sparkle's recent activity
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Comment on I want to talk about sailing! in ~hobbies
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Comment on Swipeblocked: the phrases your iPhone won't suggest in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentAlmost sounds like they don't have a localization or safety team for each region. Vietnamese is very literal in their descriptions of ethnicities - there's no malice intended, but direct...Almost sounds like they don't have a localization or safety team for each region. Vietnamese is very literal in their descriptions of ethnicities - there's no malice intended, but direct translations can be quite offensive and they're not blocked either.
Korean is also funny too - I played a Korean MMO back in the day and they transliterated Korean slurs to Latin characters and added it to the list with weird regex. So things like jot, sip, and ing were blocked. But actual English swears/slurs weren't on the list lol
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Comment on I want to talk about sailing! in ~hobbies
sparkle LinkI caught the sailing bug back during the 2012 London Olympics. I was unemployed at the time so I would wake up early and just watch BBC coverage all day out of Portsmouth. Sadly, I wound up moving...I caught the sailing bug back during the 2012 London Olympics. I was unemployed at the time so I would wake up early and just watch BBC coverage all day out of Portsmouth.
Sadly, I wound up moving just about as far away as possible from any ocean (if you don't count the Arctic...) but I have done some lake sailing in Aeros and Hobie Cats. Also my wife gets violently seasick, though we did sail an Aero together and she was generally fine. I'd love to do it more often but maybe closer to retirement when I have more time lol
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
sparkle LinkMy grandmother's 100th birthday is next week! We're all flying out to see her and have some fun festivities. She's in remarkably good health and still lives on her own. We were just out there a...My grandmother's 100th birthday is next week! We're all flying out to see her and have some fun festivities. She's in remarkably good health and still lives on her own. We were just out there a few years ago and looking forward to seeing her and family again. Not every day you celebrate an entire century.
Secretly, I'm hoping I got some of those longevity genes. I do look younger than my age and haven't lost too much hair (yet) so there's hope...
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Comment on Linux kernel TCP flaw affects Ubuntu, Red Hat and other distributions in ~comp
sparkle (edited )LinkWell, whatever Wiz.io asseses the risk to be, I guess I'll be very busy Monday... Though we don't have any Linux machines directly exposed to the Internet so hopefully we'll be alright. But this...Well, whatever Wiz.io asseses the risk to be, I guess I'll be very busy Monday...
Though we don't have any Linux machines directly exposed to the Internet so hopefully we'll be alright. But this is also the season of "just patch it" and less of actually thinking about things.
Edit: oh good, apparently Oracle Linux was patched already on Oct 16. And guess who just updated everything last week to patch broccoli2shell... I fear my last remaining Ubuntu servers will have their migrations forced though.
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Comment on Manifestos, fear, and ‘loser thinking’: inside Proton’s AI reckoning in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentPersonally for me, I don't use AI summaries any more because I found the information wasn't sticking. Sure it takes me longer to read things on my own, but I'm absorbing the full context and that...Personally for me, I don't use AI summaries any more because I found the information wasn't sticking. Sure it takes me longer to read things on my own, but I'm absorbing the full context and that makes me much more effective at relaying information to my teammates over a long period of time than if I relied on AI to summarize it once, regurgitate it, then completely forget it a week later.
For me, forming connections while reading to other familiar things creates, I don't know, like a "sticky web" in my head that makes it so I recall what I read much more reliably. When I try to recall AI summarized anything, it just doesn't stick - maybe because I didn't put the effort in to understand and engage with the material.
Don't get me started on Teams summaries. Those are some hot unreliable trash. To be fair, we're about 50/50 on native English speakers and many people refuse to use proper microphones. Thankfully there's still people that take actual notes to share with others who can't be in attendance.
I don't hate AI, I'm just pretty meh on it
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Comment on Patrick Stewart dead: 'Star Trek' captain, 'X-Men' superhero was 86 in ~movies
sparkle LinkRest in peace, my captain.Picard and Dathan, at El-Adrel
Kailash, when it rises
Picard, his sails unfurled.
Rest in peace, my captain.
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Comment on Scientists rediscover how to make ancient Roman colour-changing glass in ~humanities.history
sparkle Link ParentI'm no historian, but I imagine the Romans used the same furnaces for glass making as they did silver and gold smelting and the right combination probably came together accidentally and they...I'm no historian, but I imagine the Romans used the same furnaces for glass making as they did silver and gold smelting and the right combination probably came together accidentally and they tweaked it from there. Perhaps they did unheard of things with gold and silver that made this phenomenon more likely.
You see this a lot in history, that just the right conditions at just the right time with just the right materials creates something phenomenally majestic and it's either figured out and passed on through the ages or lost to time because nobody figured it out before Iustus's smithy burned down in 219CE and they all just said "well clearly the gods hated him for his success".
