brews_hairy_cats's recent activity

  1. Comment on Japan cherry blossom festival cancelled because of unruly tourist ‘crisis’ in ~society

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    Related, Japan is holding a general election on Sunday, with the current prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, using overtourism as a campaign point. From what I saw, she is something like an interim...

    A Japanese cherry blossom festival near Mount Fuji has been cancelled after officials cited a rise in disruptive tourist behaviour.

    On Tuesday, officials in the central Japanese city of Fujiyoshida announced they would no longer host the Arakurayama Sengen park cherry blossom festival this year. The weeks-long event has been held for the past decade and attracts about 200,000 tourists annually.

    Authorities cited repeated incidents of disruptive behaviour from tourists in the city, which lies to the west of Tokyo. In addition to “opening private home doors without permission to use the restroom,” officials reported “trespassing, littering,” and tourists “defecating in private yards and raising a fuss when residents pointed this out,” the city said.

    Parents have also raised concerns about children being pushed aside on school routes as tourists crowd sidewalks, city officials said, according to Kyodo News.

    Related, Japan is holding a general election on Sunday, with the current prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, using overtourism as a campaign point. From what I saw, she is something like an interim prime minister, who got the position without being elected by the general population, and that's part of why they're holding a general election so soon after she became PM. Apparently, she is polling very well, and the general election gives her party a chance to win additional seats in the legislature

    19 votes

  3. Comment on ‘Baldur’s Gate’ TV series continuing game’s story in works at HBO from ‘The Last Of Us’ co-creator Craig Mazin and Hasbro Entertainment in ~tv

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    Gale! I know barely anything about him, and yet I remember my ten minutes with that character vividly Ten minutes with Gale It wasn't until I already had a full party that I went back and found...

    Gale! I know barely anything about him, and yet I remember my ten minutes with that character vividly

    Ten minutes with Gale

    It wasn't until I already had a full party that I went back and found Gale and Astarion. I pulled Gale out of the teleport circle, where I'd walked past it last time, because the game had warned me the portal looked very dangerous. He did not make a good first impression, lol, I immediately disliked that character.

    I could have used another magic user though, so I add him to my party, and as soon as I do, he pops up an exclamation mark, and I talk to him. We literally just met, but he's reminiscing about how much adventuring we've gone on so far, and how we've gotten to know each other, lol. He jumps right into talking about how he has a condition that's like an addiction, and right away he starts talking about how he wants to eat the all powerful artifact I'm carrying. Bruh, what???

    Before this, and for the hundreds of hours of game after, I held myself back from using the illithid psychic powers, but I thought it was important to read his mind, to see what he's thinking. So I read his mind. It was nothing but a pure black void, an insatiable hunger. Okay, wow. Right after, I happened to roll a bad dice roll, and so Gale caught me peering into his mind, and rightfully got angry. I tried once or twice to convince him to stay, half heartedly lol, and another bad dice roll made him permanently leave. I felt mildly bad, but my gut told me I was right to let him go

    It was such a bizarre interaction, going from meeting, to have him permanently leave, in a span of ten minutes

    OH, EXCEPT that now nine out of ten items I pick up, say something about Gale can eat this item... but Gale is gone, that's all I have left of him, the inventory messages that never go away, lol!

    I never went back to look up info about Gale, either, I never felt like I was missing anything big. The TV show could turn out to be my way of catching up, lol

    2 votes

  4. Comment on ‘Baldur’s Gate’ TV series continuing game’s story in works at HBO from ‘The Last Of Us’ co-creator Craig Mazin and Hasbro Entertainment in ~tv

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    Baldur's Gate 3 is a truly incredible game, it lives up to the hype, aside from the first few hours when I was questioning why people loved it that much. Then it clicked, and I was enraptured by...

    HBO is developing Baldur’s Gate, a drama series based on Wizards of the Coast’s video game franchise, with Mazin attached to create, write, executive produce and showrun the TV adaptation. Also exec producing are Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O’Connor and Hasbro Entertainment’s Gabriel Marano. Chris Perkins, the former longtime Head of Story at Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, which is behind the D&D game universe, will serve as consultant.

    Unlike HBO’s The Last Of Us, which retold the story from the PlayStation games, the Baldur’s Gate TV series will be a continuation to the games, telling a story that takes place immediately after the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, as the characters — old and new — are dealing with the ramifications of the events in the third game.

    Baldur's Gate 3 is a truly incredible game, it lives up to the hype, aside from the first few hours when I was questioning why people loved it that much. Then it clicked, and I was enraptured by it. I definitely wasn't expecting a TV adaptation that continues the story instead of a retelling, this is huge!

