Notcoffeetable's recent activity
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Comment on Pioneering method turns plastic into fuel with 95% efficiency in ~engineering
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Comment on What are some of your favorite Nintendo Switch games? in ~games
Notcoffeetable Link ParentI would contest whether TotK is a better game. It's a different game and I'd encourage the Zelda-curious to try both. I'm in camp BotW, but it's like preferring pie versus cake.I would contest whether TotK is a better game. It's a different game and I'd encourage the Zelda-curious to try both. I'm in camp BotW, but it's like preferring pie versus cake.
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Comment on Guilt and video games in ~health.mental
Notcoffeetable Link ParentThis is a great succinct checklist. On bullet 2, the big thing is communication. Beyond just “tonight I’m hoping to play a bit of X.” What is your family’s body language telling you? Is there...This is a great succinct checklist. On bullet 2, the big thing is communication. Beyond just “tonight I’m hoping to play a bit of X.” What is your family’s body language telling you? Is there stuff happening that you should be a part of? If they’re also just gonna be reading or watching TV, is it possible to play your game in their company, say on a Steam Deck?
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Comment on Most people, even highly technical people, don't understand anything about AI in ~tech
Notcoffeetable LinkIt sounds like you have skin in the game on the side AI success. That isn't a bad thing but it is a contextual lens for your understanding of the technology. I think you have accurately accessed a...It sounds like you have skin in the game on the side AI success. That isn't a bad thing but it is a contextual lens for your understanding of the technology. I think you have accurately accessed a generally dicotomous distribution of opinion on AI. My opinion has shifted from antagonistics towards ambivalent as I've began to understand the opportunities of agentic workflows*.
But I do not work in a tech company, I work in upper management position at a small margin large manufacturing company subject to high variance cyclical commodity markets. The name of the game is cost and I am agnostic towards the toolset. So while productivity gains are critical to business perfomance, I am also extremely attuned to individual competency.
My team is allowed to use AI but I don't want to hear about it; there is no incentive to use one tool over another. Work is evaluated on the final product. Occasionally an issue comes to my attention and I dig down into it, talk to the person who created the output and I'll hear something like "oh well I used an AI for that." The AI doesn't know our business context, it doesn't know the personalities and relationships in the office. My team does and part of their job is to navigate that (or call in support from me, which is very common) to get our work done.
My apprehension around AI is that this little busy work of drafting email or writing boilerplate is valuable because it keeps us sharp. Like an muscle, communication requires practice. Writing and debugging code requires practice. I don't care if it takes a little bit longer to have a person do it because even if you've done it a 100 times, it is still practice. If we develop an agent to do something, that process must have an owner who is as accountable to the result as if a person did the work. Because otherwise we'll end up in a culture where there is no ownership or responsibility and that is anathema to a sustainable company.
* pending acualization
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Notcoffeetable Link ParentHave you played MechWarrior Online? It is hands-down my favorite mech game. It feels extremely stompy, it's PvP but combat is highly strategic. An underpowered team can mop the floor with a team...Have you played MechWarrior Online? It is hands-down my favorite mech game. It feels extremely stompy, it's PvP but combat is highly strategic. An underpowered team can mop the floor with a team with heavier firepower purely out of positioning. It likely holds second on my list of games with most hours played right behind WoW.
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Comment on Taylor Swift reunites with producers Max Martin and Shellback for her 12th studio album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ in ~music
Notcoffeetable LinkMy partner excitedly announced this album on Tuesday. She got a preorder in for the vinyl and we’ll have a listening party on the ol’ Marantz 1060!My partner excitedly announced this album on Tuesday. She got a preorder in for the vinyl and we’ll have a listening party on the ol’ Marantz 1060!
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Comment on Master Boot Record - C:\chkdsk /F (2016) in ~music
Notcoffeetable Link ParentThanks for the recommendation! I'll be checking out Keygen Church tomorrow during work. My favorite Kraftwerk album is Radioactivity, but Computer World felt apropos :).Thanks for the recommendation! I'll be checking out Keygen Church tomorrow during work.
My favorite Kraftwerk album is Radioactivity, but Computer World felt apropos :).
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Comment on If you're a programmer, are you ever going to believe an AGI is actually 'I'? in ~tech
Notcoffeetable LinkI think about this quite a bit. As "AI" systems are built from first principles there is less of a black box as we have with biological life. TNG episode 35 The Measure of a Man plays in my head...I think about this quite a bit. As "AI" systems are built from first principles there is less of a black box as we have with biological life. TNG episode 35 The Measure of a Man plays in my head anytime we have stories about some allegedly emergent emotion coming out of chatbots.
