TwinIon

The GOP is very good at riling people up over nothing, but it does feel like CRT could be a bigger deal that many of the previous passing hysterias, and the rush of legislation seems to indicate that is the case. The GOP incorrectly defines CRT in ways that are so broad as to encompass anything they dislike, while also focusing in on specifics that are obviously not present in CRT.

Sure, Android itself can run on x86, but we have zero real world examples of x86 products running Android apps on top of another OS well. We've seen various Windows apps try and Chrome OS, which does run a Linux kernel, hasn't gotten it right either. Plus, even if you do get everything working on the performance side of things, you still have to reckon with using apps built for touch, GPS, cameras, etc. run on a platform that may not have any of those things. Maybe there are some fringe cases for this, but when I look at my phone I see a bunch of apps that I'd either have no interest in running on my PC or already have Windows or web versions.

The android app thing feels like it's a guaranteed disaster. I struggle to think of a good use case for it, and can't imagine everything working smoothly. Maybe it'll work better on future ARM based Windows PCs, but when Google can't even get them working well on Chrome OS, I have little hope for Windows. I like the new design elements well enough, but unless the final build is differs greatly from the leak, I have to imagine that they're only at the very surface level. I really wish Windows would just give us a clean break from all the cruft that has accumulated since 95

I would take the Manchin deal if it meant ending the filibuster or actually passing the bill.

I had to double check and make sure this was indeed the CEO that in 2017 said “I don’t think we’re ever going to lose money again. We have an industry that’s going to be profitable in good and bad times.” Somehow I'm not shocked that he was unable to predict the future.

I was really interested by Stadia's promise to build cloud based games that couldn't be done on PCs/Consoles, but I don't feel like we really even got much hint as to what those might be. I'm glad that Microsoft is now looking to do the same, because at a high level it makes sense that hosting a game session for everyone on the same cloud server could open up possibilities that might not otherwise exist.

Kind of a shame that SCOTUS only looked at such a small portion of the NCAA rules. It seems plausible they might have struck down more if they'd been appealed all the way up. Still, glad to see these get struck down. Of all the stupid rules the NCAA has around compensation, preventing education-related benefits seems easily the most stupid. A quick search didn't really reveal what the current state of student athlete compensation is. CA passed the Fair Pay to Play Act back in 2019. Shortly thereafter the NCAA Board of Governors "supported rule changes" that would allow compensation for third party endorsements, but still prevent compensation for name, image, or likeness (NIL). In their statement today, the NCAA said “even though the decision does not directly address name, image and likeness, the NCAA remains committed to supporting NIL benefits for student-athletes." The CA law goes into effect in 2023, but the rule changes the NCAA proposed were supposed to go into affect for this school year, but I couldn't find anything specifically saying they'd been adopted, and from that statement today it sounds like they haven't been. Perhaps they'd been waiting for the outcome of this decision?

I'm mostly done with the game, and while we got basically exactly what you would expect, I also want more. The graphics are killer. They're impressive in nearly every possible way. Hardly enough can be said about how good this game looks while achieving such an incredible density and also swapping between dimensions instantly. As far as the game is concerned, it's a Ratchet and Clank game with very few surprises. It continues to do things the series has done well, with cartoon characters firing crazy guns while telling a silly story. Nothing is done poorly, but I also can't help but wish the series would move on a bit. I wouldn't say the game itself feels stale, but the formula kinda does. R&C is hardly unique in this. Plenty of series stick to the same formula that gained them popularity (looking at you Pokemon). If all you want is to play some more R&C with a fun new set of guns and an incredible coat of paint, then there is hardly a flaw to be found in Rift Apart. If you were hoping the game might evolve along with the graphics, no such luck.

Yeah, the link in the article that shows emissions were down 21% makes it clear that the pandemic is the reason for much of the change. Here's a pretty useful graph: Power was on it's way down thanks to the decline of coal, which doesn't seem to have been sped up by the pandemic. The other major sources all deviated sharply from what we would have expected because of the pandemic. Transportation, industry, and buildings are all either flat or on a slight upward slope from 2009, but took a nosedive thanks to COVID. The conclusion to that article clearly states: "If COVID-19 and the resulting recession hadn’t happened, we estimate that US emissions would have declined by only around 3% this year." (as opposed to the 10.3% drop we got.) Basically, the only good thing we've done is get rid of coal and partially replace it with renewables (and natural gas, which is a much lesser gain). Let's not pat ourselves on the back too much.

The cynic in me thinks that the GOP passed this just to give themselves cover on any voting rights bill. They can point to this and say "see, we care about black people!" That doesn't mean it shouldn't be a nationally recognized holiday, but it is hard to appreciate token gestures like this when there is such consequential legislation pending.

I understand the allure of a time travel story, but they always make me nervous because they're so easy to screw up. I'm too lazy to look it up, but I'm pretty sure that we've seen multiple "time cops" in Star Trek by now, including a future version of the Federation. I wonder who will show up this time.

I'll happily play Dread, but I have to admit it's not the Metroid game I was hoping for.

It's silly and I really don't need one, but I want an Xbox mini fridge.

Playing in performance RT mode and it's often difficult to even notice RT reflections because of how dense this game is. It really does look amazing. I wonder how well Rift Apart stacks up to most kids TV shows these days.

I'm glad it's coming out, but it's hard to get too hyped for a game we know so little about.

I haven't gotten into a Halo mulitplayer for a long time but I'm definitely going to give Infinite a go. As someone who doesn't care about customization options, the battle pass probably isn't for me, but I think they're making the right moves. Knowing exactly what you need to do to get a thing without having any kind of loot box is really great. It certainly seems like the kind of game I could get into for a bit and return to whenever I feel like it or whenever a friend wants to pick it up. Infinite continues not to look technically very impressive, but it does look like a lot of fun.

Mostly sounds good to me. The experience that I enjoy in Battlefield is that I launch into a map and make a significant contribution to the team without being someone that'll win many 1-on-1 firefights. Capturing checkpoints, healing squad-mates, destroying or piloting vehicles, whatever. It sounds like that will be present, so I'll probably give it a go.

I just want release dates for Witcher and Cowboy Bebop.

I would guess this may have been spurred by this survey that started making the rounds indicating that many US adults don't have people they can trust for help in their personal lives. As for myself, I'm quite lucky in the friends I have. My closest group of friends are people I've known since elementary school, a few from high school, and a couple from college. I'm rather introverted, and I've never been good at making friends, but those friends I do make seem to stick around. My wife is pretty much the same way. I've long wondered what factors most determine keeping friends for the long term, and how much of it is luck. My brothers, both good guys, both much more outgoing than I was, especially in middle school and high school, but neither has ended up with the same kind of close friend groups I have. Did I just happen upon the right people at the right times, or have I been doing something all these years to keep my friends around?

Sure seems like Performance RT is easily the way to go. Hopefully Amazon gets my copy here sooner than later.

Lol. His defense was basically "I didn't do it on purpose but I should have," which is a pretty weasely admission. If you really think the thing you did on video was the right thing to do, it's pretty spineless to still not admit you did it.

So is Forbidden West. I know it's not the same devs, but we did recently get a PS5 Souls game that looked pretty good.

Graphically, not impressive. Lots of style, but technically it feels very PS4 rather than PS5.

The Anacrusis (sp?) looks really terrible in every possible way. Graphically it looked like an unfinished mobile game, and the gunplay looked dull and boring.

Two Point Hospital was another sim game that was fun enough that I'm interested in Campus.