sparkle's recent activity
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Comment on Steve Albini, storied producer and icon of the rock underground, dies at 61 in ~music
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Comment on Spring gardening thread in ~hobbies
sparkle LinkZone 3b here, despite the recent warmth, still holding off until the end of May to put anything in the ground. Despite that, the raspberry canes that my neighbour has so graciously donated under...Zone 3b here, despite the recent warmth, still holding off until the end of May to put anything in the ground.
Despite that, the raspberry canes that my neighbour has so graciously donated under the fence have started to proliferate - this is year 3 so hoping we get some fruit finally! A patch of chives decided to grow back in one of the raised beds, it's already about a foot tall and has made its way into a few meals. Hoping to get some flowers out of it this year and create some chive blossom vinegar to use in pickles.
Grow tent is in full swing with the pride and joy of our garden - Paisanos! Last year we had some 300 lbs of tomatoes from them, a lot more than expected considering we lost a lot to some pretty significant hail damage.
Last year we struggled to get hot peppers going in the grow tent and ultimately wound up buying them from a local nursery so this year we just didn't even bother trying and will pick some up once available. Last year's mix was habaneros, jalapenos, and banana peppers - thinking I'll just focus on habaneros and jalapenos this year to further refine my hot sauce fermenting techniques.
And assuming we don't have our front porch torn apart by renovations this year, we'll be growing long beans along it - also my other pride and joy. At the peak of summer, we can usually harvest about 1-2lbs beans per day.
I also keep meaning to setup some automation for watering, but I don't even know where to start really, the commercial solutions I've looked at are just prohibitively expensive and the DIY never seems like it'll actually work with my use case and I just don't have the time to design something completely from scratch :/
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Comment on Hobo Johnson & The LoveMakers - Flood the Earth Again (2024) in ~music
sparkle LinkI remember hearing them on NPR a few years back and at first being kinda taken aback, but it grew on me. Hadn't thought about them since then but I really enjoyed this! Thanks for the share and...I remember hearing them on NPR a few years back and at first being kinda taken aback, but it grew on me. Hadn't thought about them since then but I really enjoyed this! Thanks for the share and the brief recollection of the days when my aux jack was broken and NPR was the only radio station that came in clear on my commute :)
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Comment on What are some non-science-fiction books that are deep, insane, mind-bending, etc? in ~books
sparkle Link ParentIt's weird that he wrote this, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and then went off the deep end recently. At this point, I think he might actually believe he is the avatar. Also, as an aside, I remember...It's weird that he wrote this, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and then went off the deep end recently. At this point, I think he might actually believe he is the avatar.
Also, as an aside, I remember way back in probably 1998 or so, I had emailed him asking if Dilbert's tie was always flipped out because it was sentient and averse to his personality. He actually responded and said "hey that's not a bad idea!" Always thought that was cool as shit that a big cartoonist like him responded to my peabrained question lol
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Comment on Does anyone else have succulents? in ~hobbies
sparkle LinkNo succulents here, but we do have a three year old avocado tree and a ? year old hibiscus that survive our zone 3b winters indoors and thrive during the summer when they get to live outside with...No succulents here, but we do have a three year old avocado tree and a ? year old hibiscus that survive our zone 3b winters indoors and thrive during the summer when they get to live outside with the produce crops! Also an orchid cactus and a spider plant that stay indoors year round.
My wife grew up with lots of tropical house plants and it's an aspect of our union I've really grown to enjoy. The cat I think enjoys them too, much to our chagrin as most of the day is spent yelling at him attacking one of the plants :D
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Comment on Meet Sparkles in ~tech
sparkle LinkI swear I'm not a robot dog... Really more of a cat robot Jokes aside, I guess I had an expectation based on the smoothness of the dance that the software to create such smooth transitions would...I swear I'm not a robot dog... Really more of a cat robot
Jokes aside, I guess I had an expectation based on the smoothness of the dance that the software to create such smooth transitions would be highly sophisticated but the glimpses of the UI in the BD article are surprisingly lacking. It IS an internal tool after all, so I shouldn't have expected much, which really just makes the movement that much more impressive to me.
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Comment on Sci-fi audio drama - The Last City in ~hobbies
sparkle Link ParentI'll definitely be checking it out! I used to be a big audio drama fan when I had a 30+ minute commute every day - that's the only thing I miss now that I work remote full time. I catch up on pod...I'll definitely be checking it out! I used to be a big audio drama fan when I had a 30+ minute commute every day - that's the only thing I miss now that I work remote full time. I catch up on pod while doing woodworking but not as often as I'd like.
