I had a Sega GameGear as a kid. Yeah it was a Sega system, which Sega was major back then, but the GameGear was nothing compared to the Gameboy. Very cool system, in that it had a full color screen and was backlit.

Now that was at the expense of being heavy as all hell and a monster eater of AA batteries. 6 of them at at time!

I think that was basically the only non-major system I had.

My first DS was the DS Lite. I bought it when the game “Contact” came out. Played various JRPGs on it, as I’m wont to do with handhelds. IIRC, the DS Lite was backwards compatible with GBA carts, which was great. I loved the look, feel, and size of it. Honestly, DS Lite is probably my favorite Nintendo handheld, with the Switch a close second.

After that, I think the next DS that I had was the 3DS. Which I still have; I even booted it up earlier this year to try to play “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice.” I didn’t end up playing it on the 3DS, since I have that anthology on Steam, but I wanted to see where I was.

Games or series that I played a lot on the DS line were practically all of the mainline Ace Attorney games, and even some of the spin offs like the Professor Layton crossover and AA:Investigations. Fire Emblem was another. I think I played Awakening, Fates, and Echoes. I played at least one Pokemon game, too.

Huh didn’t know P1 and P2 were SMT games. Good to know. I’ve tried at least one entry in the SMT side and just could not get into it. Don’t even remember which it was. I get they’re both dungeon crawlers, but I don’t think I’m a fan of the more old-school SMT-style games.

I’ve only played P3 Portable and Persona 4, on PSP and Vita respectively (though I also have these on Steam now). I have Persona 5 (also Steam), but I’ve yet to start it, since I have quite the backlog to get through. Including P3 and P4!

I got fairly far into P3P before stopping, while I didn’t get as far into P4 before stopping, then restarting, then stopping again (though I got a little further than the first time). My last attempt must’ve been during the pandemic, so not that long ago. It’s not necessarily that I didn’t enjoy them; I just have a thing with JRPGs where I intend to take a short break…which often turns into years-long breaks.

P3P was more enjoyable than P4, IMO. P4 just seemed really slow at the start, while P3, I felt had much better pacing. If I’m remembering the correctly, the latter just dropped you straight in to the weirdness, and it just kept going, where I felt like P4 had more lulls in the action.

I don’t mind the school stuff, though I’ll admit it’s not my favorite thing in the world. I do try to make an effort, rather than just breeze through it. I do hope to one day complete both of them and then get to P5. I very much enjoy their visual styles and music. I also like games that take place in the modern world, so the series is right up my alley.

For something like Civ or Stellaris, I’d count “completion” once I’ve won at least one game. Because, ideally, I’ve shown some mastery of knowledge, skills, and mechanics that allowed me to win. I don’t need to play and win as each leader in Civ or every race/trait and combo in Stellaris to say I’ve completed it.

This is similar to how I’d view “completion” in open-ended games like Cities:Skylines or Banished. Having played a city or town for several hours, was I able to keep the residents alive, stabilize the city if there were any issues, and also grow and develop the settlement for a significant, though arbitrary, length of in-game time? If the answer is Yes to all of these, then I’ve “completed” the game. I’ve understood how things work in the game. Doesn’t mean I have to understand every nuance or know every little trick. But I know enough that things are going well and largely continue to go well. And every time I start a new map, things tend to always go well.

Earlier this year, I stopped playing Eve Online for the nth time after mostly playing straight through since 2019. Because I viewed my time during this last 4-5yr stint as “complete.” I achieved practically all the goals I set out to do: join a major alliance, join massive PVP fights, engage in smaller PVP fights, make money that I ever had before, buy and fly ships I’d never used before, learn how to explore and navigate wormholes, try out specific types of industry, play with IRL friends, own and run my/our own station, and more.

In all of these, “completion” obviously doesn’t mean I’ll never go back. There’s always more to do, new things to see. But for now, I am satisfied with my progress, experience, and understanding. I’m no longer a noob.

I use it since I subscribe to Proton for email. It seems fine. I used to use Windscribe – or rather still do since I have a lifetime subscription – but I tend to alternate between the two services these days. Proton seems to have tons more servers though. I’ve torrented on both and have had no issues with either.

I think the point is that even with caps on spending, it’s still possible for people to fall into a financial hole. Even just looking at the prescription proposal, $2000 may not be a lot for some, but for others, that’s a good chunk of change. And is that $2000 per person? Is there a limit for a family? Because if not, for a family of 4, $8000 is a lot.

And of course, this doesn’t address the medical procedures themselves.

I’m explaining the other person’s position as I’ve read it. To me, any step in the right direction, even if small, is a good thing. But I could see why others would be like “Come on, stop beating around the bush, M4A already!”

You’re on Beehaw right now. Let’s not sling around any accusations. Let’s just assume good faith. Even I didn’t catch that when I responded.

While BLM is certainly within their right to ask for this, I think it’d be pointless to do it. It’s done. Kamala Harris is the nominee.

To me, this is once again, the left fighting the left. And yes, the Democratic Party in this country, is considered part of the left, even if it’s not as left as some of you you’d like. Maybe BLM and other groups who feel the same, should focus that energy on fighting MAGA and Trump. Only one of the two major parties has at least some interest in racial justice and equality. And it sure as hell ain’t the Republicans. Especially not these days.

I’m not saying Democrats are perfect. I’m not saying Kamala Harris is perfect. But I’d much, much, much, much rather have her and Walz and Democrats across the land in control. And trying to fight fights within the big tent that have already been settled isn’t the way to do it.

Late to the party. FWIW, I’m fine with the title for this post as well. I think @TheRtRevKaiser@beehaw.org has the right of it.

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It is. Additionally, my co-worker who made the comment is like 33-34. I’m 37. Another person on the committee is 40. HR is like 64. So it’s not like we’re a bunch of young guns ourselves lol. We should want experience, and with experience tends to come age.

But yeah, I getcha on the management thing. I’m technically a manager, but I don’t have any subordinates. Because I told them, they’re going to have pay me way more to become an actual manager with direct reports, especially since I’d lose my non-exempt status. To make me exempt, they’d need to make it worth my while. We’re a non-profit, so we already get paid crap (though benefits are excellent).

My work is in the process of hiring someone to replace me since I’m headed to a new job. After a recent interview, a co-worker on the hiring committee made a comment on Teams, “His age seems OK.”

Uhhh, maybe we shouldn’t be talking about age in hiring decisions. Especially on a written medium. Pretty sure that in the US, age discrimination laws starts at like 40yo, including hiring and firing. That interviewee seemed to be over 40yo, which is probably what prompted that comment.

Not that I think the candidate will sue us if we don’t hire him, but it’s just unnecessary risk. And I don’t even work in HR or legal; rather I’m in IT. Surprised HR didn’t say anything about that comment.

I suspect Flash Mob is saying that as DOT Secy, Pete could do more. I’ll leave it at that; I’m not making any calls on Pete as DOT head.

But Flash also isn’t wrong that Pete has got the chops. Personally, I say just make him the spokesperson for everything. Anytime the GOP wants to say something stupid, let Pete respond and rebuke them.

EDIT: OK so this is actually more complicated than I thought. Parts of what I said originally are wrong. Sorry; let me see if I can correct this.

• Khan’s term actually ends Sept 2024; I thought she was appointed to a full 7yr term; she was not.
• Rather, she replaced former FTC chair, Joseph Simons, so she’s finishing out his 7yr term.
• Additionally, the president can designate a new Chair at anytime, without senate confirmation, as long as the president picks a current commissioner.
• Lina Khan was not a current commissioner, which was why she was confirmed by the Senate in 2021.
• If the Chair role is removed from a commissioner, that person reverts back to a regular commissioner.
• But the Chair obviously sets the tone and direction of the FTC and can appoint people to certain positions within the agency, so it’s a powerful role.
• If a commissioner or chair’s term ends, it is possible for them to continue in that role until a new commissioner or chair is selected (Source) .

So that’s why these billionaires are asking for this now. Because Khan will probably remain in her chair role beyond the election, until she’s replaced. If Harris wins, Hoffman and Diller are expecting Harris and Dems to “make good on their purchase” and to select a new chair. Still ridiculous.

How easy is it for a president to remove a chair of the FTC? Decided to look into this.

FTC commissioners serve 7yr terms. Khan was only appointed and confirmed by the Senate in 2021. So she should be there until 2028, unless she resigns.

Additionally, the FTC is an independent regulatory agency (versus an independent executive agency). So it sorta exists “outside” of the executive branch. In terms of firing commissioners (chair or not), independent regulatory agencies commissioners can’t be fired at will:

Presidential attempts to remove independent agency officials have generated most of the important Supreme Court legal opinions in this area.[9] In 1935, the Supreme Court in the case of Humphrey’s Executor v. United States decided that although the president had the power to remove officials from agencies that were “an arm or an eye of the executive”, it upheld statutory limitations on the president’s power to remove officers of administrative bodies that performed quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial functions, such as the Federal Trade Commission.[1]: 142  Presidents normally do have the authority to remove regular executive agency heads at will, but they must meet the statutory requirements for removal of commissioners of independent agencies, such as demonstrating incapacity, neglect of duty, malfeasance, or other good cause.[10]

Source: Wikipedia.

