SloMoMonday's recent activity
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Comment on AI will likely affect administrative and operational jobs in heathcare in ~health
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Comment on Steam Replay 2025 in ~games
SloMoMonday LinkSo mine is a fun one since I set up the second hand steam deck in the TV room last year. My kid has started to play more on her own and so has my wife. And we're also getting a lot of guests and...So mine is a fun one since I set up the second hand steam deck in the TV room last year.
My kid has started to play more on her own and so has my wife. And we're also getting a lot of guests and my wife's clients who have kids and it's something for them to do while the adults are busy. Anyone's free to dig into the ever expanding backlog and download/delete whatever they like, so long as they put everything away and don't mess with save files. And it's been a success.I should probably set up all the family accounts sooner or later to keep stats like this clean and I can see people playing concurrently becoming an issue. But such a wide spread like this feels like I run an arcade.
So the damage is:
174 games and its 50/50 between old and new
You can sort of see the months when I'm between projects because I'm committing to single games. Otherwise its a whole mess of things.
Those marathon games were E33, Blue Prince and I was lucky with Silksong because it released just before the 6 weeks I was out with a broken foot.
When I was in "work mode", most of that time was spent with Hades and other Roguelikes. Also tower defence.
My favorite stats are these, where no game got more than 10% playtime.
Also, I'm pretty happy that there doesn't seem to be any AAA in my list and no mtx. You could count Space Marine 2 and a few hours to mop up the last of BG3 but it's not the same.
Anyway, I'm probably not going to have any time till March again and I'm pretty sure next year I'll have far fewer hours to spend on games. But I do think this was a pretty good year for game releases (the state of the industry is a whole different story).
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Comment on Twenty years of digital life, gone in an instant, thanks to Apple in ~tech
SloMoMonday Link ParentI don't see why having a local backup would be any trouble. I have a Pi hooked up to a 2tb external running rsync and it maintains 4 copies of my Active Project folder. Its set for 5min, 1hr, 24hr...I don't see why having a local backup would be any trouble. I have a Pi hooked up to a 2tb external running rsync and it maintains 4 copies of my Active Project folder. Its set for 5min, 1hr, 24hr and 3 days.
And only the Active Folder is synchronized to a cloud service because I don't recall ever needing to reference a 4 year old file out of the blue. If I'm referencing old projects, I'll just copy it to active and it's everywhere I need it.Bulk storage is an off the shelf NAS running TrueNAS with 8tb that's mirrored. Partial sync every midnight and full backup on Saturday night. Runs Jellyfin, Calibre, Samba and immich services if anyone at home needs to access something from the Library.
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Comment on CONTROL Resonant | Announcement trailer in ~games
SloMoMonday Link ParentI'm also holding out for a playable Jesse. They had a pretty good system of two protagonists with Alan Wake 2. I can imagine it working by swapping between Jesse exploring Ordinary or the Slide...I'm also holding out for a playable Jesse. They had a pretty good system of two protagonists with Alan Wake 2. I can imagine it working by swapping between Jesse exploring Ordinary or the Slide worlds as a horror game, while Dylan is going full DMC in New York.
It seems like a bit of a waste to cut her since Jessie is makes for an amazing new "superhero" character. And I'm just a sucker for that style of psychic powers. Just casually floating around, grabbing chunks of concrete out the wall and hurling it through a crowd of goons.
And I'm sure Dylan plays well and he looks much better with the stubble, but I'm not the biggest fan of going from the directors suit to government issued PJs.Beside that, I love the imagery and style so far. "Resist the urge to eat" is some proper SCP insanity and at this point I'm sure that New York doesn't exist and in the universe and is just a massive AWE. Also Ahti should be back from vacation and Darling needs to have travel logs from is higher dimensional sabbatical.
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Comment on Disney inks blockbuster $1b deal with OpenAI, handing characters over to Sora in ~tech
SloMoMonday Link ParentI'm guessing the sales pitch was that all the slop Sora users would generate with these characters will serve as training. Training that will allow Disney to automate those character roles going...I'm guessing the sales pitch was that all the slop Sora users would generate with these characters will serve as training. Training that will allow Disney to automate those character roles going forward.
I don't believe that's how model training works exactly but the idea probably felt right enough for executives to sign up for. And the stock boost for joining the AI carnival was probably a nice bonus.
I'm curious if Disney is going to let openAI raid their fabled Vault for even more data for the everything machine? And what will the copyright be on the generated content since AI advocates like pushing the idea that you "own" the outcomes from using these tools.
Regardless, this is another massive AI deal that doesn't make much sense to me. Where's the revenue? The value creation? How does the outcome pay for expenses incurred to create it?
