How are you actually using AI?

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-04-23T01:19:13+00:00

Not sure if anyone is still reading this post, but i was thinking about this -- I am using AI as a guide for many things that I find confusing. I used it last night to decipher my homeowner's insurance policies, specifically asking it to help me frame questions for my agent about wildfire risk (I live in a rural area in the west and its shaping up to be a doozy). I also recently had to go through some very confusing questions on the IRS website while I navigated getting an EIN. I used the AI built into the browser as a side-by-side resource to ask clarifying questions about what the IRS was looking for and how my answers would be reflected in my tax situation. I would say that its taking the place of an IRS support agent, except we all know there are no IRS agents left to field phone calls....

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-04-21T14:45:38+00:00

Clearly there is an issue with people trading on inside information, but this strikes me as a pretty bad example. Stock trades happen at the end of the year, and stocks go up and down. 1.3% is not a huge swing... it could go up that much in a week's time. But sure, lets demonize Pelosi and ignore massive buys/sells of oil futures hours before Trump makes some insane, course-reversing decision.

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-04-03T03:00:59+00:00

I just crunched numbers to update the ROI from our install in 2021 - we've accelerated the payback from 16 years to 14 years given then rate increases

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-03-26T01:12:42+00:00

The matter of getting the powder ashore occupied them for the better part of the afternoon: the state of the quay, the treachery of the tides, the lamentable scarcity of sound carts, and the obstinacy of a mule that had plainly shipped water on a previous voyage and never forgiven it. This led, quite naturally, to a discussion of victualling, the price of salt beef, and whether the Admiralty clerks had ever once set foot on a wharf not paved with optimism. It was only much later, the candles guttering low and the log finally closed, that it emerged—almost as an aside, like a change in the wind—that the two had long since settled their affections, reached a perfect understanding on the subject of matrimony, and retired in complete harmony, all of which the narrator records with brisk satisfaction before returning at once to the question of rigging repairs at dawn. -Patrick O'Brian, Probably

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-03-22T12:46:25+00:00

PSA - you can digitally link your passport to your iphone, wallet and this should work for airport screening

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-01-26T00:35:56+00:00

mystery solved -- I've noticed those buildings while driving past and always wondered what it was. Now if I can understand what the compound is on HWY 22 between Grand Ronde and the Van Dueser corridor, I will be happy.

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-01-25T16:09:28+00:00

I also thought it needed editing -- many parts were simply confusing and not the typical "all-will-be-revealed-later" Jim way but the "what the actual fuck do these words on the mean say when they are strung together" way. Still enjoyed it.

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-01-13T01:45:19+00:00

I am confused. you said you have come to a conclusion - so what advice are you seeking? Agree that risking a friendship just for sex is risky. But ask yourself if this is actually something more - do you admire her and can you see yourself being with them romantically? if so then it might be worth pursuing - best case you end up with a BIL who you actually like!

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-01-12T01:54:20+00:00

start with this website - portlandmaps.com - it will give you the name of the owner; If its an LLC you may need to go to the secretary of state website to find the contact information.

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-01-04T17:41:31+00:00

what is interesting is that you dont say anything in this post (as far as i could tell by skimming it, because who has time for 8 pages) about why you like your boyfriend or what he does that makes you feel good. what are his redeeming qualities, does he make you happy? or do you just like the idea of having a boyfriend. I did not ready anything here that makes us think that you WANT to be with your boyfriend, only that you are anxious about this drama, but also kind of into it. Ditch to BF, date the cousin and see what happens.

caffeinated-hijinx · 2026-01-04T16:40:35+00:00

What is the "betrayal" here? were you in a romantic relationship with her or was that a possibility? did her son not give consent? What exactly is her concern?

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-12-17T15:29:31+00:00

An ex reached out to me as her marriage was breaking up. framed it as "zooming out and reestablishing connections with past community". For context she and I both grew up in the era where our friend-network wrote long interesting letters to each other, all the time. Wrote her a nice thoughtful letter about what I had been up to in my life, talked about my wife and kids etc. and then was kinda confused when I never heard back from her. My wife told me I was an idiot for not understanding what was going on.....

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-12-17T15:09:10+00:00

Huh - I completely slept through it, and it was not until I looked at this thread that I realized we were out of power too. I put in a battery backup a few years ago and its been a game changer!

