Akir's recent activity
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Comment on What are your favorite simple pleasures? in ~talk
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Comment on CGA-2025-11 đ´đĄđľđ˘ INSERT CARTRIDGE đ˘ PlayStation WHAT? in ~games
Akir Link ParentHave you played Vib Ribbon yet? I feel it's significantly worse. Playing both of them I am really hating how bad the feedback is. Not knowing if you were early or late kills me. Then again, it...Have you played Vib Ribbon yet? I feel it's significantly worse.
Playing both of them I am really hating how bad the feedback is. Not knowing if you were early or late kills me.
Then again, it also just occurred to me that playing the game with a bluetooth controller probably wasn't the best idea.
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Comment on What are your favorite simple pleasures? in ~talk
Akir Link ParentAre you actually aware of when you're getting into the zone? I don't think I did in the past, and as I get older I just start to feel weird and uncomfortable after I notice I've been in the zone...Are you actually aware of when you're getting into the zone? I don't think I did in the past, and as I get older I just start to feel weird and uncomfortable after I notice I've been in the zone (mostly because of soreness from staying still too long).
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What are your favorite simple pleasures?
For me: Cutting through an ice block with a stream of running water Going outside and it's the perfect temperature, or it's just a bit warmer but a breeze brings you back down to where you want to...
For me:
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Cutting through an ice block with a stream of running water
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Going outside and it's the perfect temperature, or it's just a bit warmer but a breeze brings you back down to where you want to be.
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The satisfaction of completing a project.
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Comment on Libertarianism is dead in ~humanities
Akir Link ParentItâs Anarchism that Iâm using incorrectly. For some reason I had thought that the author of the article was using it in the colloquial way (I.e. âMad Maxâ), so I was using in a simelar way. I...Itâs Anarchism that Iâm using incorrectly. For some reason I had thought that the author of the article was using it in the colloquial way (I.e. âMad Maxâ), so I was using in a simelar way. I donât quite know why I thought that!
In regards to personal property I was basically trying to say that my personal beliefs donât reach as far as communism. People should be able to own things. There is a strong natural tendency for people to claim things for themselves, and to fight it seems like a difficult path to follow.
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Comment on Libertarianism is dead in ~humanities
Akir Link ParentYou are asking if the man who is constantly seizing power for himself, breaking laws left and right, reforming an agency to use as his own personal military, and basically considers himself to be...You are asking if the man who is constantly seizing power for himself, breaking laws left and right, reforming an agency to use as his own personal military, and basically considers himself to be a dictator is a fascist?
What criteria would you use to consider fascism?
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Comment on Libertarianism is dead in ~humanities
Akir Link ParentBy no means am I trying to imply that common good is not a thing that Liberals have not tried to define. That is why I brought up the concept of egalitarianism. The issue is that there are far too...By no means am I trying to imply that common good is not a thing that Liberals have not tried to define. That is why I brought up the concept of egalitarianism. The issue is that there are far too many definitions and nobody really agrees on them, which means that in practice "common good" is difficult to implement and easy to dispel. There are countless people who think that the terrible things that Donald Trump is doing in the US is for the common good. If the common good is not common, what is the point?
I feel as if Liberalism when concerned with public welfare is more like Socialism for people who are kowtowing to the Libertarians/Feudalists/Anarchists/whoever. They are probably more concerned with personal property than they should. It's understandable: they were born into such a system, have had no choice but to invest into it, and are afraid of losing that investment. And while I'm not saying that personal property shouldn't exist, I do think it's something that should be far less important than the general welfare of society and the people who comprise it.
I've spent the majority of my life believing in Liberalism. But I've also spent the majority of my life seeing Liberalism failing. Not just in the US either; it's happening just about everywhere in the world.
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Comment on Libertarianism is dead in ~humanities
Akir LinkInterestingly enough I think these arguments are also good to demonstrate why Liberalism is a bad idea. If Libertarianism is a roadmap into oligarchy and dictatorship, Liberalism is a roadmap to...Interestingly enough I think these arguments are also good to demonstrate why Liberalism is a bad idea. If Libertarianism is a roadmap into oligarchy and dictatorship, Liberalism is a roadmap to Libertarianism. Both lib-isms have a strong focus on property ownership and in practice amount to people with the most wealth having the most power.
If one was to take this piece as a reason to believe in Liberalism, it has a fatal flaw. It says that government exists to serve the common good, but then outright refuses to define what the common good is. If the common good cannot be defined, than it can be corrupted. What is missing is a philosophy as to what the common good is. And without that definition we can get messed up ideas like âbillionaires existing is a good thing for societyâ, a sentiment that is extremely common, sadly, in spite of the objective damage it does to society.
There is a part of me which believes that Liberalism can still work if we have a coherent philosophy - or perhaps more accurately, a set of philosophies - to define what common good is. The problem is that when you get to that point, usually the end result is something that most Liberalists hate: Socialism.
