Loopdriver's recent activity
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Comment on Star Trek: Section 31 | Teaser trailer in ~movies
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Comment on The Electric State | Official teaser in ~movies
Loopdriver LinkIt is not what i expected. The book is grim and sad... here you have the son of Transformers and Zombieland (i mean the vibe it gives me...). My gosh....It is not what i expected. The book is grim and sad... here you have the son of Transformers and Zombieland (i mean the vibe it gives me...). My gosh....
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Comment on Soaring coffee prices have Italians ‘afraid and panicking’. Poor harvests are pushing up costs up for a nation that consumes 6bn shots a year in bars and cafés. in ~food
Loopdriver LinkIf i can add my point of view, Italians ain't really lamenting about the increasing price of the coffee from a mere economical point of view and neither about a vague sense of culture...If i can add my point of view, Italians ain't really lamenting about the increasing price of the coffee from a mere economical point of view and neither about a vague sense of culture disappearing.
I try to explain a little bit more what I mean.
Sometimes I read about the loss of the so called third places. Places that aren't home or workplace and where people get to know each other (like churches, libraries, etc.).
The bar is most likely the main third place for the italians. And the cheap coffee espresso is probably the conduit that makes it possible.
At the bar you start to know your workmates, at the bar you meet your friends, if your boss wants to talk with you he takes you to the bar and offers you a coffee, if it's your birthday you gather everyone at the office and offer them an espresso at the bar... you got the gist... This culture, this social aspect of Italian life that orbits around the espresso, is so ingrained that if you make a favour to someone probably his answer is not only "thank you" but also " I own you a coffe" meaning that next time he'll take you out in a bar and your coffee will be on him, so you can also talk and you will know each other more.
Some companies have a coffee break because they also know it helps to have more cohesive groups. They go out, socialise and during the working hours release a bit of steam.
When the Italians say coffee is like bread they don't mean the drink... because they can always put a moka on the stove and consume a cup of coffee at home. And believe it or not.... they do it too. They mean that if the espresso gets expensive they will lose the ability to socialise in the same way they are doing now.
And that hurts more their hearts than their wallets.It's not about the cost of the coffee, it's about having a place where to meet and talk.
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Comment on Addressing the cause of collapsing fertility: status in ~life
Loopdriver Link ParentI wasn't trying to suggest a solution to the problem... i just wanted to write down a couple of draft of examples that could tackle the issue using the "status" as their pillar. ...instead of...I wasn't trying to suggest a solution to the problem... i just wanted to write down a couple of draft of examples that could tackle the issue using the "status" as their pillar.
...instead of something completely off rails like the original author :) but i digress.I agree with you that the example wasn't ideal even if i was thinking something like "if you have children you have a better understanding on how kindergarden or school should be run..." or stuff like that and i really didn't think through how it could be unfair torwards some people if implemented. Because that was not the point i wanted to make.
Anyway I think that the author doesn't want to suggest that having children make someone worth more per sè but that in the society we live in:
- you compete for higher status
- usually you get status if you have economic success
- but to have success you have to sacrifice something
- and usually people don't have children because they are a burden to reach success/status (and rising children isn't seen as a success)
So he suggests that maybe there is a way to increase the fertility rate making the role of parent "cool" for society, a status that people can crave to get.
But trying to answer you I am also asking to myself, though, if there is really a way to find a solution to the problem using the "status" in a non-zero sum game.
I mean... can we really rise the status of a group A without lowering the status of a group B? Just like economically we can't invest our money to solve a problem without slashing the budget on other issues. -
Comment on Addressing the cause of collapsing fertility: status in ~life
Loopdriver LinkI have to say that the article is quite interesting and I agree that most of the stuff we do is driven by status once the most basic needs are satisfied. Even if sometimes we don't call it status...I have to say that the article is quite interesting and I agree that most of the stuff we do is driven by status once the most basic needs are satisfied.
Even if sometimes we don't call it status but with other names...Anyway, what i find quite strange are the proposed solution. I feel there is a dissonance there... He keeps on talking about status and how it plays a very important role in our life, so much so that i can help or disrupt the fertility rate. But his solutions don't align with this hypothesis, he seems to more interested to keep the enclosed, isolate communities doing their stuff. Something like "western civilisation is doomed so we need to preserve some niches where our culture is forbidden so they can have 7 children per family".
If status is so important and (inside this piece) we agree that we should leverage that to increase the fertility rate how come the solution is something like "less education" instead of something like "if you have a child you get an automatic promotion or a raise" / "when you have a child you have more power to drive the society so that only you can vote for some issues within the communities"? ...or stuff like that...?
...or am i missing something?
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Comment on Looking for adventure(-ish) games to play alongside my 8 years old in ~games
Loopdriver Linki usually play with my 12 years old kid after dinner and here are the games we have played and he really enjoyed: 1 . point and click games (monkey island 1, 3, the last one and the one from tale...i usually play with my 12 years old kid after dinner and here are the games we have played and he really enjoyed:
1 . point and click games (monkey island 1, 3, the last one and the one from tale tale - darkside detective - really funny and not scary at all - all the sam and max games, the original one from lucasart and the tale tales/skunkape remastered)
2 . the long dark - it's very slow but he likes the challenge. usually i move the character while he gives me assistance using maps we have printed of the different region... then we decide where to go, what to do, etc.. sadly on the switch is a bit hard because the transition between outside and inside the different houses takes time.
3 . road 96 - he really like the story, it was like an interactive movie, there aren't scary moment but there a moment with a lot of tension.
4 . kingdom two crowns. it's beautifully crafted, nice tunes and you can both play--- from nintendo
- super mario wonder - you can both play the game, it's very interesting the "wonder"mechanics that completely change the way you play the level
6 . mario party (i don't play this with my son but he deeply likes it)
7 . paper mario (both of them)
- super mario wonder - you can both play the game, it's very interesting the "wonder"mechanics that completely change the way you play the level
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Comment on With Vids, Google thinks it has the next big productivity tool for work in ~tech
Loopdriver Link ParentSame here, more over... most of the ppl suck at talking. I feel there are some niches where it could be useful. To show how to do something on a gui or irl but not so much at work expecially...Same here, more over... most of the ppl suck at talking.
I feel there are some niches where it could be useful. To show how to do something on a gui or irl but not so much at work expecially because most of the ppt I get are just word documents made into slides and I suspect if this vids will get traction I will probably get a word document converted into slides... converted into a video. Nice... :/ -
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Loopdriver LinkJust finished red dead redemption 2. Just the masterpiece i imagined it was, storywise. The gameplay is more or less what you'd expect from rockstar. Only the ending is too watered down anyway......Just finished red dead redemption 2. Just the masterpiece i imagined it was, storywise. The gameplay is more or less what you'd expect from rockstar. Only the ending is too watered down anyway... Great.
And now I am trying elden ring. It does no disappoint though I was really lost at the beginning. In fact I am not 100% sure an open world is OK for soul games even if I really enjoy stumbling upon small dungeons and discover them with the torch. I preferred sekiro combat system, to me this seems... easy? Anyway I have killed two bosses... so... I still have a lot of road ahead ^^
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Comment on The home-working revolution is harming younger workers: Bosses who insist on a return to the office are demonised — but turning up is better for your career in ~life
Loopdriver LinkUhm... it could be true that showing up may now slightly increase your chance your boss will remember you when it's time to choose promotions and bonuses but it depends... maybe your boss is still...Uhm... it could be true that showing up may now slightly increase your chance your boss will remember you when it's time to choose promotions and bonuses but it depends... maybe your boss is still a moron.
Anyway, when I read there articles what I understand is that the biggest problem is that bosses and middle management in general are inept to do their job. In the office most of their inability was hidden micro managing the workers so they could call it a day, in a WFH they don't know what to do and they whine and try to gaslight their workers saying "it's for their interests to come back" for it will (eventually) pay in the end.
The solution should be: let the workers work how they feel more comfortable and teach the middle management to really do their job...
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Comment on What was your first computer game? (Soundcheck question 2023) in ~games
Loopdriver LinkFirst game i played... pong. (looking at the dusk while slowly smoking a cigarette... ^^) but it was my uncle's The first videogame i owned was a clone of Pengo i used to play on the commodore vic20.First game i played... pong. (looking at the dusk while slowly smoking a cigarette... ^^) but it was my uncle's
The first videogame i owned was a clone of Pengo i used to play on the commodore vic20.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Loopdriver LinkCyberpunk 2077 here. Seems like I picked it up at the right moment. I am 25 hours in and i am enjoying it a lot... maybe the fact i did not read anything about the main story so far played on my...Cyberpunk 2077 here.
Seems like I picked it up at the right moment. I am 25 hours in and i am enjoying it a lot... maybe the fact i did not read anything about the main story so far played on my favour because every twist is unaspected. The graphic is stellar and the occasional glitches don't break the immersion... actually i am enjoying it so much i am thinking to buy the dlc and have a new run with a complete new build once i will reach tge end (i am mostly a stealthy netrunner but i am curious to see the game from a gunslinger pointer of view). -
Comment on Fun things to do as a family with teens? in ~life
Loopdriver (edited )LinkI play chess and learn french w/ my son after dinner both activities are fun for both so i don't get bored... and help doesn't play along just to please me. During the weekend we play guitar (he...I play chess and learn french w/ my son after dinner both activities are fun for both so i don't get bored... and help doesn't play along just to please me.
During the weekend we play guitar (he is starting music at school), play videogames, watch 80s movies ( the blues brothers, ghostbusters, that kind of stuff) and if the weather is nice we walk or hit the local library.
I suppose you have to find what they like or could like... and that you like too and build on top of that.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Loopdriver LinkI've recently upgrade my rig and I've played... in sequence: Horizon Zero Dawn: I really Really REALLY liked it. I have done everything i could... collected this, that, found hidden corners in the...I've recently upgrade my rig and I've played... in sequence:
Horizon Zero Dawn: I really Really REALLY liked it. I have done everything i could... collected this, that, found hidden corners in the map, etc... the gameplay looks - to me - as a mix of Tomb Raider (the reboot) for the combat system and the Witcher 3 for the openess of the map and the way the quests are treated. I tried to stretch my gameplay time a little bit because i really didn't want it to end. But having killed every kind of machine, collected every dress and done even the most mondane sidequests just to see where they could took me... i moved to...Wolfstain II: the new colossus: cool story, cool characters, cool design. Finished the main storyline and killed a few high nazi generals, done the DLC. I will keep it there to do all the side quests just to unlock the true ending of the game.. but in the meanwhile i am now playing...
Control: I like the aestethic of the game and i like the lore. I'm still at the beginning so i have more questions than answers. What i didn't like was that the game starts without a real beginning. You're just there and though they explain the reason the protagonist enters in the Federal Bureau of Control something is amiss. For the rest. good shooter, good level design, for now a little repetitive but the story hooks me. I guess i'll finish the main story but i won't go after the sidequests unless i need extra ability points :D
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Comment on Bosses dislike work-from-home but suspect they’re stuck with it in ~finance
Loopdriver Link ParentThis is a very good idea and i would like the company i work for would apply something like this. The very idea to commute, go to the office to respect the quota and... zoom call around the clock...really important IF you want to progress quickly. But it's more than senior leadership rarely adapts to new things and just wants the status quo, despite how much more beneficial it is for workers to have flexibility.
We agreed one day a month in the office, but that is not "come to the office and code". It's an in-office out-of-office, I.e. "Don't get me on Teams, Slack, Zoom... I'm here to talk and socialise with my team" and it has worked amazingly.
Come to the office, Refinement, Sprint Plans, Storymappings, Retros and pints / activities. That's how the office SHOULD be used, not as a place to break spirits.
This is a very good idea and i would like the company i work for would apply something like this.
The very idea to commute, go to the office to respect the quota and... zoom call around the clock drives me crazy (and it happens all the time i go there).
That would be probably useful to really create a "workplace culture" that otherwise i have no idea what it really means or allow me to know my colleagues a little bit more outside of the usual coffee break where noone talks about anything and just whines about zoom calls and stress :)
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Comment on Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office. in ~life
Loopdriver LinkWhere i work we have an hybrid model (more or less is 50/50) but you are allowed to work from home for long stretch of time as long you keep the quota along the year. I have seen that some people...Where i work we have an hybrid model (more or less is 50/50) but you are allowed to work from home for long stretch of time as long you keep the quota along the year.
I have seen that some people do not like WFH and to the office almost everyday (for different reasons... usually personal) others, like me, tend to hoard the office days during winter so they are free for the other months (and if we could we wouldnt touch base at all).It's very hard to find a solution that satisfy everyone but I think that maybe there is some truth in the article. I hate to go to the office because I fell unconfortable there, i do not have a desk i can call mine, it is usually crowdy and noisy and if I want to concentrate i need to blast my ears with loud music.
Should i have an office, a real one, it would be bearable but now it is like to work in the ikea cafeteria.I would like to add that it would be ok and even better to have a small group office... let's say 4 ppl. In this case i think mostvif the critics would vanish. A small group can be quiet, ppl tend to help and know each other more, ppl would really "network". I think you could get the best from working from the office without the downsides of the open office.
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Comment on Autoenshittification: How the computer killed capitalism in ~finance
Loopdriver Link ParentI have just finished to read it and I found it really interesting. Somehow i feel we are going there or at least we were going there full speed during the startup craze (i remember a machine to...I have just finished to read it and I found it really interesting.
Somehow i feel we are going there or at least we were going there full speed during the startup craze (i remember a machine to make orange juice that squeezed juice packets, it just miserably failed but seemed to fit the description of some appliances in the story). Now I dunno but the article shows how the phenomenon is becoming more subtle and it is starting to be applied to more essential things like cars and such...My take away is:
- The more we try to create a system to control the human behaviour ...the more we create a cage that gets smaller and smaller
- Gotta buy new appliances that are not smart once mine will fail (hoping they can still be found :)
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Comment on Autoenshittification: How the computer killed capitalism in ~finance
Loopdriver LinkI remember that in a P.H.Dick 's novel ( i think Ubik) there is a point where one guy lives in an apartment full of machines that run on coins. If u wanted a toast u had to insert a coin in the...I remember that in a P.H.Dick 's novel ( i think Ubik) there is a point where one guy lives in an apartment full of machines that run on coins. If u wanted a toast u had to insert a coin in the toaster, a 10 mins shower was 2 coins. U wanted to go out? The door expected to be paid. And so on and on during the day.
A death of a thousand cuts.Reading this article made me think of that novel.
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Comment on Nostalgia -- what programs do you miss? in ~tech
Loopdriver Link ParentOh god... i thought i was the only one i remembered k-jofol. For i while i used it instead of winamp because I really loved some skins. Differently from winamp u werent stucked with a rectangle...Oh god... i thought i was the only one i remembered k-jofol. For i while i used it instead of winamp because I really loved some skins. Differently from winamp u werent stucked with a rectangle shape.
Sadly... i moved back to winamp for the same reason. Kjofol was too visually noisy and pretty big for a 640x480 resolution :/
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Loopdriver Link Parentmore or less like me, it's a kind of confort vg for me. When summer strikes i don't play that much, and it also happened i forget about it for months. Then... with autumn i desire to get lost in...more or less like me, it's a kind of confort vg for me.
When summer strikes i don't play that much, and it also happened i forget about it for months. Then... with autumn i desire to get lost in its white fields again. Sometimes i just wander around trying to survive as much as i can and watch the aurora in some cool location dreaming of going in places like those, one day :)
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Loopdriver LinkI tend to love hard, slow games that grow on you. Expecially if have strong atmosphere and allow me to explore. So I am playing The Long Dark (i have 180 hours on that) and trying to survive once...I tend to love hard, slow games that grow on you. Expecially if have strong atmosphere and allow me to explore.
So I am playing The Long Dark (i have 180 hours on that) and trying to survive once again after a pack of timberwolves ate me last time.And I am playing Below. I really love this game... u go down, through different level and deeper u go harder and weirder it gets. And u start to really fear that a misstep could easily end your run... plus it is the perfect lovecraftian game. The only regret is the protagonist is so tiny i wish i could play on a 65' TV :)
Cool... :\ ...I am trying to guess where "star trek" fits into this.
Maybe it's just me getting bitter but all these movies look a lot like a clone of each other.
Strong girl at the lead... check.
Shrewd jokes... check.
Soft dystopian worlds... check.
Flickering lights... check.
Punches against laser guns... check.