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Archmage's Apothecary ✨

@archmagesapoth.bsky.social

700 followers 1K following 3.5K posts

Oddities and Curiosities, from our Tower to Your's ✨🔮 🏡 www.archmagesapothecary.com ☕ https://ko-fi.com/archapoth

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Archmage's Apothecary ✨ @archmagesapoth.bsky.social · 21d

The new gingerbread wax melts came out sooo well. They smell divine 😍 Experimented doing the detailing with a batik pen and it worked so well 🔥

A hand holding a buttery tan swirling bunt cake shaped wax melt with white icing wax droplets on top

A batik wax pen being held in front of melting wax pellets

Archmage's Apothecary ✨ @archmagesapoth.bsky.social · 4h

*Me opening up Photoshop to do yet again, more product images*

a man wearing sunglasses is talking to a woman in a bar .

Alt: bernard black from black books tv show with sunglasses looking disgusted at manny saying don't make me laugh...bitterly

media.tenor.com

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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 6h

This is so bleak:

www.404media.co/a16z-is-fund...

Last week, I wrote about Doublespeed, essentially a click farm that sells “synthetic influencers” to astroturf whatever product or service you want across social media, despite it being a clear violation of every social media platform's policy on inauthentic behavior. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

a16z’s Speedrun is also backing:

Creed: An AI company “rooted in Christian Values” which produces Lenny, a “Bible-based AI buddy who's always got your back with wise words, scripture-inspired guidance, and a listening ear whenever you need it.”
Zingroll: The “world’s largest Netflix-quality AI streaming platform,” which is another way of saying it’s a Netflix populated exclusively with AI Slop.
Vega: which is building “AI-powered social orbits.” What does that mean? Not entirely clear, but the company has produced one of the most beautiful Mad Libs paragraphs I’ve ever seen: “We’re building the largest textual data moat on human relationships by gamifying the way people leave notes for each other. For the first time, LLMs can analyze millions of raw, human-written notes at scale and turn them into structured meaning, powering the most annotated social graph ever created.”
Moona Health: an AI-powered Sleep care app the company says is covered by insurance. “Our AI-powered platform automates insurance claims and scheduling and analyzes sleep data – providing personalized session guidelines to therapists,” Moona says.
Jooba: “The world’s first autonomous recruiting firm.”
Margin: “The World’s first AI powered credit card.” Margin says “Customers earn points, with dynamic rewards that adapt to their preferences in real time.”
First Voyage: A wellness app that gives you AI “mythological pets that turn wellness into play.”
Axon Capital: billed as “DeepMind for Finance,” Axon says it has “pioneered brain-inspired, low-latency AI for financial markets.”

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Steven W. Thrasher is finishing The Overseer Class @thrasherxy.bsky.social · 4h

I’m just a boy with his ChatGPT cherry intact looking for another boy with his ChatGPT cherry intact looking for hot analog times made up of stimulating analog conversations about analog writings we’ve made and read

Matthew Noe @noethematt.bsky.social · 13h

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO FUCKING REWRITE WHAT I'VE JUST WRITTEN!"

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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 5h

Maybe the thing that gives me a pulse-pounding throbbing headache is when I think of how techbros sold ChatGPT to universities as ‘revolutionizing’ higher education and our institutions just forked over money without even asking for actual evidence

Joe Hanson @drjoehanson.bsky.social · 9h

When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.

Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.

academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning

Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when

academic.oup.com

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Archmage's Apothecary ✨ @archmagesapoth.bsky.social · 7h

Growing up in Texas was a lot 😂

Archmage's Apothecary ✨ @archmagesapoth.bsky.social · 7h

Thought fr sure it was the other way around when I saw Tylenol trending. The counter-suit will be brutal. Sue not only the state, but the individuals, for defamation. Give them the Alex Jones treatment. Force them into applying for SNAP until they realise they already destroyed SNAP and will starve.

Politico @politico.com · 9h

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the maker of Tylenol.

