Random News not worthy of own thread

[muppetts]

https://worldnewsdailyreport.com/elderl ... 6kYurVvA64

Elderly-couple-accidentally-burns-house-down-during-sex-game-involving-ww2-flamethrower

nuf said

[Antilogic]

Satire.

[BugMeister]

hey, here's a thought:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge7UlbqP6ro

- satire?

[RegisterMe]

Remember that Banksy piece that shredded itself? Bit more on it here.

https://youtu.be/vxkwRNIZgdY

[Bishop149]

Funniest story of the week

Canada's leading cryptocurrency exchange unable to repay $190m (£110m) to clients because founder died with the passwords

A case of a company based around data security being a little TOO good at it's job.

[pjknibbs]

Funniest story of the week

Canada's leading cryptocurrency exchange unable to repay $190m (£110m) to clients because founder died with the passwords

A case of a company based around data security being a little TOO good at it's job.

Yeah. I really don't buy that story--to have such a large amount of virtual currency tied up in a system with no escrow of passwords or the like? It's either shockingly incompetent, or shockingly fraudulent, not sure which.

[red assassin]

Yeah. I really don't buy that story--to have such a large amount of virtual currency tied up in a system with no escrow of passwords or the like? It's either shockingly incompetent, or shockingly fraudulent, not sure which.

I mean, we're talking about cryptocurrency here, so either or both of those options are par for the course.

[Morkonan]

...It's either shockingly incompetent, or shockingly fraudulent, not sure which.

You don't have to be sure. The hand-grenade of shockingly incompetent fraud covers just about everything.


Aside: Wasn't there some worry that the source-code for Dwarf Fortress was only available to one or even both of the Adams's? IOW - It could be, however unlikely, that the source-code for one of the most popular games, ever, could be lost in the case of an unforeseeable disaster?

Probably not as expensive a proposition as billions in Bitcoins/e-currency, though.

We had a walk-in safe at work. It was a literal "vault." Big steel door, etc, the whole bit. It is possible, if someone wanted to pay a few thousand dollars, to get a special locksmith to open that door if the combination was lost or something else went wrong. Even so, we had a known internal procedure for getting into that safe should something happen to one of the key people. (No, it didn't hold anything of particular value to anyone. No monies, sorry. The building is gone, now, anyway.)

[pjknibbs]

Aside: Wasn't there some worry that the source-code for Dwarf Fortress was only available to one or even both of the Adams's? IOW - It could be, however unlikely, that the source-code for one of the most popular games, ever, could be lost in the case of an unforeseeable disaster?

Probably not as expensive a proposition as billions in Bitcoins/e-currency, though.

Yeah, not being able to update Dwarf Fortress ever again is a *teensy* bit less of an issue than not being able to access $190 million in funds.

[Morkonan]

Aside: Wasn't there some worry that the source-code for Dwarf Fortress was only available to one or even both of the Adams's? IOW - It could be, however unlikely, that the source-code for one of the most popular games, ever, could be lost in the case of an unforeseeable disaster?

Probably not as expensive a proposition as billions in Bitcoins/e-currency, though.

Yeah, not being able to update Dwarf Fortress ever again is a *teensy* bit less of an issue than not being able to access $190 million in funds.

Well, that depends on how much you value Dwarf Fortress! I would think that there might be one or two people out there that would disagree with you. But, 190 million would buy a pretty darn big Dwarf Fortress. Heck, you could build a real-life Dwarf Fortress with real-life dwarves/Little People in it for that money!

I read an article on it today (sorry, lost it) and it seems he was in India and they're saying he died from "complications of Crohn's Disease." There's some weird questions, there. Anyway, apparently he ran the whole shebang from his friggin' laptop. And, predictably, it's all encrypted, so they're hiring out companies to try to break it. His wife has searched his house, etc, and can't find anything related to passwords.

Considering it's that kind of money and their assets can not cover a substantial portion of it, should the need arise, I think they'll get in and get it all straightened out. There's millions of monies to throw at cracking that laptop.

[red assassin]

Well, that depends on how much you value Dwarf Fortress! I would think that there might be one or two people out there that would disagree with you. But, 190 million would buy a pretty darn big Dwarf Fortress. Heck, you could build a real-life Dwarf Fortress with real-life dwarves/Little People in it for that money!

