JCPhoenix's recent activity

  1. Comment on Deimos Loading Screens mod for Fallout: New Vegas in ~games

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    Hell yeah, it's like we got early access.

    Hell yeah, it's like we got early access.

    9 votes

  2. Comment on The Buff Scammer, isolation, and the male loneliness epidemic in ~life.men

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    Appreciate this. Even as was I was typing out my comment, I was thinking, "Hmm, something's not quite right here; I don't know if this comparison fully works. It's really not 'hitting' the same...

    Appreciate this. Even as was I was typing out my comment, I was thinking, "Hmm, something's not quite right here; I don't know if this comparison fully works. It's really not 'hitting' the same way with men, as it does with those other groups..." Which is why I ended on a question.

    But I think what you're saying, the power dynamics at play with each of these groups, does a good job of explaining why it doesn't fully work. Like I still think it's wrong in some sense, but not to the same degree as with the other groups. Because, as you say, at the end of the day, men are still at the top, for better or worse.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on The Buff Scammer, isolation, and the male loneliness epidemic in ~life.men

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    I don't doubt the statistic. But I do doubt the answer. Because isn't that just being guilty by association? Which we know isn't right. I would think that would be unacceptable to say if we were...

    I don't doubt the statistic. But I do doubt the answer. Because isn't that just being guilty by association? Which we know isn't right. I would think that would be unacceptable to say if we were to attribute that 93% to a different group. A specific race or ethnicity or religion, etc.

    Because even though 93% of sexual crimes are being committed by Group X, it's not being done by 93% of Group X*.

    That said, I don't know what the answer is. I, being a man, also engage in the "watching myself" behavior. Like not walking too closely behind a woman on a not-so-crowded street, moving to a position so she can more easily see me, overtaking with a wide berth, etc.

    I don't think that's "ruined me" in some way. I've had successful relationships -- romantic or simply platonic -- with the opposite sex. But I could see how at a much larger scale how that could be hurting boys and young men. We're stereotyping and even criminalizing them from the start. It's not OK when we do that to black youths. It's not OK when we do that to Muslims. I don't think it's OK here.

    ...Right? Hmm.

    *At least my assumption is that 93% of men aren't committing sexual crimes. Please tell me I'm right and that it's a far, far, far smaller percentage.

    21 votes

  4. Comment on Earth, Wind & Fire - September (1978) in ~music

    JCPhoenix
    Link
    As of this posting, at least in the US still, it's the 21st night of September.

    As of this posting, at least in the US still, it's the 21st night of September.

    7 votes

  6. Comment on Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025 - Race Weekend Discussion in ~sports.motorsports

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    Haha, I love that watching it 1.5x made it better. I do agree that it was kinda boring. It wasn't the most boring race ever, but definitely didn't have the surprises I was expecting. I mean, Oscar...

    Haha, I love that watching it 1.5x made it better. I do agree that it was kinda boring. It wasn't the most boring race ever, but definitely didn't have the surprises I was expecting. I mean, Oscar crashing out in Lap 1 unexpected. But that was it.

    I'm not wanting people to crash out. But also...like once things got settled in, that was that. As usual. Yeah there were some small battles here and there, but as you mention, because the cars aren't small enough, it's so difficult for cars to pass each other. Then that's compounded by the narrow streets of Baku.

    Hopefully next year's slightly smaller cars improve racing, but I'm not super confident that it'll change that drastically. I hope I'm proved wrong though.

    3 votes

  7. Comment on Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025 - Race Weekend Discussion in ~sports.motorsports

    JCPhoenix
    Link
    Talk about a McLaren collapse. Certainly more so on Oscar than Lando. Oscar didn't get off the line at the start, or rather had a false start, triggered anti-stall, and fell all the way to P20....

    Talk about a McLaren collapse. Certainly more so on Oscar than Lando. Oscar didn't get off the line at the start, or rather had a false start, triggered anti-stall, and fell all the way to P20. Then like two corners later, was into the wall to end his race before Lap 1 even finished. Just...wow. Guess even guys who have nerves of steel occasionally have their nerves get the better of them.

