its_me_xiphos

@its_me_xiphos@beehaw.org

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨There's No Reason to Buy a New Phone Anymore⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  Alrgiht. Since its ride until this thing dies…is there an alternative OS for me humble Samsung S21 Ultra? I understand Graphene doesn’t work with it. I just need to call, 2FA support, Podcasts, Firefox, Maps, and use Signal. That’s it. And I can do without maps.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨ChatGPT, LLMs, and Automating the Fun Out of Roleplaying: Don’t let billionaires poison the beautiful creative collaboration at the heart of TTRPGs⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m hesitant to jump in here, seeing how far off the rails this went, but AI Data Centers have a plethora of problems. Potable water depletion (The Dalles, OR, USA), Exhaust (Boxtown near Memphis, TN, USA), Noise and lowering water tables (Sydeney, Australia). The issues they present over “old school” data centers are amplified because of the speed, resources, power (as in influence) that are part of the package.

  They are being built rapidly, with little oversight or research, and suck up enormous resources that “old school” data centers did not. Toss in the ethical concerns as wide ranging as stealing the Gibli Style to destroying books; to be normative, that tends to piss people off.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨First test flight of largest all-electric aircraft used just $5 of electricity⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  I remain cautiously optimistic. The corporate PR stunt aside, the technology will continue to improve. Indeed, it must continue to improve to meaningfully dent air pollution. We are years, perhaps decades, away from replacing regional and short haul flights with this though.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  I have. Usually I am a voice of 1 and they ignore it. I have a new member meeting at the Writer’s Society next month and plan to bring it up there.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨ChatGPT, LLMs, and Automating the Fun Out of Roleplaying: Don’t let billionaires poison the beautiful creative collaboration at the heart of TTRPGs⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah, that’s sad. I don’t let AI touch my RPG sessions. As a DM, the imperfections and winging it are part of the fun.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨New website lets drivers check whether their license plate has been searched on Flock database⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  This is conjecture. Now I want to find out and see if one if these is right; but first let me guess. There are a few possibilities and I’ll, again, challenge myself to find the answer:

  1. They competed for an award Google sponsored or held a competition for. Like an X Prize.
  2. A board member was related to someone high up in Google (as in colleague, college room mate etc) or worked there previously.
  3. Google wanted to fund something for PR reasons.
• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨New website lets drivers check whether their license plate has been searched on Flock database⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Here’s a resource for deeper diving. I apologize but I don’t have time to devout. But if its of interest to anyone:

  projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/…/300100369

  Also, by law, a 501©3 must respond to and furnish copies of their 990s to anyone who requests. Those are, simply put, their businesses records and reports.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Is there a way around this? Local events near me only post there. Drives me insane and I refuse to get a Facebook account just so I know where the writers group wants to grab coffee.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨BMW’s in-car Spider-Man ad is a warning sign: we were promised a transport revolution, instead we got cars tracking us and serving us ads⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Slate would be perfect for my current needs. Less than 25km a day, trips to buy wood for my shitty woodworking, etc. Its slated (sorry…) for 2027. Stuff too big or too far to use my bike for safely. It’s not my time.

  So here in the land of geese and syrup we’ve got giant American earth destroyers or the tiny Japanese utility trucks. In between would be awesome. The Chinese EV’s with some Pickups are coming and, although the monitoring and data capture bothers me, somehow it feels the lesser of two evils compared to legacy makers with this pay to play and forced ad combination. Is that an accurate assessment?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US water facilities targeted by ‘malicious cyber actors’ – who’s to blame?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  OnlyDams.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨At colleges, the AI boom means everyone wants to dabble in computer science⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Silver lining.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨At colleges, the AI boom means everyone wants to dabble in computer science⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I refer to the six essays (might have been 5) I received in a contract grading scheme class on disasters:

  “I first heard about critical theory in my sociology class.”

  All of them opened with that. Exact same. Burned into my sad professor mind.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Horrible PS experience⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I know nothing about game design, but here “poor optimization” often regarding such large games. Is this an instance if that? What exactly is optimizing?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Horrible PS experience⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Battle bits was pixel COD/MW. Not sure if its atil going strong.

  For an absolutely hilarious yet challenging experience (you need the right people honestly), Hold Fast.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Stop Talking To Me, Google Search⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I forgot to mention. To get Ecosia financials, you can request them from the applicable oversight office in Germany. Aggregates, like Candid, have access to that too. That’s the sort ofndue diligence I’d expect; not a link to their oversight page and suggestion they are hiding something. Many large nonprofits have financial overviews like that, and doesn’t suggest organizational rot or greenwashing in this case.

