JCPhoenix's recent activity

  1. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    FFXVI remains one of the few FFs I've finished. But I also finished it in like three weeks. Which for me and JRPGs, is usually on the order of months or even years. Like XVI isn't a bad game. And...

    FFXVI remains one of the few FFs I've finished. But I also finished it in like three weeks. Which for me and JRPGs, is usually on the order of months or even years. Like XVI isn't a bad game. And I enjoyed it enough. Obviously I played it to completion. But it's definitely...just mid. It's like the most solid 7/10 game I've played. Which is not necessarily a good thing.

    I'm with you. If someone was new to the series or even JRPGs as a whole, and wanted to start with a Final Fantasy title, I would not recommend XVI. I'd recommend like X or even the VII Remakes. Maybe even IX (even though I don't particularly care for it).

    I didn't mind the active battle system (though I think FF7R's is better). But I very much disliked how basic the equipment system was. Like once I got the accessories I wanted, I never changed them. And even with the Eikons, I barely swapped them out. I feel like the game should've forced players to use different ones throughout the game. Exploration, as in trying to completely reveal an entire map, was pointless since there were practically no rewards (ie treasure chest). But...I did like the story. And I thought the characters and their motivations were alright, if not particularly deep. And also Dion Lesage. So pretty...

    XVI absolutely feels like something created to cater to Western audiences (of which I am a part of) to get people into JRPGs. Which is funny to me, because E33 was probably better at that than XVI. And then I felt like Metaphor: ReFantazio, which stuck with its JRPG roots, was far more talked about and hyped than XVI.

    2 votes

  2. Comment on The Filipino virtual assistants behind LinkedIn’s “thought leadership” content mill in ~tech

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    I'm not an expert either, and my family too is from the Philippines (well, my parents are; I'm from the US), but my understanding is there's a burgeoning middle class, especially in places like...

    I'm not an expert either, and my family too is from the Philippines (well, my parents are; I'm from the US), but my understanding is there's a burgeoning middle class, especially in places like Metro Manila, because of BPO companies and virtual assistants and the like. Young educated people can jobs at these places and they pay decently.

    Having visited the Philippines a couple times, it is weird to pass by the BPO offices late at night, like midnight around Makati and Taugig. It's an office park; it should be dead that late at night. But no! Tons of people just hanging out outside the buildings on their breaks, smoking, chitchatting, whatever. But they're probably servicing American clients that are 12+hrs behind, where it's daytime.

    8 votes

  3. Comment on Question for those who played both the original and remake of Final Fantasy VII in ~games

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    Thanks for sharing that. It's cool to listen to them side-by-side so to speak. The new Tifa's Theme is better IMO. It's a lot cozier, but then so is the Seventh Heaven bar in the Remake. But like...

    Thanks for sharing that. It's cool to listen to them side-by-side so to speak. The new Tifa's Theme is better IMO. It's a lot cozier, but then so is the Seventh Heaven bar in the Remake. But like Crazy Motorcycle isn't nearly as good. Though I do think it matches the intensity in the Remake waaaay better. There's a looooot more going on in Remake versus the original in that part of the game.

    Which is what I think makes comparing them tough. Each soundtrack is naturally made for each game, but then each game has created entirely different moods and settings.

    As an aside, that reminded me of when I was a kid finding the MIDI files online for FF7, playing them through the computer speakers...and then recording them to a tape cassette. Not with cables from the PC to the tape recorder, but just through the air! Crappy quality as you can imagine, but at least I could listen to the songs on my cheap little tape player with headphones!

    1 vote

  4. Comment on America’s enterprising spirit is booming after decades-long slump in ~finance

  5. Comment on Why socialists should embrace luxury apartments in ~society

    JCPhoenix
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    The US does have some public housing, but it's nowhere near the levels that the UK has with council housing and the like. About the only place that still has public housing at scale is NYC....

    The US does have some public housing, but it's nowhere near the levels that the UK has with council housing and the like. About the only place that still has public housing at scale is NYC. Everywhere else has severely lowered their public housing stock to the point it doesn't matter and moved to things like subsidized housing, like Section 8 vouchers. Government gives you a check for housing, then you just pay the landlord. Though I think the property/landlord has to be part of the Section 8 program and satisfy various requirements and regulations to participate. Some cities have "income-restricted housing" programs where private developers get tax abatements for setting aside a small number of units that are rented at less than market rate to people below the set income level. As such, public housing doesn't really exist in the US in the same way it does in the UK and other countries.

