prev <-> next
[2020-02-20 10:59:07] - paul: did you want to put money on the presidential draft? i'm fine with it. $5? ~a
[2020-02-20 10:59:06] - right. ~a
[2020-02-20 10:17:03] - a: All I know is that Stratego has no luck, right? -Paul
[2020-02-20 09:54:10] - paul: "my memory has really gone downhill over the past decade or so" i just worry you'll forget that i convinced you of something, then you'll go back to your old arguments. like, do you remember that time i convinced you that biking wasn't a scourge on humanity? ~a
[2020-02-20 09:50:42] - a: Ah, sorry, I missed that. Of course, the writing was probably on the wall by then so maybe I missed it on purpose.
-Paul[2020-02-20 09:50:00] - paul: last word in december was: "did you want to put money on the presidential draft? i'm fine with it. $5?" then you did not reply in the affirmative. ~a
[2020-02-20 09:48:02] - a: Yes, I know. I've said it a few times, my memory has really gone downhill over the past decade or so. It's pretty disappointing. -Paul
[2020-02-20 09:47:15] - we didn't. dude, you have a pretty bad memory. we've talked about this like three times in the past year. ~a
[2020-02-20 09:44:46] - a: Oddly enough, I don't see any record in my "Wagers/Bets" spreadsheet about us having put money on this. -Paul
[2020-02-20 09:44:14] - a: Well, I think it's safe to say you would've easily won the popular vote AND electoral, if we extend out this metaphor. I think you've got like 3 of the most likely candidates at this point, right? -Paul
[2020-02-20 09:39:12] - "we really screwed the pooch on our scoring system" as the presumptive winner of this contest, i think the scoring system was perfect. i assume there's an electoral college joke in there somewhere. ~a
[2020-02-20 09:37:16] - aXpovos: I don't know if anybody has been tracking the debate participation for our presidential primary draft, but I also don't think it matters. Adrian has a 12 point lead that will only get larger with more debates and even if I sweep the nominations somehow, that's only 6 points (yes, we really screwed the pooch on our scoring system). -Paul
[2020-02-20 09:30:57] - mig: i assume there's a story here i didn't read about, i never heard any of the democratic presidential candidates call her father a white supremacist. (i'm not saying they didn't say it, just that i hear about it.) did . . . one of the democratic presidential candidates call john mccain a white supremacist nazi? ~a
[2020-02-20 08:56:16] - a: or vote for the people who call her (and presumably her dad too) a white supremacist nazi? - mig
[2020-02-19 13:31:15] - dark humor ~a
[2020-02-19 13:31:13] - aaron: understood. do you have any games that do something similar . . . i.e. like an influence? or something altogether new? ~a
[2020-02-19 11:17:46] - paul: yeah things have gotten much better since you probably played around with that stuff, many engines cater towards both 3D and 2D games or in some cases, towards people with no programming experience so it's very easy to get started - aaron
[2020-02-19 10:47:03] - aaron: Got it. Reminds me a bit of when I played around with.... OpenGL? I just wanted to create some super simple 2d game with like 8-bit level graphics but couldn't figure it out because it was all about complex 3d shapes and fancy lighting effects.
-Paul[2020-02-19 10:32:54] - paul: so it's fun sometimes but then sometimes it drives me insane - aaron
[2020-02-19 10:31:04] - paul: but yeah compared to simple languages -- big messy game engines let you do complex stuff really fast, like applying physics to a bunch of beach balls. but then sometimes you just want to do something simple like create a utility class to calculate dot products... and the game engine is like "what is a 'utility class'? ...do you mean a beach ball?" - aaron
[2020-02-19 10:14:56] - a: if you want to think about that one, like how you might make the pieces squish dynamically, but not squish too much, or how you'd draw that stuff at runtime or how you'd simulate the particles or whatever... that's something to keep in the back of your mind - aaron
[2020-02-19 10:14:27] - a: i guess one vague thing is -- i wanted this game to behave strictly like tetris, but have the pieces look loose and blobby to the player. i wasn't sure whether i'd just implement this with hard-coded sprite based wobbles, or something complex and weird like a particle simulation - aaron
[2020-02-19 10:03:37] - a: I suspect inflation could be a big thing in our lifetimes, though. Still seems crazy we haven't seen any significant inflation despite the persistently low interest rates and QE. -Paul
[2020-02-19 10:03:05] - a: Agreed. Tons of other things are important too. Not just inflation, but taxation and even things like war vs peace. Obviously the US hasn't had to deal with any kind of war here for a long time, but other countries haven't been so lucky. -Paul
[2020-02-19 09:59:04] - i'm often surprised by how (historically) inflation rates matter so much more than stock returns. ~a
[2020-02-19 09:58:14] - it's funny but i don't think that is luck that matters as much as you think. (by comparison) stock market crashes / booms matter not: usually what will actually sink a retiree, it's not a stock market crash. it's a spike in inflation. because stock market crashes often (usually?) bounce back eventually, but inflation is forever. what would really be lucky would be small to moderate inflation in retirement. ~a
[2020-02-19 09:56:35] - agreed. ~a
[2020-02-19 09:40:19] - a: It's crazy how lucky we have been (so far) in terms of our peak earnings pretty much starting with a big drop in stocks and then following up with one of the longest bull markets ever. -Paul
[2020-02-18 18:42:00] - paul: "You think we'll have another that bad in the next 10 years?" who knows? i definitely wouldn't rule it in or out. i think 2008 wasn't a big deal to us because we had so much less money in the market back then. -50% today would definitely hurt a lot more than -50% in 2008. ~a
