pekt's recent activity
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
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Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk
pekt Link ParentIt was rough with it being my first serious relationship. I was still in contact with her for awhile and it was only after I blocked her on social media that I was able to start moving on. Meeting...It was rough with it being my first serious relationship. I was still in contact with her for awhile and it was only after I blocked her on social media that I was able to start moving on. Meeting my future wife showed me what a good relationship could be like and while I've still had to grow a lot, a supportive girlfriend/wife made it easier and also something I wanted to do.
In somewhat petty revenge, I got my ex blacklisted from my fraternity's property while I was president. I knew that if she came to our house it'd make me miserable and based on her track record she would try and hook up with guys in my chapter. She got invited to a couple of parties after the ban went into effect and I would just remove her. When she showed up and couldn't get in she found out about being on the blacklist. Thankfully she didn't make a big deal about it and just left. Later on she ended up joining a sorority and was supposed to liason with our chapter for a big event we did with them. Because of the blacklist she had to ask someone else to do anything that involves being at our house due to the ban.
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Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk
pekt Link ParentI almost wonder if people just feel that is a given with these type of questions, and yeah I definitely see that on other sites. I thought about writing that but did some thinking on something...I almost wonder if people just feel that is a given with these type of questions, and yeah I definitely see that on other sites. I thought about writing that but did some thinking on something more about myself.
I did see a post on r/2007scape about what you would do if you could go back to 2007 and someone mentioned spending $15 to buy bitcoin because if you held on to them, you would have been able to afford to buy Jagex when it was up for sale for several hundreds of millions of dollars later on which was a bit mind-blowing to me.
I do enjoy thinking about it occasionally. If I spent money on stocks knowing what I know now, i.e. Nvidia since 2010 has had a ~60185% increase in stock price, and cryptocurrencies I would be set to enjoy life as a well off person.
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Comment on "The reason I'm not an atheist is that I think the philosophical arguments against it are unanswerable" (gifted link) in ~humanities
pekt Link ParentYou're spot on I found some places after a quick search, so I'll need to go and give them a try. I also did not know what "squab" was and had to look it up. I may have seen this as an option...You're spot on I found some places after a quick search, so I'll need to go and give them a try. I also did not know what "squab" was and had to look it up. I may have seen this as an option before and not know that it was pigeon.
Hopefully I remember to tell you how I find it when I do get around to trying it.
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Comment on Proposed series of console discussion/retrospective threads in ~games
pekt Link ParentGlad to hear you're interested! I think I may do a post for all of generations 1 consoles and then one for all generation 2 consoles, and then do the 70s and 80s for computer games before breaking...Glad to hear you're interested!
I think I may do a post for all of generations 1 consoles and then one for all generation 2 consoles, and then do the 70s and 80s for computer games before breaking it in to 5 year chunks, but I am open to feedback of course.
Not to say there aren't great games in those areas, but I feel like generation 3 is when gaming started becoming hugely popular at home and the 90s we saw a huge jump forward in games for computers.
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Comment on What was the best job you ever had? in ~life
pekt LinkI worked at a university helpdesk and during my first summer there, it was generally super quiet. If someone couldn't immediately fix their issue everyone would go over and work through it with...I worked at a university helpdesk and during my first summer there, it was generally super quiet. If someone couldn't immediately fix their issue everyone would go over and work through it with them and then go back to what they were doing. I did almost all the homework for the classes I was taking that summer during those shifts. It was nice being able to go home and hang out and do stuff instead of doing homework, and I was getting paid while I did it!
Sadly the next summer they realized they were paying all those student techs to do practically nothing so they had bigger projects scheduled during the summer months. Refresh of computers in labs, deep inventory audits, updating documentation, etc. We would have 1-2 people taking calls/covering things and the rest of the team was doing project work.
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Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk
pekt LinkI felt like I missed out on a lot of things my Freshman year of university. Tried to do long distance with my high-school girlfriend whom I was sure was the one for me (she was one year younger...I felt like I missed out on a lot of things my Freshman year of university. Tried to do long distance with my high-school girlfriend whom I was sure was the one for me (she was one year younger than I was). She was a bit controlling, I spent a lot of time in my dorm talking to her. She wasn't a fan of me joining a fraternity, she also got super pissed during my initiation week as our pledges are required to turn in their phone for the week (and only get it back for legitimate reasons like 2FA in to a school/work related account or if you need it for school/work, but it gets turned back in after you're done using it) and would get annoyed when I went to events and try to get me not to go. I'd also spend a lot of my weekends driving back home to see her. We broke up after my freshman year and I found out she'd spent a solid chunk of that year cheating on me. This contributed in part to me going a bit off the deep end my sophomore year and not doing great in school.
