Rudism's recent activity
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Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: Voting topic in ~games
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Comment on Moser's Frame Shop: I am an AI hater in ~tech
Rudism Link ParentAmidst the overwhelming torrent of AI-positive hype trains and "yeah but" defenses, I personally appreciate occasional signals and evidence that I'm not alone in my disdain for the technology. (In...Amidst the overwhelming torrent of AI-positive hype trains and "yeah but" defenses, I personally appreciate occasional signals and evidence that I'm not alone in my disdain for the technology.
(In other words, maybe it's a circlejerk, but who doesn't like a nice circlejerk every now and then?)
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Comment on Glow-in-the-dark succulents could be the future of ambient lighting in ~science
Rudism Link ParentThere's a short video clip in the article showing them injecting glowing liquid from a syringe directly into the leaf of a succulent, which is sort of how I pictured they were doing it from how...There's a short video clip in the article showing them injecting glowing liquid from a syringe directly into the leaf of a succulent, which is sort of how I pictured they were doing it from how the article is worded. It could just be a glamor shot that's not actually representative of the process though, I dunno.
What I'd like to know is, is the luminescence somehow powered by the plant itself--like as long as the plant is alive it will continue to glow--or is this just turning it into a glow-in-the-dark toy where you need to expose it to a bunch of light to charge it up and then it slowly dims until the next time it gets charged again? The former I would think is kind of awesome, but the latter not so much (glow-in-the-dark toys and paints have existed forever but I don't think anyone considers them as a serious ambient lighting source).
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Comment on Tildes' Colossal Game Adventure: Inauguration and nominations in ~games
Rudism LinkA game that I have never played but has lived in my mind rent free for many years since I first learned of its existence is Seaman. That's my nomination. Caveat is that I have no idea what the...A game that I have never played but has lived in my mind rent free for many years since I first learned of its existence is Seaman. That's my nomination. Caveat is that I have no idea what the current state of PS2 or Dreamcast emulation is so I'm not sure how feasible it is to play today for someone who has neither of those systems.
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Comment on Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store in ~tech
Rudism Link ParentProbably the PinePhone Pro. I'm also aware of the Librem 5 but that thing is outside my price range. I believe both are generally reported to be fine as daily drivers by people who use them....Probably the PinePhone Pro. I'm also aware of the Librem 5 but that thing is outside my price range. I believe both are generally reported to be fine as daily drivers by people who use them. There's one called the FuriPhone FLX1 that caught my attention most recently and sounds very promising, but I've read conflicting reviews that suggest the networks it supports aren't really optimal for use in North America where I am. Then there are a couple possible vaporware projects, the Liberux Nexx (their website is down as I write this, and all I can find about them is a closed IndieGogo), and another project that's in the pre-kickstarter phase called Mecha Comet that actually looks pretty neat if it ever comes to fruition. The other option I don't know much about is PostMarket OS which is basically a custom ROM compatible with some select Android phone models--using that would require already owning or probably buying an older phone model second hand, so I'm not sure how feasible it would be to find something there.
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Comment on Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store in ~tech
Rudism LinkI've previously toyed with the idea of giving one of the various phones that run some flavor of Linux a try. The main thing I want out of a phone is it needs to be reliable enough on the telephony...I've previously toyed with the idea of giving one of the various phones that run some flavor of Linux a try. The main thing I want out of a phone is it needs to be reliable enough on the telephony side of things that I can be sure I'm not missing calls or texts and I can place them when I need to, which didn't always seem like a given on Linux phones when I've dug into them in the past. But I think if this is the direction that Android is going in, it may finally push me over the edge.
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Comment on Disney’s boy trouble: studio seeks original IP to win back Gen-Z men amid Marvel, Lucasfilm struggles in ~movies
Rudism Link ParentSeems like a lot of studios have been throwing their eggs into the 80s/90s-kid nostalgia bait basket, buying IPs and churning out carefully designed-by-committee content specifically meant to...Seems like a lot of studios have been throwing their eggs into the 80s/90s-kid nostalgia bait basket, buying IPs and churning out carefully designed-by-committee content specifically meant to appeal to gen-x (and some older millenials). And now that they've milked it beyond dry they're finally begining to realize that enough of us are sick of it that it may not be worthwhile to keep going at it so hard. Personally I'm glad. Hopefully now the studios do move on to exploiting stuff like Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, and skibidi toilets or whatever is appealing to the young'uns these days and leave my poor, beloved, forever-spoiled IPs alone.
