ICQ was still operating? Wow. The “new message” notification sound is still etched in my brain.
The Stochastic Game
Ramblings of General Geekery
More than 15 years ago we left France in part because we saw a future in which the far-right became the leading party. It actually took ~5 years longer than we expected but it’s happening now. Interestingly, though, Macron’s weird strategy may buy us more time before a far-right president… we’ll see.
Pushing for repairability in consumer electronics sometimes pays off: “From 0/10 to 8/10: Microsoft Puts Repair Front and Center”. Good job by the Microsoft Surface engineers!
The enshittification of TV continues: “[Paramount+] has several South Park specials and the 1999 feature film Bigger, Longer and Uncut, but the show’s primary streaming home is on Max.” (* Not available in Canada)
Speaking of AI: “I Will Fucking Piledrive You If You Mention AI Again”. This is a fun rant about companies jumping on the AI bandwagon… “How about you remain competitive by fixing your shit?” 😆
Microsoft thinks all content on the web is “freeware”. Hold on while I use the Microsoft logo (available “freely” on the “open web”) for my new porn startup… (and yes, all AI-bros everywhere apparently are absolute shitheads)
Avoiding Playing Law Enforcement in Delta Green
I recently answered a question on Discord about Delta Green1 and since I had seen that question a couple times before I figured I would post (and heavily edit and expand) my answer here for posterity2. The question generally takes the following form:
Playing a character that’s a member of US Federal Agencies such as the FBI or the CIA raises many problematic aspects because of <insert reason here>. Is it possible to play Delta Green while also avoiding this?
This is a totally fair question as far as I’m concerned. There are indeed several good reasons to not want to portray a member of an American (or many other countries’) Law Enforcement organization as the hero of your story. But fear not! Well, I mean, do fear, this is Delta Green after all, but yes, I’ve got some hopefully helpful advice for you.
It’s mind-blowing to me that US tech bloggers really believe that Apple isn’t releasing stuff like “screen-sharing to your Mac” in the EU because “the DMA created uncertainty”. Come on, there are many precedents that Apple can be a petty, vindictive corporation, and this is clearly another example.
Yesterday we visited a place that I’m sure I’ve seen many times in films & TV shows: the old abandoned Riverview Mental Hospital! (aka Səmiq̓wəʔelə since the land was given back to the Kwikwetlem First Nation) It looks very appropriate for a horror LARP…
Interesting: business owners apparently often overestimate the number of customers driving, leading them to incorrectly oppose regulation promoting cycling/walking/etc. even though it’s generally good for business.