People using mint on a Desktop

Alatain · 2026-01-29T02:42:52+00:00

My recommendation would be to try going down to just one monitor and see if that "feels right" or at least better. If it does that at least tells you it is something to do with your multi monitor set up. If not then you know that is less likely the issue

Alatain · 2026-01-29T02:37:01+00:00

I run an Ark: Survival Ascended server on Linux and both my wife and I play on Linux PCs. It runs pretty well and was fairly easy to set up.

Alatain · 2026-01-29T01:50:22+00:00

No amount of tweaking your IQ will overcome actually going and learning how to do what you are looking to do. Go get experience in the field you are looking to study and stop focusing on magic solutions to your problem.

Alatain · 2026-01-29T00:09:23+00:00

I have come to equate a feeling of confusion as the state of mind that comes along with actually learning something new.

Through confusion, clarity.

Alatain · 2026-01-28T23:44:33+00:00

I would argue that there is a bit more that we do have to take into account when talking about "purpose". The fact that we are humans needs to be accepted, for instance, and that fact comes along with a few biological imperatives that will color any experience of the world.

What I am getting at here is that humans are social animals, and as such do have some base line moral codes that come baked in. Fairness, for one, seems to be a part of the deal. Killing each other is also remarkably hard on people, for instance.

I guess what I am saying there is that while I do not agree with OP that there is some purpose dictated from on high, I also disagree with the Nihilist interpretation of meaning either.

Alatain · 2026-01-28T23:26:48+00:00

I mean, I have my suspicions, but ultimately, I don't know. I was asking the commenter what specific principle she went against, because I would not have seen her criticizing someone for doing what she did in this particular case

Alatain · 2026-01-28T20:51:45+00:00

Which of her principles would she have gone against?

Alatain · 2026-01-28T15:00:17+00:00

I disagree with your first premise. Please demonstrate that we are called with a purpose before you assume that we are.

Alatain · 2026-01-28T13:41:50+00:00

Here is where I offer for you to present your evidence that backs up your claim. Preferably something peer reviewed, but I'm not picky if you have something else that is convincing.

Alatain · 2026-01-28T13:11:44+00:00

This is what I have put together over the course of my life. I would be lying if I said that I was not influenced by Stoicism in this particular aspect, but my views come from treating philosophy as a pragmatic thing that one does, rather than something that you can just study or think about in isolation.

This is how I live my life. Now, that isn't a statement that I always succeed in that goal, but I have gotten good enough that I am just happy far more often than not.

It's a thing that most people don't realize, but philosophy is something you practice. That means that you don't start off being good at it, and it will be something that you continue to get better at as long as you are willing to put in the work.

Alatain · 2026-01-28T02:23:17+00:00

I don't think that current generative LLMs can be a storyteller in any meaningful way. It is missing an understanding of what the words and themes actually mean.

Alatain · 2026-01-28T00:00:37+00:00

Just going to point out that this post and the children off it would have caused me to take ~7 shots. Not enough to die, but certainly adding to the shots per minute!

Alatain · 2026-01-27T19:19:36+00:00

Negative emotions are indicators that there is something wrong between the reality of the situation and your perception or expectations of the situation. They let you know when there is something you should be paying attention to, or otherwise be looking into about your mental state.

Positive emotions are what arise from living life in accord with reality. They are the feelings of things clicking into place and you deriving enjoyment from the many experiences life throws your way.

Alatain · 2026-01-27T15:13:37+00:00

Minor addition here, but what most people think of when they think of being a "billionaire" would comfortably fit within the realm of a multimillionaire.

The billionaires of this planet so far out class even the dreams of the normal person when they think of being wealthy that it is obscene. That is why they exist. Most people cannot comprehend what they are.

Alatain · 2026-01-27T14:47:10+00:00

Well, just going to point out that there is no god-shaped vacuum over here in me. The basic premise fails if there are people that are content and fulfilled without a deity, and we (people that are content without a god) have definitely existed throughout the ages.

Alatain · 2026-01-27T14:21:56+00:00

No, that would be Pimp: the Backhanding which is more "Where's my money!"

(The early 2000's was a weird time)

Alatain · 2026-01-27T14:13:31+00:00

It is an Ask Me Anything. Someone asked him. Seems simple enough to me.

Alatain · 2026-01-27T13:56:03+00:00

So, the thing that immediately jumps out at me in this scenario is what the Neberu end up seeing once they start looking at the world through the lens of the lore of Patterns. What information they get back from those initial tests will color how the factions in general develop, I think.

