caliper's recent activity

  1. Comment on Must see touring artists? in ~music

    caliper
    Link Parent
    I’ve never seen that at live shows. If you don’t go to huge shows, I think there’s a very small chance there will be extras. I’ve gone to Common, Talib Kweli, De La Soul, RJD2, but all at small...

    I’ve never seen that at live shows. If you don’t go to huge shows, I think there’s a very small chance there will be extras. I’ve gone to Common, Talib Kweli, De La Soul, RJD2, but all at small venues. Those shows have been awesome and generally worth it for me. Snoop Dogg was the only negative experience: he didn’t show up until 3 hours of waiting, at which point I was already heading home.

  2. Comment on Advice on sharpening skills for career pivot in ~comp

    caliper
    Link
    If I was interviewing you, I would have the feeling something’s not adding up. You already seem plenty qualified for the roles you’re interested in, why would you need to sharpen skills or a...

    If I was interviewing you, I would have the feeling something’s not adding up. You already seem plenty qualified for the roles you’re interested in, why would you need to sharpen skills or a portfolio?

    Maybe I’m just not thinking of the right roles or companies. The way you describe your career so far, it sounds like you’ll be bored in a regular company and role. What would be your dream job and a what exactly company?

    6 votes

  3. Comment on What video games have had you taking real-life notes? in ~games

    caliper
    Link
    Recently picked up a couple of adventures, one of which was Quern - Undying Thoughts. I always keep notes during adventures, although usually it’s very messy. It starts on an opened envelope or an...

    Recently picked up a couple of adventures, one of which was Quern - Undying Thoughts. I always keep notes during adventures, although usually it’s very messy. It starts on an opened envelope or an old bill that’s close to the computer. It gets doodled and scribbled on until full, both sides, sideways, etc. Once nothing else fits on there, some new piece of paper is found to continue doodling on. I’m usually pretty organized, but not while playing adventures. That doesn’t stop me from completing them, so I think that’s just how it is.

    6 votes

  4. Comment on If you had US$50K and had to purchase a classic car, sports car, and daily driver for your budget dream garage, what vehicles would you pick? in ~transport

    caliper
    Link Parent
    I’m 6’2 and daily drove a NA Miata for a couple of years. It wasn’t bad, roomier than you might expect. The only issue I had was being too tall for the seat headrest; I’m pretty sure I would’ve...

    I’m 6’2 and daily drove a NA Miata for a couple of years. It wasn’t bad, roomier than you might expect. The only issue I had was being too tall for the seat headrest; I’m pretty sure I would’ve been paralyzed if I was ever rear ended.

    Great choices by the way!

    3 votes

  5. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    caliper
    Link Parent
    Did you see this in the issue? That would be my starting point. Sounds like an awesome project!

    Did you see this in the issue?

    This requires an imported pd_api.h from the pd sdk that must be included in order to build, what is the best way to provide this?

    You should create a file docs/README-playdate.md that has any information needed to set up the build environment and run applications. Having a step of setting up include paths or copying a required header is fine.

    That would be my starting point. Sounds like an awesome project!

    1 vote

  6. Comment on Privacy woes and autonomy, where do I go now? in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    I hate being the product. I really don’t like all the tactics used to get as much data as possible from internet users. I don’t think we should be used this way especially because what we’re...

    I hate being the product. I really don’t like all the tactics used to get as much data as possible from internet users. I don’t think we should be used this way especially because what we’re getting in return is a shittier internet. I think us users end up pulling the short straw; getting cheap thrills, like AI, but being abused in search engines at the same time. Some companies are making a huge profit from this abuse, ruining the internet in the process.

    4 votes

  7. Comment on Privacy woes and autonomy, where do I go now? in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    This is awesome. I know I shouldn't, but I definitely will be reading this. Thanks for the recommendation!

    This is awesome. I know I shouldn't, but I definitely will be reading this. Thanks for the recommendation!

  8. Comment on Privacy woes and autonomy, where do I go now? in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    Awesome, that's really nice to read!

