sounds skibidi

Vote count matters. It not only can get you to the front page but shows that people agree with the post. Votes attract votes too, so it might only need a few bots to get the ball rolling. Using voting bots you can manipulate what people think is popular AND get many more eyes on it at once.

For example leading up to the election there was SO MUCH politically driven stuff on the front page. To be fair there always is but well above baseline. Mind you this is just a good recent example, not meaning to take sides here.

Election results come out, and so many on reddit are shocked and furious that their preferred side lost. How could it have happened? Everywhere they looked they saw their side was clearly more popular!

Echo chambers are real on their own (an NPR interview I listened to after the election called them “information silos”) and I think bots could have been easily used to manipulate them

Imagine you want to buy a (thing), and instead of going to a bunch of “10 best (thing) 202X” sites you do the sensible thing and head to the (thing) subreddit.

You get a super helpful comment on the (thing) they like and prefer. You’ve never heard of this company before but you decide to at least check them out. Bringing traffic to their site, browsing there selection and maybe even buying the (thing) you had no idea about otherwise

What if that comment wasn’t real, but a AI LLM powered bot? No it’s not your cheap run of the mill bot, but it could be well worth the effort if a company is willing to pay for it.

I guess but it sounds…messy

Sure the US may be past it’s glory days. Hell even the Rand Corporation (who write a bunch of stuff for govt leaders and other high ups) says it’s been trending downhill since some point in the early 2000s. They didn’t mention 9/11 but it seems like a good historical milestone.

Essentially the paper says the last 200 years have been an anomaly and we’re slowly sliding back to historical norms. They call it the neomedieval era and it’s not just the US.

I think being in direct contact with another known member with similar intent would do it

It sounds a lot like what many conservative people have been doing for a while. See the YT channel Dirty Civilian. They might not align with you politically but the info they present is free

The old school Rainbow Six games were my gateway drug to the book.

The plot is essentially “what if tree huggers went batshit and weaponized a virus” so take that for what you will but the training and operations in that book were facinating to me. I saw it as world building for one of my favorite games of the time

If you want a “cheaper” option to try I’d give Minus 33 a chance. If it works for you great! If not it’s not as expensive as it could have been.

I do share other commenter’s concerns about overheating. The line I’ve heard is “be bold start cold”

Lemon and orange are the easiest scents to achieve from a chemistry standpoint. It probably complements the base smell of a product easier.

Fun fact A professor once told us that a molecule’s chirality can make a diffeence. For example Limonene can either smell like pine or oranges depending on what way the molecule is mirrored.

It can be a thing for more skilled labor jobs. You csn be just okay at say… running machine shop equipment. You break more stuff and make more blem parts than most of the people in the shop. But it seems like you have a grasp on the overall processes and can type well.

Boom now you’re not working on machines but managing machinists. Ordering what they need, stat tracking, scheduling, product contracts etc.

Or we could actually make some stuff in the US/EU for a change. I know it takes time but it’s probably for the best in the long run

lol

I wish the FCC would lighten up the amateur radio rules tho. Cool stuff like Meshtastic is happening outside of licenced bands and is taking off

You say that like it hasn’t been in decline since 2000 or so lol

If everything works out okay yay.

If everything goes to shit republicans have nobody to blame because they have a majority everywhere and we can vote them out.

And the democrats got a wakeup call they can learn from (but they played the same 2016 tactics and got the same 2016 prize so we’ll see if anything sticks next time)

This is general advice regardless of party.

Look at your your town/city govt and keep an eye on meetings (a lot are streamed now post Covid). Know the people in office and what they are for/against. Focus on actions more than words. Vote for people you believe in and keep in contact with them. They can be surprisingly approachable.

Act similarly at the state level. Know and pay attention to the justices, senators and representatives. Reach out on issues you find important.

Being informed on govt and politicians doesn’t happen through ads and comment sections, and it doesn’t stop when elections are over. Do what you can where you can for what you believe in.

And maybe just maybe it will result in a solid Presidential candidate

Nice try FBI

Temp has an effect on all batteries. Wouldn’t hurt. And keeping it dry will keep metal parts from rusting as quickly

I like X.com only because I like X-Com