clem's recent activity
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Comment on My father died suddenly in ~life.men
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Comment on What is your eleventh favorite video game? in ~games
clem LinkWhat the hey, I'll try to come up with a list of my top 11 games if I can do it without too much trouble. t-1. Tears of the Kingdom t-1. Breath of the Wild (Frankly, these seem like two parts of...What the hey, I'll try to come up with a list of my top 11 games if I can do it without too much trouble.
t-1. Tears of the Kingdom
t-1. Breath of the Wild (Frankly, these seem like two parts of the same game)
3. Valheim
4. Super Smash Bros. Melee
5. Deus Ex
6. Mario 3
7. Wind Waker
8. Super Mario World
9. Skyrim
10. Super Metroid
11. Civ 5And then some honorable mentions in no particular order (or I guess the order I'm able to remember them in):
Spelunky
Hollow Knight
NHL 95
Mario RPG
Advance Wars
Unreal Tournament (1999)
Celeste
OblivionIt's tough ranking games, since it's all based on nostalgia and hazy memories and feelings, but Civ 5 in the 11th position sounds about right to me. If we're going on play time, it's actually near the top, since I used to be play it while I worked. Do some work, play a turn in Civ 5, work while all the other civilizations were taking their turns, etc. But I've had great fun with the game even forgetting that convenient situation I used to have. I used to use Giant Multiplayer Robot to play asynchronous games with friends and randoms, and played plenty against the PC, too. I was super proud of my first top-level victory (Deity level, I think?) after many, many attempted matches. It was a science victory by just one or two turns if I remember right.
I gave the sequel lots of time to win me over but it never did. I tried Civ 7 for about an hour but it just didn't click. Not that fun. Neither has scratched the "one more turn" itch for me since Civ 5. Unfortunately I don't see myself going back to it just because I feel like I've done pretty much everything there is to do with it. But it holds a nice place in my gaming heart. Hopefully Civ 8 will be just as fun?
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Comment on Tildes Survey #8: What is your favorite video game? (Results) in ~talk
clem Link ParentNo, this is correct; I didn't really expect you to let me vote for both games at the same time. I don't need to force my opinion that they are different parts of the same game.No, this is correct; I didn't really expect you to let me vote for both games at the same time. I don't need to force my opinion that they are different parts of the same game.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #8: What is your favorite video game? (Results) in ~talk
clem LinkJust curious how you handled my vote: did you give me two votes for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, or did you just go with the latter for me? Edit: nevermind! Looked through the data...Just curious how you handled my vote: did you give me two votes for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, or did you just go with the latter for me?
Edit: nevermind! Looked through the data and saw two votes for BotW and mine for TotK. A reasonable choice. Not totally representative of what I meant, but more more representative of reality. The first game blew me away far more than the second, but the second just has so much more content.
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Comment on We're so back in ~tildes
clem Link ParentI always cheer when I see the "You broke Reddit" screen, hoping that it's permanent. No such luck yet. But I'd be sad if I thought I'd permanently broken Tildes.I always cheer when I see the "You broke Reddit" screen, hoping that it's permanent. No such luck yet. But I'd be sad if I thought I'd permanently broken Tildes.
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Comment on What do you think is the best sandwich? in ~food
clem LinkI like this question and need to mull it over. I like the whole Colbert Questionnairet. It's been fun hearing people's answers. I'm afraid it's been a long time since I've had a really good...I like this question and need to mull it over. I like the whole Colbert Questionnairet. It's been fun hearing people's answers. I'm afraid it's been a long time since I've had a really good sandwich, so I can't come up with anything good. For now my answer is a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich on a croissant. I'm not saying this is a bad sandwich--it's excellent, as a matter of fact--but it's not really what comes to mind when I think of a sandwich. I'm looking for a traditional lunchtime kind of thing, not a breakfast one.
I'll say that I usually get something with turkey and probably with avocado, but the last few sandwiches I've gotten like that have been so mediocre. Boo to mediocre restaurants. I've also had a barbecue chicken sandwich semi-recently, but again--mediocre.
