ali's recent activity
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Comment on Why Germany's favorite soda comes in a beer bottle in ~food
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Why Germany's favorite soda comes in a beer bottle
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Anyone using a DGX Spark?
The prices have increased, and even before people called it too expensive. I am just wondering - do you have one? What do you use it for? I've been thinking of getting one (as a business expense,...
The prices have increased, and even before people called it too expensive.
I am just wondering - do you have one? What do you use it for? I've been thinking of getting one (as a business expense, I guess the price is high, but then again - what other option do you have for compute? renting GPUs is quite expensive, any comparable amount of VRAM is very expensive - ok if you have space and mostly want to do inference, I guess you have better options (3090 or 5090)
For me, I have just been considering having some more compute available for robotics, finetuning, trying out selfhosted and fine tuned LLMs, among other things. My other setup (M1Pro 32GB and a 1070 Mini) could work for some stuff, but especially for the robotics part it's mostly about NVIDIA...
Curious about any experiences.
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Comment on How often are you eating plant based meals? in ~food
ali LinkGrew up eating tons of meat. My girlfriend was a pescatarian so we rarely had meat together. But we’ve both been vegan now for almost 3 years. Happier (definitely about my food choices) and...Grew up eating tons of meat. My girlfriend was a pescatarian so we rarely had meat together. But we’ve both been vegan now for almost 3 years.
Happier (definitely about my food choices) and healthier than ever.
Also, the flavors you start to taste once you’re not overwhelmed by animal ingredients is mind boggling. You smell milk or meat from a mile away, and by cooking something other than “meat + X” you unlock a whole new world of flavor.
Don’t get me started on tofu - considered bland, but imo one of the greatest ingredients ever. It’s so versatile, can mimic so much, add a ton of protein to any dish. Turn it into a sauce, turn it into nuggets, turn it into kebab.
This was mostly about the food, but the ethical side starts weighing much more once you’re confronted with these topics without becoming defensive.
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Comment on Why normal people aren’t using AI agents in ~tech
ali Link ParentDid the people trying have a background in Software engineering and used Claude before?Did the people trying have a background in Software engineering and used Claude before?
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Comment on Why normal people aren’t using AI agents in ~tech
ali Link ParentI fully agree. For context, I work in this area and did a masters in it. I have been building tools, and looking into integration of these AI agents, and in the end, defining a MCP for your tool,...I fully agree. For context, I work in this area and did a masters in it.
I have been building tools, and looking into integration of these AI agents, and in the end, defining a MCP for your tool, letting claude do the tedious work of reading the manual and answering your questions in simple terms is just great.
And yes some people let it replace their own thinking - that's a problem. But once you see it as a tool, and it's been getting quite capable - it's not 100% perfect - and I think it sucks at creative work. But that's also because I recognize AI texts and designs so quickly.
But just using AI as an extra "smart" layer above a userface can be quite nice. Don't try to make it replace staff, make it help your users, and it can be great.
Some usecases I have built myself are: quick automation of repetetive tasks in an UI, or "turn my verbal description into a JSON" (in my space sim luna). I have tons of users under 15, none of them will write JSON to customize their system. But they can say: I want a black hole and 2 stars around it - and then the AI writes the JSON
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
ali LinkWorking on my Robot arms, and getting them to run in a simulation in the browser. Of course Luna has been consuming a lot of time. And yesterday I have been looking for these “comment to DM”...Working on my Robot arms, and getting them to run in a simulation in the browser.
Of course Luna has been consuming a lot of time.
And yesterday I have been looking for these “comment to DM” instagram tools. And all these SaaS want you to pay like 15-40 euro a month for the functionality. But I just built my own, so I can host it for free on cloudflare. The setup was a bit more, but at least I don’t have to pay that much for a simple webhook and API call + setup website.
The automation would’ve been easy already a while ago, now the UI to configure it was also very easy with Claude
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Comment on Humble Choice - August 2026 in ~games
ali Link ParentOh that would be so nice. It’s actually the only game I wanted to get from the bundle. Thank you so muchOh that would be so nice. It’s actually the only game I wanted to get from the bundle.
Thank you so much
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Comment on Humble Choice - August 2026 in ~games
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Comment on What just happened to TheNumbers.com should worry us all in ~tech
ali Link ParentI’ve been saying that ChatGPTs Release without many many more disclaimers was incredibly reckless. The amount of people not realizing that just because it’s written well, it doesn’t mean that it’s...Flip side, though: this really highlights how irresponsible the ai companies comes across to me, releasing such powerful tools into the wild and only then playing whackamole to put up guardrails and fix problems that could reasonably have been anticipated (though I'll grant, devious people can be clever as hell).
