From 3eb2a2d75bd4226e7fe805b281dd2354383ec4db Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Frederick Yin Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:49:16 -0500 Subject: umich/w25_journal: 2025-02-19 update --- docs/umich/img/w25_journal/boykisser-on-ground.png | Bin 0 -> 78121 bytes docs/umich/img/w25_journal/cny-ai-slop.jpg | Bin 0 -> 158397 bytes docs/umich/img/w25_journal/eecs-free-books.jpg | Bin 0 -> 302845 bytes docs/umich/img/w25_journal/mosfet-figurine.jpg | Bin 0 -> 223567 bytes docs/umich/img/w25_journal/snow-mountain.jpg | Bin 0 -> 253857 bytes docs/umich/img/w25_journal/snowcreechur.jpg | Bin 0 -> 160162 bytes docs/umich/w25_journal.md | 90 +++++++++++++++++++++ 7 files changed, 90 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/umich/img/w25_journal/boykisser-on-ground.png create mode 100644 docs/umich/img/w25_journal/cny-ai-slop.jpg create mode 100644 docs/umich/img/w25_journal/eecs-free-books.jpg create mode 100644 docs/umich/img/w25_journal/mosfet-figurine.jpg create mode 100644 docs/umich/img/w25_journal/snow-mountain.jpg create mode 100644 docs/umich/img/w25_journal/snowcreechur.jpg diff --git a/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/boykisser-on-ground.png b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/boykisser-on-ground.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..766a677 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/boykisser-on-ground.png differ diff --git a/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/cny-ai-slop.jpg b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/cny-ai-slop.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9dcb675 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/cny-ai-slop.jpg differ diff --git a/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/eecs-free-books.jpg b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/eecs-free-books.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3e97b98 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/eecs-free-books.jpg differ diff --git a/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/mosfet-figurine.jpg b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/mosfet-figurine.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..63154c5 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/mosfet-figurine.jpg differ diff --git a/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/snow-mountain.jpg b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/snow-mountain.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dc463f3 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/snow-mountain.jpg differ diff --git a/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/snowcreechur.jpg b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/snowcreechur.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..89a89c6 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/umich/img/w25_journal/snowcreechur.jpg differ diff --git a/docs/umich/w25_journal.md b/docs/umich/w25_journal.md index 90b8c0e..93b12d5 100644 --- a/docs/umich/w25_journal.md +++ b/docs/umich/w25_journal.md @@ -260,3 +260,93 @@ thing. Anyway, say hello to Crispy: I'm not saying having one more plushie magically solves all problems, but hear me out,,, + +## Chinese New Year AI Slop Incident + +On 2025-01-29, I walked into Bursley dining hall for dinner. I spent 20 +seconds deciphering this image: + +![Cartoon snake in front of lanterns and gold coins, with the English text +"happy 2025" and gibberish Chinese text](img/w25_journal/cny-ai-slop.jpg) + +I showed it to my English-speaking friends, and none of them spotted the +problem. Later I showed it to my parents, and my mother, _who speaks +native Chinese_, failed to detect it either at first glance. + +The problem? The AI did such a good job coming up with plausible chinese +characters that it forgot to check if they're real. Like c'mon, you had +one job… + +## Snow + +We had heavy snowfall around 2025-02-13. That morning I walked to North +Campus, greeted by a mountain of snow. + +![Mountain of snow, probably 3 meters tall, in a parking +lot](img/w25_journal/snow-mountain.jpg) + +That night on my way home, I made a snowcreechur and wrote "fuck nazis" in +a patch of snow. + +![Bust of creature with pointy snout and ears made of snow on +a tabletop](img/w25_journal/snowcreechur.jpg) + +## Cat Ears & Mosfet Figurine + +2025-02-16 was my most efficient furry club meeting: I finished my pair of +cat ears from last week and painted a figurine. + +![Figurine of a black cat next to an epaper screen displaying a goofy +image of him, captioned "me when i"](img/w25_journal/mosfet-figurine.jpg) + +## Free Books + +On 2025-02-17, I just finished my 461 lab and was heading home. I walked +past the ECE office and saw piles of free books. This attracted me +instantly. + +![Piles of free books on a table](img/w25_journal/eecs-free-books.jpg) + +I flipped through like half of them. Most of them were older than me. One +of them was older than my parents. (It's about Fortran.) + +I felt something rigid inside the back cover of a book. "Oh cool, a CD," +I thought. It was a floppy. + +After a long struggle and hesitation, I yoinked Tanenbaum's _Computer +Networks_ (3rd edition), with the goofy jargon puns on the cover. + +## 4 Minute Warning + +Most other Radiohead songs are about _someone_ dying. This one is about +_everyone_ dying. From a nuclear fallout, missile strike, or any manmade +disaster of your choice. And in the current state of the world, almost all +disasters are manmade. + +This song gave me an existential crisis. It made me realize that dying of +old age may be a fantasy. I'm sure a hopeless death is worse than an +abrupt one. + +The radio goes, I imagine: + +> This is your warning +> Your four minute warning + +This is equivalent to saying, "Get ready to say goodbye. Though I really +want to help you, I can't. I can't live much longer." A warning — not +a hostile one from the enemy, but a helpless one from your own side. +That's what makes it unsettling. + +The song is sonically comforting, like a lullaby — that's the precise +reason it's scary. No panic, no tempo change, no crescendo, just peace. +Resolve back to I. It's like comforting a child in the blasting sirens, +assuring them everything will be alright, while counting your death. + +For some reason, this image floats to my mind whenever Thom sings "laying +flat on the ground": + +![Boykisser lying on the ground](img/w25_journal/boykisser-on-ground.png) + +Side comment: when a conservative "thinks of the children" while +supporting fossil fuel, they have, not a single moment, thought of the +children. Fuck you. -- cgit v1.2.3