golduck's recent activity
-
Comment on US federal civil rights lawsuit filed against Harvard, challenging legacy admissions preference in ~life
-
Comment on This feels dumb to ask, but how do you get your news? in ~news
golduck Link Parent2nd this, First Up is great! I used to listen to NYT's The Daily, and sometimes still do. But First Up is my go to now. Instead of covering a single story like The Daily, they have a decent round...2nd this, First Up is great! I used to listen to NYT's The Daily, and sometimes still do. But First Up is my go to now. Instead of covering a single story like The Daily, they have a decent round up of the top 3 most important stories that day, and it's less stressful/dramatic than the tone of The Daily tends to be.
-
Comment on This feels dumb to ask, but how do you get your news? in ~news
golduck LinkI don't know what country you live in, but as an American I've taken to trimming down my news consumption, and mostly just checking NPR. A few things I like about it: it's not profit driven and...I don't know what country you live in, but as an American I've taken to trimming down my news consumption, and mostly just checking NPR. A few things I like about it:
- it's not profit driven and therefore has less incentive for clickbait
- they have a habit of making their top article something fairly mundane if there are no breaking news stories
- if there is breaking news, they'll definitely cover it so you stay informed, but overall there's a lower percentage of high-octane, stress inducing headlines
- I love podcasts, and they have a lot of great news/discussion podcasts
- there are no comment threads to get sucked into toxic discussions
- Articles are short in to the point, 10 mins a day can get you what you need.
-
Comment on Reddit CEO pledges to not force subreddits to reopen. Admin team then immediately threatens moderators who closed their subreddits with removal. in ~tech
golduck Link ParentTo be a little pedantic - this isn't a complete picture, because the cost for the list price for API Gateway calls doesn't include any addition cost for the compute power (EC2, Lambda, etc),...To be a little pedantic - this isn't a complete picture, because the cost for the list price for API Gateway calls doesn't include any addition cost for the compute power (EC2, Lambda, etc), storage, etc, required to actually process the call and return a response to the user. So there is additional cost in the equation. However, these prices are still completely absurd on reddit's part, and $3.50 is the right order of magnitude, $240 is not.
-
Comment on <deleted topic> in ~health
golduck Link ParentI have/had this. I have chronic neck pain and migraines, and during an acute episode of neck pain I started having visual snow, most noticeable at night. Mild to moderate, pretty weird and freaky...I have/had this. I have chronic neck pain and migraines, and during an acute episode of neck pain I started having visual snow, most noticeable at night. Mild to moderate, pretty weird and freaky when I didn't understand it. Thankfully, as I got treatment for my chronic pain, my migraines have ceased and the visual snow has mostly dissipated. I occasionally get it when I'm tired or having a flareup, but it's mild enough to not be a problem for me.
-
Comment on Looking for suggestions for games that don't require hand eye coordination or fast twitch reflexes in ~games
golduck LinkMany JRPGs fit the bill, if that genre appeals to you. I'm playing Dragon Quest 11 on Switch right now and it's a lot of fun. Battles are turn-based, and you can take as much time as you need....Many JRPGs fit the bill, if that genre appeals to you. I'm playing Dragon Quest 11 on Switch right now and it's a lot of fun. Battles are turn-based, and you can take as much time as you need. Outside of battle, navigating the overworld is pretty simple, not a lot of complex mechanics or intricate controller commands. The normal difficulty is pretty much a cake-walk, if you want a moderate challenge/are experienced playing RPGs, turn on "Harder Monsters" :)
-
Comment on <deleted topic> in ~health
golduck Link ParentI don't have it, but my uncle has narcolepsy, and I've seen how disruptive and challenging it is to live with. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you're dealing with that, and I hope you find a...I don't have it, but my uncle has narcolepsy, and I've seen how disruptive and challenging it is to live with. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you're dealing with that, and I hope you find a way to manage it better.
-
Comment on <deleted topic> in ~health
golduck Link ParentHey, I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with chronic pain. I was going to post about my own, but I'll piggyback on your thread to keep them consolidated. I received a chronic pain diagnosis last...Hey, I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with chronic pain. I was going to post about my own, but I'll piggyback on your thread to keep them consolidated.
