CannibalisticApple's recent activity
-
Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
-
Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
CannibalisticApple LinkMy mom and I watched the first episode of Halloween Baking Championship on the Food Network. We'd really enjoyed the Kids and Spring Baking Championships, and I like spooky season so this seemed...My mom and I watched the first episode of Halloween Baking Championship on the Food Network. We'd really enjoyed the Kids and Spring Baking Championships, and I like spooky season so this seemed like a good time.
And... we didn't like it.
Compared to the other two shows, this one just felt... mean? The banter between the host and the contestants didn't hit the right notes this time. When one of the judges entered midway through, it felt like they were talking about the contestants—which, hosts usually do, but this time it felt even more "other". Meanwhile pretty much everyone was under high amounts of stress. Even those who started out confident and cool-headed had stuff go wrong and started to freak out by the end.
Partway through the episode I was looking up info about the set, and found out a lot of other people don't like this season either. General consensus matches mine: this show was too negative. It barely focused on the baking, it was all focused on the bakers stressing out.
I feel so bad for one of the contestants because she was clearly super stressed and felt in over her head from the beginning. She's a nurse who runs a home bakery on the side, and said outright she was feeling a bad case of imposter syndrome and that she felt out of place. She had a meltdown after realizing she forgot sugar in her cake where she lied down on the floor. And just... The constant focus on her felt so icky. Pretty much every shot of her focused on how insanely stressed she was. The editors even left in a joke from her nursing job about "sticking fingers in all the holes" that she clearly instantly regretted, and only said because she was a giant bundle of nerves.
Yet despite all her troubles, her cake was one of the better ones. And then she revealed she has brain cancer, and... That makes all the focus on her feel even worse. I feel like she was chosen for the show purely for the potential drama. On that note, a lot of people seem to really dislike her because of how stressed she is, which just makes it even WORSE. This poor woman has enough to deal with, and she's now being exploited on national TV.
I was so relieved she wasn't in the bottom three, because this season they have a bakeoff between the bottom three bakers instead of a full second round with everyone. They also have the other contestants watching and commenting from a balcony, which is new and absolutely has to add to the stress. But when the judging came, one of the people who passed the first round announced he wanted to drop out. He claimed it was because he realized he was more "back of house" and he wasn't having fun, and honestly? He made the right call. I don't think anyone was having fun, something about the format this time is just bad.
We're not going to watch any more episodes. It's just too negative. I do want to keep an eye on the nurse's progress though, because I seem to be in a minority who feel sympathy for her. I want her off the show ASAP not due to her being a bad baker, but because the show is clearly just exploiting her for drama. Based on some comments about the second episode (apparently her bake looked raw??), they really might be keeping her in the show just for exploitive purposes.
-
Comment on Announcing the seventh annual Tildes' Make Something Month (Timasomo)! in ~tildes
CannibalisticApple LinkI'm trying to decide what I should do. I signed up for two times now, but both times I fell through for various reasons. My current options are: Continue working idly on one of various ideas for...I'm trying to decide what I should do. I signed up for two times now, but both times I fell through for various reasons.
My current options are:
- Continue working idly on one of various ideas for long-form original web serials (honestly based on last year's fizzled attempt and the scope I have in mind for my other big idea, may not be too realistic)
- Work on an extended version of Back to the Routine: A Summary of Why Clear Communication in the Workplace Matters, by Maureen Brandt, either as a long-form story I post online or as the start of a visual novel. Because that was a wild ride for me to write, and there's a lot of ways I could expand on it.
- Or really, any visual novel. I wrote a branching narrative for my college capstone project and it's challenging but fun. I used Ink back then, but I could use this to familiarize myself with Ren'py so I can start making more visual novels
- Dedicate the month to building up the buffers on my currently ongoing fanfics so they can get out of their way-too-long hiatuses. The guilt is real...
- Finally port and rewrite a ten-year-old creepypasta reader insert story I wrote on DeviantArt to Archive of Our Own. Because that story remains surprisingly popular, and honestly I have a lot of good memories of that time.
also I kinda want to rewrite it as a full-fledged original dark romance novel too
So yeah. Got a few options, just... Need to pick one.
-
Comment on A massive telecom threat was stopped right as world leaders gathered at UN headquarters in New York in ~news
CannibalisticApple Link ParentVery interesting, thanks for sharing! Here's an article by the writer of the X account in the second link. So to conclude: likely a spam farm, secret service lied to make it sound more nefarious...Very interesting, thanks for sharing! Here's an article by the writer of the X account in the second link.
The correct quote from any expert is that this looks like a normal criminal SIM farm, that’s used for a wide range of purposes, often SMS spam. They are pretending to be thousands of normal mobile phone users to prevent the mobile phone companies from shutting them down. Some miscreant likely used the service to hide the origin of threats sent as SMS messages to politicians, which is why the Secret Service is involved. Theres no evidence the Secret Service is involved due to some actual national security or espionage threat — that’s just propaganda they are hyping.
