Akir's recent activity
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Comment on What's a show you love that's from before your time? in ~tv
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Comment on What's a show you love that's from before your time? in ~tv
Akir Link ParentIt really feels like she should have had an acting school. Comedy is the hardest form of acting to get right, and I don't think there is a modern performer who can match her breadth of skills,...It really feels like she should have had an acting school. Comedy is the hardest form of acting to get right, and I don't think there is a modern performer who can match her breadth of skills, especially when it comes to timing, exaggeration, and understatement.
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Comment on Adulting -- what advice or encouragement did you receive / wish you had received when you were just starting out moving out? in ~life
Akir Link ParentI’ll also add that I’ve also seen a lot of young people who simply haven’t built in the register in their head for how much money they have left in their budget. Credit cards become an infinite...I’ll also add that I’ve also seen a lot of young people who simply haven’t built in the register in their head for how much money they have left in their budget. Credit cards become an infinite well to draw from, whereas keeping with cash helps them to develop the register so they can keep up with a mental budget.
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
Akir LinkI've been on weight loss medications for about three weeks and it's been... a lot. I'm not on GLP agonists, I'm on the old stuff, phentermine and topiramate. I'm finding it to be very effective so...I've been on weight loss medications for about three weeks and it's been... a lot. I'm not on GLP agonists, I'm on the old stuff, phentermine and topiramate. I'm finding it to be very effective so far, in fact perhaps too effective. My doctor has me calorie counting and they gave me an 1800 calorie target which seemed very small given my activity levels and my size. But in spite of taking half of a pill, I am finding it hard to reach that goal and I've lost over 10 pounds already. Probably more, I haven't checked in a few days.
On the other hand, I've been to the gym exactly once since I started, and I didn't have a good time then. I had little energy and my muscles burned for what I did. I haven't been because I have been feeling very low energy and that's because I've been simultaneously been trying to wrangle with my sleep apnea problem again. The doctor who put me on the weight loss medication said to talk to the sleep doctors again because they might have an alternative, and talking to said sleep doctor literally made me have an emotional breakdown because no, there is no alternative, so now I'm back using a machine that is literally strangling me with my own phlegm every night and waking up with headaches from having terrible sleep that is worse than when I just try to sleep unimpeded.
So basically I have been making a ton of progress on weight but no progress on actual fitness and probably actually negative fitness since I'm basically completely sedate now. My apple watch didn't even log 12 hours of standing today. I'm really frustrated so I am considering asking the doctor to discontinue the medications.
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
Akir Link ParentThe thing that really pisses me off is that if I'm watching on my phone, I'm watching the same things that I've been watching or that are on my watchlist. Those should already be cached. There...The thing that really pisses me off is that if I'm watching on my phone, I'm watching the same things that I've been watching or that are on my watchlist. Those should already be cached. There shouldn't be anything that needs to load, but they want to show me new things to annoy me instead.
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
Akir Link ParentI know this is an extreme tangent but I am sooooo pissed off how every fricking streaming app needs to waste my time with their fricking song and dance logo video whenever I start up their app. I...I know this is an extreme tangent but I am sooooo pissed off how every fricking streaming app needs to waste my time with their fricking song and dance logo video whenever I start up their app. I already know what app I am using! It’s the one I tapped on!
Actually the worst thing is that my banking apps do it too.
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Comment on CGA-2026-09 🕹️🙎♂️🛹 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 in ~games
Akir LinkI actually picked up the series on the Dreamcast. In spite of this I’ll actually be playing the PlayStation version out of pure convenience because I don’t want to dig out the Dreamcast or deal...I actually picked up the series on the Dreamcast. In spite of this I’ll actually be playing the PlayStation version out of pure convenience because I don’t want to dig out the Dreamcast or deal with emulation.
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Comment on Gamergate but actually in ~games
Akir Link ParentIf that is your definition of trust than trust is something that one literally cannot determine for themselves if they have. There are almost certainly people who still trust CBS news after Bari...If that is your definition of trust than trust is something that one literally cannot determine for themselves if they have. There are almost certainly people who still trust CBS news after Bari Weiss, but she has doubtlessly directed her people to misdirect and lie to the audience.