I guess this is a new goal for the summer: have a great sandwich. Wish I could go back here. ðŸ˜
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Comment on ‘Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ passes $1bn worldwide, the first picture to do so in 2026 in ~movies
clem LinkKind of a pointless comment, but: this movie got me to take the family to the theater for the first time since the previous Mario movie. In the interim we tried to go to Despicable Me 4, but the...Kind of a pointless comment, but: this movie got me to take the family to the theater for the first time since the previous Mario movie. In the interim we tried to go to Despicable Me 4, but the seating chart was the opposite of what I'm used to, so I mis-read it and picked seats in the front rather than the back row. Oops. Can't say I loved the experience with Mario Galaxy. I ended up sitting on the armrest between two seats because the headrest on the uncomfortable chair started giving me a stiff neck. Luckily this weird-looking seating arrangement worked out okay.
Not sure what would get me to enjoy theaters nowadays. I think I'll always prefer my couch and easily-paused TV at home.
Okay, back to yelling at clouds...
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Comment on Has anyone else seen a LOT of dead birds on the side of the road this year? in ~enviro
clem LinkThere's been a dead duck and a dead hawk on the side of a road that I frequent, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. Oh, and one of the pileated woodpeckers that lives around my...There's been a dead duck and a dead hawk on the side of a road that I frequent, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. Oh, and one of the pileated woodpeckers that lives around my property got hit by a car last year.
Where am I? Not in Bhutan.
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Comment on Serious relationship problem, seeking advice in ~life
clem LinkI don't know if this is helpful at all, but I'll just throw it out there. There once was a girl I was great friends with and also had very strong romantic feelings for. She did not reciprocate...I don't know if this is helpful at all, but I'll just throw it out there. There once was a girl I was great friends with and also had very strong romantic feelings for. She did not reciprocate those feelings (at least not after I took forever to act on them), yet I maintained the friendship despite some pretty deep longing.
Then one day she met a guy she liked. A lot. I resented him at first, and even half-accidentally flipped a condom package into his beer! (I meant to flip it up toward his beer, but didn't think it'd actually go in.) But then a picture of them together appeared on Facebook. She was looking at him in a way that she never looked at me. It was clear that she was into him, not me, and my feelings faded after that. We still had a great friendship and I actually became pretty good friends with her boyfriend. I never stopped being attracted to her, but I completely stopped pining for her.
Can you think of anything that might trigger this sort of closure for you in a similar way? It seems like a question that you might ponder.
My real advice, though, is to see a professional to talk through it. I know that there actually are some mental health professionals here on Tildes, but I think getting some direct advice would be more helpful. Good luck to ya.
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Comment on What change would make you quit Tildes? in ~tildes
clem LinkI'm sure there are lots of things that would make me leave, but one that stands out is the layout. I can't stand Reddit's bloated new layout that's full of white space and a focus on image/video....I'm sure there are lots of things that would make me leave, but one that stands out is the layout. I can't stand Reddit's bloated new layout that's full of white space and a focus on image/video. Tildes' text-focused layout similar to old.reddit.com is lovely (I use Solarized Light). You can see plenty of posts and comments at a time but not so many that it's overwhelming.
I'll also just take this opportunity to praise this place for being so welcoming of everyone. My identity is about as white bread as it gets, but I greatly appreciate how friendly this place is to people who are not like me. I've never seen another place that is so staunch about welcoming trans folks, and to me that is a litmus test for it doing something right. I'm sure that, failing this, it would also make me want to leave this place.
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Comment on Nintendo raises prices for Switch, Switch 2 and NSO in ~games
clem Link ParentI remember thinking, I'd pay $1,000 for Breath of the Wild. It satisfied almost everything I'd ever wanted from a Zelda game and felt like playing the original Zelda as a 6 year-old all over...I remember thinking, I'd pay $1,000 for Breath of the Wild. It satisfied almost everything I'd ever wanted from a Zelda game and felt like playing the original Zelda as a 6 year-old all over again. I'd gladly pay that much for a similar experience. Hopefully you feel the same way about future Pikmin titles!
