cannedoats's recent activity
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Comment on What are some examples of media that really captured lightning in a bottle? in ~tv
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What are some examples of media that really captured lightning in a bottle?
I've been feeling nostalgic and watching some old Top Gear recently. It has got me thinking about how remarkable the chemistry between the three hosts is and how the combination of those three,...
I've been feeling nostalgic and watching some old Top Gear recently. It has got me thinking about how remarkable the chemistry between the three hosts is and how the combination of those three, the time that top gear ran, and the format they chose created such an incredibly successful and wide-reaching show. Despite many efforts no one has been able to make a car show to rival it.
What are some other examples of this sort of phenomena? Where the right time, place, people and format come together to create something extraordinary? Doesn't have to be television necessarily, but given the example that spurred this question I figured this wasn't a bad place to post.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
cannedoats (edited )Link ParentI saw this article recently about a way to potentially do multiple writers for duckdb https://www.definite.app/blog/duck-takes-flight edit: to expand, this works because duckdb does sorta support...- Exemplary
I saw this article recently about a way to potentially do multiple writers for duckdb
https://www.definite.app/blog/duck-takes-flight
edit: to expand, this works because duckdb does sorta support multiple writer threads https://duckdb.org/docs/connect/concurrency -
Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
cannedoats Link ParentAh nah, I've only taken enough photos to test it out as a proof of concept. Once I've got a pipeline working I'll go back and photograph all the books. Though something that's still unknown is how...Ah nah, I've only taken enough photos to test it out as a proof of concept. Once I've got a pipeline working I'll go back and photograph all the books. Though something that's still unknown is how much it'll all cost, Gemini's pricing is a bit hard to understand. Won't be worth doing if it costs more than a couple of bucks per cook-book.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
cannedoats Link ParentI'm generally pretty slow chipping away at this sort of thing but I'll try and post updates on here as I go :) I've mostly avoided AI stuff as I hate the way it takes away creativity, but the new...I'm generally pretty slow chipping away at this sort of thing but I'll try and post updates on here as I go :)
I've mostly avoided AI stuff as I hate the way it takes away creativity, but the new capabilities of programmatic interfaces and the ability to define response schemas makes it undeniably handy for this sort of data collection and transformation that would otherwise involve some very tedious manual steps.
I wouldn't be surprised if an app like paprika added this as a feature soon.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
cannedoats LinkMy wife and I have a lot of cookbooks which is great but creates the problem where you have certain ingredients in the fridge and have to dig through a bunch of books to find recipes that match...My wife and I have a lot of cookbooks which is great but creates the problem where you have certain ingredients in the fridge and have to dig through a bunch of books to find recipes that match your ingredients.
It is pretty quick to flick through a book and take photos of the recipes with your phone. I'm then building a tool that runs the photos of the recipes through Gemini, which OCRs the text and turns it into a structured format. The plan is then to turn this into an index where you can find recipes by searching for one or more ingredients, and it will tell you the book and page number to go to.
I generally have a pretty dim view of AI stuff but this feels like a good use-case to me.
Initially I was just going to use photos of the index, rather than of individual recipe but I figured indexing the full recipes could allow for some interesting features down the line like vector search across the index for things like a "a light and easy soup with carrots in it that takes 30 mins to cook".
I also like that this still allows for using the recipe books, I much prefer to cook from a book than a screen, and our books are filled with notes in pencil about recipe alterations and often a note of what event the dish was cooked for.
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Comment on Melbourne's project to remove level rail/road crossings has many benefits in ~transport
cannedoats LinkThis is generally a really good project, though the video outlines some of the less good parts, particularly around the long running disruptions and some lack of forward planning in the station...This is generally a really good project, though the video outlines some of the less good parts, particularly around the long running disruptions and some lack of forward planning in the station design - not allowing for future expansion.
There's also quite a few places where removing level crossings are very difficult, this one near where I live is definitely one of the trickiest: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HFsDcstzkTNb8YmX9 The level crossing is below a highway overpass and right next to a creek, so you can't really raise or lower either the road or the train line.
There's also an interesting case in Yarraville where they actually decided to close the level crossing to cars entirely, rather than trying to figure out how to separate cars and trains.
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/library/level-crossing-removal-project/lxrp/anderson-street-fact-sheet
It's been kind of controversial but I think is a good thing to prioritise bikes and pedestrians over cars. -
Comment on Webcam recommendations? in ~tech
cannedoats Link ParentI have a c920 too, it is ok, but I do find it a bit disappointing that it is the "best" reasonably priced camera available. The picture quality is pretty bad and it is particularly terrible at...I have a c920 too, it is ok, but I do find it a bit disappointing that it is the "best" reasonably priced camera available. The picture quality is pretty bad and it is particularly terrible at dealing with uneven lighting, if the sun is shining somewhere in my background it causes my face to be very underexposed.
