Akir's recent activity
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Comment on I deleted my second brain in ~tech
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Comment on I deleted my second brain in ~tech
Akir Link ParentPeople love that computers can functionally keep data exactly the same forever, but the fact of the matter is that being able to forget things is basically a superpower. What happens if you have a...People love that computers can functionally keep data exactly the same forever, but the fact of the matter is that being able to forget things is basically a superpower. What happens if you have a computer with a storage device that is completely full? It stops functioning properly, and it can't fix itself; it needs a person to intervene and manually delete data.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Akir Link ParentActually the most amazing thing is that the insane things that happen are so chaotic that you forget and forgive the more insane things that happen. Like how the main character can kill inanimate...Actually the most amazing thing is that the insane things that happen are so chaotic that you forget and forgive the more insane things that happen. Like how the main character can kill inanimate objects, or how he later survives a fall by murdering his inertia. And of course there’s still the implication that he can still become even more powerful!
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Akir Link ParentI'm enjoying Apocalypse Hotel too, but I have to say that as much as I enjoy it I'm not loving it quite as much as you are. To be honest even though there's a lot of things I really like about it...I'm enjoying Apocalypse Hotel too, but I have to say that as much as I enjoy it I'm not loving it quite as much as you are. To be honest even though there's a lot of things I really like about it (the character designs especially, as well as the type of humour), I honestly kind of feel it's a bit forgettable.
I will admit that the wedding/funeral really got to me though. That, and the "I felt alive" line after the vacation.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Akir LinkI just watched the ending to Kowloon Generic Romance. It was worth every minute I spent watching and then some. I like that the conceit of the show is left fairly unexplained and at times...I just watched the ending to Kowloon Generic Romance. It was worth every minute I spent watching and then some. I like that the conceit of the show is left fairly unexplained and at times seemingly contradictory because it does a fantastic job of making the viewer think about the important things; the themes and messages in the story.
I've brought it up a couple of times but I've only really talked about the art and music. But it's a show that's all about the ideas it wants to express. The major themes are existentialism ("becoming your authentic self"), memory, personal relationships, and regret, and I love that the story conceit allows them to explore those themes from different perspectives.
The only thing I really didn't like was that there was a certain character who the story was teasing might not survive the end of the show; the show resolves that question, but I think it would have been better not being said and left to personal interpretation. It was a world wrapped in metaphor and it didn't need to be collapsed into reality, and it actually contradicted one of the character's final resolutions in a way.
I also binged My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered. It's trash anime in the best way possible. It's full of characters you cannot possibly identify with, a main character who has practically zero challenges to overcome, and practically hundreds of named characters (complete with surprisingly well thought-out visual designs) that just drop dead and don't matter to the greater plot whatsoever. There's a fricking gundam in the third episode or so (it lives, but we never see it again), and the main character doesn't have to be granted his cheat abilities because he's just always been like this.
It should have been absolutely terrible. And it kind of is, but in a way that is so insane that it actually becomes amazing in it's own very special way. It's trying to be subversive so hard, but it somehow isn't because isekai anime are just that ridiculous to begin with. I do love that the "real world" that the main characters come from isn't entirely like ours in that by the end we find out that there are at least three organizations dedicated to watching over main character because he just plain could have created the apocalypse at any given time. It's also supposed to be a comedy but it kind of just isn't really funny? The people instantly dying (literally as a reflex from the main character at times) seems like it's supposed to be a joke, but it isn't ever really funny... except you see it so much that by the end it actually loops around to being funny again. Somehow just about everything in this show does that. There's a character who shows up in many episodes who is just so incredibly annoying, but by the end he's strangely endearing. I give this show a solid |-7|/10.
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Comment on Lyon, France joins European exodus from Windows to Linux in ~tech
Akir Link ParentI really don’t think that Microsoft has any real legal claim. WINE Is Not Emulation; it’s clean reimplementation of Windows APIs. That being said I seem to remember Oracle suing Google over their...I really don’t think that Microsoft has any real legal claim. WINE Is Not Emulation; it’s clean reimplementation of Windows APIs.
That being said I seem to remember Oracle suing Google over their JVM virtualization because it implemented their APIs, and they won at one point. I wonder what happened with that case because it was terrible precedent.
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Comment on You're going to use Gemini on Android whether you like it or not in ~tech
Akir Link ParentWith all due respect, this is every company. The difference is that Apple has done a much better job than most other companies. But for your other things: yeah, totally.When it comes to privacy, it's important to understand that Apple cares about privacy only inasmuch as they believe it will impact their sales. There is nothing stopping them (within the bounds of the GDPR and friends) from changing their privacy practices at any time.
With all due respect, this is every company. The difference is that Apple has done a much better job than most other companies.
But for your other things: yeah, totally.
