cutmetal's recent activity
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Comment on Tildes Survey #6: Vote for the next four surveys we do! (Results) in ~talk
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Comment on What are people's experiences with using Kagi? in ~tech
cutmetal Link ParentInteresting, thanks for clarifying! Still, maybe I'm splitting hairs but "has always been an AI company" isn't really quite right - sounds like they started as an AI company, then pivoted to...Interesting, thanks for clarifying! Still, maybe I'm splitting hairs but "has always been an AI company" isn't really quite right - sounds like they started as an AI company, then pivoted to search which is where they made a name for themselves, then around back to AI as the modern LLM era came about. But, I see now what you meant.
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Comment on What are people's experiences with using Kagi? in ~tech
cutmetal LinkI've been using Kagi since '22 or '23. For me it still doesn't feel as powerful as classic Google, but it does seem to give better results than pitiful modern Google or DDG. For the past year...I've been using Kagi since '22 or '23. For me it still doesn't feel as powerful as classic Google, but it does seem to give better results than pitiful modern Google or DDG. For the past year though I've been turning more and more to Gemini instead of web search - Google hooked me with the "free Gemini Pro for a year with Pixel purchase" promo. That's a whole other can of worms, I guess the main thing is that I don't ask Gemini about anything that I don't want Google to know about me. (Sidebar, it's fucking creepy the way Gemini drops passing references to things it knows about me in unrelated chats.) Anything medical, sex related, etc goes through Kagi, never Gemini.
I think the main drawback to using Kagi is that the normal web seems to be rapidly dying. Kagi tries to derank generated slop pages, and I'm not shy about flagging them in my results, but it's endless whack-a-mole. But that said, Kagi is the only way I want to be searching the actual web.
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Comment on What are people's experiences with using Kagi? in ~tech
cutmetal Link ParentWhether you googled it with Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, Dogpile, HotBot or Google, you still googled it!Whether you googled it with Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, Dogpile, HotBot or Google, you still googled it!
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Comment on What are people's experiences with using Kagi? in ~tech
cutmetal Link ParentWhere did you get this from? Kagi predates the modern AI boom. They've always been a web search company.FWIW Kagi has always been an AI company
Where did you get this from? Kagi predates the modern AI boom. They've always been a web search company.
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Comment on WiFi 5 beamforming is able to infer the identity of individuals without a WiFi device on them through passively recording communication in radio networks in ~tech
cutmetal Link ParentI know a guy who tried to get it running with a couple ESP modules he had laying around, he said he couldn't get it to work too well. It could often do presence, sometimes respiration, but he...I know a guy who tried to get it running with a couple ESP modules he had laying around, he said he couldn't get it to work too well. It could often do presence, sometimes respiration, but he rarely (or never) got good data for heart rates. He said he thought that it was very sensitive to interference, so like even a PC fan running in the room could throw it off.
My takeaway was, it's boggling and terrifying that any of it is possible. Like Van Eck phreaking, the fact that hobbyists can make it work at all is scary, you have to wonder what people with resources are doing with this sort of technology.
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Comment on WiFi 5 beamforming is able to infer the identity of individuals without a WiFi device on them through passively recording communication in radio networks in ~tech
cutmetal LinkYou can also use wifi to triangulate people's locations within a room, and to read their heart and respiration rates https://github.com/ruvnet/RuViewYou can also use wifi to triangulate people's locations within a room, and to read their heart and respiration rates
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Comment on Lost in a sea of HVAC in ~life.home_improvement
cutmetal Link ParentAgreed that the pushback on heat pumps is a holdover from the dark ages of heat pump technology. A heat pump is almost always the right answer today, if you live in a place with four seasons. But...Agreed that the pushback on heat pumps is a holdover from the dark ages of heat pump technology. A heat pump is almost always the right answer today, if you live in a place with four seasons. But a backup heat source is also not only wise but mandatory - when the outside temps get much below zero, heat pumps get less and less efficient, and eventually they just can't function. If the backup is not that oil furnace or gas then it will need to be electric resistive heat. Imo, OP should keep the relatively young furnace for the backup.
