Oxalis's recent activity
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Comment on Into the Tubi-verse in ~tv
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Comment on Is Tildes failing to thrive? in ~tildes
Oxalis LinkI'll trade a small but high-signal community for the inverse any day of the week. Tildes is way over Dunbar's Number for creating a tight knit feeling but if I had to describe the aggregate...I'll trade a small but high-signal community for the inverse any day of the week. Tildes is way over Dunbar's Number for creating a tight knit feeling but if I had to describe the aggregate "entity" that I imagine the tildes userbase to be I'd say that you are are varied, thoughtful, and much more genuine in your expression than the rest of the net.
If tildes pushed harder into growing the userbase I worry we'd end up with the abusive snark, low effort noise, and harmful groupthink that makes spaces like hackernews 1 or slashdot just awful to be around.
Advertising openly would ruin this tenuous harmony for sure but I do feel that invites to people that you know would keep the quality high since each invite would be shared to those that have been casually vetted by the invitee.
I got my invite via a thread in a difficult-to-join community that made sure to set a tone of "only join if you value interacting with an exemplary community" which precluded any expectations of shitposting or slinging pithy no thought one-liners in the typical reddit style. This is a good thing, IMO and I hope others that share invites provide similar introductions.
So in my opinion if anyone is looking for marching orders to help Tildes thrive, offer out your invites to people you trust and enjoy chatting with already!
- Another "reddit clone" for the ycombinator startup & larger tech community.
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Comment on What are some of your favorite PlayStation 1 games? Any odd or unique ones worth playing? in ~games
Oxalis (edited )LinkIt's worth mentioning the number of amazing fan-translated PSX games that have been released over the last few years. Unless you were in Japan and spoke the language, these titles were never...It's worth mentioning the number of amazing fan-translated PSX games that have been released over the last few years. Unless you were in Japan and spoke the language, these titles were never available for English players despite being really interesting.
Here's a shortlist of some that I've enjoyed (that just all happen to be from the same translation team):
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Racing Lagoon - A blend of RPG story and progression with Racing game play, creating an experience that feels ahead of its time and still unmatched today in many respects. It is perhaps most known for its moody 90’s aesthetic and jazzy soundtrack.
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Aconcagua - An adventure game set in the aftermath of a plane crash in the Andes. It has a cast of unique characters that you can switch between as you all try to survive the frozen wilds of a frozen mountaintop in what can be described as a playable action movie.
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b.l.u.e. Legend of Water - I love water exploration games like Abzu, Ecco, and Subnautica. This game scratched that itch and brought with it some zany PSX story and a unique dolphin AI system.
EDIT: Aw dang, these were already mentioned. Oh well, hopefully the links will make it easier to get access to the patches for those that are interested in new-to-you PSX games.
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Comment on What do baking soda and baking powder do? in ~food
Oxalis LinkATK did the exact same demo and topic a while back for Dan's Food Science series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMBegZ4HQvk I know J. Kenji López-Alt used to be an employee of theirs so it's a...ATK did the exact same demo and topic a while back for Dan's Food Science series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMBegZ4HQvk
I know J. Kenji López-Alt used to be an employee of theirs so it's a bit weird but I guess there's no harm in redoing a chemistry demonstration.
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Comment on Playtron’s wildly ambitious gaming OS aims to unite stores, lure “core casuals” in ~games
Oxalis Link Parentfrom the article They had a round of crypto-focused VC wooing that netted them funding from blockchain companies Plychain (cheap and shitty crypto pokemon knockoff, FEEL THE RUSH), Mysten Labs...from the article
Also, there are crypto-focused investors and a mention of offering crypto-based game purchases, though Playtron may also not have a store at all.
They had a round of crypto-focused VC wooing that netted them funding from blockchain companies Plychain (cheap and shitty crypto pokemon knockoff, FEEL THE RUSH), Mysten Labs (proof-of-stake plumbing, buzzword fest), CMT Digital (general crypto investment firm. The hip new wing of a much larger traditional firm), Sui (cryptocurrency, "Players own assets, creators manage royalties"), and Circle (the "stablecoin" people that named their currency USDC, thus closing the circle on Nakamoto original concept).
