Thevenin

joined 2 years ago
[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

All they have to do is look outside or step outside themselves and lend someone, anyone a hand.

Touch grass, if you will.

I remember years ago watching a video -- I desperately wish I could remember the channel -- where the author shared his experience with depression and the early days of 4chan anime forums. He found it easier to browse forums about anime than to go out and actually watch them. Then the negativity piled in. That anime you like? "It's shit." Any hint of optimism or passion was an opportunity to get a rise out of someone or smugly ridicule them. The only unassailable belief was to doubt everything. The only winning move was not to care.

I've been thinking about that video a lot recently.

Online activism has led to a handful of noteworthy victories. But the ease of online activism has also made people (myself included) rely too much on it, and get disillusioned by it, as if we've forgotten that online activism is pointless unless it leads to real-world resistance.

I don't believe doomer trolls are right-wing plants (though I acknowledge it's a potential avenue of attack in the future). I don't think they usually have ulterior accelerationist motives (though I have spoken with a few). I think for the most part, they're just people who've given up, or otherwise mistaken cynicism for maturity, and seeing anyone else expressing optimism or trying to organize real-world resistance just pisses them off.

[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 12 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Voluntarily disenfranchising yourself is complying in advance.

A broken tool still has its uses. A bent screwdriver can still be a prybar. A rusty sword can still kill, so don't ask people to drop it before have something better. It is possible to explore and acknowledge the failures and limitations of a system -- and to reduce overreliance on it -- without abdicating all influence over it.

The Democratic Party is a disappointment. They follow popular (polled) opinion rather than sticking to principles, and that makes them vulnerable to Overton shifts. As public opinion towards trans people has been poisoned by the Jugendverderber libel, Democrats have largely thrown trans people under the bus instead of fighting back. Likewise, Democrats stick closely to corporate interests because money is power. These issues may never be fixable.

The solution to this is not to capitulate and discard what political influence we still hold.

The first half of the solution is to primary the hell out of Democrats. A left-wing caucus within the party could easily tilt things in our favor, just like the Freedom Caucus tilted the RNC in the opposite direction once before. Bernie Sanders (link) and David Hogg (link) are now spearheading multiple campaigns to do exactly that. Even if you have no faith in your ability to change the norms of the party, just think how much impact your resistance could have if you held an office, even a low one, even for just a week. Do you have any idea how much trouble a county clerk can make?

The second half of the solution is to build solidarity-based power structures outside government to reduce overreliance on a broken system. Economic desperation, social isolation, and cultural "other"-ing make people easy to exploit and oppress regardless of the type of government, so attack those problems directly. Unions, mutual aid networks, churches, you know the drill. Put in the legwork to find them in your area or your profession.

Embrace nuance. Embrace diversity -- even political diversity. Political beliefs are not sacred, but the lives under those political systems are. Don't try to reduce the vast complexity of politics to 120 characters. Don't treat the ongoing wellbeing of human beings flippantly. If you think the problem is the existence of a state, then say so, but make your case for why making the state worse makes conditions for its subjects better. If you think voting third-party will teach the Democrats a lesson and drag them leftwards, then make your case and acknowledge the risks of what happens if you're wrong.

Don't just ridicule every positive effort you see. Doomer trolls (or cuckoos, if we're going with that) are pithy, but reductive, and their criticism is never constructive.

[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

@remington is all about healthy discussion. He doesn't mind when people disagree, just as long as they say why.

[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Are the stabbing pains skin-deep like an insect sting, or deeper like a pulled muscle?

[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 9 points 1 month ago

I just moved into my first house. The president is using modern-day gestapo to disappear undesirables and political dissidents against supreme court orders. My career work has paid off and I have a nice new job and there are dogs in the office. The party I vote for now thinks it's a winning strategy to throw trans people under the bus. Probably thanks to social transition and HRT, I'm getting a grip on my social anxiety and expanding my friend group. I carry pepper spray when I'm alone now.

My life is coming together right as the world falls apart. I am filled all at once with indescribable hope and unfathomable dread. Hell of a thing to find your soul during an apocalypse.

[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 14 points 2 months ago

I could make one of these, but first I'll need to go to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters.

[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 1 points 2 months ago

I won't say that they're too smart for that (lol), but this administration has been known to walk back major policy changes after powerful interest groups object. See also: H1B visas.

[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 11 points 4 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I will update the post if I can confirm that. Until then, I'm treating it as a rumor. I don't know if it's dangerous to apply for a gender marker correction now, but I do know it's pointless.

EDIT: I've found first-hand confirmation of original documents being withheld. See edit in post.

[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 15 points 4 months ago (16 children)

Based on current information, no. But they would reject a passport renewal.

 

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/18144707

According to the Colorado Name Change Project, the US State Department has stopped processing of all gender marker correction applications. This is confirmed by Notus.org, which adds that the policy change affects passport renewals as well.

