bugsmith's recent activity
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Comment on Relationship troubles in ~life
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Comment on Official retailers in Europe have sold out of the Norwegian national football team's jerseys ahead of Saturday's 2026 World Cup quarter final between England and Norway in ~sports.football
bugsmith Link ParentOh god, stop... It's all I've heard all day and yet I know my heart is going to break, once again, when Haaland sends us home later!Oh god, stop...
It's all I've heard all day and yet I know my heart is going to break, once again, when Haaland sends us home later! -
Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
bugsmith LinkI've finished book four of Dungeon Crawler Carl and am starting... Three books. Which will be interesting. I'm starting Pachinko by Min Jin Lee as part of my work's book club. I've heard many...I've finished book four of Dungeon Crawler Carl and am starting... Three books. Which will be interesting.
I'm starting Pachinko by Min Jin Lee as part of my work's book club. I've heard many great things about this book, so I'm very excited to get started on it.
Based on my brother's recommendation, I'm listening to the audiobook of The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters. He read the physical book and said it has helped him immensely, and assisted him in overcoming dartitis, which he was shocked to discover is a real thing.
And finally, I am delving into Designing Data Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann in preparation for a systems design interview I have upcoming. I'm terrified as I've never done such an interview before, and honestly know very little about formal system design. This is stage four of the interview process, which has otherwise gone really well and I don't want to ruin it at this stage. I'm at chapter 6 now and have found the book incredibly insightful already.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
bugsmith Link ParentElantris is also my least favourite of his Cosmere universe, but I do still like it. It just stands out as being representative of his earlier work. The concept of it is great.Elantris is also my least favourite of his Cosmere universe, but I do still like it. It just stands out as being representative of his earlier work. The concept of it is great.
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Comment on Give me your culture clash stories in ~travel
bugsmith Link ParentAh, fair point! We did a trip from LA up to San Francisco and then cut through Las Vegas to Sedona, AZ (with many stops along the way). So California, Nevada and Arizona (we also dipped into Utah...Ah, fair point!
We did a trip from LA up to San Francisco and then cut through Las Vegas to Sedona, AZ (with many stops along the way).
So California, Nevada and Arizona (we also dipped into Utah but mostly interacted with other tourists there).
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
bugsmith LinkAfter years of an on-off relationship with lifting at the gym, I am more motivated than ever to build muscle and lose fat. Unfortunately, I don't want to increase my caloric intake as I really...After years of an on-off relationship with lifting at the gym, I am more motivated than ever to build muscle and lose fat. Unfortunately, I don't want to increase my caloric intake as I really don't want more fat. Which is a detriment to building muscle... I think I'm at the point where I need to eat more though, because my bench press and overhead press are both stalled (at 60 kg and 35 kg respectively).
My current plan is to just eat at a very slight deficit and lift three times per week and slowly try to lean out. Perhaps doing a higher deficit would be the 'better' choice, but in the past that has been the quickest stripper of any motivation.
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Comment on Give me your culture clash stories in ~travel
bugsmith Link ParentFor anyone else planning a trip to England who happens to read this: There is another neolithic stone circle not far from Stonehenge called Avebury. It is, in my opinion, a far more impressive...I found myself taking a bus to Stonehenge. Amazing site, highly recommend
For anyone else planning a trip to England who happens to read this: There is another neolithic stone circle not far from Stonehenge called Avebury. It is, in my opinion, a far more impressive site with far fewer tourists and I would implore anyone to visit that one as well (or even instead).
Americans seem to have a shared understanding that rules, including laws, don’t always need the utmost respect.
I think this is regional in the UK. Up north I think your bus experience would have been quite different, with either the driver letting you on and commenting on the weather, or at least opening the door and apologising if they didn't let you on for some reason.
But yes, this is definitely not an uncommon experience here and I too find it baffling!
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Comment on Give me your culture clash stories in ~travel
bugsmith Link ParentThat is very much the response I tended to receive before realising the error of my ways. Or someone would check over themselves and respond, puzzled, "Yeah... why?"That is very much the response I tended to receive before realising the error of my ways. Or someone would check over themselves and respond, puzzled, "Yeah... why?"
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Comment on Give me your culture clash stories in ~travel
bugsmith LinkGrowing up, because of the shared language and media, I always assumed the UK and America would be culturally similar. I was 22 when I first visited the states and let me tell you, it was a...Growing up, because of the shared language and media, I always assumed the UK and America would be culturally similar.
