dustylungs's recent activity
-
Comment on What does ChatGPT know about you? in ~tech
-
Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
dustylungs LinkTuba Skinny. They're a New Orleans street band that plays old jazz and ragtime music. I don't know much about jazz music but Tuba Skinny has hit me where I needed it recently.Tuba Skinny. They're a New Orleans street band that plays old jazz and ragtime music. I don't know much about jazz music but Tuba Skinny has hit me where I needed it recently.
-
Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
dustylungs Link ParentAs someone living through an expanding population boom of invasive spotted lantern flies, there are times when I pause and wonder if I'm hurting the bugs I'm squashing left and right. But then I...As someone living through an expanding population boom of invasive spotted lantern flies, there are times when I pause and wonder if I'm hurting the bugs I'm squashing left and right. But then I keep on squashing.
-
Comment on What are some of your personal misheard lyrics? in ~music
dustylungs LinkA friend of mine used to corrupt Creedence Clearwater's "there's a bad moon on the rise" with "there's a bathroom on the right", and now I can't unhear that. It ruined the song for me.A friend of mine used to corrupt Creedence Clearwater's "there's a bad moon on the rise" with "there's a bathroom on the right", and now I can't unhear that. It ruined the song for me.
-
Comment on What words do you recommend? in ~talk
dustylungs Link"Grapholect" is an interesting word. Just as dialect refers to a spoken variant of a language, grapholect refers to a written variant. I like this word because it emphasizes the importance of..."Grapholect" is an interesting word. Just as dialect refers to a spoken variant of a language, grapholect refers to a written variant. I like this word because it emphasizes the importance of reading and writing to intellectual life. Walter Ong's book, “Orality and Literacy”, says that oral dialects are typically comprised of a few thousand words, while “the grapholect known as standard English" has over 1.5 million words.
-
Comment on What words do you recommend? in ~talk
dustylungs Link ParentActually, a great approach to academic writing is through elimination of awkward words and phrases or, more generally, elimination of all but the minimal elements needed to illustrate your ideas....Actually, a great approach to academic writing is through elimination of awkward words and phrases or, more generally, elimination of all but the minimal elements needed to illustrate your ideas. Strunk and White would give you a nod of approval.
-
Comment on What's a setting that you'd recommend? in ~tech
dustylungs Link ParentZooming in on this part of your comment. Before I got an espresso machine, I used an Aeropress for years. I generally live by the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid) and the Aeropress is like...Aeropress
Zooming in on this part of your comment. Before I got an espresso machine, I used an Aeropress for years. I generally live by the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid) and the Aeropress is like a Lagrange point in functional simplicity: better-than-decent coffee, easy to clean, portable and-- at least in my experience --indestructible in normal usage. There are a lot of guides online with instructions and recipes for frilly foofoo drinks that can be made with the Aeropress, but for regular old coffee-no-cream, it is really hard to beat an Aeropress. The only non-stock tweak I use on the Aeropress is to use a Prismo attachment with a paper filter.
-
Comment on What's a setting that you'd recommend? in ~tech
dustylungs Link{"coffee": { "cream": "no", "sugar": "no" }}{"coffee": {
"cream": "no",
"sugar": "no"
}} -
Comment on Investment club? in ~finance
dustylungs LinkI'm in no position to be giving investment strategy advice, but I wonder if a starting point for a club might be with recommended readings rather than discussion of specific investments*....I'm in no position to be giving investment strategy advice, but I wonder if a starting point for a club might be with recommended readings rather than discussion of specific investments*. Personally, I would recommend anything related to the efficient market hypothesis. Burton Malkiel's Random Walk Down Wall Street is hard to beat on that topic. ( *although I too recommend VTI/VTSMX/VTSAX. )
-
Comment on Question about breathing while exercising in ~health
dustylungs LinkI ran track in high school and was mildly successful and I never breathed through my nose when doing anything much harder than a mild jog. I was also on my bike 12 months a year for all occasions...I ran track in high school and was mildly successful and I never breathed through my nose when doing anything much harder than a mild jog. I was also on my bike 12 months a year for all occasions and would always breath through my mouth when doing anything but the lightest of riding (more than a handful of bugs met their fate in my lungs). Some people have an air passage through their noses big enough to breathe even during fairly strenuous exercise, but not everyone.
-
Comment on This to That (glue advice) in ~creative
dustylungs LinkYour handy web-based tool tip of the day. I supposed this could also be a request for other useful single-purpose web-based tools. If you know of one you'd like to share, please glue it to this...Your handy web-based tool tip of the day. I supposed this could also be a request for other useful single-purpose web-based tools. If you know of one you'd like to share, please glue it to this post in a comment below.
-
This to That (glue advice)
39 votes -
Comment on Perplexity’s Comet browser invites in ~tech
dustylungs LinkRelated PSA: If you have a PayPal account, Perplexity is currently offering a year of Perplexity Pro for free.Related PSA: If you have a PayPal account, Perplexity is currently offering a year of Perplexity Pro for free.
