December. The final and twelfth month in the year, although that 'dec' at the start of the name looks like it is something to do with the number ten. As was mentioned last month, The Thirsty Robot is now going to publish the summary every month, although this one is again very late!
So, here is a short summary of some of what you may have missed in December's online meetings at The Thirsty Robot:
Warning, warning...
 |
| Photo by Breana Panaguiton on Unsplash |
Yep - a classic 'Thirsty Robot' topic! Warning signs for things that the official ones seem to have somehow overlooked. In a world where it often seems like everything is capable of upsetting at least one other person, then signs to alert entitled people about possible constraints to that entitlement might well be deemed to be essential. Or, as in this case, provide those obvious technological assists to make sure that no-one is caught out by the rapid developments in science. Like chip-smoke! Like many people, I wish that the conversion of microchips into smoke was more than a one-off occurrence, but this is probably being researched feverishly in laboratories all over the world at this very moment...
 |
| Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash |
All in the Name - again
Sometimes names are just... strange. Here's a case where things get really confusing.
Here's a band using the time-honoured tradition of using a well known phrase for their name (Duran Duran, anyone?):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We%27ve_Got_a_Fuzzbox_and_We%27re_Gonna_Use_It
Which some people seem to remember as:
"We've got a fuzz-box and we know how to use it!"
Curiously, Google searches almost exclusively only find the '...Gonna use it' version. Except for the odd example which is obviously meant to be a reference (but to the wrong name)...
https://nowtoronto.com/weve-got-a-fuzz-box-and-we-know-how-to-use-it
There are some attempts to track down the source...
https://medium.com/nested-loops/i-have-a-gun-and-i-know-how-to-use-it-6731340a57f5
Going even deeper, there are people tracking the variations...
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IveGotAnXAndImNotAfraidToUseIt
Isn't life strange?
 |
| Photo by Ibrahim Rifath on Unsplash |
Independent Financial Adviser?
One of the things that gets talked about at The Thirsty Robot is the difficulty of finding an independent financial adviser. So here's one:
https://lifetimefinancialsolutions.co.uk/
 |
| Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash |
Less security and more generic software-related this time...
We have no connection with this similarly named person...
https://github.com/Thirsty-Robot
But we did get talking about the types of software developers:
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/2396298066/1566045742/1500x500
https://neilonsoftware.com/underappreciated-software-developers/the-rogue/
Someone quipped:
I went to The Thirsty Robot and all I got was this virtual tee-shirt !
We love neat snippets: (even ones that remind us of Second Life...):
http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Grid_List
Puzzles...
One attendee mentioned puzzles at security conferences:
https://securitytiruces.blogspot.com/2020/03/nullcon-2020-conference-badge.html
https://securitytiruces.blogspot.com/2021/11/hardweario-netherlands-2021-badge-puzzle.html
And this led to more programming puzzles, which are good for learning coding and hacking:
https://github.com/phlash/aoc2021 (answers!)
https://projecteuler.net/ (Maths!)
And then things got really interesting...
https://natureofcode.com/book/chapter-1-vectors/
...and for a real challenge:
https://crypto.stanford.edu/~dabo/courses/OnlineCrypto/
 |
| Photo by Julius Drost on Unsplash |
As always, we recommend that, for the best experience, you should not watch trailers or reviews before watching a movie or TV series...
Given the burgeoning number of streaming services these days, you increasingly need to some way to find out where a movie or tv series is available:
(You HAVE to subscribe to this one! Really? Just to find out where to watch something?)
Just for a giggle: here's what you get if you try to download one of the mobile-phone alternatives on a web-browser on a computer:
https://watchworthy.gsc.im/1/dlaa
The very existence of these Search Tools is a very, very sad commentary on greed. the insatiable quest for money, and just modern society in general, but here we are...
And after all that pre-amble, some media that we liked and that you might like to consume...
Night Teeth (Movie) - Streaming on Netflix in the UK
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10763820/
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81043660
No false teeth in glass tumblers here...
Ashes (Song) - On YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK31B6zkGec&ab_channel=Nightly
For those people who wonder why the charts don't seem to have many real 'songs' in them any longer...
How To Become a Tyrant (Documentary) - Streaming on Netflix in the UK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Become_a_Tyrant
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80989772
This is NOT an instructional video! The world has quite enough megalomaniacs already!
Crawl (Movie) - Streaming on Netflix in the UK
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8364368/
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80203186
Spoiler ahead: DO NOT READ THE NEXT SECTION:
We LOVED the cynical synopsis on IMDB:
"Against all logic, the competitive swimmer, Haley, drives into the mouth of a furiously destructive Category 5 hurricane on a collision course with her hometown of Florida, to check in on her estranged father, Dave..."
Er, but aren't just about all movies based on this principle:
'People inexplicably and confidently do stupid things and regret them...'
So now you know why the above isn't really a spoiler! We look forward to the movie that doesn't use this principle, because we will definitely need something to watch whilst the paint dries...
