sparkle's recent activity
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
sparkle LinkI'm not quite sure if it counts since they all won Nebula or Hugo awards, but Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy is one I don't hear talked about much. Maybe because it can be rather boring at...I'm not quite sure if it counts since they all won Nebula or Hugo awards, but Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy is one I don't hear talked about much. Maybe because it can be rather boring at times (one can only stomach so many pages about nitrogen based economy), but I personally loved them all and always recommend them. Or maybe it's just because they're 30+ years old now.
For those unaware, each book deals with a different phase in the settlement of Mars. Red Mars deals with the initial colonization and inherent struggles, Green Mars deals with the terraforming of Mars, and Blue Mars sees humans explore and colonize outside of Mars.
I found it quite a memorable series and, funnily enough, the first book starts in 2026. Never a better time to pick it up!
The first two are definitely hard sci-fi while the third can get a bit into the softer side of things, but they're all great really.
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
sparkle (edited )Link ParentI love Egan, his prose is lacking but who cares when he mathematically describes universes that are truly out of this world. I really enjoy reading the supplementary material and learning more in...I love Egan, his prose is lacking but who cares when he mathematically describes universes that are truly out of this world. I really enjoy reading the supplementary material and learning more in math and physics than I ever did in school. I've not read all his works, but Diaspora was my favourite so far, closely followed by Permutation City (which actually has some good prose).
That being said, I did find Dichronauts really difficult to visualize. The two dimensional space with two time axes and the light cones was just too much for my feeble three spatial dimension, one temporal dimension brain to comprehend.
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Comment on How often are you eating plant based meals? in ~food
sparkle (edited )Link ParentHah yeah - I'm in Zone 3 up in the Canadian Prairies. It's a little bit more than three months, but not much. We get hot though, and the 16 hours of sunlight is much appreciated by my tomatoes....Hah yeah - I'm in Zone 3 up in the Canadian Prairies. It's a little bit more than three months, but not much. We get hot though, and the 16 hours of sunlight is much appreciated by my tomatoes. Things grow well during the season, but half of it is spent prepping stuff for winter storage.
Maybe owing to the harsh winters, but we've not had many problems with bugs thankfully. Just a horrible teeny fly infestation of my hibiscus when we bring it in for the autumn/winter. A neem oil bath of all the leaves helps a bit, but they still survive and come back :/ At least they don't like my avocado tree!
Are there any native predators of the cucumber beetles?
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Comment on How often are you eating plant based meals? in ~food
sparkle Link ParentI just had some amazing bruschetta that came entirely from my garden, with the exception of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and wheat flour (I used pozzano tomatoes, basil, garlic, shallots, and...I just had some amazing bruschetta that came entirely from my garden, with the exception of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and wheat flour (I used pozzano tomatoes, basil, garlic, shallots, and shishito peppers). I loooove eating straight from the garden. Wish I could forage more but sadly don't have as much time to ride out to the good areas. Too bad our growing season is literally three months :/
I'm currently waiting on my crop of green beans to come in. We trellis them along the south facing front of our house so they additionally provide shade + a bit of extra privacy. Usually sautee them with some garlic and maybe lemon zest (not from my garden, but maybe one day!)
Also please come steal some cucumbers. I harvested 2kg this morning, there's another 1kg in the fridge and there's at least 4 that i need to pick tomorrow. I'm eating half to two cucumbers every day for the last week and can barely keep up!
I don't buy meat for myself but I will cook it for others. All the meals that I make for myself are vegan or vegetarian, been doing that since gosh, almost a decade now.
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Comment on Choosing a printer in ~tech
sparkle LinkAnother one for Brother - we have an HL-L3270CDW and it's a tank. My wife likes organizing things and being able to print in colour was a must for her. Looking at the stats page, we've only...Another one for Brother - we have an HL-L3270CDW and it's a tank. My wife likes organizing things and being able to print in colour was a must for her. Looking at the stats page, we've only replaced the toners once.
