vrek
@vrek@programming.dev
- Comment on Letting users fill out a form before notifying them that they need to sign in to submit it is scummy and needs to end. 1 week ago:
Company computers are different, I definitely don’t trust them. That said managers like that are not good managers. Measure outcomes, not time. When a problem occurs and I can’t figure a solution I go for a walk. 5 maybe 10 minutes. You would be amazed how often I think of the solution on said walk. Yeah it might look like a waste of time but clearing my head is a huge value to the company.
- Comment on Ars Technica Fires Reporter After AI Controversy Involving Fabricated Quotes 1 week ago:
Ouch! Tell her I’m sorry, and I’m sorry for you too. All the accountants I worked with did alot more than just reports. Not to mention that sounds great until the Ai says 2+4 =2*4 and now the company owes 20 billion on taxes…
Plus in a lot of cases people don’t submit records in identical format, the number of excel workbooks I’ve seen where the data was on “sheet 2” for some unknown reason…
Maybe its just me, I always provided raw data on sheet 1, analyzed data on sheet 2, and if needed complicated formulas on sheet 3. I would be willing to bet their Ai would break on that format.
- Comment on Ars Technica Fires Reporter After AI Controversy Involving Fabricated Quotes 1 week ago:
I don’t know but implication the other poster is making is “a human can write 2 articles, a Ai can write 5, I’m being asked for 5 which is impossible. I can use Ai and risk trusting it or not meet my required outputs and also get fired.”
I made up those numbers but that’s the accusation. You are damned if you use the Ai to meet your goals. You are damned if you don’t meet your goals.
- Comment on Letting users fill out a form before notifying them that they need to sign in to submit it is scummy and needs to end. 1 week ago:
You do. When you press submit it sends a http post message with your information. They are not reading your keyboard input on a website. You can verify this with wireshark and any website with a form.
Yeah some places with apps MAY do as you say like Facebook such with full permissions to your phone. That said its still sent as a http post request, just recorded locally and then sent as a giant packet.
That’s why they have the submit button. Otherwise they would have way too many transactions. “a” then “d” then “a” and then “m” and have to concatinate them on the server plus initial packet saying they are getting a first name. Then another that you stopped focusing on first name.
Now how do you handle if I typed adan and go back to correct it? Some apps might do this but general web development(99.999%) doesn’t.
- Comment on OP figures out love languages 1 week ago:
Nope, just a funny wholesome story from my past.
- Comment on OP figures out love languages 1 week ago:
Years ago I was a young white guy with long hair and a short ish beard. Someone at my job decided I looked like shaggy from scooby doo. The name kinda stuck and became my nickname.
Few months later, I was at work and one of the guys came over and asked for some favor. I forget what it was but it wasn’t like a 30 second thing, it was like a multi hour task. I denied the request and made some excuse. He then reached behind his back and pulled out a box of scooby snacks. They were like small graham crackers in the shape of a dog head like scooby. “Would you do it for a scooby snack?” Everyone around started laughing, even I started laughing.
I didn’t end up doing it and the task was just made up for the joke. It was pretty funny though. He said he saw them over the weekend when grocery shopping for his family and thought the joke was too good.
Side note, they still make scooby snacks and the kid I’m basically raising actually really likes them.
- Comment on he forgor 1 week ago:
If people were obviously lying about their knowledge and abilities, I’d see how far they are willing to push it. “So how much experience do you have with python 4?“or” please write on this board how to do the well known programming problem fizz buzz, in sql”
Depending on your office building, “please demonstrate how you would handle the sliding window problem?” let them write for a few minutes. When they are done tell them “incorrect” and then walk over and open the window in your office.
Don’t actually do any of these. They would make you a huge asshole but it would be funny.
- Comment on he forgor 2 weeks ago:
An ide is obviously an “intentional dog emoji”. You see someone showing their cat pictures and you tell them this is a dog environment.
BTW yes I know it’s an integrated development environment which means basically a text editor, compiler, linker, debugger and in many cases linter. I’m also unemployed and looking for a job so…
- Comment on he forgor 2 weeks ago:
He did en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee and was knighted for it. Just funny that my understanding is his most recent resume claims he’s a “web developer” just like someone fresh out of a boot camp. No, you are THE web developer.
- Comment on he forgor 2 weeks ago:
Thanks. I guess it was rails and not ruby but still same idea. Rediculous that a creator doesn’t have enough experience. As I said I understand it’s probably hr and “people persons” writing stuff for “tech people”. Not an excuse just fact. It’s a sad, horrible fact. Anyways thanks for confirming my memory from years ago.
