#and obviously this show is flawed and dated because it was made 60 YEARS AGO

[daftmooncretin]

james Tiberius Kirk is pro choice and pro contraceptives just fyi

[lorz-ix]

AEW: Fight Forever (2023)

No prizes for guessing who was convinced to get back into wrestling recently.

What we got here is the first non-indie alternative to WWE games that wrestling fans have had in, what, over a decade? A game that saw a bunch of delays from its original release date, and it shows. I'll start with the negatives.

If we compare this to the annual WWE releases, it's a losing battle. For a similar prize (speaking of base game here, if you count DLC then WWE is much more expensive) you're getting a game that looks noticeably worse and has less content. The graphics are the first thing you'll notice, looking outdated, like this obviously doesn't have the budget of a AAA game. But that's fine, worse graphics are totally chill, if it wasn't for the lack of consistency, as some characters look totally fine and others are comedically uncanny.

In terms of content, you have a variety of match types, but there's always a bunch of stuff you wish you could do and simply isn't there, like a steel cage match for example. There's online modes, but they're predictably rather empty. There's a career mode, and it's fun enough, with branching storylines, but it's very short and will surely disappoint a bunch of people (despite the fact that you're expected to play it several times so I'd rather have something short and manageable). The customization gets the worst end of the deal, as created characters get a very underwhelming amount of options, most members of the roster only get 1 costume (while some get up to 6). A bunch of features you would expect from other games like this you might have played are lacking or missing.

The other disappointing part of the game that's obviously a product of the lower budget and the delays is the roster. I started watching the TV program around the time that this came out, and there's a bunch of wrestlers that seem very important on TV and are nowhere to be seen here. Similarly, after watching the show for a few months, there are plenty of characters in this roster that I haven't seen on TV even once, or people who look fairly different on TV compared to the game. From what I hear from other people that followed AEW before me, the roster screams "this should have come out like a year ago". All these negatives really pile up and make it a hard game to recommend for a whopping 60 dollars, whether you're a fan or not.

As for the positives, the core gameplay is what's carrying this entire experience. The controls are simple enough to learn and to remember, but you still get a bunch of stuff you can do during a fight. It's snappy, satisfying, and a bit addictive. In part I had so much fun playing that it contributed to that feeling of wanting to do more things but not being able to, because the content isn't there.

The career mode was a decent highlight, it's simple and even repetitive at times, with very little voice acting and other details that scream low budget, but there's a good amount of comedic situations that made me chuckle, and looking at the branching structure, you get what feels like 3 separate, complete stories with varying degrees of seriousness. I had fun watching my bootleg John Cena character have a Persona 4 moment and fight his own shadow/manifestation of self-doubt before a big fight, only to play the campaign with a different character and go through a vastly different story.

The last more-or-less positive was the online battle royale mode they added with a free update. It's janky, it's online-only, which really sucks because there are very few active players, but it's a really silly and entertaining extra mode to play every now and then. Not exactly competitive or anything, but I'm so glad it's there. Makes you feel there's more value for your money, for sure.

I know I sound overly negative, but I really feel like the game, with all its flaws, is worth playing, it's ultimately fun. I'd say it's a massive case of "wait for a sale", because I can't imagine anyone who isn't a mega fan of AEW and/or the wrestlers in that company thinking it was worth their 60 whole bucks.

[legendaryobservationpuppy]

The Most Effective FRESH DOG FOOD DELIVERY IMO: HEALTH AND CONVENIENCE FROM THE FARMER'S DOG

At an occasion years ago, I talked with somebody who was a quite pet-savvy person. We spoke about dog food, as well as I mentioned adding fresh veggies-- carrots, beans, peas, etc.-- to the young boys' food. She looked aghast. "I don't feed my dogs individuals food," she said. "I don't want to transform them into beggars."