Quick summary, Commander Data is an android played by Brent Spiner. As the audience watching an android played by a real human, we have an implicit assumption of sentience and human-ness for Commander Data. In universe he is a one-of-a-kind (as far as we know at this point in this series) android in possession of a brain created by the social pariah Noonien Soong (also played by Brent Spiner later in the series; he is a narcissist). Many in Starfleet are not convinced that Commander Data is endowed with bodily autonomy. Further Commander Data (at this point in the series) lacks many hallmarks of consciousness/sentience. In particular he does not dream nor does he have emotions.
Anyway, a cyberneticist Commander Bruce Maddox believes that if he can experiment on Commander Data he might make the necessary breakthrough to understand and replicate Dr. Noonien Soong's work. In Commander Data's estimation, Maddox does not display the necessary understanding or expertise to perform these experiments with a reasonable chance of preserving Commander Data's existence. So Data would prefer to opt out of the experiment. Unfortunately Maddox has the ear of some high level admiralty. So we get one of the best types of TNG episodes: a court case.
Again, as an audience member, you are generally on Data's side since you've already 35 episodes of this character and seen his growth. Also Maddox has a fairly cavalier attitude toward's Data's safety and we observe many micro-aggressions in their interactions. But often in discussions of AI sentience I find myself fearing that in some ambiguous future I could be Maddox; unable to understand that the human creation I'm studying has passed an invisible bar of personhood.
A similar episode is TNG episode 18 Home Soil, in which the crew observes systems going haywire when visiting a terraforming colony. What they find is a sand-like material. Individual grains are not especially differentiable from silicone sand. But in the aggregate it forms a type of emergence sentience. There is debate with the terraforming scientists as to whether this creature is protected by the prime directive (non-intervention with pre-spacefaring species). But it again raises the question: how do we recognize consciousness/sentience?
I really don't know, but I suppose it softens me stance a bit towards what we might recognize as a human created sentience. A type B error seems preferable. But god knows that we're bad enough with the sentience we're already surrounded by. Even if we recognize sentience, I expect there will be a period of time that we have a subjugated/domesticated species of our own creation.
Finally, I've been thinking about the Turing Test and how I believe we severely misunderstood it's objective. All it determines is how good a system can mimic humans. Clearly all the chatbots from Eliza to ChaptGPT have had passing this test as a primary measure of success. In doing so I believe we have designed systems to trick ourselves rather than system which are actually intelligent. I think we should abandon the the Turing Test entirely: mission accomplished. But a true AGI would not necessarily appear human. Much like Commander Data.
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Comment on A geometric response to the gerrymandering problem in ~society
Notcoffeetable LinkIt's an interesting problem that became vogue among mathematicians around 2018ish. It became a sort of area where researchers felt like they could use their skillset for the more tangible public...It's an interesting problem that became vogue among mathematicians around 2018ish. It became a sort of area where researchers felt like they could use their skillset for the more tangible public good.
An former colleague of mine had her work highlighted by Quanta (How Math Has Changed the Shape of Gerrymandering) a couple years ago if anyone is interested in other solutions.
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Comment on Master Boot Record - C:\chkdsk /F (2016) in ~music
Notcoffeetable LinkI highly recommend MBR to anyone who likes heavier stuff and/or electronic music. In particular it feels like the next logical step from Kraftwerk. I expect a number of Tildren are familiar with...I highly recommend MBR to anyone who likes heavier stuff and/or electronic music. In particular it feels like the next logical step from Kraftwerk. I expect a number of Tildren are familiar with this artist but I expect many others would enjoy it.
Having spent many of my formative years dumpster diving for random computer parts, running multiple recovered servers in my bedroom, pushing silicone to its limit in overclock competitions, etc. This aesthetic really speaks to me and I've been listening to MBR a lot more lately.
Bonus: I have a team member who swaps music with me a lot as we share similar tastes in metal. Today I shared Interrupt Request with her and picked up the nickname Mr Krabs for my effort.
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Master Boot Record - C:\chkdsk /F (2016)
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Comment on Forums are still alive, active, and a treasure trove of information in ~tech
Notcoffeetable Link Parent[cat_licking.gif] NotCoffeeTable joined: June 22, 2023 Tildenaut 300 posts It wouldn't be complete without user icons! 2021 x228i|1991 944S2|1991 K1 [Last FM embed with only billy joel music][cat_licking.gif] NotCoffeeTable
joined: June 22, 2023
Tildenaut
300 postsIt wouldn't be complete without user icons!
