Oh dear, I think I have a problem. I wonder if that counts keys bought for games from other sites like humble bundle redemptions? Even if it does, I guess I should focus on my backlog.
They absolutely took the console business model on the Steam Deck. Just like the other big guys Sony, Nin, Micro. Sell the hardware at a loss with the promise that the customer will buy the associated products, in this case, the games from the steam store. The bigger and better difference of course being that you can do whatever with the steam Deck. But Valve knows that the majority will still get their games from Steam because it’s just easier that way.
It’s the old razor blade model. Sell the handle cheap because you know people will buy the razors for it, and they most likely buy your brand of razors since you bought their brand of handle.
Printer companies (at least home consumer ones) do it too but are slimy about it. Get a printer for $50 then buy ink for it that often costs twice as much.
Brave browser has a filter to bypass paywalls. Works on desktop and mobile versions. Definitely works on NYT as I just read something there today. And of course has built in adblock. You can also add additional filters and adblock lists.
Bonus: print to PDF in Brave to share an article with someone else. It retains all the graphics relevant to the article and cuts all the junk and ads out too.
Brave browser has a filter to bypass paywalls. Works on desktop and mobile versions. Definitely works on NYT as I just read something there today. And of course has built in adblock. You can also add additional filters and adblock lists.
Bonus: print to PDF in Brave to share an article with someone else. It retains all the graphics relevant to the article and cuts all the junk and ads out too.
Came to say this. And they make mobile browsers. If I want to share a paywalled article with someone I just load it up in brave and print it to PDF then send them that. Works every time!
Don’t worry, rule34 has covered that very thoroughly. Both of your questions actually.
I’ll take a wonderful experience over a repetitive “make rank number go up” game any day of the week.
Don’t get me wrong, I played all the online multiplayer stuff, many MMOs, all the FPS games, RTS, you name it. But even in those universes I preferred something like Left 4 Dead over something like Counter Strike. At least with a co-op game like L4D the gameplay was more interesting and felt more immersive. CS, Overwatch, even good old Quake in multiplayer mode just felt so repetitive that I got tired of them after 15 minutes of “get flag, kill enemy, twitch around the map like a hyena on meth”
An old single player rpg with a great story was always going to capture my interest more than those online games. An MMORPG is more like an MMO and less like an RPG. And for games with less of a story to tell, a great platformer or adventure game where there was actual progression and new mechanics/challenges to discover level by level, was just more engaging than running Dust 2 a hundred times a night.
Now a days with games like Witcher 3, BG3, Cyberpunk, Hades, and the like, I just can’t bring myself to plug into those perpetually repetitive online experiences. Especially when if I do want to do some multiplayer, a game like BG3 has a wonderful implementation of it. Something like that is the kind of multiplayer I can get down with.
And also, plenty of others have said it already but I’m old and I got shit to do man. I can’t be gaming on someone else’s clock. Steam Deck has really helped get me back into gaming through. That thing has been a godsend. Knock out a chapter in Justice before I go to bed, it’s like reading a bit of a good book before bedtime. Love it.
Justice is great by the way if you like the Yakuza series but want something a little less goofy. Same studio.
Hell yeah. Another vote for Seal!
Tell that to 2FA apps for banks and enterprise security systems.
Casshern (the 2004 live film not the original anime)
I’m on a Pixel 8 Pro and I am sticking with that for now. I don’t think the iterative upgrades the 9 series offers justifies the price. And naturally, a lot of places are putting the 8 series on sale, so it’s an even better deal if you can find one. The 9 series internals are barely upgraded over the 8 series. And in typical Google fashion (if you end up sticking with the stock OS) many of the exclusive 9 series features will come to the 8 series eventually. The only real reason to get a 9 series phone is if you really like the hardware design. The increased ram on the 9 is mostly for the Gemini stuff they are pushing, and the rest of the general specs are almost the same as the 8. Yes of course it’s a new generation so the processor is “better” and whatnot, but not to a degree where in real world use, would you notice the difference between the 8 and the 9. Again, most of the internal improvements are targeting the AI stuff that all companies are pushing for.
TLDR: Save your money and get an 8. It’s mostly the same.
Actually that 15 bean soup has a few lentil varieties in it already.
Also look up Tuscan bean soup, that’s a good one too.
And of course a hearty chili WITH BEANS because that’s the best kind of chili and I’ll fight anyone that says otherwise.
And for a dessert treat try Japanese red bean soup. It’s a great winter dessert.
All memes and jokes aside it’s really good stuff if you can find it at your local grocery store. It has a recipe on the back and comes with the seasoning in the bag. Just add meat and some veggies.
Full Metal Jacket.
Best war movie and best Kubrick movie of all time.
Frozen veggies work great for low effort soup. Use the ones you have as I’ve found most veggies work with most other veggies flavor-wise, especially in soup. If you want more bite, add beans and/or mushrooms. And root veggies/potatoes add more substance, texture, and starch for natural thickening if you want something that’s not just broth and bits. You know what flavors you like so just go from there. Consider adding soy sauce or liquid aminos if you’re looking for more umami and salt.
A quick and easy one I do all the time for lazy days is: boxed broth, frozen carrots and peas. Celery (easy to chop even when sick), chop an onion into quarters (they soften and break apart, no need to slice and dice) some kind of root veg like turnip (quarter it, or if you get baby turnip just throw in whole) and mushrooms (get them pre sliced for minimum work) then a couple of tablespoons of Italian dry spice blend, salt, pepper.
And yeah as I mentioned, if you can get someone to shop you baby versions of the veg you gotta chop, you can skip that and just throw them in whole~
And for those of you that eat meat, just add chicken to that above recipe instead of mushrooms (or both!) and boom, chicken soup .
Edit: one thing is don’t use frozen soft veg like a Brussels sprouts, they get gross and mushy very fast. Stick to harder veg like carrot, potato, etc. Leafy greens (except Kale because it’s leathery when raw) almost always turn to mush when cooked in liquid.