Dreamfall Chapters was the first game where I stopped and thought for 15 minutes about a choice I needed to make, and its implications.
Life is Strange, LiS: Before The Storm, and LiS: True Colors, hve a special place in my heart for their deeply engrossing and moving stories, and for really getting me to care about the characters and their fates.
The first Witcher game was one that drew me in so much that I immediately started a second playthrough upon finishing the first. I have never done that with any other game.
Hardspace: Shipbreakers stuck with me for being such an excellent melange of complex puzzle, industrial accident simulator, and poignant satire on the state of labour in late stage capitalism.
The problem is that flat-earthers aren't just that. They usually believe in all kinds of other kooky stuff as well, and some of those beliefs pose an active danger to society.
It didn't just take "Hitler's death" for Germans to be able to vote again. It wasn't a case of "oh look, he's dead, now we can go back to democracy". It took over a decade of political terror and violence, a devastating world war, and one of the most organised campaigns of mass murder and genocide in history.
Brave is the one run by transphobes who also love crypto.
How would you drive the adoption of such a protocol in an environment that is largely hostile towards attempts at demonetising things?
'Calling out lies' isn't fact-checking - at best it would have turned into a 'your word against mine, who will people believe' mudslinging contest. Fact-checking puts the onus on the person telling the lie to correct it - 'this is false and here is a source that says so'.
Re the first part: nobody enters my house if they don't have a key and I'm not present. Re the second part, I don't trust any software-based technology near enough to rely on that kind of stuff without double-checking. . Turn the key, done.
I don't need a game that's set in a fictional future and world to be 'authentically American'.
I would remind you that Aukus is a mess of the Coalition's making - after they made a mess of the original submarine replacement project under Abbott and Turnbull, insisting on Diesel.
But for Labor to withdraw from Aukus would cause a shitstorm of unseen proportions.
To run a debate with Trump and without live fact checking was just plain stupid. You know he's just going to run his rehearsed talking points without so much as trying to answer even mildly uncomfortable questions. They not only let him get away with serial lying, they basically laid the groundwork so he could get away with it.
Fact checks after the fact never reach the people that need to see them.
To this day I don't know what problem smart locks are supposed to solve that hasn't already been solved by the good old lock and key combo. Requires no electricity, no internet, just works.
That means they're not for your ears. Not that they're designed to inflict pain. I've had those AirPods, they were fine for me - and my ears don't like most earbuds that get shoved in there, and sometimes even start hurting from over-ear headphones. I now have the Airpod Pros and they're even better, all that goes into your ear is the silicone bud, no rigid plastic in the mix.
That truck is also raised. I drive a 'normal' size SUV and once drove past one of those raised trucks in a parking lot - its hood was as high as my roof.
I remember Battlefield 2 being a prime example for that. Not only did its performance improve once I added a discrete sound card, it also sounded much better.
Anything more than two interview rounds for anything below a C-level position is just nuts and an abuse of the candidate's time. You can never cover all bases in the interview process, that's what probation is for.
Lots of very roundabout 'the game isn't difficult, you just need to get good at it' replies in this thread, trying hard not to say the quiet part out loud...
I don't know how much you know about Germany, but energy security is not a huge problem over there. Over 60% of generated electricity is now coming from renewables. Nuclear peaked as early as 1995 (30%) and has been declining ever since. At the same time, Germany is steadily reducing its dependency on Russian fossil fuels.
The thing is, if Labor had announced such a completely undercooked policy - no timelines, no validation, lots of contradictions, and most importantly, no costings whatsoever - the media would be collectively crucifying them. And I'm not talking about the polite way The Guardian or The Conversation are dissecting the policy and bringing counterpoints. No, it would be open season in the most derogatory and aggressive language possible.
The fact that Dutton can bring this to a press conference and not get laughed out of the room is just utterly sad.
The owners of one of the proposed sites have already gone on record saying that a) they had not been contacted by anyone about this, and b) they had no plans to sell the site because they already have their own plans for it.
"Peter Dutton has called a press conference for 10am, so it is all official – nuclear is go.
The Coalition teleconference meeting has wrapped up, and the seven sites have been named and it is as we thought: Collie in Western Australia, Mt Piper and Liddell in New South Wales, Callide and Tarong in Queensland, Northern Energy in South Australia and Loy Yang in Victoria."
"There are already issues being identified with the sites – first, the sites would need to be purchased from private operators. There will need to be some pretty major changes to legislation, both state and federally. The Queensland LNP, as recently as yesterday, said it would not lift the nuclear ban for the state, which is a problem given two Queensland reactor sites have been identified by Dutton’s team.
Tarong in Queensland is a particular issue as it doesn’t have a secure water source. In 2006, then-premier Peter Beattie had to propose a waste water pipeline as a last ditch measure to save the plant during a drought."
>Uhlmann said:
>I have watched the network since its inception and have always admired its commitment to journalism through straight-shooting broadcasters like Kieran Gilbert and Laura Jayes.
