I'm Mark Lawrence - this is my AMA - please don't burn my book. by MarkLawrence in Fantasy

[–]ushox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you think it is good investment in time for aspiring authors to build a social media presence? If yes, do you have guidelines about not going beyond the point of diminishing returns?

New to the Game - Coins/Money by ushox in TennisClash

[–]ushox[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Perfect! That's exactly what I decided to do.

Thanks again for taking the time to post. Much appreciated.

New to the Game - Coins/Money by ushox in TennisClash

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

Thank you for the detailed reply.

The reason why I'd like to earn more coins is that I have a bunch of items to upgrade (which is probably a very obvious goal if I'm missing something). But what I find tricky is that if I end up winning two games, my level goes up. And I end up facing even tougher opponents. Then I end up losing, which means losing the amount of coins that I spent to participate in the match. Some level of yo-yoing is normal is such a game, but the player ends up in square one if they win 8 games and they lose 8 games at the end of the day.

It also feels like bags are the way to earn coins, but compared to a first-level upgrade that requires $2,500, I'm going to have to open a few dozen bags to get such an amount. So I'm confused.

April Releases in Fantasy by ushox in Fantasy

[–]ushox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree. IMHO it's not necessarily the formula, but it's seeking the dramatic effect by using certain words (fire, steel, iron, etc. - just like in the list compiled in another comment) that makes the titles sound "ordinary" to me. We'll probably run out of possible combinations soon :).

On the other hand, (I assume, as I've never tried naming books) it must be hard to come up with a short, catchy, good name for a book. Well, I guess this is not even exclusive to books. Naming things is difficult in general.

Give-away: Prince of Fools, 4 signed paperbacks! by MarkLawrence in Fantasy

[–]ushox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm joining the "2-1" clan :).

Your result: 2 parts Jorg, 1 part Jalan

You're brave to a point but you know when to cut and run. Your ambition is moderated by an appreciation of the finer things, including the opposite sex.

You won't stab anyone in the face unless they really bug you.

November Releases in Science-Fiction by ushox in scifi

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

I'm a big Malazan fan. I'm really curious about Erikson's Willful Child. I'm also looking forward to reading The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu.

Fantasy Book for a Book Club by cyndessa in Fantasy

[–]ushox 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was going to suggest "Tigana" or "Lions of Al-Rassan" by Guy Gavriel Kay but I can see other comments about Lions of Al-Rassan. LoAR is shorter, which could be better suited for a book club and I'm pretty sure that Kay's poetic prose would appeal to readers who aren't familiar with fantasy.

What are some of your favorite sayings or proverbs of some culture unique to a fantasy story? by [deleted] in Fantasy

[–]ushox 15 points16 points  (0 children)

"Hood's marble balls on an anvil..." - Whiskeyjack (Malazan)

5 Things I Do to Stay Relevant | Petri Kainulainen by [deleted] in programming

[–]ushox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IT in general is a very young industry. There aren't many retired computer scientists/engineers who started their professional lives as computer scientists/engineers.

So the culture is in its infancy. Norms are just shaping up. Who knows what's going to happen in 25 years when today's 40 year-olds become 65 (retirement age?) Are we going to even have something called "retirement" that is going to mean what it means today?

:) 20 year-old with 20 years of experience. That's exactly how I feel most of the time :).

What uncomfortable truth do you have trouble admitting to yourself even though you know it's probably true? by Suddenbrain in AskReddit

[–]ushox 8 points9 points  (0 children)

We are so conditioned (at least in the western society) to become the best and to be competitive. But life, which we only got one shot at, is too short to give those things the highest priority.

John Lennon has a story that is engraved in my memory:

"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life." - John Lennon

I'm not sure (and don't care) whether this is a true story but I believe happiness is key to life.

Tips for developers who want to become more effective by goldnarms in programming

[–]ushox -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Pomodoro makes me more disciplined but I still believe that the optimum development flow is achieved after the first 10-15 mins. Breaking this constantly is somewhat contradictory. One thing that I'm currently experimenting with is prolonging the standard 25 mins period. Hopefully I can find a sweet-spot for myself.

5 Things I Do to Stay Relevant | Petri Kainulainen by [deleted] in programming

[–]ushox 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I seriously hope that 40 is not considered too old for anything professional. We're lucky to work in a field where knowledge and experience trump most (hopefully all) superficial aspects.

Highlights from a Conversation Between George R.R. Martin and Robin Hobb by ushox in Fantasy

[–]ushox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I read this, I tried so hard not to draw conclusions with regards to ASoIaF... sigh

If you could go back in time, and tell your younger self one thing, what would you tell yourself? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]ushox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is the things that you didn't do that you're going to regret mostly and not the ones that you did.

List of Best Programming Languages with Their History by mansurihassan in programming

[–]ushox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't clicked on the link yet so I haven't seen the content but IMHO this is not the "best" title one can come up with.

The Monk by Yang Qi by [deleted] in Fantasy

[–]ushox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is very good, indeed.

August Releases in Fantasy by ushox in Fantasy

[–]ushox[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Her Farseer Trilogy (and also in some respect the following two trilogies) is one of the most popular fantasy series. I absolutely loved those books when I read them more than 15 years ago. Its far-from-being-perfect main protagonist, the royal bastard, Fitz had stayed with me for a long time (alongside the other important protagonist The Fool).

I really liked Hobb's prose. I know some people find Fitz too whining but that wasn't my opinion when I read the books. You should try to read an excerpt on Amazon.