Hollow's recent activity
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Comment on The ethics of buying, playing military, war or games inspired by them? in ~games
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Comment on Proton Mail helped US FBI unmask anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ protester in ~tech
Hollow Link ParentTo my knowledge, most post carriers don't take cash. Both for anti-money laundering purposes, and because of the envelopes mysteriously going missing on the way.To my knowledge, most post carriers don't take cash. Both for anti-money laundering purposes, and because of the envelopes mysteriously going missing on the way.
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Comment on Humble Choice - March 2026 in ~games
Hollow (edited )LinkI've played through Chants of Sennarr, it's a great point and click adventure game about language. Here's a video essay about it with gameplay footage (Caution, ending spoiler at nine minutes)....I've played through Chants of Sennarr, it's a great point and click adventure game about language. Here's a video essay about it with gameplay footage (Caution, ending spoiler at nine minutes).
Basically you have to figure out what certain words mean from context clues, and every so often there's a quiz to confirm your guesses are right. You're gradually climbing your way up the Tower of Babel, exploring to find new challenges and words to complete your understanding of the languages of the people living on its floors, who all have distinct cultures and thus different vocabulary and iconograms.
And here's a linguist playing through it for the first time in case you need help and because it's pretty cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6Xyeq7GzzA
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Comment on ‘Andor’ creator Tony Gilroy gives the interview he couldn’t during its release in ~tv
Hollow Link ParentYou'll have to forgive me if I remember wrong because I don't really follow the spinoff shows, but I thought they were pretty common. Mandalorian - baby Jedi. Ahsoka - titular character. Kenobi,...That's usually one of my pet peeves about post-Lucas Star Wars: I strongly dislike the lack of Jedi.
You'll have to forgive me if I remember wrong because I don't really follow the spinoff shows, but I thought they were pretty common. Mandalorian - baby Jedi. Ahsoka - titular character. Kenobi, ditto. The Acolyte - all about the Jedi. Book of Boba Fett, okay no Jedi there. Rebels definitely does.
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Comment on Economic ideas and policy implementation: Evidence from Malthusian training in British Indian bureaucracy in ~humanities.history
Hollow Link ParentOh goody. So not only was he Malthusian in spirit, he was literally taught by the man and regurgitated his philosophy.Oh goody. So not only was he Malthusian in spirit, he was literally taught by the man and regurgitated his philosophy.
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Comment on Economic ideas and policy implementation: Evidence from Malthusian training in British Indian bureaucracy in ~humanities.history
Hollow (edited )LinkI wonder if the bureaucrat in charge of Irish famine relief, Charles Trevelyan, was trained by Malthus. He famously did not provide sufficient aid, defending instead the idea that the free market...I wonder if the bureaucrat in charge of Irish famine relief, Charles Trevelyan, was trained by Malthus. He famously did not provide sufficient aid, defending instead the idea that the free market would fix everything.
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Comment on Economic ideas and policy implementation: Evidence from Malthusian training in British Indian bureaucracy in ~humanities.history
Hollow Link ParentHi OP, check your comment for line breaks - on mobile displays, they make the paragraph wrap in odd ways. Eg:Hi OP, check your comment for line breaks - on mobile displays, they make the paragraph wrap in odd ways. Eg:
replacing his economics instruction at a
bureaucrat training
college for that of a contemporary critic, -
Comment on ‘So tired I want to cry’: AI promotional giveaways swamp shops in China in ~tech
Hollow Link(2 minute read) NB. The original article's title is ‘So Tired I Want to Cry’: China’s AI Subsidy War Swamps Shops. I tried to make it clearer for readers who aren't familiar with the context.(2 minute read)
‘So Tired I Want to Cry’: China’s AI Subsidy War Swamps Shops
AI-driven Chinese New Year giveaways triggered a surge of instant drink orders, leaving shops and delivery riders scrambling to keep up.China’s tech giants are using Chinese New Year red envelopes to promote their AI assistants, flooding the market with billions of yuan in subsidies that have crashed servers, clogged messaging systems, and overwhelmed food service workers.
The subsidy campaign, dubbed “red envelope war” online, began last week, when social media and gaming giant Tencent rolled out a 1 billion yuan ($140 million) red envelope promotion through its Yuanbao AI assistant, followed by a 500 million yuan campaign from search giant Baidu’s Wenxin AI and a 3 billion yuan push by Alibaba’s Qwen Chatbot.
The Alibaba campaign quickly spiraled out of control. On Feb. 6, Qwen processed more than 5 million orders within five hours, sending the app to the top of Apple’s domestic free app chart.
Photos and videos on social media showed receipt printers churning out long strips of unclaimed orders. Millions of orders rushed in at once, overwhelming the system and crashing servers. At physical milk tea shops, confused staff fielded nonstop questions from delivery riders asking about orders.
NB. The original article's title is ‘So Tired I Want to Cry’: China’s AI Subsidy War Swamps Shops. I tried to make it clearer for readers who aren't familiar with the context.
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‘So tired I want to cry’: AI promotional giveaways swamp shops in China
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Comment on What are your food aversions? in ~food
Hollow LinkAnything slimy. That sounds vague I know, but it's the best description I have for why I can't stand mushrooms, aubergine, or courgette. Soft on the outside and strong on the inside, instead of...Anything slimy.
That sounds vague I know, but it's the best description I have for why I can't stand mushrooms, aubergine, or courgette. Soft on the outside and strong on the inside, instead of the other way around. -
Comment on Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month in ~tech
Hollow Link ParentThe customer support agency that was receiving the emails of ID document scans got hacked, Discord itself wasn't. I imagine they've been fired.The customer support agency that was receiving the emails of ID document scans got hacked, Discord itself wasn't. I imagine they've been fired.
