A classic issue of AI generated READMEs. Never to the point, always repetitive and verbose
And full of marketing hyperbole. When I have an AI produce a README I always have to ask it to tone it down and keep it factual.
Readit Newskieckerjan commented on Beads – A memory upgrade for your coding agent github.com/steveyegge/bea... · Posted by u/latchkey
kieckerjan commented on AI overviews cause massive drop in search clicks arstechnica.com/ai/2025/0... · Posted by u/jonbaer
Ads inside LLMs (e.g. pay $ to boost your product in LLM recommendation) is going to be a big thing.
My guess is that Google/OpenAI are eyeing each other - whoever does this first.
Why would that work? It's a proven business model. Example: I use LLMs for product research (e.g. which washing machine to buy). Retailer pays if link to their website is included in the results. Don't want to pay? Then redirect the user to buy it on Walmart instead of Amazon.
I actually encountered this pretty early in one of these user tuned GPT's in OpenAI's GPT store. It was called Sommelier or something and it was specialized in conversations about wine. It was pretty useful at first, but after a few weeks it started lacing all its replies with tips for wines from the same online store. Needless to say, I dropped it immediately.
kieckerjan commented on The Wobbly Table Theorem (2022) people.math.harvard.edu/~... · Posted by u/mpweiher
> this prof's ideas about engineering mechanical systems revolved around restricting the degrees of freedom as much as possible. A three legged table cannot wobble, but a four legged table can and usually does because it is overdetermined. In mechanical systems (for instance sensitive optical mechanics) reducing "wobble" is key. And the best way to reduce wobble is to make sure it cannot occur.
This is how I was taught mechanical engineering (France, 2000-2005) and not a Dutch in sight.
Fair enough. But I am talking about 50 years ago or so.
kieckerjan commented on The Wobbly Table Theorem (2022) people.math.harvard.edu/~... · Posted by u/mpweiher
Tangential, but I was once told a story that seems fitting here. It was told to me by a mechanical engineer who was educated at Eindhoven Technical University in the Netherlands.
He claimed that in the early days there was a lecturer or professor there that, at least in Eindhoven, was very important to his field of expertise. If I understood him correctly, this prof's ideas about engineering mechanical systems revolved around restricting the degrees of freedom as much as possible. A three legged table cannot wobble, but a four legged table can and usually does because it is overdetermined. In mechanical systems (for instance sensitive optical mechanics) reducing "wobble" is key. And the best way to reduce wobble is to make sure it cannot occur.
Here it gets interesting. My source claimed that this professor had laid down his ideas in a standard work in Dutch, which was never translated in another language, restricting its influence to Dutch mechanical engineers. He also claimed it is not a coincidence that Philips and later ASML took an early lead in designing optical systems.
Not sure if it is true, but an interesting story nonetheless.
kieckerjan commented on Making your own hot sauce successfulsoftware.net/20... · Posted by u/hermitcrab
> If you are careless, you could end up with botulism, one of the deadliest toxin known to man! So make sure the fermentation vessel is airtight and everything is clean.
I'm not an expert, but from what I've heard about botulism, that's recklessly irresponsible advice. (Do your own research before taking the advice below.)
The whole point is that:
1. Botulism spores are everywhere.
2. They only reproduce when the conditions are right. Guess what those conditions are? a) Not too acidic b) NO OXYGEN.
3. Soap doesn't kill them. Boiling at at STP doesn't kill them. The only way to kill them is to boil them at a high enough pressure that the temperature.
Therefore, "make sure everything is clean" is useless advice; and "make sure everything is airtight" just helps you make sure the conditions are right to be poisoned.
Two ways to counter botulism. Either:
1. Boil things at the right pressure for long enough (with a pressure gauge to make sure it's actually at the specified pressure) to kill the spores
2. Make sure it's acidic enough to keep the spores asleep.
EDIT: My point wasn't "Don't bottle things like hot sauce at home". I bottle things at home myself. And I bet his recipe is perfectly safe -- not because he keeps things airtight and clean, but because it's acidic.
If he had said, "Watch out for botulism but this is safe because it's acidic", then people using his recipe will make sure to keep things acidic as well, and if they dilute the acidity, they'll be warned to look up the pH required to be safe.
But instead he said, "Watch out for botulism, make sure everything is airtight and clean"; which means people might take his recipe and reduce the acidity, believing themselves still to be safe because they're keeping things airtight and clean. That is what's reckless about the advice.
Also, another condition botulism requires is to be above 5C. So what I actually do myself is bottle things that are acidic, and then keep them in the fridge. I don't typically make more than a few jars a year, so that's sufficient for me; if I was going to can things properly, I'd get pH testers and/or a pressure cooker with a gauge.
Tangential but interesting tidbit: Botulinum toxin messes with your motor neurons, which is bad news for your heart. For the same reason (but at lower dosage) it eases wrinkles and causes the infamous expressionless Botox look.
kieckerjan commented on You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it blog.jim-nielsen.com/2024... · Posted by u/herbertl
In this context, I often refer to the essay by Rolf Dobelli, titled Avoid News: Towards a Healthy News Diet.
It can be found on the Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20130117104220/http://dobelli.co...
Actually Dobelli was the one who got me thinking about this. I tend to agree with him, although eschewing all news is a bit too extreme to my taste. I tried scaling back my intake by switching from a daily paper to a weekly paper, but one has to have tremendous discipline to avoid the news of the day on the internet. Especially if the internet is your job, like it is for me.
kieckerjan commented on You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it blog.jim-nielsen.com/2024... · Posted by u/herbertl
A corollary of this idea that also the bad stuff that you read leaves a trace, and not necessarily a good trace. To continue the food metaphor: like junk food there is junk reading and while it may satisfy some need it is all informational empty calories and transfats. Which brings up a subject I pondered many times: to go on an information diet. Any thoughts on that would be appreciated.
kieckerjan commented on Show HN: Improve cognitive focus in 1 minute oneminutefocus.com... · Posted by u/junetic
Nice work! Does the trick for me.
Tangentially, I would love to have something like this in which I can "program" my own breathwork routines (reps and sets including breath holds). Been trying various apps, but haven't yet found one that ticks all my boxes. (Tips welcome.)