fourcandles's recent activity

  1. Comment on Video game recommendations in ~games

    fourcandles
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    The Witch's House MV. It's a very short horror RPG. It's got a story, discomfort, and puzzles. It packs quite a bit for a small indie game, and is refreshing in its lack of padding and bloat. I'd...

    The Witch's House MV. It's a very short horror RPG. It's got a story, discomfort, and puzzles. It packs quite a bit for a small indie game, and is refreshing in its lack of padding and bloat. I'd recommend it if it goes on sale as an "in between other large games" game

    5 votes

  2. Comment on Why did the #TwitterMigration fail? in ~tech

    fourcandles
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    Lots of what the author said makes sense. I think most people, ie, the 'critical mass' which makes or breaks platforms, flock towards centralization. It's the simplest "don't make me think"...

    Lots of what the author said makes sense. I think most people, ie, the 'critical mass' which makes or breaks platforms, flock towards centralization. It's the simplest "don't make me think" solution.

    I also note this isn't just limited to non-technical users, it goes for technical users too. Example, "everyone" uses Github so that's what everyone else uses, to be there. Whether they need its features or not.

    13 votes

  3. Comment on Proton Pass, open-source and encrypted password manager in ~tech

    fourcandles
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    The free tier has logins and notes and email aliases. It does have paid plans too, which includes 2FA and multiple vaults. I wonder if they'd look to do some kind of family or specific sharing?

    The free tier has logins and notes and email aliases. It does have paid plans too, which includes 2FA and multiple vaults. I wonder if they'd look to do some kind of family or specific sharing?

    6 votes

  5. Comment on What are some antiquated things that most people still do out of a force of habit, or that are now unnecessary but have lasted culturally? in ~talk

    fourcandles
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    Handshakes, I think. It might have originated as a means of showing peaceful intent. Its spread has been so powerful that it's transcended cultures and now is a very common form of greeting in...

    Handshakes, I think. It might have originated as a means of showing peaceful intent. Its spread has been so powerful that it's transcended cultures and now is a very common form of greeting in many parts of the world. Possibly Covid19 has had an effect on its prevalence now but it's still pretty common.

    11 votes

  6. Comment on What are some antiquated things that most people still do out of a force of habit, or that are now unnecessary but have lasted culturally? in ~talk

    fourcandles
    Link Parent
    Can't believe you've done it again!

    Can't believe you've done it again!

  7. Comment on What password management solution do you use and why? in ~tech

    fourcandles
    Link Parent
    Indeed, that's what I am referring to by 'whims' - for now, you can export from 1Password. That functionality exists as long as it is convenient for them. It's indeed good practice to export...

    Indeed, that's what I am referring to by 'whims' - for now, you can export from 1Password. That functionality exists as long as it is convenient for them. It's indeed good practice to export periodically from Bitwarden (I do it at work) but as I've mentioned it's increased overhead.

  8. Comment on What password management solution do you use and why? in ~tech

    fourcandles
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    The one mistake I won't be making again is locking my credential store into an ecosystem, or any kind of closed solution. It's the most important set of credentials in your life, and it deserves a...

    The one mistake I won't be making again is locking my credential store into an ecosystem, or any kind of closed solution. It's the most important set of credentials in your life, and it deserves a full set of control around it. That completely rules out LastPass and 1Password. What's possibly irking you about them is that their use is contingent upon ongoing financial transactions, and this situation may change upon their whims, not yours. In other words, you're doing a mental thread modelling.

    I'm going with KeePass2 and its relatives including KeePassXC due to the portability of the KDBX database which lends itself well to multiple backups and at the same time strong security. BitWarden is interesting but is still a solution that needs hosting, which if you're self hosting, increases your own overhead.

    20 votes

  9. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~comp

  10. Comment on How do you like your smart home setup? in ~tech

    fourcandles
    Link Parent
    Apologies for late reply. I've basically been using this project: https://github.com/mendhak/waveshare-epaper-display it also includes the shopping list, so it's a Raspberry Pi (any really),...

    Apologies for late reply. I've basically been using this project: https://github.com/mendhak/waveshare-epaper-display it also includes the shopping list, so it's a Raspberry Pi (any really), picture frame, and a Waveshare 7.5" screen.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Twinkle Tray: FOSS display brightness control in ~comp

    fourcandles
    Link Parent
    Thanks, I was looking for something like this just today! I'm experimenting with making the 2nd monitor vertical and somehow, with it being closer to me, it feels a lot brighter. This utility...

    And if you're using Linux there's ddcutil and ddccontrol

    Thanks, I was looking for something like this just today! I'm experimenting with making the 2nd monitor vertical and somehow, with it being closer to me, it feels a lot brighter. This utility could help. Cheers.

