papasquat's recent activity
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Comment on ‘Fast & Furious’ star Vin Diesel implores Universal to “please tell the best fans in the world when the next movie is coming out” in ~movies
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Comment on There must be Nazis in the White House. EO 14188 -> 14/88. in ~society
papasquat Link ParentThe fact is that the order is numbered 14188. The conspiracy theory is that that numbering was intentionally chosen as a dogwhistle to white supremicists. We don't (and we probably can't) have...The fact is that the order is numbered 14188. The conspiracy theory is that that numbering was intentionally chosen as a dogwhistle to white supremicists. We don't (and we probably can't) have proof that that the numbering was intentional, thus it's a theory. We know that intentionally numbering an executive order to clandestinely signal white supremacy would require multiple people working in secret together, thus, it would be a conspiracy.
That makes it a conspiracy theory. That doesn't mean it's not true.
Conspiracies are very real and theories about them are often proven to be true. It's still a conspiracy theory though.
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Comment on There must be Nazis in the White House. EO 14188 -> 14/88. in ~society
papasquat Link ParentActually, yeah. I really do. Trump seems to think so too, he bragged about it during his last campaign....Do you believe that Trump could literally just randomly shoot someone in the street without consequence?
Actually, yeah. I really do. Trump seems to think so too, he bragged about it during his last campaign.
The entire conservative apperatus has been captured by Trump in a way that it hasn't been ever before in the last century. Entire industries exist solely to justify his actions, to the point that he can do literally whatever he wants without losing his base now. He's completely destroyed the economy in three months despite running primarily on the economy, and he hasn't lost any support among his base. He has carte blanche for the next four years.
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Comment on What's a secondhand heartbreak you've experienced? in ~talk
papasquat LinkI got divorced and went through my own really bad heartbreak, and during the course of that, a friend of mine invited me to play kickball with some friends of his that had a team. Over the course...I got divorced and went through my own really bad heartbreak, and during the course of that, a friend of mine invited me to play kickball with some friends of his that had a team. Over the course of that, I became really good friends with a couple who had just gotten married.
I got really close to them, and we went out drinking at least once a week, we went on trips all the time, I crashed at their house all the time, and they jokingly referred to me as their adopted son despite being like six years older than them. I met people that I would have never met otherwise, got exposed to a whole world of queer culture I never knew existed, and just generally had a sort of second renaissance in my life because of them. We hung out all the time and they both gave me good advice with dating while I was getting back into it, met some really horrendous girlfriends I had for brief periods over the years, and got to see me eventually meet a great woman and get engaged.
They separated about a year ago, and it was absolutely crushing. They were always such a great couple, and they always thought of me as "divorced guy", but now they were in that boat too. I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone, and it sucks having to split my time between them. They both have new relationships now, and unfortunately I barely see them anymore. It sort of feels like the magic of that era has unfortunately, and what the three of us, and some other friends we had at that time is mostly gone.
I'm still friends with them and I think I'll always cherish their friendship, but I doubt it ever goes back to the way it used to be.
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Comment on Thoughts on ProWritingAid in ~creative
papasquat LinkJust dropping in to say that Got a chuckle from me. I can honestly tell by your post that you're a very talented writer. That line in particular was extremely well done, not only in execution, but...Just dropping in to say that
Apparently I write too good to get use from it.
Got a chuckle from me. I can honestly tell by your post that you're a very talented writer. That line in particular was extremely well done, not only in execution, but in specifically where it was sprinkled into your post. Carry on, and if you have anything published, I'd love to read it just based on your post.
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Comment on Nintendo President on the new Switch 2, tariffs and what's next for the company in ~games
papasquat Link ParentIt seems kind of inherent that the top selling games have the highest budgets for the most part. Like, yeah, those games only have massive budgets because they know there's a market to support...It seems kind of inherent that the top selling games have the highest budgets for the most part. Like, yeah, those games only have massive budgets because they know there's a market to support them, because having a huge budget lets them produce impressive looking graphics, afford massive marketing campaigns and so on. If the highest selling games were all indies that were made by one person, why would studios ever invest hundreds of millions of dollars into developing a AAA game?
That doesn't mean there's not an absolutely thriving AA and indie game scene. There is. Indie games continue to sell like absolute madness on steam, and every so often you get a balatro, a vampire survivors, or a stardew valley. It's not like movies made by one person or tiny teams ever top the box office. I think literally the only example I can even think of is the Blair Witch Project. The Indie game industry is comparitively far healthier than the indie movie scene has ever been.
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Comment on Minecraft’s problems aren’t just the new features in ~games
papasquat Link ParentI think once Microsoft bought the game, they really missed the mark on what was interesting for me about the game. I always, like you, loved building a base, designing new mechanisms, automating...I think once Microsoft bought the game, they really missed the mark on what was interesting for me about the game.
