fidwell's recent activity
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Comment on Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury rules in ~finance
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Comment on Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury rules in ~finance
fidwell LinkNot that I'd complain... but that last few shows I've bought tickets for have been through Dice, AXS, Eventbrite, or TicketWeb. I don't remember the last time I used Ticketmaster. Unless one or...Not that I'd complain... but that last few shows I've bought tickets for have been through Dice, AXS, Eventbrite, or TicketWeb. I don't remember the last time I used Ticketmaster. Unless one or more of those are a secret subsidiary?
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Comment on Godzilla Minus Zero | First look teaser in ~movies
fidwell (edited )Link ParentMinus One is what really got me hooked on the series. I'd seen the '54 original a long time ago, and it didn't really do much for me then, but with Minus One it really clicked. And since then I've...Minus One is what really got me hooked on the series. I'd seen the '54 original a long time ago, and it didn't really do much for me then, but with Minus One it really clicked. And since then I've gone and watched all 30 (Japanese) films, many of them more than once.
This is the first time I've been really stoked for a new movie since maybe when Lord of the Rings came out 20 years ago.
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Comment on No-stack web development in ~tech
fidwell Link ParentI did not get that impression whatsoever. The rest of the post seems in earnest, and they called this out as their "only absolute advice", implying that they're pretty serious about it.I did not get that impression whatsoever. The rest of the post seems in earnest, and they called this out as their "only absolute advice", implying that they're pretty serious about it.
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Comment on No-stack web development in ~tech
fidwell LinkI'm a little surprised that the author calls React a "legacy framework". We've been using it at my workplace for the last couple years, and its presence in our codebase is only going up as we try...I'm a little surprised that the author calls React a "legacy framework". We've been using it at my workplace for the last couple years, and its presence in our codebase is only going up as we try to migrate away from (what I would call legacy) cshtml pages.
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Comment on Dimmu Borgir – Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel (2026) in ~music
fidwell Link ParentGotta agree. Dimmu used to be one of my favorite bands, but that was 20 years ago... they haven't put out anything really worthwhile (imo) since Death Cult Armageddon, and this doesn't change that...Gotta agree. Dimmu used to be one of my favorite bands, but that was 20 years ago... they haven't put out anything really worthwhile (imo) since Death Cult Armageddon, and this doesn't change that one bit. This song has no fresh ideas (or any ideas at all?).
The music video does have nice production, I suppose, but again nothing they couldn't have done 20 years ago. Props for the beret, anti-props for the three (???!!) kick drums. What a tease when there's like one blastbeat in the whole song.
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Comment on Jeopardy! YouTube Edition | Teaser in ~tv
fidwell Link ParentShe's been going through a reevaluation since the late 2010s. She put out a comeback album in 2023 that was pretty well-received; some singles and EPs as well. (I haven't listened to any of it...She's been going through a reevaluation since the late 2010s. She put out a comeback album in 2023 that was pretty well-received; some singles and EPs as well. (I haven't listened to any of it myself, but it's gotten decent ratings.)
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Comment on A mathematical analysis of M. C. Escher’s art in ~science
fidwell Link ParentThe current DeArrow title for this video is Breaking down M.C.Escher's "Print Gallery", which I like a little more since the video is only about this one piece, not Escher's work as a whole.The current DeArrow title for this video is
Breaking down M.C.Escher's "Print Gallery", which I like a little more since the video is only about this one piece, not Escher's work as a whole. -
Comment on Commonly misspelled words quiz in ~humanities.languages
fidwell Link ParentSame! I nailed the first 19; I've always been a good speller, easy enough. Then we get to #20, my personal demon. I don't think I've ever been able to spell that word correctly once in my life....Same! I nailed the first 19; I've always been a good speller, easy enough. Then we get to #20, my personal demon. I don't think I've ever been able to spell that word correctly once in my life. (Fortunately I don't ever have the need to.)
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Comment on I tried ranking my albums out of five stars - I think I've gotten it wrong. Thoughts? in ~music
fidwell Link ParentOh yeah, it's all vibes. When you've been thinking about music in this way for like 20 years, it gets pretty easy and I don't really have to think about it too much. Do I like it? It's 3 stars. Do...Oh yeah, it's all vibes. When you've been thinking about music in this way for like 20 years, it gets pretty easy and I don't really have to think about it too much. Do I like it? It's 3 stars. Do I really like it? 3.5, and up from there. (I like to keep my 4s and up a bit on the rare side.) Do I feel nothing? 2-2.5. Dislike it? 1.5 and lower, depending on my vitriol.
But a rating number isn't everything. It is very important to have good palette cleansers for sure. I probably listen to my more middling-rated jazz albums more than my favorites, just because they're good but not so good they'll distract.
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Comment on I tried ranking my albums out of five stars - I think I've gotten it wrong. Thoughts? in ~music
fidwell LinkThere are thousands of us doing this all the time over on rateyourmusic.com, my favorite and most-frequented website. Some of us have made the 5-star rating scale into an intricate science. I...There are thousands of us doing this all the time over on rateyourmusic.com, my favorite and most-frequented website. Some of us have made the 5-star rating scale into an intricate science.
