Rudism's recent activity
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Comment on Adulting -- what advice or encouragement did you receive / wish you had received when you were just starting out moving out? in ~life
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Comment on What's your line? in ~life
Rudism Link ParentPre-Honey by a long shot, but essentially the same scummy business model. The hook for ours was if you shopped with our toolbar, you wouldn't pay any more than normal, but a "small percentage" of...Pre-Honey by a long shot, but essentially the same scummy business model. The hook for ours was if you shopped with our toolbar, you wouldn't pay any more than normal, but a "small percentage" of your purchase price from "participating merchants" would go to "charity" (we were never any more specific than that).
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Comment on What's your line? in ~life
Rudism (edited )Link15-ish years ago (give or take) I was working for a social networking company that wasn't doing so hot and had gone through a few rounds of layoffs while was there. Some of my ex-coworkers hit me...15-ish years ago (give or take) I was working for a social networking company that wasn't doing so hot and had gone through a few rounds of layoffs while was there. Some of my ex-coworkers hit me up to join them at a company that one of them had started after leaving and got acquired by a big advertising company. They were extremely vague about the kinds of stuff they were doing (basically just said they were developing "browser extensions"), but it would come with a pay bump and it was definitely time to jump off the sinking ship I was currently on, so I accepted. Here are some of the things I worked on while I was there:
- Turns out the "browser extension" they wanted me to help build was essentially just malware designed to inject their own referral codes and cookies into online store purchases.
- Developed our own Android advertising library that used all the scummiest ad delivery tactics (remember when ads would just show up as a notification on your Android with no indication of which app generated it? I do!)
- We had a whole team dedicated to working on those scummy fake SEO landing sites and Windows installers that would pop a bunch of malware "offers" to install along with Paint.Net or The Gimp or whatever other free software you were actually trying to install.
- We built an "App Discovery" platform for iOS that tricked people into installing apps that we were getting paid per install for. (Apple banned this whole app category shortly thereafter.)
- I wrote "offer" code for our Windows installer that would steal Chrome or Firefox cookies and use it to secretly do things like connecting your Facebook account to games that we were getting paid for, or triggering the same requests that clicking the "install" button on Google Play does to push apps to your phone where we were getting paid for each install.
- We got in trouble for not providing a real support email address for our Google and Apple apps, so I set up an address that would simply black-hole every email sent to it into a giant database table that nobody ever looked at (except me once or twice, and the kinds of stuff people sent to us could make flowers wilt and curdle milk).
- Can't even remember how many times I was on the phone with Google Support over freshly purchased VOIP numbers, setting up new developer accounts using fake names and addresses because all our old ones got banned.
I knew the whole time that all of it was bullshit and I was being a shitty person. The straw that finally broke the camel's back was that one of the higher-ups had discovered some Chinese malware for Windows that was somehow able to steal browser cookies and silently install apps onto the user's iOS phone (the same way we were already doing for Android by stealing Google Play cookies). I was trudging through the decompiled source code for the Chinese malware and just thinking why the fuck am I wasting my time and talent on this horrible bullshit. I refreshed my CV and wrote up a cover letter basically begging someone to save my soul, and that landed me the first job I applied for (which was in the medical/genetics industry and such a breath of fresh air compared to all of my prior experience). It got me out of Florida too, which was a not-insignificant additional bonus.
After that whole experience my line has tightened up a lot. I don't want to spend one more second of my life working on something that makes other people's lives worse instead of better.
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
Rudism LinkBeen feeling bad since I haven't done any kind of deliberate exercise for several months (I got diagnosed with crohn's disease back in April and haven't had the energy or been feeling motivated...Been feeling bad since I haven't done any kind of deliberate exercise for several months (I got diagnosed with crohn's disease back in April and haven't had the energy or been feeling motivated enough to keep up my regular routines). I'm feeling better lately and decided to ease myself back into it with a 1 mile run yesterday morning. I forgot how sore it was possible for my calves to get, I can barely walk today. But it's the kind of soreness that actually feels good, compared to how I would feel if I had decided to continue wallowing in apathy instead.
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Comment on Ink | Official teaser in ~movies
Rudism LinkI found the color grading (of this teaser at least) to be very distracting. The film looks very... turquoise?I found the color grading (of this teaser at least) to be very distracting. The film looks very... turquoise?
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Rudism Link ParentI recently started on the manga (having never seen the anime) and think I have a very similar reaction to it as you describe here. Nothing groundbreaking but a fun/silly read so far a few volumes in.I recently started on the manga (having never seen the anime) and think I have a very similar reaction to it as you describe here. Nothing groundbreaking but a fun/silly read so far a few volumes in.
