GreasyGoose's recent activity

  1. What trustworthy resources are you using for AI/LLMs/ML education?

    Every company is trying to shoehorn AI into every product, and many online materials provide a general snake oil vibe, making it increasingly difficult to parse. So far, my primary sources have...

    Every company is trying to shoehorn AI into every product, and many online materials provide a general snake oil vibe, making it increasingly difficult to parse. So far, my primary sources have been GitHub, Medium, and some YouTube.

    My goal is to better understand the underlying technology so that I can manipulate it better, train models, and use it most effectively. This goes beyond just experimenting with prompts and trying to overcome guardrails. It includes running local, like Ollama on my M1 Max, which I'm not opposed to.

    8 votes
  2. Comment on This could be the beginning of the end for fire insurance in California in ~finance

    GreasyGoose
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    Not to argue your point which I think is valid and where we should be thinking long term but I wonder how much space we’re talking about. What I’m getting at in fire/flood/hurricane areas, how...

    Not to argue your point which I think is valid and where we should be thinking long term but I wonder how much space we’re talking about.

    What I’m getting at in fire/flood/hurricane areas, how much would we actually have to relocate if the actual statement was “let it burn/flood”?

    Obviously a massive undertaking of a project however for a country as large as the US, there seem to be fewer and fewer current spaces which are populated and less prone to these events.

    Another one I can think of are the mountain states fighting over the water supply which is drying up. Basically, a lot of this all coming seemingly at once but are really due to sticking our collective heads in the sand for years on end.

    5 votes
  3. Comment on Any Tildeans who have lived in China or Russia and the West? What were the differences in the daily lives of average people? in ~life

    GreasyGoose
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    Frankly, as someone who has served, I trust the discipline, ROE, and training of military vs police forces. To be clear, I don’t advocate for the police to be militarized. However, since...

    Frankly, as someone who has served, I trust the discipline, ROE, and training of military vs police forces.

    To be clear, I don’t advocate for the police to be militarized. However, since departments across the US aren’t standardized and anyone can join, the quality of people you get is much lower.

    The shit you see on body cam videos (begrudgingly at that) released would not fly.

    4 votes
  4. Comment on Any Tildeans who have lived in China or Russia and the West? What were the differences in the daily lives of average people? in ~life

    GreasyGoose
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    I found that amusing recently in Paris (particularly around Versailles) where there tended to be teams of 3 casually walking around “patrolling”, eg shooting the shit. Berets, full kit but just...

    I found that amusing recently in Paris (particularly around Versailles) where there tended to be teams of 3 casually walking around “patrolling”, eg shooting the shit.

    Berets, full kit but just cradling M4s with magazines and obviously just getting through the day. Most tourists, including myself, ignored them, since it seemed normal.

    America, weapons aren’t visible despite the number of them to citizens, but do something funky and suddenly you have backup of 20 officers in tactical gear up your ass.

    4 votes
  5. Comment on The Scoville levels on the Hot Ones sauces are misleading in ~food

    GreasyGoose
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    Honestly, this makes me want to look at the sauces I’ve picked up over the years in my cabinet. Most are great, and I can tolerate some hot stuff imo, but there are a few that I definitely regret...

    Honestly, this makes me want to look at the sauces I’ve picked up over the years in my cabinet. Most are great, and I can tolerate some hot stuff imo, but there are a few that I definitely regret purchasing. Those are the ones that literally hurt as they’re going through my system and not just a “hot” flavor in the mouth or throat. Moreso pain in the stomach or intestine. I don’t suffer from heartburn from any other foods either so whatever is in them is nuts.

    2 votes
  6. Comment on "Americans get screwed because they can’t read" in ~society

    GreasyGoose
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    Somewhat relevant to this, as someone who used to assist research managers by reviewing and creating performance appraisals, some people's brains just work differently. The whole book smart vs...

    Somewhat relevant to this, as someone who used to assist research managers by reviewing and creating performance appraisals, some people's brains just work differently. The whole book smart vs street smart kind of thing along combined with becoming a product of their environment. For example, a critical element might look like,

    "All data entry completed within 2 days of receiving reports from the PI (Principal Investigator). In order to be Fully Successful in this element, there must be not more than 3 failed instances of data entry within the 2 day period. In order to be rated Exceeds Expectations, there must be not more than 1 failed instance of data entry within the 2 day period."

    I've received some drafts that try to account for every scenario such as, If there is an acting manager for more than 50% of the employee's work hours, then the requirements allow for 5 instances or if an employee works OT the prior week, then they are granted 4 days vs 2.