[2020-02-18 18:39:34] - (also if there's a . . . "kind" of thing you're putting of learning until later, let me know what it is, i'll take a look at it in the mean time) ~a
[2020-02-18 18:38:35] - aaron: yeah sure! let me know when it's on github! i'm fine building myself, you don't have to send me a linux version. i have scons. ~a
[2020-02-18 16:55:21] - a: Yeah, I was investing during that time period and pumping as much money into the market as I could, so I think I should be pretty set for another collapse like that (although it would royally suck). You think we'll have another that bad in the next 10 years? -Paul
[2020-02-18 16:45:38] - "godot is fun" next message: "it's insane and backwards and i hate it" Huh? -Paul
[2020-02-18 16:37:53] - it took me like an hour of googling to figure out how to just like... have a class which stores the tetris piece shapes. it's hard, you can't just create classes in godot. you have to like, create a script, declare a class in the script, and then you reference it as like Piece.Piece.new(), it's insane and backwards and i hate it - aaron
[2020-02-18 16:36:57] - a: godot is fun, i've started making a little tetris game. i'll put a prototype up on github in a few weeks and send you a linux version to try out. i'd still like to collaborate but the first parts of a project are really slow-going and embarrassing sometimes so i just wanted to learn some stuff by myself ha ha - aaron
[2020-02-18 15:55:00] - the psychology of ignoring -50% is difficult. especially if it takes your whole portfolio below your cost-basis. ~a
[2020-02-18 13:35:38] - a: You're right. I should stop worrying and just embrace my 100% stock portfolio.
-Paul[2020-02-18 13:31:40] - you started off with "I am worried about short term losses" and "I can't predict when they will occur." having a small amount of money in bonds is what almost everybody does in this situation. (the remaining smart people just ignore losses: which gets hard when the losses mount. the remaining dumb people panic when losses mount) ~a
[2020-02-18 13:29:28] - a: Sorry, the implication being 100% in stocks. -Paul
[2020-02-18 13:29:14] - a: But isn't it a million times better to have 0% in bonds if the market is going up?
-Paul[2020-02-18 13:27:36] - something smart: 1% of your money in bonds. that's like a million times better than 0% of your money in bonds if the market is going down. and it's like a milion times better than everything in bonds if the market is going up.
~a[2020-02-18 13:24:53] - a: Well, I am worried about short term losses, but I also don't know if there is anything smart to do about it since I can't predict when they will occur. -Paul
[2020-02-18 13:23:38] - a: Eh, maybe I will be a fan of bonds in the future, but not now. I consider myself to still be in growth mode and as such I don't see much of a reason to "weigh down" my returns with something that historically has returned less than stocks. -Paul
[2020-02-18 13:23:32] - last time we talked about this, i came to the conclusion you didn't like bonds because you weren't worried about short-term losses: it sounds like that's not the case here since you're explicitly talking about short-term losses. ~a
[2020-02-18 13:19:29] - why not a fan of bonds? 100% of financial independence plans i've read have at least some bonds eventually. it's like saying you're not a fan of stocks. or checking accounts. it seems very illogical to me. it's one thing to say that bonds are very tax-inefficient: that argument i'd hear. but to say that you're (generally) not a fan, i'll follow that argument with more skepticism. ~a
[2020-02-18 13:06:20] - a: Yeah, not a big fan of bonds. I'm pretty set on keeping my retirement money (the ones I can't withdraw early without penalty) 100% invested in stocks. I'm starting to look for alternatives for some of my emergency fund cash, though (don't want a bunch of it in the market). Bitcoin?
-Paul[2020-02-18 13:03:58] - paul: whenever i get nervous, i make sure i'm balanced. you could always . . . rebalance. put a few dollars into vtsax (vti), vt, vbtlx (bnd), or something like that. any sane financial planner would suggest you should at least have a few shares of bonds. ~a
[2020-02-18 12:24:38] - I'm not at all into market timing, but I have to admit I am getting a little nervous. The Freedom Portfolio is up 23%+ in 2020 alone. I don't even know what kind of yearly rate that would work out to. Over 300%? I'm not complaining, but this doesn't feel sustainable, especially with all the Coronavirus fears and China's economy maybe slowing. -Paul
[2020-02-18 12:22:12] - a: Maybe they should've tried selling cookies. -Paul
[2020-02-18 11:12:31] - boy scouts of america files for bankruptcy ~a
[2020-02-18 10:25:45] - a:
-Paul[2020-02-17 14:38:59] - saw this on reddit (sub called TIHI: thanks, i hate it) and the first thing i thought of was the episode of futurama where fry's dog waits for him to return when he leaves the 20th century for the 30th one. so, so, terrible. ~a
[2020-02-17 13:19:19] - a: Okay, that should work for me. I'll try to remember to send out an email when it gets closer. -Paul
[2020-02-17 11:54:54] - i can play on the 27th. ~a
[2020-02-17 09:25:04] - a: When are you back from being out of town every week? -Paul
[2020-02-16 23:14:37] - a: Maybe.
-Paul[2020-02-16 10:45:40] - is it me? ~a
[2020-02-16 08:53:30] - a: I can handle that.... unlike some players
-Paul[2020-02-15 13:19:10] - no she does cannon rush though. ~a
[2020-02-15 07:57:00] - a: Sounds good. Does she rush on one base too? Do I need to prepare for that? -Paul
[2020-02-14 14:05:01] - i dunno! maybe she can join us early for sc2 when i'm back from mardi gras? ~a
[2020-02-14 13:53:16] - a: Nice! When am I seeing you two (specifically her) next?
