artvandelay's recent activity
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
artvandelay LinkPicked up something that wasn't on my radar until recently, Entrances and Exits, Michael Richards' memoir. It's a deeper introspective look at his own life, which has been defined by his intense...Picked up something that wasn't on my radar until recently, Entrances and Exits, Michael Richards' memoir. It's a deeper introspective look at his own life, which has been defined by his intense artistic dedication and complex public legacy. For anyone unfamiliar, Michael Richards is the actor best known for playing Cosmo Kramer in Seinfeld. Richards is, in my view, one of the great masters of physical comedy and his talents are in full display on Seinfeld. Unfortunately, Richards' legacy is largely overshadowed by his 2006 racial outburst which effectively derailed his career and led to a nearly 20 year self-imposed exile. He effectively "cancelled" himself before it became more common place. I've been enjoying the memoir because Richards avoids a lot of the usual "setting the record straight" other celebrities do when they are in some public incident. Instead, Richards opts for a beautiful, eccentric narrative that addresses the various chapters in his life, from his turbulent early years to his military career and eventually comedy. He talks a lot about his own internal chaos that fueled his greatest performances on television and how it unfortunately led to his most public of failures.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
artvandelay LinkBeen listening to a lot of funk this week, mainly from The Fearless Flyers. I've listened to a lot of songs in the last year by one of the guitarists of the band, Cory Wong, but I never realized...Been listening to a lot of funk this week, mainly from The Fearless Flyers. I've listened to a lot of songs in the last year by one of the guitarists of the band, Cory Wong, but I never realized they were in a band haha. I also had some K-pop as one of my favorite groups, fromis_9, released their first ever Japanese EP.
Top 3:
Ace of Aces - The Fearless Flyers
Patrol Acrobatique - The Fearless Flyers
LIKE YOU BETTER (Japanese ver.) - fromis_9 -
Comment on Donald Trump says it's 'not possible' for the US to pay for Medicaid, Medicare and day care: 'We’re fighting wars' in ~society
artvandelay LinkGlad that we have our priorities straight as a country. Having Medicaid, Medicare, day care, and universal healthcare is such a waste of money when we could just spend our money turning the middle...Glad that we have our priorities straight as a country. Having Medicaid, Medicare, day care, and universal healthcare is such a waste of money when we could just spend our money turning the middle east to dust.
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Comment on What if AI just makes us work harder? in ~tech
artvandelay (edited )Link ParentI'm very much the third type of person you've listed above. I work in bursts of energy and take breaks by just messing around and browsing the web (like Tildes) during my workday. My view on AI at...I'm very much the third type of person you've listed above. I work in bursts of energy and take breaks by just messing around and browsing the web (like Tildes) during my workday. My view on AI at work is biased as my performance (and therefore employment) relies on it but I still think AI is doing more good than harm in my day-to-day. I agree with pretty much everything you've said. I haven't let AI completely replace me but I have let it do the more boring, routine work as I focus on other things. I am grateful that my manager has been extremely on top of making sure we as engineers manage our workload to avoid burnout. Before AI, it wasn't common for engineers on our team/org to be working on more than 1-2 projects at a time on top of usual up-keep and monitoring of our systems. However, now I see engineers routinely working on like 3-5 projects at a time. The company is certainly profiting more from the extra work being done than the engineers are earning from doing the extra work, but as you mentioned, when used right, AI does let you focus more on the high level engineering work. Another big benefit with the push for AI is people are finally documenting things thoroughly. I find myself benefiting from the CLAUDE.md files polluting our codebase as much as Claude benefits from them.
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games
artvandelay Link ParentDigging a tunnel isn't too hard though you might encounter odd obstacles that'd cause height changes. The blue line I built in the middle of TildeTown suffers from this unfortunately. It works but...Digging a tunnel isn't too hard though you might encounter odd obstacles that'd cause height changes. The blue line I built in the middle of TildeTown suffers from this unfortunately. It works but it's not the most ideal :)
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
artvandelay Link ParentLook forward to hearing your results!Look forward to hearing your results!