Admittedly it was my fault for staying with her as she mentioned breaking up after my senior year with distance being hard and me being sure it would work out. There were red flags during the relationship that I only recognized in hindsight, but part of growing up is learning from experiences like this.
The weirdest part was my future wife having met her at a sorority recruitment event and my ex tried to become friends with her, but future wife wasn't a big fan of her. While we were dating she ran in to my ex at a party at a different fraternity where my ex tried drunkenly to explain how it was a totally reasonable thing to cheat on someone so that you for sure know you want to be with them which was why she was cheating on the guy she was dating now (the guy she cheated on me with).
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Comment on "The reason I'm not an atheist is that I think the philosophical arguments against it are unanswerable" (gifted link) in ~humanities
pekt Link ParentIt looks like I'm online collar color-blind haha, thank you for taking the time to share all of that! I was recently talking with a coworker regarding how fun it is to talk to grandparents and get...It looks like I'm online collar color-blind haha, thank you for taking the time to share all of that!
I was recently talking with a coworker regarding how fun it is to talk to grandparents and get stories like this. Learning family history and also hearing about a different time, and then being able to pass those stories along to our children to whom it will sound like ancient times.
Also I've never eaten a pigeon, and have heard about them carrying pathogens and other things which has kept me from trying them without knowing where they were sourced from. I've wondered how they taste though.
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Proposed series of console discussion/retrospective threads
In the past couple of weeks I've recently watched some console retrospective videos while doing some chores (Liam Triforce's videos on the PS2 and Dreamcast). It got me curious if anyone would be...
In the past couple of weeks I've recently watched some console retrospective videos while doing some chores (Liam Triforce's videos on the PS2 and Dreamcast).
It got me curious if anyone would be interested in discussion/retrospective threads on the different console generations/consoles?
I was thinking about using the Wikipedia page for the history of video game consoles to guide this, and potentially adding in some threads for different stages of PC gaming (i.e. decade or 5 year periods).
If there is interest I was thinking of having this be a weekly post. I'd love feedback on which consoles to cover/how granular this would be.
I.e. would it be better to discuss all of a generation's consoles in one thread or separate threads.Some sample questions I thought of for different consoles:
- What was your favorite memory of this console?
- Favorite/least favorite game on the console?
- "Hidden" games you've played that you think could use more attention?
- Have you gone back to play games on this console or do you still play this games on this console regularly?
- Do you have the console physically or do you emulate the console?
- Are there any region specific games that you wished had been brought to your region, and if there are have any of them been fan translated?
- Are there any interesting tidbits you'd like to share about the console? This could be from promotional campaigns, development stories, fun facts.
I don't play as many new games as I used to, but I've also realized there are tons of games on the consoles I did play that I have never heard of or got the experience to play and would love to go back and try them. I've also seen some channels where people try to play every game on a console which sounds like an interesting experience, especially the guy who is trying to play all 4,000+ PS2 games that were released!
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Comment on "The reason I'm not an atheist is that I think the philosophical arguments against it are unanswerable" (gifted link) in ~humanities
pekt Link ParentI know we've talked a bit about Orthodoxy after I joined Tildes in DMs, and I wanted to say I appreciate you taking the time to type out yours and your family's journey of faith! It was an...I know we've talked a bit about Orthodoxy after I joined Tildes in DMs, and I wanted to say I appreciate you taking the time to type out yours and your family's journey of faith! It was an interesting read and reminds me of my Mother in law who converted to Christianity as an early teenager in Southeast Asia and then eventually converted her family.
I've still been needing to dive in to the resources you shared, as I sit in a more baptist/non-denominational church background after becoming an adult and learning about the history of the church/theology and the different faiths are fascinating. Typing this comment out has got thinking I'll be setting aside some time for further reading outside my normal scripture/devotional time.
