Akir's recent activity
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Comment on Fifty Shades of OOP in ~comp
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Comment on Weathering software winter (2022) in ~tech
Akir LinkMy thoughts on software that stops working is that there are two major problems that should be solved on a societal level First is that the software and hardware we are using is proprietary. This...My thoughts on software that stops working is that there are two major problems that should be solved on a societal level
First is that the software and hardware we are using is proprietary. This means that the source code is a secret and in some cases may not exist because all copies have been lost. Even if it were public to change the code to work in modern systems would likely be illegal in most countries. So if the hardware or software dependencies go away for whatever reason, things built on top of it stop working. We can apply this to cloud services and license management as well.
The second one is an obsessiveness over novelty by programmers and project managers. This isn’t a bad thing in and of itself; it could be argued that this is where innovation comes from. But it does have downsides. Software written on top of software that is in a constant state of flux is going to need to be able to change itself as that dependency changes.
One way to think about this is that software written for the Commodore 64 still works on Commodore 64 computers today. The problem is that the Commodore 64 isn’t being made today. But in this case we have a lucky break because we have engineered drop-in replacements for all of the components and now surprisingly we do have new Commodore 64 computers being made now. We can do this because people have made the details of how the computer works in the public domain so these efforts could bare fruit.
There are a billion and one things people consider when they are trying to build software solutions, but I genuinely think the world would be a better place if we built everything to be open and modular, and generally (but not always) to work with established standards.
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Comment on After my dad died, we found the love letters in ~lgbt
Akir Link ParentThis is growing up. Time is a wonderful and terrible force that consumes everything. I grew up in Las Vegas, and going back there is a surreal experience. It’s a place that was always changing...This is growing up. Time is a wonderful and terrible force that consumes everything.
I grew up in Las Vegas, and going back there is a surreal experience. It’s a place that was always changing even when I lived there but going back around 10 years after I left all the parts that I remembered were almost entirely gone.
When I was growing up I had a painful childhood. The one bright spot I had was the LGBT community center, to which I would visit every Wednesday I could to join up with the youth group. When I came back it was gone. Not for lack of community; it had simply moved to a much better location. I didn’t even bother to come in because I no longer had any connection to the people I met at that time.
People talk about their feelings changing over the years, but I think that’s not really what happens. Our feelings remain fixed with our experience; they just get layered with new feelings as they age. That doesn’t water them down; it makes them stronger.
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Comment on Global health series - ultra-processed foods and human health in ~food
Akir Link ParentI wouldn't worry too much about some amount of UPFs in the diet. You can eat just about anything and be healthy so long as you don’t eat too much of it. In the US, more than half of the calories...I wouldn't worry too much about some amount of UPFs in the diet. You can eat just about anything and be healthy so long as you don’t eat too much of it. In the US, more than half of the calories consumed are from UPFs. If you can limit your family’s intake to just 10%, you’re already five times better than the average person. And I think it’s not too hard to aim for even lower; 5% can be done with relative ease but 1% would be challenging.
My personal take is that you should make as many foods as you can with Whole Foods, but on occasion you can treat yourself to something with something “bad” in it. Yesterday I went out with friends and ate chocolate chip cookies - something bad in my diet in just about every way. I’m not going to beat myself up over it, I’m just not going to make a habit out of it.
One thing that I might suggest to help your family is to try to get them off of sweetened foods. The more sweet you consume - especially when it comes to drinking it - the more you crave it. I think I suggested also trying to avoid eating out in the past to you but I know with kids that is particularly difficult.
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Comment on Global health series - ultra-processed foods and human health in ~food
Akir Link ParentI just rifled through my recycle bin to find the packaging of the last two packages of tofu and both had the exact same ingredients even though they came from different producers: water, soybeans,...I just rifled through my recycle bin to find the packaging of the last two packages of tofu and both had the exact same ingredients even though they came from different producers: water, soybeans, and Calcium Sulfate the last ingredient isn’t a preservative - or at least if it is, it’s not the primary purpose for the ingredient, which is simply a coagulation agent. A traditional ingredient, no less; it’s been used in China for centuries.
This wasn’t me picking fancy stuff either; they were literally the cheapest firm tofu I could buy at the stores I were at. They also didn’t require me to eat it instantly; the last one I opened was a store special which had presumably been on the shelves for a while and the expiration date for it is January 9th. It’s not a local product either; it came from literally the opposite side of the United States.
Sure this isn’t anything like the 3 or so years that canned or desiccated foods can last, but it’s not like tofu rots as soon as it’s made so long as it is properly packaged.
