tibpoe's recent activity
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Comment on What's a quantum computer? in ~tech
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Comment on Does anyone here use a SAD lamp? in ~health.mental
tibpoe Link ParentThey exist! The main caveat is the price, which is "contact us" and rumored to be about $40k. But if you're outfitting an MRI machine room for example, it may be worth it.The main caveat is the price, which is "contact us" and rumored to be about $40k. But if you're outfitting an MRI machine room for example, it may be worth it.
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Comment on Does anyone here use a SAD lamp? in ~health.mental
tibpoe Link ParentIt's pretty simple and cheap actually, just get a high bay light:...It's pretty simple and cheap actually, just get a high bay light: https://www.superbrightleds.com/industrial-led-lighting/led-warehouse-and-led-warehouse-vehicle-lighting/led-high-bay-lighting/led-linear-high-bay-lights/165w-led-linear-high-bay-23-100-lumens-400w-mh-equivalent-5000k
Warning: this will be painfully bright. Looking directly at the lamp will be a lux of 100k or so, so you will need to bounce it off a wall.
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Comment on Illiteracy is a policy choice: why aren’t we gathering behind Mississippi’s banner? in ~society
tibpoe Link ParentUnfortunately, it seems what's really happening here is that everyone else got worse, particularly between 2019 and 2024. All the reforms listed in the article seem extremely reasonable though,...Unfortunately, it seems what's really happening here is that everyone else got worse, particularly between 2019 and 2024.
All the reforms listed in the article seem extremely reasonable though, and it's very sad to see so many kids being left behind.
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Comment on The perfect lighting in ~life.home_improvement
tibpoe Link ParentPretty much nothing. It's not exactly like-for-like, but zigbee sensors often need to go a whole year on a single CR2032 battery. That's roughly 0.5Wh of consumption per year. An ESP32 chip, one...Pretty much nothing. It's not exactly like-for-like, but zigbee sensors often need to go a whole year on a single CR2032 battery. That's roughly 0.5Wh of consumption per year.
An ESP32 chip, one of the thirstiest chips in this application, will be about 170Wh/month. But that's for WiFi, which unlike the zigbee in the Hue lights is not optimized for efficiency.
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Comment on Looking for some cat advice in ~life.pets
tibpoe Link ParentPerhaps you're thinking of this one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002H3S5K/?th=1 Completely overkill for a cat though, and I don't think they make them any smaller.Perhaps you're thinking of this one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002H3S5K/?th=1
Completely overkill for a cat though, and I don't think they make them any smaller.
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Comment on Experiences with FarmBot or similar gardening robots? in ~tech
tibpoe LinkState of the art is automated steering on big tractors. I'd be surprised if there's any small-scale automation outside of education. Productivity improvements in farming come from larger plots of...State of the art is automated steering on big tractors.
I'd be surprised if there's any small-scale automation outside of education. Productivity improvements in farming come from larger plots of land, and people who garden at home generally do it because they enjoy the process of gardening with their hands.
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Comment on Microsoft testing new AI features in Windows 11 File Explorer in ~tech
tibpoe Link Parentapt-get is exactly the system package manager, so you're good! You definitely don't have to use the command line unless you want to either, the Software Manager GUI on your computer uses apt-get...apt-getis exactly the system package manager, so you're good! You definitely don't have to use the command line unless you want to either, the Software Manager GUI on your computer usesapt-getunder the hood. -
Comment on Microsoft testing new AI features in Windows 11 File Explorer in ~tech
tibpoe Link ParentStep 1: Only use the system package manager/software store. Don't download software off internet websites. Step 2: There is no step 2. Yes, because there's a monetization plan with all malware....Step 1: Only use the system package manager/software store. Don't download software off internet websites.
Step 2: There is no step 2.
would I even notice if my box was compromised?
Yes, because there's a monetization plan with all malware. Anyway, there's not currently any malware targeting desktop Linux users, so as long as you follow step 1 in the future, you have nothing to worry about.
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Comment on Signal introduces secure cloud backups in ~tech
tibpoe Link ParentSymmetric encryption is not really vulnerable to quantum computers the way asymmetric encryption is.Symmetric encryption is not really vulnerable to quantum computers the way asymmetric encryption is.
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Comment on What is a business/org that's so terrible no one should use if possible? in ~life
tibpoe Link ParentIt is now, but for many years it was poorly described and opt-out. The threat of government regulation has forced banks to clean up their act though, and I hope that will stay despite the Trump...It is now, but for many years it was poorly described and opt-out.
The threat of government regulation has forced banks to clean up their act though, and I hope that will stay despite the Trump whiplash on this regulation
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Comment on Pioneering method turns plastic into fuel with 95% efficiency in ~engineering
tibpoe LinkLooks like the main innovation here is their process allows removing the chlorine from the plastic without a separate dechlorination step. That this process creates gasoline-like fuel is sort of a...Looks like the main innovation here is their process allows removing the chlorine from the plastic without a separate dechlorination step. That this process creates gasoline-like fuel is sort of a happy side-effect, since dechlorinated plastic can already be burned for energy.
