Simons Mith
@simons-mith.bsky.social
I may not be as colourful as my avatar, but I do have better posture.
I'm intending to post a mixture of daily lies, and whatever other stuff - serious or nonsense - comes to my attention. Obviously, my real-world name is a closely-guarded secret.
I'm intending to post a mixture of daily lies, and whatever other stuff - serious or nonsense - comes to my attention. Obviously, my real-world name is a closely-guarded secret.
Pinned
Simons Mith
@simons-mith.bsky.social
· Nov 25
Rules for Happier Internetting:
1. Block fuckwits
2. Block asshats
3. Block people who /tolerate/ fuckwits or asshats
[credit: Dr. Ed Morbius]
Just 1 and 2 are good, but they are not sufficient.
1. Block fuckwits
2. Block asshats
3. Block people who /tolerate/ fuckwits or asshats
[credit: Dr. Ed Morbius]
Just 1 and 2 are good, but they are not sufficient.
#GM tip of the day
Barroom brawls have a set of unwritten rules. If you want to run one, you (and the PCs) should know them. PCs with local knowledge, or a sufficient level of streetwise, brawling, history, cultures or other relevant skill will automatically understand this stuff.
#ttrpg 1/7
Barroom brawls have a set of unwritten rules. If you want to run one, you (and the PCs) should know them. PCs with local knowledge, or a sufficient level of streetwise, brawling, history, cultures or other relevant skill will automatically understand this stuff.
#ttrpg 1/7
November 22, 2025 at 3:25 PM
November 22, 2025 at 12:04 AM
There's a bunch of missing options on the list:
0 - Never
-1 - Never, even to someone I disliked
-2 - Never, even to someone I wanted to sabotage
-3 - Actively discourage
-4 - Would go out of my way to discourage
-5 - Would go out of my way to discourage use of all MS products
Yep, it's -5 here.
0 - Never
-1 - Never, even to someone I disliked
-2 - Never, even to someone I wanted to sabotage
-3 - Actively discourage
-4 - Would go out of my way to discourage
-5 - Would go out of my way to discourage use of all MS products
Yep, it's -5 here.
Why yes, @microsoft.com, I will HAPPILY provide you feedback on how exactly I feel about Word right now.
November 21, 2025 at 6:54 PM
There's a bunch of missing options on the list:
0 - Never
-1 - Never, even to someone I disliked
-2 - Never, even to someone I wanted to sabotage
-3 - Actively discourage
-4 - Would go out of my way to discourage
-5 - Would go out of my way to discourage use of all MS products
Yep, it's -5 here.
0 - Never
-1 - Never, even to someone I disliked
-2 - Never, even to someone I wanted to sabotage
-3 - Actively discourage
-4 - Would go out of my way to discourage
-5 - Would go out of my way to discourage use of all MS products
Yep, it's -5 here.
#GM tip of the day
Just as some jokes are only 'funny once', shopping sessions fall into the 'fun once' category. If a player enjoys shopping sessions and likes to do them regularly, they should play a merchant character. Then haggling and deal-making is part of the character and they
#ttrpg 1/2
Just as some jokes are only 'funny once', shopping sessions fall into the 'fun once' category. If a player enjoys shopping sessions and likes to do them regularly, they should play a merchant character. Then haggling and deal-making is part of the character and they
#ttrpg 1/2
November 20, 2025 at 10:46 PM
If autocorrect introduces as many mistakes as it removes, it's simply worthless, so turn it off.
If autocorrect mostly corrects simple, harmless mistakes, but introduces important, subtle, dangerous mistakes, it's not worthless, it's actively harmful, so if this happens DEFINITELY turn it off.
OK?
If autocorrect mostly corrects simple, harmless mistakes, but introduces important, subtle, dangerous mistakes, it's not worthless, it's actively harmful, so if this happens DEFINITELY turn it off.
OK?
November 16, 2025 at 12:03 PM
If autocorrect introduces as many mistakes as it removes, it's simply worthless, so turn it off.
If autocorrect mostly corrects simple, harmless mistakes, but introduces important, subtle, dangerous mistakes, it's not worthless, it's actively harmful, so if this happens DEFINITELY turn it off.
