Sheep's recent activity
-
Comment on Buying a high-end PC for the first time - help me to doublecheck what I'm buying? Is 4k a bad idea with the specs? in ~tech
-
Comment on Steam Controller 2 sold out in ~games
Sheep (edited )LinkI had one in my cart and then had to leave for a bit and when I came back it was sold out. Friend managed to snag one though. I'm not too worried all in all. They'll most likely restock them soon...I had one in my cart and then had to leave for a bit and when I came back it was sold out.
Friend managed to snag one though.
I'm not too worried all in all. They'll most likely restock them soon enough. It'll also give me more time to see more user reviews.
-
Comment on Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?! | Reveal trailer in ~games
Sheep LinkI just finished Haste and was thinking to myself how I could really use another game like it. What perfectly timed announcement! This looks extremely charming and goofy, exactly my type of game.I just finished Haste and was thinking to myself how I could really use another game like it. What perfectly timed announcement!
This looks extremely charming and goofy, exactly my type of game.
-
Comment on Is there a FLAC equivalent for digital comics? in ~comics
Sheep (edited )Link ParentWith manga specifically, you can save a lot of space by reducing the color space alone. A lot of manga pages are saved with full RGB color. Converting them to 64 level grayscale (sometimes you can...With manga specifically, you can save a lot of space by reducing the color space alone.
A lot of manga pages are saved with full RGB color. Converting them to 64 level grayscale (sometimes you can even go lower depending on the images, I've gotten away with 16 with no color loss) usually shaves off a significant amount of file size and you lose absolutely no quality because the pages don't use other colors.
You can use software like XnView to do this very easily with one click. I saved a batch action with the preset I want and just run it on the pages I selected.
Worth giving it a try in tandem with compression algorithms. I've found this significantly reduces the file size of any manga I have. Then I just chuck them into a cbz archive.
-
Comment on We must keep age verification from killing anonymity online in ~tech
Sheep Link ParentIt is, and the EU app mentioned in this article is already zero knowledge and open source (though it has flaws that need to be addressed as pointed by the article linked within). I'm not saying I...I hope some form of zero knowledge proof is viable for this application
It is, and the EU app mentioned in this article is already zero knowledge and open source (though it has flaws that need to be addressed as pointed by the article linked within).
I'm not saying I think we should all be verifying to go online, but if laws are going to be made about it, then they absolutely should all be to implement open source zero knowledge solutions. Not a single third party private company should be tied to a system like this.
-
Comment on New Steam Controller reportedly $99 in ~games
Sheep (edited )LinkI thought this was a really decent price for the specs and then read lots discussions where people say they can get the same for cheaper and I just have to ask... Where? The most common comparison...I thought this was a really decent price for the specs and then read lots discussions where people say they can get the same for cheaper and I just have to ask... Where?
The most common comparison I see is to the 8bitdo ultimate, which I have 2 of, and yeah it is a nice controller for the price, but it absolutely is not that great of a controller overall. The dpad is horrendous, the grip is not the most comfortable after long sessions, you can't adjust the shoulder triggers, no gyro on PC, subpar polling rate, and the list could go on. I literally stopped using mine when I got a ps5 and just use the dual sense on my PC (which also doesn't have that great of a dpad but I still prefer it to the 8bitdo).
The steam controller is a step up in every conceivable way over something like an 8bitdo ultimate (especially the TMR sticks, that should be the new gold standard), and it includes the 2 track pads which are phenomenal for pc gaming. It is also not that more expensive than a regular dual sense and has way more functionality. Now, you can argue that the dual sense by itself is overpriced and I won't deny that, but I never expected the Steam controller to be less than 80 based on competition like that, so it's wild to see so many are disappointed it's not a 50-70 usd controller, when I feel it was never in that realm as soon as they revealed its spec sheet. Because as far as I can see, the feature set and its pricing seems to fall pretty in line with what I see out there, give or take 10 bucks or so.
There is also the very good chance the controller is very easily moddable and configurable knowing Valve's track record, especially on Linux, which is something I can't say for most controllers, 8bitdo included.
