pay-once-cry-once situation

I’ve never heard this phrase, and I’m struggling to figure it out from context. Does it mean that you regret the purchase after finding out it’s not as good as you thought, but then don’t replace it with something better because you don’t want to spend more?

Wel, I guess I’m rewatching that tonight…

(For the uninitiated: Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz, aka “the guy from Silicon Valley and Jean-Ralphio from Parks & Rec”, did an improv series on Netflix - and it’s great)

The way the score is calculated is hidden from the public

I mean…technically, I guess, the specific parameters are hidden? But the meaningful actions - the ways in which you can improve your score - are extremely clearly advertized.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly a passionate advocate for the system - but it’s nowhere near as obfuscated as people claim. And if you accept the premise that there needs to be some algorithmic way to evaluate someone’s creditworthiness, “their past reliability in repaying debts” is a pretty reasonable choice.

Yes, the same EU. The fact that it’s considering some poor choices doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s actions thus far have been positive and deserve appreciation. Real Life doesn’t split people neatly into heroes and villains.

Do a multitude of automated posts without comments and conversation really count as activity?

Yes, absolutely. Posts are activity just as much as comments - arguably even more so, since Lemmy is not immune to Reddit’s flaw of having a hundred comments saying essentially the same thing. Some subreddits have insightful comments that are worthwhile in-and-of themselves - but they are few and far between.

I very much appreciate the perspective, thank you!

Respectfully (truly - not the shitty Internet trolling version of it), it is very confusing to me that the right to bear arms would be a factor in this decision. My perception is that 2A rights are prized precisely because they offer protection against a government that is overstepping bounds or acting dishonestly/aggressively. In this hypothetical situation where you’re moving to a country where the government is acting in a way that you approve of so much that you want to immigrate there - why do you need a gun? Is it as a safety net in case the government changes, or as a symbolic exercise of a right that you value even without practical applications, or for some other reason?

Genuine question, I would love to understand this viewpoint (which is, to me, very foreign - I’ve never been under any illusion that my ownership of a gun would have any effect if the government seriously decided to do something to me)

Ah, a fellow VX Junkie?

Things that are opposites are not, in fact, the same.

I got into a discussion about this on the TheGoodPlace subreddit before I left. You’ve hit the nail on the head there - it’s not possible for you to get bored, listless, frustrated, unfulfilled, etc. in a perfect paradise, because then it wouldn’t be perfect. If you’re imagining those effects, then the paradise you’re imagining isn’t a perfect one, and so is irrelevant to discussions about a perfect one.

A slightly more interesting discussion is “I, as I am now, dislike the thought of becoming a pleasure-zombie in the future. It makes me uncomfortable now to consider being motivationless and content in the future” - which, sure, fine, ok. Sounds like internalized protestant work ethic to me (“I don’t deserve to be happy unless I’m working hard, and I only know that I’m working hard if I’m miserable”), but at least it’s not logically irrelevant like the first argument.

The most interesting version is “I don’t see a continuous line of consciousness between me and the hypothetical-future-me who lives in bliss, so there’s no reason for me to be concerned with their fate - they’re not really me” - which is pretty subjective depending on your views of continuity of identity.

Arguments about the definitions of Communism or Property aside - yes, my farm. As in, the one I work on. The possessive pronoun, despite the name, sometimes connotes association rather than ownership - I do not own my school, my country, my street or (despite what Republicans might wish) my wife.

Gamers are the only people who complain when something is improved for them for free.

That ending was such a cop-out

I hear you, but given that my “lunchtime” could be anywhere between 11:00 and 15:00 (and that’s not even allowing for timezones), that’s pretty impractical.

Plus your PiHole into your router via Ethernet net, this is very important. It guarantees it will get an IP address.

Are you suggesting that Wifi-connected devices don’t get IP Addresses?

There is nothing inherently wrong with DLC, and I’m tired of pretending that there is. If you think the base game is over-priced, then by all means complain about that - but if both the base game and the DLC are worth the price they’re asking for it, then there is no harm done (and some advantage) in having modular buying options.

GitHub, got it.

I also choose this guy’s retirement package.

The arm one is dumb because I’ve seen people with unwashed hands grab it

So? If I can manipulate it with my sleeved arm (thus keeping my hands clean), it’s still working pretty well. Sure, I’d prefer not to have my sleeve contact something that someone’s unwashed hands have been on, but better that than my hand.

Gentlemen! My fellow whites! Let’s raise a glass to this pyramid of money. The foundation of which was built upon our favorite pastime: f*cking the poor!

I wonder if those same people would think the guy who delivered the series’ opening monologue was the good guy?