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Those square grids on the monitor, and of course the vector display, just scream "This is what people from the 80s think future tech should be like!" It's lovely

Ubisoft is deleting The Crew from players' libraries, reminding us we own nothing https://www.engadget.com/ubisoft-is-deleting-the-crew-from-players-libraries-reminding-us-we-own-nothing-165328083.html Ubisoft’s online-only racing game The Crew stopped being operable on April 1. Some users are reporting, however, that things have gone a bit further. They say that the company actually reached into Ubisoft Connect accounts and revoked the license to access the game...Some of these people said they had planned to set up private servers to play the game, an option that is now impossible...it does highlight a major problem with the purchase and use of digital goods. We pay money for these products. We think we own them, but we don’t own a damned thing. Well yeah, if you own digital goods (games, NFTs, etc) and in my opinion digital currency are all in the same league -- non-tangible and could vaporize in a moment's notice! Back to games, I'm just thankful companies like Limited Run Games exist Oh, and I'm still amused to read articles about how "Now, it's really the end of physical games. Yeah, I said that 20 years ago and every year since, but really the sky is falling...er, it's the end of physical games!"

A Principal Confronted a Teenage Girl. Now He’s Facing Prison Time. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/nyregion/nj-principal-student-assault.html What a shiteshow... Anyway, here is a summary -- In a high school lobby in New Jersey, the principal saw a student heading toward a stairway and moved to cut her off. There was physical contact between them, though no blows. The interaction lasted less than a minute. The student filed an affirmative action complaint against the principal, saying he had grabbed her and “slammed” her against a wall. The student is Black; the principal is white and Latino. The principal, reporting the episode later that day, said he was preventing an altercation between the student and three others, who said she had threatened them. On March 11, almost exactly a year after the encounter, the principal, Frank Sanchez, was taken into custody and charged with assault and endangering a minor. [James H. Davis III, chair of the Black Parents Workshop] “These towns purport to be extremely progressive and extremely inclusive,” he said in an interview. “So they’re saying this girl was in a fight. She was a troublemaker. She was a thug. And I said, ‘What does that matter?’” haha! Yeah, for James H. Davis III, apparently it doesn't matter if a student is a troublemaker, a thug, gets into fights, beats-up other students, because you know, he sure seems more worried about the color of their skin. “This is an effort to advocate for Black children by burning up the entire system,” said Khalil Gibran Muhammad, a parent who supports Sanchez. “These folks have played very aggressively and unfairly with people’s lives to try to score political points. And this is an escalation, in my opinion, that is very dangerous and crosses the line.” If a school official can be not just disciplined but also jailed for intervening to break up or prevent a fight, what are teachers supposed to do? [Christopher Emdin, a professor of science education at Teachers College, Columbia University] “The nature of schools is that uncomfortable interactions happen,” Emdin said. In districts with a history of racial litigation, he added, “there’s a tendency to blow things out of proportion and to attach what happens oftentimes during the school day to race and racism. And that’s dangerous for Black kids who are undergoing legitimate racist practices in contemporary schools. Teachers can’t act effectively if they’re fearful that their actions are going to be misconstrued as racist.” BINGO -- I've known a lot of college students in my time that want to be K-12 teachers. I never try to dissuade anyone, but if they ask my opinion, I tell them "Well, if you can get a nice job at a private school, go for it! However, to teach in public education today, that's not something I would touch." It's sad, but reminds me of the case against Daniel Penny -- he likely saved lives, passengers who were threatened are literally calling him a "hero", but he's on trail and could get 15 years in prison. Shiteshow, as I said.

Fully agree. I really think ebay is not going to get any better for either sellers or buyers until they have some serious competition. I think amazon could easily do this, but, amazon doesn't seem to care. Wall-Mart, or some either giant that could sink $100 million into producing a top auction site could definitely do it, but no one seems interested

My favorite M&M Game -- the music is just mesmerizing...

That sounds really cool! Again, without spoiling too much, I will say that while you definitely do a lot of fight via cards, the game is not truly a card-game in the same way that Slay the Spire is. That said, I love little indie games like Pawnbarian! Does it have a story or is it just play and die? Also, Slay the Spire 2 is scheduled for release next year -- wonder if I'll be more my style -- you know, less RNG

Bingo. And don't take my word on it, there have been tons of studies over many decades that show this, and of course, envy/jealousy is something that has existed as long as civilization has existed -- Divided by Status: Upward Envy and Downward Scorn https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479110/ Envy may be defined as “I wish I had what you do (and I would like to take it away from you).” Scorn may be defined as “You are not worth my attention (and I wish you would go away).” Envy famously eats at the envious, linked with resentful rumination.

You've convinced me I should try it, if nothing else

James and Jennifer Crumbley, parents of Michigan school shooter, sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for manslaughter https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/09/us/james-jennifer-crumbley-sentencing/index.html After sentencing, Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney Karen McDonald said the defendants expressed “feeling bad” but what mattered to the victims’ families most was an expression of remorse and “acknowledgement of the wrongdoing and some sort of reconciliation or apology for that – and that didn’t come.” At their trials, prosecutors used testimony from shooting survivors, police investigators and school employees to prove that the parents were “grossly negligent” in allowing their teenage son to have access to the gun and ignoring signs of his spiraling mental health. Jennifer Crumbley took the stand in her trial and blamed her husband, the school and her son for the shooting, while expressing no regret of her own. “I’ve asked myself if I would have done anything differently, and I wouldn’t have,” she testified. By contrast, James Crumbley did not testify in his trial, and his attorney argued he simply didn’t know about his son’s plans or mental issues. The parents’ defense attorneys have argued the charges have no legal justification, but appeals courts have upheld them. Good riddance! Parents need to be held accountable -- to an extent of course. You can't control kids, but you sure should know when your child has mental issues -- especially when directly told that by a medical provider! and of course they ignored gun safety rules, AND don't forget these two pieces of excrement HID in a warehouse after the shooting! Hope they "enjoy" prison...

