[amphibian]

You should buy your own router. It pays for itself inside a year.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Quote

[Acclaimed musical artist] Mathangi Arulpragasam, also known as M.I.A., came out with an endorsement for [...] Trump [...] following Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to suspend his presidential campaign and endorse Trump. "Trump is going to ride America through the most challenging 4 years coming pulling out weed, and RFK will inherit America when God is ready to replant and rebuild it righteously," [...] Arulpragasam has been notably anti-vax and promotes a litany of conspiracy-laden products through her brand Ohmni [...] For $100, buyers can get a "tin foil hat [...] "I think mass migration is difficult in poor areas[" she wrote]

M.I.A. Endorses Trump to Help RFK Jr. 'Inherit America' (thedailybeast.com)

... it's been years since I listened to her music but argh...

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 24 August 2024 - 09:56 PM

[Mentalist]

Oh, God, my head

Never drinking this weekend ever again

[Cause]

Whoever invented the American system of federalism and taxes should be shot!

I am excited to learn that car insurance quotes in MA are much cheaper than PA. Awesome news. However unlike Pennsylvania, the great state of Massachusetts charges a 0.25% annual excise tax on cars. Outcome therefore much the same.

[Cause]

Why does America hate ceiling lights in bedrooms. It’s where lights belong. Why am I lighting my bedroom with a lamp

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Cause, on 01 September 2024 - 01:25 AM, said:

Why does America hate ceiling lights in bedrooms. It's where lights belong. Why am I lighting my bedroom with a lamp

So if an intruder comes in they won't be able to turn on the lights to shoot you (accurately) before you can shoot them, naturally! Really all you need is a light on the end of your bedside guns... (didn't you learn that from Elon Musk's guide for South African immigrants? always have bedside guns!)

Elon Musk's Bedside Table Pic: Guns [...] - Business Insider

[Maark Abbott]

NaNoWriMo supports theft engines and thinks that people disliking them is 'ableist'.

wellp

[Tsundoku]

Maark Abbott, on 03 September 2024 - 07:14 AM, said:

NaNoWriMo supports theft engines and thinks that people disliking them is 'ableist'.

wellp

Pardon?

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Tsundoku, on 03 September 2024 - 09:09 AM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 03 September 2024 - 07:14 AM, said:

NaNoWriMo supports theft engines and thinks that people disliking them is 'ableist'.

wellp

Pardon?

Quote

NaNoWriMo's mission is to "provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people use their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page." We fulfill our mission by supporting the humans doing the writing. Please see this related post that speaks to our overall position on nondiscrimination with respect to approaches to creativity, writer's resources, and personal choice.


We also want to be clear in our belief that the categorical condemnation of Artificial Intelligence has classist and ableist undertones, and that questions around the use of Al tie to questions around privilege.

Yes, AI helps people with mental disabilities, or who are limited in the rate at which they can type or speak (or who can't type or speak at all), or who haven't been able to access educational resources, or who are de facto forced to work all day just to avoid becoming homeless, etc. And ableism and classism are definitely fueling some of the objections to AI art: specifically, claims that it doesn't take any effort or skill. (Art education and devoting oneself to an art doesn't require coming from a wealthy background, but it certainly helps a lot, especially in the present-day Anglosphere). However, other objections to AI do not seem ableist or classist at all. But the text specifies categorical condemnations of AI: hopefully it will not be too terribly ableist or classist of me to ask you to note the distinction between blanket condemnation of any AI use and responsible AI use (for example: making sure that there is no plagiarism, or---if you're one of those people who think that AI learning to imitate something without plagiarizing it is still "stealing" if you don't have consent and it's not public domain (or do they also object to AI learning from Shakespeare?)---that training was done ethically; etc. etc.).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 03 September 2024 - 11:17 AM

[Tsundoku]

Huh. OK thanks.

I think I'll file that under "Fuckwits gonna fuckwit".

IMHO if you didn't write it ... you didn't write it. Ie if each word did not come from your mind via your pen, keyboard or other assisting device (for those with difficulty actually writing or typing) - then ... you didn't write it. I'm sure I could knock out something semi-decent if I gave ChatGPT or equivalent AI a reasonably thorough query. But it doesn't mean I wrote it, only that I wrote a good query.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 06 September 2024 - 08:52 AM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Tsundoku, on 06 September 2024 - 08:52 AM, said:

Huh. OK thanks.

