RoyalHenOil's recent activity
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Comment on Do you prefer to 100% games, or to move on to new experiences? in ~games
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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).
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Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk
RoyalHenOil (edited )LinkI missed out on high school prom (which I skipped to go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show) because I didn't want to pay and didn't think it sounded that fun. I did help my friends with their prom...I missed out on high school prom (which I skipped to go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show) because I didn't want to pay and didn't think it sounded that fun.
I did help my friends with their prom outfits, including one friend who wanted suit made entirely out of duct tape and several friends who crossdressed and needed help with things like tailoring and applying realistic facial hair. I also helped coordinate a date switcheroo for another friend (he had to keep his real girlfriend a secret from his racist mother, so we found another interracial couple who were willing to "swap" with him for the prom pickup and prom photos).
But despite all the hijinks, I never felt any urge to go myself. Various teachers and other adults told me it was just a one-time expense for an experience I'd never get to have again and I'd grow to regret it as I got older.
It's been over two decades, and I'm still waiting for the regret I was promised. (It probably doesn't help that my friends bailed halfway through prom because they were bored. They showed up to Rocky in their prom gear and we had a great time.)
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Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society
RoyalHenOil (edited )Link ParentEcology degree here, plus a background in agricultural research. It has been extremely well established for decades (certainly longer than I've been alive) that animal agriculture requires far...- Exemplary
No OP, but there isn't comprehensive data on if vegan food systems could support earth population or even if that wouldn't come with it's own externalities like requiring more land conversion for agriculture. It's a big talking point within the mariculture community.
Ecology degree here, plus a background in agricultural research.
It has been extremely well established for decades (certainly longer than I've been alive) that animal agriculture requires far greater inputs —land, water, fertilizer, etc. — than plant agriculture, by about an order of magnitude depending on which trophic level we're looking at (herbivorous animals require far less input than omnivorous or carnivorous animals) and some species-specific factors (e.g., small animals, like crickets, are substantially more efficient than large animals, like cattle; likewise, not all crops are created equal).
There are some special cases where this might not be the case. For example, livestock can sometimes grown on marginal land that's not suitable for cropping. However, this accounts for only a small percentage of meat consumption (primarily practiced by subsistence farmers in developing countries) and it comes with its own host of ecological issues, like desertification, erosion, soil compaction, etc.
The math is a lot more complicated and less clearcut when we're talking about aquatic ecosystems, since those are supported to varying extents by nutrient runoff from terrestrial ecosystems, and the trophic levels get absolutely bonkers. But the great bulk of humanity is living primarily off terrestrial agriculture where the efficiency is pretty easy to work out (enough so that farmers broadly know exactly what their land's productivity will be under different kinds of crops and livestock, even if they've never grown them before).
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Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society
RoyalHenOil Link ParentIt's an AAVE term that absolutely has a strong positive association. Super annoying that people in online spaces have been co-opting it and twisting it into something it's not, but it's hardly the...It's an AAVE term that absolutely has a strong positive association. Super annoying that people in online spaces have been co-opting it and twisting it into something it's not, but it's hardly the first time (e.g., look at how people use "bro" to dismiss and insult groups they don't like).
I know language is dynamic and blah blah blah, but I do really wish people would stop assigning negative meanings to positive AAVE terms.
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Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI live in the sticks and make well below the median wage (and way below the average wage), so I can't afford to donate a lot. So it's extremely important to me that what little I can donate has as...I live in the sticks and make well below the median wage (and way below the average wage), so I can't afford to donate a lot. So it's extremely important to me that what little I can donate has as much impact as possible, especially now that Trump shut down USAID and hundreds of thousands of people have died as a consequence. (I don't live in the US, but I am a US citizen, so I feel supremely shameful of what Trump has done even though I voted against him.)
So... I donate through an Australian effective altruist organization to combat deadly diseases in Africa and Southeast Asia. That seems to be the best way to ensure my donation, pitiful as it is, actually saves some lives.
