u/insertAlias

Matt is really good at writing relatable, realistic villains to go along with the over-the-top ones like The Maestro. All of the human bad guys have felt like they have a real reason to be who they are. It doesn’t forgive them or make them any less bad as a person, but it makes them more real than someone who’s an asshole just because the story needs an asshole. Even more so for characters like Osvaldo, neutrals who are just trying to make their own way. They aren’t villains for looking out for themselves.

I can’t say that these are the most complex characters I’ve ever read. But they’re a lot more complex than I expected when I started the first book, that’s for sure.

https://preview.redd.it/80woc5i1toxh1.jpeg?width=5237&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3dff39124b30003a27a77f130750addb64842147

I’ll show you my Ferdinand Charlie.

If passwords were somehow part of the leak, then Capcom would have a lot bigger problems, because it would mean they stored passwords in a format that could leak. Which is the absolute cardinal sin in security. But these days, it's not something that's done, especially not by a multinational public company that has to be compliance-audited.

For those who don't know, passwords are not stored in their original text, nor are they encrypted. They are hashed, which is a one-way process. You append some data that is unique per row (called a salt, and it can be something as simple as a timestamp), then run that data through an algorithm that produces output bytes. You can't use that result to ever get back the original password, because it's a lossy process, some information is lost in the conversion, and cannot be reconstructed.

I'm not sure which part of what I said you think is untrue, if there's only "some" truth to it. George isn't wearing the giant hat, tasseled shirt, and foot-wide belt buckle that is the stereotypical "cowboy costume" that people think of. I made this point to the other reply to my comment, so I'm aware how close his clothing actually is to the real thing.

And in fact, I'd say that the jacket itself is not the thing that's out of place. My dad has one that's pretty damn similar, and he'd wear it to check the cows no question. It's the bolo tie, or at least the jacket with the tie. That jacket is closer to a working jacket than a dress one, and the bolo tie is a dress accessory. If he was wearing a more dressy jacket, or dropped the tie altogether, I'd have no criticism of his outfit.

https://www.dillards.com/p/tecovas-long-sleeve-bison-zip-sweater/522564764

Someone else in the thread dug it up, I can't take credit for finding it.

I get it, people don't see it much so they assume it doesn't exist. I grew up on a small cattle ranch in south Texas, so I know it firsthand. Half the people I knew from school had families in agriculture, and most of those were cattle ranchers.

And actually, plenty of them look just like George does in this pic, with a few minor changes. Most wouldn't pair that bolo tie with the jacket, that's a working jacket mixed with a dress accessory (imagine wearing a necktie with a windbreaker), but beyond that, it's not something I'd have said looked strange on a local rancher.

It seems like COTA is the only circuit where the drivers cosplay as a stereotypical practically nonexistant profession

As another local, I'd point out that profession is far and away more alive than you might think it is. It's just that it's also stereotyped to ridiculousness, so that version of a cowboy hardly exists.

But cattle ranchers still abound across the state, and they still use fairly traditional methods (like using horses to work cattle). They just don't wear 10 gallon hats, Roy Rogers tassled shirts, and giant belt buckles.

and grab a cowboy hat from the 7-11 on the way to the track

Amusing, but we don't actually sell those at convenience stores, at least not that I've seen in Austin. Actually, hats (and boots) are the fussy expensive items in these getups, especially felt hats. Good, even just decent felt cowboy hats cost hundreds of dollars. If it were summer fashion, you'd get away with a much cheaper straw hat (the one I wear cost about $50).

But I'm with you, one stop at any western-wear store locally would have you looking like this out the door, in about 30 minutes. I doubt these guys are spending any extended time with stylists, just visiting local stores and picking up the looks for fun.

Most of the cowboy dress-ups we see very much are caricatures. I grew up on an actual cattle ranch, and what we see in this pic is actually pretty close to reality, most of the costumes they put on are a very literal example of "all hat, no cattle".

Usually where these costumes go wrong is the shirts (they wear some Roy Rogers looking shit), the hats, and the accessories. Not hard to get boots and jeans right, though you have to get the right cut of jeans to really pull the look off.

Yeah, this getup is definitely closer to normal than most of the other ones we've seen. Most of those have an almost Halloween-costume feel to those of us actually from here.

This just looks like a cleaner version of something my dad would have worn to check the cattle in the winter. I'd say that I haven't seen a bolo tie like that in a hot minute, but it doesn't stick out as fake or out of place either, though I'd usually expect to see it on a more dressed-up outfit, so really just paired with a different jacket I guess.

I actually edited my original comment to bring up a con. I think that Locke would absolutely scam the pants off Mat if he was running a con on him. As long as no part of the job relied on random chance, Locke could lie and manipulate and impersonate brilliantly, and Mat doesn't have the skills to see through him at all. Locke would leave with Mat's horse, his spear, his gold, and probably is clothing to boot. Maybe his army too lol.

I just think that when it comes to anything involving probability, Mat wins by default because the universe enforces it, and nothing a mortal human does will beat that reality-level manipulation.

I guess we'll just have to disagree. I can't imagine a scenario where the person who literally warps the weave of the universe itself around him to enforce winning outcomes loses to a card sharp, regardless of how good that card sharp is. In your scenario, Locke would have found that the universe itself conspired to make him think he had grabbed those all-six dice, but turns out he actually grabbed a single one that had a single side with a five on it. Or when the dice were rolled they picked up some random white stain on the table to hide a pip. Or something supernatural would happen.

