DON_MAC's recent activity
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
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Comment on Archspire - Liminal Cypher (2026) in ~music
DON_MAC LinkHaven't had time to listen to and take in the entire album, but of the singles Limb Of Leviticus was my favorite. But as I listen to it more it's starting to get a bit repetitive, so that top spot...Haven't had time to listen to and take in the entire album, but of the singles Limb Of Leviticus was my favorite. But as I listen to it more it's starting to get a bit repetitive, so that top spot might not last long as I make may way through the other songs.
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Comment on Disney reportedly keen on buying Fortnite developer Epic Games in ~games
DON_MAC Link ParentWhile I don't know the details of the agreement regarding shared in Epic, tag-along and drag-along are pretty standard I think. I own a minority share in the company I work at and that whats we...While I don't know the details of the agreement regarding shared in Epic, tag-along and drag-along are pretty standard I think. I own a minority share in the company I work at and that whats we have in our shareholder agreement at least.
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Comment on Ian's Shoelace Site is still the best site for tying your shoes in ~tech
DON_MAC Link ParentSomething like BOA or YOW laces should work well for one handed use as well, though it feels like I usually see them on workwear or athletic shoes, and as I understand it can't be fitted to a show... -
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
DON_MAC Link ParentAbout the weapons, my understanding is that you have to upgrade two aspects fully on a weapon (Melinoë and one other) for the specific dialogue to be able to trigger. And even if you have upgraded...About the weapons, my understanding is that
you have to upgrade two aspects fully on a weapon (Melinoë and one other) for the specific dialogue to be able to trigger. And even if you have upgraded those two aspects, you may have to wait for the correct dialogue to trigger, as sometimes characters want to talk about other things. -
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
DON_MAC Link ParentYeah, if I remember correctly the center area gets the "there's something new here" exclamation mark when you unlock an aspect, so naturally you'd except there to be something there. I think just...Yeah, if I remember correctly the center area gets the "there's something new here" exclamation mark when you unlock an aspect, so naturally you'd except there to be something there. I think just I stumbled upon the selection, so it was pure luck for me! Great that you got it working, good luck in future runs.
Death to Chronos, and all that!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
DON_MAC Link ParentHow strange! I'm pretty sure the chaos trials unlocked as soon as I unlocked a new aspect, at least after the initial batch when first activating the stone. Maybe you need to give Chaos some...How strange! I'm pretty sure the chaos trials unlocked as soon as I unlocked a new aspect, at least after the initial batch when first activating the stone. Maybe you need to give Chaos some certain amount of nectar before unlocking more?But you should still be able to switch aspects! Though you don't do it on the spot in the center where you upgrade them, you do it by going to the actual weapon, there you should get a prompt allowing you to choose aspect! Pretty sure that was available for me from the first unlocked aspect, but not sure...
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
DON_MAC Link ParentIt's interesting how different opinions can be - the axe is one of the weapons I like the least! It hits hard, sure, but to me it too slow, so it's easy to be punished mid-animation, or to be...It's interesting how different opinions can be - the axe is one of the weapons I like the least! It hits hard, sure, but to me it too slow, so it's easy to be punished mid-animation, or to be cornered while recovering. Though I think I play pretty aggressively, so maybe it's a better fit for different playstyles.
Possible spoiler for weapons
Although the Charon aspect of the axe clicked pretty well with me. It had a nice of loop of plopping down a cast and then charging an omega special to deal ridicilous damage. Pretty expensive in mana though, so you really need a good mana-recovery boon towards the latter half as encounters drag on in length.I had a hard time "getting" the skull weapon as well, but after a few tries it clicked somewhat, so I can at least finish a run with it, but I avoid it if I'm not going for fulfilling some prophecy.
Favourites for me are probably the staff (spamming omega attack is pretty easy) or the dual flames (just holding attack and dodging gets you pretty far, though the special can be surprisingly strong as well).
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Comment on Reading challenges in ~books
DON_MAC LinkWhen I started reading again for fun again a few years ago I set my reading goal to one book per month, and I've kept it at that since then. My feeling was that if I increased it to a book every...When I started reading again for fun again a few years ago I set my reading goal to one book per month, and I've kept it at that since then. My feeling was that if I increased it to a book every two weeks or something, I would avoid longer books that might take longer to read, or reading that longer book might be stressful as it would feel like I'm falling behind.
