@swelljoe@mas.to cover
@swelljoe@mas.to avatar

swelljoe

@[email protected]

For the masses, not the classes.

Born tired. Likes bikes and hikes. Sometimes I work on OSS, other times robots. I remember when computers were good. He/him.

Did you alt text your image? It'd be a lot cooler if you did.

Profile photo: Middle-aged white guy with scruffy sandy brown hair and beard.

Background photo: Two dogs, a mid-sized red potato type dog and a large black and white muppet, on a riverbank, about to drop an indie rock album with mandolins or some shit.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar pluralistic , to random

Just don't send me anything that is not that

STARTING A GIRL BAND 100% SERIOUS ZERO PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE NECESSARY DRUMMER, BASSIST, GUITARIST, KEYBOARDIST WANTED, BUT HONESTLY IF YOU HAVE ANY SKILLS AND/OR INTEREST FEEL FREE TO EMAIL IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLS EMAIL veryseriousaboutgirlband@gmail.com WITH: 3-ISH INFLUENCES ANY PRIOR EXPERIENCE SOME AUDIO/VIDEO OF YOU PLAYING IF YOU WRITE AT ALL WHATEVER, JUST DON'T SEND ME ANYTHING THAT IS NOT THAT
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swelljoe ,
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@pluralistic hell yeah, start a band.

@swelljoe@mas.to avatar swelljoe , to random

Source: https://bsky.app/profile/usili.bsky.social/post/3mdh5wp7dwk2w

Two frames: Bilbo Baggins, looking at a phone. Beneath that, a conversation with ChatGPT on a phone screen. Bilbo: "After all, why not? Why shouldn't I keep it?" ChatGPT: "You're absolutely right — you found it, it's been with you a long while, and it's only natural to feel fond of something that's served you so well, especially when someone like Gandalf suddenly seems to want it for himself."
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@swelljoe@mas.to avatar swelljoe , to random

When I say I want a fighter in Congress, this is what I mean.

Ilhan Omar winding up to throw hands at an event where she was attacked with some sort of pungent smelling liquid by a pathetic white man.
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@swelljoe@mas.to avatar swelljoe , to random

Alex Pretti’s coworkers take a moment of silence. From /r/nursing. https://www.reddit.com/r/nursing/comments/1qnomyy/alex_prettis_coworkers_take_a_moment_of_silence/

A hospital hallway with a couple dozen healthcare workers lined up along the walls with heads bowed. Some appear to be crying, one has his hands over his face.
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@swelljoe@mas.to avatar swelljoe , to random

Why are the policemen from the UK?

swelljoe OP ,
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Oh, they're IN the UK. So, why are there only three British people and everyone else is American?

swelljoe OP ,
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"Oxygen, morphine, glucose." That's right, everything.

@swelljoe@mas.to avatar swelljoe , to random

I wish I loved anything as much as the Python community loves breaking backward compatibility.

@swelljoe@mas.to avatar swelljoe , to random

Important message from the brands this holiday season.

"No Take Only Throw" meme format. A dog is holding a ball or Frisbee or something. Hopeful look, "PLS SHOP" Angry look, "NO FAIR WAGE!" Menacing look, "ONLY SHOP"
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@grumpygamer@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar grumpygamer , to random

I will never understand why printf() doesn't support printing binary when you can print hex and octal. It seems like programmer back in the 70s would have need binary as well.
Anyone who responds with some alt printf library gets a block. It's rhetorical question. I'm not looking for an alt method.

swelljoe ,
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@grumpygamer I was literally JUST trying to do this today! It's surprisingly difficult to get binary from from hex or decimal using a simple command.

@ScienceDesk@flipboard.social avatar ScienceDesk , (edited ) to random

Only 10 to 15 percent of people are left-handed. @popsci explains the science behind it. Does the fediverse mirror the world? Vote in our poll!

https://flip.it/TdSpII

swelljoe ,
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@ScienceDesk I use both hands, but I wouldn't call it ambidextrous. I'm kind of similarly clumsy with both hands. I write left-handed, and do most other things (play guitar, throw) right-handed. Precision things tend to get the left hand, strength things the right. And, I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at using either one. My handwriting is terrible and I can't draw for shit.

