sparkle's recent activity
-
Comment on Meet Sparkles in ~tech
-
Comment on Sci-fi audio drama - The Last City in ~hobbies
sparkle Link ParentI'll definitely be checking it out! I used to be a big audio drama fan when I had a 30+ minute commute every day - that's the only thing I miss now that I work remote full time. I catch up on pod...I'll definitely be checking it out! I used to be a big audio drama fan when I had a 30+ minute commute every day - that's the only thing I miss now that I work remote full time. I catch up on pod while doing woodworking but not as often as I'd like.
Wolf 359, Steal the Stars, Vast Horizon, The White Vault, Ars Paradoxica, and Mission to Zyxx (comedy) are some of my other scifi favourites that I'd highly recommend as well.
-
Comment on In-flight canoodling: is it ever acceptable to spoon at 40,000ft? in ~travel
sparkle Link ParentThat's a fair point and as an aviation nerd, I sometimes lose my head in the clouds. That being said though, my comment was more of adding to the list of how bizarrely off the article was - would...That's a fair point and as an aviation nerd, I sometimes lose my head in the clouds.
That being said though, my comment was more of adding to the list of how bizarrely off the article was - would it have been too much to lookup "what altitude do jetliners fly at" and put 36,000 feet?
-
Comment on In-flight canoodling: is it ever acceptable to spoon at 40,000ft? in ~travel
sparkle Link ParentTo add another fork in the spoon slot, commercial airliners very rarely fly at 40,000 feet. You typically only see that in private jets in which case, do whatever you like back there as long as...To add another fork in the spoon slot, commercial airliners very rarely fly at 40,000 feet. You typically only see that in private jets in which case, do whatever you like back there as long as it's your charter/jet
-
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
sparkle LinkI'm about 10 weeks out from my first half marathon and I recently completed the full distance on the treadmill! Definitely the furthest I've ever run and the fastest. My time was just under 2:30...I'm about 10 weeks out from my first half marathon and I recently completed the full distance on the treadmill! Definitely the furthest I've ever run and the fastest. My time was just under 2:30 which I understand is pretty ok for a beginner. I really enjoyed that I was able to find my good "cruising pace" where it felt like I could keep going forever.
Going to keep working on my speed and now that spring is finally starting to arrive, will start taking some of the runs outside to acclimate myself for a June run.
Last year it was nearly 40 the day of the race so hopefully it is nowhere near as hot this year...
-
Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
sparkle LinkI'm about halfway through A Memory Called Empire and rather enjoying it! It definitely appeals to the palace drama crowd but also has a touch of cyberpunk and regular old soft sci-fi as well. I'd...I'm about halfway through A Memory Called Empire and rather enjoying it! It definitely appeals to the palace drama crowd but also has a touch of cyberpunk and regular old soft sci-fi as well. I'd also never really considered that I've not read much sci-fi by women authors before, so it's nice to see a change of tone.
I hear the sequel is equally good so I'll be on to that shortly.
Once I'm done with those, I usually like to give my brain a light dose of whiplash and switch to fantasy so I'll probably pick up the second Mistborn Era as I just finished the first trilogy a few weeks ago.
-
Comment on ProtonMail on all the data that Outlook collects about your email in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentBack in the day with providers like NetZero that was how you got free email lol. They even baked them into your signature so everybody else had to see em too. I don't doubt it's still a practice...Back in the day with providers like NetZero that was how you got free email lol. They even baked them into your signature so everybody else had to see em too. I don't doubt it's still a practice today, I just rarely ever use personal email for correspondence these days.
-
Comment on The race to replace Redis in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentInteresting, I assume that the Debian solution is how Proxmox is able to distribute ZFS? It's been a long time since I set up Proxmox with ZFS but I feel like I do recall there being some warnings...Interesting, I assume that the Debian solution is how Proxmox is able to distribute ZFS? It's been a long time since I set up Proxmox with ZFS but I feel like I do recall there being some warnings about the incompatible licensing when installing it since it's not enabled by default.
