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heroiccocoa

79 karma · joined June 4, 2021

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heroiccocoa··on OLED burn-in test: 30-month update
Glossy displays are much better for image quality in light-controlled environments than matte. I cannot understand the love for matte display coatings, maybe you just live in a sunnier climate and want to work outdoors? I would never buy hardware with a matte display over glossy, given two equivalent choices. You just lose so much clarity and pop to basically rub a layer of vaseline over your monitor, diffusing the nice image quality into something oily/grainy looking.
heroiccocoa··on Claude Opus 5.5
That is certainly one possible explanation, but I think another likely explanation is that once your brain learn programming, especially logic, data structures & algorithms, you just start seeing the ambiguity in non-programmers' writing so much more clearly.
heroiccocoa··on 42% of adults rely on their parents for financial support
I can't think of a good reason as to why people would want housing to be a good investment except if their own wealth depends on it or they want to preserve the wealthy character of their own neighborhood. It takes away investment from local enterprise, local government, which would spur innovation, salary growth, better infrastructure, municipal services, etc.
heroiccocoa··on Why can't India's government build a decent website?
I had a similar experience last year applying for an evisa. I think pay off the issue was related to the pages timing out before the extremely slow server somewhere in India could process the query and respond. My relatives on their iPads and few year old mid-range dell Inspirons could not manage and had to consult me for help.
heroiccocoa··on Running NanoClaw in a Docker Shell Sandbox
It's a bad approach, it can still see the / directory, and eventually you want to give it sudo privilege or act as the root user to get anything done. Yet I really wouldn't trust these things as far as I could throw them, there is no "undo" button in the terminal.

I was like you with docker at the start of the week, I had managed to avoid it until now, but I didn't want to let agents do crazy sneaky stuff to my main system. VirtualBox, even with the guest additions just sucks as an environment to spend more than a few hours developing in, especially with how they take up precious RAM and VRAM that local LLMs need. Let me tell you: Docker for this use case at least turned out to be way easier than I thought! It only took me a few hours to really understand the main workflow for a basic project, docker is actually very nice to use, I should not have left it this long. With just a few commands I feel like I got enough sandboxing for my liking. For example, from my bash history yesterday:

    docker run -it --rm archlinux
this gives you an interactive archlinux container, and destroys itself when you exit with ctrl+d. If you want to re-enter where you left off, you can attach or start the container again if you omit the --rm flag.

    docker build -t flask_test .
this builds a container tagged "flask_test" using Dockerfile in the current directory. Dockerfiles are quite simple

    FROM python:3-alpine

    WORKDIR /my_app

    RUN pip install flask
    # copy app.py from the working directory to the container directory "."
    COPY app.py . 

    # Make port 5000 available to the world outside this container
    # this networking stuff is a bit of a mess to configure, you have to set it in flask, the Dockerfile, when you run the container, and you still get different URLs that the server is on, not all work on the host or the container, etc., it's a bit of a mess IMO. This turned out to not be necessary. 
    #EXPOSE 5000

    # Define environment variable for Flask
    ENV FLASK_APP=app.py

    ENV FLASK_RUN_HOST=0.0.0.0

    # run the command "flask" when the container starts with the "run" argument
    CMD ["flask", "run"]
The docs are very extensive, and feature a lot of (for me, anyway) useless commands like

    "docker ps"
    "docker images"
these are not that useful compared to this:

    docker container ls --all
which just shows everything.

Then, to restart from where you exited the next day:

    docker start -ia amazing_jemison 
This resumes the "amazing_jemison" (randomly assigned name) container. You see the name under column in the previous ls --all command. I don't get why they use CONTAINER IDs so much in the docs instead of NAMES, because they don't feature tab autocomplete, requiring wasted effort copying long hexadecimal strings.

I've been using throwaway archlinux docker containers all week, it's like a snappy VM, I just have to figure out how to launch graphics applications, although apparently that's an antipattern. I tried alpine, ubuntu, debian, etc., too, but archlinux is what I'm used to and the perfect balance between size and being feature-complete for me. Alpine boasts about the minimal image size but in reality you end up missing a lot of useful modern premium features that you have to redownload anyway. I never made a Dockerfile for it, it just downloaded the default archlinux image. After you exit out, and it selfdestructs with rm, and then you want to do it all again from scratch, as per the first command

    docker run -it --rm archlinux
and it will use a locally cached version, saving Docker from having to redownload

Overall a very good experience.

