little more than a reading list (AI)

Apr. 7th, 2026 09:21 am
solarbird: (korra-on-the-air)
[personal profile] solarbird

Here, two papers and two articles, all about AI, all I think better than most:

Researchers at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania are proposing an extended model of cognition as a way of measuring and studying “cognitive surrender,” the regular handoff of cognition to LLM models. It’s long but if you’ve got the patience, it’s here. I didn’t see much in the way of surprises, but it does provide an interesting framework for analysis.

One not-emphasised takeaway is that once again, the human intervention for wrong LLM responses model is shit. It’s not emphasised because that’s not the point of their paper – they’re demonstrating their model as an explanative/conceptual framework – but it’s still there.

Scientific American writes about a study showing that AI outputs tend to sway users’ beliefs, even when users are told about biases built into the model. As many – including me – have said many times before, this is absolutely part of the point of AI, particularly but not just for people like Elon Musk. But it’s good to see numbers on it.

Combine study two with study one and you see why the tech brogliarchs so eager to turn thinking into something they sell you. They don’t want to make your life easier, they want to make you pay to think like them. Or, as Karl Bode put it a few months ago, “The problem with AI isn’t going to be Skynet. It’s going to be amoral extraction class assholes applying half-cooked automation at scale onto deeply broken sectors in exploitative ways in a country too corrupt to have functioning regulators.”

Finally, give a look of the narrowly-focused (to coding) but still worthwhile essay, “I used AI. It worked. I hated it.” It strikes me that much of what he hated about it are what people who actually want to be managers like, which explains so very, very much, doesn’t it?

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

solarbird: our bike hill girl standing back to the camera facing her bike, which spans the image (biking)
[personal profile] solarbird

Washington State’s statewide eBike rebate applications are open! Instead of one big random selection like last year, it’ll be spaced out monthly. You do have to re-register for this year, but only the first time – after that you’re eligible for every drawing.

I can’t recommend a good ebike enough. Seriously. Second photo is what I biked home with on Sunday:

a three-wheeled cargo bike trailer containing three eight-packs of mineral water, two six-packs of pre-brewed unsweetened tea, and four large bags of groceries, still inside the grocery store. a push bar is attached to the trailer, letting it be used as a cart.

Go read Seattle Bike Blog for all the deets. But if you have any interest in biking again and live in a super-hilly area like me? Again: can’t recommend it enough. There are three-wheelers, there are cargo eBikes (so you don’t have to roll your own trailer like I did), there are four-wheelers, there are recumbents. There are bikes with different levels of assist – I have the lowest kind, a Grade 1, assist-only and a completely normal bike when it’s off, and it’s all Anna and I need.

Anyway, get into the drawing. If nothing else, as multiple people told me on Sunday – it’s a hell of a good way to beat gas prices. Neither Anna nor I have cared what gas costs in years, and you can know the joy of not giving a fuck about it either, too.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Trail, Garden

Apr. 5th, 2026 04:37 pm
ranunculus: (Default)
[personal profile] ranunculus
Have almost cleared the space between the greenhouse and the shop of grass.  It was fallow last year which doesn't mean much. It needs a bunch of compost and other organic material dug in.  This year some of the tomatoes I'm growing will go in part of that bed.  I've been metering the PH  in the garden. It is pretty acid. Not sure why.  Tomorrow I'll be sending off a soil sample to see what the lab says about PH and nutrients.  Very curious. 
There are a bunch of people up camping for the weekend.  It is M.J.'s annual Easter celebration.  Always nice to see people enjoying themselves. 
Carrie and I left the crowd at the Cow Corrals and walked up Red Barn Creek. Carrie had Juno, her horse, with her, but preferred to walk about half the distance.  From Post A, which is on a ridge, there is a really nice loop that we call the "Waddington Pond Loop".  It doesn't actually go to a pond, the pond is on the neighbor's place, but it is still a nice ride.  The northwest corner of this ride has two ways to get there. Both ways involve very steep hills.  We wanted to see if we could do a middle way that might be less steep and more pleasant. I knew there -was- a way, but  it hadn't been used in a decade and no one, including me, knew exactly where it was.  It is a GREAT way to do that part of the ride.  Not steep at all, though the trail does go across some rather steep sidehills.   I need to walk the chainsaw down it and clear a few limbs to make it an enjoyable ride, no one likes dodging limbs and brush. I also want to take the mattock down and widen the trail in a place where an old slide makes it a little scary. The trail widening is only for about 35 feet.  I'm not scared of that section, Carrie isn't, but some more timid riders might be.  Pictures next time I go out, which will be on the 17th.  A nice young man named Joel is going to come help me clear the trail.  Not that I really need help, I just don't want to run the chainsaw while alone in steep country, and I want someone to drive the 4 wheeler out to the end point so I don't have to lug the chainsaw and the mattock back over the hill.  

