Luna's recent activity
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Comment on Trapping misbehaving bots in an AI Labyrinth in ~tech
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Comment on New policy changes for Southwest Airlines in ~travel
Luna Link ParentFor me, that was one of the best parts. As a solo traveler, even if I was one of the last people on the plane, I could consistently snag an open seat in the first 3-5 rows and be one of the first...because I can't stand the non-assigned seats
For me, that was one of the best parts. As a solo traveler, even if I was one of the last people on the plane, I could consistently snag an open seat in the first 3-5 rows and be one of the first off the plane (I hate standing around at the end when I just want to get out of that cramped cabin but I'm stuck for 15+ minutes behind everyone pulling bags out of the overhead bins). I would be sitting next to randos regardless of what airline I took, but on Southwest, I could sit up front for no extra charge and have some control over what randos I sat next to. (And as a woman, having a choice over who I spend several hours in cramped quarters with means a lot to me!)
Now, if I was flying with someone I could not sit apart from (young kids, elderly relatives), I wouldn't take Southwest. But in all other scenarios, Southwest was the best choice for me, hands down. Even if they were $50 more than the cheapest option (after considering the cost of checked bags, because I always checked mine on Southwest), I would still go with them for that modicum of control and front-row access.
It's going to be a lot harder to justify flying Southwest anymore.
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Comment on How 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' ruined lives in ~tv
Luna Link ParentTrue, but you also have to be able to pay registration, sales tax, etc before you can re-sell it, plus insurance to legally drive it off the lot unless you want to pay for delivery. And if you...True, but you also have to be able to pay registration, sales tax, etc before you can re-sell it, plus insurance to legally drive it off the lot unless you want to pay for delivery. And if you can't afford a Corvette to begin with, I imagine it would be difficult convincing the bank to give you a loan to pay all the fees associated with it. (Edit: actually, having dealt with that Chevy dealership, I wouldn't be surprised if they were scummy enough to finance that...) Maybe if you already had a buyer lined up.
I'd be curious if someone's written a breakdown on what you can expect to net in such a situation.
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Comment on How 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' ruined lives in ~tv
Luna LinkBack when I was in high school, the local Chevy dealership sponsored the athletics program and would do a contest during homecoming football games: kick a field goal, get a small cash prize, do it...Back when I was in high school, the local Chevy dealership sponsored the athletics program and would do a contest during homecoming football games: kick a field goal, get a small cash prize, do it again from farther back, get a bigger cash prize, but if you kick it a third time from a much farther distance, you could take home $5k or $10k (I can't remember which)...or a Corvette.
One year, one of the teacher's kids actually kicked all three...and decided to go with the Corvette.
If you ever win a car in a contest, it's taxed as income at market value, so if you won a $50k car and were in the 22% tax bracket, assuming the car doesn't push you into a higher bracket, that's $11k in federal taxes, plus state and local taxes (including sales tax, also assessed at market value), registration, insurance, maintenance, and paying extra for premium gas.
They should have taken the cash. You still pay income tax on it, but at least you have cash in hand to pay those taxes with. They went from house poor to house broke and had to sell it in less than a year. They ultimately ended up worse off than if they had taken the cash. Not that they weren't trying to keep it by taking on part-time jobs to supplement their income, it just wasn't enough.
After seeing that saga unfold (and cars are fairly cheap compared to houses), it boggles my mind that anyone would think gifting a massive house to anyone who isn't already rich is a good idea.
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Comment on Highlighting text in Wikipedia scrolls up too fast? in ~tech
Luna Link ParentFor anyone who doesn't want to create a Wikipedia account or who wants to be able to open links in other browsers/incognito without logging in:...For anyone who doesn't want to create a Wikipedia account or who wants to be able to open links in other browsers/incognito without logging in: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/458501-vector-layout-for-wikipedia
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Comment on What fictional world would you live in, if you could pick any one? in ~talk
Luna LinkEtheria from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Magic is cool and the idea that queerness is so normalized it's not really noteworthy seems really nice to me right about now. Also, their...Etheria from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Magic is cool and the idea that queerness is so normalized it's not really noteworthy seems really nice to me right about now. Also, their government, undemocratic though it may be, seems to be in much better hands than America's.
