HexesofVexes

Oh crap, I think I chose loremaster bard…

When you have more tabs than a pharmacy, it’s time to worry!

What is life but a lottery?

A lot of the drive towards AI is people thinking to save a quick buck, but longer term that places them in a very unsteady position themselves.

All products end up being for “shareholder value”, and AI will be no different. Someone will find an enshittification vector and run with it.

Suddenly, that “quick buck” becomes a monthly subscription that costs more than the people fired. Company data is harvested and sold, customers are advertised out, the shittiness of the system becomes a company problem.

So we’re either going to see a stark change away from the current shareholder value model (about as likely as world peace), or we’re going to see a lot of CEO seppuku. Win win really.

I think we don’t give gradual acclimatisation enough credit here. Most of my students have never heard of Firefox and tools like ublock origin because they’re acclimatised to the mobile ecosystem

“How do I install something? I use the app store.”

“Oh, but I already have the internet on my phone, why would I want a 3rd party app to use the internet” (think old people who mix up AOL with the internet in reverse!)

As soon as I show them, they convert in seconds - they’ve forgotten web pages without adverts can exist.

I think the shutting down after such “incidents” is the final expression in this piece of art.

“A connected world is great, as long as that connection includes approved messages only.”

I teach - I have to debate my basic human rights every day (sleep and time spent not working are apparently not rights I hold according to our more entitled students/managers).

I suppose it’s similar to the discussion older and more successful men have about avoiding “gold diggers”, “bear traps”, and “black widows”. Not all women are after a man’s money, but those that are will actively seek out such men, so you’ll never be safe. One wrong move and you’re suddenly working overtime the rest of your life to pay child support for a child conceived without your consent. Whereas, a bear would only run into us by chance, and would be more likely to leave us alone if we dropped our food and calmly walked away.

Edited note for clarity and posterity: Stereotypes are always hilariously offensive - I think some people just learned that.

I see the “bear shitting in the woods” index just went up again.

My options are likely to be:

A) Live 5 years unable to remember my work, with added incontinence.

B) Go out trying an experimental age reversal treatment - because why not roll the dice one last time?

C) Not survive to old age due to overwork, burning out my body one semester at a time.

C is most likely, B is the plan, and A is to be avoided at all costs!

And probably shouts “four of a kind, checkmate” randomly while waving arrest warrants in the hopes of distracting his opponent.

Putin strikes me as the kind of person who’d lose against a bongcloud opening.

Fun facts for night owls:

I’m sorry, there are no fun facts. It was a lie, it’s actually terrible. You just zombie through life unable to function without health destroying levels of caffeination ^_

Hey now, that’s just not true (!)

If you pull yourself up by your bootstraps, work an extra shift, maybe sell some things you don’t need, you can afford a McChicken Sandwich (!)

Attractive, Intelligent, Sane

At 18 you can pick 3 but always focus on one. You’re looking for “true love”, but your crotch isn’t.

At 25 you can pick 2, but you still don’t know which one is most important. You’re looking for “Mr/Miss/Ms Right”, but are starting to feel like you’re Mr/Miss/Ms Leftover" because a lot of people pair up before you.

At 30+ you can pick one, but you’re mostly looking for someone who matches you “child-free” status. You’ve realised a relationship is something you make, not something you find. This is the age to be wary of “gold diggers” looking for a bankroll.

When you’re 35+ it turns from a structured partner hunt into “fuck it, we ride”. At this point, you just want to enjoy life, because there isn’t much free time!

I think a lot of equity arguments bug me because they often fail to address the real issue (at least in the workplace). It’s a matter of attitude, rather than parity/proportionality.

However much we hate it, the majority of people in a stem field will still seek a straight white man out when we look for authority/expertise. That isn’t because they are the greatest expert, or that they hold the highest accessible authority, but because it is an ingrained belief. That’s just wrong, on so very many levels, that I cannot even begin to express how stupid it is.

Some people have spotted this issue, but their solution is abhorrent - denigrate this group. Raise a generation that looks on this group with contempt, to at least remove the component of authority. It will solve the problem, but it will create a lot more down the line as it becomes the accepted solution. Shall we have a generational genetic lottery forever?

Oddly enough, I think the “blurring of gender lines” brought about by the trans movement might offer a more meaningful solution to some part of this problem, as it erases the categories themselves, rather than attempting to shift their position.

If your body clock leans towards staying up at night I have some very bad news - you’re going to spend a lot of your life tired and drained!

“Seek offence and you shall find it” - The unofficial motto of Tumblr

It’s not really a word that is used anymore, though I have encountered it in some older books.

I honestly just don’t use these services, and never recommend them, entirely because they are subscription-based.

As a model, it is largely focused on trapping the user who forgets to cancel. Many also use sneaky ways to avoid a user cancelling in time, and give no warnings.

Honestly, why ruin something already raking in money hand over fist? Valve is profitable, sustainable, and all around well executed.

Messing with it would cut profits!