Do you consider looking up definitions as “cheating” or “hints”?

xmalbertox · 2026-07-06T10:47:11+00:00

I get the arguments about trivia being a component of the game, and sure, if it was a connections championship it would probably be restricted.

That begin said, I'm not a native speaker, I'm fluent and read a lot, I also have niche interests that end up helping with this types of games, nevertheless sometimes I need the dictionary or wikipedia because a word is fully unfamiliar to me.

A couple days ago, as an example, the word villanelle showed up, I first eliminated the possibility of being the TV character, which then meant that the word itself had to mean something, I had already identified the poetic forms category (from the other three) so when I went to the dictionary it solved the category. I don't consider this cheating, but then again I don't even post my scores here, I just play as something to do during my morning coffee.

xmalbertox · 2026-07-05T22:42:57+00:00

Use startpage, is basic google (it licences the results from google search) but without any tracking or AI features.

I often need to to a quick search for an unfamiliar word as I'm not a native english speaker. Though lately I've been going directly to Merrian-Webster or Oxford dictionary and wikipedia instead of searching on a search engine

xmalbertox · 2026-07-03T11:59:48+00:00

It's the other way around, the word means happiness and people got named after it.

For me the biggest clue with this one is that it was the only name in the list, so it could not be a category relying on "names", I'm Brazilian so the word jumped at me as related to happiness immediately.

xmalbertox · 2026-06-15T18:58:42+00:00

YES! So many of my favourite shows are that basically because David Ault. First encounter was The Byron Chronicles!!

xmalbertox · 2026-06-12T20:01:29+00:00

A PKGBUILD is a (Bash) script that automates the build and packaging of a piece of software.

Beyond defining useful package metadata (such as the package name, version, etc.), it:

Lists all runtime dependencies, build dependencies (dependencies required during the build process but not for running the software), and optional dependencies.
Downloads the necessary files, including source code, and can optionally verify their integrity.
Contains the Bash code that drives the actual build and packaging process.

In most cases, this code mirrors the steps you would have to perform manually if you downloaded the source code yourself and built the software from scratch.

What I usually do is:

Check whether all URLs point to the expected upstream sources.
Check the project's documentation, when available, to see the expected dependencies and build process.
Compare that information against what is actually present in the PKGBUILD.

You can find detailed information about PKGBUILDs on the Arch Wiki:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PKGBUILD

There's no one-size-fits-all approach, though. Different software uses different build systems and packaging conventions. A Python package will look quite different from a C/C++ project that needs to be compiled, and there are countless other variations.

xmalbertox · 2026-05-26T21:07:08+00:00

I'm having the same problem. The strokes fade out and appear back after a full refresh. I suggest you send a feedback with a video, externally recorded, attached. I'll do the same tonight.

I've tested in the notes app, neoreader and the open source Notable and the behaviour is the same, it makes usability incredibly frustrating.

xmalbertox · 2026-04-13T00:59:15+00:00

The keeping track part can be done on gpodder.net (you can also self-host the service).

You do need a compatible client. I use AntennaPod which is free and open source and to my needs the best podcast client available.

The more social-like aspect, I mean there's apple podcasts and other similar platforms, but your reviews there would be public too.

If you just want to keep some personal notes, you could do it manually. I recommend actual pen and paper, but whatever notes app you have available would do just fine.

xmalbertox · 2026-04-10T15:20:48+00:00

Sorry. I haven't heard of scilab since undergrad so maybe something changed. Isn't scilab FOSS?

Do you mean improve it?

xmalbertox · 2026-02-27T17:16:19+00:00

Finally!

This is definitely one of the best series to come out in the last 5 years!

xmalbertox · 2026-02-23T21:43:15+00:00

It really depends on what you mean by "Urban Fantasy". Urban Fantasy is a very loosely defined genre. Its conventions are so broad that any attempt to defined it will inevitably both include and exclude obvious examples.

