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Post by impulse on May 16, 2022 9:10:18 GMT -5
A version of the 2001 Build of Duke Nukem Forever has been leaked online after being speculated about from a tweet by Randy Pitchford of Gearbox eons ago I saw this news. It would be super interesting to play if it's in a halfway completed state just to see what they were thinking at the time and also as a time capsule. Duke was a major pop culture hit at the original time, but MAN has society changed A LOT since then. Even the game that was released was super dated with regards to pop culture references and sensibilities, and I imagine this one is even more so.
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Post by impulse on May 13, 2022 17:01:12 GMT -5
Tremors is an underappreciated modern classic.
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Post by impulse on May 13, 2022 13:01:18 GMT -5
"Okay, fine. There are two things your date's hands should never tough on a first date. The door or the check." There you go! Nothing wrong with the courtesy. Ah, but what if she wants to show courtesy first and hold the door for him? Or pull back his chair? What if she asked him out on the date and intends to pay the check? Sisters are doing it for themselves! It's a whole minefield of equality! That just shows he has a courteous prospect. I love when my wife pays for dinner. Bring it on!
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Post by impulse on May 13, 2022 12:29:27 GMT -5
Ohhh, man, RIP Fred.
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Post by impulse on May 13, 2022 9:47:33 GMT -5
My sons not too long ago .... Son: Father I'm going on my first formal date with [gf's name] tonight and I'm nervous. I need some advice. Me: There's two things a woman's hands should never touch on a first date; a door or the check. And it doesn't hurt to pull out her chair for her too. My youngest son who I didn't realize was listening: Adam (my boy calls me by my first name) that's sexist. Me: "Okay, fine. There are two things your date's hands should never tough on a first date. The door or the check." There you go! Nothing wrong with the courtesy.
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Post by impulse on May 12, 2022 12:06:52 GMT -5
I can't speak to legal repercussions, but in this specific situation, I think ethically there is no issue with a site like the archive collecting the works so they are not lost. I agree. And "orphan works" are an area where there's been some movement to loosen copyright, which is a beginning. From a legal perspective, if there's no perceivable rights holder, then it's no harm no foul. That's encouraging. Is it something like if there is no obvious rights holder and no one claims something within x time it reverts to public domain, or does someone have to do something specific to trigger it? Like "hey we want to use this thing, but no one is on record as actively owning it?" application to the copyright office or something? Or is it not that defined yet? I am speaking to the efforts to loosen copyright, I mean. I like that copyright protection is all but automatic to the creator, but in the situation where there literally is no one to claim the copyright or benefit from it, it should revert to the public domain as intended. Frankly, I think the current extensions of copyright are excessive already, but Disney has deep pockets. A similar but different instance is stuff like the classic 8 bit, 16 bit and original arcade Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games. They were core fixtures in the arcade and Nintendo generations' childhoods and made their owners gobs of money. They are also markedly absent in an official modern channel or these retro collections, e.g. NES Mini. From a consumer's perspective, TMNT 2 not being on the NES MINI is a ludicrous omission and glaringly misrepresents the era. This is due to legal squabbles and expired licenses between the owners of the TMNT IP versus the original game company and/or publisher which may be various forms of defunct, etc. No new agreements, old ones expired, thus some of the most iconic games are absent from the retro collections, and there is no proper way to obtain them through official channels. Thankfully at least for this particular case, there is some resolution as a collection is coming out later this year.
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Post by impulse on May 12, 2022 11:24:09 GMT -5
^On this subject, that thing where comic companies would have to use a character every so many years or lose the rights? How exactly did that work? Still in practice? Any company ever lose a character due to forgetting to use them? You're thinking Trademarks, which have to be used or they are lost. Copyright is for a period of years (at this point 95 years for work for hire). It does not expire and the requirements for to establish copyright have been relaxed to the point that they are negligible. One problem is that there are a LOT of Orphan Works out there where the copyright holder is impossible to determine or contact. Those works just sit there doing nothing until they're lost, rather than actually being useful to the public domain. I can't speak to legal repercussions, but in this specific situation, I think ethically there is no issue with a site like the archive collecting the works so they are not lost.
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Post by impulse on May 12, 2022 10:13:31 GMT -5
I don't think copyright is use it or lose it, but trademark is, I believe. It has to be used to keep its association with whatever goods and services there are.
I know specifically when Marvel licensed out the film rights to various properties in the 90s that those contracts had clauses where the company had to make a movie every so many years or the rights reverted to Marvel. This is why there are so many Sony Spider Man movies. Well, at least one reason.
