I hear you all like Rome.
“It ain’t cheap to rehabilitate a game’s image and get people excited for more”
Friday Afternoon Links
About The Author
Riven
[riv-uhn]
noun
1. a gaming, lifting, shooting, intoxicated, ravenous, and happily-taken nerd.
2. often aims to misbehave.
3. and though she be but little, she is fierce.*
And rumor has it that she (and her husband) are also delightful dinner companions. You didn't hear it from me, though.
While I want CDPR to success (as a shareholder) I was not enthused by Phantom Liberty because I saw them making the same big mistake that dragged down my opinion of the main game – wasting money on a “Name” Hollywood actor.
Not interested.
Which actor? Illo looks like Keanu Reeves, but I couldn’t find mention in the article.
Keanu was in the original, the DLC has Idris Elba.
Idris Elba
*crickets*
Where are you guys?
Waiting for other people to keep me entertained.
Are you not Entertained?
Getting better all the time
Let me entertain you
thank you
I’m right here.
Still working. Plus didn’t really have comments on the links provided barring that reading the Meta-Pokemon movie link caused me to find out that there’s a Switch Detective Pikachu Returns out now I’d never heard of.
Once again, I have to think — for all the damned AI and analytics and whatnot… why is it everything seems to have gone so far backwards regarding recommendations based on past purchases (Amazon, Apple, Walmart, etc.) over the last 8 or 9 years? Used to be they’d at least notify you for most sequels… now I almost never know when related releases are coming up. And yet they’re burning more cpu to recommend either exactly what I already bought (completely pointless) or Chinese crap that has nothing to do with anything I ever bought.
Oh, or for Steam yet another dating / harem game that I damned sure would never want (there must be some market for those apparently — they seem to be 70% of the New Releases lately).
Maddening.
My recommendations are full of shovelware. I’ve never bought shovelware, but Steam wants to try to sell me crap.
For Steam, you can at least tell it to exclude certain tags from being recommended to you.
For a while, that didn’t work.
No, I don’t want to see any more VR games…
+1 VR Kanojo
Works for me, Visual Novel seems to catch a lot of the crap Steam kept pushing towards me.
My comment was past tense. They might have fixed it more recently.
Because their recommendations are no longer driven by your buying or browsing history. They are driven by ad revenue, some other back-end deal or just having a stock of plain old high-margin goods.
Probably the same reason search engines are garbage now.
+1 ded web
Sorry, I’ve been occupied.
@RCDean… Nobody’s hiring brand-new coders fresh off a certificate of completion. Everybody’s looking for experienced coders and are completely unwilling to deal with newbies. They’d rather be short than train a newb, even if they have the education and are certified.
Never understood this. How are there going to be any “experienced” folks to hire of there aren’t also entry- level positions somewhere where they gained the experience?
A lot of places hire still-in-college folks as interns if they look promising… get them to like the company and hopefully they’ll come after that.
I don’t know what the non-college route is these days. Used to be “Work on an open source project to build up a rep, then someone will seek you out”.
A lot of places hire still-in-college folks as interns if they look promising
Can confirm. The youngest patzer interned this summer and has a job waiting for him when he completes his Masters. He thinks he can do better, but nice to have the offer in hand.
I have a SkillBridge intern. On a previous project I had a recent college graduate (born after I graduated college).
Around 2003 I was looking for a job and there was a listing where one of the requirements was at least 2 years of experience with Sarbanes Oxley compliance. The law had passed only a few months earlier.
Old man story time.
Back in the early eighties, I was working as a clerk for a local supermarket chain in NJ. they decided they needed to send two in-house folks to the Chubb institute for programmer training, the idea being that it was easier to train business-savvy employees to program than to bring coders up to speed on the business. Applicants were given an aptitude test (from Chubb) as part of the selection process. When I was told I had achieved the highest score ever on that test, I figured I was in. Wrong – two accountants were selected for the program.
I then enrolled in a 9-month program, 4 hours a night, 4 days a week, at a trade school (which I paid for myself, no student loan) and got my certificate. In the meantime, the two accountants got their training, worked just long enough to avoid having to pay for the training, and left for greener pastures. So I finally got in as a junior programmer with the stipulation that my salary would be frozen for two years since I was at the time making more than the programmers.
Not everyone can code, any more than I could practice medicine, carpentry, or pretty much anything else, but if there is something you really want to do and are suited to do, it can be done.
