pekt's recent activity

  1. Comment on Steam Replay 2025 in ~games

    pekt
    Link Parent
    I one upped you with a hefty 4 games played, but only 12 achievements. I think this year may have been my lowest ever for how much time I spent on Steam. Between my laptop having issues caused by...

    I one upped you with a hefty 4 games played, but only 12 achievements. I think this year may have been my lowest ever for how much time I spent on Steam.

    Between my laptop having issues caused by a swelling battery, which I took to a shop to replace and some other minor repairs since I didn't want to deal with finding a place to dispose of a swollen battery here, and having less time over all, I just don't feel like doing much gaming. There are tons of games I want to play, but I don't end up actually playing them, since I'd usually rather read a book or spend time with my wife/kids once everything is done for the day.

    I hold out some hope for playing a bit more next year, but we'll see how that goes.

  2. Comment on Gift recommendations in ~life

    pekt
    Link Parent
    Thank you for the recommendation, I put the first episode on my playlist, so I'll listen to it some time soon. I have more podcasts I'd like to listen to then I'll ever have time to listen to, but...

    Thank you for the recommendation, I put the first episode on my playlist, so I'll listen to it some time soon.

    I have more podcasts I'd like to listen to then I'll ever have time to listen to, but it's still fun getting recommendations and immediately going "that is definitely something I'd like".

  3. Comment on Books: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~books

    pekt
    Link Parent
    I enjoyed Portal to Nova Roma as a lit RPG, if you prefer finished series the author is writing the last two books and plans to have both of them finished so he can release book 4 once it is done...

    I enjoyed Portal to Nova Roma as a lit RPG, if you prefer finished series the author is writing the last two books and plans to have both of them finished so he can release book 4 once it is done being edited and soon after released book 5.

    I've also been slowly reading Warlock of the Magus World. The translation of it can be a bit rough, but it stays somewhat interesting so that I'll come back to read a bit more of it every few weeks/months.

    You've given me some more to check out, so thank you!

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Gift recommendations in ~life

    pekt
    Link
    I'm a big reader, so I love getting books as a gift, one of my friends got me Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Gamesduring a secret santa, and it was a great read where I learned more about...

    I'm a big reader, so I love getting books as a gift, one of my friends got me Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Gamesduring a secret santa, and it was a great read where I learned more about a game developer who has sucked up so many hours of my time over the years. My work VPN routes me through Singapore, so I was seeing this as 36 SGD, which some quick google math shows that as 28 USD for the hardcover. There's a paperback for cheaper.

    2 votes

  5. Comment on New Slay the Spire 2 character revealed - The Regent in ~games

    pekt
    Link Parent
    My A20 play isn't so great, and A16+ in general is where I would benefit from playing slower, and occasionally being more strategic in my play, especially on The Defect (CLAW IS LAW). I just beat...

    My A20 play isn't so great, and A16+ in general is where I would benefit from playing slower, and occasionally being more strategic in my play, especially on The Defect (CLAW IS LAW).

    I just beat A19 on Silent after a relic swap into runic pyramid at the start and I ended up using a very odd hybrid, discard, shiv, poison deck that would have face planted it I found Timer Keeper in Act 3 or went for The Heart.

    I think even if Defect was a mod character there would be more than enough content in the base game to keep me entertained for ages on mobile. I did see some people suggest The Defect would get added later on in Early Access or as a potential hidden character you unlock or even maybe as a DLC character. With how many hours I've played in STS1 I wouldn't mind paying for quality DLC in STS2 if the game has any since I'd trust Megacrit to not fill their game with comestic or otherwise poorly created DLCs.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on New Slay the Spire 2 character revealed - The Regent in ~games

    pekt
    Link
    Seeing these posts got me interested in beating A20 on multiple characters on my phone after doing it on my computer. I really hope that STS2 also comes to mobile, as it will probably be one of...

    Seeing these posts got me interested in beating A20 on multiple characters on my phone after doing it on my computer.

    I really hope that STS2 also comes to mobile, as it will probably be one of the few games that I purchase on both Steam and Android.

    I mentioned that this was coming out to my wife, and she started playing again. She likes the game but hasn't beaten a run yet. I mentioned there's some deck building and stuff she can learn, but she doesn't feel like putting in any extra thought/effort in to learning the game and just likes it occasionally. We are planning to sit down and do a run together, which should be fun.

