TheRtRevKaiser's recent activity

  1. Comment on Destruction - No Kings - No Masters (2024) in ~music

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    That's a great story! The song you linked goes pretty hard, I definitely get why you'd be into them.

    That's a great story! The song you linked goes pretty hard, I definitely get why you'd be into them.

  2. Comment on Destruction - No Kings - No Masters (2024) in ~music

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    Yeah I need to remember to post and comment on music here more often, but I just don't often think about it. I do think the main riff in this song goes pretty hard, but you're right that it starts...

    Yeah I need to remember to post and comment on music here more often, but I just don't often think about it.

    I do think the main riff in this song goes pretty hard, but you're right that it starts to get a little repetitive, and the whole song just seems a little dated, which I guess is appropriate given how long these guys seem to have been around. I looked them up and they're been around longer than I've been alive, so good on them for still going this hard.

  3. Comment on California Governor Gavin Newsom "completely aligns" with Charlie Kirk on trans athlete issue, and agreed about restricting gender affirming care for prisoners and youths, in podcast in ~lgbt

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    Did you read the article? Newsome capitulated to Kirk's framing on a whole host of trans issues, not just sports.

    Did you read the article? Newsome capitulated to Kirk's framing on a whole host of trans issues, not just sports.

    14 votes

  4. Comment on California Governor Gavin Newsom "completely aligns" with Charlie Kirk on trans athlete issue, and agreed about restricting gender affirming care for prisoners and youths, in podcast in ~lgbt

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    What a spineless sack of shit.

    "Boy did I see how you guys were able to weaponize that issue." Kirk pushed back, insisting he wasn’t "weaponizing" the issue. Newsom quickly walked back his comment, replying, "You’re right… highlight."

    What a spineless sack of shit.

    24 votes

  5. Comment on US Department of Government Efficiency set to cancel lease on weather 'nerve center' as tornado season begins in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    LOL, apparently Southern DadsTM have whatever particular insanity it is that Midwestern DadsTM have, because I can remember my dad doing the same in Georgia.

    LOL, apparently Southern DadsTM have whatever particular insanity it is that Midwestern DadsTM have, because I can remember my dad doing the same in Georgia.

    2 votes

  6. Comment on US Department of Government Efficiency set to cancel lease on weather 'nerve center' as tornado season begins in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    I appreciate the thought, but I don't think I'm going to be getting bailed out by any French universities any time soon.

    I appreciate the thought, but I don't think I'm going to be getting bailed out by any French universities any time soon.

    3 votes

  7. Comment on Critics ask if US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are 'intentionally crashing the economy', as described in the book Disaster Capitalism and seen in the transition from the USSR to Russia in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    1 in 20 people in my state are employed either directly or indirectly by a single research university. If NIH cuts continue, there's going to be massive job loss here. Plus, the fastest growing...

    1 in 20 people in my state are employed either directly or indirectly by a single research university. If NIH cuts continue, there's going to be massive job loss here. Plus, the fastest growing metro area in the state relies heavily on aerospace grants from the federal government. If both of those dry up, Alabama will be a third world country in a hurry, the tariffs will just be icing on the shit cake.

    3 votes

  8. Comment on Resistbot: A chatbot that turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link
    I used Resistbot some, but it doesn't have a good alternative to sms on Android besides Meta owned options (I left Facebook in 2016 and never signed up for Instagram) or Telegram (left Telegram...

    I used Resistbot some, but it doesn't have a good alternative to sms on Android besides Meta owned options (I left Facebook in 2016 and never signed up for Instagram) or Telegram (left Telegram for Signal last year) and the SMS option is a little lacking.

    Lately I've been using Democracy.io to email my representatives. I know that calls are supposedly more impactful than emails, but I've also seen staffers say that each constituent email is looked at by a staffer, and I know I won't call but I can email. I've also been using ChatGPT to compose short emails (I know), using an article about what I want to write on as a source, because I will sit for an hour trying to figure out the best way to say what I want to say otherwise.

    9 votes

  9. Comment on US Department of Government Efficiency set to cancel lease on weather 'nerve center' as tornado season begins in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    This is what I'm most worried about. Our local meteorologists are really good, world class folks, but they rely a lot on NWS data and equipment, they don't own and operate a doppler radar system...