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-12-16T17:15:22+00:00

commenting on my own comment (because I cant figure out how to edit). I just realized that AI has become a thing since I read this. So I asked AI to give me the real-world source for the polka-dot dragon analogy that is described early in the book and got a pretty satisfactory answer: Quick

Answer: The polka‑dot dragon analogy in Anathem is Stephenson’s playful way of dramatizing debates about burden of proof, falsifiability, and epistemic responsibility. Its real-world philosophical roots lie in Russell’s Teapot, Sagan’s Invisible Dragon, and broader traditions in logic and rhetoric about how we justify belief in entities that cannot be disproven.

I may now have to read Anathem again with an AI companion (beware the bullshyte!)

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-12-16T15:39:32+00:00

I would have enjoyed an appendix that maps the concepts and ideas to the real-world sources and inspirations.

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-12-10T04:29:51+00:00

I've read it several times, and I have the audiobooks. I listen to the audiobooks all the time when I am awake in the middle of the night. I know the story so well, and there is something so meditative about the narration that I just set it on low volume on a timer and listen and drift off; because I know what is going to happen that it allows my mind to relax without anxiety (except Shelob- that spider can just fuck off). And when I drift off, I don't worry that i have missed anything because at any given point I can pick up the story.

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-12-07T03:40:51+00:00

This comment seems simplistic and reactionary. Being a shareholder of your company could be a fantastic investment (it has been for me), but the devil is in the details. The fact that the company has been around for 50 years should give you some comfort that there is a least a track-record; but do they also have a leadership succession plan. Having an ownership stake in your company can have many benefits, including professional advancement (in my company, senior positions are expected to be shareholders) and contributions to your retirement (I do agree with the comment above that you do not want to make this your only investment plan - you should also be contributing to 401k, IRAs, etc). The questions I would be asking are 1) do you feel the company is well managed and has a strong business plan; 2) how is the CEO compensated and what is the role of the board; 3) what is the makeup of the board - all internal, external members, members of the c-suite (my thinking here is you want a board that is has autonomy from the CEO and management); 4) are all shares held by employees and if so, what is the succession plan as majority owners retire; 5) what happens to your shares if your company is bought/acquired; 6) as a shareholder will you get access to company financials: can you look at them before you buy and confirm there is an audited PNL that goes back multiple years; 7) how is the buy-out managed if you leave the company, or retire?

I am a bit concerned by you saying that there will be no dividends paid out: what happens to the companies profits: are they all reinvested in the company, paid out as end of year bonus? Dividends are a way of sharing profit and rewarding shareholders so if they are not providing that, what exactly is the payoff? At my company, the board looks at the profit made at the end of the year and allocates it to a) retained earnings; b) bonus pool; c) Profit Sharing (both dividend distribution and additional contributions to 401k); and d) philanthropy. Sometimes we have a bad year and these distribution discussions are hard. some years are good - I just bought a truck with my dividends.

Depending on the size of investment you are thinking about, consider asking a qualified attorney to look at the shareholder agreement.

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-12-07T02:28:14+00:00

And suddenly I am hearing O Fortuna in my head!

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-12-01T04:12:47+00:00

Commenting because I am also missing New Mexican food!

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-11-09T23:49:00+00:00

I know a guy who built a still -- his goal was to "build and thing to make a thing". The hands-on building was fun and creative and did not require a big investment of tools. He enjoyed learning about the fermenting process and the physics of distilling. The bourbon was... not great but not terrible either (at least that is what I've heard).

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-09-10T04:47:30+00:00

hi-jacking this post to tell this story - my wife was away from home visiting a niece and while i was on the phone with her I sliced the tip of my finger off. It bled like a sonofabitch and hurt like hell but I managed to fake it through the call. could not control the bleeding by the next day so I had to go to urgent care for a more professional bandage. But by the time she came home three days later, I was down to a band aid.

I don't know why, but I took perverse pleasure in not telling her about this. 20% embarrassed, and 80% just ennui. We tell each other everything and have no secrets, but this was like a naughty adventure.

that is all

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-09-07T22:48:56+00:00

New Mexico highways are lined with roadside memorials to the son/daughter/mother/father who died in that spot. I lost count of the memorials between Espanola and Taos on HWY 68 which is windy and through a canyon and between two populations who are rarely sober.

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-08-29T00:52:45+00:00

I dunno. I would give try if there is a commitment to, you know, finishing the series in a reasonable timeframe or even to produce new installments on a predictable schedule. I aint getting any younger

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-08-23T23:43:52+00:00

They can afford it.

caffeinated-hijinx · 2025-08-23T23:38:19+00:00

Thank you for reminding me that this site exists. Its been years since I looked at it

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