listic

Karma: 313

I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser Gate… Forget that.

I’ve been working in the large gas power plant, a sprawling monster creeping over a city, large enough to power some European nations. A lake is kept warm in winter with just effluent waters. Everywhere you look in the city you can see traces of it. At any given time there’s always something breaking or leaking somewhere. It looks like it can break down at any moment. Yet the constant labour of thousands of workers always keeps power plant humming along. It’s an impressive feat of human engineering.

listic Jan 11, 2015, 9:41 PM
−1 points
in reply to: gothgirl420666’s comment on: Negative polyamory outcomes?
polyamorous relationship with a “primary” would be a constant battle of sorts to ensure that I have a greater than or equal to number of dating prospects as my partner

Why would you want to do that? Don’t you have anything more useful to do with your life?

I look at this hypothetical situation like this:

Situation: I have only one partner who in turn has multiple partners.

Pros:
- I get to spend time with my partner while not needing to fulfill all of their needs.
Cons:
- I don’t get enough attention from my partner? But his can be discussed and negotiated. I may or may not pursue other partner(s) if I want to; no pressure on me here. Anyway, I’m better off having some of their attention rather than none or full attention of a grumpy partner and no possibility to pursue other partner(s) (the latter because my partner has other needs that I have trouble fulfilling; that’s what I would get in case of monogamy)
I don’t see any other problems here. Do you?

listic Jan 11, 2015, 9:27 PM
0 points
in reply to: Capla’s comment on: Overpaying for happiness?
My metabolism is not necessarily that different, but my rate of eating is. For whatever reason, I eat slowly; probably in 10% slowest eating humans. At one point, having a lunch break on my job, I was choosing a lunch on the basis of which food I could eat the fastest, so that I can manage to eat my lunch on time (mostly porridge, which is healthy, I guess).

listic Jan 11, 2015, 9:02 PM
2 points
on: 2015 Repository Reruns—Boring Advice Repository
Where would be a good place to discuss an old Boring Advice?

E.g. I have gave in and bought myself a smart phone last year, but the utility I derive from it is yet to turn positive. I should have been better off if I either allocated a significant portion of resources to learn using it properly, or not buy at all.

listic Jan 11, 2015, 8:57 PM
1 point
in reply to: beoShaffer’s comment on: 2015 Repository Reruns—Boring Advice Repository

⁸⁰⁄₂₀ tax law for your country

⁸⁰⁄₂₀ tax law.. what? Do you use ’80/20′ as a verb here?

listic Jan 3, 2015, 11:31 AM
0 points
in reply to: Capla’s comment on: Overpaying for happiness?
Sounds nice, but I’m afraid I would be eating all day if I would eat like this. And maybe even starve, still.

If the point is to get more enjoyment cheaply, for me this will turn out too expensive. I’m looking for ways to spend less time on eating, as it is. I’m pondering whether Soylent/Joylent/Abbott Ensure or other synthetic food as replacement for some of the meals will make my diet both healthier and faster.

listic Dec 7, 2014, 8:04 PM
2 points
in reply to: ArisKatsaris’s comment on: December 2014 Media Thread
Here’s an advent postcard I have received today in Fallen London:

“We’ve had our differences. But this is Christmas.

Best wishes, the Fallen London Probably Random Number Algorithm”

There was a pair of Devilbone Dice in the letter. I wonder what could they be good for?

Fallen London (formerly Echo Bazaar) is an alternative Victorian London with gothic and steampunk overtones”, according to Wikipedia.

It won an Escapist Magazine’s award for Browser-Based Game of 2009 (scroll to the end) and is, in fact, developed by the actual Londoners.

I am Listic in Fallen London.

I can send you an invite (listic.pony at gmail; not sure what an invite gets you, though) or you may register all by yourself, as it is a free-to-p(l)ay game.

listic Nov 5, 2014, 12:23 AM
3 points
in reply to: ArisKatsaris’s comment on: November 2014 Media Thread
Ice-Bound: A Novel of Reconfiguration is an upcoming indie game combining an iPad app and an augmented reality-enabled print book by Aaron A. Reed and Jason Garbe.

Ice-Bound is a novel about an AI recreation of a struggling writer, brought to life to finish his now-legendary novel. The player looks at the printed compendium via their iPad to unlock the hidden reality between the lines; at the same time the pages that the player shows to AI writer that ‘lives’ in the iPad determine the story that he will write.

It is running a Kickstarter campaign that ends today; all the funds will go towards a print run of the print book. The list of backers includes all the usual suspects of the tiny world of interactive fiction, which is kinda sad at the same time, as I believe this kind of project deserves wider publicity.

