LesserAbe

LesserAbe , 1 day ago to Comic Strips in The Frog and the Scorpion: When They Go Low, We Go Die | The Nib

The best political cartoons aren't because they're subtle, it's because they convey a message in a memorable way.

LesserAbe , 2 days ago to Comic Strips in Capitalism

An important thought. What we tell ourselves needs to be true, or at least be believable, in order for us to take action. I tell myself that whether we reach such and such a goal in my lifetime, I want to have contributed to moving whatever tiny amount closer to the goal. It would be disappointing to me to not have tried to contribute something.

I like the Le Guin quote because it touches on that mental block to action, "Is trying to make change pointless?" On the one hand it is pointless, because we all die. On the other hand, it's possible to contribute to a multigenerational project.

LesserAbe , 2 days ago to Comic Strips in Capitalism

What point are you trying to make? That it would have been better if the divine right of kings ended sooner? I'm sure Ursula K. Le Guin would agree.

Or are you trying to say we shouldn't be complacent in working to end capitalism? Because I'm sure Ursula K. Le Guin would agree as well.

The point of even saying this is to rally people who might feel there's no point in trying, because the current system seems unstoppable.

LesserAbe , 4 days ago to Comic Strips in Changing interests [Haus of Decline]

I don't know about all the information, but I'd rather read Wikipedia about a historical event than watch a YouTube about it

LesserAbe OP , 6 days ago to Technology in Q: “Are we doomed?” A: “We would be, if not for the amazing developments in renewable energy.”

?

The article I shared is about how solar is now the cheapest form of power. So that is what's happening.

LesserAbe OP , 6 days ago to Technology in Q: “Are we doomed?” A: “We would be, if not for the amazing developments in renewable energy.”

I'm saying it does matter. When you go to a business and say you can buy a widget for $1000, or for $500, and they both do the same thing, the business will choose the cheaper one. Sure, lobbying will get businesses some favors, loosen some regulation, get some subsidies, but at a certain point it's not enough, the economics take over.

LesserAbe OP , 6 days ago to Technology in Q: “Are we doomed?” A: “We would be, if not for the amazing developments in renewable energy.”

You're right that people have been thinking about and working on renewable energy for a long time. However what's only become true very recently is that it's cheaper to generate energy using renewable sources than to use fossil fuels. That's a massive milestone because when a new power source is built it will more likely than not be renewable.

People making sacrifices is important, but what if you weren't only giving people the opportunity to help the environment, but also to improve their bottom line? Makes the pitch a lot easier and helps us to build momentum in the right direction.

LesserAbe OP , 6 days ago to Technology in Q: “Are we doomed?” A: “We would be, if not for the amazing developments in renewable energy.”

I don't agree with you, but also if I did, what then? If we don't believe it's possible for things to get better do we just lay down and die?

LesserAbe , 7 days ago to Comic Strips in "Working with Gen AI" by Dandytoon

Just splitting something up into smaller tasks.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but you wouldn't be like "chatgpt write me an app for telling me the weather" you'd be like "I'm building an app in such and such a framework and working with such and such an API, how would I format this request" (or whatever)

LesserAbe OP , 7 days ago to Technology in Q: “Are we doomed?” A: “We would be, if not for the amazing developments in renewable energy.”

You're right, we've got to get rid of fossil fuel. As one example, the article talks about how energy storage has reduced the need for gas peaker plants. In California in April the power required from those plants was half what it's been in April the prior three years.

Still plenty of progress that needs to be made, but what's notable is that it's now cheaper for a business to turn to green energy and storage to solve a problem. There's not an incentive to build new polluting tech. So while the impact of climate change is going to get worse (because those emissions and warming are already baked in) the business argument for fossil fuel is no longer viable.

LesserAbe , 7 days ago to Comic Strips in "Working with Gen AI" by Dandytoon

I'm a hobbyist, but I've found it to be pretty helpful. Seems like main thing is chunking requests down.

If it's a domain I'm completely unfamiliar with then it's not a good fit because I'm no longer able to identify where it's gone off the rails.

LesserAbe OP , 7 days ago to Technology in Q: “Are we doomed?” A: “We would be, if not for the amazing developments in renewable energy.”

Yes, we need more storage and generation. The author didn't say we're all good and nothing more needs to be done. What's noteworthy is that renewable energy is cheaper than CO2 emitting, and battery storage is cheaper than peaker plants. (And grid battery can come from things like salt, sand, brick along with better known components like hydro storage, doesn't have to be rare earth elements)

It's ok to acknowledge when good things happen while also recognizing bad things.

LesserAbe OP , 7 days ago to Technology in Q: “Are we doomed?” A: “We would be, if not for the amazing developments in renewable energy.”

With respect, I think you're projecting a discussion with a different person onto this article.

You're right, the climate is going to get worse before it gets better. You're right, the impacts of climate change will disproportionately affect poor and underdeveloped areas. We can't make that go away with positive thinking, and it's not enough for humans as a species to survive, we need to focus on reducing suffering while we're turning the ship.

What I took away from this article is that the market forces for cheap renewable power and the means to store it are now stronger than the forces for CO2 emitting power. And those forces are moving faster than predicted. That's good, and it's ok to talk about something good when it's true!

People who have been paying attention and care about others have good reason to be wary about the narrative "oh, everything is going to be fine" because that's what industry and politicians have been saying for a long time instead of taking needed action.

We're at a point where most people recognize climate change is real, and they can see it's effects. We're also at a point where many people don't have hope for the situation. It's dangerous to tell people "shit's fucked and there's nothing you can do about it" because they might believe you and do nothing.

LesserAbe , 9 days ago to Antiwork in Fuck this guy.

This is one reason I'm especially interested in worker cooperatives.

You're right, people spend 8+ hours a day at work, strengthening business owners, who are essentially working against them. Then some small fraction of people have/take the time to learn about issues affecting them and volunteer a couple hours a week for their chosen cause.

Even those in a union are negotiating from the standpoint of "the company owns the equipment/processes/customers and we own our labor".

What if instead the workers also own the business? Now you're spending eight hours (or less) a day working on something that directly benefits you, and with which you're intimately familiar. It's possible to make democratic decisions because it's not some abstract issue or far away politician. And every successful worker cooperative reduces the money going to some micro-king, and in turn reduces the distorting effect of corporate money on our electoral system.

LesserAbe , 13 days ago to Memes in Live Interview

What are you running from