Gorth

Nothing exciting, just 2 minutes of monotony.... People sometimes raise an eyebrow or two when they find out my PC is connected to an UPS. But when you live where I live, it's not a luxury. Yesterday evening, while minding some meat on the BBQ, I took my phone and just shot 2 minutes of the night sky. Sometimes, weeks on end, every single afternoon and night, it looks like this... while my poor UPS is sweating and going <click><beep!>.... <click><beep!>... while compensating for power fluctuations

Saw episode 7 of Dandadan. Wont post serious spoilers or screenshots that might spoil it in case someone still has to watch it... Get ready to get sucker punched. Badly. Really badly. Complete change of vibe.

A continuation of my previous post, cover versions and movie/tv series adaptations... got to say, I absolutely adored the Wednesday show, bought it on DVD from an AU distributor and eagerly await a season 2

Reminds of my early teenage years (12-13 year old, thereabouts)... got my hands on a medical encyclopedia of sorts at the library and read it. I've never felt so sick in my life, convinced I had a week left to live

Asking for a friend... did you ever drop the bread into the fondue? edit: in case the reference is too obscure

Just speculation on my part now, so take with a grain of salt, solely based on Musk's personality... The first things to disappear will be things like The Occupational Health and Safety Act (too much red tape for what businesses are allowed to expose workers to), The environmental impact analysis for construction projects (who needs drinking water anyway when The Coca Cola company sells bottled water), the much hated federal minimum wage etc... (never mind that more than half the states have local minimum wage laws that are higher) because they all impede the growth of share values.

I'm fairly sure the target isn't corruption, but as mentioned in article, get rid of regulations and rules (for business conduct). Say welcome to a new social class, the serfs, in the US Edit: Let's be honest, Musk is not known to care about his employees beyond squeezing every last drop of life force out of them and then discard them. Claiming anything else is being deliberately obtuse

A bit of mutual back scratching. Musk purchased votes for Trump and Trump gives Musk a role where he can crack down on workers rights to make Tesla more profitable... The BBC had that story too https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cnvjr42yq39t "Donald Trump appoints Elon Musk to 'efficiency' role and Fox News host as defence secretary"... You can't make this stuff up At least Musk, unlike Trump, is a successful businessman regardless of what else (nothing of it nice) can be said about him.

This thread reminds me of, has anyone been in touch with @Gromnir recently? Not a word since March. Hope he is Ok

In the Mass Effect games and Dragon Age games I went with the default characters (both male and female). Didn't feel like spending 72 hour to create something even remotely attractive of either gender. Don't get me started on the Bethesda games I guess it's part of why I love a game like Guild Wars 2. Lots of customization possibilities, although I wish facial makeup/scars was handled better. Then there is the dress up your character part where Guild Wars really truly lives up to its nickname "Fashion Wars 2"

I hear the latter got glowing reviews?

For me it depends on the game. I often don’t feel a character represents “me” as much as being an actor in a play that I direct. Some games I’ll play buff macho types and some games I’ll play very feminine characters. Again, depends on the role they play in the piece. The games I have/had the most characters created in would be Star Wars the old republic. Sixty characters spread over four servers (ie averaging fifteen per server). The game being somewhat primitive (compared to Guild Wars 2) means no api for web access to your characters, so I always did book keeping in Excel. Turns out the gender split is 50/50. Ranging from half naked Conan type Jedi guardian to lithe deadly imperial agent girls who love vex sneaking, poisoning and backstabbing As for the real me, I suspect I have a fondness for sneaky and stealthy characters because I am anything but in real life. @Azdeus has seen a picture of me and can probably confirm I’m not going to sneak up upon anyone

Watched episode 6 of Dandadan. Getting more hilarious than ever Turbo Granny, now trapped inside a Neko doll, mocks Okarun and Momo, because they can't find his balls. She describes them as trapped inside a golden sphere radiating spiritual energy (Turbo Granny dropped them shortly before she got incinerated by a warding spell). This can result in whoever possesses them being pursued by Yokai and evil spirits for its energy or awakening spiritual powers in humans if they touch his balls in their current state (golden spheres)... they are not amused with Turbo Grannys attitude In the meantime, it has (finally) dawned on Okarun that Momo is actually cute Of course, he being him, means now he can no longer look at her and pointedly looks the other way when they are together.... Guess who ended getting hit over her head by Okaruns balls? Yup, the local beauty queen (Aira). She is convinced she is destined to fight evil and save the world, because she's too pretty not to! Because Aira has held Okaruns balls in her hands, she can now see at least part of the spiritual world. Enough to be convinced that Momo is a demon, because she saw her ectoplasm arms manifest in the previous episode (Momo used them to smash a washing basin over Aira's somewhat empty head). To save the world, she acquire a heroic cape, a holy book, a crucifix (which is actually a lighter) and of course the golden balls which marks her as the chosen one. Time to take down the Momo demon! With the help of two friends, they overwhelm Momo and tie her arms with zip ties. Aira is a bit baffled by her strength as she refuses to get banished from this world just by having a crucifix rubbed in her face, so she resorts to her strongest weapon! Rubbing Okarans balls in Momo's face! Unfortunately, as mentioned above, playing around with Okaruns balls means Aira has also attracted spirits, some of which are not nice. This one (which I think is based on Japanese legend) is obsessed with being called "Mommy". Aira refuses Okarun and Momo (still tied) joins the fight. The lady in red first swallows Okarun, then Aira. Momo keeps fighting to the last, but she just has a bad hair day (bad pun) Turbo Granny is also present, but she doesn't have her powers anymore. However, being a cat, she brings luck It just so happened that the lady in red swallowed a lot of her own hair when she ate Momo. Momo uses the Crucifix/Lighter to set her hair on fire and she spits out the three kids. Episode ends here, just as the fight is about to pick up pace

Somebody made a video edit from multiple movies with the soundtrack from a netflix series...

