bkimmel's recent activity
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Comment on Wikipedia's list of the best video games: how many have you played, and what's missing? in ~games
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Comment on Wikipedia's list of the best video games: how many have you played, and what's missing? in ~games
bkimmel LinkOne thing that seems to be conspicuously absent to me is any of the mid-80s Sierra adventure games. Between King's Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory - it would seem to me that at least one game...One thing that seems to be conspicuously absent to me is any of the mid-80s Sierra adventure games. Between King's Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory - it would seem to me that at least one game from each of those series should show up there given that they launched one of the largest gaming studios (perhaps the largest of its time).
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Comment on What are the genuinely worst films of all time? in ~movies
bkimmel LinkThe 1975 movie "Rollerball" starring James Caan is having a small moment right now: The original reason many critics eyerolled it (It didn't seem realistic that we would ever live in a world where...The 1975 movie "Rollerball" starring James Caan is having a small moment right now: The original reason many critics eyerolled it (It didn't seem realistic that we would ever live in a world where corporations scan/summarize books... Steal content from 1000s if creators and then burn them... Too "preachy") seems downright prescient in 2026.
It's 2002 remake however, which removed all the social commentary: easily the worst movie ever made.
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Comment on I'm addicted to Slay the Spire and am looking for a new game in ~games
bkimmel LinkJust noticed this sale: you can get like 20 of these games for super cheap right now - https://www.humblebundle.com/games/decked-out-deckbuildersJust noticed this sale: you can get like 20 of these games for super cheap right now - https://www.humblebundle.com/games/decked-out-deckbuilders
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Comment on I'm addicted to Slay the Spire and am looking for a new game in ~games
bkimmel LinkCombolands is a new one in that space that's really fun. It's not as long as STS (yet), but it's really fun.Combolands is a new one in that space that's really fun. It's not as long as STS (yet), but it's really fun.
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Comment on Small talk, ice breakers, lines in ~talk
bkimmel LinkUniversal: "Can you believe this shit?" "This shit" could be sports, politics, the weather... Anything. Nothing bonds people or creates mutual trust like having a common thing to complain about....Universal: "Can you believe this shit?"
"This shit" could be sports, politics, the weather... Anything. Nothing bonds people or creates mutual trust like having a common thing to complain about.
Bonus: If you live in America and even if you don't care about American football, become a fan of the Cleveland Browns. They have sucked harder and longer than any other team in any other professional sport. If you meet someone else who is an unfortunate fan of the Browns the commiseration spans all age, ethnic, religious and racial boundaries... And anyone who isn't a fan will feel bad for you.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
bkimmel LinkCombolands - think Balatro but a tile placement/ city builder. You can't really talk about this game without comparing it to Balatro - so much of the style of Combolands is lifted straight from...Combolands - think Balatro but a tile placement/ city builder. You can't really talk about this game without comparing it to Balatro - so much of the style of Combolands is lifted straight from Balatro. It's a style I enjoy to be sure and so do a lot of other people based on Balatro's popularity but they certainly colored inside the lines using most of the same font/UI from that game. So it's impossible not to compare Combolands to Balatro - and for most "roguelites" that comparison would be hard to come off as favorable but Combolands somehow pulls it off.
You get the same feeling of "creative adrenaline" without quite as much "RNG anger" as Balatro tends to induce, in my experience. You are still subject to randomness every turn in terms of what tiles come up with critical structures you may (or may not) need, but scores compound over time based on how you build your map from "tiny settlement" to "metropolis" in a way that makes it much less anxiety-inducing than not getting the Jack of Spades you need to make it past the next blind. The game puts a lot of interesting choices in front of you that balance the needs of getting a quick score with building structures and complexes that generate renewable scores every 3-4 rounds.
So far, I'm having a blast playing this game. I don't know if it will stay on my list of "always go back to / never gets old" the way it's obvious inspiration Balatro has but it feels like it will.
