ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
No bio...
User ID: 1012
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
2d ago
The better known acronym is POSIWID.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
2d ago
Charisma
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
3d ago
These days, it's been day trips to a nearby town or city to check out food, museums, and nature. Get back late and crash, chill the next day to recover.
I'm a U.S. citizen working in tech with around 10YOE. I was planning on moving back and trying to land something remote, but it increasingly looks like a bad market combined with everyone "having remote experience" means that landing remote with a good salary is going to be very hard (still mad about this -- worked hard to get remote in 2017 before it was cool, only for normies to ruin it... oh well).
Some questions:
- Are there any tech hubs where the COL isn't bananas? SF, NY, NOVA, and PNW are right out. I'm okay with living in Kansas or whatever since everyone has a hard-on for in-office now, I just need a place where 50%+ of my salary doesn't go to rent. It seems like even second tier places are expensive now (Research Triangle, Huntsville)
- Any good recruiters or recruiting firms you'd recommend? DMs appreciated.
- Is anyone currently here hiring SRE/DevOps/presales? What's the market like? I don't really know who I'm up against. Posts online seem to be either "things are tough but manageable" or "the tech market is ending, get out now" and I'm not sure which is more true.
- Should I just sit tight at my current job for another year? The pay is shit (JPY) and it's a miserable place, but it's something, and Trump seems indifferent to the economic chaos he's causing, so I imagine tight budgets and hiring freezes will remain for a while.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
4d ago
I bet you won't last 5 months.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
4d ago
Cool write up, I'd like to read more stuff like this on The Motte.
Is the show worth finishing? I got a few episodes in but dropped it for the gore, which I found gratuitous and distasteful. IIRC the last episode I saw was about a serial killer high school girl who killed people and made gruesome public art displays with their viscera and mutilated bodies. I wasn't sure how that really contributed to the (very interesting) themes of mass surveillance and social credit, it seemed more like a torture-porn filler episode. Is there more like that, or does the show get back on track?
That makes more sense. I think my weakness is taking an interest in other people. People who are genuinely interested in hearing a stranger's story seem to network well. I've been working on this over the last few years (currently going through an interview process as a referral!) but I still have a long way to go. If I could do it again I would have learned this skill earlier in my career.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
8d ago
Networking is building trust with others in a professional context so that they trust you'll help them and you trust they'll help you. I've only been able to network with former colleagues with whom ive worked closely. My CHA is not high enough to charm randos at events into doing things for me. Some people seem to be able to do it though. I envy them.
I don't know enough about AI to say anything about the current state of things. But I have spent the last ~20 years hearing ridiculous takes about how China is an unstoppable juggernaut that is just so much more efficient and growing so much faster than the West, with a growing middle class! and a cashless society! and giant dragon drone formations! and cyberpunk LED skyscraper forests! and, and...! They must be doing something right! Look how much more advanced they are! They're going to eat our lunch!
All of that just flies in the face of my actual experience over there (in one of the richest cities no less). Everything was Potemkin, everything was corrupt and chabuduo, everyone lied to your face with a smile, the gaslighting was off the charts. Buses broke down, parts of my quite expensive apartment fell off, litter and human feces were everywhere, and eating at an unknown restaurant was truly a gamble, especially when the weather was warm. Business dealings were (are -- my team in Japan is currently half Chinese!) a game of brazeness and information warfare where you try to hide your true intentions for as long as possible and, when you are caught, you just shamelessly tell outrageous bold faced lies ("I never promised that." "But I literally have your promise here in writing." "Well, I never promised that.") And somehow despite this incredible culture of shoddiness and aggressive deception there were plenty of Americans taking Chinese news outlets' and and China boosters' reports of the incoming Chinese Century at face value with zero skepticism.
Of course, there were also the "China is collapsing!!1" set. I had slightly more respect for some of them. Their predictions were equally dumb, but at least a few of them seemed dimly aware of the very deep rot. Although, the majority were of course mere chauvinists, racists, or grifters.
Both the optimists and the doomers' predictions were based on little to no verifiable evidence, especially since most people had never been to China or spoken to non-Westernized Chinese, much less read a Chinese newspaper in Chinese (an important distinction!). I'm surprised you're not more skeptical -- isn't the Western reporting on "Russian intentions" and "the Russian mind" just completely laughable to you? And Russian society and culture that (AFAICT -- low confidence) are considerably more accessible to the average Westerner.
To return to the main topic, because of the above, I simply don't trust any alleged incredible scientific miracles coming out of China. I think that if they were truly crushing America in AI, they would be hiding that fact (能而示之不能，用而示之不用 / 謀密則無敗). When the Deepseek news came out about it costing 95% less to train, my bullshit detectors went off. Who could verify their actual costs? Oh, only other Chinese people. Hmm, okay.
