7 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

I've heard from a few people whose opinions I mildly trust that it's good to great, but I've also heard from a few other people whose opinions I trust at least a little more that it's pretty bad. I can only assume it's one of those things where if it clicks, it clicks, and if it doesn't, into the trash it goes.

It is the most expensive TV show ever made, costing $1 billion thus far. Pretty remarkable how much the studios are willing to spend these days.

Well whaddya ya know, DJT finally did something useful and of note. Not that I buy any of this "historic dawn of a new Middle East" messaging. This is just another interlude before the next conflict. The only question is, how long will the ceasefire last?

Weird, but this is now an oldie (1999).

6 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

Oh no, Trump didn't get the peace prize. How sad, I'm sure there will be no intemperate toy tossing from the big orange baby.

Apparently one reason he didn't win is that he campaigned for it so hard. 😁

Quote

The Nobel Committee awards the Peace Prize to leaders who champion "arms control and disarmament, peace negotiation, democracy and human rights, and work aimed at creating a better organized and more peaceful world," according to its website.

Does that sound like Trump? Not really. Yes he has been involved in peace negotiation, while attacking unarmed boats in the caribbean. He certainly hasn't made the world better organized; quite the opposite. His efforts with regards to democracy and human rights have been sadly lacking. I'm not aware of any arms control efforts.

I think it would make sense to legally restrict emergency National Guard deployments in the U.S. to either: (1) a request by the state governor, or (2) with the consent of Congress.

The latest news is that Hulu is going away in 2026; they're going to merge the superior layout of Hulu into the inferior layout of Disney+. Good plan, Disney, good plan. 🙄

7 hours ago, ShadySands said:

I just backed it but at the lowest early bird tier. I might go up if they announce a GOG release in addition to Steam

I backed it as well, because it's something I'd been hoping to see (a Starfinder game), so... I figured I should. It's two years away though, so we're in for a bit of a wait. It looks like they're already up to $400,000, so they may end up with more than they bargained for.

Starfinder: Afterlight could become one of my favourite CRPGs—even if the studio's co-founders are 'more scared about huge success than a bit of failure' when it comes to their big Kickstarter debut (PC Gamer)

5 hours ago, BruceVC said:

But I see the US defines recession slightly differently in the links based on the NBER definition 

" The National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as a significant, broad-based decline in economic activity lasting more than a few months, as per the report. It looks closely at employment, personal income, consumer spending, and industrial production, as per the MarketWatch report." 

Yes, it depends on how long it lasts. In the US, recessions tend to have political repercussions, so exaggerated or not there is an impact. Personally I thought we had a brief recession in 2022, but the (unpopular) administration seemed to white-washed it. The difference this time is we may see increased inflation as a result of the tariffs; the last time we had a lengthy recession with increased inflation (stagflation) was under J. Carter, which led to the election of R. Reagan. With the current administration's handling of government data, we may not even know for certain what's happening. But that results in business uncertainty, causing more conservative behavior and less growth. Worse case, the economy tanks, the AI bubble bursts, and we have long, deep recession.

Economic related news:

Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist says

Yes, you are feeling it: 22 states are officially in a recession — is yours on the list?

It’s not just Sam Altman warning about an AI bubble. Now Mark Zuckerberg says a ‘collapse’ is ‘definitely a possibility’

I get the sense that the only reason the economy isn't fully in the tank is the billions being spend on technology and data centers. That investment is heading for bubble perhaps greater than the dot com era. Once that goes, we may be in deep doo-doo. When that happens, whomever is President at the time will be dealing with a mess.

Interesting times.

Nanotech ‘switch’ reverses Alzheimer’s in mice by restoring brain’s protective barrier

If this works in humans, it would be a revolutionary medical treatment.

 

2 hours ago, Hurlshort said:

Rings of Power is great, so you should give it a try.

It's decent; more story than combat, IIRC. Some likeable characters. I enjoyed the concept of the hobbits as migrating eco-tribes.

I found Paramount+ has a lot of old reruns, which is both good and bad. The Halo series was decently done, although I think it didn't get good ratings and lacked a proper resolution. Not sure if you've seen Killing Eve, but that was a really good series. There's also Yellowjackets, which may or may not be to everybody's taste. I didn't much care for the remake of The Stand. They also have everything Star Trek, of which I enjoyed Lower Decks, an amusing spoof of the genre.

2 hours ago, melkathi said:

I hope the writing is better than in that video 😛

I don't have overly high expectations; I'm just hoping for a fun game. My interest comes from the Starfinder rules/setting and the turn-based combat. Some people have complained about the cartoony graphics, but the tactical look seems fine thus far.

 

5 hours ago, majestic said:

I recommend Kill la Kill. This has... uhm... is... uhm...

That's one of those "funny once" jokes. Doing it to the nth power is just annoying, alas.

I started watching the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba series and I thought, "hey, this is pretty good, and it doesn't have the usual Anime goofery". Then Zenitsu Agatsuma showed up... are you freaking kidding me?

I see the government has found a new use for a belt sander:

Treasury Department considers minting a $1 Trump coin

8 hours ago, Malcador said:

 

Napoleonic column tactics? Well I suppose they can lower the crime rate in a one block radius.

I have to wonder about the types of conversations American parents are having with their kids about being recruited into the military forces at the moment. This delusional president wants the armed forces to wage war on mostly unarmed American civilians. I mean that is the very definition of terrorism. What a (figuratively) crazy situation.

Apparently armed troops are being sent to Portland to protect the ICE building there with permission to use "full force". It has suffered some damage from protests and has windows boarded up with plywood, so typical left-wing protest tactic. Meanwhile, since January, 15 people have died while being detained by ICE. Narry a peep about that from the government though. So, long story short:

• protests and some physical damage to a building = war ravaged city requiring a full force response
• 15 dead in detention = crickets

7 hours ago, Gorgon said:

"war ravaged Portland"

 

mkay. 

If it's so war ravaged, shouldn't he be paying a state visit? I don't believe he's ever even been. Time for El Jefe to see the ruins in person. But TACO.

Heading for the Autobahn?

Ruh-roh

Ferdinand Trump is planning to send troops to peaceful Portand in order to deal with so-called "domestic terrorists". I've visited Portland several times and it is hardly a bastion of crime or terrorism; it's just a nice place to live.

Trump says he’ll send troops to Portland, Oregon, in latest deployment to US cities

Maybe he's hoping the Proud Boys stir up some activist behavior?

How Portland Stopped the Proud Boys

That AI video is surreal... and a little disturbed.