zestier's recent activity
-
Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
-
Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
zestier (edited )Link ParentI haven't woken up with any recollection of a dream in years. Based on what I understand dream journaling to be I have low confidence I could even start one due to lacking any useful days to build...I haven't woken up with any recollection of a dream in years. Based on what I understand dream journaling to be I have low confidence I could even start one due to lacking any useful days to build on. I don't even mean that I can't remember any specific dreams right now, I mean I don't even wake up with a vague "that was a weird dream" feeling.
I've always assumed that I do dream and just never remember it, but I also find it fascinating that the only reason I have to believe that is that that's what people say. I was told that not dreaming is basically impossible, so I must be. The reason I find this fascinating is that even if I truly didn't the assumption would still be that I must be and just lack the recall of them. I'm not arguing the science, I just find it interesting.
On evidence that I do dream, on rare occasion I'll wake up in a sweat in the middle of the night. I never have any recollection of the cause, but my best guess is that I was having a nightmare. That kind of physical response is the closest I've had to any conscious recollection of anything related to dreaming I've had in many years.
My guess is that it isn't related to aphantasia though because others have said they get vivid dreams, although I can't personally conceptualize how that works. Like even if I do get vivid dreams I'm unsure how the recall on them would work since I wouldn't be able to re-vizualize the memory consciously.
-
Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
zestier Link ParentI can internally monologue and I can get songs stuck in my head, but music is simplified down to something closer to rhythmic poetry. There will be words and a beat, but instruments are gone. It's...I can internally monologue and I can get songs stuck in my head, but music is simplified down to something closer to rhythmic poetry. There will be words and a beat, but instruments are gone. It's kind of like I've reduced it down to just what it takes to sing along.
I've described it to my wife as like I think in details. To use the apple example that keeps getting brought up: to me an apple is that white flash card with black sans-serif text that depicts a side view of a red delicious apple with exactly 2 knobs at the bottom and a short brown stem. I don't see this flash card in my mind though. It's just that when I think about an apple with no explicit descriptors I don't visualize some apple and then describe it, I just fetch the details about what a stereotypical apple is. These descriptors are still words though, which is where the internal monologue comes in.
I can't say if I experience the internal monologue the same as others though without knowing more about how they're normally experienced. I can say that it doesn't feel like I "hear" the words as much as they're "just there". They don't have a voice.
-
Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
zestier (edited )Link ParentI suppose this is a weird question, but how do you know you visualize when dreaming? The only way I can imagine saying I can visualize while dreaming would require being able to recall visuals...I suppose this is a weird question, but how do you know you visualize when dreaming? The only way I can imagine saying I can visualize while dreaming would require being able to recall visuals from my dreams, but recalling visuals is a problem in itself.
-
Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
zestier (edited )LinkI am in the group that didn't realize people were being literal when talking about imagining things until I learned about the term aphantashia as an adult. I don't think I have issues with facial...I am in the group that didn't realize people were being literal when talking about imagining things until I learned about the term aphantashia as an adult. I don't think I have issues with facial recognition, but I cannot recall faces aside from recognition. As an example, if I was asked to describe my own mother's face I would draw a blank.
I've always attributed this to why I don't find reading particularly interesting and why I've given up all attempts I've ever made at art (the not being able to visualize my goal). I also don't remember dreams, so not really sure what's going on there. I'd find it interesting though if I were to learn that my dreams are visual and I never recall them specifically because I can't visualize them consciously.
-
Comment on A Cloudflare outage is taking down large parts of the internet - X, ChatGPT and more affected in ~tech
zestier (edited )Link ParentPanicking on input! In systems that need this much reliability panics should be limited to exclusively program correctness, even when you're the one supplying the input data. This kind of stuff is...Panicking on input! In systems that need this much reliability panics should be limited to exclusively program correctness, even when you're the one supplying the input data. This kind of stuff is so easy to miss though.
I wonder if this was always going to be a ticking time bomb even without this incident. Was someone updating that table going to know and remember that there was a hard limit of 200 entries at which point things start to crash?
-
Comment on For those who didn't know, find what you want to watch and for how much on services! (justwatch.com) in ~movies
zestier (edited )Link ParentI almost made a topic asking this exact question a few days ago. My personal opinions are that: The pirates have an outright better watching experience for TV and movies than the people that focus...I almost made a topic asking this exact question a few days ago. My personal opinions are that:
- The pirates have an outright better watching experience for TV and movies than the people that focus on legal channels.
- I couldn't care less about whether or not someone pirates stuff from massive corporations, but don't squish the little guy. As an example, I'm against pirating Dropout.
-
Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
zestier (edited )Link ParentI think most of what drove it to become drama at all is that people don't consider AI-generated tickets as gifts. People are getting sick of spending their time triaging AI generated tickets that...I think most of what drove it to become drama at all is that people don't consider AI-generated tickets as gifts. People are getting sick of spending their time triaging AI generated tickets that are now being referred to as "CVE slop". I'd wager that if this exact scenario happened 10 years ago it wouldn't have generated any drama at all, but now maintainers of many projects are seeing AI tickets wasting their time and are just so very sick of it.
