SlamDrag

joined 2 years ago
[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I see what you mean, but I also believe that the value of places like Beehaw often lies in the intermediary stage before they become an institution or wither away and die.

Right now Beehaw is pretty close to the peak of what it can be. It's the equivalent of a large online block party. If it gets bigger than this it will need to institionalize or wither away. What you're asking is for it to institionalize sooner than is necessary, which is what will kill the feeling.

Beehaw has a lifespan to it, we should all recognize this now. Beehaw is great because it runs on good faith and trust. These are limited resources and they'll run out eventually, either sell out or burn out.

The best way to approach it is to put into it what you get out of it, and stop putting into it when you stop getting value out of it.

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

Very happy with it. $400 MSRP feels right, I don't think I would feel so positively if it was more. I'm on vacation right now and using it a lot to wind down in the evenings.

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago

The Bible as lame as it is to say. Particularly Ecclesiastes and Job. Absolutely brilliant, beautiful, full of humanity.

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

Poorly written essay title. She's not rewriting Nazi history on WP, she's correcting Wikipeda to be in line with current historical consensus.

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Damn, that's awful. How allergic? Like anaphylaxis?

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

This is just using a digital solution to an analog problem for no real gain in efficiency. In theoryland sure, you can replace books with ereaders and possibly save money. And at certain levels of education this works out, middle/high school. In earlier levels, there are two issues. One, kids break things. Cheaper to replace a book than an ereader. Two, kids associate the tablet form factor with entertainment. Kids rely a lot on symbols for interpreting the world. It's hard to get them into education mode when the symbol on front of them puts them into entertainment mode. Books signify learning, it helps the kids get into the right headspace.

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

No, getting rid of smartphones in classrooms is the only way to actually teach critical thinking. Using devices in classrooms teaches kids that all the answers are on Google and that they don't need to think, only search.

Google/wikipedia is an incredibly useful tool, but before you learn to use them you first need to be taught basics. The scientific method is the first things kids need to learn: how to observe the world around them, form ideas of how it works, test those ideas, change them based on further observation. This kind of reasoning is sabotages when the kid learns that if they just use Google they can get the answer without learning how to do the work.

Takes like yours generally come from a place of well-meaning but are far removed from the actual reality of the classroom. Kids need to learn first how to figure out information in the real world hands-on before they are introduced to the abstract digital world.

You actually can successfully ban devices in the classroom through a variety of methods.

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Twitter isn't and never was useful as an organizing tool. Arab spring was a failure. Twitter is actually more useful to the ruling class than not because it gives a way for the masses to expend it's restless energy without changing anything.

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 9 points 2 years ago

I use vanilla gnome. Dead simple, no nonsense, gets out of my way. Perfect DE for me.

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

One of the other interesting twin cities facts is that we have a very large theater scene, one of the biggest in the nation outside NYC.

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago

You should think about Minneapolis. The winters are gnarly, but very few climate change related problems on the horizon, reasonable cost of living, one of the most bike friendly cities in the U.S.

[–] SlamDrag@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Switched recently and using Nvidia. It's a headache either way but I've had less issues with Wayland than x11.

 

A master class in close reading, and a towering analysis of novelist Thomas Pynchon. Really good piece for being an essay published in a relatively laid-back periodical.

 

Hello friends, if you'll allow me, I would like to rant for a moment about the state of dating in an urban setting.

I don't want to immediately say things were better decades ago, but as someone who is monogamous, vanilla, just wants a steady partner, it feels impossible to date with the current apps. I am in hobby groups, I'm on Bumble, Hinge etc., I meet new people. Yet I can't seem to find anyone. I'm despairing friends, I'm despairing.

I feel like I'm picking people off an algorithm. The room for surprise and delight has been cut off. Now there is only space for cold hard data. Lots of pretty people with good education and it's so hard to see them as people and not just another part of an ever growing list. Another dot in the scatter plot.

People who are in LTRs, how'd you find your partner? What keeps you together?

Other single folk, how are you finding dating to be in your current locale? What things have brought success or failure in your mind? How do you define success or failure?

 

The rock climbing community has long found itself at odds with park rangers. Very rarely intentionally! But today there is a silent battle between a small group of climbers trying to reform the wilderness act to allow fixing permanent anchors to rock in the wilderness.

The use of fixed anchors, also called bolting, makes routes far more accessible to the average sport climber. Without fixed anchors, climbers must build their own removable anchors on the wall as they climb (called "trad climbing"). This is difficult enough that the majority of climbers won't do it, only the dedicated few. While fixed anchors in themselves do not have an environmental impact, any route that gets bolted in the wilderness will undoubtedly see a large increase in human activity that would harm the local flora and fauna. The Protect America's Rock Climbers act is a misnomer at best, lie at worst. There are already hundreds of bolted rocks within the US, with more than enough sport climbing to last anyone a lifetime. Furthermore, if anyone wishes to climb in the wilderness, they are allowed to, provided they are dedicated enough to climb it in the trad style. It is far more important to protect the wilderness that we have left than it is to create a few more pretty rock climbing routes.

 

Janja Garnbret took Gold this weekend in her second tournament back after her break due to a toe injury. She had a very emotional final boulder, it was an almost impossibly good tournament for her. As the greatest female climber of all time, the pressure is immense. Every time she gets on stage she performs at the highest level. It is not just her peaks that make her incredible, it is her incredible consistency. No one was quite sure how good she would be after her long break, and many were wondering if the era of Janja's dominance was over after she finished second in Prague.

As it turns out, rumors of Janja's demise were greatly exaggerated.

 

New Hoffman video dropped. Not sure if we have any 3rd wave coffee lovers in this community. I've been an avid AeroPress user for about two years now and it will be interesting to see where the company goes, though it will likely not affect me as this thing feels nigh indestructible and I can likely use it for ten years with no issues.

 

My favorite breakout climber of this year, Oriane Bertone, has won her first gold medal in a Boulder World Cup. Notably, she won her first gold medal while up against Janja Garnbret, who is widely considered to be the greatest women climber of all time (she took silver in this competition). Truly a notable achievement!

On the Men's side of the tournament, Prague was Adam Ondra's first tournament of the year. Adam is the greatest sport climber of all time, being the first person in the world to ascend a sport route with a grade of 9c, which as of today remains unrepeated. Adam had been focused on finding first ascents of outdoor routes, but is returning to competitions to prepare for the Olympics where he hopes to bring home a gold medal.

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