Alec
@denmachi.dev
Because what people love is having to go negotiate on something when they know the person they're negotiating with wants to fleece them for every cent they can. This is why used car dealers are so widely loved. We get to feel like entrepreneurs.
November 11, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Because what people love is having to go negotiate on something when they know the person they're negotiating with wants to fleece them for every cent they can. This is why used car dealers are so widely loved. We get to feel like entrepreneurs.
Also, there's a certain irony to claiming public transit represents central control when you're advocating for a world in which you no longer even own a car, you rely on a handful of tech companies controlling the entire world's transportation. At least I get a vote in my government.
October 22, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Also, there's a certain irony to claiming public transit represents central control when you're advocating for a world in which you no longer even own a car, you rely on a handful of tech companies controlling the entire world's transportation. At least I get a vote in my government.
Conservatives love cars because it appeals to their need to be independent free thinkers, stuck in traffic alongside all the other independent free thinkers all thinking very freely and independently like good consumers. Almost like a flock. Of sheep. Aren't ad hominems fun?
October 22, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Conservatives love cars because it appeals to their need to be independent free thinkers, stuck in traffic alongside all the other independent free thinkers all thinking very freely and independently like good consumers. Almost like a flock. Of sheep. Aren't ad hominems fun?
"But crime!" you say! If I ride a train I will have to encounter scary poors who smell bad and engage in crime! In the US the motor vehicle fatality rate is 12 per 100k people. In scary crime ridden London, the homicide rate overall is 2 per 100k. And maybe AVs will fix that, not holding my breath.
October 22, 2025 at 3:20 PM
"But crime!" you say! If I ride a train I will have to encounter scary poors who smell bad and engage in crime! In the US the motor vehicle fatality rate is 12 per 100k people. In scary crime ridden London, the homicide rate overall is 2 per 100k. And maybe AVs will fix that, not holding my breath.
And automation wouldn't make it cheaper, a Waymo would cost $75. So hell no I am not paying $75 for a 25 mile ride.
October 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
And automation wouldn't make it cheaper, a Waymo would cost $75. So hell no I am not paying $75 for a 25 mile ride.
If I want to take an Uber/Lyft from my house to the airport (about 25 miles) in the US it would cost $30-45. If I want a ticket from Berlin to Potsdam, which is about the same distance, it would cost about $5. Trains please.
October 22, 2025 at 3:12 PM
If I want to take an Uber/Lyft from my house to the airport (about 25 miles) in the US it would cost $30-45. If I want a ticket from Berlin to Potsdam, which is about the same distance, it would cost about $5. Trains please.
Please no. Gavin Newsom is already throwing trans people under the bus and having photo ops terrorizing homeless people. He'd sooner turn the Democrats into Republican Lite than run a campaign about actually making life better for people because that might hurt the rich donors.
October 6, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Please no. Gavin Newsom is already throwing trans people under the bus and having photo ops terrorizing homeless people. He'd sooner turn the Democrats into Republican Lite than run a campaign about actually making life better for people because that might hurt the rich donors.
I'm not expecting Europe to come save us, but I also have very little hope of us actually fixing this mess we're in.
October 5, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I'm not expecting Europe to come save us, but I also have very little hope of us actually fixing this mess we're in.
And unfortunately most Democrat politicians are spineless cowards so even if they do manage to retake the government in three years, I'm not sure they'd have the political will to actually prosecute the people engaging in these crimes against humanity. Instead they'll focus on "unity" and "healing"
October 5, 2025 at 5:09 PM
And unfortunately most Democrat politicians are spineless cowards so even if they do manage to retake the government in three years, I'm not sure they'd have the political will to actually prosecute the people engaging in these crimes against humanity. Instead they'll focus on "unity" and "healing"
I think Mamdani as one example has done a very good job of taking a lot of the good YIMBY elements and incorporating it into actual progressive policy. Because 100%, as people who believe that government can and should help, more than anybody progressives need to make sure it does so efficiently.
September 30, 2025 at 11:37 PM
I think Mamdani as one example has done a very good job of taking a lot of the good YIMBY elements and incorporating it into actual progressive policy. Because 100%, as people who believe that government can and should help, more than anybody progressives need to make sure it does so efficiently.
And to clarify what I mean by this, this is not fed posting, I mean that the left needs to start fighting in legal and peaceful ways using whatever power they have. I.e learn from Mitch McConnell how you can shut down an administration you don't like
September 30, 2025 at 11:22 PM
And to clarify what I mean by this, this is not fed posting, I mean that the left needs to start fighting in legal and peaceful ways using whatever power they have. I.e learn from Mitch McConnell how you can shut down an administration you don't like
My issue with Klein is that the right is a cult wading deeper into fascism and he still insists on this fantasy that what we need to do is just talk things out with the cult leaders trying to turn our country fascist because we need to "unify the country."
September 30, 2025 at 11:18 PM
My issue with Klein is that the right is a cult wading deeper into fascism and he still insists on this fantasy that what we need to do is just talk things out with the cult leaders trying to turn our country fascist because we need to "unify the country."
Exactly this. A lot of "liberals" do this thing where they hyperfixate on "decorum" and "civility" in the presentation of the argument, and ignore entirely the content of the argument. Bigotry cloaked in intellectual discourse is as bad as, and perhaps worse than, raw bigotry.
September 13, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Exactly this. A lot of "liberals" do this thing where they hyperfixate on "decorum" and "civility" in the presentation of the argument, and ignore entirely the content of the argument. Bigotry cloaked in intellectual discourse is as bad as, and perhaps worse than, raw bigotry.
