Grungie

I love collecting vinyl. It’s also silly how this article comes out annually for the past decade.

What about laptops plugged into a monitor/keyboard?

I love how every time this question gets asked, everyone ignores this as an option.

I have both

I just have Plex and a file server. I don't have security cameras or anything like that.

2 hours ago, Jason said:

I could imagine anger over an inheritance, but not that. 

That's the problem with those guys, it's whining about first world problems like your parents not buying you video games, or how your parents are assholes for telling you to get a job.

20 hours ago, Jason said:

What is a NEET?   What kind of crappy personality do you mean?

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEET
 

They’re usually spoiled brats, except more annoying because instead of some 10 year old kid acting like that, it’s a grown adult. I’ve met a handful on forums, and they trash talk their parents all the time over first world problems like they’re still stuck in that rebellious teenager phase.

”My dad’s an asshole, he won’t buy me that new Call of Duty game”.

Dude… you’re 30…

3 hours ago, Kyng said:

Given the way house prices are here in the UK, it's pretty much impossible for many people to move out at 18. In fact, a decent number of people (myself included) still haven't moved out at 30! 

 

Though, I do at least have a job, so that's something 😛 . 

I don’t shit on people who still live with their parents, I do shit on them if they’re a NEET. Sadly they usually have a shitty personality to go along with it.

I haven't had my phone at work in like 7 years thanks to emanation security.

1 hour ago, Jason said:

 Of course, small nations don't want to be pushed around by bigger ones.  Of course, Ukraine wants NATO to help defend themselves.  It's like Cuba formerly wanting the Soviet Union's help.

In this case, how can we understand the POV of aggressors?   They always have reasons, like when the Germany invaded the Soviet Union to save the world from Communism, supposedly.

You didn’t answer anything I just said.

9 hours ago, Jason said:

Just as much as with George W. being one.  However, I suppose a point is that the love of his family value stuff might cause some to overlook the suppression of freedom and war 

Idk what George Bush has to do with any of this. I'm also not sure where you're pulling any of this stuff from. Also, it was mentioned earlier that most of the countries condeming Russia are also predominantly Christian, so saying he's being criticized for being Christian is just pulling a strawman.

Russian spy confirmed.

23 hours ago, Uncrowned Guard said:

I do enjoy everything on one platform, but I would much rather see less exclusive content and not give up a competitive market that is currently pro-consumer to achieve it.  Granted, the bigger issue in this move for me is once again a company is pulling purchased movies and content that they made users believe they "owned" and offering nothing in return.

I will agree that what Sony did with not honoring old download codes is really shitty. It's not like Crunchyroll bought Funimation and then nuked the codes. It was Sony (who already owned Funimation), bought Crunchyroll, and then nuked people's Funimation codes. It's like... wut? Though this is the same company that owned two streaming services, and still had their stuff split between them for years.

Sadly I think the problem with streaming and exclusive content is that I don't think there's much to do besides exclusive content. It's like video game consoles, where there isn't much going on besides having something nobody else has, but worse as there's no specs to worry about. Monopolistic competition is kind of the only way to proceed, especially with something as fickle as licences on media.

Someone like Sentai Filmworks would benefit from having their shows on multiple platforms, as they're just a license holder, and release physical media. Whereas Sony owns both the shows and the streaming service. They don't have to worry about fiddle around with license agreements with some third party company. They can just go "oh, I own this show" <hits upload>.

I also don't think the anime streaming market was really ever that competitive. The anime streaming world was really just Funimation vs Crunchyroll, with Netflix getting one or two big name shows a season (at best), or you go there to watch old shows from several years ago. Even for a long time, Crunchyroll was the only place for up to date content, and Funimation would license it awhile later and Crunchyroll would pull it.

3 hours ago, Jason said:

Well, honestly, the world is all about playing the victim.  For instance, you can say Ukraine was invaded by Russia, but you could also say the USA is using Ukraine to colonize Russia (I know it sounds crazy, but that's a common Putin-supporter opinion in Russia.).

Okay, but what does the Christian part have to do with anything?

Anyone that thinks he’s being persecuted for being Christian is doing some serious gymnastics.

On one hand, monopolies can be annoying. Though it will be less annoying when you have to juggle more than one streaming service for anime, and some shows are split between services where one or more seasons are on one service, and the other seasons are on another.

Walk away

3 hours ago, Uncrowned Guard said:

Most of the rural schools around me still have wood shops, but as far as I know, none have brought back anything related to metalworking or other trades.  I have heard shops are making a comeback as well, so hopefully we will start to see them as a more common thing once more.

We have a few with welding classes around here. Though we also have quite a few factories, and construction is "popular" here.

I don’t think anybody should, but if they can afford it, I don’t see why not.

Though if they’re still gonna live with their parents, they should either have a job and/or go to college. At least do something productive with themselves.

I watch the History Channel

8 hours ago, Uncrowned Guard said:

I'm okay with the loss of cursive, to this day I always found it extremely odd that not only is English a messed up language, but we had to learn two ways to write it.  

I find the loss of shops to be the largest issue.  I don't necessarily jump on the "schools should teach all life skills" bandwagons, but I do believe students should have the opportunity to explore possible trades and careers they may want to follow.  

