[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 6 points 1 day ago

This is normal shit in Missouri. The state voted for medicinal and eventually recreational marijuana. But then they sent people to state legislature and offices who vehemently opposed it. Can't remember which type it was, but IIRC, the courts had to step in to force the state to license dispensaries and grow ops and such.

They voted lobbying and redistricting reform. But then they sent pols who absolutely didn't want it. This time, the pols got their way and lobbying and redistricting reform went away before it ever got put into practice.

Every so often, the GOP-controlled legislature sends RTW legislation to the people. The people reject it time and time again, but they don't reject the people in the legislature who keep bringing it up time and time again.

So I was super confident that Amendment 3 in MO would pass, based on past results. But I was also super confident Trump, Hawley (fuck Josh Hawley), and a multitude of other GOPers would be voted in. Based on past results.

Because Missouri makes no fucking sense.

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 1 points 2 days ago

I guess I kinda answered this one in my other comment.

Idk, what do you think about all this? What do you think about Mastodon so far?

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 1 points 2 days ago

I think Mastodon is better since it's not algorithmic. I could create a bubble of negativity (or positivity) if I wanted to on Mastodon, but I'd have to go out there and search for it and then build it, right? It's different from maybe, on Twitter, tweeting something negative, then the algorithm serving me up similar negative content, which I consume, which gives me more, so and so forth.

In addition, I definitely don't spend as much time on Mastodon as I do on, say, Instagram or YouTube, which is serving me content algorithmically. That's probably a positive, too.

Though given that IG and YT are more unidirectional -- content creator serves content to viewer with little in the opposite direction, other than comments -- whereas Twitter and Mastodon are more multidirectional, with conversation happening between people in the threads, that it's more of a "true" communications platform, the lack of the algorithm on Mastodon does make it more difficult to have those spontaneous interactions. Whether that's a good thing or not probably depends on the person. Some people just want to consume content, while others want to participate in the content. I guess that's kinda tangential to your question!

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 11 points 2 days ago

If you don't vote, I'll be sad. Please don't make me sad.

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 2 points 3 days ago

Over on another reddit/beehaw-like site, there's a "Backlog Burner" event. Basically playing games in one's games backlog during the month on November. And boy do I have a backlog.

I started with This War of Mine. I didn't play very long, nearly 1.5hrs. It wasn't bad. I think I just got bored. I might go back to it at some point? We'll see. It's just slow to start and not a lot of direction. I'm kinda the type that at least in the beginning of a game, I'm gonna need a little direction and a push.

For the second game I've played so far, I tried Signalis. Now THAT is an awesome game. So far anyway; only about 3hrs in. I will say, I don't normally like playing horror/suspense games like this. I'm too much of a wuss. But Signalis has kept me hooked. I'll only play for like 20-30min at a time, before my nerves start getting to me (lol), but I do keep going back.

Otherwise, just playing FFXIV as usual. And also finishing up Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice. Finally on the last case, "Turnabout Time Traveler."

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 1 points 3 days ago

No worries, I enjoy conversations like this. Though would you mind explaining what you mean by "page-less format of format of Mastodon?"

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 2 points 5 days ago

Not sure. And not sure I ever thought about it that way. I get the point of decentralization. Ideally, it allows us to avoid what's happened to Twitter and reddit and other platforms. Plus there're are safety considerations (like Beehaw defederating from some less-moderated instances, even if they are larger). Basically, enshittification, in various ways.

But that's not why I'm on the Fediverse. In fact, I'm still using proprietary platforms like reddit and Instagram. I may have come over here in the last year, after reddit's APIgate, but I didn't stay because of the FOSS/decentralized principles. It's mainly because these communities and the people are cool. I don't mind spending my times in these different communities, because they're offering something different from each other.

I guess to me, these are all just tools. Tools to connect people with each other. And so long as I find a tool useful and isn't too awful -- looking at you, Twitter...deleted my 14yo account last year) -- I'll keep using it.

I don't know if that's answers your question, lol.

