shinigami's recent activity

  1. Comment on Armchair governing dictator - new rule for 2025 (fun) in ~talk

    shinigami
    Link
    Dictator in Chief of the US? The removal of money from politics. Specifically ripping Citizen's United out of our country and into the sun. But in a more strict sense, "Politicians can only take...

    Dictator in Chief of the US?

    The removal of money from politics. Specifically ripping Citizen's United out of our country and into the sun. But in a more strict sense, "Politicians can only take donations from individual people up to a [X]USD, and must be 100% publically disclosed. Corporate donations or sponsorships of any kind are prohibited."

    I think this one change would have a massive cascade for the better for all of the US. It eliminates the need for fundraising juggernauts (the two primary parties). It removes lobbying of basically any form. Ideally that would mean that instead of politicians chasing money, they instead work for their constituents.

    8 votes
  2. Comment on Armchair governing dictator - new rule for 2025 (fun) in ~talk

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    I mean, it's very obvious to something like the municipality whether or not a home sits vacant. It's doesn't really draw power, it has little to no water consumption. A single person living in a...

    I mean, it's very obvious to something like the municipality whether or not a home sits vacant. It's doesn't really draw power, it has little to no water consumption.

    A single person living in a studio apartment uses more power and water than a vacant home.

    Could you game this system, and have someone show up to your vacant investment home and run the power and water too make it appear lived in? Sure, but that's a lot of extra work and cost that probably exceeds this proposed vacancy tax.

    6 votes
  3. Comment on Magic: the Gathering banned and restricted announcement – December 16, 2024 in ~games.tabletop

    shinigami
    Link
    I was debating on whether or not to post this since I posted the last one, but I'm glad to see someone else did it. I look back on the Looting, Opal and Twin eras through rose tinted glasses, like...

    I was debating on whether or not to post this since I posted the last one, but I'm glad to see someone else did it.

    I look back on the Looting, Opal and Twin eras through rose tinted glasses, like many players probably. I'm honestly really excited to see what happens in modern. I might even try to dig up my old Twin cards.

    Knowing what I do about modern, I doubt most of these decks from the past are good enough anymore, but I do hope the format stays as wide open as it seems now.

    3 votes
  4. Comment on Favorite quick play tabletop game recommendations in ~games.tabletop

    shinigami
    Link
    My favorite is Dungeon Mayhem! Fun little card game up to 4 people. You do what it says on the card, or sometimes what the helper card says. Rules are fun and Intuitive. My 7.5yo and 6yo love it,...

    My favorite is Dungeon Mayhem! Fun little card game up to 4 people. You do what it says on the card, or sometimes what the helper card says. Rules are fun and Intuitive.

    My 7.5yo and 6yo love it, and my wife and I enjoy playing with them too.

    1 vote
  5. Comment on How Bluesky, the rival of Elon Musk’s X, is seizing the moment in ~tech

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    Definitely a second vote for finding BlueSky Starter Packs for your hobbies. I didn't have the same experience you did, even though I was expecting it. It might be because I started following...

    Definitely a second vote for finding BlueSky Starter Packs for your hobbies.

    I didn't have the same experience you did, even though I was expecting it. It might be because I started following people in my hobby spaces first, and that's what trained their discovery algorithm for me.

    With the big migration from Twitter, I do see more political posts now, but it's few and far between, and comes from real people, instead of some Right-Wing ad masquerading as a tweet.

    7 votes
  6. Comment on Dropkick Murphys feat Violent Femmes - Gotta Get to Peekskill (2023) - More solidarity and anti-fascist recommendation? in ~music

    shinigami
    Link
    Surprised i haven't seen Anti-Flag mentioned on here. It's loud, angry, biting, and exemplifies a lot of the thoughts people like you and me have. Hate Conquers All, and The Criminals feel...

    Surprised i haven't seen Anti-Flag mentioned on here. It's loud, angry, biting, and exemplifies a lot of the thoughts people like you and me have. Hate Conquers All, and The Criminals feel particularly relevant.

    Bad Religion's The Profane rights of Man

    A song that came about from the first Trump presidency that i found powerful is Thoughts and Prayers by Grandson.

