I long for the #StarTrek computer. #AI isn't it.

In Star Trek, if you ask the computer for information it will read out the entry from the Starfleet database. Ie, it will give you the best and most accurate information easily available. Information that was written by people, based on all those reports that everyone files and logs that everyone keeps. And you just know that the bureaucracy-loving Starfleet has huge teams of nerds checking everything and making sure it's as accurate as possible. AI creates a pile of text that is mishmashed from multiple unknown sources of unknown veracity, and it may well have mished the bits that should have been mashed, invisibly turning it into junk.

In Star Trek, if the information is not available the computer will just plain tell you that. AI doesn't understand that it doesn't understand, so it will generate something confident and plausible and wrong.

In Star Trek, if you ask the computer to do a calculation, it will access the appropriate subroutine. It's exactly what Excel formulae have done for decades - tell it to average a bunch of numbers and it'll run the very specific bit of code that averages a bunch of numbers. Those subroutines are written by experts and shared. Occasionally, we even hear the engineering or science crew say "I wrote a new subroutine and..." Again, there will be nerds checking these things before they make it into the standard set of subroutines available to the computer. AI will create something that may resemble an appropriate subroutine, but nobody has checked it. Nobody understands how it works, so how can anyone know it does? Spitting out a plausible solution is not the same as reliably spitting out the correct solution.

The Star Trek computer does not guess. It does exactly what you ask it to. Sometimes to the point of frustration. AI robs you of agency. It guesses what you want and extrudes words that seem like they match it.

In Star Trek, the computer is an interface. It's the front end to a whole wealth of accumulated human* knowledge and understanding. AI pretends to be everything, but it's just a sausage factory - real information goes in, information-shaped, statistically likely sentences come out. It's all averaged and bland and cannot be relied upon.

We have a fancy guessing machine that people think is the Star Trek computer. With less effort, money, and environmental damage, we could have had something like the real thing.


*and Vulcan, Klingon, etc

Hey #transmen, can I ask for some help, please?

My son is aware that there are packers and binders and tape and whatnot to change body shape around chest and crotch. But is there anything that can reduce hips? Or broaden the waist a little to reduce the curves? If so, what are they called and where (UK) do I look for them?

My boys and I are building an indoor #hydroponics garden, primarily from reused materials. So far, the only things we've bought are seeds, rockwool, and a second hand pump.

It took a while to get going, because we needed to rearrange furniture. We needed to do that anyway, so the desk in the back room is now next to the telly and opposite the sofa. I can sit on the sofa and play games on the big screen, and it's awesome. It also freed up some old metal shelves and space by the window, forming the starting point for our hydroponics.

We gathered all sorts of plasticware that was lying around not being used. Key was a plastic crate with no holes in the bottom, which would make our main tank.

We figured we'd grow in the top of the tank rather than have complicated and potentially leaky kit arranged above it. For now, anyway. And we thought ice cube trays might make good trays to hold the plants, if we drilled holes in the bottom.

We set about creating a frame from bamboo skewers and string. We were careful to make sure we didn't have any string partially in the water and over the rim - I have met capillary action before! The skewers were fractionally too short to go across the tank, so they are diagonally across the corners. I picked up this bridging technique from watching a DVD of The Adventure Game.

So we just need to drill holes in the trays, tighten the bolts on the shelves, and we can get it filled and started.

What's the go-to website for finding out whether a place is good for #cycling?

My son has suggested we go for a walk around a local lake. I'll need to take my etrike. But I don't know if the paths will be suitable, or if there are restrictions on cycles. I could do with learning how to find out.

Thinking about this more, this is a mistake advertisers keep making and have done for years.

Typically people don't mind ads that are just there and not getting in the way - billboards, posters, static banners on websites. But the more they fight for attention and force themselves into our eyes and ears, the more we fight back.

Online adblockers only exist because online ads started doing popups and overlays and videos and noise. I didn't mind the TV home screen showing silent ads, but now some are LOUD I try not to leave it on that screen at all. I don't mind ad breaks on free streaming, but if it's more than 30s I'll mute it and do something else until the programme is back.

It's an arms race.

Until and unless the advertising industry stop insisting they have some kind of right to our attention, we're going to continue finding ways to block them.