    I explain to just follow SMART goals, and be reasonable. You then have some room to work with for those that are failing, those doing their job as expected, and those who are superstars. It's black and white with a bit of grey to move within.

    9 votes
  7. Comment on Tips for increasing online privacy (without going insane)? in ~tech

    GreasyGoose
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    I have Fastmail with my own domains and am gradually switching over as logins come up since all at once is overwhelming. burner emails for as much as possible nextdns ublock wipr 2 for iOS/macOS...

    I have Fastmail with my own domains and am gradually switching over as logins come up since all at once is overwhelming.

    • burner emails for as much as possible
    • nextdns
    • ublock
    • wipr 2 for iOS/macOS safari

    Slowly moving off of the big platforms as well Google (only for services that require it), Twitter to Bluesky and Mastodon, Discord to IRC, Facebook remains for people who I can’t contact otherwise. Instagram still has a few amusing accounts.

    I try to self host as much as possible using Photoprism and Immich with backups to my NAS and an S3 bucket as well.

    I find that disabling notifications unless they no-shit need to be there (medication reminders) has been extremely helpful as well and helps you clean up your phone.

    8 votes
  8. Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv

    GreasyGoose
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    Lioness - 7/10 Shows like this are usually a hard sell unless I'm walking in with full knowledge of them being cheesy. It's a fun thriller of a series involving the IC and the umbrella of JSOC....

    Lioness - 7/10

    Shows like this are usually a hard sell unless I'm walking in with full knowledge of them being cheesy. It's a fun thriller of a series involving the IC and the umbrella of JSOC. Fairly accurate as well but not surprising given that the GWOT has been going on for 20+ years.

    Many will find themselves doing a lot of Googling for acronyms and insider terms, so fair warning. The plot is also dialed in with little to no extraneous filler or distractions that beg you to return to the main storyline.

    Saldana and Kidman are extremely comfortable into their respective roles along with the supporting cast as operators Bobby, Tucker, and Two Cups. Add in a sprinkle of Morgan "I've heard some bullshit in my time" Freeman to create the perfect mix of action and dark humor.

    Sidebar: I'm a harsh grader, so 7/10 is pretty 'good' for me. If your overall expectations are a bit lower, you could probably rate this an 8.

    1 vote
  9. Comment on Touchscreens are out, and tactile controls are back. Rachel Plotnick's "re-buttonization" expertise is in demand. in ~design

    GreasyGoose
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    My father retired from Ford a few years back as someone who was in a sales position i didn’t understand at the time. Apparently he had an assigned region and was the “manager” between corporate...

    My father retired from Ford a few years back as someone who was in a sales position i didn’t understand at the time. Apparently he had an assigned region and was the “manager” between corporate and those dealers, so on the road quite often.

    I still remember him raging about the Firestone fallout as a kid and only asked him about it years later. I guess he had been pulled back to Dearborn multiple times with how they were going to PR their way out of that catastrophe.

    He’s been pretty vocal since retiring a few years back about how the company has gone but hey, has still offered me A plan pricing. Probably won’t take him up on it since cars are way too expensive these days.

    4 votes
  10. Comment on Amid backlash, US Food and Drug Administration changes course over shortage of weight-loss drugs in ~health

    GreasyGoose
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    Sorry I should’ve been more specific, in that the pens themselves are a shortage issue, vs the drug itself. Yes, anecdotal but that subreddit seems to police itself rather well....

    Sorry I should’ve been more specific, in that the pens themselves are a shortage issue, vs the drug itself. Yes, anecdotal but that subreddit seems to police itself rather well.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/medicine/comments/1csn5fp/novo_nordisk_begins_a_240_person_study_of_wegovy/l477li6/

    This is one that comes to mind while reviewing a study for AUD. Plugging “wegovy” into search should bring up some others as well.

    2 votes
  11. Comment on Amid backlash, US Food and Drug Administration changes course over shortage of weight-loss drugs in ~health

    GreasyGoose
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    Looking at the medical subreddits, a decent chunk of MDs have been saying that the pens are more of an issue IIRC.

    Looking at the medical subreddits, a decent chunk of MDs have been saying that the pens are more of an issue IIRC.

    5 votes
  12. Comment on Amid backlash, US Food and Drug Administration changes course over shortage of weight-loss drugs in ~health

    GreasyGoose
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    Ironically, this is similar to Concerta that I’ve been approved for re: a Tier Exception. The generic is Tier 1 with my insurance while Concerta is Tier 3. Basically I had to get approval to use...