I was 22 when I first visited the states and let me tell you, it was a shocking revelation to realise how much more similar we are to our European neighbours. Perhaps obvious, in hindsight, given the distance and shared history.
This has only been reiterated over time as I've spent more hours working with various American and European companies.
A particularly British shock was finding out that saying "You alright?" is NOT a greeting in the states and people react with surprise that you're inquiring about their health so casually.
Sorry, I didn't really give a story as requested though... I definitely have a few and will endeavour to return to this thread and share some. I'm British and married to an Italian, so we've definitely had our fair share of culture clashes over the years.
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Comment on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is coming this fall in ~anime
bugsmith LinkI'm really looking forward to this. I am always in need of reasonable short season high impact shows, as I rarely have time to invest in a slow burn (as much as I adored shows like Better Call...I'm really looking forward to this. I am always in need of reasonable short season high impact shows, as I rarely have time to invest in a slow burn (as much as I adored shows like Better Call Saul, and anime like Monster).
The first was excellent, so I have high hopes for this.
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Comment on A Parade of Horribles - Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #8) in ~books
bugsmith Link ParentI have thought about this on a million different occasions. This would be an absolutely killer feature for me.I have thought about this on a million different occasions. This would be an absolutely killer feature for me.
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Comment on You can now use your Gmail account in Proton Mail in ~tech
bugsmith Link ParentAs a burn victim, I can confirm it's an unfortunate truth of Proton. I transitioned to Fastmail as I realised that email encryption wasn't worthwhile when 95% of the people I email are on either...As a burn victim, I can confirm it's an unfortunate truth of Proton. I transitioned to Fastmail as I realised that email encryption wasn't worthwhile when 95% of the people I email are on either gmail or or whatever corporate email provider their company uses (likely gmail, office365 or something similar). Having not initially used my own custom domain has made getting everything moved over a long slog.
I really like Proton as a company, but felt too much friction from their product. What ultimately pushed me was the lacklustre search capability. They can't offer server based search thanks to encryption, so they try to offset it with a local indexing and search option - but it's poor, or at least it was one year ago. I can no longer recall specifics but found it frustrating when searching for terms that were a substring of something like a sender address or a filename, and it would turn up nothing.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
bugsmith LinkI booted up Divinity Original Sin 2: Definitive Edition after leaving it sat in my library untouched for months. I played DOS2 shortly after release, having been very excited by Larian's teasers....I booted up Divinity Original Sin 2: Definitive Edition after leaving it sat in my library untouched for months. I played DOS2 shortly after release, having been very excited by Larian's teasers. This game holds up so well. The world and character design is second to none and I adore the strategic and varied combat. I also love that it allows you to respec your characters without penalty, which stops me from my usual endless rerolling cycle I fall into in games with this much customization.
I really need to pick Baldurs Gate 3 back up. I was having a blast with that, but having nearly finished Act 1 I just got bored in the underworld and haven't touched it in well over a year now. I think I've stopped literally at the point I'd just need to walk out of Act 1 now to progress.
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Comment on Maybe just eat the bean goo in ~food
bugsmith Link ParentI can't imagine you're washing anything from the bean surface that isn't found at the same concentration in the remaining liquid. It's almost the reverse of people who don't wet the toothpaste...I can't imagine you're washing anything from the bean surface that isn't found at the same concentration in the remaining liquid. It's almost the reverse of people who don't wet the toothpaste because they're "washing the fluoride off". In both cases, the amount being removed is going to be negligible.
I do know the taste you're referring to though. I find that it disappears as long as I bring whatever I'm cooking to the boil for at least a few minutes.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
bugsmith LinkShoplifters by Hirokazu Kore-eda This was my introduction to films by this director and I'm going to go down the rabbit hole, because this film was exceptional. I stumbled across it when looking...Shoplifters by Hirokazu Kore-eda
This was my introduction to films by this director and I'm going to go down the rabbit hole, because this film was exceptional.
I stumbled across it when looking for something with a similar vibe to Parasite. I specifically wanted something set in East Asia, as I've become fascinated with the aesthetic and cultural differences to the west. This did tick the box, but without the thriller elements - which I was happy for.
