TonesTones's recent activity
-
Comment on 'Right-to-compute' laws may be coming to your state this year in ~comp
-
Comment on List animals until failure in ~games
TonesTones (edited )LinkThis was a fun game. I got to 41 until I realized something and got incredibly distracted and ran out of time. I only got one that was specific enough to be a particular species. I also love that...This was a fun game. I got to 41 until I realized something and got incredibly distracted and ran out of time. I only got one that was specific enough to be a particular species.
I also love that it tells you if you failed to mention a common animal (I did not list horse).
What I realized
Listing different dog breeds does not give you extra animals but does give you increasingly funny and irate messages about how dogs are all the same.Edit: I tried again and got to 63.
-
Comment on Silver plunges 30% in worst day since 1980, gold tumbles as Kevin Warsh pick eases US Federal Reserve independence fear in ~finance
TonesTones Link ParentI think the fact that the nomination would be political was (unfortunately) obvious? Trump spoke loudly at the World Economic Forum about wanting the new Fed Chair to lower rates. Any pretense of...I think the fact that the nomination would be political was (unfortunately) obvious? Trump spoke loudly at the World Economic Forum about wanting the new Fed Chair to lower rates. Any pretense of Fed independence during Trump’s term has long been abolished. I would be surprised if anyone expects the new Fed Chair to do anything other than aggressively push to lower rates.
My perspective is that the markets reacted the way they did because Warsh isn’t that radical of a choice. Trump very well could have placed an outright saboteur in the position like he has for the FBI, the HHS, etc. Krugman correctly points out that Warsh meets a low bar.
But Trump has already ensured that the bar is on the floor.
-
Comment on Pi: The minimal agent within OpenClaw in ~tech
TonesTones LinkLet me preface by saying that I’m not a software engineer. I write some code on occasion, but I do not build deliverable software. I sense that this is even more of a security risk than just...Let me preface by saying that I’m not a software engineer. I write some code on occasion, but I do not build deliverable software.
Pi’s entire idea is that if you want the agent to do something that it doesn’t do yet, you don’t go and download an extension or a skill or something like this. You ask the agent to extend itself. It celebrates the idea of code writing and running code.
I sense that this is even more of a security risk than just having AI write code. If your four tools are “Read”, “Write”, “Edit”, and “Bash”, then the moment you start fetching anything from the Internet, aren’t you exposing arbitrary code execution on your machine to the open web? Perhaps this is true of models who can run shell commands even if they are gated by MCP (I do not know why it wouldn’t be). Still, letting your machine follow the arbitrary instructions of some complex distribution makes me nervous.
-
Comment on Silver plunges 30% in worst day since 1980, gold tumbles as Kevin Warsh pick eases US Federal Reserve independence fear in ~finance
TonesTones Link ParentYes, I agree that’s the reason for the dramatic price shifts. Kevin Warsh is a suprisingly independent pick. We’ll see what the Board does while Trump remains in power, but I believe much more...Yes, I agree that’s the reason for the dramatic price shifts. Kevin Warsh is a suprisingly independent pick. We’ll see what the Board does while Trump remains in power, but I believe much more strongly in the Fed’s independence after the reign of this administration is over.
-
Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - June 2025 - A House with Good Bones by T Kingfisher in ~books
TonesTones LinkMeta I’m necroing this topic since I didn’t actually read much last year, and I decided to catch up on some of the books I didn’t read. Hope nobody minds too much. I just want to write something...Meta
I’m necroing this topic since I didn’t actually read much last year, and I decided to catch up on some of the books I didn’t read. Hope nobody minds too much. I just want to write something for my own sake.I enjoyed reading this book quite a bit. The characters were endearing. The small Southern town really came to life even within the first few pages. I felt like I could visualize the house every step of the way.
The setup of the mystery was weird. The ghost stuff was really obvious, really fast. The contrast between everyone else knowing what’s going on, including the reader, yet also refusing to tell Sam broke my immersion in the universe. Obviously, the protagonist discovering for themselves is the fun part of a haunted house novel, but it was at odds with the family dynamic stuff, since the mother and the daughter are meant to be allies. I wonder if I would have preferred it if the mother spoke to the daughter and the daughter didn’t believe her. It would have added some conflict and belief to the dynamic, but that would have also made the tone of the book much more serious.
