kfwyre's recent activity
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Comment on Amazon killing purchasing, borrowing and downloading books for older Kindles in ~tech
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Comment on NASA’s Artemis II crew flies around the moon (live broadcast) in ~space
kfwyre Link ParentThat first dashboard in particular is great! Thanks for the link. I shared it with my students and some other teachers.That first dashboard in particular is great! Thanks for the link. I shared it with my students and some other teachers.
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Comment on Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" as his threatened attacks on Iranian infrastructure loom ahead of deadline in ~society
kfwyre (edited )LinkLest anyone think Trump alone is the issue, or that “he didn’t really mean it” or that “it was just a negotiation tactic,” here’s what our very own Senate Republicans had to say about Trump’s...Lest anyone think Trump alone is the issue, or that “he didn’t really mean it” or that “it was just a negotiation tactic,” here’s what our very own Senate Republicans had to say about Trump’s genocidal threat:
Iran would be wise to take President Trump at his word.
They can choose the easy way or the hard way.
EDIT: I should mention that I found this because I specifically searched for Republican officials’ responses to Trump, thinking, naively, that they would have some pushback for something so egregiously over the line.
Joke’s on me. All I got was this Axios article (mirror) featuring a measly two Republicans and one Independent condemning his statement, followed by the statement from the Senate Republicans that I linked showing strong support.
Shame on me for believing there’d be a line too far for them. Clearly there isn’t.
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Comment on Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" as his threatened attacks on Iranian infrastructure loom ahead of deadline in ~society
kfwyre Link ParentAgreed. If I gave the proportional amount of anger to all of this, I would have spent the last decade completely pissed off, all of the time. And for what? It’s simply not sustainable. At some...Agreed.
If I gave the proportional amount of anger to all of this, I would have spent the last decade completely pissed off, all of the time. And for what?
It’s simply not sustainable. At some point I have to throw up my hands, acknowledge that I’m powerless over what he’s doing but have some say over what I do, and prioritize the latter.
I’ve spent the last decade doing that instead, and even that has been fucking exhausting.
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Comment on Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" as his threatened attacks on Iranian infrastructure loom ahead of deadline in ~society
kfwyre Link ParentI agree with you, which is mortifying, because it means I accept the premise that our president could be goaded into genocide on account of mean tweets. It’s an idea that, in a normal world, would...I agree with you, which is mortifying, because it means I accept the premise that our president could be goaded into genocide on account of mean tweets.
It’s an idea that, in a normal world, would sound completely absurd. Utter nonsense.
Unfortunately we live in this fucking fun house mirror of a distorted reality in which that is an all too plausible outcome. I hate it here.
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Comment on Humble Choice - April 2026 in ~games
kfwyre (edited )LinkWarning: If you're potentially interested in the DLC for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, then activating the base game included in this bundle might work against you. Long-winded Explanation: Ubisoft...Warning: If you're potentially interested in the DLC for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, then activating the base game included in this bundle might work against you.
Long-winded Explanation:
Ubisoft games tend to be sold in different tiers with different combinations of DLC (for example, Valhalla has the Base Game, as well as "Deluxe", "Ragnarok", and "Complete" editions each at separate price points). If you buy the Base Game and later want the content for the Deluxe Edition, you have to buy those addons separately.
Pretty standard, right?
Well, Ubisoft usually discounts the different editions of their games significantly more than they discount their DLC upgrade paths. Furthermore, buying a "lower" edition of a game locks you out of buying a higher full edition later. So, if the Complete Edition later goes on sale, you're not able to buy it if you already own a lower version.
What this looks like is that the base game will often go on sale for quite cheap (Valhalla was recently $6), but if you buy that game, it will end up costing you significantly more to get all the piecemeal DLC later than it would had you simply bought the discounted Complete Edition in the first place.
Additionally, sometimes DLC is locked to higher editions and isn't available separately. Valhalla has an "Ultimate Pack" that's only available via the Deluxe and Complete Editions -- you can't get it on its own.
As such, the best way to get a full Ubisoft game with all DLC is usually to wait for the Complete Edition to go on deep discount, rather than buying the cheap base version and trying to upgrade it later -- sometimes because it's more expensive, and sometimes because it's literally not possible to get the complete game if you didn't get it all upfront.
