Aaron

#MachineLearning engineer. #NLU enthusiast. #AutisticZebra (#autism & #EhlersDanlos). Guitarist, singer, songwriter. Rude-sounding kind person. (he/they)

https://hosford42.github.io/

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npub1ctugzl4z9dfxlwqqv8aa4yan9l4zwjtpkzql7fg6w37axns3rw5q84tk45

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[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsv97yp063zk5n0hqqxr776jwejl638f9smpq0ly5d8glwnfcg3h2qpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsu4prju

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relay.damus.io

nos.lol

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npub1ctugzl4z9dfxlwqqv8aa4yan9l4zwjtpkzql7fg6w37axns3rw5q84tk45

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Last Notes

2024-04-16 15:53:12

I am so ready for this absurdly overblown LLM hype cycle to wrap up, so the adults can get back to the real work.

2024-04-11 21:49:34

My dentist appointment started at tooth hurty.

2024-04-03 07:28:26

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@npub1gnx…d5kh Watching this space for reports of a busted water pipe tomorrow.

2024-04-03 07:23:53

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@npub19fc…ay3c I honestly thought this was going to end with, "and then they shot him."

2024-03-28 14:23:20

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@npub14zq…fddd This feels like a distinction between meta- and base-level ambiguity. Like, we can handle ambiguity if there is an unambiguous boundary defined for it.

2024-03-19 07:04:04

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@npub1wje…kd27 Looks delicious, and nice presentation, too!
I need to try vegan chili sometime. It's weird to imagine, growing up in Texas where meat is central to most food, but with all those spices I bet it works great!

2024-03-15 01:48:47

Was going to get some job hunting done today. Instead I have spent the whole day feeling like crap, too tired to move and struggling to keep my eyes open. Why does this happen to me every single day? Even while taking a medication specifically indicated for wakefulness.
#nuvigil
#DaytimeSleepiness
#SleepDisorder

2024-03-09 20:35:31

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@npub1skv…aky3 I really hope there are folks there to represent the interests and perspectives of those being studied. The autistic community, and the larger neurodivergent community, regularly encounter research that looks at us as broken and in need of repair, presuming from the start that the way we function is a malfunction, because it is not common or typical. This leads to ableism and ethical violations that are invisible from the perspective of the researchers making these faulty assumptions. I would love to see some representation from the neurodivergent community there, to give an insider's perspective.
I think the field is already waking up to this, as well as similar effects for race and gender. I just want to make sure it's being consciously addressed.

2024-03-08 02:13:05

I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but if you know someone who has a chronic health problem, and they mention it to you, that's not an invitation to suggest 20 different quick fixes. Odds are, they've already tried all of them and about 200 more you've never even heard of. It takes energy to swat down superfluous suggestions, and that's something chronically ill folks are often short on. Don't add to it. If we want advice or troubleshooting, we will ask directly.

2024-03-03 20:50:19

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@npub1ytn…qclv I wonder why doors like that are so rare here in the US. They're kind of cool.

2024-03-02 15:27:46

Sites that stop my browser's back button from working so I can't escape their paywall really irritate me. Once I see the paywall it's too late and I can't just say "Never mind, it's not worth it," and hit the back button.
Congratulations, now I won't even click links to your articles in the first place.

2024-03-01 23:22:16

Boycott profit!
Take your business to a cooperative or non-profit company. Every penny wisely spent makes a difference. Down with our corporate overlords! Down with their billionaire owners!
#BoycottProfit
#coops
#cooperatives
#ConsumerCooperatives
#ConsumerCoops
#WorkerCooperatives
#WorkerCoops
#NonProfit
#WealthInequality

2024-02-24 15:48:25

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@npub1zdp…vqv8 The military-esque garb is also a dog whistle, for fascism, I think.

2024-02-24 08:42:46

What would a cooperative startup incubator look like?
#coops
#cooperatives
#incubator
#startup

2024-02-23 18:13:30

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@npub1yne…sy9d There's a whole thing about carrots for dogs. For some of them, it's a literal treat. Labradoodles, in particular, are huge fans. My pomeranian, OTOH, could care less.

