aldian's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on Are you using WiFi 6E in a home/home office setting? Have you seen any benefit to the 6GHz channel? in ~tech
aldian Link ParentThat's been my experience too, it's great for lowering latency, but most people don't have the demand on a single client to fully utilize it, except for things like VR or NAS file transfers.That's been my experience too, it's great for lowering latency, but most people don't have the demand on a single client to fully utilize it, except for things like VR or NAS file transfers.
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Comment on It’s official: Cars are the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy in ~tech
aldian Link ParentThere's nothing good about it. The peak setup, imo, is Android Auto / iOS Car Play on a 7-10" screen + bluetooth audio AND aux input. That is as much tech as I will ever want or need until we're...There's nothing good about it. The peak setup, imo, is Android Auto / iOS Car Play on a 7-10" screen + bluetooth audio AND aux input. That is as much tech as I will ever want or need until we're capable of hosting self driving compute 100% in car with transparently audited / auditable code with accountability for failures.
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Comment on It’s official: Cars are the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy in ~tech
aldian Link ParentI'm in a '14 Chevy Sonic right now. I will keep it maintained and drive it until it rusts away, and even then I may try to repair that a few times.I'm in a '14 Chevy Sonic right now. I will keep it maintained and drive it until it rusts away, and even then I may try to repair that a few times.
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Comment on It’s official: Cars are the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy in ~tech
aldian Link ParentI owned a third-hand '95 Ranger that was similar, except for an automatic transmission. Still to this day my favorite vehicle I ever owned. Everything on it was so easy to maintain and repair...I owned a third-hand '95 Ranger that was similar, except for an automatic transmission. Still to this day my favorite vehicle I ever owned. Everything on it was so easy to maintain and repair (what few things did break) as well as a fully replaceable radio. Had I kept that truck, I'd have Android Auto / Car Play in it today, just cause I could.
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Comment on I had a severe panic attack two days ago in ~health.mental
aldian Link ParentThis has helped me a lot too. I think it's how I'm 'being honest with myself' is by being honest with others, maybe a little too soon, but I have a network of support that's making that work, and...I share my story try and dispel the stigma of mental health in any small way I can.
This has helped me a lot too. I think it's how I'm 'being honest with myself' is by being honest with others, maybe a little too soon, but I have a network of support that's making that work, and so far has lead to one of the longest periods of day to day stability I've had in a long, long time. Still have some issues with my ADHD despite being medicated, but I'll take it given how calm everything else is.
Another way is when people open up even a little about their own mental health issues, I am now completely unashamed to lay my own bare, because it has helped others. And if I can't get rid of the people pleasing, by god I'll make it work for me. But it's resulted in me having a group of friends and family that I can talk to openly and that can speak to me openly, and that has made a world of difference in my levels of stress.
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Comment on I had a severe panic attack two days ago in ~health.mental
aldian Link ParentDo you have a friend or family member that likes to listen with you? Maybe go on a drive and just belt out some songs, or listen to the first ~10 seconds of everything in your library and see if...Do you have a friend or family member that likes to listen with you? Maybe go on a drive and just belt out some songs, or listen to the first ~10 seconds of everything in your library and see if anything clicks.
Music can hit us deeply, and there are more than a handful of songs I have that are my 'go to's for when I'm moody. I have whole playlists for fighting my depression, and others for "fucking get shit done".
And if all that sounds awful and doesn't help, do something different, go read a book, or watch a movie, or maybe try audio books, or a new hobby. It's all BS standard mental health advice, but it's because people are so varied, there's no one size fits all, and if nothing else, you'll exhaust yourself enough to get good rest while you find what works for you!
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Comment on I had a severe panic attack two days ago in ~health.mental
aldian (edited )Link ParentYup, you're doing the hard work, now, this is where grounding and just "keeping at it" helped me a lot. Being honest with yourself is... hard... and for me at least, exploratory. It was a long...Yup, you're doing the hard work, now, this is where grounding and just "keeping at it" helped me a lot.
Being honest with yourself is... hard... and for me at least, exploratory. It was a long process of taking in a bad thought, and just doing everything possible to convince myself "That isn't true/correct/accurate/fair" about that one thing... and then just doing that with each thing. Focusing on one thing first to get the hang of doing it can help, but these are all deeper therapy topics you should trust your provider on.
And your diagnosis is "this is what you're immediately suffering from" it may not be what's wrong with you. For me, a lot of my anxiety was caused by a combination of the Executive Dysfunction from my ADHD and sensory issues I hadn't noticed / accepted. That's another reason the grounding techniques can help, your body being in a certain physical state can also cause anxiety, for some people. Which also covers the list of F's I gave at the end to address any of the 'fixable' ones.
