I was surprised to learn a year ago that window AC units with heatpump heating are now available. I imagine they’re a good option when combined with a good window seal.

I was anticipating a negative take on Solarpunk based on the title, but it’s actually quite a well made video with good points. I do wish she had touched on the ideology behind solarpunk (Anarchism), but otherwise good stuff.

Over on the r/Solarpunk community on reddit, there’s often debates as to what constitutes solarpunk, with many arguing that AI and greenwashed buildings should count. I’ve even seen an argument for solarpunk being compatible with capitalism once or twice, and this video would make for a good rebuttal.

The despair you feel toward the average person’s lack of interest or outright dismissal of these very real problems is unfortunately common. As others have said, the magnitude of the problems we face is often paralyzing. How to begin addressing these massive problems was a question asked by a mother to Noam Chomsky in 1992, and I think his answer still holds up quite well. One of his big points is that it’s pretty much impossible to tackle any of this alone, you need a group to brainstorm ideas on how to solve things and not feel so helpless as a single individual surrounded by a sea of uncaring people.

In a way, this community, slrpnk.net, and even the fediverse as a whole is acting as a place for people to come together and know that they’re not entirely alone, though finding a group in real life who shares your values would allow you to really start enacting change, even if on a small scale.

Also @DigitalDilemma@lemmy.ml

It can often take empathy to be able to even see or care beyond oneself and towards a bigger picture. An unemphatic person could, and often does, simply reject an ideology that may not place their own wants or desires above that of others, even if they are in the same class as those who would benefit from such an ideology.

An average right-wing libertarian is often not terribly wealthy and works for a living, putting them in the working class, but they may find Ayn Rand’s flavor of selfish ancap/libertarianism appealing due to a lack of empathy, even if practically it does not improve their circumstances.

There are other people doing things, too and you can find them.

Short guide for how to find those like-minded folk: https://infosec.exchange/@tinker/113589807117870451

Helluva good post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.

I personally have found Just Have a Think to have far more conservative optimism on newer technologies like this, unlike say, Undecided w/ Matt Farrell.

Some of the technologies talked about by the less click-bait-y and grounded youtubers have become a reality, such as sodium Ion batteries, which many had the same (mostly deserved) speculation about it ever seeing the light of day.

@JacobCoffinWrites@slrpnk.net Thought this post might interest interest you, since you mentioned this company in your excellent sailing cargo ship article (Link for those who haven’t seen it, highly recommend).

With closed source apps, we can’t independently verify what is or is not being collected.

But another, longer-term issue, is that because they are proprietary, if they became quite popular, they would very likely be sold to either a competitor to shut it down, or enshittified by adding transaction fees.

As an older example, Paperback Swap was an incredible website where people could give away books in exchange for a credit, which could be exchanged with another user for their book. There were no fees taken by the website, the only cost was shipping the books via media mail (which was extremely affordable, as the books would be wrapped in printer paper).

Paperback Swap was, at the time, a very popular website, with over a million books available. I used the service for many years happily exchanging books.

Then it was purchased by Amazon, which saw Paperback Swap as a threat to their used book market. They immediately enshittified the app, adding transaction fees and requiring you to purchase exchange credits or ongoing subscriptions. Within a couple years the community was effectively killed, and now shambles on as a shell of its former self.

Free, Libre open-source apps are the only long-term refuge from the constant churn of enshittification, as the community can always fork it to prevent bad-actors and venture capital from corrupting it.

For those reasons, you’re likely to experience some pushback on them. We’ve been burned so many times :(

Flohmarket could potentially be an alternative, though I’m not sure if instances can be set up to be purely barter.

Yes it is, as are Ring Cameras.

Fun fact: Flock cameras are susceptible to Lidar damage!

Benn Jordan also came up with a great way to prevent flock cameras from reliably reading license plates using the same methods that artists are using to poison their images for AI.

Yeah, I wasn’t a fan of that either. Still works if you block it, but as you say, it really shouldn’t be requesting that at all.

I notice they have a general inquiry email in their contact section, maybe they’d be willing to take on your suggestion?

I did not suggest you alter your method of writing, I only gave feedback on how the end result of that particular method came off to me, which I made sure to mention was only my subjective opinion. If you prefer that style, then by all means, continue to employ it.

Duck.ai is an anonymous front-end for AI LLMs, most of which are ChatGPT models.

I would put forward that a manually tweaked version of an AI’s rendition of your original writing is, in my subjective opinion, difficult to distinguish from untweaked AI writings.

The abandoned building they squatted together was a colourful tapestry of art, laughter, reclaimed waste, and spirited debates about the nature of authority,

cultivate a spirit of exploration and innovation — create anarchy everywhere you go and the fruits of anarchy will transform not just your life, but the world around you, creating a tapestry of vibrant, interconnected lives unbound by fear or conformity. Don’t grow up, grow wild.

Grow wild in your thoughts, actions, and relationships. Let your ideas blossom like untamed vines, intertwining with others to form a vibrant tapestry of diverse perspectives and experiences.

In the time that I experimented with ChatGPT when it first came out, one thing it would very consistently do is describe things as a ‘vibrant tapestry’. It was one of its favorite words to use, plopping it in there at least 60% of the time.

I know some people’s work have been wrongly accused of using AI for their writings, but combined with the Em-dashes and the overall style/tone of the article, it gives off a strong impression of AI-written vibes.