vili's recent activity
-
Comment on Should I stop using Kagi because they do business with Yandex? in ~tech
-
Comment on Should I stop using Kagi because they do business with Yandex? in ~tech
vili Link ParentI could be wrong, but my understanding is that Yandex was owned by Yandex N.V., a Dutch holding company. Earlier this year, it sold its ownership of Yandex to that Russian investment fund, and...I could be wrong, but my understanding is that Yandex was owned by Yandex N.V., a Dutch holding company. Earlier this year, it sold its ownership of Yandex to that Russian investment fund, and changed its name to Nebius Group N.V., continuing to work in AI and self-driving technologies. Arkady Volozh, who founded Yandex, continues as the CEO of Nebius. I haven't followed his career closely, but from what I have gathered, he doesn't seem to have been that keen on the direction that Russia has been taking in recent decades.
But I must stress that I really know next to nothing about this, other than what has been reported in the press over the years.
-
Comment on Should I stop using Kagi because they do business with Yandex? in ~tech
vili Link ParentThat may to some extent have been the case once upon a time, but earlier this year, the company that used to be Yandex was forced to sell their search engine business to a Russian investment fund...Nothing shows that they're actually fully on board with what the Kremlin is doing
That may to some extent have been the case once upon a time, but earlier this year, the company that used to be Yandex was forced to sell their search engine business to a Russian investment fund that, to the best of my understanding, is operated by people close to Kremlin. So I think it's safe to assume that the current Yandex is very much on board with Putin's world view.
Here is an article that looks at this and Yandex's history with Kremlin more widely.
-
Comment on Teachers: what do you do with a class that couldn't care less about what you have to say? in ~talk
vili Link ParentThis is very true. I did an exchange year in Japan, and pretty much the only reason I chose the country was because of my love for the films of Akira Kurosawa. And probably the only reason I knew...And remember, sometimes you're reaching folks that on the surface don't look like they care at all, but internally they're having a spark lit.
This is very true. I did an exchange year in Japan, and pretty much the only reason I chose the country was because of my love for the films of Akira Kurosawa. And probably the only reason I knew of him was my English teacher, who in elementary school lent me Seven Samurai. Or rather, she just dropped the VHS on my desk one day and said "you might like this". Completely out of the blue. I actually didn't like it, not very much, but it was different enough to stay in my mind and a few years later, when I came across Kurosawa's other films, I devoured them and discovered an extraordinary connection with his work.
I sent my former teacher a postcard from Japan and mentioned the above, and apparently it made her very happy. I'm a bit sad that she passed away before I could send her another postcard a few years later. I would have loved to tell her that I had become an English major.
And mind you, English was pretty much my weakest subject in elementary school.
-
Comment on Teachers: what do you do with a class that couldn't care less about what you have to say? in ~talk
vili LinkAt the end of my studies, I spent a couple of semesters teaching at the university's English department. I taught courses in linguistics, and there is one class that I remember particularly well....At the end of my studies, I spent a couple of semesters teaching at the university's English department. I taught courses in linguistics, and there is one class that I remember particularly well.
Now, the majority of students who enrolled in English studies were there for the literature. A large portion were there to become English teachers. Some were interested in culture and history. And almost no one cared one bit for theoretical linguistics.
Then, of those few who actually were interested in linguistics, most were interested in phonetics and phonology. Some were interested in historical linguistics. A handful liked semantics. And hardly anyone seemed to have any interest whatsoever in syntax and morphology.
So, there I was, tasked to teach a compulsory introduction to syntax class to some 15 students. Every Monday. From 5 pm to 6.30 pm. Regular teachers got to pick their time slots first. I was given what was left available, and I also had my own classes to attend.
I also wasn't the first choice for any of those students. A young no-name non-teacher who didn't even speak the local language. So, no one was interested in the subject. (Ok, I exaggerate, one student in the class actually was, bless her soul.) Everyone was very very tired. And none of them wanted to be there. And it was Monday, of all days.
I had to device a plan. And mine was: tea and cookies. An exotic tea selection and cookies for everyone. Each week's cookie offer would be a surprise. Just bring your own cup for the tea.
That, and lots of positivity. And a little bit of extra energy to keep everyone awake.
It worked! Attendance was good, in fact better than in any of the other classes that I ran. And the students actually seemed to learn something: the main aim of the class was to prepare them for an end of the semester exam that was tied to a connected lecture series. None of my students failed the exam. Which was very, very rare indeed. I was quite proud of myself.
