Cosmic Ray-mond Particle
@sabertail.org
Aka Raymond. Akita/GShep. Former particle physicist (PhD) (+salt miner), but now I write software. Using "AI" for science since '05. I make things, enjoy outdoors, and play guitar. (41, male, straight)-ish. SF Bay. Sometimes NSFW
Pinned
What does a fox look like on a thermal camera?
September 16, 2026 at 1:55 PM
What does a fox look like on a thermal camera?
Beyond tokenmaxxing, some of what's driving "AI" adoption is "my boss got a stupid idea from the chatbot. I'll have the bot spit something out so I can claim I'm working on it"
1980s USSR: they pretend to pay us so we pretend to work
2020s USA: they pretend to run a business so we pretend to work
1980s USSR: they pretend to pay us so we pretend to work
2020s USA: they pretend to run a business so we pretend to work
September 15, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Beyond tokenmaxxing, some of what's driving "AI" adoption is "my boss got a stupid idea from the chatbot. I'll have the bot spit something out so I can claim I'm working on it"
1980s USSR: they pretend to pay us so we pretend to work
2020s USA: they pretend to run a business so we pretend to work
1980s USSR: they pretend to pay us so we pretend to work
2020s USA: they pretend to run a business so we pretend to work
Enjoyed a long weekend on Santa Cruz Island. Wish I were still there (instead of having to go into the office). It's an amazing and beautiful place!
September 15, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Enjoyed a long weekend on Santa Cruz Island. Wish I were still there (instead of having to go into the office). It's an amazing and beautiful place!
I had a good time!
September 10, 2026 at 6:53 AM
I had a good time!
goin' to a concert tonight
September 10, 2026 at 12:17 AM
goin' to a concert tonight
Media often depicts people being bullied to the point where they can't take any more, snap, and fight back.
It rarely depicts the people who get bullied to the point where they can't take any more and withdraw from everything that a bully could target.
It rarely depicts the people who get bullied to the point where they can't take any more and withdraw from everything that a bully could target.
September 8, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Media often depicts people being bullied to the point where they can't take any more, snap, and fight back.
It rarely depicts the people who get bullied to the point where they can't take any more and withdraw from everything that a bully could target.
It rarely depicts the people who get bullied to the point where they can't take any more and withdraw from everything that a bully could target.
like 80% of running a journal club is being annoying enough that people would rather sign up for a slot than deal with your stream of "that work sounds interesting, would you want to talk about it in journal club?"
September 8, 2026 at 8:37 PM
like 80% of running a journal club is being annoying enough that people would rather sign up for a slot than deal with your stream of "that work sounds interesting, would you want to talk about it in journal club?"
no, I did not want to "summarize with a shake". I dropped my phone
September 8, 2026 at 8:28 PM
no, I did not want to "summarize with a shake". I dropped my phone
confession: I have not played Ocarina of Time past the first 10 or so minutes
September 8, 2026 at 7:32 PM
confession: I have not played Ocarina of Time past the first 10 or so minutes
Regardless of any intellectual theft or not, hearing a rumor that someone has solved a problem and aiming a computing firehose at it in order to scoop them is shitty behavior
September 8, 2026 at 6:58 PM
Regardless of any intellectual theft or not, hearing a rumor that someone has solved a problem and aiming a computing firehose at it in order to scoop them is shitty behavior
what if you showed up to the orgy right after they ran out of condoms?
September 8, 2026 at 1:40 AM
what if you showed up to the orgy right after they ran out of condoms?
I am still waiting for VR to get good enough to fill the "pretend to be an animal from the comfort of my bed on a holiday morning" hole in my life that MUCKs used to occupy
September 7, 2026 at 12:43 PM
I am still waiting for VR to get good enough to fill the "pretend to be an animal from the comfort of my bed on a holiday morning" hole in my life that MUCKs used to occupy
it was a power mac
an aluminum tower mac
it only had one slow core
an aluminum tower mac
it only had one slow core
September 6, 2026 at 8:35 PM
it was a power mac
an aluminum tower mac
it only had one slow core
an aluminum tower mac
it only had one slow core
LZ saw one candidate dark matter interaction in 2.8 tonne years of exposure. Which is interesting!
