EsteeBestee's recent activity
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Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books
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Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books
EsteeBestee Link ParentYou can be, but it's oh so hard these days. I don't use twitter, tiktok, bluesky, instagram, etc., but I still find myself unable to avoid reddit and discord. With discord, I tell myself it's...You can be, but it's oh so hard these days. I don't use twitter, tiktok, bluesky, instagram, etc., but I still find myself unable to avoid reddit and discord. With discord, I tell myself it's because that's where my friends are (including my IRL friends), but it's also social media and in some cases, I'm choosing to interact with the people in my phone over the world in front of me.
I could get a dumb phone, but it's a trade off, not an upgrade. I'm then losing access to certain functions like maybe maps and the ability to look something up if it's urgent or I'm having an emergency.
I guess what I'm getting at is that I think I'm about as intentional as I reasonably could be (a dumb phone is not possible for me because of my work), and even I feel like I consume too much social media. I can't imagine being on tiktok or insta all day. I also avoid pulling out my phone instinctively when I'm in a queue or in a waiting room, so I'm trying to be intentional there, and I still feel like I'm on social too much.
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Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books
EsteeBestee Link ParentI love the points you make here and it does make me realize that I had the privilege of learning life skills while growing up and while many people still do, some may not due to being tablet kids,...I love the points you make here and it does make me realize that I had the privilege of learning life skills while growing up and while many people still do, some may not due to being tablet kids, a worse education system, or whatever.
For example, I judge people that can't change a wheel on their car (to be fair, it's a jack + 5 lug nuts, it REALLY is not that hard), but I realize that I grew up fixing things, so it was easy for me to learn to work on cars.
I've never built a deck and don't know the first thing about it, but because I grew up being taught how to learn and research and to be comfortable with not knowing things, I'm certain that I could easily find out how to build one if I needed to.
And it's easy for me to say that something like that is easy for me and to not get why others can't research, don't have hobbies, etc., but like you pointed out, I could see how someone born in 2006 might be more helpless at age 20 than I was, due to a higher chance of not learning how to think in the first place. It's not that changing a wheel on a car is difficult, it's that many people haven't been taught how to be curious, how to learn, or how to research, so they might just "shut down" when on the side of the road instead of typing into youtube "how to change car wheel".
I guess I'm also doing a lot of assuming and prescribing based on my own personal experiences. Most of my friends are well educated, know how to problem solve, etc., because as a person like that, I don't really seek out friends who are completely dissimilar to me. It's easy for me to make assumptions on what's causing the problems we're seeing when I don't really directly interact with the kinds of people I'm describing (and I definitely don't want to come off as blaming people for being lazy or dumb when it's mostly systems that failed them and not the other way around).
I'm kind of rambling now, but I find this subject extremely deep and fascinating and there's still so much for me to think about and learn.
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Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books
EsteeBestee Link ParentThat's a very good point. In some regards, the wheel will keep turning even if people don't have hobbies, don't read, etc., even if the decline in literacy is seen as a negative (to me, it most...That's a very good point. In some regards, the wheel will keep turning even if people don't have hobbies, don't read, etc., even if the decline in literacy is seen as a negative (to me, it most certainly is). In some regards, the problems we face are problems humans have always faced. No time for hobbies because we need money to exist and the people that make the rules and run society are greedy and always want more. That's not new to 2026, though it still has aspects that are different than in 1026.
This article and people's comments have given me a lot to think about today, that's for sure.
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Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books
EsteeBestee Link ParentI did leave another comment after replying to yours with some of my other thoughts. To me, the bigger red flag isn't necessarily that consumption of novels or newspapers is going down, it's that...I did leave another comment after replying to yours with some of my other thoughts. To me, the bigger red flag isn't necessarily that consumption of novels or newspapers is going down, it's that many people I meet these days seem to dedicate very little time to hobbies in general. I think having a hobby like painting, crocheting, board games, or even working on cars, can lead you down some of the paths you need to learn critical thinking skills. You're solving "puzzles", you're learning how to research, etc.