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Comment on A lot at steak: US beef and cattle prices soar to record highs in ~food
Akir Link ParentSame here, but the catch was that this was well over a decade ago. I also noticed that the beef I could buy was also getting incredibly low in quality; it was stringy and slightly off-tasting and...Same here, but the catch was that this was well over a decade ago. I also noticed that the beef I could buy was also getting incredibly low in quality; it was stringy and slightly off-tasting and had big pockets of fat, so when I was buying it I was no longer making steaks, but adding it into stews with strong flavors to help mask the deficiencies.
I’m whole food vegan now, and it’s astounding how much cheaper and fulfilling my meals are now that meat is no longer part of the food equation, and while adapting to cooking without it was tough at first, I realize now that it simplifies the process of cooking things because plants require much less babying. Red meat in particular is actually pretty bad for your health, especially when you are consuming it frequently, and my health was actually the primary reason why I made the decision to change. Frankly I find it amazing that people are still buying so much of it now. But that’s the power of culture, I suppose. It’s hard to pay attention to warnings about how it causes cancer when you are constantly bombarded by images of cooked beef products and everyone talking about protein like it’s a religion.
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Comment on Warner Bros. auction poised to recast Hollywood with Paramount, Comcast and Netflix vying for the prize in ~movies
Akir Link ParentApparently Bugs Bunny at least will become public domain in 2035, so they may be able to get away with keeping at least part of their investment if they can get an agreement that extends for...Apparently Bugs Bunny at least will become public domain in 2035, so they may be able to get away with keeping at least part of their investment if they can get an agreement that extends for another decade.
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Comment on CGA-2025-11 🔴🟡🔵🟢 REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ PlayStation WHAT? in ~games
Akir Link ParentI played the game with a MiSTer, which theoretically has about as little input latency as possible outside of using a CRT (which it does support, but I didn't have set up). But even when reducing...I played the game with a MiSTer, which theoretically has about as little input latency as possible outside of using a CRT (which it does support, but I didn't have set up). But even when reducing it by using wired controllers and my TV's very low latency game mode, I still had issues.
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
Akir Link ParentThanks for the words of encouragement. I have already been doing it, actually, and just as I was reading your comment earlier I had actually just finished a session with a trainer to help give me...Thanks for the words of encouragement. I have already been doing it, actually, and just as I was reading your comment earlier I had actually just finished a session with a trainer to help give me exercises to finish up the recovery phase; I already am starting to feel better, and hopefully sometime next week I'll be back to 100%.
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Comment on CGA-2025-11 🔴🟡🔵🟢 REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ PlayStation WHAT? in ~games
Akir LinkThese games were really not my bag. I thought that I loved rhythm games but even though most of these games were rhythm games, they annoyed me to no end. Vib Ribbon was incredibly unclear when to...These games were really not my bag. I thought that I loved rhythm games but even though most of these games were rhythm games, they annoyed me to no end. Vib Ribbon was incredibly unclear when to actually press the buttons, and PaRappa also had that problem because the visual indicator would occasionally switch when it would start listening to inputs. Most of these games seemed to be built around memorizing stages rather than simply reacting, which I can expect to a degree from rhythm games but generally don't have much patience for, especially when it doesn't give you a choice of which song to play.
For what it's worth I did enjoy PaRappa more than I thought I would after getting into the groove, but after the 3rd or 4th stage there was a massive spike in difficulty that made me nope out of it.
Irritating Stick was the notable sore thumb in the selection, but I'm afraid I only played it for about 5 minutes. I was really turned off by the digital-only controls. Was there an option for analog control somewhere I missed? It kind of felt like a flash game with higher production values. I'm looking forward to hearing from others to see what it is that I'm missing.
Pepsiman was the standout for me. It's so cursed. It's a very (literally and figuratively) shiny kusoge. The gameplay is so simple but it's got so much personality that you can't help but love it.
I feel like I should have really liked Incredible Crisis. It's also got personality brimming from it, and the production values are off the chart. The low-effort localization is one of those things that makes me happy, but I had to give up after running through the second minigame for the fifth or sixth time and still not understanding what I was doing wrong. It's astonishingly unforgiving. I even tried to use autofire for the X button to make running from the boulder more reliable but it seemed to actually make me play worse somehow.
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
Akir LinkI hurt my rotator cuff and recovery for it pisses me off. I feel like I look like an absolute tool doing the stupid stretches and it takes so much time to do all of them. It’s really annoying...I hurt my rotator cuff and recovery for it pisses me off. I feel like I look like an absolute tool doing the stupid stretches and it takes so much time to do all of them. It’s really annoying because it feels like all my attempts to strengthen my extremely weak shoulder don’t do anything except for hurting myself.
