Paul26's recent activity

  1. Comment on What's a product or service that you use but don't want to pay for and why? in ~life

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    Yes, true. Now, if you want to see just thing from the people you follow you have to hit this little arrow at the top and choose that option.

    Yes, true. Now, if you want to see just thing from the people you follow you have to hit this little arrow at the top and choose that option.

  2. Comment on I am angry at Google and wanted to share (rant) in ~tech

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    Glad you got a kick out of it haha! A part of me is starting to seriously consider my next job and what it should be doing to avoid sitting 8 hours in front of a Windows computer using Office...

    Glad you got a kick out of it haha! A part of me is starting to seriously consider my next job and what it should be doing to avoid sitting 8 hours in front of a Windows computer using Office apps. I am starting to feel I have put enough years in this kind of job and next time I'm looking, it will have to be very different, hopefully away from a computer altogether if possible. When I volunteer, I work with people in person, and while it can sometimes be difficult and draining, I gotta say that after 2-3 hours of volunteering I feel more "accomplished" than after a week at my regular job.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on I am angry at Google and wanted to share (rant) in ~tech

    Paul26
    Link
    Similar to your experience, at work, they recently enabled the upgraded (enterprise? "work"?) version of Co-Pilot. Now, at the start of each Word doc is a Co-pilot summary bar. I have not figured...

    Similar to your experience, at work, they recently enabled the upgraded (enterprise? "work"?) version of Co-Pilot. Now, at the start of each Word doc is a Co-pilot summary bar. I have not figured out how to disable, and it may even be forced by global policy. Likewise, all Office apps are now plastered with Co-pilot pop-ups and content. Even the MS Forms website has a large Co-pilot side panel with suggestion on improving my forms. Some of these can be disabled (Excel, at least, had a setting to minimize the number of these annoyances). Even OneNote has a Co-pilot line at the top of a new note offering assistance. This is like Clippy on steroids. It's like Microsoft was upset that people didn't take Clippy seriously in the 90s and they are unleashing their vengeance on us all with Co-pilot. Clippy is laughing from his grave.

    9 votes

  4. Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    Loans are crazy. The way interest works on those is such a waste of money. And I can't even wrap my head around leasing. I guess it's like long-term renting. I prefer to buy something I can afford...

    Loans are crazy. The way interest works on those is such a waste of money. And I can't even wrap my head around leasing. I guess it's like long-term renting. I prefer to buy something I can afford 100% rather than buying something fancy I can only afford by borrowing money. I don't like the loan chain around my neck. But a close relative of mine, for example, had no issue splurging on a luxury European car, leasing it. Guess what happened a few years later when life threw them a curveball? Could no longer afford it. Hundreds in leasing fee, insurance, premium gas just to satisfy some materialistic craving for a luxury vehicle.

    For my next car I'm taking your advice, tho it won't be for a while. I have a Jetta at the moment, and I chose it hoping it lasts a long time. My brother in law moved to my city recently, and he knows a lot more about cars than I do, so he'll be my car friend who I'll take with me. I can do small things on my own (swap winter / summer wheels, minor repairs). I'd like to eventually learn how to change breaks pads and do oil changes.

  5. Comment on What's a product or service that you use but don't want to pay for and why? in ~life

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    Thank you! That looks promising. I’ll give it a shot.

    Thank you! That looks promising. I’ll give it a shot.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    Thank you. This is really useful and I wish I knew this a few months ago. I’ll know for my next car tho and I look forward to saving a bunch of cash at that point. I am one of the general public...

    Thank you. This is really useful and I wish I knew this a few months ago. I’ll know for my next car tho and I look forward to saving a bunch of cash at that point. I am one of the general public who thought I better avoid anything that’s more than 5 years old and over 100k Km.

  7. Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    Without someone who does know a lot about cars, how can a non-car person know when the 2012 Outback is indeed OK or not? The seller will always say "it's great!" What are some easy things to look for?

    Without someone who does know a lot about cars, how can a non-car person know when the 2012 Outback is indeed OK or not? The seller will always say "it's great!" What are some easy things to look for?

  8. Comment on What's a product or service that you use but don't want to pay for and why? in ~life

    Paul26
    Link
    Reddit Premium. I moved to Tildes because I hate the amount of ads on Reddit. The content quality has also gone down, but the ads are what really annoyed me. I don't want to pay premium for that....

    Reddit Premium. I moved to Tildes because I hate the amount of ads on Reddit. The content quality has also gone down, but the ads are what really annoyed me. I don't want to pay premium for that. I'd rather donate to Tildes and save my time and energy by not browsing Reddit anymore.

    9 votes

  9. Comment on What's a product or service that you use but don't want to pay for and why? in ~life

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    I'm debating going this way with music. The only thing keeping me streaming is that I have 5 family members leeching my Apple plan, and Apple music offers lossless at no additional fee, which has...

    I'm debating going this way with music. The only thing keeping me streaming is that I have 5 family members leeching my Apple plan, and Apple music offers lossless at no additional fee, which has been nice. But I do buy CDs of the albums I really love (and vinyl too sometimes), and rip them to a media player. I don't think I'd miss Apple Music and I'd feel relieved to have fewer ties to the large tech companies. I find a lot of great music via good old FM radio which, in my area, has 3 stations that have no ads and play a large variety of musical genres. I do also have a NAS, and I am under-utilizing it for sure. It would replace iCloud in this scenario.

  10. Comment on What's a product or service that you use but don't want to pay for and why? in ~life

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    YouTube is the ONE thing I wish had a really good alternative. As it stands, like you, I will not support them with a subscription, and I don't like ads, so basically, I avoid YouTube. I don't...

