DdCno1

@DdCno1@beehaw.org

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

DdCno1 ,

The CIA team promoted allegations that members of the ruling Communist Party were hiding ill-gotten money overseas and slammed as corrupt and wasteful China’s Belt and Road Initiative

I mean, that's all very true.

which provides financing for infrastructure projects in the developing world, the sources told Reuters.

This isn't. It doesn't "provide", it's a debt trap and widely seen as a complete failure.

One might argue back and forth how ethical, appropriate and useful influence campaigns like these are, but this doesn't change anything about the fact that China is a considerable threat that needs to be contained.

Xi's inept "wolf warrior diplomacy" that is destroying diplomatic and economic ties that took both sides decades to build, illegal market manipulation (highly subsidized EV cars, for example), imperialist expansionism in the region, the formerly nine, now ten-dash-line, his increasingly rabid and racist Han-nationalism, the transparent (but, from the looks of it, just as laughably inept) preparations for a Russian-style assault on Taiwan, border skirmishes with nearly all neighbors, open military and industrial support of Russia in its genocidal war against Ukraine, their secret police stations all over the world to harass and intimidate Western citizens of Chinese descent, massive social media campaigns and manipulation at a scale the CIA could never pull off (they were stupid enough to get countless teenagers to flood their senators with phone calls against the new divestment law, illustrating precisely why this law was necessary) - and that's just things they do outside of the country. There's the genocide against the Uyghurs and Tibetans, murdering people, usually members of persecuted minorities, for their organs (to this day, nobody can provide any other explanation for the ridiculous availability of organ transplants in China), routine torture and disappearances, show trials and public mass executions, destruction of the environment at a scale never seen before in any other country, etc.

I'm no fan of the CIA, never have been, but something clearly needs to be done about this awful regime. The world would be a significantly better place without it.

DdCno1 ,

They aren't just targeting the far-right and they are not just spreading far-right lies. There's misinformation for everybody and of every color on that platform.

DdCno1 ,

Nation doesn't want major social media site controlled by the enemy. More shocking news at 11.

DdCno1 ,

Not sure why you think that what China does isn't affecting you in Canada as well:

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/there-may-be-more-chinese-police-stations-canada-minister-says-2023-05-14/

DdCno1 ,

This is a very common approach, as a meshnet, of course.

DdCno1 ,

Same here, but the house is a few decades younger, has brick walls and thick reinforced concrete floors. Early WiFi was rough, let me tell ya. At one point, I improvised a directional WiFi antenna out of Styrofoam and precisely cut wires, which actually worked. I tried three generations of DLAN after that, all of which were horribly unreliable and had nowhere near the advertised performance. I'm now moderately happy with a meshnet, which is so reliable that I forgot how to log into it to configure it.

DdCno1 ,

Explains a lot.

DdCno1 ,

Nothing justifies the rape, murder, abductions of October 7 and I am disgusted that you are using the propaganda name Hamas chose for this string of war crimes. You do not fight violent oppression by being a violent oppressor yourself, which is what Hamas is.

DdCno1 ,

Rapes may have occurred on that day as they do every other day of the year everywhere

I'm honestly disgusted by the sheer indifference and malice expressed by this this half sentence alone.

DdCno1 ,

Don't be overdramatic. It's a good game, certainly above average. Just because it's not the game you expected it to be doesn't make it terrible. This reminds me of the ridiculous hyperbole surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, that it was a terrible game, even "one of the worst games of all times", because it wasn't the second coming of Christ either, just a good RPG with teething issues.

DdCno1 ,

There is still censorship in many instances. Just because it's transparent doesn't change anything about the fact that it's happening. I doubt more than a small fraction of users even regularly look at the modlog.

DdCno1 ,

BBB (Big Blue Button, for those unfamiliar) seems to be the favorite of lots of institutions in Germany. I think a government agency recommended its use, that's why it's so widespread.

DdCno1 ,

The app does remind you of updates.

Vladimir Putin upgrades rank of Russian Penitentiary Service deputy head three days after Navalny’s death in prison ( meduza.io )

Vladimir Putin has decorated Valery Boyarinev, the deputy director of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN), with the rank of colonel general. The accolade comes just days after opposition leader Alexey Navalny died in prison.

DdCno1 ,

This isn't even the worst Putin has done. He has not just had individual oligarchs, politicians and journalists killed, but also the families of some of his enemies as well. Here are two cases, but these are far from the only ones:

https://www.businessinsider.com/2-russian-oligarchs-found-dead-spain-moscow-reports-2022-4

They tried to make it look like murder suicide in both cases, but it makes no sense in either case, there are lots of details off (almost to the point that it feels intentional) and the timing is extremely odd.

