@jmac@masto.nyc
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jmac

@jmac@masto.nyc

I live in New York. I get paid to write about databases. I don’t get paid to write about other stuff, but I do it anyway.

Tech writer at Google; Co-founder of IFTF, an interactive-fiction nonprofit; Liker of coffee, cats, open web technologies, et cetera. Co-admin of https://masto.nyc.

All views I express in my personal posts are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Five Borough Fedi Project.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

jmac, to random
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Most of the animals in #AnimalWell make goofy synthesizer sounds, but there's a bit involving some trapped critters that is paired with realistic audio, suggesting that they're in distress and crying. It echoes around while you work on a tough and lengthy section, a tonal miss in this otherwise lovely game, far more upsetting than it needs to be.

I asked a Discord for a "Does the dog die?”-style spoiler for whether or not you can help them; was told yes. Whew! (But I haven't got that far yet.)

jmac, to random
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Is the best thing about #Helldivers the completely unironic “hug” emote, and the habit of quickplay mutual-randos to deploy it before disconnecting after a successful mission?

jmac,
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Like, “gg” is one thing, but this feels like a kind of aftercare policy spontaneously developed by the community of a violent video game and it is delightful. #Helldivers

bathsheba, to random
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Because of https://momath.org/onlinecrochet/ now I have to learn to crochet

jmac,
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@bathsheba At least you’re making new friends.

jmac, to random
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I do not have entirely positive feelings towards this article, but I do have to admit that "His love for the game had carried him to a level where no love is possible" is a fantastic sentence in context. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/05/ice-hockey-sports-parent/678347/

jmac, (edited ) to random
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Interesting and troubling snapshot of the state of drug laws in the U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/10/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-keith-humphreys.html

As a society we have pushed back on the racist carceral system of the old War on Drugs, and good riddance. But I do remember how we were supposed to replace it with a regulatory system like we have on alcohol. Instead we... did nothing, leading to vacuum-filling libertarian failure modes like the west coast's open-air fentanyl crisis and my own city's churn of sketchy, unlicensed weed stores.

jalcine, to random
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Have people made games that were made more to explore a world as a proof of concept?

New "side project that I'll never finish but learn a lot from" alert lol

jmac,
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@mcc @jalcine I was about to suggest Proteus, which is apparently in the tail end of that same boom.

peterb, to random
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Pittsburgh

jmac,
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@peterb Whoah

bodega_catgirl, to random

hello world

jmac,
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@bodega_catgirl Hello and welcome!

jmac, to random
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Watched Amy start a new #Helldivers game last night, and noticed the initial text crawl of Galactic War statistics, including the fact that the average age of a Helldiver is 18.5 years. Which means that you are explicitly sending wave after wave of anonymous, cult-raised teenagers to gruesome deaths, instead of the bumbling, brainwashed adults suggested by the voice acting and character models.

This is of course a lot truer to how real wars are fought, and this is also a lot less funny somehow.

jmac, (edited ) to random
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When a little bubble pops up in a UI pointing out a new button or switch or other doodad, typically with "OK" and "Learn more" buttons, what do you usually do?

jmac, (edited ) to random
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Good mail day: Got my copy of "The Paradox" by @elainemwill

jmac,
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My collection of strange little comix that I have found either directly through Mastodon posts or at zine festivals that Mastodon has pointed me to grows. I love it.

jmac, to random
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An interesting and troubling trend around age-disability in the U.S.: increasingly, if an elder has a fall, the staff in their home doesn't help them get up. They call 911 instead, even if the elder is awake and uninjured. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/03/assisted-living-homes-senior-falls-911/

This makes nobody happy. The responders spend more of the day unavailable for truly life-threatening emergencies, while the elders just lie on the floor—frustrated, embarrassed, and ignored—waiting for the fire engines to arrive. It sounds miserable.

jmac, to random
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I found myself catalyzed yesterday into becoming a $20 / month donor to Earth Justice (https://earthjustice.org), an environmental-law organization that combats threats to our biosphere by throwing lawyers at them. This appeals to me.

I am a well-off tech worker who cares about climate but is unlikely to actually go plant a tree or whatever, so donating generously to charitable causes is the best way that I can help. If you're in similar straits, consider joining me?

GIFS_of_Puppets, to random

Today's #Muppets GIF of the Day is...

GIF of a group of characters from Jim Henson's Dog City all letting go of balloons at the same time in celebration

jmac,
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@GIFS_of_Puppets Dog City, man. This was the dream

mhoye, to random
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Automakers have thus far refused to give my proposal to replace the hum EVs make at low speeds with a recording of Raymond Scott’s “Powerhouse” the hearing I believe it deserves.

jmac,
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@mhoye Funny, I always thought “Careless Whisper” would work here

jmac, (edited ) to VideoGames
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I had a great time learning #Helldivers last night with a veteran friend's guidance, which means that now when I try a "trivial"-difficulty solo mission I lose because I get lost and run out of time instead of losing because all my guys die. #videogames

alerdyn, to running
@alerdyn@mastodon.social avatar

First run in over a year.
Well… I say run…aggressive shuffle is a better descriptor.
Lessons learned:
PT informed me that I don’t have flat feet. 30 years ago or so a GP said I did and I never thought to ask again.
There is a new balance store one block from where I work. I must have crossed infront if it thousands of times - never noticed it.
The view from around the Jacquline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir never gets old. (Below, ironically, is an old photo…)

jmac,
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@alerdyn This is one of my favorite city views, which I get to enjoy every time I go out for one of my own aggressive shuffles (unless I choose Riverside Park instead).

jmac, (edited ) to random
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Archie and Reggie demonstrating Positive Masculinity way back in 1960.

(Alt text: Vintage six-page comic where the boys can't rustle up $5 to attend a dance. After various failed schemes, they come to blows over a found $5 bill. But then Veronica ditches Archie as usual, so he invites defeated Reggie to the dance as his date. All is well.)
https://mastodon.online/@ComicBookProgressive/112382847122462219

ComicBookProgressive, to comics
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Harry Lucey 1960

Actions Speak Louder Than Words



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jmac,
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@ComicBookProgressive positive masculinity

seano, to random
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After volunteering at the TTWU for a short while, I finally pulled the trigger and joined my company's #Union. I'm still learning how things work, but I hope I can be of some help!

Thanks to @jmac for telling me about his union experience and helping to nudge me in that direction

jmac,
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@seano Eyyyy welcome!!

jmac, to random
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A short and quietly lovely post on the Tao of Gaming board-game blog: https://taogaming.wordpress.com/2024/04/24/against-fairness/

It reminds me of the screenshot I shared the other day of an amazingly unlikely but entirely rules-allowed unwinnable situation I found in Cobalt Core.

I have also won and lost the game dozens of times, but I haven't shared screenshots of that: who cares?

It's the remarkable stories from games that we remember and retell, not rote victories or defeats. "All of us are just stories, in the end.”

jmac, to random
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Really one of the standout lines from the whole dang enterprise. Right up there with the “What is grief" one.
https://dementedandsadbut.social/@genehack/112374808756068264

jmac,
@jmac@masto.nyc avatar

@smadin YUP

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