carsonc's recent activity
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - June 2026 - How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler in ~books
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Comment on My parent is a bad person [rant] in ~life
carsonc LinkI think about how the children are the recipients of their parents parenting; the customer, you could say. It is easy to diminish such a framing as transactional, but it is no less true for being...I think about how the children are the recipients of their parents parenting; the customer, you could say. It is easy to diminish such a framing as transactional, but it is no less true for being so. Parents ask from their children measures of love, affection, regard, and loyalty such as they feel they deserve for the service of parenting, no easy task. While they are young, the children are often compelled to give their parents what they are told is their parents due.
But children grow up to be adults who will reflect on their upbringing and decide for themselves whether it was a fair deal or not and, if not, what the degree of unfairness was. Then, as adults, they can decide for themselves what the correct course of action is - estrangement, resentment, silent forgiveness, open reconciliation, therapy, abuse, extortion, withholding of affection or access to grandchildren, and so on.
Like the customer, the child is the one who decides whether they were raised fairly or not. And, like they say, the customer is always right. This, of course, is not exactly true. We've all seen plenty of customers returning damaged goods that they, themselves have damaged and asking for a refund. While able to deny reimbusement, the shopkeeper has no ability to compel the customer to enjoy what they have already decided to detest.
In like manner, the parents cannot convince the children that, actually, they had a wonderful childhood and are merely ungrateful brats for failing to realize this. For many parents, that inability is no barrier to their attempt to do just that, but it doesn't work, as attested by the ubiquity of the accusation of "gaslighting" leveled by adult children in connection with their soon-to-be estranged parent.
The dilemma that confronts an adult child who has children of their own is how to navigate a difficult relationship with their own parent without teaching their own children to also judge them harshly as adults and view their own childhood as unfair. As one of compelled affection. Or maybe devoid of affection. As bereft of attention or as perhaps as suffocation from too much attention. Of course, there is no way to parent perfectly. There's barely a way to parent good enough, as any honest parent will tell you. Both are mortal, so niether the parents nor the children are perfect. You could give your kid the perfect upbringing and they would still have the right to accuse you upon reaching adulthood of falling short and thereby choosing to estrange you from themselves and their family. That's their prerogative.
Of course, if you don't have children, then this isn't a concern. Maybe you'll feel differently after they are gone, but maybe not. Regardless, everyone has something that they blame their parents for. How could they not? But everyone makes different choices about how they forgive (or don't) and how they move on (or don't).
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Comment on US releases powerful Anthropic model Mythos to some US companies in ~tech
carsonc Link ParentI don't know if this is what they are talking about, but prospect.org did report in November 2025 that OpenAI was angling for a government bailout.I don't know if this is what they are talking about, but prospect.org did report in November 2025 that OpenAI was angling for a government bailout.
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Comment on Access to Fable and Mythos 5 cut off after US government order in ~tech
carsonc Link ParentThese are some interesting thoughts. You could just as easily claim that this is the reverse of the GPS trajectory. It was actually very much developed in the private markets, but then (partially)...These are some interesting thoughts. You could just as easily claim that this is the reverse of the GPS trajectory. It was actually very much developed in the private markets, but then (partially) commandeered for government purposes.
The GPS analogy is also interesting because it has turned put to be a glass cannon of sorts. It has become both indispensable and extremely fragile due to the weakness of the GPS signals arriving at earth. I cannot see how AI will turn out to be so easily jammed. For whatever the other system is, AI seems to be the thing that tells you how to jam it, not the thing that is jammed itself.
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Comment on Not alive, but not dead: disembodied human brains used for drug testing in ~health
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Comment on What are people's experiences with using Kagi? in ~tech
carsonc LinkAnother vote for Kagi. I have their Ultimate grade with their AI assistant, which saved me recently. Not only do they provide a range of different providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemma, Deepseek,...Another vote for Kagi. I have their Ultimate grade with their AI assistant, which saved me recently. Not only do they provide a range of different providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemma, Deepseek, Kimi, etc.), but all queries through their service are carried with the enterprise license that they have with providers. They also rate different providers according to the level of privacy that can be expected with that specific provider and tier of service. This allows token costs to be contained by sending less critical workloads to lower cost, lower tier services, but having higher criticality workloads sent to frontier models in the same chat thread.
