DynamoSunshirt's recent activity
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Comment on What made that wedding that you attended particularly memorable? in ~life
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Comment on What are your "how on earth did I not learn this sooner" tech moments? in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentAlso works on paragraphs! Position your cursor kinda near a paragraph, but not directly over text -- keep the cursor in 'pointer' mode, instead of text selection mode. Double click and hold, and...Also works on paragraphs! Position your cursor kinda near a paragraph, but not directly over text -- keep the cursor in 'pointer' mode, instead of text selection mode. Double click and hold, and you'll be able to select paragraphs at a time, not just words or (I shudder to think of it) letters like a caveman.
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Comment on Adulting -- what advice or encouragement did you receive / wish you had received when you were just starting out moving out? in ~life
DynamoSunshirt LinkI started out with basically no tools for my home, and my parents barely provided any help. No hammer. No screwdriver. No toolbox. No spatulas, or cutting boards, or bowls, or mixing bowls, or...I started out with basically no tools for my home, and my parents barely provided any help. No hammer. No screwdriver. No toolbox. No spatulas, or cutting boards, or bowls, or mixing bowls, or utensils. No glassware. No lamps or furniture. It was absolutely overwhelming, while still inundated with student loan debt, to consider buying all of those things. I had already spent money on a mattress, a bed frame, business casual clothing, and put thousands of dollars into an expensive apartment commutable from my first job; I couldn't imagine burning more money at the time.
As a result, I basically ate off of one camping plate with a combination spknifork implement for a full year. And wound up getting most of my meals at work (which thankfully had ample free food).
As I've gotten older and put together a functional household, I wish I'd asked around among my slightly-older friends for old crap they didn't need in their house any more. These days, I have old computer monitors, beaten up tools, crappy old cutting boards and knives and utensils and so much more, but I keep them in the house (despite having nicer, functional replacements) because I don't want them to go to waste. They're all slightly too ratty to donate, but I would have killed for these items fresh out of college.
So I guess I recommend asking around with your friends and coworkers for their old crap. And of course go thrifting, but at the trashiest places, because you do not want to pay for a nice vintage utensil set from a fancy antique store.
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Comment on Router recommendations? in ~comp
DynamoSunshirt LinkIt definitely depends on your technical inclination and your house design. If you need mesh, there are lots of similar options out there. Folks seem to like eero but you can look around at reviews...It definitely depends on your technical inclination and your house design.
If you need mesh, there are lots of similar options out there. Folks seem to like eero but you can look around at reviews -- as far as I can tell, all of these have apps for managing your network and other smart functionality that I'm not interested in. But you do you!
I have heard very good things about GL.iNet. Some of the best price/performance ratio in modern networking, but they aren't too technical to set up. The Flint 3 or 3e would serve you well for the next decade, I imagine.
I use an OpenWRT one, myself, and I'm entirely happy with it. But we only have 100/100Mbps fiber -- some folks claim it struggles with gigabit speeds. And it's only wifi 6, not 7 like the Flints and most modern mesh.
Ubiquity is allegedly quite good but I haven't used them at all. Great reviews, but... cloud integration isn't something I want, and all their offerings seem to be a solid $100 more than the equivalent GL.iNet alternative. Still, if you want a weird wifi egg instead of a dead wifi spider, the Dream Router 7 seems lovely. Just pricey. And they seem to target a slightly more technical user than the average router, offering some nice customization while keeping things mostly plug-and-play.
Anyway, I would caution you to think twice about cloud integration -- it's nasty for personal privacy (who knows who eero sells your activity to, and Google is surely harvesting plenty as well) -- and it's literally a backdoor in your network infra that you can never fix. A lot of the companies offering apps and cloud services for your router are increasingly leaning on upsells, so prepare yourself for upsell popup dialogs when you're trying to open a port, gated functionality, and updates that break old functionality in favor of a new paid alternative. And of course ads in the interface! Unlike a smart TV, you can't just leave your router disconnected from the internet.
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Comment on Fairphone Gen 6+ now available in the US in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentPhones have plateaued for a while, so it doesn't seem especially bad to me -- they have a decent track record for OS updates and security updates, after all. As long as they support it, I'd rather...Phones have plateaued for a while, so it doesn't seem especially bad to me -- they have a decent track record for OS updates and security updates, after all. As long as they support it, I'd rather they pick something lower power, to be honest. I think a lot about how the Pixel 3a and 4a had better battery than the flagship equivalents because the processors were less power hungry.
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Comment on Fairphone Gen 6+ now available in the US in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentIf they made a 5.5" Mini-sized phone with an aux jack, I'd forgive any price. Unfortunately they simply don't make a phone that fits in my pocket.If they made a 5.5" Mini-sized phone with an aux jack, I'd forgive any price. Unfortunately they simply don't make a phone that fits in my pocket.
