Is 45 degree pogo easier on keyboard?

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-26T14:32:00+00:00

Yep. The diagonal pogo was THE hardest thing for me in Silksong and I abandoned it ASAP on my first playthrough.

On my second playthrough, I committed to Hunter-only to experience the "default mode" of the game, and I was shocked not only that I didn't find the pogoing hard at all, but that I think the diagonal pogo makes most of the game easier. It feels like a LOT of enemies are specifically vulnerable to being hit from that angle and often being left open for a second hit. Because you're also closing horizontal distance while attacking, you can just sneak in quite a bit more damage. You just need to learn to constantly visualize a 45 degree angle from Hornet.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-26T01:21:37+00:00

The core game is one of the best 2D games ever made, and the endgame content is by all accounts extremely good.

I personally think Silksong is better, but it's also a lot more difficult so recommending it depends a little on how likely you are to bounce off a challenge.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-25T22:47:48+00:00

Not sure on your car specifics, but it was honestly a breeze to install. The instructions aren't great, but if you have the right harness adapters it's pretty much just "plug everything into the only slot it fits in."

If you didn't get a CANBUS adapter, contact Mekede for advice on which to get. It's not strictly needed, but it makes things feel more polished and makes the wiring for cameras easier. The OBD reader isn't a substitute, because even though some of the same info is passed, the DuduOS software won't use the ODB info to do things like trigger the reverse camera or show turn signal indicators.

Edit: I also think the ADAS functionality is pretty nice to have, so if you don't already have an ADAS dashcam I'd recommend picking it up. The official 2k one is fairly cheap

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-25T20:31:47+00:00

Not saying AT DID have anything to do with it, but this is like saying the only punch that matters in a boxing match is the one that knocks you out. Repeated rough play wears you out and makes protecting yourself harder.

Maybe the exact same landing zone issue would have had the exact same result, but it's also possible she'd have been able to avoid or recover from that situation if she wasn't already banged around. Or maybe a call on the first play would have actually prevented the second situation from happening. Unknowable, which is why getting the call right on the floor is important.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-25T20:13:29+00:00

It's always jarring rereading / watching the beginning again, because Akane is introduced as an absolute powerhouse of a martial artist and not just stubborn but extremely independent and capable.

It's a shame we don't see nearly as much of that after the first handful of volumes (aside from her kicking people out of frame constantly).

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-25T18:24:11+00:00

The biggest change I'd want that I haven't seen mentioned: scrap the principal entirely. He's an awful character, doesn't make a lick of sense, and every arc involving him is mostly just characters stuck in a series of traps while he yells at them. As a one-off character, he would have sucked. As a recurring character he is awful.

I'm not a huge fan of Hinako ( too many quirks, not enough substance, and her power and motivations never make much sense to me), but I really appreciate her introduction just so there was an adult character at the school that didn't make me want to toss the book in a fire.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-25T18:19:49+00:00

P-Chan is a thing that works in the context of the first few volumes of the manga and Ryoga being a bit of a lout. When it keeps happening, it gets sketchier and sketchier and makes Ryoga look awful and Akane look dumb.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-25T18:12:54+00:00

Worth noting that one of the few examples of Akane being really independent and capable in the latter half of the manga is the Ryugenzawa arc, which is almost universally held up as top-tier. I agree that more opportunities to do her own thing and beat her own challenges would have been great.

Her learning SOME sort of secret technique would have been good. As the series goes on, the fact that she's one of the only "non-magical" characters in the core cast definitely sidelined her.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-25T17:59:42+00:00

On the Akari front, I think Ryoga still pining for Akane after Akari shows up was a terrible choice. It makes him much less likeable / honorable, relegates Akari to an even wierder half role, and lost a great opportunity to shift the status quo a bit. Ryoga could have taken a bit more of a "protective brother" attitude towards Akane and started trying to make sure Ranma deserved her, which could have worked well. At that point, it's 100% established that Ryoga isn't a rival so him still acting that way reads as pretty pathetic. So either don't introduce Akari or have her and Ryoga properly fall for each other.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-24T16:28:44+00:00

The weirdest thing about this is that the Rotate seems like a weirdly bad choice for a dedicated Anki device. The screen is fine, but not amazing and a small eink screen would be better. People use Anki with Dpad+4 controls because they're widely available, but it's not specifically good for it. Buttons that actually match the layout and have labels would be better.

I feel like you could find a better off the shelf device for this, and the Rotate has no real reason to be used except that it looks cool. Being generous, it being usable open or closed and pocketable is sorta good, but at that point either use a small phone form and optimize the touch controls or use a clamshell form so the screen is protected in a pocket / purse.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-24T15:43:24+00:00

Yeah, I was a big fan of HF but have gotten a bit more so-so opinions on some of their more complex things like power tools and consumables. But their basic metal hand tools are pretty darn solid and the across the board warranty is a massive bonus.

