mimic's recent activity
-
Comment on Tildes Gardening Group: Week 30/3/26 in ~hobbies
-
Comment on Tildes Gardening Group: Week 30/3/26 in ~hobbies
mimic Link ParentI'm in the southeast. I was eyeballing the maps I googled and thought zone 9 looked right, but I just double checked a different zone finder that actually says 10A. I'm fairly new to gardening in...I'm in the southeast. I was eyeballing the maps I googled and thought zone 9 looked right, but I just double checked a different zone finder that actually says 10A. I'm fairly new to gardening in general so I honestly wasn't aware they can change, but it makes a lot of sense in hindsight. Is there a website/app that makes tracking this as it changes easier?
-
Comment on Tildes Gardening Group: Week 30/3/26 in ~hobbies
mimic Link ParentAre you opposed to organic pesticides? B.T. (not sure if it's truly a pesticide since it's naturally occuring in the soil) is my savior for tomatoes/beans. You have to be vigilant and spray the...Are you opposed to organic pesticides? B.T. (not sure if it's truly a pesticide since it's naturally occuring in the soil) is my savior for tomatoes/beans. You have to be vigilant and spray the undersides of leaves when you find young catepillars or the early signs of them as it won't work on the adult ones, but it has knocked out an entire infestation for both my dad and myself.
-
Comment on Tildes Gardening Group: Week 30/3/26 in ~hobbies
mimic LinkI'm mostly in wait mode for my SFG and a little future planning. The four brandy boy tomatoes are past transplant shock and back into growth mode which is nice. Both cherry tomatoes are steady...I'm mostly in wait mode for my SFG and a little future planning.
- The four brandy boy tomatoes are past transplant shock and back into growth mode which is nice.
- Both cherry tomatoes are steady growing, but they've had a hard life (unexpected late freezes in US Zone 9), so they're bouncing between "oh crap gotta make fruit" and growth modes.
- The main heads from two gypsy broccoli plants have been harvested, so I'm waiting for the offshoots to start producing.
- Both waltham broccoli plants are producing their initial heads, but I'm several weeks out from harvest at best.
- Finally, 7 out of 8 pole beans sprouted and are about to start the runner phase, so another 3-4 weeks and they start producing like crazy.
I'm doing some renovations around the house so my indoor grow lights for starting from seeds are all torn down, but as soon as I get that back together I'll be starting scotch bonnet and jalapeno plants for clay pots. I also 3d printed a full hydro tower for my back deck and I need to get back around to filling that with herbs once the grow lights are back up.
I need to start planning what will go in place of the broccoli once they've run their course, but I have no idea what to plant. I have a pollenator variety pack from Botanical Interests, so maybe I'll just put that in to help with all the tomatoes.
-
Comment on Tildes Gardening Group: Week 24/3/26 in ~hobbies
mimic Link ParentI really like it for a variety of reasons. It's nice to have a system around sectioning off a garden and then understanding if I'm planting pole beans, I know I can generally do 4 plants per...I really like it for a variety of reasons. It's nice to have a system around sectioning off a garden and then understanding if I'm planting pole beans, I know I can generally do 4 plants per square. If it's broccoli, it'd be 1 per square, etc. The bigger reason is where I live has really sandy bad topsoil and the square foot garden acts like a raised bed garden in that capacity. So I could mix some richer soil with a variety of composts and have really good growing medium. The actual "Square Foot Gardening" books call for something called Mel's Mix, but I don't go quite that far. Some richer soil, mushroom compost, worm castings, cow manure, and perlite and then during the season I'll either top off with some new mix or use a 5-1-1 or 3-4-6 depending on which plants are fruiting.
Typically I think people keep them to a 4x4 grid because that's about as large as you can get while still being able to reach the inside squares, but you can make them smaller or in odd shapes if it suits the area which is nice.
For mine I took two 10ft pole of electrical conduit and sunk them about 3.5ft into the ground on either side of it, connected them with smaller 4ft piece of conduit and then hung trellis netting between them with zip ties which allows for the upper 8 squares to have access to it (for my current grow, the pole beans and tomatoes).
Highly recommend for beginners and people that live in areas with bad topsoil in general.