The thing that makes me really sad is the enormous effort that is wasted on the whole fight. The jobs, the materials, the computing power. It all has a significant environmental and social cost for close to zero benefit to anyone but advertising CEOs.

My smart TV has started showing ads on the home screen. I wouldn't mind so much, but around one in ten of them is VERY LOUD, while the rest are silent. Every time a loud one comes on, I scramble for the remote to stop the noise. I have no idea what it's trying to advertise, so it's clearly not working!

It's been unpleasantly warm today. Nevertheless, I did a job I'd been putting off.

I harvested, cleaned, peeled, chopped, and froze the garlic. Lots of little cloves, from dirt to freezer.

Harvesting was quick and done before the heat reached its peak. Cleaning them up and peeling them was tedious, but a sitting down job, so doable. Chopping meant using my new food processor, which worked fine and made that part of the job much quicker.

By tomorrow, we'll have little blocks of garlic and oil that are ready to throw straight into a pan when cooking.

I'm fascinated by this shadow on my wall. It's a combination of light fitting, window frame, and bushes, cast by the sun reflecting off a car parked outside.

Hahah I never thought I would put lang="lb" in an article, but here we are. Also, yup, language code for Luxembourgish is lb, apparently lu belongs to Luba-Katanga, you are welcome for random knowledge.

Also maybe this is a good time to remind people that there is project for two screen reader voices in Luxembourgish: https://accessibilite.public.lu/en/news/2026-03-30-screenreaderLB.html

Edit: we have enough 😁
Huge thanks to everyone who took time to reply - some fascinating and varied jobs! Also thanks to everyone who boosted so we could reach the awesome people who answered.

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My teenage son is doing a course on animal care. As part of it, he's been asked to investigate animal-related jobs. If you work with animals, would you mind answering a few questions about your job, please? Thank you!

1. What is your job?

2. How did you get into it?

3. How long did it take you to get into your job?

4. Why do you like your job?

5. Are there any disadvantages?

6. Are there any skills you specifically need for your job?


Please boost 😁

We have reached that stage of #parenting when sometimes we can leave our kids home alone for a while. Obviously, this has to be done in a safe way. To support this, we've developed a set of ever-evolving rules. I'm sharing them in case they are helpful for any other parents whose children are just approaching this stage.

1. Don't burn the house down. You can use things like the microwave that switches off automatically, but not the hob that might be left on.

2. No Playstation. You'll get drawn in so deeply you'll forget to eat, drink, walk the dog, etc, and those things are important.

3. Don't join a cult. Or start one.

4. If there's a problem or a question, get in touch. Call if it's urgent, message if it isn't.

5. Do not summon Cthulhu (I want to join in).

6. You can watch any film you've seen before or has a rating younger than you.

7. Do not give away the homeworld.

I'm really getting tired of the repeat prescription dance.

Send it too late, and I won't get the new pack in time. Send it too early, and it gets ignored until admin deem it due (which can be the day I need to start the next pack). Send it via the NHS app, and there's no way to add a note like, "I'm away next week, can I have it a few days early, please?" and the NHS app is flakey and doesn't always work. Send it via the surgery's online form and I have to do it during office hours (yes, really - the online form is unavailable outside working hours), plus there is then no visibility or tracking for me to check it's being dealt with.

I'm on 7 meds, which all run out on different days. I can't even get them to align because some I get a month's supply, some 6 weeks', and some 2 months'. Oh, and one is not possible to request via the NHS app.

There are currently two I need to request. I can't. Neither GP form nor NHS app is working right now. I hope I remember tomorrow.

I see the #UK government are making my son's life more difficult *again*.

Having made SEN support, CAMHS, and schools so underfunded, under-resourced, and over-rigid that he was forced out of formal education, they now want to cut off the one link he has with his closest friends.

Despite no longer seeing each other on a daily basis at school, they still chat regularly. They share fun things, they comfort each other through different times, they encourage each other's art and creativity. Guess how they do all that.

They meet up to hang out, they go to each other's houses, they go to events and films together. Guess how they organise it all.

Yes, a lot of social media is toxic. Yes, we need to protect children from the worst corners of the internet. But firstly, we should do that for everyone by holding the big platforms to account. Secondly, everyone going through age verification is a massive overreach and a hugely problematic proposal. Thirdly, you don't save a child by cutting them off from their lifeline.