  A quick glance suggests that in Germany, you can request a social benefit corp’s financials. If like nonprofit law in the USA, you can request a 990 from any 501©3 and they are required, by law, to provide one within a certain time frame.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Stop Talking To Me, Google Search⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Hi haverholm.

  So I did click through again and re-read, but I stand by my assessment that the sources aren’t good. I wouldn’t consider them reputable and the author doesn’t offer verifiable information to support the sources linked. We’ve got:

  • A link to ecosia statements
  • A link to ecosia financials
  • T3N post
  • Glassdoor
  • LinkedIn

  If I’m missing other links, let me know. I don’t see any others. Again, I don’t see anything that suggests the claims are more than hyperbole. For their financials, for example. Show me where the problem is, speak to it, back up the claim with expert review or hard numbers. As the article is written, that chain just isn’t there and I’m left to take the authors word for it that a problem exists. Glassoldoor and LinkedIn are not evidence of malfeasance. Hence my conclusion and attempt to inform. Which the poster did not appreciate (full disclosure, I blocked them. I don’t have time for disingenuous insults).

  Propublica, ICIJ, 404 media are great examples of what I’m trying to point out. And, though my white whale, helping everyone step back and evaluate what a source is and why its credible is important to me.

  I appreciate you chiming in and asking me to reasses, however. Always happy to, especially if I find it helped me reveal a mistake or change my thought.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Stop Talking To Me, Google Search⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Let me double check. I’ve admitted being wrong and missing something before, so happy to reengage.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Stop Talking To Me, Google Search⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Given the response, the link remains appropriate.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Stop Talking To Me, Google Search⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Hey I appreciate the insight and perspective. But I’ve got to contest the source. Its not holding any weight as a reputable and verifiable resource. I’m not saying this as a jab or attack on you. Its a world of bad info, misinformation, and where I fear your link lands - hyperbole - so please consider this resource rather than a lengthy post:

  guides.lib.uw.edu/research/faq/reliable

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨AI labs buy, scan, shred millions of rare books⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Fuck. Repulsive.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Who Will Save the Internet From Disappearing?⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I do for everything. Alas…new video games :-(. Going to need to go back to ye olde strategy guides. Which, reminds me. I used to own the TIE Fighter series for PC back in the…gosh…mid 90s? The strategy guide had an entire storyline woven into it from the “main characters” perspective. Super cool.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Who Will Save the Internet From Disappearing?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Incredible! I love this so much, and Boston (love that dirty water).

  There was the below; the original now only accessible via the Internet archive. Please do not ask my how often I think of the Roman Empire. Sites like your link and mine are what I miss. Neocities has some of that but its not the same.

  [web.archive.org/web/…/www.roman-empire.net/](Roman Empire.net)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Who Will Save the Internet From Disappearing?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s a really great perspective. Google is unusable now, I concur. I tried looking up a guide for Nova Roma (sorta like a classic Sierra Caesar game) water management, and my Buddha it was pages of AI guides, ads, and slop from the same three sources. I give up.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Who Will Save the Internet From Disappearing?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Its sad. We’ve lost so much over the last decade. Many of the wonderful and hobbyist passion projects from the early internet are gone too. Think of niche sites by historians, archeologists, train enthusiasts, etc that were a wealth of information. Much of that is gone

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨SpaceX Is Junk. That’s What the Bond Market Says⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Its a small club and you ain’t in it.

  I often discuss that these aren’t scams. They aren’t rigged. This would denote something anti-lawful or downright deceitful. No. These are perfectly legal and transparent transfers of wealth. Doesn’t make it any less angering, but its important to understand how few economics systems in use in the world are designed to be equitable.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨LastPass notifies users of yet another data breach⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  All good with me. Feel free to PM (DM?) Me with reasoning and if there’s research you’re aware of that supports. I admit I know too little.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨LastPass notifies users of yet another data breach⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Ah yes, Lastpass. You’ll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Come. We must be cautious.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨LastPass notifies users of yet another data breach⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s your new password friend! For everything! “My-brain-isnt-made-for-35c”. /s

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨DuckDuckGo’s AI Feature Is Telling Users That Trump Died of Rabies Earlier This Month⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t google anymore. Any AI search turns up reddit as a source. It is out of control.

  I believe we need to return to curated blog rolls and web link sharing. Like the old days. Before the dark times.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨AI crash coming closer? South Korea’s Kospi plunges 10%, triggers trading halt⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Here are my three best guesses, which are as good as anyone’s on this type. Maybe it’ll garner some discussions because the industries ability to seemingly break all barriers and avoid the cliff thus far are surprising:

  1. Memory companies will be a sign first.
  2. AI recruiting companies (Mercor) slow recruiting and don’t post as many jobs or at such high rates.
  3. Utility usage decreases in areas with major AI data centers. (I really wish ibjad access to data on this).