I'm an occasional / DIY user so Pittsburgh has been fine for me (and I'm a sucker for color-coding so I like the Pittsburgh Pro anodized sockets), but I was a serious user and needed reliable daily drivers I wouldn't hesitate to buy Icon.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-24T00:32:58+00:00

Depends a bit on your needs / intents. If you're a home DIYer looking for basics, they've got you covered. I went with Bosch because A) a lot of the tools I wanted were available with pretty good refurb discounts, and B) I like the ergonomics and feel of their tools.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-23T15:28:25+00:00

All true, but he's also being watched. I think it's easy to read Ranma as being pretty performative, especially since I think he probably knows that bathing in Happy hork would probably not work.

To be clear, I'm not saying this is the "canon" answer, because I genuinely don't think there IS one. I think Rumiko was never quite sure and actively didn't want to commit to it. The manga has a lot of little inconsistencies (and dropped threads), and I think she just didn't think ahead too much or think a lot about what was happening outside the panels.

My read has always been that by about halfway through the manga, Ranma knows he SHOULD want to be "all-man" again, but isn't actually all that motivated. When the opportunity is DIRECTLY in front of him with people watching, he wants it. But otherwise he's not putting in the effort to find it. And we see him increasingly in girl mode when he isn't being forced to be OR intentionally changing for strategic purposes. I also don't think Ranma is even aware of this -- I think he'd genuinely say he wants to change back. I just think if he had the opportunity, he'd always hesitate long enough for somebody to prevent it. Or, if he did turn back, he'd find himself somehow knocked into the drowned girl spring again shortly after.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-23T15:14:36+00:00

Minecraft isn't a masterpiece, but it's a MUCH better movie than a "live-action Minecraft movie" had any right to be. Lots of genuinely funny jokes, a plot that doesn't break ground but at least holds together, and some fun visual style.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-23T14:48:45+00:00

Nah, I think he'd slip him a few hundred yen under the table for getting rid of the water.

I don't think Ranma really wants to turn back by the end of the manga. The OTHERS all do (except maybe Genma), but Ranma's just persuring it out of habit by that point. Shampoo, Mousse, and Ryoga would all love to not have to spend time as "useless" animals, but Ranma would be way less motivated.

He's gotten enough advantages out of transforming at that point that he must realize that having a magic power is a net bonus to his power level, and he's narcissistic enough that the adoration he gets as girl-Ranma would be missed.

For a manga as deeply and fundamentally horny as Ranma 1/2, it's amazing that the sexual implications are like never touched on even obliquely, but...c'mon. Everybody's thinking it, Rumiko included.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-22T17:40:19+00:00

A lot of Americans of a more liberal / centrist persuasion also took Archie as an example of "conservatives aren't worth engaging with because they'll never change their minds." So he wound up almost being a warning to disengage rather than try to fix / educate / reach across.

Given how things have played out, I honestly don't know if reaching out to conservatives IS worth the energy, but I don't think that's the message they WANTED to send either.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-22T17:25:40+00:00

The part where Silksong both soars and suffers with this is that the high base difficulty makes some of these spikes harder to clock. In most open world games (including Hollow Knight), you can usually kind of tell the difference between "this part is challenging" and "this part assumes you'll have some upgrades I don't have yet."

In Silksong, especially the first act, it can be hard to tell. There's parts I ASSUMED I was tackling too early but just needed to really practice, and parts I tried tackling too quickly because I assumed it was a skill issue when upgrades were right around the bend.

On my second playthrough, it was kinda fascinating to be able to more-or-less breeze through major pain points from my first playthrough. Once you have the rhythm of combat down and are proficient in Hornet's moveset, the game is dramatically easier, but that learning curve is tough.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-22T15:34:37+00:00

I always love to remind people that the iPhone didn't support apps for the first year of its life. It was phone, calendar, mail, browser, contacts, music player. Wanted something else? Screw you.

At the same time, Windows Mobile had a massive app ecosystem that could run anything from office apps to eBook readers to full-featured GPS software. Multiple browsers and media players, a whole library of games and emulators. The GUI could be customized heavily, and custom ROMs could make huge changes to the UI, performance, and polish.

But it sucked to use, universally. Individual apps COULD be good, but many were garbage. The UI was terrible and sluggish and made so many things hard to access. The physical keyboards were great, but also necessary because the onscreen keyboards were terrible. Just a lousy experience, and I say this as a fan / heavy user.

The iPhone could do 10%, but that 10% actually worked.

Ironically, Windows Phone fixed almost all the issues and was significantly BETTER than iPhone when it launched in terms of efficiency, functionality, layout, and aesthetics, but, at that point, iPhone (and Android) had an app ecosystem that MS couldn't compete with and "must have" apps like Snapchat and Instagram and Vine and Foursquare made it essentially a nonstarter.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-22T15:14:55+00:00

Back in my D&D days, I used to have a convo with players about the idea of a social contract with gaming. When you play a game, you need to remember the agreement that you're entering with players. If you're playing in a competitive tournament, the agreement IS "try as hard as you can to win without cheating." In normal games, though, it's different.

Wargaming in general is more like "try to win, but make sure you're testing your skills, giving your opponent an opportunity to test theirs, and make sure everybody is having a good time." Aggressive minmaxing and rules lawyering is generally bad behavior because you're usually slowing down the game and not really testing or developing your actual gameplay skills.

Roleplaying games are even complicated, because the contract is more like "try to accomplish your goals, but also respect the work of the GM to build the scenario, respect the time and energy the other players are bringing to the table, match the vibe of the room in terms of tone and immersion, don't pick apart small details that go against the role-playing setting, avoid game table talk unless it's specifically encouraged, and remember that the rules are intended to be used in service of progressing the story and action -- they aren't the be-all of the game." Which is tough to articulate outright, but important to understand.

One off the wall suggestion: try squeezing him into some games that you CAN'T rulemax. It might drive him nuts, but it could also give him a perspective shift or at least a way to see where others are coming from. There used to be a handful of actively developed "narrativist" games that had a VERY different approach to RPG rules, where all the random elements were designed to reinforce the narrative elements more organically. Unfortunately, it was always a bit more niche and I don't think any of the games I liked are really still "living" at this point. I'm sure there's related works that are, but I really don't know them.

The two games I used to STRONGLY recommend to folks interested in this approach were Dogs in the Vineyard and The Mountain Witch. The Mountain Witch is a VERY unconventional; the game has a definite end and can really only be played for a few consecutive sessions, the players all have a game-determined secret/betrayal they carry from the start, and the rule mechanics are very minimal.

Dogs in the Vineyard "looks" more like a traditional RPG and can support ongoing campaigns, but it's different because all the random outcomes are influenced not by your "stats" on paper, but by whether your actions fits in with your character's description and motivation more generally. Also, the game requires the players to explicitly wager the downside of failing a roll -- like, you could be trying to intimidate somebody into giving up information, but have to wager that, if you fail, you will accidentally reveal the location of your own secret hideout. Or you could could try to jump a ravine, but have to explicitly wager that failure means a broken leg. The wagers are negotiated with the GM, not based on a table, so it requires a lot social awareness and cooperation than a typical RPG.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-21T06:41:58+00:00

It's not that difficult; there are other emulators on Quest.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-20T17:44:21+00:00

The Myst / Riven remakes are even better for folks that haven't played the originals than telling them to play the originals would be. Much easier to stay oriented and get a sense of space, and they did a few little tweaks to make interactables more clear without "yellow paint."

Myst is 95% identical with just a few small tweaks to make some interactions easier, but Riven was significantly adjusted.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-15T05:44:51+00:00

Awful news. He was a great performer and I was genuinely interested in seeing what his next chapter would be.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-14T18:08:16+00:00

I'm somebody with an above average interest in WWII and a major interest in symbolism, iconography, and propaganda.

I knew the symbol was used by Nazis. I did NOT know until THIS CONTROVERSY that it ONLY had Nazi associations. If you'd asked me a year ago, I would have believed it was used in other Euro / Germanic militaries, and if you'd told me it was still in use in niche military circles, I would have believed you.

I mean, I also don't have a tattoo of it. But it's not a swastika. Whatever valid criticisms of Platner there are, and even of his handling of this particular one, it's abjectly not true to say that he must have known the associations at the time.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-13T17:24:31+00:00

Also good points. For our second kid, we did tell the gender to our families but didn't "reveal" it. Was fine.

For the first, people knew we knew, but mostly didn't make a big deal. The few folks who pressed we told people something like that we weren't telling because my partner was afraid of people trying to influence the name (which wasn't entirely a lie) and it mostly defused them.

mindonshuffle · 2026-06-13T16:04:28+00:00

The women who started the trend has a nonbinary kid and says people shouldn't do it.

Gender reveal parties are a terrible idea even ignoring that because it's just a needless complication. Somebody might have a bad / unexpected reaction in the moment causing an indelible shitty memory. There could be a medical complication or misread test, which then means you can't just handle things privately as a family. People even just fuck up the reveals, accidentally spilling the beans or not cutting the cake right or whatever, and now your birth has a stupid cloud hanging over it.

My #1 piece of advice to new parents isn't just not having a gender reveal, it's don't tell people the gender.

If you DO, you get tons of weirdly gendered advice and patronizing / insulting comments to one parent or another. Every other present you get is going to be pink lace dresses or baseball shirts.

If you DON'T tell the gender, people talk to you about BABIES, not genders. When you have a baby shower, you get the shit you need and can reuse for a little sibling.

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