maple's recent activity

  1. Comment on Non-American, English language news sources in ~news

    maple
    Link Parent
    News Minimalist and a daily read of the Economist front page are my go-tos, with a regular check in to CBC (my local news) as well. As you say, the Economist is both broad and deep; I like it a lot.

    News Minimalist and a daily read of the Economist front page are my go-tos, with a regular check in to CBC (my local news) as well. As you say, the Economist is both broad and deep; I like it a lot.

  2. Comment on Dipping my toes in OpenBSD, in Amsterdam in ~tech

    maple
    Link Parent
    REPORT: I’m in this comment and I don’t like it

    I’ve read almost none of the documentation but by gods this should be easy, and then six hours later I’ve wound my way through the help pages of thirty different features and have perhaps constructed the knowledge available from the introduction web page by way of the negative space left by the rest of them.

    REPORT: I’m in this comment and I don’t like it

  3. Comment on Starsector 0.98a released in ~games

    maple
    Link
    I used to love EV Nova, so I’d totally be up for this - can anybody tell me if you can dial back the combat? I’m an old man now with not much time for gaming, I much prefer the...

    I used to love EV Nova, so I’d totally be up for this - can anybody tell me if you can dial back the combat? I’m an old man now with not much time for gaming, I much prefer the story/trading/strategy aspects of these games. A little combat is ok but I can never dedicate enough time to become satisfyingly good at it anymore #casuslgamer

    3 votes
  4. Comment on How can I prevent my work computers turning my home into an oven? in ~comp

    maple
    Link Parent
    Should you decide to go the colo route, it looks like you’re in the UK… I can heartily recommend Jump (https://www.jump.net.uk) for London based colo. They are small and aimed at enthusiasts and...

    Should you decide to go the colo route, it looks like you’re in the UK… I can heartily recommend Jump (https://www.jump.net.uk) for London based colo. They are small and aimed at enthusiasts and smaller businesses and are very very competent and easy to deal with, as well as renting by the U and being open to “weird stuff”. I used them happily for years.

    3 votes
  5. Comment on What's the oldest tech you use, and why do you still use it? in ~tech

    maple
    Link Parent
    Fellow 86 silverbadge user checking in! I tried to find one older than me but alas I couldn’t quite get there. Work from home really gave a new lease of life to that thing - I was never antisocial...

    Fellow 86 silverbadge user checking in! I tried to find one older than me but alas I couldn’t quite get there. Work from home really gave a new lease of life to that thing - I was never antisocial enough to take it in to the office.

    As a side benefit, it will come in handy as a melee weapon should the zombie hordes rise up against us

    2 votes
  6. Comment on Follow up on the username thread: What Tildes users do you recognize when browsing and, without being rude or inflammatory, what is your impression of them? in ~tildes

    maple
    Link Parent
    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Nordic countries ripping on each other is one of my very favourite rivalries (probably second only to Niles vs Roz in Frasier)

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Nordic countries ripping on each other is one of my very favourite rivalries (probably second only to Niles vs Roz in Frasier)

    5 votes
  7. Comment on Human drivers keep rear-ending Waymos in ~transport

    maple
    Link Parent
    My suburban city went to great lengths and expense to rework one of our major east-west throughfares so that it included a grade-separated bike lane (actually a "multi-use path"), pissing off many...

    My suburban city went to great lengths and expense to rework one of our major east-west throughfares so that it included a grade-separated bike lane (actually a "multi-use path"), pissing off many NIMBYs in the process. It's beautiful clear smooth tarmac, with one lane in each direction. Well lit and about six feet offset from the road. I was thrilled to see it go in.

    The only cyclists who use it are the occasional casual cyclist like me, and kids. Dedicated cyclists (which is to say, the ones who own and wear special outfits, and ride fancy road bikes, often in gaggles of 10 or more) don't go near it, seemingly preferring instead to ride on the street with the cars. The very street that was made significantly narrower and more precarious by the building of the new path. I've actually witnessed more road rage (on both sides) since it went in than I did before.

    I'm sure this is the city's fault for some reason, perhaps it's not as convenient or enjoyable for the cyclists to have to go up and down dropped curbs at intersections, but I have little sympathy for the cyclists if they aren't using the facilities provided to them.

