aksi's recent activity

  1. Comment on CMV: Once civilization is fully developed, life will be unfulfilling and boring. Humanity is also doomed to go extinct. These two reasons make life not worth living. in ~talk

    aksi
    Link Parent
    Yeah this might be the more accurate take. It was a good few years since I read their stuff.

    Yeah this might be the more accurate take. It was a good few years since I read their stuff.

    2 votes

  2. Comment on CMV: Once civilization is fully developed, life will be unfulfilling and boring. Humanity is also doomed to go extinct. These two reasons make life not worth living. in ~talk

    aksi
    Link
    You might find insights from reading some of Sartre and Camus? I feel like they have dealt with these questions in their philosophical thinking. Camus starts off the Myth of Sisyphus by stating:...

    You might find insights from reading some of Sartre and Camus? I feel like they have dealt with these questions in their philosophical thinking. Camus starts off the Myth of Sisyphus by stating:

    “There is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Deciding whether or not life is worth living is to answer the fundamental question in philosophy. All other questions follow from that”

    From what I can remember thet conclude that life is worth living, but you must also find your own meaning and joy in the everyday life. Camus says that while Sisyphus is doomed to roll a rock up a hill, he thinks Sisyphus is happy when the rock rolls down and he's got to start over. That's the moment he doesn't only see a rock, he gets to see the world from the top of the world and enjoy a stroll down. He's finding the happiness he can in an otherwise pointless existence.

    In general I interpret it as you believe a meaning will be served to you. It won't, you have to find it.

    40 votes

  3. Comment on Have public gaming communities always been terrible or do I expect too much? in ~games

    aksi
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    That has definitely been my experience too. I've managed to find a few communities through friends of friends. But actually going and looking for LFG groups is an awful experience.

    That has definitely been my experience too. I've managed to find a few communities through friends of friends. But actually going and looking for LFG groups is an awful experience.

    4 votes

  4. Comment on Fika, four-week-holidays and zero overtime – Sweden's stunningly healthy work culture in ~life

    aksi
    Link Parent
    I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish with this? Is it that healthy work life balance is bad? What you are doing is comparing a country with more than 30x the people and resources to...

    I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish with this? Is it that healthy work life balance is bad? What you are doing is comparing a country with more than 30x the people and resources to a smaller country and then asking why the smaller country doesn't do as much.

    The US is, right now, THE country that attracts the most talent worldwide. Of course it's going to be cutting edge in the last few years. But that's not because of the work-life balance, it's because of the resources available.

    8 votes

  5. Comment on Fika, four-week-holidays and zero overtime – Sweden's stunningly healthy work culture in ~life

  6. Comment on What are some of the worst things about living in Sweden? in ~life

    aksi
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I read the first post, and part of the reply visible in this link. I'm ethnically Swedish so maybe I don't share the same experience as either of these, but to me they are listing a lot of...
    • Exemplary

    I read the first post, and part of the reply visible in this link.

    I'm ethnically Swedish so maybe I don't share the same experience as either of these, but to me they are listing a lot of completely foreign concepts and the conspiracy part of my brain wonders if it is propaganda, which seems to flourish on the Internet right now.

    When I get to my computer I'll edit this post with some more direct comments. It's hard to do on mobile.

    EDIT:

    I am relating some experiences to what I was met with when I lived in the US. I am aware that the poster is Aussie and it's not necessarily the same.

    Firstly, there is no consumer choice. Generic and expensive goods line the same few large supermarket type shops. Small business is virtually nonexistent aside from the awful pizza/kebab, Asian food or hotdog/ hamburger stalls run by entrepeneurial immigrants. Customer service and special requests are also non existent. Innovation, warmth, product knowledge and creativity are strongly lacking in the commercial sector.

    I feel like this is a very weird statement. It is true that we have a few supermarket chains, but that's the same as any city in the US or elsewhere. There are small independent tobacco shops/grocery stores in some areas, but it's not like NYC with a bodega everywhere. I have had no problems with custom requests or customer service anywhere I have gone. But it's true that we won't bend over backward for our customers like in the US. There's also loads of small shops for anything, just not always in the most central areas.

    Immigrants are welcomed, with racism frowned upon harshly, however once these immigrants arrive they are segregated off away from the native Swedes, unable to find employment and unable to navigate the endless complex rule systems with strong risks of being persecuted by the social services. The ‘welcoming’ Swedes dont allow their children to set foot in immigrant suburbs or schools, and wonder why there is very little integration happening.

