25+ yr Java/JS dev
Linux novice - running Ubuntu (no windows/mac)

  • 0 Posts
  • 160 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: October 14th, 2024

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  • “Starting is the hardest part.”

    I’m a technical lead for my teams. We also have a technical architect, but he’s a bit newer than ME and so it falls on me to do some of the architecture because he’s laser focused on a big project.

    We worked together last week because his designs… well they were bad — so bad I was worried for the project and maybe ultimately his job. But what I found was they were very roughly the right shape and gave context for thinking and refinement, and I was able to question things and suggest all kinds of refinement. Mostly all I did was point out things like this data here seems to be in a process that doesn’t need it. Are we putting the generation of two completely different objects in the same component? That might not be good separation of concerns.

    My own architectural designs… I have none and I’ve had much longer to do them. I need that shit version to refine. I need the brainstorming process with a partner to refine — not all of my suggestions were golden. I got push back and my own ideas fell apart sometimes. The end result is much stronger for our collaboration. But it was an expensive process. Man, I wish AI could fill that role for me.

    In fact my biggest complaint about using AI is that it rarely pushes back and pressure tests me. Even when I prompt it to do so it falls apart under the slightest argument.

    Except strangely, sometimes I have it analyze my words for teams, or email, or especially here, and provide feedback. And every once it a while it’ll fixate on something that is my style and tell me it’s bad or won’t resonate or will push away some readers and I’m like, but that’s my style. If I change that I’m not being genuinely me. And so I don’t change it, but it keeps harping on it. “I know you said you won’t change this but…”

    If only it would do that in any other context.


  • I use Suno on occasion. I enjoy writing poetry, and being able to turn it into a song is something I find fun and inspirational, driving me to write more than I have in decades. I could never, ever write a chord of music.

    I don’t share it. It’s just for personal gratification. If it’s super good maybe I’d share with some friends in discord who are super into AI. Thing is, part of a song might be super good, but I’ve never had an entire song turn or the way I want. And I’ve found no one ever thinks a song is as good or interesting as the prompter.

    AI is like the cheap consumer goods of art and thought. Cheap, but not quality or durable. It works and looks great if gently used, but as soon as it gets any real pressure or scrutiny, it falls apart.

    I think it’s likely, if we continue down that path, to be the artistic equivalent of IKEA vs a master woodworker. You can buy an end table for $30, or you can but something hand crafted from teak and mahogany for $3000. A lot of people like IKEA, but if they weren’t around a nice end table might be $600 and be heirloom quality (if not as good as the $3k one). But today that middle market doesn’t exist. Rather it does, but it’s filled with IKEA quality shit dressed up to look a bit nicer temporarily. I don’t know, maybe my analogy fell apart.

    I’m just saying that these things are fun and interesting on an individual level, but I agree they shouldn’t be commercial. We should just make it so that there are no enforceable rights granted on anything AI produces. It can be freely copied and distributed. But that doesn’t help real artists make a living. And their work should be appreciated and respected (and result in a lifestyle that affords them the ability to keep making art).



  • I pretty much only get work my accepting messages from recruiters on linked in. In 2018 might be the only time in the last 15 years I’ve applied to a job through a website, gotten an interview, and was accepted.

    That said… I’m a technical lead without a 4 year degree in a field where pretty much everyone I work with from mid-developer on up has one. It wouldn’t surprise me if that hurts me specifically in applications other than through recruiters.

    I’m also too old to go back and spend years getting a piece of paper that says I can do the job I’ve been doing for 30 years. So… I guess I’m just saying that my experience may not map well to people in a different stage of their career.


  • I hardly go to concerts any more. I know that’s not a choice everyone is willing to make but when I went to see Cosby, Stills & Nash it was under $100 for tickets. Neil Young with Crazy Horse back around '80 was probably I think sound $40-50. TSO was like $120 just a few years ago. I’m not fucking paying $1500 a seat to take my daughter to Taylor Swift.

    But… I could go see Krewella in Charlotte, NC for $31. Tickets through speakeasy, not live nation. Are they fucking epic? Maybe not, but they have a platinum album and I love their music.



  • I don’t come here for friendly debate or to enrich my worldview. It happens from time to time but there are two many bad faith actors to waste time debating with people that don’t already largely align with my priorities and morality.

    Within those boundaries I’m happy to rethink things and have nuanced conversations and debate with people I already can largely agree on foundational thinking. But frankly at this point in my life if someone comes on here with “but what if Trump is good,” I block. Like in order to get to that point, there has to be extremely little common ground to agree on. There is no hope of reasonable conversation.

    Likely some people feel the same about me.




  • I wish you could just buy a fucking tv. I don’t want your shitty-ass proprietary version of YouTube or Netflix. I don’t even want WiFi or an Ethernet port. I’ll buy a fucking Roku or Apple TV or whatever. Or just watch Blu-rays.

    I tried blocking so off those ports from one of my Samsungs. Eventually YouTube couldn’t work. You’d have to jump through massive hoops including unblocking their servers and hard power cycle — I can’t even remember. I thought they legit bricked it because I didn’t want any updates or spying or ads forced on me.

    TVs are just awful. Monitors are way better, but I have yet to find 85" monitors.




  • Superman did, but it’s fair criticism for marvel.

    I also agree, some of these movies get so fucking epic that I just don’t care. I miss the human drama that takes place in a lower scale.

    Not that infinity war wasn’t fun, mind. But now it’s not even enough to just fight for the world, but we have to fight for the multiverse!

    I’m sure Doomsday will be good because the Russo brothers have made all of the best marvel movies, but it feels a bit “y’all haven’t liked shit since we killed everyone off, so here they are again.”

    But post-infinity war I’ve basically only enjoyed the TV shows. Thunderbirds was pretty good. FF was… fine? Compared to previous FF movies, it was great. But it didn’t land for a lot of people.

    But Hawkeye was good. I really enjoyed Ms. Marvel. Echo was a decent spinoff. Looking forward to new installments of the Defenders characters now that the marvel Netflix people are largely back. Shit, I’ll even be interested to see if they can make the Finn Jones Iron Fist work this time. But Colleen Wing was the best part of that show and I hear she isn’t coming back. And the Falcon and the Winter Soldier was so much better than the Captain America movie.

    Anyway the TV shows all have a limited scale and it gave them so much more heart.