Dan Shive

10h

Why the Concern? - www.egscomics.com/egsnp/wiad-003 "Why NOT the concern? That's the question you should be asking." "I don't think that's right." #egscomics #webcomics

13h

I have not actually watched Ted Lasso, but from what I’ve heard of his character and how he handles hostility towards himself and others, I think I should change that. There are few things I respect more in people than what I’ve seen in select clips. Sunglasses manifesting EVERYWHERE.

I’m guessing some combinations of streaming devices / HDMI TVs have a bug in which the screen saver will turn on the TV. I assume this is possible because the streaming device doesn’t really go into low power mode right away in case you turn it back on soon, favoring convenience over saving power.

16h

As far as I can tell, this really did fix it. I would test further, but that would involve intentionally trying to break it again. It’s working how I want it to now, and I’m not messing with its settings again unless it stops doing that 😅

15h

Well, it SEEMED fixed, but no longer. How dare it. Least I feel justified not turning it back on to test it. I’d have thought I’d messed it up again.

18h

I enjoy little problems I can solve. Problems I truly cannot solve myself, or are beyond what I can reasonably do in a timely manner, I don’t like. But problems like the TV turning itself on, and figuring out that the screensaver was the dastardly villain behind it? Those are satisfying to fix.

Dan Shive reposted

The Return of the False King - www.egscomics.com/comic/falsek... "So the ring has been destroyed, then?" "Eaten by a fish." "What?" "Not on purpose! We needed a lure for fishing, and the ring was shiny, so we thought..." #egscomics #webcomics

19h

I guess I’ll find out if the TV turns itself on again, but so far, so good. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong later, but I think my “the screen saver is turning the screen on” hypothesis is correct, which would be hilariously tragic irony.

@bsky.app Scrolling appears to be messed up for some mobile users with the site wanting very much to return to the top. Searching “bluesky scroll” confirms it’s not just me.

And now to test some keyboard shortcuts. ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A Start Glorious. I don’t know how to do this on my desktop, but on mobile, I can make it so “uun” results in ↑ and such. “uun” might look a little weird, but it’s basically ”Up Up North,” and something I’m unlikely to type otherwise.

I'm curious if anyone writes writing prompts for themselves. Not to give to an AI. To give to YOURSELF. Instead of an outline only you would understand, or just diving into a blank sheet, write out instructions as though you were delegating to someone else. Only instead of that, YOU use them 🤔

22h

The idea here is basically just to have a plan one can refer to while writing a scene / chapter that’s more in-depth than an outline (though I suppose an outline could simply be very detailed). I anticipate it being like writing a rough draft as an instructional summary.

I stutter less now. Instead, I take a moment before an avalanche of words come out. I imagine one could fairly roast me by editing in a loading bar above my head.

I expect to post 1-2 hours late. Naturally, I’ll post all over the dang place when done.

There are too many streaming services today. Please eliminate three. I am not a crackpot.

I’m generally quick to accept responsibility for being unclear if there’s miscommunication. One, if I’m in a position where it *could* be my fault, odds usually favor that I could have been clearer. Two, if the other person is embarrassed, or worried about how I’m taking it, it helps deescalate.

Part of the generality assumes the other participant is acting in good faith / making an effort. If they’re not, that triggers an exception. One possible option is asking them to help you understand what’s unclear by saying what they think you meant in their own words.

That moment when you forget you just had something red-colored and think you’re bleeding.

For all the tricks most streaming services try to pull, when I’m done with an episode, they usually keep me on-topic. Back to the episode select for that series I generally go (once I’ve booted autoplay into orbit). YouTube doesn’t do that. YouTube keeps trying to throw a variety of candy at you.

Which I sort of did for much of my Saturday, trapped beneath a cat away from my tablet. I had access to a TV, but not one with YouTube setup. I chose to stay mostly offline, and I feel healthier than I did yesterday. Thanks, unreasonably needy lap cat.

You might be wondering what a ”bug answer” is. I’m writing on my phone. The keys are small, my thumbs are large. There is no mystery here.

Which is awful for attention spans and focus, the irony being that the algorithm now favors videos about improving attention spans and focus. Spoiler warning and further entombment in irony, the bug answer is usually to get off the internet.