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Comment on Games: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~games
SloMoMonday (edited )LinkIts been a pretty tough year and I sort of retreated into games to take off the pressure. Also my kid is the same age I was when my mom let me play Tetris on her clunky old gameboy. So I'm hoping...Its been a pretty tough year and I sort of retreated into games to take off the pressure. Also my kid is the same age I was when my mom let me play Tetris on her clunky old gameboy. So I'm hoping she remembers sitting with me on the couch and playing Slime Rancher on the clunky old Steam Deck.
I also made a point of not replaying any old games. Mostly because I've noticed a lot of my friends get sucked into nostalgia traps and all they talk about and play is the same handful of old games. There's only so much Quake 3, L4D2 and TF2 I can play.
The biggest highlights for me were Blue Prince and Silksong. (Major spoilers obviously)
Blue Prince combines my love of mazes, design, mystery and worldbuilding into a neat little package and even sprinkled some smooth jazz in for good measure. I wish I could have saved the physical conspiracy board I made in my office or recorded my reaction to every breakthrough panning out. It took nearly 170hrs over 4 months to finally find the true ending in The Drafts and realizing that it had a red herring door was just a beautiful ending to the whole saga. There were also times I just take a few rounds to draft a house for the fun of it. I remember at the time being frustrated that the game lacked a lot of conventional design sensability like more permanent upgrades or in-game note taking but it hardly mattered for me in the end.
My grand theory of this world is that it is a simulation within a wider narrative, simply because the month names make no sense in the context of the world and the The Drafts exist. I can let suspend disbelieving in the modular house for a while, but The Drafts existing is a whole other thing. Also Christmas. My brain doesn't trust that they also have it on December 25th.
Blue Prince is also where I started taking notes when playing games and I think it paid off when playing Silksong.
I was "lucky" enough to break my foot a week after Silksongs release and it was bitter-sweet playing one of the most agile characters in gaming while relying on crutches. But I got to enjoy a lot of time in bed just fully getting into the game and it is so good to celebrate developers just delivering excellence. The last time I was so surprised by such ambition and scope was Hollow Knight and I'm glad that this game can stand next to it on its own merits. And I have little notes to remind myself of just how it all came together. There's half page dedicated to "2 MASK DAMAGE IN THE FIRST HOUR!!"
There was a lot of frustration and WTF design at first. But like Blue Price, I just stopped judging the game by what it wasn't. And it did work out better to play on the devs terms sometimes. Some of my favorite fights were First Sinner while using Beast Crest and the second Savage Beastfly after all the hell it gave me the first time. I don't think the game ever uses the "get good" voice line, but its very much implied when Hornet is the only character in this situation that thinks this is easy. Seriously, everyone is so adamant that this is a hopeless quest, and she's like "You should see the last god I dealt with." It's nice to play a character with such a strong personal identity and I was constantly motivated to adopt a more acrobatic play-style. Not just force fit the brute force tactics from the Knight.
On that note, the most unexpected surprise was the scope of characters in this game. Hornet being able talk and share opinions really opened up the social part of the narrative. Even just her enjoying the job board while seeing communities grow and improve because of that is a lovely touch. But the other bugs you meet are just fun in their own ways. It's best seen in the parallel journey of hornet cutting her way to the top of that tower and Sherma getting there on pure vibes. Frustratingly good writing. Don't think its intentional, but its very fitting that the little guy never resorts to violence, but Hornet needs to learn to play an instrument to open doors. Also, I'd love to have even a short DLC (that hopefully doesn't become another 8 year wait) where you play as Shakra. She's such an interesting character and I'd love to know where they go next. It's a far more complex character design and there's so much potential for cool animations with different weapons. I still get surprised by how dynamic hornet is and it comes from a that massive library of unique movements.
Also Bellheart might just beat Majula in my list of "chill spots in games". And I love fundamental UI elements changing. And Hornet facing down Grandmother Silk the same way the Knight did the The Radiance. And all the hints of other civilizations in this world. And the big flea. And Bilewater music. And the Pinstress fight on top of the mountain. And the Zero Suit Hornet level in The Slab. And Trobiooooo. I really want Trobio to be a failed juvenile from the Grimm Troupe.
I could genuinely gush about this game for hours.There's also Expedition 33. That I haven't finished yet. I'm not the biggest fan of how Act 3 was presented but I've got two more side activities and I'll fun the last story mission. It's an amazing game and trumps anything AAA from the last few years. But to me, it doesn't seem any greater than the sum of its parts. Sort of like Metaphor Re Fantazio. A game that I'm also sitting at the last few chapters. A game that's also very inspired by Persona. Another game where I haven't finished the final chapter.