    I suspect that's what drives US vs UK thoughts on public housing. To you all, it's normal. Some people, even middle class folks, live in council flats. But in the US, very, very few live in public housing, it's needs-based, and therefore it's almost always lower-income folks who live in remaining public housing.

    Here, the last major public housing efforts were "Housing Projects." Or more colloquially, "the Projects." And it does not have good connotations. These often did turn into crime-ridden slums, due to underinvestment, often willful. And many of the most egregious and well-known, such as Cabrini-Green in Chicago or Pruitt-Igoe in St. Louis were eventually condemned and demolished. These are so well-known that the memories live on in the public consciousness. So aside from "blah blah I don't wanna support welfare queens," which is a big factor on its own, our past experiences with public housing also color expectations around future larger scale public housing.

    7 votes

  6. Comment on Why socialists should embrace luxury apartments in ~society

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    Agreed, but I think there's still the issue of public housing ultimately being controlled by voters. Local or otherwise. And given the political situation many of us find ourselves in these days,...

    Agreed, but I think there's still the issue of public housing ultimately being controlled by voters. Local or otherwise. And given the political situation many of us find ourselves in these days, I don't know if I'd like my living situation dictated by my fellow citizens. Plainly speaking, they're idiots.

    If voters perceive that "too much" is being spent on public housing, they will vote in officials who will do something about it. Which could reduce investments into simple things like required maintenance and upkeep. The voting public become the slumlords.

    So does that mean that because of that, we should have no public housing? Of course not. Just because we can't get 100% perfect welfare and public assistance doesn't mean we should have zero of it. Something is better than nothing. I'm pragmatic.

    But in the context of mat's "All new builds should be state projects. No private landlords, no private developers," suggestion, yeah no way. I suppose if perhaps one day ALL renters are living in publicly-owned housing, then they could theoretically constitute a large enough local voting bloc to protect and maintain public investment into their housing. But it's going to take a long time to get there. And still may not be enough.

    Doesn't help that in the US, everyone and their mother seems to get a say in public projects, no matter how little affected or affected at all. NIMBYs, sigh...

    10 votes

  7. Comment on Why socialists should embrace luxury apartments in ~society

    JCPhoenix
    (edited )
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    I used to live in Kansas City. And for over 5yrs, I lived on the Plaza, one of the city's nicer, more urban neighborhoods. The Plaza felt like "real" city living due to density; lots of...

    I used to live in Kansas City. And for over 5yrs, I lived on the Plaza, one of the city's nicer, more urban neighborhoods. The Plaza felt like "real" city living due to density; lots of mid/high-rise apartments and condos. Very walkable with restaurants, cafes, shopping, nightlife, museums, parks, now the Streetcar, etc.

    Which means it commands higher rents than many other parts of town.

    The place where I (and my brother) lived was older. It was a mid-rise apartment building was from the 50s or even 40s. But it likely had some renovations in the 10yrs prior to us moving in. So it was mostly alright.

    More importantly, however, there were also a lot of new apartments and condos going up all around us. "Luxury apartments." Many of which opened up while we lived there. And something interesting happened: our rent went down. Every time my brother and I signed a lease -- sometimes 12mos, sometimes even 6mo -- we successfully argued for lower rent or for the rent to stay the same. At the beginning, it was like $1500/mo. By the end, just over $1300/mo. So far, that's the only place I've lived where that's happened. Repeatedly.

    I think that's likely because of all the new apartments around that were definitely asking for higher rents. If the place we lived at wanted tenants, they were going to have to either make some serious improvements/investments or compete on price. And they chose the latter. It's not like my brother and I couldn't afford those new places. We likely could've, but we didn't want to. But maybe other tenants made that decision to literally move across the street for something newer and nicer. Which opened up new opportunities for those "upgrading" to where we lived.

    I just checked if that place had any similar units to ours available; which they did. And the price they're charging today is like 7% higher than what my brother and I paid when we first moved in...10 years ago.

    40 votes

  8. Comment on Question for those who played both the original and remake of Final Fantasy VII in ~games

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    Now that you say that, I think you're right. The mood in the original in many areas is definitely darker and creepier. Like for sure moving through the reactors. Or sneaking through and climbing...