-
Comment on Tildes Gardening Group: Week 24/3/26 in ~hobbies
mimic LinkI missed the initial post! I only have a small 4ft x 4ft "square foot garden", so there's not that much space. I'm also a huge beginner so it's probably for the best. So far I have 4 broccoli...I missed the initial post! I only have a small 4ft x 4ft "square foot garden", so there's not that much space. I'm also a huge beginner so it's probably for the best. So far I have 4 broccoli plants producing (US zone 9) and they are so much larger than I expected! They're actually overshadowing some other squares, so I won't be at full capacity until they run their course for the season. Other than that, I have 8 pole beans that just broke through, 4 brandy boy tomatoes just transplanted, and 2 slightly older cherry tomato plants that are only about 2.5 ft tall so far.
I previously had three 15 month old scotch bonnet plants that were producing nicely, but we had a very out-of-normal cold snap for a few nights (lowest hit 15F!) and even frost blankets didn't save them. I was very sad because I had babied those plants for a long time. This year I'm going to restart them (and some jalapenos) in clay pots so I can bring them in if another rare weather event happens.
-
Comment on Device that can extract 1,000 liters of clean water a day from desert air revealed by 2025 Nobel Prize winner in ~enviro
mimic Link ParentAwesome thank you for the link! Interestingly I would expect the lower wind speeds downstream of the turbines to cause the temperature rise, but the article states it's the mixing of the air at...Awesome thank you for the link! Interestingly I would expect the lower wind speeds downstream of the turbines to cause the temperature rise, but the article states it's the mixing of the air at the boundary layer which makes sense, I just hadn't considered it. Since it's heat redistribution, I would imagine it's still a net win in terms of the overall climate (via reducing fossil fuel dependence).
-
Comment on Device that can extract 1,000 liters of clean water a day from desert air revealed by 2025 Nobel Prize winner in ~enviro
mimic Link ParentThat's a good line of thought with the city buildings! I hadn't considered that. Initially I would think that the conversion to electricity makes it different, but I guess the building absorbing...That's a good line of thought with the city buildings! I hadn't considered that. Initially I would think that the conversion to electricity makes it different, but I guess the building absorbing the impact and dissapating it into the ground is basically the same mechanism.
-
Comment on Device that can extract 1,000 liters of clean water a day from desert air revealed by 2025 Nobel Prize winner in ~enviro
mimic Link ParentI'm definitely not a "drill, baby, drill" person and if I came off that way, it was not my intention. I, in no way, said or meant to imply we should stop these forms of energy generation, it's...I'm definitely not a "drill, baby, drill" person and if I came off that way, it was not my intention. I, in no way, said or meant to imply we should stop these forms of energy generation, it's merely an academic question out of sheer curiousity.
And it feels disingenious for someone to say, well we've let fossil fuels screw up the planet. It really feels like a "well they did that, so we can do this" which is just not at all where my question came from. I'm purely curious about if there's been discussion or studies around the downstream effects.
-
Comment on Device that can extract 1,000 liters of clean water a day from desert air revealed by 2025 Nobel Prize winner in ~enviro
mimic Link ParentI've honestly wondered about this sort of thing too. Does stuff like that at scale end up changing local climate or have larger impacts? I've wondered about wind farms too. There has to be some...I've honestly wondered about this sort of thing too. Does stuff like that at scale end up changing local climate or have larger impacts? I've wondered about wind farms too. There has to be some measureable decrease in the wind speed through the farm and does that have any downstream impacts on anything? It's extracting energy after all so something downstream has to get less energy input.
I haven't really seen any discussions around this too (tbf I haven't looked that hard either).
-
Comment on What video games would you say have the best stories? Feel free to suggest more than one. in ~games
mimic Link ParentTbf I did not play HW when it was new. I played after the ARR patch content streamlining. I'm not trying to say HW was bad, just in the context of story through EW, if felt a little... middling?...Tbf I did not play HW when it was new. I played after the ARR patch content streamlining. I'm not trying to say HW was bad, just in the context of story through EW, if felt a little... middling? It felt like the writers were still trying to find their way (and oh boy did they find it!) but I'll admit I could just feel retroactively spoiled with where the story ended up going. Even the first parts of StB felt a bit shakey (although I acknowledge the need to set things up for ShB and EW).