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Comment on Nintendo raises prices for Switch, Switch 2 and NSO in ~games
clem Link ParentThinking about this question depresses me. I grew up as a huge Nintendo fanboy, getting the NES for my 5th birthday. I just loved everything Nintendo. This continued well into my 20s with the...Thinking about this question depresses me. I grew up as a huge Nintendo fanboy, getting the NES for my 5th birthday. I just loved everything Nintendo. This continued well into my 20s with the GameCube and Wii. It sorta faded away with the Wii U, but more because I was busy with grad school and whatnot rather than lack of interest in the console. I enjoyed the Switch a ton, but as I approached and passed 40, so much "Nintendo" fails to pique my interest, even considering that I could steal some of my 8 year-old's enthusiasm in enjoying it. I think Tears of the Kingdom is probably the last thing they've released that's excited me (correction: this list reminded me of the awesome Mario Bros. Wonder).
I've wanted to be excited about the Switch 2 since well before they announced it, but I guess my Nintendo fanboy days are long over. Luckily I'll still gladly pay ridiculous amounts of money to play the next Zelda game. Fingers crossed Nintendo announces something to excite me before September 1st.
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Comment on Do you prefer chunky or smooth peanut butter? in ~food
clem Link ParentI certainly didn't eat the peanut butter I separated, I'm just a weirdo about disposing of things properly. I plucked out the glass to recycle and added the remaining peanut butter to the compost....I certainly didn't eat the peanut butter I separated, I'm just a weirdo about disposing of things properly. I plucked out the glass to recycle and added the remaining peanut butter to the compost. I'm sure I also added some tiny glass shards to the compost, but that'll work itself out in time. But eating glass would be no joke! I definitely wouldn't risk that.
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Comment on Do you prefer chunky or smooth peanut butter? in ~food
clem Link ParentI actually end up dumping a lot of the oil that pools at the top of the peanut butter. Not so much that it gets hard and flaky, but enough that I don't taste it. Too much oil and the flavor is...I actually end up dumping a lot of the oil that pools at the top of the peanut butter. Not so much that it gets hard and flaky, but enough that I don't taste it. Too much oil and the flavor is indeed off-putting. My wife and I disagree about how much oil to leave, but since I'm the one that takes the time to pour off the oil and stir the jar at first, I win! (She could always open another one and make it to her preference, but she doesn't.)
Totally agreed about the ingredients. I actually find that natural peanut butter tastes sweeter than the weird peanut butter that has sugar added. I guess I don't mind the Jif-esque stuff on occasion, but I would never buy it. It doesn't taste like peanut butter to me.
I've also become a snob about peanut butter and chocolate. As much as I used to love Reese's, nowadays nothing beats a good hunk of chocolate dunked in peanut butter.
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Comment on Do you prefer chunky or smooth peanut butter? in ~food
clem LinkChunky always, but the grocery store nearby only sells creamy, so I'm stuck with it. I could order chunky, but it costs more, so clearly my preference is not that strong. Also, my peanut butter...Chunky always, but the grocery store nearby only sells creamy, so I'm stuck with it. I could order chunky, but it costs more, so clearly my preference is not that strong. Also, my peanut butter orders in the past haven't been great. Once, at least one of the jars cracked, and it was tedious separating the glass from the peanut butter and cleaning the outside of the still-usable jars. Another time, the peanut butter was a bit stale. It was clear that their direct-from-manufacturer sales were clearing out old stock.
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Comment on What are your go-to meals that you cook? in ~food
clem LinkMy super lazy breakfast burritos: Make a couple scrambled eggs. Set aside. In the same pan, fry up some diced onions. After they're starting to cook down a bit (or after just a few minutes), add...My super lazy breakfast burritos:
Make a couple scrambled eggs. Set aside.
In the same pan, fry up some diced onions. After they're starting to cook down a bit (or after just a few minutes), add some beans (I usually use about 1/3 can black beans, but adjust based on preference and how much you want to eat). Add some frozen corn if you have it and want to. Add some leftover rice if you have it in the fridge (or microwave a bit of it if you'd rather not have it mix together; I like it a bit better when it's separate, but it's up to you). Add some spices (cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper) toward the end. Then dump a bit of salsa on and mix it together until even-ish.
Throw some shredded cheese on a tortilla and put it in the oven until the cheese is melted, then make your burrito.
So easy, and so good. I have this for lunch fairly often because of the ease and deliciousness.
