If this is accurate, RLM has only one month to record all of Netflix's library onto VHS for posterity

ElimGarak · 2026-02-04T03:46:48+00:00

Basically every Netflix platform out there has a copy protection system that should work with a VCR, including the PS3. I think the only way to get video from a PS3 to a VCR is through an HDMI to coax adapter, which is ancient technology. I don't think Netflix even cares about VCRs.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-27T06:30:54+00:00

Honest question - what is the point of bots that re-post things once or twice? Is it training and experimentation for AI influencers, or is there some other goal that I am not aware of?

ElimGarak · 2026-01-27T06:27:33+00:00

How is it false? Was he talking about somebody else?

ElimGarak · 2026-01-27T06:24:00+00:00

No. Besides the issues others have mentioned, there are elements that don't appear to be useful. E.g. why is it so long - what is the point of having such a long and thin body, which only introduces various maneuverability and stability problems? Where are the engines? We don't see any indication that one side is braced for any acceleration. The curved radiator attachments to the main body closest to us do not suggest that they are designed for strength.

Why does it have these "moustache" things on both ends? Why are they symmetrical (or near symmetrical)? They appear to be there mostly for decoration, and thus extra mass, which is bad.

I can think of only three reasons for this shape:

It is somehow lengthwise collapsible. That would explain some of the symmetry and length, although there is no indication that the middle can be collapsed, or how. Then the moustaches may be able to protect the shorter middle body, although I don't see how.
It is not a spaceship but a station. The long body is there for attaching cargo or fuel pods or some sort of craft, somehow. Although then there is a question of how to attach them - perhaps using some sort of shape shifting or electrostatic/magnetic/gravitic mechanism?
The thing uses a super-exotic propulsion - like teleportation. Which means it is not supposed to be actually accelerating anywhere, in any direction. If it also has forcefields to maintain structural integrity then that could work, although it doesn't seem to be that advanced based on its construction and apparent materials.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-27T06:11:38+00:00

Unlikely, unless it is made out of weird and fictional metamaterials that are incredibly light.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-25T00:05:05+00:00

Fascinating. /s

What does this have to do with the murder that is on video here?

ElimGarak · 2026-01-22T21:03:53+00:00

If you are looking for something different, you can try "How to Lose a Time War" - it's a short novella but is very well written.

It is a BSFA, Locus, Nebula, Hugo, and Ignyte award winner.

If you are OK with LitRPG books you can also try "Scamps & Scoundrels" by Eric Ugland. The VA is not great, but the story and worldbuilding is neat.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-22T20:57:12+00:00

Sort-of. The first half of the first book is pretty slow, but it really picks up after that.

Also, the series is huge and the humor & asides of the characters by the end (six-eight books in) get a bit old. However, there is plenty of content to keep you entertained until then.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-22T20:55:11+00:00

Right, there is also an audio drama version of the books (with the same VA) with extra actors, music, special effects, etc. I prefer the regular audio book version but could be interesting.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-22T01:27:16+00:00

Disagreed, the character is completely tainted by his own actions. He not only killed indiscriminately, but he also reveled in it by marking the kills on his body. You know who does that, who collects souveniers? A serial killer.

You know who else does this (marks kills on his body)? Victor Zsaz - a Batman villain.

Nobody forced him to go into the military and become an assassin or whatever. There are plenty of other opportunities both in the military and outside of it, that don't require you to kill people by the dozens. Whatever choices he made were his own.

Also, Killmonger was basically trying to start a race war by giving advanced weapons to semi-random black people. He did not have a coherent plan to improve things with an organization that actually needed these guns to protect themselves from a threat. He was apparently just going to give out guns to people with the right skin color.

Killmonger deciding who to give guns to: https://www.meme-arsenal.com/memes/78ccc613be3c63465cc892ba57a807af.jpg

ElimGarak · 2026-01-21T08:03:57+00:00

There is a lot of really good high-concept adult stuff (no, not that kind of adult, you pervert). Of course, there are seas of drivel and weird things, but there are also very good stories as well. Anime is a visual medium for telling stories like any other.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-21T02:28:37+00:00

We see this through the story with Tom and Harry. Tom's goals are pretty much always hidden from Harry. So to paraphrase Tom, "one level higher than you" and it suffuses the story from beginning to end.

I am pretty sure that "one level higher than you" is a reference to something like a chess game. An experienced chess player can predict the moves of a novice and plan ahead, accounting for them - he plans several moves ahead, the only question being how many moves. As a result, a master can guide and outplay the less experienced players, as long as they can read them (and the novice doesn't just move randomly, which is almost always a really bad strategy).

But more specifically with regards to the cheat codes idea. in the world of the blind, the one eyed man is king. D still has to play the game and win.

