abadideaI rewatched the LOTR extended cut for the first time in quite a few years and now I am thinking about how all those Silicon Valley fascists who name their startups after cool swords utterly missed the central thesis that cool guys with cool swords give into the corrupting temptation of power at the drop of a hat and only weed-smoking barefoot hippies were able to get the job done
Non-Canon Homophobic Neopets NPC@0xabad1dea falling to temptation does mean you get a cool sword though
Advanced Persistent Teapot@0xabad1dea I am pretty convinced that some of those companies chose names precisely -because- they wanted the fascist subtext
@http_error_418 the thing is, people all either think they're doing the right thing or just don't care either way about right or wrong; nobody has "do the wrong thing" as an ideology. LOTR-is-cool fascists are falling for the exact same mental trap as all the cool sword guys in the story: "I would simply use the crushing power of violence to make this country better, not worse!"
Kevin Riggle@0xabad1dea @http_error_418 brb launching a company called Orthanc
Neil Kandalgaonkar@kevinriggle @0xabad1dea @http_error_418
How about Sauron Systems, a militarized security startup for the homes of the super rich, funded and started by ex-Palantir guys
Machine Lord Zero@neilk Curse their geoblocking or whatever it is that causes this link to take me to the msn homepage!
@MachineLordZero Oh, just search for "Sauron Systems" then
I can't find it now, but seem to remember they had graphics of drones flying around and spotlighting stereotypical bad guys prowling around a rich person's house. I think the analogy is to Sauron's "spotlight" eye in the LOTR movies.
Anyway it seems they've scaled it back to stationary cams with more AI built in. I have no idea if any engineer has even built anything, seems like an executive's dream
@neilk Found their site. It looks like a shitty overdone motion activated light with less privacy.
Phillyinflorida@neilk @kevinriggle @0xabad1dea @http_error_418 two little hobbits sneaked into Mordor and destroyed Sauron's ring and empire. How is that advertisement for security?
@blwinnemore @neilk @kevinriggle @0xabad1dea likewise, the first meaning of Palantir is "powerful seeing stone that shows things which are hidden", but the second meaning is "dangerous corruption permitting the most evil and anti-life forces in existence influence over anyone who touches it"
aloe
gkrnours@0xabad1dea even they got corrupted, that's why frodo is missing a finger
Erik@gkrnours @0xabad1dea Oh no what happened
cobweb 2026 edition@cobweb you.... I like you. Bastard. :D
@letterror @0xabad1dea when Frodo finally got on top of mount doom to throw the one ring into the fire pit, he went naaah, I'll keep it. Golum was next to him, jumped on him, did bite Frodo finger off and then fell into the fire pit with the ring.
Or something like that, haven't read the book recently.
Helle, Queen of Dissociation 
@0xabad1dea the only software related Anduril we accept is the torch (flashlight) firmware (which btw have their own tradition of being named after LOTR swords)
@helle Torch firmware? Why does a torch need firmware?
(Genuine ignorance, I'm mostly familiar with torches that're on/off, and one I have that has several extra modes that I only see because I have to click through them to turn it off)
(Genuine ignorance, I'm mostly familiar with torches that're on/off, and one I have that has several extra modes that I only see because I have to click through them to turn it off)
@MachineLordZero yeah, so those modes need firmware, and can get very very fancy
@helle ...huh. It's mostly just annoying, on my torch at least. I'd be happier to replace it all with a pair of on/off switches. One for the front light, one for the side light.
Then I wouldn't have to deal with the seizure-inducing mode.
Then I wouldn't have to deal with the seizure-inducing mode.
@helle And thanks for telling me!
Dec [{(
)}]@helle @MachineLordZero
Very very very very fancy!
Your use case might require more than just on/off. You might need variable brightness, turbo boost, or "moonlight mode" for prolonging battery life and night vision. You might have a 'TaCTiCaL' requirement for SOS and/or seizure strobe modes.
The torch hardware might be limited to one button, or maybe you don't want to have to hunt for the correct button.