(no subject)

Apr. 2nd, 2026 06:43 pm
loup_noir: (Default)
[personal profile] loup_noir
 It is spring, horrible, annoying, windy, pollen-ridden spring.  The plantains are blooming.  I know they're blooming as my nose is running.  Meh.

It is also flea and mosquito season, also not my favorite time.  After reading that Benedryl crosses the blood:brain barrier, my most useful resource is no longer going to be my usual one.  What will replace that wonder drug?  Probably a lot of mumbling, "Don't scratch.  Don't scratch!"  Losing something that really works on my allergic reactions is one thing, but Benedryl also helped me get some sleep.  Insomniac.  The only plus side to insomnia is getting to listen to the owls and the migrating geese.  

And, the last of the triple whammy: it's weeding season.  The grasses have gone insane, showing up in places they haven't been before and bringing their friends.  This year's expensive home improvement is supposed to be paving the walkways.  We found a contractor.  That is amazing.  Very few people want to do that sort of physical work any more.  I sure don't.  We put in sandstone pavers back in the nineties, when we were in our thirties.  Sixties-era backs are not feeling up to that.  If we can't afford to do everything I would like to set into pavers, then maybe we can manage the south side.  

We just discovered For All Mankind on Apple.  Wow.  Great storytelling, good actors, and terrifying attention to detail.  This is an alternate history telling of the space race, with the Soviets getting to the moon first.  We're halfway through the first season, and when I'm not having PTSD from all the sexism, I'm riveted.  This is just what I needed.

Still slowly re-reading the Chronicles of St Mary's.  I wish the Kindle editions would reliably link the next in the series.  I think I'm on the next to the last (minus the short stories and the Time Police), but kinda not sure, either.  

Rain, Potting Mix

Apr. 2nd, 2026 08:35 am
ranunculus: (Default)
[personal profile] ranunculus
It finally rained a tiny bit, .28 of an inch. That isn't very much, but better than nothing. It is the first rain we have had since Feb 25th.  It is going to be a really bad fire year. 
I've been in a quandry about potting mix. 

Vet Day, Garden

Mar. 30th, 2026 06:21 pm
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[personal profile] ranunculus
Today was "Vet Day".  Sometime in the late 1980's I realized that I had no idea if my horse pasture tenants were vaccinating their horses. I consider vaccines for things like rabies a must have.  The thought of dealing with a thousand pounds of rabid horse is beyond frightening, and rabies is endemic here.  As a result my pasture board includes one vet visit and the basic annual vaccinations.  The vet loves it.  Vets are totally overworked, so having 10 horses all lined up at one place is wonderful.  The current vet, Kendall, does a mini checkup, takes vitals, looks at teeth and assesses general condition. She encourages people to ask questions.  Time permitting she does any dentistry needed (horse's teeth emerge throughout their lives and often develop sharp edges and points that need to be filed down), though this is at the owner's expense. I rode a rather frisky Firefly over, jumping off when we got close and she got extra excited to see her friends.  Firefly's teeth were fine, they had been done last year and are still in good shape. 
As the vet was finishing with Firefly I got a call from Lily that there was a water leak at the Red Barn.  She was confused about what to turn off, and, rather sensibly, didn't want to put her hand in the valve box that had a large black widow spider in residence.  I went down taking a pair of heavy rubber gloves as protection against the black widow. The leak is in a faucet that I didn't remember installing. It looks like it is just a 3/4" PVC stand pipe, no PEX inside, so it must be old.   Of course all the pipe I had with me was 1".  So we left it turned off.  
The garden is looking better and better the more grass I get out.   Room 2 bed 1 was being a problem, the peas were languishing. The PH meter said the soil was quite acidic, so more wood ashes were applied to correct the issue.  Everything else looks great, just dry. It isn't supposed to be this dry in March. Looks like early May, not March. Today's storm moved off to Wed and became a tiny sprinkle. Grrrr. 
The lemon tree has an enormous number of blooms, it is really happy.  Have GOT to get it in the ground. 
Multiple irises have bud stalks coming up.  I'm ready with lots of tags, to label individual plants as to color. 
Half of my tomatoes are planted, need to get going on the other half.  I was waiting till the beginning of April to make sure things didn't freeze.  Seeds for squash and cucumbers are in seed trays. Also planted seeds for two varieties of basil and some cosmos. Marigold seeds arrive tomorrow. 
The replacement grinding wheels arrived for the chainsaw chains, so I'm ready to go back to work on them. 