I think I'll file that under "Fuckwits gonna fuckwit".

IMHO if you didn't write it ... you didn't write it. Ie if each word did not come from your mind via your pen, keyboard or other assisting device (for those with difficulty actually writing or typing) - then ... you didn't write it. I'm sure I could knock out something semi-decent if I gave ChatGPT or equivalent AI a reasonably thorough query. But it doesn't mean I wrote it, only that I wrote a good query.

Suppose someone uses AI generated parts and edits and rearranges them---changing a substantial enough portion of the words etc. to qualify for copyrightability. Each word went into their mind (either from the AI output or from before) then came out of their mind via pen, keyboard, or other assisting device. You might still say, No, they didn't write it.

But you'd probably say that you wrote the post that I'm responding to. Even though almost none of the individual phrases are original ("Fuckits gonna fuckwit" being an internet classic apparently, although you may well have discovered it independently)---and those few that are are basically just rewordings of common phrases. Almost all writing is like this, and it's a massive aid to intelligibility (and efficiency...).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 06 September 2024 - 11:17 AM

[Maark Abbott]

Wife's work situation took some turns. This is only in here because the uncertainty is a negative but overall things are looking decentish.

Basically, the manager who ended her probation did not have authority to do so and appears to have been power tripping. They also didn't follow probation process or consider wife's mental health status at all - so they actually got fired for firing my wife. Seems like it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Wife had probation extended which is the sucky bit, but it does seem like her work is trying to make things right and now we just need to see if they sign her probation off fully.

[worry]

^^Hope everything gets sorted in the right direction -- just a bit of red tape, I'd wager, if she's already doing great in the role.


Separately: James Earl Jones has passed away, age 93. What can you say?

[Tsundoku]

worry, on 09 September 2024 - 09:21 PM, said:

James Earl Jones has passed away, age 93. What can you say?

RIP. What a man, what a voice.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 10 September 2024 - 06:51 AM

[Maark Abbott]

worry, on 09 September 2024 - 09:21 PM, said:

James Earl Jones has passed away, age 93. What can you say?

MAC. NOD CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTROL HAMMERFEST. TAKE BACK THAT BASE AT ALL COSTS.

Then I shot some coffee and salute.

[worry]

There's a pretty big wildfire nearby-ish. Here was the sky yesterday:

[Mezla PigDog]

worry, on 09 September 2024 - 09:21 PM, said:

Separately: James Earl Jones has passed away, age 93. What can you say?

I was reading his obituary and wondering why they didn't mention him being Admiral Adama in the original Battlestar Galactica. Well, aren't I the doofus? It wasn't him. The voices sound exactly the same in my head.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

worry, on 11 September 2024 - 08:40 AM, said:

There's a pretty big wildfire nearby-ish. Here was the sky yesterday:

Airport fire? Hope you're not in one of the evacuatiom zones!

It was 1/2 acre 2 days ago, now it's 22,000+ acres...

[worry]

I'm much closer to the Line fire (San Bernardino County), and uh closer to the Bridge fire than I thought, since it's so far east -- triangulation! Airport fire is thankfully quite a bit away. I'm not in any harm's way to my knowledge, aside from the air quality. Definitely got a sore throat going. The sky is more grey than orange today -- is that a good sign?


@MP: The original Adama is Lorne Greene right? He also had a cool rumbly voice, though not quite JEJ level.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

worry, on 11 September 2024 - 08:43 PM, said:

I'm much closer to the Line fire (San Bernardino County), and uh closer to the Bridge fire than I thought, since it's so far east -- triangulation! Airport fire is thankfully quite a bit away. I'm not in any harm's way to my knowledge, aside from the air quality. Definitely got a sore throat going. The sky is more grey than orange today -- is that a good sign?


@MP: The original Adama is Lorne Greene right? He also had a cool rumbly voice, though not quite JEJ level.

That's unfortunate! If you want to escape to the coast for a bit, I'm currently living in Oceanside!