Akir's recent activity
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Comment on What's the oldest tech you use, and why do you still use it? in ~tech
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Comment on What's the oldest tech you use, and why do you still use it? in ~tech
Akir Link ParentI’m told the kids these day think it’s very cool.I’m told the kids these day think it’s very cool.
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Comment on Our interfaces have lost their senses in ~tech
Akir LinkI feel like I want to agree but I just can’t get behind this especially because the wording is so nebulous that it isn’t really talking about anything in particular. It would have helped if they...I feel like I want to agree but I just can’t get behind this especially because the wording is so nebulous that it isn’t really talking about anything in particular. It would have helped if they named one concrete example of what they are arguing against.
Part of it might be because of the design choices for the page. Webpages that change as you scroll can all burn in a trash fire. I hate it so much. If I have to scroll back because something was changing where it looked like it was just a bunch of white space before, I’m already in the hate zone.
But yeah, I’m also tired of interfaces so slick that you can’t do anything with them. I’m tired of controls I have no idea what they do because we decided we only need arbitrary symbols for them. I’m tired of everything being hidden in menus nested further in a difficult to notice hamburger menu. I’m tired of forms that don’t just let me type in the info and force me to click a dozen times just to enter a date. I’m also sick of apps removing capabilities just to make them more streamlined. Especially when it comes without warning. I’m tired of desktop applications needing to be full screen because they are using mobile-first interfaces that take up way too much space.
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Comment on Party City | Bankrupt in ~finance
Akir Link ParentI saw that sign when I went to Michael’s on a whim. It’s rather morbid. Coincidentally this was the first time I saw a Michael’s with bolts of fabric to sell by the yard. It was a tiny selection...I saw that sign when I went to Michael’s on a whim. It’s rather morbid.
Coincidentally this was the first time I saw a Michael’s with bolts of fabric to sell by the yard. It was a tiny selection compared to even the smallest Joann’s, but it was there! There was a sign that said to go to the framing desk to get it cut but there was nobody there. Thankfully there was a tiny amount of fabric left on the bolt that I wanted so I just bought the whole thing.
Coincidentally the last time I tried to buy fabric I was at a Walmart, also on a whim. I pushed the button to call a worker to cut it for me, and then I left after waiting a full 20 minutes for them.
Combined with how many craft stores are overrun by decorations, I feel this is not a good era for crafters.
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Comment on Looking for an electronic components store in ~hobbies
Akir LinkI’m not sure about premade boards but for discrete components there is always the larger suppliers like digikey or Mauser.I’m not sure about premade boards but for discrete components there is always the larger suppliers like digikey or Mauser.
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Comment on Party City | Bankrupt in ~finance
Akir Link ParentI honestly can’t recall a time where I went to a party that was full of the kind of stuff that party city sells. Paper and plastic serving and eating ware, yes, but not oddly specific colored ones...I honestly can’t recall a time where I went to a party that was full of the kind of stuff that party city sells. Paper and plastic serving and eating ware, yes, but not oddly specific colored ones or IP-branded stuff. Granted I don’t go to kids parties.
To me, going to Party City was less of a trip to the 90s and more of a trip to the 99¢ Only store before they closed down; a bunch of extremely cheap generic goods generally strewn about and packed way too densely.
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Comment on Party City | Bankrupt in ~finance
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Comment on Apple will soon support encrypted RCS messaging with Android users in ~tech
Akir LinkGiven that I am still waiting for my iPhone to work with plain ol'e unencrypted RCS on my carrier, I'm utterly unenthused to hear this. Presumably the latest iOS beta has it working but I've heard...Given that I am still waiting for my iPhone to work with plain ol'e unencrypted RCS on my carrier, I'm utterly unenthused to hear this.
Presumably the latest iOS beta has it working but I've heard it's still very buggy.
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Comment on USA asks Sweden for help in the egg crisis in ~food
Akir Link ParentIt doesn’t surprise me that I’m out of the loop, but it looks like I’m not even in orbit around the same sun anymore. 😕 Im not even middle aged yet….It doesn’t surprise me that I’m out of the loop, but it looks like I’m not even in orbit around the same sun anymore. 😕
Im not even middle aged yet….
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Comment on USA asks Sweden for help in the egg crisis in ~food
Akir Link ParentI've had pretty good luck with removing eggs from everything I've tried. The only ones where substitutes were not really acceptable are the ones that are built around eggs specifically (omelets,...I've had pretty good luck with removing eggs from everything I've tried. The only ones where substitutes were not really acceptable are the ones that are built around eggs specifically (omelets, eggs benedict, etc).