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Comment on Do you share your location with your friends? in ~tech
Rudism LinkI don't really have friends, so it's hard for me to weigh in one way or the other on whether I would feel comfortable sharing location information with them. I'd imagine it depends on the culture...I don't really have friends, so it's hard for me to weigh in one way or the other on whether I would feel comfortable sharing location information with them. I'd imagine it depends on the culture of the friend group and how close and trusting it is, and that would vary pretty widely even within specific age groups.
But I'm just chiming in to point out that aside from the issue of how you feel about privacy amongst your friends, sharing persistent location is also placing a lot of trust in Google or Apple (or whoever), since in order to share your location with your friends or family it also has to pass through their servers. The big tech corporations haven't exactly done a lot in the way of fostering my trust in their willingness or ability to keep personal data secure. I always just assume it's going to end up in the hands of data brokers and be made available to anyone with enough money (either by being directly sold to them by said big tech corps, or stolen in a data breach). For that reason, regardless of how I'd feel about sharing persistent location with my theoretical friends, I would never do it because I don't want to share it with whoever has enough money to buy it for their own purposes.
I know that the mere act of using a cell phone that connects to cell towers also exposes my persistent location data to various big tech corps, but unfortunately I'm not aware of any way around that one that doesn't involve completely shutting off contact with the outside world. I'll still do whatever I can to at least keep as much of my personal data out of the low-hanging-fruit category by not deliberately handing it over wrapped up with a bow on top.
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Comment on Turn any webpage into a 1990s GeoCities blink fest in ~tech
Rudism LinkI plugged my personal website in there and liked their version a whole lot better than the sterile, generic modern css version that I've turned it into these days. Makes me think maybe it needs...I plugged my personal website in there and liked their version a whole lot better than the sterile, generic modern css version that I've turned it into these days. Makes me think maybe it needs another overhaul some time soon.
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Comment on How do you manage separate development environments on your computer? in ~tech
Rudism LinkIf you want to go all the way down to installing and running an IDE in a sandboxed environment, I think you're most likely looking at full virtual machines as your only option (aside from...If you want to go all the way down to installing and running an IDE in a sandboxed environment, I think you're most likely looking at full virtual machines as your only option (aside from dual-booting or completely different machines).
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Comment on Master Boot Record - C:\chkdsk /F (2016) in ~music
Rudism Link ParentDitto! I love the music, have MBR stickers plastered on all my computing devices, own everything on CD and some on vinyl. And yet I don't consider myself a true MBR fan because I've never really...Ditto! I love the music, have MBR stickers plastered on all my computing devices, own everything on CD and some on vinyl. And yet I don't consider myself a true MBR fan because I've never really gotten into any of the ARG-type stuff where albums have secret messages to decode and things to find on the various protocols you can connect through to
mbrserver.com. Keep thinking some day I'll have time to delve in. -
Comment on How to not build the Torment Nexus in ~tech
Rudism (edited )Link ParentNot being a lawyer, I can't really answer the question on legality in any meaningful way. The company did have lawyers who would get involved once something crossed a certain threshold as far as...Not being a lawyer, I can't really answer the question on legality in any meaningful way. The company did have lawyers who would get involved once something crossed a certain threshold as far as how much money was coming in, at which point they would write various EULAs and sometimes made us tweak things (like make the opt-out checkboxes more prominent, reword text we're displaying, and so on).
As for your second question, the complete opposite was true. When talking about the stuff we were doing, the higher up the management chain you went, the more everything was couched in language and worded in a way to suggest the products and services we worked on were completely legitimate and actually providing incredible value to people. The ads we serve are helping to connect people with companies and products that they otherwise would never know about. Our "customers" are "choosing" to install the software bundles we're distributing because they're useful programs. There's a lot of gaslighting that goes around and it can feel almost cult-like at times.
edit to add--One side-effect (maybe benefit) of working in that kind of environment and learning to see it for what it is, I think I've become much more skeptical of and innoculated against anything that has a similar odor coming from upper management in every company I've worked at since even in non-toxic industries. I'm not sure if it hurts or helps me these days, for example when everyone else is pumping their fists and jumping on the AI/LLM hype train I'm the cantankerous old greybeard yelling from the basement about how it's all a waste of time and people either don't want this shit or have unrealistic visions around what it's capable of. I'm not sure if I'd be as big a wet blanket if I hadn't lived through such an extreme example of how gaslighting and same-think can basically control an entire company's culture.
