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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 4th, 2023

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  • These answers are all really fun but I didn’t see anyone point out one thing: why should we assume that our creators’ “computer” architecture is anything remotely similar to our technology? I’m thinking of something like SETI—We can’t just assume that all other life is carbon-based (though evidently it’s a pretty good criterion). The simulation could be running on some kind of dark matter machine or some other exotic material that we don’t even know about.

    Personally I don’t subscribe to the simulation theory. But if it were true, why would the system have any kind of limitation? I feel like if it can simulate everything from galactic superclusters down to strings vibrating in Planck Time, there are effectively no limits.

    Then again, infinity is quite a monster, so what do I know?


  • I used to date a girl who was a psychology major. She was studying behavioral psychology so ever since those days, I’ve respected and appreciated the people who dedicate their careers to understanding the brain.

    I’ve figured out the water example on my own after getting a water bottle for work. It started out more as a “I don’t want people to judge me for being a soda fiend, so I should ‘fall in line’” kind of deal, but now I really don’t crave soda at work. Unfortunately at home it’s like a switch gets flipped to “drink sugar now”, but I’m working on it. At least I’m getting lots of water at work. I’m gonna look into the links you provided and see if it helps. Thank you!



  • Wow, thank you for this awesome write-up! You didn’t need to go so out of your way to teach a stranger, but I appreciate the heck out of it.

    I never would have thought this could work with cats, or any kind of behavioral conditioning for that matter. It’s the exact thing I would expect from a dog-training regimen. Regardless, I’ll give it a shot. I think I’ll see great results from the one who used to be right behind my heels wherever I would go at home. She still adores all attention, but she’s a little more independent now 😊

    Thanks again for the tips! You’ll have a share of the credit for any future snoot boops.



  • Freeplane is such an amazing mind mapping program, as long as you have some patience for learning it. I had never heard of it until maybe a year ago when I downloaded it. It’s FOSS!

    There are so many ways you can relate ideas to each other and lay out details. Plus it lets you embed internal or external links, images, and probably other types of media; I haven’t gotten around to exploring all the features yet. And it also supports add-ons made by the community to extend its already broad functionality.

    I’m currently using it to plan my dream video game, and it has been a priceless source of continued inspiration. I have pretty bad ADHD, but using this software has helped me stay motivated and ambitious. I used to get overwhelmed and turned off while navigating my huge plaintext thought-vomit notes. I swear this isn’t an ad, as much as it sounds like one 😂



  • PSO is such a gem from the Dreamcast / Gamecube days… There’s something about the whole experience that I can’t really explain or recommend to someone who didn’t grow up with it. For instance, tying your attacks to a certain rhythm would be a game design sin nowadays, unless it’s core to the entire concept (shout out to Chroma, what a fun alpha that was!). But it oozes early-00’s charm in every aspect. And that OST!

    I still hop on to Ephinea at least once a month because there’s still a lot of stuff I’ve yet to achieve. I’ll find my Heaven Punisher yet 😤

    I played some of the English fan patch of PSO2 back when all the US players were on the SEA server. I thought it was pretty good, but obviously vastly different from the original. Then a few months ago I got curious and looked up recent gameplay. There’s basically nothing that can tie it to the first one, and even on its own, it’s utterly hollow and soulless. Watched someone just float in the air for several minutes killing hundreds of weird enemies wave after wave. Where’s the fun in that? At least back in 2012-ish, PSE bursts brought some exciting moments. This video was just constant “action” with no ramp-up. Pure mobile gaming type garbage.

    I’m sure nobody is down here after my ranting, but if you are, and you like games with a charming aesthetic and a slow-burn progression, definitely give PSO Blue Burst a try. It’s 100% free with 0 microtransactions, and it’s wholly run by fans. I don’t really interact with the rest of the community, but from the POV of a forum lurker, they’re all good people.

    I don’t often get to gush (pun not intended) about one of my favorite games ever. Can you tell? 😁


  • For what it’s worth, you have this stranger’s full support. It’s extremely important to exercise your voice when dealing with bullshit like what YouTube is doing, and it saddens me to see so many people complain about YT / Netflix / whoever else walking all over them, while folding like wet paper and handing over their money.

    I understand that people with families can’t just tell their kids why they can’t enjoy the same shows their friends do… But even some of my single friends who pirate some things will still happily bend over for, say, Disney+.

    Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for sticking to your guns and actually treating YT like the pile of garbage it’s becoming. I’ll be right there with you if the ads become unavoidable, even if abandoning it is an extremely difficult long-term exercise. I left reddit in the rearview and YT will be no different.