    I'm glad my friend introduced me to this game years ago, and I'm excited to see what Megacrit does in the sequel. I was a bit bummed that the Defect hasn't been announced as a character, but either they're holding out and will announce him right at the end, or it will be modded in by someone in short order.

    5 votes

  7. Comment on I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it in ~life

    pekt
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    We view PAW Patrol as a show that is "just for fun". My wife and I don't always watch things that are for our betterment, and it's nice to have some pure entertainment, and with PAW Patrol we at...

    We view PAW Patrol as a show that is "just for fun". My wife and I don't always watch things that are for our betterment, and it's nice to have some pure entertainment, and with PAW Patrol we at least know there are some positive messages about working together to resolve things. My kids also like dogs and big trucks, and the show puts those two together.

    Does that show exist to sell merchandise? Definitely, as do a lot of other children's franchises. That being said, our kids know that when we go to a toy store to burn a few minutes that they're not going to get a toy from that show. They have enough toys as it is, and they mainly only get new ones during their birthdays/Christmas. Once they get a bit older and grow out of the smaller kids toys, we'll probably do a bit of aging up for the toys, but I also question a lot of getting kids so many toys. We had to tell family and friends to stop getting them toys for events, because they don't play with all the ones they have and will do the typical kid things of wanting to play with the large box that the toy came in instead of the toy itself a good chunk of the time.

    I do agree with you that there can be some benefit to YouTube channels outside the bubble our kids are in now, but we'll be revisiting that later as they grow up. Like you said there can be positives to watching that content, but I also want to encourage their own creativity and since my kids are so close in age they can play and learn from each other or through having friends over/going to friends houses and playing there, or at school.

    Things like what games they can play, media they have access to, and all that will be choices we'll need to continually circle back to. As much as there are days that I wish we could just set a policy and have that just work, being an engaged parent means I'm needing to keep on my toes as they grow bigger, and then make sure I'm working with them in a way that works with each of them.

    Bluey is fantastic! I told my friend who has a baby that it's one of those kids shows that both the parents and the kids enjoy.

    1 vote

  8. Comment on I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it in ~life

    pekt
    Link Parent
    It's something I honestly have to remind myself now and then because it can be satisfying seeing someone do a nicely edited repair job or big clean up. There's a lot of being a parent that is me...

    It's something I honestly have to remind myself now and then because it can be satisfying seeing someone do a nicely edited repair job or big clean up. There's a lot of being a parent that is me telling my kids something and also using it as a reminder to do myself, because if I expect them to do something I need to be leading by example as well.

    2 votes

  9. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

    pekt
    Link
    I watched a One Piece theory video that got me to go and catch up with the manga (which to be fair was only 6. chapters). I really enjoy One Piece, and I watched also watched a video that...

    I watched a One Piece theory video that got me to go and catch up with the manga (which to be fair was only 6. chapters).

    I really enjoy One Piece, and I watched also watched a video that explained some criticisms that the video's creator has for current One Piece which I agreed with, with the main one being that the cast has become bloated, and now key characters aren't getting as much development post time skip in recent arcs. There are also so many characters that get introduced in each arc that it can be hard to really connect with some of them, or feel any attachment to them.
    One other criticism they had was that One Piece's panels now are so "busy" compared to earlier One Piece and that some action scenes aren't able to "breath" for lack of a better term. I completely agree with that, as I noticed in my reread that as the story went on there's always so many things going on in each panel that it feels like Oda is trying to get in as much story/action/development in on each page as he can. That lined up with something I remember reading years ago, where Oda had expressed that he wished at times that he could write longer chapters to explore some things, but he is capped at the Shōnen Jump limit of 18 pages per chapter.

    I don't think that Oda would obviously listen to the opinions of some random guy on YouTube, and I don't think any of these at the end of the day stop One Piece being an amazing manga. Manga is also an art form where you can see the artist develop and change over the years in an almost linear fashion. I am sure that the day One Piece ends, I'm going to read the final chapter and then immediately start a binge read through the series again.

    I also watched a few more Armored Trooper Votoms, but I'm going to wait till next week to post my thoughts on those once I finish the episode I'm on. Fantastic series so far!

    1 vote

  10. Comment on I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it in ~life

    pekt
    Link
    We keep a fairly tight control of what our kids can watch (4 and 2), and we only recently got a TV whereas before they'd only get a limited amount of time watching on my wife's iPad. So far it's...