I don't rate songs as much as albums, though, and I don't think rating albums by mathematically combining song ratings is a great approach. For me, an album is a complete work on its own, and often more than simply the sum of its parts.
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Comment on Six months with Zen Browser in ~tech
fidwell LinkI started using Zen on my home laptop back in maybe December, so three months or so? Found out about it on a recommendation somewhere here on Tildes. It's been great. It took some time to get used...I started using Zen on my home laptop back in maybe December, so three months or so? Found out about it on a recommendation somewhere here on Tildes. It's been great. It took some time to get used to the side-oriented tabs, but I really like the workspace organization and multiple levels of pinned-ness.
I have a couple gripes, but they're minor.
- While I have a few workspaces for specific projects, I have a "general" workspace for random / everyday / fun things, and I wish there was a way to organize those better.
- Bookmarks are a bit of a pain to get to. I wind up just typing addresses most of the time.
- The big empty space on the bottom-left (under the tabs) can be used to drag the whole window around the screen, and I wind up doing that by accident all the time. (Maybe I need to get more used to compact mode.)
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Comment on Getting global age assurance right: what we got wrong and what's changing in ~tech
fidwell Link ParentI don't really understand why there needs to be a special feature for this. If you don't want to engage with a channel, you already have the ability to mute or hide it. Two different ways. Why do...topics people prefer to engage with on their own terms
I don't really understand why there needs to be a special feature for this. If you don't want to engage with a channel, you already have the ability to mute or hide it. Two different ways. Why do we need a third?
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Comment on Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs January 4 - January 10) in ~games
fidwell (edited )Link ParentI never watch live anymore—it's easier to just wait for the VODs to drop for runs I'm interested in. But I definitely was curious about the American Truck Simulator race, so thanks for the heads...I never watch live anymore—it's easier to just wait for the VODs to drop for runs I'm interested in. But I definitely was curious about the American Truck Simulator race, so thanks for the heads up that it's available!
edit: what in tarnation was that
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Comment on Marianas Rest – The Colour Of You (2025) in ~music
fidwell LinkA little off-topic, but I strongly object to the use of the metal.death tag here... I haven't heard of this band before, but this sounds like pretty standard gothic metal to me.A little off-topic, but I strongly object to the use of the
metal.deathtag here... I haven't heard of this band before, but this sounds like pretty standard gothic metal to me. -
Comment on 'Saturday Night Live' hit with backlash for using AI images in ~tv
fidwell LinkI get the first few pictures, but the one with the horse on the airplane is pretty clearly a low-effort Photoshop job (which IMO is way funnier).I get the first few pictures, but the one with the horse on the airplane is pretty clearly a low-effort Photoshop job (which IMO is way funnier).
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Comment on Day 10: Factory in ~comp.advent_of_code
fidwell Link ParentIf you're checking every possible combination of button presses, yeah you are probably going to be waiting for eons. I don't think this is the kind of puzzle that can be solved this way; the...If you're checking every possible combination of button presses, yeah you are probably going to be waiting for eons. I don't think this is the kind of puzzle that can be solved this way; the numbers are just too big.
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Comment on Day 9: Movie Theater in ~comp.advent_of_code
fidwell Link ParentI see. I wound up representing everything as a hash set of known coordinates, instead of simulating the whole grid. So, at least for my solution, compressing the coordinates wouldn't have made any...I see. I wound up representing everything as a hash set of known coordinates, instead of simulating the whole grid. So, at least for my solution, compressing the coordinates wouldn't have made any practical difference.
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Comment on Day 9: Movie Theater in ~comp.advent_of_code
fidwell Link ParentI had this idea too, mostly because I wanted to visualize the output, and it's too big to print uncompressed. It didn't lead me to any insights though. Can you explain what you thought?my idea of compressing the coordinates for visualization purposes turned out to actually be a key idea to quickly solve part 2.
I had this idea too, mostly because I wanted to visualize the output, and it's too big to print uncompressed. It didn't lead me to any insights though. Can you explain what you thought?
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Comment on Day 4: Printing Department in ~comp.advent_of_code
fidwell LinkFinally, a character grid problem. If you've done one of these before, hopefully you've saved up some utility methods from previous years to solve this one in a snap. Thoughts My old utility code...Finally, a character grid problem. If you've done one of these before, hopefully you've saved up some utility methods from previous years to solve this one in a snap.
Thoughts
My old utility code already had methods for (1) parsing the input into an array of chars; (2) give you an IEnumerable of all coordinates in the grid; (3) find the coordinates of the eight neighbors of a coordinate; and (4) replace the character at a coordinate. All I had to write is checking if the neighbor count of `@` is less than 4., and write a loop to replace them until we can't anymore. Nothing really challenging here, and the code runs mighty fast without the need for any micro-optimizations.
That checks out. I do only go to small / medium size shows, no arenas for me. I didn't know Dice was British; good for them for making a dent here in the States.