Not saying you don't have the right to complain about it being an expensive controller overall, in absolute terms it is indeed a more expensive controller than the average, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you absolutely need the feature set, but I do also think it brings cool things to the table for those interested in its features without being absurdly priced for them. Though I will hold off final Judgement until it's actually out and more people try it, but I will most likely get one based on how much I love holding the steam deck.
-
Comment on MKBHD - Glass is glass || Or how the wording "scratch resistant" and "shatter resistant" misleads customers in ~tech
Sheep LinkI actually really liked this video because I have for years wondered how can they make these claims (x times more shatter proof/scratch resistant) when you can't fundamentally change the fact that...I actually really liked this video because I have for years wondered how can they make these claims (x times more shatter proof/scratch resistant) when you can't fundamentally change the fact that glass "scratches at a level 6 with deeper grooves at a level 7" and it's cool to know that it really is a marketing ploy.
I had no idea that the inherent difficulty with screens is that when you make them scratch resistent it directly corresponds to less shatter resistence. Guessing it has something to do with how the molecular structure is arranged/aligned?
I really wish stuff like sapphire screens could be more common place but obviously the cost for the average consumer would be too unreasonable compared to slapping a screen protector on every phone you get.
This is also why I don't believe foldables will ever get over the crease problem, only attenuate it.
-
Comment on Which Linux distro do you use, and why? in ~tech
Sheep (edited )LinkI'm a 15+ year old Windows user that switched to CachyOS full time (no dual boot either, I'm going all in) about a month ago after I had to build a new Pc. I wanted to get off of Windows since...I'm a 15+ year old Windows user that switched to CachyOS full time (no dual boot either, I'm going all in) about a month ago after I had to build a new Pc. I wanted to get off of Windows since support for 10 was ending and I did not want to use Windows 11 and it's abhorrent use experience. The main driver was sheer hatred toward Microsoft that started when they told me my PC was now garbage because it doesn't have a TPM chip, despite everything working flawlessly. The second driver was just not wanting a bloated OS hogging system resources. And the last driver was pure support for open source.
I considered many options, especially Mint since I'm a beginner, but I just came to the realization that I don't mind tinkering with my system at all and ultimately learning how to unbreak something is more valuable in the long run than praying every day that nothing ever breaks. Not to criticize anyone who doesn't do that, it's totally understandable to not want to think about your OS. That's the beauty of Linux, you have choice!
Funny thing is, CachyOS has never broken except by my own doing (and I wouldn't even call them breaks, just things that I didn't know how to fix and was scared I'd make the problem worse in my blind attempts to fix it). But the 2 times it happened I easily rolled back to a previous snapshot via snapper, which Cachy sets up for you automatically on install. It just feels so nice to know that no matter what happens I'll probably be fine with a rollback.
Another thing that helped my mindset, and something I encourage everyone to do, is to just have all of my files in a drive that's not the system drive. That way, even if I somehow nuke my entire system, my files are safely secured on my other drive. To be honest I think a solid backup structure is what brings anyone more peace of mind regardless of the distro they choose. This applies to Windows as well, you never know when something will break.
Aside from that, performance has been stellar, games work wonderfully, and the system is very bug free. Bugs I do find are typically software-specific, not OS-level. I even got some ancient Japanese visual novels working through WINE which was shocking since they're even annoying to get running on Windows (have to install locale emulators, tinker with character encoding, patch the exe multiple times, etc.).
Will I stick with Cachy forever? I don't know, but it's been such a rock solid experience that I don't feel the need to switch at all right now.
Overall, I feel much more free since switching to Linux. I'm so glad I didn't get to experience the Windows 11 downfall.
-
Comment on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home targeted with molotov cocktail in ~tech
Sheep Link ParentWhat frustrates me is that replacing people with robots at said jobs should be a good thing. We want to strive for a world where we don't have to work on things we don't need, so we can work on...What frustrates me is that replacing people with robots at said jobs should be a good thing. We want to strive for a world where we don't have to work on things we don't need, so we can work on things that matter to us. That's the life-long dream.
In a functioning society, robots doing all the work would mean people being more free, not less.
But in a capitalist society, robots replacing you just pushes you into worse and worse jobs to further help the capitalist class hoard resources, leaving you with even less in the end.
