bkimmel's recent activity

  1. Comment on What was the best job you ever had? in ~life

    bkimmel
    Link
    I worked at this grocery store for 2 summers: https://share.google/qNKYe5iVe8pekbJRD Go look at the streetview to see why.

    I worked at this grocery store for 2 summers: https://share.google/qNKYe5iVe8pekbJRD

    Go look at the streetview to see why.

    4 votes

  2. Comment on I made a post here two years ago about starting my first SWE job, since then I've been promoted and have recently recieved a very exciting job offer in ~tech

    bkimmel
    Link Parent
    Congratulations! Really glad to hear you're doing well and you have an exciting new role! Having AI in the title/focus might be a double-edged sword. This industry goes through violent whiplash...

    Congratulations! Really glad to hear you're doing well and you have an exciting new role!

    Having AI in the title/focus might be a double-edged sword. This industry goes through violent whiplash every few years and "badges of honor" like "AI" that mean one thing now can mean something very different in a few years. Absolutely lean into it all the way and learn everything you can - and have fun! You've earned it!

    Just keep in mind that the Software Engineer's cardinal sin is to assume that everything and everyone that came before them is stupid. When you get older you learn that everything is a big circle - old ideas just get changed slightly and offered up as a "revolution".

    A helpful metaphor I point my junior engineers to is "Chestertons Fence" to make sense of it all.

    Congratulations and best of luck!

    7 votes

  3. Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk

    bkimmel
    Link
    Old Man and the Sea, E. Hemingway

    Old Man and the Sea, E. Hemingway

  4. Comment on Why the US Navy won't open Hormuz in ~society

    bkimmel
    Link Parent
    It seems especially damaging to the U.S. as well, that before this boondoggle this was all somewhat "theoretical" that this kind of asymmetric warfare against U.S. carrier fleets would be...

    It seems especially damaging to the U.S. as well, that before this boondoggle this was all somewhat "theoretical" that this kind of asymmetric warfare against U.S. carrier fleets would be effective but it has just made the jump from theory to practice in a pretty convincing way. Iran is probably kicking themselves at this point on Hormuz thinking "why didn't we just do this earlier"? And I imagine others are watching and thinking roughly the same thing in whatever region they are in.

    22 votes

  5. Comment on What is your favourite shark? in ~talk

    bkimmel
    Link
    Greenland Shark. It's suspected that they may be functionally immortal but no one is sure.

    Greenland Shark. It's suspected that they may be functionally immortal but no one is sure.

    14 votes

  7. Comment on Casino AI misidentifies man; Reno cops arrest and prosecute him anyway in ~tech

  9. Comment on Living human brain cells play DOOM on a CL1 in ~tech

    bkimmel
    Link Parent
    I'm thinking of this in a "ship of theseus" way and wondering how long it is before something approaching a "real human brain" is hooked up to do menial tasks like this.

    I'm thinking of this in a "ship of theseus" way and wondering how long it is before something approaching a "real human brain" is hooked up to do menial tasks like this.

    3 votes

  10. Comment on Living human brain cells play DOOM on a CL1 in ~tech

    bkimmel
    Link
    Is anyone else feeling the pure horror I am in reaction to this? How is this even legal?

    Is anyone else feeling the pure horror I am in reaction to this? How is this even legal?

    12 votes

  11. Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk

    bkimmel
    Link Parent
    This but for the movie Idiocracy. It was funny 20 years ago - now it's depressing how close we are to it.

    This but for the movie Idiocracy. It was funny 20 years ago - now it's depressing how close we are to it.

    4 votes

  12. Comment on 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' movie review by Roger Ebert & Gene Siskel (1982) in ~movies

    bkimmel
    Link
    The only work of fiction where I cry at the end no matter how many times I see it.

    The only work of fiction where I cry at the end no matter how many times I see it.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on 2025 NFL Season 🏈 Weekly Discussion Thread – Week 3 in ~sports.american_football

  14. Comment on I tried to protect my kids from the internet. Here’s what happened. in ~tech

    bkimmel
    Link Parent
    This is the answer. My fever dream is that I'm going to get my son and a small group of friends LoRA Meshtastic radios and they think it's cool and just use those.