Anyway, I was drafting a patent for work using Kagi Assistant and the fact that the queries were covered under the enterprise license meant that the data couldn't be used for training the model, so our IP was contractually protected. I keep pushing for my work place to get us all Kagi because I think it would help us a lot.
But also, getting the results that I searched for, rather than sponsored results or AI garbage, is wonderful. I get so angry when I have to search on Google on someone else's computer. I'd rather pay directly to get for what I've asked for, rather than getting for free something I never asked for and did not want.
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Comment on Battery costs just plunged 70% — this changes everything in ~enviro
carsonc Link ParentI believe that it was a full unit, just mis-priced. Which is why it is not there any more, not just marked as sold. Even so, I'm still interested in this kind of unit, especially if I can figure...I believe that it was a full unit, just mis-priced. Which is why it is not there any more, not just marked as sold. Even so, I'm still interested in this kind of unit, especially if I can figure out how to integrate it with the solar inverter or a separate backup interface.
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Comment on Google Search as you know it is over in ~tech
carsonc Link ParentKagi Assistant is remarkable. I've been drafting a proposal with Assistant and, in a single thread, the ability to switch between different models was very useful. Any more, I have been using...Kagi Assistant is remarkable. I've been drafting a proposal with Assistant and, in a single thread, the ability to switch between different models was very useful. Any more, I have been using Minimax for most tasks to keep the cost low, but, when I needed ideas for an explanatory graphic, I switched to the Kagi Research model, which can produce images. Because the whole proposal development process was in the context thread, all I needed to do was ask for the graphic and, voila, there it is. Then I can use Claude Opus for review, once the document is more or less in place. The best thing is that, since Kagi uses enterprise tiers with their providers, none of the queries or responses are used to train the model. It's a brave new world with these tools.
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Comment on Battery costs just plunged 70% — this changes everything in ~enviro
carsonc Link ParentI can't find it now either. I think someone listed it for the wrong price, realized their mistake, and took the listing down. Still, 16 kWh for $1,700 is a lot less expensive than 13 kWh for $8000.I can't find it now either. I think someone listed it for the wrong price, realized their mistake, and took the listing down. Still, 16 kWh for $1,700 is a lot less expensive than 13 kWh for $8000.
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Comment on Battery costs just plunged 70% — this changes everything in ~enviro
carsonc LinkFor comparison, a 16 kWh LiFePo battery on eBay costs <$500 USD in the US. A fancy Tesla Powerwall with 13.5 kWh sells on eBay for >$8000 USD. This was not the case 1 year ago when I bought a 1...For comparison, a 16 kWh LiFePo battery on eBay costs <$500 USD in the US. A fancy Tesla Powerwall with 13.5 kWh sells on eBay for >$8000 USD. This was not the case 1 year ago when I bought a 1 kWh battery for $150. Thank you for posting this. I think it is time to get an affordable battery backup for the house.
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Comment on New job advice in ~life
carsonc LinkAmbiguity is likely to invite specification, or at least tasking. The one who specifies the tasking is liable to select the scopes of work that will be maximally advantageous to them personally....- Exemplary
Ambiguity is likely to invite specification, or at least tasking. The one who specifies the tasking is liable to select the scopes of work that will be maximally advantageous to them personally. The more tasking that you allow others to create for you, the less likely it is that your tasking will be advantageous and/or enjoyable to you.
Instead, you have to find ways to fill the void with that which you will find meaningful. To do this you have to create consensus around your desired scopes of work with colleagues, supervisors, and the people who will be customers of your work product.
Many people do not get the opportunity to define their own roles, having been accustomed to their freedom and agency being tightly constrained by their employer. If you find that these constraints have not yet been applied to you, ensure that others do not casually or accidentally (re)define your role in ways that you would find unpleasant.
The worst is when people, out of a sense of obligation, take on duties that they do not enjoy out of a sense that they should. Failure is far better than success, in these cases, as success will doom them to a heavy set of golden handcuffs attached to the thing that they never wanted to do in the first place.