I received a chronic pain diagnosis last year, after suffering for about 10-12 years. My local medical system has a chronic pain management program that I was referred to. It was fairly intensive, about 6 weeks, combination of PT, OT, relaxation therapy, and pain psychology. It was very effective for me. I'd say my pain used to be like a 4-6 most days (and I was having several migraines a month), now I'm more like a 1-3 most of the time, and I don't get migraines anymore. So I'm very happy with that result and very grateful.
Prior this I had also tried multiple PT modalities, massage therapy, other medical specialists, etc for many years with limited/inconsistent results. My understanding from the program is that the past 20~ years has seen a lot of advances in pain medicine, and that not all health care providers are up to date with the latest knowledge, so it can be kind of a crap shoot.
Apparently, learning about how pain works is one of the most effective things you can do to reduce pain. Because, apparently, pain correlates very poorly with actual tissue damage. Pain is produced by your brain as a protective mechanism - and worrying that something is wrong with your body is a great way to make your brain want to protect it, so it's easy to get stuck in feedback loops. For me personally, learning that it was safe to "ignore" pain in most circumstances made it easier to return to normal activities, after which the pain reduced over time.
My understanding of the Sarno stuff (mentioned by another poster) is that it's largely not backed up by modern science. However there is some overlap in his ideas with modern pain management strategies, which is probably why some people find it helpful.
If anyone is interested, I'm happy to share some resources that helped me, but I'll leave it there for now.
-
Comment on Keyboard thread in ~hobbies
golduck LinkI've gone down a decently long path of ergo keyboards (although nothing custom built yet). For a long time I used the Kinesis Freestyle Pro. These days I'm using a Dygma Raise. Overall, there are...I've gone down a decently long path of ergo keyboards (although nothing custom built yet). For a long time I used the Kinesis Freestyle Pro. These days I'm using a Dygma Raise.
Overall, there are pros and cons to both. The Dygma is more compact and has a broader feature set, better software, etc. And a smaller footprint on your desk. However, due to having fewer keys and relying on layers, you end up having to use a lot of layer shifting for it to be fully functional and get the most value out of its features. This can be fatiguing in its own way. The Freestyle Pro is roomier and simpler, as it has dedicated macro keys and you don't have to worry about layers. I like them both in their own way.
-
Comment on What does your spirituality mean to you? in ~humanities
golduck LinkI was raised in a Protestant Christian household in the US, however I never took to it. My parents pushed me into participating in church activities despite having no interest in it, which made me...I was raised in a Protestant Christian household in the US, however I never took to it. My parents pushed me into participating in church activities despite having no interest in it, which made me resent it as I grew older. I was a teenager during the "New Atheist" period of the '00s and was pretty taken by those ideas at the time. Looking back, while my rejection of religion was important to me, there was/is also a lot of toxicity in the atheist community, so I feel a complicated relationship to it, and I'm glad that cultural moment has passed.
I'm still an atheist, but I've been interested in Buddhism for a while, and I'm a member of a western Theravada Buddhist community. It's appealing to me as an atheist because there are essentially no supernatural/metaphysical commitments involved with practice. Kamma/rebirth I interpret metaphorically, but they aren't a huge part of it anyway. I go back and forth about whether I use the label 'Buddhist' for myself, but I guess that's another discussion.
As for spirituality, I don't really know what it means to me, to be honest. When I was a child it was about a relationship with Jesus, when I was an teenage atheist it was something I found silly and distasteful, which I didn't take seriously. As a Buddhist, I suppose it's about walking the Path and growing as a person, cultivating skillful states of mind and behavior that lead to end of suffering. Spirituality for me feels like on a spectrum with the kind of work you do in therapy.
I do sense that spirituality is ripe for a rediscovery for me. I haven't figured out my relationship to it. My atheist leanings make it difficult to engage with. However, I recognize that there are spiritual human experiences that have value, which I may want to engage with more in the future. It feels like I lack a roadmap for understanding it, though.
-
Comment on Distrohoppers, what's your flavor this week? in ~comp
golduck Link ParentOoh fun. I haven't dabbled with tiling window manager but I have been curious about them. I'll give it a shot!Ooh fun. I haven't dabbled with tiling window manager but I have been curious about them. I'll give it a shot!
-
Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tildes
golduck LinkAs a new user, my first impression is that I wish there were more topics/groups (not sure of the official term). I understand that there is at tagging system to go more granular, which is great,...As a new user, my first impression is that I wish there were more topics/groups (not sure of the official term). I understand that there is at tagging system to go more granular, which is great, but I don't know if it still solves the need for more groups.