OK?
If autocorrect mostly corrects simple, harmless mistakes, but introduces important, subtle, dangerous mistakes, it's not worthless, it's actively harmful, so if this happens DEFINITELY turn it off.
OK?
#GM tip of the day
Whataver helps inspire you to understand what a character is like is helpful. Songs and music can excel at this. Choose a song, any song, then ask what the character would be like if that was 'their' song. They don't even have to be important - anyone can have a song.
#ttrpg 1/2
Whataver helps inspire you to understand what a character is like is helpful. Songs and music can excel at this. Choose a song, any song, then ask what the character would be like if that was 'their' song. They don't even have to be important - anyone can have a song.
#ttrpg 1/2
November 16, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Oh no, I lost three followers. Didn't realise the Great Library of Snores was so contentious.
November 15, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Oh no, I lost three followers. Didn't realise the Great Library of Snores was so contentious.
Every native English speaker who snores has to choose their own personal snore from the Great Library of Snores at Newport Pagnell. The equivalent European institution is based in Rouen. Other nationalities do not snore.
#dailylie
#dailylie
November 14, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Every native English speaker who snores has to choose their own personal snore from the Great Library of Snores at Newport Pagnell. The equivalent European institution is based in Rouen. Other nationalities do not snore.
#dailylie
#dailylie
#GM tip of the day
Be prepared to use the PCs' own tricks against them. There are two ways to do this; the trick can misfire if overused or abused, or an NPC can use it themselves. You let the PCs do it; that means you're ok with having you own side do it too.
The flipside of this is
#ttrpg 1/2
Be prepared to use the PCs' own tricks against them. There are two ways to do this; the trick can misfire if overused or abused, or an NPC can use it themselves. You let the PCs do it; that means you're ok with having you own side do it too.
The flipside of this is
#ttrpg 1/2
November 13, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Answer is, until people stop watching it. I use Invidious redirect.invidious.io to strip most ads. Works really well, and google is constantly playing whack-a-mole against it, so individual instances do pop up and vanish over time. You can download and set up your own local instance if you like. /1
YouTube now considers an 8 minute video to be a "long video". God knows how much further it's going to take the piss with it's stupid unskippable ads.
November 13, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Answer is, until people stop watching it. I use Invidious redirect.invidious.io to strip most ads. Works really well, and google is constantly playing whack-a-mole against it, so individual instances do pop up and vanish over time. You can download and set up your own local instance if you like. /1
November 11, 2025 at 6:35 PM
The holes in Swiss cheese are demolition holes, designed to be filled with explosives in times of war and allowing the cheese to be blown up if needed, thereby denying enemies access to this vital strategic resource. - anonymous
#dailylie
#dailylie
November 9, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The holes in Swiss cheese are demolition holes, designed to be filled with explosives in times of war and allowing the cheese to be blown up if needed, thereby denying enemies access to this vital strategic resource. - anonymous
#dailylie
#dailylie
I'd just lie and say *I've* got a cold and am trying not to spread it. If just the people who suspected they were sick wore masks, fewer masks would do significantly more good.
Sometimes when people ask me why I’m wearing a mask I say I’m traveling or have some important thing soon and can’t afford to get sick and miss it and that’s pretty much always true but I think it would be nice if it were more normalized to just say “I don’t want to get sick” and leave it at that
November 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
I'd just lie and say *I've* got a cold and am trying not to spread it. If just the people who suspected they were sick wore masks, fewer masks would do significantly more good.