    I'm delighted to see more separate cycling infrastructure, but in this case we can't even get the horse to come to the water, let alone drink it. I'm not sure what to do about that. I guess my point is just that sometimes you can do everything seemingly right, but human behaviour confounds you.

    4 votes
  8. Comment on Three days in England - Overwhelmed by options - Looking for ideas in ~travel

    maple
    Link Parent
    I’m glad you said this because my first thought after reading they had a week in London and wanted to get out if the city was, “head North”! Travel time would make it tricky but it’s a very...

    I’m glad you said this because my first thought after reading they had a week in London and wanted to get out if the city was, “head North”!

    Travel time would make it tricky but it’s a very different vibe. I still think it would be worth it.

  9. Comment on SpaceTraders — A unique multiplayer game built on a free Web API in ~comp

    maple
    Link Parent
    I ran up ungodly phone bills playing Tradewars back in the day. Loved that game so much! You can still find it in various places online but it seems that all the players nowadays are using crazily...

    I ran up ungodly phone bills playing Tradewars back in the day. Loved that game so much! You can still find it in various places online but it seems that all the players nowadays are using crazily optimized macros etc, so it loses the nostalgic slow-paced feel.

    3 votes
  10. Comment on Mozilla is adding vertical tabs, profile management, and local AI to Firefox in ~tech

    maple
    Link Parent
    God I hope they don’t abandon it. I use tab containers for security/privacy reasons - keeping Facebook in its own jail etc. The UX of it isn’t so important to me (the centre of the universe)

    God I hope they don’t abandon it. I use tab containers for security/privacy reasons - keeping Facebook in its own jail etc. The UX of it isn’t so important to me (the centre of the universe)

    14 votes
  11. Comment on Folks in those $100k+ jobs, corporate types, office workers... What would you say you actually do? in ~life

    maple
    Link Parent
    Also IT, also management, exact same experience with back to back meetings, exact same purpose in them. Honestly I can’t wait for many corporate knowledge worker jobs to be automated, maybe mine...

    Also IT, also management, exact same experience with back to back meetings, exact same purpose in them.

    Honestly I can’t wait for many corporate knowledge worker jobs to be automated, maybe mine will be one of them!

    15 votes
  12. Comment on Time to delete your Glassdoor account and data in ~tech

    maple
    Link
    Interestingly the full name that Glassdoor has assigned me is the unique, heavily truncated version of my name that I use on Facebook and nowhere else. I use the same email address on both sites,...

    Interestingly the full name that Glassdoor has assigned me is the unique, heavily truncated version of my name that I use on Facebook and nowhere else. I use the same email address on both sites, so I guess they’ve learned it through some shady backroom data purchasing arrangement. That’s gross, so goodbye account.

    15 votes
  13. Comment on What is the most reliable and affordable form of storage medium to use as a backup drive for your computer? in ~tech

    maple
    Link Parent
    My take on your question is that if you have an HDD that is just sitting on a shelf untouched, even if it's more reliable than an SSD in that situation, you have absolutely no guarantee that it's...

    My take on your question is that if you have an HDD that is just sitting on a shelf untouched, even if it's more reliable than an SSD in that situation, you have absolutely no guarantee that it's going to work when you need it to.

    You need to test your backups. My approach here is that cloud providers can't compete with the cost of an 8TB SATA drive that's brought home from the office once a week and rsynced, then taken back to the office. Every week I plug that thing in and I know that it works.

    6 votes
  14. Comment on What is the "bible" of your hobby or activity? in ~hobbies

    maple
    Link
    Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche. Terminology is a little dated now but airplanes fly the same now as they did in 1944. Pretty much required reading for any budding pilot.

    Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche. Terminology is a little dated now but airplanes fly the same now as they did in 1944. Pretty much required reading for any budding pilot.

    3 votes
  15. Comment on Advice for returning to a frozen car at long term airport parking in ~travel

    maple
    Link Parent
    Not to make light of OP’s situation and I hope they figure it out safely — but your mention of credit card concierge piqued my interest. My card has the same service through Visa Infinite...

