text_garden's recent activity
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Comment on Wikipedia:Signs of AI writing in ~tech
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Comment on Scripts I wrote that I use all the time in ~comp
text_garden LinkGood article, and good thread to keep an eye on! I use the following oneliner to open a document of notes for the day: #!/bin/bash exec $EDITOR $HOME/docs/notes/$(date --iso-8601).txt I'll warn...Good article, and good thread to keep an eye on!
I use the following oneliner to open a document of notes for the day:
#!/bin/bash exec $EDITOR $HOME/docs/notes/$(date --iso-8601).txtI'll warn that it's for GNU date and I don't know that *BSD or busybox implement
--iso-8601.I use this to browse and search my music library with fzf and play back albums using audacious:
#!/bin/bash cd $HOME/storage/musik/shared case "$1" in "") exec fzf --walker=dir --bind "enter:execute($0 play {})" ;; play) audacious "$2" & disown ;; esacThe library is organized in an <artist name>/<album name> hierarchy, and I tend to listen to music in units of albums. Consequently I don't use the library features of audacious.
I also use the following script to synchronize the music library to VLC on my phone (an Iphone) using ifuse and rsync:
#!/bin/bash set -e mkdir ~/iphone-syncmusic trap "rmdir ~/iphone-syncmusic" EXIT idevicepair pair ifuse --documents "org.videolan.vlc-ios" ~/iphone-syncmusic rsync -Lrvu --progress --delete ~/storage/musik/shared/ ~/iphone-syncmusic/shared/ umount ~/iphone-syncmusic -
Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
text_garden Link ParentI challenge you to eat the sea like a soup! Most people can't stomach it; the sea is not food and is generally not edible at all. Even if the ocean had a soup-like quality, that should not extend...I challenge you to eat the sea like a soup! Most people can't stomach it; the sea is not food and is generally not edible at all.
Even if the ocean had a soup-like quality, that should not extend to the things you take out of it, and the arthropods within are only considered food once you take them out of and wash off the "broth" of the sea and turn them into non-soup.
If it were the case that crustaceans are edible because they were once of a soup that is the sea, the non-hypocritical arthropod connoisseur should accept tarantulas and king crickets once they've been sufficiently soaked in ocean water.
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
text_garden LinkI think there are too many serious, sensible, and very elaborate takes here. The subway take should be short and inane. The comment section has reduced the concept of "subway takes" to just...I think there are too many serious, sensible, and very elaborate takes here. The subway take should be short and inane. The comment section has reduced the concept of "subway takes" to just "takes".
My subway take is that crustaceans are just the bugs of the sea and that you are a hypocrite if you won't as eagerly slurp on large, land-based arthropod like a tarantula or a king cricket as you would a crab or a lobster.
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
text_garden (edited )Link ParentIn English, the base form of a verb (in this case "use" and "utilize") can serve as both the simple present tense (what you call "direct present") and as the bare infinitive (what you call...To "use" or "be using" is normally a present tense activity, whereas "to utilize" means to either be in direct present use or to generally use an item at another point in the past or future. Utilize is timeless, whereas use or using is present... well, use.
In English, the base form of a verb (in this case "use" and "utilize") can serve as both the simple present tense (what you call "direct present") and as the bare infinitive (what you call "timeless"), which is tenseless. Both verbs have that quality, contrary to the distinction you insist on here.
I utilize examples in my arguments.
I am, have, and will, be using examples in my arguments.You can also just say "I use examples in my arguments" to imply, infinitively, that you use examples, just as you did in the sentence before.
Your example also doesn't really make much sense grammatically. You should probably rather write "I am, have been and will be using examples in my argument" since the auxilary verb is different depending on tense.
The difference between use and utilize is as ibuprofen pointed out in a sibling comment to yours.
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Comment on What code editor / IDE do you use (2025)? in ~comp
text_garden LinkDo you want suggestions or do you want to hear what editors we use? Because I use Vim or other Vi clones for everything text editing related, which answers your question, but per your instruction...So what text editors, or IDEs do you swear by (and please don't suggest VIM- it's overwhelming ;])?
Do you want suggestions or do you want to hear what editors we use? Because I use Vim or other Vi clones for everything text editing related, which answers your question, but per your instruction I won't suggest it :)
I've written about it here before:
I don't regret getting started with Vim and using it for the past 15 years, but I am also wary of recommending it to anyone already content with the way they write code. Especially when motivated by what the "long beards" think.
For me, the most important gain is in ergonomics. The mouse is extremely powerful as a kind of generalized interface for pointing at things precisely, and editors I'd used before leaned heavily on this. You can click and pull a selection precisely over the text you want to select or place the cursor exactly where you want it with relative ease and basically no cognitive load because it's so intuitively analogous to the exact motion of your hand. Vim was the first editor I'd used that felt like it offered a viable alternative to the precision and expressiveness of mouse motions using just the keyboard. That means less reliance on the mouse which is a great thing in terms of ergonomics, especially in the context of typing.
