Carry weight.

Oooh, you would not like Fallout 76.

when [email protected] can give you dozens of illumination options more capable than science fiction has

What is this, some X-COM game?

I don’t think that I can give the worst, but I can give some that I did not enjoy.

• Invisible teleporters. Some old RPGs — like the D&D Gold Box games — came without an auto-mapping feature. Part of the game was, as one played along, manually creating a map on graph paper. This in-and-of-itself was somewhat time-consuming, and if one made a mistake or got turned around, it could be hard to fix one’s map. A particularly obnoxious feature to complicate this was that sometimes, there’d be unmarked teleporters to move you to another place on the map without notice, and you had to figure out that this had happened. Very annoying. I didn’t like this mechanic.

• Real-time games with an intentional omission of a pause feature. Some strategy games do this. The idea here is to force you to think in real time, and not permit you to just pause and think about things. Problem is, even if one agrees with this, in the real world, sometimes you need to answer the door or use the toilet. Not a good idea.

• In general, positive-feedback loops that increase the difficulty for the player. An example would be shmups where being hit causes not just the loss of a life, but the loss of a level of one’s precious weapon power, or something like that. That means that when one is doing poorly, the difficulty also ramps up. There’s some degree of this in many games insofar as it might be harder to play when one is weaker, but in the shmup case, I really don’t think that it’s necessary — a game would be perfectly playable without that element. I don’t really like situations where it’s just added for the sake of being there.

In terms of actual impact, a Fallout: New Vegas mod named Tale of Two Wastelands that takes a Fallout 3 copy and brings all of it into the Fallout: New Vegas world.

The mod makers didn’t create the great bulk of the content, made a converter, but it amounts to a new experience with an AAA-game level of content addition.

Does make me wonder about other mods that can leverage pre-existing work. Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead had a mod where someone imported a real life map of Massachusetts, for example. Some flight sims can do similar stuff.

The man had the most tax-optimized filing for a hot dog stand in the history of the United States.

Lemmygrad.ml should be interesting.

I’m a sucker for “last stand” quotes. That is, those made by a character who already knows that they aren’t going to survive or win out of whatever situation they’re in, is resigned to the fact, but is going to try to do what they can despite that.

Star Wars: A New Hope

https://youtu.be/6H0vFP_jXN4?t=147

Red Leader is hit, with his spacecraft damaged.

LUKE: Red Leader, we’re right above you.

Turn to 0-five. We’ll cover for you.

GARVEN: Stay there. I just lost my starboard engine. Get set up for your attack run.

Luke looks confused, then looks down and sees the lead craft crash and explode; he looks back ahead, shaken.

Honestly…thinking about it, the more-memorable last-stand quotes that come to mind probably aren’t aren’t from movies, but real life.

The Battle off Samar

In one US-Japanese naval battle in World War II, due to Japan successfully executing a major decoy movement, the US left a number of escort carriers — slow, weak ships that could potentially pack a punch at a distance but were extremely vulnerable at close range — undefended and had the bulk of Japan’s remaining surface naval forces, including some of the most-powerful surface warships ever built, engage them at close range, with very little warning. This was more-or-less a worst-case scenario for them. The most-powerful US surface warships present, three destroyers, were each comparable in displacement to a single turret on the battleship Yamato, which was one of the heavy combatants attacking. None of the US surface ships present had guns capable of penetrating the heavy Japanese surface warship armor. There were also a few escort destroyers, even slower, weaker, and smaller ships really intended only to defend against submarines. When engaged, the escort carriers scattered, to try to make it as hard as possible to a large proportion of them down. The destroyers were ordered to charge the immensely-more-powerful Japanese surface force — a suicidal attack — to try to slow the attack and preserve as many escort carriers as possible. One destroyer escort, the Samuel B. Roberts, had its captain also engage, and give approximately the following quote:

Over his ship’s 1MC public-address circuit, he told his crew “This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.” Without orders and indeed against orders, he set course at full speed to follow Heermann in to attack the cruisers.