    9 votes

  6. Comment on ‘Country of the blind’: How will Bangladesh remember Muhammad Yunus? in ~society

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    Someone with principles, capability, and clear goals to add checks and balances in their government, blocked by bureaucratic walls and, what I read as self interested parties unwilling to give up...

    Someone with principles, capability, and clear goals to add checks and balances in their government, blocked by bureaucratic walls and, what I read as self interested parties unwilling to give up power. How disappointing, how typical

    3 votes

  7. Comment on Seven million cancers a year are preventable, says report in ~health

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    A report by World Health Organization (WHO) scientists estimates 37% of cancers are caused by infections, lifestyle choices and environmental pollutants that could be avoided.

    This includes cervical cancers caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infections which vaccination can help prevent, as well as a host of tumours caused by tobacco smoke from cigarettes.

    The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the WHO, analysed 30 preventable factors known to increase the risk of cancer.

    These include smoking and ultraviolet (UV) radiation which can directly damage our DNA; obesity and too little physical activity which alter inflammation and hormones in the body to raise cancer risk; and air pollution which can wake up dormant cancer cells.

    The big three contributors to more than 18 million cancer cases around the world were found to be:

    • smoking tobacco which caused 3.3 million cancers
    • infections causing 2.3 million cancers
    • alcohol use leading to 700,000 cancers
    6 votes

  9. Comment on High estrogen levels in brain may increase women's risk of stress-related memory issues in ~health

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    Experiencing multiple acute stresses at the same time, as in natural disasters or mass shootings, can leave lasting memory scars. New research from the University of California, Irvine suggests that levels of estrogen in the brain may play a surprising role in this vulnerability, especially for women. The study, published today in Neuron, provides insight into why women are more likely than men to develop post-traumatic stress disorder and face higher dementia risk later in life.

    “High estrogen is essential for learning, memory and overall brain health,” said Baram, who’s also a Donald Bren Professor and Danette Shepard Chair in Neurological Studies. “But when severe stress hits, the same mechanisms that normally help the brain adapt can backfire, locking in long-lasting memory problems.”

    Memory issues are driven by different estrogen receptors in men and women – alpha in men and beta in women. Blocking the relevant receptor prevented stress-related memory problems even when estrogen levels remained elevated, highlighting potential targets for sex-specific therapies.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Walmart hits $1 trillion market cap, fueled by growth of e-commerce, new businesses in ~finance

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    In hitting the benchmark, the largest U.S. retailer and grocer joins an exclusive club made up almost entirely of technology companies. Shares closed nearly 3% higher at $127.71, leaving the company with a $1.02 trillion market cap at the end of Tuesday.

    Walmart's stock has climbed more than 28% in the past year, and over 14% so far in 2026. That has outpaced the roughly 15% and 1% gains in those time frames, respectively, for the S&P 500.

    The retailer's inclusion in a group heavy on tech companies illustrates much about its ambitions. Walmart has tried to grow profits faster than sales in recent years by leaning into its third-party marketplace and advertising businesses — both of which bring higher margins than its traditional brick-and-mortar operations.

    5 votes

  13. Comment on BBC joins Colombian commandos fighting 'never-ending battle' against drug gangs in ~society

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    We took off, flying over the district of Putumayo - close to the border with Ecuador - part of Colombia's cocaine heartland. The country provides about 70% of the world's supply.

    President Donald Trump says Colombia's left-wing President Gustavo Petro is not doing enough to prevent cocaine from his country winding up on America's streets. Last month he called him "a sick man who likes selling cocaine to the United States" and said "he could be next" for US military intervention. But that threat appears to have receded.

    President Petro counters that his government has seized the largest amount of drugs in history. But on his watch cocaine production has also soared to record highs, according to the United Nations 'World Drug Report 2025. Petro disputes the UN's method of counting.

    The fight against drug production and trafficking from Colombia will be high on the agenda when the two presidents meet in the White House on Tuesday.

    Two women and a man emerge from the trees, probably workers at the lab – willing or unwilling. One of the women is in torn clothing and all wear wellington boots. The commandos question them briefly but make no arrests. Colombia's anti -narcotics strategy targets those at the top of the cocaine trade, not the dirt-poor farmers at the bottom.

    Minutes later we are rushed away as the commandos prepare to set the lab alight – destroying the crop, and the chemicals.

    "There are 50 or 60 more labs in this area," says one officer, who does not want to be named.

