balooga's recent activity
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
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Comment on The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act in ~movies
balooga LinkI've never watched the show. Looks a bit... um, not my style. My 12yo kiddo has been asking about it though, and I'm not sure how age-appropriate it is. Would you (anyone reading) recommend it for...I've never watched the show. Looks a bit... um, not my style. My 12yo kiddo has been asking about it though, and I'm not sure how age-appropriate it is. Would you (anyone reading) recommend it for tweens? It it as horror-oriented, or existential dread inducing, as I imagine it to be based on the art style?
Sorry for the off-topic! Feel free to label as you see fit.
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Comment on Prototyping with LLMs in ~tech
balooga Link ParentIt's an interesting counterpoint to Genesis 11, where people carefully architect and plan the construction of a tower, only for God to hit them all with aphasia, thus forcing the project to be...It's an interesting counterpoint to Genesis 11, where people carefully architect and plan the construction of a tower, only for God to hit them all with aphasia, thus forcing the project to be abandoned.
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Comment on Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news in ~news
balooga Link ParentI low-key love that the marketing picture shows the controller above a crumpled burger wrapper, nasty grease stains and all. It's highly atypical for fast food ads to portray any part of their...I low-key love that the marketing picture shows the controller above a crumpled burger wrapper, nasty grease stains and all. It's highly atypical for fast food ads to portray any part of their products so realistically. So, uh, kudos for that.
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Comment on Half-baked idea for metered inline image allowances in ~tildes
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Comment on Half-baked idea for metered inline image allowances in ~tildes
balooga Link ParentI don't actually have one since I'm mainly just active on Tildes and we don't do that here. I used to think Imgur was great but I'm usually behind a VPN and these days they do their damndest to...I don't actually have one since I'm mainly just active on Tildes and we don't do that here. I used to think Imgur was great but I'm usually behind a VPN and these days they do their damndest to block me because of that.
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Half-baked idea for metered inline image allowances
This is totally a half-baked shower thought of an idea, and not one that even I am personally persuaded by, but I’m curious to gauge what others think of it. Sometimes it might be useful to allow...
This is totally a half-baked shower thought of an idea, and not one that even I am personally persuaded by, but I’m curious to gauge what others think of it.
Sometimes it might be useful to allow images to be inlined in topics or comments instead of requiring users to link to them. If that ability were unrestricted, people would probably use it for frivolous reaction GIFs, memes, etc., which are not wanted here on Tildes. But if we restricted how often people could do it, if we made it costly, they’d be less inclined to waste it.
We already have precedent for metered functionality to discourage abuse: Exemplary labels. That seems to be working pretty well. What if users received one image credit per month? We could allow them to rollover/accrue but maybe cap them so nobody can have more than five(?). That’s certainly scarce enough to make me think twice about wasting them.
We could make them collapsible so they can be hidden with a click (though I’m not sure if it’s feasible to make per-image collapsed states persistent). We could also have a user setting for people who don’t want to see the images. Maybe call it “Inline Image Display” with these options:
- Always show
- Always collapse
- Always collapse unless in
<details>blocks - Render as link to image instead
If we wanted to be really cautious we could default to that last option (basically current behavior) so nobody would be opted-in if they didn’t want it.
I’m not suggesting Tildes should get into the free image hosting business. This idea assumes that the images being shown are already hosted from a place that permits embedding on third-party domains. We might be able to validate that before running the form submit, to surface a warning when an image is inaccessible so people don’t find out it’s broken until after spending a credit for it.
We could also allow these images only in new topics, and not in comments where they’re more likely to be used flippantly. Or charge two credits instead of one to do it in a comment. Or in that user setting we could add “Always show in topics and collapse in comments” as an option.
If we wanted to get fancy we could also allow users to flag whether an image they’re sharing is NSFW, and add a couple additional options to that user setting, to exclude those if desired.
Of course now that I’m thinking about NSFW images in 2026 I’m reminded that all this age-verification hysteria could be brought to Tildes’ doorstep much faster if we directly displayed user-originated images on the site. Not really a battle I’d chose for us (read: Deimos) to fight so that risk alone might render the idea DOA.
