In the same vein as the first comment, you were also likely taught that slavery ended in the 19th century with the end of the Civil War.

My wife plays Rockband drums, which is similar since it’s like an electronic kit. I can’t do it. She can do it very well. Good luck in Your journey!

That’s the thing. You have to be some kind of influencer with followers on state backed social media to win.

Someone like MKBHD, to use one example, isn’t going to talk about the guy on Lemmy with no followers who won. He (or someone like him) might talk about a Twitter user with thousands of followers who won so they can cross traffic.

Microsoft and Google want you to use their browser so they can sell your data. Your data, on its own, isn’t worth paying you anything for. So they won’t do it. What contests like this pay for is organic exposure. Which people like us can never give them, which is why we don’t win things.

You can’t, obviously, but you knew that. The point is, you’ll take a hit in performance. If you don’t care about the performance, spend the $300 on the Chinese mini PC. Hope it doesn’t have spyware.

Around Black Friday, the Mac mini was going for $480, which is damn close, but I try not to move goalposts if I can help it.

Hi! I’m one of the few people who enjoy YouTube Shorts.

I don’t hate the idea of TikTok, I hate the privacy and political implications. I installed it on my Android phone (already a privacy nightmare) and I didn’t hate it. Made an account with a burner email. They send 2-3 emails a day. I didn’t get into TikTok per se, but I didn’t hate using it. I could have done something about the spammy notifications (which I was getting on my iPhone since I used iCloud’s Hide My Email feature), but ultimately I didn’t like using it.

Even on my TV, I was fine with the vertical videos. Vertical videos shouldn’t be a thing because you can/should turn your phone (and some phones used to make you do it to record video!), but I don’t hate that they are a thing. I only don’t like footage that is cropped to look like vertical video. It’s like Pan & Scan (4:3 video format that slides back and forth along the original video frame as needed, popular on VHS) all over again.

What really fucks me off about YouTube is the AI generated shit. I listen to a lot of Japanese music, so AI generated subtitles are not the worst thing in the world. Thing is, I took this song (“Anima” by ReoNa) and I took several translations, including an AI one, and rolled my own subtitles for the video, taking what I assumed to be the artist’s intent and going with the words I thought conveyed her meanings as best I could (not knowing Japanese). Like you can say “konnichiwa” means hello/good day, but when you’re talking about a philosophical song about the colour of the soul, asking if a person’s bravery or hesitation (bordering on cowardice/fear) makes them brave or not… you’re not gonna get a very accurate translation, which is why all the translations suck, including mine. But mine is what I chose to go with and it’s about as accurate as the others.

The worst part is the ads, but it only affects my Apple TV box. On my Macs I use Firefox with uBlock Origin. I also have Wipr2, but that only affects Safari. On my iPhone, I use Safari with Wipr2 and it gets most of the ads. On my Android phone, I use Firefox with uBlock Origin. The only place I’m not protected is my Apple TV, which is why my next one will be a gently used Mac mini so I don’t have to use the derpy tvOS — though, notably, tvOS itself is the best smart TV interface (no ads, just icons). I think I can make macOS into a better smart TV platform, with just a few icons on the dock and maximum magnification on hover, the highest zoom setting, and whatever else — I haven’t really begun planning it yet. But, I think, with a wireless keyboard/mouse combo (like a Logitech K400 or similar, or one of those game controller looking keyboards you can get on Amazon from China), a Mac (or Linux PC) could be the best TV interface. (I’m not ruling out a Raspberry Pi, which kinda seems obvious, I just like Apple stuff.)

Equivalent in size, yes. Performance, no. Just look up small form factor PC on Amazon. For just web browsing and streaming, you can do alright for $300.

Just don’t expect it to run Cyberpunk 2077.

Which the M4 mini base model can.

Google glazing is certainly a choice and definitely a popular opinion.

I will say that Apple Maps still sucks, as an Apple (Mac, Watch, AirPods, iPhone, HomePod, TV) user. It’s good for navigation. It’s slightly better than Google in some ways, but Google Maps is an awesome app, and I don’t like Google. Runs circles around Apple Maps except for one-stop navigation. I think Apple Maps did add multi-stop, but Google is still better at it. Apple uses Yelp for reviews, which means small businesses get extorted. Fuck That. As much as I dislike Google, I hate Yelp a lot more. So if nothing else, I use Google Maps for fairer reviews.

I get it. When I was growing up, they told us to shut TF up, go out and play, don’t come home until the streetlights come on. So I spent a lot of time in the library.

Decades later, my nephew is tested for autism (positive) and my mother says he has some of the same traits I did. So my generation rocked for music and movies, not so much for mental health. I don’t have a diagnosis myself, and I don’t need one. So I can’t say for sure that I am, but neither can I say with any certainty that I am not. If I am, I’m high functioning, because I’ve taught myself to be.

It’s essentially a modern carriage. Modern vehicles don’t really allow a passenger in the back to stand up and greet people it passes. You could modify a tall van to do it, but most of them aren’t even tall enough.

