pekt's recent activity
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Comment on What's something you've moved on from? in ~talk
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Comment on Super Monkey Ball web game in ~games
pekt LinkI was never amazing at these games, but they were always a ton of fun to play. I remember playing a bunch of the party games in Super Monkeyball 2 with my brother and cousins when I was younger....I was never amazing at these games, but they were always a ton of fun to play. I remember playing a bunch of the party games in Super Monkeyball 2 with my brother and cousins when I was younger.
Thanks for sharing this!
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Comment on What's something you've moved on from? in ~talk
pekt Link ParentI relate to you on people sharing about the other points of being over weed/alcohol. I feel like I could share "my story" but it is similar to a lot of other people and I think they said it better...I relate to you on people sharing about the other points of being over weed/alcohol. I feel like I could share "my story" but it is similar to a lot of other people and I think they said it better than I did.
After I graduated I went to work in a smaller IT team and I loved learning new things for work. I had a smaller home lab, I started studying for certs during downtime at work and outside of work as well. I could have worked harder on that, but still wanted to enjoy some of my other hobbies that I held on to outside of what felt like a continuation of my job. After having kids, I'm finding I'm having such a hard time getting myself motivated to learn new technologies and upskill myself. I know I want to do those things so I can get in a better position to provide for my family, but after working with tech for 8 hours a day I'd rather read a book (for fun/unrelated to tech), play with my kids, or get some of the stream of never ending house work done.
I've been thinking about starting a thread here to ask how other people who have families/familial obligations keep interested and up to date with all the trends in tech related to their job. I used to wonder why my dad, who also worked in IT, didn't want to play games or do more tech stuff after work (besides the bit of computer repair he did for friends/family as a side thing). Now I get it.
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Comment on Anyone want to share their thoughts on the latest Dresden Files novel, Twelve Months? in ~books
pekt LinkThat is next on my list, I forgot it was coming after seeing Jim Butcher's AMA on /r/fantasy to promote this.I read through the previous books over the last couple of years and really enjoyed them.That is next on my list, I forgot it was coming after seeing Jim Butcher's AMA on /r/fantasy to promote this.I read through the previous books over the last couple of years and really enjoyed them.
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Comment on A global explosion of absurdly spicy foods in ~food
pekt Link ParentThere is definitely a flavor that goes beyond the mala feeling that I very much enjoy. I wrote this comment soon after waking up before I had my morning coffee, so I think I went a little light on...There is definitely a flavor that goes beyond the mala feeling that I very much enjoy. I wrote this comment soon after waking up before I had my morning coffee, so I think I went a little light on a few points I would have added.
I've not tried adding it to other dishes like that, and will have to pick up some to give that a try!
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Comment on A global explosion of absurdly spicy foods in ~food
pekt Link ParentI grew up in Oregon near Portland and I'd never encountered it. It very well could be the Chinese restaurants I visited didn't serve it, or I just never noticed it as an option and my ethnically...I grew up in Oregon near Portland and I'd never encountered it. It very well could be the Chinese restaurants I visited didn't serve it, or I just never noticed it as an option and my ethnically Chinese friends weren't fans of it.
I may have painted with too broad a brush from my limited experience
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Comment on What small thing made a big impact on you? in ~talk
pekt LinkSwiping right on a girl I thought was cute on Tinder 10+ years ago. Changed the entire trajectory of my life for the better. This one small action led me to: Become a husband and a dad Start going...Swiping right on a girl I thought was cute on Tinder 10+ years ago. Changed the entire trajectory of my life for the better.
This one small action led me to:
- Become a husband and a dad
- Start going to church regularly and take my faith seriously
- Move across the world
- Push myself to improve in many areas of my life
- Address and come to grips with past trauma
Coming up on our 8th wedding anniversary soon and it's amazing to think how unrecognizable my life would be if one of us had just swiped left.
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Comment on A global explosion of absurdly spicy foods in ~food
pekt LinkSichuan pepper (aka mala) is interesting in that I don't find it to be incredibly spicy, but it more has the property of providing a sort of numbing sensation while eating it. I have friends who...Sichuan pepper (aka mala) is interesting in that I don't find it to be incredibly spicy, but it more has the property of providing a sort of numbing sensation while eating it. I have friends who love it because of that and others who especially hate it.
