zini's recent activity
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Comment on What is a book that every 13-year-old boy should read? in ~books
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Comment on Wolfenstein The New Colossus and messy executions in ~games
zini Link ParentYou do get to kill some of them if you replay locations with the enigma machine but yes there aren't as many hooded men to kill as I'd have liked. Another sequel to a beloved franchise that didn't...You do get to kill some of them if you replay locations with the enigma machine but yes there aren't as many hooded men to kill as I'd have liked.
Another sequel to a beloved franchise that didn't meet fan expectations was Mafia 3 (which I did like, I found it to be a perfectly cromulemt open world game) and in that one you got to crucify and light on fire the leader of the games KKK.
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Comment on Besides Shawshank Redemption, what films do you like that feature grit, resilience, endurance under hostile circumstances? in ~movies
zini LinkWatch Io Capitano, please! Excellent film overshadowed at the academy awards by Zone of Interest. I'll concede Zone of Interest deserved to win best foreign film, but Io Capitano was great too and...Watch Io Capitano, please! Excellent film overshadowed at the academy awards by Zone of Interest. I'll concede Zone of Interest deserved to win best foreign film, but Io Capitano was great too and I think it fits your criteria excellently.
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Comment on What side-gigs or passive income methods have you found helpful for earning a small amount of extra money? in ~finance
zini LinkThe profit margins aren't too bad and it depends on your skill set and available tools but I like to scour eBay and Facebook Marketplace for lots of not working/for parts video game consoles and...The profit margins aren't too bad and it depends on your skill set and available tools but I like to scour eBay and Facebook Marketplace for lots of not working/for parts video game consoles and computers to fix and sell. How many of the items in the lot you can actually flip will be affected by your skills and sometimes you have to wait around to get a replacement part (but occasionally you can frankenstein a working system out of 2-3 not working ones).
The more money you get you can invest into tools like an SMD rework station but a lot of the time you can get by with just a multimeter and soldering iron. Home consoles are pretty easy to work on, older laptops and PCs are a breeze. Portable consoles get more complex the more recently they released, I worked my way up from Gameboys to 3DS' but I wouldn't bother with a for parts 3DS lot unless you're confident because 3DS consoles are quite valuable (they're going through their nostalgia boom right now) but my god are they a nightmare to work on. Sometimes you get lucky and it's just a software problem and you can fix it by reinstalling a custom firmware but I'd steer clear.
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Comment on Your favorite game OSTs in ~games
zini LinkI am remiss nobody has mentioned the Payday 2 OST yet! Ode to Greed was the track for "The Big Bank" heist that had some sick neoclassical architecture, there was a random chance that the techno...I am remiss nobody has mentioned the Payday 2 OST yet!
Ode to Greed was the track for "The Big Bank" heist that had some sick neoclassical architecture, there was a random chance that the techno remix would play, with opera vocalists singing.
8Bits are Scary is a chiptune remake of an older song on the soundtrack called Clowns are Scary. To be honest, I think the chiptune version is better.
Code SIlver 2018 remake of the original Code SIlver which was in the first Payday game. Excellent track.
Hot Pursuit inspired by Hotline Miami and released with the Payday 2 x Hotline Miami crossover. So good!
In order of how much I like them, all three songs made by Le Castle Vania for Payday 2: Use of Force (that string part at the end, whew), Fully Loaded Epic Win, and Infinite Ammo
And the two songs released in conjunction with the Reservoir Dogs (yes, like the Tarantino movie) heist are great too. Trouble Always Inbound and Mr. Purple.
The entire Payday 2 OST is gold but these are all ones that I think work well even when not playing the game.
Honorable mention to the Yakuza 0 OST (Koi no Disco Queen, is great and so is Judgement) (seriously they could have just licensed a bunch of tracks from the 80s but they made all new ones? that's so cool)
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Comment on Deciding which version of Minecraft Java to play. (AKA, what's your favourite update?) in ~games
zini LinkA very nostalgic update for me is 1.13, I spent lots of time playing that version on the PS3 as it was the last update the legacy console editions ever received. I like it because I think it's a...A very nostalgic update for me is 1.13, I spent lots of time playing that version on the PS3 as it was the last update the legacy console editions ever received. I like it because I think it's a good mix between the convenience of more recent updates and the charm of old Minecraft, it's got the old textures but a lot of the niceties of modern Minecraft. I love playing older versions, I've spent lots of time on 1.7.10 and beta 1.8 but the swimming in older Minecraft is just... ugh.
