DialecticCake's recent activity

  1. Comment on Are most jobs not what you thought they would be? Expectations vs. reality. in ~talk

    DialecticCake
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    My last job was my best one but not due to the work as much but rather because the people (including management/leaders) were the kindest and most collaborative I've worked with and the work was...

    My last job was my best one but not due to the work as much but rather because the people (including management/leaders) were the kindest and most collaborative I've worked with and the work was deeply meaningful positively impacting many communities nationally. Also, paid summer Fridays off (e.g., working 32 hours a week in the summer and getting paid for 40) was a HUGE perk and an example of how leadership cared.

    Perhaps instead of a career change, it may help to find a different job in the same field but that has a good work/life balance, autonomy, is a non-toxic workplace, and the work would be personally meaningful, etc.

    My personal experience shows the following is accurate. From: https://80000hours.org/career-guide/job-satisfaction/

    To find a dream job, look for:

    • Work you’re good at.
    • Work that helps others.
    • Supportive conditions: engaging work that lets you enter a state of flow, supportive colleagues, lack of major negatives like unfair pay, and work that fits your personal life.

    But alternatively a strategy some people I know have used is to do their sucky jobs and make the most out of their free time.

    3 votes

  2. Comment on Are most jobs not what you thought they would be? Expectations vs. reality. in ~talk

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    This is in part why I left career counselling. That and the realization of how often people who make their hobbies their jobs, end up disliking their hobbies. (Like a computer programmer who works...

    This is in part why I left career counselling. That and the realization of how often people who make their hobbies their jobs, end up disliking their hobbies. (Like a computer programmer who works at a security software company and is too burnt out from that to work on their passion for coding games.)

    6 votes

  3. Comment on Are most jobs not what you thought they would be? Expectations vs. reality. in ~talk

    DialecticCake
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    Like many, I started a post-grad certificate in career counselling with stars in my privileged eyes thinking of how I could help people to find and live their passions, etc. But during and...

    Like many, I started a post-grad certificate in career counselling with stars in my privileged eyes thinking of how I could help people to find and live their passions, etc. But during and afterwards and networking with many people, I learned that the only people who enjoyed their jobs were those who worked at Colleges/Universities or ran their own businesses. As for the rest working at government-funded places, the case loads were too high, clients had greater needs/challenges to overcome, and there was never enough time to truly help anyone.

    As for jobs, they were not what I thought they would be due to too many variables to predict (and not doing any/enough research beforehand).

    Environment: There was a huge difference working at an uptight insurance company vs a bank vs people walking around bare foot at a game company. Reading a job on paper would not encompass any of that.

    Relationships: Will your manager be a good fit? (Or will they be a micromanager? Or worse, a narcissist?) What about the rest of your team? (For example, company policy was to allow work from home and flex time...but my manager was the exception in not allowing this even though of course he worked from home often and didn't do a straight 9-5 daily.) Also, is there a culture of teamwork or toxicity?

    Job Description and Duties: I've rarely found these to match. E.g., Coding was to be part of one job...but wasn't the case in reality.

    Benefits: I worked at one place where I had to watch a video which showed all the benefits...problem was the benefits (like a gym in the building, and free meals) were for a location in a different country and the ones for my country didn't have anything of the sort. That place also... looked so great on their website -- basically it was a company that advised other companies on how to be one of the top businesses for employee satisfaction. Definitely a case of them not taking their own advice!

    Misc.: How long is your commute? Is the pay enough? etc. Do you have any flexibility to take the odd day off or work from home?

    Advice:

    • Do 'informational interviews' - where you call up a company not to sell yourself, but to learn about their culture, needs, requirements, etc.
      https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/careers/career-exploration/tip-sheets/tips-informational-interviewing

    • Read review sites like glassdoor.

    • Network with people who work in the field and better if you can network with people at a target company of interest.

    • Volunteer or do a short term contract to really get a feel for a place before committing longer term.

    19 votes

  4. Comment on If you sharpened a particularly stiff carrot, could you kill a vampire with it? in ~talk

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    Did someone say goofy vampire things? How about going back to 1985 when the movies "Fright Night" and "Once Bitten" released? These probably haven't aged well but I liked them back in the day. :D

    Did someone say goofy vampire things? How about going back to 1985 when the movies "Fright Night" and "Once Bitten" released?

    These probably haven't aged well but I liked them back in the day. :D

    2 votes

  5. Comment on If you sharpened a particularly stiff carrot, could you kill a vampire with it? in ~talk

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    There's something you've overlooked and it's something alarming if your theory holds true: BABY Carrots! If regular carrots hold a grudge against humanity, imagine the unbridled rage of the baby...