I haven't been to Singapore in awhile, but mala is also popular in Malaysia. I remember needing to look up what mala was the first time I came to Malaysia as I had never heard of it before then. Sichuan pepper has a history of being banned in the US due to a concern of a potential cross contamination of a type of citrus disease, ban was ended in 2005, but since then I don't think it penetrated into the US market. A global food trend could help with that and my tin foil hat makes me wonder if China decided to artificially create this trend on TikTok to help them export this food.
If you have mala near you, I'd suggest giving if a try. I enjoy it everyone and then, and find the sensation unique and a fun change of pace every now and then.
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Comment on Why London’s chimney sweeps are enjoying a resurgence in ~life
pekt Link ParentGrowing up my family burned wood a lot of the time to heat our home in the winter to save money in the Fall and Winter and I honestly never knew the price of wood. My dad would often offer to cut...Growing up my family burned wood a lot of the time to heat our home in the winter to save money in the Fall and Winter and I honestly never knew the price of wood. My dad would often offer to cut up and haul away a tree for a family friend/acquaintance if they needed one removed, which meant my brother and I would go with him to help. Once we got home we'd then have to split and stack the wood.
Seeing how much you're paying for it, and looking up the price in Oregon where I grew up I saw it can range from ~200-500 depending on the type of wood I'm guessing we probably helped my parents to haul and burn thousands of dollars over then years. My parents even have a picture of my brother and standing in front of a felled tree when I was ~3 with both of holding us holding a hatchet.
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Comment on Recommendations needed: Favorite “comfort” movies in ~movies
pekt Link ParentI always loved the way they handled the back story for the quest showing what brought Smaug to the Lonely Mountain. Fantastic animation and I remember watching it a ton on VHS as a kid.I always loved the way they handled the back story for the quest showing what brought Smaug to the Lonely Mountain.
Fantastic animation and I remember watching it a ton on VHS as a kid.
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Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk
pekt Link ParentMaybe they thought keeping their bread in the microwave would function like keeping it in a bread box? I'd imagine a microwave wouldn't work as well as one though.Maybe they thought keeping their bread in the microwave would function like keeping it in a bread box? I'd imagine a microwave wouldn't work as well as one though.
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Comment on What's a culture shock that you experienced? in ~talk
pekt Link ParentI didn't even think to check to check Wikipedia for this, thanks for sharing that! I haven't had Singaporean bak ku teh yet though reading your comment made me remember our Singaporean friend...I didn't even think to check to check Wikipedia for this, thanks for sharing that!
I haven't had Singaporean bak ku teh yet though reading your comment made me remember our Singaporean friend visiting us and mentioning it was different when we went out for bak ku teh. We actually had some bak ku teh after our move over to KL, and I was a bit surprised at the taste as the Penang style is the only one I'd had before is much more herbal than the taste we had here, which I was told was typical for here. I would have assumed that they would have the Hokkien style since Penang has a large population of Hokkien people, but the description on that page sounds like I've been eating the Cantonese style.
My first time eating dim sum and being confused when someone asked me if I wanted "carrot cake" when I was in the US came to mind, reading that.
I love going down food rabbitholes as I've gotten older. I remember joking with my wife about how I'd be surprised if you told me 10 years that I'd be excited trying different mustards or wanting to go down an interesting food rabbit hole like trying sambals from different areas.
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Comment on What's a culture shock that you experienced? in ~talk
pekt Link ParentIt depends on the dish in question. I'm going by the "English" names for dishes, since I've found through chatting with family here that the dialect of Hokkien my wife's family speaks is a...Is this more regional or more language base? Or bit of both, with not just name changes, but flavorings a little different between the two?
It depends on the dish in question. I'm going by the "English" names for dishes, since I've found through chatting with family here that the dialect of Hokkien my wife's family speaks is a regional dialect, so it is different enough going the four drive down to Kuala Lumpur that it can be hard to understand someone.
