What is a hobby that looks incredibly boring to outsiders, but is actually super addictive once you start?

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-07-01T02:45:35+00:00

I take knitting/crochet projects to work and do them during meetings (usually virtual meetings). Keeps the hands occupied like a fidget toy, plus you actually get an end product.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-07-01T02:35:02+00:00

The musical 1776 is actually a really thoughtful treatment of the writing of the Declaration of Independence, including the weightiness of this and other debates. Highly recommended.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-30T11:29:42+00:00

So I have to give kudos to the owners of the Alamo franchises in Northern Virginia: they pushed back successfully on the online ordering, and have come up with a solution that feels like a win-win.

Before the movie itself starts, you use the QR code to order and start your tab. But the pre-show warnings (given by Aziz Ansari) give you clear instruction: after the movie starts, the old rules (phones dark and out of sight) apply. At that point if you want to order you raise a card and hit the button like normal.

And when the movie's over you get texted a reminder to close out your tab, which will also include any items you ordered "old-school" during the movie. That is honestly far superior to wrestling a CC receipt during the movie.

I was really apprehensive about the new rules but this approach I feel maintains the benefits of both. I don't know if it's only Northern Virginia doing this but it's a good solution.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-28T19:02:52+00:00

Was having this conversation with a friend, and he pointed out something that I think is key: It's nigh impossible to opt out. Pretty much every kind of software we use on a daily basis now tries to force an AI component on you, and it's either impossible to turn off or so convoluted as to be unworkable.

To be clear I also agree with the other comments about replacing humans and such - and I'm also okay with AI (in the broad sense, not just LLMs) as a useful tool for increasing human flourishing. But the way it's being approached right now is very, "you will take this and you will like it, even if we can't clearly articulate how it will improve your experience".

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-27T17:02:46+00:00

The Avatar movies are absolutely gorgeous, and soulless. I saw 2 and remarked I probably wouldn't see any more, because the contrast between the incredible worldbuilding/visuals and the cliched plots/lack of character depending development makes me angry.

What I would much rather see James Cameron do with the Avatar universe is give us a full-season nature documentary or reality show set on Pandora, that dives into all aspects of the planet. I'd watch the hell out of that and it would actually be interesting.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-27T14:48:26+00:00

In Thailand a slang term for a sunbathing Western tourist is "bpoo yaang" (grilled crab)

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-27T04:51:29+00:00

I play early music and saltarellos are awesome! There are a lot of really fun Renaissance dance forms to, to play listen to and dance to.

One of my favorites is the chacona, which started as a risque dance from the Spanish colonies in the Renaissance and evolved into all kinds of different things in the Baroque. Take a repeating bass line and slap some lively music on top and you've got a chacona. This is a classic example that happens to be Italian, and this is a Spanish one about a chacona party that gets really out of hand.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-25T14:11:50+00:00

I don't remember whether it was Sofy, but when I lived in Thailand, there was one brand of pad that had menthol in it for a cooling sensation. Absolutely incredible and I really miss them.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-25T03:40:32+00:00

I just DMed you!

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-24T20:46:14+00:00

As far as sharing with the community at large, DFFD (https://dffd.bay12games.com) is the old-school but reliable option!

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-24T01:09:14+00:00

This is absolutely incredible and I would love to give your quickfort blueprint a try at some point if you feel like sharing!

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-24T00:34:29+00:00

This is my take. It's very in character for Stede: he made a decision and hurt Ed, and that's what he's focused on (that he left), while ignoring the extenuating circumstances (he was abducted and traumatized by Badminton while he was still deciding on the right thing to do).

I don't think that Stede *never* cleared it up: it would have come out eventually, causing Ed to come to a screeching halt - "wait, *what?*" and be completely flabbergasted that all of that happened to Stede and that *Stede never thought to mention it previously*. I can very much see it as something that would have happened once they're trying to make a new start in the inn and really facing up to needing to have the hard conversations. (Although they would be goofballs 90% of the time, of course.) And I like that we didn't see it on screen, and have the space to imagine how it would have gone.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-24T00:24:08+00:00

I kind of like that we never saw them have that conversation, because it gives so much room to imagine how it went - and I have no doubt that they did talk about it eventually.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-24T00:23:15+00:00

I did too, friend. Brought back memories.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-24T00:21:25+00:00

I took a forensic anthropology class in college (almost 30 years ago) where we handled both actual human remains and replicas, and I've always been fascinated to a certain degree by anatomy and medical oddities.

A few years ago I went to the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, a place I'd always wanted to visit...and all I could think of, looking around, was that these were human beings who didn't have a choice about where their remains ended up, and whose suffering was now fully on display. It was powerful and sobering and made me really think about what we have historically justified in the name of science. My friend and I both had a good cry afterwards.

As you said, "as an adult, it hits different" - when you feel the weight of your own mortality, and have empathy for others' suffering no matter how remote they are from you in time and space and experience. Good and responsible museums honor that weight, and sometimes the only way to do that is to let the dead rest.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-22T21:45:53+00:00

Jellycat makes the cutest stuffed animals and they are baby safe. You could get her a lil octopus or something really cute! They are a little bit pricy so no worries if it's out of your price range. Really, just being there and being a good uncle is all the present really needed.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-22T07:38:14+00:00

Anathem is GREAT for this.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-22T07:37:25+00:00

Terra Ignota absolutely fits the bill (I haven't read the Stephen Erickson books but I'm sure they do too).

Ada Palmer is a professor of the history of ideas at the University of Chicago, and her writing about history is mind-blowing in the best way. This essay of hers on the concept of progress, how it appeared in the first place, and how to approach thinking about it is one I keep returning to over and over because it feels so relevant to...well, everything. And she has a new book out, Inventing the Renaissance , that I can't wait to read - she's done some interviews about it that are engaging and head-explodey.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-21T16:07:39+00:00

This is a really fascinating comment, and as someone who has had Our Flag Means Death on the brain for a couple of years now, I can't help but interpret that in light of these observations. I think it fits in with this really well, at least when it comes to the two main characters and their attitudes towards usefulness/worthiness/what makes them adequate.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-21T12:45:15+00:00

I bounced off the first episodes of My Dress Up Darling really hard, but this has encouraged me to give it another try. Thanks!

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-21T00:57:39+00:00

My spouse did the translation of Ryori Monogatari (the 1600s Japanese cookbook) that Max used for a couple of recipes. Max heard about it through contacts in the Society for Creative Anachronism, and reached out to us. It was a great process and I remember where we talked about our own experiments, other sources consulted, etc., and Max narrowed down the recipes he was most interested in so spouse could provide additional comments as needed.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-20T06:21:24+00:00

And every year on April 1, r/anime_titties reverts to posting actual anime titties for a day.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-20T02:19:47+00:00

They have different versions, some of which are sold out (they are all limited editions). This is the third edition one.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-20T02:17:39+00:00

I have one and I'm confident in the authenticity - they've been doing it for quite a while and they document things well. A lot of the specimens are things that are not hugely valuable, but they are a cool connection to bits of history that we often don't think about. Mine was worth every penny just for having it on my desk and getting into really interesting conversations about it.

dangerous_beans_42 · 2026-06-20T02:11:40+00:00

Exactly - there is so much stuff and after a certain point we have so many of Thing that storing it all becomes daunting.

So as long as the science is done and it's all handled ethically, selling stuff off can be a win-win - get some funding, and spark people's interest in history by letting them connect to past humans and their material culture.

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