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Comment on How can England possibly be running out of water? in ~enviro
tibpoe LinkEngland's water situation is interesting to me because it's very different from what we see in the United States. Looking at the raw data, it looks like something like 60% of their water use is...England's water situation is interesting to me because it's very different from what we see in the United States. Looking at the raw data, it looks like something like 60% of their water use is household water use!
Very different from what we see in the United States, where 90% of water use is in agriculture, and only 7% is for combined household+industrial use.
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Comment on Derek Thompson article: "the anti-abundance critique on US housing is dead wrong" in ~society
tibpoe Link ParentIt's possible, but I think it's unlikely. Multiple apartment buildings and "local news" (probably just Sinclair) both point to a decent-size metro.It's possible, but I think it's unlikely. Multiple apartment buildings and "local news" (probably just Sinclair) both point to a decent-size metro.
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Comment on Derek Thompson article: "the anti-abundance critique on US housing is dead wrong" in ~society
tibpoe Link ParentThat's exactly what this article is about: this is just not true and your local news is lying.had trouble getting another place to live cause its all owned by the same company
That's exactly what this article is about: this is just not true and your local news is lying.
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Comment on Derek Thompson article: "the anti-abundance critique on US housing is dead wrong" in ~society
tibpoe Link ParentIt costs a lot more money to tear down existing apartments than to densify new properties. The big one is opportunity cost; if they could keep the apartments operating with minimal new investment...It costs a lot more money to tear down existing apartments than to densify new properties. The big one is opportunity cost; if they could keep the apartments operating with minimal new investment they would.
The cost of tearing down a single family home should be much lower, because the rent for one SFH is much less than the rent for the comparable 6 apartment units on the same footprint. The problem is government intervention and NIMBYs, which drive up the price through endless planning processes.
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Comment on GPT 5 released in ~comp
tibpoe Link ParentI haven't used it, but in general I like to look at https://lmarena.ai/leaderboard whenever a new model comes out. It's a blind head-to-head test of LLM models. In this case, I don't see gpt-5 as...I haven't used it, but in general I like to look at https://lmarena.ai/leaderboard whenever a new model comes out. It's a blind head-to-head test of LLM models.
In this case, I don't see gpt-5 as anything but a tiny improvement over existing models, or maybe not and it's just noise. It's good OpenAI finally has a coding model, but it doesn't look like it's likely to be a significant enough improvement to bother trying out.
What I am excited about is their gpt-oss-120b from the other day. It's pretty good: not top tier, but fine for many queries. It's incredible how fast it is, especially if I use the Cerebras-hosted version, which runs at almost 3k tokens/sec. It makes the whole process of iterating on prompts much faster and easier, and it feels like it has some kind of killer application that I just have not figured out yet.
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Comment on Fast food pricing games are ridiculous in ~food
tibpoe Link ParentI'd argue the sole reason for it is the price discrimination. It's a roundabout way of asking "what's your time worth?" Are rich people going to talk with their friends and discover the tricks to...I'd argue the sole reason for it is the price discrimination. It's a roundabout way of asking "what's your time worth?"
Are rich people going to talk with their friends and discover the tricks to get a reasonable price? No, it's not worth their time and the risk of being seen as cheap. On the other hand, poorer people are absolutely going to spend 20 minutes figuring out the coupon game.
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Comment on A huge fight looms over the NASA budget this fall in ~space
tibpoe LinkI'm glad that Congress is at least in this small way asserting it's status as a co-equal branch of government, but this is disappointing: I have not seen any sort of justification for the SLS and...I'm glad that Congress is at least in this small way asserting it's status as a co-equal branch of government, but this is disappointing:
Congress also rejects the White House's desire to restructure the Artemis Moon program, getting rid of the Lunar Gateway and ending the space agency's use of the costly Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft after two more flights.
I have not seen any sort of justification for the SLS and Lunar Gateway except as pork. They just don't make sense.
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Comment on Why recycling solar panels is harder than you might think in ~enviro
tibpoe Link ParentI think this particular article is OK, but in general I'm just tired of hearing about recycling renewable power generation. It ends up feeling like concern trolling by the media, especially since...I think this particular article is OK, but in general I'm just tired of hearing about recycling renewable power generation. It ends up feeling like concern trolling by the media, especially since it fails to discuss the opportunity cost of continuing to use the air that we all breathe as the world's largest landfill, and the incredibly low risk that modern landfills present.
Post-quantum cryptography is not as easy as you describe it: only recently have standards bodies like NIST standardized it; the algorithms are significantly slower, use a lot more network bandwidth, and are worse understood/riskier.
Signal recently introduced post-quantum crypto, and if you read their very technical paper on it, you can tell it took a lot of effort.