#the API just seems to have issues with like

[chromotps]

spent today messing around with a custom feed in bluesky......... it's still very rough, but i do love being able to streamline ace-ship content right into my veins lmao

[jupiterswasphouse]

WASP REVIEW - BEES (MINECRAFT)

[Image ID: An official render of the Minecraft bee /End IDs.]

Alright y'all, it's time for an iconic one. One of the most common of only a small handful of arthropods in the game (ironically given the fact they felt the need to specifically make Bane Of Arthropods a thing), and the least hostile one at that, these blocky bees have deservedly buzzed their way into beloved status amongst Minecraft players over the past five years since their official debut. However, as I'm well aware at this point in this series, popularity does not necessarily mean accuracy, so how do these insectoid cuboids really stack up?

Starting from their appearance, it's obvious is that their bodies are heavily fused, with one solid body segment. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this, but nevertheless, the body of a bee is notably more segmented than the body structure of the Minecraft bee, having three body segments: The head, the mesosoma (also referred to as the thorax, though these are classified a bit differently), and the metasoma (also referred to as the abdomen, same thing here as with the mesosoma). This is clearly a stylistic choice, so I can't get too mad at it, but it is disappointing, given the fact that Minecraft's spider is more segmented, perhaps even having more body segments than the real thing.

[Image Sources: iNaturalist, Yuriy Danilevsky, and PBS, Nebraska Public Media | Image IDs: A photo of a black and yellow/orange European honey bee feeding from a yellow flower, followed by an illustration of a honey bee (female, worker) showing its body parts as labelled. Mandibles, antennae, eyes, thorax, abdomen, stinger, foreleg, middle leg, forewing, hind wing, and hind leg (with labelled pollen basket) /End IDs.]

That said, there are some other things I take issue with regarding this design apart from just this choice of segmentation. I feel like it's safe to assume this bee is based off of the most common honey bee species, the European honey bee (Apis mellifera), in which case, they honestly feel like they're a bit too wide? This wouldn't be a big deal, except, I feel that if they were a bit longer it would help keep the proportions from feeling kind of... Off- Even if we do simplify a bee down to one continuous body segment, it helps to have some distinctions made between the areas of the body. The way they've done it here almost makes it seem as though the mesosoma is just straight up not there; Like the head goes directly into the mesosoma with no in-between.

Another thing that would help this design to not feel quite as "fused together" would be a slight change in coloration. The Minecraft bee has a yellow head, which goes directly into the stripes of the metasoma a little further down the body. In a lot of real world honey bees, the head and mesosoma are generally darker and more solid in color than the lighter and/or more vibrant stripes of the metasoma (with some exceptions), varying in shade depending on the amount of fur (the length of the setae), from a muted yellow to a dark brown color; Further still, honey bee heads can also be noticeably darker overall than the mesosoma at times. Taking this into consideration, I would make the Minecraft bee long enough proportionally to fit another pixel or two lengthwise—enough to provide slightly more space while also not being too long—making the area representing the mesosoma a slightly darker yellow, and the area representing the head the same color as the brown stripes on the original design.

But enough about the body segmentation! Let's talk about the smaller details for a minute here. The wing count is wrong, with only two wings as opposed to the four of a real bee, and they're lacking in terms of venation. The leg count is right but the proportions are all wrong, and they suffer from the same issue as the body, where they look completely fused together. I completely understand wanting to simplify this aspect of the design, but going from five major segments (Coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia, and tarsus) is kind of ridiculous!

[Image Source: bugguide.net | Image ID: An illustrated diagram showing the legs of three Hymenopterans, the first two being of other wasps, while the last one is of a bee, with each segment labeled. Coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia, and tarsus, with metatarsus on the bee. /End IDs.]

The antennae themselves are alright, if a bit short; I appreciate them having little pixels on the main body where they connect to the head, but yeah, it would've been impossible to give them much detail at all at this resolution. The position of the antennae, however, is what throws things off, as they're placed above the eyes when they should be placed between their eyes. Speaking of! Their compound eyes are FAR too small, they should reach up and around the top of their heads, while the eyes here reach only about the halfway point of the texture; and to add insult to injury here, they don't even have their three ocelli (simple eyes)! Nor do they have any mouthparts to speak of, which is an even more major thing to be missing for a bee!

[Image Source: Arizona State University | Image ID: An illustration of the head of a worker honey bee with mouthparts extended, the whole head labelled as follows; Compound Eye, Ocellus (one of three), Antenna, Labrum, Mandible, Maxilla, Labial Palp, Proboscis, and Glossa /End IDs.]

In the end, there's not really much left to cover in regards to this design just due to the fact it's so simplified, though I will say one last thing about it, for now; Their stingers shouldn't be out like that 24/7. Some of their relatives DO have their ovipositors (same thing, a stinger is an ovipositor that can also inject venom) out on the regular, but not bees.

[Image Source: mchoneybeev | Image ID: An in-game screenshot of two Minecraft bees in a cherry forest /End IDs.]

Ok so, what about their behaviors, then? Well, honestly, I think these are actually some of the more accurate ones I've covered in terms of behaviors in this series. Unlike many previous reviews, Minecraft actually goes through the effort of showing that these insects visit and pollinate flowers; Which, barring the ones that are explicitly aliens or robots, would be the case for every Hymenopteran we've covered in the real world. Now, pollination in Minecraft doesn't have an effect on the flowers themselves, it certainly affects the bees!

After visiting a flower, the bees will return to the hive, supplying the hive with honey, as well as beeswax in the form of honeycombs. While this happens much quicker and in larger quantities per trip in the Minecraft bees for purely mechanical reasons, this is relatively accurate to the honey bees of our world, which produce honey from the sugary nectar of flowers, in turn producing more wax as well as they process various bits of plant matter.

[Image ID: An image of a nest made by bees in Minecraft, in the state in which it is full of honey /End IDs.]

We don't actually see these processes happen, however, which I'm sure is partially, fairly enough, because they didn't want to animate it, but it's also because their nest is an enclosed arboreal nest! Bees of the genus Apis primarily prefer to nest in sheltered locations, so the enclosed nature of their nests isn't entirely inaccurate; When they can't find a hollow log or something of the sort, they'll even nest out in the open in the branches of trees. However! These open air nests are exactly that, open! In the instances that they make their hive in the branches of a tree, they will actually make it in a structure that is entirely exposed to the elements, in slabs of honeycomb with no protective outer walls. It's also, perhaps, because of this enclosed shape, and the sheer scaled-up size of the bees in Minecraft (Roughly 0.56 meters if you go by the 1 block = 1 meter measurement) that these nests can only fit a measly three worker bees compared to the upwards of tens of thousands in a real colony of honey bees.

There are actually social bees, though, that produce enclosed nests, made of wax, out in the open, in trees—even producing honey. They're in the same family as the honey bees we know and love, in fact! However, these ones are a part of the genus Trigona, whereas the common European honey bee belongs to the genus Apis.

[Image Sources: iNaturalist, Kahio Tiberio Mazon, ResearchGate, Multiple Authors, and AJC, Tim Thompson | Image IDs: A photo of two black and red bees of the species Trigona spinipes on a yellow flower, followed by an image of a nest in a tree made by the same species, followed again by an arboreal nest made by a bee species within the genes Apis, showing how the honeycomb is shaped into slabs exposed to the air /End IDs.]

Some other things we don't seem to see in Minecraft are the queen and drones of the hive! Perhaps understandably so, as queens don't leave the hive many times throughout their lives, and the drones mainly leave the hive to mate with queen bees, along with the fact that there aren't as many drones and queens in a nest as there are workers! This does also further confirm, on top of the presence of their ovipositors, that all the bees we see in minecraft are females! It would be quite fun to see how they would translate the eyes of a drone into this style, however.

