TurtleCracker's recent activity
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Comment on Amazon ordered to pay $20K after British Columbia customer says package never arrived in ~tech
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Comment on Death in D&D 5e, the various revival spells, and their impact on the game in ~games.tabletop
TurtleCracker Link ParentThere's always risk, but there is also balance. Monsters have a challenge rating for a reason. If the party is level 5 and a Young Black Dragon (CR7) is attacking the village they are staying in...There's always risk, but there is also balance. Monsters have a challenge rating for a reason. If the party is level 5 and a Young Black Dragon (CR7) is attacking the village they are staying in for example. The party MIGHT be able to win that fight. Probably not, but it's not impossible. If they fight it's pretty likely at least one of them will die.
If the party is neutral / evil or maybe not particularly attached to the town they may not even choose to take the risk. If the party is mostly good aligned and there is a paladin in the group, they may take that risk because it aligns with what the characters would do and what the players would want to do. The players are making a choice here to flee or risk death. Either scenario can push the story forward and might be exciting. Fleeing the village may result in a "chase scene" that's a little bit less directly dangerous.
When I say randomness I mean having your character killed with zero decisions being made on your part. If you walk into a city and a wizard that you don't know about and hasn't been introduced casts a save or die spell on you and you roll a 1, that's not super fun. You don't know why you died. You couldn't really have made any choices to prevent it. Getting hit with an unlucky string of critical can make for good storytelling but that usually happens in a fight that you choose to initiate or stay in. You've made decisions that led to those critical hitting you. Maybe you moved forward. Maybe you taunted the enemy.
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Comment on Death in D&D 5e, the various revival spells, and their impact on the game in ~games.tabletop
TurtleCracker LinkI would say dying in D&D, with a good GM/DM, is typically an intentional act by the player. At least it should be. If they are faced with a situation that the GM has made clear is far above them...I would say dying in D&D, with a good GM/DM, is typically an intentional act by the player. At least it should be.
If they are faced with a situation that the GM has made clear is far above them or extremely dangerous, they are kind of opting in to the risk. Maybe it's a roleplaying facet of their character driving them to do it, and make dying in the act is actually satisfying from a collaborative storytelling perspective.
What usually makes players feel bad, in my experience, is when they get killed by randomness or by something they had know real way of knowing was dangerous.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
TurtleCracker LinkBuy the Shadowrun intellectual property rights. Release an edition with rules that aren't a mess Release an actually usable PDF Provide an online tool that can access the content you have and help...- Buy the Shadowrun intellectual property rights.
- Release an edition with rules that aren't a mess
- Release an actually usable PDF
- Provide an online tool that can access the content you have and help you run characters (think D&D beyond)
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Comment on ‘Tron: Ares’ stumbles with $33.5 million debut in ~movies
TurtleCracker Link ParentYeah the spectacle was solid, but they overused light trails on EVERYTHING in this movie. They even use light trails in some instances where it makes basically zero sense.Yeah the spectacle was solid, but they overused light trails on EVERYTHING in this movie. They even use light trails in some instances where it makes basically zero sense.
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Comment on ‘Tron: Ares’ stumbles with $33.5 million debut in ~movies
TurtleCracker LinkI honestly enjoyed the movie. It was pretty simple from a storyline perspective. I thought Jared Leto's wooden acting style actually helped with the character he was playing. I don't think it...I honestly enjoyed the movie. It was pretty simple from a storyline perspective. I thought Jared Leto's wooden acting style actually helped with the character he was playing. I don't think it stacks up to a lot of scifi but I didn't feel like my money was wasted.
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Comment on Discord says 70,000 users may have had their government IDs leaked in breach in ~tech
TurtleCracker Link ParentAbout half of states in the US now require age checks for services that could host pornography. I imagine this will continue to spread and continue to cover more categories. The era of being...About half of states in the US now require age checks for services that could host pornography. I imagine this will continue to spread and continue to cover more categories. The era of being anonymous on the internet may be coming to an end.
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Comment on ‘Taylor Swift: Showgirl’ at $33m an awesome anomaly for album pic launch; Dwayne Johnson sees lowest opening ever with ‘The Smashing Machine’ at $6m in ~movies
TurtleCracker LinkI've soured on Dwayne Johnson. He always seems to have to position himself in a very positive light - can't lose fights, only draw. Black Adam was one of my favorite characters and I felt like he...I've soured on Dwayne Johnson. He always seems to have to position himself in a very positive light - can't lose fights, only draw. Black Adam was one of my favorite characters and I felt like he really did that role wrong. Something about him feels too managed and artificial.
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Comment on OpenAI’s H1 2025: $4.3b in income, $13.5b in loss in ~tech
TurtleCracker Link ParentI’d only be willing to do this if the memory (and ideally the LLM) was local. I have memory turned off.I’d only be willing to do this if the memory (and ideally the LLM) was local. I have memory turned off.
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Comment on Apple pulls ICEBlock from the App Store in ~tech
TurtleCracker Link ParentFeels like they play a game of chicken over whoever does this stuff first.Feels like they play a game of chicken over whoever does this stuff first.
