FredPret

49 ms·

721.
by FredPret 2y ago
Stock investment can drive economic and technical development, which only needs to stop with the heat death of the universe. This particular stock was a massive bubble though.
722.
by FredPret 2y ago
For an lengthy but amazing alternate-reality account of same (and much... much more), check out Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle
723.
by FredPret 2y ago
Public debt is more like a brake that gets worse and worse really slowly over time. And then it suddenly explodes - more and more of the budget goes to interest payments instead of procurement. At one point the government has to borrow to m
724.
by FredPret 2y ago
100% - he calmly explains various approaches and their tradeoffs. He’s not exactly a traditional journalist, but this is what I want the future of journalism to be like. People with subject matter expertise explaining their thing simply and
725.
by FredPret 2y ago
For interest’s sake, what other metrics do you find most valuable?
726.
by FredPret 2y ago
What? How do you meet these clients in the first place? How do you get them to answer their phone? How do you get word-of-mouth if you’re just starting out? Edit: reduced level of snark
727.
by FredPret 2y ago
I do - I think the effect on Meta’s ad revenue is nil. Advertisers measure ad campaigns by ROAS (return on ad spend). This is driven by actual dollars spent, cutting out all bots right away. Clicks / views / comments are irrelevan
728.
by FredPret 2y ago
Local authorities are involved. Sounds like the only outside initiative that will help is Seal Team 6.
729.
by FredPret 2y ago
I build my transaction list in Excel and then export that to .beancount with a very simple script. You could do the same with sql except even easier. That gives me the benefits of Fava and all the other PTA tools as well.
730.
by FredPret 2y ago
"Culture fit"
731.
by FredPret 2y ago
These are interesting points. It’s worth noting that in the 90’s, the US won the cold war, and also the same generation has been in charge since then. Why change things? The next crop of leaders will likely be much younger, and you’ll see n
732.
by FredPret 2y ago
China in 1990 was a poverty-stricken, hungry backwater, following a philosophy that just bankrupted their richer big brother. Ideological change was needed. By contrast, the US system of capitalism + democracy is not only blowing the rest o
733.
by FredPret 2y ago
In short, Google bureacratized them almost to death over Google Drive access, and then offered up a solution where they pay KPMG for an annual audit. But the audit would cost them two months of revenue, every year. So: > So, as of today,
734.
by FredPret 2y ago
You don't like free markets and you cite semi-governmental-department Boeing and too-big-to-fail-gets-bailed-out-every-time banks and auto companies as an example? You'll find free marketeers everywhere complain about these exact
735.
by FredPret 2y ago
But an AI is a great candidate to annotate the .txt
736.
by FredPret 2y ago
There are creatures here on earth that would fit the bill if they evolved differently: - monkey - dry-land octopus - eagle with four claws (perch on the back two and handle things with the front two) - big raccoon (yikes!) - big spider - ho
737.
by FredPret 2y ago
Democratize the invasion of privacy! In all seriousness, your point about Beijing and London makes sense - the horse has bolted on public filming, so every citizen having an always-on camera is probably the best and most likely outcome.
738.
by FredPret 2y ago
To lose your privacy, you first have to have not already lost it. You're likely on camera right now! If you have a smartwatch, there's a company out there that knows every breath you take, and every move you make. Might as well ge
739.
by FredPret 2y ago
If by "the rest" you mean complex life, sure. If you mean "aliens" that speak English with an accent but look suspiciously like human actors in funny hats... well, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief.
740.
by FredPret 2y ago
Correct me if I'm wrong but is this (panspermia) the justification given in the Star Trek canon of why all the aliens have two arms, two legs, can speak, and speak English? Regardless, it'd be extremely cool to have some distant c
741.
by FredPret 2y ago
IBM needs help, and cutting costs isn't the answer. Their revenue has been falling for a decade now [0] I don't even know what it is that they sell anymore. I wonder if they do. Also, I found this paragraph interesting: > &quot
742.
by FredPret 2y ago
It certainly would be, but take a look at his so-called blog before you comment. It's actually a giant website with numerous applets and interactive doodads.
743.
by FredPret 2y ago
If an organism can survive a hydrogen peroxide bath, all our other sterilization methods, then a multi-year space trip bathed in UV rays and general radiation, then re-entry into Europa, and then proceeds to colonize that world... it deserv
744.
by FredPret 2y ago
Maybe the problem is not enough space exploration. People need to be inspired. To live for a larger purpose
745.
by FredPret 2y ago
Yup, but on a tiny scale - 1 square meter instead of 1 hectare at a time: https://farm.bot It's a converted CNC router machine with cameras and water and weeding attachments. Though I'm sure you can mount a big version
746.
by FredPret 2y ago
"Dumped orange peel" from the title is really 12k tons of orange peel
747.
by FredPret 2y ago
The deep fried chicken cutlet from 7-11 for $1 is everything I want in a retail establishment
748.
by FredPret 2y ago
"What's your mother's maiden name?" "42_red_banana_&"
749.
by FredPret 2y ago
Very cool. For more like this, check out this lecture series: https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/the-evidence-for-modern-... It's by a guy called Don Lincoln and it's about how we established things like the exis
750.
by FredPret 2y ago
On my recent first trip to Japan, I couldn't believe the number and quality of 7-Elevens/Family Marts/Lawsons. You're never more than a five-minute walk from one in Tokyo, and they've got good stuff.

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