I always, like you, loved building a base, designing new mechanisms, automating stuff. I liked designing sheep farms, redstone powered mine cart systems, monster harvesting machines and so on. I wish the game had gone further into that direction instead of the RPG direction. There are tons of games that do RPG stuff better that have actually decent combat, stories, and immersive environment, none of which have been Minecraft's strong suits.
I wonder if the fact that every kid in the developed world is (was) obsessed with Minecraft has something to do with that. I honestly don't know what aspect of the game kids mostly engage with, so I couldn't really speculate.
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Comment on Clobazam, an anti-anxiety drug, is polluting our waterways – Swedish study found traces of the drug had altered the way wild Atlantic salmon migrate in ~enviro
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Comment on Ai 2027 in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentI think a lot of people fall into the same trap Marx fell into all those years ago. Namely that we're headed to a utopia as an inevitability for some reason. People at some point will just get...I think a lot of people fall into the same trap Marx fell into all those years ago. Namely that we're headed to a utopia as an inevitability for some reason. People at some point will just get tried of oppression when the system breaks down enough, revolt, and everyone will live in an equal, happy society.
No one's ever answered the question of why would that happen?.
Entire generations of people have lived, reproduced, and died while being horribly oppressed the entire time, living in terrible conditions. Most of those people didn't rise up and take control of the system. In miniscule amount of cases where they did, in most cases they instituted oppression of their own, and while their descendents were better off, the society as a whole wasn't.
Why would AI give us a egalitarian utopia? We could have an egalitarian utopia right now if everyone got on the same page. We could have had it for hundreds of years in fact, but we haven't because of flaws inherit in the human psyche.
How would AI change that, short of oppressively taking control over everything?
I just can't concieve of a world where we suddenly live in Star Trek, and I especially can't concieve of AI being the thing that suddenly enables it.
To me, the most realistic scenario is the people currently with most of the worlds power use AI to consolidate what little they don't already control (namely labor), and everyone else's life gets far worse so that theirs can get slightly better.
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Comment on I'm tired of dismissive anti-AI bias in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentWe're definitely there, but the main difference is that AI is legitimately useful in a lot of applications, and has been for decades. No one has found a good use case for blockchains except for...We're definitely there, but the main difference is that AI is legitimately useful in a lot of applications, and has been for decades. No one has found a good use case for blockchains except for cryptocurrencies, which are also arguably not very useful.
Every blockchain pitch was just some variation of "we invented distributed databases, but worse in every way". It was a solution desperately in search for a problem. Most AI investments are predicated on the fact that it's a solution desperately in search of a particular implementation to solve a real problem that's already been identified.
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Comment on I'm tired of dismissive anti-AI bias in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentProblem solving is an even more broad category than producing convincing looking text, but there's also significant overlap there. I would say "producing convincing looking text" much more closely...Problem solving is an even more broad category than producing convincing looking text, but there's also significant overlap there. I would say "producing convincing looking text" much more closely aligns with the strengths of LLMs than the much broader category of "problem solving".
To go back to my original example, creating a budget for a large organization is a task that would fall under problem solving, but the kind of task LLMs are especially bad at.
I'd say that writing code is a subset of creating convincing looking text. The code it produces doesn't always run, and it doesn't always solve the problem we've asked it to solve in natural language, but it is convincing looking. Usually it's convincing looking enough for a compiler to run it without warnings too.
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Comment on Should I stay with Kingdom Come: Deliverance? in ~games
papasquat Link ParentI would say that's pretty much the one defining feature of an RPG video game honestly. RPGs involve your character becoming more skilled, since you're ostensibly roleplaying that character. Every...I would say that's pretty much the one defining feature of an RPG video game honestly. RPGs involve your character becoming more skilled, since you're ostensibly roleplaying that character.
Every other type of game, you're not, even if you're controlling an avatar on the screen.
The genres have gotten so muddy over the years that virtually every mainstream genre has RPG elements nowadays, but it's still the defining feature of RPG vs not RPG.
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Comment on I'm tired of dismissive anti-AI bias in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentIt's possible to be vehemently anti-LLM and still admit that they're good at some things. That just means that as a whole, you think LLMs net out to an overall negative. It's kind of like...It's possible to be vehemently anti-LLM and still admit that they're good at some things. That just means that as a whole, you think LLMs net out to an overall negative.
It's kind of like admitting that the Soviets were good at building housing while being anti-authoritarian.
I don't think anyone can honestly make the argument that they're not good at making convincing looking text. I see some random Twitter hot takes that they're bad at that too, but I don't think I've ever seen a serious person write an article or story about that.
The problem is that that's pretty much the only thing they're good at. Granted, writing convincing looking text is a really broad task with a lot of potential applications, but basically all of the anti LLM sentiment I read has argued that they're not good at things other than that, which I basically agree with.
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Comment on I'm tired of dismissive anti-AI bias in ~tech
papasquat LinkA lot of what the author is arguing against are strawmen here. I've never heard any serious opinion that LLMs, or AI as a whole arent useful for anything. They're obviously good at certain things....- Exemplary
A lot of what the author is arguing against are strawmen here. I've never heard any serious opinion that LLMs, or AI as a whole arent useful for anything. They're obviously good at certain things.
