baak (u/baak) - Readit News

baak commented on iPhone 8 apple.com/iphone-8/... · Posted by u/antr

shinratdr · 8 years ago

> $999 for the base model is just ridiculous.

Why? It's not the "base model" it's the lowest capacity of the absolute highest end phone in the lineup, which now comprises five different phones at much more reasonable price points.

So your argument is basically that no phone should be that expensive? I can't speak for anyone else but I hate that. What is wrong with a super-premium phone? If anything phones are frustratingly constrained by their price point.

People use them in the way they used laptops 10 years ago, they're your central communication hub and for many people their secondary or even primary computer. What's wrong with having a high end option for those that use their phone more than everything else.

I'm buying the iPhone X day one. Why wouldn't I? I haven't upgraded my desktop, laptop, gaming PC, tablet, or smartwatch in 2-4 years, but that's because I don't use any of those things even close to as much as I use my phone.

If I'm spending multiple hours a day every day using something, you'd better believe it should be the best one available. If you don't feel that way, there are four other iPhone options and countless Android options at your disposal.

baak · 8 years ago

>If I'm spending multiple hours a day every day using something

Yikes.

baak commented on Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO blog.mozilla.org/blog/201... · Posted by u/platz

quaunaut · 11 years ago

How is that not enough evidence? He paid $1000 to the campaign. Since the outrage began, he has said nothing to nuance his position, nothing to talk about changing his mind, nothing to make his employees or contributors feel like he had their best interest at heart.

And furthermore, are you really trying to say we should have to directly tie how that money went into the Prop 8 bank account and then was spent to influence voters in California?

You're making completely irrational requests. Showing up at an anti-civil rights protest back in the 60s may not have directly influenced someone to keep their mouth shut out of safety(and how would you prove that it did), but it has an influence and to act like because you can't directly tie it to someone is to absolve people of any past wrongdoings short of force.

Changing your mind is okay. Saying you were wrong is okay. They need to be, as society grows and matures. But the same as the risks taken by those who try to push society's opinions ahead of itself, if you lag behind you're just as likely to get hurt.

baak · 11 years ago

It's rational to demand an apology or explanation for a vote held six years ago that actually passed? Are you going to collect apologies from the other seven million voters as well?

Sorry, and I hate to be the one to say it, but his view isn't that far from mainstream. In fact, it would seem less than a decade ago, it was quite popular.

Just because your opinion is currently popular, doesn't mean the people who disagreed with you six years ago owe you an apology or they can't have a job.

baak commented on LHC Physics Center bans Powerpoint, switches to whiteboard-only forums symmetrymagazine.org/arti... · Posted by u/indus

josephschmoe · 11 years ago

For something with any interface you want, a tool being used incorrectly is a flaw in the tool itself. Unless you're going way out of your way to use it incorrectly.

baak · 11 years ago

That's a bit too broad. Someone holds a screwdriver incorrectly when screwing in a screw. The screw is slightly crooked because of the improper technique. Is the screwdriver fundamentally flawed because it allows the wielder to mess up? It's difficult for me to conceive something as portable, usable, cheap, and effective as the screwdriver, that does the same thing, and does not allow me to mess up. You have to make a sacrifice in some important category to get that. Programming languages can be pretty similar. Some are designed to make it harder to shoot yourself in the foot, but are far less popular (ADA is the example I'd use).

baak commented on The email line that's client repellent letsworkshop.com/blog/the... · Posted by u/robwilliams88

jader201 · 12 years ago

Is this the same as "Let me know if you have any questions."?

I often end emails like this, more as an acknowledgement that while I feel that I am clear, it may not seem clear to you, and to not hesitate to come back to me if anything is not clear to you.

But maybe this also is leaving a similar impression as "Let me know how I can help."?

baak · 12 years ago

After a support session I usually end with "Let me know if you run into any issues."

I do frequently wonder if that's the best way to end the email... as what I want to suggest is "Email me back directly if something happens, but I don't think anything will."

