Promonk's recent activity
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Comment on Ultima Online retrospective | The last hurrah in ~games
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Comment on Ultima Online retrospective | The last hurrah in ~games
Promonk Link ParentI fell hard into UO at the launch of The Second Age, and fell out of it maybe two years later due to frustration and changing life circumstances. Even though I quit in anger, this damn game from...I fell hard into UO at the launch of The Second Age, and fell out of it maybe two years later due to frustration and changing life circumstances. Even though I quit in anger, this damn game from this damn period has occupied a surprising amount of my mental real estate for a quarter of a century. I think everyone who experienced this chaotic meat grinder of a game in just the period this video covers probably has stories to tell.
I trust you'll forgive me for having posted this link before I could possibly have watched the thing, but I had faith that if anyone could do justice to the madness that was early Ultima Online, it would be Majuular. Even though I'm less than an hour into this behemoth, I can tell you he did not disappoint.
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Comment on Ultima Online retrospective | The last hurrah in ~games
Promonk Link ParentWe've got a handful of old-head UO players around here. Pretty much everyone who was playing in Second Age or earlier has some wild stories to share. It was the freaking Wild West of MMORPGs, for...We've got a handful of old-head UO players around here. Pretty much everyone who was playing in Second Age or earlier has some wild stories to share. It was the freaking Wild West of MMORPGs, for sure.
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Comment on Ultima Online retrospective | The last hurrah in ~games
Promonk LinkBeen waiting for this installment of Majuular's Ultima Retrospective series since he started it. This one's my Ultima.Been waiting for this installment of Majuular's Ultima Retrospective series since he started it. This one's my Ultima.
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Ultima Online retrospective | The last hurrah
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Comment on What is your dream game? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentI don't know, I think the dictator's voice journals are pretty engaging and more than a little chilling, especially with the way politics have gone in the Western world over the last decade. It's...I don't know, I think the dictator's voice journals are pretty engaging and more than a little chilling, especially with the way politics have gone in the Western world over the last decade. It's no War and Peace, but it'll do.
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Comment on Do you think you're special? in ~talk
Promonk Link ParentThat's just one reason I've never understood the hullabaloo over trans athletes in school sports. Even if there was evidence of boys claiming to be trans just to dominate girls' sports (a patently...That's just one reason I've never understood the hullabaloo over trans athletes in school sports. Even if there was evidence of boys claiming to be trans just to dominate girls' sports (a patently ridiculous notion pretty much on its face), do we really need to be so precious about the sanctity of school sports competition? Will society crumble if a kid on puberty blockers manages to get to a podium?
Seems to me the most useful aspect of sports is that it gets kids being active together with other kids and forming social bonds. That's a greater good than finding the best shotputter in the 13-15 age bracket, by my lights.
I lack that bone in my body that gets a person super sweaty about competition though, so maybe I'm off-base.
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Comment on What is your dream game? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentOn the off-chance you haven't already played it, I recommend you drop what you're doing now and wishlist Just Cause 3 XXL. It often goes on sale for next-to-nothing on Steam (I think I spent $10...I'm a sucker for actual open-world games with satisfying ways to move around.
On the off-chance you haven't already played it, I recommend you drop what you're doing now and wishlist Just Cause 3 XXL. It often goes on sale for next-to-nothing on Steam (I think I spent $10 altogether on it, and that was buying the base game separate from the DLC pack).
JC3 has the most satisfying traversal mechanics of any game ever made, and that includes the various Spidermen, with or without hyphens. The story can be a bit goofy at times, but is also oddly engaging. David Tennant gives a characteristically fabulous performance as the foreign journalist who gets press-ganged by the resident dictator into the official propaganda mouthpiece.
My advice is to hold off on any DLC questlines until you've completed the main path, as the gadgets you get from them will utterly wreck any remaining challenge, especially the air-themed one.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentThe original games (primarily thinking of the first three) are best understood to be 3D elaborations on the old Prince of Persia formula. The platforming is tile-based and deterministic, which is...The original games (primarily thinking of the first three) are best understood to be 3D elaborations on the old Prince of Persia formula. The platforming is tile-based and deterministic, which is why the controls function as they do. The choice to offer a "modern" control scheme in the remasters is baffling to me because it completely breaks things, unless the idea was to highlight why the game had tank controls to begin with.
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Comment on Michael Parenti - The Assassination of Julius Caesar - A people’s history of Ancient Rome in ~books
Promonk Link ParentAny single thing Cicero ever wrote beats the self-aggrandizing extended tweet that is Caesar's "Gallic Wars," that's for sure.Any single thing Cicero ever wrote beats the self-aggrandizing extended tweet that is Caesar's "Gallic Wars," that's for sure.
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Comment on Michael Parenti - The Assassination of Julius Caesar - A people’s history of Ancient Rome in ~books
Promonk Link ParentHe was a patrician Roman. That was the bare minimum expected of someone in his milieu. Judging him for that would be like judging a duck for liking white bread floating on a pond. The thing that...Guy was an elitist only interested in serving the interests of his class and unashamedly as well.
He was a patrician Roman. That was the bare minimum expected of someone in his milieu. Judging him for that would be like judging a duck for liking white bread floating on a pond.
The thing that makes Cicero a little different from others like him is he actually believed in serving the interests of his class. The others conflated serving the senatorial class with serving themselves (vide: the aforementioned Cato, may he burn in Tartarus). Cicero was at least capable of seeing that sacrifices sometimes need to be made to serve an ideal–even up to literal personal sacrifice. We may not share that ideal he sought to serve, but it at least indicates a breadth of understanding that marked him out from his contemporaries.
I should say that I feel no personal stake in the man's reputation. About the only thing I can say about his effect on my life is that he wrote Latin in a way that was accessible to a second-year Latin student, which isn't precisely hero worship by my lights.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
Promonk Link ParentI'm a little leery of blending starchy vegetables, particularly potato. The texture always seems to come out gluey to my reckoning. When I make potato leek soup I usually mash the taters a little...I'm a little leery of blending starchy vegetables, particularly potato. The texture always seems to come out gluey to my reckoning.
When I make potato leek soup I usually mash the taters a little to get it thickening. It doesn't turn out as smooth, but it also doesn't come out reminiscent of wallpaper paste.
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Comment on Michael Parenti - The Assassination of Julius Caesar - A people’s history of Ancient Rome in ~books
Promonk Link ParentI think for a dude who died over 2,000 years ago it's probably best to judge relative to his contemporaries. By that measure, Cicero was relatively "enlightened." And at least he wasn't Cato.I think for a dude who died over 2,000 years ago it's probably best to judge relative to his contemporaries. By that measure, Cicero was relatively "enlightened."
And at least he wasn't Cato.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
Promonk LinkI don't know how interesting it is, but I made roasted root veg as a side for dinner last night. Cubed up some carrots, potatoes, turnips, onion and red bell pepper, then tossed them with a fair...I don't know how interesting it is, but I made roasted root veg as a side for dinner last night. Cubed up some carrots, potatoes, turnips, onion and red bell pepper, then tossed them with a fair bit of oil and some kosher salt, cracked black pepper, dried thyme and rosemary. Baked at 350°F for about an hour stirring regularly, then bumped it up to 425°F for another 30 or so to finish browning.
The turnips ended up feeling a little less cooked than everything else (turnips are far denser than potatoes), so I think when I make this again I'll parboil them for maybe 10 mins before tossing them together with everything else. I did something similar with parsnips a couple months back, but I didn't like the flavor as well. The turnips kept a bit more unique flavor through the cooking process, IMO.
I only mention it because it seems like people are forgetting about all the different tubers there are in the world. Potatoes are possibly my favorite vegetable, but there are a lot of other good ones with subtle flavors and slightly varied textures that are worth trying out.
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Comment on IKEA Kallax “Storageborn” in ~games
Promonk Link ParentUntil Todd decides you desperately need whatever Creation Club bullshit they've cooked up this month and pushes an update that breaks your modlist. That motherfucker pulled that shit on me three...Until Todd decides you desperately need whatever Creation Club bullshit they've cooked up this month and pushes an update that breaks your modlist. That motherfucker pulled that shit on me three times in the span of two months last year between Skyrim and FO4.
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Comment on Apple announces iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentPreach. I've been rocking a Moto G Power for like six or seven years now, and they suit me just fine. I've never needed to fix the charge port or replace a display or anything. Methinks there's a...Preach. I've been rocking a Moto G Power for like six or seven years now, and they suit me just fine. I've never needed to fix the charge port or replace a display or anything.
Methinks there's a bit of an assumption about price vis a vis quality going into that statement.
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Comment on What are your "how on earth did I not learn this sooner" tech moments? in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentExcept for some damned reason many web developers never got the memo on this one. In every job I've ever had that both involved data entry and web portals to do this data entry on, tab sequencing...Except for some damned reason many web developers never got the memo on this one. In every job I've ever had that both involved data entry and web portals to do this data entry on, tab sequencing is always broken and you're forced to use the mouse to navigate between entry fields.
This fact is high up in the outline of my future manifesto.
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Comment on Screenless Day discussion topic: September 2026 in ~life
Promonk LinkI remember that lovely reply you gave regarding organizing events on Tildes. It seemed odd to me at the time that you gave all this advice about having patience, and suggesting the prospective...I remember that lovely reply you gave regarding organizing events on Tildes. It seemed odd to me at the time that you gave all this advice about having patience, and suggesting the prospective organizer pick topics that speak to them, that they're passionate about. And then you said, "I did these 'Screenless Days' things, and nobody seemed interested so I dropped it." It just seemed to fly against everything else you said.
I contemplated chiming in to say, "what does it matter if nobody else participates if you want to do it?" I'm glad you picked up my brainwaves and decided to give it another shot. I'm not occupationally capable of joining in this time I think, but I'll keep tabs on it.
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Comment on What made that wedding that you attended particularly memorable? in ~life
Promonk (edited )Link ParentSome Christian sects believe that after Christ comes back again, everyone will be resurrected bodily to stand judgment, and only then will the goats be permanently separated from the sheep. Others...Some Christian sects believe that after Christ comes back again, everyone will be resurrected bodily to stand judgment, and only then will the goats be permanently separated from the sheep. Others dispense with the Dispensationalism and take a more spiritual reading of Judgment Day. The latter are the ones who believe that people are judged for their sins immediately upon death–for whatever value of "immediately" pertains in Eternity.
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Comment on What made that wedding that you attended particularly memorable? in ~life
Promonk LinkThe ceremony itself was like five minutes, did not include a pitch for the officiant's religion, and the vows were not full of trite, bad poetry. Weddings should be for celebration, not solemnity,...The ceremony itself was like five minutes, did not include a pitch for the officiant's religion, and the vows were not full of trite, bad poetry.
Weddings should be for celebration, not solemnity, IMO. Give me BBQ and dancing, not an hour-long ritual you may or may not have invented just for this occasion.
If you're curious, the private shard that Majuular played on is open to the public now. You can jump in and experience something like the OG experience for yourself. There's a link in a pinned comment on the video. I've been poking around in the shard and its Discord server today, and said hello to Majuular himself.