I'm contemplating setting up a #PiHole server on a Raspberry Pi 4B that I'm not using for very much.
If anyone is using this on their home network, could you please give me tips on how to install and how to properly use it? It seems like I'd have to have the Pi turned on constantly in order to do its job, but I worry about overheating (I have a standard case that has no CPU fan).
I know that #Deltarune chapters 3 and 4 were released earlier this year. I played chapters 1 and 2 a few years ago, and enjoyed them quite a bit (much as I had enjoyed #Undertale years prior).
I'm interested in buying the game -- and especially after attending a Deltarune fan meet-up panel at #ACFI2025 this weekend. However, I did already buy a different game earlier this year, which I have not made significant progress on yet.
This is me thinking out loud, but: do I break my "only buy one game per year" rule to buy it now/soon, while there's still a relative wave of hype? Or do I wait until next year and let it be my designated game purchase for 2026?
Anyone who's reading this is welcome to comment. I maintain this rule in order to avoid falling into a trap of buying a lot of games and never get around to playing/finishing them. But there is a high chance that, once purchased, I will play through the full story line of chapters 3 and 4, and future ones as well.
At the risk of asking a stupid question:
Does a computer (provably) function slower when it's been powered off for an extended period (weeks, months)? I've felt like this on several occasions when turning on old computers for the first time in ages, but I'm unsure whether it actually takes longer to boot up / run programs, or if it just feels slower because I'm used to newer, faster computers.
An open question:
With so many new games (whether on PC or console) getting released every year, how do you pick-and-choose which ones you want to buy/play?
I recognize that there are numerous genres of games and that not all genres will appeal to all players. But if you had to be selective about acquiring new games (or giving advice to someone in that position), what would you do?
I just released a new mock #albumcover design, for the first time in three years! It's been difficult for me to find creative ideas lately, and even more difficult to find motivation to work on them.
https://www.deviantart.com/mjponso/art/Fictitious-Album-Cover-18-1175758353
It's January 16, and I was reminded that today is #AppreciateADragonDay . I ought to browse that hashtag today to see how the other #dragonsofmastodon are commemorating it. :drgn_happy:
This is your resident money dragon, coming to you with a #numismatics update:
Ever since Lunar New Year, I've been wanting to buy another #YearOfTheDragon silver bar like I bought back in 2012. I've been monitoring the price all year for this 10-oz "Lunar Series 2" bar from APMEX, and finally bought it at the beginning of this month before the stock runs out. (I was waiting for the markup over spot to drop, which it has, but the price of silver has slowly crept up all year.)
Anyhow, it arrived today. It's difficult to take good photos of it because of the lighting I had on hand, and because the camera keeps wanting to focus on the pattern in the background. For anyone who wants to see a clearer photo, here's the product listing: https://www.apmex.com/product/285843/10-oz-silver-bar-2024-apmex-year-of-the-dragon-series-2
As I retrieved the URL to post here, it appears to me that the price has already dropped a little bit in the few weeks since I bought it. Just my luck. :drgn_flat_x_x:
It seems I haven't come by Mastodon in the past week (or at least, no new posts/comments). I've been distracting myself with other things in the meantime.
It's been difficult for me to let go of Twitter entirely, given that the artists I follow there seem to have set up a presence on Bluesky but not any Mastodon instance that I know of.
At the risk of asking a stupid question, is #Bluesky on the same federation protocol as #Mastodon ? As of now, my account officially follows no one (on any instance) and my feed consists entirely of the local instance.
A follow-up to this: I ended up re-imaging the SD card with the latest version of the OS. Still, I'm sure there's a proper way to upgrade the OS version without breaking the UI like I did initially.
Does anyone have any tips on how to fix the user interface of a #RaspberryPi running #RaspberryPi OS?
I recently tried upgrading the OS version, since I found out that a new version was officially available. But rather than doing a clean install, I followed instructions I found online for how to do an in-line update (basically changing over the repository versions).
I changed over the repositories, and downloaded all the updated packages. But after installation, the desktop environment looked corrupted. The PIXEL desktop environment appears to have been replaced by LXDE (which I now understand is what PIXEL is based on), the background is a generic Debian background, and the taskbar is blacked out and the "start menu" button is missing.
I'm prepared to just re-image the SD card with a fresh install of the latest RPi OS, since I'm not knowledgeable enough about this to know how to fix it.
