mnj's recent activity

  1. Comment on What examples of Goodhart's law have you encountered in your own life? in ~talk

    mnj
    Link Parent
    Interesting, guess it comes down to personal preference in "measure a ton, get too much visibility, wrestle with how to interpret it all" or "measure sparingly, focus on good things, worry...

    Interesting, guess it comes down to personal preference in "measure a ton, get too much visibility, wrestle with how to interpret it all" or "measure sparingly, focus on good things, worry slightly at the blindness"

    2 votes

  2. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    mnj
    Link Parent
    Just out of curiosity, this was for something and not a purely academic exercise? Have a stats related background and my partially educated guess, feels like the application is in graphics...

    Just out of curiosity, this was for something and not a purely academic exercise? Have a stats related background and my partially educated guess, feels like the application is in graphics rendering or portfolio construction but I could be totally off.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on What examples of Goodhart's law have you encountered in your own life? in ~talk

    mnj
    Link
    I gained some weight and then lost a lot over the course of the pandemic. One of the principles that I think made it a success was adhering to daily, standardized, recorded measurement. I'd use a...

    I gained some weight and then lost a lot over the course of the pandemic. One of the principles that I think made it a success was adhering to daily, standardized, recorded measurement. I'd use a scale and record the outputs every morning around the same time and drop it into a spreadsheet (with an excessive amount of analytics) -- which I still do. It took a while to learn the natural variance of the numbers, how to interpret changes as they spike up and down, and what is indicative of long term change vs. just a temporary spike/drop. Learning to manage my mentality in seeing the numbers go up was tougher than expected, it's not something I could initially just move on from without feeling at least slightly bad. I think consistent data tracking is key to anyone looking to transform their bodies/health, there is a learning curve in managing your mindset and understanding around it, and overall felt like this might be somewhat of an interesting counterexample.

    3 votes

  4. Comment on What examples of Goodhart's law have you encountered in your own life? in ~talk

    mnj
    Link Parent
    I've heard of this but never encountered a company that actually did it. I think my company looked into it as a knowingly weak proxy to understand how remote working was going productivity-wise....

    I've heard of this but never encountered a company that actually did it. I think my company looked into it as a knowingly weak proxy to understand how remote working was going productivity-wise. I'd actually be really really interested to look at their commit histories to see what the gamification looks like in practice to be honest.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food

    mnj
    Link Parent
    Nice! Just remembered I haven't had poke since the before-times when I used to commute into a nearby city. Did you make it? Feel like the places I'd buy it offered an awesome variety of toppings...

    Nice! Just remembered I haven't had poke since the before-times when I used to commute into a nearby city. Did you make it? Feel like the places I'd buy it offered an awesome variety of toppings but getting sushi grade fish and preparing it at home could be fresher

    1 vote

  6. Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food

    mnj
    Link Parent
    I think sometimes you have to embrace the resulting disjointedness of eating and drinking what you love, that's the variety we're fortunate to get in modern society

    I think sometimes you have to embrace the resulting disjointedness of eating and drinking what you love, that's the variety we're fortunate to get in modern society

    2 votes

  7. Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food

    mnj
    Link Parent
    that sounds pretty good (aside from the peppermint), I went through a phase when I was younger of just 'fortifying' liqueurs like Chambord or Amarettos by adding vodka. I like imagining your...

    that sounds pretty good (aside from the peppermint), I went through a phase when I was younger of just 'fortifying' liqueurs like Chambord or Amarettos by adding vodka. I like imagining your entire dinner was just the obnoxiously sweet cocktails, just pure vaccine celebration, though the hangover would be terrible lol

    2 votes

  8. Comment on After receiving second dose, Yo-Yo Ma transforms waiting period into performance at Pittsfield vax clinic in ~music

    mnj
    Link Parent
    I met him when I was maybe 8 or 9, he signed my Suzuki cello book and was excited and encouraging. Incredibly warm and friendly guy from what I remember.

    I met him when I was maybe 8 or 9, he signed my Suzuki cello book and was excited and encouraging. Incredibly warm and friendly guy from what I remember.

