Brainsploosh

@Brainsploosh@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Why don’t realtors share their closing prices? Seems like a good marketing tactic - “look how much I can get you for this thing”.

  You could also take a look at listing prices for land of different types. Or even just call realtors and say you’re interested in buying something similar to yours and ask what the range is for them.

  You could probably also buy this data from a data broker for cheap.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Check sales listings for any sold property at that price?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I think I’ve overestimated the cohesion between local, state and federal level organisations. I was kind of assuming people like DeSantis and Scott were doing their things to further the party line. And maybe they are the odd ones to do that in contrast to the other state politicians.

  I hope you’re right, and it could actually yield a peaceful end to the degrading spiral. It’s gonna be a long road though, here’s wishing you luck and stubbornness!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Am I understanding you correctly that you’re advocating for grassroots campaigning for the Democrats?

  As in: drumming up public support to vote in a Democrat majority, presumably in the hopes of creating a long term Democrat rule where they could address the checks & balances, the skewed system, the dysfunctional ethics and decorum situation, etc.?

  That would indeed be a path forward, but I’m worried that the Republicans would counter campaign very hard, and as proved aren’t hesitant to use any trick they can to not give up power.

  It’s what historically worked, but is it still feasible?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Iirc, Reagan was the first to strongarm a party line and establish the strategy of voting for power over anything which has proven very effective, with courts, gerrymandering, and stalled electoral reforms very helpful to form this current opportunity.

  But with the current system where it is, I have trouble seeing any such grass roots being able to accomplish much until they gain a majority enough, for long enough to re-establish the checks & balances. Electoral voting and the two party system makes it incredibly hard for a new party to establish, and even then they will get bogged down in the same malintent behaviour exhibited now. At least enough to appear powerless, ineffectual or otherwise not making change enough to keep taking seats, like the Democrats of the last few cycles.

  Do you envision some kind of path short of a revolution to throw out the current politicians?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I like your suggestions and I think they’d go a long way towards preventing the current situation to spontaneously happen again.

  But I don’t think I see a path toward it until someone consolidates power to then create stability enough for these types of policies to be approachable.

  I can’t see neither Florida nor the Senate voting (anytime soon) for anything like that decentralisation of power.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ll suggest that the nazis and fanatics don’t get to express their nazi or fanatical views.

  You can check out Popper’s Paradox/Paradox of Tolerance, which suggests that a tolerant society must counteract intolerance or it spreads to destroy all tolerance.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Which is how you gain influence and do something about it, no?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Great suggestion, I’ll put it near the top of the improbable pile.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  You’re not wrong, but I don’t see the relevance to the topic? Unless this is part of the public revolt?

  Organising to protect immigrants in your area is admirable, but how do you get rid of the necessity to do that? You’ll have to replace the politicians, no?

  And you’ll probably need to be revolution sized and well organised to be able to do that when they ignore any procedure or deal that doesn’t benefit them in the specific moment.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Don’t get sad - get organised?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Remember your information diet guidelines!

  Limit social media intake, read with an eye towards bias and agenda, and verify all news with independent sources.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Don’t get sad - great angry

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Or Mexico tbh, wait until the civil war is spent and watch the cartels roll in

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any way our of the US political spiral?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I see basically three ways out:

  1. Democrats/someones sane win overwhelming majority for long enough to harden procedures, cement effective enforcement, and subversion proof the whole system, while not succumbing to their own corruption. Seems incredibly unlikely.

  2. Autocracy and/or persecution of political rivals, where dissenters “fall out windows” a lot or the legislative body is replaced, until stability reforms and new norms can be reintroduced. Seems most likely currently, and has several contemporary examples.

  3. Revolt, public and/or military, throwing out all the politicians and imposing exile or lynching of the offending politicians. Seems improbable, and especially to unite enough to throw out all the bad behaviour. Also will lead to a junta, civil strife and/or provisional government which come with their own slew of issues and corruption.

  4. The Republicans grow a sense of decorum to protect the less privileged party. I can’t imagine this happening without basically a GOP-internal pogrom under a strongman, but Republican conservatism pulls a strongman in the opposite direction. Unless perhaps they’re some kind of upstanding teocrat perhaps?

  This is all wild and slightly saddening speculation, please feel free to suggest other paths!

• Is there any way our of the US political spiral?
  Submitted ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩ | ⁨148⁩ ⁨comments⁩
• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How do I realistically get out of the US?⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Getting a student visa is easy and an excellent way to both get valid credentials and a feel for the local culture.

  As to where you should go depends on what you’re interested in, you’ll almost certainly be able to make a home wherever, so pick something that seems interesting and go (you can always use your mandated vacation days to explore the rest of EU).

  For language, in almost all the major cities people will be able to speak English, although typically you’ll want to learn the local language sooner rather than later for social reasons.

