JRandomHacker's recent activity
-
Comment on The tech baron seeking to “ethnically cleanse” San Francisco in ~life
-
Comment on Inside the Super Nintendo cartridges in ~games
JRandomHacker LinkAll of Fabien's retro game work is so good - his game Black Books are some of my favoriteAll of Fabien's retro game work is so good - his game Black Books are some of my favorite
-
Comment on The two cultures in ~games.tabletop
JRandomHacker LinkMy dad taught me to play backgammon years ago and we'll always get in a match or two on family trips. One interesting corollary to the observation about nondeterministic games and playing for...My dad taught me to play backgammon years ago and we'll always get in a match or two on family trips.
One interesting corollary to the observation about nondeterministic games and playing for money - I've played a decent amount of competitive Magic The Gathering, as well as organized tournaments and leagues. Despite being an inherently random game, WotC has gone through significant efforts to avoid associating the game with gambling of any kind. I was talking to a player who was relatively new to Magic but had a decent amount of experience in esports (this was an online Magic event), and they asked about money matches, which are reasonably common as ad-hoc side events at fighting game tournaments in particular. Not only is there essentially zero culture of money-matching at Magic events, but putting money down on a match in a competitive setting will automatically make you lose the match - or even get disqualified, if you knew it was disallowed and did it anyway.
-
Comment on Does the Dog Die? - A website for filtering movies by triggers in ~movies
JRandomHacker LinkHands-down the best entry on the site is the question in the name, asked about John Wick:Hands-down the best entry on the site is the question in the name, asked about John Wick:
Yes, and it's terrible, BUT John Wick spends the rest of the movie deliberately, gloriously, and violently avenging the dog, so it feels really pro-dog overall.
-
Comment on EV bargains to be found as Hertz sells off some of its US electric cars in ~transport
JRandomHacker Link ParentI'm really hoping that by the time a car upgrade makes sense for me, a "real" EV Outback is availableI'm really hoping that by the time a car upgrade makes sense for me, a "real" EV Outback is available
-
Comment on Fedi Garden to instance admins: “Block Threads to remain listed” in ~tech
JRandomHacker Link ParentI checked my follows just to get some more data. I have about 90 follows - about 30 of them are on my home server, and another 10 are from a server I used to be on. I think the home-server number...I checked my follows just to get some more data. I have about 90 follows - about 30 of them are on my home server, and another 10 are from a server I used to be on. I think the home-server number would go down significantly if I only counted active users - a lot of that was a group from a discord where most of us signed up on the same server.
-
Comment on Kalle Rovanperä scored an imperious victory on Safari Rally Kenya, as his World Rally Championship rivals repeatedly ran into trouble on the infamously tough event in ~sports.motorsports
JRandomHacker Link2nd place for Taka! I've been rooting for him since I started watching and it's good to see him pick up a solid podium spot.2nd place for Taka! I've been rooting for him since I started watching and it's good to see him pick up a solid podium spot.
-
Comment on Fedi Garden to instance admins: “Block Threads to remain listed” in ~tech
JRandomHacker Link ParentA) I'd say the "home server advantage" is pretty small at this point B) that being said, I can personally recommend kind.social as a fairly generalist instance that has a good feel to it.A) I'd say the "home server advantage" is pretty small at this point
B) that being said, I can personally recommend kind.social as a fairly generalist instance that has a good feel to it.
-
Comment on With Yuzu and Citra gone, why is Dolphin seemingly unaffected? in ~games
JRandomHacker LinkDolphin doesn't a) run a highly successful Patreon, and b) advertise their emulator using screenshots of AAA titles that just released. There are no technical reasons they're different, they're...Dolphin doesn't a) run a highly successful Patreon, and b) advertise their emulator using screenshots of AAA titles that just released. There are no technical reasons they're different, they're just better at not poking the bear that is the Big N
-
Comment on Do you have any game sub-genres that you have a name for, but aren't big enough to be "official" sub-genres? in ~games
JRandomHacker Link ParentI was going to get even more specific and say "Zachlikes" as a genreI was going to get even more specific and say "Zachlikes" as a genre
-
Comment on Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson just negotiated higher audio royalties for all audiobooks on Audible in ~books
JRandomHacker Link ParentIt's a small part of his yearly State of the Sanderson article from 2022, but he goes pretty deep into his original objections that got him to this point now. The royalty-splits he mentioned:...It's a small part of his yearly State of the Sanderson article from 2022, but he goes pretty deep into his original objections that got him to this point now. The royalty-splits he mentioned:
- Ebooks are usually 70% author / 30% publisher. This is a pretty standard "digital royalties rate" across all sorts of platforms - Steam takes 30% of game sales, Apple takes 30% of iOS sales, etc.