Yup. I knew I could program, but completely ditched it in college and wondered why I had a string of shit jobs into my early 30s. Finally taught myself everything anew and worked my way up at the company I was already working for (hired as a temp). Desire helped.
Sounds like a supply-demand thing.
The other trend is companies not wanting coders to become expert in the systems they are coding. Yeah, it sounds counterproductive – newbies don’t have any system knowledge but they don’t seem to want a lot of system knowledge to be accumulated – so what exactly is the reason for not hiring newbies then.
XY made the rolls. They exist. They’re edible. He didn’t skimp on the salt (I have an aunt who doesn’t put salt in her bread and they’re inedible).
But it’s his first time, so I’ll call it a win.
No pic?
Yes, they look like biscuits. No, they are not biscuits.
No Pillsbury for your people?
?
dough boy
Ya know, whomp biscuits (or crescent rolls). Or frozen Parker House rolls.
You know – peel the wrapper off the tube, whack that mofo on the edge of the counter to get that satisfying “boom,” twist the split tube open and slap those wads on a cookie sheet.
Huh… I always just piece a seam with a spoon til it goes “Pop!”, then unwind the cardboard….
No, I know what she’s referring to. I don’t know what “for your people” means.
You just described Jugsy getting out of a corset. Minus the cookie sheet, of course.
Your family. Mishpocha.
Um…no? XY is working up to mastering my aunt’s roll recipe. We don’t do Pillsbury around here.
(If I want rolls but don’t want to bake, I get King’s Hawaiian.)
Last weekend my wife made some mini apple pies with those things. A regular customer of hers gave her a huge box of apples from his tree, no idea what variety, but they were about handful size. I peeled some and cut them in half. She wrapped each half inside the biscuit stuff along with the normal things you use to make homemade apple pie. They were surprisingly delicious.
*Yikes, some fertile ground for jokes in there!*
I’ll trade you some beans for a few of those.
Ooh! Those little apple “pies” sound yummy! I might just mix up some brown sugar and cinnamon and put some down in the cored center before baking ’em! 😋🍎🍏
They didn’t age well. Much better fresh out the oven.
I’d gladly trade you half a box of apples!
🙂
They look good enough to eat, a dab of butter and a little squirt of honey. If heaven doesn’t have homemade bread I don’t want to go.
A former coworker was unclear on the difference between baking powder and baking soda when making a cake. Her sainted husband ate it anyway.
LOL
https://youtu.be/2ozof2g_jYc?t=46
I think I’ve told the story, but ages ago (my sister would have been in the 10-12 range) we saw one of those “Hints from Heloise”-type pieces on the news that you could bake a heart-shaped cake if you have a square baking pan and a round one where the circular diameter is equal to one of the square’s sides. (Cut the round layer in half and attach them to adjacent edges of the square, and you have something that looks close enough to a heart.) So my sister decided she’d bake a heart-shaped cake.
When it came time to make the frosting, my sister didn’t know the difference, so she used granular sugar to make the frosting.
Nogizaka 46!!! Japanese idol group.
Kawaii
AI + Artificial Skin + Sex Bots
As usual, the pron industry will lead the way.
1975
I was expecting original Westworld, but that works.
The Sensei household had our dishwasher decide to quit. Not my favorite appliance as it was also fixed three times. Once by me and twice by service.
On the plus side I’m glad it did because it was also leaking unbeknownst us. No major damage, but some modest warpage and wet wood. It should dry out and be OK.
Must everything be WiFi enabled? WTF do I need to have it query my phone and application to help me select the correct cycle and when the hell it is going to start?
On the plus side my company gave me $300 towards the new based on this green VC stage debacle.
https://scope-zero.com/employers/
And there we have the reason for its existence. What a racket.
Well, that looks like a new layer of Hell for them to try to inflict on me.
But they’ll get a hearty “Piss off” if they try. I don’t participate in “Health Challenges” that let them peek into my life — why the ever living fuck would I let them spy on my power consumption and lifestyle. Work is work. My home is my home. Your ESG score can eat a bag of vegan dicks as far as I’m concerned.
They don’t directly do it. There is no monitoring
However they do require my utility and I assume my employer could feed them my hours.
Ca-ching! 💸 Do you have to take it?
No the WiFi and money are unrelated. The connectivity is part of the machine.
Sounds problematic. You know what else went by the initials CSA?
The losing side
Chief Software Architects?
Consulting System Administrators.
Commie Senators of America
Carribean Sailing Association?
Cunte Swabbing Anarchists ?
Craft Services Alliance?
Communications Slackers of America?
