Crespyl's recent activity
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Comment on New hard / mil SciFi read recommendations requested - just finished a marathon series in ~books
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Comment on New hard / mil SciFi read recommendations requested - just finished a marathon series in ~books
Crespyl LinkI always think of John Ringo when I hear military sf, though he can get kind of goofy when left to his own devices. Ringo paired with David Weber, on the other hand, is a really great time. The...I always think of John Ringo when I hear military sf, though he can get kind of goofy when left to his own devices.
Ringo paired with David Weber, on the other hand, is a really great time. The March Upcountry trilogy is one of my favorites, though it's been long enough that I don't remember it perfectly.
It follows a spoiled prince and the soldiers assigned to keep him alive as they get stranded on a backwater planet full of dangers and interesting aliens, and have to make their way across the planet. Lots of great tactical combat, politics, and resource management.
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Comment on Everything is Chrome in ~tech
Crespyl Link ParentCEF (Chromium Embedded Framework) is one of those things that Google did which Mozilla basically just never responded to, and it's done so much to cement the hold Chrome has. Mozilla even had...CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework) is one of those things that Google did which Mozilla basically just never responded to, and it's done so much to cement the hold Chrome has.
Mozilla even had Prism as early as 2007(!), which was already well along the path to what Electron is now, but dropped it three years later and never even tried to revisit the idea. Doing anything to make Gecko more embeddable would've given devs a real choice when desktop development started moving to CEF/Electron, but instead Google was the only option.
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Comment on Tildes homepage is down? (2025-02-25 4pm UTC) in ~tildes
Crespyl LinkI'm seeing the same thing. Was able to navigate directly to ~tildes to find this post. I guess we'll see if this comment goes through.I'm seeing the same thing. Was able to navigate directly to ~tildes to find this post. I guess we'll see if this comment goes through.
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Comment on Dan Reeder - Born A Worm (2017) in ~music
Crespyl LinkI can tell this is going to be stuck in my head for a while.I can tell this is going to be stuck in my head for a while.
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Comment on New users: Ask your questions about Tildes here! (v4) in ~tildes
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Comment on What are your favourite time-loop based books, movies and video games? in ~talk
Crespyl Link ParentOuter Wilds is one of my all-time favorites, for sure. Another good time-loop game is The Forgotten City, which started life as a Skyrim mod and was rebuilt into a (quite good) standalone game.Outer Wilds is one of my all-time favorites, for sure.
Another good time-loop game is The Forgotten City, which started life as a Skyrim mod and was rebuilt into a (quite good) standalone game.
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Comment on Looking for some recommendations for games where you can build your own spaceships etc in ~games
Crespyl Link ParentThat description reminds me of Shores of Hazeron. Very jank, but a lot of fun with friends.That description reminds me of Shores of Hazeron. Very jank, but a lot of fun with friends.
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Comment on Looking for a new mouse (maybe) in ~tech
Crespyl Link ParentI haven't noticed that kind of failure, but I also don't typically use the trackball for gaming in any case. I know some people aren't satisfied with the rolling/feel of the HUGE (possibly other...I haven't noticed that kind of failure, but I also don't typically use the trackball for gaming in any case.
I know some people aren't satisfied with the rolling/feel of the HUGE (possibly other Elecoms too) and will replace the bearings with ceramics (iirc), but I don't know if that would also affect the tracking too.
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Comment on Looking for a new mouse (maybe) in ~tech
Crespyl Link ParentThanks, those look decent! I tend to prefer the slight off-center design of the Logitech and Elecom I linked, having never used a dead-center design like what you shared. I'll keep them in mind...Thanks, those look decent! I tend to prefer the slight off-center design of the Logitech and Elecom I linked, having never used a dead-center design like what you shared.
I'll keep them in mind for my next purchase though, maybe I'll branch out and try one.
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Comment on Looking for a new mouse (maybe) in ~tech
Crespyl LinkI love trackballs, but not the kind that uses your thumb for everything, I like the whole-hand/index finger kind. Logitech used to make a fantastic trackball that I grew up with, but they've long...I love trackballs, but not the kind that uses your thumb for everything, I like the whole-hand/index finger kind.
Logitech used to make a fantastic trackball that I grew up with, but they've long since discontinued it.
These days it seems like Elecom is the only one making the style I like. Their "HUGE" model is the one I use now. Unfortunately I just had to replace mine because the old one started double-clicking a little too often. Build quality isn't the greatest, but the design and extra buttons are great. Some people complain about the bearings being stiff. I kind of see what they mean, but for me it's not a big enough issue to go and replace the bearings myself (which is apparently doable, just fiddly).
The Elecom works great on Linux, although I do use Input Remapper (on KWin/Wayland) to rebind the middle click off of the scroll wheel and onto one of the easier-to-click extra buttons.
I really wish there was more competition in this space.
All that said, as much as I love my trackball, I still keep around an old Logitech mx518 for Dota 2 and the occasional other game.
