JCPhoenix's recent activity
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Comment on The 2026 Running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Race Week Discussion in ~sports.motorsports
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Comment on Queer joy - Share what makes you happy, proud or loved in ~lgbt
JCPhoenix Link ParentTrue, but I guess it's that he pulls off the drag incredibly well. I've seen plenty of drag artists and while their make-up and everything is impressive, it's not usually hot. It's not attractive...True, but I guess it's that he pulls off the drag incredibly well. I've seen plenty of drag artists and while their make-up and everything is impressive, it's not usually hot. It's not attractive to me. But for Glen, it's like, "...Damn. He's on fire now!"
Part of it is that he's doing almost always doing "traditional" everyday makeup. Not drag make up (though I think he did one recently where he did do drag makeup).
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Comment on Queer joy - Share what makes you happy, proud or loved in ~lgbt
JCPhoenix Link ParentHe's such a good-looking guy out of makeup. Then he puts on the makeup and, most importantly, the accessories, and it's like "Wth, how is he even more good looking??"He's such a good-looking guy out of makeup. Then he puts on the makeup and, most importantly, the accessories, and it's like "Wth, how is he even more good looking??"
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
JCPhoenix Link ParentRecently added the sequel to my wishlist! And thanks for confirming that Reborn should be played after Case. There was like a bundle deal recently so got both of them and was wondering about that....Recently added the sequel to my wishlist! And thanks for confirming that Reborn should be played after Case. There was like a bundle deal recently so got both of them and was wondering about that. I assumed since Case came first, it should be played first.
It'll be interesting to see how the branching paths work in a whole story arc. Though as a story completionist, I'll probably try to do them all.
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Comment on Queer joy - Share what makes you happy, proud or loved in ~lgbt
JCPhoenix LinkI'm happy that I inadvertently found other male bi friends. When we became friends, through online gaming, many years ago, I'm pretty sure we all just assumed everyone else was just a straight...I'm happy that I inadvertently found other male bi friends. When we became friends, through online gaming, many years ago, I'm pretty sure we all just assumed everyone else was just a straight white male. As one does on the Internet. Plus the random straight white woman who'd show up on occasion. Usually someone's girlfriend or wife.
Then it was revealed we're not all white. I mean, I knew I wasn't white, obviously. But I figured that'd be the end of the "revelations." Didn't really expect to find LGBT friends online. I don't actively search out LGBT communities. I mean, I've had some gay friends in college, but I was just another "straight guy" back then.
There was one guy who joined us who was openly bi. But I personally kept quiet for a long time, until I felt comfortable saying it out loud. So now there were two. Then a few years later, a friend introduced another friend of his (now a coworker of mine) to the group. He seemed straight; divorced from a woman, always talking about dating women...until it was me, him, and someone else in comms one day, and he said, "So I've messing around with this guy...but keep that to yourselves...and anyway..." Wait what? Oh, OK cool! Our numbers grow!
And then about 2yrs ago, another guy -- who I had my suspicions about -- after getting into the dating game and dating women, just randomly exclaimed one day, "OMG, I've been talking to this guy for like 3 weeks and apparently he's already madly in love me; I like him but not like that, WTF!?" So then there were 4 of us.
Certainly our sexuality is not our defining feature. I think being a bunch of nerdy gamers is, lol. And we definitely raz each other like straight males ("I bet you like kissing boys!" "I do, what you gonna do about it?!"). But it is nice to have this little group of bi guys. Not everyone in the group is gay or bi; it's about 50/50 split with the straights. Which is perfect. Though maybe we'll have others join us or come out. Regardless, I'm happy about that.
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Comment on Bureaucracy is eating the world in ~society
JCPhoenix LinkWhile I was reading this article at work, my coworker suggested it was time for vape/smoke break. Because he wanted to bitch about a contract he's been working on for at least a couple of weeks....While I was reading this article at work, my coworker suggested it was time for vape/smoke break. Because he wanted to bitch about a contract he's been working on for at least a couple of weeks. We're US government employees. So this is from the "other side," but I think it's still relevant.