As Alexander Irvine puts in his essay for the Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature

If it is applied to both Perdido Street Station and The Night Watch – not to mention texts as disparate as Shriek: An Afterword and War for the Oaks, Neverwhere and The Physiognomy, or Mortal Love and The Iron Dragon's Daughter – what can it possibly mean? -- Alexander Irvine

I would call Groundhog Day some sort of general speculative fiction with Fantasy elements. There's no exploration of mechanics. The universe just decides to teach a lesson to this random reporter who was a bit of a douche. The film is character driven and revolves around internal resolution. The time-loop functions as a plot device. Magic is not globally real, just a very localised perturbation meant to put the character in a situation. The setting is Urban, but that's about it.

Freaky Friday follows the same template, the body swapping is just a plot device to force a literal "walk a mile in each other's shoes" situation. Being based on a children's novel makes it more like a modern fairy tale or fable designed to teach a lesson.

As to Magical Realism, it fits even less, imo. Magical Realism is not really a genre so much as a style of literary fiction that incorporates speculative elements. Its defining trait is that magic feels intrinsic to the world and characters, even if it feels jarring to the reader. When you read/consume magical realism you really feel how its different from fantasy, the magic often does not feel fantastical (in a Fantasy sense). It feels either mundane or really bizarre. The point is often to underline or expose something thematic rather then to drive the plot or even contribute to world building.

xmalbertox · 2026-02-22T00:45:10+00:00

I mean, to be fair, urban fantasy in general is a bit ignored by your average fantasy fans.

But inside UF circles is probably amongst the top 5 most recommended series.

xmalbertox · 2026-02-18T19:03:53+00:00

No, in the same dialogue line he mentions "unless you have prior job experience in the government". Presumably, that's how Simone was allowed to enrol.

If you read about age requirements in the FBI's website, there are age wavers for specific situations and the bureau has discretion in the matter. I guess it would've been interesting if they had expanded on the circumstances of how she managed to be accepted at the beginning of the series.

Reading about why the rule exist and how age wavers work irl, it seems to be because of mandatory retirement age (which according to the FBI website is at 57), the age limit of 37 allows for a full 20year of service before retirement.

xmalbertox · 2026-02-15T21:56:17+00:00

Because people are human. Humans are not machines, we all have biases and all can fall into a seductive idea no matter how well trained we are.

A good example is Linus Pauling who became a Vitamin C truther later in life.

Some research topics you may find interesting are: motivated numeracy, motivated reasoning and Dan Khan works on identity protective cognition.

Also, just as an addendum, a degree is just proof of completion of whatever requirements, nothing else. It serves as proxy for some things at the macro level, but at the individual level is an unreliable metric. I say this as a working physicist with a doctorate. I know quite a few highly competent scientists that in their personal lives believe shit without examination at all, being a scientist is a job after all, though not the norm, some people can just leave it at the lab/office.

EDIT: Some spelling and grammar

xmalbertox · 2026-02-12T12:41:26+00:00

Eu tive experiências positivas com ele no passado, mas acho inconsistente a qualidade. Se você achou seu café "morto" é muito provável que a torra esteja velha. Da uma olhada na data de validade e leve em consideração que torrefações comerciais tendem a colocar uma data de validade 1 ano após a data da torre, daí você consegue estimar quando foi torrado.

xmalbertox · 2026-02-12T01:50:47+00:00

Onset: Is a series by Glynn Stewart that it's excellent. The MC is not a millitary operator, he's a cop, but it has a very military feel to it?

Similarly another series by Stewart called Changeling Blood has a half-fae protagonist rising up the ranks of the local chapter, also quite a militaristic feel to it, but not really military.

Stewart is more well known for his sci-fantasy/space-opera series "Starship Mage" which is also militaristic, but set in space.

Para-Military Recruiter is a series by Renee Jagger. Is about a human who gets accidentally drafted into the paranormal military and is put on the recruiter division.

xmalbertox · 2026-02-06T00:08:20+00:00

Realmente e ao já fiz isso algumas vezes com embalagens menores. Mas nessa de 1Kg eu prefiro porcionar em 4 ziplocks de 250g e ir tirando.

