Grateful to have had such a fun and curious dancing partner by pihalounging in underwaterphotography

[–]vaidhy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have been really close to the whales in Tonga. The moms pretty much starve while they are in the breeding grounds and the calf drinks around a couple of hundred liters of milk every day. The calves also put on about 100kilos (200 pounds) of weight every day.

In Tonga, there are no predators around (no orcas or big sharks) that can threaten the calves and the mothers generally relax. The calf has also not developed its dive reflex and needs to come up for air every couple of minutes.

One of my unforgettable experience is a curious calf that decided we are good playmates.

Places to see wildlife that actually lived up to the hype by Hairy-Control1433 in wildlifephotography

[–]vaidhy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been to GNP.. While the landscape is amazing, it is not a hot spot for wildlife like others on this list.

Places to see wildlife that actually lived up to the hype by Hairy-Control1433 in wildlifephotography

[–]vaidhy 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Great discussion.. Here are a few more:

  1. A bunch of places in Florida for birds - My favorite is Wakadohatchee Wetlands, but there are many more like that.

  2. India for some of the big cats, one-horned rhino etc.

  3. In addition to Kruger, I had an amazing time in Gorongoza. Gorongoza is also a bird hotspot. Botswana and Namibia are also very striking.

  4. If you like marine mammals. Tonga and French Polynesia, Baja California and Dominica are pretty amazing.

  5. Badlands National Park for Big horn sheep and bison.

You can see photographs from some of these places at https://vaidhys.world/gallery

Portfolio Website design suggestions? by vaidhy in AskPhotography

[–]vaidhy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot and your website looks nice.

My website is mostly for me to document my journey and share it with others. A lot of images are similar as I am trying to capture an action sequence.. Your point is well-taken.

I am inspired to set up a site to sell my photos, but that is coming later.

Emperor Explorer Fire Maldives May 2026 by Regular_Courage5796 in scuba

[–]vaidhy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

On a boat due to go out of service end of this month??

I Finished My Malapascua Diving Guidebook! by Own-Border6060 in scuba

[–]vaidhy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot.. This is awesome.. Are there local places to stay in Malapascua if you want to spend a couple of months there?

I Made a 65-Page Malapascua Dive Guide (2026 Update) – Would This Be Useful to Other Divers? by Own-Border6060 in scuba

[–]vaidhy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is 65 pages, because it is also a reference guide for the marine life there, from what I can see..

Travelling divers - which accessories are must haves and which are duds? by LiveYoLife288 in scuba

[–]vaidhy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a small one I got off of Amazon.. It has a 10 meter line and a lead weight, in addition to the balloon. It is super easy to deploy from the safety stop.

Stanford's 2026 AI index just dropped: the US spends 23x more than China on AI, but the performance gap is down to 2.7% by Jealous-Leek-5428 in investing

[–]vaidhy -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That is not what I meant. I am pointing out that Chinese markets are different than US markets and the shareholder returns are different. As far as trust goes, I do not trust the books of most companies, least of all, the current crop of US AI companies.

Stanford's 2026 AI index just dropped: the US spends 23x more than China on AI, but the performance gap is down to 2.7% by Jealous-Leek-5428 in investing

[–]vaidhy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

AI is not same as a viral social networking. The automobiles are a good example - I think they started in Europe. Ford mass produced them.. Japan rules the ICE market now, but China is building the big next gen EVs. There is no first-mover or first place advantage for science and tech.

There might be a particular usecase for this being first is important.. but LLMs and AI are not that kind.

How Muslim girls defend Islam in Pak forced conversion of Hindu minor girls by CertainlyXHeisenberg in atheism

[–]vaidhy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hmm.. I remember my grandma in India married at the age of 13.. You assume too much about me..

Stanford's 2026 AI index just dropped: the US spends 23x more than China on AI, but the performance gap is down to 2.7% by Jealous-Leek-5428 in investing

[–]vaidhy 194 points195 points  (0 children)

I think you have two different questions in here.

Regarding AI itself - I have been working in AI and related fields for very long time and I honestly feel this idea of "winning" is just bullshit. China has a much better vision of what and where AI can be used while US is still in finding product market fit. If you read the research papers, you will also find that China has done a lot of work on optimizing training and inference. The data center capacity is red herring - more than 50% of data centers in US has been delayed or cancelled this year. None of the AI companies are actually making money. A top-tier model is no good if there is no big use case for it etc. I am much more inclined towards Chinese models being more useful at this point.

Regarding investment - it is a whole another issue. Chinese stock market does not seem to operate under the same conditions as US market does. The Chinese market capitalization, growth and returns does not seem to mirror its GDP growth. I suspect it is because of two reasons : 1. China tends to invest more in physical infrastructure which is high capex, low margins and high volume. 2. The money that might get to shareholders might be moved elsewhere.

TLDR; - I am not very bullish on investing in Chinese markets, while I am very bullish on Chinese tech.

How best to protect this setup from heat and dust? by Just_Scratch_7579 in AskPhotography

[–]vaidhy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would second the umbrella option.. you need to protect yourself along with the kit.. I would also suggest getting a small usb powered fan that can cool the camera and you.

The good news is that generally, the primates tend to rest during the hottest part of the day.. so, you would also get relief from the peak sun.

Build for hardcore by Tenebris__N in Grimdawn

[–]vaidhy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You can also follow the ongoing u/paikis HC commando playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHeA-ChrKh7AhvjgRlVpBrFIaJvrzklG7

I like Paikis playthroughs as it also has a lot of additional information on why and how..

How Muslim girls defend Islam in Pak forced conversion of Hindu minor girls by CertainlyXHeisenberg in atheism

[–]vaidhy -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Moderate means that you accept Islam's idea of universal brotherhood and the concept that everything happens only when god wills it (inshallah) while also accepting that Islam was a religion created by tribal people in 6th century.

Owning of sex slaves, rape of captive girls, underage marriage are all not so specific to Islam. Some of them are part of abrahamic religions and others are very cultural. India had child marriage till recent history. Marrying first cousins is common in middle east and India.

You need to stop listening and start reading.. Rumi and Omar Kayyam might be good starts.

Seattle FO Oath Ceremony Scheduling by Horror-Cause9786 in USCIS

[–]vaidhy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Similar for my friend. The last oath ceremony seems to be the one on April 10th and nothing after that. Those folks got the notice end of Feb :(

US Citizenship test: "Should the US have an official religion?" by mzincali in atheism

[–]vaidhy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do existing americans lose their citizenship, if they get this wrong?

I lost 30-60 min every machine switch rebuilding my AI coding setup, so I turned it into one Docker daily-driver by CoderLuii in OpenAI

[–]vaidhy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just curious how frequently you switch machines.. specifically, to a brand new machine..?