domain:astralcodexten.com
FiveHourMarathon
Listen to Pierre
7m ago
Because it's boring and cheap.
The only thing to talk about at that 0point is internet tough guy shit that always sounds like twelve year old boys playing with Legos. "We have all the money so we're gonna win" "Oh yeah?! Well what're you gonna do when we cut off the water supply?"
I have no interest in reading a bunch of internet guys brag about their experience with Gorilla warfare.
100ProofTollBooth
Dumber than a man, but faster than a dog.
7m ago
I knew I could count on a banger from @hydroacetylene.
In a word, yes. Wokeness has all of the hallmarks of fundamentalist revival movement. There's no coherent worldview or deeper investigated theology, it all ends at the level of "what we're fighting for is right because we're fighting so hard for it."
campy
10m ago
Gosh, I wonder why those republicans have so much trouble trusting the integrity of our totally secure and fortified election systems when fair-minded professionals like Griswold are in charge of it?
hydroacetylene
13m ago
IIRC early protestants- especially in Scandinavia- sometimes claimed that Catholic authorities tacitly ignored the existence of satan-worship as a religion of outlaws.
This is not a reliable source, but it does point to edgy white people practicing satanism as an older phenomenon than Anton LaVey. The idea that people on the fringes of Christian societies worshiped satan is itself quite believable, and it seems like a thing that predates LaVey in the modern west.
Silverdawn
Small Language Model
16m ago
I had a pretty serious case of pneumonia in 5th grade, the doctors pumped me full of who-knows-what and my body simply lost the ability to process lactose afterwards. The condition is actually quite common outside of Europe and the US.
hydroacetylene
25m ago
Ah, so they've speedrun Calvinism.
VoxelVexillologist
Multidimensional Radical Centrist
25m ago
I can't speak to the exact systems they are using, but my laptop from 15 years ago had two levels of BIOS passwords. You could set one (and I did) to prevent booting without the password, and another to actually making changes to the system. Assuming this is similar, I'd bet it's the password to just turn the thing on, not change it.
magic9mushroom
If you're going to downvote me, and nobody's already voiced your objection, please reply and tell me
27m ago
Satanism's been around longer than that, it's just that it's a bit hard to maintain a continuous tradition when that tradition gets you set on fire if discovered in the only regions where people actually believe in the object of that tradition.
Pagan religions are not Satanic, though. At least, not unless you're a Christian or Muslim and are looking for a supernatural but non-heretical explanation of their existence (they're too different to be corruptions of the true faith, angels would mention that they're only servants, and rival gods aren't supposed to exist, so by process of elimination...).
AmericanSaxeCoburgGothic
Happy to be here! Goal is to post the most exclamation points.
27m ago
Paul Dano as the character I thought was good casting, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_%26_Peace_(2016_TV_series).
Also love the novel.
hooser
29m ago
Colorado Department of State has put out a press-release on a whoopsie:
The Colorado Department of State is aware that a spreadsheet located on the Department’s website improperly included a hidden tab including partial passwords to certain components of Colorado voting systems.
The Colorado Public Radio elaborates on what kind of passwords these were, and to which machines:
The Colorado Secretary of State’s office says a spreadsheet on the department’s website improperly included a tab with partial passwords to certain components of Colorado voting systems, known as BIOS passwords.
The Colorado Department of State calls these "partial" passwords and says no worries re election integrity:
“This does not pose an immediate security threat to Colorado’s elections, nor will it impact how ballots are counted,” wrote a spokesman for the office, Jack Todd, in a statement Tuesday. ... “There are two unique passwords for every election equipment component, which are kept in separate places and held by different parties. Passwords can only be used with physical in-person access to a voting system,” he wrote.
The BIOS passwords, that were stored unencrypted on an Excel spreadsheet that was up on the department's website (but in a hidden tap!), are "partial" in a sense that one needs another password to access "every election component".
I am not a certified IT geek, so I asked Claude for top three security concerns if a hacker got my computer's BIOS password:
Evil Maid Attack: They could modify boot settings to load malicious software before your operating system starts, potentially bypassing your OS security measures. This could allow them to install rootkits or keyloggers that are very difficult to detect.
Hardware Security Bypass: They could disable security features like Secure Boot or TPM (Trusted Platform Module), making your system more vulnerable to other attacks and potentially compromising disk encryption.
