is what I was hoping to find again but i couldn’t remember the name. I also assumed it would be paywalled after all these years… if I could even get google to deliver the link.

    Thanks a heap, you’ve been extremely helpful!



  • Many of us are getting banned from other instances because there is a bug where kbin is sending way too much traffic per interaction. I know that was affecting federation (according to other instance admins) so It might have something to do with that. The content on kbin does seem to me like it’s not in sync at all, but I haven’t measured it.

    All we can really do for now is hope for a fix and not interact with posts from other instances.





  • Why would I give them a vote of confidence with my money so that they can use it to convince investors that they’re popular and they should pony up a billion dollars for Spez’s pay?

    They’re relying on gullible people who think either Reddit is legitimately a good investment or gullible people who think they can beat the market and won’t be left holding the bag. I’m nobody’s bag holder, let alone Spez’s.

    if I can quickly make a couple of bucks and then cash out, that might be worth it.

    Said every gambler ever.



  • what happened was a logical and known potential outcome and consequence of signing up

    It certainly is, but when the burden of responsibility is only placed on the person at the end of the line, it lets the fuckers at the top with the unequal power skirt their responsibility. Perhaps “blame” is too far, but it doss seem like you’ve perhaps disproportionately assigned blame to thus one shouting guy and his kid.

    You make it sound as if the choice is binary between starving and joining the military: it’s not.

    Not at all, but I do acknowledge that for many, and in increasing amounts, the decision has indeed become very close to that binary. US hegemony relies on people to do the enforcement. That’s obviously dangerous, and thankfully, despite pervasive cultural conditioning, most people aren’t interested in killing others overseas while living in an overcrowded dorm eating slop. So the conditions have been put in place by the ruling class to force people into doing it.

    If you’re unlucky enough to be born in Podunk Nowhere, where disaster capitalism has resulted in the only employers being Walmart, mcdonalds or the shady abattoir that “hires” minors, you don’t start with many options. Add in an “education” from a system that has been rotted from within by zealots, complete with in-school army recruiter. Add in a culture that loves guns. Add in a family member in debt from medical accident (probably at the abattoir), or an unplanned pregnancy because of no access to abortion. Maybe they’re also living at home with a parent who is addicted to meth out of desperation to avoid their poverty and misery… and the military starts looking like a very tempting option.

    You have the chance of dying and disability in the military, and the likelihood that you’re forced to murder, but also the glimmer of hope of an education, family healthcare and a way out of Podunk’s cycle of poverty. That’s a powerful motivator for someone who doesn’t see any other realistic options. It’s a deliberate funnel into committing murder through economic coercion and military worship culture, and the fault lies with the trap makers, not the trapped.

    The only thing that makes the last 80 years different is the efficiency of murder and the new murder weapons they have access to.

    And the extent of its reach. A century ago, the US was pretty limited to war on North American soil, and land it claims. When the war is that close, the realities of suffering are hard to conceal from the people whom you need to inflict it. Wars in other continents though can be sanitized by the media, and the people who are caught in the military funnel trap find out after they’ve signed the contract.

    Thankfully the prevalence of video tech has allowed us to mitigate some of that media sanitization, but again, putting the burden of responsibility on the 18 year old who has never been taught critical thinking skills allows the 65+ year old networked decision makers at the top to slide off the hook.

    Tl;dr I think it’s OK to acknowledge everything on all fronts is fucked for everyone except the ruling class. I also think it’s OK to shout at the ruling class, even in their house, when you were invited to be there.


  • Blaming the people who need to eat instead of the people creating an economy out of death and misery is counter-productive. US foreign policy and economics have centered around war for at least 80 years, Biden has played a crucial role in facilitating it for a few decades.

    And the fact a person has been arrested for shouting at the president in the same location where people literally stormed it and engaged in literal violence and walked away free that day? Amazing.

    Biden might be infinitely better than the alternative for most citizens of the US (and likely the entire world) - but the non-US part of the world has been bearing the costs of the US military economy that has provided the privileges US citizens currently enjoy.

    But fuck the guy who lost his kid, right? He’s the real problem. /s


  • Israel Appropriates. Very interesting language.

    All the reports Reuters makes on the
    Russia war treats land ownership quite differently. When Ukraine takes land they say “Ukraine regains (number)km/ (TownName)”. Russians taking land is either seemingly not reported or phrased as “Russia says its forces have improved positions in / captured (Location)”. Only mentions of Russian gains are phrased to reference killing (forces is a useful homonym). Ukraine gains are phrased as the entire country reclaiming rightful stake (regains implies they were there first, and the region’s history is vastly more complex than that).

    Israel headlines though refer to either the entire country “appropriating” space or for the really murderous stuff it specifies the IDF as the perpetrators. The whole country headline versions sound temporary and even morally neutral, while the obviously indefensible genocide can be compartmentalised as only being the military and harsh realities of war. They even get to disconnect the word Israel by only ever saying the initialism IDF.

    They’re three different characterisations entirely of the same act by different countries - killing each other to control politically strategic physical space ownership.

    I hope one day people can realise we’re all just being used as disposable pawns targeting other humans, who are also just trying to live peacefully in this dystopian civilisation. None of the headlines about suffering ever needed to happen. We all need to stop whatever it is we do that contributes to those who rule us and would have us die for them.


  • Oof. I have a different musculoskeletal problem with a far less interesting story behind it, but functionally a quite similar limitation that also prevents much… verticality. I completely hear you on the mindless zombie complications too, it’s fucking awful. I’m sorry we have both found ourselves in this shitty boat!

    The meal makes good sense. 30 mins is a fair bit though, so I can see why you space it our that far.

    If you ever feel like something a little different, maybe one of my tricks might help you. I order delivery… but I extend it out by nuking potatoes and frozen vegetables. A potato the size of my fist takes 3 mins 30 in my microwave, broccoli and spinach similar from frozen. The tinned tomatoes I buy are also a “heat up and add flavors” quick option because they’re not watery.

    One curry from my local Indian place that has way too much sauce turns into 3 meals with a much better nutritional balance when I dump any or all of those in. They’re done before the food even arrives, i don’t have to watch an appliance with a flame, or clean much, and the cost per portion reduces to something sensible.

    opioids made me intolerant to dairy,

    TIL that’s a thing. I just have to ration mine to a ridiculous degree at a low dosage or i get the more common peristalsis problems in a very unpleasant way.

    I’m managing the rollercoaster ride to make the ups and downs as tolerable as I can.

    Amen. And I wish you the best of luck in doing so.



  • That is not a level of power I officially possess, but it is a level of power that I am able to unofficially implement for the people who solely report to me. I am also able to tailor their roles and responsibilities to whatever causes them the least pain because their job titles are extremely non-specific, which is very helpful for both of us.

    Both manager and non-managers are economically coerced into providing our time and energy. I try my best to reduce that burden for as many people as I can without being noticed by the people who are willing to suck the life out of others for personal gain.