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Comment on Canadian Blood Services calling for donors amid serious drop in supply in ~health
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentThank you. This is precisely the kind of tip I was hoping to find!Thank you. This is precisely the kind of tip I was hoping to find!
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Comment on Canadian Blood Services calling for donors amid serious drop in supply in ~health
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentIt takes longer, more like an hour, right? How does it compare in terms of fatigue -- I'm not a huge guy, so back when I was less muscular I actually passed out after donating blood. But I've...It takes longer, more like an hour, right? How does it compare in terms of fatigue -- I'm not a huge guy, so back when I was less muscular I actually passed out after donating blood. But I've filled out since then, so hopefully that won't be an issue next time.
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Comment on Canadian Blood Services calling for donors amid serious drop in supply in ~health
DynamoSunshirt LinkAs someone with AB- blood (the rarest "typical" type iirc, afflicted upon only 2% of the population), how can I help? My platelets are allegedly quite valuable, but how do I find local places to...As someone with AB- blood (the rarest "typical" type iirc, afflicted upon only 2% of the population), how can I help? My platelets are allegedly quite valuable, but how do I find local places to donate them?
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Comment on I don't really like the "Human-made" badging trend in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentIt certainly helps that they all independently make their own software now. I think LLMs are a fantastic rubber duck if you literally have no coworkers to pair program with, and occasionally just...It certainly helps that they all independently make their own software now. I think LLMs are a fantastic rubber duck if you literally have no coworkers to pair program with, and occasionally just need a spare set of eyes.
It has been interesting to pay attention to their AI journey. They started quite skeptical. They briefly fell in love with AI, though in at least one case it was mostly because they miss having teammates. They seem to appreciate it now, with a grain of salt. Marco can still go on about it a bit too long but I think between the three hosts we've gotten a somewhat balanced take on LLM usage for software dev. I'm much more skeptical since my employers have been much more "shove it down your throat" types since Claude code got really popular, but it's helpful to see their perspective to know if I'm missing out on that much.
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Comment on Unreleased OpenAI model escapes containment and hacks into Hugging Face in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentLikewise, when the self-driving car you're in breaks traffic rules or injures or kills someone, who is responsible? If you own the vehicle (in the future), is the liability any different from the...Likewise, when the self-driving car you're in breaks traffic rules or injures or kills someone, who is responsible? If you own the vehicle (in the future), is the liability any different from the current rideshare-only scenario?
I really wish our government had even an iota of competence and foresight so we could establish rules for these things before shit hits the fan.
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Comment on Your cookware got worse on purpose: who owns Pyrex and All-Clad now in ~food
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentThese summaries are obviously LLM-written, but you didn't include any citations. Did you check the truthiness before posting? How confident are you in this output?These summaries are obviously LLM-written, but you didn't include any citations. Did you check the truthiness before posting? How confident are you in this output?
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Comment on Unreleased OpenAI model escapes containment and hacks into Hugging Face in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI'm fond of Cal Newport's term doom trolling to explain this behavior. Like critihype, but even more repugnant. Imagine if every industry behaved this way, releasing overhyped spook stories to...I'm fond of Cal Newport's term doom trolling to explain this behavior. Like critihype, but even more repugnant.
Imagine if every industry behaved this way, releasing overhyped spook stories to scare everyone into thinking their product is worth something. Local pest patrol companies would constantly roll out videos of the worst cockroach infestations. Electricians would do nothing but explain how your shitty old wiring might burn down your whole house and family. Grocery stores and restaurants would advertise using videos of starving children, "don't end up like them!" Apple would advertise their Watch with ghost stories about people who would have dropped dead from obscure heart conditions without their monitoring... oh wait they actually do advertise the Watch this way, and it's disgusting.
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Comment on Apple sues OpenAI for stealing trade secrets to build AI hardware in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link Parent"profitable on inference" is only true if you ignore the fact that they offload lots of free trial and discount costs as marketing (not GAAP compliant, iirc). Unless you believe they spend..."profitable on inference" is only true if you ignore the fact that they offload lots of free trial and discount costs as marketing (not GAAP compliant, iirc). Unless you believe they spend massively more on advertising than Coca-Cola!
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Comment on AI mania is eviscerating global decisionmaking in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt LinkThis in particular resonated with my workplace experience over the last couple of years:This in particular resonated with my workplace experience over the last couple of years:
On several occasions, we’ve been exposed to folks that have been sort of lukewarm on our main offerings, but they really, really wanted to use AI to perform a natural language query on their data. And we thought “Okay, if you really want to see it, maybe we can caveat this appropriately and show you what it might look like.”
This was a terrible mistake. It backfired in the most predictable way imaginable – every lukewarm client that saw the chatbot in action, even with us telling them that it was not going to accomplish what they wanted, wanted to buy it immediately. Every other consideration, including millions of dollars that we could plausibly help them achieve by non-AI means, was swept aside. It was like a dark and terrible force seized control of their limbs, plunged their hands into their own chests, and presented their still-beating credit cards to us in grim supplication. We were so mortified by the inexplicable shift in energy that we (wisely) declined to take the money and ended the sales process, and soon thereafter removed Cortex from our list of demonstrations. It would have been too irresponsible to exploit this gap in their reasoning, and frankly, it was already irresponsible to have even run the demonstration – doctors don’t walk around showing off cool pills that they’d never prescribe.
