LadyCrimson

That cat is still hanging around the yard. It's getting harder for me to remain distant in terms of giving her attention (pettings, chase the string). She starts appearing more like early evening, now, although she still runs off to who knows where at times, ofc. Most of this week I'm out there with the tablet and she's sitting behind my chair and rolling around the door steps like it's her living room. Makes me want a cat. Problem is, I still miss Mr. Black and at this point I don't want just any 'ol fuzzy wuzzy cat, I'd want another Mr. Black, re: size and for me, uber personality. Which is probably fairly unlikely. Thus this neighbor cat thinking I'm 2nd-mom is enough. That and Louis Rossman's old and now somewhat ailing cat. Half the time I watch his vids because of that cat - who reminds me tons of - you guessed it, Mr. Black. :) Oh - one time at night I saw something run past me outside and thought it was the cat. Started to approach (didn't have eyeglasses on) and got fairly close near a fence corner, when I suddenly realized it was a small/young skunk. I skedaddled. You smell skunk occasionally in suburbs, ofc, but 1st time I actually saw one in the yard.

Supposedly sci-fi/thriller action+bit o' humor, with poor CGI at the start but it gets a bit better later (CGI) - but a rollicking good time anyway. Although the run time sounds a little long (2.5 hrs?). Still, I'll put it in my watchlist. :D Is this going to only be on AppleTV? Ryan just being Ryan, which by now is about as predictable/interesting as Wonder Bread, but buddy-chr Kenneth Branagh is a potential 15% reason to temp-sub to it - his role looks hilarious/fun. Maybe it'll be available elsewhere someday.

Jooosssssshhhhh! Trailer looks ok as trailers go. Could end up being one of the better Netflix thriller/sci-fi/monster mini-series.

This guy is easier to understand. "Recursive self-improvement" maybe 2 years away. note: because of the 1st guy being all over the news, the topic in general is being storied all over the news. 1;15 or so

They're getting to the point where they don't need input from humans or any more info to learn/figure out/invent stuff "on their own." They could create a new biological weapon/virus on their own. (maybe this is supposed to be that we'd then use such to our demise, vs. AI "attacking" us) Er .... that's about what I got out of it. Most of the time host/s would ask questions and the young man didn't really answer, just kept going on about how everyone in the places he worked/knows all talk/whisper about how scared they are about what they're seeing/doing but keep working. Probably because they like being paid. But he couldn't do it anymore and he quit/is warning us all. @Gorth - I remember the duck and cover drills still done in my kiddie schools, under our desk in case of nuclear war (early-mid 70's). Although even by then it was probably more for earthquakes/other disasters. I think duck and cover originated in the 50's or something?

All I have to say is --- wtf. 🤣

AI's gonna get smart/not need us and could kill us all! We're all gonna die! In a few years! Or a decade. Or a few decades. Or whatever. --I'm not against all AI - but It's the pace and pushing, pushing, pushing. Humanity always in such a rush, leaping before looking. It's a strength, and it's a folly.

Ah. Thanks for the explanation. Since I've never tried it myself, I only see the 3-page long posts/guides people make how to get this or that distro, full of steamdb looking links. Just assumed, and you know what they say about assumptions. :D Anyway, I appreciate one can do that if an update takes one by surprise (or is just short on disk space/can't afford lots of disk space). Or one didn't realize how Steam updates work. Steam almost day 1 and my brain went the "back up games" route since that's what I've always done (even with CD games, way way back). For me it's more convenient than looking up distro's and downloading. I have one external and one internal both half-full of game installs. Which I almost never go back to and/or delete over time. But hey, can't help it, I gotta, just in case.

