CrypticCuriosity629's recent activity
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Comment on Anyone have any experience with tiny screws? I need to replace two in my body hair trimmer and I don't know where to start. in ~life.home_improvement
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
CrypticCuriosity629 LinkI'm chugging away on my homelab hyperfixation! I bought a chinese motherboard from Aliexpress for $50 and got a used Intel Xeon CPU E5-4628L V4 off ebay as well as an Nvidia Quadro P1000 GPU. All...I'm chugging away on my homelab hyperfixation!
I bought a chinese motherboard from Aliexpress for $50 and got a used Intel Xeon CPU E5-4628L V4 off ebay as well as an Nvidia Quadro P1000 GPU. All for less than $100 total, so I'm happy about that.
I'm going to be rebuilding my NAS/Media Streaming server inside my homelab rack with this new hardware, so it'll give me a far better overhead on media transcoding.
I also got ERPNext running on an old Mac Mini that I'll be adding to my homelab, and I've been writing a custom app for small commercial print shops to use as their MIS system and project management system.
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Comment on Jumping spiders shouldn’t be this smart in ~science
CrypticCuriosity629 LinkI watched this video a few weeks ago and I LOVED it. It's exactly the kind of content I look for on YouTube and in a format that I love which mixes real experiences, scientist/expert interviews,...I watched this video a few weeks ago and I LOVED it. It's exactly the kind of content I look for on YouTube and in a format that I love which mixes real experiences, scientist/expert interviews, visual references, and isn't monotonous.
And it's why I love learning about these things. It is such a gift to be able to now look at a jumping spider and understand a bit better about how it sees the world around it.
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Comment on Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers in ~tech
CrypticCuriosity629 LinkThis sounds like common sense. Companies are generally liable for the content they put on their websites, which is partly why social media removed harmful or illegal content. Why would AI be any...This sounds like common sense.
Companies are generally liable for the content they put on their websites, which is partly why social media removed harmful or illegal content.
Why would AI be any different?
Plus, ultimately this should be considered a great thing because it forces innovation into accuracy as opposed to complacency with mediocre inaccuracy.
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Comment on "The therapeutic industry is platonic prostitution" in ~health.mental
CrypticCuriosity629 Link ParentWhat is hard for me personally is that if I were the one opening up about something complicated and someone only responded with “that really sucks,” or something akin to that, I would probably...What is hard for me personally is that if I were the one opening up about something complicated and someone only responded with “that really sucks,” or something akin to that, I would probably experience that as dismissive or impersonal. To me, something like that can feel like a conversation-ender rather than real engagement, or something someone says with low effort disinterest.
Which is probably why it's not a coincidence that that was basically the point I was making: people, including myself, approach these conversations from very different perspectives, experiences, wounds, and levels of self-awareness. What feels like useful nuance to one person can feel dismissive to another.
And without a person directly and clearly communicating "This is what I need right now, this is what I do not need" without any room for interpretation, it can be difficult to nail the right approach.
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Comment on "The therapeutic industry is platonic prostitution" in ~health.mental
CrypticCuriosity629 (edited )Link ParentI’m having a hard time coming up with a response to this in a way that I'm confident it won't come across as dismissive of your experience, even though that is not my intent. That is kind of my...I’m having a hard time coming up with a response to this in a way that I'm confident it won't come across as dismissive of your experience, even though that is not my intent. That is kind of my own "no matter how hard I try I'm afraid of not being understood" reflection here.
I had written a response to your post earlier, and I'm unsure if that was one that you considered dismissive, but frankly it wasn't intended that way, it is just my communication style. One of the hallmarks of having autism and ADHD is missing social ques and being too blunt, direct, or analytically trying to solve problems or help sharpen opinions or perspectives, all of which is something I'm guilty of when I let my guard down and miss the part of being sensitive of someone's emotions. It's also something I've had to consider about others when I perceive them as dismissive or malicious of my experience or something I've said, I could be misunderstanding them the same way I've been misunderstood by others.