@w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

Mikie Sherrill, born in Virginia, is elected governor of New Jersey. Abigail Spanberger, born in New Jersey, is elected governor of Virginia.

swelljoe ,
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@w7voa and, they're buddies. They were roommates when they first went to Congress. Should totally be a sitcom.

@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar dangillmor , (edited ) to random

Teen Vogue -- a bastion of honest political journalism in the rancid Trump era -- is no more. It's being "folded into" Vogue, a fashion and lifestyle magazine, and has fired excellent staffers.

This sucks in every possible way.

Don't be fooled. Vogue + Teen Vogue = Vogue.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/conde-nast-teen-vogue-newsguild-1236417079/

swelljoe ,
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@dangillmor it's so embarrassing for everybody in major news media that we're looking at the closure of Teen Vogue as a serious blow to effective political journalism.

@georgetakei@universeodon.com avatar georgetakei , to random

Someone must lose their job over this cover up.

A paragraph from a news article explains that a federal agent shot at an unarmed Black man during a traffic stop while working with D.C. police. Lawyers accuse city police of misconduct because the gunfire was omitted from the incident report. A D.C. police officer testified that a superior told him not to record the shooting in court documents, and all charges against the man were later dropped.
A follow-up tweet from Olivia George says: “We’ve updated the story with some more details.” She adds that a DHS spokesperson stated the agent fired “in fear for his life,” claiming the man drove at officers in an attempt to run them down. However, a D.C. officer testified that no law enforcement officers were in front of the car and that the man merely bumped into another civilian vehicle.

A follow-up tweet from Olivia George says: “We’ve updated the story with some more details.” She adds that a DHS spokesperson stated the agent fired “in fear for his life,” claiming the man drove at officers in an attempt to run them down. However, a D.C. officer testified that no law enforcement officers were in front of the car and that the man merely bumped into another civilian vehicle.
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swelljoe ,
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@georgetakei someone must go to prison.

swelljoe ,
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@dgerard@awful.systems avatar dgerard lol. lmao.

swelljoe ,
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@tokyo_0@mas.to avatar tokyo_0 @dgerard@awful.systems avatar dgerard 🤷 But, I assume the fashy boys are excited about getting spanked by daddy Matz. They love a strong leader.

@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar pluralistic , (edited ) to random

Man who joined Mastodon five years after I did:

"I don't like how you post."

Me: "My bio tells you how I post, and here's a post explaining why, and how to manage it, and if you don't like my posts, it tells you how to unsubscribe from my feed."

That guy: "You're just trying to get rich by violating 'open source social media principles'"

Me: There's such a thing as 'open source social media principles?'' And I can get rich by violating them? Tell me more!"

A social media exchange with a baffling person.
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swelljoe ,
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@pluralistic when people say Mastodon has a self-appointed HOA, well...

vkc , to random

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    swelljoe ,
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    @vkc it's a shame the fediverse wasn't really ready when Xitter Xit the bed and everybody worth following made for the door. All the funny/weird Twitter folks ended up on Bluesky, and I guess we'll have to wait for it to get really bad in the manner of Twitter, maybe one of the other technofascist billionaires will acquire it, I don't know. Probably won't be any time soon.

    But, they've made it clear several times they're moderating like a business and not like a community.

    @jerry@infosec.exchange avatar jerry , to random

    I just got an alert that Nvidia’s market cap crossed $4.5T. I know I am mixing elephants and telephone poles here, but it seems weird that the manufacturer of IT components has a market cap that is almost 15% of the GDP of the US for 2025 🤔

    swelljoe ,
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    @jerry the AI crash is going to be absolutely crazy.

    @swelljoe@mas.to avatar swelljoe , to random

    I know y'all come to me for hot takes about the latest games, so I've got some opinions about No Mans Sky (only 9 years old, it's practically brand new).