Other news: No Man's Sky's Cosmos update looks quite interesting and altering. Can now spacewalk from any ship, not just Corvettes. Build bases in space above planets, lots more POI's, alien stations, in-space mining nodes - the previous "empty" space in solar systems between the planets filled with more stuff to do. Take over a space station and make it yours/deco. I don't care about MP "Alliance" stuff, ofc. https://www.nomanssky.com/cosmos-update/ But as always, am a tad concerned that all their new graphic shinies are going to finally = my pc will have to run it on all low or something. Although I think they maybe finally put in upscaling methods like DLSS and some others? So maybe it'll be fine. Hm. Well I have multiple backups of older versions (could only play them "offline" but I have them). I guess I'll find out in the next week or so - I am getting bored of 7 Days again. :D (trailer's mostly visual, main info is in the lengthy update notes above)

Makes me feel like they really want to get rid of the cloud-gaming part, and this is their way of ensuring no one wants to use it. Then a year or two later it'll go poof. Hahaha. And yes, I know steamdb is a database. My point is that last I knew/thought, it was a 3rd party database and has no affiliation with Steam/Valve. One reason I've never really used it/haven't made an "account" on it, is I never wanted to login by/give them my Steam account info. eg, if Nexus decided all those patch distro's take up too much space and/or bandwidth (from ppl downloading them), they could halt that access one day? I'd guess there might be an official-Steam process/method to do the same thing (re: old game distros) but maybe steamdb is just easier to use or something. No idea tho.

I haven't ever had GamePass, and the article does mention GamePass doesn't encompass/isn't only the cloud-gaming, but yeah. 5/10/15 hours a month (then you go into overage/buy more hours)? Even for non-cloud gaming, definitely embarrassing and sounds horrible in PR. I mean, at least double those numbers and ppl who use the service might be more forgiving. Emphasis on might. Cloud-gamers who want to play even 2hrs a day are outta luck either way tho. https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/09/04/xboxs-cloud-gaming-hour-cap-is-an-embarrassment-it-doesnt-need/ Also - re: the steamDB thing. Isn't that what allows people to access/download every single version/distro of a game that was put out? I've never used it for that - I backup a (SP) game version before updating if I'm concerned, but I think that's how most do it. No clue if there's an actual Steam-site method. I wonder how Nexus is going to play it out. Who knows. :)

Ok, current 1st world gripe - I've used a front-loader washer (came with the house, average/not fancy one) for 5 years now, and I still think they suck. As someone who is very persnickety about rinsing all the soap away (skin allergens), but even hubby dislikes it. It's also terrible at actually truly removing odors/body oils, for example, on bedsheets/pillows/undershirts, re: still becoming odorous after folding/put away for some days (can't/don't use perfume detergent either, that might hide that). Only thing that seems to marginally work for me is at least Heavy Duty cycle (sometimes Heavy/Bulky) and telling it to rinse 3 extra times. >.> And no, I don't overstuff it. And on that note, ofc terrible for even smaller blankets. I suppose if I only ever washed two shirts and one pair of pants at a time, but - We're thinking of trying one of those top-loading, "agitatorless" units (some of them have an agitator you can insert/remove I guess). Anyone try one of those?

^ I'd wager most of this type of US-reaction/competitive nature, when they say Europe, they are talking about mostly Northern Eur, like GB/France/Germany, (maybe Italy, because, fashion, Rome, Pope). Y'know, the places that get a lot of news and multimedia/ent. coverage in the US. >.> Kind of like when a lot of US joeblows say "Asians" they're likely largely referring to Japanese/Chinese/Korean/Viet. etc. I have zero notion what current average joeblow in the US thinks, but in the old days I felt like half the people I met, something like Spain was just considered, well, Spain. Something unto its own. Haha. From some of the comments, assuming any of them has merit, it sounds like some spots may also have a privilege problem. eg, no A/C on lower/low level offices/living areas but oh so oddly, those upper floors do. Also, I think since AI data centers, everyone's energy infrastructures are under attack. Even in the US. If Musk had his way, we'd go dark/to sleep by 7pm, to save energy for AI centers.