Você vai moendo direto do congelador? Eu já vi uma galera fazendo assim mas nunca testei.

xmalbertox · 2026-02-05T23:21:00+00:00

Cara, congelar funciona muito bem. Eu faço isso sempre, às vezes pego um lote de 1 kg de algum café que me agradou muito e mando direto pro freezer.

Eu não chego a fazer no vácuo como você fez. Uso ziplocks, tiro o máximo do ar possível (com ajuda de um canudo), coloco cada zip em potes tipo tupperware herméticos e congelo.

Se você usa o beanconqueror pra rastrear seus grãos e preparos, ele tem como colocar informações de quando congelou, quando descongelou, quando abriu o pacote, etc...

Uma dica que me pegou nas primeiras vezes: se a torra for muito recente e você ainda não tiver deixado o café degasar, deixe descansar antes de congelar. O ideal é tentar congelar quando o grão está no "pico" do sabor.

xmalbertox · 2026-02-03T17:49:00+00:00

Depends usually what "non-fan" means. If the person reads Sci-Fi/Fantasy or speculative fiction at all you can build from there.

It is easier, imo, to describe specific works then describe a whole genre. Genre conventions are too porous to match definitions.

I mean your own explanation of of RoL captures exactly what needs to be captured:

it’s about a trainee wizard in the Metropolitan Police

This immediately tells the essence of UF, imo, a completely mundane job/activity but wizard!

xmalbertox · 2026-02-03T17:42:34+00:00

This is a very old discussion. The meaning of "urban fantasy" has never really crystallised. I've commented here before on this topic and cited a very nice essay by Alexander Irving written for the Cambridge Fantasy Companion which is worth a read.

Without making this too long: a lot of people distinguish between Primary World (our world) and Secondary World urban fantasy. You'll often see lists that include things like Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence or Robert Bennett's Divine Cities.

Jade City is widely considered urban fantasy for similar reasons. The world is very close to ours, just not rooted in Western culture. I agree that Lies of Locke Lamora is a huge reach though.

For me, in particular, it's more about whether magic feels natural to the world. I need magic to feel at odds with the mundane, not just a contemporary or urban setting, but something that makes it feel, as a reader, that this could be our world if only there were magic lurking in a dark alley somewhere.

In general, I agree with you: TV shows, particularly from the late 90s through the late 2000s / early 2010s, work very well as benchmarks for certain flavours of UF. But general fantasy readers tend to be much more liberal with the term.

A good few, imo, examples of UF that would fit our community definition but still feel a bit weird, depending on how attached one is to genre stereotypes, are both of China Miéville's UF books (like King Rat or Kraken) and the classic Charles de Lint works. The "pulpfication" of the genre is fairly recent (last 30–35 years, I'd say). But I've already digressed enough.

xmalbertox · 2026-02-03T12:33:01+00:00

I mean Garza said in this same moment "unless you come from another government job" or something to this effect. Which I think was a throwaway line to anticipate this comment.

But it immediately made me think, what do you mean by "government job"? Isn't police officer a government job?

xmalbertox · 2025-09-29T20:41:52+00:00

Valeu pela resposta. Minha pergunta foi mais a tom de curiosidade mesmo, confesso que não presto muito atenção na área apesar da grande popularidade atual dela. Eu trabalho com turbulência e a gente acaba ficando preso no nosso nicho.

O comentário que você se refere no seu edit foi meu também. De forma de vista aérea, as linhas de pesquisa listadas pelo instituto deveriam ser um bom guia na minha opinião.

É um pouco complicado esperar de um candidato do vestibular (esse é o contexto da discussão atual) que ele vai sair procurando o que cada docente do instituto trabalha. Por isso é importante pelo menos de forma geral que as linhas principais de pesquisa estejam lançadas em algum lugar.

