quacker's recent activity
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Comment on r/Place on Reddit returns tomorrow in ~tech
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Comment on Weight obsession is ruining everyone’s health in ~health
quacker Link ParentIt is an indicator of health though. Just one of many.BMI is an indicator of health.
It is an indicator of health though. Just one of many.
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Comment on What's the first thing you do when you get a new computer? in ~tech
quacker LinkFor my personal computers, I tend to install stuff only as needed. The things I immediately use get installed first: Firefox Password manager (1password, for me) Steam If I'm doing software...For my personal computers, I tend to install stuff only as needed.
The things I immediately use get installed first:
- Firefox
- Password manager (1password, for me)
- Steam
If I'm doing software development, I'm probably on a Mac so then it's
- iTerm2
- Homebrew (which is used to install some of the following)
- Neovim
- Git
- Programming languages
- A window tiling tool (such as Rectangle)
I do fiddle with other settings. I like to auto-hide the taskbar/dock, adjust mouse sensitivity, configure certain keyboard shortcuts, etc.
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Comment on Spotify’s podcast plan is going off the rails in ~tech
quacker Link ParentI went through the same thought process. I tried out some podcasts years ago, and was unimpressed. I figured it’s not for me and didn’t look back or pay attention to them. They’ve taken off ever...I went through the same thought process. I tried out some podcasts years ago, and was unimpressed. I figured it’s not for me and didn’t look back or pay attention to them. They’ve taken off ever since.
Even today, my family will sometimes link me to an interesting podcast they’d listened to, and more often than not it’s unabridged, unedited content. It’s sometimes an hour of listening for 10 minutes of information.
Particularly for science/political oriented podcasts, the long meandering conversational style seems perfectly suited for presenting misinformation or inaccurate information and leading you to believe it. Probably one reason Joe Rogan’s podcast is so successful.
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Comment on What is your most used piece of kitchen equipment / what surprised you in its usefulness? in ~food
quacker Link ParentThe long cook time on Zojirushi and similar rice cookers is because it soaks and steams. The rice cooker follows three stages: soak > cook > steam (source). Rice takes time to absorb water, so...The long cook time on Zojirushi and similar rice cookers is because it soaks and steams. The rice cooker follows three stages: soak > cook > steam (source). Rice takes time to absorb water, so giving it more time to absorb and cook through makes the rice better.
These expensive rice cooker models ("micom", "fuzzy logic", etc) also come with microchips and sensors that can account for variability from batch to batch. Like if your house is hot one day and cold another day, the rice cooker compensates for that temperature difference by adjusting cooking time / temperature, so that you get a consistent result.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
quacker LinkSlay the Spire I've finally reached ascension 20 with Ironclad. I'm a bit better at drafting cards for Ironclad after my recent progression from A12-A20. After enough failed runs, I can recognize...Slay the Spire
I've finally reached ascension 20 with Ironclad.
I'm a bit better at drafting cards for Ironclad after my recent progression from A12-A20. After enough failed runs, I can recognize decks that have obvious weaknesses (Like: if I run into X enemy, how do I survive? Maybe I need to draw certain cards and live for so many turns; how can I prepare to ensure that?). I'm also better at recognizing value-adds to my deck/relics and avoiding stuff that doesn't help (I love Demon Strength and Barricade, but these often aren't good additions).
I've already reached act 3 boss 2 once, but couldn't pull it off after scraping by the first boss. You know in advance who the first boss is, but you don't know the second boss, so it's that much harder to prepare. I feel like I'll beat A20 soon though.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
quacker Link ParentMy wife played through it and also vastly preferred BOTW. She found the ultrahand kind of awkward or hard to control, I guess, and generally wasn't into the vehicle construction and fusing which...Tears of the Kingdom
My wife played through it and also vastly preferred BOTW. She found the ultrahand kind of awkward or hard to control, I guess, and generally wasn't into the vehicle construction and fusing which is everywhere in TOTK. Getting the autobuild ability/mechanic helped a lot though. She also preferred the puzzle-like nature of the BOTW shrines, where there is often a solution in mind that you have to figure out, whereas many shrines in TOTK are more like a sandbox where you "just" construct a vehicle to get to the end.