    On the other side of the garage, Lando completed the race cleanly, but it's not like he was really able to convert Oscar's misfortunes to his own fortunes. Another slow pitstop didn't help. In the end, he only closed the gap to Oscar by 6pts since Lando only finished P7. That's less than a P1-P2 finish that these two have often found themselves in.

    Though at least Oscar gave us this. And this. Thanks, Oscar.

    3 votes

  8. Comment on What writing 'tics' stand out to you? Repeated phrases, strange words, or otherwise weird stuff that jumps out at you. in ~books

    JCPhoenix
    (edited )
    Link
    Not a book, but at times, it feels like a visual novel? Final Fantasy XIV. Often, the game has these cutscenes where they need to show what some party member who's apart from the Warrior of Light...

    Not a book, but at times, it feels like a visual novel? Final Fantasy XIV. Often, the game has these cutscenes where they need to show what some party member who's apart from the Warrior of Light (the player), or a villain in their lair, or whoever, wherever, is doing. The game will flash the worlds on screen: "Meanwhile, at Limsa Lominsa..." Sometimes this can happen multiple times within a cutscene. "Meanwhile, at Garlemald..." followed minutes later with "Meanwhile, at Everkeep..." followed shortly by, "Meanwhile, at Yo Mama's House..." Oh my god, use a different word or phrase!

    It's become a meme within the FFXIV community.

    9 votes

  9. Comment on Dark patterns killed my wife's Windows 11 installation in ~tech

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    This is why several years ago, I convinced my mom to get a Macbook. I had been using a Macbook as my daily driver so I could learn how to support Mac users, and I noticed how many guardrails there...

    This is why several years ago, I convinced my mom to get a Macbook. I had been using a Macbook as my daily driver so I could learn how to support Mac users, and I noticed how many guardrails there were that Windows largely doesn't have.

    For power users, such as myself, yeah I like having a lack of guardrails in my way. But most Windows users are not power users. So there should absolutely be guardrails to protect a user from themselves or from other malicious actors. I get that it can be annoying, such as on MacOS when using something like Teams or Zoom for the first time. The user has to allow several permissions: microphone, camera, screen recording for the ability to screenshare, maybe even full disk access to download/upload files, maybe even network access. And it's not the easiest, from a user perspective, to unlock and allow those perms. It is definitely a bit clunky. But maybe it should be that way. A couple years ago, I began thinking that most users at my then workplace should probably be on Mac instead of Windows. Using a bunch of cheap M1/M2 Macbooks. But that would never fly. Because people hate change.

    To your point about Linux, I actually did put my mom on Kubuntu for a couple years before she moved to Mac. She had a Win7 netbook, but with Windows bloat over time and the netbook's tiny 16GB storage, she started running out of space. So I put Kubuntu on it and showed her the ropes. She was surprisingly more adept at it then she was with Windows. I don't know why. Not saying she was using the CLI or anything, but the UI just clicked easier for her. That also made it an easier transition to MacOS.

    Though these days, she probably could just get away with a Chromebook as skybrian suggests.

    12 votes

  10. Comment on CGA-2025-09 🕹️🚂 REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ The Last Express in ~games

    JCPhoenix
    Link
    Oh we're arrived at the station already? That was a quick ride. I thought we had another week. Not that that would've mattered. I think I played for a couple days at the start, then put it down,...

    Oh we're arrived at the station already? That was a quick ride. I thought we had another week. Not that that would've mattered. I think I played for a couple days at the start, then put it down, only to never pick it back up. I have a total of 3hrs of playtime.