That said, I say this as a person who did receive a good education and for the people coming through our poorer (as in lower quality) education systems these days, I guess I don't have the context to know if they even know how to start a hobby or if getting into a hobby will actually help them develop these literacy skills or if I'm just assuming it will because that's how I go through life.
I do absolutely 1000% agree that our education system is declining, but I guess what I'm getting at is that we don't necessarily need to assign novels in english class to get people educated and that we have other routes to do that than books, but god damn education is declining for sure right now.
I don't disagree with you, I think I'm just saying I could see a world where "post-literacy" in the context of "post-everyone-reads-books" isn't necessarily a doom, as long as people generally still learn critical thinking skills through other routes, but that definitely isn't happening en masse yet (and I do consider that the forces that fund our education (or cut funding, rather), also would prefer if we don't consume art or be creative in any fashion).
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Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books
EsteeBestee LinkI enjoyed reading through this and did like the different facets of this issue that the author explored. I'm personally of the mind that social media, phones in our pockets, and shortening...I enjoyed reading through this and did like the different facets of this issue that the author explored. I'm personally of the mind that social media, phones in our pockets, and shortening attention spans is a different beast than prior inventions that changed communication, like the early internet, TV, radio, the printing press, novels, etc. However, I am curious how we'll look back in 50 years and if we'll as a society generally think that novels were silly or niche when you could instead listen to an audiobook or read a synopsis.
I personally still enjoy reading, but even I admittedly read far fewer novels nowadays than I used to. I definitely read more words than I used to, considering I code for a living, I read news articles, I'm on discord all the time, etc., but those all seem part of my boring everyday life instead of exploring a world through a piece of fiction and using my imagination (imagination being another topic the author touched on and one facet of why books may be important to us as a species and something that social media lacks).
One thing I thought about while reading this was that reading as a hobby in your own free time seems less important to me than having a hobby to enjoy in your free time. I agree that literacy is becoming a problem, not in that people can't understand words, but that people can't understand the meaning behind them or critically think. That said, one thing I've definitely noticed in society is that many people don't have any creative hobbies at all or they won't talk about them. When I meet new people, it's always "what do you do for a living", not "what do you enjoy doing in your free time?" When we introduce a new hire at work, they talk about their work and their family, but never mention their hobbies, etc.
I don't read as many books as I used to, but I paint, I play board games, I play video games and not just for shallow experiences (though I absolutely still enjoy games like CoD), but I love games with deeper themes, as well. I think one important thing to think about is that if we're seeing a reduction in reading as a society, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing as long as people are finding some creative outlet. However, I know many people that just do not do anything creative or ever let their brain run wild. They'll consume TV or movies and not really discuss them after or think about themes. That's the larger problem than specifically reading, I think. Creative outlets that aren't reading can lead people towards those critical thinking patterns that we think we're losing as a society. I get it, it's hard to find the time for a hobby these days when work crushes at least a third of our week and so many other things demand our time. I speak as someone with the privilege of time, since I'm single, have no kids, have a good work life balance, etc., but I do think everybody needs a hobby, especially a non-screen hobby, even if it isn't reading.
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Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books
EsteeBestee Link ParentWell, so the author seems to mostly agree with this, but does do a good job, imo, of pointing out that while we're living through this, it seems like a doom, but it's much like how society seemed...Well, so the author seems to mostly agree with this, but does do a good job, imo, of pointing out that while we're living through this, it seems like a doom, but it's much like how society seemed doomed when the TV was invented or the printing press, etc. I do tend to agree that things are bad right now and social media is a far different beast than prior inventions, since it's always in our pocket and we can't be intentional about consuming it (it's just always there), but I did find the points she made to be interesting. I do wonder in 50 years how we'll look back on this decade and she did also bring up that there's been some cited pushback with teachers banning phones, starting to assign reading again, etc.