    Finally, a bit of a corny one, but hearing it recently made my chest swell, and gave me the feeling of fighting is worth it. Power

    Here's a link to the rest of my playlist on Spotify.I'll probably add songs from this thread to it too.

    2 votes
  7. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    shinigami
    Link
    Not working on directly, but maybe posting here will keep me more accountable to myself... I bricked my very old Kindle4 while messing around with it. Ended up getting it stuck in fastboot mode,...

    Not working on directly, but maybe posting here will keep me more accountable to myself...

    I bricked my very old Kindle4 while messing around with it. Ended up getting it stuck in fastboot mode, with no to restart it without getting the drive mounted to a machine.

    I've been able to find the drive when I plug it in, but actually mounting it so I can manipulate it has eluded me thus far.

    2 votes
  8. Comment on Lefties of Tildes: what are some items where the left handed version is most necessary? in ~life

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    It's probably more normal to use a spiral notebook back to front and upside down,, but I've been using the left side normally, and then on the pages where the spiral are in the way, I wrote on the...

    It's probably more normal to use a spiral notebook back to front and upside down,, but I've been using the left side normally, and then on the pages where the spiral are in the way, I wrote on the page upside down.

    It just helps with chronological order for me. Even if I know the whole thing is backwards, it feels wrong to me going forward to find information from the past.

    2 votes
  9. Comment on Magic: The Gathering ban and restricted announcement in ~games.tabletop

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    I think people and stores that hoard massive quantities of these types of cards are terrible, and I don't really feel bad for them. And stores like the one I play at are diverse enough and have...

    I think people and stores that hoard massive quantities of these types of cards are terrible, and I don't really feel bad for them. And stores like the one I play at are diverse enough and have enough general stock, this doesn't kill them.

    I do feel bad for the new-ish hobby store owner who juiced up his display case from his own collection. Or the hobby store where $500 of lost potential sales could spell disaster. I've been to, and seen stores like this.

    4 votes
  10. Comment on Magic: The Gathering ban and restricted announcement in ~games.tabletop

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    Yeah, I think the evaporation of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the secondary market of MTG is going to cause some problems for sure. My LGS thankfully is rsther diverse, and has a lot of...

    Yeah, I think the evaporation of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the secondary market of MTG is going to cause some problems for sure.

    My LGS thankfully is rsther diverse, and has a lot of ways to recover from a loss like this, but smaller EDH-centered stores I worry more about.

    9 votes
  11. Comment on Magic: The Gathering ban and restricted announcement in ~games.tabletop

    shinigami
    Link
    Wizards of the Coast has handed down some somewhat surprising bans in the EDH (Commander) format. Effectively removing a couple sources of fast Mana, and a bad gameplay piece. I think Dockside is...

    Wizards of the Coast has handed down some somewhat surprising bans in the EDH (Commander) format. Effectively removing a couple sources of fast Mana, and a bad gameplay piece.

    I think Dockside is the biggest hit. It creates so many loops so easily that it made enabled certain combos just by itself.

    5 votes
  12. Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health

    shinigami
    Link
    I finally got a bike after not having one for years. I'm so excited. I have already used it for my commute to work a few times, and plan on continuing until conditions force me to stop. It's...

    I finally got a bike after not having one for years. I'm so excited.

    I have already used it for my commute to work a few times, and plan on continuing until conditions force me to stop. It's ~40min, and a total of 11km, each direction.

    I wish the tires were a little wider, because of some of the areas I ride on, but for getting it as a refurbished piece, and for only $165, I couldn't be happier.

    Unfortunately, my strength training has fallen off a cliff, I really haven't done much of anything for well over a month. My last achievement was 1 strict pull-up, and I probably have to earn that back again at this point. It comes in cycles for me, and I'm trying to get the habbit to stick.

    I need to kick whatever cold I seem to have picked up first, but soon! (I hope)

    5 votes
  13. Comment on What things do you have are surprisingly good / handy? in ~life

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    A very long time ago, Swiss Arms made a Utili-key. It had about 7 tools on it, and folded into a key. Looks like someone took that idea and sells them on Amazon for $8 a piece. I love mine, use it...

    A very long time ago, Swiss Arms made a Utili-key. It had about 7 tools on it, and folded into a key. Looks like someone took that idea and sells them on Amazon for $8 a piece.