heroiccocoa··on I may have found a way to spot U.S. at-sea strikes before they're announced
It's frustrating how some people insist on prefixing reddit URLs with "old", requiring everybody else who opens their link to load the wrong page, edit it, and reload the modern version. 3 seconds of OPs time could have saved thousands of people from wasting their 8 seconds each.
heroiccocoa··on DeepSeek-R1
It's just a question of having enough VRAM+RAM to fit the model into memory.
heroiccocoa··on Weight-loss drug found to shrink muscle in mice, human cells
There are non-steroidal OTC supplements that are specifically anti-catabolic instead of anabolic like HMB[1], a metabolite of the amino acid leucine, and also widely used in the fitness community. Personally I have no idea which is preferable though, or whether anti-catabolism is something actually positive, as we know the importance of autophagy of senescent cells for longevity. Most of the literature I read suggests the less growth signalling, the better longevity, with the only exception being the frail elderly.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%92-Hydroxy_%CE%B2-methylbu...

heroiccocoa··on Apple is still limiting the iPhone 16 to slow 24-year-old USB 2.0 speeds
It's not as if Android offers anything either. Third party tools like syncthing can be used to backup the camera folder, but the root android folder is protected against copying because of permissions issues that Google refuses to fix. Same if you connect it to an external SSD. You have to root your phone truly be able to make a simple, complete backup. But that comes with a lot of disadvantages for financial apps, security, etc.
heroiccocoa··on Getting my daily news from a dot matrix printer
I wish we could go back to this uncomplicated UX. I just spent literally 2 hours setting up a brand new Epson ET-2850 printer for my dad. I'm quite disgusted at how slow, bloated and disjointed the process was. The printer ships with an android app, which worked fairly well, and, on the Epson website, some Microsoft Windows software, which was one of the worst software experiences I've ever had. The Wi-Fi setup is totally disjointed on the printer, app and windows release. You enter the Wi-Fi password via the app, which should then forward it to the printer. That's fine, it's better than using the dreadful printer interface. The printer saw the right SSID right away. No confirmation was given whether it connected or not. No big deal.

The software on their website was a Windows executable .exe file that seemed outdated even 10 years ago. To complete the last few steps, the printer network connection had to be set up once again, even though I had already previously connected it. Each attempt would take around 10-20 minutes, only to fail. The network errors and troubleshooting steps were incredibly generic and unhelpful. The worst part, until that point, was that the printer shipped with outdated firmware, and I did an online firmware update via the printer itself, confirming that the printer's Internet connection had indeed already been established. Rebooting the printer did not help. It turned out that, despite only just downloading the Windows executable that same hour from the Epson website, they were shipping an old version .exe, with some bug that causes the network setup to not be detected. However, it never prompted me to update. Only after restarting the Windows computer, and then re-opening the .exe, did some update trigger, and it allowed me to finish setting through to the last step of the installer to download the rest of the bloat and let the printer appear in the list of available printers on the network on the computer.

I then did a test print via an iPad. Took about 15 seconds.

heroiccocoa··on Higher ultraviolet light exposure is associated with lower mortality
I'm only seeing this now, sorry. First I'm not a doctor, so I can't give medical advice, certainly not if you believe you are already predisposed to something. I would say that there is no difference between the cheap and expensive devices, as long as they emit the correct wavelengths at the correct intensities. Since that's very low for targeting the eye (you are not trying to treat deeper joints/full body), you won't have to overspend. I think Prof Glen Jeffery mentioned a handheld red light in the 30 euro range for the morning treatment.

You can also look at (670/810 nm LED light strips to hang above your computer monitors and passively absorb some while starting at your monitor all day if you are getting an excess of blue light). I think that is another protocol though, but it might help.

I am sure though that it's more about consistency and treatment time (as in, you can't double the intensity to halve the treatment time). Furthermore, more is not better, it's more like an on/off switch after 2-3 minutes. You can do it every day, just like the solar spectrum is relatively higher in the required part of the spectrum at early morning sunrise every day.