Community Supported Agriculture.
Community-supported agriculture (produce surprise).
Holy crap. I thought my firm was cutting-edge on this bullshit, but looks like we have some catching up to do. I expect something like this will be announced at our next all-hands meeting.
I read the quoted paragraph three times and I still can’t make head or tails out of WTF that is supposed to mean.
And from what I just realized the only way to run a delayed start is via WiFi and the fucking app.
Oh well. This is the model Mrs. Sensei wanted.
Oh well. This is the model Mrs. Sensei wanted.
Democracy in action. Some votes are weighted higher than others.
It won’t be on my phone. If I run a cycle it starts when I hit the button.
OTH, it sips power and water because it’s green. Pay no attention to the fact that it runs for fucking hours.
Does it actually clean dishes? Not that it matters.
It’s about 4 hours old. Ran it empty to make sure it works.
No real world data yet. It’s the Nazi brand.
And some don’t count at all.
Then, they tested the skin on injured mice and pigs. Across these animal experiments, the bioprinted skin successfully prompted the rapid growth of new blood vessels and more healthy-looking tissue than typically seen with grafts, ultimately leading to improved wound healing and less scarring.
This is neat.
Maybe WH can test on, say, dog bites?
I will gladly pay you Tuesday, for a delectable hamburger today.
Confession: I fell into the habit of buying those frozen pre fab hockey puck hamburgers. There’s one or two in the freezer if the urge strikes. And we ll know how much time and effort are required to actually hand build a blob of ground beef. But it’s remarkable how different and much better a fresh burger tastes. Fried in butter, with garlic powder and pepper. On an English muffin. Bueno.
The other day, at winco, I happened to notice “specialty” burgers; tri tip and prime rib. Four not-frozen quarter pound burgers in a package. I think the tri tips were ten bucks, and I don’t remember the price on the others. I might have to give them a try.
I buy something like those every once in a while. Depends on price. Right now have a package of Jalapeno Jack burgers made out of Angus beef for dinner tonight. English muffins are a favorite bun, but every once in a while I use bagels, ciabatta rolls (toasted, of course), or whatever. Going to try some spicy dill pickles as a side.
I hungry now.
Dang. You folks are making me hungry. I have a bunch of errands to run and then I am cooking.
Crap. I didn’t get to the grocery store.
Looks like I have to cook… a NY Strip. At least I have food in the house.
Another 28 oz.?
No, 14.
My local butcher sells frozen 1/3 lb burger patties made from 100% rib eye meat. They actually get bigger as you grill them. If you eat them at medium done temp you’ll have a puddle of grease on your plate. Of course, the downside is you have to pay rib eye price for hamburger patties.
I’m going to get back in the habit of rolling my own burgers again. I’ve been doing the pre-made pucks of gourmet variety and they are really good but I want to add some mixins.
I bought filet mignon burgers from Omaha steaks once – disgusting.
Minnesotans got a rebate on taxes, we overpaid so much for so long the rainy day fund couldn’t be hidden any more. No one knows the formula but singles got $260, married jointly $520. Doesn’t seem to matter how much tax was paid in, only married-single. It’ll come from a Montana bank so don’t discard it thinking it’s an advert.
‘Course the government kept all the interest. If the MN folks (Jimbo. PO Nick, ttyrant, Leap, etc and any lurkers) didn’t get it yet it should be forthcoming. Tell ’em Fourscore sent you.
Isn’t that great! I got a check last year and this year, my property taxes are going down 10%.
Mrs. Animal and I got our PFD deposits yesterday; the state of Alaska pays us $1312 each per year for living here. Makes up for some of a lot of other shit being rather expensive.
Job update- after being gone for the last 5 weeks on different projects, Ive been rewarded with this next week off, with pay.
Now, what to do with myself….
Who wants it 1st?
Bro?
Say, Patzie, how’s Hallmark treating you?
Love it. A daily hour of us time with Mrs.Patzer, good for the soul.
That Hillary Clinton “reprogramming” thing is getting a lot of attention. It didn’t help that earlier in the week, the FBI planted a story about how the FBI now considers Trump supporters as a special class of domestic terrorists.
That Hillary Clinton “reprogramming” thing is getting a lot of attention.
Nobody could arrive at MAGAness independently. It must be some sort of mind control.
Reality has a liberal bias, and gun control is common sense, so yeah, must be some secret mind control cult.
Trump = Hypnotoad.
I haven’t opened my new resin, since resetting would be easier with the open resin. But hoepfully I’ll finally get these darn pillars to print!