-
Comment on What are your go to fast but tasty meals? Is there prep you do on weekends to make meals faster? in ~food
sparkle Link ParentHow much space does a quarter cow take in your freezer? Or I suppose, how large is your freezer? We've considered doing this as well but are afraid our freezer isn't big enough. We have a 144L...How much space does a quarter cow take in your freezer? Or I suppose, how large is your freezer? We've considered doing this as well but are afraid our freezer isn't big enough. We have a 144L chest freezer and I feel like maaaaybe if we emptied it, we could fit most of the cuts there and put the rest in the fridge/freezer combo in the kitchen.
-
Comment on Has anyone here received any benefit as a consumer from algorithmic ad targeting? in ~tech
sparkle Link ParentMy wife and I recently completed all of the Lord of the Rings medals from them and they're super cool! Really well detailed and even comes with the One Ring.My wife and I recently completed all of the Lord of the Rings medals from them and they're super cool! Really well detailed and even comes with the One Ring.
-
Comment on What watch do you wear daily? in ~hobbies
sparkle Link ParentOh man I miss my Pebble Time so much. You're so lucky yours is still kicking! I found out the hard way they aren't rated for high altitude :( I did try to do a battery replacement when parts were...Oh man I miss my Pebble Time so much. You're so lucky yours is still kicking! I found out the hard way they aren't rated for high altitude :( I did try to do a battery replacement when parts were still available, but there must have been something wrong with the charge circuit because it wouldn't hold a charge any longer than a few hours. Unfortunately, this happened after their bankruptcy and it was long out of warranty anyway. I did preorder the Time 2 before this, but that never came to fruition sadly.
After shopping around, I ultimately settled on a Garmin Vivoactive 3 as it had most of the same features I enjoyed on the Pebble and it's been strong for the past six years. Battery life isn't as good as it used to be, but it's practically indestructible and the health tracking is a lot better, which is mostly what I use it for these days.
-
Comment on Nintendo is suing the creators of popular Switch emulator Yuzu, saying their tech illegally circumvents Nintendo's software encryption and facilitates piracy in ~games
sparkle Link ParentAh ok, that makes slightly more sense. It's still scummy as hell and makes me not feel guilty for the half dozen exclusives I've emulated over the years.Ah ok, that makes slightly more sense. It's still scummy as hell and makes me not feel guilty for the half dozen exclusives I've emulated over the years.
-
Comment on Nintendo is suing the creators of popular Switch emulator Yuzu, saying their tech illegally circumvents Nintendo's software encryption and facilitates piracy in ~games
sparkle Link ParentSorry what? I haven't owned a Nintendo since the 64 and haven't really kept up with the company much other than playing Wii at friends houses. So you can't even save your game without signing up...For example, had they not paywalled game saves on the switch, I probably never would have modded mine for local backups to begin with.
Sorry what? I haven't owned a Nintendo since the 64 and haven't really kept up with the company much other than playing Wii at friends houses. So you can't even save your game without signing up for Nintendo Direct or something?
-
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
sparkle LinkI've finally gotten back into regularly exercising and am now targeting to do a half marathon in June! I'm pretty excited because this is the first time in a very long time that I've stuck with an...I've finally gotten back into regularly exercising and am now targeting to do a half marathon in June!
I'm pretty excited because this is the first time in a very long time that I've stuck with an exercise routine consistently. With the exception of two days where I was violently ill last week, I've made sure to either do a run or bodyweight fitness exercises every day since the beginning of the year. I just recently completed my longest run yet, a 7 mile run (with about a mile of walking in there) clocking in at just under 1h25m. It's not fast, but it's the longest I've just kept going and felt good about.
Also a shout out to my partner who plans to run the half marathon with me as well. She's not as fit or active as me so it's an even longer journey for her and I'm incredibly proud of her and grateful for her support.
This is also the longest I've gone without drinking which I'm sure is playing a large part in my fitness journey. It's been really rather nice! Even though I wasn't really drinking all that heavily before, it was still fairly consistent (a drink or two at dinner/evening most nights) and there were binge weekends sometimes that I know were very unhealthy and likely offset any gains that week. So I'm glad to have been able to kick that habit.
And as for weight, well I didn't weigh myself before I started because last year I tried to do this as well and after a month of trying really hard, I had somehow gained weight. That got me really down and I kind of faltered. This year though, if I were to estimate, I'm already down about 13 pounds which doesn't sound like much but it's a huge deal for me and I'm pretty happy with the results so far :)
-
Comment on What's a "house rule" that has made a game more fun for you? in ~games
sparkle LinkWhen playing Canvas (an art creating game), our house rule is that when presenting your art piece, you have to do so as if you were a pretentious art critic. The cards form a title for the...When playing Canvas (an art creating game), our house rule is that when presenting your art piece, you have to do so as if you were a pretentious art critic. The cards form a title for the painting that you can use in your answer, like "Delicate Complexity", "Dark Effervescence", etc.
