MimicSquid's recent activity
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Comment on Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows sweeping AI vision, surging costs in ~finance
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Comment on Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows sweeping AI vision, surging costs in ~finance
MimicSquid Link ParentThat's never a bad general stance, but I have enough background to say that it's broadly making correct conclusions from the existing data and providing advice in line with traditional investing...That's never a bad general stance, but I have enough background to say that it's broadly making correct conclusions from the existing data and providing advice in line with traditional investing analysis. It's possible that some of the fine details are wrong, and I wouldn't put my name on it without going over it with a fine toothed comb, but it provided a better and more accessible analysis than most people could get without a friend who's an investment manager who they can take out to lunch.
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Comment on Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows sweeping AI vision, surging costs in ~finance
MimicSquid Link ParentI am legitimately impressed with the level of detail, citations, and rationality expressed by the assistant here. I should revise my opinion of them and take a closer look. Did you do anything...I am legitimately impressed with the level of detail, citations, and rationality expressed by the assistant here. I should revise my opinion of them and take a closer look. Did you do anything special to prep it for thus conversation, or was this out of the box?
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
MimicSquid Link ParentThe timing is even more relaxed. The NPCs are around every day to turn in quests, though you can only take advantage of their special action on their day. Once you're a little way in you can...The timing is even more relaxed. The NPCs are around every day to turn in quests, though you can only take advantage of their special action on their day. Once you're a little way in you can adjust the rate of corpses as you wish, anywhere from none at all to double corpses every delivery. There's a little randomness to it, but there's no corpse decay so there isn't the same sort of "drop everything" rush as there was in the first game. The combat sections will wait for you; they're discrete missions you choose yo take on, and there's no downside to putting them off aside from whatever story or tech unlocks lie on the other side. It's very chill.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
MimicSquid Link ParentThat sounds delightful. I'll have to add it to my increasingly large wishlist of cool games to buy one day. Shakes fist at Steam's effective new game discovery algorithmThat sounds delightful. I'll have to add it to my increasingly large wishlist of cool games to buy one day. Shakes fist at Steam's effective new game discovery algorithm
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
MimicSquid LinkI've been playing the heck out of Graveyard Keeper 2, the sequel to the least historically accurate graveyard management game. The writing is as good as ever (deeply mediocre), graphics better...I've been playing the heck out of Graveyard Keeper 2, the sequel to the least historically accurate graveyard management game. The writing is as good as ever (deeply mediocre), graphics better than ever (due to a new 3d engine that is incredibly resource-hungry), and it's full of obtuse UI and hard locking bugs that seem to be randomly distributed such that no one experiences the same problem.
For all those critiques, the core experience is incredibly good. The diverse systems interlock beautifully, so your farming and mining and smithing and logging and autopsies and church development and town rebuilding and PR management and tower defense/rts sections to clear the town all ask you to develop all of the others. There's always something to do and a reason to develop all of the others, so it never feels like a box-ticking exercise, even as most quests boil down to "get me three of a thing you're close to developing." It all carries you through the experience really seamlessly. Assuming you dodge the bugs.
As compared to the release of Graveyard Keeper 1, this is a triumph of the highest order. It's a good game now and I really am looking forward to where it goes from here. GK1 had 4 DLC that took it from ok to excellent, and I'm looking forward to this going from excellent to wonderful.
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Comment on A24, Sony and The New York Times circle Letterboxd as bidding starts at $300 million in ~movies
MimicSquid Link ParentOn a social level, it's a moral hazard to have structures where personal aggrandizement of a few people leading to worse outcomes for millions is the rational, simple choice that's barely questioned.On a social level, it's a moral hazard to have structures where personal aggrandizement of a few people leading to worse outcomes for millions is the rational, simple choice that's barely questioned.
