Curious_Canid

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/40446434

There are some movies that don't need any help and there are some that are beyond help. Despite that, I think there are some actors who always make a movie better than it would have been. They aren't always leads, but any scene they're in is worth watching. My list would start with: JK Simmons Rachel McAdams Michael B Jordan Tilda Swinton Jeff Daniels Ming-Na Wen

Who are the actors you feel the same way about? Or do you disagree with the premise?

There are some movies that don't need any help and there are some that are beyond help. Despite that, I think there are some actors who always make a movie better than it would have been. They aren't always leads, but any scene they're in is worth watching. My list would start with: JK Simmons Rachel McAdams Michael B Jordan Tilda Swinton Jeff Daniels Ming-Na Wen

Who are the actors you feel the same way about? Or do you disagree with the premise?

DEI seems to have taken over from Woke as the all-purpose MAGA terms for "this is bad". DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion. As with Woke, which seems to an accusation of using rational thought, DEI seems like it would be difficult to interpret as bad. Saying that you strongly oppose diversity, equity, and inclusion is a pretty frank admission of your values.

This use of DEI seems to translate directly as "insufficiently racist".

The thing that bothers me most about the Democrats' current arguments over which issues "cost us the election" is the apparent lack of concern about what we think is right.

The hypocrisy of choosing positions based entirely on what you think will win an election is a major part of why so many people have given up on participating in the process. What we are seeing is no longer a matter of choosing which battles to fight, based on an underlying set of principles. The principles have been thrown out, leaving only hypocrisy. We firmly believe in...whatever will get us elected this time around.

It may be necessary to focus on a limited set of objectives, but that can be done without disavowing everything else. We need to stop ignoring, or apologizing for, our belief in the worth and dignity of every human being.

A trebuchet builds trust.

"I wouldn't trust him any farther than I could throw him."

"That will no longer be a problem."

I've been struggling with how to make sense of what the far right likes to call patriotism. Our democratic system of government is at the core of what defines America, but many of them are willing, and in some cases eager, to destroy that.

It finally hit me that what they love is not their country. They love their control of it. That is why racism, misogyny, homophobia, and other irrational hatreds are so deeply tied into far right movement. Only people like them should be allowed to have a say. The acceptance of diversity that began as religious freedom and has expanded to encompass all differences, directly threatens their control.

I wish that insight pointed a way to deal with the problem, but it really points up how intractable the problem is. There is no compromise that will satisfy both sides when one side is demanding complete control over the other.

This may be one of those problems that can only be solved by newer generations, who tend to have less rigid views of the world, gradually replacing the hard liners.

I am experiencing a technical issue that I can't even explain, let alone fix.

Short Version: My laptop's video link to our television regularly drops out for 10-15 seconds when anyone steps too heavily on a particular area of the floor.

Long Version (because I don't know which details might matter):

My wife and I regularly participate in video meetings with friends, so we have a setup for it in our living room. My laptop serves as the computer. It is connected to a Thunderbolt 4 hub on a side table to the left of my easy chair.

There is a video adapter connected to the hub. 20' HDMI and USB cables run along a wall to the left of the table to connect the hub to the television and the camera that's mounted on it (Logitech Brio 4K). Another 20' USB cable runs behind the chair and forward along the right side where it connects to a microphone (Logitech Yeti X). The microphone is on another small table that extends out into the room just in front of the chair arm.

My wife uses an easy chair immediately to the right of mine. The microphone wire runs between the chairs, but does not touch either. None of the cabling or devices are in front of, behind, or to the right of that chair.

The problem is that when my wife gets up, the tv picture often goes black for 10-15 seconds. The television indicates that it no longer has a signal during that time. Then the picture comes back and things return to normal. During that time, the camera and microphone both continue to work normally.

The drop-out happens when she puts weight on the floor immediately in front of the chair, not when she puts pressure on the chair to get up.

Occasionally the drop-out will happen when one of our dogs (50-75 pounds) jumps down from the chair onto the same area or when someone walks across the area. The section of floor where this happens is no more than a couple of feet square, starting at the front of the chair and extending out in to the room. There are no cables or wires in the immediate vicinity on the floor and there is no electrical wiring under that section of floor.

We have speculated about static electricity, but there is no obvious way it would get into the microphone wiring across at least an 18" gap. I also replaced the microphone's USB cable with one that is better shielded, which made no difference.

So what could cause the video signal to drop-out when someone puts weight on a section of the floor with no apparent connection to any part of the system?

Any theories or suggestions would be welcome. We are genuinely mystified.