To be fair, this is probably an issue of âphilosophical blendingâ: some people who claim to be Liberal hold surprisingly Libertarian points of view, and the power balances leaning hard to the ârightâ makes basic Liberal positioning seem Socialist. Acts of wealth redistribution absolutely can be justified based on Liberal ideas, but in practice any such attempt today is quick to be labeled âSocialistâ or âCommunistâ. So in the practicality of politics (specifically in the current context of US politics), itâs much wiser for one to join under the banner of Socialism than that of Liberalism.
Here in the US, we actually do have a very popular answer to what the common good is, one that was embraced by the framers of the constitution: Egalitarianism. The idea that all people are equal. Regardless of where you are in the political alignment chart, issues are often framed in the light of equality. The only problem with that is that people have a hard time agreeing with what âequalâ means. Those on the far right seem to believe that they are equal to billionaires. The poor are also equal under their eyes, and the only reason why they are destitute is because they are too lazy or unprincipled to grasp at success. Naturally, the further left you go the less likely one is to agree with such suppositions. And thus we have the failure of Liberalism; the common good is so poorly defined that it can be used as a weapon against actual public welfare.
Personally, I believe that such philosophical failure to construct a coherent goal is the singular cause of government failure. But that is reaching on my end; to prove it would need a significant amount of historical research.
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Comment on Advice on poor Linux performance vs Windows in ~tech
Akir Link ParentI seem to remember there was a software package for windows that allowed it to read ext, but itâs been about a decade since I had to worry about such things.I seem to remember there was a software package for windows that allowed it to read ext, but itâs been about a decade since I had to worry about such things.
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Comment on James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers in ~science
Akir Link ParentGenetics matter, yes, but when you see people who talk about genetics like it is a personal destiny you should reject them full force. Genetics are only ever a portion of how a person will...Genetics matter, yes, but when you see people who talk about genetics like it is a personal destiny you should reject them full force. Genetics are only ever a portion of how a person will develop. Lifestyle and environment are also huge factors. A person genetically predisposed to cardiovascular diseases, for instance, might counteract that risk by being the kind of person who goes out for a morning run and improving their cardio health.
There are multitudes of people on this earth who will look at one specific part of a person and judge them entirely based on it. But any given person has more facets than there are stars in the galaxy. What these people do is called prejudice, and it is a great social evil.
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Comment on Automotive repair costs on modern vehicles. Any horror stories? in ~transport
Akir Link ParentOn my old Leaf, a cooling pump failed on it due to my own neglect (read the owner's manual, people). I forget exactly how much I paid to replace it but I think that the part cost alone was...On my old Leaf, a cooling pump failed on it due to my own neglect (read the owner's manual, people). I forget exactly how much I paid to replace it but I think that the part cost alone was something like $400 or so.
They actually showed me the pump before they actually replaced it and I realized that it was a bog-standard pump by Laing that was mounted to a custom-made bracket to justify the expense. If I had seen it myself I could have likely bought it or one close enough to it for less than $100.
I'm with you on the entire industry being scammers.
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Comment on Hate-reading? in ~books
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
Akir LinkI've been skipping out on the gym lately because I got a theme park season pass. Going to a theme park obviously doesn't work out the same muscles as the gym, but it's a heck of a lot more...I've been skipping out on the gym lately because I got a theme park season pass. Going to a theme park obviously doesn't work out the same muscles as the gym, but it's a heck of a lot more engaging and fun than your average leg day! I have an allergy to waiting in long lines so I'm not standing around all day. Sunday I passed my average number of steps five times over. My Apple Watch logged 2.3x my calorie expenditure goal, while it also logged roughly the same amount of exercise time I get at the gym just with the automatic logging.
The downside, though, is that the parks generally have zero or near-zero healthy food options, so any calorie expenditures pretty much get cancelled out. I'm going to have to see if I can sneak in some food of my own or something. There's still a health benefit, but it's not really contributing to my weight loss goal.
I should probably mention I have arthritis in my ankles, so this was probably a bad idea, but thankfully a good ankle compression sleeve prevented me from being in much pain at all. Sadly I seem to have lost it so I will probably have to go buy another soon. I'll be heading out to the same park this coming Sunday with a friend in tow.
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Comment on Hate-reading? in ~books
Akir Link ParentThe difference between these examples is that Lincoln could and did directly prove his point. Anecdote and metaphor were used to transmit those ideas to those who would not listen. Ayn Rand...The difference between these examples is that Lincoln could and did directly prove his point. Anecdote and metaphor were used to transmit those ideas to those who would not listen. Ayn Rand published those fiction books but never bothered to publish a nonfiction accounting of her philosophy. Why? To obscure the obvious shortcomings of her positions.