2024-02-23 08:38:31

My cat is super excited that I just gave him our leftover steamed broccoli.
It's still weird to me that any cat likes broccoli. He also enjoys avocado, and has even tried sweet potato.

2024-02-23 08:10:09

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@npub1r4h…u0jf I wish I didn't know exactly what you mean. :(

2024-02-21 23:38:22

Social exhaustion is a real thing. I'm trying not to collapse from fatigue, but I've got hours more socializing lined up.
People often assume that if you can do something at all, then you aren't disabled in that activity. But sometimes disability takes the form of an activity being way more taxing for you than someone else.
#ActuallyAutistic

2024-02-16 20:05:34

The entirety of humanity could really benefit from doing away with the concept of social status. Nobody matters less than you. Nobody matters more than you.
Doesn't matter if they are homeless people or super wealthy, intellectually disabled or brilliant, peasants or royalty, nobodies or world leaders, foreigners or fellow citizens, ugly or beautiful... I can go on, but I hope you get the point. Every human life has value. Period.

2024-02-01 12:41:23

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@npub1zak…d6uu I tried it before, but it was basically just me talking at someone while they asked questions and provided zero actual input. I felt like I could've gotten similar utility by calling one of those 1-900 numbers and just spilling my guts to some anonymous stranger who was paid to sit and listen to me. The group I'm setup to meet with tomorrow seems more professional. Maybe I'll get to see what therapy is actually supposed to be like.

2024-02-01 12:33:10

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@npub1zak…d6uu Thank you.
I'm gonna start with physical needs and work my way up the Maslow pyramid. Maybe if I'm not hungry, too, I'll be able to go back to sleep, and that'll be two basic needs met and I can think clearly enough to sort the rest of this crap out.

2024-02-01 12:27:35

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@npub1zak…d6uu I was there. I was holding it together. Then this straw landed on the camel's back. i gotta find my calm again.

2024-02-01 12:23:31

Perfect timing for major family drama to erupt in the middle of the night, right? I swear there is a god after all and he's fucking with me and laughing about jt. It wasn't enough for my boss to die, followed by a mystery virus that had me really sick for a month, followed by covid that had me even sicker for a month, followed by a communication breakdown with my new boss, followed by severe anxiety that had me out of work for a month, followed by a mass layoff. No. The very night after I got laid off, this crap has to happen. Hello again, panic attacks. At least I'm supposed to start therapy tomorrow. #FML

2024-01-21 16:43:37

In modern times, when rich people levy taxes against poor people to support their lavish lifestyles, they don't use government to do it. They use corporations. We call these private sector taxes "profits", and we have been effectively sold the lie that they are not only just, but beneficial to us, and necessary for our economic survival.
#NewAristocracy

2024-01-19 18:47:37

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@npub189n…satx "And you too, disabled people, and trans people, and gay people, and non-Christians, and poor people, and women, and anybody else I don't particularly like."

2024-01-01 17:56:55

Reading an article on some professors teaching physics to Buddhist monks, and this quote stood out to me:
“The thing that stood out to me there, and matters to me as a teacher, is that the monks, it seemed...use debate not as a way of ‘proving’ an idea or demonstrating mastery of a concept, but as a genuine effort to ensure that their own personal ideas hold water."
The world would be a much better place if we humans were more inclined to approach things this way.

2023-12-30 06:53:39

My single biggest gripe about neurotypical people is the profound reluctance that so many of them have towards learning about neurodiversity, autism in particular. Most cannot be bothered to read one Wikipedia article about us, even knowing that one of their acquaintances is autistic and needs them to understand.
I am not trans, but I take the time to learn about trans people, from trans people, so I can better understand the unique difficulties they face. I also do the same for races other than my own, genders other than my own, nationalities other than my own, religions other than my own, neurotypes other than my own, disabilities other than my own, etc. If one disabled, exhausted, and socially encumbered person can find the time to actively learn about and from all these groups, then I can say with confidence that it is not too much to ask the same from a neurotypical person regarding just one. But when I ask for it, I only get excuses and conversational redirections.

