artvandelay's recent activity
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
artvandelay LinkI finally watched No Other Choice (2025) this week and I enjoyed it! It feels like an especially relevant movie in the modern day with the rise of automation displacing people from their jobs....I finally watched No Other Choice (2025) this week and I enjoyed it! It feels like an especially relevant movie in the modern day with the rise of automation displacing people from their jobs. I'll be honest, when I first watched it, I did find the ending a bit disappointing and felt that certain aspects of the movie lacked depth but after letting it marinate in my head for a day or two, I can see why things were done the way they were. The criticisms I've seen for this movie online are valid in my opinion, but I still think its a great movie and worth a watch!
I also finally watched Tropic Thunder (2008) and man, I'm at a loss for words with this movie haha. I knew it was a satirical comedy but I didn't know to what extent things would be satirized and I was just left in shock as I watched the movie. Overall, I really enjoyed the film and I can see why Robert Downey Jr. was praised for his portayal of Kirk Lazarus. I also had no idea that Tom Cruise was in this film and it took me a few minutes to actually recongnize him on screen. Overall, a fun watch that was definitely made at a different time.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
artvandelay Link ParentYeah I have a personal domain on Porkbun that updates super fast so was surprised to have issues. I suspect the issue stems from this domain being a de domain and I'm in the US lolYeah I have a personal domain on Porkbun that updates super fast so was surprised to have issues. I suspect the issue stems from this domain being a de domain and I'm in the US lol
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
artvandelay LinkI spent last week trying to get a reverse proxy going for my home media server to stream some movies while I was visiting my parents. Ran into issues getting my domain on Porkbun going so I risked...I spent last week trying to get a reverse proxy going for my home media server to stream some movies while I was visiting my parents. Ran into issues getting my domain on Porkbun going so I risked my life and just used my IP for a few days. I turned the proxy off after I got back and now I'm just trying to understand why my domain gave me issues. It's DNS records just never propagated. Thankfully that domain was only like $2 so not a big loss.
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Comment on 2025 Spotify Wrapped is now out in ~music
artvandelay Link ParentI discovered them in a similar way. I've heard of them ever since I started listening to kpop in 2021 but just never gave them a listen for some reason. Saw tweets of their comeback over the...I discovered them in a similar way. I've heard of them ever since I started listening to kpop in 2021 but just never gave them a listen for some reason. Saw tweets of their comeback over the summer and they quickly took over my liked songs playlist. From Our 20s, Unlock My World, and 9 Way Ticket are probably my favorite albums from them.
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Comment on 2025 Spotify Wrapped is now out in ~music
artvandelay LinkI'm one of the 4 YouTube Music uses out there so I got my recap last week. Not too many surprises to me, except for the fact that one of my top 5 songs this year was actually a fan-made song,...I'm one of the 4 YouTube Music uses out there so I got my recap last week. Not too many surprises to me, except for the fact that one of my top 5 songs this year was actually a fan-made song, shouldn't be too hard to spot that in the list below haha.
Top Songs:
- Supersonic - fromis_9
- 八方来财 (Stacks from All Sides) - 揽佬SKAI ISYOURGOD
- Whiplash - aespa
- Park Your Car on My Face - Louis Cole
- Highway Couture - SilvaGunner
Top Artists:
- fromis_9
- King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
- Cory Wong
- 揽佬SKAI ISYOURGOD
- Louis Cole
The only surprises for me here are just how much I listened to fromis_9 this year, depsite only discovering them in July. I regret not getting into them earlier, they have some great songs! Overall, I only had roughly 19k minutes listened, and I thought I listened to a lot of music.
Honorable mentions for artists and songs that I only got into very late in the year would probably be Masayoshi Takanaka (jazz fusion) and MEMI (Korean Rock) with the songs Brasilian Skies, Speed of Love, and I Don't Give A.
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Comment on Thankful for y’all in ~talk
artvandelay LinkThankful to the community on this site too. This year has been an insane roller-coaster for me and I wouldn't have been able to make it through the year without some the support from the people on...Thankful to the community on this site too. This year has been an insane roller-coaster for me and I wouldn't have been able to make it through the year without some the support from the people on here.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
artvandelay (edited )LinkRental Family Man, what a beautiful film. I'm sorta lost for words on this movie, it was not at all what I expected. I went into this movie sorta blind actually, I just saw that Brendan Fraser was...Rental Family
Man, what a beautiful film. I'm sorta lost for words on this movie, it was not at all what I expected. I went into this movie sorta blind actually, I just saw that Brendan Fraser was in it and I was essentially sold. The movie is about a lonely, struggling American actor in Japan who reluctantly joins a "rental family" service, where people can hire actors to portray friends, family members, coworkers, etc. As he gets to know his clients, he is confronted with the moral complexity of his work but rediscovers his purpose and sense of belonging.
