redwall_hp's recent activity
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
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Comment on Avengers: Doomsday | X-Men teaser in ~movies
redwall_hp Link ParentMy assumption is this is basically an opportunity to reboot the MCU: they're putting all these characters in because it's going to be a send off for all of it, and they're probably going to do a...My assumption is this is basically an opportunity to reboot the MCU: they're putting all these characters in because it's going to be a send off for all of it, and they're probably going to do a hard pivot into doing X-Men films because the Avengers are stale.
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Comment on Mac advice for a long time Windows user in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentLots of options to customize it, avoid annoyances, and little nice to haves that all add up. I find the search, scroll back and color scheme enhancements nice. https://iterm2.com/features.htmlLots of options to customize it, avoid annoyances, and little nice to haves that all add up. I find the search, scroll back and color scheme enhancements nice.
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Comment on Mac advice for a long time Windows user in ~tech
redwall_hp LinkI read a book called "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual" back in the 2000s, and proceeded to never use Windows again. Some random things: Keyboard shortcuts are almost universally better. They're more...I read a book called "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual" back in the 2000s, and proceeded to never use Windows again.
Some random things:
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Keyboard shortcuts are almost universally better. They're more consistent between applications (except Electron stuff), they're searchable in the Help menu on the Menu Bar. The separation of Command for MacOS functions and Ctrl for terminal sequences is also amazing, as it makes the OS basically the only mainstream one to consistently use a meta key. Command+C is copy, ctrl+c terminates a process in a terminal. Sense at last.
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The metaphor for Mac applications is that opening an application is taking a typewriter out of a drawer and putting paper in it is opening a window. You should be able to have many windows with documents, but putting them all away doesn't put the typewriter away: that's a separate and deliberate action. Apps that exit when all windows are closed are wrong and should feel bad.
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Command+W closes a window and Command+Q exits the focused application. You'll never need the traffic light buttons in the corner. Command+Space and type an application name to open it.
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You can put folders on the right side of the Dock, and choose what style of menu you want them to open up as when clicked (the option is in the context menu). I've always pinned the Applications folder, my Home folder and Downloads there.
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iTerm > the stock terminal. Download it and don't look back.
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Install Homebrew. It's the de facto standard package manager.
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There are many options for window management. The traditional way is the freedom of not giving a shit: let them pile up, flip through applications with cmd+tab and windows in the same application with cmd+tilde. Use gestures to make Exposé explode the open windows out into a visible arrangement when you're trying to find one. Making windows full screen compulsively is an anti-pattern. Embrace the chaos and use the magic to bring order to it as needed. Don't waste brain moving things around, summon what you need. Also, Spaces are virtual desktops. They fit perfectly with this approach.
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There are tiling and auto-snapping options now if you need them.
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Comment on What are some stories of progressivism gone wrong in implementation? in ~society
redwall_hp Link ParentEveryone gave the Pontiac Aztec shit, but it looks basically the same as every contemporary SUV. Probably less ugly.Everyone gave the Pontiac Aztec shit, but it looks basically the same as every contemporary SUV. Probably less ugly.
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Comment on What are some stories of progressivism gone wrong in implementation? in ~society
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentI'm also not sure how either is weird...they're standard hatchback designs, like the Golf, Mini, Matrix, Fiesta, Aveo, Sonic and pretty much every WRC rally platform. It's a widely preferred style...I'm also not sure how either is weird...they're standard hatchback designs, like the Golf, Mini, Matrix, Fiesta, Aveo, Sonic and pretty much every WRC rally platform. It's a widely preferred style of car, over sedans, in Europe and Asia.
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Comment on US strikes Venezuela and says its leader, Nicolas Maduro, has been captured and flown out of the country in ~society
redwall_hp LinkDenmark reacts after wife of Trump aide Stephen Miller posts image of U.S. flag covering Greenland -
Comment on Reddit overtakes TikTok in UK thanks to search algorithms and gen Z in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentI haven't used Reddit ever since. I uninstalled Apollo, never installed the official app, and walked away. And it seems like the quality of discourse fell off another cliff (in a decade long...I haven't used Reddit ever since. I uninstalled Apollo, never installed the official app, and walked away. And it seems like the quality of discourse fell off another cliff (in a decade long series of cliffs).
