DynamoSunshirt's recent activity
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Comment on Bernie Sanders: The public should own half of the big AI companies in ~society
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Comment on Bernie Sanders: The public should own half of the big AI companies in ~society
DynamoSunshirt LinkI don't think ownership is necessary. If it involves more money transfer to the rich owners of those companies, I think it actually worsens the wealth inequality issues we're experiencing right...I don't think ownership is necessary. If it involves more money transfer to the rich owners of those companies, I think it actually worsens the wealth inequality issues we're experiencing right now.
Honestly I just wish we'd regulate companies again. Whether it's false and predatory advertising, insider trading, monopolization, or God AI putting all of us out of a job, the government has an important role to play as a powerful arbiter of fairness who can go toe-to-toe with corporations and billionaires. But they've abdicated that role for years now.
I don't often disagree with Bernie, but I've really disliked most of his AI-related stunts lately. It honestly feels like he's out of his depth, and I suppose it makes sense that at his age, this tech is hard to wrap your head around. His "conversation" with an LLM made me feel sick, just helping the tech bros further anthropomorphize their machines.
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Comment on How has inflation changed your quality of life? in ~finance
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentCertainly less of a gap than there used to be. I'm thankful to live in a town where $7 craft beers are still a thing, sometimes $2-3 for macro stuff at dives. But it's wild to me how much prices...Certainly less of a gap than there used to be. I'm thankful to live in a town where $7 craft beers are still a thing, sometimes $2-3 for macro stuff at dives. But it's wild to me how much prices have increased in smaller cities with no corresponding income boost. I'm shocked when I visit Rust Belt cities now -- they used to be cheap!
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Comment on US FBI says Google engineer used internal search data to win $1.2M on Polymarket in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI keep wondering if we should create some kind of UBI for public servants and actually ban them from traditional stock trading or even index holding. We know it creates conflicts of interest. Why...I keep wondering if we should create some kind of UBI for public servants and actually ban them from traditional stock trading or even index holding. We know it creates conflicts of interest. Why not guarantee that these people will be taken care of, so they don't have to resort to corruption?
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Comment on Who’s buying SpaceX and Anthropic? in ~finance
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI'm very curious if the changed S&P/NASDAQ inclusion rules (reduced from 3 months to 15 days, in one case) will reduce the potential "pop". 15 days, and every passive investor will start picking...I'm very curious if the changed S&P/NASDAQ inclusion rules (reduced from 3 months to 15 days, in one case) will reduce the potential "pop". 15 days, and every passive investor will start picking these stocks up through indexes, and then they'll sit on those investments until either retirement or the stock getting dropped from the index.
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Comment on What are people's experiences with using Kagi? in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI also drifted away from it, largely because DuckDuckGo is generally good enough that I don't feel the need to pay for search. Kagi is absolutely better (especially the denylist and the granular...I also drifted away from it, largely because DuckDuckGo is generally good enough that I don't feel the need to pay for search. Kagi is absolutely better (especially the denylist and the granular way you can (de)prioritize certain domains), but not so much so that I can justify the monthly cost.
It doesn't help that I don't care for chatbots, so it felt like a solid chunk of my subscription was paying for a service I don't want (and have ethical objections to). A bit like paying for all those sports channels in a cable subscription, honestly.
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Comment on I think Anthropic and OpenAI have found product-market fit in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentEven good things can be a bad thing in sufficient quantities (see: tribbles). Though, much like tribbles, I'm not even sure LLMs are a good thing used sparingly (I know not everyone will agree...Even good things can be a bad thing in sufficient quantities (see: tribbles). Though, much like tribbles, I'm not even sure LLMs are a good thing used sparingly (I know not everyone will agree with me here; just try to accept my peculiar form of digital veganism, I guess).
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Comment on I think Anthropic and OpenAI have found product-market fit in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentNo LLM usage? You wouldn't be hiring, are you?No LLM usage? You wouldn't be hiring, are you?
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Comment on The cost of safetyism - what we lost when we stopped letting kids leave the front yard in ~life
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI love to see kids walking, biking, whatever in my town. But this spring a group got their hands on throttle e-bikes and started ripping up parks, town trails, and just generally acting like...I love to see kids walking, biking, whatever in my town. But this spring a group got their hands on throttle e-bikes and started ripping up parks, town trails, and just generally acting like menaces.
