Akir's recent activity

  1. Comment on Data centers are now hoarding SSDs as hard drive supplies dry up in ~tech

    Akir
    Link
    I've not had to buy any tech products for a while, but I'm getting very tired of tech bubbles making components scarce and expensive for consumers.

    I've not had to buy any tech products for a while, but I'm getting very tired of tech bubbles making components scarce and expensive for consumers.

    7 votes

  2. Comment on China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past eighteen months, analysis finds in ~enviro

    Akir
    Link Parent
    That’s ok, we have old reliable India to scapegoat still. 🙄

    That’s ok, we have old reliable India to scapegoat still. 🙄

    1 vote

  3. Comment on What are your favorite simple pleasures? in ~talk

    Akir
    Link Parent
    I was recently considering taking a long train trip! Sadly it’s too expensive to do. Not for the cost of the train itself (which is expensive on its own), but because it would raise the cost of...

    I was recently considering taking a long train trip! Sadly it’s too expensive to do. Not for the cost of the train itself (which is expensive on its own), but because it would raise the cost of all the interim travel on the trip to not take the car.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on US Supreme Court denies Kim Davis' petition to revisit same-sex marriage ruling in ~lgbt

    Akir
    Link Parent
    Evil doesn’t stop being evil. She’s going to be forced to pay a large sum of money for all the wasted time and pain that she’s caused, but no doubt the cadre of evil people supporting her will pay...

    Evil doesn’t stop being evil. She’s going to be forced to pay a large sum of money for all the wasted time and pain that she’s caused, but no doubt the cadre of evil people supporting her will pay that bill.

    6 votes

  5. Comment on US Supreme Court denies Kim Davis' petition to revisit same-sex marriage ruling in ~lgbt

    Akir
    Link Parent
    I didn’t know this was old news! I guess I’m pretty far out of the political loop.

    I didn’t know this was old news! I guess I’m pretty far out of the political loop.

    5 votes

  6. Comment on For-profit creative software: a historical overview and personal experiences in ~tech

    Akir
    Link Parent
    I saw this when it came out and thought “this would be perfect for tildes” but then completely forgot about it because I had to go to work immediately after. I love the art of it and the entire ethos.

    I saw this when it came out and thought “this would be perfect for tildes” but then completely forgot about it because I had to go to work immediately after. I love the art of it and the entire ethos.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on What are your favorite simple pleasures? in ~talk

    Akir
    Link Parent
    It’s starting to get cold where I live finally. Thanks for reminding me about this!

    It’s starting to get cold where I live finally. Thanks for reminding me about this!

    1 vote

  8. Comment on US Supreme Court denies Kim Davis' petition to revisit same-sex marriage ruling in ~lgbt

    Akir
    Link
    There's many things I could say about this, but I'll leave it at "good riddance to bad rubbish"

    There's many things I could say about this, but I'll leave it at "good riddance to bad rubbish"

    6 votes

  10. Comment on What are your favorite simple pleasures? in ~talk

    Akir
    Link Parent
    Pack it up boys. We have a winner. 😁

    Pack it up boys. We have a winner. 😁

    3 votes

  11. Comment on CGA-2025-11 🔴🟡🔵🟢 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 PlayStation WHAT? in ~games

    Akir
    Link Parent
    Have you played Vib Ribbon yet? I feel it's significantly worse. Playing both of them I am really hating how bad the feedback is. Not knowing if you were early or late kills me. Then again, it...

    Have you played Vib Ribbon yet? I feel it's significantly worse.

    Playing both of them I am really hating how bad the feedback is. Not knowing if you were early or late kills me.

    Then again, it also just occurred to me that playing the game with a bluetooth controller probably wasn't the best idea.

    1 vote

  12. Comment on What are your favorite simple pleasures? in ~talk

    Akir
    Link Parent
    Are you actually aware of when you're getting into the zone? I don't think I did in the past, and as I get older I just start to feel weird and uncomfortable after I notice I've been in the zone...

    Are you actually aware of when you're getting into the zone? I don't think I did in the past, and as I get older I just start to feel weird and uncomfortable after I notice I've been in the zone (mostly because of soreness from staying still too long).

    1 vote

  13. What are your favorite simple pleasures?

    ~talk Ask (survey)
    For me: Cutting through an ice block with a stream of running water Going outside and it's the perfect temperature, or it's just a bit warmer but a breeze brings you back down to where you want to...

    For me:

    • Cutting through an ice block with a stream of running water

    • Going outside and it's the perfect temperature, or it's just a bit warmer but a breeze brings you back down to where you want to be.

    • The satisfaction of completing a project.

    61 votes

  14. Comment on Libertarianism is dead in ~humanities

    Akir
    Link Parent
    It’s Anarchism that I’m using incorrectly. For some reason I had thought that the author of the article was using it in the colloquial way (I.e. “Mad Max”), so I was using in a simelar way. I...

    It’s Anarchism that I’m using incorrectly. For some reason I had thought that the author of the article was using it in the colloquial way (I.e. “Mad Max”), so I was using in a simelar way. I don’t quite know why I thought that!

    In regards to personal property I was basically trying to say that my personal beliefs don’t reach as far as communism. People should be able to own things. There is a strong natural tendency for people to claim things for themselves, and to fight it seems like a difficult path to follow.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Libertarianism is dead in ~humanities

    Akir
    Link Parent
    You are asking if the man who is constantly seizing power for himself, breaking laws left and right, reforming an agency to use as his own personal military, and basically considers himself to be...

    You are asking if the man who is constantly seizing power for himself, breaking laws left and right, reforming an agency to use as his own personal military, and basically considers himself to be a dictator is a fascist?

