Houdini's recent activity

  1. Comment on Is cinema dying? And if so, who is responsible? – A murder mystery in ~movies

    Houdini
    Link Parent
    I love my AMC A-List subscription. The thing I hate about AMC though is that they buy up old movie theatres and rebrand them as “classic” as a way to avoid remodeling them. The one in my town is a...

    I love my AMC A-List subscription. The thing I hate about AMC though is that they buy up old movie theatres and rebrand them as “classic” as a way to avoid remodeling them. The one in my town is a classic and it has the same seats that have been in there since it was built in the 90s to replace the other movie theatre in town. They’ve probably replaced the cushions, but the seats are uncomfy af. If I want to go to an AMC with nice recliner seating I have to go 20min away to the only non-AMC classic within a 100mi radius.

  2. Comment on Patrick Rothfuss on the wait for book two of The Kingkiller Chronicle (2009) in ~books

    Houdini
    Link
    I was in middle school when I read book one, a sophomore in high school when book two came out. I’m married, have a college degree, and I’m a licensed attorney. I will never read this book or give...

    I was in middle school when I read book one, a sophomore in high school when book two came out. I’m married, have a college degree, and I’m a licensed attorney. I will never read this book or give Patrick Rothfuss a dime. I empathize with his mental health struggles, but at this point this is beyond just mental health. He is fully willing and able to go on twitch and show up to panels, but not writing a book. He raised over $1mil in a stream like three years ago and promised to release a chapter of the third book and it’s never happened. At this point he’s just grifting.

    I am genuinely shocked he has not been sued by his publisher for breach of their agreement. Because there is no way he has met a single deadline for writing.

    9 votes
  3. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    Houdini
    Link
    Fiction: The Suicide Motor Club by Christopher Buehlman Fantasy: Malice by John Gwynne Scifi: The Broken Earth Trilogy (kinda scifi kinda fantasy) Nonfiction: The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by...

    Fiction: The Suicide Motor Club by Christopher Buehlman

    Fantasy: Malice by John Gwynne

    Scifi: The Broken Earth Trilogy (kinda scifi kinda
    fantasy)

    Nonfiction: The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Naht Hanh

  4. Comment on Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California dies at 90 in ~society

    Houdini
    Link Parent
    I’m confused on how you’re equating mandatory retirement age to ageism. There are tons of industries and other parts of the government that have mandatory retirement because it’s been deemed...

    I’m confused on how you’re equating mandatory retirement age to ageism. There are tons of industries and other parts of the government that have mandatory retirement because it’s been deemed necessary for safety and national security reasons.

    How is this any different? There are octogenarians who can barely even function but are expected to adequately represent their constituents? That sounds like a massive safety risk to the general public to me.

    The government is also rife with age minimums. 25 for Congress and 35 for the Presidency.

    26 votes
  5. Comment on What LitRPG Series do you recommend? in ~books

    Houdini
    Link
    I LOVED Cradle. It’s easily one of my top series of all time. I’ve also started Ascend Online and I’m really enjoying it. It’s not a literary masterpiece but it’s fun.

    I LOVED Cradle. It’s easily one of my top series of all time.

    I’ve also started Ascend Online and I’m really enjoying it. It’s not a literary masterpiece but it’s fun.

    2 votes
  6. Comment on Apple announces the iPhone 15 launch event in ~tech

  7. Comment on Apple announces the iPhone 15 launch event in ~tech

    Houdini
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    The iPhone 6S* Plus is still to this day, my fav iPhone. If it would operate well today I would probably still be rocking one, but I know it won’t be able to keep up with the current software.

    The iPhone 6S* Plus is still to this day, my fav iPhone. If it would operate well today I would probably still be rocking one, but I know it won’t be able to keep up with the current software.

    1 vote
  8. Comment on Great audiobooks that come to mind because the narrator is amazing and NOT Ray Porter? in ~books

    Houdini
    Link
    I’m genuinely shocked I haven’t seen Tim Gerard Reynolds recommended on here. He narrates the Red Rising trilogy. He is an amazing narrator. I’ve never felt so proud to be Irish than I did while...

    I’m genuinely shocked I haven’t seen Tim Gerard Reynolds recommended on here. He narrates the Red Rising trilogy. He is an amazing narrator. I’ve never felt so proud to be Irish than I did while listening to the beginning of Red Rising and I’m not even Irish.

    1 vote
  9. Comment on Great audiobooks that come to mind because the narrator is amazing and NOT Ray Porter? in ~books

    Houdini
    Link Parent
    Reading also narrates the Furies of Calderon series by Jim Butcher. It’s also really good.

    Reading also narrates the Furies of Calderon series by Jim Butcher. It’s also really good.

    1 vote
  10. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    Houdini
    Link
    I’m currently reading The Hobbit and Jade City. I also have on my list, the Tombs of Atuan the second earthsea book, Sojourn the third Drizzt book, and then my friends and I are doing a book club...

    I’m currently reading The Hobbit and Jade City. I also have on my list, the Tombs of Atuan the second earthsea book, Sojourn the third Drizzt book, and then my friends and I are doing a book club and we are reading Salvatore’s Cleric Quintet for that.

    1 vote
  11. Comment on Grand jury in the US state of Georgia returns indictments in Donald Trump 2020 election case in ~society

    Houdini
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Even then, he is being charged with mostly federal crimes, so the board wouldn’t be able to pardon him for much. He could only pardon Trump for whatever state crimes he’s convicted of.

    Even then, he is being charged with mostly federal crimes, so the board wouldn’t be able to pardon him for much. He could only pardon Trump for whatever state crimes he’s convicted of.

