0x29A's recent activity
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Comment on What change would make you quit Tildes? in ~tildes
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Comment on What change would make you quit Tildes? in ~tildes
0x29A LinkThese are the items, some of which are echoed by other comments here, that would make me at least consider it: Any non-text content displayed on-site (embeds, inline images, videos, etc) Any...These are the items, some of which are echoed by other comments here, that would make me at least consider it:
- Any non-text content displayed on-site (embeds, inline images, videos, etc)
- Any redesign that massively alters the minimal but dense text-based nature of the site
- Commercialization
- Going open registration (and seeing the effects of it / and/or especially without more tools like blocking/muting to go along with it)
- Any implementation of generative AI / LLMs or systems that run on them
- Any onerous/invasive privacy or security changes
- If the general feel of discussions or overall majority of the population of the site started bending in a direction I am opposed to
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Comment on Tildes Survey #7: What is your gender identity? in ~talk
0x29A Linki've got sort of an interesting combination that might be difficult to articulate but essentially: cis male, in that i don't feel "misaligned" with my assigned sex at birth, or in need of...i've got sort of an interesting combination that might be difficult to articulate but essentially:
cis male, in that i don't feel "misaligned" with my assigned sex at birth, or in need of presenting or expressing differently, however in my consciousness / in my mind, i don't really feel any "genderedness" at all
i have felt frustrated by and imposed on by gender norms/expectations/stereotypes, but that's a more complex story and more to do with the flawed "traditional" way genders have been viewed
like the conscious experience of my being does not feel bound to or filtered through any particular gender, but also feels no misalignment in how i present myself
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Comment on Insomniathought: blocking people in social media can be a positive thing in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentExactly. I think the fear is overblown, the idea of those things is misused, and I think a lot of the times, the supposed echo chamber or bubble being created is actually just a quality space free...Exactly. I think the fear is overblown, the idea of those things is misused, and I think a lot of the times, the supposed echo chamber or bubble being created is actually just a quality space free of BS instead. Not all "bubbles" or "echo chambers" are equal
Sure, one can flip that on its head and say- what about people trapped in their own bubble of misinformation or otherwise content we find conspiratorial or really bad- and I get that- but I also think they should have the same tools to control what they want to see- I still think what they personally experience in terms of online interaction should be up to them even if they make choices that cause them to avoid arguments or content we'd want them to see with the hopes that it somehow changes them.
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Comment on Insomniathought: blocking people in social media can be a positive thing in ~tech
0x29A (edited )Link ParentThis is how I operate now. I used to operate differently but I've found this to provide the best online experience for me. I do not hesitate to mute, ignore, block, unfriend, etc (and honestly...This is how I operate now. I used to operate differently but I've found this to provide the best online experience for me. I do not hesitate to mute, ignore, block, unfriend, etc (and honestly wish more options were available on Tildes for this but I understand why they're not- or at least aren't yet).
Honestly, I think people should consider this in the offline world (or in dealing with those in a circle closer than just "an online forum") a bit more often too. Acquaintances, iffy friendships, toxic family, etc. Of course, far more consideration needs to go into stopping interactions with someone closer, lots of nuance there, but I think sometimes it's good to just cease some interactions and relationships and situations if they reach a certain threshold rather than trying to keep them around out of some toxic sense of obligation
But back to more general online interaction- being liberal with mutes/blocks/etc is better for my mental health, prevents me from doomscrolling, helps prevent some neurodivergent behavioral patterns, protects me from getting into long pointless discussions because my brain felt the need at that point in time to involve myself, ignoring entire topics of discussion helps my mood, etc.
I get that people will try to make efforts to protect some supposed noble goal of "preventing echo chambers" or "being in a bubble" or whatever and use this as an argument for muting/blocking/ignoring being something not to be done liberally, but when it comes to online interactions I'm not interested in that at all- other than if I want to view or get into difficult discussions I want to have to purposely seek them out, and would rather have the level of control that keeps me out of it the rest of the time. I get there are benefits to having some level of variety to what I see, but I'm all for having more levers I can pull at any given time to affect that balance (and others can feel free to simply not pull those same levers if they don't think muting/blocking/ignoring should be done as often).