-Paul[2020-02-14 13:24:18] - audrey worked in a coffee shop. ~a
[2020-02-14 13:18:40] - Random question(s): (1) Anybody here have any experience working at a coffee shop and/or consider themselves a coffee expert? (2) Anybody consider photography to be a hobby and would be willing to take some headshots (as somebody who plays FPS games this sounds weird to say) of me for cheap/a 6-pack? -Paul
[2020-02-13 22:51:45] - dainel/paul: i added my own way. ~a
[2020-02-13 22:30:36] - Daniel: Gah! I had no idea MINIFS and MAXIFS even existed as functions despite using SUMIFS. That's exactly it. Thanks! -Paul
[2020-02-13 16:48:26] - https://support.google.com/docs/answer/7014063?hl=en -Daniel
[2020-02-13 16:46:52] - Paul: I think https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Mc6iubC3llr0v5oL11PailtHkdI0j5gzccxxDgHoGcI/edit?usp=sharing is doing what you want? -Daniel
[2020-02-13 15:56:55] - Daniel: Yes. Basically a VLOOKUP that either returns multiple values (so I can later run a MIN on it) or a VLOOKUP that can return the minimum value somehow (I don't really want to sort the data to do it). -Paul
[2020-02-13 15:55:05] - Paul: So you want to find the lowest cell value in a column where other cells in the row match certain values (some tickr and some other column that says 'buy')? -Daniel
[2020-02-13 15:29:05] - Are there any Google Sheets wizards here who can help me with what I think should be an easy problem? I want to be able to search a range and return the minimum value when certain criteria are met (specifically, a ticker matches and the description is "buy"). I basically want to easily find the lowest I paid for a stock. -Paul
[2020-02-13 11:37:41] - Daniel: Yeah, I think I had 3 still living when Gurkie lost her last one (although I suppose I never got to meet one of mine). -Paul
[2020-02-13 11:28:07] - Paul: Thanks, its not unexpected but still sad when it does. To some degree making it to 37 before losing my last grandparent seems like a luxury to some degree. -Daniel
[2020-02-13 11:26:28] - Daniel: Sorry to hear.
-Paul[2020-02-13 11:17:18] - -Daniel
[2020-02-13 11:17:16] - Paul: Sorry for the slow response - grandmother died earlier this week which has led to a lot of stuff - our firm currently scrapes public drilling data for the state of tx and is able to tell people who is actually drillng in the ground where and how fast / how much etc. Apparently this is useful so that those companies can either brag about how they drill more / drill faster than others or to other companies who sell equipment to drillers
[2020-02-12 14:36:16] - a: btw, I can't believe from our 2017 challenge that I have a pick which returned 615% since then and another that returned 198% since then and I am still losing to your portfolio. -Paul
[2020-02-12 14:22:29] - a: https://paulvsthemarket.com/taking-a-risk-on-shopify/ I've thought that twice recently. One was when I almost exactly called Tesla's top last week or whatever. The second time, though, was a year ago when Shopify was about half where it is now.
-Paul[2020-02-12 14:19:19] - paul: unbridled exuberance? probably time to reduce my position. ~a
[2020-02-12 09:28:43] - a: I love SHOP so much right now. -Paul
[2020-02-12 09:19:33] - mig: Nah, I think it's Buttigieg. Is he still technically the winner in Iowa? The centrists seem to have rallied around him, although it will be interesting to see how the more ethnically diverse states go. -Paul
[2020-02-12 08:45:53] - So is Sanders the frontrunner now? - mig
[2020-02-11 22:30:08] - https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/11/trump-heaps-praise-on-trillion-dollar-tech-club-calling-four-big-companies-maga.html OMG. He's right. An acronym for Microsoft, Amazon, Google (Alphabet) and Apple is.... MAGA.... I'm beginning to think we really ARE living in a simulation. -Paul
[2020-02-11 11:22:15] - Daniel: Nice! So what exactly is a "drilling market research firm"? -Paul
[2020-02-11 11:20:02] - Also random but just a brag post cause its fun / new to me: my side hustle got referenced in a trade magazine article: https://pubs.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article-detail/?art=6595 -Daniel
[2020-02-11 11:19:17] - Mig: thats dumb. if fixing a math error is breaking the law shouldn't making the math error also be against the law since they certify its true? -Daniel
[2020-02-11 09:26:11] - https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/S?p=S&.tsrc=fin-srch Sprint is up 75% pre-market on news of approval of merger with T-Mobile. -Paul
[2020-02-10 10:53:49] - The lawyer said correcting the math would introduce “personal opinion†into the official record of results.
