cdb's recent activity
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Comment on Caught the cycling bug. Anyone else? in ~hobbies
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Comment on US battery industry cuts losses, shifts to new ventures amid electric vehicle bust in ~transport
cdb Link ParentAnother factor is gas prices. Despite the recent increases in gas prices, the truth is that gas is still just way too cheap for what it is. It's about half the price compared to many parts of...Another factor is gas prices. Despite the recent increases in gas prices, the truth is that gas is still just way too cheap for what it is. It's about half the price compared to many parts of Europe, and the gas taxes aren't enough to cover the externalities like road maintenance and environmental damage. I bet if we had to pay twice as much for gas, we'd have a lot more demand for EVs.
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Comment on If you are asking for human attention, demonstrate human effort in ~comp
cdb Link ParentAn outage is a reasonable excuse for a delay but not for shoddy work. I think the more appropriate analogy would be if the fax machine garbled some text, you didn't bother checking and asking for...An outage is a reasonable excuse for a delay but not for shoddy work. I think the more appropriate analogy would be if the fax machine garbled some text, you didn't bother checking and asking for a resend, then you submit the report with garbled text to your boss. Sure, it's the machine that gave bad output, but it's your fault for pushing it forward without fixing it. "It's the fax machine's fault" is a poor excuse in this situation.
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Comment on Fox is buying Roku in $22 billion deal in ~tv
cdb Link ParentI just bought an AppleTV device a few months ago. I've actually seen a few app crashes lately. Even so, it recovers pretty quickly. Even with the crashes it's miles better than my Samsung TV's...I just bought an AppleTV device a few months ago. I've actually seen a few app crashes lately. Even so, it recovers pretty quickly. Even with the crashes it's miles better than my Samsung TV's Tizen OS, which recently started showing popups while I'm viewing content. So, I was forced to disconnect my TV from the internet.
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Comment on If you are asking for human attention, demonstrate human effort in ~comp
cdb Link ParentI'm not understanding where your comment is coming from. It seems like you're implying the opposite of what I've said. The accountability is the normal accountability for work submitted by people....I'm not understanding where your comment is coming from. It seems like you're implying the opposite of what I've said.
The accountability is the normal accountability for work submitted by people. There's no "AI screwed up" excuse because AI is not allowed to be the author responsible for the work, just people.
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Comment on If you are asking for human attention, demonstrate human effort in ~comp
cdb LinkThe policy where I work is that you do not label AI generated content for internal work, which I'm in agreement with. The premise is that as long as it's not going out to the public, work is work,...The policy where I work is that you do not label AI generated content for internal work, which I'm in agreement with. The premise is that as long as it's not going out to the public, work is work, and you're responsible for whatever you send out. Then you don't get the situation where people are sending unreviewed documents and pawning the responsibility off on AI. Well, they still might be unreviewed, but they have your name on it. I know some people feel more strongly about disclosing AI use wherever it's used, but if the premise is that people use AI often in their work, the disclosure would just end up on everything anyway.
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Comment on Our workplace LLM mass delusion in ~tech
cdb Link ParentDo you have a source for this? I'm not a linguist or anything, but this statement goes against what I've read lately about learning. For example, in the book Moonwalking With Einstein the whole...I disagree. The nonsensical sentences do nothing to aid learning and can be detrimental
Do you have a source for this? I'm not a linguist or anything, but this statement goes against what I've read lately about learning. For example, in the book Moonwalking With Einstein the whole premise of the title and a significant portion of the book is about how using bizarre sentences/imagery can help with retention. I haven't reviewed the literature a ton myself, but just a little googling suggests there is at least some evidence that this idea works. An example from one of these articles is "The clowns laugh at the witch." I guess that's technically possible sentence, but it's hardly an everyday kind of scenario.
