DynamoSunshirt's recent activity
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Comment on The Beths - Metal (2025) in ~music
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Comment on Moser's Frame Shop: I am an AI hater in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentUnfortunately, when you're told to increase output thanks to AI, it's your head on the chopping block if anything goes awry. The worst AI Booster bosses expect you to increase productivity with no...Unfortunately, when you're told to increase output thanks to AI, it's your head on the chopping block if anything goes awry. The worst AI Booster bosses expect you to increase productivity with no learning curve but to still maintain the same quality (or better, because obviously AI will help with that, too!)
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Comment on Moser's Frame Shop: I am an AI hater in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentAt some point, it's easier to just flippantly discuss this crap than put effort into finding any diamonds that may or may not exist in the rough. Generally I agree with the author that using an...At some point, it's easier to just flippantly discuss this crap than put effort into finding any diamonds that may or may not exist in the rough. Generally I agree with the author that using an LLM to generate content winds up creating low-quality output, and using an LLM to summarize misses the point of most communication.
There are certainly people out there who take advantage of LLMs in their workflow to make themselves more efficient, but I know for sure that I just don't enjoy working with 'wordy-and-possibly-false-teenager-essay-writing-as-a-service' in my own workflows.
I'd shut up about it if everyone else would stop telling me I need to adopt LLMs or 'get left behind', or if management would stop reorging to be 'AI first', or if every tech product would stop shoving 'AI' chatbots down my throat in every menu of every product and in every conference and every new software product.
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Comment on Donald Trump administration issues stop-work order for US offshore wind project in ~enviro
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentOr, conceivably, negotiate with Mass or Connecticut to hook up instead, without any federal involvement?Or, conceivably, negotiate with Mass or Connecticut to hook up instead, without any federal involvement?
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Comment on Ed Zitron: How to argue with an AI booster in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentSource: https://apnews.com/article/electricity-prices-data-centers-artificial-intelligence-fbf213a915fb574a4f3e5baaa7041c3a No doubt our healthcare system is deeply deeply inefficient. But I'm...No doubt our healthcare system is deeply deeply inefficient. But I'm sure even putting that money into something like libraries, which get a lot less funding, would be much more worthwhile. My point isn't that the companies spending on AI should funnel the money into one monolithic thing like healthcare: I'm just trying to say that most money spent on 'AI' is a waste, and spending the money on pretty much anything else (within a valid business context) would likely be a net improvement for society.
But the same applies to consultants and lawyers and many other business spending categories, so I suppose it makes little difference.
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Comment on Ed Zitron: How to argue with an AI booster in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI envy your position as spectator! I suspect it's a bit like watching a very promising trainwreck from the outside. A bit more worrying when you're sitting towards the back of the train, trying to...I envy your position as spectator! I suspect it's a bit like watching a very promising trainwreck from the outside. A bit more worrying when you're sitting towards the back of the train, trying to use the loo when the trainwreck begins.
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI host an always-on VPN server from a Raspberry Pi at home. I forward a port for the VPN. Whenever I'm away from home, my devices automatically connect to the VPN. As long as I'm on my network...I host an always-on VPN server from a Raspberry Pi at home. I forward a port for the VPN. Whenever I'm away from home, my devices automatically connect to the VPN. As long as I'm on my network (physically or virtually via the VPN) I have access to my full music library, which is also hosted on the Raspberry Pi server at home. Not bad for a dollar of electricity a month (worst case) and a $100 investment. I had a lot of CDs lying around at relatives' houses, and I'll also admit that if I own an album on vinyl I'm not strongly opposed to... getting my hands on a FLAC copy.
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentAfter switching away from Spotify to self-hosting my own Jellyfin server (which I really love!) the one thing I miss is collaborative playlists. I used to love making a playlist with friends, or...After switching away from Spotify to self-hosting my own Jellyfin server (which I really love!) the one thing I miss is collaborative playlists. I used to love making a playlist with friends, or following the playlists created by my friends. And I like to think other people enjoyed following my playlists, though I don't know if anyone actually bothered. It was pretty nice to find fan-created soundtrack playlists of TV shows and movies that never actually released a soundtrack, too.