2021 x228i|1991 944S2|1991 K1
[Last FM embed with only billy joel music] -
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Notcoffeetable LinkMTG: Online (PC): I've begun playing more leagues, I haven't done well but learning a lot about the current Modern metagame. I finally sat down and read through the top 6 most played decklists to...MTG: Online (PC): I've begun playing more leagues, I haven't done well but learning a lot about the current Modern metagame. I finally sat down and read through the top 6 most played decklists to identify their key pieces and points of interaction that my decks have with them. My Grixis Shadow list is in my favorite mid-range archetype but I feel like it's missing quality interaction with the top decks. Cards like Stubborn Denial feel too slow and there are a lot of creature decks so I'm thinking about how well the deck would support Counterspell or if something like Mana Leak is better in that shell. So I'm currently testing a netdecked Dimir Control list to figure out what works about it. I also want to do another league with lantern now that I have put together a more well-defined sideboard strategy.
MTG (Paper): No paper games this past week and the commander pod hasn't been able to fire. But I did finish a Satoru Umezawa deck. During construction I swapped out some cards I didn't feel like ordering in favor of stuff I had sitting in a binder. While goldfishing I realized that I had included an infinite turn synergy (Thousand-Faced Shadow + Rune-Scarred Demon + Beacon of Tomorrow + Some other ninjitsu creature). It's a pretty fragile combo because it just chains one turn after the other, requires unblocked combat, and any type of interaction breaks it. So I'm leaving it in for now.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
Have continued to play a bit of this. I do enjoy it in bite-sized chunks. The combat is fast-paced and crunchy, with a modest tool set that rewards quickly adapting and sequencing based on the pattern that enemies spawn in. So while the game flows really well you will also find that taking a beat to read the situation and devising a plan will lead to faster/better outcomes.Bosses are appropriately challenging. They generally take me a couple tries but the game is generous with giving you a checkpoint immediately for the boss and no punishment for failure. Their attack patterns are tightly scripted so you have ample opportunity to figure out where precisely is the best place to be positioned. I've heard others say it feels like a rhythm game because of how pattern based the combat is. I tend to agree though it is doesn't require the microsecond timing that rhythm games generally do.
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Comment on Recommendations for a obscure newer games in ~games
Notcoffeetable LinkI gotta recommend Mouthwashing which is a psychological horror game released last year. Run time is 2-3 hours, gameplay is primarily interacting with NPCs and walking around the spaceship though...I gotta recommend Mouthwashing which is a psychological horror game released last year. Run time is 2-3 hours, gameplay is primarily interacting with NPCs and walking around the spaceship though there are a couple puzzle and stealth segments. There are some heavy topics including emotional abuse, narcissism, substance abuse, self harm, s**c*de.
It was very impactful for me and I continue thinking about it.
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Comment on What is the most insane, tedious, difficult, and/or noteworthy gaming achievement you have completed or given up on? in ~games
Notcoffeetable LinkMine was just grindy, I'd rank it around an 7/10 in terms of "insane/complicated achievements in video games." I reached the exalted reputation with the Bloodsail Buccaneers in early WoW. There...Mine was just grindy, I'd rank it around an 7/10 in terms of "insane/complicated achievements in video games."
I reached the exalted reputation with the Bloodsail Buccaneers in early WoW. There was only one way to do so: killing thousands of mobs. And at a certain point the best mobs to kill are the guards in Booty Bay. So this meant hanging out at the entrance to a city in a PVP zone and pulling a couple guards at a time. The guards are also quite beefy since they are intended to prevent players from griefing eachother. Attacking them sends an alert zone-wide that the city is under attack, so members of the opposing faction show up to get in on the action.
Another knock-on effect, is that doing this destroys your reputation with the neutral cities, which are transportation hubs in certain parts of the world. So traveling through them for a long time meant doing my best to avoid getting attacked by the guards who remembered my past atrocities.
What I got for this: a pirate hat, nice breezy blouse, trousers, and the title "Bloodsail Admiral"
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Comment on Tilde is kill? in ~tildes
Notcoffeetable Link ParentI was getting the namecheap parking page for a bit last night (~6:30pm MT). I hadn't thought to check my phone's VPN, but I think I was on a US node. The whois record was showing expired and...I was getting the namecheap parking page for a bit last night (~6:30pm MT). I hadn't thought to check my phone's VPN, but I think I was on a US node. The whois record was showing expired and renewed, I assumed it was a gap propagation.
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Comment on Tilde is kill? in ~tildes
Notcoffeetable Link ParentOddly I had the option on iOS Safari, but clicking the "proceed anyway" didn't do anything.Oddly I had the option on iOS Safari, but clicking the "proceed anyway" didn't do anything.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Notcoffeetable Link ParentI haven't played much Arena outside of its original launch back in 2018. There are a couple reasons that some players prefer MTGO. Vintage, legacy, and modern support is a big one. I primarily...I haven't played much Arena outside of its original launch back in 2018. There are a couple reasons that some players prefer MTGO.
Vintage, legacy, and modern support is a big one. I primarily play modern and legacy and the reason I play on the computer is to practice for paper.
