BeardyHat's recent activity
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Comment on How often do you talk to strangers? And do you have a preference for the stranger’s gender? in ~life
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Comment on How often do you talk to strangers? And do you have a preference for the stranger’s gender? in ~life
BeardyHat Link ParentWe'll see, anyway. No idea if our parenting strategy will pay off. It's also interesting because I think the problem I was mentioning is really more of a middle-class type thing, as most the...We'll see, anyway. No idea if our parenting strategy will pay off. It's also interesting because I think the problem I was mentioning is really more of a middle-class type thing, as most the parents I know parenting like that are middle class. My kids school has a wide range of kids going to it, from middle class like myself to kids who are worse off on the socio-economic scale and those kids often seem to be more latchkey, so it runs the gamut.
At any rate, did you build your train set yourself? Always been interested in them and see all the stuff for them at the hobby shop; I find them intriguing, but I'm already a miniature wargaming hobbyist and don't need another.
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Comment on How often do you talk to strangers? And do you have a preference for the stranger’s gender? in ~life
BeardyHat (edited )Link ParentHow funny you mention it, as it was just this week that we started letting our kids ride their bikes to school and get themselves to class completely solo. So far, so good! Normally we'd walk and...How funny you mention it, as it was just this week that we started letting our kids ride their bikes to school and get themselves to class completely solo. So far, so good! Normally we'd walk and meet them at the bike rack at their school, but now we're taking the opportunity to go for a regular walk together and let the kids handle themselves.
And also, my wife just sent me that article on Monday this week. I read it and sent it over to a friend of mine who I've been trying to get to loosen up on their parenting style, but I find are often very beholden to their kid and the routine.
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Comment on A stunning rebuke of anti-trans US politics: Republicans spent $200 million attacking trans people and lost everything in ~lgbt
BeardyHat Link ParentYeah, this one was frustrating as a Coloradan; it was obvious from the language that this was all explicitly anti-trans, so I have no idea why it won so handily. Guess even us Blue voters don't...Yeah, this one was frustrating as a Coloradan; it was obvious from the language that this was all explicitly anti-trans, so I have no idea why it won so handily. Guess even us Blue voters don't like trans people.
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Comment on How often do you talk to strangers? And do you have a preference for the stranger’s gender? in ~life
BeardyHat Link ParentDefinitely got me there. Even as an introvert, I have quite an extensive social life and usually once we're out, I'm not necessarily in a hurry to leave, especially because we don't get to do it...Definitely got me there. Even as an introvert, I have quite an extensive social life and usually once we're out, I'm not necessarily in a hurry to leave, especially because we don't get to do it very often.
But booze helps, for sure. Usually once I start drinking, I'm having a good time and trying to find that medium area where I'm not going to sleep like shit, but I'm excited to just hang out and chat with people.
I might just be pulling shit out of my ass, but it seems like a lot of older folks/parents I meet these days, their kids are their whole world and entire identity. They're obsessed with routines, naptimes and making sure their child is never the least bit uncomfortable or bored, so instead of telling their kids to fuck off (I mean, we're kinder, I guess. Usually our words are, "Sorry you're bored, but this is what we're doing so go find something to do or someone to hang out with, because you can't hang on me.") they are ready to leave as soon as their kid makes them the slightest bit uncomfortable.
Again, I might just be pulling this out of my ass. But I never had a problem, even when my kids were younger, with either letting them stay-up or finding them a place to sleep/nap until Mom & Dad are ready to go home. We only know a handful of other parents that agree with our philosophy, but if we don't have school or anything to do in the morning, then we're going to stick it out as long as we can. Though we do end-up usually having a 35-40ish minute drive home, so sometimes that can suck.
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Comment on How often do you talk to strangers? And do you have a preference for the stranger’s gender? in ~life
BeardyHat Link ParentWe definitely did that when our kids were younger, but they're 9 and 6 1/2 now, so they can handle staying up until 10ish on rare occasion. They're not great the next day, cause they're crabby,...We definitely did that when our kids were younger, but they're 9 and 6 1/2 now, so they can handle staying up until 10ish on rare occasion. They're not great the next day, cause they're crabby, but it's fine.
