A DA scam, more AI scams, and ChatGPT pulling a Drunk Janet
Jul. 19th, 2025 01:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
New scam going around DeviantArt. It opens when you get DM’d the line “Pardon me, may I have a moment of your time? I have a concern I’d like to share.”
The scammers are doing these from real people’s hacked accounts, so if you get suspicious and look at the user’s profile, everything about it suggests “genuine non-bot person.” I got suspicious and googled a whole sentence of their text, and found the above post about other scammers using the same script. Stay alert out there.
—
This post is from 2018, but I was looking for the link again recently, so I’m bringing it back. Concrete examples of ways you can change an image that don’t affect what a human brain perceives in them, but wildly messes with what a computer algorithm detects in them. (I’m pretty sure “AI poisoning” art algorithms, like Glaze and Nightshade, are doing a variation of this.)
“Builder.ai, once touted as a revolutionary AI startup backed by Microsoft, has collapsed into insolvency after revelations that its flagship no-code development platform was powered not by artificial intelligence—but by 700 human engineers in India.“
“We conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to understand how early-2025 AI tools affect the productivity of experienced open-source developers working on their own repositories. Surprisingly, we find that when developers use AI tools, they take 19% longer than without—AI makes them slower.” (Narrator: Nobody was surprised.)
“”Tasks that seemed straightforward often took days rather than hours, with [LLM “coding” bot] Devin getting stuck in technical dead-ends or producing overly complex, unusable solutions,” the researchers explain in their report. “Even more concerning was Devin’s tendency to press forward with tasks that weren’t actually possible.”“
It’s worth watching the full “actual coder exposes the scam what Devin actually did” Youtube video linked in the previous article. (The speaker says he’s pro-AI! He’s just exhausted by all the fake hype!) Among other things, Devin gets access to a Github codebase, writes a completely new file that duplicates (badly) the functions of a file the project already had, fixes at least some of the bugs it just created in the redundant new file, and then submits this as “fulfilling the task to review the project for bugs.”
Reddit post: ChatGPT, you have the file and not a cactus?
podcast friday
Jul. 18th, 2025 09:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
This is less a condemnation of individual authors and their work (in fact, it is not that at all!) but an exploration of why the economic models of the publishing and music industry work the way they do. It's a wide-ranging and I daresay fascinating discussion and Nick is extremely funny. Also there's a lot about 80s post-punk in there if that's your thing (it's mine).
Julé! 18/31 - I'll never cry because I know that it'll never change
Jul. 18th, 2025 11:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Posting now because I predict being way too sweaty and exhausted for that after Stray Kids gig. And in honour of that, I'm posting the MV and dance practice of one of my favourite songs by them.
The song is beautiful but I also have a lot of feelings about the choreo, mainly: 1) The way it starts with everyone holding Chan's heart 😭😭😭, 2) the sequenced kneeling of Minho, Seungmin and Jeongin (the bdsm au feels I have about this), 3) Seungmin solo choreo!
***
Julé! 17/31
Jul. 17th, 2025 07:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Whoop! In London with pushkin666 and dreamersdare, getting ready for Stray Kids tomorrow!
For now, however, TXT serving moods with their concept clips. Like...
70s softcore soulmate-names-written-on-skin OT5 mood
Aesthetically bloodied dystopian angst mood
Woke up ready for the intergalactic technowar mood
Starship troopers with big guns mood
I approve!
***
(no subject)
Jul. 17th, 2025 01:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
The neighbors got a new dog and they are the kind of people who believe that animals belong outside, period. So this puppy was barking and barking and howling all night. At around 2am it finally stopped. Then it started again at around 6:30am. I tried so hard to get back to sleep, but I had to get out of bed at 9am anyway to make my dentist appointment, so I just curled up and closed my eyes and listened to a podcast. Rest is better than nothing, I guess.
So on four and a half hours of sleep I went to the dentist and got my teeth cleaned. It was so relaxing, it was better than being at home, which... yikes. But I mean hey. Air conditioning, a big comfortable chair, and that really nice soothing whooshing sound of the cleaning tool. I almost fell asleep getting my teeth cleaned.
The dentist also examined my crowned tooth and even took an X-ray that he didn't even charge me for, just so that he could make sure there was nothing wrong with it. No infection, anyway; he made a slight adjustment to it, thinking maybe the pain was from the shape being a little off and me putting too much pressure on it when I chew. So that's all good! Phew.