    His enemy is evolving. Colombia's drug gangs use drones and bitcoin and bring chemists into the jungle to create ingredients on site. Major Cedano Díaz, 37, admits the cocaine war may not be over his lifetime.

    Under attack from Donald Trump for not doing enough, Colombia's Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez has defended his country's record, politely.

    "The president has been misinformed," he told us. "We destroy cocaine factories every forty minutes. And over the past three and half years we have seized 2,800 tonnes of cocaine. That amounts to 47 billion doses of cocaine that never reached foreign markets."

    He argues that the demand for cocaine is also a problem, not just the supply. "With cocaine use rising in Europe, it's very difficult to eradicate the supply here," he says.

    Cocaine is the second most commonly used illicit drug in Europe – after cannabis – according to the European Union Drugs Agency. It says the availability and use of the of the drug continue to increase, "resulting in greater costs to society".

    2 votes

  15. Comment on CGA-2026-01 🕹️⛵🛡️ REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in ~games

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    Lol, I hadn't thought about that, but I interpreted those bosses as a dream sequence, personally. I played the Gamecube version, I don't know if it's different on other ones, but the recycled...

    Lol, I hadn't thought about that, but I interpreted those bosses as a dream sequence, personally. I played the Gamecube version, I don't know if it's different on other ones, but the recycled bosses in Ganon's Tower came with trippy visual effects entering the battle, and black and white everything during the fights, so it felt like a dream

    4 votes

  16. Comment on Silver plunges 30% in worst day since 1980, gold tumbles as Kevin Warsh pick eases US Federal Reserve independence fear in ~finance

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    Also I looked for a non political angle, but I couldn't. Apparently Wall Street thinks the next Fed candidate, Kevin Warsh, will stand his ground against US executive branch demands, and that...

    Gold and silver prices plunged Friday, as President Donald Trump's nomination for the next chair of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, appeared to relieve concerns about the central bank's independence and sent the dollar soaring.

    Spot silver was down 28% at $83.45 an ounce, trading near its lows of the day. Silver futures plummeted 31.4% to settle at $78.53, marking its worst day since March 1980.

    Gold and silver both enjoyed record-smashing rallies in 2025, surging 66% and 135%, respectively, over the course of the year.

    Precious metals have been on a stellar rally over the past 12 months, amid broader market volatility, the decline of the U.S. dollar, bubbling geopolitical tensions and concerns about the independence of the Federal Reserve.

    Also I looked for a non political angle, but I couldn't. Apparently Wall Street thinks the next Fed candidate, Kevin Warsh, will stand his ground against US executive branch demands, and that supposedly strengthens the dollar

    13 votes

  18. Comment on CGA-2026-01 🕹️⛵🛡️ REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in ~games

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    This time, I'll list a few of my favorite parts of the game. I already listed my complaints in the last topic, so I'll try to be positive here My favorite bosses were the centipede under the...

    This time, I'll list a few of my favorite parts of the game. I already listed my complaints in the last topic, so I'll try to be positive here

    My favorite bosses were the centipede under the dragon's butt, the hanging tentacle flower, and the final boss, even though I struggled with the puppet part. The centipede boss felt so epic, somehow, as the first real boss of the game. Swinging on that rope and looking down on the centipede, it looks massive. The tentacle flower, it was mostly satisfying using the boomerang and hitting a bunch of targets all at once. And I just loved the creativity of the puppet boss, it was a memorable design, and so creepy!

    My favorite dungeon has to be the first paired up dungeon, where the winged girl goes in with the hero. It was fun swapping back and forth and controlling a different character, one with multiple different skills and that participated in puzzles. It was so funny seeing the hero carry her around too! I really liked that dungeon's puzzles!

    That brings me to the art design in general, it's timeless. I feel like games are still coming out with similar art, even after twenty years. It was easy to ease in to this one, after installing that mod that fixed the camera.

    It's the same with the general design of the game, it felt a lot like a modern open world game, in a lot of ways. It was mostly missing the always-in-your-face quest markers, and there was some retro game repetitive tedium, like conducting the same Wind Waker songs again and again, but otherwise, I was honestly impressed with how modern it felt

    I appreciate how most of the island secrets were optional, that's respectful of the player's time, they made it clear enough what's optional, and there's plenty of secrets for anyone who wants more of that

    I was happy to have experienced The Wind Waker, thank you, Tildes!

    5 votes

  19. Comment on CGA-2026-01 🕹️⛵🛡️ INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in ~games

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    I beat The Wind Waker! It stood up well for a more than two decade old game! I'll start with my complaints, and then the good parts First, getting the game on RetroDeck on my steam deck was hard,...