The one caveat I'll give to this: to their credit, base Ubisoft games tend to have a LOT of content, so it's perfectly possible to buy just the base game and have a ton of fun with it on its own. The base game for Valhalla has a whopping 60+ hour average on HowLongToBeat, for example. So if you're unconcerned about the DLC, then getting the base game for cheap is often a great deal.
The other caveat I'll give (even though I promised only one above): everything I've written is all speculation based on Ubisoft's past practices. It's not a guarantee, and I could end up being totally wrong in this case.
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Humble Choice - April 2026
April 2026's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games. Steam Page OpenCritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB Assassin's Creed Valhalla 83 67 / 68...
April 2026's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games.
Steam Page OpenCritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB Assassin's Creed Valhalla 83 67 / 68 Win 🟨 Playable 🟨 Gold Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion 70 68 / 63 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria 60 71 / 80 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum Until Then 82 95 / 98 Win ✅ Verified ✅ Native Planet of Lana 81 93 / 93 Win ✅ Verified 🎖️ Platinum Artisan TD N/A 81 / 72 Win ✅ Verified 🎖️ Platinum The Procession to Calvary 79 95 / 97 Win, Mac, Linux ✅ Verified ✅ Native Buddy Simulator 1984 78 78 / 94 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum Does anyone have experience with any of the games and, if so, would you recommend them? Is there anything in here that you're particularly excited to play?
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Comment on Tildes Book Club schedule 2025 - 2026 in ~books
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 6 in ~society
kfwyre LinkTrump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimesTrump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimes
“We are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously,” he said in prepared remarks that were amplified by the state department’s social media accounts.
There is little debate among legal experts that such an attack on the life-supporting infrastructure for 93 million Iranians would constitute a war crime.
“Such rhetorical statements – if followed through – would amount to the most serious war crimes – and thus the president’s statements place service members in a profoundly challenging situation,” two former judge advocate general (JAG) officers, Margaret Donovan and Rachel VanLandingham wrote on the website Just Security on Monday.
“As former uniformed military lawyers who advised targeting operations, we know the president’s words run counter to decades of legal training of military personnel and risk placing our warfighters on a path of no return.”
They noted that Trump’s boast that he would bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages”, and the order by his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, to show “no quarter, no mercy” were not just “plainly illegal” but they also represented a rupture from the moral and legal principles that US military personnel had been “trained to follow their entire careers”.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 30 in ~society
kfwyre LinkTrump to Iran: "Open the Fuckin' Strait" or face bombing Tuesday I saw a screencap of his message, and I reflexively assumed it was fake. I hate that I was wrong.Trump to Iran: "Open the Fuckin' Strait" or face bombing Tuesday
I saw a screencap of his message, and I reflexively assumed it was fake. I hate that I was wrong.
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Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of April 5 in ~games
kfwyre LinkHouse Flipper is free to keep on Steam until tomorrow, as a promo for the upcoming House Flipper Remastered Collection. I played this for a couple of hours a while back. It's one of those janky...House Flipper is free to keep on Steam until tomorrow, as a promo for the upcoming House Flipper Remastered Collection.
I played this for a couple of hours a while back. It's one of those janky chore simulator games that are satisfying to play because fighting entropy is eminently satisfying for some reason. Even though the jank is fully expected in this sort of game, it eventually wore away at me and I stopped playing it as a result.
Hopefully the Remaster smooths over some of its rough edges, as I'd honestly love to give it another go. I find games like this sort of meditative and a nice thing to sink into after a long day at work.
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Comment on RAYE - Click Clack Symphony feat. Hans Zimmer (2026) in ~music
kfwyre LinkHer new album is STUNNING. It's been a while since pop music has seen a force as strong as her.Her new album is STUNNING.
It's been a while since pop music has seen a force as strong as her.
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RAYE - Click Clack Symphony feat. Hans Zimmer (2026)
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Comment on Donald Trump says it's 'not possible' for the US to pay for Medicaid, Medicare and day care: 'We’re fighting wars' in ~society
kfwyre LinkSo we’re finally admitting it’s a war and not just a “military action”?So we’re finally admitting it’s a war and not just a “military action”?
