Shevanel's recent activity

  1. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    This sounds really cool, thanks for sharing! Anytime someone mentions Clapping Music, I am obligated to post this important rendition.

    1. This sounds really cool, thanks for sharing!

    2. Anytime someone mentions Clapping Music, I am obligated to post this important rendition.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on The 100 best novels of all time published in English in ~books

    Shevanel
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I keep waffling on my opinion of this approach. On one hand, I completely agree that it feels a little underhanded, though on the other hand, I’m glad that translated works that hold up (decently)...

    I keep waffling on my opinion of this approach. On one hand, I completely agree that it feels a little underhanded, though on the other hand, I’m glad that translated works that hold up (decently) are acknowledged too. I’m monolingual and am incredibly grateful that excellent translations of works like Don Quixote and One Hundred Years of Solitude exist, and that lists like this shine a spotlight on them instead of leaving them off because they weren’t originally written in English, otherwise a dunce like me might never have given them the time of day.

    6 votes

  3. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of May 3 in ~games

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    Probably easiest to describe as a low-poly cozy 3D platformer. But it’s more exploration based than anything, and a very relaxed pace. Cute writing, fun inconsequential story, just a nice chill...

    Probably easiest to describe as a low-poly cozy 3D platformer. But it’s more exploration based than anything, and a very relaxed pace. Cute writing, fun inconsequential story, just a nice chill experience overall. The controls are a little funky (flight mechanic can be finicky) but the game isn’t too punishing in any regard so it’s not a big deal.

    4 votes

  4. Comment on Space Hauler | Announcement trailer in ~games

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    Just making sure you’re aware of Hardspace: Shipbreaker, which is a very blue collar flavored shipbreaking simulation game set in the future. Steel guitar, anti-capitalism, the whole nine yards!

    Just making sure you’re aware of Hardspace: Shipbreaker, which is a very blue collar flavored shipbreaking simulation game set in the future. Steel guitar, anti-capitalism, the whole nine yards!

    5 votes

  5. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of May 3 in ~games

    Shevanel
    Link
    A Short Hike is at a historical low on Steam to celebrate its seventh anniversary. If you're one of the ~ dozen people in the world who hasn't happened to play it yet, I highly recommend it -...

    A Short Hike is at a historical low on Steam to celebrate its seventh anniversary. If you're one of the ~ dozen people in the world who hasn't happened to play it yet, I highly recommend it - charming little game that still works its way into plenty of "top x indie darlings" lists.

    5 votes

  6. Comment on What are your go-to meals that you cook? in ~food

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    The kiddo looooves carrots, so yes, we do aim for smaller organic carrots and it’s still pretty carrot heavy. One medium carrot is plenty for the non-carrot-obsessed among us :)

    The kiddo looooves carrots, so yes, we do aim for smaller organic carrots and it’s still pretty carrot heavy. One medium carrot is plenty for the non-carrot-obsessed among us :)

    3 votes

  7. Comment on What are your go-to meals that you cook? in ~food

    Shevanel
    Link
    This is super basic, but it’s an incredibly easy, relatively cheap one-pot pasta dish that’s supposed to be a more “wholesome” version of boxed Hamburger Helper meals. My whole family loves it,...

    This is super basic, but it’s an incredibly easy, relatively cheap one-pot pasta dish that’s supposed to be a more “wholesome” version of boxed Hamburger Helper meals. My whole family loves it, from the toddler up to the adults, and it dirties exactly four items (cutting board, knife, pot, wooden spoon or other stirring tool), five if you feel the need to measure everything precisely, but it’s a great dish to learn how to get comfortable eyeballing measurements. My wife found this on TikTok and we adapted it to suit our tastes, so no link or anything, just my handwritten sloppy notes:

    1 tbsp olive oil
    1 lb ground meat, we usually use beef, your preference of fat percentage
    10 oz uncooked pasta (we tend to use fusilli, any short shape works great)
    3 carrots, diced
    1 onion, diced (we usually use white)
    5 cloves garlic, minced
    3c chicken stock
    1c milk, any percentage works
    1c tomato sauce
    1t garlic powder
    1t onion powder
    1/2t smoked paprika
    1t oregano
    1t dried thyme or marjoram
    1-1.5c shredded cheddar

    In your pot, add oil, medium high heat
    Add carrots & onion, 3-4 minutes
    Add ground meat, break up and cook through
    Add spices, 1 minute
    Add garlic, 1 minute
    Add all liquids and pasta, bring to low boil, stir occasionally
    Cook 7-10 minutes until pasta is good, should still be a little liquid left
    Remove from heat, stir in cheese, let sit for 5 min so sauce thickens

    Obviously also a great pantry-clearing recipe if you want to throw in any additional vegetables or mix the odds and ends of pasta types with only a few oz left in each box.

