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1 month agoAn iOS front end app for piefed
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Joined 3 years ago
Cake day: June 18th, 2023
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It renders in Obsidian but not Blorp
https://www.markdownguide.org/cheat-sheet/
==Important text == can be highlighted. I actually didn’t know about this one
Here’s a sentence with a footnote. [1]
This is the footnote. ↩︎
1·1 month agoThat’s my main use for LLMs
- I write the code logic, the main argument points, etc
- let the LLM lint, format and structure the discussion
- I provide another round of copy editing, styling and other updates
14·1 month agoThe casting changes announced on Netflix’s support page do not explain why the feature has been removed. It follows a similar move in 2019 when Netflix removed AirPlay support, citing a desire to “ensure our standard of quality for viewing is being met.” We have reached out to Netflix for comment.
Three likely reasons:
- The app bundles have different viewing session tracking features. This could make it easier to combine the streaming device’s behavior tracking with the TV’s tracking.
- It’s more challenging to use a VPN on a streaming device compared to a phone.
- Phones move around, while streaming devices don’t, this further limits the ability to share accounts.
2·2 months agoHuh. TIL Slavic languages don’t have a definite article.
So it’s this grammatical mess of Germanic definite articles attached to a Slavic word and the outcome is politically fraught
The Ukrainian embassy says that
The Ukraineis both grammatically and politically incorrect. 🤷🏻♀️
Similar for
The Ukrainewhich means “the frontier” in Russian and evokes the history of Muscovite imperialism over their frontier states
Not that interesting of an origin story. Just an old stock comment from the early 2000s that lives on
3·2 months ago300 feet of Cat6 is within spec. Trench to 18”, put in conduit, terminate in a NEMA box and you should be good
Fiber is finicky for an average person to manage. Honestly I’d rather run coax before fiber, especially if it’s not a high demand area
At what point does John Roberts grow a sense of decency?
Free Churro (Bojack Horseman S05E06) is essentially a 20 minute monologue/eulogy from bojack as he struggles to come to terms with his mother’s death
8·2 months agoI had an issue with the fans on mine. Went through steam support for some troubling steps and eventually had to send it in for repair.
~$160 for the repair, but issue is resolved.
8·2 months agoI had a binder full of moves for my level 8 barbarian.
If you really enjoyed the nuance of
spin in a circle with two one-handed weaponsas a distinct Action from `swing one weapon really hard in a circle” it was a great system.If you just want to play role playing game with some combat, it was a terrible system
Clothes line in the bathroom or balcony or fire escape or outside.
You can also get upright racks to hang on that can be put away when not in use
1·3 months agoWe can make an argument about net expenditures.
Is the US carrying too much of the burden? If that is true AND the US wants to reduce its spending, then other nations need to increase theirs to keep the net expenditure close to before.
Let’s hand wave discussions on waste in procurement (a big issue for the US DOD). Same as we’ll hand wave the veteran benefits portion of expenditures.
If we don’t see that commensurate expenditure, then what becomes of the NATO security guarantee?
We can’t be naive enough to expect all adversaries to make similar reductions in their military spending.
3·3 months agoI second looking at prize lists. I read the Booker Prize longlist every year. They’re not always my favorite, but I like to consume what makes the list.
You can also check out book lists from more respected sources than “the most popular books on Amazon”. New York Review of Books is a source. Or the NYT/WaPo book reviews.
A selection of my favorite books
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (literary fiction): Two friends build a hit video game together, exploring love, creativity, and the blurry line between life and play over decades of partnership.
- Gnomon by Nick Harkaway (science fiction, speculative): A dazzling labyrinth of nested narratives in a near-future surveillance state where truth, memory, and identity intertwine through a mysterious death investigation.
- Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez (horror, literary gothic): A grieving father with occult ties and his son flee an Argentine cult seeking immortality, blending family drama with cosmic horror and political dread.
- **Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park ** (literary fiction, speculative history): A kaleidoscopic alternate history of Korea, identity, and diaspora, mixing espionage, pop culture, and myth into an ambitious, surreal tapestry.
- The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard (speculative fiction): In a valley where neighboring towns exist decades apart in time, a young clerk faces a moral dilemma that could alter her fate and those she loves.
- You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue (historical fiction, magical realism): A lush reimagining of the 1519 meeting between Hernán Cortés and Moctezuma, merging myth, power, and the surreal chaos of first contact.
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (fantasy, philosophical fiction): A man named Piranesi inhabits a vast, mysterious house filled with endless halls and statues, slowly uncovering secrets about reality and himself.
- The River by Peter Heller (literary thriller, adventure): Two college friends on a canoe trip through the Canadian wilderness face a deadly wildfire and a sinister encounter that tests their bond and survival.
- The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (post-apocalyptic fiction): After a flu pandemic, a pilot and his dog live in isolation near an airfield until a radio signal hints at other survivors — and the risk of hope.
- The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher (horror, dark fantasy): Cleaning her late grandmother’s house, a woman discovers a nightmarish manuscript and a terrifying world lurking just beyond the edge of reality.