I do find the emphasis on the liturgical calendar and tradition fascinating and I know that the deep roots of the church are very desirable, and I even recently listened to a sermon series from my past non-denominational church that was specifically focused on drawing upon the roots of faith/doctrine/history/examples that has been built up over the millennia.her dad was a pirate/blue collar worker
When I read this I pictured someone taking off a stereotypical pirate hate and then putting on a tie while sitting in front of a spreadsheet to calculate the latest haul of treasure/goods and ensuring that the proper taxes are filed for their gains with some sort of pirate governing body/local government.
Random crew members: "We're supposed to receive 1 share each, this is less than our total share!"Blue collar pirate dad: "I've deducted your taxes for this raid and your share of operating expenses, so you are receiving your net share. If you have any complaints regarding pay, please file the appropriate form, and it will be processed by the Captain and Officers at their next operations meeting."
I have so many questions about that career path!
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
pekt Link ParentIn my dream scenario, it wouldn't matter the size of the niche, and I'd be able to support my family off of it. I know that a good number of the fairly successful channels I think of are ones that...In my dream scenario, it wouldn't matter the size of the niche, and I'd be able to support my family off of it. I know that a good number of the fairly successful channels I think of are ones that still have the creator working outside the channel, so I would need a dedicated fan base contributing to a Patreon or some other regular funding source. For some example channels that come to mind for me are DasTactic and BATTLEMODE or the reading channels Mike's Book Reviews though he has definitely broken out of the "niche" territory and is a bigger channel, or Thomas R. Howell.
I know I could start up a channel for something like this any time and slowly work on it, and that is what a lot of people do. In "change something about the past" scenario it would have me have started this years ago before having kids and then having it bring in some small side income after growing the audience to where I could justify in my head investing time in to it on the weekends. I don't want to make it sound purely profit motivated, and I've toyed around with the idea for games I'd cover when I do give this idea some time. I haven't thought too seriously about doing a channel focused on book reviews, but I do read a solid ~30-40 books a year, so I would have plenty to make videos on if I were to sit down and do it.
Not related to those two ideas, but I did recently start a channel to follow another suggestion that my wife and her friend gave me a couple of years ago of reading story books for young kids after hearing me read them to my sons. It shouldn't take too long to go through and make a video with the "lazy" method of scanning the book and then recording myself reading it, but I keep running in to weird input issues on my personal computer that I haven't been able to fully resolve which can really hamper making those videos (by sometimes crashing my computer) and that has kept me from exploring any other options like gaming or book reviews. I don't have too much time to dedicate to troubleshooting these issues and often times I look at my computer when I have a spare hour after work and would rather just do something else like a workout, read a physical book, or get some housework done than spend another hour in front of a computer after work.
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
pekt (edited )Link ParentI was the "sole" SysAdmin for a mid-sized company for a couple of years, it was a great time! I have "sole" in quotes as my manager was incredibly technical and did a lot of our infrastructure...I was the "sole" SysAdmin for a mid-sized company for a couple of years, it was a great time! I have "sole" in quotes as my manager was incredibly technical and did a lot of our infrastructure work, he would usually let me take a first crack at any project so that I could improve on my skills before coming in to help me iron anything out.
Edit: I also wanted to say I emphasize with you on the not wanting to switch careers and starting at the bottom. There are a lot of days when I don't really want to do what I'm doing or even stay in tech. I'm not sure what else I would do, but with a mortgage and kids I don't really have the option to take a massive pay cut and switch careers.
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
pekt Link ParentI listened to Trojan War the Podcast which definitely made me appreciate how valuable a professional "bard" is when telling a story. I hope you're able to find success in your writing and other...I listened to Trojan War the Podcast which definitely made me appreciate how valuable a professional "bard" is when telling a story.
I hope you're able to find success in your writing and other story telling ventures.
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
pekt LinkI know that a "YouTuber"/streamer can be overhyped as a career, but I think I would enjoy being one of those smaller niche channels, potentially around gaming. I don't want to be super successful...I know that a "YouTuber"/streamer can be overhyped as a career, but I think I would enjoy being one of those smaller niche channels, potentially around gaming. I don't want to be super successful or rich, as trying to chase whatever is trending sounds exhausting. Having a channel that is big enough to support myself and my family and save up for retirement would be ideal.
