Zach Weinersmith

The SMBC guy. Co-author of Soonish, illustrator of Open Borders, scop of Bea Wolf.

Public Key

npub1q9np7h6t2e4vwdp9wg8q76fpg7879qgzuvszu7rnyn57casdy3sq6s709x

NIP-05 Address

ZachWeinersmith_at_mastodon.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsqzeslta94v6k8xsjhyrs0dys50rlzsypwxgpw0pejf60vwcxjgcqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wdmksetjv5hxxmmdqy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kykklmtg

Publishing to

relay.noswhere.com

relay.mostr.pub

Author Public Key

npub1q9np7h6t2e4vwdp9wg8q76fpg7879qgzuvszu7rnyn57casdy3sq6s709x

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Last Notes

2024-08-05 13:48:47

Today the stock market has crashed... down to the level it was at 2 months ago.

2024-06-20 23:10:14

So, 10-year-old is super into mythology, especially epic, especially Iliad and Ramayana. She wants the Jewish version of this stuff, and I'm not sure what it is. Any recommendations?

2024-06-17 13:44:57

Bonus panel here: http://smbc-comics.com/comic/algorithm
#smbc #hiveworks #comics #webcomics #love
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/632/258/692/944/518/original/b29c96262d1ffad2.png

2024-05-31 17:02:06

Pro-tip: corporate AI can't do any sexy stuff, so if you want to be camouflaged to AI, just wear a suit with a pattern made entirely of huge dicks.

2024-05-16 15:20:37

Something that's new to me in writing Bea Wolf is that the book runs on a long plan I outlined ages ago, and now I'm filling in the pieces stanza by stanza. And often it feels like the stanzas, even if well written, have no emotional oomph. But you just have to trust that if the oomph was in the outline, it'll appear for the reader even if you don't feel it right now. Sort of like making a mosaic and having trouble seeing the design when you're putting in a tiny piece.

2024-05-12 21:41:14

Full comic here: http://smbc-comics.com/comic/automatic
#smbc #hiveworks #comics #webcomics #religion

2024-04-26 16:42:29

Holy shit, I thought my computer was just running really slowly, but it turns out it was *entirely* due to Chrome. Please Google, just close down.

2024-04-17 20:10:01

How do you think International Law would look at the following situation:
5 years from now, humanoid robots are really good and relatively cheap. Russia tries invade a non-NATO country. The US sends 10,000 robotic soldiers, which are technically operated locally.

2024-02-15 20:21:54

Mayonnaise cole slaw is better than vinegar cole slaw. Anyone who thinks otherwise is probably a Russian asset.

2023-12-20 18:07:41

Something I've been thinking about lately is this weird thing where the project of national self-determination (meaning every people deserves a right not to be oppressed *as a people*) conflicts with the project of free movement between nations. That is, part of the tragedy of the 20th century is that as decolonization creates new nations that often experience a lot of strife between peoples inside their borders, the world tightens up to immigrants. But that's likely not a coincidence?

2023-11-21 13:15:24

- reply

@npub1psd…9sr7 Ha, thank you! I'm frustrated how many people are saying we just don't have the can-do spirit, but we literally end the book with a roadmap for doing space settlement!

2023-11-21 13:06:13

If one more person critiques A City on Mars for not accounting for something that is in fact accounted for one the book, I am going to... feel moderately annoyed but take no action.

2023-11-16 19:28:23

Do European airports have "no firearms in your luggage" signs or is that an American special?

2023-10-28 12:13:27

Is there a book on the history of video games being made addictive? Video games from my childhood in the 80s don't come back to me as addictive - enjoyable certainly, but no more a compulsion than watching a favorite movie. The first game I remember having compulsion over was probably Civ 2, somewhat, and full-on with Everquest. Now, it seems to be a default quality of video games that they should induce compulsive play, and it's just sort of accepted, but it's kind of weird?

2023-10-24 21:24:12

What food tradition do you think is the best at taking shitty ingredients and making something really tasty?

2023-10-15 13:13:12

This is no doubt entirely the consequence of growing up on an Early Internet that was largely cynical male nerds, but it's amazing the extent to which nice comics about relationships have become popular! We all thought the Sunday Comics pages were sappy because editors insisted on it, but it's what the public wanted all along.
Anyway, enjoy today's butt-plug/death comic on smbc.

2023-10-11 15:48:59

Social
http://smbc-comics.com/comic/social-2 (click for full comic)
#smbc #hiveworks #comics
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/217/167/678/465/305/original/71ba317e4c3b7732.png

2023-09-22 12:39:44

Who's an author everyone likes because they read his/her books as a kid, but which you read later and *do not get*?

2023-09-19 14:02:57

I'm sure there's a tendency to always view the past as better, but the social-media-ification of the Internet has really sucked a lot of the joy out of entertaining people. When it was peripheral to the broader Internet, you spent most of your time making stuff. Now you gotta learn 8 to 12 platforms that mostly want you to act like an employee of their algorithm.

