Boojum's recent activity
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
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Comment on The two cultures in ~games.tabletop
Boojum LinkThe combination of non-determinism and strategic play mentioned here is why Bridge is my favorite card game. (Granted it's deterministic after the initial shuffle, but that shuffle does inject...The combination of non-determinism and strategic play mentioned here is why Bridge is my favorite card game. (Granted it's deterministic after the initial shuffle, but that shuffle does inject some non-determinism that manifests through imperfect information.)
It's got that flavor though, where a strategical stronger player will win out more in the long run, with the odd upsets here and there due to good vs. bad hands. And also where a calculated gamble can get torpedoed if the cards broke the wrong way.
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Comment on Why the short-lived Calvin and Hobbes is still one of the most beloved and influential comic strips in ~comics
Boojum LinkCalvin and Hobbes is definitely a favorite in my household. In recent years, I've really been enjoying the printed volumes of Phoebe and Her Unicorn, which feels like something of a spiritual...Calvin and Hobbes is definitely a favorite in my household.
In recent years, I've really been enjoying the printed volumes of Phoebe and Her Unicorn, which feels like something of a spiritual successor. It's more than just a gender-flipped clone of C&H; the characters' personalities are rather different, for one thing, (Phoebe's probably closer to Susie than Calvin) and the setting is modern day with Phoebe being Gen Alpha and her parents being children of the 80's. But it definitely shares a lot of themes.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
Boojum Link ParentThanks! The paper I was referred to is "Sky Color Near the Horizon During a Total Solar Eclipse". Regarding my work, I'm still experimenting. I only started writing my little test renderer on...Thanks! The paper I was referred to is "Sky Color Near the Horizon During a Total Solar Eclipse".
Regarding my work, I'm still experimenting. I only started writing my little test renderer on Tuesday evening and haven't managed to reproduce the effect with it yet.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
Boojum LinkEarlier this week, a relative who went to see the eclipse mentioned a discussion with friends of theirs who noticed a pink glow on the horizon. One of them thought it might be Rayleigh scattering...Earlier this week, a relative who went to see the eclipse mentioned a discussion with friends of theirs who noticed a pink glow on the horizon. One of them thought it might be Rayleigh scattering and the group found a paper whose title seemed to support this (not open-access and no author pre-print available, unfortunately, so I haven't read it myself).
That inspired me to try to write a little skydome renderer for eclipses to see if I could corroborate this theory via simulation. It's been fun refreshing my knowledge of atmospheric scattering and absorption, the solar spectrum and blackbody radiation, multiscatter volume rendering, and spectral rendering.
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Comment on What did you do to "prepare" for your marriage? in ~life
Boojum Link ParentIf you're talking about "wives, submit to your husbands" aspect, no, I can't say I really remember anything like that. It's been a long time though. The bulk of it was just asking us each the same...If you're talking about "wives, submit to your husbands" aspect, no, I can't say I really remember anything like that. It's been a long time though. The bulk of it was just asking us each the same non-gendered questions to jot down an answer to in a workbook and then talk over.
I found a page that gives the gist of the kinds of questions asked. There are definitely questions of faith in there, but I think it's still a pretty good list of things to consider even if you took all of those out.
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Comment on What did you do to "prepare" for your marriage? in ~life
Boojum Link ParentThanks, yes! That jogs my memory a bit (especially the disability question), but the marriage prep in Chicago definitely had those kinds of questions. Other big questions from it that are coming...Thanks, yes! That jogs my memory a bit (especially the disability question), but the marriage prep in Chicago definitely had those kinds of questions. Other big questions from it that are coming back to me:
- Are you open to having kids if they should come earlier than you intend to try for (or if you don't intend to have kids)?
- How do you feel about their friends, and how do they feel about your friends?
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Comment on What did you do to "prepare" for your marriage? in ~life
Boojum Link ParentMy spouse and I do this sort of thing with separate credit cards backed by a joint bank account. At the end of the day, everything goes into and comes out of the same pot of money. But it's easier...My spouse and I do this sort of thing with separate credit cards backed by a joint bank account. At the end of the day, everything goes into and comes out of the same pot of money. But it's easier to watch what we're individually spending from credit card statements. (We're fortunate enough not to live paycheck-to-paycheck, so rather than saving up for personal goodies, it tends to be post-hoc: "That was a more expensive month than usual with that big purchase, so I'll lay off for the next few months.")
For the kid savings, we opened co-signed bank accounts in their names and set up recurring weekly transfers for their allowances. That solved the "Oops, when did we last give you your allowance?", plus the "My money is gone from my piggy bank! Someone took it!" squabbles we'd had, even if it's not as much fun as a pile of cash in a piggy bank. For the younger kids, bigger purchases they want to make go on our credit card and then we transfer the funds out of their accounts later. Meanwhile, the teens have debit cards for their accounts.
Apart from that, we also have set up automatic recurring contributions to a 529 account for each of the kids.
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Comment on Best "dad" jokes and puns! in ~talk
Boojum Link ParentMy preferred version of that first "bar" joke: Two guys walk into a bar. The third one ducks.My preferred version of that first "bar" joke:
Two guys walk into a bar. The third one ducks.
