stonetheman98's recent activity
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Comment on Which web browser do you use? in ~tech
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Comment on What are you battling with right now? in ~talk
stonetheman98 LinkWorrying about the future here in America for transgender people like me, trying to learn how to like actually love myself, and gender dysphoria. I guess on the "the future of being trans in...Worrying about the future here in America for transgender people like me, trying to learn how to like actually love myself, and gender dysphoria.
I guess on the "the future of being trans in America" front, perhaps I just really get into some doomscroll-y parts of twitter, but I think even if that's the case, I don't think it's hard to see how anti trans (really, anti lgbt as a whole) sentiment is growing in this country. I don't really feel like going on about specifics here, but one thing that has occurred to me that maybe I should have a "if shit hits the fan" plan about how I'm going to get out of here if shit really gets bad. At least as a small bit of silver lining, I did see a breakdown state by state on Twitter the other day of the anti-trans risk within this election cycle, and the current state I reside in was at a medium-low risk, the state I go to for my hormone checkups low risk, and the state I reside in borders a genuinely good state with trans legal protections, which coupled with how I went with the transfem stereotype of becoming a programmer, I at least have some options that are actually financially viable to go somewhere better if it comes to that.
And I guess on the Gender Dysphoria front, it's going. On one hand, I am absolutely better than what I was before I started medically transitioning, and there are genuine though unfortunately fleeting moments where I actually get gender euphoria over things, but on the other hand, even being like 14 months into hrt, there's still times where I'll like see my reflection in a mirror or window, or like hear myself talk, and think "I will never not look like/sound like/act like a man", and that usually ruins my day. From what I understand talking with other trans women online is that shit like this takes time, and that things do get better on this front, but goddamn I'm learning first hand how much of an ordeal it is to get that far, and that's without worrying about societal problems related to being trans.
I guess a problem that is absolutely compounded by both of those too is that sometimes, it's hard to shake off this feeling of hopelessness for the future. Like especially with climate change looming on the horizon too, in addition to what I've mentioned here previously, it's getting kind of hard to not just, for want of a better term for this, become blackpilled doomer I guess.
This ended up being more a vent if anything, might take it down later lmao.
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Comment on Spotify Wrapped 2021 in ~music
stonetheman98 LinkMy spotify wrapped: I had 113172 minutes of listen time. I guarantee you this is because my work lets us listen to whatever while we work, so I usually have this running about 8 hours a day + on...My spotify wrapped:
I had 113172 minutes of listen time. I guarantee you this is because my work lets us listen to whatever while we work, so I usually have this running about 8 hours a day + on my commute too.My Top Songs
- Swoon - The Chemical Brothers
- Escape Velocity - The Chemical Brothers
- The Darkness That You Fear - The Chemical Brothers
- The Future of the Future - Deep Dish, Tracey Thorn, Everything But the Girl
- Stomp to my Beat - Factory Club Mix - JS16
Guarantee you that the top two are just because they're in the same album, though in all honesty the top song does slap.
My Top Genres
- Electronica
- Hyperpop
- Alternative Metal
- Big Beat
- Alternative Rock
My Top Artists
- The Chemical Brothers
- Daft Punk
- Charli XCX
- Kanye West
- SOPHIE
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
stonetheman98 LinkSince the last time (link to my last response) a thread like this has been posted, I finally got around to building a new Desktop, with the following specs: Intel Core i9-9900k AMD RX 5700 XT with...Since the last time (link to my last response) a thread like this has been posted, I finally got around to building a new Desktop, with the following specs:
- Intel Core i9-9900k
- AMD RX 5700 XT with 8GB VRAM
- 32 GB RAM
- 256 GB SSD boot drive, and a 4TB and 1TB drive for games/music/etc
- Windows 10
I really wanted to get an rtx 3070, but honestly there's enough of a backlogs of games that my last computer couldn't quite run well enough, and probably by the time I play through them, I should be able to find an upgrade pretty easily.
