sporebound's recent activity
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Comment on What do you use to manage your music library? in ~music
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Comment on Piracy is surging again because streaming execs ignored the lessons of the past in ~tech
sporebound LinkOn shoddy internet connections, piracy just makes more sense. You can't pre-download videos on sites like YT and Netflix anymore, so they will start compressing the crap out of your video. They...On shoddy internet connections, piracy just makes more sense. You can't pre-download videos on sites like YT and Netflix anymore, so they will start compressing the crap out of your video. They should give customers a 'surfing mode' which downloads as needed and 'movie mode' option which downloads your entire video. What if my connection gets lost? What if the traffic is heavy in my area so I have to share bandwidth with my neighbors. I would like some assurance that my movie is 'ready' and will be solid and clear for the next 2 hours.
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Comment on What do you use to manage your music library? in ~music
sporebound (edited )LinkI find lots of rarities (older music not on Spotify) and DJ mixes/sets on YouTube that aren't available elsewhere. Got tired of YT striking down videos from my playlist and having no insight in...I find lots of rarities (older music not on Spotify) and DJ mixes/sets on YouTube that aren't available elsewhere. Got tired of YT striking down videos from my playlist and having no insight in how to re-add the albums if they were re-uploaded elsewhere, or YT not caring that the music isn't anywhere else on the net. I group them into YT playlists and use yt-dl to download them and archive them. I have playlists for different vibes and then genres if I have many of the same genre starting to pile up.
If I really want high quality, I'll usually see if I can find it on Bandcamp if it's something newer.
On my local side, it just mirrors my YT playlist as a folder. I have a script (using yt-dl) I run periodically that will only download the newly added items from each playlist. My car can play FLAC (Kia Forte GT 2020) so I can just dump those folders to different genre USBs that live in my car. If I want to play a different genre I'll put in the USB and put it on shuffle, or select the folder/track. I did this originally to save data, and it works pretty well. If I'm not in my car, I'm usually on WiFi or need to be more aware of my surroundings and shouldn't be listening to music, or would feel more fulfilled later if I actually engage with my environment. This self-restriction is based on my constant need to be streaming things, at work, in the car, at home and I wanted to limit my access a bit so the slight inconvenience of not streaming everywhere is worth it. I just wanted to be able to play music in my car if there's nothing good on the radio.
This way I can still access my music from my phone, car, work computer, etc via YT, that's pretty close to what I have on my personal computer.
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Comment on How many of you wouldn't be alive if it weren't for modern medicine? in ~talk
sporebound LinkMe. I have had 2 different kinds of cancer, lymphoma and bladder. Chemo for the first. The second was caught by luck by an ultrasound for another problem and we caught it early enough for zero...Me. I have had 2 different kinds of cancer, lymphoma and bladder. Chemo for the first. The second was caught by luck by an ultrasound for another problem and we caught it early enough for zero chemo. I'm still in my mid thirties.
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Comment on How do you counter pessimism? in ~talk
sporebound Link ParentThanks this helps motivate me not just say "I'm thankful" and helps remind me that I need to cultivate that feeling longer than half a second. It's easy for me to be thankful cognitively but feel...Thanks this helps motivate me not just say "I'm thankful" and helps remind me that I need to cultivate that feeling longer than half a second. It's easy for me to be thankful cognitively but feel nothing and I need to build gratitude as a skill and emotion, not just a thought.
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Comment on The Shadow over Innsmouth in ~books
sporebound Link ParentI either push past it or get used to it. Sometimes the writing style is archaic or asks too much of the reader. Most notably, they try to hype an emotion and ramp up the story at the very...I either push past it or get used to it.
Sometimes the writing style is archaic or asks too much of the reader. Most notably, they try to hype an emotion and ramp up the story at the very beginning of the book. In general, I've found the pulp genre to be this way. I'm guessing it was because these stories were so short and they were attempting to get the reader into an emotional frame as mind as soon as possible. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't for me. I have to be patient with Lovecraft's introductions.
I don't know if this is what you're speaking to, but part of his style is a sort of gentility in the way he's describing his experience. I dig it, but I can see how it would be hard to swallow for some. The way he describes being scared out of his mind, while trying to maintain an air of sophistication is part of the cool vibe of his storytelling for me, but it is extremely far removed from modern horror and modern speech.
