Crespyl's recent activity
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Comment on Very Important People: Boris Tarshkokan in ~tv
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Comment on US keyboards don't have enough keys, so I switched to Japanese - HyperJIS in ~comp
Crespyl (edited )Link ParentOn physical keyboards I've only ever used QWERTY; it's fine and I learned to touch type pretty fast as a kid (thanks Mavis Beacon!). I never felt like a different layout would make me faster or...On physical keyboards I've only ever used QWERTY; it's fine and I learned to touch type pretty fast as a kid (thanks Mavis Beacon!). I never felt like a different layout would make me faster or more comfortable (typing speed was never the bottleneck for me), so I never dug into Dvorak or any of the other alternatives. (Edit: another comment reminded me, I do always replace Caps-Lock with an extra Ctrl key, makes Emacs (and everything else) more comfy)
Mobile is a different matter though. When I was young, my dad had a Palm Pilot with Graffiti on it, which I thought was pretty cool. When modern touchscreens came around I was baffled that everyone standardized on cramming full QWERTY keyboards into tiny two-inch surfaces, instead of something like Graffiti. The keys were so small! Even T9 made more sense, at least then you had tactile feedback.
My dad (someone who's always had a passion for UX) quickly found an alternative in MessageEase/ANIHORTES: a 3x3 grid with the most common letters available with a single tap, and the rest a directional swipe. These days I use the open-source keyboard Thumb-Key which implements the same concept.
Apparently a similar system is used in Japan, I think I've seen it referred to as a "flick" keyboard. It's precise enough that I can generally type single-handedly at a rate fast enough that I don't feel the need for autocomplete/autocorrect. Which is good, because I don't like the way modern autocomplete systems make me feel.
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Comment on Why Microsoft’s war on Windows’ Control Panel is taking so long in ~tech
Crespyl Link ParentIIRC a big part of the hate for Vista stemmed from under-specced PCs being sold as "Vista ready", when the OS actually needed substantially more RAM and/or compute than what was being shipped by...IIRC a big part of the hate for Vista stemmed from under-specced PCs being sold as "Vista ready", when the OS actually needed substantially more RAM and/or compute than what was being shipped by the OEMs. If you had the hardware for it, it was more or less okay. Still a little buggy and the UAC was over-zealous, but you could use it to get things done.
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Comment on Babylon 5 S01E06: "Mind War" - Episode Discussion in ~tv
Crespyl Link ParentEvery time I think this release can't get stranger or more confusing, they find something new! At least this is probably the better numbering, all else considered.reverted to the original numbering
Every time I think this release can't get stranger or more confusing, they find something new!
At least this is probably the better numbering, all else considered.
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Comment on Project Hail Mary - Discussion thread in ~movies
Crespyl LinkI'll link my earlier comment, but the gist is that while I liked the movie quite a bit, it did feel very "safe" and was definitely one of those all-the-edges-sanded-off Hollywood Blockbuster type...I'll link my earlier comment, but the gist is that while I liked the movie quite a bit, it did feel very "safe" and was definitely one of those all-the-edges-sanded-off Hollywood Blockbuster type films that doesn't really take any risks.
I would've loved a little slower pace, a few more quiet thinky moments, that kind of thing. Hard to see how to fit that into the already-long two and a half hours, but a guy can dream.
I did really enjoy it though, and I'm so glad they didn't change the ending (either the revelation about how Grace came to be on the mission, or his final choice).
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Crespyl LinkJust watched Project Hail Mary with my family. Everyone really enjoyed it, as did the pretty full theater crowd. I loved the book, and quite enjoyed the movie, but it's a... very safe adaptation....Just watched Project Hail Mary with my family. Everyone really enjoyed it, as did the pretty full theater crowd. I loved the book, and quite enjoyed the movie, but it's a... very safe adaptation. It's packed tight at two and a half hours, and it's hard to see how you could change much, but there's a degree of levity that dampens some of the sense of scale and weight/desperation the book had.
It's a fine movie, maybe even excellent, but I can't help but feel that there's a version more along the lines of Europa Report that could've elevated it just that bit further.
Also, I need to vent about the advertising for a moment. Every trailer I saw had major spoilers for one of the huge reveals in the later part of the book. I tried to help my brother (who hasn't read the book yet) to avoid them, but then in our showing they had not one, but two pre-roll segments with spoilers!!
It goes back to this being a very safe big blockbuster movie that's taking no risks. They need everyone to know exactly what they're getting before they go see it. Sigh.
Anyway, it is good, but I recommend reading the book first.
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Comment on Why are we still doing this? in ~tech
Crespyl Link ParentThough it's true that modern machine learning does involve operating on huge numbers of floating point values...Though it's true that modern machine learning does involve operating on huge numbers of floating point values...
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Comment on Lee=Emcee² - Cave Story: A Lyrical Walkthrough (2026) in ~music
Crespyl LinkThis was absolutely delightful! Being born in the 90s, but never having or really being around game consoles, I grew up with those early freeware indie titles: Cave Story, Spelunky, Iji, and...This was absolutely delightful!
Being born in the 90s, but never having or really being around game consoles, I grew up with those early freeware indie titles: Cave Story, Spelunky, Iji, and others. It always makes me so happy to see other people who found and loved them too.