Past just the raw specs of my desktop, since making the last post, I've also upgraded my desk space, and now have room for 3 monitors. One of them is still the 1650x1080 dell monitor mentioned in the previous post, but I now have two dell 1600x900 monitors paired with it. However, later this week I have two Lenovo 1080p, 144hz monitors coming in, I'm planning on still keeping one of the outdated monitors around as well (I really like the triple monitor setup for WFH) but I'm not really sure.
From there, I have a Pixel 4a (the non 5G one) as a phone, it's pretty nice, though I've only ever owned budget/generations old flagships up to this point, so I don't really have much else to compare it to.
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Comment on What keyboard do you use? in ~tech
stonetheman98 LinkI'll start with the most boring keyboard I use. I somewhat recently started a job as a software developer, and I'm still in the office, and I've been using the generic HP rubber dome keyboard they...I'll start with the most boring keyboard I use. I somewhat recently started a job as a software developer, and I'm still in the office, and I've been using the generic HP rubber dome keyboard they gave me. It's very meh, and I recently asked my boss what the rules on bringing a keyboard from home are, and pretty much the main rules are don't use something too loud (so my Model M, or anything with Blue switches are out), and nothing with built-in storage. I'm probably going to replace it with something soon, but I'm debating if it'll be the Cooler Master Quickfire Rapid with mx reds I have lying around, or if I"m going to buy something with mx/clone browns. I use arrow keys and Function keys all the time, so if I end up going the "buy a new one" route, those are just about necessities for me.
I have an 1989 IBM Model M that's really nice. I Ended up doing the Bolt Mod on it, because I had to replace the inner membrane after I spilled water on it. In all honesty, I don't notice too much of a difference in typing feel from it, but she works perfectly fine again, so I'm happy with it. I like it, but I have a pretty small desk, it doesn't work best for gaming (I think the amount of keys you can hold down on it is like 2 at a time), and I don't do a lot of stuff where I need to type a lot when I'm home, so it's kind of just meh. If noise weren't an issue, this would be my work board in a heartbeat, but if I ever get to work remotely, this is going to be what I use at home.
I also have a Cooler Master quickfire rapid with Cherry MX Reds that I kinda like. The reds aren't as good for typing, but the best for gaming for me, and with having no numpad, it fits much more nicely on my desk.
I also have a Cooler Master Rapid-i with Cherry MX Blues that I'm a big of. The clicky keys are nice, and since it doesn't have the numpad, it fits much more nicely on my desk.
Finally, I have a MagicForce 68 with Gateron Browns. This keyboard is even smaller, I think it's pok3r sized, but with arrow keys, and page up/down, delete, and end? buttons, and was also really nice, but unfortunately some keys on it have quit working for me. I've opened it up, and they really skimped out on the solder for a lot of the switches that are giving me problems. I've been meaning to try my hand at getting a soldering iron to fix it, but I haven't gotten to that part yet. Still though, I really like Brown switches, and I think I want to get a bigger board that this with this type of switch on it.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
stonetheman98 LinkI've made a 491 (at the time of writing) song playlist of edm on Spotify, (link here if interested, and if it's allowed) that I leave on shuffle while I'm at work, and every once and a while I'll...I've made a 491 (at the time of writing) song playlist of edm on Spotify, (link here if interested, and if it's allowed) that I leave on shuffle while I'm at work, and every once and a while I'll go through and find a new batch of songs to it, so the pool of what it shuffles gets larger, and so I don't listen to the same group of songs the whole time. If you want a good run down of what I've really been listening to recently, sort by recently added, and start from the top. That being said though, there are a few somewhat recent releases I've been playing from it kind of more often.
The first is the Danny L Harle and Lil Texas song Dreaming that released within the last week or so. I'm not too familiar with Lil Texas or Danny L Harle's work, so I can't really compare it to their previous stuff, but I really like what the two have done with this track. Also because of this track, I found "Danny L Harle's HUGE PLAYLIST", also on Spotify, and there's a decent amount of trance and house-ish stuff that I had to have on my playlist that's good.
Another song I want to shout out that I like is FARAWAY199X/TAPE 2 by six impala. I think this song was on the Hyperpop Playlist back when it was 1000 gecs controlled, but this song also bops pretty hard. The album it comes off of, RUBBER, is a pretty decent concept album as well, and one of their other albums, RUBBER ALT, is kind of an interesting take on a remix/alternate version of what this album is as well.