This may just amount to a storefront that takes crypto payment alongside normal money but since I find the entire blockchain fintech field to be abhorrent, I'll stand by my use of the "in bed with" idiom.
I'd rather have my gaming OS be storefront agnostic. Let me run my software where I please and keep your targeted ads and investor interests away from my free time.
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Comment on I'm looking for a specific beer, for meme purposes in ~food
Oxalis LinkDepending on what state you're in, getting alcohol shipped around can be nigh impossible from what I've found trying to get stuff from Mexico during a period when I wanted to try beers made for...Depending on what state you're in, getting alcohol shipped around can be nigh impossible from what I've found trying to get stuff from Mexico during a period when I wanted to try beers made for hot climates.
I'd research local liquor/beer/wine stores in your area and see if they can import some with their business license.
Here in Texas, Total Wine and More has it but, of course, it's super sold out. https://www.totalwine.com/beer/lager/americanstyle-lager/cristal-peru/p/17086126
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Comment on Playtron’s wildly ambitious gaming OS aims to unite stores, lure “core casuals” in ~games
Oxalis LinkMcMaster is no hero. I was active in the custom android ROM scene back when Cyanogen was still a thing and depended on the CyanogenMOD upstream for my builds. So hanging around with Cyanogen staff...McMaster is no hero. I was active in the custom android ROM scene back when Cyanogen was still a thing and depended on the CyanogenMOD upstream for my builds. So hanging around with Cyanogen staff (who were in charge for all bug issues and pull requests) was vital for knowing when new features and fixes were available for my phone.
The two founders were both total pieces of work but when everything went to hell, Kondik was very vocal about putting all the blame on McMaster especially with regards to numerous tech-bro incidents including the infamous "putting a bullet though Google's head" remark. It seems he was hard to deal with internally and externally, he exaggerated and lied about Cyanogen's abilities to the press along with making numerous bad business deals that ruined their autonomy and funding.
That said, if anyone wants to play around with a "gamer linux" that isn't in bed with crypto and is ready for PC use along with other hand-held systems (ROG, steamdeck, etc) go check out Bazzite. I run it as my daily driver OS on my gaming PC and I've had a nice time once I figured out how rpm-ostree worked.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
Oxalis LinkI've been really enjoying The Sorcerers - In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God this week. Genres: Instrumental, Funk, Soul, Jazz, Faux "Stage & Screen" Moods: Dark, Mysterious, Mystical,...I've been really enjoying The Sorcerers - In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God this week.
Genres: Instrumental, Funk, Soul, Jazz, Faux "Stage & Screen"
Moods: Dark, Mysterious, Mystical, Groovy
bandcamp - YouTube - Rhythm Passport Review - rateyourmusic
An excerpt from the record label's copy:
The name for the album was taken from the title of a National Geographic article read by Bassist Neil Innes and was used as the starting point for the entire concept.
[...]
Each track was written with a particular scene in mind and the music was then shaped in the studio to best reflect the essence of that scene. Drums, Bass and Percussion provide the solid foundation onto which Flutes, Bass Clarinets, Xylophones and Vibraphones add the atmospheric and melodic counterpoint, deftly weaving between one another to conjure up images of the unforgiving environment of the dense jungle, unknown eyes watching the protagonists of the imagined film as they make their way towards their ultimate goal, their pursuit by unseen assailants, the arcane mysticism of undiscovered cargo cultists and the ancient ruins of long passed civilizations.I'm a sucker for album projects that aim for a cinematic approach; if done right it can really draw you into the music and the scene they're trying to set. This album is a wonderful example of the concept and it makes me a bit sad there's no film to accompany this record, it would have been prime popcorn fodder.
Incredibly funky, deep in overall tone1, and easy to let run in the background to give your toes something to tap to while you work.
1 e.g. no obnoxious brass to grate on your ears, a pet peeve of mine when it comes to jazz. (Sorry, Miles Davis.)
