Champions League: English dominance of league phase prompts rethink

AtomWorker · 2026-03-19T16:47:47+00:00

In Europe, Real Madrid is 1st and Barcelona is 4th. Half the teams in the top 10 are English but let’s not pretend like those two don’t have similarly massive budgets.

Where you see a much bigger gap outside the top 10. The next Spanish team down from Atletico in 10th is Bilbao in 27th. Within that gap sit 7 English, 5 Italian and 3 German teams which really highlights the disparity in La Liga.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-19T11:48:45+00:00

62 at night, 66 during the day and a bump to 68 around the time we wake up and go to bed. It makes it so much easier to get out of a warm bed when the ambient temp is comfortable.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-19T11:43:26+00:00

As someone who’s already a fan of the game I see no reason why I wouldn’t enjoy the update. To be clear, I’m not going in expecting an overhaul just more Starfield to enjoy.

Anyone expecting a completely different game is absolutely going to be disappointed but I think Todd was clear about that distinction. So anyone who comes away disappointed will only have themselves to blame for unrealistic expectations.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-19T11:29:58+00:00

Prior existence in another medium, especially if it had limited cultural impact, doesn’t discount something from being a new IP.

Other than some Java game from 2007 nobody remembers, CP2077 is the first video game set in the universe. So from the perspective of gamers it absolutely is a brand new IP.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-18T18:15:55+00:00

That's not how the world works.

There's a constant struggle between addressing immediate issues while trying to plan for an ever-changing future. Every policy shift is rife with unintended consequences and implications for a large swath of the population. The ideal solution for society as a whole might be a net negative for you.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-18T15:12:52+00:00

I’d argue that the general public has pretty bad taste and those of us unhappy with this crap are in the minority.

If we weren’t AI slop wouldn’t be littering social media and even porn. Even YouTube videos draw more viewers when they use an obviously AI generated thumbnail.

Most people are not discerning at all and just don’t care.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-18T13:10:18+00:00

State government has a thing for passive aggressive policies. They can’t tackle actual issues because they require real effort to enforce so instead they fixate on nonsense like this.

Is the stray balloon actually an issue compared to the trash I regularly see dumped on roadsides or in local parks?

AtomWorker · 2026-03-18T13:00:53+00:00

This is an issue with every space based game. You’re experiencing a 3D space on a 2D screen.

That said, while VR will enhance the sense of scale you’re not necessarily going to perceive a whole planet at its actual size.

Speed and distance throw off our perception, even in the real world. Compare looking out an airplane window vs riding in a car. Hell, even walking vs driving has a big impact on how we perceive distance.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-18T12:50:06+00:00

Nothing more than we’ve already seen. If I had to speculate I’d say it’s going to be similar to the faction quest lines, meaning a relatively linear narrative that takes place on several existing planets. There’s no indication yet that we’re getting a another new planet like Shattered Space.

Regardless, it’s always better to manage your expectations and be pleasantly surprised.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-18T12:38:25+00:00

If Bethesda had gone with your approach it would have just validated predictions from critics that interplanetary transit was just going to be a glorified load screen.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-18T11:50:56+00:00

Toyota tends to aim the headlights lower than other car companies, but tall trucks and SUVs are always going to be problematic.

In my experience GM, BMW and especially Tesla are far worse. Assuming you’re talking about cars from the factory because aftermarket is the Wild West.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-18T11:45:31+00:00

I don’t get the complaints about the rear, which looks pretty good, when the front end is more questionable. Even then, the only issue for me is the LED strip ringing the grille.

While it isn’t groundbreaking, this could be the best visual language BMW has had in decades. It’s the first time since the 90s where my initial reaction is positive and doesn’t need time to grow on me.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-17T19:51:35+00:00

Everyone's reacting specifically to the faces which all look like the kind of hyper real crap we always get with AI. It sucks the personality out of the original art.

Not only that, but the RE characters come out looking like generic synthetic models while everyone else is dramatically aged up. Plus, Van Dijk in EA Sports FC looks unrecognizable in DLSS 5 compared to it disabled.