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Comment on How do you organize your phone's home screens and apps? in ~tech
Boojum Link ParentI have a very similar philosophy. My home screen just has a clock widget and a basic set of eight apps (calculator, maps, notes, browser, phone, texts, clock, and camera). Most of the screen real...I have a very similar philosophy. My home screen just has a clock widget and a basic set of eight apps (calculator, maps, notes, browser, phone, texts, clock, and camera). Most of the screen real estate just shows my wallpaper. Everything else (another 25 apps or so) goes in the drawer.
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Comment on What did you do to "prepare" for your marriage? in ~life
Boojum LinkIt sounds like you're off to a good start already (especially with viewing it as a partnership)! I (non-Catholic) married into a Catholic family and my spouse and I had a Church wedding. A...It sounds like you're off to a good start already (especially with viewing it as a partnership)!
I (non-Catholic) married into a Catholic family and my spouse and I had a Church wedding. A prerequisite for that was their PreCana marriage preparation course that we signed up for after an initial consultation with the family priest. For the one that we went to, it was basically an intensive all-day course on a Saturday. It largely consisted of being given a ton of questions to honestly discuss between the two of us and make sure that we're in agreement. Many were things we'd already discussed, but there were definitely some curve balls that we hadn't considered. (Sadly, I don't remember them now.) It was a good experience.
I know many on this site have an atheist / anti-church world view. I completely get that! But many religious groups have hundreds or even thousands of years of experience officiating weddings and seeing their members marry. They've seen just about everything. Moreover, it's in their interest to help marriages to succeed, while helping steer couples away from entering marriages likely to fail. Even from a secular point of view, there's usually a good alignment there.
So if you have any association with a church of some kind (of whatever major religion), I'd suggest checking to see if they have some kind of marriage prep.
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Comment on xkcd: Machine in ~games
Boojum Link ParentIf you do give it another go, I'd highly recommend this map instead of mine. It was posted half a day later, but theirs is interactive, zoomable, and has POIs marked. It's much nicer to use.If you do give it another go, I'd highly recommend this map instead of mine. It was posted half a day later, but theirs is interactive, zoomable, and has POIs marked. It's much nicer to use.
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Comment on xkcd: Machine in ~games
Boojum Link ParentThat was a fun one! I remember having a good time trying to reverse engineer it as quickly as possible to produce a map.That was a fun one! I remember having a good time trying to reverse engineer it as quickly as possible to produce a map.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
Boojum LinkDipping back into Anne of Green Gables yet again. The first time I ever read it was well before my 12 year old came along. But she has an extremely Anne-like personality, while her best friend is...Dipping back into Anne of Green Gables yet again.
The first time I ever read it was well before my 12 year old came along. But she has an extremely Anne-like personality, while her best friend is very Diana-like. It was rather shocking to me on a re-read of Anne after my daughter got her ADHD diagnosis (and I had started learning about ADHD) when I noticed just how well L. M. Montgomery captures that personality type. I'd swear that Anne would be diagnosed if she were a real person living today.
Chapter 13 is by far my favorite capsule portrait of it. I sometimes jokingly quote Marilla from that chapter:
"Anne, you have talked even on for ten minutes by the clock," said Marilla. "Now, just for curiosity’s sake, see if you can hold your tongue for the same length of time."
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Comment on Best foreign films and TV shows? in ~tv
Boojum Link ParentCity of Lost Children is odd, but good. I remember thinking strongly of it when I first saw Bioshock.City of Lost Children is odd, but good. I remember thinking strongly of it when I first saw Bioshock.
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Comment on Best foreign films and TV shows? in ~tv
Boojum LinkFor moody and dramatic, how about some of the 20th century period drama Chinese films that Gong Li starred in back in the early 90s? To Live, for example, is my favorite of her films and follows a...For moody and dramatic, how about some of the 20th century period drama Chinese films that Gong Li starred in back in the early 90s?
To Live, for example, is my favorite of her films and follows a fairly ordinary family through several decades that cover both civil war and the cultural revolution. Those events lead to a lot of sadness, while the family is basically just trying to survive.
In Raise the Red Lantern, she plays a woman who reluctantly becomes the fourth wife of a wealthy estate owner. The drama revolves around her interactions with the other three wives. Lots of "politics", as you might imagine.
Farewell My Concubine is also quite good.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Boojum Link ParentDo you mean beyond what FFIV offered? Honestly, I enjoyed all three of the SNES-era FF games, but FFVI is definitely the top in my opinion. But yes, I always find the parts of the story with the...Do you mean beyond what FFIV offered? Honestly, I enjoyed all three of the SNES-era FF games, but FFVI is definitely the top in my opinion.