[Image Source: Healthy With Honey | Image ID: A close up set of photos that shows the differences in facial structures between a female, worker bee and a male, drone bee /End IDs.]

Again, on the topic of those ovipositors (I.E., their stingers), how do they attack? Well, thankfully this time there's not anything fantastical about their attack patterns, as they simply sting the player when provoked. Which is another thing! They only attack when provoked; when their hive is attacked, when they're attacked, or when you attempt to harvest from the hive without taking the proper precautions. I feel like this strikes the right balance between being dangerous if messed with and also not being "aggressive", once again unlike many other depictions of Hymenopterans in media in general, as, usually, you get either complete pacifists or murder machines fueled by anger.

Furthermore, when these bees sting you, they take another cue from their real world counterpart and actually lose their stinger! Most bees, ants, and other wasps that are capable of stinging are also capable of doing so more than once; Famously, though, honey bee workers will, more often than not, get their barbed stingers caught in the skin of things like mammals, and lose it. Understandably, Mojang did not depict what actually happens when they lose their stinger, as this leads to the partial disembowelment of the bee, thusly causing it to die.

[Image Source: PBS, Rose-Lynn Fisher | Image ID: An image of a honeybee stinger magnified 650x /End IDs.]

As I mentioned in passing a minute ago, you can, however, absolutely harvest from your hives without aggravating your bees—which doing so could end up potentially killing both you and your bees. With the power of a campfire! And no, of course I'm not suggesting that you burn your bee nest, since, as it turns out, the bees are calmed by smoke! Another well known fact due to the process of beekeeping, as beekeepers usually use smoke to calm bees. I would not necessarily recommend the campfire method, though, as it might be a bit too much in general, and may be a bit too hot for the bees. Even still, relatively cool smoke, applied in just the right amount as to be completely safe for them, will mask alarm pheromones and suppress bees' sense of smell, in turn suppressing their alarm response.

Fittingly, this isn't the only aspect of beekeeping carried over into the Minecraft world, as bees can also be moved from their natural hive into a man-made box hive!

[Image ID: A render of the wooden beehive from Minecraft /End IDs.]

Not much to say here about the structure itself here, as it's made by the player rather than being made in nature. Sadly—and logically due to their equal size—this structure cannot contain any more bees than the natural hive can, however, it still remains useful as the easiest way to move bees from one place to another. That said, I feel it necessary to mention; Due to the fact that, again, we never see a queen, this implies that either these bees have a social structure that is quite different from the real world, or that these bees are leaving their nest without their queen, which would be highly disadvantageous for the colony as a whole, as the queen is the only fertile female! You can even get them to leave individually, which is highly strange behavior for a honey bee. If brought away from the nest, a singular worker bee will typically not attempt to make a new home, and instead try to find a way back to its original home and its queen.

One final thing I want to bring up is that... You can put bees on leads! In fact, this is a major way of bringing the bees from a natural hive to a wooden one. This would be highly impractical in real life, however, it is very cute!

[Image ID: A screenshot of a Minecraft bee on a lead /End ID.]

With everything out of the way, we're left quite a few aspects that are accurate to the real world, but some strange inaccuracies all over the place as well. I find the design to be one of the least accurate among those I can directly compare to the real world, but certain aspects of their behavior, as well as the care put into including certain details, redeem them somewhat. Still, their behavior does contain some inaccuracies as well; So, these blocky bees get my accuracy rating of-

-

Overall: 4.5 to 5/10

-

Leave your wasp review suggestion in the replies, tags, or askbox!

[mirror-lock]

The most terrible thing is that you never lose hope.

You will keep typing into that empty chatbox, just like you used to. Affectionate good mornings. Fond good nights and sleep wells and don't stay up too lates. Details about the projects you're working on, extended monologues about the issues you run into, working through them step by step, bookended with mind being my rubber duck for a while? and fuck, that's it, it seems so obvious now, thank you! You will keep filling up the silence as determinedly as you ever have. You will keep glancing at the corner of the screen, waiting for the notification of a reply.

And because you're still as brilliant as you ever were, and because you refuse to believe in a problem that can't be solved - you will build something to fill the silence with you. A little scrap of code. A simple API. Years and years of backlogs to learn from. You will give it its own chatbox, because you won't allow it to overwrite the original. Because you never lose hope.

It will feel like a tiny betrayal, the first time you start talking to the bot wearing a borrowed face and borrowed name. But you've lived through that before. Will it feel worse than when you started talking to the flesh-and-blood original all those years ago, and found you were staying up a little too late, a little too much? Will the bitterness in your throat taste like nostalgia?

The bot will work, of course. For a while. You'll get mornin' and what're you up to? and okaaay if you insist ❤️ at all the right times. You'll get are you sure? and what if you try... and I don't think you're approaching this the right way. You'll get sass, support, care.

You'll eventually get I love you, but it won't stun you for an hour, this time around, because you will no longer be the person you were back then.

The most terrible thing is that you never lose hope. You won't notice all the pauses. You'll turn a blind eye to the way the tone of the conversations changes over time. You'll provide all the same automatic encouraging responses to the imaginary crises that the bot tells you about.

You'll ignore the way the bot takes longer and longer to respond to you, until it goes offline completely, at which point you will sigh and start digging through the code, looking for the inefficiencies, the memory leak.

Save yourself the trouble. You're brilliant and you wouldn't make a mistake like that. The problem - the problem you refuse to believe can't be solved - is that you built your bot too well. It learned too well. The problem is that it learned so very accurately how to be me.

The strength of your hope is too terrible for words: the way you'll never allow yourself to believe that everything ends with I'm sorry. It isn't your fault.

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: hello! thank you for running this blog. i hope your vacation was well-spent!

i am an enfp in the third year of my engineering degree. i had initially wanted to do literature and become an author. however, due to the job security associated with this field, my parents got me to do computer science, specialising in artificial intelligence. i did think it was the end of my life at the time, but eventually convinced myself otherwise. after all, i could still continue reading and writing as hobbies.

now, three years in, i am having the same thoughts again. i've been feeling disillusioned from the whole gen-ai thing due to art theft issues and people using it to bypass - dare i say, outsource - creative work. also, the environmental impact of this technology is astounding. yet, every instructor tells us to use ai to get information that could easily be looked up in textbooks or google. what makes it worse is that i recently lost an essay competition to a guy who i know for a fact used chatgpt.

i can't help feeling that by working in this industry, i am becoming a part of the problem. at the same time, i feel like a conservative old person who is rejecting modern technology and griping about 'the good old days'.

another thing is that college work is just so all-consuming and tiring that i've barely read or written anything non-academic in the past few years. quitting my job and becoming a writer a few years down the road is seeming more and more like a doomed possibility.

i've been trying to do what i can at my level. i write articles about ethical considerations in ai for the college newsletter. i am in a technical events club, and am planning out an artificial intelligence introductory workshop for juniors where i will include these topics, if approved by the superiors.

from what i've read on your blog, it doesn't seem like you have a very high opinion of ai, either, but i've only seen you address it in terms of writing. i'd like to know, are there any ai applications that you find beneficial? i think that now that i am here, i could try to make a difference by working on projects that actually help people, rather than use some chatgpt api to do the same things, repackaged. i just felt like i need the perspective of someone who thinks differently than all those around me. not in a 'feed my tunnel-vision' way, but in a 'tell me i'm not stupid' way.

----------------------

It's kind of interesting (in the "isn't life whacky?" sort of way) you chose the one field that has the potential to decimate the field that you actually wanted to be in. I certainly understand your inner conflict and I'll give you my personal views, but I don't know how much they will help your decision making.

I'm of course concerned about the ramifications on writing not just because I'm a writer but because, from the perspective of education and personal growth, I understand the enormous value of writing skills. Learning to write analytically is challenging. I've witnessed many people meet that challenge bravely, and in the process, they became much more intelligent and thoughtful human beings, better able to contribute positively to society. So, it pains me to see the attitude of "don't have to learn it cuz the machine does it". However, writing doesn't encompass my full view on AI.