Data Theft: By changing boot order to external devices, they could boot into a different operating system to potentially access your hard drive data, even bypassing some OS-level password protections.
Those sound serious. That's OK, though, because I need my usual password to get into my account, so the BIOS password for my computer is just "partial", right? Claude patiently replies "Nope":
With BIOS access, an attacker can bypass your Windows password in several ways... [gives several examples of what one can do when booting from an external drive]. Think of it this way: Your Windows password is like a lock on your house's front door, but BIOS access is like having keys to all the windows and back doors. No matter how strong your front door lock is, if someone can get in another way, it won't help.
The Colorado Department of State, in their press release, give a paragraph describing why one shouldn't worry that this may compromise the voting equipment:
Colorado elections include many layers of security. There are two unique passwords for every election equipment component, which are kept in separate places and held by different parties. Passwords can only be used with physical in-person access to a voting system. Under Colorado law, voting equipment must be stored in secure rooms that require a secure ID badge to access. That ID badge creates an access log that tracks who enters a secure area and when. There is 24/7 video camera recording on all election equipment. Clerks are required to maintain restricted access to secure ballot areas, and may only share access information with background-checked individuals. No person may be present in a secure area unless they are authorized to do so or are supervised by an authorized and background-checked employee. There are also strict chain of custody requirements that track when a voting systems component has been accessed and by whom. It is a felony to access voting equipment without authorization.
I have highlighted all that impressive-sounding security: secure rooms, secure ID badge, secure area... So with all that carefully thought-out security protocol, how the F*@& did the BIOS passwords got stored unencrypted on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in the first place? Let alone how that Excel file got onto the Department of state website? According to the Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold:
Griswold said the mistake was made by a “civil servant” in the Secretary of State’s Office, who no longer works there. “Ultimately, a civil servant made a serious mistake and we're actively working to address it,” Griswold said. “Humans make mistakes.”
Which mistake, Secretary Griswold? The act of compiling of the unencrypted BIOS passwords onto a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet? The act of hiding that tab and leaving it on a Microsoft Excel document meant for sharing with broader audience? The act of uploading that document to the Department's website, free to download to anyone on the web? I am far more interested in answers to that first question, because it says quite a lot about the level of professionalism that underlies the security system of Colorado voting equipment.
What is the job of the Colorado Secretary of State?
The basic mission of the Department of State is to collect, secure, and make accessible a wide variety of public records, ensure the integrity of elections, and enhance commerce.
The Colorado GOP, therefore, wants to know if Secretary Griswold will resign. Her response:
[Republicans in the state House] are the same folks who have spread conspiracies and lies about our election systems over and over and over again," Griswold told Colorado Public Radio. "Ultimately, a civil servant made a serious mistake and we're actively working to address it," Griswold said, adding, "I have faced conspiracy theories from elected Republicans in this state, and I have not been stopped by any of their efforts and I'm going to keep on doing my job."
So that's a no, then. Plus, a nice implication that this whoopsie is also part and parcel of the "conspiracies and lies about our election system".
Is it too late to switch to that system we had the Iraqis use, with the ink-on-the-finger that stains the skin for the following week?
fribble
31m ago
I think hers was an extreme case. Every single sinus cavity she had was full of gunk and had been for years. And I think she was really sensitive to pain in her face. She also ended up with necrotic uvula (no big deal, the dead bit falls off, but it was additional pain).
Good pain meds would have been nice. But a humidifier and heat and ice packs and parents at her beck and call worked. The surgery worked wonders but I think it's definitely worth it to try other possible solutions first.
Rov_Scam
43m ago
You'd honestly have to do more than that. I'm a litigator, and I regularly attend Plaintiff's depositions. Most of the deponents understand that, while unpleasant, it's part of the process. A few however, act like the whole thing is bullshit and get annoyed any time a lawyer jumps in and wants to ask questions. I want to tell these people that they're suing my company and that they're probably going to get a large settlement so the least they can do is answer ten minutes of questions and if that's too much to ask then they can drop the case and go home right now.
I understand that testifying is inconvenient, but it's part of the process. If we could snap our fingers and put the bad guys in jail, we'd do that, but that isn't how it works. If a shop owner expects the legal system to convict shoplifters, then participating in the system isn't too much to ask.
