noah's recent activity
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Comment on Why you can't stay focused (and how to fix it) in ~health.mental
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Comment on I was scared to say this to NASA... (but I said it anyway) in ~space
noah Link ParentWhat about it exactly could cause doors to close? Who would dislike what he has to say and then make future choices influenced by the talk? Both specific to this situation and the “workplace...What about it exactly could cause doors to close? Who would dislike what he has to say and then make future choices influenced by the talk? Both specific to this situation and the “workplace politics” game in general, i just don’t understand how a friendly negative opinion can cause possible future harm
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Comment on Why do so many developers provide only 64-bit or x64 builds of their software these days? in ~comp
noah Link ParentMaybe by Windows 14 we can get rid of Program Files (x86) then?Maybe by Windows 14 we can get rid of Program Files (x86) then?
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Comment on Plastics have shaped nearly every aspect of society. Now what? in ~enviro
noah Link ParentPlastics have, I imagine, greatly benefited some areas of society. For instance, they allow for cheap & effective single-use items in the medical field. I'm sure there are more examples of...Plastics have, I imagine, greatly benefited some areas of society. For instance, they allow for cheap & effective single-use items in the medical field. I'm sure there are more examples of industries where they should continue to be available.
With that said, for-profit companies have done a great job at using plastics to extract every last penny from consumers - not only by selling them low-quality versions of goods that were previously produced with metal (ex. any sort of tool or toy with gears in it, like stand-up mixers or power tools) - but also by enabling the production of, for the lack of a better phrase, "shit."
It's everywhere. Walk through a grocery store and see all of the cheap toys hanging from the racks. Receive a new laptop from your employer and everything will come wrapped in plastic. I can only imagine - and it's probably outside of my imagination, even - how much plastic is used by businesses every day to save a dollar, a lot of it mostly unnecessary.
We've been conditioned to expect perfect goods that come tidily wrapped, probably to benefit the plastics industry. We've been taught to want to replace our things quicker, so people don't even get very upset when they break - they've probably already bought a new one!
One way or another, we've been conditioned to want this. Of course it's going to be an uphill battle - and therefore probably never happen - if we try to eliminate plastics and tell consumers that goods will cost more. Not only are people already struggling, but we've very recently seen that prices will go up just because, so how are we to trust that this time it's a necessary price increase (if it even is)? And how will we ever overcome our consumerist society to even tell people to buy less? That they don't need the water bottles, or the ziplock bags, or the thousands of other little trinkets that fill all of our homes. Sure, minimalism is probably healthier, but getting new junk makes us feel good.
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Comment on Show Tildes: critique my first portfolio site in ~comp
noah Link Parentextra bullet point on the readings page for me as well :)extra bullet point on the readings page for me as well :)
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Comment on Using a VPN may make you less secure in ~tech
noah LinkWho should these articles target? In my mind, the only people who would need to read something like this is the type of person who doesn't have a firm grasp on how to remain 'completely'...Who should these articles target? In my mind, the only people who would need to read something like this is the type of person who doesn't have a firm grasp on how to remain 'completely' anonymous, but still chooses to break the law (enough that their government will care). I would say most of us fall into two categories - those who use VPNs for piracy, streaming, and maybe NSFW traffic, and those of us who are attempting to circumvent internet filters which prohibit free speech (in countries like China).
I can't speak for those living in countries where free speech/access is an issue, but for me and most fellow North Americans, I would assume our use case is, as listed above, mainly for piracy and alternate streaming services, in which case I don't really see a negative to VPNs storing logs (even though I hope they don't!).
Stu, what are your thoughts as the author? Do you have a target demographic in mind? Do you think the average VPN user should have a certain level of knowledge about what a VPN does and does not protect against, or is it more important for ignorant people who are hoping to scour websites for common illegal commodities one would use tor for?
A follow-up article may be an overview of what information is actually safe over tor as well, in case people read your VPN article and wonder "okay, how can I be more secure then?" I'd imagine a lot of them see tor and think "okay, done! I'll just install this on my desktop at home and I'll be safe from ever being caught!"
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Comment on Do you think there is anything from the past we should bring back? in ~talk
noah Link ParentWhen I was deployed everyone hung out in a big hangar, and my small crew (4 people) also had our own little shack with an xbox 360 but no internet. The hangar did have internet but I didn't bring...When I was deployed everyone hung out in a big hangar, and my small crew (4 people) also had our own little shack with an xbox 360 but no internet. The hangar did have internet but I didn't bring a phone or laptop so I couldn't make use of it.
I'm an introvert, and that was probably the most social I've ever been in my life - and it was great. I was also able to entertain myself with books (kindle) and I read more than I had since I was in my teens (used to be an avid reader, but in the past ~10 years I'm lucky if I read 2-3 books a year).
