It probably sounds a little weird, but while I was sitting at the safety of my “occupy a desk until someone asks questions” job that sapped my soul, I often would research places I really, really wouldn’t want to be.

In a weird way I find this “Dark tourism behind a screen” to be a bit fascinating in a "safe danger " kind of way.

Reading the state department’s notices on some countries really puts in perspective. They’re like “Don’t go here without an armored vehicle, armed security detail, and most preferably a good friggin reason. Even still, have a next of kin lined up and ransom plans.”

Edit: also “Oh yeah, if everything goes bad off embassy grounds (if there even is one) our ability to intervene is limited. Don’t expect direct support to come save you.”

Like. Damn.

I’d say inside the country, it’s not as bad as the news makes it sound, because cameras are only pointing at the worst events. It’s a pretty big country and most people are content to just leave each other alone.

…But a huge radius around the borders or airports are “Constitution-free” zones where nobody has any rights, and our borders/customs folks have a reputation for being less than kind. And those zones, bad enough as they are, are so freakishly large that most people in any populated area are within those zones…so…

…Yeah, maybe wait. . .

before I learned about the Dubai porta potty

I was expecting some sort of ridiculous public sanitation custom. I knew about suspicious weird stories about models “getting on flights and never coming back” but the details make it even worse.

Wish there were people like John Wick to move through these grotesque billionaire circles and purge the monsters entirely.

I have always had zero interest of travelling to or supporting the place, and this only reinforces that.

Dunno if she wrote “thumbs” or the collab with Alan Walker, which I always thought were kinda based, but she was just starting to get popular then maybe. Really sad if she’s let the fame go to her head that badly.

A soul is a terrible thing to waste. :(

Naaron (Nay-ay-ron)

Thanks! Added. :D

BTW. . .

“On your left!”

• As you wish.
• If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!
• I rock… And rule!.. All day long! Sweet Susie! / I’m bleeding, which makes me the victor!
• I aim to misbehave.
• Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!
• Come with me if you want to live!
• They mostly come at night…Mostly…
• You! SHALL NOT! PASS!!
• Whoever wrote this episode should die!
• Rebellions are built on hope.

Lol I could keep going all night if I don’t stop myself and I’ve work in the morning. XD

(Edit: Some new ones)

• I can do this all day.
• Puny god.
• I am…inevitable.
• Hold on to your butts.
• I’m a dude, playin’ a dude, disguised as another dude!

I saw it in my head just reading it. Absolutely moving.

I can’t get through

With dry eyes either. That speech has kept me going, so many times. I’ve even posted it in various places on Lemmy as a counter to the sheer hopelessness and defeatism (understandably) pervading a lot of threads.

I often consider getting it wholly or partially inscribed on me.

This is partly true. Also, contrary to mall-ninja rhetoric, one doesn’t and shouldn’t primarily carry to go be a vigilante hero, but as a last resort for their own protection. I’ll admit my original comment was coming from strong emotion. Lol

I think the discourse on self-protection has taken a bizarre turn during our lifetimes, where the right and the NRA turned firearms into an unhealthy fetish, and the liberal politicians turned them into frightening campfire stories by spreading fear and ignorance. Both just using it as another tug-rope to “Be opposite those other guys.”

Shockingly, there are plenty of normal, responsible armed people who fit neither category. Even socialists. They’re just quiet and respectable so they go unnoticed.

But on the whole, this cultural propaganda has resulted in a heavily skewed situation where those with the means to deter tyranny are in lockstep with it, and those with the will to deter tyranny get a bit flummoxed when clever signs aren’t enough.

I’m very torn myself, because clever non-violent solutions are obviously preferred, but at the same time these thugs are bullies and cowards, who tend to be confused and frightened when they actually encounter resistance from their would-be victims.

“That’s why my client acted reasonably and dare I say heroically, when they saw these masked men dragging the witness into an unmarked vehicle, drew their legally carried sidearm, and engaged these individuals until they were no longer a threat.”

Why hasn’t this happened yet?!

This country should never be safe for predators who want to throw people into vans.

This looks like an HDRI sphere render. :D

So far I’ve heard Marvel Rivals is pretty based. Good on them! That’s awesome. :)

Great to know!

Both games I really want to play. For some reason I thought Marvel Rivals didn’t do kernel-level? I’m likely wrong haha.

But I loved the original Helldivers. I just really don’t want to have to install a “just trust us, bro” rootkit to enjoy the clearly excellent sequel. :(

OpenSUSE Tumbleweed player here with an Nvidia 3000-series GPU.

Gaming with Steam, GoG (Heroic Launcher), and even disc games installed with Bottles has been a smooth experience with VERY few if any tweaks or fixes needed.

Except for VR (where Monado is making strides!) we are THERE. I’d highly encourage trying it out these days.

Unless you gotta play the latest AAA hyper-competitive monolithic server games with kernel level anti cheat but…at that point might as well have a burner PC. X_X lol

I mean IDK maybe they mean the “freedom of Windows” compared to like, some bastardized Android sometimes found on third party “gaming handhelds”?

Lol

Well that’s a cooler slogan at least compared to the retro one, how’d it go…

“Live in your world, play in our walled garden locked behind a PSN account that might suddenly withdraw access to things you paid for while shuffling different tier systems and prices around and remember the BMG music rootkits? That was fun.”

… Or something like that, it’s been so long.

laser-focused on milking business users who are used to Microsoft’s abusive practices.

The funniest thing I notice is how IT departments have to enforce all kinds of group policies and custom scripts and things to crowbar Windows into shutting up and just being a work OS.

It’s just standard practice at this point to fight the thing into submission to get an install image that’s not nagging users or trying to upsell them on cloud nonsense and whatnot.

Haha yay, first time I got a “username checks out”! :D hahaha.

Reject predatory techbro products, return to monke! XD

I think the saddest part about this is the phenomenon where people who didn’t understand tech were scared of new stuff that was actually really neat and helpful…

…and nowadays they’re ridiculously trusting of shiny user-friendly corporate garbage that spies on them and manipulates them.

Bwoop! Is this it?

https://ia800505.us.archive.org/3/items/1570719797-658/1570719797-658.pdf