Finally, the other somewhat recent release I wanna talk about is the new Disclosure album, ENERGY. While the full album dropped the 28th, enough singles from the album have been out for a while (and in turn, made it to my playlist) that I can at least recommend some of my favorite songs so far from it. My High, Douha, Ecstasy, Tondo, Get Close, and Expressing What Matters are some of the best bops from this thing. The rest of the album's pretty alright, I think I'll definitely have to give it another listen or two before letting it fully grow on me, but I like it so far.
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Comment on What are your thoughts on piracy? in ~talk
stonetheman98 LinkBefore answering much of the questions, I'm going to preface them by saying that I don't consume too much media. Or I guess I do, I definitely get my money's worth out of my Spotify account, and I...Before answering much of the questions, I'm going to preface them by saying that I don't consume too much media. Or I guess I do, I definitely get my money's worth out of my Spotify account, and I definitely get my money's worth out of my gaming devices, but I don't particularly watch hardly any shows, or much else media that isn't already free/easy to find (for example, most of the video/show-like content I watch is on YouTube). With that out of the way, let's get into it.
Do you pirate media? If so, why? if not, why not?
Technically yes, since I suppose downloading ROMs/ISOs of older video games count. It's easier and more cost effective to just find a ROM or ISO of an older game, then set up some cartridge ripping, or ISO ripping hardware (depending on the console) with a legitimate copy of a game sometimes.
When, if ever, do you feel pirating something is ethical?
I feel like what makes piracy unethical is when the creators of a work don't get any compensation for their work. While I think there's situations where it's still unethical to pirate even in that situation (like say, if the author of a book was dead, and thus unable to collect compensation for writing a work, but the profits of its sale now are being donated to some genuinely good charity), if the sale of access to a work just benefits someone or some company that had no bearing on the creation of the work, sends none of the money to the creators, and just sells a work so that they can make a few extra dollars because they have the rights to the work now, I don't think that piracy is particularly unethical.
Do you have a "code" that you follow for when it's right/not right to pirate something?
Honestly what drives me to pirate is how easy something is to obtain legally, and if the original authors still get compensated based off of getting that original media. Going off the answer to the last question, even if a company's just selling a work because they have the rights to it, while the original creators don't see a cent of that, if it's cheap enough I'll likely purchase it anyway, due to easier access to the legal way of purchasing than otherwise. I'd imagine a few of the old games I've bought on GOG.com fall under this category. Even if we ignore how often times they'll add patches to let the games run on modern systems, the convenience of having known good downloads of these games ready and easy to find is worthy enough for me. I guess it comes down to convenience to give the short answer to it.
In what ways is piracy damaging, and in what ways is it beneficial?
It really depends on how a given company wants to go with its attempts at thwarting piracy. If they see piracy as a service problem, and attempt to thrwart it by offering services that are better than piracy, than I'd say that the piracy that urged the company to go that route was beneficial. I think that things like the Steam Sale are an example of a service improvement that likely came about as a service improvement that curbs piracy. However, companies can also go the anti-consumer way to thwart piracy, where an example is always on DRM, which I'd hope we can agree has a largely negative affect on the quality of services. Honestly I haven't researched enough as to if piracy drives more positive than negative outcomes like that, plus I don't know if the measures that improve services were even implemented in full response to piracy, or in response to something else, but just happened to improve going the non piracy route, but I don't think piracy can just simply be described as a purely beneficial, or damaging force.
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Comment on What's your computer/PC like? in ~tech
stonetheman98 LinkMy laptop/tablet is a Surface Pro 3 that's still trucking along pretty well, though in all honesty it's mostly just a reddit, twitter, facebook, and tildes machine at this point. That being said,...My laptop/tablet is a Surface Pro 3 that's still trucking along pretty well, though in all honesty it's mostly just a reddit, twitter, facebook, and tildes machine at this point. That being said, it has
- Core i5-4300U
- Whatever Intel HD graphics come with that processor
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB SSD
- Windows 10 pro
- 2160 x 1440 built in screen
I bought it about a year ago from a college surplus store, and they must not have used it that much, as the battery at full holds about 90% of it's design capacity, and it's pretty much a perfect web browsing machine for me still. I plan on using it until it breaks, whether if that means I break it from damage, or if something internal breaks from usage (like the battery, or if the SSD craps out on it).
