gatesvp

@gatesvp@mstdn.ca

https://mstdn.ca/@gatesvp
Software Eng, prev @Roblox. @Quora top writer

D&D DM

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

britt, to random
@britt@mstdn.games avatar

My Logi Pro Wireless mouse has been stuttering lately (on mouse press) and I cannot quite figure out how to fix it. Ugh.

I’ve had it about 5 years now, I hope I don’t need to replace it. 😩

gatesvp,

@britt What have you tried?

I've definitely repaired a couple of mice in my time via disassembly and clean.

mike, (edited ) to random
@mike@thecanadian.social avatar

I've said it a thousand times, corporate stock buy backs should be illegal. Just watched an interview with Sully Sullenburger re the situation at Boeing.
"They spent a lot of money on stock buybacks instead of re-investing in safety and engineering"

Stock buybacks were at one time illegal because it creates an artificial market environment. It's insider trading on steroids. Governments everywhere need to stop abdicating their regulatory responsibilies. It's literally killing people.

gatesvp,

@mike

I don't think you're wrong about the way stock buybacks are treated. But I don't think outright bans are actually possible.

When a company issues stock they are issuing debt. They need to be allowed to pay off that debt. That's the stock buyback.

I agree that we need better outcomes from stock buybacks. But we probably need other options.

E.G.: executive compensation of stock should be delayed by 5 years, anyone involved in a buyback decision cannot directly benefit from it.

gatesvp, to animals

Copper is our brand new Aussie Labradoodle.

Here he is at 10 weeks proudly showing off the stick he found. He firmly believes that all humans are friends.

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

“What trick is our minds playing on us that we can’t feel hopeful?” asks The Atlantic, in a manner both morally and grammatically incorrect

gatesvp,

@seachanger I was posting about housing prices relative to median incomes just a few days ago. It kind of evolves into a simple math experiment about how people's entire working income is basically spoken for without meeting all of their material needs.

I don't know that everyone has done the detailed math, but I do believe that most people's mental accounting has figured this out. And that destroys hopefulness.

https://mstdn.ca/@gatesvp/112019203275013242

pluralistic, to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

Hard to overstate how enshittified and botshitted Google Maps has become. Went looking for my local locksmith on Gmaps. Maps shows 20+ fake locksmith referral scam outlets and doesn't even register the real locksmith, despite it being fully visible in Street View.

Instead, a red pin on the shop identifies it as a fake locksmith scammer. The real locksmith - which has been there SINCE 1942 (!!) and is a verified merchant - doesn't even show up.

Google Maps, showing the storefront for Golden State Lock as an empty building.

gatesvp,

@pluralistic

When we talk about managing disinformation, it often devolves into fights around "left vs right". Or "people being silenced". But I think the examples here and throughout the replies actually make this a much better use case for discussing responsibility.

I know that we all want to fight fake news, but we should probably start by trying to fight fake addresses and fake businesses. At least that would start to establish baseline societal expectations in a non-partisan way.

polotek, to random
@polotek@social.polotek.net avatar

Last week was my first time really looking into what settings are available to admins who run their own instance. I was a bit surprised to find there isn't much there. At least through masto.host. I don't think they hide settings though. Only some of the deeper technical stuff.

gatesvp,

@b0rk @polotek

I've seen this several times over the last year. It's definitely not designed for single user instances. That may not be explicit in the docs, but the core design choices make it obvious.

But the core Mastodon product has a dozen people working on it. I don't know that fixing this is really going to crack the top 10 list of work items. 🤷‍♂️

stephanie, to random
@stephanie@ottawa.place avatar

Hey all! If you were following Phoenix Serenity, just know that she is fine (still recovering), but she had to block the entire instance.

Some things said about her, and some of her posts being targeted by the admin, had someone call the police on her for terrorism, and she doesn't feel safe anymore having her posts federated with mstdn.ca.

Thankfully, nothing she said was against the law and the police left quickly. But you all know how these interactions between POC and the police can go. It's always terrifying.

If you want to keep her in your contacts, it will be from another instance.

gatesvp,

@stephanie thanks for the heads up

vaurora, to random
@vaurora@wandering.shop avatar
gatesvp,

@clive @vaurora

I have not seen that show in well over a decade. Yet somehow, deep in the recesses of my brain, I remember that scene.

shekinahcancook, (edited ) to geopolitics
@shekinahcancook@babka.social avatar

By refusing to tax corporations, and refusing to raise the cap on income that is taxable for Social Security, the republicans are purposefully trying to bankrupt the US.

Corporate taxes should be at least as much as individual income taxes, if not moreso.

And there is absolutely no excuse for cutting social safety net programs when corporations clearly are not paying anywhere near their fair share of taxes. Not even close.

