thecakeisalime's recent activity
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Comment on Reddit reports 69% jump in revenue, topping analyst estimates in ~tech
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
thecakeisalime LinkIn the final stretches of Memory of Light (the final book in the Wheel of Time series). I'm about a quarter of the way through Chapter 37, which my Kindle has estimated will take me about 4 hours...In the final stretches of Memory of Light (the final book in the Wheel of Time series). I'm about a quarter of the way through Chapter 37, which my Kindle has estimated will take me about 4 hours to read. This chapter is longer than many books.
While I appreciate Robert Jordan for the world and characters that he created, I'm much happier with Brandon Sanderson's writing in these last few books. I probably wouldn't have finished reading the series if Robert Jordan had written it through to the end. There was just too much repetition and unnecessary descriptions for my taste.
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Comment on Very Important People: Boris Tarshkokan in ~tv
thecakeisalime Link ParentI think there's only a couple episodes of Play it by Ear that I enjoyed more than the Game Changer episode. There's only two seasons, and it's worth watching if you enjoy that niche. I didn't...I think there's only a couple episodes of Play it by Ear that I enjoyed more than the Game Changer episode. There's only two seasons, and it's worth watching if you enjoy that niche. I didn't dislike any episodes, but there's definitely a few weaker episodes.
Zach and Jess also have a musical improv podcast that I haven't listened to yet, but it's supposed to be quite good as well.
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Comment on Income tax will be dead within five years as AI jobs crisis grows, says Monzo founder in ~tech
thecakeisalime LinkTaxing compute seems to be the next big craze, and it really just seems like another attempt to add complexity and loopholes and avoid taxing corporations properly. If a corporation is selling...Taxing compute seems to be the next big craze, and it really just seems like another attempt to add complexity and loopholes and avoid taxing corporations properly.
If a corporation is selling compute, or selling widgets, it doesn't really make a difference - money is money, so you can tax both corporations. If a company replaces all their workers with AI robots, you don't need to tax the robots, just tax the corporation on their newly created profits.
Any policy that doesn't just tax the profit of a corporation is leaving itself open to abuse.
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Comment on How are we all feeling about piracy these days? in ~movies
thecakeisalime Link ParentInstead of that, you can usually just email one of the authors and they'll be more than happy to send you a copy. They don't get anything when you pay publishers to access their papers, so they...There is this very weird forum-like website where you can request papers with a bounty of "points", and you get some points by clicking a button each day (enough for 3 or so papers) . I would have to dig through my bookmarks to remember the name. I only really need it for papers that are both paywalled and don't have a preprint available now
Instead of that, you can usually just email one of the authors and they'll be more than happy to send you a copy. They don't get anything when you pay publishers to access their papers, so they don't care. They're usually just excited that someone's interested in their work.
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Comment on Am I German or autistic? in ~health.mental
thecakeisalime Link ParentI'm 60% German and 56% autistic. Beneath the result it says "Scores are independent — they don't need to add up to 100%" which bothers both the German and autistic sides of me.I'm 60% German and 56% autistic. Beneath the result it says "Scores are independent — they don't need to add up to 100%" which bothers both the German and autistic sides of me.
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Comment on Competence is lonely. Nobody talks about why. in ~health.mental
thecakeisalime Link ParentYeah, this seems like it's focused on people whose whole social lives revolve around their workplace, which is unhealthy whether you're competent or not. At my last job, I was the competent one,...Yeah, this seems like it's focused on people whose whole social lives revolve around their workplace, which is unhealthy whether you're competent or not.
At my last job, I was the competent one, and while that meant I kept getting interrupted to answer questions, I never would have called myself "lonely", because, frankly, I will never care about my colleagues in that way. And at 5 pm, I'd leave, and not have to think about them until I got to work again the next day. For those people who don't always clock out at 5, or don't have other adult relationships outside of work, I can see how this could be lonely. But the problem isn't competence - it's the fact that meeting people and making friendships as an adult is hard. Incompetent people might be able to make friends at work (I guess that's the implication of the article), but I suspect they're just surface level friendships of convenience that would fall apart pretty quickly if one person got a new job.