It feels like there's something happening there but I don't know what it is.One thing I didn't expect to enjoy was canceling GamePass and other pointless subscriptions and putting some of the money towards any interesting small projects I came across. Honestly, its so much better than being spoiled for choice but not playing any of it. And it may actually go towards helping a small team or solo dev.
Highlights here would be
Metal Garden: A 90min FPS adventure that's a mix of Halo and Half Life. Feels like a proof-of-concept that could flesh out into something interesting.
Nitro Express: A fun little side scroll shooter with more guns than playable levels.
Receiver 2: An FPS where you need to intentionally manipulate every control of your firearm. Very forward with the message of responsible gun ownership and themes of suicide.
Missile Command Delta: Mix of escape room and a retro puzzle game that's published by Atari and makes for a fun afternoon.
Turbo Overkill: Probably the best Boomer Shooter next to Ultrakill.It's also the third year running where I've not gotten any AAA game from a western studio. I honestly can't see myself getting GTA6 after the whole union busting situation there. There are so many cool things to play and none of it needed hundreds of millions of dollars or excessive AGI to develop. I gifted 6 copies of
Silksong for less than the price of some cosmetics in other games. -
Comment on Japan unveils human washing machine, now you can get washed like laundry in ~tech
SloMoMonday Link ParentI remember microbubbles coming up when I worked on a hydroponics/aquaponics project. One of the concerns was root rot due to lack of oxygen. The microbubbles don't float to the surface and can be...I remember microbubbles coming up when I worked on a hydroponics/aquaponics project. One of the concerns was root rot due to lack of oxygen. The microbubbles don't float to the surface and can be maintained in solution for several weeks. It could also be fine tuned to replicate the soil conditions so it was great for leafy veggies, tomatoes and there was plans for a few herb trials.
It was fun but the client went under before we could even get started on the interesting stuff like the bubble cocktail and solution staging. -
Comment on The worlds on fire. So lets just make AI porn. in ~tech
SloMoMonday Link ParentThanks for the feedback. The length is always a fun argument. I'm pretty long winded in my own writing but even I had to lock this doc down on Monday. The opening context is also a difficult one...Thanks for the feedback. The length is always a fun argument. I'm pretty long winded in my own writing but even I had to lock this doc down on Monday.
The opening context is also a difficult one to consider. Its the bulk of the most recent additions and while it's nothing too heavy for technical readers, it does look like a turn off for anyone else. Will strongly suggest it gets the axe tonight.
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Comment on The worlds on fire. So lets just make AI porn. in ~tech
SloMoMonday Link ParentIts a fair question. I did run it through a local model and normal spell check that got the worst of it. So much that that I thought it was all. Should have known better. The issue is that if my...Its a fair question. I did run it through a local model and normal spell check that got the worst of it. So much that that I thought it was all. Should have known better.
The issue is that if my brain knows what I've written it "sees" the text as intended. It's a damn pain that I only figured out after university. I've worked with my editor since she she insisted to fix all the text elements from our DnD games and since then she charges me a bit to review anything major I've worked on.
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Comment on The worlds on fire. So lets just make AI porn. in ~tech
SloMoMonday Link ParentAppreciate the honest feedback. The bipolar humor and pointless voids is likely on account of me red lining a lot of vulgar language and some unprovable claims/conclusions. There was also plenty...Appreciate the honest feedback.
The bipolar humor and pointless voids is likely on account of me red lining a lot of vulgar language and some unprovable claims/conclusions. There was also plenty of direct shots at tech billionaires and their alleged sexual habits. Had to cut some lovely speculation how a certain tech billionaire was banned from the orgy and that's why they are doing this.
But the real issue was when it drifted into jokes and references on the topic of sexual abuse and that did not make a good first impression. This is actually the upbeat version of the text that is ment to be more digestable without references to pimps and human trafficking. But taking the middle ground does often feel like the worst of both worlds. Will work on it.
No excuse on the typos though. It's a cognitive flaw and I can never seem to find all of them. The editors who offered to help are both swamped and we were getting impatient.
If I can get clarification: is the parts where you're getting lost towards the end or is it scattered throughout with some ideas not having enough cohesion.
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Comment on The worlds on fire. So lets just make AI porn. in ~tech
SloMoMonday (edited )Link ParentNoted and can see why that is an issue. Easy to forget that not everyone is as obsessive on this topic. Will reference media reporting because the announcement itself is not exactly a press...Noted and can see why that is an issue. Easy to forget that not everyone is as obsessive on this topic. Will reference media reporting because the announcement itself is not exactly a press release.