    Now that you say that, I think you're right. The mood in the original in many areas is definitely darker and creepier. Like for sure moving through the reactors. Or sneaking through and climbing Shinra Tower (trying not to get caught, after all). Even getting to Wall Market in Sector 6. There's not the same level of suspense. And I don't think I've experienced that in any locale in the Remake or Rebirth (yet).

    But I wonder two things: one, if random battles back in the day enhanced that creepiness, and two, because I played the original, I knew what to expect.

    Though on the second one, I have made additional attempts at the original over the years. And when I got to those zones, it was still creepy. Just like it was when I played for the first time as a kid in the late 90s.

    2 votes

  9. Comment on 2026 Fifa World Cup - Finals discussion and news megathread (quarters/semis/finals) in ~sports.football

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    It was interesting seeing how different these two teams were. I only really started watching the WC this past week. Other than watching a couple US matches and the England vs Norway quarterfinal...

    It was interesting seeing how different these two teams were. I only really started watching the WC this past week. Other than watching a couple US matches and the England vs Norway quarterfinal (well...the last 10min or so). So it's not like I saw Spain nor Argentina before this past week. But I kept hearing how if Spain gets to the end, and if Argentina does as well, they'll destroy Argentina. But then I thought, "Yeah, but that's what people said about some of these other match ups and they didn't seem to pan out. And this is Argentina. Plus Messi (even if he is old* now)."

    But nah, this time it was true. Spain seemed to be on a different level than Argentina. So much more coordinated and confident. They pretty much controlled that game from the start. I think only at the end when Argentina was getting a little (lot) desperate, was I thinking, "Uh oh, Spain better keep it together." Which they managed to do.

    Congrats to Spain! Good guys definitely won. Without really having a lot of background about Argentina...yeah...I see why they have the reputation they do.

    *I call him old...him and I are like the same age 😭

    4 votes

  10. Comment on Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion in ~sports.motorsports

    JCPhoenix
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    This was race was just more confirmation that I like the idea of Formula 1 at Spa, more than them actually racing at Spa. Cool track, but in the 6 seasons I've watched, I don't remember any Spa...

    This was race was just more confirmation that I like the idea of Formula 1 at Spa, more than them actually racing at Spa. Cool track, but in the 6 seasons I've watched, I don't remember any Spa race being that exciting. I actually think the 2021 "race" was more interesting, even though it was like 3hrs of them doing literally nothing because of the downpour.

    Aside from Russel's Lap 1 retirement after making contact with Lewis (which I'm surprised earned the latter a penalty), the only other thing of note, to me, was Ferrari's pit gamble with Leclerc on that VSC. That it worked out for them!

    Those VSCs were kinda weird to me. Was there really that much debris on track that merited those? Oh well.

    Anyway, onto Hungary. But first, like for many of the drivers, time to watch the World Cup final!

    4 votes

  11. Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion

    ~sports.motorsports Ask
    Warning: this post may contain spoilers

    Belgian Grand Prix
    Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
    July 17-19, 2026

    Qualifying Results -- SPOILER
    Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
    1 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:46.304 1:45.142 1:44.361 15
    2 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:45.930 1:45.589 1:44.678 12
    3 1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:45.865 1:45.454 1:44.801 11
    4 63 George Russell Mercedes 1:46.185 1:45.689 1:44.869 18
    5 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:46.278 1:45.397 1:44.893 18
    6 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:46.124 1:45.543 1:44.895 15
    7 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:46.433 1:45.671 1:45.016 17
    8 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:46.191 1:45.629 1:45.143 18
    9 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:46.609 1:46.082 1:45.628 18
    10 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing 1:46.062 1:45.823 DNF 13
    11 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:46.501 1:46.120 12
    12 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:46.679 1:46.331 12
    13 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:46.795 1:46.392 12
    14 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:46.893 1:46.671 12
    15 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:47.080 1:46.777 12
    16 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team 1:47.113 1:46.779 12
    17 23 Alexander Albon Williams 1:47.120 6
    18 31 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team 1:47.801 6
    19 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:47.823 8
    20 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 1:47.971 8
    21 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:50.002 6
    22 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:50.177 8

