twisterghost's recent activity
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Comment on What do you use for email? in ~tech
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
twisterghost LinkJust started Destiny 2 (never played the original), and after an initial couple of hours of being completely overwhelmed and having no idea what the hell was going on, I feel like I have a better...Just started Destiny 2 (never played the original), and after an initial couple of hours of being completely overwhelmed and having no idea what the hell was going on, I feel like I have a better understanding of how to approach the game and what to expect from it, and I'm now very excited to get back to it.
Absolutely incomprehensible lore. But plays pretty fun once you figure out what you should be doing.
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Comment on What do you think of channels that theorize on video game lore? in ~games
twisterghost LinkA lot of it falls into the category of harmless fun or even just clickbait, but there's been a few genuinely fun ones out there. My favorite (decidedly not gaming though) is that Snowpiercer is a...A lot of it falls into the category of harmless fun or even just clickbait, but there's been a few genuinely fun ones out there. My favorite (decidedly not gaming though) is that Snowpiercer is a direct sequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
That said I've been on and off watching Game Theroy (and their newer Film Theory channel) for years. It's cringe as hell but they lean into that as a thing. I like it enough but they go on benders of games that I do not at all care about having twelve videos for, but it gets them the clicks and ad revenue they need to survive so I get it.
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Comment on The polls weren't great this year and that was always a possibility in ~society
twisterghost (edited )Link ParentPolls are useful, I don't believe otherwise. I think Fivethirtyeight and Nate Silver are overblown in their perceived authority on the matter, given that they make it their business to rate and...Polls are useful, I don't believe otherwise. I think Fivethirtyeight and Nate Silver are overblown in their perceived authority on the matter, given that they make it their business to rate and rank pollsters then continuously put out articles that boil down to "we might be right or we might be wrong in our assessment of the quality of polls".
I don't think they have zero value. I don't think polls are useless. I see no reason to lift 538 above anything else. Hell, some of the closer polls were their lower ranked ones. Especially in 2016.
I find the positioning poor. They headline their prediction model and interactive apps based on their model, then publish articles saying "but this might be totally wrong". Which like, of course it could be, but they don't drive traffic and make money by being in the business of being "maybe wrong" often. All of that can be true, but that doesn't make it better.
It just all feels gross. Sports stats is one thing, but this is politics, in which policy which impact peoples lives is at stake.
They also walked back in 2012? When the national polling error was +3 D, approximately the same as the Trump polling error now, just for Obama instead? What changed now?
Nothing. Idk what your point is here. I wasn't following them during that election and have no opinion. This feels like a weird "gotcha" and I don't know what you're getting at. Sounds like more of the same
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Comment on The polls weren't great this year and that was always a possibility in ~society
twisterghost Link ParentHaving trouble finding the exact article. I recall it being linked in the preamble text for weeks on the election forecast page. I wonder if they changed the headline to be less strongly worded....Having trouble finding the exact article. I recall it being linked in the preamble text for weeks on the election forecast page. I wonder if they changed the headline to be less strongly worded. They often linked to it saying "you can trust the polls this year".
I guess I don't see what the point is of all of this is if all he can say is "Well maybe, but also maybe not, but trust me, but also if I am wrong, it's not my fault."
I'm stuck on his pollster rating setup. He claims the authority to rate pollsters, but when several elections come out with pollsters being way off, he's just like "well y'know polls aren't always great" - but yet fivethirtyeight rates them?? Idk, I just don't have the patience for so much walking back, two major presidential elections in a row.
Biden won, which was his prediction, but still, it ruins my view of their work. The massive asterisks on all their articles makes it harder.
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Comment on The polls weren't great this year and that was always a possibility in ~society
twisterghost (edited )LinkNate Silver wrote and pushed - daily - article about why we should trust the polls this time around. Walking that back now rubs me pretty wrong. I get that its all probabilities and the nature of...Nate Silver wrote and pushed - daily - article about why we should trust the polls this time around. Walking that back now rubs me pretty wrong. I get that its all probabilities and the nature of this work is that all outcomes are possible, but at the same time they make big claims about what we should expect and their business model is for us to trust their forecast, so when they are wrong, turning around and saying "well see we also said that us being wrong was possible" and shifting blame to the pollsters feels like some CYA in action.
They specifically grade pollsters to make their model more accurate per their view. People use fivethirtyeight's grade for pollsters in all discourse I've seen. Why should we even trust those grades anymore.
In the end it wasn't massively off, but damn does it not instill confidence.
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Comment on RIP Google Play Music, 2011–2020 - A look back at the nine-year life of Google's music service in ~music
twisterghost Link ParentSame exact situation here. Moved over to Plex for my personal library. Also got a TIDAL subscription which has been surprisingly nice. Plex has some TIDAL integration but it's less than excellent....Same exact situation here. Moved over to Plex for my personal library. Also got a TIDAL subscription which has been surprisingly nice. Plex has some TIDAL integration but it's less than excellent. I don't expect that service to be around forever - at this point I don't really trust any service, but it's nice for discovery.