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Comment on Sunsetting cursed terminal emulation in ~comp
Crespyl LinkI've been watching Arcan development for a few years now, and every time a new post comes out it feels like I'm reading about technology from a parallel universe. I really hope it catches on...I've been watching Arcan development for a few years now, and every time a new post comes out it feels like I'm reading about technology from a parallel universe.
I really hope it catches on somehow, but I feel like there needs to be a polished distro with the full Arcan shell/userland to make it easier to show off to people.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson in ~books
Crespyl Link ParentNeal Stephenson's Termination Shock is another with some similar themes. It's definitely a Stephenson book, so if you already know how you feel about his work you'll know what to expect. Lots of...Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock is another with some similar themes. It's definitely a Stephenson book, so if you already know how you feel about his work you'll know what to expect. Lots of info-dumps, tech-optimism, but unusually for him I thought the ending was actually pretty solid.
Like MftF, it also features deploying sulfur dioxide into the air, explicitly at "Pinatubo" scale, (though this time by an excentric billionaire) with India playing a significant opposition role. There's also some interesting use of drones and social media as well, among other things.
I found it a lot easier to get through than MftF (which I haven't finished yet, ~40% so far).
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Comment on Pluvia: Lightweight unofficial Steam client for Android in ~games
Crespyl LinkAt first I thought this was just an alternative to the normal Steam phone-app, but no; it's a full client that supports downloading and even playing (some) games. It uses a translation layer to...At first I thought this was just an alternative to the normal Steam phone-app, but no; it's a full client that supports downloading and even playing (some) games. It uses a translation layer to let you run games compiled for x86 on your (usually) Arm phone.
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Comment on Your favorite game OSTs in ~games
Crespyl (edited )LinkThe Dustforce OST is one of my favorites. I liked the game quite a bit, but I spent way more time listening to the soundtrack than I did playing the game. If you're into chiptune/electronic, I...The Dustforce OST is one of my favorites. I liked the game quite a bit, but I spent way more time listening to the soundtrack than I did playing the game.
If you're into chiptune/electronic, I like the VVVVVV OST too.
Cave Story has a charming soundtrack, but I haven't found any kind of official version on Spotify. It is up on YouTube though.
Edit: Oh, also, if you're feeling in an intense/aggressive mood, Hotline Miami has a lot of great music. M|O|O|N, Perturbator, and Carpenter Brut were all good finds that I first heard in that game.
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Comment on HTML is the most significant computing language ever developed. Underestimate it at your peril. in ~tech
Crespyl Link ParentI almost commented pretty much the same thing, but decided that I was too irritated by the tone of the article to feel like I'd be commenting in good faith. The subtitle as used for this thread is...I almost commented pretty much the same thing, but decided that I was too irritated by the tone of the article to feel like I'd be commenting in good faith. The subtitle as used for this thread is a fine statement that could've lead to an at least okay article; the actual title less so.
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Comment on What hard scifi books could you recommend? in ~books
Crespyl Link ParentI so rarely see the Honor Harrington series mentioned! I read the whole thing when I was younger, and loved the way the technology and military doctrine advanced throughout the series. David Weber...I so rarely see the Honor Harrington series mentioned! I read the whole thing when I was younger, and loved the way the technology and military doctrine advanced throughout the series.
David Weber is still one of my favorite authors, though I haven't kept up as much with him lately. I also really enjoyed his collaboration with (IIRC) Ringo on the March Upcountry trilogy.
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Comment on You make friends *HERE*?! in ~tildes
Crespyl Link ParentThe "tildeverse" is a collection of public unixy servers that are a kind of old-school social media/programming environment. See https://tildeverse.org/ The name comes from the unix standard of...The "tildeverse" is a collection of public unixy servers that are a kind of old-school social media/programming environment. See https://tildeverse.org/
The name comes from the unix standard of referring to users with a ~, like
~foo, which you sometimes see in urls for some old-fashioned university sites.No relation to this site.
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Comment on You make friends *HERE*?! in ~tildes
Crespyl Link ParentSome googling suggests that it's appeared a few times in the "tildeverse" networks, but as far as I know this is the first time it's been applied here. I wasn't aware of any previous uses when it...Some googling suggests that it's appeared a few times in the "tildeverse" networks, but as far as I know this is the first time it's been applied here. I wasn't aware of any previous uses when it popped into my head, and it was just too perfect not to share.
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Comment on You make friends *HERE*?! in ~tildes
Crespyl Link Parent"Tildebeasts"The name for a group of people who use Tildes is deliberately unclear, to the point that it's an injoke to use a different name every time.
"Tildebeasts"
Yeah, I've heard Ghost is some of his worst work, haven't read any of those myself.
I mostly associate him with the Posleen books, and the Looking Glass series, both of which I read fairly uncritically ages ago and remember having a good time. Like I said though, his solo work tends to be a lot weaker than when he's got a collaborator, as in March Upcountry.