CanofWorms
1yr ago
Are there any good discussions on the ethics of using public genealogy databases to catch criminals? The idea of using a 23andMe or Ancestry.com database to test against DNA left at a crime scene went mainstream a few years ago when police used a public database to find and track the Golden State Killer. Now, police from Moscow, Idaho have done it again in tracking Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students:
I am a bit conflicted on how I feel about this. On the one hand, obviously the police should do everything in their power to catch murderers. But there is a certain amount of dystopian doom in being able to access such a database. The problem is you don't even need to have your DNA uploaded to the database for the cops to find you. A fourth or fifth cousin's DNA gives the police enough information to create a family tree and zero in on a particular suspect.
I have a couple problems with this, the first of which is that it doesn't seem like it should be legal that the government essentially can track me by my DNA without any sort of consent. The second problem I have is that DNA evidence is not nearly as reliable as people seem to think. Hair and touch DNA are constantly contaminating crime scenes. Hairs can be picked up anywhere, from the police who investigate the scene, to techs, to medical examiners, to the bodies of the victims themselves. Granted this is not as applicable if the suspect's blood is at the scene, but nevertheless, DNA evidence is not foolproof, yet juries seem to convict as if it is.
I tend to lean a bit more anti-authoritarian, so perhaps this is my own personal bias, but it seems we need to regulate this type of DNA testing.
I agree with much of what you said, but I nevertheless can't shake the feeling of dystopian doom in giving this power to a local government agency with limited oversight. This seems in much the same vein as the surveillance powers of the CCP. They have the ability to watch and monitor anyone they want regardless of his criminal (or lack thereof) history. I can imagine scenarios where they collect hairs from a protest or anti-government group and run that through a DNA databank to gather up all of those who were at that protest. This is clearly not something we should want to happen. Perhaps this is not a good argument, but I'm just saying that this is the sort of thing that will happen, just maybe not in the US.
My tentative immediate solution would be to require a warrant to run this sort of genealogical test. That at least adds one additional layer of privacy protection to the equation rather than allowing local law enforcement free reign.
Another thought. If we are ok with this sort of testing, what's to stop the government from requiring DNA collection from all newborns? After all, this would significantly aid law enforcement in catching criminals. Would this sort of mass collection be acceptable to you?
CanofWorms
11d ago
I miss when our billionaires were fat, drank bourbon, and smoked big cigars. That was the real America.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Bless me, I have finished The Count of Monte Cristo. I really admire the writing and vocabulary of Dumas (and, moreover, the anonymous translator), but I cannot in good conscience recommend this book. The imprisonment, escape, and discovery of the treasure are terrific, but the remaining 600 pages, comprised of palace intrigue, upper class French political and financial discussions, page-long descriptions of gardens, and all the rest make for a bit of a slog. I understand now why there are so many abridged versions of this book. I do like how the book ends, and I do like Dumas last sentence. He specifies two words that all humans should live their life by: Wait and Hope. Interesting bit of wisdom from the French master.
So. I am happy to be moving on. I have a handful of books that have been in my backlog. I plan to start with Dreamland which is a chronicle of the opioid epidemic. The opioid epidemic is a bit played out in the sense of literature and documentaries (it reminds me of the flood of books and movies about the Great Recession), but I always enjoy a good book about rich aristocrats taking advantage of the poor and vulnerable. Hoping it goes a bit faster than Monte Cristo!
CanofWorms
1yr ago
This is a terrific resource for copyright information, thank you for sharing. I’ve been reading a lot about Sherlock Holmes entering public domain and the associated court battles being waged by the Conan Doyle Estate. This has led me to discover that Lord of the Rings will be entering public domain in Canada next year! Does anyone know how that works? Will Canadian companies be able to adapt the Lord of the Rings into movies, shows, etc? Will those movies and shows be allowed to screen the US? Very curious how this will play out, as the Tolkien estate is also notoriously litigious and protective of their LOTR treasure.
