scarecrw's recent activity
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Comment on A map of every lighthouse on the planet in ~travel
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Comment on The return of phones with physical keyboards? in ~tech
scarecrw LinkThis is throwing me back to a goofy idea I had back when phones were going through all their wild form experimentation: put the keyboard on the back. Big screens are great, and I can touch type...This is throwing me back to a goofy idea I had back when phones were going through all their wild form experimentation: put the keyboard on the back. Big screens are great, and I can touch type perfectly fine, so put a split keyboard on the back of the phone to type on and leave the front for the screen.
This was almost certainly inspired by my wonderfully ridiculous verizon razzle.
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Comment on Given everything we know about AI so far, what do you think it can or cannot be good for? in ~tech
scarecrw LinkI'll share my 2¢ on a topic I've been thinking a lot about, informed by both my personal and professional experiences. I'm optimistic about LLMs as learning tools, pessimistic about the current...I'll share my 2¢ on a topic I've been thinking a lot about, informed by both my personal and professional experiences.
I'm optimistic about LLMs as learning tools, pessimistic about the current attempts at productizing this, and very doubtful that we'll see some miraculous revolution in education because of the technology. (I'm also concerned about how well institutions and students themselves are adapting to cheating with AI, but that's a different conversation)
I've had some fantastic experiences using LLMs myself as a learning aid both in topics I already have a background in and topics relatively new to me. When asking for explanations of topics heavily represented in its training data, it provides responses reaching the quality of some of the better textbook writing I've seen, and with the tremendous benefit of being able to direct the focus of the explanation at will. Paired with traditional resources, it's made for a productive, engaging learning experience.
I think I'm less concerned than most about hallucinations. For one, the current models are genuinely quite good when focusing on common topics. More than that, though, the issue of errors in educational materials is not unique to AI tools; take any heavily-marketed educational resource, give it to an expert, and they'll make swiss cheese poking holes in it. Cross-referencing information, using multiple sources, and simply testing ideas in the real world will continue to be important skills regardless of the educational medium.
With that said, I think there are a number of hurdles to overcome before this could impact broader education:
- Knowing how to ask questions is hard and teaching the skill is tremendously challenging. I've seen the way some students interact with AI tools and you would need a tremendous amount of context to even guess as to what they were hoping to learn.
- Structuring learning, especially as a beginner, is non-obvious. There's a phenomenon I've seen in education similar to the Peter principle where teachers are pushed to teach content as complex as they've ever mastered. In my experience, the best educators are those that know at least a few steps beyond the current level of their students such that they can tailor their instruction not to the current topic or the next, but to setting the student up for longer-term success. Tasking the student themselves to identify and order what they should learn extends this challenge even further.
- Social pressure plays a way bigger role in education than we like to admit. There's something tantalizing about the idea that if we were all just left to our own devices and had access to the right tools we would have a world of genius autodidacts. It turns out most of us did our homework because our parents, teachers, and classmates told us we should. I'm strongly convinced that struggle is required for learning, and while AI tools may be able to replace humans as founts of knowledge, social motivation is a much harder problem to solve.
So I'm not sold on AI being the revolutionary solution to Bloom's 2 sigma problem, but if it can be a useful aid to those who know how to use it, and raise the floor for the expected level of quality in educational resources, I'd be happy.
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Comment on F-Droid 2.0: A new chapter for Android freedom in ~tech
scarecrw Link ParentThis isn't to suggest your aims are unwarranted, but I think it's worth considering what it means to identify "good" apps and if that's something F-Droid wants to do. Looking over...This isn't to suggest your aims are unwarranted, but I think it's worth considering what it means to identify "good" apps and if that's something F-Droid wants to do.
Looking over https://f-droid.org/en/about/ I don't see anything that would entirely prohibit them from providing some sort of rating or recommendations, but I could understand some reluctance to take that on and a desire to exist as an impartial repository.