    Some of the execution in this game is impressive. Watching an NPC move past you in the corridor, then me (or rather Dr. Cath) turning around and watching that NPC continue walking to wherever they're going, even being able to chase after them and keep seeing them, is impressive. I have played modern games, many of them even, where an NPC in one zone "disappears" from that zone when you load into in a neighboring zone. Or sometimes just disappears altogether as soon as they're out of the player's vision. Ie there's no continuity in the world. Whereas in "The Last Express" there largely is. And it's especially impressive in this pseudo-animated method they've used.

    But the controls were clunky beyond belief. I feel like even for 1997, it wasn't great. So many times I found myself essentially spinning in place because I clicked too much or clicked on the wrong place on the screen. Then, because of the confined space and similar environments (the sleeping cars and water closets, especially), I was repeatedly momentarily confused at which way I was facing, where I was at, and which way I was going. It got annoying real quick.

    Storywise, I don't know if I was ever seriously hooked. Yeah it's a murder mystery, which I do like, but...I don't know if I really cared about Tyler Whitney, or even Dr. Cath himself (myself). We're dropped in the middle of this story, where Cath is already on the lam, but it's only sorta explained why that is, IIRC. And I don't really care.

    As regards to the puzzles, some were fairly obvious. But then others I really had no idea. I considered getting a guide or walkthrough, but then again, did I really care that much? I didn't think I did. Which is why I never went back.

    Idk. I can definitely see the developer's ambitions here. To elevate the traditional point and click adventure game from 2D to whatever this is. To move it from silly "traditional" video game" to something serious, something closer to film. Which is something that happens in the medium today and can be wildly successful. But maybe because I'm viewing this with eyes from 2025, it just doesn't hit for me. And that's OK.

    That said, I'm glad I got to try it out, even if I didn't finish it. It's not like it broke the bank to do so. I hadn't heard of this game before. In 1997, when The Last Express released, I was 10yo and would NOT have picked this game up (was too busy playing FFVII and Warcraft 2). As such, it's nice to see and experience a part of video game history that I missed.

    So yeah, thanks for sharing and organizing this!

    Looking ahead, I'm seriously looking forward to next month, since Chrono Trigger is a game I'm familiar with and have played many times, starting on the SNES. Maybe I'll actually beat it this time using my own save file, instead of some other random Blockbuster member's save file! Though at the rate I actually finish JRPGs...Umm, no comment.

    3 votes

  11. Comment on Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025 - Race Weekend Discussion in ~sports.motorsports

    JCPhoenix
    Link
    This is probably the most chaotic Quali session I've seen since I've started watching in 2021. Strong winds were messing with everyone. There was like 3 red flags in Q1. Then both Alpine drivers...

    This is probably the most chaotic Quali session I've seen since I've started watching in 2021. Strong winds were messing with everyone. There was like 3 red flags in Q1. Then both Alpine drivers having separate incidents, at the same turn, one right after another in Q2, to end the session with a red flag. Then another red flag in Q3 for Charles into the wall. And then Oscar getting his own red flag for hitting the barriers! Think F1TV commentators said this was the most red flags, 6 of them, in a quali session in at a decade. Maybe ever. Then there was the passing rain. Twice!

    Which led to Lawson starting tomorrow P3 (!), Sainz P2 (!!), and the inevitable Max as P1 (not as surprising, lol).

    Hopefully tomorrow's race is just as interesting!

    5 votes

  12. Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025 - Race Weekend Discussion