CanofWorms
3d ago
Well done, I’ll give you an 8/10 for this.
CanofWorms
10d ago
Done with I, Claudius and onto A Thread Across The Ocean.
A couple thoughts on I, Claudius
- Historical fiction is a very cool concept and I would like to read more of it. It gives the author a nice structure to work with and he can then just make up interesting stories to fill in the unknown. It's fun to read the Wikipedia entries on all the Roman emperors/politicians after finishing the book.
- In the same vein, I'm currently rewatching The Sopranos, and I kept thinking how much the palace intrigue and murder in I, Claudius reminded me of the show. There's a scene in the The Sopranos where a couple mafia guys are torturing a Jewish man who refuses to submit and he says "900 Jews held their own against 15,000 Roman soldiers...and the Romans, where are they now?" Tony Soprano answers "You're looking at them asshole." Great bit of writing from The Sopranos, and I like the idea that the mafia are the descendants of these debauched and violent Roman emperors.
- *Overall, I thought the book was very good, though it did waver a bit at the end when Caligula became emperor. It felt rushed and not fully fleshed out, especially in comparison to the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius.
I'm about a quarter of the way through A Thread. It's about the construction of the first telegraph line across the Atlantic Ocean in the 1860s. It's a pretty interesting bit of trivia.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
That’s a great book and really kicked off an interest in financial non-fiction for me. If you’re looking for more stories, Liars Poker by Michael Lewis is good. I also really liked Billion Dollar Whale and The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management. And if you haven’t seen Enron:The Smartest Guys in the Room, might be my favorite financial documentary.
What I find interesting about the financial crisis, is it seems that the federal government learned their lesson from the extreme backlash in non bailing out the general public. The banks were all bailed out in 2009, but millions of people lost their houses and jobs and were not given much additional money. When COVID shut down the world economy, the federal government was much more generous in cash handouts, unemployment, and loans. The federal government didn’t want another Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street movement on their hands, so they actually sent money straight to peoples pockets.
CanofWorms
9d ago
Surely You're Joking? Funny story about this book. In high school physics, my teacher would offer students the opportunity for extra credit once a quarter. To get the credit, you had to read a book from her pre-approved list and then have a 30 minute conversation about the book. I, as a bookworm, took advantage of this and read Surely You're Joking. I thought it was awesome as well. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I read his second autobiography What Do You Care What Other People Think, which, while not as good as his first, was still worth reading.
I didn't learn much physics in that class, but her booklist stuck with me.
CanofWorms
1mo ago
Cops are not the only blue collar workers who make good money. Electricians, plumbers, welders, surveyors, electrical infrastructure maintainers, oil and gas workers…these guys make bread and the list goes on and on.
are there enough middle class jobs available? No, we have too many retail and fast food jobs because we are a service economy and no longer build things in this country. But construction, energy, and manufacturing is still well-paying for those who can get it.
Part of the problem seems to be that everyone wants to be an influencer these days. People watch others make hundreds of thousands of dollars on social media and think “why the hell would I want to work in an oil field when I can just shoot movies with my friends?” It’s this ability to compare ourselves to the most successful Americans that fucks us up. And not only are we able to compare ourselves, it’s piped directly into our brain without us even asking for it.
If beautiful women want to wear string bikinis and thongs and allow me to gawk at them (slyly), I can only full-throatedly endorse their decision.
I actually don’t find much of a difference in seeing women dressed in tight, skin-showing dresses vs seeing women in thong bikinis. Either way, they’re still incredibly desirable.
CanofWorms
8mo ago
I just wonder why are all these men on the fringe of politics so obsessed with MMA? Zuck, Elon, Joe Rogan, Sam Harris, Lex Friedman, Mark Andreeson. Maybe it’s just my complete lack of interest in fighting or learning to fight, but I find it a bit annoying. Whatever happened to playing golf and tennis?
