Recent submissions

Comment · 1 year ago
Exactly! People who think that the vitriol is just cordoned off to social media haven't been paying attention to the very real spillover that has already claimed lives.

I think the issue is that mainstream media like movies showcases political violence as very well organized and full of manifestos when the majority of these attempts are very poorly planned and the people carrying it out clearly have mental disorders so it's very hard to pinpoint what ideology they are promoting.

I also believe that these recent attempts have showcased that the current political establishment has been doing an awful job at reconciliation and instead pouring gasoline by refusing to make a joint statements condemning the violence or making any sort of gesture that isn't blatantly bipartisan.

If you look at the political violence of the 60's and 70's in the US, there's a lot of overlap but at least the government took steps to not only keep it under control but congress actually took steps in dealing with the hot button issues. Nowadays it seems like we're just kicking the can down the road and blaming the other side for it. I mean just look at the current shutdown and tell me if this state of affairs won't result in further anger and people taking action with their own hands rather than rely on political institutions.

Comment · 1 year ago
After rereading my comment I think I was a bit vague, but i'll try to clarify.

Most leagues DO sell their rights to other big companies to have them handle it however they see fit for a large annual fee.

MLB does it partially, some games are shown through cable tv (There are so many games a year that only a small portion is actually aired nationally) the rest are done via regional sports networks (RSNs) that aren't shown nationally. In order to make some money out of this situation MLB created MLBtv that lets you watch all games as long as there are not nationally aired or a local team that is serviced by a RSN. Recently there have been changes because one of the biggest conglomerate of RSNs has gone bankrupt forcing MLB to buy them out and MLB is trying to negotiate a new national cable package with the big telecoms. I believe ESPN has negotiated with MLB to buy out MLBtv but details are scarce.

MLS is a smaller league and Apple bought out exclusive streaming rights for 10 years for some ungodly amount of money. NFL and NBA also have some streaming options but I am less knowledgeable about them but I assume it's similar to MLBtv where there are too many games to broadcast so you can just watch them with a subscription to their service.

In the end of the day these massive deals are the biggest source of revenue for the leagues and the more ways they can divide up the pie among different companies they can extract more money in total. Just looking that the amount of contracts for the US alone is overwhelming.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_broadcasting_contracts_...

Comment · 1 year ago
Thank you so much for saying this! The moment I saw the trailer and read the premise I immediately lost faith in the product.

I am not the biggest Tron fan but I have such a soft part in my heart for the movies because the original film has such a unique take on how computers work because back then they weren't mainstream that you end up with this weird mishmash of science and fantasy that you don't see anymore. Meanwhile, the sequel had this amazing production design and the remix version of the album has a permanent spot in my workout playlist thanks to all the techno artists they brought aboard.

Shame that the execs in Disney seem to be so clueless and just keep burning hundreds of millions to make these over-budget star studded films that no one is going to watch, at least in the case of marvel it makes sense but who in the world was clamoring for Tron? You need to take creative risks and shying away from the digital world isn't it.

Comment · 1 year ago
MLB in the US does the same thing for the regular season, it's awesome despite the blackouts which prevent you from watching your local team but you can get around that with a simple VPN. But alas I believe that they will be making the service part of ESPN which will undoubtedly make the product worse just like they will do with NFL Red Zone.

The problem is that leagues miss out on billions of dollars of revenue when they do this AND they also have to maintain the streaming service which is way outside their technical wheelhouse.

MLS also has a pretty straightforward streaming service through AppleTV which I also enjoy.

What i find weird is that people complain (at least in the case of the MLS deal) that it's a BAD thing, that somehow having an easily accessible service that you just pay for and get access to without a contract or cable is diminishing popularity / discoverability of the product?

Comment · 1 year ago
It's pretty simple, nowadays the ONLY way to have fun in most multiplayer games is to win by any means. Outside of a few games like minecraft, every other game is designed around winning. 6 of the most played games on steam right now are some combination of competitive FPS / pvp survival or Dota 2. All of these games give you way more rewards for winning over just casually playing so over time the community is incentivized towards maximizing ELO, mastering the meta, and finding any ways to gain an edge on the competition.

I won't say it was better back in the 90s/ early 2000s but games had lobbies and people would just naturally drift around until they found one that satisfied their needs, be it playing more causally or for a more hardcore experience. Nowadays matchmaking is all controlled by the almighty algorithm which is just a glorified ELO/MMR system and dumps people together regardless of whether or not the game is "fun" for them. Worse yet "Quitting" is actively punished so you just have to stay in the game being frustrated and angry at your teammates until you lose. I always use pick up basketball as an example of how lobbies should work with people being given the choice of playing until they are tired/bored and punish trolls by excluding them forcing them to seek out another court or just start their own games.