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Comment on How to not build the Torment Nexus in ~tech
Rudism LinkEarly in my career I built my share of Torment Nexuses. I think part of the trap is how (at least here in America) your work and social lives are often intertwined to some degree--the people you...- Exemplary
Early in my career I built my share of Torment Nexuses. I think part of the trap is how (at least here in America) your work and social lives are often intertwined to some degree--the people you work with are also the people you tend to socialize with, and make friends who you hang out with after and outside of work. Even if you manage to break free of the toxic mindset and realize that what you're doing is bullshit and making the world a worse place, to walk out on the job can also mean walking out on your entire social life, making it even harder.
For me, an additional problem was that we lived in a part of the country where there wasn't really a thriving tech scene--if you wanted to be a programmer you had a choice of maybe half a dozen companies to apply to at most, and they were all either working on boring products with terrible tech stacks or in the advertising industry building products with the sole purpose of moving money from unsuspecting "customers" into the pockets of your bosses while providing as little value as possible. So moving to a better job also meant moving away from my wife's family (who were an extremely valuable resource because both me and my wife were working and we had two young children). We did end up moving as soon as I had a new opportunity, but it was not an easy decision or adjustment to make. We had to leave our entire support network--all our frends and family, and moved to an unfamiliar city where we didn't know anyone and started over from scratch.
In the end it worked out great--I love where my career ended up going and it never would have happened if I hadn't taken that leap, and I'm working on stuff now that doesn't make me feel like a scumbag or give me existential nightmares. But I bring this up because the factors that go into staying in these kinds of jobs is often more than just a simple "I need food and healthcare" that you could get at a different job. In a country where your job often dictates several aspects of your identity and life it's not such a simple decision to move on.
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Comment on What is the most insane, tedious, difficult, and/or noteworthy gaming achievement you have completed or given up on? in ~games
Rudism Link ParentIt was too long ago. The main detail I recall is going through two or three before finding one that didn't set off my virus scanner.It was too long ago. The main detail I recall is going through two or three before finding one that didn't set off my virus scanner.
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Comment on What is the most insane, tedious, difficult, and/or noteworthy gaming achievement you have completed or given up on? in ~games
Rudism LinkBack in the old days when I still had time to get really invested into games, the first one I ever got 100% achievements in was Oblivion (which was also the first game I bought for my Xbox 360). I...- Exemplary
Back in the old days when I still had time to get really invested into games, the first one I ever got 100% achievements in was Oblivion (which was also the first game I bought for my Xbox 360). I wasn't really going for that, it just happened naturally because I enjoyed it so much and wanted to see every bit of what it had to offer, and the achievements were all for finishing various quests or joining all the guilds and stuff that I was obviously going to do anyway. The same thing was on track to happen in Skyrim, which I bought the day it was released. I remember checking one day when I finally felt like I had seen everything it had to offer and I was all Skyrimmed-out, ready to put the game away, and noticing that I had completed all but one achievement. It was a big one, I don't recall specifically what it was called but it involved gathering a large number of relics or something across a number of different quests and locations across the full span of the main story. The thing was, after a bit of research online, I discovered that I actually had completed everything needed for the achievement--I just had to turn in one final quest (I think to someone in Whiterun). The problem was that person was nowhere to be found.
After a bit more research, I discovered that there was a bug in earlier versions of the game where it was possible for that quest giver to accidentally die during a really early-game dragon attack (again, I believe on Whiterun). I think it was during a scripted event that happens in the first few hours of the game. A later patch fixed the problem by marking that quest giver as an important NPC and making it so that she couldn't die, but for anyone playing a save game in which she had already died (such as my multiple-hundreds-of-hours-played-since-then save game) there was no bringing her back. It meant the only way I could get that final achievement and make Skyrim the second game I had 100%-ed was by starting over from scratch for that last one--which, like I said, was a huge game-spanning one that would essentially require me to fully replay the main storyline quest as well as several large side quests in order to replicate. And also like I said, I was fully Skyrimmed-out at this point, the thought of replaying the whole thing over again made me sick to my stomach. But the thought of basically having the 100% achievements complete, with the only thing preventing that from being official being a stupid bug also annoyed the hell out of me.
