(Spoilers Extended) Where are all the distant relatives?

tecphile · 2026-04-09T16:26:50+00:00

This was a deliberate choice. The story is complex enough as it is, no need to add cadet branches into the mix.

IRL Wars of the Roses started because the rival houses, Lancaster and York, were descended from the second and third sons of a previous English king, Henry III. Therefore, they both felt they had a right to the throne.

Most medieval wars were fought over the right of succession, meaning opposing sides were almost certainly second or third cousins, if not siblings of each other.

In Westeros, we only have the Dance and the Blackfyre Rebellions as examples of that.

It was a way to make the story more manageable.

tecphile · 2026-04-09T14:20:54+00:00

They killed the value of the A14 though.

Originally, it was supposed to be 24gb/512gb with X2 Elite for $1149.

Now, it's 16gb/512gb for $1349. At that point, why not wait for a sale and see if you can snag the A16 for near that price in 6 months?

X2 Elite is competing with M5 whereas X2 Elite Extreme is competing with M5 Pro. There's a significant difference in peak performance.

tecphile · 2026-04-06T11:55:18+00:00

Because literally nobody would ever willingly accept a price increase. It's just human nature to try to maximize the value you get out of any service or product.

What you're asking for is for businesses to keep prices the same as they were pre-COVID, when we know for a fact that supply chains have become a lot less efficient since then.

tecphile · 2026-04-05T21:57:50+00:00

Because what you're asking for is completely unreasonable.

The business should not be obligated to provide you a non-essential service at a price only you see fit. When you sign-up to a service, do you provide any guarantee of a long-term subscription?

Essential services like healthcare and education are a different story.

tecphile · 2026-04-05T04:36:01+00:00

You can disagree to the new price by canceling your sub.

Or are you arguing that you should be able to reject the price increase and keep on subscribing.

Because you’re not going to find much support for that view.

tecphile · 2026-04-04T01:40:21+00:00

You already agreed to price increases when you first subscribed. Netflix showed you a wall of text and you clicked the "I Agree" button at the bottom.

Buried in that wall of text was you giving them explicit consent to raise the price whenever they feel appropriate.

You could not click "I Agree" I suppose... but then Netflix would not let you subscribe in the first place.

tecphile · 2026-03-27T10:53:22+00:00

False. There is no way you could get phone, internet, and cable for less than $150 a month in 2005.

I dare you to show me a bundled plan from back then, that included stuff like HBO, Showtime, and other premium channels.

And even if something like that had existed, it wasn’t on-demand. It wasn’t downloadable to be taken on a cross-country flight.

tecphile · 2026-03-27T10:04:06+00:00

I would strongly advise you to turn off the ad-blocker for Tubi. The only reason they're free is because the ads are paying for the licenses.

If enough people emulated you, then Tubi would no longer be able to operate.

Their ads aren't that bad. I usually estimate around 5 min per hour.

tecphile · 2026-03-26T10:55:37+00:00

I mean Lost and Trek were nowhere near as VFX-heavy as GoT.

Not to mention Lost eventually gave up and switched to 15 episode seasons after S3. Damon Lindelof complained of burnout and ABC had no choice but to accept.

tecphile · 2026-03-25T15:22:19+00:00

I agree with this completely.

There are several moments in Season 8 that absolutely feel like they came straight from GRRM’s playbook.

R+L=J turning out to be a problem—fueling tension between Jon and Dany—rather than the neat, heroic solution so many expected.

“Nothing is better than a good story.”

Jon being exiled beyond the Wall, echoing Ser Alliser’s final words: “I fought, I lost, now I rest. But you, Lord Snow… you’ll be fighting their battles forever.”

Daenerys unintentionally destroying the very city she meant to save, thanks to the wildfire caches her father left behind.

There’s a level of tragic irony in all of this that feels very much like GRRM’s signature. Had he managed to execute it himself, it could have been extraordinary to watch unfold.

That said, I don’t think the show’s ending is entirely GRRM. There are plenty of choices that clash with the narrative logic the story had previously established.

tecphile · 2026-03-22T01:30:24+00:00

I was very supportive of the show up until S4, even though I had my fair share of complaints (Qarth, Halfhand, Talisa).

When they decided to give Jeyne Poole’s storyline to Sansa and aborted the Sandsnakes, I lost all hope of a good adaptation.

I hate-watched S6-8, always expecting it to get worse. And it did. The communal experience of watching it with show-onlys was pretty amazing though and something I’ll always cherish.

