Carrow's recent activity

  1. Comment on ‘ICE Out’ strike and protests: what to know about demonstrations across the US in ~society

    Carrow
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    You aren't wrong, but folks are also organizing for a No Kings protest on March 28th.

    You aren't wrong, but folks are also organizing for a No Kings protest on March 28th.

    9 votes
  2. Comment on Where to buy mp3s legally? in ~music

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    Others have provided better answers but here's another source: Steam. Albums and soundtracks you get on Steam give you DRM free audio files, often mp3 or flac, that's how I get game soundtracks....

    Others have provided better answers but here's another source: Steam. Albums and soundtracks you get on Steam give you DRM free audio files, often mp3 or flac, that's how I get game soundtracks. Some of mine on there are story collections/audiobooks. Though in Swedish and for kids is in shorter supply.

    4 votes
  3. Comment on GameSir Pocket Taco Kickstarter has been launched in ~games

    Carrow
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    It's a universal Bluetooth controller, it ought to work with any app with controller support. Their app they reference is for tweaking the controller itself.

    It's a universal Bluetooth controller, it ought to work with any app with controller support. Their app they reference is for tweaking the controller itself.

    1 vote
  4. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Carrow
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    Glad you're enjoying the recommendation :) My next monster tamer (besides digimon net driver, I'm always on that) is probably gonna be Dokimon Quest. I don't expect it'll be on caliber of Cassette...

    Glad you're enjoying the recommendation :)

    My next monster tamer (besides digimon net driver, I'm always on that) is probably gonna be Dokimon Quest. I don't expect it'll be on caliber of Cassette Beasts, but the aesthetic appealed to me and it has apparent NGE inspirations from its trailer so glad to try it for the $4 I paid on sale.

    2 votes
  5. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of January 11 in ~games

    Carrow
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    Dumb Ways to Die is the mobile freebie. Cute art, over 80 mini games trying to make your beans not die.

    Dumb Ways to Die is the mobile freebie. Cute art, over 80 mini games trying to make your beans not die.

    3 votes
  6. Comment on Tether freezes $182 million in stablecoins as reports point to heavy crypto use by Venezuela in ~finance

    Carrow
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    The article gets into that. Basically, similar tech, but different currencies with different goals. Stablecoins usually work by taking your dollar and giving you a token, at a one to one* exchange...

    The article gets into that. Basically, similar tech, but different currencies with different goals. Stablecoins usually work by taking your dollar and giving you a token, at a one to one* exchange rate whether buying or selling, keeping the value fixed to the dollar*.

    *except not quite always, sometimes off by a smidge briefly

    While Bitcoin was created to avoid much of the centralized control associated with the traditional banking system, stablecoins do not operate in a similarly decentralized manner. These dollar-pegged tokens necessitate a centralized issuer behind them that holds reserves, and they are not nearly as censorship-resistant as the digitally native bitcoin. Stablecoins like USDT and Circle’s USDC have backdoors programmed in them to allow their controllers to do things like freeze funds that are allegedly associated with illicit activity, which some banks view as an advantage over the more permissionless Bitcoin.

    The crypto industry has become increasingly centralized around stablecoins, which has created a rift between tech entrepreneurs who want to use them to create useful products and more philosophically focused cypherpunks who want to stick closer to Bitcoin’s original vision of decentralization for end users.

    4 votes
  7. Comment on "Visa" gift cards - What should I be looking at? in ~finance

    Carrow
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    Wow I hadn't heard any of this before, I'll strike it from my recommendations going forward. Thank you for the in depth explanation.

    Wow I hadn't heard any of this before, I'll strike it from my recommendations going forward. Thank you for the in depth explanation.

  8. Comment on US Border agents shoot, wound two people in Portland in ~society

    Carrow
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    Good points, thanks~

    Good points, thanks~

    1 vote
  9. Comment on "Visa" gift cards - What should I be looking at? in ~finance

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    https://www.privacy.com/ may do the trick. You'd still link your CC to it, but they generate virtual cards for you. I haven't used it myself but other folks including tilderinos have recommended it.

    https://www.privacy.com/ may do the trick. You'd still link your CC to it, but they generate virtual cards for you. I haven't used it myself but other folks including tilderinos have recommended it.

    12 votes
  10. Comment on US Border agents shoot, wound two people in Portland in ~society

    Carrow
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    I don't know why everyone is saying ICE instead of CBP (not you, folk like the mayor). Same basket sure, and they all need to get the fuck out of our cities. But feels worth noting that they are...

