Vupware

@ Vupware @lemmy.zip

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8 mo. ago

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Elite Dangerous lemmy.zip

10h ago

What’s your most controversial opinion?
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Vupware @lemmy.zip 10h ago
Whirlwind is definitely my favorite. My other comment went into why, but specifically I really enjoy the jackpot shot, because the timing is very difficult and the payoff is huge. Other contenders would be Taxi (Gorbie cracks me up and those ramp shots are punishing but rewarding) and Pin*Bot (massive skill ceiling, banging IDM soundtrack that was ahead of its time). I haven’t played many post-Williams tables, but of the ones I have played I enjoyed Stranger Things for its simplicity and the Demogorgon shot.
This selection makes it obvious that I grew up on vpins, as Stern does not license their tables virtually. There are still many, many iconic tables I haven’t played or have only dabbled with: Twilight Zone, Black Lagoon come to mind.
Attack from mars I’ve only played a handful of times. The scores are too high for my tastes, but I enjoy the risk-reward UFO shot and it’s generally just a hilarious table.

17h ago

What’s your most controversial opinion?

If you’re lucky, you might have a club near you. Nothing but pinball. They’re usually pretty calm too. Check out the pinball map

17h ago

What’s your most controversial opinion?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 17h ago

I absolutely agree. A society must walk before it can run.

1d ago

What’s your most controversial opinion?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 1d ago

The statement “audiobooks aren’t reading” is an oversimplification. It would be better to say that audiobooks can be less beneficial to certain people.

I say this from personal experience - when I listen to an audiobook, I am not devoting my entire essence to the task, there is still room for other activity. I don’t like that. I think there is much to be gained through the solitary and mentally taxing reading that print necessitates.

But yes, many people prefer audiobooks. That’s okay. I still think people should challenge themselves, however, in both the books they read and how they read them, in order to broaden the scope of their understanding. The potential for personal growth is astronomical; who knows what one misses when they aren’t 100% committed to the information?

1d ago

What’s your most controversial opinion?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 1d ago

Re: progression, it has stagnated. I suppose there’s only so much you can do. But when you compare the tables of the 70’s to the tables of the 80’s to the tables of the 90’s the progression is astonishing.

1d ago

What’s your most controversial opinion?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 1d ago

It’s not really controversial, probably. I just wanted to get it out there.

This is unsubstantiated, but I imagine that if you asked a retro gamer (pac-man, dig-dug, galaga, etc.) about pinball they would probably say it sucks or that they don’t care about it or that it’s not for them.

Nobody talks about pinball outside of the niche circles, but I think it’s superior to traditional arcade games, superior to modern arcade games, and is generally a perfect amalgamation of the arts: music, artwork, mechanics, and code-based chicanery all contribute to something beautiful.

Take Whirlwind for example. It’s absolutely gorgeous in every way: the Gnosticism in the art, the insanely catchy soundtrack, novel mechanical elements, and brutal hostility make it the magnum opus of pinball, and a perfect embodiment of the chaos of a storm IMO.

Admittedly, the scene is not what it once was. New table manufacturers leverage existing IP instead of creating their own, and the few original tables that are still produced are mostly kind of slop. Compare Total Nuclear Annihilation to Whirlwind for an example.

1d ago

What’s your most controversial opinion?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 1d ago

While there is truth to this, there’s only one way to learn and the effects of alcohol are not linear.

Do not drink and drive!

1d ago

What’s your most controversial opinion?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 1d ago

I am very, very progressive. Here are my hot takes:

Transgender participation in sports can lead to unfair advantages. I hate that I believe this, as I do not want anybody to feel ostracized or as if they are discriminated against. But I think it’s true nonetheless :(

Reading smut does not count as reading. Listening to audiobooks does not count as reading.

The US was never the land of the free.

Music needs to broadly adopt alternative musical scales.

State-sanctioned suicide is essential to a developed nation.

Pinball is grossly under-appreciated, and its progression is a great example of doing new things with old ideas.

Any nation that wants nukes should be allowed to develop them.

Luigi’s Mangione’s eyebrows are off-putting.

Eating breakfast is stupid if you have a job that isn’t physical.

I’m sure there are more. FIGHT ME!

1d ago

What should be done and over with by now?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 1d ago

Not OP, but I would say a lot of cereal bag plastic has too much elasticity. This means that you will pull in the bag in attempts to open it, but the plastic will just stretch, until all of a sudden the elastic tension (?) is released and the energy is distributed through a hairline crack in the bag that goes halfway down. The sudden release of energy can also cause the cereal to go everywhere.

1d ago

What's missing?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 1d ago

Maybe those prohibitionists were onto something /j

1d ago

What are some simple changes you made to your life or some workflow that has improved your life a lot?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 1d ago

I’ve re-discovered the art of deliberacy.

By that I mean that my way of interacting with the world is (ideally) always through deliberate, careful, and conscious actions.

A good example: you’ve just written a note. Your instinct would be to drop the pencil. Instead, you should be deliberate in how you place the pencil down. It is gently placed in line with the page instead of being tossed to the side.

This sounds silly, and I feel like it gives serial killer vibes, but we are all so overstimulated and so much goes on in our subconscious minds. Being deliberate in your actions, big or small, is a soothing way of reconnecting to the world and thinking more clearly.

But damn if it isn’t difficult to maintain deliberacy. It’s shocking how many of my actions are effectively subconscious.

This idea was granted to me through Infinite Jest. A frankly detestable character hammers this practice into his son’s head, and while it doesn’t seem to help the character much, it has helped me.

3d ago

[Discussion] What are you playing on your Deck? - March 2026

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 3d ago

It’s been Mewgenics for me. I love this game, but I find it Act II to be very difficult. I usually stay away from turn based tactics, so optimizing my runs has been a wonderful challenge.

5d ago

Americans Are Leaving the U.S. in Record Numbers

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 5d ago

I feel people tend to forget that Canada almost voted in a Trump clone.

6d ago

They're always nice to see

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 6d ago

I got stung by a wasp because I touched it as a kid. Oops.

Interestingly, I remember getting stung, I remember crying, but I don’t remember what the pain felt like.

1w ago

What lurking suspicion do you have about something but is hard to prove?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 1w ago

Yea my cat acts like there are things when there aren’t

1w ago

What lurking suspicion do you have about something but is hard to prove?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 1w ago

Average DMT user

2w ago

What's your favorite band?

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 2w ago

Their music is so wholesome.

2w ago

How to find nazis

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 2w ago

Where did you find that first image, and where might I be able to find a higher-quality version?

2w ago

ICE agents keep accidentally shooting themselves

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 2w ago

We celebrated when Hitler died. When bad people die, it’s not a bad thing.

This is a moral roadblock that really irks me, because those in power certainly do not care who dies and who lives. If our “leaders” don’t care, why should we? It’s an inherent disadvantage to our chances at getting out of this mess and eventually doing everything we can to fix the planet and better the world for ALL of humanity.

And yes, it’s a slippery slope, I know. I would certainly prefer it to be different. But treehugging and flag-waving and chanting only do anything when your voice is acknowledged by the power structure.

E: I hope you aren’t scared off Lemmy by the opposition you have faced. Please don’t leave!

2w ago

ICE agents keep accidentally shooting themselves

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Vupware @lemmy.zip 2w ago

You can hate multiple things at once. I hate the individual agents and the administration. You cannot have a machine of oppression without both components; thus they are both worthy of hate.