So, the trick there at least was not so much to try to make the subject interesting, but to make the learning environment pleasing. Something that the students could actually look forward to at the end of a long and boring Monday. I think they actually wanted to be there, and somehow, through heightened intrinsic motivation, or whatever was in the tea, or just through sheer osmosis or something, they all did better than expected.
-
Comment on Churchil Solitaire - The game that turned me off from buying mobile games in ~games
vili LinkIf you have Netflix, check out the mobile game offerings that come with your subscription. They have some surprisingly decent games and as those include no in-app purchase nonsense, their design...If you have Netflix, check out the mobile game offerings that come with your subscription. They have some surprisingly decent games and as those include no in-app purchase nonsense, their design is not as hostile against users as your average mobile games tend to be.
The same goes for Apple Arcade, if you are an iPhone user. I'm not a big fan of subscription services for game libraries, but I have given up trying navigate mobile app stores, discovery is just so insanely bad and most of what is out there is just focused on reaching for my wallet, rather than my soul.
If you like dice games, also check out the free Deep Space D6. And if you like Sudoku, the Cracking the Cryptic app is great. It does have in-app purchases for individual sudoku packs, but I feel they are fairly priced.
-
Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
vili Link ParentIt's one of my favourite albums of the year, too. It's creative and adventurous, with one leg firmly in the present and the other hazily somewhere in the 1990s. The grooves just keep coming, one...It's one of my favourite albums of the year, too. It's creative and adventurous, with one leg firmly in the present and the other hazily somewhere in the 1990s. The grooves just keep coming, one wave after another. Beautiful. And very positive.
-
Comment on How do I trick my brain into accepting eating less? in ~health
vili LinkWhat helped me was tracking my nutrition for a few months. I used Macrofactor because its UI and philosophy worked best for me, but there are many other options as well, both paid and free. In...What helped me was tracking my nutrition for a few months. I used Macrofactor because its UI and philosophy worked best for me, but there are many other options as well, both paid and free. In addition to finding out that I likely wasn't getting quite enough of certain micros, I learnt that I certainly wasn't eating as much protein as I had assumed. Once I adjusted that, cravings largely went away, and my sleep quality improved as well.
Speaking of deficiencies, getting a comprehensive blood test done (if you haven't recently) might also reveal something, or rule things out.
Also, like others have suggested, it might be a good idea to test whether coffee actually affects you or not. I always thought that it didn't affect me, but after monitoring it for some months, I learnt that I was likely wrong and the cut-off point for me seems to be around 6-ish hours before bedtime. If I drink coffee after that, it seems to affect my sleep quality and patterns, even if I don't really feel any less tired in the evening. But you may well be different.
Also also, there is some debate whether exercise close to the bedtime can affect sleep. I suspect that as with caffeine, this can be a personal thing. When I was younger, I used to go for runs just before going to sleep, but I can't really do that any more. A walk or some yoga is fine, but anything more vigorous close to bedtime seems to affect my sleep negatively these days.
Good luck figuring this out! It's annoying that human beings don't come with a user manual. Or firmware updates.
-
Comment on If you had to start a blog and post even though very few may read it, what would get you blogging weekly? in ~talk
vili LinkBack when I blogged, a large part of it was just notes on how to setup something (software, hardware, life hack stuff). Mainly things that I couldn't find good guides for anywhere online, so...Back when I blogged, a large part of it was just notes on how to setup something (software, hardware, life hack stuff). Mainly things that I couldn't find good guides for anywhere online, so things that I needed to write down for myself to remember later, and thought others could benefit from as well. I also remember posting links and summaries to articles that I found interesting.
Or, that at least was the personal blog. I also ran some blogs with a more specified focus. I think I had one that shared news from the world of academic linguistics, one that tracked various literary awards, and one that concentrated on a certain film director.
-
Comment on Grooveshark: The original Spotify in ~tech
vili LinkSomewhere between the death of Napster and the birth of Grooveshark, there was also a service called Weedshare. Anyone here remember it? My memories are a bit hazy, but it functioned sort of like...Somewhere between the death of Napster and the birth of Grooveshark, there was also a service called Weedshare. Anyone here remember it?
My memories are a bit hazy, but it functioned sort of like Grooveshark's sales model where individual users could make money from sales of copyrighted work, except in Weedshare's case you not only received a commission from your sale to your friend, but also when your friend sold the track to their friend, and that person sold it to another, and so on. Archive.org has the platform's original explanation archived, if you are interested. The idea was to create a network that would allow fans to trade music with each other while also benefitting the artists.