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Comment on What coffee have you been brewing at home recently? in ~food
quacker LinkI have an espresso maker (Breville Bambino) that I use exclusively for cappuccinos for the wife and I. Sometimes I do an iced latte for me. Usually regular milk and sometimes oat milk. Always...I have an espresso maker (Breville Bambino) that I use exclusively for cappuccinos for the wife and I. Sometimes I do an iced latte for me. Usually regular milk and sometimes oat milk. Always sweetened. For beans, we like a nutty chocolatey medium roast that’s not quite as bitter as a dark roast. We have never really enjoyed fruity roasts in general. We get beans from a local chain and also Rutamaya medium roast which is at our Costco. Nothing all that fancy as far espresso goes. We do like to try new beans now and then, which is fun but often we have too much to finish in the “ideal” post-roasting timeframe
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Comment on What's your game that you'd really like to see made? in ~games
quacker Link ParentNot quite what you want, but there's Pixelmon which is a Pokemon mod for Minecraft. It has all of the pokemon roaming around to battle/capture, it has traditional turn-based battle mechanics, and...Not quite what you want, but there's Pixelmon which is a Pokemon mod for Minecraft. It has all of the pokemon roaming around to battle/capture, it has traditional turn-based battle mechanics, and there are little towns with people, gyms, shops, and pokecenters. It's not bad at all.
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Comment on Reddit reinvents the chat room with subreddit chat in ~tech
quacker LinkNot sure about this... Traditionally, Reddit had a few ways to facilitate more real-time communication, but these were limited, Live threads would provide updates on high-intereset / high-impact...Not sure about this... Traditionally, Reddit had a few ways to facilitate more real-time communication, but these were limited,
- Live threads would provide updates on high-intereset / high-impact events (like Hurricane Harvey), but those are few and far-between (I see no live threads currently at https://www.reddit.com/live/happening_now/ for example). Reddit live isn't something I've seen any communities utilize frequently.
- Most subreddits use a "megathread", which is just a regular thread, stickied to the top of front page of the subreddit. If you sort comments by new and refresh, it's like a poor man's chat room (highly active threads default to sorting comments by new, actually).
As a redditor, I usually don't want real-time communication. I use reddit mainly as a news source because it's actually good at filtering/ranking content I want to see. This is what has made reddit so successful (in addition to its active and well-developed communities).
Broadly, moving ranked and filtered content from threads into unranked and less filtered chat rooms seems like a bad idea. But limited use of real-time chat to supplement discussion on reddit would work well. For example, when submitting a thread, you could have the option of creating thread-specific or topic-specific channel(s) in the chat room. These channels would have a limited lifetime (maybe a few days to a week) and would then be archived. Ideally, this would be moderator controlled, so moderators can approve and are aware of any created chat channels so they can be properly moderated (if desired). That way you have the real-time discussion only when it's really needed.
(But I get the point of this is to keep users off external sites.)
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Comment on A disastrous time for abuse of women in this country in ~life
quacker Link ParentConsidering your comment, I would think that any sort of education would not be able to prevent kidnapping, violent rape, or murder. I actually think things like date rape, marital rape, and...Considering your comment,
You don't teach boys & men not to rape, you teach them to respect girls & women, which should naturally flow on to a reduced normalisation of rape, which should reduce the number of men who feel entitled to treat women as objects and possessions.
I would think that any sort of education would not be able to prevent kidnapping, violent rape, or murder. I actually think things like date rape, marital rape, and misunderstandings about consent are the prime targets for education to fix - things certain men don't recognize as rape. I'm not sure what you say to a murderer or violent rapist (at any point throughout their life) to prevent them from being what they are.
There is a big problem with rape culture that can education can fix (things like victim blaming, taking sexual assault reports seriously, etc). But viewing rape (or any violent crime) entirely as a cultural/societal problem is not going to lead to a whole solution (though maybe it's the only way to approach the problem).