Help spread the word by upvoting: r/kickstarter, r/indiegames, and especially r/writing (look for post on ‘Upgrading prose’)

listic Oct 7, 2014, 2:02 AM
1 point
in reply to: ArisKatsaris’s comment on: October 2014 Media Thread
Pathologic—called a pandemic simulator, a game about battling death itsealf, the most nonconventional game of 2005 made by Russian Studio Ice-Pick Lodge, is running a Kickstarter campaign for the remake.

For those who don’t speak Russian, the hree-part article named ‘Butchering Pathologic’ by Quintin Smith on Rock, Paper, Shotgun (p. 2, p. 3) is recommended for acquaintance with the game. Yes, probably instead of playing the game itself, because the English translation it got was the one no game deserves, let alone this one. This time, with the remake, developers want to do it right.

LAST MOMENT NOTICE: Kickstarter campaign is ending today, 8 hours to go! (sorry)

listic Sep 3, 2014, 10:39 AM
10 points
on: Open thread, Sept. 1-7, 2014
There was an effort by some Less Wrong folks to experimentally prove the safety of lucid dreaming. Did this end with any conclusive results? Can I get in touch with you guys?

listic Jun 6, 2014, 10:03 PM
0 points
in reply to: D_Malik’s comment on: Open Thread, May 26 - June 1, 2014
I may have not stated what I wanted clearly. You seem to instruct me how to turn on the Bookmarks toolbar. That’s not what I wanted. I don’t use a Bookmarks toolbar in my browsers, as I don’t feel like its benefits outweigh the space occupied by it and added visual clutter. I thought you were offering a way to put a bookmarklet elsewhere than the Bookmarks toolbar and I was asking you how could I do it. I’m pretty sure I did put a bookmarklet in a menu in Firefox once (that thing that goes “File Edit View History Tools Help”), but I forgot how. Or, I could use an advice re: how to add a bookmarklet at all, even let’s say to a Bookmarks toolbar, as I never did it.

Thanks!