    Ironically, this is similar to Concerta that I’ve been approved for re: a Tier Exception. The generic is Tier 1 with my insurance while Concerta is Tier 3. Basically I had to get approval to use the name brand at generic cost after a few repeated attempts.

    The kicker? I can definitely get my hands on it since it’s so expensive at almost $500 on GoodRX. I guess while drug companies will have generics, they can still hold patents to other parts such as release mechanisms.

    Concerta’s release mechanism is what makes it so expensive and something that generic versions don’t have, making it rather ineffective.

    3 votes
  13. Comment on Salem's Lot | Official trailer in ~movies

    GreasyGoose
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    This is awesome and makes me feel old at the same time. First thing I thought of was Eminem.

    This is awesome and makes me feel old at the same time. First thing I thought of was Eminem.

    3 votes
  14. Comment on A tool to determine which US city you should live in in ~life

    GreasyGoose
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    Pretty much the areas I’ve lived and/or grew up in, New England or PNW. Not surprising to be honest.

    Pretty much the areas I’ve lived and/or grew up in, New England or PNW. Not surprising to be honest.

    1 vote
  15. Comment on Which content-recommending algorithms are actually good? in ~tech

    GreasyGoose
    Link Parent
    YouTube has a few things related to whatever it is you’re searching for followed by a ton of unrelated results followed by 1-2 related just to “keep you going” in my experience. Compare that with...

    YouTube has a few things related to whatever it is you’re searching for followed by a ton of unrelated results followed by 1-2 related just to “keep you going” in my experience. Compare that with an Invidious instance and it’ll give you what you’ve searched for.

    Instagram is another offender, although I can’t think of a Web 1.0 example. Make one mistake on the feed and it resets, forcing you to scroll again or search.

    Closest thing to algorithmic recommendations was different radio station playlists IMO. what.cd in its heyday was great for recommendations via user collections. Letterboxd has a similar concept for movies without the actual content these days.

    A lot of topics were alone on their own little “islands” usually filled by SMEs and enthusiasts plus the occasional person who registered for help.

    Overall, I think things were just more organic and word of mouth vs everything having an agenda. But maybe that’s naive Web 1.0 me talking wearing rose colored glasses.

    4 votes
  16. Comment on “Disenshittify or die” a rant about the history of tech, how it is bad and how it might get better in ~tech

    GreasyGoose
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    Yet at the same time, damn near everything requires a PA these days. “Have you tried dying first?”

    Yet at the same time, damn near everything requires a PA these days.

    “Have you tried dying first?”

    6 votes
  17. Comment on “Disenshittify or die” a rant about the history of tech, how it is bad and how it might get better in ~tech

    GreasyGoose
    Link Parent
    Anecdotally, it’s harder to get things swapped/replaced/tinkered with even with AppleCare+. I’ve even said “I don’t care at this point, charge me and swap it out”, which has received pushback. I...

    Anecdotally, it’s harder to get things swapped/replaced/tinkered with even with AppleCare+.

    I’ve even said “I don’t care at this point, charge me and swap it out”, which has received pushback.

    I mean, do you really want me to go outside and chuck my MacBook across the parking lot for a new battery?

    7 votes
  18. Comment on IT staffing agency traps tech workers in their jobs, US federal lawsuit alleges in ~life

    GreasyGoose
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    As someone who was laid off from a small IT firm (and later hired back on), this is true. Whether you have a good relationship with the owner/manager or HR randomly puts a meeting on your calendar...

    As someone who was laid off from a small IT firm (and later hired back on), this is true. Whether you have a good relationship with the owner/manager or HR randomly puts a meeting on your calendar while at a Fortune XYZ company.

    Granted, for me personally, it was easier to take it as a business decision vs personal due to the small size of the company. However, I realized at the end of the day, it all comes down to the balance sheet. (Also, rarely does an owner actually go through and explain their books with you as you’re being let go)

    6 votes
  19. Comment on Introducing Surfboard for Tildes in ~tildes

    GreasyGoose
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    Same, these are the most recent comments I could find.

    Same, these are the most recent comments I could find.

    1 vote
  20. Comment on Seattle's Scarecrow Video says it needs to raise $1.8M or face possible closure in ~movies

    GreasyGoose
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    Same. There’s a place by me that stocks new indie distributor/4K titles weekly, and you get to support them as a non-profit. I always tell people to get the yearly membership if they’re in there...

    Same. There’s a place by me that stocks new indie distributor/4K titles weekly, and you get to support them as a non-profit. I always tell people to get the yearly membership if they’re in there at least 1-2 times a week.

    3 votes