I'm not sure why you're putting the idea into a scenario where it's less likely to work. It's not like duolingo only uses bizarre sentences, just occasionally. Obviously if you don't know any of the nouns in the sentence you'll have trouble guessing at a bizarre sentence. That's not the use for bizarre sentences I was describing. If you have already been exposed to the nouns, it might be good for reinforcement to bring them back to you in a different way. I feel like this comment is like if I said that hammers are good for driving in nails, and you responded by saying that hammers are useless tools because they don't work for driving in screws.
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Comment on Our workplace LLM mass delusion in ~tech
cdb Link ParentThe examples remind me of some complaints I see about Duolingo sentences sometimes. Sure, some sentences seem random sometimes ("The horse ended his relationship with the fish."), which makes...The examples remind me of some complaints I see about Duolingo sentences sometimes. Sure, some sentences seem random sometimes ("The horse ended his relationship with the fish."), which makes people say that the app is teaching nonsense. It seems like people often don't have vision about how we can extend the things we learn. We're not specifically trying to learn how to talk about inter-species dating habits. If we already know the words for "woman" and "man" well, we might as well drill some animal vocabulary along with verbs and sentence structure.
If the demonstration is to ask the schedule for what's for lunch or interpretation on a simple email, it's to simplify that we can ask questions about a more relevant data set or a more complex document. Today I asked copilot to explain why a certain project was delayed in favor of another project, and it gave a good answer, providing relevant sources from files I have access to for verification (either I didn't attend the meeting when this was announced or I forgot). A coworker sent me a cryptic message with three parts I didn't understand (very brief response, probably because she was busy in a meeting). So, I asked copilot to explain, and it was able to interpret each statement and associate them to internal documents that helped me to learn about a process and advance the project without having to wait for a clarifying response or bog down a busy coworker with dumb questions.
So yeah. To echo, it's far from perfect, but it's also far from useless.
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Comment on Recommendations for e-ink tablets? in ~tech
cdb LinkI haven't tried newer e-ink stylus devices, mostly because of potential for dropped support. I don't really trust the vendors to exist a year or two from now or to support their old devices...I haven't tried newer e-ink stylus devices, mostly because of potential for dropped support. I don't really trust the vendors to exist a year or two from now or to support their old devices properly. Amazon will be around, but device support might not be in the future.
Although an e-ink tablet might resemble paper a bit more, is it possible you could use an iPad or Samsung tablet? I have a Samsung Tab S10+ that I really like for handwritten notes.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
cdb LinkI started making mead in late April, and some of the batches are getting to a drinkable state by now, although a few months of aging will probably make them taste better. I just started my 6th...I started making mead in late April, and some of the batches are getting to a drinkable state by now, although a few months of aging will probably make them taste better. I just started my 6th batch this past weekend.
I went to a meadery a few days ago and tried all 12 of the meads on the menu. Some of them tasted great. My favorites were a mixed berry mead, and a yuzu-mango mead. However, all but one of them were too sweet for my palate. I guess it makes sense because when people think "honey wine" they expect it to be quite sweet. It validated my decision to make some of my own that has some of those interesting flavors but is less sweet.
My mixed berry mead should be ready to drink in about a month, so I'm excited about that.
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Comment on When AI builds itself — progress toward recursive self-improvement and its implications in ~tech
cdb Link ParentThanks. That sounds interesting. Since Antigravity is just a VS Code fork, I've been syncing with github between devices, assuming enough artifacts are syncing (some of the internal ones aren't...Thanks. That sounds interesting. Since Antigravity is just a VS Code fork, I've been syncing with github between devices, assuming enough artifacts are syncing (some of the internal ones aren't synced). Might be helpful to just be able to continue with the exact same context.
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Comment on When AI builds itself — progress toward recursive self-improvement and its implications in ~tech
cdb Link ParentWhat agent are you using? I haven't tried Claude Code and have been using Google's Antigravity, but that's just because I'm getting Google Pro for free. It's working alright. I'm not sure I'd be...What agent are you using? I haven't tried Claude Code and have been using Google's Antigravity, but that's just because I'm getting Google Pro for free. It's working alright. I'm not sure I'd be able to tell the difference without spending more time than I'm willing to on comparisons.
