lostrune2 comments

What I can't understand is these 'in-app' payments for games. You're basically paying to make it easier to win, which surely defeats the whole purpose of playing the game and takes away all the enjoyment.

Some games are pay-2-win

Some games the in-app microtransactions are just cosmetic

It's up to people to do their research

As for these game developers complaining about paying a commission to Apple - duh, it's their platform, they spend the last 40 years or so making it what it is. If I want to ride on a Shinkansen or a plane, I gotta buy a ticket; if you want to sell your stuff through Apple, then you pay their fees.

The arguments on court went beyond being a platform - after all, macOS and MS Windows don't charge when ya buy something there

Both Epic and Apple lost

Epic stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars; Apple billions

After separating its payment and loan businesses Alipay will have to hand over customer data used to make its lending decisions to a new credit scoring joint-venture that is partly state-owned

From private company to giving the customer data to the government

From the frying pan into the fire

Why would ya wanna open up an account

I still would like to find detailed reports on how toilets work for both sides. Showers?

Toilets probably a vacuum tube. No showers for the 3-day trip

It's such a marvel that they're broadcasting so many live camera shots, including the engines, the return boosters, and inside the cockpit - that shows much confidence and greater transparency

Especially when some other governments would've been so secretive

And they're going into higher orbit than even the International Space Station. And with no true astronaut on board!

Now, they're the ones leading even the governments in rocket technology

Another round of the spoiled rich kids and their space toys begins !!..

As opposed to rich governments being the sole gatekeepers?

Eventually, these things become cheaper for everyone - remember when jet airline travels were for the rich too

“Yes, today you must have and be willing to part with a large amount of cash to buy yourself a trip to space,” said Explorers Club President Richard Garriott, a NASA astronaut’s son who paid the Russians for a space station trip more than a decade ago. “But this is the only way we can get the price down and expand access, just as it has been with other industries before it.

Only 1 of the 4 passengers is rich - he bought all 4 tickets. Then gave away 3 to other civilians - a data engineer, a community college educator, and a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital physician assistant who was a cancer patient in that very same hospital when she was a kid (and now she's the youngest American to reach space). And the whole trip is also a fundraiser for the children's hospital

YouTube is inaccessible inside China without special VPN software.

If Youtube is banned in China, yet they're getting around the ban to access Youtube - shouldn't China be going after them then?

Like when China goes after its own people who gets around the ban

It's good to have friends

Lol, North Korea, don't go into an arms race if ya don't want an arms race

Don't start nuthin'; won't be nuthin'!

But he is not qualified to know who is qualified...

How are you qualified to know who is qualified to, say, fix your car, check your medical exams, or do your taxes?

Arms race

Japan will like that

It's not like China doesn't do the same to foreign students on their soil

Think about that - why would China do it

With record-breaking Shang-Chi movie showing that people want to go back to theaters

The whole point is to be outrageous and raise money for the museum

Like doing something outrageous like running for 24 hours to raise money for charity

She's into it

She's at the airport that much pregnant

Prior to the finals, Djokovic was 9-0 in majors after losing the 1st set, including a mind-blowing 4 straight matches in this US Open. But this time, he couldn't recover from yet another 1st set loss

Congrats to Medvedev - he finally won his 1st Grand Slam in his 3rd attempt! It's a rare breakthrough on the Slam choke-hold by the Big 3. Medvedev's celebration is indeed the "dead fish celebration" used in the FIFA football video game which he's an avid player (he planned it - he wanted something memorable to do when he won his first Slam)

Once again, the men's calendar slam is unequaled since 1969....................... unless ya count the wheelchair division! Both men's and women's wheelchair US Open champions completed not just the calendar slam but the Golden Slam! So congrats to them too!

"Unvaccinated are 5X more likely to catch delta, 11X more likely to die - Three fresh CDC studies show vaccines holding up against delta."

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/09/unvaccinated-are-5x-more-likely-to-catch-delta-11x-more-likely-to-die/

Let's put that another way - vaccinated people are 5x less likely to to catch Delta and 11x less likely to die

Or let's put that yet another way - if there's multiple studies that show hydroxychloroquine means 5x less likely to catch Delta and 11x less likely to die, wouldn't ya take it?