Chain Saw Chains

Mar. 26th, 2026 02:55 pm
ranunculus: (Default)
[personal profile] ranunculus
Edit: The first part of this was written Thursday night, it is now Sat Morning.
Tomorrow's project is to clear a trail with Rosemary.  In order to get ready the Gator had to be emptied of the detritus left from the clearing and burning around the pond.  Two chainsaws were in the back of the Gator Belin and Harvey. Both were empty of gas,  dirty and had dull chains.  I'm almost out of new chains, only one left; so that meant I had to actually use the chainsaw chain sharpener I bought last year.  Right off the bat my 3rd party attachment for it broke.  So I re-attached the stock one and went from there. Thank goodness Darren, at the repair shop where I take my equipment, had done a tutorial for a couple of us on how to use an electric sharpener.  Also thank goodness I had figured out some stuff and WRITTEN IT DOWN!   There are now 4 1/2 sharp chains.  I stopped when I broke my grinding wheel by not clamping the chain tight enough before using the wheel. Tore a huge chunk out of the wheel itself. Fortunately they are made to be replaceable and I now have a couple on order.  And I have several sharp chains.  And I've figured out how to do this thing. 
It is still quite warm, and we have had almost no rain since early January.  Fortunately there is rain in the forecast starting Monday night.  We all hope it will stay in the forecast, and that the storm will be bigger/longer than predicted!  We really need the rain and the Sierra Nevada could really use some snow.
Off to fill gas cans and pull more grass. 

On our way up the hill to clear trail Rosemary and I found a cow and tiny calf standing at the gate. They were clearly on the wrong side of the gate from the rest of the herd.  The cow clearly wanted to go through the gate but was a bit spooky of Chena and the Gator.  We left the gate open, called the dog (repeatedly, as Chena obviously thought it was her job to move that cow, but had no idea where) and drove down the hill and around the corner.  No cow in sight. After a moment I thought I'd better back up and go close the gate so the herd didn't find it and get out. We backed up and saw the cow, calf in tow, trotting happily through the open gate.  Victory!  After a quick trip up to see the fawn lilies (almost all finished blooming) we set to work on a terribly tangled mess of half dead manzanita which was liberally laced with poison oak.  The manzanita was at least 20 ft tall and so dense it would have been impossible to move forward through it. Three hours later we had 100 ft of old, old road cleared.  It looked so nice!  Of course I forgot to take a picture.  Cody was delighted to hear about our progress as he needs to work on the fence out there and we had just provided a really good access point. Rosemary and I worked  for another hour and a half cutting our way down hill to the Grapevine Springs trail.   So much poison oak out there!!  Still, our work should vastly improve access.  I'll take the weed whacker out with the hedge head on it and sheer off the poison oak so it doesn't crowd the trail so much.  That will work for a year or two. 
Caught one more vole last night.  I think that clears the garden area for now. 
This afternoon's project is to plant squash, cucumbers and other frost sensitive seed. 

This and That

Mar. 25th, 2026 08:48 pm
ranunculus: (Default)
[personal profile] ranunculus
The last few days have been focused on garden planting. Of course there has been the endless war against grass.  It feels like a sisyphean task to beat back the grass, but bit by bit I'm winning.  Last year I gave up and weedwhacked.  This year there is still some tall grass to go, but the main part of the garden is pretty well under control.  Here is a picture of the back of the garden. The tank is two feet tall. I think the fava beans in them are 3 feet tall.  The fava beans are being grown for "green manure" so I guess I should chop them down now.  I pulled one out the other day and it's roots were covered with little white nodules of nitrogen.  The grass is so lush because about 4 years ago I had a truckload of wood chips dumped in this area. They are now composted down some and are providing a wonderful nutrient source. 