    I contribute to EFF and write my representatives (as well as FCC commentary) regularly about data privacy.

    Awesome, that's really nice to read!

    5 votes

  9. Comment on Privacy woes and autonomy, where do I go now? in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    This is EXACTLY how I feel, thank you for putting it into the right words. That's what I'm suffering from. It's everywhere. Not just online. It's also stores tracking customers using Bluetooth. My...

    This is EXACTLY how I feel, thank you for putting it into the right words.

    ... now I can't unsee it.

    That's what I'm suffering from. It's everywhere. Not just online. It's also stores tracking customers using Bluetooth. My car desperately trying to get online to share data. The furnace only wanting to work when it's connected to a remote server, which "conveniently" will inform companies in my area when it's time for a service. It's everywhere.

    It's that all this data collection and privacy invasion is a waste.
    ...
    Not inventing new things, or making old things better.....just trying to figure out better ways to manipulate people.

    This is really it. This is what ultimately bugs me most. I always try to make things better for people, help them out, improve things. But as you describe, the data collection is exactly the opposite of that.

    15 votes

  10. Comment on Privacy woes and autonomy, where do I go now? in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    Thanks, and I think it's a fair recommendation. Not caring or worrying about it is working just fine for most people. I may need to work on that. What I may not have been clear about in my post is...

    Thanks, and I think it's a fair recommendation. Not caring or worrying about it is working just fine for most people. I may need to work on that.

    What I may not have been clear about in my post is what really bothers me most. I'm not too worried about my personal privacy, what bothers me is being milked for data. In my opinion, none of this data harvesting should exist. If there was any good being done with it, it wouldn't bug me this much. But the only thing that seems to matter, is collecting as much data points as possible to then sell that to ad companies. It is ruining software, hardware and the internet as a whole. All the resources spent on this, it's such a huge waste. In my perfect world, companies wouldn't data mine their customers and then sell that data to 3rd parties.

    5 votes

  11. Comment on Thoughts on the current state of discoverability and search in ~tech

    caliper
    Link
    At work (software dev), I've been test driving a LLM solution. Although it's terrible at times, it is currently often much better that what search engines are returning. It makes me sad, because...

    At work (software dev), I've been test driving a LLM solution. Although it's terrible at times, it is currently often much better that what search engines are returning. It makes me sad, because search engines were great before and arguably returned better results than the LLM is doing now.

    2 votes

  12. Privacy woes and autonomy, where do I go now?

    ~tech Ask (advice)
    I'm very sorry, but this is going to be rant. One that may seem to come up almost daily, but I still feel the need to vent. Every day I feel like I'm jumping through hoops to keep a little bit of...

    I'm very sorry, but this is going to be rant. One that may seem to come up almost daily, but I still feel the need to vent.

    Every day I feel like I'm jumping through hoops to keep a little bit of privacy and autonomy, without ever winning. DuckDuckGo is my search engine, use a paid mail provider, I try to stay away from anything Google and Meta, use only Signal, ad blocking everywhere, hosting most services locally, etc. It seems, however, to make no difference in the long run. The user-profile-building just seems to enter the home faster than I can mitigate it. Kids install some new app or new hardware ends up listening in, privacy infringement is there.

    The reason I'm starting this post now is because I switched ISP and TV provider recently, but it has been on my mind for a long time. Finding one that isn't owned by one of huge 3 parent companies, is almost impossible here. After a year of deciding, I finally figured it was time to throw in the towel and just pick the least bad option. Yesterday was the day of switching and it has been such a frustrating process.

    The provided router doesn't allow me to turn off its WLAN. I live in a city, so the airwaves are already crowded enough as it is. No need to keep that antenna on, but screw me, that's not possible. Opened up the device to just remove the card, but everything is soldered on the board and disconnecting the antennas didn't do shit.
    It's possible to buy a modem/router myself, but it'll need to follow their requirements and will set me back $200. It would be okay if the rest of the service was great, but here comes the TV part!