I saw online this film being marketed as a comedy-drama so I assumed it would lean heavily into the comedy here but it really doesn't, it strikes a really nice balance of drama with comedy sprinkled into it. I really wonder if the movie was written for Brendan Fraser specifically because of his exile from Hollywood and years-long battle to eventually find his place again in the movie industry. His character in the movie really reminds me of Brendan himself, at least from what I've see of him through interviews and whatnot. Highly highly recommend watching this movie!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
artvandelay LinkSuper Mario Galaxy (2007) I've finally 100%-ed this game. I played the game on the Wii as a kid but never finished the story. I got the game in Super Mario 3D All Stars and got 120 stars with...Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
I've finally 100%-ed this game. I played the game on the Wii as a kid but never finished the story. I got the game in Super Mario 3D All Stars and got 120 stars with Mario a while ago. I read that there's 121 stars total but in order to get the 121st star, you need to also get 120 stars with Luigi. So for the last few weeks, I've been playing this game as Luigi and I finally got all 120 stars with Luigi a few days ago. Playing Super Mario Galaxy as Luigi was more difficult than I expected as Luigi is more slippery than Mario, making certain areas of the game more difficult as it's harder to accurately position Luigi. I feel like I thoroughly understand all of Mario and Luigis movement mechanics in this game now haha.
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Comment on PSP: The rise and fall of Sony's first portable in ~games
artvandelay Link ParentI recently held the PlayStation Portal at a Best Buy and you could tell the device has so much potential if they let it play games as if it were a Switch or Steam Deck. Apparently they did...I recently held the PlayStation Portal at a Best Buy and you could tell the device has so much potential if they let it play games as if it were a Switch or Steam Deck. Apparently they did recently allow the Portal to do cloud game streaming with the right PS+ subscription so they're getting closer to the real thing.
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Comment on PSP: The rise and fall of Sony's first portable in ~games
artvandelay LinkI was a Nintendo DS kid but I always think the PSP is cool. I got my first PSP only a few years ago and I was still amazed at how capable the PSP is. Playing GTA, Gran Turismo, Densha De Go on...I was a Nintendo DS kid but I always think the PSP is cool. I got my first PSP only a few years ago and I was still amazed at how capable the PSP is. Playing GTA, Gran Turismo, Densha De Go on this little thing was mind-blowing. The PSP truly was the all-in-one entertainment device before smartphones took over. You had games, movies, TV shows, and music all in one device.
It's a shame that Sony gave up half-way with the PS Vita and then never really tried to put out a real portable again after that. Given the success of the Switch and PC Handhelds, I feel like Sony could've also entered the market with a real handheld with power similar to that of the PS4.
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Comment on Is trying to become an author insane in times of LLMs? in ~tech
artvandelay LinkI'm not a writer so I'm not sure if my opinion matters much here. That being said, I don't think it's too insane to try and be an author in the time of LLMs. What comes to mind immediately is...I'm not a writer so I'm not sure if my opinion matters much here. That being said, I don't think it's too insane to try and be an author in the time of LLMs. What comes to mind immediately is hand-built furniture versus factory-made machine-made furniture. I'm not sure if this is the correct comparison but factories can push out thousands of tables in a single day whereas a person may take a whole day to build a single table themselves. In a similar manner, an LLM can probably spit out a fantasy novel in a few minutes where a human author may take weeks to flesh out a similar novel. While the human may have taken much longer to reach a similar final result, there's more intention behind the words on the paper written by the human, which to me adds more value to the human-made story.
I also think of LLMs here in the context of coding as I'm a software engineer. I bounce ideas off of LLMs and then also use the LLM to review my code before I request reviews from my team. Along the same vein, I can imagine a writer using an LLM to bounce ideas for characters, settings, etc. and then also use the LLM to review what they've written before it's sent to their editor.
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Comment on Zen browser / chrome alternatives in ~tech
artvandelay LinkI'm on a Macbook and I've used Zen as my daily driver for ~4-5 months. However, I've very recently just switched back to regular Firefox. Zen is a beautiful browser UI/UX wise which I really...I'm on a Macbook and I've used Zen as my daily driver for ~4-5 months. However, I've very recently just switched back to regular Firefox. Zen is a beautiful browser UI/UX wise which I really loved. I never used any of the features they built in though except for vertical tabs and split tabs. Firefox recently introduced vertical tabs so I thought I'd try it out and I just switched back full time. I'm not someone who has a million tabs open so the workspaces/folder features were wasted on me.
