RoyalHenOil's recent activity
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Comment on What internet discussion sites remain? in ~tech
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Comment on Demand is booming for new no tech, repairable tractor in ~transport
RoyalHenOil LinkWhen I worked on a commercial vegetable-breeding farm in Australia a few years ago, we were using a lot of older tractors, like vintage Lamborghinis. But we were breeding vegetables in small plots...When I worked on a commercial vegetable-breeding farm in Australia a few years ago, we were using a lot of older tractors, like vintage Lamborghinis. But we were breeding vegetables in small plots (an acre or two at most for our largest crops), rather than growing them at scale, so we didn't need a lot of the modern technology that most farmers now require.
Weirdly enough, we also used a whole lot of Victorian-era machinery — from tractor-pulled (originally horse-drawn) cast-iron seeders to massive wood-and-cast-iron, belt-driven seed-sorting behemoths we outfitted with modern motors. Modern technology just isn't built for the scale we were growing at. And many of our crops were so tiny, we were working them the really old-fashioned way (e.g., bouncing seeds on a tray to winnow them).
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Comment on Alternatives to a straw hat in ~life.style
RoyalHenOil Link ParentYeah, from what I've gathered, a major sunscreen testing lab in the UK (Princeton Consumer Research) was fabricating results — so a whole bunch of sunscreen manufacturers around the world that...Yeah, from what I've gathered, a major sunscreen testing lab in the UK (Princeton Consumer Research) was fabricating results — so a whole bunch of sunscreen manufacturers around the world that were trying to do the right thing and get their products tested by an independent party ended up releasing faulty products. Even nonprofits, like Cancer Council Australia, got stung.
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Comment on The big little penis panic in ~life.men
RoyalHenOil (edited )Link ParentI'm sorry. I didn't mean to suggest that you're at fault for being mistreated. I was hoping to be encouraging — to say that you don't have to put up it. You can hold the women you date to a higher...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to suggest that you're at fault for being mistreated. I was hoping to be encouraging — to say that you don't have to put up it. You can hold the women you date to a higher standard and still have a very rich and varied dating life, if that's what you want.
For what it's worth, I've repeatedly given the same advice (and far more) to women in my life. Probably unsurprisingly, I actually have a lot more experience giving dating advice to women than to men. The exact same issues apply — including the problem that a whole lot of men actively avoid dating women who give the impression that they're attracted to assholes. (Which is very fair. Nobody wants to feel settled for.)
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Comment on Alternatives to a straw hat in ~life.style
RoyalHenOil Link ParentFor what it's worth, I worked on an Australian farm for eight years, and we were subjected to all-day lectures on skin cancer and sun-safe PPE on an annual basis. These also included skin checks...For what it's worth, I worked on an Australian farm for eight years, and we were subjected to all-day lectures on skin cancer and sun-safe PPE on an annual basis. These also included skin checks and demonstrations.
My big takeaway was that sunscreen is a last line of defense, not a first line of defense. It's actually a lot harder to use than people think, and it gives people a false sense of security:
- Sunscreen has to be reapplied every two hours in high-sun conditions (regardless of whatever the packaging tells you).
- If you're sweating (or otherwise getting wet), you need to apply sunscreen even more often than that.
- The sunscreen bottle must be kept cool (in a cooler with ice if you're out and about on a hot day). If you leave it in your car or your purse, it will lose effectiveness rapidly.
- It must be applied thick and very, very thoroughly. (To demonstrate this, they made us apply sunscreen to ourselves and then checked us with a UV light. We all always had gaps where we missed or applied it too thinly.)
After getting burnt (har har) a few too many times, I gave up on sunscreen altogether and switched to 100% full coverage clothing, and I never got burnt again (and even stopped getting tans and freckles). Clothing works all day long, day after day; it doesn't deteriorate in heat or come off if it gets wet; and it's visually obvious if there's a gap in your coverage or if it's too damaged to work well (ripped or threadbare).
I almost never use sunscreen now unless I end up in a situation where I've left my hat or something — and then I try to get under cover as soon as I can, because it's hard to apply perfectly and it's so easy to sweat off without realizing.
