Protected's recent activity

  1. Comment on Indiana judge rules tacos, burritos are sandwiches in ~food

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    That's more than a year and a half newer than the video though!

    That's more than a year and a half newer than the video though!

    1 vote

  2. Comment on Thoughts on the current state of discoverability and search in ~tech

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    A lot of stuff is locked inside Discord now, which is being used in inappropriate ways, and Discord search is really, really bad. That information is just not there to be returned. It hasn't quite...

    A lot of stuff is locked inside Discord now, which is being used in inappropriate ways, and Discord search is really, really bad. That information is just not there to be returned. It hasn't quite been mentioned yet, but I find that search currently requires manually checking the handful of specific websites or following manual procedures that might lead you to the information you're looking in certain previously known locations.

    Currently, LLMs can help digest the information and match it to what you're looking for, but also introduce the problem you wouldn't otherwise have of hallucinations and weird misinterpretations. Recently I experienced this kind of LLM failure (documented on reddit) when performing a fairly straightforward search for the board game a certain card belonged to, with various LLMs ignoring the relevant sources, answering a question different than the one asked, or outright lying. Only Google Gemini got it right.

    6 votes

  3. Comment on Indiana judge rules tacos, burritos are sandwiches in ~food

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    I first heard of the cube rule here, which I can't help but notice is older than that domain name and all of the reference links in it. I wonder where it originally came from?

    I first heard of the cube rule here, which I can't help but notice is older than that domain name and all of the reference links in it. I wonder where it originally came from?

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Students invent quieter leaf blower in ~engineering

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    These kids are immediately my heroes and I wish them every success in their lives.

    These kids are immediately my heroes and I wish them every success in their lives.

    31 votes

  5. Comment on Fabio and the Goose (collab videos with Adam Savage and SlowMoGuys in comments) in ~arts

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    Fabio! (sorry, I had to...)

    Fabio!

    (sorry, I had to...)

    2 votes

  6. Comment on The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power | Season 2 official teaser trailer in ~tv

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    I never watched this show so I have no dog in this fight. I was just saying that objectively, what's actually written is ultimately the commenter's opinion on the show only (or, by my...

    I never watched this show so I have no dog in this fight. I was just saying that objectively, what's actually written is ultimately the commenter's opinion on the show only (or, by my interpretation of part of the post, the world that allowed such a show to be made?) and I think they are allowed to dislike it fiercely, and express that dislike, without others necessarily having to feel attacked because they don't. Their dislike could definitely have been worded better though.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on Jet Lag: AU$TRALIA | Trailer in ~hobbies

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    Glad to see Toby back!

    Glad to see Toby back!

    11 votes

  8. Comment on The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power | Season 2 official teaser trailer in ~tv

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    By my naive interpretation, the grandparent post is calling the conversation crazy, not a specific group of people. After giving it some thought, though, I think that actually autocorrected from a...

    By my naive interpretation, the grandparent post is calling the conversation crazy, not a specific group of people.

    After giving it some thought, though, I think that actually autocorrected from a misspelling of "This shit is crazy". As written, the sentence doesn't seem to fit in the post.

  9. Comment on Please recommend me an anime to watch? in ~anime

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    Can you go into some more detail regarding what you like about the shows in your list? Is it armies fighting each other?

    Can you go into some more detail regarding what you like about the shows in your list? Is it armies fighting each other?

    2 votes

  10. Comment on Duck Game rights are returned to developer in ~games

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    Normally I think the idea is that they don't want to support sales of the game anymore, since that might require paid employee or contractor time to deal with the various issues that might arise....

    Normally I think the idea is that they don't want to support sales of the game anymore, since that might require paid employee or contractor time to deal with the various issues that might arise. Things like bug reports, community management (moderation), copyright and trademark issues, content reports, expectation management, expiring licenses, etc. Not to mention they might feel like these games are competing with the launch of more modern games? Especially when modern games are for the most part not going to be quite as fun to play with friends as Duck Game!

    3 votes

  11. Comment on How do I fix my (stupid) use of excessive punctuation? in ~humanities.languages

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    As a writer of fiction, I've gotten used to getting rid of most parenthesis. On tildes, since I'm writing casually and not editing my comments or anything, you can probably tell whether I'm...

