smores's recent activity
-
Comment on LG smart TVs caught logging audio with screen off and snooping on local devices in ~tech
-
Comment on What's your line? in ~life
smores Link ParentAt the end of the day, the power structures that organize our labor and resources are capitalist (and, unfortunately, also patriarchal and racist) in nature. I strongly believe you shouldn't feel...At the end of the day, the power structures that organize our labor and resources are capitalist (and, unfortunately, also patriarchal and racist) in nature. I strongly believe you shouldn't feel guilty for participating in that system — you didn't create it, but you do need to, like, survive in it.
It's kind of different every time. We have a lot of deep expertise in collaborative rich text editing, which became very popular like right as we were starting, so we got several clients just by posting on the ProseMirror job forum. I also write a lot of deep dive technical blog posts, which occasionally net us clients. And sometimes we get clients from just cold emails — I recently emailed Libro.fm to tell them about an open source project I work on that I thought they'd be interested in, and they replied asking if I was available for contracting!
I will say, we're trying to get another client right now and not having a ton of luck (anyone need some contractors? We're very good!), so it's a little hit or miss. But some far we've been able to meet all of our members needs!
-
Comment on What's your line? in ~life
smores Link ParentHmmmmm no I don't, but that would probably be nice. I'm definitely happy to chat or answer questions any time. Our Operating Agreement is also public, if that helps at all:...Hmmmmm no I don't, but that would probably be nice. I'm definitely happy to chat or answer questions any time. Our Operating Agreement is also public, if that helps at all: https://handlewithcarecollective.github.io/operating-agreement/
Ultimately our collective works because we trust each other, and our operating procedures rely on and reinforce that trust. Everyone has access to everything, we split responsibilities evenly/based on availability, we all take the same rate. Everyone has equal share of the company and one vote on all decisions requiring a vote, which pushes us to be very deliberate about who we offer partnership to and how many partners we have.
It's... Really nice
-
Comment on What's your line? in ~life
smores LinkI worked at The New York Times from 2019 to 2024 (genuine apologies if I bring this up too much here, I can try to tone it down). I joined the organizing committee for the burgeoning tech union...I worked at The New York Times from 2019 to 2024 (genuine apologies if I bring this up too much here, I can try to tone it down). I joined the organizing committee for the burgeoning tech union there in 2020, about three months after the organizing compaign started. After we voted to unionize in 2022, I was a shop steward.
By the end of 2023, I had seen several truly vile situations, in which outright bullies in upper and middle management went out of their way to make the lives of the union members that reported to them absolute hell. This was almost uniformly directed at women, many of them trans or genderqueer, many of them the very, very small number of women of color in tech at the Times, and many of them neurodivergent. Even at a tech org like the Times', which was way more diverse than any other tech org I have worked at or seen, the overlap of those demographics is suspiciously small.
After the union member that I was representing as a shop steward was forced out of the company with a PIP that contained some of the most egregious, bullshit requirements I have seen to this day, I just felt totally dead inside. I was completely burned out, and had no desire whatsoever to continue providing value for the psychopathic, careless nutjobs running the company. It took one more short stint at a tiny video game startup (it was a dumpster fire, who'd have guessed?) for me to learn that my requirement for compassion and care and thoughtfulness in my workplace was just not something that would be met at essentially any company that was hiring software engineers.
Now I have a small, cooperative collective. Our bylaws bar us from hiring employees or long-term contractors. Anyone we work with must be an equal, part time owner. I feel tremendously spoiled — I genuinely don't know what I'll do if I'm ever forced to move back into the more standard form of employment.
-
Comment on ‘Spider-Noir’ canceled by Prime Video after one season in ~tv
smores Link... Huh! My first thought was: Followed by: But... Then I read the article and saw that it had a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and now I'm back to being sort of confused?... Huh! My first thought was:
Awwww man
Followed by:
Yeah I guess that makes sense
But... Then I read the article and saw that it had a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and now I'm back to being sort of confused?
-
Comment on Automating immersive reading in ~comp
smores Link ParentNo I did not, thanks for sharing! This is a handy bit of trivia for the endless hordes of folks that love to jump into every thread about Storyteller and bemoan "modern attention spans". Super...No I did not, thanks for sharing! This is a handy bit of trivia for the endless hordes of folks that love to jump into every thread about Storyteller and bemoan "modern attention spans". Super interesting!
-
Comment on Automating immersive reading in ~comp
smores Link ParentThanks! I put a lot of time into those graphics — the piece felt very hard to follow without them I think. I'm glad to hear they were helpful! Yeah I "forced alignment" is the technical term — it...Thanks! I put a lot of time into those graphics — the piece felt very hard to follow without them I think. I'm glad to hear they were helpful!
Yeah I "forced alignment" is the technical term — it has always felt very... aggressive? to me. :shrug:
-
Comment on Automating immersive reading in ~comp
smores LinkAnother possibly-too-deep dive from me! I took a week off from work recently to reimplement Storyteller's forced alignment algorithm. Storyteller is an open source, self hosted platform for...Another possibly-too-deep dive from me! I took a week off from work recently to reimplement Storyteller's forced alignment algorithm. Storyteller is an open source, self hosted platform for creating, managing, and reading/listening to "readaloud" books — books that have audiobook narration built in and can highlight each sentence (and/or word, with this new algorithm!) as it's read aloud. Forced alignment is the process of determining where each piece of text starts and ends in the audiobook.
Anyway, I am really pleased with how the new algorithm turned out! Hopefully someone else finds it interesting as well.
-
Automating immersive reading
18 votes -
Comment on Avengers: Doomsday | Special look in ~movies
-
Comment on Avengers: Doomsday | Special look in ~movies
smores Link ParentI believe the robots are Sentinels. They seem to have been destroyed/disabled before he resurrects them, so possibly they will be the MCU's first version of Doombots? I'm pretty ok with not...I believe the robots are Sentinels. They seem to have been destroyed/disabled before he resurrects them, so possibly they will be the MCU's first version of Doombots?
I'm pretty ok with not knowing what the story is about. I kind of hate when trailers reveal much of the story. Looks like Doom's having a bit of a breakdown and is conquering the multiverse — that's enough for me!
-
Comment on ‘X-Men’ finally unveils its cast, including Adam Driver, Inde Navarrette, Christopher Abbott in ~movies
smores Link ParentI only know Kit Connor from Heartstopper, where he is adorable and acts very well. I think he'll probably pull off a pretty good take on Scott!I only know Kit Connor from Heartstopper, where he is adorable and acts very well. I think he'll probably pull off a pretty good take on Scott!
-
Comment on Is it time to include pronouns? in ~tildes
smores Link ParentCan I ask which language? I'm super curious!Can I ask which language? I'm super curious!
-
Comment on Tildes Book Club - Have you started Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki? in ~books
smores LinkI'm only 40% of the way through Perdido Street Station at the moment, but I will try to finish and pick up Light From Uncommon Stars before the end of the month! Thanks so much for picking this up...I'm only 40% of the way through Perdido Street Station at the moment, but I will try to finish and pick up Light From Uncommon Stars before the end of the month! Thanks so much for picking this up @ICN!
-
Comment on After decades of drought, water is rising in the African Sahel in ~enviro
smores LinkThat's... Fascinating. I had no idea that coal usage in North America and Europe was interfering with the monsoon and causing drought in Africa. It makes me think, again, of the arguments for and...Why the revival of the rains? An assessment published in 2021 by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found “high confidence” among climate scientists that it is a result of strong warming in the North Atlantic, caused by a combination of global heating and a reduction, in Europe and North America, of sulphate aerosols from coal burning, which once created a thin haze that cooled the ocean. That cooling prevented the northward migration of the West African monsoon into the Sahel, resulting in drought. But the clean-up has warmed the ocean and pulled the monsoon back into the Sahel, strengthening its ability to produce deluges.
That's... Fascinating. I had no idea that coal usage in North America and Europe was interfering with the monsoon and causing drought in Africa. It makes me think, again, of the arguments for and against using terraforming to addrees climate change. Yet another example of how we unintentionally terraformed the planet in the past, causing untold damage, and are now doing it again (by simply using less coal) to attempt to mitigate that damage.
-
Comment on Defective D&D magic items in ~games.tabletop
smores LinkFor the Helm of the Backseat Driver, is the DM giving advice at the start of the wearer's turn that they have to follow to maintain the bonus? That is both hilarious and seems like a lot of work hahaFor the Helm of the Backseat Driver, is the DM giving advice at the start of the wearer's turn that they have to follow to maintain the bonus? That is both hilarious and seems like a lot of work haha
-
Comment on End of Series - Tildes Book Club discussion - July 2026 - A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers in ~books
smores Link ParentI now can't remember if this was actually suggested or if my own use of a pedal-assisted ebike just filled in the gap, but I had assumed that there was a battery-powered/solar-charged motor that...I now can't remember if this was actually suggested or if my own use of a pedal-assisted ebike just filled in the gap, but I had assumed that there was a battery-powered/solar-charged motor that assisted the pedaling. Even a very good set of gears would only get you so far pulling all of your possessions up a hill, every if they were very, very light!
-
Comment on End of Series - Tildes Book Club discussion - July 2026 - A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers in ~books
smores (edited )Link ParentYeah I think the second book is basically just the second half (or maybe middle third?) of the story. There's some beauty in the brevity of the first book, but it's definitely worth picking up the...Yeah I think the second book is basically just the second half (or maybe middle third?) of the story. There's some beauty in the brevity of the first book, but it's definitely worth picking up the second one if you think you'd want more Monk & Robot!
-
Comment on End of Series - Tildes Book Club discussion - July 2026 - A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers in ~books
smores LinkAt the recommendation of some others in this group, I read the sequel to this book shortly after reading the first one for book club. Some of what I'm thinking about is only revealed in the second...At the recommendation of some others in this group, I read the sequel to this book shortly after reading the first one for book club. Some of what I'm thinking about is only revealed in the second book, but it's just straightforward information about the society that Sibling Dex lives in. I will try my best to avoid any spoilers (not that these books are really ruined in any way by "spoilers").
As I read these two books, I found myself constantly comparing and contrasting with one of my favorite books, The Dispossessed. Again, trying to avoid any spoilers, the main character in The Dispossessed lives in an anarcho-syndicalist society. A lot of the book is dedicated to describing this society. Quite in contrast to Monk & Robot's Panga, the anarcho-syndicalists in The Dispossessed live on an arid desert moon called Anarres.
In Monk & Robot, how exactly humans are taught to participate so fully and freely and communally in their society is completely elided. It's sort of implied that once such a structure exists, it would be so intrinsically appealing that people would simply continue to perpetuate it. It's a very hopeful (and beautiful) view of humanity at its best.
In The Dispossessed, there are much more deliberate structures dedicated to perpetuating the anarchist principles of their society. Children are reared in collective schooling facilities, spending little time with their biological parents. They're discouraged from any thinking that could be interpreted as possessive ("egoizing"). The society of Anarres sees the kind of family organization that raised Sibling Dex as completely incompatible with their non-hierarchical society.
It's not explicitly stated, but there is a suggestion in The Dispossessed that the barren nature of Anarres contributes to the success of the society. Again, this is sort of taking the opposite stance to Monk & Robot's Panga. The sheer amount of effort that needs to go into keeping their society alive on Anarres seems to encourage a dedication to communal living and volunteerism — everyone can see how quickly they will perish if everyone doesn't do their part.
The societies have a lot in common, though. They both view the not-so-distant past of forced labor (via robots on Panga, via prisons on Anarres/Urras) with a sense of horror and (depending on the generation) even disbelief. They have a level of sexual freedom and celebration of bodies that far surpasses most modern societies. They value labor and communal volunteerism very highly.
I have more thoughts but not more time to write about them at the moment, so I guess I'll post this as is now. Curious if anyone else was thinking about Anarres while they read about Panga, though!
-
Comment on End of Series - Tildes Book Club discussion - July 2026 - A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers in ~books
smores Link ParentI really loved this quote, and it captures a way of living and seeing the world that I strive toward. I also really appreciated the implication that even in a society that has no currency or...I really loved this quote, and it captures a way of living and seeing the world that I strive toward.
I also really appreciated the implication that even in a society that has no currency or capital, whose resources are shared freely (and seemingly so abundant that essentially no one is ever without), humans still feel the need to be "productive".
The only thing that I'm certain Roku does do is "Automatic Content Recognition" (also mentioned in this video briefly), where it fingerprints content played over the HDMI connection and reports it for advertising purposes. Roku is absolutely an advertising company, just like all of these other smart TV companies are. I remembered there being an exposé about Roku doing this local device snooping waayyyy back in like 2015, but apparently TechCrunch amended that article to say that it was incorrect because Roku said it didn't do that, and I'm not immediately seeing anything more recent with evidence that it does.