I've got a heat pump that's 15-20 years old now in the house I've owned for ten years, it's stopped working and required repair like 2-3 times on me. Last time the outside unit fan motor burned out. These are complex systems that run all the time, eventually they will all break down and need repairs.
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Comment on Tesla’s newest electric vehicle could jolt the trucking industry in ~transport
cutmetal Link ParentPeople really don't give them enough credit for this. To be fair, it was a long time ago at this point. But they really did create the modern EV market, and showed that an upstart American car...People really don't give them enough credit for this. To be fair, it was a long time ago at this point. But they really did create the modern EV market, and showed that an upstart American car company could succeed.
You mentioned the stalks, but it's the entire control system that's user-hostile. Stalks were a good invention and cars should have them, same with physical buttons. Also steering wheels are normally round for a reason, how are you going to palm a "steering rectangle" through a turn?
I'm sure this has all been beaten to death at this point but it still makes me mad. Before Elon when totally off the deep end the Model 3 could have been a nice, affordable EV if they hadn't
fucked up"innovated" the controls so hard. -
Comment on Project Glasswing: what Mythos showed us in ~comp
cutmetal Link ParentWhat you're describing is called formal verification. It's so onerous to perform that nothing except the most critical software is put through this process. I doubt that AI bug finding will result...What you're describing is called formal verification. It's so onerous to perform that nothing except the most critical software is put through this process.
I doubt that AI bug finding will result in an increase in formal verification, but maybe! Everything in the world of software development is heavily in flux right now, so the future is very murky.
But, I think more likely is that, in the future, critical software will add a mythos-level AI bug checker as a CI step, alongside unit and integration tests and linters. Since the tools are automated, just use the same tools an attacker would use to uncover the bugs, but before you even ship the buggy code.
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Comment on The old world of tech is dying and the new cannot be born in ~tech
cutmetal Link ParentThanks for sharing, I was wondering about that and googling was giving me nothing. So autistic folks don't ascribe emotions to the little shape guys? They wouldn't see big triangle as a psychotic...Thanks for sharing, I was wondering about that and googling was giving me nothing.
So autistic folks don't ascribe emotions to the little shape guys? They wouldn't see big triangle as a psychotic bully? Or is it the other way - is understanding those shapes as characters more an indicator of autism?
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Comment on Public backlash after Utah county approves 62 sq miles of development sites for data center in ~tech
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Comment on Public backlash after Utah county approves 62 sq miles of development sites for data center in ~tech
cutmetal (edited )Link ParentA 62 square mile data center campus would just completely replace the local ecosystem, lol. Imagine badging in at the gate for your job at Stratos, and then you have to drive sqrt(62) ~= 8 more...A 62 square mile data center campus would just completely replace the local ecosystem, lol.
Imagine badging in at the gate for your job at Stratos, and then you have to drive
62sqrt(62) ~= 8 more miles to get to the building you actually work in on the other side of the place.We need a new word for these things, "datacenter" isn't really cutting it at this scale. "AI datacenter" isn't much better. Data center complex? Data city? Datanexus?
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Comment on What does Tucker Carlson really believe? I went to Maine to find out. (gifted link) in ~society
cutmetal LinkGood lord that's long. I see why you submitted it here though - it pains me to say it but Carlson is saying some sane and surprising things here. At times he comes off as surprisingly intelligent....Good lord that's long. I see why you submitted it here though - it pains me to say it but Carlson is saying some sane and surprising things here. At times he comes off as surprisingly intelligent. But then you get to parts where, politics aside, he shows that he's just nuts:
Instead there were a lot of cowardly people, as there always are, and Trump engenders cowardice in the people around him through intimidation. And there is a kind of quality that he has that’s spellbinding. And I think it probably literally is a spell. And the effect is to weaken people around him and make them more compliant and more confused. And I’ve experienced this myself. You spend a day with Trump and you’re in this kind of dreamland. It’s like smoking hash or something. It’s interesting, very interesting. And there may be a supernatural component to it. I’m not a theologian, but it’s real, and anyone who’s been around him can tell you it’s true.