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Comment on Improving my focus by giving up my big monitor in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentIt sounds a lot like "I had too much clutter so I burned down my house and now I'm living in my car". Yeah, it works, I guess. But the problem isn't the big monitor. It's that he's using it to...It sounds a lot like "I had too much clutter so I burned down my house and now I'm living in my car".
Yeah, it works, I guess. But the problem isn't the big monitor. It's that he's using it to watch YouTube videos while working. Surely there's a better way to improve focus (and if there is, I'd appreciate tips).
Like, it's great that this works for this guy. But in my experience, this is just treating a symptom and not the cause. You can still distract yourself with your cellphone or any number of other things.
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Comment on Getting permission from your significant other in ~life
thecakeisalime Link ParentYes, it's mostly this. Because imagine the alternative. You agree to hang out with your friends without asking your wife first, and your wife agrees to hang out with her friends without asking you...If my wife asks me for something the default is "yes, let's see if that's possible".
Yes, it's mostly this.
Because imagine the alternative. You agree to hang out with your friends without asking your wife first, and your wife agrees to hang out with her friends without asking you first. You guys get home and tell each other your plans, and... oops! Who's going to watch the kids tonight? Now one of you has to cancel, and it looks way worse than just saying you have to check in with your spouse before committing to something.
It's not that I can't take time for myself, or that my wife shouldn't take time for herself, but if it's something out of the norm, we just need to make sure we're not placing an undue burden on each other, and also that we're not making conflicting plans.
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Comment on You can finally change the goofy Gmail address you chose years ago in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentGoogle is deprecating the POP3 "pull" access, but you can still forward from one account to the other, and then use the "send as" feature, which is essentially what you want to do here anyway I think.Google is deprecating the POP3 "pull" access, but you can still forward from one account to the other, and then use the "send as" feature, which is essentially what you want to do here anyway I think.
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Comment on Can we talk about rice cookers? in ~food
thecakeisalime LinkI don't own an instant pot, but I do own a rice cooker. I mainly just use it for rice, but I also use it for quinoa and steaming vegetables and dumplings. Mostly, it's nice to throw some rice and...I don't own an instant pot, but I do own a rice cooker. I mainly just use it for rice, but I also use it for quinoa and steaming vegetables and dumplings. Mostly, it's nice to throw some rice and water in there, and be able to walk away and focus on something else.
If you're not getting an instant pot like everyone else has recommended, I suggest you just start with a cheap $15-20 rice cooker from Walmart. You'll either use it a lot, in which case, you can buy a better one or just keep using that. Or you'll find that it doesn't upgrade your workflow enough be worth the counterspace and then you'll be glad you only spent $20 on it.
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Comment on Ottawa's big bet on world's largest cricket farm ran into a simple problem: the 'yuck factor' in ~food
thecakeisalime Link ParentNo, I'm not celiac. In the bread I made, it didn't entirely replace the flour, it was added into the flour mixture, so it wouldn't be safe for celiacs. It tastes mildly nutty and a little earthy....No, I'm not celiac. In the bread I made, it didn't entirely replace the flour, it was added into the flour mixture, so it wouldn't be safe for celiacs. It tastes mildly nutty and a little earthy. Somewhat similar to whole wheat flour, maybe with a bit stronger flavour. The texture (in bread) was closer to how rye flour acts, because crickets don't have any gluten. My recipe was just a normal sourdough loaf, but using about 20% cricket flour and 80% white flour. I don't think you could do a 100% cricket flour loaf that didn't just turn into a brick, but if it were a lot cheaper, I'd give it a try. I'd definitely make more cricket/wheat bread if cricket flour were cheaper, but until then, I think it was mostly just a novelty.
