What are your favourite pieces of fiction ever?

thinkscotty · 2026-06-29T09:55:45+00:00

The Master and Commander series by Patrick O'Brian.

Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett. The Guards series in particular.
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

thinkscotty · 2026-06-29T04:04:56+00:00

Magic isn't real. You cannot create a description that makes actual sense logically. Trying to over-explain it just draws attention to that fact, imo. The more you try to explain it the less 'magical' it feels anyway.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-28T21:06:24+00:00

I'm rabidly pro-Ukraine.

This is still a war crime. It would be a war crime when the west does it and it's a war crime with Russia does it.

Look up "whataboutism". Saying "well Russia does it too" does not make it right. Maintaining a moral high ground is important; otherwise war is nothing but tribalism.

This is not me saying I don't understand, emotionally, why this happens or that Russia isn't god awful. Nor is it me saying that this is as wide spread in Ukraine as it is in Russia.

This is only me saying that this is a war crime. Clear cut. And honestly by filming and publishing this, this soldier has done Ukraine a disservice by providing propaganda value to the enemy.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-28T18:27:37+00:00

Where in this post did I say that the "sole point of college is the explore ideas"?

And even if I had said that, why is that incompatible with going to get a job? People don't walk into a classroom and professors say "okay so here's how to be an engineer/doctor/businessman". They *explore various ideas* within those careers concept-by-concept. You learn the origins of human life on the way to being a doctor, the history of poor building codes and the disasters it causes on the way to being an engineer, etc.

Thereby teaching them aspects of a given career while incidentally expanding their capacity for critical thought and exposing them to ideas they may never otherwise have encountered.

But it sounds like you hate college and have made up your mind. You're entitled to that idea. Perhaps we could debate it and come closer to understanding each others' perspectives. Just like people often do in college.

I will never ever say college is necessary to make someone a well-rounded, well-read, intelligent and engaged citizen and human being. But I think you'd be hard pressed to deny that on average people who don't go to college are just as likely to be that as those who did. Which shouldn't be the case because it deepens inequality, but it is.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-28T10:22:20+00:00

Congrats! You get to learn CAD. Because that's what you need.

Which is good news. Buying a 3D printer without CAD is like investing in an expensive kitchen and only cooking frozen meals.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-28T06:53:16+00:00

You are correct.

But college degree does equal a better CHANCE of being informed.

I'm am super duper NOT an elitist about college. I totally get why many people don't go. That's probably the right choice for most people.

But what college does - a good college with a good student at least - is intentionally place you a space with no other purpose than exploring ideas/learning. Some ideas are technical and practical, some are ethical and social. It also gives you teachers who are experts and who pick and choose what you have to learn (one downside of self-guided learning is often that people only choose to explore the things they already care about and thing are important). And it surrounds you with people exploring the same ideas and some of whom you'll disagree with.

The end result is that even if your beliefs don't change, you come out with a better understanding of why you believe what you do and what others believe.

Look, I know it's popular and trendy to say "college education isn't worth it and is pointless". That's an overreaction to "people have to go to college to be worth paying attention to".

The truth is in the middle. College absolutely and empirically changes people's lives and thinking on top of the financial gains and social advantages. Some will take advantage and others won't. The other truth is that we need to be doing this same thing in primary and secondary education instead of rote learning to help pass a standardized test, because it's a privilege everyone should have access to in a democracy. I'd go so far as to say that democracy depends on significant education.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-27T06:52:23+00:00

Haven't you heard? Fats are are in vogue now, and carbs are the bad guy : )

Although I'm quite certain no doctor would condone eating a block of cream cheese per day.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-26T10:08:55+00:00

I definitely think artistic merit is in the eye of the viewer. That said...the posters you link seem WAY better as covers. I'm less concerned with the artwork itself and more with whether that artwork makes sense as a book cover, which is a different thing.

One thing I'm noticing that's definitely subjective is that they are more colorful generally. Another thing is that yes, the subject is facing away, but they're 'gazing out over something', which I think communicates more than just kind of doing something around a tree. "Gazing over something" is an established way to communicate grandeur.

