Slowly, people will adapt to AI in online forums. But for me, it's one more reason to share coffee with friends, rather than investing hours in social media.

A couple people recently emailed, asking whether the Klein bottle business was still operating after my death.

“Huh?” I thought. “I ain’t dead yet.”

After some digging, I discovered the source: an AI-generated review of The Cuckoo’s Egg circulating on Facebook. Alongside the usual synthetic praise and fabricated details, it confidently announced that I had died in May 2024.

Apparently AI has now advanced to the point where it can kill people off before they notice.

Mark Twain once wrote, “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” I never expected to field-test the quote personally.

source: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=989939243570691&id=100076638743004

Cheers, -Cliff

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48037336

Points: 381

# Comments: 58

Goes back to Fred Brooks' Mythical Man-Month: Start with understanding the requirements; then design the architecture. Only after that, begin programming.

Keep 'em all guessing.

It's how I cheat my chiropractor.

   I have fun with every Klein bottle order.  When someone buys a Klein bottle, I celebrate by walking through our backyard garden, looking for new blossoms.  I usually take a few photos and send these to my customer-friend.

  This micro business puts me in touch with fascinating people (I've met kids in elementary school, grad students, Nobel laureates, even a delightful nut who made a 4-meter tall wooden Klein bottle for Burning Man).  The kind of people you find here on Hacker News.

  PS - with reference to your HN identity -- from my ham radio days of long ago, I once experimentally determined that a 1/2 watt, 600 ohm Ohmite resistor would burn up when inserted in a 120V outlet.  Hmmm: 24 watts into a half-watt resistor?  Yep, filled the room with that acrid smell...   Don't try this at home.

   All of a sudden, I got three or four Klein bottle orders.  That's a lot for an hour!  One of the orders (thank you Bryan in Johnstown) mentioned Hacker News.  And, well, here I am.

Since then, I've lowered my periscope: my wife, Pat, and I decided to stay home together and raise two kids. They're now fledged - hooray! During that time, I started this micro-business of making Klein bottles - much fun!

Alas, but this past December, my wife left this vale of toil and tears. During the day, staying busy helps keep the grief under control; other times I'm in deep sadness, trying to find my way without her.

To all my friends & acquaintances on HN: my deep thanks for your kindness & support across decades. It's a joy to be considered a member of the tribe.

But Amazon Canada listing is still held by Amvoom. I'm unable to sell Klein bottles in Canada. sigh

If anyone knows how to fix this, please send email to me!

Many thanks, -Cliff

Just picking up old rags and bottles,

When onward on my way I plod,

I saw a host of axolotls;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

A sight to make a man’s blood freeze.

//

Some had handles, some were plain;

They came in blue, red pink, and green.

A few were orange in the main;

The damnedest sight I’ve ever seen.

The females gave a sprightly glance;

The male ones all wore knee-length pants.

//

Now oft, when on the couch I lie,

The doctor asks me what I see.

They flash upon my inward eye

And make me laugh in fiendish glee.

I find my solace then in bottles,

And I forget them axolotls.

     //Mad Magazine, issue 43, 1958 //

It's anti-intuitive:

Disassemble a pea into a finite number of pieces. Then reassemble those pieces to create the sun.

No surprise that concave cuts in ceramics are a high stress, so Kite and Dart tiles don't work very well (the dart is likely to crack). Same is true for the Turtle, Hat, and Spectre.

Rhombus tiles are everywhere convex, and the P3 Rhombus tiles are easy to cut in a diamond saw (or even a snap-cutter). With a diamond band-saw, it's possible to make Penrose rhombs with curved (parabolic) edges.

But cutting tiles from stock field tiles produces sharp surface edges -- you don't want these as bathroom floor tiles. Also, you waste a lot of the field tile as scrap. To get "friendly" tile shoulders, I'm experimenting with making Penrose tiles directly from high-fired porcelain clay.

Oh - it's an Axidraw, from Evil Mad Scientist Labs - great device, wonderful people.