The other thing I'd love to be would be a professional book reader. I'm not sure how well I'd do as a critic, but I know I love reading books and chatting about/recommending them to friends/family/people. I'd probably do some form of video reviews, and some other content like thrifting for some books. I've thought about blogging my reviews or making videos, but I don't have a ton of free time and would rather just enjoy reading as a hobby, unless I had this dream job scenario where I was able to do it for a living. It would also allow me to tell my wife that buying more books is a "business expensive"!
Fun to think about occasionally when work gets on my nerves.
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Comment on Do you prefer chunky or smooth peanut butter? in ~food
pekt Link ParentI personally view honey as a separate topping/addition to whatever I'm putting my peanut butter in/on. I do agree with you that honey goes great with peanut butter!I personally view honey as a separate topping/addition to whatever I'm putting my peanut butter in/on. I do agree with you that honey goes great with peanut butter!
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Comment on Do you prefer chunky or smooth peanut butter? in ~food
pekt Link ParentAnother peanut butter connoisseur to join @nukeman and I! I tried a peanut butter that had a bit of molasses added in that my father-in-law tried that was decent, though I wouldn't get it for...Another peanut butter connoisseur to join @nukeman and I!
I tried a peanut butter that had a bit of molasses added in that my father-in-law tried that was decent, though I wouldn't get it for myself. Putting oils and sugars in peanut butter is a sign that I won't buy it.
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Comment on Do you prefer chunky or smooth peanut butter? in ~food
pekt Link ParentTrying to separate glass from peanut butter sounds awful. As much as I love peanut butter I'd be more worried about having some left over tiny shards of glass.Trying to separate glass from peanut butter sounds awful. As much as I love peanut butter I'd be more worried about having some left over tiny shards of glass.
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Comment on Do you prefer chunky or smooth peanut butter? in ~food
pekt Link ParentI'm in Malaysia. It isn't terribly expensive. A jar of JIF or Skippy is usually 3-3.50 USD, while a jar of proper peanut butter is usually 4.50-5.50 USD, with 4.50 being the sale price, depending...I'm in Malaysia. It isn't terribly expensive. A jar of JIF or Skippy is usually 3-3.50 USD, while a jar of proper peanut butter is usually 4.50-5.50 USD, with 4.50 being the sale price, depending on the brand and where you get it.
I've always been fairly frugal, but after having kids, and wanting more in the future if we can make it work, I try to be more frugal and not buy so many things for myself and just wait for sales to stock up. I really enjoy eating a PB & J (or a PB & K if I have some kaya which is a coconut jam) for breakfast after a run/work out so I can go through the jar fairly quickly when I have it. If I run out of peanut butter I'll just eat something else until I see another sale.
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
pekt Link ParentAstronaut would definitely be a dream job! I know NASA can't ethically send people to Mars, but I don't get claustrophobic (unless in an incredibly small space) and if there had been a program to...Astronaut would definitely be a dream job!
I know NASA can't ethically send people to Mars, but I don't get claustrophobic (unless in an incredibly small space) and if there had been a program to volunteer for a one way trip to Mars to live in an underground shelter before I met my future wife I would have signed up.
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Comment on Do you prefer chunky or smooth peanut butter? in ~food
pekt Link ParentI'm also a peanut butter snob. The only time I eat peanut butter with anything added to it is when I'm: Someone besides me makes something with peanut butter in it I'm gifted peanut butter by...I'm also a peanut butter snob. The only time I eat peanut butter with anything added to it is when I'm:
- Someone besides me makes something with peanut butter in it
- I'm gifted peanut butter by someone who doesn't know my preferences
Whenever I see "proper" peanut butter go on sale over here I usually buy several jars. I should probably find somewhere I can buy it in bulk here since I would usually just buy the 5 lbs jar of Adams peanut butter from Costco when I lived in the states.
After my post in the last thread I thought I would follow up some progress updates for those books.
Finished:
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress I picked this back up and finished it in short order. I enjoyed seeing the fruits of the Lunar independence movement's efforts pay off and it got me thinking about how a functional lunar colony would work eventually. I'd love to see a permanent lunar colony in my life time and greater space exploration.
Tarzan of the Apes was a decent read, and one that I did enjoy. It is definitely dated, but it has that pulpy action story reads that made it a quick read once I got in to it. Also incredibly different from the Disney version which was the one I first experienced as a kid. I don't think I'll read more of them, but who knows I could find myself back there eventually.
