DamnInteresting

A few years ago I made a tool that fetches content from a big list of primary sources (via RSS or HTML), and pushes each link it finds through filters (keyword blacklist, duplicate check, etc). I made a UI that lets me accept or reject links Tinder style, and when I have a scrap of time to fill, I assess a few links.

I also have a small group of well-read friends who make an effort to send me stuff, that helps a lot too.

On another side note: I have been running an interesting link recommendation feed for many years now, and evidently in ~2018 someone curating links for Digg found my feed and started relying on it heavily to populate Digg's front page. It went on for months. Some days as much as half of the links I posted would subsequently show up on Digg, including links to unusual and old content (which was a strong signal that the overlap was no mere coincidence).

In 2019 Digg posted a job listing for a links curator, and I cheekily applied, noting that I'm already doing the job anyway, so they might as well pay me for it. They didn't take me up on it, but like magic, the poaching went away.

I've had a similar idea simmering in my head for over 10 years, I even purchased a fitting domain name for it. It's always been a "one of these days" kind of project. My idea is different enough that it might have a shot where Flattr fell flat, but it's exceptionally hard to gather users, even if you build a superb product.

I have deeply mixed feelings about the way LLMs slurp up copyrighted content and regurgitate it as something "new." As a software developer who has dabbled in machine learning, it is exciting to see the field progress. But I am also an author with a large catalog of writings, and my work has been captured by at least one LLM (according to a tool that can allegedly detect these things).

Overall, current LLMs remind me of those bottom-feeder websites that do no original research--those sites that just find an article they like, lazily rewrite it, introduce a few errors, then maybe paste some baloney "sources" (which always seems to disinclude the actual original source). That mode of operation tends to be technically legal, but it's parasitic and lazy and doesn't add much value to the world.

All that aside, I tend to agree with the hypothesis that LLMs are a fad that will mostly pass. For professionals, it is really hard to get past hallucinations and the lack of citations. Imagine being a perpetual fact-checker for a very unreliable author. And laymen will probably mostly use LLMs to generate low-effort content for SEO, which will inevitably degrade the quality of the same LLMs as they breed with their own offspring. "Regression to mediocrity," as Galton put it.

An air fryer. I was a skeptic, thinking that an air fryer is unlikely to outperform my conventional convection oven in any meaningful way.

When my pressure cooker died, I replaced it with a multi-purpose machine that also included air frying capabilities, and I gave it a try. I was pleased to discover that my prior skepticism was misplaced. It's not perfect for everything, but it heats up fast, and it really shines in a few areas (e.g., making fries, reheating fries/pizza, cooking seasoned chicken, etc).

I wrote my own front controller, and used htaccess rules to direct all requests there instead of to Wordpress. If the front controller deems the request safe, it just hands off the request to Wordpress. Otherwise it quarantines uploaded files (if any), and responds with an error. Lemon squeezy.

Around 16 years ago, Wordpress security was just not up to snuff yet, and my popular Wordpress-based site kept getting hacked by pharmaceutical spammers and the like. After several such incidents, I wrote a "wrapper" that loaded before Wordpress to scrutinize incoming requests before a lick of Wordpress code was executed. It had blacklists, whitelists, automatic temporary IP blocking, and that sort of thing. There was no reason for visitors to upload files, so any non-admin POST request with a file upload was automatically smacked down.

It wasn't pretty, but the hackers never got through again, and that clunky thing is still in service today. I coded it to quarantine all illicit file uploads, and as a consequence I have many thousands of script kiddies' PHP dashboards from over the years.

"Fastest growing" is a suspect statistic even when it is technically accurate. A company can go from having one customer to three, and honestly exclaim, "We tripled our user base in one day!"

I made this about 7 years ago: http://voyager.damninteresting.com/

"Instead of" seems to frame this as a false dichotomy. Enjoy most of the moments, capture a few to warm future moments. It's another example of 'everything in moderation.'

Looking at her video list, she released 20 videos between the bed video and this hanger video. This one -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYqz1F6eAVU <- came out about 2 weeks after the bed video. So, she very much kept her promise. Just sayin.

And, for better or worse, modern humans will lose their ability to let go.

FTA: "It’s fine if people want to call it a “glorified golf cart”, though I’m not sure I’ve seen a golf cart that can tow a boat, haul furniture, dump mulch, and that comes with creature comforts like air-conditioning, infotainment screen, power windows and locks, and a frunk."

My setup is similar, but with an Elecom Huge trackball on the right, and a magic touchpad on the left for quick gestures such as swapping desktops. It's excellent.

