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VoxelVexillologist

🇺🇸 Multidimensional Radical Centrist

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joined 2022 September 04 18:24:54 UTC 

				
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VoxelVexillologist


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
🇺🇸 Multidimensional Radical Centrist

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 04 18:24:54 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 64


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I am less familiar with the AI space specifically, but cloud compute providers like AWS are famous for making setting up spending limits difficult generally.  It's certainly convenient for them from a business perspective, but to be fair it is often unclear what "limit" would mean in the general case: nobody likely wants "we deleted all your data in S3 so you didn't exceed your spending limit on data storage", for example.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Maybe?  One of my realizations in this "vibe-coding era" is that actually communicating the desired specifications can be hard.  I suppose we knew that already: I know folks who have made a career out of defining what software should do without writing a single line of code for much longer than ChatGPT been around.


One thing I haven't seen yet (and I'm not playing at the pointy end of the field, so it might exist) is an AI/LLM setup optimized to play 20 questions about what the user really wants before producing it for them.  "I want a game where you drive a car" is not the full spec for a game, and the real challenge is working with the user to find and build what they wanted.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


I have a job. Based on my experience of 2001 and 2008, there is a very good chance that a crash would cause me to not have a job.




Losing a job sucks.  But in the aggregate, unemployment in 2008 only rose like 6 percentage points.  I'd accept that the traditional unemployment metric has its flaws, but while the crash then sucked for a lot of reasons --- I know friends who couldn't get internships and entry-level jobs that year, setting them back a year or more in long-term career growth --- the numbers suggest that most people kept jobs and stayed employed.  Some sectors certainly got it worse than others, too.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
The one I've most seen pointed out is that Code Pink has both been investigated for its ties to China and the CCP, and also opposed construction of data centers on the grounds of "imperialism".  That one doesn't even seem particularly subtle.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


The consequence is global energy prices raising for everyone, but not raising the same for everyone,




I guess I don't have a good view for what everyone else is seeing, but at least here (unspecified southern US), wholesale electricity prices today seem to be within 10% or so of the averages for 2024 and 2025.  Gas prices rose probably $2.00 per gallon after the start of the Iran conflict, but checking today are only up about half that (probably a bit more if you average the last month), and have stayed lower than 2022 highs the whole time. (Not expressing an opinion on that, er, adventure here, just observing).


But the utility company does expect total grid energy usage to double within 5 years or so, mostly on the basis of unspecified "data center" usage.  I have trouble believing all of that is actually going to manifest, but it's probably better to be proactively investing in infrastructure than the reverse.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


It feels like we go from one hype to the next without any response from the market when the hype doesn't pan out.




If you zoom out a bit, you can also see cycles of overzealous investing in technology that was hyped to change everything, and eventually did, just not fast enough to keep the investments solvent.  Home computing and video game companies crashed in the early 80s, but I'd be hard-pressed to argue that investors in early Apple or pre-IPO Microsoft were wrong about computers on every desk.  Or Cisco investors in the late 1990s thinking about that this internet thing would sell lots of networking hardware.  It's perfectly possible for the hype to be right without the expected profits following from it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Almost all US states manage to keep "rainy day funds", although the sizes and average balances (per capita) range quite a bit.  IIRC it's not quite a typical partisan divide on which are which.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Isn't this almost tautologically true?  Jobs aren't supposed to be not in the service of helping meet the needs of others.  I suppose "subsistence farmer" doesn't do that directly, but as far as I know, nobody is making paperclips qua paperclips in capitalism, but because people are buying paperclips.


Maybe if you have a command economy and a five year plan for paperclip production regardless of paperclip use.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 7, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Playable anywhere, from inside a car to a bar to a large wedding.




I heard it at a wedding recently, and it's such a weird song for venue that given the lyrics.  The friend I was with suggested ignoring the lyrics and liking the vibe, which I guess I can understand.


At least at my wedding, I'd have opted not to have songs about that subject matter.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
In practice, do you think either could have actually gotten "half of the kingdom" if they said that?  Or is that effectively an indirect marriage proposal?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


a social consequence of the fact that It is considered unacceptable to abandon your child to the state unless you are dead, dying, or totally incapable of looking after it.




I see some truth here, but literally all US states have some degree of Baby Moses law for newborns: we literally have adopted "no questions asked 90 day returns" in some jurisdictions, although I can't speak to how often those are actually used in practice (quick searches suggests low hundreds of cases annually).


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Sometimes deadlines are what actually makes things get done: In my locale, I can early vote (and do sometimes), but often put it off until the last chance on election day proper.  I could imagine "I should put my ballot in the mailbox, but eh I'm busy tonight" leading to a lot of ballots postmarked on election day if that's the nominal deadline.