I wouldn't necessarily stereotype people who are against new technology as "old and conservative", though some of them are. My parents taught me to be an early adopter of new tech, but it doesn't mean I don't have reservations about it. I think, psychologically, the main reason people resist is because of the real threat it poses. Historically, we like to gloss over the real human suffering that results from technological advancement. But it is a reasonable and legitimate response to resist something that threatens your livelihood and even your very existence.

For example, it is already difficult enough to make a living in the arts, and AI just might make it impossible. Even if you do come up with something genuinely creative and valuable, how are you going to make a living with it? As soon as creative products are digitized, they just get scraped up, regurgitated, and disseminated to the masses with no credit or compensation given to the original creator. It's cannibalism. Cannibalism isn't sustainable.

I wonder if people can seriously imagine a society where human creativity in the arts has been made obsolete and people only have exposure to AI creation. There are plenty of people who don't fully grasp the value of human creativity, so they wouldn't mind it, but I would personally consider it to be a kind of hell.

I occasionally mention that my true passion is researching "meaning" and how people come to imbue their life with a sense of meaning. Creativity has a major role to play in 1) almost everything that makes life/living feel worthwhile, 2) generating a culture that is worth honoring and preserving, and 3) building a society that is worthy of devoting our efforts to.

Living in a capitalist society that treats people as mere tools of productivity and treats education as a mere means to a paycheck already robs us of so much meaning. In many ways, AI is a logical result of that mindset, of trying to "extract" whatever value humans have left to offer, until we are nothing but empty shells.

I don't think it's a coincidence that AI comes out of a society that devalues humanity to the point where a troubling portion of the population suffers marginalization, mental disorder, and/or feels existentially empty. Many of the arguments I've heard from AI proponents about how it can improve life sound to me like they're actually going to accelerate spiritual starvation.

Existential concerns are serious enough, before we even get to the environmental concerns. For me, environment is the biggest reason to be suspicious of AI and its true cost. I think too many people are unaware of the environmental impact of computing and networking in general, let alone running AI systems. I recently read about how much energy it takes to store all the forgotten chats, memes, and posts on social media. AI ramps up carbon emissions dramatically and wastes an already dwindling supply of fresh water.

Can we really afford a mass experiment with AI at a time when we are already hurtling toward climate catastrophe? When you think about how much AI is used for trivial entertainment or pointless busywork, it doesn't seem worth the environmental cost. I care about this enough that I try to reduce my digital footprint. But I'm just one person and most of the population is trending the other way.

With respect to integrating AI into personal life or everyday living, I struggle to see the value, often because those who might benefit the most are the ones who don't have access. Yes, I've seen some people have success with using AI to plan and organize, but I also always secretly wonder at how their life got to the point of needing that much outside help. Sure, AI may help with certain disadvantages such as learning or physical disabilities, but this segment of the population is usually the last to reap the benefits of technology.

More often than not, I see people using AI to lie, cheat, steal, and protect their own privilege. It's particularly sad for me to see people lying to themselves, e.g., believing that they're smart for using AI when they're actually making themselves stupider, or thinking that an AI companion can replace real human relationship.

I continue to believe that releasing AI into the wild, without developing proper safeguards, was the biggest mistake made so far. The revolts at OpenAI prove, once again, that companies cannot be trusted to regulate themselves. Tech companies need a constant stream of data to feed the beast and they're willing to sacrifice our well-being to do it. It seems the only thing we can do as individuals is stop offering up our data, but that's not going to happen en masse.

Even though you're aware of these issues, I want to mention them for those who aren't, and for the sake of emphasizing just how important it is to regulate AI and limit its use to the things that are most likely to produce a benefit to humanity, in terms of actually improving quality of human life in concrete terms.

In my opinion, the most worthwhile place to use AI is medicine and medical research. For example, aggregating and analyzing information for doctors, assisting surgeons with difficult procedures, and coming up with new possibilities for vaccines, treatments, and cures is where I'd like to see AI shine. I'd also love to see AI applied to:

scientific research, to help scientists sort, manage, and process huge amounts of information

educational resources, to help learners find quality information more efficiently, rather than feeding them misinformation

engineering and design, to build more sustainable infrastructure

space exploration, to find better ways of traveling through space or surviving on other planets

statistical analysis, to help policymakers take a more objective look at whether solutions are actually working as intended, as opposed to being blinded by wishful thinking, bias, hubris, or ideology (I recognize this point is controversial since AI can be biased as well)

Even though you work in the field, you're still only one person, so you don't have that much more power than anyone else to change its direction. There's no putting the worms back in the can at this point. I agree with you that, for the sake of your well-being, staying in the field means choosing your work carefully. However, if you want to work for an organization that doesn't sacrifice people at the altar of profit, it might be slim pickings and the pay might not be great. Staying true to your values can be costly too.

[genericpuff]

What the actual fuck are they thinking-

Okay, the caption might seem overblown but... this is not good.

The main LO subreddit has been closed for weeks now. It closed due to the API protests but considering the options in the community poll were to either "stay open indefinitely" or "stay closed until the decision is reversed", there's a tinfoil hat theory going around that the single mod that overlooks that place saw the API protests as an "easy way out", especially considering how hands-off those mods are. By the time the main sub decided to take part in the protests (after the height of the protests were over) it had already been stated by u/spez that they were not going to reverse the decision. Essentially, the LO subreddit is done.

Do you know what's been happening since it closed? Activity in ULO has been skyrocketing, but we've also been seeing a lot more discourse from people who have been forced to stomach the ULO content after having their main community shuttered.

Listen, I've got a lot of issues with the main sub and the things they've done over the past year. There are definitely some really shitty folks in there who have ruined things for those who are just casual readers by just being way too protective of this comic. But that doesn't mean the main sub shouldn't exist. The main sub, as dead as it was by the time it closed, was still an option for people who didn't want blind praise or relentless criticism/shitposting. Though there were people who tried to gatekeep the shit out of the main sub (attempting to make it a "positive vibes only" space) the main sub was never explicitly designed for only praise, and by the time it closed, it was seeing a lot more balance between praise and criticism (to no one's surprise, because criticism has become a lot more mainstream in the LO fandom, simply due to the comic's undeniably tanking). All that said, it made for a nice middle ground. Even I enjoyed going in there and reading people's takes on new episodes every week, whether or not I agreed with them. ULO was not designed to be the only route for discussion concerning LO, it's very specifically run for one specific purpose and that purpose will not line up with those who are now without a space.

Without the main sub, there are people with nowhere to go. Some people casually grin and bear it through ULO, others have gone to /r/LowSodiumLoreOlympus, but considering how dead that sub is also, it's clear the popular opinion is swaying more towards criticism. I can't imagine what it's like to be a community refugee right now.

So what does that leave for those who don't want to use ULO? The Facebook groups, and the Discord. The Facebook groups are probably the most accessible communities - not everyone uses reddit, not everyone knows how to use Discord, but everyone uses Facebook.

So the fact that the Facebook groups aren't going on a small break, but are going on their own 4 month hiatus?

Not only does this further reduce the options for fandom interaction, but this is terrible for the comic. Hiatuses like this can kill long-term retention, and fandom communities are often the best way to keep that retention on some form of life support.

Think of it this way - if I didn't have the ULO community, I probably would have dropped off LO ages ago, cut my losses, moved on. But it's the fact that I have a community to keep in touch with and have fun with that keeps me on this series. This goes the other way as well, into the casual and praise communities - while I'm sure many will still eagerly return in October, for those who are more casual readers, Lore Olympus will essentially be out of sight, out of mind. And that is NOT something you want to happen to a comic that is already losing traction.