    Biggest issue will be if the sirens don't go off because the predictions aren't happening.

    This is what I'm most worried about. Our local meteorologists are really good, world class folks, but they rely a lot on NWS data and equipment, they don't own and operate a doppler radar system or geostationary satellites.

    5 votes

  10. Comment on US Department of Government Efficiency set to cancel lease on weather 'nerve center' as tornado season begins in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    I appreciate everybody's concern. I'm obviously worried as well. Insurance is okay for the moment, although rates have been rising steadily the last few years and providers are eager to drop...

    I appreciate everybody's concern. I'm obviously worried as well.

    Insurance is okay for the moment, although rates have been rising steadily the last few years and providers are eager to drop customers, so it's a constant concern.

    I'm not sure a go bag is going to be all that helpful in our case. When we have storms that have the potential to spawn tornadoes we do tend to know about the possibility a day or so ahead of time, but we don't typically know if there's elevated risk until the day of. And when these storms roll in from the Gulf (of Mexico FFS) they usually sweep across all of "dixie alley" which includes huge swathes of Texas/Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia and often spawn tornadoes all along their path, so there's nowhere nearby to drive. The usual way of dealing is to make sure there are batteries in the weather radio so that we know as soon as a warning is in place (we get alarms on our phones, our weather radio, and our town also has tornado sirens but they all operate off of NWS data). If a warning happens we get in a hallway in the center of the house where there are no windows, pull up the local weather station on a phone to see where in the county they are seeing signs of a possible tornado, and ride the thing out for the next hour or so and hope any tornadoes that touch down do so in areas that aren't heavily populated. Driving out of the way isn't really practical, during peak tornado season we'll often have a story every week that has the potential to spawn tornadoes somewhere along its path.

    6 votes

  11. Comment on US Department of Government Efficiency set to cancel lease on weather 'nerve center' as tornado season begins in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    I am, but both of my Senators are deep red including Tommy Tupperville, who may be in the running for biggest bootlicker in the Senate. I'm not optimistic my angry calls or emails are going to...

    I am, but both of my Senators are deep red including Tommy Tupperville, who may be in the running for biggest bootlicker in the Senate. I'm not optimistic my angry calls or emails are going to move the needle much, when potential cuts to vital economic engines in the state like defense spending in Huntsville or research grants to UAB aren't generating any pushback.

    6 votes

  12. Comment on US Department of Government Efficiency set to cancel lease on weather 'nerve center' as tornado season begins in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I live in one of the lowest cost of living areas in the country, and I make (just) enough to support my family here. I'm not sure how we could afford to move anywhere with a reasonable state...

    I live in one of the lowest cost of living areas in the country, and I make (just) enough to support my family here. I'm not sure how we could afford to move anywhere with a reasonable state government. I don't really have any highly in-demand skills either, I'm basically just an office worker and those are a dime a dozen.

    As for moving out of the country - none of the places I've looked are really possible. Like I said, I don't have the kind of in-demand skills that would net me a visa to most places, and things aren't dire enough that Canada is accepting refugees from the US. Yet...

    10 votes

  13. Comment on US Department of Government Efficiency set to cancel lease on weather 'nerve center' as tornado season begins in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link
    I live in one of the more tornado prone states in the country. Delays in the NWS setting a Tornado Warning could mean the difference between me getting my family to safety or not. This is fucking...

    I live in one of the more tornado prone states in the country. Delays in the NWS setting a Tornado Warning could mean the difference between me getting my family to safety or not. This is fucking insane, there's no good reason for it except that Musk and the Republicans want people to die...

    22 votes

  14. Comment on Donald Trump administration are limiting toilet paper and other maintenance purchases at US national parks with one dollar credit card limit for staff in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    The supreme court gave presidents immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken when carrying out official acts. This is not the same as saying the president can do anything, it doesn't...

    the Supreme Court has given Trump the ability to do anything he wants as long as they can justify it as an official act

    The supreme court gave presidents immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken when carrying out official acts. This is not the same as saying the president can do anything, it doesn't give the president additional powers, and courts are already ruling against Trump's executive actions.

    Now, I'm not saying that SC decision was correct, or good - it wasn't - but it doesn't give the president any additional powers beyond what the office already had.

