DynamoSunshirt's recent activity
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Comment on Software job openings surge this year, defying AI fears in ~tech
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Comment on Nearly half of the US data centers planned for 2026 are getting delayed or canceled because nobody stockpiled enough transformers and circuit breakers in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentFunny, I thought the same thing about motor vehicles but it hasn't worked out that way in a couple of decades.Funny, I thought the same thing about motor vehicles but it hasn't worked out that way in a couple of decades.
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Comment on Used electric vehicles are a bargain right now in ~transport
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentGood lord. 50% range loss in freezing winter conditions? Good to know. Is the Bolt unusually bad in that regard because it doesn't have any kind of heater for battery conditioning?Good lord. 50% range loss in freezing winter conditions? Good to know. Is the Bolt unusually bad in that regard because it doesn't have any kind of heater for battery conditioning?
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Comment on I miss technology that was meant to be used as a tool in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentA lot of older bike parts, like the bolts that attach cranks to the bottom bracket, and pedals, are reverse threaded on the on-drive (left) side. I don't think it's to prevent serviceability, but...A lot of older bike parts, like the bolts that attach cranks to the bottom bracket, and pedals, are reverse threaded on the on-drive (left) side. I don't think it's to prevent serviceability, but I'm not 100% sure why... one sketchy but non-LLM online source claims it's to prevent the pedal from unscrewing?
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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
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentCame here to suggest this same book. Warning: it gets very very dark at times. But the writing is excellent and I still think about it a lot even though I haven't read it for years.Came here to suggest this same book. Warning: it gets very very dark at times. But the writing is excellent and I still think about it a lot even though I haven't read it for years.
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Comment on Everything we just learned about the new Stargate series in ~tv
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentDon't forget the promised new ship design, which was apparently part of the pitch for the show! Maybe a new alien species? Or perhaps just an iteration on the Prometheus an Daedalus classes? I...Don't forget the promised new ship design, which was apparently part of the pitch for the show! Maybe a new alien species? Or perhaps just an iteration on the Prometheus an Daedalus classes?
I have high hopes for the series, as a longtime Stargate fan. It makes me very happy to see GateWorld involved; I cracked up a little reading about the new showrunners consulting the Omnipedia (some of which they wrote!) while researching ideas and Gate mechanics. As someone who hasn't loved the new Star Trek shows, and grew up as more of a Stargate fan... it makes me very happy to imagine more Stargate in my future. There isn't much fun adventure scifi out there these days!
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Comment on Nvidia CEO declares AI could start, grow, and run a successful technology company worth more than a billion dollars—excerpt from Lex Fridman Podcast in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentIn that case we've had AGI for years. The job of a modern tech CEO mostly involves sitting in meetings, listening and choosing between different strategies, and these days plenty of...In that case we've had AGI for years. The job of a modern tech CEO mostly involves sitting in meetings, listening and choosing between different strategies, and these days plenty of podcast/twitter/media shitposting to drive your stock price up. ELIZA was capable of all of that quite some time ago.
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Comment on Are there any small Android phones comparable to the size of an iPhone 12 mini? in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt LinkI've hunted a lot for this over the years. You can look at unihertz phones, or one-off phones like the upcoming Clicks Communicator, but camera quality and security updates (let alone full Android...I've hunted a lot for this over the years. You can look at unihertz phones, or one-off phones like the upcoming Clicks Communicator, but camera quality and security updates (let alone full Android updates) are always going to be a problem coming from anyone but the largest OEMs.
You can also look at running a custom ROM on older small phones like the Xperia Compact series (now quite old). Hardware and software support are even more of an issue here, and depending on your carrier, you might not even be able to connect a custom ROM to voice-over-LTE or 5G. Band support is also an issue, since a lot of custom ROMs don't have great modem drivers.
