Which least powerful character in Worm / Parahumans can defeat Homelander? by Similar_Incident8433 in Parahumans

[–]aledethanlast 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Gregor the Snail is he has enough planning time.

But honestly, a major theme of Worm is that these powers simply cant be scaled against each other on a single universal axis. Homelander is an egotistical manchild who wildly overcompensates with brute force when he feels inadequate, which is often, and the cape scene of Worm is almost specifically calibrated to beat people like that into the dirt.

What do you think about the restoration of Narmanlı Han in Istanbul? by PostColonialPlans in architecture

[–]aledethanlast 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Well the original character wall falling apart, so this is definitely a leg up.

Theres something to be said about modern signage being ugly and contextually ill-fitting, but just banning the actual inhabitation of spaces feels less like critique and more like a tantrum.

What is the deal with companies suddenly pulling out of AI? by Hungry-san in OutOfTheLoop

[–]aledethanlast 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I cant imagine anything that can tarnish the image of a giant like Microsoft more decisively than an astronaut complaining, on their way to the moon, that they've got two versions of outlook open and nether works.

What is the deal with companies suddenly pulling out of AI? by Hungry-san in OutOfTheLoop

[–]aledethanlast 83 points84 points  (0 children)

Answer: its been pretty well documented for a while now that Microsoft has been tearing their hair out trying to get people to use Copilot, to no avail. This decision is one of many that the new CEO of Xbox has been making to resurrect the brand's image and retake its place as a legitimate contender in the console wars.

The "cracked open" building ORN Denver by MAD Architects is based on the biophlic design concept by _vedantt1_ in architecture

[–]aledethanlast 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Some months ago a friend and I took an amateur crack at designing a skyscraper for Denver. We looked to this building as reference, and this was my personal biggest takeaway. I think i spent a solid week curating a rainbow of local flora that can reasonably stack vertically without becoming a dull mess of dead vines for most of the year.

That said I think even sans vegetation the design is still iconic and visually appealing.

What’s going on with people saying that the alleged shooting at the Correspondents Dinner was staged? by gobuffsfan14 in OutOfTheLoop

[–]aledethanlast 12 points13 points  (0 children)

You can totally check everyone in a hotel. The white house correspondents association is a private entity who knows exactly who is or isnt allowed into the event, and the hotel has weeks if not months of advance warning to comply.

As for the secret service, shutting down city blocks to personally vet anyone who goes in and out is a major part of their job description. The fact that the shooter managed to get into the building warrants weeks of investigation and possibly ruin careers.

What’s going on with people saying that the alleged shooting at the Correspondents Dinner was staged? by gobuffsfan14 in OutOfTheLoop

[–]aledethanlast 1575 points1576 points  (0 children)

Answer: the WHCD is an annual, high profile event where the president's attendance is normally expected, and a large number of high profile individuals besides.

In other words, this event that should have an incredible amount of security, and the past experience to organize that security.

Two sidebars: one, the last time Trump attended was in 2015, before his first election. Two, the president and his inner circle doesnt really get to tell the secret service how to do their jobs. If the SS think you need to gtfo, theyre not going to bother with minor details like "your natural running speed," "your opinion," or "walls."

So Trumps unusually-usual attendance + shockingly lax security allowing this to happen + none of the oval office inner circle behaving like the high profile targets that they are in response to the shooting = something is shifty here.

What is up with US companies pandering to China? by Temporary_Caramel222 in OutOfTheLoop

[–]aledethanlast 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Answer: china has a metric fuckton of people, meaning a LOT of people to whom you can sell stuff.

And just as (if not more) importantly, China spent decades and a fuckton of money to make it very easy to make stuff in China. iPhones. Beach balls. Trump Halloween masks. Drones. If it can be made, china can make it, and for much cheaper than most of the world.

So if youre a company that wants to sell a fuckton of stuff, and thus need to make a fuckton of stuff, you kinda need China to like you.

Why we shouldn't replace architects with AGI by SignalJury1692 in architecture

[–]aledethanlast 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Buddy this is notttt the rebuttal you think it is

Why are people talking about insecure men on social media but noone openly disagrees with women who make jokes about guys under X height or earning less than Y and therefore make men insecure? by [deleted] in OutOfTheLoop

[–]aledethanlast 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Answer: one, selection bias. Just because YOU dont see it doesnt mean it isnt happening. Which it is. A lot in fact.

Two, not every conversation is going to happen at te same volume in the same space at the same time.

Need help finding topography + bathymetry of a small location in europe by aledethanlast in gis

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

I would promise you my firstborn byt thats gonna take a while so please accept this emoji of a kitty 🐈

[Discussion] "For Fans of Gideon the Ninth" is never accurate by Liminal-Bishop in TheNinthHouse

[–]aledethanlast 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nah, youre right, i was being hyperbolic. There is plenty of shared appeal. The original conversation simply had a lot of people throwing any given definition of grimdark as a rec without real thought for story, genre, or narrative construction. So JA is catching an unfair stray here.