So you were able to complete the game, even though you were never great t the timing/parrying? If that's the case, it's a bit reassuring

So, I'm a fan of Bloodborne, Nioh, Dark Souls (although III was getting pretty boring in my opinion Anyway, I never did play Sekiro but I did read reviews that claim you need to basically have perfect timing to succeed in the game -- I keep coming across reviews like this -- https://steamcommunity.com/app/814380/discussions/0/1850323802579762262/ This is not a very fun game at all. I don't mind dying in games, but the gameplay shouldn't be repetitive and not fun and there is absolutely zero sense of accomplishment even after beating a boss you have been trying to kill for hours. Combat is simplified, all encounters play the same, parrying and posture is simply a dull game mechanic, grappling is underutilized as half of the s*** you should be able to grapple cannot be grappled (even Tenchu on PS1 didn't have this issue), the story is supposed to be more linear and better than Souls, but it is absolutely not and the Dragonrot mechanic is a cheap gimmick. Every soulsborne game From released so far trounced this game by far. In fact, I learned to appreciate them far more in hindsight now that I played Sekiro. So, what are people's thoughts? Did you play and/or beat the game? How frustrating and/or fun is it? Would you recommend it to someone that loves Nioh and Bloodborne or not?

Haha, no worries, I totally get the need to know! Basically, I thought the original thread title was so bombastic and amusing that I have usurped it and anytime I find "crazy/shocking" prices I like to say "the so-and-so market has just exploded!" So yeah

I suspect the manual is distorted so that the back cover is smooshed and it looks like it's on the front cover.

Hope people had fun watching the eclipse! We were not in the path of totality, but still got a good 80% or so

But, it will never live up to this legend --

Congrats! that's a beautify. I'm gonna ask, curious about how much you paid for it?

Yes, you're technically correct of course. However, to most players, it is essentially the same thing. You can't manipulate RNG, unless it's flawed. I would agree that Tetris also has a high degree of luck involved.

Not sure how I feel about this. The last time I ran into a game-destroying plague was with Darkest Dungeon, that whole Crimson Court DLC while nice in idea, was TERRIBLE in practice. So bad, that I absolutely do NOT recommend anyone install it. This kinda reminds me of it -- Dragon's Dogma 2 Players Are Freaking Out Over a Mysterious Plague That Turns Pawns Murderous https://www.ign.com/articles/dragons-dogma-2-players-are-freaking-out-over-a-mysterious-plague-that-turns-pawns-murderous Some players have been sharing their frustrations after Dragonsplague nuked entire towns in their games, seemingly cutting them off from critical story paths. But other players may have found solutions. I personally do not see how this can be enjoyable? I know many people quit Darkest Dungeon when the Crimson Curse basically destroyed their game, and I've heard some people claim they also quit DD2 because the "dragonsplague" similarly destroys your game, basically locking you out of the story and progression. Yeah, there's technically a solution in each case, but the work involved is so much that it effectively ends your game and your enjoyment. Seems like an asinine idea that someone thought looked good on paper.

While there's luck involved in most everything, I view Dark Souls as a very challenging game that requires the player to learn a lot of skills in order to complete the game. I view Slay the Spire as a game where you need some skill, and a good amount of luck. I don't see how you can argue in a game where you could have built a fabulous deck, then when you get to the boss, you get NO attack cards when you need it, and when the boss is about to attack you for major damage you get ZERO defense cards -- yup, happened to me. That really convinced me this game is RNG dependent. If people feel otherwise, more power to you. Again, I completed Slay the Spire and I stand by what I said, it's way too dependent on RNG. By the way, did you defeat the corrupt heart? Again, it's especially in Act 4 that the randomness of the draw really means life or death, and I just don't find that enjoyable.

Okay, I see what you're saying but I don't feel it's a fair comparison and I'll explain why. It's like saying "You think Dark Souls is hard? Watch this player finish the whole game without dying even once! See, it can totally be done!" -- yes, people have beaten Dark Souls I,II,III without even dying once, but after spending who knows how many hours upon hours upon hours. So sure, someone with as you say "insane levels of knowledge" knows exactly how this card will work with that card, and if they only manage to grab that other card they will easily be able to do x,y,z provided that... etc etc. HOWEVER, most people don't devote that much time to any one game. For most people, whether you complete the game will come down to LUCK. I loved Slay the Spire at the start, but after spending what I would say is "a lot of time" in the game and completing it finally, I absolutely vouch that it comes down to RNG at the very end. A normal player will be able to use their skill to get to the boss of Act 3. That boss, and the final Act 4, absolutely come down to RNG.

I vaguely remember that -- I think that's when the "Stout" even tells you he's cheating

If he thinks he can just assemble his IKEA cabinet without any worries, well, he's missing a few screws...