1338's recent activity
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Comment on What do you think the top three most used apps on your phone for the past week are? in ~tech
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Comment on Epic Games announces Lore open-source version control system in ~tech
1338 Link ParentWell sure, I've got the handle of a million bad things because I'm forced to for one reason or another. But that's not a virtue. That's why it's good for there to be alternatives instead of...Well sure, I've got the handle of a million bad things because I'm forced to for one reason or another. But that's not a virtue. That's why it's good for there to be alternatives instead of monopolies.
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Comment on Epic Games announces Lore open-source version control system in ~tech
1338 Link ParentNeeding your users to have an unintuitive mental model and telling them that things they need to do are impossible because it violates some mathematical ideal is like the platonic ideal of bad UX.Needing your users to have an unintuitive mental model and telling them that things they need to do are impossible because it violates some mathematical ideal is like the platonic ideal of bad UX.
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Comment on Epic Games announces Lore open-source version control system in ~tech
1338 Link ParentThe UX is just bad. By that I mean the UX of the CLI primarily, if you throw enough tooling around it then sure it becomes usable. It was designed by Torvalds for his needs and it shows. Doing...The UX is just bad. By that I mean the UX of the CLI primarily, if you throw enough tooling around it then sure it becomes usable. It was designed by Torvalds for his needs and it shows. Doing simple things is way too hard and pretty much unusable without Stack Overflow to show you the arcane commands you then repeat through bash history. Even basic things like branch tracking just weren't originally thought through holistically, let alone things that are more complex but necessary like "rewriting." And now there's the backwards compatibility issue ("don't break my workflow") so new enhancements that do things in better ways end up having to be jumbled up on top, turning it into an even more bloated and hard to use monstrosity.
I preferred hg, which wasn't perfect but a much better DVCS.
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Comment on Epic Games announces Lore open-source version control system in ~tech
1338 Link ParentThat looks really very cool! I like that they're pulling heavily from hg, and having a full log looks insanely useful. I've been grudgingly using git even for my personal projects ever since...That looks really very cool! I like that they're pulling heavily from hg, and having a full log looks insanely useful.
I've been grudgingly using git even for my personal projects ever since bitbucket dropped hg support, as I do like to have the bells and whistles of a proper forge. This would solve that issue very well!
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
1338 Link ParentYep, I have that implemented! It'll also crop and cleanup the cover for you so the image matches your edition. I also have bookshelf scanning the same way.A wrapper for chatGPT or whatever would probably be the easiest -- snap a pic, it pulls the info, cleans it, then you send it off to a form or whatever...
Yep, I have that implemented! It'll also crop and cleanup the cover for you so the image matches your edition. I also have bookshelf scanning the same way.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
1338 Link ParentI have Google Books and OpenLibrary integrated. Not really happy with either of them. I looked at some other options but quickly hit juice vs squeeze issues. A core thing I'm trying to do...I have Google Books and OpenLibrary integrated. Not really happy with either of them. I looked at some other options but quickly hit juice vs squeeze issues.
A core thing I'm trying to do differently is to let any user customize anything about their library, so I am hoping to make it accessible to like scan a book directly vs needing a given edition of a book already available. I'm mostly been focused on physical books, ways to scan data from audiobooks/ebooks or integrate with libby or audible or such is something I haven't even begun to think about.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
1338 LinkMy book tracker is turning into something I'm feeling proud of and enjoying using myself. I've been mostly focusing on polish and improving the dashboard function recently. There's now a much...My book tracker is turning into something I'm feeling proud of and enjoying using myself. I've been mostly focusing on polish and improving the dashboard function recently. There's now a much better widget editor UI and the default dashboard is to the point where it's usable and not horribly ugly and buggy. But there seems to be no end of things small bugs that need fixing.
Some screenshots:
https://ibb.co/7JzHNQBb
https://ibb.co/JjrndnCj
https://ibb.co/mVpWbTyy
https://ibb.co/1YtKd2gW -
Comment on Epic Games announces Lore open-source version control system in ~tech
1338 LinkThe more alternatives to the horrid git, the better,The more alternatives to the horrid git, the better,
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Comment on What is your eleventh favorite video game? in ~games
1338 LinkUsing that Steam Playtime technique, my 11th is 7 Days to Die. I don't really feel like I ever played it that much. It might be one of those games I left running in the background days at a time,...Using that Steam Playtime technique, my 11th is 7 Days to Die. I don't really feel like I ever played it that much. It might be one of those games I left running in the background days at a time, back when I was living a place where utilities were included in rent. I don't know that I ever played that game in multiplayer. My time was spent wandering around, exploring, building things, and occasionally shooting zombies.
A little lower on my list gets into games like GTAV, and various Borderlands. Those games in general don't feel like a bad answer in spirit, popular single player or coop shooter games from 10-15 years ago. Certainly not my all time favorites or what I tend to prefer now, but games I enjoyed and appreciated.