So as it stands, people will just attack the robots and their owners because they know there are no social safety nets otherwise. And I don't blame them, their government has failed them.
-
Comment on Mamma mia! ‘Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ karts $372M+ in global debut, best for Hollywood pic YTD; ‘Project Hail Mary’ on path to half billion in ~movies
Sheep Link ParentI've seen people describe it as "dangling keys" the movie, like how you dangle keys to distract a baby, and I'd say that's an apt description. It's constantly moving from one thing to another and...I've seen people describe it as "dangling keys" the movie, like how you dangle keys to distract a baby, and I'd say that's an apt description.
It's constantly moving from one thing to another and treating the viewer as having an attention deficit. Basically everything is inconsequential and not a lot of time is wasted on overarching subplots. It's very clearly aimed at a much younger audience when compared to the previous movie that was more all-ages.
I don't think that necessarily makes it terrible, but it is a shame that it stopped trying to be a general family movie everyone can enjoy and opted to solely entertain kids that will be happy just seeing all the gaming references and flashing lights.
-
Comment on Here’s what the world had to say about the AI economy in ~tech
Sheep (edited )Link ParentI totally expect that result. GPT and other LLMs are basically yes men that will speak in a reaffirming tone. Most people like that and build trust based upon it. I remember feeling some kind of...I totally expect that result. GPT and other LLMs are basically yes men that will speak in a reaffirming tone. Most people like that and build trust based upon it.
I remember feeling some kind of connection when I first used an LLM as well. Because at the time I didn't really understand how they worked, I was not mentally prepared for how much self-affirming language it would use. Nobody ever spoke to me like that, so it genuinely felt good (even if the output was telling me I was wrong, it told me in just about the nicest, most reassuring way I could imagine). I think that applies to a lot of people, we're so used to not having others reaffirm us that even a chat bot "love bombing" us ends up filling that void, for some more than others.
And that's the dangerous part, since chat bots don't know what they're saying, they're just regurgitating statistically probable answers, which puts many people in vulnerable positions now that all they listen to is their output.
I eventually I learned how they operate and now try to avoid them like the plague, but most people don't leave that first enamored phase, they simply keep using LLMs to reaffirm whatever they're already thinking and end up trusting the output a lot more as a result.
-
Comment on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone | Teaser in ~tv
Sheep Link ParentYeah, to me this screams "merch sales are down, time to pump the numbers up." There is absolutely nothing in the trailer that made me think this has a reason to exist. It is so visually similar to...Yeah, to me this screams "merch sales are down, time to pump the numbers up."
There is absolutely nothing in the trailer that made me think this has a reason to exist. It is so visually similar to the original and most likely will adapt the story beat for beat.
-
Comment on Media Do International to acquire Seven Seas Entertainment in ~anime
Sheep LinkIn contrast to this press release Media Do's press release makes specific mention of using AI to speed up translations. The fact that the two contradict each other is concerning to say the least....In contrast to this press release Media Do's press release makes specific mention of using AI to speed up translations. The fact that the two contradict each other is concerning to say the least.
I am super concerned for the livelihoods of the seven seas freelance translators as well as the general quality of seven seas' localization. Really hope they don't let AI anywhere near their workflow.
-
Comment on Bookmark management for non-technical people? in ~tech
Sheep Link ParentYes, in obsidian you can use square brackets to create references to other notes in your vault. And if a note with that name doesn't exist, it will be automatically created when you create the...I noticed that section in the video where he used the [[ and ]] to make a kind of tag that can contain text (a node?)
Yes, in obsidian you can use square brackets to create references to other notes in your vault. And if a note with that name doesn't exist, it will be automatically created when you create the reference and click on it.
Normally you would use these references to refer to other real notes, sort of like in a wiki, but you can also cleverly employ this function to reference an empty note that acts as a center anchor for all other related notes (basically like an index, but you don't need to manually create it or keep it updated, it does that on its own).
Basically it's using Obsidian's reference function as a very intelligent tag system that indexes and interconnects your notes.