Obviously it shows up in search results, especially for advice for games, and I do some infrequent posting on a topical alt account for a single subreddit, but I definitely don't browse it anymore like I used to. And I was a 2007 Redditor. I curse it for de-normalizing forums, which I would rather go back to.
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Comment on US strikes Venezuela and says its leader, Nicolas Maduro, has been captured and flown out of the country in ~society
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentSpeaking as someone with Polish heritage, I will absolutely call it out, and I'm deeply familiar with that history. They did, after all, want to exterminate 80% of the country my grandfather came...Speaking as someone with Polish heritage, I will absolutely call it out, and I'm deeply familiar with that history. They did, after all, want to exterminate 80% of the country my grandfather came from under Generalplan Ost.
They did not go from zero to industrialized murder overnight: first it was small prisons, then the prisoners were worked until they died of exhaustion, starvation and disease. This went on for multiple years before the larger, centralized camps were built. Said camps also started as labor camps in some of the cases ("Arbeit Macht Frei").
The UN recognizes merely moving an ethnic group by force as genocide, and so do I. And that is how it starts. There's no commendation for not getting quite as far along that path. America had, and still has, a deep and nasty tendency toward genocide and eugenics. Hitler himself was heavily inspired by eugenicist and anti-Semitic publications from the US, which were popular with industrialists such as Henry Ford, and the treatment of the Native American peoples. I could also go on about the multi-century genocide on the Native Americans...
There is no difference at the start, when you decide you want to remove an ethnic group. It's the exact same thing, no matter what rhetoric it gets dressed up with. From there, it's just measuring how far the atrocities are taken. And I'm awfully tempted to include the atomic murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians in their homes under that heading, though more hairs can be split on that.
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Comment on BYD overtakes Tesla as China reshapes the global electric vehicle race in ~transport
redwall_hp Link ParentThe captive import era of Japanese cars worked kind of like that, so there's precedent for it working. Some were just rebadges, others were hodgepodges of parts made by different companies.The captive import era of Japanese cars worked kind of like that, so there's precedent for it working. Some were just rebadges, others were hodgepodges of parts made by different companies.
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Comment on US strikes Venezuela and says its leader, Nicolas Maduro, has been captured and flown out of the country in ~society
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentThere have been two record-setting national protests so far (No Kings Day) with a third coming up soon. General strikes are typically unlikely in the US, because participants just get fired with...There have been two record-setting national protests so far (No Kings Day) with a third coming up soon. General strikes are typically unlikely in the US, because participants just get fired with no safety net or legal recourse.
Also, NSPM-7 happened in September, quietly with barely any coverage in news media. It's blatantly unconstitutional, but it's still pointed directly at organizers of protests. Basically, any PAC that orchestrates a protest is risking being summarily raided by law enforcement and having to fight it out in courts.
How are these even still on the books?
In my experience, it's an uphill battle to convince typical Americans that Japanese internment 1) actually happened 2) was unjust 3) yes, is the same behavior as the Nazis. 4) resulted in mass theft of some of the most valued farmland in the US.
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Comment on What's the coolest thrift store find you've ever scored? in ~talk
redwall_hp (edited )LinkThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Infocom game for Commdore 64 (found early 2000s). I already had a C64 and disk drive, so that was cool. A green box that was misshelved with board games, but...-
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Infocom game for Commdore 64 (found early 2000s). I already had a C64 and disk drive, so that was cool.
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A green box that was misshelved with board games, but contained Korean export documents and a bottle of what was probably soju (but the cork had degraded and it was empty). The bottle had kind of a dragon shape to it.
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A Suzuki Omnichord, which I foolishly passed up, even though I knew what it was...and they promptly blew up in value shortly after. If anyone finds a Roland TR-909, Juno, Jupiter or Korg M1 at a thrift store...trust me, they're worthless and I'll take them off your hands for $3.50.