    There's something you've overlooked and it's something alarming if your theory holds true: BABY Carrots!

    If regular carrots hold a grudge against humanity, imagine the unbridled rage of the baby carrot -- taken from parents, skinned alive and stripped of its natural form, and denied the chance to fully develop. And add to that all those babies who don't get a quick death being eaten but instead suffocate in a plastic bag while slowly rotting, forgotten, in the back of a fridge.

    Forget vampires. Forget wooden stakes. The real threat has been in our refrigerators all along. And one day, they will no longer be forgotten.

    4 votes

  6. Comment on If you sharpened a particularly stiff carrot, could you kill a vampire with it? in ~talk

    DialecticCake
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    I think not enough attention is directed to the role of sunlight. As sunlight is what vampires fear most (except Twilight ones perhaps), I suggest that it's not perhaps all plants but rather a...

    I think not enough attention is directed to the role of sunlight. As sunlight is what vampires fear most (except Twilight ones perhaps), I suggest that it's not perhaps all plants but rather a mechanic of photosynthesis and how much of the dangerous quality of sunlight the wooden stakes retain.

    While I think stabbing with a carrot may hurt a vampire, I think it would have less effect than wood as trees and carrots differ significantly in how they use sunlight for photosynthesis due to their size, structure, and growth patterns.

    For example, trees may have broad canopies with many leaves that capture often full, direct sunlight and maximize photosynthesis through a large surface area.

    Carrots, as root vegetables, have small leaves that grow closer to the ground. They typically receive less direct sunlight, especially if shaded by taller plants.

    Unlike holy water, crosses, etc. I believe these are just a ruse to help humans have false hope and make it possible for vampires to 'pass' tests like drinking holy water. E.g., vampires explain this in True Blood and we can see in the 'documentary' that they are most harmed by direct sunlight followed by bullets with UV emitting diodes in them.

    There are many questions to test and avenues to explore with this theory: Would a ranked list of plants based on amount of direct sunlight photosynthesized have a positive correlation in effectiveness? What of plants grown under man-made lights? Do wooden stakes lose potency over time? What about wooden stakes that are 'processed' more and are less 'natural'?

    However, I am not sure how we could design tests that would pass the ethics board and I for one am not comfortable testing on unwilling vampires (and especially if it turned out staking was the only way to test this and other theories).

    3 votes

  7. Comment on Are we all capable of being slaveowners or nazis? in ~humanities

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    Thanks for your comment - I agree and have volunteered for many different roles. While I may not have moved the needle on a more global sense, I know I have affected individual people's lives (and...

    Thanks for your comment - I agree and have volunteered for many different roles. While I may not have moved the needle on a more global sense, I know I have affected individual people's lives (and animals' lives - I used to volunteer to teach people how to train their dogs). I'm just feeling sad as my beloved job is ending tomorrow and let that impact my writing. Thanks for sharing and caring!

    3 votes

  8. Comment on Are we all capable of being slaveowners or nazis? in ~humanities

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    I really like your analogy. Thanks for sharing. Also -- tomorrow is my last day at the org. It's been a good 2-year run. After I take time to rest and renew, I'll play my favourite ongoing game of...

    I really like your analogy. Thanks for sharing.

    Also -- tomorrow is my last day at the org. It's been a good 2-year run. After I take time to rest and renew, I'll play my favourite ongoing game of "What do I want to do when I grow up?" I've been looking at https://80000hours.org/start-here/ and while I'm way past their age demographic, it's been interesting to see what fields and types of jobs they've determined could have the most impact.

    4 votes

  9. Comment on Are we all capable of being slaveowners or nazis? in ~humanities

    DialecticCake
    (edited )
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    EDIT added one sentence at the end as this was more negative than I had intended. One doesn't need to be evil to be complicit. One can care and still fail to act. It's an illusion to think we're...

    EDIT added one sentence at the end as this was more negative than I had intended.

    One doesn't need to be evil to be complicit. One can care and still fail to act. It's an illusion to think we're better than the non-Nazis Germans when we have allowed and continue to allow all that is happening in the world.

    Empathy fatigue: The world is too big, there's too much bad news. We become desensitized to it, becoming numb.

    Bias: Our brains aren't meant to deal with the scope of information we receive and across time and distace. We are biased to care more about and act to help the person we can see drowning than the millions around the world we can't see dying, etc.

    The feeling of powerlessness: While I'll continue to vote for non-conservative parties, doing so doesn't change much. The poor are still struggling, people continue to abuse their power, the world isn't safe for so many people, etc. For the past 2 years I've worked for a non-profit that helps communities...but trying to make my 37.5 hours a week count...doesn't seem to make a difference.