DdCno1 ,

Personally, and I know this is extremely anecdotal, I've had great success with spending a lot of effort - about least a week each of precisely tailoring the application to the job offering, the job itself, the organization and the people who will make the hiring decision, as well as preparing for the job interview - on a very small number of applications. Even small details matter, like for example putting an emphasis on hobbies and interests that are relevant to the job and the old-fashioned act of calling key people before sending the application, asking a few well-prepared questions, getting your name written down - this ensures that your application sits on the top of the pile. Every single application of mine directly or indirectly refers to a call with at least one relevant person at the organization.

I only need between two to four applications per job and get an interview practically every time, despite large gaps in my CV. The last time around, I was told I "beat" over 100 applicants with this approach, which included two interviews and two tests (which used the standard set of IQ tests and more or less occupation-relevant questions). I prepared for each test and interview as if it as a university exam, which paid off. The thing is though, I still get frustrated by the small number of rejections (which at least tend to explain why I'm being rejected most of the time, because I developed such a good rapport with the people making the hiring decisions), since I spent so much time and effort on each, but at least I don't feel like I'm helplessly treading water by aimlessly sending hundreds of applications out.

I hope this doesn't sound like I'm bragging. I do not have any family connections or network of note, my family isn't rich, my name is even quite strange, which I've read should be a disadvantage, but hasn't impacted me negatively so far. This slow, systematic approach that anyone could use is just how I've always done this, which is why I'm so perplexed by people complaining that they have unsuccessfully sent out hundreds of cookie-cutter applications. Of course you won't get noticed and glossed over if you're applicant with a near identical application, an identical CV and using the same approach as the 234 applicants before and who knows how many after you.

Amazon- and Google-backed AI firm Anthropic says “general-purpose AI tools simply could not exist” if AI companies had to pay licences for the training material ( www.computerweekly.com )

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) company Anthropic has claimed to a US court that using copyrighted content in large language model (LLM) training data counts as “fair use”, however....

DdCno1 ,

I think there is a fundamental difference here. People are not corporations. People have always learned like this and will always learn like this. Do we really want to allow large corporations to take knowledge from people, then commercialize it and put these very same people out of work?

DdCno1 ,

Stop would be ordering Israel to not continue their war. This is more of a "feel free to continue, but behave yourself" order.

DdCno1 ,

Would you use respectful terms for the leaders of a terrorist group?

DdCno1 ,

They were invaded on day one of their state's existence. This kind of thing tends to throw a wrench into things.

DdCno1 ,

Emulate the Switch version. It works far better than trying to the get the PS3 version to run.

If you like the idea of playing a large open world game without a minimap, I can also highly recommend the first two Gothic games, Gothic II in particular. Maps for this game can only be bought, found or stolen and they don't show your position. Since every location is hand-crafted and unique, you won't actually miss having a minimap. Even two decades later, these titles still wipe the floor with most open world games in terms of world design.

DdCno1 ,

Ubuntu is by far the most popular distro and it is no more efficient than Windows, on the contrary. RAM usage in particular is worse.

DdCno1 ,

I like that they timed the Nazi punching in the trailer to the beat of the iconic soundtrack.

DdCno1 ,

Fascinating and insightful episode. Thank you so much!

DdCno1 ,

We had one in 1992 already. Built like a tank, it lasted for almost 30 years. The cookbook that came with it became the source of many family staples.

Billy Mitchell has surrendered ( perfectpacman.com )

Billy Mitchell didn't win his defamation lawsuit against Twin Galaxies. Not only was Billy not in a position to get a financial settlement, Billy's cheated Donkey Kong scores were not reinstated(as he's claiming), and his claimed Pac-Man score from 1999 is also not on the main scoreboards. What had happened is that the score is...

DdCno1 ,

Billy Mitchell? The cheater?

DdCno1 ,

What is sexy in style here? They are wearing loose, long-sleeved robes up to the neck. Makeup and hair are just following current trends.

DdCno1 ,

Pretty people get photographed/painted more, resulting in much of the training data being pretty people, thus pretty people get generated more frequently.

DdCno1 ,

It seems interesting, but based on the Steam reviews, it's apparently a buggy mess.

DdCno1 ,

You have to break into the apartment of an elderly couple very early into the game. I remember the man reacting to the break in, defending himself and his wife. His death made me feel so terrible (which is the intent of the game, of course) that I put the game down.

‘It’s difficult to survive’: China’s LGBTQ+ advocates​ face jail and forced confession ( www.theguardian.com )

In recent years, China’s LGBTQ+ community has been swept up in the Chinese Communist party’s broader crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression. In May 2023, a well known LGBTQ+ advocacy group in Beijing announced it was closing due to “unavoidable” circumstances. Last February, two university students filed a...