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Comment on The average US college student is illiterate in ~life
Crespyl Link ParentThe game was from neal.fun, "Stimulation Clicker": https://neal.fun/stimulation-clicker/The game was from neal.fun, "Stimulation Clicker": https://neal.fun/stimulation-clicker/
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Comment on British Columbia announces it is making daylight time permanent after years of promises in ~society
Crespyl Link ParentIf your device timezone/region are set correctly, it shouldn't matter whether it's getting timing data from the US or Canada. IIRC "absolute" time is generally synced as UTC, then converted to the...If your device timezone/region are set correctly, it shouldn't matter whether it's getting timing data from the US or Canada. IIRC "absolute" time is generally synced as UTC, then converted to the appropriate local time zone. The tzdata DBs have all the rules for which areas have what offsets, as well as when and how each zone adjusts (or doesn't) for DST.
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Comment on Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole | Official trailer in ~tv
Crespyl Link ParentAh, I kept seeing the title and assuming that the character was "Jo Nesbo" and he had a "detective hole" (some kind of hideout??). Maybe I should actually watch the video... I've got some family...Harry Hole
Ah, I kept seeing the title and assuming that the character was "Jo Nesbo" and he had a "detective hole" (some kind of hideout??). Maybe I should actually watch the video...
I've got some family members who've been enjoying some of the other Netflix mystery/detective shows (specifically the various Harlan Coben adaptations), they might be interested too.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Crespyl LinkI played (and finished) Carimara the other day. It's a short puzzle/exploration game based in folklore from Normandy, and has a unique and rich visual style. Most of the gameplay revolves around...I played (and finished) Carimara the other day. It's a short puzzle/exploration game based in folklore from Normandy, and has a unique and rich visual style.
Most of the gameplay revolves around collecting cards so your (mute) player character can show them to other characters to get more information about the central mystery. It's a very short game (I finished in less than an hour) but the ending was satisfying and I was definitely left wanting more.
I found it both engaging and very charming, and a little creepy in that good way.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
Crespyl Link ParentFirefox mobile has the "Reader Mode" feature, which prevents the popup overlay from interrupting.Firefox mobile has the "Reader Mode" feature, which prevents the popup overlay from interrupting.
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Comment on The Funny Men in ~creative
Crespyl Link ParentI hope/assume it was intentional, as it's such an obvious stereotypical tell for AI generated content, and the immediately following line is "This is the slop land". Also the third section is...I hope/assume it was intentional, as it's such an obvious stereotypical tell for AI generated content, and the immediately following line is "This is the slop land". Also the third section is marked with Roman numerals instead of Arabic like the rest, making it stand out.
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Comment on Babylon 5 S01E01: "The Gathering" - Episode Discussion in ~tv
Crespyl Link ParentOoh, thanks for that, the viewing order list and individual episode pages are a great reference!Ooh, thanks for that, the viewing order list and individual episode pages are a great reference!
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Comment on Babylon 5 S01E01: "The Gathering" - Episode Discussion in ~tv
Crespyl LinkThis release has been so weird and confusing. So little fanfare/advertising for it, episodes popping up and being pulled down, no single playlist to see them all in order, it's very odd. Anyway, I...This release has been so weird and confusing. So little fanfare/advertising for it, episodes popping up and being pulled down, no single playlist to see them all in order, it's very odd.
Anyway, I like the episode. The acting is pretty old-fashioned compared to modern TV expectations, feels like I'm watching people in a stage production, but it's charming and I like the characters.
Londo and Garibaldi are one of the things I remember most from the partial watch through I did way back when it was on Netflix, and I'm glad to see them again.
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Comment on Babylon 5 is now free to watch on YouTube in ~tv
Crespyl Link ParentI got my hopes up that they were saying B5 was actually available on HBO Max, but that doesn't appear to be the case, at least not in my region. Seems like the only legitimate way to access it...a broader effort to drive traffic to subscription-based services such as Max, where remastered versions of Babylon 5 have been available for years
I got my hopes up that they were saying B5 was actually available on HBO Max, but that doesn't appear to be the case, at least not in my region.
Seems like the only legitimate way to access it right now is buying the whole thing or via the Roku Channel (with ads). Or physical media, if you can find it.
It's a shame, 'cause I was hoping to share the series with my family, and the one-per-week cadence works well for that.
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Comment on I'm annoyed with mundane revisionist history in ~talk
Crespyl Link ParentI was confused too; I guess maybe we have the Orange Site and the Orangered Site?I was confused too; I guess maybe we have the Orange Site and the Orangered Site?
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Comment on I'm back in ~talk
Crespyl Link ParentI must, as always, insist that it's obviously "tildebeasts".I must, as always, insist that it's obviously "tildebeasts".
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Comment on List animals until failure in ~games
Game Changer is my favorite, and the spin-offs like MSN and Crowd Control are pretty good too. Their cooking show (Gastronauts?) can be fun sometimes.
They also recently acquired Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared; both the original shorts and the full length series. They're publishing the series one episode a week, IIRC. DHMIS is a different vibe to the rest of their content, but if you haven't seen it, it's worth checking out the shorts. Very unnerving creepy/comedy sketches based on a kind of childrens TV show.