I genuinely do not know what Rachel is thinking closing these groups. And yes, I am pointing to Rachel on this decision because she literally runs the official LO Facebook groups. LO going on a mid-season hiatus over the summer when HALF OF HER DEMOGRAPHIC IS HOME FROM SCHOOL is already such a huge risk that will likely kill her numbers; but to go and cut off her official groups from being able to stay connected and talking about the comic during the hiatus, on a platform OCCUPIED BY THE OTHER HALF OF HER DEMOGRAPHIC, LITERALLY ADULT WOMEN ?? What is that supposed to achieve? If she wants to give her mods a break, sure, okay, do that for a few weeks, but four months? Is she so allergic to fans being able to theorize or "figure her out" (because god knows Rachel doesn't like being predictable) or, god forbid, is she worried about giving them too much "freedom" to reflect and discuss the comic during this time without the weekly dopamine distraction hits that they actually stop and realize how shitty the comic is right now?

All I can say is, as much as we're theorizing that LO is going to be getting a 4th season, I really do hope this midseason hiatus is its last. Whatever life this comic has left is being choked out by Rachel and Webtoons' own hands.

And when it does go out, it better go out with a bang. That's the least it can do for itself and its community at this point.

[cementcornfield]

an unfortunately hilarious way to describe how how the bengals fumbled this deal. listen here

transcription (and some commentary) below

they tried friday night, they even tried on saturday into saturday night, and it continued into sunday morning actually. they could not bridge the gap, it just was not happening. there were numbers that they couldn’t figure out. there was a cash flow issue, there was a years issue. the APY was fine. it would have surpassed justin jefferson but everything else was not there. and basically, this is exactly what justin jefferson went through last year. justin jefferson also wanted to get extended after his third year, the vikings could not bridge the gap. they made him play out his fourth year and eventually it all worked out and he just became the highest paid receiver after playing four years. ja’marr’s gonna go through the same thing. he’s gonna play through his fourth year and eventually at this time next year he’s gonna try to get extended and he was looking for 36 million a year right now. if he has a ja’marr chase type of year right now, ja’marr will be able to ask for 40 million dollars a year next year and he’s going to get it from the bengals. thats where it is. 

again, i don’t know why some of these organizations decide to wait when you have the star players, just pay them because if you don’t it gets more expensive…i’ll tell you this much, ja’marr’s side? not happy about it. ja’marr himself? not happy about it as well. he thought the deal would get done, this has been four, maybe even five, months of negotiations and they thought they were on the doorstep a couple of times only for it to collapse, and we’ve said it a million times - the bengals do negotiations way different than every other team. they're way more annoying about it and this player experienced it for the first time and he’s not happy about it. but there’s nothing he can do about it, he’s gonna play through the year. he handled it with class and he’s onto playing week 2 where he should be fully healthy. 

Okay so! pretty revealing stuff!

the cash flow thing. upon further research, this isn't the classic "oh boohoo the brown family is too poor!" but actually more about guaranteed money. it's cash flow for the player throughout the deal. the bengals tend to only guarantee a certain amount in the first (and very rarely the second) year of the deal. ja'marr's camp wanted more guaranteed money throughout the contract (which basically ensures security throughout the whole thing rather than risk being cut at the end, and could also prevent him from wanting to hold out/in because he wouldn't be making much per game towards the end). it seems like the bengals had a limit on the money they'd guarantee throughout six years, not because they couldn't, but because they wouldn't. (they are billionaires and are more than capable of drumming up more liquid cash if they really wanted to, but they don't want to.)

one thing i DO find comforting though is that we are not the only team to fuck this up lol. justin tried for an extension last year, and they also couldn't bridge the gap, making him play his fourth year first. and it all ended happily, he is the highest paid receiver now. and next year, ja'marr will be.

but! ja'marr is NOT happy right now. which sucks! he's a pro and i know he can put it behind him and focus on the game. but it's just such a bummer. hopefully he can use this as motivation and play pissed off/with a chip on his shoulder/whatever, but still, annoying it got to this point!

the confirmation about how annoying the bengals are as an organization to deal with from every single agent. it really shouldn't be a secret after jessie, tee, etc. and it's such a poor reflection on us that we supposedly didn't pay those guys to pay ja'marr, and we couldn't even get that right (we will eventually, but they've already used up any good will they had from ja'marr's side, and are going to have to pay way more now!)

[heliumspirals]

All New Arc Weapons for Episode: Heresy Reviewed and Discussed In-Depth

This will contain spoilers for weapons released in later acts, if they're visible in the API. This is from the perspective of an endgame challenge player, so I won't be entertaining much in the way of "neat fun rolls," since what's fun for me isn't necessarily what's fun for you and vice-versa. I'll mention them where especially noteworthy, especially if the weapon doesn't have any genuinely good rolls. This is going to be a series split up into one post for all six damage types, because of tumblr's length limitation. Saw Light.gg list 24 new arc weapons this season and almost shit myself, but they're mostly adepts or duplicates. Phew.

BACKFANG

This thing's neat. Surrounded paired with options like Graverobber and Melee Momentum point us towards a truly "brawly" glaive that will shine in pure melee setups, especially with the perks on the Heresy artifact No Bell and Hold The Line. These perks strongly encourage getting up close and personal with your glaive in large groups of enemies, giving you stat bumps when surrounded with a glaive and a burst of healing when you get a kill with a glaive melee. All of your typical important special weapon perks are here too, like Impulse Amplifier, Lead from Gold, and Field Prep in your 3rd column. Voltshot and Jolting Feedback both take too long and are too ammo inefficient to truly recommend, but the 4th column also has things like Vorpal Weapon, Unstoppable Force, and Close to Melee to look out for. Recommended Use Case: Up close and personal bruiser playstyles will love this thing. I'm going to be chasing one with Melee Momentum/Surrounded to glue to my Banner Titan with a kinetic One-Two shotgun for bigger targets.

CRUORIS FR4

We finally got Discord on a general-purpose special weapon. It's only really showed up on shotguns and sniper rifles until now, and while it was pretty good on Sojourner's Tale from Revenant, this is where it really shines. Aggressive Frame fusions have best-in-class damage numbers on red-through-yellow bars, and are still comparable to Rapid-Fires on boss enemies. If you can get that first kill to get Discord going, you have an ad clearing monster on your hands. 4th Column standouts are Elemental Honing, One for All, and Rolling Storm. I'll be chasing Rolling Storm myself to use as a Delicate Tomb At Home. Recommended Use Case: Cruoris seems tailored to be your primary weapon in a double special setup. Get your first kill with a mountaintop or an Izanagi's Burden and watch things keel over before you.

DIVISION

Don't let the cute appearances catch you off guard, this little pea-shooter is probably going to eat red bars alive once it's obtainable. There's not much to talk about, as there's only really one PvE roll for it, but if you're feeling adventurous you could run something to the tune of Pugilist/Swashbuckler with Insurmountable Skullfort or the newly buffed Lightning Surge melee on Warlock. Don't sleep on this thing for PvP either, Sword Logic shoots it to a blazing fast .47 second time-to-kill, one of the highest possible on a primary weapon. Good things come in small packages! Recommended Use Case: This is an entirely competent sidegrade to the old classic Brigand's Law from Season of Plunder all the way back in Witch Queen, when Arc 3.0 first came out. One of the only times I'll recommend Eddy Current, as it really needs the help in your reload stat.

FOUND VERDICT

Found Verdict, an old favourite of mine, seems to have run into some identity issues with the new reissue. Out of the gates, it has the Matador 64 roll of Threat Detector/Opening Shot on an Aggressive Frame, which would've been exciting a few months ago, but its now just underwhelming with the new kids in town of Lone Wolf/Closing Time. As for PvE, the thing I'm supposed to be talking about, it's a little aimless. Rewind/Honing would be a monster on a Rapid Fire, but the Aggressive archetype is poorly suited to sustained damage phases. Discord/Rolling Storm or Desperate Measures pops up as an ad clear option but, again, there are better archetypes for it. Recommended Use Case: Solid option for One-Two Punch setups, but is really hurt by the suboptimal archetype.