Not sure if you're from the US, but the drivers here are morons, and to go into a store I need to walk about an (American) football field of length between where I parked and the store entrance. Worrying any of them might suddenly start moving and I'll need to jump out of the way is horrifying.
September 12, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Not sure if you're from the US, but the drivers here are morons, and to go into a store I need to walk about an (American) football field of length between where I parked and the store entrance. Worrying any of them might suddenly start moving and I'll need to jump out of the way is horrifying.
Like, I'll happily take the tradeoff of "cars make a small noise to indicate they're currently in a dangerous state I need to be mindful of" versus "be constantly vigilant that any seemingly stationary vehicle around me might accelerate at any time and injure me/kill me"
September 12, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Like, I'll happily take the tradeoff of "cars make a small noise to indicate they're currently in a dangerous state I need to be mindful of" versus "be constantly vigilant that any seemingly stationary vehicle around me might accelerate at any time and injure me/kill me"
Or you're walking on the sidewalk past a driveway and an EV silently starts to back up, running you over. Or in a parking lot an EV starts to back up, running you over. Or the stationary EV delivery truck suddenly starts moving, hitting you. We want to make it easier to identify danger, not harder.
September 12, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Or you're walking on the sidewalk past a driveway and an EV silently starts to back up, running you over. Or in a parking lot an EV starts to back up, running you over. Or the stationary EV delivery truck suddenly starts moving, hitting you. We want to make it easier to identify danger, not harder.
Or we just... Have the cars make a relatively quiet not that unpleasant noise. This is like saying "we don't need guardrails on balconies, you need to watch out for the edge all the time, you know the environment and take responsibility for your own safety." And, again, blind people exist.
September 12, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Or we just... Have the cars make a relatively quiet not that unpleasant noise. This is like saying "we don't need guardrails on balconies, you need to watch out for the edge all the time, you know the environment and take responsibility for your own safety." And, again, blind people exist.
Not to belabor the point, in the biggest city on earth Tokyo the majority of roads don't have sidewalks, vehicles at low speeds and pedestrians just share the same roads. You can't just say "well you only need to be watching out for cars in specific areas" because it's like... The entire city
September 12, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Not to belabor the point, in the biggest city on earth Tokyo the majority of roads don't have sidewalks, vehicles at low speeds and pedestrians just share the same roads. You can't just say "well you only need to be watching out for cars in specific areas" because it's like... The entire city
The majority of the noise pollution is from the tires on the road not the engine anyway, so EVs will barely do anything about the level of noise pollution from cars. The idea that pedestrians need to be constantly vigilant for multi ton death machines and if they get hit it's on them is crazy.
September 12, 2025 at 4:22 PM
The majority of the noise pollution is from the tires on the road not the engine anyway, so EVs will barely do anything about the level of noise pollution from cars. The idea that pedestrians need to be constantly vigilant for multi ton death machines and if they get hit it's on them is crazy.
Bikes and people aren't going fast enough to seriously injure/kill you. There's a reason we already have laws that require things like forklifts/etc to make that noise when backing up. Also, blind people exist. EV noises at low-ish speeds is a necessary safety feature.
September 12, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Bikes and people aren't going fast enough to seriously injure/kill you. There's a reason we already have laws that require things like forklifts/etc to make that noise when backing up. Also, blind people exist. EV noises at low-ish speeds is a necessary safety feature.
Critical services? Seemingly the only parts of the federal government they've left intact are either rounding people up to send to foreign gulags, engaging in illegal military occupations of our own cities, or organizing a cage match on the south lawn. "Working with them" is enabling fascism
September 6, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Critical services? Seemingly the only parts of the federal government they've left intact are either rounding people up to send to foreign gulags, engaging in illegal military occupations of our own cities, or organizing a cage match on the south lawn. "Working with them" is enabling fascism
I don't know if I would immediately think an account like that was some kind of psy op, but I would definitely assume they're insufferable from the sheer number of emojis in their name.
August 27, 2025 at 8:54 PM
I don't know if I would immediately think an account like that was some kind of psy op, but I would definitely assume they're insufferable from the sheer number of emojis in their name.
youtu.be/86nhP8tvbLY?...
YouTube is applying an AI filter thing to shorts to "enhance" the video quality that's making them look like AI generated slop
YouTube is applying an AI filter thing to shorts to "enhance" the video quality that's making them look like AI generated slop
YouTube Is Using AI to Alter Content (and not telling us)
YouTube video by Rhett Shull
youtu.be
August 27, 2025 at 2:18 PM
youtu.be/86nhP8tvbLY?...
YouTube is applying an AI filter thing to shorts to "enhance" the video quality that's making them look like AI generated slop
YouTube is applying an AI filter thing to shorts to "enhance" the video quality that's making them look like AI generated slop
"This is President Trump going bigger than President Nixon." I mean, to give them credit, when they're right they're right. He certainly is going bigger than Nixon...
August 26, 2025 at 2:39 AM
"This is President Trump going bigger than President Nixon." I mean, to give them credit, when they're right they're right. He certainly is going bigger than Nixon...
"We've been conditioned to accept that mediocre in government is normal"
The word you're looking for is mediocrity, but I guess asking for correct grammar in government is too much to ask for.
The word you're looking for is mediocrity, but I guess asking for correct grammar in government is too much to ask for.
August 26, 2025 at 2:34 AM
"We've been conditioned to accept that mediocre in government is normal"
The word you're looking for is mediocrity, but I guess asking for correct grammar in government is too much to ask for.
The word you're looking for is mediocrity, but I guess asking for correct grammar in government is too much to ask for.