caliper's recent activity

  1. Comment on Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets in ~life.pets

    caliper
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    That’s a a cute grey snout! When did she start to get grey hair?

    That’s a a cute grey snout! When did she start to get grey hair?

    2 votes

  2. Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech

    caliper
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    This will be perfect for school kids. I had to get 2 Windows laptops for high school going kids, and they were more expensive and much worse hardware. Also, this is perfect for businesses. Cheap,...

    This will be perfect for school kids. I had to get 2 Windows laptops for high school going kids, and they were more expensive and much worse hardware.
    Also, this is perfect for businesses. Cheap, lightweight, will run most business applications. I expect this to do really well.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets in ~life.pets

    caliper
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    Sorry for the poor quality pictures… these weren’t taken to share, but they tell a good story. I bought Smokey an automated litter box. I wanted to improve his life and mine. He’s rewarding me by...

    Sorry for the poor quality pictures… these weren’t taken to share, but they tell a good story.

    I bought Smokey an automated litter box. I wanted to improve his life and mine. He’s rewarding me by terrorizing the litter box. He has little fear and is too nosy to leave the thing alone. He’ll do his business, get out and sit in front of the device to wait for something to happen. Once the box starts spinning, he’ll get back in or jump on the top. The device will get confused. It seems to be a fun game because it’s been four weeks and it’s still a day-to-day activity.
    Another thing he’ll do is sit in front of the entrance, with his front paws inside, and dig. He’ll dig until there’s a nice mountain of filler in front of the box. He seems to enjoy this game as much as frustrating the device.
    https://ibb.co/S4QfrNr4

    I’m working on the house and Smokey is helping in his own way. If I open up a wall, floor or ceiling, he’ll get in to inspect and make sure everything is safe. I should get him a tiny hazmat suit ‘cause he’ll emerge fully covered in cobwebs and dust. He’s a good partner because he’s never far away and doesn’t get lost in a tight space. The only thing he should stop doing is scare me my suddenly putting his paws through a hole while I’m on the other side of said wall. He seems to think I enjoy that game as much as he does, which is not true (although it makes me chuckle each time)
    https://ibb.co/8LkJFrSy

    6 votes

  4. Comment on Help me untangle my 3d printer filament in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    What a nightmare! I wonder what the insurer made of this.

    What a nightmare! I wonder what the insurer made of this.

    2 votes

  5. Comment on The Dark Tower Wizard in Glass, is the second half better? in ~books

    caliper
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    Same here, reading this post I realize I’ve put the book down halfway through and that was 2 or 3 years ago. I wanted to finish it so badly, but the story was frustrating as hell. Not exactly sure...

    Same here, reading this post I realize I’ve put the book down halfway through and that was 2 or 3 years ago. I wanted to finish it so badly, but the story was frustrating as hell. Not exactly sure what it was I found frustrating though, it is too long ago and I don’t remember.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on Scientists cast doubt on the discovery of microplastics throughout the human body in ~health

    caliper
    Link Parent
    I like this positive take! Good way to (almost) start the weekend.

    I like this positive take! Good way to (almost) start the weekend.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on Is it possible to live without WhatsApp? in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    Sure, but no pictures also?

    Sure, but no pictures also?

  8. Comment on Is it possible to live without WhatsApp? in ~tech

    caliper
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I don’t think the things we expect from modern communication, like group chats, voice calls, group voice calls, voice messages, stickers, pictures, etc. are offered by the carriers. They all...

    I don’t think the things we expect from modern communication, like group chats, voice calls, group voice calls, voice messages, stickers, pictures, etc. are offered by the carriers. They all require data connections, they all require apps, they all require services. Sure, 911 has different requirements, but that isn’t what WhatsApp/Signal/Discord/Telegram are used for in most cases.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on Is it possible to live without WhatsApp? in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    Wild. How are you doing group chats? How are you sending pictures?

    Wild. How are you doing group chats? How are you sending pictures?

  10. Comment on Is it possible to live without WhatsApp? in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    I’m wondering if this might be a misunderstanding. When I lived in the US around 2012, most people had an iPhone if they had a smartphone. Everybody used iMessage. That isn’t SMS, that is entirely...

    The thought of having to rely on an app for communication is pretty gross to me.

    I’m wondering if this might be a misunderstanding. When I lived in the US around 2012, most people had an iPhone if they had a smartphone. Everybody used iMessage. That isn’t SMS, that is entirely the same as WhatsApp or Signal messages. It’s all TCP/IP, it’s not carrier texts.

    In countries where iPhone isn’t the main smartphone, WhatsApp is popular because it’s cross platform, rich messaging. SMS exists everywhere.

    11 votes

  11. Comment on Recruiter harassed me whilst off sick. Considering filing a complaint. How best to handle this? in ~life

    caliper
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    Sounds to me like he’s afraid you’ll find something else and he loses an account. Instead of handling it like a normal human, he then bullies you into removing yourself from job search sites. This...

    Sounds to me like he’s afraid you’ll find something else and he loses an account. Instead of handling it like a normal human, he then bullies you into removing yourself from job search sites. This is on par with interactions I’ve had with recruiters, it solidifies my view most of them are scum and only exist because they fleece employers and employees into thinking recruiters add value.

    Personally, I’d tell him to pound sand, in a nice way of course. You are both benefiting from this arrangement and he is benefiting without any effort. So it’s going to last as long as it will last, but he needs you more than you need him. So maybe stand up for yourself a bit more. List yourself again and just tell him it’s a difficult job market and you need to be prepared in case something changes.

    45 votes

  12. Comment on Feeling weird about my career with respect to AI in ~life

    caliper
    Link Parent
    The pessimism for me comes from seeing how others use it and what management thinks it can do. I personally use LLMs regularly for coding and sometimes get good results with a little massaging....