    ~sports.motorsports Ask
    Warning: this post may contain spoilers

    Azerbaijan Grand Prix
    Baku City Circuit
    September 19-21, 2025

    Qualifying Results -- SPOILER
    POS. NO. DRIVER TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
    1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:41.331 1:41.255 1:41.117 23
    2 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:42.635 1:41.675 1:41.595 23
    3 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:42.257 1:41.537 1:41.707 26
    4 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:42.247 1:41.464 1:41.717 21
    5 63 George Russell Mercedes 1:41.646 1:41.455 1:42.070 22
    6 22 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing 1:42.347 1:41.788 1:42.143 23
    7 4 Lando Norris McLaren 1:41.322 1:41.396 1:42.239 21
    8 6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:41.656 1:41.647 1:42.372 25
    9 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:41.839 1:41.414 DNF 18
    10 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:41.458 1:41.519 DNF 19
    11 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:42.211 1:41.857 18
    12 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:41.821 1:42.183 17
    13 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber 1:42.511 1:42.277 16
    14 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:42.101 1:43.061 16
    15 87 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:42.666 DNF 11
    16 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:42.779 8
    17 27 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber 1:42.916 8
    18 31 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:43.004 9
    19 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:43.139 8
    20 23 Alexander Albon Williams 1:43.778 4

    Source: F1.com

    Grand Prix Results -- SPOILER
    POS. NO. DRIVER TEAM LAPS TIME / RETIRED PTS.
    1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 51 1:33:26.408 25
    2 63 George Russell Mercedes 51 +14.609s 18
    3 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 51 +19.199s 15
    4 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 51 +21.760s 12
    5 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 51 +33.290s 10
    6 22 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing 51 +33.808s 8
    7 4 Lando Norris McLaren 51 +34.227s 6
    8 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 51 +36.310s 4
    9 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 51 +36.774s 2
    10 6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 51 +38.982s 1
    11 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber 51 +67.606s 0
    12 87 Oliver Bearman Haas 51 +68.262s 0
    13 23 Alexander Albon Williams 51 +72.870s 0
    14 31 Esteban Ocon Haas 51 +77.580s 0
    15 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 51 +78.707s 0
    16 27 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber 51 +80.237s 0
    17 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 51 +96.392s 0
    18 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 50 +1 lap 0
    19 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 50 +1 lap 0
    NC 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 0 DNF 0

    Fastest Lap: Max Verstappen // 1:43.388 (Lap 50)
    DOTD: Carlos Sainz

    Source: F1.com

    Next race:

    Singapore Grand Prix
    Marina Bay Street Circuit
    October 3-5, 2025

    14 votes

  13. Comment on Mastodon now has a Quote Post feature in ~tech

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    Idk, the instance I'm on is pretty chill. Smaller instance, but has a good number active so it does feel more like a community instead of yelling into the void, like Bluesky or modern Twitter (I...

    Idk, the instance I'm on is pretty chill. Smaller instance, but has a good number active so it does feel more like a community instead of yelling into the void, like Bluesky or modern Twitter (I enjoyed Twitter a lot in the early years).

    But since I mostly only interact with other instance members, that's prob why I don't see the constant gnashing of teeth. I mean we seethe as well, but it's more about the current state of the world, instead of the platform.

    Personally, I'm happy for this feature. It was pretty clunky before to quote toots. Though I understand why some might not appreciate this feature.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on iOS 26 is here in ~tech

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    Gotcha. I don't use Launchpad that much. Never really liked it that much since it was too "iPad" for me and that's not what I want on an actual computer. I just Spotlight search whatever...

    Gotcha. I don't use Launchpad that much. Never really liked it that much since it was too "iPad" for me and that's not what I want on an actual computer.

    I just Spotlight search whatever application I'm looking and pretty much always have. Having seen what Launchpad has been replaced with, I wonder if this change will actually benefit me. Though to me, Spotlight is not as good as it used to be. And hasn't been in a loooong time. So we'll see.

    But I get that for users of Launchpad, that is frustrating. Why not just let users have the option of using it?

    1 vote

  15. Comment on iOS 26 is here in ~tech

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    100% my experience as well. It was definitely getting warm as I was messing with notifications settings. Settings app even crashed altogether! But it seems to be fine—and cool—now! So far, don't...

    100% my experience as well. It was definitely getting warm as I was messing with notifications settings. Settings app even crashed altogether!

    But it seems to be fine—and cool—now!

    So far, don't have any major complaints with anything else. But we'll see how it goes the rest of the week. Visually, I don't mind it. I don't love it, but I don't hate it.