I will always look back on it as a wonderful experience. It's hard to even comprehend what it's like to go months without reddit/youtube/texting/tv/etc., but it was so liberating and relaxing. I also loved the feeling of not being responsible for answering other people 24/7, as that is somewhat of an expectation now that cell phones are commonplace.
Along with the revival of reading, the revival of local multiplayer is something I hadn't realized I'd missed so badly. Playing Diablo 3, WWE Smackdown (10? 12?) (both games I personally have never touched before or since, but which I enjoyed simply for the experience), watching people play SSB, playing ping pong any time of the day or night - online multiplayer will never be a true replacement for sitting right next to friends and sharing an experience together.
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Comment on Will you install the contact-tracing app on your phone? in ~health
noah Link ParentHow are we expecting it to work if location services aren't enabled? I haven't really been following news about it. And even without location services, could it track wifi networks we see? I'm on...How are we expecting it to work if location services aren't enabled? I haven't really been following news about it. And even without location services, could it track wifi networks we see? I'm on iPhone myself and not too sure if that is an accessible API (of course if it's an Apple-made app that restriction may not matter)
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Comment on What keyboard shortcut was a game changer for you? in ~tech
noah Linkcmd - shift - 5 (mac) / win - shift - S (pc): I really like being able to take screenshots without breaking workflow, so it was especially helpful on windows after print screen + paint or win -...-
cmd - shift - 5 (mac) / win - shift - S (pc): I really like being able to take screenshots without breaking workflow, so it was especially helpful on windows after print screen + paint or win - print screen and navigating to pictures folder, and mac added a few helpful options over cmd - shift - 3/4 with the new option
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Mac's spotlight (cmd - space) [replaced with alfred on my machines]: pretty hard to beat the speed of opening basically anything you'd want. I use windows search fairly frequently too, but generally only for launching apps or settings panes, as windows doesn't do as good a job of indexing files and therefore takes a while to find them.
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win - x: Most stuff I need falls under this shortcut, from settings to cmd/powershell.
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On Mac, I can't live without simple shortcuts like browser back, window (/tab) close, and (mission control? all screens on current desktop) mapped to my mouse. Again makes general use a lot quicker, especially for navigating a lot of threads quickly.
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On windows, I also use mouse shortcuts, but mainly for audio control, as I'm usually playing Rocket League if I'm on my personal PC. Mute/play-pause/next track/vol up+down.
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When I was using 1pass, cmd/ctrl + \ was my most used shortcut because of the ease of hitting it with one hand, but after the switch to bitwarden cmd/ctrl + shift + L (or Y if not logged in) is a lot harder for me to remember, so half the time I end up clicking on the extension icon in the browser. This is one case where I wish I could modify the shortcut (which I guess I could probably do in system preferences, but I CBA)
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Comment on Fitness tracker recommendations? in ~health
noah LinkHave you looked at Garmin? They're another popular brand for this style of deviceHave you looked at Garmin? They're another popular brand for this style of device
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Comment on Pansexuality 101: Five key facts you need to know in ~lgbt
noah Link ParentDo you think that if the term Pansexual would have been more popular than Bisexual (which definitely seemed to be in more people's vocabularies, at least from what I remember growing up), we would...Do you think that if the term Pansexual would have been more popular than Bisexual (which definitely seemed to be in more people's vocabularies, at least from what I remember growing up), we would still have a need for the "Bi-" prefix, or if they are largely seen as relatively similar/equal, we could have all just stuck with "Pan-"? It seems to me like "Bi-" is more likely to cause issues/"trigger" people who are more vocal about not excluding those who don't fit into traditional gender roles.
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Comment on This Week In Election Night, 2020 (Week 18) in ~misc
noah LinkSo... what exactly do I need to do to take part in the primaries? didn't end up registering until last year.So... what exactly do I need to do to take part in the primaries? didn't end up registering until last year.
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Comment on What password manager, if any, would you recommend? in ~tech
noah Link ParentFor anyone who uses a lot of subdomains/local addresses, I recently moved to Bitwarden from 1pass for this specific reason. 1pass only matches on domain.tld, where Bitwarden has many more options,...For anyone who uses a lot of subdomains/local addresses, I recently moved to Bitwarden from 1pass for this specific reason. 1pass only matches on domain.tld, where Bitwarden has many more options, including regex matching.
Besides ignoring the above issue for years, 1pass has been in the news recently for some serious mishandling of feature offerings, which was what spurred me to make the change.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~news
noah Link ParentThe act itself makes sense given the situation the officer placed himself in. Losing a less lethal weapon means it can be used against him, rendering him defenseless if she chooses to then draw...The act itself makes sense given the situation the officer placed himself in. Losing a less lethal weapon means it can be used against him, rendering him defenseless if she chooses to then draw his firearm and shoot him.
