bluGill
@bluGill@fedia.io
- Comment on Do you have a plan for your self-hosted data if you die? 3 days ago:
I had a few cousins who took and finished all my grandma's unfinished quilts. They were already into quilting though. YMMV, but it is a good example - if there is someone who can understand/take this over give it to them.
- Comment on Meta's latest subscription move is an attempt to offset its AI bets 4 days ago:
If they show me the pictures of my friends, while hiding all the garbage (outrage politics, "you won't believe this"...) so I spend about 2 minutes a day there and get off it would greatly increase productivity. Well it would lower mine because I almost never check facebook anymore - but my life would be enhanced if they limited themselves to the useful things they do and let me go in 2 minutes: a trade off that would be worth it.
- Comment on Meta's latest subscription move is an attempt to offset its AI bets 4 days ago:
There are a few things facebook is better at than anything in my life - checking up on distant friends that I wouldn't call normally but I want to know the big events in their life; ensuring my parent see pictures of my kids (we don't live in the same state). However those things only need a couple minutes of my time per day, and that isn't enough to make them a big company and so they keep shoving garbage that doesn't make my life better in my face. That garbage takes up hours per day of many people's time and is worth a lot to facebook.
- Comment on It always makes news when the "Doomsday Clock" is moved by a second or minute. What would actually happen if it got to 00:00 4 days ago:
There would be so much other news that this slow-new-day story wouldn't be covered by anyway. Assuming it even moves - the idea that at 0 it is too late and so it can't reach zero because nobody is left to move it is reasonable.
- Comment on New York Startup Builds Fridge-Sized Machine That Can Turn Air Into Gasoline 5 days ago:
Let's assume battery density gets so good we can make a complete transh American flight in one charge
Nice thought experiment, but the physics of how batteries work mean we can't. The theory behind batteries only allow for so much improvement, and will never get close to gasoline/diesel. For most driving batteries are good enough, but they will never be as good as gasoline despite how inefficient ICEs are.
- Comment on New York Startup Builds Fridge-Sized Machine That Can Turn Air Into Gasoline 5 days ago:
Sort of. Wind is very good at stirring things up, but you can still see differences in places where there are a lot of plants (1-2%). This things needs CO2 to function and that means it needs concentration so the more CO2 to start with the better.
Fortunately this is small and electric is something we already move to cities in large quantities. Putting it in a city makes sense - assuming it works and is safe of course.
- Comment on Is it possible to reverse pit a copcar before they pit you? Like if you know a cop is going to pit you on their right side, can you use your left back end to hit them first? 6 days ago:
The most common tactic these days is raeio ahead and some other cop throws a tire puncture device in front of your car. You won't go fast with flat tires. They have to be careful not to get other cars but otherwise that is safest for them.
- Comment on Im stupid but have money 1 week ago:
It is stupid to die with money in the bank. You don't know enough to plan this out exactly though, so the real goal is minimize the money left, but don't run out before you die.
The first question is what is your situation like.
How is your retirement savings plans? 6 figures at 25 is a very good amount of savings, 6 figures at 60 is a terrible retirement account.
What is your education like - this will buy a good college degree, which tends to pay off very well in the long run for young people. (but only if you pick a good degree and study)
Make sure you have a good amount of emergency savings. 6 months living expenses is the general rule of thumb. You never know when something bad will happen in life - but bad things happen to everyone and savings it a useful way to ride it out.
Once the above is done:
Will a better living situation improve your life more than something else? You could go on a cruise every year with that money instead (I picked something wasteful that some people like, others hate). You could buy a really nice piano with that money. You could do lots of other things. Buying a better flat is one good option, but it isn't right for everyone. There is no universal right answer here, only right for you, so you have to decide (and understand sometimes you will be wrong)
- Comment on Grok floods X with sexualized images of women and children: Grok generated an estimated 3 million sexualized images, including 23,000 of children in 11 days 1 week ago:
That is a tricky question. IT isn't just does the CEO know, but should the CEO have known. If you make a machine that injures people the courts ask should you have expected that.
The first time someone uses a lawnmower the cut a hedge the companies and gets hurt can say "we never expected someone to be that stupid" - but we now know people do such stupid things and so if you make a lawn mower and someone uses it to cut a hedge the courts will ask why you didn't stop them - the response is then we can't think of how to stop them but look at the warnings we put on.
When Grok was first used to make porn X can get by with "we didn't think of that". However this is now known. They now need to do more to stop it. there are a number of options. Best is fix Grok so it can't do that; they could also just collect enough information on users that when it happens the police can arrest the person who instructed grok. There are a number of other options, if the court accepts them depends on if the tool is otherwise useful and if whatever they do reduces the amount of porn (or whatever evil) that gets through - perfection isn't needed but it needs to get close.
- Comment on How much RAM is in your average EV car, and is it DDR5? 1 week ago:
depends on your applications. Some are fine on 1gb. Some run short on 8gb. I'm under NDA so I can't say more.
- Comment on How much RAM is in your average EV car, and is it DDR5? 1 week ago:
infotainment is effectively a pc. How much ram would you expect in a pc running all that? Everything else probably isn't much, but that system will have a lot. Often the backseat has sysems which need more.
- Comment on Majority of CEOs report zero payoff from AI splurge 1 week ago:
Everydown turn there are layoffs and loss of talent. They alweys find something 'unique' to blame it on. Then things recover and they hire people who learn it again.
until 10 years have passed I refuse to call ai job loss anything other than the latest iteration of that pattern. Time will tell.
- Comment on Majority of CEOs report zero payoff from AI 1 week ago:
That depends. AI replaces consultants that just make up slop that feels good. Consultants that annalyze things in depth can't be replaced by ai slop though. I've seen both.