    Def a little scared to updated my MBP to Tahoe though, given the top comment here.

  16. Comment on iOS 26 is here in ~tech

    JCPhoenix
    Link
    I just downloaded and installed it on my iPhone 16 Pro. Right off the bat, I've noticed that some things feel snappier and smoother. Like right now, I'm going through my notifications settings,...

    I just downloaded and installed it on my iPhone 16 Pro. Right off the bat, I've noticed that some things feel snappier and smoother. Like right now, I'm going through my notifications settings, and I have a lot of apps. Scrolling through the app list with a flick of my finger seems faster and smoother.

    But then I've noticed some lag when moving between screens. Let's say I go into the app's notification settings. Turn things off/on, then go back to the list of apps. Well it hangs for like a split second, which is just enough for me to click to go back again. But instead of ignoring one of the back presses, it then sends me back to the main Settings app menu, since technically did press back twice. Super annoying because I keep doing this.

  17. Comment on GNOSIA | Main trailer in ~anime

    JCPhoenix
    Link
    The premise reminds me a bit of the Danganronpa games. Though with a mix of the book/movie All You Need is Kill/Edge of Tomorrow, instead of like Battle Royale. Definitely adding this to the...

    The premise reminds me a bit of the Danganronpa games. Though with a mix of the book/movie All You Need is Kill/Edge of Tomorrow, instead of like Battle Royale.

    Definitely adding this to the watchlist for next month. Thanks for sharing!

    1 vote

  18. Comment on Is Tildes protected from malicious actors, aka paid trolls, aka bots? in ~tildes

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    I'd also add that there are some folks here who engage in skepticism as like a philosophy or method. And at times, at least from my perspective, it can feel like it's done to the point of...

    I'd also add that there are some folks here who engage in skepticism as like a philosophy or method. And at times, at least from my perspective, it can feel like it's done to the point of contrarianism.

    But that doesn't mean those users are trolling. They merely disagree or at least are trying to get people to better explain their positions and reasons. To provide evidence, if necessary. After all, sometimes people (all people, not just those on Tildes) make claims based on dubious grounds. Not even maliciously, but simply from a place of ignorance. They heard or saw something somewhere from someone. Who hasn't done that?

    Plus, we are actually trying to have discussions here. This place wouldn't be anywhere as fun and interesting if it were just people saying, "Agreed" over and over in every thread. Or not commenting, but instead simply upvoting and moving on. Or disagreeing but saying nothing. This would be a really quiet place. So in some ways, those folks who are disagreeing or questioning are helping to generate and maintain discussion.

    20 votes

  19. Comment on What's a setting that you'd recommend? in ~tech

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    I remember when my parents bought an expensive TV years ago. One of those curved ones. So I came over to check it out. I was like "WTF is wrong this TV? Why does it look this way? Like a soap...

    I remember when my parents bought an expensive TV years ago. One of those curved ones. So I came over to check it out. I was like "WTF is wrong this TV? Why does it look this way? Like a soap opera? How much did you pay for this thing??" And they didn't have a soap opera on. They didn't notice it or at least didn't care, but I saw it right away. I remembered my mom watching soap operas as a kid and I really disliked how "smooth" they looked compared to other shows that looked "rougher."

    So I spent at least half an hour just fiddling with all the settings, until I came across a setting that said "240hz." Turned it off, or rather turned it down to like 75hz or 60hz and and bam, everything looked nice and "rough" again. Always thought that was a terrible setting. Especially one to have on by default.

    5 votes

  20. Comment on Is OpenWRT worthwhile at home? in ~comp

    JCPhoenix
    Link Parent
    I lied. You're right. I forgot that you don't need a Unifi router. I worked at a place that only had Unifi APs, but was using a non-Unifi router. And the controller was just installed on Windows...

    I lied. You're right. I forgot that you don't need a Unifi router. I worked at a place that only had Unifi APs, but was using a non-Unifi router. And the controller was just installed on Windows Sever 2008.