My overall goal is simply to keep reading for fun (not aiming for a large amount of books read), and having the goal at 12 books per year encourages me to keep reading while allowing me the freedom to pick any book I want. I could increase the goal as I typically overshoot it, but this philosophy has served me well these past years so I see no reason to change it.
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Week 1 Updates in ~creative.timasomo
DON_MAC Link ParentYeah, coal forges do seem a bit expensive. I might ask the instructor and see if he has any thoughts on how to start up a forge of my own! We've made a mix of things, two fire pokes, a j-hook,...Yeah, coal forges do seem a bit expensive. I might ask the instructor and see if he has any thoughts on how to start up a forge of my own!
We've made a mix of things, two fire pokes, a j-hook, some nails, and now we're working on a candle stick, so I guess it's comparably light work.
Yeah, that would be nice!
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Week 1 Updates in ~creative.timasomo
DON_MAC Link ParentSounds like a nice setup! Pretty inspiring to read about, I may have to clear out some space for a forge at home after all... At the course I'm taking we're working with a coal forge, so I'm not...Sounds like a nice setup! Pretty inspiring to read about, I may have to clear out some space for a forge at home after all...
At the course I'm taking we're working with a coal forge, so I'm not familiar with a gas one. Seems like some people find it difficult to get good fuel for a coal forge (compared to a gas one), so might have to look into that before deciding what type to get.
There's a hardware store nearby that has a 55 pound anvil for a reasonable price, so might get that as a starter. And then get a good hammer as well. The ones at the course are pretty heavy, so just like with your first one I get tired pretty fast. But then, too light and I guess it gets hard to get any smithing done!
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Week 1 Updates in ~creative.timasomo
DON_MAC Link ParentI've been taking a smithing course this fall (a short one, only 20 hours) and it's a ton of fun! I suppose you've got your own forge? The downside of smithing being fun is that I want to get my...I've been taking a smithing course this fall (a short one, only 20 hours) and it's a ton of fun! I suppose you've got your own forge?
The downside of smithing being fun is that I want to get my own place to do it! But that's an investment of money, time and space, so we'll see if I ever get around to setting one up.
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Comment on Fatekeeper | Announcement trailer in ~games
DON_MAC LinkThis looks interesting! Hard not to compare it to the Elder Scrolls, which I've found has nailed the world aspect, but combat mostly just boiled down to spamming a mouse button (which I don't...This looks interesting! Hard not to compare it to the Elder Scrolls, which I've found has nailed the world aspect, but combat mostly just boiled down to spamming a mouse button (which I don't think is a hot take). The combat here looks more involved, which is promising! I've heard good things about the combat jn Awoved as well, but haven't played it myself.
But I didn't quite catch how the maps will be laid out? If it's open world, or larger areas or more linear?
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Comment on Darksiders 4 | Offical announcement trailer in ~games
DON_MAC LinkLooks like all the riders will be present in the fourth (or I guess fifth?) installment! Personally I'm hoping it's not a strict co-op game as that would probably discourage me from playing it,...Looks like all the riders will be present in the fourth (or I guess fifth?) installment!
Personally I'm hoping it's not a strict co-op game as that would probably discourage me from playing it, but I know many people like that. Maybe it'll work like Genesis, where you could easily switch what rider you played as.
I've enjoyed the previous games, so excited to see how this one turns out!
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Darksiders 4 | Offical announcement trailer
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
DON_MAC Link ParentSeeing BORE BLASTERS got me thinking of another game with bore in the title that's very dear to my heart (though I can't quite articulate why), namely Full Bore. It's a puzzle game in which you...Seeing BORE BLASTERS got me thinking of another game with bore in the title that's very dear to my heart (though I can't quite articulate why), namely Full Bore. It's a puzzle game in which you are a boar, and to solve the puzzles you have to do some digging! Might be something for you if you're on the lookout for digging games.
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2025: Hidden gems in ~games
DON_MAC Link ParentVactics sounds very interesting! Haven't played Hoplite, but Into the Breach is one of my favorite games. Might have to make a purchase! Steam deck compatibility is unknown (and nothing on...Vactics sounds very interesting! Haven't played Hoplite, but Into the Breach is one of my favorite games. Might have to make a purchase!
Steam deck compatibility is unknown (and nothing on protondb either), but one can always hope it works anyway, as it feels like a good game for the deck.
