kacey's recent activity
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Comment on With Core One, Prusa's open source hardware dream quietly dies in ~tech
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Comment on Relativty — an open-source VR headset in ~tech
kacey Link ParentI would imagine it’s a quality-price trade off? I bought a dozen sets of lenses for knockoff google cardboard headsets a decade ago for about $20. By comparison, the optics in the Vision Pro...I would imagine it’s a quality-price trade off? I bought a dozen sets of lenses for knockoff google cardboard headsets a decade ago for about $20. By comparison, the optics in the Vision Pro (which has much higher FOV, magnification, and visual quality retirements) are probably many hundreds of dollars. And also probably glass, not plastic…
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Comment on Conformity and contrarianism at the same time in ~talk
kacey Link ParentOh no … I have an off topic discussion about usage of the term “designed”. Please feel free to flag this so my comment is hidden to others … May I ask what your take is on how folks refer to...Oh no … I have an off topic discussion about usage of the term “designed”. Please feel free to flag this so my comment is hidden to others …
May I ask what your take is on how folks refer to biological features? For example, colloquially, one might say that a bird’s feather is “designed” to be lightweight and strong, even though no individual (or group of individuals) literally designed it. Similarly there is frequently a desire to ascribe purpose to said features as well: your spleen is ‘for cleaning your blood cells’, your skin is ‘for keeping external biomes out’ and etc., even though reality is dramatically more complex (eg horses naturally blood dope with their spleen, your skin is a significant source of vitamin D, etc) since the organs simply “are” and do not abide the rigid categorization that exemplify human designs.
I’ve softened my take on the above examples over the years, since it seems like many people do genuinely prefer to work with those individual/human-centric framings, even if they have to adjust their conclusions in some cases due to a misalignment with the fuzzier, less coherent reality. Not sure if that’s useful to the topic at hand, but I’m curious about your take! (assuming you have one; no pressure if not)
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Comment on Heat pumps used to struggle in the cold. Not anymore. in ~enviro
kacey Link ParentI’d imagine that you already know this, but for anyone else reading, split units can also be big and not “mini”! The main differentiator is whether they try to push/pull heat out of the ground...I’d imagine that you already know this, but for anyone else reading, split units can also be big and not “mini”! The main differentiator is whether they try to push/pull heat out of the ground (ground source, like thread OP) or out of the air (air sourced, like in the article). Both are very efficient and perfectly capable of hearing or cooling a house, and air source heat pumps have the bonus of working in very rocky terrain!
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Comment on Heat pumps used to struggle in the cold. Not anymore. in ~enviro
kacey Link ParentOne potential issue is operating temperature: at least in North America, we’ve historically used under floor heating with heat pumps, which works because they work at a (relatively) low operating...One potential issue is operating temperature: at least in North America, we’ve historically used under floor heating with heat pumps, which works because they work at a (relatively) low operating temperature over a wide surface area. Radiators (as are more common in the UK, I think?) need to operate at much higher temperatures in order to heat effectively due to their small size. And in that case, insulation and air sealing could mean that radiators don’t need to run as hot.
All that said, modern heat pumps work just fine at producing higher temperature water, it’s just a little less efficient.
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Comment on Conformity and contrarianism at the same time in ~talk
kacey Link ParentOh, agreed. I don’t think I’ve had precisely the same exchanges, but I have not-infrequently conceded a point or avoided speaking because I know that further discussion would become prickly … I...Oh, agreed. I don’t think I’ve had precisely the same exchanges, but I have not-infrequently conceded a point or avoided speaking because I know that further discussion would become prickly … I assume it’s just a commonly accepted social practice.
I really like hanging out with people who will (without a hint of aggression) call me out when I make mistakes, though, so I guess I want to select for environments like that by treating others similarly. It’s hard to grow if I’m the only source of useful critiques.
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Comment on Two sides of the same coin in ~humanities
kacey Link(IANAP: I am not a physicist) I’d argue that Schrödinger’s cat is a framing of quantum superposition in a macroscopic context in order to underline its unintuitiveness as a principle, whereas the...(IANAP: I am not a physicist)
I’d argue that Schrödinger’s cat is a framing of quantum superposition in a macroscopic context in order to underline its unintuitiveness as a principle, whereas the coin flip argument is that you can’t see something which is hidden.