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Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk
kfwyre Link ParentIt’s pretty much entirely atmospheric and existential dread. I’m not a huge horror fan (especially if there’s anything gory), but I loved this.It’s pretty much entirely atmospheric and existential dread. I’m not a huge horror fan (especially if there’s anything gory), but I loved this.
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Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk
kfwyre Link ParentA Short Stay in Hell is a novella directly inspired by Borges’s Babel. It technically does have a set of characters who might be considered antagonists, but they’re really only a subplot, with the...A Short Stay in Hell is a novella directly inspired by Borges’s Babel. It technically does have a set of characters who might be considered antagonists, but they’re really only a subplot, with the main “antagonist” (if you can call it that) being the library itself.
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Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk
kfwyre LinkGreat question! House of Sand and Fog -- the book or the movie (both are great) A recovering addict trying to rebuild her life gets evicted from her house, and an immigrant family trying to...Great question!
House of Sand and Fog -- the book or the movie (both are great)
A recovering addict trying to rebuild her life gets evicted from her house, and an immigrant family trying to establish themselves buys it. What follows is a dispute over the ownership of the house itself, with both parties having legitimate claims to it.
It's been a long while since I've read/watched this, so a lot of the finer details are lost on me, but I remember liking it specifically because you can identify with each of the characters, and they are all portrayed as complex, flawed individuals. The book isn't a heavy-handed morality play but a nuanced exploration of a difficult situation.
In case anyone is excited by the title, I'll note that it has absolutely nothing in common with the similarly named House of Leaves.
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Comment on Indie Pass, a PC subscription service for indie games to launch on April 13, 2026 in ~games
kfwyre LinkInteresting! I’ll probably subscribe for a couple of months — partly to see how it is and partly because I like the idea of helping something like this get off the ground. I’d love for the...Interesting!
I’ll probably subscribe for a couple of months — partly to see how it is and partly because I like the idea of helping something like this get off the ground.
I’d love for the launcher to have Linux support, but I suspect it’ll probably be for Windows.
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Comment on Megathread: April Fools' Day 2026 on the internet in ~talk
kfwyre Link ParentThis is excellent, and the Artemis II launch has me all in a space mood, so now I'm playing around with your site in a genuine, honest, non-April Fool's way (though the April Fool's stuff is fun...This is excellent, and the Artemis II launch has me all in a space mood, so now I'm playing around with your site in a genuine, honest, non-April Fool's way (though the April Fool's stuff is fun too!).
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Comment on Megathread: April Fools' Day 2026 on the internet in ~talk
kfwyre Link ParentLove that the "THIS SITE IS GAY" banner links to Bearscape (as all such links should).Love that the "THIS SITE IS GAY" banner links to Bearscape (as all such links should).
I knew this day would eventually come, but I'm still not happy about it.
I have an old Kindle 4 that I use exclusively to de-DRM books that I buy that I can't get elsewhere. I fully realize that a lot of these I could just get by other means, but I genuinely do like buying books, and I also like that I know I'm getting a good, direct copy *rather than an ebook that has played a telephone game through different formats and is often subpar as a result).
Part of me wants to just buy a newer used Kindle so I can kick the can down the road and keep doing what I'm doing, while part of me wants to finally admit that there's no honor in trying to do things the "right" way -- especially when Amazon has been trying to amp up their DRM lockdown.
Also, I've plugged this before, but it's probably worth a re-mention: I primarily buy my books through Kobo now, but I de-DRM everything and upload it to BookFusion, which is essentially a bring-your-own-files cloud reading platform.
I absolutely adore BookFusion. I cannot recommend it enough. I've got my whole library set up through it, and it's where I now do all of my reading.
If you're looking to exit the Amazon ecosystem and don't mind doing a little bit of legwork to get your library up and running, it's excellent.
If anyone's interested in it and has any questions, I'm happy to answer them. I'm not paid by the company or anything -- I'm just a really happy customer that's delighted that all of my ebooks from all of my different sources now live under one roof (and all get the same first-class treatment).