    The pessimism for me comes from seeing how others use it and what management thinks it can do. I personally use LLMs regularly for coding and sometimes get good results with a little massaging. But I'm a senior dev and I like to believe I've read enough code to pick sensible solutions that match code style of a project, and above all, solutions that won't introduce a massive amount of technical debt.

    Looking at the code diarrhea that some of my coworkers pull out of LLMs is just extremely infuriating. I'm the one reviewing that crap and I'm the one that needs to nag and explain and take time out of my day to read and understand it all. It's just so frustrating to deal with. My fear is that this will only get worse with time. New devs won't be required to hone their skills. The amount of technical debt will just grow exponentially. It all just seems so short sighted and management is totally to blame. They jump on the hype train and push it without understanding the implications. The feeling of "these people have no idea what their company is actually doing" has never been greater for me, and that's after the "BigData, NoSQL, everything cloud, blockchain" nonsense we've already lived through.

    5 votes

  13. Comment on Regarding travel agency exoticca.com in ~travel

  14. Comment on Regarding travel agency exoticca.com in ~travel

    caliper
    Link Parent
    That’s an interesting one. Unless time is super constrained, I’d wouldn’t necessarily pick the fastest option over the slow one. Slow, cheap transport often gets you to meet locals, see places you...

    While it's important to find good prices for things, don't skimp on things that will actually matter on your trip like taking a cheaper, slower train to another city that saves you $20, but you lose 3 hours of exploring time for example.

    That’s an interesting one. Unless time is super constrained, I’d wouldn’t necessarily pick the fastest option over the slow one. Slow, cheap transport often gets you to meet locals, see places you wouldn’t see otherwise and possibly find you some unexpected adventures. For me, travel isn’t just going from sight to sight, the traveling itself is part of the fun.

    This doesn’t stop at traveling too. Going on expensive tours are less exciting than finding your own way. Being guided by a local, cheap guide can be more interesting than picking a larger group. Being on a dingy fishing boat can be more fun than traveling on a sturdy luxurious boat.

    In short, finding fun and adventure for me is much easier by being cheap than by throwing money at a trip.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Strange Pop! OS 24.04 behavior in ~tech

    caliper
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    If you’re struggling to get into the bios, unhook the drive with the OS and start the PC. Without the drive, you should be able to figure out how to get in.

    If you’re struggling to get into the bios, unhook the drive with the OS and start the PC. Without the drive, you should be able to figure out how to get in.

    3 votes

  16. Comment on Mac advice for a long time Windows user in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    TIL and I’ve been a mac user for I don’t know how long. I use the screenshot shortcut on a daily basis and do a cleanup every once in a while. This will improve my life significantly!

    TIL and I’ve been a mac user for I don’t know how long. I use the screenshot shortcut on a daily basis and do a cleanup every once in a while. This will improve my life significantly!

  17. Comment on Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets in ~life.pets

    caliper
    Link Parent
    Starlings are such amazing birds. Not sure if they are like the ones around here, but here they are great singers ánd can mimic all kinds of sounds. Ringtones, alarms, other birds, etc, they will...

    Starlings are such amazing birds. Not sure if they are like the ones around here, but here they are great singers ánd can mimic all kinds of sounds. Ringtones, alarms, other birds, etc, they will pick up sounds and go crazy. Absolutely love them. Oh and in flocks they are spectacular!

    1 vote

  18. Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk

    caliper
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    Last two weeks I’ve been at our vacation home. There’s always DIY stuff to do, which I love. I can’t relax during the holidays, so I did jobs that have been on my todo list. First week was...

    Last two weeks I’ve been at our vacation home. There’s always DIY stuff to do, which I love. I can’t relax during the holidays, so I did jobs that have been on my todo list. First week was replacing a breaker box and rewiring parts of the house. Also did some plastering. This week worked on some shelves, completed the rewire work and replaced a huge water heater. That last job was not at all on my list (so sadly can’t check it off my todo list) but it was good to replace now before it crapped out. Luckily I have lovely neighbors here that have all kinds of tools, including a winch. Getting the old heater out without one would’ve been a total cluster fuck. This only took some mild cussing. If stores hadn’t been closed on the 1st, I could’ve finished the job in a day. Now we had one extra day without hot water. It wasn’t as bad as 4 days without electricity in part of the house 😅 Good thing the family is forgiving!

    Too bad vacation is over again and I have to go back to work. I could’ve spent another week here to do some more DIY stuff!

  19. Comment on Steam Replay 2025 in ~games

    caliper
    Link Parent
    This reminds me of that year when my home music server went on a U2 bender for a good week and totally messed up my Spotify wrap up. And I really really hate U2.

    This reminds me of that year when my home music server went on a U2 bender for a good week and totally messed up my Spotify wrap up. And I really really hate U2.

    4 votes

  20. Comment on Steam Replay 2025 in ~games

    caliper
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    I don’t want to intimidate Tilderions, but I played 3 games and unlocked 15 achievements. This has to be my lowest amount of game time ever. I’ve been wondering recently why I haven’t made time to...

    I don’t want to intimidate Tilderions, but I played 3 games and unlocked 15 achievements. This has to be my lowest amount of game time ever. I’ve been wondering recently why I haven’t made time to play, but I keep coming back to having the feeling there is more important things to do. I’ve got real life achievements to unlock, and many of them. Maybe when that’s all done, I’ll be able to catch up on the great games that need to be explored!

    One idea I’ve been toying with is getting a PS Vita and do some gaming on the commute. But I can’t justify getting another console and having to explain to my SO why there is more crap in the house.

    7 votes