Edit: and I think I recall a passage in the book, where Mat or someone around him flips a coin and it does land on-edge, repeatedly. So your scenario is not that outlandish anyway.

Because that's the thing, Locke does make mistakes. We see him train and practice. We see him lose his physical card handling skill in the second book and have to work to regain it. We see him as a kid learning card sharping, losing to his friends and his father figure. He's great at what he does, but not supernaturally great. He even claims Calo and Galdo are better at it than he is. Mat doesn't have to do anything, the world itself forces him to win.

So, yeah, I guess agree to disagree.

I think a comparison that hasn't been made yet is their capacity for self-deception. Mat lies to himself about not being a hero, not being a leader, not wanting anything to do with the ongoing war, not being a good person, not wanting to settle down, not wanting a wife, etc...throughout most of the series. Locke, I think, is pretty self-aware about most things. He works around things, but he doesn't lie to himself about who he is or what he wants. Except maybe about how much control he has of the situations he finds himself in.

I still disagree; I think Locke would try to leave no winning scenario for Mat, but Mat's fate-bending, reality-warping ta'veren nature would do something, like causing Locke to make a mistake in preparation, or grab the wrong card, or anything to create a way in which Mat still wins. We've seen it alter physics itself in the books, where loaded dice still land on wins for Mat.

It's the difference between a really, really well trained cheat, and someone who magically affects the world around them to bend fate and warp reality. I just don't see Locke winning in that scenario. Anything he can do can be countered by actual fate magic.

But that's the point, Mat bends reality itself. The loaded dice bounce oddly and still land favorably. I guess in Locke's case, he'd just somehow make a mistake and grab the wrong trick dice, or whatever. He's exceedingly well trained, but Mat is affecting the flow of fate itself.

Edit: I just want to add that I only think this is the case for games of chance. I think Locke would easily scam the pants off Mat if it came down to Locke trying to run a con on him, unless some actual fate or chance was involved, at which point it would tip back to Mat's favor.

Well, his editor was his wife, if that tells you anything.

That's kind of a consistent problem here. People make very specific requests, and a lot of the comments are just like "oh, a chance to recommend my favorite book!", regardless of whether or not that book actually fits what's being asked for.

Well, it’s not.

Yes, but with some caveats. Your gravel is obviously inert, in terms of plant needs. So you need either plants that don’t root at all, or you use something called “root tabs”, basically fertilizer pucks that you bury near the plants. One of my tanks uses sand, which is just as inert as your gravel, and it has great growth from the root tabs, fish poop, and the high power light I have.

Floating plants are excellent at cleaning your water, but they need a calm surface. Not sure how much flow you have. Moss balls are great too, they are hardy and don’t need much care.

Another category of plant to look at are called epiphytes, they need to not be buried in soil, though in loose gravel they’ll be fine. I generally glued them to wood and rocks (superglue is actually aquarium safe). But I’d consider your light. It looks pretty wimpy, so don’t go overboard with plants. Low-light only, and don’t expect much growth.

Thinking about it…yeah, mine could be stolen with relative ease. You probably couldn’t install it with the tailgate closed, but I’m pretty sure you could get it off.

Luckily, mine is a cheap piece of shit that’s faded and visibly worn, so nobody would even think of stealing it.

Smoothing skirts, tugging braids, knuckling foreheads...he had a few that he kept going to the well with.

feels more like a generic sub than a dedicated tech space

Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's exactly what it is. It used to be a default sub, it's got a huge subscriber base. And the way that Reddit and social media in general have gone lately, that means it's just another place to compete in the Cynicism Olympics. Whoever can shrilly complain about something they don't fully understand the loudest wins.

Extreme takes always dominate, nuanced discussion is almost gone entirely. Nobody cares what any of the articles actually say, as long as they can lay down some serious snark in the comments.

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I remember seeing a positive reaction to anything on this subreddit. Like every bit of technology, no matter what it is, is immediately panned.

Just tossing out a possible option: if you're staying in a hotel, most offer laundry services that you might be able to take advantage of. Or, possibly you could find a laundromat at your destination? Either way, I definitely wouldn't be sticking my clothing in a working lab's equipment.

Then I'd say yeah, consider a more modern bike. There's a reason geometry has changed the way it has, and I think it'll be better to learn and grow on something closer to what he'll be riding in the future. Plus, you don't have to go out and buy a new one, hop on marketplace and find a good used hardtail. If you're in a biking-heavy area, there should be plenty from people who upgrade more regularly or from indecisive wealthy people (my friend got an amazing road bike this way, a rich dude bought one then immediately decided they actually wanted a carbon bike).

Man, Anthem was such a shame. Andromeda and Veilguard were just bad games out of good existing IPs IMO, but Anthem really had potential as a game. The gameplay itself was fantastic, the movement and combat and flying was great. It was just everything else about the game that was ass. The loot system, the matchmaking, the (lack of) endgame content, slow-walking around the hub area...the point being that there was a competently made game somewhere under the covers there, and if they would have spend the proper time and effort they could have salvaged it. Probably not enough to really bring back players and make it worth doing, but god damn do I wish that "Anthem 2.0" update would have actually materialized.