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Comment on Jet Lag | Season 9 trailer : Hide and Seek across Switzerland in ~hobbies
cannedoats Link ParentWhile I'm very much enjoying this season, I feel like they aren't very much. There's lots of sitting around doing nothing for the hider and lots of unknowns and frustration for the seekers. I...While I'm very much enjoying this season, I feel like they aren't very much. There's lots of sitting around doing nothing for the hider and lots of unknowns and frustration for the seekers. I wonder if they'll do another season of this format?
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Comment on Show recommendations for my parents (pt 2) in ~tv
cannedoats Link ParentI love The Bear, but it is probably worth warning that it is quite a tense and stressful show, it definitely isn't for everyone.I love The Bear, but it is probably worth warning that it is quite a tense and stressful show, it definitely isn't for everyone.
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Comment on Favorite game shows? in ~tv
cannedoats LinkIf you're enjoying UK taskmaster, make sure you check out the NZ one too. And if you enjoy that then you can check out Guy Mont Spelling Bee which features a lot of the same people as NZ...If you're enjoying UK taskmaster, make sure you check out the NZ one too. And if you enjoy that then you can check out Guy Mont Spelling Bee which features a lot of the same people as NZ Taskmaster. It sounds like a dumb idea - and it is - but also rather funny.
Not sure if it counts as a game show, but I've also really enjoyed watching Jet Lag
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Comment on What is the "bible" of your hobby or activity? in ~hobbies
cannedoats LinkFor animation it would probably be Richard Williams' Animator's Survival Kit. It's definitely worth considering some of the criticism of it though: https://blog.animationstudies.org/?p=869For animation it would probably be Richard Williams' Animator's Survival Kit.
It's definitely worth considering some of the criticism of it though:
https://blog.animationstudies.org/?p=869 -
Comment on What's a "house rule" that has made a game more fun for you? in ~games
cannedoats Link ParentWhen I was a kid my cousin and I often played "Extreme Croquet" where we built elaborate mini-golf-like croquet courses with ramps and obstacles, and the hoops placed in difficult places like...When I was a kid my cousin and I often played "Extreme Croquet" where we built elaborate mini-golf-like croquet courses with ramps and obstacles, and the hoops placed in difficult places like halfway up a tree – requiring a ramp and golf like swing to get the ball through. It was a lot of fun!
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Comment on AlbumLove (February 2024): 2005-2009 in ~music
cannedoats (edited )Link2005-2009 covers a fair bit of my Reminiscence Bump and albums between those years would make up a a pretty high percentage of my top 100 albums so this is pretty darn hard to pick. I think I'll...2005-2009 covers a fair bit of my Reminiscence Bump and albums between those years would make up a a pretty high percentage of my top 100 albums so this is pretty darn hard to pick.
I think I'll go with Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005). It's a fantastic album, from the narrative track titles to the devastating lyrics, the beautiful piano and swirling strings. Plus Sufjan has had a heck of a rough time lately and could do with all the love.
[edit] just looking through RYM and this is the top album for 2005 lol, so not exactly an original choice. Ah well, I'm sticking with it.
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Comment on Is it possible to build a sustainable image and video hosting service? in ~comp
cannedoats Link ParentThanks for that link, it's a good read. I think because I come from a family of librarians and archivists I have a tendency to consider most information having a very long lifetime, and so I find...Thanks for that link, it's a good read. I think because I come from a family of librarians and archivists I have a tendency to consider most information having a very long lifetime, and so I find it hard to accept that content created on the web can just disappear, especially when there is no way of quantifying what value is lost.
In regards to your last point, I think it is important to consider that the worth of content is not objective, and also not constant. What seems worthless today might be vital in the future. Marion Stokes is a good example of this. At the time she was recording TV it was probably considered a waste, but years later it became a fantastic, and unique, resource. YouTube videos that are low quality and have <100 views today could provide amazing insight in 100 years time, it would be a pity if they were lost.
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Comment on Is it possible to build a sustainable image and video hosting service? in ~comp
cannedoats Link ParentHaha, I like the idea of ASCII art. Storing a local backup seems to be how mastodon works, if you look at a post originating from instance A on instance B, you'll be served a copy of the media...Haha, I like the idea of ASCII art. Storing a local backup seems to be how mastodon works, if you look at a post originating from instance A on instance B, you'll be served a copy of the media that is cached on instance B.
