gpl's recent activity

  1. Comment on Lord Of The Rings author's writing desk up for auction in ~books

    gpl
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    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...

    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.

    10 votes

  3. Comment on Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled? in ~life

    gpl
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    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...

    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.

    18 votes

  4. Comment on Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled? in ~life

    gpl
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    I don't disagree there, re: something isn't working. Grade inflation in general is a big issue (also probably bigger than fake accommodations, but of course all of these things are related).

    I don't disagree there, re: something isn't working. Grade inflation in general is a big issue (also probably bigger than fake accommodations, but of course all of these things are related).

    5 votes

  5. Comment on Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled? in ~life

    gpl
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    There is no actual evidence presented in this article that students are gaming the system, just the perception of medically unqualified observers (professors, journalists, etc), which are often...

    There is no actual evidence presented in this article that students are gaming the system, just the perception of medically unqualified observers (professors, journalists, etc), which are often very wrong. I don't see how this is any different than when people complain about the uptick in things like ADHD diagnoses. Even if the percentage of students with diagnoses like ADHD is higher than you (general you, not you OP) would have expected, why is that reason to distrust the opinion of experts who come up with the criteria for making a diagnosis?

    Disability accommodations are actually already sort of hard to get. I've had plenty of students with no official accommodation struggle to get them — it often comes down to having the resources (both time, money, and know-how) to navigate the system to get a diagnosis from a doctor. It's not very surprising to me that rich students may have access to more of those resources than others.

    In any case, this situation feels a little bit like the free school lunch debate to me. I personally am not really bothered if some people get accomodations who don't need them, if it means it is easier for students who do need them to get them. There are other more serious issues with fairness at the university level that would have a much bigger impact if they were addressed (cough legacy admissions cough).

    42 votes

  7. Comment on Modern Christmas carol renditions that aren't mediocre CCM? in ~music

    gpl
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    A few decades old but listen to the album “The Bells of Dublin” by the Dubliners for some good renditions of classic carols that are not the slow breathless versions you’re looking to avoid

    A few decades old but listen to the album “The Bells of Dublin” by the Dubliners for some good renditions of classic carols that are not the slow breathless versions you’re looking to avoid

    1 vote

  10. Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food

    gpl
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    Had something similar last night! Sliced garlic sauteed in olive oil, mountain of spinach (and some leftover tuscan kale we had laying about), salt, pepper, and a squirt of yuzu juice. Yum.

    Had something similar last night! Sliced garlic sauteed in olive oil, mountain of spinach (and some leftover tuscan kale we had laying about), salt, pepper, and a squirt of yuzu juice. Yum.

    2 votes

  11. Comment on Study suggests that the Universe's expansion 'is now slowing, not speeding up' in ~space

    gpl
    Link Parent
    Sorry for the late reply! I fell into it sort of by happenstance. I had the chance to work in a group doing computational cosmology research (think, those big simulations of the cosmic web you...

    Sorry for the late reply!

    I fell into it sort of by happenstance. I had the chance to work in a group doing computational cosmology research (think, those big simulations of the cosmic web you sometimes see images of), and found that I really liked it. When I was applying to grad school I applied with a focus in cosmology, and ended up working with cosmic microwave background data as its one of the best probes we have of the early universe, which is what I'm fundamentally interested in.

    I'm pretty early in my career, but my research so far has focused on trying to develop some data-driven methods to shed light on existing "tensions" in cosmology. Most of this has focused on an era of cosmic history called "recombination", which is when the universe had cooled enough so that electrons could bond to hydrogen nuclei and form neutral atoms about 380,000 years after the big bang. My work has been in seeing how new physics, like new particles that could have been around back then but are not now, would impact this process and whether that is observable in the data we have today. As with many cosmologists, I use the early universe as a sort of laboratory to explore scenarios that are hard too here on earth.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on Study suggests that the Universe's expansion 'is now slowing, not speeding up' in ~space

    gpl
    Link Parent
    My area of expertise is the cosmic microwave background, but I regularly interact with people doing SN or baryon acoustic oscillation stuff, and use both data sets as required.

    My area of expertise is the cosmic microwave background, but I regularly interact with people doing SN or baryon acoustic oscillation stuff, and use both data sets as required.

    7 votes

  13. Comment on Study suggests that the Universe's expansion 'is now slowing, not speeding up' in ~space

    gpl
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    I am a cosmologist and want to weigh in on this. This is not the opening salvo in this argument — this same group at Yonsei has been making this claim for a while. I do not believe it holds up to...
    • Exemplary

    I am a cosmologist and want to weigh in on this. This is not the opening salvo in this argument — this same group at Yonsei has been making this claim for a while. I do not believe it holds up to scrutiny, and my impression is that the rest of the cosmology community working on supernovae agrees. These measurements are really difficult to get right, and a vast and incremental community effort has developed a robust understanding of possible systematics and errors over the last 20 years.

    This group uses a small and non-representative set of supernovae, some of which have not even been confirmed to be type Ia supernovae (which is necessary for this type of analysis). Furthermore, they are relying on old measurements from ~2010 that are essentially obsolete. Papers like this are useful and can sometimes develop into serious challenges to the standard model of cosmology, but most of the time they serve to strengthen it by identifying possible systematic errors. Happy to answer questions about this, but in short, I would not go updating your understanding of what the cosmology community agrees on based on this.