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Comment on Alternatives to a straw hat in ~life.style
RoyalHenOil LinkAre there any workwear places near you? Where I live (Australia), outdoor workers require hats that are breathable, rain-resistant, and UV-rated (usually UPF 50+), so they're readily available and...Are there any workwear places near you? Where I live (Australia), outdoor workers require hats that are breathable, rain-resistant, and UV-rated (usually UPF 50+), so they're readily available and come in a lot of different styles and price points. Being able to try hats on in-person can help a lot with selecting one that comfortable.
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Comment on What are people's experiences with using Kagi? in ~tech
RoyalHenOil Link ParentSearch engines use AI, and always have done. Every company that wants to make a search engine needs to study and develop the AI technology for it first (or else license it from someone else). Note...Search engines use AI, and always have done. Every company that wants to make a search engine needs to study and develop the AI technology for it first (or else license it from someone else).
Note that LLMs are only a subset of AI technology, and they're not the AI technology that search engines are built on.
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Comment on What are people's experiences with using Kagi? in ~tech
RoyalHenOil LinkI've been using it for a couple years, and I'm extremely satisfied with it. It's by far the best subscription service I use and the very last one I would cancel — and if I had to cancel it, I...I've been using it for a couple years, and I'm extremely satisfied with it. It's by far the best subscription service I use and the very last one I would cancel — and if I had to cancel it, I honestly don't know what I'd use in its place. I'd probably just use the internet a lot less altogether. Every time I find myself having to use Google (e.g., using someone else's computer), I get supremely frustrated and often give up altogether before I find what I'm looking for.
That being said, when I first tried Kagi, I was not nearly as impressed with it as I am now. It was still good enough to justify the price, in my opinion, but I didn't realize just how good it was going to get as time went on. The more I use it, the more I slowly customize it to my exact tastes: blacklisting some websites, boosting other websites, using different search modes and knowing when to employ them, etc. If you're picky and like to tinker, you can get a ton of mileage out of it (though it's still quite decent out of the box — certainly much better than any other search engine I've tried).
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Comment on The big little penis panic in ~life.men
RoyalHenOil Link ParentWomen are not immune from being assholes. In my experience, asshole women are exactly as common as asshole men, and both are way more common you'd hope. But assholes are still just a portion of...Every girlfriend I've had commented on it, and their exes in comparison, basically every hookup. I've seen my best buddy (who "isn't so lucky", but doesn't give a hoot himself) get mistreated by women over it...
Women are not immune from being assholes. In my experience, asshole women are exactly as common as asshole men, and both are way more common you'd hope.
But assholes are still just a portion of the overall population (I'd estimate around 10-15%), although they tend to be noisy and pushy, so their influence is outsize.
But if you make an effort to notice asshole behavior (including when it's not just directed at yourself) and religiously excise people from your life who exhibit it, you can do a pretty good job of leading a nearly asshole-free life.
I've definitely met a number of women who talk about sex partners like that, but if I overhear a woman do that even one time, even if it's pretty mild, she will never be in any social circle of mine. And anyone who hangs out with her is pretty suss in my book, too. My friends and I have a strictly zero tolerance for that kind of behavior.
I recommend you adopt the same policy. You really don't have to put up with it (unless you exhibit it yourself, of course), so don't.
If you're worried that will leave you date-less, consider that you're likely closing the door on a lot of potential relationships by dating women who other women regard as assholes.
Personally, I have always had a policy of never dating men who have a history of repeatedly dating women I don't like. I tend to assume that if someone is into partners who mistreat them or badmouth them, it's because they think that's acceptable relationship behavior and will probably treat me the same way. (Plus, I don't want to deal with anyone's assholes exes, and I don't want to feel like the Nice Girl a guy finally settles for after he's been burnt a few too many times by the assholes he's actually attracted to; I strongly prefer dating men who demonstrate a consistent attraction to women like me.)
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Comment on Do you prefer to 100% games, or to move on to new experiences? in ~games
RoyalHenOil LinkI very, very rarely finish a game. There are a lot of reasons I drop off. Often, gameplay gets too grindy after a certain point, and I have an exceptionally low tolerance for grind. Some games...- Exemplary
I very, very rarely finish a game. There are a lot of reasons I drop off. Often, gameplay gets too grindy after a certain point, and I have an exceptionally low tolerance for grind.
Some games simply become too difficult for me to finish. In particular, I struggle with quick, complicated finger movements, which rules out finishing vast swathes of games, like the entirety of the platformer genre and a very large percentage of action RPGs.
Often, I just lose interest for no particular reason — the game successfully scratches my itch before I reach the end, so I put away until I get the itch again. That could be months later, sometimes even years, in which case I'll probably restart from the beginning if it's a hard game to jump back into the middle of.
But there are some games I play to death and finish multiple times. These tend to be games where a single playthrough is relatively short (e.g., Disco Elysium), or at least consistently entertaining despite its length (e.g., Factorio), and not too physically difficult for me (e.g., Valheim despite being an action RPG).
I don't have any hang-ups about not finishing a game, and I'm not sure why, because I'm generally a 100%-er/over-polisher with nearly all my other hobbies. I suspect it's because I grew up almost exclusively on a healthy diet of simulation games, like SimAnt and Creatures, where the end state is vague or absent and you can play the same savefile indefinitely. Maybe that just trained me with the mindset that playing a game is less like painting a picture (where I keep go until it's complete) and more like gardening (where I keep going until I no longer want to).
Based on that, I wonder if it would help you to play more games without clearly defined endings?
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Comment on The cost of safetyism - what we lost when we stopped letting kids leave the front yard in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI used to sell Girl Scout cookies to sex workers (especially strippers because I could set up a table in the parking lot). They were reliably my best customers — total sweethearts and big...I used to sell Girl Scout cookies to sex workers (especially strippers because I could set up a table in the parking lot). They were reliably my best customers — total sweethearts and big spenders! I owe them a lot of camping trips.
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Comment on The cost of safetyism - what we lost when we stopped letting kids leave the front yard in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentNosy neighbors like that have always existed. When I was a kid, it was the lady across the street. She was constantly telling my parents whenever I went outside barefoot (hookworm!) or if I had a...Nosy neighbors like that have always existed. When I was a kid, it was the lady across the street. She was constantly telling my parents whenever I went outside barefoot (hookworm!) or if I had a friend over (do my parents know that kid?). Even if someone used their driveway to turnaround (surely scoping their house to burglarize it!), she'd make sure they and their neighbors on both sides knew all about it.
The difference is that her reach extended as far the nearest handful of houses, and they all knew her well enough to dismiss it. Thank god social media didn't exist back then.
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Comment on The cost of safetyism - what we lost when we stopped letting kids leave the front yard in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI suspect it's often both. Anecdotally, my mother is a highly anxious person, although it's calmed down a lot since she entered menopause. I'd say my dad's anxiety levels are about average....We're looking at having children soon, and it makes me consider whether that bit of anxious tendency that she has is genetic in some way, or if it's a result of how she grew up versus how I did.
I suspect it's often both.
Anecdotally, my mother is a highly anxious person, although it's calmed down a lot since she entered menopause. I'd say my dad's anxiety levels are about average.
Thankfully, it skipped me. Despite a couple major traumatic experiences under my belt and some pretty wild hormonal swings (my ovaries have always marched to their own drum), I would describe my anxiety levels as comfortably below average. I can convince myself worry if I need to (e.g., to get my taxes done), but it's a bother.
Growing up, my sister was even more chill than me — basically wholly unflappable — right up until she hit puberty, when it's like a switch flipped. Ever since, anxiety has been a struggle for her, but just knowing that it's physiological rather than psychological has been helpful for finding the right medication and therapy.
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Comment on When did you realize you were different? in ~talk
RoyalHenOil Link'Realization' isn't the right word. I don't think it ever crossed my mind when I was a kid that I would be the same as anyone else or that they would be the same as each other. Maybe it's because...'Realization' isn't the right word. I don't think it ever crossed my mind when I was a kid that I would be the same as anyone else or that they would be the same as each other.
Maybe it's because I mostly grew up in a community of immigrants from different places around the world, but I've never really understood what people meant when they talk about fitting in or not fitting in, as distinct from the concept of simply having friends.
I'm 40 now (and, admittedly, now an immigrant in my own right, which could color my perception) and I still don't know that I've ever met a normal person. Everybody I've had any kind of in-depth conversation with has turned out to have some wild opinion or have gone through some crazy experience, and usually a bunch of them. I think if I met the most 'average' person in the world, who's never thought or experienced anything unusual, they would come across as super weird to me for exactly that reason — like they grew up in The Truman Show or something.
