TWeaK
@TWeaK@lemm.ee
- Comment on [deleted] 2 weeks ago:
I don’t think it’s you being paranoid, however at the same time your husband is perhaps more on the front line of things, so should have a better idea.
I would say that as a journeyman lineman he’ll be pretty decently qualified and probably wouldn’t have as hard a time finding work abroad. It might be a tough sell with lower salaries on paper, but you often find that the standard of living improves and makes it more than worthwhile.
- Comment on Easter "Eggs" 2 weeks ago:
Fun fact: at birth koalas can’t actually digest eucalyptus leaves on their own. They eat their mum’s faeces to gain the necessary gut bacteria.
- Comment on Elon Musk Cuts Funding for Internet Archive 2 weeks ago:
I mean it was a precarious case that was on the verge of being acceptable to most people, but legally was clearly not. Scanning books and providing a single digital copy was legally grey, but everyone looked the other way. Providing extra copies during a pandemic was kind, but allowing it to go to court and not settling (and then doubling down with appeals, all of which has to be funded by donations that could have been spent elsewhere) ended up with a judge ruling that no one can scan books and publish a single copy without an explicit license from the publisher. So that grey area is now black and white.
I can’t help but resent them for this, given that the main part of the business - the actual Internet Archive - is so important and they’ve put its survial at risk with their side hussle. Some of the blame (perhaps even a majority?) should also go to the lawyers that represented IA.
- Comment on Elon Musk Cuts Funding for Internet Archive 2 weeks ago:
The IA is already marked for death and has been ever since they doubled down after blatantly infringing copyright with scanned books during the pandemic. IRC the full penalties of that haven’t been felt yet, and I think is likely to bankrupt the ogranisation.
What IA needs to do is spin off the actual Internet Archive element to another organisation, outside of the US like you say, such that an essential part of the internet isn’t taken down with the organisation.
- Comment on How much did it cost to create a 10 foot long bike lane 2 months ago:
Nah it would have cost the city the same regardless, you’re just talking about how much the civils business pays its workers.
Most likely this would have been part of a larger project of installing cycle lanes in various places. But it still would have been expensive, civil contractors are notorious.
- Comment on Cool Dog 2 months ago:
Ologies is one of my favourites. The host Alie Ward is always so enthusiastic, and the guests always seem to genuinely enjoy being on her show far more than others.
- Comment on Cool Dog 2 months ago:
I think this may have been on the Ologies podcast recently, the dog was too excited and playful for a police dog, but that was perfect for poop sniffing.
Ologies with Alie Ward: Eco-Odorology (SCIENCE-SNIFFING DOGS) with Kayla Fratt
Episode webpage: www.stitcher.com
Media file: pdst.fm/e/dts.podtrac.com/…/default.mp3?aid=rss_f…
- Comment on As the Canada "tax holiday" starts, Walmart increased the price of an item by the amount I would have saved 4 months ago:
That’s probably illegal.
- Comment on Palworld Developer Reveals The Pokémon Patents Nintendo Claims It's Violating 5 months ago:
Looking it up, Palworld was announced in 2021, but not released (under early access) until 2024. However they were apparently designing the game back in 2020, if not earlier.
- Comment on Palworld Developer Reveals The Pokémon Patents Nintendo Claims It's Violating 5 months ago:
Obviously this depends on the exact details of the patents, which are all in Japanese, as well as the specifics of Japanese patent laws.
However, patents only last for 20 years, and they are undermined by public disclosure before filing. The first Pokemon game came out more than 20 years ago. However^2 not all of the features in the patents were present in the original games. All 3 patents were first filed in 2021, well after many of these features were established.
The first patent is about aiming something and entering into a fight mode. This wasn’t in the original game. Aiming at enemies and entering a fight mode almost certainly existed before Pokemon (Final Fantasy perhaps). Furthermore, Palworld doesn’t really have a fight mode - it isn’t a turn based game but real time. Throwing a sphere is just one way to start a “battle” but there is no mode change between “explore” and “battle” modes because they are functionally the same in Palworld. Pokemon Go and Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, which were all around in 2018, would seem to amount to public disclosure that undermines this patent.
The second patent has more detail about catching Pokemon outside of battles. This might have some elements of Palworld gameplay in it. However, again we have prior art that predates the patent.
The third patent is about riding characters. This has certainly existed in other games before Pokemon and before this patent. Off the top of my head, World of Warcraft had you riding mounts, Final Fantasy had you riding Chocobos, and Mega Man let you ride Rush.
