JXM's recent activity

  1. Comment on Governor Gavin Newsom orders homeless sweeps throughout California in ~life

    JXM
    Link Parent
    I do a lot of work with social services and community support agencies. As the director of one of these agencies is fond of remind people regularly, “housing is the only cure for homelessness.” I...

    But the solution is not to grind them in the social mill. There's only one was to combat homelessness: have less homeless people

    I do a lot of work with social services and community support agencies. As the director of one of these agencies is fond of remind people regularly, “housing is the only cure for homelessness.”

    I think if more people thought like that, we’d make a lot more progress than we have on the issue.

    26 votes

  2. Comment on Disney+, Hulu, Max bundle now available in ~tv

    JXM
    Link Parent
    What people liked about streaming originally was that prices were incredibly low for the amount of content you got. I hate how expensive streaming has gotten too, but I can understand it. You...

    What people liked about streaming originally was that prices were incredibly low for the amount of content you got.

    I hate how expensive streaming has gotten too, but I can understand it. You can’t create multiple $150 million movies or TV shows and charge $6.99 while making a profit. If people want entertainment at the quality that used to be available only in theaters, it costs money.

    Those big tentpole shows are what get people to sign up for these services, so they have to keep producing them to drive subscriptions.

    It’s not the kind of entertainment I want, so it sucks for me (and many others in this thread, it seems) but I can see why it’s happening.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on Disney+, Hulu, Max bundle now available in ~tv

    JXM
    Link Parent
    I actually really like the way YouTube TV handles unsold ad breaks. Whenever there is unsold ad inventory, they literally just show a peaceful meadow scene and say something like “Your program...

    I actually really like the way YouTube TV handles unsold ad breaks. Whenever there is unsold ad inventory, they literally just show a peaceful meadow scene and say something like “Your program will resume in a moment.” I’d rather something like that than Ryan Reynolds trying to get me to switch to Mint Mobile.

    15 votes

  4. Comment on Is ‘birdnesting’ the answer for divorcing parents? The arrangement in which children of separated couples stay in the family home with one parent, before the other swaps in, is taking off. in ~life

    JXM
    Link Parent
    You're right, this concept only works if the parents get along well. Some people get divorced and stay friends or can at least be cordial to one another. My parents divorced when I was young and...

    You're right, this concept only works if the parents get along well. Some people get divorced and stay friends or can at least be cordial to one another. My parents divorced when I was young and they absolutely did not get along. They would exchange a few terse words during the handoff between parents but that was it. Something like this would never have worked.

    But if somehow they can manage to stay cordial/friendly, then more power to them.

    7 votes

  5. Comment on US President Joe Biden reportedly more open to calls for him to step aside as candidate in ~news

    JXM
    Link Parent
    I was a big supporter of Sanders in 2016, but looking back, is absolutely no way he could have realistically won the presidency if he had been the Democratic nominee. What's weird is that I think...

    I was a big supporter of Sanders in 2016, but looking back, is absolutely no way he could have realistically won the presidency if he had been the Democratic nominee.

    What's weird is that I think Trump is even worse than Biden when it comes to mental ability. Have you heard Trump talk for more than a sentence? Sometimes the words that come out of his mouth are literal gibberish and make no sense. The only difference is that he has this weird ability to keep talking and not pause, making him look "strong" compared to Biden, who speaks a lot slower and more deliberately.

    18 votes

  6. Comment on "Privacy-Preserving" Attribution: Mozilla disappoints us yet again in ~tech

    JXM
    Link Parent
    At the very least, let’s hope it lights a fire under Mozilla’s ass to get back on track.

    At the very least, let’s hope it lights a fire under Mozilla’s ass to get back on track.

    5 votes

  7. Comment on Donald Trump loathes our laws, puts self over country, and is dangerous for America. He is fully unfit to lead, writes the editorial board. (gifted link) in ~misc

    JXM
    Link
    I'll preface this by saying that I am forced to interact/work with a wide swath of "regular" people every single day due to the nature of my job. So I feel like I see a much larger cross section...

    I'll preface this by saying that I am forced to interact/work with a wide swath of "regular" people every single day due to the nature of my job. So I feel like I see a much larger cross section of society than most. I also have to talk to them for extended periods of time and about a wide swath of subjects.

    I get why they wrote it, but this is going to change very few minds. Times have changed. The endorsement (or un-endorsement, as it were) of a newspaper - even a top-tier one like the New York Times - doesn't matter like it used to.

    The people who are already going to vote for Trump are going to vote for him regardless of what the New York Times Editorial Board says. In fact, those people could care less what the NYT thinks.