- Comment on he forgor 2 weeks ago:
Agreed, sorta. The one caveat is that people hiring are typically hr, not technical people. In large companies they are there to fill out paperwork and limit company legal liability. They don’t need to know the difference between a unsigned char and a long variable in c.
The people is charge should have hired better people to have those roles. Also whoever wrote those requirements messed up. I learned a long time ago there are basically 2paths forward professionally, technical and management. issues arise when then the needs of those two mix and the person doing so is not up to the challenge.
People can design a 120 to 12 volt power supply on graph paper. Others can talk to 5 stake holders on a new product about what color the plastic container should be and have 1 answer and everyone happy that they won at the end. Both skill sets are valuable. The main issue is we, society, put so much value on the second group and severely limited the potential of the first.
- Comment on oh no 2 weeks ago:
If you are also deaf maybe I can eat cheesey broccoli around you…
- Comment on One good thing about getting into a new relationship is that you get to re-tell all your best jokes and stories 2 weeks ago:
You still have a story. What movies did you watch? What games did you play? What made you act like that? What made you stop that lifestyle?
Everyone has a story and everyone’s story should be treasured. You might not of hunted treasure buried by nazis but it probably still a cool story to hear.
- Comment on he forgor 2 weeks ago:
There was a viral post from Twitter or linkedin years ago of someone posting saying they wanted to hire someone with “10 years of experience using ruby”, a person replied, was told they didn’t meet the requirements, they said something like “look at my profile” …if you looked at the person’s profile they were the creator of ruby, they literally wrote the language. The language was only 7 years old.
I don’t even remember if it was ruby but the story is basically the same. Impossible requirements written by people who don’t even know what they need.
- Comment on One good thing about getting into a new relationship is that you get to re-tell all your best jokes and stories 2 weeks ago:
Fun fact, I had used that joke before on an actual fda auditor who was not my preferred gender and about 20 years older than me, during an audit of a medical device manufacturer facility. (it got a small chuckle but that’s it).
Yes I have history. Everyone does. I’m sure you have stories. Maybe about siblings? Friends? It’s not all about romance. What was your 15 year old birthday like? Did you have a party? Did you get any presents? Which was your favorite?
Not trying to hit on you or anything(I’m probably way too old for you and barely know you) . But emphasizing that you have a history and a story. So does everyone on the street. Expressing these stories are a major way of having a connection with other people.
Do you want to make friends? Romantic partners? Not with me but in general. These apply to all people. Listen to their stories. Tell your stories. Share your experiences. Listen to their experiences. Sharing experiences is how we connect with eachother on an emotional level.
- Comment on oh no 2 weeks ago:
Mine do… Like fresh chocolate, honest come here and smell for yourself
- Comment on One good thing about getting into a new relationship is that you get to re-tell all your best jokes and stories 2 weeks ago:
You’re right about that but I don’t think that’s what the post was about. It’s not “so this what happened when my ex and I went to this store”. It’s more “what do you call a fake potato? An imitator!” that joke may be funny once, but not funny on the 32nd telling. Don’t try to relive experiences with an ex with your new partner, telling a store of how you were held at gun point by police for committing a bank robbery while leaving work one day may be fun to explain on the drive to a theater to watch a heist film…
- Comment on for personal lore development 2 weeks ago:
Depends… Pregnant by a horse? That will give you attention. Pregnant by a human male well…
- Comment on My father the tween literary critic 3 weeks ago:
I wish I had will smith’s speech on his target of choice when interviewing in MIB. It would of been the perfect response to “an advanced book for a 11 yo”
- Comment on Whats the best way to clean up 15 years of stuff around the house? 3 weeks ago:
I would go longer on the clothes but otherwise good advice. Typically I figure 1 year. For example if OP is in the northern hemisphere, it’s winter and 2 months ago would be around Christmas time… He probably hasn’t worn any shorts and maybe not any short-sleeve shirts since then. That doesn’t mean he won’t wear them in 3 months when it’s warmer.
Typically I try to make it a early December tradition, anything I haven’t worn in a year gets donated for needy families before the holidays. Everything else gets washed and hung up backwards. Next December if a piece is still backwards, it gets donated.
- Comment on The Texas man who shot a British woman after an argument about President Trump won’t face charges. The jury hails from a pro-gun pro-Trump part of the state, a legal expert says 3 weeks ago:
My mother was on a grand jury in NJ. It was every Tuesday and Thursday all day, plus 1.5 hour commute each way.