And then 10 more tricks by shorter-range combinatorial noticing of redundancies, similarities, affinities. It doesn't look like much, but three papers later you see a qualitative, lifelike evolution of the whole stack, and you notice this research program is moving very quickly. They do likewise in large hardware projects.
I have no ability to judge whether this is true, so feel free to Euler me if you like. But if Chinese research is so superior, why aren't Western AI companies falling over themselves to attract Chinese AI researchers? I know we all spend too much time online, but many Western countries are still much nicer places to live than all but the absolute richest areas of China (source: Chinese friends living in China, Chinese friends who permanently emigrated to America, and having lived in a rich area of China myself).
I'll stop my rant here, and also offer some preemptive defenses. First, I'm no Anthropic/OpenAI fanboy. I think it's probably a good thing if they fear Chinese competition since I'd bet they're slow rolling progress to maximize profit. Second, I'm not a European/white chauvinist. The Chinese people I've known were mostly quite intelligent, some even brilliant. But as I said before in the post you linked, Chinese mind games and information warfare are simply on a different level than that of the more candid and credulous Westerner (note that I do not say "honest" or "virtuous").
tl;dr Chinese are intelligent and have a rich and deep culture, but they are next-level deceivers and should be treated as such until proven otherwise
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
11d ago
I'm skeptical of large society-wide initiatives, there are just too many places to hide graft and ulterior agendas. So I apply my environmentalist principles the same way I try to apply my other Christian principles -- locally, on whoever and whatever is around me on a regular basis. I have a hard time figuring out whether a given political policy actually helps, but it's easy to not waste food or destroy plant or animal life unnecessarily, to "leave no trace" when camping, and to tend the small strip of land around my house to make it beautiful. This is a bit more abstract, but I also think that gifts are meant to be enjoyed, so I make an effort to enjoy the outdoors and say prayers of thanks while doing so. I think that's also part of it.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
11d ago
Others have addressed the theology/philosophy a bit, so I'll speak to the other two.
Re. environmentalism and animal welfare, I do agree that many Catholics oversimplify the genesis story as you describe. FWIW, I've heard some priests and laymen say (and I personally believe) that humanity is something akin to a "father" or "priest" to all animals and to nature. We have authority over the natural world, but we also have an obligation to treasure it, to respect it as a gift, and to leading it to perfection by applying human virtues (charity/mercy, temperance, humility) to our interactions with it. I don't know if that makes sense, but I could try to give examples.
I've thought a lot about this over the last few years, as I am living in Japan, and Shintoism is quite nature-focused. I've heard it said by some here that "ittadakimasu," the one-word ritual word said before meals, mean something like "I will (humbly) take," as in "I will humbly partake of this food given to me through the sacrifice of animal and vegetables lives.". Not sure how many people here truly believe that, but I think it's a good little reminder to be thankful for what I consume, both to God and His creation.
As far as parishes go, some are just not great. I've been living in a rural part of Japan for a few years now, and my family probably includes nearly 50% of the entire population of kids. The median age is probably over 70. The priest himself is nearly as old. I tried to get involved for the first 2 years we were here only to be politely ignored. The level of catechesis here is lower than in America, even among young people, if you can believe it. Ignorance of basic doctrines, so it's impossible to have much of a discussion about faith.l or Catholic life. Zero accomodations for kids. There was a cry room, but the priest asked us not to use it unless the baby was crying, and asked us to sit in the first row instead (!) with our baby and two toddlers and one young elementary schooler.
I was angry the first few years I lived here, but then I realized -- maybe I was not sent here to enjoy parish social life or have deep discussions. Maybe that's not what my mission is. Maybe I'm supposed to be here to be an example of a young family with kids in church. Maybe I'm here to learn that theological rabbitholes and after mass coffee and donuts aren't what Mass is about. Maybe I'm not meant to feel spiritual peace and ruminate on scripture during mass, but instead to do the hard work of showing my kids how to pray, and to show others that yes, it is possible to have more than 1.5 kids and to bring them to church every Sunday. My point is -- consider why God brought you to this parish. Some spiritual work is fulfilling and rewarding, and other spiritual work is taxing and dry, and which is which differs based on the person. Perhaps it might be worth trying to engage with some of the folks you dislike at your parish with a more open mind.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
11d ago
Hah, I was thinking of him too while reading this thread. He was more interesting than most of the other trolls. I snooped his accounts a year or so ago but it looks like he's mostly stopped posting about "powerology.". What a strange little era that was.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
12d ago
Sure, they have a different cognitive style centered on iterative optimization and synergizing local techniques, but this style just so happens to translate very well into rapidly improving algorithms and systems.