OK, the habits issue apart, when she stated "people food," I could not assist yet question: Well, what is dog food made of otherwise ... food? A minimum of, shouldn't it be constructed from food, genuine food, like the kind individuals eat? If a bag of kibble states it has carrots in it, exactly how's that various from providing your dog a carrot?

The discussion seemed ridiculous to me, and now, say thanks to benefits, it's come cycle ...

THE FARMER'S DOG FOOD REVIEW

WHY FRESH DOG FOOD?

This is the large, underlying concern: Why feed your dog fresh dog food?

At the end of the day, food is food is food is food. What makes one meal different from another eventually comes down to just how it's made, right? Take the carrot example. Boiling and also steaming both prepare the carrots, however steaming protects its nutrients while steaming sheds 60% or more of the carrot's nutrients. Eating a raw carrot may not be best, either, though due to the fact that study shows that some food preparation techniques may really boost the carrot's antioxidant power. Basically, a steamed carrot is a carrot, a boiled carrot is a carrot, a raw carrot is a carrot, a dehydrated carrot extruded right into kibble form is still a carrot ... however they're not all nutritionally equivalent. I believe we can all settle on that, as well as I believe we can all concur that there's absolutely nothing grosser than a boiled carrot. (Actually, perhaps steamed asparagus is grosser?).

Anyway.

If you're mosting likely to eat food, which of course you are, and also if you're going to feed your dog food, which of course you are, wouldn't you want it to be the most nutritionally-rich food readily available? Obviously you do! We all do! And the advantage to our dogs is that they don't have to pick between, claim, a smoked poultry bust vs. drive-thru chicken nuggets because we make the decisions on their behalf. So, it stands to factor that if we know fresh food is best, as well as we're in position to make a decision the most effective food to feed our puppies, we 'd wish to go fresh, yeah?

There are a TON of fresh foods hitting the market (more on that particular in a minute), however we've found The Farmer's Dog to fit our way of living, spending plan, and Coop's belly peculiarities.

Backing up one fast action: When I wrote about The Farmer's Dog previously, we switched foods after getting the results of Cooper's allergic reaction examination. At the time, I really did not write a complete review due to the fact that I wasn't certain how handy it would be given that I was so focused on food allergic reactions. We were so pumped to find a recipe that really did not include a single allergen from Coop's list, and also while he's restricted to among the three solutions for that extremely reason, it's made measurable, obvious distinctions in his stubborn belly. I wanted to sing that from the roofs! However, SO numerous of you have actually connected with details concerns I really did not answer in that blog post that I believed I would certainly draw them together in a full evaluation nevertheless!

Note: Because I assume turning proteins is so very vital, we're still rotating in The Honest Kitchen due to the fact that 2 of the three solutions from The Farmer's Dog do include irritants on Coop's list.

The other large point is that our food manufacturing system is deeply flawed. Romaine lettuce, any person? I'm certain you've all seen the congeries as well as gobs of dog food remembers as a result of tainted active ingredients, too. Actually, there's a significant one underway as I kind this: FDA Alerts Pet Owners concerning Potentially Toxic Levels of Vitamin D in Several Dry Pet Foods.

It's critically essential to me that we're feeding Cooper a food where the active ingredients are properly sourced as well as the production is smaller range for much better quality assurance. I fully recognize that no food manufacturing system is excellent. For that, we would certainly have to expand as well as make our very own, which allowed's be straightforward, isn't taking place.

THE VERY BEST FRESH DOG FOOD DELIVERY.

I assume we can all concur that fresh food is the method to go, however that's not without a substantial list of pros vs disadvantages when it concerns pet food. It's not like you can stroll right into the produce area of your local pet store and also pick up a fresh dish, ya understand? Let's take a look at a few of the evident advantages and disadvantages of fresh dog food as well as fresh dog food delivery services:.