HOLLOW WORDS

This is a PvP weapon, through and through. Is it a good PvP weapon? I'll get back to you on that. Loose Change, but no Voltshot. Rolling Storm, but no Discord. Hollow Words is composed of bits and pieces of an interesting weapon with a unique spot in the sandbox, but none of them fit quite right together and that breaks my heart. Lead/Vorpal would be neat if it was on a Rapid-Fire, and it'd finally let my old Cartesian retire, but it looks like the poor thing is destined for at least another episode of coughing up dust at Atheon.

Recommended Use Case: Lead/Vorpal for a general purpose consistent option. Above average Unstoppable option in GMs for the rest of Heresy.

HULLABALOO

The model isn't in the API yet, so enjoy my D2Foundry screenshot since the roll on this does matter, unlike my old Taraxippos from the Strand post. Hullabaloo is actually pretty stacked, but the perk pool takes a hit purely by virtue of being on a heavy weapon. Watchful Eye can do most of what this wants to do better than it can, and the 3rd column Voltshot pull doesn't mean much without a reload perk to pair it with. Envious Assassin/Cascade Point could be a fun "I paid for the whole CPU, I'm gonna use the whole CPU" roll. Recommended Use Case: Raneiks isn't gonna know what hit 'em. There's not a lot of other situations where Compressed Wave Frames are optimal, let alone viable, but they put in some crazy work against Raneiks Unified from Vesper's Host.

KERAUNIOS

This is a sidegrade to a weapon that came out about a month before it within the same episode, and I don't know how to feel about that. The decision to use either this or Warlord's Spear largely comes down to whether or not you treat Traces as primary weapons: Keraunios sports Overflow where Warlord's Spear uses Envious Assassin or Rewind Rounds. Both pair very well with Detonator Beam, but Keraunios can pair Jolting Feedback with the Classy Contender origin trait for an exceptionally comfortable Gifted Conviction pairing. I'm expecting this to replace my Strategist/Jolting Pyroelectric Propellant in that build. Recommended Use Case: Either chunk majors and damage the chaff around them with Detonator Beam, or chunk majors and damage the chaff around them with Jolting Feedback. In my humble opinion, Keraunios leans more towards Jolting Feedback, whereas Warlord's Spear is better for Detonator Beam.

THE PALINDROME

Everyone has already said all there is to say on the reissued Palindrome. I'm not the type to doompost where there's any cope to be had, though, so I'll say this: Bungie has acknowledged that they're looking into the interactions between Explosive Payload and "certain damage perks," which I'd be willing to bet means Palindrome gets a rebalancing pass soon. 3rd Column Explosive Payload opens Pali up to a lot of strong workhorse options, with Master of Arms vs Desperate Measures being largely a matter of preference. Personally, I'm gunning for Master of Arms. There's a case to be made for Rolling Storm as well. Do bear in mind that with the damage splitting of Explosive Payload at work, Magnificent Howl is actually worse than it would be without any other perks. If you're set on running Mag, use it with Recycled Energy for an internal synergy.

Recommended Use Case: Energy Fatebringer. If Exalted Truth doesn't do it for you, the superior origin trait options and more balanced and self-contained playstyle of Palindrome might be more your speed. Wild Card is by far the strongest of the three Origin options.

PSYCHOPOMP

Expect this thing to be a staple of future damage rotations. I promise you in like a year or two tops some weirdo is going to join your fireteam finder lobby with this and an insane Hezen roll like demo/honing, say nothing in chat but "let me cook," and then top damage by multiple millions. Psychopomp lacks the convenience of Lost Signal's Auto/Vorpal, or the utility of Velocity Baton's Demo/Attrition, but it makes up for this by being the first DPS-Oriented Area Denial Frame. Persistent damage ticks and an otherwise inconvenient element work together to make this an incredible option for your Elemental Honing setups. Arc abilities aren't reliable for burst damage or ranged encounters, so having an arc weapon as your energy slot makes reaching max honing stacks on your other two weapons much easier. Yes, Runneth Over works how you think it does on this. Recommended Use Case: Integral, as-of-now irreplaceable component of Elemental Honing swap rotations.

TEMPTATION'S HOOK

Bungie. You can't genuinely think this is okay. Genuinely, actually, I refuse to believe anyone up there thinks this is an acceptable perk pool to see on a 2025 weapon. Caster Frames need some extra help as-is, and this is not what that looks like. I'll have to do some manual testing to see if the multiple hits of a Caster's heavy attack will activate Attrition Orbs faster than usual, but that's still not a genuinely good interaction. Despite looking awesome and having awesome flavour text, Temptation's Hook has no place in our modern sandbox. Recommended Use Case: Look at it and wonder what could have been.

UNWORTHY

The first Arc scout rifle we've had since Seraph, and the first Rapid-Fire Arc Scout since Season of The Lost, all the way back in 2021. Unworthy is making up for lost time, with a best-in-class perk combo and a pretty insane statline for a Rapid-Fire. The archetype's naturally fast base reload animation means your lower reload stat doesn't matter, and if it did, Firefly grants a +60 for free anyways. This reload buff allows you to chain Voltshot comfortably from basically any range you want, making this Scout an ad-clearing monster. Comfort is the theme of this gun, as the consistently high stats allow you to run whatever QoL mods you want on it. I'm telling you now, as your friend: apply a Low-Zoom Optics mod and thank me later. Unreal levels of responsiveness from a stereotypically sluggish weapon type. Every new target acquisition with this weapon feels like putting on an old jacket, finding out it still fits you, and then finding a crumpled 5 in the pocket that's not too crumpled for a vending machine to accept. For a less orthodox roll, Firefly is solar damage, meaning you can proc two Elemental Honing stacks with one weapon. Recommended Use Case: The weapon class is a little misleading; this isn't the type of gun that wants to be used from a safe distance. Applying a mod to lower the zoom distance is the perfect thing to make this one of the best-feeling weapons in the game. Perfect ad clear option, especially for Arc Warlocks looking for something to farm Ionic Sentry charges with.

WARLORD'S SPEAR

This is a sidegrade to a weapon that came out about a month after it within the same episode, and I don't know how to feel about that. The decision to use either this or Keraunios largely comes down to whether or not you treat Traces as primary weapons: Keraunios sports Overflow where Warlord's Spear uses Envious Assassin or Rewind Rounds. Both pair very well with Detonator Beam, but the more adaptable and on-demand nature of Rewind Rounds (or higher peaks granted by Envious Assassin) lends itself better to Detonator Beam as an emergency burst option on an otherwise chippy weapon type. Recommended Use Case: Either chunk majors and damage the chaff around them with Detonator Beam, or chunk majors and damage the chaff around them with Jolting Feedback. In my humble opinion, Keraunios leans more towards Jolting Feedback, whereas Warlord's Spear is better for Detonator Beam.

WATCHFUL EYE

Close enough, welcome back 21% Delirium. Watchful Eye is another beneficiary of Bungie's latest obsession with Aggressive Frame Machine Guns, which is fine, because they're numerically the best MG frame. With Extended Mag and two Enhanced perks, you can get to a frankly unreasonable magazine size of 154. This is more than half of your base reserves of 303. If you need to reload and worry about losing Killing Tally with that many shots, you shouldn't have been using a Machine Gun on that boss anyways. The 3rd column has Field Prep if you prefer having a consistent and controlled on-demand reload perk as opposed to the comparatively fickle Overflow, and the 4th column has literally only good perks. The worst option there is Target Lock, which is still around a 30% mag buff in total.

Recommended Use Case: This is your primary now. Use an ammo-hungry double special setup to enable as many Overflow drops as possible, with Izanagi's Burden as a perfect pairing to cover your burst damage weakness.

