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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: August 10th, 2023

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  • I’d argue that Perplexity is in this camp as well. It’s my go-to for anything more open-ended or for multi-step research I need to do. No need to wade through garbage search results, and it cites its sources. Kagi seems to be doing very much the same thing, but in addition to their paid search engine service.

    I don’t know that I’d switch from Perplexity, but I could see an argument for it.


  • I think your question is misguided. Democracy doesn’t mean a two-party system race to the bottom. Democracy can see democratically elected politicians that better resonate with each individual voter by eliminating first past the post voting and using ranked choice voting instead. The problem isn’t that “half the country disagrees”. You can’t please everyone. The problem is that we’ve been divided and weaponized against each other, so the tribalism keeps us from finding common ground we may have. I doubt anyone votes FOR a candidate anymore. They seem to just vote AGAINST another candidate. Democracy works. It’s our implementation of it that’s failing.



  • I lost my job six months ago and am currently struggling to find another. Even if I did find another job that paid what I was getting paid before, I would not and could not pay for your cancer medication. But that doesn’t mean I would choose to turn a blind eye to it. I would continue to fight for basic human rights to water, food, a home, and healthcare, because that’s what I’ve believed in and will continue to believe in. Maybe I wouldn’t change anything in your lifetime or mine, but I’ll still try. And maybe in a few generations, once we’re gone, we opened the door for them to have those things that allow us to keep our dignity.

    I won’t pretend to know how you feel, so I won’t give you any platitudes. How you choose to live your life is your own decision, and I won’t insult you by pitying you. Your struggle doesn’t mean it’s impossible for you to make somebody else’s life any better or worse, though, just through simple human interactions. Sure, people are starving, dying, and going through much worse than me, or even you. That takes nothing away from the problems we encounter, the joy or pain we feel. I’ll do what I can to influence my circumstance, because nobody gets to tell me I can’t do something. When possible, I’ll try to do the same for others, even if nobody sees it or gives me a pat on the back. I’ll hold out hope that others might do the same for me when they can, but I won’t expect it because I’m not owed it.

    I’m not saying any of this to prove I’m better than you in any way or to win an Internet argument. Call me whatever names you like. I promise I won’t respond beyond this comment. I simply wish you well, or at least better than at present.


  • Buddy, I hope you have a better day than you’re currently having. I’m not sure what purpose putting your opinion on the Internet served if you were going to pretend it and any responses to it are pointless. Take care of yourself, man. You’re talking like nothing and nobody matters. In the cosmic sense, you’re right. Humanity, is just a flash in the pan, so none of us individually matters. In a human sense, even a small act of kindness might change somebody else’s life, and I think those moments DO matter. I don’t want to tell you how to live your life and I genuinely hope you don’t misconstrue what I’m saying. I do actually hope you can live just a small amount less cynically and can see some positivity, despite how our political system and news keep pushing the negative in our faces day after day. I don’t think hope is just for fools.


  • It feels like you completely ignored my argument against outlawing fast cars and simply moved to your argument about SUVs and trucks. If you choose to hand-wave my points because you’re “thinking of the children”, then I see no merit in your argument. And you’re saying that what I said is invalid because I believe the bill will pass? But that you can say whatever because you’re fed up with the government’s ineffectiveness so you’re just being bombastic? That detracts from your own statements, if you’re admitting your own rhetoric is just for effect because you have no faith in politicians.

    I’m not talking about SUVs, trucks, politicians, or the US legal system. You made a point that cars that drive over 65 shouldn’t be made, and I countered. I don’t hear anything from you except “politicians won’t fix it” while turning around and saying “fast cars should be illegal”, which would require those very same politicians you’ve lost faith in to somehow be effective enough to pass that very legislation.


  • You talk as if cars are appliances. Hell, even appliances go overboard. Why does a toaster or fridge need WiFi? Why does my washer or dryer have downloadable custom cycles? Because innovation is what sets companies and products apart. It’s not always done “right”, but who’s to judge if a feature is superfluous? You? What makes you qualified?

    Cars aren’t just machines to get you from A to B. They certainly can be, but they’re also a fashion item, a status symbol, marvels of engineering, and a tool for testing your skill. Cars can be taken to a racetrack and driven hard. Just because something is being misused doesn’t mean it should either be illegal or shouldn’t be made. Your view on this is incredibly myopic. Just because you aren’t into cars doesn’t mean the “right” thing to do is make all cars the same. And before you suggest making fast cars track only, that would be absurd and make the hobby even less approachable. Not everyone can have two vehicles (apartment buildings that only allow one vehicle, or a city with limited parking). That would be the same as when governments require permits for a product or activity, but make the permits impossible to get.

