sparkle's recent activity
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Comment on I worked as a professional video editor until 2014. How much has changed since then? in ~tech
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Comment on At long last, InfoWars is ours - The Onion in ~news
sparkle Link ParentI always thought this was a joke from The Onion Movie. I had no idea it was the real parent company lol Apparently it actually comes from The Onion book "Our Dumb Century", which I also did not...Under the terms, The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron,
I always thought this was a joke from The Onion Movie. I had no idea it was the real parent company lol
Apparently it actually comes from The Onion book "Our Dumb Century", which I also did not know existed
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Comment on Which Linux distro do you use, and why? in ~tech
sparkle (edited )Link ParentHow is the experience on surface pro? I have an old surface pro 3 that I put Arch on but it's a bit long in the tooth and power management is a headache, though I love the display and overall it's...How is the experience on surface pro? I have an old surface pro 3 that I put Arch on but it's a bit long in the tooth and power management is a headache, though I love the display and overall it's a pretty comfy device for light browsing and pdf viewing
I'm familiar enough with Alpine from container management but I haven't used it extensively
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Comment on Which Linux distro do you use, and why? in ~tech
sparkle (edited )LinkArch, of course, though my lineage dates back to Mandrake Linux and then a long stint on old Ubuntu with some Windows side quests along the way. Been running Arch in some fashion since 2016 but...Arch, of course, though my lineage dates back to Mandrake Linux and then a long stint on old Ubuntu with some Windows side quests along the way. Been running Arch in some fashion since 2016 but only recently started to daily drive it. Oh I also successfully booted Linux From Scratch and then never touched it again.
I like Arch just because it really works well for me. I've built up a knowledge base of common problems I've faced and solutions but I rarely have to touch it lately because things just... work. I've got btrfs and snapper set up so that does give me some ease of mind as well. It's also got a lot of inertia, most commands are muscle memory at this point and I've got about a 95% confidence that if something breaks, I can fairly quickly identify the issue and fix it or workaround it. And I also just like problem solving too, I think I'd be bored with an OS that I didn't have to tinker with.
I primarily use Debian or Alpine for all my servers though. Debian is just really nice and stable for the most part and is like a good Clydesdale. Alpine is tiny and great for SBC projects or anything lightweight - I have a couple containers running Alpine as a base. A surprising amount of power in such a little distro.
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Comment on How are we all feeling about piracy these days? in ~movies
sparkle LinkI've been into it in one sense or another since the warez days of yore. Though lately as public trackers have been getting harder and harder to access and automate, I've been considering usenet...I've been into it in one sense or another since the warez days of yore. Though lately as public trackers have been getting harder and harder to access and automate, I've been considering usenet but I honestly have no idea where to start. Last I remember of usenet, it was for newsgroups like alt.2600 and I had no idea there were organized repositories of data available through it.
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Comment on I worked as a professional video editor until 2014. How much has changed since then? in ~tech
sparkle Link Parent2060 is still supported on Linux - you just can't use the very latest proprietary driver, which is 595 I believe. 580 should still work and is still under active development. If you're opposed to...2060 is still supported on Linux - you just can't use the very latest proprietary driver, which is 595 I believe. 580 should still work and is still under active development.
If you're opposed to using the proprietary Nvidia drivers, Nouveau should still have support. I don't know if all the features necessary for kdenlive are present in Nouveau though.
I've personally not had any Nvidia issues on Arch, Debian, or Fedora. I currently use a GTX970 on Debian for video transcoding and the 580 driver still works on it, but ymmv. Happy to help if you have questions :)
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Comment on Am I German or autistic? in ~health.mental
sparkle Link ParentThere's a joke that the hidden purpose of autism assessments is to see how often the respondent asks for clarification on the questions or gets frustrated with the vagueness. I also felt the same...There's a joke that the hidden purpose of autism assessments is to see how often the respondent asks for clarification on the questions or gets frustrated with the vagueness.