I mostly just enjoy experimenting with different flours, and also like the idea of replacing some of my animal protein intake with something other than beans. Beans are fine, but I do really enjoy making and eating bread, so if bread can cover two macronutrients, all the better!
If a recipe asks for whole wheat flour, it might be a suitable replacement (as long as you account for the lack of gluten). It might work in a more savoury cookie, or maybe a spiced cookie where the spices are really strong, but I feel like if it was just replacing white flour in a chocolate chip cookie recipe, it might dominate the flavour profile.
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Comment on Ottawa's big bet on world's largest cricket farm ran into a simple problem: the 'yuck factor' in ~food
thecakeisalime LinkThe headline and most of the article kinda hide the real issue, which only gets one paragraph of coverage: It wasn't that people weren't buying their cricket products - they weren't selling...The headline and most of the article kinda hide the real issue, which only gets one paragraph of coverage:
Court documents show the London facility never came close to operating as planned. A system that worked at a small scale in Texas struggled to translate to Ontario, where differences in environment, ongoing design changes and problems with equipment all contributed to underperformance.
It wasn't that people weren't buying their cricket products - they weren't selling anything at all.
Unlike everyone else here, I was actually pretty excited to see this happening. I hoped it would bring down the price of cricket flour. But as far as I could tell, this facility never produced anything that was available for the consumer market. I don't know if they sold to other companies and it was distributed under a different name, but I tried to find products from this facility while it was open, and couldn't. So it didn't really matter whether it was too expensive - they weren't selling anything anyway.
And yeah, beans are a great source for protein. But chickpea flour makes me really gassy. Another alternative isn't a bad thing, as long as it can reach a reasonable price point.
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Comment on I think Tildes moderators and admins may need to make a decision regarding how to handle Harry Potter related posts in ~tildes
thecakeisalime Link ParentOh. Oh no. In that case, it would be relevant to bring up the fact that the artist is an antisemite, but I think it's already pretty evident just from an analysis of the song itself. Bringing this...Oh. Oh no.
In that case, it would be relevant to bring up the fact that the artist is an antisemite, but I think it's already pretty evident just from an analysis of the song itself.
Bringing this back to Harry Potter, if there were TERF characters/plotlines in the TV show or books, then it would be relevant to bring up JK Rowling's personal beliefs when discussing those characters or plotlines.
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Comment on I think Tildes moderators and admins may need to make a decision regarding how to handle Harry Potter related posts in ~tildes
thecakeisalime Link ParentUnless Kanye's antisemitism is related in some way to his lyrics (and it might be - I'm not familiar with his music), I don't think it's particularly relevant or worth bringing up in a discussion...Unless Kanye's antisemitism is related in some way to his lyrics (and it might be - I'm not familiar with his music), I don't think it's particularly relevant or worth bringing up in a discussion about any specific work of his. It should certainly be brought up in a discussion about Kanye as an artist though.
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Comment on I think Tildes moderators and admins may need to make a decision regarding how to handle Harry Potter related posts in ~tildes
thecakeisalime Link ParentI don't actually understand your point here. You can absolutely discuss this art without talking about the artist. It's... fine. The lines/perspective are a bit off in places, the shadows are...I don't actually understand your point here. You can absolutely discuss this art without talking about the artist. It's... fine. The lines/perspective are a bit off in places, the shadows are incorrect in places, and it sort of seems like the artist gave up before finishing some of the mid-ground people/ghosts.
I guess if this came up in an art discussion, there may be questions about why this piece. And maybe at that point, it would come back to "surprise! it's Hitler!", but if this was hanging in a hotel lobby, I probably wouldn't give it a second glance. And if it were hanging in an art gallery, I'd wonder why they thought it was good enough to display.
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Comment on I think Tildes moderators and admins may need to make a decision regarding how to handle Harry Potter related posts in ~tildes
thecakeisalime Link ParentI think that goes back to my point about ethical consumption under capitalism. I don't think it's possible to pay for media without funding at least one shithead bigwig producer. Being a terrible...I think that goes back to my point about ethical consumption under capitalism.
