ThrowdoBaggins's recent activity
-
Comment on Women should be able to open things in ~life.women
-
Comment on "Over the course of this article, we'll unravel the mysteries of elevators. The way you push their buttons, and how they push yours." in ~engineering
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentThe office at my last job did the same, but a few months before they started rolling it out, they marketed it within the building as “more energy efficient” which I immediately realised meant...The office at my last job did the same, but a few months before they started rolling it out, they marketed it within the building as “more energy efficient” which I immediately realised meant “worse experience”.
I think the least intuitive part of the experience was when a group of us came back after grabbing our morning coffee from next door, when we tapped our badges to head back up to our office, the system would often call multiple elevators for us, far more than needed for our group. And it wasn’t because it was collecting other passengers on the way up, because we would always get the uninterrupted straight shot to our floor. Seemed like a big waste to send two (or rarely three?!) elevators when one would have sufficed.
-
Comment on How has climate change affected your life / plans? in ~enviro
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI had the same thoughts a few years back, but one thing that changed for me was a memory that was external to my own experience. I live in Australia and distinctly remember interstate road trips...I had the same thoughts a few years back, but one thing that changed for me was a memory that was external to my own experience.
I live in Australia and distinctly remember interstate road trips as a kid where we would arrive at our destination with bugs splattered all over the front of the car, and every time we stopped to refuel the car, we would use the window cleaners and soapy water that was provided.
For myself, from late high school and for about a decade, I stopped going on long road trips, but then my partner and I picked it back up again for a holiday once a year. I think because of that break in time, it took me a long time to realise things had changed. But now, when we do our road trips every year, I can count on one hand the total number of insects we’ve got splattered on our car, if any at all. Where it used to be dozens between every refuelling.
To some extent there are other factors which might explain it — cars in the 90s/2000s were probably less aerodynamic, so maybe today insects which would have been splattered are instead scooped over and around the car? That makes sense to me for the windshield but the license plate at the front of the car is just a flat sheet of metal, no curves there to redirect airflow.
Or maybe it’s the highways being better designed with nature pushed slightly further back away from the roads, so insects hang around the vegetation rather than coming close to the roads? But again I remember some years as a kid where I could see insects swarming across the road, so it’s not like the width of a freeway is an insurmountable distance to cross.
I can think of a bunch of small individual reasons which might help explain the difference, but even combining their effects, it still doesn’t feel like enough to explain away my memories. There’s been such a dramatic decline in insects on my long-distance drives compared to my childhood, and that’s something that’s anchored in memories of actually scrubbing the insects off the windshield as a kid, not something as subjective as the weather or seasons.
-
Comment on How has climate change affected your life / plans? in ~enviro
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentIt’s always fascinating to me the decisions that people make when they’re making decisions that will never personally impact them. It’s so instinctively, viscerally clear to me that buses without...They bought buses without AC (because AC is bad and pollutes) that nobody wants to use because it’s 40+ Celsius inside all summer.
It’s always fascinating to me the decisions that people make when they’re making decisions that will never personally impact them. It’s so instinctively, viscerally clear to me that buses without AC is a horrible idea, but to someone on the city council (or whoever made the decisions) who never takes the bus, any consideration that leads to a horrible experience just isn’t considered on those terms.
-
Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentWish we could!Wish we could!
-
Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentEven a distant threat of homelessness and destitution is a powerful motivator to remain in currently available employment True but the person you replied to already mentioned their hobbies....If your work towards the pointless, what's the point?
Even a distant threat of homelessness and destitution is a powerful motivator to remain in currently available employment
You need to make a point in life, because life won't make it for you.
True but the person you replied to already mentioned their hobbies. Personally I believe enjoyable hobbies funded by less enjoyable work is a better balance than aligning your work with your purpose in life, because if your workplace changes or you lose your job, it hits you in the wallet rather than also taking your soul down with it too.
