What did you do today?

[Eddie_T]

I'm 2 hours into the 2.6hr interview Lex Fridman recently conducted with Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg is an impressively nuanced thinker, but I worry at the lack of depth in his thinking, at least on the topic of human social connection.

Why would you even care?

 

[Spicoli43]

I'm 2 hours into the 2.6hr interview Lex Fridman recently conducted with Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg is an impressively nuanced thinker, but I worry at the lack of depth in his thinking, at least on the topic of human social connection.

Huh? Dude is a Sociopath... Fascistbook is the NSA.

 

[Flyover]

Why would you even care?

I was just responding to what I was listening to. Offering my thoughts into the void. It's what we often do on this thread.

Huh? Dude is a Sociopath... Fascistbook is the NSA.

I am not a psychiatrist, I won't diagnose the guy. I think there's probably some sociopathy common among people who end up running enormous companies, sure. But whether he's a sociopath or not has no bearing on whether what I said about him is also valid.

It bothered me that he said something to the effect of "AI make you a better friend by helping you craft a personalized birthday greeting for your friend rather than just sending an emoji" when being a good friend means you don't need the help of any intermediary software to say happy birthday to your friend. It's very surface-level thinking. Yeah, come to think of it, it is reminiscent of sociopathy.

Anyway, today I finished the dresser. It looks great, but the drawers do not open easily and one of them gets very badly stuck if you close it the whole way. I'm not sure what to do about that. I was very careful, measured everything a million times etc.

I don't know how cabinetry guys do it.

 

[Snoonyb]

I was just responding to what I was listening to. Offering my thoughts into the void. It's what we often do on this thread.


I am not a psychiatrist, I won't diagnose the guy. I think there's probably some sociopathy common among people who end up running enormous companies, sure. But whether he's a sociopath or not has no bearing on whether what I said about him is also valid.

It bothered me that he said something to the effect of "AI make you a better friend by helping you craft a personalized birthday greeting for your friend rather than just sending an emoji" when being a good friend means you don't need the help of any intermediary software to say happy birthday to your friend. It's very surface-level thinking. Yeah, come to think of it, it is reminiscent of sociopathy.

Anyway, today I finished the dresser. It looks great, but the drawers do not open easily and one of them gets very badly stuck if you close it the whole way. I'm not sure what to do about that. I was very careful, measured everything a million times etc.

I don't know how cabinetry guys do it.

There are dedicated and predictable demand tolerances, in carpentry.

I've long used bar soap as a lubricator, on tight fitting movable parts.

 

[Eddie_T]

The media hypes AI and many fear it. However AI algorithms are programmed by people and AI can never morph into free thinking or abstract thought. The human mind is of wonderful design for example one can sing or play a tune in their mind in perfect pitch. My son can then bring them out of his mind and play them on a guitar. I can somewhat for melody but not with chords.

 

[Flyover]

The media hypes AI and many fear it. However AI algorithms are programmed by people and AI can never morph into free thinking or abstract thought. The human mind is of wonderful design for example one can sing or play a tune in their mind in perfect pitch. My son can then bring them out of his mind and play them on a guitar. I can somewhat for melody but not with chords.

Right, I think the dangers of AI are more nuanced than that. The ceding of control, and the ceding of mental work, to software programs that even those who write them do not fully understand. When we give AI a place in our economy, in our social lives, and so on, we think of it as a simple addition but hidden from view is the fact that every addition is also a subtraction of something else, to say the least. It will certainly have unintended second-order effects whose impact, positive or negative, we can only really evaluate in retrospect.

Take for example Zuckerberg's statement about sending your friend a birthday greeting, using an AI plugged into whatever social network the two of you are using. It doesn't have to be Facebook by the way; in theory there could be an AI that uses this forum as source data, and suppose you have a friend on this forum and you want to send him a birthday greeting. The AI could read everything everyone (including you and your friend) has ever written here, and in a matter of seconds generate a meaningful birthday greeting, complete with in-jokes and references to salient things your friend's life, all typo free, grammatically perfect, and formatted for ease of reading. All you have to do is hit Send.