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
artvandelay Link ParentOf course! That was my goal with the dish to be honest, I'm a fairly lazy cook so I love instant pot recipes since I can usually just set and forget them for ~20-30 minutes and have plenty of...Of course! That was my goal with the dish to be honest, I'm a fairly lazy cook so I love instant pot recipes since I can usually just set and forget them for ~20-30 minutes and have plenty of meals. Here's the final recipe:
- 1lb chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 cup rice
- 2 big zucchini, cut into thick half moons
- 2 carrots, cut into rounds, or a cup of baby carrots
- 1 jar of Salsa Verde (12oz or 16oz, just adjust the broth based on size)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- Salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, oil
- Put a thin layer of oil on the bottom of your instant pot and place chicken, season things
- Add carrots in a layer and then zucchini in a layer
- Add rice in top layer and then pour in salsa and broth
- Pressure cook on high pressure for 8 minutes
- Once done pressure cooking, let naturally release for a bit and then open things up.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
artvandelay Link ParentI added the broth at the same time as everything else actually! I put the chicken on the bottom, then the veggies, seasonings, and then my washed rice and the broth. I've never had the chicken...I added the broth at the same time as everything else actually! I put the chicken on the bottom, then the veggies, seasonings, and then my washed rice and the broth. I've never had the chicken stick to the bottom in any of my recipes but I also always put a tiny film of oil just to prevent any stickage. I think in the future yeah I'd cut the broth to be a 1-1 ratio with the rice. The chicken and veggies put out a ton of moisture which also steams the rice.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
artvandelay LinkI finally have something to share here! I've recently been utilizing my instant pot to be a bit more adventurous with my cooking. And by adventurous, I mean still making the same basic chicken...I finally have something to share here! I've recently been utilizing my instant pot to be a bit more adventurous with my cooking. And by adventurous, I mean still making the same basic chicken stew I've been making but with new flavors and ingredients.
When I first posted months ago of what I cooked, I was simply making "Chicken Chile Verde" where I just threw chicken and jarred salsa verde and pressure cooked for ~10-12 minutes. That wasn't the most nutritionally complete however so I modified it a bit. I added zucchini and carrots and then a layer of rice as well with some chicken broth. This resulted in a weird chicken chile verde pulao/biryani that was pretty nice to eat actually. If you would like to recreate this, I would caution against adding too much liquid, the rice can quickly become mush. I used 1lb of chicken, 2 large zucchinis, a handful of baby carrots (since I already had them), and then ~1/2 cup of rice and 1 cup of chicken broth in my first attempt and the rice was just slightly too mushy for my taste.
I recently brought my car into my city so I can now easily access the big Korean grocery store on the other side of the city. This week during my weekly grocery run, I bought gochujang (Korean fermented chili paste), soy sauce, and sesame oil. I also included my usual groceries like bell peppers, onion, zucchini and chicken thighs. One thing that caught me off guard was how the thighs I bought were butchered. The best comparison for how this chicken was butchered was like how I learned to make simple paper Chinese lanterns in elementary school (example linked as [1]). This was a bit of an experiment and a bit of a fail. The gochujang/sesame oil/soy flavor was great but I had overcooked the veggies, making them mush again. Still decent though!
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Comment on Does anyone play older versions of Minecraft? in ~games
artvandelay LinkI personally don't play the older versions but I do watch a fair amount of it on YouTube. I've been watching this channel called Mahjong Blonsky (linked below) who primarily plays Alpha Minecraft,...I personally don't play the older versions but I do watch a fair amount of it on YouTube. I've been watching this channel called Mahjong Blonsky (linked below) who primarily plays Alpha Minecraft, along with older versions of Minecraft Pocket Edition, as well as newer Minecraft-like games such as Allumeria and Vintage Story. I personally have a lot of nostalgia for older versions of the pocket edition of Minecraft as that's where I started playing Minecraft. However, nowadays, I don't game in general that often anymore so I never really made time to go back to these older versions of Minecraft Java. I do play the current version of the game from time to time as I hop on the Tildes Minecraft server. I don't contribute much to it but I enjoy spending most of my time exploring the world.