But honestly, listen to Glen Jeffery, perhaps read /r/redlighttherapy

heroiccocoa··on Woolly mammoth 'de-extinction' is nearing reality
Delusional technohopium to cope with the fact that we are only increasing the rate at which we are annihilating biodiversity globally. Just today the government of Namibia announced they are going to cull wild animals amid drought (https://www.dw.com/en/namibia-to-cull-wild-animals-amid-drou...). This is e/acc delusion akin to entropy pipe dream that is atmospheric carbon dioxide removal.
heroiccocoa··on Higher ultraviolet light exposure is associated with lower mortality
Of course, there exists the whole field of photobiomodulation. Red light therapy (630/670/810/830/850/1060 nm red and NIR light) helps the eye in the morning (see Prof Glen Jeffery's work at UCL; the mitochondria are only sensitive to RLT during a certain window of the circadian rhythm, that coincides with early morning sunlight that is shifted towards the red/NIR), particularly when it comes to preventing and slowing age-related macular degeneration, but also improving colour perception, controlling blood glucose levels, improving athletic performance and recovery, mood and cognitive performance, and some other benefits. When I first got interested I thought I'd just get a small handheld LED device, but as I got deeper into it I decided to buy a large mains powered full body panel with 5 wavelengths. In particular the benefits to my sleep and skin have been fantastic, with the caveat that I live in northern Europe at a latitude of 53.3 degrees north. Perhaps those nearer the equator will feel more muted responses. That being said, improvements to vision are counterintuitively very difficult to actually judge without measuring, because the brain is constantly adjusting/hiding our defects.
heroiccocoa··on How Olympics officials try to catch “motor doping”
I wonder if we did a Fourier Transform of the power signal, would the 20 W appear in the DC bin as an anomaly?
heroiccocoa··on Sweden Is a NATO Member
The destruction, death and injuries seen in occupied Ukraine are already absolutely equivalent to nuclear war, minus the radiation. Also, I imagine the next nuclear weapons to be used in conflict will try to minimize their lingering "dirty" nature. So the added threat of nuclear annihilation is inconsequential.
heroiccocoa··on EU aims to shift European arms industry to 'war economy mode'
Absolutely. But it is responsible for our weak response, not our weak/undprepared militaries.
heroiccocoa··on EU aims to shift European arms industry to 'war economy mode'
The NL have contributed massively. I never meant that they didn't, I was selecting some powerful, random countries with still untapped resources to counter your comment that implied weakness. It was not at all my intention to diminish their contributions (consider that I didn't even mention those of Poland and the Baltics; even though I hate using GDP for this, but that is another discussion...): Again, my point was that, relative to what I imagine Europe's real military might is, it has not even really gotten started compared to what we could be doing, if only we weren't so scared of nukes. Just think of how we could have annihilated the soft target that was the disorganized 64 km Kyiv convoy, back in 2022. A quick search yielded that we have 1703 fighter jets in the EU-28, let alone the large warships, and who knows how many other assets. If we declared war (I'm not a lawyer, but it would easy to prove casus belli, and have jus ad bellum, given Russia's literal aggression and genocide). We could be attacking them along their entire (gigantic) border all the way to the east that they couldn't possibly hope to defend being so spread out. It would look totally different than the "weak" image we are projecting now because we aren't at war.

Sweden is not yet in NATO. They are on the verge of it, with Orban signing approval today, but Hungary has not yet formally submitted their instrument of ratification. Details matter when correcting people.

heroiccocoa··on EU aims to shift European arms industry to 'war economy mode'
I don't agree with your comment. Unpreparedness is one thing, but you paint a picture of weakness and reliance. Why are there no Dutch F-35s or French warships in Ukraine? Where are the British special forces? Let alone the non-NATO countries of Switzerland Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Malta, and Sweden. Some NATO members have huge militaries, albeit with many NATO commitments, i.e. not even close to being utilized to their full potential. Others like Ireland have enough resources to fund those of close allies. Think of all those taxes paid over decades into defense. Together we could have stealth bombers in Moscow within minutes and helicopters and troops soon after. Wagner could have done it by themselves had they had the self-confidence. But no one is doing anything at all, simply because Putin has threatened to nuke us all.
heroiccocoa··on China spied on Dutch Cyber Intelligence through FortiGate backdoors
As someone not super familiar with security research, this work and the associated report must have cost millions of euro in experienced engineering man-hours to write, right? You can't just put a team of interns on this sort of stuff (of course, not defending is not an option, well, an extremely dangerous one)
heroiccocoa··on Response to protein ingestion during recovery from exercise has no upper limit
> Subjects were randomized to receive 25 g protein (25PRO), 100 g protein (100PRO), or a placebo (0PRO) following a single bout of resistance-type exercise.