It's sad to think that tens of millions of people paying $10+ per month just isn't enough money for modern tech. Gotta datamine, gotta enshittify, gotta extract more, I guess. Spotify's involvement in the podcast and audiobook businesses, forced un-toggleable data-chugging video content, and scummy treatment of artists has killed what ought to have been one of the most sustainable tech companies out there.
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Comment on Ed Zitron: How to argue with an AI booster in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentAre you sure you're understanding his interpretation? It seems to me like the 'learning gap' refers to both a gap between user communication to the model and the model's data about the request....Are you sure you're understanding his interpretation? It seems to me like the 'learning gap' refers to both a gap between user communication to the model and the model's data about the request. It's a gap between those two things! So I'm not sure you can dismiss his entire argument based on that reasoning, unless I'm misunderstanding, too.
It is a very long article, and it's written in a very (Ed)gy way, so I understand if folks don't want to spend time reading through the entire thing.
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Comment on Ed Zitron: How to argue with an AI booster in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentAn environmental nightmare for sure! Let alone the resource usage to build these data centers. But even more importantly: at a time when we increasingly face regulations on natural gas usage and...An environmental nightmare for sure! Let alone the resource usage to build these data centers.
But even more importantly: at a time when we increasingly face regulations on natural gas usage and personal decisions to reduce gasoline usage, data centers are consuming MASSIVE amounts of power from the grid, to the point where the grid simply can't supply enough power and prices get driven up so utilities can expand capacity. If you've switched the heating via a heat pump in the last few years, or bought and EV, or switched to an induction stove, this should make you MAD. You made a responsible choice to reduce your personal fossil fuel usage. And now billionaires like Bezos and megacorporations are driving up your heating, cooking, and transportation bills.
At least Apple plans to build power plants for a couple of their data centers. Frankly, these companies should be required to do so -- in a renewable way -- as a public benefit. They can clearly afford it, as they all simultaneously light tens or hundreds of billions of dollars on fire to fund their AI efforts. Meta spent that a few times over in the past few years for their (now obviously failed) Metaverse effort. Just imagine if we could put that kind of money into healthcare or green energy or education instead.
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Comment on Ed Zitron: How to argue with an AI booster in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentDo you work in tech? In my experience, there are a LOT of AI boosters in the industry right now. They have a tendency to try to derail a lot of other projects with false AI promises and even dire...Do you work in tech? In my experience, there are a LOT of AI boosters in the industry right now. They have a tendency to try to derail a lot of other projects with false AI promises and even dire warnings that 'if we don't commit resources to AI right now, we'll get left behind'. There are shades of truth to this in a very limited set of niches, but in most cases I think it's good to have some ammunition to fight back against these people, since they're generally hellbent on the idea of automating away all of our jobs.
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Comment on Make new friends here! in ~life
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentSG-1 really is an amazing comfort show. You just have to avoid a few arcs where episodes end in particularly sad ways. Though it sounds to me like RDA might be an essential ingredient of your...SG-1 really is an amazing comfort show. You just have to avoid a few arcs where episodes end in particularly sad ways. Though it sounds to me like RDA might be an essential ingredient of your comfort shows -- I only started to appreciate Ben Browder after I watched Farscape (worth a shot, if you struggle with seasons 9 and 10)!
I've done a lot of routes around Vermont and New Hampshire in the last few years, but my biggest bicycle trip was from Edinburgh to London via a circuitous route that took me through Wales and Bristol. Was around 3-4 weeks, with stops in some of my favorite cities. My partner rides with me, and I think we're both keen on a Japan-South Korea route (with a ferry ride, no aquatic bikes here) for a potential next trip. But Italy and Spain are also really high on our list too!
I've heard really good things about the Ohio to Erie trail, you should absolutely do it! I've done the LVRT in Vermont and stretches of the Empire Trail in NYS, and from what I've heard, Ohio-to-Erie has better stops, better food, and a nicer temperature profile in the fall and spring than either of those. The best part about rail trails and canal trails is that even if something goes wrong, you're not stuck on the side of a busy highway, and inevitably someone will come by who can help fix your mechanical problem.
Calvin and Hobbes by the pellet stove sounds incredibly cozy. I'll have to give that a try this winter when we're visiting the inlaws, who have the only pellet stove I regularly see these days (thankfully -- what a dusty heat source!)