Price: Equal parts PRO/CON. I enter into this carefully below re: The Farmer's Dog, yet these services are definitely more costly than getting an average store bag of kibble (though there are several superior kibbles that are similar or even more costly). I do assume it's worth taking a look at the expense of health-related issues from fast food vs. wholesome foods. However you men understand me: I'm NOT somebody that says in a covering declaration kibble is bad. It's not. Although I advocate genuine, whole food, these solutions could not fit your budget plan. #noshame It's my viewpoint that The Farmer's Dog is priced at a reasonable worth. It's most definitely a stretch if you've been feeding normal kibble, however not if you've been feeding premium or, as we were, a dried alternative like The Honest Kitchen.

Packaging: PRO! Alright, you guys. You know I'm consumed with searching for green remedies to every animal care problem. Well, The Farmer's Dog can be found in recyclable packaging AND the insulation is corn starch that you liquify in your kitchen area sink! The brand is dedicated to sustainability, as well, so you can trust that their production techniques are gentler on the setting.

Website/ordering: CON. You can not see the formulas till you create an account. I feel like that's a disappointment for those people that have dogs that are SO sensitive to active ingredients that we can't choose till we see every last active ingredient.

Ease: PRO! Extra on this below, yet having the food automatically shipped is a life saver.

Small-batch manufacturing: PRO! For all the factors mentioned above. And also each packet comes identified particularly for Cooper.

THE FARMER'S DOG VS OLLIE (OR NOMNOM NOW, PETPLATE, ETC.).

Fresh food + shipment is the future, y' all.

Hopefully by now you're on board with the fresh food item, yet shipment?

OK, so I know that you're busy. I'm hectic, you're active, we're all essentially extended so thin it's difficult to maintain. Grocery store pick-up has actually changed my life! I truthfully can't stand entering into the shop-- really, grocery buying is my single most despised chore-- so buying online then driving over and having a person tons it right into my auto is, in my opinion, the best invention of my life time.

At the very least it was.

Till ... Delivery!

Distribution is the next wave of convenience foods, which is SO much better than "comfort" foods like McDonald's or microwave meals since you can pick all your very own healthy and balanced foods and have them given your doorstep. My neighbors, who have 5 youngsters, obtain their groceries provided, and also I'm certain it's altered their lives right! Well, that's just how I really feel regarding fresh food distribution for my pets. I think more people are demanding delivery for more and more things (I have 3 different apps on my phone for takeout/delivery services ...) so you can expect to see tons of fresh dog food shipment brands appear to fulfill that requirement.

After my previous article, I got a lots of inquiries regarding exactly how The Farmer's Dog compares to Ollie. Truthfully? We've never attempted Ollie. I did Google a bunch of the brand names that are currently around, and also almost everything I read placed The Farmer's Dog towards the top for convenience, expense, and also alternatives. Right here's a testimonial from a food blog site I like if you want to check out some particular contrasts.

Just How Much DOES THE FARMER'S DOG COST?

It varies. It depends on the dimension as well as age of your dog as well as his or her everyday calorie requirements. Let's say you enjoy a sedentary pug. Well, your price is going to be reduced-- and also appropriately so!-- than my high-energy, perma-pup Am Staff mix. He needs a great deal of calories in the day to stay up to date with his skittering as well as cat chasing!

That said, they do supply arrangements to do the dish as a mattress topper, which I believe would be an ahhhhhmazing means to blend whole foods right into a kibble or dehydrated diet plan in a cost-effective method.

My recommendations? Try it at 50% off as well as see. It's either going to work wonders for your dog as well as his diet plan (which I truly do think it will certainly) or it will not! But, it can't hurt to try, specifically at such a reduced cost.

ALL-TIME LOW LINE.

At the end of the day, every person wants to do what's finest for their pup. That's it. All of us do the best we can with the criteria we have. No, this isn't mosting likely to be for everyone. It might not be a square meal option for you, either, yet the topper situation might work. Or, possibly you're ready to dive into something brand-new. Everybody's doing their ideal, and as long as you're caring your pet dogs, you're doing terrific. If part of that includes attempting The Farmer's Dog fresh dog food shipment service, I would certainly enjoy to assist you start with a discount: Click below to try it for 50% off!