2023-12-30 01:50:35

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@npub1nw8…8pu2 @npub108p…z6zd @[email protected] @npub1lrp…n7q6 @npub1q8n…kct8 @npub1l3t…cal9 @npub1nqz…838y I love running into conversations where people are arguing with him, but I can't see his BS because I already blocked him.

2023-12-25 02:50:20

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@npub17sh…6e06 I learned a long time ago that the worst thing you can do to someone who is full of bluster and threats is to blow them off nonchalantly. It takes the steam right out of them. And in the off chance it doesn't work, well, my wife and I have enough video of them saying all kinds of horrible things that we could easily get them for a hate crime.
I wish they would just go away, or at least keep to themselves, though.

2023-12-25 00:57:58

Some new neighbors have decided to make me miserable, playing instruments and partying on their front porch. One of the ableist, racist, homophobic, misogynistic, verbally abusive neighbors with anger issues that live directly across the street noticed me looking unhappily at the other ones currently making the noise and decided to chime in by talking loudly about how he'd punch me in the face if I ever have the nerve to ask them to stop being obnoxious again.
So I stood in my front yard and looked towards him till he noticed me, and then gave him a friendly wave. Naturally he started in cursing me immediately and tried to claim he wasn't talking about me. Coward who likes to run his mouth and sound like a big man. I just laughed, told him to keep running his mouth, and went inside. I don't think he's too happy with me.

2023-12-21 04:24:34

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@npub1zdp…vqv8 @npub16pz…zgfm There is a related number I've been playing around with a bit. I have yet to find other references to it, so maybe I'm the first to stumble upon it. 1.77677... For this number, c^c = c + 1. It's kind of a hyper operational parallel of phi. I'd love to find out what sorts of parallel properties might hold for it as a result of this similarity.

2023-12-21 04:20:00

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@npub1zdp…vqv8 @npub16pz…zgfm It's maximally irrational, in the sense of slowest convergence of rational approximations, IIRC. There was a Quantum Magazine article on it that I read just the other day.

2023-12-21 02:22:08

2 days and 5+ support agents later, I have finally exited AT&T's internet service support infinite loop, thanks to that one who chose to actually listen instead of just following the script and trying to send a technician out to fix a software problem.
AT&T, WTF are you doing? Get it together!

2023-12-16 17:10:21

The Hill: Homelessness in US surges to highest-recorded level
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4363103-homelessness-sours-highest-recorded-level/

2023-12-12 21:53:34

Sorry for being so negative lately. It has been a difficult time. You all hear the stuff I don't say out loud. I appreciate all the support. It's nice to know people care, even if it's just internet acquaintances.

2023-12-08 09:53:04

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@npub1aum…5jx0 Love this illustration! Makes me think of another comparison I like to make. There are fungi that take over ant brains, nematodes that hijack snail eyes, and any number of other parasites that take over not just the resources of the host, but the mind or behavior of the host. Evangelical religions are exactly this, only they are purely software, like a computer virus that runs on wetware. Mental illness that's actually infectious.

2023-11-29 22:39:17

I feel like the world is a sinking ship, and half of us are bailing water with our mighty thimbles in hand, while the other half are gleefully punching extra holes.
How the hell did we get in this situation?

2023-11-28 02:02:38

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@npub19fc…ay3c @npub1hqv…ude4 I never would have guessed, growing up in a Christian household, that the words for Easter and estrogen might share a common word root.
https://www.elitehavens.com/magazine/5-fascinating-things-we-bet-you-didnt-know-about-easter/

2023-11-28 01:58:48

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@npub1hqv…ude4 @npub19fc…ay3c Having been a Christian for the first decade or two of my life, it boils down to an attitude of, don't listen to the evil "worldly wisdom" of those Satanistic atheists. It's just the Devil trying to lead you astray!
You can't learn if you can't bring yourself to listen or think beyond the confines of what's been set out for you as "fact", and there are all kinds of mechanisms in place to prevent exactly that. "It's sinful to question God. You should just have faith. Of *course* what we are telling you is God's Truth, because we too have faith! Pay no mind to how we learned it in the first place."