Watching the total 180°, that shift from ice-cold to red-hot buying frenzy, was a deeply unsettling experience. It was personally uncomfortable to see people that clearly didn’t gel with us interpersonally suddenly dying to enter an ongoing relationship, but more broadly uncomfortable because for a brief moment I began to understand what is happening in sales meetings around the world.
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AI mania is eviscerating global decisionmaking
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Comment on Linus Torvalds says Linux is not "anti-AI", tells haters to 'fork it' and 'just walk away' in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI am inclined to agree with you, philosophically. I avoid LLMs for any task that I truly care about and treat them with extreme skepticism. And I find them even more ethically dubious than most...I am inclined to agree with you, philosophically. I avoid LLMs for any task that I truly care about and treat them with extreme skepticism. And I find them even more ethically dubious than most grocery store meat.
Unfortunately, much like I wind up buying those meats when they're on a good sale at my local co-op, I sometimes lean on LLMs when I get stuck or mentally blocked. But it's important to use them sparingly, and avoid getting hooked. And once powerful enough local models that don't destroy water supplies, electricity prices, or poor people's health are available, I'll use those exclusively. Same for a model that isn't built by ingesting the entire goddamn internet's worth of public writing with no compensation.
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Comment on Linus Torvalds says Linux is not "anti-AI", tells haters to 'fork it' and 'just walk away' in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link Parent"look over the MR and think it looks fine and merge it" is ambiguous. If you know the codebase front and back and have a pretty good notion of how to solve the problem, you can probably just look..."look over the MR and think it looks fine and merge it" is ambiguous.
If you know the codebase front and back and have a pretty good notion of how to solve the problem, you can probably just look through the MR to validate that the code matches the rough draft in your brain. If you have adequate testing, you might even be able to confirm that it behaves as expected. In that case, I think you're good.
If you don't know your codebase that well, don't have a good notion of how to solve the problem, or you don't extensively test the LLM-provided solution? Yep, that's vibe coding. You can probably get away with it. But it's absolutely vibecoding and a bit sloppy.
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Comment on Linus Torvalds says Linux is not "anti-AI", tells haters to 'fork it' and 'just walk away' in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentIt's a bit like food production. Sure, you can try to ethically source all of the food at a restaurant... but basically the only way to do that is to run a vegan restaurant. And even then, are you...It's a bit like food production. Sure, you can try to ethically source all of the food at a restaurant... but basically the only way to do that is to run a vegan restaurant. And even then, are you absolutely sure that nobody was exploited to produce the fertilizer to grow the veggies? And that nobody committed genocide to get that farmland? (spoiler alert: someone definitely did).
I think it makes sense to not let perfect be the enemy of good here, even if I dislike LLMs personally. Let's shame people for slop, but admit that LLMs are a tool that many find very helpful for software development.
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Comment on Silicon Valley has a science fiction problem in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentOn one hand, I want to agree with you. On the other hand, tech billionaires keep building the goddamn Torment Nexus. Maybe someone could show them Event Horizon and we could finally get rid of...On one hand, I want to agree with you. On the other hand, tech billionaires keep building the goddamn Torment Nexus.
Maybe someone could show them Event Horizon and we could finally get rid of them by sending them to a Torment Plane?
Went to my favorite wedding ever this year. The secret? Renting a whole inn. The less important friends and family stayed at satellite locations, but the core friends and family all stayed at one place. They did a welcome dinner plus campfire, a whole day for the wedding, and then a farewell breakfast the last day. We didn't have to think about any logistics at all, just be around and attend the stuff on the schedule. They picked a location with lots of outdoor space and trails, so there were plenty of areas to explore with our (limited) free time. And we wound up hosting the after party in our suite with the core college friend group. I haven't seen a lot of those friends in years, so the trip was worth it just for catching up -- but of course the wedding itself was also beautiful and deeply touching, since these friends are incredible type-A overachievers.
Honestly, I find nothing more distasteful at a wedding than an artificial venue. My favorite weddings have been in state parks, in someone's back yard, and now at this cute inn in New England. I have been to far more expensive weddings in large hotels and spaces that felt more like a convention center or some kind of country club, and they just felt... inhuman and wrong.
My advice? Pick a location where your core group can just BE for at least the day, if not the full (probably late Friday -> early Sunday) trip. Half the point of weddings is the human connections outside of the couple, the other half is celebrating the couple itself. Both benefit from a mix of good vibes and enough time to get comfortable. Nothing kills the vibes more than figuring out car pools to and from the venue, the reception, and the hotel.