The Forgotten Battle (Movie) - Streaming on Netflix in the UK
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10521092/
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81166791
In movie marketing lore, you should never use the word 'Forgotten' in a title. We forget why... :)
Elves (TV series) - Streaming on Netflix in the UK
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13231962/
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81152779
In contrast, sometimes the title of a piece of media gives everything away in a single word!
Samurai Champloo (Anime) - Streaming on Netflix in the UK
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0423731/
https://www.netflix.com/title/70213065
Sunflowers - just think of what they smell like...
Station Eleven (Movie) - Streaming on STARZPLAY in the UK
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10574236/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/0L2P21S3QYU0BFNRUNFQJM5NIH/
Woah! A streaming service inside a streaming service? You pay extra to get STARZPLAY inside Amazon Prime (which you pay for!)? Where are all these people who have unlimited amounts of money to spend on an unlimited number of streaming services?
Happy Death Day (Movie) - Rentable in the UK
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5308322/
https://uk.chili.com/content/happy-death-day-2017/53626a91-67af-426d-9a2c-aff8bee4d759
Gosh! Wow! A time-loop movie! Never seen one of those before... Never seen one of those before... Never seen one of those before..
Even more amazing, you can 'Rent' this movie on Chili.com. Have they not heard of 'streaming'?
This War Of Mine (Game) - Playable on Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/282070/This_War_of_Mine/
Trying to keep a straight face, we were severely tested by the description on Steam:
The game provides an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle.
(It's a side-scrolling game, so 'an entirely new angle' might well be questioned by those of a slightly pedantic mind-set...)
Gods of Egypt (Movie) - Streaming on Virgin Go in the UK, rentable from many services
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gods_of_Egypt_(film)
Can you have too much CGI in a blockbuster?
Gods of Egypt turned the conversation towards Gerard Butler, noted for a very specific type of role in action movies...
Gerard Butler Movies (Filmography)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Butler_filmography
...and an example of his recent work:
Hunter Killer (Movie) - Streaming on Virgin Go in the UK, rentable from many services
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1846589/
You (Tv series) - Streaming on Netflix in the UK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_(TV_series)
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80211991
 |
| Picture from: https://www.forticheprod.com/dynamics-pages/projects |
Arcane (TV Series) - Streaming on Netflix in the UK
It would be difficult to not include a piece of media which has broken various records, including being one of those unusual successful conversions from game-to-other-media: Arcane, the animated TV series based on the game League of Legends.
https://www.leagueoflegends.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcane_(TV_series)
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81435684
Arcane was Netflix's number one viewed piece of content in November 2021. Rotten Tomatoes published a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 9.10/10, based on 25 reviews. The second season was quickly approved by Netflix.
Arcane was animated by a French company whose previous notable work was high-end music videos, and this is very apparent in the animation quality in Arcane. It will be interesting to see what happens in the Awards season in 2022...
https://www.forticheprod.com/dynamics-pages/projects
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32oT-CWJOC0
When something is the most viewed thing on Netflix, all sorts of things happen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nob6i0uCHzM
It will be very interesting to see what the second season of Arcane is like. Will success change it?
 |
| Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash |
Do Not Giggle When You Read The Following Section!
ALLPlayer (Media Player)
So what would you expect when you hear about a media player that plays many, many, many types of media across many platforms? Is the word 'ALL' in its name perhaps a give-away?
Actually, it isn't, because the platforms aren't 'ALL' at all, at all:
Just Windows, iOS, and Android. No macOS, no Linux, no ChromeOS... (Dare we mention Symbian, Windows Phone, KiOS, Blackberry...)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALLPlayer
'ALL' is a tricky word. It very rarely means 'every instance', and usually has an implied 'exclusion clause' buried within it...
"Well, all doesn't mean 'all', it means 'all the obvious ones, but not the others...'"
'SomePlayer' (Proposed name for Media Player)
Doesn't quite have the same appeal, does it? But it almost certainly plays some media types on some platforms!
Things that people say:
functionally perfect, utterly unsaleable
please misbehave responsibly
Starion - the car? https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/a-starion-is-born/
A popular Japanese Drink - https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/nutraceutical/products/pocarisweat/
Which inevitably led to this topic: Caution: NSFW:
https://justsomething.co/31-worst-product-name-fails-ever/
And things that people wear:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/508985518/surprise-t-shirt-ah-the-element-of
And to totally SFW!
---
A lot of discussion happens at The Thirsty Robot. This blog is an edited, biased summary of just a small fraction of the conversation, links/URLs and references that were mentioned. It is an imperfect record and is definitely not complete - for that you should visit The Thirsty Robot!
---
Things have changed a little here - these summaries will now be monthly. The next online meeting at The Thirsty Robot is on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Thursday of the month...
If you want to meet real people in the real world, then try this: Ipswich-Tech-Drinkabout on the first Thursday in the month!
Comments
Post a Comment