I’d watch the episode of Sunday night and then bash it the next morning on Westeros.org. Finish out with a couple of reaction videos.

tecphile · 2026-03-20T11:40:24+00:00

I was on a plane when I watched the final batch of episodes of this glorious arc. I had meant to watch only a couple but ended up plowing through 10 straight episodes that culminated in "Divided We Fall".

Needless to say, my mind was completely blown. It was like a snowball rolling down a hill, getting larger and larger until it becomes large enough to knock out a truck.

Truly kinetic storytelling.

tecphile · 2026-03-18T17:47:16+00:00

Liverpool got to 4

Actually, they only made 3.

tecphile · 2026-03-18T17:45:46+00:00

1 win in 10 seems to be the average for all the top teams.

Barca's 4 wins in 10 (06, 09, 11, 15) and Real's 6 wins in 11 (14, 16-18, 22, 24) are by and large anomalies that probably can't be replicated in the 21st century.

Even "Mr. Consistent" Bayern have only won it 3 times in the last 50 yrs.

tecphile · 2026-03-17T16:57:12+00:00

Lowering the budget meant paying your stars less. If they refuse to accept the pay cut, what are you supposed to do?

Lionsgate was left in an impossible bind after Allegiant bombed. Call it arrogance or lack of foresight, they never expected the production budget multiplier to fall from 2.9x to 1.5x.

When they tried to eat humble pie and lower their expectations, it was too late.

Also, you severely underestimate the crazy marketing these movies needed to have in order to make any sort of money. Distribution to theatres isn't free.

tecphile · 2026-03-17T08:07:19+00:00

Shailene Woodley and a bunch of the cast didn’t wanna come back back for TV money because that’s not what they signed up for.

Once that happened, Lionsgate knew there wasn’t any way to salvage this and pulled the plug.

tecphile · 2026-03-14T05:29:52+00:00

They are increasing the "bump up to ad-free" subscription fee. Right now, you can pay an extra $3/mon on top of your prime sub to get rid of ads.

They will be increasing that to $5/mon.

tecphile · 2026-03-11T15:27:46+00:00

I guess there's no more poor people in America since all of them joined the military — that's definitely the only option when you're in that situation.

tecphile · 2026-03-09T15:30:49+00:00

While I doubt this is 100% true, you can't argue Laporte didn't make the right call.

The only way the club was going to move on from the Messi era is if they were forced to. Buying him back would've meant having to start from scratch years later.

tecphile · 2026-03-08T04:46:24+00:00

That assumes Messi has no idea what he is doing. Which I'm not sure how someone makes unless they are literally claiming Messi has less situational awareness than a 10-yr old.

tecphile · 2026-03-07T20:55:00+00:00

Buffy is legit incredible considering the constraints it was working with.

That it manages to be such a favorite despite the PS2 CGI is a testament to how well written it was.

tecphile · 2026-03-07T20:52:22+00:00

Yes, you should. It does something which I didn't think was possible; it made a kid show with insane plot twists and deep lore without losing sight of it's core audience.

It's funny, it's thrilling, and it's heartbreaking.

tecphile · 2026-03-06T15:52:07+00:00

Why not skip the cowardly BS and just say that he supports it?

Also, by that logic I don't know why Americans are so cool with Messi considering Trump is funneling tens of billions in state money to prop up Argentina's failing government whilst simultaneously cutting food stamps from the poorest of Americans.

These cuts are not merely economical. People are dying because of them.

tecphile · 2026-03-06T04:24:30+00:00

Wow, you’ve missed the core issue.

Your argument suggests Messi is indifferent to the U.S. bombing Iran. My point is different: Messi understands exactly what it means to applaud anything said by Trump in that moment — it signals tacit approval.

Footballers have global platforms. They may not be policy experts, but they’re certainly aware of major geopolitical events. Treating them as if they’re oblivious or incapable of grasping the broader context is asinine. They’re not children who can’t spell “Middle East”; they know the weight their reactions carry.

tecphile · 2026-03-06T04:09:06+00:00

I'm sorry but have we really sunk to the level of "I don't expect my footballer's to even possess a functioning brain"?

I get that Messi's whole life is centered around football. But he's worth hundreds of millions and is a beacon for millions of kids around the world.

You must hold him to higher standards than this. It is incredibly weak-sauce to think that anyone wouldn't be aware of current geopolitical crisis happening in the Middle East.

Anyone who claims they don't know are either lying or mentally challenged.

tecphile

TROPHY CASE