I also agree with OP that sometimes there are people who one could get along with offline that just in the online world are interactions you want to treat differently. There are people that face-to-face I can get along with to some extent that I would never want to be connected with online, this is why I absolutely no longer ever friend any coworkers on social media that I'm not ALSO friend with outside of work, as a rule. It's never turned out well and is awkward when still employed at the workplace too
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Comment on US FBI says Google engineer used internal search data to win $1.2M on Polymarket in ~tech
0x29A Link Parentre: your mention about Russia & Ukraine, yeah I agree, and I feel like avoiding "significant negative externalities" is a pipe dream Even when you outlaw/control the obvious ones, it seems like...re: your mention about Russia & Ukraine, yeah I agree, and I feel like avoiding "significant negative externalities" is a pipe dream
Even when you outlaw/control the obvious ones, it seems like prediction markets' entire existence unavoidably contributes to "significant negative externalities" through the type of behavior it incentivizes, period.
In fact, it could take things that might seem more mundane, and through incentives and the behavior that follows with various things being gamed and whatnot- turn them into more significant problems
Give people an opportunity to not only gamble, but tip that gambling in their favor, and they'll cause untold amounts of harm trying to do so. People start fixing things and paying people off and trying to make deals for kickbacks and etc etc etc. It's problems all the way down
I think it's a "cause more harm than good" type of situation but a lot of people will ignore the harms as long as they get something out of it and can spin it as good. There are quite a few things in the world like this at the moment that share this balance too IMO
That said, I also agree that sports betting is HUGE and no doubt causing untold amounts of harm on its own
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
0x29A Link ParentNice work! I have an old system that's a server now that I originally built and used for music production and as part of making it as silent as possible i deshrouded an Nvidia 750ti and used two...Nice work! I have an old system that's a server now that I originally built and used for music production and as part of making it as silent as possible i deshrouded an Nvidia 750ti and used two noctua fans with zip ties and an adapter, and it was never audible again after that. Now that it's a server, it's similarly completely silent, which I love. I've thought about doing it to the card in my new music production system but because it's never stressed at all and it's a card with built-in "zero rpm when idle" mode, I don't feel as much of a need to bother. Something in that PC is still occasionally ramping a fan up in a way I haven't figured out yet (doesn't show up on fan monitoring) causing it not to be completely silent, and I'm thinking it may be the PSU. Might swap in a fanless PSU eventually.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
0x29A (edited )LinkI don't really want remote control or anything but monitoring-only, so I am planning to take one of my unused raspberry pis and a cheap webcam (and maybe eventually a cheap pi camera module) and...I don't really want remote control or anything but monitoring-only, so I am planning to take one of my unused raspberry pis and a cheap webcam (and maybe eventually a cheap pi camera module) and use RTSP to serve an in-home video stream of my 3D printer so i can monitor its progress at my computer from another room that i am usually in
Might use this learning experience to then set up a similar camera for monitoring my front door/porch from a nearby window. I don't have the desire for a full outdoor-installed obvious security system or anything but just having a bit of a view of the front of my home would be nice
EDIT: Also found this esphome setup and its associated 3D print to make a nice physical button interface for HomeAssistant that is made up of very inexpensive parts from Aliexpress. For a few bucks and some prints this could be a fun project to have a nice physical control of my lights.
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Comment on What has changed as you've gotten older? in ~talk
0x29A (edited )Linkmy approach to eating / nutrition / health choices. more fiber, way less sugar, better portions, just more reasonable all around. not being too restrictive or indulgent. just moderation with a few...- Exemplary
- my approach to eating / nutrition / health choices. more fiber, way less sugar, better portions, just more reasonable all around. not being too restrictive or indulgent. just moderation with a few focuses nutritionally. no fad diets, nothing too out of the ordinary. just lifestyle changes i can stick with.
- i stopped drinking alcohol
- because of the above, approaching my health better in general, including my weight
- i've always admired high quality loose leaf tea. i'm now into coffee too.