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
sparkle LinkI've been "developing" a touch-first environment for my Surface Pro 3 tablet. It's long in the tooth and low on resources, so I've been trying out some lightweight compositors like MangoWM....I've been "developing" a touch-first environment for my Surface Pro 3 tablet. It's long in the tooth and low on resources, so I've been trying out some lightweight compositors like MangoWM. Compared to a full fledged DE like KDE Plasma, it runs really smoothly. I have it in a usable enough state that I feel comfortable taking it out of the house without a keyboard attached so now it's mostly just tweaking things.
I'm relatively new to tiling WMs, so it's been a bit of a learning experience for me. My two biggest issues are that tapping in an inactive tile doesn't activate it (it passes the touch event to the application instead - a physical mouse properly activates the tile when clicked in) and WiFi is flaky when resuming from sleep. Also my AuDHD is preventing me from properly sitting down and writing out a feature list. I guess I've just made up my mind that I'll add things as the need arises...
It's been a fun project though and I like that I have a rather nice tablet with a great screen, decent battery life, and pressure sensitive pen support for around 100$. It'll never be as nice or optimized as an iPad, but I can also do so much on there that I can't in the garden of Apple.
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Comment on How Wikipedia’s editors keep the online encyclopedia human-written in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentReading this is making me want to update my company's Wikipedia entry with a list of outages attributable to AI usage...Reading this is making me want to update my company's Wikipedia entry with a list of outages attributable to AI usage...
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Comment on PHP warns it plans to release two emergency patches imminently in ~comp
sparkle LinkSecurity tried to wake me up at 6am to discuss this but they mistakenly associated me with accounts that are not under my purview. Thankfully PHP does not exist in anything I actually manage, with...Security tried to wake me up at 6am to discuss this but they mistakenly associated me with accounts that are not under my purview. Thankfully PHP does not exist in anything I actually manage, with the exception of a single mailtrap container that is internal and being patched. Though I did have a chuckle when I went to look up some commands for Alpine (I use it for some stuff but rarely) and the Alpine Linux site is offline because of the PHP vulnerability.
The other teams are having a chaotic time though - I don't envy them or anybody else having to deal with this mess.
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Comment on What is your passion? And why? in ~life
sparkle Link ParentI am also a lizard person! Not in the Zuckerberg kinda way but they've always been my favourite little critters. Growing up they were everywhere and I had several "pet" lizards (aka ones around...I am also a lizard person! Not in the Zuckerberg kinda way but they've always been my favourite little critters. Growing up they were everywhere and I had several "pet" lizards (aka ones around the house I recognized)
Now I've moved and there is ONE native lizard species here (Northern Prairie Skink, Plestiodon septentrionalis) which I've only seen once in the wild. We do have some salamanders but they're not the same :(
I do have "pet" spiders around the house at least. My wife only knows about the K-series spiders under the basement stairs (Karl, Karol, Kevin), she doesn't know there are spiders for the rest of the alphabet...
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Comment on What foods are better after a day or two? in ~food
sparkle LinkBasically any non-lettuce salad - pasta salad, cucumber salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, potato salad, etc. They typically have a fatty element that absorbs all the fat soluble...Basically any non-lettuce salad - pasta salad, cucumber salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, potato salad, etc. They typically have a fatty element that absorbs all the fat soluble components and spreads things around, creating a delicious taste and great mouth feel after a night in the fridge.
Honourable mention to pizza - has to be left on the counter overnight and eaten hungover/tired the next day. The danger makes it taste better (disclaimer: I've not done this in a decade, I'm a responsible adult now who refrigerates leftover pizza)
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Comment on Amazon uses its tracking data to guess whether shoppers have a flat butt and no friends in ~tech
sparkle LinkI guess that's good then - I also haven't bought anything on Amazon in almost a year (not a brag, I just don't really buy things much these days and it likely directly affects these results)....We haven't saved anything yet. As you shop on Amazon or chat with Alexa, we'll save helpful information to personalize your experience.
Once we have saved some details, you can manage them here.
I guess that's good then - I also haven't bought anything on Amazon in almost a year (not a brag, I just don't really buy things much these days and it likely directly affects these results). Though you'd think at the least it would say something like "buys last minute Christmas gifts here"
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Comment on What was a small but bright moment of your day? in ~life
sparkle (edited )LinkYou know those little baby Zoidberg looking bugs that are often in basements or around damp areas? They're super cute the way they bumble around and totally harmless. Anyway, they're called...You know those little baby Zoidberg looking bugs that are often in basements or around damp areas? They're super cute the way they bumble around and totally harmless. Anyway, they're called isopods (land shrimps) and I discovered today that they are a common pet and come in a variety of colours like Sakura pink, Rubber Ducky, and even Dairy Cow!
