Firas D
@firasd.bsky.social
Bach calling his work ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’ is like if Alicia Keys named her album ‘Songs in A Minor’—oh, wait…
May 20, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Bach calling his work ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’ is like if Alicia Keys named her album ‘Songs in A Minor’—oh, wait…
Pinterest is really underrated as a tech company (probably because of the gender skew of users). 500 million monthly active users, pervasive machine learning throughout the app, analytics tools for creators...
February 21, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Pinterest is really underrated as a tech company (probably because of the gender skew of users). 500 million monthly active users, pervasive machine learning throughout the app, analytics tools for creators...
Microwave ovens are exactly the kind of bonkers ideas that came out of the early 20th century. "What if we heat the water molecules by sending energy rays through the food"
It's surprising that it didn't end up problematic like the other bright ideas (radioactive paint etc)
It's surprising that it didn't end up problematic like the other bright ideas (radioactive paint etc)
February 19, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Microwave ovens are exactly the kind of bonkers ideas that came out of the early 20th century. "What if we heat the water molecules by sending energy rays through the food"
It's surprising that it didn't end up problematic like the other bright ideas (radioactive paint etc)
It's surprising that it didn't end up problematic like the other bright ideas (radioactive paint etc)
Accidentally left my Bluesky active user tracker on and it calculated 6 million users over a week (probably an undercount)
December 10, 2024 at 8:17 AM
Accidentally left my Bluesky active user tracker on and it calculated 6 million users over a week (probably an undercount)
The culturally mediated nature of whether bare feet or shoes are seen as 'cleaner' is so interesting and filters down to everything
eg. Shoes are a big part of ballet dancing but Bharatanatyam in India is barefoot
eg. Shoes are a big part of ballet dancing but Bharatanatyam in India is barefoot
December 4, 2024 at 10:56 AM
The culturally mediated nature of whether bare feet or shoes are seen as 'cleaner' is so interesting and filters down to everything
eg. Shoes are a big part of ballet dancing but Bharatanatyam in India is barefoot
eg. Shoes are a big part of ballet dancing but Bharatanatyam in India is barefoot
Just realized Bluesky was not just spun off from ‘Old Twitter’ but also retains some branding: Twitter Premium used to be called Twitter Blue cause it was the color theme in the logo etc
December 4, 2024 at 10:56 AM
Just realized Bluesky was not just spun off from ‘Old Twitter’ but also retains some branding: Twitter Premium used to be called Twitter Blue cause it was the color theme in the logo etc
Interesting to think about female-audience artists and the breakdown of their male fans
Like (my estimates/perception):
Fiona Apple: many straight male fans
Beyonce: mostly gay male fans
Taylor Swift: negligible male fans
Same distinction with Lil Kim (had straight male listeners) vs Nicki Minaj
Like (my estimates/perception):
Fiona Apple: many straight male fans
Beyonce: mostly gay male fans
Taylor Swift: negligible male fans
Same distinction with Lil Kim (had straight male listeners) vs Nicki Minaj
December 4, 2024 at 10:55 AM
Interesting to think about female-audience artists and the breakdown of their male fans
Like (my estimates/perception):
Fiona Apple: many straight male fans
Beyonce: mostly gay male fans
Taylor Swift: negligible male fans
Same distinction with Lil Kim (had straight male listeners) vs Nicki Minaj
Like (my estimates/perception):
Fiona Apple: many straight male fans
Beyonce: mostly gay male fans
Taylor Swift: negligible male fans
Same distinction with Lil Kim (had straight male listeners) vs Nicki Minaj
A deceptive thing about chess is that skill levels are not necessarily equivalent to difficulty levels
Like early queen attacks are a low-skill move but if you don't respond properly, suddenly it doesn't matter how much better you are than the opponent... it's over
Like early queen attacks are a low-skill move but if you don't respond properly, suddenly it doesn't matter how much better you are than the opponent... it's over
December 4, 2024 at 10:54 AM
A deceptive thing about chess is that skill levels are not necessarily equivalent to difficulty levels
Like early queen attacks are a low-skill move but if you don't respond properly, suddenly it doesn't matter how much better you are than the opponent... it's over
Like early queen attacks are a low-skill move but if you don't respond properly, suddenly it doesn't matter how much better you are than the opponent... it's over
Love this — 'ClearSky .app' (which shows blocks on Bluesky) has a tabbed interface on the side like a paper folder. I've thought of making this interface before
December 4, 2024 at 10:53 AM
Love this — 'ClearSky .app' (which shows blocks on Bluesky) has a tabbed interface on the side like a paper folder. I've thought of making this interface before
This cushion came back from dry cleaning with a plastic wrap and I still haven't taken the plastic off. I am turning into my parents
November 25, 2024 at 11:12 AM
This cushion came back from dry cleaning with a plastic wrap and I still haven't taken the plastic off. I am turning into my parents
Making a Bluesky Firehose Metrics viewer.
Interestingly I had to update it to React (client-side only, no nodejs) because it's genuinely useful for reducing CPU usage and increasing usability when updating a webpage continuously like this
Interestingly I had to update it to React (client-side only, no nodejs) because it's genuinely useful for reducing CPU usage and increasing usability when updating a webpage continuously like this
November 24, 2024 at 2:51 PM
Making a Bluesky Firehose Metrics viewer.