RE: trust system stuff, I'm the weirdo that likes to just experience the game and not indulge in the community aspects in most cases, just so I can go with my own flow. It's probably just me overcorrecting from being ultra hardcore raider in WoW for a while (I do not have the time or ability to do that stuff anymore) mixed with anxiety for fucking things up for the PUGs. The introduction of NPC dungeons was huge. It also had it's issues... if you die there's no rez coming. You have to nail it every time or start over (I think they're changing this with the more recent patches?).
Either way, the game is both one of the best stories of all time and at the same time the greatest love letter and nostalgia hit from anyone that's a fan of the FF series imo.
-
Comment on What video games would you say have the best stories? Feel free to suggest more than one. in ~games
mimic LinkBecause it's been on my mind with the new patch coming out I will have to throw down FFXIV. Sure the base game and first expansion was a little shakey for some people, but after that through...Because it's been on my mind with the new patch coming out I will have to throw down FFXIV. Sure the base game and first expansion was a little shakey for some people, but after that through EndWalker is some of the best story I've ever played (Even Dawntrail is great, but it's the start of a new story so it's still coming together). Especially for an MMO. I came up with WoW and I always basically bypassed the story and most of the music, I always felt it was just the fact of life for an MMO, but then I came to FFXIV and it absolutely blew me away. I could gush about this game for hours. It was the first time I couldn't have a tv show or movie or something on another monitor while I played (at least the MSQ and Hildibrand). Just be prepared, when it grabs you you're going to be in for a wild 400+ hour ride (and that's probably on the low end to get through the latest patch content). I'm still a noob at 1400 hours.
-
Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk
mimic Link Parent+1 data point: I grew up in the American South and in a regilious family. I am very atheist for the last 25 years (half) of my life and I do not participate in that aspect of my family's life, but...+1 data point: I grew up in the American South and in a regilious family. I am very atheist for the last 25 years (half) of my life and I do not participate in that aspect of my family's life, but I still use sir/ma'am as a sign of friendly respect. It has absolutely zero to do with religion or spirituality for me, but it probably has it's roots in that.
-
Comment on Half way through the 2020's. What's your favorite games so far? in ~games
mimic Link ParentNot OP, but I'm up to current in the post-DT patch content. I feel like I'm an outlier here because I read tons of people shitting all over DT, but I really really enjoyed it. It had some pacing...Not OP, but I'm up to current in the post-DT patch content. I feel like I'm an outlier here because I read tons of people shitting all over DT, but I really really enjoyed it. It had some pacing issues at points and the story could be a little hokey but it was a great experience.
The zones were absolutely great. They really nail the soundtrack every single expansion. The nostalgia factor in the second half is absolutely through the roof. Boss fights keep escalating like crazy, but are still fun.
I feel like people expect the line to keep going up and things to get crazier and crazier, but I don't see how you come off the end of a massive multi-expansion story like Endwalker and not have to slow down a little bit to establish the beginning of a new story arc. The change of pace was nice imo, not everything has to be fate-of-the-universe level of stakes. I'm super hyped for how they are going to ramp the story back up after the 7.x patch content.
The only downside if you're not still subbed is you have to defeat the hardest boss in the entire game, Mogstation. Man, I hate that thing.
-
Comment on What does ChatGPT know about you? in ~tech
mimic LinkWon't share all of it, but it was a fun read. - You’re detail-oriented, experimental, and data-driven across both technical and hands-on hobbies. - You prefer structured, log-style tracking,...Won't share all of it, but it was a fun read.
- You’re detail-oriented, experimental, and data-driven across both technical and hands-on hobbies. - You prefer structured, log-style tracking, tables, YAML/JSON templates, and printable schedules. - You like to integrate earlier context — building on prior conversations rather than starting fresh. - You often seek quantitative breakdowns (costs, kWh, fertilizer dosages, cubic feet, hole spacing formulas). - You balance creative and analytical thinking — mixing gardening, woodworking, 3D printing, and software development into one ecosystem. -
Comment on Is Tildes protected from malicious actors, aka paid trolls, aka bots? in ~tildes
mimic Link ParentThis is mostly my read as well. Their replies feel like the same thing they're referencing as bot behavior.This is mostly my read as well. Their replies feel like the same thing they're referencing as bot behavior.