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Comment on Most US exhibition execs think traditional moviegoing has less than twenty years as ‘viable business model,’ according to new survey in ~movies
Akir Link ParentA while back my husband brought me to a Kylie Minogue concert. It's the first time I've seen a concert by someone who is currently big in pop music. There was a giant screen with crazy visuals,...A while back my husband brought me to a Kylie Minogue concert. It's the first time I've seen a concert by someone who is currently big in pop music. There was a giant screen with crazy visuals, explosion effects, and lasers going everywhere. And during the whole thing I was thinking "none of this is necessary. Nobody comes to these because of the effects, they come because of the music act. There's been times when these effects actively take away from the thing I wanted to experience."
So I want to believe you. Really, I want to see the same thing. But the people in charge obviously do not see things that way.
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Comment on The 100 best movies of the 21st Century - voted by more than 500 influential directors, actors and other notable names in Hollywood and around the world (gifted link) in ~movies
Akir Link ParentSometimes the inability of people to understand trauma is the scariest thing. I’ve written before about my experience watching a play called A Strange Loop, which was basically a dark comedy about...Sometimes the inability of people to understand trauma is the scariest thing. I’ve written before about my experience watching a play called A Strange Loop, which was basically a dark comedy about the trauma of being a fat gay black man. The scary part of the show was what the audience laughed at. They found the trauma funny. I can only wonder if they finally got it after seeing the main character letting a total asshole fuck him because he is so desperate for love and the finale, a musical number with his family members telling him he is going to hell, complete with a burning red cross.
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Comment on How close should you live to a park? in ~enviro
Akir LinkIn the greater Los Angeles area of California (for which I include northern Orange County and western San Bernadino County), there are a great number of parks. A park is 5 minutes walk from where...In the greater Los Angeles area of California (for which I include northern Orange County and western San Bernadino County), there are a great number of parks. A park is 5 minutes walk from where I live and there's another one about 10-15 minutes away. It's probably the best part of living where I do.
That being said, not all of them are built the same. The vast majority of parks around me are really tiny; basically small grass fields with a playground. The one I am closest to is what I'd consider to be mid, in that it is moderate in size and has a small covered picnic area, tennis courts, and a basketball field. The one that's a bit further is just a very tiny triangle of land with a playground in the center. There's another unusual park about 20-30 minutes walk away that is actually a semi-hidden water management thing that is designed to hold water in cases of flooding, but it's actually quite beautiful. Within the town limits there's also a park with a beautiful walking trail that includes views of a brook and climbs up a hill for a nice scenic panorama, and also has some basic exercise equipment installed for the fit-minded. On top of another hill is the park with the community center which has a rather extensive "make plans for it" hiking trail. The best parks tend to be in the suburban areas. Parks exist in the more dense areas of Los Angeles as well, but they don't tend to be very expansive except for some notable exceptions like Griffith or Elysian parks (neither of which I have personally been to).
Parks are an incredible boon to public mental health. Touch grass, people. It's healing.
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Comment on Most US exhibition execs think traditional moviegoing has less than twenty years as ‘viable business model,’ according to new survey in ~movies
Akir Link ParentI don’t think that budget movies are easy to sell in the traditional movie distribution pattern anymore. People are constantly complaining about how expensive it is to go to the movies now....I don’t think that budget movies are easy to sell in the traditional movie distribution pattern anymore. People are constantly complaining about how expensive it is to go to the movies now. Everyone wants to see a movie that matches their own criteria for being good, so every ticket is a financial risk on if that movie is good or not. Why would someone risk a substantial sum of money on a movie made entirely by people they’ve never heard of when the alternative is mega-popular ones with recognizable characters, worlds, actors, directors, etc.?
In the past this problem would have been solved with reviews from professional critics, but it seems that over the past few decades critics have become untrusted. Some of the highest grossing movies have terrible critical reception, and so there is a new generation of “fanboy” critics who seemingly fawn over just about anything with an IP they like, or at least downplay how terrible they can be. On the other hand, the old guard critics who go out and watch everything often are writing fawning reviews about movies that have limited releases that are impractical or even impossible for many people to access (“I just saw the most incredible movie at Cannes.”).
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Comment on Denis Villeneuve to direct next James Bond film in ~movies
Akir Link ParentAt first, I thought the idea of Timothée Chalamet playing the part would be really funny, but now I’m actually all for it.At first, I thought the idea of Timothée Chalamet playing the part would be really funny, but now I’m actually all for it.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Akir LinkI just started watching Irresponsible Captain Tyler. The humor is pretty dated but the animation is divine and I really love the 80s character designs. Even if I have no idea what is going on with...I just started watching Irresponsible Captain Tyler. The humor is pretty dated but the animation is divine and I really love the 80s character designs. Even if I have no idea what is going on with Tylor’s tan jacket. The music is pretty great too. I’d rate it as 90% of a Macross 7.
I also caught up to the latest episodes of Kowloon Generic Romance. I’m just really vibing with it even with all the ways it falters; the middle episodes seem to meander a bit. I guess that 80s style character design is also giving this show some points, too, and it also has a fantastic soundtrack.