1817 total pages
98% remaining on maintenance kit (belt, fuser, paper feeder) - estimated 48700 pages left
60% left on Cyan
60% left on Magenta
80% left on Yellow (Apparently this one is higher yield than the other two, looking at Amazon it's cheaper too)
70% left on BlackI'd say we got through at least 600 pages on the included toner. So probably at least another 1200 pages till I have to start thinking about the next replacement. I think the full set of 4 cost around 360 CAD (they range from 80-100$ each I think) but obviously they last a lot lot longer than the equivalent inkjet cartridges. I've not tried third party toner kits so I can't provide any info there sadly.
We've had it for four years now I think? Well worth it I think. Despite the higher volume, a lot of those are my wife doing big batch prints of 150+ pages. Often times it goes unused for weeks if not months.
As for enshittification rumours, I've just completely blocked the printer from the Internet via my router firewall. Local access only, I've got a CUPS server set up too to facilitate access from all devices.
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Comment on What are your memorable airport stories? in ~transport
sparkle LinkShort and simple, another Japan trip tale but with a fun twist - and many lessons learned along the way. I was flying to Tokyo but since I was in my early 20s and not particularly financially...Short and simple, another Japan trip tale but with a fun twist - and many lessons learned along the way.
I was flying to Tokyo but since I was in my early 20s and not particularly financially stable, I wanted to save some money. So instead of booking direct flights to Japan, I booked a flight with a layover in Shanghai - it added two hours but saved me $200! I'd traveled internationally before but direct flights only - this is important later. I was flying with United initially so my itinerary was ATL->ORD->PVG->NRT.
The mishaps (on my part) started in ATL. The check in counter agent asked if I had a visa for China. I was very confident that I didn't need one since it was just a three hour layover and I wouldn't go out of the airport. They let me on the plane and I was on my way to Chicago and then Shanghai. After a 16 hour flight and maybe 2 hours of napping, I set foot into the airport and was immediately ushered into the arrival visas lane. "No problem" I thought to myself - "probably just a stamp in the passport from customs". I had three hours to the next flight, plenty of time.
Well, turns out all travelers need a 24 hour transit visa to even be in the airport. So after about an hour, I finally get to the counter, they fingerprint me and take a bunch of photographs and finally print out a 24 hour visa and staple it to my passport. Great! I can explore the airport now.
For someone only used to North American airports, Atlanta probably being the largest I've been in, Shanghai was massive. It took awhile of me asking in very very poor Chinese how to get to departures until I finally found the very small security section between arrivals and departures. At this point, I still have about 90 minutes until my flight leaves. I get through security and finally in departures, I start searching for my gate and finally find it. They had customer service desks there checking everybody's boarding passes before you're even let into the gate area, slightly different but ok - it's all good. I'm almost there!
This was where my fuckup hit me. Although it appeared to me that my flight was operated by United all the way through to Tokyo and that my bags would be automatically transferred to the next plane, I was in fact completely changing airlines in a codeshare. This never really dawned on me until the customer service/gate agent asked where my checked bags were. I was flummoxed - I had no idea I had to retrieve them? And bring them where? Back here? Sigh ok I have an hour still.
Back into the airport to baggage claim I go. Of course, it had now been two hours since my bag was flopping around the conveyor belt and of course, my flight wasn't even listed in baggage claim anymore. I'm starting to panic at this point and inching closer to accepting the loss when an airport staff member comes running up to me, wheeling my suitcase, asking if it was mine. Chinese surveillance for the win maybe? Or I was the only one looking very lost and confused lol. Anyway after profusely thanking her, I again go back through security, back to the check in, and there I drop off my bags. Great! 15 minutes to go now but I should just be able to make it.