    I don't know why everyone is saying ICE instead of CBP (not you, folk like the mayor). Same basket sure, and they all need to get the fuck out of our cities. But feels worth noting that they are border agents and were operating in a state without a border. What were they doing there?

    3 votes
  11. Comment on AutoEnricher: System can diagnose infections in twenty minutes, aiding fight against drug resistance in ~science

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    Next you're gonna tell me it can be done from a single drop of blood. Jokes aside, Raman could give enough resolution for microbial so it doesn't seem impossible. It was needing a ML algo for the...

    Next you're gonna tell me it can be done from a single drop of blood.

    Jokes aside, Raman could give enough resolution for microbial so it doesn't seem impossible. It was needing a ML algo for the ID that raised my eyebrow. But it's probably just a more effective, black boxy search and bin, not so different from what I'd do with XRD a long time ago before ML was a buzzword.

    Let's see how replicable it is and get some thorough false positive type tests. When time is precious, false positives are quite bad.

    5 votes
  12. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

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    I've been going through that Godot course on Zenva from humble bundle. I've got several mini projects and a couple games with 2 brief levels. I have added my own touches along the way. Like the...

    I've been going through that Godot course on Zenva from humble bundle. I've got several mini projects and a couple games with 2 brief levels. I have added my own touches along the way. Like the RTS game, the course just implemented the AI targeting the nearest player unit. I added an aggro system that can allow enemies to gauge targets by HP too, flip the sign so they can seek the farthest enemy in range and/or healthiest enemy in range, and they can be tweaked for different enemies to give them different behaviors.

    Also been learning sprite art. I still like my first set best, carabineers and recolors. Did a battery and a pair of itty bitty guys too. Tried a ball but lighting was hard. Started in earnest on characters with Ms Dusa, but went too big and detailed, need more practice on smaller less detailed characters. Did a couple basic coins but they were quick and pretty whatever.

    2 votes
  13. Comment on Moving out soon. Think out loud with me regarding saving money vs. quality of life. in ~life

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    I wouldn't consider living with men I don't know well unless I had zero other options, even friends of a friend. I'd instead seek out a queer group and see if folks there want to room if that's...

    I wouldn't consider living with men I don't know well unless I had zero other options, even friends of a friend. I'd instead seek out a queer group and see if folks there want to room if that's the route I'm going.

    I've rented some dozen apartments and none had nothing for onsite laundry, they usually had coin operated machines in the basement or some such.

    We just bought a house and doubled our square footage. Getting a new bed, couches, and rugs hurt, I didn't want to risk bed bugs in our new home, but I probably wouldn't be so strict in your position. Everything else we sought off Facebook marketplace and saved a pretty penny.

    When I first moved to this city, I shared a house with four other people while working from home. Met them through a good friend, they consisted of her best friend, best friend's partner, and two of their friends. Some were inconsiderate of the fact I needed to work from home. Getting mad at me for using the spare room for an office bc they were using it as an office, getting off work at 3 and loudly playing Rock Band (drums ofc), that sort of thing. I ended up spending all my time in my tiny bedroom, barely big enough for my bed, personal PC, and work desk. This was awful for my mental health, about on par with drowning in alcoholism living alone during a bad time. They weren't bad folks, just too much of conflicting lifestyles in too small a space. Other posters have cited benefits of roommates that I've never had materialize outside living with my best friend or partner.

    So YMMV, roommates may make more sense on paper financially, but for me, I'd view the roommate situation as a social/emotional/mental gamble vs the safe bet of living solo (and hopefully there is some sort of onsite laundry if not in unit?).

    Another route to consider is, how flexible is the house situation? Would they be cool with you staying a couple months to build up a better savings cushion to furnish a place? It sounds like you've got enough savings to move, modestly furnish, and still have ~6 months emergency savings built up. That's what I'd build my savings off of -- ensuring I've got 6 months stuffed in a money market account yielding some 3-4% and anything else beyond that can go to index funds or saving for huge purchases.

    4 votes
  14. Comment on You are a better writer than AI (yes, YOU!) in ~creative

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    Psychosis can manifest in a variety of ways, but at its core, it is a difficulty (or inability) to distinguish what is and isn't real. LLMs don't know what's real, if you give your thinking over...

    Psychosis can manifest in a variety of ways, but at its core, it is a difficulty (or inability) to distinguish what is and isn't real. LLMs don't know what's real, if you give your thinking over to them, you soon won't either. Less "addicted to talking to yourself" and more "enraptured with a sycophant".

