what's recent activity

  1. Comment on What are some analog alternatives to digital services or products that you use? in ~talk

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    I've gotten into brewing coffee in the past ~12-18 months. For a pretty long time I was looking for a decent solution to log my brews, so that I could track stuff like grind setting, time, water...

    I've gotten into brewing coffee in the past ~12-18 months. For a pretty long time I was looking for a decent solution to log my brews, so that I could track stuff like grind setting, time, water temperature, technique, etc for different beans, and see how I could improve next time. I tried to find a good digital solution for a while. A few different Android apps, spreadsheets, I even considered making my own at one point.

    Now I just scribble in a damn notebook, and I couldn't be happier.

    6 votes
  2. Comment on [SOLVED] Tech support request: Finding the biggest files of a specific type in ~tech

    what
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    I'm (very) far from a Bash expert, but here's the somewhat hacky solution I came up with: find . -type f -printf '%s %p\n' | grep -Ei "(png|jpg|jpeg)" | sort -n -r I think it's always good to have...

    I'm (very) far from a Bash expert, but here's the somewhat hacky solution I came up with:

    find . -type f -printf '%s %p\n' | grep -Ei "(png|jpg|jpeg)" | sort -n -r
    

    I think it's always good to have some of these Unix commands in your toolbelt, so here's a quick breakdown:

    find . -type f -printf '%s %p\n'

    Recursively lists all the files in nested directories. Usually this will only print out the filename, but we can make it print filesize and filename by passing a custom format string with the -printf flag. Here, %s is the size in bytes of the file, %p is the filename, and \n will just make sure each file is on one line. Here's an example output:

    204164852 ./Daft Punk/Daft Punk - R.A.M. (Half-Inch 15 IPS Master Reel)/3 Giorgio By Moroder.flac
    3289016 ./Daft Punk/Daft Punk - R.A.M. (Half-Inch 15 IPS Master Reel)/DPramHQcover.png
    104411141 ./Daft Punk/Daft Punk - R.A.M. (Half-Inch 15 IPS Master Reel)/1 Give Life Back To Music.flac
    [...]
    

    Notice that this isn't sorted by filesize yet, and it's not filtering by filetype yet.

    grep -Ei "(png|jpg|jpeg)"

    Now we pipe the output from find into grep and use a regex to filter the filetype. -E lets you pass a regex without having to escape a bunch of characters, and -i does a case-insensitive match. Now the output will only contain image files:

    3289016 ./Daft Punk/Daft Punk - R.A.M. (Half-Inch 15 IPS Master Reel)/DPramHQcover.png
    89040 ./Daft Punk/Daft Punk - Discovery (2001) [24bit]/folder.jpg
    1640619 ./fusq/fusq - Lost Station/cover.png
    [...]
    

    sort -n -r

    Finally we can sort the filtered list of files. This is simple, since each file's size is at the start of each line. -n tells sort to do a numerical sort (as opposed to alphabetical), and -r reverses the sort so that it goes from largest -> smallest.

    Like other commenters posted, a better solution is to just install a tool that will get this done quicker (and probably better), but hacking together Bash scripts can be fun :)

    (btw if anyone has any recommendations or tricks that could improve feel free to add them below!)

    Edit: fix typo

    14 votes
  3. Comment on Netflix prepares to add an audio-only mode for background listening in ~tech

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    I feel like I've rewatched The Office so many times that I could honestly listen to it like a podcast and just recreate the scenes in my head.

    I feel like I've rewatched The Office so many times that I could honestly listen to it like a podcast and just recreate the scenes in my head.

    1 vote
  4. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~comp

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    I took time this year to learn the static site generator (SSG) Hugo. At first I was a bit frustrated with it. It's a pretty complex/powerful tool, and most tutorials are "install this theme and...

    I took time this year to learn the static site generator (SSG) Hugo. At first I was a bit frustrated with it. It's a pretty complex/powerful tool, and most tutorials are "install this theme and modify some pages". The docs are decent, but like many projects, I don't think there's a good sequence starting from the basics. I actually ended up trying another, simpler SSG (called Zola), but I ended up coming back to Hugo.

    I found the following tutorials, combined with the documentation, to be the most helpful:

    They both start from scratch, without a theme, and this made it a lot easier for me to understand how Hugo works.

    I think it's a really great tool. Not the easiest to get started with, but it's very powerful, and it generates very fast. I also appreciate that it uses Go's template syntax, which I'm already familiar with.

