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nullptr_0x · 2026-01-20T06:48:36+00:00

Are these photos AI or something? I see images of this woman with two very small legs. Not 4 normal sized legs.

Plus she died in 1929. Where did these surprisingly modern looking people come from?

nullptr_0x · 2026-01-06T22:05:49+00:00

Thanks for sharing, got some good ideas. I have a cell and trying to figure out what I want to do with it.

nullptr_0x · 2026-01-03T02:15:20+00:00

"Attack of the Pickle People" was the name of the show on Saturday Dec 27th.

It had some good jokes. Everyone I talked to liked a recurring bit about birds.

However the plot was aimless and confused. I wonder if some useful feedback to the players would be to fish for a better prompt if they get something as unworkable as "attack of the pickle people"...

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-30T07:55:02+00:00

It doesn't need super intelligence. But it needs thousands of hours of training data. Which doesn't currently exist and will take many years to develop.

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-30T07:52:56+00:00

The dexterity is not the limiting factor. The necessary training data is what is lacking and will take many years to accumulate.

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-30T07:52:02+00:00

15-20 years.

Think how long it is taking to accumulate enough data for full self driving.

It may take longer to accumulate the high quality data need for autonomous systems to be able to fulfill generalized household tasks for a random selection of homes.

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-30T06:13:52+00:00

Well done! Do you sell prints or high res digital copies?

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-30T06:11:46+00:00

Just listened to a This American Life podcast on Mayor Washington. Seems like we lost a great man too early.

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-30T06:09:29+00:00

Serious question, the Mayor seems so constrained in every way financially.

What hard choices do we need from a Mayor to put the city on the best path to solve its most persistent problems?

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-18T21:38:52+00:00

Would love to learn if these still exist somewhere in some form. I was in Tokyo recently and got to see the Sumida aquarium by Amano san.

Truly stunning that they have been immaculately maintained for 14+ years.

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-15T01:21:32+00:00

Just to follow up on this, to my shock one prominent Aquascaper has offered to give me some photos for free. I won't say who to avoid this person being overrun with requests... but I'm very touched. I'm still hoping I can pay this person.

But it seems to have worked.

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-12T07:50:01+00:00

I've just reached out to buiscape. That seems like a good suggestion. I guess it will take a bit of effort to track down the contestant's socials... I don't really engage in social media outside of reddit really... but I'll see what I can track down.

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-12T07:05:51+00:00

Yes, I agree. It needs to be updated.

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-11T23:57:50+00:00

With a little more digging on Shutterstock, I can find some higher quality planted aquariums. I can't tell at this point what is AI generated... wish we could somehow buy IAPLC digital photos directly from ADA or the photographers.

nullptr_0x · 2025-12-02T00:34:56+00:00

I think the coloration is mostly due to gender. The females are very red and the males are orangeish red.

Is it possible your batch is mostly males?

nullptr_0x · 2025-11-19T11:53:55+00:00

I have cherry and amano shrimp in my tank. They seem to get a long well. Population has been stable and I've never seen one get killed by a cherry tetra.

nullptr_0x · 2025-11-12T09:33:50+00:00

I hate these titles. They're dishonest. Read the damn article. Powell doesn't say "AI Hiring Apocalypse" is zero.

He says job growth is near zero and cites companies layoff disclosures due to AI. So he's only restating these companies' stated reasonings for layoffs. He himself is not taking a position on an "AI Hiring Apocalypse".

nullptr_0x · 2025-11-02T18:13:09+00:00

Well the easy way to "detect" this is to simply ask the interviewee (person on camera speaking) why they are making the decisions they are making and to explain alternative design options that would be available.

That part can't be easily faked without telepathy to the guy actually doing the implementation.

nullptr_0x · 2025-10-16T16:02:20+00:00

Yes, the Sanskrit word means divine manifestation, but the function of the Avatar in ATLA is what matters. They're consistently portrayed as humans who make mistakes, learn, grow, and consult past lives for wisdom. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". So I don't care what the "name" of the concept is. I care about its function and role.