    It's a remarkable game, very fun, very engaging. Love it. But, also, I can't help thinking all the time about how it could be better...I mean, yes, it still has a surprising number of bugs for a nine year old project still in active development and still selling OK. But, also... 1/?

    swelljoe OP ,
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    So, you know how the pitch here is that there are billions of different worlds in No Mans Sky? You could play forever and never see them all. OK, fine, neat trick, but there's a remarkable amount of "sameness" to every planet.

    I have done literally no research on how NMS, specifically, works, but I think I understand how they make a game with billions of worlds, based on my understanding of procedural generation in games (an area I like to read about, but never actually do anything with). 2/?

    swelljoe OP ,
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    The idea is you build a system that takes as input a seed, and for each unique seed, you get a unique world. The key being every time you input that seed, you get the same world. So, random, but repeatable. Given this, if you want two billion worlds, you need a 32-bit number for the seed. Everything else is boring implementation details.

    But, my wish is that the system knew how to build more variety and realism on the planet. Why aren't there poles that are colder? 3/?

    swelljoe OP ,
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    And, that's not a different set of problems from the ones they already solved. They could have made each planet far more interesting without having to store any more data. 32 bits defines the planet, no matter the complexity.

    I get the game decision to have a variety of worlds you have to visit to get various resources...it'd be a different game if you never needed to travel into space, but there's already a lot of ways to play the game, maybe a landlubber play style would also be fun. 4/?

    swelljoe OP ,
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    I'd like each planet to have distinct biomes, as we have on earth. They created a creature engine that works remarkably well to make weird but mostly realistic creatures (I mean, there are an unusual amount of big-butted creatures in No Mans Sky sashaying around, but they mostly seem like realistic evolutionary paths, given how bizarrely varied earth creatures are).

    That creature engine could make dozens of distinct biomes for a planet, instead of the seemingly half dozen or less. 5/?

    swelljoe OP ,
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    They currently have seemingly about two(?) surface biomes, one cave, and two water (deep and shallow). That's cool and all, but it feels really samey when you spend any notable time on a single planet, like for bases and settlements. It doesn't really feel like "exploring".

    So, I think what I'm getting at is that the the billions of worlds thing is a bit. A gimmick. They made a great game, but you're not going to spend time looking at each world...you're not gonna find a lot of surprises. 6/?

    swelljoe OP ,
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    But, it doesn't have to be a gimmick. Apparently they're working on a new game, Light No Fire, and maybe they're thinking the same way, and maybe the system that spits out worlds will spit out better worlds nine years later. Our computers are bigger, everything is cheaper, maybe they had technical limitations.

    But, it's neat. And, I may like thinking about "how do you make billions of worlds that can be visited by any player, without storing billions of worlds" as much as playing the game.

    7/7

    swelljoe OP ,
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    OK, so, I guess they've been doing exactly that. Apparently, there used to be a lot fewer biomes, more sameness, etc. And, it is an amazing game, and I do love it. And, I love that they're still adding stuff without nickel and diming users with various monetization strategies...it's still a game worth buying after nine years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmU3_6BK-Ro

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    Amtrak now has a passenger train in service that can match the speed Japan's Shinkansen achieved in 1992. https://www.amtrak.com/nextgen-acela

    swelljoe ,
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    @w7voa it's great news, regardless of how late. More trains, faster trains, always good news.

    @Daojoan@mastodon.social avatar Daojoan , to random

    What we really need is more protest songs about fudge rounds

    swelljoe ,
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    @Daojoan for or against?

    @grumpygamer@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar grumpygamer , (edited ) to random

    I guess Sept 2nd is as close to an anniversary we have for Monkey Island. I made the gold master on the 2nd but it probably didn't appear in stores until Oct. There was no "release date" back them. It annoys we when people say Monkey Island "released" today.

    https://www.grumpygamer.com/monkey25/

    Four floppy disks for Monkey Island with the date of 9/2/90 on them.
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    swelljoe ,
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    @grumpygamer Honkey Island is what we used to call Hilton Head.

    @dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar dangillmor , to random

    If you weren't already aware that Politico serves frequently as a booster of right-wing beliefs, take a look at this piece, which bemoans worthy efforts to use tech to identify Trump's masked street thugs.

    https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/29/ai-unmasking-ice-officers-00519478

    swelljoe ,
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    @dangillmor "but they still say they’re uneasy that vigilante campaigns have begun using technology to do it."

