Promonk's recent activity
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Comment on Marius Borg Høiby, the 27-year-old son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in her 20s in ~news
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentI'll probably go back to Satisfactory occasionally. I'd consider it complete as well, except I have this feeling like I could've accomplished something more in it. I have this hunch like I might...I'll probably go back to Satisfactory occasionally. I'd consider it complete as well, except I have this feeling like I could've accomplished something more in it. I have this hunch like I might just have an epiphany and suddenly logistics and factory design would all just snap into focus. I've had similar experiences with games before, so I recognize the feeling.
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Comment on Where does your username come from? (Following up on last year's thread) in ~tildes
Promonk LinkMy handle started as pmonkey_aa back on Yahoo in the late 90s, where I hung out in the "Religion & Philosophy" chatroom and played ranked cribbage (Yahoo Games was a fantastic platform for a...My handle started as pmonkey_aa back on Yahoo in the late 90s, where I hung out in the "Religion & Philosophy" chatroom and played ranked cribbage (Yahoo Games was a fantastic platform for a minute or two, and I rarely see it get the nostalgia of other Web 1.0 sites). I still remember some of the characters who were regulars in the chatroom and the drama, and wonder whatever happened to some of them. I remember one guy called himself "BrianSoddingBoru," and it still makes me giggle.
The "pmonkey" part was due to my first job. I'm from one of the last places in the universe that wouldn't let you pump your own gas. You had to have an attendant do it for you. One of the homespun, salt-of-the-earth nicknames we had for an attendant was "pump monkey." The "_aa" was simply because "pmonkey" was taken.
Later, I couldn't get "pmonkey" anywhere else, so extended it to "Promonktheus," a play on the name of the titan in Greek mythology (this was long before the Alien franchise movie came along). Somehow even that one got taken by someone else, so I dropped the "-theus" for a fresh start, and somehow that never seems taken. Maybe I'm more of an early adopter these days.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentI played the hell out of Satisfactory when 1.0 launched, but I always hit a wall right about where I unlocked petroleum fuel generation. The difficulty of logistics over long ranges just killed...I played the hell out of Satisfactory when 1.0 launched, but I always hit a wall right about where I unlocked petroleum fuel generation. The difficulty of logistics over long ranges just killed any enthusiasm I had for it. The fact that fluid dynamics are just obnoxious in the game didn't help.
Additionally, I've started maybe four or five runs, and each time I ended up disgusted by the sheer ugliness and haphazardness of my factories. The absolute pain in the ass of tearing down large operations and managing inventory overflow was enough to sour me on even attempting it.
I'm torn about whether to blame the game or my own brain for the walls I hit in progression, but I lean toward blaming myself for the most part. Fluids could probably be a little less assholish, and the long-distance logistics could be a little less annoying of a hurdle maybe, but ultimately I think it's down to me. The game demands a little more creativity and patience than I think I'm capable of.
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Comment on Nintendo has hired a company to dox Reddit users so they can sue them for piracy in ~games
Promonk Link ParentThe court didn't bring suit on its lonesome.The court didn't bring suit on its lonesome.
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Comment on Nintendo has hired a company to dox Reddit users so they can sue them for piracy in ~games
Promonk Link ParentWell, thanks to Nintendo I now know that a man named James Williams, alias 'Archbox', living in Arizona, has run afoul of Nintendo. If I were a fanatical Nintendo dweeb eager to score good boy...Well, thanks to Nintendo I now know that a man named James Williams, alias 'Archbox', living in Arizona, has run afoul of Nintendo. If I were a fanatical Nintendo dweeb eager to score good boy points with my favorite multi-billion dollar gaming company, I might dust off my shining armor and wage a harassment campaign against him.
Sounds an awful lot like doxxing to me.
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Comment on MomBoard: E-ink display for a parent with amnesia in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentInnovation consists of more than just invention. If simply thinking up a solution were sufficient, then the pre-Columbian Americas would've had wheeled vehicles instead of just toys, and Greece...Innovation consists of more than just invention. If simply thinking up a solution were sufficient, then the pre-Columbian Americas would've had wheeled vehicles instead of just toys, and Greece would've had industrial steam engines two millennia before the Industrial Revolution.
There's also the problems of production and delivery to millions upon millions of people, and there are vanishingly few organizations capable of large scale production and delivery that are motivated by anything but profit.
The image of the gentleman scientist is a fine one to remember when considering individual motivations, but I'm not sure it's exactly applicable to large-scale modern industry. Sir Reginald Soggybottom in his estate laboratory may be a fine model for isolating the xenon atom or whatever, but modern innovation requires a high degree of specialization, which requires years of training and a wealth of resources that are beyond the grasp of any individual, at least at present.
There's no doubt in my mind that clever individuals will keep devising new solutions to problems–MomBoard is a fine example of that–but that's only a part of the needs of society. We also have a need to scale solutions up to the society level, and monetary profit is currently the overarching motivation for that. It's that need for scale and the difficulties in achieving it that I'm addressing.
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Comment on Longevity of tech equipment in ~tech
Promonk LinkI used to work in electronics recycling. I did a variety of things, but my last job in the industry was stress testing PC components for resale. I was neck deep in CPUs and DIMMs and laptop and...I used to work in electronics recycling. I did a variety of things, but my last job in the industry was stress testing PC components for resale. I was neck deep in CPUs and DIMMs and laptop and desktop motherboards all day long, and I came away from it with a healthy respect for the hardiness of components from the last decade when compared to those that came before.
For a time you could get excellent hardware for dirt cheap if you knew how to pick parts and throw it all together, but lately it seems like resellers have twigged that a lot of older hardware is still perfectly serviceable, and many components aren't depreciating as quickly as they once did.
Anyway, my oldest working machine now is a Dell Optiplex 790 with an i7-2700 and 16GB DDR3. I think the memory clocks at 1333MHz, but it's been a while since I've given a thought to it, so I might be misremembering. It's running an out-of-date but still supported version of Linux Mint with Cinnamon desktop. I got the computer gratis for volunteering with a recycler, and I've only put maybe $150 into it in upgrades, not counting hand-me-down GPUs I've pulled from other machines when upgrading them.
It does everything I ask it to, which is admittedly not much. Mostly I use that machine for media storage and playback because I prefer multimedia to be sandboxed away from gaming, which i do on another machine.
Mostly I haven't done bothered to upgrade it because it still does everything I want it to. I may decide to figure another solution out for its role in the future, but money's tight right now, and there's nothing pressing me to take action. It just keeps chugging away.
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Comment on MomBoard: E-ink display for a parent with amnesia in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentThat's essentially what the indie gaming scene has been doing for the past 15 years or so. Titles like Shovel Knight, Stardew Valley and Undertale are essentially taking the forms of 8-bit and...That's essentially what the indie gaming scene has been doing for the past 15 years or so. Titles like Shovel Knight, Stardew Valley and Undertale are essentially taking the forms of 8-bit and 16-bit game genres and exploring what depths can be plumbed when the limitations of memory and storage of the original hardware are removed. Indie gaming has since become its own thing with its own conventions, themes and cliches, but something of the focus on depth remains.
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Comment on MomBoard: E-ink display for a parent with amnesia in ~tech
Promonk Link ParentMy thoughts while writing this repeatedly turned to Valve, who i think exemplify the paradigm I'm struggling to describe. They completely revolutionized their industry specifically by focusing...My thoughts while writing this repeatedly turned to Valve, who i think exemplify the paradigm I'm struggling to describe. They completely revolutionized their industry specifically by focusing always on products and services. It so happens that the innovations they developed were so sorely needed that they ended up with a virtual monopoly (in more than one definition of "virtual"), but I don't think that was ever their explicit goal. I think Newell et al. kept their focus specifically on the service they provided, and the profit followed. There's a lot to say about the specifics of their business and whether it's ultimately a good thing, but I don't think anyone can credibly argue that PC gaming is in a worse place now than 25 years ago because of Valve's activities.
I'm not generally inclined toward the Great Man Theory of History, but this particular example gives me pause, because I honestly don't know whether Valve could've accomplished what they have had it not been under the direct control of GabeN. Would a paradigmatic shift like I'm envisioning require a sort of enlightened, benevolent dictatorship like GabeN holds over Valve? If so, then there's probably no hope for it. Personal ambition is likely to generally trend all business endeavors toward enshittification in that case.
Like I said, I just don't know how to systemically shift incentives toward something akin to the Valve model.
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Comment on MomBoard: E-ink display for a parent with amnesia in ~tech
Promonk LinkI love this, and not just because I also have elderly loved ones that are sources of anxiety. It's often seemed to me that we generally tend to chase new technologies and methods when there are...I love this, and not just because I also have elderly loved ones that are sources of anxiety.
It's often seemed to me that we generally tend to chase new technologies and methods when there are still a lot of older, more mature technologies that haven't been adapted to various use-cases. Present this problem to a tech start-up or an established company and you're likely to get some hideously half-baked AI solution with buggy code and hardware that looks slick on a department store shelf, but doesn't really suit its intended use. Instead, this person used basic HTML and CSS to create a messaging service that fits the need pretty well perfectly, and used hardware that's well developed and low frills.
It's an object lesson in how incentives influence outcome. A corporation would never devise this solution, not because they're incapable, but because they aren't incentivized to solve it in this way. The maker here was only incentivized to solve the problem, not to turn a profit off of the solution. That in turn influenced all the decisions made in the development process: simple code resistant to connectivity downtime, less flashy hardware with just the features necessary to accomplish the task at hand, opening the process to others so they can implement parallel solutions that suit their needs instead of locking it all up behind intellectual property protections.
I've often mused that a fat lot of the enshittification we all bemoan could be solved if we can just figure out a way to properly incentivize companies to be more interested in the products and services they provide rather than stock price and gross profits. For instance, there's a very real social need for a reliable search engine that actually provides the information people need, but Google is less interested in that than they are finding new and crazy-making ways to monetize people's need for that information. There's nothing stopping companies from purposely tanking the utility of their products in the race for ever-greater profits and market cap, and I don't really know how to go about changing that without screwing up the incentives that drive innovation.
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Comment on Donald Trump nominates Fox News host and Army National Guard Major Pete Hegseth for US defense secretary in ~society
Promonk Link ParentAmusingly, my top comment of all time on Reddit was making this exact declaration. I phrased it poorly however, and have always felt a little uneasy about it being misinterpreted as some MRA...Amusingly, my top comment of all time on Reddit was making this exact declaration. I phrased it poorly however, and have always felt a little uneasy about it being misinterpreted as some MRA whingeing, which I hope you know I'm not about.
It's gratifying to see such an enlightened "human" concur.
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Comment on Donald Trump nominates Fox News host and Army National Guard Major Pete Hegseth for US defense secretary in ~society
Promonk Link ParentOne the one hand, it may feel comforting to know that a group you belong to is excluded from active combat roles. On the other, it's certain to be used as justification for the removal of rights.One the one hand, it may feel comforting to know that a group you belong to is excluded from active combat roles. On the other, it's certain to be used as justification for the removal of rights.
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Comment on Hello to Reddit folks from /r/selfhosted in ~talk
Promonk LinkHas there been a recent shakeup that prompted this spate of invites? It makes perfect sense why Tildes would be a good asylum for /r/selfhosted refugees, but I'm curious if there's been recent...Has there been a recent shakeup that prompted this spate of invites? It makes perfect sense why Tildes would be a good asylum for /r/selfhosted refugees, but I'm curious if there's been recent drama that impelled you to act now rather than previously.
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Comment on How California has been ‘Donald Trump-proofing’ itself against federal reprisal in ~society
Promonk Link ParentIt would be exactly as difficult for the GOP to make it so Trump can run for president again as it would for them to amend Article II to make the office an appointed one, which would obviate the...It would be exactly as difficult for the GOP to make it so Trump can run for president again as it would for them to amend Article II to make the office an appointed one, which would obviate the strictures of the 22nd Amendment and eliminate elections for President altogether. Two guesses which one they'd prefer.
Edit: incidentally, that threshold currently stands at the control of 38 state legislatures. They'll be short by about ten come next session.
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Comment on Desktop icons are surprisingly hard! in ~comp
Promonk Link ParentMy people. The only icon I keep on my desktop is the recycle bin, and I only keep that around to throw away icons for programs that place a desktop icon without asking.My people. The only icon I keep on my desktop is the recycle bin, and I only keep that around to throw away icons for programs that place a desktop icon without asking.
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Comment on How California has been ‘Donald Trump-proofing’ itself against federal reprisal in ~society
Promonk Link ParentEven on the darkest timeline, he won't be campaigning for 2028. Our boy's campaign days are over. That leaves a world of possibilities, mind. He just won't be running as a candidate for president...Even on the darkest timeline, he won't be campaigning for 2028. Our boy's campaign days are over.
That leaves a world of possibilities, mind. He just won't be running as a candidate for president anymore.
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Comment on How California has been ‘Donald Trump-proofing’ itself against federal reprisal in ~society
Promonk Link ParentYup. One way or another, he'll never run for president again.Yup. One way or another, he'll never run for president again.
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Comment on Elections: ultimately, it’s going to be okay in ~society
Promonk Link ParentIt's probably best to remember that everyone who voted for Trump did so because they were hopeful things will change for the better. I don't share in the particulars of what underpins that hope,...It's probably best to remember that everyone who voted for Trump did so because they were hopeful things will change for the better. I don't share in the particulars of what underpins that hope, or even what "for the better" means, but I have to hold onto my own version of that hope. It's become as necessary as air or water now.
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Comment on US Election Distractions Thread in ~talk
Promonk Link ParentI think my confusion came more from the IPA than Icelandic, though I'm aware that the latter is the primary justification for the former. I studied English and rhetoric for years, and continue to...I think my confusion came more from the IPA than Icelandic, though I'm aware that the latter is the primary justification for the former.
I studied English and rhetoric for years, and continue to have an interest in philology and historical linguistics, and even I forget how much more culturally fragmented Britain was in pre-modern times. They aren't exactly the picture of a monolithic culture today, even. That makes much sense of two interchangeable letters than assuming an anachronistic consistency in orthography that didn't actually arise until the 17th century and later.
Do you know offhand if eth persisted longer in the former Danelaw than the south? That would make a lot of sense, considering the timing of its abandonment.
There actually is precedent for prosecuting a king in the UK, and specifically kings named Charles. The legal ground at the time was kinda shaky, but they didn't let that stop them.