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How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40

davekiss.com

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Re: How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40

#51

Post by davekiss »

mlsu wrote: post #49

Incredible. One of the winning human made video submissions says: "There's something almost poetic about working with your hands. In a world where everything has gone digital, where things get solved with a click and a swipe, there's a unique satisfaction about tackling something tangible, something real." Then there's this guy who algorithmically floods the contest with AI slop. Click and a swipe indeed!

Hey, it's not slop!

I wrote the script, I shot the video, I edited everything — the only place AI was even used in the submissions was to alleviate the pain of tracking down fitting music and re-recording voice overs (both of which I've done manually in the past).

I actually thought the videos would be pretty helpful for a non-handy homeowner.

Re: How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40

#52

Post by cinntaile »

davekiss wrote: post #27
awoimbee wrote: post #22

That 8th entry pouring loads on WD40 on trees is just crazy, that thing is petroleum distillate !

Don't worry, this is a stump that's been dead for years, isolated to a very small garden bed in my yard

I'd still wager that is why it didn't win any prizes though. They don't want to show a video spraying WD40 in nature.

I enjoyed the post, I appreciate a good methodical process.

Re: How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40

#54

Post by michaelcampbell »

jrflowers wrote: post #41

How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, a can of WD-40 and One Secret Factor That Makes This Process Unrepeatable and Useless To The Reader > Where do you find these exceedingly winnable contests? Sorry, that’s a trade secret — but it’s not any of the standard various contest aggregators out there.

I mean, sure, but not every post/blog has to be "useful to the reader". That last "n" of "n" fiction books I read were equally useless, but I'm glad I read them.

Re: How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40

#55

Post by snozolli »

jimnotgym wrote: post #32
davekiss wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learned a lot about WD-40 from this project! This is a highly debated topic, but their website leans into the fact that WD-40 is, indeed, a lubricant. > While the “W-D” in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, WD-40 Multi-Use Product is a unique, special blend of lubricants. The product’s formulation also contains anti-corrosion agents and ingredients for penetration, water displacement and soil removal. Regardless…

It is a lubricant, just not a very good one for most uses. It can't bear much load and it tends to just dissappear in a short time. I once replaced a series of mortice lever locks in a first house that were very worn after a decade of use. You had to shake the key to get them to open. I was amazed on opening them to find them completely dry, when they come greased. I suggested they lubricate the replacements occasion…

For what it's worth, old lock grease tends to move away from where it's needed and turn into a hard, waxy substance. It's arguably better to have a lock cleaned and slightly lubricated with WD-40 than one gummed up with ancient grease and dirt, or worse, rusted.

I've heard a lot of anecdotes in every direction: only use graphite, only use a cleaning solvent. I've never read anything authoritative and I suspect the ideal approach is to regularly (e.g. every decade) disassemble the lock, clean it thoroughly, and inject grease, but nobody is going to do that.

Re: How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40

#57

Post by rpcope1 »

jimnotgym wrote: post #32
davekiss wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learned a lot about WD-40 from this project! This is a highly debated topic, but their website leans into the fact that WD-40 is, indeed, a lubricant. > While the “W-D” in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, WD-40 Multi-Use Product is a unique, special blend of lubricants. The product’s formulation also contains anti-corrosion agents and ingredients for penetration, water displacement and soil removal. Regardless…

It is a lubricant, just not a very good one for most uses. It can't bear much load and it tends to just dissappear in a short time. I once replaced a series of mortice lever locks in a first house that were very worn after a decade of use. You had to shake the key to get them to open. I was amazed on opening them to find them completely dry, when they come greased. I suggested they lubricate the replacements occasion…

I think that's one of the biggest screwups people make with WD-40 is that it's basically just a petroleum solvent and other than maybe initially unsticking things, it often makes the problem worse. As far as solvents go it's not particularly great, and in terms of lubricating or breaking free it's pretty bad. I'm surprised they still sell as much of it as they do (chalk it up to good marketing), when for basically everything there's a better choice (protip: if something is really stuck, the best tool provided you don't have dogs or children getting near is going to be acetone mixed with a good ATF).

Re: How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40

#58

Post by krageon »

pcthrowaway wrote: post #23

I can simultaneously appreciate the write-up for gaming a competition while also dreading how it basically describes the incentives for contributing to the AI-enshittification of the internet.

The content produced adhered to the requirements and is amusing. It allowed the creativity of a single person to be applied in a larger way to more things. This is exactly an example of how AI wouldn't enshittify the internet.

Re: How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40

#59

Post by [deleted] »

jrflowers wrote: post #41

How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, a can of WD-40 and One Secret Factor That Makes This Process Unrepeatable and Useless To The Reader > Where do you find these exceedingly winnable contests? Sorry, that’s a trade secret — but it’s not any of the standard various contest aggregators out there.

[deleted]

Re: How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40

#60

Post by RockRobotRock »

pcthrowaway wrote: post #23

I can simultaneously appreciate the write-up for gaming a competition while also dreading how it basically describes the incentives for contributing to the AI-enshittification of the internet.

I see where you're coming from, but I think it's just a story about a guy who outsmarted the system. He used math and AI to realize that his odds were actually pretty good, but him realizing he could submit multiple submissions is the important part. Using ElevenLabs for TTS definitely helped him win, but he could have also paid voice actors on Fiverr. He could have found royalty free music anywhere.

Basically, there's a lot of AI enshittification going on, but this isn't one of them. Just seems like a bit of fun.

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