    The mythical mass of "undecided" voters (I'm not convinced that there are actually that many of them) aren't going to be swayed by the New York Times either. They are going to vote for the person they think will carry out their preferred ideological plan. A lot of these types of people I meet are just trying to decide if they can stomach Trump in order to get what they want in terms of conservative laws/a direction for the country.

    24 votes

  8. Comment on Movie of the Week #35 - The Exorcist in ~movies

    JXM
    Link
    Not a surprising take to hear, but it’s a great movie. Jason Miller’s performance is absolutely incredible. It’s crazy that he also won both a Tony and Pulitzer the same year he was in this movie....

    Not a surprising take to hear, but it’s a great movie.

    Jason Miller’s performance is absolutely incredible. It’s crazy that he also won both a Tony and Pulitzer the same year he was in this movie. The only other performance that I can think of that comes close to his portrayal of Father Karras in terms of raw, emotional power is Roy Schieder as Joe Gideon in All That Jazz.

    Within the last few months I re-watched all of the Exorcist movies and they all have something interesting about them.

    The second one has a very interesting take on continuing the story. It’s not always successful, but there is some fantastic miniature work at the end.

    The Exorcist III is a totally different story that’s only tangentially related (or not at all, depending on the version you watch). I think I actually like this one the most of the three. George C. Scott’s performance is great and the 70s style direction is a great contrast to the flowy camera movement of modern films.

    The dueling prequels both miss the mark, but watching them back to back makes for an interesting contrast between Schrader’s and Harlin’s styles.

    Exorcist: Believer…well I guess that proves me wrong that there’s something interesting about all the movies in the series.

    And now I’ve spilled more digital ink about the sequels than the actual movie we were supposed to discuss…

    2 votes

  9. Comment on Flathub has now served more than two billion downloads for Flatpaks in ~tech

    JXM
    Link Parent
    You're right. I think for most people the trade off is worth it. Most people have enough bandwidth and storage where it isn't a concern that flatpak apps are bigger than just a "regular" Linux...

    You're right. I think for most people the trade off is worth it. Most people have enough bandwidth and storage where it isn't a concern that flatpak apps are bigger than just a "regular" Linux program. Other package management options like yum and apt are available for people who are storage/bandwidth constrained. There's nothing wrong with using those.

    But for a large swath of users, the advantages of flatpak far outweigh the downsides. That's especially true for those new to Linux.

    2 votes

  10. Comment on How do you feel about it/its pronouns? in ~lgbt

    JXM
    Link Parent
    I say this with a great amount of respect, but it’s not about making you feel comfortable. It’s about making the person at the other end of the conversation feel comfortable, included, and like...

    I say this with a great amount of respect, but it’s not about making you feel comfortable. It’s about making the person at the other end of the conversation feel comfortable, included, and like their wishes are being respected.

    12 votes

  11. Comment on Thoughts on VR? in ~tech

    JXM
    Link Parent
    Where the fuck is the immersive space/flight/racer sim revitalization? There's a VR version of No Man's Sky that fits the bill for the first two.

    Where the fuck is the immersive space/flight/racer sim revitalization?

    There's a VR version of No Man's Sky that fits the bill for the first two.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Thoughts on VR? in ~tech

    JXM
    Link Parent
    I’d love to have a Quest, but I have no interest in them since they started requiring a Facebook/Meta account to use the headset. I’m lucky in that I’ve never had any issues with eye strain except...

    I’d love to have a Quest, but I have no interest in them since they started requiring a Facebook/Meta account to use the headset.

    I’m lucky in that I’ve never had any issues with eye strain except for the very first Oculus Rift development kit. That one was pretty rough.

    2 votes

  13. Comment on Thoughts on VR? in ~tech

    JXM
    (edited )
    Link
    (Posting as a comment so I don't make the original post too long) I’ve tried a bunch of headsets over the years, starting with the original Oculus Quest. I had a friend who backed the original...

    (Posting as a comment so I don't make the original post too long)

    I’ve tried a bunch of headsets over the years, starting with the original Oculus Quest. I had a friend who backed the original Kickstarter and I have a very distinct memory of him inviting a bunch of us over the day it arrived so we could all try it out. We all had a great time watching everyone else try it out and be amazed at simply walking around a low res house. It was fun, but modern VR games didn't really exist at the time, so there wasn't much else to do.

    Eventually I found a PSVR at a pawn shop for around $150 and bought it on a whim. It was fun, but the lack of games and the clunkiness of the setup made using it a chore.

