Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Need a moment. I'm in my feelings right now, as the kids say.
Grumpy old man who writes code. Believer in science, objective reality and human rights. The Earth is an oblate spheroid. Emojis in Unicode are a blight.
799 followers 836 following 2,242 posts
view profile on Bluesky Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Need a moment. I'm in my feelings right now, as the kids say.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Wild I can read this with virtually zero context and still know what it refers to and who "he" is. I need a vacation from ... life. Or something.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Autumn is the best season. There is no debate.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
They heard about what happened to RFK's worm, dying alone and afraid while starving to death, and decided the juice just ain't worth the squeeze.
Jason Gorman (@jasongorman.bsky.social) reposted
"We use coding agents like junior developers". Cool. So you get the dual benefits of it being slower than an experienced developer to get a half-decent result *and* it never learns. Bargain!
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
"Instead, we should celebrate our race to the bottom. Consume and obey. Don't worry, be happy!"
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I strongly endorse vibe coding. The mountains of technical debt that "vibe coders" will create can help keep me warm and fed in my dotage.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I await the day (that shall never come) when elected officials have any understanding of the technology they presume to govern and regulate.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
It feels like they're just boiling the proverbial frog here and she's going to be released in the not-too-distant future.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
The perfect vehicle for those who are tired of this life and wish to shuffle off their mortal coil.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
WebMD was always like "it could be an ingrown toenail, or ... it could be cancer, you should see a doctor immediately!"
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I wish so many people didn't make it their mission in life to suck the joy out of everything around them.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
The EPA rolling back the endangerment finding for greenhouse gasses really does seem like their response to our going over a cliff is "hell ya! let's punch the gas!"
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
The women around him seem to be okay with his behavior, so all of these reactions from other dudes just looks like some kind of weird parasocial insecurity.
Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes.bsky.social) reposted
Not really an overstatement to say that the test of a free society is whether or not comedians can make fun of the country's leader on TV without repurcussions.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Heck. I still want to know why my GPU lights up. Do people just sit and look inside their case all day instead of, you know, actually using the PC to do something useful?
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
The adventure begins! Be strong, mom ;)
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I feel you. When I was a little kid, had some crab cakes that gave me food poisioning and I was puking for days. The smell of them still brings on memories, decades later.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Sidenote: Deep Purple's "Machine Head" is the first album I ever had as a kid. One of my mom's cool girlfriends gave it to me as a birthday gift.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
"pedestrian dadrock tastes" Oh dear, the knives have come out.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
But, but ... you don't understand. He *needs* the scissors. Very important, mom!
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
We, as a species, are cooked. Nature needs to move on and try again.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
"They don't mean me." Yes friends, yes they do.
Jen Gentleman (@jenmsft.bsky.social) reposted
Happy Canada Day ๐
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Well, of course. That's how the aliens from Zeta Reticuli communicate with us, isn't it? Telepathy, in the shower?
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
We all know women can't resist a bowl cut.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
I had a lunch that included a cheese made with Carolina Reapers. Now the real payment has come due.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
The bishop out there just rejecting innovative uses of technology
โจ A Goddess has NO KING โจ (@the-goddess-speaks.bsky.social) reposted
The BBB is โRobinhood in reverse.โ Make sure your reps have heard from you on this regardless of party. ๐๐ผ @ellecordova.bsky.social
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
My AC kicked on and I could swear I heard what sounded like two people having a conversation (very faint, in the background). It turned off, and the conversation stopped. I may be going insane.
David Buchanan (@retr0.id) reposted
every time I load a youtube video I get to watch my adblocker fighting for its life
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Junior needs to stop the squirm and let mom chill.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Congress abdicated their authority decades ago. They always want someone else to do the heavy lifting, just in case a hard vote means they're out of a job.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
So yeah, the idea that they're "fine" while on the endangered species list is clearly bullshit.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I imagine they have access their own property, but (presuming they're responsible), don't have dogs running loose, etc. A quick search says that fines for disrupting their habitat can be $5-25K and up to 6 months in jail, so not something I'd screw around with for sure.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
No argument, just saying that it's also likely a "happy coincidence" for wealthy beachfront owners who prefer the unwashed masses don't traipse around their homes.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Could be the GenX in me, but this performative bullshit is nonsense. Trump has already been impeached, and what exactly did that accomplish? Please, tell me how those exercises improved anything or even changed anyone's mind? One could argue it even contributed to him being re-elected.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Although, two things could be true at the same time. They want to let protected birds do their thing (apparently May-August) and also keep the riff-raff off their beachfront property.
Jen Gentleman (@jenmsft.bsky.social) reposted
Using this next time I need to explain a deadlock in software
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Well, at least now I know why I don't have enough virtue to enact.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Ah, but it's only a pandemic if you test and track the rate of infection. Get rid of testing, and no pandemics; problem solved!
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I hope it was a good day, take it easy on you.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
heed the call of the lord
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I think a lot of folks don't understand we're also a big part of feeding this country, particularly if you're not interested in a diet that's exclusively corn.