If a portal to it were to open up, my only hesitation would be to get my wife to come with me.
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Comment on I hate 2FA in ~tech
Luna Link ParentI don't like phone calls or SMS for 2FA, I just think Duo is great since you can have phone calls as an option. It helps with getting older faculty on-board, especially those who have a good deal...I don't like phone calls or SMS for 2FA, I just think Duo is great since you can have phone calls as an option. It helps with getting older faculty on-board, especially those who have a good deal of influence in their departments. When you have phone calls as a fallback method, it eliminates the "but I don't have/want a cell phone" argument.
You would be surprised how many faculty still only have landline phone and cable TV service at home. The fact that landlines (especially campus landlines) are much more resistant to SIM swapping-style attacks is a happy coincidence.
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Comment on I hate 2FA in ~tech
Luna (edited )Link ParentYou can store TOTP secrets in the "Authenticator key" field of a website entry, and Bitwarden will use this to auto-generate TOTP codes that you can easily copy from the desktop app or browser...- Exemplary
You can store TOTP secrets in the "Authenticator key" field of a website entry, and Bitwarden will use this to auto-generate TOTP codes that you can easily copy from the desktop app or browser extension. The mobile app also puts all your TOTP codes in one location - just tap "Verification Codes" from the "My Vault" screen.
If you have Bitwarden on your phone and you log in to a website/app via the Bitwarden app's autofill function, it'll also put the TOTP code on your clipboard so you can easily paste it into the 2FA field, making TOTP on mobile devices a breeze.
Bitwarden can also store website-generated passkeys (FIDO2 keypair credentials; basically a software implementation of a YubiKey), making authentication using them a breeze.
https://bitwarden.com/help/integrated-authenticator/
https://bitwarden.com/help/storing-passkeys/
Edit: Previously, to do this you would have to either hope they provided the raw seed as a backup method (in case the QR code failed to load) or copy-paste the QR code into a QR-decoding website and then copy the seed out of the URL (which also contains the website and account name) and paste it into Bitwarden. It seems it's much easier to add TOTP codes now - the mobile app can directly scan the QR codes, and the browser extension seems to have the ability to screenshot the page to do the same.
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Comment on I hate 2FA in ~tech
Luna (edited )Link ParentAs someone who works in IT and witnessed a 2FA rollout, I whole-heartedly agree. Since we migrated all our services to use SSO and enforced 2FA on staff accounts, phishing basically stopped being...As someone who works in IT and witnessed a 2FA rollout, I whole-heartedly agree. Since we migrated all our services to use SSO and enforced 2FA on staff accounts, phishing basically stopped being an attack vector for university resources, as it also has for students who enabled it (though it's not mandatory for them yet, so it is still a problem in much the same way anti-vaxxers tend to contract preventable diseases more often than the general population). Now, the only way to reliably hijack 2FA-enabled accounts is through cookie harvesting/session hijacking, which requires a lot more effort since the user has to do more than just fill out a form and you only get access to the services whose cookies are still valid (i.e. if you authenticated to O365 more than 24 hours ago, someone who steals your O365 cookie will just get a redirect to our SSO page, completely nullifying the attack).
In theory, someone could build an advanced phishing attack that also faked a Duo prompt so they could complete the login, but we haven't heard of this happening yet, and since we require 2FA every 24 hours, the blast radius is time-limited. It's so effective that I believe everyone should use it for every website, even for throwaway accounts. The inconvenience is absolutely worth it for me.
Edit: For the record, I'm very much against websites that implement SMS-only 2FA. Many SMS 2FA services only work with non-VoIP numbers and can easily be intercepted via SIM swapping, in addition to not working if service is spotty. I believe it should be abandoned entirely in favor of TOTP and hardware tokens, as both can operate on any connection, mobile or otherwise, and cannot be easily hijacked like SIM swapping attacks. Duo is great in this regard since it supports phone calls (an excellent choice for older faculty), SMS, push notifications, TOTP, and hardware tokens.
