TheTechnician27

joined 10 months ago
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[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 0 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (3 children)

The quote only came from searching for luxchat on DDG, and even then it led to a login-only page of lux.chat. So unfortunately, I can't. And even then, I'm doubting luxchat and lux.chat are by the same people.

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 15 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (6 children)

I know what community this is, Blaze, but it baffles me to recommend this over Element.

  • The Matrix Foundation is a UK-based CIC.
  • IIRC the for-profit company which develops the Element app which is commercial FOSS is UK-based – therefore it's European.
  • Luxchat, however, lacks support for Linux, the obvious choice for removing oneself from US-based software.
  • Luxchat, however, isn't made by the people behind the protocol like Element.
  • ~~Unlike Element's company, which exists to make money to fund Matrix's development, Luxchat is full-stop a for-profit company ostensibly supporting nothing.~~ Edit: I was mistaken; a GIE is a company (they're registered C8 with the Commercial and Companies Register in Luxembourg), but the type of company's: "aim is not to make a profit, but it can do so simply as an accessory, as the profit resulting from the joint action must also go directly to its members." That said, I can't see anything about any money going back to the development of Matrix, which is still a major red flag to me compared to Element.
  • The tiny-ass website doesn't do a thing to estsblish what license Luxchat is under. Element, by contrast, is squarely FOSS.
  • ~~While desperately, fruitlessly searching for any sort of license, one of the few pages that turned up from their website just read "Create stunning AI chatbots with our 21st.dev-inspired Glassmorphic UI." as one of their premium services. 🤮~~ This may(?) be something different. See below.
  • I can find effectively fuck-all about this company that I'm supposed to be trusting with my privacy.

Edit: So to be clear, they say it's a fork of Element, but that doesn't tell me the license or give me the source code. Trying to find the source code for the messaging app just returns this crap about ~~their~~ an AI service which is just ChatGPT wrapper number 486 billion.


Edit 2: Okay, I think the confusion over this AI BS is that there's lux.chat – ChatGPT wrapper garbage – and luxchat – an Element fork. I have no idea if these are related. If they are, this information is too hard to find. If they aren't... I mean maybe if you had more information on your website, luxchat, I wouldn't have to scour the Internet to find that information and run into lux.chat.


Edit 3: The FAQ clears literally none of my questions up. Cool.

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 7 points 17 hours ago

For a municipal wireless network, I'm not too bothered with how OP describes it if it's accessed through Wi-Fi.

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 24 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (4 children)

>Be me

>Placed by aliens in a tiny cell with no hiding spot

>Suddenly there's a wolf spider with a 20-meter legspan outside staring me in the face

>My mind goes blank as I realize I would be torn limb from limb but for the flimsy bars of my cell walls

>"Quit assuming the human is afraid. The spider is probably friendly. You're just projecting, bro."

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 74 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (2 children)

Not only would the cat stress the hamster, but more importantly long-term is that these "Critter Trail"-style enclosures are not big enough for hamsters. At all. Full stop. Maybe for a weekend if the hamster is over and you can't bring the full thing, but especially for what looks like a Syrian(?), this is a solitary confinement cell, not a living space.

For background before I get into specifics: hamsters' entire lot in life is that they love to run long distances, explore, and burrow. When they spend hours running on their wheel at night, it isn't because they're bored; it's because that's naturally what they do, but in a vast, open wilderness.

It's widely accepted among the hamster care community that the barest bare minimum floor space is 450 square inches. And this is often below what veterinary organizations recommend. It seems pushy and elitist, but in reality – similar to goldfish in aquariums – the pet industry are greedy fucks who want to do everything they can to lower the barrier of entry for hamster ownership, so they market hamsters as Tommy's first pet that he can keep on his night table. 450 is arguably a compromise just so it isn't as daunting to hamster owners who didn't know before and want to do the right thing. Moreover, the recommendation for Syrians specifically is 600. (The 450 figure applies to dwarf hamsters as well; they're just as ridiculously hyperactive.)

For context, these "Critter Trail"-style enclosures are often maybe 150 sq in, or about 1/3 of that (1/4 for Syrians, which I think this one is). Hamsters have to have room to run around and explore. It isn't a nice-to-have; for them not to is, without any hyperbole, animal abuse. Additionally, they need to be able to burrow. It seems like that isn't possible in this enclosure, but hamsters really need that to feel secure and not constantly stressed. By "burrow", I mean several inches of bedding (ideally throughout, but if you're in a pinch, one corner can be the burrow mound). The combination of needed floorspace and the fact bedding needs to be stacked high for burrowing pushes a lot of hamster owners to get a glass aquarium on a good sale and use that as the enclosure (it works super well). Some also use plastic tubs, but this has a DIY aspect to make sure your hamster has enough air.

If this hamster has to live in the enclosure pictured for the rest of their life, they'll be nothing but chronically stressed – quite probably even fated to die early from it. This isn't meant to be preachy; it's just a reality that hamster cage companies are lying to you to make you feel better.