It's a scam.

gatesvp,

@Bargdaffy @shekinahcancook @FantasticalEconomics

And yet, the current Chair of the Fed is urging some restraint and "adult discussions". So the successor to the people you're quoting is worried. Despite being fully aware of what those predecessors have said.
https://fortune.com/2024/02/05/national-debt-unsustainble-fed-chair-jerome-powell-jamie-dimon-ray-dalio-warn/

It is technically true that the fed and the US government could "inflate away" the debt repayment problems. But that's not the point. US debt is at the center of a complex financial web, not to be treated lightly.

gatesvp,

@shekinahcancook @Bargdaffy @FantasticalEconomics

The previous chair of the reserve, Janet Yellen, is now the Treasury Secretary.

She is in fact spearheading the push for a Global Minimum Corporate Tax.
https://www.reuters.com/business/yellen-says-us-aims-move-ahead-with-global-minimum-corporate-tax-despite-setback-2022-07-16/

We can argue separately about whether or not 15% is enough. But this is a lot more than "nothing" and it's currently much higher than your bar of "never".

gatesvp,

@shekinahcancook @FantasticalEconomics

The Wikipedia write-up here is pretty extensive:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_minimum_corporate_tax_rate

There's an entire section covering that exact problem. In simple terms, if tax below 15% is reported anywhere, then taxation rights move to the next group in the chain. If you do business with any of the 126 signatories, you will pay taxes in at least one of them.

clive, to random
@clive@saturation.social avatar

Your reading for today:

🎭 the text of "Romeo and Juliet" converted to a greyscale PNG: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/01/compressing-text-into-images/?utm_source=clivethompson&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=linkfest-17-medieval-fighting-snails-loud

❌ tic-tac-toe machine-learning device made from 304 matchboxes: https://boingboing.net/2009/11/02/mechanical-computer.html?utm_source=clivethompson&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=linkfest-17-medieval-fighting-snails-loud

💅 would you trust a manicure robot? https://says.com/my/tech/robot-salon-quality-manicures-nimble-beauty?utm_source=clivethompson&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=linkfest-17-medieval-fighting-snails-loud

From my latest "Linkfest" newsletter, read the whole dang thing here: https://buttondown.email/clivethompson/archive/linkfest-17-medieval-fighting-snails-loud/

gatesvp,

@clive so much wonderful stuff here. I really list an hour reading.

00Aaron, to random
@00Aaron@social.coop avatar

Though the media prefers to characterize them as bloodthirsty madmen, the Houthis are attacking shipping in the Red Sea as a direct response to the US-supported genocide in Gaza.

The US provided arms and intel to Saudi Arabia from 2015-2022, to fight the Houthis, but the Houthis still won.

Now, global trade is going to be massively impacted as the US again will try and fail to fend off an insurgency, which its own oppressive actions are responsible for.

https://apnews.com/article/red-sea-yemen-houthis-attack-ships-f67d941c260528ac40315ecab4c34ca3

gatesvp,

@00Aaron I was listening to The Economist talk about this very subject recently. Even the somewhat right leaning paper has taken the stance that Trump is dangerous for America and that Biden's current status as a 50/50 candidate is incredibly disappointing.

But they were not actually sure who to run in place of Biden. Who do you ramp up, in less than 300 days, what's going to win the sufficient number of votes in the swing states in order to secure the presidency?

And I'm not sure. Any ideas?

gatesvp,

@violetmadder @00Aaron according to the latest polling, the number one that people have with Biden is his age. Obviously it is a spurious argument because Trump would be equally ineligible. But voters are apparently not particularly rational 🙄

Sadly, this voter feedback means that Bernie Sanders is also ineligible as the presidential candidate. 🤷‍♂️

gatesvp,

@00Aaron @violetmadder

I mean, those are all great reasons to dislike Biden's presidency. But if you're angry about any of those results, you're certainly not voting for Trump as a way to fix those.

And that's kind of the fight that is happening.

The people the DEMs are trying to convince to vote for Biden are not those who are left of him, but those who are slightly right. Lefties are left out.

But this isn't really a traditional election either... /1

gatesvp,

@00Aaron @violetmadder like you're not picking a candidate based on some perceived values match or some other metrics. You are basically either voting for your last free and fair election or you're not.

One of the reporters I've heard discuss this said it best. This election is not about odds like the things we are discussing above. It's about stakes.

And what's at stake is really huge. //

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

I legitimately don't understand pride in where you were born or where you live. You had nothing to do with it, and probably your parents didn't either, most people move for economic reasons. At best, I guess, it makes sports more interesting, and at worst, it leads to genocide. If some places seem better than others the reason is usually money, better infrastructure, better schools, which is a whole other rant. Nothing wrong with enjoying the place you are, but feeling superiority about it, is just cringe.

gatesvp,

@JessTheUnstill @RickiTarr @colo_lee

I'm with Lee and Jess here.

I don't know if the metric is "good for society" as much as "meets a social need for competition in a non-violent way". Or at least in a way with limited and highly controlled violence.

So I don't think of it as "good" or "bad", but more of a mitigation of some human affectations.

18+ JonChevreau, to random

https://www.albertaprimetimes.com/amp/alberta-news/calgary-transforms-old-offices-to-apartments-experts-say-other-cities-should-follow-8067415

gatesvp,

@JonChevreau this is both great and terrible.

