Oxalis's recent activity
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Comment on The Goya paintings you aren't supposed to look at in ~arts
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Comment on What video games have had you taking real-life notes? in ~games
Oxalis Link ParentI can totally understand it. When I first heard about the game I ragged on it for being 500 of the same puzzle. I don't really know what changed in my mind to actually try it out and have it...I can totally understand it. When I first heard about the game I ragged on it for being 500 of the same puzzle.
I don't really know what changed in my mind to actually try it out and have it click; It might have been someone showing me a clip of how the perspective puzzles work, especially the one at the very beginning. (huge spoilers if you haven't played)That said, you might enjoy the free puzzle/satire game "The Looker". It's a short experience that pokes fun at Blow's pretentious presentation and how obtuse you have to get when you try to make hundreds of variations on the same idea.
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Comment on What video games have had you taking real-life notes? in ~games
Oxalis Link ParentBook of Hours (BoH) is such a wonderful experience. I put far too many hours into their previous title Cultist Simulator (CS) too. I love how those two games intertwine; thematically CS is about...Book of Hours (BoH) is such a wonderful experience. I put far too many hours into their previous title Cultist Simulator (CS) too. I love how those two games intertwine; thematically CS is about the execution of specific rituals for a personal goal of some sort whereas BoH is concerned with the entire world that created/discovered those rituals and the tomes they generated.
Both feed into one another and give the world and mythos that the solo writer/programmer has been building for over a decade such life.
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Comment on What video games have had you taking real-life notes? in ~games
Oxalis (edited )LinkI tend to judge puzzle games on how many pages of notes they generate. It's not a perfect metric but if I felt that it was worth writing down things, then that means I was engaged. It doesn't help...I tend to judge puzzle games on how many pages of notes they generate. It's not a perfect metric but if I felt that it was worth writing down things, then that means I was engaged. It doesn't help that I find that scribbling down things helps the process sometimes. Even if it's just to offload some concepts onto paper.
So far, The Witness takes the cake by a large margin. I have an entire notebook of scribbles that look like the scrawlings of a mad man.
Titles like Myst, Cultist Simulator, the Faraway series, Minit, Outer Wilds, Quern, and the Puzzle Agent series are all in another notebook. Some of these games consist of puzzles that can be helped with visuals on paper (Myst, Puzzle Agent, Faraway, Quern). Others are more for notes to keep what you've learned around for later use (Minit, Cultist, Outer Wilds). They're all wonderful titles, just not as expansive in scope as Blow's 100+ hour line puzzle fest.
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Comment on Open-source self-hosted Google photos alternative in ~tech
Oxalis (edited )LinkI personally use PhotoPrism since it has a nice responsive UI, can handle collections in the tens of thousands of photos/videos, and supports tagging along with albums. Here's the demo:...I personally use PhotoPrism since it has a nice responsive UI, can handle collections in the tens of thousands of photos/videos, and supports tagging along with albums.
Here's the demo: https://demo.photoprism.app/library/browse
It's worth noting that it does have a somewhat annoyingly gimped FOSS tier versus monthly-supported tiers and they admit that their face detection system has a hard time with children and "Asian-looking faces"
Additionally, the devs have been dragging their feet on adding core features like bulk metadata editing for over 4 years now. At least it's now funded and on their kanban board as a "priority" feature.
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Comment on Some observations about some of the conversations here in ~tildes
Oxalis Link ParentI was wondering where BeanBurrito's opinion was coming from. Turns out his entire Tildes content bubble is exactly aligned within my small tag blocklist. So far I only see mostly positive,...I was wondering where BeanBurrito's opinion was coming from. Turns out his entire Tildes content bubble is exactly aligned within my small tag blocklist.
So far I only see mostly positive, constructive, and interesting dialog here but then again that's what happens when you remove topics that are nothing but incubators for extreme polarization and rhetorical nastiness.
Sometimes you just have to accept that you can't change how people emotionally interact with political dialog and just focus on personally staying abreast of the happenings without seeking opinion from the commons. i.e. read the articles from trusted/varied sources and never read the comments.
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Comment on Into the Tubi-verse in ~tv
Oxalis LinkThe boys from Red Letter Media have a video about the rabbit hole of low budget "clickbait" movies that clog FAST services like Tubi and Vudu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeMadjM0ZZIThe boys from Red Letter Media have a video about the rabbit hole of low budget "clickbait" movies that clog FAST services like Tubi and Vudu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeMadjM0ZZI
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tildes
Oxalis LinkI'll trade a small but high-signal community for the inverse any day of the week. Tildes is way over Dunbar's Number for creating a tight knit feeling but if I had to describe the aggregate...I'll trade a small but high-signal community for the inverse any day of the week. Tildes is way over Dunbar's Number for creating a tight knit feeling but if I had to describe the aggregate "entity" that I imagine the tildes userbase to be I'd say that you are are varied, thoughtful, and much more genuine in your expression than the rest of the net.
If tildes pushed harder into growing the userbase I worry we'd end up with the abusive snark, low effort noise, and harmful groupthink that makes spaces like hackernews 1 or slashdot just awful to be around.
Advertising openly would ruin this tenuous harmony for sure but I do feel that invites to people that you know would keep the quality high since each invite would be shared to those that have been casually vetted by the invitee.
I got my invite via a thread in a difficult-to-join community that made sure to set a tone of "only join if you value interacting with an exemplary community" which precluded any expectations of shitposting or slinging pithy no thought one-liners in the typical reddit style. This is a good thing, IMO and I hope others that share invites provide similar introductions.
So in my opinion if anyone is looking for marching orders to help Tildes thrive, offer out your invites to people you trust and enjoy chatting with already!
- Another "reddit clone" for the ycombinator startup & larger tech community.
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Comment on What are some of your favorite PlayStation 1 games? Any odd or unique ones worth playing? in ~games
Oxalis (edited )LinkIt's worth mentioning the number of amazing fan-translated PSX games that have been released over the last few years. Unless you were in Japan and spoke the language, these titles were never...It's worth mentioning the number of amazing fan-translated PSX games that have been released over the last few years. Unless you were in Japan and spoke the language, these titles were never available for English players despite being really interesting.
Here's a shortlist of some that I've enjoyed (that just all happen to be from the same translation team):
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Racing Lagoon - A blend of RPG story and progression with Racing game play, creating an experience that feels ahead of its time and still unmatched today in many respects. It is perhaps most known for its moody 90’s aesthetic and jazzy soundtrack.
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Aconcagua - An adventure game set in the aftermath of a plane crash in the Andes. It has a cast of unique characters that you can switch between as you all try to survive the frozen wilds of a frozen mountaintop in what can be described as a playable action movie.
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b.l.u.e. Legend of Water - I love water exploration games like Abzu, Ecco, and Subnautica. This game scratched that itch and brought with it some zany PSX story and a unique dolphin AI system.
EDIT: Aw dang, these were already mentioned. Oh well, hopefully the links will make it easier to get access to the patches for those that are interested in new-to-you PSX games.
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Comment on What do baking soda and baking powder do? in ~food
Oxalis LinkATK did the exact same demo and topic a while back for Dan's Food Science series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMBegZ4HQvk I know J. Kenji López-Alt used to be an employee of theirs so it's a...ATK did the exact same demo and topic a while back for Dan's Food Science series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMBegZ4HQvk
I know J. Kenji López-Alt used to be an employee of theirs so it's a bit weird but I guess there's no harm in redoing a chemistry demonstration.
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Comment on Playtron’s wildly ambitious gaming OS aims to unite stores, lure “core casuals” in ~games
Oxalis Link Parentfrom the article They had a round of crypto-focused VC wooing that netted them funding from blockchain companies Plychain (cheap and shitty crypto pokemon knockoff, FEEL THE RUSH), Mysten Labs...from the article
Also, there are crypto-focused investors and a mention of offering crypto-based game purchases, though Playtron may also not have a store at all.
They had a round of crypto-focused VC wooing that netted them funding from blockchain companies Plychain (cheap and shitty crypto pokemon knockoff, FEEL THE RUSH), Mysten Labs (proof-of-stake plumbing, buzzword fest), CMT Digital (general crypto investment firm. The hip new wing of a much larger traditional firm), Sui (cryptocurrency, "Players own assets, creators manage royalties"), and Circle (the "stablecoin" people that named their currency USDC, thus closing the circle on Nakamoto original concept).
This may just amount to a storefront that takes crypto payment alongside normal money but since I find the entire blockchain fintech field to be abhorrent, I'll stand by my use of the "in bed with" idiom.
I'd rather have my gaming OS be storefront agnostic. Let me run my software where I please and keep your targeted ads and investor interests away from my free time.
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Comment on I'm looking for a specific beer, for meme purposes in ~food
Oxalis LinkDepending on what state you're in, getting alcohol shipped around can be nigh impossible from what I've found trying to get stuff from Mexico during a period when I wanted to try beers made for...Depending on what state you're in, getting alcohol shipped around can be nigh impossible from what I've found trying to get stuff from Mexico during a period when I wanted to try beers made for hot climates.
I'd research local liquor/beer/wine stores in your area and see if they can import some with their business license.
Here in Texas, Total Wine and More has it but, of course, it's super sold out. https://www.totalwine.com/beer/lager/americanstyle-lager/cristal-peru/p/17086126
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Comment on Playtron’s wildly ambitious gaming OS aims to unite stores, lure “core casuals” in ~games
Oxalis LinkMcMaster is no hero. I was active in the custom android ROM scene back when Cyanogen was still a thing and depended on the CyanogenMOD upstream for my builds. So hanging around with Cyanogen staff...McMaster is no hero. I was active in the custom android ROM scene back when Cyanogen was still a thing and depended on the CyanogenMOD upstream for my builds. So hanging around with Cyanogen staff (who were in charge for all bug issues and pull requests) was vital for knowing when new features and fixes were available for my phone.
The two founders were both total pieces of work but when everything went to hell, Kondik was very vocal about putting all the blame on McMaster especially with regards to numerous tech-bro incidents including the infamous "putting a bullet though Google's head" remark. It seems he was hard to deal with internally and externally, he exaggerated and lied about Cyanogen's abilities to the press along with making numerous bad business deals that ruined their autonomy and funding.
That said, if anyone wants to play around with a "gamer linux" that isn't in bed with crypto and is ready for PC use along with other hand-held systems (ROG, steamdeck, etc) go check out Bazzite. I run it as my daily driver OS on my gaming PC and I've had a nice time once I figured out how rpm-ostree worked.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
Oxalis LinkI've been really enjoying The Sorcerers - In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God this week. Genres: Instrumental, Funk, Soul, Jazz, Faux "Stage & Screen" Moods: Dark, Mysterious, Mystical,...I've been really enjoying The Sorcerers - In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God this week.
Genres: Instrumental, Funk, Soul, Jazz, Faux "Stage & Screen"
Moods: Dark, Mysterious, Mystical, Groovy
bandcamp - YouTube - Rhythm Passport Review - rateyourmusic
An excerpt from the record label's copy:
The name for the album was taken from the title of a National Geographic article read by Bassist Neil Innes and was used as the starting point for the entire concept.
[...]
Each track was written with a particular scene in mind and the music was then shaped in the studio to best reflect the essence of that scene. Drums, Bass and Percussion provide the solid foundation onto which Flutes, Bass Clarinets, Xylophones and Vibraphones add the atmospheric and melodic counterpoint, deftly weaving between one another to conjure up images of the unforgiving environment of the dense jungle, unknown eyes watching the protagonists of the imagined film as they make their way towards their ultimate goal, their pursuit by unseen assailants, the arcane mysticism of undiscovered cargo cultists and the ancient ruins of long passed civilizations.I'm a sucker for album projects that aim for a cinematic approach; if done right it can really draw you into the music and the scene they're trying to set. This album is a wonderful example of the concept and it makes me a bit sad there's no film to accompany this record, it would have been prime popcorn fodder.