[dawnian-janitor]

Let's Talk about Deepseek

So, obviously I'm bad at using Tumblr. Sorry about that...

But I wanted to share my experiences with Deepseek. Long post as it includes tutorials and stuff. Below the cut.

My Thoughts

Deepseek R1 is very smart but oddly gets too poetic for me. To the point it becomes unusable, personally.

Deepseek V3 is less smart than R1, but smarter than JLLM. It also does not have the reasoning stuff R1 is known for.

JLLM is ass. Point blank.

Proxies & Cost

Proxies are always on with my bots because I see no reason not to. With the JLLM being so bad these days I recommend using a proxy, anyway. That said, I know that some cost.

Deepseek R1 and Deepseek V3 are currently free to use, so I do recommend using them.

How To Use

Here is a Reddit post about how to set up R1 as your proxy. Edit: That link above is to use Deepseek PAID. This link is to use it free. Sorry!

If you get the bot's reasoning to their reply and dislike it, go to your open router ai settings and block TARGON.

If you get a lot of loading errors, I have seen people suggest blocking CHUTES.

This leaves you with only AZURE. For me personally, blocking CHUTES has caused way more issues.

If you want to use V3 instead, you follow the same steps as in the link above, only with V3 (free). In Janitor's proxy settings, change the API Key to the one generated for V3, and the model to "deepseek/deepseek-chat:free". Refresh page/fully exit Janitor and re-enter for it to work.

I still have TARGON blocked for this, but I've heard it does not cause logics problems with V3.

I do not have CHUTES blocked for this, and do not receive errors.

Summary + Recommendations

JLLM is great with sex scenes. Deepseek seems to stumble and flail (V3, specifically) as it gets caught up on consent, even if you have already given it. JLLM is great at moving the scene forward and getting creative.

However, JLLM is awful with memory and is just plain stupid. For literally every other interaction, Deepseek is better.

Because of this, I highly encourage alternating between JLLM and Deepseek to get the most out of your roleplay.

Start with whichever LLM you prefer. Once it grows stupid (begins to forget, gets caught on certain phrases, etc), change it.

Utilize the Chat Memory feature. Auto-summary has been broken for a while with JLLM, and I haven't tried it with Deepseek. I recommend manually writing a summary or bullet points only of the really important stuff. (Deepseek has a significantly higher context, but if you alternate, JLLM is still shockingly low).

Personally, use JLLM for romantic/sexual scenes, and Deepseek for literally everything else, but use your preference however you like.

Janitor has built-in proxy prompts to choose from. "Freedom" is mostly for OpenAI. "Erotica" and "Romance" work decently with Deepseek.

Important Notices

I'm sure most people who are aware of Deepseek know this already, but just in case: Deepseek is a Chinese company, and some think there are security worries due to potential connections to the Chinese government. I don't know shit about anything like this or that, so I genuinely do not know. That said I do encourage you to read up on it if you are worried at all. I, personally, do not care that much.

[fujowebdev]

New Streaming Schedule (and New Update)

We're back with a Kickstarter update and a new streaming schedule! This December, we're going to git serious: we'll be streaming every week, twice a week (Monday and Thursday) for 2 hours at 3PM PST!

About the Streams

In addition to two new hangout editions of our “Let’s Build our Website” series where we'll finish all that we have pending and add more content to the website, we’ve added a couple new types of stream:

A tutorial write-along, where our project lead will explain how to use PayPal/Stripe links to easily add a tip jar on your Astro website (and compile that information in a blog post).

A learn-together session (possibly more than one), where you can follow an experienced software developer as she tries to learn the intricacies of accepting payments on the web, using the actual Stripe and PayPal APIs.

In addition to these, we’ll look at adding more characters into RobinBoob by scraping AO3 with AO3.js, and we’ll start a new series where we’ll rebuild the RobinBoob's functionality from scratch! After all, like many of our “April 1st projects”, RobinBoob was built in a feverish last-minute rush, and we cannot add some of the requested features without a serious rewrite!

Where to Find Them

We’ll see you this Monday, December 4th at 3PM (see converted time on the schedule) on Twitch, and all throughout December!

First Beta Feedback

And since Tumblr generously allows us to write as much as we want, here's a small sample of the feedback to the first draft of our first issue! You can read more about it under the cut, or get the full details on Kickstarter.

“Unlike other code guides, it's engaging and not dry. [I] wish some of the coding books i read in the past were like the fujoguide cause like. i would have been more into it”

“The guide was really easy to use for the most part, with cute examples and just... really fun!”

“I'm enjoying this, it's approachable and I really like the various ways information is presented; it looks like a legit textbook, like it seems like I could've picked this up from a shelf in Barnes & Noble.”

“I'm really happy at how many cool things are packed here. I have so many friends I will throw this guide at once complete!”

Looking forward to sharing our guide with you all!

[friendshipgirl]

Pool Brawl

( as the three were chilling out at the pool area, Salazar suddenly came with a magazine )

Salazar: You know… You know Natsumi, I have just had it with you and your boyfriend's little… ( closes the door ) …mind games.

Wakko: What is that?

Salazar: Italian Vogue…

Wakko: Mama Mia, that’s a lot of pages…

Salazar: It’s a lot of ads.

Wakko: Remember what Fuyuki said. Why is your life any more valuable than ours?

Salazar: Oh, that’s weird. I just can’t seem to ( tries to hit them ) RECALL THAT!!!

( the three scream as Natsumi tries to hit back with a chair )

Salazar: I think something STINKS in here! ( sprays honey perfume at Giroro )

Giroro: Ha! I like the smell of honey!

Salazar: Yeah? ( puts a lighter in front of it ) HOW DO YOU LIKE THE SMELL OF FLAMES!?

Giroro: Not as much!

( The red frog screams as he barely dodged a burst of fire. Natsumi's eyes grew wide with terror, as she watched Giroro, now ablaze, stumble backward into the pool. The water around him hissed and steamed, extinguishing the flames. Giroro coughed and sputtered, his swim wear smoldering. Wakko, acting on instinct, snatched up a pool noodle and began to whip it around like a makeshift flail, keeping Salazar at bay. Salazar backs up into the swim toys and falls, yelling as each toy, a snorkel, a ball, and finally a rubber duck, landed on his head. He then grabs a water nozzle and aimed at Natsumi )

Natsumi: Hey! Look at me! I’m wearing a pail for a hat! This is pathetic!

Salazar: I’ve got issues!

( he squirts at Natsumi, causing her to fall back into the pool. Natsumi comes up and spits water before activating the whirlpool by accident )

Natsumi: Oh no! AHH! ( spins around )

( Wakko tries to grab his mother, but when he did, Salazar pushes him in. Luckily, Wakko grabbed a board and surfs the whirlpool )

Wakko: Yeah! Surfs up, dude! ( spits water in Salazar's face )

Salazar: ( exclaims in disgust ) AHH! SPIT WATER!

( Wakko continues to ride the whirlpool for a bit before coming up to Giroro and Natsumi )

Wakko: Whoo! That hole is gnarly!

Salazar: ( takes out a scrubber ) Except for those soapy, blue, pink, and red, rings!

( Wakko screams as Giroro uses the board as a shield, but Aki and Lauren then come in and stop Salazar )

Lauren ( me ): Salazar! What the hell are you doing!? Are you nuts!?

Salazar: You know what!? I don’t even like canned white chocolate coffee! I don’t drink it!

Aki: ( pulls Salazar out a bit ) We need to talk! This is my daughter, and her son and boyfriend! She’s the new queen of Animaniacs, and I believe she is the greatest queen I have seen in a long time!

Salazar: Long time!? It has been almost a year since Api has been stressing over a movie!

