/hob/ - Hobbies

>>70656
Do you rate beers online? Do you think about homebrewing? Would you tour breweries?

>>70844
I frankly don't really get that chemosit explanation either. So they wanna kill all the time and they don't really care who they are killing so long as they get to take brains. But they are smart enough to be integrated into an army (Moidart was marching south for a few weeks at least, plus they were probably just sitting around gathering the army for a while, are you telling me they just sacrificed Northmen to the chemosit on the daily to keep them from going off the rails?). So there's some kind of control mechanism but it only works so long as you have something to aim them towards I guess and so long the chemosit think they are moving towards that they won't kill whoever is controlling them? But then what keeps Moidart from just inventing a new enemy once the southeners are dead or conquered and have the chemosit go on an endless goose-chase to keep them busy?
And yeah, the whole reason why they have to extract brains seems far fetched as well. He probably came up with the concept of brain eaters first and just wanted to keep it in the book even if he couldn't come up with a convincing explanation why. Frankly, they could've just left it open to interpretation. The chemosit are eldritch old tech that nobody truly understands, Cellur's memories don't reach back that far. Simply say they are gathering or doing somthing with the brains but nobody knows what. That would be better imo.

>>70844
I praised the author's descriptive writing on the natural landscape before but it's really getting old. It's just all weird geological terms or plant names. This is at least the second time where he describe the landscape in terms of how it was formed through erosions and streams or whatever. Was he a high school geography teacher or something?

As for the geteit chemosit, you're right that it didn't make sense but I have a prejudice of very old (70s and before) sci-fi to be very loose with logical worldbuilding and just see technology the same way as magic. I think it may be a symbolic feature. Like if leaving the brains lets you live again and someone is cruel enough to go out of their way to destroy your brain that is extra petty evilness. It's like destroying the soul so you can't reincarnate or go to heaven. It's probably just to paint the chemosit as more evil and inhuman. The way the chemosit was programmed to be unstoppable in killing reminds me of how A Canticle for Leibowitz treat nuclear weapons. Maybe they're the cause of the previous civilization's collapse too and now humans' folly and greed will cause them to repeat the same mistake just like in Leibowitz. I wonder if the author had an anti-war messaging in mind too when he thought of this.

Chapter 09

The vibrations of the battle above died away. "We are beneath the estuary. It is the underside of the world, where the dead men lose their bones." They were forced to ride through a column of cold fire. They discovered these things: The white skeletons of a horse and its rider; a sword too big for any of them to lift; an immense web; the mummified body of a beautiful princess. Sounds that were not echoes followed them down the twisted corridors. "I could believe we are out of Time," said tegeus-Cromis.

Cellur has given them their final quest, and they are on their way. I feel like the novel could have used Cellur a lot more. Then again, he might be the type of character best used sparingly to maintain an air of mystery. Some plot points work much better when they are merely alluded to rather than shoved in your face.

We are heading into the final act now. How do you all like it so far?

>>70845
It seems like a weak red herring to me, your idea is certainly better. We'll see.

>>70846
I have been reading fantasy/scifi for a very long time and it's the rarest thing to have a writer that have something fresh to say after 200 pages of a story. That's why I prioritize plot over world-building. Get your idea in there and wrap it up ya know?

>>70850
> The white skeletons of a horse and its rider; a sword too big for any of them to lift; an immense web; the mummified body of a beautiful princess.
Yeah what was that about? A symbolism for how they could die in their mission I know, but why does Cellur have dead people in his tunnels? Is it even real and not a metaphor or something?

We are entering the last stretch now. RIP Cellur.

>How do you all like it so far?
Honestly much less interesting than Leibowitz. I don't feel a curiosity of what will happen next because it's easily predictable and simple. At least it's really fast paced.

>>70844
I might be wrong but the way I understood it is the chemosit weren't built specifically just to have something that can destroy people's brains, they were just the ultimate weapon in every respect, and incidentally had the function to destroy brains to deal with that technology that could revive soldiers. But yeah, I'm not sure why it looked like they were harvesting them instead of just destroying them…

>>70850
Sad to see all those birds get torn to shreds, and presumably Cellur himself will die as well in the end… so much lost knowledge.

>How do you all like it so far?
I don't care too much about illogical stuff and the like so I'm enjoying it a lot so far. It's gripping. I wonder what the mechanism to shut down the chemosit is… couldn't they just destroy the brain controlling them? Although perhaps it is too big for that and it would take too long.

I remember this seemed like a fun thing to do back in 2010.
However I can easily store my stuff on 512 gb microsd cards now.
Using discs to archive seems tedious and retrotechy to me

>>70710
>microsd cards


They're more susceptible to the "random bull" kind of errors compared to HDDs

3-2-1 rule, hope you use it

>>70793
okay

>>70699
i think this is bullshit. bd-rs are more durable than cd-rs

I think the fragility of storage media is highly overstated. I have cheap USB flash drives that are 15+ years old that still work perfectly fine. I have a Nintendo DS and a PSP that I bought back in the day, that still have uncorrupted save files and images/videos I put on the SD card.
A while ago I transferred over some photos from an old ass digicam just fine. I have harddrives that are 15 years old that still work. I have burned CD's and DVD's that are 20 years old that still read.
I don't use these things regularly and they're all essentially stored away, no doubt that has something to do with their longevity, but the point is that I managed to access the data when I needed to.
I'm not saying all of this will last forever (and I've transferred over the important stuff to newer harddrives) but there's this idea among certain people that anything except a gold-plated M-disc will die on you within 5 years which is a bit dramatic.