Incredibly funky, deep in overall tone1, and easy to let run in the background to give your toes something to tap to while you work.
1 e.g. no obnoxious brass to grate on your ears, a pet peeve of mine when it comes to jazz. (Sorry, Miles Davis.)
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Comment on The mystery social media account schooling US Congress on how to do its job in ~tech
Oxalis LinkI find it funny that all it takes to become a well-connected mover and shaker of the political world is just to read the manual. I do hope Surdy gets into political commentary, sounds like he'd be...whenever something happens on the floor that he doesn’t understand, he leafs through Congress’ various rulebooks until he can make sense of it. Last year, he finished a front-to-back reading of “House Practice,”
[...] Surdy’s ability to sift through “untapped but publicly available resources” to find details others miss.
I find it funny that all it takes to become a well-connected mover and shaker of the political world is just to read the manual. I do hope Surdy gets into political commentary, sounds like he'd be one of the few Journalists that knows what's going on.
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Comment on MRI research shows live music makes us more emotional than recordings in ~music
Oxalis LinkKind of a strange study. I feel like it was more of a "is recorded sound less stimulating that live sound that's curated to carefully match a listener's situation, played by a performer instructed...Kind of a strange study. I feel like it was more of a "is recorded sound less stimulating that live sound that's curated to carefully match a listener's situation, played by a performer instructed to try and get a reaction from the listener via any reasonable means". It's also worth noting that both live and recorded sounds were piped in through the same speaker and the listener was not told whether or not the sounds were recorded.
Most music performed "live" doesn't take the listener into account at this level of granularity. You could argue more cheering = more energy from a band but that's nothing compared to what the study is offering.
An excerpt
While listening to the music, they lay in an MRI scanner so the team could monitor their brain activity. The pianist was told to adapt the volume and speed of the piece according to this activity. For example, if a participant was showing little activity in response to a positive piece of music, they may have played louder.
I guess this inspires a world where individualized music based on the sensors we already carry around with us could mutate music to suit activity levels or situations. I don't know if that's a good thing given the pushback against generated curation of media on sites like spotify, tiktok, etc but it could be interesting.
The closest thing I could find was RockMyRun, an app for runner that tailors a playlist to your heartrate. Sadly, it's bogged down by a monthly subscription, tech issues, and music licensing limits that leave people wondering its value.
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Comment on How do you like your Minetest? in ~games
Oxalis LinkMinetest is one of those things I always install when testing out linux distros but never really play for more than 15 minutes. It's totally my fault though, I know that Minetest vanilla is as...Minetest is one of those things I always install when testing out linux distros but never really play for more than 15 minutes. It's totally my fault though, I know that Minetest vanilla is as barebones and un-fun as it can get due to mods being mandatory.
How active has the fan-mod community gotten these days? Are there any notable "complete" experiences out there for people to try?
The only major game I've attempted to play was NodeCore due to it's very intriguing description and Outer Wilds style progression. Sadly it's so obtuse that I can't even get an idea of how to really start it, gameplay-wise. It's probably a cool experience once things start to click into place but that first hour of just poking around was more frustrating than anything.
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Comment on Steam Next Fest: what have you been playing? in ~games
Oxalis LinkI've been playing the Abiotic Factor demo. It's massive, like 4+ hours of content. It's a single-player or co-op survival game where you (and your friends) play as legally distinct Half Life-esque...I've been playing the Abiotic Factor demo. It's massive, like 4+ hours of content.
It's a single-player or co-op survival game where you (and your friends) play as legally distinct Half Life-esque scientists in a legally distinct Black Mesa facility on the day when everything goes wrong.