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Comment on A college girl was exploited on camera. A network of anonymous men got to work. in ~tech
MimicSquid Link ParentThere are people whose needs are forbidden and people whose needs are sacred. That the need is the same doesn't mean anything in the face of in-group vs. out-group.There are people whose needs are forbidden and people whose needs are sacred. That the need is the same doesn't mean anything in the face of in-group vs. out-group.
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Comment on Ineos has opened a carbon dioxide storage site off the Danish coast, as momentum builds in Europe for the fledgling but expensive technology in ~enviro
MimicSquid Link ParentSo it's greenwashing. They're spending a little bit to protect their good name and be associated with solving the issues.So it's greenwashing. They're spending a little bit to protect their good name and be associated with solving the issues.
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Comment on Can two friends complete a game no one has ever finished? (gifted link) in ~games.tabletop
MimicSquid Link ParentThere's a version for Tabletop Simulator. No promises on how much bookkeeping is done for you, but at least you can't accidentally knock over any of the pieces.There's a version for Tabletop Simulator. No promises on how much bookkeeping is done for you, but at least you can't accidentally knock over any of the pieces.
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Comment on Control Resonant | Launch trailer – 24th September 2026 in ~games
MimicSquid Link ParentComparison is the thief of joy. Enjoy your experience without letting that guys' sick combo that obliterated the boss that you've been struggling with distract you. No matter how much cooler he...Comparison is the thief of joy. Enjoy your experience without letting that guys' sick combo that obliterated the boss that you've been struggling with distract you. No matter how much cooler he looks.
I mean... be content within yourself. Yeah. That.
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Comment on Ed Sheeran’s tour in trouble after opening acts drop out in solidarity with rapper Macklemore in ~music
MimicSquid Link ParentI really sympathize with everything you've said here. I was in a situation very similar to your friends, though in 2016 rather than 2020. We agree wholeheartedly about the terrible genocide in...I really sympathize with everything you've said here. I was in a situation very similar to your friends, though in 2016 rather than 2020. We agree wholeheartedly about the terrible genocide in Palestine and the way that Israel conflates support or disapproval for a range of concepts into moral cover for their actions. I don't think that you're wrong for wanting peace for yourself or for those close to you. My stated visible disagreement with your prior comment is a tiny disagreement on a pile of synchronicity of feeling and opinion, and I apologize for focusing on your desire to have places and times to shelter from the reality of the world than on Ed Sheeran's desire to avoid making a stand.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
MimicSquid LinkIn anticipation of Graveyard Keeper II, I've been playing the demo. It's excellent. If you liked the first one, the second is that, but with more polish and more to do. One thing that is kind of...In anticipation of Graveyard Keeper II, I've been playing the demo. It's excellent. If you liked the first one, the second is that, but with more polish and more to do.
One thing that is kind of interesting that's not really about the game is that there are some people who're swearing up and down that the in-game opening cutscene is AI and that the game should be boycotted because of it. In the past I've been potentially open to such critiques, for all the reasons someone might be against generative AI. But the cutscene is lifted wholesale from the prior game that had been released 8 years ago. It couldn't be AI.
Lazy Bear (the developer) is a solidly mediocre developer. They make middle of the road games with a few fun concepts and occasional amusing writing. They're true-blooded human mediocrity! It seems like for creative works "It's AI!" is just a thing people say now regardless of whether it's the case. What do we do with that?
If I were a more conspiracy-minded person, I'd suspect that pro-AI people are using AI to push spurious anti-AI claims everywhere they can to flood the zone. If everything is AI, what is there to fight? As it is, I'm just getting tired of looking for new interesting things.
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Comment on Why we built Pion in ~tech
MimicSquid Link ParentMy point is more that this is a system that is new to trying to handle employees and employer/employee dynamics, much like a person who has never done it before. In both cases there's the...My point is more that this is a system that is new to trying to handle employees and employer/employee dynamics, much like a person who has never done it before. In both cases there's the expectation that there can be improvements. This AI system can learn the ropes losing other people's money, and it won't ever retire or lose its life savings and never run another business because it can't afford the startup costs.