I think most people though tend to use the kids as an excuse to get out of there early; no shade, I've certainly done that occasionally.
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Comment on How often do you talk to strangers? And do you have a preference for the stranger’s gender? in ~life
BeardyHat Link ParentWe still go to big parties, but they're only really twice a year. And everyone bails early because they gotta get the kids home and in bed; though we let ours stay up a little later so we can...We still go to big parties, but they're only really twice a year. And everyone bails early because they gotta get the kids home and in bed; though we let ours stay up a little later so we can enjoy hanging out for a little longer.
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Comment on World of Warcraft: Forever | Cinematic trailer in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentMy friend gave me a friend code to play and in spite of my other comments in this thread, I've been enjoying myself. I do hate the sharding so far, but I'm hoping it'll get better as the...My friend gave me a friend code to play and in spite of my other comments in this thread, I've been enjoying myself.
I do hate the sharding so far, but I'm hoping it'll get better as the population thins out. At this point, I've been needing to stop myself from playing, because I want to remain in the same level range as my friends so we can run dungeons once or twice a week. I'm currently 19 with my Priest and itching to play more.
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Comment on How often do you talk to strangers? And do you have a preference for the stranger’s gender? in ~life
BeardyHat Link ParentOh yeah, she often just wants to stay at home and be chill and quiet. We're also older now, so parties and the like are more rare and don't last as long in general.Oh yeah, she often just wants to stay at home and be chill and quiet. We're also older now, so parties and the like are more rare and don't last as long in general.
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Comment on Gordon Lightfoot - Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald (1976) in ~music
BeardyHat LinkI read The Gales of November last year, because while I was a aware of the Fitz, I didn't know all that much about it and the incident that lead-up to its sundering (it was also available on Libby...I read The Gales of November last year, because while I was a aware of the Fitz, I didn't know all that much about it and the incident that lead-up to its sundering (it was also available on Libby without a Hold, so that helped). The book is very much worth reading, it goes into the history of shipping on The Great Lakes and all the cities and towns it built along the way and then of course, details about the Fitz, it's crew and even this Lightfoot song.
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Comment on How often do you talk to strangers? And do you have a preference for the stranger’s gender? in ~life
BeardyHat LinkYeah, I randomly chat with people, depending on the day. Sometimes I'm feeling more social, others less, so it just depends. But I'll talk to anyone, man, woman or child, because I genuinely do...Yeah, I randomly chat with people, depending on the day. Sometimes I'm feeling more social, others less, so it just depends. But I'll talk to anyone, man, woman or child, because I genuinely do enjoy talking to people.
I think the last conversation I had was a week or so ago with some random dude at the hardware store. It was him that sparked the conversation, but I just continued chatting. Before that was a random woman, who I heard mention the name of my high school, so I looked for a break in the conversation she was having and asked her about it.
I've also become quite friendly with a group of Mom's after school (I'm a man, for reference), because my kids always want to play at the school playground after school and there's a group of other kids/Moms that do as well so I started chatting with them and have gotten to know them reasonably well. Enough to the point that on Halloween night, I saw one of the kids who hangs out at the park and they needed to use the potty, I offered them to go to my house because my wife was home handing out candy and we were right next to it. It was actually the first time I met the kids parents because usually it's their grandma that's hanging out, who I've gotten to know, along with the kid.
I never used to have social skills, but I guess being partner to an extrovert for the last 20 years has done something to me.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentToo bad about Underkeep. I was really looking forward to it and been putting off buying it because I have plenty of games I haven't touched yet and I've been meaning to go back and finish Darkside...Too bad about Underkeep. I was really looking forward to it and been putting off buying it because I have plenty of games I haven't touched yet and I've been meaning to go back and finish Darkside of Xeen after finishing Light Side about two years ago now.
Sounds like when I'm ready for another one of these games, Darkside will be the way to go.
