Mendanbar's recent activity

  1. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    Mendanbar
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    Update on the City of Pitch Since last update I finalized a couple more interiors: Brewery I'm getting more comfortable decorating with each build. For this one, I wanted it to have brewing...

    Update on the City of Pitch

    Since last update I finalized a couple more interiors:

    Brewery

    I'm getting more comfortable decorating with each build. For this one, I wanted it to have brewing stands, but also resemble a winery or brewery for beer, so I added some big barrels. Then I made a cozy upstairs for the brewmasters.

    Textiles

    For this one I finally got to make use of the baby mobs. Can you spot it?. I've also been getting more comfortable with the debug stick and custom heads. The textile expert's living quarters make much more use of color.

    Still outstanding

    I have quite a few empty buildings left. Some of the interiors I have planned:

    • I need a place for my fletcher to work. I'm thinking about making an indoor archery range that resembles a gun club/shooting range.
    • I have an area set aside for a sort of farmer's market. I plan to put in some little market stalls etc
    • @teaearlgraycold suggested that I need some way to turn off most of the city lights, and @GravySleeve and I brainstormed a bit about how I could make random "lights out" events that spawn creakings. I've started trying to figure out how I can make that happen.

    Previous update

    4 votes

  2. Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    Well your theory certainly tracks when I think about Kenneth Copeland. I think he may be well on his way to becoming one himself. Also fun fact: I only had to use the term "demon preacher" to find...

    Gist: I believe at least some of them are contacted and work for demons.

    Well your theory certainly tracks when I think about Kenneth Copeland. I think he may be well on his way to becoming one himself.

    Also fun fact: I only had to use the term "demon preacher" to find that clip on youtube. It was the first result.

    14 votes

  3. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    Based on his recent activity, maybe a senior living facility would be more appropriate. 😂

    Based on his recent activity, maybe a senior living facility would be more appropriate. 😂

    2 votes

  4. Comment on I think Anthropic and OpenAI have found product-market fit in ~tech

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    Yes, I'm trying very hard not to fall in the trap of blocking progress due to fear. Maybe this is similar to the evolution of compilers and programming languages, and in the end we just use LLMs...

    Yes, I'm trying very hard not to fall in the trap of blocking progress due to fear. Maybe this is similar to the evolution of compilers and programming languages, and in the end we just use LLMs all the way down and the human is just the product owner that says what they want and observes the results with no need to dig into the code. Java/C++ developers likely never need to dig into machine code after all. Maybe someone could make the argument that the compiler is making less efficient use of the machine code (similar to how a WYSIWYG HTML editor produces spaghetti HTML under the hood). But at the end of the day it's worth it for the time savings and the ability to work on higher level tasks. It's hard to say for sure if my concerns are really warranted, or if it's just a sign of progress.

    7 votes

  5. Comment on I think Anthropic and OpenAI have found product-market fit in ~tech

    Mendanbar
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I think this is what concerns me the most about rising AI use. The numbers do seem to make a lot of business sense in the near term. Thinking about what it takes to fill out an entire dev team,...

    I think this is what concerns me the most about rising AI use. The numbers do seem to make a lot of business sense in the near term. Thinking about what it takes to fill out an entire dev team, there are a lot of steps, and a lot of potential for failure. There's selecting engineers with good fit, bringing them up to speed with the codebase, and retention. You also need seniors or leads to code review and drive good practices. It's a lot.

    Compare that to the example of a single (or smaller group) or architects that are guiding LLMs. The architects are likely doing a lot of the same tasks that the senior/lead engineers are doing in the previous scenario, and the "developers" are much faster, and their "salary" comes with none of the overhead of humans (ramp up time, benefits, culture fit, etc).

    If we're only looking at this snapshot it makes a ton of sense to shift to AI. But I think it all falls apart when you consider the background of the architect. The architect is able to suggest good patterns and detect problems in generated code in large part because they spent years as a junior learning those hard lessons. But in our second scenario, the junior developer is largely replaced by LLMs. So fast forward 10/20/30 years when the architect is ready to retire. Where is the source of new architects to replace him?

    edit:typo

    10 votes

  6. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    I silk touched a bunch when I was clearing the ancient city. I had intended to use them to patch any spots in the ceiling that needed darkening, but as it turns out the cavern is pretty dark...

    I silk touched a bunch when I was clearing the ancient city. I had intended to use them to patch any spots in the ceiling that needed darkening, but as it turns out the cavern is pretty dark anyway and the thought of placing a bunch of blocks on the ceiling sounds super tedious. 🤷‍♂️

    1 vote

  7. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    Mendanbar
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I have probably 3 shulkers full if you need them. Edit: I'll hop on and put them in storage. They are just sitting idle in a barrel at my base anyway. Edit2: There were actually 6 full shulkers...

