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Off Key - General Discussion

3.9k Topics 27.1k Posts

A place to talk about whatever you want

  • Pinned threads

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    S
    Great!
  • 10 year anniversary

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    ShiroKuroS
    @jon-nyc happy anniversary Jon!!
  • Word association thread

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    Spores
  • Ahoy bread bakers

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    S
    Standard Tartine country loaf with oats on top. White and wheat flour, water, salt, starter.
  • DOGE isn't dead, it's just morphed

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  • The ultimate BBQ

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    wtgW
    Not a bad day (temps in 80s and reasonable humidity). AQI is 111, so not great but definitely way way way better than last Thursday.
  • Meta-thread: Word association thread

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    DougGD
    i’m not sure we even ever agreed on what the penalties are for incorrectly posting to that thread.
  • Ahmadinejad and Mossad

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  • Old habits die hard

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  • Laughter is the best medicine

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    wtgW
    [image: Trump-humor.jpg]
  • We are all getting older ... big demographics trend

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    ShiroKuroS
    I lived in Japan from 1996 until 2008. Since then, I’ve gone back regally, sometimes for extended stays. Recently, I’ve started to really notice the population change. Not when I’m in a Tokyo (although I believe its impacts are there as well). But in Mr SK’s hometown (current population ~62,000), you can feel it, and see the impacts of the aging population …. It’s a bit depressing….
  • Something many of us can relate to

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    MikM
    Yeah, but the occasional debauch still has its charms.
  • What a great idea

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    wtgW
    The US defense secretary, ⁠Pete Hegseth, this week ordered an annual testosterone-deficiency screening for active-duty and reserve service members aged 30 and older, which he says will help to maintain military readiness. But many medical professionals warn it might do nothing of the sort and instead could increase service members’ risk of infertility or lead to other consequences if testosterone is prescribed inappropriately. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/18/us-military-testosterone-screening-doctors On a related note.... Retired Adm James Stavridis, former supreme Allied commander, on the testosterone testing (on Smerconish this morning): But let's back up, Michael, does it make sense? I don't think so. When I look at the needs of the 21st century battlefield, sure, you need some big, burly, UFC like guys, maybe on the very front end of things. But who are the -- who are the killers at scale on these battlefields? They're destroyer captains, often women. They're fighter pilots, often women. They're aircraft carrier commanders. Captains of aircraft carriers, recently, a woman. They are cyber warriors. They are drone warriors. Believe me, Ukrainian women have probably put more Russians in their graves than you can imagine. So when I look at the 21st century battlefield, I'm not sure all of those women who are by definition Low T individuals are the problem. And I think testing everybody and then offering testosterone supplements doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If you want to do something smart medically for the force, go back to requiring flu shots, which were taken away by Secretary Hegseth. https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/smer/date/2026-07-18/segment/01
  • Roger Bannister gives a thumbs up

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    wtgW
    Josh Kerr makes athletics history by shattering one-mile world record in London Time of 3min 42.66sec betters El Guerrouj in 1999 by 0.47 Kerr becomes seventh British man to hold record https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jul/18/josh-kerr-makes-athletics-history-by-shattering-one-mile-world-record-in-london
  • Back when politicians had moral values

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    J
    It sucks she never got justice. His punishment was to not be elected president. You or I would have done real time.
  • Rise Up Pennsylvania

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    B
    Shapiro is DOA
  • The No Data Centers Pledge

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    S
    @Mik Single pass cooling systems are a terrible idea in general.
  • Phantom Twist

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    AxtremusA
    Nice trick with good potentials. Still need to solve the sound/audio issue. Also brings along use cases for wireless integrated sensing and communication ("ISAC", where you use the wireless communications networks to "detect" objects and motions).
  • John Pumphrey

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  • How do LLMs work?

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    AxtremusA
    Not sure there's a "science" behind this. There's mathematics, sure. We know the exact mathematical operations performed to train the LLMs and to make use of the LLMs (perform inferences). But I hesitate to say there is "science" behind it because the mathematical operations performed do not attempt to simulate or approximate any physical system. It's like you execute a series of mathematical operations and plot the output of each step onto a canvas using some coordinate system, then you step back and notice some "interesting patterns." Doesn't mean there is a "science" behind your series of mathematical operations, the output just happen to resemble something you deem interesting when mapped using a certain coordinate system.