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Comment on Via: Solving the 100 GB problem in ~games
sporebound Link ParentI think he said the cache is overwritten if it's too small. So the larger disk cache that you choose, the less re-downloading you will have to do if you're switching games. Smaller caches will...I think he said the cache is overwritten if it's too small. So the larger disk cache that you choose, the less re-downloading you will have to do if you're switching games. Smaller caches will still work, but you'll be re-downloading data if your older cache gets overwritten.
Part of this issue of selling this will be explaining it to the public. The closest marketing summary I can think of, would be 'on-disk buffer' but that isn't entirely accurate and probably still too technical. For me, the most compelling aspect of this is, if you play games where lag, ping, and twitch reflexes are important, other services are inadequate, while this is viable, because you are playing the game data that exists on your local machine. I am still a bit skeptical that this is equivalent to playing a fully downloaded game in terms of loading in assets at runtime, but at least all of your inputs will not have lag on the leg between your controller/keyboard and the running game. I could see this being successful with twitch streamers as well, because they would not have to download anything in advance of streaming if they are starting a new game.
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Comment on Via: Solving the 100 GB problem in ~games
sporebound Link ParentRight, I do think he could have demoed a more impactful 'worst-case scenario' and dived into the constraints of this service a bit more. In the demo it looked fine for Halo. I'm assuming the map...Right, I do think he could have demoed a more impactful 'worst-case scenario' and dived into the constraints of this service a bit more. In the demo it looked fine for Halo. I'm assuming the map is fairly small compared to something like GTA. I'd like to see a sandbox game like GTA throttled and tested on a slow connection. I think there are probably assumptions that the maps will be readily available on disk and things like that may not be accounted for by the developers. I'm assuming it will create some pop-in, where assets appear a bit late on the edge of the map, but I'd like to see a stress test of this.
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Comment on Via: Solving the 100 GB problem in ~games
sporebound (edited )Link ParentI didn't qualify what I said, but may I should have. I don't usually play AAA games so I don't run into this issue very often. However I do have friends which are avid EA play pass enjoyers which...I didn't qualify what I said, but may I should have. I don't usually play AAA games so I don't run into this issue very often. However I do have friends which are avid EA play pass enjoyers which have multiple, large games installed at the same time. If I try EA game pass again, I'll be trying this out for sure, so I can quickly pick up AAA games and play without waiting for a full download. The main draw of this for me is that you can play almost immediately- not so much the fact that it will prevent you from downloading tons of data. If anything, the main flaw of this for me is it's not guaranteed that you will download the same data only once, so if you DO have a data cap or throttling after a certain GB amount this could impact your usage in a negative way. That being said, I think it's mostly a non-issue because it's probably similar to streaming HD video in it's data, or maybe even less after it settles into disk cache.
Edit: NVM, I see the dev stating in the comments this only works on Steam because of reverse-engineering. So EA and Epic game passes, which would be the optimal target for this aren't available yet.
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Comment on Right-wing skeptics and the new, new atheism in ~humanities
sporebound Link ParentI wonder how much of this behavior stems from the perception of the conservative right tightening the noose, and not being self-aware that we are becoming more radicalized on both sides. It's hard...I wonder how much of this behavior stems from the perception of the conservative right tightening the noose, and not being self-aware that we are becoming more radicalized on both sides. It's hard to even talk about these issues without declaring a 'side' or revealing bias and thus, putting others off that detect it. It's becoming harder to hear out both sides in a rational argument when both feel like they can't back down. I hope this polarization is more reactionary from a progress point of view. It's depressing to think about how our tribalistic thinking can be engaged and by and large we're repeating the same patterns as our caveman ancestors on an artificial plane of politics and personal beliefs and that our core thinking hasn't really changed that much.
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Comment on Thoughts on techno-optimism in ~tech
sporebound LinkI don't understand why we need to marry a positive or negative to technology. It's not inherently good or evil. Google itself once was founded by starry-eyed optimists. They used to have the...I don't understand why we need to marry a positive or negative to technology. It's not inherently good or evil. Google itself once was founded by starry-eyed optimists. They used to have the motto, "Don't be evil". Time and corporate interest have twisted it into powerful and ominous corporation.
It's the innovators that create a technology who are usually the optimists. If it can be used for money or war, the optimism will fade with it's use as it becomes a tool for the controlling or suppressing the masses. My cynicism isn't rooted in my view of technology or capitalism, it's a component of human nature. As corporations grow and technology adds more layers between people we objectify each other more and feel more comfortable with callous behavior. This is true for your average keyboard warrior as much as your CTO making decisions that will affect a global tech product.
