thecakeisalime's recent activity
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Comment on Game Pass was supposed to save Xbox – instead, it’s killing the company in ~games
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Comment on You can vote on the design of the next Euro banknotes! in ~design
thecakeisalime Link ParentThe last one is Bertha von Suttner. I had to look this up. She was the second female Nobel laureate (after Marie Curie in 1903), the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first...The last one is Bertha von Suttner. I had to look this up. She was the second female Nobel laureate (after Marie Curie in 1903), the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first Austrian laureate.
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Comment on You can vote on the design of the next Euro banknotes! in ~design
thecakeisalime Link ParentCanadian bills are moving towards a vertical design. So far, it's just the $10 bill, but next year the $20 bill will also be vertical, and sometime after that the $5. I don't know why we change...Canadian bills are moving towards a vertical design. So far, it's just the $10 bill, but next year the $20 bill will also be vertical, and sometime after that the $5. I don't know why we change them one at a time.
I don't know how much the orientation matters in day to day use - people mostly aren't taking bills out of their wallets and admiring the designs.
One thing present on the Canadian bills that isn't in these Euro mockups is just the name of the person/building depicted. I don't know who all these people are, and while I could look them up, a name would give a much better starting point.
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Comment on My polish costs nothing in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentFair enough. I probably wouldn't work well in an environment where a boss wanted to dictate the style of internal informational emails, but I can fully accept that those bosses exist. Text-heavy...Fair enough. I probably wouldn't work well in an environment where a boss wanted to dictate the style of internal informational emails, but I can fully accept that those bosses exist. Text-heavy emails just feels like another bullshit metric that some high-level exec decided was a good proxy for productivity, even though it's the opposite. People waste time writing lots of unnecessary words, and then (presumably) people waste time reading those words.
In places that do everything face to face, it's always good to send a follow up email summarizing the key points so that (1) there's a paper trail, and (2) if something was misinterpreted, there's an opportunity to correct it.
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Comment on My polish costs nothing in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentIf all they have to say can be summed up in five bullet points, I would much rather read an email with five bullet points than five paragraphs of nothing. There can be a lot of information lost...If all they have to say can be summed up in five bullet points, I would much rather read an email with five bullet points than five paragraphs of nothing. There can be a lot of information lost going from bullet points -> AI paragraphs -> my own interpretation of those 5 points. If you just present the five points up front, there's a lot less going on, and less room for me to misinterpret your (literal) points.
Every time something is translated or rewritten (whether it be by a human or a tool), some information is lost or altered, even without accounting for the possibility that mistakes . Sometimes, it's acceptable or even good (e.g. changing "In my personal opinion, I think that it could be said that blah" to "I think blah"), and sometimes it's a very bad change. It's like playing a game of telephone, or using Google translate to go between languages a few times before you end up with unintelligible garbage, except with AI-assisted tools, it still seems coherent, so it's harder to tell that something's wrong.
For example, I ran the sentence "This sentence could not possibly be unfalse" through Hypertranslate, and the result is the complete opposite "This sentence cannot be false." Now, you may say that "unfalse" isn't a word, and it got translated to "false" along the way. And that's probably correct. But if a non-native speaker is trying to say something, and uses a word that isn't quite right, most English speakers can recognize what they mean, even if the word is wrong. Computers don't always have that nuance.
TL;DR:
- If the message is just five key points, just use the key points
- Every rewrite introduces the possibility of losing or changing meaning
- AI-generated text can hide mistakes because it still sounds natural and coherent
- Humans can usually infer from incorrect word usage but computers might not be able to
- Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
thecakeisalime Link ParentI agree. It's his first published book, and it definitely shows. It's not a terrible book by any means, but it doesn't have the same polished feel as his later works.I agree. It's his first published book, and it definitely shows. It's not a terrible book by any means, but it doesn't have the same polished feel as his later works.
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Comment on There is no reason to buy another PlayStation or Xbox in ~games
thecakeisalime Link ParentI've had the same thought, but I don't know if it's due to nostalgia, the novelty of being a kid, or because games are truly getting worse. Breath of the Wild is a great attempt at an open world...I cannot remember the last time I bought a game and enjoyed it in the way I enjoyed Wind Waker or other games from my childhood.
I've had the same thought, but I don't know if it's due to nostalgia, the novelty of being a kid, or because games are truly getting worse.
