sparksbet'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 Norway's King Harald dies aged 89 in ~news
sparksbet Link ParentI'm decidedly opposed to monarchy on principle and I don't necessarily agree with everything you say in this post, but I think in Norway's case it's also vital to consider the historical context...I'm decidedly opposed to monarchy on principle and I don't necessarily agree with everything you say in this post, but I think in Norway's case it's also vital to consider the historical context for why they're so on-board with their own monarchy. Norway spent so long being owned by either Sweden or Denmark, without a king of their own, that getting their own monarch represented a lot when it comes to their own national identity and right to self-determination. I think that context adds a lot and makes the picture more complicated than just "divine right of kings vs. democracy". I similarly think that a return to the monarchy of Hawaii would be wildly different than, say, the continuation of the British monarchy. Monarchs are always at least in part symbols, and what they're symbols of varies a lot with context.
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Comment on How rigid/fluid is your LGBT identity? in ~lgbt
sparksbet LinkMy gender is definitely on the fluid side of things. I am definitely non-binary and exactly how I express myself varies a lot based on how I'm feeling as well as based on the context I'm in. It's...My gender is definitely on the fluid side of things. I am definitely non-binary and exactly how I express myself varies a lot based on how I'm feeling as well as based on the context I'm in. It's like one of those slimes kids play with or like flubber or smth. There's a core there that things are centered around, but the exact shape and consistency varies wildly.
ofc this makes selecting the exact set of labels that apply to me pretty hard, but I think labels are only useful to the extent they are useful. When I get overwhelmed or confused by parts of myself that don't fit well into categories, at the moment I focus less on trying to find new categories or labels for those things and more on ascertaining what I practically want from my life, regardless. Am I a trans man or a butch woman or something in-between? That's a tough philosophical question. But I knew I wanted top surgery and I'm happier now that I've gotten it. I am happier when people use certain pronouns but otherwise don't care that much. I want to wear men's clothing. Those are concrete, practical things that I can choose without having the exact labels of my identity figured out.
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Comment on Why Germany's favorite soda comes in a beer bottle in ~food
sparksbet Link ParentIt's also noteworthy that many European sugar-free beverages contain cyclamate, an artificial sweetener that has been banned in the US, so that may affect taste as well.It's also noteworthy that many European sugar-free beverages contain cyclamate, an artificial sweetener that has been banned in the US, so that may affect taste as well.
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Comment on X corp is taking down Nitter instances and demands takedown of project repository in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentIf Discord were owned by Epstein or someone equivalent and he was deliberately making it a hospitable space for other child groomers, I think it would be totally reasonable to label it the Child...Like, is Discord a Child Grooming chatroom because there are plenty of that happening on it at some point in time?
If Discord were owned by Epstein or someone equivalent and he was deliberately making it a hospitable space for other child groomers, I think it would be totally reasonable to label it the Child Grooming chatroom.
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Comment on Why Germany's favorite soda comes in a beer bottle in ~food
sparksbet Link ParentHonestly my local Rewe tended to have a wider variety than the Getränkemarkt I lived near, but it was pretty bougie (it had a mochi bar). Normal cheaper grocery stores tended to have pretty...Honestly my local Rewe tended to have a wider variety than the Getränkemarkt I lived near, but it was pretty bougie (it had a mochi bar). Normal cheaper grocery stores tended to have pretty limited selection, you're right.
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Comment on I run a speculative fiction book club in ~books
sparksbet LinkI can't promise how much I'll participate but I'd be interested in joining the server!I can't promise how much I'll participate but I'd be interested in joining the server!
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Comment on Nancy Drew games playable in ScummVM in ~games
sparksbet Linkomg these are so deeply nostalgic to me, I'm so glad I'm able to play them without digging out an old Windows PC now!omg these are so deeply nostalgic to me, I'm so glad I'm able to play them without digging out an old Windows PC now!
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Comment on Why Germany's favorite soda comes in a beer bottle in ~food
sparksbet Link ParentI feel like I had cherry coke relatively often when I lived in Germany? At least until I switched to Pepsi Max bc it was 25 cents cheaper at my local Getränkemarkt. I miss lemon Coke from Germany,...I feel like I had cherry coke relatively often when I lived in Germany? At least until I switched to Pepsi Max bc it was 25 cents cheaper at my local Getränkemarkt.
