pArSeC's recent activity
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Comment on Tips for increasing online privacy (without going insane)? in ~tech
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Comment on I worked for Mr Beast, he's a sociopath in ~tech
pArSeC Link ParentThat's fair, but fwiw this person (MrBeast) is considered to be in the absolute upper eschelons of YouTube "celebrities". He is absolutely HUGE, with zillions of views - mostly children. I would...That's fair, but fwiw this person (MrBeast) is considered to be in the absolute upper eschelons of YouTube "celebrities". He is absolutely HUGE, with zillions of views - mostly children. I would guess he is easily in the top 20 or 50 most viewed channels, even if you included massive corporate brands like Apple or whatever. (i might be wrong about this on the numbers - but "MrBeast" is definitely a global 'brand'). This person has MASSIVE influence over younger generations, and has already talked about running for president of the USA. He is currently too young to meet he criteria, but it's not unrealistic to imagine that position as part of his planned career trajectory in a decade or two.
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Comment on Satirical news website ‘The Onion’ sold to Global Tetrahedron in ~news
pArSeC LinkI hope this means we're finally going to see Steven Seagal play the part he was born to play.I hope this means we're finally going to see Steven Seagal play the part he was born to play.
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Comment on Leprechaun lore in ~movies
pArSeC (edited )LinkThank you so much for this. Absolutely hilarious.Thank you so much for this. Absolutely hilarious.
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Comment on British pubs keep getting demolished and rebuilt in ~design
pArSeC (edited )Link ParentWhat's perhaps missing from the story here is that this is a well known grift that's been run for decades. These beautiful, historic buildings ARE usually meeting the needs of the community, but...preventing redevelopment to remember the past is architectural hoarding. If the building does not meet the needs of the community, clear the way for more efficient land use
What's perhaps missing from the story here is that this is a well known grift that's been run for decades. These beautiful, historic buildings ARE usually meeting the needs of the community, but they are also sitting on extremely valuable land. Major developers (think 'Dubai' or 'Saudi' amounts of money) buy such listed historical buildings in the city centre, close them down deliberately, then let them rot for a decade until they are crumbling ruins. Finally, the buildings "accidentally" catch fire, and then the "unsafe" remains are bulldozed within 48 hours before any arson investigation can be completed. Voilà: your £200K investment has matured, all legal barriers have been removed, and you now have fresh, prime city-centre land to build a £multi-million hi-rise.
The real story here is that communities have got sick of this obvious grift and are starting to successfully push back. It's big news that councils (who are typically financially incentivised to turn a blind eye to developers' misdeeds and ignore the community) are finally being pressed to do something about it, and that multiple such get-rich-sort-of-quick scams have been forcibly reversed.
Edit: Another thing worth noting is that such buildings are sometimes sold from public ownership to developers for bargain-basement prices, with the express contractual stipulation to be repaired and maintained - then they simply are not repaired or maintained. They are basically stealing this land from public ownership, and trashing genuinely extraordinary centuries-old buildings in the process.
Further edits: SPaG
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Comment on What irrational video game requirements do you have? in ~games
pArSeC Link ParentI have not; I'll give it a look, thanks.I have not; I'll give it a look, thanks.
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Comment on What irrational video game requirements do you have? in ~games
pArSeC (edited )LinkI absolutely despise random spawning/respawning baddies (and powerups, ammo, first aid, etc) or any other type of "dynamic" "living" environment. I should be able to kill every single baddie and...I absolutely despise random spawning/respawning baddies (and powerups, ammo, first aid, etc) or any other type of "dynamic" "living" environment. I should be able to kill every single baddie and collect every single item in a level and leave it completely empty (and ideally get a score for it at the end! e.g. Doom). I should be able to finish having stomped every koopa, killed every soldier, popped every bubble, smashed every crate, and collected every coin, ring, ammo pack, armour shard, star or medikit. I should be able to memorise and optimise my path through the level to reach a definitive "100%" in the cleanest way possible. I can't play RPGs because of this; it drives me crazy as I am driven to kill every baddie I come across, and then 5 minutes later when I cross the same area they are back, and I need to kill them again and again.