Hello #UK folks! Remember all the invented outrage over Churchill being replaced with a badger on the fiver?

Well, the Bank of England are designing new notes, as they do from time to time, and they are featuring British wildlife. But the badger isn't on the shortlist.

There are lots of lovely animals shortlisted, and you can help choose which ones make it into our notes! Voting open until the 3rd July.

www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/help-us-design-our-next-series-of-banknotes

Hello, #UK friends with lawns.

If you've just completed #NoMowMay thank you! May wildflowers are super important to support our pollinators and provide food for many small birds and mammals. They are also far prettier than bare, boring, flat grass.

I now invite you to continue into #NoMowJune and beyond. While the benefits to our wildlife might be most profound in May, they exist all year round. And all you have to do is not do a heavy, difficult job that you don't want to do anyway.

If you've actually been missing your lawn, consider mowing just the bit you really want. Maybe a path to the shed, or a small area for playing, and leaving the rest. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

I went round to a friend's house today.

That shouldn't be noteworthy. But it is, because it's a thing that has been lost.

Ever-increasing work expectations, longer commutes, side hustles, more disparate and distant socialising, life admin becoming ever more complex and adversarial... Our time and energy have been slowly sapped away over the last few decades.

At the same time, we've seen the rise of the influencers and oversupply of tat. Everyone must  have the latest plastic prize, while also keeping our homes clutter-free and Insta-ready. But we can't, because we don't have the time or energy to throw last year's tat out, and we're caught between the shadow of make do and mend, and the guilt of waste, both saying "maybe I'll use it."

Add in a global pandemic that had us hiding away in our homes for months. Only "economically important" stuff got "back to normal," with ongoing risks poorly mitigated (barely acknowledged) across society.

No wonder it doesn't seem normal to go visit a friend. It doesn't even seem normal to genuinely mean that word: friend.

But carving out time and dedicating energy to just go and be with another human being whose presence makes you feel good is part of what makes us humans.

Maybe you need adaptations, or can only manage half an hour, or have to know plans in advance, or whatever. But that's the whole thing with friends: they will adapt to your needs. And here's the thing about making friends: asking for small favours is one of the most effective ways of turning an acquaintance into a friend. It promotes good feelings for both parties and creates a link. So *ask for what you need*.

Go visit a friend.

I've been looking at #hydroponics and #aquaponics mostly for fun and because fresh green stuff is good. But good grief it's complicated!

I want something small, DIY, and cheap, that I don't need to remember my chemistry A-level for. But every "for beginners" guide I've found starts with a thesis on plant nutrition and I can't read it let alone learn and apply it.

Is there such a thing as a "My First Water Garden" guide? Something more the size of a pamphlet than War and Peace? With standard gardening you can get started with a pot of dirt and a bean. I can manage a little more than that, but not much.

Anyone know how to fix electric recliners?

We bought a second hand recliner sofa. Both ends independently recline, with completely separate mechanisms, cables, plugs, etc. One end (the end we use all the time) reclined, and then wouldn't unrecline. The button makes its little mechanical click, but nothing else happens. No whir, no groan, no movement. The other end (which tends not to get used) is fine.

The LED on the adapter box for the working end is solid. It's a dim flicker for the non-working end. We have tried swapping power cables and adapter boxes. The result is the same, with the same end not working. So it must be something inside the sofa itself.

It did this last week. We switched it off at the wall for a while, then switched it on. It spent a good ten minutes doing the vague flicker with the occasional few seconds of solid bright LED. Eventually, the light stayed on and the sofa started working again. It's not coming back to life this time.

So, any tips? How do we get at underneath? It weighs a tonne and won't be easy to turn over in its current reclined position. What do we look for once we're there? Would it be feasible to move a part from the working end to a) check if that's the bit that has failed or b) switch which end works? What should we be wary of?

#repair #fedihelp #fixingstuff

#ADHD team: We're not going to assess him for ADHD. We think he should be assessed for autism.

#Autism team: We're not going to assess him for autism. We think he should be assessed for ADHD.

Three years of wait and this is your answer? Ffs, #CAMHS, sort yourself out.

Fediverse seems to like a bit of #Morris, so here you go.