With that being said I believe you when you say you have been hurt, misunderstood, and exhausted by years of trying to explain yourself. I also understand why the responses you received would feel especially painful if being misunderstood is already a deep trigger for you.
That said, I do think there is a distinction worth making between being attacked and receiving criticism. Someone saying your post came across as presumptuous is criticism. It may feel personal, and it may hurt, but that does not automatically make it a personal attack. Feeling attacked is a real emotional experience, but it is not always the same thing as someone actually attacking you.
I think part of the tension here is that your post came from a very personal place, but it also made broader claims about therapy, therapists, society, individualism, emotional labor, and the way people respond to suffering. Once something moves from “this has been my experience” into “this is what therapy is” or “this is what society is doing,” people are going to respond not only to your pain, but also to the conclusions you drew from it.
I also think people can be at very different stages in their mental health journey, and that affects what they are able to hear, both on your side and theirs.
Sometimes people responding to you may be speaking from realizations they had to work through in their own lives. If those realizations do not line up with where you are right now, they may sound like invalidation, even if that is not what they mean. And the reverse can also be true: some people may be reacting from places where they have not yet had the experience needed to understand what you are trying to say.
A good example is mindset. If someone is fully convinced that happiness is determined by outside circumstances, then being told that mindset matters can sound dismissive, like someone is saying “just think positive” or “your suffering is your fault.”
But that is not the actual point.
Outside circumstances obviously matter. Poverty, loneliness, trauma, abuse, unemployment, housing, health, and support systems all affect happiness. I do not think anyone should pretend those things are irrelevant.
But mindset still shapes how a person interprets those circumstances. It affects what options they can see, whether they notice opportunities, how they handle rejection, how much agency they believe they have, and whether they experience pain as temporary or as proof that nothing will ever change.
So two people can be talking about the same issue from totally different levels of experience. One person may be trying to describe a realization that took years to reach, while the other person hears it as invalidation because that realization does not feel true, useful, or accessible to them yet.
I also think it is worth being careful with the assumption that people who disagree with you are being defensive because you criticized something that worked for them. Some people probably were defensive. Some probably misunderstood you. But some may have understood your point and still disagreed with the way you framed it.
That is not necessarily tone-deafness. Sometimes it is just disagreement.
There is also a useful skill here that I have had to learn myself: taking what applies and disregarding what does not without taking it personally. I have ADHD and autism, and I know what it is like to be misunderstood even when I feel like I am being as direct and clear as possible. People still interpret things through their own assumptions, experiences, defensiveness, trauma, and biases. It is incredibly frustrating. I have compared it before to being stuck in an MMO where most people feel like NPCs, and finding someone who actually understands you feels rare.
So I get the exhaustion of feeling like, “I tried as hard as I possibly could to explain this, and people still did not get it.”
That does not mean you failed. It means the subject is emotionally loaded, and your post touched a lot of people’s own experiences with therapy, loneliness, support, and survival.
And with that, I’ll end with a quote that I have had to internalize through my own mental health journey, because it has helped me when I have gotten into a similar headspace:
It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.
- Jean-Luc Picard
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Comment on "The therapeutic industry is platonic prostitution" in ~health.mental
CrypticCuriosity629 (edited )LinkSo I apologize for not being as thorough as you were, however as someone who's a big advocate of therapy despite my difficulties finding therapists that know how to help me, I wanted to respond to...- Exemplary
So I apologize for not being as thorough as you were, however as someone who's a big advocate of therapy despite my difficulties finding therapists that know how to help me, I wanted to respond to some of the condensed points you make with counterpoints. If I'm off base on any of these let me know.
First of all as an overall counterpoint, the premise that therapy is simply talking and that that's something you can do with friends instead of a therapist is inherently flawed. There's a reason that people say not to use your friends, family, or partners as therapists, and to not consider your therapist a friend.
