theashtonstarr

@theashtonstarr@mastodon.social

(he/him) I write, talk and game on unceded and unsurrendered Algonquin Territory. Forklift certified. Sometimes published in https://mastodon.online/@leveller_ottawa

Interested in #gaming #film #television #Ottawa #Ontario & #labour but with politics. Here to discuss cultural criticism and how to build anarchism and mutual aid.

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

theashtonstarr, to Ottawa

Stella Luna Westboro #Ottawa location is closing down. It's good to see local news including a comment on how the former owner had enough disposable income to donate to the fascist-organized Freedom Convoy.
However, the announcement to close cited "economic downturn" and "four years of nationwide financial uncertainty" despite getting multiple Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidies. It would have been important to note the failure of the employer and the program.

Story here: https://kitchissippi.com/2023/12/22/stella-luna-permanently-closing-wellington-street-west-location/

theashtonstarr,

Sidenote: The Merrickville location, which isn't closing, had constant health code violations too.

I made a meme of a Venn Diagram around the time of the Convoy that had "Multiple Health Code Violations," "Underpaying Workers" and "Supporting the Convoy" overlapping. Stella Luna fits in the middle of these.

theashtonstarr, to Ottawa

Considering #Ottweather this past month, the #Ottawa Rideau Canal won't be frozen again this year, right?

theashtonstarr, to ApexLegends

I was playing earlier this week, in the top 3 solo since my team abandoned. I found this guy who ended up rocking me with a shotty and punch to win the game. GG.
https://clips.twitch.tv/AttractivePerfectFinchPoooound-58NB5x0R3pYlZexK

theashtonstarr, to VideoGames

Since I've been concentrating more on work, I've been playing more #videogames off-stream.
It's also led me to some poor #gaming choices in hindesight: replaying a lot of the same match-based games (even when I'm not enjoying it) and grinding rather than enjoying stories or exploration in games I would like.
Should I get back into #Twitch streaming so I do more first playthroughs and live reviews? I would like to work with folks on specific game-related discussions, but we'll see for 2024.

theashtonstarr,

@Imperor I think I have been!

Really, doing initial reactions to The Colonists and Surviving the Aftermath was fun. The downsides are getting 2 viewers who don't interact, setting up (even though it's just a folding greenscreen and opening OBS) and spambots bypassing Twitch filters.

The upside is I encourage myself to play from my backlog. Instead of Apex Legends, that's pretty fun until I have terrible and toxic teammates, or Elder Scrolls Online, which I keep falling into a grind-loop.

sbg_arch, to AirBNB

When you've been apartment hunting for over a year, you see a lot of the same apartments coming back in the market. Just saw one 2-bedroom I looked at last summer at $1900 now posted at $2200.

Renters are facing around 15% increase on turnover rents compared to last year but #ottcity can't imagine asking homeowners to pay more than 2.5% increase in taxes.

#rent #HousingMarket #housing #ottawa #housingCrisis

theashtonstarr,

@sbg_arch do you keep track of these?
I get email notifications when one landlord I follow lists and prices apartments. I can also sometimes find listing using archive.org
I don't know if I'd like to know out of morbid curiosity, or to pitch it as a public interest research project or article.

patrickklepek, to random
@patrickklepek@mastodon.social avatar

At Crossplay, I spoke to the designer of Vampire Survivors about the game's excellent co-op mode, and how it was inspired by the way people played the game with friends, family, and partners. https://patrickklepek.substack.com/p/vampire-survivors-developer-purposely

theashtonstarr,

@patrickklepek while I've seen this game a LOT and not interested in it at all before, it's now with this article that maybe I'll dip in with some family members for local co-op.
Great work!

(psst where's remap@mastodon?)

gamingonlinux, to random
@gamingonlinux@mastodon.social avatar

I get a lot of companies wanting me to put adverts up. My answer is always no.

I stopped replying but now they all just do this...

"I can see that you have read my previous emails"

Ah yes, that's exactly how to win me over isn't it.

theashtonstarr,

@gamingonlinux I get a lot of SEO and obviously scam emails. A couple that I think are real but poorly translated or AI-generated pitched ads that 1. were for casinos but "fit with the theme of our newspaper" (it didn't), 2. was sponsored content that read like an article and 3. requested that we do not identify it as an advertisement which is... absolutely messed up.

theashtonstarr, to Ottawa

What a horrible bike ride in #autowa today.
While in the Lyon St bike lane, a car drove up beside me and took a sharp right turn about a metre in front of me. Then when I was about to cross Arlington Ave and Bronson Ave, a car sped through the red light.
#Ottawa absolutely sucks for cycling, but what does #bikeottawa do in these cases? All I really could do was throw up the middle finger and swear at them, but what's to be done about dangerous drivers like these?
Anyhow, here's a groundhog.

theashtonstarr,

This happened again at the same intersection. Someone drove right through a red light at Bronson and Arlington again as I was crossing. I yelled that they're a "fucking moron" who is "gonna kill someone" while pointing at the traffic lights.

This is constant in #Ottawa and probably going to be how I die. I really don't know what to do though; Yell? Smash their windshield with a u-lock? Take a photo of their license plate and report it to the police? What works to prevent #autowa from killing?

theashtonstarr, to Ottawa

I haven't seen a Critical Mass in #Ottawa in about a decade, and this is really great and important.

As our city becomes more dependent on car culture (cuts to public transit and bike lanes/paths, and increased investments into new and expanded vehicle infrastructure), actions like this are helpful for the survival of cyclists. It's also community building that can eventually physical defend cyclists on the road or lobby City Hall.

If you drive, don't kill cyclists.

#bikeottawa #ottawabike

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