#GM tip of the day
When world-building, always remember: the locals know what's nearby. If it's goblins at one end of a dungeon and kobolds at the other, they'll be aware of one another. If you have a mysterious artifact in the middle of the town, you should assume the scholars, priests and mages
When world-building, always remember: the locals know what's nearby. If it's goblins at one end of a dungeon and kobolds at the other, they'll be aware of one another. If you have a mysterious artifact in the middle of the town, you should assume the scholars, priests and mages
November 8, 2025 at 3:00 PM
#GM tip of the day
When world-building, always remember: the locals know what's nearby. If it's goblins at one end of a dungeon and kobolds at the other, they'll be aware of one another. If you have a mysterious artifact in the middle of the town, you should assume the scholars, priests and mages
When world-building, always remember: the locals know what's nearby. If it's goblins at one end of a dungeon and kobolds at the other, they'll be aware of one another. If you have a mysterious artifact in the middle of the town, you should assume the scholars, priests and mages
November 8, 2025 at 12:28 PM
This one totally deserves its 2.6k reshares
succubus - female demon that seduces men
incubus - male demon that seduces women
vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
incubus - male demon that seduces women
vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
November 7, 2025 at 5:22 PM
This one totally deserves its 2.6k reshares
The mindless meat-puppet waits for its next instructions.
incredible photo that's definitely worth at least 1,000 words from Andrew Harnik of Getty
November 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
The mindless meat-puppet waits for its next instructions.
#GM tip of the day
Be prepared to penalise bad behaviour proportionately. If a PC mouths off to a fantasy king, it may hurt the setting if they're not, at the very least, taken away and flogged. And whatever sanction is chosen will be one that sticks /in-setting/ even allowing for the
#ttrpg 1/3
Be prepared to penalise bad behaviour proportionately. If a PC mouths off to a fantasy king, it may hurt the setting if they're not, at the very least, taken away and flogged. And whatever sanction is chosen will be one that sticks /in-setting/ even allowing for the
#ttrpg 1/3
November 6, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Burlap is classed as an application, and can be downloaded from the Apple store. But you can't refer to it as 'hessian' because that triggers the site's tireless and infallible anti-Nazi protection and the download is blocked.
#dailylie
#dailylie
November 4, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Burlap is classed as an application, and can be downloaded from the Apple store. But you can't refer to it as 'hessian' because that triggers the site's tireless and infallible anti-Nazi protection and the download is blocked.
#dailylie
#dailylie
#GM tip of the day
Even in D&D, where there's a lot of combat, make it a hard rule to never repeat a fight. Even if it's the same setting, have monsters one time, soldiers the next, then archers. change the time of day, the weather, the sound environment, whether the place is on fire or
#ttrpg 1/2
Even in D&D, where there's a lot of combat, make it a hard rule to never repeat a fight. Even if it's the same setting, have monsters one time, soldiers the next, then archers. change the time of day, the weather, the sound environment, whether the place is on fire or
#ttrpg 1/2
November 4, 2025 at 2:17 AM
November 1, 2025 at 8:06 PM
We've been here before, by the way. And not that long ago.
xkcd.com/1838/
xkcd.com/1838/
October 28, 2025 at 4:27 PM
We've been here before, by the way. And not that long ago.
xkcd.com/1838/
xkcd.com/1838/
I have yet to encounter anyone who is any good at creating stuff who likes AI. It'll only be better than you at something if you're utter crap at that thing.
Also, the 'fuck' count in what she said is on just the same level as mine is.
Also, the 'fuck' count in what she said is on just the same level as mine is.
Emma Thompson nails the absolute absurdity of AI/LLMs and how these tech companies try so hard to cram them down our collective throats.
“Please use this tool that sucks and that we want so desperately to replace u with, please please, it’s so good for u”
The exasperated “fuck off” at the end 🤣
“Please use this tool that sucks and that we want so desperately to replace u with, please please, it’s so good for u”
The exasperated “fuck off” at the end 🤣
"I DON'T NEED YOU TO FUCKING REWRITE WHAT I'VE JUST WRITTEN!"
October 28, 2025 at 4:06 PM
I have yet to encounter anyone who is any good at creating stuff who likes AI. It'll only be better than you at something if you're utter crap at that thing.
Also, the 'fuck' count in what she said is on just the same level as mine is.
Also, the 'fuck' count in what she said is on just the same level as mine is.
Oh yes. And if you take a buncha sentences, all of which actually happen to be factually correct, and mash 'em up randomly into a collection of new sentences, what are the odds that all of the new sentences are factually correct?
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
October 28, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Oh yes. And if you take a buncha sentences, all of which actually happen to be factually correct, and mash 'em up randomly into a collection of new sentences, what are the odds that all of the new sentences are factually correct?