    YouTube is the ONE thing I wish had a really good alternative. As it stands, like you, I will not support them with a subscription, and I don't like ads, so basically, I avoid YouTube. I don't feel like I'm missing much. Is there a ton of good content? Yes. Does my life move on happily without it, also yes.

    2 votes

  11. Comment on What's a product or service that you use but don't want to pay for and why? in ~life

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    I got off Instagram, FB, and more several years ago. A couple months ago I decided to try Instagram again as a lot of close friends and family use it regularly and they live far. Thought it may be...

    I got off Instagram, FB, and more several years ago. A couple months ago I decided to try Instagram again as a lot of close friends and family use it regularly and they live far. Thought it may be nice to see what they post. It's exactly what you describe for FB. The site is horrible. Bare minimum. On the computer is "ok"-ish, on Mobile it's a real nightmare. I have no doubt they do it on purpose, obviously, because the app will get way more permissions to gobble up your data, listen to you through your mic, etc. The site is more limited to the browser choice, VPN, etc. which will block it from getting your data.

    Side note, after remembering what Instagram is all about, I ended up deleting the app, keeping the account, and only checking it occasionally on the computer. Turns out I basically miss out of 90% of things because everyone posts stories rather than regular (permanent) posts, so unless I check every day, I will not see what I was hoping to see. Might as well not bother at all.

    4 votes

  12. Comment on The Oatmeal: A cartoonist's review of AI art in ~comics

    Paul26
    Link
    Wow, lots of in-depth arguments here. Mine will seem silly in comparison. I don't even think if images that come out of AI as art at all. I see it as a collection of pixels assembled by a very...

    Wow, lots of in-depth arguments here. Mine will seem silly in comparison. I don't even think if images that come out of AI as art at all. I see it as a collection of pixels assembled by a very advanced computer program. It can look cool, I may even like the output sometimes, but I do not perceive it the way I do something in galley. When I see a photograph of a landscape I like to put myself in the photographer's shoes and think "what did they think and feel when they took this photo? What did they find beautiful and worth capturing with their camera?" When I look at an AI image of a similar landscape, all I can think of is "oh, I guess the person was able to write a few sentences into an AI software". It's lacking the depth. If you only take images at face value like "Is this a pretty picture?" then I guess you won't care how it was created.
    TLDR; art != pixels

    4 votes

  13. Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    Forgot about Ayreon! Thanks, that was a nice trip down memory lane. Haven’t listened in over 10 years.

    Forgot about Ayreon! Thanks, that was a nice trip down memory lane. Haven’t listened in over 10 years.

  14. Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music

  15. Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music

    Paul26
    Link
    I’m finding myself listening to more classical music. Apple has a dedicated Classical app, separate from the Music app. I’ve been giving it a shot. Was listening to the Baroque station. Sometimes...

    I’m finding myself listening to more classical music. Apple has a dedicated Classical app, separate from the Music app. I’ve been giving it a shot. Was listening to the Baroque station. Sometimes it’s nice not to have any lyrics and just enjoy the melody.

    In general, I find myself slowly shifting away from some old favorites (heavy metal) and more into more calming music. I love metal and I don’t think I’ll ever stop listening to it, but I’m more picky as to when I do.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health

    Paul26
    Link
    Was a bad week for me. Due to various “excuses” I only worked out one day. Annoyed with myself, but motivated to exercise hard this coming week. No skipping any days. On a better note, been...

    Was a bad week for me. Due to various “excuses” I only worked out one day. Annoyed with myself, but motivated to exercise hard this coming week. No skipping any days.

    On a better note, been meaning to buy a coupe of kettlebell weights and finally did so. I got 15, 25, and 50. I have a decent set of dumbbells so this was something of a nice to have more than a “need”, but it’s making me excited for this week’s workouts where I’ll take advantage of the new weights to add a bit of variation where a kettlebell may work better than a dumbbell.

    2 votes

  17. Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    That’s awesome. I hope to one day be able to run that. I can do about 3 km. Anything past that I feel like my lungs are gonna explode.

    That’s awesome. I hope to one day be able to run that. I can do about 3 km. Anything past that I feel like my lungs are gonna explode.

    2 votes

  18. Comment on Looking for music solutions for my car; can anyone recommend a digital audio player? in ~transport

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    Another vote for the HiFi Walker. Pretty solid device and good price. In my opinion good value. You can definitely find cheaper ones and way more expensive ones, but for OP’s use case I think it’s...

    Another vote for the HiFi Walker. Pretty solid device and good price. In my opinion good value. You can definitely find cheaper ones and way more expensive ones, but for OP’s use case I think it’s a good one. I like that it has physical controls.

    1 vote

  19. Comment on Introducing Kagi News in ~tech

    Paul26
    Link
    First impression is really good. To me it feels like a cleaner, prettier version of Ground News which I have used for a while.

    First impression is really good. To me it feels like a cleaner, prettier version of Ground News which I have used for a while.

    1 vote

  20. Comment on What are some of your personal misheard lyrics? in ~music

    Paul26
    Link Parent
    I’ve heard this before, but clearly not enough times or simply didn’t pay enough attention. You’re right! It’s right there! Sort of on the same note, the songs from the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters...

    I’ve heard this before, but clearly not enough times or simply didn’t pay enough attention. You’re right! It’s right there!

    Sort of on the same note, the songs from the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters have a lot of Korean mixed in so I’m not sure if I’m failing to catch the English or it’s in fact Korean (which I don’t speak at all). I looked them up to avoid another loser situation haha

    1 vote