Crespyl's recent activity
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Comment on Topic marked for review by admin in ~test
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Comment on Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf | Announcement trailer in ~games
Crespyl Link ParentIt really holds up visually, though the gameplay is a bit stiff in comparison to modern titles. I've always loved it for its ambitious use of vector graphics at a time when most games were...It really holds up visually, though the gameplay is a bit stiff in comparison to modern titles.
I've always loved it for its ambitious use of vector graphics at a time when most games were sticking to pixel art; and its custom virtual machine to handle the rendering (and make it portable). Those two decisions are a big part of why it's still pretty easy to play nowadays.
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Comment on Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf | Announcement trailer in ~games
Crespyl Link ParentI played the first one and enjoyed it! Inside is a good reference, though Planet of Lana is less horror/unsettling and more just an adventure with some light action. It also reminded me of Another...I played the first one and enjoyed it!
Inside is a good reference, though Planet of Lana is less horror/unsettling and more just an adventure with some light action.
It also reminded me of Another World, with it's focus on cinematic scenes and art.
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Comment on What the hell are we doing with hierarchical tags? in ~tildes
Crespyl LinkI don't have strong opinions on this, but I can speak to (what I presume is) the idea behind tags like "source.youtube". It's not that someone might want to search for "source", but that someone...I don't have strong opinions on this, but I can speak to (what I presume is) the idea behind tags like "source.youtube". It's not that someone might want to search for "source", but that someone searching for posts about YouTube wouldn't want to get every post from YouTube.
In this case, it's more like a semantic namespace to distinguish a bare "youtube" tag from more specific things like "source.youtube", "video hosts.youtube", "google services.youtube" etc. Not that we necessarily have a lot of those other tags to distinguish from yet, but it's nice to set up a good taxonomy early.
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Comment on Changes to Advent of Code starting this December in ~comp.advent_of_code
Crespyl Link ParentIf you can't wait for December, the site has an archive of past events you can check out. My favorite were the (divisive) 2019 puzzles, since there was a big focus on gradually building a little...If you can't wait for December, the site has an archive of past events you can check out.
My favorite were the (divisive) 2019 puzzles, since there was a big focus on gradually building a little "bytecode" interpreter to hang further puzzles off of.
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Comment on How many valid JSON strings are there? in ~comp
Crespyl LinkIt took me a minute to realize the author was not talking about the values of strings as defined in the JSON spec (anything inside of "..." pairs), but "JSON blobs encoded as strings" also known...It took me a minute to realize the author was not talking about the values of strings as defined in the JSON spec (anything inside of
"..."pairs), but "JSON blobs encoded as strings" also known as JSON documents.The article explores the number of valid JSON documents of several (small) sizes.
Neat!
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Comment on What words do you recommend? in ~talk
Crespyl Link ParentHere on Roundworld, "deosil" used to be the pair of widdershins, but I'm partial to Discworld's "turnwise".Here on Roundworld, "deosil" used to be the pair of widdershins, but I'm partial to Discworld's "turnwise".
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Comment on What's a setting that you'd recommend? in ~tech
Crespyl LinkI have an odd one. If you've enabled developer options on your Android phone, you have access to a feature that I kind of think ought to be under the accessibility options: "Show taps". All it...I have an odd one. If you've enabled developer options on your Android phone, you have access to a feature that I kind of think ought to be under the accessibility options: "Show taps".
All it does is provide a subtle visual hint wherever you tap on the screen, which isn't much, but I find it useful feedback that the phone is doing what I want/that I did press where I intended to. It also helps make things clearer when I'm casting or screen recording.
I've had it enabled since I found it years and years ago, it's one of the first things I set up on a new phone (along with
MessageEaseThumbKey as my keyboard). -
Comment on Request: resources for learning digital electronics in ~comp
Crespyl Link ParentMy gut reaction, as someone currently enrolled in a 16 week Digital Applications class, is that that is a wildly ambitious course to have no prerequisites and to try to cover everything from...My gut reaction, as someone currently enrolled in a 16 week Digital Applications class, is that that is a wildly ambitious course to have no prerequisites and to try to cover everything from boolean algebra to CPU design and assembler in only 9 weeks.
