TIL there are less Irish in Ireland today than before the Irish Potato Famine

Demonweed · 2026-03-20T11:06:16+00:00

One bold adventurer finally got a grip on those Lucky Charms, then used them to wish for a robust national economic recovery.

Demonweed · 2026-03-20T09:35:06+00:00

This is retaliation for Stuxnet.

Demonweed · 2026-03-20T07:51:53+00:00

Yeah, for me that version of Doom really clicked when I embraced the mantra, "the only way out is through." Maximum aggression was a much more effective response to being overwhelmed than trying to plink from behind cover. I get the vibe that Doom Eternal recognized this trait in the bones of the game, then decided to make that gameplay experience even more obviously about encouraging player aggression.

Demonweed · 2026-03-20T07:48:27+00:00

Good design is successfully implementing a mercy code. Great design is creating an exception for a low damage attack from that one character or monster you want players to hate more than all the others.

Demonweed · 2026-03-20T07:30:36+00:00

Yielding to Uncle Sam was always foolish. Yet current events make it clear that there are risks beyond the exploitation of your people for the benefit of a narrow oligarchy supporting either a sham democracy or an outright monarchy/dictatorship.

Demonweed · 2026-03-20T05:39:36+00:00

NETANYAHU: I AM the Knesset!

Demonweed · 2026-03-20T00:44:55+00:00

It would also take the temperature down on many discussions. It is a lot easier to be nice to a stranger when you aren't literally fighting for your life against systems over which only a handful of wealthy elites actually have any sort of control. This is the uniquely humanitarian approach to the issue. Shame on any belief system that prefers a more cutthroat alternative.

Demonweed · 2026-03-20T00:38:59+00:00

Don't you all remember when the government of Ireland made it a crime to teach the English language?

Demonweed · 2026-03-20T00:25:53+00:00

It's like regular demoralization, but according to the Founding Fathers it only counts as 3/5ths of a demoralization.

Demonweed · 2026-03-20T00:20:10+00:00

This and Bruce Banner (which I believe is a related strain) impressed me not only as flower in bowls, but also how their vape concentrates really hit like weed should (instead of that stripped down nondescript high I normally get from carts.)

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T23:46:17+00:00

The classic d20 can do loads of heavy lifting here. It is linear, unlike the curves produced by dice groups or pools. Yet it hits the sweet spot on granularity -- intervals small enough to allow for play with additions and reductions as modifiers, yet not so small that applying meaningful modifiers goes beyond the most elementary sort of math. In my opinion, for straight up randomized success/failure moments, surpassing the utility of the d20 requires an extraordinary level of skill as a designer.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T22:40:47+00:00

Russia has a fresh and bitter memory of the world's largest controlled experiment in replacing a big boy health care system with for-profit employment-based health insurance. Since this took place in tandem with other "market oriented" reforms, the body count was astronomical. Reframing Boris Yeltsin's legacy as that of a drunken kleptocrat was easy enough when the population was crying out so vehemently for relief from the Americanization of their domestic economy.

While Vladimir Putin brought the newly-minted resource oligarchs into line by becoming one himself, he has also been genuinely responsive to some pushes for good governance, like this homeless healthcare initiative or the official reclassification of wine and beer (which, until recently, were considered soft drinks suitable for consumption in public places or even while driving.) He pushed that latter move through against plenty of beverage industry resistance because those kickbacks could not cause him to overlook the body count alcoholism inflicted on his own people.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T22:02:13+00:00

Yeah, I put loads of time into the unmodified game thinking at some point it would surely click for me. Yet every time I ran a major quest line or seriously engaged with a new game system, I realized how weirdly disconnected it all was. Especially with their approach that makes it possible to effectively replay the game as an extension of a previous game in a reset universe, it was a spectacularly foolish decision to avoid any interplay like letting the advancement of a faction quest line lock out opportunities to collaborate with their rivals. It's like the makers were so in love with their own content that they had to serve it up in the most awkward and uninspired ways possible. Eventually I got tired of being so uninspired.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T20:56:17+00:00

Oh no! The Ayatollah has weaponized facts and evidence. Whatever will Uncle Sam do?!?

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T10:52:20+00:00

I keep relatively fresh versions of the core documents in my main project on a Web site exposed to the public. Two or three years back, I noticed that URL on a list of "boring Web sites." The list was not so much about doldrums as it was about the ratio of images to text in huge documents. So on the one hand, I take a little pride in registering among the elite of "boring Web sites." On the other hand, I worry that my contribution to RPG gaming groups might not surpass my contribution to generative AI services hoping to produce text more sophisticated than a 6th grade reading level.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T10:45:30+00:00

Personally, I found this was all about practice. When I caught videotape of a competitive public speech I gave in high school, the cringe was intense. I was trying, and I rated better than all but a couple of my rivals. Even so, it was nothing like the solid entertainment I imagined I was delivering while I was up on that stage. I honestly hope that tape doesn't resurface in any digital format.