If I recall correctly, one of my favourite artist at the time, Terence Trent D'Arby, who had just changed his name to Sananda Maitreya and fought his record company, released his first fully independent album largely on Weedshare. While Weedshare was a pipe dream, and definitely already felt like one when it was announced, I was a little disappointed that it didn't become popular. Despite being a little pyramid-schemey, its affiliation system could have been an interesting model for a lot of digital sales.
-
Comment on Kagi Translate in ~tech
vili Link ParentSame here, and I was very sceptical about it when they announced it. In general, I really don't want AI in my search. I use search engines to look for information, not answers. But Kagi's...I must say, I use the Quick Answer feature a lot.
Same here, and I was very sceptical about it when they announced it. In general, I really don't want AI in my search. I use search engines to look for information, not answers. But Kagi's implementation kind of works for me.
I notice that this has actually been quite typical for me with whatever Kagi announces. My first reaction often is negative, but when I look into the new feature a little, I can usually see why they are doing it. I still don't really use any features other than the core search, but I don't mind that they are experimenting, if it makes sense from their point of view.
It's actually a bit different with this translator thing, which I am very interested it. Unfortunately, at least based on my first tests, the results and the user experience aren't quite there yet. Maybe it will improve.
Oh, and their T Shirts are poor quality.
I got the yellow basic doggy and I thought it was fine. Not that I'm a big t-shirt person.
The typo in my shirt also made me smile. As Kagi is taking on Google and Bing and such, I keep thinking of them as a big company, but things like these remind me that it's just a bunch of people, and they make mistakes. Which I kind of like.
Even so, I too am a bit uncomfortable with their privacy philosophy, since it's so much based on trust. But somehow I find it easier to trust a bunch of people, rather than a bigger corporate entity. Even if, in reality, my rational reaction should likely be the exact opposite.
-
Comment on Helldivers 2 Tildes squad interest thread in ~games
vili LinkI haven't played since May or something, but I could jump in for a few sessions at some point if you are fine including someone who is not very good at the game at all. If you are aiming for...I haven't played since May or something, but I could jump in for a few sessions at some point if you are fine including someone who is not very good at the game at all. If you are aiming for anything beyond Extreme in difficulty, I think you won't want me around.
Like kaffo, I'm CET.
-
New research uncovers why our brains are effective at quickly processing short messages
14 votes -
Comment on Alright, you sly son-of-a-gun, you got me. I'm going to run my first Narrative TTRPG. What do I need to know? in ~games.tabletop
vili LinkRegardless of the rule set, I see ttrpgs first and foremost as a shared narrative space. More than any rules written into the mechanical system, I stress the importance of the basic rules of...Regardless of the rule set, I see ttrpgs first and foremost as a shared narrative space. More than any rules written into the mechanical system, I stress the importance of the basic rules of improv (sorry for the hissy video, but I think this sums things up quite well). Most importantly, the golden rule of "yes, and", where we accept others' contributions and build on top of them.
If you can get your group, and the dice, to work together towards the mutual goal of a great shared story and experience, the end result can be quite magical. The biggest challenge is to encourage all participants to engage with the narrative and bring their own ideas, while maintaining a sense of realism within the confines of whatever story it is that you are trying to tell, and whatever themes you are wanting to explore*. It can be hard work, especially for you as the game master, as you need to constantly adjust the world and the back story based on player actions and ideas, but it is well worth it.
* I personally also find it important to have a central theme or topic in the games that I run. It can be a fairly specific question, such as the nature of human consciousness, or just an overall feeling, like loss and grief, and how to deal with it. This is not something that I explicitly tell my players during the game (we may discuss it afterwards), but it helps me tie things together when I'm not sure where a storyline is going, and keep the overall narrative coherent. Often you can also end up in very interesting places with your group, exploring ideas and solutions in ways that you yourself had not thought of before.
-
Comment on Box office: ‘Megalopolis’ bombs with D+ CinemaScore, ‘Wild Robot’ soars to no. 1 in ~movies
vili Link ParentI'm with you. I saw Megalopolis yesterday and I want to see it again soon. I don't remember the last time I had so much fun watching a film! It's lovely, it's surprising, it's playful, it's...I'm with you. I saw Megalopolis yesterday and I want to see it again soon.
I don't remember the last time I had so much fun watching a film! It's lovely, it's surprising, it's playful, it's beautiful and it made me smile. I can understand if it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think if you go in not expecting much of a narrative story, and leave your expectations of cinematic realism at home, it can be such an enjoyable and joyous experience.
