MimicSquid's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on Jet Lag Season 19: Japanorama | Trailer in ~hobbies
MimicSquid Link ParentIs choosing which challenges to face, selecting the cards from the choices they had, and making the best of their hand not strategy? Sam and Ben entirely bailing on the house of cards challenge to...Is choosing which challenges to face, selecting the cards from the choices they had, and making the best of their hand not strategy? Sam and Ben entirely bailing on the house of cards challenge to try something else had nothing to do with the carss and still had big effects. Tom and Adam trying three different times to complete the same challenge was a strategy.
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Comment on What foods are better after a day or two? in ~food
MimicSquid Link ParentI like your baking tip for larger batches, but for a longer drip feed of fresh cookies, once they've rested in the fridge for a day, freeze them. We bake them two at a time in the toaster oven so...I like your baking tip for larger batches, but for a longer drip feed of fresh cookies, once they've rested in the fridge for a day, freeze them. We bake them two at a time in the toaster oven so that we have a singular perfectly fresh cookie apiece. Baking from frozen you need to add another minute or two. but it works quite well.
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Comment on What foods are better after a day or two? in ~food
MimicSquid LinkPretty much anything that has sauce and spices, as the extra time and hydration lets it get all mixed together and mellow. Curries, chili, stews... heck, even cookie dough is better if you give it...Pretty much anything that has sauce and spices, as the extra time and hydration lets it get all mixed together and mellow. Curries, chili, stews... heck, even cookie dough is better if you give it a day in the fridge before you bake it.
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Comment on Russia has begun sabotage operations against Danish companies supplying Ukraine after concluding that broader disruption efforts failed to curb Western military support for the country in ~society
MimicSquid Link ParentWhile i agree with the last line generally, different countries can develop a reputation with regards to what they choose to report, and how, and when. They don't all have the same reputation. Is...While i agree with the last line generally, different countries can develop a reputation with regards to what they choose to report, and how, and when. They don't all have the same reputation. Is Denmark in the "pics or it didn't happen" club for you? If so, why?
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Comment on Russia has begun sabotage operations against Danish companies supplying Ukraine after concluding that broader disruption efforts failed to curb Western military support for the country in ~society
MimicSquid Link ParentThey could share the details they know about how the people were discovered, the damage they did at which locations, and the impact the sabotage had on production, etc. And then Russia would know...They could share the details they know about how the people were discovered, the damage they did at which locations, and the impact the sabotage had on production, etc. And then Russia would know what they know. You're right that it's not an exciting news article. But exciting details and important news don't necessarily go hand in hand.
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Comment on Jet Lag Season 19: Japanorama | Trailer in ~hobbies
MimicSquid Link ParentRandom chance is always a factor There was a 50/50 chance of Ben and Sam losing their Shinkansen card at the end of the prior episode, and if that had gone the other way the results would have...Random chance is always a factor
There was a 50/50 chance of Ben and Sam losing their Shinkansen card at the end of the prior episode, and if that had gone the other way the results would have been entirely different. We just fixate on the piece of luck at the end.
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Comment on Russia has begun sabotage operations against Danish companies supplying Ukraine after concluding that broader disruption efforts failed to curb Western military support for the country in ~society
MimicSquid Link ParentWhat amount of detail would you need to see in order to believe it? It's not like it's an outlandish claim, given that Russia released lists of manufacturing facilities it considered military...What amount of detail would you need to see in order to believe it? It's not like it's an outlandish claim, given that Russia released lists of manufacturing facilities it considered military targets in Denmark.
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Comment on Given everything we know about AI so far, what do you think it can or cannot be good for? in ~tech
MimicSquid LinkFirst off, I'm not a sceptic or a believer, as "AI" is too broad a domain to just have one thought about it unless you're a fanatic one way or the other. I think that for data sorting and...First off, I'm not a sceptic or a believer, as "AI" is too broad a domain to just have one thought about it unless you're a fanatic one way or the other.
I think that for data sorting and discovery it can be great, especially when there's checks and balances to verify the outcome amd it's working with a stable data set that isn't trying to incorporate breaking news. "Review the files of this business that closed 12 years ago and give me the names of the employees and the document you used for that info." turns hours of manually searching through misfiled and poorly named files into a 3 minute task to confirm the findings. But when the data is in flux or it's largely based off of things that confident idiots said online it can spit out hallucinations and wrong information with great confidence. It's not a universally good tool.
For generative tasks, I think it does a decent job at spitting out pablum. Generic pop songs, overly shiny and complicated images, trite stories that don't go anywhere. But that's a trap. It only feeds on what humans make, and if we make it impossible for humans to make a living making art then we'll just have incestuous generations of ai generated content that feeds on itself. Beyond that, I enjoy art because it's saying something to me. It's an expression of another person, conveying something beyond the words, sounds, or images themselves. Generative art is like clip art or emoji. Maybe it's got a single big statement: "be afraid!" "be horny!" "spend money!" "OBEY!" but that's not an interesting level of art to engage with.
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Comment on Was watching a history YouTube video when I realized they are all AI in ~tech
MimicSquid Link ParentI think the last channel I watch that is in that format is Wendover/Half as Interesting, but I've seen the actual host and writing team in Jet Lag. Of course, their corpus is large and distinctive...I think the last channel I watch that is in that format is Wendover/Half as Interesting, but I've seen the actual host and writing team in Jet Lag. Of course, their corpus is large and distinctive enough it might be hard to tell if they started running an LLM on their own output, but it seems unlikely.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
MimicSquid Link ParentI did find the animal environment seeding the worst part of Terra Nil. The construction and broad environment building was great, as was winding everything down, but the animal part felt like you...I did find the animal environment seeding the worst part of Terra Nil. The construction and broad environment building was great, as was winding everything down, but the animal part felt like you had to manage it too closely as compared to the rest of the game.
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Comment on Silver Pines | Release date trailer – 8th October 2026 in ~games
MimicSquid LinkHaving played the demo (There's a demo on Steam! Its chunky!) I am super stoked for this. I wasn't expecting an X-Files/Silent Hill metroidvania to be the game I was most excited for this month,...Having played the demo (There's a demo on Steam! Its chunky!) I am super stoked for this. I wasn't expecting an X-Files/Silent Hill metroidvania to be the game I was most excited for this month, but Silver Pines really grabbed me.
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Comment on "What do we do with Jacob Geller?" (Self admitted sexual assault, removed from Nebula streaming) in ~tech
MimicSquid Link ParentI can acknowledge them as a person, and can say that a person would have feelings about being assaulted like the feelings I've had, but none of that is talking about the specific person Jacob...I can acknowledge them as a person, and can say that a person would have feelings about being assaulted like the feelings I've had, but none of that is talking about the specific person Jacob Geller assaulted. It's talking about who she might be and might have been, and filling in all of the details from our own experiences and traumas. That person is going to be different in every person's head. So when people have a representation of the traumas of the world on one side, and a person on the other, is it surprising that the named person someone can see is more recognized in the conversation than the idea of a victim?
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Comment on "What do we do with Jacob Geller?" (Self admitted sexual assault, removed from Nebula streaming) in ~tech
MimicSquid Link ParentI think this is an interesting case regarding the humanization of the attacker and the victim, as we know very little about the victim at all. For reasons of respect for her privacy, all we have...I think this is an interesting case regarding the humanization of the attacker and the victim, as we know very little about the victim at all. For reasons of respect for her privacy, all we have is an attacker. Any details that might humanize the victim are dredged from inside ourselves or put onto her from the broad tapestry of similar abuses. And so this isn't a specific abuse, but every abuse. How do we humanize a victim we know nothing concrete about?
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
MimicSquid LinkI've been playing the new DLC for Crusader Kings 3, By God Alone. It adds proper religious governments, including the Catholic Church, and broadly overhauls how religions, religious rites, and...I've been playing the new DLC for Crusader Kings 3, By God Alone. It adds proper religious governments, including the Catholic Church, and broadly overhauls how religions, religious rites, and personal faith work in the game. If you like CK3, it's a great expansion to the game. It gives you a deeper level of personal faith that either does or does not line up with your religions orthodoxy, and finding the balance between personal belief and what your religion says is right gives a whole additional layer to play, on top of the expanded peacetime ability to puppet other rules and guide their choices.
There's definitely some balancing that needs to happen; at the moment any archbishop can wildly change the direction of the entire Roman Rite, leading to silly, wildly ahistorical situations where suddenly the majority of chalcedonians (pre-great schism christians) are polyamorous nudists who don't believe in marriage because the archbishop of Trier was a little too experimental in his doctrine. But even with that, I'm having a good time.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
MimicSquid Link ParentDownloading more ram can give a bunch of XP if it succeeds. I agree that the pacing is different from others of its type. Did you know you can hold down the interaction button to speed up the...Downloading more ram can give a bunch of XP if it succeeds. I agree that the pacing is different from others of its type. Did you know you can hold down the interaction button to speed up the installers and limewire animations? It makes them more palatable.
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Comment on The 12th-century military disaster that forever changed global finance in ~humanities.history
MimicSquid Link ParentI think I'm trying to draw a line between capitalism and feudalism that doesn't really exist when minor lords without significant landholdings start running things that look like a business. Don't...I think I'm trying to draw a line between capitalism and feudalism that doesn't really exist when minor lords without significant landholdings start running things that look like a business. Don't mind me.
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Comment on The 12th-century military disaster that forever changed global finance in ~humanities.history
MimicSquid Link ParentThere weren't corporations as such, though there were multi-generational family businesses. It was mostly still a feudal model of ownership of the means of production. Even in a republic like...There weren't corporations as such, though there were multi-generational family businesses. It was mostly still a feudal model of ownership of the means of production. Even in a republic like Venice, ownership was personal or familial.
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Comment on Advice on dealing with aging parents in ~life
MimicSquid (edited )Link ParentAs someone who did care for a parent who was living (and then dying) with ALS, I can say it does get better. They eventually die and are free of it all. And then, after a few years of therapy and...As someone who did care for a parent who was living (and then dying) with ALS, I can say it does get better. They eventually die and are free of it all. And then, after a few years of therapy and rebuilding a normal life, I have mostly been able to move on with my life without centering everything around being a caregiver. Of course, just in time, my remaining parent has been diagnosed with metastisized lung cancer, so who knows what the future holds.
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Comment on "What do we do with Jacob Geller?" (Self admitted sexual assault, removed from Nebula streaming) in ~tech
MimicSquid LinkI think this is an excellent post, asking important questions, and I appreciate the author declining to try and establish a specific answer. Hopefully we are all improving over time. Hopefully...I think this is an excellent post, asking important questions, and I appreciate the author declining to try and establish a specific answer. Hopefully we are all improving over time. Hopefully we're all better people than we were a decade ago. Is there a point in our lives where moral judgement for our actions should crystallize to allow for unchanging judgement of us, or should we be judged on some combination of our path and our trajectory?
In the absence of a shared religious or cultural framework to determine justice and moral rectitude, it might behoove us to attempt to build a coherent structure of moral philosophy. Without it, we collectively flail at each new outrage without saying what it would look like to be in alignment with the polity. But how does that happen in an environment of cultural fragmentation and siloing of attention?
Just absolutely blazed through Silver Pines. It's truly excellent. It's got the best bits of classic horror survival like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, with a modern UI and excellent gameplay. You really feel the growth in the character's abilities as the game goes along, and it stays remarkably grounded, with pivotal tools to unlock new areas being mundane things like a lever for getting manhole covers up or a crowbar to deal with boards. Just a very solid game through and through. It took 15-ish hours to beat on the second-hardest difficulty, and I'm very happy with it. I don't think that being longer would have been good for it. It told the story it should, and then stopped. Game design and balance were top notch. Even as I grew in power I never felt like I was invincible, and it was far too easy to get comfortable, start using ammo on smaller fry, and then be struggling to be well supplied for the boss fights. A+, absolutely loved it.