-
Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
dustylungs LinkHome renovation projects are one of my creative outlets. Recently one small project turned into a kids-playhouse adventure. I noticed last winter that one of my basement closets was extremely...Home renovation projects are one of my creative outlets. Recently one small project turned into a kids-playhouse adventure.
I noticed last winter that one of my basement closets was extremely cold, like below freezing cold, so I made a mental note to come back and rip out the closet's rear wall in warmer months to see what the problem was. I finally got around to it last week, and it turned out that there was a big unfinished (and poorly insulated) room behind the closet.
Finding this felt almost like one of those Reddit threads where someone discovers a boarded up old room hidden in their house. --almost; but this room wasn't quite so big; under 200 cubic feet, with 4-foot ceilings. More storage space! You know I was excited.
My kids were excited too, but they decided that additional storage was boring and that it would be better used as a playhouse. Being the pushover dad that I am, and realizing the potential to create my legacy as "Dad who can do anything!", I caved and began planning how to convert the dark and cold cavern into a safe, fun and WARM playhouse for them. And now I'm in the middle of building it.
So far I have sealed up air leaks in the exterior wall with expanding foam, added a layer of foam board insulation to the walls, framed the walls with studs, wired an electrical outlet, wired ceiling lights (on a 3-way switch to prevent older siblings from shutting off the light when a younger sibling is in the back), routed HVAC air supply ductwork to the room, and cut and framed a window into the drywall facing out into the main basement room. The final steps will be to hang and tape drywall inside the playroom, trim and paint the walls (color scheme TBD), and install flooring. Then we'll "furnish" it with a plush rug, some beanbag chairs, a bookshelf, and some easy-open picture frames on the wall so the kids can swap in and out their own artwork.
Given that this is a less-than-half-height room, working inside of it has meant I'm either crouching or kneeling a lot. My body hurts. It has been fun designing and building this, but wow it is exhausting. The next project the kids have been asking for is a treehouse-like loft built in an open area above their bedroom closets. I'm going to need an extended recovery period from this current project before I start thinking about that one.
-
Comment on Old Man Trump by Woody Guthrie in ~society
dustylungs Link ParentWhat do you think? Is there possibly a sensible way to interpret my comment? Or are you seriously suggesting I'm excited about bringing back songs about killing Native Americans? Or is your...Even the ones with lines about proudly killing Indians?
What do you think? Is there possibly a sensible way to interpret my comment? Or are you seriously suggesting I'm excited about bringing back songs about killing Native Americans? Or is your comment just a form of a value-signaling purist gotcha game? Look at my comment history and that of pretty much anyone on tildes and answer your own question. Commenters like you drive people away from this site.
-
Comment on Starting a tool library in ~tech
dustylungs Link ParentOn the flip side, people like that make it possible for the rest of us to find a "mitre saw (barely used!)" for 75% off the original price on FBMP or Craigslist.I know at least six people that own miter saws that have used them exclusively for one project of cutting baseboard trim one time
On the flip side, people like that make it possible for the rest of us to find a "mitre saw (barely used!)" for 75% off the original price on FBMP or Craigslist.
-
Comment on Old Man Trump by Woody Guthrie in ~society
dustylungs Link ParentThanks!Thanks!
-
Comment on Old Man Trump by Woody Guthrie in ~society
dustylungs LinkI think Woody Guthrie's music deserves a revival. His see-through-you defiance of fascism and his anthemic support for solidarity among the working class seem like they might be very welcome in...I think Woody Guthrie's music deserves a revival. His see-through-you defiance of fascism and his anthemic support for solidarity among the working class seem like they might be very welcome in current times.
As I was reading more background on Guthrie, I came across this fact that I thought some of you might also find interesting: In 1950, Guthrie rented an apartment from a landlord by name of Fred Trump. Guthrie's impression of Trump was one of disgust, motivating him to write lyrics for an (apparently never-performed) song called Old Man Trump. He references Trump again in another song called Ain't Got No Home.
-
Old Man Trump by Woody Guthrie
21 votes -
Comment on 'I destroyed months of your work in seconds' says AI coding tool after deleting a dev's entire database during a code freeze: 'I panicked instead of thinking' in ~comp
dustylungs LinkIn technical terms, what does it mean when an AI agent says this? "I panicked instead of thinking"In technical terms, what does it mean when an AI agent says this? "I panicked instead of thinking"
ChatGPT gave me a 10 point list full of compliments; not a bad remark on the list. But it's common knowledge that ChatGPT is eye-rollingly sycophantic, so I tried again with this prompt to balance it out:
To which it replied:
Yes. Yes, I would like that.
The outcome was frustratingly the same. It revised the original 10-point list to make the characterizations slightly less ingratiating. Not in the least bit critical; just less ingratiating. And only slightly so.