Stranger's recent activity
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Comment on Does anyone have experience or advice on cutting sugar consumption? in ~health
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Comment on If you had up to US$250 to get one person into a hobby you're interested in, what would you do to get them started? in ~hobbies
Stranger Link ParentBodum Electric Burr Coffee Grinder: $89 Chemex 6-Cup Pour-Over Coffee Maker: $47 Chemex Filters: $20 Tempurature-adjustable Electric Gooseneck Kettle: ~$50 Plus the scale and the coffee, yeah. I...Bodum Electric Burr Coffee Grinder: $89
Chemex 6-Cup Pour-Over Coffee Maker: $47
Chemex Filters: $20
Tempurature-adjustable Electric Gooseneck Kettle: ~$50
Plus the scale and the coffee, yeah. I had a manual grinder at one point but it got annoying so I switched to the electric which does the job well. Overall I still appreciate the ritual of over-complicating a cup of Joe, so I can see the appeal of a manual grinder.
A french press would also be a good route to take considering they're more multipurpose and can be used for tea and for frothing milk if you don't have a dedicated frother.
In the end I still use an autodrip with pre-ground, store-brand flavored coffee 95% of the time though, lol. My wife drinks more coffee than I do and doesn't like how dark I brew, so when brewing for the two of us the "practical" approach wins out. I still love doing it the involved way with the Chemex when she's out of town though.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Stranger Link ParentI got to the first credits last night and I'm mostly finished with egg hunting, but I'm not sure where I land on it. On one hand it feels a bit underwhelming. I think this is largely because there...I got to the first credits last night and I'm mostly finished with egg hunting, but I'm not sure where I land on it.
On one hand it feels a bit underwhelming. I think this is largely because there was never a point where things really came together in a narrative or thematic sense. The game has a good aesthetic and visual creativity but even as the credits rolled I couldn't tell you why we were doing any of this. I don't mind when games let their world speak for itself, but Animal Well never felt like anything more than a collection of interconnected puzzle rooms. It never felt like there was something bigger going on; there was no rhyme or reason.
Another thing is that unlike The Witness or Tunic there was never an "Oh my god!" moment. It's a bit hard to articulate (though I'm sure anyone who's played those games will know exactly what I mean), but there was never a moment where the game changed my expectations and suddenly unveiled a grander scope than it first seemed. It's like, by the end it turned out to be the exact kind of game I felt like it was going to be within the first 10 minutes.
On the other hand, I got far more absorbed in it than I planned. There was a density of creativity in both the puzzles, level design, and aesthetics that I never really lost interest (until egg hunting, but I'll circle back to that). Every single new room felt different enough from everything that had come before it so that it continually felt fresh and I was always excited to see what came next. Not only that, but the way that the rooms connected often meant that each one held multiple surprises that unveiled over time as I'd retrace through them from another angle or with another tool. I'm genuinely impressed at the game's density, especially given the size of the map.
Overall it was very fun and engaging, however trying to tie up the remaining mysterious in the post-game is wearing a bit thin. The game mostly does a good job nudging towards secrets and their solutions that I think you can get to the end game without too much frustration. However, there were still a couple moments in the main path that felt too obtuse and that just gets worse with secret hunting.
Spoiler:
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For example, I had no idea what the Top and Bouncy Ball were for until looking online hours after getting them because I didn't notice the clues in the rooms you get them in. Given that both were "rewards" for out-of-the-way exploring, I figured they were just cute toys that might give you an alternate way to solve puzzles that the YoYo or Slinky could already do. Another thing is that I didn't realize you could chain the bubble jump until I saw it online. I played around with it a couple times initially and couldn't get the timing right, so I figured there must be an upgrade or different tool later that would unlock a higher jump. Given it's importance, I feel like it should have been telegraphed better.
}Lastly, the map is huge and dense, which is cool the first time through, but when you're having to retread each area over and over again with a fine toothed comb with each new tool, it gets to be a slog just trying to get from point A to point B. The shortcuts are cool, but I wish there were a few more of them. Also that some of the secrets were a bit better telegraphed. How the hell was I supposed to know there was a fake wall in the top corner of that room or a switch under that pool when each room on the map is so tiny (and you can't zoom in) that the tell is literally a single pixel?
Honestly, I'm curious about the secrets I haven't discovered yet, but the grind is enough that I think I'll just YouTube them.
All in all though, I think it's a solid game. It's greatest liability may simply be the fact that it's choice of niche inevitable means it will be compared to games that have set an unfairly high watermark. It's good, maybe even one of the top 3 games I'll play this year, but it's not Tunic. It's not Hollowknight. It's not The Witness. Is that fair to Animal Well? No, but I can't help comparing anyway.