The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration has promoted unproven claims linking Tylenol use to autism.

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Tylenol manufacturer amid Trump’s pressure campaign

The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration has promoted unproven claims linking Tylenol use to autism.

www.politico.com

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David 'DB' Andry @dbandry.bsky.social · 8h

Really awesome show coming up, a library con in Berkley, Saturday, Nov 8th. Mark those calendars!

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tweety fish @sifu.tweety.fish · 21h

in many ways the worst situation of all is when errors are rare, but not rare enough that you can ignore them, and completely unpredictable. LLMs seem well placed to dive directly into that sweet spot.

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tweety fish @sifu.tweety.fish · 21h

there's something about LLMs as automation technology that I've been trying to figure out how to phrase, where the "better" they get in the sense of not making obvious errors, the worse they are, because that doesn't mean they're not making errors, it just means the errors are better hidden /

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kris anka @kristaferanka.bsky.social · 1d

ive been thinking about this since I walked around AnimeExpo, and walking around Lightbox really cemented it for me:
But I think more artist alley tables should have a tip jar.

there are so many artists I come across that id like to support financially, but I often have no need of any more merch

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 23h

While the top 1% control $54 TRILLION

(not a typo)

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 1d

The Walton family (who own Walmart) are worth over $400 billion, yet many of their employees are on SNAP.

Bezos is worth over $400 billion, many Amazon employees require SNAP.

The people who need help are not the problem.

It’s corporate greed. It’s an unwillingness to pay a living wage.

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Archmage's Apothecary ✨ @archmagesapoth.bsky.social · 20h

Yeah, that's always the drawback. Although I have seen some from families with a recently passed / moving into home elderly member where it is still in good condition. The search continues

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IMMIGRANTS MATTER. @shinery.bsky.social · 20h

Just reposting this with the news that Amazon is firing 30,000 people right before Christmas.

IMMIGRANTS MATTER. @shinery.bsky.social · 1d

The companies are evil. The people who *have* to use them or *have* to work there because it's the only available job are not.

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Dr. Mar 💙 @boldnewme.bsky.social · 20h

How much more money does he need?

Amazon just posted massive profits again this year, and Jeff Bezos’s net worth is hovering around $200 billion.

So when the company lays off 30,000+ workers, it’s a choice to prioritize stock value and executive bonuses over people’s livelihoods.👇

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Adam Cohen (My Personal Views Only) @axidentaliberal.bsky.social · 20h

Approximately 1/3 of those with jobs at Amazon are receiving SNAP benefits-and half suffer from food insecurity

Now billionaire Jeff Bezos is laying off 30,000 of them

How much longer will America continue to subsidize Bezos-and let him accumulate even greater wealth by sucking dry US workers

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Dave Hemprich-Bennett @davehb.bsky.social · 1d

I just had my toddler sit on my back while I did a press-up because I thought she would find it funny. She did.

Team, I forgot the major rule of toddlers: IF YOU DO SOMETHING FUNNY THEY WILL INSIST YOU DO IT FIFTY MORE TIMES

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Archmage's Apothecary ✨ @archmagesapoth.bsky.social · 1d

Jeez. What a mess.

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Stefscribbles @stefscribbles.bsky.social · 1d

who is your halloween familiar this year?

a collection of 9 silly halloween familiars

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annadrawsstuff ✨ @ Shop Update 👀 @annadrawsstuff.bsky.social · 1d

Dawnbringer ☀️👁

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C. Robert Cargill @crobertcargill.bsky.social · 2d

I don't know who needs to hear this, but if you have friends struggling through the shutdown, consider inviting them over for a family dinner this week. Make too much. Insist they take leftovers home. Some folks can't say they need help out loud but will appreciate the kindness.

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Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 1d

Whenever people complain about the number of folks relying on food stamps, it is worth reminding them that SNAP is, by too large of a degree, a subsidy for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage and their political allies who reject public policy prescriptions to reduce income inequality.