mordae's recent activity

  1. Comment on San Francisco-based startup Andon Labs has put an artificial intelligence agent nicknamed “Mona” in charge at an experimental café in the Swedish capital in ~food

    mordae
    Link Parent
    There are most likely humans in the loop. See: https://foodtruckbench.com/ It's kinda hard for even the "frontier" models to deliver sustainable quality.

    There are most likely humans in the loop.
    See: https://foodtruckbench.com/
    It's kinda hard for even the "frontier" models to deliver sustainable quality.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on San Francisco-based startup Andon Labs has put an artificial intelligence agent nicknamed “Mona” in charge at an experimental café in the Swedish capital in ~food

  3. Comment on Anyone else a bit unnerved by the number of visible satellites? in ~space

    mordae
    Link Parent
    Well, now that you are ready, I guess you just desolder them and replace with either blacklight or deepest red. Whatever goes better with your drapes.

    Well, now that you are ready, I guess you just desolder them and replace with either blacklight or deepest red. Whatever goes better with your drapes.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Vaping DMT in ~talk

    mordae
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    SWIM tried microdosing LSD. The net effect with their ADHD was elevated mood and loss of productivity due to inability to focus. They ended up preferring regular trips and regular weeks. Also, LSD...

    SWIM tried microdosing LSD. The net effect with their ADHD was elevated mood and loss of productivity due to inability to focus. They ended up preferring regular trips and regular weeks. Also, LSD has a tolerance buildup, so both you and them might have been on placebo mostly.

    200-300μg orally after Friday sunset was their recommendation. Take the Friday off, if possible. Saturday also worked. 100μg would be reportedly a good dose to do with another person for the first trip, as user retains much lucidity.

    2 votes

  5. Comment on Vaping DMT in ~talk

    mordae
    Link
    SWIM tried it once and had a decent experience. Reportedly not as great as LSD, but decent. One thing they've cautioned about was the hot lighter and the pipe, which vape solves very well. They...

    SWIM tried it once and had a decent experience. Reportedly not as great as LSD, but decent. One thing they've cautioned about was the hot lighter and the pipe, which vape solves very well. They sat on a couch and had a person help remove the lighter and the pipe swiftly, because DMT causes immediate shutdown. They reported whiteness enveloping everything and then immediately waking up into a full-blown LSD-like trip. They complained that most of the time the trip was ending, so they couldn't get more into it. Apparently they prefer LSD peak and slow plateau. Also, neither did anything for their ADHD.

    9 votes

  6. Comment on Anyone else a bit unnerved by the number of visible satellites? in ~space

    mordae
    Link Parent
    I think Stellarium has satellite tracking as well.

    I think Stellarium has satellite tracking as well.

    3 votes

  7. Comment on Anyone else a bit unnerved by the number of visible satellites? in ~space

    mordae
    Link Parent
    Try goth nail polish.

    Try goth nail polish.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Buying a high-end PC for the first time - help me to doublecheck what I'm buying? Is 4k a bad idea with the specs? in ~tech

    mordae
    Link
    Gaming in 4K is overrated. Just enable in-game upscaling or gamescope FSR. Stable frame rate is more important. The actual benefit of 4K is the crisp text when you are working. I cannot overstate...

    Gaming in 4K is overrated. Just enable in-game upscaling or gamescope FSR. Stable frame rate is more important.

    The actual benefit of 4K is the crisp text when you are working. I cannot overstate how much better it is. If you have a decent phone, you are familiar with crisp text already. Compare with your 1080p PC screen yourself.

    And since it's just 2x integer scaled 1080p, it gets you decent compatibility too. Fractional scaling combined with old, unaware apps is sometimes a blurry disaster.

    16 votes

  9. Comment on How are we all feeling about piracy these days? in ~movies

    mordae
    Link Parent
    No they don't. It comes from the grant money and the bureaucracy takes care of that. But getting bureaucracy purchase access to every single article you want to read (that the bulk subscription...

    No they don't. It comes from the grant money and the bureaucracy takes care of that. But getting bureaucracy purchase access to every single article you want to read (that the bulk subscription does not cover) is basically impossible. Hence piracy.

    3 votes

  10. Comment on How are we all feeling about piracy these days? in ~movies

    mordae
    Link
    Our household has Netflix, Apple TV and HBO Max subscriptions. I still download the shows elsewhere since those won't let me play it inside my custom mpv-based player on Linux, running on a NUC by...

    Our household has Netflix, Apple TV and HBO Max subscriptions. I still download the shows elsewhere since those won't let me play it inside my custom mpv-based player on Linux, running on a NUC by my (untuned) TV.

    All those companies know the shows are widely available on torrents without DRM, in 4K, but they still insist on 720p for Linux because otherwise I might share them. I mean... as opposed to sending a magnet link?

    10 votes

  11. Comment on Inside Pixar’s scrapped movie ‘Be Fri’ and the “devastating” aftermath in ~movies

    mordae
    Link
    My first thought.

    “The comparisons to KPop Demon Hunters are pretty undeniable because there were musical aspects to it, and it was a rip-roaring time,” the individual says. “I can imagine that whoever at Disney denied Be Fri to exist looks at KPop and is kicking themselves like, ‘Shit, I can’t believe Netflix is doing exactly what we wanted to do.'”

    My first thought.

    9 votes

  12. Comment on I’m traveling internationally for the first time and could use tips! in ~travel

    mordae
    Link
    Hi, couple obvious but highly practical tips for the tourist side of things: Make sure to have virtually unlimited mobile data available everywhere you go. Familiarize yourself with local public...