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Comment on Indiana judge rules tacos, burritos are sandwiches in ~food
Stranger Link ParentBy that definition, an enchilada is also a sandwich. People are having fun. No one's forcing you to be a part of it. As a more serious matter though, nailing down these definitions has real world...- Exemplary
... flatbreads...filled with other stuff. That is the definition of a sandwich.
By that definition, an enchilada is also a sandwich.
I find comical internet musings on semantics to be tiring.
People are having fun. No one's forcing you to be a part of it.
As a more serious matter though, nailing down these definitions has real world consequences. Reasonable people can debate whether a tomatoe is a fruit or a vegetable or whether such designations even have any real meaning as a matter of culinary or botanical significance with respect to colloquial usage. However as a legal matter in the US, it's settled law per the 1893 case Nix v Hedden where the Supreme Court determined that tomatoes are a vegetable for import tariff purposes on the grounds that they are typically consumed analogous to vegetables.
From the opinion:
Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas. But in the common language of the people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert.
The attempt to class tomatoes as fruit is not unlike a recent attempt to class beans as seeds, of which Mr. Justice Bradley, speaking for this Court, said:
"We do not see why they should be classified as seeds any more than walnuts should be so classified. Both are seeds, in the language of botany or natural history, but not in commerce nor in common parlance. On the other hand, in speaking generally of provisions, beans may well be included under the term 'vegetables.' As an article of food on our tables, whether baked or boiled, or forming the basis of soup, they are used as a vegetable, as well when ripe as when green. This is the principal use to which they are put. Beyond the common knowledge which we have on this subject, very little evidence is necessary or can be produced."
Not only is this still considered good law, but it has been cited in multiple succeeding Supreme Court cases as precedent to defer to common usage over technical definitions. So while a burrito may technically conform to your arbitrary definition of a sandwich, I doubt you'd consider it an act of good faith if someone brought you one when you asked for a sandwich as it does not fit the common usage of the term.
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Comment on Indiana judge rules tacos, burritos are sandwiches in ~food
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Comment on EA is looking at putting in-game ads in AAA games — 'We'll be very thoughtful as we move into that,' says CEO in ~games
Stranger LinkEverybody's acting outraged over this as if in-game advertising hasn't been around for decades. It hasn't been subtle either. I remember SSX3 having a ton of in-game product promotion for dnL,...Everybody's acting outraged over this as if in-game advertising hasn't been around for decades. It hasn't been subtle either. I remember SSX3 having a ton of in-game product promotion for dnL, which was a short lived soda created by 7up as a competitor to Mountain Dew. Splinter Cell has Axe body spray billboards. Enter The Matrix had Powerade vending machines. Uncharted 3 had an unlockable Subway uniform.
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Comment on I'm at a loss on what to do about my backyard grass situation in ~life.home_improvement
Stranger LinkHouston? Anyway, you could try sowing clover to supplement or replace the grass. Letting native wildflowers take over is beautiful too.Houston?
Anyway, you could try sowing clover to supplement or replace the grass. Letting native wildflowers take over is beautiful too.
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Comment on Reddit shares soar 14% after company reports revenue pop in debut earnings report in ~tech
Stranger Link Parent/r/worldnews is far more conservative than the rest of the site writ large. Most of the subs that hit /r/All are still very left-leaning. More than that though, the quality of the site has.../r/worldnews is far more conservative than the rest of the site writ large. Most of the subs that hit /r/All are still very left-leaning.
More than that though, the quality of the site has noticeably tanked in the past few months. Obviously everyone thinks the site has been going down hill since <insert event>. Whether it's the API change, COVID, 2016 election, Pao, /r/jailbait ban, Digg migtation, or whatever, it's practically a meme that the site "isn't what it used to be".
Even then, something is different now. It's not a shift in the political leanings or site culture, but something more existentially troublesome: bots. It's becoming uncanny and really feels like the dead internet. Bots and karma farming have always been around, but it feels like it's tipped over a critical mass threshold. It's become routine to click a Hot post in /r/All only to find it's been removed by the mods for being a bot post. Posts will get thousands of upvotes and you go to the comments to find the top comment with hundreds of votes and then a scattering of comments beyond that with vote counts in the single digits. It's bots upvoting bot comments and very little interaction outside of that.
Hell, even /r/OneOrangeBraincell (a sub about cats) just had one of their top posts of the past month simply being a complaint about the number of bot accounts.
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Comment on Heat death of the internet in ~tech
Stranger Link ParentYeah, it's important to remember two things about the Luddites: They were primarily a labor movement. In the end their fears were proven correct. Automation made products more affordable for...Yeah, it's important to remember two things about the Luddites:
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They were primarily a labor movement.
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In the end their fears were proven correct. Automation made products more affordable for everyone but they came at the cost of decimating large swaths of the middle class.