[2020-02-10 10:53:26] - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/09/us/politics/iowa-caucuses-democrats.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes “The incorrect math on the Caucus Math Worksheets must not be changed to ensure the integrity of the process,†wrote the party lawyer, Shayla McCormally- mig
[2020-02-07 17:07:37] - Paul: Breaking news. Dan Snyder to buy DC Defenders. ... And they're gone. -- Xpovos
[2020-02-07 16:18:36] - https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/Article/Cardale-Jones-DC-Defenders-favorites-in-XFL-143426052/ Looks like DC might just have another championship caliber team. -Paul
[2020-02-07 16:02:05] -
~a[2020-02-07 13:24:20] - a: Okay, let's just stick with the message board crew for tonight so we don't feel bad abandoning anybody early. -Paul
[2020-02-07 13:11:00] - up to you. i can't play super late, so i'm fine either way. ~a
[2020-02-07 12:34:24] - a: Okay, should I email them? -Paul
[2020-02-07 11:58:32] - really? dewey and mark aren't here. they play the most after you and me, i think. daniel is #5? ~a
[2020-02-07 10:56:27] - a: I was going to email other people, but most of them are already on the message board. -Paul
[2020-02-07 10:55:56] - a: Sounds good. Everybody else here should join us! -Paul
[2020-02-07 10:33:20] - normal time is fine. 21:00? ~a
[2020-02-07 10:00:16] - a: Okay, we can start later or finish earlier if that helps. Or we don't have to. What works for you? -Paul
[2020-02-07 09:59:55] - a: Maybe he was complimenting you on your clothes? "Nice outfit, fucker!".
-Paul[2020-02-07 09:57:20] - i have to pack, but i can probably do both. ~a
[2020-02-07 09:57:10] - paul: hm. hmmmmmb . . . yeah! sure. ~a
[2020-02-07 09:51:55] - some guy yelled "[unintelligible], fucker" at me when i was crossing on foot in crosswalk right next to two signs *in the middle of the road* that said, "state law stop for pedestrians in crosswalk". the signs were in the middle of the god damn road. ~a
[2020-02-07 09:44:57] - a: Can you play tonight? -Paul
[2020-02-06 17:00:19] - a: Can't be that good if you aren't playing SC2. Sorry, I'll let you know if my plans change for tonight, but otherwise we might have to wait until the 27th. -Paul
[2020-02-06 16:57:17] - thanks for the suggestion, paul. i think i'll be pretty busy in both places. in montana i'll bit hitting the slopes all day, and rocking it all night. in louisiana, i'll be working all day, and hanging at mardi gras all night. best february ever. march isn't shaping up to be too bad either. ~a
[2020-02-06 16:55:23] - a: Take a laptop with you?
-Paul[2020-02-06 16:54:00] - i leave for montana on saturday. i get back and then go to louisiana. ~a
[2020-02-06 16:53:09] - a: Sad. I know I should know this, but when do you leave? -Paul
[2020-02-06 16:47:09] - nah, i'm in montana. my next available thursday is the 27th. ~a
[2020-02-06 16:41:48] - a: Sorry, I can't. I have Gears with Dave tonight (unless he cancels at the last minute). Should be free sometime next week. Shall we try to plan in advance to get others to join us? -Paul
[2020-02-06 16:40:54] - sc2 tonight? ~a
[2020-02-06 16:35:13] - Xpovos: Sure. Even with a low float that's impressive, though. -Paul
[2020-02-06 16:09:20] - Paul: It has to depend on float, right? Not all $2B MC companies are the same. -- Xpovos
[2020-02-06 14:40:45] - https://seekingalpha.com/news/3539350-invitae-up-19-on-positive-motley-fool-mention Pretty incredible to see the Fool being able to move a $2 billion market cap company. -Paul
[2020-02-06 11:23:39] - a: Thanks! -Paul
[2020-02-06 11:17:29] - ~a
[2020-02-06 11:17:24] - yes. ~
[2020-02-06 11:17:06] - a: Cool. Thanks. Knowing what you know, then (ie, I mostly want to just keep btc as an "investment", I am capable of memorizing 12 words, I am capable of keeping sheets of paper safe, I am very uncertain about my ability to avoid getting hacked), would you suggest the cold wallet is ideal for me? -Paul
[2020-02-06 11:08:44] - answered differently, you could get the 12 words for your paper wallet, but i'd suggest against trying to do that: mostly because software to do that doesn't exist (*AFAIK*). ~a
[2020-02-06 11:07:04] - paul: no. print more copies. or move your money? (to answer your question more generally: i don't know of a *cold* wallet system that uses words, but such a thing could easily exist.) ~a
[2020-02-06 09:46:04] - a: Hey, so I memorized my... 12(?) words for my btc hot wallet. Unfortunately, that wallet is now empty since I moved my btc to my cold wallet. Is there a similar 12 words I can memorize for that in the extremely unlikely scenario where I lose all the copies of my cold wallet? -Paul
[2020-02-05 14:40:30] - Not me. -Daniel
[2020-02-05 14:39:04] - https://twitter.com/TitaniaMcGrath Is anybody here familiar with the work of Titania McGrath? -Paul
[2020-02-05 10:17:35] - a: I so should've sold. Man, my comment here was basically right at the top. It has dropped around 25% in the less than a day since I said that.
-Paul[2020-02-04 16:44:08] - a: I can usually understand options if I think about it hard enough. I think you want to do it because it can provide leverage (or hedging). -Paul
[2020-02-04 16:42:28] - a: If the last hour the market was open is any indication, maybe I should've... -Paul
[2020-02-04 16:25:53] - paul: god, i wish i understood options. like, i get the concept: you want to pay someone (or get paid) for the option to buy or sell later. but i don't get the full nuts and bolts or . . . game-theory of it all. why would i ever want to do this? if i want the option to buy or sell later at a price, isn't it easier to just buy or sell now? or, hell, just buy a futures contract? its so weird! ~a
[2020-02-04 15:19:04] - paul: do it! though i don't kick myself when i sell a portion of something that then goes up. and i feel like you do. ~a
[2020-02-04 13:42:43] - a: I've been debating all day whether I should sell a portion of my Tesla position. I didn't do that for Shopify and am very glad, but Shopify was never going up 20% every day.