Note: For anyone unfamiliar Hokkien is a dialect of Chinese primarily spoken in the Fujian province in Southeastern China. This dialect is spoken by different diaspora groups, with (I believe) the largest concentrations of them being in Taiwan, Singapore, and Western Malaysia (+ the Southwestern coast of Thailand to some extent)On the completely different dish front there is Hokkien Mee:
In Penang this is a prawn based noodle soup dish
In Kuala Lumpur (KL) it is a saucy fried woke fried noodle dishIf you want the Penang variant in KL you would want to order Prawn Mee
If you want the KL variant in Penang you would order Hokkien CharThere are dishes like Curry Mee where the flavor varies a ton region to region, some places will be more peppery, some with a more "curry" taste to it. When you go to a stall selling it, you'll get the regional variation of the place you're in, but if you went to a resturant for say Ipoh cuisine, they would label they're regional variant as "Ipoh Curry Mee" so people know that it won't be the same.
Those are the ones that come to mind, but I remember being bewildered by this in college when I was new to my wife's friend group hearing this for the first time after my initial trip to meet my wife's family and talking about what it was like visiting Malaysia for the first time.
That's so funny that the Hong Konger versions of this and "must have tea when we have time (得閒飲茶）" are completely superficial with no intention to follow through at all, let along right there and then. I kinda like that, going for food suddenly all the time. And so many options too!
I think there are times when it can be superficial where I lived. I know my mother in law would great everyone with the "chiak pah boi (Have you eaten)" (please note the Hokkien dialact my wife's family speaks doesn't have a formal written system [one is actively being worked on as a language preservation project!] so spelling varies a lot) as a polite thing when we'd walk in the neighborhood, but there wasn't any food place within walking distance for a quick follow up food. If we were in town, I've seen them run in to some one and then stop to grab a quick something while they chatted.
Giving money to the parents make more sense when the kids are living together, otherwise it's a sort of "candy money" for the parents, or else supporting younger siblings who are still in school.
When we were living close by to my in-laws, a lot of the time if we gave less directly to them, we'd instead be treating them to dinners or paying for other things. From a few of my wife's friends I've chatted about it with, there seems to be a desire to let the parents enjoy some of their retirement/older age and do fun things as a form of repaying them for raising them, so definitely some "candy money" parts in some situations. For us, my father-in-law recently came out of retirement to work, but we're also not sure how long he'll keep working, so what long term support for them during their retirement will look like is something my wife and I have been trying to keep in our mind when we make rough plans for the future.
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Comment on Recommendations needed: Favorite “comfort” movies in ~movies
pekt LinkThe Hobbit (1977) - I loved this movie as a kid and got my wife to watch it with me, and it was still awesome. Pacing is not the best, but it's going to be all over the place considering how much...The Hobbit (1977) - I loved this movie as a kid and got my wife to watch it with me, and it was still awesome. Pacing is not the best, but it's going to be all over the place considering how much content they needed to pack in to a short film.
People have -
Comment on What's a culture shock that you experienced? in ~talk
pekt (edited )LinkThis comment actually got to be longer than I thought it would. It was actually a bit fun thinking about this and realizing just how many times I've been put outside my world view and experiences...This comment actually got to be longer than I thought it would. It was actually a bit fun thinking about this and realizing just how many times I've been put outside my world view and experiences so far in my life.
I'm a white guy who grew up in the Pacific Northwest with what I would say was a racially diverse group of friends, so while there were minor "shocks" none of them felt big since I was a kid, and you just accept that's what your friends' families do. That being said, I definitely ran in to my share of different culture shocks over the years.
- One of my best friend's family growing up was from Laos, and they would have regular big extended family and community gatherings where all the kids would play together/do stuff and the parents/elders would drink and sing karaoke and eat Laotian food. I would attend most of them, and it wasn't until I was a teenager that I had a mild shock when I realized that I was the only white person there when some distant relative from out of town came to the gathering and asked why I was there since I was white. I'd been going to those gatherings since I was ~7, and I'd never stopped and thought about that fact, I'd also never had one of the people there mention it to me.
- My best friend's at the time girlfriend in high school was Vietnamese and I found out after they'd be dating for a while that her dad had two wives (one unofficial) and that one of the kids with a different last name in our school was her half brother. He was born 1 month apart from her full brother. I'd never encountered a polygamous family before.
- One of the guys I grew up with was Hmong and during our senior year of high school, I asked him what he was doing for his 18th birthday, and he let me know that he was getting married. His family had arranged his marriage to another Hmong girl whom iirc was 16 or 17 at the time. I lost touch with him after high school, but I do remember seeing him being very involved in the Hmong community from social media posts I saw him make before I deleted all my social media.