2023-09-19 12:54:19

Consciousness
Bonus panel here: http://smbc-comics.com/comic/conscious-6
#smbc #hiveworks #comics #webcomics #consciousness
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/091/912/044/385/083/original/014eae044d2e9e26.png

2023-09-06 13:17:38

- reply

It's kind of funny. You know that thing where you can't meet with someone just for friendship - you have to be eating something or making something or whatever. I feel like third places have a similar problem. You can't just have a third place because people like third places. It has to be a market or an entertainment experience.

2023-08-31 14:11:24

- reply

One other possibility is that diets have gotten much more diverse and there are a lot more premium items, which may slow the process of making things cheaper?

2023-08-31 14:08:59

Stupid econ question:
Why isn't food more deflationary? Like, I understand why jobs involving humans have to keep up with the rising price of labor, but food gets more and more automated, no?
Or is it actually deflationary, but only on long scales? Or, will it *become* super deflationary once it's possible and economically viable to e.g. hire fruit pickers?
But that still wouldn't explain why, e.g. cereal, has gotten pricier over time.

2023-08-30 14:38:16

http://smbc-comics.com/comic/multiverse-3
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/979/074/811/509/583/original/bcf89eb920d96dbe.png

2023-08-27 16:18:53

Offensive question?
What is with New Yorkers and bodegas? I don't get the obsession. I understand that it's nice to have a place you can get stuff you need around the corner, but if you transplant one of these stores to literally anywhere else it's a dingy overpriced shop with low selection. I get it as a need, but not as a thing to get weird about. What am I missing?

2023-08-26 17:41:00

I go back and forth a lot on duolingo. It's like... great for aerobics and for filling up a spare 10 minutes, but it'd be great if now and then it really made you struggle for a minute.

2023-08-26 15:06:44

Productivity
http://smbc-comics.com/comic/productivity-3 (click to see the bonus panel)
#smbc #hiveworks #comics
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/956/537/581/732/510/original/e408adb07bd084e7.png

2023-08-25 13:17:14

Relatable
http://smbc-comics.com/comic/relatable
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/950/444/686/974/768/original/fa1d9dea98f0bbcd.png

2023-08-17 11:35:18

Is there a big definitive book on what went wrong with Russia trying to become a liberal democracy in the 90s?

2023-08-06 18:12:14

Hey AI people, what's up with pest control and fruitpicking? I feel like every year there are cool new robots that seem like they should vastly improve productivity, but it just doesn't seem to take off. Too expensive? Labor too cheap? Doesn't scale? Resistance by farmers?

2023-08-06 14:55:02

Post
http://smbc-comics.com/comic/post (click for bonus panel)
#smbc #hiveworks
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/843/244/939/120/378/original/9ea34c1e9f261762.png

2023-08-04 14:33:52

I write jokes
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/831/837/457/739/331/original/d7cc9cf417c422c4.png

2023-07-30 11:59:21

Dads of mastodon, new thing:
1) Walk into kid's room, quietly, muttering "murrrrder, murrrrrder"
2) Wait for kid to notice you
3) Act surprised. Say, "Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I thought you were asleep!"
4) Smile broadly, leave room.

2023-07-28 12:02:36

Do you think better AI will change the way we store files? Meaning basically, right now you make specific folders and ideally nest them so you can locate stuff. But maybe in the future everything just goes in a bin and you say "hey AI, get me that one file about the thing"

2023-07-19 11:29:32

- reply

@npub1hpc…hjn3 Yeah, I can imagine for example corporations hiring artists to build training data, especially if you're not allowed to scrape art. But then... once that's done you probably don't need too many artists. Plus there's a huge rights free corpus.
The other interesting thing is my guess is the open source models will only be a few years behind the big corporate ones? Could be wrong.

2023-07-19 11:22:19

- reply

@npub1hpc…hjn3 I think that's a good analogy, though I will say it's very easy for me to think about the law for berries, since humans have been thinking about rights to common resources for thousands of years. If the drone thing started up, I imagine the response would be something like "berry picking licenses" as we have for hunting. I don't know what the equivalent is for AI art.

2023-07-19 11:16:55

So, what's your view on how we should legally think about AI art models that use copyrighted art for training data? I'm not sure there's a compelling analogy?
Clearly this is what human artists do all day long, of course. And the question is in what way is that different form having an AI do it. Any thoughts? I'm particularly interested in people familiar with the most relevant law.

2023-07-09 15:21:05

So, I spend a lot of time reading weird books and occasionally I post bits of what I find. Lately I've been thinking about having some kind of site for Zach Reads Books, e.g. reviews, jokes, maybe readings? What's the format for this today? Youtube?

2023-06-25 12:28:42

Someone defend Chicago pizza. I don't get it.