They’re not even corinthian columns or anything that complex!
Not even Rich, Corinthian, leather
Obvious consequences are not unintended
A New York appeals court judge on Friday rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to stop the ongoing $250 million civil fraud trial, but temporarily halted the process of breaking up his businesses.
Associate Justice Peter Moulton issued the ruling after a brief hearing Friday afternoon.
Trump asked the appeals court to put the civil fraud trial on hold pending the appeal of Judge Arthur Engoron’s surprise summary judgment order last week that said the former president is liable for fraud. Trump also asked to put the underlying ruling itself on hold, saying it will cause “severe and irreparable harm not only to Appellants but to innocent nonparties and employees who depend on the affected entities for their livelihoods.”
New York Supreme Court Judge Engoron last week ruled that Trump and his co-defendants committed “persistent and repeated fraud,” and must cancel business certificates for many Trump entities,
The “Supreme Court clearly does not comprehend the scope of the chaos its decision has wrought,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
“Terminating non-party business licenses without jurisdiction, without process, without statutory authority, without trial, and without reason renders impossible the lawful operation of multiple businesses and threatens termination of hundreds of New York employees without any jurisdiction or due process,” the filing states.
What is the point of the trial after the summary judgement?
There is no trial after a summary judgement, since it is the judge declaring the facts and the inevitable outcome is so obvious that there’s no need to run it by those pesky jurors.
It would be like dispensing with fortifying elections and declaring the winner is so obvious that there’s no need to actually hold a vote.
The New York Attorney General’s office opposed the request, saying Trump and the other defendants are attempting “to sow chaos by disrupting an ongoing trial that has now been going for a week. Yet defendants fail to point to any purported irreparable harm from proceeding with a trial that has already begun.”
——-
The attorney general’s office says the appellate court should consider the significant court resources arranged for the trial, like “special security arrangements outside and inside the courthouse, many additional security and other court personnel to conduct those security arrangements, and special arrangements to ensure access for the press and public.”
“We went to a lot of time and trouble to put on this three ring circus, Your Honor.”
She’s been going after him for more than four years. Can you imagine how many millions of dollars she has blown on the effort? She is not going to back down now or ever. She can’t be reasoned with. She doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear, and she absolutely will not stop, ever, until Donald is in jail or dead.
Call her Ishmael.
I”ve called her a few other things lately.
Today I learned Tesla liked alcohol:
***
In fact, he believed that alcohol’s benefits far outweighed any risks: “Alcohol is not a poison, nor is it a drug…[i]n small quantities, it cleans and sterilizes the alimentary channels; thereby preventing infections, and proves a beneficial stimulant to thought, speech and physical exertion.” Tesla also claimed that moderate drinkers are “as a rule, long lived and considered by life insurance companies the safest policy holders.”
Tesla’s respect for the rule of law led him to become a teetotaler during Prohibition, but this change wasn’t without tremendous sacrifice. “Only a few days of abstinence made me a very sick man,” he said, “and my health became precarious.” In a separate writing of unknown origin, he claimed: “Had I not given up [daily] whiskey during [Prohibition], I would surely live to 150 years of age.”
***
I think a lot about how much things suck in current year, but man… it could be even worse.
These sentences don’t quite jibe with each other.
Neph apparently has a life, so
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87821224358?pwd=eW55MTRDbDNtQkh2aHd3M1Nmenlzdz09
Must work. Filling in for a friend and the docs I’m covering decided to see a billion patients each today.
Friday evening has come. Time for this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxkjvKBPQjo
I’m more a fan of the first recommendation after that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH5Arbm47IQ
That was a regular on Friday Night Videos (NBC). My only exposure to the “art form” before dad got cable.
Oh, yeah! Haven’t heard that in years. Love it!
I don’t get the connection, but this was in the recommendations after that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17lkdqoLt44
Time to funk it up!
Had the extended version of that for DJ’ing back in the day. Had to wait till everyone was trashed before you could queue up 8 minutes of that, but it always worked.
I kinda dig the regular version, but yeah, I think I’d have to have more than a few in me to like it for 8 minutes.
Let’s get this shit rolling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRRtbEeokE8
Relevant
I actually like that song.
This time I understand the connection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCjhgiVnYDs
RIP George and Mal
The AOR station in Columbus (WLVQ) used to play that at 5:00PM every Friday.
Rock Island Auction just released the preview booklet for their December auction. It’ll be their first big auction in their new Texas location.