I hate to say it, but at this point, it really is just take it one day at a time and do the work, keep talking, if that feels like it helps, but don't cave to dark thoughts, no matter what your brain tells you, you are loved, even and especially when it's telling you those people you love most don't love you. And even if you cave to that, maybe try loving yourself, just as you are, anxiety, flaws, and all. Cause you're still a human, worthy of love, even if it's just the gentle self love we all lose sight of, sometimes.
Edit: You aren't the same person. You're 20, to be blunt, you're basically a new person every year or two until you're 25-ish, maybe longer, for some people. But, the good news about that? It's the middle of July, you're over halfway through the year, take some time to be loved and supported by those you love, and try being who you want to be next year, be who you need to be now, which is a person that takes care of themself and gets their mental health under control.
I've had to be who you are right now a couple of times, once as early as you, and a couple more times since then, and I may have to be that person in the future, too, the important thing is developing the ability to be that person and recognize when you need to be that person, some people even manage to make it a whole part of their 'self' whatever that is... I'll let you know if the philosophers ever get back to us on that.
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Comment on I had a severe panic attack two days ago in ~health.mental
aldian Link ParentYeah, I forgot to mention it in my longer post above, but going out for walks helped me a ton, and specifically in nature / by a nearby waterway helped me way more than just sidewalk walking with...Yeah, I forgot to mention it in my longer post above, but going out for walks helped me a ton, and specifically in nature / by a nearby waterway helped me way more than just sidewalk walking with music on.
Also, that last bit was huge for me, but sorta the other way around. I accepted that I was "broken" but that didn't make me "worthless". It just meant there were some things that were harder for me or that I'd have to work around. I know that outlook may not suit everyone, but it helped me a lot to be able to say "No, that thought is my anxiety... which is an illness... which means it's dumb and literally what I'm working against. Begone thought."
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Comment on I had a severe panic attack two days ago in ~health.mental
aldian LinkHey there, first of all, I'm so sorry. I've dealt with panic attacks and various other mental health issues for years now, and I get how rough it can be and how maddeningly illogical it is. It's a...Hey there, first of all, I'm so sorry. I've dealt with panic attacks and various other mental health issues for years now, and I get how rough it can be and how maddeningly illogical it is. It's a fantastic thing that you recognized all this and managed to get help, though, especially at such a young age, that is a serious accomplishment I want to commend you for. Knowing yourself well enough to know "I need help" is a life skill that not everyone manages to develop.
I want to preface all this advice with: I am not a medical professional, please follow your medical professional's advice. Some of the things that have worked for me with my conditions may harm people with other conditions.
My biggest piece of immediate advice is to continue getting help when and how you need it. That is the most important thing, but at the same time, if your therapist / psych isn't working out, don't hesitate to get a different one, the intrapersonal relationship there is very important, and it's important for you to feel comfortable, but that can also take time, too, so don't get discouraged if it feels hard to 'open up'.
My next biggest piece of advice is simple but also profoundly hard: Be honest. Be honest with your medical professionals, be honest with your friends and family and employer (if necessary / safe to do so, of course), and most importantly, be honest with yourself.
Communicate your worries with people you trust and tell them that you know it may be irrational to feel, but sometimes just getting it out of your head can remove a lot of its power and make you realize how unfounded it is. It's very easy to put anxieties and fears under logical examination and dismiss them, but that's because they literally don't make sense. Try to mull the feeling over and figure it out, why do you feel this way? What do you know that's counterfactual to this thought? (For instance, if you're dealing with imposter syndrome, what do you know that's incorrect about that, what do you know about what you're worried you're wrong about). Things like that. Also, if mulling over the feeling is hard, try some grounding or mindfullness exercises to help you connect with your physical space first, that tends to help calm my mind down enough to then start working on the actual anxiety.
And lastly, make sure you're getting enough food, fluids, fun, and, if of interest to you, fucking. I say that last one half jokingly, but looking at changes in your sex drive can help identify the root of an anxiety.
Hope all this helps, and I hope some others chime in with their own support and advice :)
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Comment on How far do you live from the place you were born? in ~talk
aldian LinkCurrently? About 12mi (~20km). Personal best? 1769mi (~2800km).Currently? About 12mi (~20km). Personal best? 1769mi (~2800km).
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Comment on An open letter against Apple's privacy-invasive content scanning technology in ~tech
aldian Link ParentApple's Photos app is not a user land app. Any software signed by Apple's certificates has full, unrestricted access to all APIs on the system, including 'Private' APIs that include the entire...As a userland app
Apple's Photos app is not a user land app. Any software signed by Apple's certificates has full, unrestricted access to all APIs on the system, including 'Private' APIs that include the entire suite of Mach kernel functions. Also, if you go look at the Photos app in Settings, it doesn't feature the same set of Permissions that other photo managing apps have, and in fact, if you look at another Photo managing app, like Google Photos, Apple's Photos app is the permission those apps are granted to access the device's photos, because Apple's app is the gatekeeper for all of it.