Notably, the intended takeaway of Schrödinger’s cat as a thought experiment is that there is no hidden state: a superposition of states is 100% probabilistic until the state “collapses” by being “observed” (quotes around words with differing meanings from their common connotations). It’s also a thought experiment in that it’s impossible to perform: the box would need to have literally no connection to the outside world. You can’t be able to run it through an x-ray machine, shake a box of treats in front of it, or bark repeatedly to provoke a reaction.
All of this said: glass table and a mirror?
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Comment on Conformity and contrarianism at the same time in ~talk
kacey LinkPerhaps folks like the broad strokes of how their life is currently (uncritical acceptance of the status quo) but feel that some details in particular are unpleasant (being contrarian)? I’d also...Perhaps folks like the broad strokes of how their life is currently (uncritical acceptance of the status quo) but feel that some details in particular are unpleasant (being contrarian)?
I’d also argue that people are, generally, walking contradictions and that internal inconsistencies seem very common [1] which doesn’t seem itself a bad thing. Except when they open their mouths and attempt to make self-defeating arguments … and cold logic does not permit paradoxes.
Could also be that, in the space of a few hundred words shared on an Internet forum, it’s hard to tell what a person stands for. We’re not all stereotypes (although some are!), so I’ve at least found some surprises when speaking with people in detail on subjects that their in group (as perceived by me) would have starkly different opinions on. Not super frequently though since I tend to keep to myself …
Finally, to be frank, I’m not always sure what constitutes being contrarian. I’ve often been accused of it by disagreeing with someone who feels that they’re clearly correct. Or when asking someone for more reasoning, since interrogating a feeling or opinion can feel like an attack when framed incorrectly.
[1] IME: devout Christians ignoring teachings that they dislike, environmentalists not following an environmentally-friendly lifestyle in literally every facet of their life, preaching acceptance while holding and espousing bigoted or exclusionary beliefs, etc.
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Comment on Heat pumps used to struggle in the cold. Not anymore. in ~enviro
kacey LinkSomewhat relatedly, it’d be nice if there were a way to simultaneously push for improved house air sealing + insulation (or the envelope overall), and retrofits for existing buildings. For folks...Somewhat relatedly, it’d be nice if there were a way to simultaneously push for improved house air sealing + insulation (or the envelope overall), and retrofits for existing buildings. For folks that don’t feel that they can switch to electric heating, it would at least let them cut costs on fuel, which helps everyone long term.
I don’t think it’s possible to make “inspect homes using a variety of equipment, model energy over the day/year, and meticulously retrofit walls & windows” as interesting as a cool new technology straight outta science fiction, though, so I’m probably chasing a pipe dream.
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Comment on Solar + power bank for household appliances in apartment - can I reduce my electricity bill? in ~life.home_improvement
kacey LinkBy chance, do you own the apartment or are familiar with the owners of it? If solar power is of interest to more than just a few people in the building, you might get more bang for your buck by...By chance, do you own the apartment or are familiar with the owners of it? If solar power is of interest to more than just a few people in the building, you might get more bang for your buck by putting together a business plan for putting solar panels on the building’s roof.
The logistics and feasibility of that differ a lot based on your living situation; if you’re talking about a four storey walk up, you have a much better chance than a forty storey tower downtown.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
kacey (edited )Link ParentSorry that it’s not a soup. But in case you want to use them up in a jiff, red lentil bolognese is a tasty, non-curry recipe that uses a lot of lentils. If you want some meat in it, cutting in a...Sorry that it’s not a soup. But in case you want to use them up in a jiff, red lentil bolognese is a tasty, non-curry recipe that uses a lot of lentils. If you want some meat in it, cutting in a little ground beef would go a long way (just a smidge would get the flavour in the dish; I don’t think adding a lot will do much besides add more beef).
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Comment on Kill Bill x Rav x Hatsune Miku - THINGS WILL GET MUCH WORSE FROM HERE (2024) in ~music
kacey Link ParentI suppose it was less that I didn’t think people could handle it (ie. watch it without a negative emotional response), and moreso that it seemed fairly niche (in artistic style and genre) so I...I suppose it was less that I didn’t think people could handle it (ie. watch it without a negative emotional response), and moreso that it seemed fairly niche (in artistic style and genre) so I didn’t think there were any groups here that would enjoy this piece. Perhaps as support for my inability to estimate the preferences of the forum, someone posted about Mili here the other day (definitely not the same genre and tone as this, incidentally) which I was also surprised by! I didn’t think said artist would have appeal to a general audience, which is (was?) generally how I think of Tildes.
