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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 9th, 2023

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  • Sorry man, I’m not knowledgeable enough about computers to provide a summary, but I’ll mention this fun tidbit: apparently, the shipped version of task manager contained thus guy’s home phone number in the code by accident. He commented it out, but left the phone number in there, which means he can find instances of the source code being hosted online by reverse searching his home phone. Which is still a number he maintains, and he asks people not to call. Which is a bold thing to leave in the video imo






  • Important caveat: IANAL.

    I’ve seen elsewhere the response to the Ben and Jerry’s news hitting basically boiling down to “fucking cry about it sell outs, you got into bed with Unilever”. Which, sure, fine if that’s your (general “you”, not you specifically OP) perspective, far be it from me to yuck your yums. That being said, according to the AP article I read, they carved out (or attempted to) the right to continue to manage the social justice aspect of the Ben and Jerry’s brand without interference, in perpetuity, as a condition of the sale. As I understand it, Unilever has done a number of things to erode those carveouts, basically by repeatedly spinning off portions of the business into new companies, which they argue are not beholden to that agreement. For example, despite Ben and Jerry’s public support of Palestine and objection to their products being sold in Israel, Unilever simply licensed the product to Israeli manufacturers who sell it under their own brand names. Additionally, and this is what appears to be what precipitated this departure, they are now spinning all of their frozen confectionary brands off into something like Magnum Foods (because the two things I want to have on my mind while looking for ice cream are guns and condoms).

    Like, I understand anyone who looks at the hundreds of millions that these guys received in 2000 and has difficulty mustering sympathy for their plight. That being said, I don’t begrudge them their pay day. They said, at the time, that the partnership would enable them to extend their social justice campaigns beyond what they could do as independents. From what I’ve seen, they’ve largely lived up to that over the ensuing years.


  • I don’t want to yuck your yums, since it’s sort of a subjective call, but I wouldn’t necessarily call 200 meters a “long distance” shot. It’s not close range, but hitting a mostly stationary human sized target at that distance is, if not “easy”, certainly achievable with a minimal amount of firearms experience. I think this holds true even without the assistance of scopes or other optics. For reference, basic rifle marksmanship qualification for the armed forces has you taking on targets out to 300 meters with iron sights, and, despite never firing a weapon prior to basic training, I was able to consistently hit the 200 meter targets (though beyond that range was a coin flip)

    Furthermore, calling the weapon a high-powered rifle is, to some extent, redundant. Again, it’s subjective, but pretty much any firearm which fires rifle caliber ammunition is going to be by default “high-powered”, unless it’s .22LR. That’s the only rifle cartridge I can think of that is commonly available that would not qualify as “high-powered” by a reasonable definition.

    The only reason I bring up this little bit of pedantry is because, as you mentioned in your post, calling it a “long distance shot with a high powered rifle” leads the listener towards certain conclusions that are not well-founded at this juncture. It’s not inaccurate or untruthful, but I do think it leaves out relevant context.


  • You’re the one suggesting that your lack of attraction to these character models is an objective flaw. Which is, of course, semantically silly, if nothing else. Not finding a character (or person) attractive for whatever reason is your business. Taking to the forum and yelling about androgyny being objectively unattractive (in an online space which I’d wager has a disproportionate representation of trans and NB individuals) is an interesting choice.







  • In essence, that is what she did. Her letter, which is an excellent read if you like detail oriented logical takedowns of transparent corruption, only “offers” her resignation, conditional to the AG refusing to meet with her to discuss the issues she raises in the letter.

    She says that dismissing the charges would be, in the first place, unethical, as the prosecution is based upon an indictment rendered faithfully by a grand jury. Furthermore no one (including Adam’s defense counsel) has called into question the conduct of the prosecution. In addition, dismissing the case would also be illegal, as legal precedence states that a court may decline the Government’s request to dismiss charges in instances which run contrary to the public interest. She concludes that, in light of those points, she cannot and will not comply with the request. At that point, she offers her resignation.

    Despite really enjoying reading her arguments, I’m certainly no law expert. I would imagine that she would open herself up to some pretty serious charges from the Department of Justice if she refused to comply with their order. I mean, considering the brazenness of the corruption on display by the very order she is protesting here, it wouldn’t shock me if she’s wondering if they’d try to charge her with fucking treason or something, a crime which could result in the death penalty. Of course, something like that would only be plausible if there was demonstrated evidence of an authoritarian, Tammany Hall-style political machine situation developing at the federal level with the tacit approval of the judicial branch. Good thing there’s no evidence of that happening, right?

    Which is to say, I think the folks in here whining about how she isn’t doing enough to fight fascism should maybe get off their pedestals a bit and have a little empathy for the position she had forced upon her by the ACTUAL villains in this story.



  • He was dismissed for “gross misconduct” following an investigation into his involvement in sexual harassment. One of the articles has the guy’s lawyer saying it was a sham investigation because he was not involved in it (as in, was not questioned). Which, if this were a court of law, where a defendant has the right to confront their accusers, then sure, he’s got a point.

    But it wasn’t that, and clearly Sony/Bungie felt that he was a greater liability than an asset. That leads me to believe that they DID find evidence of wrongdoing on his part, convincing enough that questioning him was unnecessary, and severe enough that they felt they could terminate him for cause. In taking those steps, I’m certain they cleared it with legal to ensure that their case was as airtight as they could make it, especially if there was a 45 million dollar payment at stake.

    So, maybe he’s being truthful, and he was a convenient fall guy for Bungie to throw to the wolves during the height of the scrutiny on them. However, until there’s more convincing evidence available than, “well they didn’t ask ME if I harassed my colleagues”, I’m not buying it. Discovery will be interesting.


  • Not much to say about the wider conversation here, but I just want to chime in to support your position. I read that article you posted, and I was kinda chuckling to myself at the author, who seems to be at least a casual fan of deckbuilder type games, arguing that the devs are wrong, and that the cards were not a barrier to entry. Meanwhile, I’m sitting over here, looking at the copy I have in my steam library which has never been touched, specifically because I heard it was a deckbuilder and immediately lost all interest. This despite the otherwise fairly positive reception the game got, and the hundreds of hours I’ve spent in Firaxis style tactical strategy games.

    Sometimes I wish I knew why I have such a mental block about deckbuilding. I think the layers of strategy become too abstract for me to visualize what I’m trying to pull off, and it feels artificial in a way that rubs me the wrong way. Even if a 3 turn cool down on an ability is no less artificial, it doesn’t irk me in the same way.

    And for the record, I didn’t buy the game just to never play it, its a family library copy! I’m not that wasteful.



  • I’m not busy this week, but I have no money with which to purchase anything I find this particular sale. Want to combine powers? If you tell me what sort of itch you are seeking to scratch, I’ll come back with some relevant options I find trawling through the sale listings. That way I can maybe find something outside my usual bubble for myself come the winter sale, and you don’t necessarily need to wade into the waters yourself.