- Comment on Trump Is Obsessed With Oil. But Chinese Batteries Will Soon Run the World 1 week ago:
In my case wind turbines. My local utility produces more wind power in a year than customers use.
- Comment on Most mouse pointers designs assume right-handed users 2 weeks ago:
Green is a myth. (I'm colorblind)
- Comment on Most mouse pointers designs assume right-handed users 2 weeks ago:
Mouse with your off hand means your main hand can do other things - type or such. Most keyboards have a numberpad to the right, so the left is the more ergonomic place for a mouse.
I have two computers, and two keyboards and two mice. I keep a mouse on each side. (I tried a KVM and didn't like it). YMMV.
- Comment on Most mouse pointers designs assume right-handed users 2 weeks ago:
I need the mouse cursor to be better at drawing attention to itself at times though. When you have a couple big monitors often finding where that cursor is hiding becomes a problem.
- Comment on An all in one PC is less all in one than a laptop (it's only one less part than a regular PC) 2 weeks ago:
You still have a power supply with a laptop.
- Comment on Age, death, and inheritance. 2 weeks ago:
Your kids should inheirit the desk your great granpa mades, those plates that have been in the family for years. Your lost $40 should be used to pay the taxi driver who brings you to the hospital where you die.
give them love now. Teach them to care for thenselves. They should expect to get nothing. Spend your money yourself for what makes you happy.
Don't give the bills - pre-pay your funeral. (Careful - there are a lot of scams here).
- Comment on QWERTY Phones Are Really Trying to Make a Comeback This Year 2 weeks ago:
Why are you typing anything in a grocery store? Type in the kitchen when you need to add something to the list, but in the store it should be just checking off the items as you put them in the cart. Maybe you have a good reason, but it feels like you are solving the wrong problem. [insert long rant about usability and human-machine interaction]
If you really need a keyboards I agree bluetooth keyboards are chunky. I often use a 60% keyboard with my phone, but it is a lot larger than my fine despite being a small keyboard. There is no getting around the size of hands though, you can't make a good tiny keyboard (even a 40% won't fit in your pocket).
- Comment on QWERTY Phones Are Really Trying to Make a Comeback This Year 2 weeks ago:
You can find bluetooth keyboards that work just fine on a phone. The hard part is finding a good small one.
- Comment on QWERTY Phones Are Really Trying to Make a Comeback This Year 2 weeks ago:
Hopefully firefox and the like will start putting spellcheck in their mobile applications again. I got mad at auto correct because it was worse than my spelling (at least you can guess what I meant - auto correct often changed to the wrong word: you wouldn't think to I might mean something else). I also often use a bluetooth keyboard, again spell check is needed.
- Comment on Colorado right-to-repair law covering consumer electronics now in effect 2 weeks ago:
@mesamunefire go to adafruit or sparkfun (there are others) and pick up a "learn how to solder" kit of a type that looks interesting an put it together. Those kits will have instructions that give you a good chance of success and give you practice. They are also cheap so you don't mess up something expensive if you make a mistake learning.
- Comment on Tips for moving from TrueNAS to Debian for a NAS? 2 weeks ago:
Core or Scale? If running Core I'd say install plain FreeBSD on it. Even if scale I'd consider that in a full wipe - FreeBSD is great as a server and supports ZFS out of the box without problems.
Then grow a long beard (not optional, even if female) so you can be "the old guy who has seen it all"
- Comment on Is there anyway I can screw around with ICE? I need a new hobby I come from a long line of immigrants. If i send my home address and phone number will they actually come and deport me to choose a cntr 3 weeks ago:
Go to the political party of your choice's monthly meeting. Each party/state has slightly differen't rules, but the major parties have a local chapter in every state. Speak up when the chance is offered / on topic (it won't be everytime). This is where you learn who is planning on running before they announce - in enough detail to have an informed opinion on if they are good. that is where you go to find out how to help those who are running win.
everything else is noise that won't change much. Get good people elected. Knocking on every door will turn out enough votes toechange election results in your area.
don't fall for one party good. all are badin different ways. Find one that mostly you can support and reform it. Small issue voteres who get involved change how the party acts (in part by ensuring people who agree are on the ballot, in part because those who do the work get long conversations with the people they support - thus changing how congress thinks).
- Comment on Blackboards were the OG dark mode 3 weeks ago:
Blackboards were often real slate. Chalkboards (note the different name!) were wood painted green. I don't know why the name was different, but that is what I always saw.
- Comment on Raspberry Pis are cheaper than Mini PCs again 3 weeks ago:
The price of a mini pc includes the price of the case, power supply, heat sinks, fans and such. The hdmi is the only thing suspect but if the case doesn't expose the hdmi port that will be in the minipc as well. when you compare just the board of a pi to a full pc that is unfair.
- Comment on Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live on stage during hacker conference 3 weeks ago:
My guess is they started the site in the first place.
- Comment on Is ice heavier than water? 3 weeks ago:
A pound is the same for both. The oz measure is what was different. Thus an oz of metal is heavier than an oz of feathres. However a pound of both weights the same.
- Comment on Recommendations 3 weeks ago:
Bambu has great marketing: they have given printers to a lot of well known makers who in turn now feature them on their YouTube and the like. If you just want a printer that prints standard stuff with standard work flows they are probably good. However they are in the long run likely to be expensive since they require their supplies (which are reportedly good, but expensive). If you want to print something and not think about the printer they are good enough. However if you want to hack a printer, save money, or experiment they are going to limit you.
Everyone recommends Prusa for a reason: most of the things that make printing good and easy were developed by Prusa and then the others used the open source license to put their own name on it. Some of the others have done some innovation, but the major hard work was done by Prusa and he should be supported for that.