I don't have a lot of material to offer, though as ackables suggests, nand2tetris is a great project to work through.
One resource that has helped me in the early stages is https://www.boolean-algebra.com/. It'll help show how to work with boolean algebra, and can also build k-maps and circuit diagrams.
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Comment on Is Tildes protected from malicious actors, aka paid trolls, aka bots? in ~tildes
Crespyl Link Parenthttps://xkcd.com/810 All that aside, I'd prefer to know I'm conversing with actual humans, but at this stage if someone set up an LLM bot with one of the major providers and set it loose here, I'm...If the bot doesn't violate rules and norms here then presumably it would just continue.
All that aside, I'd prefer to know I'm conversing with actual humans, but at this stage if someone set up an LLM bot with one of the major providers and set it loose here, I'm not sure we'd be able to spot it quickly, depending on the prompting and integration. Known bots that provide useful functions can be great, but they're deterministic. Maybe I'd feel better about a flagged bot account that could be summoned with a keyword? Eh.
I'm here to talk to people. Maybe one day software can graduate to people-ness, but we're not there yet.
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Comment on How are Framework Laptops? in ~tech
Crespyl LinkI've had a Framework 13 for about three years, and I've been pretty happy with it. I got the "DIY" version that comes without an OS, and put Arch on it (btw). I've been pretty happy with it;...I've had a Framework 13 for about three years, and I've been pretty happy with it. I got the "DIY" version that comes without an OS, and put Arch on it (btw).
I've been pretty happy with it; performance is good (though the fans get quite loud under load) and I've not really had to do anything terribly strange to get, for example, the fingerprint sensor working.
Biggest downside is definitely battery life, I get around four hours, maybe 5 if I'm lucky or use it lightly, usually less. That's after using some power managenment tools to tweak things and swapping out the HDMI port (which apparently had/has some kind of firmware issue that keeps it awake and using power even if there's nothing plugged in, this may be fixed in newer models).
There's also no dGPU of course, so many games won't run great, but that's to be expected. I'm not sure if it would support an external GPU or not. Dota 2 works more or less acceptably, Deadlock not so much (the last time I tried it anyway).
It works well for my school and development needs, but I'm hoping some day there'll be an ARM mainboard that I can upgrade to...
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Comment on Modos debuts an open-source e-paper with a 75-Hz refresh rate in ~tech
Crespyl Link ParentI think it's becoming more common, but full refreshes are still occasionally necessary. I can sketch lines on my Kobo (via Plato) and only the pixels I touch are updated. The "framerate" of the...I think it's becoming more common, but full refreshes are still occasionally necessary.
I can sketch lines on my Kobo (via Plato) and only the pixels I touch are updated. The "framerate" of the drawing is pretty high and feels smooth. During reading page flips are fast and not really distracting, but every now and then you get some "ghosting" of words from previous pages that don't quite get cleared, and a full flash-refresh is necessary to reset the display.
I think the devices tries to do the full refresh every so many pages, or at chapter breaks, whichever is sooner.
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Comment on Hollow Knight: Silksong will cost $20, releases Thursday at 7 am PDT/10 am EDT in ~games
Crespyl Link ParentTook me a couple hours of intermittent retries on Steam to get through, but I finally did! And... (Surprising no one) it's more Hollow Knight! This will be great for people like me who loved the...Took me a couple hours of intermittent retries on Steam to get through, but I finally did!
And...
(Surprising no one) it's more Hollow Knight! This will be great for people like me who loved the first game, and probably just as offputting for anyone who didn't care for it. Personally, I'm thrilled, and can't wait to get back to exploring.
