DisasterlyDisco's recent activity
-
Comment on What is your Mandela effect moment? in ~movies
-
Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentYou might be able to smell it if you are in a place with good vegetation during a ligjt drizzle after a long dry spell; petrichor isn't as much the smell of rain, as it is the smell of plant...You might be able to smell it if you are in a place with good vegetation during a ligjt drizzle after a long dry spell; petrichor isn't as much the smell of rain, as it is the smell of plant signaling oils and microflora byproducts that the rain whirls into the air. It's what the name "petrichor" comes from - loosely translated "Blood of the Earth".
This is a bit off topic, but apart from the beautiful smell and the poetic symbolism, the reason I really love this smell is that it usualky accompanies my favourite weather around my neck of the woods: light sporadic rain in the early evening from a sky about as cloudy as it is clear. The way the light shines in the raindrops, like strands of glass, the ground wet and glistening from the low sunlight, the numerous rainbows hiding in patches around the horizon. Truly magical - and the smell of petrichor always just fits!
-
Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentI've been by their online storefront, but, like all the american perfumers I've found alluring, they don't ship outside of the U.S. It is part of why I'm currently between suppliers - beaides my...I've been by their online storefront, but, like all the american perfumers I've found alluring, they don't ship outside of the U.S. It is part of why I'm currently between suppliers - beaides my mothertongue, I'm only really profecient in English, and both are (maybe surprisingly) inadequate when looking for small perfumers in the EU.
Going to a renfair later this month - hopefully someone brings something that sings of spring rain and too long held tears finally falling. That would be cathartic and nice. -
Comment on The colonization of confidence in ~books
DisasterlyDisco LinkI'm tearing up. Why am I tearing up after reading this story? What the fuck? I'm sitting in a pizza parlor, last nodule of crust grinding between my teeth, clamping down a sob cramp. Why do I feel...I'm tearing up. Why am I tearing up after reading this story? What the fuck?
I'm sitting in a pizza parlor, last nodule of crust grinding between my teeth, clamping down a sob cramp.
Why do I feel seen, I'm not a writer? Is this hope?
Thank you for sharing. Fuck.
-
Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentI think that you definitely aren't alone in having that opinion. I at least recognise this opinion in my contemporaries. And I don't think that that attitude is a problem in itself? At least, that...I think that you definitely aren't alone in having that opinion. I at least recognise this opinion in my contemporaries.
And I don't think that that attitude is a problem in itself? At least, that is not what I'm trying to advocate for. I don't think it's important that what we do at our jobs is something we live for, something we'd die for. I don't think our jobs have to feel important to us when we go do them. I even think that it is probably healthy for most people not to live and breath their job, and do something completely different in their off hours
What I'm advocating for is that the work we do serves some general good purpose, that it creates something of value, serves the commons, helpa people, inspires them, whatever. The the job isn't pointless, bullshit, money generation. That it is important to people in general, if not to us doing it persobally.
In other words, if people are going to half ass a 9 to 5, then I'd rather that be as a garbage man than as a energy trader.
(Also, I coukd give a rats ass that full commitment to a skill in and outside work leads to personal mastery of that skill. Everyone doesn't need to be masters, total efficiency should not be a prerequisite for taking part in society)
-
Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentI think I'm sorry to hear that maybe? I'm happy that you are doing something that makes you happy and that you get to learn new things and explore. sounds really great! But I'm sad to hear that...I think I'm sorry to hear that maybe? I'm happy that you are doing something that makes you happy and that you get to learn new things and explore. sounds really great! But I'm sad to hear that you've stopped doing something you consider important.
Under the assumption that our ideas of what is important are at least similar, I think that we need more people to do that important work, not less.
To gauge whether or not my mixed feelings are well founded, may I ask what kinds of important jobs you previously did?
-
Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentRespectfully, fuck moneyRespectfully, fuck money
-
Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentI get that, makes total sense. If all jobs available to ones skill are about equally pointless and the pay for ones sector is at a level where going down in pay would leave one with financial...I get that, makes total sense. If all jobs available to ones skill are about equally pointless and the pay for ones sector is at a level where going down in pay would leave one with financial troubles, then of course the value of the work done cannot be prioritized.
I live in a part of the world where tech work is very well paid. Like, where the average pay leads to a very comfortable life. Assuming this environment, it seems absurd to me to spend a full work week doing soemthing that in the grand scheme is pointless, if one could get a job that might pay less but which actually has a point. Working for government organisation, infrastructure company, health and services. I'm not talking something that is more fun, definitely not something to be loved, but work that actually has a point. Something that Needs Doing.