    Integration is a real problem. I don't have the solution for it either, but this makes it seem like immigrants are purposefully moved away from Swedes. As far as I am aware they choose to live close to people with the same background. When I lived in the US I found that a lot of Swedes lived in the same areas as well. Another reason immigrants live in the same areas is that they are often lower-cost-of-living areas. Due to poor integration they kind of have to. So to be clear, we do a bad job at integration but we don't forcefully segregate immigrants into specific areas. I was never disallowed from going to said areas either. School is mostly somewhere close to where you live, so they might not be too inclusive.

    Swedish people are very unfriendly, closed minded and conforming. It is almost impossible to form close friendships.

    Swedes are hard to get close to, but when you do you're friends for a long time and it becomes a closer friendship. Those are my experiences. In the US it was easy to get an acquaintance but almost impossible to find a friend. I think different expectations of what constitutes a friendship is to blame for this.

    There are endless trivial rules which are harshly enforced. I wanted to get my licence in Sweden, but ticked a box on the licence form which asked about health issues. I have had declining kidney function (very irrelevant to driving) so I noted it down. I was unable to get a licence (I have been driving 15 years, but my Australian licence is not recognised here after the first year) because I needed a certificate from a kidney specialist. I was unable to be referred to a kidney specialist because my kidney function is not severely declined. When attempting to fix the issue - rules are rules, and thats simply the way it is. The issue is unable to be resolved so I am allowed to drive in neighbouring countries, but not here. Attempting to live here is filled with many similar incredibly frustrating experiences. Banks wont let you open an account except on weekday mornings, but dont let you know that until you have waited in a queue for several hours. There is no other option even if you work or study on weekday mornings, and nobody cares. Every simple process is a beaurocratic nightmare

    This seems incredibly exaggerated. But it could be a point of view that is from an immigrant, something I have not experienced. But I can say that I have friends who have immigrated here and they have not had these problems.

    Whilst at first I believed the free schools, childcare and medical services were a great family friendly policy, on closer interaction in the system I realised this is a system of control and incompetence which is not leading to positive outcomes. Firstly, everyone is expected to take their children to daycare and go to work. There is no freedom of choice to look after your children, homeschool or rear your children according to your beliefs and values. Children are informed about endless rights, and have no obligations to behave in a respectful manner. Parents are powerless, teachers are powerless and getting an education in a swedish school is a debacle of children on phones and talking during class, swearing at teachers, abusing and bullying each other and any form of punishment towards unruly children is disallowed. School is somewhat reminiscent of lord of the flies.

    Yes, we don't allow parents to home-school children because we can't ensure they are given a proper education. The school also helps identify children who are not faring well to me. We try to give children an objective education so they can best make their minds up about things. How are parents powerless? You can perfectly raise a child without abusing them. You can set rules and make sure they behave in a proper manner.
    My personal opinion is that it is on the parents to raise a child and punish them, not necessarily a teacher. But I also think that teachers should be allowed more lee-way to send children home or similarly.

    But overall we believe children to be humans with the same rights as their parents, that is true.

    Police are useless - except with regard to prosecuting minor crimes such as parking fines. Fewer than 3% of crimes are solved, reports are filed but never investigated - even with matters which are taken very seriously in the rest of the world such as violent crime and rape.

    Parking fines are not handled by the police. We report rape differently from elsewhere, leading to inflated statistics. If a woman is raped 10 times it's recorded as once in a lot of the world. Here it's recorded as 10 times, bam 10x reports.
    That being said we need more police and they need more funding. I agree on that. Not sure where the 3% comes from though.

    Whilst medical care is generally free to low cost, the wait times are insane. It could be 3 weeks to see your GP (too bad if the matter is urgent) and 10 months to see a specialist. Specialists are allowed to refuse referrals, and if you have a chronic illness you are likely in the wrong country.

    This is talked about by a lot of people, but I have not experienced it. I get to talk to my GP within days and if it is something very urgent I can go to an ER. Most jobs I have seen offer private insurance as well.

    Now to the reply from the person living in Sweden. As I said before I am ethnically Swedish so I can't speak to experiences that this person may have had. I'll just reply to their statements with my own experiences.

    Swedish are not very friendly people. It is hard to make friends with them. They are not warm and friendly. It is part of their culture to be a bit distant from each other and this is even worse with people from other countries. It is very normal to not visit your siblings/parents very often even if you live in the same city. Sweden is a very individualistic society, especially in bigger cities. Based on my Swedish friends with foreign backgrounds who have Swedish partners, I noticed that the Swedish partners think it is very strange to go and see your parents 2–4 times a month for a lunch, dinner och just to hang out.

    I mentioned above that it can, admittedly, be harder to make friends with a Swede. I see my friends and family at least 2 times a month, usually more. This includes my partners family as well.

