BeardyHat's recent activity
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Comment on Stellantis to sell small Fiat Topolino electric vehicle for $13,995 in US in ~transport
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - June 2026 - How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler in ~books
BeardyHat Link ParentI'm not officially part of the book club, but I was looking for something to read in June and ended up checking this out from the library after seeing it was the book of the month here. I'm...I'm not officially part of the book club, but I was looking for something to read in June and ended up checking this out from the library after seeing it was the book of the month here.
I'm actually a pretty crass person myself, though contextually only with people I'm well familiar with (my wife, my friends of 30+ years). I ended up putting this book down after just the prologue. The crassness of it just felt very edgy and try hard, just as you reference it being like coming from a teenage boy and the character absolutely reads like a woman being written by a man (breasting boobily), given it is.
I was just skimming this thread to see if anyone else had that thought or maybe if I'm just wrong and being to harsh. So, glad I'm not totally alone.
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Comment on Any RC enthusiasts? Input/advice wanted on a project idea. in ~hobbies
BeardyHat Link ParentI've just kind of picked and chose whatever would work and what sounded cool or affordable at the time with my electronics. I have a Meus Servo, Meus Receiver/Transmitter, Moto RC Motor, Furitek...I've just kind of picked and chose whatever would work and what sounded cool or affordable at the time with my electronics.
I have a Meus Servo, Meus Receiver/Transmitter, Moto RC Motor, Furitek ESC and generic Drone batteries. You can kind of mix and match a bit, though I'm not sure if that's really the right way to do it, but I'm still a novice and so far everything has been fine.
My car isn't built for speed though, it's just for rock crawling. I've chosen some components to try and get a little bit of extra speed just because I like taking it on hikes and I want it to be a little faster than my walking speed.
You could checkout WPL for options too. A majority of their cars come as kits, so you can assemble and figure things out as you go. But again, I'm still pretty novice and it's a very tertiary hobby for me, so I don't know if my advice is terribly valuable.
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Comment on Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentHold on now. I'm in total agreement with you in this thread, but 20-30 year old games are definitely not shit. Dated maybe, but definitely not at all bad. I don't play then exclusively or...Hold on now. I'm in total agreement with you in this thread, but 20-30 year old games are definitely not shit. Dated maybe, but definitely not at all bad.
I don't play then exclusively or anything, but they are part of my regular gaming diet. The original System Shock became one of my favorite games of all time and I only played it for the first time in 2020.
At any rate, I agree with you otherwise. Game preservation isn't my top priority either. I see a lot of myself in your posts here, even though it seems like I probably play games significantly more than you. My Steam library is 22 years old this year and if it were to go kaput, I certainly would be sad, frustrated and disappointed, but I have plenty of other stuff to play and the means to play it (lots of those old games, I mentioned), I wouldn't be hurting for entertainment.
That said, I get where you're coming from, because even though I game daily, there's so much more to life than just playing games and I have a wide array of hobbies and interests that I can find plenty of stuff to keep me busy.
There's also the fact that everything in life is transitory. Nothing lasts forever. The idea that we should have access to all media at all times is really something that's new to us, probably having only arisen in the last 15 to 20 years.
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Comment on Any RC enthusiasts? Input/advice wanted on a project idea. in ~hobbies
BeardyHat LinkSounds about right, as far as your parts list goes l. I'm pretty happy with the route I decided to go with entering the RC Hobby. I bought myself a used SCX24 for $100; I could have built entirely...Sounds about right, as far as your parts list goes l.
I'm pretty happy with the route I decided to go with entering the RC Hobby. I bought myself a used SCX24 for $100; I could have built entirely from scratch, but I honestly found it more enlightening to start with something fully assembled and then gradually replace parts.
I got to the point where I eventually 3d printed a new frame, new mounts and a completely new body from scratch. Then I was able to migrate over many parts, but also put tons of new ones on. At this point, there's nothing left of the original car and I could actually reassemble it from the take offs.
I feel that this helped me learn, but also helped keep the hobby relatively cheap, as I was able to buy cheap upgrades and see what worked and what didn't. At this point between the cost of the original car and replacement parts, I'm probably in maybe $400 or so, which is often cheaper than the cost of more expensive cars, as well as allowed me to replace weak points as they arose and experiment without wondering if I did something wrong.
