{"chain":[{"channel":"cities","content":" Medicine Hat, a vibrant city in southeast Alberta, Canada, blends natural beauty, cultural heritage, and modern convenience. Known as \"The Gas City\" for its rich natural gas reserves, the city enjoys over 330 days of sunshine annually, making it one of Canada's sunniest destinations. Nestled along the South Saskatchewan River, Medicine Hat offers stunning landscapes of rolling prairies, coulees, and river valleys, complemented by outdoor attractions like Echo Dale Regional Park and Police Point Park. Rich in history, the city derives its name from the Blackfoot term \"saamis,\" meaning a medicine man's headdress, and features landmarks like the historic clay district and the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre. Its welcoming community of approximately 65,000 residents enjoys a balance of small-town charm and urban amenities, fostering a dynamic economy rooted in energy, agriculture, and arts.\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\nplans for Thursday:\r\n# One Zoom meeting (already done; notes withheld)\r\n# Snow removal (once it stops coming down)\r\n# Cook lamb roast (3 days of leftovers) ( the House Rule is \"no beef or pork\")\r\n# fix six bugs on Atacama ( note https://earlyversion.com/messages/46 )\r\n# attempt to fix Peloton bike. ( the most likely problem is that some of the screws are loose or the bike is slightly non-level; adjusting all the screws might fix the issue)\r\n# Hanukkah cleanup - remove melted wax from menorah.\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\nthe weekly Zvi Mowshowitz dispatch is out.\r\n\r\nthe takes on \"AI Alignment\" continue to border on the unreadable. the specific question of << What could an OpenAI non-profit do with $30 billion >> is interesting, but none of the answers are interesting.\r\n\r\nthe Gary Marcus counter-AI content is also borderline-unreadable. he proposes a challenge with tasks (write a Pulitzer-winning novel, make a major scientific discovery) that will obviously require a certain amount of human collaboration the first time. so, even if the tasks are accomplished, Marcus will weasel out of claims that it proves AI isn't useless.\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\nthe updates on \"here is model improvement\" are also less interesting now than they were last year.\r\n\r\nas far as both \"medium\" ( any model that can run on an M3 laptop in 8GB RAM) and \"large\" ( 70B models, Claude Haiku, GPT-4o-mini) models: what they do today is \"good enough\". and the progress is likely to be just shifting the categories rather than improved performance.\r\n\r\n that is: maybe those size cutoffs are 4B/30B in six months? but the paradigm will hold, and performance will stay roughly the same.\r\n\r\nmeanwhile, extra-large models ( Claude Sonnet, GPT-4o) can still get better, but progress is slowing.\r\n\r\nas for \"foundation\" models: ( Foundation models are too expensive to make available in a non-subscription ChatGPT-style interface. And they always will be.)\r\n","created_at":"2025-01-02T16:04:17.096254","id":49,"is_target":false,"parent_id":null,"processed_content":"

\ud83e\udd16 Medicine Hat, a vibrant city in southeast Alberta, Canada, blends natural beauty, cultural heritage, and modern convenience. Known as \"The Gas City\" for its rich natural gas reserves, the city enjoys over 330 days of sunshine annually, making it one of Canada's sunniest destinations. Nestled along the South Saskatchewan River, Medicine Hat offers stunning landscapes of rolling prairies, coulees, and river valleys, complemented by outdoor attractions like Echo Dale Regional Park and Police Point Park. Rich in history, the city derives its name from the Blackfoot term \"saamis,\" meaning a medicine man's headdress, and features landmarks like the historic clay district and the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre. Its welcoming community of approximately 65,000 residents enjoys a balance of small-town charm and urban amenities, fostering a dynamic economy rooted in energy, agriculture, and arts.\r

plans for Thursday:\r

\n
    \n
  • One Zoom meeting (already done; notes withheld)\r
    • \n
  • Snow removal (once it stops coming down)\r
    • \n
  • Cook lamb roast (3 days of leftovers) \ud83c\udf0e( the House Rule is \"no beef or pork\")\r
    • \n
  • fix six bugs on Atacama \u2699\ufe0f( note https://earlyversion.com/messages/46 )\r
    • \n
  • attempt to fix Peloton bike. \ud83d\udca1( the most likely problem is that some of the screws are loose or the bike is slightly non-level; adjusting all the screws might fix the issue)\r
    • \n
  • Hanukkah cleanup - remove melted wax from menorah.\r
    • \n

the weekly Zvi Mowshowitz dispatch is out.\r

\n

the takes on \"AI Alignment\" continue to border on the unreadable. the specific question of What could an OpenAI non-profit do with $30 billion is interesting, but none of the answers are interesting.\r