The thing is all humans are flawed, and therapists aren't all perfect, but at least they've had training and strict ethical boundaries in place that prevent harmful advice being given and how they should respond to harmful ideations of their patients. They are also trained to not let their own personal opinions get in the way. Your friends and family do not have those same boundaries or constraints. They might not have the tools to identify harmful advice, or their biases can subconsciously taint the advice they give you where it prioritizes things like their own comfort over your wellbeing.
I'm not saying don't ever try to talk to your friends and family about your problems, just that there's a huge difference between therapy and talking to your friends and family and they aren't the same things or have the same purpose.
The simple fact that people were around you all day every day meant that you got on with it and coped with things. You had a neighborhood or village or whatever in which friends and family lived and worked closely together every day. People to talk to all day.
Even in close-knit societies, people did not always just rely on friends and family for processing personal difficulties or problems. Most societies still had specific people who filled that role but called them elders, priests, shamans, monks, spiritual advisors, mentors, village leaders, or other respected figures.
People went to them because not every problem could be solved by casual community support. Some problems involved grief, shame, family conflict, trauma, fear, moral confusion, or major life decisions. Those were often taken to someone seen as wise, neutral, experienced, or spiritually authoritative.
That is not identical to modern therapy, but it is close enough to matter as analogous to how therapy is supposed to be used in our society. The role of “person outside your immediate circle who listens, guides, interprets, and helps you process difficult things” is not some modern invention. It has existed in different forms across societies for a very long time.
And sure, our society is more transactional, but that's because the people that general serve the rolls above need a place to live and be able to afford food.
In the non-transactional societies, the elders, priests, and shamans were often cared for by the community.
Point being, people need to eat and have a place to live, so therapists can't just offer that role freely in this society.
But I blame capitalism for that, not the therapists themselves.
Also, for me at least personally, I use therapy as a means to help me see issues from different angles, and to help solve problems. I don't consider my therapist a friend at all and I don't value their personal opinions of me or what I talk about (keyword being personal opinions, not professional opinions), they are a person who for 1 hour I can have their full attention and focus, who can listen and provide feedback and counterpoints to my internal thoughts and feelings.
Trust me, I'm a person who considers themselves extremely self-aware and who has a major issue intellectualizing his emotions, which is what has made finding therapists difficult, however I am consistently surprised that there are still new ways of looking at things that can end up being beneficial to me and my perspective on my life and trauma.
Ok, sorry I have to actually stop there, but I did want to post. I might add to this later, but that's as much as I currently have time to respond to.
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Comment on A perfect example of what it means to be anti-racist in ~life
CrypticCuriosity629 (edited )Link ParentI like standing up and staring silently at people like this. I'm not a super imposing person being only 5'7", but I've found silent and intentional staring with an intense face to be effective...I like standing up and staring silently at people like this.
I'm not a super imposing person being only 5'7", but I've found silent and intentional staring with an intense face to be effective because it throws people off. Like really stare at them like you're staring into their soul They expect to get a rise out of you and when you don't play that game and don't back down intimidated it knocks them off balance. It's typically not a reaction those kinds of people expect or know how to deal with.
I've done this a couple times on public transport and when I've seen people getting harassed.
Coincidentally it also works very well on Canadian geese too.
As far as safety issues, I have a general disregard for my personal safety in these cases because I've realized that too many people give in to the bystander effect due to fear over their own safety, and that kind of thing is what gives assholes the bold confidence to harm or threaten anyone of their choosing which is what ends up causing the exact situations that make people fear for their safety. I try not to be stupid about it of course, but in my experience these people are quickly diffused by even the smallest amount of push-back.
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Comment on A perfect example of what it means to be anti-racist in ~life
CrypticCuriosity629 (edited )LinkAs an American and as a very visual thinker who visualizes what they read, I read the first part of this sentence figuratively not literally, as if he just needed to blow off some steam, and the...He just so happened to have a need to relieve some gas. And so he aimed... and fired right onto the guy. When he walked off he turned to the racist and said "To be clear, I farted on you intentionally because of what you said". I'm told the face he got in response was exactly the same as Hide the Pain Harold's.
