Spongey's recent activity
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Comment on Does the Great Pumpkin really exist in the Peanuts Universe? in ~comics
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Comment on Online Scythe gaming group in ~games.tabletop
Spongey LinkI'm still up for it if we can make times work. Thanks for organizing.I'm still up for it if we can make times work. Thanks for organizing.
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Comment on If you had up to US$250 to get one person into a hobby you're interested in, what would you do to get them started? in ~hobbies
Spongey Link ParentI feel Carcassonne and Catan offer fairly different experiences. There are people who will prefer one and some who will prefer the other. If someone is truly coming in with zero experience with...I feel Carcassonne and Catan offer fairly different experiences. There are people who will prefer one and some who will prefer the other. If someone is truly coming in with zero experience with boardgames I think I agree that Carcassonne would be a better recommendation. It definitely has a simpler rule set, especially if you play a first game without farmers. There is also no hidden information so as someone draws their tile they can reveal it and if they want help you can guide them in making a decision and remind them of rules as necessary. However, if someone tells me they have played Monopoly and like making deals, trading properties, and rolling dice I might steer them toward Catan.
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Comment on If you had up to US$250 to get one person into a hobby you're interested in, what would you do to get them started? in ~hobbies
Spongey Link ParentI haven't played Scythe yet. I added Clockwork Wars to my collection just before Scythe came out and without really looking much in to it assumed they were similar enough that I didn't need both....I haven't played Scythe yet. I added Clockwork Wars to my collection just before Scythe came out and without really looking much in to it assumed they were similar enough that I didn't need both. I'd be up for trying it online though. Give me a shout if you're getting a group together.
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Comment on If you had up to US$250 to get one person into a hobby you're interested in, what would you do to get them started? in ~hobbies
Spongey Link ParentHaha. I'm to the point where I need to either buy a third shelf or start culling some games. I have a collection of "trunk" games right now that get stored in the trunk of my car. It's totally not...Haha. I'm to the point where I need to either buy a third shelf or start culling some games. I have a collection of "trunk" games right now that get stored in the trunk of my car. It's totally not because I'm out of shelf space in the house, you just never know when you'll be out on the town and someone will want to play lacuna with you.
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Comment on If you had up to US$250 to get one person into a hobby you're interested in, what would you do to get them started? in ~hobbies
Spongey LinkBoardgames: I would start by purchasing a handful of games in a variety of genres to start to determine what they may like and dislike in a game. Codenames ($20) a word game Coup ($15) a deduction...Boardgames: I would start by purchasing a handful of games in a variety of genres to start to determine what they may like and dislike in a game.
Codenames ($20) a word game
Coup ($15) a deduction and bluffing game
Carcassonne ($35) a tile placing game
Camel Cup ($35) a betting and racing game
Clank! ($50) A deck building game.
Cubitos ($50) roll a bunch of dice
Colt Express ($45) A programming game.
And that's the budget spent entirely on games that start with C! Without even including catan. We can throw in crokinole if we we want the best dexterity game around and the budget is no longer a concern.
There are probably some better choices but I got halfway through, noticed the Cs and ran with it. Some other games to consider. Pandemic, 7 wonders, Ticket to Ride, Santorini, Jaipur, Splendor, A Fake Artist Goes to New York, Dominion, Azul, Sagrada, Sushi Go, Railroad Ink, Patchwork, King of Tokyo, Takenoko. Anyway once they have played some of these games we'll hopefully have and idea of what they like and we can start to curate a collection just for them.
With all that said the real answer to this question is to buy $100 worth of snacks and drinks and invite them over for a night of games with good friends. Because when you get down to it, at least for me, the games are just an excuse to spend some time with people you love.
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Comment on Single-player games to play with my partner in ~games
Spongey LinkI haven't played Chants of Sennaar so I can't really compare but I'd take a look at The Witness. If you're specifically looking for an adventure game it probably isn't for you as it as more of a...I haven't played Chants of Sennaar so I can't really compare but I'd take a look at The Witness. If you're specifically looking for an adventure game it probably isn't for you as it as more of a pure puzzle game. If you want puzzles to work on together though I think it will be excellent.
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Comment on Any can't-miss spots for a day plus evenings in Minneapolis? in ~travel
Spongey (edited )LinkThe Minneapolis institute of art is fantastic but if you don't manage to make it there the Weisman (another art museum) could be worth a stop one evening. It is on the UofM campus. If you enjoy...The Minneapolis institute of art is fantastic but if you don't manage to make it there the Weisman (another art museum) could be worth a stop one evening. It is on the UofM campus.
If you enjoy live music there are a plethora of places around Minneapolis. First Ave is probably the most well known but there are tons of other venues as well. The cabooze, Icehouse, the Dakota, fine line, etc.
You could check out the mill city museum and learn about the history of the flour industry. It's more interesting than it sounds, I promise. While you're in that area also check out the stone arch bridge i believe it just opened back up recently. Or you could walk over to the Guthrie and look in to getting rush tickets if you're interested in theater.
