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florbo

149 karma · joined May 17, 2022

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florbo··on AI is forcing us to pay off 40 years of technical debt
It never ceases to amaze me how common this situation is, where a quantifiable compromise is clearly the answer between engineering and leadership, yet none is presented by engineering. No party is ever inherently trustworthy, we all need quantifiable reasons to make decisions. I've never unquestionably trusted leadership, so I've never expected them to trust me.
florbo··on Reviewers rarely talk about reliability. Owners bring it up twice as often
I understand your point but I can't expect a single sample review for a new product to contain anything useful in regards to reliability.
florbo··on Starfling: A one-tap endless orbital slingshot game in a single HTML file
Game is fun, sure the mechanics aren't like real transfers but this appears to be a quick reflex challenge, not a lesson in astrophysics. The only gripe I have is all the flashes and distractions if I go to fast. I don't want ANY extra visuals when I'm concentrating on rapid shots.
florbo··on The unlikely story of Teardown Multiplayer
fme, it's only kind of inconvenient. By the time the scene gets to the point where join-in-progress is disabled it's complete chaos anyway. Might as well restart the scene.

That said I haven't played any of the more intricate mods out there, but I can how it would become more of an issue.

florbo··on Windows 11 25H2 October Update Bug Renders Recovery Environment Unusable
fwiw Windows 11 Explorer does have tabs.
florbo··on Celestia – Real-time 3D visualization of space
If you want to fly around galaxies and feel insignificant, Space Engine is pretty good for that. It's not a true simulation, as most things are procedurally generated unless an addon is installed, but it certainly captures the scale of things.
florbo··on Anthropic, Google, OpenAI and XAI Granted Up to $200M from Defense Department
At the very least it's preventing funds from going to other competitors.
florbo··on Using Home Assistant, adguard home and an $8 smart outlet to avoid brain rot
I'm guessing they already had the plug (I myself have a small stockpile of extra Z-wave/wifi/Zigbee devices for when I inevitably need/want to hook something up), so there wasn't a need to buy something else.
florbo··on Pluto Flyover from New Horizons
Just guessing here, but I think the vertical scaling might be for translating some of the top-down images they have. If you take a look at the photo below, Pluto appears to have pretty rough terrain. I didn't find anything about post-processing for this particular image, sorry in advance if I missed it.

https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19947

florbo··on Converting a Git repo from tabs to spaces (2016)
Whitespace is important for a myriad of reasons, so the implementation makes sense to me. However, I would love to see git have configuration surrounding syntax awareness. That's a huge undertaking, though, but one can dream.
florbo··on 15,000 lines of verified cryptography now in Python
I think emojis are easily overused, but I certainly don't mind when they're used to convey simple, universally understood meaning (such as reacting with a "me too" in a bug report).

Stuff like gitmoji, though, drive me nuts. Talk about ambiguous and easily misused. Faster for everyone if you just say what you mean.

florbo··on PHP Core Security Audit Results
My take: no. He just has a cult following.
florbo··on Architecture Patterns with Python
I've made it through about 75% of the book and have never gotten the sense that they think everything discussed in the book is something you should always do. Each pattern discussed has a summary of pros and cons. While they may be a bit lacking, they clearly articulate the fact that you should be thinking whether or not the pattern matches the application's needs.

I don't think there's many applications that will require everything in the book but there are certaintly many applications that could apply one or more patterns discussed.

florbo··on Backyard Cyanide
The concentration of tartaric acid in each individual grape is unpredictable, along with each individual dog's tolerance level to tartaric acid. The only thing that's certain is that anything with tartaric acid is potentially toxic to canines due the development kidney damage after ingestion.
florbo··on Athena landed in a dark crater where the temperature was -280° F / -173° C
Heavier than you think, probably. I tried looking up laser altimeters suitable for moon landings and was met with a much higher than anticipated amount of complexity. One thing was clear: the higher the altimeter needs to work, the heavier.
florbo··on Backyard Cyanide
iirc it's the concentration of tartaric acid that's toxic to dogs. You got lucky your dog didn't like grapes! A lot of dogs will just eat them, btw, so don't think they all will instinctively avoid grapes.
florbo··on Pee If You Want to Go Deeper (2021)
Ah, yes, normal bodily functions and ways to deal with them in technical settings is "disgusting". Very thoughtful insight, "thank you".
florbo··on I found a backdoor into my bed
I'm sure they do use a prefab thermoelectric assembly model that they designed their case around. It's usually cheaper.
florbo··on 12 years of Backblaze data center storage drives, visualized
I'm assuming it's the acquisition and removal of drives over time.
florbo··on Dell ends hybrid work policy, demands RTO despite remote work pledge
I think lack of in-person collab is the biggest drawback to remote work, but only because a lot of people still haven't adapted to or accepted the tools available.

> If you're an engineer with <5 years experience you probably don't see it

In my experience, the younger people tend to adapt faster and more readily use the tools. It's easier to form a good working relationship with them as a result.

florbo··on CIA now favors lab leak theory to explain Covid's origins
> I just think it is interesting how hard it is to not have an opinion about something beyond "I don't know."

I hadn't thought of this before. I wonder if we naturally formulate an opinion or hypothesis when we're curious about something. Which I did again just now.. huh.

florbo··on CIA now favors lab leak theory to explain Covid's origins
Sorry, it was a given. We don't know. I don't know. I do enjoy postulating for this particular incident, though.
florbo··on CIA now favors lab leak theory to explain Covid's origins
> There are good reasons to believe the natural or the lab leak hypotheses.

Given the ridiculous response from everyone involved, I'm just going to assume it was an accidental biosecurity breach of a natural specimen. It happens frequently enough and enough puzzle pieces seem to fit. Not that I care or think anything should come of it, other than hopefully learning better biosecurity procedures.

florbo··on Couriers mystified by the algorithms that control their jobs
This is what I do. Dealing with the uncertainty of the delivery apps as a customer in my area is approaching the levels of nightmare it is as a driver in others. I didn't keep track when I was using them but let's just say it was a pleasant surprise when I received everything I ordered. Usually something was "forgotten".
florbo··on 2-Year Call of Duty False Permanent Ban Reversed by Court Case
It also affected his Steam account and games unrelated to CoD, especially games developed by Valve. Valve consideres profile standing in matchmaking.
florbo··on Do It in Jeans First
Safety first doesn't mean "don't do anything unsafe," it has a broad meaning. With your interpretation I suppose it could mean if you're going to do something, be sure to consider your safety tradeoffs first.
florbo··on My little sister's use of ChatGPT for homework is heartbreaking
And it even drastically varies between children. My two kids' (6 and 4) interests are vastly different which makes balancing difficult. My oldest is thankfully starting to understand that the rules apply to them equally. Consistency goes a long way.
florbo··on A minimax chess engine in regular expressions
It's a line from the movie Jurassic Park. Pretty sure they're just joking.
florbo··on My little sister's use of ChatGPT for homework is heartbreaking
It's almost as if we need to be actively parenting and engaged with our children! Who'd've thought!

Sarcasm aside, making informed decisions on how to do those things can be a challenge.

florbo··on "Frost crack" sounds may come from sky, not trees
But what if the discharge requires some specific environmental factor, say, something the height of a tree?
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