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Comment on Gamergate but actually in ~games
Akir Link ParentYes, that doesn’t mean you should trust categorically. Trust is something built over time by demonstrations of good faith and acts of service. It requires demonstrations that the efforts they are...Yes, that doesn’t mean you should trust categorically. Trust is something built over time by demonstrations of good faith and acts of service. It requires demonstrations that the efforts they are giving are for the good of the public.
People who don’t trust anyone may have problems, but untrustworthy media actively creates problems on a societal level.
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Comment on Gamergate but actually in ~games
Akir Link ParentI actually take umbrage with the concept that people should be able to trust media inherently. Anything is media. The only thing anyone needs to do to create media is money or the backing of a...I actually take umbrage with the concept that people should be able to trust media inherently. Anything is media. The only thing anyone needs to do to create media is money or the backing of a monied organization. As a result media can and often is used to push propaganda, misinformation, and outright lies. The idea that media should be trustworthy itself makes media more dangerous and less trustworthy because it becomes more of a target for manipulation.
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Comment on ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ snags no. 2 with $15.4m as ‘Spider-Man’ nears ‘Avatar 2’; ‘Dog Stars’ put to sleep in ~movies
Akir LinkI’ve been seeing a lot of YouTube ads about The Dog Stars lately but I still have no idea what it’s about. Gritty people being shot…? All I know is that in the trailer it has the words of the...I’ve been seeing a lot of YouTube ads about The Dog Stars lately but I still have no idea what it’s about. Gritty people being shot…? All I know is that in the trailer it has the words of the title showing up one after another so I keep wondering what it is the dog stars in.
I’m not sure if trailers and commercials for movies are just bad these days or if I’ve just somehow managed to filter out marketing enough that I don’t get any of the good stuff. Every trailer I seem to see is just a collage of action shots and people making dumb faces, it seems, with very little pulling it together. As cliche as the “In a world…” narrator was, at least he told me what to expect about the movie they wanted me to see.
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Comment on The NES CD, featuring Super Mario CD in ~games
Akir LinkFDS has nothing on this, though it does lose points for the lack of FM synth channels.FDS has nothing on this, though it does lose points for the lack of FM synth channels.
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The NES CD, featuring Super Mario CD
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Comment on CGA-2026-08 🗡️🛡️❤️🔺 REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in ~games
Akir Link ParentYeah, and of course it’s not a mark against it, it’s just that it feels old when it’s an IP that is still so vibrantly alive today. Really, video games that would build on their worlds and their...Yeah, and of course it’s not a mark against it, it’s just that it feels old when it’s an IP that is still so vibrantly alive today. Really, video games that would build on their worlds and their emotional storytelling would start becoming a lot more at the forefront in subsequent years.
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Comment on Any electric vehicle owners with an Android phone using the ChargePoint app? in ~transport
Akir LinkI had an android phone at one time I seem to remember I had to have the ChargePoint app activated in order to use it. It was so long ago I doubt I’m remembering correctly and even more so that it...I had an android phone at one time I seem to remember I had to have the ChargePoint app activated in order to use it.
It was so long ago I doubt I’m remembering correctly and even more so that it still works the same.
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Comment on CGA-2026-08 🗡️🛡️❤️🔺 REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in ~games
Akir LinkI cheat-participated. A while back I had started to play through because I had never really finished the game. Then somewhere half through one of the dark world dungeons I accidentally used one of...I cheat-participated. A while back I had started to play through because I had never really finished the game. Then somewhere half through one of the dark world dungeons I accidentally used one of the items that warped me out of the dungeons after I had almost finished it and raged out of it. I basically used the CGA as an excuse to finally finish it.
I won't say it's a bad game in any way, but it's a game firmly planted in the past. It honestly feels less like what Zelda is today and more like Xevious or The Tower of Druaga; it's a game built less around exploring a world in terms of learning about it's people and history and more about discovering it's secrets and treasures. Link has family in this game who gets injured, and they might as well have died for how little they matter to the story after that. The ending in particular didn't feel particularly emotional. It felt grand, just not meaningful in the same way as pretty much any title to come after it.
