Thea's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on ‘Baldur’s Gate’ TV series continuing game’s story in works at HBO from ‘The Last Of Us’ co-creator Craig Mazin and Hasbro Entertainment in ~tv
Thea Link ParentI thought the same thing. There are a lot of people very invested in their Tavs or in the way they do their play throughs, and there are so many possible combinations of ending. It's not going to...I thought the same thing. There are a lot of people very invested in their Tavs or in the way they do their play throughs, and there are so many possible combinations of ending. It's not going to be easy to find a narrative that will suit everyone. I'm open to possibilities though, always glad to see what creative people can make of existing material.
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Comment on Cataloging your home library in ~books
Thea LinkI've used Calibre before and it's good. I've taken to using an open source app on my phone called OpenReads. It lets me track books, what's in progress/complete/unfinished/to be read; the start...I've used Calibre before and it's good.
I've taken to using an open source app on my phone called OpenReads. It lets me track books, what's in progress/complete/unfinished/to be read; the start and finish date of the book; the media (book, ebook, audiobook, etc.); and it lets you pick a photo for the cover from the web if one isn't already in the database.
You can manually add books as well, which is nice. It also gives a few basic stats like how many books you've read over the year, which books per month, how many pages you've read, which media of books you preferred, average rating, longest reading journey - stuff like that. It's a tidy little app, not fussy, not trying to sell anything, and you can export/import CSV files for local or cloud backups. I hope that helps! If nothing else, it's another app to take a peek at to see if it's the right fit. -
Comment on Why cassette tapes are coming back in ~music
Thea Link ParentVHS is already back, just as a heads up. Lots of people are thrifting VCRs and dragging out boxes of Disney classics and stuff to show their kids. It's already happening. Classic gaming too. I've...VHS is already back, just as a heads up. Lots of people are thrifting VCRs and dragging out boxes of Disney classics and stuff to show their kids. It's already happening.
Classic gaming too. I've already shown my kid SNES, Sega, and N64 on a CRT TV in the basement. Streaming is super convenient, but physical media that you own that can't be taken away by licensing agreements and can play years later - that's the good stuff. -
Comment on Letting younger children access Fortnite - Looking for opinions in ~games
Thea Link ParentHopping in to support this comment - in my experience, there are so many safety and privacy settings to take advantage of. There are age limits for custom islands so they don't stray into content...Hopping in to support this comment - in my experience, there are so many safety and privacy settings to take advantage of. There are age limits for custom islands so they don't stray into content that's too scary for them, there are settings to put in a code to require a parent to approve friend requests, there are settings to turn on/off voice comms and refine their settings, it really is a comprehensive system to ensure young player safety.
Fortnite is probably a good choice for kids because it's so cartoony. I've been playing a couple years so I've seen a few chapters/seasons - the art is cute, they change it up each season/chapter so there are always new things to enjoy (or hate... looking at you Star Wars miniseason), and it's got a good sense of humour. My kid started on player islands and Lego modes - player islands have activities like Only Up, parkour courses or spiderman grapple courses, hide and seek, tower defense - all kinds of stuff.
The one thing I'll say that slightly departs from the above comment (and this may just be my experience because ADHD is a factor) goooood luck getting them to not spend vBucks on shoes or some useless crap, and then ask you for more when The Very Cool Thing TM hits the item shop. Fortunately I've been able to use this as leverage to reinforce healthy habit building: small human completes weekly tasks and responsibilities for 2 weeks, small human gets vBucks card, which he will 100% waste buying Chewbacca crocs (or 'chewcroccas', which were the impulse purchase back in May.) This aside, I agree with getting them the Battle Pass if it's feasible, as they can earn items and emotes and skins that they can tinker around with in their lobbies.
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Comment on If you're forced to use Windows 11, here's how to steal some of your time back in ~comp
Thea Link ParentThank you for mentioning StartAllBack. I haven't updated yet but I'm going to have to. The start menu not being properly organized/organizeable was bothering me significantly, but I hadn't put the...Thank you for mentioning StartAllBack. I haven't updated yet but I'm going to have to. The start menu not being properly organized/organizeable was bothering me significantly, but I hadn't put the time into searching for a solution yet. My laptop runs Windows 11 so I've had a bit of a soft preview into 11, and that menu is intolerable, what a weird UI choice. Appreciation for the tip!