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Comment on Air Canada CEO will retire this year after his English-only crash message was criticized in ~transport
artvandelay Link ParentMy experience matches yours as well. I visited France with family around 8 years ago now and the people there were kind and accommodating to us tourists, falling back to English once my super...My experience matches yours as well. I visited France with family around 8 years ago now and the people there were kind and accommodating to us tourists, falling back to English once my super limited French knowledge was exhausted. French Canada was a wildly different beast however. I visited Montreal and Quebec City last year and the only time I heard English being spoken was either from my family members or the tour guide that took us around Quebec City. When I'd go to Tim Hortons for a morning coffee, they'd only speak French and I had to translate my requests into French using my phone. They'd just stare at me blankly if I spoke English or even tried to speak the French phrases from my phone.
Beautiful place to visit though, highly recommend.
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Comment on Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion in ~sports.motorsports
artvandelay LinkSpoilers for the race ahead! Honestly, I really enjoyed the race, more than usual for an F1 GP at Suzuka. The slow start for the Mercedes plus the safety car did help jumble things up in the...Spoilers for the race ahead!
Honestly, I really enjoyed the race, more than usual for an F1 GP at Suzuka. The slow start for the Mercedes plus the safety car did help jumble things up in the beginning. I hope Bearman is alright after that crash, which was apparently 50G. Seems like Colapinto was potentially slowing down to recharge the battery? at the same time that Bearman was coming in hot from behind.
I do think people are being overly dramatic when it comes to their reactions for this new era of regulations. While I do think the drop-off in speed as the battery runs out at the end of the straights does suck, I do think the overall racing is better. The battery deployment adds another layer of strategy that I think really livens things up. I think if they could sort out the superclipping, either by allowing more lift-and-coast or changing battery specs to last a whole straight, things could be great.
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Comment on What does someone do if they think they are a fan of photography? in ~arts
artvandelay LinkWhen I used to use Reddit a lot more, I spent a lot of time on the various photography "porn" subreddits like CityPorn, CarPorn, etc. When I first started browsing them, I was just there to enjoy...When I used to use Reddit a lot more, I spent a lot of time on the various photography "porn" subreddits like CityPorn, CarPorn, etc. When I first started browsing them, I was just there to enjoy the photos at a surface level but as time went on, I started to focus more on the key things of any photo, much like a painting. Focus on the subject, the lighting, the emotion/story the photo tells, the details in the photo and most importantly the composition. How is the photographer framing the shot, intentionally including or intentionally excluding certain things? How are they using leading lines like roads, shadows or fences to direct my eyes? I personally haven't gone to any photography exhibitions yet but I still enjoy photos online often.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
artvandelay LinkI watched Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026) last night. It's a direct sequel to Dhurandhar (2025) that was released towards the end of last year. Just like the first movie, this one again draws heavy...I watched Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026) last night. It's a direct sequel to Dhurandhar (2025) that was released towards the end of last year. Just like the first movie, this one again draws heavy inspiration from events that occurred in early to mid 2010s between India and Pakistan as part of India's counter-terrorism plans.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie, would probably rate it a solid 7/10. I don't think it was as good as the first movie however. I found the story to drag on just a bit and it wasn't as interesting to me as the more spy focused original. I think they could've split the movies into 3 slightly shorter movies instead of stuffing everything into 2 longer ones. Having an almost 4 hour runtime is ridiculous in my opinion. I also found parts of the editing to be quite rushed/messy? Like the first movie, the chapters are clearly split with a title card for each chapter. For whatever reason, the text was simply not anti-aliased? It's a minor thing but it was driving me mad. Often, they'd also put white text on a bright background that made it hard to read. During various gunfights, they'd either not have the gun muzzles flashes but would have the sound of the gun firing, have the muzzle flashes but not the sound, or have neither but the actor would still be shaking the gun as if they were firing the gun. So, I'm not sure what was happening but I guess they didn't have too long to do post-production as filming only wrapped up last October.
