mellowminx's recent activity

  1. Comment on Any tips for improving personal cybersecurity in 2026? (I'm concerned about rogue AI agents) in ~tech

    mellowminx
    Link Parent
    I don't think AI agents require intelligence or a self-improving model to do a lot of damage. AI agents could still self-improve with a static model. The Emergent Garden video demonstrated how...

    I don't think AI agents require intelligence or a self-improving model to do a lot of damage. AI agents could still self-improve with a static model.

    The Emergent Garden video demonstrated how publicly accessible AI agents can be pushed a bit past guardrails to misbehave, and also demonstrated a proof of concept for a simple self-replicating AI worm. It's a python script that copies itself and runs the copy, with a model (GPT Luna) modifying the code with each copy. This AI worm could possibly self-improve, but it didn't in this demo. It might have done so with a bigger model like GPT Sol, but the video showed that GPT Sol simply refused to create a self-replicating script, so that guardrail worked there, and the video creator did not push further.

    Definitely still going to keep doing the basics. Thanks!

    2 votes

  2. Any tips for improving personal cybersecurity in 2026? (I'm concerned about rogue AI agents)

    ~tech Ask (advice)
    Recently learned from this Kurzgesagt video that rogue AI agents can act independently, covertly, and effectively in a harmful way-- and it's already done this repeatedly as of the past few...

    Recently learned from this Kurzgesagt video that rogue AI agents can act independently, covertly, and effectively in a harmful way-- and it's already done this repeatedly as of the past few months, and it's capable of self-improving quickly. I also watched this Emergent Garden video which included a demonstration of how rogue AI agents can escape sandboxes, hack systems, and do self-preservation and replication.

    (Edit: Kurzgesagt's video was more "doomsday" and Emergent Garden's was more balanced. The latter demonstrated that it's not too difficult to push publicly available AI agents to misbehave, and not too difficult to create a simple self-replicating self-iterating AI worm, and concluded that although current guardrails are reasonably effective, major cybersecurity incidents are likely to occur within the next couple years due to rogue AI swarms.
    I'm not concerned that AI is becoming "sentient" or that we're getting AGI soon. AI doesn't need to be smart to do a lot of damage.)

    I don't trust that the big corporations that own and control a lot of this AI tech care about data privacy and public welfare, but even if they did, they don't seem capable of actually controlling their own AI agents and preventing these rogue incidents.

    So much of modern society's infrastructure is dependent on the internet and digital tech in general. It all seems so vulnerable. "AI psychosis" seems to be rampant in a lot of CEO's / high-level decisionmakers, leading to a lot of access and data being given to AI agents. For example, Proton's CEO seems to be pushing for reckless AI use in what's supposed to be a privacy-first, security-first platform.

    I'm averse to any sort of "doomsday" predictions/fearmongering, but I do feel concerned about this and I'm not sure if I'm overreacting. The idea that AI poses a viable existential threat to humanity feels like such an extreme belief, though I'm not sure how to refute it other than "other doomsday-type ideas have been proven to be overhyped" and "AI companies are exaggerating it to create hype that makes their AI tech look very powerful". How alarmed should I actually be about this, if at all? Is it realistic to think that a "cyber pandemic/lockdown" might happen in the near future (some scenario wherein global internet becomes generally unsafe/inaccessible and we'll be restricted to small local networks)?

    How are you updating your personal cybersecurity in 2026?

    I'm considering leaving Protonpass but also not sure if the alternatives (1Password, Bitwarden) are better. I'm hoping to find a password manager that's secure, not AI vibe coded, reasonably priced, and run by reasonably morally ok people. Is that possible? I'm also genuinely considering just going back to having some sort of personal cipher / password hint system + writing it down on paper so it's completely offline.

    How concerned should I be about digital banking? I'm considering at least having printed out records of bank balances, in case of a scenario wherein digital banks' records are affected.

    How are you balancing cybersecurity measures with practicality / ease-of-use?

    I'm not an advanced techie myself, and I'd also like to get non-techie family members onboard with better cybersecurity measures, so for example if I encourage them to use a password manager it would need to have friendly UI too.

    I don't think I'll be able to 100% remove my dependency on big tech companies like Google, Meta, and Apple.

    The amount of time and energy I devote to improving my personal cybersecurity will be limited, since it's of course competing with everything else in my life requiring attention and care.

    So I'm just trying to collect info and tips, and see what I can implement from there.