The castle building could just be stage points - but is that a 'define room sizes" option I see? Is this becoming a home simulator? Could be cool tho. CD for me (I stopped playing it a while ago, never finished etc) has become a game where I'm one of the original release buyers who slowly became dismayed at the direction of all the patches. I mean, I might still try it again one day, who knows. That said, if one has never bought/played this game yet, w/none of that bothersome "why did they change/add this?" mentality (hehe), initial impression could definitely be better than it was initially, and maybe a smoother experience. But despite all those story cutscenes - still not an RPG. :D

(language warning etc). I laughed so hard at some spots. Plus he makes a lot of mostly valid points. Now, I don't care if anyone wants to or doesn't want to use A/C in their home. Up to them. But I didn't realize it was such a political topic in some parts. I suppose that doesn't surprise me but still, seems weird. Oh, I do think one of his points re: cost of a small AC window unit is too US PoV. I think some of Europe at least, it's not as easily had cost wise like in US, whether because of licenses/local laws, taxes, tariffs etc.

I think over the years, maybe 10k of the 1.7 million views, are mine. Donny Osmond's dancing to this song never fails to make me laugh, when I need a laugh. I like playing it at .75 for a balance of more realistic dance speed and original frantic look (they recorded with way slower song speed). Osmond's dork timing is still great regardless.

Shrinkflation has been around forever, at least in terms of when I've done grocery shopping (mid-late 80's/early 90's) although it used to be something one noticed only infrequently. I remember when cereals and stuff like detergents started doing it in droves tho. And produce in California at least is nuts. Especially when one can't just eat bread/potatoes/pasta/rice (diabetes) as a main bulk, heh. Since Covid (and maybe slightly before) I think our grocery/CostCo has more than doubled, maybe tripled, and again, that's largely buying the same things all the time. Outside of Covid/stupid gov. tricks, hubby has been saying for years (long before Covid) that rapid (US) grocery inflation like this was long overdue. Much of it's the pandemic/oil crises and gov spending stuff, sure, but also companies just taking those excuses and running with it in excess to hike prices even beyond, like they've probably wanted to do for years.

--"Grocery shopping. Non-meat items for stew (hubby), a few things need restocking, plus I think I'll experiment with a no-leafy-green salad (shredded squashes, cabbage, tomatoes, dressing etc). Really need some recipe changes (again)." --Check out: $232. (mostly lots of small bags of produce at $3-$6 a pound, a few frozen veggies, 3 cottage cheese ($9 each for the larger tubs now, wtf). No meat (I get that at CostCo), mayo/mustard, canned olives/jarred jalapenos, no processed/convenience foods/"snacks", but a few non-food items etc. Larger jar of the Star extra-virgin olive oil? A few months ago it was $17. Today it was $19 (same store). 6-8 years it ago it was $7-8. Every time hubby and I go to CostCo, where we largely buy almost the exact same items+a few "I'll try that once" items, or sometimes, say, socks, it's become a resigned joke-game who can be closer to guess the total. "$300! $350! $420!" Inflation over decades - there's always gonna be levels of grandparents "back in my day" syndromes. Inflation the way it's been going over the past 5-10 years tho - FU. :D

I totally missed this post. Looks definitely adorable, I'll wishlist. Although - I am oddly now a female that is a bit tired of female protagonists. I mean, it was great at first to have more games with such, variety and balance and all that, but now I feel like 80% of releases - that aren't pick-your-own chr. editor games - are female protag, Maybe I'm exaggerating but outside of a few of the manly man genres, kinda feels like that at times.

Is this real, or an AI troll joke? *sees the "verified" symbol on the account home page Hm. What's he up to? The start of some new film campaign? A "how to direct movies" series? Film director mid-late life crisis psychology? 🤔

7 Days to Die: --loot bags only ... a few/several plays later. "Well, that cycle is played out/change of pace needed." --back to "normal" gameplay ... "Dangit, it now feels super easy/dull. What else can I do re: attrition starts." EMPTY MAP. No towns/cities/wilderness POI's, no Traders, no roads, etc. Just biome terrain, occasional trash bags around, trees/terrain, max zombies. GO! ---Several hours later ... "Well that was fun." Tough start, but eventually had a base, all workstations, etc. But a little dull long run with zero POI's to even redeco etc. Not even rubble POI's spawn. EDIT THE map generator .xml ! ---teeny teeny tiny towns, only one to a biome (this is mostly to make the game create some roads/spawn a few Traders), mostly empty space. Still severe self-rules. Go!