So there is some due process there. The president can’t just demand a commissioner of these kinds of agencies, like the FTC, to resign. I guess, a president could technically demand it (as it happened in this case that got to SCOTUS), but the commissioner is under no obligation to follow through. I’m sure there are legal ways to pressure a commissioner into resigning, and a presidential administration could lie and claim one of those reasons for dismissal. But again, there’s at least due process. As far as resigning, Khan doesn’t strike me as a kind of person who’d just roll over, especially given who and what the FTC has been going after lately.

All that to say…it seems really stupid for Diller and Hoffman to demand this. Especially so publicly. Aside from the anti-consumer angles, it’s not even a slam dunk for a president to dismiss a sitting commissioner of an independent regulatory agency. Plus, this at a time when even Republicans seem to be turning on big business at times (though it’s hard to say what Republicans are for or against these days and with whom). Obviously, liberals and many Democrats have been shouting for more business regulation and consumer protections for years, decades, now. So the public is definitely on the side of, well, the public. So why do this so publicly?

I guess just typical billionaires thinking they can throw money around and expect things will happen how they want.

Like HobbitFoot said, she was actually popular at first. I think people liked that folksy charm that she brought (“you betcha!”) She has some charisma. Not saying it worked on everybody; I was not a fan, to say the least. But I can see it. And people here always like the idea of their leaders being someone you can have a beer with. Not saying someone couldn’t have had a beer with John McCain, but I think with Palin, it was easier to envision.

The idea is that people will be willing to pay a recurring fee to use Alexa if it can do more advanced things, like perform multiple commands without the user having to say “Alexa” repeatedly, be more conversational, and manage smart homes more intuitively. Amazon is considering charging $5 to $10 per month for generative AI Alexa,

I don’t know if that’s worth $5-10/mo. I use Google Nest products at home, mainly to control lights. And yeah it sometimes annoying to be like, “Hey Google do this…Hey Google, do that…Hey Google, do whatever…” But at that point, I usually just use the Google Home app or a specific IoT app. And that’s free.

Agreed. from an electoral standpoint, it’s bad.

Of course, if Trump wins, then it’s still a bad pick, but for completely different, terrifying reasons.

We’ll see, at least with regards to Trump. Usually a VP is selected to “round-out” the ticket, to bring in additional votes from those who iffy on on the presidential candidate. But if this guy is already MAGA to extreme and a Trump loyalist (though he wasn’t always), what segment is that bringing in that wasn’t already planning to vote for Trump?

In other words, how many Republicans are there who don’t like Trump and wouldn’t vote for him, but now that Vance is there, will vote for Trump? I feel like that’s a pretty small number.

I’ve been working through a replay of all the original mainline Ace Attorney games, via the trilogies on Steam. Played these all on DS/3DS back in the day. I just finished Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies, and now I’ve started Spirit of Justice, the last game of this second anthology. Love this whole series. Can’t wait for the release of the “Investigations” spin-off games in September!

Otherwise, still playing FFXIV. I started Dawntrail, but I haven’t gotten too far into it. I put a pin the MSQ (Main Scenario Quests) a couple weeks ago and just kinda left it there. I have enough other things to work on. Class/Job leveling, finishing up some Alliance Raids/Normal Raids from Endwalker, trying to suck less while healing on Sage, and whatever else side stuff I find.

I figure that it’s gonna be at least a few months til the next big content update, and at least two years until the next expansion, so what’s the rush? I’ll get back to the MSQ eventually.

Talk about a massive failure of the Secret Service. No matter how ones feels about Trump, he – nor Biden – should have ever be in this situation. I’ve been seeing reports that some rally attendees saw the guy on the roof and said something to security, but nothing was done. Sounds like the roof wasn’t even that far away and obviously had good enough sightlines on the stage.

I do feel bad for the family of that attendee who died. I know these are Trump supporters and all that, but still. You don’t expect to die at a political rally. I’ve been to some rallies before for Dem candidates. My brother, who’s not a Trump supporter, went to a Trump rally in Vegas last month as a gag. And this isn’t Jan 6 and that dumb woman who tried to break into the congressional chambers and got shot by police.