Additionally, groups like "life" are so broad as to be meaningless to me, and in my head seems somewhat redundant with "misc" and "talk", although I haven't spent enough time in those spaces to know if that's actually the case.
Finally, it strikes me as odd that if there is a philosophy of using tags within broad groups as a way of filtering content, why are there both "science" and "space" groups? Shouldn't "space" or "astronomy" be a tag within science?
-
Comment on Do you think this place will get big on/after July 1st? in ~tildes
golduck Link ParentYeah, that about sums it up for me too. I had forgotten how much reddit had changed over time. I remember back in the day there wasn't nearly as much focus on image/video/meme content. But it...Yeah, that about sums it up for me too. I had forgotten how much reddit had changed over time. I remember back in the day there wasn't nearly as much focus on image/video/meme content. But it happens slowly enough, and along similar changes happening in the rest of the internet, that you forget what online spaces like this can be. I'm glad to see that there are still spaces like this without all the craziness of a massive public forum. On reddit, often when I post there's a little worry at the back of my head bracing myself for a mean/troll response, because you just never know. Here I feel comfortable knowing that as long as I'm civil people will respond in kind.
-
Comment on Confused, uncool, and nowhere to scroll: The internet has become hostile for millennials like me in ~tech
golduck LinkA little dramatic perhaps, but I think there's really something to this. This is as much an expression of the felt experience of generational change as it is the death of web 2.0 / "the social...A little dramatic perhaps, but I think there's really something to this. This is as much an expression of the felt experience of generational change as it is the death of web 2.0 / "the social web". The internet is really entering a new era - facebook has an older and aging userbase (at least in the US/west), twitter is permanently altered for the worse and has an uncertain future, instagram is mostly about influencers and selling you stuff, reddit is trying to make more money and killing the user experience in the process, etc etc. TikTok is seemingly the new social media platform of choice, but it's not for everyone and skews young, and there's a low chance that the US bans it in some fashion (not betting on it, but also not impossible).
The platforms of the future may end up being decentralized - Mastodon/ActivityPub/Fediverse, Bluesky, etc. IIRC tumblr is implementing ActivityPub? We'll see what ends up happening.
And then there's YouTube. Which seems to mostly be doing just fine.
-
Comment on Distrohoppers, what's your flavor this week? in ~comp
golduck LinkAbout a year ago I started using Fedora. Prior to that my only real linux desktop experience had been Ubuntu, which was ...fine, but left something to be desired. Fedora is great in my opinion....About a year ago I started using Fedora. Prior to that my only real linux desktop experience had been Ubuntu, which was ...fine, but left something to be desired. Fedora is great in my opinion. Stable, secure, modern features, keyboard driven workflow, and happens to be supported well on my laptop. I've done 2 version upgrades and they've gone very smooth. I think the only downside for me is that since it's maintained by Red Hat, it has a corporate-y element to it, but I think the feature trade off is worth it to me. Plus, I use RHEL for my work, so being in a familiar ecosystem is nice and has some synergy for me personally.
-
Comment on Introductions | June 2023, part 1 in ~talk
golduck (edited )LinkHi, I'm another reddit migrant. I've been using reddit since the late 00's and this is the first time I might actually jump to something different and stick the landing. Reddit has been going...Hi, I'm another reddit migrant. I've been using reddit since the late 00's and this is the first time I might actually jump to something different and stick the landing. Reddit has been going downhill for a long time, and I think this was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Immediately, I find the design and philosophy of tildes a breath of fresh air, and one that aligns with my own values. This is what I want the internet to be - not profit oriented, but just a good space for discussion and sharing of information, with a clean and simple design. I know this site's goal isn't to be another reddit and that's fine. I think true "social media" has never really worked for me, I've always just enjoyed forums, most of all. This is a good modern version of that.
I work in technology as an SRE for a $BigCorp in the Seattle area. I like philosophy, birding, hiking, video games (Switch+PC), reading (fantasy, scifi, horror, nonfiction), gardening, and puzzles. edit: also of course technology, lately I've been a big fan of the framework laptop and running linux :)
Looking forward to being a part of this place!
Why? I admit I'm not knowledgeable on the topic, but it's always struck me as unfair and an unearned privilege. You should be admitted to the college based on objective measures, not just because you were lucky enough to have a parent go there.