If your job aligns with your intrinsic motivation, then an uncaring employer (I believe that’s basically all of them) can leverage that to extract more from you than reasonable, and put you in a much more difficult choice when they make demands. I suspect that’s a substantial part of why the AAA games industry is such a toxic industry to be part of.
I think there’s substantial benefit and value to keeping the two separate.
-
Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk
ThrowdoBaggins LinkSome (many?) years ago, Calvin Klein discontinued Obsessed For Men, which was my go-to for a number of years. It was relatively affordable and broadly available from random chemists etc, and since...Some (many?) years ago, Calvin Klein discontinued Obsessed For Men, which was my go-to for a number of years. It was relatively affordable and broadly available from random chemists etc, and since it was discontinued, the price on secondary market has climbed well outside of what I’d be willing to pay. I managed to find a few online retailers which had dribbles of old stock for a few years at MSRP or close to, but eventually they ran out too.
Last year I finally decided to look for something else. After trying literally dozens of options (I found a website that would sell 1mL testers in kits of 6/12 at a time, grouped with words like “floral” or “aqua” or sometimes by brand) where I found a surprisingly large number of scents which triggered my hayfever, but also lots of scents which I either disliked or found that they faded way too quickly, I finally found one that I liked. Never realised I would be so picky when it comes to fragrance, but apparently I’m difficult to please in that way.
My current choice after all these trials is The Orchid Man, from P Frapin & Cie. I really like it, but it’s definitely more pricey than I would like, and I feel like it fades before the end of the day whereas Obsessed seemed to last all day. I do like what it turns into as the initial scent fades after a few hours, but I wish it would stick around for longer overall.
-
Comment on Hack reveals suno AI music generator scraped YouTube, Deezer, and Genius in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI’m conflicted, on the one hand I think IP laws as they currently exist are broken in lots of little ways, so I believe that they should be reviewed and rewritten in a way that protects creators...I’m conflicted, on the one hand I think IP laws as they currently exist are broken in lots of little ways, so I believe that they should be reviewed and rewritten in a way that protects creators and creative works without giving absurd amounts of power and wealth to companies who extract “value” by sitting in the middle of creators and their audience.
On the other hand, any justification which echoes the sentiment of “we should legalise cocaine because the black market exists anyway” feels like it’s looking too hard at the fact people slip past imperfect systems and has lost focus for why the rules were adopted in the first place. Personally, I think the rules as they exist should unequivocally be used to throw this current generation of AI companies in the bin.
I also think there’s an incredibly important distinction between “we should legalise X” (carefully design regulations around X) and “we should legalise X” (abandon all restrictions on X) which your wording doesn’t make clear to me which you’re advocating for.
-
Comment on Who cleans up after the vibe-coding party? in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentYeah, that’s certainly a sensible approach, and one I’d probably take myself if I was in the same situationYeah, that’s certainly a sensible approach, and one I’d probably take myself if I was in the same situation
-
Comment on Who cleans up after the vibe-coding party? in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI’ve heard a similar sentiment from carpenters — the incredibly low price and high availability of IKEA furniture has distorted people’s perceptions of how much they expect custom furniture to...come to the conclusion that web development was now trivial because they had already done so much with Wix or equivalent and they expected extremely quick results for very little compensation
I’ve heard a similar sentiment from carpenters — the incredibly low price and high availability of IKEA furniture has distorted people’s perceptions of how much they expect custom furniture to cost, for example upgrading a spare room with a Murphy bed and thinking that tailoring the construction to the size/shape of the room wouldn’t be all that much more than buying a prebuilt.
I think the way to manage expectations like that is just to be upfront and transparent about costs (where possible) so that people can make an informed choice before jumping in with inaccurate expectations.
-
Comment on 2026 FIFA World Cup - Finals discussion and news megathread (quarters/semis/finals) in ~sports.football
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI know that the US loves fireworks, especially for 4th July, but I was surprised to see footage with homemade fireworks cannon versus water cannon during a protest in Georgia. I didn’t think there...The state of Georgia, not the country
I know that the US loves fireworks, especially for 4th July, but I was surprised to see footage with homemade fireworks cannon versus water cannon during a protest in Georgia. I didn’t think there was enough civil unrest, or at least not the right kind of civil unrest, for something like that.
But turns out the footage I was seeing was from the other Georgia over on that other continent, not the peaches Georgia. And also it turns out I’ve probably made similar mistakes whenever Georgia (either) makes the news, likely for years if not decades.
-
Comment on Virtual Riot - I heard you like polyrhythms (2024) in ~music
ThrowdoBaggins LinkI came across this ages ago and have since forgotten about it, so thank you for sharing! Time to once again watch this obsessively for weeks before forgetting about it again!I came across this ages ago and have since forgotten about it, so thank you for sharing! Time to once again watch this obsessively for weeks before forgetting about it again!
-
Comment on Discord bans (then unbans) around 8400 accounts because of a CSAM neural hash collision in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI agree with both of your hands. Maybe if an automated system detects something like CSAM then “ban your account” actually isn’t enough and they should also be submitting police reports? And then...I agree with both of your hands. Maybe if an automated system detects something like CSAM then “ban your account” actually isn’t enough and they should also be submitting police reports?
And then hopefully that friction/burden of needing to go to that extra stage (rather than quietly banning an account with no recourse) can both give police evidence to work with, and also an avenue for the account to challenge the ban if it was a false positive.
Then again, maybe the solution is actually to ignore my idea here and instead for a person to make sure any important communication channels (e.g. keeping in contact with family, workplace, etc) is on a separate platform that doesn’t have these same risk of “whoops your access has been revoked and you can’t challenge the decision” — e.g. I’m pretty sure my phone provider can’t just block my phone without notice, and I’m also pretty sure that notice would also come with an avenue to challenge the block, such as contacting regulators or taking them to court.
-
Comment on Why does WhatsApp drain so much phone battery? in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI wonder, assuming battery drain is partially caused by push notifications, would you see benefit from simply switching off notifications from the group chats even if you’re still part of them?...I wonder, assuming battery drain is partially caused by push notifications, would you see benefit from simply switching off notifications from the group chats even if you’re still part of them? That way you only use power when you open the app to check, rather than every single time someone sends a message or emoji or reaction etc?
I have a handful of group chats with friends or family, and I’ve muted the groups which are most active, because I don’t want to be getting notifications during the day at work. If there’s anything urgent, my family will try calling me directly rather than in a group chat, if it seems like I’m not responding and I need to pay attention. So using the mute for individual groups helps with not having lots of things pop up in my Notification Centre, but whether that helps with batters drain I’m not sure.
My phone (iPhone 16 Pro Max) is doing incredibly well currently, as far as battery health goes — I’ve had it for 15 months, battery cycle count is ~170, and still shows 100% maximum capacity. But that’s also because I’ve done a few things to really stretch out the battery life as long as possible — I’m hoping this phone can comfortably survive most of a decade before I replace it, so I’m using every trick in the book to be as gentle on the battery as I can.
-
Comment on Companies reserving AI-training rights in their terms in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins LinkThank you for sharing. Most of these didn’t really surprise me but I wasn’t expecting the literal AI companies being slightly better than social media! Anthropic and OpenAI having opt-out is so...Thank you for sharing. Most of these didn’t really surprise me but I wasn’t expecting the literal AI companies being slightly better than social media! Anthropic and OpenAI having opt-out is so much better than LinkedIn just brazenly confirming they not only use account data, but explicitly saying they use personal data (I assume that would include stuff that’s not public, such as DMs or hidden/archived stuff)
-
Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI agree with everything else in your comment, but just want to push back against this bit: I feel like this argument seems to be focussing on urgency, or otherwise assuming I have nothing else to...I agree with everything else in your comment, but just want to push back against this bit:
and it still requires you to be available to take delivery to deal with refrigeration anyways so you need to have availability for a longer and less predictable amount of time.
I feel like this argument seems to be focussing on urgency, or otherwise assuming I have nothing else to do with my time while waiting.
