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hkmaly

Story Wednesday, November 29, 2017

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On 12/1/2017 at 8:05 AM, Tom Sewell said:

If you hasn't read Dan's post on tumblr,, story comic postponed until Monday. 

It's mentioned on homepage as well now.

16 hours ago, Tuscahoma said:
On 11/30/2017 at 6:46 AM, Tom Sewell said:

I'm afraid that person can't be me. Want to start a real-world-paranoia thread in Off Topic?

Teapots.  Teapots that are internet enabled.  Teapots that are internet enabled that store your wifi password as plaintext because so many people are creating stuff for the Internet of Things that don't even think about security and keep security researchers from reverse-engineering this stuff to figure it out by using the Digital Millenium Copyright Act to threaten them with felonies.

Also, I'm sure those teapots don't follow RFC properly.

Note that DMCA obviously only stops the GOOD researchers, not the evil ones.

16 hours ago, Tuscahoma said:

It really makes me want to know what set her on that shallow path to begin with.

Getting on the shallow path is EASY.

On 11/30/2017 at 8:50 AM, hkmaly said:

Is good, but I think we saw similar before ...

14 hours ago, Scotty said:

Not quite on the level of Susan, but this page didn't call for that level, still, I firmly believe Diane is quite capable.

Yes that's what I meant.

13 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Just how important is money to Diane, anyway? Even if she doesn't own a car, clearly her family can afford to let her use theirs which isn't a junker, and they have to be putting a big chunk of money to send Rhea to college. Rhea could still live at home; her college doesn't seem to be beyond commuting distance.

Was already speculated about that. I think that her family might have more money that Dunkels (not so hard), but likely has some sort of "don't spend money on useless things" attitude. I think that at least on start, the things and money Diane got (or saved when someone bought her food so she didn't needed to spend the money she originally got for food) were really useful for her, to buy something which her parents considered useless.

13 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

When Diane talks about a meaningful relationship, I think her model may be the relationship she's seen between Susan and Elliot on their show. Elliot clearly listens to Susan and respects her opinions. Better than Rick, who still treats Diane like a little kid. In fact, Rick seems to treat everyone like little kids from what we've seen of him.

I doubt Susan and Elliot was her only example. But it might be first involving people she knows and showing her it's reachable.

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Just now, hkmaly said:

I doubt Susan and Elliot was her only example. But it might be first involving people she knows and showing her it's reachable.

I've mentioned before, when Diane first learned of Elliot she though he'd be perfect in a way that fit her "everything's about me" attitude at the time, he'd give her attention when she wanted and wouldn't pressure her into doing anything, a doormat as she called him. Then she got watching the review show and she started seeing him as a nice and funny and likable guy and she actually started to care about feelings and stuff. When she learned about his date, she panicked, the first guy she actually had feelings for snapped away. After seeing Elliot with Ashley as well as finding out about his abilities, Diane questioned a lot about what she wants and whether Elliot was the right guy, it's uncertain if she still plans on trying to seduce Elliot, but her behaviour lately seems to point to the possibility that she won't.

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On 11/30/2017 at 5:08 PM, hkmaly said:

“There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”

― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

... I already posted that, but it's true it was in middle of long post ...

Occam's Razor

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I just noticed the sunburst effect in the final panel. It's funny how these days I tend to "read" such effects without really taking note of them (not unlike how I rarely take note of individual letters). I guess that goes to show that Dan's use of effects usually isn't obtrusive.

Anyway, yay for starburst background in panel six!

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On 12/2/2017 at 1:34 AM, hkmaly said:

Also, I'm sure those teapots don't follow RFC properly.

Note that DMCA obviously only stops the GOOD researchers, not the evil ones.

Well, kind of yes, kind of no?  I am sure there are plenty of black hat researchers who love the DMCA simply for the fact that it makes it easier for them to sell any hacks they find on the black market, but I think there are some white hats who risk the penalties of the DMCA to figure this stuff out to help people.