-Paul[2020-02-04 12:49:12] - a: Tesla might still do that at this rate.
-Paul[2020-02-04 12:47:10] - in late-2013, bitcoin doubled one week. then doubled again the next week. but, i take your point. doubling in a week is pretty crazy especially for a 100b company. ~a
[2020-02-04 12:42:59] - good point. ~a
[2020-02-04 12:42:09] - a: Sure, but doubling over one week is pretty extreme. -Paul
[2020-02-04 12:22:04] - paul: we talked about this a few weeks ago: i only have a few shares (today went from 6 to 5). it's only gone 10x in the past 7 years. that's fairly tame . . .
~a[2020-02-04 11:10:17] - a: How many shares do you have of Tesla? It's like doubled in the past week. This is bitcoin / cannabis level craziness. -Paul
[2020-02-04 11:09:44] - a: I've definitely bought single shares of companies before, and they haven't always been high share price stocks. Basically whenever my dividends accrued enough I would buy a few shares here and there. Yeah, companies like Amazon make selling single shares not so silly. -Paul
[2020-02-04 10:32:14] - paul: i just sold 1 share of tesla. it's so weird buying and selling individual shares, but with stocks that refuse to split, like amazon, google, and tesla, i feel like it's going to happen. ~a
[2020-02-03 16:02:32] - https://imgflip.com/i/3o2ipc -- Xpovos
[2020-02-03 15:35:08] - Daniel: https://rampantdiscourse.com/super-bowl-liv-the-most-significant-commercials/ Here's what Andrew thought.
-Paul[2020-02-03 10:00:20] - Was there a best commercial this year? I didn't get to watch all the way through and while I was kinda entertained by a few I don't think I noticed any standouts. Certainly nothing overly noteworthy. -Daniel
[2020-02-03 09:49:39] - my favorite line from the trump incorrect tweet is: "former missouri senator claire mccaskill, tweeted a photo of trump's words with the caption: 'it's missouri you stone cold idiot.'" ~a
[2020-01-31 13:26:10] - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/technology/ginni-rometty-ibm-ceo.html "In recent years, IBM has not had a separate president. And given their ages and backgrounds, Mr. Krishna is seen as a shorter-term chief executive, with Mr. Whitehurst positioned to take over in a few years and perhaps become a longer-term leader, said Mr. Gens and Mr. Sacconaghi." -Paul
[2020-01-31 13:23:19] - CEO implies some sort of ownership stake I think. - mig
[2020-01-31 09:56:11] - a: Looks like I was wrong, but I'm also a little unclear what the difference between CEO and President is. I suspect it's kinda like the Prime Minister and President in France (like you alluded to)? -Paul
[2020-01-31 09:55:40] - a: Heh, yeah, I was just discussing that with Gurkie. Wildly enough, there was a Twitter discussion about IBM like a day before the news and I said I was a little optimistic about IBM because I thought there was a chance Whitehurst could become the next CEO. -Paul
[2020-01-31 09:54:42] - i honestly don't know what the difference between a president and ceo are. is it like head of the legislature vs head of executive? ~a
[2020-01-31 09:53:24] - sort of. ~a
[2020-01-31 08:51:20] - paul: ceo of redhat is becoming ceo of ibm. ~a
[2020-01-31 08:49:08] - (answered offline). ~a
[2020-01-30 11:39:33] - a: In your experience, does the google finance API work less well when you have a ton of cells in your spreadsheet accessing it? It's been pretty finicky today and I can't tell if that's because the API is having a bad day or because I added a bunch more cells hitting the API. -Paul
[2020-01-30 11:33:56] - a: I do! Still working after 10+ years (as noted before). Heck, don't most video game consoles use traditional hard drives too? -Paul
[2020-01-30 11:33:26] - a: "employ thy self" I'm working on it, man. Blogging and podcasting hasn't been raking in the money. Book sales haven't taken off. Nobody is lining up to buy my investing newsletter. -Paul
[2020-01-30 10:51:54] - traditional hard drives are 4 years . . . who still uses those? ~a
[2020-01-30 10:34:48] - https://lifehacker.com/how-long-will-my-hard-drives-really-last-1700405627 Holy crap, the average life span of hard drives is really just 4 years? That doesn't make sense to me. How come console hard drives last so much longer? Almost all of my hard drives have lasted longer than 4 years.... -Paul
[2020-01-30 10:09:53] - paul: employ thy self. ~a
[2020-01-30 09:53:13] - a: That's why I am in a race to retire before I become unemployable. -Paul
[2020-01-30 09:47:03] - paul: yessss (on both. sc2 and blacklisting you from most jobs). ~a
[2020-01-30 09:35:54] - a: SC2 tonight? -Paul
[2020-01-30 09:19:00] - Daniel: 10 years from now, I wonder how many of the articles that I've written on RD or on the message board might be illegal or something that might be enough to blacklist me from most jobs? You might think that's being hyperbolic but I'm completely serious about being worried about it. -Paul
[2020-01-30 09:17:43] - Daniel: Sure, and that's what worries me: That we're moving the line slowly but surely on what is acceptable speech, either through laws or through societal pressure or other things. -Paul
[2020-01-29 23:54:22] - mig: is it terrifying that a court needs to make a decision on defamation/libel/slander and fraud cases? ~a
[2020-01-29 19:25:16] - daniel: that such a thing would need to be decided by a court is quite frankly a terrifying thought. - mig
[2020-01-29 16:09:56] - Paul: That seems more an opinion and less disinformation but maybe as with all things a court would have to decide on what the words actually mean. -Daniel