I personally do think that as a whole, our attention spans are waning as we have our lives filled with either mindless content or propaganda, so I generally agree with you, but I don't necessarily agree that the author of this piece was trying to dance around how much of a mess things are. She was labeling the current state as post-literacy to demonstrated that it isn't that people are incapable of reading words, it's that people are becoming unable to understand deeper meaning. I could definitely see the argument that that's illiteracy, but I don't think the author or the piece was trying to sweep under the rug the state of education and society.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee LinkFirstly, I picked up Forza Horizon 6 on release and I’m still playing it here and there. It’s what you expect, we’ve had 5 of these before, but the Japan setting is perfectly done, the...Firstly, I picked up Forza Horizon 6 on release and I’m still playing it here and there. It’s what you expect, we’ve had 5 of these before, but the Japan setting is perfectly done, the presentation of the game is improved over the last couple games, and it overall feels less grindy and frustrating. It’s as fun as ever to collect and tune cars and street race them or drift down mountains. I love it!
I’ve also been back on Destiny 2. It’s ironic that the final content update put the game in one of the best states it’s ever been in. Every activity is engaging and rewarding, the UI and UX is vastly improved, the sandbox is excellent (weapon and ability balance), and it’s just dumb fun to play again. I’m back to doing dungeons and raids with friends now that all of the content is updated to the newish weapon and armor systems. Everything just feels great and there are so many new possibilities for build crafting with the multiple artifacts, all the new armor bonuses, etc. I would recommend any D2 players who fell off since The Final Shape to give the game one more shot, even if it’s just to explore the monument of triumph activities and get a nice little bow on the game and possibly franchise (I’d love a Destiny 3, but Bungie is in a rough spot).
Most of my gaming time (and hobby time) has been spent on miniatures gaming instead and I’m loving it! Painting has become one of my favorite things to do and it’s a huge bonus that I get to put my dudes on the table to battle other dudes. I’m still playing Kill Team and maining the Raveners (tyranids) at this point. I’m impatiently waiting for Starcraft to hit store shelves. I also finally finished painting my Age of Sigmar Spearhead. Lastly, I took advantage of the new Warhammer 40K edition to split an Armageddon box with a friend. I got the space marines and started buying up deals I’m finding in local discord servers to assemble a Crimson Fists army! I’m having a ton of fun building and painting and I can’t wait until I can put a full army on the table!
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2026: Hidden gems in ~games
EsteeBestee (edited )Link ParentOMG a spider based shooter?! I am also picking that up! Edit: Okay, this game is rad as fuck. Good work! I'm digging the music, but I also love the just "hop in" gameplay of a twin stick shooter...OMG a spider based shooter?! I am also picking that up!
Edit: Okay, this game is rad as fuck. Good work! I'm digging the music, but I also love the just "hop in" gameplay of a twin stick shooter like this!
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2026: Hidden gems in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentOkay, I am NOT beating Bouncy Cat in a couple hours. WTF is this game?!Okay, I am NOT beating Bouncy Cat in a couple hours. WTF is this game?!
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2026: Hidden gems in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentBouncy Cat is the exact kind of game I love. Some silly $1 fever dream that I can play on a Saturday morning and finish before most of my friends wake up and they’ll never believe me if I try to...Bouncy Cat is the exact kind of game I love. Some silly $1 fever dream that I can play on a Saturday morning and finish before most of my friends wake up and they’ll never believe me if I try to explain the game. I’m gonna pick that up.
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Comment on What is your eleventh favorite video game? in ~games
EsteeBestee LinkThat’s an interesting question. I think for me, it’s probably Skyrim. I would consider Oblivion to be a top 5 for me. I don’t know if it’s a better or worse game than Skyrim, but it was the first...That’s an interesting question. I think for me, it’s probably Skyrim. I would consider Oblivion to be a top 5 for me. I don’t know if it’s a better or worse game than Skyrim, but it was the first open world RPG I ever played and holds a special place in my heart. I do go back and play both games usually at least once a year for a dozen hours or so.