I miss lemon Coke from Germany, but I was never a big fan of Spezi.
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Comment on Less than a year on, Microsoft tells Mico to pipe down in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentI'm extremely nostalgic for Clippy personally. I'd probably find anything similar extremely annoying now, but he was an intrinsic part of Microsoft Word during my formative years, and that sticks...I'm extremely nostalgic for Clippy personally. I'd probably find anything similar extremely annoying now, but he was an intrinsic part of Microsoft Word during my formative years, and that sticks around lol
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Comment on Any other tenure-track faculty on Tildes? in ~talk
sparksbet LinkAs someone who decided not to continue in academia because of the slim pickings when it comes to such positions, congratulations! I'm not sure I have much in the way of advice but I do want to...As someone who decided not to continue in academia because of the slim pickings when it comes to such positions, congratulations! I'm not sure I have much in the way of advice but I do want to remind you to celebrate this achievement even as you're considering the complicated practicalities. You've accomplished a lot by getting here!
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Comment on An emotional day, and a request about pets in ~life.pets
sparksbet LinkMy cats' former foster mom cried when dropping them off at my apartment, and she clearly cares so so much for the cats she fosters. She visited them at our place once or twice in the years...My cats' former foster mom cried when dropping them off at my apartment, and she clearly cares so so much for the cats she fosters. She visited them at our place once or twice in the years following, and when I needed to move abroad she accompanied me to the airport very early in the morning to advocate for me to get a private screening room from the German equivalent of TSA -- and then did the same thing for my friend who was bringing my second cat with him a few weeks later, despite never meeting him prior! There's such a selfless love from people who foster pets, and I'm so glad I've stayed in touch with my cats' foster mom not just because of how much she's done for me, but also because of how much I know she loves my girls.
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Comment on GOG confirm they are working towards GOG Galaxy on Linux in ~games
sparksbet (edited )Link ParentAnyone remotely familiar with runes or Nazis would recognize the runes in that email. It's fine that you don't recognize them, but they are not deep cuts when it comes to Nazi symbols. GOG's...Anyone remotely familiar with runes or Nazis would recognize the runes in that email. It's fine that you don't recognize them, but they are not deep cuts when it comes to Nazi symbols. GOG's insistence that they're familiar with the Nazis due to their being a Polish company goes the other way here. Moreover, they used specific Unicode codepoints that deliberately represent the versions used Nazi symbols rather than codepoints for more common similar runes that may display differently. This means that copy-pasting said symbols into Google (which I would consider the bare minimum level of due diligence when reviewing an email with unfamiliar symbols in the subject line like that) would immediately reveal what they were.
I can believe that there was a delay in internal communications that prevented the German team's observations that these were Nazi hate symbols didn't make it to other teams in time, but they have not effectively discussed this as the source of the problem or discussed any solutions they're taking internally to prevent this problem from reoccurring. I don't require a particularly detailed explanation here, but they haven't really provided even the vague lip-service I would expect from a company of their size here. They haven't addressed the source of these runes either, aside from the straightforward lies they told about it being a Unicode issue in their first response, and I personally would like to know how these showed up in the first place and how they've prevented this from recurring. Did they fire a rogue employee? Was this scraped from somewhere and they need to improve their review process there? We don't know, and they seem to be deliberately avoiding providing an actual example.
I don't think it's impossible for a responsible company with good-hearted management to have this issue show up due to their size and struggles with internal reporting. But their public response here is woefully inadequate even under the most charitable assumptions for the company, and attempting to shift blame onto people for criticising them for this blunder as seen in this response is probably the worst way to respond to your company sending out Nazi hate symbols in an email except for coincidentally in the territory where doing so is illegal. It may merely be bad PR, but no amount of Tildes comments defending them with plausible reasons for the initial incident will change how bad the PR response has been and how it has damaged my image of the company and its leadership.
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Comment on Women should be able to open things in ~life.women
sparksbet Link ParentUltimately I think when it comes to women specifically, it's simply differences in where the bell curve on a particular feature falls compared to men and who a particular feature is designed for....Ultimately I think when it comes to women specifically, it's simply differences in where the bell curve on a particular feature falls compared to men and who a particular feature is designed for. There's plenty of variation in hand sizes independent of gender, with plenty of overlap in the bell curves, but presumably the peak of the curve for women is at a smaller size than the peak of the curve for men.