It's a game that simply can't stand up to it's towering legacy. At one time it was a towering giant in and of itself. Action adventure games used to be categorically called Zelda clones, and this was the game that they were often unashamedly imitating. I didn't have an SNES for most of my childhood, so I would have to make due with imitations like Graal. In all honesty, it probably took the better part of a decade until game designers were able to reliably replicate the kinds of things and feelings that LttP did, but now it feels like we are awash in them.
I know I've been really critical about the games I've played as part of this group. I tend to play more retro games than not. But of those retro games, I tend to play the games that time has forgotten. Zelda is a pretty good example of why; it's a monolith on shifting sands. We can see clearly the evidence of the things that have changed, and how it means different things to us now. That's far different than the things that we can play that are old but we are experiencing for the first time.
Maybe things will be better with THPS2? Things haven't really moved much from there given how much Activision has fumbled the IP.
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Comment on Technology is over in ~tech
Akir LinkI'm only a little bit into this but I'm very distracted by this part: There was a blank compartment which could be replaced with an ethernet adaptor, but no ethernet ports built into the GameCube....I'm only a little bit into this but I'm very distracted by this part:
I remember also that I had a GameCube, and I tore open all the little flaps at the bottom and saw ethernet ports, plug-ins they had included for potential online games in the future.
There was a blank compartment which could be replaced with an ethernet adaptor, but no ethernet ports built into the GameCube. It was pretty dang rare, having only 4 US region games supporting it, and I can't recall ever seeing it in person before.
Oddly enough I think this little oversight is actually a pretty good little metaphor for the, uh, meta, of the author's arguements. The part I think where the author is most salient is when he talks about Jobs' idea of not just using the best technology, but using technology to feed human desire. I think the problem we have with technology is often the way we think about it and how it gets marketed to us. Things get sold to us as "look what this can do!" rather than "Look at how this improves your life!" The Gameboy was an easy sell - you could play Mario on the go. It's pretty self-evident how it's an improvement in one's quality of life. How do you make that same kind of argument about, say, raytracing?
The thing about this is that there is actually great tech being developed all the time, but we just don't tend to hear about them all that much because it's happening in the industrial level or otherwise behind the scenes. We have EVs that can power your home during a power outage now. That's pretty innovative tech that is life changing. We are on the brink of some very innovative battery chemistries as well. We've developed new, more efficient types of solar panels and new ways to install them that make them more effective in real-world scenarios.
Down with Tech! Long live Technology!
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Comment on What are we in a golden age of? in ~talk
Akir Link ParentAt this point in time I would like to shame Chamberlain, the company with a monopoly on garage door openers with a proprietary home automation system that does not interoperate with any other system.At this point in time I would like to shame Chamberlain, the company with a monopoly on garage door openers with a proprietary home automation system that does not interoperate with any other system.
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Comment on What are we in a golden age of? in ~talk
Akir Link ParentOSHW in particular! There are still some binary blobs going around but things are pretty good in terms of building real world things that do cool things. Since the ESP8266/32s and Raspberry Pi...OSHW in particular! There are still some binary blobs going around but things are pretty good in terms of building real world things that do cool things. Since the ESP8266/32s and Raspberry Pi Picos started coming out it’s been great to have some go-to modules that make it easy to start projects regardless of your skill level.
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Comment on What are we in a golden age of? in ~talk
Akir Link ParentI really hate the idea of having the illusion of a complete library of music though. You really don’t have everything that you might have through file sharing. Apple Music and Spotify have a lot...I really hate the idea of having the illusion of a complete library of music though. You really don’t have everything that you might have through file sharing. Apple Music and Spotify have a lot of music, but Nintendo keeps the vast majority of its music off and into its own music streaming app, and that doesn’t even include a great deal of historical VGM that wasn’t published by Nintendo and is largely missing on all streaming platforms with questionable legal status.
I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched.
I haven't watched either of them in a very long time, but who doesn't want to watch a wish fulfillment show where you can be a gay man with a pretty wife with whom you have a purely platonic relationship with who magically solves all of your problems? Plus they were made when color TV was pretty new so everything was so pretty and colorful (or weird and gross)!
The Bewitched movie they made a few decades back was complete garbage, though, and the world is a worse place for having made it.