With Skyrim, I was obsessed with it when it first came out, but over time, it just seemed shallower than Oblivion in terms of RPG systems, even if it was deeper or more grand in other areas. The guild quests aren’t quite as good, the minor quests aren’t as humorous or interesting (though many of the major quests are still compelling) and while the game world is fantastic, I also miss the forests of Cyrodil each time I boot up Skyrim.
It’s a game that’s good enough, that I still enjoy, and that undoubtedly had a lasting impression on me and gave me probably a thousand hours of enjoyment, but I wouldn’t put it in my top 10 with the likes of Oblivions, World of Warcraft, Horizon: Zero Dawn, FTL, and some of my other faves.
I’m not sure if it would be literally my “11th” favorite game if I made a list, as I’m sure I could find 11 other games I like more, but I think it fulfills the spirit of the question for me. I love the game, it’s good, and I still play it 15 years later, but it doesn’t have the same sauce or impact on me that my true top 10 would.
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Comment on The 2026 Running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Race Week Discussion in ~sports.motorsports
EsteeBestee LinkI’ll likely catch a few bits and pieces of it, but I’m still traveling right now and definitely won’t be watching more than just a couple of hours before bed, maybe.I’ll likely catch a few bits and pieces of it, but I’m still traveling right now and definitely won’t be watching more than just a couple of hours before bed, maybe.
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Comment on I’m traveling internationally for the first time and could use tips! in ~travel
EsteeBestee LinkThank you for the tips, everybody! I’m almost a week in to my 2.5 week trip and everything is incredible! I’m writing this from my hostel in Bergen after hiking Fløyen this morning. I’ve never...Thank you for the tips, everybody! I’m almost a week in to my 2.5 week trip and everything is incredible! I’m writing this from my hostel in Bergen after hiking Fløyen this morning. I’ve never been happier! I’ll probably do some sort of update when I get back on what I learned and pay forward some travel tips to those looking to travel, themselves.
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Comment on You can now use your Gmail account in Proton Mail in ~tech
EsteeBestee Link ParentI didn’t know that! The search is my main complaint with proton, as it really only searches subjects and senders for me. I’ll have to look for that indexing option!I didn’t know that! The search is my main complaint with proton, as it really only searches subjects and senders for me. I’ll have to look for that indexing option!
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Comment on Bungie announces final update for Destiny 2 in ~games
EsteeBestee LinkEnd of an era :( I haven’t played much since the first couple weeks of Renegades, but I honestly might hop back in for this update, as they’re cleaning up some of the mess, putting the director...End of an era :(
I haven’t played much since the first couple weeks of Renegades, but I honestly might hop back in for this update, as they’re cleaning up some of the mess, putting the director back front and center, and adding some new activities and abilities. It looks like they’re trying their best to put the game in a decent state before updates go dark.
Honestly, I think this is a preferable end to putting out half baked updates and further ruining the game. If there is to be more destiny, let it be another new game in at least 5 years time. For now, I’ll be happy to run a few vanguard ops or dungeons with friends to hopefully leave the game on some happy memories. It feels like I might get a chance to say a proper goodbye to the game now instead of quitting out of frustration.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee LinkI played another couple of hours of Vampire Crawlers and it's still satisfying! I like the pick up and play nature and I don't have to think too hard about it. I just haven't been spending as much...I played another couple of hours of Vampire Crawlers and it's still satisfying! I like the pick up and play nature and I don't have to think too hard about it. I just haven't been spending as much time with video games lately, so it's nice.
That said, I am picking up Forza Horizon 6 and will start playing that when it unlocks tonight. I've been waiting for a Horizon game in Japan since the first one, so you could say that I'm fairly excited. I'm a sucker for 90's JDM, especially.
I've mostly been playing tabletop games. I played a game of Twilight Imperium yesterday, which is always a treat. I played as The Nomad and enjoyed them. I had a strong start, but didn't do as well in the middle game and was a bit too defensive and just couldn't pull together a winning strategy. I still had fun, though!