A lesser crime, but still really annoying, is when resources are fixed in number, but so abundant that you can't collect all of them. E.g. falling down a long coin-filled hole in Mario where you can only collect the coins that you touch on the way down, and must by design leave 90% of the loot behind. Or when there are any sort of limited randomness to collectibles e.g. playing the slot machine in Casino Night Zone on Sonic to win extra rings.
The ultimate crime is to have respawning baddies, with a fixed amount of ammo.
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Comment on What are your favorite no-refrigeration, no-microwave lunches? in ~food
pArSeC LinkThe laziest lunch I know of that I eat regularly (it's extremely cheap, healthy, quick, filling AND delicious!) is as simple as: Open a can of chick peas and drain (most of) the juice Tip it into...The laziest lunch I know of that I eat regularly (it's extremely cheap, healthy, quick, filling AND delicious!) is as simple as:
- Open a can of chick peas and drain (most of) the juice
- Tip it into a tub
- Add salt, pepper, olive oil and some sort of vinegar (balsamic, wine or cider vinegar)
- Put the lid on and shake it up.
- Scoff!
It's honestly delicious just like that, but you can add all sorts of different things to make the dressing and get a million different quick-and-tasty meals almost directly from a single can. Soy sauce, garlic powder, sesame oil? Amazing. Tomato puree, onion powder, balsamic? The options are endless.
If you add a slice or two of bread and butter it becomes even better!
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Comment on E-reader purchasing advice in ~books
pArSeC (edited )Link ParentJail breaking it so you can source and load your own PDFs/epubs via sd card without needing to buy them from the walled-garden B&N store and/or being surveilled by B&N. Also it runs an old version...Jail breaking it so you can source and load your own PDFs/epubs via sd card without needing to buy them from the walled-garden B&N store and/or being surveilled by B&N.
Also it runs an old version of android so you can install apps on it, etc, if you wanted. It was fun at the time and I used it as an epaper-based remote for my Kodi for a while, but obviously a
20092011 android device is probably pretty limited in use nowadays. Still makes a perfect ereader though.Edit: looks like I got the age wrong
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Comment on E-reader purchasing advice in ~books
pArSeC Link ParentFair enough. Enjoy your search! Mine ended nearly 15 years ago, and even the original battery is still doing great.Fair enough. Enjoy your search! Mine ended
nearly 15 years ago, and even the original battery is still doing great. -
Comment on E-reader purchasing advice in ~books
pArSeC Link ParentSure. But my advice is to find a 2009 Nook Simple Touch, and root it.Sure. But my advice is to find a 2009 Nook Simple Touch, and root it.
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Comment on E-reader purchasing advice in ~books
pArSeC LinkMy advice is to find a 2009 Nook Simple Touch and root it.My advice is to find a 2009 Nook Simple Touch and root it.
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Comment on What is your most annoying (minor) movie trope? in ~movies
pArSeC (edited )Link ParentI've never seen it quite like this; this would be far preferable to what I see: they are moving. You can tell the actor is delivering some dialogue in the shot, but it's not the same dialogue that...they don't move their head and jaw at all
I've never seen it quite like this; this would be far preferable to what I see: they are moving. You can tell the actor is delivering some dialogue in the shot, but it's not the same dialogue that you are hearing. As a human, you can just instinctively tell the subtle movements their head and body are making don't match up to how a person would move when saying the words that are being said. I noticed this a few years back and is been driving me crazy ever since. It happens in literally every such shot, in every movie I've seen, going at least as far back as 1980.
It just feels so lazy and insulting to the viewer: They want to cut in that viewpoint. They could easily find the part of film where the actor was delivering the correct line, but they just can't be bothered and chop in any old crap, and assume the viewer won't notice or care. I usually assume they are using it to cover some sort of bad take, or a swift cut between 2 different takes.
If they were just standing there silently, and the shot had been filmed that way and inserted deliberately and with purpose, then at least it would feel like an artistic choice, instead of just lazy.
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Comment on What are your favorite ways to cook eggplant or dishes containing eggplant? in ~food
pArSeC LinkChop into cubes Toss in a buttload of smoked paprika, salt and olive oil Roast for 20 minutes Sprinkle on top of pasta with red sauce. Tastes extra good if you grate a courgette/zucchini into the...- Chop into cubes
- Toss in a buttload of smoked paprika, salt and olive oil
- Roast for 20 minutes
- Sprinkle on top of pasta with red sauce. Tastes extra good if you grate a courgette/zucchini into the sauce, while you're cooking it.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
pArSeC LinkIt's extraordinary that I read this entire article and I still don't have any clue what "Nothing" make or sell.It's extraordinary that I read this entire article and I still don't have any clue what "Nothing" make or sell.
