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Move over Redfall! https://www.gamesradar.com/the-day-before-review/ https://www.ign.com/articles/the-day-before-review I’d have more fun hiding in a dumpster surrounded by actual zombies. NPCs are so dryly written and voiced they sound like the result of an AI. Steam is already diligently refunding anyone who made the mistake of buying it – and if you didn’t manage to try it, you can count yourself as one of the lucky ones.

Apparently he was eating some local chickens! They moved him away from where he would cause mischief, which is much better for him -- and his name, dubbed by the wildlife specialist, is "Mr. Murderbritches"

Does the Analogue Duo support the Everdrive?

People definitely still read, although not surprisingly with social media (which is a poison), video games (which we all love), movies, etc. it's much less than in the past -- https://www.amacad.org/humanities-indicators/public-life/book-reading-behavior The percentage of Americans adults who read at least one book of fiction or nonfiction in the previous 12 months (outside of work or school requirements) fell to the lowest level on record in 2017 (Indicator V-04a). In 1992, 61% of Americans had read a book for pleasure during the previous year, but by 2017 less than 53% had done so.

3 Contentious Exchanges at the College Antisemitism Hearing https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/06/us/harvard-mit-penn-presidents-antisemitism-hearing.html Wow -- I KNOW the importance of free speech. But, saying any genocide against any group should be looked "in context" is such utter bullshite that I can't even fathom... In one instance, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., pressed Gay over whether the university condoned chants of “intifada” on its campus. Stefanik: Dr. Gay, a Harvard student calling for the mass murder of African Americans is not protected free speech at Harvard, correct? Gay: Our commitment to free speech … Stefanik: It’s a yes or no question. Is that correct? Is that OK for students to call for the mass murder of African Americans at Harvard? Is that protected free speech? Gay: Our commitment to free speech … Stefanik: It’s a yes or no question. Let me ask you this: You are president of Harvard, so I assume you are familiar with the term “intifada,” correct? Gay: I have heard that term, yes. Stefanik: And you understand that the use of the term “intifada” in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict is indeed a call for violent armed resistance against the state of Israel, including violence against civilians and the genocide of Jews. Are you aware of that? Gay: That type of hateful speech is personally abhorrent to me. Stefanik: And there have been multiple marches at Harvard with students chanting, quote “There is only one solution: intifada, revolution” and quote “Globalize the intifada,” is that correct? Gay: I’ve heard that thoughtless, reckless and hateful language on our campus, yes. Stefanik: So based upon your testimony, you understand that this call for intifada is to commit genocide against the Jewish people in Israel and globally, correct? Gay: I will say again, that type of hateful speech is personally abhorrent to me. Stefanik: Do you believe that type of hateful speech is contrary to Harvard’s code of conduct or is it allowed at Harvard? Gay: It is at odds with the values of Harvard. Stefanik: Can you not say here that it is against the code of conduct at Harvard? Gay: We embrace a commitment to free expression even of views that are objectionable, offensive, hateful — it’s when that speech crosses into conduct that violates our policies against bullying, harassment, intimidation … Stefanik: Does that speech not cross that barrier? Does that speech not call for the genocide of Jews and the elimination of Israel? You testified that you understand that that is the definition of “intifada.” Is that speech according to the code of conduct or not? Gay: We embrace a commitment to free expression and give a wide berth to free expression even of views that are objectionable, outrageous and offensive. Stefanik: You and I both know that that is not the case.

People had enough! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_San_Francisco_District_Attorney_recall_election Hopefully things improve, they certainly appear to be.

I think it's awesome that you're reading all these classics I really wonder how many classics people read in high school these days? I'd love to know, because periodically I see articles such as this -- Massachusetts teacher says she is “very proud” to have removed Homer’s classic from school curriculum https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/12/31/teacher-proud-removing-homer/ “Be like Odysseus and embrace the long haul to liberation (and then take the Odyssey out of your curriculum because it’s trash).” Heather Levine, a ninth-grade English teacher at Lawrence High School in Massachusetts, replied: “Hahaha …. Very proud to say we got the Odyssey removed from the curriculum this year!” That seems quite pathetic to me. Then again, that high school and school district made news in 2010 when they were ranked in the bottom 1 percent in the state based on math and English test scores. Me, I'm not surprised...

