first-must-burn's recent activity
-
Comment on The day when three NASA astronauts staged a strike in space in ~space
-
Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentFor me, a groan is as good as a laugh. I will take it!For me, a groan is as good as a laugh. I will take it!
-
Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentWow, that is nothing to take for granite!8 1/2 cubic yards of it, and that comes to almost 15 tons
Wow, that is nothing to take for granite!
-
Comment on Blizzard Entertainment files lawsuit against World of Warcraft private server Turtle WoW in ~games
first-must-burn LinkI grew up with just Warcraft (II maybe?), playing games over direct dial modem connections. I tried WoW once early on but couldn't get into it. So to say I'm out of the loop is an understatement....I grew up with just Warcraft (II maybe?), playing games over direct dial modem connections. I tried WoW once early on but couldn't get into it. So to say I'm out of the loop is an understatement. But I would think the smart movie here would be to learn the dynamics that work and make their own WoW clone. Since they are so deeply rooted in the server development, it seems like they have the chops for it. Or maybe they are leveraging a huge amount of the core art/map/character design that would be hard to replicate?
-
Comment on US Food and Drug Administration limits approval for new coronavirus vaccines to high-risk people in ~health
first-must-burn LinkHere is Dr. Jetalina's take (Your local epidemiologists), including some organizations that are making their own recommendations counter to the FDA and some phrasing you can use to find out from...Here is Dr. Jetalina's take (Your local epidemiologists), including some organizations that are making their own recommendations counter to the FDA and some phrasing you can use to find out from your doctor or pharmacist what your options are.
-
Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - August 2025 - Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut in ~books
first-must-burn Link ParentDefinitely!Definitely!
-
Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - August 2025 - Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut in ~books
first-must-burn Link ParentThe ending really made me want to write either a book or a collection of short stories about groups of people elsewhere who survived when the oceans froze. The hedonistic nihilism of San Lorenzo...The ending really made me want to write either a book or a collection of short stories about groups of people elsewhere who survived when the oceans froze.
The hedonistic nihilism of San Lorenzo (live a life of leisure and comfort until you die, no possibility of continuing civilisation) seemed a natural ending for the book.
Imagine being somewhere else and knowing nothing about Ice 9, but surviving by luck. Making similar, or other discoveries about how to live life after. In particular I have in mind a group that needs to cross a body of water and finding interesting solutions to doing so.
I don't think the goal would be to make it feel like Vonnegut, but if I were going to attempt it, I'd want to read enough of his books and study his influences to be able to bring some themes from his work, or commentary on themes from his work, to the stories.
-
Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - August 2025 - Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut in ~books
first-must-burn Link ParentThis was my first, very glad it made the list. It's funny. I listened to the audio book, but the feel of the book put me back reading golden age science fiction in the 90s, like I could almost...This was my first, very glad it made the list.
It's funny. I listened to the audio book, but the feel of the book put me back reading golden age science fiction in the 90s, like I could almost picture the paperback with yellowing pages. I've not been able to quite pin it down, but I think something about the tone of the dialog and the pacing of the story.
The absurdity of it reminded me a little of Douglas Adams, but without the British snark.
-
Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech
first-must-burn Link ParentThat reminded me that for a while we had an app on our Roku that pulled the Bing Image of the Day and rotated the past so many through in a slideshow. That was really nice for the TV, though I'm...That reminded me that for a while we had an app on our Roku that pulled the Bing Image of the Day and rotated the past so many through in a slideshow. That was really nice for the TV, though I'm Not sure they would all make good desktop backgrounds
-
Comment on Moser's Frame Shop: I am an AI hater in ~tech
first-must-burn Link ParentThanks, I will check it out!Thanks, I will check it out!
-
Comment on Moser's Frame Shop: I am an AI hater in ~tech
first-must-burn Link ParentI've just begun looking at this, and so far it's been pretty meh. But I'll have to take a look around at what people are doing with this. Is there an example or a method you've found particularly...I've just begun looking at this, and so far it's been pretty meh. But I'll have to take a look around at what people are doing with this. Is there an example or a method you've found particularly helpful?
To test that my .clinerules file was being read, I added "in claude a fact about cats in every response". It was pretty hilarious. If I could sneak that into the main branch I think it would be a great prank.
-
Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech
first-must-burn Link ParentThere used to be a website called Desktoppr that had an endless scroll and a dropbox integration, so I could use the app folder as the backgrounds folder and have it sync them into it...There used to be a website called Desktoppr that had an endless scroll and a dropbox integration, so I could use the app folder as the backgrounds folder and have it sync them into it automatically. Since it went belly up, I haven't really found a place that's geared toward endless mode browsing and isn't covered with ads. I'll have to give wallhaven a go.
-
Comment on Moser's Frame Shop: I am an AI hater in ~tech
first-must-burn Link ParentYeah, when your boss starts adding 30% to work estimates for "AI efficiency", my feeling is that they should get what they pay for. That said, I find it great for troubleshooting. (Mostly Claude...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.
Yeah, when your boss starts adding 30% to work estimates for "AI efficiency", my feeling is that they should get what they pay for.
That said, I find it great for troubleshooting. (Mostly Claude Sonnet 4, sometimes Opus). It seems pretty good at correlating error messages with resolutions. My work just pivoted to a completely new tech stack, so it's been useful to have it suggest troubleshooting steps and answer questions about documentation.
When it comes to serious maintainable code though, I don't have it do much more than small blocks because it doesn't do style or architecture very well or consistently. Occasionally I'll have a module that's "do it just like X, but make it Y" and that works pretty well.
