SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
It's that time of year again. The time of year when everyone and their dog waxes nostalgic about all the shit nobody cares about from the year past, and stupidly predicts the next year in the grim knowledge that when the next New Year comes along, nobody will remember
that the dumbass predicted a bunch of foolish shit that turned out to be complete and utter balderdash. I might as well, too. Just like I did last year (yes, a lot of this was pasted from last year's final chapter).
There are even fewer articles this year than last year, as most of what I was doing was feverishly getting my cookbook ready to publish.
Some of these links go to /., S/N, mcgrewbooks.com, or mcgrew.info.
As usual, first: the yearly index:
Journals:
Articles:
Scince Fiction:
Last years' stupid predictions (and more):
Last year I said I'd publish Voyage to Earth and Other Stories, and I was right,
I predicted that Trump wouldn't be worse than Bush, this is still undetermined. He hasn't started any shooting wars (yet; if he doesn't he'll be the first Republican President since Ford not to start one) and he hasn't gotten our country attacked (yet, he's trying awful hard). He hasn't ruined the economy... yet. I do predict a stock market bubble that will crash the economy when it pops. I hope I'm wrong; so far I am.
I'm also predicting that I won't have a book ready in 2019. I haven't even got a start on one.
I'll also hang on to most of last year's predictions;
Someone will die. Maybe you, maybe me. Not necessarily anybody I know... we can only hope.
SETI will find no sign of intelligent life. Not even on Earth.
The Pirate Party won't make inroads in the US. I hope I'm wrong about that one.
US politicians will continue to be wholly owned by the corporations.
I'll still be a nerd.
Technophobic fashionista jocks will troll slashdot (but not S/N).
Slashdot will be rife with dupes.
Many Slashdot FPs will be poorly edited.
Slashdot still won't have fixed its patented text mangler (I haven't been there for a while, did they fix it?).
Microsoft will continue sucking
Happy New Year! Ready for another trip around the sun?
(Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Tuesday January 01 2019, @01:10AM (5 children)
Talk about low-hanging fruit. :'(
They're moving to Chromium. They'll be debuting Microsoft® Windows® Linux® next. 🐧
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Tuesday January 01 2019, @02:27AM (3 children)
The Pirate Party really need to rebrand for the USA, and for Australia too. Their political ideals and policies are good, but the name just doesn't sit well with an electorate that is used to criminals claiming they are not, rather than those who are not, claiming they are.
No problem is insoluble, but at Ksp = 2.943×10−25 Mercury Sulphide comes close.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Tuesday January 01 2019, @03:03AM (2 children)
I don't buy this argument you've made at all. I hope it's a joke.
When Americans think of Pirates, they think of Captain Jack Sparrow or That Movie With Tom Hanks. Any negative association would be far outweighed by the novelty of the name and the minor amount of recognition Pirate Parties have received up to this point.
Crooks? Well, we have President Donald Trump. And it's not unheard of for criminals or those accused of crimes to win elections:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-virginia-election/convicted-virginia-state-legislator-wins-election-while-in-jail-idUSKBN0KN0A220150114 [reuters.com]
https://www.kxan.com/news/investigations/tx-house-member-wins-re-election-from-a-jail-cell/1577793977 [kxan.com]
http://time.com/5447854/accused-criminals-elected-congress-2018/ [time.com]
The real issue is that third parties are set up to fail in America, and the Pirate Party is organized around niche copyright and technology issues that Americans don't know or care about. And while progressives and libertarians may be sympathetic to the core Pirate Party policy positions, they may care about other issues more and may not be willing to rally behind a Pirate Party.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday January 01 2019, @03:48AM
Pirates still have a fair amount of negative baggage in the name, even here. We love our charismatic rogues but we never forget that they're rogues.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Tuesday January 01 2019, @04:07AM
Yeah the bit about crooks was mostly a joke. "All politicians are crooks" is a pretty common attitude though.
Not so sure about the USA, but they do need to rename in Oz though.
There are many small parties here that have significant input to the political process. Small parties often control the balance of power in the upper house* and are taken seriously.
If you ask people about the PP policies without saying whose they are, most people are in favour. If you ask if they would vote for them, the answer is usually "No, that name is a joke, they are not taking this seriously".
But the problem is worse than that, even people who would vote for them, based on policies and despite the name, dismiss them instantly based on a joke name and the media treatment, without even bothering to check the policies.
*
The Lower House has Representatives (Members of Parliament) from electoral districts. The vast majority from the major parties. The Prime Minister is selected from among themselves by these MPs, usually by the majority party. This house does most of the work of governing and writing legislation.
The Upper House is basically non-local proportional representation. If you can exceed a certain threshold of votes across the whole country you can be elected as a Senator to the Upper House. The Upper House considers legislation after it has passed the Lower House. They can pass it, reject it, or amend it and send it back to be re-passed in the lower house. Until it is passed by both houses it is not law.
There are many bits I've glossd over, but the important bit is that a small but dedicated demographic that is scattered across the whole country can elect a Senator. The Pirate Party have had a couple, but they would have had a lot more if they had a decent name.
No problem is insoluble, but at Ksp = 2.943×10−25 Mercury Sulphide comes close.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday January 02 2019, @07:39PM
I highly doubt they will switch to a Linux kernel. That would be more scary than anything, I think.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"