literature.cafe

Third-person shooter/RPG for Windows, free on Epic Games for Amazon Prime subscribers until 24th November

Fire up a wild ride across the cosmos with a fresh take on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. In this third-person action-adventure game, you are Star-Lord, and thanks to your bold yet questionable leadership, you have persuaded an oddball crew of unlikely heroes to join you. Some jerk (surely not you) has set off a chain of catastrophic events, and only you can hold the unpredictable Guardians together long enough to fight off total interplanetary meltdown.

Use Element Blasters, tag-team beat downs, jet boot-powered dropkicks - nothing's off-limits. If you think it's all going to plan, you're in for a world of surprises, with the consequences of your actions guaranteed to keep the Guardians on their toes.

In this original Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy story, you'll cross paths with powerful new beings and unique takes on iconic characters, all caught in a struggle for the galaxy's fate. It's time to show the universe what you're made of. You got this. Probably.

Kind of an inflammatory title, but I like to let it match for accessibility.

I've been enjoying Ed Zitron's articles lately, because they call out CEOs who aren't doing their jobs.

I'm sharing this partly because I'm honestly surprised to see criticism of Satya Nadella's leadership. I think Satya has been good for Microsoft, overall, compared to previous leaders. And I was as convinced as anyone else when the "growth mindset" first hit the news cycle. It sounds fine, after all.

TL;DR:

• Satya has baked "growth mindset deeply into the culture at Microsoft"
• Folks outside of the original study authors have generally failed to reproduce evidence of any value in "growth mindset"
• Microsoft is, of course "all in" on their own brand of AI tools, and their AI tools are doing the usual harmful barf, eat the barf, barf grosser barf, re-eat that barf data corruption cycle.
• Some interesting speculation that none of the AI code flaunted by Microsoft and Google is probably high value. Which is a speculation I confidently share, but still, I think, speculation. (Lines-of-code is a bat shit insane way to measure engineer productivity, but some folks think it's okay when an AI is doing it.)

Bought some sheep skin for the cats. They both enjoy it very much. I just need to mind them not tearing it apart ...

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The air quality index exceeded 1,000 on Saturday, above the 300 considered ‘dangerous’, according to data from IQAir.

Pakistan’s second city of Lahore will close primary schools for a week over record pollution, government authorities said on Sunday, to avoid exposing millions of children to smog several times above levels deemed dangerous.

For days, the city of 14 million people has been enveloped by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning and winter cooling.

“Weather forecast for the next six days shows that wind patterns will remain the same. Therefore we are closing all government and private primary schools in Lahore for a week,” said Jahangir Anwar, a senior environmental protection official in Lahore.

“This smog is very harmful for children. Masks should be mandatory in schools. We are keeping an eye on the health of children in senior classes,” Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb told a news conference on Sunday.

Smog counters have been established in hospitals, she added.

Breathing the toxic air has catastrophic health consequences, with the WHO saying strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases can be triggered by prolonged exposure.

On Saturday, the concentration of deadly PM2.5 pollutants – fine particulate matter in the air that causes most damage to health – was more than 40 times the level deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization. PM2.5 levels on Sunday morning exceeded that before decreasing slightly.

Last week, the provincial environmental protection agency announced new restrictions in four “hotspots” in the city.

Tuk-tuks equipped with polluting two-stroke engines are banned, as are restaurants that barbecue without filters.

Children are particularly vulnerable because they have less developed lungs and breathe more rapidly, taking in more air relative to their size than adults.

Pollution in excess of levels deemed safe by the WHO shortens the life expectancy of Lahore residents by an average of 7.5 years, according to the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute.

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Luka likes to bury her face into my hand sometimes. it's the best.

this feels like a meme format, but I don't know what it would say.

Summary

Texas’ top elections official informed the U.S. Department of Justice that federal election monitors are not permitted inside polling places or counting locations under Texas law. The Justice Department plans to send monitors to eight Texas counties to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws. Despite the monitors’ presence outside polling places, Texas Democrats had previously requested their deployment to the state’s five most populous counties.

Summary

In response to North Korea’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile test, the U.S., South Korea, and Japan conducted a joint air drill, flying a U.S. B-1B bomber near the Korean Peninsula. South Korean and Japanese fighter jets escorted the bomber, showcasing their readiness to counter North Korea’s growing threats.

The drill followed North Korea’s launch of the Hwasong-19 missile, reportedly capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, signaling the allies’ commitment to regional security amid rising tensions.

Summary

Malaysia remains the second-largest EU plastic waste importer despite pledges to limit imports. In 2023, EU plastic exports to Malaysia rose by 35%, with over a fifth of 8.5 million tons of waste directed there.

Critics argue EU exports have surged, while Malaysia struggles with inadequate recycling infrastructure, leading to pollution. Stronger regulatory measures are needed to combat illegal waste shipments and ensure proper disposal.

Remember that instance? I don't seem to remember if we ever got a reason as to why it just vanished. Anybody remember what happened?

Summary

King Felipe VI of Spain faced a hostile crowd in Valencia, where unprecedented floods have devastated communities, leaving over 200 dead and many missing. Footage shows protesters shouting “murderer” and “shame” at the king, with some throwing objects and mud as he walked through the affected area of Paiporta.

It would be nice if we had India, Madagascar, Fiji and Djibouti instances on here!

Imagine having all their unique cultures on the Lemmyverse!

A journalist and an analyst, he was driven to hold oil companies accountable. Earlier, he was on the storied boat Greenpeace when he and others tried to halt a nuclear test.

The ministries of the interior, education, and Diaspora affairs cut ties with the Haaretz newspaper Thursday, while the communications minister proposed a boycott covering all government bodies, after publisher Amos Schocken told a conference that Israel is imposing an “apartheid regime” on the Palestinians and referred to “Palestinian freedom fighters that Israel calls terrorists.”