• 15 Posts
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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: June 23rd, 2023

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  • I think that’s up for debate. There are people who don’t want government involved in their daily lives. These - livable wage and such - are nice things to have but aren’t the core responsibility of any and all governments. I don’t think “manages society” is the right phrasing either. And FWIW, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is not in the US constitution so there is no legal requirement for the US government to provide this. The DoI also said all men are created equal then they went on to say black men are worth less than white men.

    I think a responsible representative government would weigh the realities of contemporary society and make adjustments to adjust for injustices and inequalities. They may also take larger things into consideration such as why a business determines to operate in one country or another and offer subsidies that promote job creation (rather than inflationary tariffs). I mean, there’s a lot and I don’t want to get into everything here.

    My point is, what’s the role of not just the US government, not just a federal or national government, but any and all government - other than “to govern”? I would argue it’s preventative harm reduction.

    When the first version of government was created, was it to make the daily lives of people better or was it to provide protection for those who couldn’t protect themselves? Not rhetorical. We all need to agree that point 1 is XYZ. Then we can get one with discussing things like livable wage, social security, health care, education, etc. Actually, on paper, I think the concept of the US is fantastic. A core government that covers broad universal functions while each regional division can focus on its own. The issue from here is that state boundaries are, for all intents and purposes, irrelevant today.

    My other point, to bring it back to this story, is the the role of government should not be to pretend groups of people do not exist, hide them in the shadows, and ignore the atrocities others are inflicting upon them - our be the one committing those atrocities. So, if we start there with a solid idealogical foundation, we can more easily observe said atrocities and hold elected officials accountable. Universally, outside of party affiliation.

    Then, once a foundation is agreed upon without any argument, we can move on to things that have nuance and are worthy of debating details and directions.

    I just don’t think we’ve reached step one yet. Perhaps because a lot of people are very, and rightfully, concerned about steps two through a million.


  • I think we’ve lost sight of what the role of government is or should be. Though, to be fair, I’m not sure it’s been agreed upon.

    Isn’t the role of government to provide protection / prevent harm? To create a space for fair opportunity and to level the playing field and adjust for injustices?

    I mean, just because you don’t like someone or something or something makes you uncomfortable or doesn’t align with your beliefs doesn’t mean that thing doesn’t exist nor should the government be in charge of abolishing it. In fact, if you have such strong opinions about something, it’s very likely that this is something the government should be protecting from you.

    I just don’t think this is a liberal or conservative claim. It should be a universal fact that’s applied to all. And, I think, any government or politician who fails to protect a single person should be removed from the job they’ve shown they’re not capable of performing.

    I guess we’ve given up on holding our politicians accountable and transferred any power we had to the oligarchs and corporations.


  • Using an alarm to wake up. Actually, I got rid of all electronics in my bedroom aside from lights.

    I had a coffee situation many years ago. I was having heart palpitations (skipping a beat) while sitting at rest and my doctor said the 20 ounces of coffee I drank was way too much. I have never believed him but I did cut back just in case. In recent years, I’ve observed that the more I get some regular amount of exercise in, those palpitations go away. I started going for walks and also noticed my at-rest heart rate drop noticeably. And, while few to begin with, anxiety attacks went away. I usually drink a 10 ounce cup of coffee in the morning - freshly ground, aeropress, black. A bit more on the weekends. Never past 10am.

    The next issue I have regarding better sleep is breaking my habit of being enthralled with digital content. I read too much on my iPad at night. Been trying to read physical books and magazines more but the dopamine addiction is rough.

    Additionally, I’ve been from trying to be more proactive and get shit done asap to leave more time for being bored. I believe boredom leaves time for creativity and leisure and better sleep. There’s just far too much to distract us from existing as calm and creative human beings today.


  • I’d be interested to hear from the youngest generation (15-20 YO) to hear if they care about this at all.

    I’m approaching 50 years old and had been an early adopter most of my adult life. Growing up from the 1980s through 2000s, there was a near-mainstream narrative that we were living in a unique era of emerging technologies. It was exciting and we were anxious for anything new.

    It seems to me that nothing is really new and there is nothing exciting, if not interesting, about technology today.

    I’ve actually been stripping down the technology from my life as it’s become too distracting to get things done and has prevented personal growth and the formation of memories. For one example, I recently subscribed to a print magazine because I prefer a tangible object that I can associate with in and of itself (and choose to own and collect).

    Looking at analog trends like vinyl records and film photography and cassette tapes, it seems like people are at least trying to incorporate tangible objects into a modern lifestyle. Then you have the trend of the dumb phones which indicate people are becoming more aware of the detriments caused by an always connected lifestyle. Thankfully, some car manufacturers are returning buttons to their cars in response to owner feedback about everything being a touch screen.

    I mean, I’m not a multi-trillion dollar organization with different departments studying the feasibility of future products but I do wonder if something like AR glasses are already more of our past than our future.

    I think there’s a more than reasonable desire for a device to help you through your day - especially in foreign countries. But do you think you want that to be glasses or something else?

    Lastly, this reminds me of the prediction from Michio Kaku in Physics of the Future about augmented reality contact lenses. Should we at least accept AR glasses as first step towards contact lenses? Do you think society would accept these 20-40 years in the future?


  • The only people who should be worried about this conversation are therapists and philosophers.

    Our culture is fucking with people’s heads by making them have to question shit like this. Words are made up (you should look up some definitions). Our emotions are not. No one should be judging anyone for whom they find attractive and no one should feel shame or pride for having a preference.