But then again I never particularly cared for eggs to begin with.
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Comment on USA asks Sweden for help in the egg crisis in ~food
Akir Link ParentOn a side note, I'm finding it really weird how many people have begun describing their eating habits as "like a goblin". A recent Adam Ragusea video had his wife make broiler nachos and when...On a side note, I'm finding it really weird how many people have begun describing their eating habits as "like a goblin". A recent Adam Ragusea video had his wife make broiler nachos and when asked how it would be served she said something like you lean over it and pick at it like a goblin. But I mean, yeah, that's kind of just how you eat nachos. It's not goblin-like at all.
It's just strange to me that people would dehumanize themselves like that. I can get that you might want to use it over the other popular idiomatic comparison, like a pig, but it actually feels worse because goblins are pretty solidly on the "evil" scale of mythical creatures.
I get that it's probably stemming from the phrase "goblin mode", but I've heard "like a goblin" many times more than that.
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Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? (trial giveaway: round #2) in ~tech
Akir Link ParentIt doesn't give access to all of their AI tools. That's their Unlimited plan. It gives you access to FastGPT - which appears to actually be free for their trial users, since it didn't show up in...It doesn't give access to all of their AI tools. That's their Unlimited plan. It gives you access to FastGPT - which appears to actually be free for their trial users, since it didn't show up in my quota after using it a lot (in fact, I'm not sure I was even logged in when I used it!) - and to Universal Summarizer. I'm not sure if the latter is free since I haven't cared to use it.
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Comment on Super Nintendo hardware is running faster as it ages in ~games
Akir LinkThe title is a little bit misleading. Yes, it's faster than the original rating, but it's by such a small bit that it's not really going to affect anyone except people who are extremely particular...The title is a little bit misleading. Yes, it's faster than the original rating, but it's by such a small bit that it's not really going to affect anyone except people who are extremely particular about TAS runs - perhaps only to the few people like Cecil who are making tooling for them. The example given with the APU has a drift of roughly 0.3% more than spec.
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Comment on Chromecast alternatives in ~tech
Akir Link ParentThis is basically the entire raison d'etre for kodi.This is basically the entire raison d'etre for kodi.
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Comment on ‘Pokémon Go’ video game maker Niantic acquired by Scopely for $3.5 billion in ~games
Akir Link ParentAh, OK then. I just didn't remember it saying Toolbox AI before. In the app it still says Niantic like it has been since I started using it.Ah, OK then. I just didn't remember it saying Toolbox AI before. In the app it still says Niantic like it has been since I started using it.
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Comment on Danish deposit system: 93% of bottles and cans are returned and of those, 99.7% recycled (translation in comment) in ~enviro
Akir Link ParentMy experience of CRV (California’s deposit recycling program) is that it triggers anxiety and is harder than it needs to be. I have never seen a machine that will take single bottles anywhere. You...My experience of CRV (California’s deposit recycling program) is that it triggers anxiety and is harder than it needs to be. I have never seen a machine that will take single bottles anywhere. You have to go to the recycling centers which always seem to be either closed or are busy, because people bring their stuff in bulk and need to have it sorted and weighed, so a visit could rather easily take a half hour to complete. I seem to remember not getting paid in cash either, but a grocery store voucher, but that may be a distortion of memory.
Recycle centers I have seen have been universally shabby and unfriendly-looking places. They are often just sheds or even cargo containers. They are very poorly advertised; you are not likely to find them on any business directories, and it’s completely beyond me why they are often behind grocery stores. I found one a while back entirely on accident because I was going behind them to get to the back of goodwill for a donation drop off. And the fact that they don’t check every item, instead relying on a scale, really makes me doubt their accuracy. After all, my CRV deposit is per bottle, not by weight.
The experience is so bad that I don’t use them. I don’t like holding on to trash, and to me the meager payout make up for the time they spend taking up space in my home waiting for the bag to be full, for the hopes and dreams that I will be able to get a whole dollar sometime in the future. But I also don’t buy soft drinks to begin with. The rare times I do, I put them in my home recycle bin, which gives me a negative payback since we pay for that pickup.
