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jmcdl

38 karma · joined May 15, 2019

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jmcdl··on AI Made Writing Code Easier. It Made Being an Engineer Harder
This was my thought after getting through a few paragraphs as well. At first, I was thinking, this is interesting, maybe worth sharing with colleagues. But then it became too obvious it was AI written or "assisted". Can't take that seriously.
jmcdl··on How to Design Programs 2nd Ed (2024)
How worthwhile is it without being able to run the code examples and do the exercises? Getting Oz working is a real pain at best.
jmcdl··on How bad is QWERTY, really? A review of the literature, such as it is
Much like a virtuoso pianist really. Tension is the number one enemy for a pianist. It leads to injuries and more importantly, bad music.

This is a nice video of some elite level relaxed hands: https://youtu.be/Ray6knVCsp8?t=115

jmcdl··on Sweden no longer stands out in pandemic, says architect of ‘no lockdown’ policy
There is an extension called "bypass paywalls" that I definitely don't advocate using.
jmcdl··on America has a drinking problem
The fact that alcohol has been a part of human existence for so long might support my hypothesis, if you believe that humans physiology is at least partly shaped by human dietary habits over many thousands of years.
jmcdl··on Learn R Through Examples (2020)
What is the advantage of "thinking in vectors" in R versus "thinking in vectors" using numpy in Python (for example)?
jmcdl··on America has a drinking problem
This is a common refrain but at the same time it seems to be the one substance commonly used across most of the world since ancient times. None of the other supposedly less harmful, banned drugs are so ubiquitous. Perhaps there's a good reason for this (besides varying availability of other substances)?
jmcdl··on Shell ordered to cut CO2 emissions by 45% in landmark climate case
This kind of supply destruction is going to be very bullish for oil prices and oil company stocks in countries not looking to handicap their own companies.
jmcdl··on Five Oregon counties vote to leave state, create 'Greater Idaho'
Bill Gates doesn't seem to think climate change is a problem either https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/bill-and-melinda-...
jmcdl··on The war against money-laundering is being lost
And this investigation published this year discusses the same https://insightcrime.org/investigations/rise-plata-over-plom...
jmcdl··on The war against money-laundering is being lost
This organisation makes some convincing claims about direct government involvement in drug trafficking in Venezuela. https://insightcrime.org/investigations/venezuela-mafia-stat...
jmcdl··on Nuclear power must be well regulated, not ditched
Could nuclear power plant operators be incentivised by using "proactive risk detection" metrics or something along those lines?

I suppose there will then be incentives to exaggerate or "invent" new risks for career advancement, but is that not preferable to the alternative?

jmcdl··on Research software code is likely to remain a tangled mess
Shouldn't checking for bugs be of primary importance. How many times have impressive research results turned out to be a mirage built upon a pile of buggy code? I get the sense that is far too common already.
jmcdl··on Platforms that have banned or restricted Trump so far
Anyone who thinks this is a good thing is a very poor student of history.
jmcdl··on Airbnb’s Stunning IPO
Expecting share prices to only go up and not move with broader market cycles would be quite naive. Maybe the fed will succeed in keeping this bubble from popping forever, but I certainly wouldn't be counting on it when considering any offer.
jmcdl··on The Largest Gypsy Ghetto in Europe – Stolipinovo, Bulgaria (2016)
I ask myself quite genuinely if under the same circumstances I would live like that. It's really very hard to imagine that I or anyone I know would just accept living in trash like that. We would surely all agree to get some shovels and at least clean up the sidewalk in front of our house...right? What stops them from doing that? It seems like a choice.
jmcdl··on Why Enterprise Software Sucks
I find it hard to understand how a business like this stays alive. Really, how?