NomadicCoder's recent activity
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Comment on Software engineers / programmers: how’s it going? in ~comp
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Comment on Stop Killing The Internet: No digital ID and no age verification in ~tech
NomadicCoder Link ParentI was a child in the early 80s and I also saw some really messed up things without seeking them out too -- back then you'd stumbled across some really hard-core magazines in the rain gutters, in a...I was a child in the early 80s and I also saw some really messed up things without seeking them out too -- back then you'd stumbled across some really hard-core magazines in the rain gutters, in a cavity of a tree, behind a large rock, etc, on your walk home from school or while out exploring with your friends, and I guarantee you that curious children were passing them around.
The Internet makes it easier, but you might be surprised how frequent it was back then. You almost never see it anymore because such magazines have basically been replaced, so it might be hard to fathom just how common it was.
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Comment on What is the oldest file you still have? in ~tech
NomadicCoder LinkI have some 5.25 floppy disks from the 80s that I keep, even though I don't have any way to read them, mostly because they have some of the early programs I wrote... my first programs were all...I have some 5.25 floppy disks from the 80s that I keep, even though I don't have any way to read them, mostly because they have some of the early programs I wrote... my first programs were all stored on cassette and are long gone.
...but the oldest file that I have that I still USE, daily, is my .vimrc file, some lines of which are older than my oldest child, who is nearing 30. :) I've been loosely maintaining that file so long that I honestly don't even remember a good portion of what's in its 1600+ lines.
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Comment on Router recommendations? in ~comp
NomadicCoder Link ParentI use UniFi at home, and also did the same for the small startup I'm working at where I was there from day 1 and needed to set up an office network. I use the UDR, which is an all in one unit with...I use UniFi at home, and also did the same for the small startup I'm working at where I was there from day 1 and needed to set up an office network. I use the UDR, which is an all in one unit with a switch, router, and wifi access point. I didn't find the configuration to be any harder than any of the consumer grade routers.
I have both an OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN server running on both configurations and I get security notifications pushed to my phone for the office network.
Interestingly my home configuration is more complex since my house is bigger than our one room office, so I have two PoE wifi access points. They're in my basement since the basement has a drop ceiling and it was easy to run the wire, and they have nice brackets to mount to the drop ceiling cross-bars. I get good coverage both upstairs and downstairs, each floor is about 1600 sq ft.
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Comment on Are others finding themselves spending less and less time online? in ~tech
NomadicCoder Link ParentAnd, sadly, the physical towns were demolished to build that town, so we no longer have third-spaces to return to.The town has been demolished, mostly. Some roads are still there but not too many anymore and i think i've become tired to look for them :)
And, sadly, the physical towns were demolished to build that town, so we no longer have third-spaces to return to.
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Comment on Are others finding themselves spending less and less time online? in ~tech
NomadicCoder Link ParentNumber 1 perfectly describes my feelings. My suggestion feed feels like 100 copies of the exact same video, and the same exact video it was the last 100 times I looked. I have to work hard to find...Number 1 perfectly describes my feelings. My suggestion feed feels like 100 copies of the exact same video, and the same exact video it was the last 100 times I looked. I have to work hard to find anything new and interesting. I just don't enjoy opening youtube anymore. Nebula is better (though lacking in some UX features), but for some reason I still find myself opening the YouTube app first.
Reddit is trash now. The new UI is insufferable, old reddit is dying a slow death, and I feel dirty for even using the site. Unfortunately there's a few niche subreddits where I cannot find anything equivalent (local subreddits, device specific forums, etc), so I find myself still using it. That said, I do enjoy taking every opportunity to dunk on Trump. :)
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Comment on Why am I left-handed? in ~science
NomadicCoder LinkI'd probably be classified as a right-hander, but I find that I also have a lot of mixed dominance. I have noticed that taught skills (writing, using utensils, guitar, etc) I tend to do...I'd probably be classified as a right-hander, but I find that I also have a lot of mixed dominance. I have noticed that taught skills (writing, using utensils, guitar, etc) I tend to do right-handed, but almost everything else I do left handed or go back and forth freely -- including the easier to re-learn taught skills, like using utensils. I often keep two computer mice on my desk, and use whichever is more convenient at the moment depending on what I'm doing on the keyboard at the time and also switch back and forth to avoid wrist strain.
Some things, like using a cell-phone, I do almost exclusively left-handed.
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Comment on American Red Cross declares second-ever national blood supply crisis, urges immediate blood donations in ~health
NomadicCoder Link ParentI way a lot of dark leafy greens, gardened, foraged, and otherwise, but it still isn’t keeping up. I added an iron supplement recently, but it didn’t make a huge difference, so my doctor...I way a lot of dark leafy greens, gardened, foraged, and otherwise, but it still isn’t keeping up.
I added an iron supplement recently, but it didn’t make a huge difference, so my doctor recommended every other day — surprisingly there’s evidence that it might improve uptake.