Of course there are also those dratted foxtails. Far fewer than a  couple of years ago. All the seed heads are going into bags and into the fire. 
The green house is full of lettuce, tomatoes, dill and hyssop.  I've planted out most of my tomatoes already, there is no frost in the forecast, and although it could freeze, I'll take the chance. Some of the lettuce has been planted out and protected from the goldfinches. 




All over the garden there are little pops of color like this lewisia that has been sulking in the Henry St garden. 


The miniture geum has been blooming for a month and shows no signs of stopping soon. 


Over at the potting table there is a new (gray) shelf. This wall had a couple of hose hangers on it which were really not useful at all. 


Out in the pasture I'm having a struggle with Firefly. She is being a typical horse and grazing the same places every day instead of eating down the pasture evenly, which is what I want.  She is only one pony, and at this point she only gets about 3 hours of grazing per day (or she would get too fat). Right now she is being confined to an area about 15 x 25 feet. It takes her a day and a half or so to eat that much.  Then she can go to the next section...  Fortunately she has a lt of respect for electric fences. 


Back at Henry St the builders are jack hammering out the foundation. The new one should be poured next week.


solarbird: From moongazeponies on deviantart (pony-pinkie-hax)
[personal profile] solarbird

The latest smoke detector to howl pointlessly into the night sends out 11.3V DC onto the signal pin when triggered but running off batteries. I suspect that’s 12V nominal, and it probably delivers 12V when operating on AC power.

Most importantly, it’s not like… 500mv. Or AC. Or complicated. It’s plain, simple DC.

When acting as a non-reporting satellite node, it triggers when receiving 4V DC on the signal pin (4.0 exactly), and that voltage is polarity sensitive. -4V doesn’t trigger the alarm.

Checking for DC on the signal line, I get functionally nothing. 20ma DC at most, and even that’s something I’m picking up out of noise floor shift rather than direct measurement.

(Yes, I checked for AC as well. Still functionally nothing.)

My thought was that if the signal line was somehow floating in whole number volts (for whatever reason) than maybe somehow the right RF noise could kick it over.

The problem with that is that I can now also confirm that non-detecting units go off exactly as long as a detecting device keeps saying it’s detecting by putting voltage on the signal line. If that voltage goes away, so do the satellite alarms – and immediately.

And that’s not what happens. We have to manually intervene and shut the alarms off ourselves.

The reason I paid meaningfully more than baseline for this particular set is that they report exactly which detector went off and why. That way, if it were the signal line somehow triggering the alarms, none of them would claim to be the originating unit; they’d all report it came from the signal backbone.

But they don’t. There’s always a unit claiming to be the active detector and it’s always smoke (and there is never actually smoke), and none of them shut up until we shut off that unit, which sometimes seems to require removing it from power.

So today’s afternoon check was basically just another way of confirming what we already knew, and I guess I’ve done that now, but…

All that does is get us right back to where we started, which is, “we have alarm after alarm after alarm of different makes, methods (ionisation, photodetector), and models which just in this house are determined to go off randomly, usually but not always at night, for absolutely no detectable fucking reason, and then pass self-test just fine afterwards.”

And no, regular cleaning – even weekly cleaning – does not help. I do all the things. None of it stops the problem.

If you’re new to this adventure, I have heard this exact same story from many other people at this point – though nobody I’ve talked to has said they’ve literally taken metres to the signal wires to verify that way.

Regardless, I know it is not just us.

What I’ve been told from others who deal with this is to RMA individual units that trigger randomly one at a time until you end up with a set that doesn’t. And I guess that’s what I’m gonna do, but

holy shit, team

holy shit

this is the opposite of fire safety

this is the opposite of how anything like this should ever work, I mean

what if all the RMAs are getting you are a set that won’t go off even when they should?

but whelp

guess i’m gonna find out

’cause this sure ain’t workin’.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

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