>In 2010 I helped establish ABC News 24 and had a brutal reality check on just how hard it is trying to keep pace with Sky.
Commitment to journalism my arse. And he's going to be on Credlin's program. Next step: regular panelist on Outsiders.
What an absolute buffoon.
National School Resourcing Board’s review finds state schools lost more than $2bn in 2022 due to a Coalition-era loophole
> Australia’s public schools will miss out on $13bn in the next five years if accounting tricks are maintained in upcoming funding agreements, a major report has found.
> The National School Resourcing Board’s (NSRB) annual review, tabled in parliament last week, showed government schools lost more than $2bn in 2022 because of a Morrison-era loophole that allows states and territories to claim up to 4% of public school funding on non-school expenditures.
> The federal education minister, Jason Clare, has indicated the 4% will not be reviewed until the next round of funding agreements – scheduled for 2030.
> Modelling provided to Guardian Australia by the Save our Schools convener, Trevor Cobbold, suggests if Clare’s position remains, public schools will miss out on about $13bn in funding to the end of the decade.
Exclusive: Internal documents show health department was aware of company’s lack of experience importing PPE
Mining billionaire warns government against pursuing laws that would prevent him from continuing to spend millions in support of his electoral ambitions
"Billionaire businessman, Clive Palmer, has warned Labor against legislating electoral spending and donation caps, accusing it of attempting to “silence the diversity of ideas in this country”.
The Albanese government is preparing legislation to cap political donations and electoral spending, citing the influence of Palmer’s hundreds of millions of electoral spending, backed by donations from his company Mineralogy to the United Australia Party.
Although the reforms are backed by an inquiry into the 2022 election by the joint standing committee on electoral matters (Jscem), Palmer’s intervention into the debate spells trouble for the government, which could face a high court challenge on the basis caps infringe the implied freedom of political communication."
Mike Burgess outlines activities of spy network dubbed ‘the A-team’ in annual threat assessment, without naming former politician nor the country involved
And related:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/29/joe-hockey-says-it-is-absurd-for-asio-not-to-name-former-politician-accused-of-treason
Australian Education Union report finds a $31.8bn divide in capital spending over 10 years
Infuriating. In this form, private education is an absolute cancer.
The leader of the National Party has urged Barnaby Joyce to take leave after he mixed medication with alcohol and was filmed swearing into his phone while lying on his back on a Canberra street.
>David Littleproud told the ABC he and Mr Joyce had a conversation about the "circumstances" that led to him lying down in the street.
>The Nationals MP said Mr Joyce's behaviour wasn't "normal" and that he had embarrassed himself and his family.
>Mr Littleproud said there were "greater circumstances" to the incident than the public was aware of, beyond the "mixture of medication and alcohol".
>"There's some family circumstances that his family need to deal with, and I encouraged him to take some time to deal with that emotionally," Mr Littleproud said.
>"To make sure that his family understood that he was there for them but that we were there for Barnaby. That we were going to create an environment for him to be able to address those issues.
Pressure mounts on Nationals to demote MP amid claims response has revealed double standard
Good thing he's not looking for sympathy, as I am fresh out.
Jesus Christ, what an absolute moron and embarrassment.
AfD-Chef Tino Chrupalla gerät bei "Markus Lanz" mit dem schleswig-holsteinischen Wirtschaftsminister Claus Ruhe Madsen aneinander.
Ist echt die Überraschung des Tages: ein Rechtsextremer sieht andere Rechtsextreme nicht als rechtsextrem.
Dass der Typ an den Worten 'freiheitlich-demokratische Grundordnung' nicht sofort erstickt ist, grenzt auch an ein Wunder.
Mann mann mann, die Medien hören den Schuss echt nicht mehr. Wenigstens hat es das ZDF fertiggebracht, diese Äusserung nicht komplett unkommentiert stehenzulassen.
An astounding one in nine taxpayers negatively gear, costing Australia more than $2.7 billion a year. Here’s how we could get better value for that money – and supercharge investment in new housing.
The latest ranking of revenue foregone shows the usual suspects topping the list
Concessions for superannuation cost the federal budget almost $50bn a year while rental deductions, much of them for negative gearing, have jumped by more than half in three years, the annual Treasury summary of tax expenditures shows.
The ranking of revenue foregone in 2023-24, released on Wednesday, was headed by many of the usual groups, finding for example that shielding taxpayers’ main residence from capital gains taxes, saved them a combined $47.5bn for the year, up about a third from 2018-19.
Topping the list was concessions for super contributions, which cost the budget $28.55bn, up almost 23% from the previous year. Exemptions for earnings from super was ranked fifth largest at $20.05bn, down about 7% on the previous year.
Benefits for both types of super exemptions were skewed to higher income earners. In 2020–21, 90% of the contributions benefit went to people with above median income, and 30% went to people in the top tenth of taxable income earners.
