valendia's recent activity
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Comment on What minor or inane decisions have had the biggest butterfly effect on your life? in ~talk
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Comment on Could we share some uplifting news? in ~talk
valendia Link ParentBest of luck! I'm doing the same (after an almost ten year break) and am hoping it finally results in a degree. I wish you all the best. I dropped out of college twice in the final year of two...Best of luck! I'm doing the same (after an almost ten year break) and am hoping it finally results in a degree. I wish you all the best. I dropped out of college twice in the final year of two separate undergrad degrees but am hoping I have my act together enough to manage it this time. One thing that helps is not having to start from zero this time as I'm transferring credit to another college.
How are you feeling, do you think you can avoid the same things derailing you this time? For me the biggest issue was long projects: I could panic-study for exams and panic-write short assignments but panic didn't work on projects that required sustained effort. The other issue was not knowing how to learn as I was used to relying on my memory and instantly grasping things, and eventually hit a wall where quick understanding and memorising just didn't suffice.
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Comment on What kind of gaming details do you guys like to see? in ~games
valendia LinkI really enjoy when you can see items in in-game shops. Not necessarily in an Elder Scrolls way where you can literally knock over or loot the items, but just seeing potions and books and food as...I really enjoy when you can see items in in-game shops. Not necessarily in an Elder Scrolls way where you can literally knock over or loot the items, but just seeing potions and books and food as you would in a real (magical) shop. FFXII is the first one I remember with this and it's still a standout: you start off in a big city full of heavily stocked shops, every one with fruit, weapons, books or fabric piled up so invitingly. A sample from Google Images. Hopefully the magic is still visible through the PS2-era graphics!
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Comment on Do you spend more time creating a Tildes reply than on other platforms? in ~tildes
valendia Link ParentI'd also become a complete lurker on Reddit as well (almost never posted, had a tiny handful of trivial comments and none in years). I did read the comments but the volume of participants on many...I'd also become a complete lurker on Reddit as well (almost never posted, had a tiny handful of trivial comments and none in years). I did read the comments but the volume of participants on many Reddit posts meant that what I wanted to say had usually been said and adding my own would be better replaced with an upvote. Plus it often seemed like people would get angry with other commenters for no reason and I didn't particularly want to get yelled at.
With Tildes, I feel that because it is currently invite-only, I should make the effort and try to be part of it and it and not waste that invite. And, as you mention, any addition to the conversation is more likely than not to help the community.
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Comment on Where to find digitalized illustrations from the past such as these? in ~arts
valendia LinkThere are similar images in the book "A World of Pattern" (Gwen White, 1957). The link is to a scan of it on archive.org, quite imperfect but should give you an idea of the content. Might be worth...There are similar images in the book "A World of Pattern" (Gwen White, 1957). The link is to a scan of it on archive.org, quite imperfect but should give you an idea of the content. Might be worth checking out the tags for other books like it on the Archive.
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Comment on Who killed Google Reader - a ten year anniversary retrospective discussion in ~tech
valendia LinkGreat article, lot of background I had no awareness of at the time. It's interesting to read about the internal battles that ended up killing Reader. It never made sense why they'd axed it - it...Great article, lot of background I had no awareness of at the time. It's interesting to read about the internal battles that ended up killing Reader. It never made sense why they'd axed it - it doesn't quite make sense now but it becomes clear that it was just too unglamorous to execs to continue. A real pity. I was a big Reader user and its death pretty much cut me off from a lot of the indie web, as some call it now, blogs and sites that I used to read at the time. Feedly and the like just weren't the same. I ended up in a boring soup of Facebook and Instagram and nearly forgot that the rest of the web existed for several years after.
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Comment on Who killed Google Reader - a ten year anniversary retrospective discussion in ~tech
valendia Link ParentI'm still looking for a decent search engine and have not yet found one but this indexing search engine compilation by @seirdy might help you out. For email I've switched to Fastmail and am very...I'm still looking for a decent search engine and have not yet found one but this indexing search engine compilation by @seirdy might help you out.
For email I've switched to Fastmail and am very happy so far. I'm slowly switching over my accounts in various places, still keeping a catchall 'spam' service email on Gmail. I'm making a lot of use of their alias options (to help prevent spam when a service I sign up for inevitably gets hacked).
I've tried to switch to Firefox since it was called Firebird (went with Opera for years, then Chrome) and it has finally stuck. No complaints now.
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Comment on I played and reviewed eleven demos from the Steam Next Fest in 24 hours. Which ones impressed you the most? in ~games
valendia Link ParentNot that the premise wasn't appealing, but you've convinced me: I need to play Little Kitty, Big City. Downloading the demo now.Not that the premise wasn't appealing, but you've convinced me: I need to play Little Kitty, Big City. Downloading the demo now.
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Comment on What browser extensions do you absolutely love to use? in ~tech
valendia LinkI can't use any desktop browser without uBlock Origin.I can't use any desktop browser without uBlock Origin.
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Comment on Where ya from? in ~talk
valendia LinkI see one other person from Ireland, but living abroad as is traditional. I'm from here, still here.I see one other person from Ireland, but living abroad as is traditional. I'm from here, still here.
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Comment on What is a lesser known, yet interesting, internet rabbit hole you've stumbled upon? in ~tech
valendia LinkIt's not so niche but you can lose quite a while on Scarfolk. I've come across some rather strange things on Neocities simply browsing the Recent Activity page. One that stuck in my mind was a...It's not so niche but you can lose quite a while on Scarfolk.
I've come across some rather strange things on Neocities simply browsing the Recent Activity page. One that stuck in my mind was a series of pages of what seemed to be a man (I think, this was all first person) documenting his interactions with and experience with some kind of cult of ancient British witchcraft. It was very reasonable and academic, in a way, detailing what he did and didn't believe to be true, discussing various individuals involved and his own bloodline which he believed connected him to the original powerful witches.
That really reminds me of an experience from my own childhood! I work in IT as an adult, and when I was 7 or 8, I was already into computers and spent a lot of time typing BASIC into my secondhand ZX Spectrum. My cousin visited from England with his wife and spent several hours coding a bouncing ball simulation on the Spectrum that delighted me. Subsequently we lost touch with him for a few years and it turned out he'd gotten involved in a cult, given them all his money, separated from his wife and lost custody of his children. There's a happier ending to my story: he's back to reality now and re-married.