Tomorrow (today) I have off, so I'm going to head downtown to donate more stuff to GoodWill, stop by the used book shop to see if they're interested in buying any of my small stack of Read But Didn't Really Love So Don't Wanna Keep books and a few nerdy collectibles I haven't been able to sell. I need to buy more packing supplies too, so I can get started packing up this bedroom.
Things are still chaotic and stressful but... coming together. Slowly.
Erin Watches: Murderbot (TV), season 1
Jul. 16th, 2025 02:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Got an Apple TV trial, just in time to binge the whole Murderbot TV adaptation before the Friday finale.
(General note: The platform doesn’t have a watchlist? Just a “continue watching” list, which removes anything you finish — no saving a list of faves to rewatch! — and adds stuff it autoplays, whether you want to see more or not? Weird and unpleasant design choice.)
I like it! Plot-wise, it’s a very close adaptation of the first book, All Systems Red. Same overarching plot, a few things rearranged along the way. Character-wise…a bunch of things have been shifted around. Everyone is recognizable as a version of their original self, but. If you’re already a book fan, the question of “will you like the TV series?” may hinge on “when they changed Character X, did they keep or discard the traits you were most invested in?”
General, no-spoilers overview:
Some of the changes are obvious “doing it this way worked better on-screen” things. Scenes that were just-MB in the book become group efforts, giving the PresAux actors more to do. Plot points that were just inner-monologue realizations in the book are delivered in conversations instead.
I mostly like them! Even with the characters, even a few dramatic personality shifts — look, I’ll be mad if some of them start bleeding into book!fandom, and fans stop writing the original versions of the characters. But as a standalone AU, most of them work really well.
The few changes I actively don’t like are all “why did you even add this, what was the point?” kind of things. No huge dealbreakers. Just some low-key annoyances.
There are a few particular exchanges from the book that you really have to get right to make a satisfying adaptation. They’ve all landed. And a bunch of the comedy moments have been had-to-stop-the-episode-while-I-cracked-up funny.
The biggest advantage of doing Murderbot on TV is, The Rise And Fall Of Sanctuary Moon is also TV. Which means the showrunners can film Actual 100% Authentic Sanctuary Moon Footage, and cut to it while MB is watching. It’s ridiculous and amazing.
Detailed reaction, with spoilers:
( yeah, this is an AU variant of Book!MB, not a portrayal of Book!MB )It's been a while. I have some updates.
Jul. 16th, 2025 08:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
( Read more? )
Reading Wednesday
Jul. 16th, 2025 08:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Just finished: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. I ended up enjoying the shit out of this. Murder mystery/political palace intrigue set in a world where eldritch abominations threaten to break through the seawall and destroy entire cities every wet season, and magic is done through bioengineering. The brilliant Sherlock Holmes analogue is a mysterious and terrifying elderly woman and the Watson analogue is a dyslexic disaster bisexual kid who's been altered so that he remembers everything he experiences. It's very fun.
Currently reading: Bread and Stone by Allan Weiss. Look at me I'm reading CanLit! It's about the Winnipeg General Strike, though, so it's not off-brand for me. In the first section, William, a failure of a farm boy, goes off to the Great War against his family's wishes. It's immaculately researched; you get every detail of small town Alberta and the culture shock of moving to the big city of...1914 Calgary. William's father is a coal miner who describes in passionate terms the solidarity that comes from joining a union, but doesn't want his son to go down into the mines himself, so Williams seeks it first in the church, and then amongst his unit. I've gotten to the bit where he's finally being shipped out for France. Quite good so far.
(no subject)
Jul. 15th, 2025 04:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
The moving crew I hired comes to get everything and take it to the shipping facility one week from today.
I have a dentist appointment tomorrow morning.
My last two days at my job are tomorrow and Friday.
We have DnD this Sunday.
I have to pack. I have to do laundry. I wanted to visit all my friends one more time each but I don't have time. I'm out of time.
Julé! 15/31
Jul. 15th, 2025 08:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Today has been a long day and tomorrow will be as well, so just a couple of links for now:
Unsurprising but depressing and worth being aware of: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/anti-rights
And a rec for news on global warming and particularly the political/fossil fuel industry greed affair. Want to know just how readily your local representative bends over for the oil giants, check here: https://www.desmog.com/
***
Julé! 14/31
Jul. 14th, 2025 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Today I'm just linking to the fandom bounty that has come my way over the last few months.
