gpl's recent activity
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Comment on Requesting your thoughts that may help me decide between moving to Chicago or Portland (Oregon)? in ~life
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Comment on Can we talk about rice cookers? in ~food
gpl (edited )LinkI love electric rice cookers and have used many over the years. However, I bought a donabe and I absolutely love it. The only thing that makes it slightly less convenient is you need to turn the...I love electric rice cookers and have used many over the years. However, I bought a donabe and I absolutely love it. The only thing that makes it slightly less convenient is you need to turn the heat off once you see steam coming out, whereas an electric cooker will shut off automatically. Otherwise, it is genuinely just as easy.
You get perfectly sticky, plump rice every time. I have literally never had rice come out of the donabe overcooked or undercooked. I like it because it gives me a bit more control over what I'm doing with my rice. If I want some nice crispy bottoms, I just leave it a minute or two longer before killing the heat. It is probably just cognitive bias on my part, but I feel like the rice tastes even better from the donabe — individual grains retain their integrity and the aroma is really enhanced. Little things, but they certainly help!
Going beyond basic rice, there is a whole host of donabe recipes out there. To be fair, a lot are things you could do with a rice cooker as well. I often will make cumin rice as a side for curries, or will make orange butter rice to spruce up a basic white rice side. When scallop pieces are discounted at the fish counter, I buy them up and make scallop rice. Daikon rice, taro root, etc. There's a lot you can do! You can also use it as a great vessel for making soups and stews. Since it is made of clay, it distributes heat quite well and holds that heat — once you get it hot you can turn the burner down to very low and still maintain a strong, even simmer. There are specialized donabe for soups and stews that are wider, but I have successfully used my double-lid one for plenty of soups. Some other practical advantages are that it lives on the stove, so it won't be taking up counter space when you're cooking, and there are no internal electronics to break. It's just a clay pot!
Ultimately if you want an electric rice cooker, this is not a perfect substitute. But for me, I think getting the donabe just encouraged/inspired me to learn about how to cook with it, which then led me to really expanding the types of meals I cook regularly. It's just plain fun to cook with.
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Comment on That one study that proves developers using AI are deluded in ~tech
gpl Link ParentI am a research scientist (cosmology) so I mainly code either for data analysis, or less often, to (essentially) solve various coupled systems of equations. I also use packages written by other...I am a research scientist (cosmology) so I mainly code either for data analysis, or less often, to (essentially) solve various coupled systems of equations. I also use packages written by other cosmologists, which are not always documented or structured extremely well.
So far, using Cursor (and hopefully now claude) has been really helpful for me in moving from exploratory jupyter notebooks for a new topic to packaged classes that I can more easily reuse in between analyses. I essentially get all the building blocks of whatever computation it is I need to do working in a notebook, and then switch over to the agent to help me package it up in something I can either run on a cluster or use in other places. It's also been helpful on occasions where I have to modify some existing programs in languages I am not as strong in like Fortran. I could do it, push comes to shove, but often times I am really just interested in getting it done quickly and seeing what the final result is. In those cases, it usually helps me write way better code than I would on my own. I ultimately am self taught when it comes to programming, so having anything that helps me write more organized and structured code is a win, and often puts me ahead of a lot of other (small) scientific packages that are out there. I'm also interested, of course, in seeing what else I can do with it!
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Comment on That one study that proves developers using AI are deluded in ~tech
gpl Link ParentThank you! I just got a claude code subscription (trying it for a month to start, I still have a few months left with my Cursor free trial so I can do some direct comparisons). Excited to try it...Thank you! I just got a claude code subscription (trying it for a month to start, I still have a few months left with my Cursor free trial so I can do some direct comparisons). Excited to try it out and see if I can make it work for me.
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Comment on That one study that proves developers using AI are deluded in ~tech
gpl Link ParentVery good to know! I think I was hesitant to switch because I do most of my work in VSCode (or, well, Cursor now), and I wasn't enthusiastic about the switch to the Claude CLI. But now I know...Very good to know! I think I was hesitant to switch because I do most of my work in VSCode (or, well, Cursor now), and I wasn't enthusiastic about the switch to the Claude CLI. But now I know there are extensions to integrate it into VSCode. I might make the switch, since I've heard only good things.