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Comment on What are some non-science-fiction books that are deep, insane, mind-bending, etc? in ~books
Stranger Link ParentAbsolutely seconding House of Leaves. It really is a book like no other. For reference, it's a book about a book about a diary about a manuscript about a documentary film (that may or may not...Absolutely seconding House of Leaves. It really is a book like no other. For reference, it's a book about a book about a diary about a manuscript about a documentary film (that may or may not exist) about a house that's bigger on the inside than it should be. It can be difficult to read, in a literal sense. It involves reading editor's notes, reference footnotes of dubious credibility, tangential asides by the guy who found the original manuscript as he slips into insanity, and as the words of the pages themselves begin to devolve in structure to match the labyrinthine evolution of the house. Arguably one of the most influential horror novels of the 21st century.
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Comment on HADES II Early Access has started in ~games
Stranger Link ParentEarly Access is worth it if you think the game is worth the cost in it's current state. I bought Ultrakill right after Act 2 (out of a propsed 3 acts) came out because the price was reasonable for...There's nothing to gain buying into Early Access.
Early Access is worth it if you think the game is worth the cost in it's current state. I bought Ultrakill right after Act 2 (out of a propsed 3 acts) came out because the price was reasonable for what I'd seen/heard of the state of the game. I played through it and it was an absolute blast. If the dev had abandoned the project right after I'd bought it, then I'd still have considered it a solid buy. Updates have continued to add content towards completing what was promised, but I just consider that gravy at this point.
Similarly, I bought The Long Dark back when it was early in Early Access. The gameplay was slim and it was brutally difficult (it was basically just Wolf Attack Simulator at that point) but I got absorbed into it and ended up playing a dozen or so hours. It's been out of early access for a while now and I booted it back up to see what the finished product looks like but I'm not sure how much I'll play it now. The gameplay has a lot more added to it and a whole story was added but I sort of enjoyed it more when it was simpler and unfairly punishing. I don't much care for the finished product (no shade to the dev; it was a good choice and made the game much more accessible) so in a sense I paid for a game that didn't deliver what I'd hoped for, but the hours of enjoyment I've gotten out of it so far have more than justified the price in my mind.
I realize that's not always the case and there's always the possibility that the game dies in EA, but there's also a lot of fun in being a part of the community that's effectively playtesting these unfinished products. It's a risk that needs to be balanced; you have to go in with tempered expectations.
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Comment on The tech baron seeking to “ethnically cleanse” San Francisco in ~life
Stranger Link ParentOften times figuring out a solution to the main issue isn't the problem. I'm sure you could pull any random researcher or engineer off the street and they could give you a solution to a problem in...Traffic engineering, solving income inequality, environmental science, accounting, you name it are all equally difficult and require just as much talent in order to solve the issues involved with them.
Often times figuring out a solution to the main issue isn't the problem. I'm sure you could pull any random researcher or engineer off the street and they could give you a solution to a problem in their industry within minutes. The problem is usually that there are multiple solutions and competing interests in most large-scale issues. The real roadblock is finding a solution that balances everyone's concerns enough to get the buy-in needed to pass. That's not an engineering problem; it's a political one.
Anyone who thinks the solution to problems like this is simple is coming at it from the perspective that dissenting opinion is irrelevant. It's a dictatorial mindset.
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Comment on Cartoons such as Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, or Avatar? in ~tv
Stranger Link ParentMuch as I enjoyed it (and generally recommend it), I don't think it really fits OP's criteria at all beyond "animated" and "overarching plot". It has a very different feel than the shows OP...Scavenger's Reign
Much as I enjoyed it (and generally recommend it), I don't think it really fits OP's criteria at all beyond "animated" and "overarching plot". It has a very different feel than the shows OP listed.
On top of being much more somber, SR's story is told in a different way that give it a more disjointed feeling imho. The shows OP mentioned all have an overarching plot but by and large follow the perspective of the same character (or character group) with each episode being a sort of "problem of the day", which is to say each episode is it's own fairly self contained story. Major plot developments happen more infrequently so you could skip some episodes and generally pick right up without feeling lost. It's very casual. SR's story is told by jumping back and forth through multiple, independent storylines that eventually converge but mostly feel like completely separate stories. Some episodes favor different threads more heavily, but the overall density means that missing an episode means missing a lot of important info.
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Comment on Riven Remake | Trailer in ~games
Stranger LinkVery cool. I remember playing Riven way back in the day. I was too young to really understand the game, both the story and the puzzles back then; all I cared about was exploring the world. It was...Very cool. I remember playing Riven way back in the day. I was too young to really understand the game, both the story and the puzzles back then; all I cared about was exploring the world. It was beautiful and strange with a mysterious melancholy hanging over everything. I was completely enraptured.
It's nice to see it updated into a seemless world (rather than a clickable slideshow). That's obviously the biggest needed change, but hopefully it holds up well besides that. It's been too long for me to remember anything other than my childhood impressions, but I know that I loved Outer Wilds which was clearly inspired by the Myst series, so I'm looking forward to playing through Riven now that I'm old enough to fully appreciate it.