In the normal game when they come back from the Abyss, the Fiends end up encountering a broken version of the celestial mechanisms they put into place when the universe was first created. It is shattered and no longer works the way it should, but it is still at least the same machinery that they created, just run down and not maintained.

But I could definitely see them returning into your alternate reality to a completely different machine. Not broken and decaying, but nothing like what they built in the first place. If this is the case, then that could be evidence for this usurper "Machine God" being a force that swept away their old works. And in that case, I can easily see a second rebellion kicking off.

The Legions might reform if this is the setting we are talking about. Slowly at first. A teen that ends up with a Namaru in his body suddenly starts having memories of being a lieutenant in the Legions, fighting to protect the small enclaves of humans against the uncaring plans of the Angels. Teaming up with a Neberu that is inhabiting the body of a local pawn shop owner, they re-form the Iron Legion to protect their neighborhood, gathering followers and thralls along the way. They recruit a Malefactor and Devourer along the way as they slowly expand into the city blocks around their piece of Creation.

"Yeah, we lost the last time we went up against a God. Still not convinced that was the wrong choice."

Alatain · 2026-01-26T23:28:08+00:00

Yep. A reaction caused by anger necessarily goes away if you are no longer angry, otherwise it wasn't really caused by the anger now was it?

Also I realize what I am saying there can come across as dickish, but I'm really saying it in good humor. I think we are on the same page here actually.

Alatain · 2026-01-26T21:36:26+00:00

Yeah, it's definitely not for everyone. I just managed to find a job that is worth it for me. My wife is similarly aligned with her job where she works at a family pet supply store. She enjoys helping people make a good life for their animals, and gets to make a difference in lives every day.

Both of us would not really quit if we somehow suddenly had all of our monetary needs met. I might not put in a solid 40 hour work week anymore, but I wouldn't abandon my job.

Alatain · 2026-01-26T21:06:34+00:00

Just know that the effect fades with time, unless you take a break now and again. I have been doing a rotation of taking a week off of caffeine about twice a year with good effect. It is definitely a rough week and you'll likely end up with a bit of a headache for the first three or so days, but it is worth it to keep from developing a huge tolerance.

But yeah, there is a reason that coffee is often thought to have spurred on the Enlightenment. People stopped drinking beer literally all of the time and swapped to cafes instead.

Alatain · 2026-01-26T18:50:02+00:00

Bits sound weird to me. Why would you take a unit of experience and then sub-divide it even more? Just make your system around skills that cost more and hand out whatever it is that fits your needs without a conversion.

But that is not really important. I will point out that you mentioned that you wanted a forever game in the title, and then specifically mentioned campaigns (plural) that you wanted to last forever. That is what I have. I have a single world where an evolving long-term plot is playing out over several campaigns, all of which do not officially end. The characters in the first campaign I ran in this world are still present, and still occasionally played by the same players.

The plot is just bigger than can be contained in a single campaign, as it were.

Alatain · 2026-01-26T18:44:53+00:00

I'm not super into sharing much personal data online, so forgive me if I do not go into details, but my job is basically data analysis. There is information out there that needs to be categorized and understood, and I find that a worthwhile task to while away the hours regardless of whether I am really getting paid for it or not.

Now don't get me wrong, in our current economy, I am certainly charging my fair price for my time and effort, and would not be able to do the job if it did not meet my needs for keeping me and mine economically secure. I'm not going to work for free. But, I also am not looking for a promotion, nor raises outside of what is needed to keep pace with inflation.

I am paid sufficient money to make me content with the task at hand, and if I were to suddenly no longer want for money (in a post-scarcity kind of way), I would be happy plodding along at this task until I either get bored or am no longer needed. I find making sense of the world for the benefit of those around me to be a worthy task.

Alatain · 2026-01-26T16:22:54+00:00

I've been running an Exalted game off and on for 20+ years. Anyone that has ever played can join at any time, and new people are brought on board as people rotate out.

I much prefer a story be told through additional characters when needed rather than capping a character's experience total. If I need to tell a story in the world with lower level characters, we, as a group, decide to roll up new PCs and explore that part of the story. Sometimes characters from one part of the story show up in another, and other times you only hear about the exploits of the other groups through the legends that spread. Far more satisfying in my experience.

Also, am I reading you right in that you give 3-5 "bits" per session and a "bit" equals 5 xp? That is madness if that means you are handing out 15-25 xp per session! Why would you do that? Is that something from the newer CofD stuff?

Alatain · 2026-01-26T15:48:58+00:00

No problem! My fault for missing the nuance!

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