At this time, there are rumors that the Minnesota Passport Agency is confiscating documents when denying a gender marker change. These rumors are unconfirmed as of the time of this post, but the situation is still developing.

https://www.namechangeproject.org/gender-marker/

https://m.facebook.com/ColoradoNameChangeProject/

https://www.notus.org/whitehouse/trump-gender-sex-order-passports

The ACLU has a form open for any affected by this policy: https://www.aclu.org/transpassports2025


Update: Marco Rubio has confirmed that the state department has suspended all applications including a gender change or an X gender marker, including applications which were already in progress. Official word on the status of existing passports "will come via other channels." https://theintercept.com/2025/01/23/marco-rubio-state-department-passports-gender-trans-nonbinary/

Update 2: tiktok user @gentlereality has confirmed that her passport application was suspended pending "administrative guidance" on Jan 30, and her original documents (birth certificate, etc) withheld "indefinitely". The application went through (with "M" gender markers) and the original documentation was returned Feb 3. From this I can conclude that the rumors of documentation being confiscated were at least partially true -- the difference between confiscation and withholding depends entirely on how long "indefinitely" actually lasts.

 

According to the Colorado Name Change Project, the US State Department has stopped processing of all gender marker correction applications. This is confirmed by Notus.org, which adds that the policy change affects passport renewals as well.

At this time, there are rumors that the Minnesota Passport Agency is confiscating documents when denying a gender marker change. These rumors are unconfirmed as of the time of this post, but the situation is still developing.

https://www.namechangeproject.org/gender-marker/

https://m.facebook.com/ColoradoNameChangeProject/

https://www.notus.org/whitehouse/trump-gender-sex-order-passports

The ACLU has a form open for any affected by this policy: https://www.aclu.org/transpassports2025


Update: Marco Rubio has confirmed that the state department has suspended all applications including a gender change or an X gender marker, including applications which were already in progress. Official word on the status of existing passports "will come via other channels." https://theintercept.com/2025/01/23/marco-rubio-state-department-passports-gender-trans-nonbinary/

Update 2: tiktok user @gentlereality has confirmed that her passport application was suspended pending "administrative guidance" on Jan 30, and her original documents (birth certificate, etc) withheld "indefinitely". The application went through (with "M" gender markers) and the original documentation was returned Feb 3. From this I can conclude that the rumors of documentation being confiscated were at least partially true -- the difference between confiscation and withholding depends entirely on how long "indefinitely" actually lasts.

[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 3 points 5 months ago

Yeah, the video really isn't making the point its title suggests. I think we're all just primed to expect gatekeeping in video games at this point.

[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] Thevenin@beehaw.org 29 points 5 months ago (3 children)

I strongly disagree with the premise that there's a "wrong" way to play retro games. Don't gatekeep. Imagine if people told you not to listen to Pink Floyd unless it's on vinyl. It would be lost media.

That said, CRTs present images fundamentally differently than LCD displays, and a lot of developers took advantage of those idiosyncrasies. There are scanlines everywhere. CRT phosphors aren't square, and appear smaller when darker. Bright pixels can "bleed" into nearby pixels, particularly when using composite signals.

Before LCDs, many (not all) pixel artists used this to their advantage, basically harnessing the imperfections of analog TV to provide equivalents to anti-aliasing, bloom, extra color depth, and even transparency. Some particularly famous examples came from Sega Genesis games. This video goes into good depth on the whys and hows, and there are some solid examples of the outcomes here.

I've attached examples below (hopefully they upload). If you like the raw pixel art, then no harm done. Enjoy! But if you like the way CRTs interpreted and filtered those signals, you owe it to yourself to look up some shaders for your favorite emulator.

(Zero Tolerance, 1994, on the Genesis/Mega Drive)

(Sonic the Hedgehog 2, 1992, on the Genesis/Mega Drive)

114
egg🐧irl (beehaw.org)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by Thevenin@beehaw.org to c/egg_irl@lemmy.blahaj.zone
 

So I've been thinking about Linux recently, and I'm told this is where the Linux experts hang out. I have a lot of questions that I can barely articulate, so I'm just hoping someone gets where I'm coming from.

I always knew there were more than two operating systems, but the closest I got to open-source software was dabbling with Firefox and OpenOffice in college. I'm an engineer, and trying to stay compatible with all the engineering programs means you're probably going to use Windows whether you like it or not, so I never seriously considered another OS until now. I'm proud of being good at Windows, but also bitter about it… I can't shake the nagging feeling that I've been missing out.

So I started looking up guides on Linux, and I have so many questions.

I'm astonished by how many distros there are. It's not just Ubuntu, we have Mint and Zorin and MX and enough options to make my head spin. So how do you choose a distro? Do you just know, or do you have to try them all? Trying one is daunting enough. I'm afraid people might lose respect for me and the open-source software movement if I change my mind. Is there some place where you can try distros on for size without the trouble and risk of migrating multiple times?