Then my heart sinks as a Chinese airport security officer appears and motions for me to follow him. I was half expecting to get arrested for something I didn't even know I did - maybe I accidentally breached security at some point or something. He points to my newly arrived suitcase, asks if it's mine, and requests that I open it. I comply and he points to an object - so I lift it out. He then points to the prohibited items sign and says "no batteries". I had completely forgotten I had a spare GoPro battery that I had placed in my checked luggage. I nervously chuckled and put it in my carry on and zipped up the bag. He smiled, the customer agent smiled, told me to hurry - gate is closing in ten minutes.
I pretty much half ran all the way to the boarding ramp, show my pass and finally get on board. At this point I'm drenched in sweat and I would feel terrible for my seat neighbours, but they're wearing suits and equally as sweaty so I think we all quietly agree we'll deal with it. Surprisingly, I still wasn't even the last person on the plane. There was amazing food on board (compared to United) and I watched a detective movie that I only understood about 10% of but it looked like the main character was having fun.
Finally, I land in Narita and gather everything, then board the Skyliner express to Ueno. Well, I get out at Ueno station and realize somehow I lost my ticket which I need to exit. I look longingly at the train as it leaves, hoping I didn't leave my ticket on the seat or anything. I try explaining the situation to the station master in slightly less broken Japanese and he was going to try and call someone. To arrest me or to help me, I was uncertain. Anyway I finally happened to look in the one spot of my bag that I never put anything in and of course, it was there. I proudly revealed it and was let out into the streets of Japan finally!
Thankfully that was really the last of my mishaps on that trip. I learned a lot and these days I'm a much more seasoned traveller. But boy was that a stressful 24 hours!
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Comment on What’s a must-buy item you get when traveling internationally? in ~travel
sparkle LinkSalon-Pas patches with lidocaine! Afaik they're only in the US. When we go back to the States in 2.5years, we'll replenish our stock. We also usually visit LA and bring back lots of Asian goods...Salon-Pas patches with lidocaine! Afaik they're only in the US. When we go back to the States in 2.5years, we'll replenish our stock. We also usually visit LA and bring back lots of Asian goods that we can't get in the Prairies like tsukemono, senbei, etc. Also really really good Vietnamese beef jerky.
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Comment on Why contacting customer service might not be best in ~life
sparkle Link ParentMy wife accidentally washed her JR Pass midway through a trip. We had the pieces still but they were unreadable by the machine. We went to three JR offices in Tokyo and basically were told "no...My wife accidentally washed her JR Pass midway through a trip. We had the pieces still but they were unreadable by the machine. We went to three JR offices in Tokyo and basically were told "no sorry, no re-issuing". One manager brought out a roll of tape for us to piece it back together and at least let us through, but we couldn't use it with any kiosks.
We were already going to Nagano that day so we swung by the JR office there and explained the situation in broken Japanese and the manager took one look at the ticket, saw the verification code was still present, looked it up and verified my wife's ID and printed us a new pass. The manager did say that it was only because the verification code was still visible that he was able to do this.
I'm not certain if this was resolved because he knew the rules better, had more power, or was just less busy than everybody else. But we didn't have to push with him. I think it's more likely that the employees in Tokyo just weren't certain of the rules and didn't want to risk getting in trouble.
Also the best ooyaki are in the same building (Midori Nagano), little place called Irohado. My favourite hidden gem of food (at least it still was 3 years ago).
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Comment on Introducing XBOX backward compatibility on PC in ~games
sparkle Link ParentSome exclusives that are worth it imo: Panzer Dragoon Orta Brute Force Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball (it was actually a good (the only?) volleyball game) Ninja Gaiden Black Loved all of...Some exclusives that are worth it imo:
- Panzer Dragoon Orta
- Brute Force
- Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball (it was actually a good (the only?) volleyball game)
- Ninja Gaiden Black
Loved all of these as a teenager. That whole era of gaming had some absolute bangers. The Xbox also directly led to my favourite hobby of electronics tinkering as I did just about every mod imaginable to it, except for the RAM upgrade.