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Comment on How a controversial Danish ‘parenting test’ separated a Greenlandic woman from her children in ~life.women
Thea (edited )Link ParentThat sounds like a bit of a depressing read - not that the stuff I posted was happy fun story time! If you need an injection of positivity, try Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer. It's a good...That sounds like a bit of a depressing read - not that the stuff I posted was happy fun story time!
If you need an injection of positivity, try Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer. It's a good intro to First Nations worldviews and philosophies.
Re: how widespread it is - I'll share a few more resources that can be used to find the info and related info. I'm very aware of the impact that delving into the topic would have on me and I'm not into that tonight! :D But if you are interested, I do hope the resources are helpful.https://fncaringsociety.com/
https://humanrights.ca/story/the-united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples
https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf
https://www.aptnnews.ca/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous -
Comment on How a controversial Danish ‘parenting test’ separated a Greenlandic woman from her children in ~life.women
Thea Link ParentOh my sweet summer child... I appreciate your indignation. But it's just another Monday for Indigenous folks. (Canadian resources; still relevant and I think you'll find commonalities worldwide...Oh my sweet summer child... I appreciate your indignation. But it's just another Monday for Indigenous folks.
(Canadian resources; still relevant and I think you'll find commonalities worldwide when it comes to Indigenous communities. I'm Indigenous and teach this at the post-secondary level.)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/birth-alerts-indigenous-women-ottawa-stories-1.6591808
https://fncaringsociety.com/sites/default/files/2023-06/AAE_BirthAlerts_Final.pdf
https://nwac.ca/policy/forced-sterilization
https://humanrights.ca/news/confronting-genocide-canada
https://www.un.org/en/genocide-prevention/definition (see Definitions 4 & 5) -
Comment on The 100 best movies of the 21st Century - voted by more than 500 influential directors, actors and other notable names in Hollywood and around the world in ~movies
Thea LinkThis is really nicely put together! I love the intro scroll and that I can click which ones I've seen and get a little graphic at the bottom, and super cool to see notable people who voted for the...This is really nicely put together! I love the intro scroll and that I can click which ones I've seen and get a little graphic at the bottom, and super cool to see notable people who voted for the particular film. I've seen 13 so far - guess I've got some catching up to do! Thank you for the link!
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Comment on I miss D&D in ~games.tabletop
Thea Link ParentIf you decide to give Foundry a shot feel free to reach out. I have a list of the modules that are useful to look into and don't mind sharing info!If you decide to give Foundry a shot feel free to reach out. I have a list of the modules that are useful to look into and don't mind sharing info!
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Comment on I miss D&D in ~games.tabletop
Thea Link ParentOne DM I knew ran a west marches style campaign, people were mercenaries and each session was more or less self-contained (some of them stretched over 2-3 sessions, but usually we were done in 1)....One DM I knew ran a west marches style campaign, people were mercenaries and each session was more or less self-contained (some of them stretched over 2-3 sessions, but usually we were done in 1). There was an overarching story for people who paid attention or attended each week, and for people who didn't there was a fun dynamic of filling each other in with details from their notes. The group assembled would pick a job off the job board, and that was the session (usually a monster quest, confronting cultists, a dungeon delve/artifact retrieval, that kind of thing).
It took a lot of pressure off the DM, players could submit encounter ideas which could end up on the job board, and the DM still had his overarching story and could add in the creative details that were important to him. All in all, it was fun! He ran it out of Foundry, which I've gotten used to as a platform, I used it myself when I ran a couple of one-shots for my crew (which just folded! sad times.)
Anyways, just sharing ideas in case it gets someone's gears turning.
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Comment on Eurovision 2025: Austria's JJ wins with "Wasted Love" in ~music
Thea Link ParentI agree! I'm Canadian and I've never watched Eurovision before, but I tuned in to this one because my mom liked the Espresso Macchiato guy and sent me a couple videos from the semi finals. He did...I agree! I'm Canadian and I've never watched Eurovision before, but I tuned in to this one because my mom liked the Espresso Macchiato guy and sent me a couple videos from the semi finals. He did really well too, it was very entertaining!
But if I had to pick my own top 5, would probably be Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, Greece, and maybe Malta because it was unhinged.
Bonus mentions to Portugal which I thought was a great song, and Finland - I was initially like "really? is this what we're doing? more of this?" but she won me over. It's a bop. And she put on a show, just mic stands all over the place, none of which were used to hold a microphone.