My wife absolutely hates bugs but I love em and thought this was an incredibly cute thing to come across.
Edit: these also weren't like, irresponsible influencer terrariums - people seemed to actually put a lot of care and effort into raising the cute little buggers.
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Comment on Alarming mistakes, deadly decisions: Fatal fire at BP-Husky in ~engineering
sparkle Link ParentWait, Sam Witwer as in Crashdown from BSG and Starkiller from The Force Unleashed and freaking Darth Maul from Clone Wars/Rebels??? Holy shit I had no idea. I knew Sheldon retired and I thought...Wait, Sam Witwer as in Crashdown from BSG and Starkiller from The Force Unleashed and freaking Darth Maul from Clone Wars/Rebels???
Holy shit I had no idea. I knew Sheldon retired and I thought the new voice was quite good, albeit different but I didn't link it to Sam. That's so awesome. I hope he knows industrial safety nerds appreciate his non-scifi work lol
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Comment on Owners mourn spoiled food after firmware update bricks Samsung smart fridges in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentAre used appliances not a thing any more? About ten years ago, our dryer died and we went to a used appliance shop, paid maybe $100 for a new old one of about the same vintage and it worked like a...Even if you could afford replacing them, it'd be hard to find non 'smart' appliances. Maybe it's different in the US because I think Westinghouse and Whirlpool are based there.
Are used appliances not a thing any more? About ten years ago, our dryer died and we went to a used appliance shop, paid maybe $100 for a new old one of about the same vintage and it worked like a charm. Not the most efficient of course, but that can be offset by line drying clothes.
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Comment on Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ finally breaks Mariah Carey’s all-time record for weeks at US no. 1, eclipsing ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ in ~music
sparkle Link ParentThe mullet escalated things substantially. Only Jagr had him beat in the 90s Unrelated but my wife keeps (jokingly) threatening to leave if I ever cut my hair to a mullet. "Joey makes it look...The mullet escalated things substantially. Only Jagr had him beat in the 90s
Unrelated but my wife keeps (jokingly) threatening to leave if I ever cut my hair to a mullet. "Joey makes it look cool!" never works with her :( doesn't help that she's a Jesse stan
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Comment on Owners mourn spoiled food after firmware update bricks Samsung smart fridges in ~tech
sparkle (edited )Link ParentThere was a OneUI update a few months ago that arbitrarily wiped do not disturb settings. So while my schedule was still being followed, all of my exceptions were ignored, despite being present in...There was a OneUI update a few months ago that arbitrarily wiped do not disturb settings. So while my schedule was still being followed, all of my exceptions were ignored, despite being present in the UI. This caused me to miss some important PagerDuty notifications when on-call for work. I only figured it out because removing and re-adding the exception suddenly made it work again
I will never own a Samsung anything for my personal use, that's for sure. I already disliked their TVs, monitors, appliances, and components - never tried one of their phones before so thought I would give it a shot when offered at work. Never again (there are a myriad of reasons besides just bad updates)
Also their shady business practices are nothing to scoff at - but what major manufacturer isn't covered head to toe in blood, holding a bag of cash marked "
bribedonation"? -
Comment on Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ finally breaks Mariah Carey’s all-time record for weeks at US no. 1, eclipsing ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ in ~music
sparkle Link ParentUncle Joey is an honourary Canadian! Tate McRae is as Canadian as Justin Bieber, William Shatner, Jim Carrey, Wayne Gretzky, etc. - read into that what you will. I also don't know any of her song...Uncle Joey is an honourary Canadian!
Tate McRae is as Canadian as Justin Bieber, William Shatner, Jim Carrey, Wayne Gretzky, etc. - read into that what you will. I also don't know any of her song titles, but I do recognize her voice at least
Yeah, traditional regattas are a lot of fun to watch, especially the tactics individual skippers will choose. I think it was a Dutch sailor at London in the 470 that did a crazy move to go wayyyy leeward of everybody, then was able to use the momentum of the angle to sort of slingshot themselves around and caught a nice breeze on the spinnaker on the way back that had them land second. Was a rather brilliant play that paid off - I don't recall if that was also when they were pushed off the start line that caused them to have a late start. The jockeying for position at the start is also fun to watch. The BBC commentators definitely helped me understand the sport so much better - the minor races without commentary were difficult to follow, though I did try my best.
I did watch a little bit of America's Cup, but I really don't like it now. They've gone super high tech, which is fine if you like that, but for me the skill to navigate high speeds with precision and grace while at the mercy of the wind is what draws me to sailing and essentially having your whole crew basically be ballast just sounds kinda lame.