However the big issue with all of these is that these challenges are always better off done before the patent is granted. With the patents established it is a massive uphill struggle trying to get them withdrawn. Given that each charge is only for $33,000, so about $100,000 total, I expect a settlement will be reached instead of going on this fight.
- Comment on Currently happening 5 months ago:
I was referring to fewer people lol.
Really though the jury is kind of out with fewer/less in a lot of situations, but a strict rule would probably say “fewer people, less drama”. The real contradiction is “15 items or less”, which should really be “15 items or fewer” but the former is so well established now it won’t go away.
- Comment on Currently happening 5 months ago:
Perfect lmao
- Comment on Currently happening 5 months ago:
*fewer
- Comment on Half-Life 2 Anniversary Update 5 months ago:
I sure hope they don’t plan on having more than 2 anniversaries.
- Comment on wild seals 5 months ago:
- Comment on Here are the patents Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are suing Palworld over 5 months ago:
Yeah the newer they are, the more frivolous they are - especially since you could argue the release of games using those patents amounts to public disclosure.
However, you’re still left in the situation where an established patent is very solid and difficult to challenge, even when it should never have been granted in the first place.
- Comment on Here are the patents Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are suing Palworld over 5 months ago:
5 mil yen is about $32k. In total they’re suing for about $100k.
I would imagine the 3rd patent at the very least should be invalidated - riding characters in video games predates Pokemon (MegaMan riding Rush comes to mind, as well as World of Warcraft [although I don’t know if the patent predates WOW mounts]). However the nature of patents is that once they’re granted they are very difficult to dismiss.
The other two are more tricky. Throwing balls at something us a uniquely Pokémon idea, I think, and the aiming one would come down to the technicalities of the patent itself, which is all Japanese to me.
- Comment on wild seals 5 months ago:
- Comment on Altered the timeline 6 months ago:
Pretty sure this podcast stays on topic throughout. There’s a chunk of background, of course, because it basically has to explain the joke every time so the discussion can happen.
- Comment on Altered the timeline 6 months ago:
Links that aren’t region locked:
Sixteenth Minute (of Fame): suck my dick and balls i work for nasa: the naomi h story
Episode webpage: omny.fm/…/suck-my-dick-and-balls-i-work-for-nasa-…
Media file: chtbl.com/track/5899E/podtrac.com/…/audio.mp3?utm…
- Comment on Altered the timeline 6 months ago:
No, she didn’t. However she did end up in aerospace anyway.
There was a 16th Minute of Fame podcast episode about it, including a recent interview:
Sixteenth Minute (of Fame): suck my dick and balls i work for nasa: the naomi h story
Episode webpage: omny.fm/…/suck-my-dick-and-balls-i-work-for-nasa-…
Media file: chtbl.com/track/5899E/podtrac.com/…/audio.mp3?utm…
- Comment on Altered the timeline 6 months ago:
Homer didn’t deny anything, he wasn’t even involved in that decision. He even put in a good word for her. However she basically lied when she was asked about it and that dug her in deeper, also leaving the post up didn’t help.
NASA basically wanted her to not draw controversy to the agency over social media, per their rules, and they normally have a reasonable amount of leeway. But there were a couple concerning things during the process, mistakes she made (that she has probably since grown from) that led to NASA passing on her internship.
- Comment on Anon makes their own edibles 7 months ago:
Yep that sounds like the story!
- Comment on Anon makes their own edibles 7 months ago:
Yeah I suspect this was filmed at the original version, from memory they toured around a bit and then cheaped out and fucked it all up. Like, the new Shrek costume was really bad and just looked like a green man had been shopping at the Gap.
- Comment on Anon makes their own edibles 7 months ago:
Didn’t they like stop paying the actors or something and then cheap out with the costumes?
- Comment on [deleted] 8 months ago:
Thanks, yet another reason why my example was a bit off hah.
- Comment on [deleted] 8 months ago:
I said you came in to correct me but didn’t actually deliver any corrections. You just talked about the things you know.
I didn’t say the same thing you said, I provided the correction that you left out.
- Comment on [deleted] 8 months ago:
I dunno, allegedly people actually vote for a man named “Trump”.
- Comment on Anon has a mental block 8 months ago:
Wait, spiderman has a pizza theme??
Lol, so it does. Technically not a Spiderman tune, but the Accelerando is probably unique to Spoiderman.
Also I swear part of that tune was ripped off and used in Mario 7 Stars, in one of the cloud areas maybe.
- Comment on [deleted] 8 months ago:
Because of enshittification lol