    We keep a fairly tight control of what our kids can watch (4 and 2), and we only recently got a TV whereas before they'd only get a limited amount of time watching on my wife's iPad. So far it's mainly educational content, with the occasional age appropriate show for fun throw in (Bob the Builder, PAW Patrol, Bluey, etc.) but we have seen them tap on other videos that are recommended occasionally.

    We haven't had too many questions regarding why they can't watch something yet, but I'm sure that is coming, and we'll also be in the camp of explaining why we don't want them to watch something since I definitely agree it is better to give reasoning behind it.

    We did have the question specifically up regarding videos of people playing with toys that my kids had opened up, and we framed it as "you don't need to watch videos of other people playing with toys, when you can go play with your own toys". If they probed a deeper why, I'd tell them that "playing with toys practices your imagination, and watching someone do that doesn't. It's import to have your own imagination and to think of ways to play on your own without someone on a screen saying this is how you play with toys." Granted that isn't my concrete final answer and I may think on a better way to phrase it down the road and parenting is a delicate balance, especially nowadays with how accessible tech is.

    29 votes

  11. Comment on How to get found by recruiters on LinkedIn in ~tech

    pekt
    Link Parent
    Thanks for the tips, this was a great reminder for me to start posting occasionally on my LinkedIn since it's been mostly dead and only ever used for job hunting when I needed it. I don't have...

    Thanks for the tips, this was a great reminder for me to start posting occasionally on my LinkedIn since it's been mostly dead and only ever used for job hunting when I needed it. I don't have social media (though I guess a Reddit account and Tildes sort of count) besides LinkedIn, and I almost never interact with it.

    I'm taking your tips as a bit of preparedness, I enjoy my job and hope to get moved up internally in some way soon, but after it was hard finding a job during my last hunt I'm wanting to make sure I can shorten the time I'm unemployed again since we're hoping to get to the point where I'm able to support our family and my wife doesn't need to work/she can move to something she is more passionate about or work part-time.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Books: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~books

    pekt
    Link
    My Goodreads shows that I've read 41 books this year, though I think I'll squeeze in a couple of more books before the year is over. I always take this number with a grain of salt, since I will...

    My Goodreads shows that I've read 41 books this year, though I think I'll squeeze in a couple of more books before the year is over. I always take this number with a grain of salt, since I will also track some novellas and short stories as well.

    Overall, it's been a decent year of reading. The majority of my reading has been ereading, as was the case for the last few years, as my books are still in boxes even though I moved a few years ago. Turned out to be handy since we're in the process of moving again, but I will be unpacking them at our new place finally. I also ended up finishing 4 books that had been in various states of read to "clean up" my currently reading list, though that list still sits at 30+ books since I have books I only read on my Kindle, and some on my phone and the stack of physical books I'm working through.

    Something I've found myself doing occasionally is looking back at the books I read each year since I started keeping track. Even just thinking about the titles I read in a certain period bring me back. I.e.: After my oldest was born there was about a week where he wouldn't sleep unless we were holding him, and I didn't want to risk anything happening to him, so I would hold him and stay awake for most of the night and just read books. I finished another book, and then picked up Wolf and Iron and read it in its entirety, before moving on to another book. Whenever I think of that book, it brings me back to those nights where I was a new dad holding my son and feeling at peace being able to comfort him at night. I wonder what memories will stick out from this year's books when I look back in the future.

    Next year I'm planning on mixing in more nonfiction reads and also focus on some more career development, so I'm not sure how my reading will look next year. I really enjoy reading as a hobby, but I'd also like to broaden my horizons and read some more books that will assist me in developing both professionally and personally. I think I'm glad to be on Tildes where there are regular threads to talk about what people are reading and for everyone to chime in with similar suggestions or talk about a book they enjoyed that someone is now reading.

    This year saw me continuing several series that I had been reading in previous years:

