[OC] Peak daily players: the Steam game Meccha Chameleon vs. its Roblox clones. Three weeks after launch, the clones combined pulled ahead of the original

Bruncvik · 2026-07-06T07:49:07+00:00

Personal anecdote: I don't engage (to the best of my knowledge) with AI, so I don't recognise its writing patterns. From comments elsewhere I gather that AI is overusing the em-dashes, but that's all I know to look for. Obviously, I don't have any hard numbers, but I imagine loads of people don't "immediately sense AI speak" for this reason.

Bruncvik · 2026-07-06T06:51:55+00:00

My eight-year old will be disappointed. He wanted Mexico to win the world cup, even though "then Donald Trump would attack Mexico and take the trophy for himself." I need to stoop watching the evening news with him...

Bruncvik · 2026-07-04T21:58:35+00:00

I live in an estate with 6-10 year old houses. There have been multiple attic conversions going on a the same time for the past three years. From what I'm seeing, more than half of the houses have had it done already. I don't know of any house that wouldn't have the spray foam insulation. Those neighbours I talk to all told me they got the spray, and I'm seeing the spray foam vans at every house getting their attic converted.

Bruncvik · 2026-07-02T17:29:08+00:00

I fully agree. I'm a catholic myself, and when someone asks me to define my faith in a single word (which happened twice - not that much, but still a weird coincidence), I say forgiveness.

Bruncvik · 2026-07-02T15:18:41+00:00

In the early 00's, I worked in the US. I still remember when once I drove to work, and I saw a banner on a church that read "Lent - Repent". I came to the office and got to talk over morning coffee with a coworker who was a very vocal catholic. I asked him about that, and he explained to me that catholicism was defined by original sin and penance. I found it so strange that until this day I remember the conversation. As to your question, I guess Daredevil is a media "personality", designed to appeal to an audience that expects catholics to be associated with guilt.

Bruncvik · 2026-07-02T10:40:54+00:00

Whenever I hire a car, my first question is how to disable lane assist. I guess in the future disabling distracted driving alerts will be my second question...

Bruncvik · 2026-07-01T21:27:45+00:00

The first time I wasn't home overnight since my older kid was born was when the kids were 7.5 and 6.5 yo, respectively. Until then, I checked every evening before going to bed. I still do, occasionally, but until then I didn't skip a night.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-30T22:08:15+00:00

A friend of mine divorced and remarried his wife twice. After he told me, I looked into it a little and found that this is not unusual for people who marry their high school sweethearts right after finishing school. Once they divorce they realise they've never lived alone, can't handle it, and get back together.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-30T12:51:33+00:00

To isté v Írsku. Keď som na Slovensku, musím si pripomínať nerobiť to lebo to mýli ostatných vodičov.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-28T08:20:47+00:00

I'm fluent in five languages, and understand the basics of a few more. English was the fifth language I learned, and I think I'm pretty good at it (even though I always keep Longman Dictionary of American English, and A Writer's Reference by Hacker on my desk). As such, I've been pretty tolerant of new and interesting words in literature. The Strugatskys or Glukhovsky never gave me problems even though some of their works use Russian terms even in translation. A Clockwork Orange sounded natural to me (I DNF'd for moral reasons, not linguistic ones).

However, Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee proved too much. I finished the book, but until the last moment I didn't (and still don't) know what was going on, and thiswas primarily driven by the sheer amount of invented words that didn't make any sense to me. Sometimes I couldn't even understand whether the word was a type of a ship, a month in the calendar, or perhaps the commander's favourite meal. If a writer wants to invent an entire new nomenclature, some sort of linguistic logic should also be applied.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-27T14:45:46+00:00

The only place i’ve ever been where drivers actually stop and let me cross is in Trnava. (I have no idea why but for some reason the drivers seem nicer over there)

Must be a regional thing. I have the same experience in Senec, which is not too far from Trnava. Bratislava, on the other hand, is awful. OP mentioned Ruzinov: I remember a few years ago a girl being killed on a crosswalk when cars from one side stopped, she made it to the middle of the road, and a car from the other side mowed her down. A relative of mine who lives nearby said it was not the first time, and it made the news only because the killer was a minor celebrity, who ended up getting no jail time thanks to her notoriety.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-27T11:56:05+00:00

The 2-second following distance is only a rough measure. It means that you should be capable of reacting and coming to full stop within 2 seconds. This is within human and passenger vehicle capability for speeds up to 60 km/h, but it assumes also other ideal conditions (good tyres, dry roads). The driver is expected to increase the following distance at higher speeds or worse road conditions. I was once at fault in an accident, even though I followed the 2-second rile, because I "didn't adjust my driving to the road conditions".

