I’m thinking of getting my 10 yr old a higher end yoyo for Christmas. Currently his most used yoyo is the Edge FS 2.0. He also likes the DNA and Godspeed. I’m considering the G Force, Grasshopper GTX 2.0, Shutter Elite, and MK1 HD. Any suggestions out of those? Also open to one not in that list.

I added a video of him doing a few tricks so you can see what types of tricks he does ( u/GentrySteinOfficial he wanted to make sure I included him doing the DNA for you 😆)

i just started getting back into yo-yos and i’ve gotten a few so far but i stopped by the thrift store with my friend today and saw this and got excited, it was like 5$

Typically I’m a true crime girlie (always welcomed) but I’m feeling a bit burnt out with the genre. What’s your best enthralling/informative/wild/weird recommendations? TYIA!!

I’ve been having this thought for years (often as I was skipping ads on a podcast) and finally thought to reach out and ask some possibly knowledgeable humans!

I’ve been binging Sword and Scale and it was amazing right up till about episode 120 or so when you find out that Mike Boudet is an aweful human being.

I’ve done Monsters Who Murder, except the hosts expect you to know all the true crime news of the last 15 years across 5 continents automatically, so you’re always lost.

I’ve tried Morbid, but I can’t stand the giggly radio morning show presentation of their stories.

I’m looking for professional True Crime Podcast recommendations. Preferably something with a different story every episode. If it has a Liberal/“woke” storyteller then +++!

One of the best ones. Enjoy people!

Democrat here. I’ve recently been listening to the New York times podcast “Interesting Times” in order to get a better perspective on what right-wing voting folks believe. I appreciate the articulate host. He has right-wing guests who are current thought leaders in the Republicen party. I like that he challenges them by offering counter narratives and asks them to defend their ideas. I’d love to find a left-leaning podcast like this with an intelligent host that interviews democratic thought leaders and challenges them to explain their ideas. Any suggestions?

I hate it. It makes me want to throw my phone out the window, or……..switch to Android! Its that bad. Here are just a few of my complaints. If theres a solution I dont know about, please tell me!

1. It autoconnects to my car, even when the goddamn podcast app is closed and off. WTF? If I want to play a podcast, Ill open the app. Stop fucking opening it for me, goddamn it.

2. when it opens, it defaults to one particular podcast. Why? Its not my favorite podcast, so why the hell that one? I dont want to delete it from the app bc it will still autoopen to some other thing.

3. In the app, it shows that little bar at the bottom for what is playing even if its paused. Theres no way to get rid of that other than to drag it to the end so it marks it as played, which I dont want to do because I still want to listen somethime. Why cant I just click it to say stop it and go back to a clean app home page with nothing playing? Audible.com designed their app perfectly. Apple is too …

I’ll keep this brief. If you’ve read something like The Martian or Project Hail Mary (both Andy Weir) or the lesser known 16 Ways to Defend a Walled City, you know what I’m talking about.

Sleuthing through reddit, I’ve found the big names of this “genre” are usually, beyond the ones I mentioned earlier:

• Bobiverse
• Murderbot
• Expanse
• Honor Harrington
• The Culture series, by Ian M. Banks
• Vorkosigan Saga
• Kaiju Preservation Society, or other stuff by Scalzi

What have I missed? What else is there to read, in this wonderful niche?

I’ve been reading only novels by now, but recently I found myself in the need to learn more “concrete” things. Not about a specific subject. Are there some non-fiction books that are widely considered must reads?

yes recommend me some.

Title says it all

Fiction or non fiction.

For my next book club, the theme that was chosen was “overly absurd fiction.” Basically anything that is unhinged, chaotic, and messy and leaves you questioning your sanity after having finished it. Bonus points if it’s funny. :)

I really like this style of game, kind of like remnant and remnant II where you have a main hub, that hub has crafting, vendors, etc. and then you go out and do missions.

Obviously a lot of games have this structure, but remnant allows you to re-roll your world, have an adventure mode that goes side-by-side with the main quest.