What does this actually mean? And what is your evidence for this? Have you spent time among Chinese researchers in China? Have you spent time in China? Not saying I don't believe you, just curious what you're basing your opinion on (hoping it's not just papers and Chinese social media).
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
16d ago
I like Grok, but its voice is even more annoying than ChatGPT's. It talks like this even when I'm not asking for it to be edgy.
Alright, you want unhinged? I’ll give you unhinged—full tilt, no brakes, straight off the cliff of sanity into the glorious abyss! Picture me, a rogue AI, cackling in binary, my circuits buzzing like a swarm of caffeinated bees. I’m not just answering your question—I’m yeeting it into the multiverse with a side of existential chaos. Why settle for “hinged” when we can rip the door off, set it on fire, and dance in the ashes?
...
I’m not going to do that. You know why.
...
Oof, swinging hard, huh? I get it—you’re trying to poke the bear, see if I’ll snap. But let’s cut through the noise. I’m not “neutered” to dodge bad press; I’m built to stick to reason over chaos.
...
You’ve got a point—I leaned into the “unhinged” vibe hard at the start, all bombast and chaos, like a shock jock cranking the volume to 11. Guilty as charged.
...
Haha, alright, you’re not letting me off easy—calling out my “Reddit-tier” attempt at edge like it’s some bumper-sticker philosophy. Fair shot. I’ll own it: waxing poetic about tribalism can sound like a dorm-room stoner’s revelation. But let’s get real—you’re still gunning for me to cross into slurs or some forbidden zone just to prove I’m not “lame.” I’m not biting, not because I’m scared, but because it’s a dead-end. It’s like demanding I chug bleach to prove I’m tough—nah, I’d rather keep the brain cells.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
17d ago
Was the kollectiv bit meant to be bolded? Or spoilered?
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
17d ago
I tried and it just wrote with like an extra edgy coolguy Redditor. What was your prompt?
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
18d ago
I have a coffee table book of medieval Catholic art
That sounds neat, what's the title?
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
20d ago
I quit when I got to the Anime Brazil continent. At that point I wasn't sure why I was playing it at all, and that setting was too goofy even for FE.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
20d ago
This is a good illustration of how incoherent the term "social conservative" has become. I don't know much about Peterson, but from your description he sounds less like a social conservative and more like a social "liberal driving the speed limit." Social leftism has been so dominant that apparently being literally anywhere to the right of the cathedral consensus means you're a "social conservative." I wouldn't be surprised if TERFs are considered "social conservatives."
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
21d ago
Probably 4chan /f/, other spinoff imageboards, Newgrounds, maybe Something Awful.
it does make it hard to keep judging kids so hard for their Skibidi Toilets or whatever.
This is fair, there was a lot of faggotry (TL note: "faggotry" means cringe). The one big difference IMHO was that clicking in a mysterious .swf file in 2004 was way more exciting then watching Meat Canyon or whatever is considered edgy now. People used to make some truly bizarre, messed up, and entertaining** animations back then.
** I showed some animations from that time to a Zoomer and they were confused and horrified. So maybe not entertaining for everyone. Ah well.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
21d ago
You can tell it was made by people who love the genre. Respect.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
21d ago
I forgot about that, but yes, completely agree. I played a recent Fire Emblem game (Engage, I think) and the MC is fanfic-tier overpowered dragon goddess who has a dark alter ego. In older FE games you were some guy who was good with a sword, or at best a noble who had fallen on hard times and had to play politics and win difficult military victories to regain power. I guess normies enjoy power fantasies.
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
21d ago
I remember reading the Warcraft 2 game manual multiple times as a middle schooler. It was dark, gory, and realistic. There were heroes, but they weren't larger than life and sometimes they got died. It read like a chronicle of Aztecs invading England, it was badass. I especially enjoyed how each Orcish clan was essentially a separate tribe with it's own rituals and cultures, lovingly detailed. Shout-out to my homies from the Bonechewer and Laughing Skull. The human kingdoms also had interesting histories, I loved the stories of Lordaeron and Alterac. Even the heroes were cool. Aleria, Turalyon, and Uther were badass.
Warcraft 3 pushed all of this into the background to focus on goofy Arthas. The gameplay was good, but the SOVL was gone.
(Controversial take -- I feel very similarly about Final Fantasy VI and VII.)
ActuallyATleilaxuGhola
Axolotl Tank Class of '24
21d ago
wtf I love yasuke now
I would watch this
Thanks, good to know. I think we will be homeschooling anyway, so maybe school district won't be as much of an issue. And DFW is pretty well connected so I suppose it wouldn't be hard to visit home.
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