    Source: F1.com

    Grand Prix Results -- SPOILER
    Pos. No. Driver Team Laps Time / Retired Pts.
    1 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 44 1:24:42.479 25
    2 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 44 +1.952s 18
    3 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 44 +11.586s 15
    4 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 44 +17.245s 12
    5 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 44 +18.988s 10
    6 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing 44 +23.307s 8
    7 1 Lando Norris McLaren 44 +24.014s 6
    8 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 44 +49.140s 4
    9 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 44 +50.406s 2
    10 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 44 +76.037s 1
    11 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 44 +76.991s 0
    12 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 44 +77.523s 0
    13 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 44 +78.348s 0
    14 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team 44 +94.465s 0
    15 23 Alexander Albon Williams 44 +104.684s 0
    16 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 44 +105.856s 0
    17 31 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team 44 +110.925s 0
    18 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 43 +1 lap 0
    19 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 42 +2 laps 0
    NC 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 25 DNF 0
    NC 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 13 DNF 0
    NC 63 George Russell Mercedes 0 DNF 0

    Fastest Lap: Lando Norris // 1:48.890 on lap 44
    DOTD: Charles Leclerc

    Source: F1.com

    Next race:
    Hungarian Grand Prix
    Hungaroring
    July 24-26, 2026

    13 votes

  12. Comment on Question for those who played both the original and remake of Final Fantasy VII in ~games

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    Every JRPG ever. I'm playing one right now: Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure, which is part of a MASSIVE series of games that are all 100% related to each other, unlike the majority of FF titles....

    Every JRPG ever. I'm playing one right now: Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure, which is part of a MASSIVE series of games that are all 100% related to each other, unlike the majority of FF titles. I like this series a lot, and I intend to play every game in it.

    But I'm also ~40hrs in and it still feels like I'm only barely beneath the surface of what is going on in this game. The conspiracies, the machinations, etc. From a lore and worldbuilding perspective, it's great because the world this game takes place in feels alive. There's depth here. Which I want to explore. But it also really, really drags things out.

    Enough that there are thirteen games in the series. I'm only on the fifth entry. Sigh.

    5 votes

  13. Comment on 2026 Fifa World Cup - Finals discussion and news megathread (quarters/semis/finals) in ~sports.football

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    I'm glad the French decided that it's worth playing in the second half. Because that got crazy and actually entertaining. Like I get it's a third place consolation prize. But it's still a match on...

    I'm glad the French decided that it's worth playing in the second half. Because that got crazy and actually entertaining. Like I get it's a third place consolation prize. But it's still a match on the world stage. Yeah, fine, you don't have to play like it's the final match of the WC, for all the marbles. But be entertaining! And once the French got back in the second half, we got a fun match. Was France was gonna rally back? Oh boy!

    It's OK that defense kinda took a backseat this time around. At least no one parked the bus this time!

    3 votes

  14. Comment on Question for those who played both the original and remake of Final Fantasy VII in ~games

    JCPhoenix
    Link
    I think the remakes are amazing. The original FF7 is definitely a classic. But it's an old-school JRPG. Has been for awhile now. And you can feel and see it. And sometimes...that's annoying. When...

    I think the remakes are amazing. The original FF7 is definitely a classic. But it's an old-school JRPG. Has been for awhile now. And you can feel and see it. And sometimes...that's annoying. When I originally played FF7 on my uncle's PS as a kid, I didn't care; all JRPGs were that way. They weren't old school yet, obviously. But once JRPGs started "progressing," getting rid of things like random battles, it's hard to want to play old-school JRPGs.

    I think one of the most fun parts of the remakes is seeing how far or close one's original idea or read of these characters is. Like Aerith has always had that whimsicality and mysteriousness around her. But in the remake she's a lot more...just straight out fun and funny, too. She's a carefree teen girl. In the remake, her in the Honey Bee Manor, watching Cloud about to be made-over on stage, about to be revealed, will never not be funny to me!

    And same goes for (Best Girl) Jesse. Yeah in the original it's obvious she has a crush on Cloud. And that holds in FF7R. But in a different way. It's more than just a silly crush, I'd say. So it's neat to see characters more fleshed out, sometimes in ways you expect, others in ways you maybe didn't.