Still, the setup was enjoyable to read, and you got to fall for the characters before everything comes to a climax. And boy, this book feels like it was written for the climax. The Gran Mae dinner scene was incredible! Phil instinctively reaches out for the hand of the petal-covered ghost, and it beautifully captures the unspoken power this woman holds over everyone, alluding to how tradition and reverence in a small town can hold people hostage. The history of these characters gives them strength, but keeps the place stuck in the past (literally!). There’s reality in the metaphors about Confederacy and religion.
Still, the whole underground children scene felt a little out-of place, and the conclusion didn’t bring the overarching themes home for me. Weird cannibalistic babies are weird, I guess. I didn’t pick up what the author was putting down, I think. I would have preferred a simple sinkhole that the characters needed to get out of (to escape their own history). Still, the action sequence remained creepy but fun, and the unique tone of the book still shone in the writing. In sum, probably not a book I’ll be rereading, but certainly a book worth my time.
-
Comment on Alternative to Spotify? in ~music
TonesTones Link ParentI manage my own files and services for almost everything else in my life that is not music. I care quite a bit about separation between data and interface, since I want to use a nice interface...I manage my own files and services for almost everything else in my life that is not music. I care quite a bit about separation between data and interface, since I want to use a nice interface (that someone else wrote! lol) while retaining ownership over my stuff. It’s been challenging to do that for music, but your setup is what appeals to me about Bandcamp.
Sayonara looks great, but unfortunately I remain locked into Apple’s operating systems for the time being. I don’t see that changing soon; my daily drivers for mail, calendar, TODOs, etc are all unfree software that I haven’t found alternatives to on Linux. Still, I think Apple’s base music player might be sufficient for my purposes if I buy the music files off of Bandcamp.
-
Comment on Alternative to Spotify? in ~music
TonesTones Link ParentThis seems like a great setup. I’m pretty sold on Bandcamp, but the work to move all my music over there seems pretty frustrating. Apple Music looks like the service I should use for my streaming...This seems like a great setup. I’m pretty sold on Bandcamp, but the work to move all my music over there seems pretty frustrating. Apple Music looks like the service I should use for my streaming purposes, based on several comments here.
Thanks for your detailed explanation of searching. Both sound sufficient for my purposes. I think I’m just nervous since the last time I tried Tidal, their search function was pretty bad.
-
Comment on Alternative to Spotify? in ~music
TonesTones (edited )Link ParentActually, this is one of the reasons that I did a double take on Apple Music. I really prefer to avoid one-company lockdown, but I’ve already conceded to Apple for their hardware and operating...Actually, this is one of the reasons that I did a double take on Apple Music. I really prefer to avoid one-company lockdown, but I’ve already conceded to Apple for their hardware and operating systems.
Their support for alternative UIs for a base library is actually a huge plus for me because there exists some separation between the actual library and the UI. That’s also true of Bandcamp, since they distribute DRM-free.
-
Alternative to Spotify?
I’ve been meaning to switch streaming platforms from Spotify for some time now, for many reasons. To me, it seems like good alternatives are challenging to find, so I figured I’d solicit some...
I’ve been meaning to switch streaming platforms from Spotify for some time now, for many reasons. To me, it seems like good alternatives are challenging to find, so I figured I’d solicit some discussion here on Tildes to see how people like other platforms.
My Only Requirement:
- Mobile App for iOS with Offline Capability
I Strongly Prefer:
- Good Search Functionality
- Niche Artist Availability
Alternatives I’m Considering:
- Apple Music
- Bandcamp
- Tidal
- Deezer
- Qobuz
If anyone has used any of these applications, I’d love a review of the pros and cons. I’m leaning towards Bandcamp right now, but am concerned that I will fail to discover new artists because of the need to pay for albums.