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Comment on I made a word game in ~games
Hollow (edited )LinkFYI this is my first go: It Takes Time. I guess I'm too methodical for my own good ;)FYI this is my first go: It Takes Time. I guess I'm too methodical for my own good ;)
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Comment on Two small word games in ~games
Hollow Link ParentThere's a small "How to play" animation in the bottom right. Basically, there's five words all beginning with the same letter that have been fused together so each word is in the right order but...There's a small "How to play" animation in the bottom right. Basically, there's five words all beginning with the same letter that have been fused together so each word is in the right order but has to be separated from the other four.
eg:O R U T B I E T R
ORBIT
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Comment on The Boring Company faces Nashville tunnel criticism in ~transport
Hollow LinkThirty seconds of amused chuckling Yes, of course it will send a car every three seconds, 24/7, with no subsidisation, after they've already tunneled through incredibly difficult geology on their...The company says the project will be entirely self-funded, requiring nothing from taxpayers. In documents provided to Nashville officials, Boring says it will spend “a few hundred million dollars” to build a seamless and expandable underground network.
Thirty seconds of amused chuckling
Yes, of course it will send a car every three seconds, 24/7, with no subsidisation, after they've already tunneled through incredibly difficult geology on their own dime. -
Comment on I'm annoyed with mundane revisionist history in ~talk
Hollow Link ParentOn the other hand... It's a misconception that's probably saved several newts from unnecessary cruelty.On the other hand... It's a misconception that's probably saved several newts from unnecessary cruelty.
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Comment on Alphabet plots big expansion in India as US restricts visas in ~tech
Hollow Link Parent... Isn't it? I remember HRC claiming she'd levy an 'exit tax' on US companies trying to offshore (no idea if that was practical or sincere)Offshoring isn't talked about nearly enough in the media or in discussions about the job market.
... Isn't it? I remember HRC claiming she'd levy an 'exit tax' on US companies trying to offshore (no idea if that was practical or sincere)
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Comment on New York City congestion pricing’s unexpected winners: suburban drivers in ~transport
Hollow LinkThis is a fascinating analysis of the ripple effects from congestion pricing in downdown, and just as how congestion causes backups and jams far upstream of the affected area, reducing it and...As they expected, the researchers determined that the $9 charge has sped up vehicle journeys into Manhattan, nudging some people who would otherwise drive at peak times to instead ride transit, drive earlier or later, or forgo the trip entirely. Because traffic thinned, those still opting to enter Manhattan by car saved roughly 83,000 hours per week, averaging around three minutes per journey, according to the NBER paper.
But drivers who never ventured into the toll zone also saved time: As a group, this cohort, including those traveling within Bergen County or from the Bronx to Brooklyn, racked up savings exceeding 461,000 hours per week. An average journey became just eight seconds faster, but because there were over 100 times more of them than Manhattan-bound trips, their aggregated savings were more than five times greater.
This is a fascinating analysis of the ripple effects from congestion pricing in downdown, and just as how congestion causes backups and jams far upstream of the affected area, reducing it and encouraging public transit has eased travel far outside the city centre.
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Comment on The Devil Wears Prada 2 | Official trailer in ~movies
Hollow LinkThere honestly isn't anything here to hook me. I'll probably watch out of curiousity, but alll the trailer tells us is Miranda and Andi meet; Miranda denies knowing who she is for a trailer gag;...There honestly isn't anything here to hook me. I'll probably watch out of curiousity, but alll the trailer tells us is
- Miranda and Andi meet;
- Miranda denies knowing who she is for a trailer gag;
- Emily meets Andi and gives weak banter;
- Stanley Tucci is also back.
Now granted, the first TDWP didn't really have any scenes that could be put in a trailer to explain why it was so good either, since it's hard to compress writing, drama, pacing and acting into a few minutes in the same way a spectacle action scene or one-liner can. But all I'm really left with is "The main cast are back", and the comments reflect this with a focus on Meryl Streep being back (granted that one's important, but we already knew it), "We are so back", and "Cinema is so back".
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Comment on Terry Pratchett’s novels may have held clues to his dementia a decade before diagnosis, our new study suggests in ~books
Hollow Link ParentSnuff is certainly an extreme step down, but before that point I would indicate the weird lighthearted tone in Making Money (a deliberate choice after Thud! and Wintersmith, but it went way too...Snuff is certainly an extreme step down, but before that point I would indicate the weird lighthearted tone in Making Money (a deliberate choice after Thud! and Wintersmith, but it went way too far), Nutt in UA (who has the very strange drawback of being too likeable) along with the sudden obsession with football, and I Shall Wear Midnight was pretty good but had awful antagonists.
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Comment on Terry Pratchett’s novels may have held clues to his dementia a decade before diagnosis, our new study suggests in ~books
Hollow Link ParentSame. To me, everything after Wintersmith is a rapidly increasing decline in quality. There's still good stuff in there, but none of the books are 100% gold; in part because of their need to wrap...Same. To me, everything after Wintersmith is a rapidly increasing decline in quality. There's still good stuff in there, but none of the books are 100% gold; in part because of their need to wrap things up, and in part because of the sudden introduction of goblins. Presumably they were an element he'd intended to introduce for a long time and needed to force them in somehow before the end.
PCSX2 for PS2, and Project Xenia for 360.
Ace Combats 4, 5, and Zero are popularly known as the holy trinity of Ace Combat, for good reason. Some are more flawed than others, but all of them are unique experiences and playing them in order kind of takes you on a journey. Good luck, pilot! And join the Discord!