William Pietri
williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy
William Pietri
@williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy
Chicago-area writer, software developer, runner, and nerd wrangler. Very interested in online community and reducing the harm of tech. Creator of @sfships […]

🌉 bridged from https://sfba.social/@williampietri on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/
Very concerning for wildlife! A fire at a weed farm in Minnesota in December. Right during prime arctic tern migration season, too. It surely left no tern unstoned.
December 4, 2025 at 4:14 PM
@ai6yr I don't think that's a correct interpretation of the paper. They say they had humans look at many model responses and then validated the LLM judgement. My day job is on one of the projects they cite, and we take a similar approach, because it's not […]

[Original post on sfba.social]
November 30, 2025 at 10:43 PM
@sundogplanets I think now isn't a good time to change much about how you work, but it can be a good time to amplify what works for you. It sounds like lists work, so perhaps you could create some reusable checklists?

One set would be the procedures you'd want […]

[Original post on sfba.social]
November 30, 2025 at 2:43 PM
USPS keeps emailing me to say that a package is coming from "HQ - ECNS". I had no idea what that was, so I searched my email. Turns out I had received a package from them in February, so I searched USPS for that package id. It told me that tracking was not […]

[Original post on sfba.social]
November 21, 2025 at 2:37 PM
@mariyadelano For sure. the most compassionate way I can understand it is as a gambling addiction:
November 14, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Just got back from Mexico City, which I loved, but I have to share this photo of the worst electrical outlet I've ever seen.
November 12, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I'm beginning to think the message isn't getting through.
October 31, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Even during Trump's first term, if the FBI said something like this I'd give them the benefit of the doubt. But now I have no reason to think a content-free announcement like this isn't something ridiculous.
October 31, 2025 at 3:26 PM
@aj You're spot on. Is the pace of "Torment Nexus" moments increasing, or is it just me?
October 31, 2025 at 1:32 PM
@xankarn Regarding Tolkien and empathy, I just ran across this excellent bit. And there are so many other places where it runs deep with empathy. Where it's suspicious or critical of self-important people with big plans. Musk, et al, have no reading comprehension […]

[Original post on sfba.social]
October 29, 2025 at 5:31 PM
@motzmichel Yes, the fact that you run around accusing people of antisemitism while not giving a fuck what people with expertise think is exactly my point. It's not a term of meaning for you. It's a thing to shriek at people you don't like. You're willing to […]

[Original post on sfba.social]
October 29, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Urbs in horto. #chicago
October 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Ooh, here's another one. Is the tide finally turning? https://www.large-screens.com/largest-tablets/
October 24, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Oh, and I left off the most obvious item of all: the previous technologies that were called AI.
October 23, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Here's an interesting sign. A company that offers support materials for law students. They emphasize that what they're selling is "written and edited by humans—never with AI."
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
October 21, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Too real.
October 21, 2025 at 12:55 PM
My neighborhood is very clear that ICE is not welcome.
October 18, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Glad to see David Simon (of The Wire, etc) has not lost his flair.
October 14, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Another historical tangent from pinball museum research: back in the day radio DJs could buy their humor in bulk. From Cashbox Magazine, January 1979. https://digital.libraries.wm.edu/cash-box-vol-40-issue-34
October 13, 2025 at 9:11 PM
LLMS continue to not know anything. 15/
October 12, 2025 at 10:43 AM
I can't fix the big things, but I can do something about the small ones.

A few days ago I went to the post office to ship something. I put it in one of the flat rate boxes and went to address it. Of the 6 pen-on-chain doodads they had, only one was left, and […]

[Original post on sfba.social]
October 8, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Per the National Venture Capital Association, VC fundraising was down significantly the last couple of years. I wonder if that explains some of the frantic tone of the AI bubble. Those who raised during the boom years need to put that money to work. And everybody […]

[Original post on sfba.social]
October 2, 2025 at 9:07 AM
September 23, 2025 at 3:22 PM
My computer is also struggling with Monday.
September 22, 2025 at 4:57 PM