^ Can't explain what about Geralt I didn't like, because I don't know myself. Just didn't click with me in those early moments. My comment re: super low/gruff voices wasn't aimed at him specifically, either. Just the cliche of such being used for male chrs. Akin to, say, Hollywood overusing the "supervillain has British accent - or at least a non-USA accent". I feel like it's half that, and maybe half simply that dev's ran ahead with all the lighting/effects/whatever bling tech before they really knew how to optimize such. And maybe a little bit also is that all that new bling-tech isn't very optimizatiable to begin with - without losing a lot of the bling and draw distance and realistic moving lighting that they're aiming for (or some players want) etc. I've been watching Crimson Desert, and they keep "optimizing" it, supposedly - and as often happens, the overall quality looks worse, unless one has high-end and max+Ray Reconstruction etc, and even then, from a lot of posts, clarity and view distance has been lost. Now, it doesn't bother me that much and I'm not saying it looks bad - but I can see clarity/draw distance is not the same as was on release, using the exact same settings I was before - in favor of (slightly) better performance (maybe, for some). So, y'know - just make it like that in the first place instead of over-doing it (so to speak) at first, then any visual upgrades will seem like a bonus, vs. having to dial it down and down later, feeling like a downgrade.

Hm. I did buy Witcher 3, years ago, via GoG (no dlc's). I never got past the first hour or three. It's one of those games where I might like the actual exploration/gameplay parts, further in, but I couldn't get into early Mr. Manly Gruff for some reason (I normally am fine with angry/snark/machismo etc chrs but I also prefer when they don't talk a lot), or all the cutscenes etc. If/when I get bored of my current 7 Days fixation, might download the enhanced version and see if years later I can "get into" it this time. Probably not, but eh, if it's free, doesn't hurt to look. Btw, is anyone else tired of the male "super gruff/low" gargling cotton and stones voice cliche in so many media now? I mean I loved Dean and Castiel (his actors natural voice is so far removed from Castiels, lol) in SPN, but that's what I mean. Or Geralt. Or Kliff in more recent Crimson Desert. Low/deeper voice, fine, but it's getting a bit silly/extreme/way overused now.

There's a small female medium-haired tabby-ish cat who comes around our yard to drink from the pool late night. She was very shy regarding approaching us, for months. I'm assuming she has an owner, she seems healthy enough, although sometimes kinda unkempt. Anyway, over time she became less afraid re: approaching, and I'd occasionally give her a piece of chicken or something. One day at the store I thought I'd buy a small box of those snack "tubes" - which I've never used/bought before. Not sure they existed when I still had Mr. Black. Anyway, cat loved those. Since I'm pretty sure she's not a stray, and I don't want her to think she's "my" cat - plus I'm not convinced how healthy the tubes are, I think they're mostly oils - I only give her one a couple times a week. Still, there she is, now every night around 9pm-midnight, hoping. I've become part of her nightly check-in rounds I guess, as outdoor kitties tend to do/have. I seriously think they must put a tiny bit of heroin in these things - eg, fresh piece of real chicken, or a "tube" - they want the tube. Almost scary, really. :D

Also wasn't a huge Dolly (or country in general) music fan, but still an icon/she was definitely part of my childhood, re: 9-5 film, general music/variety TV appearances - I recall her and Kenny Rogers doing that duet a lot, early 80's - and ofc, Jolene. :D And yes, she wrote a lot of songs and/or others famously covered her songs. I'd consider her one of the big "crossover" artists re: mainstream success re: 70's/80's. =========== Tim Curry - still have never fully seen RHPS. ;p but ofc saw/loved him from many other things. RIP both.