For a within the broader US culture shock, I grew up I would say in a comfortably middle class household, but part of that was being frugal, and we did all the repair work for cars and our house (except for specialist stuff that required a professional). When I went to college it was a shock how many of my friends didn't know basic car maintenance or how to do "home repair" things that felt like stuff I'd been doing since I was old enough to walk around and hand tools to my dad and older brother.
There was also the number of kids who received a substantial allowance from their parents to spend on whatever. My parents gave me $50 a month so that I could go out and eat with my friends sometimes so I wouldn't feel left out, and they helped me pay for my room and board, which I was incredibly grateful for that since I knew it wasn't cheap. I eventually had my grandpa start giving me some money each month to help with school expenses since I had helped out at his house for most of my life and would go down every few weekends to help him with things which helped me pay for my books (hello $300 mandatory text book that the teacher puts out a new edition of every year with updated homework questions so you can't reuse an older edition). Once I turned 21, after my first weekend going out to bars, I never went again unless it was for a friend's birthday or a special event. Way too expensive and I couldn't justify spending 5-10x more for drinks when I could just get a bottle or some beers and have a better time with people I enjoyed being around by not going. Meanwhile some of the guys I knew were out at the bars every weekend at least once, but sometimes 2-3 nights in a row.My wife is Malaysian Chinese, and we eventually moved to Malaysia, so I've had my fair share of culture shocks which I've gotten used to:
- The food culture here is huge. Running in to someone you would usually ask if they have eaten yet, and if they haven't, and you're not in a rush you would grab a bite of something cheap to eat while you talk.
- Most locals will have strong recommendations on what is the best X dish and that is a great way to get people talking is to ask where can you get the best X, Y, or Z dish in a certain area.
- There's also different dishes being called the same name depending on where you go, which was incredibly confusing at first. Hokkien Mee is not the same thing in Penang compared to KL and locals will debate which is better and then go into an "oh your X dish is our Y dish" conversation which is fun to listen to.
- Western fast food being considered a sort of status symbol. I personally find it is almost always a waste of money going to McDonald's or another Western chain fast food place, considering how much it costs, since I could get better food at a local burger chain for slightly more. The only times I don't mind eating it is for the occasional mix things up and let our kids go to the play area, and if we're on the road and need something quick that we know has decent quality control so we won't need to worry about food poisoning. 49 times out of 50 I'd rather get local food.
- Malaysia has constitutionally enforced racism that gives preferential treatment to ethnic Malays (and certain other native groups). I admittedly have a surface level knowledge of this and don't understand all the nuances of beyond the broad brush strokes. I do know that it contributes to Malaysia's brain drain of educated workers, usually of the two main ethnic minority groups (Chinese and Indians) who leave due to this and the better opportunities they receive in other countries (usually Singapore). My wife and her family actually got a lot of "why" questions regarding her moving back to be near her family when she already had her green card in the US.
- Providing money to my wife's parents was a cultural practice I needed to get used to. While the amount varies by family, the rule of thumb is ~10% of your income (though for our family the amount depends on circumstances/what is going, and thankfully my wife's parents aren't huge on this and just gratefully accept whatever we give them). We've joked at times that it is handy I'm white, since we would be giving another 10% of our income to my parents if I was also Malaysian Chinese. Combine that with our tithe to our church, and we would have been out nearly a third of our income before other expenses.
- How big of a thing Chinese New Year (CNY) is. My wife's family are Christian, so we don't celebrate all of the religious aspects of the Holiday, but we'll often take a week off work for visiting family, attending open houses, etc. For a specific example, giving/receiving ang pao (red envelopes with money inside) during CNY. There's the need to use new/fresh bills to pack the envelopes, and since Malaysian banks stopped giving out those freshly printed notes for CNY, there is a desire to store up and never use those pristine notes so we can give them out again for special occasions. I had to get used to always having some on hand to give to people/children during that time of year, and we also have to think about how much we want to give to each person/family member.
- Living in a Muslim majority country for the first time and having the call to prayer start up at different times throughout the day. It's background noise for me now, but something I had to get used to.
