pageupdraws's recent activity

  1. Comment on Better know a bird: The wild and kinky mating rituals of the crested auklet in ~science

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    Fascinating to read, thanks for sharing. Do the birds literally spend months at a time on the ocean? The article suggests that near the end but that seems hard to believe. I can imagine finding...

    Fascinating to read, thanks for sharing. Do the birds literally spend months at a time on the ocean? The article suggests that near the end but that seems hard to believe. I can imagine finding food there, but what about fresh water, and sleeping safely? What happens during storms? Amazing to imagine and very interesting.

    4 votes
  2. Comment on Ideas for a side project I'm working on -- an RPG to help me curb my alcohol consumption in ~comp

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    Gamifying daily habits really can work, but the challenge in this case might be getting relatively accurate estimates of calories. There are some apps that can help track food, but in the end it...

    Gamifying daily habits really can work, but the challenge in this case might be getting relatively accurate estimates of calories. There are some apps that can help track food, but in the end it comes down to integrity and skill in accurate self-reporting. Let me know if anyone has found simple ways to solve that problem.

    4 votes
  3. Comment on AI: The decade ahead in ~tech

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    Crows are quite intelligent. LLMs tend to be limited to text based reasoning, but when multimodal systems are trained there seems to be a synergy created where each modality does better than it...

    Crows are quite intelligent. LLMs tend to be limited to text based reasoning, but when multimodal systems are trained there seems to be a synergy created where each modality does better than it would alone. Motor control is a slightly different topic, but I wouldn't be surprised if a pure LLM could suggest to bend the wire into a hook to retrieve an item from a long glass tube. This may not demonstrate general intelligence but it seems well within the scope of what an LLM can understand about the world based upon my interactions with them.

    3 votes
  4. Comment on AI: The decade ahead in ~tech

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    A short read with an interesting perspective from an ex Open AI employee. He suggests that recent improvements in LLMs have not peaked but are accelerating towards something worth understanding,...

    A short read with an interesting perspective from an ex Open AI employee. He suggests that recent improvements in LLMs have not peaked but are accelerating towards something worth understanding, with implications for national security.

    6 votes
  5. Comment on Does anyone have experience or advice on cutting sugar consumption? in ~health

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    Here is my secret weapon against sugar cravings: Trader Joes sells The Dark Chocolate Lovers Chocolate Bar for about $2 for a double pack. When you get that sugar craving, instead break off one or...

    Here is my secret weapon against sugar cravings: Trader Joes sells The Dark Chocolate Lovers Chocolate Bar for about $2 for a double pack. When you get that sugar craving, instead break off one or two rectangles of a bar. Its slightly bitter but has an excellent flavor and will give you a slight mood lift without needing much sugar. Make this your new habit to replace sugar and you are all set.

    3 votes
  6. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    I just finished a full run-through of the content with a friend. In my opinion the best way to play is run a private server. You can configure as you like and play together with friends...

    I just finished a full run-through of the content with a friend. In my opinion the best way to play is run a private server. You can configure as you like and play together with friends cooperatively or pvp style. The bossed are fun and plentiful and there is lots to do together. If you don't want to pay a host you can just run the server app on your own system, this is just another free steam download. It may require opening ports on your router though so just purchase from a host if you aren't comfortable with that.

    But I agree with you that the game lives up to the hype. They really did a lot of things very well and the world is easy to love. You really start to feel like a vanpire, shunning sunlight and garlic, and craving high quality blood. Fantastic design here.

    The final bosses are fairly challenging, especially on Brutal settings, and you will wipe and need to be patient to clear them if you aren't a gaming god.

    1 vote
  7. Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk

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    Can you elaborate on how much wealth or property a person needs? How would you define this?

    Can you elaborate on how much wealth or property a person needs? How would you define this?

    6 votes
  8. Comment on ‘TunnelVision’ attack leaves nearly all VPNs vulnerable to spying in ~tech

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    Specifically, this is about VPN connections on a network you don't control. The exploit isn't likely to be possible on your own network, unless you invite in a bad actor.

    Specifically, this is about VPN connections on a network you don't control. The exploit isn't likely to be possible on your own network, unless you invite in a bad actor.

    24 votes
  9. Comment on Kansas bank collapse due to executive caught in pig butchering investment scam from Asia in ~finance

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    I don't have any deep insight in this story, but the concept of a pig-butchering scam is quite scary. A scammer slowly builds trust with the victim and presents early investment wins in order to...

    I don't have any deep insight in this story, but the concept of a pig-butchering scam is quite scary. A scammer slowly builds trust with the victim and presents early investment wins in order to build up to larger investments. Eventually, the investment gains are not available to the victim, since there were never any real gains, as the entire system is a fraud and the scammer ghosts the victim.

    I suspect that most people could be susceptible to such a scam, especially those who believe they are smarter than others around them or who seek the social connection and early ego boosts offered by the scammer.

    I think awareness is a good thing here, as digital relationships make these sorts of scams easier to pull off.

    14 votes
  10. Comment on Game recommendations, specifically (round 2) in ~games

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    Check out Against The Storm. Its a settlement control game which has a distict Settlers of Catan vibe but much more depth. Totally pausable and designed for a slower pace. I am just 30 hours in...