That does not make this specific ticket slop. But it exists in a larger ecosystem where people are expending effort wading through piles of AI generated noise to uncover what's real. In such an ecosystem I can definitely see how people would get to the point of being like, "unless you're a real person reporting an issue impacting real people please just go away because we don't have time to deal with it."
-
Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
zestier Link ParentAdmittedly this is why I hid behind "my understanding". I don't use Twitter so I saw this third hand somewhere where it was focused on the drama. I'm reasonably confident that I saw it claimed...Admittedly this is why I hid behind "my understanding". I don't use Twitter so I saw this third hand somewhere where it was focused on the drama. I'm reasonably confident that I saw it claimed that you had to opt in at compilation time, but that doesn't make that claim I saw accurate. The fun question is if what I saw was intentionally misleading to hype up the drama or if it was an oversight.
-
Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
zestier (edited )Link ParentI left much of that out because it isn't that related to the complaint. The selling point of AI is that it isn't a monotool, so it seems a bit unfair to try to compare it to one when the AI...I left much of that out because it isn't that related to the complaint. The selling point of AI is that it isn't a monotool, so it seems a bit unfair to try to compare it to one when the AI companies are very clearly branding it as the opposite.
There's no reason whatsoever to suggest that they should use the same model to both generate tickets and generate PRs. But AI companies are claiming they have agents good enough to make PRs from tickets all on their own, so why aren't they? Surely Google is smart enough to use more than one tool, invoking additional tools that can work in entirely independent ways is the basis of the entire agent model, yet they don't.
On a personal note I don't really take that much issue with what Google did, although they definitely could have handled it better. But, when confronted with the question "where's the good AI generated code actually solving problems?" it's difficult to not think back to cases like this and wonder why code generation isn't integrated into toolchains like this one. The intuitive answer is that the claims of how good it is at actually generating good PRs are puffery.
-
Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
zestier (edited )Link ParentSome of my greatest successes and funniest failures with generated code were using TDD. AI is pretty good at generating tests to match a spec, including being pretty decent at finding good edge...Some of my greatest successes and funniest failures with generated code were using TDD. AI is pretty good at generating tests to match a spec, including being pretty decent at finding good edge cases to add to the test suite. It's also really good at over fitting the implementation to the tests or removing tests that it's having trouble getting working.
The over fitting can usually be solved by making it generate more tests. As an example, I was letting it generate a parser for a reasonably simple language for me. Parsing is reasonably easy and boilerplate heavy, so seemed like a good fit. Well, if all your tests use naming like
struct Testthe parser may, and in my case did, believe it could just discard the identifier "Test" since it seems to be the only legal value anyway. A few more tests that explicitly checked that other names worked made it fix it though. -
Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
zestier (edited )Link ParentThis reminded me of the recent drama with Google using AI to detect bugs and file them on open source projects. Specifically, if the AI is so good why is it dumping problems on people rather than...This reminded me of the recent drama with Google using AI to detect bugs and file them on open source projects. Specifically, if the AI is so good why is it dumping problems on people rather than solutions?
For additional context, although still very reduced, my understanding of the drama I saw was with ffmpeg and was surrounding the filing of a bug in a code path that only applies to some obscure format
that you have to opt in to by compiling ffmpeg yourself with flags to enable it. On one hand there's the "it's good to have all bugs tracked", but on the other is the "a trillion dollar company is dumping noisy work onto a project that doesn't have the man power to be flooded with AI generated stuff related to edge cases that no real humans even care about anyway." The reason your comment reminded me of this though is that there was a lot of commentary along the lines of, "if the AI is so good why didn't it also submit a PR? As it stands this tool is not automating away tedious human work, but instead automating dumping more manual work on humans."
Edit: struck through a section that @gary identified as incorrect.
-
Comment on How long do homemade olives stay safe? in ~food
zestier Link ParentTo throw in another honey-related brewing anecdote: I commonly use honey as my bottle carbing sugar. For anyone unfamiliar, one method for carbonating hard cider and such is that you bottle it...To throw in another honey-related brewing anecdote: I commonly use honey as my bottle carbing sugar.
For anyone unfamiliar, one method for carbonating hard cider and such is that you bottle it while there are still some fermentables left. This causes some fermentation to happen in the bottle, but since this new co2 can't escape it ends up dissolved as carbonation. This method may sound dangerous, like you're building volatile bottle bombs, since it would be difficult to know exactly how much more fermentation will occur. The solution is to wait until the original fermentables are all gone and then add in a small known amount of new fermentables right before bottling. I use honey for that, although I think it's probably more common to use brewing sugar or carbonation drops.
-
Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
zestier Link ParentI'll also add in that Steam has started to curate an ecosystem that people would like to have brought to their TVs. The jump from desk to Steam Deck meant people could both play with their...I'll also add in that Steam has started to curate an ecosystem that people would like to have brought to their TVs. The jump from desk to Steam Deck meant people could both play with their existing set of Steam friends and have their library of saves follow them between devices. As a personal example, I played Hollow Knight on my PC, my Steam Deck on the go, and my TV and it was super nice that everything "just worked" in a way that it wouldn't have if I had a Steam copy and a PS5 copy. If not for being able to dock my Steam Deck, which basically just makes it a weak Steam Machine, I would've needed to choose between TV and everything else.
