TheRealKuni

Important thing to remember about the “console wars.”

Other than the Nintendo Wii (iirc), most consoles sell at a loss at the beginning of the generation. They eventually turn a profit on console sales, but console sales aren’t the point.

Game sales are.

When each console was its own very specific architecture and games needed to be designed specifically for them, console sales matter a lot because that’s how you’d sell games.

But now that architectures are similar (if not the same), cross-compilation has become easier than ever. It’s why you see Sony finally releasing first party titles on PC.

Microsoft knows full well that their console sales aren’t great, but that’s okay for them. Their PC sales are. Many of their titles sell on Steam. And they sell some of their titles on PlayStation.

They’ll continue to make some form of console because without it they lose out on millions of Game Pass subscriptions from people who don’t want to make the initial investment in a gaming PC, or deal with the complexity, but their goal of making that next console more and more like a PC fits perfectly in their model.

It’s a shame the Series X has sold so poorly, it’s a great console, but I doubt Microsoft is too worried about “losing” the console wars to Sony. The game has changed.

Oh damn, really? Guess I’m switching adblockers! 🤣

There are a number of adblockers for iOS, but you are correct, uBlock Origin is not one of them.

Same question to you as I posed to the other poster:

Why aren’t you using an adblocker on your phone? They are easily implemented on both Android and iOS (as long as you’re willing to use Safari as your browser on iOS).

How are you not using an adblocker on your phone?

I know Firefox on Android (and other browsers) support adblockers. On iOS if you want to block ads without using a DNS to block them I think you’re stuck with Safari, but you’re using Safari to render them regardless so it’s not a big deal. Still, you can block mobile ads.

Themes like “incest” and “rape” were pulled from Steam.

While distasteful to most, these are not illegal in pornography (local laws may differ). Hell, even snuff films are legal as long as they’re simulated (and not real video of actual murder). However, because of payment processors mainstream porn sites won’t host them.

Some of the conformity is safety. Cars today are generally designed with crumple zones, airbags, and other safety measures in mind. That leads to them looking similar to other cars designed with the same requirements.

There are still some beautiful cars today, but they are outliers. For example, I saw a Honda Prologue recently and loved it. It has a somewhat unique look that was much more obvious in person. And the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia, while bigger than their older brethren, always make me smile.

There are other examples. But largely, cars have become pretty samey and boring.

That whole part of the episode bothered me. Walk-in doors are fail-safe, not fail-secure. If the handle is broken, you can still open it from inside.

(But as a story mechanic it was 👨‍🍳💋, so I can forgive it. Artistic liberty and all that.)

Summit County, where Breckenridge is, has free buses throughout and a free shuttle to and from the Denver airport.

Johnny was a real good kid,
But now he is no more.
What he thought was H₂O
Was H₂SO₄.

the end being neigh and all

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him, and the horse said, “the end is neigh!”

(Neigh is what a horse says. The end is nigh. 😉)

I loved Sim Town! I’d forgotten all about it!

Thanks!

Xenoblade Chronicles, especially 2 and 3 in my view.

And Halo, obviously.

Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

God of War (2018) and Ragnarok.

My degrees are in music

Sometimes I wish I had better training. I grew up on Suzuki violin, but I never really studied theory. I survive on talent rather than skill, and am very thankful for the skill of those around me!

People think singers aren’t good musicians as a rule and that’s total garbage.

It is wild to me the way some of the orchestral musicians treat the chorus. Most of them are friendly and complimentary, but some of them sure seem to think we’re beneath them. Could just be that they’re not very socially adept, I suppose.

We sing some really difficult stuff as a chorus and you have to know what your note sounds like before you sing it; you can’t rely on just knowing the fingering for your instrument.

And this can be so terrifying for some entrances!

It’s so much fun but also a great mental challenge. I’m thankful to have it in my life as my intellectual musical outlet.

I agree 100%.

Not really sure, but I’ll probably join what I find.

My sister was in a local youth chorus when I came home from college, and told me about the adult version. I found out when auditions were, tried out, got in, and have been loving it ever since!

I had sung in church choirs growing up, but now regret very much not singing during high school and college. A lot of my fellow choir people have great memories of singing in school choirs.

Turns out choirs are a great way to meet a significant other. Other than my wife and I, there are several married couples who met in this chorus (including a couple of married men)! As I tell guys looking to meet people: if you can carry a tune, have a vague understanding of music notation, and live near a medium or large city, you can probably find a volunteer choir. There are a lot of them, they always need people (especially tenors and basses), and are often full of very intelligent and interesting women, some of whom are probably single. 😂

I’m a semi-professional choral singer! I very frequently sing on a volunteer basis in a symphony chorus with a professional orchestra. And also sing with a smaller 12-person choir, really tight harmonies and blending. It’s a lot of fun.

Sometimes I get paid, but that’s rare.

I’ve gotten to sing some pretty awesome stuff (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, video game concerts, Verdi’s Requiem, etc. etc. etc.) and gotten to meet some pretty cool people (including my wife)!

If you haven’t played It Takes Two (same developer) I highly recommend it. I liked it even more!

I liked Split Fiction, but It Takes Two was better. I hope for more good things from the developer in the future!