-
Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
mimic LinkPossibly the least sexy answer but Lofi girl! Great counter point to chaotic work life.Possibly the least sexy answer but Lofi girl! Great counter point to chaotic work life.
-
Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech
mimic Link ParentDark gray?! What a heathen. Pure black, no exceptions! /s just in caseDark gray?! What a heathen. Pure black, no exceptions!
/s just in case
-
Comment on What are some of your favorite Nintendo Switch games? in ~games
mimic Link ParentHard agree with @Well_known_bear's rankings. I probably have somewhere around 800 hours in the XC games (not to mention hundreds of hours in the XenoSaga trilogy and Xenogears) and while I agree...Hard agree with @Well_known_bear's rankings. I probably have somewhere around 800 hours in the XC games (not to mention hundreds of hours in the XenoSaga trilogy and Xenogears) and while I agree the stories are self contained I really felt like the interconnections between the games really added to the overall universe and understanding of what was happening.
Two things to add:
- The DLCs (Future Connected, Torna The Golden Country, and Future Redeemed) are all superb in their own right and deserve mentions.
- Xenoblade Chronicles X just had a release on Switch this year as well. While I have it, I've sadly not had the time to invest in playing yet, so I can't speak to how it stands up to the main trilogy and DLC.
-
Comment on Is AI actually useful for anyone here? in ~tech
mimic LinkTL;DR: The way I've been describing LLMs to my engineering friends is that it essentially makes you a team lead or engineering manager of a team of junior devs. If you are good at writing...- Exemplary
TL;DR: The way I've been describing LLMs to my engineering friends is that it essentially makes you a team lead or engineering manager of a team of junior devs. If you are good at writing Epics/stories/tasks/bugs, that will transition pretty well as you have to keep the LLMs on really tight strict rails. If you're not good at those things, then you'll learn quickly because the LLMs absolutely love to go off on tangents.
Longer version...
I think you have to really specify what models you're using and the tools to get down to the trade offs on LLMs. I know there's a lot of hate around this site about them, but coming from a 20 years of development experience perspective they are very powerful tools that are very easy to misuse. I think it was Angela (acollierastro) who said that they are great tools for people that already have the knowledge of the field they are utilizing them in. It's not going to make you an expert at anything and it's going to send you in the wrong direction frequently if you don't know what to look for and how to design your prompts.
For programming, I've had reasonably decent success with Cursor using the Planner/Executor prompt patterns. I started with Claude 4 Sonnet, but found it wayyyyy too agreeable. My eye twitches every time I read "You're Absolutely Right!" I switched to o3 and it at least will push back on me if I'm wrong, or if I missed something it previously did. I appreciate it owning it's own decisions and generally being more straight forward and less fluffy in it's answers, but at the end of the day Cursor is not great for large scale feature or refactor work imo.
So mostly what I've settled on is using Claude Code for large scale feature work or refactors. It does a really amazing job at those things for me, although it can still get stuck in it's own spirals so you have to keep a close eye on it, especially since it's pay-per-usage. Cursor with either o3 or sometimes even Gemini 2.5 Pro for point fixes. I find Cursor's tab completion to be really really good, especially on things like pipeline jobs or CloudFormation templates. Using a NoCode mdc with Cursor chat is also a great way of exploring ideas or getting a good jumping off point for own coding.
I use ChatGPT as a glorified search engine for the most part. It's also a great jumping off point for my own research. On the non-technical side of things I've been getting into gardening lately and I've solved a couple nutrient issues just by having a Gardening project with my soil composition, water schedules, plant types with their growth timelines, and locality. I have a recurring thead in that project where I give it a couple pics of each plant and ask it for an assessment once a week. It's far from perfect, but again it's a good jumping off point for my own research. Just today I was able to narrow down an issue with some Scotch Bonnet pepper plants to a Ca/Mg deficiency since I switched from nitrogen rich to phosorous/potassium rich fertilizers. All from showing a pic of the canopy as the plant transitioned from foliage growth to flowering. Could I have figured all this out through Google? Absolutely, but it definitely sped up the process.
In the end they are just tools. I hate the ulta hype around them and can't wait for that to die down, but I think they will be another tool in the toolbelt of software engineering going forward.
Thank you! This says 9b, so I guess I'm on the border.