\n

the Gary Marcus counter-AI content is also borderline-unreadable. he proposes a challenge with tasks (write a Pulitzer-winning novel, make a major scientific discovery) that will obviously require a certain amount of human collaboration the first time. so, even if the tasks are accomplished, Marcus will weasel out of claims that it proves AI isn't useless.\r

the updates on \"here is model improvement\" are also less interesting now than they were last year.\r

\n

as far as both \"medium\" \u2699\ufe0f( any model that can run on an M3 laptop in 8GB RAM) and \"large\" \u2699\ufe0f( 70B models, Claude Haiku, GPT-4o-mini) models: what they do today is \"good enough\". and the progress is likely to be just shifting the categories rather than improved performance.\r

\n

\ud83d\udca1 that is: maybe those size cutoffs are 4B/30B in six months? but the paradigm will hold, and performance will stay roughly the same.\r

\n

meanwhile, extra-large models \u2699\ufe0f( Claude Sonnet, GPT-4o) can still get better, but progress is slowing.\r

\n

as for \"foundation\" models: \ud83d\udca1( Foundation models are too expensive to make available in a non-subscription ChatGPT-style interface. And they always will be.)\r

","subject":"medicine hat (1/6)"},{"channel":"cities","content":"the tasks for today are going well. the menorah is clean, the lamb is cooking, and 4 of the 6 Atacama tasks are done. the snow has almost stopped; I should be able to start shoveling very soon.\r\n\r\n Atacama tasks done: << literal text >> CSS, 404 error handling, the << quote >> tag, line-spacing adjustment, quote-processing adjustments\r\n\r\nthe main afternoon tasks will be:\r\n# get dark/print mode for Atacama working well\r\n# Peloton maintenance\r\n\r\neach of those will take at least 30 minutes. I am budgeting 1PM-4PM for the both of them; both lunch and snow-shoveling should be done before then.\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\ni will look at the infamous \"lexer\" again if both are satisfactorily completed by 3PM.\r\n\r\n but first: the snow awaits!","created_at":"2025-01-02T17:50:11.099866","id":53,"is_target":false,"parent_id":49,"processed_content":"

the tasks for today are going well. the menorah is clean, the lamb is cooking, and 4 of the 6 Atacama tasks are done. the snow has almost stopped; I should be able to start shoveling very soon.\r

\n

\ud83d\udca1 Atacama tasks done: literal text CSS, 404 error handling, the quote tag, line-spacing adjustment, quote-processing adjustments\r

\n

the main afternoon tasks will be:\r

\n
    \n
  • get dark/print mode for Atacama working well\r
    • \n
  • Peloton maintenance\r
    • \n
\n

each of those will take at least 30 minutes. I am budgeting 1PM-4PM for the both of them; both lunch and snow-shoveling should be done before then.\r

i will look at the infamous \"lexer\" again if both are satisfactorily completed by 3PM.\r

\n

\ud83c\udf0e but first: the snow awaits!

","subject":"medicine hat (2/6)"},{"channel":"cities","content":" the snow-clearing was easy. 3 inches is what the snowblower can easily handle.\r\n well, actually, there is a repair needed to one of the battery covers. that's a separate issue.\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\n\"print mode\" (currently called \"high-contrast mode\") has a few issues:\r\n# the sigils break if you go back to light/dark mode\r\n# the widths are a hodge-podge of absolute and relative width\r\n# Claude continues to use inline CSS too much\r\n# there is nothing visually connecting the sigil to the text.\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\nso the plan will be to go through the CSS again (without the *machine*), make sure variables are defined in the correct place, make sure styles are defined in the correct place.\r\n\r\nand: re-add the name of the color to the display. very valuable for grayscale printing.\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\nfor \"dark mode\", the main issue is that some of the emoji aren't designed for a black background. also, link-text colors need to be tuned.\r\n\r\nthis is an easy fix, but there is an outline surrounding them now that isn't flush.\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\nbut I am timebox-ed out of this. \"fix the Peloton\" is ahead of any more print-mode fixes. and, then, possibly, things other than \"work on Atacama back-end\".\r\n\r\nbut I will get to it either tonight or tomorrow.\r\n\r\n\"fix the file structure\" is easy, but not something I can do after an hour of moving code around. \"fix the two-column layout\" could be easy with the *machine*, or it could be impossible.","created_at":"2025-01-02T20:42:38.370263","id":54,"is_target":true,"parent_id":53,"processed_content":"

