KombatWombat

joined 2 years ago
[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

In case you were wondering:

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory monitors volcanic activity and does not consider an eruption imminent.

Interestingly, the buildup of magma causes the plateau to be uplifted by about 1 in. per year on average, which is one of the ways we monitor it. NASA studied how we could go about preventing an imminent eruption by cooling the magma, but another scientist said we could accidentally trigger it by trying. We may have to wait for something else for our next extinction event though. Yellowstone going off again soon would be a bit ahead of schedule.

Most of the other articles were just fleetingly topical to a conversation or book or something. Cymothoa exigua is interesting though. It's a fish parasite that severs the tongue of its host and effectively replaces it. I think I looked at it from another thread where people were posting their favorite deep sea animals.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

It's annoying that people are downvoting you just for asking an honest question. I think the anti-ai sentiment is strong enough that in many communities, people just oppose it in any context. The arguments I usually see against using ai are:

  1. It takes business away from actual human artists
  2. It takes a lot of energy, thereby contributing to climate change
  3. It is a privacy concern

All are real concerns, but I agree that making memes should be an effectively harmless use of it even if you otherwise oppose it. 1 and 3 aren't really applicable to your average meme. 2 could apply depending on how you measure it, but most of the cost of ai is from training, not generation. For someone using the tool and not developing it, that training is a sunk cost they are not responsible for. I've seen estimates that you can generate about 9 images with the energy it takes to fully charge a phone. I think that's more than worth it if you share it with a few other people to enjoy.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

Also 101% of the population is a Democrat or a Republican.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world -3 points 4 days ago

As bad as things are, most Americans are not living paycheck to paycheck. It looks like that 60% figure comes from a single survey from an online banking company in 2023. The Fed reports the majority of US adults have had at least 3 months of emergency savings every year since 2018.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

my ~~ducks~~ barn owl chicks? in a row. ordered. disciplined. behaving predictably.

your ~~ducks~~ kestrel chicks? scattered. in disarray. waddling aimlessly. desperate for a leader to impose structure.

pathetic.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Yeah they are $3.85 (before tax) for a pack of 4 from the Aldi near me. And they taste good too. Of course they are going to be more expensive at a restaurant, but that's true for nearly everything.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 42 points 1 week ago (6 children)

I'm always surprised to hear people unimpressed with others on dating apps. A couple of my friends have shared their "feeds" and I was struck by how many good-looking people are out there. But they would swipe away from just the smallest turn-offs becoming deal breakers. Like if I saw these people in real life, I would think of them as average looking at worst, many being remarkably attractive. This is in the 20s to mid 30s range like the tweet. I definitely understand deciding you're incompatible based on politics or religion or culture but most of the time it would be for minor quirks. It felt like they were spoiled for choice in my eyes.

But then again, they're in serious long term relationships with conventionally attractive and supportive partners now so maybe being picky pays off. At the time, their reluctance to settle was a very frustrating experience for them.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

In America, literally 99% of livestock is factory farmed. Here, the idea of animals living a life that is anything but miserable on a farm is largely a myth. If you don't expressly know how the livestock animal that was used for meat was treated, you can safely presume it was tortured.

People are demonstrably ok with animals being mistreated. They continually endorse the abuse in the industry when there are other options available to them. It is simply not important enough to people for them to bother changing their behavior.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

There is an unstuck button. It's in the bottom left if you hit esc iirc. I've used it a few times.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I second this. I am in a similar position as OP and now I donate to a fund through GiveWell (which is used by many people engaged in EA) directly since the start of this year. If you want your money to do the most good, look into them. They research and audit all kinds of charities and publish their findings on their site.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

How is this a short history of liberalism? Historically, the liberal nations beat the fascist ones.

If this is in reference to Trump, then that's an ongoing fight. Judges are generally doing what they can to stop his actions, even those appointed by Trump, to his chagrin. Given his rapid dip in popularity and historical trends, I would also expect Republicans to fare worse in Congress in the mid term election, meaning we can expect more pushback there too. Maybe even proper impeachment, but that might be too much to hope for right now. But I view it as a sign that the liberal system is working that he keeps running into checks and balances issues.

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