thecakeisalime's recent activity
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
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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.
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Comment on Breadmaker update: one year in! in ~food
thecakeisalime Link ParentYou can also just take a frozen (half)loaf out of the freezer the day before you're going to need it - no microwave required. If you likely to forget to take it out ahead of time, you can slice it...You can also just take a frozen (half)loaf out of the freezer the day before you're going to need it - no microwave required. If you likely to forget to take it out ahead of time, you can slice it before freezing; the individual slices will defrost pretty quickly just sitting at room temperature.
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Comment on The cost of safetyism - what we lost when we stopped letting kids leave the front yard in ~life
thecakeisalime Link ParentThat's fair. There's definitely a tightrope to walk here when trying to set your children for success without pressuring them into being successful. I don't think I was pressured to do specific...That's fair.
There's definitely a tightrope to walk here when trying to set your children for success without pressuring them into being successful. I don't think I was pressured to do specific extracurriculars - it was just something to fill the time and keep me active. I definitely wasn't doing a miserable grind. The only activities that my parents "forced" me to do were swimming lessons (until a certain competency) and piano lessons. I also happened to have good grades, but other than making sure I finished my homework, it didn't feel like there was any pressure to do well in school.
In my interactions with high schoolers these days though, there is clearly pressure from themselves, their parents, and the future university admissions departments to be able to distinguish themselves beyond just good grades. Middle/elementary school still seems pressure-free. It's a problem that I'm not looking forward to navigating when my kid reaches high school.
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Comment on The cost of safetyism - what we lost when we stopped letting kids leave the front yard in ~life
thecakeisalime Link ParentI'm only a few years older than you in my mid 30s, and I spent a lot of time in extracurriculars. Sports, piano lessons, Scouts, maybe something else I can't remember. I think this was about 4...I'm only a few years older than you in my mid 30s, and I spent a lot of time in extracurriculars.
Sports, piano lessons, Scouts, maybe something else I can't remember. I think this was about 4 nights per week. I still had plenty of time to play with my friends, but it was nowhere near 8 hours free every day. I got to bike to my friend's house, I got to play in the yard, and I still played too much Starcraft, Diablo, and Rollercoaster Tycoon.
Looking back, I think most of the kids I knew from middle class families did one or two nights of extracurriculars per week, except for the ones with Asian parents (like myself) where we had most or all of our week scheduled. Unfortunately, this seems to have led to what I'll call "extracurricular inflation" (akin to grade inflation) where everyone thinks you need to be in more extracurriculars than everyone else and have a LinkedIn profile by the time you hit puberty or you'll never get accepted to university. And some of that is true - the admission average for the program I took in university is about 10-15 percentage points higher than when I was admitted. They need something extra to differentiate between every highschool student with a 95% average. It's a complicated thing to navigate, because every parent is thinking "if I don't sign my kid up for [activity], are they going to be behind in life?" and unfortunately, our capitalist overlords respond to that with "yeah, probably".
Even as an adult though, I set myself up with a lot of "extracurricular" activities, because if I didn't, I'd probably never leave the house. (Before having a kid) I coached 2 nights per week and competed and refereed on many weekends throughout the year. I also had dedicated nights for DnD, board games, and Magic at the local nerd store. Now I just spend my nights composing very long comments on Tildes.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #6: Vote for the next four surveys we do! (Results) in ~talk
thecakeisalime Link ParentIn this particular case, the middle two options could be "don't care, but it's currently over" and "don't care, but it's currently under". Though maybe we also need an option for people who just...In this particular case, the middle two options could be "don't care, but it's currently over" and "don't care, but it's currently under". Though maybe we also need an option for people who just have a loose roll of toilet paper sitting on the cistern.
For other questions though, I do think neutral options have value sometimes.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #6: Vote for the next four surveys we do! (Results) in ~talk
thecakeisalime Link ParentSome surveys have 5 options, from strongly disagree to strongly agree. That might work here. Or a sliding range (or similar) from strongly prefer over to strongly prefer under, with "don't care"...Some surveys have 5 options, from strongly disagree to strongly agree. That might work here. Or a sliding range (or similar) from strongly prefer over to strongly prefer under, with "don't care" being right in the middle.
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.