Imagine a billion people using a feature like that, in a significant fraction of their virtual interactions. How does something like that change society a generation later? I think if Zuckerberg were to answer that question he would give a thoughtful and nuanced answer, but the problem is I don't get the sense that he's thought about that question. He simply looks at the technology and thinks "That will help you be a better friend." He does not consider what being a friend really means (or if he did, he came to a conclusion that is strange and counterintuitive in its apparent shallowness).

 

[Eddie_T]

For some reason the above brought to mind Japanese paid mourners. But other than laughing at the ridiculousness of it all I don't give it much thought.

Today I am working my way out of the full dryer problem. I have to take the whites out so I can use the dryer. I just folded all the washcloths and moved the tees to the bed to fold later. My wife did neat folds on tees while warm so wrinkle free. I just do a simple fold to fit the drawer and washcloths in half for stacking. I keep one of those grab sticks in the utility room near the dryer to make unloading an easier reach.

 

[Flyover]

other than laughing at the ridiculousness of it all I don't give it much thought.

I wondered how common paid mourners really are (lots of crazy things people do in other parts of the world are breathlessly written up by our journalists who fail to mention that it's considered crazy over there too) so I tried looking it up and wound up on Wikipedia, where I read that professional mourning is actually an ancient and widespread practice, though to my eye the Wiki article seems undeveloped and incomplete. (For example no mention of the practice in modern Japan.) So nevermind that; we have paid protesters, paid shoppers, paid political lobbyists, paid lovers...as with AI, the problem is nuanced and isn't the first most obvious thing (though it might well be that too).

 

[Eddie_T]

A real and immediate problem has occurred for me to resolve. Yellow jacket wasps have built in my Ducane gas grill. I am not using the grill but my rocket stove grill and patio table are within range of the yellow jackets. I need to open the grill top so that I can approach with my flame thrower. If I don't have a pole long enough maybe I can cut a sapling that's tall enough to yield a 10-12 ft pole. I am surprised that I didn't discover the problem the hard way. My son was here and just happened to spot them when they did a little frenzy display. There's a family of brown thrushes on the patio but so far one hasn't chosen the grill for for a fluttering/feeding spot.

I think the whole greeting card thing is a waste. My wife would have me pick a birthday or mothers day card for her to send her mother. I suppose that was OK as I knew what she might have chosen but why overspend on a card? Why not just a note or call with one's own expression of love and remembrance. I used to call my mom on my birthday and say happy birthday. She would say it's your birthday and I would respond, not w/o you.

 

[Eddie_T]

Win-win! There was a mock dogwood tree growing in the midst of an azalea bush that needed removal. It was tall and straight enough for my plan. It is now down and de-limbed awaiting my next move. I am thinking maybe a loop of cord to catch one of the grill lid handles. I do want to plan my next action with care and an escape route with no trip hazards.

The pole might make a good hiking staff (as if I needed another one). I need to scout the tailgate market for a friend that would sell them for a commission. If all I did is debark and maybe stain with walnut hull stain maybe sell for $10-15 with them taking $5. I guess I'm just musing, back to the task at hand.

edit: The pole had too much flex to lift the lid. I'm back to the planning phase.

 

[Spicoli43]

I was just responding to what I was listening to. Offering my thoughts into the void. It's what we often do on this thread.


I am not a psychiatrist, I won't diagnose the guy. I think there's probably some sociopathy common among people who end up running enormous companies, sure. But whether he's a sociopath or not has no bearing on whether what I said about him is also valid.

It bothered me that he said something to the effect of "AI make you a better friend by helping you craft a personalized birthday greeting for your friend rather than just sending an emoji" when being a good friend means you don't need the help of any intermediary software to say happy birthday to your friend. It's very surface-level thinking. Yeah, come to think of it, it is reminiscent of sociopathy.

Well, the Fascist part is he and his staff will delete anything that goes against the narrative of the Far Left like if I posted on Fascistbook that the Demonic San Francisco Gay Choir is evil for "coming for our kids". That then devolves into full on Sociopathy because kids ARE getting hurt by their agenda, some are even killing themselves over the gender "confusion"... They deny it though and laugh about it, AKA Sociopaths.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/...d-for-were-coming-for-your-children-song.html

 

[Eddie_T]

I moved the bowline loop about three feet closer to me and was able to open the grill w/o the yellow jackets knowing I was the intruder. They may abandon the two nests that were under construction now that they are exposed. The coons may clean out any larvae if present. I'll check it tomorrow.

