Akir's recent activity
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Comment on Valve raises Steam Deck OLED prices by up to $300 in ~games
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Comment on An open letter to the University of California Regents requesting that standardized testing be re-introduced into admissions, >200 UC Professors signatures in ~humanities
Akir Link ParentWhen I was in high school I was part of a program called Upward Bound which not only paid for my SAT, but also offered me tutoring classes to make sure I succeeded. I got a fairly good score to my...When I was in high school I was part of a program called Upward Bound which not only paid for my SAT, but also offered me tutoring classes to make sure I succeeded. I got a fairly good score to my memory. Unfortunately I never went to university because of family issues.
That program is part a larger program called TRIO which has been under constant threats. The White House’s proposed 2026 budget removed all funding for it, but thankfully congress is slightly less
idioticregressive and allocated them some funds. Still, the program is significantly scaled back from when I was a student. -
Comment on An open letter to the University of California Regents requesting that standardized testing be re-introduced into admissions, >200 UC Professors signatures in ~humanities
Akir Link ParentThe problem is that the US government does not control education, for the most part. State and local governments do. California is fairly unique because it runs two separate college systems, UC...The problem is that the US government does not control education, for the most part. State and local governments do. California is fairly unique because it runs two separate college systems, UC and CSU. As well as CCC which organizes community colleges and is actually the country’s largest higher ed system.
While the fed does exert some control the current administration is castrating the Department of Education in an effort to completely remove it.
To put things simply and as calmly as possible, many of the governments involved are not run by reasonable or rational people and are in many cases filled with people who want to reduce and restrict access to education as well as the quality of what is offered. This is an especially shitty time to be a young person in this country.
Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that because government is all over the place, the College Board is actually performing a very needed service of ensuring that students are being objectively measured by standards that are less likely to be influenced by local politics. I think that this could be considered to be a bad thing in progressive states like California or New York, but could be a great boon to poor and/or regressive states like Wyoming or Arkansas.
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Comment on Ferrari unveils its first all-electric car, the four-door Luce in ~transport
Akir Link ParentThe original roadster literally had a body that was designed and manufactured by Lotus. It was literally the selling point of the entire company - a car, but electric.The original roadster literally had a body that was designed and manufactured by Lotus. It was literally the selling point of the entire company - a car, but electric.
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Comment on Announcing web serial support in Firefox 151 in ~comp
Akir Link ParentMost other major browsers are essentially reskinned Chrome. Google is constantly spearheading APIs that are unpopular with browser vendors and basically uses their power and influence to force...Most other major browsers are essentially reskinned Chrome. Google is constantly spearheading APIs that are unpopular with browser vendors and basically uses their power and influence to force them to be standards. Many of these APIs are not implemented by Firefox because they break through the sandbox and make the browser less secure.
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Comment on Is there a "Razor" for the idea that "If a Billionaire is against it, I'm for it?" in ~finance
Akir Link ParentI’ll believe it when I see it. In the meanwhile one “good billionaire” doesn’t invalidate the wealth (heh) of evil billionaires. But I don’t consider Gates to be good nor do I accept the premise...I’ll believe it when I see it.
In the meanwhile one “good billionaire” doesn’t invalidate the wealth (heh) of evil billionaires. But I don’t consider Gates to be good nor do I accept the premise that such a thing exists.
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Comment on Why Japanese companies do so many different things in ~finance
Akir Link ParentI feel like you might have picked a bad example with Sony's TV business, because both Samsung and LG are far from specialized companies. LG makes toothpaste and Samsung makes tanks. TCL might...I feel like you might have picked a bad example with Sony's TV business, because both Samsung and LG are far from specialized companies. LG makes toothpaste and Samsung makes tanks. TCL might actually be the only one close to being specialist company but honestly that might just be my ignorance talking.
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Comment on Is there a "Razor" for the idea that "If a Billionaire is against it, I'm for it?" in ~finance
Akir Link ParentI'll also add that his Giving Pledge does not actually promise giving away all of their money when they die, and even with that the majority of people who sign it do not actually meet that halfway...I'll also add that his Giving Pledge does not actually promise giving away all of their money when they die, and even with that the majority of people who sign it do not actually meet that halfway point which it actually promise. Quoting Wikipedia:
According to a 2025 analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies, the 32 original U.S. pledgers who remain billionaires have collectively become about 166 percent wealthier since signing on in 2010. According to the study, just 8 of 22 pledgers who had since died actually gave away enough to meet the "half of wealth" pledge by the time of their death.
There's also been a number of high profile people withdrawing from the agreement, including Warren Buffet.
Eat the rich, people, lest the rich eat you.
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Comment on Maybe just eat the bean goo in ~food
Akir Link ParentIt’s nearly any bean, but chickpeas are often preferred because of the color and neutral taste.It’s nearly any bean, but chickpeas are often preferred because of the color and neutral taste.
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Comment on Colorado approves balcony solar, requires utilities to accept meter collars in ~enviro
Akir Link ParentIIRC it just passed the senate and still has to go through the assembly and governor. That being said I’m pretty confident it will go through without much resistance.IIRC it just passed the senate and still has to go through the assembly and governor. That being said I’m pretty confident it will go through without much resistance.
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Comment on Maybe just eat the bean goo in ~food
Akir Link ParentOh, it's aquafaba. Most Vegans know about this because aquafaba is a really common egg replacement in baking. Honestly I'm kind of convinced that most people aren't eating beans because they just...Oh, it's aquafaba.