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Comment on How a simple math error sparked a panic about black plastic kitchen utensils in ~health
zini Link ParentJust stick to wood on your non stick and cast iron/carbon steel pans if you don't want to mess them up. I prefer to use silicon or wooden utensils to metal ones most of the time (not a huge fan of...Just stick to wood on your non stick and cast iron/carbon steel pans if you don't want to mess them up. I prefer to use silicon or wooden utensils to metal ones most of the time (not a huge fan of the sound of metal scraping metal!)
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Comment on Kagi Translate in ~tech
zini LinkI gave it a shot. It's interesting for sure, and I appreciate just how many more languages there are to choose from than DeepL. However, as they say in the blog post they use LLMs for translation....I gave it a shot. It's interesting for sure, and I appreciate just how many more languages there are to choose from than DeepL. However, as they say in the blog post they use LLMs for translation. Which would be fine on the face of it, but I think because the AI has restrictions on curses and swears the translation is Ned Flander-ized sometimes.
In some cases the translation is just as vulgar as the input, in some cases it's censored with asterisks and in others it's just mistranslated to be less vulgar, "damn" instead of "f**k" etc. It's not very consistent.
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Comment on ‘Venom 3’ slinks to $51 million, lowest opening weekend of comic book trilogy in ~movies
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Comment on Subnautica 2 | Official teaser trailer in ~games
zini LinkI thought Below Zero was fine, but it was not anywhere near as good as the first game upon replaying it. A major aspect of Subnautica that I loved was the feeling of bitter isolation. The lack of...I thought Below Zero was fine, but it was not anywhere near as good as the first game upon replaying it. A major aspect of Subnautica that I loved was the feeling of bitter isolation. The lack of any other living person in the game and the lack of a voiced protagonist compounded in this feeling of total helplessness and fear that really played into my thalassophobia. Below Zero had the strange reveal Maida was still alive, which I can rationalize as the fact she's just so cool she can breathe underwater and also is immune to disease but I couldn't get over the fact there was someone else here.
BZ has no sense of urgency, you aren't the sole survivor of a disastrous shipwreck trying to stay alive. You just show up in a drop pod to investigate your sister's death. Unfortunately there's no reason for me to care about it. I don't know who the protagonist's sister is, I don't really care to investigate a conspiracy. The motivation to stay alive is a much more universal one than the motivation to investigate a corporation's involvement in a relative's death.
I'm worried that Subnautica 2 is going to focus heavily on multiplayer, which is not something I ever wanted out of Subnautica personally. I hope they can balance singleplayer with multiplayer, but I've not got much confidence left there. I'll check it out when it gets out of EA.
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Comment on Starbreeze admits it made poor design decisions on Payday 3, but has plans to turn the heist FPS around in ~games
zini Link ParentIt's well worth considering that if my recollection is correct, almost nobody from the original PD:TH team is working on Payday anymore. I believe a lot of them are at a new studio working on a...It's well worth considering that if my recollection is correct, almost nobody from the original PD:TH team is working on Payday anymore. I believe a lot of them are at a new studio working on a cyberpunk heist game called Den of Wolves.
For all my opinion is worth, Payday 3 is a good time but a short time. It's not got anywhere near as much content as 2 and it's not the same kind of infinitely replayable dopamine factory as the first game. It's not free on gamepass anymore, but if you can get it on sale it's worth it I'd say.
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Comment on How do you listen to your favorite obscure music that never made it onto any streaming platforms? in ~music
zini Link ParentI have used an iPod 5th gen with Rockbox custom firmware and loaded all my music onto it. Using an entirely seperate device to listen to music may seem cumbersome but I assure you I have found it...I have used an iPod 5th gen with Rockbox custom firmware and loaded all my music onto it. Using an entirely seperate device to listen to music may seem cumbersome but I assure you I have found it to be anything but!
I find having to reach for my phone and pulling it out while having my earphone cable attached to it to be extremely annoying. I prefer to just set the iPod and forget it. I'm aware that Bluetooth headphones would solve this gripe for me, but I am not a fan of them. I don't like how they sound, or how short their lifespans are.
As a person who likes to conserve his phone storage but also likes to locally own his music the iPod is very much convenient for me.
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Comment on ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ shakes senora to $110M opening weekend in ~movies
zini Link ParentI saw it yesterday with my mother for her birthday. I hadn't seen the original in a while but it wasn't tooo much of a problem I could pick most of it up with context. The beginning dragged a...I saw it yesterday with my mother for her birthday. I hadn't seen the original in a while but it wasn't tooo much of a problem I could pick most of it up with context. The beginning dragged a little but the middle and end were pretty enjoyable. The plot got a little crowded and some of the plotlines were basically forgotten throughout and resolved at the end with a handwave.