My Temu order arrived today which was the 8th day since placing the order. The can opener won't do beer/soda cans as it cuts from the outside and the sloping shoulder of the can gets in the way. I expect that any of the ones that cut the rim from the inside would work. It did cut the ring off a soup can that had already been opened so I expect it will work on my can of Dinty Moore stew.

The olive oil spritzer works fine I used it on a chicken breast filet tonight. The clip leads and other items were as advertised so my $11 was well spent

 

[zannej]

Zuckerberg comes off as a sociopath to me in that he conducted illegal psychological experiments on users of the FB platform. Btw, there's a class action lawsuit against FB right now involving private data being sold. In re: Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation

Maybe that was mentioned here before?

I remember when Bethesda company tried to code an AI for Skyrim. They had a minotaur guarding a unicorn in a labyrinth. By the time the players got to there, the minotaur had killed the unicorn bc the minotaur was evil. Another time a town guard left his post bc he was hungry and went to the nearest place to buy food. Because he wasn't supposed to walk off and it was dereliction of duty, other guards followed him to arrest him and it left the town unguarded with the guards occupied. NPCs looted the town. The junkies also murdered the skooma dealer to steal the skooma rather than buy it. (It's basically fantasy version of cocaine).

Today I slept in. Was sweating something fierce and tired bc I didn't' have my thyroid meds to take. Picked up my RX and popped in to see my friend and give him some potatoes for whatever he was cooking. His gf was really upset/depressed bc she found out her dog (which her ex wouldn't let her take) had died. Young dog so don't know what happened. The ex didn't notify her. He told my friend's ex and instructed her not to tell anyone. So first thing she did was tell my friend. Only details I know is the dog was alive and allegedly fine when he left for work and dead when he got home. Don't know if she was inside or outside. Friend couldn't come over bc he wanted to be there for his gf. She's known to get suicidal.

Unboxed my tablesaw, unloaded water from the truck, moved stuff around, & cooked for Mom.

 

[Flyover]

Apparently the baby deer eventually settled in my next-door-neighbor's flower bed (the old lady whose flopsidoodle dog was murdered by the other dog, if you'll recall) and its mother returns at dusk to feed it. So, a happy ending for the fawn and maybe for the old lady too who now has a similarly-sized cute quadruped to look at, at least for a little while.

There was a time when I badly wanted to take up the oud. I was a huge fan of Marcel Khalife, but unfortunately I lost my cassette tapes of him. Maybe as a result of that technological changeover to CDs, I lost the oud-playing itch eventually as well, and I'm fine with it (I play enough instruments), but man after watching a 1-hour concert of the Anouar Brahem Quartet today I am feeling it again.

 

[Snoonyb]

I moved the bowline loop about three feet closer to me and was able to open the grill w/o the yellow jackets knowing I was the intruder. They may abandon the two nests that were under construction now that they are exposed. The coons may clean out any larvae if present. I'll check it tomorrow.

What I found, in several decades of removing nest from both residential and commercial properties, is to address them in the early morning when there is still moisture in the air, and they are less active. I've used bleach, or a strong hose stream., followed with bleach. However the trick to stopping them from returning, is to remove the small tag the nest was used to attach, because if the tag is not removed, they'll be back.

 

[shan2themax]

My riding lawn mower got picked up a little bit ago, I was finishing up mowing when they showed up. He said they might get it back to me sooner versus later. That would be great. I asked the guy that picked it up if they could do maintenance on it and sharpen the blades for me since they will have it for a little while.

Update on the dying vegetation, this was this morning


I got vinegar on my right hand and my skin is suuupppeeerrrr dried out from it. I suppose there is a reason that they tell you to wear gloves lol

Enjoying the day off today, I've been coloring this morning while I waited for them to pick the rider up. I'm almost fi ished with this page. I truly had forgotten how stress relieving it was.

I work tomorrow and then my off week starts.

Trying to make lists as some wise man suggested @Flyover lol.

 

[Spicoli43]

Good luck on the mower, but wishing them to do more work might delay it by weeks.

