So, I keep seeing people using LLMs to generate alt-text for images. From an accessibility standpoint, I guess this is better than no alt-text at all, but...

I notice that the descriptions they generate are... often technically accurate... I guess? It's just that they really seem to suck at infering from context what parts of the image are noteworthy and what aren't.

So... neither the physio place that accepts my benefits nor the ultrasound place are accepting new bookings until February.

That's fun. 🙃

So, one of my nieces told me a story today about how she went to the hospital in severe pain and they wouldn't even give her Advil.

I, on the other hand, went in—admittedly in pain, but it wasn't my primary concern—and was offered a morphine script (which I declined).

What??

I don't want to just jump to the conclusion that the difference is that I'm a white male, but...

So since this morning I've been having this weird weakness in my arm. I figured it was possibly a result of the muscle relaxant I was prescribed last night, but I imagine that should be well out of my system by now. I called the telehealth system again and am currently waiting on a callback from a nurse—which should happen in the next couple hours.

It was suggested that I could use their online symptom assessment tool for faster advice, but after jumping through those hoops, all it tells me is "seek medical advice".

Umm... what exactly is it you think I've been doing all this time?

Of course I would choose to clean my #FountainPens on the same day I cleaned the sink.

this_is_fine.jpg

Opened a brand new, factory sealed, bottle of metformin to immediately see a hair in the bottle.

How??

This does not instill confidence in their quality control process.

Our apartment building does not have assigned parking. It's just kind of a free-for-all. Anyhow, some time between when we parked two days ago and just now, the spot we were parked in became one that requires an accessible parking permit.

Fortunately, we didn't get a ticket. That would've been an interesting one to fight.

Just in case anyone was unclear on the difference:

Compilers 👏 Don't 👏 Hallucinate 👏

Me: Why is my (potato) server so laggy?

*checks*

Oh, @Cory Doctorow reshared one of my posts. 🙃

I'm sure everyone here has "the tech box": that box where you shove the miscelaneous cables and dongles and other crap that isn't currently being used but is too useful to just get rid of. In my case it had spilled over into multiple boxes and had just become a bit of a nightmare.

Anyhow, my parents were getting rid of this guy, so we took it home with us. Katy and I just spent the past hour meticulously going over every single item in our various tech boxes and cataloging them into a system inspired by the one described in @Cory Doctorow's book, Makers.* It's not quite so elaborate as in the book. It's just an org-mode document that tells me exactly which drawer each item is in—no fancy RFID tags, but they're not items with a lot of churn either, so it's fine. Got to admit, it was rather satisfying to my probably #AuDHD brain.

Anyhow, I present to you the new gay tech organizer.

* That system has lived rent free in my head since I read the book like a decade an a half ago.

Edit: I make one little edit to fix a typo (okay two typos) and then need like three more edits to fix the formatting errors those introduced. I'm fired.

My bulk mail folder sure has been a source of comedy gold lately. Just got an email offering to sell me a variant on a domain I already own for a mere USD 699. Apparently it's been offered to several other "matching businesses" and will be sold on a first come first served basis.

The best part: my registrar says it's available and I can have it for $17.99.