blitz's recent activity
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Comment on Looking for a good, cheap VPS for a VPN in or around London in ~comp
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Comment on Opinion - The Washington Post is about to embrace the darkness in ~news
blitz Link ParentConnections fans have a duty to know about Only Connect, in which the Connecting Wall is the 3rd round of every episode. The NYT shamelessy ripped off this game and made Connections. But that's...Connections fans have a duty to know about Only Connect, in which the Connecting Wall is the 3rd round of every episode. The NYT shamelessy ripped off this game and made Connections. But that's not to say that connections isn't pretty fun!
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Comment on If you had up to US$250 to get one person into a hobby you're interested in, what would you do to get them started? in ~hobbies
blitz Link ParentA set of 8x42 binoculars will work great for both birding and astronomy. That's what I use for both! You can get more specialized astronomy binoculars with a greater aperture, but any binoculars...A set of 8x42 binoculars will work great for both birding and astronomy. That's what I use for both! You can get more specialized astronomy binoculars with a greater aperture, but any binoculars will open up stargazing in a way that's not accessible with the naked eye.
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Comment on If you had up to US$250 to get one person into a hobby you're interested in, what would you do to get them started? in ~hobbies
blitz Link ParentIf you've got a set of binoculars, check if your local library has the book Turn Left at Orion and use it to find some good binocular targets to look at at night!If you've got a set of binoculars, check if your local library has the book Turn Left at Orion and use it to find some good binocular targets to look at at night!
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Comment on The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power | Season 2 official teaser trailer in ~tv
blitz Link ParentCulminating in the incredibly cheesy Southlands -> Mordor text fadeCulminating in the incredibly cheesy Southlands -> Mordor text fade
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Comment on I'm at a loss on what to do about my backyard grass situation in ~life.home_improvement
blitz Link ParentThis is the real question. Three dogs running around every day in a city or even suburban sized lot will destroy whatever grass you put down.Question for clarification: how heavily is your lawn used by you and the dogs?
This is the real question. Three dogs running around every day in a city or even suburban sized lot will destroy whatever grass you put down.
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Comment on The cycling revolution in Paris continues: Bicycle use now exceeds car use in ~transport
blitz Link ParentYou are correct, you can walk around the base of the arc without a ticket, but you need one to go up to the observation platform, museum and gift shop inside. We went on a whim because when we...You are correct, you can walk around the base of the arc without a ticket, but you need one to go up to the observation platform, museum and gift shop inside. We went on a whim because when we were visiting the arc, there was basically no line. It's staggeringly huge inside!
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Comment on Eclipse plans in ~talk
blitz Link ParentI'm so glad you did! I traveled about 1600 miles total by car for this eclipse. It was super cloudy in Texas so we only got to see totality for about 30 seconds, but it was still so worth it!I'm so glad you did! I traveled about 1600 miles total by car for this eclipse. It was super cloudy in Texas so we only got to see totality for about 30 seconds, but it was still so worth it!
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Comment on Boeing whistleblower found dead in US in ~transport
blitz Link ParentThis is quite the commitment. Tools like Kayak now have a filter on the types of aircraft you want at booking, but these things change all the time in the days and months leading up to the actual...I think I'm unironically never flying on a Boeing again.
This is quite the commitment. Tools like Kayak now have a filter on the types of aircraft you want at booking, but these things change all the time in the days and months leading up to the actual flight. Then there's the possibility of a last minute change if something's wrong with the originally assigned aircraft on the day of the flight.
I think it's possible that the capacities, ranges and seating arrangements are such that they might not switch between Boeing and Airbus that often, so I have no idea how often a switch like this would take place.
I'd love to read a blog post about somebody actually trying to stick to this commitment for a year or so.
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Comment on The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin | Official trailer in ~tv
blitz LinkThe first episodes are out! We watched the first three last night and were laughing riotously. Definitely worth checking out!The first episodes are out! We watched the first three last night and were laughing riotously. Definitely worth checking out!
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Comment on Grace Petrie - The House Always Wins (2024) in ~music
blitz LinkThanks for this heads up! I really enjoy Grace Petrie, she really seems like a spiritual successor to the protest singers of the 60's and on like Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton, who I also love. My...Thanks for this heads up! I really enjoy Grace Petrie, she really seems like a spiritual successor to the protest singers of the 60's and on like Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton, who I also love.
My favorite song of hers before this album was "I wish the Guardian believed that I exist" :)
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
blitz LinkTwo weeks into my weight loss plan of losing a pound a week is going well! My goal weight for today was 191 lbs, and my average weigh in for the last 7 days is 190.3. I’ve been finding that the...Two weeks into my weight loss plan of losing a pound a week is going well! My goal weight for today was 191 lbs, and my average weigh in for the last 7 days is 190.3.
I’ve been finding that the most effective way for me to lose weight is to eat a maintenance amount most days, and then to have one or two fast days a week. This is much less fatiguing for me than being hungry more often. We’ll see how it continues to go!
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Comment on Monday, April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse: where and when in ~space
blitz Link ParentIf you're only a 30 minute drive outside of the totality zone, please, please see the total eclipse. There is no comparing totality and even 99%. The main difference is that during totality, you...If you're only a 30 minute drive outside of the totality zone, please, please see the total eclipse. There is no comparing totality and even 99%. The main difference is that during totality, you can look at the event without any eye protection, which you cannot do outside of totality. I saw the one in 2017 and I will remember it for the rest of my life. I'm driving 15 hours to see the one in April.
This was the NYT article that convinced me to go see the 2017 eclipse: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/science/eclipse-chasers-first.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RU0.TKaH.HHer_rZjXPn-&smid=url-share
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
blitz Link ParentI'm not really aiming for times or anything, so all I need to do is keep upright in the saddle for 7-8 hours, so my training is just really long days in the saddle. I did a 100 mile, 7k elevation...I'm not really aiming for times or anything, so all I need to do is keep upright in the saddle for 7-8 hours, so my training is just really long days in the saddle. I did a 100 mile, 7k elevation ride in September, and that took me 7 hours to finish. The weekend before that I did 85 miles and then heavily ramped down in the days before the event. Otherwise it's a 3-4 hour ride every weekend in the summer leading up to the event and that's generally enough.
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Comment on The carry-on-baggage bubble is about to pop in ~travel
blitz LinkThe problems described in the article are compounded by airlines just generally being lax about the size of the carry ons that they allow people to bring on. People are bringing on hard sided...The problems described in the article are compounded by airlines just generally being lax about the size of the carry ons that they allow people to bring on. People are bringing on hard sided cases that cannot fit on their side in the bins, so they're forced to lay them flat. I'm a very light traveler and I usually only bring a carry on that is at most 2/3rds the maximum size allowed, but I always worry that they'll make me gate check my bag because the people boarding in front of me have brought their gargantuan carry ons and filled up the bins.
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
blitz LinkCycling is my main sport. I live in Colorado and love to participate in cycling events in the mountains. This July I hope to participate in the Mt. Blue Sky Hill Climb and the Triple Bypass Ride....Cycling is my main sport. I live in Colorado and love to participate in cycling events in the mountains. This July I hope to participate in the Mt. Blue Sky Hill Climb and the Triple Bypass Ride. I've successfully completed similar distances and elevations before, but I'd like to to better this year.
I'm at 193 lbs right now, and I'd like to be at about 173 lbs by July, so I've got to lose about a pound a week for 20 weeks to hit my goal weight. I've made a spreadsheet and maybe posting here about my progress will keep me motivated!
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
blitz Link ParentSeems like you've done a lot of work to reduce false positives. Are false negatives not as much of a concern?Seems like you've done a lot of work to reduce false positives. Are false negatives not as much of a concern?
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Comment on Using work OSX machine while travelling in ~comp
blitz Link ParentYou pretty much remember the name, it's called the XY Problem. :)You pretty much remember the name, it's called the XY Problem. :)
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Comment on Hurt my lower back by bending over, any tips for healing and comfort? in ~health
blitz Link ParentCan you expand or give some more sources as to why bending forward is a terrible idea?Can you expand or give some more sources as to why bending forward is a terrible idea?
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Comment on Any other developers also strongly resistant to adding secondary data stores to their software? in ~comp
blitz LinkThe huge benefit of using a single database for async queues is that you get transactional consistency without putting in any extra effort. If you've got data in your SQL database and jobs in your...The huge benefit of using a single database for async queues is that you get transactional consistency without putting in any extra effort. If you've got data in your SQL database and jobs in your MQ, you've got to think about what happens if you take a task but the transaction to update the data fails in SQL. What happens if there's an error in the task processing after you've committed your SQL changes but before the task finishes? You're essentially running a distributed database system, and you need to develop some sort of two-phase commit protocol to keep everything in sync.
If you use your SQL database as a message queue, you commit the data that is changed by the task AND the fact that the task was completed in a single SQL transaction. This simplifies error handling logic so much. Was there an error in the task? The task doesn't get marked as complete and no data has changed, and another runner can pick it up later to retry.
I've used Postgres for handling tasks of many hundreds of requests per second and it's handled it fine. I haven't needed to stand up a message queue service yet and I wouldn't want to for as long as I can get away with handling messages in Postgres.
I use Mullvad, and they have exit nodes in London and Manchester. I use it to watch the European coverage of cycling events on Discovery+. Their service costs $5/mo.