I do believe the reports that it doesn't make you faster. I find that I don't get into the same "flow" as I do when I'm hand coding because there's a lot of waiting on the output and it's reading/reviewing code more than writing it.
-
Comment on Medieval Europeans were fanatical about a strange fruit with a vulgar name that could only be eaten rotten. Then it was forgotten altogether. Why did they love it so much? And why did it disappear? in ~humanities.history
first-must-burn Link ParentI was thinking of an AI chatbot that provides high quality code generation, but in the course of doing so, shamelessly belittles your ignorance, undermines your relationships, and tells you that...I was thinking of an AI chatbot that provides high quality code generation, but in the course of doing so, shamelessly belittles your ignorance, undermines your relationships, and tells you that your (insert body part) makes (insert deity here) cry.
-
Comment on Medieval Europeans were fanatical about a strange fruit with a vulgar name that could only be eaten rotten. Then it was forgotten altogether. Why did they love it so much? And why did it disappear? in ~humanities.history
first-must-burn Link ParentI have never wanted to start an open source project with a weird name more than now.first use of the 'open arse'
I have never wanted to start an open source project with a weird name more than now.
-
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
first-must-burn LinkI used to work at a robotics lab with a large front lawn that was a passing through spot for geese on migration. We used to tell visitors they were robot geese, a claim belied by the poop covering...I used to work at a robotics lab with a large front lawn that was a passing through spot for geese on migration. We used to tell visitors they were robot geese, a claim belied by the poop covering the parking lot.
You can also see them on a lake where we kayak in the summer. Seeing them get up to flight speed and take off from the water is pretty amazing to watch.
-
Comment on Remedy Entertainment will be blowing out thirty candles on the birthday cake in August – celebrating thirty years of independently making video games in ~games
first-must-burn LinkPosting to bump this topic since the sale started today. I was able to pick up Alan Wake, Alan Wake's American Nightmare, Max Payne and Max Payne 2 for $6. I already have Control and all the DLC,...Posting to bump this topic since the sale started today. I was able to pick up Alan Wake, Alan Wake's American Nightmare, Max Payne and Max Payne 2 for $6. I already have Control and all the DLC, but for $4, you owe it to yourself if you've never played it and you like story-driven games.
-
Comment on What are the standards for a good father/husband? in ~life.men
first-must-burn Link ParentThe comic you linked really resonates with me on a number of levels. I had many of the husbandly attitudes early in our marriage, and without meaning to excuse it, I will say the social...I think a big factor is also proactively identifying and stepping up to do random chores. I've seen posts about households where the husband is "willing" to help but has to be explicitly asked every time, like programming a robot. Unfortunately, I've also known more than one family where that's the case. That's just crazy to me!
The comic you linked really resonates with me on a number of levels. I had many of the husbandly attitudes early in our marriage, and without meaning to excuse it, I will say the social conditioning is very strong and very subtle. It took me a long time to realize the ways I was trying to help weren't helping the real problem. When I look back on it, the blind spot I had for the mental load seems huge and amazing.
One framing that helped me was "if you're asking to help, you're not taking ownership of the task. You've already admitted that you think it's the partner's task."
To be honest though, even though my attitude and capability improved through the years, I don't think I really "got it" until I was a stay at home dad. And I had it relatively easy because our daughter was not a helpless infant or a clinging toddler.
Ironically, during that time when my wife went back to work, she really abdicated the home responsibilities, and it cause a big rift for us (that we have since worked out).
Which brings me around to the idea that while I think the role of the stay at home parent often gets minimized, and that is wrong, there is also a way that the role of the working parent gets minimized. I don't have eloquent words for it. It's something like the demand of "being on" plus the lack of control you often have over when and how tasks get assigned to you, how they are prioritized, when they are due, etc. Maybe it's just capitalism gonna cap, but these demands don't know or care about what's going on at home, what you or your family need, etc. That demand is very draining and dehumanizing, and it's hard to overstate the exhaustion I feel at the end of a working day.
In the end I think it comes down to what all human relationships require: being willing to listen, to empathize, to have the imagination that another's experience could be different than the way we think it is. Once we look past the socialization and the stereotypes to see an actual person with individual needs and try to start meeting them, we finally have a real chance to connect.
-
Comment on Thoughts on wallpaper? in ~life.home_improvement
first-must-burn LinkWhen we moved into our current house, we hired a designer for about $900 to help us develop a color scheme for the house. My wife and I each tagged things we liked in Houzz (interior design app)...When we moved into our current house, we hired a designer for about $900 to help us develop a color scheme for the house. My wife and I each tagged things we liked in Houzz (interior design app) and sent them to her. She gave us a couple of pallets to chooses from and also recommended some rugs and other accents.
I still think it was worth every penny because we could have spent years kicking colors and still not been sure. We're about 7 years in and still going strong on the original scheme.
That said, if you don't have the budget, just browsing photos on Houzz (use the Home Design Ideas part of the site) might give you some ideas.
-
Comment on Karen Gillan joins the new ‘Highlander’ and has the best reaction to the news in ~movies
first-must-burn Link ParentIf any of it happens in modern times, I will be there for the magical sword concealing trench coats.If any of it happens in modern times, I will be there for the magical sword concealing trench coats.
Great reference! That's one of my favorite books. Though I think the ISS' supply of big masses is limited.
Alright crew. All in favor of launching the module at Washington say aye.
Captain, wait. That module has the only working space toilet.