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Comment on Reginald Pikedevant - Just Glue Some Gears On It (And Call It Steampunk) (2011) in ~music
MimicSquid Link ParentYeah, I saw that too. More than many things, this puts me in mind of 1984, where the past was actively rewritten to extend the truth of the present moment further and further into the past.Yeah, I saw that too. More than many things, this puts me in mind of 1984, where the past was actively rewritten to extend the truth of the present moment further and further into the past.
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Comment on Ed Sheeran’s tour in trouble after opening acts drop out in solidarity with rapper Macklemore in ~music
MimicSquid Link ParentI agree that it's nice to have places where you're not thinking about politics, but the very fact that you can have some spaces where the politics in that space are invisible to you is an...- Exemplary
I agree that it's nice to have places where you're not thinking about politics, but the very fact that you can have some spaces where the politics in that space are invisible to you is an indication of the ways you're in the cultural majority. It's not that the politics aren't there. you're just in alignment with them and so you don't think of those choices as "political". Everything is political, even when you don't see it.
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Comment on Why we built Pion in ~tech
MimicSquid Link ParentYou know who also does a terrible job dealing with an adversarial/abusive employee? People who're running a business for the first time. Most humans are really terrible about maintaining...You know who also does a terrible job dealing with an adversarial/abusive employee? People who're running a business for the first time. Most humans are really terrible about maintaining appropriate work boundaries when they're first in the position of managing other people, especially when it's a small business and there's just a few people. The AI could be worse, but it also doesn't have to lose its life savings failing at its first business. It can be bad at it and then it can get better since it has a pile of capital that's not its own to learn on.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
MimicSquid LinkI'm playing the demo for IGTAP: an Incremental Game That's Also a Platformer, a game that is exactly what it says it is. The better you do at the platforming challenges, the faster your clones...I'm playing the demo for IGTAP: an Incremental Game That's Also a Platformer, a game that is exactly what it says it is. The better you do at the platforming challenges, the faster your clones will do it. The faster the clones run the course, the faster the number goes up. There are hidden upgrades in the world on top of the ones next to the explicit challenge courses, so exploring is beneficial. As someone who enjoys both of its influences, it's a fun little game. Definitely optimized for controller play, though.
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Comment on Nintendo - Customer appreciation sale in ~games
MimicSquid Link ParentThank you for the clarification. I agree, my outrage is conditioned on the goods in question. If Nintendo raised its prices and kept the tariff refunds, I'm not furious. When those prices come for...Thank you for the clarification. I agree, my outrage is conditioned on the goods in question. If Nintendo raised its prices and kept the tariff refunds, I'm not furious. When those prices come for essentials and people are buying groceries on layaway I feel incredibly strongly that all of us should be made whole (even as I don't expect that justice will ever be served.) I think my disconnect was seeing the claim of moral failure on the part of companies when the discussion was about Nintendo. I agree that the government and corporations are experiencing a moral hazard, where they're getting the upside and we're all getting the downside. I'm just much angrier about food costs than about video games.
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Comment on Israel’s culture minister threatens to revoke the citizenship of ‘NAZA’ filmmakers in ~movies
MimicSquid LinkThere's nothing like trying to squash any mention of something to make clear a government is confident in the righteousness of their choices and secure in the knowledge they're doing the right...There's nothing like trying to squash any mention of something to make clear a government is confident in the righteousness of their choices and secure in the knowledge they're doing the right thing. No one can stand to have their righteousness shown to the world.
Yeah, absolutely. I'm not attributing to it aome generalized godlike omniscience. But I hadn't updated my assumptions about how it was doing at non-programming tasks in a couple of years, and even being able to coherently convey broadly accurate common white collar knowledge is better than it could do the last time I checked. I'm never going to give it more credence than some rando on the Internet, given that's what it's based on. For legal or professional advice I'm still going to seek out a lawyer or professional. (Though that's at leat in part because humans have liability and malpractice insurance, for when human fallibility rears its ugly head.)