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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman
@tomfreeman.bsky.social
1.9K followers 170 following 2.6K posts
Occasional editor and writer. Purveyor of half-baked opinions. Intermittently able to make my nieces laugh. (SnoozeInBrief on Twitter) My blog on usage, editing and suchlike: https://stroppyeditor.wordpress.com
stroppyeditor.wordpress.com
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 5h
OK so I've agreed to cook dinner for 11 people in an airbnb kitchen of uncertain facilities, I'm sure nothing can possibly go wrong
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Reposted by Tom Freeman
tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 2d
I finally realised what AI dependency reminds me of
A mock-up of an old D&D guide detailing the properties of magical items, featuring "Altman’s Quill of Artifice". The entry reads: This enchanted quill, made from the feather of a harpy, serves as a magical scribe and sage, able to answer all its owner’s queries. The owner must use it to write a question at the top of a piece of paper or parchment, such as “Where is the secret entrance to the King’s treasury?” or “How can I cure lycanthropy?” Acting under its own power, it will write an answer. But despite its apparent (and often genuine) usefulness, this item is cursed. Roll d20 to determine the result of any query: 1 Hopelessly wrong, 2-5 Contains major errors, 6-10 Contains minor errors, 11-16 Accurate but incomplete, 17-20 Fully accurate. Apply modifiers in line with the rules for consulting sages (see Table 62) depending on the nature of the question (general 0, specific -2, exacting -4) and the availability of relevant knowledge (complete 0, partial -2, non-existent -6). The DM should choose the nature of any errors, as well as the consequences of believing them. If the answer is less than fully accurate, that will not be obvious, as the quill of artifice writes in a confident and authoritative manner. A reader may scrutinise the answer to attempt to notice any problem, but to succeed they must pass an intelligence check at a penalty of -2. Anyone who has previously failed such a check makes all future checks at -4. The owner of the quill is particularly vulnerable, permanently losing one point of intelligence with each inaccurate answer that is believed. The owner will be unaware of this loss, and will become fiercely possessive of the quill, refusing to give it up and distrusting anyone who doubts its output. A remove curse spell may make the owner willing to part with it, but the loss of intelligence is irreparable.
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Reposted by Tom Freeman
tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 12h
SCIENCE FACT: The Bristol Stool Chart uses a log scale
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 10h
Swans in front of Alexandra Palace (and Hornsey water treatment works, which is maybe a tad less photogenic) #NewRiverBirds
Two swans on a river. Behind the river are a bunch of water pipes and industrial buildings, and behind all that, on the top of a hill, is Alexandra Palace.
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 11h
Ah yes, Sauron, a keen amateur jeweller and vulcanologist, the antihero struggling to bring unity to a world riven by ethnic rivalries
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 12h
SCIENCE FACT: The Bristol Stool Chart uses a log scale
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 12h
Got my first ever Charlie-coin today. Doesn't entirely look real. But I like the bees on the flipside
A pound coin with something that looks slightly like Charles's head on it The tails side of the same coin, depicting two bees and a sort of honeycomb-ish graphic
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 14h
I won't quote him, because I'm sure his mentions are quite enough of a seething mass already, but I think one of the biggest "internet literacy" problems is not the inability to read and understand but the assumption that you don't need to bother reading, you can just glance and then mouth off
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 14h
Yeah, I could never decide if it was because they were surprisingly lazy/ignorant or because they actually liked having something to complain about
a close up of a man 's face with the words maybe i like the misery above him
Alt: Mrs Doyle: "Maybe I like the misery"
media.tenor.com
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 16h
These gull shrieks really sound as if they're trying it on, like four-year-olds wanting attention after some infinitesimal mishap #NewRiverBirds
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 17h
I think the best solution is to leave the LLMs to seduce each other on dating apps while you go to the the pub and flirt with a cute friend of a friend www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder
Where once people were duped by soft-focus photos and borrowed chat-up lines, now they have to watch out for computer-generated charm. But it’s one thing to use a witty phrase – another thing entirely...
www.theguardian.com
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Reposted by Tom Freeman
youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com
Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 18h
WELL THEN IT'S NOT MEANINGFUL IS IT, NICK www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
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Reposted by Tom Freeman
cbuckthorn.bsky.social
C. Buckthorn @cbuckthorn.bsky.social · 19h
This is amazing. I laughed out loud www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
As 32-year-old Rich points out, though, "it's not like using ChatGPT guarantees success". When he met someone in a bar one Friday night and swapped social media handles, he asked AI what his next move should be. ChatGPT discerned that sending an initial message on Monday midmorning would set the right pace. "Then it gave me some options for what the message could be," says Rich. "Keep it light, warm, and low-stakes so it reads as genuine interest without urgency," the bot advised. "Something like: Hey Sarah, still laughing about [tiny shared moment/reference if you've got one] - good to meet you!" Rich went back and forth with ChatGPT until he felt they'd hit upon exactly the right message ("Hey Sarah, it was lovely to meet you") but sadly she never replied, he says. "It's been two weeks now."
