boon's recent activity
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Comment on The collapse of self-worth in the digital age in ~health.mental
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Comment on Three days in England - Overwhelmed by options - Looking for ideas in ~travel
boon LinkSince moving to the UK, Bath so far has been my favourite city. It's really quite stunning to walk around, and has a relaxed and calm vibe. It's accessible from London in just over an hour which...Since moving to the UK, Bath so far has been my favourite city. It's really quite stunning to walk around, and has a relaxed and calm vibe. It's accessible from London in just over an hour which makes travelling easier.
Other lovely cities include Chester, York, Edinburgh, Oxford and Cambridge, although if you're only picking a single place; I'd go with Bath, then for a little longer (3-4h travelling) York.
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Comment on After this year's widely lauded Olympics in Paris, Denmark's capital announced it is exploring the possibility of hosting the international sporting event in 2036 in ~sports
boon Link ParentAnecdotally, most people I know enjoyed the Olympics this time round. There’s always a bit of Olympics controversy but after the chaos that was Rio (green swimming pools, falling apart stadiums)...Anecdotally, most people I know enjoyed the Olympics this time round.
There’s always a bit of Olympics controversy but after the chaos that was Rio (green swimming pools, falling apart stadiums) and Tokyo awkwardly fitting in between lockdowns it felt like a while since there was a plain, successful Olympics.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
boon LinkStarted playing Ghost of Tsushima for the last few days. It’s a great game, looks beautiful and runs smoothly on the Steam Deck, which I can’t believe. Love experiencing the world of medieval...Started playing Ghost of Tsushima for the last few days. It’s a great game, looks beautiful and runs smoothly on the Steam Deck, which I can’t believe.
Love experiencing the world of medieval period Japan and playing in Japanese with the English subtitles is a huge pleasure. The swordplay is fun as are the ninja style tactics, and the stealth is some of the best executed I’ve seen.
Feels like there’s a few missed opportunities to make it a really 10/10 game, namely in a little more variety in the enemies and a lack of an honour system, in a game that centres on honour.
Overall loving it and looking forward to playing more.
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Comment on Generating sudokus for fun and no profit in ~comp
boon LinkThis is an awesome article and a really interesting dive into tackling a challenging problemThis is an awesome article and a really interesting dive into tackling a challenging problem
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Comment on Governor Gavin Newsom orders homeless sweeps throughout California in ~society
boon Link ParentManchester in the UK has more homeless shelter spaces than homeless, and still has plenty of street sleepers. The entry requirements for the shelters are as low as “don’t have any drugs on you”,...Manchester in the UK has more homeless shelter spaces than homeless, and still has plenty of street sleepers.
The entry requirements for the shelters are as low as “don’t have any drugs on you”, and they are offered help and support to get off drug addiction.
I can’t think of many places with a better safety net than there and they still have a homeless problem. The commenter above said it’s option X or option Y… but why not a bit of both? If you provide mechanisms to escape poverty and homelessness and clamp down on drug users avoiding those mechanisms.
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Comment on A state of emergency has been declared in southern Iceland after another volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula – the fourth since December in ~enviro
boon LinkThis was particularly interesting to me, I didn't know this before. I suppose this explains the strange smells and dead fish that were reported before Vesuvius erupted?if lava, which is alkaline, comes into contact with sea water, chlorine fumes can be produced
This was particularly interesting to me, I didn't know this before.
I suppose this explains the strange smells and dead fish that were reported before Vesuvius erupted?
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Comment on I found a hobby in ~hobbies
boon LinkI didn’t know these had a name! Love seeing these out and about while walking around, always a fun window into the past. Definitely going to keep a keener eye out for them in future.I didn’t know these had a name! Love seeing these out and about while walking around, always a fun window into the past.
Definitely going to keep a keener eye out for them in future.
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Comment on Danish dictionary to weed out gender stereotypes – ‘career women’ are now paired with ‘career men’ and manslaughter is a linguistic offence in ~humanities.languages
boon LinkThis is the same as most words in English with the same equivalent. -man is a gender neutral suffix in most of its use cases, it doesn’t literally mean “Male person”, the same as in “Mankind”. The...Some words, she said, ending in -mand do not refer to a person, which would make it pointless adding a female equivalent.
This is the same as most words in English with the same equivalent. -man is a gender neutral suffix in most of its use cases, it doesn’t literally mean “Male person”, the same as in “Mankind”.
The movement to add new gender-specific words seems contrary to the movement to remove gendering from words.
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Comment on There's a belief that some form of cider was made by Vikings in Norway, and today, its growing popularity has people convinced it's the country's national drink in ~food
boon Link ParentI find this all the more bizarre given the very well known Viking drink in Mead.I find this all the more bizarre given the very well known Viking drink in Mead.
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Comment on Starfield - what are your thoughts? in ~games
boon Link ParentI think this is exactly the problem, one they seem to have remedied with F4 and Starfield. Previously, they spent a tonne on big name VAs for some roles which did amazingly then cheaped out on...all had big names in the cast that had very good deliveries
I think this is exactly the problem, one they seem to have remedied with F4 and Starfield.
Previously, they spent a tonne on big name VAs for some roles which did amazingly then cheaped out on other roles, like having one single voice actor act all the guards and downs of NPCs in Skyrim, which killed immersion.
NV had decent voice acting, but I guess that would be down to how Obsidian handled it. They did a great job with Outer Worlds VA too.
