It's interesting to me

[674515202c7e0unn_atropos]

Louis?

[674515202c99cKolya]

You don't know the famous trumpeter they sent to the moon?   

Sorry, I was in a hurry. 

[674515202cb58Kolya]

http://www.robotspacebrain.com is the site of a NYC based Art & Science gallery. They feature a lot of interesting and beautiful illustrations for the cultured scifi nerd.

[674515202cd0cKolya]

When I come across uplifting news stories of personal perseverance in US media I often admire the social spirit in which people help each other. But it also makes me wonder how people even get into situations where they apparently have to rely on the friendliness of strangers to pay for a life saving operation or education. And why that point is never questioned in these articles.

The article linked below highlights exactly this question. I'm not sure if the answer it gives (neoliberalism) is really all there is to it. I think it's deeper culturally rooted than any political slant.

But it's still great that someone points out how these stories of self-help are not really uplifting due to the circumstances they betray. And if I as a European ever bemoaned finding this kind of social cohesion here when reading those articles, it's a good reminder of what we got.

https://fair.org/home/media-just-cant-stop-presenting-horrifying-stories-as-uplifting-perseverance-porn/

[674515202d065fox]

Very much related to this forum's subject: Elon Musk's neural links: https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/16/20697123/elon-musk-neuralink-brain-reading-thread-robot

heise.de: "Neurologen an Elon Musk: Neuralinks Hirn-Implantat ist "unseriöser Hype""

[674515202d176fox]

"Undercover In The Most Dystopian Place In The World"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7AYyUqrMuQ

[674515202d2fdKolya]

The Uighurs are clearly a suppressed minority and while I feel for the individuals depicted (that poor mother!) I'm ambivalent about rooting for their group, because I'm not sympathetic to any religion that hasn't been declawed yet and still tries to implement its own set of rules in society. I firmly believe this power belongs in the hands of a secular democratic state.   

The Chinese government may want the right thing, namely to wrestle power from religion and unite its people to prevent ethnic tensions, but it goes about it in a ruthless, brutal way that causes immense individual suffering. It also seems naive because they're not the first authoritarian government that tries to stomp out a religion unsuccessfully. Let alone the fact that they are trying to supplant religion with nationalism. They should rely more on sex, pop and consumerism, these things have a much better track record of eroding religions permanently.

[674515202d56bicemann]

Its a window into how things would be if China were to take over the world (not that that would ever happen).

Minorities repressed, ethnic dilution bit by bit over time. End goal being to have one race, one religion, one people. Scary stuff.

[674515202d916fox]

The Uighurs are clearly a suppressed minority and while I feel for the individuals depicted (that poor mother!) I'm ambivalent about rooting for their group, because I'm not sympathetic to any religion that hasn't been declawed yet and still tries to implement its own set of rules in society. I firmly believe this power belongs in the hands of a secular democratic state.

   

I feel the same but I also believe that the end can never justify that sort of means. This is plain wrong, no matter what! I have to admit though, that I don't have a clue about how the general problem (religions vs secular states) can realistically be tackled in a good way. It starts with preserving free speech and human rights though.

[674515202da35icemann]

Of which does not exist under communism. Why do you think all the students have been protesting in Hong Kong for the past month.

[674515202db8dKolya]

Pretty sure that fox is aware about freedom of speech and human rights being limited in China. The protests in Hong Kong involve not just students but the general public. They are aimed at an extradition law. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/10/what-are-the-hong-kong-protests-about-explainer

[674515202dc8dicemann]

Yes. But its about far more than just that law. Its about the slow, bit by bit erosion of democracy there (ever since the handover by the UK), and of China's growing control.

[674515202ddb9Kolya]

"Conan O'Brien needs a friend" has been my favourite podcast for some time now. I'm just throwing this out here because I want you to be happy and feel loved.

https://www.earwolf.com/show/conan-obrien/

RSS: https://rss.art19.com/conan-obrien

[674515202de9dKolya]

Tardigrades may have survived spacecraft crashing on moon

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/06/tardigrades-may-have-survived-spacecraft-crashing-on-moon

[674515202e015voodoo47]

I would be surprised if they didn't - those things are beasts. you boil them, you freeze them, you deprive them of oxygen, and they are like meh, whatever.

[674515202e112Kolya]

I imagine in 4000 years a group of super intelligent and super tiny aliens visits our moon to check out what's left of earth and they get hunted and eaten by the Tardigrades. Surprise motherfucker! We put bugs on the moon!

[674515202e1f3voodoo47]

that would be hilarious. also technically, they aren't bugs.

[674515202e2d5voodoo47]

btw, SS2 is 20 years old today. we've been at this for a while, it seems.

[674515202e432Kolya]

Yeah. Yesterday I replied to a post I had created 14 years ago. I was in a different relationship then, my back didn't hurt.
I...I was a dancer! 

But you know what, the followup was seemless, might as well've written it 14 years ago or in the future. SS2 is like infinite cat.
Eternal.

[674515202e523voodoo47]

well, I certainly don't have anything planned for the next 20 years, so lets see where this goes.

[674515202e776unn_atropos]

I remember the day because of the total solar eclipse over Germany, but don't know if I knew about the existence of System Shock yet.
Maybe some time later I watched my brother playing the demo, don't know where we got that from.
I think I must have gotten the game in the year 2000, because it was the EA budget release.

School in 1999 is kind of foggy, somehow it feels like I was always there and rarely at home. Played Half Life (beginning with Uplink) and Outcast, Settlers 3 and Redline (a bit). This years have a weird taste to it. A kind of optimistic mood in which overall betterment seemed possible. I was confident about myself as well, gaining the ability to have a more "grown up" view on the world; a new reception. With 2001 that optimism died down and it feels like we're still down in this negative valley. Hopefully it will brighten up soon.

Interestingly, I was able to save some of this "taste" that System Shock 2 gave me at the time, but the memory is getting blurry. Like the game moved along with me but slowly is getting to stay behind. I'm dreary of the day when I play the game and do not feel this connection anymore. 

On November 20th 2009 I created my account here, and while a lot of time has passed, there hasn't been one day I didn't enjoy it here. Just realized that I'm possibly younger than some of you. 😁.
So yeah, grandmas and grandpas, sign me up for 10 or 20 more years. 

[674515202e9cfKolya]

Auto-grabbing bed to hold patient in zero gravity
https://i.imgur.com/p36bMP2.gifv

Cthulhu likes this. 

MIT project this is from: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/spatial-flux/overview/
Overview ‹ Spatial Flux: Body and architecture in space — MIT Media Lab - Structurally, zero gravity means that we do not have to contend with architecture's greatest arch-nemesis, gravity. This opens up a new world of possibilitie...

[674515202eb95Kolya]

Apparently the protagonist is a delivery guy. It still is mighty weird, but Death Stranding is starting to make some more sense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qux5nECa08s
Death Stranding Gameplay - 6-Minute Gamescom 2019 Demo - PS4 - YouTube - And finally, the Opening Night Live show wrapped up by treating fans to some new gameplay footage of Death Stranding featuring peeing in the wild, napping, a...

[674515202ec85icemann]

I still don't get the point of the game. Like as in, what your goal is.