I’d still be interested to hear what others think though.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 6 in ~society
balooga Link ParentThere is no possible way to frame that statement as ethical, respectable, or patriotic. No way to portray it as in any way aligned with Christian morality. It’s just one example of many recent...The United States… has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world.
There is no possible way to frame that statement as ethical, respectable, or patriotic. No way to portray it as in any way aligned with Christian morality. It’s just one example of many recent mask-off statements made by the magasphere that is unabashedly, nakedly evil from top to bottom. You can’t dress it up with justifications or try to twist it into anything other than exactly that — an evil, reckless, headstrong affront to humanity. Completely out of alignment with anyone who values mercy, compassion, democracy, freedom, principled leadership, or even basic decency.
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Comment on Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" as his threatened attacks on Iranian infrastructure loom ahead of deadline in ~society
balooga Link Parent…of course it did. Keep it classy, U.S. politics.…of course it did. Keep it classy, U.S. politics.
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Comment on Project Glasswing: securing critical software for the AI era in ~tech
balooga Link ParentOkay, I see where you're coming from now. I'm not making a long-term bet against it... what I'm predicting is a near-term crisis that acts as an industry wake-up call, which in turn leads to much...Okay, I see where you're coming from now. I'm not making a long-term bet against it... what I'm predicting is a near-term crisis that acts as an industry wake-up call, which in turn leads to much better (I probably mean "deterministic") tools and workflows that really do solve the problem for good. But right now? It's still the wild west. In the meantime I think a lot of engineers, or engineering departments, are going to get overconfident and create some real messes for themselves, before actual best practices are solidified.
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Comment on Project Glasswing: securing critical software for the AI era in ~tech
balooga Link ParentAs a member of that industry (albeit between jobs at the moment) who is pretty deep in the agentic engineering space these days, I'd like to know more about those best practices you're talking...As a member of that industry (albeit between jobs at the moment) who is pretty deep in the agentic engineering space these days, I'd like to know more about those best practices you're talking about. From where I'm sitting that still seems very much up in the air.
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Comment on Project Glasswing: securing critical software for the AI era in ~tech
balooga LinkMy first thought was that this was about hardening critical software against AI drift-induced architectural brittleness. I have a feeling that’s going to become a real problem in the next few...My first thought was that this was about hardening critical software against AI drift-induced architectural brittleness. I have a feeling that’s going to become a real problem in the next few years, particularly with SaaS platforms, as agentic engineers keep implementing new features as afterthoughts tacked onto the existing codebase, rather than properly integrating them into those systems in a cohesive way.
I think this is going to be a major issue that companies will be unwilling to acknowledge or talk about. Somebody will probably invent a word for it. From the outside, it’s just going to look like our software is just getting slower, maybe weird regressions start appearing, maybe UIs start introducing bizarre deviations from their familiar UX patterns and branding. It’s mostly going to be only half-perceived like “am I going crazy or did this feature work better last month?” People who point out the drift will be gaslit and told that’s conspiracy thinking. Because nobody outside those companies has eyes on the code and everybody imagines the companies to be competent and, well, capable of controlling the development of their flagship products.
But they won’t be. Inch by inch the AI’s myopic decisions are going to paint these codebases into corners. Code will slowly spaghettify, tech debt will spread like cancer. There won’t be a way to reverse course without major rewrites. Engineering teams will just compound the problem by directing the AI to play whac-a-mole with bug reports, tacking on more band-aid fixes instead of untangling the Gordian knot.
That’s not the problem Project Glasswing is trying to solve. This is about using AI to proactively, defensively find security holes and patch them before they can be exploited. Which is also hugely important, and I’m very much in favor of the initiative.
But the other thing needs to be solved too.
