spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
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User ID: 2892
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
1mo ago
Putin ready to end Ukraine war
This implies that Putin's terms for ending the conflict/war goals have changed since Trump became president elect. In June this year Putin stated terms were Ukrainian recognition of Russia's annexation of the four oblasts and abandoning any plan of joining NATO and that still seems to be the case.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
1mo ago
I'm almost done with it and all in all I've been very pleased with it. There are several design choices Earendel made for SE that I much prefer over SA though, mostly related to ships and platforms.
Reaching the derelict platform in SE is both a really cool moment. But it also serves as a good introduction to working in space as you can very quickly see which buildings you might want to rocket up. Its also provides a very tactile and satisfying experience of scavenging for new toys. In SA you launch your first platform and you get a popup about building out your platform. It's not particularly well explained, noob traps abound and unless you had the foresight to build a lot of rocket silos you will be waiting awhile before you even start building out your platform simply due to the time it takes to launch stuff into space.
SE's focus on doing research on your space platform also makes SE feel very distinct from the vanilla experience of working on terra firma, and it acts as a focal point to your interplanetary activities. You go planetside, you build a base, you rocket your new widgets back to your platform to do more science. SA has you shipping all your science back to Nauvis, it's the vanilla experience but more so.
All that said most of what I haven't mentioned is lightyears aside of SE. SE's planetary outposts felt like setting up mining outposts with 10-20x the busywork. Each planet in SA provides fresh and unique challenges that require novel approaches to factory design, especially Gleba. Interplanetary logistics mostly just works compared to the SE's which despite my best efforts I never managed to master.
I'm pretty iffy about quality, it's too good not to use, but simply unlocking introduces UI frustrations, never mind actually trying to design and deploy it at scale.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
1mo ago
a salary of US$2,000 for North Korean soldiers
I have seen claims that the norks doing the actual fighting will see a fraction of that while Kim takes the lion's share, but even a fraction of that will go a long way in NK.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
1mo ago
11 years ago in NZ a man named Gareth Morgan seriously proposed eradicating/phasing out domestic cats for conservation reasons and it was enough to make him a household name. So much so that when he tried to launch his own political party three years later 'the cat thing' hung around the party's neck like an albatross. It wasn't even party policy, the meme was just too strong.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
1mo ago
I having been chewing my way through William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land. It is incredibly repetitive and an excellent soporific. Given to a vicious editor I expect 2/3rds of it would end up on the cutting room floor, and be better for it. Whilst incredibly boring it is refreshing to read something so sincere and unselfconscious.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
2mo ago
I was pretty deep into image generation at one point and got the following wrong
Fancy Car, pretty obvious in hindsight but when I was looking at it I convinced myself that the headlights and wing mirror had some weird distortions. Rainbow Girl, the way the artist chose to render the hair on the right side of the image is frankly bizarre and I thought the ear was a bit odd. Giant Ship, decided it was AI at a glance based on the subject matter and rendering style. Very obviously CG/photobash if you know that frontier models still struggle with ship rigging and other similar linear patterns. Still Life, didn't notice any obvious tells Paris Scene, thought I recognised this. Even knowing it's AI there aren't many things I can point to as obvious tells. Pretty Lake Colourful Town, wrote this off as AI because I couldn't make sense of the composition
Many correct guesses were with very low confidence. Stylised landscapes and certain outdoor scenes may as well be a coinflip.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
2mo ago
I remember reading an extract about a Soviet anthropological study, possibly in a rat-adjacent blog post. The researchers interviewed poorly educated rurals who when confronted with a hypothetical/counterfactual couldn't seem to understand it and rejected the premise. Can anyone recall these extracts and where they're from?
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
3mo ago
This is a weird one but: cosmetic microtransactions in videogames.
I started really getting into video games at a point where these were still somewhat novel, and thought that despite some obvious fumbles like horse armour I thought they were the future. They provided the means for developers to sustain continued development without the requirement for subscriptions, expansions or pay-to-win benefits. And these benefits have been realised, MTX have proven to be an incredibly strong revenue stream. They are also consistently damaging to the games that use them. They bloat install sizes. They're often a source of framerate or other optimisation issues. And worst of all they inevitably descend into garish absurdity as developers try to tempt more purchases with offerings ever more outlandish and extravagant. There is nothing I have come to hate more seeing developers craft a rich and immersive world and proceed to desecrate it for money.
These days I'm team subscription.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
3mo ago
How do you become a better writer ?