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Comment on Kill Bill x Rav x Hatsune Miku - THINGS WILL GET MUCH WORSE FROM HERE (2024) in ~music
kacey LinkI heard this a couple months ago and loved it — but was way too worried that it’d be a smidge much for folks here. Glad that someone else thought otherwise :DI heard this a couple months ago and loved it — but was way too worried that it’d be a smidge much for folks here. Glad that someone else thought otherwise :D
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Comment on Choosing a TTRPG system in ~games.tabletop
kacey LinkI would advise that you decide whether you want a system to guide your creativity, or if you want to be unshackled by a system to be as creative as you’d like! Many systems have a particular play...Does anyone have any advice on how to evaluate my options or a suggestion for a good one to start out with?
I would advise that you decide whether you want a system to guide your creativity, or if you want to be unshackled by a system to be as creative as you’d like!
Many systems have a particular play style and setting in mind (eg Delta Green is about dying in the mud to old gods, Shadowrun is about thugs played with as pawns by corporations in a techno-fantasy setting, etc.) and bludgeoning them into doing what “you’d” like to make can be difficult. By contrast, if you don’t exactly know what you want to do but the gist of one of those systems sound interesting, you need only pick whichever one has the most pre-made adventures to your liking and go with it.
My group has played GURPS for a decade and found it to be excellent for running almost everything we’d like, and we’re only now looking into other systems. The lite rulebook is free and 32 pages, so it’s relatively simple to get into it as well! The downside is that it’s intended to be used as a toolkit: GURPS is a relatively internally consistent system for mechanically interpreting your players’ actions (eg answering whether that gap was jumped, if the sword was wrestled out of the ork’s hand, whether picking the lock succeeded or triggered a trap, etc.) without outlining every possible scenario and having specific rules for each one. Necessarily though this means that you need to either buy all the expansions which cover the topic you’d like “or” come up with them yourself.
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Comment on A bigger basket air fryer is worth it, even if you aren't cooking for a crowd in ~food
kacey LinkIt's been cool to see rtings move outside their traditional comfort zone of headphone reviews over the years -- I could've used this one a few months ago XD I'm still really happy with my...It's been cool to see rtings move outside their traditional comfort zone of headphone reviews over the years -- I could've used this one a few months ago XD
I'm still really happy with my purchase, though. I bought a flip-up air fryer from Ninja on sale (SP101c, review 1, 2). It's completely replaced my existing, apartment-size convection oven: it preheats in literally less than 60s (perhaps because it uses quartz tube heaters instead of the chunky coil heaters most air fryers and ovens prefer), and cools down fast enough that it doesn't burn food I'm too distracted to fetch at time. Plus it makes excellent, consistent toast (even with roughly cut sourdough)! Finally, although I haven't tried this yet, my entire skillet fits directly inside it (the volume is 13"x13"), so I figure it'd be great to use for finishing anything that fits in a 28cm skillet.
It's all around one of my favourite kitchen appliances, and it flips up to take up very little useful countertop space to boot!
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Comment on UK music festival The Great Escape has withdrawn its partnership with the Faroe Islands after it was criticised for working with a country which allows “barbaric” whaling in ~music
kacey LinkJust as a point of context, commercial fisheries accidentally kill upwards of 300,000 cetaceans a year. We also intentionally kill a few thousand whales a year, most of which are hunted by...- Exemplary
Just as a point of context, commercial fisheries accidentally kill upwards of 300,000 cetaceans a year. We also intentionally kill a few thousand whales a year, most of which are hunted by aboriginal people (can't speak for other countries, but in Canada, that means settlers stole their land, stole their children, then largely succeeded in destroying their culture, history, and language. So maybe it's bad optics to call "them" barbarians for hunting whales, but the Faroese are fair game).
Notably, there's commercial whaling happening in Japan, Norway, Iceland, and South Korea! I wonder how much of the music equipment in "The Great Escape" was manufactured in those countries? Boycotts sure are fun; hopefully they're standing on their morals and not just trying to save face in light of a PR disaster.