I can't speak to how she lived and talked because I was not witness to such things, but it strikes me as the same kind of strategy we hear Donald Trump doing all the time. He says a lot of things but he doesn't make any strong claims. It's plausable deniability. It feels like this so-called "original school of philosophy" is less of an actual invention of hers, and more so a collection of what she could get away with people believing after pushing her works for decades. This is what I feel is the heart of why reading her books is such a hollow experience; there's a distinct lack of substance behind it.
But then again, perhaps I'm not qualified to say these things about Rand. After all, I've never completed the entirety of any of her books.
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Comment on Hate-reading? in ~books
Akir Link ParentMy Atlas Shrugged story is that in high school while looking up scholarships, one required writing a book report on it. I got through something like three chapters before realizing that it wasnât...My Atlas Shrugged story is that in high school while looking up scholarships, one required writing a book report on it. I got through something like three chapters before realizing that it wasnât anywhere near worth the value of the scholarship to spend my time reading it, and completely dismissing Randâs entire bullshit philosophy.
To be fair it taught me an important lesson: if a position cannot be directly argued for, it isnât worth listening to. If objectivism actually made sense, Rand wouldnât have needed to try to hide it behind theatrics.
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Comment on Hate-reading? in ~books
Akir LinkThere are two books I have hate read in my lifetime. The first was The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald may be a wonderful author, but I hated all of the characters so much. I would have stopped reading a...There are two books I have hate read in my lifetime.
The first was The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald may be a wonderful author, but I hated all of the characters so much. I would have stopped reading a few chapters in if it were not a school assignment.
The second was Maia by Richard Adams. It is the sequel to Shardik, which is my personal all time favorite. It is so incredibly long; itâs something like 800 pages to my memory. And most of it is just plodding along. Thereâs a political revolution in there somewhere but by the time it happens I had long stopped being interested in the society it happened in. The ideas in the book are also just plain bad. Itâs about a young girl who gets sold into slavery by her parents, later becomes a sex slave, and there is a very unnecessary lesbian sex scene. I am a pretty masculine guy, but it was pretty obvious that the author didnât know much about what it is like to be female, which is a problem because most of the book is from Maiaâs perspective! The book basically killed any idea of how good a person I thought the author was.
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Comment on Tips for becoming a tea person in ~food
Akir Link ParentIf you're going to recreate the idea with loose teas, just use paper sachets. The store you buy from very likely has sample size ones already.If you're going to recreate the idea with loose teas, just use paper sachets. The store you buy from very likely has sample size ones already.
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Comment on Tips for becoming a tea person in ~food
Akir LinkJust a quick note: Christmastime always has a bunch of weird advent calendars being made, and this year is no different. But it's worth noting that this year I'm seeing a lot of tea advent...Just a quick note: Christmastime always has a bunch of weird advent calendars being made, and this year is no different. But it's worth noting that this year I'm seeing a lot of tea advent calendars. Particularly with blended western style teabags. I found one the other day at one grocery store or another with 12 bags that were apparantly made by Lipton, and another one at Aldi that has 24 bags for about $8. Are any of these good teas? Probably not. But it's going to be a fun daily experience.
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Comment on What are some of your favorite stews/soups? in ~food
Akir LinkJust as a reminder: the things we call "curry" are actually stews. So there's my answer. Thai yellow curry is my current favorite. I like to make mine more vegetable-heavy so it's kind of more...Just as a reminder: the things we call "curry" are actually stews. So there's my answer. Thai yellow curry is my current favorite. I like to make mine more vegetable-heavy so it's kind of more like a braise than a stew in a way. It means I can have bigger portions with less guilt for the high-fat coconut milk base.
I don't have a ton of specific recipes. The thing i like about soups and stews is that they are free-form; just put in the things you like. I had a phase for about a year where I was making a different soup every week with just slight variations on the exact same recipe.
Alternatively, hot pot is practically a genre of soup in and of itself, and it's also built on a base of customization as well; just choose your base, add whatever vegetables and seasonings you want, and you're good to go. Optionally serve with a dipping sauce. It's even better if you go to a specialty restaurant for the experience.
If you want a specific soup recipe, I really really like this old Alton Brown recipe for lentil soup. I have yet to find grains of paradise anywhere and still don't know what it tastes like but substituting black pepper seems to have done the trick.
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Comment on The fetch()ening (plans for HTMX 4) in ~comp
Akir Link ParentThis was the first time I have heard of it. At first I thought it was a terrible idea because of the removal of separation of concerns. But the more I think about it, it doesnât seem that bad. It...This was the first time I have heard of it. At first I thought it was a terrible idea because of the removal of separation of concerns. But the more I think about it, it doesnât seem that bad. It solves a lot of the HTML cruft about building dynamic pages and itâs probably a better implementation than most solutions that have similar ideas.
Pack it up boys. We have a winner. đ