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Comment on What video games would you say have the best stories? Feel free to suggest more than one. in ~games
redwall_hp Link ParentBG3 is one of the best games I've played in the past decade, easily. It captures the magic of D&D, brings Faerûn to life in the most meticulously realized way yet, and the world just seems really...BG3 is one of the best games I've played in the past decade, easily. It captures the magic of D&D, brings Faerûn to life in the most meticulously realized way yet, and the world just seems really alive. And the amount of leeway they give you to find solutions to things is impressive
It's rare for a game that gives you "choices" to not feel like you're just picking one of 2-3 rails to go through a theme park attraction, but BG3 has such a tangled web of options you can't help but be immersed. It also helps that you don't fully get to choose how you interact with the myriad characters or events, because dice rolls for checks will determine success. Similarly, fights can play out differently based on what each character (including enemies) rolls, or what tricks you use. (e.g. knocking enemies into pits with Thunderwave.)
I've just picked up Divinity: Original Sin 2 because I wanted to see how much of what I like about BG3 was present in Larian's own franchise...and I'm now definitely excited about the new Divinity game they just announced. DOS2 is the same engine, albeit with a less refined UI, and lacking fully animated cutscenes for dialogue...though there is full voice acting in the dialogue windows that pop up. Many of the game mechanics from BG3 were already present, though the RPG elements are not the D20 system, so it's a bit different in that regard.
So far, it's great. It has a compelling story set in a richly detailed (and equally dark, if not more) world. It kind of makes you learn what's going on by talking to people and reading books. It definitely has a lot of the same magic.
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Comment on What video games would you say have the best stories? Feel free to suggest more than one. in ~games
redwall_hp Link ParentInteresting. I've never heard anyone suggest Heavensward was anything other than a masterpiece. It, and the post-ARR patch that led into it, were the definitive "whoa, things are getting real"...Interesting. I've never heard anyone suggest Heavensward was anything other than a masterpiece. It, and the post-ARR patch that led into it, were the definitive "whoa, things are getting real" moment.
A Realm Reborn deserves some slack because it was a bit of a rush job, while they were literally building a new game and winding down another at the same time, so they could replace the ill-fated 1.0 of FFXIV. It also has to introduce the whole world of Eorzea, build up the main characters and kick off a decade-spanning story. They've also made it a lot less aggravating than it used to be...some filler quest lines were condensed a few years ago.
But yeah, no MMORPG comes close to the storytelling of FFXIV. It's been said that it can stand on its own as a Final Fantasy game, even if it weren't an MMORPG...to the point that they've been slowly adding and expanding features that allow players to progress through content on their own. Such as the Trust system, which lets you bring NPCs into a dungeon or trial, so you can progress through the story alone. Not that I recommend that, since the community is great and even moderately skilled players will surpass the NPCs.
I've been a constant subscriber since 2018 sometime, so 7-8 years now.
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Comment on Buying a lotta RAM now, as an investment ... thoughts? in ~tech
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentWith the added feature where the toilet paper becomes worthless every 3-4 years when a new generation (DDR6 probably isn't too far away) comes out. I've lived through plenty of computer component...With the added feature where the toilet paper becomes worthless every 3-4 years when a new generation (DDR6 probably isn't too far away) comes out.
I've lived through plenty of computer component hiccups. Every so often there's flooding in Taiwan or a fire at a place that makes hard drives or a pandemic changes needs and suddenly fab capacity is overrun for awhile. They will never last, and betting on them is extremely foolish.
It's literally peoples' job to make calls on whether or not to spend hundreds of millions of dollars and years of effort to increase production capacity, which will destroy the value of any panic-bought stash, or ride out the short term blip and let it normalize again. And they have far more knowledge of how the market they operate in works, how their supply chain works, and general economic knowledge.
It's literally a lose/lose scenario where you're betting against an entire industry in being able to deliver their product, when they have a long track record of delivering a product on a massive scale.
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Comment on USPS announces changes to the postmark date system in ~society
redwall_hp Link ParentMany other government things use postmarks as a means of setting deadlines. Some paperwork was done on time if it was postmarked by such and such date, and businesses have long used that approach...Many other government things use postmarks as a means of setting deadlines. Some paperwork was done on time if it was postmarked by such and such date, and businesses have long used that approach as well. Like...court documents and social security forms. Now they can just deny people disability by asking for a form and holding all mail longer than the deadline allows for.