Minnehaha falls is neat to see even during the winter if you don't mind being out in the cold for a bit.
There are more breweries than you can shake a stick at if that's your thing. I won't even try to put a list together, there are too many great options. One of my favorites right now is forgotten star though. They also have some mini curling sheets outside during the winter which can be fun.
This is going to sound dumb and it kind of is and it's been awhile since I've done this so Im not sure how well things have bounced back since covid but if you are already downtown and have some time during the day go to the second floor of one of the larger buildings and start walking around. A lot of the buildings are connected by the skyway system. There's lots of restaurants and some little shops around that you can check out. This might scratch your travel companions itch for a mall like experience without going to "the mall".
On to the mall though. A lot of native Minnesotans are gonna discount the mall but honestly it's a neat place to wander around if you're from out of town and haven't done it before. Yes, when you get down to it, it's a mall. but, it has an entire amusement park inside of it, an aquarium under it you can go mini golfing, there's a movie theater, an arcade all of the food and shopping options, plus lots more.
I just noticed you added on the daytons market. There is also a Christmas market over at Union depot that runs until the 17th if you don't mind making a trip over to St. Paul.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~games
Spongey LinkFirst of all d10 is literally calling out a dice roll of a 10 sided die. A lot of times you will see two numbers around the "d" for instance 3d4, 3d6 or 2d10 each of those represent rolling 3 four...First of all d10 is literally calling out a dice roll of a 10 sided die. A lot of times you will see two numbers around the "d" for instance 3d4, 3d6 or 2d10 each of those represent rolling 3 four side dice, 3 six sided dice, or 2 ten sided dice respectively.
Now to actually getting in to turn based games. Sarting out with a game that is psuedo turn based might ease you in to the genre. Maybe a game that uses an ATB (active time battle) system would help with the feeling of just waiting for the enemy to do their thing then responding. In an ATB system there is a time bar which progresses and actions can be made after a certain amount of time. That's not a great description but it will probably be easier to understand if you just watch a video about it. Several of the final fantasy games use this system. They tend to be quite long though so I would recommend starting out with something like "Child of Light". While you are still ultimately just waiting for your turn there is a bit more nuance to it.
You could also try something like "Dragon Age: Inquisition" which can be played in real time or paused and played more as a turn based game. You can start out playing it more as an action game but when things start to get a little crazy you can pause the game and play it almost as a turn based game where it will be easier to set up something a bit more tactical.
Hopefully you can find something that will make it click for you because there are awesome stories in some turn based games. Like you mentioned though it might just not be for you. There's plenty of other games and media out there and it's not worth spending your time on something you just dont enjoy. Good luck.
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Comment on State fairs! in ~talk
Spongey Link ParentI'm with you. I'm usually okay with crowds but the Minnesota state fair really is something else. I think the often sweltering heat and the air that is at least a few percent aerosolized grease on...I'm with you. I'm usually okay with crowds but the Minnesota state fair really is something else. I think the often sweltering heat and the air that is at least a few percent aerosolized grease on top of the crowd of a couple hundred thousand can make the fair a bit much to deal with. Like you said though, there isnt anything else quite like it for the ungodly concoctions of food you can get there.
I think feeling sick after hitting the all you can drink milk a bit too hard with a bucket of sweet Martha's after a cacophony of strange foods mixed in with the more traditional corn dogs and cheese curds is something of a Minnesota rite of passage.
There's usually some pretty big name bands you can see at the grandstand along with lots of fun smaller acts at the free stages too if you're in to that.
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Comment on Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz dies at age of 70 in ~sports.hockey
Spongey LinkIf you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all....... Anyway, the Blackhawks are looking to be off to a quick start on the rebuild. Bedard is coming in as the hottest thing...If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all.......
Anyway, the Blackhawks are looking to be off to a quick start on the rebuild. Bedard is coming in as the hottest thing since McDavid. Moore might end up being nothing to sneeze at. Plus the trio of 1st round picks from last year. They're shaping up to being an exciting team to watch again.
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Comment on I wanted to make friends in a new city — so I hosted five strangers for dinner in ~life
Spongey Link ParentUnfortunately the links look like they're mostly at actual restaurants in New york or around Boston instead of at somebodies home. Still a neat idea but halfway across the country for me.Unfortunately the links look like they're mostly at actual restaurants in New york or around Boston instead of at somebodies home. Still a neat idea but halfway across the country for me.
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Comment on I wanted to make friends in a new city — so I hosted five strangers for dinner in ~life
Spongey LinkI absolutely love the idea of this. As I was reading I was so excited to see there was a platform to help set these dinner parties up and was considering hosting. Then in the next sentence I was...I absolutely love the idea of this. As I was reading I was so excited to see there was a platform to help set these dinner parties up and was considering hosting. Then in the next sentence I was sad to see it was limited to women. Is anyone aware of something like this for men or coed groups? The other services linked in the article don't really seem to be the same thing.