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Comment on That one study that proves developers using AI are deluded in ~tech
gpl Link ParentThis is super helpful, thanks! I have a pretty basic question about, e.g. agents.md. Let's say I create such a file in my working directory. How do I ensure the agents I am interacting with read...This is super helpful, thanks! I have a pretty basic question about, e.g. agents.md. Let's say I create such a file in my working directory. How do I ensure the agents I am interacting with read that file? I imagine this varies depending on what agent or platform I am using. But I feel like I have had some inconsistency here, so I've ended up starting most of my prompts with "read agents.md" with the path to the file. Is this the right idea?
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Comment on That one study that proves developers using AI are deluded in ~tech
gpl LinkI'm going to hijack this thread to solicit some recommendations. I currently use Cursor Pro for my coding tasks. The context is that I am a scientist (astro), so my coding requirements are often...I'm going to hijack this thread to solicit some recommendations. I currently use Cursor Pro for my coding tasks. The context is that I am a scientist (astro), so my coding requirements are often quite different than a typical software developer. I currently use agents mainly for a) debugging b) familiarizing myself with a new codebase and c) writing classes to package up longer computations I need to do for re-usability. I definitely see the benefit, but I can't help but feel I'm using like 5% of these tools potentials. In cursor, I attach context, use plan mode, etc, but I've never dabbled with using multiple agents, or things like agents.md. I was wondering if anyone had suggested guides detailing workflows that might be useful for me. I want to learn to use these tools more efficiently and really wring out all the use I can from them.
Separately, for people who have used both, would it be worth me switching from Cursor to Claude Code (with a Pro subscription)? I know these are slightly different things (i.e. cursor is basically a VS code overlay with agentic features), but I am wondering if people who have used both would really recommend one over the other.
Sorry this is a bit offtopic, feel free to label as so. I just thought this might be a good place to ask since it is sure to attract the attention of people who use these tools!
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
gpl LinkA mix of things, really, but the big thing for me is that it has now been 1 month since I have had any red meat or chicken, including things like e.g. broth. I guess I've been what you'd called...A mix of things, really, but the big thing for me is that it has now been 1 month since I have had any red meat or chicken, including things like e.g. broth. I guess I've been what you'd called ova-lacto-pescetarian since the beginning of the new year, with a few exceptions (the last being a month ago). I've been really happy with the experiment, as cutting out meat has been a long term goal of mine. I've gone long stretches before without having red meat, but always stopped there as I considered chicken and chicken products (broth really) as pretty central to my cooking. I think having that crutch really stopped me from exploring other ways of cooking, and as a result I'd always end up back having meat here and there after a few weeks. This time feels much more permanent — I think this is something I could continue with long term.
My reasons are a mix of health, ethics, and environmental. I guess I put more weight on the ethics, but I know thats contradictory, as I still have eggs and dairy despite those industries being basically just as bad for the animals as the meat industry. But I consider and reduction in consumption a step in the right direction for me, so I'm happy with the progress so far. I've really been exploring seafood (which, if I'm mindful of sourcing, I really don't have too many ethical qualms about), and I've been loving it. It's amazing how easy and tasty it is to, e.g., roast a whole fish for dinner along with some veggie side. I've never been averse to seafood by any means, but without having a reason to I never gravitated towards it cooking-wise, and therefore I never really developed those skills. I'm slowly learning and it's been great! I might try and sign up for a mussel foraging class near me, which I am hoping will teach me even more.
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Comment on What radicalized you? in ~talk
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
gpl Link ParentI picked this up a while ago but haven’t gotten around to it! Glad to hear it’s good, I’m moving it up my to-read listI picked this up a while ago but haven’t gotten around to it! Glad to hear it’s good, I’m moving it up my to-read list
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Group chat solutions for small groups?
I have been in a group chat with 2 of my closet friends for more than 10 years now, and we have been using Facebook messenger for that entire time. However, there has always been interest in...
I have been in a group chat with 2 of my closet friends for more than 10 years now, and we have been using Facebook messenger for that entire time. However, there has always been interest in migrating to a different platform, but so far we have not been able to land on a good alternative. We have gotten very used to some of the messenger features and have disliked alternatives for lacking these features. I was wondering if anyone could suggest some solutions here, up to and including a DIY (maybe IRC?) approach.
