Akir's recent activity
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
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Comment on Nintendo adding Virtual Boy to Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, with Virtual Boy replica accessory to play games in 3D in ~games
Akir Link ParentI'm getting increasingly annoyed that Nintendo has replaced the a la carte approach to their old games with subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online. I have zero interest in paying for online...I'm getting increasingly annoyed that Nintendo has replaced the a la carte approach to their old games with subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online. I have zero interest in paying for online multiplayer, so if I were to subscribe to NSO it would be entirely for the Virtual Console. But why would I pay a subscription for games - single-player games, especially? And on top of that they have the gall to charge more than double for more than half of the systems, which tend to be the most desirable ones for me. And this is yet another system they are putting behind that extra-high paywall. But you have to pay even more to play them the way they're actually meant to be played!
I haven't played through the VB library personally, but from what I understand from people who have, the games are pretty bad overall. So.... what?
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Comment on question about breathing while exercising in ~health
Akir LinkCardio health and strength are two very different things. It's completely possible that you just need to train your cardiovascular system to better manage air. You might have seen "running masks"...Cardio health and strength are two very different things. It's completely possible that you just need to train your cardiovascular system to better manage air. You might have seen "running masks" out there which exist to restrict oxygen intake, with the idea being that a person will learn how to train themselves how to use less oxygen more efficiently. Maybe for now focus on running on flat terrain, a treadmill, elliptical, or rowing machine to improve your cardio health. It's going to be a long road, though.
It could also be more specific; that your body just hasn't yet learned how to breathe right under heavy exertion. It sounds weird, but it's a real thing. There are some breathing exercises you can look up, like the one @Prodiggles mentioned, but it's also one of those things that in theory you can just work through it for a while until your body naturally figures out something that works for you.
Another possibility is that you might have a health issue impacting your breathing. It could be asthma, for instance. If you're worried about that, you might want to send a message to your doctor to see how to test for those potential issues.
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Comment on My guess and opinion on the common blockers to Linux adoption in ~tech
Akir LinkThere's one very simple reason why everyone uses Windows: everyone uses Windows. Windows has social cachet. If someone has problems with Windows, they feel as if they can just ask their friends...There's one very simple reason why everyone uses Windows: everyone uses Windows.
Windows has social cachet. If someone has problems with Windows, they feel as if they can just ask their friends and coworkers. Windows is also "free"; there's zero friction to choose to keep running Windows, and whatever downsides there may be are 99% of the time going to be less than the downsides that they'll have to deal with to switch to even the smoothest, easiest alternative. The social aspect is the issue that almost all of the other issues come from, most notably "my game / application doesn't work on that system".
People here have an innate love of computers; they know how to use their operating system because they care. Most people either do not care, or they actively hate that they have to use them. For the latter, it doesn't really matter if you tell them that they don't have to put up with $antifeature if they switch to $alt_os because the switch is just going to put the things they hate about computers right in the forefront. For the majority of people, Windows is just "The enemy they know".
The past year has had the channel Linus Tech Tips doing a lot of "swap challenges" where users were forced to switch to different computing platforms than they're used to across desktop, laptops, and phones. In some cases, people actually did switch. But I think it's important to realize that of those people who did switch, they came from a small pool of people who were even willing to try in the first place.
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Comment on Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 getting rerelease on Nintendo Switch, bundle for $70 or standalone for $40 each in ~games
Akir Link ParentI feel this is a somewhat disingenuous arguement to make. Those “hundreds of people” were paid for their time at the time of the game’s development. Some of their artists might have even got...I feel this is a somewhat disingenuous arguement to make. Those “hundreds of people” were paid for their time at the time of the game’s development. Some of their artists might have even got residual payments in the time since. This also wasn’t a small indie drop in the ocean, it was a major release by one of the largest companies in the world who made well over its development costs. Furthermore Nintendo famously refrains from lowering their prices until years have passed, and resale values stay high long after release.
Granted, this is a new version with many improvements applied, so many people will need to have been paid for their work on this port. Whether $40 is a fair price for that is debatable. Given that this is practically guaranteed to sell well, I’m leaning towards it being too expensive. But this is coming from someone who doesn’t have the expendable income to afford it and doesn’t have enough time to play it even if I could.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Akir LinkI've been watching a lot of anime but don't have much to say about it. But the more surprising thing is that I'm reading manga right now. Kodansha has just published their first English language...I've been watching a lot of anime but don't have much to say about it. But the more surprising thing is that I'm reading manga right now.
Kodansha has just published their first English language version of Young Magazine, their Seinen periodical, as a special "45th anniversary" edition. It was aparantly done in cooperation with Kinokuniya USA, and I got it for free by the chance of me visiting one with my husband yesterday.
The thing is huge. It's over 1000 pages and it's about as tall and wide as a US magazine usually is. It's so thick because it has twenty different manga represented. The inside back cover contains a QR code where you can vote for the manga that will continue publication. If you are lucky enough to have a Kinokuniya near you, you should go pick one up. If not, you can still read it for free through Kodansha's USA online store, though I don't know if you can get it outside of the US.