I'd rather see kids outside than inside. But sitting on a throttle ebike, practicing wheelies, shredding up the park for entertainment? It's incredibly dangerous, I know what even a small electric motor can do. Keep it analog and you at least force the kids to "earn their turns".
The worst part of it is that the throttle ebike kids were actively bullying the analog bike kids, so they started to disappear. Fortunately greater powers intervened, the trails and parks were declared off limits due to the aforementioned ripped up earth, and suddenly the throttle ebike kids disappeared off the streets when they could no longer destroy public property.
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Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentSame exact thing when I've tried to use it to find contractors in my area. Or libraries and frameworks for my development work. I guess I must he holding it wrong?Same exact thing when I've tried to use it to find contractors in my area. Or libraries and frameworks for my development work.
I guess I must he holding it wrong?
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Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI'd like to punch the Google Meet devs. Used to work fine. Now, I have to dismiss 3-5 popups about meeting notes, summaries, transcriptions, whatever.... every single time I join a meeting. And...I'd like to punch the Google Meet devs. Used to work fine. Now, I have to dismiss 3-5 popups about meeting notes, summaries, transcriptions, whatever.... every single time I join a meeting.
And yet I still can't configure Meet to default to mute when I join a meeting (despite the very same feature existing for video). And it still breaks completely if I connect or disconnect an audio or video device while a meeting is going on, refusing to acknowledge any new devices until I reload it completely.
Ignore the existing backlog of improvements. Shove crap in my face. Classic Big Tech playbook at this point.
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Comment on America’s tech-filled classrooms are facing a backlash against school-assigned devices in ~life
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentBack in my day (when we walked uphill both ways), even flip phones weren't allowed in schools. It's pretty insane to me that kids these days are apparently watching YouTube and playing Minecraft...Back in my day (when we walked uphill both ways), even flip phones weren't allowed in schools. It's pretty insane to me that kids these days are apparently watching YouTube and playing Minecraft in class. While valuable tools, class is... for listening to a teacher and learning, no?
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Comment on Waymo pauses Atlanta service as its robotaxis keep driving into floods in ~transport
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentSometimes you have no choice -- for instance, if I wouldn't drive in snow, I would literally never leave my house some weeks! And plenty of in-person jobs basically require employees to take on...Sometimes you have no choice -- for instance, if I wouldn't drive in snow, I would literally never leave my house some weeks! And plenty of in-person jobs basically require employees to take on that risk (some fairly, like firefighters, some less so, like in-person office gigs). But I do generally agree that we underestimate the risk!
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Comment on Lost in a sea of HVAC in ~life.home_improvement
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentWe plan on putting in a wood stove insert later this year, it won't be in an ideal spot in the house but I think it'll do the trick in a power outage (though most have a blower these days, so...We plan on putting in a wood stove insert later this year, it won't be in an ideal spot in the house but I think it'll do the trick in a power outage (though most have a blower these days, so you're never truly independent of electric). My first memories as a kid are of the 1998 Northeast Ice Storm, which knocked out power to my childhood home for over a week, so I certainly appreciate the ability to heat your home without electricity!
Ultimately I'll probably also look into solar panels and a whole house battery. But even that won't help if you have issues with your compressor. I was on edge for a lot of this last winter, since we only have the oil furnace right now; I consider us very lucky to have not experienced any issues with it in our first winter!
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Comment on Lost in a sea of HVAC in ~life.home_improvement
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentThat is exactly what I'm hoping to do! My understanding is that, with a forced air ducted system like mine, the resistive strips in the furnace can function as a (expensive!) backup during extreme...That is exactly what I'm hoping to do! My understanding is that, with a forced air ducted system like mine, the resistive strips in the furnace can function as a (expensive!) backup during extreme cold or in case the compressor fails. I have to admit that the prices you mention are a whole lot better than what I've heard locally... maybe I should consider importing a heat pump expert from the North Country who wants to take a nice vacation up here in the mountains? Would likely be a lot cheaper than the local experts!