    But I don't think everything in the remakes is great. I don't like, for example, the open world in Rebirth. That's one on the big reasons I haven't finished the game, nor played in like 2yrs now. I generally don't like open world, and while I think it's better executed than in other games, it's still open world.

    The overall story of the remakes hews closely to the original, but it's not the same story. It runs parallel to the original, because the remake bring its own takes and unique events. And it leaves other parts from the original out. I'm not saying that's bad; I'm not one of those who hates change. It's just different and I want/need to see how it all plays out.

    And for sure, there are parts that are too long. I am not a mini game person. There are way too many mini games in Rebirth, IMO, compared to the same points of the game in the original. But several of these minigames have to be done to progress. I feel like they just get in the way and needlessly extend certain sections of the game. Other times, it feels like I'm just doing MMO fetch quests. Gross.

    But overall, I like both for what each "version" is. They're two sides of the same coin. And that's cool.

    3 votes

  15. Comment on Wildfire smoke from Canada will soon spread across the Midwest and East United States in ~enviro

    JCPhoenix
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    I saw a little bit of the smoke/haze in DC this morning on my commute. The sun looked a little more organgey than usual at the time of the morning. I remember being in Chicago some years during...

    I saw a little bit of the smoke/haze in DC this morning on my commute. The sun looked a little more organgey than usual at the time of the morning.

    I remember being in Chicago some years during smoke. I think in 2018, the sky just looked...weird. Like the sky looked cloudy, while still sunny, but it was way too high up to be clouds. And then in 2023, when Chicago at one point had worse AQI in the world. Like even at street/building level, you could see the thick haze if there were bright lights on (like at Wrigley Field).

    2 votes

  16. Comment on 2026 Fifa World Cup - Finals discussion and news megathread (quarters/semis/finals) in ~sports.football

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    That may be so, but it seemed clear to me that the strategy was breaking down. I expected England to go back on the offensive at some point. OK maybe save their own energy for a bit, try to wear...

    That may be so, but it seemed clear to me that the strategy was breaking down. I expected England to go back on the offensive at some point. OK maybe save their own energy for a bit, try to wear out the Argentina players, and then start attacking again.

    And I guess technically England did. With 5min left in the match and Argentina up by one.

    1 vote

  17. Comment on 2026 Fifa World Cup - Finals discussion and news megathread (quarters/semis/finals) in ~sports.football

    JCPhoenix
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    Time for my next uninformed soccer take by an American who watches a little bit of soccer every 4yrs. Tf was England doing? Why did they not do anything? Seemed wild to get one goal and then just...

    Time for my next uninformed soccer take by an American who watches a little bit of soccer every 4yrs.

    Tf was England doing? Why did they not do anything? Seemed wild to get one goal and then just be like "Let's play totally defensively from here on out." Like not even wanting to get an "insurance" goal or two. Argentina kept attacking, little by little. And England held up, but it felt like it was just a matter of time...And then it happened.

    And then it happened again.

    Someone on reddit had a great comment. Something like. "HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF! RED COATS GET BEAT IN THE COLONIES AND GET SENT BACK HOME" lol...

    4 votes

  18. Comment on MapTap: Daily challenges to test your geographical knowledge in ~games

    JCPhoenix
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    100 + 100 + 99+ 98 + 100 Final score: 992. I spend waaaaay too much looking at Google Maps in my spare time.

    100 + 100 + 99+ 98 + 100

    Final score: 992.

    I spend waaaaay too much looking at Google Maps in my spare time.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on What did banning Airbnbs in NYC accomplish? in ~finance

    JCPhoenix
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Ah, fellow r/neoliberal members whose wives have left them!

    Ah, fellow r/neoliberal members whose wives have left them!

    2 votes

  20. Comment on US House passes bill to ‘ditch the switch’ and make daylight saving time permanent in ~society

    JCPhoenix
    Link
    FYI, this is new legislation. Legislatively, this isn't that the same bill the Senate voted for a few years back, that died in the House. So this bill is going to the Senate next. Some other past...

    The House passed a bill Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent. Proponents, including the White House, argued the change would provide more daylight during the times that Americans are most active. The vote was 308-117

    FYI, this is new legislation. Legislatively, this isn't that the same bill the Senate voted for a few years back, that died in the House. So this bill is going to the Senate next.

    Some other past discussions on Tildes on the topic:

    8 votes