Posts by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
(DIR) Post #AZdgRZSFb5ZGfPpsmm by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-09-10T23:11:40Z
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@textfiles I feel as though there must be a less creepy way to advertise this benefit of owning such a device:
(DIR) Post #AZdikdYImoo6mmsxgO by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-09-10T23:37:13Z
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@textfiles That's got to be a tough marketing decision to justify at the time, though:"I say, Barnaby. This 'horse flesh' business... Is that really going to get the reaction we seek?""Today? Perhaps not. But in 103 years... KA-CHING!!!"
(DIR) Post #AaCVdEgzoTYnFAkz20 by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-09-27T18:27:59Z
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@SDF I wondered what had happened! Still, thanks for running what's overall a very reliable instance.
(DIR) Post #Ai2ypih9iwiEtOMVjk by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-05-19T11:05:41Z
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@futurebird There was an episode of Q.I. where Stephen Fry had some sand treated with Scotchgard that behaved just like that.
(DIR) Post #AiFgfOLzE34umxrgUC by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-05-25T13:19:57Z
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@mattmcirvin @futurebird I feel as though the flat earth people make noises about that ideal but don't really follow through with it. They'll try experiments to determine the shape of the Earth, but when the dead simple "find a long, still body of water and see if the base of a tree on the other side is obscured when you view it from a low angle" approach confirms that the surface of the water is curved, they'll simply disregard that.
(DIR) Post #AiITOBEA3kJrE3XySW by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-05-26T22:29:09Z
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@futurebird @llewelly @sjuvonen I genuinely think that would be well worth writing.
(DIR) Post #AibDgdF9PwIfglHlaa by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-06-04T23:32:40Z
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@stux
(DIR) Post #AiuoBUFqjAOmhw0jfU by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-06-14T10:21:11Z
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@futurebird Silence of the Lambs just got a lot less silent.
(DIR) Post #Aiy7O20VXk5xT3PTMm by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-06-16T00:40:36Z
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@ZachWeinersmith I've heard this outside of France.
(DIR) Post #AjECgv9j1VEUwoy4IK by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-06-23T18:55:17Z
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@futurebird Conspiracy theorists are really quick to believe that they're all in on "the secret" and everybody in the know agrees with them, when actually they can't even settle on pretty crucial specifics. There was some survey a while ago that revealed that people who believed Bin Laden was still alive were more likely to believe he had been killed much earlier than was announced in the news. They want to feel as though they see through a cover-up even if they don't know what it is.
(DIR) Post #AjIfXjjjmhkgEEcnuy by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-06-25T22:37:25Z
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@futurebird If you're into crustacean mythology, I wrote something bizarrely relevant for Flash Fiction Month just under a year ago!#FlashFictionMonth #crustaceans #mythology https://damonwakes.wordpress.com/2023/07/06/thus-eats-the-unfortunate-will-become-a-friend-to-those-who-are-we/
(DIR) Post #AomBhbehEyVFVSaqwa by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-12-06T01:55:25Z
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A while back, I made a Bitsy Jam game about trying and not quite managing to make a watch that displays the time in Cistercian numerals: https://damonwakes.itch.io/hibernation-hassleAlmost two years on, I'm happy to say that I've finally done it! I'd still like to add a battery indicator (and if I'm feeling really fancy, numerals for the date and a step counter), but I'm quite happy with the minimalist look of this as-is.#ESP33 #CPP #Watchy #watch #Cistercian #CistercianNumerals #programming #microcontroller
(DIR) Post #ApyVFkDek7gxzyZOBk by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-01-11T14:12:36Z
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@futurebird I find the most important thing is to get people to understand what "AI" is actually doing. Something I've found handy for that is MENACE, a machine that "learns" to play Noughts and Crosses but is made entirely of matchboxes full of beads: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox_Educable_Noughts_and_Crosses_EngineExplaining how this thing plays a game with no understanding of the rules helps get across the way in which ChatGPT etc. spit out text without understanding it at all.
(DIR) Post #ApyX9Qh0d4KLboPqsa by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-01-11T14:24:52Z
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@futurebird Another useful exercise I've found is to ask ChatGPT to produce a story in Pilish (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilish), ideally on a specific subject so it can't simply regurgitate an existing example. ChatGPT is HORRENDOUS at this particular task, its failure is blindingly obvious, and despite that it'll happily claim that it absolutely nailed it. I find it great for getting across how confidently wrong these things can be.
(DIR) Post #ApyX9Rwzx6i9Vgu8RM by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-01-11T14:32:48Z
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@futurebird If pressed, ChatGPT will likely admit to the obvious mistake and offer a "correct" alternative that's arguably even more wrong.
(DIR) Post #ApyY73yuCMKqXuDqXw by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-01-11T14:44:33Z
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@futurebird Sorry! I put a link in an earlier post but it might have been kind of buried: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilish. ChatGPT's description of it is right, here: having the number of letters in each word correspond to the digits of pi. It's just the examples it gives that are wildly, wildly off.
(DIR) Post #AsdzfRQdKqTQ3CZnnM by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-04-01T10:20:50Z
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@futurebird "The LORD hates this one weird trick (and despises these two weird tricks)."
(DIR) Post #Au9NwyyzgCNYpGXDkG by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-05-16T09:17:49Z
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Fan theory: When the Six Million Dollar Man does super stuff, the dramatic ch-ch-ch-ch-ch slow-mo noise exists in-universe and can be heard by those around him. However, because they hear it in real time, it sounds like a lawnmower engine. #TV #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SixMillionDollarMan
(DIR) Post #B0q40rsiMvjYdYGTJo by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-12-02T13:02:51Z
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@futurebird I find the same thing whenever characters fail to reach for an obvious solution. It almost invariably feels as though the main reason they don't is that the book/film/episode would be too short if they did.Better characters would often solve this too: gritty antiheroes failing to shoot the bad guy mid-monologue make very little sense, determined pacifists looking for any other option are much more interesting.
(DIR) Post #B1BlXUCZo3XZ6IVstk by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-12-13T00:02:38Z
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@alice If they need you to get in touch with "an [sic] Certified Dispute Staff," why would they email the contact info to someone else? And why would they recommend that if they're keeping all these reports secret from you in the first place? None of this makes sense!