    I also suspect we're in for a genuine constitutional crisis if (or probably more like when) Trump/Musk decide to just ignore court rulings, so I'm not saying we're fine or we're out of the woods. I just think it's probably good to be clear-eyed about where the dangers lie. We're not at the point of the president being able to unilaterally suspend elections, but I can certainly see there from here, or at least see deeply compromised elections in the future if things continue the way they are.

    9 votes

  15. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 3 in ~society

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    This is something I've talked about with my wife and my friends a number of times recently. Good government is invisible. There are likely thousands of things exactly like this where federal...

    This is something I've talked about with my wife and my friends a number of times recently. Good government is invisible. There are likely thousands of things exactly like this where federal employees were working to make life better for Americans in ways that are largely invisible until they don't get done, and Musk and his cronies are dismantling them all.

    24 votes

  16. Comment on Steam Next Fest 2025 - February 24 to March 3 in ~games

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    Neongarten was cool, I really enjoyed the demo and added it to my wishlist for sure.

    Neongarten was cool, I really enjoyed the demo and added it to my wishlist for sure.

  17. Comment on Steam Next Fest 2025 - February 24 to March 3 in ~games

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link
    So far this time I've played: Deck of Haunts - Interesting twist on the deckbuilder, where you play as a haunted house trying to grow yourself and kill/drive mad people who come to explore you....

    So far this time I've played:

    Deck of Haunts - Interesting twist on the deckbuilder, where you play as a haunted house trying to grow yourself and kill/drive mad people who come to explore you. There's not as much there yet as I'd like, it needs more card and room variety, but if they add that I think this could be one I'd buy.

    River Towns - Very cool tile placement game with a town builder theme. Starts pretty simple and quickly gets pretty tough. You're trying to maximize contiguous districts while not running out of space to place your little tetromino-ish tiles, and snag map bonuses on the way. This is probably my favorite demo I've played so far, it's definitely going on the wishlist.

    Other's that I'm watching but haven't played the demo for yet are:
    Monster Train 2
    Asgard's Fall
    Wordatro!

    4 votes

  18. Comment on Interview with Dungeon Crawler Carl author Matt Dinniman on new book and LitRPG genre in ~books

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    They're dumb as shit, but in really fun and clever ways. If that makes any sense at all, lol. I do think the writing gets noticeably better as the series goes, too.

    They're dumb as shit, but in really fun and clever ways. If that makes any sense at all, lol. I do think the writing gets noticeably better as the series goes, too.

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Interview with Dungeon Crawler Carl author Matt Dinniman on new book and LitRPG genre in ~books

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    Huh, I wonder if I inadvertently read the first draft, then. I had heard so much about this fic and tried to get into it, and really just found it borderline unreadable...

    Huh, I wonder if I inadvertently read the first draft, then. I had heard so much about this fic and tried to get into it, and really just found it borderline unreadable...

    1 vote

  20. Comment on Interview with Dungeon Crawler Carl author Matt Dinniman on new book and LitRPG genre in ~books

    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link Parent
    @lou, I think @DefinitelyNotAFae pretty much nailed it. I'd add a couple of things. First, a lot of the stories I mentioned aren't, strictly, LitRPG because they don't have the explicit "system"...

    @lou, I think @DefinitelyNotAFae pretty much nailed it. I'd add a couple of things.

    First, a lot of the stories I mentioned aren't, strictly, LitRPG because they don't have the explicit "system" or mechanical focus that LitRPG does. I'd say most, except for the last couple, fit into the "Progression" genre tough, which is a little broader than LitRPG and focuses on characters who are driven to continually become stronger and "progress". They can be fairly typical power fantasy type stories but aren't always, but there's generally some drive toward continual growth.

    Also there's lots of crossover with other microgenres, so you'll often have things like isekai LitRPG where a character from the "real" world somehow ends up in the fictional world, which can be interesting if the character displays some genre-savvy, Also, there's often a "system" in these stories that is the force behind characters having gamelike abilities. I think some of the better stories are "system apocalypse" stories where something is going wrong with the "system" and characters are trying to deal with that, or are exploiting it in some way. It's also pretty common for the MC in these types of story to have found some type of exploit or loophole in the system, but not always.

    3 votes