I also felt the same as you on that question. There were a few that I was like "well that really depends on many circumstances, I need more information to provide an honest answer"
Anyway my results were very close to yours - 29% German 73% autistic. I also should probably get tested but there's only two qualified psychiatrists in my province to do true assessments and they only take referrals and are booked out like 9 months in advance :/
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Comment on Am I German or autistic? in ~health.mental
sparkle Link ParentOh. This explains why accents sound so great in my head but when I try to speak in the same Scottish accent it comes out as Australian with the harshness of Russian. And sometimes some South...Oh. This explains why accents sound so great in my head but when I try to speak in the same Scottish accent it comes out as Australian with the harshness of Russian. And sometimes some South African winds up in there. Must be missing a translation layer in there - devs fix please.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
sparkle Link ParentHey this is awesome and no simple feat! I know when I first got into the weeds it was quite overwhelming so that's really impressive that you figured it out and developed a better intuitive...Hey this is awesome and no simple feat! I know when I first got into the weeds it was quite overwhelming so that's really impressive that you figured it out and developed a better intuitive understanding of it. I've used Haproxy and Lets Encrypt in many capacities (professionally and personally) for a good five years now if you have any questions, happy to help!
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Comment on Educational calm content in ~talk
sparkle Link ParentA lot of them are available on the Science Channel's YouTube channel. Though I'm not certain on availability outside of US and Canada. They aren't organized by season though.A lot of them are available on the Science Channel's YouTube channel. Though I'm not certain on availability outside of US and Canada. They aren't organized by season though.
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Comment on Educational calm content in ~talk
sparkle (edited )LinkMany of The New Yankee Workshop episodes have been upscaled and are available for free. Norm Abrams is a master carpenter and his teaching style is quite a bit like Bob Ross, very calm and...Many of The New Yankee Workshop episodes have been upscaled and are available for free. Norm Abrams is a master carpenter and his teaching style is quite a bit like Bob Ross, very calm and relaxed, just with wood. And safety. For about five years, they were both concurrently running on PBS too.
This might not be up your alley as it's science related and not art, but 3 Blue 1 Brown is a phenomenal math presenter. None of his videos feel like lectures, he has a great way with visuals and distilling complex subjects down for non-math people in a very calm, pleasing manner.
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Comment on DORF: The last, best hope for real-time strategy in ~games
sparkle LinkHas this been a project for awhile? It's scratching a familiarity itch in my brain and I'm not quite sure why. I don't really keep up with gaming news but maybe I heard of this around the bend?...Has this been a project for awhile? It's scratching a familiarity itch in my brain and I'm not quite sure why. I don't really keep up with gaming news but maybe I heard of this around the bend?
Anyway I like the Commands & Conquer vibes it's giving off and the terrain deformation is certainly a cool feature to add to classic isometric style RTS.
Too bad there isn't an easy way to port that feature to other game engines - Total Annihilation would be a lot cooler with literal total annihilation of the maps. Make the wasteland even more inhospitable in Fallout 2. Actual craters formed after flinging your test rides into oblivion in Roller Coaster Tycoon. Expand the various AD&D titles.
I remember Red Faction being one of the first 3D titles I played with basically unlimited terrain deformation and it blew my mind - this could be equivalent for 2.5D isometric, I'll be keeping an eye on it!
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
sparkle Link ParentI'll agree with cfabbro here - I used to do bodyweight exercises 3x a week and could do 60+ weighted feet elevated pushups with rings at my peak. After a two week vacation, some illness, and a...I'll agree with cfabbro here - I used to do bodyweight exercises 3x a week and could do 60+ weighted feet elevated pushups with rings at my peak.
After a two week vacation, some illness, and a bout of depression, I didn't exercise for probably six to eight weeks. When I started back up finally, I couldn't even do one pushup on the rings as my arms were shaking so badly. I thought I'd lost all my muscle too but read up on it some more and decided to reduce the workload and go back down the progression ladder.
So instead of elevated ring pushups, I just did plain pushups until I felt stronger, then worked my way back up through progression to where I was. It really only took 2-3 weeks to get back to where I was. Your time to recovery will likely be different, but as long as you persist, you'll get back there!
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Comment on Megathread: April Fools' Day 2026 on the internet in ~talk
sparkle Link ParentThis is hilarious because this was actually how housing worked in Archeage. You had to pay weekly taxes to keep your house/farm and if you were in a player faction zone, the castle lord (aka...This is hilarious because this was actually how housing worked in Archeage. You had to pay weekly taxes to keep your house/farm and if you were in a player faction zone, the castle lord (aka usually the most egotistical asshole in gaming) could set the taxes to whatever they liked, though they usually set them fairly low. Oh and in the spirit of it being hardcore, there was also pvp in most housing zones. So you couldn't even sleep in your house without fear of getting ganked by some dipshit summoning a meteor on top of you.
