Akir's recent activity
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Comment on Solar oven/cooking in ~food
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Comment on Ottawa's big bet on world's largest cricket farm ran into a simple problem: the 'yuck factor' in ~food
Akir Link ParentFood monocultures are bad, yes, but "plants" are not a monoculture by definition. It's an entire classification that contains hundreds of thousands of species. There are many kinds of plants, for...Food monocultures are bad, yes, but "plants" are not a monoculture by definition. It's an entire classification that contains hundreds of thousands of species. There are many kinds of plants, for instance, that are edible but have not been cultivated for commercial purposes. Plants are also the primary creators of ecosystems, so while specific plants may not be tenable in some areas due to climate change, others may end up flourishing.
Beans are not the only source of protein. Grains and seeds are also high in protein, for instance. Legumes just have a higher ratio of protein to other macros. In fact, every plant has some degree of protein in it; proteins are, after all, necessary for life.
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Comment on Ottawa's big bet on world's largest cricket farm ran into a simple problem: the 'yuck factor' in ~food
Akir Link ParentSo apparently Wikipedia has an article on Spiders Georg, and it has this choice quote: Keep things classy, Wikipedia editors.So apparently Wikipedia has an article on Spiders Georg, and it has this choice quote:
In August 2023, Business Insider referred to Donald Trump as the "'Spiders Georg' of world leaders", as his indictments on 91 felony counts yielded the statistic that the average number of felony charges per U.S. president was two.[8]
Keep things classy, Wikipedia editors.
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Comment on Fan-translation projects - thirty-three years of history in ~games
Akir LinkOh my god, Xenon got a translation? I have to play it for no reason other than the Ryu Umemoto soundtrack.Oh my god, Xenon got a translation? I have to play it for no reason other than the Ryu Umemoto soundtrack.
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Comment on Ottawa's big bet on world's largest cricket farm ran into a simple problem: the 'yuck factor' in ~food
Akir Link ParentJust in case you haven’t heard of this, the most common reason why people get gassy with beans of any type is simply because they are not well adapted to eating fiber. There are other reasons why...Just in case you haven’t heard of this, the most common reason why people get gassy with beans of any type is simply because they are not well adapted to eating fiber. There are other reasons why beans can make you gassy, but it’s always good to check your fiber intake. There are a lot of tiny things where having good fiber intake improves your health, largely because of your gut microbiome.
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Comment on Ottawa's big bet on world's largest cricket farm ran into a simple problem: the 'yuck factor' in ~food
Akir Link ParentIt’s so bizarre when I see this because I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the origin of this joke, a passing quip by Stuart Ashen. It’s strange that it’s part of the social fabric now.It’s so bizarre when I see this because I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the origin of this joke, a passing quip by Stuart Ashen. It’s strange that it’s part of the social fabric now.
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Comment on Ottawa's big bet on world's largest cricket farm ran into a simple problem: the 'yuck factor' in ~food
Akir Link ParentI’m really talking more specifically about the concept of bugs as a replacement to meat as a protein source. Contrary to the current fad, we in the western world do not have a problem with protein...I’m really talking more specifically about the concept of bugs as a replacement to meat as a protein source. Contrary to the current fad, we in the western world do not have a problem with protein intake. Protein deficiency is relatively rare, and if anything we eat too much protein. Resiliency is also not a problem; we create enough food to feed the world and most of the reasons why people starve tend to have political reasons behind them.
The problem with meat is that we eat too much of it, and while cow meat for bug meat will lessen the impact, it’s a much worse option than cutting out the middleman and eating the protein directly from plants. The fact that we eat meat at all is also cultural, so why is it better to move culture towards bugs than simply away from meat?
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Comment on Ottawa's big bet on world's largest cricket farm ran into a simple problem: the 'yuck factor' in ~food
Akir LinkI've said this before on Tildes but I'll say it again: there's no reason to eat bugs. People talk about how bugs are a great cheap source of protein and it's so much better than animal...I've said this before on Tildes but I'll say it again: there's no reason to eat bugs. People talk about how bugs are a great cheap source of protein and it's so much better than animal agriculture. And yes, that's absolutely true. But it's also something that the vast majority of people on this earth find incredibly gross, and a good number of people actually find them scary. In the meanwhile there is a food source that shares those claims but few people are disgusted by and nobody is afraid of - beans.
It just continuously surprises me that there are people who are so fixed on the idea of eating meat but at the same time so turned off by beans and other protein-rich plants that they decide to eat bugs instead. They must exist, but the headspace it requires is alien to me. I haven't eaten crickets myself, but I can't imagine it being a better analogue for meat than soy chunks.
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Comment on I think Tildes moderators and admins may need to make a decision regarding how to handle Harry Potter related posts in ~tildes
Akir Link ParentThat's not how things work anywhere. It's like discussing Space Mountain and forbidding people from saying that they like another roller coaster more or less than it. When you discuss any topic...That's not how things work anywhere. It's like discussing Space Mountain and forbidding people from saying that they like another roller coaster more or less than it. When you discuss any topic you have to discuss it in relationship to the world it is in, and that means that Rowling will forever be a part of anything that has to do with Harry Potter. To deny that is to deny reality, harming many people in the process.
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
Akir LinkI wrote in last week’s thread that I was using Claude to help me work out. Unfortunately I’ve been seeing some of the worst hallucinations I’ve experienced with this particular AI model on the...I wrote in last week’s thread that I was using Claude to help me work out. Unfortunately I’ve been seeing some of the worst hallucinations I’ve experienced with this particular AI model on the chat I’ve been using. I’ve been asking for hints on how to use exercise machines and most notably it told me to put my chest against a pad on an abdominal crunch machine - basically telling me to sit backward on it.