I finally got an appointment to see a trainer - set for today no less - and I will talk to him about it to see what I can do about it.
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Comment on PSP: The rise and fall of Sony's first portable in ~games
Akir Link ParentTo this day the reason why I haven’t bothered with the Monster Hunter franchise is how bad of a time I had with the loading times on Monster Hunter 3 Freedom.To this day the reason why I haven’t bothered with the Monster Hunter franchise is how bad of a time I had with the loading times on Monster Hunter 3 Freedom.
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Comment on Moana (2026) | Official teaser in ~movies
Akir Link ParentI think it’s unfair to call this and other Disney remakes as low effort. There’s obviously quite a lot of effort put into these movies by an extremely large amount of people.I think it’s unfair to call this and other Disney remakes as low effort. There’s obviously quite a lot of effort put into these movies by an extremely large amount of people.
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Comment on PSP: The rise and fall of Sony's first portable in ~games
Akir Link ParentThe PS Vita is still arguably the best portable console ever made. It’s really hard to think about the Switch/2 as being a portable console since it’s too big to fit pocket and doesn’t feel like...The PS Vita is still arguably the best portable console ever made. It’s really hard to think about the Switch/2 as being a portable console since it’s too big to fit pocket and doesn’t feel like it’s sturdy enough even if it were. Sony really shot themselves through the foot with their ludicrously expensive proprietary memory cards which handicapped their digital sales and then basically pulling their support away from it. Luckily third parties provided a pretty awesome library of games.
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Comment on McDonald’s is losing its low-income customers in ~food
Akir Link ParentIn N Out really isn’t that great. They are better than McDonald’s but frankly that isn’t a high bar to clear. The only thing I think In N Out has going for it is that it has a cheap version of the...In N Out really isn’t that great. They are better than McDonald’s but frankly that isn’t a high bar to clear. The only thing I think In N Out has going for it is that it has a cheap version of the “California style burger” with good quality control and available outside of California.
“California style” is a terrible name btw; there’s so many hamburger places in the state and there are several very popular styles. What I mean is that it features fresh vegetables prominently, thin patties, and buttered grilled buns.
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Comment on Moana (2026) | Official teaser in ~movies
Akir Link ParentI very strongly agree. I rather dislike movies that feature uncanny valley characters, smeary effects, and superpowers that make end up making everything seem more unrealistic than if it were...I very strongly agree. I rather dislike movies that feature uncanny valley characters, smeary effects, and superpowers that make end up making everything seem more unrealistic than if it were fully animated.
On that, I actually think super realistic animation is also kind of unnecessary. It seems more like a flex than is actually useful except for the sole purpose of replacing people and things for live action films.
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Comment on Moana (2026) | Official teaser in ~movies
Akir LinkI've had a saying that I've stolen from Patrick Willems ages ago that modern CGI effect movies are just animations that are acceptable to adults, and damn if Disney isn't constantly proving that...I've had a saying that I've stolen from Patrick Willems ages ago that modern CGI effect movies are just animations that are acceptable to adults, and damn if Disney isn't constantly proving that saying true.
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Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
Akir Link ParentBut it’s worse than that isn’t it? Because it also means limited success with new language features and paradigms. I’m old enough to remember seeing things like lambda expressions and other...But it’s worse than that isn’t it? Because it also means limited success with new language features and paradigms. I’m old enough to remember seeing things like lambda expressions and other functional programming niceties being added to major languages, as well as JavaScript being upgraded from a “joke language” to one of the most popular programming languages out there after literally thousands of changes. If nobody uses new features because AI is writing all the code, then AI will never learn how to write it and those features will become a waste of time to implement.
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Comment on Pennies are being canceled and the US Mint won't make any more. What does that mean? in ~finance
Akir Link ParentI think this was supposed to be a response to @BeanBurritoI think this was supposed to be a response to @BeanBurrito
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Comment on Twenty-five movies, many stars, zero hits: Hollywood falls to new lows in ~movies
Akir Link ParentThis is the reason why I started investing in live theatre. The shows are more interesting overall and even when they are “bad” they are bad in interesting ways.This is the reason why I started investing in live theatre. The shows are more interesting overall and even when they are “bad” they are bad in interesting ways.
Should I be on lobste.rs? It seems like half of all programming related stuff that gets posted here is in response to some (usually very unhinged sounding) arguments being made there.