The features we really liked from messenger:
- Nicknames, and ability to tag by nickname
- Emoji hotkey (where you have quick access to a selected emoji, we use this for a lot of in-jokes)
- Chat theme and customization
- easy cross-platform or browser based (we are a mix of mac/pc, and iphone/android users)
Features we really do not need and in fact get in the way:
- Different channels or rooms
- voice/video
- screen sharing
Features that aren't necessary but could be nice:
- bots
Does anyone have suggestions for alternatives to messenger that hit these points? We have tried Discord, but found it was way too feature heavy for how we use it, and lacked some really basic features we liked from messenger. Whatsapp was a decent replacement, but lack of themes and emoji hotkey made it less enjoyable for us than messenger, plus it is also a Meta platform which eliminated one of the main reasons we wanted to switch.
I have half a mind to set up an IRC channel for us, but it's been many years at this point since I've used IRC, so I don't know what that ecosystem is like these days, and how easy it would be to get my non-tech-savvy friends on board.
(perhaps this is better suited to ~tech, but I am posting here with an eye towards DIY solutions, although to reiterate I would also be happy with an out-of-the-box alternative)
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Comment on I'm back in ~talk
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Comment on ‘ICE Out’ strike and protests: what to know about demonstrations across the US in ~society
gpl Link ParentI’m kinda on the same page, but also of the opinion that this doesn’t hurt. Certainly a genuine, bona fide national strike would take immense organization beyond this. But this is the type of...I’m kinda on the same page, but also of the opinion that this doesn’t hurt. Certainly a genuine, bona fide national strike would take immense organization beyond this. But this is the type of thing that action-hesitant people may be willing to take part in, and that can be a gateway to further action. This also keeps protest in the news, hopefully signals to politician that there is popular support for more action, and can begin to connect people with local organizers, all of which is necessary work for a true general strike.
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Comment on Recommendations needed: Favorite “comfort” movies in ~movies
gpl LinkSurprised I am the first to mention Back to the Future parts I and IISurprised I am the first to mention Back to the Future parts I and II
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Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk
gpl LinkWe live in a society and have obligations to one another; no one is an island. A portrayal of a certain viewpoint or behavior in media does not imply endorsement of the same.-
We live in a society and have obligations to one another; no one is an island.
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A portrayal of a certain viewpoint or behavior in media does not imply endorsement of the same.
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Comment on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shoots and kills a woman during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown in ~society
gpl (edited )Link ParentHard agree re: being around people with a shared mission. I found going to protests last year invigorating in a way I didn’t expect.Hard agree re: being around people with a shared mission. I found going to protests last year invigorating in a way I didn’t expect.
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The Eschatian Hypothesis
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Comment on Lord Of The Rings author's writing desk up for auction in ~books
gpl LinkThat's a beautiful desk. Slightly off-topic, but part of me laments the fact that desks are often centered around the screen these days, as I feel that means there's much less flexibility or...That's a beautiful desk. Slightly off-topic, but part of me laments the fact that desks are often centered around the screen these days, as I feel that means there's much less flexibility or variety in desk design and setup. Tolkien's desk wouldn't make a great workstation, for example.
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The Resonant Computing manifesto
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Comment on Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled? in ~life
gpl Link ParentThere aren't many instances at a job where you need to ask for allowances of this sort, i.e. an extra 30 minutes to complete a task that has a fixed start and stop time. If there are hard...There aren't many instances at a job where you need to ask for allowances of this sort, i.e. an extra 30 minutes to complete a task that has a fixed start and stop time. If there are hard deadlines for certain tasks, almost always one can simply begin early. The only time I wouldn't support accommodations is if there are safety concerns surrounding the extended time allotment for a task (e.g. something like air traffic controllers or some such).
The academic setting of timed exams is just not something that is often reproduced elsewhere.
I was born and raised in and near Chicago and lived there until ~5 years ago when I moved to California. I say that to give be upfront about my biases: I love Chicago and its people and if I have the opportunity with my career to move there again I absolutely would (giving up this beautiful California weather in the process)! I think it's the greatest city in the country. It seems like other people have responded to most of your points and I'm not sure I have much else to add, but I'm happy to answer questions if you have any. My only advice is that when you visit, make sure you get out into the neighborhoods and don't just stay in or around downtown! In no particular order, all of the following are beautiful and have their own unique character and vibe, some more than others:
Happy to get more specific. This list is heavily biased towards the north side but those are the areas I'm most familiar with; my impression is that they are also the areas most transplants move to.