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Comment on Using ASCII art to prove that I, not an LLM, wrote something in ~tech
scarecrw Link ParentIf you haven't seen it, Tom7 made a tool to do exactly this: https://youtu.be/Y65FRxE7uMc (about halfway through) Not intending to rain on your parade or anything, just thought it was relevant.If you haven't seen it, Tom7 made a tool to do exactly this: https://youtu.be/Y65FRxE7uMc (about halfway through)
Not intending to rain on your parade or anything, just thought it was relevant.
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Comment on Googlebook revealed and ready for pre-order in ~tech
scarecrw Link ParentI had the precursor pixelbook and the containerized linux support was pretty useful. You could shortcut apps installed in the linux container and run them alongside regular chromeOS and android...I had the precursor pixelbook and the containerized linux support was pretty useful. You could shortcut apps installed in the linux container and run them alongside regular chromeOS and android apps.
I ended up just swapping the entire thing over to linux later, though I don't recall if it had support for that at launch.
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Comment on KOReader: custom reader software for eink devices in ~books
scarecrw LinkThis could not come at a more relevant time for me! I've been getting back into using an ereader and using KOReader. I have a jailbroken kindle paperwhite that's ~10 years old now that I intended...This could not come at a more relevant time for me! I've been getting back into using an ereader and using KOReader. I have a jailbroken kindle paperwhite that's ~10 years old now that I intended to use KOReader on but I never really got used to the interface.
It's taken a fair bit of work, but I finally have a setup I can enjoy using. I set up calibre web automated so I can just drag and drop books into it to convert them and then download them from KOReader later. I know it's silly, but actually having to go grab the device and a micro usb cable was just enough friction to make me not bother. This way I just add books to calibre whenever I find one of interest, and then can browse that library from the ereader.
I'll have to take a look at that SimpleUI plugin, as that's still a minor pain point. At the end of the day, though, it's not like I'm looking at the UI while reading, so it doesn't matter too much.
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Comment on Overview of the proofs behind the Navier-Stokes $1 million millennium prize problem in ~science
scarecrw Link ParentWith four parameters I can fit an elephant, and with five I can make him wiggle his trunk.
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Comment on Apple announces iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone in ~tech
scarecrw Link ParentI think it's just an optical illusion, but some of the shots of a single hand holding the phone look ridiculous. Like they took a normal phone/hand and stretched them both out. Maybe they found a...I think it's just an optical illusion, but some of the shots of a single hand holding the phone look ridiculous. Like they took a normal phone/hand and stretched them both out. Maybe they found a long-fingered hand model?
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Comment on Little late but...anyone interested in fantasy football? in ~sports.american_football
scarecrw Link ParentI'd be down for a Tildes league! Probably a better bet for next year, though.I'd be down for a Tildes league!
Probably a better bet for next year, though.
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Comment on Ig Nobel Prize winners 2026 in ~science
scarecrw LinkThe 3D necroprinting paper reminds me of a previous winner I liked about a necrobotic gripper: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202201174 What's your favorite?The 3D necroprinting paper reminds me of a previous winner I liked about a necrobotic gripper: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202201174
What's your favorite?
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Ig Nobel Prize winners 2026
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Comment on What are your "how on earth did I not learn this sooner" tech moments? in ~tech
scarecrw Link ParentAlso ctrl-del or ctrl-bksp to delete a whole word!Also ctrl-del or ctrl-bksp to delete a whole word!