Final note: calling another culture's practices barbaric is problematic, imo. That term has been used to dehumanize and diminish groups very frequently. They could've stuck to the facts and simply stated that they stand against whaling.
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Comment on Winamp releases source code, asks for help modernizing the player in ~comp
kacey LinkHah; it looks like they have some GPL violations in there too. Doesn't seem like anything egregious -- just a typical lacklustre approach to library dependencies typical of that era -- but it's...Hah; it looks like they have some GPL violations in there too. Doesn't seem like anything egregious -- just a typical lacklustre approach to library dependencies typical of that era -- but it's still very amusing to have it come out this way.
Hopefully this only serves to encourage them to release their code under a proper open source license, and doesn't dissuade other software developers from opening up source code for their abandoned projects.
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Comment on CO2 turned into fuel: Japan’s scientists convert captured carbon into green fuel in ~engineering
kacey Link ParentAgreed that it offers economic incentives! I’m not sure if it’s entirely unique, though: this line of reasoning also leads economists to promote carbon taxes. They shift the cost of cleaning up...Agreed that it offers economic incentives! I’m not sure if it’s entirely unique, though: this line of reasoning also leads economists to promote carbon taxes. They shift the cost of cleaning up carbon from the air (super expensive, requires research that’s decades away) to the producer (comparatively easier to do in most cases, although avionics and virgin steel production are notable exceptions). In that scenario we see a large reduction in co2 emissions, as motivated by economic incentives, without relying on risky and unproven technology.
Overall it’s very neat, and is probably a solution to a problem we’ll (hopefully!) see in several decades. As noted though I don’t tend to engage with this sort of news for the same reason that I don’t do so with fusion research :3
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Comment on CO2 turned into fuel: Japan’s scientists convert captured carbon into green fuel in ~engineering
kacey Link ParentAgreed! The concern I (and others) have is that we already have technologies and practices which will dramatically reduce our carbon impact, and will already take a substantial amount of funds and...Agreed! The concern I (and others) have is that we already have technologies and practices which will dramatically reduce our carbon impact, and will already take a substantial amount of funds and community buy in to be successful. Given the timelines, my understanding is that folks want to downplay untested, unknown — but promising! — future technology, and to instead spend the time and energy we have on known good solutions (eg public transport rollout, reduced meat consumption, improvements in goods transport, etc.)
It’s definitely interesting, and it could definitely tip the needle! But we already know how to slam the needle hard in the necessary direction, and we’ve seen decades of “green coal”, “biofuels”, “algal oil” etc. come and go while the planet burns.
(edit) I’d also note that they’re not referring to off-the-lab-bench efficiency, afaik, when they say it has relatively high faradic efficiency.
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Comment on CO2 turned into fuel: Japan’s scientists convert captured carbon into green fuel in ~engineering
kacey (edited )Link ParentAh, sorry … for my part, I’m on the side of folks who find discussion of non-emissions reduction tech to be a little exhausting. I can dig up some sources if it helps, but afaik the consensus is...Ah, sorry … for my part, I’m on the side of folks who find discussion of non-emissions reduction tech to be a little exhausting. I can dig up some sources if it helps, but afaik the consensus is that effectively no amount of carbon capture can meaningfully offset our global emissions. Plus — iirc — we’ve known for a while how to pull combustible hydrocarbons out of the air, it’s just very inefficient due to the low concentration of carbon (and other factors).
Overall, research is still needed since all paths towards 2c now require deployment of as-yet undeveloped direct air carbon capture techniques, but it’s going to attract similar vibes as climate geoengineering. Ie some mix of defeat and sadness, ime.
I'm not sure I understand this take ... the open source community isn't a cohesive whole. I wouldn't lump Swift contributors in with defense contractors and the FSF.
My read from the article is that the author -- and many other folks -- are disappointed that a person who was a strong proponent of the open hardware movement (as distinct from open source) decided to take his designs mostly private. This is largely due to the reality of needing to compete with cheaper, copycat clones that are manufactured unethically instead of their own products, and losing revenue as a consequence. That's disappointing to a lot of folks, and given that Prusa was a leader in this area, it feels like the death of a dream.
I'm not sure why that prompted calling out diehard open-sourcers (?)?