    I beat The Wind Waker! It stood up well for a more than two decade old game! I'll start with my complaints, and then the good parts

    First, getting the game on RetroDeck on my steam deck was hard, even with the very helpful guides in these comments. Once I finally got it working, I actually enjoyed the game a lot, I found the first half incredible!

    Before long, I came to my senses and I realized, I hate 3D platformers, seriously! I played A Hat in Time last year, after hearing its rave reviews, and I get why people loved that game, but it also frustrated me so much. Now that I think about it, that game and Wind Waker have a lot in common, they're both cute and quirky, they're colorful, a lot of gameplay is about collecting items. And 3D platforming.

    Rant time, swinging on ropes and jumping between ropes, it was not fun for me. Anything involving slippery floors, frustrating and not fun. Bats, skulls, sharks, any monsters knocking me out of the air out of my path, that was pure BS

    There were too many gauntlet fights toward the end, during the forced collection part, that I think another commenter mentioned. I actually did the optional super long gauntlet, it was a good challenge, but it was just way too long and repetitive

    There were a couple of puzzle rooms that I got stuck in for a really long time each. I tried hard not to look at guides for puzzle rooms, I and I lucked into the solutions a few times

    Wind dungeon puzzle

    I got stuck for a long time in the second room of the Wind Temple. The solution is just to put the Korok on the dirt patch on the far side of the room. I hated this room, because there's no indication of what the dirt patch even means, until I gave up and walked the Korok over, for no reason in particular. I got stuck trying to flip up the wall using the deku leaf, trying to throw bombs onto the wall, trying to get the Korok to blow wind somehow, nothing was working, obviously

    Fire island

    This one was super frustrating, because the solution is right there, but the game doesn't tell the player how to do anything. All I had to do was kill the two centipedes, and a chest appears. The problem was, I had no idea the centipedes could die! The centipedes appear in an earlier dungeon, and I hit one like twenty times, and it didn't die, so I thought these were the same. On the same platform as those centipedes, there's one of those giant rock faces, and when I pressed A on it, the red dragon boat had a dialogue saying, with the power I currently have, I cannot move or damage the rock face, so I should give up, so I actually left the island, thinking okay, I'll come back later! That was terrible advice! I ended up having to look up the solution, which was just to kill the centipedes, and I didn't realize they could die just by hitting them while they're curled up. I don't think this even counts as a puzzle, but I got stuck on it, and that part made me angry, lol

    One of the collection items needed near the end of the game

    There's one annoying af triforce piece near the Private Oasis. On the IN-credible map, it leads me to a spot in the ocean where there's a Big Octo, so I killed it, and it gave me a 100 rupees. Needless to say, I wasted a lot of time sailing around here, looking for the triforce. It turns out, the triforce is on the private island, and I'm supposed to know to look up for some reason, and go through the fireplace? Are you shitting me, game? Lol

    How to get treasures from the sea

    It took me the longest time to figure out that I could use the grappling hook to get treasures from the sea. How tf was I supposed to know that? It wasn't until after I got the hookshot that I happened to figure this out. I tried the hookshot, nope, tried the boomerang, closer. I didn't think the grappling hook would do anything, but I tried it because I was literally just trying every item. Out popped the crane, for some reason. That's some crazy game design, omg

    The final boss

    I got stuck on the puppet boss for more than half an hour, because it's not clear that light arrows could hurt the glass bead on the tail. I tried literally every other combination of attacks and items to try to hurt the monster, try to jump on its back, try to cut the remaining rope, I hit that glass bead with hammers, rocks, swords, even a fire arrow. I jumped up on the platforms so many times with the hookshot, so I could try to jump on the puppet's head, which doesn't work. This one could be on me, though, I don't know why I didn't use the light arrow. If the bead were glowing with darkness, maybe I would have thought to use light arrows on it straight away, but it looked more like ice to me. Ugh!

    Wow, my complaints ended up being too long, lol. I'll write up the good parts of the game next time

    4 votes

  20. Comment on US judge indicates Elon Musk’s fraud lawsuit against OpenAI will head to trial in ~tech

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    A federal judge on Wednesday indicated a jury will be allowed to decide whether artificial intelligence trailblazer OpenAI hoodwinked its billionaire co-founder Elon Musk during its evolution from a nonprofit research lab into a capitalistic enterprise now valued at $500 billion.

    Without issuing an official ruling, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers made it clear that she intended to reject OpenAI’s motion to dismiss a 17-month-old case that Musk filed against a San Francisco startup that he helped create in 2015.

    6 votes