    Is there a good source of sculk blocks anywhere? I will build a generator attached to the enderman farm if not.

    I have probably 3 shulkers full if you need them.

    Edit: I'll hop on and put them in storage. They are just sitting idle in a barrel at my base anyway.

    Edit2: There were actually 6 full shulkers (!), and there was quite a lot at storage already.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Valve raises Steam Deck OLED prices by up to $300 in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    I know you are venting and likely not looking for solutions per se, but I do want to point out that Valve has been intermittently restocking refurbished LCD steam deck models, and at least for now...

    I know you are venting and likely not looking for solutions per se, but I do want to point out that Valve has been intermittently restocking refurbished LCD steam deck models, and at least for now the prices on those has not changed as part of this announcement. I was fortunate enough to snag one in the last restock a little over a week ago. There is a discord channel that notifies upon restocks, and that's how I was able to grab one.

    FWIW I do sympathize with how unfair it all feels. I didn't ask for any of the decisions and actions that have led to these ridiculous price spikes. :(

    11 votes

  9. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    Just realized I never answered your question, sorry. Everything acts the same during the day, but the difference is that the creaking do not generate resin when attacked. I nametagged the creaking...

    Still only works at night according to the signs?

    Just realized I never answered your question, sorry. Everything acts the same during the day, but the difference is that the creaking do not generate resin when attacked. I nametagged the creaking so that I wouldn't have to worry about them spawning in a predictable place every night. In fact, now that all 9 of them are in place, the entire area under and around the farm is perfectly viable for regular building.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    @GravySleeve I have been considering some variation of "wireless catstone" for my teleportation. I have not tried it yet, but plan to tinker with it this week.

    @GravySleeve I have been considering some variation of "wireless catstone" for my teleportation. I have not tried it yet, but plan to tinker with it this week.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    I'm glad you like it! I have been trying to challenge myself to come up with more original designs this season, especially with farms. For both the music disc farm and this one, I looked around...

    I'm glad you like it! I have been trying to challenge myself to come up with more original designs this season, especially with farms. For both the music disc farm and this one, I looked around for design inspiration, but ultimately went into creative and just tinkered until I had something I liked. Thanks to this farm I finally grasp why the redstone community was so excited about the introduction of the target block. :)

    Also side design note: I built this one in 2 phases. The first phase had a larger platform on the side to allow for the spawning of 9 creaking (since they don't like to spawn inside the space of each other), and also a water stream to push them into the single hole where they now sit. Once I had all 9 nametagged and in place, I was able to tear down the larger platform.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

  13. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    Thanks! I have since added a sign so the building's purpose is more clear, and there is a guestbook inside for those who want to leave a message.

    Thanks! I have since added a sign so the building's purpose is more clear, and there is a guestbook inside for those who want to leave a message.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    How is the refresh rate? I could see this being actually useful for following YouTube build tutorials without swapping windows or needing a second monitor.

    How is the refresh rate? I could see this being actually useful for following YouTube build tutorials without swapping windows or needing a second monitor.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

  16. Comment on Anyone playing Subnautica 2? in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    I just looked it up and it seems like the jukebox was an item exclusive to Below Zero, so it's not available in my original Subnautica world. :(

    I just looked it up and it seems like the jukebox was an item exclusive to Below Zero, so it's not available in my original Subnautica world. :(

  17. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link
    I took a break from the city of Pitch for a few days and built a greenhouse in town. It's intended to house every plant in the game, and I'm only missing a wither rose. Here are some screenshots:...

    I took a break from the city of Pitch for a few days and built a greenhouse in town. It's intended to house every plant in the game, and I'm only missing a wither rose. Here are some screenshots:

    3 votes

  18. Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games

  19. Comment on Anyone playing Subnautica 2? in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    Voices of the Void has a radio item that does this, and they go even further by offering a TV item that can play local video files! I had no idea Subnautica had this feature. I'm going to have to...

    I haven't seen any other games pull this trick

    Voices of the Void has a radio item that does this, and they go even further by offering a TV item that can play local video files!

    I had no idea Subnautica had this feature. I'm going to have to load up my save and try it out.

    1 vote

  20. Comment on What's your favorite personal gaming memory? in ~games

    Mendanbar
    Link Parent
    I think we must be about the same age. For me, the original Zelda game was my first lesson in self control. I would spend many hours in game and lose all track of time. My grades started to slip,...

    I think we must be about the same age. For me, the original Zelda game was my first lesson in self control. I would spend many hours in game and lose all track of time. My grades started to slip, and my parents threatened grounding me from video games if I didn't find some balance. So I did. I started the habit of checking the clock periodically, and setting limits for myself. I built an internal system of discipline that I still use for games and other activities today. There have been many fun and engrossing games in my life since the original Zelda, but it holds a special place for me because it taught me this valuable life skill.

    2 votes