Today’s game is some more Pokemon Platinum. I’ve crawled my way all the way to the 7th gym today and stopped there. I spent a lot of time though working on filling out the Pokédex. There’s a ton of evolutions I can nab currently for the Dex that I’ve been training. I got some friends to play back to back with me so this really works out great as it gives them time to catch up to me.

On the subject of the main screenshot. When checking out the lake it got a a giggle out of me because all the Magikcarp flopping around. I really liked this one region where they were all clustered up. Like. Horrible that it happened to them but also really funny.

One thing I’ve noticed I like about Gen 4 is the Professor. Not to shit on the other ones but I really like him because he feels involved in what’s going on. I feel like all the others only really show up every once in a while. Meanwhile here we see him like out and about in the events of the story and stuff. Like when he went to see what happens at the lake.

Anyways. I’m at the snow gym now. Not a lot besides that has happened. I’ll probably spend tomorrow farming Pokemon for my Pokédex though. It’ll be nice to have them for my Dex ahead of time so I have less to farm post game.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1383383/wikimedia-foundation-workers-overwhelmingly-vote-to-form-union-with-cwa

I typically avoid anything smart, but given practicality, I'm looking for general tips or recommendations for smart bulbs?

I have just started self-hosting home-assistant, and would prefer ones which integrate well with that.

What should I look out for when buying them? Any brands to avoid? Any cybersecurity concerns you've come across? Or should I avoid them altogether?

I ask because I caught myself being a huge hypocrite again.

I'm a millennial and I criticized a Gen Z friend for her constant use of the word 'lowkey.'

I then realized do I not do the same thing? I often say 'sorta' or 'kinda' when I do just mean I did the thing in the same way she uses 'lowkey.'

No, I didn't 'kinda' delete a guy's account at my stupid IT job. I DELETED HIS ACCOUNT! I didn't 'sorta' leave too late for work. I FUCKING LEFT LATE!

So I am a massive fucking hypocrite who needs to just let Gen Z chill and do what the want as I am the same flavor of asshole, but what about you?

I saw fringe those days in 2009 and then again recently.

And I'm sure to remember 2 episodes that I find nowhere on the internet or anywhere else.

One was where Peter was in an alternate universe but somehow his body was disintegrating because the universe was rejecting him.

Eventually he found a way by replacing all his body fluids with fluids from that universe

The other one is where Peter and Olivia have a child and Broyles is running for president. They are attending one of his campaigns. The slogan of his campaign is "Live Brave"

Why am I not finding any of this anywhere?

I realize this makes me sound very old. I am a very curious person and want to continously develop and adapt.

Some trends might not be improvements, but some might be.

The last few days, no one has replied to posts in this community. Before that, at least one comment and others over 100. And then it just seemed to stop, and the last few questions weren't undeserving of interaction. Was there a defederation?

His name’s Apollo. He’s my asshole.

Once in a while, when he’s not made of pure rageohol, he can be cute. Maybe.

I have seen "nuance" used as a weapon against most important and most trivial things of time, being complicit in genocide and ecocide is nuanced because there are oh I important living standards to uphold (I don't see any decent living standards which need complete complicity in genocide in Sudan, Congo, and Palestine for example), this was an example for most important thing but now I will give an example of most trivial thing, companies increasing prices of games and ending physical copies, people say 'it's nuanced' from explaining economics to talking about digital consumer rights, if you say "just bring about the DotP and it'll be fine" for everything from genocides to anti-comsuner practices, you're not a comrade, you're a glorified hustle bro.

Lampshade printed out of clear PLA in vase mode, to replace the glass shade I stole from a cheap Aliexpress lamp to use as a cover for my 360° camera. The lamp was super-cheap but I didn't want to throw it away. With the 3D-printed shade, it found a new life as a small table lamp in my office at work.

Let's skip the whole bit of me still living there and come to the post's subject

The culture of paying for stuff there is complicated. While at most places like general stores you can pay with both cash and cards/QR, and that goes for like 15 years, some places prefer one mode exclusively, e.g. privately-owned buses do only cash or newer shops not having a traditional cash register at all. You learn that as you go, and I generally avoid the second ones.

The difference doesn't stop here though, and depending on infrastructure leverage, stores either use their own hardware to accept payments, or they use one from Sberbank, the main bank in Russia, for a fee.

Southern mega store chain Magnet uses their own scan panels you put your card onto and what they have on you, especially if you use a loyalty card to link all your purchases to the same account, is with them and them alone.

But smaller chains and single stores use Sber infrastructure and their card readers. While these accept any russian card, there always was a fear that they still process and look into every payment even if you aren't their client.

Moreso, the recent models of their card scanners are equipped with a camera, and they can and do scan your face. I was oblivious to it for some time, but recently I got a very urgent reminder.

I bought a jug of beer at a small chain of breweries and when it came to paying for it, their Sberbank scanner got into "pay by smile" mode. I didn't notice it at the time, and even put a card of another bank to the scanner, but when I got home I realised it took money from my Sber account, from the card I never carry with me.

So, unknown to me, they got my face biometrics and billed me based on that. With how many places have these Sber's readers, I got tracked by face in almost every place providing products and services, with enough precision bank fiends trust it. That's cops' paradise.

Keeping in mind I'm still yanking myself out of serving for obvious reasons, I'm pretty terrified that if they'd want me in, they'd have a realtime report of where and when I bought stuff, they can take me on exit. There were leads, like triangulating my simcard usage or payment history, but they weren't as firm as a picture of my face at this place at this time. That's the whole another level of surveiliance you'd hardly dodge as long as you need food or water.

I don't know if it's the case in other countries, but I want to to warn you that it can happen, and it's even worse than Flock.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/climate@slrpnk.net/p/2350268/oil-lobbyists-anti-abortion-groups-and-tech-giants-flock-to-reform-conference

Nigel Farage’s party is welcoming polluting interests and radical pressure groups to its annual gathering. > > Corporate titans including Google, Meta, and TikTok will be appearing at Reform UK’s annual conference this week, rubbing shoulders with fossil fuel interests, far-right politicians, and Christian rights groups. > > The conference, designed to showcase the party’s policies and politicians, will be attended by figures from some of the world’s biggest tech companies – several of which have donated to funds and projects associated with U.S. President Donald Trump. > > They will be joined by the likes of Fuels Industry UK, a trade group for the oil sector which counts BP, Shell, and ExxonMobil among its six members. Reform, whose senior figures frequently deny climate science, advocates for the dramatic expansion of fossil fuel production in the UK. > > It’s no wonder Reform is slumping to third in the polls