tibpoe's recent activity
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Comment on What's good in modern flashlights/headlamps? in ~hobbies
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Comment on Fraud investigation is believing your lying eyes in ~society
tibpoe Link ParentWhen you fill out a form, you the person who gave you the form to carefully read over your responses and scrutinize them. On the other hand, you don't have control over and may not even be aware...What does he mean that the data points announce they will be scrutinized???
When you fill out a form, you the person who gave you the form to carefully read over your responses and scrutinize them. On the other hand, you don't have control over and may not even be aware of other data points being captured. For example, in an e-commerce context, how long does it take you to go from your first visit to a web store to checking out? I imagine the difference between fraud and legitimate customer is fairly wide.
What is a potential marginal beneficiary???
I understood this to mean someone who barely meets the requirements or is otherwise towards the bottom of the pile when ranked by most qualified. Since fraudulent actors will lie to appear more qualified, this means barely-qualified folks would have gotten unfairly excluded from consideration.
I definitely agree that his writing is a bit idiosyncratic, and I'd say it's targeted towards the audience he is familiar with. I personally don't have too much trouble with it, but I have read a lot of his writing, and I've worked in fintech, so I'm basically right in the middle of his target audience.
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Comment on Fraud investigation is believing your lying eyes in ~society
tibpoe Link ParentI think I just fundamentally disagree with you on the first point. "Beyond a reasonable doubt" is a good threshold for incarceration, but is completely the wrong threshold for access to government...I think I just fundamentally disagree with you on the first point. "Beyond a reasonable doubt" is a good threshold for incarceration, but is completely the wrong threshold for access to government contracts. For civil matters, we already accept a 50% threshold. After all, I assume that there are other folks in the same industry competing for those contracts, why award money to anyone but the least risky actors?
I'd completely agree with you for things like personal disability benefits or the like. It absolutely must be beyond a reasonable doubt in those cases.
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Comment on Fraud investigation is believing your lying eyes in ~society
tibpoe LinkInsightful article, as always, but I'm looking forward to reading the book mentioned, Lying for Money. I was really surprised to hear that the government doesn't have fraud analysts the way...Insightful article, as always, but I'm looking forward to reading the book mentioned, Lying for Money.
I was really surprised to hear that the government doesn't have fraud analysts the way companies do! Back when I worked for a bank, I remember coming across one particular person that was clearly defrauding one of COVID relief programs and raised it internally, but it sounds like it's likely that was never actually communicated to the government or turned into anything?
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Comment on The assistant axis: situating and stabilizing the character of large language models in ~tech
tibpoe LinkAll this work, and they don't give a single example of the "leviathan" persona they also identified. It'd be really cool to see these models intentionally tuned in an artistic direction.All this work, and they don't give a single example of the "leviathan" persona they also identified. It'd be really cool to see these models intentionally tuned in an artistic direction.
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The engineer who invented the Mars Rover suspension...in his garage
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Comment on Why London’s chimney sweeps are enjoying a resurgence in ~life
tibpoe Link ParentDo you have a fireplace, or a wood burning stove? The efficiency on fireplaces is abysmal, something like a single digit percentage if I recall correctly. Wood stoves on the other hand both burn...Do you have a fireplace, or a wood burning stove? The efficiency on fireplaces is abysmal, something like a single digit percentage if I recall correctly. Wood stoves on the other hand both burn more of your wood, and capture much more of the heat before sending it up the chimney. Depending on your floor plan, you could absolutely heat whole house with one.
Not evenly, the stove room will be a sauna, but that's what open floor plans are for right?
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Comment on Help with 1bed, WFH apartment layout! in ~life.home_improvement
tibpoe (edited )Link ParentGet a USB switch, and manually switch your monitor between inputs. The extra friction is a feature!Get a USB switch, and manually switch your monitor between inputs. The extra friction is a feature!
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Comment on "Visa" gift cards - What should I be looking at? in ~finance
tibpoe Link ParentI don't think this is an accurate description; I've been using Plaid (and before that Mint) since close to the start, and I always thought the relationship was clear. The whole situation is...I don't think this is an accurate description; I've been using Plaid (and before that Mint) since close to the start, and I always thought the relationship was clear. The whole situation is entirely the banks' fault anyway, banks refused to provide any kind of API access to their data, requiring a screen scraping approach that neither Plaid nor the banks nor their customers liked.
Anyway, things have gotten better. Most the top institutions how provide API access and don't require that you give Plaid your password. From my quick testing, all these use API integration:
- Bank of America
- Amex
- Chase
- Wells Fargo
- citibank
- US Bank
- PNC
- USAA
- Navy Federal
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Comment on Leaving Apple behind after eighteen years in ~tech
tibpoe Link ParentI don't want any compromises at all to battery life. I'm done with being tethered to a wall. Also I paid $800 for it, since I buy my laptops used, while the comparable spec Framework is $1271.I don't want any compromises at all to battery life. I'm done with being tethered to a wall.
Also I paid $800 for it, since I buy my laptops used, while the comparable spec Framework is $1271.
