smores's recent activity
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Comment on Storyteller is now on PikaPods! in ~books
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Comment on Storyteller is now on PikaPods! in ~books
smores LinkIt's been quite a while since I posted an update here about Storyteller (quite nearly a year, in fact)! I go into this in more depth in the linked blog post, but Storyteller is a self-hosted, open...It's been quite a while since I posted an update here about Storyteller (quite nearly a year, in fact)! I go into this in more depth in the linked blog post, but Storyteller is a self-hosted, open source platform for automatically aligning audiobooks and ebooks, and reading ebooks with aligned audio. Previous discussion here.
Since I last made a post about it, Storyteller has undergone several changes, comprised of several hundred commits and nearly 100 releases. Our community on Matrix has over 150 members, and we've added a Discord server and a Discourse forum. We've added support for hardware accelerated transcription, with both NVIDIA and AMD GPUs, and added support for several languages other than English. Oh, and an Android app!
And now we're on PikaPods, and I'm amped about it! I've gotten quite a lot of requests over the past year from folks who are interested in running Storyteller, but don't have the technical experience to run a self-hosted app. Networking, as it turns out, continues to be a pain! Sometimes those folks have buckled down and set themselves to learning a new skill, which warms my heart, but often the hurdles are just too high, and instead they end up being unable to use Storyteller at all. That stinks, especially because making reading more accessible is one of Storyteller's primary goals. Adding Storyteller to PikaPods means that with the click of a button to have access to your own personal Storyteller instance, and you can start aligning books right away.
As always, I'll be around if anyone has questions!
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Storyteller is now on PikaPods!
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Comment on South Korean president declares emergency martial law in ~society
smores LinkThe Korean Confederation of Trade Unions declared an “indefinite general strike”: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/12/03/world/south-korea-martial-law/626b2b17-ff84-538e-8c98-f28aa634dfb6The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions declared an “indefinite general strike”: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/12/03/world/south-korea-martial-law/626b2b17-ff84-538e-8c98-f28aa634dfb6
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Comment on Tildes Book Club Discussion - The City We Became by N K Jemisin in ~books
smores Link ParentI actually just finished reading twelve Mark Lawrence books in a row, and could use something new, and I’m always looking for new books, so I think I will in fact join you all for the next one!...I actually just finished reading twelve Mark Lawrence books in a row, and could use something new, and I’m always looking for new books, so I think I will in fact join you all for the next one! Ministry for the Future?
I think it depends a little bit on who I’m recommending to! Inheritance is maybe a bit lighter and more approachable than The Broken Earth. It’s much more fantastical, and has more religious elements, and more romance. The Broken Earth is grim throughout, but the story is outstanding and the characters are heartbreaking.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club Discussion - The City We Became by N K Jemisin in ~books
smores Link ParentI really enjoyed the angle that racism/otherism/tribal antagonism is a tool that can be wielded by established power to destroy culture. The villain isn’t racist, she’s doesn’t even have any...I really enjoyed the angle that racism/otherism/tribal antagonism is a tool that can be wielded by established power to destroy culture. The villain isn’t racist, she’s doesn’t even have any meaningful interest in humans, let alone one or another group of them. But her tool of choice to temper and divide the city is nonetheless the banal evil of prejudice and stereotype.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club Discussion - The City We Became by N K Jemisin in ~books
smores Link ParentYeah I agree with this. It actually didn’t even occur to me as I was reading it, even though I am Jewish and lived in NYC for a few years. I think conceivably the Manhattan avatar could have been...Yeah I agree with this. It actually didn’t even occur to me as I was reading it, even though I am Jewish and lived in NYC for a few years. I think conceivably the Manhattan avatar could have been Jewish, but I wouldn’t necessarily have traded that for Manny’s character, who also felt very right to me.
There was a time where NYC Jews weren’t “white”, and they were more likely to share culture with their other non-white neighbors. But I don’t know if that’s still true in NYC today, and I think it might have detracted from some of the other themes to spend time working hypothetical Jewish character into the group.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club Discussion - The City We Became by N K Jemisin in ~books
smores Link ParentThere were parts of this that verged on being corny, for me at least, buuuttt they felt so earnest that in the end I cut Jemisin some slack. It was definitely something very different, and that...There were parts of this that verged on being corny, for me at least, buuuttt they felt so earnest that in the end I cut Jemisin some slack. It was definitely something very different, and that added some fun. Plus, I think there were moments that captured the feeling of extradimensionality really well, which is certainly a feat.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club Discussion - The City We Became by N K Jemisin in ~books
smores LinkI didn’t actually read this book for book club this month, but I have read it and I love that it was the book of the month! I’ve read every N. K. Jemisin novel aside from this book’s sequel, The...I didn’t actually read this book for book club this month, but I have read it and I love that it was the book of the month! I’ve read every N. K. Jemisin novel aside from this book’s sequel, The World We Make, and the second Dreamblood book, The Shadowed Sun.
This book felt pretty ambitious to me; it was a lot to take on from a character perspective, and I feel like Jemisin’s characters are where she shines brightest. Overall, in my opinion the bar was pretty high for Jemisin’s work (The Broken Earth is maybe my favorite book series), and I think this one fell a little flat in comparison. It was still a very fun read, and it won some points from me for sheer novelty.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club Discussion - The City We Became by N K Jemisin in ~books
smores Link ParentAs someone who lived in NYC for two years, and in New Jersey for most of the rest of my life, I truly loved the ending. I didn’t see it coming until right before it happened, and I genuinely...As someone who lived in NYC for two years, and in New Jersey for most of the rest of my life, I truly loved the ending. I didn’t see it coming until right before it happened, and I genuinely laughed out loud for a few minutes after it hit me
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Comment on Amazon workers in twenty countries to protest or strike on Black Friday November 29 in ~life
smores Link ParentThis was technically a two-day strike, but the Wirecutter union made pretty significant headway on their contract negotiations after a Black Friday/Cyber Monday strike a few years ago:...This was technically a two-day strike, but the Wirecutter union made pretty significant headway on their contract negotiations after a Black Friday/Cyber Monday strike a few years ago: https://www.nyguild.org/post/wirecutter-union-reaches-deal-on-first-contract-with-the-new-york-times-after-black-friday-strike
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
smores Link ParentI’ve done this so many times, and it’s always a little painful. Is this a public repo? Or, would you feel comfortable adding me to the repo if it’s private? Happy to take a look, I’m sure we can...I’ve done this so many times, and it’s always a little painful. Is this a public repo? Or, would you feel comfortable adding me to the repo if it’s private? Happy to take a look, I’m sure we can figure it out!
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Comment on Book recommendation request: Fantasy book about university similar to The Name of the Wind? in ~books
smores Link ParentMaybe I’ll make a post about it! Dystopian Narnia also sounds excellentMaybe I’ll make a post about it! Dystopian Narnia also sounds excellent
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Comment on Book recommendation request: Fantasy book about university similar to The Name of the Wind? in ~books
smores Link ParentSo do I! It was a great deconstruction of class warfare and the downstream affects of resource allocation. And also very fun magic! I ran a homebrew TTRPG campaign this year that took place in the...So do I! It was a great deconstruction of class warfare and the downstream affects of resource allocation. And also very fun magic! I ran a homebrew TTRPG campaign this year that took place in the Scholomance, and it was so fun.
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Comment on Book recommendation request: Fantasy book about university similar to The Name of the Wind? in ~books
smores Link ParentI think you'll enjoy it! Each of those titles is a three-book series; the three books in a given series should be read in order. The Book of the Ancestor takes place 100 years after The Book of...I think you'll enjoy it! Each of those titles is a three-book series; the three books in a given series should be read in order.
- The Book of the Ancestor takes place 100 years after The Book of Ice, but was written first and I think is meant to be read first
- The Broken Empire and The Red Queen's War happen simultaneously, but with different main characters.
- The relationship between these two sets of books is unclear and spoilery, but there is a fun relationship between them!
I recommend reading them in the above order because that's the order from least to most exposition about the universe, so you get the joy of learning the lore alongside the characters.
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Comment on How did you do on the AI art Turing test? in ~arts
smores LinkI just took this, relying entirely on something that Niko from Corridor Digital pointed out in one of their videos: because image generation AI starts from Gaussion noise, the almost always end up...I just took this, relying entirely on something that Niko from Corridor Digital pointed out in one of their videos: because image generation AI starts from Gaussion noise, the almost always end up with images that average out to 50% gray. That is, for every light region in the image, there must be a counterbalancing dark region.
I got 68% (34/50)! I may have been able to do better if I relied more on additional features, but that seems like a pretty decent indicator that, at least for now, that's not a bad rule of thumb.
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Comment on Book recommendation request: Fantasy book about university similar to The Name of the Wind? in ~books
smores Link ParentI think El says 1 in 20?? Which like at some point you gotta start wondering how many kids wizards are having (especially indie wizards) just to maintain the replacement rate hahaI think El says 1 in 20?? Which like at some point you gotta start wondering how many kids wizards are having (especially indie wizards) just to maintain the replacement rate haha
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Comment on Book recommendation request: Fantasy book about university similar to The Name of the Wind? in ~books
smores LinkI just finished Mark Lawrence’s twelve-book super series (The Book of the Ancestor, The Broken Empire, The Red Queen’s War, and The Book of Ice), which has some fantastic world building and...I just finished Mark Lawrence’s twelve-book super series (The Book of the Ancestor, The Broken Empire, The Red Queen’s War, and The Book of Ice), which has some fantastic world building and character arcs.
The first of these, The Book of the Ancestor, takes place in a convent, dedicated to teaching the novices magic. It’s moderately dark, but very engaging. And the magic system that gets played out over those four series (there’s no officially recommended reading order, but I recommend the order I shared) is fantastic.
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Comment on Book recommendation request: Fantasy book about university similar to The Name of the Wind? in ~books
smores (edited )Link ParentHuge plus one to Scholomance; it’s definitely a very different kind of magic story from The Name of the Wind (more “grimdark Harry Potter” than “street level high fantasy”), but I think it’s...Huge plus one to Scholomance; it’s definitely a very different kind of magic story from The Name of the Wind (more “grimdark Harry Potter” than “street level high fantasy”), but I think it’s better in just about every way. Naomi Novik also has a nine-book series called Temeraire that’s basically a straight historical fiction of the Napoleonic Wars, but if dragons existed. There’s technically no magic in them (the dragons are purely biological), but it’s pretty great.
Oh, also, technically the survival rate in the Scholomance is said to be 1 in 4; 50% of students don’t make it to graduation, and another 50% of the remainder don’t survive the graduation hall!
Thanks! And thanks for your thoughts on PikaPods. It's relatively new to me, but working with them to get Storyteller added to their app list has been a breeze; the folks that work there seem great.
That's a great idea, setting up a backup script for your pods!