    The device they use for TV is apparently Android TV. I assumed it would be IPTV with this subscription, but Android TV isn't that. Booting the device makes it immediately clear they are here to harvest data. It makes me so unhappy that a service I'm paying for, is also making money on the side by collecting data. To get a quick idea of what's being done, I routed the box through wireshark to sniff DNS traffic. It's riddled with domains used for data collection and ads. That combined with the features this box wants me to agree to (location, using the mic, access local network, sign into PlayStore, make a profile including real life information) does not make me trust this device. So I've decided to not play and will be sending it back.

    People around me are pretty conscious about what they do online, but compared to them I'm highly paranoid. Wherever I look, there are privacy issues. It seems impossible to escape from. How are other people dealing with this?

    UPDATE: I don't know if anybody is really interested, but I thought I would update anyway. I decided to listen to my gut and I cancelled the subscription. It feels like the best decision I've made in a long time. It's nice to feel like I'm still a little bit in charge, even though I know that's also just a false sense of autonomy. Suck it, Google! You're not the boss of me :-)

    33 votes

  13. Comment on Three Cheers for Tildes: App updates and feedback (May 2024) — Version 1.0 is out for iOS! in ~tildes

    caliper
    Link
    Really impressed with the constant updates! Congratulations on this milestone. I’m looking forward to the official AppStore release.

    Really impressed with the constant updates! Congratulations on this milestone. I’m looking forward to the official AppStore release.

    6 votes

  14. Comment on Whistleblower who accused Boeing supplier of ignoring defects dies in ~transport

    caliper
    Link Parent
    You may want to update your comment because you took the wrong age from the article.

    The Seattle Times, which first reported his death, said Dean was 45 years old

    You may want to update your comment because you took the wrong age from the article.

    3 votes

  15. Comment on Setting up a pen-turning workshop for my son — need advice! in ~hobbies

    caliper
    Link Parent
    Sounds like you’re already on top of it! Taking some shop classes together is a great idea.

    Sounds like you’re already on top of it! Taking some shop classes together is a great idea.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on F1 drivers surprised by China track that’s been ‘repainted, not resurfaced’ in ~sports.motorsports

    caliper
    Link Parent
    That’s not what I’m getting from this article. It’s not a resurface, which is bad on its own, but what’s more: This is all amateur hour and you’d expect better from a F1 track.

    That’s not what I’m getting from this article. It’s not a resurface, which is bad on its own, but what’s more:

    I think it looks a bit inconsistent. That inconsistency is what I worry about the most—the inconsistency from entry to mid-corner to exit in each corner. If it's variable, that's going to be pretty tricky.

    This is all amateur hour and you’d expect better from a F1 track.

    5 votes

  17. Comment on Setting up a pen-turning workshop for my son — need advice! in ~hobbies

    caliper
    Link
    At some point in time a attended a 4 year fine woodworking/furniture making college. When I decided to switch careers, I had spent about 10 years in shops. I have never made any pens, but I can...
    • Exemplary

    At some point in time a attended a 4 year fine woodworking/furniture making college. When I decided to switch careers, I had spent about 10 years in shops. I have never made any pens, but I can see that being a lot of fun to do! I'm unfortunately at a place where I can't watch any videos, so I may make some wrong assumptions about the process or your knowledge, I'm sorry if I do.

    I always love hearing about kids wanting to make things. I was always intrigued by tools and crafts but we didn't have much to work with at home, so it's really nice to hear a parent trying to make that happen for their kid. I'm going to touch a subject that has always been very important in my career: safety. Please don't feel discouraged if it comes across as a grumpy old man being grumpy, I just want to make sure you're not underestimating the safety aspect.

    Power tools are no joke, even ones you may think are harmless. I've seen quite a few accidents, mostly with routers and table saws, but also with lathes. There are a lot of wrong ways to use lathes, table saws and even drill presses. In the best scenario you'll crap your pants and walk away unharmed, in less fortunate scenarios you'll lose a finger or an eye. See safety as a skill that's worth developing, just like learning to use tools. I've got all these checklists in my head I run through before turning on any machine. Memorizing those and adhering to them kept me safe and in one piece. There were some near misses, and each reminded me to never be too comfortable using power tools. Being cautious and thinking twice is way better than messing up once.