What rocks have I left unturned? I attempted to answer the inquiries I had obtained via email as well as DM, but in case I missed something, or if an additional question cropped up for you as you were reading this, please leave them in the remarks! I 'd love to supply as much info as feasible, and if I do not understand the solution, I'm always satisfied to connect to the business to find the right information!

[edge-of-greatnesss]

I was tagged by @very-secret-diary

the last …


1. drink: Water

2. phone call: My mom

3. text message: Kara, as per usual lol

4. song you listened to: I don’t remember? When I was driving home earlier today the radio was on but I don’t remember what song was last...

5. time you cried: Three or four days ago probably?

6. dated someone twice:  I’ve never dated anyone

7. kissed someone and regretted it: I’ve never kissed anyone so no

8. been cheated on: Nope

9. lost someone special: Luckily never

10. been depressed: I don’t know

11. gotten drunk and thrown up: Never

favorite colors

12. Purple

13. Blue probably? Blue is probably the color I wear the most?

14. Olive green I guess, idk lol

in the last year have you…

15. made new friends:  I guess, yeah

16. fallen out of love: No

17. laughed until you cried: Yes

18. found out someone was talking about you: No

19. met someone who changed you: No

20. found out who your friends are: I already knew?

21. kissed someone on your facebook list: No

general

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: Pretty much all of them

23. do you have any pets: Yes, a dog, and he is the best dog ever I will fight you

24. do you want to change your name: No, my name is fine

25. what did you do for your last birthday: I had Panera for breakfast, went to class to do stupid physics for like 5-ish hours, went out to dinner with my family, and then watched Big Brother lol

26. what time did you wake up: I think about 10am

27. what were you doing at midnight last night: Playing board games with my cousin and brother

28. name something you can’t wait for: To be done with physics forever

29. when was the last time you saw your mom: Like 3-ish hours ago?

31. what are you listening to right now: my dog barking

32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: This is annoying me because I feel like I must have but also I can’t think of anyone? So no?

33. something that is getting on your nerves: physics lol

34. most visited website: YouTube and Tumblr

35. hair colour: Dark brown

36. long or short hair: My hair is kind of long right now, I think I’m probably going to get it cut soon though, to like just past my shoulders or something maybe

37. do you have a crush on someone: No

38. what do you like about yourself: idk lol?? I like my hair I guess.  And my taste in fictional things, that’s good.  I like that I’m smart, sometimes.

39. piercings: I have my ears pierced but I never wear earrings

40. blood type: I have no idea, I should find out though

41. nickname: When I was little one of my friends called me Mandi, I don’t really know why? But now, no.

42. relationship status: single

43. zodiac: cancer

44. pronouns: she/her

45. favourite tv show: This is hard. I’m just going to list some I guess... Skam, Supergirl, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane the Virgin, The Flash... there are definitely more too, I don’t have a single favorite or anything

46. tattoos: I don’t have any, but I’m not opposed to getting some in the future, I just need to have an idea that I absolutely love and I am 10000000% sure I won’t end up regretting lol

47. right or left handed: right handed

48. surgery: I had my tonsils taken out when I was 10, and I had my wisdom teeth taken out a few years ago

49. so called “flaws”:  I am kind of really stubborn, especially in arguments with my family... when I know I’m right about something I won’t bother actually listening to the other person’s point of view, even when I probably should. I’m self-conscious. I am really really bad at putting things into words. I’m sarcastic but sometimes in a bad way, when I shouldn’t be.