So to conclude: likely a spam farm, secret service lied to make it sound more nefarious for... Reasons.
Glad to hear there was (probably) no nefarious plot this time. On the other hand, this may now give criminals ideas if they hadn't thought of crashing cell towers before, so yay for that...
-
Comment on A massive telecom threat was stopped right as world leaders gathered at UN headquarters in New York in ~news
CannibalisticApple LinkPosting this here instead of ~society because it's not really about politics. If Tildes had cross-posting or allowed you to tag multiple groups I'd also tag it with ~tech. This is honestly a bit...Posting this here instead of ~society because it's not really about politics. If Tildes had cross-posting or allowed you to tag multiple groups I'd also tag it with ~tech.
This is honestly a bit chilling. It's scary to think about everything that would happen if this system were used, both in terms of the impact on regular people, and also the other plans that would be enacted alongside the blackout.
-
Comment on A massive telecom threat was stopped right as world leaders gathered at UN headquarters in New York in ~news
CannibalisticApple LinkWhile close to 150 world leaders prepared to descend on Manhattan for the U.N. General Assembly, the U.S. Secret Service was quietly dismantling a massive hidden telecom network across the New York area — a system investigators say could have crippled cell towers, jammed 911 calls and flooded networks with chaos at the very moment the city was most vulnerable.
The cache, made up of more than 300 SIM servers packed with over 100,000 SIM cards and clustered within 35 miles of the United Nations, represents one of the most sweeping communications threats uncovered on U.S. soil. Investigators warn the system could have blacked out cellular service in a city that relies on it not only for daily life but for emergency response and counterterrorism.
Officials also warned of the havoc the network could have caused if left intact. McCool compared the potential impact to the cellular blackouts that followed the Sept. 11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing, when networks collapsed under strain. In this case, he said, attackers would have been able to force that kind of shutdown at a time of their choosing.
-
A massive telecom threat was stopped right as world leaders gathered at UN headquarters in New York
26 votes -
Comment on I tried to protect my kids from the internet. Here’s what happened. in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentI'll be blunt: at this specific moment in time, I wouldn't personally trust any solution developed right now unless it's by an undeniably good nonprofit. The current state of... everything,...I'll be blunt: at this specific moment in time, I wouldn't personally trust any solution developed right now unless it's by an undeniably good nonprofit. The current state of... everything, really, makes me wary of any system that could go into age verification, because I can't think of an implementation that wouldn't involve a database somewhere recording each time it's used. Not even purely because of necessity, but because companies like having data on people. And from that data, they can put together a terrifyingly detailed portrait of a person.
I don't trust corporations like Apple or Google to not use that data for advertising or other purposes with how greedy they all are. I don't trust governments to put in place effective regulations in a timely fashion that would guarantees people's privacy either, because let's be real, most politicians barely understand anything about how the internet works.
And on that note: I'm an American. I can imagine how gleeful the current admin would be to have some database that tracks people's internet usage and figure out who to add to watch lists. If such a system already existed they'd be fighting viciously for access to those records if the government didn't already have it, or else starting a new version and banning the old one in the US. I can see them also using it to censor various topics such as, oh, anything LGBTQ+.
Just... I know there are good reasons for an age verification system. But right now, at least in the USA, I do not trust anyone with the power to make such a system to NOT abuse it in some way, either due to greed or a lust for power. And I don't think I'm alone in that.
-
Comment on I tried to protect my kids from the internet. Here’s what happened. in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentFully agree on your points about age verification. There just isn't a foolproof way to implement it that can't be bypassed somehow. Hell, even the examples of kids with alcohol and driving doesn't...Fully agree on your points about age verification. There just isn't a foolproof way to implement it that can't be bypassed somehow. Hell, even the examples of kids with alcohol and driving doesn't hold up because plenty of teens still get their hands on alcohol. Kids find ways around rules, some will even see them as a challenge. It's a fact of life.
It's also an undue burden for people who run smaller or independent sites to enforce such a check. I'd also be worried about those sites getting hacked, or someone setting up such a site with malicious intent depending on how the age verification is implemented. If it's via scans of a driver's license, and the owner of a site has the power to view them... Yeah, that's really bad.
We can't expect anything to be 100% kid-proof, so we need to work with that expectation in mind. To that end, I think educating kids about the dangers of social media is a HUGE factor that needs more emphasis. If they can understand why it's dangerous and bad, they'll be less likely to dive into talking to strangers as part of an act of rebellion than just being told "it's forbidden".