-
Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
zestier Link ParentBecause it's a lot of work and expense for a poor experience. It may as well be impossible to set up and maintain (think updates and stuff) without a keyboard and mouse and I'm not interested in...Because it's a lot of work and expense for a poor experience. It may as well be impossible to set up and maintain (think updates and stuff) without a keyboard and mouse and I'm not interested in dealing with that in the living room on my TV. And then at the end I have what? A box with poor controller support, probably without CEC, probably poor performance (budget prebuilts can be rough to game on since they don't optimize the hardware choices for games), significantly more work to maintain, and probably doesn't even fit in my entertainment center.
A TV PC sounds nice on paper, but for me isn't worth the work with regular non-TV OSes. It's effectively a project PC for a project that I'm not really interested in doing. Even just configuring WiFi, doing system updates, and all that are just annoying to do on a TV without interfaces designed to use a controller, which is specifically what SteamOS handles fully out-of-the-box. I have used a laptop for this purpose in the past and needing to pull it out to do basically anything except launch a game got so old that I just stopped.
-
Comment on Pennies are being canceled and the US Mint won't make any more. What does that mean? in ~finance
zestier Link ParentThe satisfying clinking sounds when you shake your low value booty?The satisfying clinking sounds when you shake your low value booty?
-
Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
zestier (edited )Link ParentI don't think their target audience is people that want to put it on a desk and use it as a PC. I think their target audience is people that want a controller-first alternative to consoles that's...I don't think their target audience is people that want to put it on a desk and use it as a PC. I think their target audience is people that want a controller-first alternative to consoles that's less hassle than setting up a TV PC. Both setting up and using a TV PC are kind of a pain due to just about everything on them being keyboard+mouse first, but this should be plug and play.
Opening up the Steam library to controller-only one-click couch play is significant. It's a library that is both huge and also holds games that were available in previous console generations but not the current one. And on top of that it, like the Steam Deck, seems likely to become a popular emulation platform. That stuff will probably still require going to the desktop mode to install RetroArch or something, but it wouldn't surprise me if they eventually streamline that too. In theory game mode access to the Discover store plus a built in "add to Steam library" button in that integration would get very close to most people never needing desktop mode even to do things like emulate.
Tildes tends to be a quite technical crowd that may think, "What's the point? I could make my own controller-first TV box with Bazzite or whatever." I don't think that attitude is reflective of the market at large. Even the professional game devs I spoke to are interested in it specifically because they want to game on their TVs without rolling their own TV PC. Personally I have the skills to do a TV PC and still can't be bothered because it's more work than I'm willing to put in.
-
Comment on China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past eighteen months, analysis finds in ~enviro
zestier Link ParentI don't know enough about the relevant companies to know if it actually applied here, but I could see an argument that knowing there's forced demand being added to your sector makes increasing...I don't know enough about the relevant companies to know if it actually applied here, but I could see an argument that knowing there's forced demand being added to your sector makes increasing investment more appealing.
-
Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
zestier Link ParentI don't personally use the Steam Deck trackpads much, but where I do their existence is so immensely useful. Specifically they let me deal with games that almost have controller support but also...I don't personally use the Steam Deck trackpads much, but where I do their existence is so immensely useful. Specifically they let me deal with games that almost have controller support but also have some mouse-only menus. Binding trackpads as mice makes those games work pretty well on Steam Deck, but then those same games barely work when docked because of the lack of controllers with those features. For years any time I talked to anyone in person about the Steam Deck I would comment that I need a screenless Steam Deck for when I dock it just because I want all the buttons.
-
Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
zestier LinkI've been wanting this controller practically since I got the Steam Deck. I really like the functionality on the Steam Deck itself and am always disappointed by other controllers when I use the...I've been wanting this controller practically since I got the Steam Deck. I really like the functionality on the Steam Deck itself and am always disappointed by other controllers when I use the Steam Deck while docked, which I do regularly. I love the back bumpers and the ability to use trackpads to get through some compatibility issues with games that mostly, but not completely, support controllers but losing those every time I dock it is pretty annoying.
The wait isn't over, but the wait for a Steam Deck without the screen is finally ending and I'm so glad to see that its literally exactly what I wanted it to be.
As for the Steam Machine, it seems like it could be interesting depending on the price point. I don't feel like I really need one, especially because I play very few games that don't already run pretty reasonably on a docked Steam Deck. I'm curious how well it would work as a games-first PC though. A prebuilt computer with a managed Linux distro preinstalled and configured is pretty rare and could, at least in theory, make for an easy Linux experience for people that want a Linux box that "just works".
That's difficult to answer. If people really have an experience like it is depicted on TV, then no I don't have that. Depictions are highly visual.
What I do experience is my mind wandering while I simultaneously have a lowered response to external stimulus. Externally I think that is functionally the same, but I feel it would be more correct to label it an internal distraction than a day dream.