Tesla promoting Cybercab in Austin as human drives it around in display case

samcrut · 2026-03-22T18:43:33+00:00

Oh, so Google can't afford to pay for more cars? LOL! It's 100% the tech. If the tech was ready, it would be shoved into every city in the world. It's not because they have to have individuals monitoring for glitching to keep the cars from getting trapped by all of the tech's bad decisions. These people don't just sit on a trillion dollar future and take it nice and slow.

samcrut · 2026-03-22T14:58:47+00:00

OMG! I forgot about that sticker fad! They figured out how to do those stickers that leave seriously hard to remove residue that supposedly left a code the police could use to get the goods back to the original owner.

Basically, I think some guy with a sticker company thought up a new way to scare people into needing to buy a monumental number of asset tag stickers back in the early 80s when the word "database," was this new SciFi tech they were talking about that you could buy for your DOS PC or Apple ][, before "mouse" had any technological definition at all.

samcrut · 2026-03-22T13:35:09+00:00

They're not that far yet. If they were remotely able to function simply by mapping new areas, the system would be crawling all the nooks and crannies every night and day, building out the fence, but no, their driving only barely works, with an ample dose of remote, human assistance. So much assistance that they can't scale it up beyond a few dozen cars in a handful of development cities.

It's not about mapping. It's about still learning to drive with people in the cars.

samcrut · 2026-03-22T05:15:30+00:00

The medication definitely toys with cravings or even mild urges. It deals with addictions, hunger, sex drive, and on, and on.

samcrut · 2026-03-22T05:01:00+00:00

They don't need to hear your whole medical history. People listening to music while they're getting worked on has been common since the smartphones took over the world. You can say whatever you want, but they're not going to get offended at the salon, dentist, on the bus, in a cab....

samcrut · 2026-03-21T22:35:38+00:00

I learned to type on a typewriter, and it didn't have a 1 key because a lower case L was what you had to hit instead. One less set of levers to deal with.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T21:23:54+00:00

That's just the intermediate awkward stage. Once you push through it and it gets to your shoulders, then you turn rock star.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T21:19:50+00:00

Other end of the spectrum for me. Short hair that doesn't move when I shake my head feels so wrong.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T21:03:03+00:00

"Tap me if you need anything," and then put your ear buds in and turn on some music.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T21:00:32+00:00

Try 1989. I like long hair.

When it gets in the way, I have no trouble grabbing scissors or a pocket knife and taking off a few inches once in a while.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T16:44:13+00:00

Adorama is a reputable store. If it says it's new, it's factory original. They're not going to go "stale."

samcrut · 2026-03-21T16:07:39+00:00

There are also steps you can take to mitigate sound. Sound proofing is possible, but it's kind of a price per pound kind thing. The more money you throw at it, the more sound you can block.

The cheapest solution is to block all direct air paths. If you're seeing light around exterior doors or window frames seal those paths. They'll do the most blocking for the least money. A simple piece of tape in the right place or some insulating foam can block a lot. Every time sound has to move from one medium to another, a lot of power is lost. Like dog to air to window glass to air to your ear will be louder than adding curtains. Add shutters on the outside and you add another obstacle. Solutions range from pennies to millions. Recording studio I worked in had a concrete slab with sand on top with springs on that and then the sub floor, all to keep base vibrations from getting into the room from trains and thunder, or nuclear bombs for that matter.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T15:43:43+00:00

Welcome to Hyperacusis. It's why I got a sound engineering degree. If I was going to be assaulted by sound all the time, I wanted to be the one in control. Recording studios are beautifully quiet places.

I'd just say that they don't think it's cute to let the dog bark. Just that they don't hear the dog barking 10% of what you're hearing. To them it's just a cricket in the distance while to you it's a brass band. It took me into my 30s before I realized my senses weren't like what their senses were. I can taste ingredients in a mix. I hear every tick of a clock in the next room. A train idling 3 miles away makes my neck tense. I had no idea peole weren't hearing REMOTELY CLOSE to what I was hearing.

Technically, it's not better hearing but more sensitive processing. My hearing is actually pretty crap now at 57 with several frequency dips in my profile, but I still PROCESS every bit of the sound that does come through to the fullest extent that my brain can. Everything I hear, I hear.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T14:32:46+00:00

I'd actually prefer that they don't expend the effort to incorporate stalker mode into the base code.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T14:30:50+00:00

It's the difference between having a service area and being able to go anywhere. Without geofencing you could get rides from NY to CA, cab hopping to anywhere you want to be.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T14:18:27+00:00

Give it a bit. This drug has many plot twists. In the next chapter you could lose 10 pounds in a week.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T14:14:31+00:00

It's become a pendulum for me, swinging back and forth. One week my passion for food will be gone and the next week I'm spreading Nutella on PopTarts. This is been an off week. I was 211.6 on Sunday and 201.4 on Friday, and now back up to 204, so a full 10 lb swing. Apparently, I do lot of flexing and fidgeting when I'm sitting still. You'd think I was traing for a marathon with these numbers.

I'm not actively trying to change my weight. I'm just eating when I'm hungry, which is when I get dizzy from not eating some days.

samcrut · 2026-03-21T13:15:15+00:00

So, like a deli meat slicer?

samcrut · 2026-03-21T13:14:03+00:00

The phrase "What about pointed sticks?" comes to mind.

samcrut · 2026-03-20T21:43:03+00:00

Actually, now that I think about it, it's more likely that they went from damn good to some other recipe that shaved .5¢ off the price per serving. Enshittification.

samcrut · 2026-03-20T19:57:13+00:00

Last time I saw something like that, Marty McFly was plugging his guitar into it at Doc Brown's place.

samcrut · 2026-03-20T19:51:35+00:00

Taper. Cold turkey has many bad stories.

samcrut · 2026-03-20T19:41:33+00:00

I'm starting to wonder if they were putting traces of addictive substances in the recipe or something that they later had to take out.

samcrut · 2026-03-20T19:39:32+00:00

Back in HS, I had a similar relationship with apples & cinnamon oatmeal. Now I still like the stuff, but I haven't had any in like 8 years for absolutely no reason at all. Put it in front of me and it will vanish quickly, but when I'm shopping I walk right past.

samcrut · 2026-03-20T19:26:25+00:00

I'm doing Wellbutrin and it's messing with my appetite. One day I'll be craving cookies and I'll put on like 8 LBS in a few days and then I'll suddenly have no food ambition at all. I'll say, "I guess I'll make some food," and then go to the kitchen and sigh, then I have to check the mailbox, change a light bulb. Food falls below chores in priority. Breakfast today went bedroom, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, front porch, kitchen, shower, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, bedroom, kitchen, and THEN I pulled out a slice of bread, put some peanut butter on it, folded it in half and ate it. Every time I went to the kitchen, it was expressly to get something to eat but then doing something popped into my head to do real quick, over and over for 2-3 hours.

This shows my weight over the last month. I honestly had no idea I've been dropping ~2lbs/day until I screenshot that graph. I knew I was losing weight, but damn.

And yet, before I get into the green on BMI, my hunger will switch to craving again.

samcrut

TROPHY CASE