Iirc, a lot more rural schools have shop classes, and there’s articles from last year that they’re bringing them back to urban schools.

I'm with Kyng. I don't think anyone "deserves" it, but there are people who either act in a way, or do things that should have seen it coming.

If everywhere you go has people give you shit for the same thing, you need to sit down and evaluate what you're doing and how that angers people. Is it something people are just assholes about? Or are you doing something annoying?

I do somewhat often. Collecting physical albums is one of my oldest hobbies. I even bought a brand new cassette last year.

I feel a lot of internet activism is kind of pointless, especially on social media. I don’t think anyone’s ever had their opinions changed on Facebook or Twitter. It’s usually people posting for validation from their peers, or just pretending to be worldly.

On 1/3/2024 at 1:34 PM, Jason said:

A big problem with Confederate statues is they are often in large southern USA cities with large numbers of African Americans, so obviously they're not popular.  Well, looking at voting records of AA, they've never voted with the whites they're for the most part, with FDR being one exception, so that's a big reason for their persecution.

The vast majority of those statues were also added during the Jim Crow era, like a lot of Confederate imagery.

6 hours ago, Uncrowned Guard said:

I'd like to expand on this point by noting how easily individuals can find themselves in echo chambers online, particularly those with negative or morally questionable viewpoints. In these spaces, not only are such stances accepted, but they are often reinforced and amplified by like-minded individuals. This can lead to the formation of communities with increasingly toxic ideologies, sometimes expressed in subtle but harmful ways. The concerning aspect is when members of these echo chambers venture into more general communities, they may find themselves confused or frustrated by the lack of acceptance for their views, not realizing the toxicity that they've internalized and are projecting.  That user will likely proclaim they are being bullied, but in truth, they are simply out of touch with reality in many cases.

Interestingly, this is a key reason why I continue to host forums on most of my websites. As someone with strong opinions, I'm aware of how easy it is to inadvertently create an echo chamber myself, especially when you're the sole creator of content. By fostering a public community, I'm not claiming it's a foolproof solution, but it certainly introduces valuable checks and balances. This setup allows users to actively engage and question the direction of content and discussions, providing a broader range of perspectives and helping to prevent the formation of a one-sided narrative.

The echo chamber thing is definitely very real, but a lot of the time what can freak people out, is when it’s an echo chamber for seemingly more benign stuff.

I personally don’t like joining very specific fandom type communities and try to join ones that are more broad. An example of what I mean by specific versus broad is I like video games, particularly JRPG’s. I’ll join a JRPG community, but I won’t join one dedicated for a single franchise.

A lot of the time, they end up being too positive. The fandom can do no wrong, fostering an echo chamber. So when someone leaves that fandom specific community, they freak out when they realize that some opinions from that community aren’t well received, or worse, the fandom they like isn’t well received.

Not saying you have to change your opinion, but it can cause people to freak out when they’re not used to being around someone with a differing opinion. Then there’s people who just can’t handle someone not liking the thing they like, but that’s a different discussion there…

So I suggest joining communities with more varied opinions. For example, I’m into computers, and I noticed that it’s not uncommon for PC gamers to not be knowledgeable about computers outside of gaming. They know more than the average person, or are around technologically illiterate people, so it can create the illusion they’re very well versed.

So when they only engage with others whose entire computer choices involve gaming, certain hardware choices, or the mere existence of a product not targeted at gaming can baffle people. Some of the confusion would be for expensive products whose intended purpose isn’t explicitly stated (ie color grading monitor). Other times they’re baffled that people buy things like Chromebooks and tablets, as the mere thought of someone using a computer for nothing more than basic web browsing is alien, or not being shackled to a desk is alien.

So I definitely encourage seeing more varied communities to see a wider view.

1 hour ago, Uncrowned Guard said:

This observation holds true for numerous issues encountered in the digital world. It's important to remember that online interactions are inherently public and can quickly place individuals in contentious situations. While this in no way justifies bullying or similar behaviors – there are always more constructive approaches – it's crucial to recognize the ease with which one can inadvertently create adversaries in various online spaces. Whether it’s joining a new community, engaging in a conversation, or commenting on a post, a few seconds and a few words can significantly impact how others perceive and interact with you online.

I think because of meeting various people in life, I started realizing there’s two sides to every story. I usually try to see both sides before making a conclusion.

There are people who have really bad luck, and end up in really crappy situations by happenstance, and other people brought it upon themselves. 

There are communities that are like a magnet for toxic people, and other times, I see people who treat any kind of criticism or anything remotely negative as cyberbullying.

For the former, if every community you meet in that particular field or hobby is negative or full of jerks, my suggestion is to just distance yourself from that community. You can still like the hobby or field, but hate the community. While I love punk music, I can’t stand the community. I just wanna talk about the music, but the community seems to care more about street cred and gatekeeping.

Though if you’re experiencing negativity in various communities, unless you have really bad luck with your interests (it’s possible), there’s a good chance it’s a you issue.

While I’m not condoning people being dicks, some people do need to step back and have some self reflection if you keep ending up in bad environments. Are your interests a magnet for toxic people, or are you the problem?