    Hi, couple obvious but highly practical tips for the tourist side of things:

    1. Make sure to have virtually unlimited mobile data available everywhere you go.

    2. Familiarize yourself with local public transportation system in each city beforehand. If they have an app, install and set it up before you go.

    3. Read up on the places you are visiting beforehand on Wikipedia. Notable spots tend to have detailed pages, see e.g. Amsterdam or List of World Heritage Sites in Germany.

    4. Most smaller towns have a Tourist Information Office. It's usually a small shop with memorabilia and -- most importantly -- a local Tourist Map. Those maps can be handy when you plan on walking around. Remember, European cities are much more walkable. Some even ban cars in the historical districts.

    5. Don't worry about taking photos and/or videos too much. Internet is full of photos and it'd be just sad if you spent most of your stay messing around with your phone instead of actually being here with us.

    4 votes

  13. Comment on Help disabling flashy "animation" on my dumb watch in ~tech

    mordae
    Link Parent
    If it's 15 bucks and its driving you nuts, at least make it a learning experience. How do you think the people with those skills gotten them in the first place? :-D My fine motor skills are pretty...

    If it's 15 bucks and its driving you nuts, at least make it a learning experience. How do you think the people with those skills gotten them in the first place? :-D

    My fine motor skills are pretty poor and my hands shake. Didn't stop me from fixing bluetooth headphones of mine. Go for it!

    2 votes

  14. Comment on Help disabling flashy "animation" on my dumb watch in ~tech

    mordae
    (edited )
    Link
    Open it up and locate the problematic traces. It seems to use contact pads, likely with pogo pins or springs, so a bit of tape on the correct pads should do the trick. (Search for images matching...

    Open it up and locate the problematic traces. It seems to use contact pads, likely with pogo pins or springs, so a bit of tape on the correct pads should do the trick.

    (Search for images matching SKMEI 1335 PCB.)

    3 votes

  15. Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk

    mordae
    Link
    People say Kafka is good. Never read him myself, though.

    People say Kafka is good. Never read him myself, though.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Android to debut "advanced flow" for sideloading unverified applications in ~tech

    mordae
    Link Parent
    Was this written by a chatbot?

    Was this written by a chatbot?

  17. Comment on Android to debut "advanced flow" for sideloading unverified applications in ~tech

    mordae
    Link Parent
    There is a lot to unpack, so. Not just demography. A frickin unique identifier that can be linked with other cooperating apps and a real time location. These brokers have been repeatedly hacked....

    There is a lot to unpack, so.

    but there's a pretty big difference between a company selling your demographic data to an advertiser who uses it to enhance your ad profile for more targeted ads

    Not just demography. A frickin unique identifier that can be linked with other cooperating apps and a real time location.

    These brokers have been repeatedly hacked. They do not take care to protect the data and generally eventually sell the data to scammers who DO target you.

    versus an attacker putting an infostealer on your phone and taking your social security number to open credit cards in your name

    How? Because apps are sandboxed on phones. If they escape the sandbox, it's an issue with the sandboxing and should be rectified promptly.

    EU specifically asks vendors now to ensure security updates or they are fined and kicked off the market.

    So unless the user goes out of their way to install an app that obviously poses as another, I fail to see how this vector is unmitigated.

    And again, getting a vulnerable person to pose as your "developer" is trivial so developer identity checks are a theater designed to prevent alternative distribution channels and secure Google's dominant position. Not effective countermeasure.

    1 vote

  18. Comment on GrapheneOS refuses to comply with new age verification laws for operating systems — group says it will never require personal information in ~tech

    mordae
    Link Parent
    There is no isle in the US. And definitely not after Citizens United.

    There is no isle in the US. And definitely not after Citizens United.

    1 vote

  19. Comment on Android to debut "advanced flow" for sideloading unverified applications in ~tech

    mordae
    Link Parent
    Well in my experience the apps that went on to send my data to brokers were completely legit weather apps comissioned by a public agency. That went on to stop paying to maintain them and made a...

    Well in my experience the apps that went on to send my data to brokers were completely legit weather apps comissioned by a public agency. That went on to stop paying to maintain them and made a worse new app. The original app authors, a registered, mostly reputable company, just sold the user base with position tracking to said brokers for extra cash.

    2 votes

  20. Comment on Android to debut "advanced flow" for sideloading unverified applications in ~tech

    mordae
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Sigh. If people are idiots, how hard is it to just pay couple bucks to them to register as software developers for your malware? And most successful scams don't rely on apps. They just purchase...

    Sigh. If people are idiots, how hard is it to just pay couple bucks to them to register as software developers for your malware?

    And most successful scams don't rely on apps. They just purchase info on people and start calling once they turn 65. Which will get ever more dangerous as it becomes trivial to deepfake grandkids.

    The only real protection is having more people in the loop for important stuff. Daughter calls they've had an accident and need tow, please instant transfer to this account. So they do, it's above limit, kids get pinged and call in to check what the grandma is doing.

    And above all else, get rid of the "legitimate" spyware that enables this.

    OK, how about malware that e.g. mass mails / mass messages your contacts? Where are decent mechanisms to retract messages? Where is account recovery anchored in reality? Why are we not seeing e.g. collaboration between data protection agencies, public notaries and online platforms to work out opt-in schemes to make accounts recoverable?

    I am not buying this bitcoin-style idea that e.g. money transfers are irreversible. That property transfers are irreversible. Make it a huge red blinking warning that you are sending money to somewhere your legal system cannot reach.

    And work towards making mistakes those silly people make rectifiable. Easy to claim being misled. Swiftly investigated and resolved. Insured.

    6 votes