Hey that’s super helpful, I really appreciate it! Thank you! I haven’t checked in on the project(s) in quite a while. :)

Do not compare evils, lest you be tempted to cleave with the least of them!

–Victor Saltzpyre

(A raw line probably inspired by somebody else lol)

My highschool was a smaller charter school that was essentially a bunch of connected / encircled modular buildings.

I actually kinda miss it because it had different vocational paths and I ended up in a student-run computer shop. We actually fixed things around the campus and other people’s machines and stuff. Shame that sort of thing kinda fell out of relevance, job-wise!

We also had a large computer lab where we played things like CounterStrike Source, Battlefield Desert Combat or 2142, and sometimes Unreal Tournament maybe?

Lol anyway, to your question: I think I might have been popular-ish. In the sense that I think I was a sort of “ambassador” between groups.

I made friends with the drama kids, the nerds, had some goth friends, stoner / skater friends, and I’d often introduce them to each other. I had my “circle” but I was that guy who sorta knew almost everybody.

I think the thing I miss most is that everyone saw each other as individuals back then. Surface level you might fit with a “group” sure, but we tended to see each other as people and for the most part they got along.

But sadly when I moved away after graduation, only like one friend really made the effort to keep up with me over the years. :( Quality best friend though!

But I still think of them often and hope they’re doing okay in this crazy world…

Minecraft is still the hardest thing to host lol

I’m actually considering hosting a Luanti / “MineTest” server for this experience, since my wife lost her Minecraft account / key thingy since the time we played in beta ages ago haha.

I wonder if it’s any easier to host or not. 🤔

…which means MS is still steering the ship.

And boy, have they been drinking all the rum. :(

And just like that, Microsoft goes straight to jail LMAO.

But oh yeah, I’ve seen those. Those would also be included under this law! We can have both! Lol

Seriously though, I’m talking specifically when any little thing that stops someone from doing what they’re doing and it’ll usually say “Hey, this is why it’s not working. Please tell someone this message.”

“…it just says error?”

Hurt my soul. I’m so done with that nonsense lol.

Telling any support staff individual

“It just says error.”

Punishment compounded based upon the degree of detailed information you simply decided to not bother reading before seeking assistance.

Lol

Yeah but the line for “shipped code” goes up which looks GREAT in meetings! Look! The line! Lines going up! As lines must! Always!

And that profile picture suggests he is a Roblox kid.

…Who got rich “hiring” kids to build his Roblox games because that whole ecosystem is built on the unpaid labor of children.

I would hope, but on the whole you’d almost think they deliberately purged home computing from the mainstream consciousness, with how tragically ignorant the average person is about anything that isn’t a little poke-driven rectangle that screams at you all day.

anime without dimming

So that’s the secret! When I first noticed this happening I thought I was a little bit crazy lol.

I’m a newb still but was put off by having to use “Conda” to manage a ton of virtual Python environments ultra-specific to the applications they were designed for. Blegh!

Haha I have folks there! Lived there for a bit too! Between Okie and Cali, I think now I subconsciously adjust my twang to adapt to my surroundings. 😂

It’s like getting “Lord of the RIngs” movie, but about some gang war in a village southeast of Umbar.

Hey, War of the Rohirim was actually pretty alright! :p

Look I’m a simple man, I can’t get enough of Optimus Prime’s stellar voice work. :D

It’s not an incredible franchise. But hey I think they had some fun with a series that was basically designed to sell 80’s toys lol.

Luke casually tossing away an item that had been set up as important in the previous film were not the right changes.

Agreed big time. This felt less like “cleverly unexpected” and more just a total disrespect for the source material.

“Hey remember the symbol of hopeful optimism you followed through trials and tribulations for 3 movies a long time ago? He’s now a cynical burnout drunk uncle lol. Isn’t that sooo unexpected but relatable and grim? SUBVERTED! I’ll take my Oscar now…”

It felt like if some grimdark-TV-bros got ahold of a sequel to the LOTR trilogy, and we were to suddenly find Aragorn a heartless wannabe totalitarian ruler in the middle of a bitter divorce with Arwen. There would also be silly gags where he drunkenly shatters Andúril trying to cut a melon or something, and the kids absolutely loathe him because dysfunctional interpersonal drama is trendy. “Didn’t expect that, did you?? Lol!”

…Then being told your expectations were childish and stupid when you find yourself upset by this. Lol

I really hate what they did to Luke’s character. It felt like they deliberately trashed him and everything he stood for so some random nobody gimmick character doesn’t look as 2-dimensional. :(

The Ben Swolo memes were hilarious though.

Andor is an incredible espionage thriller and I do absolutely love it.

This is also why I liked Rogue One and also the series “Rebels.”

It made the Empire believable, and the Rebels really are an insurgency, the galactic situation is dire and against overwhelming odds. It doesn’t just feel like a hero fantasy.

(Rebels can sometimes, it’s geared to a younger audience, but it takes itself surprisingly seriously in a great way.)

The “subverting expectations” thing is was ruined it for me.

You could feel the “Too-clever TV writers” at work here. It felt like later-GoT and LOST where stuff randomly “just happens” and has zero payoff because it was written without any kind of grounding or plan, but it sure was surprising and subverted expectations!!! …and then you catch on that there never was a plan, it was just a moment to get an emotional rise out of you, and nothing makes any sense outside of a very limited 5-minute window.

But it’s a self contained story and doesn’t get potentially-numerous “seasons” to come up with a reason “This totally makes sense, you guys. I had it planned all along!”

So yeah, what we’re left with is a “deconstruction”…as in:

“Someone kept loosening bolts and pulling off panels until the hangar was a total mess, but they still don’t understand how an X-Wing works…annnd CREDITS ROLL!”

Also, the way they completely dumped Finn’s character and relegated him to “Guy who shouts ‘RAAAAAAAAAY’ every 10 minutes.” is an absolute insult to competent acting and what could’ve been a beloved and deep character.

why haven’t both sides been doing that all the time?

I feel like this can at least be backed up. It should be ridiculously costly in terms of sheer resources and personnel, and therefore utterly foolish in 99% of scenarios.

We can posit that hyperspace generators should be expensive in terms of resources and credits, and should get exponentially more expensive as the ship size increases, so making “hyperspace warheads” should also be foolish…

But on the other hand, to take down something like the Death Star, I imagine such a maneuver would have seemed worth it!

I think that sums up why the last two sequel films bothered me so much: They went for emotional "woah!"s by pulling things out of nowhere unexpectedly…But then you think about it for 5 seconds and it all falls apart quick.