But particle physics history is full of 3 sigma events that disappeared with more data (which they are collecting)
But particle physics history is full of 3 sigma events that disappeared with more data (which they are collecting)
September 1, 2026 at 7:07 PM
LZ saw one candidate dark matter interaction in 2.8 tonne years of exposure. Which is interesting!
But particle physics history is full of 3 sigma events that disappeared with more data (which they are collecting)
But particle physics history is full of 3 sigma events that disappeared with more data (which they are collecting)
I'm free. Reddit finally started requiring a login for old dot, and now it's too much effort to visit when I'm killing time
September 1, 2026 at 4:26 AM
I'm free. Reddit finally started requiring a login for old dot, and now it's too much effort to visit when I'm killing time
they RLHFed the LLMs to talk in technobabble (in the Star Trek sense) because that impresses barely literate, non-technical people who will thumbs-up the explanation instead of saying "wtf?"
August 31, 2026 at 11:00 PM
they RLHFed the LLMs to talk in technobabble (in the Star Trek sense) because that impresses barely literate, non-technical people who will thumbs-up the explanation instead of saying "wtf?"
the simple plan EP, by August is Falling
5 track album
augustisfalling.bandcamp.com
August 31, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Raymond makes the "they trans-ed the America Pyramid" joke one too many times, asked to leave the SF bay area
August 29, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Raymond makes the "they trans-ed the America Pyramid" joke one too many times, asked to leave the SF bay area
Friday night plans: get high, walk to the store, get a pint of ice cream, walk back, listen to the new Death Cab for Cutie album, and play some video games
August 28, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Friday night plans: get high, walk to the store, get a pint of ice cream, walk back, listen to the new Death Cab for Cutie album, and play some video games
so buff I broke an adjustable dumbbell
(they're kind of shit, and if you ever slightly bend one, they will not fit together properly, and the iron is brittle enough that it snapped when I tried bending it back)
(they're kind of shit, and if you ever slightly bend one, they will not fit together properly, and the iron is brittle enough that it snapped when I tried bending it back)
August 28, 2026 at 2:57 PM
so buff I broke an adjustable dumbbell
(they're kind of shit, and if you ever slightly bend one, they will not fit together properly, and the iron is brittle enough that it snapped when I tried bending it back)
(they're kind of shit, and if you ever slightly bend one, they will not fit together properly, and the iron is brittle enough that it snapped when I tried bending it back)
2 hour video essay on "Are Dippin' Dots hauntological?"
(yes)
(yes)
August 27, 2026 at 6:50 PM
2 hour video essay on "Are Dippin' Dots hauntological?"
(yes)
(yes)
I saw this creature napping on my walk to the train station, and woke it up trying to take a picture.
I also saw a hawk carrying a mouse, and I need to consult a Roman priest to interpret that for me.
I also saw a hawk carrying a mouse, and I need to consult a Roman priest to interpret that for me.
August 27, 2026 at 2:21 PM
I saw this creature napping on my walk to the train station, and woke it up trying to take a picture.
I also saw a hawk carrying a mouse, and I need to consult a Roman priest to interpret that for me.
I also saw a hawk carrying a mouse, and I need to consult a Roman priest to interpret that for me.
I picked a good (for knowledge)/bad (for anxiety) time to read this because the predictions are that this El Niño is going to be as strong as 1877
Late Victorian Holocausts by Mike Davis
It looks at both climate (specifically ENSO) and imperial aspects that combined to yield the massive famines in the late 19th century. I found it interesting though I'm not sure I retained much except some basics of climate and that the British are evil
It looks at both climate (specifically ENSO) and imperial aspects that combined to yield the massive famines in the late 19th century. I found it interesting though I'm not sure I retained much except some basics of climate and that the British are evil
August 27, 2026 at 1:42 AM
I picked a good (for knowledge)/bad (for anxiety) time to read this because the predictions are that this El Niño is going to be as strong as 1877
I'm still holding out hope for a new CAKE album, but 2018's "Sinking Ship" single was perfectly prophetic
August 27, 2026 at 1:37 AM
I'm still holding out hope for a new CAKE album, but 2018's "Sinking Ship" single was perfectly prophetic