The Anduril firmware supports all those lighting modes (and a lockout), with one button.
@helle @MachineLordZero
What's great about Anduril is that the "fancy mode" functionality doesn't get in the way. You can toggle on/off with a single click each time and not have to know it's there.
Fancy modes are accessed by long press, double click (or triple etc) or click and hold.
Some of the fancy modes are useful, for example bicycle mode (for more visibility in traffic).
What's great about Anduril is that the "fancy mode" functionality doesn't get in the way. You can toggle on/off with a single click each time and not have to know it's there.
Fancy modes are accessed by long press, double click (or triple etc) or click and hold.
Some of the fancy modes are useful, for example bicycle mode (for more visibility in traffic).
@dec23k What the diddly is turbo boost on a torch?
@MachineLordZero
Any full-brightness mode is usually called 'Turbo' for short.
To avoid overheating and to save battery life, it is typically short-lived.
Any full-brightness mode is usually called 'Turbo' for short.
To avoid overheating and to save battery life, it is typically short-lived.
Sin Vega@0xabad1dea War guy: "My blade is Orcslayer Hugecock"
Sam: (sees attacking orcs, reaches for his frying pan)
Timothy Hurley@0xabad1dea Saruman’s whole “The White” shtick is basically Fantasese for “don’t be evil (tm)”
@0xabad1dea Hey now, they also made sure to eat regularly and indulge in the true pleasures of life!
Roy-Ahoi 🐀
The Squeakaphelagic Zone@0xabad1dea it really is the most obnoxious example of wow cool robot
Yora@0xabad1dea That's what makes the Torment Nexus joke work.
They would totally build something called the Torment Nexus and sell it to governments.
They would totally build something called the Torment Nexus and sell it to governments.
An Internet Vagabond@0xabad1dea Arguably, the gardener is the savior of the world. Sam FTW. Saves the world **and** gets the girl. We need more Sams and fewer Sarumans.
masukomi@0xabad1dea see also "how apple lost its way" 😉
Irenes (many)@0xabad1dea you give Tolkein a little more credit than we do for that being, like, intentional subtext, but we share your frustration at how shallow these assholes' understanding of the media they constantly reference is
Chris Siebenmann@ireneista My guess is that 'good English yeomen are the true strength' is intended subtext by Tolkein, since he seems to have intended a bunch of moral stuff in LOTR (one wonders if this was shaped by his WWI experiences). In this vein you might be interested in some of Bret Deveraux's writings, eg:
https://acoup.blog/2025/04/18/collections-why-celebrimbor-fell-and-boromir-conquered-the-moral-universe-of-tolkien/
https://acoup.blog/2025/04/25/collections-how-gandalf-proved-mightiest-spiritual-power-in-tolkien/
(His series on various LOTR sieges in the books and films is also interesting for various things, like how Saruman is clearly kind of a techbro.)
Collections: Why Celebrimbor Fell but Boromir Conquered: the Moral Universe of Tolkien
This week (and probably next) I want to talk a bit more Tolkien, but in a somewhat different vein from normal. Rather than discussing the historicity of Tolkien’s world or adaptations of it, …
@cks yeah - he claimed that the overarching plot wasn't a war metaphor, but it pretty clearly was, heh
Emily Fox@0xabad1dea But what if *I’m* the Aragorn.
Frank Hightower 🐁@0xabad1dea weed-smoking barefoot highly organized hippies!
sleet01@0xabad1dea The project to replace a variety of harmful substances in our servers, including the bespoke battery-powered NVRAM cards, was internally known as "Riders of ROHS", which I found a little concerning since Rohan famously used fire to signal that things were not going well.
Luna R@0xabad1dea this reminds me of the one time I named something after a LoTR reference... a "flashlight" app for my watch (turns the screen white, and adjusts brightness on touch), which I called Eärendil (after the star). It's the most unassuming thing ever.
Not sure where I'm going with this... I guess I just find it interesting to contrast the grandiose apocalyptic premises of those fash startups, with "normal" people who just want to be able to see a bit better in the dark or whatever.