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Comment on Recommendations for noise cancelling, over ear headphones in ~tech
Rudism (edited )LinkI picked up the Nothing Headphone (1)s around when they came out and have been quite happy with them. Can't speak to how good the noise cancelling is compared to others on the market, but I've...I picked up the Nothing Headphone (1)s around when they came out and have been quite happy with them. Can't speak to how good the noise cancelling is compared to others on the market, but I've taken them on planes a few times and they seem good to me (the over-ears they replaced were first-gen Surface Headphones which absolutely sucked, so they blow those out of the water at least).
You can enable multi-device connections in the Nothing X app which allows them to be connected to your laptop and phone simultaneously and it would switch to whichever one is playing audio automatically (and give incoming phone calls priority). No complaints from my wife on the audio quality during calls, and she complains about all my other headphones so I think they're fine in that department too.
They also sound nice to me, especially when you play around with some of the community EQ presets you can load by scanning QR codes in their app. That said, I'm not a big audiophile or anything--mainly I got them because I thought they looked cool (edit: oh, and also all-physical controls! It even has a dedicated physical button to enter pairing mode, so no danger of accidentally doing that by lingering on the power button too long like I kept doing on my old ones).
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Comment on CGA-2026-09 🕹️🙎♂️🛹 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 in ~games
Rudism LinkI got 1+2 on the Switch a while back during a sale and have been slowly working through unlocking the content in 1, so I suppose I will swap over and work on 2 for a while so I can participate.I got 1+2 on the Switch a while back during a sale and have been slowly working through unlocking the content in 1, so I suppose I will swap over and work on 2 for a while so I can participate.
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Comment on Software engineers / programmers: how’s it going? in ~comp
Rudism LinkAt my company a few AI-related slack channels were created with all the devs invited, presumably to help people get set up with whatever LLMs we're getting access to. I left all the AI related...At my company a few AI-related slack channels were created with all the devs invited, presumably to help people get set up with whatever LLMs we're getting access to. I left all the AI related channels as soon as they popped up and am just plugging along sans-AI like normal. I know some of my coworkers are using it (some
AGENTS.mdand skill related fluff showed up in the main repo I work on), but so far I haven't really noticed any difference one way or another. Basically the equivalent of shoving my fingers in my ears and going LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU. We'll see how long I can keep going like that. -
Comment on X corp is taking down Nitter instances and demands takedown of project repository in ~tech
Rudism Link ParentI think there's just a threshold level that needs to get hit (whether real or perceived) for this to happen. For example the ratio of negative to legitimate uses on Discord has not reached the...I think there's just a threshold level that needs to get hit (whether real or perceived) for this to happen.
For example the ratio of negative to legitimate uses on Discord has not reached the threshold where it gets a negative label, but the ratio on X (or, for another example, Kik) did reach that point.
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Comment on Dolly Parton, country music legend, dies at 80 in ~music
Rudism LinkLindsay Ellis posted the first part of a Dolly Parton deep dive on Nebula a few days ago that I thought was pretty good, in case you're looking for more Dolly in your life after this sad news.Lindsay Ellis posted the first part of a Dolly Parton deep dive on Nebula a few days ago that I thought was pretty good, in case you're looking for more Dolly in your life after this sad news.
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Comment on RomM: an open source, self-hosted emulation platform in ~games
Rudism LinkKind of excited to see this one supports handheld devices like my TrimUI Brick. Definitely going to play around with this when I get some time.Kind of excited to see this one supports handheld devices like my TrimUI Brick. Definitely going to play around with this when I get some time.
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Comment on What's something that's more challenging for you than it is for others? in ~talk
Rudism LinkI can't naturally make or engage in in-person small talk. It's just not in my DNA at all. Any time I attempt I get the impression that I'm coming off awkward or otherwise off-putting (and I...I can't naturally make or engage in in-person small talk. It's just not in my DNA at all. Any time I attempt I get the impression that I'm coming off awkward or otherwise off-putting (and I mentally spiral about it which just makes everything worse).
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Comment on Ploopy A+ | Open source trackball in ~tech
Rudism LinkI've been using a Ploopy Nano (the OG one with no buttons) for many years now and love it. This new model looks pretty awesome, it'll probably be in the running if I ever decide to upgrade and...I've been using a Ploopy Nano (the OG one with no buttons) for many years now and love it. This new model looks pretty awesome, it'll probably be in the running if I ever decide to upgrade and want to go fancier than the Nano 2.
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Comment on What game are you terrible at? in ~games
Rudism Link ParentI feel this very much. I was recently playing through Deliver Us the Moon and having a decent time, up until a segment where you need to sneak past a bunch of floating death spheres several hours...I feel this very much. I was recently playing through Deliver Us the Moon and having a decent time, up until a segment where you need to sneak past a bunch of floating death spheres several hours into the game. After a few failed attempts to power through it I uninstalled it. I felt so burned I don't even want to watch a playthrough on YouTube to see what I missed.