  If you know Spanish go Barcelona, beautiful city, vibrant in both culture and industry, and with values not too shockingly different to the US. For more info, either visit the Spanish consulate nearest you or look up their online presence.

  If you want to keep to English, consider Ireland, they’ve also had a booming IT industry for all the giants needing a foot in the EU.

  Mostly you can’t go wrong anywhere in the EU. Biggest culture shock would probably be the Nordics or Slavic countries, but not necessarily in a bad way.

  All of them have tons of info about student visas at each university, the degrees are standardised throughout the EU and most universities are good, and typically outstanding in a couple areas.
  For more info you just contact their international coordinator, or their closest consulate.

  Most countries also have dedicated Web pages that outline the process, steps, and how you move toward permanent residence and citizenship if you’d want that.

  Moving is typically the hard part, but if you start as a student, you’ll have a lot prepared for you (student accommodations, stipends, social activities, part-time job offers, recruitment fairs, incubators, etc.)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Can enough solar pannels decrease the global temps?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes, if the panels were in outer orbit, and mostly powering things outside our planet.

  A little simplified energy cannot be destroyed only change form, each time it changes it loses a little bit to energy. Over time that means all energy will become heat.

  So the only way to not heat up the earth with energy is to either make sure it doesn’t get to earth, or that we let it out.

  Orbital solar cells could keep enough light from reaching earth to cool it, but releasing the energy dirtside would mostly cancel that out. So, we cover the earth orbit with panels and use them to fuel space things.

  All of this requires more tech, a lot of resources and time to prepare though. And also a feasible way to store and use that energy in space. Maybe we shoot batteries at a moon base or orbital mining operation?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨When leftists say "landlord are parasites" or similar dislike of landlords, do they also mean the people that own like a couple of houses as an investment, or only the big landlords?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve already covered this earlier in the thread

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨When leftists say "landlord are parasites" or similar dislike of landlords, do they also mean the people that own like a couple of houses as an investment, or only the big landlords?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Profit, price pressures, inflation are not necessarily meaningful terms in a different system.

  What exactly do you mean by that?

  In a circular or planned economy, those aren’t really significant measures, neither in a subsistence living context. Which are strategies that have housed all of humanity until the last few hundred years.

  In a post-capitalist economy, we might be able to provide the human necessities without exploitation. I don’t know how, but I know it’s not through more capitalism.

  Homes have been built for many thousands of years longer than we’ve had those as concepts.

  If you include cedar bark as a major construction material then sure. Not knocking cedar bark here - it’s great. But not quite the same investment in time or durability.

  As mentioned in the last reply, the Palace of Knossos, as well as the Petra were marvels of craftsmanship and engineering, staggering investments, and have stood for over 2000 years. Would probably have survived longer if maintained properly.

  The pyramids, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassos, the Taj Mahal, all are landmark (literally) feats for the contemporary technology and societies.

  You comparing them with modern construction methods necessitated by capitalism, and with modern technology seems an unfair comparison, as well as circular reasoning.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨When leftists say "landlord are parasites" or similar dislike of landlords, do they also mean the people that own like a couple of houses as an investment, or only the big landlords?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Profit, price pressures, inflation are not necessarily meaningful terms in a different system.

  Homes have been built for many thousands of years longer than we’ve had those as concepts.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨When leftists say "landlord are parasites" or similar dislike of landlords, do they also mean the people that own like a couple of houses as an investment, or only the big landlords?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Agreed.

  But also in multiresidential complexes, condos, and palaces for thousands of people.

  The world will indeed be different if we have different priorities. Capitalism requires high density to sustain the economic engine, other systems do not.

  Under capitalism, capitalisming harder is indeed the only solution. I don’t know how to get you to be able to imagine something without assuming capitalism, but humanity and society did indeed thrive even without it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨When leftists say "landlord are parasites" or similar dislike of landlords, do they also mean the people that own like a couple of houses as an investment, or only the big landlords?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  My point is, if you read “aunt” as “landlord”, my comment is not about the landlords as much as the system.

  Without landlords, we’d not have a housing crisis. There would be enough housing for everyone, we have plenty of resources and land to build them. The US, not to mention the world, is still big enough for everyone to have their own plot of land and housing.

  How did people live before Capitalism? I’ve read that housing existed before even banking was invented. Somehow there wasn’t a housing crisis back then, until/unless we had exploitation.

  You’re not wrong in what you’re saying though. The basic difference of perspective between you and I, I believe, is that you’re viewing this from inside the capitalist system, where landlords do indeed provide a function. But if we’d not have capitalism, we’d still have housing, and with less value extraction/parasitism.