This contract he's working on is just a renewal or execution of an option year. Everything was negotiated a year ago. Nothing new is being added or removed. But he's frustrated because he's having to jump through a million hoops all over again. Do this form, do that form. Then do these ten forms. This one is new; get signatures from this person, and that person. Oh, this isn't good enough even though the other person said it was; explain better what this thing means, then get it re-signed and signed, with an accompanying memo, also signed. Also don't forget to submit it here and here and there. With signatures from these five people. And then work on and submit another memo...
Keep in mind, this contact is worth less than $15k for the year. It's small potatoes. And again, it's not a new service. But it is critical. If we and our teams don't have it, we are dead in the water.
I understand why there's this bureaucracy. As government employees, we're supposed to be good stewards of public money. We need to avoid corruption and kickbacks and bribes. We need to make sure the taxpayer is getting a good deal. We need to avoid even the slightest appearances of impropriety. So oversight is important.
Yet...How much time and effort is the government spending on trying to do these things? My coworker is well paid; we're GS-13s in DC, one of the highest paid localities in the country. How many other higher-paid employees are involved in this oversight? How many people's jobs are only to do these things? FWIW, our job is not to do contracts and purchasing all day. We're IT. He just has a collateral duty of initiating purchases on behalf of our team.
Is it worth all this effort for $15k? Is this juice worth the squeeze? Plus, we still hear about things like insanely marked up restroom soap dispensers and military hardware vaporware where costs have ballooned by millions or even billions.
So I'm generally in agreement with the author. And I too am not some red-blooded libertarian hell-bent on slashing government regulation and bureaucracy. There are many regulations and rules in place for good reason and deserve to remain so. There are regulations we don't have, that maybe we should add.
Obviously my coworker's situation is internal red-tape, so whatever (though how much of "government is too slow!" that average people complain about is attributed to internal red-tape?). But I do think it's worse when it's just citizens who are getting caught up in this whirlwind of bureaucracy. Like the stereotypical DMV experience, for example. Not saying we get rid of it regulations and such, but is there no way to rewrite them so they're less onerous for "the little people?"
Like with all things, it's about balance. But where that dividing line is, I don't know either.
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Comment on Proton sponsors far-right French YouTuber, claims lack of awareness in response to backlash in ~society
JCPhoenix Link ParentIdk if I buy the culture being forced. That'd be like saying that, say, r/playstation was forced to have moderators from Sony and the subreddit had to be owned by Sony. Sure, reddit admins change...Idk if I buy the culture being forced. That'd be like saying that, say, r/playstation was forced to have moderators from Sony and the subreddit had to be owned by Sony.
Sure, reddit admins change their policy, but I think the overall culture of reddit just changed on its own. Reddit isn't monolithic. Even back in the days of the "hivemind," it was never one hivemind; it was multiple. The people who were on the site 15yrs ago and were the then majority, were probably not even the majority 5yrs later. Definitely not 10yrs later, nor 15yrs later. I think V17's comment shows that even back then, there were those who did not like the self-promotion restrictions.
The userbase stopped caring. If the userbase as a whole, instead of just a loud minority, ever cared in the first place. Perhaps I've misread the situation and thought the belief was more widespread than it really is.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
JCPhoenix Link ParentBack when my one of my groups of friends and I used to play Minecraft, I became the server host. And it was a lot of fun, I thought. Bought my first "server," that way: an old office desktop from...Back when my one of my groups of friends and I used to play Minecraft, I became the server host. And it was a lot of fun, I thought. Bought my first "server," that way: an old office desktop from a second hand shop. Was like $50 and loaded it up with tons of RAM (way back when RAM was cheap...sigh). We used bukkit and spigot I think?
Though I eventually moved it to the cloud hosting because there were times my home Internet was kinda crap. Plus, some players would unknowingly stress-out the poor little server, sometimes until it crashed or slowed down massively. Luckily it was relatively inexpensive each month and everyone contributed.
Ngl, kinda miss hosting severs for friends.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
JCPhoenix LinkI finished Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane. Great game. A worthy clone of the Ace Attorney games, and probably the best I've played. Which means I've moved onto my next detective game:...I finished Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane. Great game. A worthy clone of the Ace Attorney games, and probably the best I've played.