    What criteria would you use to consider fascism?

    38 votes

  16. Comment on Libertarianism is dead in ~humanities

    Akir
    Link Parent
    By no means am I trying to imply that common good is not a thing that Liberals have not tried to define. That is why I brought up the concept of egalitarianism. The issue is that there are far too...

    By no means am I trying to imply that common good is not a thing that Liberals have not tried to define. That is why I brought up the concept of egalitarianism. The issue is that there are far too many definitions and nobody really agrees on them, which means that in practice "common good" is difficult to implement and easy to dispel. There are countless people who think that the terrible things that Donald Trump is doing in the US is for the common good. If the common good is not common, what is the point?

    I feel as if Liberalism when concerned with public welfare is more like Socialism for people who are kowtowing to the Libertarians/Feudalists/Anarchists/whoever. They are probably more concerned with personal property than they should. It's understandable: they were born into such a system, have had no choice but to invest into it, and are afraid of losing that investment. And while I'm not saying that personal property shouldn't exist, I do think it's something that should be far less important than the general welfare of society and the people who comprise it.

    I've spent the majority of my life believing in Liberalism. But I've also spent the majority of my life seeing Liberalism failing. Not just in the US either; it's happening just about everywhere in the world.

    3 votes

  17. Comment on Libertarianism is dead in ~humanities

    Akir
    Link
    Interestingly enough I think these arguments are also good to demonstrate why Liberalism is a bad idea. If Libertarianism is a roadmap into oligarchy and dictatorship, Liberalism is a roadmap to...

    Interestingly enough I think these arguments are also good to demonstrate why Liberalism is a bad idea. If Libertarianism is a roadmap into oligarchy and dictatorship, Liberalism is a roadmap to Libertarianism. Both lib-isms have a strong focus on property ownership and in practice amount to people with the most wealth having the most power.

    If one was to take this piece as a reason to believe in Liberalism, it has a fatal flaw. It says that government exists to serve the common good, but then outright refuses to define what the common good is. If the common good cannot be defined, than it can be corrupted. What is missing is a philosophy as to what the common good is. And without that definition we can get messed up ideas like “billionaires existing is a good thing for society”, a sentiment that is extremely common, sadly, in spite of the objective damage it does to society.

    There is a part of me which believes that Liberalism can still work if we have a coherent philosophy - or perhaps more accurately, a set of philosophies - to define what common good is. The problem is that when you get to that point, usually the end result is something that most Liberalists hate: Socialism.

    To be fair, this is probably an issue of “philosophical blending”: some people who claim to be Liberal hold surprisingly Libertarian points of view, and the power balances leaning hard to the “right” makes basic Liberal positioning seem Socialist. Acts of wealth redistribution absolutely can be justified based on Liberal ideas, but in practice any such attempt today is quick to be labeled “Socialist” or “Communist”. So in the practicality of politics (specifically in the current context of US politics), it’s much wiser for one to join under the banner of Socialism than that of Liberalism.

    Here in the US, we actually do have a very popular answer to what the common good is, one that was embraced by the framers of the constitution: Egalitarianism. The idea that all people are equal. Regardless of where you are in the political alignment chart, issues are often framed in the light of equality. The only problem with that is that people have a hard time agreeing with what “equal” means. Those on the far right seem to believe that they are equal to billionaires. The poor are also equal under their eyes, and the only reason why they are destitute is because they are too lazy or unprincipled to grasp at success. Naturally, the further left you go the less likely one is to agree with such suppositions. And thus we have the failure of Liberalism; the common good is so poorly defined that it can be used as a weapon against actual public welfare.

    Personally, I believe that such philosophical failure to construct a coherent goal is the singular cause of government failure. But that is reaching on my end; to prove it would need a significant amount of historical research.

    7 votes

  18. Comment on Advice on poor Linux performance vs Windows in ~tech

    Akir
    Link Parent
    I seem to remember there was a software package for windows that allowed it to read ext, but it’s been about a decade since I had to worry about such things.

    I seem to remember there was a software package for windows that allowed it to read ext, but it’s been about a decade since I had to worry about such things.

    1 vote

  19. Comment on James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers in ~science

    Akir
    Link Parent
    Genetics matter, yes, but when you see people who talk about genetics like it is a personal destiny you should reject them full force. Genetics are only ever a portion of how a person will...

    Genetics matter, yes, but when you see people who talk about genetics like it is a personal destiny you should reject them full force. Genetics are only ever a portion of how a person will develop. Lifestyle and environment are also huge factors. A person genetically predisposed to cardiovascular diseases, for instance, might counteract that risk by being the kind of person who goes out for a morning run and improving their cardio health.

    There are multitudes of people on this earth who will look at one specific part of a person and judge them entirely based on it. But any given person has more facets than there are stars in the galaxy. What these people do is called prejudice, and it is a great social evil.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Automotive repair costs on modern vehicles. Any horror stories? in ~transport

    Akir
    Link Parent
    On my old Leaf, a cooling pump failed on it due to my own neglect (read the owner's manual, people). I forget exactly how much I paid to replace it but I think that the part cost alone was...

    On my old Leaf, a cooling pump failed on it due to my own neglect (read the owner's manual, people). I forget exactly how much I paid to replace it but I think that the part cost alone was something like $400 or so.

    They actually showed me the pump before they actually replaced it and I realized that it was a bog-standard pump by Laing that was mounted to a custom-made bracket to justify the expense. If I had seen it myself I could have likely bought it or one close enough to it for less than $100.

    I'm with you on the entire industry being scammers.

    6 votes