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Comment on A list of commonly recommended cookery books in ~food
Spongey LinkThe Flavor Bible This is a bit different from most cook books and is probably more helpful for someone who is already fairly comfortable cooking and is looking to create their own recipes. It is a...This is a bit different from most cook books and is probably more helpful for someone who is already fairly comfortable cooking and is looking to create their own recipes. It is a list of ingredients (or themes) and then all of the ingredients that pair well with it. For instance the book will list apples and then under apples it will suggest cinnamon, allspice, pork, brandy, walnuts, etc.
I've found it super helpful when using an ingredient that might be new to me or as a starting place for ideas of what to do with the leftovers of a more specialty ingredient that I used in some other recipe.
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Comment on Folks in the biotech industry, what do you do and what is it like? in ~life
Spongey LinkProbably not exactly what you're looking for but I work as a manufacturing technician for a medical device company. I started out in the field without actually intending on it. I was halfway...Probably not exactly what you're looking for but I work as a manufacturing technician for a medical device company.
I started out in the field without actually intending on it. I was halfway through a degree in material science, money was getting thin, and I was becoming really burnt out with school. One night after coming back from a part time job, preparing equipment for labs on campus, that I wasn't particularly fond of, I threw out my resume to a ton of random jobs. I got an interview with a staffing agency for something that I didn't even remember applying for. It ended up being a job on an assembly line making batteries for implantable defibrillators. I figured I was going to hate it. But, it paid decently and was a full time position during hours that worked with my school schedule. I ended up loving it. I spent the day sitting, talking with a bunch of interesting people, listening to music or audio books, and doing work I didnt really have to think about. Then I went home and was done with it. That was it. At the end of the semester I didn't apply for classes. I decided I'd take a year off, work some overtime, and actually have some time and money for once. I never went back to school.
Two years later I was moved to a different production line. At the time I was kind of upset that I was moved away from the group of friends that I had become so close with. Once again I came home one night dusted off the old resume and applied to a ton of positions. This time I stuck to medical device companies though. I had grown pretty fond of the industry. It sounds super cliche but it was nice to work doing something that actually helped people. I accepted a position with a new company doing essentially the same job I am now.
As a manufacturing technician I initially primarily worked on production equipment, extruders, injection molders, laser cutters, braiders, etc. Whenever something broke I'd run down to the production floor and get things up and running again. I have moved around within this company from department to department quite a bit now. I still spend some time fixing equipment but more of my time is spent working directly with the engineering group now. I help to create process and document changes in response to quality issues. I design and implement tooling to improve yields. I qualify new equipment. I work with our process development group. It's a fun job with a lot of day to day variety. I'm also lucky enough that my company values time away from work and I still have that feeling I did back when I was sitting on a production line that when i get home I don't need to worry about work.
Good luck to you! If you have any questions about medical manufacturing I'd be happy to try to answer it for you.
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Comment on Group updates for July 2023 in ~tildes.official
Spongey LinkI'm really looking forward to ~humanities.history. Lots of interesting things to read and talk about in that subject. Perhaps ~sports.gridiron for american football?I'm really looking forward to ~humanities.history. Lots of interesting things to read and talk about in that subject. Perhaps ~sports.gridiron for american football?
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Comment on Sony’s confidential PlayStation secrets just spilled because of a Sharpie in ~games
Spongey Link ParentYes and no. Something like 60-70% (again numbers from a 10 second search so big grain of salt) of full game sales are digital downloads off of their own store.Yes and no. Something like 60-70% (again numbers from a 10 second search so big grain of salt) of full game sales are digital downloads off of their own store.
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Comment on Sony’s confidential PlayStation secrets just spilled because of a Sharpie in ~games
Spongey Link ParentFrom a quick search it looks like TLoU 2 had sold 10 million copies as of last year with 4 million of those sales coming on release weekend. So assuming a conservative $60 for each of those first...From a quick search it looks like TLoU 2 had sold 10 million copies as of last year with 4 million of those sales coming on release weekend. So assuming a conservative $60 for each of those first 4 million and $20 for the next 6 million your looking at $360M in revenue. Plus like you mentioned TLoU almost certainly led more people to buying consoles as well.
Yes, I wouldn't exactly call it a lie but, NORAD reports a slightly obfuscated and delayed location for Santa. This is both for security purposes as well as simply being a logistical limitation. On the big night Santa is moving at such an obscenely fast rate that it is near impossible to give perfect tracking of where his team is. This is why we don't see NORAD report Santa exactly over every house ( it's actually an interesting problem about being able to track the location of an object that is moving near, or possibly over, light speed then report that location using our current telecommunication networks that also obey the speed of light but I unfortunately don't know enough about that to really write about it) They do their best to give an idea of where Santa is but it's not perfect. This is also why it's important you get to bed at least a little bit before Santa is reported in your area because he is likely slightly ahead of wherever NORAD is currently reporting him.