Obsidian does have a separate tag system wish hashtags, but they are far less capable compared to references, at least for this purpose (mainly because you can update a reference and that update populates everywhere, which is not true for tags. Plus you can't open a tag as its own note to edit it, which is useful if you want to add comments to it or organize it in some particular way).
Good luck!
-
Comment on Bookmark management for non-technical people? in ~tech
Sheep (edited )Link ParentThe "connections" can be anything you want. They don't have to be an overarching topic, specifically. They also don't have to be literal references to other notes. That's what that video I linked...It's not particularly helpful in this case, because there aren't that many connections between articles
The "connections" can be anything you want. They don't have to be an overarching topic, specifically. They also don't have to be literal references to other notes. That's what that video I linked goes into. All you need is to create an empty "node" that's titled whatever you want (Can be a topic, a date, a location, a website name, whatever) and then link other actual notes with content to it. Those "nodes" essentially replace the traditional folder and make your knowledge tree much more flexible, allowing you to not only constantly add to it without feeling overwhelmed (since you just make a new note and tag it, you don't need to manually sort it anywhere) but also interconnect one note to multiple things, making the overarching structure very easy to grasp at a glance.
For example, since I work in translation, I have an empty note titled "sound effects", and then I have a bunch of separate notes connecting to it for different types of sound effects. When I open the graph view, I know that the large cluster of notes surrounding the "sound effects" node will have every single note I've ever created containing sound effects.
For example, "80% of anti-trans groups in the USA receive fossil fuel funding" is one I remember off the top of my head. I want to be able to find that fact in my store and back the statement up with a link to an article at short notice. Then share it online.
With the approach I mentioned, you could create a note titled exactly that (with a link or links to whatever you want), then link it to multiple empty notes labeled, for example "USA" "LGBTQ" "Trans" "fossil fuels". Then, in your graph view, all you would need to know is that you're looking for something that's related to one or multiple of those 4 things (or all of them), and you will see the nodes visually connecting to them, making it super easy to track down the one you want. You can even select all the nodes that you know apply and only the notes that connect to them will be highlighted. This is how I easily find anything in my giant cluster of knowledge. The big nodes will also display all the references they're tied to when you open them, so you can just click one to open it and then look through the list of references if you prefer that.
This would be a million times harder to do for me with a bookmark manager and tags, because there's no visual indicator, only my memory to help me. Not to mention the lack of multiple connections to show me other related stuff I might have missed that could be relevant for that moment.
Again, I can't promise this is the perfect approach for you, but I really really do think it's worth exploring.
-
Comment on Bookmark management for non-technical people? in ~tech
Sheep (edited )LinkI know you mention specifically that you struggle with the concept of a "second brain" but you use raindrop as an example for that, which I think is a poor one. I think Obsidian is what you're...I know you mention specifically that you struggle with the concept of a "second brain" but you use raindrop as an example for that, which I think is a poor one. I think Obsidian is what you're looking for.
Imo, you are at a point where you probably could really do with a second brain, and Obsidian would let you actually organize one in a way that works even for someone like you who struggles with brain fog. I have AHDH myself and use it to track a bunch of stuff I constantly have to reference at my job.
I think people tend to feel overwhelmed when their knowledge base gets too big (and it's easy to get there), and creating more folders and subfolders only adds to the mess at that point. But Obsidian remidies this by actually creating a visual tree with all your knowledge, with clusters representing larger themes and each branch a topic in that theme. You don't have to create folders with subfolders within subfolders, all you need is to reference your notes to a subject and obsidian does the branching/sorting all for you.
Consider watching this video on the simplest way to create a second brain with Obsidian. It's what got me started on my second brain journey. It makes it very very simple to grasp and gives you a super easy to follow base structure (which you can always adapt but it's already so barebones that there's hardly anything to cut). There are no complicated plug-ins or weird folder structures, you just create a note, tag it, and Obsidian does the rest. No moving something into subfolders, no creating subfolders, just new note, tag, hit save. It really opened my eyes to how one can be efficient with storing and referencing their knowledge while being as lazy as possible.
The main caveat for you is that you want to store web pages rather than just write notes, but there are plenty of ways to save a web page to Obsidian or if nothing else, you can just make a note with a url in it.