In one way this kind of feels like Kodansha throwing us a bone to froth up their sales, but on the other hand I'm actually really excited simply because it looks like we're finally getting periodical manga again! I haven't seen that be a thing since Viz stopped publishing Shonen Jump years ago. I hope I can get them to mail directly to me; there's a Kinokuniya not too far from me but if they don't get sent to me I feel I will miss out on getting them, much like I dropped off on comic books ages ago.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
Akir LinkAs a side note, why does this topic get posted on Friday mornings? The things that people will want to talk about usually happen on weekends, days after this topic shows up.As a side note, why does this topic get posted on Friday mornings? The things that people will want to talk about usually happen on weekends, days after this topic shows up.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
Akir LinkI did so much this week! I've been having a blast. Last weekend went to Universal Studios Hollywood Hollywood Horror Night for the first time. It was a blast! The haunted mazes were crazy fun to...I did so much this week! I've been having a blast.
Last weekend went to Universal Studios Hollywood Hollywood Horror Night for the first time. It was a blast! The haunted mazes were crazy fun to go through and they had so much effort put into them. The Five Nights at Freddy's seemed to have an actual animatronic Freddy Fazbear at the opening; the other characters further in were puppets but it was really, really hard to tell they were. The Poltregeist one had a giant terrifying floating skull that comes out of nowhere. And several of them use water effects to simulate blood spatter and have threads coming out of the ceiling that feel absolutely terrifying. Best of all, I went in a group with disabled people so I got to skip most of the lines. I actually found out that we managed to get in for the opening weekend somehow. The only downer was the weather; it wasn't hot but the humidity was crazy so I was covered with sweat the whole time.
Not too long ago we got free tickets to go to Pride Night at Disneyland. It's the same kind of concept; the park closes somewhat early and there are events and food and decorations put up, and it going to Haloween Horror Nights honestly pissed me off about what Disney is doing. Disney's late night events are twice as expensive while offering probably half of the effort and expenditure of Universal's offerings.
Anyways, yesterday I took some time off of work because I had the opportunity to do a playtest for a major game publisher which was paying more than the classes I would have been teaching. That was fun in and of itself, but I spent the rest of the day on the town with my husband. We went to the Lucky Tiki bar in West Hollywood and then went to the nearby Improv to see Nicole Byer perform her comedy. She was fantastic!
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Comment on Kaiser says no limits on COVID vaccine for its patients in ~health
Akir LinkI hope this isn’t just the Northern California service area. I’m actually friends with someone who works in Kaiser Southern California’s admin and she’s been super pissed because she’s...I hope this isn’t just the Northern California service area. I’m actually friends with someone who works in Kaiser Southern California’s admin and she’s been super pissed because she’s immunocompromised and Kaiser has really been shuffling her feet in regards to the vaccine rollout; because of the dangerous idiot in charge of the government health agencies she found it very pressing to get vaxed and ended up paying for a third party injection because she couldn’t wait.
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Comment on Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens? in ~finance
Akir Link ParentI have never seen a convenience store here in Southern California even in the heavily Asian neighborhoods that I live in and visit. I’ve only seen their grocery stores. Have they brought their...I have never seen a convenience store here in Southern California even in the heavily Asian neighborhoods that I live in and visit. I’ve only seen their grocery stores. Have they brought their convenience stores here in the US?
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Comment on Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens? in ~finance
Akir Link ParentI’m not sure what H-Mart has to do with this story, exactly.I’m not sure what H-Mart has to do with this story, exactly.
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Comment on Wireless earphones: a belated review in ~tech
Akir Link ParentWhen you watch videos with Bluetooth earphones the video portion is delayed specifically to deal with the audio delay. If you try to play an instrument while using Bluetooth it’s very apparent....When you watch videos with Bluetooth earphones the video portion is delayed specifically to deal with the audio delay. If you try to play an instrument while using Bluetooth it’s very apparent.
There are low latency codecs out there but they tend to be very low quality.
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Comment on Commentary: prepare to say a frond farewell to Los Angeles’ palm trees in ~enviro
Akir LinkIf we get rid of the palm trees, I’m guessing that the only remaining natural symbol for LA will have to default to coyotes.If we get rid of the palm trees, I’m guessing that the only remaining natural symbol for LA will have to default to coyotes.
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Comment on iPhone 17, 17 Pro and Air announced in ~tech
Akir LinkFor some reason Apple only ever comes up on TikTok if someone is upset about them. I swear that yesterday people were acting like the new iPhone models murdered their family.For some reason Apple only ever comes up on TikTok if someone is upset about them. I swear that yesterday people were acting like the new iPhone models murdered their family.