Has tech becomre so fulky saturated with nonsense work that this isn't genrally feasible? Taking a payloss, but doing work that matters?
-
Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk
DisasterlyDisco LinkAnything Petrichor. Don't currently have a fave supplier though.Anything Petrichor. Don't currently have a fave supplier though.
-
Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentI don't... Why? Why should you lower your own standards? Just because it's convenient? Is you job not important? Is the work you are doing not valuable? If it isn't, why are you doing it? Why work...I don't... Why? Why should you lower your own standards? Just because it's convenient? Is you job not important? Is the work you are doing not valuable? If it isn't, why are you doing it? Why work towards something pointless?
-
Comment on Clanker: A word for the machine in ~tech
DisasterlyDisco LinkMan, I wish we hadn't already used the term "daemon" for background processes, they would have been SUCH a good name for agents. Something that speaks like a human, and can solve your problems...Man, I wish we hadn't already used the term "daemon" for background processes, they would have been SUCH a good name for agents. Something that speaks like a human, and can solve your problems with but a word, but with which you must be careful, as it might do something unexpected, fulfilling your wish with unexepcted side effects. We even talk to them through black mirrors, often far into the middle of night!... Ah well.
... Maybe we can call them Djinns? Beings made of fire (the subtle electric kind) with some of the same wishfulfilling/cautionary connotations?
-
Comment on I think Anthropic and OpenAI have found product-market fit in ~tech
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentHaha, English is my second language - the internet was my third parent growing up. And also, the keyboard on my phone is non-standard; each of the buttons have 5 modes, tapping and swiping into...Haha, English is my second language - the internet was my third parent growing up. And also, the keyboard on my phone is non-standard; each of the buttons have 5 modes, tapping and swiping into one if the 4 corners. Letters are typed by tapping the keys, numbers btyswiping up and to the left on the upper row, symbols by usually by swiping down and to the right or left, with som few outliers. You'd probably be able to determine the layout of the swipeable characters by looking at the word with an errant character, and factoring in that I type with two thumbs, usually.
-
Comment on I think Anthropic and OpenAI have found product-market fit in ~tech
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentI don't know whether that is true and not, I tgink it is, but it is not relevant to my comment. My reply was mainly to LostInBerlin's seeming misunderstanding of the water cyvle, the sun, peoples...I don't know whether that is true and not, I tgink it is, but it is not relevant to my comment. My reply was mainly to LostInBerlin's seeming misunderstanding of the water cyvle, the sun, peoples genaral knowkedge on the water c^vle and why people might be aggrieved when they think their water is threatened.
But now that you brought it up: what does it matter that there is another bigger waste of water? That does not make concerns of water waste on smaller scale less justified. Yes, we should really really get around to reducing overwatering (and all the other absurd pravtices) that plague the agricultural system, but we should also ensure that datacenters are build where water isn't scarce and ensure that the water they might leak out isn't contaminaited.
Now, I d(n't believe that dataventers using water is an (and far from the) argument against building them. But they should be held to high standards, not just in their capacity as a datacebter, but as their part in the local and global encironment. Gotta build sustainably, not just effeciently.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
DisasterlyDisco LinkEsoteric Ebb I've not finished it yet, but I'm itching to get back to it. I loved Disco Elysium, and I love Dungeons and Dragons. Espteric Ebb in short takes the Disco Elysium formula an marries...Esoteric Ebb
I've not finished it yet, but I'm itching to get back to it. I loved Disco Elysium, and I love Dungeons and Dragons. Espteric Ebb in short takes the Disco Elysium formula an marries it with the DnD SRD along with some homebrew and a distinctly non-faerun take on the classic high fantasy setting. It's great, you play a cleric and you get a goblin sidekick, and fron there expectations are routinely broken. Prime example - combat feels just as undesireable and rough as it does in every day life. And not in that gritty-realism way. But in the way were you don't want to get hurt and don't really want to hurt anyone else. Also the vibes are deeply scandenavian so I personally feel a sense of home in the game. -
Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
DisasterlyDisco LinkJust finished a rough version of a plant watering and moniting station/test-kit primarily meant for developing digital twins for plants, but also just a useful little thing to have around to keep...Just finished a rough version of a plant watering and moniting station/test-kit primarily meant for developing digital twins for plants, but also just a useful little thing to have around to keep my plants healthy when I'm out of the house. Based on python and off the shelf hardware for easy implementation and extension with new sensors and watering schedules. Did it as part of my studies and my job in a section of my university, and I'm not quite certain what the licensing is for it bexause of that. But the core code is public on my github and will be expanded on with some better documentation soon-ish, if anyone got a RPi5 lying around that they wouldn't mind hooking up to a chlorophilled friend.