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 2 points 5 days ago

I have a separate account from Beehaw, which I use on a different Mastodon instance. I created it about a year ago. I also recently created a Bluesky account (I know, I know, proprietary social media...)

So for Mastodon, I've noticed it's harder to find the content I'm interested in. My instance is small, but active, so I find that I mostly interact with the folks there. Which is fine, it's our own little community of mostly political memes and life and work and such. That said, our instance is well-federated, so I do get some interaction with others outside of it.

But on Bluesky, maybe because it's algorithmic, right away I'm seeing content that I'm interested in. Gaming, anime, arts, news, tech. And in some ways, it feels more like Twitter back in 2009, when I initially created my (now-deleted) account there.

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 3 points 5 days ago

90s. Late 90s, as I was in middle school.

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Some folks from my last job were in town on Wednesday, so they invited me out to dinner. I say "last job," but I'm now a contractor/consultant for them; no longer a FTE. So I guess they're still my coworkers. It was nice to see them in person. My boss was there, so of course he asked how my new job was going. From my previous post, I'm not sure I'm enjoying it. But I couldn't tell him that.

But I started with, "It's interesting..." And his eyes widened and he got a gleam in his eyes, lol. He thinks that anyone who leaves the company is crazy. And there's some truth to that as I've worked for the company twice. The first time I left...I don't want to say it was a mistake, but it wasn't everything I hoped for. I eventually came back a year and half later. Which he loves rubbing in my face and anyone who contemplates leaving. So I fudged it a bit. And he deflated, lol.

Either way, I'm glad I got to see them, and just spend a fun evening catching up over drinks and dinner. Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen is excellent.

This weekend, just watching F1 and League of Legends Worlds. Let's go Red Bull and T1!

5

Paywall-free.

Four months after Jackson County voters rejected a Royals stadium proposal in Kansas City’s Crossroads District, and two months after Kansas legislation paved the potential for an alternative path, the vision of downtown baseball endures.

[...]

Those conversations have more recently concentrated on studying the viability of a site not prominent in their last exploration: Washington Square Park, which sits just north of Crown Center and east of Union Station. More on that in a bit.

3

Posting the whole article, since it's so short.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - It’s not quite pumpkin spice season, but it sure felt like it on Friday. On Friday morning, the National Weather Service reported that the temperature in Kansas City, Missouri, dropped to 54 degrees. That broke the record low of 55 degrees for an Aug. 9, set in set in 1927. As of Friday afternoon at 2 p.m., Kansas City had reached a high of just 71 degrees. The record coldest high temperature for Aug. 9. is 73 degrees. That was accomplished in 1991, the NWS reported. “We may wind up setting a record low and record low high temperature for the date,” the National Weather Service stated. First Warn 5 chief meteorologist Luke Dorris said Friday’s weather is typical for Oct. 7!

Loving False Fall!

24
submitted 2 months ago by JCPhoenix@beehaw.org to c/sports@beehaw.org

The indelible moment came from Steph Curry, who made four uber clutch 3-pointers in a two-minute second stretch of the fourth quarter to turn away a French uprising. Curry assured his first gold with a ridiculous fall away bomb, silencing the home fans with his "put them to sleep" trademark move.

That was an incredible ending. Final score was 98-87, USA.

88
submitted 3 months ago by JCPhoenix@beehaw.org to c/politics@beehaw.org

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten breaks down the numbers around JD Vance since his announcement as Donald Trump's vice presidential pick.

35
submitted 3 months ago by JCPhoenix@beehaw.org to c/politics@beehaw.org

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former President Donald Trump chose Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate on Monday, picking a onetime critic who became a loyal ally and is now the first millennial to join a major-party ticket at a time of deep concern about the advanced age of America’s political leaders.

1

Non-paywalled archive.is link.

Some Kansas lawmakers want to use STAR bonds to finance new stadiums for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals. After Jackson County voters rejected a county sales tax for the teams in April, a Kansas proposal would authorize STAR bonds with 30-year terms to pay up to 100% of the cost of building a new stadium across the state line.