I have some friends who really love the electronic shifters, but I fear the exact same thing would happen to me. I'm just too forgetful to trust that they wouldn't fail me in the middle of a ride, especially in the winter when temperatures are below freezing and batteries can drop dead in an instant. Hell, I've had issues with my chain icing up on cold days, and that's a lot simpler than a battery!
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Comment on Finns trying to enjoy beaches and parks during their all-too-brief summers have been vexed by legions of geese and their droppings – the smelly mess has resisted even the most innovative solutions in ~enviro
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentAh, thank you, somehow I missed that paragraph in my first read. To be fair, a lot of places where I grew up don't use specially trained dogs... turns out, your average golden retriever (or any...Ah, thank you, somehow I missed that paragraph in my first read. To be fair, a lot of places where I grew up don't use specially trained dogs... turns out, your average golden retriever (or any other dog historically used for bird hunting) is perfectly happy to discourage some birds for free. One park actually asked people with dogs to walk around in the morning, if you have enough dogs around geese tend to lose interest in nesting, and that's where the most poop and aggressive behaviour tends to happen.
Of course, European dogs tend to be so much better trained than American dogs I wonder if they wouldn't inspire the same fear in the local goose population.
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Comment on Ed Zitron: How to argue with an AI booster in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt LinkI know there are a lot of polarized opinions on Tildes about AI, but I've consistently found Ed's opinions well-reasoned, if a bit over-the-top in writing style. I somehow seem to deal with AI...I know there are a lot of polarized opinions on Tildes about AI, but I've consistently found Ed's opinions well-reasoned, if a bit over-the-top in writing style. I somehow seem to deal with AI boosters every day, so I found this article pretty useful in providing quick and easy counterarguments to the common AI booster talking points.
Warning: Ed uses quite a bit of coarse language, and this is a REALLY long article. I think it's worth reading in its entirety, though, so I figured I'd share it here.
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Ed Zitron: How to argue with an AI booster
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Comment on Does anyone have a digg invite code I can get ? in ~tech
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentYou make a good point, and for entirely online interest-driven communities, I think this is acceptable. The people who participate in these communities tend to migrate whenever the current...You make a good point, and for entirely online interest-driven communities, I think this is acceptable. The people who participate in these communities tend to migrate whenever the current solution becomes unbearable.
It's more frustrating when you blend meatspace and internet relationships. I find Meta, Facebook, Instagram, and everything associated with those products completely unbearable. But my relatives are too content to move away. A lot of people seem OK with the enshittification of those communities, and very few people seem interested in shifting to products that are less exploitative, less manipulative, less chock full of dark patterns and ads and scams and malware. I feel like we did a lot of harm by adopting Facebook for events and community. Similarly, a lot of businesses are actively harmed by Instagram and Google Maps, whose enshittification is beginning to destroy businesses who relied on those services (foolishly) for discovery. If you don't pay for ads, even the people who follow you might not see your updates.
Anyway, I agree with your point as long as we assume a spherical-cow-in-a-vacuum flexible world where we can all move on if a platform enshittifies. But our world is not so perfect, and many people and communities are not so flexible.
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Comment on Finns trying to enjoy beaches and parks during their all-too-brief summers have been vexed by legions of geese and their droppings – the smelly mess has resisted even the most innovative solutions in ~enviro
DynamoSunshirt LinkStrange that they mention, but then completely ignore the patrol dog solution. A lot of parks and even golf courses in the Northeast use dogs for that exact purpose, and it works quite well. I've...Strange that they mention, but then completely ignore the patrol dog solution. A lot of parks and even golf courses in the Northeast use dogs for that exact purpose, and it works quite well. I've even seen some cheap places use cutouts of dogs, though I suspect that's less effective. At some point, culling is unavoidable, though -- I remember how bad Denver's parks got during the wintertime, just completely covered in Canadian goose poop. And the geese themselves can be very aggressive, hissing in large groups at anybody who comes near and pecking at children!
I wonder if American crow mitigation lasers could work, too.