    Not to make light of OP’s situation and I hope they figure it out safely — but your mention of credit card concierge piqued my interest. My card has the same service through Visa Infinite Privilege and to be honest it always struck me as a gimmick — it would never occur to use the concierge for anything. Is there a reason you’re suggesting it here? Maybe just because OP is tired and busy?

    Just trying to figure out if there’s a killer app for this thing that I’m missing.

    5 votes
  16. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~transport

    maple
    Link Parent
    I wish I had a more useful comment to make, and I'm sure you can find it if you Kagi hard enough, but I saw an interesting article or citation (forget which) that oulined that going right back to...

    finding new jobs for people in declining industries is actually a pretty tough problem. It doesn't just happen.

    I wish I had a more useful comment to make, and I'm sure you can find it if you Kagi hard enough, but I saw an interesting article or citation (forget which) that oulined that going right back to the automotive revolution, when a new technology comes along, we don't really find new jobs for existing people who are being displaced (or replaced); new entrants to the labour market just find different jobs, and the old ones die out through attrition.

    I suppose it might not hold now with new technologies and the pace of change being higher, but I found it to be an interesting idea.

    9 votes
  17. Comment on I'm gonna be a dad! in ~life.men

    maple
    Link Parent
    I think this is really important to highlight. I don't mind admitting that I felt nothing for my daughter when she was first born. I was far more invested in my wife who didn't have a very easy...

    We don't carry baby so we have to do all of our bonding after the baby comes.

    I think this is really important to highlight. I don't mind admitting that I felt nothing for my daughter when she was first born. I was far more invested in my wife who didn't have a very easy labour and was in some distress afterwards. The screaming ball of flesh under the heat lamp was at most a curiosity... and honestly it took me probably a couple of months before I really genuinely felt like I had anything more than a legal responsibility for my daughter.

    She's 6 now, is smart, funny and loving and I love her to pieces, but it was a rough ride at the start. So give yourself some space, don't feel guilty if you don't get there straight away.

    And everything /u/wolf_359 says is correct (although I have my differences regarding safe co-sleeping arrangements, it's possible if you're careful... but you have to be careful and understand the risks). Free baby stuff groups are a gold mine on both ends... it feels really great to be able to pass stuff on after you're done with it!

    Babies are built to survive first time parents. Keep it alive, and everything else will fall into place!

    Oh and -- this is a great book.

    21 votes
  18. Comment on It's spooky how fast Spirit Halloween stores pop up. Here's how the US retailer does it. in ~finance

    maple
    Link Parent
    Agree. The most impressive part of their ability to appear overnight isn’t that they’re able to lease empty storefronts (empty stores easy to lease at short notice, news at 11); it’s that they’re...

    Agree. The most impressive part of their ability to appear overnight isn’t that they’re able to lease empty storefronts (empty stores easy to lease at short notice, news at 11); it’s that they’re able to lease empty storefronts and fill them with stock overnight, all across the country, in perfect sync. That speaks to some really highly optimized supply chains! Lots of interesting aspects to it that this didn’t touch on.

    12 votes
  19. Comment on What should I look at on Google Earth? in ~tech

    maple
    Link Parent
    I thought I was the only one! I started planning a trip to Tuktoyaktuk back in early 2020 (obviously that didn’t go ahead), and in the course of doing that I found myself idly doing exactly what...

    I thought I was the only one! I started planning a trip to Tuktoyaktuk back in early 2020 (obviously that didn’t go ahead), and in the course of doing that I found myself idly doing exactly what you say. Sometimes I’ll pan around the streets of a northern community and imagine what life must be like there.

    Sometimes I’m surprised by the existence of a photo sphere or two taken by visitors, and how the level of development can vary so wildly - Old Crow in YT is a good example. They have downright modern museum thing but no obvious way to get building materials there. It’s impressive.

  20. Comment on Why is Popeyes so good? in ~food

    maple
    Link
    Check out Canadian (they’re from Newfoundland) chain Mary Brown’s - they used to just be back east but a bunch have sprung up in the lower mainland recently. They’re a much, much higher quality...

    Check out Canadian (they’re from Newfoundland) chain Mary Brown’s - they used to just be back east but a bunch have sprung up in the lower mainland recently. They’re a much, much higher quality KFC and their Big Mary chicken sandwich is pretty great.

    2 votes