[2020-01-29 15:54:22] - https://reason.com/2020/01/29/elizabeth-warren-wants-to-make-it-a-crime-to-give-out-fake-info-about-voting/ This Reason article brings up another interesting point: Under Warren's plan would writing something about it not being important to vote become a crime? -Paul
[2020-01-29 15:23:03] - â€which has the explicit purpose of undermining the basic right to voteâ€. *citation needed* - mig
[2020-01-29 15:19:54] - a: And maybe they didn't do it in the past, but does that matter? They're doing it now without a law. -Paul
[2020-01-29 15:19:33] - a: I'm... a bit confused by your question? Are you asking if they're doing anything beyond the stuff already mentioned? I can't really say for certain unless you have a specific falsehood that you are concerned that they're not addressing. From what I can tell things like incorrect voting dates and voting by text messages are being removed. -Paul
[2020-01-29 15:06:39] - paul: "tech companies are already handling blatantly false information" is this true? just because facebook said that they've "banned" something doesn't make what they already did any better. it also doesn't mean they are actually doing anything substantive. ~a
[2020-01-29 14:27:23] - a: To your point, we already have laws against libel and slander and as I pointed out the tech companies are already handling blatantly false information about voting information, so what else would this cover? In my biased opinion? That troublesome middle ground where I think it's important to defend free speech. -Paul
[2020-01-29 14:24:00] - cool. ~a
[2020-01-29 14:23:49] - a: My unbiased view related to my unbiased opinion on Warren's stupid law? Yes.
-Paul[2020-01-29 14:23:21] - Daniel: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-bans-false-information-about-voting-ahead-midterms-n920456 Right, but I don't think that's what Warren is talking about. I think the big tech companies are already tackling that. -Paul
[2020-01-29 14:22:55] - paul: hysteria? is that your unbiased view? ~a
[2020-01-29 14:22:32] - paul: i dunno. ~a
[2020-01-29 14:22:24] - I would agree that generally companies shouldn't have to determine what is true and false. However pulling ads down after they have been reported as having the wrong voting day doesn't seem like a herculean effort. -Daniel
[2020-01-29 14:22:18] - a: In which law? The proposed one? -Paul
[2020-01-29 14:22:02] - Daniel: Sure, but that's pretty broad. I doubt the target is spreading the wrong voting date (which I suspect most big tech companies already would take down as soon as it is noticed) and is probably more directed at stuff like the hysteria over Russian ads on Facebook. -Paul
[2020-01-29 14:21:45] - paul: in addition to what daniel said (or daneil, whoever that is) . . . there's also often something in the law about how the defendant is required to know it was false, or something along those lines. ~a
[2020-01-29 14:20:02] - She isn't trying to make them responsible for determining all disinformation only the kind I mentioned. FTA: "spreading misinformation designed to suppress voters from turning out." -Daneil
[2020-01-29 14:13:51] - a: I'm saying that I don't think we want to have these big tech companies determining what is true and false under penalty of law because that's going to lead to a chilling effect on a LOT of speech. -Paul
[2020-01-29 14:13:02] - Daniel: Sure, I'm not saying that there isn't stuff that most of us can agree upon that is false. The devil is in the grey area. Will Facebook be held liable if somebody posts that "Caitlyn Jenner is a man" or will Google be sued if search results return a page which is skeptical of climate change? -Paul
[2020-01-29 14:10:27] - paul: defamation (libel/slander) and fraud are already illegal. i guess your argument is that politically unacceptable speech and disinformation will be hard to suss out? that might be true, but we already currently (basically) the same thing with fraud and defamation. ~a
[2020-01-29 14:04:14] - I think you could make a case that some disinformation is sometimes close to politically unacceptable speech but I don't think they are the same and lots of disinformation is distinct. Like telling people the wrong voting day. Thats just wrong information on purpose. -Daniel
[2020-01-29 13:56:48] - a: You don't think there's a close connection between politically unacceptable speech and speech determined to be "disinformation"? -Paul
[2020-01-29 13:46:29] - how is cancel culture related to disinformation? ~a
[2020-01-29 13:35:53] - https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/29/warren-proposes-criminal-penalties-for-spreading-disinformation-online.html Oof, get ready for cancel culture to have the weight of the law behind it... -Paul
[2020-01-29 13:15:57] - https://twitter.com/SachaBaronCohen/status/1222571095905243137 I'm being 100% serious here: Is this a "Borat" level prank being played by Sacha Baron Cohen or does he actually believe this stuff? The former actually seems more believable to me. -Paul
[2020-01-29 13:10:17] - a: 2020 on track for being pretty good as well. -Paul
[2020-01-28 14:35:08] - i had noticed that too (that you were back to beating me on 2017). if it matters, the best year for bits wasn't even 2017. 2013, 2011 . . . 2010 were all better. ~a
[2020-01-28 14:16:44] - a: It's pretty incredible how much we crushed the market with our picks, especially if you continue counting to today. -Paul
[2020-01-28 14:15:11] - a: From the 2017 challenge, Shopify is getting close to overtaking your BTC returns. -Paul
[2020-01-28 11:27:52] - a: Cool. Thanks. Sounds like it might be time to look into a new computer. Now I have to decide on a laptop or another desktop. Gurkie doesn't always like me borrowing her computer.
