• 12 Posts
  • 69 Comments
Joined 4 years ago
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Cake day: June 30th, 2020

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  • Okay, can I hijack this thread to ask the question from some fellow coffee enthusiasts: Do decaf beans actually tend to suck? I would be interested in a decaf or half-caff blend but curious what the connoisseurs think… and sorry no I haven’t searched for a post on this in the community so feel free to downvote the crap out of me / take mercy on me and link one of it exists…






  • FrankLaskeytoAsk Lemmy@lemmy.worldAre there good uses for the blockchain?
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    29 days ago

    I believe alternative methods of validating blocks (series of transactions) such as Proof-of-stake, instead of the vastly more computation and energy-intensive proof-of-work that Bitcoin uses would largely address the issue of computational expense. There are other methods of increasing efficiency and speed of processing as well such as the use of more efficient ‘layer 2’ mechanisms for processing blocks. I remember reading about these and their implementation when I was researching cryptocurrencies out of curiosity. I believe Ethereum and some others have largely implemented these. The decentralized applications aspect of Eth was super interesting to me as well. Basically, you can program software to run on the blockchain which can make it nearly impossible to shut down by a centralized authority so long as the network is sufficiently decentralized. Some of the programmable money (so-called decentralized finance or ‘DeFi’) apps are pretty interesting as well in terms of enabling more people to utilize the more complex financial instruments that Wall Street firms have been using for years. Of course, a lot of that has turned into a Wild West of scams and ‘rug pulls’, not to mention massive targets for hackers who try to exploit vulnerabilities to steal millions so buyer beware for sure.











  • As a ‘front page of the internet’ it has been a pretty great replacement for me as it’s where I go each day to just see what’s going on. However, due to the smaller size you do lose a lot of the activity in more niche communities and the sheer volume of posts/comments compared to Reddit. That’s the biggest downside. Still, you also lose the incessant ads/bad UI/UX decisions and ever accelerating late stage capitalism driven enshittification so that’s a big plus.



  • I think the point about the 3 year upgrade cycle being optimal unless you are a real enthusiast is right on the money. I’d say I’m moderately interested in tech improvements in this space and it seems ideal for me as I will be considering an upgrade from an iPhone 13 Pro (likely informed by how gimmicky or actually useful the Apple Intelligence stuff becomes and if I can offload my ChatGPT Pro subscription). If you’re really not a huge phone tech person or looking for the best camera quality then every 4 years is probably completely reasonable as well. At that point, the battery life is probably starting to suffer as well…



  • What a well-timed and interesting video. I just saw my doctor earlier today and we discussed medications to address my anxiety which appears to be exacerbated or induced by ADHD. He told me about the difficulties getting stimulant drugs and ended up prescribing bupropion (Wellbutrin) instead partly due to this issue. He did not make any mention of the role that the DEA or the profiteering of drug companies has apparently played in this situation.



  • FrankLaskeytoPrivacyMullvad VPN or Proton VPN?
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    5 months ago

    Or you already use Proton Mail / Drive etc and want to save a bit of money with Proton Unlimited at 9.99 EUR/USD / mo. That’s why I switched from Mullvad. I do agree that overall though Mullvad is the best in terms of trustworthiness (so far as we know anyway)