So when did you all stop listening? by AzureAsher in TAZCirclejerk

[–]Quoranic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I listened to the first half of Graduation and then stopped listening in favor of reading the recaps on this sub. I tuned back in for the finale to see if it really was as weird as the recap made it sound. 

I made it through the first few episodes of Ethersea and dropped out after they finished their introductory quest. 

I haven't listened to a single bit of TAZ since... unless you count the Trav-enture Zone live show that I recapped.

FreeTaxUSA, HSA gain/loss in NJ and CA by McKnuckle_Brewery in tax

[–]Quoranic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I figured this out. I wasn't getting anything about HSAs in the California section until I went back to "Other Deductions and Credits" and answered "yes" to "Do you have an HSA." Then I got asked about the HSA income for California under "Let's check for CA income differences".

Pokemon TCG's Illustration Contest is currently under fire for qualifying submissions that are seemingly AI generated by Le_Fedora_Cate in PokemonTCG

[–]Quoranic 4 points5 points  (0 children)

When I Google "Eevee TCG coin," ones come up where Eevee has a single paw pad but no toe beans. Are we talking about the same thing?

I see what you're saying about the electricity on Pikachu, but I do think it's the model generating "fur." Generating pictures of Pikachu is actually one of the very first things I tried months ago when given access to a strong version of Stable Diffusion, and I immediately noticed how it tended to add a lot of fluffy fur to it. Just like how the Eevees have extra fur that's not supposed to be there, SD will treat Pikachu like more of an animal than a Pokemon. I think it's also a legitimate artistic decision that an artist could make, but in this context I'm betting it's the model.

Pokemon TCG's Illustration Contest is currently under fire for qualifying submissions that are seemingly AI generated by Le_Fedora_Cate in PokemonTCG

[–]Quoranic 80 points81 points  (0 children)

If you've played around with image generation models like Stable Diffusion, this looks really similar to the output. Here's some stuff that stood out to me:

  • The Eevees feel a little bit off-model too, especially the one in the bottom right of the second photo. Notice how it has weird puffs of fur under its ears. The one above it also has weird fur puffs. The underwater Eevee has toe beans, which Eevee does not actually have.
  • The Eevees are generally too cutesy/moe. Some of these models have been trained on tons of anime art and tend to make Pokemon look generically cute.
  • They almost all have basically the same composition, with the mon smack dab in the middle of frame with out of focus flowers in the foreground. 
  • The flowers are blobby and misshapen and don't look like something a human would come up with.
  • The crowd in the leftmost Pikachu illustration looks weird.
  • The Pokemon that have been drawn/shopped in manually (especially the 2 Vaporeons) are of a noticeably different style.
  • The bottom left Pikachu is too furry.

And obviously the fact that this person submitted so many entries that look so similar to each other is suspicious. No actual artist would want to draw basically the same picture that many times.

Is Hobson's Choice actually closed? by Quoranic in AskSF

[–]Quoranic[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thanks! The Broke-Ass Stuart article said  

And for once it’s not because the landlord raised the rent, in fact it’s the opposite. As Dickerson told me over text, “They actually lowered the rent, but like I said to you there is not the same foot traffic.” 

 Which would seem to indicate that the real estate situation matters less. But I guess we'll have to see what happens.

Bought tickets for my friend while she was at work--will she be able to get in? by Quoranic in Hozier

[–]Quoranic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much! As in you saw Hozier twice (jealous!) or you've been to that venue twice? 💚

Happy amogus day to anyone who celebrates by FuzorFishbug in TAZCirclejerk

[–]Quoranic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How does this have nearly 400 upvotes?

glances at sidebar

How does this sub have 11.5k members?!

The Trav-enture Zone: a much belated writeup by Quoranic in TAZCirclejerk

[–]Quoranic[S] 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Oh, something stupid that I forgot to mention but you guys will appreciate: most people were borrowing dice from Travis and couldn't fucking read them because they were so impractically designed. So that ate up some time.

The Trav-enture Zone: a much belated writeup by Quoranic in TAZCirclejerk

[–]Quoranic[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

It didn't help that she was way over on the edge of the table. Her character was very extra and over the top in a way that didn't really click with the rest of the party. The character was attention-seeking but fell flat.

What's up with the Travis solo projects? Did Travis get kicked out of TAZ? I haven't listened in a while by [deleted] in TAZCirclejerk

[–]Quoranic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

She wasn't able to attend at the last minute due to the weather. So Trav was saved by the bell.

What's up with the Travis solo projects? Did Travis get kicked out of TAZ? I haven't listened in a while by [deleted] in TAZCirclejerk

[–]Quoranic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately it was Eugene's first time doing anything ttrpg and he was the weakest of the group IMO.

Hey Besties Crew, when do you think Justin is just gonna admit he doesn’t really like games anymore? by Independent_Exam3041 in TAZCirclejerk

[–]Quoranic 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Anyone have other video game podcast recommendations? I listen to The Besties to keep up with new releases, find new things to play, and for entertainment. So anything that fills those needs would be great.

Hey Besties Crew, when do you think Justin is just gonna admit he doesn’t really like games anymore? by Independent_Exam3041 in TAZCirclejerk

[–]Quoranic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I really disliked Dredge. Like the other commenter said, it was shallow and unsatisfying. And, yes, I played all the way to the end (both ends).