Sometimes the combinations result in something hilariously stupid, other times it can be kinda mundane, and every now and again you'll get something that makes you go "huh that's an interesting take"
-
Comment on Which characters have the best bows? in ~anime
sparkle Link ParentThe classic answer would of course be Princess Mononoke and all the bows there Honorable mention to Beatrice's bow from Zom100 though, as she's proficient in all the ancient Japanese weapons But...The classic answer would of course be Princess Mononoke and all the bows there
Honorable mention to Beatrice's bow from Zom100 though, as she's proficient in all the
weebancient Japanese weaponsBut really though, I'm hard pressed to think of any archery bows in anime that are anything beyond a basic recurve
-
Comment on Book recommendation: Delta-V and Critical Mass in ~books
sparkle Link ParentThe Mars trilogy is so fantastic. I especially loved how the first book was very hard sci-fi while subsequent ones were still hard, but approaching fantasy (the marathons across Mars, unpowered...The Mars trilogy is so fantastic. I especially loved how the first book was very hard sci-fi while subsequent ones were still hard, but approaching fantasy (the marathons across Mars, unpowered flight on Pluto, etc). The science is plausible but just hard to imagine it being possible until you see it. And also just what today we would consider batshit insane being "normal" like the Mercury train that outruns the sun.
That being said, sounds like OP's suggestions are some great reads this year for me. I enjoyed the Expanse books but they weren't the most optimistic. I just finished Three Body Problem a few months ago and they also kinda hit that transition from hard to fantasy sci-fi that I really enjoyed, not to mention it's very very bleak lol.
And regardless of how people feel about new Star Trek, I'm just happy that there's new Star Trek. I know it's fantasy sci-fi, but it gives me hope that despite how bad shit gets, maybe we'll get to Star Trek subutopia one day
-
Comment on <deleted topic> in ~health.mental
sparkle Link ParentTo add to this, we are all rocks in the flow of time. Anybody who has been kayaking can attest to how much impact just one rock has in a river flow, big or small. And even the pebbles have a...To add to this, we are all rocks in the flow of time. Anybody who has been kayaking can attest to how much impact just one rock has in a river flow, big or small. And even the pebbles have a cumulative effect. It's impossible to truly know how much impact one rock has on the overall flow, but it does have an impact and that carries on to the next rock, and the next, and the next, and so on.
I've heard that emo phrase of "you die again when somebody says your name for the last time" or whatever, but I disagree. One's impact lives on forever in some small way, no matter what.
-
Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
sparkle LinkWell, I had to have three gum grafts so I've mostly been on a liquid/soft foods diet. Lots of pudding, lukewarm soups, congee/jook, and I developed a fun lentil chickpea curry that works well in a...Well, I had to have three gum grafts so I've mostly been on a liquid/soft foods diet. Lots of pudding, lukewarm soups, congee/jook, and I developed a fun lentil chickpea curry that works well in a blender, but I want to refine the flavour a bit before sharing. But it does go great with soft breads!
I'm scheduled for another surgery in March so any other soft food ideas would be appreciated!
-
Comment on Merry Christmas in ~talk
sparkle Link ParentYou're absolutely right haha, I mean I know Vancouver is rarely snowy (my family is all from Portland/Seattle and I spent lots of time in both so know the weather well) but looking at the numbers,...You're absolutely right haha, I mean I know Vancouver is rarely snowy (my family is all from Portland/Seattle and I spent lots of time in both so know the weather well) but looking at the numbers, only 61% of Calgary Christmases are white. We're quite lucky in Winnipeg to have 97% of our Christmases white
I swear I'm not a robot dog... Really more of a cat robot
Jokes aside, I guess I had an expectation based on the smoothness of the dance that the software to create such smooth transitions would be highly sophisticated but the glimpses of the UI in the BD article are surprisingly lacking. It IS an internal tool after all, so I shouldn't have expected much, which really just makes the movement that much more impressive to me.