Dragons of Autumn Twilight was a great DnD style adventure novel. I know there are two more and I'm curious to see what happens next. This was my first dive in to the Dragonlance setting and I also want to take a peak in to other DnD settings in the years to come as most of my reading was in the Forgotten Realms (mainly Drizzt) and I'd also like to read more of those as well.
The Wile E Engineer this was a very quick read that was right at the border of a long novella and a very short novel. Followed the adventures of a real smart guy who ended up being a Bitcoin billionaire deciding to create an "engineering utopia", who also happened to a marry a super hot wife and create an apocalypse proof compound. The story was predictable wish fulfillment, and was a solid popcorn style read after finishing one of the other books. I saw it recommended on Goodreads and figured I'd give it a try since it was so short.
The Tombs of Atuan is the second book in the Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is my first time reading through this series after having heard about it for years. This was a quick read that followed a new character who is supposed to the a reincarnation of a priestess who is dedicated some dark powers. She encounters the protagonist from the previous story which fundamentally changes the course of her life. This was another quick read and I'm holding myself back from binging through these stories as I'm wanting to really enjoy them and not have them blend together in my head.
I also read a couple of short stories which were enjoyable reads. I've been trying to check out more short stories as they break up the pace between bigger books and there also a lot of ones written by famous authors exploring interesting ideas. Short stories were the bread and butter of sci-fi and fantasy for decades. I've considered collecting some of those "best of" anthologies, but that will be a longer term project.
The Long Rain by Ray Bradbury was an interesting short story exploring an older idea of Venus in that it was covered in perpetual cloud cover where it would always be raining. This story predated a probe being landed on Venus by decades. I've enjoyed stories like this speculating about how things are or will be from the paste.
Nightfall by Issac Asimov features a planet that exists in a complex orbit in a solar system with 8 stars where there is always light and what happens during a one in a very long time period eclipse where no stars provide light and what happens to society during that time. This was "fixed up" in to a longer novel but I decided to read the original short story that has the meat of the story. It was an interesting short read.
Progress made
Warlock of the Magus World I'm continuing to read some chapters here and there. I slowed down after my last push, but I'm curious to see how this goes and will then probably pick up another one of these Chinese web novels to slowly read through. My friend has slowed down after reading a whole bunch of these over the years so I tend to just ask him for his recommendations.
The Fellowship of the Ring - I've read a bit more, but as always with The Lord of the Rings I read in spurts when the mood takes me
Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow is a story about the roman empire during Claudias' reign following a young man who has been granted his freedom through joining the 2nd Legion. This has been on my to read list for a long time and I kept putting it off as it is part of a very long series, but so far I'm really enjoying it. It is fast paced and there is enough intrigue and plot threads to keep me interested.
No Progress:
AI Engineering: Building Applications with Foundation Models I've not been doing as much professional development lately and this back has been sitting next to my work desk for awhile. I think I'll move it back downstairs so I can get in a few pages here and there between kids stuff.
Imperial Smuggler - Book 2 of the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire I'll probably finish this sometime soon, but the characters aren't ones I'm feeling like spending time with at the moment.
The Fort by Bernard Cornwell I'm still in the build up phase of this book. I feel like I enjoy following Cornwell's character arcs over longer journeys and knowing that these characters won't appear again and so far none of them have really stood out to me has made this less of a priority.
Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation This was placed on my shelf during my move, so I need to take it off and put it somewhere I'll access it more regularly.
Swan Song I just haven't felt like getting back in to this. I also realized that my copy of this was not moved over to my new phone, so I'm needing to do that to start reading this again.
The Legend of Corinair I haven't felt like going back to this yet. Seems pulpy enough for a quick read occasionally, but the last few times I've read it didn't hold my interest. Getting close to deciding that this series isn't for me. This one may sit for a long time as I've sometimes found myself coming back a year or three later and being in a different frame of mind and enjoying a series.
The Emperor's Gift, The Brother's War, and The Three-Body Problem are all book club books that I'm reading with friends. My biggest rules when starting these book clubs has been that they are no pressure and we will make our way through the books slowly when we have time. I used my comment on the last post to reach out to the guys I'm reading with and hopefully we'll start making progress again.