Really though, some of my all-time favorites aren't ones I played on Steam, so my real answer is probably a bit higher on the list. I think the one that feels the most accurate is Audiosurf. It's the only music game I ever really liked. I played it all the time back like 20 years ago up through about a decade ago. I especially enjoyed the Mono modes. Having something engaging but not distracting, in a meditative way, really helped me enjoy the music. My fall off when I stopped playing it corresponds with when I stopped really enjoying music much either, despite intermittent attempts to try listening to it more again. It's been 8 years since I last played it.
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Comment on The "go fix a minor annoyance" togetherness topic in ~life
1338 LinkThis is not quite what you're describing, because it is something I simply keep forgetting about, but thanks to this thread I finally ordered a different type of dog poop bag. Hopefully these ones...This is not quite what you're describing, because it is something I simply keep forgetting about, but thanks to this thread I finally ordered a different type of dog poop bag. Hopefully these ones won't keep driving me batty as I stand by the side of the road for two minutes trying to get the damn thing open.
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Comment on How to try out over eighty-five Linux distros, no installation required - with DistroSea in ~comp
1338 LinkIt has a number of non-linux OSes too. But no TempleOS :(It has a number of non-linux OSes too. But no TempleOS :(
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Comment on Looking for headphone recommendations in ~music
1338 Link ParentI have also been using Soundcore for a few years, quality for price point is certainly good and I was pleasantly surprised when one of my earphones died early and they replaced the whole thing...I have also been using Soundcore for a few years, quality for price point is certainly good and I was pleasantly surprised when one of my earphones died early and they replaced the whole thing with minimal questions. But I'm becoming increasingly disgruntled the more and more ads and junk they put into their app. But I only need the app to check battery/charging status of the other earphone when wearing just one (and occasionally to check whether ANC turned on accidentally or I'm just crazy), so maybe OP can entirely avoid the app.
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Comment on Custom LED light frames in ~creative
1338 Link ParentYou might want to resize your pictures. They're taking forever to load for me and I think 4080x3072 is a bit larger than necessary.You might want to resize your pictures. They're taking forever to load for me and I think 4080x3072 is a bit larger than necessary.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
1338 LinkI've been working through the Legacy of the Force series. I just finished Sacrifice and am now on Inferno. I knew where SpoilerJacen was going when I started NJO and I knew SpoilerMara would die...I've been working through the Legacy of the Force series. I just finished Sacrifice and am now on Inferno. I knew where
was going when I started NJO and I knewSpoiler
Jacenwould die at some point, but didn't know any specifics. The former really has an interesting arc that I can't decide how I feel about. They really do change a lot, and I'm mixed on whether it feels like good writing or bad writing. But, either way, having it spread over so many books is really a special thing, it's hard to say any other media where I got to experiences such a massive change of a character over such a protracted period. The latter character is one I really like, easily my favorite EU original character, and I'm glad in Sacrifice you got to see them being kickass after too many books of very much not.Spoiler
MaraI'm definitely starting to look at ebay listings of Fate. Sucks knowing that after Fate it's over (minus that one comic series), fuck Disney. I gave in and bought a lot of assorted earlier books - though I've totally lost track of which ones I listened to on audiobook previously (other than the really good ones like Bane and really bad ones like Shatterpoint).
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion in ~games
1338 Link ParentThanks! I ended with 407 unplayed games. Unlike last year, my number actually went down!Thanks!
I ended with 407 unplayed games. Unlike last year, my number actually went down!
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Comment on What change would make you quit Tildes? in ~tildes
1338 LinkUnmuteable polka music that plays while you type any comment. A new rule restricting conversation to only be about the regulations and publishing policies of Moldovan journals of social science...Unmuteable polka music that plays while you type any comment.
A new rule restricting conversation to only be about the regulations and publishing policies of Moldovan journals of social science
Deimos edits all comments to end with "Carthago delenda est"
The only theme is now white text on neon pink background.
You can only access tildes via Chrome
Mandatory LaTeX. Also, mandatory latex.
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion in ~games
1338 Link ParentDay 31: For the final day, I decided to play some of my oldest games. I did that in two ways. The last (earliest) games on my unplayed list are games I know I definitely played at some point, but...Day 31:
For the final day, I decided to play some of my oldest games. I did that in two ways.
The last (earliest) games on my unplayed list are games I know I definitely played at some point, but probably before Steam reliably tracked play history. The first one I saw that I know for sure I never played is one called: Droplitz. Droplitz is no longer available to buy, and has been completely delisted from the steam store. It's a relatively simple game where you rotate hexagon tiles with tracks over them in order to form a contiguous path across the board. The catch is that you need to do it over and over again as fast as possible. Tiles disappear and get replaced and a timer resets when you complete a path. It's tetris energy.
The game was surprisingly well done for what it is and ran without hitches for how old it is and how long it has been abandoned. I didn't play that one for too long, for much the same reason I don't play tetris.
The other "earliest" game is one I actually got last year and have played before, like 25 years ago: Zoombinis.
I remember playing this game a million times at school when I was younger. It was definitely quite familiar, though I didn't recall there was actually a "story" to it. I was surprised to discover the premise of this game was capitalists screwing over labor and indenturing them, making the "logical journey" basically an underground railroad.