  As for the obscure anecdote, let’s instead use the simile of marketing. They add no value to you as a consumer, and if there weren’t so many marketers finding what you need would be easier and cheaper (as there would be no marketing cost). For the capitalist they add value, for the rest of us they’re an ever increasing drain on resources - a parasite.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨When leftists say "landlord are parasites" or similar dislike of landlords, do they also mean the people that own like a couple of houses as an investment, or only the big landlords?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t know if I’m leftist, but the US spectrum is well right of most of the world.

  The question is multi-layered. Your aunt may or may not be a bad person, I don’t know her. Them renting out property may or may not be for good reason, even if they’re doing it to “survive” in the capitalistic economy.

  The real issue is that capitalism itself is exploitative, and (depending on where you draw the line) participating may fall under being complicit.

  My understanding of parasitism is extracting resources for their own benefit, with little to no benefit for the exploited/system.

  The first hint of parasitism is amassing resources they aren’t using for living. Your aunt and husband made surplus money to be able to afford buying the properties. Unless they did that by extracting resources, refining them, working them and making provisions for them to be recycled and ecologically compensated - others will have had to pay the cost. Either by working harder than them, or suffering more than them, for example due to an imbalance of ecology. This is one form of parasitism.

  Another perspective of parasitism is inserting themselves as a middle party. Your aunt almost certainly isn’t providing the housing at cost, where rent barely covers their labor and property upkeep. That means they are keeping someone from a home, unless they pay extra to your aunt. Just like a bully.

  Now, this doesn’t mean that your aunt has any malicious intent. The point is that the system itself is evil, like a pyramid scheme of bullies, where each layer extracts something from each underlying layer. This is useful for making ventures, but at the cost of ever increasing exploitation and misery. Especially when capitalists are allowed to avoid paying for restoring the exploited, or incentivised to do it more. I’m sure you’ve heard of enshittification.

  Now, example time!

  I’m sure you’ve thought that air is important for you to survive. And maybe you’ve ever worried that traffic or other pollution might make your air less good for you?

  Enter the capitalist! For a small premium we’ll offer your personalised air solution, a nifty little rebreather loaded with purified air you carry with you all day. The price is so reasonable as well, for only $1/day you can breathe your worries away!

  Now, producing the apparatus means mining and logging upstream of your town, removing natural air filtering and permanently damaging your environment, but they only charge for the machines and labor. Restoration is Future You’s problem. Selling and refilling the apparatus happens to also produce pollution, making the air worse for everyone. But that makes the apparatus more valuable! Price rises to $2/day.

  Competitors arrive, some more successful than others, all leaving ecological devastation and pollution that can’t be naturally filtered. Air gets worse. One brand rises to the top, air is more valuable and lack of competition makes it so that air is now $4/day.

  Then an unethical capitalist figures that if we just make the air slightly worse, profits will go up! They don’t want to be evil, but cutting corners when upgrading the production facility means the pollution gets worse. Other adjacent capitalists see that they also can pollute more without consequences. Air gets worse and price increases to 6$/day.

  Air is starting to get expensive, rebreather sharing services, one-use air bottles, and home purifyers crop up, increasing pollution and raising costs, air is now $8/day for most people.

  People start dying from poor air, new regulations on apparatus safety and mandatory insurance come up, driving prices further to $10/day. You now also need a spare apparatus and maintain it in case your main one breaks down.

  Etc.

  The point of the example is that through a series of innocuous steps, all making perfect sense within capitalism, you are now paying $300/month more to live than before capitalism, with little real benefit to you, and no real choice to opt out.

  Each and every step is parasiting on your life, by requiring you to work harder for that money, and/or suffer more due to pollution and ravaged environment.

  The only solution to not work/suffer into an early grave is to have others work on your behalf, perpetuating the parasitic pyramid scheme. This is where your aunt is, is she evil? Probably not. Is her being an active part of an evil system bad? Yes, yes it is. Capitalism bad.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Fuck geometry⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Why can’t a complex number be described in a Banach-Tarsky space?

  In such a case the difference between any two complex numbers would be a distance. And sure, formally a distance would need be a scalar, but for most practical use anyone would understand a vector as a distance with a direction.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Fuck geometry⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  They’re about as imaginary as numbers are in general.

  Complex numbers have real application in harmonics like electronics, acoustics, structural dynamics, damping, regulating systems, optronics, lasers, interferometry, etc.

  In all the above it’s used to express relative phase, depending on your need for precision you can see it as a time component. And time is definitely a direction.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Jesus Christ⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  In English yes, but not in closer languages like Aramaic, Hebrew (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshua)) or Greek (ἰησοῦς (ioesous)).

  Source (a little long but interesting read)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Jesus Christ⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Should it more accurately be Yesus?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What are You Working on Wednesday⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Go ahead, cry a little, as a treat

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Boiling the ocean⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Bipartisan is such a weird concept for us living in the rest of the world. We have so many more parties than the two in the US.