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Comment on RIP Cybertruck. You were unloved, unwanted, and utterly absurd. in ~transport
BeardyHat Link ParentOh uh, hey. I mean, at least my Nazi helmet fits in alongside my British and French WW2 helmets. I came into all of them sort of by accident and I happen to be a WW2 buff.Oh uh, hey.
I mean, at least my Nazi helmet fits in alongside my British and French WW2 helmets. I came into all of them sort of by accident and I happen to be a WW2 buff.
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Comment on RIP Cybertruck. You were unloved, unwanted, and utterly absurd. in ~transport
BeardyHat Link ParentI won't say I like how it looks, but I'm so appreciate that it's something different in a sea of generic crossovers and massive trucks and SUVs.I won't say I like how it looks, but I'm so appreciate that it's something different in a sea of generic crossovers and massive trucks and SUVs.
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Comment on Cyberattack disrupts blood storage refrigeration systems in France in ~tech
BeardyHat Link ParentPrevious company I was a SysAdmin for stored customer credit card data in plain text. But it wasn't a priority to fix it.Previous company I was a SysAdmin for stored customer credit card data in plain text. But it wasn't a priority to fix it.
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Comment on 2026 United States midterm elections distractions topic in ~talk
BeardyHat LinkHonestly, I'm just waiting for WoW: Forever to release. I already voted like two weeks ago and am curious to see how my local ballot issues come out, but I'm not much thinking about it because I...Honestly, I'm just waiting for WoW: Forever to release. I already voted like two weeks ago and am curious to see how my local ballot issues come out, but I'm not much thinking about it because I just want to play WoW.
I full expect Microsoft (They're Blizzard in name only and I refuse to call them that anymore) to absolutely butcher it in due time with microtransactions and dumb decisions, several of which we've seen already between Sky Elves (really?) and Sharding rather than proper servers. But I've been playing on Private Servers so long, I absolutely have no issue going back to them if they absolutely screw this one up.
Reservations aside, I'm looking forward to getting into an MMO again. I tried with Monsters & Memories when it released on Oct 1st and it's a great game in lots of ways, but a little too beholden to the Everquest philosophy, which means I just do not have the time or the inclination to play it much beyond the probably 20-30 hours I put into it. WoW has always been my mainstay since beta back in 04; it's been an on again, off again game for me in those 22 years. I remember being pretty skeptical of it at the time, because I was deep into Final Fantasy 11, but after playing the beta for WoW, I pretty much quit playing FFXI altogether and never looked back.
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Comment on Has anyone here experienced a tv show slump? in ~tv
BeardyHat LinkI was big on TV shows for a long time, I grew up with them and continued watching them well into adulthood, but anymore? The list of TV shows my wife and I have abandoned is ever growing, even...I was big on TV shows for a long time, I grew up with them and continued watching them well into adulthood, but anymore? The list of TV shows my wife and I have abandoned is ever growing, even classics like Next Gen where there isn't necessarily a consistent plot to follow, we kind of just petered off around Season 4 and it's been like this for us for years.
These days, when we sit down in the evenings to watch something, it's usually Youtube videos, because it allows us to kind of move our attention around in 20ish minute increments. Often I might pick a video that I'm interested in and so she'll play a game on her phone or something for that time period and then after that, she puts on whatever she wants that I don't necessarily care about, so I play a videogame during that time.
But then we also have our "Movie Nights", which used to be on a schedule, but now we kind of just do it randomly when one of us feels like watching a movie. That's been more enjoyable than TV, simply because yeah, we're not going to dual screen while we watch it, but it's one and done. It's something we can continue talking about and analyzing over several days and it's not something we end-up feeling like we need to binge or watch night after night with something that has a lot of episodes.
And maybe it's always been like this? I recall when I was a kid, my parents would turn on the TV after dinner and maybe watch a show if there was something on, but maybe would flip channels or turn on something random for the noise and then either talk or wander around, etc. There were a few shows, of course, that were weekly new episodes like Next Gen or some Sit Com or something, but that was all they got; that half hour or hour a week where they wanted to really pay attention to the thing and then move on. Maybe it's our modern setup that's weird, where we always expect to have "content" and have a thing consume our attention constantly and fully, a thing we do every night or where we watch multiple episodes and binge, etc. I don't think we're built for that and the modern context of it has fooled us into thinking we need to "Get stuck in" to any given thing and have it consume us wholly.