    As a writer of fiction, I've gotten used to getting rid of most parenthesis. On tildes, since I'm writing casually and not editing my comments or anything, you can probably tell whether I'm currently writing a story or not because my parenthesis come back, along with several other bad habits.

    Depending on the length and context of the parenthesized expression, these can usually (and quite easily!) become their own sentence or be replaced by emdashes. Commas are also a possiblity, though I wouldn't recommend it in mid-sentence.

    Depending on the length of the parenthesized expression, these can usually--and quite easily!--become their own sentence or be replaced by emdashes.

    For the OP: I don't see the use of short sentences as a bad habit. I'm not a native english speaker, or academically trained, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I think conveying cadence through writing is a good thing. It adds context (tone) to what's being said. People usually prefer reading text with mostly short sentences. Longer sentences should be used sparsely and carefully: At least in fiction, you don't want the reader's brain to snag on the words and the syntax. You want to create a smooth reading experience.

    Panicked, she rushed to the hospital, but it was too late--the man was already gone.

    or

    Panicked, she rushed to the hospital.

    But it was too late. The man was already gone.

    These snippets have distinct cadences. Neither is wrong--it's about your intention as the writer.

    1 vote

  12. Comment on EA is looking at putting in-game ads in AAA games — 'We'll be very thoughtful as we move into that,' says CEO in ~games

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    The AAA game publishing industry relies a lot on smoke and mirrors - not to say there aren't "good" games out there, but the industry's well-known propensity for overpromising, deceiving and using...

    The AAA game publishing industry relies a lot on smoke and mirrors - not to say there aren't "good" games out there, but the industry's well-known propensity for overpromising, deceiving and using straight out falsified trailers to advertise their games is well entrenched and has been going on for so long we've kind of gotten used to it being the status quo. This marketing-oriented business model relies on the shiny and the shiny is expensive to make.

    But back in the day, the amount of games entering the market every year was much, much smaller. Nowadays, thousands and thousands of developers and studios big and small are competing in a far more saturated market, and it's evident to most if not all of us that you don't need a 500 million dollar budget to make a game that's fun and compelling. 500 million dollar games will always bedazzle, but will often also disappoint. A truly fun, well designed game, though, even if made on a shoestring budget? We've spent less on it, we've derived more value, we were happy with the time we spent with it. These games may be far shorter, far uglier, far less marketable, but they're still competing against the big dogs. It has been happening regularly. That's why prices can't grow out of control. It would simply become too hard for most players to justify the expense in light of how much choice they have. At some point, people have to realize (perhaps not the children, who are so much easier to manipulate, but everyone else) that instead of buying one game that may be terrible, they can buy seven or eight for the same price.

    If the big publishers can't make a game profitable without being antagonistic to their players, I respectfully suggest that they should try shrinking their budgets and focusing on attracting, retaining and most of all respecting the choices of the kinds of talent that they so often seem to be lacking - game designers, writers, people who understand fun and compelling experiences. I see videogames as art (at least in potential), and you can't make good art if you hand over the reins to the bean counters and wash your hands off the whole thing.

    15 votes

  13. Comment on Bitwarden transitions from Manifest V2 to V3 in ~tech

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    I didn't remember the motivation behind this change but this sentence was enough to figure it out - and indeed, after looking it up, many accuse Google of having designed it to hobble ad blockers....

    Limiting how thoroughly and frequently a browser extension can intercept and interact with web requests as a user browses the internet

    I didn't remember the motivation behind this change but this sentence was enough to figure it out - and indeed, after looking it up, many accuse Google of having designed it to hobble ad blockers. Not that it's Bitwarden's concern.

    15 votes

  14. Comment on Microsoft closes Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, and more in devastating cuts at Bethesda in ~games

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    Fair point about Tango. I meant about the other employees who had not left, who were instrumental to creating the studio's games.

    Fair point about Tango. I meant about the other employees who had not left, who were instrumental to creating the studio's games.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Microsoft closes Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, and more in devastating cuts at Bethesda in ~games

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    Doesn't seem correct, although just barely. I hope he and the newly terminated employees, together or independently, manage to keep creating games like Hi-Fi Rush wherever they end up going....