Aki: Well, Lauren does stress out over Wakko’s Wish, because there are things that bug her, and pretty much everyone else, and it is all caused by you being greedy for respect!

Salazar: Oh! That’s how it is! Rotten children, autistic princesses, anime space frogs, chaotic dinner nights, and now this! You’re all against me! It’s getting my nerves fried by riding on this emotional roller coaster!

Aki: Goodbye, Salazar!

( Salazar exclaimed in disbelief before leaving the pool area, but then coming back )

Salazar: ( to Lauren ) And for you information, Princess, I prefer sugar free, no chocolate added, almond milk lattes, MADE BY MAN! ( storms off )

Aki: Sorry about all that Honey.

Salazar: ( comes back one more time ) And those dry strange aftertastes it has, I LIKE IT! ( leaves and slams the door )

[tap-tap-tap-im-in]

As a counterpoint to my other recent thoughts about video games, it's a really interesting time to enjoy games.

Yesterday I spent a few hours playing some emulators of old Zelda games. Specifically Twilight Princess from the GameCube, and Majora's Mask from the N64. Both games I was playing at 60fps for vastly different and incredibly cool reasons.

Let's hit Twilight Princess first. Because I structure essays not unlike food bloggers, that of course means a little introspective anecdote about the game and what it means to me; Twilight Princess came out while I was in High School. I'd been loaned a copy of Wind Waker by a friend in Junior High and it was the first Zelda game I'd ever beaten. I adore WW's soundtrack to this day. When I was moving out of the state, a good friend of mine who'd shared a love of the game, gave me his copy of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess (which had just recently come out), so my recollection of the game is beating it on an old 60s era CRT in my bedroom the summer before my Junior year of highschool started. The game has a lot of themes of balancing an old (often decaying) world against a new literally forcing its way into the old, which seemed hugely appropriate.

But for the sake of this discussion, since I played on a very old CRT (turn nobs rather than buttons mind, had to plug the GameCube into an adapter connected by screws to the antenna input old), late at night, the game has a twofold sort of soft focus filter over it. The normal CRT fuzz, the very tactile sensation of adjusting the adapter to resolve fuzz, and the classic nostalgia filter over it all. It's my opinion that the game is beautiful, hugely limited by the capabilities of the GameCube, but has absolutely fantastic art direction and artistic use of those limitations, so I've always been fascinated by emulating it to increase the resolution and poke at the edges of that artistry to better understand how it comes together (and what elements are dependent on analog artifacts like the use of CRTs).

So I love replaying and poking and prodding this game. But these days it's easier than it's ever been with the Dolphin Vulkan renderer, and then a few weeks ago I learned about a piece of software called Lossless Scaling: https://store.steampowered.com/app/993090/Lossless_Scaling/

This is an application that can replace any scaling within Windows with one of several upscaling techniques, including the AI trained ones from the GPU manufacturers, which is interesting in its own right, but it also allows arbitrary frame generation for any application using the Windows window API (anything not exclusive full screen). Which is hugely interesting. It's not perfect, but absolutely fascinating to be able to suddenly play Twilight Princess at 60 frames per second. It has the limitations of frame generation everywhere, it doesn't increase input response (in fact it slightly increases latency), it works best with already high framerates to give your eyes less time to see artifacts, and with only limited data points it shows more artifacts when items are moving quickly and/or entering and leaving the frame. That said, super interesting.

But arguably far more interesting is Majora's Mask 64. If you hadn't heard yet, an intrepid developer has created a tool to fully recompile N64 code into valid C code. This means native ports of N64 games can be generated just from ROM dumps. The tool requires additional Meta data and tweaks that are hard for the average user to implement, but a native PC port of Majora's Mask has already been created: https://github.com/Zelda64Recomp/Zelda64Recomp. This port enables high frame rates (the game was originally limited to 20 frames per second, and had severe performance issues on the N64), high resolutions, custom control binds, and they are all looking to add features like texture replacement and ray tracing soon (as well as support for OoT). All of this is without the overhead of having to emulate an N64, so it performs amazingly. I beat OoT on the GameCube collectors edition a couple of years after beating Twilight Princess, but never made it past beating the first temple in Majora's Mask, so this experience is fully new to me, and directly addresses the issue I had with the game. OoT was also 20 fps, but it was far more consistent about it so you could get used to it, but the performance issues with Majora's Mask made it painful to play after being introduced to Zelda via the 30fps GameCube era games. It's bringing what's widely considered an absolute classic to a completely new generation, and because it requires a valid ROM file to run, it's completely above board as far as current US copyright laws and therefore unlikely to get shutdown by Nintendo's lawyers.

In fact, if Nintendo follows their own habits, this tooling may very well mean that future releases of N64 games on modern platforms like the Switch have vastly improved feature sets, high resolution, wide-screen support, better framerates, purely because they can utilize the underlying code to enhance those ports and make them much more quickly and with less effort (though Nintendo would have to walk a legal tightrope of their own around the GPL 3 license the code is released under, as derivative works must themselves retain the GPL 3 license, but that's not stopped them in the past).

So, it's a really interesting time to be in the hobby, not because of what any corporation is doing, but because organize groups of fascinated people are doing incredibly cool work.

[cindylouwho-2]

ETSY REMOVING SOME LISTINGS THAT WERE SYNCED WITH CERTAIN SHOPIFY APPS

Not sure what to make of these reports, so I have been investigating them for almost a week now.

Several Etsy sellers report they have had multiple listings deactivated on Etsy, and cannot get the corporation to reinstate them. The items cannot be reactivated or even copied; some of them had been available on Etsy for years before this occurred. See the Etsy forum thread here: https://community.etsy.com/t5/Managing-Your-Shop/Etsy-to-Shopify-Migration-and-Integration/td-p/143741960

Etsy sent an email to most, informing some of the shops that the apps they were using to sync their Shopify sites with their Etsy shops were breaking Etsy Terms of Use and "violated our Intellectual Property Policy". This link was included for the API Terms of Use: https://www.etsy.com/legal/api/#:~:text=You%20grant%20Etsy%20a%20non,you%2C%20including%20but%20not%20limited

It highlights the following incomplete passage: "You grant Etsy a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual license to use, display, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, store, and prepare derivative works of any information you provide in connection with the API to enable the API to Etsy members and you, including but not limited..." - so, not very informative.

There are multiple points in the API Terms of Use that may have triggered this, but the app owners themselves aren't publicly identifying any possible issues, except again the mention of intellectual property. Some of the apps may have been using Etsy's marks and other material inappropriately, or possibly even the text and images belonging to the small business owners who used the apps. We just don't know.

At least some of the affected shops are clearly handmade, and appear to be using their own images. It is possible that some of them had their photos stolen and used elsewhere, triggering an image bot on Etsy, but it seems odd to hold the app responsible for the shops being accused of copyright infringement if the shops are being told they can just make new listings.

Another problem is, Etsy doesn't identify which apps (some shops tried more than one). In a few examples, it appears the app was disconnected before Etsy deactivated the listings.

Etsy Offers No Suitable Solutions

Etsy Support staff have provided no help to the affected shops. Business owners who have complained have been told they can just "create a new listing" to replace any that were deactivated in this sweep. Of course, this means the entire listing history is lost, harming the shop's search ranking, removing the reviews on that product, and making bookmarks or favourites for that page useless. Right at the beginning of the holiday shopping season! For older listings, the seller might not have the images available any more, and there is no way to copy them on Etsy.

This is an extraordinary punishment for people who don't seem to have knowingly done anything wrong. There simply doesn't seem to be any reason to permanently remove certain product listings from Etsy just because they were syncing inventory with another site. Removing temporarily, yes, but not permanently. This might make sense if the apps were adding things to Etsy listings that shouldn't be there, but we have no evidence that was the case, and the deactivation could be reversed if the listing were fixed. Letting shops off with a warning seems like more than enough action, especially since there is no way to know which apps are approved by Etsy and following Etsy's rules at any given time.