ArjinFerman
Tinfoil Gigachad
45m ago
I'm not terribly confident of the red-armband-man but that's because of the historical record of people like him, but I don't see the reason to apply that record to every would-be revolutionary. As a Euro we didn't put a lot of emphasis on the American revolution, so maybe I missed something, but I don't think it was comparable to the Red Terror.
100ProofTollBooth
Dumber than a man, but faster than a dog.
48m ago
The comparison to the Christian concept of original sin falls apart immediately.
In Christian theology, everyone is born with original sin and everyone has the opportunity to atone for it through faith and receiving Grace. It's universal and - wait for it - egalitarian.
Wokeness has explicit power hierarchy from birth wherein some groups are sinless throughout life and others are without redemption. Furthermore, Christian original sin is about the origin point of man - we are all fallen. Wokeness is about different historical scorecards for inherited wrongness. Some groups (white males) have inherited such substantial debts that we can actually condemn them as a class (isn't that like, bad?). The Canadians are now finding ways to help people of all types find ways to not be the wrong types.
It's conceptually eugenic - if you're born "wrong" maybe we won't kill you (although if your self-sterilize that would be nice), but you will be confined to a life of non-personhood full of self-flagellation. But if I can "choose" to be something that is biologically impossible, it begs the question - why can't we all just choose to be one of the non-bad character classes?
Sometimes I do believe the double-weirdos when they say that middle aged divorced men transition just so they have some relevance to society today.
sarker
It isn't happening, and if it is, it's a bad thing
49m ago
Here's the full text of the prop.
Slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited.
(b) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall not discipline any incarcerated person for refusing a work assignment.
(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from awarding credits to an incarcerated person who voluntarily accepts a work assignment.
(d) Amendments made to this section by the measure adding this subdivision shall become operative on January 1, 2025.[6]
Concretely, which section here do you find objectionable?
Hoffmeister25
American Bukelismo Enthusiast
56m ago
Kids are idiots
It sounds like you and your friends were idiots. My friends and I didn’t get up to anything this bad. Of course we did stupid shit, but none of it involved theft. My parents would have been mortified to learn I was involved in stealing anything.
Also, I don’t know what gives you the impression that I support draconian punishments for first-time teenage offenders. In any of the anecdotal scenarios you referenced, I’d be happy to see the kids involved forced to do some sort of community service. The people for whom I have zero sympathy, and for whom I prescribe maximally harsh penalties, are habitual offenders.
sun_the_second
56m ago
I think someone who sees "if we Republicans can't win at the ballot box we should grab our guns and start shooting" is right to be worried that the shooting will be not entirely discriminate.
You live in a village and hear a young passionate man with a red band on his arm state they'll only expropriate the needed share of corn from only the lazy bloodsuckers who exploit others. How confident are you?
DiscourseMagnus
1hr ago
This description reminds me of Sarah Palin, who was a remarkably charismatic figure, except that that charisma was a very normie boomer type of charisma that's very vulnerable to attack in our modern political environment. Trump has something similar, but with an extra more unique quality that makes him the defining figure of our times.
The_Nybbler
Does not have a yacht
1hr ago
Sure, kids steal stuff and do other bad things. But it is certainly possible, in principle, to have a system of law and enforcement that comes down hard on shoplifting gangs and habitual criminals while applying consequences to the girl swiping some earrings at Claire's which, while unpleasant, are not ACTUALLY life-ruining.
That when people ask for that, they're offered tyranny -- "OK, but if your kid does anything wrong we're going to have him thrown into the general population with the father-stabbers and mother-rapers" -- or anarcho-tyranny -- "We'll start by throwing middle-class kids in jail if they step out of line and if that doesn't work, maybe we'll consider moving on to the gangs" tends to make them stop asking for enforcement. But that's because the responders are acting in bad faith and don't actually want to stop the problem.
ArjinFerman
Tinfoil Gigachad
1hr ago
I'm sure civil war will respect all of those fine details you specified.
Not respecting all the fine details doesn't imply genocide either? Do you think the US respected all the fine details in Afghanistan? Or do you think they committed genocide? Or do you think neither, and therefore your entire argument is invalid?