As an American and as a very visual thinker who visualizes what they read, I read the first part of this sentence figuratively not literally, as if he just needed to blow off some steam, and the movie happening in my head as I was reading the rest suddenly took a wild turn as your friend took out a gun and shot the racist dead then farted on his dead body. I had to re-read it to understand what actually happened.
Thanks for the laugh!
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Comment on The user is visibly frustrated in ~tech
CrypticCuriosity629 Link ParentIt's kind of hilarious that just a couple days later I have this conversation with Gemini when researching an artist that contacted the print shop I worked at to create some artbooks, and I was...It's kind of hilarious that just a couple days later I have this conversation with Gemini when researching an artist that contacted the print shop I worked at to create some artbooks, and I was trying to find out if she had gone to Anime Expo since I used to work there and wanted to see if I'd interacted with her in the past.
It said yes she had been to anime expo but gave me a link to a random post from some guy named pete who had gone to anime expo, then when I asked who the hell is Pete and why that is indicative of this female artist having gone to Anime Expo, it said they were in a relationship, then could not tell me how it knew they were in a relationship until it finally said this.
But the problem is, it will continue to just create garbage despite literally admitting to it.
THIS is why I am unrelenting in taking out my frustrations on AI. Like yeah I know it's not conscious but holy hell what a design flaw. This is the exact AI that Google is pushing as a replacement for search.
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Comment on Control Resonant | Story/release date reveal trailer – 24th September 2026 in ~games
CrypticCuriosity629 (edited )LinkThe only problem I really have with Control is that they keep using The Hiss for literally everything. Like Control Resonant might as well be called "Control: Outside(Now you play as a guy!)"...The only problem I really have with Control is that they keep using The Hiss for literally everything.
Like Control Resonant might as well be called "Control: Outside(Now you play as a guy!)" because it looks like the exact same game as the first but you play as a guy and it takes place outside.
The trailer even shows the same floating people and the same fungal growth.
Don't get me wrong, I love Control, but it annoys me because the premise of Control lends itself to a myriad of unique and creative bad guys and stories to tell, that it frustrates me that it's ALWAYS the Hiss. Like we're dealing with multidimensions and unknowable entities or secret sects of competing secret societies, and yet the only real bad guy we have ever interacted with in the series is The Hiss.
And it's the same in Firebreak.
Oh and "The Dark Presence" if you follow Alan Wake, which honestly just feels like a variation or cousin of The Hiss since they're both infectious reality warping entities who take control of people and force them to regurgitate gibberish.
And with this game it's almost like what was the point of the first game since after the entire events of the first game, it seems like Jesse failed to contain the Hiss, failed to lead The Oldest House properly, and failed to contain the threats obviously.
Anyways, it just frustrates me to see them have a franchise with opportunity for deep worldbuilding and creativity, yet they just keep going with the same exact bad guy.
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Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
CrypticCuriosity629 LinkSo I've made some headway on my Nickelodeon Blaster themed HomeLab server design. I'm still waiting on the purple PETG filament to come in and I'll need to redesign the majority of the panels. But...So I've made some headway on my Nickelodeon Blaster themed HomeLab server design.
I'm still waiting on the purple PETG filament to come in and I'll need to redesign the majority of the panels. But I want to start printing the frame and test fitting things before I put in all the work making everything fit perfectly.
Probably going to start in levels, first is getting my NAS/Media Server to exist at the bottom, then I'll work my way up to my 2 Mac Minis with extended hotswap SSDs, then upwards to the Raspberry Pi 5 and all the meters.
