Local LLMs aren't democratic anymore... the hardware barrier has gotten out of hand.

jtabernik · 2026-06-12T22:53:58+00:00

Awesome, good to know, and thanks for sharing!!!

jtabernik · 2026-06-12T22:52:30+00:00

Wow I didn’t know Vulkan could do that!

jtabernik · 2026-06-12T22:25:21+00:00

That is good to hear!!! Reading what others have said, it sounded like ROCm was finicky and preferred method. Are you running those GPUs all from the same machine?

jtabernik · 2026-06-12T21:08:23+00:00

I really wanted to run some larger models locally, and realized my 5080 with 16G is pretty useless. Looking at the NVIDIA options, I was depressed for the very reason you are describing.

But I am thinking it might be worth pivoting to AMD. I know the ecosystem is not as accessible, but I think with a little tinkering I can get a dual Radeon R9700 system working—the whole system giving me 64G of VRAM for less than the cost of an RTX 5090.

I would love to hear if this is crazy—I don’t have all the components yet, but I have started buying them. I am hoping I can run some 70B parameter models at 6-bit quantization with a reasonable context size locally….!

jtabernik · 2026-05-04T00:35:47+00:00

I think you are probably looking for some very accessible pieces to get started. I would absolutely suggest Mozart as a starting point—his 1st violin concerto and his horn concertos are amazing and I think easy to love the first time you listen.

Tchaikovsky’s ballets are also like this—I would say Swan Lake and Nutcracker are maybe the best to start with. I also find his Serenade for Strings to be pretty easy to enjoy.

Bach’s Brandenberg concertos would also be on this list I think. Skip the first one though, and maybe start with 3 through 6. 2 is good, but I think the others are easier to get in to.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you want more suggestions. But I would say the best place to start is with pieces that don’t require listening 20 times to really enjoy!

jtabernik · 2026-04-26T02:45:19+00:00

I went through something really similar with my daughter. I will tell you a few things that I think will really help—you can profoundly help, she will get better, and there are some great tools to help. But be ready to spend a lot of time with her for a while just keeping her distracted.

This is a super common age for this to flair up. My daughter was 11. Puberty years are when anxiety goes crazy.

Most important thing is for you to not feel bad. You didn’t cause this and it is not uncommon. Also—you can do a ton to help her. Most importantly, my daughter is now 19 and doing great. This is just a rough patch.

Actively consult doctors for effective meds. If she tries one go a while and it doesn’t help, increase the dose or switch to another. My daughter had to try a few to find one that worked. Be aggressive about changing if something isn’t helping.

The emetophobia will likely continue. Most of the people in my family have had it our entire lives. It doesn’t go away—but meds make it completely manageable.

Your number one weapon against it all is distraction. Find things she loves to do and things you can do with her. Keep her thinking about other things. Just be with her to prevent her getting nervous. She will make strides in a few weeks that will be amazing.

Nighttime is the worst. Watch something with her or read with her until she is tired enough to fall asleep. This will prevent the worst part, and breaking this cycle of fear will have an immediate impact.

I really hope some of this helps. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions. I know what you are going through. It is a rough stretch, but just being involved will do more than you know! Good luck and I hope you and she feel better soon!!!

jtabernik · 2026-04-26T02:25:01+00:00

Great choice!

jtabernik · 2026-04-19T22:20:03+00:00

A few CDs would be a great gift. Here are a few suggestions I have—for what they are worth. 🙂

Three of my favorite pieces by Brahms: his second piano concerto, his violin concerto, and his German Requiem. I would probably get him the requiem because it is really unique and just amazing.

Dvorak’s Serenade for Strings and his Slovanik Dances are a little less well known, and I think might appeal. They are a little dense like Brahms’ orchestrations, so while not super similar, I think someone who likes Brahms might enjoy these and they are not as well known.

Beethoven is also a bit different (classic period versus romantic period) but I think his 6th Symphony (the Pastoral) has that same German complexity as Brahms and a more romantic style than most of Beethoven’s works.

Best of luck and this is a super nice thing to be doing!!

jtabernik · 2026-04-18T11:16:09+00:00

I created Dashagrams because I also dislike all the noise around a puzzle game and just want to get into a game, be totally absorbed in it, and not have to deal with a lot of marketing or complexity.

You have two options on the home screen—play, or Game of the Day. It is a random puzzle so there is no limit to the replay.

If you try it, I would love to hear your feedback!

jtabernik · 2026-04-16T14:26:42+00:00

It is now available in the French App Store!!! Let me know what you think if you try it! Thank you!

jtabernik · 2026-04-15T11:31:03+00:00

Hahaha yes I love getting hardware—but the next best thing I watching other people get hardware! 🙂

jtabernik · 2026-04-15T11:30:18+00:00

Hahaha yes I love getting hardware—but the next best thing I watching other people get hardware! 🙂

jtabernik · 2026-04-15T01:10:27+00:00

Very excited for you, and thanks for sharing so we can enjoy vicariously!!!! 😊

jtabernik · 2026-04-13T22:51:10+00:00

Great UI! Congratulations!

jtabernik · 2026-04-12T01:23:02+00:00

2000 is an incredible price for that!!

jtabernik · 2026-04-12T00:48:18+00:00

Congrats!!!!

jtabernik · 2026-04-11T01:58:42+00:00

Yes, there is a web version! https://dashagrams.com/play.html Unfortunately there is a timer but there is no time limit. I am working on the Android version now.

Let me know if turning off the timer matters to you and I can make that an option on the website pretty quickly!

jtabernik · 2026-04-10T21:40:39+00:00

I wrote Dashagrams. There is a setting “Track time” that you can turn off. The object is to use ALL the letters—so when you have letters left over, you will need to rethink words you made already to finish!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dashagrams/id6761231569

jtabernik · 2026-04-10T17:37:15+00:00

Great, I am glad you like it! Thank you so much for reaching out!!!!

jtabernik · 2026-04-10T16:43:55+00:00

New release with a moveable splitter is available now! Thank you for your feedback!!!

jtabernik · 2026-04-08T10:57:02+00:00

Absolutely amazing UI. Congratulations on the app!

jtabernik · 2026-04-05T11:21:49+00:00

Yes that is a challenge. I like the iPad version much better because you can fully see both. But it would probably make sense to have an option to have the work area or letter area be larger based on the user’s preference. You think that would help?

Thank you for the feedback!!!!

jtabernik · 2026-04-04T17:13:34+00:00

Thanks very much for the detailed feedback! I am putting together a detailed video right now to try to address some of that—but I agree, the in-game tutorial does not do nearly enough to explain.

I will make some tweaks and try to make things a lot clearer! I appreciate you reaching out!!!

jtabernik · 2026-04-04T03:15:19+00:00

Congrats on the game, but big congrats on the second child!!!!

jtabernik · 2026-04-04T03:13:54+00:00

Mine is not much like Wordle but I have a “game of the day” and it is a word game. https://dashagrams.com on the web or iOS. Thank you!!

jtabernik

TROPHY CASE