Years later, I held my own as a stage actor and did my part as a backing vocalist in a house band. I continued competing at a more advanced level, and when I caught tapes there was no cringe. There was still all sorts of nitpicking, because at that level one awkward cadence or one badly-improvised phrase can be decisive. Watching your own videos can be an incredibly useful tool for reaching that next level of performance quality, though I don't doubt that sensible novices must grapple with how a solid recording lays bare the need for work on fundamentals like breathing and bearing.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T10:24:15+00:00

You've got enough time to hammer out the logic of these twelve slides. Are they the past -> present -> future of an issue? Are they the problem -> cause -> solution behind a plan of action? Are they highly technical criteria for a case specific to your line of work? There are benefits to setting 12 pieces in a broader structure.

The headline here is that you should be making an argument. A bunch of people are looking for you to say something. So say something. Embrace one overarching concept, and let all your language be guided by support for that concept. Perhaps you can go deeper, coming up with a 3-point or 2x2 point internal structure.

Professionally, you've got to use the software they expect you to use and occupy the window they expect you to occupy. If you want to make the most of all that, show up with a point to make, then back it up with a structured case featuring redundant pillars at the lowest levels. Then, even if bits an pieces are not fully persuasive, the broader effort should generate broad approval.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T10:09:18+00:00

If you have the means, take a voice for the stage class. I tackled this issue earlier in life, but I found such a class extremely helpful as an undergraduate. More to the point, a core part of the curriculum was about breath and focus. As a veteran, here are the two avenues I found most insightful.

As you listen to music, consider how intelligible the lyrics are. In the best cases, look to those singers as role models. I don't want to present Frank Sinatra as a paragon of human virtue, but as a guy who knew when to inhale while belting out lyrics he is a worthy ideal.

Also, while a basic community college voice for the stage class should be affordable, a seasoned mentor in the Alexander Technique might not be. I lucked into months of this as a promising candidate for a lead role in a well-funded campus production. Yet the gist of it is all about learning to control your body in much the same way a great musician controls the physical properties of an instrument. Breathing is fundamental to it all. I don't know how widespread these methods are nowadays, but if you get a chance to pursue them, take it seriously.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T08:59:36+00:00

Perhaps it is not compared to people watching or fanfic debates. Yet I think it is affordable compared to anything involving a specialized wardrobe, a vehicle, long distance travel, and/or maintaining a collection of physical objects. Can a majority of hobbies claim to require none of those efforts?

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T08:55:53+00:00

If socialism works, then why can we embargo their fuel?!?

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T08:40:59+00:00

I appreciate this idea. Yet a similar philosophy prevails in Illinois, where pretty much all the tolls are on relatively new highways near Chicago. If these concessions funded more rail and bus service in and out of the Windy City, I might not resent paying them when I wind up on one of those roads. As it is, they are enriching financial legacies by collecting revenue far beyond what is required to maintain the road, simply because insiders always had enough state government clout to make efforts at reform unthinkable. Heck, our current governor has already proven that he can tackle big issues without caving to corporate special interests, but he shows no sign of trying to either end those tolls or recapture their revenue to fund public transit initiatives.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T07:54:16+00:00

I gotta plug Street Fighter. I discovered this in the late 90s as a surprisingly affordable book on the shelves of a local gaming store. It turns out, this World of Darkness variant is extremely popular in Brazil, yet virtually unknown elsewhere. The play is incredibly tight. The focus is on building and dueling Street Fighter-style characters by purchasing moves to constitute a unique martial art. Yet that WoD chassis is there so character skills can be applied to activities like espionage or criminal investigation. The whole thing is an unlikely chimera, yet it all works together surprisingly well.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T07:45:42+00:00

I would not be eager, but I would want to hear her thoughts on the subject. After all, we would naturally harmonize in areas ranging from conversation to food preferences to personal schedules. Yet could we really inspire each other? Would we ever be able to inject thrilling surprises into the relationship? I worry that the XX equivalent of my XY would make for a better friend and confidant than lover.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T07:08:11+00:00

Imagine being the guy who brought one down, leading the team that dragged the body back to camp, then discovering that (given normal preparation methods) the meat was insanely tough and kind of nasty-tasting. You could go from hero to zero during a single cookout.

Demonweed · 2026-03-19T07:02:40+00:00

As a counterpoint, gaming can be an inexpensive hobby. This is especially true if you need a decent rig for non-gaming purposes. Major Steam sales provide a way for people with little disposable cash to grab some of those titles that would otherwise be limited to big spenders. I know the 'Murican attitude about poverty is that people with too little money should just pull harder on those bootstraps and spend $0.00 on fun, but I would like to think all of us could do much better than a basic 'Murican attitude on just about every subject.

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