RT @burkov
Grok 4 scores very poorly on Yupp, an LMArena competitor to which, probably, the LLM providers haven’t yet managed to finetune; below even Grok 3, with a score of 1142.
Claude Opus 4’s score, for comparison, is 1381.
So, all as I expected: when you don’t have more data and, as a consequence, cannot improve model quality substantially, you beat cherry-picked benchmarks hoping to make a sensation.
But we aren’t in 2024 anymore, so cheap hand-made sensations aren’t working anymore.
I cannot believe we writing stories about Trump threatening Lula with 50% tariffs unless he lets Bolsonaro go and not ONE MUTHERFUCKING OUTLET in America has brought up Lava Jato (Car Wash) at fucking all at all.
It is deeply fucking ironic for an American President to be accusing LULA of sham political trials given the VOLUMUOUS amount of evidence THREE US presidents backed what amounted to a soft judicial coup against Lula's party which DIRECTLY lead to Bolsonaro's reign.
US media IS the CIA
The solar revolution belongs to China.
"China continues huge investments in wind and solar power, reportedly accounting for 74 percent of all projects now under construction worldwide."
This photo essay shows the scale of the solar farms:
https://www.theatlantic.com/photography/archive/2025/07/photos-china-solar-power-energy/683488/
As the Trump administration’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” eliminates many clean-energy incentives in the U.S., China continues huge investments in wind and solar power, reportedly accounting for 74 percent of all projects now under construction worldwide.
As someone who studied modern history and lives in Germany while being Dutch, with a family history of resistance during WW2, make no mistake. The money Trump feeds to ICE means that he is creating the US version of the German Nazi SA, also known as #BrownShirts. Today they go after supposed illegal immigrants, tomorrow they will go after anyone who doesn’t fit to whatever weird version of supremacy The Leader wants.
5 min
LA recovery from fire fked by La Migra. You gotta hand it to ole passion fingers, he really knows how to wreck American lives.
Just being honest. I care more about gaming than Linux. If I had to pick between Linux and gaming, gaming wins every time.
But here’s the thing: Linux isn’t just catching up anymore. Over the last three years, it’s become flat-out better than Windows at gaming. No debate. Better performance, fewer headaches, smoother ease-of-use. It just works.
I don’t care about some abstract argument over whether Linux is “better” than Windows. I care about whatever lets me run my games better, and Linux wins that hands down.
I’ve spent tens of thousands over the years on hardware and software—towers, laptops, handhelds, consoles, arcade cabinets—you name it. Plus, my game collection is massive, from cartridges, discs, to downloads. I’m invested. I want all this stuff to work, and Linux helps me do that.
So yeah, I use Linux because it gets me where I want: running games.
“But Chris, what about open source ideals?”
I used to be that guy. But I wasn’t having fun. Meanwhile, my friends on Windows were gaming hard. They didn’t care about OS ideology—they were just playing. So I succumbed to the dark side, and now I care more about what an OS allows me to do.
“What about work?”
Easy. I use my MacBook for work. Gaming on Mac sucks. Apple could learn from Linux on how to kickstart gaming on the platform, but they don’t care.
The silver lining? No games on Mac means I actually get work done.
Bottom line: I’m only excited about Linux now because it’s great for gaming. Twenty years ago, it wasn’t. Now? It’s spectacular.
#ArteConcert is so amazing! I don't remember who on Mastodon first pointed me to it but it's *so good*. Thanks to whoever you are.
If you don't know it, Arte is a a European public service channel and Arte Concert is their live music. The live concert performances are top quality and it's all free to watch, with *no ads* (thanks EU!).
This evening I've been watching a jazz concert by Hiromi's Sonicwonder. Earlier in the week I watched Moderat live at the Grand Palais in Paris. I've discovered fantastic African blues musician Fatoumata Diawara and Cuban funk musician Cimafunk and singer song-writer Asaf Avidan. There's everything from metal to electronic to jazz to classical.
While a lot of the internet has been turning to ad-filled spyware goop, Arte Concert is a wonderful exception.
This is me feeling grateful.
"In the midst of mixed signals...long-range intentions of #Vancouver council and city planning department are to automatically approve — without re-zoning or public hearings — many types of social housing in highrises of 15 to 20 storeys in one-third of the city"
"Adding to the confusion, the definition of “social housing” is very broad in Vancouver. The city generally, but not always, uses “social housing” as an umbrella term to refer to supportive housing and mixed-income and cooperative housing..."
https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vancouver-pushes-social-housing-highrises-across-city
Some dangerous but frequently expressed myths spotted in the media:
Wealth trickles down from the rich.... (it doesn't);
The state is like a household & must therefore 'balance the books'.... (it isn't & doesn't);
The poor have only themselves to blame...(no, poverty is often due to external factors);
The rich got there through hard work.... (no, mostly the rich have either benefitted form inheritance or have, unacknowledged, good luck)....
Just sayin'
Miguel Afonso Caetano
AnarchoNinaWrites
CelloMom On Cars
Jan Wildeboer 😷
Laffy
GhostOnTheHalfShell
Chris Trottier
Jon Sullivan
Cindy
Emeritus Prof Christopher May