The intention is sometimes totally removed from the end product, especially in tech.
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Comment on Via: Solving the 100 GB problem in ~games
sporebound LinkThis is a potential billion dollar idea with under 200 views. I personally download my games so I can play offline, but I can see how this would be worlds superior to running the game on the cloud...This is a potential billion dollar idea with under 200 views. I personally download my games so I can play offline, but I can see how this would be worlds superior to running the game on the cloud for very large games. Essentially running the game locally after it downloads the needed data. Kudos to the guy for writing the virtual file system and drivers to make this possible. I'm a software engineer but that is extremely impressive. I could see an issue with installing games on a drive smaller than the two games that run on the same drive. You'd have to redownload the previously cached data if it was overwritten, which is more likely on a smaller drive shared by multiple large games. This is probably a non-issue for most people though, because gamers usually play 1 game at a a time for multiple sessions.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
sporebound LinkI've been refinding my edgy-teen self as someone in their 30s and started getting into the Boomer Shooters genre. I was a little too young and sheltered to be allowed to play Doom or Quake so all...I've been refinding my edgy-teen self as someone in their 30s and started getting into the Boomer Shooters genre. I was a little too young and sheltered to be allowed to play Doom or Quake so all of this is new to me as a genre. However I was nostalgic for when me and my friends used to play Timesplitters because the combat was extremely fast paced and the current movement in most shooters isn't fast enough to get that 'wind in your hair' feeling when running around the map killing things. I tried one of the best modern movement shooters, Titanfall 2, and loved the combat, but the multiplayer was brutal and I didn't want to practice just to have fun in multi. Eventually I picked Dusk off of my steam library and gave it a whirl and oh, baby. It just scratches an itch I can't scratch in most modern FPS. I finished Dusk and now I'm on Cultic. I love that we have so many now to choose from. On some level, I think we need more mindless, edgy games. I miss how prevalent the 'punk' mindset was in video games, and it feels like it's dried up or gone artsy/indie. Which is fine, but I'm just not in the mood for an existential or thinking game right now.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
sporebound LinkJapanese Cafe BGM is extremely relaxing and chill. Typically with a bossa nova feel that never begs for your attention, but gives a nice cozy atmosphere to whatever you're doing This lo-fi dreamy...Japanese Cafe BGM is extremely relaxing and chill. Typically with a bossa nova feel that never begs for your attention, but gives a nice cozy atmosphere to whatever you're doing
This lo-fi dreamy track I found on ?
This track by Bewwip which is insanely good idm/acid/303
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Comment on How to pick up reading again? in ~books
sporebound (edited )LinkI've been currently reading LOTR. I've always loved the movies, but could never finish the books. I would disengage and I also struggle with depression. This is my fourth time, and I'm on the last...I've been currently reading LOTR. I've always loved the movies, but could never finish the books. I would disengage and I also struggle with depression. This is my fourth time, and I'm on the last book, so I'm confident I'm going to finish. Here's what's worked for me:
- Listening to an audio book and drawing scenes/characters/geography/notes on paper. Any time I notice I'm disengaging I would pause the playback and draw a doodle/note. Its also a great feeling to look back at all your notes, and it helps me feel more accomplished. Yes, it takes much longer, but I found this absolutely necessary to retrain and slow my brain back down. Once I started getting close to the end of the first book, I didn't have to do this at all.
- I mix both book and audio and go back and forth for the same book. Sometimes there are multiple characters introduced at the same time, and it's much easier to reference their introductions in book form.
- Cutting down on drinking/substances. I've accepted that if I have a drink, any time during the evening I will likely only finish a sentence or paragraph. If I don't drink, I go pages at a time. Usually I only read before bed.
- Making it a habit. Even if I read a sentence, I'm going to read something before I go to bed. Sometimes I'm just not feeling it. And other times it just takes a little push to read a whole chapter.
- Before I retried Tolkien I was reading a lot of classic sci-fi/pulp authors like Edgar R. Burroughs, and short stories by Philip K. Dick or Asimov. These are a lot easier to commit to and are fast-paced enough to keep faster readers engaged.