    I love mine, use it often, and it's tough as nails and super discrete.

    3 votes
  14. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    In the Beta, you could not take a chassis, and then put whatever you wanted on it. I think that was moreso because the beta was multiplayer, objective-based games. The intention is that all the...

    In the Beta, you could not take a chassis, and then put whatever you wanted on it. I think that was moreso because the beta was multiplayer, objective-based games. The intention is that all the Mechs fill a specific role, and I think the customization you are talking about goes against that idea.

    You can add mods to the kits for each mech, things like decreased energy use for dash, higher jumps, stronger beam weapons, etc.

    1 vote
  15. Comment on The Grand Tour: One For The Road | Teaser trailer in ~tv

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    Another vote of confidence for Clarkson's Farm. It's not only good entertainment, but I also found it wonderfully informative.

    Another vote of confidence for Clarkson's Farm. It's not only good entertainment, but I also found it wonderfully informative.

    5 votes
  16. Comment on Gay student says “Coach” Tim Walz protected him from homophobic bullies in ~lgbt

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    The democratic party seems to be trying to keep the hype train rolling for now. I think in the last 45-60 days, they need to make a concerted push on getting out to vote. This strategy makes...

    The democratic party seems to be trying to keep the hype train rolling for now. I think in the last 45-60 days, they need to make a concerted push on getting out to vote.

    This strategy makes sense, and at least in my opinion, is probably going to pay the most dividends.

    7 votes
  17. Comment on Gay student says “Coach” Tim Walz protected him from homophobic bullies in ~lgbt

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    Do remember GenZ and Millennials now make up the biggest block of voting age adults. I think they made the best choice for the biggest appeal.

    Do remember GenZ and Millennials now make up the biggest block of voting age adults. I think they made the best choice for the biggest appeal.

    16 votes
  18. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    shinigami
    Link Parent
    If you want a key, find a Twitch stream with drops on. As long as your Steam account is linked to twitch, you'll get a beta key 15-20 minutes into that stream. They are doing server maintenance...

    If you want a key, find a Twitch stream with drops on. As long as your Steam account is linked to twitch, you'll get a beta key 15-20 minutes into that stream. They are doing server maintenance 08/09 130a -08/10 1030p PST, but the beta will be open for 3 more days after that.

    Sure! Now, my word comes just as a casual gamer, and I have no idea, nor have I researched builds for the beta.

    I've been playing with keyboard and mouse, and the controls feels generally intuitive. I had to rebind a couple keys to my mouse, but that's probably a personal preference.

    The Mechs available for the beta were varied quite a bit. I tend to gravitate toward the nimble Mechs. My touchstone is Gundam, and anything that gets me the snappy handling, and fast strafes are the kinds of Mechs I want to play. I played the close combat Panther, with Lance+sword, and Aquilla, the distance sniper.

    There is also heavy Mechs, both offense and defense. Haven't played much with them, but the defensive ones can anchor themselves into place. The heavy attackers just bombard the field with damage.

    I played one game with the light support mech, and enjoyed it. It has some weapon capabilities too, but I was keeping my team alive, and it did that well. As damage, it would use the drones to deal DOT, which was cool, and you can have offensive drones and repair drones going at the same time.

    Looking through customization options, they seem endless. You can modify just about anything on any mech, though I don't think you can wholesale swap any weapon into any mech. Defeats the purpose of the mech "class" I think

    Gameplay wise, I played a few different game modes. Capture and defend the base, capture the flag, escort the tram. All the maps I felt played well, lots of vertical room for flying, and wide enough you don't feel confined. You can do cool combos with the melee units.

    If you have specific questions, I'd be more than happy to answer.

    2 votes
  19. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    shinigami
    Link
    Got into the Mecha BREAK beta through a Twitch Drop Steam code. Game is a blast, and I feel like I barely scratched the surface. I've been enjoying the various types of combat, every class, at...

    Got into the Mecha BREAK beta through a Twitch Drop Steam code. Game is a blast, and I feel like I barely scratched the surface.

    I've been enjoying the various types of combat, every class, at least for now, seems playable and brings something interesting to the game.

    4 votes