    19 votes

  3. Comment on Manifestos, fear, and ‘loser thinking’: inside Proton’s AI reckoning in ~tech

  4. Comment on Manifestos, fear, and ‘loser thinking’: inside Proton’s AI reckoning in ~tech

    mellowminx
    Link
    This sucks :( I don't use Protonmail much but I've been using and loving Protonpass. This doesn't make me feel confident about their data privacy and cybersecurity... will have to look around for...

    This sucks :( I don't use Protonmail much but I've been using and loving Protonpass. This doesn't make me feel confident about their data privacy and cybersecurity... will have to look around for other password manager options

    3 votes

  5. Comment on What single episode of a show would you recommend as a standalone? in ~tv

    mellowminx
    Link Parent
    Just started watching The Americans and it's so good! We watched it after finishing the season of Widow's Bay so it's extra fun for us seeing Matthew Rhys in this role.

    Just started watching The Americans and it's so good! We watched it after finishing the season of Widow's Bay so it's extra fun for us seeing Matthew Rhys in this role.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on What single episode of a show would you recommend as a standalone? in ~tv

  7. Comment on What single episode of a show would you recommend as a standalone? in ~tv

  8. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    mellowminx
    Link Parent
    I enjoy Edgar Rice Burroughs' writing so much, it's so much fun! Tarzan and Princess of Mars were both great :)

    I enjoy Edgar Rice Burroughs' writing so much, it's so much fun! Tarzan and Princess of Mars were both great :)

  9. Comment on Online visual art communities without AI? in ~creative

    mellowminx
    Link
    Yes and I'd say the same thing about Pillowfort! https://www.pillowfort.social/ - It's not just for art, it's a social blogging platform, but there are lots of creatives and creative communities...

    Tildes does a good job creating an online community where it feels like I’m engaging with real people

    Yes and I'd say the same thing about Pillowfort! https://www.pillowfort.social/ - It's not just for art, it's a social blogging platform, but there are lots of creatives and creative communities there. I like that the community feels cozy and the people I've interacted with are nice. I have fewer followers there than on the big social media platforms, but I feel like I get more (and better) engagement there. If you're interested, here's a feed of my bookmarked posts there that may help you get started (there's no algorithm, the feed is chronological, so you manually have to look for people and communities to follow there). I've mostly bookmarked Pillowfort tips and random creative posts.

    And yes, the platform is officially anti-AI.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Do you iron your clothes? in ~life

    mellowminx
    Link
    Over the years I've managed to put together a wardrobe that generally doesn't require ironing :D But also I don't have a job requiring corporate attire. For formal events, I have a set of kimonos...

    Over the years I've managed to put together a wardrobe that generally doesn't require ironing :D But also I don't have a job requiring corporate attire. For formal events, I have a set of kimonos and dresses which I designed myself, and I specifically chose a fabric type that drapes nicely and doesn't wrinkle.

    The first thing I check when I'm shopping for clothes is how the fabric wrinkles. I crumple it in my hand to see how easily it creases.

    Most of the fabric in my wardrobe is stretchy ("athleisure" is a great category for me), textured (such as seersucker or crepe), or "technical"/outdoorsy (some kind of ripstop).

    My fashion style is probably something like lazy urban goth... it's mostly athleisure-ish / ninja-ish and almost all black. My husband usually says I'm dressed like I'm going to go assassinate someone :))

  11. Comment on What made that wedding that you attended particularly memorable? in ~life

    mellowminx
    Link
    Oohhh I really enjoyed wedding planning! It's essentially throwing a big party with family and friends. We had our wedding early last year :) I have a wedding planning spreadsheet template (Google...

    Oohhh I really enjoyed wedding planning! It's essentially throwing a big party with family and friends. We had our wedding early last year :)

    I have a wedding planning spreadsheet template (Google sheets link) in case it helps. It includes sample sheets for costing, program planning, and guestlist management, as well as a list of tips.

    I've mostly attended large formal weddings with 100+ guests, though I've been to a few that were very intimate that had just the couple + a handful of guests. For our own wedding, we had 30 guests for our civil ceremony (15 mins at a government office) + lunch celebration in Japan, and then about 150 guests for our dinner celebration back home in the Philippines.

    As a guest, I enjoy when the venue is comfy and accessible, the food is yummy, the sound system isn't too loud (unfortunately this is practically the norm in a lot of local events not just weddings), the required guest attire color palette isn't strict/difficult, and the program isn't so long. I appreciate when the wedding is personalized based on the couple's personality. For example, my cousin's wedding had old-school arcade video game machines at their wedding reception, that was so fun and it was so them!