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Comment on $30K Ford EV truck due in 2027 with much-simpler production process in ~transport
Crespyl LinkI wonder what the timeline was for this compared to the Slate EV truck being announced. There's always been a market for smaller light trucks, electric or otherwise, but it seems (to someone who...I wonder what the timeline was for this compared to the Slate EV truck being announced. There's always been a market for smaller light trucks, electric or otherwise, but it seems (to someone who doesn't pay a lot of attention to trucks) to have been kind of underserved for a long time.
Now we have two companies targeting that market, seems like a good thing.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
Crespyl Link ParentThere's an old game from 2000 called Noctis, which IIRC was almost entirely written by one guy. Noctis was pretty much a pure exploration game, in which you'd fly a spaceship around a procedurally...There's an old game from 2000 called Noctis, which IIRC was almost entirely written by one guy. Noctis was pretty much a pure exploration game, in which you'd fly a spaceship around a procedurally generated universe and land on planets, explore, take pictures, and write notes that other explorers could read (by way of manually emailing the dev your notes and downloading packages of compiled notes later on).
The game had limited visibility, but became a cult hit (for very small values of cult), and the dev had/has his own quirky hand-coded web forum where people could talk about the game and other topics, including the devs other interesting projects.
That forum became one of the first "internet homes" young me found, where I could share fanart I'd made in Blender, ask dumb questions, learn a bit about programming, play a MUD, and get to know some people I still recognize when I hop back on.
Unfortunately in the last few years it seems to have gone offline, but there's still a discord with a handful of oldtimers hanging around. It's not the same, but I'll always have the memories.
The Dwarf Fortress forums played a similar role, but that was a much more notable game and thus a much larger forum experience as the game got more popular.
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Comment on Modern masculinity and The Critical Drinker in ~life.men
Crespyl Link ParentPractical Engineering is also on there, as is Legal Eagle. I'm also partial to Jetlag: The Game which is a kind of low-budget Amazing Race done by the team behind Wendover/Half as Interesting.Practical Engineering is also on there, as is Legal Eagle.
I'm also partial to Jetlag: The Game which is a kind of low-budget Amazing Race done by the team behind Wendover/Half as Interesting.
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Comment on Is anyone working on an Android version of ICEBlock? in ~comp
Crespyl Link ParentThey don't go into the technical details that allow Apple to (allegedly) send push notifications without somehow tracking device and/or account ids, but I'm skeptical that it's really that much...They don't go into the technical details that allow Apple to (allegedly) send push notifications without somehow tracking device and/or account ids, but I'm skeptical that it's really that much more secure than what Google is doing.
Even if all the metadata stays in Apples servers instead of with the devs, that's still a giant weak point that can be directly attacked, either through technical or legal means.
I'm prepared to believe that Apple would fight harder for their users privacy than Google would (they have been pretty good about that in the past, though not perfect), but there are other options for notification that don't rely on either corporation; they're just less efficient (various forms of polling/long-polling, other channels like email or signal, local mesh networks like briar(?), etc).
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Comment on A literature clock in ~books
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Comment on A literature clock in ~books
Crespyl LinkThat's very clever! Apparently the list of quotes originates from a project by the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/table/2011/apr/21/literary-clockThat's very clever! Apparently the list of quotes originates from a project by the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/table/2011/apr/21/literary-clock
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Comment on Do you have a favorite publisher? in ~books
Crespyl LinkI don't generally notice publishers, but when I was a kid I used to read a lot of books that were either Tor or Baen. I think Baen published a lot of the David Weber/Ringo books I was reading a...I don't generally notice publishers, but when I was a kid I used to read a lot of books that were either Tor or Baen. I think Baen published a lot of the David Weber/Ringo books I was reading a lot of at the time. IIRC they (Baen) still operate their "free library" at their website, with a selection of their books.
"AI Press Solutions"?? An article full of mis-applied Markdown formatting, that gets randomly cut off at the end?
@meezuisme, I'm curious what led you to this site and article in particular as your first ever post to Tildes?