listic May 30, 2014, 12:01 AM
1 point
in reply to: Tenoke’s comment on: Open Thread, May 26 - June 1, 2014
```
fixed
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Not for me.

listic May 30, 2014, 12:01 AM
0 points
in reply to: D_Malik’s comment on: Open Thread, May 26 - June 1, 2014
How do I put bookmark in a toolbar? I would like to, as I don’t use Bookmarks Toolbar.

listic Apr 26, 2014, 9:45 PM
0 points
in reply to: Froolow’s comment on: The Cryonics Strategy Space
While some communities have enacted legislation allowing suicide with the assistance of a physician, any such case almost certainly would be followed by an autopsy which would include dissection of the brain.

I didn’t think about this. Still, I would look more into that scenario. I am not sure Alcor has properly investigated all the options here: there are many countries in the world and maybe some would allow suicide cryonics.

You do know that cryonics is not just dropping a body or a brain in liquid nitrogen, don’t you? Cellular damage in that scenario would be too high; while it’s not completely out of the question that future science will be able to restore someone frozen that way, cryonics tries to preserve the patient in as good condition as possible, which includes, in optimal case:
- Connect the patient to cardiopulmonary support as soon as possible, which realistically means as soon as legal death is proclaimed. (*)
- Slowly cool the body
- Replace blood with cryoprotectant
- Continue to slowly cool the body At some point the cardiopulmonary support can be disconnected.
Now, (*) is the main point that could use further optimization. As the things stand today, cryonicists are not allowed to do their thing with the body before legal death is proclaimed. They are lucky if the medical staff is supportive, relatives do not interfere and legal death is proclaimed quickly. But even in this scenario they could in principle act quicker, if they were allowed to. I think it is quite possible that Alcor did not see a reason to investigate in necessary detail the legal situation in the world regarding whether there exists such a country where one can do suicide cryonics and avoid autopsy. If they are not flexible enough, I think KrioRus just might. And if a cryonics company will open in China… who knows, maybe they will be more relaxed about euthanasia?

Russian native speakers wanted as editors (translating “Smarter Than Us”)

listicApr 24, 2014, 10:40 PM

10 points

0 comments1 min readLW link

listic Apr 22, 2014, 11:30 PM
2 points
in reply to: Kaj_Sotala’s comment on: Bostrom versus Transcendence
I keep wondering why, oh why can’t more of the film production teams hire a decent screenwriter (that’s the person who makes the story make sense, right)?

listic Apr 21, 2014, 12:42 PM
2 points
on: Open thread, 21-27 April 2014
I would like to learn drawing.

I would like to be able to have fun expressing myself via art. How long does it takes to learn to draw from zero to good enough not to be embarrassed of oneself?

What techniques are useful? Is there any sense in e.g. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain?

listic Apr 11, 2014, 8:16 PM
0 points
in reply to: listic’s comment on: Open Thread March 31 - April 7 2014
I often find myself underestimating the time it takes to accomplish certain tasks. E.g. I think “ok, I’ll send a couple of emails in 0.5 hours and move on to the bulk of the work” and it turns out it takes more like 5 hours, and not because I’m procrastinating; it actually takes me that much time to do it.

What about time-management? As far as I understand, GTD, while often described as time-management system, actually doesn’t help you manage time. As far as I understand Allen (I have one chapter left, and after that I plan to read the notes I downloaded in lieu of re-reading, because I still don’t understand what my GTD should consist of) his position can be described as

When you will have an external system containing all your projects and next tasks, you will be able to make decisions so efficient, that you won’t need to manage time”
1. Do I understand it right?
2. Do you feel you need a separate time management system in addition to GTD?

listic Apr 5, 2014, 8:58 PM
4 points
in reply to: VAuroch’s comment on: Group Rationality Diary, April 1-15
I want this one specifically, because it is as much of a computer as the one I currently do all my work on, plus a much more portable laptop, plus a tablet I can draw on.

I always wanted my computer to be as portable as possible, so that I could have no problem taking it with me anywhere. For me, that meant ThinkPad X series, which I happily own, and was thinking about getting a tablet version of. If you are not aware, research it: Lenovo, and IBM before that, was making all their ThinkPad X series computers available in tablet versions way before the recent tablet boom. I don’t know about all of them, but the recent models have Wacom digitizer (pressure sensor that recognizes the level of pressure, not just on/off, like modern touch screens). As far as I understand, you usually want that if you’re going to draw on your tablet , but it wouldn’t hurt otherwise. Now, this is a kind of tablet that I think I might actually use. I don’t own one because they are a bit heavier and bulkier, have a bit smaller battery life and narrower selection of batteries than their non-tablet counterparts. Also, they are very hard to find when used, and I bought my two previous laptops used.

I thought of switching to a X series tablet for a while, but this new Microsoft tablet represents a new level of portability: 0.9 kg without keyboard vs 1.6 for ThinkPad Yoga (The closest to X230t in current generation). It comes with the same Wacom digitizer and big stylus, has SmartCover-like detachable keyboard that you can really type on, dock station with all I/O and of course it, too, is an x86 computer to boot. I am going to run Ubuntu on it.

I imagine I could work on this machine connected to the docking station, wired network, monitor, external keyboard and mouse, as I do with my current notebook. In addition to this, I would have an option to detach it and take with me to continue doing the same stuff while away from home, connect it to a projector to give a presentation, show around my work-in-progress to friends in a cafe (did you try doing it with a laptop? I think a tablet might be much more convenient for showing stuff around), read something while standing on the bus or on the street, and finally draw on it. All while having access to my stuff and working setup simply by the fact that it is the same one computer that I use for everything.

Isn’t it great? I believe Microsoft Surface Pro are very misunderstood and under-appreciated devices. Probably people will going to love (the likes of) them more, when Apple will be making them; I think they are going to present something like this and call it iPad Pro, and it will be able to run iPad apps as well as Mac ones. Maybe this fall or winter; next year tops. It will wow the masses and everyone will want it, but I don’t live in the Apple ecosystem and I want one now already.

listic Apr 3, 2014, 10:53 PM
3 points
in reply to: [deleted]’s comment on: Open Thread March 31 - April 7 2014
The latter half of your question doesn’t require the former. Why do people help each other on forums? That’s why, I think.

listic Apr 3, 2014, 8:17 PM
0 points
in reply to: drethelin’s comment on: Open Thread March 31 - April 7 2014
I believe it’s called ‘lockscreen’ on any modern smartphone. HTC One mini is an Android phone. What smartphone do you have?

Actually, one of the reasons I chose Android over iOS is because it has widgets and one can put a Google Calendar widget on the home screen, which I was told is very helpful. I’ve saved links to articles describing “Top 10 Android apps that do amazing things the iPhone can’t”. I actually like the second one better: the first on the list is Event Flow Calendar Widget which looks like what you and the other guy was telling me about. Is this the widget you had in mind?

listic

Rus­sian na­tive speak­ers wanted as ed­i­tors (trans­lat­ing “Smarter Than Us”)

Russian native speakers wanted as editors (translating “Smarter Than Us”)