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Comment on Rapid swings between pro-EV and anti-EV US policies have disrupted long-term planning, forcing Ford, GM, and Stellantis to scramble to reshape their strategy in ~society
redwall_hp Link ParentThe new Hybrid Civics, which I'm excited about, as they're basically the new Sport/Sport Touring trims but now with more torque and 20 more horsepower, already use a simplified transmission. They...The new Hybrid Civics, which I'm excited about, as they're basically the new Sport/Sport Touring trims but now with more torque and 20 more horsepower, already use a simplified transmission. They have a planetary gearbox that's just forward on motor, forward on engine (only highway cruising), reverse. The engine is mostly only used like a series hybrid, in the Atkinson cycle. The Atkinson cycle yields less power but better efficiency, so it's not great for accelerating...unlike the electric motor. The shift to running off of the engine happens in highway conditions, because load is light and constant, so it's more energy efficient under that scenario. (Notably, my non-hybrid Civic ST already gets over 40mpg on the highway if I leave it on cruise control...)
Consumer EVs, such as Musk Swasticars, tend to use a single-gear setup. But F1 cars, which have been series hybrids for over a decade, have a full clutchless sequential gearbox with eight gears. So it comes down to what you're engineering for.
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Comment on Rapid swings between pro-EV and anti-EV US policies have disrupted long-term planning, forcing Ford, GM, and Stellantis to scramble to reshape their strategy in ~society
redwall_hp Link ParentThey threw down tariffs to stop the Prius too, which was a part of why Toyota ramped up production in the US. The first gen was very limited in availability. The entirety of US car brands' history...American car makers have been resisting alternative energies since the days of the Prius.
They threw down tariffs to stop the Prius too, which was a part of why Toyota ramped up production in the US. The first gen was very limited in availability.
The entirety of US car brands' history is abusing legislation to stop higher quality options from killing them on the open market. The original VW bus was curtailed with tariffs, tariffs have been repeatedly used against Japanese brands, "safety" regulations have been repeatedly changed to target Japanese brands, etc..
The rise and fall of the neat pop-up headlights that were typical of Japanese imports in the 80s/90s, iirc, was because cars were legislated to have headlights squarely facing the front at a certain height, which was bad for aerodynamics. So they had them pop up from an otherwise curved front. Then those were targeted with "safety" standards that asserted that they were pedestrian hazards.
CAFE standards were squarely an attack on the Japanese brands, which had been eating the lunch of the American shitbox companies for decades. They specifically placed tough efficiency standards on cars that were already light and efficient, and would ratchet up constantly, while basically exempting trucks and SUVs.
And I will never buy an American car. Fuck them all.
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Comment on Thousands of books and films released in 1930 will enter the Public Domain/lose copyright protection January 1 2026 in ~arts
redwall_hp (edited )LinkNice, we're staring to see some Gershwin enter the public domain. It's a travesty, and incredibly culturally damaging, that jazz standards and the entirety of Rock 'n' Roll are protected by...Nice, we're staring to see some Gershwin enter the public domain. It's a travesty, and incredibly culturally damaging, that jazz standards and the entirety of Rock 'n' Roll are protected by copyright still, a century later for the former...and the latter will surpass a century from now for much of it.
Music lives and dies by artist participation. When it becomes property, and artists can't freely repurpose parts of it for new things without fear of legal repercussions, until it's passed out of the collective consciousness, it has a chilling effect on creativity and culture.
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Comment on Moving back to the US (after 7+ years living in Germany) in ~life
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentThat's news to me. I've always been told 15% is stingy to tip at a restaurant, even close to a decade ago, and you don't want that to reflect poorly on you. I suspect there are multiple tipping...That's news to me. I've always been told 15% is stingy to tip at a restaurant, even close to a decade ago, and you don't want that to reflect poorly on you.
I suspect there are multiple tipping cultures, and the typical amount varies regionally and/or is stratified across both sides of the median income.
Edit: it looks like the Pew surveys suggest bachelors degrees and income are correlated to tipping frequency and amount. I definitely picked up on 18% being normal on Reddit, circa 2012-2014, back when it still trended more educated and well off. And I've always gone over that, partly because 20% is easier.
Apothecary is specifically a fantasy setting that draws from a couple of historical eras of China, so some leeway is reasonable. The second season adds some more background for the nation it takes place in, and it's not implied to be China. It's largely a 16th century setting, I believe, but with a level of technology and scientific knowledge more in line with the late 1700s to 1800s.
It's definitely one of my top shows from the last couple of years, and I recommend it at every opportunity.