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Comment on NASA’s Artemis II crew flies around the moon (live broadcast) in ~space
balooga Link ParentWould it really be a massive feat to get a couple satellites into lunar orbit to relay signals around it? Compared to JWST and the Mars rovers, I would think not.Would it really be a massive feat to get a couple satellites into lunar orbit to relay signals around it? Compared to JWST and the Mars rovers, I would think not.
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Comment on Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" as his threatened attacks on Iranian infrastructure loom ahead of deadline in ~society
balooga Link ParentI’m starting to really dislike this TACO meme. The last thing an ego like his, so fluent in the language of bullying, needs is for his opposition to keep shitposting about what a coward he is....I’m starting to really dislike this TACO meme. The last thing an ego like his, so fluent in the language of bullying, needs is for his opposition to keep shitposting about what a coward he is. Almost seems like a provocation or a challenge. I’m just picturing him storming out of the bathroom after reading a particularly humiliating series of tweets, barking at anyone in earshot to bring him the nuke football, muttering “chicken out, huh?? I’ll show them chickening out…”
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Comment on Artemis II April 1 launch in ~space
balooga Link ParentQuite grim. But now you’ve made me curious, would a nuclear blast be visible from the moon? Or even from low earth orbit?Quite grim. But now you’ve made me curious, would a nuclear blast be visible from the moon? Or even from low earth orbit?
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Comment on Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" as his threatened attacks on Iranian infrastructure loom ahead of deadline in ~society
balooga LinkChrist, this goes way beyond asshole. What the fuck.Christ, this goes way beyond asshole. What the fuck.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 30 in ~society
balooga Link ParentNonsensical capitalization, triple exclamation marks, all caps stinger, “public DM” WWE-style smack talk format, superlative claims, performative machismo, threats of violence, unhinged blasphemy…...Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah
Nonsensical capitalization, triple exclamation marks, all caps stinger, “public DM” WWE-style smack talk format, superlative claims, performative machismo, threats of violence, unhinged blasphemy… seems to tick all the boxes. What about that doesn’t sound like him, in your estimation?
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Comment on Where can I learn about the actual science behind Artemis II? in ~space
balooga LinkMight seem like a bit of a cop-out but I’ve been really interested in this as well and ChatGPT has done a great job finding the answers I’m looking for, with links to official NASA sources. I...Might seem like a bit of a cop-out but I’ve been really interested in this as well and ChatGPT has done a great job finding the answers I’m looking for, with links to official NASA sources. I recommend adding “Show your sources.” to prompts to hedge against hallucination. The only real frustration I’ve had has been where certain design details are considered trade secrets, officially and deliberately obscured from the public record. I’m not a fan of obfuscationism from public science agencies.
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Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk
balooga Link ParentI assume Protagonist vs. Nature is exactly the sort of conflict OP was asking for, and the Andy Weir space survival stories are great examples of it. Another movie in that category is Apollo 13. I...I assume Protagonist vs. Nature is exactly the sort of conflict OP was asking for, and the Andy Weir space survival stories are great examples of it. Another movie in that category is Apollo 13. I just watched it about an hour ago so it's fresh in my mind — for "some reason" I've been thinking a lot about crewed lunar missions this week, haha.
It's so good! Absolute masterpiece of a movie. I love the realism and the fact that it respects the intelligence of the audience. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it, or if it's been a while. The CG (which was cutting edge in 1995) looks a bit dated by today's standards, but everything else is extremely solid.
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Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk
balooga Link ParentI haven't seen that in 20+ years but my memory still catalogs it as the most aggressively depressing film I've ever watched. It starts bleak, and just gets worse and worse and worse. TBH I don't...I haven't seen that in 20+ years but my memory still catalogs it as the most aggressively depressing film I've ever watched. It starts bleak, and just gets worse and worse and worse. TBH I don't actually remember anything about the story, but I do remember the hollow feeling it left in the pit of my stomach by the time the credits rolled.
I don't think I've ever not had a crush on Jennifer Connelly but that's not nearly enough to make want to rewatch this misery-fest.
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Inspired by @Juan over here I just vibe-coded this PNG to emoonji-art converter this afternoon. Truly we are living in the future.