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Comment on American Red Cross declares second-ever national blood supply crisis, urges immediate blood donations in ~health
NomadicCoder Link ParentI recently learned that my iron is low, and supplementation hasn’t helped much after a few months so I definitely won’t be able to donate any time soon. I’ve been vegetarian for a long while and...I recently learned that my iron is low, and supplementation hasn’t helped much after a few months so I definitely won’t be able to donate any time soon. I’ve been vegetarian for a long while and wasn’t supplementing enough, so all of the ones harder to get with a vegetarian diet were low (creatine, b12, and iron) so I’ve been much more consistent lately.
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Comment on Which privacy-friendly home appliances exist? e.g. robot vacuum cleaners. in ~tech
NomadicCoder LinkI just don’t connect my robot vacuum to the network and start it manually — which is my preference anyhow. It still navigates just fine, I just can’t specify a specific room. It’s a Dereeme (sp?),...I just don’t connect my robot vacuum to the network and start it manually — which is my preference anyhow. It still navigates just fine, I just can’t specify a specific room. It’s a Dereeme (sp?), with lidar and camera.
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Comment on Firefox for iOS now has a native adblocker in ~tech
NomadicCoder Link ParentYeah. That’s what I thought, which is why I never bothered trying others.Yeah. That’s what I thought, which is why I never bothered trying others.
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Comment on Firefox for iOS now has a native adblocker in ~tech
NomadicCoder Link ParentI have the AdGuard extension installed and opened the website in Safari and it is just fine. While I would probably trust Firefox's adblock more than AdGuard, you can still block ads in Safari....I have the AdGuard extension installed and opened the website in Safari and it is just fine. While I would probably trust Firefox's adblock more than AdGuard, you can still block ads in Safari. That said, Apple claims that their extension design does prevent the extension from knowing your browsing history.
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Comment on Firefox for iOS now has a native adblocker in ~tech
NomadicCoder Link ParentHow is the experience using Firefox (or any alternative browser) on iOS? I feel like there's some cookie sharing between the web views in apps and the main browser, which can be either good or bad...How is the experience using Firefox (or any alternative browser) on iOS? I feel like there's some cookie sharing between the web views in apps and the main browser, which can be either good or bad depending on context. Also, it used to be that alternative browsers were forced to use the Safari rendering engine anyhow, so I didn't see much reason to switch -- is that still true? (I guess I could DDG it, but I figured I'd ask you since I'm more curious about the experience than the technical details).
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Comment on Elon Musk on tomatoes in ~food
NomadicCoder Link ParentOh, I know much of that from personal experience. I grew up lower middle class on a farm and was later homeless in order to afford going to university while working full time to pay my own way. My...Oh, I know much of that from personal experience.
I grew up lower middle class on a farm and was later homeless in order to afford going to university while working full time to pay my own way. My parents were completely against it for religious reason (university will turn you liberal and gay!), making it so that I couldn't get financial aid since they had sufficient 'wealth' due to owning an inherited family farm (non-liquid wealth), and also wouldn't help me by providing the documentation that I needed. I may have been able to work within the system to get help, but I had nobody to mentor me and was barely staying afloat, so I didn't invest the time to look into it. It also didn't help that I was so sheltered that I knew nothing about how the academic system worked.
I know that I'm the rare exception that broke the cycle, I've seen my cousins and others not escape it. I'm now a software developer that has been the lead developer on some major projects for some very major companies (in the top 50 of the Fortune 500 list) and have enough of a network to be turning down more work than I take, having been recruited to every job I've ever had.
My wife and I argue this a lot. She's more of the mindset that I'm proof that hard work can lead to success, whereas I see it as luck -- luck that I made the decision to run away from home and be homeless rather than stay in that environment, luck that I had good enough health to work, luck that my Tourette syndrome is not more severe leading to extreme stigma (it was bad enough that I was severely bullied by students and teachers alike in elementary school), luck that I was naturally an avid reader (even as my parents actively discouraged the habit, saying I should live in the real world), luck that I had a natural aptitude and interest in something that happens to pay well, luck that I had a few good mentors like my fifth grade teacher who recognized my interest in programming and would let me into the classroom an hour early every morning so that I could work on the computer (back when few had home computers, and my parents wouldn't have allowed one anyway) and give me what I now realize were made-up problems with requirements to solve (like a program to administer and grade quizzes and provide him with the reports) to keep me engaged and learning, luck that I was accepted into the university, luck that I wasn't kicked out for my poor performance due to working full time while taking a full course-load (but I was on academic probation more than once), luck that the son of the owners at my high-school McDonald's job needed help with his computer science homework and later recruited me to my first job that set the path for the rest of my career, luck that I decided to take a full time position at one of my consulting clients before they were bought-out and had a substantial equity payout. And, finally, lucky to have a base salary that I feel guilty about at times when I think about how bad income inequality is. I could go on, but I've gone on way too much already. :)
Meanwhile, my wife's son grew up with a professor as his father and is now a professor himself, married to a professor, and they're barely scraping by and I'm helping them out financially since the cost of living is so high in the city where they live and I want them to be able to provide the best for my grandson. He could easily leave the academic world and make an obscene amount of money because professors in his field are heavily recruited by AI and finance companies, offering $1M+ salaries, but he doesn't want to do it and I don't blame him.