Some of the crew survived in the water afterwards, so we still have the quote.

The Battle of Galliopoli

In World War I, the Battle of Gallipoli, the very-influential Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who later became leader of Turkey, was a commander.

The battle was an attempt by British forces — who had tremendous naval superiority — to conduct a major amphibious assault and establish a secure beachhead. In general, amphibious assaults are very risky for the attacking force; one is placed in a position where one’s forces have little ability to retreat if things go poorly. The critical issue is managing to push back enemy forces and establishing a secure buffer between those forces and the vulnerable unloading and staging areas on a beach — at this time, what that meant was largely out of artillery range — to keep them from being attacked.

The Turkish forces could win a land battle, given time to bring other forces up, but the British forces had the advantage of surprise and superiority over the Turkish forces already in place. If the British forces could push back the Turkish forces, the British would get their beachhead.

Turkish forces, including those commanded by Ataturk, fought a desperate, successful attempt to hold the amphibious assault back long enough to permit reinforcements to arrive.

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mustafa_Kemal_Atatürk

Men, I am not ordering you to attack. I am ordering you to die. In the time that it takes us to die, other forces and commanders can come and take our place.

Orders to the 57th Infantry Regiment during the Gallipoli campaign (25 April 1915); as quoted in Studies in Battle Command by Combat Studies Institute, US Army Command and General Staff College, p. 89; also quoted in Turkey (2007) by Verity Campbell, p. 188

The Battle of Thermopylae

Probably one of the more-famous quotes in military history is “molon labe”. A greatly-superior Persian force was invading Greece; defending Greek forces held a region which was relatively-favorable for defense by small numbers (this is where the “300 Spartans” fought a delaying action). The defenders did not have realistic hope of victory for the battle, though they ultimately won the war. As the Persian force approached, a surrender demand was issued and refused; as history records it, the Greek response was “molon labe”:

The Greeks were offered their freedom, the title “Friends of the Persian People”, and the opportunity to re-settle on land better than that they possessed.[60] When Leonidas refused these terms, the ambassador carried a written message by Xerxes, asking him to “Hand over your arms”. Leonidas’ famous response to the Persians was “Molṑn labé” (Μολὼν λαβέ – literally, “having come, take [them]”, but usually translated as “come and take them”).[61] With the Persian emissary returning empty-handed, battle became inevitable. Xerxes delayed for four days, waiting for the Greeks to disperse, before sending troops to attack them.

Leonidas didn’t remain himself, so maybe one can’t quite let that qualify as a “last stand quote”.

War of the Worlds

Originally from a novel rather than a movie, and not a last stand quote, but the ending of the War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (severe spoiler warning):

They should build a synthetic incubus/succubus

Thanks for the thought, Satan, but I think that consensus is that natural incubi and succubi are the way to go.

I’m not suggesting you use it. I’m putting visible color swatches for people to see in the thread. Black’s pretty straightforward, of course.

At work, all black

Not sure that this requires an example, but since I’m doing example images for some other comments, for consistency:

$ convert -size 200x200 "xc:black" example.png

$ convert -size 200x200 "xc:gray50" example.png

I use #222e45. I think that it’s been constant since the 1990s or so.

 $ convert -size 200x200 "xc:#222e45" example.png

I don’t see it much these days, since I’m using sway, which does tiling window management. There’s almost always something fully covering it now.

$ convert -size 200x200 "xc:#81e39b" example.png

$ grep ^p...y$ /usr/share/dict/words
paddy
palmy
palsy
pansy
panty
parry
party
pasty
patsy
patty
penny
peony
peppy
perky
pesky
petty
phony
picky
piety
piggy
pigmy
pinky
pithy
poesy
pokey
poppy
potty
pricy
privy
prosy
proxy
pudgy
puffy
pulpy
puppy
pushy
pussy
putty
pygmy
$

Vought, a self-described Christian nationalist

Instead, Trump was fixated on getting the recently divorced Vought laid

A new Great Awakening, I see. Society’s morals shall be restored to their proper place.