    I just want to know which Vichy Democrats are concerned the secret police aren't being kept secret enough from citizens, so I can send money to their primary challengers.

    "Some Democrats concerned about the masking are pushing for regulations to make it easier to identify law enforcement officials — but they still say they’re uneasy that vigilante campaigns have begun using technology to do it." I have highlighted it beginning at "but they still say..."
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    • @MichaelWhelan@mastodon.art avatar MichaelWhelan , to random

    THE WHITE DRAGON (1978)
    Acrylic on Masonite - 20" X 30"

    Although this is the third book in the series, it was my first Pern cover and I was determined to create the dragons as faithfully to Anne McCaffrey's description as possible. 1/5

    Ruth, a pearl white dragon with green eyes, poses regally with wings spread against a cliff face. Her rider Jaxom rears back, saddle-mounted just above her wings. A foreclaw grips rock as the other releases, flexing like fingers. Ruth's tail, marked with a parallel ridges of short spikes and ending in a spade-shaped tip, curls forward around her back leg. A tiny dragon grasps Jaxom's finger, perching like a bird. Across the misty valley, a group of dragons take flight, soaring past the Red Star which hangs in deep blue sky like a bloody moon just above the jagged spine of mountains.
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    swelljoe ,
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    @MichaelWhelan this series was among my favorites as a kid, and this cover is one of a handful of covers I remember pretty distinctly. I enjoy all your recollections of your work, but especially the ones about my childhood faves.

    @NanoRaptor@bitbang.social avatar NanoRaptor , to random

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    swelljoe ,
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    @NanoRaptor I found a Trans Van on Facebook Marketplace.

    Side view of the Trans Van.
    The front of the Trans Van.

    @stux@mstdn.social avatar stux , to random

    So according to this article: https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/meta-facebook-tech-copyright-privacy-whistleblower

    is scraping the media proxies of mstdn, masto and .coffee..

    If this is true, this is very worriying and pisses me very much off

    No wonder our media loads so crappy if they are constantly tapping in..

    Fuck to hell

    swelljoe ,
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    @stux my theory for why we're in this mess has long been that the leadership and functionaries in the Democratic party prefer fundraising off of the outrageous things Trump and his cronies do than winning elections, because it's simply more profitable for them.

    The outrageous corruption of the Republicans makes Democrats look normal by contrast, but the motivations are similar. They're rich and like being rich and if losing makes them richer, that's what they've got to do.

    @dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar dangillmor , to random

    Does anyone know if it's possible to plug a mini-PC into a laptop and use the laptop's keyboard/monitor?

    swelljoe ,
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    @mcc@mastodon.social avatar mcc , to random

    I wish Linux were better at being an operating system

    swelljoe ,
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    @mcc it's enough that it's a friend.

    @jalefkowit@vmst.io avatar jalefkowit , to random

    The main reason I am on the fediverse is because if JD Vance ever turned up here, he would instantly be eaten by angry furries

    swelljoe ,
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    @stux @jalefkowit to be fair to Blooskie-ites he was nearly instantly suspended due to people reporting him, but the admins overrode it and reinstated the account. The sky people want a Nazi-free zone, but the nature of the organization won't allow that.

    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar molly0xfff , to random

    A couple people responded to my earlier post about the shoddy WSJ article (https://hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff/114683662588184161) to say “well it’s true that Democrats aren’t supporting the protests!”

    At my best count, 75 elected Democrats (Congresspeople, governors) attended protests today. Another 27 encouraged people to go.

    That’s just looking at today’s protests, not Democrats talking about or attending protests more generally. It also doesn’t count the many more state or local officials who showed up, candidates, etc.

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQW7wz5q1ypDwxaJCYBewnMqkUngfmjwYp1w4nPjZZZAefNfJd5ceL12jF-PiXfnLv_9JYu2Kb5iy_N/pubhtml

    Spreadsheet listing all Democratic (and Independent) governors, Senators, and Representatives, and checkboxes showing whether they endorsed or attended protests
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    swelljoe ,
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    @molly0xfff lumping them all together gives the ones who are not fit for this moment a pass. We have to identify who understands the situation we are in, and primary those who don't. Supporting protests may not be proof of competence or courage, but it's certainly supporting evidence.

    vkc , (edited ) to random

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    swelljoe ,
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    @vkc from a branding perspective, I know what to expect when I see a familiar face, and if the face is often in videos I like I'm more likely to click. There are other distinctive ways to brand videos, though, to achieve the same end if you'd rather do it some other way. The thumbnail is the only packaging you get, so it probably ought to display your brand in a clear...whatever that is. For many video creators, it's their face.

    @mcc@mastodon.social avatar mcc , to random

    God damn Check Your Head is a good album

    swelljoe ,
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    @mcc I've said it before, but the Beasties are the most important American band of their generation. Sure, Nirvana was influential and popular, but almost nobody in history changed popular music like the Beasties did. They spawned a dozen entire new genres (admittedly, not all of those genres are good) and inspired thousands of bands, because they showed new ways to do it, mashing up a bunch of basic forms into new and exciting things. Not the best at what they did, they were the only.

    @jerry@infosec.exchange avatar jerry , to random

    So MITRE’s CVE may be dying. I have been working hard on a replacement. Now you might be skeptical that a shared google sheet isn’t the right approach, but at least it’s affordable, right?

    swelljoe ,
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    @jerry have we tried just not writing bugs? Seems like we could save a lot of trouble that way.

    @grumpygamer@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar grumpygamer , to random

    Not being able to buy alcoholic root beer didn't figure into my equation of if I should move to New Zealand.

    swelljoe ,
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    @grumpygamer is root beer of any sort common in New Zealand?

    @djlink@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar djlink , to random

    This weekend (3 to 5 Jan) Apple TV will be free for everyone to watch, they have a bunch of good shows there, worth giving it a go. https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2024/12/get-a-free-all-access-pass-to-apple-tv-the-first-weekend-of-2025/

    Enjoy Apple TV+ for free the first weekend of 2025
 Stream Apple TV+’s library of award-winning original series and films for free from January 3-5
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    swelljoe ,
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    @djlink Silo, Ted Lasso, Slow Horses, Severance, Foundation, in that order. That might be a lot for one weekend, though.

    @Daojoan@mastodon.social avatar Daojoan , to random

    Females but it’s pronounced like Tamales

    swelljoe ,
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    @Daojoan I like the spicy ones.

    vkc , (edited ) to random

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    swelljoe ,
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    @vkc using Windows has become so unpleasant that despite no longer being religious about only using Linux for everything (which I used to be, but all of my hobbies WRT audio recording and 3D and such suffered for it), I still find myself trying to find ways to do everything in Linux, even when it means I give up a lot of good and expensive software I have on Windows. Windows is just a miserable user experience. Ads literally everywhere!? My computer, making noise at me to sell me shit? No.

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    Billboard- VP Harris will have Megan Thee Stallion join her at her rally on Tuesday in Atlanta for a special performance. https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/megan-thee-stallion-kamala-harris-rally-atlanta-1235742703/

    swelljoe ,
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    @w7voa she's got Megan and Beyoncé, Texas is in play.

    @eniko@peoplemaking.games avatar eniko , to random

    at some point i'm going to make the ultima 6/7 like i've been wanting to make for 3 decades and my marketing is just going to be "this game is not for you. it is full of intentionally designed friction that's intended to heighten immersion. there is no controller support. there will be no achievements. there is no minimap. this game is not for you"

    swelljoe ,
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    @eniko I don't want to be disagreeable but I think it might be.

    @aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar aeva , to random

    I just figured out an easy way to eliminate an entire category of tricky recurring bugs in this one top secret work thing, AND it solves two open bugs I wasn't sure I'd have time to work on 😎 a good end to my work week

    swelljoe ,
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    @aeva my "senior engineer" secret: Deleting more code than I write. Can't be no bugs when there aint no code.