    This isn't an example of bad science, but it is an example of science media amplifying the conclusion of a single paper, without providing the appropriate context from others in the community.

    Note: I also took the liberty to edit the title of this post to better reflect this uncertainty. I hope I am not stepping on anyone's toes by doing so.

    (@okiyama @wervenyt @mild_takes — just tagging as you might find this perspective interesting given the comments left here).

    45 votes

  14. Comment on What are your favorite low cost main dishes/meals? in ~food

    gpl
    Link Parent
    Glad to hear it! The misir wat recipe on that same site is also great, it is in my rotation and I make it pretty frequently. I skip the nitter kibbeh and substitute with either butter or ghee,...

    Glad to hear it! The misir wat recipe on that same site is also great, it is in my rotation and I make it pretty frequently. I skip the nitter kibbeh and substitute with either butter or ghee, along with around a table spoon of the homemade berbere. That's in addition to the berbere that the recipe calls for. I honestly usually eyeball that too. It's hard to go wrong when the base flavors are already so strong and tasty.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on What are your favorite low cost main dishes/meals? in ~food

    gpl
    Link Parent
    Well first, just a disclaimer, I’m a white dude from the Midwest so this absolutely should not be taken as gospel. But basically, I start with this recipe but I’m pretty flexible with it. If I’m...

    Well first, just a disclaimer, I’m a white dude from the Midwest so this absolutely should not be taken as gospel. But basically, I start with this recipe but I’m pretty flexible with it. If I’m missing a spice or two I don’t sweat it, and sometimes I’ll add in other spices I have on hand. The ratios in that recipe are a good place to start though. I toast the whole spices before grinding them and I usually double or triple the recipe so I end up with a small jar’s worth.

    It turns out really good in my opinion. I’ve since bought some berbere from the local ethiopian place and it’s very good, but different. The homemade stuff is comparable imo.

    3 votes

  16. Comment on What are your favorite low cost main dishes/meals? in ~food

    gpl
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    Misir wot is mostly lentils and onion. Making the berbere spice mix can be an up front investment though as spices aren't cheap. Although you can find cheap bulk spices usually at Indian grocers,...

    Misir wot is mostly lentils and onion. Making the berbere spice mix can be an up front investment though as spices aren't cheap. Although you can find cheap bulk spices usually at Indian grocers, in my experience, and make a big batch.

    Rice and beans of course. The quintessential low cost food. Great with a little shredded cheese on top.

    3 votes

  17. Comment on What code editor / IDE do you use (2025)? in ~comp

    gpl
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    I've been using Cursor, which is basically just VS Code with an LLM integration that I find useful at times. For quick stuff I use vim.

    I've been using Cursor, which is basically just VS Code with an LLM integration that I find useful at times. For quick stuff I use vim.

    2 votes

  18. Comment on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy | Official trailer in ~tv

    gpl
    Link Parent
    Thank you! I totally agree. Season 3 was so bad I couldn't even finish it, which was such a shock because seasons 1 and 2 were great, and ended on such a great cliff hanger. Every episode of...

    Thank you! I totally agree. Season 3 was so bad I couldn't even finish it, which was such a shock because seasons 1 and 2 were great, and ended on such a great cliff hanger.

    Every episode of season 3 felt like a gimmick, wrapped up too neatly, and had some honestly "cringey" writing, and I hesitate to use that word. Star Trek has always had a little cheese to it which I totally dig, but this season was different. Also, it felt like every plot line was them going rouge to accomplish the mission, which is fine every now and then, but not when its literally every episode.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on Messenger, a cute little 3d browser game in ~games

    gpl
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    This is amazing and charming! I can't quite tell, are these other messengers others playing at the same time, or NPCs?

    This is amazing and charming! I can't quite tell, are these other messengers others playing at the same time, or NPCs?

    2 votes

  20. Comment on Has anyone here tried bone conduction headphones? in ~tech

    gpl
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    I recently bought the newer Shokz model, the Openrun Pro 2. I had previously tried the Openrun Pro a few years back so I have a point of comparison. The Openrun Pro 2 is a big improvement over the...

    I recently bought the newer Shokz model, the Openrun Pro 2. I had previously tried the Openrun Pro a few years back so I have a point of comparison.

    The Openrun Pro 2 is a big improvement over the older version, in my opinion, and solves most of the shortcomings that others have identified. They are solidly in the "casual use" tier for me. The Openrun Pro 2's, in addition to bone conduction, can use "air conduction" as well which is just a marketing term for having a tiny directional speaker pointed into your ear, in addition to the bone conduction device. This is basically like having a normal open-ear headphone in addition to the bone conduction. This improves both volume (especially in windy areas or activities) and range, with bass being particularly improved. For headphones that allow you to maintain pretty good situational awareness, the quality is hard to beat. I prefer them over my airpods for working out for this reason, coupled with the fact that they do not fall out easily and have a great battery life. The Pro 2's have USB-C charging instead of the older magnetic port. They are comfortable for me — I can wear them along with sunglasses and a bike helmet and they don't get in the way. I even reach for them for other casual activities where I may want some headphones but don't necessarily want to use my big over-the-ear ones, like walking the dog.

    They're not audiophile quality headphones, far from it. But for the niche they do fill (workout headphones), I have yet to find something I enjoy using more. Highly recommend checking out the Pro 2's even if you have prior experience with other models.

    2 votes