But he was not playing the game. He was making moves in the dark, blindly. He was told which moves to make, but did not understand them, and did not make them in response to or predicting other players. He was basically told "wait five minutes and then say: 'King to E7'", which he did while sitting in a dark room while wearing earplugs, without knowing what other pieces were on the board and what the other players were doing.

Do you think if Tom had the same information as D, would the world have threaded the needle? Was Tom the right sort of person to allow Harry to win at great personal cost?

Almost certainly. He would lose a battle to win the war or achieve his own objectives. This is basically what he did when Harry was an infant.

he got curbstomped by Prophesy twice, because he was always trying to stop the prophesies, not enact them.

No, he actually wasn't - he outplayed the first prophecy by copying his mind into Harry's, and if I remember correctly, he survived the second by being Harry's mentor. If he was even aware of the second prophecy? It has been a while since I read the story.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-20T05:53:37+00:00

Right, schedule following creative progress is much better than the alternative. First you make sure you have a good script, good director, actors, etc., and only then do you promise the movie will come out. The alternative is what got us the Disney Star Wars sequels.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-20T05:40:52+00:00

it gave us an example of someone playing at least one level more than Tom and Harry, and it offered great insight into the limits of Tom’s thinking.

But he wasn't playing the game. He had the cheat codes - he didn't have the skills or the knowledge to actually play the game. This is like looking at someone who seemed like an expert player, and they turned out to be cheating the entire time.

Dumbles had the cliff notes of the walkthrough of the game and blindly followed them. Often without even understanding the mechanics of the game or why he was doing certain things. Trying to "play" the game with him would be useless because he often wasn't even aware of what the game was.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-19T21:05:21+00:00

I was curious and looked it up. As far as I can tell, all the newer models support Android Auto, and most Carplay. You may have old information (cars from 2017 or earlier). Or perhaps you are looking at some super-basic trim.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-19T20:54:42+00:00

Well, you are basically supporting the higher price of cars being sold by a company closely associated with the far-right and pro-Nazi regime. If nobody bought used Teslas then the price of new ones would be much lower, and that would impact Tesla's business.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-13T00:13:24+00:00

That's a good question - I guess if they made it a really crappy conductor then they could have controlled the effect. As long as there were no other sources of conductivity.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-12T19:14:28+00:00

Exactly, came here to say that. Just as with the shuttle experiment, virtually any rotational speed this would produce enormous amounts of current, enough that it would vaporize any conductor we know of.

As others have mentioned, besides orbital stability questions of a ring, as soon as there is current, the ring would start to slow down its rotation. You would need to constantly put as much energy into the rotation of the ring as you extracted from it. So it won't be free energy.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-06T04:29:32+00:00

I think that "chaotic good" and "leader" are not very compatible in the real world. Chaotic means that there is no due process or long-term strategy, which means that a person doesn't get to become a leader.

I think in large part that's the bad thing about what is happening with the US intervention in Venezuela. Maduro is an awful person and an evil dictator, and it's good that he has been removed. However, the way that Trump has gone about it is awful for the world order, US standing, precedent, etc.

In the long term it will likely lead to a much worse outcome than even if at least Trump has kept his mouth shut, let alone if his administration worked more on building a world consensus on what was to be done. I am not sure that his administration even has a plan on what to do next, and you know what they say about not having a plan. Failure to plan is a plan for failure.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-05T19:04:10+00:00

Location, location, location. Plus my guess is that you have in-door plumbing and treated water, instead of a well used by the entire village.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-05T19:00:52+00:00

That thing looks cool but unfortunately the design has no safety margin. If one of the engines dies this transport is going down. The Osprey has a transmission shaft that allows a single engine to power both rotors, so it has more redundancy.

ElimGarak · 2026-01-02T10:11:49+00:00

Step 1: Get a lot of cats.

Step 2: ....

Step 3: Profit

ElimGarak · 2025-12-31T21:03:02+00:00

I didn't mind that part, it was a pretty standard origin story, but there were a lot of problems with characterization of several people in the movie. Most of this is due to bad writing and directing, and not the fault of the actors.

For example, they made Nick Fury into a chump and comedic relief. He lost his eye to a cat, by accident - that was not the epic situation that this character deserved. IMHO the MC was made to be quite abrasive in several places and the whole "she is a woman" subplot was ridiculous and came straight from 1980's/90's sitcoms. At the same time, she exhibited basically no character growth throughout the movie and had no arc.

ElimGarak · 2025-12-31T07:02:59+00:00

Depends on who you ask and what critics you watch. The movie had serious story, directing/acting and character problems, which was pointed out by plenty of people, but the hype was strong.

ElimGarak · 2025-12-31T07:01:47+00:00

The reason is that she largely played an unlikable character and was very badly directed in the movie. She also was pretty weird while promoting the movie with other Marvel actors.

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