I’ve been saying that ChatGPTs Release without many many more disclaimers was incredibly reckless. The amount of people not realizing that just because it’s written well, it doesn’t mean that it’s correct. Is astounding.
Especially early models. Like I’ve had a friend who’s ChatGPT confirmed his conspiracy theories like the moon landing being fake and others
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
ali Link ParentThanks for the advice! The arms are great, I printed them, but huggingface designed them, I just realized that I’ve done a masters in robotics and I don’t have any on my own. So instead of just...Thanks for the advice!
The arms are great, I printed them, but huggingface designed them, I just realized that I’ve done a masters in robotics and I don’t have any on my own. So instead of just doing all the AI in software, I wanted something to interact with in the real world.
And by building this and learning with it I’m already learning so much about what I want to look for when I build my own.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
ali Link ParentYeah I might have to go that way. I really liked the 0 friction approach, but if no one finds the tool - what’s the useYeah I might have to go that way. I really liked the 0 friction approach, but if no one finds the tool - what’s the use
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
ali Link Parentthat's good to know, thanks. I think it was just the fact that it's a pure javascript app without much text for the search engine that causes these problems. But it's really frustrating since most...that's good to know, thanks. I think it was just the fact that it's a pure javascript app without much text for the search engine that causes these problems. But it's really frustrating since most users visit via google
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
ali LinkMany things, especially my SO ARM 101 - I am super excited to work through some advancements in Robot learning with those arms. I am really close to building a second pair to be able to do 2...Many things, especially my SO ARM 101 - I am super excited to work through some advancements in Robot learning with those arms. I am really close to building a second pair to be able to do 2 handed manipulation.
And I am still working on Luna - My space simulator https://luna.watermelonson.com/
where I am hitting the weirdest issue. It's been removed from the google index. And I just don't understand why. Even users literally typing into google luna watermelonson don't get this website shown. It's so infuriating because I know that thousands are using it and looking for it
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Comment on You can vote on the design of the next Euro banknotes! in ~design
ali LinkI think there’s some really cool designs in there. Depending on whether we’ll have the birds or the people, I’ll probably hang one king fisher bill on my wall or one of da Vinci.I think there’s some really cool designs in there. Depending on whether we’ll have the birds or the people, I’ll probably hang one king fisher bill on my wall or one of da Vinci.
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Comment on AI mania is eviscerating global decisionmaking in ~tech
ali Link ParentAnd this is The Output of a 2026 LLM. There’s people who stopped using their brain for decisionmaking with GPT-4 already lmaoAnd this is The Output of a 2026 LLM. There’s people who stopped using their brain for decisionmaking with GPT-4 already lmao
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Comment on MapTap: Daily challenges to test your geographical knowledge in ~games
ali LinkI’ve been playing this almost daily for over a month. One of my favorite daily games. The funniest ones are the island nations where it’s like: is this now in this general area, or so I get 5...I’ve been playing this almost daily for over a month. One of my favorite daily games. The funniest ones are the island nations where it’s like: is this now in this general area, or so I get 5 points again.
www.maptap.gg July 15
96🔥 99🎯 99🎯 95🏅 99🎯
Final score: 975One of my highest scores yet :D
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
ali Link ParentI just realized I never finished the DLC. Something to look forward to when I’m home.I just realized I never finished the DLC.
Something to look forward to when I’m home.
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Comment on The 2026 Steam Summer Sale is live (runs June 25 - July 9) in ~games
ali LinkBinding of Isaac rebirth complete at 90% off is an absolute steal.Binding of Isaac rebirth complete at 90% off is an absolute steal.
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Comment on Apple announces significant price increases for MacBooks, iPads, more in ~tech
ali Link ParentI’m so torn on upgrading too. There’s an M4 on sale on this German site. I feel like it could be a cool dev device. I’m using my iPad quite frequently but did notice it getting a bit slower after...I’m so torn on upgrading too. There’s an M4 on sale on this German site. I feel like it could be a cool dev device. I’m using my iPad quite frequently but did notice it getting a bit slower after 5 years.
Warning: you should have some sparkling water and juice or Fanta and cola ready when watching this lol
This is a fascinating deep dive as someone who actually occasionally drinks this. I kinda also thought Paulaner was kind of the “default”
I’ve also noticed that Spezi has been appearing more and more in different versions in the supermarkets.