Because of the Full Faith and Credit Clause, I expect that also effectively eliminates a lower age for other states, as long as someone is willing to establish residency in Tennessee long enough to get married there before moving. Any marriage established in Tennessee must be honored by the other states.

Some US states do permit marriage at a younger age than normal if you get some additional sign-off from parents or a judge or something, IIRC.

kagis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_age_in_the_United_States

It looks like California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Mississippi also have no hard minimum, so we already should be at a hard minimum of zero years old, as long as you jump through the other hoops.

California: With parental consent and judicial approval, a person can marry under the age of eighteen but the partners and the minor’s parents have to meet with court officials who must rule out abuse or coercion. There is a 30-day waiting period for minors unless they are seventeen and have graduated high school or one of the partners is pregnant.[47][48]

New Mexico: With parental consent, a person can marry at 16.[71] A 16 or 17 year old teen can marry with the written consent of each living parent of the minor.[72] A person under 16 can marry with judicial approval and parental consent or if pregnant, or by order of a children’s or family division of district court.[49]

Oklahoma: With parental consent, a person can marry at 16. A person under 16 may marry if authorized by the court.[42][43]

Mississippi: With parental consent, males can marry at 17 and females at 15. Boys below 17 and girls below 15 can marry with judicial approval and parental consent.[49][43][66]

I also don’t know whether it’d be constitutional for another state to prohibit sex between someone and their legal spouse. If I had to make a guess, I’d say no, but not sure. Maybe the right to privacy in Lawrence v. Texas applies.

EDIT: At least in Arizona criminal code, to grab the first state using the term I searched for, it looks like being married to someone is a defense against statutory rape charges:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_consent_in_the_United_States

The age of consent in Arizona is 18. However, there exist in the legislation defenses to prosecution if the defendant is close-in-age to the minor or a spouse of the minor. Note: these are not close-in-age exceptions but defenses in court. Arizona Revised Statute 13-1405(A)

D. It is a defense to a prosecution pursuant to section 13-1404 or 13-1405 that the person was the spouse (legally married AND cohabiting) of the other person at the time of commission of the act …

It’s probably a coordinated strategy. Cheung also said it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Cheung

Cheung served as the White House assistant communications director and later the director of strategic response in Trump’s first presidency.

In November 2024, Trump named Cheung as his White House communications director.

Cheung employs a combative style mirroring Donald Trump’s own approach to the media.[24][25] The Atlantic described Cheung as having “relentless aggression” that “helps quench the base’s thirst for owning the libs.”[25] Stephanie Grisham, who worked with Cheung in the White House, told NOTUS that he excelled at “pithy statements that can offend people quickly, which is exactly what Trumpworld likes.”[26] In contrast to his predecessors, Cheung’s social media posts are often profanity-laden and attack Trump’s adversaries.[25] Cheung has referred to various political adversaries and reporters through terms such as “cuck,” “dumbass,” “dick,” and “fucking stupid.” He described James Comey, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as “one of the dumbest motherfuckers in human history,”[24] Florida governor Ron DeSantis as a “desperate eunuch”,[27] and California governor Gavin Newsom as “a mongoloid who barely registers half a brain cell.”[28] According to The New Yorker’s Clare Malone, Cheung’s abrasive tone is not present in his direct and private communications with reporters.[29]

The last sentence there demonstrating that it’s a character he plays for the public.

EDIT: If that sounds strange, I remember an interview some years back with an EU senior translator where the question came up of why Brussels didn’t codify an “EU English”. His answer was that that was a very intentional decision, to avoid having language that diverged from what was in general use, so as not to come off as being decoupled from the public, some sort of disconnected elite.

Now imagine that you’re doing that and cranking it up to 11 to try to demonstrate that you’re like someone that you want voting for you. A lot of politics is just saying things that people agree with and acting like them to convince them that you’re aligned with them. Trump’s political goal is to get and keep white blue-collar voters voting Republican, not Democratic.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/wtf-donald-trump-politics-f-151806801.html

Donald Trump drops the F-bomb: Is the presidential profanity really that shocking?