But absent USPS shenanigans, I wouldn't expect that to arrive three weeks late.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


"Prison abolition" has long meant "let my friends out, but we need somewhere to lock up my political enemies so keep the institution."




It is telling that many voices that advocate for not incarcerating for non-violent crimes also declare white-collar crime (which is almost definitionally non-violent) something that needs more prosecution and jail time.


"You may not like it, but Bernie Madoff and Ken Lay are what these non-violent criminals look like" isn't exactly wrong.  Although I don't know if it's really a modal example of such: perhaps our attorney members could weigh in.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


"person being pulled over keeps their hands on the wheel until the officer comes over and can see what they're doing"




I seem to recall being literally taught this in my drivers ed class, although admittedly that was a while ago now.  In particular, do not go digging in your glove box for proof of insurance.


Although the "don't talk to police" lecture is related, and also worth teaching.


But it would make sense to explicitly teach expectations in schools.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Bluey somewhat famously uses an anonymous pair of actual kids as voice actors for at least the two main child characters.  Perhaps that's a reasonable balance?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
On one hand, I disagree with nothing you've written: child actors have it uniquely rough in some ways, and we really should do better by them.


On the other, I feel like the (legal/ethical/practical) difficulty in working with them makes it difficult to tell stories that include children, which I feel are a bit lacking these days.  The modern Western canon just isn't very kid friendly, nor are characters even shown playing good parent role models: how many of The Avengers have kids?  Even those that do seem to play parents as an afterthought.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I agree with you here, but I can only imagine if they introduced a default-off setting, maybe a dozen total users would go out of their way to enable it.  And 8 of those would be cats or toddlers pressing random buttons.


And in this case, I think their expectation of access for that purpose was unreasonable.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 25, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I suspect it aligns pretty well with opinions on license plate scanners.  And probably both align with making occasional (federally, at least) illicit recreational purchases.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 25, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
As opposed to Andrew Jackson, who is presumably spinning continually in his grave at being featured on the most-used bill issued by an institution he vehemently hated (a federal Bank of the United States).


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 25, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


and nobody is saying to get rid of cats!




This part isn't even completely true: several island jurisdictions ban them (either completely or just outdoors), and New Zealand at least is planning to eradicate feral cats.


I like cats, but I can at least see the arguments there.  But the original claim feels like a bait-and-switch: I don't trust then not to consider it in the future regardless of current public stances.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 25, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I do see those, but I think I've seen "no cash" more frequently within the last few years.  For better or worse, IMO, a new $250 and the obsolescence of the penny and nickel seem to be in a race with the functional end of cash as a medium of exchange.  Credit cards, Venmo, et al are just too convenient, and one less thing to carry.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for May 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Gotta say, even the existence of such statistics (ie. there being more than one per decade) already sounds bizarre to me. Cultural differences and all that.




How big are your high schools?  It varies a lot across the US, but OP might be describing a school with over a thousand students per grade level, and you might be able to get meaningful statistics over a few years.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for May 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


I'm curious how many folks here were nothing special in elementary and high school but went on to achieve something substantial academically?




I feel like this describes me pretty well: my parents put me in the normal public school track through third grade, and none of my grades were particularly outstanding.  None of the work was hard, but it was darn boring: who wants to sit there practicing adding multi-digit numbers together or "silent reading" for 30 minutes while the teacher focuses on the couple students having trouble with the concepts.  I didn't do a good job doing the work and only got mediocre grades and messed around more than I should have, and nothing looked too unusual until I finally took a standardized test (the Stanford series) from the district and I scored remarkably well.


At that point, some combination of the teacher and my parents decided that maybe I'd do better in an advanced program, so I transferred to a different elementary school with such a program, and I immediately did a lot better academically because I found the work more challenging (although getting dropped into a new school always has its challenges), and I continued in advanced programs through high school and went to a rather well-ranked university, got a graduate degree, and now I do IMO complex engineering stuff for work.  At each point in there, I'm rather proud I was (generally) able to rise to the challenge and perform well, although I'm certainly no von Neumann or Shannon, and I have a sense of the limit of my abilities.


I'm a firm believer in magnet programs, though.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 25, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Notably, the Citizens United organization is a 501(c)4, not an LLC.  If you think that "stripping the corporation of rights" isn't a constitutional infringement, the ACLU is also a 501(c)4: can we silence them during election season too?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 25, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Having gotten married in my 20s, fresh out of college myself, I think it provided an opportunity for us to grow together as we started careers, before we were individually as rigidly bound to careers, friend groups, and other obligations.  It was a very flexible time in our lives.


I don't regret it, but I can see that friends that are still looking in their 30s and 40s are hauling more baggage that has to fit in the wagon when they get hitched.  Not even bad baggage, necessarily: sometimes it's that you both would have friend groups you've made and standing plans five nights a week.