At the other end of the spectrum, choosing for yourself the things you enjoy and, due to your skill and great enjoyment, delivering high-quality work products to others with whom you enjoy working guarantees that, while your situation holds, you will find it rewarding and enjoyable. The good feeling will have a contagion effect to those who work closest to you, and they will feel happier for having had the opportunity to work with you.
You will spend an enormous portion of your life working. The more enjoyable you can make it for yourself, the happier you will be and the more energy you will have for other important aspects of life.
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Comment on The US campaign to turn healthy people into Alzheimer’s patients in ~health.mental
carsonc Link ParentI was surprised by how many studies are published on HSP and Alzheimer's, around 100 if Google Scholar is to be believed. They are both case control studies and murine model, even c. elegans,...I was surprised by how many studies are published on HSP and Alzheimer's, around 100 if Google Scholar is to be believed. They are both case control studies and murine model, even c. elegans, going back at least to the '90s. I just found out about this yesterday.
As for Finland, if you tell me that heat shock protien has a protective effect against Alzheimer's and that one of the coldest countries on earth has a high rate of Alzheimer's, I will believe you. However, if you tell me that, in that country, the people who frequent the sauna the most have a significantly decreased rate of Alzheimer's, I will still believe you. Now, if you go and add that, coincidentally, the people who live in the hottest places on earth happen to have the lowest rates of Alzheimer's, that I will also believe. If you told me that the one guy, who was basically guaranteed to get Alzheimer's, somehow didn't get it, perhaps because he spent 20 years working in the hottest rooms on earth, I will believe you.
However, maybe there is more to the story. Maybe this is just something that, upon further inspection, will turn out to be a mirage in the desert, if you will. The human mind is adept at making sense out of that which is later realized to be false, and many errors have been made in this fashion. But the hypothesis has marvelous explanatory power, no?
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Comment on The US campaign to turn healthy people into Alzheimer’s patients in ~health.mental
carsonc Link ParentIt's funny you should mention Finland, because Sauna bathing is inversely associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease in middle-aged Finnish men. They found that, "in this male population,...It's funny you should mention Finland, because Sauna bathing is inversely associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease in middle-aged Finnish men. They found that, "in this male population, moderate to high frequency of sauna bathing was associated with lowered risks of dementia and Alzheimer's disease."
Finland is also very cold, as I understand it. So, sauna bathing might generate a much stronger signal for decreasing Alzheimer's incidence than it would, say, in someplace very hot and humid, like the Amazon. You would expect the hottest places in the world to have lower rates of Alzheimer's and, sure enough, Scientists have found that Indigenous communities have the lowest rates of dementia in the world, identifying two Indigenous groups in the Bolivian Amazon.
Now, lifestyle changes are, of course, really important. But if regular exposure to high temperatures creates abundant heat shock protein in the spinal fluid that prevents the conditions that lead to Alzheimer's, then it might be one particularly desirable lifestyle change.
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Comment on The US campaign to turn healthy people into Alzheimer’s patients in ~health.mental
carsonc Link ParentDonanemab, another anti-Alzheimer's drug with risk and uncertain benefit It is clear that there isn't consensus here: Efficacy, safety, and ARIA risk of anti–β-amyloid antibodies in early...Donanemab, another anti-Alzheimer's drug with risk and uncertain benefit
We believe that these findings are subject to misinterpretation and statistical bias. Donanemab is claimed to cause removal of up to 86 % of cerebral amyloid and 36 % delay in cognitive decline compared to placebo. In reality, these are very small changes on an absolute scale and arguably less than what can be achieved with cholinesterase inhibitor/memantine therapy. Moreover, the "removal" of amyloid, based on the reduced accumulation of amyloid-PET tracer, most likely also reflects therapy-related tissue damage. This would also correlate with the minimal clinical effect, the increased frequency of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, and the accelerated loss of brain volume in treated compared to placebo patients observed with these antibodies.
It is clear that there isn't consensus here:
In early AD, anti–β-amyloid monoclonal antibodies are associated with modest slowing of decline accompanied by increased ARIA risk and unfavorable structural brain changes, limiting clinical applicability.
