ackables's recent activity
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Comment on Planet Money buys a $137 diamond from Alibaba in ~finance
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Comment on When is pet insurance worth it? in ~life.pets
ackables (edited )LinkI think it’s worth it. My girlfriend and I have pet insurance for our dog. It’s $40/month, but it saved us when he got heartworm. $2500 covered out of the $4000 his treatment cost. You may never...I think it’s worth it. My girlfriend and I have pet insurance for our dog. It’s $40/month, but it saved us when he got heartworm. $2500 covered out of the $4000 his treatment cost.
You may never need to use the insurance, but I’ve noticed that every dog or cat I’ve ever had has needed at least one expensive medical treatment during their lifetime. If you are at a place in your life where you can drop $4000 without a problem, you don’t need it. If your face turns white thinking about a $4000 emergency, you should get it.
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Comment on What keeps you up at night? in ~talk
ackables Link ParentThat’s one thing that sucks about apartments in the US. They are zoned as commercial properties a lot of the time, so they end up being built in areas that have more noise and traffic than single...That’s one thing that sucks about apartments in the US. They are zoned as commercial properties a lot of the time, so they end up being built in areas that have more noise and traffic than single family homes.
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Comment on What keeps you up at night? in ~talk
ackables Link ParentI feel the same way. It’s hard to know if I’m overreacting about how bad I think the country could get. I don’t run around cursing Trump across the internet, but I do discuss politics. Will it...I feel the same way. It’s hard to know if I’m overreacting about how bad I think the country could get. I don’t run around cursing Trump across the internet, but I do discuss politics. Will it come back to bite me someday?
I also feel very connected to the country and wouldn’t ever want to leave, but will the day come where I don’t have any choice? I get homesick after a week when I travel internationally. Even if the country is lovely, I end up missing the familiar food, sights, and sounds of home. The US has always had its faults, but it’s a society that I at least know how to succeed in.
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Comment on Virtual Game Card – Nintendo Direct 3.27.2025 in ~games
ackables LinkDon't switches have that spot where you can load Amiibos using NFC? Seems like having more of a "tap your consoles together" system would have been less confusing than a bunch of menus with...Don't switches have that spot where you can load Amiibos using NFC? Seems like having more of a "tap your consoles together" system would have been less confusing than a bunch of menus with certain restrictions on how you can share digital games. It would also maintain the properties of physical game sharing where you have to meet with someone in person to share a game.
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Comment on Things progressives get wrong in ~society
ackables LinkI think a lot of the issues we face with bridging the political divide is due to the decrease in in-person social interaction and the move from social media connecting you to your friends to...I think a lot of the issues we face with bridging the political divide is due to the decrease in in-person social interaction and the move from social media connecting you to your friends to connecting you with influencers.
Back in the early 2010s, I was subject to the same gamergate and anti-feminism content that lots of young guys were exposed to. I truly bought into it and nothing a random person on the internet said was going to change my point of view. My way out was connecting with some girls in school over a shared music taste. They were part of the feminism club and gay straight alliance in school and invited me into their circle. Having real people that I considered friends treat me with kindness and bring me into spaces where I could hear real people share their experiences showed me that what I heard online was wrong. If they had attacked me for having the “wrong” views and shunned me, I would likely be in the same place I was back then.
Online spaces are good for indoctrination, but it’s first mover’s advantage on the internet. If you can’t get in a 7 year old’s YouTube feed, you aren’t going to win. Offline interaction and experiences are the only way to expand someone’s understanding of others’ experiences.
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Comment on Ploopy Classic 2 open source trackball in ~tech
ackables LinkI had a ploopy a while back and wasn’t very satisfied with it. I was hoping for a Bluetooth model to come out at some point because my use case for trackballs is for situations where there is...I had a ploopy a while back and wasn’t very satisfied with it. I was hoping for a Bluetooth model to come out at some point because my use case for trackballs is for situations where there is limited desk space or during travel. They are generally the best for the trackball market, but I found that a $30 Bluetooth thumbball from Amazon fit my needs better.
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Comment on If you had to buy a car today, what would you buy? in ~transport
ackables Link ParentYeah maybe Nissan targets the lease market and cuts cost around that. I do know they can be very nice when they are new. But I feel like EVs are still in more of a lease than buy territory right...Yeah maybe Nissan targets the lease market and cuts cost around that. I do know they can be very nice when they are new. But I feel like EVs are still in more of a lease than buy territory right now as they get so much better with each generation.