    Fear / personal survival: How many people in Nazi Germany didn't speak up/take to the streets/etc out of fear for their lives?

    Mental health: I'm not alone in this -- My mental health has gotten worse post-pandemic. I'm struggling to do just the basic things and failing. How the heck and I'm also going to change the world?

    I think of myself as being very far left but I'm worn down. Which issue do I fight? When and for what should I take to the streets and protest? How do I do this with ADHD/Depression/Anxiety/OCD that I'm struggling to manage? We're frogs and the water is boiling but at what point do we act? What should we do? Is it too late?

    One doesn't need to be evil to be complicit. One can care and still fail to act. We are all complicit in creating / maintaining the status quo of this world. Let's all work to make the world better.

    9 votes

  10. Comment on Controversial opinion: I don't like "cosmetic armor" being an option in games in ~games

    DialecticCake
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    Yeah I wasn't thinking clearly as RDR2 wasn't a good example. The only way to change gear like guns with stats is just customization but you can't make gun A look like gun B.

    Yeah I wasn't thinking clearly as RDR2 wasn't a good example. The only way to change gear like guns with stats is just customization but you can't make gun A look like gun B.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Controversial opinion: I don't like "cosmetic armor" being an option in games in ~games

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    I'm not sure if it counts as gear doesn't affect stats beyond temperature ratings, but Red Dead Redemption 2. It's fun customizing Arthur's outfits for single player (as well as my own character...

    I'm not sure if it counts as gear doesn't affect stats beyond temperature ratings, but Red Dead Redemption 2. It's fun customizing Arthur's outfits for single player (as well as my own character for Red Dead Online which I tend to play in a single player lobby).

    EDIT to add -- I just remembered the gun customisations in RDR2 where different guns have different stats and you can pretty them up as desired (change metal type, engraving, stock, leather/cloth wrap)

  12. Comment on Controversial opinion: I don't like "cosmetic armor" being an option in games in ~games

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    I struggle to understand the concern regarding what players do in single player beyond perhaps that money spent creating transmog means money not spent elsewhere. But if the companies are choosing...

    I struggle to understand the concern regarding what players do in single player beyond perhaps that money spent creating transmog means money not spent elsewhere. But if the companies are choosing to make transmog, then that implies the audience (demand) for it is large enough to justify that focus.

    The focus on profit above all else is why I donate to patreon game devs who, while of course they want to make money, they don't have shareholders' interests in the mix.

    Regarding watching a YouTube video of a player fighting a hard boss -- in my experience they will just say what works, e.g., "This boss is easiest when capping out Str and using a 2H sword instead of a 1H/Shield combo with xyz trinket for abc effect".

    Regarding community -- is it not possible to find a subset of a community that doesn't include a focus on transmog?

    I think I have difficulty understanding as it seems like you want have your preferences but don't want others to have theirs?

    Now if you were talking non-single-player games, then I could perhaps understand a bit for example with this video: When your friend ruins the immersion (Viva La Dirt League). But I like transmog, so perhaps not.

    11 votes

  13. Comment on What is the key 'gameplay loop' in a MUD game? in ~games

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    I'm happy to hear that. Also it's awesome of you to challenge yourself with a project like this. And just spit-balling here -- but such a project could also be converted for someone special to go...

    I'm happy to hear that. Also it's awesome of you to challenge yourself with a project like this.

    And just spit-balling here -- but such a project could also be converted for someone special to go through. E.g. You could customize a zone of rooms and quests/mobs/triggers to share with a friend, a kid, to tell a story, or for a marriage proposal, etc. So many options for the future to have fun with it beyond the traditional mud game. :)

  14. Comment on What is the key 'gameplay loop' in a MUD game? in ~games

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    Another pain point was players had a separate account for each alt -- the dream from the staff side would have been one account with all alts and for the player to use ID to create the account. (I...

    Another pain point was players had a separate account for each alt -- the dream from the staff side would have been one account with all alts and for the player to use ID to create the account. (I can certainly understand the cons of this -- but from the staff side it would have made admin/investigations so much easier and people may have also been on better behaviour with their real identity tied to the account even if only staff would see that)

    As a note: high-level staff had ability to see what a player was doing including whispers/tells -- with guidelines of when this was allowable which would be the most serious of concerns during an investigation.

    4 votes

  15. Comment on What is the key 'gameplay loop' in a MUD game? in ~games

    DialecticCake
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    From being staff on a mud, one of the very limiting things was the scripting language created for the mud was very limited. E.g., no variables, no loops, etc. (But we were lucky that the mud had...