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Comment on Excerpts from actual one-star Amazon.com reviews of books from Time’s list of the 100 best novels from 1923 to the present in ~books
RoyalHenOil Link ParentA lot of writing advice along these lines (show don't tell, avoid the word 'said', only use the word 'said', etc.) are intended to correct genuine pitfalls that inexperienced writers commonly fall...A lot of writing advice along these lines (show don't tell, avoid the word 'said', only use the word 'said', etc.) are intended to correct genuine pitfalls that inexperienced writers commonly fall into, but then they're shared around as hard rules that a writer must never, ever break.
Like anything (writing, programming, drawing, etc., etc.), inexperienced people tend to congregate together looking for advice and end up creating echo chambers, while the experts are off actually doing the thing and kind of winging it — and getting away with it because their experience gives them good instincts.
Or in more trite terms, expertise isn't about following the rules. It's about knowing when to break the rules.
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Comment on What stock do you put in gut feelings? in ~talk
RoyalHenOil LinkI have an abnormally quiet gut, so sometimes I have to actively coax it for input. In this cases, I don't trust it without further analysis, but it can be handy for picking up on details I missed...I have an abnormally quiet gut, so sometimes I have to actively coax it for input. In this cases, I don't trust it without further analysis, but it can be handy for picking up on details I missed or understanding my motivations better.
But if I get a gut feeling about something without actively trying, I definitely put a lot of stock in it. My gut is very rarely wrong in these instances; for example, if I do a calculation and end up with a result that feels wrong, I've almost inevitably made a mistake and my answer is way off. When my gut's wrong, it's almost my interpretation of the feeling that's wrong, rather than the feeling itself: for example, suddenly getting a weird feeling that a stranger is stalking me, and it turns out they've mistaken for someone else and they've trying to get a good look at me to double-check before they say hello.
The big exception is if I'm sleep-deprived. Then I find myself jumping at shadows (often literally) and leaping to some very unsound conclusions.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #5: Pineapple on pizza? (Results) in ~talk
RoyalHenOil (edited )Link ParentThe problem I have with supposedly traditional Italian pizza around here is that the tomatoes (at least everywhere I've ever lived) are anything but. Even canned tomatoes that advertise being...The problem I have with supposedly traditional Italian pizza around here is that the tomatoes (at least everywhere I've ever lived) are anything but. Even canned tomatoes that advertise being imported from Italy are almost flavorless these days. If I want good sauce on my pizza, I have to grow the tomatoes myself (or source them from someone who grows heirloom paste tomatoes) and then make my own sauce.
But if I buy tomatoes from a shop — or even worse, use canned tomatoes — than I really need additional ingredients to re-create the flavors that are missing from the tomatoes. I'm a vegetarian, so I usually use fine-chopped mushrooms in the sauce to add umami back in and a little pineapple (or sometimes pineapple juice) in the sauce to add sweet and sour back in. While it's not the same as a proper heirloom tomato sauce (nothing's as good as that, especially if I make from Amish Paste tomatoes, yum yum yum!) it at least has the right overarching flavor complex that makes pizza (and lasagna, spaghetti, etc.) oh-so-good.
If I get pizza from a restaurant, I usually ask them to add mushrooms and pineapple as a topping (in addition to whatever toppings I'm actually going for) to try to correct the flavor of the sauce. It's not as good as when I make my own sauce, but it helps.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #5: Pineapple on pizza? (Results) in ~talk
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI don't eat meat, but I really love pineapple with some good meaty mushrooms and jalapenos. And artichoke, too, if it's available.I don't eat meat, but I really love pineapple with some good meaty mushrooms and jalapenos. And artichoke, too, if it's available.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #5: Pineapple on pizza? (Results) in ~talk
RoyalHenOil LinkOne of my favorite discoveries moving from the US to Australia is how much more socially acceptable sweet-sour-savory flavor profiles are here. Pineapple is very common on pizzas, burgers, etc.,...One of my favorite discoveries moving from the US to Australia is how much more socially acceptable sweet-sour-savory flavor profiles are here. Pineapple is very common on pizzas, burgers, etc., and I will never say no to it.
But I generally find Australia (at least around Melbourne) a lot more foodie and multicultural than the US, so I guess it's not really surprising.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI've also seen it on occasion in the US (just on historical buildings, but still — it's not an entirely unfamiliar spelling there).I've also seen it on occasion in the US (just on historical buildings, but still — it's not an entirely unfamiliar spelling there).
It's Australia-specific and mostly related to product reviews and practical advice, but I do enjoy the Whirlpool forums.