Wait, so the 25g protein group didn't even get to match the 100g group on calories, while we _know_ insulin response to carbs+protein is much higher than from either alone? This seems like a junk study

heroiccocoa··on Tesla battle with Swedish unions spreads to Denmark
Is there actually a meaningful difference between EV efficiency worth considering though? In contrast to ICEs, most electric motors are already very efficient and the difference comes down to design choices like power and weight (range), and air/rolling resistance, not wasteful inefficiency[1]. Most Teslas have very decent drag coefficients https://www.myevreview.com/comparison-chart/drag-coefficient.

[1] Of course there is a semantic issue at play here as well: efficiency referring to both range/energy as well as power out/power in, and whether anyone actually has the right to drive a 845 hp cybertruck around in the midst of a climate crisis and global mass extinction when ~100 bhp ought to be enough for almost all commuting/leisure use.

heroiccocoa··on Mice eating less isoleucine live longer, healthier
Manipulating the mTOR pathway involves making a trade-off based on your preferred type of death: on the one hand we have frailty, hip fractures, muscle wasting, etc, and in the other metabolic diseases, cancer, CVD, alzheimer's, diabetes etc.

But, you can probably still grow strong enough from life-long resistance training a few times a week+eating enough other (plant) protein. I believe that this is the modern longevity recipe from what we have learned so far from the mTOR/fasting/leucine/isoleucine/methionine research. I hope we soon learn more about optimizing anabolism/autophagy in a targeted way instead of the entire body, that's what it all seems to boil down to.

heroiccocoa··on Omegle: "How I got the dangerous chat site closed down"
No it shouldn't have any such obligation, because it explicitly stated minors were not to enter on its front page. Do you expect car manufacturers to make driving safe for children too?
heroiccocoa··on Omegle 2009-2023
It was the purest form of social media before social media was even a thing. In an age where it's increasingly more difficult for people to meet a lot of others accessibly, it's a shame.
heroiccocoa··on Pixel 8 Pro
But phones are manufactured regardless, so why not let the people who are currently in the market for a new device get something current? The yearly release cycle isn't meant to be kept up with every year, in fact I think that that notion is so hilariously out of touch basically everywhere except the US (and a small international wealthy elite elsewhere) that it would be ridiculed. Remember, the global median per-capita household income is only $2,920 per year. That's not "the poor", that's the median. 99% of the world would never have even considered buying an iPhone 15 or similar after having an iPhone 14, let alone feel pressured to do so.
heroiccocoa··on Subways cost two to seven times more to build in the USA than Europe or Japan
How much of this is because European salaries, land value, often pales in comparison to the US? It seems extremely unlikely to me that as Europeans we are 7x more efficient than the Americans, having witnessed the motivation of the construction workers building my nearby light rail transit...
heroiccocoa··on Why do we need hedge funds and traders?
Another use I don't see mentioned yet is that they offer investors an uncorrelated source of returns from the main asset classes (stocks and bonds). According to Markowitz and modern portfolio theory, including such an asset in the portfolio will make it more efficient (better risk/return). Then, you can leverage the whole thing back up to the original level of risk and get higher returns. Also search for the modern re-branding of this concept known as "return stacking".
heroiccocoa··on Rapamycin: The unlucky history of an anti-aging drug
An enormous amount of resources are wasted on treating specific, often rare, individual age-related conditions that doesn't efficiently transfer to other conditions. Clearly, people are hurting and it'd a net positive to society to treat the single underlying cause, and save the resources expended on everything else, for an equal if not improved overall health outcome.

Even if you don't consider yourself important to the world, surely you are important to yourself. At least I as an atheist consider my limited time alive here— conscious and healthy— to be infinitely valuable to me personally as it's really all that I have. And I think if your life isn't valuable to you in the same way, there's something wrong. Hence, extending it is a worthwhile goal.

Longevity research is difficult and it's not as if a breakthrough improving our lifetime by an order of magnitude is around the corner. So, I see little risk in ambitious research that'll probably only yield humble results anyway, at least until we're reaching 200 years old.

heroiccocoa··on Ain't it funny how the knight moves?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrQlpY_eGYU

It's not meant to be easy, I'm 1800 bullet on lichess and struggling

heroiccocoa··on Ask HN: Anyone else suffering from tinnitus?
Tinnitus seems like a solved issue for me.

Even a small amount of dirt cheap taurine supplementation completely cures it https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2997922/. It also cures my anxiety and eye floaters. I wonder what's going on biochemically for it to have such a strong effect on me, or perhaps what nutrient is rate-limiting my endogenous taurine creation, but I'm happy enough having discovered a cure.

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