- no longer religious. have gone through multiple phases of this. still from time to time very opinionated about organized religion in general, but somewhat less judgemental of the people now- depending on their actions. in other words, i have pretty hard positions on this stuff, but the edges have softened now. i try to be a bit more balanced in my approach
- still play video games, but much much less. it's just less of a focus for me now
- when i was a kid/teen i watched TV/movies and the 2nd half of my life i completely abandoned them and don't feel like i lost anything. fiction in general but especially in TV/movie form is no longer something for me. i get nothing out of it
- after, due to religion and its repression, the longest time of thinking i had myself all figured out in terms of gender and romantic/sexual attraction (because none of the alternative options were considered valid in the way i was raised), that has completely changed and it's far different and nuanced compared to how i felt about myself 20 years ago
- tangential to that, exploring sexual self-pleasure without guilt after being indoctrinated to think it was wrong for so long
- no real desire or care about career pursuits or climbing corporate ladders or any of that stuff now. just want a simple life. simply do not "care" about work other than as a means to pay bills
- i am a lot better at creating proper boundaries for myself. not saying yes because i feel obligated to, or similar.
- i have (especially recently too- stinging insects in particular!) overcome or made huge progress on some long-standing irrational (and somewhat extreme adrenaline-inducing) fears, some of which i think were formed in me throughout my childhood
- more focus on mental health in general
- while i could be convinced otherwise at some point- realized that romantic relationships may just not be for me, after two of them, that even had their bright moments- i think at some point i realized i often prefer to be alone. maybe something could work out with someone that has similar needs for distance, but i'm no longer seeking anything
- realized that the idea that i'm a "night owl" is a social construct / fabrication, and while it's true i can thrive in the dark quiet hours- i can thrive just as much (and even feel better health-wise) if i get used to waking up early in the morning and going to bed at a decent hour. "night owl" was just an attempt to rationalize behavior without it really being some true immutable thing about myself
- i'm thankfully politically the complete opposite of what i was 20+ years ago
- my interest in "tech" has morphed over time. no longer interested in the industry or a lot of the stuff in this realm, but more narrowly focused on my own projects or particular types of tech. genAI (and my visceral hatred thereof) has catalyzed/accelerated my desire to distance myself further from it as a "field" as a whole. so my interest in tech is a very curated experience at this point
- still have a lot of the same hobby interests, and actually making more progress on many of them than i ever did before. also continually finding new ones.
- starting to outgrow some nostalgia. some of it still can work on me, but i'm a bit more guarded and careful about my approach to it now, i see how it can be a negative
- less migraines / headaches! still get them but various life changes in terms of diet, stress, sleep, etc have had a massive positive effect
- i view "acquired tastes" as a bit of a personal superpower that anyone can wield, vs the way i used to feel about food/drink was that what i liked / didn't like was "set in stone". you can alter how you taste and enjoy things. i used to think that i hated sparkling water and that there's nothing that could convince me other wise. had a few that i didn't like or hate, and then at some point it clicked and i love it
- that said, my carbonated beverage consumption is probably 5% of what it was even a few years ago. i still love diet soda, but i have flavored water far more often now and feel better for it
- i do not desire death but i am far more at peace with it, especially no longer having a religious indoctrination surrounding the ideas of it and "what comes after". i now have an existential peace with it that the faith of the first half of my life could never offer me, and in such a way, that i value my time left to me before i die even more, rather than banking on the promise of something after. i feel more free than i ever have, in terms of critical thinking and existence in general
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Comment on Tesla’s newest electric vehicle could jolt the trucking industry in ~transport
0x29A Link Parentoh god, i never realized that was a thing. TIL. that makes me hate them more than i already dooh god, i never realized that was a thing. TIL. that makes me hate them more than i already do
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Comment on Moving from Cinnamon to Xfce fixed my video playback stutter on Linux Mint in ~tech
0x29A LinkXFCE has become possibly my favorite DE at this point. I actually use Cinnamon on my desktop at the moment but I use XFCE on nearly everything else, including my laptop and living room PC I use...XFCE has become possibly my favorite DE at this point. I actually use Cinnamon on my desktop at the moment but I use XFCE on nearly everything else, including my laptop and living room PC I use almost exclusively for video playback. I like the more antiquated, info-dense, lightweight types of DEs.
On my daily driver/gaming desktop (Kubuntu) I actually moved from KDE to Cinnamon to solve some weird compositing / video issues that I determined to be tied to a particular version of the compositor and that worked but I still get an occasional quirk here and there- including for instance, FreeTube seems to have frame lag occasionally on Cinnamon during video playback. The video will freeze for a split second. I do not have this issue on FreeTube on XFCE.