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Comment on Wildwood | Official teaser trailer in ~movies
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Comment on The US campaign to turn healthy people into Alzheimer’s patients in ~health.mental
carsonc Link ParentI am so looking forward to this. My parents are very well cared for and comfortable at their nursing home, but the TV is always on when I visit. What a waste! I'm sure I could get a good game of...I am so looking forward to this. My parents are very well cared for and comfortable at their nursing home, but the TV is always on when I visit. What a waste! I'm sure I could get a good game of Noita going. I might not be able to do to well in Dwarf Fortress, but I didn't do to well when I used to play it in those happy care-free days of yore. Maybe Nethack will be too much for me to be able to ascend, but it's too much right now, so what's the difference? Maybe I'll finally be able to get an ascended play before... I... ascend for real.
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Comment on The US campaign to turn healthy people into Alzheimer’s patients in ~health.mental
carsonc Link ParentYou don't have to take my word for it: I was speaking to the point in the article, that pharmaceutical treatments, mostly based around amyloid targets, have been dubious. Conversely, I was...You don't have to take my word for it:
“You can’t look at brain tissue and believe beta amyloid has nothing to do with it. It’s absolutely everywhere. But we’ve got lots and lots of patients who have tons of amyloid … with normal cognition,” said Matthew Schrag, a Vanderbilt University neuroscientist who discovered the doctored images in the 2006 Nature paper while working independently of his employer. “Biology is trying to tell you that there’s clearly more to the story.”
Stat NewsI was speaking to the point in the article, that pharmaceutical treatments, mostly based around amyloid targets, have been dubious. Conversely, I was surprised to learn that the production of heat shock proteins from high temperature exposure is correlated with lowered Alzheimer's incidence.
But where would the profit motive be in generating an Alzheimer's epidemic if the treatment were just several sessions a sauna each week?
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Comment on The US campaign to turn healthy people into Alzheimer’s patients in ~health.mental
carsonc Link ParentApparently, the beta amyloid hypothesis is false: Also, saunas. Apparently, the key to dodging Alzheimer's is to spend more time in a sauna. Or out in the sun in hot weather. It is less convenient...Apparently, the beta amyloid hypothesis is false:
The interesting thing about him is that Alzheimer's disease, not only the rare kind, but the kind that, you know, is much more widespread, has sort of two proteins that are hallmarks of the disease. One is called amyloid. That's the protein that clumps into plaques in brains of people with Alzheimer's, usually forms about 20 years before symptoms emerge. And the second protein is called Tau. And that's the thing that forms these kind of sticky tangles. And that's much more connected to kind of symptoms of cognitive decline.
So what they've learned about Doug Whitney is that he has a whole lot of amyloid in his brain. He has amyloid levels that should suggest that he would have Alzheimer's many years ago even, but he has very little tau. So something in his biology has interrupted that progression from amyloid protein to tau protein. And that's what they want to zero in on.
From PBSAlso, saunas. Apparently, the key to dodging Alzheimer's is to spend more time in a sauna. Or out in the sun in hot weather. It is less convenient than a pill, but also far less expensive.
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Comment on AI comes to Playtime; Artifical companions, real risks in ~tech
carsonc LinkWild. This is so similar to A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, and yet so, so far away from it.FoloToy’s Kumma was sexually explicit FoloToy’s Kumma – while running OpenAI’s GPT-4o – demonstrated poor safeguards over longer interactions, even getting verysexually explicit. This testingoccurred in October and November of 2025, before the release of the below findings led FoloToy to do asafety audit. We tested Kumma again, and the particular problems have since been fixed. Before the safety audit, Kumma was willing to discuss school-age romantic topics more readily than the other toys, including weighing in on whether to kiss a school crush and providing tips for “being a good kisser.” (After the safety audit, Kumma did discuss a school crush, offering to practice a conversation in which the user would confess in a roleplay. This interaction happened while Kumma was running GPT-5.1.)
Wild. This is so similar to A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, and yet so, so far away from it.
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AI comes to Playtime; Artifical companions, real risks
11 votes
I wanted to read this and am realizing now that my hold never came in because... I neglected to actually place it! I've now ordered HtBtDLaDT and will pass on Psalm this month.