Overall, I think I had to retrain my brain to enjoy reading again, and I'm still not back to where I was. Anecdotally, microdosing psychedelics has helped me be more engaged when reading as well, but I think it is because I'm getting the serotonin to alleviate my mild depression where my enjoyment to reading isn't being blocked by my brain chemistry. I think I could find similar results with an antidepressant but I am not cool with all of the side-effects that come with those. It's not necessary for me to enjoy reading but I'd say it increases the enjoyment 5x.
Added later because I forgot I did this and it helped:
-Reading out loud. I would do voices for the characters and try to really hit their lines. This helped me be more engaged and made it more exciting then straight reading in my head. I was surprised, because I used to hate reading aloud, but it forces me to get out of my head the more I can emote the words.
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Comment on My secret to dating in San Francisco is a spreadsheet in ~life
sporebound LinkI was going to judge this woman for making a spreadsheet, but then I remembered. I created my own version of this that is probably even more insane and weird. I have divided the archetypes of the...I was going to judge this woman for making a spreadsheet, but then I remembered. I created my own version of this that is probably even more insane and weird. I have divided the archetypes of the dual male/female dyad as a matrix which is split into 14 separate god/goddess components. It's based on the Love Language book, where I thought there were more than 4. So a less crazy sounding title might be: 14 love languages. And the idea of finding someone is if they and I click on all 14, then she's marriage material.
There is some psychology behind it, but I don't want to give it all away in case I make it into a book or something. However, there are dark elements behind each of the 14, as well. Each of the 14 has a dark component and a light component for male and female. I also have a theory that all mentally healthy people display all 14, when they are in love with each other, even if those languages don't click or are more light or dark. I don't buy into the idea of not displaying other love languages. Or maybe I do for other people, but I want more than that. I know I've had a relationship where love was shown in 14 love language ways. Any time it was only 1 language shown, it usually meant the relationship was immature and hadn't developed yet, or was on the rocks and on life support. In its most pragmatic form, it's really just a way for me to take the temperature of the relationship.
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Comment on Ask Anime Recommendation thread in ~anime
sporebound Link ParentIt sounds like you would like Cat SoupIt sounds like you would like Cat Soup
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Comment on Do you have an anime that serves as your guilty pleasure? in ~anime
sporebound LinkActual guilty pleasure is UrotsukidÅji: Legend of the Overfiend There would be no way I could justify watching it without sounding like a real creep. Likely I would never recommend this one unless...Actual guilty pleasure is UrotsukidÅji: Legend of the Overfiend
There would be no way I could justify watching it without sounding like a real creep. Likely I would never recommend this one unless you already knew me really well and I thought you'd be into it. However I can recommend it to anime veterans who are also into disturbing B-Movie horror. It's violent and perverse. Not one for the family. The dub is awful but in a good way, but it's borderline hentai in it's graphic nature. The whole plot is so ridiculous I love it. However the animation is top-notch despite how campy and disturbing the movie is. The whole movie is usually on YouTube for free.
Highly recommended if you like Ninja Scroll, Wicked City, or Demon City Shinjuku.
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Comment on Tildes Video Thread in ~misc
sporebound LinkI'm following a weekly movie event on Mastadon called #Monsterdon and get news about it via #MonsterdonAlert There's a community poll where people vote on the movie and then it plays on the...I'm following a weekly movie event on Mastadon called #Monsterdon and get news about it via #MonsterdonAlert
There's a community poll where people vote on the movie and then it plays on the weekend evenings. The last movie we watched was The Tingler : A creature that lives in your spine and kills you if you are afraid and you don't scream. The week before it was Godzilla vs. Destroyah. We set a start time and start at the same time. People usually riff on it under the #Monsterdon hashtag and it's hilarious. Feel free to join!
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Comment on Nostalgia -- what programs do you miss? in ~tech
sporebound Link ParentFor completeness, WACUP is also available and Winamp Classic still works. I'll have to check out Audacious.For completeness, WACUP is also available and Winamp Classic still works.
I'll have to check out Audacious.
Yeah, it's great in areas where your phone can't get service. Streaming music was my #1 for data usage. I need a good way to label them and it would be perfect. I can be indecisive when choosing music and using USB forces me to keep my eyes off my phone and creates a 'mini-radio' effect where I have to deliberately choose a genre and partially commit to it for a little while. I would even argue that swapping USBs when driving is safer than trying to fiddle with a smart screen and trying to change your radio station/playlist because its fully tactile and I only have to look down once to align the usb with the port. When I found out my car could play FLAC natively I was impressed. Of course it can play MP3. Fairly sure it can't do WAV or OGG though.