0x29A's recent activity
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Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
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Comment on PornHub extorted after hackers steal Premium member activity data in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentAnd it is fair to mention, I think, that legislation like this unfortunately has far less public pressure against it because of the stigma and shame around porn. And that's by design, it's why so...And it is fair to mention, I think, that legislation like this unfortunately has far less public pressure against it because of the stigma and shame around porn.
And that's by design, it's why so much invasive legislation hides behind things like "protection"- if you make opponents of a legislation out to be "people arguing against the protection of children", you've bent the moral narrative in the law's favor, no matter its overreach or side effects
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Comment on I need to tell you why coffee makes you poop in ~food
0x29A Link ParentFellow Weird Coffee Person here! Cheers! Hoffman and Lance Hedrick are to blame for my eternal spiral into the coffee world, and I am forever thankful for them and the joy it brings!Fellow Weird Coffee Person here! Cheers!
Hoffman and Lance Hedrick are to blame for my eternal spiral into the coffee world, and I am forever thankful for them and the joy it brings!
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Comment on Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options. in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentThere are other reasons to prefer hardware that doesn't have a smart component. While I use a TV that has FireTV built in- yes, i keep it disconnected from internet and set a default input so it...There are other reasons to prefer hardware that doesn't have a smart component. While I use a TV that has FireTV built in- yes, i keep it disconnected from internet and set a default input so it always goes to my linux PC as a source, I would still prefer a non-smart TV because of other problems with some smart TVs, including mine:
- bloat. the UI is slow and annoying for menus, because the menus are inside the OS, not a simple on-screen display
- another point of failure and lack of repairability- there's an entire corporate locked "computer"/OS inside my TV rather than simple electronics
- my TV takes FOREVER to boot up. TVs should never need a "boot process", but because my smart TV has to boot the FireTV OS on crappy slow hardware built into the TV, it takes 60 seconds to turn on
- my TV can be buggy. weird software bugs can cause settings to occasionally not work or do weird things, or make it unnecessarily difficult to make changes. my TV has frozen and while showing the picture fine, stopped responding at all to my remote control until i rebooted the TV to fix it (the asinine idea of having to "reboot" a TV makes me go mad)
- everything is unnecessarily complicated for zero benefit
As an aside- I had to go with a full PC because limited OSs like the AppleTV or FireTV have all sorts of problems and restrictions that drove me nuts to the point I realized a full PC was the way to go for me. The "apps" built for these specialized TV boxes are often awful and just lacked the amount of control over my experience I find necessary
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Comment on How do you plan out your meals for the week/meal prep? in ~food
0x29A Link ParentYeah there are definitely multiple mental health / psychologically-related reasons I do it, some subconsciously, some knowingly, and that's why I still try to strike a balance with it in some...Yeah there are definitely multiple mental health / psychologically-related reasons I do it, some subconsciously, some knowingly, and that's why I still try to strike a balance with it in some other ways, so I don't end up hurting myself in one way by attempting to help myself in another
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Comment on How do you plan out your meals for the week/meal prep? in ~food
0x29A Link ParentI have, but they're a bit too far down that tech-bro hole for me. It's like what I'm doing but taken to the absolute extreme where you don't even really "enjoy food" anymore because you've...I have, but they're a bit too far down that tech-bro hole for me. It's like what I'm doing but taken to the absolute extreme where you don't even really "enjoy food" anymore because you've optimized the enjoyment out of it completely, and I'm not looking to do that. I feel that would be a psychological net-negative. I have found that in life, I want to retain as much "small joys" as possible, because sometimes they are all one has
Now, doing something like that (or Ensure, as a cheaper option) for a single meal per day, like Lunch, I would not be necessarily opposed to, and I have done that in the past for a time (to make lunch super easy at work), but right now it's just not something I strongly desire. I keep the option open though.
That said, I noticed it did not play well with my digestive system, so I'd have to do it differently if I do it again (with way more soluble fiber or osmething)
I have also tried the "hot food" version of Huel and I have to say, the taste/texture/experience is so lacking that I ran back to real food (even if just a simple sandwich or tuna salad + crackers, or whatever else) - again, seems they optimized every bit of the "joy" out of it completely and that's not what I want (and way too on brand for some types of techbro-ism tbh)
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Comment on How do you plan out your meals for the week/meal prep? in ~food
0x29A LinkSuper outside take probably, but I don't cook. I don't like it, and I don't like buying tons of ingredients to do it either, even if it's "quick and easy". I live alone so I don't have to worry...Super outside take probably, but I don't cook. I don't like it, and I don't like buying tons of ingredients to do it either, even if it's "quick and easy". I live alone so I don't have to worry about preparing things for anyone else. However, I just can't stand doing it (unless it's extremely simple occasional things like Crockpot or throwing frozen stuff in the Air Fryer).
I just buy soups, frozen/refrigerated burritos, pre-made beans/rice kind of dishes, certain kinds of frozen meals, frozen/canned/fresh fruits and veggies. Basically if I can eat it as is, microwave it, air fry it, or a distant fourth- crockpot it, then I go for that.
