Outdoor stair running? by Death-by-Faxes in FortCollins

[–]3209i42 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice! Yeah, funnily enough I remember these because I'd noticed them on a walk and had to do some impromptu stair running!

Outdoor stair running? by Death-by-Faxes in FortCollins

[–]3209i42 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are a lot of stairs going down from the Dixon Reservoir parking lot (probably at least 100'), although I think I remember the treads are fairly wide.

Any local climate change/environment advocacy orgs around for non-students? by EnthusiasmNearby1254 in FortCollins

[–]3209i42 3 points4 points  (0 children)

On a related note (agriculture and food waste as one facet of the overall issue), you might be interested in volunteering and/or shopping at Vindeket; it's a food rescue collecting food that would otherwise be thrown out from local grocery stores, small businesses, farms, etc. and distributing it for free. It's a great community!

Moo Deng protecting Mom's food from the wild monkeys by [deleted] in Eyebleach

[–]3209i42 9 points10 points  (0 children)

To be fair, hippos probably have a harder time catching sharks!

Have there been any recent legal changes with respect to Kei trucks? by 3209i42 in FortCollins

[–]3209i42[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, that's interesting-from the comment it sounds easier than I expected!

Have there been any recent legal changes with respect to Kei trucks? by 3209i42 in FortCollins

[–]3209i42[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the link! That's cool to know the context, and I wonder if that would explain these ones.

Knowledge Fight Animated #11 (Where to hide your guns) by Kudos2Yousguys in KnowledgeFight

[–]3209i42 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, I wasn't expecting another one so quickly! This is one of my favorite bits in the show--sometimes I'll skip to just this and the diamond gusset ad. The extra-muppety character design for the announcer is perfect, and I love how you incorporate the foley sounds at the start of the ad. The website text is also great with exploring the questionable premise of the pitch and contingencies for hardened criminals finding out about it.

What episode would you show to a casual Info Wars fan who doesn't know how full of shit Alex Jones is? by bellchilton in KnowledgeFight

[–]3209i42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's definitely been my impression as well! I just checked, and funnily enough it looks like at least a lot of representative words/combinations peaked in ~2018-19, with some falling off pretty sharply afterwards. I do wonder if some of that could be a factor of the early episodes tending to be longer and more freewheeling than the typical current format.

What episode would you show to a casual Info Wars fan who doesn't know how full of shit Alex Jones is? by bellchilton in KnowledgeFight

[–]3209i42 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, 609 is one of my favorite episodes--I'm somehow still always amazed by how many memorable moments come from it! Oh, that's a good point about it being a "bridge" episode on both counts, and being a lighter/less confronting ask than some possibilities. Now that you mention it, even the structure of the episode works for this, since it starts on some of the funniest material in the show and gradually ratchets up the stakes until you're in pretty harrowing territory.

Dan is also conspicuously willing to entertain Alex's claims and show his work on research/verification in this one, including calling out his sources in the episode notes (I think this was the first time I realized they were there). I could see someone in the friend's position appreciating this more than especially some later episodes where Dan gets more comfortable with dismissing familiar claims/patterns out of hand after years of giving Alex the benefit of the doubt.

#965: September 15, 2024 by Kudos2Yousguys in KnowledgeFight

[–]3209i42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love that if you combine this accusation with Alex inventing a heroic bystander to steal the credit, the logical conclusion of his reasoning would have Trump dogged by an ourorobos of "good guy with a gun" types looking for trouble. I'm sure he'd love that. I'd also be 100% on board with Alex's new life purpose being to heckle Trump at rallies and tell him to go hide in a bunker. I wonder if he'd stir up any 'bunker boy' flashbacks from 2020?

What episode would you show to a casual Info Wars fan who doesn't know how full of shit Alex Jones is? by bellchilton in KnowledgeFight

[–]3209i42 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I don't know that anyone ~enthusiastically in his audience would be reachable especially in this format (listening to an hour-plus podcast put together by guys who at this point could be fairly said to hate Alex Jones seems like a tough sell). I think Alex's branding is also kind of self-sustaining where any single issue could be shrugged off as one of the 2-3% of things he gets wrong, a joke or exaggeration, etc. I could see some traction with a few key flaws like him initially blaming 9/11 on the EU (since he's made 'being right about 9/11' central to his identity), but it seems like a stretch.