Man, you’re so negative it ended up double negative

@melkathi.... (left comment on the blog post)

I knew my expectations were justified! Awesome read @melkathi Yeah, some things haven't changed the last 40 years when it comes to how games are marketed. The games don't always match the box art (said the guy who stared at curvy women box art painted by Boris Vallejo on the old SSI and 3Do games in the 80's) Hope those cat forks pays your next games!

How does the saying go? You have the government you deserve?

I know it wasn't directed at me, but you don't have to use more than a couple of the grey cells to figure out its a reverse uno on the law that introduced id requirements. Unregistered and illegal migrants can vote if ID isn't required (and they usually vote democratic). Same shenanigans when people in power resort to gerrymandering (i.e. vote rigging) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering

Having tinkered around a bit with Stable Diffusion (and tearing out my hair in frustration at times), I've also been keeping an eye out for interesting videos on the subject of AI image and video generation. Ran across this earlier today, being impressed by the AI algorithms interpretation of the characters of one of my favourite Animes.... in a what if they had been in a live action movie (without the at times exaggerated proportions and stylistic faces of Anime). edit: My own observations and constructive criticism of whoever fed the information to the AI Starks red iris' are overdone. Needs desaturation Eisen is showing too much of his face Flamme is missing her two "signature" earrings, that Frieren wears after her death Ubel is showing too little armpits Denken looks too tall. He's supposed to be short and very stocky (and he's missing his signature monocle) Kanne is the same as Stark, the iris colour is overdone. Needs desaturation Methode looks too "youthful". She is the curvy, "older woman" adventurer that Sein always dreamt of meeting (ironically leaving the party just before the introduction of Methode) Himmel his face is slightly too angular. He has noticeable "soft" facial features to give him that cute baby look in the Anime

Watched fifth episode of Dandadan... got to say, Momo rolling around on the floor laughing was contagious Where are his balls indeed... yup, cat got his balls

I do not believe for a moment that religious doctrine was high on the agenda of Nordic monarchs. Out own king had ulterior motives when he gave in to popular uprising starting in Holstein in the 1520's and spreading. Ironically led by a Knights Hospitaller, Hans Tausen. The political situation was complicated too, because Swedish terrorists had started an uprising against their rightful Danish overlords, leading to political maneuvering and power plays, Game of Thrones style. A few years later, the obscenely wealthy Catholic church had its assets seized and reformation was introduced. Also, the ridiculous number of public holidays (all the St. Gorth and St. Nicholas and St.Mary and what have you holy days) were merged into a single public holiday aptly named (roughly translated) "Great Prayer Day", where the peasants, those who still cared, could worship their favourite saints all at once. Time to get the peasants back in the fields so they could produce taxable income. (see Nordic "history" above ) I was a bit curious about that. According to the local advertisers here in Australia, US citizens are required to pay tax in the US, despite living abroad. Ads everywhere in social media and papers here on how to get rid of your US citizenship (if you have dual citizenship) so you don't get double taxed together with Australian tax. Are you guys supposed to pay tax in the afterlife too??? The hypocrisy of British "expats" in Spain is particularly funny to listen to in interviews. No ways are they immigrants!!!

I'm in the camp of people who quite liked DA:O. The combat and spell combos where you had to explore was just fun (a very subjective thing, I know). Didn't care for the romances and if I had to mention my single biggest grievance it was the npc with the big yellow exclamation mark over his head screaming PURCHASE THIS DLC!!!! in your camp That aside, I quite enjoyed it enough for several repeat playthroughs. I later got an edition with the various dlc's etc. so at least this most obnoxious guy disappeared.

They are separated a bit by time though. The Inquisition was founded in 1186 and most of those famous persecutions took place in the 13th and 14th century. Protestantism rose to power in some countries in the 16th century. I.e. centuries later. Maybe they just felt the pope had "lost his edge"? But seriously, it was a revolt against the increasing obsession with worldly possessions and a lack of (perceived) proper zealotry that inspired Luther. The wars that followed ended with the peace of Westphalia. Not sure if the birth of nationalism was a particularly good substitute for religious wars... Edit: The pragmatism of the Henry VIIII is admirable though. Divorcing and beheading wives were easier without Papal meddling, so did away with both Catholicism and Protestantism and introduced himself as the only official spokesman for God in the form of the Anglican church

Through wholesale genocide and slaughter of entire provinces, towns and communities? It was anything but an amicable split (the protestants of the time were the "Taliban" of its age, killing anything and anyone not showing proper religious fervor) edit: the war didn't really end until the Northern Ireland peace treaty was signed and the end of "The Troubles" in 1998 (after 3000 dead and 49000 wounded since 1968)