Fiachra's recent activity

  1. Comment on Iceland's volcanoes might have an unexpected new purpose – an architect duo want to harness molten lava to shape the construction of houses and cities of the future in ~design

    Fiachra
    (edited )
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    There are some obvious problems with the idea, such as the fact that it would exclusively build settlements that are directly in the path of active volcanoes. But the way they talk about it sounds...

    There are some obvious problems with the idea, such as the fact that it would exclusively build settlements that are directly in the path of active volcanoes. But the way they talk about it sounds more like a thought experiment or very early stage brainstorming:

    "But the wider concept of the pavilion is not just about lava. It’s about addressing a risk and changing perspectives, hopefully inspiring conversations."

    “One of the core concepts is that there is no private ownership of lava in Iceland,” says Skarphéðinsson. “If we create a city out of this material, then it would be owned by the people who live in it. And in this respect, we’re also thinking about places such as the Congo, where there are so many riches, so many minerals, but the people who live there don’t get any of the rewards. We want to put forward these questions that aren’t really being asked.”

    Arnhildur Pálmadóttir seems to be a public advocate for sustainable building practices:

    Her designs, [...] have a strong emphasis on using sustainably-sourced materials, reusing materials, reducing energy and resource use, climate-neutral solutions, and creating a more sustainable lifestyle

    If it is in fact in the spitballing phase, I'd like to suggest diverting lava flows into large brick-shape moulds, then taking the new basalt bricks somewhere further away from the active volcano to build with.

    5 votes
  2. Comment on Grieving family uses AI chatbot to cut hospital bill from $195,000 to $33,000 — US family says Claude highlighted duplicative charges, improper coding, and other violations in ~tech

    Fiachra
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    I'm referring to it finding billing errors and duplicated charges, not the coding part.

    I'm referring to it finding billing errors and duplicated charges, not the coding part.

    4 votes
  3. Comment on Grieving family uses AI chatbot to cut hospital bill from $195,000 to $33,000 — US family says Claude highlighted duplicative charges, improper coding, and other violations in ~tech

    Fiachra
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    I never considered before that the way to ensure AI output gets fact-checked is to use it in adversarial situations where the receiving party has a contrary interest to yours. Food for thought in...

    I never considered before that the way to ensure AI output gets fact-checked is to use it in adversarial situations where the receiving party has a contrary interest to yours. Food for thought in future I think.

    14 votes
  4. Comment on CS2 skin update ‘rug pulls’ collectors as $1 billion wiped from market cap in ~games

    Fiachra
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    This label of "rug pull" needs to be pushed back against, I think. You saw similar rhetoric out of MTG collectors a while back when some notable cards were devalued. These were not created or sold...

    This label of "rug pull" needs to be pushed back against, I think. You saw similar rhetoric out of MTG collectors a while back when some notable cards were devalued.

    These were not created or sold as investment assets. Valve had no agreement with anyone that these would be run as financial assets. They have no obligation to ensure they remain a "store of value", especially when the speculation actively worsens the game that makes them their money.

    People who lost their arses on this have every right to be upset, I have sympathy, but to be angry at valve? Nah. They didn't put that rug under you.

    38 votes
  5. Comment on CS2 skin update ‘rug pulls’ collectors as $1 billion wiped from market cap in ~games

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    If the fed decided "meh, fuck it" and deliberately halved the value of the US dollar for no gain whatsoever, their heads would be on spikes by the end of the day.

    If the fed decided "meh, fuck it" and deliberately halved the value of the US dollar for no gain whatsoever, their heads would be on spikes by the end of the day.

    4 votes
  6. Comment on Amazon Web Services crash causes $2,000 Smart Beds to overheat and get stuck upright in ~tech

    Fiachra
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    Without servers to verify you paid your sleepscription I'm surprised they didn't deploy those metal spikes they use to keep unhoused people off of public areas. Meanwhile us free thinkers who...

    Without servers to verify you paid your sleepscription I'm surprised they didn't deploy those metal spikes they use to keep unhoused people off of public areas. Meanwhile us free thinkers who jailbroke our two grand nootropic AI Blockchain beds are sleeping soundly.

    20 votes
  7. Comment on Thieves steal crown jewels in four minutes from Louvre Museum in Paris in ~arts

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    Honestly it probably was. Probably all sorts of disgruntled employees past and present with the insider knowledge to help plan this.

