thecakeisalime's recent activity
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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
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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 LinkFor Yoshi (the first title to have this change) there's a $10 USD difference ($60 digital vs. $70 physical), or $15 CAD difference ($85 vs. $100) directly from the Nintendo site. I'm not sure...For Yoshi (the first title to have this change) there's a $10 USD difference ($60 digital vs. $70 physical), or $15 CAD difference ($85 vs. $100) directly from the Nintendo site.
I'm not sure losing the ability to resell is worth $15, but this seems like a trend in the right direction. It never made sense to me to pay the same for a digital copy as a physical copy.
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Comment on GrapheneOS refuses to comply with new age verification laws for operating systems — group says it will never require personal information in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentI can't find any information on 3D printers needing to report anything to the government - only that they prevent (somehow) the printing of guns. If you have any links, I'd appreciate it. I...This type of monitoring software is a fourth amendment violation, and should be challenged in court as unlawful, at least in the US. If there is software that detects (read: “searches”) information on a personal computer about a person or their digital files (read: “person, papers, or effects”), then provides it to the government, that should be unconstitutional.
I can't find any information on 3D printers needing to report anything to the government - only that they prevent (somehow) the printing of guns. If you have any links, I'd appreciate it. I absolutely agree that reporting to the government is a step too far, but if it's just about prevention is it meaningfully different than laws preventing scanners, editing software, and printers from doing anything with images of real currency? I would understand if you think those laws shouldn't exist either, but they've withstood several court challenges.
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Comment on GrapheneOS refuses to comply with new age verification laws for operating systems — group says it will never require personal information in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentI'm a little confused, because a lot of these laws seem to be based on the honour system, just asking users to input their birthdate. Basically the same as clicking the "I'm over 18" button on...I'm a little confused, because a lot of these laws seem to be based on the honour system, just asking users to input their birthdate. Basically the same as clicking the "I'm over 18" button on some websites. Don't get me wrong, these laws are an awful overreach of privacy, and probably a majority of people are going to use their real birthdate, but I don't think it'll compromise the privacy of anyone who puts any amount of thought into it.
I was born on January 1st, 1970, just like everyone else.
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Comment on 'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy' to end with Season 2 in ~tv
thecakeisalime LinkDisappointing, but not entirely surprising. I think it had a rough start, which might have slowed any chance for it to gain momentum and viewers. The recent Skydance/Paramount merger probably...Disappointing, but not entirely surprising.
I think it had a rough start, which might have slowed any chance for it to gain momentum and viewers.
The recent Skydance/Paramount merger probably didn't help. They're probably looking to cut everything that isn't actively bringing in new subscribers, while also trying to identify which shows they can cancel without losing too many customers.
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Comment on Factory farming is a blight in ~enviro
thecakeisalime Link ParentMy family has shifted so that our weekday lunches are almost always vegetarian, and more recently we've been trying for one vegetarian and one pescatarian dinner per week. I have seen this...But I don't see anyone really advocating for that kind of thing. It's always all or nothing and going cold turkey on meat, which is a lot for people to adapt to and why it never sticks.
My family has shifted so that our weekday lunches are almost always vegetarian, and more recently we've been trying for one vegetarian and one pescatarian dinner per week.
I have seen this strategy advocated for, which is likely where I got the idea to try it myself. But in general, if you're passionate enough to strongly advocate for an idea, you are also likely passionate enough to take that idea to the extreme (in this case, "extreme" is just veganism), which is why you don't see a lot of strong support for this partial-vegan strategy.
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Comment on What do you think about putting your driver's license in your digital wallet? in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentMaybe I'm misunderstanding the implementation (if there's an explanation or demo of a country having implemented this, I'd love to see it), but the version I've seen is pretty much just a picture...Maybe I'm misunderstanding the implementation (if there's an explanation or demo of a country having implemented this, I'd love to see it), but the version I've seen is pretty much just a picture of your license in your digital wallet. Maybe it also came with an NFC signature, and I missed that part of the explanation.
But you also have to consider what happens if you're travelling outside of your home state/province/country and need to use your ID elsewhere. At that point, they may not be equipped with the proper reader, and would need to see your physical ID or the digital representation on your phone.
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Comment on What do you think about putting your driver's license in your digital wallet? in ~tech
thecakeisalime LinkIt might be good as a backup, but you should also consider the one huge downside when using it. If you need to show/give it to the cops, they now have full access to your unlocked phone. I can't...It might be good as a backup, but you should also consider the one huge downside when using it. If you need to show/give it to the cops, they now have full access to your unlocked phone. I can't think of other situations where someone would need to walk away with your ID, but cops do need to take your ID back to their car if they've pulled you over.