-Paul[2020-01-28 10:52:58] - no? because you use the worlds "stretch" and "even". and "definitely". ~a
[2020-01-28 10:50:56] - a: Does it help if I say that if my main desktop died tomorrow that it wouldn't be TOO problematic? I can do much of my stuff on my chromebook. Podcast editing could in theory be done on Gurkie's laptop for a stretch. I could even play Starcraft 2 on it. Yes, I would definitely want to get a replacement but it wouldn't be devastating. -Paul
[2020-01-28 10:48:45] - it's like asking about which modem you should buy. none of the above? ~a
[2020-01-28 10:48:24] - i guess? i dunno. it's a situation i probably wouldn't put myself in unless it wasn't my main computer. you like . . . have lots of hobbies that revolve around having a working computer, so it seems weird to me to daily depend so much on such an old piece of hardware as your only lifeline to the world. ~a
[2020-01-28 10:46:38] - a: Wait, but you're saying NOT to do that, right? It's not worth it? -Paul
[2020-01-28 10:46:26] - sdd=ssd. typo. ~a
[2020-01-28 10:46:13] - i would upgrade the sdd, put on windows 10, and pray every day. ~a
[2020-01-28 10:45:35] - unless it's like, not your main computer. ~a
[2020-01-28 10:45:25] - seriously though, i don't see any benefit to upgrading a 10 year old computer. it seems like wasted money. ~a
[2020-01-28 10:44:43] - i'm not suggesting you make your desktop last any amount of time.
best case scenario? 3 days. ~a[2020-01-28 10:43:37] - aDaniel: So, in your guys' opinions, in a best case scenario, how much longer do you think I could expect my desktop to last? I added some more memory a few years ago, but other than that haven't updated anything. -Paul
[2020-01-28 10:40:38] - that is a nice thing about living in a two-adult household . . . twice as many computers to borrow. i borrow audrey's laptop all the time. ~a
[2020-01-28 10:39:21] - a: That's interesting. I had never considered needing a second desktop for anything. I have my chromebook for when I want something more mobile. In fact, if I get a replacement I was considering a laptop so I could use it for podcast recording (we don't do it in my office and I need to borrow Gurkie's laptop when recording). -Paul
[2020-01-28 10:39:00] - I think the no more support for win7 is a legit reason to move to something else. I don't know that you will be targeted by some sophisticated personalized thing but as time goes on it seems more likely to get something that targets some unpatched vulnerability. -Daniel.
[2020-01-28 10:16:26] - basically, i'll always have two desktops if i ever get a new desktop . . . but eventually the old desktop will die. then i'm back down to one desktop. and that's fine. i like it as . . . like, the default. ~a
[2020-01-28 10:15:09] - other than being able to offload tasks on different computers, there's a second benefit of two desktops: reliability. if shit breaks, you can move stuff around (hardware *or* software/tasks) more easily if you have two desktops than if you have one. ~a
[2020-01-28 10:10:12] - paul: two desktops. ~a
[2020-01-28 10:10:12] - a: But, I am slightly worried that after 10 years some parts are about to go... -Paul
[2020-01-28 10:09:54] - a: Yeah, I understand your point, but it's notable that really nothing is causing me a headache beyond the very minor annoyance of having to clear out my OS drive every few months and the (bigger) annoyance of Windows 7 no longer being supported. Other than that everything still works fine. -Paul
[2020-01-28 10:08:39] - Daniel: Heh, yeah. I can't say for sure that's the case, but I've been trying to be diligent in recent years about having everything in multiple places. Unfortunately, part of that means having it on a similarly 10 year old mechanical drive, but I also have the most important stuff backed up to the cloud. -Paul
[2020-01-28 10:08:10] - paul: daniel's step 1. (but also, i'd honestly buy a new computer if i were in your shoes. 10 years is a fine age for a desktop considering your situation of having really old hardware that is causing you headaches, there's literally no reason to upgrade just parts of it. if it is truly a perfect computer, i often run two desktops in that situation: and offload different tasks to each desktop . . . that's not as easy in windows though) ~a
[2020-01-28 10:00:07] - Paul: Step 1) Make sure your important data is backed up on something that isn't a ten year old hard drive. -Daniel
[2020-01-28 09:57:46] - So what should I do? Buy a new SSD and install a new version of Windows on it and hope my desktop can last another couple of years (if not more) or give thanks to a machine that has already lasted a decade and replace the whole thing? -Paul
[2020-01-28 09:56:54] - Question for the computer people here. My desktop is coming up on 10 years of age, but still seems to mostly be able to do everything I want it to do. There are only two ways it is showing its age: (1) My OS drive is an 80 gb SSD which is almost completely full thanks to Windows and (2) support for Windows 7 is going away. -Paul
[2020-01-28 09:28:11] - aaron: Also, Talia and Kayla got Rubick's cubes with pictures of Star Wars things on each side (instead of solid colors) and they need your help solving them.