There’s really no reason we couldn’t just make a modern carriage, but we wouldn’t make enough of them to justify the cost. (And by we, I mean auto manufacturers.) Then again, limousines and hearses exist, and those are extremely niche use as well. (They also get paid way more to use them.) So as silly as the “Popemobile” looks, it’s the right design. Light duty truck, but instead of a truck bed, you put a carriage body on the back of the frame. Preferably with light materials so it doesn’t weigh down the back end too much. These carriages could also be used for public transportation as well.

You got it — air fryer is definitely the way to go. I never liked grilled hot dogs, thought it wasn’t much better than boiled and prone to burning (unbalanced heating — burned outside, undercooked inside). I know, it’s a skill issue. But air fryer makes it easier. And brings out more flavour.

So all you do to Kraft Dinner (or whatever brand) is dust the top with curry powder?

IMO it might be better to add the curry powder to the butter as you melt it, then add in the drained, al dente “macaroni”, let those noodles absorb some of that flavoured butter, then add the cheese powder, mix, and then add milk, and mix again.

And you add nothing to it? You could mix in the green beans. A protein is good to mix in, too. If you’re a vegetarian, tofu might work, but I’m not one, so I don’t know. (IMO tofu is too spongey/squishy for my liking.) Sausage is good. Any sausage, but IMO andouille is best. Ground and well drained hot Italian sausage might work, too. But, I like making Kraft Dinner for children, with diced-up pork/chicken mixed (i.e. cheap) hot dogs in it. Some children need the diced hotdogs separate and not touching the macaroni, but most I’ve served it to are fine with it mixed in.

Edit: for true Kraft Dinner purists, melt a slice of pepper jack on top, and stir it in. The Monterey Jack cheese is super melty, gives a contrast to the cheddar-flavoured powder, and the peppers add a little spice, but not too much.

Why are you moving goalposts and whining when the person can’t keep up? Just say what you mean. You’re being needlessly hostile, and for what? I’m some big shot you feel the need to take down a peg? Congrats, you sound smart. I tried to jump through your hoop but you pulled it away too soon. Now what? You just point and laugh? Okay, now that’s done, where does that leave us? You’ve shown everyone you’re an asshole, and I tried to argue in good faith. Does that make you better than me? Or just provide you with some entertainment?

We agree on Starfield though, so there’s that.

140K isn’t bad for 3 year old trash

I don’t think FH5 had a story. Well, the story is, Forza Horizon is a racing celebration (held annually?) and you’re doing races and other activities to entertain the locals.

I think it’s a matter of whether or not you like the driving.

Mario Kart doesn’t have a story either, and I think it’s the most successful racing franchise? Seems like it would be. Certainly the oldest still around, going back to the Super NES.

Removed by mod

I would have said Resident Evil (maybe not “knocking them on their ass” but satisfying result of using a shotgun), but, fair point.

So you’re saying each bullet should be fatal? That’s how I played Deus Ex (1), but DX1 was a very different game to a modern action RPG (though, it was one as well). Easy and Hard meant your weapons did more or less damage than the enemy. Medium meant it was equal, and Realistic meant it was equal, but each hit mattered more. You could get hit once, maybe twice, but not three times without healing. Also, headshots were lethal. They tell you headshots are lethal, but if you’re playing on anything but realistic… they’re not. (“And remember JC, a headshot is a lethal takedown.” Lies!) So, I knew where the enemies were, and I didn’t get hit. You can’t really play that way in Fallout, especially during the bigger battles. You’re going to get hit, a lot, and you’re supposed to make it to the end somehow. So the player gets a little bullet spongey, and depending on the setting, the enemies may be, too.

You may not be the first to criticise the gunplay, but a lot of people also do like the gunplay, so I guess it’s a fair point either way and a matter of what you like. I just hadn’t heard much from the other side.

#thatsthepoint

Forza is a racing sim. Forza Horizon is more casual. Burnout Paradise is a good comparison. I think that’s the same one I played on PC years ago. Big city, tracks made up of existing streets but you can basically go wherever? Yeah, that’s Forza Horizon.

I’m not a racing fan. I don’t like the racing sims. I have zero interest in regular Forza, or Gran Turismo, or any of those. The problem is that you need a wheel, otherwise you’re eating wall. Horizon is much more forgiving! I played 3-6 hours when I had FH5 on GamePass, and it was a LOT of fun. I personally did not find it very engaging, though, so I didn’t stick with it, but there’s a lot to love there.

FH5 was way bigger than Burnout Paradise and I would imagine so is FH6.

To be absolutely fair, the point of the game is to mislead you, though it does signpost it very well (I imagine because someone told them they had to — it doesn’t make sense if the signposts were part of the original design).

I downloaded it, started it up, and got rid of all the signposts, then sat my wife down and had her play through the whole thing. (Yes, we’re still married.) I wish I’d filmed it… what a ride. To this day she hates the Monika wallpaper I have. If you’ve finished the game, you probably know exactly what scene I mean. Maybe you have one too.

Anyway, it’s probably best played on Steam on a computer (Mac and Linux should be as fine as Windows) rather than a phone or a game console, for reasons I feel should be obvious to people who have finished the game. I know it exists on consoles, and I can’t imagine that part being plausible on consoles.

If anyone who has NO intention of playing the game wants to know what I mean, I’ll elaborate under a spoiler tag: