zod000's recent activity
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Comment on List of films adapted into novels in ~books
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Comment on What do you think the top three most used apps on your phone for the past week are? in ~tech
zod000 LinkWithout a doubt it would be: messaging app auxio (music app) phone I use my phone mostly like a feature phone that can play music 99% of the time.Without a doubt it would be:
- messaging app
- auxio (music app)
- phone
I use my phone mostly like a feature phone that can play music 99% of the time.
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Comment on What are some seemingly silly things in your life that have practical purposes? in ~life
zod000 Link ParentI had my previous house wired for cat6 in most rooms and it was glorious. That is probably the only thing I miss about that house.I had my previous house wired for cat6 in most rooms and it was glorious. That is probably the only thing I miss about that house.
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Comment on What are some seemingly silly things in your life that have practical purposes? in ~life
zod000 Link ParentI am quite impressed with the level of recycling you are offered in your area. If I could do that, my trash would be far, far smaller.I am quite impressed with the level of recycling you are offered in your area. If I could do that, my trash would be far, far smaller.
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Comment on How funerals keep Africa poor in ~life
zod000 Link ParentConsidering that all my father left was debt and I had to pay for his funeral while I was barely getting established in life, let's just say that this is not how it always is.Considering that all my father left was debt and I had to pay for his funeral while I was barely getting established in life, let's just say that this is not how it always is.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #9: How optimistic are you about the future? (Results) in ~talk
zod000 Link ParentYou're really bumming me out, but I can't argue against any you said. Let's just say that some of the aesthetics that are associated with cyberpunk can be cool.You're really bumming me out, but I can't argue against any you said. Let's just say that some of the aesthetics that are associated with cyberpunk can be cool.
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Comment on What is your eleventh favorite video game? in ~games
zod000 LinkI couldn't come up with a good methodology for picking an 11th game, but I looked back on the last time I had to pick a top 10 and I realized that one game didn't make the cut that probably should...I couldn't come up with a good methodology for picking an 11th game, but I looked back on the last time I had to pick a top 10 and I realized that one game didn't make the cut that probably should have. Super Metroid for the SNES. That game could reasonably be the best game ever made for the SNES and it truly started the Metroidvanie genre in my mind (obviously further cemented by Castlevania: SOTN). The game had amazing atmosphere, controlled perfectly, and had a nearly perfect difficulty curve that challenged the player, but never to the point of frustration. I am not sure Nintendo has made a finer video game.
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Comment on What is your eleventh favorite video game? in ~games
zod000 Link ParentDaggerfall was (and is) an amazing game. It was the first PC game I purchased on release. On the box, back when PC games came in impressive large cardboard boxes, it said "Welcome to your new...Daggerfall was (and is) an amazing game. It was the first PC game I purchased on release. On the box, back when PC games came in impressive large cardboard boxes, it said "Welcome to your new obsession" and it was so true. In typical Bethesda tradition, it was a buggy mess, but it was the largest and most engrossing game I have ever played. I found that many of the games issues, in addition to terrible CD loading time, went away if you could somehow store it all on an HDD. This was problematic since the game itself was nearly as large as the largest currently available consumer drive (game was roughly 428MB I believe and the largest drive was 540MB). I saved up and bought a new HDD just to house Daggerfall, It also prompted me to create my second ever "no CD" fix so that I could leave the disc in its case. I think I played Daggerfall nearly exclusively for an entire year before I got tired of it.
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Comment on US battery industry cuts losses, shifts to new ventures amid electric vehicle bust in ~transport
zod000 Link ParentThis is it really. The only EV on the market I was eyeing was the Ioniq sedan model, which Hyundai is killing or has already killed. It was still too expensive anyway, but it or the Kia equivalent...This is it really. The only EV on the market I was eyeing was the Ioniq sedan model, which Hyundai is killing or has already killed. It was still too expensive anyway, but it or the Kia equivalent model were the only ones I saw as possibly viable for the price.
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Comment on Not alive, but not dead: disembodied human brains used for drug testing in ~health
zod000 LinkEverything about this article is nightmare fuel. Even if, and we have no way of knowing, the brain itself isn't conscious enough to be suffering the ultimate "locked in" syndrome, there are so...Everything about this article is nightmare fuel. Even if, and we have no way of knowing, the brain itself isn't conscious enough to be suffering the ultimate "locked in" syndrome, there are so many other ways this could lead to horrific atrocities.
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Comment on Access to Fable and Mythos 5 cut off after US government order in ~tech
zod000 Link ParentThere is no sleight of hand here, and I am honestly confused by your take. Altman has been proven to have billions in stakes in the companies that OpenAI has dealings with (quick example...There is no sleight of hand here, and I am honestly confused by your take.
Altman has been proven to have billions in stakes in the companies that OpenAI has dealings with (quick example https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/openai-chief-altman-has-over-2-billion-stake-companies-that-dealt-with-openai-2026-05-13/). He shut down every internal attempt to be more responsible with their product unless it could be used in a way to promote the company (the latter of which Amodie does constantly). Altman is not a good guy and he isn't even good at hiding it.
Amodei isn't as outwardly atrocious a human being, but that doesn't mean you can or should trust anything he says. His networth is currently estimated to be about 7 billion dollars and will likely end up much, much higher due to Anthropic's IPO. I have never yet seen a billionaire donate so much wealth that they were not still a multi-billionaire, and I have no reason to suspect that Dario Amodei will be the first. As I alluded to when talking about Altman, he (Amodei) frequently makes statements that are farcical about the "dangers of how advanced their AI" in a way that promotes their product. It is possible that Dario believes his own bullshit, but if so I feel like he is a complete sociopath. In his "Machines of Loving Grace" essay (I hate that he used the name of a band I like for that) he directly implied that what they and other AI companies are creating could essentially destroy us all, but it was still important for "democracies to get there first" meaning before China et al. This feels straight out of a dystopian sci-fi where the same verbatim justification was used to destroy mankind. I hope for every in the world that he and others like him are prevented from their goals.
I am more confused why you are taking these hucksters' statements as some sort of proof. Everything they have done has, to me, come off quite obviously as misleading at best, but more likely shady and grifting.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #9: How optimistic are you about the future? (Results) in ~talk
zod000 Link ParentAgreed, which sucks because the aesthetic is probably one of the few good things you could get while living in such a setting.Agreed, which sucks because the aesthetic is probably one of the few good things you could get while living in such a setting.
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Comment on Access to Fable and Mythos 5 cut off after US government order in ~tech
zod000 Link ParentWhile some of the specific engineers and scientists working on it may have this motivation, I do not believe ANY of the companies do. They are 100% doing it to make money and are fully aware that...They're trying to make AGI for human advancement mostly.
While some of the specific engineers and scientists working on it may have this motivation, I do not believe ANY of the companies do. They are 100% doing it to make money and are fully aware that the money will come by replacing humans in the workforce. Yes, the founders are full of statements claiming such, but it should be very apparent by now that Altman, Amodei, and others are just saying whatever they can to pull in funding and stave off negative pubic sentiment.
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Comment on Access to Fable and Mythos 5 cut off after US government order in ~tech
zod000 Link ParentI suspect that the hurry is that most of them won't stay solvent in the long term and they want to be at the front of the line with the best product in hopes that when the subsidizing ends, they...I suspect that the hurry is that most of them won't stay solvent in the long term and they want to be at the front of the line with the best product in hopes that when the subsidizing ends, they are able to be the "last man standing".
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Comment on What's a game you're dying to play that doesn't exist? in ~games
zod000 LinkI had tons of game ideas for games I wanted to make, just so that I could play them. It was what originally got me to learn programming as a kid. Well, that and the fact that all old home...I had tons of game ideas for games I wanted to make, just so that I could play them. It was what originally got me to learn programming as a kid. Well, that and the fact that all old home computers came with BASIC and I ran out of games to play :)
One that comes to mind that I actually got pretty far along in developing was essentially a multiplayer side scrolling "beat em up" game in a large persistent world with some RPG aspects. This was well before tacking on RPG-ish features became common in games. I based my game on the NES game River City Ransom because it was the closest thing I had played that was a beat em up that let you explore a world (well city) and get money and improve your character with new moves and stats. I called my game River City Ripoff because I was using sprites I made from RCR, but ideally I'd eventually get someone with actual art skill to make sprites in the vein of the Capcom CPS games (e.g. Final Fight). The game had a server you connected to and you chose your character and off you went. I worked on it in the early 2000s and it was based on Java 1.1, I even made an applet version of the client (you can see how old we're talking here). Life just never let me get too much further in making it, but it was playable even if my netcode was fragile and iffy. That was probably the most complete that any of my homebrewed games got.
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Comment on What do you think is the best sandwich? in ~food
zod000 LinkMy favorite sandwich would be a proper Cuban sandwich, preferably a Tampa-style, not Miami-style. My second favorite sandwich would be a Muffuletta. My third favorite would be a Reuben with...My favorite sandwich would be a proper Cuban sandwich, preferably a Tampa-style, not Miami-style.
My second favorite sandwich would be a Muffuletta.
My third favorite would be a Reuben with pickled red cabbage instead of standard sauerkraut.
My fourth favorite would be a Philly Cheesesteak.What can I say, I love sandwiches!
I will say that I haven't been able to eat a good proper Cuban since moving away from Florida. I think the bread is a big part of it.
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Comment on What do you think is the best sandwich? in ~food
zod000 Link ParentAgreed. Also to slice things up, Tampa Cuban > Miami Cuban. Fight me.Agreed. Also to slice things up, Tampa Cuban > Miami Cuban. Fight me.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #8: What is your favorite video game? (Results) in ~talk
zod000 Link ParentMy SNES RPG trinity is basically the same as those three except I switch out Earthbound for Lufia 2.My SNES RPG trinity is basically the same as those three except I switch out Earthbound for Lufia 2.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #8: What is your favorite video game? (Results) in ~talk
zod000 Link ParentI do think it's the best Zelda game, and I think for all Nintendo's squeezing their back catalog for every penny they can, they are nuts for not remaking it in that 3d-ish style of the Link's...I do think it's the best Zelda game, and I think for all Nintendo's squeezing their back catalog for every penny they can, they are nuts for not remaking it in that 3d-ish style of the Link's Awakening remake. I have basically stopped using my Switch and have no interest in a Switch 2, but I can't think of a release that would pull me in quite like a LTTP remake.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #8: What is your favorite video game? (Results) in ~talk
zod000 LinkThis is impossible to nail down to a single game. Even now thinking about it I can't do it, so I'm just going to go with my first thought even though it isn't my preferred genre of games these...This is impossible to nail down to a single game. Even now thinking about it I can't do it, so I'm just going to go with my first thought even though it isn't my preferred genre of games these days:
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
It is essentially a sequel to the original Civilization games and treats the "Space Race" winning condition as the canonical event as you send a ship to colonize Alpha Centauri. In the game the colonists split into factions and land on an alien planet and you essentially have the Civ formula in a new and ahem alien setting. There is futuristic tech trees, secret projects (aka wonders) and new cool game mechanics that I think should have been brought into the main Civ games released later.
I consider that game peak 4X and no Civ game released since has done better IMO. Civ 4 with all the expansions is probably the next best game.
I still own my copy of Space Balls: The Book from the 80s that I got at a book fair as a kid. It is more or less a direct translation other than they changed out the curse words to kids friendly versions (e.g. "I knew it, I'm surrounded by assholes!" becomes "I knew it, I'm surrounded by idiots!").
It isn't on the wikipedia page, so maybe it doesn't count because it was so close to the movie.