Of course, the double-edged sword with Linux is there are so many different configurations and driver versions and how all of it interacts that if I solve a problem by changing DEs, it doesn't really get to the core of why the problem was happening- in other words on Cinnamon on a different PC it's possible the problem would never occur, so it's sort-of like hammering a nail with a sledgehammer.
And I also get that being on an LTS / non-rolling distro certain bugs I run into may not get fixed for a long time and so on. Always a tradeoff somewhere
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Comment on We should take hantavirus more seriously in ~health
0x29A Link ParentFrom reading up about droppings I have seen "infectiousness" being mentioned as anywhere from "a few days" at room temperature in general (longer when colder) but some mention up to "9-15 days in...From reading up about droppings I have seen "infectiousness" being mentioned as anywhere from "a few days" at room temperature in general (longer when colder) but some mention up to "9-15 days in contaminated bedding" per some unlinked Canadian health study (unless the articles that mention this are just AI-written and making shit up which is very possible) but given other contaminants in them to always treat them as if they're a risk regardless
I am thinking it may be days and not minutes because of it being trapped in the substance of the dropping rather than just free floating in the air. Though some did mention "days" on surfaces also
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
0x29A Link ParentYeah... they uh... have a somewhat notorious (I know about their behavior even as someone that isn't a fan because it somehow reached me regardless) history of saying awful things on social media...Yeah... they uh... have a somewhat notorious (I know about their behavior even as someone that isn't a fan because it somehow reached me regardless) history of saying awful things on social media and then being excessively combative about it with anyone that responds, including fans. From homophobic comments to stuff about "institutional racism not existing", insulting civil rights leaders, support of the far-right, etc... so complaining about cancel culture seems to be the M.O. for people that behave like this and rightfully get called out on it
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
0x29A LinkPost-punk/punk/oi band Home Front (recent KEXP performance btw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThcSsr8KLjU). Their last two albums are two of my favorite albums American Football - LP4 new...Post-punk/punk/oi band Home Front (recent KEXP performance btw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThcSsr8KLjU). Their last two albums are two of my favorite albums
American Football - LP4 new American Football release! always excited for new stuff from Kinsella and co
Famyne - II: The Ground Below - this heavily AIC-inspired grunge-doom
Haruspex Chants - Demo MMXXVI - this death/doom demo that kicks ass
Art School Girlfriend - Lean In - indie pop / electronic, currently my non-metal album of the year so far, I think
Morbid Angel - Domination
Some of Home Front's sources of inspiration.
British Punk / Oi that incorporated Post-Punk/New Wave later on:
Angelic Upstarts - Reason Why https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKwFbVZ9cWU
Blitz - Second Empire Justice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pxFwP-8vdI -
Comment on Eradikated – Mortality (2026) in ~music
0x29A LinkNot a huge fan of the vocals, but solid riffs and solos. I could probably get used to the vocals as a hardcore punk fan though. Nice and fast and it's got some beefiness to the mix. No corniness...Not a huge fan of the vocals, but solid riffs and solos. I could probably get used to the vocals as a hardcore punk fan though. Nice and fast and it's got some beefiness to the mix.
No corniness or bad humor or any of the tropes. Could do much much worse when it comes to thrash (it's one of those genres where I think the bad often overwhelmingly outweighs the good).
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Comment on We should take hantavirus more seriously in ~health
0x29A LinkThis is tangential but I have some mouse droppings I have to clean up because they love to get in my cabinets. I've done a lot of preventative work but apparently still left something unaddressed...This is tangential but I have some mouse droppings I have to clean up because they love to get in my cabinets. I've done a lot of preventative work but apparently still left something unaddressed where they got in. I think it's one particular gap I forgot to cover. I use a certain level of steel wool to plug any areas they could squeeze through- from what I've heard it's scratchy enough that if they can't easily move it, it's too sharp for them to want to fight or gnaw on. I might create some kind of 3D printed panel I can glue or screw down and wrap with steel wool for the remaining gap I found
Thankfully they haven't come back since this most recent one night visit. But I realize this is often a source of hantavirus- and I think sometimes people don't realize the potential danger mouse droppings can pose because it seems like such a mundane thing to deal with.