    • I've caught up on the Dresden files by Jim Butcher which was an enjoyable ride. I'm curious to see what happens next, and with how many other books I'm enjoying reading or want to read I'm okay with waiting since I'm sure Jim Butcher is going to deliver on the end of the series
    • I've read more of Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erickson, and I am hoping to have book 9 finished before the end of the year and then start next year with book 10. These books are epic, and I wished I'd started reading them before I had kids so I could have binged my way through them. That being said, I enjoyed them now and can easily see myself reading them fairly quickly during a future reread. Every book in the series keeps building on the last. I'm excited to read the other stories in the setting, but I'll probably be taking a break after finishing the big 10 to go explore a different epic fantasy series for awhile.
    • I finished the first main arc of the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell (books 1-6). The first few books were very short and were a breeze, and the series slowly grew from what felt purely cozy to something with a bit of an edge to it without sacrificing too much of the cozy feeling. There was one small arc in book 2 or 3 that I rolled my eyes at, but the books are overall great. I will definitely return one day to read the next arc and see how things progress.
    • I read the last novellas/short stories in The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey (I read everything except for one short story that I just didn't enjoy and any material in the TTRPG series). Felt like I checked off what was a great series. I don't know if I'll ever reread the series, maybe one day, but it is something I'll be recommending to my friends and others.
    • I even read some more of the Warlock of the Magus World series by Wen Chao Gong which is a Chinese web novel. I have a friend who devours these types of books, and I read them to chat with him about them occasionally, but I can only take them in short bursts. Sometimes I'll read a few chapters, or if an arc is good I can fit in 100+ chapters, but I always have to take a break from them as two that I've read so far (this and Desolate Era) feel like if you took popcorn reading and distilled the popcorn down to pure carbohydrates. Fun, but not filling

    I also started a couple of other series:

    This year feature more standalone books than I normally read. I tend to bounce between series, but this year I wanted some more self-contained stories. There are also a lot of older scifi and fantasy authors who would write more self-contained stories so it's fun going back in time as it were to experience those works. I also specifically looked for works that were a maximum of 80,000 words. Reading through Malazan which are generally 300,000+ words can take a look time and these would often serve as a quick break for a few days or a week during the year when I got to a chapter where I wanted to take a break.

    Some highlights of these shorter works:

    • Waterworld the novelization done by Max Allan Collins of the cult classic movie of the same name. I've always loved the movie and this was a very short and fun way to experience it again with some added details. I got interested as I remembered the existence of The Atoll YouTube channel that focuses on Waterworld content, and they mention the novel a lot of in their videos. I've never read a novelization before, so this was a unique experience.
    • Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper was a fun scifi book. I know it's part of a series, but it worked great as a standalone novel.
    • The Death of Grass by John Christopher, an eco apocalyptic novel set in Post WW2 Britain that was enjoyable and interesting. While it seems far-fetched, something like that with an aggressive virus could very well happen and impact a huge swathe of the world's food supply, considering how many vegetables are closely related.
    • The Blue World by Jack Vance was a fun short read following humans who had generations earlier crashed on a water world and live on giant plants that stick up from the ocean floor. My first Vance book, but definitely not my last!
    • Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky was a great read while I was sick over a weekend. A big thank you to @cfabbro for the recommendation.
    7 votes

  13. Comment on Grow slowly, stay small in ~tech

    pekt
    Link
    I created a blog there previously and enjoyed posting there, but with everything else on my plate blogging regularly didn't end up being something I could sustain. This post has me going back...

    I created a blog there previously and enjoyed posting there, but with everything else on my plate blogging regularly didn't end up being something I could sustain. This post has me going back there to check out my blog and maybe write a bit more in my down moments.

    3 votes

  14. Comment on Whatever happened to _____? in ~talk

    pekt
    Link Parent
    I was never deep into MTG, mainly doing some prerelease and casual games with friends and guys in my fraternity, but I always enjoyed it having its own lore and flavor to things. I actually...

    I was never deep into MTG, mainly doing some prerelease and casual games with friends and guys in my fraternity, but I always enjoyed it having its own lore and flavor to things. I actually started reading some of the MTG lore books with one of my friends and it got me interested in playing again after I had sold my cards before my international move since I wasn't playing very often.

    I thought building a budget standard deck would be fun and help me meet new people in this country since I'm moving to a more densely urban area which would mean more gamestores and people playing MTG. Seeing the new cards made me lose interest, playing against someone where they're playing a blue deck and having them play Mr. Krabs isn't something I'm interested in doing.

    Honestly, it seems petty when I type it out, but I'm not the target market for these cards, and it's easier to just not play and go do something else with my limited free time/money. I do wish I hadn't sold my cards since I had plenty of space on our pallet, but downsizing and getting rid of things we weren't using was a big thing.

    7 votes

  15. Comment on Guild Wars: Reforged | Official launch trailer in ~games

    pekt
    Link Parent
    I'm with you on having reforged be tainted what Blizzard did. We should be fair to the small indie company Activision-Blizzard, after all they were only worth a paltry ~71+ billion USD in 2020...

    I'm with you on having reforged be tainted what Blizzard did.

