Author | Lightnews

Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 3d

Maybe they’re trying to force sloppy reply guys to read the thread & check whether someone else already made their witty response

Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 4d

High-level LLM complaints (theft, energy usage) aside, I think this gets to my core complaint with LLM _output_.

I care about nuance. Regurgitated words in a technically valid pattern won't be nuanced unless the LLM understands the topic as well as I do, and LLMs don't understand anything.

Ana Marie Cox @anamariecox.bsky.social · 4d

I’ve played with LLMs a fair amount and noticed something that these studies that show using LLMs degrading intellectual performance may not be picking up: What if having pretty good critical thinking skills makes LLMs less appealing/satisfying to use in the first place?

Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 10d

I have that too! And if I was one of those clue-having types I would probably notice the tapping on my wrist saying “your bedtime is set for 11:15”

They need to invent ADHD meds that last until bedtime and then immediately stop working

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 10d

This is how I realized I also missed my bedtime

brain is great these days, super trustworthy and reliable

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 12d

Musician friends tend to rank bandcamp > tidal > apple > spotify. For all their lousy corporate decisions lately, it sounds like Apple pays artists a bit more, and at least they're not generating AI-based slop to steal from actual performers. (Yet)

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 12d

I jumped through the hoops to set up plex that way (some limited release EPs, bootleg concert recordings, etc) and then discovered that I could add local things to my apple music library & stream them to myself for less hassle. Was pretty easy when I set it up but that was some years ago.

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 12d

Hey @awkwardandodd.bsky.social I'm touring the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a prospective harpist next week. Any favorite bookstores or places to wander in Glasgow?

I know you're not exactly local, but you're closer than anyone else I follow :)

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 15d

I've had the same experience with my kids. They always start by mentioning "this weird thing I watch" but once the door is opened it turns out other friends are also watching.

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 16d

I feel like when this site was 80% smaller we were all building relationships that were like... 800% stronger

my math is sketchy but I felt like for a brief time people could be themselves and it was great, the world has a lot of awesome people in it

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 17d

I am failing at bsky search, or maybe bsky is just failing - I want to know more about this unreasonably exciting condiment!

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 18d

I wonder whether those digital numbers include things like apple news+, where I technically have access to wapo because I wanted a discount on family plans for icloud storage & music.

Feel the same way about it that I do about music - wish I could point my subscription $ to places I care about. :(

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 18d

oooooh if someone were in town for a renaissance festival sometime soon... that looks close enough for a side trip

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 23d

I mean… yeah same

not just here but everywhere tbh

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 23d

Nooooo you’re a bright point in my days!

I haven’t checked to see why you’re deactivating so of course do it if you need it. But I’m going to be bummed if all the excellent people leave this place.

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · 28d

For what it’s worth, your investment in labelers has made my experience here noticeably better, and I imagine others feel the same.

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · Sep 28

this is how I ended up with five semi-headless systems screwed to the furnace room wall

macbook, thinkpad, lenovo thin client, mac mini x2... and the firewall box might be able to host if I containerized any of this garbage

not sure if this is a cautionary or motivational tale

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · Sep 23

nws-bot.us/bskyList2Lis... ?

Migrate Content List to Mod List or vice versa

nws-bot.us

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · Sep 21

You were missed! I hope this doesn't feel like pressure, but your posts are generally cheerful, and I really need some cheer from social media these days. So while I can appreciate the need to disconnect (and I'm a little jealous) I'm glad it was temporary.

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · Sep 21

I love how I tried to type “well-designed systems” and autocorrect, everyone’s favorite intelligent language enhancer, decided I meant “week-designed” argghghhggh

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · Sep 21

Wtf? AI in the form that’s being pushed today (LLMs) is the opposite of efficient and accurate.

Computers / machine learning / pattern recognition can be helpful, but in 2025 when someone says AI they don’t mean those types of week-designed systems.

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · Sep 21

I had to check and it seems like “CNN Newsource” is basically a taboola chumbox but for local news. So yup, WCAX republished it as written because no humans are involved in this shoveling of slop.

Soon I’m sure this process will be enhanced with AI. Quality local news, everyone.

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · Sep 12

Speed Queen dryers were recommended by the repair guy, ours is ~15 years old now with no issues. No idea if they do washers.

If you need a dishwasher, the ones from Bosch are amazingly quiet. Reliable too, unless you install the filter wrong and run ceramic chips through the pump...

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · Sep 12

search "Todd Akin legitimate"

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · Sep 11

s'mores on the forge house party

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Shawn Freebern @smf.bsky.social · Sep 6

B

Now do “we reduced drug prices by 1500%” and let’s see what that means

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