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Comment on When AI builds itself — progress toward recursive self-improvement and its implications in ~tech
cdb Link ParentI've never in my life seen a positive comment on the internet about any large codebase. Any leaked code from any company is always universally panned. This tracks with most general sentiments I've...I've never in my life seen a positive comment on the internet about any large codebase. Any leaked code from any company is always universally panned. This tracks with most general sentiments I've read online though. Any code you see that was written by someone else is trash, including the "you" of several months ago.
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Comment on How has inflation changed your quality of life? in ~finance
cdb LinkNot much, mostly just different numbers in the budgeting spreadsheet. My household's income has gone up enough to compensate for the inflation of the past few years. Sometimes I get a bit of...Not much, mostly just different numbers in the budgeting spreadsheet. My household's income has gone up enough to compensate for the inflation of the past few years. Sometimes I get a bit of sticker shock when buying something I haven't bought in a while, but money is for spending, so as long as it fits in the budget, it is what it is. So, maybe the impact is that despite a few promotions at work for both earners, we don't feel that much richer.
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Comment on America’s tech-filled classrooms are facing a backlash against school-assigned devices in ~life
cdb (edited )Link ParentI'm thinking that we don't need kids to do projects like that involving random internet searches, favoring something like a library model instead, where kids can do research from a collection of...I'm thinking that we don't need kids to do projects like that involving random internet searches, favoring something like a library model instead, where kids can do research from a collection of vetted sources. Maybe this is a sign of me getting old and thinking the old ways are better (kids don't need more than a stick and a ball of yarn!), but I'm young enough to have had some combination of library research and internet research projects in school. I'm just not sure that it has high educational value to expose students to things like travel and recreation websites (or equivalent for other types of projects) that are mostly AI generated advertisements, despite the fact that it would allow for a broader and more flexible assignment.
Regarding the second point, I feel like that's even more reason to go with the opt-in model where only specific sites and their dependencies are whitelisted, rather than something like general internet access with a content filter, which is likely to break things.
You're right that I'm kind of ignoring the student engagement part though. I wonder whether it's better to play into the kinds of media and interaction style kids are used to based on their device usage at home or to create more of an environment at school where the usual distractions are removed, sacrificing some engagement. I don't have a good answer for that.
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Comment on America’s tech-filled classrooms are facing a backlash against school-assigned devices in ~life
cdb LinkA chromebook can be a complete brick, a fully functional computer, and everything in between depending on the software. I have a hard time understanding why it sounds like schools are operating on...A chromebook can be a complete brick, a fully functional computer, and everything in between depending on the software. I have a hard time understanding why it sounds like schools are operating on an opt-out model vs an opt-in model for access. It seems to me that by default a school-issued laptop should only have access to office suite (AI disabled), specific course content (text/video/audio), specific course support pages/apps (like quizzes, zoom, or duolingo), and maybe a drawing program (similar MS paint). Basically what we had in the past, but in computer form that's more compact than a stack of books and can take advantage of the advances in edtech. Access to anything else should only be added as needed. I don't think it's really necessary to have curriculum that depends on access to the entire internet in grade school, even possibly through high school.
Why do young children get to play games, watch non-course-related videos, and access the entire internet on their school devices? That should be a separate device, if the parents decide to provide it, and used outside school hours.
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Comment on What has changed as you've gotten older? in ~talk
cdb Link ParentAgree. Whatever your current position, you had to get there somehow, right? In addition, I feel like people tend to frame it as a process of continuous improvement, as if current-self is better in...Agree. Whatever your current position, you had to get there somehow, right?
In addition, I feel like people tend to frame it as a process of continuous improvement, as if current-self is better in every way than past-self. While current-me is a lot better than past-me in many ways, there are some ups and downs. The benefits of age have been discussed a lot here and elsewhere so I won't rehash. Aside from that, past-me me knew more general school topics like history/math/biology, was proficient in several musical instruments, and was braver, for better or worse. Current me has forgotten most schooling, retaining and cultivating a very specialized knowledge set, only really plays one instrument, and is more cautious, for better or worse.