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Comment on If you had to buy a car today, what would you buy? in ~transport
ackables Link ParentIs it at all similar to the Nissan Leaf? I had a Leaf for a while and the electric powertrain was rock solid. The rest of the car was a different story though. I had it for a year and in that...Is it at all similar to the Nissan Leaf? I had a Leaf for a while and the electric powertrain was rock solid. The rest of the car was a different story though.
I had it for a year and in that time, the driver's side power door lock stopped working when it was hot outside and the AC condensation hose clogged and caused the passenger footwell to flood. Apparently the power door lock issue is a known issue with Nissan door locks. I don't know if the AC condensation hose issue is a common Nissan problem, but I've never had an AC condensation hose clog on any other vehicle or known anyone else that had that issue with their cars.
This was not some 8 year old high milage car either. I bought it when it was 4 years old and had 40k miles on it. I would definitely not buy a Nissan again after experiencing the quality of what they have in their parts bin.
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Comment on Are you tech-savvy enough? in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI tried Linux a year ago with an out of the box PopOS install and I tried again recently with a very customized Debian install. It did take me about 8 hours to get everything configured properly,...I tried Linux a year ago with an out of the box PopOS install and I tried again recently with a very customized Debian install. It did take me about 8 hours to get everything configured properly, but software compatibility issues and day to day tinkering is almost nonexistent.
I also run macOS for my productivity stuff for the most part because I like the ecosystem and find that terminal gives me an easy way to go behind the locked down nature of Apples GUI. I wouldn't use Linux for my main productivity machine, but I find it's much better than Windows for the "fun" computer.
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Comment on Are you tech-savvy enough? in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI'm on debian for my gaming PC and I haven't had any driver issues besides the initial installation. It did take me 5 hours to figure out how to get the correct Nvidia drivers installed and...I'm on debian for my gaming PC and I haven't had any driver issues besides the initial installation. It did take me 5 hours to figure out how to get the correct Nvidia drivers installed and configure them properly so my resolution was correct, but I don't think about them anymore.
Steam's Proton software is also a game changer for gaming on Linux. A year ago, I had to install various compatibility layers to make various games run. Even then, anticheat software just made many games unplayable on Linux. Now, I just run my games through Steam and they work. No performance issues or lag compared to my Windows performance and no setup on my end.
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Comment on Researchers are on a tight deadline to save San Francisco Bay's only marine lab before San Francisco State University shuts it down in ~science
ackables LinkI’m a student at SFSU and things are dire over here. Enrollment is down, state funding is being cut, and federal funding may be getting cut soon. Class availability is down and older buildings on...I’m a student at SFSU and things are dire over here. Enrollment is down, state funding is being cut, and federal funding may be getting cut soon. Class availability is down and older buildings on the main campus are becoming dilapidated.
I’m sympathetic to the university president because she’s just the captain of a sinking ship. The head of the CSU system mandated that all CSUs expand their student capacity, but now is cutting financial support to maintain these larger campuses. The university president seems to have her hands tied as she has been sending out emails urging students to attend public CSU meetings to demand more funding for the school.
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Comment on The rise of "dumbphones" in ~tech
ackables Link ParentOne tip for you to make your iPhone even less appealing is to turn your app icons grey. The newer iOS versions let you customize your app icons by applying a color tint and grey is possible to...One tip for you to make your iPhone even less appealing is to turn your app icons grey. The newer iOS versions let you customize your app icons by applying a color tint and grey is possible to make. App icons have very distinct and vibrant designs that subconsciously draw your eyes to them to try and get you to click on them. Taking away the color makes opening an app much more deliberate. I’ve also taken most apps off the home screen to further make opening an app a deliberate choice instead of a muscle memory tap.
Also the new “Reduce Interruptions” focus mode may or may not be available to you since it may use AI features that older iPhones don’t have, but it’s a game changer. It mutes 99% of notifications, but if you get a phone call or someone texts you with something AI think may be time sensitive, it will show the notification. I already check my phone about once an hour, so I’ll see any texts then, but I get to choose when I think about my phone instead of my phone trying to grab my attention.
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Comment on If you had to buy a car today, what would you buy? in ~transport
ackables LinkHonestly anything that is used, in good condition, and as basic as possible while still meeting my needs. I’ve fallen into the trap of dreaming about various features and adding one more option...Honestly anything that is used, in good condition, and as basic as possible while still meeting my needs. I’ve fallen into the trap of dreaming about various features and adding one more option on. Most of the time, you will not notice any specific feature a car has. As long as it is reliable and does everything you need your vehicle to do, you will be just as happy.