50. sports: I don’t play any sports, the only ones I enjoy are Quidditch and Exy

51. vacation: I want to travel literally everywhere.  If I could choose somewhere to go now it’d be somewhere in Europe probably.  My favorite trips I’ve been on were to Israel over winter break and also the few times I’ve been to New York City with my family.

more general

53. eating: What is this even asking lol?  Eating is good I guess? I’m not eating anything right now

54. drinking: I just had some water

55. i’m about to: die from procrastinating making a formula sheet for my physics quiz tomorrow

56. waiting for: my summer physics class to be over (how many times can I mention that I hate physics in one post lol)

57. want: to go to sleep

58. get married: Maybe someday?  I’m not opposed to it, but it’s not like a life goal or anything for me, if it happens it happens

59. career: that’s complicated lol, I’m majoring in computer science and English, which are vastly different subjects, and I like them both.  I don’t know if I want to have a career in one or the other more?  Computer science would probably lead to better paying jobs but I also really really like English and I just don’t know lol. I’ll have to decide soon I guess though for applying to grad school and stuff... that’s stressful though so let’s ignore it for as long as possible lol

60. hugs or kisses: Hugs I guess but I don’t really like to hug people in general, except for my family, sometimes

61. lips or eyes: Eyes

62. shorter or taller: I don’t have a preference?

63. older or younger: I mean as long as the age gap isn't too big I don’t think I care? 64. nice arms or nice stomach: idk lol? arms I guess?

65. hook up or relationship: Relationship

66. troublemaker or hesitant: I am definitely more hesitant lol

67. kissed a stranger: Nope

68. drank hard liquor: No

69. lost glasses/contact lenses: No, since I’m always wearing my glasses 70. turned someone down: nope

71. sex on the first date: I don’t think I would but people can do what they want 72. broken someone’s heart: Not that I know of

73. had your heart broken: No

74. been arrested: Never

75. cried when someone died: No one close to me has died before, thankfully

76. fallen for a friend: No

do you believe in …

77. yourself: I guess? It depends on the day and like, what I’m trying to do? 78. miracles: Not really

79. love at first sight: No, I don’t think it exists 80. santa claus: No, never, being Jewish helps with that

81. kiss on the first date: Sure?

82. angels: No

other

83. current best friend’s name: Kara

84. eye colour: Hazel/green-ish with like an orangey ring around the middle?

85. favourite movie: This is also hard. My favorite movie that I’ve seen recently is Wonder Woman, but there are sooo many movies I love.  Harry Potter (the books are obviously better, but the movies are still great), Disney movies... I can't think of any more off the top of my head but yeah

I don’t know who to tag so I guess if you see it and want to do it then you should lol

[actutrends]

AI Weekly: Autonomous cars need better safety metrics to move the industry forward

On Monday, Waymo — the subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet that’s developing a full-stack driverless vehicle platform — announced that its cars have driven a combined 20 million autonomous miles to date, up from 10 million miles in October 2018. The metric signifies Waymo’s logistical and technological superiority, implied CEO John Krafcik, who equated the miles driven to 1,400 years of driving experience for an average American.

But some experts assert that measuring driverless systems’ progress by miles is a flawed approach.

This week in a conversation with VentureBeat at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Dmitry Polishchuk, the head of Russian tech giant Yandex’s autonomous car project, said that miles aren’t very meaningful without context to accompany them. “It’s tough to directly compare miles driven,” he said. “Obviously, the more miles [you] have, the better, but we believe that the environments that you’re in have a huge impact.”

Yandex isn’t without a horse in the race — its over 100 autonomous cars in Innopolis and Skolkovo, Russia; Las Vegas; and Tel Aviv have driven 1.75 million miles as of January, up from 1.5 million miles and 1 million miles last December and October, respectively. But policymakers as well as competitors in the nearly $41.25 billion global autonomous car segment have expressed similar sentiments.

Noah Zych, head of system safety at Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group, told Wired in an interview that mileage critically omits details like situations encountered, obstacles, and accidents. “You need to know … ‘What was the objective of the testing in [any given area]?” he said. “Was it to collect data? Was it to prove that the system was able to handle those scenarios? Or was it to just run a number up?”