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Comment on Best "dad" jokes and puns! in ~talk
Stranger Link ParentMost people don't put much effort into cooking the perfect steak, but when you finally come across someone who's mastered the art form, it's truly a rare medium well done.Most people don't put much effort into cooking the perfect steak, but when you finally come across someone who's mastered the art form, it's truly a rare medium well done.
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Comment on Best "dad" jokes and puns! in ~talk
Stranger (edited )LinkMy wife bought a crochet book the other day. I told her I tried reading one of those once but I couldn't ever get through it without laughing. She asked me why and I told her, "Because it had me...My wife bought a crochet book the other day. I told her I tried reading one of those once but I couldn't ever get through it without laughing. She asked me why and I told her, "Because it had me in stitches."
Nearly got divorced over that one.
Edit: I'm also a fan of the "bar" jokes.
Two guys walk into a bar. One says ouch.
A termite walks into a bar and asks, "Is the bar tender here?"
Two whales walk into a bar. The first whale says, (imitating whale song) "Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo." Then the second whale says, "Steve, you're drunk."
A horse walks into a bar. Everyone leaves, recognizing the inherent danger in the situation.
A horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks, "Why the long face?" The horse responds, "My wife left me."
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Comment on Slay the Spire 2 | Reveal trailer in ~games
Stranger Link ParentThe problem with the daily challenges is: Removing the ascended challenges after getting used to them makes it very easy, even with the unique daily modifications. Playing for a high score is a...The problem with the daily challenges is:
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Removing the ascended challenges after getting used to them makes it very easy, even with the unique daily modifications.
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Playing for a high score is a whole other kind of limiting since the only repeating bonus is the 4x card bonus, which in turn encourages you to stick to commons over anything else. It's a different challenge, sure, but not a more creative one imho.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Stranger Link ParentSame with Slice and Dice. Saw the recommendation on here. Downloaded the trial version. Been addicted. According to the stats, I've played 60 games with a 1:2 W:L ratio. I've mainly been playing...Same with Slice and Dice. Saw the recommendation on here. Downloaded the trial version. Been addicted.
According to the stats, I've played 60 games with a 1:2 W:L ratio. I've mainly been playing on Hard and Unfair. I've beaten Unfair once, and at this point winning seems to come down entirely to good RNG. There's too much random chance in every aspect of the game for tactics alone to outweigh the multiple curses. Hard feels like the sweet spot, though that might be different in the full version since you can pick your team composition.
Unfortunately, as much as I've played it, I don't feel like the paid version offers enough to justify the cost. That's not to say the full game isn't worth ~$10, just that the difference between the free and paid version isn't (in my mind).
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Comment on Not every student needs Algebra 2. UC should be flexible on math requirement. in ~science
Stranger Link ParentIs the problem entirely that students find it challenging to learn or is part of the problem that instructors have difficulty explaining it adequately? Being an effective instructor doesn't just...letting people avoid challenges is wrong
Is the problem entirely that students find it challenging to learn or is part of the problem that instructors have difficulty explaining it adequately? Being an effective instructor doesn't just require an understanding of the topic but also an understanding of how to approach the topic from the perspective of someone who doesn't already understand it. I've sat through so many courses with instructors who have zero charisma, whose lectures are simply reading the textbook, who are more interested in students passing their tests than understanding the material, and/or who don't speak English as a first language (bless their heart, but I shouldn't have to struggle to decipher what word is being spoken before trying to understand the concept). When topics are easy, students can take on the brunt of overcoming the instructor's shortcomings, but when the topic is more complex then that task may become insurmountable. Especially when this is one of multiple classes you're likely taking, it may not even seem worth the while to put in the effort when that effort can be better used in another class.
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Comment on Not every student needs Algebra 2. UC should be flexible on math requirement. in ~science
Stranger Link ParentFunny story, but I got through high school without ever really understanding functions. The whole "one output" aspect just didn't make sense to me with how it had been explained. Got by well...Even knowing what a “function” is would help demystify “algorithms” if you understand that it’s just inputs and outputs.
Funny story, but I got through high school without ever really understanding functions. The whole "one output" aspect just didn't make sense to me with how it had been explained. Got by well enough to pass the tests, but it just didn't click what their significance was. I went to college and passed Calc 1 without picking it up too. I majored in CS and took Intro to C++ where we were taught functions in the context of programming. Picked up the concept of functions just fine in that context but it wasn't until about a year or so later that my brain clicked and I realized function meant essentially the same thing in each context. It was like a mind blowing revelation that they had been the same thing this whole time.
You could also cut soda with plain carbonated water in increasing amounts. Basically watering it down without losing the carbonation. Or try something like Perrier with lime or La Croix.