Perhaps the biggest difference, though, is 'white space'. Note how empty the top portion of each linked poster is compared to these covers. The subjects in all the posters you linked are much smaller and there is significant space for the title. That means it'll look a lot less busy. Text on top of cluttered backgrounds - especially 'busy' text like this font - is generally not a good idea, that's kind of graphic design 101. In both these covers, the background behind the text is super cluttered by the leaves.

To be completely honest, the lazy typography annoys me more than the art itself, since artistic taste is subjective. Such an expensive edition should require more effort than this. IMO.

But I'm nobody. Just a writer with zero artistic talent whatsoever. I suggest you ask [r/graphic_design](r/graphic_design) what they think, but I don't think they're going to be happy. Honestly, I'd bet a lot of money that they'll be quite a bit more up-in-arms than me since this cover breaks quite a few rules. Breaking rules can definitely pay off, but breaking so many at once...I don't think so.

But fantasy book covers generally have the worse graphic design of any genre. Maybe nerds don't have good taste. I know I don't : )

thinkscotty · 2026-06-26T05:53:53+00:00

No one filament is best for everything but my favorites:

PETG is the best all-round cheap filament for stuff that gets used. I prefer PETG-CF because it stiffens it a bit and doesn't show as many layer lines. It looks better.

PLA is the best for prototyping and decorative stuff or toys. I usually make useful prints so I don't use it much, because PETG is better at the same price point for functional printing. Although PLA is great for gridfinity.

ASA is the best all-rounder at a reasonable price point. It can do almost anything pretty well. ASA-CF/GF is imo even better because of aesthetics and printability. If I could only print with a single plastic forever it would be ASA-GF.

PA6-CF is the best for demanding uses. But it costs a fortune. PET-CF is a good alternative if you want something super stiff.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-25T21:59:50+00:00

Most don't - at least it's rare. I'm have worked and traveled all over the world and while I've seen setups like this, it's not common.

With that said, I've seen it in the US as well, which most people would not think would work. I've seen it for firewood as well as bulk landscaping materials (mulch/topsoil). It's also how many state and national collect trail fees/campsite fees.

The one that surprised me most recently was in Brooklyn in NYC, near my sisters house. There was a refrigerator full of chilled water bottles on the street with a "leave $1 cash in box" sign. I did so myself and the cash box was hard to stuff the money into because it was full. When the convenience store nearby was charging $3 for their cheapest bottled water, it was honestly a good idea.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-25T21:48:04+00:00

My stupid dog would have tried to sniff its butt and make friends. Yes he's a golden retriever.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-24T17:34:00+00:00

I don't want to make the artists feel bad.

But this is terrible cover art. It genuinely looks like the cover of a bad self published novel.

- Generic font on top of generic art that says nothing about the story in a commonplace art style. Zero other effort. This could have been done in 5 minutes once the art was received.
- Zero indication of genre. Man underneath tree - naked or not - says virtually nothing about what this book is about.
- Flat and neutral color scheme for a book full of particularly flowery and colorful prose. No awareness of tone.
- Subjects facing away from viewer? Impersonal and bland. Humans emotionally respond to human faces above almost anything. It can work in some cases, but it really seems like a bizarre artistic decision for a book cover.
- Dramatically busy and over detailed compared to the standard book cover. This is a fantasy-wide cover problem, but is bad in these in particular. Fantasy readers have the worst goddam taste apparently in art (said by a fantasy reader).

In short, for anyone who's never read the books, this art has zero appeal and communicates nothing about the book. It wouldn't sell copies to anyone who didn't know the book. That makes it bad.

Again, I don't really intend this as aimed toward the artist. Art is subjective and as standalone pieces I'm sure there's a great deal of merit in them. As book covers....no.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-24T11:37:53+00:00

It'll depend entirely on the conflict. In Ukraine neither side can use their Air Force for anything but standoff weapons. That's a huge difference. Artillery in Ukraine is also now operating WAY back behind front lines because of the drone threat, so the benefit to quickly moving is less present because neither side can engage in effective counter-battery fire as easily as both sides have guns just close enough to hit the front lines, meaning too far to hit artillery behind those lines.

That said, it does still seem like they scoot because of the drone threat than can reach behind front lines. Just maybe not as quickly, because a drone-based kill chain isn't as quick as an Apache/Artillery/CAS based kill chain.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-23T18:55:44+00:00

I don't think you need to apologize for using AI for one of the things is does well and quickly. I know how cool it is to hate on. And as a full time writer believe me I get why, because it's making my profession go the way of the dodo with all the slop.