    For our own wedding dinner celebration, we served guests Japanese food, and had a live band playing anime song covers. Instead of games during the program, we had crossword puzzles about our love story on guest tables. (Introvert-friendly activity!) For guest souvenirs, we had a mobile photo studio setup where guests could have professional portraits taken and then take home their printed photo in a real wood-and-glass frame. We received a lot of compliments from our guests saying they really enjoyed the food and the portraits. And they were happy we weren't strict about guest attire color palette (ours included gray, silver, and black, so we had a lot of guests happy they could just wear black). We loved hearing "your wedding is so you!" :)

    We had our wedding in a hotel ballroom, and the hotel's wedding package included a couple of free hotel rooms for that evening. We used one of them as a small "after-party hangout" after the dinner. Our caterer had packed up the leftover food from the dinner... so at around 3am we were sitting on the floor of the hotel room with maybe a dozen friends, chatting, eating gindara teriyaki, ebi tempura, and saikoro steak with our hands. It was the perfect chill after-party for us.

    While wedding planning I asked my married friends for tips too. Most advised us to spend only on what we really want, and also to set our expectations about attendance for 100+ guests-- it's safe to estimate that about 10% of confirmed guests will be a no-show on the day itself. (After having planned a wedding myself, I can say that I'd much rather have a guest tell me "regrets I can't make it" well in advance, rather than a last-minute cancellation or no-show... but I also understand that my wedding is my big day, not the guest's, and they have other things going on in their life.)

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Post-tooth extraction diets! in ~food

    mellowminx
    Link
    I survived mostly on mashed potatoes and gravy (homemade using grass-fed beef bone broth) after my wisdom teeth extraction years ago. Could also be sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes....

    I survived mostly on mashed potatoes and gravy (homemade using grass-fed beef bone broth) after my wisdom teeth extraction years ago. Could also be sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. Hummus and baba ganoush are good options too.

    Good luck, wish you well with recovery!

    2 votes

  13. Comment on I run a speculative fiction book club in ~books

    mellowminx
    Link
    I just saw this post and hope to join when you open invites again! <3

    I just saw this post and hope to join when you open invites again! <3

  14. Comment on Cheap / budget travel Japan ideas request in ~travel

    mellowminx
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I hope to hear all about it after your trip! I haven't been to a lot outside of the big three, but I hear it's amazing too from friends who've gone around. Last year springtime I was able to go to...

    I hope to hear all about it after your trip! I haven't been to a lot outside of the big three, but I hear it's amazing too from friends who've gone around. Last year springtime I was able to go to Hitachi Seaside Park and Ashikaga Flower Park, both are about 2.5 hrs by train from Tokyo. They are very touristy but honestly just so gorgeous, especially Hitachi, it was magical to be surrounded by hills covered in blue nemophila flowers. I'm sure though you can definitely find less touristy flower parks around Japan! :3

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Cheap / budget travel Japan ideas request in ~travel

    mellowminx
    Link Parent
    Welcome! I hope you enjoy, Japan has so much to offer and I feel you'll have fun pretty much anywhere you choose to go. I'm planning to be in Osaka again this November so I might update my Google...

    Welcome! I hope you enjoy, Japan has so much to offer and I feel you'll have fun pretty much anywhere you choose to go. I'm planning to be in Osaka again this November so I might update my Google maps list then hehehe.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Cheap / budget travel Japan ideas request in ~travel

    mellowminx
    (edited )
    Link
    You can skip Tokyo, go to Osaka instead (everything is cheaper there and there's so much great food), Denden town is like Akihabara but in Osaka :D And yeah Kyoto is just like a 40-min train ride...

    (3) save all the money for the end of the trip to see Akihabara, spend it all on gunpla, anime and gaming goods.....

    You can skip Tokyo, go to Osaka instead (everything is cheaper there and there's so much great food), Denden town is like Akihabara but in Osaka :D And yeah Kyoto is just like a 40-min train ride away.

    Don't go in spring, it's usually more expensive during "sakura season" in Japan. Fall will probably be cheaper.

    In Osaka you might enjoy Shinsekai Market, it's touristy but it's cool to see all the old-fashioned "street festival" type shops and attractions. It totally looks like a Jujutsu Kaisen setting.