    This doesn't mean my kids can't come into the shop (I still have a small woodworking shop at home), but I'm always there to supervise. A lot of kids 12-18 will gladly tell you they know exactly what they are doing, I know because I was just like that. The truth is they overestimate their own abilities and underestimate the complexity of the thing they are attempting to do. That's part of growing up. That does mean somebody needs to be there to look over their shoulder to step in when it's needed.

    Some tools are off limits. The table saw, for instance, is very much off limits. There are just way to many things to think about while setting up and while cutting, that I don't feel comfortable leaving that up to my kids just yet.

    Another thing is clothing. I have strict rules for my own clothing (no hoodies with pull cords for instance) and the same I'm trying to teach my kids. Getting pulled into a machine by your hair or clothing is a very bad time.

    There's a lot more, but I think this rambling already gives you the idea I'm trying to get across. I hope he's going to enjoy it! If you feel like sharing pictures later on, I'm always interested in seeing project progress.

    3 votes

  18. Comment on Question for those in colder climates: Pellet HVAC/boilers? in ~life.home_improvement

    caliper
    Link
    Couple of disclaimers before I get started: I've only owned this setup for 2 years I do not live here year round This is in Europe Two years ago I became the proud owner of a "serious" pellet...

    Couple of disclaimers before I get started:

    1. I've only owned this setup for 2 years
    2. I do not live here year round
    3. This is in Europe

    Two years ago I became the proud owner of a "serious" pellet setup, at least it is for me. It's a Viessmann Vitoligno 300P furnace that was installed in 2009. It's already a big machine, but next to it is a big warm water tank that can combine multiple heat sources (for instance solar and pellet) to heat the central heating water. This already takes up most of the mudroom space. Behind the mudroom is a separate small addition for a 5m3 hopper. The hopper is connected to the furnace pellet storage through a vacuum system. Central heating water is pumped through the system with a "smart" setup that decides when water needs to go into the tank, or when it needs to circulate. There's some black magic involved, I'm sure.

    I hope this already sets the tone: this is your average over engineered German setup with a lot of moving parts. It took me a full summer to get the system cleaned and working properly again. The previous owner clearly had no idea what they were doing: the fan was blocked, the automated cleaning was seized, the ash tray was missing important gaskets, the tank was shut off for some reason, etc. It really was a fun tinkering project. Now, the system runs faultless and I'm very pleased with it.

    We filled the hopper last summer for the first time. From what we've heard from neighbors, pellet prices have gone through the roof in the last couple of years. I'm not sure that's different from all other sources; gas, oil, wood, all have increased dramatically. The setup here is very convenient: a truck rolls up to the house and blows a couple of cubic meters of pellets into the storage in less than 30 minutes. If we would need to haul that stuff in ourselves, I would probably be a lot less happy with this system.

    To sum things up:

    • having a hopper is extremely convenient
    • when maintained properly, this system runs itself
    • lots of moving parts that can make life miserable if you're not a DIY person
    • I love how slowly we burn through the stuff, it's so much more efficient than the fireplace
    2 votes

  19. Comment on For those involved / interested in Web3, what do you make of the near and long term future for it? in ~tech

    caliper
    Link Parent
    Great in-depth reply! I’m curious, and I hope you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing now? It sounds like you’re not in that space anymore.

    Great in-depth reply! I’m curious, and I hope you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing now? It sounds like you’re not in that space anymore.

    5 votes

  20. Comment on Folding bike recommendations in ~transport

    caliper
    Link Parent
    People are very active on the site and I’ve only dealt with trustworthy people, so don’t worry too much about meeting up with people. The French do tend to ask at the higher end, so don’t feel bad...

    People are very active on the site and I’ve only dealt with trustworthy people, so don’t worry too much about meeting up with people. The French do tend to ask at the higher end, so don’t feel bad haggling. Hope you can find a bike you like!