andrewrgross

This is a genuine concern that we should recognize.

I'm about 99% confident it isn't, but considering it is the kind of caution we should all be exercising these days.

I have a lot of problems with this episode. The writing on this show just feels like it's gotten way too loose.

The reveal that Joe is Zeke is because he has "Obadiah S." written on a ziploc bag containing his father's ashes? Who labels a bag like that?

Riri's sneak into the base requires her to swim around under water and find a vent? And then cut a lock using a laser underwater? I know we already tend to just ignore the fact that real life lasers don't cut things like this, but now we're doing underwater lasers? She just found that, cut it, and then went in like she doesn't need to breathe any more. How's she even seeing shit? She's got no goggles!

And then she sneaks into the guy's lair and is just trying to discretely cut a piece of a a guy's clothes with a high powered laser!? How does that work? It's like the least discrete thing ever! He's just walking around talking to this billionarie and she's blasting off this lock cutting laser everywhere, except for some reason now it takes longer to cut through leather than it does steel. The guy should be cut in half and on fire and everyone screaming.

Why are there all these people-sized vents that are covered by openings that are taped on? They don't even screw that on? Why design a gate that traps people in the vent? Why not just put a permanent obstacle inside your vent? Why wasn't that their break-in plan? That was effortless? But the labs have no fire escape. The most obvious requirement for every lab. But she has no trouble getting out of the vent. We don't even see how she gets out, she just kind of gets trapped and then we see her leave.

And this business tycoon expected him... and then wrote a check? And also planned to have the security system entrap him but never considered the idea that the guy who broke him might just physically attack him? And also what are you doing, dude? Why are you gardening at night waiting to be attacked? Go home! And a hire a body guard!

And what is with these motherfucking contracts? I get that it's probably an allusion to Mephisto, but those contracts are worthless. So someone signs a paper promising to give you money. Where do you actually get the goddamned money? Where did they get the physical cash they're throwing around? Did they go to a bank and say, 'I'd like to withdraw $100,000 from my bank account. You'll find I have the money, because I got a billionaire to sign a contract promising me this money.' Like... think how fucking stupid this is. There's a reason why no one holds rich people hostage for a signature. They can do it for crypto. That's actually a real thing that is happening a lot these days. But a paper contract? It's meaningless! You have to actually get someone to execute it! And that's impossible because (A) you can't do that anonymously, you'd have to identify yourself and (B) contracts signed under duress are invalid. They're a legal concept, not a magic wand! This is so goddamned dumb.

Also, why the fuck is Zeke trusting Riri? Because she promised? They're not friends, and have no basis of trust at all. She's like, 'You have my word.' And he's like, 'Okay, be sure not to get me arrested for life. Here's a priceless ...' also what the fuck is that "bio-mesh"? Literally what is it supposed to be? It's like... organic? And how did she make it a metal detector cloak in 10 minutes? And why and how did he have an enormous bone-deep gouge in his arm? And why would you have blueprints for any of this? Blueprints are how they used to sketch out buildings fifty years ago. Was he drawing the dimensions of a new metamaterial with a ruler and compass? Writing out its dimensions? Like what is any of this? This feels like it was written by a 10 year old and ChatGPT.

This story makes no sense. I want to like it, but this is DUMB.

I'm just reminiscing, man.

That's there take. I think context and audience makes a huge difference, so I'd rank it higher.

I remember the experience. I watched it at the Rave Cinema at the Baldwin-Crenshaw mall, in Leimert Park. And let me tell you: the theater was so fucking amped. This theater was built by Magic Johnson in a part of LA that hadn't had a nice theater, and it's held up well. The neighborhood has really come up around it, too, so when Black Panther played, it was filled with folks dressed to the nines. There was LA street fashion, Panafrican garb, kids grown-ups, elders... The movie was good to start with, but it was just hard not to get caught up in the energy in the air. It truly was an event.

What's the drawback of self hosted? I've had a self-hosted instance running on a raspberry pi for a few months now, and so far it's working out great.

I've gotta say that MCU armor peaked around Iron Man 2. And I'm disappointed that they didn't take the opportunity to finally return to greatness.

I don't mind high-tech armor, but I was so disappointed that we see her donning high tech shiny self-assembling armor in the first few minutes of the show.

I miss the gantry. I miss the sense that it was a physical thing. Imagine the prop artists preparing the parts of Riri's suit that weren't pure CGI. The casting and the polishing and the fingerprint removal before she put it on. How about this? Actually design a suit. Imagine you had a high enough power source to power it and repulsors exist. What would it look like? Imagine something like Andrea Piccinno's exo frame with some plating and a motorcycle helmet. Remember the Mark 1? Remember watching the firmware boot up on an old CRT monitor while Yinsin sacrificed himself to buy Tony time?

I feel like what I'm saying is straight-up CRAZY to the people who make these shows. But PLEASE: if you must, work up to the fancy polished CGI stuff by the end! Let us see something that looks a kinda real. Let her impress us by showing us stages of development instead of literally starting with a product that is finished and capable of cross country flight!

Bring back a gantry. Or let us see her step in and tighten a harness! I feel like if these people were in charge of Top Gun, everyone would get in planes by just running onto an air ram in street clothes and getting launched into the cockpit while the plane is flying. 'Flight suit? Ladder? No, audiences will be bored.'

It really disappoints me that this show is dismissing this opportunity. We got a glimmer of it in Wakanda Forever, but oh well.

My understanding was that she used up the grant money and/or overextended the term of her scholarship without graduating.

It was a little hazy, tho

If you're wondering what the point is, you can just go to one and ask for a tour.

I pay $65 a month for a membership to my local YMCA mainly so I can use the pool.

I love LA.

Respectfully, this title gets under my skin.

Why so doomer? He might veto it. It wouldn't be surprising. But why are you declaring a loss prematurely?

Don't hope for things there's no chance of. Fight to change the chances of things, and if you fail try and fight again and again until you win.

This headline reads like 2025 news Mad-Libs:

"[Proper noun] is using [Latest fad] to [Verb] [Ideological alignment adjective] [Conceptual noun]"

Try it:

"OpenAI is using Hydroflasks to destroy Catholic exceptionalism"

"Mark Cuban is using cryptocurrency to monetize white supremacist hope"

Good times./s

My brother and I (both 38) actively speak out and oppose it.

My mom has been sort of in a state of shocked bewilderment. She's horrified and also constantly confused as though trying to comprehend how 2+2 = 5. For her, it doesn't make sense: Jews aren't killers, they're victims. But they're killing all these civilians. Why would anyone want to keep the war going instead of getting the hostages back? Netanyahu is a monster. We all know this. Why is he still in charge?

I'm sorry that she's suffering (then again, anyone of concience is). She's also expressed a sense of alienation, since she has no idea how others feel, because she doesn't feel like it's socially acceptable to say what she feels outside the home. But I'm grateful that this hasn't created any conflict between me and her. She doesn't feel as comfortable as I do saying the plain facts of it, but I remind her that all my convictions are a reflection of the values she raised in me, and I think that reflects highly of her.