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Comment on What game(s) had the best, or your favourite, leveling system? in ~games
quacker LinkA couple of things come to mind, Pokemon (Red/Blue, Gold/Silver, etc) - Leveling up Pokemon was always tons of fun. You level up Pokemon by gaining EXP from battles. Each Pokemon has a preset list...A couple of things come to mind,
Pokemon (Red/Blue, Gold/Silver, etc) - Leveling up Pokemon was always tons of fun. You level up Pokemon by gaining EXP from battles. Each Pokemon has a preset list of moves they can learn at particular levels and there are certain moves you can teach. Nearly all Pokemon "evolve" into different Pokemon at certain levels, which basically gives a stat bump and a new look to the Pokemon.
I do think the Pokemon leveling system is a bit too simplistic to stand on its own. Rather, it's the sheer variety of Pokemon that transforms leveling up Pokemon into a process of discovery - discovering which moves a Pokemon will learn (because it's not obvious without prior knowledge) and obtaining the evolved forms was a lot of fun.
There are many other good "quirks" to keep it interesting and rewarding, too, like how un-evolved Pokemon learn moves faster (at lower levels), or how traded Pokemon gain experience faster, or how certain moves enable progression through the world (e.g. learning surf lets you traverse water to access islands), or how moves can be passed on through breeding, and so on.
Zelda (similar to another's comment about Hollow Knight), Zelda is not an RPG. Link does not have stats (just HP and Magic) or skills. Rather, as you progress through the world, Link obtains new items that enable him to do new things and progress to new areas. In The Ocarina of Time, you learn songs to cycle day/night, to make it rain, to call your horse, to warp you places, and so forth. You find scales that let you dive deeper under water. You get new tunics the protect you against fire, or let you breath under water. You get new boots, shields, bombs, arrows, and other items to help you accomplish certain tasks.
One of the great things about the progression in Zelda is that I figure out how to use all the items. I don't just grind exp/levels in the same way the whole game. As a player, I'm challenged to figure out what to do with the items I collect (sometimes it's obvious, sometimes not) to solve dungeons, and I improve as I play, not just my character. That makes it a lot of fun to me while not being overly difficult like skill-based "games of mastery" (e.g. hard platformers or rhythm games in which you mostly just focus on mastering controls).
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Comment on What are your favorite series? in ~tv
quacker Link ParentI watched the first couple of seasons of The Expanse (third season didn't come with Amazon Prime...). It's a fun show. I do wish they went deeper into the politics a bit and did a little more...I watched the first couple of seasons of The Expanse (third season didn't come with Amazon Prime...). It's a fun show. I do wish they went deeper into the politics a bit and did a little more world building. You only get glimpses of life on Earth and Mars and very little historical detail.
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Comment on Any Linux-only gamers? Share your experience! in ~games
quacker Link ParentSure, but that isn't much incentive for game companies to support Linux. It's easier for them when they don't have to support extra platform(s).Sure, but that isn't much incentive for game companies to support Linux. It's easier for them when they don't have to support extra platform(s).
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Comment on Any Linux-only gamers? Share your experience! in ~games
quacker Link ParentExactly this. Obviously, the root cause is OS-specific differences (window management, filesystem access, drivers, etc), but it's really the maintenance cost/benefit for Linux that prevents...Exactly this. Obviously, the root cause is OS-specific differences (window management, filesystem access, drivers, etc), but it's really the maintenance cost/benefit for Linux that prevents published Linux versions of a game. You really need a bunch of extra time and testing to ensure a smooth release on another platform. I'm not a game developer, but things like: do all the fonts look right? does saving/loading work? does networking work? are there any graphical or performance issues? does it work with a variety of common graphics cards? does it work on different Linux distros?
Games are released with tons of bugs. They need to receive updates and you have to ensure that fixing one bug doesn't break any existing stuff. So now every update requires more work due to all the additional testing needed.
And of course, they see that like 2% of gamers are on Linux (pulling a number out of the air) and decide it's not worth the effort.
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Comment on How do you persistently work on an idea or project? in ~life
quacker Link ParentAs a developer, I love Taskwarrior. However, it's a CLI tool, so not for everyone.As a developer, I love Taskwarrior. However, it's a CLI tool, so not for everyone.