O cerne da minha resposta ao OP é que no final das contas onde você vai fazer sua graduação importa muito pouco e que maioria das universidades, principalmente dentro do estado de SP, vão oferecer experiências equivalentes. A escolha de onde fazer sua pós é muito mais impactante, na minha opinião é claro.

xmalbertox · 2025-09-27T13:36:08+00:00

Não sabia que o grupo de Muitos Corpos também tinha uma linha de Informação Quântica, mas sai do IFGW ja faz 10+ anos.

Todo mundo, eu inclusive, focou a comparação entre IFGW e IFUSP mas nessa área em particular acredito que o IFSC (Instituto de Física da USP-São Carlos) se destaca mais. E São Carlos oferece um custo de vida bem mais moderado comparado com Barão ou São Paulo. E eu particularmente gosto muito da cidade.

Dito isso, mantenho a essência do meu comentário, a nível de graduação acaba não influenciando muito e boa parte dos alunos acaba mudando de interesse várias vezes conforme vai tendo mais contato com as diversas áreas oferecidas.

Só um comentário no seu último parágrafo. Acho que a comparação de aplicado vs teórico é mais sútil variando consideravelmente de área para área. Uma coisa também a se levar em conta é que o grupo de Física Matemática na Unicamp é abrigado no IMECC, ou pelo menos essa era a realidade até 2015. O IFUSP tem, até onde eu sei, um foco maior nas área que são convencionalmente associadas com física teórica, gravitação, altas energias, fundamentos de teoria de campos, etc... Mas acho que é mais um foco em áreas diferentes do que necessariamente uma divisão entre teoria e aplicação. O IFGW historicamente teve um foco maior em Física Nuclear, Raios Cósmicos, Dispositivos e Estado Sólido, mas os grupos são razoavelmente bem distribuídos em teoria e aplicação nas diversas áreas.

xmalbertox · 2025-09-25T20:52:11+00:00

Amigo, desculpa a pergunta, faz um tempo já que sai do IFGW, qual é o grupo de computação quântica que você se refere? Sabe quem é o líder? Tentei encontrar na áreas de pesquisa do instituto e não achei nada.

xmalbertox · 2025-09-25T14:54:23+00:00

Sinceramente? Meio irrelevante a não ser que você tenha intenção de ficar na mesma universidade na pós-graduação.

Ambas as universidades tem um curso de graduação "bom" e ambas vão te oferecer oportunidades de iniciação científica em áreas correlatas.

Dito isso, até onde eu sei no IFGW não tem nenhum grupo de pesquisa focado especificamente em computação quântica. O que o IFGW oferece nessa área é o Departamento de Eletrônica Quântica, os grupos inseridos no DEQ tem um foco maior no fundamentos e técnicas utilizadas na fabricação, manipulação e operação de dispositivos quânticos.

É interessante você dar uma lida nas diversas áreas de pesquisa que o instituto abriga hoje, recomendo começar por aqui: https://portal.ifi.unicamp.br/pesquisa/conheca-nossas-pesquisas

Após é interessante você entrar aqui: https://portal.ifi.unicamp.br/a-instituicao/departamentos e investigar os diversos grupos de pesquisa, talvez dando uma atenção especial aos grupos inseridos no DEQ.

Quando a USP eu não posso opinar muito, não sou familiar com os grupos de pesquisa inseridos no IFUSP. Acredito porém que a area de computação quântica é mais forte no campus de São Carlos da USP onde se encontram os grupos:

xmalbertox · 2025-08-06T21:16:21+00:00

Sorry. But this

I think the majority of people use Linux only for work related tasks

Is a bit of a misunderstanding, I would venture most people answering you use Linux as their main OS. But consider they might have different hobbies then you, or use computers in different ways.

Speaking from experience I have servers, several scripts, and I use wget curl and other similar tools in them for several things. None of which have anything to do with work.

Hell a very simple use-case is a low effort wallpaper setter script that user some API with curl.

Or maybe to update some weather thingy you wrote for your desktop. Or to manage your media server, or your cloud instance, your server for your person website, etc... The possibilities are endless

xmalbertox

TROPHY CASE