  12. Comment on What have your experiences been with losing interest in video games as you get older? in ~games

    fourcandles
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    I went into adulthood with the specific intention of being able to play games. I'm able to balance 'adulting' chores with sparing time for my main hobby. So in that sense, there has been no loss...

    I went into adulthood with the specific intention of being able to play games. I'm able to balance 'adulting' chores with sparing time for my main hobby. So in that sense, there has been no loss of interest. What I do encounter is playing too many games one after the other tends to get tiresome, and I often find it nice to do a 'filler' hobby in between, like reading or coding.

    The type of game does tend to make a difference as well, I think you might have found this too — online/multiplayer games are too stressful and are chores unto themselves. Single player games are 'me' time and it allows you to play how you want, a lot less stressful.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~comp

    fourcandles
    Link Parent
    I usually press the power button for 8 seconds, works on laptops and desktops and custom builts. Is that a coincidence or a standard?

    I usually press the power button for 8 seconds, works on laptops and desktops and custom builts. Is that a coincidence or a standard?

    4 votes

  14. Comment on Astronomer here! AMA! in ~space

    fourcandles
    Link Parent
    Note to self: turn phone off when driving from Albuquerque.

    Note to self: turn phone off when driving from Albuquerque.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Email, calendar, todo, chat ... How are you keeping it all straight? in ~life

    fourcandles
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    When questions like this come up, I notice that there are as many answers as there are people. I think that kind of reflects the fact that we all consume, categorize, and process information...

    When questions like this come up, I notice that there are as many answers as there are people. I think that kind of reflects the fact that we all consume, categorize, and process information differently. The tools and processes that people talk about are a reflection of that, and they've found a sufficient representation in the digital/physical world that approximates their mental models.

    That's why it's interesting reading people's answers because many of them feel like 'another realm' to me, and mine will probably be the just as alient for them!

    Mine is simple for me - I also follow Inbox Zero, but instead of doing an email-to-myself, I now use Microsoft ToDo, which can automatically bring in a flagged email from Outlook as a Todo Task. ToDo fits my model better because when I get an adhoc thing I need to do, I'll write it directly in ToDo. That helps with the Inbox context (emails as a task) and the adhoc context (arbitrary tasks). Most importantly it has a "My Day" view which is what I open first thing in the morning, and decide what I'm doing. And it's totally OK if none of it's done, I just mark important ones as "due tomorrow" and they show up in My Day the next morning.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Any other ASOIAF fans here? in ~books

    fourcandles
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    Half-and-half for me. I actually enjoyed most of the books, except the very last one, which felt like a series of filler content that needed some people to be moved around. It felt very...

    Half-and-half for me. I actually enjoyed most of the books, except the very last one, which felt like a series of filler content that needed some people to be moved around. It felt very directionless, and I think that, combined with the large gap since the previous book, has lost my interest in the series overall. Although there are many theories and speculation abound, I am not convinced the author knows where the story is supposed to go.

    2 votes

  17. Comment on How do you feel about eBooks and eBook readers? in ~books

    fourcandles
    Link Parent
    I am so accustomed to this feature that I will sometimes press words on real physical media.

    I am so accustomed to this feature that I will sometimes press words on real physical media.

  18. Comment on How do you feel about eBooks and eBook readers? in ~books

    fourcandles
    Link Parent
    And Adobe Digital Editions, what a blight that is on what could be a beautiful landscape. Even libraries have no choice but to succumb to publisher demands and using an a proprietary app...

    And Adobe Digital Editions, what a blight that is on what could be a beautiful landscape. Even libraries have no choice but to succumb to publisher demands and using an a proprietary app (Libby/Overdrive) or Adobe Digital Editions is necessary to get a book. No matter which ecosystem I'm in, there is no escape from DRM.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on Astronomer here! AMA! in ~space

    fourcandles
    Link Parent
    Is there any talk or work being done around this, for example software filtering (but then the overhead that comes with that, false positives, etc)

    Is there any talk or work being done around this, for example software filtering (but then the overhead that comes with that, false positives, etc)

    2 votes

  20. Comment on When consuming an API with state rate limits, how should one handle not exceeding them? in ~comp

    fourcandles
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    I've encountered 'honesty' APIs before and I think the best approach is to keep things as thin as possible on your end in case they ever do introduce rate limits in the future. Or in other words,...

    I've encountered 'honesty' APIs before and I think the best approach is to keep things as thin as possible on your end in case they ever do introduce rate limits in the future. Or in other words, whatever is implemented should be easy to get out of when there's a change on their side.

    Most commonly I'll introducing small sleeps between requests, and (this depends on the type of data) caching on my side to avoid requests if it isn't needed.

    1 vote