hobblyhoy's recent activity

  1. Comment on What is one of the coolest museums you've visited? in ~travel

    hobblyhoy
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    Hands down, The Science Museum in South Kensington, London. I spent a good 4 or 5 hours there and would have stayed longer if I could. It's a tech nerds delight.

    Hands down, The Science Museum in South Kensington, London. I spent a good 4 or 5 hours there and would have stayed longer if I could. It's a tech nerds delight.

    2 votes

  2. Comment on What's an atypical thing you do that you'd recommend to others? in ~talk

    hobblyhoy
    Link Parent
    Yes, you're a psychopath. Now teach me. Is this like a two hand grab like you'd snap a twig? Against or with the curve? Some freaky twist and pull motion or maybe like a karate chop off the side...

    Yes, you're a psychopath. Now teach me. Is this like a two hand grab like you'd snap a twig? Against or with the curve? Some freaky twist and pull motion or maybe like a karate chop off the side of the counter? I must know!

    4 votes

  3. Comment on What's an atypical thing you do that you'd recommend to others? in ~talk

    hobblyhoy
    (edited )
    Link
    Eating kiwis with the skin on. It adds a little tartness that I don't mind. Makes it into a simple one handed snack with no garbage at the end. It's pretty common now but opening and eating...

    Eating kiwis with the skin on. It adds a little tartness that I don't mind. Makes it into a simple one handed snack with no garbage at the end.

    It's pretty common now but opening and eating bananas by pinching open the ass end works better than the tab bit at the top.

    I hardly ever wash my tea thermos. I somewhat recently discovered you're not "supposed" to wash a tea kettle in order to season it and my thermos is where my tea gets brewed so the haters can hate I feel vindicated on this one.

    15 votes

  4. Comment on Cameras/software for watching roofs in ~tech

    hobblyhoy
    (edited )
    Link
    I've installed and maintained a lot of different security cameras for businesses in a past IT life. Honestly for all the hate that the likes of Ring and similar companies get I could see it...

    I've installed and maintained a lot of different security cameras for businesses in a past IT life. Honestly for all the hate that the likes of Ring and similar companies get I could see it working very well here..

    They don't require ongoing IT level maintenance, has reliable solar power options - so no wire runs at all when run in wifi, cameras are rated for exterior use (be reasonable tho), dead simple notifications can be setup for the user, and even accounting for years of subscription fees it will be substantially cheaper than any mobotix or other "good" security camera.

    Also, to work better as a deterrent and to get something actually usable at night I'd add a couple strong solar powered motion activated spotlights either side the camera.

    8 votes

  5. Comment on Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account in ~tech

    hobblyhoy
    Link Parent
    My computer is mine to do with however I please but I 100% think this is the case for the OS if you use Microsoft or Mac. As far as I'm concerned if you're a closed source, for profit company you...

    I really like the the word allow here. It really highlights the expectations that the computer is not actually owned by the user.

    My computer is mine to do with however I please but I 100% think this is the case for the OS if you use Microsoft or Mac. As far as I'm concerned if you're a closed source, for profit company you have the right to put in whatever BS restrictions, ecosystem shoveling, and money gouging ideas you want. And we all have the right to jump ship to Linux.

    I would love to start seeing computer manufacturers normalizing shipping with dual boot options. A lot of users literally only need a browser these days and if they could easily access a better experience I think it would really give Microsoft pause before whatever their next shitty step is.

    5 votes

  6. Comment on If you had to buy a car today, what would you buy? in ~transport

    hobblyhoy
    Link Parent
    Yeah I agree with that. You dont even have to change the engine you can make any CVT be at higher rpm at an equivalent freeway speed than a traditional transmission if it's tuned as such. I think...

    Yeah I agree with that. You dont even have to change the engine you can make any CVT be at higher rpm at an equivalent freeway speed than a traditional transmission if it's tuned as such. I think we're operating off different ideas of what the look and feel of describing a car as higher revving is. I think of it as spending a lot of time somewhere between the typical shift point and redline during everyday driving. Which imo doesn't describe any CVT cars I'm familiar with. Performance or luxury cars might be different though I don't have a lot of experience with them. The bit that I can add to anyone searching for cars is whatever the definition of high revving you're using the CVT version of the Rav 4 is not it, it stays at sensible rpm all the way up till you get over typical freeway speeds.