The iPhone SE1/SE2/SE3 all still get security updates, and you can pretty easily buy replacement parts for each. The 1 won't run a fair amount of modern apps due to the iOS version, but the 2 and 3 are cheap and still run the latest iOS. For me, the 2 and 3 are slightly bigger than I'd like, but it's at least close to usable.
Flip-style folding phones might be worth it if you actually want the giant unfolded screen. But price, brittleness (they often develop gaps or cracks along the fold within 1-2 years), and camera quality are massive issues. Not to mention the fact that a giant unfolded screen defeats 50% of the attraction of a small phone for me; I want a phone that fits into my pocket comfortably, yes, but I also want a phone that I can fit into my hand comfortably when I'm using it!
In case you want to cheat off of my own personal answer: Eventually I got an iPhone 13 mini. When this thing kicks, maybe I'll just give up smartphones entirely.
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Comment on The Treasury just declared the US insolvent. The media missed it. in ~society
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentThe Trump admin claims that DOGE saved $215 billion. We've spent about that much on the Iran war as of today. Maybe a bit more; it's a bit hard to say exactly how much war costs when we already...The Trump admin claims that DOGE saved $215 billion.
We've spent about that much on the Iran war as of today. Maybe a bit more; it's a bit hard to say exactly how much war costs when we already pay the overhead cost for a massive military every day.
And now they're asking for $200 billion more for the Iran war: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y73gwk1qdo
For reference, that's more than we've provided in aid to Ukraine since 2022.
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Comment on 'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy' to end with Season 2 in ~tv
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentIf Paramount wants to make gritty science fiction, they can use any other IP. Or make a new one. Why pretend it's Star Trek, but choose a completely different tone and retcon existing story and...If Paramount wants to make gritty science fiction, they can use any other IP. Or make a new one. Why pretend it's Star Trek, but choose a completely different tone and retcon existing story and behavior in the universe? Fans are annoyed because it feels cheap to use the Star Trek name for an unrelated kind of show.
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Comment on Our commitment to Windows quality in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt LinkHilariously, this blog post reads like a whole lot of LLM slop. Obviously a lot of corpo-speak reads similarly to slop, so it's hard to tell the difference. But basically everything beneath the...Hilariously, this blog post reads like a whole lot of LLM slop. Obviously a lot of corpo-speak reads similarly to slop, so it's hard to tell the difference. But basically everything beneath the "Delivering on Performance, Reliability and Craft" (no Oxford comma?!?) was most likely produced by an LLM. Hell, even that heading follows the typical LLM pattern of "3 phrases in a list with vaguely positive meanings." And why on earth do the headers in that section use square brackets?
Definitely smells like a company with peak LLM fever desperately trying to shore up their rapidly-dwindling power user sentiment. I can't imagine anyone disgruntled by the constant bugs and in-your-face chatbots having their opinion swayed by this kind of garbage.
Interesting that this EVP (Executive Vice President? Engineering Vice President?) calls himself an "engineer" in the letter introduction. Personally I wouldn't even call my small employer's Head of Engineering an "Engineer", let alone someone with VP in their title at a massive company like microsoft. Pretending that you're an IC, or, if you want to be technical and nitpicky, falsely claiming that you are an accredited engineer (a title that, outside of tech, actually has meaning) just rubs me wrong.
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Comment on Meet Kit: Firefox's new mascot in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentSadly I suspect Kit is cute enough that this will happen. Rule 34, after all. I'd love to see a thunderbird mascot that isn't terrifying. But isn't Thunderbird totally separate from Mozilla now?Sadly I suspect Kit is cute enough that this will happen. Rule 34, after all.
I'd love to see a thunderbird mascot that isn't terrifying. But isn't Thunderbird totally separate from Mozilla now?
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Comment on Meet Kit: Firefox's new mascot in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentStrong agree. I increasingly vet companies based on whether or not there is literally anything human about their branding. You'd be surprised how often companies fail that incredibly low bar!Strong agree. I increasingly vet companies based on whether or not there is literally anything human about their branding. You'd be surprised how often companies fail that incredibly low bar!