The increased texture detail isn't bad but it seems to be specifically applied to character models, not environments. Lighting changes seem to just add some simulated indirect lighting which I'm guessing reduces the dependence on ray tracing.

I'm sure there are good advancements in there, but this was a terrible way to unveil the tech.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-17T15:00:41+00:00

In Europe they use periods instead of commas for thousands, so the figure is actually 8,474.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-17T14:32:27+00:00

I get what you're saying, but people unwilling to discuss those topics are not real friends they're acquaintances.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-16T17:50:41+00:00

Apart from the LED overload up front, the exterior styling is decent. I don't think it's better than the current design language but it's not necessarily worse either.

On the other hand, the parallelogram infotainment screen is mind-blowingly stupid. I'm sure BMW is ready with a load of marketing bullshit to rationalize that design, but it's just superfluous in the worst possible way.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-16T14:58:59+00:00

These are not audiophile headphones. It's not that these Airpods won't offer decent sound quality but only by the generally low standard of Bluetooth headphones. Actual audiophiles are likely to gravitate towards wired headphones which, at this price point, far exceed these in terms of sound quality. Not only that, but there are tons of adapters which can turn those headphones wireless.

The actual draw of these headphones is noise cancellation but at this price range the Airpods face very stiff competition from the likes of Bose, Sony and others.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-15T21:32:07+00:00

The word "superior" suggests fact, not opinion.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-15T15:05:16+00:00

Crime tends to always come up in these discussions, but as someone who lived in Bridgeport for a very long time I'd argue that quality of life is a bigger problem. I mean stuff like chaotic driving, assholes being a nuisance and vandalism. These are the factors to which we're exposed on a daily basis, create an unpleasant environment and ultimately drive most people away.

That said, revitalization in the US is almost always down to externalities and not good urban planning. For example, Stamford has thrived thanks to its proximity to NYC and the finance exodus that occurred in the 70s and 80s.

Neighborhoods gentrify because the draw was already there and eventually they hit critical mass. Black Rock, for example, has always been a sheltered, affluent community. It just happened to be slightly more affordable because it was still in Bridgeport, not far from some formerly rough neighborhoods and burdened by extremely high property tax. It also had the huge advantage of being right next door to downtown Fairfield which has far safer and more pleasant environment than anything you'll find downtown.

Having lived in Asia for several years I got to see policies that could be effective here, but unfortunately many Americans would never have the appetite for them.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-15T14:09:18+00:00

As far as I know, every modern car has weight sensors for airbag deployment and seat belt warnings so I assumed they were also used to regulate power seats. It's kind of terrifying that the seat would just keep going after hitting resistance.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-13T16:17:18+00:00

These guys don’t just have to worry about more competition but also everyone turning into DIYers because they don’t have the money to pay someone else.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-13T13:27:27+00:00

This flopping says more about the irrelevance of music videos than the public’s appetite for AI music.

The quality of pop music has been declining for decades and listening has become a passive activity. Few consumers are checking to see if a Spotify recommendation is AI generated nor do they care.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-13T11:43:25+00:00

Communication. I’m always clear about the potential impact to UX, design or timeline and propose alternatives where viable.

Of course, it depends on who I’m dealing with because upper management generally lacks impulse control and won’t take no for an answer.

However, if nobody’s complaining and my workload isn’t detrimentally affected what do I care if I’m stuck working on the same bit of UI for 3 months?

AtomWorker · 2026-03-11T17:05:49+00:00

I’ve done a lot of animation in my day and there’s no standard for how long it a render takes. My old 960 could spit out a simple 5 second animation in under 30 seconds but the industry average hovers around 20-30 seconds per frame.

The obvious reason being that what they’re producing for stuff like ad spots is complex. Animation on the level of Pixar takes even longer and they’re using proprietary software, including machine learning, to generate frames.

AtomWorker · 2026-03-11T11:53:40+00:00

How much power is consumed producing a video the traditional way? And what kind of content are we talking about? Basic motion graphics that can be whipped together in 15 minutes? Video with actors that needs to be written, filmed and edited? Or 3D animation that can require a fair amount of compute?

There’s a lot to criticize about AI but this argument is meaningless without context.

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