I wonder if it would be possible to distribute media storage across multiple instances. ie. if one instance federates with many others, when a media post is loaded on those other instances they take on the responsibility of storing and serving a chunk of that media. There would need to be some sort of integrity and redundancy system but it would mean that each time a piece of media is requested the load of serving it could be spread across many instances.
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Is it possible to build a sustainable image and video hosting service?
The history of the web is littered with with many a dead image/video hosting service. Echos of their existence plague older forums in the form of broken links and images. It seems like they all...
The history of the web is littered with with many a dead image/video hosting service. Echos of their existence plague older forums in the form of broken links and images. It seems like they all follow the same path, starting up as the new "simple" service that just hosts images, no fuss. But then as interest grows, so do costs, and the service owners have to scramble to monetize. Generally this is done by stuffing the place full of ads until everyone leaves. Alternatively the owners are stubborn and stick to their guns, until they inevitably have to shut down due to drowning in costs. When they do shut down, millions of assets are lost and the graveyard of broken images across the web grows some more.
https://gfycat.com/ is the latest notable victim of this.
With all the recent social media turmoil, there as been lots of exploration of alternative sites, and all of them have to overcome the problem of hosting media in one way or another.
Tildes obviously does this by avoiding it entirely which, while a very effective solution, is just handballing the problem elsewhere. Users will still want to post images and videos but they will just have to find alternative hosts. Over time those hosts will die and Tildes posts will be filled with dead links.
Mastodon has similar problems,the biggest cost of hosting a mastodon instance is the storage and bandwidth required to facilitate media posts. And there's a real danger of an instance incurring high costs if a particular post becomes popular and is hotlinked on a big centralised social media site.
It seems like a really tricky problem to solve, something peer-to-peer could sort of solve the costs created by traffic peaks but has problems when there is many small files viewed by few individuals each.
Are there any other solutions out there? Web3, IPFS? Or is it just not that much of a problem, do we accept that media on the web is ephemeral and will be lost after a while?
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Comment on Let's add (and rearrange?) some groups + a few notes about other short-term plans in ~tildes.official
cannedoats LinkThis might be getting a little off topic, but I feel like some updates to tags could cover a lot of these suggestions. Allowing filtering based on group + tag rather than just tag could more or...This might be getting a little off topic, but I feel like some updates to tags could cover a lot of these suggestions. Allowing filtering based on group + tag rather than just tag could more or less remove the need for subgroups, and allow a relatively small and broad set of groups to encompass everything.
eg. rather than having~games.game_designas a group, you just keep the~gamesgroup and~games.game_designfilters to thegame_designtag within the~gamesgroup.I'd be hesitant to create a lot of really tightly focused groups as that could be hard to walk back later.
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Comment on Calling all analog photographers and cinematographers of Tildes in ~creative
cannedoats LinkI've been shooting 35mm and 120mm film on and off for ages, and have shot almost exclusively film for the last 5 years or so. I find it much more rewarding than digital. It's kinda silly because I...I've been shooting 35mm and 120mm film on and off for ages, and have shot almost exclusively film for the last 5 years or so. I find it much more rewarding than digital. It's kinda silly because I know the image is still interpreted through multiple analog and digital processes between being captured and getting the prints/scans, but the results feel like they capture the mood and feeling of when the photo was taken much more closely than digital (could just be that I'm bad at editing).
I've got some of my favourite recent shots in an album here
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Comment on Favourite audio dramas/fiction podcasts? in ~hobbies
cannedoats Link ParentRadio serials is a great idea, I'd add the Goon show to the list - still hilarious and a lot of the episodes are available on the BBC websiteRadio serials is a great idea, I'd add the Goon show to the list - still hilarious and a lot of the episodes are available on the BBC website
Yeah that's a good point, this question is pretty close to just asking what pieces of iconic media there are. I think maybe more what I'm trying to ask is for things that are greater than they had any right to be, because of the people involved ie. Top Gear being a show of three blokes talking about cars, has every right to be boring but isn't. Seinfeld is a great example, the archetypal show about nothing.
Another variation of this question would be what are some currently airing things that are likely to make their way into this category. For me – referencing some things often discussed here – the pairing of Greg and Alex on Taskmaster would be one, or Ben and Adam on Jet Lag, or some of the combos of cast members on Gamechanger. They all have that same way of bouncing off each other that is highly entertaining.