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Comment on Reddit announces new limits on moderating large subreddits and for moderators to remove content sitewide in ~tech
Akir Link ParentIn all honesty I would be surprised if we still wanted to do that. I still check in on Reddit every once in a while and it seems like the quality commenters and posters have all gone away in the...I sense another Tildes invite wave approaching
In all honesty I would be surprised if we still wanted to do that. I still check in on Reddit every once in a while and it seems like the quality commenters and posters have all gone away in the more recent years. If we did an invite wave at this point I feel it would be more detrimental to Tildes than beneficial.
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Comment on Sisters share ten-dollar a week meal plans for families facing inflation in ~life
Akir Link ParentMany people are talking about how they are upset at the state of the food systems in the US, and you brought up the line that did it for me. Vegetables quite literally grow up from the ground. If...Many people are talking about how they are upset at the state of the food systems in the US, and you brought up the line that did it for me.
Vegetables quite literally grow up from the ground. If you live in an area where any kind of plant can grow, you can almost certainly grow a vegetable. So having them be unaffordable means that we have serious problems.
These sisters are from Tennessee. I did a quick search on the agriculture in that state, and it looks like their largest agricultural product is beef and chicken. When talking about crops specifically their most common crops are soy and corn. While it would be great if people were eating that soy and corn, let's be real here; those crops are being raised for animal feed. Did you know that only about 16% of crops on earth are grown for human consumption? The vast majority of it gets eaten by animals. So basically, people who live in those areas are having their health sacrificed to fatten animals to be slaughtered.
I live in California, where we have a lot of agriculture and fresh vegetables are very easy to get. Here, vegetables are relatively inexpensive regardless of if they are fresh or otherwise preserved, and meat pretty expensive. So to me, the American South has always been kind of like a food bizzaro land; a place where vegetables are expensive but meat is relatively cheap. I've literally had someone tell me that in Texas beef is cheaper than beans, which I sincerely hope was just a bad faith argument.
And the thing is that meat is not sustainable. Globally, animals make roughly 17% of the global consumption of calories. Prices for meat have skyrocketed far higher and faster than any other food product when I compare prices I've paid for them in the past, and it's only as cheap as it is now because of some extremely heavy subsidies and breathtakingly unethical and immoral acts becoming normalized. How much more stress will this system take before it snaps? More importantly, what is going to happen to the people who live in these meat-dependent communities in the meanwhile?
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Comment on What is a business/org that is great and ethical in so many aspects that everyone should consider using? in ~life
Akir Link ParentI haven't used their specific brand but I do use laundry sheets that I'm pretty sure are actually made by the same people because they're pretty identical from what I've seen. They're so much...I haven't used their specific brand but I do use laundry sheets that I'm pretty sure are actually made by the same people because they're pretty identical from what I've seen. They're so much nicer than anything else out there because you aren't dealing with measuring anything; you literally just toss them in. They're half a sheet per load and I have them pre-torn ahead of time. If they are heavily soiled you just toss in a second one.
I'm honestly kind of upset right now at Proctor and Gamble for their ads saying that other brands of liquid detergents are watered down, when the commercials are for liquid Tide! The stuff they are selling is watered down by definition! And the worst thing is that they are finally selling solid sheet - sorry, "tile" - laundry detergent, but I've literally never seen an advertisement or seen them at any store. Just word of mouth for them.
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Comment on What is a business/org that is great and ethical in so many aspects that everyone should consider using? in ~life
Akir Link ParentMan earlier draft of my comment described not being able to look down any given isle without being able to see someone in it. It’s not really 100% accurate but it’s the vibes I get. I don’t go on...Man earlier draft of my comment described not being able to look down any given isle without being able to see someone in it. It’s not really 100% accurate but it’s the vibes I get. I don’t go on weekends because it gets more packed than a festival, but even during the middle of the day on a weekday, it’s still so overstimulating to a completely neurotypical me that I have to bring my noise canceling earphones and listen to music. Even when I do just buy the two things I regularly get there, I leave frustrated and angry at dealing with the crowds.
If you don’t have to deal with that I’m happy for you. But it’s not the world I live in.
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Comment on What is a business/org that is great and ethical in so many aspects that everyone should consider using? in ~life
Akir Link ParentYou have a vastly different experience from me. There is literally not a moment in time where I could simply walk a cart through the clothing section in a straight line or where checkout doesn’t...You have a vastly different experience from me. There is literally not a moment in time where I could simply walk a cart through the clothing section in a straight line or where checkout doesn’t take an extra 10 minutes because every lane is jammed full of people.
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Comment on Wikipedia is resilient because it’s boring in ~tech
Akir Link ParentTime travel must make things confusing, huh? :P±30 years ago
Time travel must make things confusing, huh? :P
I injured my ankle last weekend after walking too much at Universal Studios Hollywood. So I've been avoiding the gym out of fear of making it worse.
I know, I can do exercises that don't put weight on my ankle, but I really don't like pain and don't want to do anything to tempt fate.
I made it worse by eating terribly last Thursday. It was worth it for the fun times, but it made me feel terrible by the end of the day. On the plus side, now I finally empathize with the people I used to hate; those who say they feel bad if they eat bad. It might be dumb, but it's still proof of progress!