The staging for the Latvian song gave me chills. The costuming really hit on a 'serpentine siren' vibe, is that what they were going for? I read the write-up that @crissequeira posted on it the other day and was glad to have some extra context!
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Comment on Charli xcx - party 4 u (2025) in ~music
Thea Link ParentIs California Love (1996) a joke to you people? haha :D And although not autotune, Peter Frampton used a talkbox like 50 years ago. I see it as a sort of spiritual predecessor. I see autotune the...Is California Love (1996) a joke to you people? haha :D
And although not autotune, Peter Frampton used a talkbox like 50 years ago. I see it as a sort of spiritual predecessor.I see autotune the same way as I see pedals. It's just a tool that modulates the instrument, whether it's for pitch correction or artistic effect. I don't personally care if artists use autotune to sharpen their pitch, they're still creating music. I use spellcheck when I write papers, it's just another tool to make sure the product comes out the way you intend it to.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thea LinkBeen an exciting little bit for gaming recently! Deadzone Rogue I have a friend who played Deadzone when it was an extraction shooter - he liked it, the movement is good, sounds are top-notch, the...Been an exciting little bit for gaming recently!
Deadzone Rogue
I have a friend who played Deadzone when it was an extraction shooter - he liked it, the movement is good, sounds are top-notch, the weapons feel nice to use, all good things. The extraction shooter got shut down (not sure why but if I know anything about extraction shooters it was either cheaters or low pop). A week or two ago he gets a notification that Deadzone Rogue is now active - it's a roguelike but set in space. He got me a copy so we could give it a try and you know what, it's really, really fun. There's a story mode, interesting game modes, there are tons of little story-related easter eggs to find around the world (and some of it is cheeky! I like it), the guns are great, there are augments and mods and upgrades you can do that let you customize your experience or focus different damage sources/types - it's just a lot of fun. We've been playing about a week and I've already logged 17 hours in it. I also think it's really cool that they adapted it into a different game mode rather than just abandoning it altogether. Definitely check out a stream if it sounds interesting to you, I have been surprised and delighted by how much I like it.Dune Awakening Playtest
I got in on the playtest this past weekend and it was pretty good! I'm not sure I'll buy it, but it's definitely an interesting game and I enjoyed playing it. The character creation isn't bad, although it's unfortunate you spend time adjusting sliders and then they throw a full-face helmet on you (your face is visible during cutscenes). The mechanics are interesting, there's a research/building/crafting system that's fun to tinker with, you can build a base which I love doing. They call it a Survival multiplayer as oppose to an MMO and that is fair - you do not have to play with others, but you CAN. You will likely come across other people in the world, you will see their bases around the map, you'll bump into them at outposts, and apparently there's an end-game PvP mode that I didn't get to. I did get eaten by a Sandworm and I was mortified because I had JUST gotten the good gear and when you're sandwormed you don't get to collect your backpack. The world is gorgeous - the skybox particularly. The Survival aspect is manageable - health and stamina of course, but you also have to manage gear quality, energy for your base, exposure to the sun, and of course your hydration. You don't need to eat or sleep. Bases run on generators and are protected from other players by a shield which the generator powers - if your generator runs out of fuel, your base shield goes down - an interesting way to keep people engaged in the game. I didn't read/watch Dune, but I still found it easy to more or less track what was going on in this world and who my character was in it.Fortnite
I give up. I really wanted to like the Star Wars season but I just don't. Looking forward to the new season where it's less likely that I will be gunned down North by Northwest style by a 12 year old in an X-Wing.Elder Scrolls Online
Getting ready for the new update, which will introduce subclassing. I already have some ideas for adding a warden line to my templar healer (although I've heard healers are basically being nerfed... we'll see, I'm a healer main and that would be devastating to me) and templar lines to my other healers. This is a huge update and it's going to be chaos for the first few weeks when it drops. I've spent the last little bit getting skill points on my characters so I can unlock the subclass lines when it drops.Oblivion Remaster
I'm working on it! I didn't play the original, but as a newly-adopted Elder Scrolls nerd (Skyrim in 2020, ESO beginning 2021) I wanted the experience. My friends speak very highly of it and I'm excited to be jumping in! Still early game (just closed my first gate) but I'm enjoying it so far. The skies are beautiful, and as a location - I remember always hearing about how beautiful Cyrodiil is but my primary exposure to it being ESO, I was always like it's beautiful, sure... but it's not Summerset - now playing Oblivion, I can say Cyrodiil is BEAUTIFUL. I'm really impressed with how everything looks. And the Deadlands locations, they did a really good job of making it look hopeless and scary, and the wells (wells? the spires of fire) within the gates are visually spectacular. -
Comment on Will the humanities survive artificial intelligence? in ~tech
Thea Link ParentI think at that point it's just an assignment. The point of discussion board posts is to read what others have posted and to let it influence your thought process and insights on the course...I think at that point it's just an assignment. The point of discussion board posts is to read what others have posted and to let it influence your thought process and insights on the course materials. If responses are going to be locked until you post, might as well just make it a dropbox assignment that's viewable by the rest of the class.