If you were already familiar with all this or have seen that video I'm sorry, but your post really gave me the notion that you haven't tried this approach yet.
I can't guarantee it will work for you, but I would highly suggest you give it a try if your goal is to have your own easily accessible knowledge base.
-
Comment on Getting global age assurance right: what we got wrong and what's changing in ~tech
Sheep Link ParentIf they can't respect our privacy, let them block the country. It should not be one or the other. It should absolutely not be legal for websites, especially foreign ones, to ask for a photo of you...If they can't respect our privacy, let them block the country. It should not be one or the other. It should absolutely not be legal for websites, especially foreign ones, to ask for a photo of you or your ID to prove you're an adult. This is highly sensitive information that at no point should be available in the pipeline, no matter how many promises of "everything is done locally" they make.
I understand there is inconvenience, but we should push back on this concept and only allow for zero-knowledge, privacy respecting options when it comes to the handling of our real data. EU-wide implementations should all follow these models too.
-
Comment on Getting global age assurance right: what we got wrong and what's changing in ~tech
Sheep Link ParentIn Portugal, this is how the age verification system is being implemented. We already have a system to sign in online with our real ID. They call it a digital key, and it basically lets a site...In Portugal, this is how the age verification system is being implemented.
We already have a system to sign in online with our real ID. They call it a digital key, and it basically lets a site access certain legal information about you (what information is being shared is displayed to you before you press accept) to verify your real identity. This system is typically used by government sites and banks, since those are the two places that actually require strong verification.
What they're going to do for age verification is repurpose this already existing system (read: create a separate pipeline specifically just for age verification, so sites don't have the API permissions to request any other info) so that all a website gets when they check your age is a yes or no. They don't get the actual age, only a token. The government's database is the only one that has this info and never passes it along. They're the only ones allowed to keep your data, which you've already given them when you were born and registered as a citizen anyway.
As far as systems goes, this is the one that seems the most sensible and I'm glad I won't have to upload a photo of my ID to a random website, something I'll never do regardless.
-
Comment on Slop and guilt in ~talk
Sheep (edited )Link ParentI'd also like to add that while yes, Precure does reuse a lot of animation (and this also applies to the majority of kids anime), that's because it is a human-animated show that has to release a...Yeah there really is value just in that consistency. I myself haven't ever watched any "actual" show for that long but as I mentioned I definitely watched thousands of youtube let's play videos, and it really is comforting to be able to watch something like that at a regular, and I probably wouldn't call them slop even though they are much lower effort than a whole ass anime. So looking at it like that, that word is probably pretty unfair to use for Precure.
I'd also like to add that while yes, Precure does reuse a lot of animation (and this also applies to the majority of kids anime), that's because it is a human-animated show that has to release a new episode every single week. There are tons of people involved in its production and they can't just suddenly delay an episode when they feel like it, so it ends up being the case that they have to make a lot of shortcuts to meet deadlines. It is human-made art, but humans aren't fast enough to magically animate 50 episodes with all new material.
If you want to be very cynical you can say Toei just doesn't care much because the goal is to sell toys to little girls and thinks they won't care much, and I won't deny this is true to an extent (product placement has gotten pretty in your face in the more recent seasons), but I do still think it's important to acknowledge the sheer effort that goes into it regardless.
The first and last couple episodes of any given Precure season also tend to be very well animated (the fights in particular), proving that if given enough time and resources, the show can excel in that department too, but 50 episodes requires a lot of padding in between to make those highlights happen.
So I don't really know why I need to give it so much thought even though I already do other things that aren't considered "masculine".
We still live in a gendered society, so it's not abnormal that you feel strange about liking stuff like this. For my part, I just tried to internalize that I care more about my own happiness than I care about people's opinion of me. I think that's the main factor that helped me break the "silence" so to speak. Some people still find it weird, my mom being the prime example; she thinks any cartoons are childish. But when dealing with people like that I just talk about other things, since it's not like Precure is my only interest.
And it's not like I go up in people's faces and tell them I'm a fan of this content, either. It's mostly just me decorating the place where I live the way I want to, and wearing merch of the shows I like (usually keychains on my bag). If the subject comes up I'll mention it but otherwise I just go about my day. Not seeking external validation really helped.
