first-must-burn's recent activity
-
Comment on Please help me pick my next book to read! in ~books
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentWhat if you make it an electric yacht and run it with a very long extension cord from the island? Then you can pay a private army to keep moving it over obstacles as the yacht circles. The army...What if you make it an electric yacht and run it with a very long extension cord from the island? Then you can pay a private army to keep moving it over obstacles as the yacht circles. The army will be staffed entirely with people whose rank is Private and whose last name is Island.
As for naming the island itself, how about Rowatan?
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentThis is more or less the plot of a movie I watched last weekend (crazy windfalls included): The Ballad of Wallis Island Heartfelt and quirky, highly recommended.spending the rest on paying older legends who rarely perform to do private concerts
This is more or less the plot of a movie I watched last weekend (crazy windfalls included): The Ballad of Wallis Island
Heartfelt and quirky, highly recommended.
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentA small version of this is here, a mirror array marriage proposalA small version of this is here, a mirror array marriage proposal
-
Comment on Timasomo 2025: Week 2 Updates in ~creative.timasomo
first-must-burn Link ParentI was on vacation, and now I'm actively interviewing for new jobs, so nothing from me this week either!I was on vacation, and now I'm actively interviewing for new jobs, so nothing from me this week either!
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentI think for the sake of the exercise (ha!) you're supposed to use the bowflex on the deck of a super yacht while it sails around your private island.I think for the sake of the exercise (ha!) you're supposed to use the bowflex on the deck of a super yacht while it sails around your private island.
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn LinkTwo ideas: Buy some appropriate land (ideally in New Zealand) and build a life-size replica of Minas Tirith. I live there with my family and friends and whoever. I have a staff of stuntmen who...Two ideas:
-
Buy some appropriate land (ideally in New Zealand) and build a life-size replica of Minas Tirith. I live there with my family and friends and whoever. I have a staff of stuntmen who periodically set themselves on fire and run off the cliff. Children must wear special shoes that make their feet look big and hairy. Every year we have a festival to reenact the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, complete with robot trolls and elephants.
-
I develop a food delivery service with exactly one branch in every major city. Each branch is a tower on legs so the first usable floor is hundreds of feet in the air. Each branch has a centralized kitchen that is staffed and provisioned to make any cuisine, any dish, any time of the night or day. Food is delivered ballistically in cardboard cartons with time release parachutes. Each complex has a state of the art meteorology division to map the wind and weather and ensure accurate delivery. Workers enter using high speed elevators, but can only exit via one of dozens of helical slides that wrap around the exterior of the building.
-
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentI've heard the down force on F1 cars would be enough for them to stick to the road if it were upside down, so ... Loop de loop?I've heard the down force on F1 cars would be enough for them to stick to the road if it were upside down, so ... Loop de loop?
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentWill there be traps? Please tell me there will be traps!Will there be traps? Please tell me there will be traps!
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentYou could spring for a NordicTrack too.You could spring for a NordicTrack too.
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentDark and well done.You're starting to feel your opinions on white genocide in South Africa become very pointed in one direction.
Dark and well done.
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentI'm playing Tears of the Kingdom right now,. And it reminded me of this.I'm playing Tears of the Kingdom right now,. And it reminded me of this.
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentYou're my favorite!You're my favorite!
-
Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentL. Bob Rife, is that you? reference Snowcrash by Neal StephensonL. Bob Rife, is that you?
reference
Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson
-
Comment on Introducing Beads: A coding agent memory system in ~comp
first-must-burn Link ParentThis matches my previous mental model, but lately I've realized that there is one important addition: Code generated by an AI is always a heavily-bounded local maximum. By which I mean: Instead of...It seems to me like these AI agents are basically like junior SWEs or interns, who can write code but don’t necessarily have the depth of system knowledge to do more than simple tasks at a time.
This matches my previous mental model, but lately I've realized that there is one important addition:
Code generated by an AI is always a heavily-bounded local maximum. By which I mean:
- Instead of factoring common code out, it will just generate similar (but not identical) code in a lot of places.
- Instead of planning sane interfaces, it will let function argument lists (or class constructor argument lists) grow and grow.
- It will not follow code conventions unless explicitly, instructed to do so. Claude files and architecture-driven development may fix this one.
Aside from this, the comments it generates in the code heavily follow from the process you used to get to working code (example: "Changing this to follow XYZ pattern"), and often make no sense once the code is finalized.
