I wouldn't do any business with you for example if that is your default level of ethics.
You say that, but it’s how most companies operate unfortunately.
Readit NewsDeleted Comment
jchoca commented on Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California theregister.com/2023/06/0... · Posted by u/belter
What’s the best way to block it on mobile?
I just started using this service: https://controld.com/
$20 a year and acts as an ad-blocker too. NextDNS is another one. It's nice you don't need to install anything (other than configuring DNS). Using DNS for ad-blocking also avoids the "we noticed you're using an ad-blocker" popups.
jchoca commented on Apple Vision Pro: Apple’s first spatial computer apple.com/newsroom/2023/0... · Posted by u/samwillis
I find it pretty hilarious that VR started off as a product for gamers, designed by gamers, and funded by gamers. And even before it made it to market, it was bought up by Facebook who said "no no no, forget games, we're going to give you experiences". And it's been a parade of uninteresting, nobody-actually-wanted-this products and ideas ever since.
By far the most compelling things you can do in VR are games. Modded Beat Saber is incredible (and a total pain in the ass now that Facebook bought the game and tries to release a mod-breaking update every few weeks), VR Chat (a moddable, nerd/furry/whatever/anything goes playground), and Half Life: Alyx, a AAA game delivered by a gaming company. EDIT: almost forgot Phasmophobia. Hearing all your friends (and yourself) scream like little girls in unison is a priceless experience.
I think Apple designed an incredible piece of hardware here, and I really would like to put on a headset and have as much virtual desktop space as I want while I'm sitting on a beach. But what I really want are games. That's what everyone has always wanted from this, and yet somehow the whole VR space has been taken over by these lame corporate execs who have never touched a game more serious than Candy Crush in their life, insisting they know better.
Facebook bought it up because they saw the opportunity for that sweet behavioral surplus and just couldn't pass it up.
jchoca commented on Slack’s free plan change is causing an exodus blog.zulip.com/2022/08/26... · Posted by u/williamstein
> Except threads. Threads are useless.
That might exactly be my problem with Slack, and Google Chat as well. I understand the desire to wanting to some sort of threading, but it doesn't work in either programs. Instead it just confuses the interface greatly. Slack is super weird, because you can have a thread open, and navigate around, so the thread view is now completely out of context.
I think the problem is not with threads themselves but with Slack's implementation. Threads provide a much-needed way of creating a discussion around a specific topic that doesn't pollute the main channel. In Slack they seem like more of an afterthought than a primary communication tool.
jchoca commented on Vegetarian women more likely to fracture hips in later life theguardian.com/science/2... · Posted by u/belter
You said "that diet and keto are associated with an increase in all-cause mortality" -- in fact, I believe the opposite to be the case. Check out The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz to learn more about nutrition science.
jchoca commented on Vegetarian women more likely to fracture hips in later life theguardian.com/science/2... · Posted by u/belter
Yeah, the only way to make it work is to be an exercise nut. In order to get the nutrition your body needs from a vegan diet you will need to consume more calories than you would consume on a carnivore diet. So you need to exercise to burn these extra calories off and maintain that “fit vegan” look — although eventually it will catch up with you.
As for “cruel and polluting”, that’s also a bigger problem with agriculture — because of the clear-cutting, the insecticides, the secondary effects of insecticides on birds, all the agricultural run-off, and so forth.
You need to think more critically than “did this piece of food on my plate once have a face?” Just because you’re eating soybeans doesn’t mean you’re not killing animals — it is just indirect and even more ecologically devastating.
If we care about collateral damage done to animals due to plant farming, then we should still stop eating animals due to the efficiency loss in calories when converting plants to animal calories. 70% of soy is grown for animal feed, and so is something like 50% of corn. Don't tell me all cows just need to be grazing all the time. There just isn't enough land for that. Even assuming 100% of our calories aren't coming from meat.
The carnivore diet simply isn't sustainable. Suggesting that's something the entire human race should be doing is lunacy. I'd wager all these people who feel good on the carnivore diet feel that way because they've stopped consuming processed carbs and other garbage. Meanwhile that diet and keto are associated with increase in all-cause mortality.
jchoca commented on NYC to mandate proof of vaccination for many indoor settings nypost.com/2021/08/03/nyc... · Posted by u/underseacables
I am pro-vaccine (and fully vaccinated), but I don't support this policy at all.
I don't believe this will have much of a net effect on vaccination rate, I believe it will disproportionately negatively impact poor and minority populations in NYC who already have a bad/mistrustful relationship with health care and government, and it is obviously a huge new governmental intrusion into our daily lives. It might well lead to anger and violence (as similar moves have across Europe).
These are my opinions, but I think the strongest arguments against it are facts: if you are fully vaccinated, you are at essentially no risk of serious illness from SARS-CoV2. And literally anyone who wants a vaccine can get one. Those who choose not to get vaccinated are making a risk calculation; they are making a choice.
This policy comes from an almost hysterical fixation on "cases", which are not a metric of any meaning. SARS-CoV2 is not going away. We should be reacting rationally to rates of hospitalization and deaths -- and right now, those are barely changed in NYC, thanks to the very high vaccination rate amongst the vulnerable population:
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-data-trends.pag...
One can certainly argue that there exist small groups of people for whom the vaccine is not perfect protection. This is true, but it's no different than all other viruses, which have threatened immunocompromised people forever. We have never before justified such intrusive government policies based on the risks faced by these individuals. So while I empathize with them, this still seems like over-reach to me.
>Those who choose not to get vaccinated are making a risk calculation; they are making a choice.
Yes, but that choice does not only impact them. Being disallowed the luxury of going to restaurants and bars could be seen as a form of payment for creating that externality.
jchoca commented on Software Disenchantment (2018) tonsky.me/blog/disenchant... · Posted by u/ibdknox
Long ago I watched a documentary about the early Apple days, when management was encouraging their developers to reduce boot times by 10 seconds. The argument was that 10 seconds multiplied by the number of boot sequences would result in saving many human lives worth of time.
Edit: found a link with the same story: https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Saving_Lives.txt
The software world needs more of this kind of thinking. Not more arguments like "programmer's time is worth less than CPU time", which often fail to account for all externalities.
I wish more companies thought like this in general. I often think about the nature of the work I'm doing as a developer and wonder if it's making society better off as a whole. The answer is usually a resounding no.
Thank goodness you are incorrect.
Most people in business, like most people generally, are ethical human beings. Good to deal with, trust worthy and reliable.
That is my experience.
The sharks that rise to the top of billion dollar companies I only see in the news. My impression is that they are generally mentally disturbed (Elon Musk's "jokes" on Twitter about taking Tesla private is a case in point). But I hope that is a selection bias from the news cycle. Still waiting for the evidence....
>Most people in business, like most people generally, are ethical human beings. Good to deal with, trust worthy and reliable.
It doesn't matter if the people you've anecdotally dealt with are ethical. It doesn't even matter if most of the people "in business" are ethical. The incentive structure to make the right choice for large public companies, or even venture-backed private ones just isn't there.
I wish I was incorrect, but I'm not. If I was, we wouldn't still have companies producing fossil fuels, animal agriculture, or surveillance capitalism.