@old-codger.bsky.social
Has anyone checked the mysterious language against Navajo?
January 16, 2026 at 11:17 AM
Has anyone checked the mysterious language against Navajo?
Taking risks is great, as long as they are _your_ risks.
January 16, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Taking risks is great, as long as they are _your_ risks.
And who do you trust to regulate it?
January 9, 2026 at 3:26 PM
And who do you trust to regulate it?
Trump’s consistent principle is “might is right”. He and Putin belong in the 19th century.
January 4, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Trump’s consistent principle is “might is right”. He and Putin belong in the 19th century.
Has ICE finally debunked the peculiarly American myth that an armed citizenry protects against tyrannical government?
December 21, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Has ICE finally debunked the peculiarly American myth that an armed citizenry protects against tyrannical government?
For a given amount of compute power, I would assume huge data centres use less resources, and do less damage.
If you provided an Internet service 30 years ago you’d have a room full of servers in your HQ. Now you rent cloud servers. It’s a lot less wasteful.
If you provided an Internet service 30 years ago you’d have a room full of servers in your HQ. Now you rent cloud servers. It’s a lot less wasteful.
December 18, 2025 at 9:43 AM
For a given amount of compute power, I would assume huge data centres use less resources, and do less damage.
If you provided an Internet service 30 years ago you’d have a room full of servers in your HQ. Now you rent cloud servers. It’s a lot less wasteful.
If you provided an Internet service 30 years ago you’d have a room full of servers in your HQ. Now you rent cloud servers. It’s a lot less wasteful.
Have you visited the two palaces in St Petersburg? Decorated by two very different Tzarinas. The one from Catharine The Great is elegant and classy. The other is gilded in a demonstration that you can’t buy taste. Catharine, of course, is the one history remembers.
December 11, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Have you visited the two palaces in St Petersburg? Decorated by two very different Tzarinas. The one from Catharine The Great is elegant and classy. The other is gilded in a demonstration that you can’t buy taste. Catharine, of course, is the one history remembers.
They drive _all_ our actions. The midbrain is the seat of love as well as hate, of ethics as well as greed.
December 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
They drive _all_ our actions. The midbrain is the seat of love as well as hate, of ethics as well as greed.
How will we even know? I think consciousness is something that can only be experienced, not measured.
What a current AI is missing isn’t conscious. It’s the parts of the human mind associated with the midbrain. Desire, aversion, ethical instincts. Functions that we aren’t conscious of.
What a current AI is missing isn’t conscious. It’s the parts of the human mind associated with the midbrain. Desire, aversion, ethical instincts. Functions that we aren’t conscious of.
December 9, 2025 at 1:00 PM
How will we even know? I think consciousness is something that can only be experienced, not measured.
What a current AI is missing isn’t conscious. It’s the parts of the human mind associated with the midbrain. Desire, aversion, ethical instincts. Functions that we aren’t conscious of.
What a current AI is missing isn’t conscious. It’s the parts of the human mind associated with the midbrain. Desire, aversion, ethical instincts. Functions that we aren’t conscious of.
The rest of the world is now more comfortable doing business with China than with Trumpistan.
December 9, 2025 at 12:40 PM
The rest of the world is now more comfortable doing business with China than with Trumpistan.
If an image fulfils the purpose the viewer wants it to, why would they care if it’s “art” or not?
December 7, 2025 at 12:42 PM
If an image fulfils the purpose the viewer wants it to, why would they care if it’s “art” or not?
Long enough to do a lot of damage.
December 3, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Long enough to do a lot of damage.
Who is going to stop him? SCOTUS?
December 3, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Who is going to stop him? SCOTUS?
But, if you were to compare the number of cats killed per autonomous vehicle to per manual vehicle …
December 3, 2025 at 7:47 AM
But, if you were to compare the number of cats killed per autonomous vehicle to per manual vehicle …
A good start might be not helping to put subhumans in the Whitehouse
November 25, 2025 at 11:47 AM
A good start might be not helping to put subhumans in the Whitehouse
Surely the purpose of creating fiction is so that people can enjoy it, rather than to provide income for authors.
November 25, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Surely the purpose of creating fiction is so that people can enjoy it, rather than to provide income for authors.
Thing about Polio is that it’s endemic, it’s in the soil. It’s not like a disease where you can contain contagion.
November 20, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Thing about Polio is that it’s endemic, it’s in the soil. It’s not like a disease where you can contain contagion.
I heard that “optimal foraging theory” explains it. In our part of the world insects are relatively scarce and, as a result, you use more energy catching insects than you gain from eating them. In more tropical ecosystems you can catch them in bulk.
November 20, 2025 at 3:21 PM
I heard that “optimal foraging theory” explains it. In our part of the world insects are relatively scarce and, as a result, you use more energy catching insects than you gain from eating them. In more tropical ecosystems you can catch them in bulk.
Cats beware (or so I heard).
November 20, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Cats beware (or so I heard).
I think she could have stood to have been a little more successful. At least rescue and recruit a few Animals. Maybe invent a barrier cream to protect her from her dangerous allergy.
November 19, 2025 at 10:11 AM
I think she could have stood to have been a little more successful. At least rescue and recruit a few Animals. Maybe invent a barrier cream to protect her from her dangerous allergy.
The government has three ways to go. Raise tax, austerity (i.e. public service cuts) or even more government borrowing. Take your pick. I’d go for raise income tax and cut VAT.
November 19, 2025 at 9:41 AM
The government has three ways to go. Raise tax, austerity (i.e. public service cuts) or even more government borrowing. Take your pick. I’d go for raise income tax and cut VAT.
Most work that contains images is not “artistic work” it’s illustrated work, with the images being there just to expand on the text. The author will generally have a fairly exact word picture in mind. It’s great if the author has a big budget and can collaborate with an illustrator. AI is cheaper.
November 19, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Most work that contains images is not “artistic work” it’s illustrated work, with the images being there just to expand on the text. The author will generally have a fairly exact word picture in mind. It’s great if the author has a big budget and can collaborate with an illustrator. AI is cheaper.
How did we finally get the channel tunnel built? The firms that built it went bust, and we’re left with the infrastructure, which was up and running. Investors paid.
November 19, 2025 at 9:18 AM
How did we finally get the channel tunnel built? The firms that built it went bust, and we’re left with the infrastructure, which was up and running. Investors paid.
Not necessarily. Trafficking underage sex slaves was mostly a business. Doesn’t mean that’s what turned him on personally.
November 15, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Not necessarily. Trafficking underage sex slaves was mostly a business. Doesn’t mean that’s what turned him on personally.
Building a word picture is also a skill.
November 15, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Building a word picture is also a skill.