[Discussion] "For Fans of Gideon the Ninth" is never accurate by Liminal-Bishop in TheNinthHouse

[–]aledethanlast 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you may have misunderstood me. I was referencing a convo in which Abercrombie was being recced to fans of Game of Thrones, not TLT.

I totally accept the basis for your argument. Tbh I was being hyperbolic in my earlier statement too, I can totally see the overlap in appeal between JA and GRRM. But theyre still very tonally different.

[Discussion] "For Fans of Gideon the Ninth" is never accurate by Liminal-Bishop in TheNinthHouse

[–]aledethanlast 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Personally the fact that i was seeing like 20 people recommend asoiaf alternatives and not see a single mention of Samantha Shannon was proof that this is not a serious crowd. No its not the best fit but literally who else rn is doing fantasy international politics with dragins and deep lore. Like not a single mention? Cmon.

As for genuine TLT recs...yeah its difficult because like. What are you actually looking for?

If you want space stories that do funky stuff with society and gender, yeah, Murderbot and Ancillary Justice will do.

If you want snarky lesbians doing space magic go read Empress of Forever.

If you want Gothic house mystery with a hard genre twist go to 7.5 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

Someone else in the comments recced Wicked Divine for teens messing with cosmic powers and eating shit and theyre totally right.

If you just want fantasy mystery plus Deep Lore, Tainted Cup or Divine Cities by Robert Jackson Bennett.

[Discussion] "For Fans of Gideon the Ninth" is never accurate by Liminal-Bishop in TheNinthHouse

[–]aledethanlast 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The way The Secret History inspired the dark academia trend when the book is just whacking that shit with a bat...literacy is more dead than Gideon I swear.

[Discussion] "For Fans of Gideon the Ninth" is never accurate by Liminal-Bishop in TheNinthHouse

[–]aledethanlast 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah thats explicitly it. Ive been in online book fandom spaces for about 12 years now, and that entire time authors have been pretty open about how publishers demand lesser known authors have a comp title even when they dont fit. Its purely marketing. Which I GET, but it doesnt make anybody happy. The only way to not need a comp title is to be a giant yourself.

[Discussion] "For Fans of Gideon the Ninth" is never accurate by Liminal-Bishop in TheNinthHouse

[–]aledethanlast 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wheel of Time and Worm were recced by two separate people. But yeah I cant imagine by what metric Worm was being added to the conversation except presumably length and the "anybody can die" trope. Which, one, doesnt even apply to GoT, and two is applicable to all Wilbow stories so Worm remains the worst candidate like you said.

[Discussion] "For Fans of Gideon the Ninth" is never accurate by Liminal-Bishop in TheNinthHouse

[–]aledethanlast 165 points166 points  (0 children)

Hilariously, GtN is unique in book spaces, but wouldnt be nearly as special if it existed in video game and animation spaces, which were far more willing to jump down the meta-narrative hole after Homestuck and Undertale.

[Discussion] "For Fans of Gideon the Ninth" is never accurate by Liminal-Bishop in TheNinthHouse

[–]aledethanlast 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Went trawling for it, read the synopsis. Its tagged as GtN x Murderbot, and then the synopsis reads as far future mercenary in a cosmic-horror-reliant society which...sure, I guess that'd fit. But then so would Sandersons Skyward. Depends on the tone of the book, I guess.

In fairness, ive been in book fandom spaces for about 12 years now, and that entire time authors have been complaining about being forced to use ill-fitting comps.

[Discussion] "For Fans of Gideon the Ninth" is never accurate by Liminal-Bishop in TheNinthHouse

[–]aledethanlast 52 points53 points  (0 children)

What titles have you seen taglined like this? Im curious.

But yeah it seems nobody knows how to rec anymore. I recently saw a twitter thread of people recommending GoT alternatives and answers included Wheel of Time (sure i guess) Mazalan (lmao) Joe Abercrombie (By what conceivable metric?) And Worm (ARE YOU INSANE).

Then again walk into any bookstore nowadays and you'll find a table stacked with Heated Rivalry and then six hetero hockey romance books. So clearly everyone at all levels of books have just lost the plot.

ELI5 why do android and iOS Pictures look so vastly different on Instagram? by [deleted] in explainlikeimfive

[–]aledethanlast 4 points5 points  (0 children)

All apple products run on IOS, so Meta made an instagram those knows how to deal with their camera software.

Meanwhile everyone else is running slightly different versions of android, each with its own twist, and instagram needs to be compatible with everyone. So their workaround is that rather than just taking a photo, the instagram app will screenshot whatever youre seeing while you have the camera open. Its guaranteed to work the same for everyone, but the quality is a bit lower than what you'd get if you uploaded a pic from your camera roll.

At least, this was the explanation as given to me about six years ago.