    We should be fair to the small indie company Activision-Blizzard, after all they were only worth a paltry ~71+ billion USD in 2020 when Reforged was released. They clearly couldn't afford to spend enough money to do Warcraft 3 justice. /S

    4 votes

  16. Comment on How did you choose your podcast app and would you switch to a different one? in ~tech

    pekt
    Link Parent
    Is that the ability to integrate Pocket Casts in to WordPress sites? I had to so search for it since I rarely look at anything the company does since the app just works for me.

    Is that the ability to integrate Pocket Casts in to WordPress sites?

    I had to so search for it since I rarely look at anything the company does since the app just works for me.

    1 vote

  17. How did you choose your podcast app and would you switch to a different one?

    ~tech Ask (survey)
    I first started getting into Podcasts in 2017 after hearing about them for years. I finally had a regular, medium length commute to an internship and was tired of the radio and listening to music...

    I first started getting into Podcasts in 2017 after hearing about them for years. I finally had a regular, medium length commute to an internship and was tired of the radio and listening to music in the morning. I did a quick search for "Best Android Podcast app" and saw that Pocket Casts was highly reviewed. Since I had enough credit in my account to purchase it, I went ahead and installed it and never ended up looking for another app. Since then, I've become hooked as my form of audio entertainment/information gathering over the years, and Pocket Casts has become an app that I use every day.

    I was thinking this morning while opening my app, what would cause me to switch. I briefly considered switching when Pocket Casts moved to a subscription model, but the features that were included in that subscription are really only "nice to haves" for me and how I use the app. This got me thinking about how other people engage with podcasts and choose the app that they use.

    • How did you choose your podcast app?
    • Do you ever try out other podcast apps?
    • Are there any features that would/did make you want to switch to a different app?
    • Do you use a cross-platform podcast app or different apps on different platforms?
    • What are your favorite/most used features of your current podcast app?
    • What podcast(s) are you currently listening to that you'd like to recommend to others?
    26 votes

  18. Comment on US shoppers, drawn by steep discounts, power through Black Friday in ~finance

    pekt
    Link Parent
    I remember seeing those videos as well where they would interview the people waiting in line and never wanted to participate since I could hang out and enjoy Thanksgiving instead of camping out...

    I remember seeing those videos as well where they would interview the people waiting in line and never wanted to participate since I could hang out and enjoy Thanksgiving instead of camping out for a TV or some toys.

    That was until I did one single midnight Black Friday camp out with some friends in high school in order to be one of the first ~250 in to Fry's Electronics so we could get a motherboard and CPU combo for ~$150 (an MSI motherboard whose model I can't remember and an Intel i5 3570k). Ended up being worth the wait since I didn't have much money to rebuild my computer and I had started getting my friend group into PC gaming. Since I saved ~$150-200 on that deal, I could afford to get a mid-tier graphics card (Nvidia GTX 550 TI) and some extra RAM (4 GB). It ended up being an awesome decision since that combo of motherboard + CPU lasted me 11 years. The only reason I stopped using it was because I moved abroad and gave my dad my old computer for parts.

    Going made me reconsider Black Friday sales, since they could be worth it if it was something you wanted enough, but there was never a sale that was that good of a deal again that made me willing to wait outside in the cold. That, and having a group of friends to do it with and hang out with made the wait not feel so long.

    (Prices are estimates, since this was ~15 years ago)

    6 votes

  19. Comment on Tildes Book Club Discussion - November 2025 - We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis Taylor in ~books

    pekt
    Link Parent
    I came in knowing that this book was popular, and I had heard that it wasn't the most "serious" of books, with it having some comedy as well. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it was a very...

    I came in knowing that this book was popular, and I had heard that it wasn't the most "serious" of books, with it having some comedy as well.

    I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it was a very enjoyable read that I kept wanting to come back to see what happened next. There were some slow parts here and there, but it was overall a page turner.

    I thought how he handled the copying process not being exact for each replication of the original replicant added some variety and interest to the series, since I thought before he started making more copies that he would essentially have a ton of carbon copies of himself running around.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers in ~science

    pekt
    Link Parent
    I should ask him about that again. I remember us sitting around and chatting about it over a few beers, since smell is such a component of taste and him lacking that means he is missing part of...

    I should ask him about that again. I remember us sitting around and chatting about it over a few beers, since smell is such a component of taste and him lacking that means he is missing part of that experience.

    I know he responded that he tasted foods just fine, and we got in to how it would be hard for him to describe in detail how he experiences taste different from the rest of us, since that is the only way he's ever known how things should taste.

    3 votes