    Check out Against The Storm. Its a settlement control game which has a distict Settlers of Catan vibe but much more depth. Totally pausable and designed for a slower pace. I am just 30 hours in and it looks like it goes much deeper.

    1 vote
  11. Comment on Advice on expanding storage in starter homelab/media server in ~comp

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    Just a comment on the game server idea which is something I also do and really enjoy. In that case fast storage starts to become valuable, so SSD and in particular NVMe storage can really improve...

    Just a comment on the game server idea which is something I also do and really enjoy. In that case fast storage starts to become valuable, so SSD and in particular NVMe storage can really improve server performance. For most modern games, 4GB to 8GB of RAM is enough, but if you intend to host more than half a dozen friends at the same time more RAM is helpful, and the bandwidth (and latency) of your internet connection will start to matter.

    1 vote
  12. Comment on OpenAI releases Sora: Creating video from text in ~tech

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    If he keeps putting out this kind of boundary redefining tech then he might get to see a big chunk of that investment.

    If he keeps putting out this kind of boundary redefining tech then he might get to see a big chunk of that investment.

  13. Comment on OpenAI releases Sora: Creating video from text in ~tech

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    Don't panic. If you have serious video skills and learn to use the new AI tools as they develop then you will be light-years ahead of an AI user without video skills. AI isn't going to take your...

    Don't panic. If you have serious video skills and learn to use the new AI tools as they develop then you will be light-years ahead of an AI user without video skills. AI isn't going to take your job. If you adapt to it you will be poised to succeed in the future of the field. Just stay calm and keep learning.

    17 votes
  14. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    I picked up Enshrouded in early access and have been absolutely loving it. The level of polish exceeds what I normally expect in a pre-release game. The world is vibrant and gorgeous and...

    I picked up Enshrouded in early access and have been absolutely loving it. The level of polish exceeds what I normally expect in a pre-release game. The world is vibrant and gorgeous and destructible and very fun to explore. The combat is great and the enemies are tough. I have finished the content, which took about 60 hours for me and I have started building. The building system is impressive with a nice array of materials for building in a voxel style. But the results look anything but blocky!

    Enshrouded is already one of my favorite games of all time. I am really looking forward to the full release in the future. The developers are planning to add a lot more world to explore and I can't wait to see it!

    3 votes
  15. Comment on Travel advice for Taipei, Taiwan in ~travel

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    The main airport, Taoyuan, is a ways from the Taipei main train station. About 40 to 45 min. But if you take the train there you can see plenty of fun parts of Taipei including Ximending market...

    The main airport, Taoyuan, is a ways from the Taipei main train station. About 40 to 45 min. But if you take the train there you can see plenty of fun parts of Taipei including Ximending market and Chiang Kai-shek memorial by foot. And getting around on foot is the best way to see Taipei in my opinion. Its the small street vendors that really make it shine, especially at night. So 6 hours is enough for an experience if you are quick. I don't know how to stash luggage though. You might consider hiring a driver for the 4 to 6 hours. The prices are reasonable compared to US prices and they could keep bags in the trunk.

    5 votes
  16. Comment on Game recommendations, specifically in ~games

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    I just tried A Highland Song on Steam and really enjoyed it. It set a novel emotional tone that is hard for me to put in words. Certainly not horror, more a combination of nostalgia, fantasy, and...

    I just tried A Highland Song on Steam and really enjoyed it. It set a novel emotional tone that is hard for me to put in words. Certainly not horror, more a combination of nostalgia, fantasy, and wonder. I found the music to be really wonderful. My first playthrough was under 3 hours but it seems designed for additional exploration with plenty of discovery in future runs. The storytelling does come partly from narrated letters during play, but also from map fragments and interesting items you discover. And from the setting itself. The narrations alone are worth it to me.

    3 votes
  17. Comment on Recommend your favorite "cozy" games, please in ~games

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    Procedural Realms is new to me as I learned about it on Tildes on a recent thread about MUDs. But if you can get past the text interface it really scratches that cozy itch and could be considered...

    Procedural Realms is new to me as I learned about it on Tildes on a recent thread about MUDs.

    But if you can get past the text interface it really scratches that cozy itch and could be considered a modern rethink of the classic MUD.

    Combat, farming, crafting, building, fishing, and exploration in a chill turn-based text environment with a web interface available.

    Best of all, no ads, and no payments of any kind. Just a labor of love from a clever dev who cares about his passion project.

    I am not affiliated in any way but this is my new cozy game.

    https://proceduralrealms.com/

    4 votes
  18. Comment on Opinion by Brian Merchant: I’ve always loved tech. Now, I’m a Luddite. You should be one, too. in ~tech

  19. Comment on Great audiobooks that come to mind because the narrator is amazing and NOT Ray Porter? in ~books

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    The Witcher series by Andrsez Sapkowski, read by Peter Kenny, has been really excellent voice acting. I highly recommend it. Steven Pacey, reading The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie was also...

    The Witcher series by Andrsez Sapkowski, read by Peter Kenny, has been really excellent voice acting. I highly recommend it.

    Steven Pacey, reading The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie was also memorable and wonderful.

    4 votes