I do a much better job when I'm planning on burritos. I soak dry beans and make a big pot slowly and the flavors come together a lot better. I also fry up onions and peppers separately to add, and probably get an avocado if there are any decent ones at the store, but you asked for easy recipes, and that's one of my easiest.
Another of my go-to super-simple recipes is spaghetti. I'll share it anyway, but it does use ground beef, so you might not be interested. I'm sure you could substitute a bean mix and it'd be quite delicious. Unfortunately, my spaghetti is one of my son's favorite dishes, and he's always "disliked" beans (meaning: he doesn't like the look or the smell or the idea of them, so won't try them), so I'm stuck with this beef version until he's older.
First: pour yourself a glass of wine. You actually can skip this step if you don't drink, but it adds some great flavor. You'll need the glass later in the recipe, but of course drink it while cooking, and just top it off when it's time.
In a big pot, brown some ground beef (we like a lot of leftovers, so I use about a pound and a half). Get the pot nice and hot with some oil in the bottom (olive is what I use) and toss in the beef. Let it sit for a while without moving it so it actually gets seared a bit and therefore brown. Then flip it over and brown the other side. Wait a bit, then start to chop it up, etc.
You should've diced half an onion by now. To avoid making yourself cry, ... never mind. I struggled to clearly describe how to dice it, so check out this short video to hear it from a professional: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCGS067s0zo. (Hopefully I'm not over-explaining, but you said you were a beginner, and it took me many years before I learned how to properly dice an onion.)
Once you're happy with how brown the beef is, add the onion, and cook it down until a bit translucent. Also add as many whole garlic cloves as you want. Don't let me stop you from going nuts; I love whole cloves. Then add spices. I don't measure anything, but I end up with at least a quarter cup total of spices. I start with a mix of Italian seasoning (I don't actually know everything in it, it's just a mix that I buy from the store). Then add a bunch of basil. Then garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper. Wait 30 seconds to a minute, then mix them in and wait another minute. Cooking the spices helps bring out the flavor, so make sure it's good and fragrant.
Add the glass of wine and then mix it in, scraping the bottom of the pan (aka deglazing). Add a can of tomato sauce, then a can of chopped tomatoes, then a can of tomato paste. I always rinse the cans to make sure I get as much of the tomato as possible into the spaghetti, since I can always just cook it longer to get rid of that excess water.
Simmer for a while on low until it seems done. Serve on your pasta of choice, of course.
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Comment on How are we all feeling about piracy these days? in ~movies
clem LinkI've pretty much always been a pirate. As a kid, I'd game files over to another floppy disk and keep xeroxed versions of the manuals handy to enter the third word on the fifth line on page 23 to...I've pretty much always been a pirate. As a kid, I'd game files over to another floppy disk and keep xeroxed versions of the manuals handy to enter the third word on the fifth line on page 23 to "confirm" that I indeed owned the game.
I've never thought of it as stealing. Stealing is taking something away from someone else. Piracy is simply sharing something that can be infinitely duplicated with no loss to anyone. If I end up developing some cultivar of a peach tree or something and someone comes to my house asking to duplicate it, I'd say, "Sure--I have these seedlings for sale for $15 each, but it's fruiting right now... Here, take a bag of fruit and grow them yourself if you want. Then pass that along." I get that this attitude doesn't quite scale or put food on my table, but it's pretty much the way unselfish people operate. Abundance should be shared.
I do still try to support small artists at least, though. For music I'm kind of half and half; buy stuff I know for sure I want to support or download as trials, after which I sometimes remember to buy it later. Luckily Bandcamp provides a good option for real ownership of files.
I hardly ever pirate games anymore. Steam is so convenient and sales are plentiful. And Nintendo prices are ridiculous, but the Switch is so convenient to use, and the games I buy are generally worth the price, so I don't bother with piracy.
For movies I'm almost completely a filthy pirate. I do sometimes want to pay, but the options are so horribly unappealing. For example, I'm pretty excited about Wake Up, Dead Man and hope that Netflix keeps making movies in that series, so I figured I'd just pay for a month of Netflix to show my support. But the subscription is now double what I used to pay. I don't want to indicate that I'm okay with ads in any way, so I don't want to pay for the cheaper version, and there's no "Pay $10 to watch this one movie" option. I'll probably end up paying the $20, because that price to own a movie isn't bad, but I had to step back and mull it over a bit first.