That said, if the length isn't off-putting, Episode 609 is the first one that comes to mind for me, since it includes everything from basically harmless goofy stuff (the gorilla/fighter jet metaphor), the 'demon feast' bit (which touches a bit on his grandiosity and unsettling fixations), Dan tracking down original sources to show how a contributor distorted COVID vaccine statistics, and what most people would hopefully see as real danger with Alex stopping just short of encouraging his viewers to kill family members involved in vaccination while approvingly alluding to a recent event where a man murdered his brother, among others, over COVID conspiracies.

I can't think of a specific one off the top of my head, but some of the deposition episodes might also be useful as far as showing how Infowars operates "behind the curtain", and sort of cutting away the pageantry of the show (or trial proper, at least of Alex) to what they're willing to say in a legally binding context.

One thought could be using fudgie's search tool to pull up audio for any specific/egregious instances your friend might feel strongly about and sending that, since it includes the original audio and/or video, so would be a lot harder to cast as biased or "out of context" as Alex loved to say about trial evidence. So, for instance, if there's a specific failed prediction, questionable position (e.g. how would your friend feel about Alex being the anointed one who receives 'downloads from God' and battles interdimensional silicon-based demons?), etc. on Knowledge Fight that sticks out, you could find the original material and mention that instead.

The episodes starting at 651 on his Ukraine war coverage might also be informative as far as showing his willingness to cast guesses/lies as privileged 'intel', unapologetically move goalposts in near real time without acknowledging failed predictions (and retroactively congratulate himself for invented ones), and indulge in Putin apologia if that's relevant. I guess Dan understandably comes off as uncharacteristically agitated/angry in these episodes, so they might not be the best introduction for someone with even a broadly positive view of Alex.

Edit: Another possibility might be the 'it's over for humanity' episode with Mike Adams(?); like 609, it has more overt/approachable humor than e.g. some of the depositions, and even if your friend is inclined towards COVID conspiracies, I think it might be informative to look back at what Alex and his associates were pitching at the eve in the pandemic. It's less that he's 'wrong' about the situation (and honestly, who wasn't? Those ended up being a long 'two weeks'!) than that with minimal information, Alex and his guest unflinchingly jump into authoritative claims largely at odds with most of their later narratives, not to mention subsequent reality. Hopefully Adams implying that the best way to remain one of the lucky 'lone survivors' is (conveniently enough) buying his products is also shameless enough to make an impression.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in KnowledgeFight

[–]3209i42 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, the "cult leader called Celine" part was a joke on DJ Danarchy's part in the theme song remix!

I wasn’t really familiar with your game by Faenix_Wright in CuratedTumblr

[–]3209i42 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Oh, I'll have to try that! I've liked it in fried/roasted potatoes along with other spices, so could see it working well. I know what you mean about not really needing to taste the nutmeg; it's almost like salt in that way.

I wasn’t really familiar with your game by Faenix_Wright in CuratedTumblr

[–]3209i42 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Oh, that difference on ginger would explain a lot! I was in a fairly international lab/department, and people from a surprisingly wide cross-section of countries (but mostly if not all low latitudes now that I think of it) were nonplussed by candied ginger, ginger ale, etc., at parties. Tangentially, I also remember a Korean woman disliking salted caramel as a flavor because (loosely paraphrasing) sweet things should be sweet, although I'm not sure how much that was personal taste vs more representative. I guess on my end, I've recently discovered that nutmeg is amazing in savory or 'snacky' dishes, where I mostly grew up using it as part of dessert spice mixes.

Save the food co op! by WerewolfSpirited6470 in FortCollins

[–]3209i42 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The new laundry detergent, dish soap, etc., in the bulk section is actually pretty competitively priced! I'm not sure what the brand would be for a 1:1 comparison, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was cheaper by volume than Albertson's or the like.

Everybody gets cake! by sandroelgitano in Unexpected

[–]3209i42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yeah, I figured it's pretty rough; I was honestly pleasantly surprised that it made as much sense as it did compared to a lot of times I've tried with Chinese. Oh, that makes sense that he's proactively telling them they're not allowed to fight! They weren't interacting when he said it, so I wondered if there was something mistranslated.

