I wasn’t disappointed with Infinity War and Endgame
Infinity War was completely worth the hype. I wasn’t quite as enthralled with Endgame, but it wasn’t bad.
- Game of Thrones, final season notwithstanding
- South Park. I was around when it first came out, and I avoided it for about a decade because everyone I knew who loved it was an annoying cunt.
- The Uncharted games, particularly #4
- Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt + DLCs
Things I was right to avoid and sorely wish I had continued avoiding:
- The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Jesus fuck.
I’m trying to remind myself that there’s really no reason for me to be mean to you just for liking south park more than LOTR, so uhh… have a nice day
I was the same with South Park. So it’s just kids that swear a lot? No thanks.
Years later I caught an episode and was impressed. Then I went back and the first season is also good.
Gonna go for some controversial ones.
AI (generative), around chatgpt 2 i was hearing a ton of hype and I thought no way this ever gets good enough to be useful. Now today I can say yeah its there, in my opinion its the best way to search for answers. Google got popular because people could search with human style in puts like “how long do I cook rice for” but now we have AI that eliminates the step of skimming through the results.
Crypto. The hype was that it would replace currency and while it hasnt done that it does actually provide a replacement for fiat currency. I can send a transaction to an internet friend and maintain all my privacy with no 3rd party being involved its great. Its stable enough to hold and its even been trending up over time. Pretty cool stuff, Monero is my preferred currency but I do use bitcoin for a ton of stuff.
Sometimes I use chatgpt for questions when I don’t want to sift through garbage but I detest doing this. This only points out that search engines have got so shit they have to use other shit to get me decent results.
For crypto, mostly it’s cryptobros tryna make a quick buck with only some people using Monero on the dark web. I do hope one day we can use Monero to purchase things though.
Yes there are cryptobros speculating on the currency but it doesnt change much IMO. You dont have to wait to buy things with crypto its already there in a lot of places.
It told me to put my hot tub temperature to 58C.
You, and your precious chatgpt are idiots.
You have to exercise some common sense and not just believe everything you read on the internet. I’m sorry that you burned yourself.
Testing that just now it recommends 37-40. So like I said, they’re improving rapidly and they will be the best way to search for information.
Your clown college phoned and said you’re out - too silly
Again, im sorry that you burned yourself after uncritically following instructions from a chatbot. Just like with search engines you cannot take the results as gospel.
Pop sockets.
I saw so many people use them and hated the sight of them. They look weird and make your phone fit awkwardly in your pocket and you can just lean your phone against something heavy if you want to watch a video or whatever.
But I decided to try it and it is single-handedly the thing that allows me to use my Android phone pretty much one-handed. With gesture controls and the ability to shrink the keyboard to one side for one-hand typing, I’m able to use my 6" phone with one hand 90% of the time.
Bidet. $30 game changer. Don’t ask questions, just hook it up (it’s easy), and try it.
You’re welcome.
Ok, I guess I’ll be that guy. Every time they are mentioned, it’s always people proseltyzing. It made me consider one, but I never pulled the trigger. All of the arguments I heard felt kind of unconvincing, and I couldn’t justify buying one without trying it first.
Then I bought a house, and it came with two of them. I was excited to try them out and see what all of the fuss was about. The thing is… The ones I have suck. Now, one of them seems to have weak pressure, so it could just be a bad one. However, the other one feels like it’s trying to clean the back of my teeth, and it still doesn’t do anything I couldn’t do with paper. Sure, it might get the job done slightly faster, but I still need to use paper to at least dry off after I’m done.
Maybe a better one could change my mind, but for us, they sit there, mostly unused.
Yep, bidet people are suuuuuper-fucking-weird to the point of having some kind of anal fixation.
You need the ones that have an “AI” aiming feature but the AI is actually a japanese man sitting in his cubical remote controlling it.
I installed this for less then 20€ and can’t live without it anymore. I use a few toilet papers to dry my butt, it’s already absolutely clean 90% of the time. My whole family can’t go back to just wipe.
I think its better to dry off with paper than to smear poo around with it, but that’s a personal preference.
Maybe try a different model. I’ve got a simple one from Amazon that was only about $30. Now that yours is already installed on the tank, it should be easy to swap out a new one.
Unless you live in a modular with fucked plumbing not making this easy
It attaches to the float mechanism, so it’s pretty easy to install. Only about 15 minutes, and the results are so worth it.
It would be worth it even if you had to pay a plumber to install it. Now that I’ve lived with one, I’d pay $200 to have one installed.
My old apartment toilet didn’t actually have a way to disconnect the hose from the bottom of the float mechanism. Like the hose went all the way up into the tank, instead of simply screwing onto the bottom. As far as I could tell, it would require replacing the entire float mechanism (and hose) with a new one, which was more work (and money) than I was willing to put into a toilet that I didn’t even own.
Even searching online for how to disconnect it was unhelpful, because every post basically boiled down to “just unscrew it and it should come loose.” But it very clearly wasn’t going to come loose, because the hose ran all the way up into the center of the mechanism; The screw simply held the mechanism in place. I’ve never seen another one like it before or since, but they 100% do exist.
