RoyalHenOil's recent activity
-
Comment on Commonly misspelled words quiz in ~humanities.languages
-
Comment on Does anyone have experience exchanging actual letters with a pen pal? in ~talk
RoyalHenOil Link ParentApart from that, my sister and I have been thinking about getting into sending each other physical letters. There are some writing-prompt games where you play as fictional characters and write...Apart from that, my sister and I have been thinking about getting into sending each other physical letters. There are some writing-prompt games where you play as fictional characters and write each other letters, and we were thinking that could be fun.
-
Comment on Does anyone have experience exchanging actual letters with a pen pal? in ~talk
RoyalHenOil LinkMy partner (Australian) and I (American) were online friends for years before we met in person for the first time. We sent each other physical letters on occasion, but mostly to send each other...My partner (Australian) and I (American) were online friends for years before we met in person for the first time. We sent each other physical letters on occasion, but mostly to send each other physical things (though we also always included a long letter) since we mostly communicated by email.
I like to collect coins, so we mailed each other all the coins in our respective currencies. I think I sent him some Mexican and Canadian coins, too, and he sent me some New Zealand coins.
I'm kind of a geometry nerd, so he also made me a little dodecahedron out of wood.
We ended up falling in love while we still only knew each other online, so meeting for the first time after being penpals for so long was a pretty surreal experience.
-
Comment on Commonly misspelled words quiz in ~humanities.languages
RoyalHenOil LinkWow, I got correct answers even on words I genuinely don't know how to spell, like hors d'oeuvre (which I had to look up just to spell it correctly in this comment). On the words I didn't know, I...Wow, I got correct answers even on words I genuinely don't know how to spell, like hors d'oeuvre (which I had to look up just to spell it correctly in this comment). On the words I didn't know, I just ignored the spelling altogether, squinted my eyes, and picked the option that looked the most familiar.
I'm a speed reader, so I wonder if that has something to do with it. When I was a kid, my mother (also a speed reader) taught me a spelling trick after I kept getting wrong answers on spelling tests: instead of trying to remember how words are spelled, imagine what the word looks like and then read off the letters. After she gave me this advice, I immediately started getting perfect scores on tests I'd previously struggled to pass. The brain is weird.
-
Comment on The spread of solar panels in rural areas has become a divisive issue among Danish voters in ~enviro
RoyalHenOil (edited )Link ParentI recommend not moving to a rural area in that case. Part of rural living includes being around rural industry. There will be pylons, phone towers, wind turbines, center-pivot sprinklers,...But I absolutely wouldn't want to be the family in that house that's boxed in by panels on every side, either.
I recommend not moving to a rural area in that case. Part of rural living includes being around rural industry. There will be pylons, phone towers, wind turbines, center-pivot sprinklers, junkyards, tree farm clearcutting, ugly fences, ugly sheds, ugly monoculture fields, farm animal noises, farm animal smells, tractors shining extremely bright lights at night, tractors in the road slowing down traffic, etc. Solar panels are pretty benign in the scheme of things. If this household managed to get the solar farm closed, it would likely be replaced by something much more unpleasant; the landowner needs to make a living doing something, and most of the other options are noisy, smelly, and/or much harder to hide than solar panels.
To me, it comes across like someone moving into an urban environment and complaining when a bar opens nearby. If you don't like seeing commercial or industrial activity, stick to dedicated residential areas.
-
Comment on I hope you don't use generative AI - an essay about my experience offering an open-source tool in ~tech
RoyalHenOil (edited )Link ParentI'm not the OP, but I am a multimedia developer who doesn't like using AI (specifically genAI) in my art. Personally, I'm not opposed to it on a philosophical level; it's just another tool in the...I'm curious why you're against using AI in art, however, if it's acceptable in your mind to be used as part of a process?
I'm not the OP, but I am a multimedia developer who doesn't like using AI (specifically genAI) in my art.
Personally, I'm not opposed to it on a philosophical level; it's just another tool in the toolset, as far as I'm concerned. I've been using some of Photoshop's (non-genAI) AI tools for years, for example. However, I have so far not found current genAI tools very useful for my purposes. I suspect this is because genAI is largely developed by... well, developers. Not artists. So coding tools have gotten a huge amount of polish and testing, but art tools far less so.
I can think of a dozen ways I'd love to be using genAI in art, at least for work, but the workflows are kind of wonky and the results are usually pretty bad — not that they look bad necessarily, but that they don't fit into what you're trying to create, and (depending on the type of asset) they often have fundamental flaws that make them too hard to edit and reuse. Particularly for things like photo editing, vector editing, and video editing, I find it's almost always faster — not to mention cheaper and better quality — to just do things manually.
Mind you, in my field (multimedia development in tech education), technical accuracy is extremely important. If AI alterations are not 100% true to life, I can't use the asset at all. If you're just generating images without a specific goal (e.g., brainstorming for a mood board or making temporary assets for testing), then genAI is decent, but this is such a small part of most artists' workflow. It's not a part of my workflow at all.
The big exception, in my experience, is using genAI to develop scripts and add-ons. LLMs are genuinely super helpful with that, and the tools they've helped my team build have saved us all a lot of time and frustration.
As for making art in my personal life, I just have no interest in using AI at all (not even the aforementioned oldschool Photoshop features). That kind of defeats the purpose of a hobby, you know? I want total creative control.
-
Comment on I before she — on the shift in narrative perspective in romance novels in ~books
RoyalHenOil Link ParentJuxtapositions can be written in first person, and very effectively since first person is closer to the character's narrow viewpoint and thought processes — but it's definitely trickier to pull...Juxtapositions can be written in first person, and very effectively since first person is closer to the character's narrow viewpoint and thought processes — but it's definitely trickier to pull off, and from what I've seen, it can be a harder sell to readers. Most people seem to prefer third person from what I've seen (e.g., first-person stories attract fewer readers on AO3 than third-person limited).
But if you want to see it done well, I recommend The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. She switches between very different perspectives in a clever way.
-
Comment on Gamblers trying to win a bet on Polymarket are vowing to kill me if I don't rewrite an Iran missile story in ~society
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI think the fear is that the insider trading might get a little too inside and turn into more direct manipulation — for example, someone from the defense market actively promoting or undermining...I think the fear is that the insider trading might get a little too inside and turn into more direct manipulation — for example, someone from the defense market actively promoting or undermining bombing efforts in Iran to win a bigger payout. Preventing conflicts of interest like these is one reason jurisdictions often make insider trading illegal.
-
Comment on I before she — on the shift in narrative perspective in romance novels in ~books
RoyalHenOil Link ParentThat's very true. Websites like AO3 also offer an opportunity for new (often very young) writers to get some practice and share their work. When I was a kid, everything I wrote just went into a...That's very true. Websites like AO3 also offer an opportunity for new (often very young) writers to get some practice and share their work. When I was a kid, everything I wrote just went into a notebook and nobody ever saw it except maybe my parents and a couple friends — which means I also didn't get a lot of objective feedback.
Now, new writers can see what readers actually responds to, and they'll probably be much better writers for it in the long run.
-
Comment on I before she — on the shift in narrative perspective in romance novels in ~books
RoyalHenOil (edited )Link ParentI'm not much of a fan fiction reader (I literally only read my first fan fiction, ever in my life, about eight months ago) but it seems to me much more the latter than the former. From what I've...You seem to be describing first a literary monoculture, and then a marketplace of multitudes of competing microgenres to choose from.
I'm not much of a fan fiction reader (I literally only read my first fan fiction, ever in my life, about eight months ago) but it seems to me much more the latter than the former. From what I've seen, fan fiction is currently a highly experimental space, where writers — without the pressure of publishing — are playing with a lot of unusual and interesting formats and storytelling techniques that you don't really see in more traditional literary spaces. (For example, can you imagine this short story getting published in a book or magazine?)
There's plenty of generic fan fiction, too, don't get me wrong (most of it really) — and on rare occasions, published work also goes in pretty strange directions (House of Leaves comes to mind). But at this exact moment in time, AO3 seems to be where a lot of this new literary creativity is really flourishing.
I'm not sure why fan fiction in particular is getting this treatment. Maybe when you remove the pressure of worldbuilding and character development, there's simply more wiggle room to explore narration itself? Or maybe it grew out of the fan fiction community simply because they already had a culture of sharing stories for free to a small but extremely dedicated readership (often just the same 10 people over and over again), whereas almost every other writing community seems to be focused on appealing to as large a readership as possible.
In any case, it reminds me of the hip hop scene in Atlanta in the 90s, before it exploded onto the world stage. I had the real sense then that I was close to the epicenter of something big and something fast. AO3 is giving me a lot of the same vibes now.
-
Comment on Almost a third of Gen Z men agree a wife should obey her husband in ~life.men
RoyalHenOil Link ParentI'm sure I've come across random people who think that way, but I've never heard them express their views on it. Everyone I've met whose views I know anything about definitely did not hold that...I'm sure I've come across random people who think that way, but I've never heard them express their views on it. Everyone I've met whose views I know anything about definitely did not hold that view (or if they did, they misled me). This is why I used the phrasing "I don't know that I've met" because I genuinely don't. Unless you count arguing with people online, I guess.
It's also worth noting that, in the Southeast at least, this viewpoint seems to be mostly associated with evangelical Christians. I'm a second-generation atheist, and my extended family and culture is leftwing Methodist. I know evangelicals are out there (they spend a lot of money on billboards) but I've barely met any. I did have one evangelical friend growing up (Southern Baptist to be specific), but her family had a very high divorce rate and very little father involvement, and they didn't exactly have the most optimistic opinions about men.
-
Comment on Almost a third of Gen Z men agree a wife should obey her husband in ~life.men
RoyalHenOil (edited )Link ParentI don't know that I've ever met anyone, of any age, who would agree with the sentiment that wives should obey husbands. Maybe this is because I'm a woman and people tend to withhold this...I don't know that I've ever met anyone, of any age, who would agree with the sentiment that wives should obey husbands. Maybe this is because I'm a woman and people tend to withhold this particular view from me?
On the other hand, virtually every husband-wife pair I've ever known has fallen somewhere between mildly to extremely wife-dominant, with the wife making most of the family and household decisions, both large and small. Along similar lines, I most often see couples move to be closer to the wife's family than to the husband's family. These are definitely the norms in my family, going back generations, and I'm seeing the same pattern in younger couples in my family.
I have a pretty passive/doormat-ish kind of personality, yet I've never had any problem with men I've dated trying to take charge. They've all been pretty happy to let me make decisions for both of us. Even in the abusive relationship I was stuck in for a few years, he still had a pretty matriarchal mindset (he wanted to change his last name to mine, wanted to basically join my family rather than have me join his family, was happy to prioritize my education/career over his, etc.).
It might just be my cultural bubble. I'm from the southern US (Tennessee/Georgia area), and I grew up in pretty low-income areas, where father absenteeism is very common, which I imagine could contribute to a more mother-oriented culture.
Where I live now in southeastern Australia, the culture is more overtly egalitarian (it's uncommon for men to pay for dates, it's very common for women to ask men out on dates, etc.), and the effect might be a little milder here. But at least in the circles where I run, it still seems to be the norm. Like my own family, my partner's family seems to follow a similar pattern, with basically mothers making most decisions within the family units, and a grandmother essentially directing the extended family at large. And I see the same pattern in my own relationship, despite our different nationalities and socioeconomic backgrounds. My partner has a naturally more confident, dominant personality than me, yet he happily defers to me on any decision, big or small. (Mind you, he was raised by a single mother, which could be a factor — and if I were domineering or powertrippy, I imagine he might push back. He definitely pushes back pretty hard when other people step on his toes.)
-
Comment on Help me untangle my 3d printer filament in ~tech
RoyalHenOil LinkUntangling horrifying snarls like this is, weirdly, one of my great personal pleasures. It's like a meditative puzzle. I wish I could come help!Untangling horrifying snarls like this is, weirdly, one of my great personal pleasures. It's like a meditative puzzle. I wish I could come help!
-
Comment on New accounts on Hacker News ten times more likely to use em-dashes in ~tech
RoyalHenOil Link ParentAs part of my job, I have to localize technical documents between American English and Australian English. American English uses em dashes with no spaces—like this—whereas the style guide for our...As part of my job, I have to localize technical documents between American English and Australian English. American English uses em dashes with no spaces—like this—whereas the style guide for our Australian documents use en dashes with spaces – like this – which I understand is also common in British writing.
So now I use a hybrid approach — em dashes with spaces — for my personal writing. Best of both worlds.
-
Comment on New accounts on Hacker News ten times more likely to use em-dashes in ~tech
RoyalHenOil (edited )Link ParentI use parentheses and em dashes to excess; also, semicolons. If I only stuck to one, my sentences would be unreadable (especially when — as demonstrated here — I start nesting them inside each...I use parentheses and em dashes to excess; also, semicolons. If I only stuck to one, my sentences would be unreadable (especially when — as demonstrated here — I start nesting them inside each other).
I'm not totally sure why I do this, but I suspect it's because I'm not a verbal thinker (no inner monologue, for example), and so I think in a more layered/non-linear way that's hard to translate cleanly into text.
-
Comment on Fix your hearts or die: The path to liberation for lonely men is feminism in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentBut realistically, a lot of men are going to end up single, and framing it this way is (whether intentionally or not) is effectively placing blame on those men who fall through the cracks. Like I...But realistically, a lot of men are going to end up single, and framing it this way is (whether intentionally or not) is effectively placing blame on those men who fall through the cracks.
Like I mentioned in my original comment, I think we do a lot of harm when we suggest that people stuck in low-wage jobs can all just pull themselves up by the bootstraps if they put their mind to it. Many people can, but not everyone can because our economy is simply not set up to support meaningful careers for that many people. Suggesting otherwise, even with the best intentions, leaves a lot of people feeling like failures for something that isn't their fault. Some percentage of the population are simply going to be stuck with crappy jobs, and we as a society do them a huge disservice when we tell them they just need to try harder or they have the wrong mindset. Instead, I think we need to acknowledge that crappy jobs are a fact of life for a lot of people and make a genuine effort to materially ease that crappiness as much as we can.
The same applies to single men. Some percentage of men are simply going to end up alone. Denying their reality isn't doing them any favors. All it serves is to relieve ourselves of the burden of empathy and the effort of creating a kinder society.
-
Comment on Fix your hearts or die: The path to liberation for lonely men is feminism in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentWhat are you suggesting then? I'm not sure how to match a smaller number of single women to a larger number of single men without asking those women to change their dating behavior.What are you suggesting then? I'm not sure how to match a smaller number of single women to a larger number of single men without asking those women to change their dating behavior.
-
Comment on Third spaces: What do we want, and how do we get them? in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentIf you ever get the opportunity, I'd also recommend getting into activities that involve direct cooperation with other people. Something like volunteering with Habitat for Humanity comes to mind....If you ever get the opportunity, I'd also recommend getting into activities that involve direct cooperation with other people. Something like volunteering with Habitat for Humanity comes to mind.
When I immigrated overseas to a town country town (~2700 people), I didn't know anybody other than my partner, and I had a hard time fitting in with the local culture because we just didn't have any kind of shared history, we often had trouble parsing each other's dialects, and the culture here can be pretty standoffish and reserved (at least compared to what I'm used to).
But I got a job working on a farm, and a lot of that work was highly cooperative. To replace the plastic on greenhouses, we needed 10+ people all coordinating to get the plastic in just the right position and secure it evenly with spring clips while fighting against the wind (the plastic acted like a sail once we got it up off the ground). On big harvest days, we had to work assembly-line style to get everything done quickly and to minimize mistakes, and even the office workers would get pulled in; it was all hands on deck. Even on smaller daily tasks, we'd often have to coordinate activities in pairs or trios; there was very little truly solo work.
It was an incredible bonding experience. You naturally specialize into your particular strengths and talents, people respect you and want your help, and you feel like you're part of something. Despite being a huge introvert and homebody, within a year of starting that job, I really started feeling like I was meaningfully part of a community, and other people in the town (even strangers I'd never met before) started treating me like I was one of the locals — as if I'd lived here my whole they and they all knew who my parents and grandparents were. I don't think this would have happened, at least not as quickly, if I'd gotten an office job instead.
-
Comment on Fix your hearts or die: The path to liberation for lonely men is feminism in ~life
RoyalHenOil Link ParentIt sounds like your solution is for women to jump between relationships more often? I've been with my partner for 16 years, and I love him deeply. But I suppose I should leave him and give another...It sounds like your solution is for women to jump between relationships more often? I've been with my partner for 16 years, and I love him deeply. But I suppose I should leave him and give another man a chance for a while?
According to surveys I've read, women who've been widowed or divorced are less likely to be interested in dating again than men who've been widowed or divorced — which further contributes to the demographic problem. Expecting women to ignore their own preferences and pass themselves around, so every man can get a go, strikes me as highly questionable. I would prefer the sex-selective abortions, honestly.
-
Comment on Third spaces: What do we want, and how do we get them? in ~life
RoyalHenOil LinkI personally find that third spaces work best for me if socializing isn't actually the point, strange as that may seem. There needs to be a draw to keep me coming back even while I barely know...I personally find that third spaces work best for me if socializing isn't actually the point, strange as that may seem. There needs to be a draw to keep me coming back even while I barely know anyone.
In my experience, dog parks are a good example of a third space. People will tend to take their dogs to the park even if no one else is there (which means it won't just fizzle out, like social meetups often do). But when other people do show up, it tends to be the same people over and over again, and they become your friends after a while.
I think we need more public facilities like these — particularly oriented toward small, local communities. Every neighborhood should have a playground, every neighborhood should have a dog park, every neighborhood should have a library, every neighborhood should have some public grills and picnic tables, every neighborhood should have a safe place to jog and cycle, etc. These get people interfacing with each other.
They don't need to be big or fancy. And actually, I think we should be aiming for quantity over quality as much as possible; everyone should live within easy walking distance of a handful of different public facilities like these, and they should aim to serve a very small number of people so that it's the same people interfacing with each other over and over again. Familiarity is how you create community, and a community doesn't need to be big at all.
Visual. I was going by the general shape of the word and what felt familiar to me.
I'm more of a visual thinker than an auditory thinker (I don't have an internal monologue, for example), so that's probably why.