It's very theatrical, for sure, in a way that early 20th century film was. I also thought that it's a bit like if Baz Luhrmann directed Everything Everywhere All At Once, but from a script written by an academician and an art director that they brought in from the 1920s. That's the angle that the film's marketing should have taken!
Anyway, I think it was just wonderful, with my primary stress on "wonder".
-
Comment on The Cure - Alone (2024) in ~music
vili LinkI love this song so much and have been playing its live bootleg recordings a lot this year. It's great to finally have the official studio version, as well as the date for the new album! I was...I love this song so much and have been playing its live bootleg recordings a lot this year. It's great to finally have the official studio version, as well as the date for the new album!
I was very late to appreciate The Cure. I actively disliked them in the 80s and 90s, but at some point in the mid-2010s something changed and they suddenly became one of my favourites. Maybe I grew up. Or maybe I found my inner angsty teenager. Who knows. But songs like Alone have become such a big part of not just my music rotation, but me. There's something about Robert Smith's songwriting, voice and lyrics that seem to speak directly to me these days.
It is exciting to get to look forward to the first new Cure record of my life, so to speak. I don't think there's another upcoming album that I'm looking forward to so much.
-
Comment on Dr1v3n Wild in ~games
vili LinkWow! This was wonderful. Thank you! I managed 6:38.949 on my first run. The second run was closer as I tried to experiment a little, 6:49.766. In fact, the timer that counts the seconds seems to...Wow! This was wonderful. Thank you! I managed 6:38.949 on my first run. The second run was closer as I tried to experiment a little, 6:49.766.
In fact, the timer that counts the seconds seems to go to zero before the time actually runs out. Or am I just imagining things? I thought I ran out of time a couple of meters before the end there, but I still got through.
Anyway, I love how there is variety in the levels, always something a little different to pay attention to. That said, stage 8 with the rocks is a bit of a pain. The combination of the sudden difficulty spike (for me anyway), the somewhat out of place graphic for the rock (looks more pixelated than the rest of the game?) and the sound that you get when you bump into one, and of course the fact that you lose your flow, felt quite annoying. Even a bit unfair. But then again, it's also good to be annoyed in a game sometimes, and I felt good when I was through that stage.
Speaking of difficulty, I think the difficulty level could rank up a bit faster. The great thing about games like Out Run, Buggy Boy and others back in the day was that they were extremely well calibrated: if you made it through a level, you (or at least I) usually did so with the skin of your teeth, and that feeling was absolutely wonderful. Your heart was pounding when you saw the line that you needed to cross in the horizon, you looked at the clock and the line and the clock, and the line, and the clock, and pressed the joystick forward as hard as you could, not that it mattered. In your game, I usually have about 10-15 seconds left when the next level starts, so the experience is much more relaxing. Which might be good as well.
From a gameplay perspective, you don't have gear shifting or speed boost buttons or drifting or collectibles or alternate routes like some games did back in the day. And I don't expect them to be here, either. But I wonder if there could be an interesting game loop in there, if after a few stages, the complexity of controls would start to increase. Suddenly, you have the option to do a speed burst every now and then, and you need to time it correctly to get through the level. Then you have gears to deal with. Then you have a dog that demands drifting every now and then or it will bite you and you stop. And so on.
I've sometimes also thought that driving games like these would be a perfect candidate for a rogue-like or rogue-lite experience. During each run, you'd collect something, and that something would allow you to use a garage between runs to both fix your car (from the various crashes you made in the previous run) and to get new upgrades (maybe the speed burst button and the gears and the dog, etc.), making it possible for you to go further every run and explore more of the world.
But this is course just a browser game, so I don't expect any of that here.
And then again, this is "just" a browser game, and yet it looks so amazing and plays so well! Putting all that into 13 kb just blows my mind.
Thank you for sharing!
-
Comment on What are your favorite westerns? in ~movies
vili Link ParentI definitely get that, although for me, while I consider Yojimbo the better film, indeed almost a perfect film, I think I actually like watching Sanjuro more. I just find it funnier and quirkier...But it was entertaining, which made the followup in Sanjuro a letdown. It lacked the charm and wit, just bland in comparison.
I definitely get that, although for me, while I consider Yojimbo the better film, indeed almost a perfect film, I think I actually like watching Sanjuro more. I just find it funnier and quirkier than Yojimbo.