There's no real option to own movies other than pirating them or buying the physical media. Since I have no use for more pieces of plastic cluttering my house, pirating is pretty obvious. And since movies almost all go through ridiculously wealthy companies that really have little use for my money, I don't feel bad at all about it.
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Comment on I tried ranking my albums out of five stars - I think I've gotten it wrong. Thoughts? in ~music
clem Link ParentAgreed--I would never delete individual tracks from albums unless they were particularly offensive to my ears. Even then, I'd probably make an empty track or something as a placeholder to remind...Agreed--I would never delete individual tracks from albums unless they were particularly offensive to my ears. Even then, I'd probably make an empty track or something as a placeholder to remind myself that it existed.
Just be careful if you start treating stars like this, as it might make you grouchy to have to use them in other ways! For example, if I'm rating a product on a shopping website, it annoys me to have to use stars at all, let alone the default of basically 5 stars if it's a reasonably good product that fits the description.
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Comment on I tried ranking my albums out of five stars - I think I've gotten it wrong. Thoughts? in ~music
clem LinkI don't have a lot to add, but thought I'd chime in with how I used to rate things. It's a bit different... 0 stars: Anywhere from "I hate this" to "this is fine but doesn't impress me." I might...I don't have a lot to add, but thought I'd chime in with how I used to rate things. It's a bit different...
0 stars: Anywhere from "I hate this" to "this is fine but doesn't impress me." I might want to listen to it again and I might not, but it's nothing special.
1 star: This is great! If this were a student paper, I'd need to add a gold star to it.
2-5 stars: Similar thought process there. 2 stars is very, very good, whereas 5 stars is one of my favorites of all time and I'll come back to it for the rest of my life.I don't really like the whole 5/5 rating system. It seems too negative. Why do I want to "punish" something with simply one or two stars? I would rather just ignore/delete it than waste my time on it. I'd rather save the stars for things that deserve them.
It's been a long time since I've rated music or movies or whatever though. Nowadays my "star" ratings are basically delete/block things I dislike, ignore or skip things I feel neutral about, add things to playlists that I like, and purchase/download things that I love.
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Comment on New York Times quiz: Who’s a better writer: AI or humans? in ~tech
clem Link ParentI've been very biased against AI, so this quiz was helpful with confronting that. I suppose I have more thinking to do about it, but yeah, part of me wanted to hate everything about it. I guess...I've been very biased against AI, so this quiz was helpful with confronting that. I suppose I have more thinking to do about it, but yeah, part of me wanted to hate everything about it. I guess that part of me was foolish.
I have one bit of wisdom to add: you're closer now to your father than you'll ever be. By which I mean, your memories are fresher and your knowledge of him is more tangible. I'm not saying that you won't come to a different relationship with him in the future as you sort through memories, but he'll be further and further away. I'm not sure I've ever said this to anyone, as it's a partially depressing realization, and I don't know that it's especially comforting. But I do partially mean it as comfort. Enjoy the fresh memories of your father. Enjoy remembering him directly. If you can, enjoy the physical objects that he left behind. Maybe there are even things that still smell like him. You're running out of time to enjoy those.
When my dad died in '09, my pain was agony for quite a while. I felt that hole in my heart almost physically. But I came to look with a kind of longing on that fresh pain because he hadn't been gone long. Part of me felt like he was still around, or like I'd just missed him. I'm not saying I'd like to go back to that pain, but don't shy away from it. I'm not saying enjoy the pain, but do enjoy the freshness of your memories, even if that brings you pain. You might even write down some of your memories, especially if you have a terrible memory like I do. I wish I'd done that. I've forgotten so much of my dad.
Regarding your mother: everyone processes this differently. My mom never especially wanted anything from the four of us other than to continue to be around. She didn't express her grief to us in particular; she dealt with it in her own way. My mother-in-law was the same way. But that's kind of between you and your step-brothers and your mom. I say just be in her life and help when you can unless she seems like there's something more she wants from you. I'm sure anything you can do to honor your dad would be great.
Sorry for your loss. I at least had some warning that my dad would be gone, even if I ignored most of the warning in favor of denial. I can't imagine what it'd feel like for it to be sudden.