Promonk's recent activity
-
Comment on Playing DOS and Windows 98 games on a retro PC (real hardware) in ~games
-
Comment on What are your favorite books with an unreliable narrator? in ~books
Promonk I'm surprised there's a discussion on unreliable narration that doesn't include what to my mind is the premier example of the technique: Nabokov's Lolita. I can understand if the subject matter...I'm surprised there's a discussion on unreliable narration that doesn't include what to my mind is the premier example of the technique: Nabokov's Lolita. I can understand if the subject matter itself is too much for a lot of people to deal with, but you really can't get a more crystalline example of the technique than Humbert Humbert.
Pretty much everything that Humbert says in the course of the narrative is a self-serving lie, and it doesn't take much analysis to realize this is the case. I think that gets lost on some readers though, because I've seen criticisms that the book glorifies the sexual exploitation of minors, but I think it's pretty obvious that the author views Humbert as a monster; the arresting thing about it is that after a while, you start to realize that on some level Humbert understands this too. When the story starts you're led to believe that Humbert is trying to convince the reader that he's not a monster, when in reality, he's always and only trying to convince himself, and not doing a very good job of it, really. It is, in essence, an unreliable narrator story about how and why we all tell unreliable narratives about ourselves, even if most of us don't reach the depths of monstrosity that Humbert does.
It's truly a masterwork of both style and technique, and I heartily recommend it, if you can muster the fortitude to handle the subject.
-
Comment on Playing DOS and Windows 98 games on a retro PC (real hardware) in ~games
Promonk We did bin it, but we still needed to clean the sucker out so our teardown line could strip the recyclables out. We never did nearly as much actual refurbishment as I wanted. Management saw easy...We did bin it, but we still needed to clean the sucker out so our teardown line could strip the recyclables out.
We never did nearly as much actual refurbishment as I wanted. Management saw easy dollar signs for the gold and platinum from anything that needed actual repair, so I would end up fixing stuff surreptitiously if I thought we could get some money for it.
I hated the management at that job. Our spec was ridiculous. By the time I left, we were scrapping anything that wasn't Haswell or newer, regardless if there was a vintage market for the stuff or not. So much neat hardware thrown into the crucible because management didn't want to bother. Such a waste. That's why I'm so skeptical of recycling these days and am always advocating for repair and reuse. I know what a greenwashing crock the e-cycling biz is.
ETA: I think the maggot farm was a Core2Duo system, so we wouldn't have tried fixing it anyway. Probably '07-'08 or so. Don't remember the OEM.
-
Comment on Google may be close to launching YouTube Premium Lite in ~tech
Promonk According to @Gummy, it's a feature that ReVanced uses, but it's available as an add-on for browsers too. Might be worth looking into. I don't mind sponsored segments so much as 30-second...According to @Gummy, it's a feature that ReVanced uses, but it's available as an add-on for browsers too. Might be worth looking into.
I don't mind sponsored segments so much as 30-second unskippable ads from shit like PragerU. At least with sponsored segments I know the creators are getting paid decently.
-
Comment on Google may be close to launching YouTube Premium Lite in ~tech
Promonk You know things have gone to enshittification hell when it requires piracy just to use the damn service the website supposedly offers. All I wanted was to cut down on unskippable ads and to keep...You know things have gone to enshittification hell when it requires piracy just to use the damn service the website supposedly offers. All I wanted was to cut down on unskippable ads and to keep audio playing when I locked my phone, and I accidentally got a better user experience all-around.
-
Comment on Playing DOS and Windows 98 games on a retro PC (real hardware) in ~games
Promonk (edited )Link ParentThey certainly make you work harder for it, that's for sure. I've seen burst and swollen caps in computers of all ages prior to about 2004, but you're right that they're most common in...They certainly make you work harder for it, that's for sure.
I've seen burst and swollen caps in computers of all ages prior to about 2004, but you're right that they're most common in early-to-mid-aughts. I've seen a lot of units though, and usually defunct ones as well, so maybe I have a skewed perspective.