I had the same issue, so now I use them without any of the tips. The noise cancellation isn't quite as effective, but they're still better than average earbuds.

A solid ergonomic office chair. It's one category where you really get what you pay for.

I deeply dislike advertising, but I am also willing to pay for services I value, so I am subscribed to YouTube Premium. But given how evil and greedy Google has become, I fully expect the "premium" service to eventually transition from no ads to "limited ads" (and that is the day I will cancel my account and walk away forever).

On the subject of automobiles making strange assumptions, my Chevy Bolt EV has a "feature" that I have never been able to understand:

The car has 2 drive modes: "D" and "L". The "D" mode mimics an automatic ICE car--it creeps forward when one lets off the brake, and coasts for a long time when one lets off the accelerator. I always drive the car in "L" mode, which is the aggressive regenerative braking mode. When I let off the gas it slows to a stop quickly (assuming the battery is not near full charge). And it does not creep when I release the brake.

But there is one bizarre exception: If I power on the car and put it in "L" mode, but I haven't yet fastened my seat belt, the car will creep forward when I let off the brake, just like in D. This has caught me off guard a few times, but I've always caught it and hit the brakes before the car rolled into my garage door or a car parked in front of me.

I once brought it up on /r/BoltEV, and someone claiming to be a Chevrolet engineer told me this behavior was by design, but had no good justification for it.

If memory serves, the map just subtly highlighted stars where there was something more than mere resources to be found. It could be backstory, useful items, dangerous enemies, etc. The marking was so subtle that I didn't even notice it until my second playthrough, when I was deliberately trying to discover more stuff.

I had a retail box copy of Star Control 2, and it came with a big fold-out map of the star system, with points of interest highlighted. If you play without the advantage of that guide, it is understandable if you struggle. They intended for you to have some guidance.

I think I still have that map in a box somewhere. What a great game.

It would be nice if iOS Safari added support for the same browser extensions that are available on desktop browsers. Why have they not? Probably something about CPU usage and battery life, but boy-howdy the web is a shitshow without ad blockers, privacy enhancers, etc.

It's probably closer to 75% baked: https://wordwhile.com/

The core game mechanic is an endless word-finding game, where it is possible to save up letters to spell some very high scoring words. There is also a 5-minute mode for people who need an ending. Oh, and a 2-player versus mode that virtually no one wants to play, according to anonymous stats.

I'm still ironing out bugs and adding some features, but it's coming along.

I had a similar experience recently. I started working for a firm that has some legacy Perl code still in service, and in the process of Googling I was presented with one of my own answers on perlmonks.org from over 20 years ago. The emotions were complicated.

My 2017 Chevy Bolt EV does something like this. Any time the infotainment system restarts, and at some seemingly random times, it displays a dialog with a whole paragraph of text about how the driver needs to keep their eyes on the road, and not on the screen[1]. Sometimes these reboots occur while driving, so it sometimes displays this long distracting message about avoiding distractions while one is in active traffic. Bananas.

[1] https://i.redd.it/tslqa8b29lua1.jpg

I really wish there was a robust way to block channels on YouTube. There is one YouTuber (Simon Whistler) that I check in on a lot--not because I enjoy his content, but because he is a parasite. He did paid voice work for me for years, but then one day I discovered he had started working with a competitor, and together they were systematically poaching my entire catalog of non-fiction content. They started releasing videos covering the same obscure topics with the same details, sometimes even using my original artwork without permission. It's been going on for years now, across multiple channels and hundreds of videos. What he's doing is (mostly) not illegal, but goddamn is it slimy.

I keep an eye on his channels to catalog the egregious poaching, but as a consequence, YouTube thinks I'm his biggest fan, and keeps recommending his videos. I am tired of seeing his smug, parasitic face in my sidebar. What a scumbag.

I tried a standing desk and found it difficult to work standing for more than ~20 minutes at a time. It got to where I had to shift my weight so often that it became a distraction. I next tried a treadmill desk, and walking slowly made it much easier to work upright for 60+ minutes at a time. Every body is different, but walking was miles better than standing for me.

Coincidentally I was listening to this song as I read your comment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtddIM6wfvs

Perhaps it holds/held the ashes from someone's cremation.

Thanks! They are the result of a lot experimentation and iteration.

I have been tinkering with this word game for something like 6 years. It is intended for mobile, though it works adequately on desktop. It is a virtually endless word-finding game that can be played solo or taking turns with a friend. I still need to add some game modes and more interaction, but the bones are there:

https://wordwhile.com/

Be gentle, it's running on a budget server.