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Comment on Developer Starbreeze Studios announced Thursday it had canceled its co-op Dungeons & Dragons game – re-focusing on its Payday franchise in ~games
TurtleCracker (edited )LinkHonestly surprised Starbreeze is still around. They've monetized Payday so heavily that it drove me away from wanting to play games they release.Honestly surprised Starbreeze is still around. They've monetized Payday so heavily that it drove me away from wanting to play games they release.
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Comment on The video-game industry has a problem: there are too many games in ~games
TurtleCracker Link ParentSince I started doing audio books the speed that I finish books and/or series has probably more than doubled. I almost feel like the opposite - like I have a fear that I will consume everything!...Since I started doing audio books the speed that I finish books and/or series has probably more than doubled. I almost feel like the opposite - like I have a fear that I will consume everything! Sometimes I listen to the books at 2x speed because it helps me relax but it feels wasteful.
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Comment on Shopify, pulling strings at Ruby Central, forces Bundler and RubyGems takeover in ~comp
TurtleCracker Link ParentI guess, but I think each language ecosystem has a sweet spot for usage. I don’t know if I’d use Ruby outside of a web backend or some quick script. I’m very rarely using Ruby unless I’m also...I guess, but I think each language ecosystem has a sweet spot for usage. I don’t know if I’d use Ruby outside of a web backend or some quick script.
I’m very rarely using Ruby unless I’m also using Rails or Sinatra.
Comparing data processing from Ruby vs Python vs Java is a bit silly because you probably wouldn’t choose Ruby for that anyways.
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Comment on Shopify, pulling strings at Ruby Central, forces Bundler and RubyGems takeover in ~comp
TurtleCracker Link ParentComparing Rails to something like Django is almost embarrassing. Rails does/can do way more out of the box. Comparing it to something like React/Next or NestJs is also pretty lacking. Can these do...Comparing Rails to something like Django is almost embarrassing. Rails does/can do way more out of the box.
Comparing it to something like React/Next or NestJs is also pretty lacking. Can these do the same things as rails? Mostly yeah - but it’s like assembling a puzzle out of random components. Rails being opinionated is a double edged sword. It does result in a lot of rails apps being very standardized though from app to app. A lot of other frameworks can look wildly different between two apps.
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Comment on Shopify, pulling strings at Ruby Central, forces Bundler and RubyGems takeover in ~comp
TurtleCracker Link ParentI’ve generally found Ruby’s lack of static analysis to be a non-issue if you are running something like Rubocop + unit tests.I’ve generally found Ruby’s lack of static analysis to be a non-issue if you are running something like Rubocop + unit tests.
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Comment on I tried to protect my kids from the internet. Here’s what happened. in ~tech
TurtleCracker Link ParentCan’t read the article. Does it go into specifics why the parental controls don’t work or what they don’t cover?Can’t read the article. Does it go into specifics why the parental controls don’t work or what they don’t cover?
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Comment on Tesla influencers tried Elon Musk’s coast-to-coast self-driving, crashed before sixty miles in ~transport
TurtleCracker Link ParentIt’s interesting but foolish. I think the argument that if a human only needs optical then a car should only need optical is odd. If I could have thermal, ultrasonic, lidar, etc as a human I’d...It’s interesting but foolish. I think the argument that if a human only needs optical then a car should only need optical is odd. If I could have thermal, ultrasonic, lidar, etc as a human I’d want them too!
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Comment on Tesla influencers tried Elon Musk’s coast-to-coast self-driving, crashed before sixty miles in ~transport
TurtleCracker Link ParentI think optical only is a mistake. This probably would’ve been caught with other sensors more easily.I think optical only is a mistake. This probably would’ve been caught with other sensors more easily.
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Comment on Was this English queen a 'predatory' collector of beautiful things? in ~humanities.history
TurtleCracker Link ParentYou could stop the title at the word predatory and just answer with "Yes".You could stop the title at the word predatory and just answer with "Yes".
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Comment on My guess and opinion on the common blockers to Linux adoption in ~tech
TurtleCracker LinkI can share my experiences. I run Windows (+ WSL2), Mac, and Linux both at home and professionally. I would opt for a Mac for software engineering / development, Linux for hosting / running a...I can share my experiences. I run Windows (+ WSL2), Mac, and Linux both at home and professionally.
I would opt for a Mac for software engineering / development, Linux for hosting / running a service, and Windows for gaming. Outside of those specific use cases I'd probably default to Mac. For me it has all of the same power as Linux, with far more mainstream software support. Anything I can run on Linux I can pretty easily run on Mac.
I think a significant part of this comes down to price concerns too. If that's at the top of your list Linux is probably a more viable option. You can get Linux running way cheaper than either Mac or Windows.
I still run into weird fiddly little bugs on Linux that I just don't encounter on Mac or Windows. Even if you do encounter them on Mac or Windows you can usually quickly Google to find someone with an identical issue and an easy resolution.
One example, I run a linux distro via VMWare and the scroll wheel on the mouse just behaves super weird on Chrome specifically. It's almost like it's lagging. No issue on anything else with a scroll bar. No issue running Windows via VMWare for the same mouse.
I don't really have any blockers for linux adoption. I'm more of an "all of the above" for OS. If anything I'll probably stop using Windows due to the direction of Windows 11 but continue to use both Mac and Linux. I have a lot of devices.
I hate it when you get "caught in the machine". They never build robust systems for handling minor failures or edge cases. It's so painful to get some of these companies to have an actual human look into what's going on.