Which means I've moved onto my next detective game: Staffer Case. It's alright, but if feels slow. And not just the story, but like game loading screens, responsiveness to advancing dialog, switching screens. I don't know if that's intentional or not. But it has a couple interesting systems, like its evidence/testimony deduction system, and that there's actually branching story in each case. Like in the first case, I successfully wrapped it up, only for the MC to be thinking, "But did I really get it right? Maybe I should think about the case some more..." And then I was surprisingly presented with an option to go to the "branching point" in the case. So I did, chose to present different evidence, and I guess I finally got the "true ending." Which is definitely different from all other detective game I've played; they're always fully linear. But I've yet to see if there's long-term effect to not getting the true ending.
In Path of Exile 2, I completed Act I! Took me two attempts at killing that Act boss, which made me wonder if my build is wrong, though I'm only like a lvl 13/14 Ranger, so not like a whole lot I can play with.
Kinda put Deadlock down for now. I like playing with my friends, but two of them are way better than me, so it's tough playing in their lobbies. I just end up feeding to the enemy team =(
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Comment on Proton sponsors far-right French YouTuber, claims lack of awareness in response to backlash in ~society
JCPhoenix Link ParentThere used to be a time that that more or less wasn't allowed. Sometimes users would find out that some product/brand subreddit was secretly run by employees or others who were financially...There used to be a time that that more or less wasn't allowed. Sometimes users would find out that some product/brand subreddit was secretly run by employees or others who were financially supported by/affiliated with the product or brand. And it was a big. big deal.
Then it just stop being enforced. And the culture changed to not have a problem with it, either. Can't remember if the rule was ever explicit, but I vaguely remember admin's talking about that not being allowed.
Anyway, it's shame. Because I wholeheartedly agree.
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Comment on Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion in ~sports.motorsports
JCPhoenix Link ParentWe get it, you're at Moet pool in Monaco....Yeesh, don't gotta rub it in ;DPool-wise,
We get it, you're at Moet pool in Monaco....Yeesh, don't gotta rub it in ;D
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Comment on How to try out over eighty-five Linux distros, no installation required - with DistroSea in ~comp
JCPhoenix Link ParentThe power of the Lord's OS cannot be run on our weak, sinful machines.The power of the Lord's OS cannot be run on our weak, sinful machines.
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Comment on Signet City | Reveal trailer in ~games
JCPhoenix LinkI know we have some "Citizen Sleeper" fans around. Release date TBD. Steam Store pageI know we have some "Citizen Sleeper" fans around.
From the creator of Citizen Sleeper, SIGNET CITY is a first-person fungalpunk RPG. You are a parasite, in a city where strange technologies and radical ideas are taking root. Grow into and through its inhabitants, uncover and change their stories, and witness the terminal season of the signet city.
Release date TBD. Steam Store page
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Signet City | Reveal trailer
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Comment on Tildes Survey #8: What is your favorite video game? in ~talk
JCPhoenix LinkOof, this is a hard one. My top like five include Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, and probably Splinter Cell (at least the original trilogy). And it's those first...Oof, this is a hard one. My top like five include Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, and probably Splinter Cell (at least the original trilogy). And it's those first three that kinda jointly occupy each spot in the top three, all at once. Gotta think about this one...
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Comment on A man died and all I've got left of him is a porn CD in ~life
JCPhoenix Link ParentIn the US, at least in my area at the time, CDs were almost entirely for music. Even us nerds -- at least my friends and me -- didn't really share warez and crackz and such, even though we were...In the US, at least in my area at the time, CDs were almost entirely for music. Even us nerds -- at least my friends and me -- didn't really share warez and crackz and such, even though we were definitely downloading those at home. And then once DVDRWs came out, those were almost entirely used for movies. And I guess PC games, too.
It was like mid/late 2000s when pirating ripped movies really took off. Broadband was pretty widespread, which helped with torrenting. And sometimes people would trade. But usually external HDDs were used. Like in college, several of us had external HDDs of torrented movies and shows, which we'd pass around. Now that I think about it...I'm sure there was some porn passed around that way!
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Comment on A man died and all I've got left of him is a porn CD in ~life
JCPhoenix Link ParentWhen we were a little younger, my friends and I found one lying in the grass somewhere. I don't remember if we tried to watch it or not, but I do remember it was pretty scratched up anyway. I did...When we were a little younger, my friends and I found one lying in the grass somewhere. I don't remember if we tried to watch it or not, but I do remember it was pretty scratched up anyway.