"Bayesian" has been the hot new word in my (non-rat) part of the internet for the last few years! And now I'm starting to hear rationalist argot in real life, which feels surreal.
Rov_Scam
1hr ago
It includes more people than you think it does. I can recall the following instances from high school where I was either aware of or partially complicit in theft:
-
One friend of mine would steal practically anything he could out of museum gift shops whenever we were on field trips. I don't even know that he necessarily wanted the stuff he was stealing. He was a good kid who got good grades and came from a good family. He's currently some kind of engineer for General Electric.
-
A group of us decided to whitewash the local graffiti tunnel just after all the seniors in our graduating class painted their names on it. A friend who worked at Wal Mart put several hundred dollars worth of white paint on the loading dock for us to steal. We kept joking about it being a heist. I wasn't there for the actual heist, but I participated in the whitewashing.
-
Two friends of mine were convicted in juvie court for stealing plants from a local nursery that they intended to give as Mother's Day gifts.
-
On the band trip junior year my roommates and a few other friends did a grab and run of beer cans out of the cooler in the hotel bar. My role was to create a distraction by trying to get served underage and getting into an argument with the bartender.
-
I was at a Halloween party and a bunch of us piled into a Dodge Neon and drove to a farm field nearby where we proceeded to grab pumpkins and throw them in the back of this one kid's El Camino. This fat, black cop who was the local fuzz showed up and started chasing us while running with a flashlight. I remember I had to jump a fence at the edge of the field and I actually stopped to let him catch up because I wanted to see how he negotiated it; he was trying to wriggle his fat ass underneath it and I started laughing before continuing running. We all had to walk back to the party, and when the officer showed up and saw all the pumpkins my friend's parents said that they told everyone to bring a pumpkin to the party.
I'm not aware of any of the people involved in the above incidents having any contact with the law whatsoever as adults. I also spent 4 years working for the Boy Scouts and dealing with kids all the time who, while I don't have any specific knowledge of criminal activities, they were the kind of jackwagons who I wouldn't be surprised if they stole something. The entitled rich kid brats who are bound and determined to see how close to the line they can get before I have a talk with their scoutmaster about my ending their participation in my program.
When people say shit like this I always get an image of the naive mom who says "well certainly my David would never do anything like that!" Kids are idiots, and if you think that the impact of harsh punishments for petty crime among teenagers would be limited to minorities and poor people, well, I have some swampland in Jersey for sale.
FiveHourMarathon
Listen to Pierre
1hr ago
I got out to see the local college do a production of Pierre, Natasha, and the Great Comet of 1812. It's a sort of rapid mishmash of an episode in War and Peace, fun in that it's one of my favorite books, and the music was enjoyable. The college kids did a fair job, especially for a fall semester performance with several obvious freshmen in key roles.
Dolohov and Anatole were great, as was Ellene, who commanded every scene.
But like Hoffmeister, the casting disappointed me. Pierre, while a talented singer, was ruined by woke casting. He was skinny. Pierre MUST be fat. The entire character is based in his size. He should ideally be noticeably tall while also being chubby, the kind of guy that looks harmless when he slouches but when he rears up you realize he's a bear of a man.
The ginger cast as a Pierre did his best, but his efforts to emote and over-act being drunk and sad didn't work because it made him seem frail, where if he were fat moving awkwardly could still portray robust strength. This interacted poorly with the script, which did a poor job communicating age when using a student cast. Anatole and Dolohov refer to Pierre as "old man" sarcastically, despite being his age, but frail skinny Pierre just seemed ancient. The communication between mid twenties Pierre and teenage Natasha is meant to be more intimate and frank than that between Natasha and Marya Akhrisimova, but that's not clear in the casting. Pierre's confrontation with Anatole was confusing, in the book it's clear that once roused Pierre tosses the young rake around and roughs him up, even though he'd been a genteel cuckold to that point.
Andrey was also cast weakly, but that's a tough one in the script, especially at school: he only gets one real scene, but he needs to be charismatic, upright, and dream hot for the love between him and Natasha to work.
Overall I had a great time. One of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite works. I think if I were reworking the script I'd try to make economic relationships clearer, but that's probably tough. But the driving aspect behind a lot of the plot is Natasha Ellene and Anatole all need to marry rich.
If you're charged for voting, and not charged for not voting, I think the courts would see that as vote buying.
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