So, I, who barely made it through school at a state university make a very comfortable salary doing very fulfilling and meaningful work, and he barely scrapes by after starting graduate level classes at one of the best universities in the USA (~5% acceptance rate) right out of high school since he'd already finished all of the undergraduate classes at the state university during his high school years, graduated with the highest grades in his graduating class, then other top schools for his PhD (~3% acceptance rate) and post-doc work.
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Comment on Elon Musk on tomatoes in ~food
NomadicCoder Link ParentWell, true, but he wasn't born with his current level of wealth.Well, true, but he wasn't born with his current level of wealth.
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
NomadicCoder LinkMy son recently introduced me to the Bobiverse novels, I was surprised to have never heard of them. I’m currently nearing the end of book 1 and enjoyed it more than I expected to. If I had to...My son recently introduced me to the Bobiverse novels, I was surprised to have never heard of them. I’m currently nearing the end of book 1 and enjoyed it more than I expected to.
If I had to describe it, I’d describe it as reading like a hybrid of Andy Weir and Cory Doctorow.
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Comment on Vermont's largest energy source is now a virtual power plant in ~enviro
NomadicCoder Link ParentAh, sorry. Read that quickly on mobile and thought that part about former resident was outside of the quote.Ah, sorry. Read that quickly on mobile and thought that part about former resident was outside of the quote.
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Comment on Vermont's largest energy source is now a virtual power plant in ~enviro
NomadicCoder Link ParentThank you, yes it was. It seems that I don’t qualify for that amazing price for multiple reasons.Thank you, yes it was. It seems that I don’t qualify for that amazing price for multiple reasons.
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Comment on Vermont's largest energy source is now a virtual power plant in ~enviro
NomadicCoder Link ParentThanks for highlighting the power wall portion, I already participate in their program allowing them to turn off my EV charger in exchange for cheaper rates while charging, which they do...Thanks for highlighting the power wall portion, I already participate in their program allowing them to turn off my EV charger in exchange for cheaper rates while charging, which they do semi-regularly, more often than I expected, but not enough to be a problem. I’m surprised how cheap the power wall rental is, I’ll have to look into it, but I suspect that does not include the installation costs. What was the process like for getting it installed?
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Comment on How often are you eating plant based meals? in ~food
NomadicCoder Link ParentWell, I'll be camping in some of the national parks in QC in a few weeks, but that's not close enough to come steal some of your cucumbers, and US customs isn't too happy with taking produce...Well, I'll be camping in some of the national parks in QC in a few weeks, but that's not close enough to come steal some of your cucumbers, and US customs isn't too happy with taking produce across the border, so I guess I can't help you with your surplus. :)
Our winters routinely hit -20C and now and then as low as -30C -- I do recall a -50C windchill one day (not sure what the actual temperature was), that was a crazy one. While yours are colder, there's a certain point where I think we can all agree that it's cold. :) We get a few months where it never exceeds 0C and there's a period where -15C starts to feel like a warm and comfortable. :)
...alas, the bugs come back every year.
I'm kind of busy right now, so I'm not going to write much, but I've found that LLMs really help with the tedious parts of my job and speed up my work in areas that I'm not as familiar.
EDIT: To answer the question -- I'm at a very small startup where I was originally the only developer along with a CTO who did a little bit of development -- we now have a few additional developers/testers/etc, but still a very small team.
As an example... today I was adding a new feature that needed to comply with a standard protocol. I wrote it without much LLM help (just CoPilot as a fancy auto-complete, but it's still basically my code when I use that, it's just inferring where I'm going and finishing the lines for me). When I was done I needed to update a public facing document that described the edit, so I gave my code snippet to the LLM that my company licenses and the previous draft of the document (the boring parts of my job) and asked it which sections needed to be updated.
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#1 could have gone months without being noticed, because I'm one of the few at my company (or anywhere) that knows that standard, and it would have likely had an urgent turnaround when a customer complained - and we're in a regulated industry where patches are a big deal with a lot of overhead.
#2 saved me a lot of drudgery, making the document edit a lot less tedious, probably saved me 4 or 5 hours.
I never ask an LLM to write production code from whole-cloth (I do sometimes ask it for scripts for automation tasks that I can review before running them), but I do sometimes ask it to review blocks or help me interface with a library I don't understand, etc. It has been extremely helpful for stuff like that and makes my work a LOT faster and makes the tedious parts go faster.
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One other thing before I go, I've found it to be very good for code reviews. Giving it a piece of existing code and asking it to find race conditions, security holes, potential sources of a crash, etc... HUGE time saver and it has definitely prevented me from shipping some bad code more than once.