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Comment on Abduction as romance in ~movies
quacker LinkThis is a pretty great video. I can't imagine all the time it took to collect those scenes across so many different movies. I'm still thinking about the The Terminator example of Kyle abducting...This is a pretty great video. I can't imagine all the time it took to collect those scenes across so many different movies.
I'm still thinking about the The Terminator example of Kyle abducting Sarah Connor. I can see how the plot is structured so that Kyle has maximal reason to force her into to coming with him. He is a soldier from a ruined future, he only has this one chance to save the future, he knows what danger they are in, he needs to act quickly, so he is desperate. This helps the audience forgive him for manhandling Sarah.
What is the best way to change that, so the audience is not lead to forgive the abusive behavior? I think getting rid of the time travel bit would really hurt the movie. I don't want to remove Kyle, because he gives Sarah a view of the future and because it changes the origin story of John Connor. I also don't like the idea of a change in perspective. You could show the movie from Sarah's perspective from the start, which would be more interesting in some ways, but the semi-omniscient point of view is one of The Terminator's strengths. Some of the best scenes are from the Terminator's perspective.
One way is to empower Sarah Connor from the start. Instead of a waitress that never fired a gun before, she could be a police officer or military. Although, she would have less drastic character development across movies. Her transformation from regular girl to hardened warrior between the first and second movies is pretty great.
But Kyle and Sarah's relationship is poorly developed as-is. I think Kyle should be sent to the past weeks or months earlier than the Terminator. I'm not sure how he befriends Sarah. Maybe get a job where she works? Enroll in her college? (probably counts as stalking). But you could create some dynamic between Kyle and Sarah prior to the Terminator showing up, and it would avoid the whole abduction scene.
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Comment on Abduction as romance in ~movies
quacker Link ParentThe only thing I noticed was when he called it a "male fantasy" @ 11:15. Full quote so that it is not taken out of context. The only other comment I have of the video is the narrative that helps...The only thing I noticed was when he called it a "male fantasy" @ 11:15. Full quote so that it is not taken out of context.
The insidious thing about scenes like this one is that they're written to twist a man's abusive behavior into a heroic act of love. The narrative is specifically designed so that we the audience will view Kyle's aggression towards Sarah as both reasonable and necessary. The storytelling trick here is to set up an elaborate scenario in which a woman's perfectly reasonable and rational resistance to male violence seems like a naive mistake. And that framing is not accidental. It's a specific kind of male fantasy, where a man taking a way a women's freedom and fundamental rights, is presented as something done for her own good, which results in situations where she becomes dependent on her abductor for survival.
The only other comment I have of the video is the narrative that helps viewers to the following conclusion: "white men are the perpetrators in these scenes" and "these behaviors are actually red flags of domestic abuse" lead to "this helps perpetuate domestic abuse by men" when in fact domestic abuse is perpetrated and endured by both men and women.
However, women are more frequently the victims in both the movies and reality.
Place was originally an April fools event. You could go to /r/place and there was a giant canvas. You were allowed to place 1 pixel on the canvas every few minutes, so you had to coordinate with others to create some picture on the canvas. It was a bunch of chaos initially but turned into a mosaic of great art. There were battles and alliances over different sections of the canvas, and it was pretty fun and unique for the few days it lasted.
Here is a timelapse video: https://youtu.be/-dKb81sdAK4
They brought it back for April fools again 5 years later, which was actually last year in 2022. The second time was still fun but more organized at the start. A long time had passed and none of the other April fools events were quite as good, imo, so this was a welcome return of /r/place. This time they also doubled the canvas size two times over the course of the event, so in the video you see it start in the top left corner (original canvas size), then expand to fill the top half (first doubling), and then expand to the entire screen (second doubling). At the end they disabled input and slowly turned all pixels to white. There was some controversy about them censoring some inappropriate portions of the canvas (I can’t recall the details).
Here’s a timelapse from 2022: https://youtu.be/DYWLXqQLA5I
Now if they are bringing it back again just a year later and not on April fools, it seems out of place (pun intended) and probably sort of desperate to drive traffic to the site. I’m not visiting Reddit to find out more, but I wonder if this means they’ve lost more active users and site traffic than they let on.