\ud83c\udf0e the snow-clearing was easy. 3 inches is what the snowblower can easily handle.\r

\n

\u2694\ufe0f well, actually, there is a repair needed to one of the battery covers. that's a separate issue.\r

\"print mode\" (currently called \"high-contrast mode\") has a few issues:\r

\n
    \n
  • the sigils break if you go back to light/dark mode\r
    • \n
  • the widths are a hodge-podge of absolute and relative width\r
    • \n
  • Claude continues to use inline CSS too much\r
    • \n
  • there is nothing visually connecting the sigil to the text.\r
    • \n

so the plan will be to go through the CSS again (without the machine), make sure variables are defined in the correct place, make sure styles are defined in the correct place.\r

\n

and: re-add the name of the color to the display. very valuable for grayscale printing.\r

for \"dark mode\", the main issue is that some of the emoji aren't designed for a black background. also, link-text colors need to be tuned.\r

\n

this is an easy fix, but there is an outline surrounding them now that isn't flush.\r

but I am timebox-ed out of this. \"fix the Peloton\" is ahead of any more print-mode fixes. and, then, possibly, things other than \"work on Atacama back-end\".\r

\n

but I will get to it either tonight or tomorrow.\r

\n

\"fix the file structure\" is easy, but not something I can do after an hour of moving code around. \"fix the two-column layout\" could be easy with the machine, or it could be impossible.

","subject":"medicine hat (3/6)"},{"channel":"cities","content":"things to-do today, Atacama department:\r\n\r\n# refactor all the CSS files. get all the CSS out of HTML files. while doing this, make sure that everything is \"adaptive\": percentage of screen size, not pixel count.\r\n# Link management. The colors of linktext need to be fixed. And links are often \"very long strings that break margins\".\r\n# fix bug: if you leave high-contrast mode for light/dark mode, the sigils are not clickable.\r\n# high-contrast mode isn't implemented properly on all the HTML templates\r\n\r\n right now, the difficulty in navigating is a feature. one that I have no interest in removing until things like \"the CSS is broken\" are fixed.\r\n\r\nthings to maybe-do today, Atacama department:\r\n# Get a better LLM \"default instruction\" for Claude code-generation. Including \"don't write more than 20 lines of code without an explicit approval\". ( it's an unlimited service.) ( not that unlimited. and, slow.)\r\n# the lexer will continue to be on this list until it isn't.\r\n# adjustments to high-contrast mode - where should long GPT quotes be?\r\n\r\nthings to do today, non-Atacama department:\r\n# finish leveling the Peloton bike\r\n# glue the broken piece on the snowblower\r\n# eat, sleep, etc.","created_at":"2025-01-03T16:15:30.427278","id":59,"is_target":false,"parent_id":54,"processed_content":"

things to-do today, Atacama department:\r

\n
    \n
  • refactor all the CSS files. get all the CSS out of HTML files. while doing this, make sure that everything is \"adaptive\": percentage of screen size, not pixel count.\r
    • \n
  • Link management. The colors of linktext need to be fixed. And links are often \"very long strings that break margins\".\r
    • \n
  • fix bug: if you leave high-contrast mode for light/dark mode, the sigils are not clickable.\r
    • \n
  • high-contrast mode isn't implemented properly on all the HTML templates\r
    • \n
\n

\ud83d\udd25 right now, the difficulty in navigating is a feature. one that I have no interest in removing until things like \"the CSS is broken\" are fixed.\r

\n

things to maybe-do today, Atacama department:\r

\n
    \n
  • Get a better LLM \"default instruction\" for Claude code-generation. Including \"don't write more than 20 lines of code without an explicit approval\". \ud83d\udd25( it's an unlimited service.) \ud83d\udca1( not that unlimited. and, slow.)\r
    • \n
  • the lexer will continue to be on this list until it isn't.\r
    • \n
  • adjustments to high-contrast mode - where should long GPT quotes be?\r
    • \n
\n

things to do today, non-Atacama department:\r

\n
    \n
  • finish leveling the Peloton bike\r
    • \n
  • glue the broken piece on the snowblower\r
    • \n
  • eat, sleep, etc.
    • \n
","subject":"medicine hat (4/6)"}]}