Breath of the Wild is a great attempt at an open world game, and Echoes of Wisdom was enjoyable, though short. But ultimately, they're both still providing the same experience of running around a map, collecting things, and exploring dungeons. Does that add enough novelty to the formula of Wind Waker or Ocarina of Time? I personally did not enjoy and never finished Tears of the Kingdom, because it just felt like I was playing BotW again (and I somewhat agree with you that even BotW felt repetitive at times). Maybe there's just too much "reuse" (for lack of a better term) in all new Zelda games, and it'll never eclipse the first one we played as children because it's not novel anymore.
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Comment on Rewriting Bun in Rust in ~comp
thecakeisalime LinkThere was a previous discussion on this. I guess this is the follow up blog post promised in the PR.There was a previous discussion on this. I guess this is the follow up blog post promised in the PR.
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Comment on Smush in ~games
thecakeisalime Link Parent362 points. The limit on letter usage was an interesting twist to this type of game. I'm not sure how I feel about the multiplier bonus. If you figure out the pangram, it's optimal to wait until...362 points. The limit on letter usage was an interesting twist to this type of game.
I'm not sure how I feel about the multiplier bonus. If you figure out the pangram, it's optimal to wait until the multiplier is on a letter that appears the most times in the word, and also wait until the pangram will "use up" as many letter uses as possible. However, it seems the multiplier chooses a letter at random, or possibly a letter you haven't used very much, so it's hard to coordinate that. Near the end, it also seemed like there wasn't always a word that I could make using that bonus (though I may have just not found it).
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Comment on Vatican declares Society of St. Pius X in schism, excommunicates bishops in ~humanities
thecakeisalime Link ParentCan you expand on this a bit? My (limited) understanding of Buddhism makes me think that Buddhists who chant sutras know the general meaning of the sutra, if not the literal translation of the...but the fact that the same phenomenon shows up independently across so many unrelated traditions suggests that a reductive explanation like "liturgical languages only exist to trick people and maintain control" doesn't tell nearly the whole story. Its not like the Buddhist monks are winning huge levels of societal control when someone alone in their house chants a sutra in a dead language.
Can you expand on this a bit? My (limited) understanding of Buddhism makes me think that Buddhists who chant sutras know the general meaning of the sutra, if not the literal translation of the words they are saying. Much like I can go to an opera and read the subtitles to understand what the singers are saying, it's still conveying the meaning, but I don't get a word for word translation. But as far as I'm aware, there are no subtitles for Latin mass, which seems to be a big difference in your analogy comparing Latin mass to Buddhist sutras.
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Comment on Friday Facts #443 - More planet deliveries in ~games
thecakeisalime LinkLots of goodies in this update. Especially the landing pad unloaders and train pumps. With 2.1 experimental releasing next week (!!!), we'll probably get one more FFF feature update. So far, the...Lots of goodies in this update. Especially the landing pad unloaders and train pumps.
With 2.1 experimental releasing next week (!!!), we'll probably get one more FFF feature update. So far, the big areas they haven't discussed at all are quality and roboports. I don't know what I want out of that, but so far they've been showing us a lot of updates that I didn't know I wanted.
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Comment on Friday Facts #442 - Flip, flow, and fresh paint in ~games
thecakeisalime LinkI questioned on the previous Factorio post whether I should start playing again now or wait for 2.1. After seeing this update (and having not jumped in during the past week), I think I will wait...I questioned on the previous Factorio post whether I should start playing again now or wait for 2.1. After seeing this update (and having not jumped in during the past week), I think I will wait for the experimental build at the end of the month. This does seem to be a pretty big update with meaningful improvements, and I'm looking forward to trying them out.
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Friday Facts #442 - Flip, flow, and fresh paint
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Comment on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Nintendo Direct 6.9.2026 in ~games
thecakeisalime Link ParentNow we're just discussing semantics, but I think that's still a remake. Do you consider the 3DS version to just be a remaster instead of a remake? Personally, I consider it to be a remake because...Now we're just discussing semantics, but I think that's still a remake. Do you consider the 3DS version to just be a remaster instead of a remake? Personally, I consider it to be a remake because it does have major visual changes, even if the underlying code is the same.
Interestingly, Wikipedia (famously never incorrect) explicitly lists OoT 3DS as an example of a remake because the graphics were updated and not just rescaled or rerendered from the original.