I want to get those round screens and use them as the gauges on top with some silly effects.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
CrypticCuriosity629 LinkHonestly, nothing super healthy, a lot of pre-pared food from Trader Joes. But I'm hopefully ready to try and eat healthier at this point. Been burnt out and have been relying on low energy meals....Honestly, nothing super healthy, a lot of pre-pared food from Trader Joes. But I'm hopefully ready to try and eat healthier at this point. Been burnt out and have been relying on low energy meals.
I found a Sous Vide device for $10 at Goodwill over the weekend, which I've wanted for a while to aid in meal prep. I've been wanting for years to duplicate Starbuck's Sous Vide Egg Bites and save money and time there and experiment with my own flavors.
But I also want to get into minimalist low effort healthy meals.
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Comment on Steam Machine and Steam Frame will be shipping this summer in ~games
CrypticCuriosity629 LinkAwesome, now if we can only get a confirmation on the price. That's what I'm most concerned about.Awesome, now if we can only get a confirmation on the price. That's what I'm most concerned about.
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Comment on ‘Stargate’ TV series from Martin Gero not moving forward at Amazon in ~tv
CrypticCuriosity629 LinkApple TV needs to get it somehow. Apple TV is the only one out there doing ambitious shows right now.Apple TV needs to get it somehow. Apple TV is the only one out there doing ambitious shows right now.
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Comment on The user is visibly frustrated in ~tech
CrypticCuriosity629 Link ParentCathartic is a very good term for it. Frankly I'm not super concerned, I treat people just fine for the most part, but that's also because I keep good company.Cathartic is a very good term for it.
Frankly I'm not super concerned, I treat people just fine for the most part, but that's also because I keep good company.
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Comment on The user is visibly frustrated in ~tech
CrypticCuriosity629 LinkSo this is actually super interesting. Because I am so damn demeaning to things like ChatGPT, Alexa, or Gemini. Like I will very often just come up with creative ways to curse them out for being...So this is actually super interesting.
Because I am so damn demeaning to things like ChatGPT, Alexa, or Gemini. Like I will very often just come up with creative ways to curse them out for being stupid or assuming the wrong thing. I like to think it poisons my training data as they don't want to be training AI with that kind of vulgarity haha. Like I'm really damn abusive to AI that screw up haha
At it's core I think I get most frustrated with AIs because they can be so confidently incorrect about things and then don't properly address the mistake or how it happened. Like they're always like "Oh silly me, you're write that command COULD wipe your entire hard drive!"
But interesting thing, when I was playing around with OpenClaw a few weeks ago and had set up the personality and conversation parameters to mimic the conversational patterns of JARVIS from the Iron Man movies, I was far calmer with it. It was almost like a breath of fresh air.
Once I get my homelab all put back together, I'm going to spin up Hermes because I've seen good things about it, and I plan on giving it the personality of JARVIS as well.
However, I also want to experiment with different fictional AI personalities, one of which being M3GAN(from the second movie), so basically is like a psychotic AI but still helpful.
And then finally I want to see about the personality of the Computer from Star Trek, which isn't much of a personality at all, but can still be helpful.
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Comment on How has inflation changed your quality of life? in ~finance
CrypticCuriosity629 (edited )Link ParentDude what is up with Recruiters who do this? I have yet to hear from a recruiter or HR person who addresses the insanity of bringing up job gaps when the American job market is a HUGE issue right...Dude what is up with Recruiters who do this?
I have yet to hear from a recruiter or HR person who addresses the insanity of bringing up job gaps when the American job market is a HUGE issue right now and has been for years.
These recruiters are supposed to be up to date with the job market, but seem oblivious to how bad it is for people?
When I got laid off from my dream job at Disney in 2020, I interviewed for another position with them a year later and the interviewer had the gall to ask about my job gap between May 2020 and December 2020. You mean the gap where you laid me off and the world was shut down for 6 months? What are we playing at here?!
It feels like gaslighting at this point, and I really want a recruiter or hiring manager to address this bizarre question because I'm kind of sick of these people acting like the job market isn't difficult considering how many other people are talking about it and how it's in the news.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
CrypticCuriosity629 LinkSo I posted this on the creative topic too, but it's just as technical as it is creative so I'll post it here too. I recently developed a new hyperfixation after being given a ton of old computers...So I posted this on the creative topic too, but it's just as technical as it is creative so I'll post it here too.
