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Economics & Investing / Re: >8 billion people, 6 billion jobs.
« on: May 15, 2024, 03:00:23 AM »
I'm guessing UBI and work week limitations are going to get more popular.
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Water Cooler / Re: Consumer-grade exoskeleton for walking assistance
« on: May 06, 2024, 12:31:12 AM »
Watching that second video was pretty helpful in understanding how it works. I wasn't sure it would work at first glance because it transfers the force over to the hip and other leg. I remember the one being developed for the US army had an exoskeleton that went all the way to the ground so that it carried some of the load.
BTW, did you guys see the Moonwalkers? Kinda the same thing but different.
https://www.wired.com/video/watch/on-the-go-moonwalkers
BTW, did you guys see the Moonwalkers? Kinda the same thing but different.
https://www.wired.com/video/watch/on-the-go-moonwalkers
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Water Cooler / Re: A wild orangutan used a medicinal plant to treat a wound, scientists say
« on: May 03, 2024, 06:22:07 PM »
Orangutans are incredible.
>Within the biological world, human exceptionalism is mostly over. There doesn’t seem to be a uniquely human characteristic.
True, though I do find us remarkable in what we can accomplish, On the other hand I often feel like we were an evolutionary mishap. We're at just the right level of intelligence and ability to cause irrevocable damage to our home but aren't wise enough to stop ourselves. If we just stayed at the level of Homo Erectus the planet would be fine. Perhaps we'd also make it if we were just a bit beyond what we are.
>I see the same process happening in the AI world.
This gets kind of complicated. What is intelligence and what is life? When an AI has self-awareness is it alive?
>Within the biological world, human exceptionalism is mostly over. There doesn’t seem to be a uniquely human characteristic.
True, though I do find us remarkable in what we can accomplish, On the other hand I often feel like we were an evolutionary mishap. We're at just the right level of intelligence and ability to cause irrevocable damage to our home but aren't wise enough to stop ourselves. If we just stayed at the level of Homo Erectus the planet would be fine. Perhaps we'd also make it if we were just a bit beyond what we are.
>I see the same process happening in the AI world.
This gets kind of complicated. What is intelligence and what is life? When an AI has self-awareness is it alive?
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Water Cooler / Re: Weight loss wonder drug sparks 'Ozempic babies' phenomenon
« on: May 03, 2024, 06:06:20 PM »
No doubt the drug is trendy right now -- last year I was driving through Hillsborough (a pretty wealthy small town in the Western hills of the Bay Area) and I kept seeing very lean couples walking around. Weirdly though, they didn't look healthy, but scrawny and fragile -- like they've been under a thousand calories a day for an extended period of time.
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Water Cooler / Re: Weight loss wonder drug sparks 'Ozempic babies' phenomenon
« on: May 02, 2024, 06:08:34 PM »
At $1000/month it'll only affect sustain demographics.
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Water Cooler / Re: And we're back
« on: April 28, 2024, 07:37:07 PM »
Thinking about it, this is probably what happened.
1: they turned off read+write access Settings.php file to shut it down
2: they backed up the directory
3: they copied the directory back, but without changing the permissions on that file first -- this zeroed out the file.
1: they turned off read+write access Settings.php file to shut it down
2: they backed up the directory
3: they copied the directory back, but without changing the permissions on that file first -- this zeroed out the file.
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Water Cooler / Re: And we're back
« on: April 28, 2024, 06:05:42 PM »
They just gave out the generic "server maintenance" email. For some reason they blanked out my settings even though everything else was left alone. I have no idea why they would do that, other than to just quickly shut everything down in the most lazy way possible.
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Water Cooler / And we're back
« on: April 27, 2024, 10:07:22 PM »
Silly JaguarPC.
(they're actually a lot less trouble than they use to be)
Thanks RC for emailing me!
(they're actually a lot less trouble than they use to be)
Thanks RC for emailing me!
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Traffic / Re: FCC Reinstates Net Neutrality In A Blow To Internet Service Providers
« on: April 26, 2024, 06:49:48 AM »
Good. I wonder if this is going to be one of those issuers that keeps flip flopping every few years.
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Water Cooler / Re: Quotes that hit home
« on: April 25, 2024, 06:19:39 AM »
The ability to learn from the mistakes of others is a big part of what's separated us from monkeys, but i feel like I've known several electric fence pissers over the years.
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Water Cooler / Re: Terminator Scenario
« on: April 19, 2024, 08:34:00 PM »
To scare us.
Right, fear => buzz. Boston Dynamics has been able to stay in the spotlight for 10+ years now in a competitive space.
Right, fear => buzz. Boston Dynamics has been able to stay in the spotlight for 10+ years now in a competitive space.
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Marketplaces / Re: 75% of all US shoppers are Amazon Prime members
« on: April 17, 2024, 10:28:23 PM »
I am curious where this goes in five years. If I were to guess consumer habits aren't going to change that much, but the content on AMZ is going to morph more towards a mirror of AliExpress and direct sales from manufacturers. Second prediction: The direct from China pipeline will have some Chinese sites taking some market away from AMZ.
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Water Cooler / Re: Texas Proves Its Commitment To Freedom By Legalizing Kei Trucks
« on: April 14, 2024, 08:10:44 PM »
>I'd love to be able to buy a new Chevy S-10 or a, small not midsized, Ford Ranger with a modest 4 cylinder engine. Remember those?
Yes, I also wish they were still being made. I do see quite a bit of old Toyotas and Rangers still on the road. Apparently some of the reason is the EPA regulation. I think this is a lesson in unintended consequences, but it has been years now with no change.
Modern, full size trucks seem very over the top to me, they are just marginally functional.
Yes, I also wish they were still being made. I do see quite a bit of old Toyotas and Rangers still on the road. Apparently some of the reason is the EPA regulation. I think this is a lesson in unintended consequences, but it has been years now with no change.
Modern, full size trucks seem very over the top to me, they are just marginally functional.
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Traffic / Re: Small site SEO is dead
« on: April 09, 2024, 11:34:58 PM »
>resumes
This one cuts both ways. The companies are using AI to screen resumes so we have a bit of an AI employee<->employer cold war* happening.
Side note: You all know I'm quite dyslexic. For dyslexic people ChatGPT is really a nice tool if used correctly. I have found that I can't just ask it to proof writing for me, if it does that it will change the voice of my writing too much. What works is to ask it to just check it for spelling and grammar.
*I am in that war right now, seeking employment, seeing rejections from algorithms and just knowing that no human as actually seen my resume. It is quite disheartening.
This one cuts both ways. The companies are using AI to screen resumes so we have a bit of an AI employee<->employer cold war* happening.
Side note: You all know I'm quite dyslexic. For dyslexic people ChatGPT is really a nice tool if used correctly. I have found that I can't just ask it to proof writing for me, if it does that it will change the voice of my writing too much. What works is to ask it to just check it for spelling and grammar.
*I am in that war right now, seeking employment, seeing rejections from algorithms and just knowing that no human as actually seen my resume. It is quite disheartening.