Ephemere's recent activity
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Comment on If you could send someone to any historic moment, who and when? in ~talk
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Comment on Star Trek live-action comedy series in development in ~tv
Ephemere Link ParentI agree. Even with the focus being pretty tight on the four main characters, I thought Lower Decks had a fun ensemble and would enjoy seeing the other characters get more of the limelight. I...I agree. Even with the focus being pretty tight on the four main characters, I thought Lower Decks had a fun ensemble and would enjoy seeing the other characters get more of the limelight. I especially liked Shaxs and Kayshon.
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Comment on Research paper compares LLM responses based on politeness of requests and finds quality difference in ~tech
Ephemere Link ParentIt’s an interesting topic. I personally feel that we should be polite to our ‘machinery’, essentially for two reasons: I’m of the opinion that some day soon these systems will be essentially our...It’s an interesting topic. I personally feel that we should be polite to our ‘machinery’, essentially for two reasons:
- I’m of the opinion that some day soon these systems will be essentially our fellow sapients, so it will be less jarring to be polite now.
- Conversational machines often serve much the same purpose that service workers do. By being rude to the machines I think we’ll be training ourselves to be rude to people who provide services for us.
I suppose there is also a final:
- Being reflexively polite costs us nothing.
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Comment on What irrational video game requirements do you have? in ~games
Ephemere Link ParentNothing irrational about how you chose to recreate. However to fill in the vast tapestry of human of human experience I routinely drop games to 30 or 20hz, as I prefer the steam deck to be quiet...Nothing irrational about how you chose to recreate. However to fill in the vast tapestry of human of human experience I routinely drop games to 30 or 20hz, as I prefer the steam deck to be quiet and cool to the game running more smoothly.
Being unable to do so would definitely turn me off of a game.
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Comment on Tumblr to begin selling user content to AI generative service companies, opt-out will be per blog in ~tech
Ephemere Link ParentI think it's safe to assume that the body of tumblr posts are already a part of AI training data, just now tumblr gets paid and the openAIs, googles and microsofts of the world get to put an...I think it's safe to assume that the body of tumblr posts are already a part of AI training data, just now tumblr gets paid and the openAIs, googles and microsofts of the world get to put an 'ethically sourced' sticker on the next version of their services.
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Comment on Shell to permanently close all of its hydrogen refuelling stations for cars in California in ~transport
Ephemere Link ParentYou're right that the refueling duration for an electric car these days is less good than that for an ICE engine, but it's not so bad as to outweigh the other advantages, to me at least. I've gone...You're right that the refueling duration for an electric car these days is less good than that for an ICE engine, but it's not so bad as to outweigh the other advantages, to me at least. I've gone on a few long trips in a model 3, indeed you have to stop and wait and that's annoying, but the trip as a whole went just fine.
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Comment on Disco Elysium standalone expansion reportedly cancelled and quarter of staff facing redundancy at ZA/UM in ~games
Ephemere LinkWell, that’s a crying shame. Seems it was rough going but I would have loved to play it.Well, that’s a crying shame. Seems it was rough going but I would have loved to play it.
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Comment on Palworld could be a delight if it wasn't so invested in being awful in ~games
Ephemere Link ParentIt also completely lifts all of Breath of the Wild's music cues. I haven't played Ark, so I can't comment if it's an ark ripoff, but it's definitely a minecraft/BoTW/Pokemon/Fortnite ripoff, to...It also completely lifts all of Breath of the Wild's music cues.
I haven't played Ark, so I can't comment if it's an ark ripoff, but it's definitely a minecraft/BoTW/Pokemon/Fortnite ripoff, to the extent that it seems like there should be copyright issues of some kind.
That said, two hours in all those elements seem to go great together, so I guess great artists steal.
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Comment on Ads for AI sex workers are flooding Instagram and TikTok in ~tech
Ephemere Link ParentWhile I recognize this is comedic hyperbole, these systems attainable on home PCs are already past that level. Mythomax has the creativity of a common YA novel (which I mean as high praise) and...They have the memory of a gerbil and the creativity of a Saturday morning cartoon with no "internal state" to actually create a real relationship.
While I recognize this is comedic hyperbole, these systems attainable on home PCs are already past that level. Mythomax has the creativity of a common YA novel (which I mean as high praise) and through techniques like chromaDB/vectorization/creative prompt summarization you can call back things that happened quite some time ago. I anticipate within the year this will all go from the niche of the interested nerd to a wider audience, especially if it's commercially driven.
I can absolutely see people getting attached to these systems, though I suppose I'm less down on that idea than some people are. I can see these systems as being a part of a grieving or growing process. Some people will get in too deep, but that happens for many things.
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Comment on The US Navy spent billions on a combat ship, and is now getting rid of them long before the end of their expected lifespans in ~transport
Ephemere Link ParentYou make an excellent point, I suppose the responsible thing would have been to create the trial ships and wait, and then cancel the program when they proved to be less effective than hoped....You make an excellent point, I suppose the responsible thing would have been to create the trial ships and wait, and then cancel the program when they proved to be less effective than hoped. Though I understand the social, business and political reasons for why this is difficult.
One thing which jumped out at me is that it seemed that the combined engine system was fundamentally flawed, as there were repeated examples of the combinatorial gear (pardon, I read this yesterday) failing. That suggests to me that independent of the concept of the ship as a whole, parts of the design clearly needed improvement, which had the program happened more slowly could have happened.