Most Vegans know about this because aquafaba is a really common egg replacement in baking.
Honestly I'm kind of convinced that most people aren't eating beans because they just don't know what to do with them or how to cook them. I hated beans until I had a nice hispanic coworker to tell me that the secret to making good mexican style beans is to stir and break them apart to make the "gravy".
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
Akir LinkI met a lot of people. Sometime within the last month I went on a cruise and there were a ton of gay people in it, and it made me and the husband realize that we really desperately need more gay...I met a lot of people.
Sometime within the last month I went on a cruise and there were a ton of gay people in it, and it made me and the husband realize that we really desperately need more gay friends. For whatever reason pretty much all of my husband’s friends are lesbians, and on top of that all of my friends were my husband’s friends. They’re also kind of flakes so we realized we were both friend-lonely.
We are both big gay bears so we thought we would try to meet people in bear events happening regularly in our area but it turns out that pretty much everyone in these all know eachother and split off into cliques and we have no social finesse to join them. We’ve instead been on the apps and things have been going really well.
It’s such a huge change for me as well. It made things difficult to concentrate when it came to my study day yesterday and it takes up a lot of my time. But I am so happy these days, and so is my husband. I’ve been wanting to be more social for years now and it’s so good that I’ve finally been able to break out of my shell.
There’s actually a lot more I could say about it but I don’t think I could say it to a public forum even pseudonomously.
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Comment on The Gen Alpha melody in ~music
Akir Link ParentAs human beings they both can and do have their own opinions and preferences.As human beings they both can and do have their own opinions and preferences.
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Comment on Waymo pauses Atlanta service as its robotaxis keep driving into floods in ~transport
Akir Link ParentSomething can be a miracle of engineering as well! I look forward to a day when we don’t have absurd amounts of private cars with human drivers in them.Something can be a miracle of engineering as well!
I look forward to a day when we don’t have absurd amounts of private cars with human drivers in them.
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Comment on Waymo pauses Atlanta service as its robotaxis keep driving into floods in ~transport
Akir Link ParentIf you would describe water to an alien who has never seen it, would they be able to identify it? It’s extremely difficult to identify by computers. Some types of sensors might perceive floodwater...If you would describe water to an alien who has never seen it, would they be able to identify it? It’s extremely difficult to identify by computers. Some types of sensors might perceive floodwater as solid ground.
It’s this kind of thing which is the reason why I was against the concept of building out self driving cars that work like this instead of on closed purpose-made roads. Computers are really bad at identifying hazards and making complex decisions. It’s practically a miracle that Waymo has a self driving platform that operates as good as it does right now.
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Comment on Tesla’s newest electric vehicle could jolt the trucking industry in ~transport
Akir Link ParentThere are a number of misconceptions in your response. For one, gas burners are actually dramatically less efficient than a regular electric resistance range. A quick search says that electric is...There are a number of misconceptions in your response. For one, gas burners are actually dramatically less efficient than a regular electric resistance range. A quick search says that electric is 70-75% efficient compared to 30-40 with gas.
You’re getting a bit confused about efficiency of motors versus the efficiency of the car. EVs - including PHEVs (hybrids) - have regenerative breaking and that’s what makes them ideal for start and stop. But I’m just talking about go force - X KW/h will give you Y force that makes you go forward. Internal combustion is very inefficient and most engines peak at around 40% efficiency. That is made worse because that’s only at a specific RPM, which the engine is rarely ever at. They also have losses from idling. Electric motors don’t waste any energy to idle and they are 80-90% efficient.
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Comment on Tesla’s newest electric vehicle could jolt the trucking industry in ~transport
Akir Link ParentEven without renewables in the mix, most power plants are not going to emit as many greenhouses per KW/h. Beyond that electric motors are way more efficient than internal combustion. Replacing all...Even without renewables in the mix, most power plants are not going to emit as many greenhouses per KW/h. Beyond that electric motors are way more efficient than internal combustion. Replacing all diesel trucks with electric may not remove all greenhouse gasses immediately but it will still be a massive reduction. In the meanwhile major garbage handling companies like Republic Services are replacing their garbage truck fleets with electric models!
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Comment on ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ reviews mixed: “Boring and lifeless” vs. “best Star Wars in years” in ~movies
Akir Link ParentThat Florida move was a real dick thing to do. My husband works as part of a program in Disneyland that is run from Florida. What that means in concrete terms is that the people who actually know...That Florida move was a real dick thing to do.
My husband works as part of a program in Disneyland that is run from Florida. What that means in concrete terms is that the people who actually know what the goals of the program are and what the workers should be doing and producing are in Florida. So instead everyone actually running that program are overseen by retail managers who don’t really know anything about it, and if there’s a problem with quality or any confusion about what they should be doing it basically just gets done to best guesses.
Moving everything to Florida was basically a huge middle finger to everyone who works in Disneyland or even just cares about them. The experience of going to the park just keeps getting worse and worse.
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Comment on Tesla’s newest electric vehicle could jolt the trucking industry in ~transport
Akir Link ParentKeep in mind that the Model 3 was originally named the Model E….Keep in mind that the Model 3 was originally named the Model E….
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Comment on What has changed as you've gotten older? in ~talk
Akir Link ParentDo I need a separate invitation to that? If so, I am insulted I have yet to receive one!Do I need a separate invitation to that? If so, I am insulted I have yet to receive one!
Honestly, if anyone isn't at least a little bit deranged from the current state of the world, I just assume they've been deranged in some other more serious way.
There's a lot of frustration, to put things extremely lightly.