Humourously I often ask myself the same question for precisely the opposite reason. I am concise to the point of cutting vital details, I find it extremely challenging to write at length. I'm two sentences deep into a comment and already getting writer's block. It's awful.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
3mo ago
but getting around the world is so insanely slow that most of your playtime is consumed by mindlessly holding W
Now here's the punchline. Skies is faster than it's predecessor Sunless Seas. I'd still recommend it if you like Skies, just download a mod that increases the game speed if you value your time.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
3mo ago
I've definitely seen one episode that's in the same ballpark. I found it didn't scratch the itch partly due to tone, partly because the length of the episodes means the world can't be fleshed out like a feature length can.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
3mo ago
I want a modern Idiocracy. Just with the premise changed slightly so that everything runs on engagement optimisation logic. Consumers can only purchase things via lootbox, everyone is sponsored (usually by NordVPN or Raids: Shadow Legends). School signage simply reads NOOB :( | PRO :). Road layouts are constantly being A/B tested. There is no money, only views and clicks. Edifices are haunted by Mr Beast's ghoulish face.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
3mo ago
That is unfortunate, I'll keep your comment in mind.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
3mo ago
I got House of Leaves from the library a couple of weeks ago, which at my current rate I might be done with by Christmas. I can't think of any book that has killed my initial enthusiasm so thoroughly. The premise is quite compelling: our protagonist discovers among the belongings of a recently deceased eccentric man a strange manuscript, about a series of events at a spooky house. The house isn't spooky because there's a ghost in the attic, but because it has non-euclidean properties. The manuscript is the meat novel, with a B-side story running through the extremely lengthy footnotes. The footnotes frequently disrupt the flow whilst being insubstantial. The novel itself digresses with lengthy tangents that at one point the footnotes meta-suggest aren't actually even worth reading. I'm hoping this is just a brief slump, because I am not going to make it otherwise.
I also started reading Etidorhpa. I am a sucker for strange journeys, so despite generally bouncing off this era of proto-scifi I am giving it a shot.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
4mo ago
Early 2024 was one of the worst periods for Ukraine of the war so far (shell hunger, no recent wins, etc). For both domestic and international backers a high profile success provides hope and assurance that they are still in the fight. It's hard to understate the importance of troop morale. In the international context, backers are more likely to continue to provide support if Ukraine demonstrates that they can achieve success on the battlefield.
The message to ordinary Russians, particularly those in Kursk and adjacent, is that the war can come for them too. It also makes Putin and co. look less secure and in control. It's probably not going to break the camel's back, but if you're in the business of camel-back breaking you take the straws you can get.
In terms of military effect: Russia has been on the offensive for a while now, and there's reason to believe it will culminate in the near future. By conducting the incursion they create a dilemma: stay on the offensive even longer to try and retake the territory, or take the operational pause as planned and give Ukraine the opportunity to dig in. Neither option is particularly appealing.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
4mo ago
I've read an abridged translation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as well as a fair chunk of the Moss Roberts non-abridged translation. If you have any interest in the period at all I would give it a shot. The sheer number of adaptions it has received is testament enough to its enduring appeal. It's a historical epic so the main thing you should be concerned about is the litany of names and places.
I think of this particular passage quite often
Xuande and his companion Sun Qian seek shelter in a hunter’s home. The hunter is called Liu An, and he immediately offers to go and hunt for fresh meat for them to eat. To his distress, he cannot find any game. Desperate to keep his word, he kills his wife and serves up flesh from her body. When Xuande asks what meat they are eating, Liu An replies, ‘Wolf.’ It is only as they depart the next day that the two companions see the dead body of a young woman in the kitchen. The flesh from her arms has been cut away. This extraordinary action draws tears from Xuande when he realizes to what lengths Liu An has gone to keep his promise.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
4mo ago
A little maneuver warfare, as a treat.
~72 hours ago Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk oblast, and have made it to the town of Sudzha, 10 km from the border. At least two brigades have been committed. Some air defence has also been active in the region, making it challenging for the VKS to operate. It's too early judge what the goal is, and officials have yet to comment. The response from Russian officials won't shock anyone.
Some notable features:
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Surprise! In the last year plus of fighting both Ukraine and Russia have opted for more dispersed formations, as large masses of men and metal tend to get spotted and shelled pretty quickly. The ubiquity of drone+satellite intel meant that either side getting caught flat footed on the frontline was not on many bingo cards.
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Despite the manpower disadvantage and shortages Ukraine is still willing to commit men to riskier operations like this.
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The tempo of Russian assaults in Donbas remains unchanged, for now.
Some thoughts:
With the middle east stealing all the oxygen in the international news room Ukraine has been out of the new cycle for awhile. It's been even longer since it's had a high profile win. So a strong motivator for Ukrainian strategists is likely to be to get some positive press and a morale boost.
