j0hn1215's recent activity

  1. Comment on Young adults in the US are increasingly wary of AI, concerned it will take jobs in ~tech

    j0hn1215
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    I feel like wherever you believe the tech is heading, it's going to produce terrible outcomes for most young people. In the AI "optimist" case, either AI actively eradicated humanity, or causes...

    I feel like wherever you believe the tech is heading, it's going to produce terrible outcomes for most young people.
    In the AI "optimist" case, either AI actively eradicated humanity, or causes global disruption of the human experience orders of magnitude more destabilizing than the industrial revolution.
    In the AI "pessimist" case, it either enables a turbocharged fascist surveillance state, or it implodes the global economy dooming this generation to poverty.
    There is no moderate case; with the amount of the global economy thrown at AI investments, it has to either radically change society (for the worse), or the misallocation of money will bring about a depression. There does not seem to be a potential outcome that looks positive for the next generation.

    6 votes
  2. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly - Season ending on Sunday August 30th! in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    The burial chambers under the pyramid are now inscribed with hieroglyphics! Come check it out, it's not as accurate as I had hoped, but it still turned out quite well, I think. Be sure to bring a...

    The burial chambers under the pyramid are now inscribed with hieroglyphics! Come check it out, it's not as accurate as I had hoped, but it still turned out quite well, I think. Be sure to bring a torch!

    Next, I see how much of a pyramid I can build in the next 12 days!

    4 votes
  3. Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books

    j0hn1215
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    I second both your praise and critiques of Ringworld, I first read it in middle school and was entranced. Correction, though, it was written by Larry Niven, not Heinlien. Definitely not a great...

    I second both your praise and critiques of Ringworld, I first read it in middle school and was entranced.
    Correction, though, it was written by Larry Niven, not Heinlien.
    Definitely not a great writer of female characters, but one could argue that the main female character being rather one-dimensional is in character for a person whose only qualification is having been bred for generations to be lucky.

    4 votes
  4. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly - Season ending on Sunday August 30th! in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    I had been building construction ramps up each tier so stone could be hauled properly, so thankfully, whatever stage I'm in upon server close, the construction illusion shall be maintained!

    I had been building construction ramps up each tier so stone could be hauled properly, so thankfully, whatever stage I'm in upon server close, the construction illusion shall be maintained!

    3 votes
  5. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly - Season ending on Sunday August 30th! in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    Oh, Boo. Well, I'm only 1.5/5 tiers of the inner core of the pyramid, not to mention the backing stones and the huge amount of quartz casing stones that I've yet to source... I'm going to try at...

    Oh, Boo. Well, I'm only 1.5/5 tiers of the inner core of the pyramid, not to mention the backing stones and the huge amount of quartz casing stones that I've yet to source...
    I'm going to try at least making a proof-of-concept invisible-item-frame-map-art hieroglyph display on the map-art-platform before things wrap up.
    I think my plans for this season were slightly overambitious, to even complete the pyramid itself would take me another month, at least. Alas, I was hoping we'd last that long. But, I think @GravySleeve is right about feeling rushed by a creeping sense of season's end.

    3 votes
  6. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    Gentlemen*, Behold! «I take the pole and grasp the handle of the mallet; I grasp the cord with Seshat. I turn my gaze according to the movement of the stars and move it to Meskhetiu . The God of...

    Gentlemen*, Behold!

    «I take the pole and grasp the handle of the mallet; I grasp the cord with Seshat. I turn my gaze
    according to the movement of the stars and move it to Meskhetiu . The
    God of time-keeping is standing next to his merkhet. I establish the 4 corners of your temple.»

    The pḏ-šs(𓌒𓍱) has been performed, and the foundation deposits have been placed at the four corners of the pyramid, and construction of the monument shall soon begin!

    P.S. Does anyone know a good way to get bulk quartz besides spam trading with villagers?

    *Used in the gender-inclusive sense.

    2 votes
  7. Comment on US Federal Communications Commission approves test of space mirror to light night sky despite outcry in ~space

    j0hn1215
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    Fair enough. I suppose it just sounds like pure boondoggle then, with little impact to anyone excepting the investors and the owners.

    Fair enough. I suppose it just sounds like pure boondoggle then, with little impact to anyone excepting the investors and the owners.

    8 votes
  8. Comment on US Federal Communications Commission approves test of space mirror to light night sky despite outcry in ~space

    j0hn1215
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    The math just doesn't seem to work out here. Assuming perfect reflectivity of the mirror, and no atmospheric losses, the "sunlight" over the area couldn't be more than 0.001% of full sun, which...

    The math just doesn't seem to work out here. Assuming perfect reflectivity of the mirror, and no atmospheric losses, the "sunlight" over the area couldn't be more than 0.001% of full sun, which works out to about 0.02W/m^2. Even if 100% of the 3 mile radius were covered in panels with an extremely generous efficiency of 50%, the absolute maximum you could generate would be ~225kWs (This also assumes no threshold irradiance cutoff of these panels). Two decently sized home generators would outperform this, fit in a backyard shed, and use less fuel over their lifetimes then it would take to launch a single one of these satellites into space...

    Even assuming a two order of magnitude increase of mirror size with the same size surface light, this still seems like a colossal boondoggle that could cause global damage for an infinitesimal benefit to a single solar farm.

    17 votes
  9. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    I definitely understand your feeling. If it makes you feel any better, I, at least, check in every couple days on your and @GravySleeve 's builds on Bluemap, but I'll try to stop by again when I...