For me it's simply "I don't want to spend ANY time, energy, or amount of thinking power on food" that leads me to this, and I'm not unhappy about it (and I don't need anyone's nutritional assessment of my choices either).
For times when the budget allows, I'll do mail-based meal plans, but even the cheapest of those is rather expensive (though maybe given grocery price trajectory they're not that bad), so I don't do them right now.
While I understand raw ingredients + cooking can be cheaper, right now I aim for an "okay enough" balance between three different things- nutrition, no cooking, and budget.
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Comment on Whatever happened to _____? in ~talk
0x29A Link ParentCan consider a few possibilities here (likely a combination of some or all): Aesthetics either going out of style, being less desirable, or being less chosen by car makers Potential impacts on...Can consider a few possibilities here (likely a combination of some or all):
- Aesthetics either going out of style, being less desirable, or being less chosen by car makers
- Potential impacts on efficiency
- Marginal cost savings on another high-wear part by simply not adding them
- Over time, more paved roads in more places reducing their utility
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Comment on How to get found by recruiters on LinkedIn in ~tech
0x29A LinkAt this point my goal is to never again seek any sort of position that would require being on LinkedIn. If that consigns me to low wages doing menial tasks at some local business, then so be it, I...At this point my goal is to never again seek any sort of position that would require being on LinkedIn. If that consigns me to low wages doing menial tasks at some local business, then so be it, I suppose. I would rather stick my hand in a woodchipper than rejoin.
Having previously worked in some form of tech for over 15 years (helpdesk, desktop support, systems administration), I am not sure I want to re-enter the field at all anyway. I am so damn sick of tech these days.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
0x29A Linkthis French EBM https://potochkine.bandcamp.com/album/sang-dencrethis French EBM https://potochkine.bandcamp.com/album/sang-dencre
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
0x29A Link ParentThat's interesting. I use Porkbun for all my domains and the propagation actually feels surprisingly fast to me. At least far faster than it ever has in the past, including a couple of recent...That's interesting. I use Porkbun for all my domains and the propagation actually feels surprisingly fast to me. At least far faster than it ever has in the past, including a couple of recent changes I made.
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Comment on Cloudflare down again in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentIt happened less than three weeks ago (mid-november), so it probably feels perceptibly more frequent even just due to it happening so soon after the last oneIt happened less than three weeks ago (mid-november), so it probably feels perceptibly more frequent even just due to it happening so soon after the last one
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Comment on Cloudflare down again in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentI am aware, I was not using downdetector to actually check the status of Cloudflare. It was just a source of amusement that it was downI am aware, I was not using downdetector to actually check the status of Cloudflare. It was just a source of amusement that it was down
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Comment on Cloudflare down again in ~tech
0x29A LinkNoticed this when I couldn't pay my internet bill, and also could not browse a tea site I normally do. Amusingly, this means https://downdetector.com/ is down Even more amusingly, the detector of...Noticed this when I couldn't pay my internet bill, and also could not browse a tea site I normally do.
Amusingly, this means https://downdetector.com/ is down
Even more amusingly, the detector of the detector is not detecting, and thinks it is up https://downdetectorsdowndetector.com/
And EVEN MORE amusingly, https://downdetectorsdowndetectorsdowndetectorsdowndetector.com/ is detecting that the detector-detector-detector is down, which is also true
and while centralized, all-eggs-in-one-basket thinking are one reason why i hate the current internet in some ways, these amusing sites are why i still love it, in some ways. got a good hell of a laugh out of all this :)
much love, and coffee, and tough friday empathy for any of you that have to deal with this now, or soon, at your given place of work
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Comment on Your favorite deeply unpopular music in ~music
0x29A (edited )LinkI suppose I'll add some additional stuff here, given that this topic has made the rounds again, and I found it more difficult to answer last time. When it comes to either obscure (as in no one...I suppose I'll add some additional stuff here, given that this topic has made the rounds again, and I found it more difficult to answer last time.
When it comes to either obscure (as in no one knows about it) or niche (relatively few listeners compared to the average person's music tastes), there are a number of things I like, and have found over the years.
More niche listener base (though "popular" within that base):
- Harsh noise / power electronics (Goatworshipper, etc- Merzbow being a "popular" artist in that realm)
- Death industrial / harsher sides of industrial, like URANIUM and Author & Punisher (the latter being a more "popular" one)
- Very extreme metal, punk, and adjacent (black metal, industrial black metal, grindcore, powerviolence, avant-garde/dissonant stuff)- though even the most extremes of metal in these realms these days are pretty "normal" for us metalheads- nothing way out there and even are in some sense "popular"- and like black metal- have huge storied histories and a big "place" in the metal scene. However, plenty of very obscure artists though- lo-fi/raw one-person black metal projects are all over the place :). In general the metal and punk underground is alive and well. It's all been around long enough at this point that there's always some popular form of it being done, but I'm glad to see the underground still thrive
- I would say there are even some projects that have risen in popularity but maintain quite a bit of inaccessibility to anyone outside of the small sphere that love the stuff- like wild stuff like Esoctrilhium's absolutely bonkers take on black metal
Obscure stuff tends to fall into a few categories:
- Bands from various nations that just have, on the whole, a lot less output that makes it across the world, or at least, not on a scale where they're well known (Ugra Karma, death metal from Nepal, for instance- warning: some gory album covers so do not search unless you're okay with that, Hungarian punk like this, etc)
- Lots of projects on bandcamp and other similar platforms that just have yet to be discovered widely, and this ranges across any and every genre, from bedroom pop, to raw black metal, to anything and everything, and I love when I find those. Like some local shoegaze band from who knows where, just making the coolest shit ever
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Comment on How did you choose your podcast app and would you switch to a different one? in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentHad no idea about the units tests, etc. That certainly all seems to make my experiences make a bit more sense. Around the same time the big changes were made to overhaul Overcast's codebase, it...Had no idea about the units tests, etc. That certainly all seems to make my experiences make a bit more sense. Around the same time the big changes were made to overhaul Overcast's codebase, it never worked properly again for me, even the most basic things were broken, basic enough things that the app was unusable
Also had no idea they dropped the web player. Another reason I'll be sticking with Pocket Casts, then.