DdCno1 ,

I wouldn't call it freedom. If she's treated like other "security threats" within China, then she does not have freedom to travel. She's likely limited to her city at most, perhaps even just a small area within and has to regularly report to local police. Think of it like probation for people convicted of actual crimes in the West, except without court order, for an unlimited amount of time and with the constant threat of being tortured/disappeared looming over her head. If Xi ever feels like tightening the thumb screws on the Chinese people even further, she'd probably feel the effects before many others. All of this comes with social consequences, as many friends and business partners will be scared away.

DdCno1 , (edited )

The fact that you are being sanctioned for speaking sense does not reflect well upon the administrator of this forum.

Edit: Never mind, you were a bit rude below. You are making good points, so please keep doing that, just without insulting people.

Biden "running out" of patience with Bibi as Gaza war hits 100 days ( www.axios.com )

As I have repeatedly said... Just because Biden has repeated the US company line of unequivocal support for Israel, etc etc (Because even among democrats it's political suicide to say anything else). That doesn't mean that he hasn't been trying the entire time to get Israel to stop the bullshit. This is more or less a point for...

DdCno1 ,

To touch on one point mentioned in the article, I think the release of the tax revenue should come with clear conditions. The PA has a massive martyr's fund that they are using to pay out the relatives of those killed, injured or imprisoned in the conflict, primarily terrorists. They are paying out hundreds of millions each year:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Authority_Martyrs_Fund

The withheld amount is much smaller than this fund. It would make no sense to allow this to continue, since the very same PA that wants to administer Gaza after this war is over is also heavily financially supporting and incentivizing continued violence.

DdCno1 ,

I searched this thread for Gothic II and it was nowhere to be found. This brilliant masterpiece is even getting snubbed from lists of games getting snubbed. It really should be more known. This is a game that makes (no offense) OP's Fable look like baby's first RPG. Incredible world building, expert progression, meaningful choices, an entirely skill-based combat system that is basically a proto Dark Souls, so many clever touches everywhere. It's so well designed, it's one of few RPGs that credibly crosses into immersive sim territory - that's how well its systems are connected.

DdCno1 ,

Trackmania Nations has to be the peak of the series. One aspect that amazes me is that it works equally well with every input method out there. I've played this with a keyboard, joystick, gamepad and even steering wheel (although admittedly one without force feedback).

DdCno1 ,

I think the actual reason is that they only have a limited presence on consoles, which is what the majority of the English-speaking discourse on games is focused on. The genre also fizzled out in the early 2000s, which doesn't help.

DdCno1 ,

I'm assuming you are already familiar with GenPatcher?

DdCno1 ,

I've never heard of it. What makes it so great in your opinion?

DdCno1 ,

That does sound very interesting. I will definitely check it out. Thanks for writing this lengthy reply!

DdCno1 ,

I'm admittedly a bit biased, because I played Gothic II first, but I'm still curious as to why you prefer it over its sequel. In my opinion at least, the second game is a considerable step up.

DdCno1 ,

I bought a few of their tablets with ads on purpose - and then just blocked the ads.

DdCno1 ,

Total revolutions tend to eat their children. Those who are already the most vulnerable in the old system tend to be in the most precarious situation in the new one as well. What we actually need is careful and gradual reform, based on democratic principles, instead of revoluzzers imposing their will upon the rest of the population, which is how most revolutions end.

DdCno1 ,

I've definitely noticed a demand for emulators. Apple does not permit those on their app store.

DdCno1 ,

I bought my first Android phone in late 2010. Its 600 MHz single-core CPU just barely ran a GBA emulator at playable speeds. The screen wasn't multitouch and a bug in the operating system (fixed about a year or two later by the manufacturer) meant that any time the screen was being touched, CPU load would shoot up to 100% and everything slowed down to a crawl, which meant I could only play turn-based titles. That's how I discovered Advance Wars.

DdCno1 ,

PS2 emulation is my recent surprise. If you have a powerful enough device, then AetherSX2 will run games extremely well on it. Less powerful devices can still run PSP games using the remarkable PPSSPP emulator.

Then there's the whole business of emulating Windows PCs. There's a number of impressive apps that can be used to play even fairly new titles. I believe Winlator is the latest.

DdCno1 , (edited )

I've only used it with older games so far, but it works really well already. If you don't mind a bit of fiddling with the configuration, I highly recommend trying it out.

Edit: ETA Prime's video on the emulator is a few months old already, but it's a good starting point:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd30iUUkJ1A

DdCno1 ,

The trouble is that they only have to succeed once.

DdCno1 ,

I wouldn't be surprised if, in just a few years time, pre-AI-era content of all kinds, not just games, ends up becoming cherished by people, to the point that entire fandoms and subcultures develop around preserving and promoting it.

DdCno1 ,

I feel like this is different. Even something mass produced using machinery used to be always designed by a human in the end.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • test
  • worldmews
  • mews
  • All magazines
    •