Random Talk

[Cauliflower Of Love]

dualingo vs rosetta stone?

or something better?

Depends on the language. LingoDeer is (or was?) a better Duolingo for the daily app game system. Pimsleur, I’ve heard about it and I think it’s the daily audio follow along type.

danke si vou plait

[Nintex]

do you think moviemaking hasn't really changed since the 90s?

I remember being a kid and it was always extremely obvious when I was watching something old, the quality of the image, the quality of the recording, the style of scriptwriting, the style of editing, the pacing, the types of shots they would include

it was like they had no confidence in the audience's ability to understand how people get from one location to another so there were constant driving scenes showing people parking and getting out of cars and going through doors, just fully wasted time

and lots of "talking heads," pure dialogue without artistry, lots of tell-don't-show

it feels to me like the 90s were a breakpoint where we figured out a formula and haven't deviated that much since

have things evened out, or am I just unable to have that perspective because I've seen all of it the whole time?

if you show a kid Home Alone today, will they just instantly know "wow this is super old" - not just due to the technology and lack of cell phones, since period pieces are still made today, but due to vague qualities in the filmmaking

what about Lord of the Rings, which is now "super old," as old as movies from the 60s and 70s when we were kids

does it feel old?

Looking at my collection, one movie that really was a turning point was the Bourne Identity.
The way the chase scene was done with just the Paul Oakenfold score playing, the way the quick cuts were done, the way the fight scenes were done.
A lot was just implied simply by visual story telling and environmental story telling. It was kept deliberately vague as Bourne didn't say to Marie what he was doing or why and every time you expected him to, something happened that prevented him from opening up. The movie actually teases the audience with this, as Marie asks Bourne what he is doing and how she can help and the CIA people also go: "If you want us to do our jobs, you have to tell us more". But throughout everyone that knows anything insists that it is better to keep everyone else and thus the audience in the dark.

You have to pick up on all the cues, glances at phones, flashbacks and hints yourself to complete the narrative and even then some things are left open to interpretation. In ways even the ending is.

Other movies like Casino Royale and Mission Impossible started to play with that concept too, but would also circle back to explain things and didn't go all the way of keeping things vague and later Bourne movies would also give the audience more exposition and hints.

but then again, this might be one of those favorite films of mine where I am completely biased for obvious reasons. 

[BIONIC]

but then again, this might be one of those favorite films of mine where I am completely biased for obvious reasons. 

Yeah, Matt Damon really does it for me too.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

Its the car.

[Nintex]

I'm officially in the 5% of men that women like first on Tinder. Got 3 likes today. 2 I wasn't interested in. The 3rd I considered but she cut it off after the opening but I responded rather late because I woke up late and she liked me around midnight or so, so my guess is she already had someone else respond quicker.

Anyway, added a pic of me lifting weights because that is apparently the biggest concern these ladies have about a gaming/movie nerd that somehow runs a succesful tech business, does he lift/exercise? And honestly it came out better than I expected, I'm not ripped or anything but I'm fit these days. Should give me an edge over the fat nerds.

[Polident]

I'm officially in the 5% of men that women like first on Tinder. Got 3 likes today. 2 I wasn't interested in. The 3rd I considered but she cut it off after the opening but I responded rather late because I woke up late and she liked me around midnight or so, so my guess is she already had someone else respond quicker.

Anyway, added a pic of me lifting weights because that is apparently the biggest concern these ladies have about a gaming/movie nerd that somehow runs a succesful tech business, does he lift/exercise? And honestly it came out better than I expected, I'm not ripped or anything but I'm fit these days. Should give me an edge over the fat nerds.

[MMaRsu]

I'm officially in the 5% of men that women like first on Tinder. Got 3 likes today. 2 I wasn't interested in. The 3rd I considered but she cut it off after the opening but I responded rather late because I woke up late and she liked me around midnight or so, so my guess is she already had someone else respond quicker.

Tinder is such a hellhole. Get out now

Oh no, you responded not within five minutes of my like? DELETED

[Nintex]

I'm officially in the 5% of men that women like first on Tinder. Got 3 likes today. 2 I wasn't interested in. The 3rd I considered but she cut it off after the opening but I responded rather late because I woke up late and she liked me around midnight or so, so my guess is she already had someone else respond quicker.

Tinder is such a hellhole. Get out now

Oh no, you responded not within five minutes of my like? DELETED

I did set my profile to: "Fast apper" so that creates those expectations and usually I'm pretty fast. Best to underpromise / overdeliver in that regard. Tinder is also more about timing, some people are just looking for a date tonight or for the weekend. She liked me at 1 AM, I responded the next day around 12 PM. 

So yeah, I can see why she broke it off if she expected a quicker reply. Tinder does keep my likes active for 7 days with Platinum though. Because I liked her back I can still see her profile and noticed she changed some of her pictures. On the other hand she looks worse in her new picture and for some reason she tried to match the colors/corpo style of my picture. Maybe she's just trying to level up, same as me. Perhaps I'll send her a message that I like her new style and next time my opening line will be better.