>>70773
>I watched the first race of this season and have had zero desire to watch any more.
If you don't find something stimulating you should stop watching it.

>>70791
Silverstone GP yesterday with it's high speed corners and straights immediately showed how bad the battery situation is. Hamilton slowed to a crawl and lost his position to Antonelli on the Sprint and the GP. Later, Max went into the wall from a rear wing issue which gave him massive understeer. Whatever difference the regulations changes made seems marginal to me.

I'd like to see the cars relying more on the engines than the ERS. Not just because they'd sound cooler. I feel that it would allow for cleaner racing & less back and forth positions due to ERS deployment. And I think most drivers would agree with this.

I don't know anything about f1 but

My neighbor was a driver and became a paraplegic

His son then was a driver and is now a paraplegic

They live together in a mansion

I've never spoken to them

>>70825
By driver you mean racing driver or regular driver?

Racing

>>70685
That's a respectable run. You can get a lot done in six months. Most online games don't last four sessions, let alone several months.

Man I tried solo games but I just can't do it. The wealth of bizarre shit that happens when five nerds get together to play these games just can't be matched by solo play. At least not for me. In many ways solo is the best way to play it because you don't depend on others. I really like that part. It's basically a video game. Pick up and put it down whenever you want. If only I could get into it.

Anyway, I already caved and found another group. We'll be playing through a module this time, about 20 sessions, so about the size of your campaign. Not enough time for me to start hating on rpgs which is good. I can't wait to delve into musty corridors and throw some dice. We start next week. I'll report back.

>>70686
I'm eager to hear your report.
If you don't like it, at least the module will end at some point.

Well I said I would report back so here I am. I had my first game with the new group. It was rather strange, as I'm not used to playing with newbies. My usual experience with gaming is with grognards, and the game very quickly gets into a rather smooth operation: go to the dungeon, kill the monsters, fetch the gold, bring it back for XP, rinse, and repeat. Roleplay is present but secondary, it's a game, not a narrative. The characters are tools for combat and exploration first, not people. It's just a different way of playing, is all.

Now, with the newbies coming into roleplaying after the Critical Role phenomenon, it's different. They all want to elevate their characters to some literary figure. I sat through a 10-minute argument between two players because they have PCs whose "personalities" clash. These players have pet characters that they intensely protect from all danger, to the point of being a detriment to the game itself. They don't want to go into the cave "because there might be something too dangerous inside." Well wtf man, that's the whole fucking point, is it not?

The DM is aware of the problem and was privately messaging me days before the session, telling me he was hoping that I would stir the other players to action. I have never had that happen to me before. Usually, DMs are control freaks who want to have complete control of the world and the players somewhat. This guy is apparently too afraid to be candid about the pet characters that are paralyzing his game and is trying to recruit me as his hatchet man.

Welp, I'm happy to inform you that I embraced the task. We saw some action and a character got killed, although it was an excruciating process that took several minutes of arguments. But before that, let me tell you about what we did in town before going out into the caves.

One of the players actually had his character looking for work AS A FUCKING BARISTA AT THE LOCAL INN! Holy fucking Christ Jesus, man. Here we have a game where you can be a hill giant, a devil, a paladin, a rogue, a demon prince from hell, or a fucking dragon if you want to. And this guy takes a 15-minute side quest to try and get his character work waiting tables! There was nothing particularly important about this inn, either. It's just an inn.

And it's not like we were short on money either. This is a Monty Haul DM and each of us had enough money to afford food and board for like a whole year. Besides, we can just hearPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

>>70730
Glad to hear you had fun! Indeed, it seems there is hope ahead, if not for a good game, then at least for interesting interactions.

I came across an old article recently discussing this exact difference in philosophy, the divide between the "game-players" and the "role-players." I always assumed the latter style of play took root in the late 80s, but it was happening even in 1977, only three years after the release of Original D&D.

So there have been misunderstandings since the very start. The game is supposed to be about acquiring treasure, magic items and XP, building a stronghold, having your own army and claiming a piece of the land as your own. If your character isn't interested in any of that, then they shouldn't be an adventurer.

>The player who lost his character got into an argument with another player because that player didn't come to his aid when he was the only one who could've done something.
I bet/hope one day, in the not too distant future maybe, this player will look back on this moment and realize they were actually having fun. This sort of interaction is more real than anything narrative-based games can create.

>>70782
You're right, this thing probably began with the game itself, it's just that my personal experience is different. But the worst part of pet characters full of personality, besides having to sit through a 10 minutes argument between two imaginary bozos, is the impact this stuff has on the DM.