 

[shan2themax]

Good luck on the mower, but wishing them to do more work might delay it by weeks.

They are already going to have it for potentially 3 weeks, I just asked for oil filter and oil change and blade sharpening. I don't have a way to get it anywhere to have those things done.

I'm thinking about meatloaf for dinner. My daughter made one a week or so ago and instead of crackers she used stuffing mix, so I am going to try that this time. I hope it is delicious. I think I am going to make some au gratin potatoes and peas to go with it. If I don't make the au gratin, I will just make mashed potatoes.... I can't decide... however, as late as it is... I need to decide.

 

[RedneckGrump]

Morning,
Thank you @zannej and @Spicoli43 ...

@Spicoli43 Thank you for the reading, going to come home after the gym and so some reading... One more day to go...

Talk soon, Kids...
Cheers~

I guess I forgot to send this the other day... That was my brain not working while going through the withdrawal...

So, here we are here now at 4:44 on Tuesday afternoon... Got my drugs yesterday, after having to go to yet another drugstore... I got escorted out of the drugstore after them telling me it would not be ready till Thursday or Friday... I simply asked the pharmacist if he ever went through a withdrawal of any kind, and then he got mouthly, and I almost went across the counter at him... So, went to another drug store in town, and had my meds within a couple of hours... Why couldn't they do that...

Lorie had to go into Ottawa to fix her Mom's new room up for her after her knee replacement surgery yesterday... She was told she could have one glass of water prior to surgery, and I made a bet with the family the other day, that, the hospital would cancel her surgery because her blood pressure would be too high. So when Lorie's sister got her to the out-of-city hospital, her blood pressure was 225 over something... and she was to have only one glass of water to take the medication she was allowed to take, so she had 6 glasses. This the same Lady who doesn't drink water because she was in an exercise class, that fainted and called us to tell us they think Mother was having a stroke... But turned out she was just dehydrated...

She was supposed to have surgery yesterday morning at 7... but they put her in a room, and monitored her blood pressure for the next 5 hours, and when it was normal, they thought, ok, we'll do the surgery. So 1:00 pm she went in for surgery... The knee replacement went perfectly. Got her to recover, and everything was great... in two hours they will release her, and she can go home... The family made arrangements that she would go to another floor where she lives where they have nurses...

But as the nurse is giving Lorie's sister the notes for the home, on what she is supposed to do with her knee in the coming days before surgery, she drops, and the nurse bends over, and takes her vitals, she jumps up, pushes the bed button and yells Code Blue, Code Blue... so they come running in with carts and things... and get her going again... So after another few hours, like 2:00 this morning, they come in and talk to Lorie's sister, and discuss she is going to the city hospital by ambulance. They also told Lorie's sister she is going to that hospital because she has torn tenants in her shoulders, so she can not get out of bed for her leg, because she has no strength in her shoulders,, and all the heart tests and blood tests, show nothing why she went into a Code Blue... But the city hospital will run more tests...

When they went to get her up again this afternoon, she turned white and almost fell again... So she is there for a few days... and Lorie and her Sister are seeing where she lives, if they can handle that with her, or is she going to have to go somewhere else... Then I open my BIG mouth and say something like why would they even do the surgery at her age... she is 84... after her blood pressure is 225 over something, they should have wheeled her back to the car and said, sorry we are NOT doing the surgery... As far as I am concerned, at that age, I don't think she should have ever been a candidate for that surgery...

So, Lorie and her sister are still in Ottawa, possibly coming home tomorrow if they can find a place for her...

So, tonight is probably going to be the Stanley Cup tonight, as much as I wanted Florida to win... they are now down to 3 -1... So it, will probably end tonight... Is anyone else watching it...

Well, I hope YOU all have a GREAT evening... and we'll talk soon!
Cheers~

 

[RedneckGrump]

I'm thinking about meatloaf for dinner. My daughter made one a week or so ago and instead of crackers she used stuff mix, so I am going to try that this time. I hope it is delicious. I think I am going to make some au gratin potatoes and peas to go with it. If I don't make the au gratin, I will just make mashed potatoes.... I can't decide... however, as late as it is... I need to decide.

What time is dinner @shan2themax, I will bring my own plate and silverware... Sounds delicious...