    This is the answer. My fever dream is that I'm going to get my son and a small group of friends LoRA Meshtastic radios and they think it's cool and just use those.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on How are you planning for a potentially bleaker future? in ~life

    bkimmel
    Link
    Malthus would like a word with you.

    Malthus would like a word with you.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on As religion wanes, how do we replace it? in ~humanities

  17. Comment on As religion wanes, how do we replace it? in ~humanities

    bkimmel
    Link
    Some interesting research on the subject: Also: And generally, when they do give they give more: And I think there are other philosophical/intellectual problems that come with the loss of...

    Some interesting research on the subject:

    investigators examined the behavior of a large sample of the public across a typical seven-day period. They found that among Americans who attend services weekly and pray daily, 45 percent had done volunteer work during the previous week. Among all other Americans, only 27 percent had volunteered somewhere.

    Also:

    Pew has found that among Americans who attend worship weekly and pray daily, about half gather with extended family members at least once a month. For the rest of our population, it’s 30 percent.

    And generally, when they do give they give more:

    Philanthropic studies show that people with a religious affiliation give away several times as much every year as other Americans. Research by the Lilly School at Indiana University found Americans with any religious affiliation made average annual charitable donations of $1,590, versus $695 for those with no religious affiliation.

    And

    And people with religious motivations don’t give just to faith-based causes—they are also much likelier to give to secular causes than the nonreligious.

    I think there are other philosophical/intellectual problems that come with the loss of religion, but those are more abstract. The hard numbers from respected research outfits like Pew paint the problem pretty starkly: Secular communities, even where they exist, don't produce the same kinds of pro-social behaviors that religious ones do. It's not just qualitatively different in some abstract way, it's an enormous quantitative problem. By some estimates, 73 percent of all giving in the U.S. is directed at explicitly religious groups (e.g. Catholic Charities).

    It's fine to have your personal beliefs and I'm not saying anyone is obligated to behave a certain way in terms of what or who they give their money to, but you can't really claim those statistics are insignificant with any kind of intellectual honesty.

    1 vote

  18. Comment on The web could be so much more beautiful in ~tech

    bkimmel
    Link
    Yes! I gave a whole presentation on this at work and I've been chasing people to use it more for years! It's nuts that even "design-forward" outfits like Apple don't use this yet when monks in the...

    Yes! I gave a whole presentation on this at work and I've been chasing people to use it more for years!

    It's nuts that even "design-forward" outfits like Apple don't use this yet when monks in the 14th century had this figured out in their manuscripts.

    I will say the results aren't always "100 percent awesome' and sometimes you can get better results by manually seeding some soft-hyphens in the text but it drives me bonkers seeing everything either left-justified or with huge whitespace rivers when 'hyphens: auto' has been there for at least 5 years now.

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Who'all remembers the A-bomb Kid? Guess what he's doing today... in ~talk

    bkimmel
    Link Parent
    I also just remembered his company sued NGP (another political data company that worked exclusively with Dems). Not the kind of thing you would do if you were trying to be clandestine.

    I also just remembered his company sued NGP (another political data company that worked exclusively with Dems). Not the kind of thing you would do if you were trying to be clandestine.

    2 votes

  20. Comment on Who'all remembers the A-bomb Kid? Guess what he's doing today... in ~talk

    bkimmel
    Link
    Oh, wow. I knew that guy and met him a few times but I had no idea about the nuclear stuff. I just thought he was the CEO of that company. Iirc, he offered me a job with Aristotle while I was...

    Oh, wow. I knew that guy and met him a few times but I had no idea about the nuclear stuff. I just thought he was the CEO of that company. Iirc, he offered me a job with Aristotle while I was working at the DNC.

    I always had the impression that Aristotle (the company) was never really that successful in political data because it was a very tribal thing and neither side could really trust them to engage on anything big.

    I recall them doing something in Afghanistan back in the day but I don't remember it being alarming. I will say they always seemed to be a little "bigger" in terms of staff than their business would allow for, but I always assumed it was the guy (Aristotle) who was just independently wealthy or something.

    Could be there really was something there and I was just oblivious to it and his company was always a little weird in some way that was tough to put your finger on, but from what I knew/remembered I would think other things would be more concerning.

    7 votes