Interestingly I had to update it to React (client-side only, no nodejs) because it's genuinely useful for reducing CPU usage and increasing usability when updating a webpage continuously like this
Interestingly I had to update it to React (client-side only, no nodejs) because it's genuinely useful for reducing CPU usage and increasing usability when updating a webpage continuously like this
Bluesky 24 hour activity:
Interacting Users (like, follow etc): 3.3 million
Posting Users: 1 million
Interacting Users (like, follow etc): 3.3 million
Posting Users: 1 million
Did some sampling of the Bluesky firehose (so it's probably an undercount)
All active users in the past hour: 293k
Active posters in the past hour: 74k
All active users in the past hour: 293k
Active posters in the past hour: 74k
November 24, 2024 at 8:40 AM
Bluesky 24 hour activity:
Interacting Users (like, follow etc): 3.3 million
Posting Users: 1 million
Interacting Users (like, follow etc): 3.3 million
Posting Users: 1 million
The biggest 'lifts' in increasing American welfare now is less-sexy stuff like Build More Apartments and Allow OTC Glasses while people like Joe Rogan want to hear 2005-era stuff like Monsanto Is The Villain
November 24, 2024 at 3:43 AM
The biggest 'lifts' in increasing American welfare now is less-sexy stuff like Build More Apartments and Allow OTC Glasses while people like Joe Rogan want to hear 2005-era stuff like Monsanto Is The Villain
Thinking about how the 'hipster' era coincided with the recession. But actually the trend towards stuff like gourmet cupcakes was already underway (and perhaps the recession meant a lot of people available to work for min wage at craft beer and axe throwing establishments etc)
November 24, 2024 at 3:18 AM
Thinking about how the 'hipster' era coincided with the recession. But actually the trend towards stuff like gourmet cupcakes was already underway (and perhaps the recession meant a lot of people available to work for min wage at craft beer and axe throwing establishments etc)
Did some sampling of the Bluesky firehose (so it's probably an undercount)
All active users in the past hour: 293k
Active posters in the past hour: 74k
All active users in the past hour: 293k
Active posters in the past hour: 74k
November 23, 2024 at 7:45 AM
Did some sampling of the Bluesky firehose (so it's probably an undercount)
All active users in the past hour: 293k
Active posters in the past hour: 74k
All active users in the past hour: 293k
Active posters in the past hour: 74k
Based on how the Google models are performing, training on Youtube transcripts isn't turning out to be as useful as I'd have thought... I guess it gets down to quantity vs quality of data for providing info about the world and reasoning ability
Completions for "Hello friends,"
Llama 3.1:
"I am back with another post. Today I will be sharing my experience of visiting the famous and beautiful"
Gemma 2:
"welcome to my channel. In this video we will learn about the concept of inheritance in Java programming language"
Llama 3.1:
"I am back with another post. Today I will be sharing my experience of visiting the famous and beautiful"
Gemma 2:
"welcome to my channel. In this video we will learn about the concept of inheritance in Java programming language"
November 22, 2024 at 1:58 PM
Based on how the Google models are performing, training on Youtube transcripts isn't turning out to be as useful as I'd have thought... I guess it gets down to quantity vs quality of data for providing info about the world and reasoning ability
Completions for "Hello friends,"
Llama 3.1:
"I am back with another post. Today I will be sharing my experience of visiting the famous and beautiful"
Gemma 2:
"welcome to my channel. In this video we will learn about the concept of inheritance in Java programming language"
Llama 3.1:
"I am back with another post. Today I will be sharing my experience of visiting the famous and beautiful"
Gemma 2:
"welcome to my channel. In this video we will learn about the concept of inheritance in Java programming language"
November 22, 2024 at 1:57 PM
Completions for "Hello friends,"
Llama 3.1:
"I am back with another post. Today I will be sharing my experience of visiting the famous and beautiful"
Gemma 2:
"welcome to my channel. In this video we will learn about the concept of inheritance in Java programming language"
Llama 3.1:
"I am back with another post. Today I will be sharing my experience of visiting the famous and beautiful"
Gemma 2:
"welcome to my channel. In this video we will learn about the concept of inheritance in Java programming language"
A late example of 'modernism' is how sitcoms like The Office reducing viewpoints to a 'single camera' enabled meta creativity like the characters talking to the viewer. Basically the camera becomes a character because there is no live audience or reaction shots etc
November 22, 2024 at 9:21 AM
A late example of 'modernism' is how sitcoms like The Office reducing viewpoints to a 'single camera' enabled meta creativity like the characters talking to the viewer. Basically the camera becomes a character because there is no live audience or reaction shots etc
I wonder how much of the anti-selling-out ethos of the early 90s was because a lot of 'culture' was genuinely bad. Sentimental made for TV movies garnering huge ratings. And in the cinema, unnecessary sequels (was there really a need for 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III')
November 21, 2024 at 3:48 AM
I wonder how much of the anti-selling-out ethos of the early 90s was because a lot of 'culture' was genuinely bad. Sentimental made for TV movies garnering huge ratings. And in the cinema, unnecessary sequels (was there really a need for 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III')
One way BlueSky is reminiscent of Old Twitter is that a lot of the feed is one-liners, pop culture jokes
November 16, 2024 at 6:43 AM
One way BlueSky is reminiscent of Old Twitter is that a lot of the feed is one-liners, pop culture jokes