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Comment on Any significant changes to Tildes are extremely unlikely in ~tildes.official
Rudism LinkVery upsetting news. Some features I lament we shall never see on Tildes now: The ability to embed low-effort image memes in posts and comments. Intrusive ads disguised as user-generated content....Very upsetting news. Some features I lament we shall never see on Tildes now:
- The ability to embed low-effort image memes in posts and comments.
- Intrusive ads disguised as user-generated content.
- Video posts that auto-play with sound as soon as they scroll into view.
- Soulless A.I. summaries of posts and discussions.
- A popup to accept cookies that appears on every visit.
- An un-dismissable popup imploring us to use a mobile app that requests every permission instead of the website.
- Mods who gatekeep what opinions are permissible to hold and express and (shadow)bans anyone who disagrees with them.
- Content recommendation algorithms that drive all user attention to the lowest common denominator.
- Having the entire website render perfectly before being replaced by a white screen with a message saying your ad blocker is preventing the website from rendering correctly.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club - Have you started Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki? in ~books
Rudism LinkDecided to give this one a shot when I saw this reminder, I'm about 5 chapters in now and enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would based on the weird synopsis. Glad for this book club,...Decided to give this one a shot when I saw this reminder, I'm about 5 chapters in now and enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would based on the weird synopsis. Glad for this book club, because it's definitely not something that would have really caught my attention normally.
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Comment on Any significant changes to Tildes are extremely unlikely in ~tildes.official
Rudism Link ParentI don't mean to speak for Deimos, but my interpretation of "No intention to ... Implement new functionality or change existing functionality" would preclude new features of any kind (whether self-...I don't mean to speak for Deimos, but my interpretation of "No intention to ... Implement new functionality or change existing functionality" would preclude new features of any kind (whether self- or community-developed).
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Comment on What are your thoughts on audiobooks? in ~books
Rudism LinkI find I'm unable to concentrate on audiobooks very well. I constantly find myself lost in thought and discover I've got no idea what's going on in the book or how far I need to backtrack to get...I find I'm unable to concentrate on audiobooks very well. I constantly find myself lost in thought and discover I've got no idea what's going on in the book or how far I need to backtrack to get to the last place I was actually paying attention. I can listen to podcasts fine because I usually don't care if I space out and miss a few minutes of random guys laughing at their own jokes, but in an audiobook that lasts like 20 hours I slowly get more and more confused as the number of story details I missed piles up over the course of the book. So for books that I actually care about I only read e-book or dead-tree formats.
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Comment on What is your Mandela effect moment? in ~movies
Rudism LinkWhile I was visiting my family in Canada last month, I re-watched Office Space with my parents and nephews (probably for the dozenth time overall, but for the first time in well over a decade). Of...While I was visiting my family in Canada last month, I re-watched Office Space with my parents and nephews (probably for the dozenth time overall, but for the first time in well over a decade).
Of course everyone knows the scene where Peter (main character) asks Lawrence (mustachioed neighbor) what he would do with a million bucks, and Lawrence responds "two girls at the same time." However I was absolutely certain that there's a later scene (I thought maybe a mid- or post-credits scene) that called back to this, where Peter's outside their apartments and sees Lawrence hanging out with two women in a kiddy pool on the front lawn, leaning back with an arm around each of them, and Peter and Lawrence share a wink and a nod before Peter goes into his apartment. I was so confused when that scene never showed up, and spent like an hour searching the internet to find absolutely zero evidence that such a scene has ever existed. I have no idea why I was (and still kind of am) so convinced it exists, why I think I've seen it every prior time I've watched that movie, and why I can picture the whole thing so perfectly in my mind.
If you buy a non-fully-electric car, you need to get oil changes every 5000-15000 miles (depending on the vehicle and type of oil), there's usually a sticker on the inside of your windshield from the last place you got an oil change telling you when to get the next one. Cars also have a regular maintenance schedule that you should familiarize yourself with and follow if you want to avoid problems. You'd be surprised how many adults only learn of this kind of stuff through their first breakdown (or their car starting on fire).
Air filters in your living space should be replaced every few months, there are probably large air intake vents on a wall somewhere that they go into. Air filters come in different sizes so you need to know what size to get, and have a rating system (called MERV in the US) that essentially tells you how effective the filter is... usually MERV 8 is pretty typical, but you'll want to go MERV 10+ if you have pets, allergies, or respiratory problems (I use MERV 11 because we have 2 dogs, everyone has pretty bad allergies, and I have asthma).
If your house/apartment has a dryer that you use for laundry, you should clear the lint filter out before every load. Skipping that step can result in lint building up and blocking airflow and can become a fire hazard. Your washing machine might also have a filter to catch debris, which should be cleaned out every few loads too.