It's great that we're trusting this space. But man is it pricey.

"the $38-million conversion of an underused 10-storey office building into 112 residential apartment units"

That's $311k per unit. And that's just the conversion, not the finished price. Alberta median family income is $110k. So the final cost of this unit is well beyond the years of gross family income.

Calgary is offering $75/sq ft.
1000sq ft => $750k
Just to convert.

gatesvp,

@JonChevreau the journalist here obviously failed to ask a lot of important questions or we would have better details.

But at first glance, these are incredibly expensive downtown suites. Like, top 15% of incomes.

gatesvp, to random

@argv_minus_one @angiebaby @blogdiva

One of the craziest things about modern copyright law is that you actually get copyright without ever providing anyone a copy.

A video game company will assert copyright over code, but will never actually distribute that code. A streaming company will pull the show from all platforms, but then assert copyright. You can buy tractor or car that is irreparable because the technology on it is both copyrighted and unavailable to read.

clive, to random
@clive@saturation.social avatar

Here's Alvin and the Chipmunks singing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" ... except slowed down to 16 RPM:

https://soundcloud.com/alvin-thechipmunkson16sp/have-yourself-a-merry-little-christmas

Make sure to read all the listener annotations on the song's timeline 😅

gatesvp,

@clive laughing so much, than you for all of this.

manlycoffee, to meta
@manlycoffee@techhub.social avatar

I have previously expressed how much I am against the EEE argument, but considering that there is this linked post from someone who actually has experience with working at a company that does engage in EEE, I guess I should check my opinions about EEE at the door, shut up, and hear out the concerns from people.
https://mas.to/@andthisismrspeacock/111588768178247161

gatesvp,

@manlycoffee @thisismissem

Their thought process for how EEE works is correct, but it makes some assumptions about the situation:

"This is about meta intending to strip mine the Fediverse for new users and eyeballs"

Most of us already have Meta accounts in some way. We're not "new users" or "new eyeballs".

It assumes that the core Mastodon team is going to accept one way spec changes from FB.

It assumes that this change isn't driven by regulatory oversight or disgruntled creators... /1

ophiocephalic, to FediPact

With the Zuckerberg takeover impending, there's a lot of confusion circulating about the use of user-level and instance-level blocks, and how our online expressions can be secured against Meta. Everyone who objects to their accounts being mined by the Zuckerberg entity for data collection, AI ingestion, monetization, and possible ghost-profile building needs to understand this problem. Here's information to clarify.

Neither a user-level block, or an instance-level block, will protect our posts from Meta data-mining by default on a Mastodon instance. Posts won't be delivered directly, but can be ingested by other means; if, for example, users on Meta-federated instances boost them.

However, both user and instance blocks will totally prevent post delivery in all cases IF your host instance has enabled the functionality called Authorized Fetch.

By default, Authorized Fetch is off on Mastodon instances and most haven't turned it on. If this concern is important to you, you might want to respectfully reach out to your admins and let them know. Remember that they are working hard to provide and sustain online community at no charge. It's likely they won't be very familiar with it and will need time to look into it.

For more information on Authorized Fetch, check out this blog post by @brook : https://hub.sunny.garden/2023/06/28/what-does-authorized_fetch-actually-do/ Please untag Brook from replies unless you specifically intend to address him

#FediPact #DefederateMeta #Meta #Facebook #Threads #Instagram #AuthorizedFetch

gatesvp,

@wsrphoto @ophiocephalic @brook

I discuss this on a different thread, but it's important to start with the basis that there isn't just one "Facebook threat".

People are worried about lots of different things:

FB reading my content
FB advertising to me via people I follow
FB stealing my content without attribution
FB funneling targeted hate mobs
FB tracking my activity
FB controlling which content I see
etc.

Each of these concerns has different mitigations.

gatesvp,

@ophiocephalic @wsrphoto

Right, Authorized Fetch is one of the mitigations. But which of those concerns does it mitigate?

I listed 7 or so, but you added another one (ghost profiles), all using big words. And I think Scott is understandably confused. As are lots of people.

You're calling this the "Zuckerberg takeover", that's just a vague threat, not a "specific thing I don't want to happen".

If you want people to make active decisions shouldn't they know which threats they're mitigating?

evan, (edited ) to random
@evan@cosocial.ca avatar

So, here's a problem I have with Mastodon: let's say I make a post and someone replies with a racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic comment. I can block the commenter, but that only hides it for me. Other people who come to my page will see the comment, and believe that I tacitly condone that behaviour. I'd like to be able to delete the reply from my replies list entirely. Or at least hide replies from blocked accounts. And, yes, I know that wouldn't delete it from the originating server.

gatesvp,

@evan The challenge with this is that it can also be used by bad actors. Let us assume that we roll out the feature you have requested.

I am a bad actor spreading disinformation. You reply with a link to the corrected information. I delete your reply therefore ensuring that nobody who follows me can have their bubble pierced.

Better yet, I can reply to you and then Block some relevant replies. Leaving only enough to make you look like a bad actor.

And there's not a good audit trail for this.

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