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ducttape12

368 karma · joined August 29, 2017

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ducttape12··on Ask HN: How do you get into a flow state when using AI to code?
You accept that what made this career rewarding (besides money) is gone and pick up a hobby that gets you into flow state. That's why I've picked up drawing again :)
ducttape12··on I don't want my search engine to think for me
That was my first thought. Ironic they don't want to read LLM responses in their searches but they expect us to read their LLM article about it.
ducttape12··on Our AI started a cafe in Stockholm
I can see it now: "You're absolutely right — I shouldn't have instructed the baristas to add antifreeze to the coffee to make it sweeter."

Joking aside, what does this prove? That you might as well forget about the dream of quitting your AI slop corporate job to open a quaint coffee shop because soon we'll be overrun with AI coffee shops under cutting humans?

ducttape12··on Running local LLMs offline on a ten-hour flight
People can spend their time as they choose, but if you feel the need to post about it online don't be surprised if someone offers their opinion. If they don't want feedback then don't call attention to it.
ducttape12··on "People who don't use AI will be left behind"
The problem is AI is being pushed and used as the equivalent of using a chess engine to tell you the best move during a match.

Maybe there's a way AI can be used to make developers better but it mostly just seems to be the equivalent of grand masters saying how great vibe playing is because now they can play 1000x more games every day. But don't worry, they're still steering the games.

ducttape12··on Running local LLMs offline on a ten-hour flight
Yeah, for real. Imagine being so addicted to the AI slot machine that you can't be without it for 10 hours.
ducttape12··on Irony as Meta staff unhappy about running surveillance software on work PCs
If you feel the need to babysit your employees you probably need new employees.

Why are your seniors not unblocking your juniors? And if your seniors are complacent maybe they just need a good challenge.

ducttape12··on CBP tapped into the online advertising ecosystem to track peoples’ movements
Neither the government nor an ad agency needs to know where I am, no matter how "rough" the data is. It's none of their business.
ducttape12··on ChatGPT Pulse
This isn't about doing "serious" work, it's about making ChatGPT the first thing you interact with in the day (and hopefully something you'll keep coming back to)
ducttape12··on Ask HN: Which tablet should I buy for aging parents?
Wow, no responses? I guess it depends what they will use it for. IPads are probably the easiest, could save some money with an older or refurbished model. Or get a cheap Kindle Fire tablet. Both are good enough for email, Facebook, and some basic gaming.
ducttape12··on Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
I don't get the point of book stores when there's libraries.

My local library let's me reserve books online, and if they don't have a book, they usually have it at another library in the county and will ship it to my local library and hold it for me.

And this all costs me $0 (yeah, okay, taxes, but you know what I mean)

ducttape12··on Ask HN: How do I get started with developing an app from scratch?
I'm a fan of learning enough to know how to get going, then just start building. In the process of building you'll get stuck and have to look for answers.

As for are there better tools, I don't know what your needs are. Is this for fun? Do you have a budget? Are you doing this for resume building? It's not a question of what's "best", but rather what's best for your needs.

ducttape12··on I have the coronavirus. So far, it isn't that bad
I suppose any disease isn't that bad when you have round the clock medical care pumping you full of medicine.
ducttape12··on Is It a Pandemic Yet?
But couldn't the same thing apply to traffic deaths? In 2018, in the US, over 36,000 people died in car accidents. That's higher than coronavirus deaths, so logically shouldn't we all stay off the roads and quit going to work? Wouldn't that have the same impact?

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-autos-traffic-deaths-...

ducttape12··on Is It a Pandemic Yet?
So it's what I'm thinking, it's the news hyping it up to get clicks, ad impressions, etc? Seems kind of irresponsible to get the public into a frenzy just to make money.
ducttape12··on Is It a Pandemic Yet?
Except that according to the CDC, second hand smoke causes 41,000 deaths per year in the US: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/heal...
ducttape12··on Is It a Pandemic Yet?
Can someone explain to me why coronavirus is getting so much coverage? According to Wikipedia, Coronavirus has killed about 2000 people. Each year smoking kills 480,000 people in the US. In two days smoking will have killed more people in the US than coronavirus has worldwide.

Shouldn't we have headlines about this every day? Or any of the other far more deadly things (traffic accidents, heart disease, suicide, etc.)?

(I'm not trolling, I honestly don't understand why this is different.)

ducttape12··on Moore's Law Is Not Ending Soon and the Reason May Surprise You
At this point, I assume any article that relies on click bait titles are lacking in depth.

"Will this vegetable cure cancer?" No, it will not.

"This new productivity hack may surprise you!" Chances are it's just some repacking of some old idea and won't surprise me.

ducttape12··on Twitter to label deepfakes and other deceptive media
You don't need advanced AI to create hyper realistic deep fake news. You just need to take a picture of X candidate, stick a made up quote beneath them, and put it on Facebook. There's enough people on social media who will share that without verifying it.
ducttape12··on Stocks Up $1T Since October
It doesn't. The wording of the post I replied to was an angry, black and white response condemning a rising stock market since it benefits the wealthy. My point was the stock market affects everyone, not just the super rich.

I wouldn't wish for the stock market to crash so some rich guy suffers. The rich will stay rich, it's the middle and low class who would suffer the most. If the market falls 75% tomorrow, Bezos will be fine, my parents will not.

ducttape12··on Stocks Up $1T Since October
My 401k is invested in that same stock market, along with the retirement accounts of every other person in the United States. I hope the market continues to rise, especially since my parents will be retiring soon.
ducttape12··on Ask HN: How to make an extra $2000 monthly?
Not sure why you're looking for that value exactly or what your current situation is, but in addition to increasing your income, you can also look at decreasing your expenses.

It may be easier to shave off $500 in monthly expenses and only need an extra $1500.

ducttape12··on Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models
Awesome, thanks for the reply! Guess I'll make a point to read your book then :-)
ducttape12··on Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models
You wrote two books and you run DDG? Got any advice on balancing it all?

(also thanks for DDG!)

ducttape12··on Skills of an Effective Programmer – Inspired by the TechLead
If the author makes a glaring issue as large as this, how am I supposed to trust the rest of the article's advice?
ducttape12··on uBlock Origin 1.20
Give Brave a shot. It's Chromium with an ad blocker, privacy blocker, and HTTPS Everywhere built in!
ducttape12··on Enso OS: A simple operating system for everyone, able run on any machine
Looks cool, but the problem I keep coming back to everytime I switch to Linux is... Why? Windows works just fine for me. I use my computer for a browser, video games, .NET development, and web development.

I've spent many, many hours over the years using and configuring Linux, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion.

Yes, Linux has much better privacy than Windows, but for many people, that's not a strong enough reason.

ducttape12··on VLC 3.0.7 and security
And why do they feel it's appropriate to ask for help there? This would be like going to a talk from a presidential candidate about fuel economy, and raising your hand and saying "My car doesn't start, can you help me?"
ducttape12··on For Men Who Hate Talking on the Phone, Games Keep Friendships Alive
Chatting can be difficult for men. As a man, we tend to not make points about chatting about our feelings or life. But, when our goal is video games / bowling / watching a football game / whatever else with downtime, well, the feelings or life conversations aren't our focus then. Loophole! (not to mention sometimes serious conversations can cause awkward silences. Everyone has the activity to turn back to.)
ducttape12··on For Men Who Hate Talking on the Phone, Games Keep Friendships Alive
Why not agree to play once or twice a week? For example, every Monday night, you two jump on for a few hours and play and catch up?

Also, what do you mean you got nothing done? You bonded with your brother. That seems pretty valuable to me!

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