The cost is that I had to build an intuition around the Vim commands, but since I write code several hours a day and intend to do that until I retire, it would easily pay off even if I spent weeks figuring it out to a comfortable level of understanding. Once it's there is there: I now speak a language of motions and commands that apply to motions confidently and without much thought.
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Comment on Denmark plans social media ban for under-15s – PM Mette Frederiksen links social media use to anxiety, depression and lack of concentration in ~tech
text_garden Link ParentHopefully it will only be enacted once EU's zero knowledge proof solution for age verification has been implemented.While I think I agree with banning social media for kids, I still want to know how they're going to enforce this, while also doing it securely. And without further tying my real name to an account, permanently. Discord, or a "support vendor" of Discord that was involved in age verification with govt IDs, just had a breach, including some of those govt IDs.
Hopefully it will only be enacted once EU's zero knowledge proof solution for age verification has been implemented.
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Comment on Cory Doctorow: Tech-like apps can obfuscate what’s really going on, sloshing a coat of complexity over a business that allows its owners to claim that they’re not breaking the law in ~tech
text_garden Link ParentYou're mistaking the author telling you what he thinks as him telling you what to think. It's an opinion piece, not a report.There's quite a lot of telling you what to think and rather little reporting.
You're mistaking the author telling you what he thinks as him telling you what to think. It's an opinion piece, not a report.
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Comment on Travel essentials: eight items to pack for your next trip – and what to leave at home in ~travel
text_garden Link ParentIt's deeply ironic that the "advice" to buy a $2000 phone because it has a novelty-sized screen is from "the Filter US: our newsletter guide to buying fewer, better products". Having too much crap...It's deeply ironic that the "advice" to buy a $2000 phone because it has a novelty-sized screen is from "the Filter US: our newsletter guide to buying fewer, better products". Having too much crap is a hole you bought yourself into. You're unlikely to buy yourself out of it.
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Comment on Deus Ex Remastered | Announcement trailer in ~games
text_garden Link ParentThere were no such projects for Forsaken or the original System Shock. The free source ports of ROTT are not good, in themselves outdated and buggy. The Doom 64 remaster is the continuation of...There were no such projects for Forsaken or the original System Shock. The free source ports of ROTT are not good, in themselves outdated and buggy. The Doom 64 remaster is the continuation of Doom 64 EX which the Nightdive programmer worked on before he joined Nightdive; just a more complete version of the same work.
What it boils down to then is whether you are interested in playing these games. If you're not interested, of course their remasters must seem pointless to you. If you are, they're great for the reasons we both agree on. But that's not so much a comment on remasters as it is on your taste in games.
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Comment on Deus Ex Remastered | Announcement trailer in ~games
text_garden Link ParentI think their good remasters are perfect as remasters. Mostly just the original games ported and touched up with some modernities like wide screen support, modernized control schemes, mouse look...I think their good remasters are perfect as remasters. Mostly just the original games ported and touched up with some modernities like wide screen support, modernized control schemes, mouse look and uncapped framerate. Just lowers the friction of replaying these games (or for me, when it comes to Forsaken and Doom 64, trying them at all).
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Comment on Deus Ex Remastered | Announcement trailer in ~games
text_garden Link ParentI think Nightdive does a good job with remasters, with some exceptions.I think Nightdive does a good job with remasters, with some exceptions.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
text_garden LinkI played through the original Star Wars: Dark Forces. It's one of those games that somehow end up "in rotation" for me, so I end up replaying it every year or two. From moment to moment it plays a...I played through the original Star Wars: Dark Forces. It's one of those games that somehow end up "in rotation" for me, so I end up replaying it every year or two.
From moment to moment it plays a lot like a decent-not-great Doom clone, but it differs in that its levels are each their own mission, set in a believable location with a variety of objectives serving a clear purpose in terms of the overarching narrative. I'd say most first person shooters at the time didn't have the ambition to approach levels as anything more than a weakly connected series of challenges to get from the start to exit. System Shock comes to mind as an exception, but System Shock is also not really as much of a Doom clone in design as Dark Forces, probably owing more of its sensibilities to the Ultima Underworld games.
Sure, the objectives of Dark Forces are basically just a fancy abstraction over key hunting but that's often enough to give the game a sense of purpose. Still, sometimes the game sometimes manages to hit the worst of all worlds: Star Wars logic combined with LucasArts puzzle logic combined with FPS puzzle logic.
I also played Truer than You, a VN where you play as a gig worker who gets hired to play the roles of a friend, lover, a parent or whatever in social situations for a variety of clients. A sort of ultimate form of Sartre's waiter where you have to be what someone else wants, all while figuring out what they want you to be. At the same time, as a player you are of course role playing the character role playing a character, so it can get confusing. The game then throws curve balls at you through situations where you awkwardly have to choose between authenticity and playing your role. It deals with its subject really well and I liked how interactive it was, through frequent choices (and no explicit choice always being available as a choice in itself).