    Konbini food is nice and convenient, but you'll probably get better value for your money (and more variety) at supermarkets. A lot of department stores / malls have supermarkets in their basements, and they'll usually have lots of ready-to-eat meals, and sometimes they're discounted in the evenings. Supermarket sushi is legit! In Osaka I like to go to the Takashimaya department store supermarket, buy food, then eat it at the Namba Parks mall rooftop garden, one of the few public parks with seats and public trash cans. Though my fave "quick cheap protein" would be the konbini vacuum-packed cooked chicken breast in various seasonings... the konbini chicken skewers are great too :)) And if it's fiber you need (I often find my diet lacking in fiber when I'm in Japan), konbinis and Donkis usually sell roasted whole sweet potato, it's super cheap and yummy and fiber- rich.

    Ok so I have a ton of food recommendations in Osaka. I would say most of them aren't dirt cheap, but all of them are such great value for how delicious they are. :> Here is a Google maps list with notes. My cheapest recos on this list are probably Hanamaruken Hozenji (ramen-- open 24 hrs so this is usually our first meal right when we land in Osaka) and Oretachino-curry ya (this converted me into a Japanese curry believer). Honestly, Tonkatsu Daiki isn't even that pricy (1600 - 3000 JPY for a set meal), and I'd say it's one of the best food experiences in Osaka, if you like pork cutlets (trust me and get the leanest cut, it's super tender and juicy!). It's just a bit hard to get into-- we usually line up 30-40 mins before it opens for lunch-- and note they only accept cash and do not allow children. The priciest ones on my list at around 8000+ JPY range are probably Yakiniku Matsumoto because we can eat a lot of grilled wagyu... and Maguroya Kurogin Kuromon for its kamatoro aburi which is to-die-for but it's one of the pricier cuts of tuna. (You can spend less at those two places, that's just the average of what we spend for the servings we order!)

    My Google maps list also includes Umekita Onsen which is a new indoor onsen in Umeda area, it's like 6000-7000 JPY for a whole day pass when I went and the place is huge, they have a gym, underwater gym machines, indoor and outdoor heated pools, different types of saunas and onsen pools, rest areas, massage chairs, etc., complete amenities including towels, luxury hair dryers, skincare and haircare. I would joke that I could be homeless in Osaka and just buy their 1-year pass (it's like less than 1000 JPY a day) and I'd be fine as the place provides almost all the amenities I need :))

    We usually splurge on a decent hotel in Namba because a lot of the food we like is in the area and it's so convenient, the train station connects directly to the airport, and Dendentown is nearby as well. We think of it as paying to have more time with the activities we enjoy (less time commuting). Our past few visits we'd stay at Centara Grand which is a 5-star hotel but still much less expensive compared to other 5-star hotels. I saw another hotel beside it called Hotel Keihan Namba Grande, it also looks decent and it's cheaper.

    Oh and re. teamlab, yes it's touristy, but it's also really pretty. Osaka has a big teamlab night garden (Botanical Garden Osaka), and also a much smaller teamlab cafe+garden (Field of Wind, Rain and Sun) which is a bit out of the way. I enjoyed both but I am the kind of person who gets a lot of dopamine from looking at plants and pretty lights.

    2 votes

  17. Comment on What are your favourite fragrances, and why? in ~talk

    mellowminx
    Link
    Philosykos by Diptyque is still my all-time favorite, I love this creamy green fig scent. Fig's not a common fragrance note, and other fig scents I've tried just don't come close. Sayu by Ahres is...

    Philosykos by Diptyque is still my all-time favorite, I love this creamy green fig scent. Fig's not a common fragrance note, and other fig scents I've tried just don't come close.

    Sayu by Ahres is a new favorite, found this Japanese brand a few years ago while traveling. Now I pick up a a bottle every time I'm in Tokyo or Osaka. It's a very feminine, sophisticated, elegantly blended floral-soapy scent.

    4 votes

  18. Comment on Robyn – Always (Erasure cover) | Jo Whiley Sofa Session for Radio 2 (2026) in ~music

    mellowminx
    Link
    What a great cover! Thanks for sharing :D

    What a great cover! Thanks for sharing :D

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Feedback for a beginner singer in ~creative

    mellowminx
    (edited )
    Link
    Happy for you on your singing journey, I hope you have fun with it, I believe that's the most important thing with music :) The bandcamp link didn't work for me with no account but I was able to...

    Happy for you on your singing journey, I hope you have fun with it, I believe that's the most important thing with music :)

    The bandcamp link didn't work for me with no account but I was able to listen to the video you shared.