Wolf 359, Steal the Stars, Vast Horizon, The White Vault, Ars Paradoxica, and Mission to Zyxx (comedy) are some of my other scifi favourites that I'd highly recommend as well.
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Comment on In-flight canoodling: is it ever acceptable to spoon at 40,000ft? in ~travel
sparkle Link ParentThat's a fair point and as an aviation nerd, I sometimes lose my head in the clouds. That being said though, my comment was more of adding to the list of how bizarrely off the article was - would...That's a fair point and as an aviation nerd, I sometimes lose my head in the clouds.
That being said though, my comment was more of adding to the list of how bizarrely off the article was - would it have been too much to lookup "what altitude do jetliners fly at" and put 36,000 feet?
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Comment on In-flight canoodling: is it ever acceptable to spoon at 40,000ft? in ~travel
sparkle Link ParentTo add another fork in the spoon slot, commercial airliners very rarely fly at 40,000 feet. You typically only see that in private jets in which case, do whatever you like back there as long as...To add another fork in the spoon slot, commercial airliners very rarely fly at 40,000 feet. You typically only see that in private jets in which case, do whatever you like back there as long as it's your charter/jet
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
sparkle LinkI'm about 10 weeks out from my first half marathon and I recently completed the full distance on the treadmill! Definitely the furthest I've ever run and the fastest. My time was just under 2:30...I'm about 10 weeks out from my first half marathon and I recently completed the full distance on the treadmill! Definitely the furthest I've ever run and the fastest. My time was just under 2:30 which I understand is pretty ok for a beginner. I really enjoyed that I was able to find my good "cruising pace" where it felt like I could keep going forever.
Going to keep working on my speed and now that spring is finally starting to arrive, will start taking some of the runs outside to acclimate myself for a June run.
Last year it was nearly 40 the day of the race so hopefully it is nowhere near as hot this year...
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
sparkle LinkI'm about halfway through A Memory Called Empire and rather enjoying it! It definitely appeals to the palace drama crowd but also has a touch of cyberpunk and regular old soft sci-fi as well. I'd...I'm about halfway through A Memory Called Empire and rather enjoying it! It definitely appeals to the palace drama crowd but also has a touch of cyberpunk and regular old soft sci-fi as well. I'd also never really considered that I've not read much sci-fi by women authors before, so it's nice to see a change of tone.
I hear the sequel is equally good so I'll be on to that shortly.
Once I'm done with those, I usually like to give my brain a light dose of whiplash and switch to fantasy so I'll probably pick up the second Mistborn Era as I just finished the first trilogy a few weeks ago.
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Comment on ProtonMail on all the data that Outlook collects about your email in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentBack in the day with providers like NetZero that was how you got free email lol. They even baked them into your signature so everybody else had to see em too. I don't doubt it's still a practice...Back in the day with providers like NetZero that was how you got free email lol. They even baked them into your signature so everybody else had to see em too. I don't doubt it's still a practice today, I just rarely ever use personal email for correspondence these days.
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Comment on The race to replace Redis in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentInteresting, I assume that the Debian solution is how Proxmox is able to distribute ZFS? It's been a long time since I set up Proxmox with ZFS but I feel like I do recall there being some warnings...Interesting, I assume that the Debian solution is how Proxmox is able to distribute ZFS? It's been a long time since I set up Proxmox with ZFS but I feel like I do recall there being some warnings about the incompatible licensing when installing it since it's not enabled by default.
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Comment on What are your go to fast but tasty meals? Is there prep you do on weekends to make meals faster? in ~food
sparkle Link ParentHow much space does a quarter cow take in your freezer? Or I suppose, how large is your freezer? We've considered doing this as well but are afraid our freezer isn't big enough. We have a 144L...How much space does a quarter cow take in your freezer? Or I suppose, how large is your freezer? We've considered doing this as well but are afraid our freezer isn't big enough. We have a 144L chest freezer and I feel like maaaaybe if we emptied it, we could fit most of the cuts there and put the rest in the fridge/freezer combo in the kitchen.
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Comment on Has anyone here received any benefit as a consumer from algorithmic ad targeting? in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentMy wife and I recently completed all of the Lord of the Rings medals from them and they're super cool! Really well detailed and even comes with the One Ring.My wife and I recently completed all of the Lord of the Rings medals from them and they're super cool! Really well detailed and even comes with the One Ring.