Card rental services like Cardholder and ManaTraders have massive libraries of MTGO cards. I have a CardHoarder rental account so if I want to play anything, I just submit a rental request, their bot contacts me and trades me the cards. When I'm ready to return them I submit a return request, a bot contacts me and trades their cards back. It's very fast and completely automated.
This is a pretty big deal because if I want to test changes to my paper decks I just borrow whatever I want before I spend cash on singles. It's also great because I can play meta decks to help me understand their game plan and make better decisions when I'm across the table from it.I've considered installing Arena again. I just haven't had a good reason to.
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Comment on Sydney Sweeney’s Hollywood career just got a whole lot more complicated in ~society
Notcoffeetable LinkI was briefed on this last night by my partner as this type of thing does not enter my worldview. We watched the commercial (I hate feeling like I gave advertisers a win by searching for an ad.)...I was briefed on this last night by my partner as this type of thing does not enter my worldview. We watched the commercial (I hate feeling like I gave advertisers a win by searching for an ad.)
On American Eagle's part I think this was either awfully fumbled or designed to become ragebait. They also know there is a whole population of morons who will buy their products to "own the libs." I tend to think it is this latter case because I don't really understand how a campaign like this could be fumbled so badly. The core gimmick "___ has good genes" could work if it brought in some sense of diversity of what genes can enable. Now obviously it could have had ableist connotations, but I'm sure they could've found some hot special olympians or something.
In Syd's case, I'm really not sure i have a strong opinion? It's against my principles to attribute intent based on someone's innate attributes. Though one would hope she'd flag "hey I don't think this ad really meshes with my worldview." She didn't, but I'd wager people rarely think about how their "look" can be read as a political statement. I don't particularly care about her party affiliation; heck I've considered changing my registration just so I can vote in their primaries.
Then we have the president's
tweetssquawks, which were read to me as well. Nothing really surprising there. It's operations as usual, commenting on something I don't need the highest government official wading in to. It comes at a good time for him as a distraction measure from the Epstein documents.And then the left's response... I agree that that the whole campaign is a bad look. More so that it doesn't sound like they are distancing themselves from the fascist groundswell of support. But this is just tiring. I understand that we can talk about multiple things, but the cost of doing so generates noise and prompts people tune out.
I can tell you for a fact that people are struggling to make ends meet and they couldn't care less about some starlett goosestepping down broadway in an AE polo. Because frankly, they need to get their kid from school to childcare in between getting from job 1 to job 2. They're thinking about if they have enough cash to fill up the car and get some necessities or if they should wait until next week's payday. Oh and hey, by the way, someone in the group chat is letting them know ICE is somewhere nearby and they might want to have someone else pick up their kid.
Because that is the voter we need back with us, the person being royally screwed by every decision made jointly between this admin, congress, and supreme court. None of this is relevant if the next two election cycles affirm our current state of affairs.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Notcoffeetable LinkMTGO (PC): I played my first league on MTGO this weekend. It didn't go well, but I'm playing a pet deck and ran into some tough match ups. We'll run it back again eventually. MTG: Modern (Paper):...MTGO (PC): I played my first league on MTGO this weekend. It didn't go well, but I'm playing a pet deck and ran into some tough match ups. We'll run it back again eventually.
MTG: Modern (Paper): Met up with a friend this weekend and played our modern decks. I have a Lantern Control deck that I built but never played. My friend is pretty new to the game so it was his first time playing against it.
It is interesting how certain strategies trigger people in this game. We only played one match after he had played all his decks against a couple of my midrange decks. He knew how the deck operates so it wasn't a surprise. But he was opinionated after playing against it. Which led to an interesting conversation on the role that hidden information impacts a game.
I've never disliked playing against Lantern. To me it really exemplified the "rubics cube" element of MTG play and a mental shift on the part of the opponent. What tilts most people is that it attempts to lock the opponent very transparently. Other control decks provide an illusion of gameplay that lantern doesn't. I aways struggled more with the idea that I thought I was playing around this or that interaction, only to have my best laid plans disrupted anyway. Versus lantern I appreciate that I could clearly see when I was locked out and just concede.
Anyway, we reached an understanding that I don't expect him to play against it unless he wants to. But I think it's had its impact, because he been texting a lot more thinking about resliency and how cards fll different roles within a deck.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound (PC/Steam Deck): A game I've been looking forward to since it was announced. This game really updated the gameplay and style of 2D Ninja Gaiden. It's pretty damn tough but when you reach the flow state it's fast and momentum carries seamlessly through the platforming and combat. This will be a top game of the year for me.
Scientifically interesting! though I’m unsure if more efficiently transferring stable hydrocarbons into burnable hydrocarbons is a productive result?
For sure we have a plastic problem, but is the atmosphere the right place to put it? (That’s a rhetorical question.)