- I can still get a very mild shock going to more Malay areas, not in a "this is shocking" but "oh this is different" way, if that makes sense. Despite living in Malaysia, there can be a bit of self segregation that happens in communities. I lived in one of the states with the highest amount of non-ethnic Malays, and in that state I lived in a predominantly Chinese area, eating at mainly restaurants that cater to non-Malays (served pork), and shopped in mainly Chinese areas, so I wouldn't run to a large amount of Malay people. I have since moved to another area in a different state that is also predominantly Chinese, and the same situation applies. I'm more used to hearing either English or a Chinese dialect and spoken when I go around and Bahasa Melayu (Malay) isn't spoken as often, but when I go to a more Malay area English and Malay are heard. When that happens, it gives me that reminder that I live in a bit of a bubble inside the bigger country, and also gives me that reminder that I really do need to follow through with my New Year's resolution to learn to speak Malay.
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Comment on What private companies are you happy doing business with? in ~talk
pekt Link ParentSimilarly, Darigold and the Tilamook brands are both owned by member farmers. I grew up not too far from Tilamook and remember taking a tour of their Ice Cream/cheese factory when I was a small...Similarly, Darigold and the Tilamook brands are both owned by member farmers.
I grew up not too far from Tilamook and remember taking a tour of their Ice Cream/cheese factory when I was a small kid. I was a bit bummed as the last time I was in the area as it was closed due to COVID, so I wasn't able to take a tour. I'm hoping when I bring my kids to visit the area, I'll be able to take them since I think they'd find it really cool.
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Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk
pekt Link ParentMy in laws do not have a microwave for similar reasons and that it'd be better to use a toaster oven, or reheat the dish on the stove. My American contribution to my kitchen after moving was...My in laws do not have a microwave for similar reasons and that it'd be better to use a toaster oven, or reheat the dish on the stove.
My American contribution to my kitchen after moving was insisting I have a microwave (not that my wife needed convincing since she enjoyed having one in the US, but since family opinion is a big thing here I got a head of the ball saying I was buying one). I'm lazy and will take any American jokes or exasperation to be able to quickly heat up my food or easily melt butter on low temp settings in a coffee mug so I can wake up early and auto pilot pancakes for my kids before I've had my morning coffee.
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Comment on Have you ever had an oddly specific dream come true? in ~talk
pekt LinkI wouldn't call them oddly specific, but I've had a number of (a handful, several, I never kept an active tally but definitely more than 2) days when I dreamed about the work day I was about to...I wouldn't call them oddly specific, but I've had a number of (a handful, several, I never kept an active tally but definitely more than 2) days when I dreamed about the work day I was about to have, and I would make it 1/2-3/4 of the way through my day only to wake up and realize it was a dream and then have to go in. Usually the conversations would beat for beat what I dreamed about since routine and the people I worked with didn't do a whole ton outside the usual during the work week.
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Comment on Did anyone play Phantasy Star Online? in ~games
pekt Link ParentThanks for sharing! I can see that experience souring MMOs moving forward, did you ever find yourself getting in to any later or even trying them? I'm in a rush but wanted to mention the ROM hack...Thanks for sharing! I can see that experience souring MMOs moving forward, did you ever find yourself getting in to any later or even trying them?
I'm in a rush but wanted to mention the ROM hack I found out about called Return to Ragol which tunes the GameCube PSO experience to be more single player friendly if you ever wanted to revisit it.
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Comment on Did anyone play Phantasy Star Online? in ~games
pekt Link ParentI didn't stay too long on PSO2 nad had moved on to other games. I saw the gameplay recently and wasn't that interested in giving it a try again. I might one day to try PSU since it is somewhat...I didn't stay too long on PSO2 nad had moved on to other games. I saw the gameplay recently and wasn't that interested in giving it a try again. I might one day to try PSU since it is somewhat similar to PSO, but I'm not sure when that would be.
I saw a video on the PSO game on DS, and will probably give it a try on an emulator at some point. I'd love to track down a physical cartridge, but that may take some time where i Live now.
The forst music is the music that always comes to mind since it is the music I heard the most while I played.
I also enjoyed discovering and trying out different sours after I started drinking less. I enjoyed a cucumber sour at a local brewer before I moved out of the states. I wish I could get some here, but there are no craft breweries in this country (restricted brewing licenses and home brewing is technically illegal here, I live in a Muslim majority country so they have somewhat strict control on the production of and also highly tax alcohol).
When I went back to the states to visit my friends and family last year and enjoyed trying whatever sours were on tap when I'd go out.