My desktop I built when I was in my last semester of High School in about 2016, and covers most of my gaming needs (with the rest of my gaming being done on mostly the Switch, or the console game here and there), and it's specs look like. Since it is my first PC build, the cable management is all over the place inside of it. The important part is that at least I've never had any overheating issues with it, so meh.
- AMD Athlon x4 806k
- 2GB Nvidia GTX 950
- 16GB RAM
- 256GB SSD as my boot and important games drive, 2 1TB HDDs as my other games and stuff storage
- Windows 10 education
- 1680 x 1050 Dell main monitor, fake 1080p small Emerson TV as a second monitor
While it still chugs along alright if you leave games on low settings for the most part, since I've actually managed to land a job with after graduating college, I think I'm going to build a new computer once I get a decent amount saved up to do so. This might replace my Optiplex I have as a server, but since its processor isn't really that much better (if at all), idk what it'll end up being, but I still haven't saved enough for the new computer fund yet, so meh.
I also have a mini server running on a Dell Optiplex 3010 that literally just hosts an owncloud instance for my music and other files, with the specs of:
- Core i5-3470
- 8GB RAM
- 1 TB HDD
- Ubuntu
- I just ssh into it, so no monitor
I also bought this one from the college surplus store, I figured it was literally cheaper to buy this computer, set up owncloud, and pay for the electricity costs of it than pay for the 1TB of cloud storage otherwise, plus the important files are backed up on all three machines here, so if say the Hard drive just massively failed me in this, I'd still have the other two machines as backups as well.
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Comment on What's your SILLY unpopular opinion? in ~talk
stonetheman98 LinkCrocs (the shoe) are friggin' awesome, and despite their looks, I don't think the hate they get is justified.Crocs (the shoe) are friggin' awesome, and despite their looks, I don't think the hate they get is justified.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
stonetheman98 LinkI've been listening to that new Dog Blood EP, Turn Off the Lights. Gotta say, I'm a pretty big fan of it so far.I've been listening to that new Dog Blood EP, Turn Off the Lights. Gotta say, I'm a pretty big fan of it so far.
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Comment on What is the size of your smartphone? in ~tech
stonetheman98 LinkI have a Moto G5+, and it has a 5.2 inch screen. I have bigger than average hands, but my opinion is extremely similar to the_walrus's in that I hate having a large phone. Even though 5.2 isn't...I have a Moto G5+, and it has a 5.2 inch screen. I have bigger than average hands, but my opinion is extremely similar to the_walrus's in that I hate having a large phone. Even though 5.2 isn't really that big compared to stuff like the 6.5 inch screen, I used to have a Moto X 1st gen, and I think that that had the most ideal phone screen size out of all the phones I've ever had (which, coincidentally, was also a 4.7 inch screen). I think I liked it because I could consistently reach the whole screen with only one hand, without having to do some odd phone balancing techniques with my hand. I'm otherwise happy with my current phone, so I'm not actively looking for new phones yet, but when it starts getting too slow, or obsolete, it's hard to say if I'll just get a big phone anyway, and see if I'm just wrong, or try to find something closer to the size of the moto X I had.
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Comment on What are your thoughts on Minecraft? in ~games
stonetheman98 LinkI played the crap out of this game about 8 years ago as a middle schooler, and I gotta say it's probably still the best game I've ever played. I've personally burnt myself out on it from literal...I played the crap out of this game about 8 years ago as a middle schooler, and I gotta say it's probably still the best game I've ever played. I've personally burnt myself out on it from literal years of playing it tho, so I just can't see myself going back to it anymore, but otherwise it's still such a good game.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
stonetheman98 LinkI just recently learned that the soundtrack to Jet Set Radio Future (turns out, it's just the original SEGA composed tracks, but ehh) is on spotify, so I've been listening the crap out of it, and...I just recently learned that the soundtrack to Jet Set Radio Future (turns out, it's just the original SEGA composed tracks, but ehh) is on spotify, so I've been listening the crap out of it, and ow man does this album slap. It's hard to recommend for sure, but pretty much if you're a fan of like Fatboy Slim or something, you'll probably get a good kick out of it. The only other thing I got is it's amazing how a song with the sample "Fuck that shit homie" made it into a rated T game.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
stonetheman98 LinkI've been listening to the new Chemical Brothers album, No Geography. I think it's a real solid album, and definitely one I think is worth listening to, but at the same time, I don't think it's...I've been listening to the new Chemical Brothers album, No Geography. I think it's a real solid album, and definitely one I think is worth listening to, but at the same time, I don't think it's quite as good as Dig Your Own Hole, or Exit Planet Dust, but I think it's better than Born in the Echoes(I've definitely not spent a lot of time listening to this one though, so maybe after another few listens I'll be more into it), and about as good as Come With Us.
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Comment on Shuffle your entire music library, then tell me about the first five tracks that come up. in ~music
stonetheman98 LinkDecided to hit shuffle play on all my songs in my Spotify Library. I couldn't find anywhere that listed the number of total songs in the library, but I'm just going to go with it's a large one....Decided to hit shuffle play on all my songs in my Spotify Library. I couldn't find anywhere that listed the number of total songs in the library, but I'm just going to go with it's a large one.
- Flies on my Dick - Ween
- Renegade - Styx
- Wet Tip Hen Ax - Aphex Twin
- Red Dawn - Knife Party
- Windwind - Autechre
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Comment on The best album ever in ~music
stonetheman98 LinkI think that, at least when it comes to EDM, Daft Punk's Discovery is probably the best album. It's hard to put into words why I think its so good, but I don't think there's a bad song on the album.I think that, at least when it comes to EDM, Daft Punk's Discovery is probably the best album. It's hard to put into words why I think its so good, but I don't think there's a bad song on the album.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
stonetheman98 LinkLately I've been listening to the entire album Quack by Duck Sauce on the way to and from classes and such. I really like that funky, disco-y edm stuff like what Daft Punk, Justice, and now Duck...Lately I've been listening to the entire album Quack by Duck Sauce on the way to and from classes and such. I really like that funky, disco-y edm stuff like what Daft Punk, Justice, and now Duck Sauce have out there. If anyone else has some good recommendations for this kind of edm, let me know.
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Comment on Where are you from? in ~talk
stonetheman98 LinkEau Claire, WI represent. I grew up in St. Paul until the 1st grade, and both my parents grew up in the twin cities too so howdy neighbor.Eau Claire, WI represent. I grew up in St. Paul until the 1st grade, and both my parents grew up in the twin cities too so howdy neighbor.
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Comment on The Jetzons - Hard Times (2008) in ~music
stonetheman98 Link ParentYeah, that's the video I saw, I went and looked in my Youtube history to confirm it.Yeah, that's the video I saw, I went and looked in my Youtube history to confirm it.
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Comment on The Jetzons - Hard Times (2008) in ~music
stonetheman98 LinkI originally heard this song actually because someone on youtube (I forgot the channel) was looking into the Sonic 3 & Knuckles soundtrack, and they figured out that a member from The Jetzons (I...I originally heard this song actually because someone on youtube (I forgot the channel) was looking into the Sonic 3 & Knuckles soundtrack, and they figured out that a member from The Jetzons (I think the keyboardist, but don't quote me) worked on it, and this song got worked into the Ice Cap Zone music (link here for comparison. Check out the act 2 version as well if you like it). It's really interesting hearing how this song translated over to the Sega Genesis.
Firefox on everything I can install it on. At this point that means it's on:
I just don't like how much of a sorta de-facto monopoly Chrome + its derivatives have (well, monopoly is probably a bad way to phrase it, but nonetheless, the more than 60% market share it has feels kinda gross to me at least)