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Comment on I've taken the leap from reddit in ~talk
noah Link ParentI don't necessarily think worrying about precise punctuation should be more important than sharing the knowledge you have with someone who wants it. Chances are the degreed people of...I don't necessarily think worrying about precise punctuation should be more important than sharing the knowledge you have with someone who wants it. Chances are the degreed people of askhistorians/askscience/etc have better things to do than spend an extra couple minutes making sure their I's are capitalized. I'm sure you could come up with a better argument than that for why you feel reddit doesn't contain discussion.
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Comment on The long-awaited moment... Dracula theme added! Oh also, the site is publicly visible now (but let's not be too noisy about it yet). in ~tildes.official
noah Link Parentre: user themes, would there be any way to have something like $background: #282a36; $background-alt: #44475a; $foreground: #f8f8f2; $foreground-alt: #6272a4; $cyan: #8be9fd; $green: #50fa7b;...re: user themes, would there be any way to have something like
$background: #282a36; $background-alt: #44475a; $foreground: #f8f8f2; $foreground-alt: #6272a4; $cyan: #8be9fd; $green: #50fa7b; $orange: #ffb86c; [ ... ] "stripe-mine": $purple, "stripe-target": $yellow, "topic-tag-nsfw": $red, "topic-tag-spoiler": $yellow, "warning": $yellow, );this on a user's settings page, where we can define our "background", "text", etc colors, and then have some sort of JS client-side parser/compiler for sass which stores the generated custom css in our browser's cache, taking any workload off of ~ and putting it on users, at the expense of maybe not working on X application which doesn't allow JS or meaning it only works on one machine at a time, and possibly storing only our custom color inputs on our user page so if we log in on a different browser it's re-populated and we just need to click "create" again for that browser?
I have no idea if any of this is either possible or easy, just a thought I had for how it may work without requiring a lot of overhead on the server.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~lgbt
noah Link ParentThe people who are "triggered" by being anti-marginalized - which I would assume is a very small vocal minority of cis heteros (or whomever likes to stir the pot) either a) don't actually care...The people who are "triggered" by being anti-marginalized - which I would assume is a very small vocal minority of cis heteros (or whomever likes to stir the pot) either
a) don't actually care about this issue, but like to cause issues for anyone who doesn't look/think/act like them, or
b) think that an issue that they might be reminded of once a week is something they should be able to control for people whose lives revolve around (or at least are partially defined by) something such as their sexuality, or skin color, or religion, etc.
It's a tale as old as time to try to further marginalize and discriminate against people who aren't part of the "majority" but now more than ever people who are a part of the "majority" want to fight alongside those who feel oppressed.
There's examples of this everywhere. "#AllLivesMatter/#BlueLivesMatter" for #BlackLivesMatter, the discrimination of middle-eastern people, atheists in certain places (or even insert ____ religion that isn't Christianity or Islam in different parts of the world), etc.
Even right now on Tildes' front page there's a post about Christians trying to remove meditation from US schools because it's "Buddhist". It's like they're afraid of losing people and losing power so they lash out anywhere they can.
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Comment on Which setting on router should be used to secure home network? in ~tech
noah Link ParentWhen video game consoles are connected to the outside world, ELI5 NAT filtering strict, moderate, open? Great write-up by the way!When video game consoles are connected to the outside world, ELI5 NAT filtering strict, moderate, open?
Great write-up by the way!
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Comment on Hey, Tildes, what's a strong opinion you hold, but which you also feel like is the minority opinion? in ~talk
noah Link ParentWithout taking a stance on either side, I really enjoyed listening to season 3 of Serial by This American Life. It talks about the issues we have with both police and the judicial system, focusing...Without taking a stance on either side, I really enjoyed listening to season 3 of Serial by This American Life. It talks about the issues we have with both police and the judicial system, focusing mainly on the issues minorities have with 'the law.'
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Comment on 12 Young People on Why They Probably Won’t Vote in ~misc
noah Link ParentOkay, so what do you propose people should do besides vote, since voting doesn't matter?Okay, so what do you propose people should do besides vote, since voting doesn't matter?
Mine didn’t involve meditation, but I also go through these spurts of being better at managing distractions followed by relapse. It feels just like when I find another ADHD hobby, when I get really excited about a topic and go all-in on it for a couple months before moving on to the next.
But I do still know a lot about my old hobbies, and they influence my life. In the same way, although I’ve failed in the short term to modulate my life, I’ve learned the signs, and I’ve become more mindful.
I don’t know how much of this I can do on my own, and it’s a big downer thinking about it. And there’s a lot of anger associated with it both towards our corporations who are exploiting our own psychologies to get us addicted, as well as towards myself for knowing that and still failing to break the cycle.
The scariest part for me is figuring out how I’ll deal with it when my kids are at the age where these technological pressures are coming from peers. It’s scary. At least most of us here can remember a time before this was our reality.
edit: oh, and the hardest part to wrap my head around is that I’m not even in super deep. On my worst days I’m only a few hours into social media or distractions of some sort. It feels like a good chunk of society have between 4-8 hours of unhealthy screen time per day. That is just nuts.