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Comment on [SOLVED] Hunting for a movie in ~movies
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
bkimmel Link ParentFor a great Vonnegut short story, I feel like a lot of people miss "Harrison Bergeron". I don't recommend it generally, because like a lot of Vonnegut I think most people aren't intelligent enough...For a great Vonnegut short story, I feel like a lot of people miss "Harrison Bergeron". I don't recommend it generally, because like a lot of Vonnegut I think most people aren't intelligent enough to understand it or take it the right way - and the underlying message could be profoundly harmful in modern knee-jerk "culture war" milieu - but I feel like it's safe to recommend to to fellow Tildans. It sticks with you.
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Comment on Any significant changes to Tildes are extremely unlikely in ~tildes.official
bkimmel Link ParentThis is why Tildes is great and doesn't need to be changed at all, ever. This thread right here. Bookmark it in case you forget.This is why Tildes is great and doesn't need to be changed at all, ever. This thread right here. Bookmark it in case you forget.
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Comment on What JavaScript framework should I use? in ~comp
bkimmel LinkDon't use one. There's nothing React / whatever really gets you anymore that you can't get from native Web Components and all the effect and suspense garbage it comes with serves literally no...Don't use one. There's nothing React / whatever really gets you anymore that you can't get from native Web Components and all the effect and suspense garbage it comes with serves literally no point anymore. It's time has officially come and gone.
As far as Typescript goes, if there's no one else contributing to your project and you don't like it - don't use it. It is useful to bind contracts into things you provide, but contracts are for two or more people.
For good builds, etc I'd recommend using Bun if you just want a standard kit you don't want to think about too much or Vite.
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Comment on Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘dialog’ society in ~society
bkimmel Link ParentMy position is that this isn't sufficient evidence of someone being member of some child abusing cabal of elites controlling the globe. Many are too quick to jump to conspiracy theories once only...My position is that this isn't sufficient evidence of someone being member of some child abusing cabal of elites controlling the globe. Many are too quick to jump to conspiracy theories once only held by the far right.That's fair. There are at least 3 or 4 Epsteiners on that list by my count, but I don't know that the others were aware of those. And there are at least a couple people on there I respect for their work, generally.
But I think calling them "Epstein Class" is also fair - they have made it clear there is a different set of rules for themselves and everyone else and I'm not really inclined to pretend otherwise for the sake of "the discourse" anymore.
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Comment on Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘dialog’ society in ~society
bkimmel Link ParentLarry Summers, for one. And at this point, yes putting yourself in league with Thiel - who is actively working to undermine Democracy and decency - is grounds for contempt. If Thiel just wrote...Larry Summers, for one. And at this point, yes putting yourself in league with Thiel - who is actively working to undermine Democracy and decency - is grounds for contempt. If Thiel just wrote their names down, then you're right - but if they chose to have a "secret dialogue" they should eat the consequences of that.
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Comment on Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘dialog’ society in ~society
bkimmel Link ParentReal who's who of Epstein-class pedolites there.Real who's who of Epstein-class pedolites there.
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Comment on What is your eleventh favorite video game? in ~games
bkimmel LinkGoing roughly from memory, I'd have to say The World Ends With You on the DS-Lite was my 10th favorite game. Doesn't quite crack the top of the list, but is definitely a game that left a lasting...Going roughly from memory, I'd have to say The World Ends With You on the DS-Lite was my 10th favorite game. Doesn't quite crack the top of the list, but is definitely a game that left a lasting impression for its world building/melding with early 00s Tokyo and really fun "layered" systems that worked together in really delightful ways. It's one of the hardest games to "explain" if you didn't experience it and I'm not sure it would even play the same way today without the DS stylus but it was an awesome and memorable - if not quite top ten - experience.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
bkimmel Link ParentYou can put the exact same command below that one without the "burned" check. So basically it will try the top one first ("find a burned opponent and hit them so you get the splash effect") and if...You can put the exact same command below that one without the "burned" check. So basically it will try the top one first ("find a burned opponent and hit them so you get the splash effect") and if that doesn't work it does the one below it ("hit anyone / lowest HP"). You should have "lowest HP" as a condition on most of your attacks - the only exceptions being archers and things aimed at the back row and "benefit on hit" attacks (that should generally be aimed at "lowest evasion").