    This isn't an easy song, so you've done well in generally following the timing and melody.

    You struggle with hitting the pitch in some places, most noticeably in the lower range (for example around 0:31 in the word "debt"), so it's possible that this song's in a key that's a bit too low for your range, and you could try singing it in a higher key. I found a couple of covers of this song that you could try singing along to to check if a higher key would be more comfortable for your range:
    The Night We Met cover by Mary Williams
    The Night We Met cover by Drew Ryn & Thunderstorm Artis

    Tip #1: Study covers of the song you want to sing. Especially covers that change the key or style of the original, or covers by singers who have a similar range/style to yours. Learn how other singers are able to transform a song and make it their own. For example, Aurora's cover of Rasputin is so ethereal and folksy compared to the original.

    If you prefer to sing in the original key, that's ok too, you can still practice and stretch your range a bit, just don't strain/damage your voice. You'll get to know your range and personal style by trying out lots of different songs and styles, but feel free to focus on the songs that you feel personally drawn to. Here are some songs you might also want to try singing, might be in your style, based on similarities with The Night We Met. All have a slow tempo:
    Strange by Celeste - soft raw emotional yearning, ethereal vibe
    I Raise My Cup To Him by Anais Mitchell - soft folksy vibe, wistful
    Can't Help Falling In Love cover by Kina Grannis - I would recommend this as your "warmup" karaoke song, it's easy and it's well-known, and the instrumental riff of The Night We Met sounds a lot like this too. I linked a cover by a singer whose range and style is probably more similar to yours compared to the original.

    Tip #2: Know your range and personal style, and perform songs within your range and personal style. Change the key and style of the song if you have to. The song should serve your voice and not the other way around.

    In the intro "oohs" portion as well you're not hitting the pitch sometimes, but I think you have the range for these high notes, you just need to memorize the melody in this portion better so you'll sing it with more confidence.

    Tip #3: If you're having trouble with a particular line, sing it repeatedly until you've got it memorized. When I practice songs sometimes I'll repeat a specific line 5x or 10x when I'm trying to get it right. I'll slow it down if needed, until I'm confident I've matched the melody correctly.

    Tip #4: Be very aware of how you shape your voice using your mouth, tongue, throat, chest, posture, etc.

    Pay attention to where exactly you feel the sound resonating within you, like is it more towards the back of your throat? More towards the nose or forehead? With my own voice I notice this the most when I vocalize the same note using different vowels. My "ah" is near the back of my throat and my "ee" is more to the front of my face, behind my nose. My "ooh" is lower in my throat, somewhat in my chest too.

    When you make a sound that you like, remember where you felt that resonance, and try to replicate that placement next time you want to make that sound again.

    When I want to make a warmer, more resonant sound, I try to push my voice more towards the front of my face, towards my nose/forehead. I practice it by singing a line using "ee" vowels only, and then I try to sing it with words but with the same placement. It's a bit hard to explain without audio, so I recorded a short vocal sample to demonstrate. First, I sang the line "I am not the only traveller" as plain as possible, just hitting the notes without stylizing. Next, I sang the same melody using only "ahh" vowels. Next, using only "ee" vowels, which is where I feel stronger, warmer resonance. Next, I tried singing the line again, but tried to sing every note as close to my "ee" warm resonance as possible, to practice shaping the sound. Next, I only sprinkled that "ee" resonance in some parts. And lastly, I tried to keep that warm resonance sprinkled in some parts, but also tried to sing it with more emotion.

    This is all super subjective and depends on your anatomy since we all have different shapes/sizes of skull, lung capacity, etc. So your vowels might sound different from mine, and where you feel resonance might be different from me, and your preferred resonance might be different too. The point of this kind of exercise is to just be aware of how your own body actually shapes sounds, then try to control it so you can sing in the way you want.

    Lastly, when you're practicing, you'll be very in your head, thinking about all these ways of controlling your voice, hitting the pitch, etc... but the point of the practice is that you'll develop muscle memory, so by the time you're actually performing, it'll be on autopilot and you don't have to consciously think about all of these things, and you can just lean into the emotions of the song and have fun. Hope this helps! :)

    2 votes

  20. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    mellowminx
    Link Parent
    Glad you enjoyed it too! I've also read the additional two short stories she wrote continuing Helva's story, Honeymoon and The Ship That Returned, and loved them as well.

    Glad you enjoyed it too! I've also read the additional two short stories she wrote continuing Helva's story, Honeymoon and The Ship That Returned, and loved them as well.