But overall it was an enjoyable experience. I wasn't expecting anything exceptional and I think it wasn't too bad. Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder (I think?) were both pretty good.
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Comment on What's your recommended survival crafting game to play solo? in ~games
zini LinkAnother commenter mentioned Valheim which I can emphatically agree with. I see you've played Subnautica already and if you haven't already played it's sequel Below Zero I'd recommend that. Below...Another commenter mentioned Valheim which I can emphatically agree with. I see you've played Subnautica already and if you haven't already played it's sequel Below Zero I'd recommend that.
Below Zero wasn't as glowingly received as it's predecessor but I believe most of that reception came from the fact it didn't innovate that much on the first game. Below Zero is just more Subnautica at the end of the day, I loved it the first time and I liked it the second. If what you're looking for is more survival crafting games and you liked Subnautica, I recommend it's successor. Also Valheim is great but someone else already brought that up.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
zini LinkI "recently" finished Permanent Record, the Edward Snowden autobiography. It was a very interesting read and an insight into the mundanity of working in the government, even in something as...I "recently" finished Permanent Record, the Edward Snowden autobiography. It was a very interesting read and an insight into the mundanity of working in the government, even in something as "glamourous" as intelligence and the toll that doing what's right can have.
I am currently reading Pirates of Barbary by Adrian Tinniswood, I'm about halfway through and it has been fascinating. A whole chapter of maritime history that I'd never heard of before.
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Comment on My birthday gangbang in ~life
zini LinkI don't really know what to add here. I just think this was a particularly stand-out paragraph in a sea of stand-out paragraphs.One of them (guy who brought the stickers) was a virgin. We asked if we could celebrate his first time, and he said yes - ‘the wackier the better’, I believe. So we had him go first (he literally said “Leeroy Jenkins” as he entered) and popped confetti over him when he finished, and I signed a personalized gift for him.
I don't really know what to add here. I just think this was a particularly stand-out paragraph in a sea of stand-out paragraphs.
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Comment on Assassin's Creed Shadows | Official world premiere trailer in ~games
zini Link ParentAnd this is my point that, to their detriment Ubisoft refuses to change.And this is my point that, to their detriment Ubisoft refuses to change.
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Comment on Assassin's Creed Shadows | Official world premiere trailer in ~games
zini Link ParentIt would be nonsensical to suggest that. No, I meant that the choice to announce it now seemed last-minute, and even from a purely business standpoint ill-advised. I'm unfamiliar with game...It would be nonsensical to suggest that. No, I meant that the choice to announce it now seemed last-minute, and even from a purely business standpoint ill-advised. I'm unfamiliar with game development, but a little more time to cook wouldn't hurt would it? They're just lending themselves more comparison to GoT and for what? You'd think they learned from the constant hype train for months and then lackluster, usually buggy release.
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Comment on Assassin's Creed Shadows | Official world premiere trailer in ~games
zini Link ParentI think that this is fan service, and a desperate case of it at that. They tried to get people back with Mirage but that failed (seriously, I didn't even realize Mirage had come out, did anyone...I think that this is fan service, and a desperate case of it at that. They tried to get people back with Mirage but that failed (seriously, I didn't even realize Mirage had come out, did anyone actually play it?)
Now they're slamming the emergency [NINJA GAME] button to try and curry favor, but Ghost of Tsushima beat them to the punch. What's the point in buying this? I severely doubt that Ubisoft has anything new or interesting to do with the concept.
Now, if they really want to win me back they should make a Western, I want a poncho that doubles as a hood goddangit!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
zini LinkI recently saw the Fallout TV show, and it was surprisingly good. It was enough to give me the Fallout bug and I've been playing through the 2nd game. It is surprising how much the first two...I recently saw the Fallout TV show, and it was surprisingly good. It was enough to give me the Fallout bug and I've been playing through the 2nd game.
It is surprising how much the first two Fallout games hold up. The atmosphere is impeccable and the dialogue is great. Although the combat is pretty archaic. I find myself running from most encounters, it's just not worth it most of the time. Fallout 2 is also loooooooong. Almost double Fallout 1 (still around the length of the 3D Fallout games). I'd recommend 1&2 for any Fallout fan, don't let the isometric world and turnbased combat turn you away.
When I was around 13 I loved reading Moby Dick (the abridged version, I have the hardcover unabridged version now and I believe it could double as a bludgeon) at school when I was done my work. I believe it was the Great Illustrated Classics version. From what I can remember my key takeaways were that whales are really cool, the sea is really cool, and that holding grudges harms you and others around you more than the subject of your grudge. Good lessons for any boy coming up in the world.