It was particularly annoying because I was already used to using a bidet. I moved into the new place, and discovered after the move-in that I couldn’t install mine.
Like the hose went all the way up into the tank, instead of simply screwing onto the bottom.
That’s EXACTLY what my situation is like
It sounds like you’d have to replace the whole stack, but that’s only about $15-20 at Home Depot.
There should be some sort of threaded seal around the hole on the bottom of the tank where the water flows in, and the hardware all attaches to that.
I’ve never seen anything like your situation, you might need a plumber to sort that out.
In some places all the piping and the water tank are behind a wall though
Instant pot. Mine has a sous-vide mode and I make the best steaks I’ve ever made. Whole shebang was only like 40 bucks and I can cook most things in it.
Mechanical keyboards
Every keystroke feels and sounds like heaven!
My laptop has a mechanical and honestly I want my old membrane back. Mechanical is loud, membrane is not. The only benefit I get is that if I break a key I replace a key as opposed to the entire board being fucked.
Next step. Ergo split with non qwerty layout. I put together a Lily58 keyboard and switched to Colemak-DH. Years of discomfort just vanished. The advantages were instant for me. Im a bigger dude and typing on even a full-sized keyboard meant my hands were at a 45 degree angle perpendicular to the keyboard at all times. I had to contort my wrists to type. Then my shoulders were cramped because I had to squeeze them together.
The split instantly relaxed my shoulders. The ability to angle the keyboard meant no more contorting my wrists. Colemak has its own benefits and overall my fingers feel much better.
The only drawback I have is I want a bigger thumb cluster. That’s a personal preference you don’t even realize until you get a split keyboard. Once you start doing motions to eliminate using your pinky as a hold finger even more comfort opens up for you.
The best part is it’s a super portable keyboard by default. So if I want to take it to work I can rubber band both halves together and shove it in my bag. Or better yet print out a foldable case. I got big honking full-sized switches and keys. You can go low profile and make it as discreet as possible.
This but do this as gradual steps, first get a split or a column staggered split keyboard, with regular querty layout and only when you are used to using one especially how the layers work, consider an alternative key layout if needed, frankly just having a split keyboard itself is an improvement in ergonomics, alternative layouts could help buy learning a new one will take time and you’ll have to switch to querty at work anyway, unless you want to carry your custom keyboard everywhere
Did you type home row style?
Yeah that’s how I learned to type all the way back in middle school.
Ergo split with non qwerty layout
If only you could buy them at a reasonable price…
That’s relative to the buyer. Of course only pay what you’re comfortable with. My Lily58 was less than $150, and the only reason it got that high is because I had to buy some extra controller boards after I broke one. Before that it was closer to $110 all parts included. Pre-mades are more expensive, but the DIY kits are a fun day project and are considerably less in cost.
Even then you are paying for a luxury item, and it’s a luxury for a reason. It’s like paying extra for custom fitted shoes. Knowing if all the benefits are worth it is only something you can decide. Most people will say they usually are though.
Colemak-DH Gang, rise up!
Not to your work neighbours it doesn’t!
Brown caps gang
Win7
World of Warcraft back in 2007-8
Lok’tar! I remember not affording a subscription back them, so I would spam PvP at the lv 20 cap every day after school. I had multiple full sets of honor heirlooms on my trial account. Good times :)
Why this time? Stopped playing 2006.
That was when I started playing. Hype for the game was super high up to Cataclysm, I think
Still playing.
I know I’m alone in this, but I loved and still love VR since htc vive
I only have a Quest 2 and I still love it. I think we won’t see mass adoption until it’s slimmed down to just glasses.
There are dozens of us! Dozens!!
I really hope Bigscreen manage to bring the cost down of their small headset because an affordable and comfy one might renew interest. It’s still very much an underexplored medium!
Maybe I’m missing years of video game discourse but I don’t know what you’re talking about being alone on this hill. I’ve been using VR since the Google Cardboard and as long as you temper your expectations it’s been plenty fine since even all the way back then. The experiences on the Vive and Index are a bit clunky but otherwise I have fun with them every time I use them.
The band Opeth
I moved past my metal era ages ago and still listen to him. He’s always been fantastic. For as much hate the Heritage album got when it came out, it’s also one of my favs.
Planar Magnetic headphones. Can’t go back.
Which ones? I got a set of Moondrop Para2s, and while I love the clarity on treble forward music I still go back to my MDR-CD770s for anything more bass heavy.
I had a pair of HIFIMAN HE400se. I’d put them at the top of all the headphones I’ve ever owned. Even for supposedly cheap Planar Magnetic headphones, they sound really really alive.
I’ll check them out, thanks.
Final Fantasy XIV story.
Ugh it’s an MMO. I’m going to guess anyone who’s slogged through that much content will praise the story.
