Dillon Pentz
@hatetosayit.com
NZ person now living in Australia. "Professionally Gamer Adjacent".
Developer for @supportclass.net, @gamesdonequick.com and @vodbox.co. Maintain https://policepolicy.nz with @curly.kiwi. Formerly @obsproject.com.
AuDHD. Somewhat obnoxious. Sorry. he/him
Developer for @supportclass.net, @gamesdonequick.com and @vodbox.co. Maintain https://policepolicy.nz with @curly.kiwi. Formerly @obsproject.com.
AuDHD. Somewhat obnoxious. Sorry. he/him
Reposted by Dillon Pentz
Duncan Garner may just be some bus stop drunk with a podcast these days, but it's good to see he hasn't lost his journalism skills, particularly the act of just shitting a few numbers and coloured rectangles over a stock image of the beehive.
November 15, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Duncan Garner may just be some bus stop drunk with a podcast these days, but it's good to see he hasn't lost his journalism skills, particularly the act of just shitting a few numbers and coloured rectangles over a stock image of the beehive.
It can be hard to feel like progress is being made when writing for a visual novel instead of prose, because almost all the words are dialogue, so the word counts grow so, so much slower.
November 8, 2025 at 10:20 AM
It can be hard to feel like progress is being made when writing for a visual novel instead of prose, because almost all the words are dialogue, so the word counts grow so, so much slower.
I love writing a joke into a story just to lighten things or be silly, only to later realize I can actually pay that joke off in the story. Makes me feel like I'm much better at planning than I actually am.
November 7, 2025 at 10:52 PM
I love writing a joke into a story just to lighten things or be silly, only to later realize I can actually pay that joke off in the story. Makes me feel like I'm much better at planning than I actually am.
TV election broadcasts have existed for almost 70 years, and still the people working these broadcasts can't frame graphics or camera shots to avoid important things being covered by lower thirds
November 5, 2025 at 3:25 AM
TV election broadcasts have existed for almost 70 years, and still the people working these broadcasts can't frame graphics or camera shots to avoid important things being covered by lower thirds
I will never understand how so many Americans and Brits on this site can stumble upon NZPol posts, reply or quote post assuming it's about their politics and adding complete non sequiturs, and then not immediately delete the posts out of embarrassment the moment this is pointed out to them.
October 21, 2025 at 12:09 AM
I will never understand how so many Americans and Brits on this site can stumble upon NZPol posts, reply or quote post assuming it's about their politics and adding complete non sequiturs, and then not immediately delete the posts out of embarrassment the moment this is pointed out to them.
Why does Firefox run a crash helper in the background? It should be stopping crashes, not helping them!
October 16, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Why does Firefox run a crash helper in the background? It should be stopping crashes, not helping them!
Reposted by Dillon Pentz
Future @supportclass.net clients are going to have a hard time topping this thank-you gift we got from @fish866.bsky.social in the form of a branded competitive nerf blaster
October 7, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Future @supportclass.net clients are going to have a hard time topping this thank-you gift we got from @fish866.bsky.social in the form of a branded competitive nerf blaster
Just finished playing Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, and I feel like I understand now why all the people I've encountered who've played it generally speak highly of it.
October 4, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Just finished playing Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, and I feel like I understand now why all the people I've encountered who've played it generally speak highly of it.
Reposted by Dillon Pentz
How dear the media council ask us to evaluate our sources in order to expose fundamental bias.
i see they just tripled down: www.rnz.co.nz/news/correct...
RNZ responds to Media Council ruling on coverage of teen’s death
The Media Council has upheld complaints against RNZ over its article "Teenager starves to death alone in emergency accommodation". RNZ Chief News Officer Mark Stevens responds.
www.rnz.co.nz
September 30, 2025 at 9:24 PM
How dear the media council ask us to evaluate our sources in order to expose fundamental bias.
Reposted by Dillon Pentz
Media council said RNZ should have recognised the story was pushed by a group with an anti-trans agenda and been more careful about balance as a result. Rnz have basically just said “no, we refute that entirely” in a way that shows an absolute misunderstanding of the context we currently operate in
i see they just tripled down: www.rnz.co.nz/news/correct...
RNZ responds to Media Council ruling on coverage of teen’s death
The Media Council has upheld complaints against RNZ over its article "Teenager starves to death alone in emergency accommodation". RNZ Chief News Officer Mark Stevens responds.
www.rnz.co.nz
September 30, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Media council said RNZ should have recognised the story was pushed by a group with an anti-trans agenda and been more careful about balance as a result. Rnz have basically just said “no, we refute that entirely” in a way that shows an absolute misunderstanding of the context we currently operate in
My preferred coffee spot has memorized my order, which means it's been a good run, but I must now hide myself away for a few months to escape object permanence.
September 24, 2025 at 10:13 PM
My preferred coffee spot has memorized my order, which means it's been a good run, but I must now hide myself away for a few months to escape object permanence.
Dumb idea: make a TTRPG in a historical or real-world setting one of your friends is a nerd about, but only reveal this after they're committed to a character who knows absolutely nothing about them. Increasingly get details wrong as time goes on.
September 21, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Dumb idea: make a TTRPG in a historical or real-world setting one of your friends is a nerd about, but only reveal this after they're committed to a character who knows absolutely nothing about them. Increasingly get details wrong as time goes on.
I've been sitting for a couple years on my favorite thing I've done musically, but I keep not wanting to publicly share it because it's ostensibly for a game project, but at the same time, that game concept is too big for me to realistically make.
September 21, 2025 at 1:30 AM
I've been sitting for a couple years on my favorite thing I've done musically, but I keep not wanting to publicly share it because it's ostensibly for a game project, but at the same time, that game concept is too big for me to realistically make.