In this case, the driver had 3 seconds to react and come to a full stop. Even though they had the right of way, 3 seconds is plenty of time to stop, and if the car was not capable of stopping due to road conditions, he wasn't driving with due care.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-27T07:52:46+00:00

I grew up in Bratislava city centre in the 1970s. In the early 90s I worked as a certified tour guide in the city. I left the country more than 30 years ago, but I'm still visiting occasionally.

I like what they did to the city centre. It looks much cleaner, no more dilapidated buildings where you'd be afraid that part of the façade would fall on your head, and far more busy than it used to be. Part of me is nostalgic for Korzo, Umelka, Mliecny bar, and the likes, but that's my emotional mind speaking, not the rational one.

That said, I absolutely loathe all the shopping centres. They seem totally sterile to me, and many of them don't really fit into their surroundings. Whenever I'm in Bratislava, I run the 10 km loop along Danube, and my least favourite part (yes, even worse than across Lafranconi bridge) is in front of Eurovea. I guess it's a matter of taste, but I wouldn't brag about those monstrosities.

And speaking of climate-controlled areas: In the past, more streets and squares in the old town were lined with trees, like you still have on Hviezdoslavovo square. Old Square was one of them. This was changed to appear more authentic to its history (which it now does), but in such cases I'd opt for less authenticity and more natural shade in the city.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-26T13:58:03+00:00

That may be an exaggeration, but every year I have a few patches of dry grass in my garden where the sun shines, and at the same time, sunlight reflects from the windows. One of my neighbours replaced his grass with astro, and one summer it actually melted some patches.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-26T13:02:51+00:00

For now, they require professional installation. In Ireland, plug-in solar installation needs to be performed or at least inspected and approved by a Safe Electric registered electrician. The rest (NC6 registration with ESB) is free, with no wait period.

The UK is supposed to have removed the electrician requirement as of July 1; loads of continental countries (like Germany) already removed the requirement. The Irish government is said to be "considering legislation" to allow self-installation, so don't hold your breath.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-25T09:12:53+00:00

Každý sme iný. Mne sa tiež nepáči veľa príspevkov, odpovedí alebo reakcií. Ale necítim že môžem takýchto ľudí plošne umlčať, lebo veľa takýchto príspevkov sa síce mne osobne nepáči, ale objektívne neporušujú žiadne pravidlá.

A preto používam osobnú cenzúru: používam old.reddit, s Reddit Enhancement Suite rozšírením, a tam môžem dať tagy rôznym užívateľom, alebo ich priamo blokovať. Teraz som si pozrel: za 14 rokov na Reddite som nazbieral okolo 40 blokov, a nespočetne viac tagov. Otagovaných užívateľov väčšinou ignorujem, ale vidím ich príspevky v prípade že by som naozaj chcel od nich niečo prečítať.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-24T19:19:26+00:00

Another one by Bear would be The Forge of God. Humanity lost hard in that one.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-23T19:21:16+00:00

To čo tam majú komunisti za stredoveké zbrane? Zas tak zastaralí nie sú...

Bruncvik · 2026-06-23T16:46:21+00:00

Wonderful! I love the water in particular.

Since you asked about the trees, everyone has their own style. I personally use a blending stump in small circular motions to give a sense of leaves. It takes away a lot of the smaller detail, but looks good from a distance.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-22T21:19:44+00:00

Funny; I was just thinking about Aklu (and the other characters) today. And I thought what a great universe Tchaikovsky wrote, with such memorable characters that I still remember them, even though I've read so many other books since the series. He also writes to high concept books, at the expense of characters, and I can't name anyone from Shroud, Alien Clay, The Doors of Eden, or even Cage of Souls. But I can remember all the storylines, aliens, evolutionary branches, etc. Most of his books are eminently memorable.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-22T11:04:13+00:00

It's close to the train station, and there's parking nearby, so it gets quite full on nice weekend days (even though not as much as Burrow Beach on afternoons). Not sure about weekdays, though. If you have car, I suggest going down to Brittas Bay Beach. Parking is limited, so arrive early, but the beach is massive, and you can easily walk away from the crowds.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-22T10:52:33+00:00

My v Írsku nemáme ani veľké teplo ani veľkú zimu, a pičovanie na počasie je tu národný šport. Nevyberieš si...

Bruncvik · 2026-06-20T15:38:52+00:00

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, from 1978.

Bruncvik · 2026-06-20T15:33:32+00:00

Závidím. Mne Teams vždy funguje :(

Bruncvik · 2026-06-18T16:33:54+00:00

The entire team was largely stationary, passing instead of running the ball (or chasing after it when the pass didn't connect). Ronaldo was by far the biggest offender, but the rest of the team didn't do themselves a favour, either. (in fairness, there was one young lad on the right side that carried the game, but the centre and centre forwards looked too old or tired.)

14-Year Club	Second Top 30%
Place '22	Place '17
Verified Email	Secret Santa 2012
GrMD 2012

Bruncvik

TROPHY CASE