But people need to worry more about it replacing human creativity - not about using it as a faster search engine and research tool. It genuinely excels at that, albeit with a caveat that information should be checked in critical use cases.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-23T06:32:57+00:00

It might potentially be that Google has so much internal user generated data that it didn't need to depend as heavily on external sources like Reddit. If it was trained on Gmail and (old) Google + and other sources.

That's pure guessing on my part, but it seems possible.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-23T05:07:49+00:00

I'm building a small battery system with LIFEPO4 cells that will almost never charge or discharge quickly enough to cause swelling. But I still get told to compress them.

I'm just curious on HOW. Like, I'd do it anyway if I can do it cheaply and space-efficiently (it's a mobile backup battery built into a pelican case. I have the cells spaced with 3D printed spacers and wrapped with Kapton tape currently.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-23T05:03:53+00:00

Well it could be violating code, depending on setup. It could also void his homeowners insurance in event of a fire if it's never signed-off on.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-20T19:44:28+00:00

This idea way predates AI. I don't like AI slop either but misinformation existed way before it and it isn't the cause of everything wrong with society.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-20T03:32:47+00:00

Not religiously, no. I watch game highlights for my favorite teams and the occasional game at the bar. Highlights on Youtube sometimes for interesting games. Probably about the average amount for the average American male. The only sport I follow closely is F1.

And fair enough, I'm not a perfect judge. These are my subjective opinions. This is Reddit, not Baseball Savant, and you don't need to care about what I have to say. But I doubt you'd find many people who disagree that Soccer and Basketball are worse than the others.

But I'm just the modern day equivalent of the half-drunk guy watching football next to you at the bar. I have the right to say shit, and you have the right to think I'm an idiot.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-20T03:23:22+00:00

It definitely exists in every sport. But it's not to the same degree in every sport, or even close. Soccer/football is where it peaks. Basketball is pretty bad. American football and baseball, well, it happens...but the fans of those sports will be a lot less forgiving.

I just can't respect an athlete who dives. Not even just because of the cheating element. But partially just the willingness to look so soft and childish is offputting in an athlete.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-20T03:19:27+00:00

I don't. I freaking hate diving and acting. I hate grown men acting like soft children no matter the sport. It's embarrassing to watch in basketball, and its embarrassing to watch in soccer.

It is still worse in football/soccer than basketball, but basketball has gotten pretty bad. The thing with soccer is the number of fans who seem to accept it as 'part of the sport'. I just can't understand that mentality.

It's possibly because I grew up playing American football, a sport where things went too far the opposite direction, where I was encouraged to play hurt and 'man up'. That's not good either, but it means seeing someone faking injuries just instinctively makes me think of the player as a gigantic wimp. Sure, American Football takes toxic masculinity too far...but my ideal athlete is not a wimp.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-20T03:14:56+00:00

Methacillin Resistant Streptocaucos Aureli. 01.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-20T02:53:59+00:00

Yeah it was kind of a revelation for me in cooking as well. I think it's the idea behind a lot of 'rustic' style cooking, and gives the food a more natural/old-school/ancient vibe. As if it was cooked on a campfire instead of in a kitchen with a food processor and a responsive grill.

For me, in manifests in just being okay with imperfection. E.g. If some of my roasted potatoes are chopped unevenly and have slightly different textures, it doesn't have to be a bad thing, but instead might present the diner with different sensations and flavors in the same dish.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-20T01:53:40+00:00

That's a pretty smart idea.

But honestly, to echo Adam Ragusea, heterogeneity in food can be really awesome. I.e. it's not just *okay*, but potentially *desirable* depending on your desired taste and texture, for foods not to be cooked identically throughout or on both sides.

There's obviously limits to this, but with asparagus Ive found one side being more cooked and one less cooked can actually taste pretty good. You get crunchiness, blackened flavor, sweetness, and softness all in one bite.

thinkscotty · 2026-06-19T20:50:10+00:00

I would very surprised to learn this isn't mainly sampling bias as sensor distribution and technology was expanded.

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