    3 votes

  9. Comment on After receiving second dose, Yo-Yo Ma transforms waiting period into performance at Pittsfield vax clinic in ~music

    mnj
    Link
    That New World Symphony clip was great, really needed that today

    That New World Symphony clip was great, really needed that today

  10. Comment on What's a dish you've made that you're most proud of? in ~food

    mnj
    Link Parent
    How's the vegan cream cheese? Always down for healthy alternatives, I'm actually a fan of the vegan cheese that our local burger place puts on their bean burger but I'll admit it has a very odd...

    How's the vegan cream cheese? Always down for healthy alternatives, I'm actually a fan of the vegan cheese that our local burger place puts on their bean burger but I'll admit it has a very odd synthetic kinda sharpness to it that maybe only I like. Rangoon recipe looks great!

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Researchers at Cornell University concluded that an online semester would result in more COVID-19 in ~health

    mnj
    Link
    I perused the study when it first came out, I think the recommendation makes sense but it's based on some kinda bizarre primary research. They somehow measured that a high amount of the student...

    I perused the study when it first came out, I think the recommendation makes sense but it's based on some kinda bizarre primary research. They somehow measured that a high amount of the student population intended to physically return to their residences at the University, which I understand from a student's desire to maintain some normalcy in the experience but wouldn't have expected. So the two scenarios are

    • open campus with full healthcare resources and enforceable testing on present students
    • online courses only with students returning to the area with cohabitation and no healthcare resources and enforceable testing

    If they could continue to open and enforce healthcare policies and centers, that would make sense. Or if they could convince students not to return to the area for virtual classes. I think those needs make the University-specific recommendation unique and kinda weird when you first read the headline.

    4 votes

  12. Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music

    mnj
    Link
    Been a big fan of a playlist inspired by Stardust's "Music Sounds Better with You". Good blend of disco, funk, house and a lot of positive vibes.

    Been a big fan of a playlist inspired by Stardust's "Music Sounds Better with You". Good blend of disco, funk, house and a lot of positive vibes.

    4 votes

  13. Comment on The tyranny of the mask? in ~health

    mnj
    Link
    I find it kinda sad that the points in this essay are necessary, meaning something people who want to fight against the tyranny argument can take and use. I'm fortunate enough to be in a bubble...

    I find it kinda sad that the points in this essay are necessary, meaning something people who want to fight against the tyranny argument can take and use. I'm fortunate enough to be in a bubble where I don't know anyone who is making an anti-mask point, even among differing general political perspectives. Wish there was a more direct way to depoliticize the whole thing, to directly combat Trump's statements in a bipartisan way.

    7 votes

  14. Comment on What is, in your opinion, missing on Tildes? in ~tildes

    mnj
    Link Parent
    Piggybacking on the word of mouth recommendation, could you engage some of the existing communities around that interest and tap the active posters you liked to be invited?

    Piggybacking on the word of mouth recommendation, could you engage some of the existing communities around that interest and tap the active posters you liked to be invited?

    1 vote

  15. Comment on The end is near for 3.2 beer in ~food

    mnj
    Link
    I've been on a nonfiction kick and read a book lately about the prohibition. The fact that the policy in question stemmed from the era from when prohibition was slowly being phased out but support...

    I've been on a nonfiction kick and read a book lately about the prohibition. The fact that the policy in question stemmed from the era from when prohibition was slowly being phased out but support for temperance was still alive is just a small piece of how the amendment impacted the states today. The era itself is full of tons of interesting stories on how policies were designed with similar exceptions that were ultimately exploited, eg. people were allowed to have personal supplies brewed in their own homes so tons of homebrewing kits that came with syrup, malt, and yeast were sold around the country. Beyond the minor effects, it kicked off a lot of major conversations including the role of government in domestic life, womens suffrage, and political strategy.

    Kinda off topic, but the book does discuss the implications on the beer, spirits, and wine industries.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on What products do you absolutely love? in ~talk

    mnj
    Link
    Not sure how generally popular they are now, but I bought my AudioTechnica M-50's like 6 years ago and they were totally worth whatever I paid. I spend about half my day at my job listening to...

    Not sure how generally popular they are now, but I bought my AudioTechnica M-50's like 6 years ago and they were totally worth whatever I paid. I spend about half my day at my job listening to music while I work and they haven't lost any functional quality. The polyester(?) part of the headband has basically completely worn away and the padding on mine is completely exposed but it's almost an excuse for me to buy a new pair just to support them.