Yeah. I think there’s a lot of room for a Arena FPS Revival, especially for console players who are sick of the monetization and slot-machine point mechanics from games like Call of Duty.

I think the Quake 2 Remaster sales and rave reviews say plenty to that. There’s decent online play too.

Quake 3 Remaster could be perfect for the 25 year anniversary next year.

But who knows.

I did. I feel like it overpromised it underdelivered. Mostly, I’m not too thrilled about the character and weapon designs. There’s a lot of UI elements that were taken right from Overwatch. 

It’s certainly not bad. Just not what I crave.

Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament. In my opinion, these are still two of the greatest games of all time. You don’t get better because your character or weapon is better. You get better because you put in the practice. you improve your reflexes. You learn the arena. Every player starts every match on an even playing field. Every frag feels like an accomplishment.

I appreciate that modern shooters are trying to do something different with every iteration. But stuff like call of duty, overwatch, or destiny never captures that magic. In many ways, they felt more like slot machines.

Halo got close, but I always felt it was too slow. And also, I felt Tribes was the better series for online play that felt similar. 

Obscene.

Luckily I was able to buy a modest 2 bedroom condo with pretty much every dollar ever saved with my wife almost 3 years ago. Nice walkable area too, close to the trains.

It was the height of the pandemic and prices bottomed out in the city ‘cause nobody knew if they’d be employed. All the old timers were selling to get the fresh air of suburbia. Or dying.

Just a few weeks after we closed, prices shot up again. Got super lucky.

We pay less in mortgage & taxes than rent. But it’s not cheap either way.

Our friends who bought are either paying out the ass or can’t afford a home anywhere reasonably close. Some of us are pushing 40.

I have a private parking spot off street in a city. I don’t like backing up towards the main road; since it has pedestrians and stuff. It’s a little harder to see.

So I back into the spot. It’s way easier than backing out - and pulling out is even easier. 

My work parking garage is already really tight. It’s another situation where backing in is easier than backing out - and driving forward our is even easier. So just some planning.

I don’t think there’s a single piece of media that impacted more as a kid. The visuals, the gameplay, the music. Good god, the music.

A quarter century later, I work part time in music production (ghost writing, gaming OSTs, ads, etc). It feels like everything I do is trying to recreate the magic of that Quake 2 soundtrack.

Funny enough, I haven’t actually played Quake 2 since my teens. I’m not even sure if I ever beat it. So I’ll be looking forward to this.

Just bought a great CPO car a week ago, so… I’ve never cleaned it.

But in general, I use steering wheel covers that I change maybe once a year.

I don’t drive that much, only like once a week. My wife also drives it once a week (we share). In the winter, we often wear gloves. So it doesn’t get too grimey.

The subway here is how I commute to work or enjoy nights out. If it’s super late or I’m lazy, an Uber will pick up the slack.

Politically, we agree on 90%+ on things. Like - it would be really odd if I married a woman who didn’t believe my friends deserved basic human rights. 

But I will say we handle conflict very differently, loss very differently, anxiety very differently, fear very differently. We’re different people.  The important thing is that were able to communicate with one another. We’re supposed to understand each other’s motives, behaviors, needs. And try to anticipate them.

Ideally, we’re strong in areas the other is weak in.

As far as interests, there’s a lot of crossover. But I have specific hobbies (music production mostly), that she has no interest in. She’ll give feedback from time to time. And also, she plays piano. But we don’t play together.

I like goofy nerd shit, she likes The Bachelor. I like some gaming, she thinks it’s lame and reads in her free time. I mean, no great relationship has ever thrived based on a shared love of Star Trek or something.

So most importantly, we match well in two areas. One, we can make each other laugh. Two, we like the same foods and are adventurous eaters.

For what it’s worth, half of every live-in relationship is trying to decide what to eat next.

There’s nothing wrong with having a preference. At the end of the day, when you adopt a pet - you are saving their life and dramatically changing yours. How you come to that choice is deeply personal. It doesn’t matter if it’s superficial or whatever, least of all to the cat. As long as you give them love, warmth, food and shelter.

 I don’t really have a preference on breed, I just care of they’re sociable and friendly. I do have a preference for girl cats. My dearly departed cat was a girl, and my wife’s cat (very much alive) is a dude. Love him, but it’s not the same.

I’m not particularly into anime either, but I thought that “The Devil Is A Part-Timer” and “One Punch Man” were really funny and clever.

Excel for Dummies 2023

Of course, validation is helpful for people that feel depressed or sad. Dark lyrics speak to a listener and remind them that they’re not alone in their struggle.