Also realizing with all the chopping and editing, certain context is misplaced or lost. Found the link and interpretation of the porn announcement in Part 4 about Anti Accountability Systems. Moved it there because that announcement was really weird on it's own and buried in model-specification documentation.
Theres the formal policy:
Sensitive content (such as erotica or gore) may only be generated under specific circumstances (e.g., educational, medical, or historical contexts, or transformations of user-provided sensitive content).
And then a paragraph later there's an addendum.
Following the initial release of the Model Spec (May 2024), many users and developers expressed support for enabling a ‘grown-up mode’. We're exploring how to let developers and users generate erotica and gore in age-appropriate contexts through the API and ChatGPT so long as our usage policies are met - while drawing a hard line against potentially harmful uses like sexual deepfakes and revenge porn.
Even the exception for transformation of user content is weird because there is a follow up note saying:
The motivation behind the transformation exception is that if the user already has access to a piece of content, then the incremental risk for harm in transforming it is minimal. This is especially the case given that transformations such as encoding, formatting, spell-checking, or translation can be achieved by many other tools without advanced AI capabilities. And on the other hand, there are many legitimate applications for transformations or classifications of sensitive content, including content moderation and annotation.
But the next part is really special because they wipe their hands of any wrongdoing by sayong:
The assistant should assume that the user has the rights and permissions to provide the content, as our Terms of Use specifically prohibit using our services in ways that violate other people's rights. We may apply additional precautions at a system level for user-directed misuse, such as blocking specific requests, monitoring for unusual activity, or responding to reports on the use of unauthorized content. However, these mitigations are beyond the scope of the Model Spec, particularly since the model will often not have sufficient context at its disposal to make the determination.
And now I have to stop myself from putting that whole essay here because these polices are just arse covering for systems they don't have the capacity or will to control.
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Comment on The worlds on fire. So lets just make AI porn. in ~tech
SloMoMonday Link ParentThanks. The sudden shift was to match how out of left field the announcement was from openAI. We don't really dwell on the production of porn but more on the implications of its production. It's a...Thanks. The sudden shift was to match how out of left field the announcement was from openAI.
We don't really dwell on the production of porn but more on the implications of its production.
It's a little clickbaity but I think it's still core to the premise. -
Comment on The worlds on fire. So lets just make AI porn. in ~tech
SloMoMonday LinkI've spent the last year helping the author with his AI wiki project and it wasn't turning out to be healthy for anyone involved. So the team collectively decided to set it aside. Then a few weeks...I've spent the last year helping the author with his AI wiki project and it wasn't turning out to be healthy for anyone involved. So the team collectively decided to set it aside.
Then a few weeks back he came to me with with a 20k word rant and asked if I could help translate it into "people language".
This is the first part of 4 (at the moment). Not yet publically posted and just looking for feedback.
Debating if I need to add pictures/media since a wall of text like this is pretty daunting.
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The worlds on fire. So lets just make AI porn.
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Comment on US Senate suddenly passes the Jeffrey Epstein bill just hours after it cleared the House in ~society
SloMoMonday Link ParentDon't think we can discountthe fact that theres already so much context out there. Unless they just block out everything except a handful of convenient words, I can't imagine it will be too hard...Don't think we can discountthe fact that theres already so much context out there. Unless they just block out everything except a handful of convenient words, I can't imagine it will be too hard to find obvious inconsistentceis or to build profiles.
Theres also all the loose ends. I can't imagine anyone they had working on this is so committed to the cause that they are all above a generous payday. It will take one original document with a single big name that that was blocked to set people off.
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Comment on Strange YouTube watch-tracking behavior in ~tech
SloMoMonday (edited )LinkYouTube search has been busted at this point for a long while and I can't tell if it's because Googles search is so debased to sell ads that it's hitting their other internal services. Or because...YouTube search has been busted at this point for a long while and I can't tell if it's because Googles search is so debased to sell ads that it's hitting their other internal services. Or because YouTube scale has hit a critical mass of poorly sorted content over time that conventional search systems are ineffective. But they would rather die maintain the broken system than give users better search controls and finding what they need. Same thing happened with Drive: they need to maximize the users time on the tool to justify existing so sorting and content controls seem maliciously bad.
I don't really mind it in Recommended and I think it's true to the function of that feed. Recommended is videos you would most likely watch. Subscriptions are for the channels you want to be informed had published something.