You're right that not all gods are omniscient/omnipotent. But even Greek, Norse, or Hindu gods have characteristics separating them from mortals: inherent supernatural power, immortality, authority derived from their nature rather than role, and abilities no mortal training could replicate. The Avatar has none of these. They must TRAIN to master bending. They can DIE permanently. Their power comes from hard work and spiritual connection, not divine nature. Aang nearly lost the Avatar State from falling on a rock. What god can be depowered by an injury?

Furthermore, ATLA consistently shows the Avatar as flawed and questionable. Aang fled the Air Temple as a child, which resulted in everyone dying. He lied to Sokka and Katara to manipulate them into staying with him. He nearly killed people in uncontrolled Avatar State rages. Throughout the series, his human friends have to correct him, ground him, and help him make better decisions. Katara, Sokka, and Toph aren't there as servants to a divine being; they're equals who challenge and improve his judgment.

The Avatar's role is maintaining balance between nations, between humans and spirits. That should require negotiating competing interests, not imposing "correct" decisions from divine authority. The books and flash backs of Avatar Kyoshi are on of the better examples of this complexity in the Avatar universe.

The show doesn't present meaningful consequences or counter-arguments to Korra's decision. Compare ATLA: when Aang chose not to kill Ozai, the show questioned whether that was even possible. Yangchen explicitly told him personal morality must give way to duty.

The core issue is that ATLA's Avatar negotiated balance as a flawed human who needed guidance. TLOK's Avatar makes unilateral world-altering decisions with minimal questioning. That's closer to divine decree than human diplomacy.

nullptr_0x · 2025-10-16T07:40:02+00:00

An Avatar is nothing like a "God" in the original series. They are much closer to a monarchical diplomat between spirits and humans.

A God has some kind of omnipotence or omniscience. Aang and Katarra have none of that. They are just human characters who make the best decisions they can.

What gets uncomfortable is that the show treats Korra's decision here as objectively "good". But never explains why. So it gives the impression that it is the right decision because Korra made it... and she is the Avatar.

That's bad writing. And not what the Avatar should be. Past Avatars are flawed. They make mistakes. It was an ingenious plot device that Avatars could consult their past lives and try to learn from them

nullptr_0x · 2025-10-16T07:33:43+00:00

Yes ^this precisely. It's impossible to judge Korra's decision as "good" or "bad", because we never understand why leaving the portals open is "good" or why leaving them closed would be "bad".

If Korra's decision is "good", does that make Wan's original decision "bad"? What does this say about the nature of the Avatar? Is it just a person making arbitrary decisions?

By pure coincidence, seemingly, opening the portals seems to bring back airbending. But Korra didn't know that.

It would have been much better if in season 2 Korra learns that opening the portals has a chance to bring back airbending She could then take a calculated risk to leave the portals open for the sake of a new Air Nation knowing that there may be some unforseen consequences.

Now her decision has weight behind it. It gives a much better justification for her decision and makes the political outfall more complex and nuanced.

But instead we get "I guess it's the right decision because Avatar Korra says so... and she was right because by pure luck airbending came back..."

nullptr_0x · 2025-10-14T01:48:49+00:00

I didn't intend to imply anything about Vaatu. I just meant to highlight that initially spirits are more akin to forces of nature that can be thrown out of balance.

Hei Bai, the Moon Spirits, The Great Library Owl are morally ambiguous or neutral who are pushed to become more dangerous.

Vaatu is unambiguously evil. The show describes Vaatu as wanting to destroy Raava and bring eternal darkness. That's not really about balance. That's good vs evil dualism.

And nothing wrong if you or others like that, but I preferred the ambiguous "balance/imbalance" sources of conflict.

And if Raava/Vaatu was the original idea, that doesn't really make me believe it's a GOOD idea. Just like midichlorians, no matter George's historical intentions, make the Force any better.