I might give Orion another shot. I recently gave it a try again in the midst of writing this post and the compact layout is something I've wanted in a browser for a while! I like that Orion lets you install extensions from both Firefox and Chrome. Unfortunately I'll be giving my Macbook to my mom for a while so I'll be messing around with the iPhone version of Orion for a bit instead.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
artvandelay LinkI picked up a Quest 3 headset and have been playing some Beat Saber. Pretty fun game and a nice light workout too! I'm currently only really playing with the included songs, which aren't really my...I picked up a Quest 3 headset and have been playing some Beat Saber. Pretty fun game and a nice light workout too! I'm currently only really playing with the included songs, which aren't really my favorite but its still fun to move around and slice blocks with lightsabers. I do see there's a few music packs I can buy for other artists but I might wait a bit before trying those.
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Comment on Is anyone here in or familiar with Tokyo? Going on a trip and have zero idea what to do as a non-tourist... in ~travel
artvandelay (edited )LinkFor ease of getting around, I'd probably pick places along the Yamanote Line subway train. It's a big loop that connects all of Tokyo's hubs and a bunch of trains connect to this service, making...For ease of getting around, I'd probably pick places along the Yamanote Line subway train. It's a big loop that connects all of Tokyo's hubs and a bunch of trains connect to this service, making it easy to get around the city. The further you get from this service, the less likely it is you'd find something from a "Top 10 things to do in Tokyo" list. However, it then becomes a bit harder to get around as the subway lines converge back to the center of the city.
For parks/nature, you could go to Yoyogi Park or the Meguro Sky Garden. I went to the former and it was really peaceful. The park is dead silent despite a bustling city being around it, which is still wild to me.
I also enjoyed visiting the Ochanomizu neighborhood, the Daikanyama Log Road area (near Shibuya), Azabudai Hills (not too far from the Tokyo Tower), and Roppongi Hills (though this is decently touristy).
If you're into trains and have some time, you might enjoy the Train Museum in the neighboring city of Saitama. It's about a ~45 minute train ride from Tokyo Station in a cute suburban area. They have all sorts of stuff from historical steam trains to older subway cars to the bullet trains. They have a nice little souvenir shop and cafe too. I went on a whim and really enjoyed myself.
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Comment on Godzilla Minus Zero | Announcement in ~movies
artvandelay LinkI was a big fan of Minus One so I'm excited to see how Minus Zero will be! I was never the biggest Godzilla fan but this looks greatI was a big fan of Minus One so I'm excited to see how Minus Zero will be! I was never the biggest Godzilla fan but this looks great
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
artvandelay LinkPretty slow week for me overall. I finished week 3 of an 8-week onboarding program for my new job and have been asking my team for tasks to do to get accustomed to our code base, coding process,...Pretty slow week for me overall. I finished week 3 of an 8-week onboarding program for my new job and have been asking my team for tasks to do to get accustomed to our code base, coding process, etc. I still have a lot to learn since everything is different compared to my previous job. It's a bit overwhelming but I'm making good progress and my team has been super supportive.
I also got my flu vaccine + COVID booster mid-week and have been feeling a bit lazy ever since. Finally got off my ass today and cleaned up my apartment a bit, took out the trash, and got a haircut too. Meeting up with friends for a drink tonight so I'm looking forward to that!
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
artvandelay Link ParentDon't remember reading much about it actually, will give it a watch and report back!Don't remember reading much about it actually, will give it a watch and report back!
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
artvandelay Link ParentThat's what I've heard from my friends too. I'll add Ocean's Eight to the watch list too just to round off the series. Feels wrong to just leave Eight excluded.That's what I've heard from my friends too. I'll add Ocean's Eight to the watch list too just to round off the series. Feels wrong to just leave Eight excluded.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
artvandelay LinkFollowing up my post from last week's thread, I watched Ocean's Twelve (2004) pretty much immediately after watching Ocean's Eleven. I definitely think 11 was a better movie overall than 12, but...Following up my post from last week's thread, I watched Ocean's Twelve (2004) pretty much immediately after watching Ocean's Eleven. I definitely think 11 was a better movie overall than 12, but still a nice heist movie. You can tell the cast were just having fun filming it. Don Cheadle's cockney accent was slightly better in this one compared to the last. It also seemed to be played up more comedically than the last movie, which made it less annoying to listen to. Next up is Ocean's Thirteen (2007)!
My friend was telling me about the directors commentary actually, will definitely give it a watch! I think I saw some behind the scenes clips of RDJ remaining in character too and its just so funny.