I played through and got one trip of Zoombinis through to the promised land. I lost a few Zoombinis to the fucking pizza level on my first attempt. I realized after falling into the trap of thinking "it's a pizza, there has to be cheese so surely that doesn't count as a topping" and quickly blowing through 5 guesses, that I definitely had that same issue as a kid. That left me with too few Zoombinis to get past the first rest area. My second round went better and I didn't lose any until after the second rest stop. I lost 1 Zoombini on the crystal level on my first go because I totally misunderstood what you were supposed to do and thought it would be more similar to earlier levels. I then lost most of my Zoombinis on the last level, I couldn't make out a few of what the symbols were supposed to be. I assume it was easier to see back in the 800x600 days. It was a nice blast to the past, but definitely don't see myself getting as excited to play it as I did as a kid.
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion in ~games
1338 Link ParentDay 30: When I scrolled through my list of unplayed items, my eyes would be caught by a stupid broken icon for something called "Nexuiz STUPID Mode." Trying to click through to the store page...Day 30:
When I scrolled through my list of unplayed items, my eyes would be caught by a stupid broken icon for something called "Nexuiz STUPID Mode." Trying to click through to the store page wouldn't work, I'd just get taken to the frontpage, and I had absolutely no memory of what Nexuiz is and what exactly made this game STUPID. So I decided to give it a try.
Nexuiz seems to be an older school FPS, sort of HL2 Deathmatch style but with newer graphics. It's also a bit faster paced, maybe somewhere between HL2 DM and Halo 1. Based on the error message at the bottom of the screen, I take it the game was, once upon a time, multiplayer. Nowadays, with servers long gone, I was left playing with a bunch of bots. I played a few rounds. It got easier when I increased the screen resolution and tweaked the brightness so it wasn't all blurry shadows. The maps are small with a bunch of launch pads and multi level layouts. Weapons spawn on spots on the map and you get swapped to new ones automatically, all to decrease downtime and keep people constantly moving and shooting. There's mutations, like a pogo stick mutation or one that makes your allies glow, which I'm going to guess is related to the STUPID mode.
Next to Nexuiz STUPID mode was also Nexuiz BETA, which I also tried but unfortunately it would just freeze up on the main menu. After trying that I realized I had regular Nexuiz on the list, which I tried but had the same freezing bug. The discussion suggests this is related to the servers being dead and requires blocking the hosts for the servers, which I couldn't be bothered doing.
I also gave Vigil: Blood Bitterness a try. This game is enigmatic in its brokenness. You can't buy this game anymore and someone discovered that the only way to launch it is to use a magic link to install an unlisted demo of a totally unrelated game. If you don't do that arcane step, the game will just pull up the steam store's homepage. Once you crack how to launch the game, you get a weirdly blurry menu with weird windows 95 themed confirmation modals. The game itself is entirely black and white (no grey) except for a blood-red splotches that appear when you click and some inexplicable orange blob. It's point and click and seemingly a puzzle game (I got quite stuck on the first map until finding out that you had to right click while standing in specific spots to do things). It's meant to be horror vibes I guess. There's video cutscenes but they were totally broken for me. I found the game pretty inexplicable even after getting it working and gave up not long after getting it working.
I also tried out Chains, another now unavailable game. This was actually not horribly broken. In this one you have balls of varying sizes and colors and need to draw a line between 3 or more of them, of the same color and in sufficient proximity, to make them disappear. It has some basic physics that makes the whole thing feel sorta fluid-like. On each level there's a specific goal, like clear 100 balls, but after the first one it starts to introduce twists like a need to keep the "river" flowing (that is, clear large balls that block things up so the other balls keep falling) or build a single line where the balls (which each have a numeric value in this level) all add up to a specific number. The game could certainly use more polish, the graphics are weak and overall it feels like a student project than a professional indie game. Amusingly they didn't compensate for aspect ratio so if you maximize the window the balls all get stretched out.
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion in ~games
1338 Link ParentDay 29: Wacky is the best word to describe the vibe of Cargo! - The quest for gravity. Your quasi-dirigible crash lands on an island of ugly, fat, naked baby mutants who are somewhere between...Day 29:
Wacky is the best word to describe the vibe of Cargo! - The quest for gravity. Your quasi-dirigible crash lands on an island of ugly, fat, naked baby mutants who are somewhere between Oompa Loompas and Minions, including with a tendency to break out in song, but with a fetish for being kicked or otherwise abused. The main mechanic is running around the island, throwing debris, and kicking the naked babies, in order to build up currency to buy vehicle parts from gods (who are giant masks on a elevated rail). You then get to build vehicles, mostly water/air, from the parts.
It's... interesting. The vehicle building is a bit rough to get the hang of and not super powerful or capable, but it's always fun to mess around in a vehicle builder like this and there is a sandbox mode. The physics engine is satisfactory for the physics heavy gameplay (unlike a certain other game I played recently) and while definitely aged, the graphics are fine. There's voice acting and effort was spent on audio in general.
But overall it seems like the sort of game my nephew (who found Goat Simulator 3 the height of comedy last christmas) would love. As for me, I doubt I will revisit. But given I purchased it in 2012 for $2.50, I don't feel too bad about that.
On mine there's Settings - Apps - Screen Time