How do I know if Linux is right for me? How do I know Windows is wrong? If I loathe my user experience with Windows, is that the fault of Windows or just me? If Linux starts feeling comfortable, how do I know it's because I've made the right choice and it's not just inertia setting in? Does that even matter?

I'm at least good with Windows, but I lack the intuition of the average Linux user. Could I really master Linux the way I have Windows, or would my awkward personality relegate me to being a permanent tourist?

Is my hardware too old to start tinkering with OSs?

I know your choice of OS should take priority over your programs, as long as those programs aren't vital, but I have a full Steam library and don't look forward to losing any old friends. Can I partition my drive? Is that worth the trouble, switching from OS to OS depending on circumstances? I hear some distros these days can run some windows programs, and that you don't have to leave your old programs behind the way you used to, but can I count on that trend continuing?

Will losing touch with the Windows environment make it more difficult for me to succeed in a Windows-dominated career?

Sorry for the ramble. I'm probably overthinking this. I overthink everything. But I also grew up in a time and place where changing OSs meant you risked losing everything.

EDIT: The post title has been updated from “Need help with Linux” to “egg🐧irl” to meet local standards. This post happened because I was writing a post for a tech forum, but had other things on my mind, things which I’ve yet to find the courage to verbalize directly. I appreciate the advice and encouragement, both about migrating to Linux, and… yaknow… “migrating to Linux.”

 

I've been getting back into printing and painting D&D miniatures lately I'm not very good yet, but I felt like sharing some of the things I've learned.

Bearded Devils https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/635943923575160832/1129061019772256376/20230711_085409.jpg

I printed these from a Loot Studios 3d file I got a few years back. The skin is a basecoat of purple with a wash of Citadel Reiksland Fleshshade. I did not use primer, and time will tell if that was a mistake. For the clothing, I used a different color for each model, because I like color coding my enemies instead of numbering them. I used basecoats like Reaper Bleached Linen with a watered-down topcoat. I find that if you get the consistency right, watered-down acrylics act almost exactly like contrast paints, so that's my go-to for fabrics.

A Bearded's Devil's beard is supposed to be prehensile and snakelike. I tried drybrushing, but it didn't make the tentacles look slimy. I tried edge highlighting, but I don't want to spend 30 minutes painting a monster that will die in 29. I settled on a base of lime green with a topcoat of watered-down Armypainter Angel Green, and while it's a smidge messy, it's the right ratio of effort to results for my taste.

Drybrushing added a bit of white to all the horns and sun-facing surfaces. I'm still getting the hang of drybrushing, so it looks a little dusty on some of them.

I wanted the ground to look like umber or lignite, so I used Citadel Contrast Wildwood directly on the grey resin. I'm very happy with the outcome. I think most people paint their bases before gluing the minis on, but I learned the hard way that you have to leave a bare patch for the feet or else the CA glue won't stick.

The devil front-and-center is a lesson in persistence. Its entire left leg failed to print below the knee, but print failures are just kitbashes waiting to happen. Instead of throwing it out, I added a nail as a pegleg, glued down with a few dots of resin (stronger than CA glue, IMO). It's now my favorite of the group. As I like to say, "Some resin and paint make me the printer I ain't."

Chain Devils https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/635943923575160832/1129061020388819105/20230707_174901.jpg

These were conceptually simple but technically challenging. I used Army Painter Pure Red as the basecoat and highlighted the chains in Leadbelcher, which was time consuming. The whole thing got drenched in Agrax Earthshade, which is my favorite way to make skin look dirty and metal look rusty. I think that making the Chain Devil look like a tetanus dispenser should a good way to prevent your players from calling them "chain daddies," but we'll see. I followed up with some Reaper Filigree Silver drybrushing to make some of the points look sharp.

I wanted the bases to look like mud or clay, and Snakebite on the bare grey resin accomplished just that.

Spined Devils https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/635943923575160832/1129061020091043911/20230707_174926.jpg

These were a ton of fun. A basecoat of purple, a wash with Agrax, and drybrushing with Army Painter Pure Red to put some blush on the spines. They come pretty close to the pictures in the book.

For the ground, I wanted chert or flint, something sharp and unpleasant like the creature itself, so I painted it matte grey and added white drybrushing to the edges.

Kobolds https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/635943923575160832/1129062753911459861/20230707_175014.jpg

These are Reaper Bones miniatures I've had around for a while. I spent way too much time painting because these models have so much personality I couldn't help myself. Since Kobolds mostly wear skins, I made heavy use of Contrast Snakebite and Wyldwood, alternating basecoats for different color tones. The inventor's wicker basket is Wyldwood directly on the white mini. I think some light drybrushing on the two on the right would help bring out their skin texture.

I'm pretty disappointed with the sorcerer's fireball. It doesn't seem very energetic. Some glow effects could help here, but I haven't learned how to do object-source lighting yet, and these minis are punishingly tiny.

If anyone has advice or feedback, I'm all ears.

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