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Comment on ‘Pokémon Go’ video game maker Niantic acquired by Scopely for $3.5 billion in ~games
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Comment on New anti-obesity drugs will outperform Ozempic in ~health
Akir Link ParentI am all in on the American cardamom revolution.Maybe we'll get food with actual spices in them?
I am all in on the American cardamom revolution.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
Akir LinkLearning Minecraft, surprisingly. My work has scheduled me without asking my availability to teach a pair of students the their next level of Python classes in a newer format that uses Minecraft...Learning Minecraft, surprisingly.
My work has scheduled me without asking my availability to teach a pair of students the their next level of Python classes in a newer format that uses Minecraft Education Edition. I'm not really sure if I really like it or not. There are parts of it that have extremely rough edges, some of which I think are because of the company I'm working at, and others because of Minecraft Education Edition seems to be a not-so-great way to teach. I'm worried about having to wrestle the kids away from the game that I am literally putting them right in front of. There are a lot of really mixed incentives with the program, I think. I've played around with the lessons that Microsoft has made, and they are ... not rudimentary, exactly, but they show off the constraints. Every task they have you do is in a world and it seems like it's good because it makes logical sense, but then again you are programming a little robot to do things that if you weren't constrained would be so much easier for you to go out and do it yourself.
But the curriculum I'm teaching is the more advanced stuff, for kids who have already learned these concepts that Microsoft's lessons have been teaching. And so what exactly is the point?
I say this, but really, I think this might be helpful to these particular students because the thing that I find most of my students have a hard time with is being flexable in their thinking. Even if all they did were drawing with blocks, it's still going to need them to learn to think a little differently.
The thing that's really bugging me, though, is that this uses the relatively new Python Notebook editor. The Notebook editor is just stupid.
For one, the editor is just a web browser integrated into minecraft. It's not well integrated, either. You need to click on it before it will register any inputs, so if you want to, for instance, click on a piece of your code. you will have to open the editor with the "c" key, and then click somewhere in the editor before it will actually allow you to click on your code. To run any given piece of code, you will need to open the editor, click on it, then click a second time to actually run it. If you want to see the code in action, you can theoretically press escape to close the editor, but in reality your input is being captured by the browser so you will have to click on the "X" close window button - twice. So basically, everything feels like it's barely working because it doesn't actually do what you want to do the first time.
Beyond that, there is almost zero advantage to using notebooks over a basic editor. For one thing, you cannot save your own projects. Officially, at least; the program tells you when you start a new project it will not save, but it's persisted every time in the world I've created. But even then, the actual usefulness is gimped. For one, you cannot write plain text anywhere. The only option you have is to write code. It seems like they are using the format to integrate lessons - that's how they do it in their example teaching worlds - but for the life of me I cannot find a way to write my own and include it in a world. It seems like you are supposed to be able to write rich text and insert gifs and images and even have multiple pages, but none of that functionality is exposed to the user. The only things I have found - by accident - were that you can press "a" when not in an editor and a new editor will appear somewhere, press "x" and some editor will be deleted, and sometimes pressing "z" will bring back an editor that was deleted. So basically, my only real option to teach my students is to be sitting next to them and walking through everything bit by bit.
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Comment on ‘Pokémon Go’ video game maker Niantic acquired by Scopely for $3.5 billion in ~games
Akir LinkI'm much more annoyed because Niantic was publishing the best free photogrammetry app out there, Scaniverse, which supported both mesh and gaussian splatting. I just checked on the App Store and...I'm much more annoyed because Niantic was publishing the best free photogrammetry app out there, Scaniverse, which supported both mesh and gaussian splatting. I just checked on the App Store and it looks like the name of the publisher has been changed to "Toolbox AI", which is just gross.
So I guess the future of 3D scanning is buying a dedicated scanner for hundreds of dollars and be stuck with their PC-only applications of varying and sometimes questionable quality.
(re-reading the article, Scopely might have just acquired their video game assets and not the entire company. The renaming on the app store is still worrying, though.)
I would say the video game consoles I have collected, some of which are roughly as old as I am, but really I don’t use them these days because they have been essentially replaced by the MiSTer.
Also owned but never used is a sharp pocket computer, PC-1500, I think? I’ve got the printer attachment that also allows it to interface to a cassette recorder to save and load programs with, alongside a recorder that technically doesn’t go with it but works a charm.
I used to collect retro computers but I have grown to hate physical belongings cluttering everything so they are for the most part gone these days. I gave my Amiga A3000 away to a friend in Canada a short while back, which was previously the jewel of my collection.