Since I have the chance to talk to someone who watched all of it, if I were to watch a different season (or a movie) at some point after finishing Hirogaru Sky, what would you recommend?
Ah, the critical question everyone new to Precure asks. It ultimately always depends on your tastes since every season kinda has its own theme and execution going on, but since I don't know that, here are my top 3 recommendations for complete beginners:
- Heartcatch Precure (renowned as an all-time fan favorite. Very unique theme, super lovable characters and memorable story beats)
- Hugtto Precure (One of the most emotional seasons Precure has ever made. Very inspiring theme that very much ties into this thread! This is the series of deconstructing gender and societal norms.)
- Go! Princess Precure (If I wanted to prove Precure can be well animated, this is the one I'd show. Has some of the most memorable fights. Also gorgeous Precure design. Don't let the name fool you, these princesses are all badass and show that there's more than one way to be a princess)
Honorable mention to Mahoutsukai Precure, which is precure but with actual witches in witch school. The protagonists are 2 of my favorite precures of all time. It also has a full-blown sequel set with them as adults. It's only not in my top 3 because the season does feel very padded at times.
For very personal recommendations, I also very much love Doki Doki Precure, Wonderful Precure, and Tropical-Rouge Precure, because I really like more comedic series, but they're not as universally well liked.
But honestly, I always tell people it's fine to start anywhere. If a series seems to spark your interest, whether it be because of the synopsis or the character designs, just jump into it. In my case, I just jumped into the chronological order and started from the very beginning (Futari Wa Precure), but after I completed the journey it really made me feel like it didn't matter where you started. Though chronological order did help me in watching the crossover movies as soon as I could, but I wouldn't say this is critical.
For movies, you have 2 options: the crossover movies (where precures of different seasons join forces) or the movie tie-ins of each season. I personally don't recommend the crossover movies unless you've seen all the series involved in the crossover, so for now I'd only recommend you watch the Hirogary Sky movie. Check out this reddit thread with the chronological order, it gives you a solid idea of when you're expected to be able to watch every movie (as in, you have the full context for them).
But if you did watch the crossover movie for the season you're following, it's not like you wouldn't understand its plot, since movie plots are entirely separate from each season, you just wouldn't know the background of most of the precures joining the story.
-
Comment on Slop and guilt in ~talk
Sheep (edited )LinkI have to say when I opened this thread I never though precure, my favorite franchise of all time, would be featured in it. But as a now 30 year old cis man with these interests, I feel like I can...I have to say when I opened this thread I never though precure, my favorite franchise of all time, would be featured in it. But as a now 30 year old cis man with these interests, I feel like I can chime in a bit and offer my perspective and journey, since I used to be in a similar position to you. Sorry if this is a bit rambly. You can skip to the second to last paragraph if you don't want to hear my story.
For context, at present, I have watched all those 1000+ precure episodes (+ the 50 or so movies). I have also traveled to Japan specifically because of Precure. Literally went to the Toei park for Precure, visited 3 diffent Pretty Stores (Osaka, Yokohama, Tokyo), and spent well over 1000 dollars on precure merch alone (including on a new merch release day where I was first in line with like 50+ girls very much younger than me behind me). Here's the haul from that one trip as proof. Suffice it to say I live and breathe Precure.
I wasn't always like this. I grew up with what I'd call pretty stereotypically male interests and activities (playing with action figures, do sports, that kinda stuff). However, whenever I'd turn on cable TV to watch morning cartoons, I'd always find myself absolutely entertained with magical girl shows (Sailor Moon, Ojamajo Doremi, Winx Club, WITCH, etc.). I would never tell a soul about this at the time, but those cartoons/anime still stick with me even today, far more than any other.
Later in high school I got into anime and manga and of course you know where that's going. Obviously I liked and still like a lot of series aimed at a male audience, but boy did I love reading me some shoujo manga. It made me feel emotions that I could never get elsewhere. And naturally this is also when I started watching anime for little girls as well, Precure of course, but also Aikatsu, Pretty Rhythm, Pripara, Cocotama, Jewelpet, etc.