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~books
text_garden Link ParentInstead of thinking of it in terms of direct substitutes I would reach for "show, don't tell". Below I never directly attribute anything to anyone and I never explicitly write how something is...Instead of thinking of it in terms of direct substitutes I would reach for "show, don't tell". Below I never directly attribute anything to anyone and I never explicitly write how something is uttered, but I feel like it comes across well enough, and that the dialogue is more animated for it:
He looked up at the night sky, holding his hand out in an exaggerated theatrical pose. "Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck." She pushed his hand back down in laughter. "Nice one, Macbeth, but how do you suppose we navigate?" Looking back up, he still held onto a smile, but scanned the stars carefully this time. "That bright one right there would be the north star, I think." It was her turn for theatrics. "Behold! He doth pluck after all!"
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~books
text_garden LinkDune series. "Presently" in the sense "soon". I think Frank Herbert just really liked the word. I googled "frank herbert presently" just now, and that sense of the word is apparently obscure...Dune series. "Presently" in the sense "soon". I think Frank Herbert just really liked the word. I googled "frank herbert presently" just now, and that sense of the word is apparently obscure enough that the leading theory on Reddit is some far-fetched nonsense about using it to distinguish between the present and Paul's visions of the future.
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Comment on ChatGPT is blowing up marriages as spouses use AI to attack their partners in ~tech
text_garden Link ParentI imagine that without ChatGPT, they would have to duke it out alone, with the confidence, compassion, stamina and patience of someone actually human. I read the article thinking it's being used...I imagine that without ChatGPT, they would have to duke it out alone, with the confidence, compassion, stamina and patience of someone actually human.
I read the article thinking it's being used in place of something like a close loyal friend taking your side to console you. But even those friends will get tired of your shit. They will develop views of their own. They will tread carefully where they don't have a complete picture. They will know when you're being one-sided. They will be concerned with your relationship. They will be concerned with your mental health. They will have a mental health of their own to be concerned with.
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Comment on Sweden's health minister has urged the EU to push ahead with social media restrictions for kids while insisting it be treated as a pressing matter in ~tech
text_garden Link ParentI suggest "diddler", for Dedicated Integer Data Dust Lavishing Entropic Robustness.I suggest "diddler", for Dedicated Integer Data Dust Lavishing Entropic Robustness.
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Comment on Sweden's health minister has urged the EU to push ahead with social media restrictions for kids while insisting it be treated as a pressing matter in ~tech
text_garden Link ParentThe EU is developing a zero-knowledge proof solution for age verification. With zero knowledge proof, proof of age can be given without revealing to the attestation provider why you want to, nor...The EU is developing a zero-knowledge proof solution for age verification. With zero knowledge proof, proof of age can be given without revealing to the attestation provider why you want to, nor to the relying party anything else about your identity. Of course, ZKP means that an age proof could be for anyone.
My main issue with it all is that it makes the barrier to entry higher for anyone wanting to run a service which the EU decides must be age restricted. This benefits large, well established businesses with practically endless resources to implement them, and disproportionately burdens new, small businesses. This is an overlooked issue of the "chat control" proposals as well, and even moreso: a complex technical solution (coincidentally pushed by lobbyists intending to sell that solution as a service) is a form of regulatory capture.
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Comment on Wireless earphones: a belated review in ~tech
text_garden Link ParentThe crucial difference is that there's a significant delay between the physical response of playing the instrument and the audio reaching your ears, in a setting where timing sound is important. I...The crucial difference is that there's a significant delay between the physical response of playing the instrument and the audio reaching your ears, in a setting where timing sound is important. I don't think you need a particularly good ear for it: handfuls of milliseconds of delay can be absolutely jarring. Some musicians may be able to compensate for it in their playing to some degree, but to most, maintaining rhythm is a matter of both feeling and hearing the instrument.
There are other contexts where that level of difference is not as important (e.g. some video games, phone calls) and others where it can be mitigated altogether by delaying whatever it's synchronized with accordingly (e.g. watching a video).
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Comment on Super Mario Bros. Remastered in ~games
text_garden Link ParentThe name and branding is like asking for a takedown request. There's a good reason most recompilation projects use names that don't directly refer to the original titles. Looks fun, so now I have...The name and branding is like asking for a takedown request. There's a good reason most recompilation projects use names that don't directly refer to the original titles. Looks fun, so now I have it downloaded at least!
It seems practical that many of the signs of AI writing are also just bad writing, poor communication, non-NPOV, speculation, misattributed statements and so on. Almost all of the examples are already frowned upon on Wikipedia for other reasons.
Having used large language models I also doubt that we're in a "well, that's just the LLM generated text you notice" type situation where there is a significant amount of it without glaring red flags. ChatGPT for example seems utterly incapable of some of the qualities that Wikipedia demand, like not attributing its own speculation to sources that may or may not exist. People are bad at this, too, but not as consistently bad as ChatGPT.