Life or deathpromotion for Gerasimov? Russia probably shouldn't haven't been caught off guard. I find it increasingly likely that like Shoigu before him, Gerasimov will be promoted into a position where he remains close to Putin, but his incompetency can do the least harm. And someone less-loyal-but-more-competent will be found to fill his shoes.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
4mo ago
I'm most of the way through Seeing like a State. The book is undoubtedly fascinating, although I found it has more information about indigenous African agricultural practices than I care for. I wish more focus had been put upon the state's and intelligentsia's response to failures of central planning. It is mentioned that in many cases the authorities tended to quietly accept the necessary on-ground deviations to make the centrally planned systems work. Some self-reflection from central planners would have been a welcome addition. Furthermore it seems like the received wisdom now is that when you're planning anything you make sure to consult with stakeholders, so one wonders how we reached this point.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
4mo ago
I spent a fair bit of time in groups ostensibly proximal to the horse show, and never understood the appeal either. Despite absorbing large chunks of the fandom osmotically. Once I started directly interacting with people that had been into it (thanks, VRChat) did I start to see it as part of a broader constellation of "moe shit." If someone was into K-On!, Azumanga Daioh or Dragon Maid, there was a much higher than average chance they had also been into MLP at some point. I don't get moe either. The only useful observation I can provide is that it seems like you either get it, or you don't.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
4mo ago
To have a volunteer for a foreign army as the Vice President
He did volunteer work at an Israeli base as part of a broader school program. He did not, as your wording suggests, join the IDF.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
4mo ago
Was this only through the API? I'd be interested to see regular Claude's freakout
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
4mo ago
I'm not expecting F-16s to change a whole lot, but longer range munitions like AMRAAMs should at very least prove useful for intercepting cruise missiles, which improves their air defence picture as a whole. I mention them because they are a recent, high profile, example of the overall trend thus far.
Sea drones don't need to be able to 'seriously contest' the black sea fleet to be useful strategically. They make it harder for ships to resupply Crimea, force the black sea fleet to operate further away from Ukraine's coast and have likely been critical in preventing the fleet from blockading shipments of grain.
They've had much more materiel throughout the whole war, including artillery.
Something that I tried to stress in my previous comment was that this advantage is a one-time bonus that is running its course.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
4mo ago
It's not hard, you get on the phone with Putin, you stop the war with a phone call, this is literally how that works.
A phone call, of course, why didn't they think of that. Oh wait they did think of that, Russia invaded regardless. And then Lavrov gets snippy when the recorded call was released, because it clarifies just how disinterested in negotiation Putin was at the time.
Regardless if a call is made or not, I fully expect that given a second Trump administration we will immediately see the Kremlin bleating the need for a ceasefire. Russia's offensive strategy since Ukraine's culminated seems to be been to try and claw as much territory as possible, no matter the cost, on the gamble that a second Trump administration can bring Ukraine to the negotiating table. Russia wouldn't be seeking a ceasefire for lasting peace, but to give it time to lick its wounds.
"No matter the cost" is somewhat hyperbolic so I'll render it in clearer detail. US DOD estimates 350,000 killed or wounded between Feb 22 and June 24, estimates vary but the US is on the more conservative end. This might not look so bad from a glance at the map, after all Russia would end the war with a decent chunk of additional territory, but it made most of those gains in the opening stages and paid most of the cost in marginal gains. More pressing for Russia, most of its prodigious inheritance of Soviet equipment is running dry, which is manifesting itself in the repeated appearance of motorcycles in offensive action. Although if Russia finds itself on the defensive again, it will be the lack of artillery that will be most pressing. Russia can replace some lost equipment, but nowhere near enough to meet current consumption rates. The bottom line here is that Russia's warfighting potential has been trending downward since the beginning of the invasion and is only going to get worse in the near time.
On the other side Ukraine's warfighting potential has trended upward since '22. Over time its backers have been more willing to ship more and better materiel, and lift previous restrictions on how certain systems are used. This week the first transfer of F-16 should finally be completed, which is expected to improve Ukraine's situation re: glide bombs and cruise missiles. Ukraine has also made Crimea extremely costly for Russia to hold, and an abandonment by Russia (de facto or official) would be a huge political win for Ukraine, this is why Ukraine has invested so many of its highest quality and scarcest assets in making the peninsula untenable. A ceasefire would give Russia breathing room to undo much of the damage Ukraine has inflicted.
With this in mind what can the US do to bring Ukraine to the table? The naive answer is to simply cut off aid. Ukraine already experienced some very tough months without US aid, and while they were amongst the most difficult of the war and resulted in more territory lost than in the months with, there was no indication that the materiel shortage risked causing a total collapse. Judging the effect of a further extended period without US aid is anyone's game. Some things to consider are that Russia's fighting power declining means the loss of US aid hurts less over time. The European states also get a say. I expect that if a US administration were to cut off Ukraine entirely they would take measures to rebalance back in Ukraine's favour again. I think this is the scenario in which we are most likely to see European soldiers in Ukraine, in some fighting capacity. However more likely is the Europeans and other foreign partners would accelerate their existing efforts.
tldr: a Trump administration likely won't want to offer Ukraine any real carrots, and it's one good stick has clear limitations and drawbacks.
spring
safe, legal torment nexuses
4mo ago
OpenAI were recommending phasing out voice auth back in March, passably mimicking voices is now extremely accessible. Current TTS can't replicate more subtle mannerisms and tics, but human mimicry and speech-to-speech gets you most of the way there.
I finally finished The Night Land. Hodgson's imagination is certainly prodigious and it's easy to see why his ideas have been so influential, but The Night Land has very little to offer a casual reader. The patience is takes far outweighs the payoff. Doubtless I wouldn't have finished it if I wasn't determined to explore the full breadth of the dying earth genre. More than any other book I have read is it deserving of an abridged version. Such a version wouldn't abridge so much as it would jettison chapters whole, and the book would be better for it.
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