I used to use Ubuntu up to 12.04. By the time the support ended, the new versions had the Unity desktop, I didn’t like it, so for a while I switched to Crunchbang (may it rest in peace), and now I’m using Mint Cinnamon. Some of my developers are using Ubuntu with Unity. Everyone is free to pick what suits them; I’m not one to judge them.

I haven’t used Photoshop; learned basic photo editing in GIMP (as a poor student, I appreciated a powerful, free editor). So, no complaints about the UI from me. If anything, I’d probably bitch about the Photoshop UI if I ever used it.

One thing that concerns me a little, however, is the third-party integration with Nik Collection. The second version, which I’m still using, was provided for free by Google. They later sold the software, and the new company commercialized it. I found it difficult to track down the v2 installer, so I’m now keeping it on multiple backups, in multiple locations, as one of my most treasured software possessions.

Middle manager in an IT company here. My job description is saying “no” to requests outside the official pipeline, in order to shield my team from outside interference and burnout. I need a manager to fight for me whenever I pick a fight with one of the VPs who think we need to drop everything and refocus on their pet project.

When I was still buying new games, I’ve had development studios I preferred, and others I avoided. Those were simpler times (and simpler games), when one small studio did everything.

Later, additional external companies got involved, and some tried to hide their presence. I remember when The Adventure Company started using a very customer unfriendly sort of copy protection, and I started using a list of affectted games, so that I could avoid them.

These days, multiple companies are involved with game design. As a consumer, it’s only normal that I’d like to know who had their hands on developing a game I’d be interested in. I haven’t played any games Sweet Baby was involved with, but if I did and had a strong opinion (negative or positive) about their work, I’d appreciate a list of games they worked on, to make a purchase choice that would suit me best.

That’s how I was taught. Quarter past, half past, quarter to, and add to it the minutes. Then again, I was also taught to hide under my school desk in case of a nuclear attack. I think times may have changed slightly since then…

Last summer, I was in a water park, one of the few people still wearing a watch. A man asked me what time it was, and I replied “half past one and ten minutes”. To me, this was completely natural, and I didn’t even think about it. I’ll never forget his confused look. You could almost see slight movements under his hair as the wheels in his brain worked overtime to translate it into digital time…

You are indeed well-read, and I’m finding it difficult to give you an entire list, based on your tastes (which are remarkably close to mine). The two authors that come to mind, whom I haven’t seen on your list are

• Greg Bear. Anything from him, but I particularly like the The Forge of God and Anvil of Stars duology. You complained about sad books, and these may be depressing, but it’s some of the best writing that’s still missing from your list.
• China Mielville. Wonderfully weird and inventive books, in particular The City & The City and Perdido Street Station.

And since you mentioned Timothy Zahn, in comparison with Card, I take it you already read his The Icarus Hunt? If not, it’s also highly recommended for its unabashed fun and good plot.

Personal anecdote. My drinking days are long over, and now I limit my alcohol consumption to 1-2 drinks on Friday, right after work. The alcohol varies - a beer, a cider, 2 glasses of wine, or a glass of hot whiskey on particularly cold evenings. I also do a lot of fitness, so I’m monitoring my health pretty closely, in particular HRV at night, which is an amazing indicator of my sleep quality and overall health. I have a nearly perfect correlation between an evening drink and a drop of HRV into red zones, and the corresponding drop in sleep quality. The effect of the drink is so strong that I skip it altogether if I plan on having a long hard run the next day.

Love those windows when travelling, but I have yet to see windows that open to the inside here in Ireland. Not sure whether it’s one of those crazy building regulations like no power switch or outlet inside the bathroom or auto-closing inner doors to each room.

This chart is the very first thing they show you at The Landmark Forum. They even tried to copyright it…

Agreed. I used to be the tech support for my family members. Everyone I switched to Mint Cinnamon stopped calling me. (That’s also when I realised my relatives never call me to share good news or to ask about me.)

This should teach me not to check C&H comics while on a conference call with my camera on…

Blue pill. I’d miss my wife and kids, and even if I were transported back in time, I doubt I’d do all the required steps to get to them again.

Dungeon Master. I refuse to use a guide, so even though I’ve been playing it for almost 25 years, I still haven’t finished it. Always run out of food…

I keep wishing everyone a very boring 2024. Makes me happy when they reply in kind.

I lost count of the number of games in my backlog, so a while ago I tried a similar spreadsheet. Mainly to stop me from replaying game I already finished multiple times and focusing on others instead. However, that felt too close to work instead of fun, so I gave up and went back to my favourite classics.

Seconded. Switched my wife to Mint two years ago, and she never cared about going back to Windows. Not that she cares about Mint, either; the point of contention was the transition, which was much smoother than she was afraid of.

I can’t tell whether this particular person is real, but I fully believe that there are thousands such people, if not more, in every developed country. I count myself among them. My social media interaction, other than Lemmy and Reddit, is limited to reading and writing 1000+ words long blog posts. I recently left our company’s Christmas party after an hour when I realised I had nothing to talk about with the others - I don’t know the current trends in movies, TV or music, and nobody in my work shares my interests. So, I may be perceived as just as weird (or endearing, as the ending suggests), even though I see myself as perfectly normal.

I use Mint, and I found that it’s the best distro for introducing my family to Linux. Those who tried it never asked for their Windows back.

I read it a while ago (still had David Wong listed as the author), and really enjoyed it. Fun read with some good ideas. However, about halfway in I started getting exhausted. The author just throws so much at you, both in content (ideas) and form (language), and the pacing is always hectic, and I just found it too tiring. I have yet to pick up the second book in the series.