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Guthwine

44 karma · joined March 25, 2026

meet.hn/city/39.1012809,-84.5127405/Cincinnati
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Guthwine··on The First Social Network: In rural Argentina residents send messages w AM radio
I was reading Moby Dick earlier this year and was surprised that the mail service seemed to be "I am a ship returning to port, I have a bag of letters meant for sailors SOMEWHERE in the ocean, I will give it to this ONE ship and maybe they will cross paths with these sailors". Curious how often the messages ended up getting to where they needed to go.
Guthwine··on ICE Planning $100M 'Nightmare' Domestic Spy Program
Your evidence is a video from "Richard McGough (bible emoji) Bible Wheel"? Why is this guy your go-to for immigration news?

(Also, this video is in reference to the legal fight between the federal Border Patrol and the Texas State government over Texas putting up razorwire at the border and barring Federal Agents from operating in certain locations along the border. A dramatic video, sure, but hardly the facts and data I think people would expect)

Guthwine··on When oil prices spike, where does the money go?
Gold, silver, copper, iron were all commonly mined by Dwarves for sure. Mithril, of course, is what made Moria so immensely wealthy so there was at least one thing more valuable than gold.

As an aside, I know it's mentioned once or twice that Dwarves ascribe the monetary value of gold/gems because of an appreciation for it's beauty and not its rarity...but I don't think Tolkien gets into the nitty gritty of that too much.

Guthwine··on The Curious Power of Punctuation
I think the real question is why you are starting a new paragraph after every sentence It makes your posts read as stilted and a bit difficult to follow Do you still use question marks if you ask a question or an exclamation point Curious to what you do when you write on paper but let me know
Guthwine··on Attention is all you have
Well, sure, if only because counting lives lost from policy changes is difficult to do and the methodologies are complex.
Guthwine··on The Invention of the MMO
Runescape (as we remember it in the 2000s/2010s lives on in Old School Runescape or '2007scape'. Supported by Jagex, it's the Runescape you remember from 2007 but has routine community polls on new skills/quests/bosses to add.

Unfortunately, it is also known as 'efficiencyscape' as most of the player base is only concerned with doings their daily chores, completing quests as efficiently as possible, etc. The social aspect is drastically diminished.

Guthwine··on Wendell Berry has died
Berry, besides actively having a farm in Henry County, raised money, provided education and resources for local farmers in the community + around the region via The Wendell Berry Center / Our Home Place Meat, others. To say he wasn't practicing what he preached is disingenuous. He did a lot of great work.
Guthwine··on Wendell Berry has died
Berry was much more concerned with the health of small-scale family farms and the land than supporting a 600-acre tourism complex.
Guthwine··on Wendell Berry has died
I traveled to the Wendell Berry Center numerous times over the last few years - he and his family were a wonderful boon on the local community there.

One of my favorite quotes of his, from What Are People For?

“Rats and roaches live by competition under the law of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy. It is impossible not to notice how little the proponents of the ideal of competition have to say about honesty, which is the fundamental economic virtue, and how very little they have to say about community, compassion, and mutual help.”

Guthwine··on The Lost Art of Carrying Loads
Replying to your comment about lack of content, which itself isn't commenting on the content, with my own comment which also is not a comment about the content. Contentedly.
Guthwine··on American Airlines mechanic Azriel “Al” Blackman has died
This seems like a fast-track to making airline mechanics a minimum-wage, any-guy-off-the-street kind of job, which is not who I want touching the plane I'm flying in.

There needs to be SOME accountability. "Oh, but my glasses told me to unscrew this bolt, I was just following orders." is not how I want the future to be.