It’s a shame because it’s got me to really doubt some of the revelations I’ve received so far. The biggest one is that it is saying that I’ve been doing the rear delt machine wrong all this time and that I actually have really poorly developed rear delts, which it says could have been a major reason for my earlier shoulder injury. It actually suggested I should see a physiotherapist over it so I messaged my doctor about it last night to see if they agreed it should be done and get a referral.
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Comment on "...new Nintendo published digital titles exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 will have an MSRP that is different from physical versions." in ~games
Akir Link ParentYeah, I really hate that narrative that games are cheap now. It’s missing the facts that games of the time period were also made with significantly more expensive materials, including custom-made...Yeah, I really hate that narrative that games are cheap now. It’s missing the facts that games of the time period were also made with significantly more expensive materials, including custom-made chips that were specific for each version of every game. That’s literally what mask rom chips are. And then there’s the fact that games then came with more things generally, such as manuals and sometimes things like cloth maps, entire guidebooks, and even cosmetic extras.
It’s true that games today cost more to make, but in the past it wasn’t really possible to make the multi-million dollar profits these big companies expect and then continuing millions over time with simple cosmetic updates past launch or have income from turning them into “kiddie casinos”. And even then, our perception of how expensive it can be to make a game is often askew because of AAA gaming excesses.
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Comment on US regulator bans imports of new foreign-made routers, citing security concerns in ~tech
Akir Link ParentI can assure you that a great many of the routers people have in their homes are no longer receiving security updates.I can assure you that a great many of the routers people have in their homes are no longer receiving security updates.
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Opinions wanted on regular DEXA scans
I’ve gone a bit too deep on a rabbit hole after an offhand comment about protein intake and how much protein I should actually be consuming. It turns out that the 1.6g/kg of body weight is fairly...
I’ve gone a bit too deep on a rabbit hole after an offhand comment about protein intake and how much protein I should actually be consuming. It turns out that the 1.6g/kg of body weight is fairly arbitrary and body weight itself is not a particularly good point to use for an estimate if you are overweight. With that in mind I have been wondering about getting a DEXA body composition scan. It would be useful, I think, because it can also tell me about visceral fat which is an area I am particularly concerned about.
It turns out that it’s pretty cheap to get done; about $45 if you sign up for quarterly scans with a company called BodySpec. Their whole thing is making things cheaper by having repeat visits; a quantity discount, if you will.
Before I decide to do this (and while I wait to hear back about if I can get one done for free with my health plan), I just wanted to get people’s opinions on them. Have you had one or a series done? And more importantly, how has it empowered you to improve your health?
In all honesty I’m not sure the results will encourage me to make any particular change in my lifestyle or routine that I wouldn’t have been able to figure out without it.
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Comment on OpenAI shuts down Sora AI video, Disney drops planned $1B investment in ~tech
Akir Link ParentI think it’s worth celebrating because it’s one of the AI tasks that take up the most resources and thus are the most impactful for the environment. It may not be stopping this kind of things from...I think it’s worth celebrating because it’s one of the AI tasks that take up the most resources and thus are the most impactful for the environment. It may not be stopping this kind of things from happening in the future but it’s at least slowing things down.
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Comment on US regulator bans imports of new foreign-made routers, citing security concerns in ~tech
Akir Link ParentI hate to agree, but yeah. Most routers sold to consumers are garbage and shouldn't be trusted. Unfortunately I don't believe for one second that enforcing a "US made" policy would do anything to...I hate to agree, but yeah. Most routers sold to consumers are garbage and shouldn't be trusted. Unfortunately I don't believe for one second that enforcing a "US made" policy would do anything to fix it regardless of the existence of such a domestic industry.
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Comment on US to pay TotalEnergies $1 billion to stop developing offshore wind in US in ~enviro
Akir Link ParentIt is almost comical how the president who was supposedly elected to "fix the economy" is doing everything he can to destroy it.It is almost comical how the president who was supposedly elected to "fix the economy" is doing everything he can to destroy it.
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Comment on US regulator bans imports of new foreign-made routers, citing security concerns in ~tech
Akir LinkThis would be funny if it weren't real. It's astonishing how incompetent and deliberately damaging this administration is.This would be funny if it weren't real. It's astonishing how incompetent and deliberately damaging this administration is.
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
Akir LinkAI is taking over my life, it seems. After having such a hard time getting back into the swing of things after my shoulder injury, I decided to ask Claude to help me with my routine and we...AI is taking over my life, it seems. After having such a hard time getting back into the swing of things after my shoulder injury, I decided to ask Claude to help me with my routine and we eventually worked out that the problem I was having was with lifting too much weight. So now I'm having it give me tips to improve my mind-muscle connection, figure out what weights I should be lifting, and how to get the proper form that I've apparently not gotten right after all this time.
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Comment on "People are turning themselves into lab rats" – the injectable peptides craze sweeping the US in ~health
Akir Link ParentI’m am kind of glad that I never made it into Silicon Valley. I hear so many stories about people taking crazy drugs and diets there that I wonder what kind of stressful lives these people live to...I’m am kind of glad that I never made it into Silicon Valley. I hear so many stories about people taking crazy drugs and diets there that I wonder what kind of stressful lives these people live to pressure them into these risky behaviors.
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Comment on "People are turning themselves into lab rats" – the injectable peptides craze sweeping the US in ~health
Akir Link ParentFair. I haven’t paid much attention to them for a while for some reason.Fair. I haven’t paid much attention to them for a while for some reason.
I remember when I was a kid in my father's electronics repair shop, we would take the screens from rear projection TVs and put them out in the sun. Fun fact about them: they're actually linear fresnel lenses that are used to redirect the side-pointing light towards the viewer. I actually learned recently that linear fresnel lenses were also used in some early LCD panels before the time of LED backlighting.