-
Comment on I think Anthropic and OpenAI have found product-market fit in ~tech
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentI think you might misunderstand why people are worried about water use. It is not that people believe that water will be used up, that we are going to drain our oceans, empty our lakes, that is...I think you might misunderstand why people are worried about water use. It is not that people believe that water will be used up, that we are going to drain our oceans, empty our lakes, that is absurd. They are worried about local water reserves. Because moving water is not trivial. And cleaning water is not trivial. And desalinating water is not trivial. All are possible, yes, but not without effort, often on industrial scale.
So, when people complain that so and so industry is using a lot of water, it is not that they are stupid and think that the water will just go away. It is that the local limited water will be used, and that water will be locally more expensive, scarce, maybe even dirty to the point of being undrinkable.
Also, the planet heating up to the point that clouds can't form in a thousand years? What? The sun won't be running out of hydrogen in its core for billions of years, and only after will it start expanding at any pase that would lead to such drastic temeperature increases over such a short time. The current expansion slow. As in water-won't-be-a-problem-for-millions-of-years slow. Your understanding of our suns evolution and its effect on our water is simply not correct.
-
Comment on Game testers wanted for science fiction game in ~games
DisasterlyDisco LinkCount me in for testingCount me in for testing
-
Comment on Determinism and Back To The Future in ~humanities
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentInteresting; I consider myself a hard incompatibilist on the subject of free will (i.e. that under both the assumption of a deterministic OR an indeterministic universe, free will is impossible),...Interesting; I consider myself a hard incompatibilist on the subject of free will (i.e. that under both the assumption of a deterministic OR an indeterministic universe, free will is impossible), but, that is based on a definition of free will closer to the one you prescribe to a belief in the Christian god - that a person can make a choice that is disjoint from the surrounding causal universe. I don't personally believe that that sense of free will stems from a Christian worldview though, or at least that it is present outside cultures that are heavily affected by Christian culture.
But, under your understanding of free will, I can only agree. If "free will" means that my actions are based on my memories and internal state, and that because of that I would always make the same choice under the same conditions if we assume determinism, then yes I see no other way. But I fail to see how that kind of free will is a useful concept, other than as a descriptor of the sense that one has a choice under determinism. The internal state feels that it makes a choice, but the choice is still deterministic if the surrounding world is deterministic. And I have never met anyone who did not at least have the sense that hey made their choice, even if the logically believed that the choice was deterministic, and thus no other choice could have been made under the present circumstances and them having had the history they had.
It also, at least from my own experience, is not how most people view free will as a concept. Usually, when I discuss the concept of free will, what is meant is the ability to choose, despite determinism. Or at least, that there is a meaningful way in which one could have made another choice, and faced with the same situation might have done so, despite a belief that the surrounding world is at least predictable, if not hard deterministic. But, my experience is also that most people don't actually think too hard about the scope and breath of a deterministic world, being somewhat agnostic to the difference between something being seemingly random (because of inadequate predictive power) and actually random, and not really interrogating the difference between feeling like they can make choices, and actually being able to make choices.
A variation of this last point is my initial assumption of your stance as a I read your comment, but I suspect that I'm either wrong, or don't fully understand your position.
Why do you have the definition of free will that you have? How is it meaningfully different from the concept of determinism as a whole?
Also, if you would like, how would your stance be on the conflict between free will and determinism under the "Christian" definition of free will?
-
Comment on The average US college student is illiterate in ~life
DisasterlyDisco Link ParentI just read the post, and I don't see anything about accommodations in it. Has the post been changed since you read it?I just read the post, and I don't see anything about accommodations in it. Has the post been changed since you read it?
-
Comment on Pandoc for the people: convert documents without leaving the browser in ~tech
DisasterlyDisco LinkI use it for technocal papers, letting me write the text vody in markdown which is nice for rough drafts and notes, and then converting it to paper or hypertext format through either latex->pdf or...I use it for technocal papers, letting me write the text vody in markdown which is nice for rough drafts and notes, and then converting it to paper or hypertext format through either latex->pdf or html with css. Great for writing text intended for multiple formats.
Don't know if I'll be using the online tool much, but it's that it's there (and is now also in my bookmarks).
I don't think first-must-burn was talking about just any alternate ending not existing...
... but specifically that they remember an ending where Constantine lights up a cigarette in the end, as opposed to eating gum as he does in both the ending that first-must-burn recently watched and the alternate ending that you linked to.