Solar Couture (Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Geurami/Youngwoo)
Vernal (Wheel of Time, Aviendha)
Patience (Wheel of Time, Bair & Egwene)
Renascent (Wheel of Time, Rand/Mat)
Temptation (Seventeen, Jihoon/Soonyoung)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Enduring the Torture (SGA, McBeck, adorable teasing)
Where Your Eyes Land (The Lost Boys, Michael/Sam, slowburn siblingcest mmhmhmhmhmhmmmhhng?)
The World Can Wait (Stray Kids, Chan/Minho, submission as caretaking awwwww)
Held in the Quiet (H50, Danny/Steve, tender d/s dynamics that had me melting into a puddle)
The Song Between the Realms (Stray Kids, Chan/Felix, fae au with forbidden love and Disney musicals)
Years ago
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I got lovely things via the
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
all you by lovedays (Ateez, San & Wooyoung, sweet sofa cuddles)
You Like What You See? by
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Unspoken Care by
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Finally, not fandom but extremely lovely and evocative, was this poem from
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
In conclusion: I am spoiled!
***
Sunshine Revival #4
Jul. 13th, 2025 03:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Fun House
Journaling: What is making you smile these days? Create a top 10 list of anything you want to talk about.
1. Ellita
2. Feeling hopeful about work (but also nervous)
3. Watching Ted Lasso with E (y’all were SO right! Thank you for encouraging me to stick with it)
4. My plants/garden
5. Sitting in the hammock with Ellita and talking with E
6. Having the time and energy to read
7. HEB Peach Guava sparkling water
8. Postcrossing
9. Changing up my work wardrobe
10. Having my ear piercings reopened so that I can wear earrings again
Julé! 12/31 - Yeah I could be gentle, but that ain't what you like
Jul. 12th, 2025 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I'm too tired to word an actual post but I don't have to because Ateez dropped this so...
Discuss. (vampireteez!)
***
(no subject)
Jul. 11th, 2025 05:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Rather than grow immediately ecstatic, I deflated completely as a huge amount of stress dissolved from my body, and I started to cry.
You guys. These people made us jump through so many insane hoops. Every time they promised we had done everything they wanted and told us it would be just a day or two more, they would go silent for a week and when one of us would follow up, there were suddenly MORE forms they required. The one they sent to my future employer had to be sent again because she didn't put N/A in the spots that were not relevant to what was being asked of her. That added an additional eight days of wait time. Eight. Days.
I was so sure that by the time we finally got through, there wouldn't be any more units left. This was supposed to take a week. It took two months. But we got in. I am overjoyed.
Still stressed. There's a lot more to do still, with the actual move. And with transferring my license. And I'm experiencing bad tooth pain now so I've got to try and get into the dentist before I leave hopefully? But we got a place to live!
Julé! 10/31 - Foods!
Jul. 10th, 2025 05:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
The creative prompt for
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
The journaling prompt was favourite summer associated foods, so this is just a ramble of Stuff Kat Likes To Eat When It's Too Hot To Eat
Smoothies: I make a big jug of this, breakfast solved for like three days. I tend to default to 'plain yoghurt, frozen berries, honey, water' mix (I don't like my smoothies very sweet) but recently my peanut butter jar suggested that I could add peanut butter to my smoothies and now I Am Intrigued. It feels extremely indulgent tho. Peanut butter and banana smoothie sounds like a desert! But I want to try.
Berries: I have yet to find a berry I don't like in some form or another. It's one of the main things I miss about Finland; ready access to fresh berries, like blueberries from the forest, or various currants and gooseberries from the garden. My local Tesco tends to have berries on discount often if you hit the store at the right time. I've been known to make a dinner out of that.
Salads: Almost anything goes. My veg box is currently delivering so much green leavy stuff I'm shoving it everywhere. I like to throw in protein (chicken, fish, tofu, hummus) to make a lazy meal out of it. Feta cheese is an indulgence. I also like adding pickled/sour things like pickled cabbage or cucumber, kimchi (should make some again), olives, capers etc. Nom. Fruit if I want to get fancy with it. Seeds definitely.
Hummus: I make this quite often, usually heavily lemon flavoured.
Oven omelette: Eggs and whatever suitable veg/other things you have (salmon is super nice here). Top with cheese. And add cottage cheese for extra protein and to make it even more filling. Do a whole oven tray (10-12 eggs) and your breakfast/lunch/snack is sorted for several days.
I do also like to barbecue things but can't be bothered to do it just for me. But when
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
And finally, new potatoes with butter. With some chives. Honestly, so good.
***