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Reposted by Tom Freeman
alixmortimer.bsky.social
Alix Mortimer @alixmortimer.bsky.social · 21h
Have had this thought and tbh I also don’t like it, am I being awkward there? It’s a kinda student politics posey vibe and these are not those times. I’m much happier to be anti-fascist.
ifycomedy.com
Ify Nwadiwe @ifycomedy.com · 1d
I think we really should stop using antifa and just fully say anti-fascist and get them saying they are against anti fascism. Using antifa is giving them some distance and I genuinely think some of their base don’t even know that’s what it stands for.
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 19h
Yeah, it's always baffled me why you'd take an extremely good, clear label and turn it into something weird and confusing and suspicious
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 1d
Thanks for that clarification, comes as a great relief
Screenshot of a YouTube video titled "The death of the solar system (simulation)"
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 1d
My street!
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 1d
🎵 FIIIVE NOOOO-OOOOSE RIIINGS
acyn.bsky.social
Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 2d
Kid Rock: Do you know what is stupid… these chicks running around on campuses with blue hair, five nose rings.
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 1d
Here's a pair of little grebes, diving for food and outmanoeuvring the slow-witted coots #NewRiverBirds
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 2d
Sébastien Le-encore-nu, more like
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 2d
ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh I've got a good one
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 2d
Well OK but surely they have to make him wear glasses and a fake tache
sophiepedder.bsky.social
Sophie Pedder @sophiepedder.bsky.social · 2d
France’s new prime minister is…the very one who resigned on Monday, Sébastien Lecornu. It rounds off the most chaotic and absurdist week in French politics in modern times
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 2d
The really funny move would've been to give Trump the Nobel Literature Prize
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 2d
Oh come on, marks for effort at least
tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 2d
I finally realised what AI dependency reminds me of
A mock-up of an old D&D guide detailing the properties of magical items, featuring "Altman’s Quill of Artifice". The entry reads: This enchanted quill, made from the feather of a harpy, serves as a magical scribe and sage, able to answer all its owner’s queries. The owner must use it to write a question at the top of a piece of paper or parchment, such as “Where is the secret entrance to the King’s treasury?” or “How can I cure lycanthropy?” Acting under its own power, it will write an answer. But despite its apparent (and often genuine) usefulness, this item is cursed. Roll d20 to determine the result of any query: 1 Hopelessly wrong, 2-5 Contains major errors, 6-10 Contains minor errors, 11-16 Accurate but incomplete, 17-20 Fully accurate. Apply modifiers in line with the rules for consulting sages (see Table 62) depending on the nature of the question (general 0, specific -2, exacting -4) and the availability of relevant knowledge (complete 0, partial -2, non-existent -6). The DM should choose the nature of any errors, as well as the consequences of believing them. If the answer is less than fully accurate, that will not be obvious, as the quill of artifice writes in a confident and authoritative manner. A reader may scrutinise the answer to attempt to notice any problem, but to succeed they must pass an intelligence check at a penalty of -2. Anyone who has previously failed such a check makes all future checks at -4. The owner of the quill is particularly vulnerable, permanently losing one point of intelligence with each inaccurate answer that is believed. The owner will be unaware of this loss, and will become fiercely possessive of the quill, refusing to give it up and distrusting anyone who doubts its output. A remove curse spell may make the owner willing to part with it, but the loss of intelligence is irreparable.
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tomfreeman.bsky.social
Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 2d
I finally realised what AI dependency reminds me of
A mock-up of an old D&D guide detailing the properties of magical items, featuring "Altman’s Quill of Artifice". The entry reads: This enchanted quill, made from the feather of a harpy, serves as a magical scribe and sage, able to answer all its owner’s queries. The owner must use it to write a question at the top of a piece of paper or parchment, such as “Where is the secret entrance to the King’s treasury?” or “How can I cure lycanthropy?” Acting under its own power, it will write an answer. But despite its apparent (and often genuine) usefulness, this item is cursed. Roll d20 to determine the result of any query: 1 Hopelessly wrong, 2-5 Contains major errors, 6-10 Contains minor errors, 11-16 Accurate but incomplete, 17-20 Fully accurate. Apply modifiers in line with the rules for consulting sages (see Table 62) depending on the nature of the question (general 0, specific -2, exacting -4) and the availability of relevant knowledge (complete 0, partial -2, non-existent -6). The DM should choose the nature of any errors, as well as the consequences of believing them. If the answer is less than fully accurate, that will not be obvious, as the quill of artifice writes in a confident and authoritative manner. A reader may scrutinise the answer to attempt to notice any problem, but to succeed they must pass an intelligence check at a penalty of -2. Anyone who has previously failed such a check makes all future checks at -4. The owner of the quill is particularly vulnerable, permanently losing one point of intelligence with each inaccurate answer that is believed. The owner will be unaware of this loss, and will become fiercely possessive of the quill, refusing to give it up and distrusting anyone who doubts its output. A remove curse spell may make the owner willing to part with it, but the loss of intelligence is irreparable.
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