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Comment on How did you choose your podcast app and would you switch to a different one? in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentAutomattic (owner of WordPress) owns Pocket Casts. Not speaking for the parent comment- but there was a whole debacle involving WP and Automattic's CEO, and historically, at least speaking for...Automattic (owner of WordPress) owns Pocket Casts. Not speaking for the parent comment- but there was a whole debacle involving WP and Automattic's CEO, and historically, at least speaking for myself individually, IMO he's been a rather unsavory character, so I personally hate that fact about Pocket Casts, despite otherwise it being my go-to podcasts app, and I keep forgetting that it was acquired by Automattic.
If any other app worked for my needs as well as Pocket Cast does, I'd abandon it, but so far have not found a solid replacement. I might start looking around again, though.
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Comment on How did you choose your podcast app and would you switch to a different one? in ~tech
0x29A (edited )LinkIn the early days of podcasts and smartphones I found Pocket Casts, probably recommended by some tech person I was following at the time and I enjoyed it. I was grandfathered into Pocket Casts...In the early days of podcasts and smartphones I found Pocket Casts, probably recommended by some tech person I was following at the time and I enjoyed it. I was grandfathered into Pocket Casts Plus by being an early user that paid their inexpensive one-time fee at one point. So, mostly I've stayed with them. However, I have tried other things (though specifically on iOS, FWIW), such as Overcast.
I enjoyed Overcast for a while and even preferred it to Pocket Casts, especially when subscribing to "patreon-locked feeds" for particular podcasts that I supported- Pocket Casts didn't handle those well originally, so I looked for alternatives. It was really simple, small-footprint, responsive, and did everything I needed.
However, Overcast in recent months/years became wholly unreliable for me, to the point where new episodes would never show up as "unlistened" or new- the app would just mark them as if I had listened to them, or feeds wouldn't update properly. This was never solved. I would think that my favorite podcasts had stopped releasing episodes, only to find out it was Overcast that was the problem. Even after uninstalling/reinstalling, removing and readding all my casts, and everything.
I tried a few others and either didn't like the UI, or felt like they were missing something in the workflow that frustrated me. So, I jumped back to Pocket Casts, and it finally handled those special patreon feeds fine when I still had them (though I don't anymore), and it's been consistently reliable ever since. Even on iOS, there is nothing else I'd rather use than Pocket Casts at this point. Even if Overcast fixes itself, I'll probably never go back- it burned me too hard and for too long.
I don't have a big need for features- but I am very picky about specific things. Streaming episodes, ease of filtering them, reliable skipping/pausing/etc, reliable queueing, and a UI that feels good to use. I don't need cross platform- though I do appreciate Pocket Casts having a web player if I need it in a pinch.
Edit:
Also, a couple of podcasts I'll recommend:
Doughboys
Stop Podcasting YourselfSome others I've stopped listening to (either due to time or otherwise) that I still recommend (if they're around):
Jordan Jesse, Go!I used to listen to so many more podcasts, though I've abandoned a lot of them for one reason or another. Used to be big into the tech and tech-adjacent podcast sphere (TWiT, Revision3, 5by5 Network, Merlin Mann and adjacent characters' stuff), but very little, if any, of that remains in my rotation, and not any I'd feel 100% comfortable recommending.
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Comment on Cloud hosting in EU in ~comp
0x29A Link ParentI don't use it anymore (just no longer needed it for my use case), but I've never had a problem with Hetzner myself. Was a good experience. +1I don't use it anymore (just no longer needed it for my use case), but I've never had a problem with Hetzner myself. Was a good experience. +1
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Comment on Shopify's Black Friday/Cyber Monday site showcase in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentYeah, seeing the "orders per minute" and other stats is certainly having the opposite effect on me than what they intendedYeah, seeing the "orders per minute" and other stats is certainly having the opposite effect on me than what they intended
Putting together notes, ratings, and information on all the coffees I've brewed. Planning on reformatting my large list/inventory of tea and teaware. Hoping to get both of these in a decent format to put on a website eventually.
Compiling my album top lists, my favorite music releases of the year.
Found another couple of ideas to 3D print, and excited about those