I think it may have been part nostalgia. I was certainly reliving the emotions I felt when I'd watch that kind of content as a kid, but I also think it goes beyond that. Ultimately I had to come face to face with the fact that my interests, and maybe even me, don't just sit on one end of the gender spectrum. And that's okay.
Also, you may call it slop, but shows like precure gave me something to look forward to every week. Unlike late night anime which only lasts for 12 or 24 episodes, I know precure will always air next Saturday. It is genuinely comforting that, no matter how bad of a week I've had, I know I will have 24 minutes every Saturday to kick back and watch a show that's been with me for years through thick and thin. It's like a companion. You don't find a lot of media like that.
I don't identify as a woman (and I have pondered it very seriously), I am comfortable with the gender I was assigned at birth, but I also don't feel particularly attached to it, either (as in, I don't feel the need to reinforce that I'm a man in any capacity). And I think that's why my interests are what they are. They're very fluid.
Furthermore, the notion of gendered media on its own is a bit flawed as well. Obviously I understand why it exists, because boys and girls have different lived experiences for better and worse and that's reflected in the content produced for them, but despite that, you can pick up a show like Precure and find so many themes that are just universal, they're simply being presented by an (usually) all female cast and with the angle that the viewer is probably a girl. So even if you're a cis man, why shouldn't you resonate with a lot of it?
So in the end, I really think that you shouldn't feel guilty for liking content that wasn't made specifically with you in mind. Not only does that broaden your horizons, you are literally doing something thst you find entertaining. Why shouldn't you enjoy yourself? When I finally became comfortable being open about my interests in girl-oriented media, I painted my entire bedroom pink and decorated it with all my magical girl merch I was now comfortable with displaying. It genuinely feels like it's my space now,I feel free and comfortable being Myself.
I hope you won't feel guilty about your interests anymore. There is nothing wrong with enjoying media that makes you happy. Precure has brought me so much joy that I might have never gotten otherwise. You probably won't become a diehard precure fan like me (be my guest, though!), but I hope you'll never put yourself down for liking it at all. Tell yourself that it's okay to like things and be yourself. You deserve to love your interests and yourself.
Hi OP, I have literally those exact specs on my pc. Same GPU, same CPU, same RAM sticks, even same PSU (only the motherboard and ssd is different but that's not significant). If you have specific questions or games you want me to test, feel free to comment and I can try to take a look. Caveat is that I'm on CachyOS but this should still be applicable for Windows. My main monitor is also 1440p 165hz, not 4k.
If you're using a 1440p monitor, don't even sweat it. You can run basically anything at any settings. At that resolution, I've recently played Pragmata without a hitch and have played other AAA games like cyberpunk without a hitch at 100+ fps on high/ultra settings.
This GPU is also capable of 4k, so if you really want 4k you can go that route and won't feel stutters or anything. Just know you won't be able to push as high fps on very high visual fidelity AAA games. But I want to stress those are edge cases and if you're not looking to push ultra settings on everything, this GPU will handle 4k above 60 fps and you can always downscale to 1440p in the settings if need be. But to be honest I've always felt 4k is completely unnecessary unless you have a really big monitor (30 inches or more) because 1440p already has enough pixel density below that to feel very comfortable.
For movies specifically, I have 65 inch 4k oled tv and a 27 inch 1440p monitor and regularly watch 1080p content on both. I don't really notice much of a difference to be honest, and I'm someone who pixel peeps. Yes if you glue your face to the monitor you can see some upscaling artifacts but from any reasonable distance you won't. I would not bother with 4k just for this reason unless, again, you get a big monitor.
Regardless, since you don't mention playing any heavy games, and with WoW not being that GPU heavy of a game, you should be totally be okay if you do get a 4k monitor, but I'd personally recommend investing that money on a higher refresh rate 1440p monitor unless you're up for a bigger monitor at 4k.
TL;DR 4k is fine for that setup if you really want it, but pair it with a big monitor (30+ inches). With 4k you can always downscale if performance tanks. If big monitor isn't in the cards, save your money and invest in a higher refresh rate 1440p monitor.