Funny enough, after fully assembling my own car completely, I got kind of bored with the hobby. I've pretty much just set the car aside and haven't had much interest in returning to it, but it was an interesting little hobby while it lasted. No idea if I'll return to it or not, but we'll see.
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Comment on Consequences of advertising and enshittification on the Internet in ~tech
BeardyHat Link ParentYup, exactly. To my parents it's just the way it's always been, same with many friends in my life. My brother in laws girlfriend likes ads, so she knows what to buy, but she has a shopping...Yup, exactly. To my parents it's just the way it's always been, same with many friends in my life. My brother in laws girlfriend likes ads, so she knows what to buy, but she has a shopping problem.
A friend of mine will sit through YouTube ads and when I tell him he can fix that, he blows me off.
Between uBlock and my Pihole, we very rarely see any ads in my house, which has made my wife and I (kids less so, but they're young yet) extra sensitive to seeing them. I think for folks like us, we've become so used to blocking them, we forget that before that time, we would also just kind of tune them out and move on with our lives.
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Comment on Consequences of advertising and enshittification on the Internet in ~tech
BeardyHat Link ParentConversely, I still know plenty of people that use them and in fact, have increased their usage in the last several years. I have two friends that started using Reddit in 2023 and still regularly...Conversely, I still know plenty of people that use them and in fact, have increased their usage in the last several years. I have two friends that started using Reddit in 2023 and still regularly send me Instagram stuff that a myself and other friends can't view because we don't have accounts for that.
My family also still uses the stuff and I never hear a complaint about ads. I think most people are just inured to advertising. They just sit through the stuff and hardly pay attention to it.
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Comment on Too Much Media in ~movies
BeardyHat Link ParentIf you can't obtain it legally, what stops you from just doing obtaining it by other methods? Why bother going through the proper channels when whatever giant corporation is happy to yank the...If you can't obtain it legally, what stops you from just doing obtaining it by other methods? Why bother going through the proper channels when whatever giant corporation is happy to yank the rights to whatever you've purchased access to?
I guess...I just feel no moral quandary here. I've looked at lots of DVDs at thrift stores, still have my own collection of them as well, but I just don't feel like I need to go through the rigamarole of buying a DVD at the thrift store to rip it just so I can feel like I'm doing what they want me to do to stay in their good graces. I can find whatever I want with a few keystrokes and then "own" it forever on my media server.
I'm just trying to poke at why we should play by the rules when no one else is?
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Comment on CGA-2026-06 🦇🧛♀️🔥 REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow in ~games
BeardyHat LinkAria of Sorrow was my first encounter with Castlevania, which I had back in 2021 while visiting my sister-in-law's house on a road trip. I don't remember what sparked my interest, but I downloaded...Aria of Sorrow was my first encounter with Castlevania, which I had back in 2021 while visiting my sister-in-law's house on a road trip. I don't remember what sparked my interest, but I downloaded the ROM on my laptop I had with me and transferred it over to my Vita. Over the next week or so, I completed it and then went on to the other two GBA games, which I found very much inferior.
Since then, I've kind of felt that I've had my fill of Metroidvania style games. I went on to later beat Symphony of the Night over the course of about a year or more, but that really felt like a slog to me. Since then, I've repeatedly started Dawn of Sorrow on DS, gotten a ways through it and then put it down; incidentally, I was playing that just before starting Aria again for this particular CGA.
I definitely enjoyed going back to this one, much more so than playing DoS, which I just haven't found very inspiring. I did think that I would end-up completing this one all the way through again, but I actually only ended-up getting about 68% map completion before going back to a different game I had been playing.
I still very much enjoyed going back to it and I think it's the best of the (very few) Metroidvania's I've played, but it also leads me back to this idea I keep having everytime I try to play Dawn of Sorrow, that being, I think I'm done with the Metroidvania formula. It's not bad by any means and I do tend to be a natural explorer in games, but side scrolling platforming and exploration doesn't appeal to me in the same manner that third person or first person exploration does; maybe this means I need to finally try the Metroid Prime series (never played one outside of a demo kiosk, ages ago).