- Brick-and-mortar bookstores are usually somewhere around 50/50 - there's a lot involved in ordering, stocking, selling, etc. for physical books.
- Audible offered 40% author / 60% Audible if publishing exclusively through Audible. Authors who wanted to sell on multiple platforms were offered an even lower split of 25% author / 75% Audible.
-
Comment on World's fastest camera drone vs F1 car (ft. Max Verstappen) in ~sports.motorsports
JRandomHacker LinkMy favorite part of this challenge was when they needed to squeeze that last bit of performance out of the new drone and said "okay, well how about we leverage some of the millions of dollars of...My favorite part of this challenge was when they needed to squeeze that last bit of performance out of the new drone and said "okay, well how about we leverage some of the millions of dollars of equipment and R&D that Max is also using and just go to the teams that design the car?"
-
Comment on What is the "bible" of your hobby or activity? in ~hobbies
JRandomHacker Link ParentThat's about everything Uncle Bob writes in my experience.That's about everything Uncle Bob writes in my experience.
-
Comment on Monday, April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse: where and when in ~space
JRandomHacker Link ParentI'm going back to Carbondale - I was there for the 2017 total and I've been planning this one since then. SIUC had a whole bunch of stuff going on around the event, including some very cool...I'm going back to Carbondale - I was there for the 2017 total and I've been planning this one since then. SIUC had a whole bunch of stuff going on around the event, including some very cool presentations from their astronomy department.
My only change this year is that I got the extra hotel night so I don't even think about trying to drive home afterwards - undoubtedly the worst traffic I've ever experienced trying to leave Carbondale last time.
-
Comment on The 2023 Hugo Awards: A report on censorship and exclusion in ~books
JRandomHacker Link ParentThis is missing the major part of this fiasco, I think - the censorship was not applied by the Chinese government or any representatives from China. It was applied by a group of Western admins on...This is missing the major part of this fiasco, I think - the censorship was not applied by the Chinese government or any representatives from China. It was applied by a group of Western admins on the Hugos team who were preemptively censoring what they thought might be problematic.
-
Comment on The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas and the stories that came after it in ~books
JRandomHacker LinkI came across "Why don't we just kill the kid..." on Mastodon a little bit ago - when I was reading it, I hit a point where I felt I definitely "got the point" of this addition to the story of...I came across "Why don't we just kill the kid..." on Mastodon a little bit ago - when I was reading it, I hit a point where I felt I definitely "got the point" of this addition to the story of Omelas, but it was so compelling that I had to finish the story regardless.
-
Comment on Why car insurance in America is actually too cheap in ~finance
JRandomHacker LinkIs insurance too cheap, or is healthcare too expensive?Is insurance too cheap, or is healthcare too expensive?
-
Comment on Reigning World Rally champion Kalle Rovanperä will begin his partial 2024 WRC campaign at Rally Sweden this month in ~sports.motorsports
JRandomHacker Link ParentWRC teams don't field the same drivers in every race - most drivers will compete almost the whole season, but some will only be registered for a few events. Kalle Rovanperä won the 2022...WRC teams don't field the same drivers in every race - most drivers will compete almost the whole season, but some will only be registered for a few events.
Kalle Rovanperä won the 2022 championship in a dramatic battle and became the youngest champion ever (22 years old), then followed that up by winning again in 2023 in a dominant fashion. It was a surprise at least to me that he's taking most of 2024 off - it feels like a conspicuous gap at the top, especially if he puts together a winning drive in Sweden.
-
Comment on Why Spec Ops: The Line mattered in ~games
JRandomHacker LinkI will never shut up about this game. I'm glad that Mark went into the industry context as much as he did, because it's definitely an important part of the game's message, and I think that makes...I will never shut up about this game. I'm glad that Mark went into the industry context as much as he did, because it's definitely an important part of the game's message, and I think that makes it hard to look back on in retrospect.
Also, I think this game is one of Nolan North's greatest performances. He's basically playing a dark parody of the kind of character he'd so often play, and he does an incredible job with it.
-
Comment on Extreme metal guitar skills linked to intrasexual competition, but not mating success in ~science
JRandomHacker Link ParentIt feels like a fun observation in the same vein as "guys start going to the gym so they can pick up women, but end up pretty much exclusively impressing other gym bros"It feels like a fun observation in the same vein as "guys start going to the gym so they can pick up women, but end up pretty much exclusively impressing other gym bros"
Well it got flagged less than 6 hours in, which is exactly what I expect from the orange site.