But yes, I always find the parts of the story with the Empire especially to be quite dreary. I think a huge part of that is the music. Brrr. Though the dreariness is certainly effective at making me want to defeat them.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Boojum Link ParentYes, I've definitely been juggling the weapons. I think the game tries to force that somewhat via ammo limits, at least early on. Relying exclusively on one type of weapon is a quick way to run...Yes, I've definitely been juggling the weapons. I think the game tries to force that somewhat via ammo limits, at least early on. Relying exclusively on one type of weapon is a quick way to run out of ammo during a protracted fight. (I just finished the ARC level last night, and whew, that was a long battle right at the end.)
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Boojum Link ParentIt also helps to know that the underworld basically inverts the terrain of the overworld. Mountains map to pits, and valleys to ridges, etc. I also found it really helpful to put markers on the...It also helps to know that the underworld basically inverts the terrain of the overworld. Mountains map to pits, and valleys to ridges, etc. I also found it really helpful to put markers on the underworld map underneath overworld shrines when light-root hunting and vice versa. The two really do correspond in a ton of ways.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Boojum (edited )LinkFinal Fantasy VI (SNES on Steam Deck) I got the original on release for Christmas as a kid, so the SNES version will always be the definitive edition to me. It's been a long time since I last did...Final Fantasy VI (SNES on Steam Deck)
I got the original on release for Christmas as a kid, so the SNES version will always be the definitive edition to me.
It's been a long time since I last did a play through, and it's been fun doing another run. I had forgotten little things like the pacing, the power curve, the exact party composition requirements, etc.
There's definitely aspects of its design that seem dated now, but despite that I think a lot of it still holds up really well. I love how much they're able to tell a good story through little sprite skits, I love the themes of the story (failure and redemption, different forms of love, what it is to be human). And it's always fun to see the little bits of foreshadowing and calls forward here and there.
Link's Awakening (Switch remake)
I never owned the original. I did play the GBC version on emulation a few years ago, but never quite finished it; I stopped at Turtle Rock for some reason. For disclosure, my all time favorite Zelda game is probably still ALttP, likely due to familiarity and nostalgia. (I did own the cartridge for that one.)
I thought the remake was fantastic and finished it in fairly short order. I loved the little quality of life touches, like making good use of the extra buttons on the Switch, being able to move and attack diagonally more easily, the map that's clearly borrowed from BotW with the ability to place markers, and so forth. The remake definitely felt easier because of these things.
I also really enjoyed the chibi diorama art style. (I just wish it could have maintained the framerate solidly.) I haven't really seen this art style in any other game (except maybe Animal Crossing), but I'd definitely like to see more of it.
The length felt just about right, too. What with family, I don't have as much time as I used to, so I've come to appreciate focused, tight games that don't outstay their welcome.
Doom (2016) (Desktop PC)
This is my current game, and I've got mixed opinions so far.
First, graphically, it's pretty cool. I got myself a new gaming/software dev/ML tinkering desktop rig for Christmas to replace a machine that I'd been using since 2010 or so (albeit with some upgrades here and there). I'm enjoying finally being able to not just play this game, but to crank the graphics up to Ultra on 4k and not even see my GPU break 50 degrees.
That said, I find that all the snazzy graphics often means that there's too much visual clutter and I miss passages, secrets, switches, ledges, etc. Occasionally this has led to me getting stuck and having to look the level up in a guide, only to find that there was some object (such as a terminal or a corpse) that I was supposed to have interacted with.
The combat is... interesting. I played a ton of multiplayer FPSs back in the day, tons of Quake 1 and 2 DM, and I led a UT2k3/4 CTF clan for a while; so I'm no stranger to FPSs. This game doesn't really suite my favored play style, I think. I like to scope things out carefully and pick enemies off from a distance. Let me line up a kill shot with a hit-scan weapon from across the map and I'm in my element.
Here, the game loop seems to revolve around large levels divided into little mini arenas. You step out into an area, the doors close to seal you in, and then waves of enemies teleport in to attack. The game is really oriented around close-up, almost melee combat, especially with the glory kills being almost required for keeping health up in between the waves. There's essentially no way for me to get the drop on the biggest enemies, nor to know how to budget my ammo and powerups. (There've been times I've let a quad damage go unused because I didn't know if there was a still-bigger wave coming.)
I can see what they're doing here. It seems like they're really trying to recreate a DM-style experience in a single player campaign, but I don't think it quite works. In a real DM, I would have played a given map a bunch of times and be very familiar with where the spawn points are, where the power ups are, and what the map flow is like. Here, I don't really get a chance at that. There's no time to get comfortable with the mini arena before I'm attacked, I don't know what's going to spawn or where, and by the time I do know I'm already done with it and moving on to the next thing.
That said, I do find it very satisfying fragging Cacodemons out of the sky with the Gauss canon. :-)
My other big criticism is with the checkpoint system. I'm sure that they probably replaced normal saving with checkpointing to try to prevent some amount of save-scumming, or saving mid-combat. But I find it way too easy to miss the "Checkpoint reached" message unless I expect it and am looking for it, and there's no way to see where the last checkpoint was! I'm used to many games these days showing a little screenshot on the save file, and I miss that greatly here. That, or being able to save any time I'm not in the middle of combat.
I'm still having fun and I plan to finish, but it does feel a bit flawed.
Oh, awesome! Thank you so much!