    Not to sound insensitive, but I think folks treating LLMs as friends and partners are on the brink, primed by tech companys' marketing. I think typical views of psychosis are naïve and far more -- otherwise healthy -- individuals are susceptible than we'd like to think (I'd go so far as to say everyone is susceptible in the wrong circumstances). As is, folks suffering are easily othered, and that sort of isolation makes help more difficult.

    8 votes
  15. Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime

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    Haikyuu!! It's a volleyball sports anime. So much fun, really gripped me, even when I was laughing at the shounen tropes. I thought it was satirizing them but nope it's just shounen. Didn't think...

    Haikyuu!! It's a volleyball sports anime. So much fun, really gripped me, even when I was laughing at the shounen tropes. I thought it was satirizing them but nope it's just shounen. Didn't think I'd be into a sports anime, but my partner started watching it and I got pulled in. They started it since it often popped up as the best sports anime, so now we don't know which way to go if we want another.

    We also started Little Witch Academia, a cute witch girl anime from Studio Trigger. We haven't gotten far in, but I'm charmed. I'm braced for a classic Studio Trigger mid series shake up, don't y'all harm a hair on their heads.

    Bleach Thousand Year Blood War looks great, but we were disappointed in the pacing for the most recent... Set of releases? Not as bad as some of the Hueco Mundo bits. We had more fun with the start of the arc.

    I rewatched Death Note and Cowboy Bebop. My memory did not fail me, I still quite enjoyed them. Second arc of Death Note was still worse/frustrating to watch, probably because production was rushed. I liked Mello much more but that's more a statement on how I've changed. Not sure I have much to add about Cowboy Bebop, it's damned good.

    3 votes
  16. Comment on Help me enjoy Baldur's Gate 3 in ~games

    Carrow
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    I find with RPGs, trying to min/max to the right outcome with the most content and having wikis/guides too available drains the fun from them. And that's my fault for how I'm approaching it, so...

    I find with RPGs, trying to min/max to the right outcome with the most content and having wikis/guides too available drains the fun from them. And that's my fault for how I'm approaching it, so here's how I'll come at RPGs with a different angle.

    1. Embrace failure and roll with the consequences. I find leaning into the roleplay part helps me lean out of the game part where I want to min/max interactions. You don't ask your DM if you can save scum or reroll after all. I'll even go so far as picking the clearly worse option if that's the choice my character would make.

    2. Explore. If you hit a safe area like a town and see a dark region in the area you passed, talk to the locals to see if they have a quest then go on back and look around. Larian links their acts to the big map you're on, generally you'll have a good idea if the plot is going to take you away.

    3. Drop the guides and wikis, put away the phone and turn off the second monitor, wherever you're looking at them. It is easy to fall into a pattern of following them instead of playing for yourself. If you find yourself stuck or wanting more info before proceeding, go do something else and come back later. If the stuck point is still rattling your brain after your play session, then look it up. This kinda emulates the sense of playing a game at the same time as your friends, talking about it, then going back and playing.

    These are my more general RPG and Larian game tips, I haven't got much specific to starting BG3 again. As for mods, I'll peruse some of the most popular/downloaded to see if there are any nice quality of life ones or see if there exists a QoL add on for some gripe I've got, but I was happy with the vanilla BG3 experience (before I too fell off and failed to finish).

    Happy questing :)

    5 votes
  17. Comment on The Odyssey | Official trailer in ~movies

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    Now y'all just clowning on me lol, is it a good show though?

    Now y'all just clowning on me lol, is it a good show though?

  18. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    I loved my Logitech g13! Even coded some cute widgets for it. Unfortunately Spirit lost it along with all my luggage a bit back. But yeah does seem the big limitation for a lot of HOTAS setups is...

    I loved my Logitech g13! Even coded some cute widgets for it. Unfortunately Spirit lost it along with all my luggage a bit back. But yeah does seem the big limitation for a lot of HOTAS setups is your key availability. Hoping to finally get in on VR next year with the new Valve headset.

  19. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: Holiday 2025 in ~games

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    I don't know how I've gone this long without getting a copy of SUPERHOT but I'd love one if it's still available

    I don't know how I've gone this long without getting a copy of SUPERHOT but I'd love one if it's still available

    1 vote
  20. Comment on The Odyssey | Official trailer in ~movies

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    O Brother Where Art Thou is one of my favorite movies! So I suppose I did mean like that hah.

    O Brother Where Art Thou is one of my favorite movies! So I suppose I did mean like that hah.

    7 votes