pvik's recent activity

  1. Comment on Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread in ~comp

    pvik
    Link Parent
    How would you compare this to tarsnap? I personally have been using tarsnap for my personal off-site backup for about 10 years and it just works once set up. Rsync.net looks similar in philosophy,...

    How would you compare this to tarsnap?

    I personally have been using tarsnap for my personal off-site backup for about 10 years and it just works once set up.

    Rsync.net looks similar in philosophy, but offloads the encryption/compression part to the user, right?

    2 votes

  2. Comment on Jon Stewart on PACT Act being blocked in the Senate in ~misc

    pvik
    Link Parent
    I agree. Looking at this bill on govtrack.us, Pat Toomey voted yea on Jun 16th, and there have been no changes made regarding spending status of these funds since, which makes his reasoning even...

    I agree.

    Looking at this bill on govtrack.us, POS Pat Toomey voted yea on Jun 16th, and there have been no changes made regarding spending status of these funds since, which makes his reasoning even more of a bullshit excuse.

    I think Sen. Chris Murphy made a good point about the Republicans flipping on the PACT Act today as well: Video

    And all of this is made worse with the way the CHIPS act has been rushed thru...

    2 votes

  4. Comment on Liberal hypocrisy is fueling American inequality. Here’s how. in ~humanities

    pvik
    Link
    Not sure if this fits in ~humanities, but thought might be the best match. Mods please move to another group if you think this is the wrong group for discussing this.

    Not sure if this fits in ~humanities, but thought might be the best match.
    Mods please move to another group if you think this is the wrong group for discussing this.

    2 votes

  6. Comment on The Wheel of Time | Official season 1 trailer in ~tv

    pvik
    (edited )
    Link
    PSA: Folks new to the series, be very wary of googling stuff about Wheel of Time. Google auto-fill is notorious for spoiling plot lines. (Thanks u/cfabbro for updating the post link) IGN made a...

    PSA: Folks new to the series, be very wary of googling stuff about Wheel of Time. Google auto-fill is notorious for spoiling plot lines.

    Here is the Trailer from Amazon itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK3uh2gsRcA
    (Thanks u/cfabbro for updating the post link)

    IGN made a shitty Wheel of Time trailer reaction video for the previous teaser.

    Thought on the trailer itself:

    Definitely more excited for the show! Been trying to temper my excitement for this show!

    Finally get a glimpse of the Aiel :)

    Maybe some spoilers here

    • Looks like Logain is having a much larger role in the beginning in the TV series compared to the books.
      My guess is they are going to use him as a prop for showing the chaos False dragons create, I feel they should've used Taim instead, tho.

    • Only issue I have with the trailer: Not too thrilled with Lan bawling, hope that is a flashback, otherwise, it is pretty antithetical to his character.

    • Not sure about the Aes Sedai rings on the Whitecloak, wonder if they are fake?

    • Looking forward to see how they are going to visualize Tel'aran'rihod, and Perrin talking to the wolves!

    I still don't fully buy Rosamund Pike as Moraine, but it's what it is. She is a talented actor and hope she does justice to the role.
    (Feels kinda like casting Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher)

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Thoughts on Mulan (2020)? in ~movies

  9. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    pvik
    Link Parent
    It is one of my favorite fantasy series, so I may be biased! At 14 books, it is a very long series, and there are a few books in the middle which move the plot along very slowly (books 9 and 10...

    It is one of my favorite fantasy series, so I may be biased!

    At 14 books, it is a very long series, and there are a few books in the middle which move the plot along very slowly (books 9 and 10 mostly), but the pay-off in the final few books (which Brandon Sanderson finished (based on RJ's notes) after Robert Jordan's death) is great! This series has one of the most satisfying endings across a ton of Fantasy I have read.

    It also has excellent world building. There are several countries with their unique cultures, relations with other countries, architectures, etc.

    It also has a very good combination of hard and soft magic systems.

    The story also has a lot of POV characters, and they are well defined characters (who aren't one dimensional). Plot also moves forward a lot of times not just because of the protagonists/antagonists characters actions, but due to unseen consequences or smaller characters actions.