As for Plex, I'll use it as long as I can, but if it goes away ever, there's plenty of other options, and I still own the library. That's comforting to know.
I spent a lot of time over the past couple of years getting off of as many Google services as I could. Partially for privacy, mostly because I can't trust them to keep a service alive for longer than a couple of years.
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Running tabletop RPG games with Obsidian
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Comment on The Digital Antiquarian: Master of Magic in ~games
twisterghost LinkThe absolute wave of nostalgia falling over my entire being is of a level I cannot begin to describe.The absolute wave of nostalgia falling over my entire being is of a level I cannot begin to describe.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
twisterghost Link ParentThats actually really brilliant. One question, how do you pronounce it? Does it sound like "Dop-leo" or as written, "doppl dot i o"?Thats actually really brilliant. One question, how do you pronounce it? Does it sound like "Dop-leo" or as written, "doppl dot i o"?
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~games
twisterghost LinkI don't have hard evidence but the moment this released, Twitter went down, and it's a pretty fun thing to consider that this broke Twitter.I don't have hard evidence but the moment this released, Twitter went down, and it's a pretty fun thing to consider that this broke Twitter.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~food
twisterghost Link ParentI can see the origins of this take, but I'd have a hard time making this umbrella statement. I wanna be clear up front: if I'm getting nasty with some tenders, I'm dunking them in honey mustard...I can see the origins of this take, but I'd have a hard time making this umbrella statement. I wanna be clear up front: if I'm getting nasty with some tenders, I'm dunking them in honey mustard every bite, but there are times when the tenders are so excellent that I've found myself foregoing the sauce because the inherent cronch is so good.
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Comment on File Syncing Software in 2020 in ~comp
twisterghost Link ParentI've tried syncthing before but the setup process was extremely painful for me and I never got it working the way I wanted it to. Maybe if I tried a little harder it'd be good but I ended up...I've tried syncthing before but the setup process was extremely painful for me and I never got it working the way I wanted it to. Maybe if I tried a little harder it'd be good but I ended up selfhosting nextcloud instead which has been very solid and I love having webdav so I can write integrations and whatnot.
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Comment on File Syncing Software in 2020 in ~comp
twisterghost LinkClick through to the hackernews post originally announcing Dropbox. My god, its so good. Yeah really Dropbox, you don't seem "viral" or "income-generating" and people can build this trivially with...Click through to the hackernews post originally announcing Dropbox. My god, its so good.
I have a few qualms with this app:
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For a Linux user, you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem. From Windows or Mac, this FTP account could be accessed through built-in software.
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It doesn't actually replace a USB drive. Most people I know e-mail files to themselves or host them somewhere online to be able to perform presentations, but they still carry a USB drive in case there are connectivity problems. This does not solve the connectivity issue.
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It does not seem very "viral" or income-generating. I know this is premature at this point, but without charging users for the service, is it reasonable to expect to make money off of this?
Yeah really Dropbox, you don't seem "viral" or "income-generating" and people can build this trivially with FTP and
curlftpfson linux. Going nowhere. -
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Comment on What are your thoughts on the next gen consoles from Xbox and Playstation? in ~games
twisterghost LinkI preordered a PS5. Or, rather, my neighbor and I spent all evening both trying to preorder, and he managed to get two orders in, of which I am buying from him. I also managed to get a preorder in...I preordered a PS5. Or, rather, my neighbor and I spent all evening both trying to preorder, and he managed to get two orders in, of which I am buying from him. I also managed to get a preorder in eventually, but it was a bigger bundle that included some extra stuff I didn't care about, so I canceled it.
I'm getting the PS5 physical version. I barely use disks but there is a really nice independently owned game store down the road from me, and if they survive COVID, I'd love to continue to patron them and maybe get a few games there.
That said, I'm mostly in it for the hardware upgrade over the PS4. To be honest, not many announced PS5 games have me frothing to get the system just to play the games. It looks to have decent-to-good backwards compatibility plans for PS4 games, of which I have a decent amount that I've yet to finish playing, so I'm looking forward to playing those games on better hardware.
I switched from a gaming computer to a productivity focused laptop recently, so I've been leaning hard on my PS4 for bigger games. I otherwise have a Switch. I'm semi-debating if I would get an Xbox this time around. I've never had one before. I got the trial of Game Pass with streaming, and want to see if that feels good. Otherwise I figure I'd rather shell out for a good gaming PC again sometime if I wanted to specifically play games that Xbox had and not PS5 (since theres a lot of PC/Xbox overlap if not on PS5).