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Comment on Make new friends here! in ~life
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentI still fantasize about Universe coming back because one of our billionaire overlords wants to see the conclusion. But I suspect few of them have paid much attention to sci-fi over the years,...I still fantasize about Universe coming back because one of our billionaire overlords wants to see the conclusion. But I suspect few of them have paid much attention to sci-fi over the years, since all of them seem hellbent on making mistakes that sci-fi has warned us about for years. Honestly, I'm mostly happy with the way the show went. It would have been nice to see the full 5-season arc but I get the impression that The Powers That Be ruined Atlantis through formula and arc tweaks and the same would likely have happened to Universe if it had been renewed to juice the numbers. It's nice that they negotiated 2 seasons to start so we at least got a reasonable amount of story and character growth, I wish the streaming services would try that instead of dead-ending shows on cliffhangers after 1 season.
SG-1 has a special place in my heart as the first TV show I ever got really deeply into. I'm pretty sure I've watched every episode half a dozen times thanks to the Sci-Fi channel reruns at 6PM every weekday. But after watching TNG I am forced to conclude that SG-1 is sort of the action-obsessed overly militaristic kid brother. I still really love the writing of certain episodes, because I'm a sucker for moral lessons, but overall it's hard to ignore how much padding went into every season to get 20+ episodes. You don't get to 200 episodes without cheating a little, I guess.
What other Sci-Fi shows do you recommend? I've been meaning to watch through Babylon 5 for ages now, and I think I have some freedom in my TV show queue soon.
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Comment on Make new friends here! in ~life
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentGlad I'm not the only one! Back when I had a Kindle (before I realized how awful Amazon treats 90% of their employees and humanity), I had one that permanently displayed my percent progress...Glad I'm not the only one! Back when I had a Kindle (before I realized how awful Amazon treats 90% of their employees and humanity), I had one that permanently displayed my percent progress through the book in the lower left corner (or a meaningless location number, or an estimate of time left in the chapter). Even that level of quant in a fun activity like reading stressed me out, so I just... wrote over the spot with a black Sharpie.
I also marathon prepped entirely using macro stats -- I ran an 8 mile loop and just used my total time divided by 8 to estimate if I was in the right ballpark. It was kind of funny to go out for a run with my running group once a week and realize that everyone else had all of this special gear, and multi-hundred dollar tracking watches, and thoughts about their heart rate and cadence and how often you should replace running shoes... and I just tossed on running clothes and ran. Turns out if you're reasonably self-aware of your body and exercise regularly you don't NEED all of that stuff to train for even a big event like a marathon. In all fairness, all of our parents did exactly that!
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Comment on Make new friends here! in ~life
DynamoSunshirt Link ParentHouse of Chains was my personal favorite, simply because we got to spend so much time in Karsa's POV instead of hopping around between different POVs. Turns out, I like to spent a lot of time in...House of Chains was my personal favorite, simply because we got to spend so much time in Karsa's POV instead of hopping around between different POVs. Turns out, I like to spent a lot of time in one character's head instead of getting cliffhangered between different perspectives!
But honestly Dust of Dreams/Crippled God is hard to put down at times. It's basically two books of climax, paying off dozens of storylines simultaneously. Probably my favorite chunk of books in the series, no two books flow into each other quite so well in the Malazanverse. I suspect Steven meant to write the books as one giant book, but his publisher told him he couldn't physically fit that many pages on a single spine, much like what happened to GRRM with Feast/Dance.
Anathem is my current favorite Stephenson book. It was also the first Stephenson I ever read, and a lot has happened in the half of my life that has passed since I last read it. Notably I learned a lot more about philosophy, computer science, mathematics, and logic, which helps with Anathem a great deal.
On the other hand, Cryptonomicon was my second Neal read, and it's much much worse than I remember. The humor is too over the top most of the time, the plot is too slow, and my god it's hard to deal with crypto nonsense these days. Though I am beginning to suspect that a lot of the 'modern day' plotline is borderline parody, meant to poke fun at startup tech culture, but played straight enough I didn't recognize it as a young'un. Now I'm just so cynical about tech it honestly triggers a lot of negative impulses!
What's your favorite Neal book? I've read all of them except for the Baroque Cycle, which I'm hoping to finally tackle this corpus-read cycle.
So happy to see this here. I just saw them in NYC for their album release show! Loving the new album. They actually gave out free recorders to all attendees and we got to play along with the band.
They also have a really hilarious blog: https://www.breakfastandtravelupdates.com