    When the PSVR2 came out, I immediately bought one. It was basically the perfect headset for me: no gaming PC required, one cable setup, worked with glasses. I don't really have the willingness/space to have a full PC-based VR setup. While the game selection is smaller compared to something compatible with SteamVR or the Meta Quest, there’s enough there to keep me interested. A few standout games have been:

    • Tales from the Galaxy's Edge
    • Rez Infinite
    • No Man's Sky
    • Job Simulator
    • Drums Rock

    One thing that I've fallen in love with is the movie watching experience. Having a massive screen to watch a movie on is fantastic. The only area that it disappoints is in sound quality. The headphones included are just a pair of generic earbuds that sound like crap. Good enough for gaming but not really up to snuff for watching a movie or anything like that.

    Just out of curiosity, I did the in store demo for the Apple Vision Pro in late April. I was abolsutely blown away. The pass through latency was incredible. The window, hand and eye tracking are far and away the best I've seen in a headset.

    So I kept my eyes out and managed to snag a Vision Pro on Swappa. It's a totally different beast than any other VR headset I've used. 99% of my usage has been consuming movies. And the Vision Pro is hands down, no contest the best solo movie watching experience I've ever had. Besides the obvious limitation that I can't use it to watch movies with other people, I love it.

    Watching The Great Gatsby in 3D, 4K, and HDR was amazing. It's also a treat to sit in a virtual cinema environment and watch a monster movie like 20 Million Miles to Earth. Seeing it on the "big screen" is so much fun.

    A few of the stand out apps/games I’ve found on the Vision Pro:

    • Job Simulator (again)
    • Synth Riders
    • Chroma (for Plex)
    • Reality Player (for 3D movies)

    And the fact that its self contained and doesnt require a connection to a console or PC is great. One big limitation of the PSVR2 is that you're tethered to your PS5. With the Vision Pro, I can sit wherever I want (like on the couch in the living room) and enjoy the movie.

    13 votes

  14. Thoughts on VR?

    ~tech Ask (survey)
    Are there any other people on Tildes who regularly use VR? What has the experience been like for you? Which headset do you own? What do you use it for? Do you use it regularly? Any...

    Are there any other people on Tildes who regularly use VR?

    • What has the experience been like for you?
    • Which headset do you own?
    • What do you use it for?
    • Do you use it regularly?
    • Any favorite/recommended games/apps?
    22 votes

  15. Comment on Louisiana lawmakers approve surgical castration option for those guilty of sex crimes against kids in ~news

    JXM
    Link Parent
    Unfortunately, in the United States (especially the South), the justice system is about revenge and punishment, not rehabilitation.

    Can we as a society please step back and think about what the point of the justice system actually is?

    Unfortunately, in the United States (especially the South), the justice system is about revenge and punishment, not rehabilitation.

    30 votes

  16. Comment on Spotify won’t open-source to-be-bricked Car Thing, but starts refund process amid lawsuit in ~tech

    JXM
    Link
    Not ideal, since they’ll just turn into e-waste once they’re deactivated but I think that giving everyone a refund is a reasonable gesture.

    Not ideal, since they’ll just turn into e-waste once they’re deactivated but I think that giving everyone a refund is a reasonable gesture.

    16 votes

  17. Comment on Must see touring artists? in ~music

    JXM
    Link
    Three of the top four concerts I’ve ever been to were Peelander Z shows.

    Three of the top four concerts I’ve ever been to were Peelander Z shows.

  18. Comment on Former US President Donald Trump has been found guilty of thirty-four counts of falsifying business records to influence the outcome of the 2016 election in ~news

    JXM
    Link
    Good. It's not a difficult case. No one is above justice, not even the president (despite what he might want to believe). We'll see how this all plays out in the long run. The appeals will take...

    Good. It's not a difficult case. No one is above justice, not even the president (despite what he might want to believe).

    We'll see how this all plays out in the long run. The appeals will take forever.

    36 votes

  19. Comment on My birthday gangbang in ~life

    JXM
    Link Parent
    Leeroy Jenkins…now there’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time.

    Leeroy Jenkins…now there’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time.

    12 votes

  20. Comment on I ate the Subway Footlong Cookie so you don’t have to in ~food

    JXM
    Link
    Wasn’t expecting to laugh out loud at a cookie review. I remember the first time I saw the sign for one of these in the window and thinking it was a joke someone had stuck in the window without...

    Wasn’t expecting to laugh out loud at a cookie review. I remember the first time I saw the sign for one of these in the window and thinking it was a joke someone had stuck in the window without the staff noticing.

    My favorite line:

    The best and worst thing about the cookie is that it gets warmed up in the oven right before it’s served. That means you get a warm, gooey cookie to enjoy. But once the warmth fades, the illusion shatters and it becomes apparent that this is essentially the “Weekend at Bernie’s” of desserts.

    8 votes