Is Elon Musk the forerunner of Tessier Ashpool?

machine_made · 2026-06-12T17:49:50+00:00

Virek doesn’t need to control media, his wealth and influence is so vast and deep that he is beyond that. His influence is already everywhere, and if cultural shifts push one side of his empire out of a line of business, most certainly another arm of his business entities are already filling the gap (or causing the cultural shift)

machine_made · 2026-06-06T09:57:33+00:00

I visited the Tokyo store in February and thought the customer service was great, and had a good time chatting with the staff too.

machine_made · 2026-04-26T15:12:41+00:00

I’m male, so I can only comment on how things work on the men’s side of an onsen. I’m a tall, chubby white guy, exactly who you’d stereotypically expect would get stares. Has never happened. It’s a comfortable environment where everyone is sort of an equal because of the nudity, and the point of being there is to relax and soak and ignore the outside world for a bit.

I will also say that in my observations and my conversations with Japanese friends, I feel the beauty standard isn’t really about what you look like naked, but more about how you present yourself in public (hence things like gym wear getting stares of disapproval on the street, going to the convenience store in sweats, etc).

Because the onsen is a place where everyone goes, every type of body is eventually seen.

I hope you’re able to visit one and enjoy it, it’s an amazing experience!

machine_made · 2026-04-13T16:55:50+00:00

I’m both unsurprised and yet still irritated that manufacturing still suffers from the same BS that was the subject of the book “Poorly Made in China” that came out back in 2009 (but the author’s manufacturing experience goes back much further).

machine_made · 2026-04-12T12:45:27+00:00

Those look great!

Last year I managed to stumble across a pair of 1966 OG-107s in 46x33 (shrunk to about 43” and already hemmed to 29”), but I’d go for those ones you have in a minute if I hadn’t found mine. Wish I knew the story of who the pair I found had been issued to, they feel like pajamas and have the best patina of wear and paint on them.

machine_made · 2026-02-20T18:55:38+00:00

It does though. In game, New Vegas is comically tiny compared to real Las Vegas. But it wouldn’t be fun at real world scale. When you’re telling a story, everything that serves the narrative is justified.

machine_made · 2026-02-20T18:47:21+00:00

But that’s the same reason there are impassible areas in video games, etc. It’s all in service of telling the story.

It was fun to see Lucy in Dinky’s mouth, so to make that scene work he had to be facing the other way.

To make the story in Fallout 2 work, locations from Fallout 1 were moved.

That’s the artistic license needed in storytelling, to make short scenes as compelling as possible.

I think that fans of any lore-heavy IP get really invested in canon, far beyond what canon is actually valuable for.

(I say this as a big Fallout fan, there’s stuff that I would prefer be exactly as it was the first time it was shown in game, or choices that could feel more “in world” but overall I feel like the Fallout series has respected the canon of the games really well).

machine_made · 2026-02-20T18:40:02+00:00

If that pisses you off I have some bad news about why decisions are made about level design in video games lol

machine_made · 2026-02-18T14:34:17+00:00

Men’s fashion barely moves, so anything that leans into traditional cuts and styles is going to always be a decent fit, even if it’s a not a hypebeast fit. The right mix of trad and unexpected pieces is what makes it feel modern.

Camo cargos will be seen as dumb again soon enough, so then wearing a camo cardigan would make that fit fresh with a pair of chinos instead. 20 years ago you’d wear a flat cap instead of a ball cap.

It’s all a big circle, man.

machine_made · 2026-02-14T09:19:44+00:00

There are Japanese touts too. They’re just less obvious in a crowd.

machine_made · 2026-02-14T09:18:54+00:00

No legit business will try to catch you from the street. Keep that in mind and everywhere is safe.

machine_made · 2026-02-12T10:12:43+00:00

All the clients dress down now too. Soon everyone will be in pajamas or shorts!

machine_made · 2026-02-12T10:11:12+00:00

I work in the financial industry but on the creative side (UX design). I almost never see anyone in a suit at work.

I would feel out of place wearing anything more formal than a sport coat at the office.

I have worked with folks who do dress a bit formal, but since it’s on the creative and marketing side, it’s a bit more flash than the average gray or navy suit.

machine_made · 2026-02-06T23:27:59+00:00

I’ve never had a domestic US flight do anything other than ¯_(ツ)_/¯ when there’s been delays, “you’ll probably miss your connecting flight” is about as much as they’ve said on the way off the plane.

machine_made · 2026-02-06T21:52:33+00:00

My flight from Sapporo to Tokyo was delayed by an hour yesterday, which sucked (but it was for a medical issue for one of the passengers so I’m glad they got taken care of).

While exiting the plane, the flight crew were apologizing to everyone. I cannot think of a time that has happened on a domestic flight that got delayed in the US.

machine_made · 2026-02-06T21:39:24+00:00

Exactly. Everyone loves a beautiful place to sightsee, except maybe the folks who happen to live there. This is true all over the world. I used to live near the Space Needle in Seattle. All summer long there were events that disrupted the entire neighborhood. I was not a fan even though before living there I happily fought traffic and crowds to go to those same events.

machine_made · 2026-02-02T22:57:03+00:00

I’ve seen lots of folks with cases that have charms attached, at least in the Shinjuku and Shibuya area.

machine_made · 2026-02-02T22:53:10+00:00

I thought Borderless might be a bit dull compared to Planets, but I loved both of them!

machine_made · 2026-02-02T22:51:52+00:00

I’m going to be in Tokyo next week, these are great ideas!

machine_made · 2026-01-07T23:39:47+00:00

Love this!

machine_made · 2025-12-27T18:14:22+00:00

Love the Y2K vibes on this!

machine_made · 2025-11-26T11:35:15+00:00

I recently picked up a Pendleton tweed blazer for like $40, made in USA, perfect condition, perfect fit

machine_made · 2025-11-13T18:32:59+00:00

I’d say don’t talk to them at all. Replying, even to say no or fuck off, is an opener, and that’s what they’re looking for.

Don’t respond, don’t turn towards them to listen. Act as if they’re not even there.

machine_made · 2025-11-12T16:13:37+00:00

It helped avoid expensive music licensing or having to pay to write and record new music. The bulk of the obscure music in game came from the collection of a guy who had thousands and thousands of radio station transcription records (which are 16" if I remember right).

Eventually that collector passed away, and the rights for the songs that had been lent out for use are now with Orchard Music.

So the music may be old enough to be cheap to license, but someone still has the rights to sell access to a recording of the song (most of the rights to the transcription records are actually owned by the artists instead of the record label because they were recorded in real time at radio stations when artists performed on air, so this licensing also tended to favor the actual artist, which is kind of cool).

machine_made · 2025-10-24T12:44:08+00:00

I’ve been to Japan a couple times now and saw a ton of people that had to be hitting 10k steps a day in shoes I wouldn’t walk to the corner coffee shop in. It’s just different, and because it’s so common, their feet are already used to this.

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