I also recently learned to play both Star Wars Unlimited (the CCG) and Age of Sigmar: Spearhead. Both are excellent. I'm not sure how much $ I want to put into a CCG, I mostly started on it because I have a ton of friends that play it competitively and I find that it's a nice change of pace from Kill Team, my usual game these days. I'm still loving KT, but it's just such a heavy mental load to play, not to mention all the materials needed. It's sometimes nice to have a simpler card game where I can just bring my deck box to a game night and call it good.
Spearhead was also a good contrast to Kill Team. KT is all about intense tactical decisions, line of sight, dice modification, etc. Spearhead feels like just throwing dudes at objectives and rolling lots of dice. It was pretty easy to learn and I definitely want to get a spearhead painted up so I can play more.
Overall, I really missed in person gaming and I'm glad that I'm finding some more games to play. I still enjoy video games, but for the most part, I'm just preferring tabletop games at the moment.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentI played maybe 8 hours of Returnal and thought it was okay, but it didn’t hook me as much as roguelikes and bullet hells usually do (the game should have been a slam dunk for me). Saros looks cool...I played maybe 8 hours of Returnal and thought it was okay, but it didn’t hook me as much as roguelikes and bullet hells usually do (the game should have been a slam dunk for me). Saros looks cool and possibly more refined, do you think it might hook someone a bit more than Returnal? I’ve been considering getting it, but if it’s mostly more of the same, idk.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee (edited )LinkIt’s been a while since I’ve commented! I’ve had a very busy few weeks, so haven’t been gaming as much as usual, but I’ve gotten some gaming time in. I’m a few hours into Vampire Crawlers and...It’s been a while since I’ve commented! I’ve had a very busy few weeks, so haven’t been gaming as much as usual, but I’ve gotten some gaming time in.
I’m a few hours into Vampire Crawlers and liking it. It’s pretty simple, but enjoyable if you also like the same sort of loop you get with Vampire Survivors. Cards go brrrr, it’s a fun time.
Mostly, I’ve been playing Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred. I picked it up on release, which also gave me Vessel of Hatred, which I hadn’t played yet. I played through vessel on a paladin and the story and fights were… okay at best. I mean, it’s more Diablo, which is good, but it didn’t grip me that much. However, I played Lord of Hatred on warlock and that expansion was incredible.
The story was awesome, the location was awesome, the boss fights were cool as fuck (with the final fight being one of the best boss fights I’ve played in a game), and I’m loving the reworks to the skill trees. It’s been a 10/10 experience so far.
I’m level 67 or something with warlock and I’ve never really played the end game in D4, so I’m excited to level up more and see what it’s about. That said, I’m a little bugged that a magic class can’t use staves, so I’m considering leveling up a sorcerer as well, idk.
I know D4 has some level of group content for dungeons, though I don’t suspect it will fill the Destiny shaped hole in my heart that I still have.
Along that line, if anybody has recommendations for good group content games in the year of our lord 2026, I’m all ears. Overwatch with friends is fun, but doesn’t have progression. WoW classic is too grindy for me these days, WoW retail might as well be single player, etc. I suspect I probably won’t find anything that ever feels quite the same, though. I haven’t been keeping up with the multiplayer gaming scene for a few months, so I just didn’t know if there’s a new hotness. I know in some regards it’s just going to be finding a game I can get friends to play with me, rather than the game itself being the magic, but still, I miss the level of cooperation and puzzle solving D2 had.
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Comment on Is British English actually better than American English? in ~humanities.languages
EsteeBestee LinkI’m American, but I just really like the word “aluminium”. “Boot” and “bonnet” as well. I grew up watching top gear, ha. I do still watch a number of British shows and I do like British English in...I’m American, but I just really like the word “aluminium”. “Boot” and “bonnet” as well. I grew up watching top gear, ha.
I do still watch a number of British shows and I do like British English in that it’s just more fun for certain words and phrases, but maybe a Brit that watches American shows would say try same.
Exactly, I code for a living, but I do zero coding outside of work. Ask me about my miniature painting or disc golf or something else, instead! Why do people care or want to know where I work? I mean, they probably don’t, it’s just a cultural norm to ask. I make it a point to ask people about their hobbies or their life instead.