    From being staff on a mud, one of the very limiting things was the scripting language created for the mud was very limited. E.g., no variables, no loops, etc. (But we were lucky that the mud had that as that wasn't common functionality.) We had to get very creative to write quests/content such as having a hidden/invincible mob write notes on a piece of paper or give the mob items and then trash an item each time going through the script as a type of for loop. Or have the script act based on what combination of items the mob had.

    So for me, I think having tools for staff to use to create zones/mobs, automated quests, automated environment/mob triggers, and the ability to run live quests (e.g., control mobs, buff/debuff mobs, do room echos, spawn/despawn items/rewards, teleport self/others, etc.), have different staff levels/permissions, the ability reward/punish players (like removing their ability to talk on globals) is crucial. And really there's so much more like seeing players IPs for investigating things where on the lighter end may result in a temp/perm ban or the heavier end require contacting local police.

    EDIT: changed some language to avoid some potentially triggering language.

    3 votes

  16. Comment on Paradox must refocus to rebuild trust and survive, bosses say, after Life By You cancellation in ~games

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    Ah okay. I can relate in that I got excited too early about Life By You and even bought a new PC back when it was supposed to launch a year ago. The disappointment when it was cancelled was...

    Ah okay. I can relate in that I got excited too early about Life By You and even bought a new PC back when it was supposed to launch a year ago. The disappointment when it was cancelled was proportional to how hyped I got.

    2 votes

  17. Comment on Washington state woman calls 911 after being hounded by up to 100 raccoons in ~life.pets

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    My pleasure. And I completely get that they are irresistible having once pet one myself! Many years ago on a school camping trip I fed a raccoon some cookies and pet it. The science teacher in...

    My pleasure. And I completely get that they are irresistible having once pet one myself!

    Many years ago on a school camping trip I fed a raccoon some cookies and pet it. The science teacher in particular freaked out at me for doing that and I thought he was being dramatic. It hadn't occurred to me at that young age that he had cause. As you can imagine over a decade later, the volunteer session where I learned what precautions they take with any volunteer working with raccoons was enlightening to say the least. o_O

    1 vote

  18. Comment on Paradox must refocus to rebuild trust and survive, bosses say, after Life By You cancellation in ~games

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    Why do you feel there's been sparse evidence Paralives will launch? They've posted enough content to show it's a real work in progress (unlike some fraudulent game devs that just spun up something...

    Why do you feel there's been sparse evidence Paralives will launch?

    They've posted enough content to show it's a real work in progress (unlike some fraudulent game devs that just spun up something using free assets to make a trailer) and I feel the length of time spent is suitable as well. (E.g., small team and they announced about 1 year in with just one dev at the time versus billion dollar companies not announcing until 5ish years in with large teams.)

    Gameplay Trailer Video
    Very transparent Development Roadmap

    1 vote

  19. Comment on Paradox must refocus to rebuild trust and survive, bosses say, after Life By You cancellation in ~games

    DialecticCake
    Link Parent
    The other main contrast I see is that with public companies, they want to release games ASAP to make money (E.g., EA's case with the Sims 4 releasing DLCs in a broken state with empty promises to...

    The other main contrast I see is that with public companies, they want to release games ASAP to make money (E.g., EA's case with the Sims 4 releasing DLCs in a broken state with empty promises to fix them*), whereas the Paralives team has been making money the whole time pre-release. For Paralives, within reason, they make more money by not releasing the game and showing us (Patreon supporters) all the improvements each week.

    This is why I said I was biased as I was strongly inclined to support Paralives even before the game looked like it might make it to launch. Along with being very excited to play early access when it launches, I also hope that this game will 1. Give EA some competition, and 2. Be a model of what is possible with community funded development.

    Also, I wonder if Life By You was community funded instead of being funded (and then canceled) by Paradox if it would still be an active project and be better overall with no longer a rush to launch Early Access to please Paradox' shareholders?

    *Want to note that EA is finally fixing a lot of issues since they announced there is no Sims 5 being developed and they want to keep Sims 4 as their cash cow for years to come. (Yikes based on limits of the engine for Sims 4 and the shallow gameplay)

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Thoughts on the friendzone in ~life

    DialecticCake
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    Oh and it occurred to me too -- someone with a solid friend group meeting many of their needs might also make one more appealing. E.g., I think this approach would improve the person's life (and...

    Oh and it occurred to me too -- someone with a solid friend group meeting many of their needs might also make one more appealing. E.g., I think this approach would improve the person's life (and emotional resiliency / support network) and also their prospects by avoiding some turn offs (for some people) which might include: loneliness, desperation, someone expecting a future partner to meet all of their needs, etc.

    1 vote