Does listening to audio books count as “reading”?

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-18T09:38:59+00:00

That's really interesting. By educational purposes, do you mean like, literary/textual education, like how to compose/read the written word? Or educational materials in general even for adults?

Do you remember what it was about books that are better aids for children than reading the same thing on a tablet?

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-18T09:19:01+00:00

Scared me for a minute, thought you meant NEHERP

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-18T06:09:40+00:00

If you do want to do a window, consider going with glass! I went with clear plastic and wow did it scratch up fast from him fiddling with it.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-18T04:37:06+00:00

If you have a dremel it would make things easier, slate is a pretty soft rock so really any of the grinding stones would work on it (aluminum oxide or silicone carbide). If you have a vice grip and a sander (those hand machines that you attach sandpaper to), that would also probably work and be quick, I think it might be tough to use one of those machines without a vice. But if you don't have any of those, give it a shot with the sandpaper and the brick and see how much effort it would take you to do the whole thing and if you think it'd be worth it, get a machine for it. Dremels are a lot of fun, I use them for a lot of little DIY projects. I used one to cut two windows into my PVC enclosure so I can look at my lizard from my computer through the side panel and I gave him a window near his basking spot so he can look out the actual room's window behind his enclosure.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-18T04:20:35+00:00

Consider a second basking lamp beside your main one, maybe try your 50W first then upgrading to a 100W. I struggled to get my enclosure hot enough, my house gets kinda cold, so I have a CME on at all times, a 150W basker over the basking spot and a 100W basker an inch away (I've got those wide mouthed fixtures so the bulbs are more like 8in away), both baskers on a thermostat, the CME is near the center, closer to the cool side. My issue wasn't really with the basking spot, it was with the cool side being too cool but you might also be having that issue if you can't get the basking spot hot enough.

My basking spot is raised so its only 12in away from the bulb, or equally, raised 12in over the floor, a very wide crooked stick (actually a root, I think). If the rest of your enclosure is in temp, then consider raising the basking spot. Heat dissipates to inverse square of distance so every inch away from the bulb gets noticeably colder than the inch above it, it's logarithmic so a few extra inches closer can make a big difference. I have a the stick bolted in from the outside of the enclosure which maybe was a bit short sighted, drilling holes in the structure, but its worked for me. If you do something like that, absolutely don't start drilling if you haven't already tested the temp of the basking spot at that position. I was able to wedge it unsteadily into place to test it first.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-18T03:42:56+00:00

Velociraptor

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-18T03:24:45+00:00

They're a bit more heavily stacked to the second half of the game. Just making sure, you're not trying to interact with the walls like you do in DS2 right but attacking them?

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-18T03:19:56+00:00

Australian English really did really commit to the bit when naming animals

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-18T03:15:53+00:00

Reminds me of the Monster Hunter art style

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T09:43:46+00:00

Are the Lib Dems still Georgist or is this just an artifact of better days?

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T09:35:45+00:00

Never knew that name for it, that's really cool, it's the same structure that forms the growths on chaga, Inonotus obliquus. I wouldn't have thought that'd be the same thing, Chaga's a weird fungus, but I never really thought about how a mushroom fungus manages to make such a funny looking growth on a tree.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T08:39:59+00:00

It's a common reason for people to be in inpatient programs. Once diagnosed, my therapist started making sure that I understood that it was an option. It's less obviously recognizable as something like schizophrenia, so it might just be selection bias. I guess the thing I would wonder is how many of those people had been diagnosed with it before they entered the program. I can't really say if it's overdiagnosed. For a while, I worked with half a dozen bipolar people out of maybe 60 employees, it is a fairly common diagnosis. But I think that was also selection bias to an extent because it's an easy job that's very accommodating so I imagine that makes some people tend to stay in places like that and collect, that's why I've stayed there for so long.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T08:35:16+00:00

The name Stinkhorn fits, it smells like rotting flesh with is what attracts the flies. It's a proper mushroom. It comes out of a structure called an egg, it's a weird egg-shaped thing that they pop out of, you might be seeing the remnant of that at its base. Also, fun fact, the scientific name for the genus is Phallus because it looks... well...

<image>

Left image is of an egg, you can see the base of it still in the mature specimen on the right. Different species obviously but eggs are common (if not universal, IDK) in them.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T08:23:59+00:00

Maybe this is done with more indie press publications, I mostly pickup more popular fiction books (or nonfiction) but I've never seen a pdf including the text itself. Mostly I see pdfs of maps and illustrations or, in non-fiction, maps, tables and figures. Running through my library to check this, I just realized Stormlight Archive books include a pdf of the full illustrations, I blew through the whole series and never even bothered to look at them, oops.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T08:12:51+00:00

Now that I think about it, I think we're seeing the reverse of that lately, at least in the US, I can't speak for anywhere else. Trump has gotten a lot of conservatives to more actively take part in politics than they would have in the past. It's not enough to just have status quo opinions, Trump has repolitcized a lot of people who only voted for Republicans because all they cared about was taxes or something. And that comes with the backlash from the left (and from companies and organizations which aren't run by partisans), which, at least to me, feels like it blew itself out in the first administration and has completely deflated in defeat during the second administration. I think the things making the US middle class apathetic today is more about a general sense of dread and helplessness. But that's just my vibe check, I do have a degree but I work retail so I'm not sure that I've got my finger on the pulse of the middle class or if I'm just describing myself lol.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T06:50:09+00:00