She effectively lost her job over it. No, the company didn’t say that but she had the same responsibilities to accomplish in 24 hours vs 40 hours before and they fired her for “poor work performance” because she was unable to complete them.
I think she got paid $12 a day to serve on the jury which didn’t even cover gas and she had to pay $5 a day to park. Technically she didn’t have to pay for parking as she could park on the street and pay a meter but the meter had to be repaid every 2 hours and they only got a 1 hour break for lunch around the 4 hour mark.
She didn’t discuss any of the cases with me but I know there were multiple cases of csam and more than one case of fathers raping their children. The evidence was mostly photos and videos which the jury had to watch.
- Comment on Lawyers set to argue that Instagram and YouTube intentionally addicted and harmed teen in landmark social media trial 4 weeks ago:
True, nothing is perfect.
If I need a life saving operation and given the choice of a Harvard graduate at random or a random person in time Square… I know who I would choose
OK the person from time square but that’s probably just my depression speaking.
- Comment on Lawyers set to argue that Instagram and YouTube intentionally addicted and harmed teen in landmark social media trial 4 weeks ago:
This is a case where I wish we didn’t have a “jury of peers”. Most people don’t even know dompemine is a thing or it’s effects. Most people don’t know the effects a disfunctional family can cause.
No, I don’t understand them completely either. There are experts in these fields who have done valid research and run well documented studies to better understand these topics. They are who should determine this. No YouTube videos or a blog post don’t count. I mean actual real studies that stand up to scientific rigor.
I feel that YouTube/facebook played a part. But I want that to be true due to my inherit bias. I have no data or numbers to back that up. Experts probably do. There have likely been done studies about these things.
I know know there is a thing called a Skinner box but that was over 50 years ago and I’m sure we know more. That said I’d bet the average person on the street doesn’t even know that and shouldn’t be determining this case.
Ask your McDonald’s worker for something to release some dopamine after a long work day, based on their answer do you want them setting precedent on this topic?
- Comment on 4 weeks ago:
Look, I know I am no longer young and hip but calling me a dinosaur hurts my feelings…
- Comment on The AI boom is so huge it’s causing shortages everywhere else The $700 billion AI spending spree has few precedents. Good luck finding an electrician or a reasonably priced smartphone. 4 weeks ago:
I’ve said it in other similar articles, it depends on your definition of “Ai”. Marketing is insisting on “powered by Ai” on all sorts of products but that doesn’t mean llm. Some “Ai” may be useful, like the old on-star system on some cars. They had multiple inputs to determine if a crash occurred and alert emergency services if it did… Could be classified as Ai.
Your toothbrush example could be useful, if just finished cleaning cycle and battery level below 20% and not on charger, emit a beep to alert user to charge tooth brush. More advanced, and I doubt these are the case but would be cool and useful. If the could detect blood during a cleaning cycle, alert user to contact a dentist for possible gum disease. Or detection of a new/growing hole in a tooth based on the defection of the bristles and alert user to see a dentist for possible cavity.
Without a solid definition of “Ai” this is all marketing talk. Basically all “Ai” takes multiple inputs and then generates an output based on those inputs. If you say it must generate it based on a llm, then what about the image generating ai? If you say it must have natural language as in an input most of these “Ai” products don’t qualify unless they expect you to say “ok, sonic care end cleaning cycle” with a mouth full of toothpaste and water. Technically an argument could be made that a check engine light on a car is “powered by Ai”.
The only definition which goes against this and I would agree to is a system where given an identical set of inputs the output is not always(or ever) the same. If that’s the case then I am going to start making “Ai” powered lava lamps…
- Comment on 5 weeks ago:
Also true
- Comment on 5 weeks ago:
Think back… XP had many complaints at release too, wasn’t till sp2 or sp3 it was actually decent.
- Comment on If I publish my memoir and wrote about every bad thing people did to hurt me while the people mentioned are still alive, how much trouble could I get in? 1 month ago:
Look… The other night I was drunk and mistakes were made
- Comment on If I publish my memoir and wrote about every bad thing people did to hurt me while the people mentioned are still alive, how much trouble could I get in? 1 month ago:
Anyone can sue anyone else for anything…
I could sue you for having anal sex with my night stand… I would lose since you didnt(I hope) and that’s not illegal but I could sue you for it…
- Comment on "Microslop" trends in backlash to Microsoft's AI obsession 2 months ago:
People said the same time with windows 8…and ME