20 votes -
Comment on Why America needs fewer bus stops in ~transport
TonesTones LinkAs someone who lives in a city where the buses are awful, the issue is not the stops, since buses go slowly because of the traffic. Buses are in the worst of both worlds: they have to deal with...As someone who lives in a city where the buses are awful, the issue is not the stops, since buses go slowly because of the traffic. Buses are in the worst of both worlds: they have to deal with the bad street traffic in the car-centric city, but they don’t get the benefit of the freeways since they need to make their stops. Perhaps dedicated bus lanes would mitigate that issue, but the larger problem is the lack of a freeway-equivalent like a rail or subway network.
Cars go so fast on freeways, and people’s lives are built around being able to go anywhere in half an hour by getting on a freeway, which public transit cannot replicate right now.
-
Comment on The assistant axis: situating and stabilizing the character of large language models in ~tech
TonesTones Link ParentI strongly disagree, as someone who is criticized Anthropic’s blog posts and papers many times in the past. The issue you are noticing is not unique to Anthropic; most scientific research...I strongly disagree, as someone who is criticized Anthropic’s blog posts and papers many times in the past. The issue you are noticing is not unique to Anthropic; most scientific research organizations with a funder that has profit interests will modify their paper to match those funder’s interests. At the end of the day, “publish or perish” and invested actors will change things, and this is obviously true of Anthropic as a for-profit business.
Readers should be expected to critically think about the incentives of a publishing organization and use that to gain insight into what the words actually say. I’d argue this is a basic tenet of academic analysis. It’s fine to critique or ignore them, but to censor them would be anti-intellectual.
-
Comment on Tether freezes $182 million in stablecoins as reports point to heavy crypto use by Venezuela in ~finance
TonesTones Link ParentThe article does answer this question. My (naive) economic understanding is that decentralized currencies will always be unstable because the issuing entity is what gives the currencies stability...The article does answer this question.
stablecoins do not operate in a similarly decentralized manner. These dollar-pegged tokens necessitate a centralized issuer behind them that holds reserves, and they are not nearly as censorship-resistant as the digitally native bitcoin.
My (naive) economic understanding is that decentralized currencies will always be unstable because the issuing entity is what gives the currencies stability (simply put, use U.S. dollars to pay U.S. taxes).
Stablecoins are increasingly popular because they integrate the technology of blockchain with the stability of government-issued currency, but there must be a guarantor so that the stablecoins actually hold the value of a dollar. With USDT, Tether is that guarantor; again, the issuer provides the stability.
That said, Bitcoin still exists as a decentralized alternative for those who still care about the original goal of removing third-party trust from the equation altogether.
-
Comment on What private companies are you happy doing business with? in ~talk
TonesTones Link ParentSure, but if shareholder primacy were enforced legally, the remaining 39% (as well as all non-voting shareholders) would have grounds to sue. All Zuckerberg’s control gives him is job safety from...Sure, but if shareholder primacy were enforced legally, the remaining 39% (as well as all non-voting shareholders) would have grounds to sue. All Zuckerberg’s control gives him is job safety from the board; he is the board.
Public and private companies with CEOs that do not have a controlling vote share suffer from the same pressure; the CEO must appease the shareholder-appointed board to keep their job. The easiest way to make all shareholders happy is to maximize profits; if you believe this is a problem (I do), it’s really a coordination problem akin to the tragedy of the commons.
-
Comment on Reading Lolita in the barracks in ~life
TonesTones LinkThis was a fantastic read. Thank you for posting, @skybrian. I don’t have a lot to say. I think it’s brilliant how humans still persevere to do what they want even in constraining circumstances....This was a fantastic read. Thank you for posting, @skybrian. I don’t have a lot to say. I think it’s brilliant how humans still persevere to do what they want even in constraining circumstances. It’s still a small piece of autonomy.
-
Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk
TonesTones Link ParentI have a different perspective on this quote. I’ve found that people who, at some point, could not, made much better teachers than those who always could. The most talented in a field are rarely...I have a different perspective on this quote. I’ve found that people who, at some point, could not, made much better teachers than those who always could. The most talented in a field are rarely effective teachers since they never struggled to learn. While the skillsets are different, I don’t think they are orthogonal, since the experience from struggling to learn material often serves a teacher down the line. I still believe that if one wants to train to teach, they can develop those skills separately.
