I'm sensing a lot of negative emotions in the world right now. Time to do something positive.
For each like that this or one of the subsequent posts on this thread I will tell you about something I like. Only restriction is it has to be something you can enjoy as well so stuff like my family or friends are not something I'll post ( sorry, but you'll have to take my word that they're awesome )
@craigmaloney In many ways, Fate is what Fudge should have become. But instead, Fudge refused to evolve and Fate started it's own community. Oddly, I don't think it stole members from the Fudge community so much as finding an audience Fudge couldn't attract. I wish we could have kept them together, but now Fate only acknowledges its Fudge roots because of the legal requirement.
Squeezebox (Logitech)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squeezebox_(network_music_player)
I have yet to find a music library program that has grown with me and my needs like the Squeezebox. I've been able to have my entire music library with me at home, work, and in the coffee shop without much difficulty. Getting things set up is a bit fiddly but once it's working it's a thing of beauty.
@craigmaloney does mpd suit your needs? It's can be used as multi-user server for that need, but i'm not sure about it
@Zveryok I'm not in the market for anything new. This literally does everything I need.
BBC Music Magazine
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Music_Magazine
I know I have a reputation as a metal head but I love reading about classical music. And BBC Music Magazine has been a constant companion of mine for many years. The cover CD is quality material (complete pieces, not snippets) and the reviewers provide a good perspective on the music.
Python (the language).
My first love was Atari BASIC. My second love was Perl. Along the way I learned Pascal, Java, C, and a few other languages.
But Python? That's when everything started clicking. Object Oriented Programming, Functional Programming; it all started to make sense to me with Python.
Sure it's not the fastest, and I've run into more type-checking errors than you can shake a stick at. But I still love it.
@craigmaloney okay you've sold me, I'll try it
The Yamaha CDC-735 CD Changer:
http://www.hifi-review.com/153565-yamaha-cdc-735.html
This was the CD player that pretty much said "I am never going to find another CD player to replace this". And it was. This CD player holds 5 CDs and allows you to switch out four CDs while playing a fifth. The sound was amazing and the controls, while not immediately intuitive, did everything I needed. It even supported indexes on CDs (remember those?)
Zaccaria Pinball
https://store.steampowered.com/app/444930/Zaccaria_Pinball/
I love pinball, and I love Linux, so having a high-quality emulation of pinball machines. There are some great tables in here that are really fun to play.
Doctor Who
When people ask me who is my favorite doctor I demure by saying that they all are. While it sounds like a cop out I really do like every doctor in their own unique way. Hartnell's kindly grandfather, Troughton's dandy clown, Pertwee's physicality, Baker's charisma, Davidson's charm, Baker's savvy, McCoy's Geniality McGann's quirkiness, Eccleston's urgency, Tennant's versatility, Smith's puckishness, and Capaldi's musicality. (And Hurt's burden)
All amazing.
Ranma 1/2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranma_%C2%BD
The story of a cast of characters, most of whom have been submerged in cursed Chinese springs where someone or something has met an untimely demise and has now cursed those who fall into that spring's waters.
Sure it's goofy but sometimes we need something a little lighter in our day.
Getting Things Done methodology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done
I've been practicing GTD in one fashion or other since around 2000 when Palm devices were all the rage, and the Internet bubble was but a mere sphere in everyone's eye. It's the one productivity system that stuck for me and it's what I try to practice on a daily basis.
It's not for everyone, but I've had good luck with it.
Red Dwarf
There are few shows that can do space comedy for any length of time. Most of them become stale when they run out of material to parody.
Red Dwarf is an anomaly. It shouldn't work. THe story of a man frozen in time for 3 million years on a desolate ship with a resurrected crew member, an evolved cat, and a daft computer should not work. But it works, and works in surprising ways. Add to that the android Kryten later in the series and you have one of my favorite show of all time.
Sinclair Computers
Clive Sinclair is an inventor. His earliest inventions were stuff that nobody really needed but were interesting nonetheless. Pocket TVs that were visible from certain angles; portable radios of middling quality, and calculators that were inexpensive but sacrificed precision for chip count.
It was this spirit of cutting every conceivable corner that made the Sinclair ZX80, ZX81, and ZX Spectrum the most amazing machines on the market, even though QC was less than great.
Rabbit Engineering
3D printed models of retro computers of a bygone age
https://www.rabbitengineering.com/products-store.html
For those of us who can't afford a proper Jupiter Ace but want a little one for our shelf.
@craigmaloney holy shit where have these been all my life
@craigmaloney I wish they had Atari 8 bit or Amiga I'd buy one in a hot second!
@feoh They do: Atari 400, 800, 800XL, and XEGS, along with an Amiga 1000, 500, and I think 600.
@craigmaloney S-WEET I'll take a more careful look! I totally want an Atari 400 and Amiga 1000! :) (Those were my first machines in those respective platforms. I went all the way up through the 130XE for Atari 8 bit and the Amiga 2000 on Amiga :)
Mechanical Keyboards
I have two Leopold keyboards with Cherry Black switches and I find whenever I type for any length of time on another keyboard that returning to those Cherry Black switches just feels right.
@craigmaloney Cherry MX Black for life tbh
Ed Mastery
@mwlucas took what could be a rather silly joke book and created a masterful book on something that normally would be lost to the ages.
Michael writes tech books the way they used to be written; full of opinions, humor, and a-ha moments that too often get overlooked in some modern books.
https://www.tiltedwindmillpress.com/?product=ed
(If only he made a book for the C programming language. 😁 )
@craigmaloney Dude. When I liked your post to make you say something you liked, I didn't mean "suck up to me." Sheesh!
@mwlucas You'll be happy to know that it wasn't sucking up: I genuinely like this. I think it's the most brilliant April Fool's Joke I've seen in a long while.
That it's also useful is the chef's kiss on an otherwise perfect meal.
Blue Snowball / Blue Yeti
I wonder sometimes if Blue Microphones are more marketing hype than actual substance but what I've seen with these two microphones is a quality and ease of use that i haven't seen duplicated in any other microphone. They sound good, they look great, and they obviate the need to have a mixer / pre-amp to hook up to the computer.
I'm really happy with these microphones.
Eclipse Phase
"Eclipse Phase is a tabletop roleplaying game of post-apocalyptic transhuman conspiracy and horror.
Players take part in a cross-faction secret network dubbed Firewall that is dedicated to counteracting "existential risks" — threats to the existence of transhumanity, ..."
It's also released under a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
The publishers are super awesome as well. Definitely one of my favorites.
Trail of Cthulhu
http://site.pelgranepress.com/index.php/category/products/trail-of-cthulhu/
Trail of Cthulhu was my first exposure to the GUMSHOE system. The premise is simple: clues that move the story are always be available to the characters. It answers the question of "I roll for [important clue] and failed. Now what?" Instead, clues are available but they might have major cost, or your characters may need to do more digging. It also adds stability to the sanity mechanic so the feeling of decay in your character is palpable.
Fate Roleplaying Game.
Fate is really cool because it is a specific take on the Fudge RPG engine but moves beyond it to make something unique. It blends storytelling with a flexible engine that scales up and down with little fuss. Plus the support for it is great with new supplements coming it regularly.
And it's CC-BY which means you can use it for your own projects.
http://faterpg.com