    So why would people who are attracted to cis people (of a particular sex) and not trans people (of the opposite sex-assigned-at-birth to the sex they’re attracted to) necessarily be transphobes.

    This is not a thing. At all. Just because I prefer red apples over green apples does not instill a phobia or hatred of green apples.

    The LGBT movement, as with nearly all movements, is about education. It seems you may have skipped over the prerequisites jumped right to LGBT 201.

    Yes, “It’s obviously a nuanced subject, and human sexuality is complex” and the point is that no one should be casting societal assumptions upon or judging anyone. The point is to mind your own business and support government legislation that protects marginalized groups from the ignorant and those who lack empathy. “Do no harm” shouldn’t be regulated to practicing doctors. We’ve all lost sight of the “treat others as you want to be treated” Golden Rule. So, mind your own business and treat others with the same respect you believe you deserve.

    If you are personally struggling with your own sexuality, I would strongly suggest you seek guidance from a professional rather than pondering aloud on the internet and expecting validation. If you are struggling to understand the sexuality of others, I would suggest you stop trying and embrace the uniquenesses found in every corner of this planet.



  • Excuse me? Are you trying to say that side-loaded apps are more free of ads than those in app stores? What motivates a developer to release an ad-free side loaded app while refusing to submit it to (or failing to get it approved in) an app store?

    How is this specifically an iPad issue and not an app developer issue?

    I’d like to know, because I don’t have a Google device or account, how the Google Play Store is superior to the Apple App Store when it comes to ad or subscription supported software.


  • oxjox@lemmy.mltoAsklemmy@lemmy.mlWhat are some of your worst purchasing regrets?
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    10 months ago

    I’ve owned many iPads. To claim you can’t use it without a subscription service is ridiculous. Yes, you need an Apple ID to download apps from the App Store but that doesn’t cost anything (just like a Google account).

    You’re comparing two electronic devices that are ten years apart from each other. Of fucking course the new one is going to be better. If you think a Galaxy tablet is great, you should really try a new iPad.

    I mean, you’re just coming off sounding like an Apple-hater and someone who hasn’t ever actually owned an iPad. Maybe even a bot.




  • I don’t know how much weight I put into this piece, given that we’re talking about Trump, but I appreciate the perspective. From my understanding, the US has always had a good relationship with Greenland and could have easily worked with them to increase defenses and security. There could certainly be another objective like mining natural resources or, I dunno, building crypto mining facilities. The whole thing should be offensive to all Americans, especially conservatives.





  • Apple released a more user friendly version of this in 2021 https://www.apple.com/privacy/docs/A_Day_in_the_Life_of_Your_Data.pdf

    I think it’s safe to say that, at this point, most people know that their information is being sucked up. But very few care at all. Some of the people I’ve spoken with are actually in favor of being tracked because they find it beneficial and they want better ads. I don’t know if this is a real desire for them or if they’ve been brainwashed.

    The chance of your personal data being used against you is increasing every day. Leaks are happening all the time; largely from databases presumed to be more secure than an app on your phone. Still, relatively few people are really affected by this.

    Please tell me otherwise but it seems that the worst thing the data collecting raised in this post could do is manipulate an algorithm to show you ads or social media content or other website content (most concerning, political propaganda).

    That’s to say, okay - this is weird but you have to tell people why they should care if you want them to raise concern. WHY is this “terrifying”? I mean, I can speculate but even the worst case scenarios I’ve told people about have barely raise an eyebrow.




  • A quote is not a source. The news often misquotes people or takes words out of context.

    A tweet should be screenshotted with the original link along with an alternate to xcancel.com.

    If the tweet itself has a link or mentions something elsewhere, a link to that source should also be provided.

    Sounds like a lot but anything less is misinformation, as far as I’m concerned. So much news and memes have been spread where the subject is taken out of context. Hours or days or years will go by before people come to discover the true meaning of something and by then the impression has already been made.


  • I’ve been using Instagram as a way to stay up to date with all the local community events or small businesses doing events around me for the past couple of years.

    You have?? This is what I was using the platform for but then, many years ago, they forced an algorithm on us so I was no longer able to use it. Most of the posts I see are days old so I always miss events.

    I would love if more establishments / organizations would use newsletters and public calendars. I’ve been trying to tell people, you want to own your content and your mailing list, but Meta makes it so easy for them to do things that it’s an uphill battle.

    I use an RSS reader to deal with newsletters. I use BigNews but there’s also Stoop which give you an email address to subscribe to newsletters without them flooding your inbox.


  • That’s funny.

    US farm groups want Trump to spare their workers from deportation - yet they likely still voted for him.

    Pro Palestinian groups want to spare Palestinians from genocide - yet they likely helped to support the re-election of someone who has a concrete track-record of being anti-Muslim and heavily pro-Israeli with explicit statements fully supporting Netanyahu’s actions instead of voting for a party who at least meets at the table for peace talks and may be convinced by The People to take a stronger stance in support of peace.

    The specific issues are irrelevant (don’t at me about Gaza). It’s how different people understand and act upon issues and politics differently.


  • any decision about whether the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision applies to Trump’s criminal hush money case.

    IANAL but I’m also not a fucking moron - he was a candidate for president, not president. This case has nothing to do with presidential immunity.

    On Wednesday, Trump’s attorneys argued in a letter to the court that the criminal conviction must be dismissed “to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power.”

    The incumbent president has no responsibility “to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power” but some criminal case judge in NYC does?