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Comment on Meet Kit: Firefox's new mascot in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt LinkOn one hand, bitter cynical me wants to shake my head and congratulate Mozilla for wasting money on a character who will inevitably join Fivey Fox six feet under. On the other hand: it's not LLMs,...On one hand, bitter cynical me wants to shake my head and congratulate Mozilla for wasting money on a character who will inevitably join Fivey Fox six feet under.
On the other hand: it's not LLMs, advertising, surveillance capitalism, or anything else nearly as dystopian as what Mozilla typically churns out these days. So good job? At least they made something cute with our donation money!
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Meet Kit: Firefox's new mascot
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Comment on AI was eroding trust in my classroom — so I got rid of typed papers and bought my students notebooks instead in ~life
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentSome sort of cyberdeck that's basically a typewriter would work well for this. I think tracking edit history is a bit of a garden path; better to stick with simple systems that inherently...Some sort of cyberdeck that's basically a typewriter would work well for this. I think tracking edit history is a bit of a garden path; better to stick with simple systems that inherently discourage cheating instead of invading everyone's privacy or building some brittle Rube Goldberg machine.
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Comment on US government announces pilot program for eVTOLS and ultralight aerial vehicles even without FAA certification in ~transport
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI guess I'm a bit too optimistic -- I figure that even if ubiquitous cheap fusion (or similar)-generated power is inevitable. But it could happen hundreds of years from today. But maybe truly free...I guess I'm a bit too optimistic -- I figure that even if ubiquitous cheap fusion (or similar)-generated power is inevitable. But it could happen hundreds of years from today.
But maybe truly free power is too much to expect. Right now in my town in New England, clean drinking water is so cheap that I simply don't think about the $10-20 a month it costs me to use as much as I could (reasonably) want. I imagine that a sufficiently motivated government could bring residential electricity down to that level with far less money than we currently pump into, say, maintaining highways (a truly ungodly sum). Hell, my town has municipal electric and we're already in the right order of magnitude, just have to cut the costs by another 50% to reach the point where most residents don't think about it.
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Comment on US government announces pilot program for eVTOLS and ultralight aerial vehicles even without FAA certification in ~transport
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentIf we brought electricity prices down to near-zero and automated a lot of flying to improve safety, it could become safer, cheaper, and faster than today's car transportation (a low bar for sure)....If we brought electricity prices down to near-zero and automated a lot of flying to improve safety, it could become safer, cheaper, and faster than today's car transportation (a low bar for sure).
With today's electricity price trends, though, I strongly agree with you. Simply not viable unless you have "fuck you" money.
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Comment on What are people using instead of VS Code? in ~comp
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentYeah i still use the CLI for everything git. But quite a few friends seem to love Sublime Merge, so I always recommend it to anyone who wants a git GUI. IMO you're just better off using the CLI...Yeah i still use the CLI for everything git. But quite a few friends seem to love Sublime Merge, so I always recommend it to anyone who wants a git GUI. IMO you're just better off using the CLI with a decent mental model, though.
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Comment on New York Times quiz: Who’s a better writer: AI or humans? in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentLLMs do not have intent. Please stop the aggressive proselytizing and anthropomorphizing.- Exemplary
LLMs do not have intent. Please stop the aggressive proselytizing and anthropomorphizing.
What sector of tech, if you don't mind me asking? Most of my US tech friends have stayed put in their current jobs for at least the last year because it has been far more difficult to find roles lately. Personally I've usually taken no more than a month or two to find a new job in the past, but last year it took me about 5 months to get a single offer. It's hard to deny that, at least in my area of tech, the market has seriously cooled from the 2015-2024 highs.
Not saying you're wrong, but I'm curious if I should consider adjusting my niche. I have zero interest in working on AI-first products, so maybe that's my issue?