I once talked about the two films with a Japanese friend, and his theory was that Yojimbo is a more west-friendly film while Sanjuro is a more Japanese one, and that Japanese audiences would tend to prefer the latter while those who grew up with Hollywood films would like the former. I'm not sure I agree, but it's a theory.
The conflicts are stripped down to the bare essentials. The basic premises for right and wrong, for what constitutes a good society or good government. The present is way too messy for that.
While certainly true of the first wave and the golden age of westerns, I think this began to change by the time of the revisionist westerns of the 1960s, which very much began to question and deconstruct the notions of what "right" or "wrong" are even supposed to mean.
This wasn't restricted to westerns of course, as a lot of creative work during the postmodern era tackled with these questions, but I suppose the western as a genre is particularly well positioned to explore them. There is the frontier setting that you mentioned, and with it comes the feeling of constant change, and an imminent and inevitable end to the era that it depicts. It's also crucially the moment just before the modern era arrives with its railroads and cars and automatic weapons. Replacing those dusty trails, horses and more personal six shooters. As such, it could actually be quite a good genre for engaging with the issues of our present-day world.
-
Comment on Free t-shirts for Kagi’s first 20,000 subscribers are available in ~tech
vili Link ParentLooks like January 24, 2024. Which is surprisingly recently, if you ask me. They are still a small company, with apparently just a little over 30,000 users at the moment. I'm surprised by that...Which date was the 20k cut-off?
Looks like January 24, 2024. Which is surprisingly recently, if you ask me. They are still a small company, with apparently just a little over 30,000 users at the moment. I'm surprised by that number, considering the amount of visibility that they have on some tech sites, and how much better the service has made the web for me personally.
-
Comment on What are your favorite westerns? in ~movies
vili LinkMy primary interest in westerns has been through their interaction with Japanese film, and especially Japanese film from the 1950s and 60s. Akira Kurosawa in particular was a big fan of John Ford,...My primary interest in westerns has been through their interaction with Japanese film, and especially Japanese film from the 1950s and 60s. Akira Kurosawa in particular was a big fan of John Ford, and Kurosawa's films in turn directly influenced many westerns: Seven Samurai was turned into The Magnificent Seven, Yojimbo became A Fistful of Dollars, and Rashomon was adapted into The Outrage, just to name a few. And you could certainly argue, and many have, that especially Seven Samurai and Yojimbo already were westerns, just with swords. Kurosawa himself wouldn't have agreed of course, insisting that as a Japanese creator he wouldn't even be able to make a western, and you may be agreeing with him while asking why I'm talking about Japanese films in a thread about westerns, but in the end it's not really that black and white a situation.
Yojimbo, for instance, is part of an influence chain that is among my favourites in any medium. It goes something like this: Dashiell Hammett wrote the books The Glass Key and Red Harvest, and those (together with the 1942 Hollywood film noir adaptation of the former) influenced Kurosawa to create Yojimbo (1961). Now, in addition to the aforementioned Sergio Leone copying Kurosawa's film in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), his countryman Sergio Corbucci did something similar with his spaghetti western Django (1966). Corbucci's film in turn influenced Takashi Miike's Sukiyaki Western Django (2007), whose cast included one Quentin Tarantino, who in turn created perhaps the most accomplished western of the past couple of decades, Django Unchained (2012). The result is a very satisfying west-east-west-east-west bounce that involves a number of great directors.
I just remembered that I actually wrote a little about some of these films once upon a time, if you are interested. But they have also been on my mind in recent weeks, after it was announced that A Fistful of Dollars is getting an official remake. I wonder who will be playing the Man-With-No-Name, trying to fill Eastwood's shoes. That should be a challenge for anyone.
Speaking of the Man-With-No-Name, just last year, the already mentioned Takashi Miike also created the animated Netflix series Onimusha, which was not just influenced by the titular character from Yojimbo (Kurosawa's Man-With-No-Name), but actually claimed to be "featuring" the long deceased actor Toshiro Mifune, who played the character. Based on the trailer, they certainly did a good job. But I haven't watched the series.
While I'm looking at these things from the point of view where Kurosawa's influence has spread, you could just as well look at it from the perspective of westerns. How far that John Ford influence has spread. That mythical frontier hero, the border between civilisation and the wilderness, an allegory that works to explore anything from human nature to societal change, or the tug of war between the psychoanalytic id and ego. I think that's why the western as a genre is so fascinating, why it has a global reach despite being superficially a predominantly American story, and why it keeps being revived every decade or two.
And thank you for the clarification as well! That definitely puts things into context.