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Comment on What do you like and dislike about your chosen music service(s)? in ~music
aldian Link ParentI actually view this as a feature, there are a few youtube covers / songs from shows that weren't 'Officially' part of the sound track that I like and I love being able to add them to my playlist,...they seem to intermix youtube user videos that contain music with actual music
I actually view this as a feature, there are a few youtube covers / songs from shows that weren't 'Officially' part of the sound track that I like and I love being able to add them to my playlist, but when a random Youtuber cover gets suggested instead of a real song... yeah that sucks and is part of the reason I'm leaving.
As to the maps thing, I still don't understand why maps should integrate music at all... Why shouldn't it work like Car Play / Android Auto where it's just a background task?
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Comment on What do you like and dislike about your chosen music service(s)? in ~music
aldian (edited )LinkI use Youtube Music mostly because I consume enough youtube videos in a month to make Youtube Premium worth it, so I decided to try out their music service since it was an addon. My biggest...I use Youtube Music mostly because I consume enough youtube videos in a month to make Youtube Premium worth it, so I decided to try out their music service since it was an addon. My biggest complaint, especially as a former Play Music user: The Youtube Music app is just a veneer over actual youtube. It isn't a good music playing app. I can't, for the life of me, get it to NOT play the videos on Desktop. It's like listening to music on shuffle and getting the live version..... I don't want to sit and listen to artistic wind noises for 3 minutes cause that's how the music video starts. I'm actually going to be switching back to Spotify today, just gotta figure out if I can somehow import my playlists or if I'm going to have to move them by hand / use a sketchy third party thing...
Edit: Just in case someone comes across this, I remembered what service I've used to do this in the past! soundiiz.com, I've used it two or three times, and you do have to pay for their 'premium' account level to transfer from one service to another. Make sure you cancel it too, cause their premium is a monthly charge, there's no option to just pay for a transfer and be done. However, it will move all the playlists and even report to you any songs it couldn't find on your target service so you can fix those.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
aldian Link ParentThere is a counter claim process in the DMCA, the problem is, it's very expensive and not practical to make and defend a counterclaim against a company with enough money for lawyers.There is a counter claim process in the DMCA, the problem is, it's very expensive and not practical to make and defend a counterclaim against a company with enough money for lawyers.
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Comment on What's something that was ahead of its time? in ~talk
aldian Link ParentIt's the mark of a good communicator. It's why channels on Youtube like Numberphile and Vi Hart and all the other math/science communicators do well, you can make anyone pay attention to almost...It's the mark of a good communicator. It's why channels on Youtube like Numberphile and Vi Hart and all the other math/science communicators do well, you can make anyone pay attention to almost anything by framing the presentation well, and this post is very well done indeed.
Edit: I also just noticed in one of his other posts that he used an interrobang (‽). This guy is definitely cool.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
aldian Link ParentThey're actually working on that. I saw on the AMA they just did on Reddit that they're working on enabling username sign in. I think the only catch is you won't be able to sign in to a new device...They're actually working on that. I saw on the AMA they just did on Reddit that they're working on enabling username sign in. I think the only catch is you won't be able to sign in to a new device without one of your other devices. But I may be wrong on that. So, good for backup devices / clients, not great for a 'oh shit every message capable device I own is simultaneously destroyed'.
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Comment on TikTok can continue to operate in the US, Commerce Department says in ~tech
aldian Link ParentTrump lost the election in the intervening time. He got mad cause Tiktok users fucked with his rally and now he doesn't care anymore.Trump lost the election in the intervening time. He got mad cause Tiktok users fucked with his rally and now he doesn't care anymore.
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Comment on People of Tildes, have you travelled the entirety of the length of your country? in ~talk
aldian LinkI have, actually, though not all in one go. And not entirely by a single form of transit. I was born in the South East region of the US, travelled all over it before I was 18, including trips to...I have, actually, though not all in one go. And not entirely by a single form of transit.
I was born in the South East region of the US, travelled all over it before I was 18, including trips to Chicago and Ohio. I've been to DC, NYC, Phili, Atlanta, Never any of the gulf states, really, just passed through. Texas, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, California. Haven't made it to the PNW or the middle of the country except driving through. Furthest trip was Knoxville, TN to Denver, CO and I've done it, there and back several times.
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Comment on Quibi raised $1.75 billion and secured a roster of A-list talent, but it can’t get audiences to notice in ~tv
aldian Link ParentI saw marketing for Quibi on tiktok, actually. The impression I got was that it was basically just pulling clips out of old comedy shows and that was it. The ads I saw were all for episodes of...I saw marketing for Quibi on tiktok, actually. The impression I got was that it was basically just pulling clips out of old comedy shows and that was it. The ads I saw were all for episodes of various old comedy shows.
The one shot sidequest they did in character without Tav was amazing, and I need it as a quest in BG3, you get stuck, rest, and they come back to tell you