Lets say it takes me 45 minutes to drive to the shops, grab what I need, and drive home. Or I could pick a delivery window of 90 minutes and have it all delivered. For the first example, those 45 minutes are all accounted for and spent. Maybe I can gain a little by combining other errands so I’m driving once instead of multiple trips, but that doesn’t change much about my time. Alternatively, if I’m at home for the 90 minute delivery window, I can spend 80 of those minutes on anything else — maybe tidying the living room, or cleaning the kitchen, or folding my laundry, or reading a book, or playing video games that I can pause at a moment’s notice.
To me, this feels like the dishwasher argument I’ve seen — it takes me 15 minutes to do a load of dishes by hand, but it takes the machine most of an hour! That’s true, but also I can be doing other things while the dishwasher runs. Handwashing is only considered if it’s urgent (I need that saucepan clean right now to cook dinner) because the dishwasher gains a huge advantage in parallelising the task that I would have to do linearly.
-
Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI’ve never been particularly careful about my identity with Facebook/Meta services, so I’m sure they know exactly who I am. But with all the information they have about me, a malicious actor can’t...I’ve never been particularly careful about my identity with Facebook/Meta services, so I’m sure they know exactly who I am. But with all the information they have about me, a malicious actor can’t take out a credit card under my name and rack up bills or debt under my identity.
About a decade ago, I was briefly a customer of Optus (an Australian telecom company) but moved on after a while. Many years after I left them for another provider, Optus announced a breach, not just of account information, but of ID information that they had stored for many years longer than they were legally allowed (not required, allowed).
If someone has my personal information, sure there is still a risk of nefarious goings-on. But as soon as they have the kinds of ID or documentation required to open a bank account, or get a credit card, or apply for loans, then this is suddenly a much larger risk. I don’t even see them in the same ballpark, the damage is on a whole other level.
I’ve already gone through the process of having my drivers licence replaced and putting a credit freeze on my name, and I think I got relatively lucky. I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what I went through, and I don’t want to go through it myself again in future, so I’ll never be uploading my ID to any service unless I genuinely believe that they can’t run the service without it, and that they will spend more time and effort on cybersecurity than my bank does.
-
Comment on Erling Haaland's second-half double helped Norway stun five-time winners Brazil and book their place in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup in ~sports.football
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentHe also has such an expressive, elastic face, it’s amazing! I’ve been loving all the random short videos I’ve been getting in my feed, very entertaining!He also has such an expressive, elastic face, it’s amazing! I’ve been loving all the random short videos I’ve been getting in my feed, very entertaining!
-
Comment on No, artificial intelligence is not conscious in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentFor those, there’s also the price pressure — those channels would probably be choosing the cheaper, lower quality models as long as it’s “good enough” for what they’re doing. By contrast, I can...For those, there’s also the price pressure — those channels would probably be choosing the cheaper, lower quality models as long as it’s “good enough” for what they’re doing. By contrast, I can imagine a larger company with a substantial marketing budget could justify a much more sophisticated version with smoother cadence and more natural variation if they really wanted to go for that.
-
Comment on I made a satirical AI detector in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentFor the “in conclusion” and paragraph after paragraph barely iterating on the same idea on repeat, I think I saw both of those prior to AI being a thing and assumed it was deliberately padding out...And every result used "it's not this, it's __" and also "in conclusion..." which I know everybody was taught that in school to finish off their papers, but you were never supposed to actually use "in conclusion" to start your conclusion.
For the “in conclusion” and paragraph after paragraph barely iterating on the same idea on repeat, I think I saw both of those prior to AI being a thing and assumed it was deliberately padding out the page a) to make the page longer (more ads to scroll past) and b) for search engine optimisation. I view it the same as those recipe blogs where you have to scroll past several pages of filler or backstory before you get the recipe and ingredients and method. Of course, once AI hit the scene it got a lot worse, but I think it’s always been there.
I recently came across the concept of “if nobody is coming to save you/help you, probably nobody will be stopping you either” as a fantastic motivational idea :D