Susanne Horman’s comments have been ‘taken out of context’ and ‘misrepresented’, business says
Victoria’s oldest independent bookshop has apologised after its owner called for more picture books with “just white kids on the cover” and claimed that the chain would stop stocking “woke agenda” content that divided people.
Susanne Horman, the owner of Robinsons Bookshop chain, posted a series of tweets in December where she called for an “substantial shift” in Australian publishing, arguing the focus should be in line with public opinion, requests for books and “for what is good”.
“What’s missing from our bookshelves in store?” Horman wrote in one tweet, before the account was deleted. “Positive male lead characters of any age, any traditional nuclear white family stories, kids picture books with just white kids on the cover, and no wheelchair, rainbow or indigenous art, non indig [sic] aus history.”
Another post read: “Books we don’t need: hate against white Australians, socialist agenda, equity over equality, diversity and inclusion (READ AS anti-white exclusion), left wing govt propaganda. Basically the woke agenda that divides people. Not stocking any of these in 2024.”
In a Facebook post on Sunday night, Robinsons Bookshop said the comments had been “taken out of context” and “misrepresented the views” of the company.
Ted O’Brien declares global climate summit ‘the nuclear Cop’ despite only 11% of nations backing the pledge
The federal Coalition has declared at the Cop28 climate summit that it will back a global pledge to triple nuclear energy if the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, becomes prime minister, but will not support Australia tripling its renewable energy.
Speaking on the sidelines of the conference in Dubai, the opposition’s climate change and energy spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, also said a Coalition government would consider supporting Generation III+ large-scale nuclear reactors, and not just the unproven small modular reactors it has strongly touted.
The statement at the global summit confirmed the Coalition was on a markedly different path to Labor. The Albanese government last week joined more than 120 countries in backing a pledge to triple renewable energy and double the rate of energy efficiency by 2030, but did not sign up with 22 countries that supported tripling nuclear power by 2050.
While only 11% of countries at the talks – mostly nations that already have a domestic nuclear energy industry – backed the nuclear pledge, O’Brien declared “Cop28 will be known as the nuclear Cop”
[. .]
Sleeper trains are enjoying a resurgence in Europe, but the sleeper service between Sydney and Melbourne is set to be scrapped.
The average amount Australians are tipping for hospitality service drops to lowest proportion of total bill in four years
Australians’ tipping habits are not keeping pace with higher menu prices, new research shows, as household costs soar and diners grapple with pandemic-era hospitality charges.
A report by Lightspeed Commerce, using payments platform data, found that the average tip amount dropped in August to 8.1% of a total bill.
This is the lowest amount in four years recorded by the point-of-sale and software company, and the first time it has dropped below 9% since early 2021.
The social cohesion index – which draws on a survey of more than 7,000 Australians – plummets to lowest since it began 16 years ago
Relentless cost-of-living pressure, rising interest rates, uncertainty about the direction of the economy and growing concern about inequality has undermined Australia’s sense of social cohesion, according to authoritative new research.
After a polarising voice referendum campaign and amid rising community tensions over the war in the Middle East, the latest Mapping Social Cohesion Report puts the Scanlon-Monash Index of Social Cohesion at its lowest ebb since the survey began 16 years ago.
The social cohesion index provides a barometer of social wellbeing, measuring belonging, worth, participation, acceptance and rejection, social inclusion and justice. The measure declined by four points over the past 12 months, hitting the lowest result on record. Since November 2020 – the peak of social cohesion recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic – the index has plummeted 13 points.
Former Howard government minister tells Sharri Markson the ABC is ‘aligning themselves with policies in place with national socialism during world war two’
I mean, come on. I know by now that Sky News, a broadcaster that doesn't deserve the 'News' moniker and that will happily platform actual fascists if it serves their agenda, never tires of taking cheap shots at the ABC, with the declared objective to undermine its credibility. I know that Bronwyn Bishop has gone full cryptofascist and is probably starting to get senile. I shouldn't be surprised at shit like this. But for some reason, whenever I think these people can't possibly go any lower, they grab a bigger excavator and keep on digging.
Only 11% of respondents to survey say they have ‘high interest’, down five points from before last year’s race
Punters are switching off the Melbourne Cup, with a majority of Australians reporting they have little or no interest in what was once “the race that stops the nation”.
According to the latest Essential poll of 1,049 voters, just 11% reported a “high interest” in the Melbourne Cup, down five points from when the question was asked before the 2022 race.
[...]
Despite a lack of personal interest, two-thirds (65%) of respondents agreed the Melbourne Cup is a unique part of Australia’s national identity, down seven points. Just 50% of those aged 18 to 34 agreed.
About half (48%) said it promotes unhealthy gambling behaviour. More than a third (36%) said it normalises animal cruelty, up two points since 2022.
The figures come as an increasing number of brands and sponsors are distancing themselves from the Melbourne Cup and other racing events.