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Comment on Will the humanities survive artificial intelligence? in ~tech
Thea Link ParentIt does come down to money, and yep that's pretty depressing. I'm fortunate that where I work we have a lot of leeway to be able to propose and test new models and approaches, and I have a...It does come down to money, and yep that's pretty depressing. I'm fortunate that where I work we have a lot of leeway to be able to propose and test new models and approaches, and I have a portfolio that is absolutely open to innovation. If a pilot project is successful, it can be implemented more broadly. So far, I've been successful in two major projects that have been adopted institution-wide, which is great - I'll take any progress I can get! Education is a massive, hulking machine, trying to nudge it in new directions is a whole thing.
In your example, it comes a bit down to what are the outcomes of the course - if it's a history class, the outcomes should be primarily based on history. If the assignment requires public speaking or dramatization but you're not being assessed on those things (which you shouldn't be, it's not a business/rhetoric course or a drama course), they're the vehicle not the destination and students could be given an alternative assignment. It's pretty easy to be accommodating!
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Comment on Will the humanities survive artificial intelligence? in ~tech
Thea Link ParentI respect that, and I think that it speaks to the strength of the course materials and your interest in the content that you still remember essay questions that got you REALLY thinking. That's...I respect that, and I think that it speaks to the strength of the course materials and your interest in the content that you still remember essay questions that got you REALLY thinking. That's exciting. That's the point of education, and those are the moments I love - when things click and you put the knowledge to use and it's just works and it's fantastic.
I still post that exams aren't a good assessment tool for several reasons - chief of which that I've been navigating in my career recently, that they not accessible and cause undue stress in a good number of students. Exams will typically form about 30% of a final grade in my experience - people panic. For people who don't do well with strict timelines, don't do well under pressure, or who need support with memory recall, it's a miserable experience. Me personally - I'm great at tests. Always a strong student in that respect. But it's not for everyone, and I've seen people fail courses not because they didn't do the work or didn't understand the material, but because the assessment tool didn't work for the way they process information and share it back, or that it caused so much anxiety that they couldn't function in the days leading up.
I also think that the environment around exams is stress inducing - no books, no notes, no food or drink except maybe a water bottle, complete silence - ideal circumstances for some, and a sensory-deprived nightmare for others.
I always come back to what is the point of education. The point is to share knowledge. What is the point of assessment - to ensure students are obtaining and retaining the knowledge and can apply it practically. What is the point of that knowledge and practical application - to apply to their daily practice/careers/research/further study. Learning is like lifting weights - a little bit of stress does help the process, but too much and you break things. I've seen too many students break and give up not because they didn't understand or didn't have good ideas, but because the system was too rigid and too unnecessarily stressful for them to participate.
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Comment on Will the humanities survive artificial intelligence? in ~tech
Thea Link ParentOnline learning is its own animal, and it's a mistake to try and replicate classroom learning on a 1:1 basis. There are discussions and courses and studies going on now to figure out how to...Online learning is its own animal, and it's a mistake to try and replicate classroom learning on a 1:1 basis.
There are discussions and courses and studies going on now to figure out how to improve online learning, and what it comes down to is that it needs to look foundationally different.Discussion board posts - unless it's a topic people really care about, you're going to get "I agree! Really thoughtful, thanks for posting" - this is where rubrics come in handy, you have to actually post something with insight that speaks to the course materials and learning. An "I agree!" post would get a reduced grade from me when I teach, which would be backed up by the rubric.
What I try to do with my posts is make them a little bit cheeky. They're not hard-shelled academic - they're insightful, supported by course materials and citations, but they're conversational. That makes it easier for people to create a response with content. That said, I still hate doing it and would like it to be over please and thank you. (Spring '26... just a few more terms!)