-Paul[2020-01-28 09:27:33] - aaron: The overarching theme of humanity achieving Nirvana mostly sticks around, though. -Paul
[2020-01-28 09:27:12] - aaron: Heh, well, I'm glad you are enjoying season 1, although that makes me a tiny bit worried you might not like the rest. Agreed the morality is a little heavy in early episodes and Picard is awesome, but he also changes a bit in later episodes to be a bit less of a hard ass. -Paul
[2020-01-27 23:15:25] - I like how often he's given a really trivial decision like, "here's a cute puppy should I pet it" and Picard's all "no" and it turns out it's a poison puppy. It's a fun series - aaron
[2020-01-27 23:13:36] - Like, "whoa what if girls were sexist towards guys" and simple stuff like that. But the overarching message of like, humanity achieving some interstellar state of Nirvana and stuff is really cool and I like Picard - aaron
[2020-01-27 23:10:05] - I'm totally enjoying Star trek the next generation season 1 although I'll totally accept any criticism that the morals are sort of heavy-handed - aaron
[2020-01-27 21:37:49] - Honestly, I think TNG over DS9 is probably the majority view. The majority is just wrong.
-Paul[2020-01-27 17:25:28] - On Star Trek I liked TNG more than DS9 more than Voyager. I think those are the only three series I've watched enough to judge. -Daniel
[2020-01-27 17:24:53] - In talking with my conservative father in law this weekend he thinks the impeachement is still a joke and should be tossed out. So if he is a proxy for middle america R voter I don't expect many senators who want to get re-elected to vote for actual impeachment. -Daniel
[2020-01-27 14:00:53] - a: It's going to look a lot like the Kavanaugh confirmation vote, I suspect. Maybe leaning slightly more towards the Dem side. If they even get to a vote. There are still some weird parliamentarian things that could interfere--though I do rate those as less likely. -- Xpovos
[2020-01-27 12:20:59] - yep, it certainly would alienate their base. (assuming nothing major changes in the next year) ~a
[2020-01-27 12:20:10] - a: Yeah... I could maybe see one or two, but I'm guessing most want to get re-elected and figure it would be a death sentence to vote for removal. -Paul
[2020-01-27 12:17:52] - but i don't think it would be too weird if a bunch of republicans flipped. during watergate, everybody was (including the president) convinced that a ton of republicans would flip. ~a
[2020-01-27 12:15:13] - paul: (i don't think the magic number is 9-10. i think it's closer to double that. 2/3*100-47) ~a
[2020-01-27 12:11:28] - a: Yeah. it sounds like maybe it was 30/70 or something that witnesses get called before and maybe now it is more 70/30? Still wouldn't be shocked either way. -Paul
[2020-01-27 12:10:21] - paul: no, i didn't mean the end result. i meant will witnesses get called. it sounds like you think it's possible that will happen. i think i agree, but i wouldn't be surprised either way. ~a
[2020-01-27 12:07:44] - a: It sounds like it might make it more likely witnesses get called. Does it change the end result? Probably not. It sounds like battle lines have been drawn and doesn't there need to be like 9-10 Republicans that flip? -Paul
[2020-01-27 12:05:16] - paul: any thoughts on the 11th hour bolton revelation? will it change anything? ~a
[2020-01-27 11:31:57] - a: I just signed up for a free trial of All Access to watch a few episodes of Picard. -Paul
[2020-01-27 11:31:25] - a: I've only seen a few episodes of Discovery. If I had to guess, I would say you wouldn't like it. Another war storyline with characters that I found unlikeable and a little unbelievable. -Paul
[2020-01-27 11:29:54] - paul: maybe i'm being a little hard. ds9 def wasn't my least favorite star trek series. i liked it better than ent. and it was on par to voy (i know this will piss you off but it's honestly how i feel). i still haven't watched tos/dis/pic. ~a
[2020-01-27 11:27:49] - a: Oh, wow, I guess that would do it then. If you didn't like the war storyline and didn't like the characters that doesn't leave a lot left. -Paul
[2020-01-27 11:27:48] - while we're talking about war, has anybody seen 1917? that was a pretty good movie. ~a
[2020-01-27 11:26:44] - the war never felt real to me. and no, bashir, odo, jake, dax, and obrien mostly felt unlikable except on rare circumstances. especially jake. he was the wesley of this series. except i'd honestly take wesley as a more likable character than jake. ~a
[2020-01-27 11:15:48] - a: To me, DS9 did such a better job of character development than TNG. TNG was mostly about the new life form encountered whereas DS9 was often about the characters themselves and dealing with the horrors of war. -Paul
[2020-01-27 11:14:59] - a: Yeah, I don't know if the Ferengi are necessarily supposed to be the ones you get attached to, although a lot of people did. I suppose, as civilians, it makes a certain amount of sense, though. I'm shocked you didn't feel a connection with Bashir or Odo or Jake or Dax or O'Brien, though. -Paul
[2020-01-27 10:01:37] - i'll be a dissenting voice: i never got attached to any of the ds9 characters. sometimes i felt for nog, or quark, or rom, but very rarely. then they'd ruin it all with their old "making fun of male chauvinism and/or consumerism is funny". ~a
[2020-01-27 09:30:03] - aaron: And then after you're done, you can get to the BEST series.... DS9. -Paul
[2020-01-27 09:29:39] - aaron: Ideally you would watch every episode, but if you find yourself getting bored and wondering if you should go back.... I would skip to season 3 and go from there. You'll miss some stuff, but the quality is consistently better starting in season 3. -Paul
[2020-01-27 09:28:46] - aaron: Nice! Yes, I agree with most everything Adrian said. TNG is a show which definitely improved as time went on and is pretty different from how it started. Most agree the first two seasons are pretty bad (a writer's strike happened during the second season which screwed things up). -Paul
prev <-> next