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Comment on What watch do you wear daily? in ~hobbies
sparkle Link ParentOh man I miss my Pebble Time so much. You're so lucky yours is still kicking! I found out the hard way they aren't rated for high altitude :( I did try to do a battery replacement when parts were...Oh man I miss my Pebble Time so much. You're so lucky yours is still kicking! I found out the hard way they aren't rated for high altitude :( I did try to do a battery replacement when parts were still available, but there must have been something wrong with the charge circuit because it wouldn't hold a charge any longer than a few hours. Unfortunately, this happened after their bankruptcy and it was long out of warranty anyway. I did preorder the Time 2 before this, but that never came to fruition sadly.
After shopping around, I ultimately settled on a Garmin Vivoactive 3 as it had most of the same features I enjoyed on the Pebble and it's been strong for the past six years. Battery life isn't as good as it used to be, but it's practically indestructible and the health tracking is a lot better, which is mostly what I use it for these days.
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Comment on Nintendo is suing the creators of popular Switch emulator Yuzu, saying their tech illegally circumvents Nintendo's software encryption and facilitates piracy in ~games
sparkle Link ParentAh ok, that makes slightly more sense. It's still scummy as hell and makes me not feel guilty for the half dozen exclusives I've emulated over the years.Ah ok, that makes slightly more sense. It's still scummy as hell and makes me not feel guilty for the half dozen exclusives I've emulated over the years.
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Comment on Nintendo is suing the creators of popular Switch emulator Yuzu, saying their tech illegally circumvents Nintendo's software encryption and facilitates piracy in ~games
sparkle Link ParentSorry what? I haven't owned a Nintendo since the 64 and haven't really kept up with the company much other than playing Wii at friends houses. So you can't even save your game without signing up...For example, had they not paywalled game saves on the switch, I probably never would have modded mine for local backups to begin with.
Sorry what? I haven't owned a Nintendo since the 64 and haven't really kept up with the company much other than playing Wii at friends houses. So you can't even save your game without signing up for Nintendo Direct or something?
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
sparkle LinkI've finally gotten back into regularly exercising and am now targeting to do a half marathon in June! I'm pretty excited because this is the first time in a very long time that I've stuck with an...I've finally gotten back into regularly exercising and am now targeting to do a half marathon in June!
I'm pretty excited because this is the first time in a very long time that I've stuck with an exercise routine consistently. With the exception of two days where I was violently ill last week, I've made sure to either do a run or bodyweight fitness exercises every day since the beginning of the year. I just recently completed my longest run yet, a 7 mile run (with about a mile of walking in there) clocking in at just under 1h25m. It's not fast, but it's the longest I've just kept going and felt good about.
Also a shout out to my partner who plans to run the half marathon with me as well. She's not as fit or active as me so it's an even longer journey for her and I'm incredibly proud of her and grateful for her support.
This is also the longest I've gone without drinking which I'm sure is playing a large part in my fitness journey. It's been really rather nice! Even though I wasn't really drinking all that heavily before, it was still fairly consistent (a drink or two at dinner/evening most nights) and there were binge weekends sometimes that I know were very unhealthy and likely offset any gains that week. So I'm glad to have been able to kick that habit.
And as for weight, well I didn't weigh myself before I started because last year I tried to do this as well and after a month of trying really hard, I had somehow gained weight. That got me really down and I kind of faltered. This year though, if I were to estimate, I'm already down about 13 pounds which doesn't sound like much but it's a huge deal for me and I'm pretty happy with the results so far :)
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Comment on What's a "house rule" that has made a game more fun for you? in ~games
sparkle LinkWhen playing Canvas (an art creating game), our house rule is that when presenting your art piece, you have to do so as if you were a pretentious art critic. The cards form a title for the...When playing Canvas (an art creating game), our house rule is that when presenting your art piece, you have to do so as if you were a pretentious art critic. The cards form a title for the painting that you can use in your answer, like "Delicate Complexity", "Dark Effervescence", etc.
Sometimes the combinations result in something hilariously stupid, other times it can be kinda mundane, and every now and again you'll get something that makes you go "huh that's an interesting take"
Oh damn, this hits hard. I've been a huge fan of anything Steve touched and engineered. His mastery of dissonance was second to none. Gonna have to blast out some Jesus Lizard and of course some In Utero as well.