Fully financing a Chiefs stadium could mean issuing $2-3 billion in STAR bonds, and potentially $1.5 billion to $2 billion for the Royals. Never before have STAR bonds of that size been issued. As of 2020, $1.1 billion total in STAR bonds had been issued in total, according to a state audit. The Chiefs-Royals proposal could triple that.

It is far from certain whether such a massive project could pay for itself solely with sales tax revenue.

1

Non-payalled link here.

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday tossed the results of a 2022 vote in which Missourians overwhelmingly approved a measure forcing Kansas City to pay more for its police. The extraordinary decision found that Missouri voters were misled by statewide officials when they approved the measure, called Amendment 4. It calls for a new election to be held in November. Judge Paul C. Wilson wrote in the opinion that the financial estimates on the ballot question that voters saw in 2022 failed to “concisely and accurately advise voters” of its impact on Kansas City.

7
submitted 6 months ago by JCPhoenix@beehaw.org to c/politics@beehaw.org

Some softball questions aimed at outgoing House members. Still kinda interesting. Especially when it comes to the Congressional salary question.

Should be an NYT Gift link, with no paywall.

6
submitted 6 months ago by JCPhoenix@beehaw.org to c/politics@beehaw.org

Basic article from Reuters on polling and what things in results mean or don't mean. Not at all in-depth but it is interactive. Always fun to play with sliders and buttons.

1

Archive.ph link if paywalled.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is threatening legal action against Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas after the mayor made comments suggesting the city would benefit from immigrants seeking asylum in cities such as New York coming to work in Kansas City.

44
submitted 6 months ago by JCPhoenix@beehaw.org to c/politics@beehaw.org

Ohio officials rejected a plan from Democrats to get President Joe Biden on the November ballot after the party scheduled its convention past a state election deadline.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose warned Ohio Democrats earlier this month that Biden is at risk of not making the Nov. 5 ballot. State law requires officials to certify the ballot 90 days before an election − which is Aug. 7 this year − but the president won't officially be nominated until the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19.

Lawmakers could pass an exemption to the 90-day deadline by May 9, as they did in 2020 when both parties scheduled their conventions too late. But the chances of that are slim: Top Democrats said they're deferring to the Biden campaign and Democratic National Committee, and Republican leaders are unlikely to lend a helping hand.

2

Missouri House Republicans passed a resolution Wednesday that seeks to make it harder to amend the state constitution.

Lawmakers voted 106-49 to pass the resolution, almost strictly on party lines, with Majority Floor Leader Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, being the only Republican to vote no.

The resolution now goes to the Senate, which has already approved its version.

[...]

The resolution, if passed by both chambers, would ask voters whether it should be harder to amend Missouri’s constitution through the initiative petition process.

Even though this will likely pass both chambers, it still has to go to a plebiscite.

Hopefully Missourians are smart enough to vote down this attack on our rights. Luckily, voters have been pretty good about things like this (except for the rollback of the lobbying reform "Clean Missouri" act). Still, people need to be aware of this.

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 63 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Yeah because I'm sure GM's shit will be better. Idek why I'm addressing this: ~~we all know GM doesn't want to pay Apple or Google~~. That this is really about more renting and never owning. They just want more money.

GM, just say that. We know you're a gigantic money-hungry corp. You all don't have to lie and pretend to care about safety. We're not a bunch of idiots. We get it, even if you all suck for doing this.

I'd say I hope GM crashes and burns again, but then the government will just bail them out again.

[-] JCPhoenix@beehaw.org 34 points 1 year ago

The weird part of that is the the amounts he's saying it would cost/time to re-run the test -- $100-500 (probably like that pay for a employee's day) -- are nothing in the context of a company. Especially one that was sold or offered $100million. My company run on like a $3million budget. A few hundred dollars is nothing to us. That's a staff lunch or our bar tab sometimes. If the retesting costs like $5000....OK, that's certainly something to pause and think about. But a few hundred? A day or half a day for an employee to re-do the test? That's too much?

Maybe to the average person, the average viewer, that sounds like a lot of money. But not to a business. Certainly not one as large as LMG.

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JCPhoenix

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