For these reasons, I basically have two modes:
-
use chat to generate a whole file, script, etc. - this mode is mainly for one-off scripts that don't need to conform to anything else. It also excels at making a working prototype using a library or tool I'm not familiar with. I know I'll have to rewrite it later, but it's easier to rewrite an existing script than to start from scratch.
-
autocomplete - copilot autocomplete backed by sonnet 4 is scary good at recognizing your task and suggesting the end of the line / block, or realizing you are renaming something and smartly handling words in different cases or contexts.
-
Comment on If AI can diagnose patients, what are doctors for? in ~health
first-must-burn Link ParentTo me this is the best case - basically code review for doctors. Our AI code review is so-so. It sometimes catches a real issue, but if there isn't anything real, it is usually reaching or posting...A clinician who overlooks a patient’s anemia would get an alert
To me this is the best case - basically code review for doctors. Our AI code review is so-so. It sometimes catches a real issue, but if there isn't anything real, it is usually reaching or posting comments that don't make sense in context (like multithreading issues in lambdas). IMO, it can augment but should not replace anything a doctor is doing.
-
Comment on Timasomo 2025: Week 1 Updates in ~creative.timasomo
first-must-burn (edited )LinkMy wife and I are away on vacation while our daughter is on a school trip, but I managed to pick out and order a submersible pump last week, so we brought it with us to talk about / work on the...My wife and I are away on vacation while our daughter is on a school trip, but I managed to pick out and order a submersible pump last week, so we brought it with us to talk about / work on the rat fountain project.
Having no real supplies with me other than my pocket knife and the tubing the pump came with, I managed to mock this fountain up using a cookie tin s basin. The plastic upper part is the bottom of a plastic water bottle. I also cut a hole in the bottom for the tube to pass through. Then I used chewing gum to seal around the tube. It worked great! I guess all those years of watching Macgyver really paid off.
Here is a picture and a video:
Basically, this validates the overall concept and that the pump is suitable.
Now I can start the CAD design for a 3D printed version. My wife wants it to have four openings / spillways and to look like a flower, so if any of you have suggestions for flowers to look at, I am open to them. Thanks for reading!
-
Comment on PSA for those with Honda CarPlay issues in ~transport
first-must-burn Link ParentYeah, I keep a cable for charging, but it is power only, and I generally use the on longer trips. There is surprisingly little room in the cabin (relative to my 2006 ridgeline), or I would have...Yeah, I keep a cable for charging, but it is power only, and I generally use the on longer trips.
There is surprisingly little room in the cabin (relative to my 2006 ridgeline), or I would have tried to set up a storage spot with a wireless charging pad.
In my old Ridgeline I had designed and printed this awesome trash can but there's no room for something like that in the newer model. I like many things about the new one, but I really miss my trash can!
-
Comment on PSA for those with Honda CarPlay issues in ~transport
first-must-burn LinkTangentially related, I bought a 2020 Ridgeline earlier this year, and it does not have the wireless Android Auto capability. I purchased this adapter and it has been an amazing quality of life...Tangentially related, I bought a 2020 Ridgeline earlier this year, and it does not have the wireless Android Auto capability. I purchased this adapter and it has been an amazing quality of life improvement. I do a lot of short trip / start and stop / kid wrangling, so having it just work with my phone in my pocket has been great. It takes about 20 seconds to connect, but it's more reliable than the wired connection was (I would sometimes have to unplug and replug the phone several times). Can't attest to to Carplay, but Android Auto has been great. The only issue I have encountered is sometimes it won't connect if the phone is right on top of the adapter.
It also seems to be a real company supporting the software and hardware longer term, releasing firmware updates, rtc.
-
Comment on Merriam-Webster has unveiled their latest and greatest LLM to date in ~tech
first-must-burn Link ParentThoughts on your tangent I find the idea of language as "neuro-lingusitic hacking" to be really fascinating. Couple of fiction works that explore this are Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson and Lexicon...Thoughts on your tangent
I find the idea of language as "neuro-lingusitic hacking" to be really fascinating. Couple of fiction works that explore this are Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson and Lexicon by Max Barry.
Your comments about language and manipulation reminded me of this podcast:
Stephen Backhouse is a political theologian, and I found much of his teaching to be really interesting and useful. The whole first season of Followers of the Way was pretty instrumental in moving away from anger to a better place dealing with my own issues with the evangelical Christian community. But that episode in particular deals with the idea of black magic (domination of one will over another) and sets it in opposition to the idea of kenosis (gentle space making for other wills).
Putting The Seventh Function of Language on my list. I very much enjoy work that deals with neurolinguistic hacking or the power of language. Examples being Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson and Lexicon by Max Barry.