The argument that people keep having to make over and over until theyre blue in the face is that they're not good at everything, and they keep having to make this argument because business people keep trying to put it into everything no matter if it actually improves things or not.
I keep having to talk my boss down when she says "why do we need to still do the budget manually? Why can't ChatGPT do it?".
Business people just don't understand the limitations of LLMs, or they're intentionally misunderstanding them. It's really frustrating to constantly get asked "why can't AI just do this?" Or to see an LLM in some application where it can't actually do a single useful thing, or have the ten millionth app pitched that just sends a prompt to GPT4.
No one is arguing that it's not interesting, or useful tech. We just want it to stop being shoved down our throats or pitched as a solutions to problems it's very bad at solving.
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Comment on Stremio is an impressive program in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentOk, but what does "stores in a buffer" mean? Does that mean that watching an IP stream without buffering to disk isn't illegal? If it isn't illegal, then sure, no problem. But if the law is saying...Ok, but what does "stores in a buffer" mean? Does that mean that watching an IP stream without buffering to disk isn't illegal? If it isn't illegal, then sure, no problem. But if the law is saying that it is illegal because of the buffer, then a definition of in what way, or for how long something needs to be buffered for in order to be considered storage.
If buffering to disk is considered storage and thus illegal, is buffering to ram also storage? If buffering to ram is storage, is the amount of time an image remains on a screen storage?
Where's the line? Because on a strictly technical sense, whenever information is transmitted, it's also being stored. It might be stored for an extremely short period of time in an extremely transient way, but it's still being stored.
Personally I wouldn't consider steaming storage, no matter how big the buffer is, because after I finish watching a stream, I no longer have a copy of that file and I can't send it to someone else.
If you're saying that steaming a pirated video file is illegal, but say, watching a pirate broadcast tv station isn't, there must be some fundemental metric that makes that the case.
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Comment on Stremio is an impressive program in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentI just sort by seeders personally. Choosing the first file works 99% of the time for me. I also don't use Plex though. I still have jellyfin for local content, but I almost never use it anymore....I just sort by seeders personally. Choosing the first file works 99% of the time for me.
I also don't use Plex though. I still have jellyfin for local content, but I almost never use it anymore. The official stremio android app is great and user friendly for both me and my fiance.
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Comment on Stremio is an impressive program in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentMy point isn't to say that broadcast tv and illegal streaming are in the same category. It's to say that any technical method to view visual content will involve some form of storage, so saying...My point isn't to say that broadcast tv and illegal streaming are in the same category. It's to say that any technical method to view visual content will involve some form of storage, so saying that "storage is illegal, viewing isn't" isn't possible unless you clearly define how long an image can be stored before it's considered storage rather than viewing.
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Comment on Stremio is an impressive program in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentYeah, but same for watching broadcast tv. Your television set's phosphors are storing the state of the electron beam scanning across it. Granted it's only storing it for 1/60th of a second, but...Yeah, but same for watching broadcast tv. Your television set's phosphors are storing the state of the electron beam scanning across it. Granted it's only storing it for 1/60th of a second, but it's still storing it. Streaming buffers content to smooth out network jitter, but if you eliminated that buffer, it would be pretty comparable in timeframe. So unless you put a hard time limit of how much of a buffer there's allowed to be before you consider something copying versus viewing, there's not really any way to say that one is illegal while the other one isn't.
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Comment on ‘This unlawful impost must fall’: Conservative group sues US President Donald Trump claiming tariffs are ‘unconstitutional exercise of legislative power’ in ~society
papasquat LinkI don't understand why Congress never stands up for itself when presidents just decide to grab power for themselves. There are countless examples of them either doing nothing about these kinds of...I don't understand why Congress never stands up for itself when presidents just decide to grab power for themselves. There are countless examples of them either doing nothing about these kinds of power grabs, or worse, willingly handing more power to the president. Why?
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Comment on US Army to build "warrior ethos" by no longer mandating basic laws of war or combat medicine training for all soldiers in ~society
papasquat Link ParentI don't either, but that doesn't mean that every decision that any federal agency makes over the next 4 years is automatically wrong. Even if this came from Trump (probably not, at best it's a...I don't either, but that doesn't mean that every decision that any federal agency makes over the next 4 years is automatically wrong.
Even if this came from Trump (probably not, at best it's a loose interpretation of his mandate by someone else), it still makes sense to do. I'd prefer that some of this training shifted to actually well done in person training by subject matter experts at the discretion of the commander, but perfect is the enemy of good. The previous training really wasn't doing anything anyway except wasting time, and I think it's a good thing universally when we don't waste Soldiers' time.
I get that marketing is usually around the entire cost of a films budget, but even then 300 + 300 = 600 < 700. Shouldn't that film have made 100m of profit? I know Hollywood accounting is bizarre, so I assume I'm missing something here.