So I did what any sane person would do. I bought a USB thumb drive, plugged it into my Xbox 360, and copied my Skyrim save game to it. Then I spent at least a couple days trudging through random internet forums until I found some dodgy software that claimed to be able to read Xbox 360 formatted thumb drives and copy save games to your PC, spent more days finding and studying another forum post that described the differences between Skyrim save games for console versus Windows, bought another copy of Skyrim on steam, toiled for way too long staring at a hex editor and poking at various values in my save game until I managed to successfully load it in the PC version, used the PC game's console commands to re-spawn my dead quest giver and save a new copy of my game in which she was no longer dead, reversed all my hex editor nonsense to hopefully convert it back into something the Xbox 360 version would understand, loaded that new save game back onto my thumb drive with the same dodgy software I had used to extract it, crossed my fingers, and loaded the game back up on the Xbox.
And let me tell you, no achievement I have earned since has felt so god damn satisfying as turning that final quest in!
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Comment on What do you do while walking your dog? in ~life.pets
Rudism LinkI listen to podcasts 90% of my daily walks. The other 10% I'm usually in my own head thinking through a tough problem at work or a story idea I'm working on and will most likely never actually...I listen to podcasts 90% of my daily walks. The other 10% I'm usually in my own head thinking through a tough problem at work or a story idea I'm working on and will most likely never actually finish writing.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Rudism LinkI finally peeled Dave the Diver off my backlog and been playing that a lot lately. So far it's been fine, but I'm not sure I fully understand all the glowing reviews this got--the restaurant sim...I finally peeled Dave the Diver off my backlog and been playing that a lot lately. So far it's been fine, but I'm not sure I fully understand all the glowing reviews this got--the restaurant sim stuff is starting to get a bit tedious for me and the story is just OK. Of course I'm only in the first chapter, and I may vaguely recall hearing that the game changes up as you progress, so I'm sticking with it to see if it goes anywhere more interesting.
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Comment on Hela | Announcement trailer in ~games
Rudism (edited )LinkThis looks like exactly the kind of game I yearn for these days--low stakes exploration and puzzle solving, with emphasis on the exploration. I hope this ends up being as good as it looks from the...This looks like exactly the kind of game I yearn for these days--low stakes exploration and puzzle solving, with emphasis on the exploration. I hope this ends up being as good as it looks from the preview.
Anyone got suggestions for similar already-release games? A few I've played are Bee Simulator (not the best game, but scratches the same kinda itch), Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles, Hob (also has combat elements but is probably my favorite from this list), and possibly Tchia (picked it up recently, haven't progressed far enough yet to know how much the world opens up later on). Of course there's also all the Myst-likes and stuff like The Witness and the Talos Principle games, but those tend to limit exploration and focus more on puzzle solving in order to progress.
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Comment on xkcd: Undocumented Feature in ~tech
Rudism LinkBack in the 90s I hung out on IRC a lot, including a #weird-al channel (on EFNet, I think?). It was notable because Weird Al's drummer John "Bermuda" Schwartz was a regular in there. It was...Back in the 90s I hung out on IRC a lot, including a
#weird-alchannel (on EFNet, I think?). It was notable because Weird Al's drummer John "Bermuda" Schwartz was a regular in there. It was absolutely mind blowing for teenage me to be able to ask him a question about Weird Al, have him say something like "I don't know, but I'll ask Al next time I see him," and then actually get the follow up some time later. Was like my own private lifeline to my (at the time, heck maybe now even) favorite musician of all time.I haven't touched IRC in a lifetime. For all I know that channel still exists and Bermuda is still idling in there waiting to answer fan questions.
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Comment on What stranger made a big difference in your life? in ~life
Rudism LinkIn my halcyon youth, I once disseminated a discourse—its subject now eludes my recollection—on an online forum. An unfamiliar interlocutor retorted, not by engaging with the substance of my...In my halcyon youth, I once disseminated a discourse—its subject now eludes my recollection—on an online forum. An unfamiliar interlocutor retorted, not by engaging with the substance of my exposition, but by deriding my employment of what they deemed “$10 words.” Consequently, I have moderated my utilization of sesquipedalian terminology in subsequent digital missives, and I express my profound gratitude to that enigmatic critic for illuminating the fallacy of my linguistic proclivities.
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