I’ve had an interesting life.

Found it at the library 10+ years ago, read the flyleaf, thought, “This is pants on head idiotic. I need a break on something light. Let’s try it.” I have never been more wrong in judging a book by it’s cover.

Read it probably 13-14 times, kinda embarrassing. Anyway, the ship’s captain is a vampire. And it’s hard sci-fy, no sparkles. My post was the vampire talking about humans.

explores whether we’re conscious or not

Holy shit will you love Blindsight. You are going to scream with joy. Free on the author’s site.

One more thing, Watts puts a bibliography (science journals and books) in the back for every idea he writes about.

They are not, however, a version of human intelligence. Nor are they truth seekers or reasoning machines.

Neither are our brains.

“Brains are survival engines, not truth detectors. If self-deception promotes fitness, the brain lies. Stops noticing—irrelevant things. Truth never matters. Only fitness. By now you don’t experience the world as it exists at all. You experience a simulation built from assumptions. Shortcuts. Lies. Whole species is agnosiac by default.”

― Peter Watts, Blindsight

LLMs are built from our words. Maybe they’re more human than human? One wonders.

Crushing on the rightmost girl! Perfectly in character. Perfect moves trying not to laugh.

Flourish was the word I wanted! Yeah, don’t be a dork OP. Nothing wrong with tossing out the occasional old-timey word when it fits. I talk like a redneck Southerner, but occasionally show off my vocabulary with a word or French phrase.

“Hell yeah I love fucking with antique shotguns! It’s my raison d’être some nights!”

Tomatoes are already shit as we genetically modified them to be nice and round, blotch free. Same mods also removed the sugars and acids, which are the two things that make a tomato a fucking tomato.

Anyway, growing and harvesting tomatoes is a cold stone bitch. I’m sure red-blooded Americans will be glad for the work! BTW, I’m in NW Florida. Even down here I can’t grow year-round. Good luck with that.

Hello? FBI? Yes, this post right here.

I assume you wear programmer socks. DM pics?

You don’t? I dated the teacher across the street and she partied all summer. Yes, they stop later and start sooner than when the kids do.

It’s not merely lacking amenities, it’s already falling apart. I’d far rather be in a regular prison than that hellhole. For that matter, I’d gladly be homeless first.

Another great example is Quik Trip, a convenience store chain. I could go on and on, but if you know you know. Nowhere else holds a candle to QT and the employees make lifelong careers from working there. No shit.

Did early Y2K updates for them in 98, because they were ahead of the curve. Had touch screen POS terminals, in 1998. Even had in-house IT who wrote their custom software. Imagine that! Some of the clerks told me their monthly bonus was often more than their paycheck.

You won’t see someone being trained in the store. Hell no, that’s a six-week class, because they invest in their people.

Went to a couple of stores in East KC. They didn’t hire rent-a-cops, they paid actual cops to stand in the store. No fucking around.

Story goes that the owner said, “I got rich and it’s payback time.” Wildly successful outfit.

Anyway, I could have had a career with their IT but I let a chick I met online hang out with me at Harrah’s Casino and Hotel. She ripped me off via room service and QT was stuck with the bill. Didn’t even get laid. What a life.

*Napoleon Bonaparte

But it does sound like Sun Tzu! Which reminds me, got a new copy of The Art of War and I haven’t read it in 10 or 20 years.

Fair enough! I was going to edit and say that black powder isn’t technically explosive, just burns real fast.

Largely why I asked this. Still haven’t found a good answer that doesn’t outline how they might be caught. How cares?!

LOL, that’s quite a range! How big is the area you work in?

I meant the client list. Unless I’m missing something?

Stretch against the cramped muscle, push hard, cramp dissolves instantly. Weight lifter taught me that 30 years ago, figured everyone knew!

Stretch against whatever muscle is cramping. It’s counter intuitive and sounds like it would hurt like hell. Instant relief.

Any Chinese name beginning with X. Took me awhile to figure out Nuyen as well.

I make my own black powder for shooting.

2 KNO3 + S + 3 C

Stump remover, sulfur, charcoal. Few bucks to make a kilo.