    Other countries have figured out how to handle this situation in different ways. Germany has a harder test for getting your license. Not every idiot can pass. Some countries in Europe make fines a percentage of your income instead of a flat fee. That means breaking the law hurts everyone to a similar degree, rather than rich people paying the fine without a second thought as just the cost of doing business. If you really have a problem with cars then at least get creative with your solution. Trying to stamp them out is genuinely worse than this proposed bill.



  • Depending on what you meant by this question, I’d say Perplexity. It’s got access to a number of different LLMs, and cited its sources. The biggest concern I’ve had when it comes to LLMs is that they eventually make shit up. If you can verify its answers by checking its sources, you have a much higher confidence level in the answer.


  • I’ve been a software engineer for the last 17 years, with the last 11 years having been in management. The further people get in their career the easier it is to forget to stay humble. You can’t always be the smartest person in the room. It’s statistically unlikely. One of my favorite books I’ve read is “The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do” (not to be confused with “The Secret”). The book covers how you can stay humble in your career, reinvent yourself, value the contributions of others, etc. The fact is that even if you end up in a leadership position, you won’t necessarily be the smartest person in the room. Even if you made a great decision for the team years ago, that may not hold up now. Be open to the fact that you’re wrong. Be open to change. If you can’t do that then you’re going to end up set aside as a dinosaur. Adapt. If you don’t then you’ll be left behind. And be kind, because you never know who you’ll work with again. Being smart isn’t carte blanche to be an asshole to anyone who isn’t as smart as you. You’ll likely need them at some point if you stick around long enough.




  • If your manager is a good manager, then nothing that comes up in your review should be a surprise. Talk about a plan to get to the next level. Nothing will ever be guaranteed, but if you work together on a plan and have milestones to meet then you’ll have a better chance of getting a raise and promotion. Obviously, not every review cycle can include a raise or promotion, so be reasonable.

    A good review has what are called SMART goals. They should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based. If your manager fails to give you goals that meet that criteria, then chances are you aren’t both working toward the same thing. Be open to criticism, because you probably won’t be doing everything well. Make sure you’re having regular one-on-ones with your manager, or whoever gauges your progress. If you’re early in your career, I would recommend every week, or every two weeks at most. This way you have regular feedback. Make sure you take notes.


  • Jirard’s words were unambiguous over the years, though. It was always “we’re working with…” or “we’ve donated to…” and not “we’re looking at these charities”. I don’t know what the rationale for hanging on to that money was, whether it was for the right reasons or not. What I do know is that people were lied to. It doesn’t matter if he intended to or not. It’s not a good spot to be in, and I can’t imagine it gets much better from here. The whole thing felt very much like w crypto scam, except the money was still available, but there was a whole lot of “trust me, bro” and misrepresentation of what was happening behind the scenes.

    How many years of research do you need in order to pick the charity or university you want to fund? How many times do you repeat the lies (with numbers!) without even knowing what your own charity is doing? I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a different reason they hung on to the money, because this doesn’t pass the sniff test. Where there’s smoke there’s fire.



  • Are you sure what you got was good quality? I find Massachusetts to have the best quality stuff near me. I’ve purchased from New Jersey, but have questioned the quality on occasion. Once it was bad enough that I felt pretty off for a while, and felt like I was going to pass out, but ultimately didn’t. A couple of other times I’ve been stoned and just got light headed when I stood up, but that could also just be chalked up to getting up too quickly or not hydrating enough, and might’ve happened with or without weed.

    It’s possible weed just doesn’t agree with you, or a certain strain. From your other comments your doctor told you not to smoke when you brought it up. None of us should contradict your doctor’s advice, but if you’re not going to listen to that, then I’d at least suggest getting a second opinion.


  • If you’re upset that the average consumer won’t be able to shoot something of that quality with their iPhone, you’ve got to fix your expectations. The average consumer won’t even have the editing skills to pull that off, let alone any of the other myriad of tools required to turn recorded footage into a high quality production. As long as they only used iPhones, I don’t think it’s misleading at all to say it’s shot on an iPhone.

    A master at their craft doesn’t need the best equipment to do their job well. Similarly, the average person won’t magically be able to produce outstanding results just because you give them an expensive camera. If anything, the fact that the event was shot on an iPhone is Apple taking aim at content creators and marketing the iPhone to them as an alternative to expensive camera equipment.




  • I’m so sorry you see things this way. I just left my job after many years at the company, and while my goal wasn’t to make friends I definitely ended up collecting a few along the way. I was in upper management and definitely cared about my team, and so did the directors under me. I befriended some of the people in the C-suite as well. They threw a nice, big surprise going away dinner for me, which they definitely didn’t need to do. I’ve met up with former coworkers in other departments to catch up, because we genuinely enjoy each other’s company. I hope you find a place that values you and that you can find a friend or two that you can keep in your life.