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Comment on Is OneDrive for Linux Mature Enough Yet? in ~comp
Luna (edited )Link ParentI was also unaware there was an official Linux client. If there is, I wish it was available when I was in uni and lived in OneNote (which I had to run in a VM since I used my university OneDrive...I was also unaware there was an official Linux client. If there is, I wish it was available when I was in uni and lived in OneNote (which I had to run in a VM since I used my university OneDrive to sync it between devices automatically but OneDrive doesn't work under Wine, a known issue).
Edit: In the thread I linked, it seems someone has found a workaround using onedriver. I'm not sure if it would work with OneNote, but at least for syncing files, it should suffice.
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Comment on How does one engage in criticism of Israel without stooping to anti-semitic tropes? in ~society
Luna (edited )Link ParentTrump already did major damage to our reputation as a reliable international partner with all his talk about pulling out of NATO. Though Israel is not in NATO, they are a major strategic ally, and...Additionally, we cannot have a narrative that we abandon military allies when the going gets tough spreading to further undermine trust in our role as the ultimate military might on the planet.
Trump already did major damage to our reputation as a reliable international partner with all his talk about pulling out of NATO. Though Israel is not in NATO, they are a major strategic ally, and abandoning them would be a clear sign that alliances mean nothing (edit: regardless of administration, to put the icing on the shit cake) and do irreparable damage to the security of all our allies, NATO or not.
This is also why Xi Jinping talked about how Israel needs to stop with its "collective punishment" of the Palestinians a few months ago - regardless of whether you view what Israel is doing as genocide, it doesn't matter, because China clearly has no qualms about genocide considering their treatment of the Uyghurs. They just want to try and undermine US support for its strategic allies, because if we're willing to abandon Israel, what are the chances we're willing to stand up for Taiwan? If they can create some bad PR for Taiwan (and with over a billion people, millions of whom speak English, they could easily muster up a PR warfare department to flood the internet with deepfake footage that will get quickly gobbled up and poison the well against Taiwan) and bribe some politicians like Russia did, it'll be over for them, too.
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Comment on How does one engage in criticism of Israel without stooping to anti-semitic tropes? in ~society
Luna Link ParentAgreed. As I have said before, I genuinely believe Joe Biden is doing his best, as foreign policy is truly a balancing act, and sanctions don't really work if a country is committed to bypassing...I think it can be solved, but it's not going to be done by people arguing online or on college campuses.
Agreed. As I have said before, I genuinely believe Joe Biden is doing his best, as foreign policy is truly a balancing act, and sanctions don't really work if a country is committed to bypassing them and resisting change.
Ten years ago, I would have been fully in favor of the US invading I/P and attempting to setup a one-state secular democracy a la Turkey. But at this point, after learning about US meddling and our attempts at state-building (and how Turkey has been actively backsliding due to Erdogan's right-wing government), I'm completely burnt out on the idea of regime change. Best case, you get a secular dictatorship that can stand up to Iranian and Saudi meddling with equal oppression for everyone.
As much as I hate to see the death toll continue to rise, I'm legitimately not sure what good we can really do beyond continuing to supply aid to Gaza and hoping the Israeli people elect Labor or another party which genuinely wants peace. But there's not much we can do to further that end. Certainly, internet debates between non-Israelis aren't going to do much to move their political needle.
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Comment on How does one engage in criticism of Israel without stooping to anti-semitic tropes? in ~society
Luna LinkI've stopped engaging with online critiques of Israel/Palestine because there's just too many bad-faith, reductive techniques, like the "AIPAC controls the US govt" talking point espoused in this...I've stopped engaging with online critiques of Israel/Palestine because there's just too many bad-faith, reductive techniques, like the "AIPAC controls the US govt" talking point espoused in this thread and which I frequently see parroted in slightly more cloaked language in left-leaning spaces, and the inevitable "Hamas did nothing wrong" takes that seem to follow.