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Comment on Women should be able to open things in ~life.women
sparksbet Link ParentI haven't had to wear such gloves recently but yeah, small ones have always been still a little big on me.I haven't had to wear such gloves recently but yeah, small ones have always been still a little big on me.
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Comment on Women should be able to open things in ~life.women
sparksbet Link ParentYeah, I think issues on public transit are particularly egregious examples of this because plenty of shorter people and children ride public transit and it can be extremely difficult to safely...Yeah, I think issues on public transit are particularly egregious examples of this because plenty of shorter people and children ride public transit and it can be extremely difficult to safely support oneself if handholds are too high. But given the relatively affluent, US-based population here and at the focus of the article, I understand why that hasn't been a centerpiece of the conversation.
I got a stepstool at my previous apartment, but when the cabinets are hung high enough that this is a regular issue, it's pretty exhausting to have to pull it out so frequently and thus I mostly just avoided storing anything I used frequently in those cabinets. This cost me money in buying separate shelves to add to my kitchen storage in addition to more abstract costs like "I never use my blender because I have to dig out a stepstool to even get it out" type things.
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Comment on Women should be able to open things in ~life.women
sparksbet Link ParentI think this can also vary a lot between homes. I can reach the lower two shelves of the three-shelf cabinets with ease here at my parents' home, and get stuff from the third shelf if I'm on my...I think this can also vary a lot between homes. I can reach the lower two shelves of the three-shelf cabinets with ease here at my parents' home, and get stuff from the third shelf if I'm on my tiptoes. But in my apartment in Germany I was basically stuck only using the lowest shelf of my cabinets because they were hung so high. I similarly struggled with hand-holds on public transit when I lived in Germany, so this may be something that's just worse there because their average heights are taller? But it did genuinely hurt my quality of life a lot.
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Comment on GOG confirm they are working towards GOG Galaxy on Linux in ~games
sparksbet Link ParentI particularly dislike how this response ignores the fact that the offending email was held back from Germany, indicating that something in their internal review process clearly did catch the...I particularly dislike how this response ignores the fact that the offending email was held back from Germany, indicating that something in their internal review process clearly did catch the obvious Nazi symbols and not send them in a market where that's straightforwardly illegal, but still chose to send it to other markets. This "apology" doesn't remotely address any of my concerns with their internal review and spends considerable time trying to shift blame onto the people who accused them of agreeing with Nazi ideology based on the fact that they sent out Nazi symbols and how piss-poor their response to that was.
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Comment on Women should be able to open things in ~life.women
sparksbet Link ParentI played piano for over 10 years, but being a skilled pianist doesn't magically make you better at opening jars, and no amount of practice is going to make my hands physically larger. I probably...I played piano for over 10 years, but being a skilled pianist doesn't magically make you better at opening jars, and no amount of practice is going to make my hands physically larger. I probably have to do all the same work and flexibility you use to reach a 13th in order to reach a 9th or 10th. Granted, I have particularly tiny hands even compared to most women, but still. I think it's faulty to attribute everything to practice or skill when the causation can often be in the opposite direction.
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Comment on Is there a way to filter out everything posted by a user? in ~tildes
sparksbet Link ParentBlocking particular topics is already at least partially accomplishable via blocking certain tags, though. Certainly your LLM example is more effectively dealt with that way than by blocking...Blocking particular topics is already at least partially accomplishable via blocking certain tags, though. Certainly your LLM example is more effectively dealt with that way than by blocking particular users like a game of whack-a-mole.
Once you're married or in a long-term relationship, have at least some emergency savings in an account that belongs only to you, in case you break up and things get messy. You may trust them now, but you cannot guarantee they won't have a mental health crisis or gambling addiction or reveal that you were wrong to trust them. Give yourself that safety net.
For similar reasons, don't let yourself take on more than a fair share of shared expenses. It's okay to negotiate how to divide them and whether to use a joint account or not, but definitely don't do what I did and pay all the rent while your partner covers groceries when those expenses are wildly unequal, and definitely don't rely on savings that are in an account your partner solely owns.