-
Comment on Google may be close to launching YouTube Premium Lite in ~tech
Promonk They can stop sponsored segments, in fact, if the creators flag the segment as such, which I believe they're required to do. Premium allows auto-skip of sponsored segments, I believe. I hedge a...They can stop sponsored segments, in fact, if the creators flag the segment as such, which I believe they're required to do. Premium allows auto-skip of sponsored segments, I believe. I hedge a bit because I don't actually pay for Premium, I just use ReVanced on my phone, and that feature is enabled by default.
-
Comment on Playing DOS and Windows 98 games on a retro PC (real hardware) in ~games
Promonk I remember one that was completely covered in what appeared to be maggots. No idea what they were feeding on, but it had to be something because there were enough corpses that it wasn't a new,...I remember one that was completely covered in what appeared to be maggots. No idea what they were feeding on, but it had to be something because there were enough corpses that it wasn't a new, single-generation infestation.
-
Comment on Playing DOS and Windows 98 games on a retro PC (real hardware) in ~games
Promonk And all those considerations are only if you buy a refurbed unit from a capable refurbisher. If you're restoring the hardware yourself you have to deal with swollen or burst capacitors, dead...And all those considerations are only if you buy a refurbed unit from a capable refurbisher. If you're restoring the hardware yourself you have to deal with swollen or burst capacitors, dead chips, feeble power supplies, possible corrosion of traces, rusty cases, or even worse. I used to work for a refurbisher (a reseller, honestly), and some of the shit I've seen in old PC cases would blow your mind.
-
Comment on US Senator Mitch McConnell won’t seek reelection in 2026, ending long tenure as Republican power broker in ~society
Promonk More than that, the source is an electoral system that ensures a political duopoly. If we elected representatives in proportion to the views held by the citizenry, you'd see much more turnover in...More than that, the source is an electoral system that ensures a political duopoly. If we elected representatives in proportion to the views held by the citizenry, you'd see much more turnover in stronghold constituencies. It wouldn't be an immediate change, but the change would come.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Gotcha. Yeah, I can see that about the combat. Remake was worse about it than Rebirth, for sure, partly because there just wasn't as much materia or stuff to do with it in Remake. Rebirth has tons...Gotcha.
Yeah, I can see that about the combat. Remake was worse about it than Rebirth, for sure, partly because there just wasn't as much materia or stuff to do with it in Remake. Rebirth has tons more, which makes sense considering the portion of the original it covers. The synergy mechanics help a lot as well, since you don't need to actually switch characters or build ATB to use them. The regular synergy moves are kind of between regular attacks and weapons skills in the effects they have–for instance, they might increase pressure by more than a strong attack, but less than a focused weapon skill. I still haven't figured out synergy fully yet, so there's probably more to it that I'm omitting.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Lol. Squats did make a comeback in Remake. I think you're misremembering though, as it was a Wall Market minigame, not a Gold Saucer one. I'm guessing you didn't make it that far in Remake. The...Lol. Squats did make a comeback in Remake. I think you're misremembering though, as it was a Wall Market minigame, not a Gold Saucer one. I'm guessing you didn't make it that far in Remake.
The thing to remember about the combat in both Remake and Rebirth is that you're expected to constantly be switching characters not only to exploit enemy weaknesses, but to build up ATB and learn weapon skills. Once you appreciate that it isn't the menu-navigated turn-based combat of the original, it's much easier to get the hang of. It can actually be quite satisfying to work once you figure it out.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk I've been playing the hell out of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PC after hitting my usual wall on Satisfactory (fluid logistics, why you be like that‽). I tried writing up something about Rebirth for...I've been playing the hell out of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PC after hitting my usual wall on Satisfactory (fluid logistics, why you be like that‽). I tried writing up something about Rebirth for last week's scheduled topic, but it quickly descended into a novella-length critique that was too big and unwieldy to inflict upon you all. I'll try harder to keep it concise.
Oceans of proverbial ink have been spilled regarding the original and its place in videogaming canon, so I'll refrain from writing too much about it. Suffice it to say, the original holds a special place in my heart. I never delved into the more monomaniacal fringes of the fandom (no toxic cosplay living situation for me, a la the infamous "Final Fantasy House"), but it's accurate to say that the original was the title that opened my eyes to the possibility of videogames as a literary medium. It felt fresh and innovative not only in a technical sense, but in the way it leveraged the medium itself for the ends of storytelling.
Rebirth is not that, and neither was Remake. I struggle to think of any element of these titles that's truly unique or innovative. Story progression follows a distinct formula that becomes fairly predictable after a zone or two (though the formula differs between the two). Combat in Rebirth is a refinement on Remake's, which itself was something of an adaptation of Final Fantasy XV's system, which in turn owes a great deal to Final Fantasy XII's hybrid real-time/turn-based system. Even exploration in the more open zones feels reminiscent of Ubisoft's open world formula, down to tower-climbing to reveal points of interest on the map.
That said, everything that feels derivative or "inspired by" something else is executed really, really well. I can't help but feel there's some merit in taking concepts innovated by other titles and implementing them perfectly, and Rebirth comes damned close. The combat, while iterative, is fluid and tight. Rebirth improves on some of the quibbles I had with Remake's system in that it's much easier to charge the ATB gauges of characters not under your direct control through the use of synergy moves and cooperative commands (the proper name of which escapes me right now). I still find myself using Cloud most often for his damage-dealing and crowd management abilities, but I'm making more use of the other characters this time around.
Exploration is a bigger component of this title over the last one, as one of the zone types you encounter is something more like an open world than in Remake. In that game there were several zones that let you pursue side quests in whichever order you chose, but the environments and opportunities for exploration were much more constrained. This makes sense from a simple plot standpoint, as that first game was just a reimagining of the Midgar section of the story, while this one concerns itself with those sections of the original that took place in the wider world.
Speaking of reimagining, that's where this remade series really shines. The world is absolutely beautiful, and does a good job of feeling like a living world. Cities are incredibly detailed, even if the majority of the things you see are only set dressing. Each of the environments feels distinct, and are gorgeously detailed elaborations on the simply executed concepts of the original game. Under Junon, the old fishing city atop which Shinra has built a ginormous fuck-off gun, feels like a depressed community living in the literal shadow of a militaristic corporatocracy. Kalm feels like a slice of southern France plopped into this weird techno-fantasy world. I'm only now in Costa del Sol, but I expect the rest of the zones to feel similarly alive and detailed.
Another point of praise I have for Rebirth over Remake is that the side characters, many of which were first introduced in Remake, are on the whole welcome and entertaining additions to the world. Andrea Rhodea and Madam M from Wall Market make amusing appearances, as does Johnny from Sector 7 and Roche the batshit motorcyclist SOLDIER. My one complaint in this regard is Kyrie, whom I had completely forgotten from Remake, who in Rebirth is a wannabe merc causing the party repeated grief. She's obnoxious, and her theme song makes me want to claw my inner ears out of my skull. I'm sure she ticks the box of some anime girl trope or other, but whichever it is, the world would be better off without it.
The biggest complaints I see from people online regarding Rebirth regard the minigames. There are a ton of minigames–at least two or three distinct minigames per open zone. Off the top of my head, there's Queen's Blood (a simplified sort of Gwent-like card game that I actually really like, in contrast to Triple Triad from FFVIII or the abhorrent Blitzball from FFX), Fort Condor makes a reappearance (which I did not like in Remake nor Rebirth, though thankfully there's an option to reduce difficulty in this one), button-input minigames to "scan" data of Lifestream founts and Summon shrines (which open up combat challenges for new materia), Moogle wrangling, a four-team Rocket-league-esque football game played with Red XIII, piano playing, a shooting gallery, a photography scavenger hunt (distinct from the optional photography side quests), and a dolphin-riding slalom course. Those are just what I can recall offhand. I'm sure I'm missing some.
It's a lot. Most of them are one-off for story progression, with the option to return and play again for fun or to scratch that completionist itch. I think many of the people who complain about these are forgetting just how many minigames were in the original. At the very least, these are more polished than most of the minigames from the Golden Saucer. Each of this game's challenges feels attainable with a little practice, and I actually find myself looking forward to some of them, such as Queen's Blood and even the strange piano challenge. In most FF games I pretty much write off the rewards from some of the side games as too arduous, but I can easily see collecting all the goodies from these.
Well, I see I've failed in my goal of keeping it concise. I'll do an update if I ever manage to finish the game and give a fuller, hopefully more restrained review. In any case, if you liked the original and/or Remake, I recommend Rebirth. It's an improvement over Remake in many ways–though I still enjoyed that one as well–and for fans of the original, it's definitely worth revisiting this world in its reimagining.
-
Comment on Grammar errors that actually matter, or: the thread where we all become prescriptivists in ~humanities.languages
Promonk Fair enough. We all have our heuristics for assessing the arguments of others. I'm not concerned with swaying anyone to my way of thinking on the subject, just stating my perspective.Fair enough. We all have our heuristics for assessing the arguments of others. I'm not concerned with swaying anyone to my way of thinking on the subject, just stating my perspective.
-
Comment on Grammar errors that actually matter, or: the thread where we all become prescriptivists in ~humanities.languages
Promonk Speaking for myself, I'm not a huge fan of load-bearing idioms at all. If the only way a person has to express their thoughts is by a received stock phrase, then I have to assume the concept...Speaking for myself, I'm not a huge fan of load-bearing idioms at all. If the only way a person has to express their thoughts is by a received stock phrase, then I have to assume the concept they're expressing isn't intrinsic to their thought, but received.
I liken it to a pre-calc student using the quadratic formula; a person could solve all sorts of quadratic equations merely by rote, but if that's the only way they know to find a quadratic root, that belles the fact that they don't actually understand the concepts in themselves.
To be clear, if the underlying concepts are understood, there's nothing wrong with taking the shortcut. In language that takes the form of re-expressing the concept in other terms alongside the idiom, and acknowledging the idiom for what it is. Idioms used without acknowledgement or reframing suggest to me that a person is uncritically taking shortcuts in cognition, which can lead to all sorts of bad arguments. That's one of the ways biases and prejudices are propagated.
And again, I'm not generally the sort of person who will leap at the opportunity to nitpick a person's argument unless I feel there's good reason. I'm not so uncouth as to knock a well-constructed writing just because a proverbial expression is used blithely. At the same time though, I do notice such things, and feel disappointment at how they weaken arguments.
-
Comment on Grammar errors that actually matter, or: the thread where we all become prescriptivists in ~humanities.languages
Promonk There are tons that don't bother me, of course. My issue is really just when people use stock phrases without considering what it is they're actually saying. I don't think people realize how much...There are tons that don't bother me, of course. My issue is really just when people use stock phrases without considering what it is they're actually saying. I don't think people realize how much idioms actually shape the way we view the world.
-
Comment on Grammar errors that actually matter, or: the thread where we all become prescriptivists in ~humanities.languages
Promonk Nah, I already know that my distaste for "comprised of" is silly. I could care less what Wikipedia has to say on it, but I'd have to try.Nah, I already know that my distaste for "comprised of" is silly. I could care less what Wikipedia has to say on it, but I'd have to try.
-
Comment on Grammar errors that actually matter, or: the thread where we all become prescriptivists in ~humanities.languages
Promonk I'm the same way, but it has apparently led people to think I am the sort of person who cares overmuch about "proper" grammar and spelling from others, so a fat lot of the texts I receive by...Though I do try hard to make my own grammar proper, I am generally not one to correct peoples grammar in posts.
I'm the same way, but it has apparently led people to think I am the sort of person who cares overmuch about "proper" grammar and spelling from others, so a fat lot of the texts I receive by number are people correcting their misspellings and grammar, or more often, correcting autocorrect faux pas.
I do have a few pet peeves, but I generally don't express my frustration with them to people. Among them are "supposably," "literally" used as an intensifier, "comprised of," and "'s" used to form plurals. (Incidentally, @updawg, if you've ever wondered what my equivalent of "writ large" is, it's "is comprised of".)
For the most part, my issue with these doesn't really have to do with gatekeeping or some sort of superiority complex, but because they betray a lack of attention to what one is writing. I get the same feeling from them that I do when I read cliches and dead metaphors. I'm tempted to ignore people who use these because it seems like they aren't really doing any thinking, but rather letting formulae do their thinking for them. I'm generally a get along to go along type though, so I rarely say anything.
-
Comment on In Norway, lake-harvested cocktail ice is an old business making a quiet comeback in ~food
Promonk I wasn't focusing on the monetary cost so much as the energy cost. They use specialized equipment that vibrates freezing water irregularly in order to create that super crystal-clear ice for...I wasn't focusing on the monetary cost so much as the energy cost. They use specialized equipment that vibrates freezing water irregularly in order to create that super crystal-clear ice for sculptures and whatnot, and I imagine the cost of that equipment is amortized in pricing and probably represents the bulk of the savings of lake ice over manufactured stuff.
But then there are other costs that probably aren't accounted for very well by simple monetary reckoning, as they almost never are. How much energy do you save by cutting and hauling lake ice long distances from the source to the point of use? I don't know offhand how much juice those industrial clear ice freezers use, but I can't imagine it's more than is used cutting and hauling lake ice long distances, especially when you consider the efficiency of distributed electricity over ICE engines.
Maybe I'm quibbling, but I see something like this and I'm almost certain the actual cost in big picture terms is hidden behind the standard accounting sleight-of-hand of ignoring the fact that fossil fuels are finite. That sort of thing is distressingly common, as you know.
-
Comment on In Norway, lake-harvested cocktail ice is an old business making a quiet comeback in ~food
Promonk I've seen naturally occurring freshwater ice, but only from close to shore, so that may be why I get the mental image of crud in lake ice. Either way, I have a hard time believing lake ice is...I've seen naturally occurring freshwater ice, but only from close to shore, so that may be why I get the mental image of crud in lake ice.
Either way, I have a hard time believing lake ice is inherently superior in any way to machine-made ice using filtered water. The energy needed to harvest and transport it seems like it would be greater, and outside of possibly some minerals that might be found in natural bodies of water, I can't see how it would taste any better than ice from filtered water. Besides, it's not as though you can't fortify filtered water with minerals if that's the selling point.
I think the biggest issue with e-cycling is that it encourages a disposable mentality wrt our devices. As far as the general consumer or business customer is concerned, you can just use up a device, chuck it over to the recycler, and feel alright that you aren't really being wasteful, you're just maintaining operative capacity. Besides, that recycler is going to ensure everything stays out of the landfill, and isn't that important?
Well, yes and no. Nothing we received at my old work went into the dumpster, not even the breakroom waste basket. We recycled all metals and plastics, not to mention the copper and other precious metals from the circuitry and chips, and sold the waste paper and other combustibles to be used as fuel in the recycler's incinerating generator. That's good, in that it kept heavy metals and toxic flame retardants and whatnot from just being buried somewhere.
What's not so good is that recycling is a distant regime of energy efficiency from simply keeping your shit working and not buying a new device quite so often. We can refine our infrastructure and processes to be more efficient, but we'll never reach the efficiency of doing it right in the first place. It takes energy–and at present, that means fossil fuels to a great extent–to recycle materials. It takes trucks to transport, machinery and human labor to sort, and electricity to run smelters. It takes much less energy to have someone replace a component on a main board, or the display on a phone. It's just not as monetarily efficient for huge corporations, so they don't even bother.
The problem–and this is true for all sorts of human endeavors in this benighted age–is that the incentive structure is all fucked up. OEMs have absolutely no incentive to design devices that might reasonably remain functional for years or decades, despite that being an entirely reasonable and attainable goal. They do much better if they can sell a device, warranty it for two years, then when it shits the bed, melt the fucker down to begin the process again. The more, the better.
Think about how much longer we could keep our devices running if we mandated form factor standards, and developed the computer design philosophy of the old ISA backplanes. Design houses long ago figured out how to make the line go up by instilling in consumers that new always>old, and whole units are always>than components. I don't see a compelling reason to suppose that compatibility problems of modularity in a broad range of consumer-grade products is inherently insurmountable, particularly with the strides we've made in miniaturization over the last several decades.
Sorry, I've gone off the rails in a rant again. This topic touches on something that's been very present in my mind this last year. It's really been something that's frustrated me for about ten years now, since I switched to technician work, but it's really been weighing on me since I was laid off last year (different employer from the recycler).