marty_relaxes

The terminal-based file browser space is so filled today but for my part I love what vifm has done for the dual-pane midnight commander concept - it's the same basic idea, uses (somewhat) vim-like bindings by default and is super extensible.

While I used to always target longer more in-depth sessions of Memoir44, Kontor, 7 Wonders Duels, Starship Catan or the like, in recent years I would say the most 'fun' I actually had with less involved byte-sized 2 player options.

My favorites in recent memory are things such as:

• Onitama for an instant chess 'end-game' struggle with weird bendy movement rules that are different each time (and can be between nail-bitingly close or hilariously unbalanced)
• Lost Cities for an old classic which can be played leisurely in the background over a nice drink while still generating enough excitement in the game itself
• Quorridor and Abalone for abstract little time fillers that you can always fit a round in and generally don't demand too much of you
• and my recent favorite Air Land Sea for a short but intense struggle along three lanes, deploying simple open scoring cards while trying to lay devious traps without the other player noticing. Some of the best balance of hidden and open information I've come across for 2players.

I think I have moved from the game constantly being the center piece of attention to games focused on more punctual 'attention' points for 2 player games, which allows a nice conversation to flow around but still leaves you with something to do in between. I guess shorter games are a more natural fit for that.

While I do not doubt this happening, nor it being sexist at its core, I find no mention of it on the linked wikipedia article.

EDIT: Ah, it actually links to a now-defunct british spacecentre article in the original TIL with the following quote:

When Svetlana arrived the space station, she was reportedly handed an apron from her male crewmates and jokingly told to get to work in the kitchen. But she’s also described in fond terms the flowers she received upon arrival: “They gallantly presented me with flowers they had grown in orbit and those plain flowers in a transparent box were the dearest present to me. We hugged each other, kissed each other, in a word, our meeting was the usual meeting of friends who had not met for a long time.” After this initial meeting she was quickly able to establish a working, professional relationship with her crew.

and there's an '82 NYT article mentioning it here

Additionally, at least for my use-case btrfs benefits me since it is less picky about drive sizes being the same and duplicating everything correctly - letting you essentially just throw additional storage at it as you acquire it.