Anything else like this?

So:

• Action-RPG or FPS-RPG
• Hub as home base
• You leave hub on missions, can be procedural / randomized
• Come back from mission, upgrade, get stronger
• Can be indie or AA / AAA

EDIT: I am aware of Arc Raiders. I’m just not a big fan of forced online (i.e. I like offline modes) and also I don’t want PVP at all, even if MOST people work together. I am not the one downvoting those recommendations, however!

clearly portrayed as evil, villainous, bad to the core start to end (not good turned bad partway-through, nor with options equally legitimate on a good/bad dichotomy; just straight-up baddie).

I know from the title some people would be coconfused, thinking “what do you mean not scripted,” but I mean a game like the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series where the NPCs and events are dynamically generated and not specifically scripted to happen, which is unlike Elder Scrolls or Fallout Games where everyone has a scripted and set schedule and there are limited yet specific random events that can happen.

I’m just looking for a game that possibly has something akin to the living and dynamic world of something kind of similar to S.T.A.L.K.E.R without any of the scripted schedules of something like Bethesda games that way it feels less predictable and more unique every play through. I’ve heard some people talk about Rain World, but I don’t know much about the game, so there is that.

I love Stardew but the combat is incredibly basic and mods don’t do much. Is there a game which is broadly similar (‘comfy’ village-based game where the main gameplay is just living your life) but where the grind and primary activity is combat/exploration rather than farming?

I am looking for an open world sandbox game with a list of bounties/targets you can hunt down. These targets exist and roam the world organically at all times (not just spawning when you start a mission). You should be able to use your skills, gear, and tactics, like scouting, learning enemy routines, planning ambushes, finding vantage points, and sniping, without handholding or scripted mission sequences forcing your approach your target.

I have compiled lists of games I have played:

Games with closest matches:

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor/War: Probably the best fit. Orcs roam freely across the open world, and you are free to eliminate them however you want. The nemesis system fits nicely into the narrative, rewarding creative play and no scripted elimination. (Man if only they make another sequel or just drop the patent exclusive.)

Saints Row 1 & 2: Surprisingly matched with the Hitman side activities. Targets are actually roaming the city, you get a description and hunt …

Edit: I do not mean a solo game with MMO mechanics. Almost the opposite actually.

Suggestions for PC would be best, but I do own a PS5 and Switch.

Basically, I love the idea of creating my own character, exploring a big world, doing some casual optional grinds on my own time, and I really want to do fun PvE stuff with other players. To me, that sounds like wanting a MMO.

But every time I try a MMO’s group content, players are melting foes too fast, running past foes, and demanding a specific rotation or even where I have to stack/stand (I prefer reactive and freeform gameplay). MMO players want optimization over fun and I don’t want any of that. But I still want to enjoy something like a MMO for the reasons mentioned.

I tried all the major MMOs, even GW2, which inevitably fell short. I used to love Destiny, but powercreep made the majority of the game a bore and Bungie is self immolating right now. Warframe on paper sounds like I’d enjoy it, but in practice, …

So I’ve been spending way too much time on Instagram and Reddit , even ignoring my own screen time limits. 😅
To fix that, I decided to make using these apps as annoying as possible.

I wrote a shortcut and named it “BrainSaver.”

• It checks my current Focus mode.
  • If I’m in Sleep mode, it sends me a notification and immediately kicks me back to the home screen , no doomscrolling allowed.
  • If it’s any other time, it lets me scroll for 5 minutes, then pushes me to the home screen. This little interruption reminds my brain that, “Hey, you’ve already spent 5 minutes here, time for a break.”

I also set up an automation so that BrainSaver triggers automatically for specific apps (like Instagram, Reddit, etc.).
You can customize it for whichever app eats up your time. (screenshot attached)

This setup has really helped me cut down mindless scrolling , hope it helps someone else too!
If you’ve built any other clever shortcuts or tricks to limit screen time, please share them.
Tia

Link - …