Also with the Corvette, Presidency, Hunters laptop, weights... Joe Biden would be super chad for girls with daddy issues on these apps.

But yeah I wouldn't get into this if I were you and if you're not up for the grind. 
This is IRL gacha and unfortunately for the girls on these apps I liked Xenoblade 2 and nearly got addicted to The First Descendant 

[MMaRsu]

Tinder is also more about timing, some people are just looking for a date tonight or for the weekend

Great, I've never actually set up a date through Tinder. App sucks. Women on these apps have way too many choices and thirsty dudes going after them.

My confidence has already been ground down to a nub, by trying to talk to women in a friendly manner and then just getting shut down or never getting a response or just getting deleted

Doesnt matter what you say, compliment their pictures, ask whats up etc whatever

fuck em

[Nintex]

Tinder is also more about timing, some people are just looking for a date tonight or for the weekend

Great, I've never actually set up a date through Tinder. App sucks. Women on these apps have way too many choices and thirsty dudes going after them.

My confidence has already been ground down to a nub, by trying to talk to women in a friendly manner and then just getting shut down or never getting a response or just getting deleted

Doesnt matter what you say, compliment their pictures, ask whats up etc whatever

fuck em

When I win the game I'll tell you how I did it.

Overall going from "passive" to "active" again in social life already had some positive results for me. It started autumn last year when I decided to visit clients when I would normally just do remote calls. It was fun to drive, visit new places and meet new people. Next, I went to the yearly student reunion dinner. I had skipped those because it didn't fit into my schedule but now I made time and it was great to see all the guys again instead of just chatting.

The Christmas party story didn't have the romantic ending I hoped for but they were great as party guests and we had a bigger group of people because I decided to invite them, so the people that organized the party were very happy that despite a few cancellations so many turned up and their efforts weren't in vain and immediately started planning for the next party.

This year I probably would've been alone on NYE but thinking positively I bought 3 bottles of champagne in case I got invited. 

I wouldn't have been invited if I hadn't visited the charity concert thing at the Church of one of my friends a few months ago. He cancelled the plans we had, I asked him why, he told me about the concert and it was right across the street from where I live. In this day and age those people are usually ridiculed and seen as 'crazy' so it meant a lot that a stranger came to visit. Lo and behold out of the blue his parents invited me for their NYE party.

I decided to revive my Instagram and the Georgian muse likes every picture I post and I got back in touch a with a bro I haven't talked to for a long time.  

People didn't invite me because I wasn't open to invitation so to speak. Post-COVID I was always busy with work, taking care of the folks, me-time and I dropped alcohol. And that signal was clear, so people respected that 'locked in' mode and didn't want to disturb me too much. When mom wanted to jump out of a window or I just got back from a corporate website launch party all suited up, it was kind of difficult for people to ask me if I wanted to play a board game, help them grab Yoshi from the claw machine at the fair, fill in for someone at DnD or move a couch or whatever. I thought everyone knew that I was still the same old helpful Nintex that is fun to hang out with but they never got that confirmation and new people I met over the past 5 years never got to see that side of me so they thought I was strictly business.

[who is ted danson?]

don't know why but this reminded me of every thread here

[Nintex]

Today Tinder gave me some surprisingly good options. One pretty yet shy girl clearly struggling with a skin issue (as often happens with redheads) asking for a skincare hack and good walking routes, I have a good skincare tip for her if she joins me for a walk and can help me save my dying plant (her expertise). Fingers crossed she replies. 

Got some decent pictures from my restaurant visit too. Friend of mine kinda depicted me as a bond villain, sitting back and grinning with confidence as I'm about to reveal my master plan. Which is actually fitting for my character and makes me more interesting. My bio now starts with: "Lets go on a date before I build an AI that destroys the world." Followed by some details with movie references. Instead of no kids or cat no mini-me or tiger and things like that.

People into books/movies/stories enjoy that type of creative writing that goes beyond: I like movies.

[BIONIC]

Extortion

[Polident]

I’ve become aware of a YouTube pulley community. Fascinating stuff. These guys are building 10:1 ratio pulleys and beyond.

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

[HardcoreRetro]

I can't believe my favourite 19 year old Mancunian alcoholic obese teen pop sensation made a song that MMaRsu can relate to.

[Uncle]

I'm suffering

I have a bit of music stuck in my head and I can't remember where it's from, it's a really distinctive couple of notes that I know I heard a lot at one point

the instruments and general vibe sound like this, but it's not this (nor anything on the Phantasy Star 2 soundtrack)



I get the feeling it was an RPG overworld of some sort because I remember it being interrupted often and restarting, it's a little Earthbound feeling or something like that (but not Earthbound)

no one will be able to help me find it, I'm just ranting

[Uncle]

!!!