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Comment on What are your "how on earth did I not learn this sooner" tech moments? in ~tech
scarecrw (edited )Link ParentOn aliases, I actually really like fish's abbreviations feature. Lets you see and edit the actual command while being as easy to type as an alias.On aliases, I actually really like fish's abbreviations feature. Lets you see and edit the actual command while being as easy to type as an alias.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
scarecrw LinkDatabase Detective: Minor Crimes Division Shockingly fun game about using SQL queries to solve mysteries. I had tried a couple of similar games/puzzles in the past, but none of them hooked me. The...Database Detective: Minor Crimes Division
Shockingly fun game about using SQL queries to solve mysteries. I had tried a couple of similar games/puzzles in the past, but none of them hooked me. The humor in this one and the mixture of SQL and other more standard puzzle-solving challenges kept it fun. I didn't have any real background with SQL, so no prior experience necessary, though I think you kind of know if this game is for you or not. Strong recommendation for anyone who thinks this sounds up their alley.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
scarecrw LinkMy setup is customized enough that the majority of my issues are of my own making. With that said, here are a handful of things that are currently a thorn in my side: If my machine boots while the...My setup is customized enough that the majority of my issues are of my own making. With that said, here are a handful of things that are currently a thorn in my side:
- If my machine boots while the monitor is off, it doesn't recognize it when the monitor is turned on.
- Waybar occasionally stops running and I have to restart it
- My webcam's audio occasionally stops working and I have to use a separate microphone
- Some programs that launch pop up windows don't play nicely with niri
- Apps that just don't support linux (most recently Chromebook Recovery Utility)
All of these fall into one of two categories: I could probably fix it but it hasn't crossed the worth-it time threshold, or it's some proprietary software that just doesn't support linux.
I've had some form of linux in my life for 15~20 years now, though only more recently leaving other OSes fully.
I don't have any interest in switching back; not because linux is perfect, but because the issues that arise are usually in my control. In contrast, the reason I needed the Chromebook Recovery Utility was because an automatic update a couple weeks back stuck my family member's chromebook in a bootloop. Just, turn on your computer one day and... nope! doesn't work.
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Comment on Has anyone tried making their own font? in ~design
scarecrw LinkI very much do not have real, studied/professional experience with this, but I did give it a go a while back and made my own font. I didn't find this resource until I was mostly finished, but it's...I very much do not have real, studied/professional experience with this, but I did give it a go a while back and made my own font.
I didn't find this resource until I was mostly finished, but it's what I wished I would have had from the start: designwithfontforge.com
The other thing I found useful was taking pictures of various fonts I came across in the real world (primarily not computer fonts) to build up a better palette of ideas.
The only other main advice I'd give from my brief attempt at this, which it sounds like you've already handled, is to have a narrow aim of what you want to use your font for. I didn't realize until I was too far along how different fonts can be when used at different sizes or in different mediums.
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Comment on Tim Curry, outlandish star of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ dies at 80 in ~movies
scarecrw Link ParentStrong recommendation for anyone to check out this video on Tim Curry and his work in Muppet Treasure Island: https://youtu.be/XzU8f4HaQw0Strong recommendation for anyone to check out this video on Tim Curry and his work in Muppet Treasure Island: https://youtu.be/XzU8f4HaQw0
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Comment on Why your Amazon order confirmation emails have become so unhelpful in ~tech
scarecrw Link ParentI wonder if it's as simple as going by keywords? I had lock pin tweezers classified as "beauty", presumably because of "tweezers" which would also make sense with "cover".I wonder if it's as simple as going by keywords? I had lock pin tweezers classified as "beauty", presumably because of "tweezers" which would also make sense with "cover".
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Comment on The most confusing Major League Baseball play of the season, a breakdown in ~sports.baseball
scarecrw Link ParentPhew. I watched the video, read the article, read the wikipedia page on appeal plays, watched the video again, and I think I finally get what happened. I'm kind of surprised that I've gone this...Phew. I watched the video, read the article, read the wikipedia page on appeal plays, watched the video again, and I think I finally get what happened.
I'm kind of surprised that I've gone this long without ever understanding appeal plays before. I'm not a baseball fan or anything, but I'll watch games on occasion and have been to a few here and there, but never realized these were different from other outs.
The site says the source is OpenSeaMap and OpenStreetMap. I know those are user submitted resources, but I'm not sure what the criteria are for getting approved. My guess is that "lighthouse" might be a bit of a stretch for many of these here, and a lot of the inland ones are more "a small light so no one runs into the end of the dock".