Having those connections confirms that their experience, thoughts and feelings are a fundamental (albeit challenging) part of the human condition. The song brings those ideas to the forefront where they can be processed.

When done correctly, moody music is an effective instrument of catharsis for the writer and listener.

“Ape alone.. weak. Apes together…. strong”

So no, it’s baked-in the DNA of how we survive. We group to fight threats. Early days, that threat is protection from hostile wildlife like bears.

You scale that to a modern civilization - and you have groups of people fighting for resources, food, money, opportunities, land, etc. Sometimes they’re gangs. Sometimes they’re entire countries. Sometimes they’re groups of allied countries.

And heck, you see it in stupidly small scales too. “Coke v Pepsi”, “N64 v PlayStation”, “Rock Fans v Disco Fans”.

Sunni and Shia believe 98% of the same stuff. But the bit they don’t agree on pushes fringe lunatics to terrorism, war, ethnic cleansing, etc.

Same deal with Protestants and Catholics.

The only thing could make us drop “us versus them” mentality is a giant alien force more violent and sick than anything you can imagine.

Then maybe, humanity will be the “us” finally.

I’m not making a philosophical or physiological distinction.

I’m making a semantic and etymological one.

Nature, as its defined in the English language, is used to describe things that aren’t human creations.

Sometimes it’s used to describe things that, even if manipulated by humans, is distinct from an artificial, chemical or industrial process. Like “natural remedies”. Sometimes it’s just a marketing term, “natural flavors” in a soda brand.

Humans categorically can’t be nature - because we use the word “nature” specifically to distinguish our own creations from the rest of the world.

A human can choose to live in nature, meaning they’re living in a place that is plurality not man-made. An cabin in an unplanned forest, versus Midtown Manhattan. But even then, the human is the not-nature thing. They’re only surrounded by it.

Nature - by definition, are things found in the physical world that aren’t human creations.

Modern homes require electricity, clean running water, modern insulation, glass, smoke detectors, town governments oversight, corporate resources, insurance, etc. All of these things are human creations.

Man-made is similar to hand-made. Both are distinct from machine-made.

Nature is a bit of a spectrum. Something being handmade is closer to natural than something from a factory. Still, neither are natural.

I mean, I won’t have much leftover after paying off my condo. I live in a very expensive city.

Plus, you never know what you need money for down the line. Maybe my heating will need replacement. Maybe I lose my job. Maybe a family member will need professional care, like a home attendant. Or maybe I’ll take another vacation next year. Who knows.

$500K is not a crazy amount of money. It’s certainly enough to dramatically improve my life. But not enough for me to stop working, or buy stupid things - or anything like that

Sometimes.

The smaller independent theaters are a nice old timey experience. Most venues have a better sound system than anything most of us can afford - so that’s a good improvement. There’s something romantic about the whole thing, I don’t know. You see a movie the way the filmmakers intended, and being part of an audience, all gasping or laughing together can be powerful.

Big theater chains like AMC are no worthwhile for me. They’re always riddled with unruly teenagers. Like half the time, they’ll be snickering during serious scenes or whatever.

I mean, give it a try. You might like it. You might hate it. It’ll cost you like ~$18 to find out. Not that much.

The content on Reddit has gotten noticeably worse - but less as a result of Lemmy's existence and more of a reaction to killing 3rd Party Apps.

Unfortunately for me, some of my favorite communities haven't migrated over to Lemmy. So I'm still using Old Reddit Desktop to access them.

Probably pay off the condo. Maybe do some upgrades.

Travel with my wife somewhere for a 2 week long vacation.

Throw the rest in savings.

Do you find satisfaction in reciprocating?

Because if you’re anything like me - then giving is the gift. I’m someone that feels validated and valued when I bring someone joy. And if I’m given an experience that I can’t share, then I’m filled with a sense of guilt. If you feel similarly, you should communicate that to your partner.

And also, I’ve been in your position.

Assuredly, your partner would feel pressured to ‘enjoy herself’ and/or give equal feedback if you ‘must’ reciprocate.

That’s a vulnerable feeling and it can be awkward. If she doesn’t ‘get there’, she’d feel like she’s dismissing your effort. So she’s trying to focus on ‘getting there’ under pressure, which creates a negative thought loop that confirms her fears. It’s just easier to do something else.

You have a loving partner that’s worth appreciating. The way each of you show and receive appreciation is different. She’s telling you very clearly that she does not need to be shown in the way you want to. So I recommend finding something else.

Maybe you could cook up a nice breakfast, give her a foot rub, watch one of her TV shows, that kinda thing.