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Comment on What resource should I use for how to investigate data at rest with Django? in ~tech
tibpoe Link Parent"just use AES" is not enough, because AES is just a way to get a stream of random bytes. There are many broken ways to use AES. https://developers.google.com/tink/ is probably a less risky way to..."just use AES" is not enough, because AES is just a way to get a stream of random bytes. There are many broken ways to use AES.
https://developers.google.com/tink/ is probably a less risky way to approach this. Particularly because it only provides AES AEAD, and includes an algorithm to generate IVs
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Comment on What resource should I use for how to investigate data at rest with Django? in ~tech
tibpoe LinkWhat are you actually doing? Why is this sort of thing a requirement for a hobby project? I'm asking because it seems likely this is a X-Y problem. The reason you're likely not finding anything is...What are you actually doing? Why is this sort of thing a requirement for a hobby project? I'm asking because it seems likely this is a X-Y problem.
The reason you're likely not finding anything is because this problem isn't really Django specific. There's plenty of maintained generic cryptography libraries, and you can build what you need out of that with minimal convenience wrappers that would be specific to your particular circumstances.
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Comment on Leaving Apple behind after eighteen years in ~tech
tibpoe Link ParentI found this video online showing the install process. It's exactly what I saw and he hasn't cut anything significant. After that, only a few small tweaks I wouldn't consider user-friendly or...I found this video online showing the install process. It's exactly what I saw and he hasn't cut anything significant.
After that, only a few small tweaks I wouldn't consider user-friendly or easy:
- swap the modifier keys to what I like
- encrypt my disk
- add the notch back, which works really well if you also move the KDE plasma bar to the top of the screen.
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Comment on Leaving Apple behind after eighteen years in ~tech
tibpoe Link ParentI have an old car that doesn't support Android Auto. So I just have a phone holder in a convenient location with a power cable going to it, and that ends up working just fine. I do still use...I have an old car that doesn't support Android Auto. So I just have a phone holder in a convenient location with a power cable going to it, and that ends up working just fine. I do still use Google Maps, but I don't need any kind of special operating system integration.
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Comment on Leaving Apple behind after eighteen years in ~tech
tibpoe LinkAs far as laptops go, I recently got a M1 Macbook to use purely with Asahi Linux. It was super easy to set up, and still has better battery life and performance than any other laptop I've had....As far as laptops go, I recently got a M1 Macbook to use purely with Asahi Linux. It was super easy to set up, and still has better battery life and performance than any other laptop I've had.
Only downsides are no thunderbolt docks and that touch ID doesn't work.
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Comment on Leaving Apple behind after eighteen years in ~tech
tibpoe Link ParentMuch better! For me, the issue was the CRT effect was on the main text & the desync effect was very distracting. I think it could still be cool if the CRT effect only applied to the background and...Much better! For me, the issue was the CRT effect was on the main text & the desync effect was very distracting. I think it could still be cool if the CRT effect only applied to the background and the menu bar.
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Comment on Toll roads are spreading in America in ~transport
tibpoe Link ParentOdometer tampering is serious business with penalties up to 3 years in jail and fines up to $10k per instance.Odometer tampering is serious business with penalties up to 3 years in jail and fines up to $10k per instance.
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Comment on Toll roads are spreading in America in ~transport
tibpoe Link ParentToll roads are often built with private partnership, where the state provides the real estate and favorable bond tax treatment, and a private set of investors are responsible for building and...Toll roads are often built with private partnership, where the state provides the real estate and favorable bond tax treatment, and a private set of investors are responsible for building and operating the toll road and take on the risk (and profit) from tolling revenue.
If the government was to remove tolls on these roads ("give them away"), they would need buy out the private companies currently operating them. Because demand for free things is so high, you would see traffic jams ("queues") on those toll roads.
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Comment on The truth about AI (specifically LLM powered AI) in ~tech
tibpoe Link ParentThey absolutely are, but this is not a property of the technology or its progression, but of human nature. I've been using LLMs for software work and staying on top of industry news for a while,...the ones running it just use it for their own benefit and progression.
They absolutely are, but this is not a property of the technology or its progression, but of human nature.
I've been using LLMs for software work and staying on top of industry news for a while, and the impression I've gotten is that these different vendors are fungible, in many cases with as little effort as changing a single line of code.
So I think that's why they're pushing so hard on the "AI could end the world" angle, since they know that without government granting them a monopoly, they're in a low-margin industry closer to corn farming, than to Salesforce's (for example) high-margin, high switching cost position.
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Comment on AI isn’t replacing jobs. AI spending is. in ~comp
tibpoe Link ParentThe nerds aren't the ones getting wined and dined by Oracle's sales team.The nerds aren't the ones getting wined and dined by Oracle's sales team.
When I was looking for flashlights, the subreddit pointed me towards this list of recommendations. I ended up with a Skilhunt H200 in 5000K, and I've been incredibly happy with it.
A few buying tips:
On the backup light sources, I use my headlamp in moonlight mode quite a bit. It's not enough to light up the whole treeline, but it's plenty to see what I'm doing with my hands and avoid tripping. For the higher moonlight setting, 3.5lm, the manual says the battery is good for 100h. For the lower setting, 0.3lm, the manual doesn't even provide a runtime. So for me, this is perfectly adequate as a fallback if I see the battery life dropping.