    3 votes
  5. Comment on Rate my homepage! in ~creative

    what
    Link Parent
    Thanks for the feedback! This is a good point, I just checked on my phone and different screens and the background appears a lot lighter in some cases, I'll definitely need to revisit it. I did at...

    Thanks for the feedback!

    The purple-on-brown text is a bit hard to read, so be careful with that.

    This is a good point, I just checked on my phone and different screens and the background appears a lot lighter in some cases, I'll definitely need to revisit it. I did at least keep the the contrast ratio above the accessibility standard (according to Firefox devtools), but on some screens the blog is quite difficult to read.

    keep the body text's max width between two and three alphabets wide.

    Thanks, good recommendation!

    since you're using DM Mono, consider using DM Sans as your sans-serif font.

    I think I'm going to leave it for now, for longer text like a blog I prefer to leave it up to whatever is set by the browser. To be honest I've been considering removing the DM Mono font, since it takes (for example) the blog page from 5 KB to 55 KB, and I'm only using it for headers (although I do like how it looks...)

  6. Comment on Rate my homepage! in ~creative

    what
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    Haha I thought a little bit of interactivity might be a fun effect, maybe I'll tone it down or try a different effect though. Thank you for the feedback!

    Haha I thought a little bit of interactivity might be a fun effect, maybe I'll tone it down or try a different effect though. Thank you for the feedback!

    1 vote
  7. Comment on Rate my homepage! in ~creative

    what
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    A bit hesitant to post since I don't actually have anything on there yet aside from some basic contact info, but here's mine: https://avery.cafe I'm also working on adding a blog, it's not linked...

    A bit hesitant to post since I don't actually have anything on there yet aside from some basic contact info, but here's mine: https://avery.cafe

    I'm also working on adding a blog, it's not linked from the homepage yet though (I just have an example post there for now): https://avery.cafe/blog

    5 votes
  8. Comment on Rate my homepage! in ~creative

    what
    Link Parent
    I like the way you've displayed all your blog posts, having the visual element on all of them makes it really easy browse! The articles about museum exhibits are pretty interesting, it's not...

    I like the way you've displayed all your blog posts, having the visual element on all of them makes it really easy browse! The articles about museum exhibits are pretty interesting, it's not something I've read much about.

    One thing I noticed was that the text on this page seems different from others (seems like it doesn't have a max width).

    2 votes
  9. Comment on Rate my homepage! in ~creative

    what
    Link Parent
    Wow this is really cool! It's one of those websites that makes me want to explore every corner of it. I love how every part has it's own theme/aesthetic.

    Wow this is really cool! It's one of those websites that makes me want to explore every corner of it. I love how every part has it's own theme/aesthetic.

    2 votes
  10. Comment on Rate my homepage! in ~creative

    what
    Link Parent
    I think the text contrast could be higher on the home page (I find the grey text a bit difficult to read). I like the art showcases, the large previews make it very easy to look through.

    I think the text contrast could be higher on the home page (I find the grey text a bit difficult to read). I like the art showcases, the large previews make it very easy to look through.

    1 vote
  11. Comment on Rate my homepage! in ~creative

    what
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    Link Parent
    I like the design! It's very clean, the animated background is really cool, and is subtle enough that it doesn't distract from the content.

    I like the design! It's very clean, the animated background is really cool, and is subtle enough that it doesn't distract from the content.

    2 votes
  12. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    what
    (edited )
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    Haha, looks like we're in sync! I've also been playing Mario 35, Mario Galaxy, came back to Animal Crossing, and downloaded the Pikmin demo (haven't played yet). Currently at 15 hours playtime in...

    Haha, looks like we're in sync! I've also been playing Mario 35, Mario Galaxy, came back to Animal Crossing, and downloaded the Pikmin demo (haven't played yet).

    Currently at 15 hours playtime in Super Mario 35... honestly I thought it would be closer to 5, but I'm currently around level 60, so I guess it makes sense. I found it great for a bit of mindless fun while watching TV or whatever. I've never been the biggest fan of the 2D Mario games, so the battle royale mechanics have made it hold my interest a bit longer. My main problem right now is that it's starting to feel a bit stale. The strategy in this game seems to be focused on repeating 1-1 and 1-2 many times, at least at the start, and I'm not good enough to reach the late game (best I've gotten was 3rd place). The gameplay has become pretty repetitive to me, so I'm not planning on playing too much more at this point.