    Shinji Mikami already left by the time Hi Fi Rush came out

    Doesn't seem correct, although just barely.

    I hope he and the newly terminated employees, together or independently, manage to keep creating games like Hi-Fi Rush wherever they end up going. Microsoft has the money, but they have the skill and creativity, no matter who they work for.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Can old, poorly wired electrical outlets cause a PC to freeze? in ~tech

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    I've been experiencing this issue lately and it persisted after replacing the PSU (it was a top tier, gold standard PSU before and after, and there was a UPS before and after. I also replaced the...

    I've been experiencing this issue lately and it persisted after replacing the PSU (it was a top tier, gold standard PSU before and after, and there was a UPS before and after. I also replaced the UPS even more recently.) I also tried the checks you tried, sfc, memory test, etc. I made sure I corrected everything logging errors in the event viewer. Nothing helped.

    So, after looking it up, a few possible software issues popped up. Notably, apparently, this is something that (people assert) might be caused by issues with recent versions of Microsoft's Xbox Game Bar, what is for unfathomable reasons listed by Windows as "irremovable" system files.

    I did my best to excise the thing from my Windows installation completely, which required removing the package using PowerShell, removing some services and changing some registry entries. For what it's worth, the system hasn't frozen again since (about a week ago). I have no hard evidence that this solved the problem for good.

    2 votes

  17. Comment on Any tips for Barcelona and Lisbon in June/July? in ~travel

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    Regarding the Lisbon visit: Make sure to plan ahead for your inevitable trip(s) to Sintra. Some monument visits will either require (or it's advantageous to have) a previously purchased ticket or...

    Regarding the Lisbon visit: Make sure to plan ahead for your inevitable trip(s) to Sintra.

    • Some monument visits will either require (or it's advantageous to have) a previously purchased ticket or a reservation, or may have to be visited as part of a guided tour.
    • Keep an eye on opening and closing hours and account for queues. You will not have time to see everything in one single day trip. Comfortably, you'll be able to see two attractions; three if you rush and plan well.
    • Most monuments are not adjacent. You will require transportation between then. This can also take time out of your day.
    • Don't underestimate the local traditional pastry shops, they're well worth a visit.
    • Likewise for the local restaurants. Again, Sintra can be a somewhat dispersed municipality, so plan for transportation around the region.
    • Likewise for beach visits. You can't walk (quickly) from the town to the beaches - you can take a bus, tram, taxi, etc.
    • If you rent a car, keep in mind driving within the town proper is nightmarish with many foot traffic only streets or one way streets and heavy traffic in the summer. You can park at the edge of town and use other transportation in town (or walk).
    • There is no night life to speak of in Sintra. If you're staying for dinner (good!) plan on something to do past monument closing hours (beach, hiking, unpaid outdoor attractions, etc.)
    3 votes

  18. Comment on Unity appoints former EA and Zynga executive Matthew Bromberg as its new CEO in ~games

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    Have you had a worse experience with Unity?

    Have you had a worse experience with Unity?

  19. Comment on Unity appoints former EA and Zynga executive Matthew Bromberg as its new CEO in ~games

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    I'm told the engine is a mess, with missing features, strange design decisions, non-major bugs taking an arbitrary amount of time to be dealt with, etc. Big teams and skilled developers love it...

    I'm told the engine is a mess, with missing features, strange design decisions, non-major bugs taking an arbitrary amount of time to be dealt with, etc. Big teams and skilled developers love it because it's source available and they can make all the changes they want/need and fix any bugs on their own if they have to, so they're not reliant on Epic (or anyone else).

    1 vote

  20. Comment on VR gaming is reawakening my enthusiasm for games in ~games

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    You just need to get yourself a pair of Index controllers. They're really nice and the way they're designed to go all the way around your hand means you won't hurt yourself - you'll destroy your...

    You just need to get yourself a pair of Index controllers. They're really nice and the way they're designed to go all the way around your hand means you won't hurt yourself - you'll destroy your $150 controller instead. Oh but try not to shake them too hard - you'll destroy them. Or don't blow softly on them, as they'll be destroyed. And don't look meanly at them, as they'll fall apart in shame.

    Valve provides replacements during the warranty period!

    1 vote