    Swedish people are very complacent. They think Sweden is paradise on Earth. Very proud of what they achieved and are very happy to talk about it. They talk about it as if it were themselves who did it.

    I think Sweden is a much better place to live than a lot of places on this Earth. But I don't think it is Paradise. And I think it's quite global to speak of your country and its achievements as a collective "we".

    They are stingy. Swedish people love to get stuff for free but very reluctantly share what they have. They can set aside their monthly savings and tell you that they do not have money for the month to hang out and tell you that they can join only if you can treat them.

    I am not sure how much insight this person has in others financials. But I would never say I can only join if someone treats me. If I can't afford to go somewhere I am not going to take out of my savings to go. I have a budget for personal spending and if it's not in it, it's not in it.

    Things are very expensive. When I travel abroad I often feel that things are cheap compared to home.

    This very much depends on where you travel. But things are more expensive to cover the higher cost of employing someone, because that cost goes to our social security system.

    Swedish people are not very good coworkers. They are generally lazy. They feel entitled: it is very common that a Swede wants to change job role within the company just because they feel like it. It does not matter if they are very bad at their current role. They are not flexible with their work time if it does not benefit them: they happily finish work and have some beer at 3pm on a Friday, but they refuse to work even 5 min after hours. They cannot handle much work: very often they “hit a wall” and get a sick leave since they are overworked. I have never seen a Swede with foreign background get a sick leave due to overwork. Everyones experiences are different and it is a good thing that you can get a leave if you are overworked but this more common with Swedish people. Coworkers are not good at saying hello. You have eye contact, say hello, but they just look at you. This is very normal.

    So we have a good work/life balance and that's a bad thing? I fail to see why you should work overtime without good reason. Productivity worldwide is up more than salaries. I work hard to get my work done, if it's done before my day is over I am going to take the rest of the day off. I value my work in terms of output, not time spent on it. Not saying hello is definitely not normal.

    They complain about foreigners or immigrants but they travel abroad to party like crazy and behave however they want.

    Partly true, but not normal. We have a problem of a racist party rising in popularity and young Swedes do travel abroad to party. But this seems like an exaggeration.

    There is a subtle racism in Sweden. You experience it when looking for a job. If you have a skilled based degree, like a doctor, nurse, dentist etc, your Swedish batch mates will have loads of interviews while you and your foreigns Swede mate are not going to get invited to interviews.

    This is true. And it's shameful.

    When I was a kid I visited many Swedish friends homes to hang out. One common theme with these visits was that whenever it was time to eat, they told me to wait while they were going to eat. So the friend went and had dinner while you just sat there playing with toys. When dinner was done, the friend came back and continued playing. This was very normal when I was a child in 90s. All Swedes with foreign background has this experience as a child. And all Swedes with foreign backgrounds have a warmer culture than the Swedish one, which means they always offered food to any friend in their homes when it was time to eat. Swedish culture in a nutshell.

    This is not a normal experience. I have never experienced it and when it was a topic on /r/sweden most had neither. Very much an outlier.

    If you are invited to a Swedish persons home, they usually have just enough food and snacks. Six meatballs per person, one cinnamon bun each and so on.

    Not in my experience. But just one cinnamon bun each seems a reasonable serving size.

    The first time I was invited to Swedish persons party, everyone had their own alcohol in a plastic bag under their seat. And they did not share what they had. I put my stuff on a common table and they happily drank my stuff first so they could save their own alcohol.

    Bringing your own alcohol is somewhat common, but so is sharing in my experience.

    If you are going to a Swedish barbecue party where everyone has to bring something, Swedish people only bring enough food for themselves while foreign Swedes bring food so everyone can taste it.

    This is not true. In my experience most people bring some stuff and it's all shared. Unless it's specifically stated otherwise.

    Not being ethnically Swedish means you generally have a harder time entering a nightclub. When going out with Swedish people, if they are in the front of the queue and get int he club and you do not get in, they would not care and would just sms you and say “OK, too bad. Let’s hang out later next week!” Foreign Swedes would happily leave the club and join you in your rejection, even if they paid to get in.

    Admittance may be true. Abandonment is not, in my experience.

    If you are at a gathering and are leaving after it is done, you might want to offer rides to some people, especially if they live rather close to where you are going. If you do this, a Swedish person will offer you money for the ride. It is close to my home, so it is not a big deal to give someone a ride on the way. They do not understand the concept of giving. This means that they expect money when doing favours. I have never been offered a ride from a Swedish person. I try not to be treated by a Swedish person, because they do it so they have a favour to ask of you.

    We do understand the concept of giving. This is such a weird interaction to describe.