I recently developed a new hyperfixation after being given a ton of old computers and HDDs from my work: Homelab.
I'd been wanting to start a homelab for a while, specifically a streaming media server for ErsatzTV, but I just didn't want to spend the money.
I basically frankensteined a server out of all the parts, and got some other stuff from Goodwill and Re-PC to round everything out, but it's all over my desk and looks like a Cyberpunk Hacker's desk. lol
Now here's where the project becomes creative. So in order to organize everything I've been looking into 3D Printable Server Racks and came across this one which is modular and expandable.
So I'm usually a bit extra, so I always try to think of creative variations of these kinds of projects I can do. I thought of a Stargate themed one that looks like an Ancient device with control crystals, I thought of a Cyberpunk theme with embedded EL Wire lighting that looks like circuitry, and a couple of other things.
But my golden idea was this: "Nickelodeon Blaster" Wacky Postmodernism Retro Device themed. I think the juxtaposition of maximalist wacky whimsical novelty toy designs from the 90s mixed with the complexities of a homelab server is kind of funny and unique.
So I actually have this phone that I snagged off of ebay years ago before this recent nostalgia craze drove up the prices, and I still want to collect them all. I LOVED these things when I was a kid, and LOVED the colors, the slime, oozing, etc.
Here's the rest of the devices:
https://i.postimg.cc/gJmpcxqw/ug36bno3p6a61.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/zXhmTDQr/s-l2400.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/cJQZNR3j/il-fullxfull-2295337640-4kni.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/4NcCp40T/TK-VR-1028-1.webp
https://i.postimg.cc/WbZR0pHK/TK-VR-1029-4.webp
https://i.postimg.cc/xTmrLjZV/PC-VR-1375-1-fb90886e-17bc-4a94-a3ba-ab9fd8d1e8ce.webp
https://i.postimg.cc/k453Sx0z/Chat-GPT-Image-May-26-2026-11-10-50-AM.png
https://i.postimg.cc/NMBtGK7r/Nickelodeon-1.webp
ANYWAYS, I've started designing a variation of that 10" Server rack using these colors and design aesthetics.
I used AI to get an idea of what it could look like, and this looks pretty spot on to what I had in my mind's eye as far as theme and color scheme go.
Now keep in mind, the AI version is mostly incoherent so I'm not going to be copying the AI, just kind of using it as inspiration when modeling this out in CAD, and will probably come up with a far more coherent design.
Like I'll be utilizing exaggerated red buttons and levers, maybe some doohickeys, and I want to see if there's a way to incorporate these kinds of 3D hologram stickers into it somewhere, as well as these mini spinning emergency lights which I actually have just lying around my electronics bin. We'll see as the project comes along, I'm just in the sketching phase right now and I still need to plan out my modules, but I've locked in on the design for now!
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Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk
CrypticCuriosity629 Link ParentI mean this just comes down to not knowing how these codes are generated. I've been generating my own memorable but completely random passwords with a self made password generator for years now,...I mean this just comes down to not knowing how these codes are generated.
I've been generating my own memorable but completely random passwords with a self made password generator for years now, and you can give it parameters to follow so it's not just monkey on a keyboard random, but more abstract ideas with symbols random.
Anyways, using numbers only it's entirely possible to use parameters to fine tune the output.
Hmm I wonder why no one has recommended to go to the manufacturer and request replacements. I've done this dozens of times. Most of the time you just pay for shipping.
You do sometimes have to contact the right person, because most call center level customer service won't know wtf you're talking about and will just read from a script and will short circuit if you ask anything their script hasn't prepared them for. So ask for the actual tech department or repair center and don't take no for an answer. Lol.
Most of the time they're happy to send spare parts like screws.