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Comment on I tried ranking my albums out of five stars - I think I've gotten it wrong. Thoughts? in ~music
thecakeisalime LinkI think this is where your system falls apart. Unless an album only has 4- and 5-star tracks (and I can think of some that fit that for me, but not very many), then your albums will never be able...Then I rate the album out of five stars based on the average of the song ratings
I think this is where your system falls apart.
Unless an album only has 4- and 5-star tracks (and I can think of some that fit that for me, but not very many), then your albums will never be able to get that 5-star rating.
You should rate your albums independently of the track ratings. Obviously they'll still be related, but a 5-star album doesn't need to have only 5-star tracks. Some songs work well while listening through an album, but I never want to hear as singles, and some songs are great no matter the context. For example, I'd give Radiohead's OK Computer 5 stars, even though I'd probably give Fitter Happier 1 or 2 stars under your system.
Your album rating system could be nearly identical to your track rating system, but I think in that case, you'd never have any 1 or 2 star albums, since if you dislike them that much, why keep them around? That might be fine for your purposes though.
There's also just the fact that some albums can stand by themselves as a complete work, and some albums are just a collection of songs (as is increasingly the case since the advent of streaming). For me, a 5-star album is an album that I would want to listen to from beginning to end. If it's just a bunch of good songs (or some good and some bad songs) that I like listening to individually, the album probably doesn't get 5 stars from me, because the album isn't "good", even if the songs are. Hopefully that makes sense.
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Comment on Nathan Fillion says 'Firefly' animated series in development in ~tv
thecakeisalime Link ParentYeah, we can come up with a bunch of reasons why there aren't any Asians on screen, but at the end of the day, it wasn't a worldbuilding choice to exclude Asian actors, and any in-universe...Yeah, we can come up with a bunch of reasons why there aren't any Asians on screen, but at the end of the day, it wasn't a worldbuilding choice to exclude Asian actors, and any in-universe explanation is just a convenient excuse around that fact.
I didn't see it as a problem then (and for its time, this was extremely normal), but it's been 25 years and I hope that this new series makes a better effort at representation.
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Comment on Nathan Fillion says 'Firefly' animated series in development in ~tv
thecakeisalime Link ParentLargely, he's a conservative with all the typical conservative views. Making bigoted comments and deadnaming transgender people. He may or may not have coined the term "Gamergate", but he...I’m not familiar with Adam Baldwin being problematic. What’s that about?
Largely, he's a conservative with all the typical conservative views. Making bigoted comments and deadnaming transgender people. He may or may not have coined the term "Gamergate", but he certainly popularized it.
He's been pretty quiet lately, or at least been staying out of the news. I haven't heard much recently, which is probably for the best.
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Comment on Why do I almost never catch colds anymore? in ~health
thecakeisalime LinkEven if you're not doing much different than in the past, other people are. WFH, better handwashing practices, and any amount of mask wearing in public when someone might be sick all contribute to...Even if you're not doing much different than in the past, other people are. WFH, better handwashing practices, and any amount of mask wearing in public when someone might be sick all contribute to how many points of contact there are for any given illness. Even if only a small percentage of people do each of these things, it adds up. If one sick person wears a mask and doesn't infect anybody else, that potentially stops dozens of people from getting sick.
The R0 of the common cold is 2-3. That means that if you have a cold, you'll probably give it to 2-3 people, and they will each give it to 2-3 other people, and so on. In 3 generations of the virus, it will probably infect up to 27 people. If you wear a mask and/or stay home and instead infect zero people, then you've effectively stopped 3 direct contacts, and an uncountable number of indirect contacts, from getting sick.
Incidentally, this is why sick leave is important, but also a good business policy. If your sick employees stay home, then they can't get your other employees sick. If you "make" them come in, then eventually all the other employees will get sick as well.
Anecdotally, other than a couple bouts of Covid in 2020/21, I also got sick a lot less frequently (though I now work from home, so that's a more obvious contributing factor). Then I had a kid, and now I'm sick all the time.
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Comment on Survey reveals almost 50% of California teachers may quit teaching soon in ~life
thecakeisalime Link ParentOne uncharitable interpretation of this is simply that all teachers have very low morale, regardless of salary, either because the top end of the payscale is too low for the salary to have any...Researchers did not find a correlation between salary and morale, Kurtz said.
This is a surprise.
One uncharitable interpretation of this is simply that all teachers have very low morale, regardless of salary, either because the top end of the payscale is too low for the salary to have any effect on morale, or because everything is so terrible that no amount of money can make up for it.
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Comment on Would anyone be interested in an online gardening club? in ~hobbies
thecakeisalime LinkI'd be interested. Despite having a lot of space outdoors to grow veggies, they keep getting eaten by the wildlife (squirrels, rabbits, and maybe deer?), so I've not had a lot of success. This...I'd be interested. Despite having a lot of space outdoors to grow veggies, they keep getting eaten by the wildlife (squirrels, rabbits, and maybe deer?), so I've not had a lot of success.
This year, I was going to try to grow spinach and some other non-pollinated plants indoors hydroponically. I haven't made much progress yet, but since it's indoors, I'm not constrained by things like seasons and weather.
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Comment on Humble Bundle Books: (Almost) the entirety of Discworld for $16 in ~books
thecakeisalime Link ParentAlso not available in Canada.Also not available in Canada.
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Comment on Why Jony Ive put buttons in the electric Ferrari in ~transport
thecakeisalime LinkThis is really cool; I love the engineering behind it, despite the fact that I'll never be able to drive one. Throughout the video, he kept asking "what problem is a touchscreen trying to solve?"...This is really cool; I love the engineering behind it, despite the fact that I'll never be able to drive one.
Throughout the video, he kept asking "what problem is a touchscreen trying to solve?" and saying carmakers didn't know. There is an answer: cost. Single-screen vehicles massively reduce the complexity and cost of the wiring harness, and they also save a few dollars per car by not paying for or installing buttons. As we've seen, touchscreens introduce a lot of other problems (mostly for the users), but they do solve a big problem for the manufacturers. I don't think Ferrari is worried about cost, which is why they're able to do something as cool as this.
I do think the "wrist bar" on the bottom of the screen is a great idea that could easily be adapted (perhaps even DIYed) into many existing touchscreen setups.
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Comment on archive.today is directing a DDOS attack against my blog in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentThe author outlines their motive in the linked post: Plus, the post didn't actually dox the owner, because he couldn't find anything.The author outlines their motive in the linked post:
My motives for publishing this have been questioned, sometimes in fanciful ways. The actual rationale is boringly straightforward: I found it curious that we know so little about this widely-used service, so I dug into it, in the same way that previous posts dug into a sketchy crypto coin offering, monetization dark patterns in a popular pay to win game, and the end of subway construction in Japan. That’s it, and it’s also the only post on my blog that references archive.today.
Plus, the post didn't actually dox the owner, because he couldn't find anything.
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Comment on The hidden cost of AI art: Brandon Sanderson's keynote in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentThank you, I think this is a better reply than I could have come up with. Once an artist releases the art into the world, it doesn't matter what the artist's intent was, the meaning behind it...Thank you, I think this is a better reply than I could have come up with.
Once an artist releases the art into the world, it doesn't matter what the artist's intent was, the meaning behind it becomes our own. And yeah, right now, a lot of AI-generated stuff is awful and it's hard to find meaning in it, but if someone wants to find meaning in it, that's their prerogative. I don't find any meaning in Jackson Pollock or Barnett Newman's works, but I'm not going to argue they aren't art.
Sometimes a book is about the unknowability and meaninglessness of human existence, and sometimes it's a good simple tale about a man who hates an animal.
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Comment on Elon Musk says SpaceX will prioritize a city on the moon instead of a colony on Mars in ~space
thecakeisalime Link ParentWhy would we sink an empty boat? That seems like it would be damaging to the environment for no real gain.Why would we sink an empty boat? That seems like it would be damaging to the environment for no real gain.
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Comment on The hidden cost of AI art: Brandon Sanderson's keynote in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentAgreed. I think as a creator, he has a valid perspective, but as a consumer of art, he didn't really delve into why AI is or isn't art. I think mostly, his point is that people who only use AI to...Agreed. I think as a creator, he has a valid perspective, but as a consumer of art, he didn't really delve into why AI is or isn't art. I think mostly, his point is that people who only use AI to create something aren't artists. I can probably agree with that (for now), but I also don't know that it matters beyond semantics and philosophy. If I take a picture of something with my camera phone, am I a photographer? Or just someone who took a picture? Is it art?
When I look at the Mona Lisa, something from Deviant Art, or something generated by AI, I get to see the work in my own way. Once it's out there, the artist doesn't get to decide how I feel about their work. I mostly don't care how much blood, sweat, and tears were poured into the work. I'm just there to consume and experience the end result. I strongly believe in the separation of art from the artist, which also applies to AI generated art. Does the work stand on its own merit?
I have reasons for preferring non-AI work (and art created by non-shitty people), but it has little to do with the definition of "art" and who created it, and much more to do with how terrible capitalism is.
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.