Nice trolling by Russia

Y'mean Russia's words are not to be trusted

The best queen

considering himself the “Fourth Sword of Marxism” after Karl Marx, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Mao Zedong.

Yet another cult personality self-grandeur

Prince Andrew is doing serious damage to the monarch family

Hospitals are filling up why? Why are people needing to be hospitalized? Are they really sick?

If unvaccinated people are really safe, why are they filling up our hospitals? (97% of Covid patients who need to be hospitalized are unvaccinated.) When unvaccinated people fill up our hospitals, other people can't get their service; they can't get their surgery; and worst of all, they force our hospitals to require outside help (from tent hospitals to lockdowns) in order to bring the # of unvaccinated patients down and not overwhelm the hospital healthcare system

The biggest measure is becoming fully vaccinated. Doctors say the shots don't eliminate risk, but they lower it considerably, especially when it comes to developing a serious case that requires hospitalization.

“The delta variant is ... so much more contagious that if you’ve got clusters of unvaccinated people, it’s going to rip through them,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Bringing masks and hand sanitizer to the game is a good idea, said Dr. Sharon Wright, chief infection prevention officer at Beth Israel Lahey Health in Boston.

She noted that masks are not perfect, but they offer some protection. They also prevent people from touching their faces.

"Unvaccinated are 5X more likely to catch delta, 11X more likely to die - Three fresh CDC studies show vaccines holding up against delta."

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/09/unvaccinated-are-5x-more-likely-to-catch-delta-11x-more-likely-to-die/

Overall, fully vaccinated people are about five times less likely to become infected with delta, 10 times less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 from delta, and 11 times less likely to die from the variant, according to the studies.

Though the rise of delta has raised concern that vaccine effectiveness would take a dive, the data suggests the shots are holding up quite well. Existing vaccines' effectiveness against infection has dropped some with the delta variant's dominance, but vaccination still offers potent protection—both from hospitalization and also from actually dying from the disease.

The vaccines are doing their job. The people who are dying are unvaccinated - the virus is doing its job

NFL teams can have different stadium policies and protocols. The Seattle Seahawks, Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints are requiring fans to provide proof of vaccination to enter. Other teams may join them along the way.

Since a majority of Americans have already gotten their 2 doses, many stadiums will only let in vaccinated fans

Unvaccinated players are tested daily and must follow rigid protocols. Fully vaccinated players are being tested weekly instead of every 14 days, as they were during training camp. The NFL Players Association wants daily COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated players but the league isn’t requiring it yet.

Seems sensible

That was almost surprised sex

She needs to take care of her mental health

Between Raducanu's Chinese mother and Fernandez's Filipina mother, they make one whole Asian

They're both favorites of the crowd - gonna be interesting to see how the crowd cheers in their match against each other

This is the first final in the Open era between unseeded players

When watching these two, there's a feeling that they're having fun. There's a spark and a smile that I don't see from Serena, Osaka or some of the other top players.

It's the same for all players when they first start - young players don't yet feel the weight of expectations

It's not until afterwards when people expect them as veterans to win more when they feel it

We'll see what happens next. Typically, young players struggle with consistency - they can do well in one tournament, then go out early in the next 2 tournaments

Why is he attacking the electoral system that got him elected?

So it worked for him but not anybody else after?

What are they doing illegal? They're just picketing

You may be reading this, and asking yourself, why does this matter?

Nope, no one cares.

When the US detains journalists, everybody cares. When Russia detains journalists, nobody cares?

If so, why is that?

Wow, when a Catholic country is even less restrictive than some US states

Was it Biden’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan and the resulting deaths to 13 military that pushed this vet over the edge?

Nope. That was actually pointed out by the Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd

"Bryan Riley, Polk County Shooting Suspect: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know"

https://heavy.com/news/bryan-riley/

Judd said there are no known communications that tied this conduct to our last couple of weeks in Afghanistan, referencing the military’s withdrawal from the country and the death of 13 service members, including Marines.

He did though at one point worked for the mercenary outfit used to be known as Blackwater

After he was honorably discharged from the Marines he spent time in the Reserves, and was also a guard team supervisor for Academi, a private military contractor originally founded by retired Navy SEAL Erik Prince as Blackwater