I also know this isn’t the original intention of the quote, but it’s unclear what the original intention was. From Shaw’s play Man and Superman, it may have been a satirical subversion of Aristotle’s “Those who understand, teach.” written for a one-off gag, or written as a line to illustrate the egotistical character of the protagonist. It could also simply represent the actual perspective of the playwright. I’d have to read the actual play to know, but I do think he didn’t intend for that quote to be spread so widely today.
-
Comment on US strikes Venezuela and says its leader, Nicolas Maduro, has been captured and flown out of the country in ~society
TonesTones Link ParentYup, I understand what you are saying. The USA must be condemned. It was not internationally sanctioned and it wasn’t congressionally approved, and we’re learning (unsuprisingly) that oil...Yup, I understand what you are saying. The USA must be condemned. It was not internationally sanctioned and it wasn’t congressionally approved, and we’re learning (unsuprisingly) that oil companies are being brought in by Trump. I am firmly against this action, but I think equating all aggressive military action is folly.
Because that's the precedent it sets: Might makes right, if you have the military power to overthrow a country, you can.
I think that was the precedent before as well? Maduro supplied loyal civilians (read: the cartel) with arms and placed loyalists in the military to violently suppress any protests to secure his power. His claim to power over Venezuela is also based in might makes right.
The current U.S. goverment should not be the world police. But France waged war in the American revolution. South Korea would not exist today without U.S. foreign aggression. Dictators never get removed without foreign intervention; that’s my larger point.
-
Comment on Have you ever had an oddly specific dream come true? in ~talk
TonesTones LinkThis has happened to me twice. Both times, I had about three oddly vivid seconds in a dream, and sometime in the next few months, that three seconds would happen again. I do not have a rational...This has happened to me twice. Both times, I had about three oddly vivid seconds in a dream, and sometime in the next few months, that three seconds would happen again.
I do not have a rational explanation. It feels like bullshit, but the events were specific enough that I think only one could be attributable to random chance? Consciousness itself is a weird enough phenomenon that I do not think it needs a rational explanation.
-
Comment on You are a better writer than AI (yes, YOU!) in ~creative
TonesTones Link ParentI think the full argument of the video is that the important part of “writing” is that you can imagine something, put it in words, and then transfer that idea to someone else across time and...I think the full argument of the video is that the important part of “writing” is that you can imagine something, put it in words, and then transfer that idea to someone else across time and space.
LLMs don’t have “ideas” in the same way we do; this is why the author belabors the point “there can be no meeting of the mind” when discussing with an LLM. There’s no communication happening.
LLMs are good at language (something the author says verbatim), but their primary argument is writing requires a human connection.
-
Comment on US strikes Venezuela and says its leader, Nicolas Maduro, has been captured and flown out of the country in ~society
TonesTones Link ParentLet me preface that I’m no advocate for this takeover. I’m strongly opposed to U.S. interventionism. These comparisons are still unbelievable to me. Ukrainians strongly elected Zelensky and...Let me preface that I’m no advocate for this takeover. I’m strongly opposed to U.S. interventionism.
If the world allows this, they have defacto allowed for exactly what Russia, China, and Israel are doing.
These comparisons are still unbelievable to me. Ukrainians strongly elected Zelensky and overwhemingly want independence from Russia. Taiwan’s citizens overwhemingly do not want to be part of China. Palestinians overwhemingly do not want to be part of Israel.
And Venezuelans overwhemingly voted against Maduro last year.
because it’s in our “backyard” and we didn’t like its leader
Despite all the things I agree with Robert Reich on, arguing that Maduro has any sort of legitimate claim to Venezulean leadership is partisan-stoking, two-faced bullshit. In the worst-case scenario for Venezuelans, they’ve gone from one military dictatorship to another.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think this will end well. I agree with many other commenters here that American oligarchs will take the liquid gold and run. But the capture of Maduro is nothing even close to the behavior of Russia, China, and Israel.
The difference is self-determination.
Is this a nothingburger just used to try to get companies to build datacenters in the state?
Thank you, Mr. Montana senator, for providing the guarantee that all AI use is legal except for those uses of AI which are forbidden by the law.