Ivy League schools are just places to make connections with other rich people, so they can land a seven figure job right out of college and think they’ve earned it

Okay so this reminds me of something that happened in a college chemistry class and I was wondering if someone here can offer an explanation.

We were doing an experiment that first involved dissolving some copper into a solution, then chilling it to add another ingredient, then heating it on a hot plate. After doing all the other steps, I placed my beaker on the hot plate and turned around, then I heard a hissing sound. I turned back around just in time to see my beaker flying off the hot plate, off the counter, and smash on the floor.

My best explanation for this is that since the hot plate was already hot, some condensation from the previous chill step had dripped down, flashed to steam, and propelled the beaker off the hot plate.

I think you vastly overestimate my level of computer savviness.

Is there like a “tutorial for dummies” for this? I tried to use it once but got nowhere.

Linux. I don’t want “using the computer” to turn into a hobby that I need a computer science degree for.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think any Earth-based telescope would be able to see anything we left at the landing sites.

I keep saying our calendar should be like the ancient Egyptians’: twelve months of thirty days each, plus an extra pseudo-month of five days at the end. It would fit perfectly with the liminal Christmas-New Year time we’re in right now.

I’ve been enjoying bookbinding. You can get started just with some paper, glue, craft knife, and a ruler. Add some needle and thread, cover board, and bookcloth and you can make some nice custom pieces.

(Gunboats)

It’s hurtful that they think I’d even be threatening and nasty. That they just immediately assume I’m some kind of monster. It makes me feel like I have no value.

https://youtu.be/q4i05EaML44

“What kind of polish did you use on this table? The sheen is ridiculous! Send a bottle of whatever it is back with Darth Maul”

Is it just me or do places not do reservations anymore? Every place now just has a “waiting list” which is worthless for planning your evening around, since you have to be nearby when they text you or they’ll just cancel you and give it to the next person

Maybe a big courtroom like what Nuremberg was used for after WW2.

A man can dream.

And yet there can never, and will never, be a situation where an infinite number of people are tied to a railroad track. So this thought experiment is meaningless.

Okay, so what’s the point of “proving” that there some “infinities” are “bigger” than others? What’s the practical application here? Because an infinite hotel with an infinite number of guests is physically impossible, so I don’t see the point.

I’ve been trying to think of a way to have a nuanced discussion about art and AI, but hesitant to do so since people online can get incredibly vitriolic about it if they suspect that I’m in favor of AI. For the record I dislike AI being shoved in my face, from the uncanny-valley line art to the shovelware game apps that I keep seeing ads for.

To get to the point, I’m struggling to understand the moral difference between an AI model scraping art to use as training data, or an aspiring artist studying it to learn how to make it themselves. In both cases, the original artist has posted their work to a public website fully knowing that people will look at it. What’s the difference between an AI model vs a human learning from it? And how is it theft when the product is demonstrably different from the original?

I want to be clear that I just want to understand the logical underpinning of the arguments, and not arguing for one side or the other.

Maybe I’m biased, but the late 90s were just about perfect for cars. If you could get your hands on something like a Ranger or S10, it would be extremely practical. Automatic transmission, air conditioning, great fuel economy, and extremely easy to maintain and repair. And if it’s made after ‘96, it would have a OBD2 port that any modern scanner could read codes from.

The pace at my job is so damn slow, I only do about four hours of actual work in a 40-hour week. Most of my time is spent waiting for my boomer coworkers to do their jobs, I finish my work blazingly fast by comparison. I could ask for extra work to do, but nah. I keep getting good performance reviews and raises, and this is the most stress-free job I’ve ever had.

I feel the same way about Nude Descending a Staircase. Normally cubism or turn of the century modern art doesn’t do it for me, but for some reason I can just…stare at that painting. It’s oddly fascinating in a way I can’t fully describe. I want to get a print of it for my house.