BeardyHat's recent activity

  1. Comment on Weather forecast is for extreme heat in Europe. Heat related deaths are expected. in ~enviro

    BeardyHat
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    As a Denverite who was just in Chicago the last week: I am so thankful for our dry heat. In Chicago, I'm sweating in the shade and it's just not going away and I'm just...hot all the time and...

    As a Denverite who was just in Chicago the last week: I am so thankful for our dry heat.

    In Chicago, I'm sweating in the shade and it's just not going away and I'm just...hot all the time and cannot breathe. Yuck.

    5 votes

  2. Comment on How did you ruin a game for yourself? in ~games

    BeardyHat
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    Just recently, I ruined Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 by going on a trip. I didn't really have a choice in the trip and it had occurred to me that I shouldn't start playing the game until after my...

    Just recently, I ruined Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 by going on a trip.

    I didn't really have a choice in the trip and it had occurred to me that I shouldn't start playing the game until after my trip, because this could happen, but yup, here we are. I played about 30-hours leading up to my trip and then on my trip itself, had no time or interest in playing much of anything. I did jump back in to Transport Fever 2 during the trip when I had a bit of downtime, but upon returning home, I have zero motivation to play KCD2 and instead have jumped back into my 130-hour play of Transport Fever 2 still.

    I'm disappointed, because I bought the game several months ago and saved it for when I felt ready to start, which I did two weeks ago. Now, I'm just sick of it. I don't want to listen to people talk, I don't want to explore anything, I'm just bored.

    5 votes

  3. Comment on That dropped call with customer service? It was on purpose. (gifted link) in ~life

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    Excellent, thanks. Far as I've been able to determine with some quick searching, looks like it's first initial/last name (no dots) . @enterprise.com So I collected what I would think would be the...

    Excellent, thanks.

    Far as I've been able to determine with some quick searching, looks like it's first initial/last name (no dots) . @enterprise.com

    So I collected what I would think would be the entire executive management team and I'm quite tempted to draft an email and shoot it off and cross my fingers. As for my end game? I guess I'm not sure. Maybe just a refund would be sufficient, as I really didn't appreciate what happened and the constant evasiveness from the customer service team.

    5 votes

  4. Comment on That dropped call with customer service? It was on purpose. (gifted link) in ~life

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    At this point, I've already been on the phone for hours and it's gotten me nowhere. I'm not sure what my win condition is; previously I just wanted to get rid of this car that smelled like smoke...

    At this point, I've already been on the phone for hours and it's gotten me nowhere. I'm not sure what my win condition is; previously I just wanted to get rid of this car that smelled like smoke and was making me allergic as fuck. Now it's not in my life anymore, so I'm happy about that.

    But otherwise? I'm just kind of annoyed about it now and that no one would do anything for me. A refund would be cool, but honestly the bigger win would just be harassing some fuckface corporate executive.

    5 votes

  5. Comment on That dropped call with customer service? It was on purpose. (gifted link) in ~life

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    I wonder if I should try this approach with Enterprise Rent A Car. I just had a terrible experience with them and got fobbed off repeatedly over two days and many phone calls. I finally got a tiny...

    I wonder if I should try this approach with Enterprise Rent A Car. I just had a terrible experience with them and got fobbed off repeatedly over two days and many phone calls. I finally got a tiny refund upon returning the car, but I'm still pretty annoyed about the entire experience and I'm tempted to make myself a pain in the ass, just so they don't win.

    But it's also a hassle to do so and the experience is past now, so I'm not sure I want to go to the effort.

    11 votes

  6. Comment on TikTok is being flooded with racist AI videos generated by Google’s Veo 3 in ~tech

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    I'm probably talking out of my ass here, but I feel like text is only going to become more and more niche, especially in "social media form" if that's what we consider Tildes. In it becoming more...

    I'm probably talking out of my ass here, but I feel like text is only going to become more and more niche, especially in "social media form" if that's what we consider Tildes. In it becoming more niche, it likely won't attract this kind of thing.

    We'll see.

    11 votes

  7. Comment on The 2025 Steam Summer Sale is live (runs June 26 - July 10) in ~games

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    I'm exactly the same when it comes to both XCOM and Wildermyth. Wildermyth was not impressive or engaging in the slightest to me, though I really wanted it to be.

    I'm exactly the same when it comes to both XCOM and Wildermyth.

    Wildermyth was not impressive or engaging in the slightest to me, though I really wanted it to be.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Parenting is not just for pronatalists: the progressive case for raising kids in ~society

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    Conversely, as a parent, you can realize that the world is going in a direction you don't want your kids to deal with, so you can protest even more. I'm a hetero white dude, my kids are white,...
    • Exemplary

    Conversely, as a parent, you can realize that the world is going in a direction you don't want your kids to deal with, so you can protest even more.

    I'm a hetero white dude, my kids are white, we've got the easy life. But I've protested more as a parent than I ever did as a childless person; I want my kids to know that everyone deserves our respect, everyone deserves rights and everyone is a human being.

    They ask, "why do we have to go to this protest?" and I tell em straight up, that there are people in power who look like us, but hate people that don't and so we're out there to fight for them, because they may not be able to.

    I'm not fighting for my own rights, I'm gonna be ok.

    19 votes

  9. Comment on Satisfiers vs maximizers in ~talk

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    I would also say I straddle both worlds and it's all dependent on how much money I'm spending, at least, when it comes to purchases. I agonized over a "new" (still used) laptop for several months...

    I would also say I straddle both worlds and it's all dependent on how much money I'm spending, at least, when it comes to purchases.

    I agonized over a "new" (still used) laptop for several months until finally deciding on what I actually wanted. I wrote out long lists and detailed thoughts on the process.

    However, I just spent $120 on a new battery charger for my RC batteries. I poked around for about 15 minutes, figured out which one had the features I wanted and likely wouldn't bloat my batteries and then went bought it. So far, it's been great.

    But, I've also been married to my wife for 13 years now, dating for 17 and she was kind of a, "Eh, this will due." for me and I was the same for her. We liked each other well enough when we met and there were some certain things I really liked about her that made me want to keep hanging with her (her sharp wit and sarcasm) and again, she felt the same about me. We certainly were both "Satisfied" with each other (or would you call it settling?), but now I can't imagine ever being with anyone else. If she died tomorrow, I likely would never date again.

    5 votes

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

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    I played entirely on Deck and I honestly don't recall any readability issues. I have a poor memory, so I may be wrong here, but I think a torch helps in the low light situations and I also recall...

    I played entirely on Deck and I honestly don't recall any readability issues. I have a poor memory, so I may be wrong here, but I think a torch helps in the low light situations and I also recall doing a decent amount of sneaking, if I remember right, to scout ahead, so as not to be surprised by any encounters.

    2 votes

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

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    Skald is one of my favorite games of recent times. I picked it up during a trip last year and absolutely couldn't put it down until I finished it.

    Skald is one of my favorite games of recent times. I picked it up during a trip last year and absolutely couldn't put it down until I finished it.

    1 vote

  12. Comment on I need advice, which laptop would you buy now? in ~tech

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    Do you mean from Lenovo direct? Just curious, as I have had no trouble buying parts for my various ThinkPads over the years and recently purchased a new battery for my P1 Gen 4. The stuff hasn't...

    Do you mean from Lenovo direct? Just curious, as I have had no trouble buying parts for my various ThinkPads over the years and recently purchased a new battery for my P1 Gen 4.

    The stuff hasn't come from Lenovo itself, but that also hasn't been an issue either.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on Steam Deck and SteamOS hit 20,000 playable games in ~games

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    This right here. I got the original Steam Controller, still have it (and actually, a buddy just gave me a brand new in box one because he never even opened it) and it was an interesting curiosity,...

    This right here.

    I got the original Steam Controller, still have it (and actually, a buddy just gave me a brand new in box one because he never even opened it) and it was an interesting curiosity, but I ended-up not messing with it much.

    But having the Deck and playing with the configurability, I'm not sure I could ever go back. I often play Vanilla World of Warcraft on my Deck and I have my controls so heavily customized, it's just not something you could do on a normal controller, even with Steam Input. The Steam Input, plus the touchpads are just the cherry on top and open-up so many possibilities for controlling games.

    I actually should go back to my Steam Controller and try using it a little bit more. I pick it up here and there, but it would make gaming on my laptop or Desktop with a controller so much better since it's damn near a M&KB unto itself.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on Generals Zero Hour vs Red Alert 2 in ~games

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    I struggled to get into OpenRA. It thought it could be a new obsession for me, but the changes made to it just throw me off and I ended-up not really appreciating them. I enjoy the predictability...

    I struggled to get into OpenRA. It thought it could be a new obsession for me, but the changes made to it just throw me off and I ended-up not really appreciating them.

    I enjoy the predictability of the original AI, which I think is why I call it my cozy game. Though, I admit I did install an AI mod for RA in the hopes of changing things-up, but I haven't really played since then, as I haven't gotten the itch back yet.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Steam Deck and SteamOS hit 20,000 playable games in ~games

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    Definitely, but it can be done pretty well with some tweaking on the Deck. I do prefer a M&KB for most of those things, but a lot of the time I just want to play on a handheld and not use my big...

    Definitely, but it can be done pretty well with some tweaking on the Deck. I do prefer a M&KB for most of those things, but a lot of the time I just want to play on a handheld and not use my big laptop or sit at my desk.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Where do you go to veg out online? in ~tech

    BeardyHat
    Link
    Reddit usually, but to specific subreddits. Usually for whatever aspect of one of my hobbies specifically interests me at the moment. I don't do it much, maybe 10 or 15 minutes every couple of...

    Reddit usually, but to specific subreddits. Usually for whatever aspect of one of my hobbies specifically interests me at the moment.

    I don't do it much, maybe 10 or 15 minutes every couple of days, but it's low impact and easy. Reddit is so frustrating to use and riddled with ads these days that is impossible for me to really get sucked into it, so it works great for me.

    7 votes

  17. Comment on Do you like being thrifty? in ~talk

    BeardyHat
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    My Mom is fairly thrifty and I feel similarly. I always look to see if I can find something used first before I spend new money on it, though I buy new things when I can't find it used or at a...

    My Mom is fairly thrifty and I feel similarly. I always look to see if I can find something used first before I spend new money on it, though I buy new things when I can't find it used or at a reasonable used price.

    I just recently bought a New battery charger for my RC batteries, because used stock was limited and prices of those used things were within $10 or so.

    But otherwise, I buy used electronics all the time, my cars are used and I take pride in repairing them myself; I fix everything I'm capable of fixing and try to buy used when I can.

    5 votes

  18. Comment on Steam Deck and SteamOS hit 20,000 playable games in ~games

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    I've found the opposite, weirdly. I've been a PC gamer for 30 years now, taught myself M/KB around 1997ish with Action Quake when I realized I really needed it to be on the level. Now I've had my...

    I've found the opposite, weirdly. I've been a PC gamer for 30 years now, taught myself M/KB around 1997ish with Action Quake when I realized I really needed it to be on the level.

    Now I've had my Deck for 3 years and I'm using a controller for almost everything I can. Was just playing Kingdom Come 2 on my main PC today and using a controller for it...

    Obviously that doesn't answer your question, but it depends on what you're in to playing. Some stuff I've loved on Deck:

    1. Resident Evil 7

    2. Pentiment

    3. Skald: Against the Black Priory

    4. Felvidek

    5. Stalker: Remaster

    Just to be name a few. I do get what you mean though and I do still play pure FPS games, such as Cultic with a keyboard and mouse. Snapping off those headshots is just really damn important and I can feel frustrated trying to get them on Deck.

    That said, I did play the entirety of Half-Life and Black Mesa on Deck with the intention of getting better at using it for shooters and that definitely helped. Don't forget you can adjust the sensitivity of the Trackpads via the Deck interface which I discovered helped immensely. I typically turn off Gyro because I find it annoying, but I fine tune that mouse sensitivity until it feels like I'm snapping off headshots pretty well.

    6 votes

  19. Comment on Why your favourite British metal bands are breaking up in ~music

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    I'm curious if this is reflective of the US experience. Here we have tons of tiny venues for bands to play, even medium sized ones (probably about 300ish people) the next level up (which is where...

    I'm curious if this is reflective of the US experience. Here we have tons of tiny venues for bands to play, even medium sized ones (probably about 300ish people) the next level up (which is where "huge" bands like Opeth, Gojira and Devin Townsend play") and then of course your various sizes of stadiums. I'm sure costs are similar, but it also seems like many bands have their own vehicles, whether that's a basic car/SUV or a van, given you can find these things for (relatively) cheap here.

    I'm sure the struggle is similar, but I do wonder how it varies from county to county. My brother in law has a band that plays the metal venues and they have yet to make any cash, simply doing it for love of the music and creation. But they're a bunch of single dudes, so it's much easier for them to cope with the time and the expense of it all.

    2 votes

  20. Comment on Generals Zero Hour vs Red Alert 2 in ~games

    BeardyHat
    Link Parent
    Yup, that's exactly where I sit. I just want to turtle up and then crank out a bunch of units and crush the AI with little resistance; a good ole Comp Stomp. Red Alert skirmish is what I'd call my...

    Yup, that's exactly where I sit. I just want to turtle up and then crank out a bunch of units and crush the AI with little resistance; a good ole Comp Stomp. Red Alert skirmish is what I'd call my "cozy game."

    4 votes