Honestly, this whole conflict has been a bit of a wake-up call in terms of seeing how easily people fall for rather blatant propaganda that falls apart upon the slightest inspection. I've even seen rehashed crap from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion getting heavily upvoted and treated as fact. At this point, I'm convinced that a large portion of leftists are just as intellectually lazy as conservatives and not willing to learn about the broader context of issues outside those which immediately affect them, like NIMBYism driving up rents and ruining the very spaces they claim to want to protect.
There are valid criticisms of Israel's right-wing government (of which I have many), and there are broader contexts that explain why these things happen to begin with when you look at the shifting alliances that fuel these conflicts (namely Iran v. Saudi Arabia), the original 1947 Resolution 181 borders being indefensible and a perfect example of design by committee hubris, and the reality of Hamas being so inept at civil governance that they could not hold on to power if they were to pursue peace in good faith and hold new elections, thus guaranteeing a forever war (which is pretty depressing to think about).
And all of this just gets tossed out the window when online debate-bros catch wind of a fresh conversation about the conflict and feel the need to shit up any legitimate, good-faith discussion with the latest bad thing Israel did meaning the gloves are off and the US should declare war on them.
I've unsubbed from a lot of reddit communities because of this bad-faith one-sided mess, and been outright banned from subs like /r/LateStageCapitalism for attempting to introduce nuance to the conversation. It's clear that people who take a holistic view on the conflict are not wanted by most leftist communities, so I've opted to reserve discussion for people who I know want an actual conversation IRL.
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Comment on US senior homes refuse to pick up fallen residents, dial 911. ‘Why are they calling us?’ in ~health
Luna Link ParentPrivate equity firms have been buying up US healthcare companies, especially assisted care and nursing homes, for decades, and they don't have any pride, ethics, honor, or morals - profit is the...Private equity firms have been buying up US healthcare companies, especially assisted care and nursing homes, for decades, and they don't have any pride, ethics, honor, or morals - profit is the only thing that matters to them. If they can pawn off liability for free, they will absolutely do it.
Private equity firms operate this way by design - they explicitly cater to people who are living socialist caricatures of capitalists, the ultra-rich who have zero qualms about grinding the country into dust and dooming the entire planet just to enhance their bottom lines. It is fundamentally unsustainable, but they do not care. If they wanted modest returns, they would just park their money in the S&P 500, maybe do some angel investing on the side, and be happy with that; PE firms are the exact opposite - the are for those who have wealth and want to expand it as fast as possible. There is no such thing as a good private equity firm, and there is no low they will not stoop to.
It makes them more money to punish employees who care enough to help than it does to risk helpful employees causing a lawsuit due to the nature of subrogation in the US healthcare system. And until we tackle the real cause of the problem (the rich and privatized healthcare), things will only continue to get worse.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/24/nursing-homes-private-equity-fraud-00132001
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Comment on US government reportedly ponders crimping China's use of RISC-V in ~society
Luna LinkThe double-think is both impressive and terrifying. Congress will destroy open source in the name of spiting China."While the benefits of open source collaboration on RISC-V promise to be significant, it can only be realized when contributors are working with the sole aim of improving the technology, and not aiding the geopolitical interests of the PRC," the representatives wrote in a November 2023 letter that called for creation of a "robust ecosystem for open source collaboration among the US and our allies while ensuring the PRC is unable to benefit from that work."
That's code for "Banning sales of chips to China won't work if Beijing can build its own using RISC-V." The Committee members therefore called on US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo to consider what might be done about RISC-V.
The double-think is both impressive and terrifying. Congress will destroy open source in the name of spiting China.
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US government reportedly ponders crimping China's use of RISC-V
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Comment on Are Free Software developers at risk? A potential threat to Free Software developers looms in the form of an ongoing lawsuit in the UK involving Bitcoin and its core developers. in ~tech
Luna LinkFaketoshi again? JFC this dude cannot stop shitting up everything he touches. The world would be a better place without him. He's not even a real "Dr" - he claims to have multiple PhDs, but has...Faketoshi again? JFC this dude cannot stop shitting up everything he touches. The world would be a better place without him. He's not even a real "Dr" - he claims to have multiple PhDs, but has never submitted any evidence for any of them. (As in, he hasn't even submitted a diploma mill certificate.)