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Comment on I need advice, which laptop would you buy now? in ~tech
Akir Link ParentI'm genuinely surprised that you've had more problems connecting to printers from macs than with Linux. Apple literally owns CUPS. But I guess that's just the way the world works. I actually...I'm genuinely surprised that you've had more problems connecting to printers from macs than with Linux. Apple literally owns CUPS. But I guess that's just the way the world works.
I actually really like how Apple rolls all of their updates into one big package because it lets me choose when to do it, but on some of their devices the update methods that are supposed to be seamless are anything but. My Apple Watch, for instance, is my sleep tracker, so I need to have it on while I sleep. But for some reason automatic updates will only happen at night when it's on the charger, not on my wrist to track my vitals. It's not smart enough to automatically start updating when I take it off in the morning to charge it.
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Comment on I need advice, which laptop would you buy now? in ~tech
Akir Link ParentIt goes to show that the best file manager has always been mc. (I'm not sure how much of a joke that was.) Actually, the best file manager might be Haiku's, and by extension BeOS, but it's not...It goes to show that the best file manager has always been mc.
(I'm not sure how much of a joke that was.)
Actually, the best file manager might be Haiku's, and by extension BeOS, but it's not because of any special features it has - it's actually quite minimal - but because of how the features of the operating system make it a lot nicer to deal with. Tabbed windows are better than tabs in windows, for sure.
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Comment on Repairing an LG OLED TV and alternative courses of action in ~tech
Akir Link ParentIt seems like a lot of LG's "smart" products have software issues. And the thing that bugs me is the memory that they bought WebOS, an open-source operating system that was well appreciated within...It seems like a lot of LG's "smart" products have software issues. And the thing that bugs me is the memory that they bought WebOS, an open-source operating system that was well appreciated within the niche of people who were using it, and then closed it up and made it into a joke. A couple of years ago the husband and I were researching OLED TVs and were about to buy an LG model (C7 or something like that, I think?) because it was extremely well regarded as the best value in OLEDs, but in the end we decided to go with the Sony model because it had the same LG panel but with Sony's software and video processing hardware. It ended up costing more, but I think it was well worth it because for the most part it just works and I have never really had a problem from it. Excepting of course, issues with the things I've plugged into it (HDMI CEC is a joke).
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Comment on ‘Elio’ box office flop: Why can’t Pixar launch original films? in ~movies
Akir Link ParentI just thought I'd interject with a tangent here; it's not that Pixar was trying to make things boxy and angular, it was that they were trying for realism. They made a lot of effort to simulate...WALL-E had its angular, boxy aesthetic (at least on Earth),
I just thought I'd interject with a tangent here; it's not that Pixar was trying to make things boxy and angular, it was that they were trying for realism. They made a lot of effort to simulate camera defects to make things look real, (most of their films are showcases for new technologies, and that was one of the primary things for that film) and they even went so far as to use actual photography for some recorded video segments. They chose a boxy look for Wall-E because it was realistic for a robot with the purpose that Wall-E had, and his design was very much influenced by a 'real' robot, Johnny 5 from Short Circuit.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
Akir LinkSandwich. It looks terrible but it turned out pretty good. I had a long hiatus between making bread and due to a busy schedule it turned out very sour from over proofing. Somewhere inside that...It looks terrible but it turned out pretty good. I had a long hiatus between making bread and due to a busy schedule it turned out very sour from over proofing. Somewhere inside that mass of lettuce is some air-fried tofu, for which I have just discovered that using liquid aminos as a seasoning makes it taste surprisingly bacon-like. So I basically made a BLT. Because of new bread i slapped some almond butter on the heel for an extra treat.
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Comment on ‘Elio’ box office flop: Why can’t Pixar launch original films? in ~movies
Akir Link ParentAnd now I have a reason to not watch this movie. 😜switching out America Ferrera for Zoe Saldana
And now I have a reason to not watch this movie. 😜
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Comment on ‘Elio’ box office flop: Why can’t Pixar launch original films? in ~movies
Akir LinkI for one think it was bad marketing. Advertisements for Elio were everywhere, but in spite of it none of them explained to me what the movie was or what it was about. I know that it was about a...I for one think it was bad marketing. Advertisements for Elio were everywhere, but in spite of it none of them explained to me what the movie was or what it was about. I know that it was about a boy with an eyepatch and aliens, but that was about it; the commercials and billboards I have seen are just whirls of colors and shapes that have made no impression on me. I barely remembered that it was a Pixar film. I didn’t know what the movie was about until I actively searched out the full theatrical trailer. The ads were everywhere but weren’t enticing in the least.
I've had lots of "school success" classes that tell you to take notes - one of them I was actually required to take just a few months ago, actually - and exactly zero of them have ever said that notes are just a tool to keep you focused on the lecture. Every single one of them tells you to take detailed (but not too detailed) notes to refer to later for study. Yes, they can be a tool to help you focus, but that's not what people are generally using notes for.
To be fair, though, I actually agree with you. I only take notes when there's something I know I won't be able to remember accurately later, such as formulas and specific dates. I actually think that the way these classes teach students to take notes is bad. I can't think of a worse notetaking system than Cornell notes, which these classes often tout as the best of the best.