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Comment on Will the humanities survive artificial intelligence? in ~tech
Thea Link ParentI work post-secondary, and despite the fact that there are many fully developed brains in the class, attention is still at a premium. I remember doing my undergrad sitting in 3 hour lectures and...I work post-secondary, and despite the fact that there are many fully developed brains in the class, attention is still at a premium. I remember doing my undergrad sitting in 3 hour lectures and it's like - how did I even do that. I have to talk myself into watching any video that's longer than 25 minutes anymore, but I sat for 3 hours to listen to a lecture about Literariness in Theatre? Can't imagine.
Respecting student's time, but also respecting their own processes and interests. The way many school boards (k-12) are formulated is so highly regimented and standardized that it doesn't give students a chance to reflect on their skills or the role they want to play as they get older. You've got a good practice in being mindful of their capacity for attention.
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Comment on Will the humanities survive artificial intelligence? in ~tech
Thea Link ParentYes it is on the rise and yes it is unprecedented. There have been a few blips over the years where a new tech gets introduced, students use it, institutions get wind of it, institutions put in...Yes it is on the rise and yes it is unprecedented. There have been a few blips over the years where a new tech gets introduced, students use it, institutions get wind of it, institutions put in policy/tech to bar it, students adjust and move on. Buying past student papers, quiz and exam question-sharing sites, those kinds of things - they happened, but they were not as frequent as AI in the current climate.
Assignments are supposed to be to assess your knowledge and learning in the subject. I agree it shouldn't be busywork and ultimately is just supposed to be a check-in that you've absorbed the information and can put it to use in a practical way. Tests are stupid, exams (even open book) are stupid, don't even get me started on scantron sheets, and personally I will praise the day when I (completing an advanced degree in -you guessed it - education) no longer have to do a discussion board post and reply to two colleagues' posts. Overall I think education has lost the point of itself, and students are cheating because they don't see the value in the assessments as a tool to share what they've learned. And students don't care about the argument 'you're only cheating yourself' because at the end of the day they just want their credential and to get the heck out of there.
Assessments should be respectful of students' time, gifts, and learning styles. In my courses, I try to have a final assignment where students have a ton of leeway - just show me that you've learned, what you've learned, and that you can apply it, and I don't care how you present it. I get some essays - some people really like writing essays and are good at it, go nuts! I've gotten artwork back, stand-up comedy bits, slam poetry, rap, one video where a girl did a walk in the forest and talked for like 12 minutes - it takes longer to grade, but if you have fewer assessments that are fair, respectful to the students' capabilities, and meaningful to their learning, they will do them and do well as long as they're engaging with the course materials.
Anyways, that's my soapbox for the day. It's a developing thing, but yeah the one problem is students are cheating using AI and the other problem is mainstream education as an institution sucks and needs significant systemic change.
Blue Prince
I'm about 100 game days in, and I still have goals that I need to figure out. I think I know what I need to do next? Maybe? It is such an excellent experience because it gets my brain going and has a good variety of puzzles. It's frustrating because some of it relies on RNG (which I can accept - part of the strategy of the game is being able to shift strategies.) I love the story, I love the breadcrumbs I keep finding all over the place. A few of the puzzles and clues have literally given me chills. 10/10, even with the frustrating bits. It's an excellent way to procrastinate on my capstone project.
Ascendant.com Playtest
There was a week long play test of this game, I've been play testing it for a year and a bit when they come up. I like it a lot! It's very 80s-themed, I like the weapon customization, most of the in-round events, the movement and mobility is pretty good too. There are a few things I think still need tweaking - I still think the Gorlizard is stupid, they need to do a better job of cracking down on cheaters since that will sink a shooter pretty quick, they could simplify a couple of their customization processes, and I don't think you should need the in-game currency (earnable by playing) to recolour your weapons. Also being a passenger on a vehicle is a little clunky and could be better. All in all, I'm not super great at it, but I enjoy playing it when the tests come around.
Smash Brothers
Years and years ago, when Brawl and Melee were the games of the day, I used to win Smash Tournaments. I have not played much since then, possibly at all. We're talking probably 20 years. This past weekend my partner was over for Valentines Day and we played Smash Ultimate. It took a couple rounds to figure out the controls, then it was like the Matrix and I couldn't be stopped. It was crazy. The hardest part for me was tracking where my character was with the very dynamic camera, but other than that it was a pretty good experience. I don't see myself playing it regularly, but once in a while I think I could hop in with friends.