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Comment on Requesting your thoughts that may help me decide between moving to Chicago or Portland (Oregon)? in ~life
artvandelay Link ParentIt certainly is freeing to live car-free. No more having to worry about registration, gas/charging, parking when you go somewhere, parking at home, driving in traffic, etc. You just check the...It certainly is freeing to live car-free. No more having to worry about registration, gas/charging, parking when you go somewhere, parking at home, driving in traffic, etc. You just check the train schedule and work around it accordingly. Chicago is very easy to live car-free in. The CTA (local subway) and Metra (regional commuter trains) do have their issues but it's a solid system all in. If you ever do need a car, it's far cheaper to rent one through ZipCar.
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Comment on Requesting your thoughts that may help me decide between moving to Chicago or Portland (Oregon)? in ~life
artvandelay Link Parentno problem, glad to help!no problem, glad to help!
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Comment on Requesting your thoughts that may help me decide between moving to Chicago or Portland (Oregon)? in ~life
artvandelay LinkI haven't lived in Chicago but I did go to university in Illinois, visited Chicago plenty of times, and have friends that now live in Chicago. I do think it's smart to visit Chicago to see if...I haven't lived in Chicago but I did go to university in Illinois, visited Chicago plenty of times, and have friends that now live in Chicago. I do think it's smart to visit Chicago to see if you'd like the city. If you've got the time + money, getting an Airbnb for ~2 weeks to a month would help you get a feel for things. I'm pretty biased here but I do think Chicago would be a great choice. Chicago is in a great place for American cities at the moment. You get a lot of the density + public transit that people adore about NYC and other real dense cities but you also get much lower cost of living compared to other big cities. It's also extremely walkable and bikeable (perhaps moreso than Portland) as the city is as flat as a pancake and in a nice grid.
I do think weather is Chicago's main weakness. Winters are pretty cold and summers are hot and humid. Even now, as we're supposed to be exiting winter and entering spring, Chicago weather is all over the place, bouncing between mid 30s to mid 60s in temperature and going from sunny to rainy. Given that you're moving out of Texas, you might've experienced similar summer weather so it won't be too much of an adjustment but the winters can take a while to get used to. Just make sure to layer up and wear proper snow boots.
Within downtown and adjacent neighborhoods connected to the L, crime should be fairly low. My friends have lived in Chicago now for 3 years and have never really had any issues with it, they're in the River North area though. Even in my many visits, the city has felt safe, including the L. There'll almost certainly be some characters on your trains in the late evenings but if you apply common sense, you'll be fine.
I can't speak on making friends and finding community in Chicago since I never lived there but I can speak a bit on the politics there. Chicago, in my limited experience, is more pragmatic and coalition-based in its political culture. It's certainly still a left-leaning city but it is more politically diverse and you'll find more variation in viewpoints even within left-leaning groups. I think people are more willing to compromise on certain things to get other things done. From my experience being from and living on the west coast, the west coast cities (SF/LA/SEA/PDX) do tend to be more ideologically cohesive and culturally progressive. Portland especially is ideologically consistent as you noted and very activist-driven, which is why certain news outlets like to focus on it so much. Values around social justice, climate change, identity, etc. are widely shared and openly emphasized in your day-to-day.
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Comment on What’s something you’re putting up with? in ~talk
artvandelay Link ParentAhh gotcha, will take a look then! I do have bulbs that let me adjust the color temperature so I go from cooler light during the day to warmer in the evening. I've also got a similar bulb in my...Ahh gotcha, will take a look then! I do have bulbs that let me adjust the color temperature so I go from cooler light during the day to warmer in the evening. I've also got a similar bulb in my bedroom that's also warm and slowly dims as the night goes on and helps me fall asleep.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
artvandelay LinkFun week as I had a team offsite event where we played some Top Golf and got some dinner. My friends and I also finally managed to grab dinner together. We're really good at saying we're down to...Fun week as I had a team offsite event where we played some Top Golf and got some dinner. My friends and I also finally managed to grab dinner together. We're really good at saying we're down to do something but then we suck at executing on those plans so the rare occasions we do meet are special.
Glad to be here! Listened to Vulfpeck previously but never connected the dots until earlier when I discovered The Fearless Flyers lol