    I definitely understand your feeling. If it makes you feel any better, I, at least, check in every couple days on your and @GravySleeve 's builds on Bluemap, but I'll try to stop by again when I get back home. I know Egypt will continue to coalesce, but I support you in whatever you choose to do!

    And all art is ephemeral, that's part of what makes it beautiful.

    2 votes
  10. Comment on Tidles Minecraft Weekly - Big Farts Edition (26.2 Update) in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    Some progress has been made in my Old Kingdom Egypt build, so I thought I'd finally write a brief update! The outline of the valley temple, causeway, boat pit, pyramid temple, and pyramid have all...

    Some progress has been made in my Old Kingdom Egypt build, so I thought I'd finally write a brief update!

    The outline of the valley temple, causeway, boat pit, pyramid temple, and pyramid have all been laid out, but most importantly, all of the underground chambers have been built!
    The first is the likely tomb of Khasekemwy (Second Dynasty) built under the pyramid temple. It's a sprawling complex built half in a trench, and half tunneled into rock. A labyrinth of storage magazines and burial chambers, this structure might have had a superstructure at one point, but if it did, King Unas tore it down to build his pyramid temple. This tomb is unadorned irl, so it's mostly done, besides a few finishing touches.

    The second is the burial chambers under what will become the actual pyramid. Constructed in a wide trench, by King Unas (Sixth Dynasty), the burial chambers have a gabled roof constructed of monumental blocks of limestone (Gables are hard to build in minecraft, so these chambers are merely corbelled in game). Now, I just need about 70 unique map arts to cover the walls with about 200 invisible item frames to complete it. That, and burying the whole thing under about 50,000 blocks.

    So, come check out the started pyramid complex, or stop by the Nile farming village across the river! Accessible from the nether high speed rail going East!
    I'll be gone for most of next week, but if you wish to leave any offerings to the king, place them in the barrels in the vestibule (first room in the chambers beneath the soon-to-be pyramid)

    4 votes
  11. Comment on Tidles Minecraft Weekly - Big Farts Edition (26.2 Update) in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    I had to update the prism launcher itself, which remedied the server error, however I had to wrestle with getting any/all mods to work for a while. But I'm back in! With most things intact.

    I had to update the prism launcher itself, which remedied the server error, however I had to wrestle with getting any/all mods to work for a while.

    But I'm back in! With most things intact.

    1 vote
  12. Comment on Tidles Minecraft Weekly - Big Farts Edition (26.2 Update) in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    Well, it seems like I get the same errors in every new instance as well, no matter mods/modloader... I'll try some other things later today

    Well, it seems like I get the same errors in every new instance as well, no matter mods/modloader...

    I'll try some other things later today

    1 vote
  13. Comment on Tidles Minecraft Weekly - Big Farts Edition (26.2 Update) in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    I shall attempt it in the morning. Thank you!

    I shall attempt it in the morning. Thank you!

  14. Comment on Tidles Minecraft Weekly - Big Farts Edition (26.2 Update) in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    I guess I was trying to avoid that But what of the saved schematics, screenshots, mod list, and hotkeys? Must all be manually moved/reconstructed?

    I guess I was trying to avoid that

    But what of the saved schematics, screenshots, mod list, and hotkeys? Must all be manually moved/reconstructed?

  15. Comment on Tidles Minecraft Weekly - Big Farts Edition (26.2 Update) in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    I feel like I'm doing something wrong. When I try to update the instance version in prism, it gives me: "Error Updating instance: Null jar is specified in the metadata, aborting." Whenever I...

    I feel like I'm doing something wrong.
    When I try to update the instance version in prism, it gives me:
    "Error Updating instance: Null jar is specified in the metadata, aborting."

    Whenever I attempt to launch the game, it fails with:
    "Instance update failed because: Component metadata update task failed while downloading from remote server: One or more subtasks failed"

    I feel silly that I have such trouble updating every time, a process that should be relatively simple.

    I hope to be back to building pyramid chambers soon!

    1 vote
  16. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    I agree that it desperately needs one. I only designed the shell for it, and I'm blanking at the moment on who built the furnace itself.

    I agree that it desperately needs one. I only designed the shell for it, and I'm blanking at the moment on who built the furnace itself.

    4 votes
  17. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    I don't have a ton of red sand on hand, actually. However, I do have plans to remove much of the red sand to the south of my current builds. If you want to dig it, you're welcome to it! I'll try...

    I don't have a ton of red sand on hand, actually. However, I do have plans to remove much of the red sand to the south of my current builds. If you want to dig it, you're welcome to it! I'll try to get on later today and scope some strip-mine-able red beaches!

    1 vote
  18. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    I also have not been able to access the server/bluemap. I'm jonesing for some more terraforming!

    I also have not been able to access the server/bluemap.
    I'm jonesing for some more terraforming!

    3 votes
  19. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    @Gravysleeve when you said that you made some mapart, I wasn't expecting something so awesome! Also, I think I know why there seems to be a slight seam between the frames! Despite not actually...

    @Gravysleeve when you said that you made some mapart, I wasn't expecting something so awesome!

    Also, I think I know why there seems to be a slight seam between the frames! Despite not actually being on the map, the stonebrick wall on the north side effects the pixels in the most northern row, namely making them 1 shade darker. I'll take down that wall, and replace it with something that's both fall-safe and doesn't screw up the water curtain.

    4 votes
  20. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    j0hn1215
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    I like the current iteration, maybe only put a dormer every-other section? That might give you some more space to play with scale. Maybe a little shorter? Just spitballing here.

    I like the current iteration, maybe only put a dormer every-other section? That might give you some more space to play with scale. Maybe a little shorter? Just spitballing here.

    2 votes