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Comment on AI companies are buying tons of old books because they're free of AI slop in ~books
sparkle Link ParentConsidering they likely won't care about reselling the books and will just take the pages out of the bindings, probably minutes? Consumer scanners regularly hit 35-45ppm, I imagine there are...Considering they likely won't care about reselling the books and will just take the pages out of the bindings, probably minutes? Consumer scanners regularly hit 35-45ppm, I imagine there are commercial ones that can hit 60+. War and Peace could be scanned in 20 minutes.
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Comment on Your cookware got worse on purpose: who owns Pyrex and All-Clad now in ~food
sparkle (edited )LinkThis is hilariously well timed. Just last night I knocked over a stack of Pyrex measuring cups. The ones on the bottom and top were older borosilicate ones. The one in the middle was a recently...This is hilariously well timed. Just last night I knocked over a stack of Pyrex measuring cups. The ones on the bottom and top were older borosilicate ones. The one in the middle was a recently acquired gift from a well meaning family member. Guess which one shattered into a million pieces as it was crushed between its older, heavier, siblings?
Any way, the recommendations don't really mention anything for borosilicate measuring cups outside of Europe. I did find that Nutrichef might make some good ones? But I've never looked into them before - anybody know anything about them? I've never heard of them which, considering I have heard of all the other shitty brands in the article, is probably a good thing.
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Comment on Linus Torvalds says Linux is not "anti-AI", tells haters to 'fork it' and 'just walk away' in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentTo be fair, I recently learned that a lot of the batshit insane decisions made by management at my company decades ago that are still haunting us today were a result of trying and succeeding at...To be fair, I recently learned that a lot of the batshit insane decisions made by management at my company decades ago that are still haunting us today were a result of trying and succeeding at attracting research grants. Apparently there was a program in our province (maybe federally?) where if you proved you were piloting novel methods you'd get free money. So this is why we were using in-house developed tools instead of industry standard CI/CD (an unholy festering conglomeration of web sockets, visual basic scripts, powershell, and c#), weird reliance on SVN, poor implementations of community editions of enterprise software, etc. A lot of this would come across as "artisanal" code probably as we were once a startup.
Now we're just another faceless tread on the ever wasting private equity wheel slowly grinding to a halt, but at least I get to keep my job because I'm the only one who knows how half this shit is even plumbed together. Oh and they keep reducing development teams so nobody has time to actually migrate away to supported software. Yay!
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Comment on Gift ideas for niece who’s into sewing? in ~life.women
sparkle LinkMy wife is an amazing seamstress and creates a lot of her clothes from scratch or modifies existing ones (like adding pockets!) Some things she likes that I haven't seen mentioned that can be...My wife is an amazing seamstress and creates a lot of her clothes from scratch or modifies existing ones (like adding pockets!)
Some things she likes that I haven't seen mentioned that can be really cute gifts are thimbles, needle minders, and of course pin cushions. Big brand craft shops might have some, but the really good ones are at boutique mom and pop craft shops.
On the more expensive end, an adjustable mannequin form would be great especially as she grows.
Also if she really gets into any particular fabrics like silk or linen, there's a multitude of specialty tools for those.
Sincerely, a man saving his couch loonies to buy the wife a serger.
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Comment on [SOLVED] Help identify this movie/TV show audio? in ~movies
sparkle Link ParentWell, I know we recorded Christmas videos over some Star Trek Voyager episodes and there's one point where there's a scene of Janeway in her ready room (I can't remember which episode it was)...And what sort of weird audio mismatches other VHS tapes may havr.
Well, I know we recorded Christmas videos over some Star Trek Voyager episodes and there's one point where there's a scene of Janeway in her ready room (I can't remember which episode it was) glitching in over Christmas festivities but the audio is just pretty generic dialogue like "Mr Tuvok, what is the status of..." as the video cuts to opening presents.
I'm sure there's lots of little fun glitches all over the place like that as basically everybody re-recorded over VHS tapes.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
sparkle (edited )Link ParentYou might also enjoy the Thai versions of farm equipment racing. They've got some insane rice tractor builds but maintain the basic shape of a rice tractor. Their drag boat racing is also insane -...You might also enjoy the Thai versions of farm equipment racing. They've got some insane rice tractor builds but maintain the basic shape of a rice tractor.