I don’t necessarily think everyone would find it worth it getting through the less enjoyable content, especially if you’re not taking breaks, but getting up to the two star expansions, Shadowbringers and Endwalker, yes, those expansion endings have been some of my favorite memories in the entire RPG space. The music alone forms such perfectly defined leitmotifs for its best moments. I still wouldn’t blame anyone for walling it off in their mind given the time and financial commitment, but after years of hype, it did match it.
What’s a little sad is I’ve tried the demos for XV and XVI and just still feel thoroughly uninspired by them.
Ff16 was one of the worst games I’ve ever played. I put way too many hours into thinking it would get better and it just got worse
Oh nooooo. I don’t want to believe that :(
Naps
I was just trying to explain to my 26 year old son how a 30 minute power nap can buy you several hours at the end of your night. I discovered that about the same age, when I got a girlfriend who didn’t get off work until midnite, while I had a normal 9-5. A post work power nap could keep me awake later to hang out with her.
High quality audio equipment.
Yes, it’s an area filled with more snake-oil and bullshit than any other technical realm I’ve experienced, but with some knowledge (unarguably required on the part of the user) you can actually figure stuff out and get some ROCKING audio gear for pennies on the dollar.
Last year I got into electronic fix/build/mashup as a hobby, and a project I had in mind for fun was to turn a $10 Sirius Boombox that needed 8xD batteries and a wired AUX input, into a wireless BT boombox. I did it and it was fun as hellllllll. But it was not for the audio, it was for the learning. I repurposed battery cells and a charging board from a Shark handheld vacuum, and grabbed a BT board out of a scrapped shower speaker - made that work by “bolting it” onto a disposable vape battery/charger which draws from the main battery pak.
Well anyways… getting a taste of that deep, rich, penetrating audio made me realize I’d been sold THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LIE by the speaker business. That moment of looking at my Bose SoundLink and realizing I’ve been a fool for so long. The stupid Sirius boombox isn’t even that good now that I look back, but at the moment it was a HOLY SHIT moment for me. Running up to it thinking my music was distorting… but NO… it was actually musical details I’d never heard, and didn’t know existed.
Now I have a soul-destroying audio setup (for a small 1BR apartment) that I shit you not, cost me a total of $23. RXV581 Receiver, YST-SW011 Subwoofer and two Polk MXT11 Monitor tower speakers. People either discarded, sold, or donated. I got the Yamaha Receiver/Sub set because… get this… ONE of the surround sound speakers was dropped and it’s case cracked, so they threw it ALL away. The Polks were seen at thrift, first for $70 each, then reduced to $34 after a month… then one day muthafukkaaaaaaa $10 each plus tax.\
So yeah. Good audio. I had NO idea how satisfying it could be. I didn’t know what I’d been missing.
I’ve been a frugal audiophile for my entire life. I learned long ago that you can find gear with excellent specs, without spending thousands.
These days, I’m mostly into guitars, and I’ve found the same thing to be true - there is no correlation between quality and price. I’ve seen great guitars that are dirt cheap, and I’ve seen expensive guitars that are mediocre. I put together an entire home studio, with 2 electrics, an acoustic, a bass, and a keyboard, a new computer, interface, mic, etc., all for less than $1500, and it all sounds amazing.
You’ve done me proud, fellow frugal !
Same experience here with mid and high end audio collecting for both car and home.
What was that “holy crap I didn’t know what good audio was” moment for you?
50 dollar pair of Sennheiser over the ear (not cans) headphones absolutely blew my mind which lead to many a denon, electovoice, carver, klipsch, adcom, & cerwin-vega passing through my hands (i miss my “house” speakers (cobbled together and refoamed the woofers from 2 sets of 1970’s vintage D9’s and ran them with a 200 watt rms/ch electrovoice power amp as a bedroom dj for many a house party 😁🍻) not to say my current stereo cant thump, buuuuuttttt (i hear an old man in my head) “theres no replacement for displacement” way of thinking will probably lead to either a home theater sub or more car audio
Edit: and good taste in polk! I ran their 6.5 coaxials in the doors of my car with an Alpine 9855, kenwood power amp giving them around 80-100 watts and 24db/octave high and low pass filters (i cant recall the center freq of those crossovers but i think i rolled the lows off around 1500 hz and the highs around 4000-4500 hz)
Cool! 200 Watt RMS/ch yoooooooo
My 2nd experience, which happened to be headphones as well - a wired set of B&W I got for $2 because the cable frayed.
I’m on board with you there about the “displacement” idea. With engines technology can help, but with audio all the wave guides, custom boxes and tomfoolery in the world can’t get around physics. Bigger = better.
edit: re your edit. A big part of how I do … things… is to be patient and let them come into my life. Having been able to pick up so much crazy gear for pennies means I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I paid retail or even used prices. When the “bug” was first starting to bite me I decided to buy a used sub for $100 which was still a deal. I nearly cried when I saw the exact sub at thrift for $9. But hey, sold the one I bought and moved on so no issue. But yeah… I don’t have the money to buy everything I’d like but I’m becoming aware of what’s good and what’s not, and I enjoy the “saving” or “free” aspect very much. Plus I get to keep the constant upgrade cycle going and make a bit of side cash too.