For the (blessedly) uninitiated, ALAB did a great episode on him a few years ago showing just how insane he is, though it's a obviously bit out of date at this point: https://www.alabseries.com/episodes/episode-3-faketoshi-the-perfect-client
TL;DR - This dude is a con-artist in every sense of the word who has committed some of the most brazen fraud imaginable, been called out numerous times for it (including in court, where he was spinning lies wilder than you get from Alex Jones), should be taken seriously by nobody (except a psychiatrist, because he's either faking mental illness really well for his grift or needs to be involuntarily committed), and might just destroy free software in the UK.
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Comment on Texas is replacing thousands of human exam graders with AI in ~tech
Luna Link ParentYeah, it feels a lot like the older generation seeing a bad thing that they (and those around them) aren't super into and seeing it as a good target for punching down. Truth Social, Fox News,...Yeah, it feels a lot like the older generation seeing a bad thing that they (and those around them) aren't super into and seeing it as a good target for punching down.
Truth Social, Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax are also super manipulative (and have done demonstrable harm to society), yet you don't see many serious calls to ban them. I totally support banning TikTok, provided we also go after their equivalents for the older generations.
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Comment on Texas is replacing thousands of human exam graders with AI in ~tech
Luna Link ParentI find it wild the sheer amount of hate Gen Alpha is getting, and also the amount of media attention about their supposed political opinions and affiliations. Depending on what starting year you...I find it wild the sheer amount of hate Gen Alpha is getting, and also the amount of media attention about their supposed political opinions and affiliations. Depending on what starting year you use (the earliest I've seen is 2010), the oldest of them are just entering high school or just entering middle school, and the youngest have yet to be born, which means they don't have any real power and their opinions will change as they continue to mature, such that we cannot form any real generalizations about them yet.
And yet, there is no end of articles talking about how they're screwed or that they're going to ruin the world, that they're all going to grow up ultra-conservative or that they're all going to become Maoists...it's absolutely ridiculous. The only thing that can be said for sure is that, given our inaction on climate change, they are going to bear a much bigger brunt of the consequences than we will, which is an indictment of us, the older generations, who have failed to be good stewards of the Earth.
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Comment on Microsoft to separate Teams and Office globally amid antitrust scrutiny, will cost $5.25/month standalone in ~tech
Luna LinkOfficial Microsoft post: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/news/microsoft365-teams-wwOfficial Microsoft post: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/news/microsoft365-teams-ww
No, LLMs aren't that intelligent. Many apparent LLM hallucinations are actually just re-hashing mistruths ingested in the dataset, like that "Google tells people to put glue on pizza" kerfuffle (because detecting sarcasm in the original dataset is difficult, hence the phrase "garbage in, garbage out"), but even for the true hallucinations, they occur because LLMs are statistical models that have a very hard time saying "I don't know" because that is so rarely in the dataset in such a way that it appears most-applicable to the prompts we provide.
Humans have innocent misrecollections and just make shit up to sound smart all the time.
Edit: Think about it - if someone posts a weird question to a forum, most people aren't going to respond "I don't know" because that's not a very helpful response; instead, they're just going to let someone who does know (or who claims to know) chime in, even if that means nobody ever responds. And if nobody responds (or if the dataset doesn't contain anything close to the prompt you've given it), this can easily cause hallucinations. This is a fundamental limitation of current-generation LLMs: if something is not in the dataset, you're unlikely to ever get a useful response on the topic, and since so few people ever say "I don't know" online, there are very few chances that the LLM will say "I don't know" vs. making shit up, which is quite common by comparison, especially since an LLM doesn't truly understand what it does and doesn't "know".
Because the companies who make and train models like LLMs want them to be broadly applicable as that increases the addressable market. Having random blog posts and reddit threads provides a diversity of language (i.e. not a strictly academic vocabulary) and provides a lot of interesting perspectives (some more valuable than others) that you just won't find in journal articles.