Their drag boat racing is also insane - typically straight piped Isuzu 4J diesel engines with a direct drive shaft turning a propellor.
Safety is... Typical SE Asian safety. Helmets more often than not at least, safety flip flops and safety squints for everything else. Goggles for the rice tractors at least since they typically go through mud. Wild sporting.
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Comment on Papa Johns can predict when your fridge is empty in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentCan't wait for Neuralink to become as common as the iPhone and ads can be beamed directly into our brains! Also while I'm shouting into the void, can the media please stop attributing the work of...Can't wait for Neuralink to become as common as the iPhone and ads can be beamed directly into our brains!
Also while I'm shouting into the void, can the media please stop attributing the work of hundreds of really smart scientists to Musk?
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Comment on I made a satirical AI detector in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentI do recall recipe blogs and other content being overly wordy, but the recipes at least were just a lot of jibbering about their dog and their husband fell off a boat dock in 1984 after eating...I do recall recipe blogs and other content being overly wordy, but the recipes at least were just a lot of jibbering about their dog and their husband fell off a boat dock in 1984 after eating this because it was so delicious and well if you want to use margarine instead of butter that's ok. The other content was often just illegible gibberish.
The somewhat coherent repetitive content feels recent to me though. I know the lengthy articles were an SEO "hack" since the late 2000s probably but the recent wave has been even worse. And they're also rife with wild inaccuracies which drives me nuts!
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Comment on I made a satirical AI detector in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentI was looking up some French/English language information earlier today and the first ten search results on DDG were from word salad domains like "worldtravelvisit.com",...I was looking up some French/English language information earlier today and the first ten search results on DDG were from word salad domains like "worldtravelvisit.com", "languagesaroundtheworld.us", etc. And every result used "it's not this, it's __" and also "in conclusion..." which I know everybody was taught that in school to finish off their papers, but you were never supposed to actually use "in conclusion" to start your conclusion.
My biggest annoyance with AI generated articles is the table of contents at the start and the endless word salad that just repeat the same thing over and over just changing the words a bit.
I'd love to have a search engine or extension that just blocks these sites entirely.
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Comment on Gander social launching on Canada Day in ~tech
sparkle LinkIronically, I will be in Gander on Canada Day - but I'm not much of a social media user so I'll probably pass. But I'll still support and spread the word for Canadian companies, provided they're...Ironically, I will be in Gander on Canada Day - but I'm not much of a social media user so I'll probably pass. But I'll still support and spread the word for Canadian companies, provided they're actually beneficial and not a bunch of crooks like Rogers/Shaw or basically all our grocery barons.
This just unlocked a brief core memory. Shortly after the Will Smith movie came out, I was a camp counselor for middle school boys. One of them brought norovirus with them and as expected, about 75% of them got violently sick. For some reason, despite patient zero being in my cabin, I never got sick. As one of the only counselors who wasn't spewing something out of either end, it fell to my 20-something ass to be the sole "adult" in charge of the non-sick kids.
Our main sleeping area was really just divided by a hallway with bathrooms, there was nothing sterile about it. While I listened for kids puking in the sick side, the non sick kids wanted me to read something to them in the "clean side". I was really into Thoreau and Rousseau and Candide and other philosophy books at the time and figured they wouldn't be interested in those, but I did have a paperback copy of I Am Legend with me.
So there I sat for several days, reading three or four chapters of the book every night to a bunch of middle schoolers until they all fell asleep. Then I putzed around in the other cabin cleaning puke off beds and scrubbing toilets lol. I don't think we actually finished the book but it was a really great way to pass the time in an otherwise unpleasant scenario.
I imagine I'd probably get in trouble for this today. Maybe I would have back then too, but those kids liked it enough that they never narced on me, so it's all good I suppose.