Raistlin's recent activity
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Comment on Official Sonic the Hedgehog game timeline as recognized by Sega in ~games
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Comment on What one Finnish church learned from creating a service almost entirely with AI – tools wrote the sermons and some of the songs, composed the music and created some the visuals in ~humanities
Raistlin LinkI guess I don't get what people are trying to get out of religion. Is it the illusion of a relationship with their God?I guess I don't get what people are trying to get out of religion. Is it the illusion of a relationship with their God?
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Comment on Microsoft moving from Skype to Microsoft Teams in ~tech
Raistlin Link ParentMy long distance relationship ended up working out, but we both have a lot of trauma from it, and the ringtone still makes my skin crawl and heart rate shoot up. Long distance is awful.My long distance relationship ended up working out, but we both have a lot of trauma from it, and the ringtone still makes my skin crawl and heart rate shoot up. Long distance is awful.
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Comment on Google may be close to launching YouTube Premium Lite in ~tech
Raistlin Link ParentThey would be indeed getting a larger slice of the pie than my example, but still a very small one. There's also other things a flat fee incentivises. Do you follow people that make well-argued...They would be indeed getting a larger slice of the pie than my example, but still a very small one.
There's also other things a flat fee incentivises. Do you follow people that make well-argued and well-supported quality videos? If split equally, those people get less money comparatively than the rest. Wouldn't it be better to directly support them in Patreon, then?
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Comment on Google may be close to launching YouTube Premium Lite in ~tech
Raistlin Link ParentBut doesn't the inverse apply? If you follow 500 creators and are paying 15 a month, you're giving them 3 cents a month *before" YouTube pays a cut. Essentially, you're giving them nothing and...But doesn't the inverse apply? If you follow 500 creators and are paying 15 a month, you're giving them 3 cents a month *before" YouTube pays a cut. Essentially, you're giving them nothing and might as well pirate.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Raistlin Link ParentI've tried to get both into Vicky 3 and HoI4 multiple times, but they've just never clicked. I have thousands of hours on CK2 and EU4, but I haven't been able to capture that same magic in the...I've tried to get both into Vicky 3 and HoI4 multiple times, but they've just never clicked. I have thousands of hours on CK2 and EU4, but I haven't been able to capture that same magic in the other titles.
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Comment on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is reaching end of standard support soon: April 2025. Plan to upgrade soon! in ~tech
Raistlin Link ParentThat's good to know. As W10 ends support, I convinced my wife to switch to Linux, but hadn't settled on a distro yet. She's never been on non-Windows, and my Linux knowledge has atrophied a lot. I...That's good to know. As W10 ends support, I convinced my wife to switch to Linux, but hadn't settled on a distro yet. She's never been on non-Windows, and my Linux knowledge has atrophied a lot. I was thinking of going back to Ubuntu, but I might try Mint instead, since it tries to replicate the Windows environment.
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Comment on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is reaching end of standard support soon: April 2025. Plan to upgrade soon! in ~tech
Raistlin LinkHow's Ubuntu these days? I left around the whole snap vs deb vs flatpak controversy days. Have things changed a lot?How's Ubuntu these days? I left around the whole snap vs deb vs flatpak controversy days. Have things changed a lot?
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Comment on How elite backlash to the populist reforms of the Gracchi brothers presaged the violent collapse of the Roman Republic in ~humanities.history
Raistlin (edited )Link ParentTo an extent. The poor Romans certainly appreciated emperors redistributing goods. The rich Romans probably considered inequality good, but so do even modern rich people. I think it depends on the...To an extent. The poor Romans certainly appreciated emperors redistributing goods. The rich Romans probably considered inequality good, but so do even modern rich people. I think it depends on the Roman you ask.
Certainly we don't know of any Roman movements to abolish the castes. The dream of a poor Roman was probably to become a rich Roman, not to reform society. But I'm not sure that level of inequality being a feature was shared by the majority of the Roman population (including the slaves). We only have access to the Ciceros of the world, not to the bulk of the population slaving away (often literally) in the countryside.
But we do know that when emperors tried to remove features of the welfare state such as the bread dole, that that was a great way of getting torn apart by the crowds.
I suppose my overall sentiment was, that there is very little to lionise in the Roman republic. It wasn't as plutocratic as Carthage where explitely the richest governed, but only because the Romans valorised military experience in a way the Carthaginians didn't, like you mention.
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Comment on How elite backlash to the populist reforms of the Gracchi brothers presaged the violent collapse of the Roman Republic in ~humanities.history
Raistlin LinkThe Gracchi period is one of the most fascinating things of the Republic. One thing I like to usually mention is, people usually see the words "republic" and "empire" and assign to it modern...- Exemplary
The Gracchi period is one of the most fascinating things of the Republic.
One thing I like to usually mention is, people usually see the words "republic" and "empire" and assign to it modern English meanings, because they were English words. But res publica isn't republic, and imperium isn't empire. The Romans, in their view, never lost their res publica, and the res publica (ie. politiea) lasted all the way to 1453. Similarly, there was always imperium (authority) in the Roman state.
This sounds like a banal etymological discussion, but it's important to remember that the transition from republic to empire isn't the collapse of democracy you might see in something like Star Wars. The late Roman Republic was a brutal military dictatorship in the majority of the areas it governed (Spain, North Africa, Greece, etc), basically everywhere that wasn't Rome (and some Italian cities, Greek cities, assorted allies). In Rome itself, it was a plutocratic autocracy where the wealthy had stripped the poor of what little power they had fought to gain.
This is why Augustus was a legitimate relief. Its not like having this guy at the helm was any less democratic than what came before. It was still a brutal military dictatorship, but hell, at least the civil wars stopped, the colonies started gaining some representation, governors had other priorities aside from stealing and pillaging as much as they could before the term ended.
And hey, emperors occasionally killed half of the rich and distributed their wealth to the poor to get legitimacy. As far as the poor were concerned, bonus!
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Comment on Popeye, Tintin and more will enter the public domain in the new year in ~comics
Raistlin LinkIf there's one silver lining to the complete breakdown in the American legislative branch, it's that they've been unable to pass their customary IP extensions.If there's one silver lining to the complete breakdown in the American legislative branch, it's that they've been unable to pass their customary IP extensions.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
Raistlin LinkSo we've gone from banning spambots to... making spambots. I'm so happy I deleted Facebook.So we've gone from banning spambots to... making spambots.
I'm so happy I deleted Facebook.
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Comment on GOG reportedly suffering from staff turnover and poor management: “Current business model is likely running out of steam” in ~games
Raistlin Link ParentThat's fair. It kinda depends on what you want. For example, Nintendo makes it very hard (well, impossible) to buy old GBA games from them. You gotta subscribe. But getting safe GBA roms and...That's fair. It kinda depends on what you want. For example, Nintendo makes it very hard (well, impossible) to buy old GBA games from them. You gotta subscribe. But getting safe GBA roms and running them on your phone is absolutely trivial. Once you have an emulator you like and a site you trust, it takes like 45 seconds.
And now you have the rom, forever. Pretty small file too. You can probably put every single GBA game you like in an USB stick.
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Comment on GOG reportedly suffering from staff turnover and poor management: “Current business model is likely running out of steam” in ~games
Raistlin LinkThis isn't really a threat because I don't really represent a significant part of the market, but if things like GOG go away and more and more companies move to a service model, I really will just...This isn't really a threat because I don't really represent a significant part of the market, but if things like GOG go away and more and more companies move to a service model, I really will just go full pirate again.
If I can't own my digital goods, I'm not renting them. I'll just take them.
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Comment on Bashar al-Assad has left Damascus, senior army officers say; Syria rebels say they are in capital in ~society
Raistlin Link ParentI'd imagine so. Just yesterday Turkey and Syria were negotiating about the Kurds. I don't think anyone saw the fall of the regime coming, not like this.I'd imagine so. Just yesterday Turkey and Syria were negotiating about the Kurds. I don't think anyone saw the fall of the regime coming, not like this.
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Comment on Bashar al-Assad has left Damascus, senior army officers say; Syria rebels say they are in capital in ~society
Raistlin LinkThe speed is incredible. Four hours ago we were talking about Damascus maybe being encircled. And now, the Assad regime is over. A civil war that lasted over a decade and was stalemated, over in...The speed is incredible. Four hours ago we were talking about Damascus maybe being encircled. And now, the Assad regime is over. A civil war that lasted over a decade and was stalemated, over in less than two weeks.
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Comment on Syrian army withdraws from key city of Homs as rebels encircle Damascus in ~news
Raistlin LinkThis is an incredible turnaround. I guess it's what happens when Russia wastes in time in Ukraine, and Iran and Hezbollah are too busy with Israel.This is an incredible turnaround. I guess it's what happens when Russia wastes in time in Ukraine, and Iran and Hezbollah are too busy with Israel.
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Comment on Your partner asks for your phone, you refuse over privacy, they tell you they don't trust you. How do you respond? in ~talk
Raistlin Link ParentBut even that depends. Generally, it's a huge red flag that your partner doesn't trust to to begin with. But is she otherwise amazing and supportive, and recently just got out of a horrible...But even that depends. Generally, it's a huge red flag that your partner doesn't trust to to begin with. But is she otherwise amazing and supportive, and recently just got out of a horrible relationship where she got cheated on, which long term damaged her? And then maybe you got out of a relationship where your partner was spying on you. Both of you might be genuinely good people, but your respective traumas means maybe this won't work. Or maybe you don't give a shit about what's on your phone and it's not a problem.
It entirely depends on the two individuals. There's no objective correct answer, though I will still note that you sacrifice some boundaries if you choose to share your life with another person.
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Comment on Your partner asks for your phone, you refuse over privacy, they tell you they don't trust you. How do you respond? in ~talk
Raistlin LinkPrivacy expectations change when you have a partner. I put a lot of work into making sure government and corporations have as little of my data as possible. I don't put that work into keeping...Privacy expectations change when you have a partner. I put a lot of work into making sure government and corporations have as little of my data as possible. I don't put that work into keeping things from wife, as I don't have the same expectation of privacy. If she asked for my phone, I'd assume she needed it for some reason, and I wouldn't really be that curious as to why. Probably she ran out of data and wants to watch a video or something, I dunno.
But we've been together for 14 years. Don't know your context.
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Comment on Sony is reportedly working on a PS5 portable in ~games
Raistlin LinkI find it interesting that every company bar Nintendo decided that handhelds were dead and mobile was the future. Now the mobile market seems to be hitting saturation, the Switch and the Deck have...I find it interesting that every company bar Nintendo decided that handhelds were dead and mobile was the future. Now the mobile market seems to be hitting saturation, the Switch and the Deck have been wildly successful, and both Sony and MS are scrambling to enter a market they chose to abandon.
Don't worry about it, 06 decanonised itself!
Not surprising though. Flynn sees the Time Eater as a fragment of Solaris, so 06 lore has to be real.