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Comment on Please stop externalizing your costs directly into my face in ~tech
DON_MAC Link ParentI know the Interledger Foundation is making some effort in this area, like the Web Monetization API. But it's only a proposed standard at the moment, and I remember looking into this 5 years ago...I know the Interledger Foundation is making some effort in this area, like the Web Monetization API. But it's only a proposed standard at the moment, and I remember looking into this 5 years ago and not sure how much has changed. But I guess both web and payments standards are slow moving areas.
At least there does seem to be some real money behind Interledger, they have grants for people working to implement their open standards, so that hopefully means it not just some lofty ideals without effort behind them, or some vaporware or similar. The futurre (though perhaps far) will tell!
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
DON_MAC LinkI've been tasked with providing the bread for christmas, so I did a trial bake of an untested recipe to see if it was good enough to bring and to work out any potential kinks. It turned out pretty...I've been tasked with providing the bread for christmas, so I did a trial bake of an untested recipe to see if it was good enough to bring and to work out any potential kinks. It turned out pretty great! Oven was a bit hot, so will probably bring the temperature down a bit and bake for 10 - 15 minutes longer, but otherwise it was a success.
It's a rye and wheat bread, using porter instead of water as the liquid, spiced with bitter orange peel, cloves, fennel seeds, anise seeds & caraway seeds and sweetened with some syrup. The recipe produced two loaves, so in one of the loaves I added some raisins (loved by some, hated by others). It also called for coating the loaves with a syrup/water mixture before baking, which I forget, but they got a very nice crust anyway, so it was probably not needed.
So I'll probably have to do (at least) two more batches of this bread, and possible some other bread as well, as I know some people are not into the darker variety. I have a pretty good (and very simple) recipe for a wheat/durum bread that's been a favorite as of late.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
DON_MAC Link ParentCitizen Sleeper is great (and the sequel is coming sometime next year)! I also really enjoyed the art style. Agree that it becomes too easy towards the tail end, and as a result of that loses a...Citizen Sleeper is great (and the sequel is coming sometime next year)! I also really enjoyed the art style.
Agree that it becomes too easy towards the tail end, and as a result of that loses a lot of the tension. To keep up some sort of difficulty they just upped the points required to complete tasks, which just turned it into a chore where I just threw all my dice into a task, went to bed and repeated. One minor thing I felt was that the game opened a bit too many separate story threads at a time, making it feel a bit disjointed at times. I think I would have enjoyed fewer but longer/deeper story threads instead.
But those are minor things, it's worth a play through, especially as a cyberpunk enjoyer!
In june I swapped out my older smartwatch (Samsung Gear S3) for a watch more dedicated to fitness, namely a Polar Vantage M3. The old watch battery drained in ~1 hour when disconnected from my phone, so you could barely go for a run without full battery, and I felt that I wanted to get away from the smart functions and just focus on the fitness aspect. I went with Polar partly out of nostalgia, my first GPS watch that I had ~15 years ago was a Polar, partly due to their data policy seeming the most sane, and partly because the Vantage M3 was in a good space with regards to features and price.
Polar has this FitSpark feature that suggests a workout every day which I thought I'd never look at, but it's been pretty good at nudging me to workout a bit more mindfully. It's either strength or mobility exercises, or a cardio exercise in certain heart rate zones. Back when I started running all those years ago, heart rate zones wasn't really anything we talked about, you kinda just ran for a set distance or time and didn't really think too much about it (of couse we did intervals, hill training etc but basically checked their pulse while working out).
But now I've read up a bit about heart rate zones and how you're supposed to balance your effort over time (which FitSpark helps with). It all started out pretty good, though running in zone 2 is a bit frustrating as it barely feels like running. And the last two weeks or so, my heart rate seems to have drifted, so effort that previously put me in zone 2 now puts me in zone 3! So when I'm supposed to do the long duration and low intensity workouts, I basically have to switch between barely jogging and walking to stay in the right zone. Which gets frustrating, and a bit boring, as I'm still in the old headspace of more effort = more speed = more good.
I should probably just trust the process and keep at it, but the regression in terms of what effort places me which heart rate zone is a bit disheartening (hehe), but hopefully the trend will turn soon. Exercising hasn't been this fun in a long time, but it's probably more due to it being nice to run during the summer than anything else.