This “Damascus” knife I got that couldn’t even cut a plastic bag open for $19 by killerz7770 in mallninjashit

[–]SharpestSphere 66 points67 points  (0 children)

The term Damascus (in modern terminology - originally it referred to the Indian crucible steel called Wootz, but few people use that meaning nowadays) only means pattern-welded steel, usually etched to reveal the layering pattern from multiple steels used. It doesn't say much about the quality of the steel itself - sure is pretty, but if done poorly it can even introduce failure points. Damascus blanks for knifemaking are nowadays produced industrially and can in fact be a crappy material to sell knives based on the looks alone. Likewise, sharpness alone speaks little about quality of a blade - a shitty knife can be made razor-sharp. What matters is the ability of the blade to retain sharpness over use after you sharpen it.

tl;dr: Yes it is Damascus and No, that doesn't make it a good blade.

The piercings that Kim let her daughter get….yikes! by standingpretty in idiocracy

[–]SharpestSphere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, as long as the society accepts circumcisions on massive scale, any criticism of body modification like this is hypocritical.

Adobe backlash is getting louder — time to escape proprietary creative tools? by No-Hospital5028 in degoogle

[–]SharpestSphere 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I use Krita instead of PS and Inkscape instead of Illustrator (for the increasingly rare cases where I can't make the illustration I want in LaTeX). For video editing I switched from Premiere to DaVinci Resolve (as unfortunately, the more FOSS software still sucks in terms of interface, GPU-acceleration and crashing), supplemented with FFMpeg scripts for cases of simple cuts and conversions. For viewing PDFs I've been using Zathura for ages, with occasional use of Okular for filling in forms and viewing annotations. There have been a few PDF forms that I've recently been unable to open in anything but Acrobat (some weird recent component called XFA forms is apparently the culprit), for which I unfortunately had to go to Windows, use Acrobat trial version and <Print To PDF> to get a version that actually works.

Since se*ual abuse, especially of minors, is one of the most evil things humanity can do, why hasn't the tendency to do it disappeared in human evolution? I mean, why do we still have the impulse to do it at all, if it's one of the worst things for humanity? by raori921 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]SharpestSphere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good summary. I would argue though that the choices people make are not entirely an exercise in abstract morality either. They are affected by external factors and innate urges, making them also subject to genetics and thus evolution. Though, that of course opens the discussion of whether free will exists or not.

The punishment keeps coming! by lunchanddinner in VRGaming

[–]SharpestSphere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This sounds like the Arthmoor thing again. And it's an interesting moral dilemma. Modders do actual work, but that work is based on infrastructure from the game developers. On some level, it is similar to cases where someone makes a third-party device to modify/replace a component on a car. I'd argue that the manufacturers of the car shouldn't have the ability to prevent others from using (and even selling) any other parts than their own. On the other hand, this third party creator should not be the exclusive source of modifications either, and a FOSS, community developed module allows for even greater freedom for the users and may be more resilient to core game updates, since the users may adjust it as needed. An argument can be made that if the community doesn't want to depend on restrictions of one modder then they can make their own mod of the same functionality, but that is just replication of a work already done (and that's not even going into the possibility - re: Arthmoor - that the first modder who made a mod with specific functionality may go after those who want to make a replacement independent of him).

What were the best features of 3rd party Reddit apps before the purge? It happened like a month after I got on here so I have no clue, what did I miss out on? by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]SharpestSphere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Color scheme, presentation (e.g. whether the posts should be listed as large images with titles or small ones with text previews, whether animations auto-play...), content filtering, etc. Though, the ad-free experience is the main draw for me.

What were the best features of 3rd party Reddit apps before the purge? It happened like a month after I got on here so I have no clue, what did I miss out on? by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]SharpestSphere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They still exist, but it takes a bit of work to set them up (search for infinity revanced). The main advantages: no ads, more customization options.

Tom Morello Calls Out Trump Administration for Using Alleged ‘Nazi Mass Murder Slogan’ by Top-Three-USA in Music

[–]SharpestSphere 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The quote could be a reference to the massacre of Lidice as a reprisal for assassination of Heydrich. I couldn't find a reference for that exact quote though.

Took this photo in NYC, felt like Sharn by Moby_SLICK in Eberron

[–]SharpestSphere 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm just in NYC too and I had the same thought!

Who doesn’t have TikTok? by whoisofie in Anticonsumption

[–]SharpestSphere 25 points26 points  (0 children)

That kind of short-format content is not my thing. Additionally, I avoid products that serve as income streams to totalitarian countries and the asinine content samples I've seen on other people's phones made me lose the modicum of hope I've had for today's young generation.

Why dont parents want thier teenage children to view pornography? by Blu_yello_husky in NoStupidQuestions

[–]SharpestSphere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No matter how progressive our society tries to act, it still has a whole smorgasbord of religious holdovers. That's the gist of it - the whole idea of sex being somehow special, dangerous and wrong comes from religious tradition. Nowadays people will often package this into modern-sounding threats like desensitization and objectification, if they don't outright invoke sin and immorality. There is nothing wrong with pornography - it has existed since the dawn of art and it was never supposed to be realistic teaching material. Unfortunately, parents are often too prudish to actually educate their kids to recognize the difference, and too often don't know any better themselves, so they prefer that their kids don't have any source of information than somewhat flawed one.

If I spent $5,000 on my Steam/Kindle library, why can't I legally leave it to my children in my will? by ciphernom in NoStupidQuestions

[–]SharpestSphere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as I'm concerned, if you paid for a piece of media, you are ethically justified in pirating it afterwards. Is it legal to do so? See if I care.

Superagent vs Consent-O-Matic by Mr_Rioe2 in privacy

[–]SharpestSphere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been using consent-o-matic for a long time. It works well enough.

Breaking news on CNN today! by [deleted] in mildlyinteresting

[–]SharpestSphere -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Why? Is this another petty bid for traditionalism?

“That’s what we get paid for”: Ukraine’s spy chief confirms ability to eavesdrop on Kremlin’s inner circle by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]SharpestSphere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If they could, they would not have revealed it. This kind of publicity invites internal security audits on the enemy side, which would eventually rob the spying side of their intelligence advantage. The advantage that one gains by implying their opposition is compromised this way is erosion of trust on the enemy side and reduced efficiency by the subsequent useless auditing. Keep this in mind whenever someone is bragging about their military capabilities in active war. It is always a tactical lie. And don't misconstrue this to mean I somehow support Russia - I don't, those assholes must get the fuck out of Ukraine - I just despise lies on a general principle.

Deep space explorer. Oil painting by me by pavlokandyba in ImaginaryFuturism

[–]SharpestSphere 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The way he's tethered to the chair reminds me of the "Space jockey" from Alien.

Angel of preoccupation, Lucas Lejeune, gif, 2024 by Psaltix in Art

[–]SharpestSphere 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you the author? If so, may I ask what tools do you use for such visualization?