In fairness though, these were open world housing while WoW is instanced, so that makes it funnier there lol
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Comment on Mumford & Sons: NPR Tiny Desk (2026) in ~music
sparkle (edited )Link ParentHey thanks for the recommendation. Was having a stressful day and decided to give the album a listen at lunch. Definitely has that same "mind feel", almost nostalgic? but simultaneously novel....Hey thanks for the recommendation. Was having a stressful day and decided to give the album a listen at lunch. Definitely has that same "mind feel", almost nostalgic? but simultaneously novel. Something familiar and comforting but different and yet not different enough to cause undue stress. Really brought me back down to level which is nice. I'm on my third play through now. Noticing lots of little motifs that call back to Babel/Sigh No More and you're right - a lot of layering on top. Makes me want to take a road trip now. And also dig out my mandolin and get it tuned up haha
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Comment on An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests. Fungi enthusiasts are doing damage control. in ~enviro
sparkle Link ParentI love The Black Forager! I grew up in a similar area and knew a few of the common edible things like acorns, honey locust, black walnuts etc. but her knowledge of the lesser known items and love...I love The Black Forager! I grew up in a similar area and knew a few of the common edible things like acorns, honey locust, black walnuts etc. but her knowledge of the lesser known items and love of nature is infectious and inspiring, not to mention her applications of them. I'm just a fiend for wild berries these days - thankfully we have a large thicket of raspberry canes in our yard and I get to graze on it all summer long
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Comment on What’s something you’re putting up with? in ~talk
sparkle Link ParentI'm sorry this is happening to you :( I went through this during the Adderall shortage of 2012 I think. It sucked immensely because my family doctor was 5 hours away (I had just moved and hadn't...I'm sorry this is happening to you :( I went through this during the Adderall shortage of 2012 I think. It sucked immensely because my family doctor was 5 hours away (I had just moved and hadn't found a new doctor yet) and none of the alternatives worked for me. Vyvanse, Ritalin, Strattera, even a hail mary to try off-label applications of Abilify and Wellbutrin.
My outcome in the end of that was not positive so I won't regale you with those tales of woe. Suffice to say I'm in a better place now - it just really fucking hurt and sucked a lot to to get there.
My hope is that full sails and fair weather lie ahead for you
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Comment on Mumford & Sons: NPR Tiny Desk (2026) in ~music
sparkle LinkWow cool, haven't thought about these guys in a long time. Was a huge fan of the first two albums, they were generational for me. Marcus looks great too and they still sound pretty good.Wow cool, haven't thought about these guys in a long time. Was a huge fan of the first two albums, they were generational for me. Marcus looks great too and they still sound pretty good.
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Comment on US regulator bans imports of new foreign-made routers, citing security concerns in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentThis is exactly what Jeff Geerling advocated for in his brief video on the subject. "No sir that's not a network router made in China, that's a mini computer with 5x 10gbps SFP ports made in...This is exactly what Jeff Geerling advocated for in his brief video on the subject. "No sir that's not a network router made in China, that's a mini computer with 5x 10gbps SFP ports made in China"
You'd also be correct on the tiktok analogy. Sounds like the "conditional approval" is basically a bribe to the FCC.
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Comment on Our commitment to Windows quality in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentBased on my time working in corporate IT, yes. Yes they do. We had an air gapped computer for scanning USB drives that customers would bring us. This was for a bank, so a lot of the customers were...Edit: now that I think of it, does the average user even keep around a USB drive anymore? Cloud storage has taken over everything and corporate laptops now typically block USB storage anyway.
Based on my time working in corporate IT, yes. Yes they do. We had an air gapped computer for scanning USB drives that customers would bring us. This was for a bank, so a lot of the customers were using their own computers to do finances on. They were flabbergasted when we told them the loan officers computer had USB blocked.
This was a few years ago, but I don't doubt they still do the same thing
I'm on Wayland and don't have too much recent experience with X11, but I've followed pretty much this workflow using Intel drivers on my laptop running X11 as well. Pop see
I pretty much just checked the card was detected with
lspci, installed the Nvidia drivers, checked the card was detected withnvidia-smi, if not there, checklsmod | grep -E 'nvidia|nouveau'to see if the kernel module was actually loaded. There can always be some variations depending on distro flavour, but generally it should just work.Steam games work pretty well with minimum tinkering needed. Non-steam games can require a bit more tinkering but it's generally just adding a variable for Proton.