    Honestly it probably was. Probably all sorts of disgruntled employees past and present with the insider knowledge to help plan this.

    6 votes
  8. Comment on Thieves steal crown jewels in four minutes from Louvre Museum in Paris in ~arts

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    I had been told that it was about the size of a sheet of A4 paper, 210 x 297 mm, but apparently I was just lied to on that.

    I had been told that it was about the size of a sheet of A4 paper, 210 x 297 mm, but apparently I was just lied to on that.

    1 vote
  9. Comment on Thieves steal crown jewels in four minutes from Louvre Museum in Paris in ~arts

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    The fact that the Mona Lisa is so surprisingly small might actually be relevant to why it was stolen

    The fact that the Mona Lisa is so surprisingly small might actually be relevant to why it was stolen

    1 vote
  10. Comment on Thieves steal crown jewels in four minutes from Louvre Museum in Paris in ~arts

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    Some French gang boss is hanging out in his media room with a Napoleonic crown and sceptre as we speak.

    Some French gang boss is hanging out in his media room with a Napoleonic crown and sceptre as we speak.

    4 votes
  11. Comment on Thieves steal crown jewels in four minutes from Louvre Museum in Paris in ~arts

  12. Comment on Thieves steal crown jewels in four minutes from Louvre Museum in Paris in ~arts

    Fiachra
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    A truly historic I-told-you-so. Makes you wonder if the thieves had read about these same issues and identified them as a key weakness to exploit.

    [...] among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory and comes as staff complained that crowding and thin staffing are straining security.

    A truly historic I-told-you-so. Makes you wonder if the thieves had read about these same issues and identified them as a key weakness to exploit.

    37 votes
  13. Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    Yes, in order to satisfy the rules of the thread I will accept these unorthodox roommates.

    Yes, in order to satisfy the rules of the thread I will accept these unorthodox roommates.

    5 votes
  14. Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk

    Fiachra
    (edited )
    Link
    Buy up all the Moai heads held in museums and private collections and send them back home.

    Buy up all the Moai heads held in museums and private collections and send them back home.

    1 vote
  15. Comment on An AI that turns any book into a text adventure game in ~books

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    Wizards never arrive late nor early, but sometimes they arrive out of any logical order or causality.

    Wizards never arrive late nor early, but sometimes they arrive out of any logical order or causality.

    7 votes
  16. Comment on US President Donald Trump’s 100% China tariff triggers $20b wipeout, 1.6m crypto traders liquidated in ~finance

    Fiachra
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    I suspect nobody has a 100% definitive explanation as to why, but crypto price movements tend to roughly correlate with that of the US stock market.

    I suspect nobody has a 100% definitive explanation as to why, but crypto price movements tend to roughly correlate with that of the US stock market.

    1 vote
  17. Comment on 2025 Physics Nobel awarded to three scientists for work on quantum computing (in the 1980s) in ~science

    Fiachra
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    I can see it. The original special relativity paper might have been a good paper, but it's historic because of the field of study that was built on its foundation.

    I can see it. The original special relativity paper might have been a good paper, but it's historic because of the field of study that was built on its foundation.

    4 votes
  18. Comment on Outrage over American Eagle's 'great jeans' ad was a conservative media creation in ~society

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    Seems like a news aggregator in the genre of ground news would show this story as being majority reported in only right wing media.

    Seems like a news aggregator in the genre of ground news would show this story as being majority reported in only right wing media.

    10 votes
  19. Comment on A better way to watch YouTube in ~tech

    Fiachra
    Link Parent
    That was my exact problem with it: I'd discover some topic, fill my watch history with that thing, then a month later when I'd lost interest my feed was full of that one topic and I'd have to...

    That was my exact problem with it: I'd discover some topic, fill my watch history with that thing, then a month later when I'd lost interest my feed was full of that one topic and I'd have to clear my history out to find something new. It just rabbit holes you too much.

    These days I have history off, I watch something in my sub feed and discover things in the recommendations below that first video. It's not perfect but it works.

    2 votes
  20. Comment on Apple pulls ICEBlock from the App Store in ~tech

    Fiachra
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    I assume this can just be passed around as an APK instead, right?

    I assume this can just be passed around as an APK instead, right?

    5 votes