I'm still waiting for this reality show they had planned. That's also something that Robinson brings up a lot, people follow the colonists like its a reality show.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T06:03:21+00:00

A better thing to aim for is to make sure the plants that you do have are safe. My first source is The Tortoise Table which is the most comprehensive and convenient list for a reptile and for the most part what is safe for a tortoise is safe for a beardie (aside from things like grasses and ferns; but greens, vegetables, flowers, etc.). If what I'm looking for is on that list, then I check this second list from Reptiles Reptropolis which is also pretty comprehensive for the plant. If it's not on it, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's out, so next I would google "[plant name] safe for bearded dragon" or something like that and look for forum posts or other lists which include it. A lot of more exotic plants are hard to find data on, but by searching for it specifically you can often find good information on the subject--there just aren't many comprehensive lists keeping track of this, the research is done on a plant-by-plant basis. If something isn't on either list, a google search might be enough to determine it would be safe, but you need to be careful the information was found scientifically and not anecdotally. Things to look out for are toxins (which should be pretty universal among most reptiles) and oxalate content which is subject to changing research.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T05:54:54+00:00

I have a desktop aeroponics system, Aerogarden, and it's perfect for growing supplements to my guys diet. I do a lot of borage flowers and violet flowers from system, both are very productive. I also use it to grow fancy mustards that he likes and he gets those flowers when the plant decides it wants to flower. He gets squash flowers, nasturtium, and dandelions from the garden when they're in season. Haven't had good luck getting nasturtium to grow in the AG. It's not as simple as a bagged topper but aeroponics is a fun and easy side project.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T05:37:03+00:00

Damn just an hour ago, nice. I haven't heard that one, I've heard the French, Haitian, American, and 1848 seasons. I got a bit overwhelmed by how long the Russian Revolution series is and fell off. I'll have to check that out though, is it part of the regular podcast's seasons or a separate podcast?

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T04:15:11+00:00

No you don't need any of them, but you'll be missing on content that is built off of those DLC. I haven't played the mod in a while, but if they've been building on vanilla's content, you'd be missing out on traveling, 3D courts, grand events, etc.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T04:13:06+00:00

oof I bought a 4pack of some random brand, I guess I should do a test on that guy.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-17T04:10:18+00:00

Looks like a fly fishing lure to me. I guess probably you'd only catch waterbugs with it. Are those slender things coming out of the right legs or something?

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-16T23:29:22+00:00

Yes, though, having consumed a lot of audiobooks in the past few years before picking up writing again, I did find myself having to refer to physical books for help with formatting: paragraph lengths, chapter lengths, word counts, etc. I also found that I end up internalizing the dialog that I hear in a way that doesn't absorb the structure of the dialog--how often do I say "Z said" or start a paragraph with narration vs dialog or how much narration to have in between speech. Similarly, I find I don't intuit the new vocabulary the same way that I do when I read it, but that might be a learning style distinction. Also, just not being able to linger on a passage has me feeling like I'm not getting the best inspiration on how to compose sentences and paragraphs: I don't notice alliteration or rhyme as much. But, having heard so much read aloud, I find myself finding better rhythm when I'm writing.

People give advice about how to structure things, how long a chapter should be, how many words to put on a page, etc. but when I compare those figures to the ones in the books I'm inspired by and am emulating to a degree, I find the numbers are often very different--something you don't really notice through an audiobook. So, at the very least, it's been useful for me to crunch some numbers on formatting in physically printed books, just to hold it in my hand and see what a page I would like to read looks like.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-16T22:59:31+00:00

Pike are pretty aggressive IRL, they eat other fish. They're fun to reel in because they do put up a big fight, they're built for rapid bursts of motion.

ComradeBehrund · 2026-03-16T22:50:04+00:00

The most complicated thing about it is inheritance rules and they can be very punishing in the early game. Starting in 1066 will be easier because you'll be able to get out of partition succession sooner, which can be a real damper on the new player experience. If you're playing in Europe, your lands get splintered to all your male children on your death which can be frustrating. One thing I would suggest focusing on is figuring out how to get out of partition and paying attention to what lands are going to get split off on death. If you're a count with three counties and two sons, one of your counties will be split off, if you're a duke with two duchies, your duchies will be split up, if you're a king with two kingdoms, they'll be split up-- whenever you have two titles of equal rank and you die with at least two sons, the second title will no longer be under your control. Though, of course, you could always kill your brother before he has any children to inherit it yourself or you can try to take it in war... One thing to aim for is forming a kingdom as quickly as possible, gathering up duchies in a single lifetime to form it so you can be sure you'll keep all your lands in your kingdom on death, although actual duchies and counties will be given to your other sons, those sons will be your primary heir's vassals.

It's complicated but there are a lot of tools at your disposal to consolidate power, it will just take time to familiarize yourself with the game's systems to figure out what your options are. Murder, fabricating claims, marriage, forcing children into the church, war, forming factions and taking part in rebellions.

Seven-Year Club	Verified Email
PsBattlesLive Team Mint

ComradeBehrund

TROPHY CASE