2023-11-28 01:16:34

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@npub19fc…ay3c Easter eggs and eater bunnies, too! It goes back to the long-practiced Catholic strategy of moving Christian holidays to coincide with pagan ones in order to coopt them, as I understand it.

2023-11-23 16:53:08

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@npub1yg2…a2l6 @npub19fc…ay3c It's possible it's the people and not the venue, I suppose. Some of it might just be cultural.
I'm probably guilty of this pretty often. I know that it's a thing for neurodivergent folks like myself to make less common connections between things. In our mutual discussions, it's very normal to take an abrupt turn in the conversation, and no one blinks.
I am only just now starting to realize that that bothers some people, rather than being a pleasant surprise. While I do care and want to do right by people who have different preferences, it can be difficult to know which side of that fence people sit in advance. It's also difficult to understand why it's upsetting, esp. when someone works differently from yourself. And then there's the difficulty in knowing what counts as the same topic vs a subject change, as people will often disagree about where that line falls.
Do you have suggestions on how to track these things, for someone who is trying to do better?

2023-11-13 21:38:40

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@npub1vz5…qdta @npub1k7x…9d0w Okay. So they just need to do so *without murdering innocent people*.

2023-11-13 20:59:28

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@npub1vz5…qdta @npub1k7x…9d0w I don't care about policies if actions don't match.

2023-11-13 19:10:37

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@npub1vz5…qdta @npub1k7x…9d0w Ethnic cleansing and ethnic cleansing policy are two different things, each of which can exist without the other. What I see is violent people hiding among peaceful and innocent people on both sides. One uses their innocents as human shields to prevent violent retaliation, and the other uses their innocents as human shields to prevent political retaliation. Both groups of perpetrators care nothing about the welfare of the innocents on either side, and so innocent people are paying the price. The entire conflict can be framed in terms of human rights being violated because innocent people are being lumped in with those who are not innocent. If either side chose to protect innocent lives instead of murdering them indiscriminately, I would support their cause. As it is, I support neither, and only support those who have no hand in the violence being perpetrated.

2023-11-13 00:59:18

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@npub1efv…8zve @npub10gv…vzat @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1vy8…jfs5 @npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu I would argue that any so-called god that was relevant to our existence in any way would behave in a way that generated evidence of its existence. So an absence of evidence for a *human-relevant* god is indeed evidence of absence. But this is only evidence, not a certainty. As for broader definitions of godhood, just how meaningful are such claims, whether positive or negative, if they are not relevant to our existence in any way?

2023-11-12 23:49:48

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@npub10gv…vzat @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1vy8…jfs5 @npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu I don't think she's wrong. We must weigh not only the evidence for/against a conclusion, but the evidence for/against the reliability of our information sources. Science has a lot of evidence to support its reliability -- far more than any religion, IMO -- but it's still an educated guess any time we draw a conclusion based on evidence. Contrast this with the only other alternative, which is to guess *without* evidence, i.e. to make a leap of faith. I know which method I'll trust, but I have no illusions about its limitations.

2023-11-12 23:45:50

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@npub1ft4…u768 @npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu I'm under that heading.

2023-11-12 23:44:44

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@npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu That link is broken.
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems

2023-10-11 17:44:31

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@npub1k0h…xygc WTF is this. Fuck off. You sound like an angsty teenager trying to piss off as many people in one go as possible. How sad and small your life must be if this is the only way you can find joy. But you're going to have to go do it elsewhere. Reported and blocked.

2023-09-29 01:43:26

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@npub189n…satx @npub18lj…80hq If I hadn't used Chantix, I'd still be smoking. I was addicted for about a decade. Since then, I've read that Chantix is dangerous. Glad I didn't read that before I used it and quit.

2023-09-29 01:39:31

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@npub189n…satx @npub18lj…80hq Blech! Just the thought...

2023-09-21 18:28:11

Is there a federated answer to GitHub?

2023-09-04 21:27:42

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@npub1nc3…9zpr @npub189n…satx Folks living through our modern slip into fascism should keep this in mind when they decide whether to be complicit out of fear. We have to stand up to them, or we will pay with pieces of our souls.

2023-09-04 21:19:33

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@npub189n…satx It's hard to say for people who are just like their ancestors.

2023-08-29 22:13:29

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@npub1u27…3qfq Not sure what you mean by "stop by". My autistic brain insists I take everything literally and take note of every possible interpretation. Do you mean here on Mastodon, a physical location, or something else?

2023-08-29 20:59:00

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@npub1u27…3qfq Just took a look at your profile. Dazzle is pretty interesting in its own right, for similar reasons to the ones that motivated my original question.
https://dazzle.town/

2023-08-29 06:46:00

Is anybody out there doing any work on federated alternatives to search engines?

2023-08-18 15:25:19

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@npub15dz…6wus Not according to everyone who regularly succumbs to it. :)

2023-08-18 08:53:38

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@npub15dz…6wus How I've felt about it from day 1.

2023-08-15 17:57:37

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@npub189n…satx I hope he rots in prison, and gets beaten down for his whining and bragging and insults every single day. Dipshit Donny. Traitor Trump. AKA human fucking garbage, AKA pile of soft-serve shit.

2023-08-15 17:47:49

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@npub189n…satx Did he, now? JFC he is disgusting.
What was the occasion this time?

2023-08-14 20:09:36

What are some of the harms caused by capitalism? Can these harms be addressed by replacing for-profit corporations with cooperatives? What are some of the benefits of capitalism? Can these benefits be preserved if for-profit corporations are replaced with cooperatives?
I'd love to discuss this with folks who are interested. Please boost & reply if you are.
#Cooperatives
#Capitalism
#Economics
#PostCapitalism
#EconomicSystem

2023-08-14 19:53:41

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@npub1au7…c976 @npub18y0…dsym @npub1qmy…uj5c No, you concede only that either the status quo is the best option *currently*, or that it is not clear what the best option is despite knowing that the status quo is not it. (It's a false dichotomy.) The point of criticism is to take the first step in identifying better options, not promote an already known one.

2023-08-12 23:13:07

Let's be clear about this: Accessibility is not a feature. Inaccessibility is a bug.
If your software or website is inaccessible, that renders it unusable to the end user. It is broken, in other words.
#AccessibilityMatters
#AccessibilityIsNotAFeature
#DisabilityRights
#Accessibility
#Disability
#SoftwareDevelopment
#SoftwareBug
#Web
#UX
#UXDesign

2023-08-11 00:34:12

I am really, really, REALLY irritated by what I just saw. The #ImageDescription function of Microsoft's #Bing is outright lying to people with vision impairments about what appears in images it receives. It's bad enough when an #LLM is allowed to tell lies that a person can easily check for veracity themselves. But how the hell are you going to offer this so-called service to someone who can't check the claims being made and NEEDS those claims to be correct?
How long till someone gets poisoned because Bing lied and told someone it was food that hasn't expired when it has, or that it's safe to drink when it's cleaning solution, or God knows what? This is downright irresponsible and dangerous. #Microsoft either needs to put VERY CLEAR disclaimers on their service, or just take it down until it can actually be trusted.
#Blindness
#VisualImpairment
#Accessibility
#AccessibilityMatters
#Disability
#DisabilityRights
#CorporateResponsibility
#LargeLanguageModels
#MoralHazard

2023-08-07 20:17:39

I am so low on spoons today. I don't understand why some days I just wake up feeling like I've already used up everything I have to offer for the day.