    These are obviously my experiences. They may differ for other people. But overall what was said is entirely foreign to me and I ask myself if we are even living in the same country.

    44 votes

  7. Comment on Sweden's right-wing government says it will turn its back on plastic bag tax from November 2024 in ~enviro

    aksi
    Link Parent
    The current Swedish government killed the department for environment and "merged" it with the department for business. The minister for environment reports to the minister for business

    The current Swedish government killed the department for environment and "merged" it with the department for business. The minister for environment reports to the minister for business

    6 votes

  8. Comment on What is your most annoying (minor) movie trope? in ~movies

  9. Comment on What is your most annoying (minor) movie trope? in ~movies

    aksi
    Link Parent
    I actually really dislike the Wilhem scream. It's one of the few stock sounds I recognise and it always take me out of the immersion of the movie. If I see a film on the theatre, or even at home,...

    I actually really dislike the Wilhem scream. It's one of the few stock sounds I recognise and it always take me out of the immersion of the movie. If I see a film on the theatre, or even at home, I want to be immersed in that world. That scream instantly reminds me it's not real and takes me out of any immersion to the degree it ruins part of the experience for me. I wish it could be removed from all films.

    19 votes

  10. Comment on What are some hilarious moments you have experienced in games? in ~games

    aksi
    Link Parent
    I may be nit picky but I believe the line is: We do what we must, because we can

    I may be nit picky but I believe the line is: We do what we must, because we can

    3 votes

  11. Comment on What is your favorite small internet forum? Whats your favorite story/drama from it? in ~tech

    aksi
    Link Parent
    Maki's guides are still a treasure trove!

    Maki's guides are still a treasure trove!

    4 votes

  12. Comment on Those of you with standing desks, how are finding them and would you recommend? in ~life

    aksi
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    I'm just going to chime in with one comment: For me a standing desk never clicked until I had wireless headphones that allowed me to be untethered from the desk. That combination made me stand up...

    I'm just going to chime in with one comment:

    For me a standing desk never clicked until I had wireless headphones that allowed me to be untethered from the desk. That combination made me stand up so much more because I could just take a little walk around my office while thinking, or in less formal meetings.

    32 votes

  13. Comment on What did you think of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny? in ~movies

    aksi
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    I went in without expectations or having seen any trailers and I really liked it. It was a very entertaining movie, but you can tell Ford is getting old with how it's cut. It's a step up from the...

    I went in without expectations or having seen any trailers and I really liked it. It was a very entertaining movie, but you can tell Ford is getting old with how it's cut. It's a step up from the Crystal skull and the last scene with

    Click to view spoilers Marion was a nice and touching callback.

    I did think Indiana would stay in ancient Greece, but I'm happy he didn't.

    Overall I think it was a pretty good send off for the character

    5 votes

  14. Comment on A pizza recipe that's never failed me in ~food

    aksi
    Link Parent
    That part is harder to explain and I feel like you need a visual medium to properly convey it. The way I do it is similar to this Youtube video which probably helps explain it better than me...

    That part is harder to explain and I feel like you need a visual medium to properly convey it. The way I do it is similar to this Youtube video which probably helps explain it better than me really.

    But I try to flatten the dough out a bit while keeping the edges puffed, so I pad a circle near the edge (while leaving dough at the edge to puff up), then stretch it with my hands until it's very thin.

    Using a rolling pin will most likely remove all, or most, of the air and gasses inside the dough and you will not have a good rise in the oven.

    5 votes

  15. Comment on A pizza recipe that's never failed me in ~food

    aksi
    Link Parent
    For the tomato sauce you just boil it away. I make my own so it's part of the process. For mozzarella I take them out of the packaging and the water they come in, open them up and put them in a...

    For the tomato sauce you just boil it away. I make my own so it's part of the process. For mozzarella I take them out of the packaging and the water they come in, open them up and put them in a bowl that I cover and leave in the fridge. They'll naturally release water. I do this up to a day ahead

    1 vote

  16. Comment on A pizza recipe that's never failed me in ~food

    aksi
    Link Parent
    I use a hand mixer initially to get a rough consistency, but knead it by hand a bit more after. I can judge the dough better if I work it that way.

    I use a hand mixer initially to get a rough consistency, but knead it by hand a bit more after. I can judge the dough better if I work it that way.

    4 votes

  17. Comment on A pizza recipe that's never failed me in ~food

    aksi
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    Seeing the last post for pizza I wanted to share my own creations. I've also included my dough recipe for anyone that wants to have a go at it. For a few years now I have made pizza following this...

    Seeing the last post for pizza I wanted to share my own creations. I've also included my dough recipe for anyone that wants to have a go at it.