He thinks Trump literally has a magical aura. Not long after that, he seems to say that he thinks Trump's "evil" causes bad things to happen to people around him, including giving them cancer.
I loved the part where Carlson said flat out that he doesn't think people should be targeted based on who they are, and that's why he has a problem with Israel. The loony toons shit doesn't invalidate that argument/sentiment, but it does hugely damage his credibility. (Along with the hilarious "I literally never said Trump might be the Antichrist" [link to video of Carlin literally saying Trump might be the Antichrist].)
Got pretty deep but doubt I'll read the rest, but thanks for the share.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #2: What country do you live in? (Results) in ~talk
cutmetal Link ParentBravo, that was really good! I was about to Google it to figure out what William Gibson story it was from 🙂Bravo, that was really good! I was about to Google it to figure out what William Gibson story it was from 🙂
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Comment on Tildes Survey #2: What country do you live in? (Results) in ~talk
cutmetal LinkSome observations: Interesting that Svalbard is listed as a country that one person reported they live in. I've always been fascinated with that place and I know they have some kind of...Some observations:
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Interesting that Svalbard is listed as a country that one person reported they live in. I've always been fascinated with that place and I know they have some kind of semi-autonomy from Norway but didn't realize it was to that point!
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There are three people listed as "<unknown>" - I wonder what sort of weird answers they entered?
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
cutmetal LinkI'm back on RimWorld again - decided to get the Ideology expansion while it was on sale. Now Royalty is the only expansion I don't have. Ideology is really neat, it enables some playstyles that...I'm back on RimWorld again - decided to get the Ideology expansion while it was on sale. Now Royalty is the only expansion I don't have.
Ideology is really neat, it enables some playstyles that are drastically different than the norm. The colony is doing well, don't think I've ever gotten this deep in from a tribal start before, which is probably due to the super fast research speed and improved work speed memes my ideoligion has. Got some slaves in my colony and it's kind of meh, probably won't do that again. Having a colony of cannibals is great though, you can get so much more meat!
Overall I think the ideoligion mechanics are very well-considered.
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Comment on Any one use mesh networks like mesh core? in ~tech
cutmetal (edited )Link ParentThey were Heltec ESP32v3 boards with stock antennas and Meshtastic firmware. I'm in a suburban/rural area in the eastern foothills of the Appalachias (eastern US). Mesh network devices are a tough...They were Heltec ESP32v3 boards with stock antennas and Meshtastic firmware. I'm in a suburban/rural area in the eastern foothills of the Appalachias (eastern US).
Mesh network devices are a tough sell because it's only really useful if some catastrophic thing happens and there is no wifi or 5g internet access, but you still have your phone. And the interface is clunky. FRS/GMRS radios are easier to get that crowd into because they're mostly pick up and use, and can serve the same purpose as our phones currently do but also not exactly the same.
Not that I'm trying to convince you not to play with mesh networks - I think they're really neat, just have too many other things going on to dedicate the effort and money to messing with it. If I had been able to get more use from them with the (small) amount of effort I put in then I would have probably kept the units.
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Comment on Any one use mesh networks like mesh core? in ~tech
cutmetal LinkI got some Heltec units last year. Played around with them for a few weeks but ultimately returned them - it's neat in theory, maybe my area is too rural to see much activity. My girlfriend wasn't...I got some Heltec units last year. Played around with them for a few weeks but ultimately returned them - it's neat in theory, maybe my area is too rural to see much activity. My girlfriend wasn't interested in playing around with them with me either 😔
Though one time I did catch a message from someone who said they were overhead on a plane! That was neat.
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Comment on I’ve ‘run out’ of notes on TickTick in ~tech
cutmetal Link ParentWow, that must be mostly attachments. No idea how much data is in mine, I should probably check that sometime.Wow, that must be mostly attachments. No idea how much data is in mine, I should probably check that sometime.
Please put me on your list! I keep missing them!