And at a conference organized by Nvidia in Washington two years ago, Derek Kan, U.S. secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation, stressed the need for objective and agreed-upon measures of driverless systems performance. Separately, David Friedman, former acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and vice president at Consumer Reports, recently urged Congress to direct the NHTSA to implement privacy protections, minimum performance standards, and accessibility rules for self-driving cars, trucks, SUVs, and crossovers.

Disengagements — or deactivations of cars’ autonomous modes when failures occur or when drivers are forced to take over — have been adopted by agencies including California’s Department of Motor Vehicles as an alternative to miles driven. (By law, companies actively testing self-driving cars on public roads in the state are required to publish disengagement reports.) But Polishchuk argues that this, too, is an imperfect metric.

“We have kind of been waiting for some sort of industry standard,” he said, noting that Yandex hasn’t yet released a disengagement report. “Self-driving companies aren’t following the exact same protocols for things. [For example, there might be a] disengagement because there’s something blocking the right lane or a car in the right lane, and [the safety driver realizes] as a human that [this object or car] isn’t going to move.”

For its part, whenever Yandex deploys new code into production, the company conducts real-world tests to ensure that systems performance (and by extension, safety) isn’t degraded. It takes 10 cars — five equipped with the codebase from half a year ago and five with the latest code — and it runs them for a day on the same route such that they encounter identical obstacles and weather conditions. It even switches up the safety drivers behind the wheel to prevent bias from influencing the results.

“We look back at the numbers and check the correlation … using hundreds of different parameters,” said Polishchuk. “The absolute number of disengagements doesn’t matter.”

Unfortunately for companies like Yandex, less regulatory guidance — not more — seems the likelier near-future path, at least in the U.S. At CES on Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced Automated Vehicles 4.0 (AV 4.0), new guidelines regarding self-driving cars that seek to promote “voluntary consensus standards” among autonomous vehicle developers. It requests but doesn’t mandate regular assessments on self-driving vehicle safety, and it permits those assessments to be completed by automakers themselves as opposed to by a standards body.

Advocacy groups including the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety criticized the policy for its vagueness. “Without strong leadership and regulations … [autonomous vehicle] manufacturers can and will continue to introduce extremely complex supercomputers-on-wheels onto public roads … with meager government oversight,” said president Cathy Chase in a satatement. “Voluntary guidelines are completely unenforceable, will not result in adequate performance standards, and fall well short of the safeguards that are necessary to protect the public.”

Indeed, regulation could go a long way to convincing a skeptical public.

Two studies — one published by the Brookings Institution and another by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (AHAS) — found that a majority of Americans aren’t convinced of driverless cars’ safety. More than 60% of respondents to the Brookings poll said that they weren’t inclined to ride in self-driving cars, and almost 70% of those surveyed by the AHAS expressed concerns about sharing the road with them. Elsewhere, a study conducted by think tank HNTB found that 59% of people expect self-driving cars will be “no safer” than cars driven by humans.

In the U.S., legislation remains stalled at the federal level, unfortunately. More than a year ago, the House unanimously passed the SELF DRIVE Act, which would create a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles. But it has yet to be taken up by the Senate, which in 2018 tabled a separate bill, the AV START Act, that made its way through committee in November 2017.

Polishchuk predicts that legislation will only emerge when some “reasonable amount” of self-driving cars hit public roads. Optimistic projections peg the number at 10 million by 2030. “When this happens, we would have statistics, and basically, statistics will push regulators,” he said.

For AI coverage, send news tips to Khari Johnson and Kyle Wiggers and AI editor Seth Colaner — and be sure to subscribe to the AI Weekly newsletter and bookmark our AI Channel.

Thanks for reading,

Kyle Wiggers

AI Staff Writer

The post AI Weekly: Autonomous cars need better safety metrics to move the industry forward appeared first on Actu Trends.