The facility is massive with lots of interior variety all done up in a "early PC gaming but with nicer shaders" style that's easy on the eyes. I usually bounce off of survival games but the mix of nostalgia, solid gameplay mechanics taken from all over the survival/action/RPG/sim gamut, and Nakatomi Space-style exploitation of pre-built interiors is really engaging. The demo also takes you down some really surprising paths that are worth it for the "am I still playing the same game?" factor.
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Comment on Album of the Week #18: Portishead - Portishead in ~music
Oxalis LinkIt's a beautiful album that embodies the best of the "Bristol Sound" flavor of trip hop; A dead sexy mix of dour soul vocals, spy film intrigue, hip hop sampling and scratching, and oblique lyrics...It's a beautiful album that embodies the best of the "Bristol Sound" flavor of trip hop; A dead sexy mix of dour soul vocals, spy film intrigue, hip hop sampling and scratching, and oblique lyrics that smolder in the best of ways.
If anyone is interested in where the album cover came from, it's a screenshot from the rather uncomfortable music video for All Mine.
I don't really have much to say other than this is a fantastic album that's worth a listen. If you jive with it, there's a wider world of releases and artists to explore. The recently created Trip Hop Lovers channel on youtube is a great curated space to hunt around. Though you'll be hard-pressed to find a singer/songwriter as good as Beth Gibbons.
Another thing worth sharing is the live performance CD/DVD "Roseland NYC Live" that Portishead released not long after this album. It was assembled from the best takes of their performances in NYC with orchestral accompaniment and live turntablism. When I need to refill the Trip Hop tank, it's the album I usually reach for instead of the studio releases.
The strings-soaked intro/outro, live version of Strangers, and (the soul rending vocals on) Sour Times are the highlights if you don't have time for the full thing.
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Comment on What are people's thoughts on "secureblue", "bazzite" and other ublue images? in ~comp
Oxalis (edited )LinkSeems neat. Though I worry that the "containerize all the things!" workflow would be tiring after a while for advanced users that aren't IT professionals. Flatpacks are nice for user apps but when...Seems neat. Though I worry that the "containerize all the things!" workflow would be tiring after a while for advanced users that aren't IT professionals. Flatpacks are nice for user apps but when starting a new coding project or making a little script, you now have the added overhead of having to define, build, and deploy a dev environment for it to run inside.
I don't know about you but dealing with the tooling required to reach a first build is already enough of a pain point to kill the enthusiasm I have for some ideas I want to explore.
I remember getting really interested in the black paintings. Not just due to their nature as art for the isolated artist but also as an element of the architecture and living spaces that Goya found himself secluded within. Paintings made directly onto walls (or wallpapers, in this case if I remember correctly) meant that these ghastly images were daily sights within the villa.
Somewhere deep in all my bookmarks, wallabagged items, or maybe pocket clippings is someone's 3D recreation of La Quinta del Sordo complete with probable painting positions to see how they contrasted with window or door openings into the Madrid countryside. I can't seem to find it though. Maybe it was a VR Chat world?
A cursory search did find a couple attempts at recreating the space the paintings were embedded within. They both disagree with one another so don't take them as the truth since the accounts on the villa were sparse, the photos were few and poor in quality, and it has been long demolished.
https://theartwolf.com/goya/black-paintings-virtual-tour/ - Non-scholar attempt at placing the paintings on walls. Doesn't take into account the second story at all or any attempt to make the space seem like more than a weak gallery, which is weird.
https://www.elmanana.com/suplementos/dominical/las-pinturas-negras-de-goya-en-3d-y-mas-politicas-que-nunca/4800389 - A scholarly interpretation of painting positions based on a rare find of a sculpted diorama of the municipality of Carabanchel by a military engineer that just happened to include the old villa, far on the outskirts. The researcher seems to posit that the paintings and their positions are solely "a political narrative about the tension between the absolutist monarchy and the reformist liberals" and the statements about them stemming from dreams or nightmares was subterfuge.