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Comment on The mystery social media account schooling US Congress on how to do its job in ~tech
Oxalis LinkI find it funny that all it takes to become a well-connected mover and shaker of the political world is just to read the manual. I do hope Surdy gets into political commentary, sounds like he'd be...whenever something happens on the floor that he doesn’t understand, he leafs through Congress’ various rulebooks until he can make sense of it. Last year, he finished a front-to-back reading of “House Practice,”
[...] Surdy’s ability to sift through “untapped but publicly available resources” to find details others miss.
I find it funny that all it takes to become a well-connected mover and shaker of the political world is just to read the manual. I do hope Surdy gets into political commentary, sounds like he'd be one of the few Journalists that knows what's going on.
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Comment on MRI research shows live music makes us more emotional than recordings in ~music
Oxalis LinkKind of a strange study. I feel like it was more of a "is recorded sound less stimulating that live sound that's curated to carefully match a listener's situation, played by a performer instructed...Kind of a strange study. I feel like it was more of a "is recorded sound less stimulating that live sound that's curated to carefully match a listener's situation, played by a performer instructed to try and get a reaction from the listener via any reasonable means". It's also worth noting that both live and recorded sounds were piped in through the same speaker and the listener was not told whether or not the sounds were recorded.
Most music performed "live" doesn't take the listener into account at this level of granularity. You could argue more cheering = more energy from a band but that's nothing compared to what the study is offering.
An excerpt
While listening to the music, they lay in an MRI scanner so the team could monitor their brain activity. The pianist was told to adapt the volume and speed of the piece according to this activity. For example, if a participant was showing little activity in response to a positive piece of music, they may have played louder.
I guess this inspires a world where individualized music based on the sensors we already carry around with us could mutate music to suit activity levels or situations. I don't know if that's a good thing given the pushback against generated curation of media on sites like spotify, tiktok, etc but it could be interesting.
The closest thing I could find was RockMyRun, an app for runner that tailors a playlist to your heartrate. Sadly, it's bogged down by a monthly subscription, tech issues, and music licensing limits that leave people wondering its value.
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Comment on How do you like your Minetest? in ~games
Oxalis LinkMinetest is one of those things I always install when testing out linux distros but never really play for more than 15 minutes. It's totally my fault though, I know that Minetest vanilla is as...Minetest is one of those things I always install when testing out linux distros but never really play for more than 15 minutes. It's totally my fault though, I know that Minetest vanilla is as barebones and un-fun as it can get due to mods being mandatory.
How active has the fan-mod community gotten these days? Are there any notable "complete" experiences out there for people to try?
The only major game I've attempted to play was NodeCore due to it's very intriguing description and Outer Wilds style progression. Sadly it's so obtuse that I can't even get an idea of how to really start it, gameplay-wise. It's probably a cool experience once things start to click into place but that first hour of just poking around was more frustrating than anything.
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Comment on Steam Next Fest: what have you been playing? in ~games
Oxalis LinkI've been playing the Abiotic Factor demo. It's massive, like 4+ hours of content. It's a single-player or co-op survival game where you (and your friends) play as legally distinct Half Life-esque...I've been playing the Abiotic Factor demo. It's massive, like 4+ hours of content.
It's a single-player or co-op survival game where you (and your friends) play as legally distinct Half Life-esque scientists in a legally distinct Black Mesa facility on the day when everything goes wrong.
The facility is massive with lots of interior variety all done up in a "early PC gaming but with nicer shaders" style that's easy on the eyes. I usually bounce off of survival games but the mix of nostalgia, solid gameplay mechanics taken from all over the survival/action/RPG/sim gamut, and Nakatomi Space-style exploitation of pre-built interiors is really engaging. The demo also takes you down some really surprising paths that are worth it for the "am I still playing the same game?" factor.
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Comment on Album of the Week #18: Portishead - Portishead in ~music
Oxalis LinkIt's a beautiful album that embodies the best of the "Bristol Sound" flavor of trip hop; A dead sexy mix of dour soul vocals, spy film intrigue, hip hop sampling and scratching, and oblique lyrics...It's a beautiful album that embodies the best of the "Bristol Sound" flavor of trip hop; A dead sexy mix of dour soul vocals, spy film intrigue, hip hop sampling and scratching, and oblique lyrics that smolder in the best of ways.
If anyone is interested in where the album cover came from, it's a screenshot from the rather uncomfortable music video for All Mine.
I don't really have much to say other than this is a fantastic album that's worth a listen. If you jive with it, there's a wider world of releases and artists to explore. The recently created Trip Hop Lovers channel on youtube is a great curated space to hunt around. Though you'll be hard-pressed to find a singer/songwriter as good as Beth Gibbons.
Another thing worth sharing is the live performance CD/DVD "Roseland NYC Live" that Portishead released not long after this album. It was assembled from the best takes of their performances in NYC with orchestral accompaniment and live turntablism. When I need to refill the Trip Hop tank, it's the album I usually reach for instead of the studio releases.
The strings-soaked intro/outro, live version of Strangers, and (the soul rending vocals on) Sour Times are the highlights if you don't have time for the full thing.
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Comment on What are people's thoughts on "secureblue", "bazzite" and other ublue images? in ~comp
Oxalis (edited )LinkSeems neat. Though I worry that the "containerize all the things!" workflow would be tiring after a while for advanced users that aren't IT professionals. Flatpacks are nice for user apps but when...Seems neat. Though I worry that the "containerize all the things!" workflow would be tiring after a while for advanced users that aren't IT professionals. Flatpacks are nice for user apps but when starting a new coding project or making a little script, you now have the added overhead of having to define, build, and deploy a dev environment for it to run inside.
I don't know about you but dealing with the tooling required to reach a first build is already enough of a pain point to kill the enthusiasm I have for some ideas I want to explore.
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Comment on The worst masterpiece: ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ at 100 in ~music
Oxalis LinkI'll start by saying that I haven't read the article yet (it's been archived for my next lull during commutes) and I know the author is going to dig into the racial aspects of the piece and how...I'll start by saying that I haven't read the article yet (it's been archived for my next lull during commutes) and I know the author is going to dig into the racial aspects of the piece and how Gershwin "took jazz off the streets, dressed her up, and took her to the concert hall" but I do want to share the lovely animation that Disney made for their Fantasia 2000 anthology. Maybe give it a watch and enjoy one last time before you have the piece possibly sullied by modern cultural appropriation discourse.
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Comment on Squarepusher - Wendorlan (2024) in ~music
Oxalis LinkA dark, dense acid adventure. If he has a few more aces that push this hard in the next LP we could have another "Go Plastic"-tier album on our hands.A dark, dense acid adventure.
If he has a few more aces that push this hard in the next LP we could have another "Go Plastic"-tier album on our hands.
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Comment on My 3D printed Catan upgrade set is now live in ~games.tabletop
Oxalis LinkThe set looks solid and it has some nice features that competing sets do not (namely token slots) . That price point is a bit high considering how much filament (multiple rolls!) and labor rests...The set looks solid and it has some nice features that competing sets do not (namely token slots) . That price point is a bit high considering how much filament (multiple rolls!) and labor rests on the customer's shoulders. Though I guess having a set that so detailed and thought out is a nice challenge for a dedicated board game fan. In making your initial demo copy, how many hours of printing + post processing did you have to endure?
On another note, I'm more surprised that Printables has added a pay-for-stl system to their site.
Communities like Cults3D, Gambody, and MyMiniFactory commonly end up completely blacklisted in larger 3DP communities (e.g. r/3dprinting and the 3D Printing Discord) due to heavy-handed seller tactics. The glut of ad posts from thousands of eager designers ended up nullifying the sites' visibility in some of the most important communities the space has, which is very unfortunate and only goes to help Thingiverse linger on.
I understand trying to make the site profitable but it's a dangerous game Prusa is playing that could drive the Printables brand under. All they need is one big "they didn't pay out" scandal similar to Cults3D and they're done for. Something I'm nearly expecting given that their support team has been shown to not be too professional and the "we will take it down only when people complain but it's kosher and promotable otherwise" stance that Prusa has had towards 3D printed weapons and associated parts/tools.
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Comment on What do you use to manage your music library? in ~music
Oxalis LinkEarlier this year I took the plunge to get my massive music collection onto my homeserver and serve it to whatever using a subsonic-compatible service. The general project workflow went Messy, 2TB...Earlier this year I took the plunge to get my massive music collection onto my homeserver and serve it to whatever using a subsonic-compatible service.
The general project workflow went
Messy, 2TB music folder > Import to final directory using beets to handle all tagging and structure > point an instance of navidrome/gonic at the organized directory filled with accurately tagged files > install subsonic clients like play:sub and feishin on my devices to enjoy my tunes with a beautiful interface wherever I am in the world.I miss the workflow of foobar2000 and my local files but this has allowed me to actually explore my collection more thanks to all the accurate tags, cover art, and "see more like" features of modern media players.
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Comment on Wool and fabrics - Online retailer recommendations? in ~creative
Oxalis LinkI have a few sewists in my family who had to hunker down especially hard during lockdown. Since their supplies normally came from local brick-and-mortal sources like Joanns, ordering anything...I have a few sewists in my family who had to hunker down especially hard during lockdown. Since their supplies normally came from local brick-and-mortal sources like Joanns, ordering anything online for the hobby was new territory. Long story short, I ended up joining a sewing/quilting discord and asked for reputable fabric sources for US buyers.
High fashion supplier from NYC, can be a bit pricier - https://zelouffabrics.com/
Old, and well known supplier - https://www.moodfabrics.com/
Bulk fabric for cheap, people like it - https://www.fabricwholesaledirect.com/
Kinda weird, secondhand/vintage/deadstock fabric seller - https://athriftynotion.com/
Scrap seller (by yard too) of leftover fabric from commercial makers - https://fabscrap.myshopify.com/
Sells designer and bulk fabric - https://fabricmartfabrics.com/
Designer fabric seller, small operation with lots of curation - https://gorgeousfabrics.com/
"Modern fabrics from respectful mills and sources" has a 15% off coupon for giving email - https://corefabricstore.com/collections/fabrics?usf_sort=-date
So far, I only have experience with Mood. Shipping was prompt but the free shipping cutoff is pretty high at $150. Zelouf has free shipping at $90 but some of their fabrics are more expensive so figure out what you need and try to compare carts.
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Comment on The Kikkoman soy sauce bottle is priceless in ~food
Oxalis Link ParentFirst thing, if you're happy with what you have: stay there and enjoy! There's no rush to complicate every ingredient chasing a possible improvement. That said, if you find that Kikkoman is just...First thing, if you're happy with what you have: stay there and enjoy! There's no rush to complicate every ingredient chasing a possible improvement. That said, if you find that Kikkoman is just kinda dark salt-water with a little savory underneath, an easy start is switching from Japanese style soy sauce to Chinese style. I find them to be much more savory and better for dipping and forming sauces in stir fry.
The biggest brands out there are Wan Ja Shan and Kimlan. I can get Kimlan's stuff at most grocery stores around here in the urban US south so you might be able to get some locally.
"Kimlan Super Special Naturally Fermented" is my go-to. It's first notes are really damn savory, then the salt hits you but nowhere as hard as Kikkoman. People say this is due to the much longer fermentation time (9-12 months) and possibly using more wheat.
There's also a wide world of dark, sweet, and "finishing" soy sauces but personally I only have a bottle of the dark stuff in addition to the normal variety and rarely use it. I believe it's lee kum kee's premium stuff but since it's the only kind I could get I have no clue if it's "good"; it works well for the recipes I use it in though.
The boys from Red Letter Media have a video about the rabbit hole of low budget "clickbait" movies that clog FAST services like Tubi and Vudu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeMadjM0ZZI