    The first book, is also very similar to Lord of the Rings (Robert Jordan, wanted to essentially write his version of Lord of the Rings), but the story diverges from typical tolkienian plotlines pretty quickly.

    spoliers The world in which the story is set is actually a post-apocalyptic world, not a medieval or other tolkienian fantasy world

    This is a good video that does a better job of why you should read wheel of time, than my post.

    Amazon seems to be making a TV show out of this (coming out on Nov 19th), which most of the fans are excited for, but it is also going to be largely a different version of the books (cause to translate the books to screen and make it interesting, would involve quite a few changes).

    3 votes

  10. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    pvik
    Link
    Started The Wheel of Time re-read last month. Am in Book 9, Winter's Heart. Enjoying this second read a lot more, since I already know the broader plot points, I am reading it much more slowly and...

    Started The Wheel of Time re-read last month. Am in Book 9, Winter's Heart. Enjoying this second read a lot more, since I already know the broader plot points, I am reading it much more slowly and enjoying it a lot more!

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread in ~comp

    pvik
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    It depends on how much you want to abstract the translations away. An easier way to do this for a simpler application would be to use a query parameter like lang ( yoursite.com/blog?lang=en or...

    It depends on how much you want to abstract the translations away.

    An easier way to do this for a simpler application would be to use a query parameter like lang ( yoursite.com/blog?lang=en or yoursite.com/blog)

    Your hanndler function can parse for the lang query param, and default to Portuguese (if not present).

    If you want to have to define the language as part of your routes, then I would suggest using something like chi, which would let you define your route like

        r.Route("/{lang}", func(r chi.Router) {
      r.Get("/blog", blog)
      r.Get("/resume", resume) 
    })

    Slightly off-topic, This is also a good post that lets you incorporate some internationalization in your pages (similar to res/values/strings.xml in an Android application) using the message and language packages.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on The "S" in "IoT" is for Security in ~tech

    pvik
    Link Parent
    I am not really sure I understand your gripe with GPL. GPL is a license just like MIT, any text that dictates how you can use software/code, albeit freely-distributed code is still referred to as...

    I am not really sure I understand your gripe with GPL.

    it is still a licence

    GPL is a license just like MIT, any text that dictates how you can use software/code, albeit freely-distributed code is still referred to as a license.

    one is granted permission to use the software, one does not own it

    GPL is typically associated with code that builds the software. You can inspect it, audit it, fork it and make changes, that pretty much checks all the boxes for owning software.
    What makes you feel you don't own GPL software?

    As an open source developer who writes code for free, I would very much like to have the option to dictate how people use my code, often times I just release stuff under MIT license, but I respect the GPL and it's variations for the impact it has had on open source technology.

    our ever-increasing reliance on softwares has profundly changed how we understand ownership

    I don't think blaming our reliance on software for this is entirely right.
    Companies have slowly changed how much of a product they sell us, we own and shifted the goal-posts gradually.

    Given that a large percentage of the population don't really care about ownership of their software (nor even think about it), which being a non-tactile entity can also extenuate this.
    Internet as a software platform with subscription services have contributed to this, however, I can't blame companies for monetizing their product more efficiently, that is what a capitalist economy dictates.

    Even software which requires a subscription to use, like the Adobe suite, Office365, etc have become common-place. I hated this trend catching on for years, but I feel like that model for software distribution has become quite common and is here to stay.
    I even pay for intelliJ suite annually, and realized I no longer have a problem with that business model, since I do like to support those devs and their product makes my life a lot easier.
    (IntelliJ's licensing is still a lot better than a lot of other subscription based software out there, which prevent you from using their software once you end the subscription. Whereas with intelliJ's software, you just stop getting updates and access to future releases)

    What I am trying to get to is, I am not sure how important software ownership is at the end of the day. With the billions of man-hours companies spend writing software, realistically they are never going to open-source all their code. Software binary distribution and use as-is terms still works for most commercial software.

    I feel hardware ownership and right to repair are larger issues we currently face, not our reliance on software.