  7. Comment on If you had to buy a car today, what would you buy? in ~transport

    hobblyhoy
    Link Parent
    I was responding to a post about them "staying at higher RPM" which doesn't make much sense in the context of the CVT. I think they were driving the all gas version with a traditional transmission.

    I was responding to a post about them "staying at higher RPM" which doesn't make much sense in the context of the CVT. I think they were driving the all gas version with a traditional transmission.

  8. Comment on If you had to buy a car today, what would you buy? in ~transport

    hobblyhoy
    Link Parent
    Hybrid. The hybrid is a CVT so no high revving. One of the things that we liked was that it actually had better build quality than the Honda CRV and Hyundai Tucson which are in the same class.

    Hybrid. The hybrid is a CVT so no high revving. One of the things that we liked was that it actually had better build quality than the Honda CRV and Hyundai Tucson which are in the same class.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on If you had to buy a car today, what would you buy? in ~transport

    hobblyhoy
    Link
    Toyota Rav4 hybrid. It's plenty road trip comfortable for 3. Great gas mileage. Strong resale value. AWD. Very reliable and when something does go wrong they're incredibly common so parts,...

    Toyota Rav4 hybrid. It's plenty road trip comfortable for 3. Great gas mileage. Strong resale value. AWD. Very reliable and when something does go wrong they're incredibly common so parts, mechanics, YouTube tutorials, etc, are plentiful. Solid tech and driver assists. Great car.

    8 votes

  10. Comment on How can I prevent my work computers turning my home into an oven? in ~comp

    hobblyhoy
    Link
    Do you have another room you can stick the development PC in and make it a headless machine you remote into? I do that with my work PC and there's no noticeable lag over Ethernet.

    Do you have another room you can stick the development PC in and make it a headless machine you remote into? I do that with my work PC and there's no noticeable lag over Ethernet.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Eleven spouses on what it’s like to live with someone on Ozempic in ~life

    hobblyhoy
    Link
    Maybe someone in here with experience with these drugs can explain to me what the end game looks like? Like once you've reached your target weight do you just stop taking it until your weight...

    Maybe someone in here with experience with these drugs can explain to me what the end game looks like? Like once you've reached your target weight do you just stop taking it until your weight trends back up and kind of ping-pong around your goal weight? Can you start taking partial doses that keep the weight constant? If you want to keep the weight off is the expectation that you'll be using it for the rest of your life?

    2 votes

  12. Comment on What's a feeling you sometimes experience that you don't have a name for? in ~talk

    hobblyhoy
    Link Parent
    As someone who pretty much exclusively reads hard sci-fi.. I loved it! You have some real skill there.

    As someone who pretty much exclusively reads hard sci-fi.. I loved it! You have some real skill there.

  13. Comment on What's a feeling you sometimes experience that you don't have a name for? in ~talk

    hobblyhoy
    Link
    Being on a plane at night with an eye mask on. It's an entirely unique feeling where I get tingles down my spine and become euphoric as I let my mind wander. No idea why this happens. Maybe the...

    Being on a plane at night with an eye mask on. It's an entirely unique feeling where I get tingles down my spine and become euphoric as I let my mind wander. No idea why this happens. Maybe the sound of the plane and the total blackout is like some strange kind of sensory deprivation.

    If I was born 200 years earlier I would have never discovered that state of mind. I wonder what I'm missing out on not being born 200 years later.

    4 votes

  14. Comment on I used to teach students. Now I catch ChatGPT cheats. in ~tech

    hobblyhoy
    Link Parent
    That opening line is pretty slick for an LLM. That threw me off the scent long enough I didn't suss out it was generated until paragraph three. Do you have any particular prompting you use to give...

    That opening line is pretty slick for an LLM. That threw me off the scent long enough I didn't suss out it was generated until paragraph three. Do you have any particular prompting you use to give it this voice?

    3 votes

  15. Comment on Have you made a video game? Can I play it? in ~games

    hobblyhoy
    Link
    This may not count as I never finished gamifying it but heres my tiny town builder.

    This may not count as I never finished gamifying it but heres my tiny town builder.

    4 votes

  16. Comment on I used to teach students. Now I catch ChatGPT cheats. in ~tech

    hobblyhoy
    Link
    I'm disappointed by these takes and hoped we'd be seeing better adaptation by now. This idea that we're locked into the options of let 'em cheat or pen and paper essays during class time is just...