Maybe: "Feel free to ping me directly if you run into any issues."

baak commented on It's the Umami – Why the Truth About MSG is So Easy to Swallow blogs.smithsonianmag.com/... · Posted by u/DanBC

goatslacker · 12 years ago

The Goya brands definitely do as a flavor additive, but there are other brands of Sazon that don't include any glutamate. Then again, Goya has always been the cheap/crap brand of Spanish food.

baak · 12 years ago

Badia adds it as well. I'm not just referring to here in the US though. I have a copy of Nitza Villapol's La Cocina Criolla, and almost every recipe calls for MSG.

baak commented on It's the Umami – Why the Truth About MSG is So Easy to Swallow blogs.smithsonianmag.com/... · Posted by u/DanBC

hristov · 12 years ago

I really do not like these articles that say "science says not to worry, you must be a very stupid and uneducated person to be worried about this." Any honest scientist will tell you that science does not know exactly how the human body processes food and there is no model which will exactly predict the effects of the human body ingesting a certain food.

Saying that the experimental results are mixed does not make me feel better. Experimenting with humans is very difficult, and certain types of experiments are downright impossible. Thus, effects of foods that do are not immediate and drastic are very hard to determine in human experiments.

Think about a food that we now know is very dangerous: trans fats. Humans had been eating trans fats for about 80 years when they were definitely found to cause heart attacks. Only then there was enough data to make a definite connection. And while there were some scientific articles that suggested a connection in the 60's someone could always say "there is no definite proof." Many people died of heart attacks before the statistics became such that a connection was obvious.

Then there is the tendency of people to wrongly assume that compounds that are kind of similar will have the identical effect on the body. Thus, for a long time carbohydrates were all bunched together because they were very similar molecules. People would often say that carbohydrates cannot be bad for you because humans have been eating rice and wheat for centuries without negative effects. But it turned out that fructose is a little different than other carbohydrates and it can be bad for you.

And then there is the fact that the same thing can be benign or very dangerous depending on what form it is in. Thus, fructose is absolutely benign when eaten as part of a fruit or vegetable, but quite harmful when eaten in a refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup form.

So I am very very suspicious of any food additives. The only rational decision for a human being is to eat the type of foods humans have eaten for tens of thousands of years before and for which our bodies have evolved. Maybe MSG is benign. Or maybe it is actually bad for you. I would prefer not to become one of those statistics that allows scientists to prove many years from now that MSG is indeed bad for you.

MSG is especially worrying because there are some studies that show negative effects of MSG and the fact that other studies show no effects does not quite negate these. Furthermore, I myself feel negative effects when eating certain foods that I suspect of containing MSG.

baak · 12 years ago

Cubans consume a ton of MSG (sazón) and live notoriously long lives despite very poor living conditions.

Your last sentence is very troubling: You feel the negative effects when eating certain foods that you 'suspect' contain MSG. To me, that really sounds like you may psyche yourself out. ie. that you worry about MSG so much that it starts to cause you stress about it, and it's a self-fulfilling prophecy/placebo effect/whatever. Anyway, I can't tell you with 100% certainty that MSG is healthy or not, but I can tell you that there are cultures that consume it in large quantities that seem largely unaffected.

baak commented on Dr. Arjun Srinivasan: We’ve Reached “The End of Antibiotics, Period” pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl... · Posted by u/selmnoo

Fomite · 12 years ago

Of which I am well aware, and has absolutely zero to do with the content of my post. Someone disputed that a rabies infection is "curtains" - I posed the circumstances where it is.

baak · 12 years ago

I realize you're probably playing devil's advocate, but there are more issues with the original statement anyway. He implied this was new. Rabies has always been a 100% mortality rate past a certain point in the infection. In addition, he implied that if you're infected, it's game over. It's definitely not. As you've said, there is a window in which you'll most likely be fine with treatment.

baak commented on Why I moved to Miami abunsen.ruhoh.com/why-i-m... · Posted by u/stonlyb

chaostheory · 12 years ago

Your description is good, and I've lived in South Florida for most of my life so I'll add to it.

SF Bay Area vs South Florida

Food: I'm going to have to disagree with you here. Cuban food is awesome and it's the best South FL has to offer. Everything else is on the meh side. Almost every other metro is better with SF, LA, and NY being a lot better.

Weather: unless it's the late fall or early winter, it's really hot and humid, even at night. Yes parts of the Bay Area get hot, but it's not paired with humidity. Heavy humidity makes breathing feel heavier, as well as making you sweat a lot from just walking for 10 minutes outside. I still remember seeing some steam leaving our heads after some pickup basketball games. To make things worse, in some seasons mosquitos will be carrying some awful diseases like encephalitis so you'll need to wear long sleeves at night. In south Fl, prepare to have electric bills over 200-300 or even more depending on the size of your house. Not using air conditioning will make you miserable. Really the only place enjoyable outside is on the water.