I don't think it's possible to pay for media without funding at least one shithead bigwig producer. Being a terrible human being is pretty much a prerequisite for having enough money to produce a TV show.
In the case of Rowling, I think she has enough money that if people stopped paying her right now, she wouldn't even notice, and it wouldn't affect her bigotry at all. I do fully support piracy as an ethical alternative for those who want to watch the show without giving any money to Rowling.
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Comment on I think Tildes moderators and admins may need to make a decision regarding how to handle Harry Potter related posts in ~tildes
thecakeisalime Link ParentMy point wasn't about who benefits, but of the relevance to the discussion. But to give an example with an obvious benefactor, no one is complaining about Bezos on every post that links to The...mentioning or discussing America in general does not directly benefit anyone generally
My point wasn't about who benefits, but of the relevance to the discussion. But to give an example with an obvious benefactor, no one is complaining about Bezos on every post that links to The Washington Post. If they did, it would probably get flagged as off topic, because the posts aren't about him (even though he profits from views on his articles), just like Harry Potter isn't about Rowling.
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Comment on I think Tildes moderators and admins may need to make a decision regarding how to handle Harry Potter related posts in ~tildes
thecakeisalime Link ParentIt's possible to discuss Harry Potter without discussing Rowling or Good Omens without talking about Gaiman. It's not possible to discuss Nick Fuentes without talking about Nick Fuentes (I'm not...- Exemplary
To take it to an extreme, do we want to be a "welcoming place for Nick Fuentes fans to discuss his works"? For a less extreme and somewhat more likely here example: If Neil Gaiman's work becomes the topic of a discussion, should people avoid discussing his actions?
It's possible to discuss Harry Potter without discussing Rowling or Good Omens without talking about Gaiman. It's not possible to discuss Nick Fuentes without talking about Nick Fuentes (I'm not familiar with him, but from a quick search it mostly seems like he doesn't have specific works, just a steaming pile of terrible views, which could be individually discussed without bringing him up).
Like, if every thread that mentioned America had someone posting in the comments "but what about the Epstein files!?", which is something I have seen in some other places, then it would get tiring quickly, even if you agree with the general point. It gets noisy and messy and it feels off topic, because it is.
I don't particularly care about Harry Potter, but if I did, seeing people discussing Rowling and her bigotry every comment section would get tiring quickly, and it would make me feel unwelcome. Maybe that's the point.
We could get into a big debate about ethical consumption under capitalism, but I don't think people want to hear the same points about child slavery or the Epstein files or the environment every time anything related to clothes, electronics, politics, sports, or literally any other topic comes up - even if the points are correct and well intentioned. And most of the time, people don't do this. But for some topics, like Harry Potter, they do.
I believe in the separation of the author from their art. I think someone can enjoy watching Harry Potter or Good Omens, and may want to discuss that with other people who also enjoy the work, even while disagreeing with the original creator.
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Comment on "...new Nintendo published digital titles exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 will have an MSRP that is different from physical versions." in ~games
thecakeisalime Link ParentI honestly thought that's what they did, but your comment made me look at game prices, and wow! $105 for Mario Kart World, and a lot of other games are also at that $100 level. I don't own a...I honestly thought that's what they did, but your comment made me look at game prices, and wow! $105 for Mario Kart World, and a lot of other games are also at that $100 level.
I don't own a Switch 2, but at least Switch (1) games are only $85 CAD.
A lot of stock prices drop from the IPO price. Going by this site (I don't know how complete or accurate this information is), 160 companies are down from their 2025 IPO price, and 123 are up. With some rough calculations, if you invested the same amount in each company's IPO and held through today, you'd have a total ~8% return, which isn't awful, but it's slightly below average, and a lot below the actual returns from the past year. You're also taking a huge risk to do this, since many of these companies have seen huge swings in price.