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Comment on Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda, id Software, Arkane Studios, and more in ~games
twisterghost LinkIf they end up making the next Elder Scrolls game xbox exclusive I'm gonna riot (as opposed to being on PS5 as well) Though I'd probably end up just getting a new gaming computer by then since it...If they end up making the next Elder Scrolls game xbox exclusive I'm gonna riot (as opposed to being on PS5 as well)
Though I'd probably end up just getting a new gaming computer by then since it isn't gonna come out until like 2024 or something.
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Comment on Tildes Census Deep Dive - What do you dislike about Tildes? in ~tildes
twisterghost (edited )LinkI mentioned that as refreshing as it is to have actual discussions in comments and whatnot, the norm is to write a lot which makes lighter interactions feel unworthy, which means a barrier of...I mentioned that as refreshing as it is to have actual discussions in comments and whatnot, the norm is to write a lot which makes lighter interactions feel unworthy, which means a barrier of entry to engagement, which means lower activity, which I think manifests as a lot of folks feeling like the site needs more users.
I think some of the "activity levels being too low" complaints could be mitigated by making it clear that there's a difference between the quality of a post/comment and the length of it. Again, I like that there's some lengthier discussions, but it's not always necessary to write novels back and forth.
Even now, it feels like I'm padding this comment to make it seem worthy of posting. I doubt I'm alone in this feeling.
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Comment on What keyboard do you use? in ~tech
twisterghost LinkI use a Vortex Race 3 (model VTG-8200) with brown switches for everything. I use the boring understated grey keycaps instead of the colored accents. I keep it plugged in to a thunderbolt dock at...I use a Vortex Race 3 (model VTG-8200) with brown switches for everything. I use the boring understated grey keycaps instead of the colored accents. I keep it plugged in to a thunderbolt dock at my desk and I swap out my work and personal laptop on the dock.
For work I am a developer, fullish stack, using Neovim for just about everything. I generally only have a terminal, browser and slack open during work, so I am very keyboard heavy and use tmux for organizing all of my dev work.
On my personal computer I do a range of things. Lots of programming still, but primarily game development, and otherwise I'm writing or playing games. I've found this board to be great at everything. It's a bit tiring on my fingers after a while, especially if I'm writing a lot, but browns do that to me.
Before this, my only other Vortex keyboard was a Vortex Core, but that was too extreme for me. Fun, tho.
Main things I like about it overall are the size, availability of keys I care about pressing often (especially function keys), and the build quality. This thing feels so solid. It has a solid metal base and no visible frame when looking at it straight on. It's gorgeous, heavy and makes you want to type.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
twisterghost Link ParentI have the Legend of Korra game on steam but I've never sunk more than 20 minutes into it, like many years ago. I've not played a whole lot of platinum games. Is it worth playing? Not really...I have the Legend of Korra game on steam but I've never sunk more than 20 minutes into it, like many years ago. I've not played a whole lot of platinum games. Is it worth playing? Not really interested in seeking out "other, better Platinum games," but specifically just wondering if, having already purchased it, its worth the time.
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Comment on Has anyone in an online discussion/argument ever actually changed your opinion about something? in ~talk
twisterghost Link ParentSimilar experience here. When I was a teenager / early college, I had the shittiest of takes. Entirely self-centric "if it doesn't directly affect me, I don't care" crap, or even malicious in some...Similar experience here. When I was a teenager / early college, I had the shittiest of takes. Entirely self-centric "if it doesn't directly affect me, I don't care" crap, or even malicious in some cases. Just regurgitating conservative talking points my dad fed me because I wanted to seem smart and educated and he was the smartest person I knew.
I had plenty of arguments with friends who frankly dealt with my shit way longer than I deserved. But it wasn't any argument that changed my mind, it was seeing someone else, somehow even more pompous than I, go through the same shit, and being on the other side of it and seeing people actively walk away from that person. Helped frame the kind of person I was being.
Since then its been a radical transformation, and I now feel far more confident with my views, as I feel they come from a place of honesty and heart rather than just repeating easy and selfish talking points.
I've been using Hey, after having degoogled and moved to ProtonMail for a few years. ProtonMail is nice, but its a bit heavy for what I need from email, and the mobile apps just still aren't quite there. They are functional (usually) but slow and clunky and crashy, even on a few major flagship phones I had.
Hey does a pretty serious overhaul of mail management and I happen to like the way they handle everything. When I was still on gmail, I used Inbox a lot, and Hey feels kinda sorta similar in a way.
Hey still does some nice stuff like blocking trackers by default. It's no ProtonMail but I think its a good middle ground. I still have my PM email for if I absolutely need it, but 95% of my emails are just receipts anyway, and Hey specifically has mechanisms for managing those kinds of emails, saving important snippets from them for later (like tracking codes) and whatnot. Plus it also has a nice newsletter reader system too.