Bay Area weather on the other hand is like having air conditioning outside. My relatives from FL always marvel at it whenever they visit.On the bright side you have more time to prepare for a hurricane than you do for an earthquake.

Outdoor Leisure: The ocean is where South FL and Miami really shine. Unlike the cold murky waters of the Bay Area, in South FL the ocean waters are crystal clear. Any watersport like surfing or scuba diving is way better. (On that note watch out for sharks. Due to damage to the environment, shark attacks in south fl has risen dramatically over the years with surfers being injured the most) However, due to erosion most of South FL's beaches are really just crushed rock and concrete which sucks. For real sand, you need access to either a private beach, an unpopular park to the north, or an island park reachable only by boat. Fishing in the ocean is great.

Everything else outdoorsy in South FL really sucks due to the humidity. Biking, camping, and hiking are just not as enjoyable as the Bay Area or even New York. There's no Tahoe nearby either. Though Disney World is way better than Disney Land. It also doesn't help that insects and spiders are a really big problem in south FL. Even indoors it's much worse than any other place in the US that I'm aware of (imagine an ant infestation within 5-10 minutes of dropping a few crumbs of food... Fl is also the spider capital of the world.)

Intellectual Community: South FL and Miami have a virtually non-existent one, as opposed to the Bay Area or NY. If you want that in the Southern US, you'll have to go to either Austin or the Atlanta metro instead. Conversation just isn't as good here compared to other major metros.

Nightlife: Miami beats the Bay Area hands down in this department in both quantity and quality. Though it gets old when you're not single.

General Stuff to do: I've always felt that there's a lot more going on in the Bay Area, Ny, and LA. Conversely there's not as much to do in south fl or Miami which is one reason people start families at a much younger age there.

Crime: Even though the stats are similar I always felt that crime is Miami is worse for one reason: really horrible crime can happen almost anywhere and at anytime (or at least that was my impression).

Cost of Living: South FL and Miami are significantly cheaper than the Bay Area even without factoring in the lack of state income tax. Of course you have also have to factor in the major business and job opportunities as well. Even though the startup scene is much better now, I still feel the biggest opportunities in South FL are real estate, food, and health / medical. As for the cost of real estate, you have to factor in the "snow birds" from the north east buying seasonal homes, so it's not as cheap as it should be though still a lot cheaper than the Bay Area

Misc: Although not required, it's wise to be fluent in Spanish in Miami. You also need a car for Miami and south FL. It's too inconvenient otherwise.

baak · 12 years ago

Crystal clear is a bit of an overstatement for the water in South Florida. Did you know Miami Beach closes for a day or two every year because the level of fecal matter in the water is too high? It's still kind of murky in South Florida, though The Keys are a bit better. You are a boat ride away from the Bahamas though, and there you'll find very clear water.

Definitely true on the Spanish. More than twice as many people speak Spanish at home than English. (though a lot of the Spanish speakers are bilingual, it's the dominant language in the county)

http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/...

baak commented on Why I moved to Miami abunsen.ruhoh.com/why-i-m... · Posted by u/stonlyb

justanother · 12 years ago

Lower Florida Keys resident here. I still own a place in Orlando which I have only visited once in the 6 years I've been gone. I got tired of hearing gunshots in the middle of the night. Between that and the chaotic (and plentiful) highway drivers, you couldn't possibly pay me to live in most (any?) large cities in mainland Florida. Despite being only 120 miles from Miami, I've still never visited, unless you count traffic jams when trying to get through it.

Once you get away from the urban nightmares, Florida isn't so bad though. Admittedly not everyone likes the climate, but I run a few miles every morning, even in the summer, and getting on a boat helps to cool off. No malls or dance clubs, and almost no big-box stores or fast food. But we do have Amazon Prime and a fishing pole.

baak · 12 years ago

Big difference between Miami and the Keys is you probably have to evacuate every time there's a hurricane warning. Besides I always thought of the Overseas Highway through all of the Keys as a death trap. If the oncoming traffic swerves into your lane, you have no where to go but water. It used to be way worse before it was rebuilt too.

Suburban Miami wasn't bad at least... I certainly don't remember any gunshots growing up there. Now if you lived near Overtown, West Perrine, Goulds, etc. then yeah, you had to deal with gunshots. Same with every major city though.