    6 votes

  13. Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv

    pvik
    Link Parent
    Been watching this every week as new episodes come out and like it so far! Alan Tudyk is hilarious and the show has been pretty well balanced so far. I am glad they did not make this into a...

    Been watching this every week as new episodes come out and like it so far!
    Alan Tudyk is hilarious and the show has been pretty well balanced so far.

    I am glad they did not make this into a sitcom, where the set the stage where an alien starts working as a doctor in a tiny remote town, and then forward the larger plot of the story towards the end of each season.
    Instead, each episode has been introducing new characters, story arcs and moving the central story along!

    1 vote

  14. Comment on Starting March 16, LastPass users on the free plan will only be able to use it on one "device type" (either PC or mobile) in ~tech

    pvik
    Link Parent
    You can self host bitwarden (or bitwarden-rs) if you want; but bitwarden also has a public instance you can use at http://vault.bitwarden.com They also have a free tier, which I think should work...

    You can self host bitwarden (or bitwarden-rs) if you want; but bitwarden also has a public instance you can use at http://vault.bitwarden.com

    They also have a free tier, which I think should work for personal use. Pricing and feature comparison is here

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread in ~comp

    pvik
    Link Parent
    Nim by default uses a reference counting garbage collector, but it also provides other GCs. The ARC GC could work well for more hand-on memory management needs.1

    Nim is reference-counted

    Nim by default uses a reference counting garbage collector, but it also provides other GCs. The ARC GC could work well for more hand-on memory management needs.1

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread in ~comp

    pvik
    Link Parent
    uLisp is great for a lisp-y experience working with micro-controllers!

    common lisp. It doesn't go ‘small’ (so, no microcontrollers)

    uLisp is great for a lisp-y experience working with micro-controllers!

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 1 in ~news

    pvik
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Now a days, if I read that a CEO of some company is being called for a congressional hearing, I just chalk it up to political theater. Nothing meaningful is going to come out of it. I think...

    Now a days, if I read that a CEO of some company is being called for a congressional hearing, I just chalk it up to political theater. Nothing meaningful is going to come out of it.

    I think pushing for things like financial transaction tax and other regulatory oversight would be a lot more helpful than this congressional hearing, but those don't create catchy headlines for the news agencies and allow for politicians to get soundbites in the news where they sound like they are fighting for the common folks.

    4 votes

  18. Comment on Why I still Lisp (and you should too!) in ~comp

    pvik
    Link Parent
    I agree clojure is great, but I am not sure I agree with it being more practical than Scheme (or Common Lisp) (not sure why you chose to include elisp in the comparison :) If I don't have to use...

    I agree clojure is great, but I am not sure I agree with it being more practical than Scheme (or Common Lisp) (not sure why you chose to include elisp in the comparison :)

    If I don't have to use the JVM (or javascript) for a project, the chances of me picking clojure drop considerably, and using CL increases proportionally!

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Why I still Lisp (and you should too!) in ~comp

    pvik
    Link Parent
    Agreed! Clojure is great when you have to deal with Java. Libraries like honeysql are great when you have to build dynamic SQL queries! Currently am working on a desktop GUI in my free time, and...

    Agreed! Clojure is great when you have to deal with Java.

    Libraries like honeysql are great when you have to build dynamic SQL queries!

    Currently am working on a desktop GUI in my free time, and using rust (with webview) and clojurescript (with re-frame), it is a lot more enjoyable experience!

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Why I still Lisp (and you should too!) in ~comp

    pvik
    Link Parent
    Yup, I have read Land of Lisp and it is a pretty good book to get up to speed on writing CL. He does gloss over more arcane stuff/cruft that comes with CL to get you writing workable code! Another...

    Yup, I have read Land of Lisp and it is a pretty good book to get up to speed on writing CL. He does gloss over more arcane stuff/cruft that comes with CL to get you writing workable code!

    Another suggestion is Practical Common Lisp, which also goes over building actual projects in CL to teach CL itself, however without most of the humor/any comic aspect.

    The main issue I have with most of the CL books out there is they do not cover using asdf/quicklisp, which I feel is an important piece in modern CL development.

    2 votes