How are fall deals “spooktacular”? Are they bad deals? Is that why they’re scary? I’m not sure I can trust this promotional headline.

A cat is on me. Fortunately, it’s Saturday, so the cat can stay while I listen to Parks and Rec commentary. Only two episodes have commentary on this disc, however, so I might be doomed within the hour.

Did some things, sat back down again, and now the cat is back. How dare.

The treachery of this sleepy cat knows no bounds.

This cat is unreasonably relaxed.

I laughed at the cuteness of the cat. This was unacceptable, and she got up. Not what I meant to have happen, but it worked out.

I actually have a DVD player that can have up to five discs at a time, which raises several questions about past me and why they thought that was necessary.

The cat is sound asleep and I’m running out of commentary.

I have found myself considering silly subtitles and closed captions on things like YouTube videos. Funny as they can be, I can’t help those must be annoying for people who genuinely need subtitles.

Dan Shive reposted

Extremely helpful counsel - www.egscomics.com/egsnp/wiad-002 "I have a list of the worst movies currently in theaters." "So we can avoid them?" "No." #egscomics #webcomics

Extremely helpful counsel - www.egscomics.com/egsnp/wiad-002 "I have a list of the worst movies currently in theaters." "So we can avoid them?" "No." #egscomics #webcomics

Posting late, which is my fault, but I’m going to blame external factors, and I expect everyone to get on board with that. (The external factors are real, but I’d be done by now if I was more decisive earlier, BUT ALSO WE ALL AGREED TO BLAME THE EXTERNAL FACTORS)

Someone winning an award means someone decided to give them an award. On its own, that’s it. No more, no less. Which I only say because we shouldn’t take it for granted that any award = competent and good. It’s entirely possible someone deserved a specific award and that it does reflect good work.

If we don’t have DVD commentaries on streaming why have streaming?

In the age of streaming, there are people who don’t seem to understand the concept of deleted scenes. “What horrible controversy lead to this being cut?!” Limited airtime. Directorial decision that it wasn’t worth keeping. A rewrite. Take your pick.

“You see, Lisa, TV shows had a thing called ‘time slots’…”

Granted, if it’s a YouTube video, manufactured controversy could be the point, and framing everything as potentially offensive a tactical choice.

Chris Traeger in Parks and Rec: “Adios!” Subtitles: (Speaking Spanish) I’m pretty sure people would have survived either “Adios” or “(‘Goodbye’ in Spanish)“ in their English subtitles, DVD.

One of the most important things you can do socially, be it personally or for business, is to remember people’s names. Chris Traeger on Parks and Recreation has a habit of saying people’s first and last names in full, and I believe that’s at least partly due having been taught that at some point.

I’m not saying that we should all start using everyone’s full names all the time. I’m just assuming he took that lesson and went all in on it so he’d never forget anyone’s names. At a minimum. He might have also wanted everyone else to remember each other’s names, and provided reminders himself.

By making it a constant quirk, no one would question it beyond thinking he’s weird, and he’d covertly build the sense of community and camaraderie he always wanted. I was about to question him being sneaky like that, but then I thought of multiple examples of him trying to covertly do things 🤔

(Spoils self with nice lunch. Due to this, notices something important they otherwise might not have noticed for hours, if at all.) What message am I supposed to take from this, universe? “Coincidences happen.” I should spoil myself more? “No. Be fiscally responsible.” I’m ordering more food.

On XBox: Settings → General → Personalization → My Background → Uncheck “Show event-themed backgrounds” No more Call of Duty promotional background overriding your immaculate custom background of six Skyrim guards with torches staring at you.

To their credit, the option to turn it off does exist, and it is a business. Still, I’m not interested, and even if I was, there are literally four other boxes effectively promoting it on the home screen (browse the store doesn’t do it directly, but it IS in matching colors)

Someone claimed Ron Swanson should have immediately appeared drunk after guzzling down moonshine. My reply: Immediate drunkenness would be placebo effect. The placebo effect is lying. Ron Swanson doesn’t lie. Eventually, he will be briefly comatose with his eyes open like an honest man should be.