    I'm disappointed by these takes and hoped we'd be seeing better adaptation by now. This idea that we're locked into the options of let 'em cheat or pen and paper essays during class time is just so unimaginative. How about teaching them how it works so they can understand the pitfalls and power of it themselves? How about gearing some work around proper outlining and the structural planning rather than the finished product? They will sit there and proclaim "oh okay sure but when you get the real world with such and such situation chatGPT won't help then" ...then design your assignments around that instead! It's like the whole teaching institution has been so stuck with 5 paragraph papers for so long they don't know how to do anything else.

    It doesn't have to be this way. If we didn't go in with such a defeatist attitude ChatGPT could be the impetus for revitalizing and reimagining education as we know it. In fact I think it's inevitable, I'm just uncertain how long it will take us to get there.

    22 votes

  17. Comment on Is it wrong to use AI to fact check and combat the spread of misinformation? in ~tech

    hobblyhoy
    Link
    I'm my book, the true concerns with AI spreading misinformation stems from the ability for bad actors to spin up any n number of agents who pretend to be real people and engage with forums by...

    I'm my book, the true concerns with AI spreading misinformation stems from the ability for bad actors to spin up any n number of agents who pretend to be real people and engage with forums by flooding them with a single world view. A single person or organization can have a disproportionate influence on a massive group of people - and they don't even need to speak the same language.

    Using an AI tool which you guide, hand review, and post under your regular handle is worlds away from this and completely fine.

    1 vote

  18. Comment on How can I make life easier on my child who has to (temporarily) use crutches? in ~health

    hobblyhoy
    Link
    I was an injury prone child so have way too much experience with casts and crutches. Day one find yourself some good pads for where the underarm meets the crutch. It will get very sore after...

    I was an injury prone child so have way too much experience with casts and crutches.

    Day one find yourself some good pads for where the underarm meets the crutch. It will get very sore after extended use. Some towels and duct tape will work fine too.

    If you have tile or slick wood floors be very, very careful with any water that gets on the floor. An ice cube got stuck in the fridge dispenser and left a small puddle which I slipped in and landed on the bad leg. it set my recovery back a lot and was just as painful as breaking it the first time.

    Similarly nobody warned me about painted areas on asphalt (parking lot lines, written words, etc) on a rainy day- that stuff is slippery like nobodies business.

    I dont have personal experience with them but those little collapsible knee scooters seem great for making getting around easier especially the long flat walks you'd run into a lot on a vacation. Way more fun too!

    1 vote

  19. Comment on The Airbnb/Hotel Gap: Private common spaces in ~life

    hobblyhoy
    Link
    I'm going to go against the grain here and say the number of good properties has not gone down on airBnB. I would say the ratio of good to bad properties has gone down which makes them harder to...

    I'm going to go against the grain here and say the number of good properties has not gone down on airBnB. I would say the ratio of good to bad properties has gone down which makes them harder to find.

    I have rented about 20 airBnBs over the last decade or so and to date have never had a poor experience. Or at least never had a poor experience in one that I picked. But I'm also very particular. Here is my checklist of sorts:

    • Large number of reviews, hard minimum of 75 but ideally 100+ reviews. This is as much about sample size as it is about duration on Airbnb. After 100 people have gone through a home the owner knows about and has ironed out the kinks. Think- the funny furnace thermostat, the frozen pipe in winter, the pool algae problem, etc.

    • High 5 star to everything else ratio. Most people will give anything with 4 walls 5 stars so you have to be pretty strict with this. It can vary a lot per area but there should be a hard minimum of 80%ish 5 Star reviews

    • Vet every non 5 star review made in the last few months. Super handy for finding out about things like new construction noises, road closures, broken elevator, etc.

    • Vet every 1 star review. Any 1 star review is usually some freak one time occurrence but check them to see if there's any patterns emerging, defensive replies from the host, etc.

    Most can be eliminated in seconds, some take a few minutes. Definitely time well spent though!

    29 votes

  20. Comment on a/s/l? Tildes user survey question. in ~tildes

    hobblyhoy
    Link Parent
    Thank you! Best of luck on the job hunt.

    Thank you! Best of luck on the job hunt.

    3 votes