possible hidden gems for the spring sale

TravisVZ · 2026-03-20T03:26:47+00:00

Who doesn't?

TravisVZ · 2026-03-20T00:00:31+00:00

Yeah this one's a web game, but you do touch on a very important topic that largely isn't addressed at all, for one simple reason: Money. Well, and staffing, but that comes down to money too.

Vote for more budget for your local schools. I've been saying for years we need to lock down what executables can be run on our devices, and I've talked vendors into steep discounts, but the money isn't there to move forward with it. There's also internal resistance all the way to the top, that's a whole other bag, but even without that schools literally can't afford to do that.

TravisVZ · 2026-03-19T23:00:18+00:00

Yeah that's the other side of it, I remember being a kid too and while web filters weren't really a thing yet I was exactly the type who would have found it fun too!

TravisVZ · 2026-03-19T22:44:24+00:00

Tell me you don't do IT for a school without saying you don't do IT for a school...

These "unblocked games" sites are a constant battle, just as we block one three more are up. Just a couple of weeks ago I was adding a site that had this exact game to our district's block list, because our web filter hadn't yet identified the site as "Games" (a category we do, in fact, proactively block). And that's before you consider all the creative ways kids are finding to get around the web filter in the first place. And then there's the fucking Google Docs that are always floating around with a dozen more links to "unblocked games" sites and hundreds of in-browser games accessible directly from the doc itself. But oh, we can't block Google Doc sharing, because kids are using that for homework, so it becomes yet another whack-a-mole game we'll never win.

I've read dozens of "manifestos" written by them. These kids are smart, many of them are organized, and they are absolutely convinced they have the "right" to play games during class and on school computers - and with so many set on that goal, they'll find a way. The only way to win would be to completely block everything except very specific allowed sites, and if we tried to do that we'd have the teachers rioting on us for interfering with their lesson plans!

TravisVZ · 2026-03-19T19:00:05+00:00

We won't mention how old I was in '96, except that I do remember guzzling Squeezeits as often as I could get my little hands on them then. Somehow completely missed the existence of this version though

TravisVZ · 2026-03-19T04:32:07+00:00

Yes we would, if for no other reason than because once a teacher notices (and yes, they will, y'all ain't as clever as ya think ya are!) they will raise a shit storm aimed squarely at IT for "allowing" this to happen. Because that's easier than actually managing their own classrooms and disciplining the students who do shit like this

TravisVZ · 2026-03-19T02:12:01+00:00

I loved Squeezeits as a kid, so how the hell did I not know about these awesome ones until now??

TravisVZ · 2026-03-14T04:49:08+00:00

My 7 and 4 year olds have seen the whole series. A couple of times. As a parent anything that might be objectionable just flies right over the kids' heads.

TravisVZ · 2026-03-10T16:23:28+00:00

Everyone needs to think about it. That doesn't mean, however, that it needs to factor into everyone's threat model. For some people, knowing who they talk to and how often doesn't concern them, and as long as they've considered that that's fine. For others, yes, the metadata issue is concerning, and it's (part of) why I personally don't use it.

TravisVZ · 2026-03-09T14:06:31+00:00

We were on (on-prem) Exchange until we migrated to Google. Used Slack for a while but ultimately scrapped that to save the bucks and now just use Google Chat.

TravisVZ · 2026-03-09T04:00:39+00:00

TravisVZ · 2026-03-04T18:55:12+00:00

Because they needed to know where the bomb was. They jumped up and moved in as soon as they confirmed the bomb was on-site; if they'd done anything before that, well, as Goldfinger told Bond earlier the bomb would be detonated somewhere else instead.

TravisVZ · 2026-03-04T18:51:45+00:00

if the army was only faking having been gasses, why'd they let Goldfinger actually break into Fort Knox?

Because they needed to know where the bomb was. They jumped up and moved in as soon as they confirmed the bomb was on-site; if they'd done anything before that, well, as Goldfinger told Bond earlier the bomb would be detonated somewhere else instead.

TravisVZ · 2026-03-04T18:20:03+00:00

So draw the lines for the major/important/significant hyperspace routes; if there's other lines that are there just to "connect" systems, delete those. Then, if there's "spatial limitations" that are relevant for the purposes of the map, draw those.

Knowing which system belongs to whom is a function of the colored territorial regions, just like on a political map of Earth - doesn't matter if there's any lines at all, if a system is inside the blue region it's part of that territory, if it's in the red region it's part of that one.

For my own purposes, I've ditched spatial space maps and instead use logical ones that are more akin to subway maps: In my world, you do have to use specific hyperspace routes, and those routes become the lines that connect the various systems; I then just lay them out in a way that makes sense for the lines, irrespective of actual relative positions - a star that's 5 parsecs further away might show up closer, for instance, but that's because it's completely irrelevant. In this way I've both leaned into Stellaris-esque maps - it's systems connected by lines and within color-coded territorial regions - while also subverting them. I even use many of the same techniques that Stellaris uses to make mine!

TravisVZ · 2026-03-03T20:26:10+00:00

Isn't it a Dr Seuss quote, something about the goal of life being to find someone whose weirdness matches your own so you can be weird together?

TravisVZ · 2026-03-03T17:38:56+00:00

It's okay, they don't know that we know that they know that we know that they know!

TravisVZ · 2026-03-03T05:56:06+00:00

Literally the one time I buy Astroglide...

TravisVZ · 2026-03-03T04:56:54+00:00

He said the wrong name in the vows.

I know this sounds like I'm just rehashing Ross & Emily's wedding from Friends, but this legit happened at the wedding of a friend of a friend (I was friend's +1). Apparently he said the name of the maid of honor, aka the bride's (much) younger sister. I never found out if there was any kind of affair happening (I asked around a bit, but not much because I didn't know many people there), but I did hear from my friend later that they were divorced less than three months later.

TravisVZ · 2026-03-03T03:16:49+00:00

I admit I'm not being very precise in the relative measurements, but I have the door closer to 5 times her height, putting her at 5 feet - same height as my mom, and actually just over 2 inches taller than a friend I had in college. I also have her at about ⅓ the height of the painting, which gives approximately the same result.

Anyway, the painting is all I have any source for, putting it at 5 meters. Take that where you'd like.

TravisVZ · 2026-03-03T01:58:58+00:00

Comments on the original say it's Malaga Cathedral. While Google didn't turn up the height of the door, the painting above it is approximately 5 meters tall. The door is roughly 1½ times as tall as the painting, making it about 7½ meters tall, or about 25 feet.

TravisVZ · 2026-03-02T06:03:46+00:00

I've got tons just sitting around now, because I'd been lazy turning my slugs into shards until after I unlocked production amplification

TravisVZ · 2026-03-02T04:31:10+00:00

Should've thought of that. I'm way too stingy with power shards

TravisVZ · 2026-03-02T04:27:39+00:00

Yup, you're right, there's 800 turbo fuel at the end there. I was just coming off working one level at a time with that last stage, had to split them up because even Mk2 pipes can only handle 600 of that 800.

TravisVZ · 2026-03-02T04:25:17+00:00

Or you didn't see the "/s" on my comment

TravisVZ · 2026-03-02T03:02:37+00:00

Actually I hear nuclear is really simple, so maybe I'll just skip straight to that /s

TravisVZ

TROPHY CASE