I'm pretty sure he's prone to fudge and pull punches because of this. The game just gets smoother if nobody dies. I asked if he could have his attack and dmg rolls in the open and he said he prefers to keep it a secret to 'keep up the tension'. Bullshit. The dice gives you a probability, that's where the tension is. I can just tell he's pulling the teeth from the monsters. I hate toothless monsters, fuck. I don't even blame him honestly, the players are whiny bitches and he's afraid to lose them.

>>70117
I'm trying to find testimonies of hikikomori but can't find

>>66929
I like pdfs

Does anyone have the cookbook some wizard posted ages ago?

>>69750
Not exactly that but similar enough maybe.

>>70713
Well, holy shit, pardon my French. I didn't expect a response, and certainly not one just minutes later. Nice, thanks for that.

Let's give it a couple of days so more wizzies can see this post. Meanwhile, I'll be putting together the spreadsheet with the chapters and dates so we can all follow along. I'm already looking forward to it.

HEY EVERYONE. WE HERE AT THE WIZBOOKCLUB DO BE READING THE PASTEL CITY, STARTING IN A COUPLE OF DAYS. DON'T MISS OUT! JOIN NOW!

Check this thread if you want to know how it works. We did it with A Canticle for Leibowitz. It's quite simple: I post a spreadsheet with the reading schedule, and we all follow along. We talk about the book, but you don't have to post if you don't want to. Let's have some fun.

>>70712
>>70713
>>70714
The Leibowitz readalong was just the guy suggesting it and me so it was not much of a book club. Are you the Leibowitz guy? I thought you hated the readalong from your posting tone because it was awkward with just two people. I'll probably join another readalong though because I like that it gave me a routine.

>do we wait until more wizards show up?
This place is dead but I think the reason you missed the readalong was because we were posting in the general reading thread. Maybe if we make new thread with eye-catching picture and kept it bump to the top of /all/ everyday you'd get one extra wizard.

>>70715
Yup that's me. I didn't hate it at all, it was a nice experience. I had tried before with another book but nobody showed up. Leibowitz was a success as far as I see it.

Well if you guys want a thread just for The Pastel City I'll do it. We'll start this week. Maybe more people will join.

>>70715
>this place is dead
Unlike /dep/, he-he

finished reading 'à rebours' from Huysmans. the book is about a rich guy who lives alone with it's maids and butlers and hens basically a NEET and has a lot of intellectual ramblings but hens also sick. doctors say because he's a reclusive lifestyle and what he needs is to go out like normalfags do but he don't want to and at the end he must go and interact with other people
I was lost when I read the beggining but the ending chapters were more understandable. it's a ok book. I think it would belong to wizard core books with NHK

I remember playing these skating games on GBC/GBA as a kid. They were fun.

>every kid on my block has a solid skateboard that glides effortlessly.
>everytime I get a skateboard it wobbles like crazy and stops after 3 meters.
what fucking parameters am I picking wrong? Is $80 for a board just something I should expect?

>>70683
Maybe it's your stance. Your body should weight more on the front. Try to bend your knees.

Maybe it's the trucks that need to be tightened.

>>70683
Wheel hardness might play a role. it ranges from like 73A(soft)~103A(hard). softer wheels are way smoother and designed for rough concrete, will still go well on smooth. Hard wheels will slow you right down on bumpy concrete. Also good bearings, most branded types are good. reds or bronsons are the cheaper good ones where I live. If those aren't issues for you perhaps the board hasn't been assembled correctly? Sometimes people tighten the wheels on way too tight and its like you have disc brakes constantly on.

>>70803
0_0

A wizard of skating, what a world

Sometimes, I dream about cheese…

>>70577
pff pff pff

but i would never ever ever ever hire one

I often dream of flight. I have big wings, like an archangel from Heroes of Might and Magic 3.
It feels so realistic. I feel wind on my face, humidity of clouds. Just soaring high and then resting a bit in high places just to continue on.
And then I wake up. No wings. Feel bad man.

I've mostly been dreaming about work

I had a nightmare that there were weird baby-head things in my house with spider legs and they were full of blood and would pop. Then I had a dream that my skin was slowly turning green, maybe even rotting but I didn't feel any pain. When I woke up from it I checked my arms to make sure it was not real.

>>70778
it's fine. xfce can also be made to look somewhat "retro".
i'm still on fvwm because it's in the base distribution, with a config mostly similar to the default one with some changes on the menu (the config is piss easy), but openbsd has an old (security patched) version because fvwm switched to GPL in the late 90s/early 2000s. sometimes i switch to cwm, it's basically dwm but easier and also in the base distribution.

This https://datagubbe.se/1yearconf/ is a config for the fvwm version you're likely to find on linux. this https://cs.gettysburg.edu/~duncjo01/archive/ is an archive of many old icons, and this https://xteddy.org/xwinman/ is basically a showcase of many old X window managers, including fvwm, afterstep (which is something like >>56807) etc.

>>70781
you always have that wallpaper or did you only put it to show it?

>>70788
i always use wallpapers like that, i change wallpaper frequently because im bored and jaded all the time

>>70789
I see. I couldn't use a wallpaper like that even one time.