There's also no indication yet that the Switch 2 version will be anything more than a graphics and sound update. Notably the only thing we know for sure is that the graphics are different.
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Comment on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Nintendo Direct 6.9.2026 in ~games
thecakeisalime LinkThis is the second remake and the fifth release of Ocarina of Time. I wonder how much more they can milk this game. I'd really like a brand new Zelda game. TotK was too similar to BotW and I just...This is the second remake and the fifth release of Ocarina of Time. I wonder how much more they can milk this game.
I'd really like a brand new Zelda game. TotK was too similar to BotW and I just couldn't get into it. Echoes of Wisdom was fun, though quite short. Releases are getting further apart, and I hope that EoW doesn't mean the next original Zelda installment is another decade away.
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Comment on Friday Facts #441 - Space logistics improvements in ~games
thecakeisalime LinkI'm pretty excited about platform to platform transfers. I haven't played Factorio in a while. Now I don't know whether to start immediately, or wait until 2.1. Is there a Tildes Factorio server?I'm pretty excited about platform to platform transfers.
I haven't played Factorio in a while. Now I don't know whether to start immediately, or wait until 2.1.
Is there a Tildes Factorio server?
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Comment on What internet discussion sites remain? in ~tech
thecakeisalime Link ParentYes, my mistake. I got it mixed up. There are instances that are pro-Israel/Zionist (e.g. lemmygrad.ml, lemmy.world) and they're also pretty bad about moderation and commenting with regards to Israel.Yes, my mistake. I got it mixed up.
There are instances that are pro-Israel/Zionist (e.g. lemmygrad.ml, lemmy.world) and they're also pretty bad about moderation and commenting with regards to Israel.
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Comment on What internet discussion sites remain? in ~tech
thecakeisalime (edited )Link ParentThe members of Lemmy.ml (and several other associated instances) hold some very proIran, pro-Russia, pro-China views. This tends to lead to very unproductive back and forth "discussions" between...The members of Lemmy.ml (and several other associated instances) hold some very pro
IsraelIran, pro-Russia, pro-China views. This tends to lead to very unproductive back and forth "discussions" between them and the Western userbase.This is mostly relegated to political/world news style posts in the larger communities, so if you stay away from those, you'd probably never notice it.
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Comment on What internet discussion sites remain? in ~tech
thecakeisalime LinkThe reason is pretty much the same reason Reddit isn't working for you either. Most comment sections just devolve into either jokes or flame wars between the .ml users and everyone else. The few...Fediverse networks: These sites clearly have potential, but for whatever reason it's still just not there
The reason is pretty much the same reason Reddit isn't working for you either. Most comment sections just devolve into either jokes or flame wars between the .ml users and everyone else. The few communities that are free of those things are too small to have serious discussions. It's unfortunate, because I like the idea of a decentralized, federated social network like Lemmy, but I think it doesn't quite work.
You mentioned Twitter, so maybe you'd like Bluesky or Threads? I don't personally use them so I can't say for sure if they'd meet your requirements, but I never understood Twitter either.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
thecakeisalime Link ParentI only read up through the end of book 3. I thought it was over and didn't even realize there were two more books; it really felt like the end of a trilogy. And looking at the published dates,...I only read up through the end of book 3. I thought it was over and didn't even realize there were two more books; it really felt like the end of a trilogy. And looking at the published dates, they weren't out when I finished the third book.
I guess I've got some more books to pick up.
I think the article is using some "piracy" math to count the losses. There are almost certainly real losses to specific developers, but I don't know if the game pass reduced the total customer spend - it's just spread out over more games.
If someone buys a game for $70, they're going to play that game, and maybe only that game. If they've paid for the game pass, they might try out many other games that would have normally also cost $70, but they'd have never purchased normally.
For example, if a user played 10 different games in a month, each of the developers might get ~$1.50. Their calculated loss here is $68.50 per player per game, but spending $700 to play all those games was never an option. If the player continues to play all of these games in the next month, the loss shrinks a little, but it's unlikely that any game is going to capture a player's attention for the 47 months it takes to hit that $70 per game benchmark.
On average, this is probably fine. People will play games they otherwise would have never looked for, and those developers will get a cut. But this model tends to pay the big hitters less than they otherwise would have earned, and prop up the smaller games. That's probably a good thing overall, but buying game studios so you can stream the games and funnel profit away from yourself to the smaller studios doesn't seem like the winning move.