You know, there are aspects of technology that I am loathe to adopt quickly simply for reasons like the above, enough so that I am sure that people I talk to think I am a Luddite despite the fact that I work in IT.  And don't even get me started on GMO (yes, in theory I like the idea of genetic engineering, but when the company that sells pesticides also sells the GMO seeds that are resistant to the pesticides, then I worrry about the actual practice, oh goodness, I am ranting again, sorry, so sorry, I guess the decaf thing is working out for me... ;))

 

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6 hours ago, Tuscahoma said:

Well, kind of yes, kind of no?  I am sure there are plenty of black hat researchers who love the DMCA simply for the fact that it makes it easier for them to sell any hacks they find on the black market, but I think there are some white hats who risk the penalties of the DMCA to figure this stuff out to help people.

The point was that evil researchers would not be stopped, while white hats might. Which unsurprisingly means that DMCA results in more dangerous devices.

6 hours ago, Tuscahoma said:

You know, there are aspects of technology that I am loathe to adopt quickly simply for reasons like the above, enough so that I am sure that people I talk to think I am a Luddite despite the fact that I work in IT.

Not surprised. Anyone who actually understands IT must be scared from where it's heading (no matter if he decides to adopt it or not). Smarter devices needs more security but are getting less. The biggest players are actively trying to fight against privacy, just as government (who was doing it for longer time but it used to be secret).

6 hours ago, Tuscahoma said:

yes, in theory I like the idea of genetic engineering, but when the company that sells pesticides also sells the GMO seeds that are resistant to the pesticides, then I worrry about the actual practice

The truth is that weed and pests can naturally adapt faster than crops. Even without the companies doing anything nefarious, the effectivity of pesticides and herbicides will be going down the more they will be used - similarly how antibiotics are getting less and less effective the more they're used because more and more bacteria are getting resistant. And frankly, the non-GMO crops are not really natural for long time either. So I'm afraid that in future, GMO will be necessary. Of course, the other side is that the more powerful tool we are using, the more important is to understand how it works - and, again, this doesn't seem to be the case; companies producing GMO crops are neglecting research of sideefects, especially the longer term ones, just like the companies producing modern devices are neglecting security.

Result is similar: our devices are endangered by computer viruses, while the crops is endangered by natural infectious agents.

7 hours ago, Tuscahoma said:

I guess the decaf thing is working out for me

... I don't drink coffee. Maybe I should. Or I might need more sleep.

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11 hours ago, hkmaly said:

The point was that evil researchers would not be stopped, while white hats might. Which unsurprisingly means that DMCA results in more dangerous devices.

Not surprised. Anyone who actually understands IT must be scared from where it's heading (no matter if he decides to adopt it or not). Smarter devices needs more security but are getting less. The biggest players are actively trying to fight against privacy, just as government (who was doing it for longer time but it used to be secret).

The truth is that weed and pests can naturally adapt faster than crops. Even without the companies doing anything nefarious, the effectivity of pesticides and herbicides will be going down the more they will be used - similarly how antibiotics are getting less and less effective the more they're used because more and more bacteria are getting resistant. And frankly, the non-GMO crops are not really natural for long time either. So I'm afraid that in future, GMO will be necessary. Of course, the other side is that the more powerful tool we are using, the more important is to understand how it works - and, again, this doesn't seem to be the case; companies producing GMO crops are neglecting research of sideefects, especially the longer term ones, just like the companies producing modern devices are neglecting security.

Result is similar: our devices are endangered by computer viruses, while the crops is endangered by natural infectious agents.

... I don't drink coffee. Maybe I should. Or I might need more sleep.

What about using things like nautral pest controls? you know lady bugs to eat aphids, planting marigolds with tomatoes, etc?

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14 hours ago, animalia said:

What about using things like nautral pest controls? you know lady bugs to eat aphids

Funny you should mention that, but back in 2003-2004ish, a number of farmers in my area imported a ladybug relative from Japan that was more aggressive in the hopes of controlling aphids. But their population went out of control as well. The hotel I work at had to deal with them getting into the rooms when the weather started getting colder, there'd be large clusters of them huddled in corners of doors and windows outside the rooms, and same with inside near heating units, some of the rooms that had combination A/C+heating units had them nest inside so for several years we had to deal with them cropping up again and again. I think we finally got rid of them last year when we the last of the original units  broke down and was replaced. Also that initial year's winter had a January thaw that saw temps in the mid 20's (celcius and remember I'm in Ontario, Canada, not known for summer like weather in the middle of winter ;)) for a a good week which allowed for all boom in population such that I was walking through clouds of them while cutting grass.

 

And don't get me started on the tent catapillar boom a couple years later, that's the stuff of nightmares....

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