CanofWorms
8mo ago
Why would you want to increase (improve) your tolerance? Only needing to drink one to two beers to feel the effects of alcohol is a blessing.
With that said, if you do continue your weekly alcohol usage, I think you could expect your tolerance to ramp up fairly quickly.
CanofWorms
9mo ago
Just my two cents, but I prefer the 24 hour waiting period before seeing my own karma. It’s kind of a nice surprise when I come back and see 7 upvotes even if no one has commented on my thread/comment.
I’d also be very against having an “overall” karma number associated with a profile. Especially a number that is public. Regardless of the worthlessness of karma, I think it would still incentivize low effort posts from those looking to puff up their overall numbers. That, and I like when looking at two profiles of people who are having a debate that both are on the same playing field. No profile has a higher karma number than the other. It sort of levels the playing field and requires me to absorb the arguments on their merits rather than prior history.
Other than that, I think the mods are doing a great job. This is a terrific forum and I get a lot of entertainment from the quality of the posts here.
CanofWorms
1yr ago
The Corner by David Simon. I thought Homicide was one of the best books I’ve read in some time. This book is better.
CanofWorms
1yr ago
Thanks for writing this. The problem that I have with this mindset is that it can lead to lower levels of assertiveness and ultimately lower self-esteem. There are times when someone does something wrong where it is not in our best interest to give them the benefit of the doubt or process their actions charitably. Gracious Attribution taken to its extreme would allow people to walk all over you. I try to find the balance between gracious attribution and those situations where I should be assertive or aggressive. It's a difficult balance.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Part of it has to do with the code of violence on the street corner. Taking a guy out from 200 yards away with a rifle does not show your manhood, swagger, and fearlessness. These men and boys on the corner want to be known and feared and you don’t get that from an assassination.
Now if we’re talking about the Marlo scenes where he is hanging out in the middle of an open park, I can’t say I’ve ever considered that before. It does seem fairly trivial that a gangster could get a rifle and take him out from one of the buildings.
CanofWorms
5mo ago
Stalling out on the Count of Monte Cristo. I’m on page 640 out of 900 and I’m moving through it very slowly. It’s surprising to me. I’ve seen so many people recommend this as one of the greatest books of all time, and I just feel like…it isn’t? The first 180 pages of Dante’s false imprisonment and escape were enjoyable, but since then it’s been 500 pages of upper class French parlor room conversation and gossip. Now to be fair, the gossip, conversations, and side storylines are interesting, but I can’t help but feel that this book could have been half the length and double the entertainment.
Part of it is that it was released in chunks, something like 12 serialized releases. And it really reads that way. I’m going to finish it, but it’s been a bit of a slog.
CanofWorms
8mo ago
Someone posted it last week. The man’s got talent, but there’s something about overly political music that just rubs me the wrong way.
CanofWorms
9mo ago
That would indeed be the argument in favor of speed cameras. But I don't personally believe a person should be automatically ticketed for going 76mph on the freeway. I don’t really have a problem with speeding tickets, so long as they are given by actual police officers. But to institute a blanket automated speeding ticket manufacturing facility rubs me the wrong way. There’s no room for nuance, and nuance of the law is a vital part of trust in the law.
I view this as a clear cash grab, similar to privatized parking ticket enforcement. And they justify it by wrapping it under the banner of safety. IMO, there a lot more important criminal issues to focus on than automated speeding tickets.
CanofWorms
9mo ago
Not exactly local and certainly not goofy, but California may be legalizing speed cameras soon:
https://www.foxla.com/news/speed-limit-cameras-california-cities-state-assembly-bill-645.amp
It’s hard to think of legislation that I’m more opposed to. I know, I know, safety and all that. But good lord, how much more do we need to milk the middle class via tickets?
CanofWorms
9mo ago
R/bogleheads. 3 fund portfolio. Doesn’t get any easier for retirement prep.