My parents drilled stranger danger into me hard. I used the internet largely unsupervised (thankfully I mostly just wanted to play Neopets or hang out on gaming forums that were fairly strict about keeping things appropriate), but I knew to never give out personal info as a kid. To this day I'm pretty sure a fair number of people still think my name is Kristen.
-
Comment on Dark patterns killed my wife's Windows 11 installation in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentGenuine question: what's the purpose of locking down a work laptop so that it can't go into sleep mode after being inactive? My mom had a horrible habit of never closing her laptop, and I had to...Genuine question: what's the purpose of locking down a work laptop so that it can't go into sleep mode after being inactive? My mom had a horrible habit of never closing her laptop, and I had to turn on the screensaver because that wasn't even enabled by default. Sleep mode wasn't an option though. First thing I did after she retired was check and confirm I could now enable it.
I get locking down file systems and registry, sometimes a little knowledge can be more dangerous than none, but I never understood the no-sleep mode. It was such a bizarre restriction.
-
Comment on Young Greenlandic woman living in Denmark will regain custody of the infant girl taken from her shortly after birth – becomes the latest flashpoint between Denmark and Greenland in ~life.women
CannibalisticApple Link ParentOh it's absolutely not about helping the child. Another article was posted here a couple months back that went into more detail on the tests. As I stated in the comments on that one, the two...Oh it's absolutely not about helping the child. Another article was posted here a couple months back that went into more detail on the tests. As I stated in the comments on that one, the two questions that made me rage-quit reading the article were asking about the name of the staircase in Rome, and what glass is made of. Totally irrelevant to parenting.
Those tests aren't designed to be passable, they're designed to justify taking away children. Even psychologists noted they couldn't pass the tests. It's really horrifying and infuriating.
-
Comment on California attorney fined for using twenty-one AI hallucinated cases in court filing in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentI personally use Google's AI specifically to check those sources. Sometimes I'll have a question that's semi-obscure or niche but relates to a larger topic, which means it would be buried within a...I personally use Google's AI specifically to check those sources. Sometimes I'll have a question that's semi-obscure or niche but relates to a larger topic, which means it would be buried within a larger article. There's a good chance my question will be answered in one of those source articles, so I just click on the sources to read/search the article for what I need and double check.
That said, they're far from precise. Just last night I was looking for information on how to start a new save file in a game because the main menu didn't have a "new game" button. Not only was the answer the AI gave wrong, but one of the sources was a wiki for an entirely different game.
Ultimately, people need to understand they can't just take AI at face value. ALWAYS double check the information it gives you. At least if the AI is able to comb a court record database and provide links, you can easily and quickly confirm the cases exist. Even then, it should be treated more as a research tool than a full replacement because you can't guarantee whether the cases actually match.
-
Comment on California attorney fined for using twenty-one AI hallucinated cases in court filing in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentI think they're being lenient since it doesn't have the same malicious intent behind it as making up cases yourself, just laziness or ignorance. Which is still absolutely a problem, but intent...I think they're being lenient since it doesn't have the same malicious intent behind it as making up cases yourself, just laziness or ignorance. Which is still absolutely a problem, but intent matters because one involves deliberately trying to mislead the court.
I remember one of the first incidents of this happening was an older man who'd been encouraged to use AI by some younger staff, but none of them ever explained how it actually worked. I gather he assumed that it went through court records to find relevant cases. He should have double checked, but I mostly felt bad for him with all the media attention.
It also may be done by a paralegal rather than the lawyer. I am not a lawyer, but my understanding is that they often enlist paralegals for the research, especially at larger firms handling multiple cases. I could see lawyers at such firms doing minimal review on a paralegal's research for "routine" or "simple" cases before submitting the brief. Would suck to get disbarred because a paralegal went for the lazy route and you had no idea.
To that end, I think fines are good enough for now. Most people just seem to need the reminder or wake-up call about how LLMs aren't good for this rather than having their careers ended.
-
Comment on California attorney fined for using twenty-one AI hallucinated cases in court filing in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentWell so much for that idea. For some topics such as legal cases at least, they might be able to incorporate a forced fact check by having it include links to records of the cases. Ideally it would...Well so much for that idea. For some topics such as legal cases at least, they might be able to incorporate a forced fact check by having it include links to records of the cases. Ideally it would still be for research purposes, rather than just submitting it to the court directly without any proofreading. At least that scenario would allow attorneys and paralegals to quickly identify if a case does not exist. You know, so long as they do proofreading...
-
Comment on California attorney fined for using twenty-one AI hallucinated cases in court filing in ~tech
CannibalisticApple LinkYou know, maybe the solution is to release a "professional" model that admits when it makes stuff up or doesn't know something/can't do something. Because let's be real, people aren't going to...AI companies don't have a solution to stop hallucinations. In a paper published this month, OpenAI said models make up information when they do not know the answer, and they are trained to reward guesswork. They also want to please users, who may not be happy if the AI cannot answer their question, The Register reports. So, they make stuff up.