I'm curious about something:
If I tell you that something taking 2 hours is a "conservative estimate", do you interpret that as:
A. The thing probably could take less than 2 hours.
B. The thing probably could take more than 2 hours.
Is there contexts where your answer might flip?
If I tell you that something taking 2 hours is a "conservative estimate", do you interpret that as:
A. The thing probably could take less than 2 hours.
B. The thing probably could take more than 2 hours.
Is there contexts where your answer might flip?
September 19, 2025 at 9:46 AM
I'm curious about something:
If I tell you that something taking 2 hours is a "conservative estimate", do you interpret that as:
A. The thing probably could take less than 2 hours.
B. The thing probably could take more than 2 hours.
Is there contexts where your answer might flip?
If I tell you that something taking 2 hours is a "conservative estimate", do you interpret that as:
A. The thing probably could take less than 2 hours.
B. The thing probably could take more than 2 hours.
Is there contexts where your answer might flip?
Writing discrete when you actually mean discreet is one of those entirely understandable errors that's not worth pointing out most of the time, but it's also *really* funny sometimes when it completely changes the intended meaning.
September 17, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Writing discrete when you actually mean discreet is one of those entirely understandable errors that's not worth pointing out most of the time, but it's also *really* funny sometimes when it completely changes the intended meaning.
One big weakness with my writing is, I often get stuck in snark loops.
Someone will say something, another character will have a snarky response, character defends themselves, but says something the other character can continue snarking about.
Good at easing tension. Not great at moving forward.
Someone will say something, another character will have a snarky response, character defends themselves, but says something the other character can continue snarking about.
Good at easing tension. Not great at moving forward.
September 14, 2025 at 6:27 AM
One big weakness with my writing is, I often get stuck in snark loops.
Someone will say something, another character will have a snarky response, character defends themselves, but says something the other character can continue snarking about.
Good at easing tension. Not great at moving forward.
Someone will say something, another character will have a snarky response, character defends themselves, but says something the other character can continue snarking about.
Good at easing tension. Not great at moving forward.
Huh. TIL I have an IMDb page. Don't know when that happened.
September 8, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Huh. TIL I have an IMDb page. Don't know when that happened.
The only thing more ridiculous than what this note describes, and how much it is causing me issues at [DAY_JOB], is just how god awful the two common workarounds posted online are.
September 4, 2025 at 12:37 AM
The only thing more ridiculous than what this note describes, and how much it is causing me issues at [DAY_JOB], is just how god awful the two common workarounds posted online are.
Regular Expressions continue to be the most "looks like what non-programmers think code looks like" things. Bonus points when they're inscrutable even to a programmer.
September 3, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Regular Expressions continue to be the most "looks like what non-programmers think code looks like" things. Bonus points when they're inscrutable even to a programmer.
I wonder if anyone has ever tested if locking replies can actually help engagement. What are your thoughts?
September 1, 2025 at 10:38 PM
I wonder if anyone has ever tested if locking replies can actually help engagement. What are your thoughts?
Reposted by Dillon Pentz
Maintaining a diversity of ongoing personal projects is important because it enables you to procrastinate on one by aimlessly tinkering with another, thereby creating the possibility that you'll finish one of them by accident.
August 31, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Maintaining a diversity of ongoing personal projects is important because it enables you to procrastinate on one by aimlessly tinkering with another, thereby creating the possibility that you'll finish one of them by accident.
Reposted by Dillon Pentz
So the correct response to "we're talking about NZ, not the USA" is "oh my bad!" or maybe an honest follow-up question if you're actually interested, not continuing to bitch about "the divisiveness of the left" or going on about Gavin Newsom (who is not, you may be shocked to discover, in NZ)
August 30, 2025 at 10:46 PM
So the correct response to "we're talking about NZ, not the USA" is "oh my bad!" or maybe an honest follow-up question if you're actually interested, not continuing to bitch about "the divisiveness of the left" or going on about Gavin Newsom (who is not, you may be shocked to discover, in NZ)
Reposted by Dillon Pentz
I talk about American politics all the time. What I do not do is leap into other people's threads about American politics and start talking context-free about Nicola Willis. Because that would be the action of someone who has lost all perspective and might need a cup of tea and a lie down 😶
August 30, 2025 at 10:36 PM
I talk about American politics all the time. What I do not do is leap into other people's threads about American politics and start talking context-free about Nicola Willis. Because that would be the action of someone who has lost all perspective and might need a cup of tea and a lie down 😶
Reposted by Dillon Pentz
US folks do have a look at the replies to Steph's post here. A perfect eg of a phenomenon you probably don't notice if you *are* in the US: many of us *aren't*.
Mapping the dynamics & institutions of your politics onto the rest of us is bad enough, presuming we're always talking about you is worse.
Mapping the dynamics & institutions of your politics onto the rest of us is bad enough, presuming we're always talking about you is worse.
I have been saying this for something like 15 years and I am so tired, folks: the tactics. Of the right. Don't work. For the left. Because their politics are divisive and anti-community. Ours aren't.
They win when politics is toxic and vicious. We win by building solidarity.
They win when politics is toxic and vicious. We win by building solidarity.
August 30, 2025 at 9:45 PM
US folks do have a look at the replies to Steph's post here. A perfect eg of a phenomenon you probably don't notice if you *are* in the US: many of us *aren't*.
Mapping the dynamics & institutions of your politics onto the rest of us is bad enough, presuming we're always talking about you is worse.
Mapping the dynamics & institutions of your politics onto the rest of us is bad enough, presuming we're always talking about you is worse.