Even well into my 20's, the context was different. I was waiting for the new episode of Lost every week or the new episode of Arrested Development, Game of Thrones, etc and I'd put everything down and watch that one thing for the period it was on and then talk about the episode that week with friends or family. Bingeing wasn't really a thing, even if you had DVD's, it wasn't necessarily super common. You might go weeks, months or years without a new TV show you were really super interested.
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Comment on Halloween night! in ~talk
BeardyHat LinkAbsolutely bumping in my neighborhood. Maybe not crazy, but I was excited when I exited my house at 630 with my oldest and the street was full with kids. My oldest only hit about 7 houses before...Absolutely bumping in my neighborhood.
Maybe not crazy, but I was excited when I exited my house at 630 with my oldest and the street was full with kids. My oldest only hit about 7 houses before they were telling me they were ready to go home, but I encouraged them to go further, since it's only one night a year.
We ended up going for an hour and a half and made a good loop around our local area in the neighborhood. Saw a few neighbors I haven't seen in awhile and met a lot of new ones, which was exciting and I had a great time hanging out with my oldest while we walked around the neighborhood.
My wife stayed home and said we had a solid amount of kids while I was gone. Things are slowing down quite a bit now, which makes sense. I think it's largely younger families in our hood these days, which is a marked changeover from when we first moved here eight years ago.
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Comment on Opeth - The Grand Conjuration (2005) in ~music
BeardyHat LinkOpeth was pretty massive for me. I had listened to a lot of metal prior to them, but they really exposed me to the progressive stuff. Saw them on tour in support of this album in 2005. I'd tell...Opeth was pretty massive for me. I had listened to a lot of metal prior to them, but they really exposed me to the progressive stuff.
Saw them on tour in support of this album in 2005. I'd tell you the exact date, but it's on the back of a T-shirt which I had my wife make into a quilt of all my old metal shirts. She's currently taking a nap on said quilt.
It's funny though, I was having a conversation with another metalhead last week and we were relating the fact that we can no longer tolerate such long songs. I cut my a lot of my Metal teeth on stuff like Symphony X, but these days, I much prefer a tightly written 3 and a half minute song to anything ten minutes or more.
Still a fantastic song though.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI see what you're getting at, but I definitely think this a series that really relies heavily on memorization, which just isn't for me as a guy with an awful memory. I've been playing Bloodlines...I see what you're getting at, but I definitely think this a series that really relies heavily on memorization, which just isn't for me as a guy with an awful memory.
I've been playing Bloodlines periodically (mostly because I was a Sega kid) the past few days after conversing with you and I do really like it. It's a beautiful game and fun to play, but I find myself unable to get any further than Stage 2, where I end up burning pretty much all my lives and continues in the course of the stage.
Especially in the part with the rising water, where I can't see what's above me as I climb higher and higher, I feel like I need to memorize what's above me and where the enemies are in order to effectively navigate the level.
But I've also been thinking about the Igavanias after you mentioned them and I can absolutely see why someone might not find them super appealing. After playing the GBA series, I've found them largely pretty boring. The exploration can be fun, but it doesn't feel like there's a lot of meat or replayability to them, especially as someone like myself who came to them really only recently. Much as I loved Aria of Sorrow, I had to force myself to finish Symphony of the Night and haven't really been able to get through any of the other games later in the series.
But I also think in general and this applies to all of the Castlevania series, I'm just not big on 2d platformers. I like them alright, I grew up on them and there's several I still return to, but I also don't generally find them very interesting or fun on a personal level. So there's also a taste component of it for me.
That's how it goes, I know. I've been rebuilding an engine, which is going on seven years in December. Nearly done, but my big achievement for this week was unbolting a bolt and and getting it back on (I missed something that needed to be attached). Took me an hour just for the bolt, then I tested for leaks on what I was installing.