Looking at just combatant deaths:
Conflict Country / Side Years Active Total Military Deaths Duration (Days) Deaths per Day (Avg.) Approx. Troops Engaged Deaths per 1,000 Troops (Full War) Relative Intensity (U.S. in Vietnam = 1×) WWII – European Theater USSR (Red Army) 1941–1945 ~8,700,000 ~1,410 ≈6,170/day ~34,000,000 ~255 ≈310× WWII – European Theater Germany (Wehrmacht) 1941–1945 ~4,300,000 ~1,410 ≈3,050/day ~17,000,000 ~250 ≈150× Vietnam War North Vietnam (PAVN + VC) 1965–1975 ~600,000–800,000 ~3,650 ≈165–220/day ~3,000,000 ~230 ≈8–11× Vietnam War South Vietnam (ARVN) 1965–1975 ~250,000–313,000 ~3,650 ≈70–85/day ~850,000–1,000,000 ~280 ≈4× Vietnam War United States 1965–1973 58,220 ~2,920 ≈19.9/day ~2,700,000 ~21 1× (baseline) Soviet–Afghan War USSR 1979–1989 14,453 ~3,330 ≈4.3/day ~620,000 ~23 0.2× Soviet–Afghan War Afghan Mujahideen 1979–1989 ~75,000–90,000 ~3,330 ≈23–27/day ~250,000–300,000 ~300 ≈1–1.3× U.S.–Afghan War United States 2001–2021 2,461 ~7,270 ≈0.34/day ~775,000 (rotated) ~3 0.017× U.S.–Afghan War Afghan National Forces 2001–2021 ~66,000 ~7,270 ≈9/day ~300,000 ~220 ≈0.45× U.S.–Afghan War Taliban & Insurgents 2001–2021 ~52,000–60,000 ~7,270 ≈7–8/day ~200,000–250,000 ~250 ≈0.35× Now look at combatants and civilians:
Conflict Country / Side Years Active Military Deaths Civilian Deaths Duration (Days) Total Deaths/Day (Avg.) Approx. Troops / Population Affected Relative Intensity (U.S. in Vietnam = 1×) WWII – European Theater USSR (Red Army + Civilians) 1941–1945 ~8,700,000 ~15,000,000 ~1,410 ≈16,900/day ~34M troops / 110M pop ≈850× WWII – European Theater Germany (Wehrmacht + Civilians) 1941–1945 ~4,300,000 ~3,800,000 ~1,410 ≈5,750/day ~17M troops / 70M pop ≈290× Vietnam War North Vietnam (PAVN + VC + Civilians) 1965–1975 ~600,000–800,000 ~1,000,000 ~3,650 ≈440–500/day ~3M troops / 17M pop ≈22–25× Vietnam War South Vietnam (ARVN + Civilians) 1965–1975 ~250,000–313,000 ~1,000,000 ~3,650 ≈340–360/day ~1M troops / 18M pop ≈17× Vietnam War United States 1965–1973 58,220 N/A ~2,920 ≈19.9/day ~2.7M troops 1× (baseline) Soviet–Afghan War USSR 1979–1989 14,453 N/A ~3,330 ≈4.3/day ~620,000 0.2× Soviet–Afghan War Afghan Mujahideen + Civilians 1979–1989 ~75,000–90,000 ~850,000–1,000,000 ~3,330 ≈280–330/day ~15–17M pop ≈14–17× U.S.–Afghan War United States 2001–2021 2,461 N/A ~7,270 ≈0.34/day ~775,000 0.017× U.S.–Afghan War Afghan National Forces + Civilians 2001–2021 ~66,000 ~46,000 ~7,270 ≈15/day ~35M pop ≈0.7× U.S.–Afghan War Taliban & Insurgents 2001–2021 ~52,000–60,000 – ~7,270 ≈7–8/day ~200,000–250,000 ≈0.35× So now let’s look at the Vietnam war and military expenditure for each side:
Country / Side Years Active Estimated Military Expenditure (1965–1975) Approx. 2025 USD (Inflation-Adjusted) Military Deaths Combatant Deaths per $1B (2025 USD) Notes United States 1965–1973 ~$141 billion (nominal) ≈$1.3 trillion (2025 USD) 58,220 ≈45 deaths per $1B Includes DoD + support spending; excludes veterans’ costs North Vietnam (PAVN + VC) 1965–1975 ~$4.6 billion (nominal, incl. Soviet/Chinese aid) ≈$43 billion (2025 USD) ~700,000 ≈16,000 deaths per $1B Relied heavily on foreign aid and low-cost mobilization Metric Result Meaning Expenditure ratio (U.S. ÷ N. Vietnam) ≈30× U.S. spent ~30× more than North Vietnam Combat deaths ratio (N. Vietnam ÷ U.S.) ≈12× North Vietnam suffered ~12× more combat deaths Cost-per-death ratio (U.S. ÷ N. Vietnam) ≈350× U.S. spent ~350× more dollars per soldier killed Interpretation:
- North Vietnam traded manpower for resources, accepting high losses.
- The U.S. used capital- and technology-intensive warfare.
- Despite enormous expenditure, asymmetric strategy and morale offset the imbalance.
Tie it all together… in total war against a near peer, casualty rates are significantly higher. 50x for the Red Army in WWII, 17x for the Wehrmacht.
In asymmetric war, casualty rates are lower overall. And total GDP expenditure is significantly lower.
I don’t want to ignore the human cost here. But we’re talking about specific quantifiable metrics here, not the emotional trauma
Best I’ve found in the US are Glerups