    7 votes

  8. Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    If you haven’t stumbled across it yet, I highly recommend Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread. Very little fuss, just a higher time cost (~20 hours) and it consistently makes loaves that punch way above...

    If you haven’t stumbled across it yet, I highly recommend Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread. Very little fuss, just a higher time cost (~20 hours) and it consistently makes loaves that punch way above their weight class. That said, the high temperatures make it easy to burn IMO. I dust it with semolina in the Dutch oven instead of regular flour since it’s less prone to burning, and I rest the Dutch oven on top of pizza stones in the oven to shield the bottom from burning.

    2 votes

  9. Comment on Looking for more pop / rock songs with sick sax solos! Got any ideas? in ~music

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    Since this is such a similar vibe to many of your callouts, I’ll add it here: “Of Reality - Calabi-Yau” by TesseracT. It’s a silly title because the whole album is presented like a couple large...

    Since this is such a similar vibe to many of your callouts, I’ll add it here: “Of Reality - Calabi-Yau” by TesseracT. It’s a silly title because the whole album is presented like a couple large pieces comprised of multiple movements across shorter songs. The entire album, Altered State, is worth a listen and the sax comes back a few times throughout.

    3 votes

  10. Comment on Why Swedish schools are bringing back books in ~books

    Shevanel
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I get what you’re saying - it’s a grey area. Those things will happen regardless, agreed, but I can say from experience that they are just so much worse when you’re dealing with (virtually) 100%...

    I get what you’re saying - it’s a grey area. Those things will happen regardless, agreed, but I can say from experience that they are just so much worse when you’re dealing with (virtually) 100% of the student body being connected to every rumor, every diss, every whatever in a social situation between classes, vs. whomever you happen to walk by in the hallway during those five minutes.

    (Edit: acknowledging that I agree with your comment on US schools & communication specifically but I don’t have the emotional energy to acknowledge it any further; no idea how to tackle that one given the current climate here, everything sucks)

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Why Swedish schools are bringing back books in ~books

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    On paper, what you’re describing makes perfect sense! In practice, the whole thing is insidious. It’s a constant struggle to keep things consistent, even with those policies in place. The real...

    On paper, what you’re describing makes perfect sense! In practice, the whole thing is insidious. It’s a constant struggle to keep things consistent, even with those policies in place. The real issue is the moment class ends. It doesn’t matter how “under wraps” things are in the classrooms when every single kid uses their phones in the halls between class to catch up. It’s like a second school day within the school day, just kids catching up on phones. And that’s where a ton of bullying and ostracizing goes on, those quick little five minute spurts. Parents don’t help a bit - they are usually okay with kids giving up phones for a single period of the day, but the idea of losing contact with their kids all day is unfathomable to many of them. It’s just a mess.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on Why Swedish schools are bringing back books in ~books

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    Kind of a weird boomerang effect. I agree that it was the norm ~15-20 years ago, but as phones became more ubiquitous, it quickly became a losing battle. Schools became the weird ones for cracking...

    Kind of a weird boomerang effect. I agree that it was the norm ~15-20 years ago, but as phones became more ubiquitous, it quickly became a losing battle. Schools became the weird ones for cracking down so hard on what was seen as an integral part of one’s life. As a former teacher, I actually had parents confront me for removing phones in the classroom because they felt that they wouldn’t be able to reach their child in the case of an emergency. Which, yeah, also being in the U.S., that’s a whole other can of worms I won’t open for now. Suffices to say that the current state sucks IMO, as both a former educator and a future schoolchild’s parent.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on Why Swedish schools are bringing back books in ~books

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    I don’t have anything to add, other than the fact that this thread very accurately outlined the dissonance in my brain over all of this, so thank you all for saving me the time to respond properly 😅

    I don’t have anything to add, other than the fact that this thread very accurately outlined the dissonance in my brain over all of this, so thank you all for saving me the time to respond properly 😅

    1 vote

  14. Comment on Why Swedish schools are bringing back books in ~books

    Shevanel
    Link
    Not entirely related to the topic at hand, but I’m so desperately hopeful that US schools follow suit before our toddler reaches “cell phone age” (whatever age that may be by the mid-late 2030s)....

    Not entirely related to the topic at hand, but

    The Swedish government also plans to make schools cellphone-free throughout the country.

    I’m so desperately hopeful that US schools follow suit before our toddler reaches “cell phone age” (whatever age that may be by the mid-late 2030s). I know some are beginning to go that way, but it’s not enough IMO. My wife and I would love to keep the phone out of the kiddo’s hands during the school day but we also don’t want him to be socially ostracized because he has “those parents.” Schools making the call on our behalf would be such a weight lifted off our shoulders.

    14 votes

  15. Comment on Dimmu Borgir – Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel (2026) in ~music

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    I felt similarly. I was initially surprised at the vibe as I haven’t kept up with them in a while, but then realized that the album with which I’m most familiar, Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia,...

    I felt similarly. I was initially surprised at the vibe as I haven’t kept up with them in a while, but then realized that the album with which I’m most familiar, Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, released 25(!!!) years ago. I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised by the changes.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Commonly misspelled words quiz in ~humanities.languages

  17. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    Will do - thanks for the recommendation! I’ve also heard about Verho and FlyKnight as two entries that are worth looking into, but I haven’t tried either yet.

    Will do - thanks for the recommendation! I’ve also heard about Verho and FlyKnight as two entries that are worth looking into, but I haven’t tried either yet.

  18. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Shevanel
    Link
    The King’s Field bug bit me HARD last week after finishing the first two entries to the series, and I’ve been having a lot of fun poking around more “Fieldies” as I’ve affectionately heard them...

    The King’s Field bug bit me HARD last week after finishing the first two entries to the series, and I’ve been having a lot of fun poking around more “Fieldies” as I’ve affectionately heard them referred to online.

    I tried out the Queen’s Domain demo and immediately fell in love—that’ll be a day 1 buy for me.

    Also finally got around to trying out Dread Delusion. People in the space tend to say that DD is different enough that it’s not really a King’s Field-like, but I think it leans far enough into the old school vibe that it certainly scratches the itch. I’d place it squarely in the middle of a spectrum that spans from King’s Field to Skyrim. Lots of creature comforts and RPG-ification that is otherwise absent from King’s Field entries, but way less hand-holding than e.g. any Bethesda RPG. Big fan so far!

    5 votes

  19. Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music

    Shevanel
    Link Parent
    Matt Garstka has been dropping drum playthroughs for the Manifeste songs on which he played on his YouTube channel. I’m so glad those cats crossed paths - seriously incredible stuff coming out of...

    Matt Garstka has been dropping drum playthroughs for the Manifeste songs on which he played on his YouTube channel. I’m so glad those cats crossed paths - seriously incredible stuff coming out of their minds!

    1 vote

  20. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Shevanel
    Link
    I stumbled across the Hark the Ghoul demo during the Steam Next Fest, and I enjoyed it so much that it inspired me to boot up the PSX emulator on my Steam Deck and finally work my way through all...

    I stumbled across the Hark the Ghoul demo during the Steam Next Fest, and I enjoyed it so much that it inspired me to boot up the PSX emulator on my Steam Deck and finally work my way through all of the King’s Field games I’ve been putting off. I’ve played through the first two so far, which is to say King’s Field (the Japan-only release) and King’s Field II (jp), aka King’s Field (everywhere else).

    KF jp - it’s so very… slow. Not like boring, like literally physically a very slow game. I actually turned the emulation speed to 200% once I got the hang of combat lol. Way easier to time things.

    The exploration and general unforgiving combat is very DS-coded. It definitely feels like a game with the same bones.

    Separately, this game got so brutal at the end. I legitimately don’t know how I could have reasonably beat it without a proper meta endgame build. It feels like it almost forces you to 100% it to get through the final area, especially the last boss.

    KF II (jp) / KF - Generally enjoyed it more. Really didn’t enjoy the navigation though, the map felt incredibly same-y, to the point where I still could not reliably find my way back to points in game that I had visited and revisited probably a dozen times. And these weren’t like little hidden dungeons or locked chests, I’m talking entire villages.

    Gameplay itself felt fine, minor improvements from the first entry and, while the end game was still very tough, it felt considerably more reasonable.

    These were both 3/5s for me, the rough edges of the first game and its ending were salvaged from a 2/5 by the fact that I really enjoyed the navigation and map structure (generally), and the miserable map layout of the second game stopped it from being a 4/5 in my book.

    1 vote