What I typically do is soak any surfaces (and the droppings themselves) in the area with a heavy spray of Lysol (or similar virus-killing spray) and let it sit until it's dry to give it time to work. To be extra safe, I'll often re-apply once later just to be sure and shortly before using a shop vac to vacuum it all up. Any items remotely nearby I will thoroughly sanitize / clean however necessary or toss if this is not possible.
I figure there may be some danger to vacuums potentially spreading particles and viruses/etc in the air they expel when vacuuming the droppings, so I am aware this could be a bad idea- but my hope is the Lysol has done most of the work through the initial application, and vacuuming it up while slightly damp from the second round of spray (not wet, but not completely dry) might help reduce any of it from becoming dry dust that can escape the vacuuming process.
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Comment on “Rediscovering” the operating system (AKA: the desktop is the killer app) in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentAh yeah, interesting, I can see how that would be useful for some. I personally disable location info on all photos (and often clean all EXIF data) as a security/privacy step since so many people...Ah yeah, interesting, I can see how that would be useful for some. I personally disable location info on all photos (and often clean all EXIF data) as a security/privacy step since so many people online share photos without realizing they are sharing location information embedded in them.
I could see manually tagging photos being useful for searching and organizing but I just don't interact with my own photos that way. The enclosing folder usually is a clear enough label for me to recall what the photos are about or where they are from. Usually date, date/place, or date/purpose.
I feel like I have definitely seen desktop programs with these metadata/tagging features though so there may be something out there that matches what you want
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Comment on Xbox Game Pass and Discord to offer Game Pass Starter Edition to Discord Nitro subscribers in ~games
0x29A LinkI wonder if this is a way to attempt to claw people back to Nitro after a certain number left over the age verification debacleI wonder if this is a way to attempt to claw people back to Nitro after a certain number left over the age verification debacle
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Comment on “Rediscovering” the operating system (AKA: the desktop is the killer app) in ~tech
0x29A LinkI feel this and it's how I use things for the most part. A lot of text is in text files and sublime text as my editor. Photos and music and all that type of thing are just files in folders that I...I feel this and it's how I use things for the most part. A lot of text is in text files and sublime text as my editor. Photos and music and all that type of thing are just files in folders that I access directly and then toss into a program of choice when necessary. I don't really use "organizational" tools as much at all anymore.
Notes are maybe a slight exception to the rule- in that I use Joplin (and WebDAV for syncing it)- but I chose it specifically because it uses folders instead of tags (which I really do not like in my notes apps- I don't like the "all" views, etc - it breaks the organization paradigm I like in a way that my brain actively hates), so it mimics how it would work on a desktop. Having it all in one app on mobile and easily accessible is useful though, so its why I do it that way.
However, it's really only for notes that I want to have in multiple places and synced. I still use text files all the time for device-local notes.
I strongly overall prefer the simplicity approach. Files in folders, especially files that are easily readable and accessible on any device without extra software. Plain text where possible. Not proprietary formats and such. I don't hate the idea of markdown and markdown notes systems because at the end of the day its plaintext underneath, but sometimes it feels like an unnecessarily layer of complexity on top and so on
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
0x29A LinkContinuing FreeCAD learning (using MangoJelly's tutorials among others) and I'm starting to get much more "muscle memory" with using the program now. A lot of simple actions one needs to take now...Continuing FreeCAD learning (using MangoJelly's tutorials among others) and I'm starting to get much more "muscle memory" with using the program now. A lot of simple actions one needs to take now feel like second nature to me- I don't even have to actively think about them. So I'm noticing my skill improvements tangibly! It's very fulfilling to be able to see that happen. Still a beginner but now it's taking a bit less time to go from imagining something I want to make and having the first prototype ready to print
3D printed an enclosure for small USB sticks that are USB fan voltage controllers/potentiometers. Tried Sunlu PLA (transparent) for the first time and am very satisfied with their filaments (and their dryer).
Now, printing someone else's existing design for knobs for those potentiometers since I want a lower profile knob for them
Yeah I ignore a number of tags + manually ignore threads to help prevent me from feeling drawn into a topic or discussion unnecessarily (and unhealthily)