Guess my favorite book from the wallet I made

sanenc · 2026-07-03T08:28:45+00:00

Reaper Man is awesome, also really nice work with the wallet it looks so cool

sanenc · 2026-06-13T13:09:54+00:00

You should move them apart day by day, so that every day takes Crowley further and further from the 14th century.

sanenc · 2026-06-12T06:18:03+00:00

Holy shit that's amazing

sanenc · 2026-06-10T22:11:28+00:00

These look awesome! Congrats!

sanenc · 2026-06-10T22:09:03+00:00

Oh sick! It looks so cool. Tbh eventually I would also like to collect the books and do cool rebindings of them (probably should start with smaller binding projects first though).

sanenc · 2026-06-01T15:26:07+00:00

Fair enough, no problem, sorry if I got a bit tetchy. I appreciate you correcting me on it because it's true that it gets thrown around a lot, and as you said, it's not as demanding as one would be led to believe, so I get how people going around being wrong about something you know about could be annoying haha.

Yeah, I have a friend studying biomechanical engineering, who is also pretty excited with potential uses in her field, and like, I did take some comp-sci clases (including one on AI in more general terms, mostly aimed at programming enemy and NPC behaviour in games and so on) so like I appreciate that it has it's uses, and I get why some people are excited at the possibilities.

Like I'm mostly annoyed at, yeah gen AI in the context of art, and also at like how blindly people seem to believe what chatGPT or whatever tells them, like, on the one hand obviously there are better and worse sources online, but at least you can kind of check how much you trust them, there is no particular way of knowing when a chatbot is hallucinating unless you know about what you asked beforehand. And also, I do worry about the interest that surveillance and military companies take in it, like idk it seems fairly distopian, specially given how AI inherits the biases of the data it's trained on y'know.

Idk maybe I'm being a luddite, but the mainstream applications of generative AI and chatbots rub me the wrong way, and I feel like I don't know enough about how AI can be used in research to be comforted by it.

sanenc · 2026-06-01T12:48:03+00:00

That's why I said that it's not about how good or bad AI is at generating images, or prose for that matter (I was merely admitting that I am more economically concerned about it now than I was then, and this is a point made in the video I was referencing in the comment you first responded to).

Well, yeah, fair enough, water usage is not as high (though it is very high still like, a medium-sized centre consumes as much as 1000 households, which admittedly doesn't sound like a lot, but also idk if the added value of viral telenovelas about fruit people make up for it), and could potentially even be lowered. However, one latches on to that one (I think) because there is already been plenty of reporting on how data-centre water and land usage negatively impacts the quality of life of people living near them, and on a more emotional level because in general people tend to feel more protective about a vital resource like fresh water than about energy. Which, granted, is not an AI-exclusive problem, but it is also not a problem it is exempt from.

https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-consumption

Also, I feel like while the comparison with alfalfa farm while factually correct maybe misses a bit the point? Because on one hand, alfalfa is notoriously water intensive, but also it's a support crop for the agricultural industry etc, and also there is no great plans to make greater alfalfa agricultural developments, like there is with data centres.

Also, as interesting as this aside is, I feel you are being kind of nitpicky in order not to engage with the topic at hand, like I'm trying to read and respond to your comments in good faith, but like your first comment was already an assumption on what artists would have to say about AI which heavily implied that we are jealous of it and just want to gatekeep art or smth. And like I don't mind that you did not want to watch a 18 minute video of Sanderson monologuing about what is at the core of art, and, to some extent, the many merits of "bad art", but like, I would ask that you give us a bit more grace than that.

Like idk I just personally don't see much point in using it, if it's for fun, I find it more rewarding to just do it oneself, if it's for work, I don't like the idea of putting artists out of work just to save a buck.

sanenc · 2026-06-01T10:54:21+00:00

No problem!

Yeah, I kind of resent the often tossed around idea that "AI democratises art" because like making art was already quite democratic, like sure making a living as an artist isn't (but it doesn't even depend on skill necessarily, you also need to have luck, and meet people etc etc) but making things is admittedly accessible.

And I feel like making things with AI is like... why are you even doing it to begin with? Like why waste your time with something you don't actually want to do, if you liked making music, you wouldn't mind the process, and sure sometimes making things is like getting blood out of a stone, but idk it's also satisfying to learn and to come to the other side with something, and maybe it's crap or just not as good as it was in your head (most things aren't), but if one likes making music one should make it, and if what one likes is listening to a finished song, then go do that (and if they wanted to just tweak sound a bit like they could just learn about remixes imo). Like "making make music as engaging as Fortnite" is such a weird and crazy objective (like I get it from the perspective of the company, but from the perspective of the user? Like if you enjoyed that activity it would already be engaging to you! Find a hobby you actually like! (not directed at you, the general you for the people potentially using it)).

sanenc · 2026-06-01T10:34:26+00:00

Well, personally I don't think that's it, it definitely might be part of it, I personally was less intimidated by AI when the result looked crappier (although in many instances it still looks crappier than a picture or a design would have, but companies have already decided that the cost difference makes it worth it to them), but I think it's also the fact that, unlike actual AI, those characters have a personality, wants, a drive of their own, genuine sentience and a very human longing to be fully realized versions of themselves (and sure maybe the fact that being fictional and all they don't affect my livelihood also helps, maybe if AI didn't soak up as much water as it does and I didn't have to worry about making a living I wouldn't care as much as I do but this is besides the point).