While I feel like I'm wiser and probably a better person overall than before, I feel like getting older has been a complicated change, rather than a line trending up.
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Comment on What stock do you put in gut feelings? in ~talk
cdb (edited )LinkYou have to go with your gut on decisions where you won't ever get enough information that will strongly weight things one way or another, whether it's constrained based on time or availability of...You have to go with your gut on decisions where you won't ever get enough information that will strongly weight things one way or another, whether it's constrained based on time or availability of info. That's the only way to avoid regret. If there's a lot of reliable information pointing the other way, you might need to figure out why your gut is pointing the other way. Sometimes it's because you don't trust those sources, and sometimes it's because you're clinging to a decision you made earlier with less information so you have choice bias kicking in.
To give a low-stakes example, fantasy football is filled with decisions where information helps a bit, but in most cases any difficult decision will come down to luck. So, you should pick the players you like better or just have a better feeling about, because even if it turns out you were wrong, at least you were true to yourself and will probably feel less regret about it. It feels extra bad to be convinced into making a decision that went against your gut based on outside sources, and you still end up wrong. So, maybe it's more about avoiding this kind of situation.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #5: Pineapple on pizza? (Results) in ~talk
cdb Link ParentI don't know if it was me that changed or the ingredients that changed, but the last time I went to Italy I was disappointed by the flavor of the food. I remember going to Italy about 20 years ago...I don't know if it was me that changed or the ingredients that changed, but the last time I went to Italy I was disappointed by the flavor of the food. I remember going to Italy about 20 years ago and being blown away by everything I ate, even the cheapest tourist-trap pizza, because the ingredients tasted so different from what I was used to. When I went about 5 years ago I felt like everything tasted kind of meh in general. I don't know if that's partially due to a breakdown in correlation between restaurant ratings and food quality, but I didn't feel the same at all about the difference in flavor for all the things I ate. I'm not sure if that's because the US caught up in Italian food and ingredient quality, Italy learned to truly cheap out on ingredients, or some combination of the two and more.
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Comment on Introducing Googlebook, designed for Gemini Intelligence in ~tech
cdb Link ParentI wonder if this will expand capabilities of existing phones with a real desktop interface. I still think that idea of docking your phone with a laptop shell is a good one, like the Motorola...I wonder if this will expand capabilities of existing phones with a real desktop interface. I still think that idea of docking your phone with a laptop shell is a good one, like the Motorola Atrix. That one didn't work out since the phone was so underpowered compared to laptop CPUs, but nowadays my phone has higher single core performance than any desktop/laptop in my house, with pretty good multi-core as well.
There are things like the Nex dock, but I feel like Samsung's Dex is not a polished experience, while offerings from other phone makers are even worse. If google is making real improvements to their android desktop experience I'm all for it.
I've been riding an electric bike to work 3-4 days a week for the past 2 months. It's an Aventon Aventure 2, which has a throttle up to 20mph and otherwise a torque sensor that assists up to 28mph. I just use the throttle uphill, but there's a ton of hills on my commute, so it's pretty often. I'm still pedaling on the uphills because many are steep enough that the motor can't hit 20mph on its own. On the flats and downhills I'm just pedaling, though that still gets motor assist. It's about a 13 mile ride, which takes me 35-45 minutes on the bike.
It's kind of cheating, but only in the same way that driving a car is cheating. I track my rides with my smartwatch, and I usually spend ~70% of my time in zone 2 heartrate, which is basically perfect for sustained cardio workouts. In any case, I'm just trying to commute, so there's not a lot of serious working out involved. Although some would consider 3-4 hours of zone 2 per week to be a pretty good workout.
The only thing I miss about driving is all the audiobooks I would listen to while sitting in traffic. I tried the bone conduction thing, but the wind is just way too loud at the speeds I'm riding to consistently hear narration without cranking the volume to dangerous levels.