I mean, I'd definitely be more upset about losing Dwarf Fortress than a bunch of cryptocurrency types losing their money, to be fair...

[pjknibbs]

I mean, I'd definitely be more upset about losing Dwarf Fortress than a bunch of cryptocurrency types losing their money, to be fair...

You wouldn't be "losing" Dwarf Fortress, you'd just be losing the chance of it getting updated beyond where it is now. If you like it fine how it is now, then no problem.

[red assassin]

You wouldn't be "losing" Dwarf Fortress, you'd just be losing the chance of it getting updated beyond where it is now. If you like it fine how it is now, then no problem.

I will not be satisfied until they've completed their vision of a complete, accurate simulation of a dwarf universe at the quantum level.

[Morkonan]

You wouldn't be "losing" Dwarf Fortress, you'd just be losing the chance of it getting updated beyond where it is now. If you like it fine how it is now, then no problem.

I will not be satisfied until they've completed their vision of a complete, accurate simulation of a dwarf universe at the quantum level.

Can you know both the momentum and position of a Dwarf? Is that Dwarf in the box alive or dead when its also occupied by a deadly substance released by a radioactive trigger? Do Dwarves get heavier as a factor of their velocity? Will the direction its sibling is running change if it changes direction, itself, no matter the distance separating them? If a Dwarf has enough velocity near a sufficiently massive rotating object, can it move to an earlier saved game?

Ya know... A "Quantum Dwarf" mod... You might have fun with that.

[red assassin]

Can you know both the momentum and position of a Dwarf? Is that Dwarf in the box alive or dead when its also occupied by a deadly substance released by a radioactive trigger? Do Dwarves get heavier as a factor of their velocity? Will the direction its sibling is running change if it changes direction, itself, no matter the distance separating them? If a Dwarf has enough velocity near a sufficiently massive rotating object, can it move to an earlier saved game?

Ya know... A "Quantum Dwarf" mod... You might have fun with that.

I mean, it already has the Quantum Stockpile glitch. http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/ ... _stockpile

[Morkonan]

I mean, it already has the Quantum Stockpile glitch. http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/ ... _stockpile

"Infinite?"

Does DF have any counter rollover issues with that?

After reading about that glitch, it appears that there are some switching systems in DF that, one assumes, people have made "computers" out of, right? ie: DF-based calculators, etc.

And, yup, a quick search says that there are a profuse number of them. Cool!

[red assassin]

"Infinite?"

Does DF have any counter rollover issues with that?

After reading about that glitch, it appears that there are some switching systems in DF that, one assumes, people have made "computers" out of, right? ie: DF-based calculators, etc.

And, yup, a quick search says that there are a profuse number of them. Cool!

I don't actually know, but I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to get a counter rollover without having run out of memory first, and you'd have to generate a heck of a lot of stuff to get that far anyway.


Yeah, there's loads of computing implementations, based on a bunch of different primitives (mechanics, minecarts, fluids, cats, dwarves, etc etc...). Turns out pretty much anything that behaves predictably and allows switching you can build computers out of.

[BugMeister]

wow, Jeff Koons at the Ashmolean - you lucky people:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesig ... deflection

- I hope he breaks all records..

[Morkonan]

Ultima Thule Flyby!

Holy @$%@$... Look at that thing? What the heck? It's described as a dented walnut and pancake combo. (I usually include the name "Thule" in all my civilizations, groups, and clans in video games. Why? For reasons... (That have nothing to do with most interpretations))

Lookit that thing!

Now we've got something just as weird as Oumuamua to attempt to explain. Ain't the Universe grand?

PS - Maybe "pancake-like" (or even cigar-shaped) objects aren't rare at all? Maybe they end up getting some rotation and just form like that before they can accrete more matter or something? Maybe that's one common way that dust tends to accrete in late-stage planetary systems at the outer edges? /dunno /stillcool

[BugMeister]

life goes on:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-d ... yt4BRERXe8

UFO's over Dartmoor..
jumpers for goalposts..
could be the cider..

crushed dwarf globular spheroids?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn3WWVzpT_E

- ouch!