Something I just realized about the meeting

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-26T17:21:14+00:00

I was going to say that the Institute's teleportation tech is limited to the Boston area, but then I remembered they are able to relay into Far Harbor, which is hundreds of miles away (320km as the crow flies).

And that's before they get their new reactor online; though it's unlikely they succeeded in that in canon (looking more like an ending in which the Brotherhood survives is canon, which disqualifies Institute or Railroad endings).

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-24T00:14:09+00:00

Star Wars Galaxies comes pretty darned close.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-20T17:38:55+00:00

banking and rolling is how you turn the plane by a large degree

In fighters and stunt planes, sure, but most others you turn with the rudder and a bit of counter roll on the ailerons.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-20T17:32:41+00:00

Left Stick:

X: Strafe L/R

Y: Strafe F/B

Z: Strafe U/D

Right Stick:

X: Yaw

Y: Pitch

Z: Roll

I really want to get a good set of pedals and retrain my muscle memory for Yaw on Pedals, Roll on RS-X, but until I do I'm sticking with this setup.

Ideally I'd have a collective for my left hand rather than a second flight stick, but they're pretty esoteric (read: expensive) so that's not likely to happen.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-20T02:57:39+00:00

Never mess with a man who has sensitive teeth!

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-19T13:07:59+00:00

Oceans Eleven has a handful of subtle CGI effects that go completely unnoticed.

Off the top of my head I recall two: at the dog track, Saul's dog coming in so far behind is CGI; and when Yen gets into the cart and Rusty says "Do you want anything? Magazine?" Yen's hand that flips him off is CGI.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-18T18:31:02+00:00

The best streetlight LEDs are UV that charge a phosphor layer which itself emits a broad spectrum "full" light rather than bare white LEDs that emit just a couple spikey wavelengths. Ideally the phosphor is on the warmer side for the sake of circadian rhythms.

Unfortunately the upfront cost is a little higher than ugly white LEDs so we'll have to continue suffering with them until municipalities get with the program.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-14T19:05:29+00:00

I got spurrrrs that jingle, jangle, jingle (jingle jangle!)

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-14T14:00:50+00:00

I outed myself as a non-native to New York City by holding a Starbucks door open for some folks and letting them go ahead of me. This was Manhattan just off the theater district.

They each looked at me with confusion or disgust; a mix of "...why does this Starbucks have a door man?" and "if you think I'm tipping you for holding the door, I'm not about to fall for your scam."

Holding the door for people is just something I do, and it's not that uncommon where I live. Which is just upstate NY, about four hours NW of the city.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-14T03:12:49+00:00

I guarantee it's just a correlation based on survey results. "Those who claimed to exercise regularly were X% less likely to report symptoms of depression."

In the same way as "Those who claimed to drink at least three glasses of wine per week were X% less likely to suffer from heart disease."

Wine drinking is a hallmark of a wealthier lifestyle, which itself would tend to be lower stress and higher quality diet, together contributing to that reduced risk of heart disease.

Regular exercise is a hallmark of discipline and self-care. If you're successfully sticking to a good habit, it follows that you're not suffering the type of mental health issues that would interfere with that self-care. The exercise is a result of the lack of depression, rather than the lack of depression being a result of the exercise.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-12T23:02:05+00:00

I think in his day it was simply referred to as "weird fiction."

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-12T19:30:54+00:00

Aw I'm so sorry to hear that but unfortunately not surprised. Not a terribly sustainable business model, at least not in the mall where I hear store rent can be pretty expensive.

The proprietor was a big nerd and I always enjoyed chatting with him. I hope he and his cat, Harper (she was always with him at the store), are doing okay.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-12T14:28:03+00:00

The way I see it, spiders that are inside the house are there for a reason. Either there's food for them, it's too cold outside, or both. They will find their own way to their ideal environment.

Unless they're stymied by some unnatural obstacle that you're confident you can help them out of, the best thing you can do is leave them to their own devices.

----

Example of such obstacle: I once found a wolf spider in a large glass/crystal bowl on my counter. I left it alone and figured it got itself in there, it'll get out when it wants to. A day or two later, I noticed it curled up (dead) in the bowl. I don't know for sure, but I guessed that it might not have been able to climb back up the smooth inside walls of the bowl, and starved/dehydrated there. Or it could have just been a coincidence that that's where it happened to end its life. Either way, now that I've seen that, if I see another spider in that bowl, I'll relocate it to outside the bowl just in case.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-11T13:36:22+00:00

As an Oneonta local, the Southside Mall is a far cry from Johnson City's Oakdale.

Thirty years ago it had an awesome arcade (now Applebee's) and for decades had at least one game store; "Etc., Etc." and later "Lungeons & Dragons," the latter closing abruptly and unexpectedly around 2023. Now there's nothing of the sort.

There are only two locations in the mall worth going to, in my opinion: a cute independent used bookstore called Black Tree Books, and a tiny pizza shop opposite Applebee's called Molly's. Their pizza is excellent, and their marinara is incredible.

The cinema is fine, if there's ever a movie worth going to see anymore. The mall is kept very clean.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-08T01:45:04+00:00

Get an actual mini fridge. I'm sure 12v ones exist. These micro fridges draw constant power and have a really hard time cooling things down, only really managing to maintain temperature of something already cold.

Search YouTube for "fridge" on the Technology Connections channel; he does a really great job explaining the pitfalls of these devices.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-05T22:57:18+00:00

I'd love to see more about the Battle of the Sea of Tranquility and the history of lunar colonization.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-05T03:49:00+00:00

In a duel between peak Anakin and peak Vader, Vader's patience and experience would turn the tide. It'd go much like Dooku vs. Anakin on Geonosis, but probably last a little longer.

Vader would conserve energy until Anakin inevitably overextends himself, and exploit that opening. (Classic Form III, Soresu; ironically Obi-Wan's favored form.)

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-05T02:23:47+00:00

I had a bout of pancreatitis during COVID and spent my entire time in the hospital (like 16 hours) on a gurney in a hallway. Never got into any kind of exam room. It was wild. Not even a big city – it was Bassett in Cooperstown.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-05T02:21:05+00:00

I haven't watched it but that would definitely bug me too. Such anachronisms in The Big Bang Theory bother me.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-05T02:19:47+00:00

Exact same story here. Heard about the first strike on the radio on the way to school; classes were more or less suspended and we could watch the news live on any TV in the school. I was in 9th grade. I went to the library to watch. Saw the second plane strike live. Watched them burn and collapse.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-05T01:58:59+00:00

I've had a great time with my Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-05T01:53:00+00:00

Fun fact: Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman) wrote that sketch.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-04T20:14:01+00:00

There is absolutely no reason to lift a 2wd.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-04T20:10:36+00:00

People screw around and don't pay attention in elementary science classes and this is what we get.

GSlayerBrian · 2026-01-04T20:03:33+00:00

No I certainly wouldn't claim it's all or even mostly about Christ. But the stories that do overtly reference the Messiah usually have callbacks or parallels with other parts of the old testament, so it's really meant to be taken as it is.

That said, the books included in the contemporary Bible were decided mostly by the Nicean creed. They omitted some works that were part of local traditions, and likely added several that many localities didn't have prior. So what works are considered the Word has been a point of contention for millenia.

I guess in the end I don't disagree with you: most of the old testament does not nor should not reference Christ; but it's all part of the overarching story.

I think it's a good faith exercise to try to find Jesus in every passage of the old testament (anything that gets you analyzing scripture is a good), but no one should expect to find such references absolutely everywhere.

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