The film explores what it means to be a family. The story is warm and cosy, but with a constant background dread that everything will inevitably go wrong. Not in a horrific way. Just knowing that a nice but tenuous situation just can't last. Nice is probably not the right word. From an outside perspective characters are in a very dire situation living in poverty. But they are happy.
It is a character lead plot, with superb acting and a tight narrative. Sakura Ando's performance, in particular, was stellar. There are several scenes with her that have stuck with me and left me pondering.
Strong recommendation to anyone who enjoys character driven stories.
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Comment on Do you play knock-offs of celebrated indie games? in ~games
bugsmith Link ParentCouldn't have said it better myself. I certainly hate cheap imitations that try to ride on the good name of the original. But if we didn't have derivative work, then many of our favourite games...Couldn't have said it better myself. I certainly hate cheap imitations that try to ride on the good name of the original. But if we didn't have derivative work, then many of our favourite games would simply never exist. Look at the many roguelikes and roguelites that ultimately take their inspiration from, as the name implies, Rogue.
One could argue Rimworld is a "knockoff" of Dwarf Fortress, and even the beloved Factorio was made with inspiratation from the Minecraft mod IndustrialCraft (or BuildCraft).
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
bugsmith LinkI ran the London marathon on Sunday. A day of mixed emotions. It was incredible and breathtaking as you might expect. Running across Tower Bridge a little over half way through will be a core...I ran the London marathon on Sunday.
A day of mixed emotions. It was incredible and breathtaking as you might expect. Running across Tower Bridge a little over half way through will be a core memory for the rest of my life.
Sadly, I injured my knee around 20k in due to someone cutting in front of me during a narrow stretch. It wasn't malicious, they were in their own zone and impatient to get past people. But it caused me to stumble and twist my leg in catching myself.
By 30k, my knee was in agony and I was ready to just stop and cry, feeling I'd wasted my chance and all the training.
Fortunately, my wife and lots of my family came to support me and managed to spot me three times during the run. Approaching them to hug them and have them cheer me was like taking a senzu bean. It's hard to describe how good it felt to see them.
My knee didn't really recover but adrenaline and grit kicked on and I managed to finish.
My goal was 4:00 - 4:15, and I finished in 4:58.
I am, of course, a little sad to have fallen short of a goal I'd trained hard to achieve. But this was my first marathon, and crossing that line was one of the sweetest feelings I've ever felt.
London did an incredible job of selling itself during the event. It was incredibly well organised and the atmosphere was second to none.
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Comment on Reddit reports 69% jump in revenue, topping analyst estimates in ~tech
bugsmith Link ParentI still use Reddit to access some communities that don't seem to exist in any meaningful size outside of Facebook, and I refuse to use the latter. I hate being forced to use the app just to have a...I still use Reddit to access some communities that don't seem to exist in any meaningful size outside of Facebook, and I refuse to use the latter.
I hate being forced to use the app just to have a decent mobile experience. Fortunately, on android, Morphe exists. It's made by the old ReVanced team, and it transforms the official Reddit app from something hideous, into something not terrible.
Still nothing on Sync, RiF or Apollo, of course.
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Comment on I love bioparks in ~travel
bugsmith LinkI'm not sure it hits the same flavour as other suggestions here, but Eden Project in Cornwall, UK Is super cool and definitely worth a visit. Then there is Kew Garden in London, which I'm sure is...I'm not sure it hits the same flavour as other suggestions here, but Eden Project in Cornwall, UK Is super cool and definitely worth a visit.
Then there is Kew Garden in London, which I'm sure is the UK's most well known botanical garden.
And for anyone visiting Oxford, there is the Oxford University Botanic Garden. What I love about this one, other than being local to me, is that it's pretty small and easy to squeeze into a day of other tourist activities.
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Comment on What is your favorite dinosaur? in ~talk
I find threads like this on the Internet are often unable to capture enough of the context or nuance that could lead to comments feeling anything other than "it sounds over".
From what you've described, it doesn't sound like your partner meets, or is interested in meeting your emotional needs. It sounds like they are checked out and not interested in addressing any issues in your relationship.
Is it possible you're just together through inertia at this point? Or sunk cost fallacy?
Ask yourself if you wouldn't be happier to separate, have some time for yourself and eventually look to meet someone who better matches who you are today.
In my experience, people change but only gradually. It took nearly ten years to go from where they were to how they are now. How long would it take to get to where you want them, if they are even willing?