Plus, swearing is normalised for what is referred to as “blue collar” work sectors – a key demographic when it comes to votes. So, dropping a few f-shaped transgressives into speeches could be considered as judicious.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/27/democrats-anger-swearing

Democrats race to embrace swearing and angry comebacks – but will it work?

Democrats’ wider embrace of swearing, trolling and scorched-earth comebacks is part of a broader mission to sound more like “normal people” and less like a party of poll-tested talking points and white papers. From campaign rallies to TikTok vent seshes, the characteristically buttoned-up Democrats are taking more risks – and punching back harder at Trump and his administration.

The bigger challenge, Shenker-Osorio notes, is that Democrats aren’t just competing for eyeballs with Republicans — they’re up against an algorithm that prizes outrage and emotion, whether it’s Maga memes or Taylor and Travis engagement headlines.

How?

Are they actually sweating? There are systems for doing active cooling from fans running off battery power.

https://fursuitsupplies.com/fans

Or liquid cooling, including ice and evaporative cooling?

https://archive.ph/MiMVI

How a Cooling Vest Invented by a Furry Made Its Way Into the U.S. Military

Playing and performing in a full-body, mascot-like suit is a disciplined endeavor—and not always a comfortable one. Any furry will tell you that it’s hot inside a suit and that problem is compounded when members gather in real life. Fursuit-wearers run a real risk of overheating, especially at sunny outdoor events like meetups and Pride parades.

To increase their in-suit endurance, some furries use cooling vests, much like an athlete might. Specially designed vests can hold packs of fluids that remain at steady, low temperatures against wearers’ bodies—a godsend for keeping body heat at bay when you’re wearing fur head to toe.

Hmm. Also, while I’m no expert, my understanding is that animals that are in a cold climate, tend to have underfur to reduce convection. Like, dog breeds aimed more at warm climates don’t have that. I bet that one doesn’t need a lot of dense, short fur at the base. Even if there’s long fur, it might not be as insulating as one might expect relative to an animal.

considers

If the fabric isn’t actually visible — and for furred areas, I guess it isn’t, because all someone can see is fur — maybe one could use something like burlap at the base, stuff that has a lot of room for air to flow through.

I dunno what any issues with using carbon fiber are, but my understanding is that it’s pretty thermally-conductive. In some uses, carbon fiber is made into rigid surfaces, is a composite, has resin, but I believe that you can get it as a resin-less fabric.

kagis

https://www.ngfworld.com/en/fiber/high_thermal_conductivity.html

GRANOC high thermal conductive grade is available as Yarn, Fabric, Chopped and Milled fiber.

I mean, if you figure that it’s possible to use a fabric made out of that, that’ll probably conduct a lot of heat away from hot places.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8867053/

According to this, carbon nanotube microfibers have thermal conductivity hundreds of times greater than nylon.

kagis

Apparently you get get fabric made from the stuff — though this example looks to be awfully expensive, so carbon nanontube-based fursuits probably aren’t practical for general use yet:

https://dexmat.com/store/galvorn-carbon-nanotube-fabric/

Galvorn carbon nanotube (CNT) fabric is highly conductive and made from interlocking loops of Galvorn CNT yarn.

Galvorn yarns behave like a textile. You can sew, weave, knit, and even blend it with other textiles to achieve your application goals. You can modify the yarn and/or knit to adjust the suppleness of the fabric.

https://dexmat.com/carbon-nanotube-fiber/

Thermal Conductivity: Galvorn CNT fiber has a thermal conductivity of 450 W/m-K, exceeding copper’s 385 W/m-K. This superior heat dissipation capability is vital for high-performance electronics and power cables, allowing for greater current carrying capacity per unit mass.

https://dexmat.com/industries/e-textiles/

I doubt that people are actually going all the way to carbon nanotube fabric, but if we can get costs down, I imagine that they could.

“Under this fursuit, I have an amazing haircut.”