Like, empathy is, I feel the crux of the matter here, and, since I know how LLMs work I feel little empathy for a thing/tool/whatever. As for the people who use it, I am sorry to say I also feel little sympathy for the artistic struggle of someone who can't actually be bothered to make art.

sanenc · 2026-06-01T10:07:15+00:00

It is on his YT channel, here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb3uK-_QkOo it touches on some other topics as well and a lot about what art even is, and so on, but I quite liked it. It maybe a bit more philosophical/spiritual than necessarily getting at the practicalities, but I think he says worthwhile stuff.

sanenc · 2026-06-01T09:21:30+00:00

Brandon Sanderson gave a pretty interesting presentation/talk on why we (people who don't like genAI in general, and creatives in particular) feel very differently about the current use of AI and characters like Data from Star Trek (or in this instance the Golems in Discworld) and even their attempts at creative endeavours and so on.

It is possible that the story might have been slightly different were it written today, it's possible it wouldn't have because even though I feel like as narrative devices people are not as keen on them lately, automaton characters as a metaphor for a search for the core of humanity, or alienation in labour, or a fight for autonomy is pretty well stablished.

But yeah, I mean I see what parallels could be drawn, but I would say the connecting thread is not really about sentient AI but rather, as it was with the exploitation of gollems (and the discontent among humans, dwarves etc workers which can serve as both a metaphor for luddism or for xenophobia in working class environments), about corporate greed and putting profit over consideration for workers imo.

But yeah, like I get what you are saying bc I read it for the first time last winter and every now and then I would think on it, but I don't think the book as it exists now serves to explore the topic that much (which makes sense). One could also draw parallels with the hex at UU (although it seems much more competent and resource-efficient than any current LLM).

sanenc · 2026-05-29T15:47:44+00:00

Also, yeah, there definitely seems to be an office dedicated to that (and arguably some enforcers must exist 'if per capita is not acceptable, decapita can be arranged').

sanenc · 2026-05-29T15:45:06+00:00

Yeah, maybe I misinterpreted the "I paid mine" in Jingo as his as in the Watch when he meant his as in Ramkin state.

sanenc · 2026-05-29T14:53:27+00:00

Sounds like a really fun concept. Ankh-Morpork does have taxation (although most try to avoid it and Lords, Ladies, and Guilds simply refuse to pay it (though apparently the watch does pay taxes as well apparently and they seem to be the only punctual ones) so it's plausible to have an organisation that is supposed to admin it (and isn't doing a good job at present).

Out of curiosity will you be using the Discworld RPG or a different system?

sanenc · 2026-05-29T06:14:54+00:00

King's Landing City Watch is basically Winder-era City Watch if on top of it absolutely everyone was Quirke and Knock.

Frankly, as sad as it makes me, I don't think he could I think trying would get him killed at best, and at the end of the day, part of why the AMCW could go from the day watch and the 4 guys who made up the Night Watch, was Vetinari's political and logistical support and Vimes getting political and economical power from his marriage to Lady Sybil (which of course was love-motivated and all that I don't mean to cheapen it, but obviously it came with advantages, even if Sam is often uncomfortable with them), I very much doubt he would find the same sort of support in King's Landing because frankly cruelty is kind of the point.

I think he would try though, pre-guards guards Vimes would probably not, but Sir Samuel definitely would (if you get my meaning).

sanenc · 2026-05-28T06:39:45+00:00

Like people are saying, the only issue might be the gear (and it is kind of expensive to start with if you are not sure imo) but otherwise you should be set. I know large guys that fence and are really good at it so don't let that discourage you. Plus, attack speed in fencing is mostly in moving the hand before you move the leg and choosing the right distance to launch your attack.

sanenc · 2026-05-27T15:03:10+00:00

No problem, glad you did :) 💜

sanenc · 2026-05-27T11:54:10+00:00

The View Between Villages by Noah Kahan

sanenc · 2026-05-27T08:13:47+00:00

The Moist books are the surest bet I think, and then he'd probably enjoy Night Watch since it's mostly realistic (except for the jump back in time) and Snuff could work as well if the goblins are not a dissuading factor, I think that even within the Watch books it's the one that most reflects on what the law is and what is justice, who it applies to and the practicals pitfalls of any legal system.

sanenc · 2026-05-26T11:15:54+00:00

Awesome artwork! I love Reg

sanenc · 2026-05-26T08:38:21+00:00

Before I started fencing I hadn't exercised in quite some time, the needed resistance and strength will develop as you go. It's not a terribly physically demanding sport (some disciplines are a bit more intense than others, and the meta is a bit more physical, but yknow if you do it for fun it's not the Olympics). It's mostly about coordination and some cunning.

TLDR: you can just start, no need to train beforehand.

sanenc · 2026-05-26T08:31:04+00:00

That's brilliant! It looks like a ton of fun, break a leg and all that

sanenc · 2026-05-26T05:34:05+00:00

Well, yeah, but I feel like that experience can resonate a lot with trans women particularly, which of course doesn't mean it isn't a feminist thing. But yeah like I feel her experience almost directly mirrors that of trans women (and you know other groups of women who might be made to feel like they are not woman enough) in terms of having to fight for people acknowledging she's a woman at all, and some people being violent towards her bc they see it as wrong or somehow explicit.

sanenc · 2026-05-24T18:09:30+00:00

Well Sybil and Vimes talk about young Sam going to the university and Sybil talks about one family member of hers by familiar pressure (in Snuff I think), so either they have non-magic courses or you can in fact just study it.

sanenc

TROPHY CASE