I also sort of agree with the inciting admiral that none of these vessels are survivable versus modern missiles, so to an extent this all is a waste of time and money. That said, I doubt the US is ready to move to an entirely ballistic missile submarine navy just yet.
I do feel bad for the servicemembers who had their careers harmed by serving on these ships. It definitely seems like they were set up to fail.
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Comment on 'Barbie' review: Sometimes corporate propaganda can be fun as hell in ~movies
Ephemere Link ParentI was fairly surprised by how anti-Mattel the movie was. For a piece of advertisement they certainly let themselves look like sexist, avaricious, out of touch fools. Though I suppose they did...I was fairly surprised by how anti-Mattel the movie was. For a piece of advertisement they certainly let themselves look like sexist, avaricious, out of touch fools. Though I suppose they did leave themselves the opening that they meant well, even if they went about their goals in a strange way.
But then again, I suppose that’s the concept of Barbie in a nutshell.
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Comment on Vasectomy tips in ~life.men
Ephemere LinkI'm sure everyone's experience is different with how the recovery goes but mine at least was quite mild, I felt more or less fine by the second day, though my wife still insisted that I take it...I'm sure everyone's experience is different with how the recovery goes but mine at least was quite mild, I felt more or less fine by the second day, though my wife still insisted that I take it quite easy. So at least there's a chance that you too will have an easy time. As for specific prep, I wore briefs instead of boxers for a week or so at the doctor's recommendation, it seems much in line with the advice you received.
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Comment on What was the first comic you can remember reading? in ~comics
Ephemere LinkFor me it was The Tintin story The shooting Star. Ironically one of the weaker entries in the series, but I was more or less hooked from then on.For me it was The Tintin story The shooting Star. Ironically one of the weaker entries in the series, but I was more or less hooked from then on.
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Comment on Nancy Pelosi embodied America's gerontocracy problem in ~misc
Ephemere Link ParentI would also argue that the very clear chain of succession in American government makes the risk of an elderly person dying much less significant. Sure we may wind up with someone unelected and in...I would also argue that the very clear chain of succession in American government makes the risk of an elderly person dying much less significant. Sure we may wind up with someone unelected and in over their head for a few years, but the wheels will stay on the bus. We elect people in over their heads from time to time anyway.
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Comment on At least $1 billion of client funds missing at failed crypto firm FTX, sources say in ~finance
Ephemere Link ParentThat FAQ is absolutely fascinating, so thank you for posting it. It's been hard avoiding about the EA community one way or another over the past few years, but this was the first time I saw their...That FAQ is absolutely fascinating, so thank you for posting it. It's been hard avoiding about the EA community one way or another over the past few years, but this was the first time I saw their material directly. I knew Yudkowsky was a major figure, but I didn't expect to see his face quite so many times in a simple FAQ.
My personal favorite part is the link to a betting market weighing the odds that "leaders in EA" knew that FTX was engaging in fraud. It seems silly both ways, whether it's "Obviously we didn't know, people don't think we do" or "Maybe we did? People seem to think so."
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Comment on The strange history of Deanna Troi's accent in ~tv
Ephemere LinkThanks for posting, that was a fun read. I guess the lesson to take from this is that you shouldn't have regulars on sci-fi shows make up accents, because it's just not practical to have the...Thanks for posting, that was a fun read. I guess the lesson to take from this is that you shouldn't have regulars on sci-fi shows make up accents, because it's just not practical to have the guests of the week learn how to speak in it. That said, kudos to Ms. Sirtis for trying.
As this seems like as good a chance to share as any, I think a missed opportunity in TNG would have been to give Troi an outward facing job, like say being a member of the diplomatic corps or something. Similar to Keiko O'Brien on DS9, it would have allowed for more story possibilities to involve her naturally. Which is not to say that I didn't like the idea of her being the ship's therapist, just that a little extra would have helped with some of TNGs problems with the women on the cast not having enough to do.
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Comment on The SLS rocket is the worst thing to happen to NASA—but maybe also the best? in ~space
Ephemere Link ParentI thought the answer was "modifications on a design" but it seems like at least for some of the parts, indeed they've been in a warehouse. via...I thought the answer was "modifications on a design" but it seems like at least for some of the parts, indeed they've been in a warehouse.
via https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/fs/rs25_core_stage_engines.html
The SLS Program has an inventory of 16 RS-25 flight engines from the Space Shuttle Program to support the first four SLS missions.
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Comment on Alexandria Search is a open source ad free nonprofit web search engine in ~comp
Ephemere LinkGiven that the search page was posted without commentary - are there any particular kinds of searches which work especially well on alexandria? A number of queries I attempted returned no results.Given that the search page was posted without commentary - are there any particular kinds of searches which work especially well on alexandria? A number of queries I attempted returned no results.
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Comment on X | Official trailer in ~movies
Ephemere LinkI'm surprised that's the name they chose. I was curious to look up a plot synopsis and found https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8151450/ instead, a 2019 film of the same name.I'm surprised that's the name they chose. I was curious to look up a plot synopsis and found https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8151450/ instead, a 2019 film of the same name.
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Comment on How ‘The Monster with 21 Faces’ terrorized Japan during the harrowing Glico Morinaga candy incident in ~humanities.history
Ephemere LinkThat’s a fascinating story, thank you for posting it!That’s a fascinating story, thank you for posting it!
This is less altruistic, but I would send myself back to the city of Rome during the reign of Trajan. No specific goal or anything, I'm just very curious as to what people and the buildings looked like then, and I think I would have an enjoyable time wandering about. Assuming I could, and my presence with all my teeth wasn't immediately suspicious or something.