Guthwine··on U.S. gov't moves to suppress pushback on data centers
I was told NFTs were 'progress' merely a few years ago. Now all of my randomly generated portraits of monkeys are worthless!
Guthwine··on U.S. gov't moves to suppress pushback on data centers
Your account was created <1 month ago, you have made ~25 comments and at least 4 of them mention China. You doth protesting too much?
Guthwine··on My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded
Unfortunately for those other people, there are rules and social customs about not being an inane goober when you're in a shared public space.
Guthwine··on The great digital fatigue: How digital burnout is changing social media use
I'm pretty sure "don't be snarky" is one of the first 5 sentences on the site rules.
Guthwine··on The great blogging collapse: What happened to 100 successful blogs?
Alright I'll bite: What are you getting out of skimming through what is widely considered one of the greatest novels of all time? General plot points? That can be accomplished with a readthrough of the SparkNotes.
Guthwine··on Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal
Instead of replying in kind, I will benevolently nudge you to review the Hacker News comment guidelines. I don't think any of us want this site to fall to lower standards of other social media platforms.
Guthwine··on Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal
I agree that words do have a specific meaning, but the history of words changing their meaning is truly awful+! I was talking to this young girl++ in my neighborhood about words and slang - he said he had never considered that words could change their meaning, and that the dictionary was some kind of rule book. At first I thought maybe he was nice+++, but after considering it, he's young! Everyone learns this in time.

Language is mutable and alive and ever-changing. That's just how it goes.

+Used to mean 'inspiring awe'

++Used to mean 'young child (gender neutral)'

+++Used to mean 'foolish' or 'ignorant'

Guthwine··on Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal
I was referencing a direct quote from the author, looks like the Booker Prize board actually looked into it and disputes the certainty of the claim. Oh well. However:

1. Regime change doesn't happen instantaneously. The Francoist line of thinking was still pervasive after Franco died, and through the 70s there was a waxing and waning of censorship.

2. The book was still restricted in multiple states, the spirit of my comment still stands.

Guthwine··on Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal
I believe when most libraries and stores use the term 'ban', they rely on PEN America's definition: "any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials, that leads to a book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished." [1]

[1] https://pen.org/book-bans/book-bans-frequently-asked-questio...

Guthwine··on Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal
Not sure if your sarcasm is directed at Dua Lipa for including Atwood, or at the states that actually removed it from their public schools (Texas, Florida, Missouri, among others), but it was actually banned in Portugal during the Salazar regime.

Either way, I agree with your comment that there is nothing dangerous about Atwood unless you are a fan of authoritarian religious governments.

Guthwine··on A deadly fungus that can infect cats and people is spreading
In the past, though, dogs (domesticated wolves, however you want to look at it) were more akin to 'hunting partners', wouldn't you say? But for you the line is crossed when we start keeping them in kennels/breeding them, I guess?
Guthwine··on A deadly fungus that can infect cats and people is spreading
Genuinely curious - are sheep kept for their wool also slaves in your opinion?
Guthwine··on Jerry's Map
What is your profession now? Accountant? Ship's Captain?

Do your D&D campaigns track gold coin weight?

Either way, this sounds like it would have been weirdly fun as a kid. Very imaginative even if it doesn't sound like it at first glance.

Guthwine··on Banned book library in a wi-fi smart light bulb
This is a 240 page book and the page you are linking to is more than half way in. No teen is reading this far in and frankly probably wouldn't even pick up a MEMOIR called GENDER QUEER unless the story resonates with them already.

This is besides the point, but did you read the surrounding pages? The main character doesn't advocate for sexual activity of any kind, they actually seem to lose interest and proceed to display positive emotional communication skills by telling their partner of their disinterest?

Guthwine··on Banned book library in a wi-fi smart light bulb
I doubt that the administration would initiate the removal process with no outside pressure from a parent or maybe some sort of parental group a la the Satanic Panic and BADD [1].

[1] Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons

Guthwine··on Banned book library in a wi-fi smart light bulb
'Curated out' not by librarians but by a singular patron challenging the purchase of a certain publication.
Guthwine··on Banned book library in a wi-fi smart light bulb
From what I can find with a quick look, 'Banned' is most likely using PEN America[1]'s definition, which is “either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished.”

[1] Free speech non-profit mostly focused on literature.

Guthwine··on Amazon Says Its Data Centers Use 2.5B Gallons of Water
According to this study[1] "With good water quality, roughly 80% of water withdrawal is evaporated and considered “consumption"" with the rest being discharged to wastewater facilities.

[1] https://arxiv.org/pdf/2304.03271

Guthwine··on It is time to build a new internet
'value to be extracted' seems like the exact opposite of the author's sentiment.
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