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of June 29 in ~society
BeardyHat Link ParentUnfortunately, we said the same thing in 2020.Unfortunately, we said the same thing in 2020.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of June 29 in ~society
BeardyHat LinkNot at all shocking, but still extremely disappointing https://www.npr.org/2026/06/29/nx-s1-5816232/supreme-court-ftc-independent-agencies-humphreys-executor?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-usNot at all shocking, but still extremely disappointing
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Comment on The 2026 Steam Summer Sale is live (runs June 25 - July 9) in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentHave you played any of the Stalker games? Skip Clear Sky, but the first game Shadow of Chernobyl is pretty great and Call of Pripyat is excellent.Have you played any of the Stalker games? Skip Clear Sky, but the first game Shadow of Chernobyl is pretty great and Call of Pripyat is excellent.
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Comment on 3D printer troubleshooting advice in ~hobbies
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Comment on The 2026 Steam Summer Sale is live (runs June 25 - July 9) in ~games
BeardyHat LinkI started Steam accounts for my kids earlier this year so that we could play Grounded together, but they're otherwise still sharing my Steam account and games. My wife and I have been planning on...I started Steam accounts for my kids earlier this year so that we could play Grounded together, but they're otherwise still sharing my Steam account and games. My wife and I have been planning on buying them their favorite ones once this started, so I'll probably be picking up a couple of the Just Cause games, Teardown, Lego City, Subnautica and a bunch of other random stuff for them.
For myself, I'm really only thinking I'll pick up Stalker 2, but inevitably that'll turn into a handful of other titles as well, but S2 will probably be the most expensive thing I buy.
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Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food
BeardyHat LinkI cook every meal (exception is acidic stuff, like tomatoes, because it'll strip the seasoning) in my cast iron pan. Also have a Dutch oven, wok and griddle pan I use on the regular. I do nothing...I cook every meal (exception is acidic stuff, like tomatoes, because it'll strip the seasoning) in my cast iron pan. Also have a Dutch oven, wok and griddle pan I use on the regular.
I do nothing special. I throw some fat in it when it heats, cook whatever I want and then leave it. Sometimes I clean it the same night, other times I wait until the next day. Cleaning is always the same: rinse in hot water, scrub any sticky on bits with a stiff brush or steel wool if necessary, dry and done.
No need to over complicate it. You think settlers and frontiersmen were arguing with each other and fussing over how to properly season, clean and use their cookware?
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Comment on Steam Machine prices revealed, starting at US$1049.00 in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentNot sure if you own a Steam Deck, but it's worth mentioning that the SD card storage works great for gaming on the Deck. I have a 2tb NVMe in mine, but another 512Gb on an SD Card and I really...Not sure if you own a Steam Deck, but it's worth mentioning that the SD card storage works great for gaming on the Deck. I have a 2tb NVMe in mine, but another 512Gb on an SD Card and I really have no preference where any given game is installed, because they seem to work equally well and load games equally fast.
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Comment on To all the dads celebrating it today -- Happy father's day! in ~life.men
BeardyHat Link ParentAbsolutely. I just got off being alone for 8 days. I'm normally the primary parent, but not having my teammate made it especially hard and I'm sorry to say, I'm pretty sure I've mostly been a...It’s been the toughest part of my life so far. I’ve gone through the depths of suicidal ideation and the highs of “I missed you daddy!”
Absolutely.
I just got off being alone for 8 days. I'm normally the primary parent, but not having my teammate made it especially hard and I'm sorry to say, I'm pretty sure I've mostly been a grumpy asshole.
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Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
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Comment on I almost got hit by a car in ~life
BeardyHat Link ParentI think it's just because we had such a population boom in the last ten to fifteen years. Just that we're far more likely to see terrible driving because there are just more people here in...I think it's just because we had such a population boom in the last ten to fifteen years. Just that we're far more likely to see terrible driving because there are just more people here in general, so it's a certain percentage of that.
But I'm also happy I drive my crappy looking 22 year old van, because people tend to avoid me and leave me alone.
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Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
BeardyHat LinkHad a hard week this week, between my kids being hard and being depressed. I had a day to myself one day this week and realized what I really wanted to do was paint something. It's been... Months?...Had a hard week this week, between my kids being hard and being depressed. I had a day to myself one day this week and realized what I really wanted to do was paint something.
It's been... Months? Since I painted something and it was exciting to sit down and do it again. I got the project pretty much done, which left me wanting more. I'm going on a short road trip and vacation for the next week and so I decided to pack up my painting kit and bring some stuff with me if I have the time.
At least we banned them so our automakers don't have to compete.
God bless America