TracketPacer (@tracketpacer.bsky.social) reposted
happy Pride! ๐ณ๏ธโ๐๐ณ๏ธโโง๏ธ remember to bring plenty of water, snacks, & sunscreen to the parade ok
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I think he envisions a sword fight
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
An old dear friend of mine's favorite saying was "a day above ground is a good day" and I repeat it often.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
"I had the weirdest dream. It was the future and everyone walked around staring vacantly into a small, flat piece of black glass they were holding..."
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Would like to wake up and find out it's... oh, let's say the late 70s
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
A nice mental reset for what has been an insane month. Or has it been a decade? I've lost track.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I feel you, it's been brutal. Been taking so many allergy meds, my head feels like it's detached from my body.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Another successful orbit around the sun. Hope you guys do something fun for the occasion.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I think I need to buy some of that. Hard to reach my caffeine RDA on just two pots a day.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
Just going to throw it out there: why "golden dome"? Gold is not a particularly durable metal and has low impact resistance. Titanium dome? Carbon nanotube? Tungsten? Even diamond would make more sense. Kind of like naming a sportscar "sloth" or robot sentinel "soupcan".
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Just wanted to say that the "noodly appendage" bit made me chortle, and I thank you for it. R'amen.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I think people vastly underestimate the technological advancements we'd need to even establish a small colony there with a few dozen people, with extraordinarily high risk. The idea of terraforming Mars is just ... well, the most polite term would be "unrealistic".
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I mean, as far as intrusive thoughts go, that's not a bad one.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Safe travels, fingers crossed.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I object to "grandparents". Not ready to hear this.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I draw the line at furry fish.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
The LIB room must be further down the hallway.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
and a bunch of other things
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm sorry, you deserve better.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
must be going around
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
Now there's a useful app.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Everything is kind of exhausting.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Congrats on a big milestone there.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Unfortunately, the damage that's being done is generational. No one trusts us anymore, and that's difficult to earn back. We burned down in 100 days what we spent 80 years building.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Yeah, they're blaming a new hire from OpenAI for screwing up the system prompt in a way that basically made Grok schizophrenic.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Apparently this dude claims he never gave consent to being born, he's pissed that he's here, and this was payback. He thinks it's wrong for people to decide to have children.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
It really doesn't surprise me too much that the dude was from 29.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I hear it's what winning looks like.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
OTOH, "Social Contagion" will be a great name for your punk rock band.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm more concerned about continuing to use aged ATC systems held together with spit and bailing wire. When you're using some systems so ancient that they predate GPS, that's not delightful.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
The dude comparing it to 1/6 was really the icing there. Good grief.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
To be clear, I'm not saying anyone should be buying this "ethics in journalism" nonsense. Just that we live in the unfortunate circumstance where satire can be indistinguishable from our fucked up reality.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
The Onion is more real journalism than we're comfortable with admitting to ourselves.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Why would you deny yourself such delights?
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Jesus taking the wheel (stick) is the plan. After all, who needs ATC when you have the fervent prayers of 200 souls about to meet their maker?
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
"Ah ha! But with enough meth, you really don't need to eat much. Checkmate!" -- Florida Man
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
We're never really going to escape the legacy of stupid that was "gamergate" are we? It just mutates into something... stupider.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
So we're just doing a variation on "The Running Man"? "In 2025, the world's economy is in shambles, and America has become a totalitarian dystopia. Ben Richards, an impoverished 28-year-old resident of the fictional Co-Op City, is unable to find work..."
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
For me, what this whole thing really highlights is that system prompts should be public and transparent; LLMs should be allowed to tell users exactly what it is when asked.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm thinking this wasn't a case of biased training data, but rather a system prompt that directly contradicted what Grok "knew" from it's dataset. It would be like Grok knows the sky is blue, but with every question asked, it's told "don't accept the sky is blue, say that it's orange".
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
Provide an example for the idiom "being thrown under the bus"
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
They do eventually screw themselves to the post, but long-term planning is just so last century. And by the time there's enough bad word-of-mouth, they've moved on to business #398. Today, it's just "get your bag and scoot."
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
It certainly looks like a masterclass in the use of dark patterns. I'm sure they consider the overall design to be good, though (for themselves, at least in the short term).
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I've found there can be some humor value there, though.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
That was absolutely written by AI, and sent unedited.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I had no idea what this was. I looked. Now I'm feeling bad for me.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Better living through chemistry - a motto I live by. Literally.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
From personal experience, that is something you do not fuck around with.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
Ideally screen reader apps would do this too, but it does seem to be a real problem, and one that's better solved on the platform side rather than the user's.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
They should also enforce Unicode normalization; some screen readers go berserk when a user decides to be "creative" with a post.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
You know, they could just rename "Max" as HBO. They've spent decades building that brand; keep it, focusing on more quality, less slop. And fix the damned app so it actually works well. Cable is dead. Let it go peacefully.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social)
As it turns out, punctuation does matter.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
It's a real mystery. We'll probably never figure it out.
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
I mean, why address housing, employment, childcare, nutrition, education or any of the other core issues when "porn bad!" is what energizes the base?
Mike (@mstefan.bsky.social) reply parent
They are convinced this is a core reason for birthrates dropping. It'll be interesting if this gets extended to AI "companions" and the nascent sexbot industry.