I got it, I figured it out



specifically the riff at around 22 seconds (which you can hear is musically similar to the Phantasy Star 2 track at 4 seconds, and both tracks have a hammond organ kind of sound)

I heard it so much because there was a skate park in the area, kind of a mini Tony Hawk within Spyro, and I spent ages playing it, it was a really well-made little minigame

so that's sorted out, I can move along with my day

[MMaRsu]

I can't believe my favourite 19 year old Mancunian alcoholic obese teen pop sensation made a song that MMaRsu can relate to.

Hahahahaha

[Nintex]

Well Bionic we've arrived at Astrology.

I read my Zodiac sign (Pisces) and it's 99% literally me. Including dumb shit like that Pisces are always late.  

So I've worked this into the bio in a funny and casual way and now I'm liking 10/10s with the best matching Zodiac signs.

[BIONIC]

Well Bionic we've arrived at Astrology.

I read my Zodiac sign (Pisces) and it's 99% literally me. Including dumb shit like that Pisces are always late.  

So I've worked this into the bio in a funny and casual way and now I'm liking 10/10s with the best matching Zodiac signs.

[Nintex]

Got an email from a boomer about some dumb shit, so I started workshopping things to make his problem worse.
Then at lunch today I told my co-workers about the astrology and they looked up the pisces.
First sentence they found: "Pisces are known for their deep emotional connections and limitless empathy"

They fell from their chairs laughing.

[killamajig]

Man, I was going to try and be the cool guy by posting a picture from inside a squad car while I was joyriding with my friend. 

His computer was on and I didn't want to dox the dude that was on the screen. So I shifted the camera and now you can't even tell I'm in a cop car. 

My friend said the dude had warrants so I guess it wouldn't be doxing because it's public record. 

BTW The new Ford police interceptor has a V6 3.3L with 318 horsepower. We didn't see what it would top out at, but damn !!!!   Wheeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

[Nintex]

I imagine you as Denzel Washington from Training Day.

[Eric Cartman]

About 40% of all serial killers are pisces

[killamajig]

I imagine you as Denzel Washington from Training Day.

Hmmm, more like Bob Hoskins opposite Denzel in....

Heart Condition
1990
R
1h 40m

A racist cop (Hoskins) receives a heart transplant from a black lawyer he hates (Washington), who returns as a ghost to ask the cop to help take down the men who murdered him.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099750/

[Nintex]

Tally so far

Bumble
- 1. Random gacha pull (should've liked this one back in hindsight but she kind of caught me off guard)
- 2. CCP agent (she had: "Did you know I visited North Korea" in her bio)
- 3. Crazy eyes that broke off after the opening (she did fit the profile though, although no ginger)
- 4. Black girl that wants something casual (not my type)
- 5. The first White girl with red hair that fell into the honey trap and wants something 'no strings attached' but our interests don't match at all and her face is eh

Tinder
- 1. Corpo girl that broke off the chat after the opening 
- 2. Black girl from Nairobi (not sure if bot but she doesn't do much for me)
- 3. Fat chick, too heavy for me 
- 4. Black girl interested in a casual date, tall and quite buff but I'm not attracted to her 

I looked up some Tinder profile roasts and I'm actually not doing too bad with the bio/pictures but not quite there yet.
The prompts like "the way to my heart is..." and "a truth and 2 lies" etc. are meant to trigger conversation but I used them more to state things. So to make it more whimsical I used a bunch of movie quotes for example: "My biggest red flag... snakes. why did it have to be snakes?".

[Polident]

Mild rant. Used a basic list app on my phone for years. No functions beyond writing a list of sentences. Suddenly it updated to add Google ads and reduce the usable area.

[Nintex]

Simple apps are being ruined left and right. At this point I find most apps to be useless

[Polident]

There’s something about iOS and Android, I’m sure. Many apps are free on Windows but charge a fee on smartphones.

[Nintex]

Some apps are just left broken and I'm not talking about small niche apps or Chinese shit either. Android apps from the big brands like Google, Microsoft, Samsung etc. completely unusable.
I think the Sonos app still isn't fixed either. They dropped the old app and locked it out with a device firmware update, released a new one that was broken and have since been trying to fix it because they couldn't roll back to the old app. 

On Android the Instagram filters often don't load. A known bug since October by now. Tinder has removed the option to connect Instagram but you still get the notifications to remind you to connect it. So it's stuck in an endless loop of promoting a function that doesn't exist anymore.

My Wifi is also unstable as hell since the last Android update and it doesn't switch to 5G as reliable as it did before. So it just sits for hours without a connection and I receive chat messages 4 hours late. The updates Samsung did to their One UI or whatever the fuck it is called are also terrible.

The new Google login screen, often when I click on the button to select my account it instead opens the Gmail app to send myself a message. It must be some kind of pattern recognition to open Gmail when you tap on an email but that should not happen when logging in.