I did have one friend who's mom bought him some GGW. Which is really weird. Especially because we were only like 12-13yo at the time. But he was a spoiled brat only child. Basically got whatever he asked for/demanded. And apparently GGW was not beyond the limits.
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Comment on Has anyone else seen a LOT of dead birds on the side of the road this year? in ~enviro
JCPhoenix LinkI feel like I haven't seen that many dead birds. Though I will admit, I don't drive that much (only about 20mi per day total to/from work), and I live in an urban/suburban environment. I feel like...I feel like I haven't seen that many dead birds. Though I will admit, I don't drive that much (only about 20mi per day total to/from work), and I live in an urban/suburban environment. I feel like I've seen more dead other wildlife, like what looks to be raccoons, or something about that size. But not birds.
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Comment on A man died and all I've got left of him is a porn CD in ~life
JCPhoenix Link ParentThat's because we didn't need to. We had Girls Gone Wild DVDs! Separate from GGW, I do remember once in high school, once hanging out at a friend's house on the weekend. His place was the local...I never even considered sharing it via burned CDs, I think the subject is a little more taboo here in the USA even among teenage boys oddly enough.
That's because we didn't need to. We had Girls Gone Wild DVDs!
Separate from GGW, I do remember once in high school, once hanging out at a friend's house on the weekend. His place was the local hangout, so several of us guys were over there. We were playing games -- friend had a like a mini LAN center in this basement -- chatting and bantering, and carrying on. At some point, someone put on porn on one of the computers. Some of us were like "Haha, really man? You that horny?" But I think it was more for laughs.
Well, another friend apparently was. Because there was this like semi-walled off area in the basement (it was an unfinished basement), where the friend who lived there and his brother set up an additional computer. So our horny friend, went in that area, drew the curtain closed...and did his business.~10min later, he came out with a wad of tissues.
I know I was pretty disgusted. And not in the stereotypical male high schooler ,"Wow, that's gay,*" kinda thing. It was really, "...Why would you do that like 5-10ft away from all of us? Who does that?? Who are you trying to impress because you jack off?" It's not like we were kids; we were sophomores or juniors at that point. Like 16-17yo. It'd be weird if we didn't masturbate.
All that to say, yeah, never traded porn. Again, I knew a few people who may have traded some GGW DVDs that they got their hands on. But I don't think I knew anyone who burned a custom porn CD/DVD like it was a mixtape, lol...
*If anyone was gay there, it was me, as the resident halfgay. Though they all didn't know that at the time; I didn't really either.
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Comment on Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion in ~sports.motorsports
JCPhoenix LinkWell that was one of the races of all time. If it weren't for Stroll, Leclerc, and the penalties-galore (which as of this posting, some still aren't resolved), this would be another typical boring...Well that was one of the races of all time. If it weren't for Stroll, Leclerc, and the penalties-galore (which as of this posting, some still aren't resolved), this would be another typical boring Monaco race. Still was. Just an atypical one.
Definitely feel bad for Max, Lando, Charles, and even Stroll. I know quali basically sets the very, vey, very likely finishing order of the grand prix, but I was thinking maybe we'd get some little hints of skirmishes between Max and Kimi and even Lewis. But alas, wasn't meant to be.
Idk. I've said it before, I'll say it again: Monaco need to come off the calendar. Unless it's raining, it sucks to watch. That might be true for many tracks in F1, but I think it's especially true here. How many actual on-track, honest overtakes did we even get in Monaco this year? One? Lindblad on Albon? Has to be less than ten, right? Oof. And that's with smaller cars, even if not that much smaller.
I don't even care about tradition and history. Do the people who manage F1 really care about tradition? Strong doubt. So why should we?
To end on a positive note: Congrats to Kimi! This kid is the real deal.
...but the little devil on my shoulder is like "his luck and skill will run out at some point...And it'd gonna be glorious when it happens 😈" I'm a bad person, I know. I hated when it happened to Piastri last year; I shouldn't want that for anyone.
But for real, good on him. It's beyond impressive what he's able to do.
I just wanna know who's staying up all 24hrs to watch? I think at most I've done 19-20hrs.