    8 votes
  12. Comment on Could you, please, write down a monthly grocery list (and instructions if needed) to buy in a supermarket without carrying any plastic back home? Please, state your region/country/city. in ~enviro

    Houdini
    Link
    The only place this is really doable for me is at my local coop because they have a lot of stuff loose that you can buy in weight. I’m not a huge fan of the local coop though. It’s very expensive,...

    The only place this is really doable for me is at my local coop because they have a lot of stuff loose that you can buy in weight. I’m not a huge fan of the local coop though. It’s very expensive, even for a coop, despite there being other locally owned grocers right next to them that charge less, and the people that work there will follow anyone around the store they feel does not fit into the stores typically aesthetic. My wife has said that the store gives her a real “Get Out” vibe any time she’s gone in there without me.

    2 votes
  13. Comment on Could you, please, write down a monthly grocery list (and instructions if needed) to buy in a supermarket without carrying any plastic back home? Please, state your region/country/city. in ~enviro

    Houdini
    Link Parent
    It still is in some parts of the US. I think Oberweis in Northern IL/IN offers this and I remember a friend from around Indianapolis saying that when he lived there from like 2010-2018 they had a...

    It still is in some parts of the US. I think Oberweis in Northern IL/IN offers this and I remember a friend from around Indianapolis saying that when he lived there from like 2010-2018 they had a milkman. Where I live in Illinois I have access to glass bottle cow milk, juice, and cold brew, but I don’t drink dairy or juice and only buy the cold brew on occasion so it doesn’t do much for me. If they had oat milk in a glass bottle I would gladly buy it though.

    2 votes
  14. Comment on The Reddit protest is finally over. Reddit won. in ~tech

    Houdini
    Link
    Largely dumping Reddit has been nice for me, I spend most of my time now divided between here, Lemmy, and my RSS. It’s been nice. I do still access it for the lawyer and bar prep subreddits...

    Largely dumping Reddit has been nice for me, I spend most of my time now divided between here, Lemmy, and my RSS. It’s been nice. I do still access it for the lawyer and bar prep subreddits because those groups are never going to leave Reddit, but aside from that I don’t use it. I do wish I had somewhere to go for b/s/t groups for my hobbies that are as good as what is on Reddit but that’s hard to do especially without Facebook.

    3 votes
  15. Comment on Squabblr is now a free speech platform in ~tech

    Houdini
    Link Parent
    Agreed. I hadn’t deleted my account yet there after that, but I did pretty much stop using it entirely. I enjoyed the conversations I had on there and it’s also where I got my tildes invite so it...

    Agreed. I hadn’t deleted my account yet there after that, but I did pretty much stop using it entirely. I enjoyed the conversations I had on there and it’s also where I got my tildes invite so it was a little sentimental to me to at least keep the account. But if it’s just going to turn into a right wing echo chamber, I’m not really interested in keeping an account. I may go back and check on it to see how it’s changed but I’ll do so without an account.

    3 votes
  16. Comment on The vanishing family: They all have a 50-50 chance of inheriting a cruel genetic mutation — which means disappearing into dementia in middle age in ~health

    Houdini
    Link Parent
    After watching my grandma slowly slip away into dementia and die in May from dementia it absolutely floors me why these people have chosen to have that many kids with such a high rate of passing...

    After watching my grandma slowly slip away into dementia and die in May from dementia it absolutely floors me why these people have chosen to have that many kids with such a high rate of passing on a gene with a chance of developing dementia so young. To me that is pure selfishness, but maybe it’s not to other people.

    2 votes
  17. Comment on Is an iPad enough for college students these days? in ~tech

    Houdini
    Link
    Most of my friends in med school have done most of their work on surface pros or iPads, but I think they all still have a laptops as well, but they primarily use their tablets for day to day use.

    Most of my friends in med school have done most of their work on surface pros or iPads, but I think they all still have a laptops as well, but they primarily use their tablets for day to day use.

    1 vote
  18. Comment on Which board games have you been playing this week? (to 30th July) in ~games.tabletop

    Houdini
    Link
    We played perudo, tsuro, and catan last week. This week I’m hoping we bust out 7 Wonders, Evolution, and Pirate’s Cove. Possibly Scythe depending on who shows up this week.

    We played perudo, tsuro, and catan last week. This week I’m hoping we bust out 7 Wonders, Evolution, and Pirate’s Cove. Possibly Scythe depending on who shows up this week.

  19. Comment on Like many men, I had few close friends. So I began a friendship quest. in ~life.men

    Houdini
    Link Parent
    Oh yeah no, I would never bring people to an event with friends that those friends didn’t explicitly invite. I already struggle with “open invitations” to do stuff. If I’m not explicitly invited I...

    Oh yeah no, I would never bring people to an event with friends that those friends didn’t explicitly invite. I already struggle with “open invitations” to do stuff. If I’m not explicitly invited I feel very uncomfortable just showing up to stuff myself.

    I do try to invite friends in my friend group that don’t know each other to things I plan.

    3 votes
  20. Comment on Any 'Magic the Gathering' fans here? in ~games.tabletop

    Houdini
    Link Parent
    Fucking same. I literally cannot keep up with sets and product releases anymore. I have my commander decks and a proxied power cube and that’s the extent of what I have anymore. I buy a fat pack...

    Fucking same. I literally cannot keep up with sets and product releases anymore. I have my commander decks and a proxied power cube and that’s the extent of what I have anymore. I buy a fat pack randomly, but haven’t done that in at least six months.