Costs balloon quickly and maybe you are someone who is fortunate enough that $300 a month isn’t a big deal, but if you have to sacrifice your savings or do less things that you like to do to support a car purchase, the trade off is not worth it.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 17 in ~society
ackables Link ParentSection 230 says Section 230(c)(2) further provides "Good Samaritan" protection from civil liability for operators of interactive computer services in the voluntary good faith removal or...Section 230 says
“No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”
Section 230(c)(2) further provides "Good Samaritan" protection from civil liability for operators of interactive computer services in the voluntary good faith removal or moderation of third-party material the operator
”considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected.”
Section 230 shouldn’t be scrapped, but it should be modified. Do social media algorithms “curating” content for you to consume mean that the content is “information provided by another information content provider”, or does the act of either pushing this information into a user’s feed or keeping it from entering a user’s feed mean the website is taking a stream of content and selectively promoting what aligns with the company’s values? How much intervention is necessary before content someone else posts can be considered the speech of the platform owner?
If someone leaves a random hateful comment on Tildes, it may or may not be removed, and that’s ok. The moderators can’t catch every random hateful comment posted, so some inevitably fall through the cracks. The hateful comment still being up doesn’t mean that deimos agrees with the message. If deimos decides that he wants Tildes users to see the hateful comment and pins it to the top of the feeds of 50% of registered users, is that still just the speech of the poster of the hateful comment, or is the speech of deimos? Should deimos be liable for the content of that comment? Should Tildes be liable for the content of that comment?
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
ackables Link ParentThe difficulty comes from the challenge levels. The base game is not very challenging, but you have to get to level 80 on the base mode before challenges are unlocked. It gets very difficult once...The difficulty comes from the challenge levels. The base game is not very challenging, but you have to get to level 80 on the base mode before challenges are unlocked. It gets very difficult once you start the challenges.
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Comment on You can join thousands telling US President Donald Trump what they think of his anti-trans passport policies. Here’s how. in ~lgbt
ackables LinkI think these passport rules are idiotic and make things harder for border entry agents regardless of the distress it can cause people who are forced to identify as the wrong gender on their...I think these passport rules are idiotic and make things harder for border entry agents regardless of the distress it can cause people who are forced to identify as the wrong gender on their documents.
It’s obviously distressing to have to put a gender you don’t identify with on your passport, but isn’t it more important to have a passport available in case things turn south?
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
ackables LinkNubby’s Number Factory. It’s a pachinko roguelike game with 90s flash game aesthetics. The mechanics are simple, but the item synergies can get pretty complex. It’s $5, so no excuse to not start...Nubby’s Number Factory. It’s a pachinko roguelike game with 90s flash game aesthetics. The mechanics are simple, but the item synergies can get pretty complex.
It’s $5, so no excuse to not start your job at the number factory.
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Comment on Proton CEO tweets support for Donald Trump's Department of Justice pick and the US Republican Party in ~society
ackables Link ParentI learned about the Kagi/Yandex integration from this comment and I wanted to comment on this as a Kagi user. Kagi providing any money to a company linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is...I learned about the Kagi/Yandex integration from this comment and I wanted to comment on this as a Kagi user.
Kagi providing any money to a company linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is definitely bad, but you have to compare it to the alternative: Losing access to the Russian internet. The internet should allow the free exchange of ideas across the world and give anyone access to the perspectives and experiences of people in places they can’t travel to. If you cut off a portion of the internet from search results, you return us back to the past where only a privileged class had access to certain information. The privileged class, with access to more information than the masses, could use it to manipulate people into believing whatever they felt would help them reach their goals. The free flow of information helps create a worldwide human solidarity that prevents Machiavellian manipulation by the privileged class.
Algorithmic social media has taken free access to information away from the masses and handed that back to a small number of powerful individuals. Lots of social media has even deindexed themselves from search engines, so the only way to view and sort their content is with their algorithms.
Providing monetary support to companies directly linked to unjust conflict is bad, but you have to balance that with the cost of giving greater control over the flow of information across the internet to a handful of people who may not have our best interests in mind.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump invokes the Alien Enemies Act for the first time against Venezuelan criminal organization in ~society
ackables Link ParentSeems like they are finding a “loophole” to send people to countries where the US constitution doesn’t apply to them. I don’t like the road we are going down with this.Seems like they are finding a “loophole” to send people to countries where the US constitution doesn’t apply to them. I don’t like the road we are going down with this.
I went with a lab grown diamond because it was $300 vs $3600 for a natural diamond. I would have wanted a natural diamond for the history behind it, but history is not worth a 10x markup.