You know, maybe the solution is to release a "professional" model that admits when it makes stuff up or doesn't know something/can't do something. Because let's be real, people aren't going to stop using them like this for career-related purposes...
-
Comment on Dark patterns killed my wife's Windows 11 installation in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentI think this more an issue with just the fact they can't download even basic software. When I was a student I had to download various Adobe Creative Cloud programs and later AutoDesk Maya for 3D...I think this more an issue with just the fact they can't download even basic software. When I was a student I had to download various Adobe Creative Cloud programs and later AutoDesk Maya for 3D modeling, and I also got Microsoft Word for my Macbook after previously using Pages. Some of that stuff is basic and have web app equivalents, but the classes may not be able to work with them. (See: the functions of Microsoft Word and Excel vs Google Docs and Sheets.)
Also, while colleges do typically have multiple computer labs hosting software, there's still the problem of students having time to use it. Most of the computer labs at my university doubled as classrooms, and I think some labs didn't have certain software. Depending on their schedules, a student may not have enough time to actually work on assignments in a campus computer lab. So having a computer they can use at home or at least between classes is pretty vital.
-
Comment on Dark patterns killed my wife's Windows 11 installation in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentThe part that really shocks me is just that kids apparently don't encounter computers in school. It boggles my mind given how often we'd use them, either in a computer lab or school-owned laptops...The part that really shocks me is just that kids apparently don't encounter computers in school. It boggles my mind given how often we'd use them, either in a computer lab or school-owned laptops in class. Maybe they're used to Chromebooks and maybe those are more limited, but there are also a few anecdotes floating around of college students who didn't seem to be familiar with physical keyboards.
Did schools just remove computer classes from the curriculum after I graduated? Did they make it an elective for more advanced stuff like coding??
-
Comment on What writing 'tics' stand out to you? Repeated phrases, strange words, or otherwise weird stuff that jumps out at you. in ~books
CannibalisticApple Link ParentI definitely use those words a lot when chatting online. Other overused words include "actually" and starting sentences with "honestly". I end up editing a lot of my longer comments or posts to...I definitely use those words a lot when chatting online. Other overused words include "actually" and starting sentences with "honestly". I end up editing a lot of my longer comments or posts to remove those words.
I don't think those tendencies translate to my prose though. Possibly because I usually write in third person limited, so I'm writing in a character's "voice" rather than my own. I'm sure I have some other writing quirks in my prose though, probably related to squinting or narrowing eyes.
-
Comment on What writing 'tics' stand out to you? Repeated phrases, strange words, or otherwise weird stuff that jumps out at you. in ~books
CannibalisticApple Link ParentThe substitutes do have their places, mainly for helping get across specific emotions and tones. That said, a lot of writers do seem to abuse it. Having the same substitute used multiple times in...The substitutes do have their places, mainly for helping get across specific emotions and tones. That said, a lot of writers do seem to abuse it. Having the same substitute used multiple times in one conversation (minus stuff like someone shouting and the other character "shouting back" in an argument) can break immersion. So can never using "said". It all comes down to balance.
-
Comment on Dark patterns killed my wife's Windows 11 installation in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentThere's also the option of hiring a computer tech or a techie relative/friend to look at it since that could be cheaper than buying a new computer, and I think a lot of them would also probably go...There's also the option of hiring a computer tech or a techie relative/friend to look at it since that could be cheaper than buying a new computer, and I think a lot of them would also probably go for reinstalling it. Some extra tech savvy and curious techs might investigate deeper, but I imagine most would have other computers on their docket so they wouldn't go that far on the first round.
The nature of the problem is just so specific. The writer figured it out partially due to dealing with his wife's new phone and the OneDrive problem before finding that reddit post. Without that context, I'm not sure how long it would take someone to make the connection.
At bare minimum it would probably be made after the problem recurred and merited deeper investigation, and by that point the user would have likely lost many files predating the first reinstall since chances are they didn't do backups beyond... Maybe cloud backups? I don't know, my main driver is a Macbook. I just know most normal users don't do any sort of manual backups.
Based on comments and complaints about this season, past seasons focused more on baking than drama. I assume it worked similarly to the spring baking championship, which was laid back and positive for the most part. Even when one team challenge had a contestant very obviously miffed about her teammate's mistakes messing up their dessert, it didn't heavily focus on it or try to play it up. I feel like this one would have just had endless clips of her complaining and blaming him.
My mom and I got into the kids' baking competition in the spring because it was just so nice. The kids were all super supportive of each other and helpful, regularly giving each other tips and even helping if one of them finished a little early and someone was clearly struggling. It was genuinely never-ending positivity. This show is basically the exact opposite.
It just makes me sad for the contestants because I'm sure they signed up for the experiences from previous seasons, not... this.