3-5 year time horizon is a much different animal. If you’re looking for something guaranteed, a high yield savings account, CD, or money market fund are where you want to be. Anything invested in equities is going to be too risky for such a short period of time.
CanofWorms
9mo ago
When you say better half, are you referring to those with money vs those without money? Because I know plenty of middle class people who enjoy all sorts of culture, including art, movies, musicals, plays, history, etc. They also really enjoy going to a football or baseball game.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
In my experience you don’t. There’s a reason people enjoy being drunk and that is because it does the exact things you are describing. But once you remove the chemical from the brain, there’s no way to replicate that experience.
I’ve learned to sort of accept my stiffness and work on being ok with that. It’s not ideal, but using substances to try and create real relationships does not work.
True Detective Night Country
There is a culture war internet discourse happening around HBO’s newest show True Detective Night Country. The discourse can generally be summed up as follows: HBO newest show TD Night Country is the 4th season of an anthology mystery/crime miniseries. The first season came out ten years ago and it starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as two detectives searching for a killer in Louisiana. The plot does not particularly matter, but the show is widely viewed as one of the greatest single seasons of TV ever. Speaking for myself, I agree with this assessment. I return to it every few years and I am still impressed at how good the acting, story, and cinematography are.
Fast forward ten years…two mediocre seasons (2 and 3) were released, and HBO announced the release of True Detective Season 4, co-named Night Country. Season 4 stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as two detectives unravelling a murder mystery in Alaska and people were very, very excited for this season. Prior to release, Night Country received overwhelming critical reception from TV critics. It currently has a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score (RT can be gamed, but the 93% score shows the general reception).
I was also very excited for this show. Critics were calling it the best season of True Detective since season 1; some were even saying it was better than season 1. With these very lofty expectations, I watched the show as it was released, week by week.
By episode two, I knew this show had problems. By episode four, I knew it just wasn’t very good. By episodes 5 and 6, I was hate watching. Many people have reviewed and discussed the show’s problems much more eloquently than I. This video is quite good and sums up the many many problems the show has:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=y2TCOd_YZF4
What I will say is that the show is simply…boring. It is a six-hour miniseries and at least 70% of the show is filled with boring relationship drama (the remaining 30% being focused on the actual…criminal investigation). The characters are uninteresting, low stakes, and unlikeable. The easter eggs paying homage to season 1 are like a frying pan to the face in their obviousness. The story carries no emotional weight, has major plot holes, and the ending is unsatisfying and bewildering. It’s bad. I would not recommend this show to anyone.
Now here is where the culture war comes into play. Online, fans of the True Detective series are panning the series. Go check out the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it is a paltry 61%. The True Detective subreddit is especially critical of the show. People are especially disappointed and confused given how critically hyped it was before its release.
But what has happened is that many critics, podcasters, even Issa Lopez, the director, are blaming the backlash on sexism and misogyny. They say that male fanboys of season 1 are brigading review sites and review bombing the show. They are saying that the viewers dislike the show because it features two women lead detectives and that viewers can’t stand the lack of masculinity that was so integral to season 1. Even the professional critics who have dared to post their negative opinions on Twitter are being called misogynistic.
The problem with this read is that…the show sucks. It’s just not good for all of the reasons I’ve listed above. It’s extremely frustrating to see people called misogynistic and “anti-woke” for criticizing a show with two women leads. I find it particularly unfair because other detective shows with women leads, such as Mare of Eastown or Sharp Objects, were fantastic. It didn’t receive the critical backlash because those shows were actually good. We now exist in a bizarre universe where a magazine like Rolling Stone overwhelmingly praises the show while a magazine like Forbes pans it.
I’m not one who normally gets involved in the culture war, but I found this discourse particularly egregious. I don’t know what the future of this series holds, but I’m hoping someone at HBO sees the light.
Update: Issa Lopez has been hired to write and direct season 5 of True Detective. Whoosh.
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