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Comment on Lost in a sea of HVAC in ~life.home_improvement
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentWhy would you so strongly advocate for the backup? With heat pumps rated down to -32 now (and resistive strips that provide 100% efficiency no matter the temp) , it seems like I might as well just...Why would you so strongly advocate for the backup? With heat pumps rated down to -32 now (and resistive strips that provide 100% efficiency no matter the temp) , it seems like I might as well just rely on it. But maybe I'm missing something? Right now we ONLY have the oil furnace, so it seems like our exposure would be no different (with potentially a longer wait for parts if something breaks in the heat pump, but in such a small house I can always buy a few space heaters in a black swan situation).
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Comment on Waymo pauses Atlanta service as its robotaxis keep driving into floods in ~transport
DynamoSunshirt LinkI can only imagine how robotaxis will behave once deployed to a place with chronic snow 30% of the year. Seems like our roads have no end of edge cases for machine vision with no underlying...I can only imagine how robotaxis will behave once deployed to a place with chronic snow 30% of the year. Seems like our roads have no end of edge cases for machine vision with no underlying understanding of the world. Of course human drivers are imperfect, but it's interesting to consider that most humans won't make this mistake as long as they realize that water depth is very difficult to judge. Whereas the robotaxis seem to just... not perceive the water? I wonder why LIDAR doesn't tip them off.
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Comment on Signal, NordVPN, Proton to leave Canada over C-22 in ~society
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI suspect we'll eventually have to bake protections against this into our Constitutions (or equivalent, I keep thinking of it as a "digital bill of rights"). A right to digital anonymity and a...I suspect we'll eventually have to bake protections against this into our Constitutions (or equivalent, I keep thinking of it as a "digital bill of rights"). A right to digital anonymity and a strong protection against unmasking that anonymity seems like a good starting point.
But unfortunately we'll have to wait for all the dinosaur octa/septa/genarian legislators to die off, because most of them are so hopelessly out of touch with modern tech that you can't even begin to get them to understand the need for protections. They're easy marks for lobbyists and vote whips to steer in any direction because they're absolutely clueless about the consequences of their votes in either direction. In a world where a smartphone and a variety of accounts are table stakes, I don't think it's OK for legislators to be this oblivious.
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Comment on Lost in a sea of HVAC in ~life.home_improvement
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI appreciate the input! Honestly, the furnace is only 10 years old, so I mostly just want to remove it for personal bias reasons the tank is exactly where I would like to build a door to my...I appreciate the input! Honestly, the furnace is only 10 years old, so I mostly just want to remove it for personal bias reasons
- the tank is exactly where I would like to build a door to my laundry room (currently accessed, annoyingly, through the garage)
- the furnace itself is currently shoved into an awkward nook that takes a chunk of space out of our garage (and that will likely complicate heat pump integration work and duct insulation, since refridgerants are flammable these days and the space might not exist to shove a coil in there)
- I like the idea of removing a fossil fuel, source of carbon monoxide, and potential fire risk from the house.
I am inclined to agree with you about bedrooms etc getting stuffy while overcooling the kitchen/living space. I could of course install a minisplit for each bedroom, but it feels ridiculous to do for tiny 100sqft rooms; that's literally why we invented ductwork!
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Comment on Lost in a sea of HVAC in ~life.home_improvement
DynamoSunshirt Link Parent14k for both? Sounds downright cheap to me, I think the lowest quote I've managed is around 20k, and I suspect that's underestimating the cost of insulating the ducts.14k for both? Sounds downright cheap to me, I think the lowest quote I've managed is around 20k, and I suspect that's underestimating the cost of insulating the ducts.
I think if we base it on the idea that our collective intellectual property contribution gives us a 51% stake and the government just takes that stake as a penalty for the theft, and that value is used to support those services... I start to like it a bit more. But I do worry that giving everyone a collective stake in an ethically frought, environmentally destructive industry with devastating effects on human communication and employment will tend to perpetuate that system. Hard to stop the gravy train once it starts flowing money your way.
I suppose it's a bit like online gambling: I'd rather we outright banned it because it has such awful effects (direct and indirect). Many states tax it and run lotteries to provide funding for public services and education, but I'm not convinced those contributions outweigh the pain and sorrow that easily availably predatory gambling produces in our society.