Do you really mean it when you say you won't take anything I say seriously now that I've admitted to supporting an EA charity?
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI attended a zombie crawl, and they were there scoping out talent.I attended a zombie crawl, and they were there scoping out talent.
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Comment on Is British English actually better than American English? in ~humanities.languages
RoyalHenOil LinkI'm an American-Australian dual citizen. I don't know all that much about British English, but Australian English has a lot in common with it, so I'll just talk about Australian English. I haven't...I'm an American-Australian dual citizen. I don't know all that much about British English, but Australian English has a lot in common with it, so I'll just talk about Australian English.
I haven't found anything inherently better about one or the other — people seem to be equally capable of self-expression no matter which dialect they speak — but there are a few things I personally prefer about one versus the other.
For example, I really dislike that Australians adopted the word "chips" from both the US and England, so both fries and crisps are called chips here. Likewise, I really dislike that Americans shorten "gasoline" to "gas"; "petrol" is so much clearer.
I prefer Celsius to Fahrenheit. Even though I grew up with Fahrenheit, I took to Celsius immediately and find it much more human-readable for both weather and cooking.
On the other, I just really like feet. A foot is such a handy middle sizes between inches/centimeters and yards/meters. And as a hobbyist woodworker, I like that a foot divides into twelve inches. Base-10 may be better for arithmetic division, but base-12 is better for physical crafts, where you often want to divide things into thirds or quarters. (But once we get below inches, I'm definitely in the pro-millimeter camp! And yes, this means I absolutely do use both inches and centimeters in my projects. They're more interoperable than you'd expect, with 1 inch being 2.5 centimeters — close enough for woodworking, anyway.)
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Comment on Is British English actually better than American English? in ~humanities.languages
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI actually think of them as slightly different colors, one being warmer and one being cooler. I won't say which is which because, so far, everyone I've asked to guess has guessed right (or has...I actually think of them as slightly different colors, one being warmer and one being cooler. I won't say which is which because, so far, everyone I've asked to guess has guessed right (or has even already made the same color distinction themselves).
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
RoyalHenOil LinkI'd love to work in a haunted house. I became interested in the idea when I was a teenager and babysat for the couple who operated Netherworld. They had a lot of horror stuff around their house,...I'd love to work in a haunted house. I became interested in the idea when I was a teenager and babysat for the couple who operated Netherworld. They had a lot of horror stuff around their house, and their kid constantly wanted to play haunted house with me, which was a ton of fun.
Later on, I got to know a bunch of people who worked at Netherworld as a part-time side job during Halloween season, and they always seemed to be having the time of their lives. They got to play the coolest characters and wear the craziest costumes — and they gave me some really great scares whenever I went. Unfortunately, the timing just never worked out for me to apply.
Just before I emigrated to Australia, I almost got headhunted (har har) to play a zombie in one of those live action zombie apocalypse games (sort of like a Haunted House cross Escape Room). If I hadn't already bought my plane tickets and made moving arrangements, I absolutely would have delayed my move a couple months to do it. I still think about that a lot.
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Comment on I love bioparks in ~travel
RoyalHenOil LinkIf you ever make your way to Australia, one of my favorites is the Children's Garden, attached to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. It was designed as a playground, except that the plants...If you ever make your way to Australia, one of my favorites is the Children's Garden, attached to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. It was designed as a playground, except that the plants themselves serve as the playground equipment. Although it's for kids, it's still really interesting for adults because everything is planted around the idea of exploring freely and getting lost in a surreal environment. The rest of the botanical garden is great, too, but the Children's Garden is my favorite.
It's been such a success that it's inspired a lot of other places in Australia to incorporate plants more heavily in their playgrounds. For example, a small town near me designed a densely forested public playground and waterpark, designed around winding trails and 'rooms' to discover. Even though it's very popular (with both kids and adults), it still feels really private and wild due to the dense planting.
My very favorite garden I've ever visited is the botanical garden in San Francisco, though.
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?