    For a few years now I have made pizza following this recipe and it's never failed me. I have baked the pizzas in a regular oven and in an Ooni. While the Ooni produces better looking pizzas, both are very tasty.

    In the image link I have added my latest pizzas and below I will include a recipe and some topping combinations.

    Recipe - 2-3 pizzas depending on size

    • 300g tipo 00 flour
    • 200g water
    • 8g salt
    • 2-4g active dry yeast
    • 4g EV olive oil
    1. Mix flours and salt in a large bowl
    2. In a smaller bowl, mix 200g lukewarm water, yeast, and olive oil. Stir it together.
    3. Mix the liquid contents into the flour mixture. Knead it for roughly 3 mins until combined. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
    4. Knead dough again for 3 min and cut into 2-3 pieces. Shape the pieces into balls so they are tight and springy.
    5. Put them in pre-floured containers and cover with plastic wrap or lids. They need space to grow, keep that in mind.
    6. Let them rise in the fridge for 24 hours. Take out 1h before you need to handle the dough.

    For the baking process it depends on the oven you have. In a conventional oven the basic logic is as-hot-as-it-goes. Some modern ovens can go to different temperatures depending on settings. Mine goes to 300c on a specific grill setting, but not with any other setting.

    A pizza stone is nice to have, if you don't have one then you can preheat an oven tray as well. Pizza steel is not something that I have an experience with so I cannot comment on that. What I do know is that the stone and steel need some time between bakes to properly regain heat.

    Random other tips

    • Remove moisture. This goes for the tomato sauce but also the mozzarella. I open up my mozzarella ahead of time and put them in a bowl to release some of their liquid. I find this especially important if you bake your pizzas in a normal oven as the mozzarella seems to have time to release more water.
    • Consider the fat content of your toppings. Salsiccia and some salami will release a lot of fat that turns to liquid when in the oven.
    • Higher protein flour is better to build up the gluten.
    • Have a grate or something to put the pizzas on. The dough will release some steam and leaving it to rest on something so the bottom has access to air helps prevent soggy bottoms.

    Toppings to try

    • Artichoke cream base topped with mozzarella, sauteed spinach, browned butter, and bresaola crisps (make these ahead of time)
    • "Margherita" with a base of oven roasted tomatoes and topped with burrata.
    • Tomato sauce topped with mozzarella, 'nduja, blue cheese, and honey
    • Not a combination per se, but try to make some de-hydrated parmegiano to sprinkle on for a crisp texture

    Other ways to make pizza

    I have used this same dough to make pizza fritta. I wouldn't recommend that you make only pizza fritta, but having one to share as a starter can be a lot of fun as a variety. Especially if you make some trapizzino! There's a picture of one in the album as well.

    39 votes

  19. Comment on How do you like your smart home setup? in ~tech

    aksi
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    My setup isn't complex not revolutionary. But I just wanted to chime in and say how much I love Hur and Homekit. Adding new devices is easy. Controlling it all from Homekit is easy. For me it's...

    My setup isn't complex not revolutionary. But I just wanted to chime in and say how much I love Hur and Homekit.

    Adding new devices is easy. Controlling it all from Homekit is easy. For me it's been fantastic! I love having schedules set up for all the lamps. I literally haven't thought about turning on or off lamps for years now. It happens occasionally but the schedule is so solid that I don't have to do much besides telling Siri goodnight and everything shuts off (if it isn't already).

    I'm not sure how many other smart devices I would get. I might consider an oven, but more? I don't know.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Experiences with emotions (do you feel them often, and how to feel more emotions?) in ~talk

    aksi
    Link Parent
    In a sense yes, but it also depends on who I am talking to, the context, and how deep it cuts. If I am telling a story about how I was mistreated by my dad as a kid, I might be fine vocalising it...

    This is interesting. If I understand you correctly, it seems like for you, the ability to express the emotions (whether that be from writing them down, or speaking about them outloud) is almost tied together with feeling the emotions themselves. (like you can't have one without the other in a way.)

    In a sense yes, but it also depends on who I am talking to, the context, and how deep it cuts.

    If I am telling a story about how I was mistreated by my dad as a kid, I might be fine vocalising it from an objective and more detached view. Using phrases like "it probably made me feel" or such. It's like I can skim the surface of my interior feelings and then logically explain it a bit. If I were to try and explicitly say: "I felt" that's much harder.

    In general though, vocalising it is much harder for me than writing it down. It's like it becomes more real if I actually say it instead of just writing it down. Some things I write down and share I just can't vocalise, because the feelings then actually bubble up and it makes me feel out of control and I just shut down.