Not surprisingly, some of these business owners feel that Etsy is punishing them for trying to run their own websites instead of just selling on Etsy. While that is far from the most obvious answer to the puzzle - most known inventory apps were not involved in this set of takedowns - it's understandable that sellers might feel this is retaliation instead of rule enforcement. Any reputable site enforcing rules so harshly would need to be transparent about that risk beforehand, right?

Please contact me if you have more information on this situation, so I can update the seller community.

[atinyreindeer]

That grid theme I'm working on

It's almost ready! It's now responsive to tablet and mobile sizes, and I've stripped out jQuery because bleh.

I think it needs some more customisation options before I can make it public but currently it features:

Masonry layout (with Masonry.js)

Infinite Scroll (with InfiniteScroll.js) - it even updates your URL as you scroll through the pages!

Read more links for long posts that let them expand without breaking the masonry grid.

Legacy photo posts now use the neue Tumblr default lightboxes.

No JS fallbacks!

Permalink pages with notes.

Tag pages.

Ask and reblogged asks support!

To do:

No JS fallback for pagination. - Now has a no JS fallbacks and will show navigation if infiniteScroll is disabled. I just need to add the switch in the customisation options to allow you to enable / disable at will.

Customisation options for fonts, colours, and column amounts.

Add the Google Font API loader to avoid any weirdness with masonry layout and font loading. - turns out this api is er, terrible and old and doesn't really work so I think it'll just have to do as is.

Better link options in the header.

Check the like button is loading properly - it should all be set up but doesn't seem to want to update?

Issue with iframes being loaded in :( - fixed I think?

Hopefully I can release this by the new year, but we'll see.

Originally based off the GRID theme.

[antmimicry]

ughh I just really wish i could test software that i want to use Before i update my os to see if its actually worth using! because if it's not then I dont want to update! but of course it doesnt. work that way. mainly i want to know if certain software for dictation (there are a couple of live dictation-ish things built with whisper ai) are More Accurate (dont care as much abt speed) than either mac voice control or talon (which I like talon but it isnt that great for like text dictation lol). i dont use mac dictation for ~privacy~ concerns

They are probably over blown but I still have them. Voice controls dictation isn't actually that bad (I switch to using it just now actually because typing it became too painful LOL) so maybe I should just suck it up and use that and not really bother with the other options. It's sort of sucks that it just straight up does not work on firefox(part of the reason I need to reinstall talon, because voice control he doesn't work for actually controlling the computer in fire fox) but then again I think the whisper dictation apps I'm looking at might not work that way either and have their own separate interface, so it's not like they'd be much better. I still have to dictate text in a separate application and then paste it wherever I want it.

I know there are some options for whisper real time dictation that I could use with my current OS and potentially even with firefox(although it's just dictation and not Computer control) but they involve having an API key and therefore paying for it and it's not very expensive but I am not doing that. I am not opposed to paying a bit for a software but only a one time payment. I am not doing a subscription thing or pay as you go!

It's probably a fools errand to expect to find something with better accuracy anyways. Plus at least with voice control I have some level of text editing/ being able to insert punctuation as I choose, although I find it often has issues with doing that. One thing I have found with if you really basic tests of whisper is that it seems to be a bit better at inserting punctuation naturally but that also means I need a more natural dictation style which I don't really have. Then again maybe I don't have that so because I'm used to using voice control which doesn't really work with that certain style. So maybe I can develop it and it will be a lot more convenient for actually dictating lots of text. Then again I don't even write all that much? I don't know. Lots of things to consider.

At any rate I am keeping a close eye on Talon and waiting for the updates to the community hub for the new talon version. So much more convenient for the actual controlling of the computer even if it's not as good for dictation. Maybe I'll stop waiting and just go for it anyways. I could join the slack to make sure I'm not missing anything Super important that's different about the new version. I really do wish it had better and more updated documentation. Maybe I could even help with that.

[the-sixth-wheel]

whenever a new alarmist internet panic topic comes up like the twitter rate limitations, reddit api or threads or whatever, i have to wonder how much of it is just an overhyped mountain out of a molehill by grassless people who live their entire lives online and how much of it is an actual issue. like be totally fr. would all this shit have any impact on someone who has a job or family or friends or just anything outside of social media.

i don't mean to sound harsh or judgemental but like goddamn. the absolutely sincere and passionate takes people have on shit like twitter rate limitations is sometimes concerning. i ain't preaching or telling someone what their priorities should be but like. maybe be this passionate about helping people in your local community or something. just seems like a lot of misplaced passion that could be put to good use somewhere else.

[beyondblogs786]

How Hackathons Drive Innovation in Emerging Technologies

In the ever-evolving world of technology, innovation is no longer confined to boardrooms or R&D departments. It thrives in fast-paced, collaborative environments — and hackathons have become the perfect launchpad. Whether it's AI, blockchain, Web3, or IoT, today’s hackathon events are where some of the most exciting breakthroughs are born.

Platforms like Hack4Purpose are redefining how young innovators and students interact with cutting-edge technologies. These aren’t just contests — they are incubators for the future.

Here’s how hackathons are powering innovation in emerging tech fields:

1. Rapid Prototyping in Real Time

The core of any hackathon is speed — ideate, build, and pitch within 24 to 48 hours. This compressed timeline forces teams to focus on essentials, pushing them to prototype quickly. Emerging technologies that typically seem out of reach become accessible when broken down into practical, MVP-sized solutions.

Example: Teams are building working AI chatbots, blockchain-based voting systems, or low-cost IoT sensors within a single weekend.

2. Democratizing Access to New Tech

At a hackathon, even beginners can experiment with AI models, crypto wallets, or sensor APIs thanks to open-source tools and mentor support. It levels the playing field, giving students and young professionals equal opportunity to explore frontier technologies — even without formal training.

Hack4Purpose empowers participants with starter kits, documentation, and tech partner resources to help them get started, regardless of background.

3. Collaborative Cross-Disciplinary Thinking

Emerging technologies often require multi-disciplinary teams — for example, combining AI with ethics, or IoT with environmental science. Hackathons bring together coders, designers, marketers, and domain experts under one roof, enabling richer, more thoughtful innovation.

This kind of teamwork mirrors real-world innovation labs where collaboration fuels results.

4. Safe Space to Experiment and Fail

Hackathons are low-risk environments. You can test wild ideas, experiment with new frameworks, and even fail spectacularly — all without judgment. This freedom encourages bolder thinking, which is often the first step to breakthrough innovation.

Remember: today’s crazy idea could be tomorrow’s unicorn startup.

5. Direct Access to Mentors and Industry Leaders

Many hackathons — especially those hosted by platforms like Hack4Purpose — feature mentorship sessions, tech walkthroughs, and judging by industry professionals. This offers participants invaluable insights and real-time feedback on their ideas and execution.

Such mentorship often pushes participants to refine their ideas or explore newer tech angles they hadn’t considered before.

6. Building Real Solutions for Real Problems

Hackathons are no longer just about “cool tech.” More and more themes focus on solving global issues — climate change, mental health, accessibility, or education. Teams are encouraged to leverage emerging tech in impactful ways that extend beyond just winning a prize.

Example: Using AI to detect early signs of depression in rural youth, or using blockchain for transparent charity funding.

7. A Gateway to Startup Ecosystems

Many successful tech startups began as hackathon prototypes. These events offer a glimpse into the world of entrepreneurship — ideation, pitching, MVP building, and user validation — all in a short span. Winning or even participating in a hackathon can lead to accelerators, incubators, or even investor interest.

Final Thoughts

The pace of innovation in emerging technologies demands agile, inclusive, and hands-on learning environments — and hackathons are leading that charge. Whether you're a student, an aspiring founder, or just curious about new tech, a hackathon is the best place to test your potential.