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Comment on Starfield - what are your thoughts? in ~games
boon Link ParentIronically the not picking up everything you see thing is unique to Starfield - most other Bethesda games are hoarding games! I highly recommend playing Skyrim SE if you’ve not played any others,...Ironically the not picking up everything you see thing is unique to Starfield - most other Bethesda games are hoarding games!
I highly recommend playing Skyrim SE if you’ve not played any others, it’s my personal favourite game of all time.
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Comment on Starfield - what are your thoughts? in ~games
boon Link**My own two cents: ** I’ve sank 24 hours into it this weekend alone and barely scratched the surface. It’s a great game, with a solid story and decent voice acting (which for a Bethesda game...**My own two cents: **
I’ve sank 24 hours into it this weekend alone and barely scratched the surface. It’s a great game, with a solid story and decent voice acting (which for a Bethesda game seems to be a feat).There’s a few ‘shames’, the big one being no space flight between planets. As people are digging into this more it looks like something that could be fixed with mods. The procedurally generated content is, like in No Mans Sky, a bit disappointing at times.
minor spoilers
I can’t believe the people on the moon don’t reference the fact they’re on the _moon_, they just repeat generic npc outpost dialog.However the combat is the best it’s been, and I love that it’s slower to build than in Skyrim or Fallout. Skills take longer to earn and plot lines are much more drawn out in greater depth and detail.
Overall it’s a cracking, fun and time consuming game and the negatives are definitely way overblown online (as is tradition), but it wouldn’t be a Bethesda game without missing the mark in small ways. Can’t wait for modding!
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Starfield - what are your thoughts?
For those of us who caved and got the Early Access, what are your thoughts on the game so far? Please remember to tag spoilers! And for anyone looking forward to it coming out on Wednesday, got...
For those of us who caved and got the Early Access, what are your thoughts on the game so far? Please remember to tag spoilers!
And for anyone looking forward to it coming out on Wednesday, got any plans for a build or character?
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Comment on After two decades the dominance of Google Search comes into question in ~tech
boon LinkFor a couple of years now I've been using 'reddit' as a suffix to get results that actually mean something instead of AI generated blogpost garbage. Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT is turning out like a...For a couple of years now I've been using 'reddit' as a suffix to get results that actually mean something instead of AI generated blogpost garbage.
Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT is turning out like a more reliable Google search to me as well for various questions, although it needs some sanity checking. GPT-4 is definitely more reliable than 3, though.
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Comment on NVIDIA debuts AI-enhanced real-time ray tracing for games and apps with new DLSS 3.5 in ~comp
boon Link ParentThere’s a lot of innovation in the space at the moment, particularly in handheld or portable PC gaming, just less on top of the line hardware. PC game sales still account for roughly half of all...I feel like the PC (especially for gaming) is on life support
There’s a lot of innovation in the space at the moment, particularly in handheld or portable PC gaming, just less on top of the line hardware.
PC game sales still account for roughly half of all game sales and PC gamers outnumber console players significantly.
Market definitely ain’t dead.
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Comment on Meat eaters of Tildes - what have you tried to make use more ethical? in ~food
boon Link ParentI’ve really, really tried to like vegan cheese - almost all my family are vegan now - but the store bought kind is inedible to me. There’s a pizza place in town that does vegan creamery cheese,...I’ve really, really tried to like vegan cheese - almost all my family are vegan now - but the store bought kind is inedible to me.
There’s a pizza place in town that does vegan creamery cheese, where plant milk is put through the same process as regular cheese, and that is incredible though. Just wish it was available widely!
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Comment on Meat eaters of Tildes - what have you tried to make use more ethical? in ~food
boon LinkWe eat Clarence Court eggs, which are expensive but guaranteed high welfare and have offered tours of their farms Eat a lot of wild venison, which has had a free life until a clean bullet has...- We eat Clarence Court eggs, which are expensive but guaranteed high welfare and have offered tours of their farms
- Eat a lot of wild venison, which has had a free life until a clean bullet has dispatched it - probably the least painful way to die for a wild animal
- Gone from “meat everyday” to meat 2-3 times per week
- Free range meat if we do purchase farm meat
- Pad our meals with tonnes more vegetables which in turn has made us healthier!
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Comment on BRICS leaders to meet and discuss expansion in ~society
boon Link ParentWhich ironically is a position of support for Russia. SA have long been aligned to China and Russia, even more so since China provided financial relief during COVID.Which ironically is a position of support for Russia. SA have long been aligned to China and Russia, even more so since China provided financial relief during COVID.
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Comment on Beer-drunk raccoons terrorize Germany, chaos reigns in ~life.pets
boon LinkWhat a headline. Unlike the states, Europe has far fewer predators of raccoons. Can’t imagine this problem getting any better without intervention.What a headline.
Unlike the states, Europe has far fewer predators of raccoons. Can’t imagine this problem getting any better without intervention.
The AI (perhaps unsurprisingly) summarises it factually but loses the soul or the beat of the article.
The main theme it presents is quite a poignant one, and not restricted to the digital age. Internal validation will always result in more life satisfaction. You could fill a book with the quotes about this subject.
I loved the way the author illustrates the idea, with a kid who loves a hobby (roller skating) even though he has no idea what he’s doing; however when presented with someone ‘better’ the simple joy of the hobby is lost.
In part a symptom of our constantly rushed society, but also in the ease of drawing comparisons between ourselves and the best people in the world, it can be hard to find satisfaction in just being sorta okay at something.
As a personal example, playing Stardew Valley for the first time I had a blast, but on a second playthrough where I was trying to min-max the game and comparing my progress to other people I suddenly lost that childish fun.