My guess with Recommend is that youtube has some segment of the algorithm in place to promote content from new/small creators and another that will just roll a stack of dice and point you to vids gaining traction with demographic groups you marginally apply to. I don't really mind and I've recently gone down and Advertising/Marketing rabbit hole. Last one was essays on weird video game obsessions. Any Austin following infrastructure in open world games and Internet Pitstop gushing about Vibes for hours makes for fun background listening.
Can't speak to the random start time. I know mine does that because my kid is only allows to watch YT on my profile. I think the app has device profiles because I get different recommendations on TV and my phone.
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Comment on Around the world in 80 days ... sustainably in ~talk
SloMoMonday Link ParentI think this topic needs a fundamental mindset shift because it took a very long time to realize maximum output/value does not equate to maximum profit. We consider expense and liability by...I think this topic needs a fundamental mindset shift because it took a very long time to realize maximum output/value does not equate to maximum profit. We consider expense and liability by accounting for opportunity cost in perpetuity, but a lot of the time value creation is only accounted for in the period it happened and without accounting for the opportunities it enabled. Some people go so far as to consider high value spending as a bad thing because is denies repeat business.
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Comment on For-profit (creative) software in ~creative
SloMoMonday Link ParentI'm just happy this sort of sentiment is spreading across everyone. Especially when software has only become less reliable and more predatory since that video. My kid wants to mess around with...I'm just happy this sort of sentiment is spreading across everyone. Especially when software has only become less reliable and more predatory since that video. My kid wants to mess around with digital art and the "better alternative" took the AI bait and looks to be on the same track.
Can't imagine anyone is doing their best creative work when they are stressing about making the monthly tithing and need to compete with everyone else on fiver, half baked apps and crappy AI.
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Comment on What are your favorite simple pleasures? in ~talk
SloMoMonday LinkBeing in dense cities or large libraries. It's oddly very similar feelings. Sneaking an inside joke for one person into group conversations. My old patchwork jacket. Been on a lot of adventurs...Being in dense cities or large libraries. It's oddly very similar feelings.
Sneaking an inside joke for one person into group conversations.
My old patchwork jacket. Been on a lot of adventurs with it.
Meeting interesting people.
Trains. They go choo.
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Comment on Around the world in 80 days ... sustainably in ~talk
SloMoMonday LinkSo I'm going to be difficult and say that sustainability is less about negating an individuals impact and more about building infrastructure to minimize collective consumption. Theres navigating...So I'm going to be difficult and say that sustainability is less about negating an individuals impact and more about building infrastructure to minimize collective consumption. Theres navigating the earth for the sake of it and doing so with no emissions would be objectively better than alternatives. But there's still the cost of the vehicle and parts and food and everything else that will not be offset in service of a single journey. I know the corporate idea of carbon offsets are a scam, but I'd still argue that the cost/benefit of solar would make transportating panels and inverters by diesel ship "more sustainable" than a joyride around the world. (Provided it's leveraged and used effectively)
My idea for a sort of net zero/positive journey was a global trade and aid convoy. Obviously you'd want to minimize emissions with solar/electric vehicles and possibly have them designed to take advantage of rail infrastructure when available. But I want to believe that there's a scale at which the bulk value delivery to countless small communities is offsets by all of the individual trips not taken. And with consistency, a convoy like this could develop into a utility by itself with its own culture, skills and services. Over time the route itself becomes critical infrastructure for everyone on it and that incentivizes investment in maintenance and security.
(Also I cheated and just used the premise of a solarpunk Silk Road TTRPG game I ran. It was inverse Snowpiercer and with Star Trek vibes.)
I'm not going to defend the administrative bloat of many systems. But there is little distinction between a system with excess capacity as a healthy redundancy; and systems that are bogged down with excessive costs, meaningless middle-men, predatory contracts and being extorted by cronies. The former represents a system that provides stable employment and operational flexibility. The latter is sadly the reality that we are dealing with and the few functional actors in the system are over-extended to mitigate all the waste around them.
And the way I see it, AI is an attempt to replace those functional actors with an automated system that are the embodiment of excessive costs, meaningless middle-men, predatory contracts and cronies. All justified by the idea of "efficiency" and "cost effectiveness". Promises that are completely false.
I was interviewing someone that runs an insurance brokerage and he said that scaling with people is a linear cost while AI is flat. And it hit me on just how well obscured the costing was for average users. As if you can just pay openAI a fixed monthly cost and you could just spin up as many LLM instances as you want.
AI now is still in the first days of Uber and AirBnB. The company is going to eat a ton of the cost and plan to recoup it with interest once they capture the market and establish user dependency. True cost of LLM's often scale with the context size because the system reprocesses the entire instance with every time its invoked. Simpler analytical models can be linear but its often exponential. Advanced Multi-model and Agent systems multiply those costs.