EDIT: Wheel is also – unfortunately – comically small for a Syrian. Syrian wheels are much larger, and wheels this small can permanently injure them. If anyone reading this specific part doubts this, I want you to look back at the picture and, in your mind's eye, try to put that hamster on that wheel without bending it into an elbow macaroni.

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 5 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

I don't disbelieve you, but I think a huge part of the mis/disinformation problem right now is that we can just say "I read something not that long ago that said [something that sounds true and confirms 90% of readers' pre-existing bias]" and it'll be uncritically accepted.

If we don't know where it's published, who published it, who wrote it, when it was written, what degree of correlation was established, the methodology to establish correlation, how it defines corruption, what kind and how many politicians over what time period and from where, or even if this comment accurately recalls what you read, then it's about the same as pulling a Senator Armstrong even if it means well. And if anyone does step in to disagree, an absence of sources invites them to counterargue based on vibes and citing random anecdotes instead of empirical data.

What can I immediately find? An anti-term limits opinion piece from Anthony Fowler of the University of Chicago which does do a good job citing its sources but doesn't seem to say anything about this specific claim. Likewise, this analysis in the European Journal of Political Economy which posits that term limits increase corruption but in return decrease the magnitude of the corruption because of an inability to develop connections.

Internet comments aren't a thesis defense. But I think for anything to get better, we need to challenge ourselves to create a healthy information ecosystem where we still can.

blackbox/BlackBox

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I just don't watch American football, even the Super Bowl, so I know the team exists but have to think about it maybe once a year.

 

Disclaimer: yes, the Wikipedia article mentions this possibility, but I had the shower thought before I went to look up if this was right. I was watching a Super Monkey Ball video where the narrator mentioned the Cleveland Browns but said it with a cadence that sounded like a first and last name. And then I realized.

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 43 points 1 day ago

Just don't let Google kill JPEG XL.

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 43 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Any stray pixel in a (EDIT: exported) LaTeX document is a confirmed skill issue.

Text rotated 90° clockwise and only occupies the left 1/3 of the page in an MS Word document whose pages are all numbered '2'? Default assumption is "not your fault."

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

This is an ad for a proofreading service, so nominally it's meant for you to use in formal writing. In that context, only a small proportion of these words are "fancy".

That said, a thesaurus is best used for remembering words you already know, i.e. not like shown here. Careful use of a thesaurus to find new words provided you research them first – e.g. look them up on Wiktionary (bang !wt on DuckDuckGo) to see example sentences, etymologies, pronunciations, possible other meanings, usage context (e.g. slang, archaic, jargon), etc. – can work, but if you're already writing something, just stick to what you know unless it's dire. You should make an effort to learn words over time as they come up in appropriate contexts rather than memorizing them as replacements for other words; this infographic offers a shortcut that's probably harder and less accurate than actually learning.

A one-night stand with a word you found in the thesaurus is going to alienate people who don't know what it means and probably make you look like a jackass to those who do.

 

It's baaaaack!

 

Context: I usually don't follow a recipe and just make things ad hoc with a generic set of (usually shelf-stable) ingredients I keep. I just mixed together the following:

  • Quinoa
  • Vegetable broth
  • A Mediterranean seasoning mix I combined myself from like 20 herbs and spices
  • A light drizzle of olive oil
  • A handful of grape leaves
  • About a spoonful of pomegranate molasses (never saw this ingredient before but found it on a good sale; shockingly versatile)
  • About a spoonful of mango/peach jam (don't ask; I choose minor ingredients like a pregnant person)

It tastes good, but it's very homogenous flavor-wise, texture-wise, and nutrient-wise. Mainly I'm thinking of solid ingredients. Avocado? I had none on hand, but maybe next time. If I liked olives more, they'd go well with the grape leaves and Mediterranean spices to make it sort of Greek. I have a tomato, but I didn't add it; maybe I was wrong? Vegan feta exists, but I didn't like feta when I ate animal products. I bet falafel would work nicely, but I have no way to make them. The sweet ingredients already in the recipe don't make the dish taste "sweet"; they just add a bit of background flavor, and I don't want anything too sweet in it after those (except a squeeze of citrus juice which I didn't have on hand). I think white wine would be good, but I never drink, so a lot goes to waste if I use it for cooking. Lastly, I'm thinking I want the dish to be hot instead of chilled, but that's probably a stupid idea.

TL;DR: Having writer's block in finishing a potentially decent recipe; I feel like I want to go in a Greek direction, but I have little experience with making Greek food.

 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28780534

Nine people killed after car plows into crowd at Vancouver Filipino festival

A driver plowed a car into a crowd at a street festival celebrating Filipino heritage in Vancouver on Saturday night, killing at least nine people and injuring others.

Some of those attending the festival helped arrest the suspect at the scene, who police identified as a 30-year-old man.

...

“It’s something you don’t expect to see in your lifetime,” Kris Pangilinan, a Toronto-based journalist, told Canadian public broadcaster CBC. “[The driver] just slammed the pedal down and rammed into hundreds of people. It was like seeing a bowling ball hit — all the bowling pins and all the pins flying up in the air.”

He continued, “It was like a war zone… There were bodies all over the ground.”

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