Anyone else in the fediverse take language lessons on #Duolingo ? I achieved a 2000-day streak there this past Saturday, which is the longest contiguous streak I've ever managed.
It would have been even higher than this, if not for one holiday (Christmas Day?) years ago where I forgot to complete at least one lesson, and I didn't have any Streak Freezes equipped. I've had to use a few Streak Freezes in order to preserve this streak, but for the most part I'm diligent about completing at least two lessons every day.
I know that the federated nature of #Mastodon means I can follow accounts on other instances from my home instance (assuming they're not de-listed) without having to create accounts on those instances.
As it stands, my only Mastodon account (on this instance) does not actually follow a single account, anywhere. The feed I scroll through for new content, consists of the live feed from the server I'm on. I'm hesitant to actually follow any individual account, especially on a different instance.
I could use some advice from anyone who happens to read this: How do you configure Mastodon to create one unified feed of followed accounts and the live feed from the local instance? Is that even possible? I don't anticipate following such large numbers of individual accounts that I'd have a continually active "follows" feed, so if I could inject those into the "local instance" live feed I already browse, that would be ideal.
And another thing I wanted to mention:
One of the booths at the show this year, was a representative from the Society of Paper Money Collectors (SPMC). One would think that I would have heard of this organization by now, but I never have.
It looks like its annual membership is affordable and allows me access to a variety of things. It'll give me a chance to talk about the subject with other knowledgeable people, without having to wait a year for the next local money show.
For reference, here's the listing of the silver bar in question: https://www.apmex.com/product/285843/10-oz-silver-bar-2024-apmex-year-of-the-dragon-series-2
So, here's your resident money dragon with a #numismatics update:
I attended the local money show today (as I have every year since 2013). Most years I don't set out aiming to buy anything in particular, since I won't know what's for sale until I get there, but this year I already decided what I wanted: a 2024 #YearOfTheDragon 10-oz #silver bar. I bought one back in 2012 and I want to continue that pattern.
I can buy one online from APMEX.com, but I figured if one was available at the show, I could negotiate the price and/or not pay for shipping charges. No one at the show had this specification on hand (though a few had some 1-oz bars or rounds with "Year of the Dragon" motifs that weren't dated 2024).
However, from talking to several dealers, my plans for purchasing changed. I'll still buy the bar I want...eventually. Not right away. APMEX is probably charging a higher premium right now since it was just introduced. I'll check the price later in the year and buy it if the premium drops.
Another message for #SuperAnimalRoyale players:
Do you have any tips for how I can convince myself to not be so competitive when I play? I treat most matches as if I've wagered money on my performance, and I take nearly every death personally. Each death signifies "the other person is better than you", whereas each of my kills is "you're lucky, not skilled." I compulsively check my career stats at the end of every play session, focusing on my K/D as if it's the only statistic that matters.
How do people manage to play the game and not be bothered by low performance stats?
I just found out that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has produced a book (featuring cute cartoon animals!) aimed at teaching children about U.S. paper money. It can be downloaded here: https://www.uscurrency.gov/educational-materials/classrooms/carnival-thrills-and-dollar-bills
@pooltoymoo @Frisk One could argue that it would provide strong incentive for players to vigorously practice/grind in order to see any kind of tangible fruits of their labor. Those players which had leveled up would have proven themselves worthy of those higher levels because of demonstrated skill, rather than someone who happened to achieve a high level through hundreds of mediocre match performances.
As a corollary: What if things like cosmetic items (including upgraded species) only lasted as long as the number of consecutive winning matches? If one wants a Super Lunar Tiger (as an example), one would have to re-purchase that variant once it gets killed in a match. The serum/DNA prices for the upgrades would have to be lowered to compensate, and basic species variants would be kept for no additional charge.
This message is for anyone who plays #SuperAnimalRoyale ; it was a thought that came to mind today.
In most game modes, one receives XP for time survived, with extra XP for kills, and additional XP for winning. What if winning a match was the only way one could earn XP? No daily or weekly quests -- one receives XP for winning a match, and anything short of that would pay out nothing.
I think it would make the game much more cutthroat (no pun intended) if everyone was chasing the same finite number of XP. It would also lead to situations where a person could rack up hundreds (or thousands) of hours of aggregate play time and never advance past level 1 because they couldn't win a single match, either solo or as part of a group.