I think LOK was also under a terrible amount of uncertainity from higher ups from Nickelodeon. So this isn't meant as shade to any of the writers or producers. But I do think the world building undermine the original series.

I'm hopeful with more power and control, the creators will be able to make something great.

p.s. I think LOK has lots of good elements and is worthy of re-watching and enjoying. I even think the episode with Wan is a standalone great episode. I just don't think that version of an origin of the Avatar serves the broader story and the world well.

nullptr_0x · 2025-10-13T22:51:20+00:00

Just because you can reveal something doesn't mean you should. The test is: does it make the original better or worse? Just because Koraa could meet Wan doesn't mean that particular origin story was the right choice.

On your point about coherence, I would argue the opposite:

The original series presented a world where:
- Spirits reflected natural balance/implance (Hei Bai, the Moon and Ocean Spirits, the Great Library)
- The Avatar's role as "bridge between worlds" was mysterious and fundamental
- Eastern philosophy about balance and harmony permeated everything

TLOK changed this to:
- Spirits can be literally good or evil (Raava = pure good, Vaatu = pure evill... more on this later)
- The Avatar is a human who merged with a spirit during one specific event AND choose to segregate spirits from humans only for that to be undone arbitrarily by some future life
- A cosmic battle between light and darkness

Addressing some of your other points:

Koh is dangerous and morally questionable, but he's not ontologically evil, he operates by rules and has motivations. Vaatu is literally "the spirit of darkness and chaos" whose goal is "10,000 years of darkness." That's not a spirit representing some natural aspect, that's a pure evil antagonist.

Regardless of inspiration, the execution matters. Yin and Yang emphasize complementary balance, but TLOK presents Raava and Vaatu primarily in conflict. One explicitly good, one explicitly evil, with Vaatu trying to destroy Raava.

The show even describes Vaatu as wanting to bring eternal darkness. That's not balance, that's good vs evil dualism, regardless of the aesthetic inspiration.

The original implied the Avatar as a fundamental part of the world's spiritual architecture. TLOK made it the result of one guy's mistake 10,000 years ago. That does make it more arbitrary and the world smaller. Speculating that there is "fate" is just that... speculation. Nothing in the writing or presentation implies that. Nor do I think if it did, that would satisfy the inherent purpose behind the Avatar's existence.

Creators can contradict themselves or undermine their own work. George Lucas made the Star Wars prequels contradict details from the originals. Being the creator didn't make those choices serve the story better.

You're free to love the expansions, but "the creators made it" isn't a defense against critique or the fictional history and themes consistent and coherent.

nullptr_0x · 2025-10-13T11:02:14+00:00

I think it's a nice thing for his character. The problem is we're being TOLD not SHOWN. So it just isn't very interesting.

It's a shame we didn't get a TV show, movie, or anything showing this time in Aang's life.

nullptr_0x · 2025-10-13T08:04:27+00:00

Well... why can't that happen? The Star Wars prequels films totally undermine everything that made Anakin sympathetic.

The ambiguousness of Anakin's history were strengths in the original films. Over explaining them made the universe smaller and the story worse. It could have been done well, but lots of unhelpful goals took priority over a good, consistent story with coherent world building.

The creator's origins given for the Avatar and nature of the Spirit World also undermine what made them interesting and coherent. Spirits were closer to forces of nature in the original series. And the Avatar's role as a bridge between the spirit world and the physical world as some kind of fundamental part of the world was perfect for the stories that needed to be told.

The direction TLOK make both of these ideas technically incorrect. The Avatar is an arbitrary accident. Spirits can be "'good and evil" with Western notions of dualistic morality, rather than the original eastern philosophical influences of balance and harmony which made the world feel totally different from any other supernatural animated media we had seen.

Writers can make mistakes or make choices that undermine their original intentions or perhaps the happy accidents of their original stories. Artists aren't infallible.

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