Now that i have sworn off all competitive multiplayer games because i used to be a real fiend with several thousand hours in Dota 2 i have come to realize that as fun as the game is the fundamental failure of every matchmaking system is that your fun will always be dictated by how often you win because that's the only thing that is rewarded both in the game and by the community. If you look at any forum for these competitive games it's always the same complaints with people bemoaning that the balances is bad (AKA i don't win because if i did why would i complain), the game is too hard for newbies (AKA i don't win because the skill level is too high), and that the community is too toxic (AKA i don't win because i don't take the game too seriously and people get mad at me).

I'm much happier playing singleplayer games or exclusively cooperative games like Helldivers and Deep Rock Galactic and think most people would be too but they need to come to the realization that it's not the games fault per se but the underlying mechanics behind the matchmaking systems.

Comment · 1 year ago
Listening to it now and it's so eye opening, these guys literally do NOT care about the project, all they care about is making money and using any advantages to get one up on the loser holding the bag.

-"Every one of these memecoins serves to make insiders money, what am i supposed to do NOT launch the project?"

-"This famous person lost $5 million so we made him whole and refunded to avoid any issues"

-"These coins are just a casino"

It's so funny that these guys are way more lucid and honest than most of the "investors"

Edit:

Oh man so this guy spends 40 minutes moaning how sniping and scams are rife in the Solana ecosystem but he himself sniped $MELANIA and claims "To not have made any money" which means nothing to me because I'm sure your bank account grew.

Also looked him up and he has 0 experience in development, LA Based, and was an "entrepreneur" for 7 years before becoming the CEO of a Bitcoin consulting company. This guy is the stereotypical rug pull con artist.

Comment · 1 year ago
This would imply he got nothing out of it or even lost money and I highly doubt it because if he lost money he have have instantly sent out the police and justice department until he was made whole. The truth is this is plain corruption but instead of making millions he probably made a few $ 100ks over the span of a few hours.
Comment · 1 year ago
I'm sorry but anyone buying this story is clearly either

A) A fool that hopes to rugpull someone in the future

B) A fool who hasn't made a 5 second google search to how all these coins operate

Either way I have yet to meet any "investor" that has made any money in these investments that couldn't have been made by just parking some cash in Bitcoin / Ether / DOGE if you really wanted to get a taste of cryto.

It's a shame that as I watch more and more of these articles and investigations line up it's clear that there is such a demand to lose money from the populace that they will really turn a blind eye to when political leaders / oligarchs / techbros do it in hopes of being able to cobble together a get rich quick scheme like this.

"It's a big club, and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club. And by the way, it's the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe"

Comment · 2 years ago
Well during the 2020 elections we the losing group storm the capitol hoping to round up politicians and string them up so i'll take a little soul searching / blaming over that.
Comment · 2 years ago
Ah another fellow Miami resident. Moved here in 2018 and for the most part I don't regret it.

I agree with most of your sentiment, Miami (really all of Florida) has awful urban design up there with Texas and other "Modern" metropolis in the US and i95 is a bane on this earth. However if you are Latin there really isn't another place with as much variety and cultural presence like South Florida. I have met Colombians, Argentinians, Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguan all with prominent communities doted across the city and that isn't even including all the Caribbean ones like Jamaica, Puerto Rico, DR, Haiti, and the Bahamas.

I love the beaches and had a more pleasant time in the Hollywood and Hallandale areas that in LA / SF throughout the year. The food scene is amazing and there are plenty of places for entertainment like concerts, sports, theater, and even drag brunches. And look I get that it's overrated but Disney is really impressive but for adults without kids i highly recommend Universal Studios which IMO blew Disney out of the water with both Harry Potter and a more enjoyable selection of rides in general.

My biggest complaints are that a lot of people I meet are "Short-term" transplants and very few people consider the area an option for residency which is a shame when trying to make friends especially now since I am pretty much committed. I also very much dislike how flat and uninteresting the landscapes are especially when driving up to Orlando where the most interesting landmark is a bridge or cows on the side; I miss seeing mountains or rolling hills at the very least. Also despite having a very lively culture scene in general the museums leave a lot to be desired; there are a few hidden gems like the Dali Museum in Tampa (Largest collection of his works outside of Europe) and the Vizcaya (Great Gatsby-like massive mansion built by one of the richest men in the US during the 20s). Also local / state politics could put a lot of people off, especially considering the strong presence of the MAGA crowd.

Comment · 2 years ago
Comment · 3 years ago
Comment · 3 years ago
Having had the pleasure of visiting Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway I have to say I definitely underrated them for a long time. I had a great time exploring the cities with their public transportation and since all the capital cities are ports you can take ferries to nearby islands without paying extra. Their museums were also topnotch and the nearby landscapes are absolute beautiful with some world class hiking in the outer regions. My biggest complaints would be the food, yes the best restaurants were good but I was constantly spending $20+ just to sit down and eat some pasta, even kebabs were minimum $15. That said I highly recommend people to visit them in the summer or fall if you get the chance.
Comment · 3 years ago
Yeah this is easily the worst change I have seen on Twitter since the takeover. I have completely stopped using the site because of it. I need to use Nitter or Google Previews when looking up an account and even then it's bad. It pretty much has forced me to just never rely on twitter for any at the moment information and use other sources.

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