Favorites March 21st 2023

Kyoto, May 2018

Jordi Ribas @JordiRib1

Excited to share that Bing Image Creator is rolling out to the new Bing and Edge preview today. Now you can create an image by simply using your own words to describe the picture you want to see. (1/4)

This looks cool, although I haven't got access yet, looks like Midjourney V5 may have a serious competitor?

Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan

Neither Philadelphia nor DC has the window in bedroom requirement As a result, despite lower rents and equivalent construction costs, Philly and DC have converted 5x the number of apartment units from old office buildings than NYC in the past several years

Brigid Bergin @brigidbergin

.@NYCMayor talks about a modern- single room occupancy (SRO) concept. He describes his son who has a stove that he doesn’t think he knows how to turn on. He suggests you don’t need a window in a bedroom. “You don’t need a window when you are sleeping.”

Here's the data on office conversions. There seems to be a structural change in the demand for office space, and it's just as much an issue in California as other states. Windowless bedrooms aren't great, but they're better than living on the street! (Note, window requirements are not for fire safety, they're not required to be operable).

nature @Nature

In 2020, Nature endorsed Joe Biden in the US presidential election. A survey finds that viewing the endorsement did not change people’s views of the candidates, but caused some to lose confidence in Nature and in US scientists generally

go.nature.comPolitical endorsements can affect scientific credibilityEndorsing Joe Biden caused Trump supporters to trust Nature less.

I guess it's good that Nature is publishing this study, although they seem to be saying they won't be acting on the results of this study

Erthos, Inc. @ErthosInc

We are excited to announce a 100 MW+ project in Texas in partnership with Industrial Sun. So great to see the >2X energy density of Earth Mount Solar™ PV unlocking a project's full potential! #earthmountsolar #erthos #solarpower #highdensitysolar erthos.com/press/

One thing that's interesting about this installation is that it's now more efficient to install a huge slab of stationary panels than fancy tilting ones because the cost of labor is so much larger than the cost of the panels.

GPT Retakes My Midterm and Gets an A

Great article from Bryan Caplan, an Econ Professor who bet in 2022 that an AI wouldn't be able to reliably get an A on his tests till at least 2029. GPT4 got an A today on his Midterm, and in light of new information, he has changed his mind. I really enjoyed reading the questions and trying to answer them myself.

Caplan’s Summary of the article: “AI enthusiasts have cried wolf for decades. GPT-4 is the wolf. I've seen it with my own eyes.”

Massimo @Rainmaker1973

A binky is when a rabbit jumps, runs and leaps in the air. Sometimes they will kick or twist in the air as well. Binkies are signs of playfulness and joy in rabbits [read more: buff.ly/3V6Jwa2] [📹 blancobun: buff.ly/3SRnyGA]

Threads

• Short thread about a new single staircase 6 story building in Seattle on a 4000 sqft lot.

• Short thread looking at US housing production per capita since the 1970s. TL;DR: we don't make nearly as many homes as we used to.