wqnm
22d ago
Oh damn, had no idea that was the same artist. I've been listening to synthwave compilations as my go to background noise at work for years now, instantly recognized his stuff.
I have to say, We’re Finally Landing gives the MST3K credits song a run for coziest theme. I’ve woken up to both after nodding off many a time.
So yeah, love me some Summoning Salt videos; his stuff is, for my money, some of the best “videos to fall asleep to” content out there. Really nails that sweet spot of engaging enough to prevent your mind from racing/wandering (which I struggle with), but low stakes and “cozy” enough that it doesn’t really keep you up. Video melatonin, like lazy afternoon Golf broadcasts for the YouTube generation.
That said, on the occasion that I am watching not before bed and/or legitimately interested in the game being discussed, I will admit I generally watch his videos at 1.5x speed. He has a very, say, deliberate, delivery.
wqnm
3mo ago
Reminds me of the old Moldbug quip about socialism working in Iceland because anything would work in Iceland.
wqnm
4mo ago
I can't speak for every one, but my local volunteer fire department also has a small dormitory for the on call firefighters, and they heavily advertise it as free room and board for students attending local colleges. I think you only need to be on call something like 3/4 nights a week to be allowed to live there for the semester. I actually kind of wish I knew about it when I was in college.
These are great, thanks for writing them up.
Little side story that's kind of relevant, and may or may not interest you, but his post made me think of a very interesting story Sam Hyde told on a live stream years ago (yes, that Sam Hyde, way back before he kind of blew up into some kind of political figure, and was just some absurdist youtuber I followed).
https://youtube.com/watch?v=M2TYjRr-Gps
Kind of long (I'd still recommend watching it), but the basic gist is that he met a crazy guy who claimed his father, a Greek Immigrant, was some sort of genius architect and a big shot in the Pittsburgh mid-century redevelopment scene. Apparently the father bumped elbows with a lot of the city big wigs of the time, and was lead architect on a lot of major projects, but at some point refused to take part in a wife swapping "key" party and was subsequently professionally black-balled. Sam claims the guy had some of his dads old drawings still, including what sounds like original drawings of the Civic Arena. People online think they've traced the dad to being James Mitchell (originally Michalopoulos).
I'm glossing over lots of interesting little details though, like at one point apparently the guy claimed IM Pei being chosen to design what you mentioned, over his dad, was related to some side deal between US steel and China. Also I believe Sam briefly attended Carnegie Mellon, so that might explain why he'd even run into a guy like this.
Obscure forum post with apparently some more details
Could be legit, could be a lot of bullshit. You'd probably be a much better judge than me, but I thought it was interesting enough that I still remember it.
wqnm
8mo ago
I've heard a lot of good things about co-ed social sports leagues in terms of meeting dating prospects. Also helps to pre-select for physically active and generally fit women. Even if you don't meet someone, you'll probably have some fun, and worst case, it's easy to bail.
wqnm
8mo ago
I don't know this guy or anything about this "drama" around him. But spoiling the puzzles of Outer Wilds for yourself, and bypassing the games organic sense of discovery, is really a shame. If this is true, this guy, apparently a big gamer, deprived himself of one of the greatest pure gaming experiences of the last decade, all for some nerd clout. Lame as hell.
wqnm
11mo ago
Musk's been vocal about transparency and even mentioned having a public "leaderboard" for biggest wastes of government money they find; I think this is where the true potential lies. If all they do is maintain that leaderboard publicly, like a Most Wanted List for fiscal conservatives, I think it will help. Even if they have no legal power to cut funding, they can still act as a giant spotlight on some of the more egregious examples, and in turn get some organized public opinion churning on specific cases, which would be plenty useful IMO. Every little bit counts.
I'd point out that this general concept has in fact already been done before, to cinematic perfection, in the film Tremors.
The pan to the back wall may be one of the greatest comedy shots in movie history.
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