Retro-Bit -- for the price I think it's amazing. I've heard some people say the music isn't always perfect, and some other minor problems. But, for $60 you get a Retro-Bit that plays NES and SNES cartridges. Or, for $600 you can get an Analogue Noir -- if you're lucky, most likely it will be substantially more. For someone that's into hard-core gaming, I'd say get the Analogue. For most anyone else Retro-Bit does the job perfectly.

Having a bad day bro? This is the meme thread, just chill ps That is a real plane. From 2020 -- Futuristic ‘Flying-V’ airplane makes successful maiden flight https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/flying-v-maiden-flight-intl-scli-grm/index.html

At least 85 civilians, including women and children, dead after 'mistaken' army drone attack https://www.yahoo.com/news/least-85-civilians-including-women-153554645.html Emergency response officials said at least 85 people have been confirmed dead after a "mistaken" army drone attack on a religious gathering in northwest Nigeria. The victims were killed Sunday night by drones "targeting terrorists and bandits" in Kaduna state’s Tudun Biri village, according to government and security officials. They were observing a Muslim holiday. Horrible tragedy. It's not clear if this was a fully autonomous drone or one under human guidance? Most likely under human guidance. That said -- Ukrainian AI attack drones may be killing without human oversight https://www.newscientist.com/article/2397389-ukrainian-ai-attack-drones-may-be-killing-without-human-oversight/ Ukrainian attack drones equipped with artificial intelligence are now finding and attacking targets without human assistance, New Scientist has learned, in what would be the first confirmed use of autonomous weapons or “killer robots”. It was inevitable.

I think you're absolutely right. Still, it's good to be able to get some nice exclusives at honestly reasonable prices -- certainly cheaper than on the 2nd hand market

‘Thrill Kill’ murderer released back into Santa Clara County https://www.yahoo.com/news/thrill-kill-murderer-released-back-012710057.html One of two men who carried out a Satanist-inspired “thrill kill” murder in San Jose was freed from prison and released back into Santa Clara County. Former inmate Jae Williams, 29, was granted early release on November 20, court records show. Williams was a 15-year-old high school student when he and his 16-year-old friend, Randy Thompson, decided they wanted to kill someone. The boys befriended 15-year-old Michael Russell with the sole intention of murdering him in 2009. The victim’s family’s attorney, Scotty J. Storey, told KRON4, “Jae and Randy set out with a goal of killing someone just to find out what it felt like. They cultivated a ‘friendship’ with Mikey, lulling him into a sense of security with them, to achieve their goal.” When San Jose Police Department homicide detectives were investigating the teen’s grisly death, Williams told police that his religion, Satanism, gave him permission to kill. For their trials, Thompson and Williams were charged and convicted as adults, and sentenced to serve 26 years to life in prison. Senate Bill 1391, passed in 2018, prohibits anyone under the age of 16 from being charged as an adult. After California’s law passed, Williams’ case was transferred into juvenile court. Wow... California fails victims yet again. Williams is not allowed to own firearms until he turns 30 years old on June 8, 2024. Good to know that in Cali, after you murder someone, you have to wait until you're 30 before you can own a firearm. I'm sure that must be a sigh of relief to everyone If Williams violates his probation conditions, he could be ordered back to jail for no longer than six months. That will certainly teach that sociopath! A whopping 6 (or less) more months in jail, he's trembling in his knickers I'm sure.

Interesting...

Not sure the XKCD cartoon is far off from reality --

Yes, I'm looking for deaths that are unexpected within the context of the game. In MK when you hear the narrator shout "FINISH HIM!" you know exactly what's coming. It's funny you mention Secret of Monkey Island, because it's nearly impossible to die in the game! In fact, the only way I know of where you actually die is if you stay underwater for more than 10 minutes

I saw people complaining about Analogue no longer producing NES, SNES, Genesis systems. That said, there are some pretty good alternatives to those Analogue systems which are also very well priced. However, I don't ever recall seeing any systems similar to Pocket nor their Duo -- are there any such systems? I know there are tons of systems that have the games on ROM, but are there are any real alternatives to Pocket or Duo that actually play the cartridges?

Death by sex... well, everyone has to go sometime

They sold out of some nice convention games such as Knight of the Old Republic I, and a few other titles, but most are still available and at a good price such as Valis. Glad there's not FOMO like their used to be! Also, inflation is really taking a toll.

Sadly, that appears to be the case.