    Started Super Mario Galaxy last weekend after beating 64 and Sunshine, and it's been a blast! It was my first Mario game when I was a kid, so it's brought back some nice memories. My favourite parts of 64 and Sunshine were the linear platforming levels, and my main complaint was that there weren't enough of them. Galaxy, on the other hand, is almost entirely linear, but it's nice that they kept at least a tiny bit of the "multiple missions on the same level" from the previous games. Currently at around 60 stars, definitely planning on getting 100%!

    I also went back to Animal Crossing: New Horizons after 3 months, mostly to take part in some of the Halloween events, and to check out the new features I missed, like diving and island backups. It's good to be back, such a comfy game! When it launched, I played way too much, and basically got bored of it after 150 hours. This time I'm gonna try to take it a bit slower. I'm also glad that villagers don't leave anymore if you don't play, once I found that out I was a lot more motivated to come back to the game.

    I'd like to properly design and terraform my island this time, that's something I didn't really get to. I was always overwhelmed by the task, but after reading some advice, I think I'm going to draw a quick, general design, and then start with one part of my island and branch out from there. Incrementally seems like the way to go.

    I didn't play the Pikmin 3 Deluxe Demo yet, but I'm excited to - I've never played a Pikmin game and know very little aside from watching a few trailers, but its gameplay seems like an interesting concept.

    Why do they never let you hold a button to block gyro input and reposition the controller

    Haven't played Overwatch in a while, but IIRC in the control settings you can bind a button to recentre the gyro (like in Splatoon), which should accomplish the same thing.

    2 votes
  13. Comment on What sort of software do you want to see? in ~tech

    what
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    If you're on Wayland, I think Wayfire can also do that (as well as background blur).

    If you're on Wayland, I think Wayfire can also do that (as well as background blur).

  14. Comment on What sort of software do you want to see? in ~tech

    what
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    For Matrix, I've been using Mirage, and I think it's the best native client I've used so far. It's pretty new though (still in alpha), so definitely expect some occasional bugs, but I've found it...

    For Matrix, I've been using Mirage, and I think it's the best native client I've used so far. It's pretty new though (still in alpha), so definitely expect some occasional bugs, but I've found it to have all the features I need from Element.

    As a bonus, it also works great on mobile Linux.

    4 votes
  15. Comment on Super Mario Bros 35th Anniversary Direct in ~games

    what
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    That's a good point, I wonder if the Switch's Bluetooth has enough bandwidth for webcam streaming, controlling the car, and connecting a controller, or if it has enough range to do so from a...

    But it probably needs wifi or something.

    That's a good point, I wonder if the Switch's Bluetooth has enough bandwidth for webcam streaming, controlling the car, and connecting a controller, or if it has enough range to do so from a comfortable distance.

    2 votes
  16. Comment on TietoEVRY, a software company from Finland, has developed a new font called Polite Type which uses machine learning to rewrite offensive language into more inclusive forms in ~tech

  17. Comment on Who are your favourite game developers? in ~games

    what
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    I started playing Spelunky a few days ago (only, what, 10 years too late?), and it's one of the best designed games I've ever played. I love that there's no artificial progression, it's entirely...

    I started playing Spelunky a few days ago (only, what, 10 years too late?), and it's one of the best designed games I've ever played. I love that there's no artificial progression, it's entirely based on your skills improving as you play. It feels like every mechanic has been perfectly tuned to be fair, but unforgiving. I also love how quickly you can start another run after you die, it makes this game super addicting and easy to play in short bursts. The level generation generally feels pretty spot-on, and the ghost, while a bit annoying, adds a perfect amount of urgency, and the fact that you can somewhat dodge it and drag things out adds a whole other layer to it, compared to some hard time limit.

    I've been playing on a PS Vita I got recently, and being able to have this game in my pocket at any time is amazing.

    I'm tempted to read Derek Yu's book about Spelunky, I'm really interested to hear about his ideas and process for game design, he's clearly one of the best in the industry.

    2 votes
  18. Comment on Recommendations for Android messaging app, please in ~tech

    what
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    There’s a Github issue to add RCS support to QKSMS. Last update was November: Looks like Google’s app is the only way now. Still, if you only need SMS/MMS, QKSMS is fantastic, very clean and easy...

    There’s a Github issue to add RCS support to QKSMS. Last update was November:

    I'd love to implement it as soon as it's possible to, but unfortunately we're still waiting on the public API from Google

    Looks like Google’s app is the only way now.

    Still, if you only need SMS/MMS, QKSMS is fantastic, very clean and easy to use, and it has lots of features.

    2 votes