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Comment on Help: Is there a way to search the fediverse in one place, instead of just my server / instance? in ~tech
pArSeC (edited )Link ParentI didn't say those places wouldn't harvest your data or pull horseshit with algorithms: /r/cats is a great place to have one big conversation about cats. So is the twitter search for "cats". If...I didn't say those places wouldn't harvest your data or pull horseshit with algorithms: /r/cats is a great place to have one big conversation about cats. So is the twitter search for "cats".
If you want a place that has one big conversation about cats, and doesn't have the other things, you're welcome to build one. What's not really OK is showing up in a long-established platform and community that meets 50% of your needs (no algo), and then trying to force it to change to fit your desire for the other 50% (searchability).
Edit: parentheses
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Comment on Help: Is there a way to search the fediverse in one place, instead of just my server / instance? in ~tech
pArSeC Link ParentAgain, you are trying to look at this as if it's as "one global conversation" like Twitter was. It isn't Twitter, its a completely different ecosystem and paradigm with only surface-level...Again, you are trying to look at this as if it's as "one global conversation" like Twitter was. It isn't Twitter, its a completely different ecosystem and paradigm with only surface-level similarities. The community simply isn't organized the same way.
If you want "one big conversation about cats", you need to look elsewhere; there are many places that fit this bill. But if you want to make friends with people who like cats, find the people on your timeline who are posting about cats and follow them. Then see who they follow, and you'll probably find there are more cat people. You'll soon build a localised, more personal and direct community around cats.
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Comment on Help: Is there a way to search the fediverse in one place, instead of just my server / instance? in ~tech
pArSeC Link ParentSure, and when designing such an ecosystem, one has to make a choice where to land on the spectrum that lies between discoverability and abuse. In this case, the decision was made to side against...Sure, and when designing such an ecosystem, one has to make a choice where to land on the spectrum that lies between discoverability and abuse. In this case, the decision was made to side against abuse; that decision is now baked into the community. The paradigm is the paradigm, there's not a huge amount of point arguing with me about whether it's "correct".
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Comment on Help: Is there a way to search the fediverse in one place, instead of just my server / instance? in ~tech
pArSeC Link ParentThey all use the same protocol already; that's the whole point. The difference between these is at the presentation layer.The one app that can do the mastodon, lemmy and peertube.
They all use the same protocol already; that's the whole point. The difference between these is at the presentation layer.
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Comment on Help: Is there a way to search the fediverse in one place, instead of just my server / instance? in ~tech
pArSeC (edited )LinkNot really. Lack of global search is considered a feature, not a bug, since it prevents bad actors from searching up a word (e.g. "trans") and harassing anyone/everyone who is using it. The entire...Not really. Lack of global search is considered a feature, not a bug, since it prevents bad actors from searching up a word (e.g. "trans") and harassing anyone/everyone who is using it.
The entire paradigm is fundamentally different from other forms of social media; you need to change your understanding of discoverability, and focus on building connections organically via the local timeline, boosts, and finding friends-of-friends. In the end, you'll find this much healthier overall.
I have used exclusively FOSS OS and apps on nearly all my devices for a very long time, for privacy reasons. One thing that has recently-ish made my life a bit less insane was setting up a secondary user on my phone and using it to install any proprietary apps I need (essential stuff like like banking apps, etc) in that environment (via aurora store).
It keeps them niftily sandboxed away from any of my day-to-day data, gives them their own settings profile for things like GPS, and I have a little shortcut on my main home screen that kills the entire user session - making sure there are no sneaky background processes running when I'm not actively using that 'workspace'. Obviously it would be better to have a dedicated phone for this purpose, but this is an acceptable balance between secure and convenient for me. I originally had a whole bunch of different user profiles for different tasks but I found it to be overkill for my needs and reduced it to just a couple. YMMV.
Tl;Dr: my tip is to use multiple user sessions on your phone to segregate less trusted apps from your 'clean' main environment (and maybe from each other).
Edits: mostly just tidying and clarifying