@b4bc4055 @43d7c4ea 

I wonder if it's an age effect or a cohort effect?

An age effect is one where people experience something at a particular time in their lives. For example, menopause is an age effect.

A cohort effect is one where people born at a particular time have experienced something that others haven't. For example, having been exposed to leaded petrol fumes during your childhood is a cohort effect.

The US Republican party is a good example of a cohort effect: between 1996 and 2016, the average age of a Republican voter increased by 18 years. That means it's not "old people vote Republican" but "people born before 1970 vote Republican", which has radically different implications for the future. I have not seen a similar set of statistics for the UK but would be really interested if anyone has any. 

 @2a70c54d 

Disclaimer: I'm a very privileged guy.

90% of my work is stuff I really enjoy and would do for free, although I would do it slower and take more care over it.

10% is stuff you couldn't pay me to do, that there is no way I would do if I wasn't coerced into it.

If I was working totally without coercion, I'd spend a lot more time teaching. Data engineering (and more broadly data in general) is really bad about not getting the experienced people to teach the newer people, and this is something I'd like to overcome. 

 @65b14323 

You can hide your paypig-star, IIRC? Maybe the Pope is too ashamed to admit he gives Musk $8. 

 @2a70c54d 

I played a game (Shadow Empire) a few years back which had a proper old-style manual, except instead of being print it was a pdf. It had a dozen or so pages of backstory, it had extensive reference sections explaining every mechanic and every UI element, it had it all. It absolutely took me back. The game itself is intentionally retro so the manual plays nicely into that. It made me suddenly realise how much I missed them.

Being PDF kinda took the fun out of it, but realistically it's probably the best we can do for games too niche for bricks-and-mortar distribution, and saves a few trees in the process. 

 @2a70c54d 

Do you remember when you would buy the game at a shop in town, and then excitedly read the booklet on the train on the way home?

Or am I just getting old? 

 @322442e3 @43d7c4ea 

Also remember that:

A) Coal is radioactive. This means that coal dust, coal ash and coal smoke are radioactive. They are not *very* radioactive, not on Chernobyl levels, but they are slightly more radioactive than processed nuclear waste because the latter is subject to intense radiation-protection and the former is not.

B) Coal mining kills a lot of people. That's not even counting deaths due to climate change. Coal is found in soft rock that frequently collapses, and is often mined in unsafe ways such as "retreat" mining. Uranium is found in far harder rocks which experience fewer collapses. Yes, Chernobyl killed a lot of people, but many more have died since then from coal mine collapses. 

 @43d7c4ea 

My grandfather, rest his soul, used to say that there's only one useful question to ask at a time like this:

"What motive does this bastard have for the lies he's currently telling me?" 

 @68a44c70 

...steampunk psychology?

I'm actually really curious as to what else they think falls into that category. 

 @12e2f193 

This is amazing. I hope someday to be as badass as this. 

 @43d7c4ea 

There are some interesting details about the cops involved:

https://kolektiva.social/@streetscientist/111056687291122996 

 @68a44c70 

I don't think it even came up once in the period 2016 - 2022 or so. Maybe the cryptocurrency people were holding it back. 

 @5a4c912a @134318c2 

I'm fascinated by the implications of everyone having a tree in their backyard which provides them with all they need. I want to read stories about the society which would come to pass. Would they understand the concept of community? What would happen if the tree were damaged? How would they handle population growth - planting more trees at the same rate?

This sounds like a metaphor that can be used to talk about post-scarcity and full-automated societies. 

 @5a4c912a @134318c2 

This is true but they'll only fly to the shops. On the way back the bags will be heavy so they'll have to walk or drive. 

 @3967703f 

Also don't forget that AI chatbots should never read AI translations, or bad things happen.

So, not fit for humans and not fit for AIs. 

 @5a4c912a @134318c2 

Bridges.

Gravity works the same way everywhere in the universe, and bridges are shaped the way they are because of gravity. This means that bridges on any planet will assume similar shapes. An alien civilisation may have different ideas of language, transport, food and society, but their suspension bridges will look a lot like ours. This will instantly get them on our side and help them realise common cause with us. 

 @64a373a4 

The tech version of the Bechdel Test is two women having a conversation about something other than being a woman in tech. 

 @43d7c4ea 

I used to live in an area with large fancy luxury housing towers. At night you could see the lights come on and guess how many people lived there. Most of the luxury towers were at most 30% full.

I talked to a comrade who's an architect. She mentioned that many of these new developments have kitchens and bathrooms that are too small to easily be used, because they're not intended to be used: the flats aren't meant for human habitation, just for sale as an asset.