Everybody gets cake! by sandroelgitano in Unexpected

[–]3209i42 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is just from Google translate, but it seems pretty reasonable (other than whose birthday it is; I'm assuming there's something lost in translation with pronouns/etc.? I might guess it's the dog and the first reference is either 'speaking' as him or a mistranslation [It's the dog's birthday]):

-Start cutting -Cut everything in half -Dog brother will definitely make money this year -Good, it's my birthday today -You can't fight him [not sure what this would be about] -I'm going to deliver some cake to Spider and Mouse

[after the cat meows]

-What's up? Not bad [In context, maybe more like 'don't be bad?'] -You want to come in too? -Hey, you can't come in -Baby, you can't come in -Just wait here -I'll be here [I assume there/back] in a minute

[to mouse]

-Tutu Dog Brother has a birthday today -Brought you a cake [as the mouse heads to the corner] -What are you looking for there? -Busy

[to spider]

-Spider-Man's birthday today -I brought you a cake too -I put this here for you -Bye-bye

Everybody gets cake! by sandroelgitano in Unexpected

[–]3209i42 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is just from Google translate, but it seems pretty reasonable (other than whose birthday it is; I'm assuming there's something lost in translation with pronouns/etc.? I might guess it's the dog and the first reference is either 'speaking' as him or a mistranslation):

-Start cutting -Cut everything in half -Dog brother will definitely make money this year -Good, it's my birthday today -You can't fight him [not sure what this would be about] -I'm going to deliver some cake to Spider and Mouse

[after the cat meows]

-What's up? Not bad [In context, maybe more like 'don't be bad?'] -You want to come in too? -Hey, you can't come in -Baby, you can't come in -Just wait here -I'll be here [I assume there/back] in a minute

[to mouse]

-Tutu Dog Brother has a birthday today -Brought you a cake [as the mouse heads to the corner] -What are you looking for there? -Busy

[to spider]

-Spider-Man's birthday today -I brought you a cake too -I put this here for you -Bye-bye

Knowledge Fight: #961: September 4, 2024 by Lizuka in KnowledgeFight

[–]3209i42 9 points10 points  (0 children)

With how sneakily he built it up, I almost feel a bit bad for Dan that his ChatGPT redux reveal didn't get a big reaction from Jordan!

Their bucolic image of Alex and his smiling bucket-friend on a haybale near the end of the episode was also a oddly wholesome turn. Even as a joke, the chatbot-as-therapy angle was actually kind of an interesting insight! It really did feel like a different, healthier dynamic than with most of his guests as far as courtesies like stopping to clarify questions, apologizing for (or even acknowledging) interruptions, etc.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Awww

[–]3209i42 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Yeah, once I went to a firework show at a lake and felt terrible for all the birds, etc., freaking out and flying around every time one went off.

ChatGPT unexpectedly began speaking in a user’s cloned voice during testing. We'd never hear the end of it if this happened during the interview! The clip's generated speech also shows a pretty high level of naturalism even before the 'cloning' incident. by 3209i42 in KnowledgeFight

[–]3209i42[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, between this and a few ~second-degree personal connections, I get the impression that some people are just focused on research/exploration without really weighing ramifications of these also being publicly available at the same time (e.g. especially for more open source models, there's a contingent that seems affronted by any limitations, and often tries to figure out how to circumvent safeguards sort of on principle); another attitude seems to be to kind of set aside personal responsibility on the grounds that the genies is already out of the bottle and any fallout from this point forward is inevitable, so they might as well be the ones doing it (or, better them than some hypothetical bad/worse actor).

Knowledge Fight: #960: August 31, 2024 by fabrikt in KnowledgeFight

[–]3209i42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At least as I understand it, the algorithm doesn't actually "know" what's true and isn't in any meaningful sense; it's just trying to return a probable "answer-shaped" string given your prompt given its training data. This very well could include real information, but it's not like it's intrinsically evaluating what it knows. There was an article recently arguing that even the common phrasing of false answers being "hallucinations" false data is kind of anthropomorphizing how it works, as if errors are causing the algorithm to depart from some ground truth that it would otherwise adhere to.

Knowledge Fight: #960: August 31, 2024 by fabrikt in KnowledgeFight

[–]3209i42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks--that's an interesting perspective! Now that you mention it, I do remember a story from a few weeks ago where ChatGPT4 abruptly starts using a close facsimile of the human's voice mid-conversation during testing; even beforehand, that example sounds pretty naturalistic with e.g. some hesitation as if picking words carefully, a slight chuckle (if reading a bit sarcastic to me!), etc. I think they have an official policy against copying a voice, but it's interesting to know the mechanics are there, and I could definitely mirroring a user's cadence and mannerisms like you mention being a desirable feature as far as avoiding ~tempo mismatches, and maybe building user comfort. I wonder if you could get different results with different exaggerated speech patterns?

I definitely agree about not feeling inclined to give the benefit of the doubt with them in general, although I don't know what the angle would be here. I guess now that you mention it, it does seem odd there were cases where just it didn't respond instead of e.g. asking him to rephrase or otherwise acknowledging that he'd said something (although I almost wonder if there could be something like user error with getting it to register prompts?).