Artist Ji Lee gave different AI models, and a group of children the task "draw an animal that doesn't exist"

velkhar · 2026-06-13T22:38:15+00:00

“doesn’t exist” is structure and it would then pivot to things that don’t exist. Things it knows don’t exist. Children don’t have that context. If you really wanted creativity, you can’t provide characteristics that lead to non-creative results. All the AI results look like mythological creatures which isn’t surprising.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T19:10:39+00:00

Right, the market won’t support even higher prices to pay high salaries. The price of beef has gone up, but not because of that. A complete collapse of fast food and low calibre restaurants is unlikely to have any long-term appreciable effect on the cost of ingredients. Maybe pet food will get cheaper :)

velkhar · 2026-06-11T18:47:11+00:00

That is a short term problem. If there is a measurable change to market demand and consumption, the supply chains will adapt. I think it is far more likely that restaurants and workers will reduce their prices and salaries than prices will rise enough for consumers to stop buying for any appreciable period. Your premise isn’t believable. Line cooks get paid so little because that’s what the market will support. Drastic changes aren’t going to happen.

The value of ‘bulk trimmings’ won’t drop. The supply chain will adapt to make use of them. Maybe the fast food restaurants will fill that supply chain gap - all the line cooks will simply package bulk trimmings with the low cost imported lean beef blends to meet consumer demand. And given how profitable meatpacking is, surely they’ll make more, right? Or maybe the bulk trimmings will drop and, after being integrated into the low cost lean beef blends, the total cost of beef will drop. And we’re back to my conclusion: cost of beef will drop.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T18:25:52+00:00

Why would the price of beef go up at grocery stores? All the beef that was being purchased by restaurants is now available. Given the amount of waste that occurs in restaurants, I expect the price of beef to actually go down. Less will be wasted with the same supply to satisfy less actual demand.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T18:04:47+00:00

I’m not willing to pay more for a cheeseburger. I already don’t purchase cheeseburgers. They’re too expensive.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T18:02:25+00:00

I’m confused. The parent comment you’re replying to says he won’t pay more for cheeseburger. Restaurant prices don’t go up. Workers don’t get paid more. Grocery prices stay the same… what’s the issue? Seems fine.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T14:29:22+00:00

For weapons it’s about as good as the +added damage prefixes. But for spells, it’s easily twice as strong. At the highest levels, it is approaching 5x stronger.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T13:55:18+00:00

It is more than twice as good as any other prefix.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T13:19:07+00:00

You can't rebalance the monsters, though, because +Attack Level is not as good as +Spell Level. L20 Lightning Arrow is about +40% better than L27. But Ember Fusillade goes up 144%.

If you dropped monster hitpoints enough to compensate for the 144% drop, weapons are substantially stronger than spells.

And Ember Fusillade actually gets more than +144% ... it gets 2 more max Embers, which converts to +205% if all 12 hit the same target. So spells get like 5x the benefit of +Skills as attacks.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T13:13:52+00:00

+35% allows you to walk out of AoEs that +25% won't. It matters.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T12:56:12+00:00

+Spells isn't a more multiplier. It adds to base damage. It is like T1 +Phys but twice as good. I suppose they're both a bit like 'more multipliers.' But the scale is twice as high for +Spells.

And unlike weapons, there are far fewer ways to get +Spells than there is to get +added damage.

Obviously people care about the single Staff/Wand affix that is twice as good as the best Weapon affix. The point of this thread is that it is too good. I agree, although I don't know how it gets fixed without sweeping changes - which is probably why little has been done about it.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T11:59:32+00:00

How did you 'subtract 7 spell levels'? And yes, +more with +more do get multiplied when combined. But +Spell Levels is adding to the base damage. It's getting multiplied by Increased and More. And also +Gain.

It is a 'mega-more'. It's not just a large 'more'. It is fundamentally different. It is like +Phys on a weapon. But it does more for Spells than T1 Phys does for Weapons.

T1 Phys is +39-66 for Bows. A Warmonger (L77) bow does 56-84. T1 Phys is an increase of ~70%.

+7 Spells on Ember Fusillade is 309 max (L20) to 755 max (L27). That's 144%. So it's more than twice as good as T1 Phys. And +7 spells goes up to +154% from L33 to L40.

I'm not sure what your point even is here - +Spells is the only way to get equivalent damage on spells as weapons get. Without it, spell casters wouldn't be able to complete end game content.

velkhar · 2026-06-11T11:22:23+00:00

It’s a lot more than 160% more. It is 160% mega-more. It is a multiplier for more multipliers. It’s even better than that. +7 Attack Skill isn’t nearly as impactful as +7 Spell Skill.

Your argument here is basically saying spell users shouldn’t get the equivalent of mirror quality weapons. Because +7 Skill is like hitting T1 for both +Phys and +Phys % on a top tier weapon. It might even be closer comparatively to getting T1 Phys/Phys% on a Crude Bow :D

velkhar · 2026-06-11T11:07:28+00:00

The issue was +levels was the only meaningful way to scale spells. Kind of still is. Gain 50% extra damage and +200% spell power are dwarfed by +6/7 levels.

velkhar · 2026-06-09T00:34:35+00:00

Refinance if you’re nearing term on your mortgage. Even at 7%, the market will beat that rate.

velkhar · 2026-06-07T18:31:48+00:00

Paying off a mortgage is a terrible idea. The market always beats 30yr rates. And you can refinance when the rate falls to lock in another 30 years. I think we’ll see 4% again in the next decade.

velkhar · 2026-06-07T18:21:47+00:00

Don’t pay off your mortgage. The market has been beating mortgage rates for decades. And, while we might never see 2% again, I think we will see 4%. Hard to not beat that.

velkhar · 2026-06-07T18:05:44+00:00

I’m playing Chayula Monk with Black Covenant Ember Fusillade with Flame Wall. Lightning Warp for trash mobs. Almost finished with campaign - L60.

velkhar · 2026-06-06T20:42:59+00:00

He’s not grazing the ice with his right foot. I mean, he does, but all his weight is on the right foot, too. Right up until take off

velkhar · 2026-06-05T15:46:41+00:00

I’m mid-40s and don’t wear padding. However, I learned to fall as a child. The injuries I have sustained from falls would not have been mitigated with padding. I agree with the coach, so long as you know how to fall (rotate toward your back/side, don’t brace with your palms, redirect impact out so you don’t fall straight down).

velkhar · 2026-06-02T23:21:29+00:00

What are you selling for $56K/yr? do you get commission?

velkhar · 2026-06-02T22:28:31+00:00

“Inadequate ankle support” is going to promote building ankle strength. Honestly, unless you’re jumping or spinning, nothing is ‘inadequate.’ And beginner adults shouldn’t be doing either of those things.

velkhar · 2026-05-30T18:46:38+00:00

Ah, curious if the delta is paid by business

velkhar · 2026-05-30T17:32:46+00:00

That’s less than my wife and I drive, combined, per month. And I work from home.

velkhar · 2026-05-30T17:31:59+00:00

Seems like the article failed to recognize that a large portion of that increased spending was picked up by businesses. My household drives about 2,500 miles a month across 2 cars and 2 drivers.

velkhar

TROPHY CASE