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
bkimmel Link ParentThe female character models are ridiculous. Scarlett's shirt alone is hilarious and for the rest of them it looks like they just told the designer to imagine the trashiest sorority Halloween party...The female character models are ridiculous. Scarlett's shirt alone is hilarious and for the rest of them it looks like they just told the designer to imagine the trashiest sorority Halloween party possible and animate it.
The combos and equipment are so much fun - my first playthrough I don't think I even did much with the Command conditions but it's a whole game-within-a-game trying to make the most versatile units - like giving the Fighter a passive action but having it trigger on "No Archers" so they "Arrow Cover" the back row but only when they really need to.
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Comment on Graham Platner wins; Washington whines in ~society
bkimmel LinkNot sure where I sit on Platner exactly, but I'll say this as a former Democratic Party staffer: The "leaks" of the last couple weeks are absolutely nuts in a way that might not be 100% visible...Not sure where I sit on Platner exactly, but I'll say this as a former Democratic Party staffer:
The "leaks" of the last couple weeks are absolutely nuts in a way that might not be 100% visible unless you have a fair amount of experience working in federal campaigns. "Self-opposition research" is not a thing that even "normal" campaign operatives have a lot of exposure to: The basics of it are that you have the candidate, their spouse and maybe even their kids (if they are old enough) do the kind of confessional you would expect to have in like a Scientology run-down - deepest, darkest secrets... anyone from the past that could come up with anything they could say and what they may or may not have to prove it. The point of it is to have "spring-loaded" responses when the reporter calls your campaign with questions about those topics - policy, personal or professional. For obvious reasons, this is often done with just the campaign manager (maybe a Research or Comms director) in the very early stages of the campaign. For super obvious reasons you do not ever leak this to the press. Self-oppo is important and for the same reasons Catholic priests don't share what people say to them in confessions, it's important to "protect the process" and not let that information leak - otherwise candidates and their spouses in the future won't participate in it and their campaigns will be more vulnerable as a result. No matter how "disgruntled" or "disillusioned" you are as a campaign staffer, you wouldn't share self-oppo with a reporter because you know it essentially means you will never work again anywhere near a campaign. And yet (according to the Platner campaign) that's exactly what happened.
The other weird thing to me is that the reporter ran with it. Everyone has this notion of reporters being "sly opportunists" - and in all fairness they deserve that reputation for the most part... But when they are working a beat, there is still some kind of calculus they have to run between "what will make everyone want to read this story" and "what will make it so that no one in politics ever talks to me again". For the latter reason, you don't typically see them mine veins like "what every ex-girlfriend thinks about you". Divorce records where the ex-spouse puts it in an affidavit that they were abused, cheated on, etc.? Sure that's fair game and Standard Operating Procedure to use that... but it strikes me as "weird" that a reporter would go through a list of ex-girlfriends that way... I'm not saying it's never been done, but it suggests that someone "told" that reporter it was OK to cross that line in Platner's case and that they wouldn't be burning their contacts by doing so.
I'm not even 100% saying this was done to hurt Platner, per se. If you look at the timing of the release (at the end of a primary that he basically had locked up) it's at least plausible that it was just decided that this was the best time to burn the oxygen off of those stories so they don't come up closer to the General.
Very weird. Very interesting. This will probably be the race to watch into November.
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Graham Platner wins; Washington whines
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Comment on What do you think is the best sandwich? in ~food
I'm also going to call foul on the absence of any TSR Gold Box games (including Eye of the Beholder). There should be at least one or two of those on the list.
Also, Sid Meier's Gettysburg.