FriendlyGnome's recent activity
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Comment on The US will lose more than thirty gigawatts of solar energy during the total eclipse — roughly the output of thirty nuclear reactors — as sunlight is blocked during prime generating hours in ~enviro
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Comment on Looking for songs that include recordings of commentary in ~music
FriendlyGnome LinkMay not be exactly what you're looking for but Countdown by Rush has lots of radio chatter between a space shuttle and ground controlMay not be exactly what you're looking for but Countdown by Rush has lots of radio chatter between a space shuttle and ground control
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 12 in ~news
FriendlyGnome Link ParentSpeeding or running a red light, while not crashing into anything, also doesn't harm anyone. Does that mean speeding and red lights laws should only be enforced if they result in direct harm, per...Speeding or running a red light, while not crashing into anything, also doesn't harm anyone. Does that mean speeding and red lights laws should only be enforced if they result in direct harm, per incident?
But if you read the decision, the penalties are actually based on exactly how much the bank did lose out on due to the fraud. This was quantifiable because the bank literally gave Trump loan offers with and without personal guarantees, and he opted for the one with a personal guarantee that was based on fraudulent accounting (and which had a much, much lower interest rate)
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Comment on How to drive a stake through your own good heart in ~life
FriendlyGnome LinkI run into Goodhart's law periodically and I am always left wondering the same thing: is there a way to avoid it? A strategy? Particularly (but not necessarily) in an organization? I was hoping to...I run into Goodhart's law periodically and I am always left wondering the same thing: is there a way to avoid it? A strategy? Particularly (but not necessarily) in an organization?
I was hoping to see something like that in this blog post, but I was left hanging.
Personally, I feel that I've managed to avoid this trap most of the time because I generally see things holistically. So while I might put a small amount of energy into meeting some business target, I generally focus on the things that I think truly matter. (One exception, related to the author's library experience, is when I misguidedly took a job before finishing grad school, and then made arrangements with my employer to work on my thesis every Wednesday...and then very soon just goofed off every Wednesday). So I don't relate to hard to the "self-Goodharting" scenarios.
But I have mulled quite a bit how this plays out at work. Not everyone sees the whole picture all the time. Organizations need to align their non-omniscient workforces toward a goal. How do they do that? Are incentives or targets simply outright bad, because they will be gamed, curling the monkeys paw? Can they be designed holistically?
There are plenty of bad targets (with not without incentives attached). I've seen the potential pitfalls - salespeople selling unworkable solutions, products released before they are ready, accumulation of technical debt.
What is a good strategy to align the interests and work outputs of a group of people?
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Comment on For those who have tried YubiKey for personal use, is it worth it? in ~tech
FriendlyGnome Link"Worth it" is subjective. I'm absolutely a casual user. For me, I think it's worth it for the peace of mind of having stronger security on my important accounts, and so that I can reduce how often..."Worth it" is subjective. I'm absolutely a casual user. For me, I think it's worth it for the peace of mind of having stronger security on my important accounts, and so that I can reduce how often I need to get out my phone for 2FA.
I have four keys today: two PCs I use regularly each have a resident key, one on my keychain, and one backup. Each one is a different form factor - USB C, mini C, NFC C, A. The always-installed keys make it very simple to log in. (note, I'm not so concerned about physical access to the keys so it doesn't bother me that they are always connected. I'm concerned more about people remotely getting access without my knowledge)
It took about an hour or two to get five services set up with each - Google, LastPass, id.me, Vanguard, namecheap. They all work seamlessly across machines. If/when I add more services, it will be kind of a pain to collect all the keys again for setup.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
FriendlyGnome LinkI listened to the entire Ween studio discography in anticipation of an upcoming concert. I'll say that the first three albums are...not my cup of tea. A little too scream-punky. Maybe I'm lame or...I listened to the entire Ween studio discography in anticipation of an upcoming concert.
I'll say that the first three albums are...not my cup of tea. A little too scream-punky.
Maybe I'm lame or mainstream, but Quebec is my favorite album. Transdermal Celebration, Tried and True, and The Argus are what popped up on Pandora ~15 years ago and got me into them, and they're still the best songs IMO.
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Comment on What game is your current addiction? in ~games
FriendlyGnome Link ParentI just finished up Cyberpunk 2077 and I've been watching some Witcher on Netflix, and between the two I really just wish I'd been replaying Witcher 3 instead. It's soooo good. The level of detail...I just finished up Cyberpunk 2077 and I've been watching some Witcher on Netflix, and between the two I really just wish I'd been replaying Witcher 3 instead. It's soooo good. The level of detail in the world and the quests is amazing. There's almost no fluff or grind - everything is fresh.
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Comment on What game is your current addiction? in ~games
FriendlyGnome Link ParentMy 8 year old daughter and I are kind of tag-teaming it and it's been a lot of fun watching her figure out how to play the game. It was hard at first watching her just kind of ignore the right...My 8 year old daughter and I are kind of tag-teaming it and it's been a lot of fun watching her figure out how to play the game. It was hard at first watching her just kind of ignore the right stick and end up walking off cliffs, but after a couple weeks she's gotten really smooth with camera control.
She tends to just wander around and accumulate new quests, and I come in later and do them.
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Comment on What game is your current addiction? in ~games
FriendlyGnome Link ParentWhat was the key difference between TOTK and BOTW for you? To me, TOTK is more of the same (which is good in my opinion because I love both)What was the key difference between TOTK and BOTW for you? To me, TOTK is more of the same (which is good in my opinion because I love both)
This (brief) article was even worse than I feared it would be. I was hoping for some honestly interesting information about the effects of the eclipse on energy generation, but all I see is clickbait/fearmongering/disinformation/illiteracy
This headline is just as useful, accurate, inane, and misleading: "US will lose more than 10 petawatts of solar power tonight"
Instead, I would have been interested to see: