ShroudedScribe's recent activity

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

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    Perhaps a dumb question, but what does a moodboard look like for you? If it's just throwing words and paragraphs into a single spot with the ability to move them around, would a diagramming...

    Perhaps a dumb question, but what does a moodboard look like for you?

    If it's just throwing words and paragraphs into a single spot with the ability to move them around, would a diagramming software like draw.io or excalidraw fill this need?

    Or is it more like a mind map (for which there's a lot of existing software)?

    Not trying to burst your bubble, just curious of how you might be trying to differentiate your product if it will one day become paid.

    1 vote

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

    ShroudedScribe
    Link
    I've been working on my backup solution for my homelab (and other files) and have finally figured it out (for now). Almost all of my containerized apps have an associated database container, so...

    I've been working on my backup solution for my homelab (and other files) and have finally figured it out (for now).

    Almost all of my containerized apps have an associated database container, so I'm including a db-backup container in each app's pod (using podman, not docker). This scheduled backup places a db backup in a directory on the local server, then runs rsync in a post-script to copy the application's app files to the same backup directory. (Apps without a db will have a similar rsync script run, still finalizing logistics for that one.) I can use an excludes file to ensure the rsync backup doesn't include SQLite database files and other temp objects that don't need backup.

    Now that everything will be in a single backup directory, I will be using rdiff-backup to copy from the local server to my NAS, in a synchronized way that leverages snapshots.

    On my NAS, I will be running an instance of Plakar to periodically snapshot this backup. Then, once every so often (perhaps every 3 days?) I will sync to a plakar instance that uses Cloudflare R2 as storage, so I have an encrypted cloud backup that I can selectively restore files from, if needed.

    9 votes

  3. Comment on What are some of your "life hacks" you use regularly? in ~talk

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    Sure, so I'll give a quick overview and feel free to ask more. For the container, I'm running Neko which is just a browser bundled with a browser-accessible VNC server. For the browser in the...

    Sure, so I'll give a quick overview and feel free to ask more.

    For the container, I'm running Neko which is just a browser bundled with a browser-accessible VNC server.

    For the browser in the container, I'm running Firefox with the tampermonkey extension. I am using a user script in tampermonkey I found online that just simulates activity- mine is teams "specific" but might be generic enough to work for slack too.

    For the custom notifications, I'm using a custom user script that makes REST calls that push Gotify messages to my phone. You can ignore this part if your slack mobile notifications are reliable.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Indie Game Awards rescinds Clair Obscur's GOTY wins over use of generative AI [for now-removed background assets] in ~games

    ShroudedScribe
    Link
    I saw someone claim that they only used the AI assets as placeholders, and some slipped into the game on release unintentionally. Regardless of the truthiness of this, I think AI gen assets as...

    I saw someone claim that they only used the AI assets as placeholders, and some slipped into the game on release unintentionally.

    Regardless of the truthiness of this, I think AI gen assets as placeholders is a bananas idea. If it's something you genuinely intend to replace, why not make it a big purple blob so you won't miss it? Why not prefix the asset title with "placeholder" and use that when scanning and refactoring the code prior to release?

    8 votes

  5. Comment on What are some of your "life hacks" you use regularly? in ~talk

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    Adam Savage is a proponent of this purchasing strategy, so you're in good company.

    Adam Savage is a proponent of this purchasing strategy, so you're in good company.

    8 votes

  6. Comment on What are some of your "life hacks" you use regularly? in ~talk

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    Programmatic reminders are indeed quite valuable. I have a shortcut set up on my phone that asks me if I want to disable the "send unknown callers to voicemail" setting when I open a rideshare...

    Programmatic reminders are indeed quite valuable.

    I have a shortcut set up on my phone that asks me if I want to disable the "send unknown callers to voicemail" setting when I open a rideshare app. Just in case they call me when I'm waiting for them to arrive.

    Even non-programmatically: I use the standard reminders app for recurring tasks I need to do daily, every few days, etc. Being able to snooze them for an hour is nice as well.

    And even doing "manual programming" of your brain: whenever I remove oven mitts, I immediately check if I need to turn off the oven and do so.

    4 votes

  7. Comment on What are some of your "life hacks" you use regularly? in ~talk

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    I could certainly benefit from learning knife techniques. It's one of those things I find hard to invest time into to because I don't enjoy cooking. But it would probably make me hate cooking less...

    I could certainly benefit from learning knife techniques. It's one of those things I find hard to invest time into to because I don't enjoy cooking. But it would probably make me hate cooking less if I learned a bit.

    3 votes

  8. Comment on What are some of your "life hacks" you use regularly? in ~talk

    ShroudedScribe
    Link
    Perhaps the most unconventional example I have is automating Microsoft Teams activity and notifications for work. My current job activity has more slow periods than busy ones, and for some reason...

    Perhaps the most unconventional example I have is automating Microsoft Teams activity and notifications for work. My current job activity has more slow periods than busy ones, and for some reason the MS Teams app on my phone does not notify me when a new chat message comes in. So I over-engineered a solution, and am self-hosting a container that spins up Firefox, opens Teams web, and runs two separate user scripts. One keeps me appearing as active (simulates mouse movement). The other that I built out myself will monitor areas of the web page that change when a message comes in, and send my phone a notification via Gotify, another service I'm running. This has been a game changer since I work from home. I no longer feel glued to my computer (with the exception of meetings and busy/crunch times). Having some extra time to do laundry or other tasks is very beneficial in a lot of ways, including for my mental health, as I'm not stressing over always watching for messages.

    Another thing that I use multiple times a week is a digital recipe book (we use Mealie). Having a central place to decide what to cook for the week and generate a grocery list is a huge help for getting our family through a task we admittedly do not like very much. Associated with this is grocery pickup, which we utilize for free with Walmart. Not having to traverse the store aisles, fight for parking, or face constant temptation from end cap items has changed our life for the better. Both of these have made us healthier through easily enabling more cooking at home.

    14 votes

  9. What are some of your "life hacks" you use regularly?

    ~talk Ask
    These could be active skills or techniques you've found helpful, things you've built or bought that have changed an area of your life, or just something that brings you more joy than you had...

    These could be active skills or techniques you've found helpful, things you've built or bought that have changed an area of your life, or just something that brings you more joy than you had before.

    A few subject areas that could spark ideas (but please share things outside of these if you have them!):

    • Work / Professional Life / Networking
    • Cooking / Baking / Food Prep
    • Cleaning
    • DIY
    • Crafts / Hobbies
    • Home Automation / Security
    • Beauty / Grooming / Personal Hygiene
    • Travel
    • Planning / Scheduling / Memory Aids
    • Fitness
    • Relaxation
    • Mental Health
    49 votes

  10. Comment on Steam Winter Sale 2025: Hidden gems in ~games

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    Interesting that Yogscast Games published both Aces and Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers. Have you or @aphoenix played that, and if so, how do they compare?

    Interesting that Yogscast Games published both Aces and Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers. Have you or @aphoenix played that, and if so, how do they compare?

    2 votes

  11. Comment on The drug that taught me how much I should suffer in ~health

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    I would argue your statement needs an amendment to reflect the article's message: Know your Why, and How much you are willing to willing to give for it becomes more clear, and perhaps more...

    Know your Why, and the How becomes more clear and bearable.

    I would argue your statement needs an amendment to reflect the article's message: Know your Why, and How much you are willing to willing to give for it becomes more clear, and perhaps more bearable if it can be endured through a lens of optimism.

    I really appreciate when people, like this author, are honest enough to say that life sucks at many points. To fight against the "grindset" that plagues a lot of conversation, especially in professional/career oriented spaces. But at the same time, some level of "grind" may be worth it if you will be at least somewhat happy with the end result.

    The challenge is we often don't know the end result. We can speculate, and reach conclusions more easily for some topics than others. It is the great unknown that poses a significant challenge for me, and a lack of feeling in control of it that drove me to a dark place in my past that was incredibly difficult to get out of.

    And to be truthful, I am not completely out of it and likely never will be - there will always be things out of my control, and some will bother me more than others, but I have learned that I can retain control (to some degree) over my reaction to these things.

    5 votes

  12. Comment on Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options. in ~tech

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    Yeah, I was going to spend some time assessing if I can do some trickery with SmartThings on our Frame TV to make input switching better. This is the only TV I've used that seems to struggle with...

    Yeah, I was going to spend some time assessing if I can do some trickery with SmartThings on our Frame TV to make input switching better. This is the only TV I've used that seems to struggle with properly handling CEC, and even just resolving inputs (when manually selected) is significantly delayed.

    I'm not glued to any particular smart tv platform, but holy crap is Samsung's bad. Bought a Google tv box and was able to customize the launcher to be the complete opposite- incredibly minimal and no ads.

    Also, if anyone here wants to block smart tv manufacturer specific ads, there are blocklists for that which you can implement in network-wide DNS solutions.

    9 votes

  13. Comment on Kiosking Ubuntu computers in ~comp

    ShroudedScribe
    Link
    What type of persistent changes are being made? You could take these suggestions a step further and run each kiosk instance of Firefox in a docker container, and have some kind of custom prompt...

    What type of persistent changes are being made?

    You could take these suggestions a step further and run each kiosk instance of Firefox in a docker container, and have some kind of custom prompt that will kick them out and reboot the container if they don't extend their session.

    That might be overkill but it's an option. Could even run those containers remotely, or set up remote monitoring, etc.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on Hi, how are you? Mental health support and discussion thread (December 2025) in ~health.mental

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    To build on to what @Paul26 said, sometimes relationships don't follow a linear path. I met my partner on a dating site. We talked there for a few days or more before switching to texting. Took a...

    To build on to what @Paul26 said, sometimes relationships don't follow a linear path.

    I met my partner on a dating site. We talked there for a few days or more before switching to texting. Took a while to get comfortable enough for a first date.

    First date went great, second was less great but not terrible. She wanted to go separate ways at that point, which I later learned was just her own nerves.

    About a month later she asked if we could stay friends and go out and do something together. We did, and she shared some of her internal feelings with me. About a week after that she was interested in dating again, and while there have been moments of tension and stress, we did eventually get married!

    So I would recommend staying open to the idea that this could take a while to transition to a full relationship, especially since it is very normal to be nervous about meeting someone you're already very comfortable with when chatting online.

    4 votes

  15. Comment on Hi, how are you? Mental health support and discussion thread (December 2025) in ~health.mental

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    Congratulations! While I'm sure getting from point A to B wasn't as direct (at least emotionally) as it may seem from your comment, it sounds like the outcome is perhaps the best you could have...

    Congratulations! While I'm sure getting from point A to B wasn't as direct (at least emotionally) as it may seem from your comment, it sounds like the outcome is perhaps the best you could have hoped for.

    4 votes

  16. Comment on Advice/Suggestions on headphones or earbuds while listening to voices in the same room in ~tech

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    Thanks for the update, especially with the hardware knob issue. It's frustrating when things like that happen and I wouldn't be very happy if it happened to me.

    Thanks for the update, especially with the hardware knob issue. It's frustrating when things like that happen and I wouldn't be very happy if it happened to me.

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Advice/Suggestions on headphones or earbuds while listening to voices in the same room in ~tech

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    These are now at the top of my list. Found some glasses-wearer reviewers who seem to like it quite a bit.

    These are now at the top of my list. Found some glasses-wearer reviewers who seem to like it quite a bit.

    2 votes

  18. Comment on Advice/Suggestions on headphones or earbuds while listening to voices in the same room in ~tech

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    The KZ Ling Long is something I've never heard of and exactly why I wanted to ask this question to a wider audience. They look great for my use case, and at that price I can deal with them being...

    The KZ Ling Long is something I've never heard of and exactly why I wanted to ask this question to a wider audience. They look great for my use case, and at that price I can deal with them being wired.

    Funny enough, I think I still have a pair of Koss PortaPros I bought like 10 years ago hiding in a closet somewhere. Maybe I'll try to find them and re-try them for this use case.

    And honestly, for me, "budget" is a scale. Ideally, this would be a low to mid price item I'll put on my Christmas wish list, and I'd feel guilty if someone spent over $100 should it only be used for this. However, if they splurged on something more, I'd expect it to stretch through some additional use cases, but I'm not too concerned with that currently.

  19. Comment on The lossless scaling plugin is officially on the Decky Store in ~games

    ShroudedScribe
    Link Parent
    This is fascinating! I didn't know this type of setup was even possible. I haven't heard about dual-GPU setups in any context beyond two of the same model (crossfire, etc.), which seemed to be...

    This is fascinating! I didn't know this type of setup was even possible. I haven't heard about dual-GPU setups in any context beyond two of the same model (crossfire, etc.), which seemed to be less common and not very beneficial as years went on.

    I'll have to look into this when my current GPU eventually ages enough to struggle with playing new games.

    2 votes

  20. Advice/Suggestions on headphones or earbuds while listening to voices in the same room

    ~tech Ask (recommendations)
    Scenario: I am frequently playing video games with my partner, and we have our PCs side-by-side. I am looking for a comfortable set of headphones or earbuds that will also make it easy to hear...

    Scenario: I am frequently playing video games with my partner, and we have our PCs side-by-side. I am looking for a comfortable set of headphones or earbuds that will also make it easy to hear each other so we can talk while gaming.

    Main priorities:

    • Openness / Ability to hear physical surroundings
    • Comfort for long wear duration (I wear glasses, which rules out most over-the-ear)
    • Budget

    Nice to haves:

    • Audio quality decent enough for gaming (doesn't have to be 3D positional or anything)
    • Audio quality acceptable for listening to music while playing some games (but nowhere near audiophile level, not expecting much bass from something light)
    • Wireless (but not against a wired option - can be USB or 3.5mm since this will be used exclusively with my PC)

    I've really only ruled out one thing: I'm not interested in bone induction headphones. I tried out a pair of JLab JBuds Frames that sit on your glasses, and while they aren't bone induction, the pressure against that area of my head, combined with nothing in my ears, would give me a headache after an hour or two. I suspect I'd have a similar issue with bone induction.

    In a world that seems to prioritize noise cancelling, my search for other options has been inconclusive. There's a lot of negative reviews about comfort in options like the Cleer ARC series and Baseus clip-on styles. I found some of the suggestions in a previous thread on bone induction headphones to be interesting, but nothing seems to meet all of my criteria perfectly.

    16 votes