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Post by impulse on May 12, 2022 9:03:40 GMT -5
They finally removed their Warren archive. I always wondered how they justified claiming those magazines were public domain; apparently someone convinced them otherwise. From what I've seen, they treat anything from a company that is out of business as Public Domain, under the premise that if the company doesn't exist, there is no one to sue. Au contraire, mon frer! Try that defense in court. It's another case of they will do it as long as they get away with it, then cry ignorance and take it down when the legal threats start. On the other hand, the concept of abandonware/orphaned IPs is an interesting one. Obviously if someone still owns a copyright, proceed at your own risk, but there's a lot of IP out there where the original company, publisher, etc, no longer exist and it's just sitting in limbo. I'm sure in many of these cases someone could reorganize and make an official claim, but a lot of times it doesn't happen. So do it unless and until someone says stop is not necessarily a terribly risky endeavor, especially if it's not being used commercially but for preservation purposes. IP that made an impact on the popular culture is worthy of preservation, and that is an aim that has value. If it is something that has really been abandoned, I would rather an organization like this preserve it unless and until the official channel gets something together, whether it's comics, film, video games, etc. The original intent of copyright was never to be a perpetual bludgeon for huge corporations to milk profits for centuries. It was to let the creator profit off of their original ideas for a reasonable amount of time while society benefits from it.
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Post by impulse on May 10, 2022 16:28:58 GMT -5
I haven't been into my office since March of 2020, and I won't until my youngest is either old enough to get vaccinated or they approve it for his age-range before then. Even then, it will probably be one day every other week a few hours when the big weekly all-hands meeting happens so I can see everyone (or whoever it is that goes). Remote work is far too convenient, and frankly, it is far more productive without the wasted time and energy getting dressed, grooming, commuting 90 minutes round trip, and distracting yourself from how much you don't want to be in an office by getting up and talking to people.
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Post by impulse on May 9, 2022 16:07:17 GMT -5
I don't usually actually stop at 5, especially since Covid. I've been remote for over 2 years at this, so I'm able to be a bit more fluid with start and end times as needed. That said, I am waiting on one team to finish one thing so I can knock out my last key task for today and sign off.
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Post by impulse on May 9, 2022 15:56:45 GMT -5
For those working the 9-5 ish hours, I have found the cliches on Mondays to be largely accurate, and making it to 5pm feels like a huge achievement.
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Post by impulse on May 9, 2022 15:55:19 GMT -5
Pantera was all about Dime's playing for me. Early 90's weren't the kindest period for metal fans with the times changing and rise of grunge, and Pantera kind of defied all that and kept the spirit of metal going. Cowboys and Vulgar Display are a couple of my favorite albums ever, and I love jamming Pantera on guitar, so many great riffs. Everybody who knew Dime loved him too and it was a horrible tragedy of what happened. Eddie Van Halen famously gave one of his most famous ORIGINAL guitars (not a copy), the black and yellow "bumblebee" from Van Halen II, to be buried with him since he knew it was Dime's favorite. As Eddie said, "Dime was an original and deserved an original". Yeah, I don't recall hearing anyone have a bad word to say about Dime except maybe Phil, who again, is/was a scumbag, possibly/probably exacerbated by his addiction. Not the most trustworthy source. Everything else I've read suggested everyone loved the guy. Vulgar Display is the CD my wife owned. I've tried to listen to that style of music with only a few exceptions. Couple of Tool songs, a few actual Rob Zombie songs, if you'd believe it. Including you introducing me to his cover of Brick House. But this style of music with the only band when I was in my 20's that was Helmet's Betty album. For the most part that type of music is more my wife's taste. But then I am listening to Paul Anka while I type this post so ..... :-) Oh and Metallica's One. Really like that. Great song. Heeeeey, that's right! Glad you enjoyed that one. Well Cowboys and Vulgar are in the same vein as Zombie/Tool/Metallica all that mess, so if you were ever in the mood for any reason you might not hate those. Moving on before a mod reminds us we have multiple music threads...
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Post by impulse on May 9, 2022 8:48:13 GMT -5
Ah Pantera. The band that should only make music and cut out the “singing”. Assuming we are only talking about their mainstream label era, there is a huge difference between the vocals on the first two albums compared to the latter 3. Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power have a lot of really good classic-style singing mixed with some grittier but still quite accessible thrash-style barking (think radio Metallica-esque), with the ratio tilting more toward the harsh stuff on Vulgar. The third one, Far Beyond Driven, all but abandons the actual singing in favor of the harsh vocals, but they just barely walk the line of not outright screaming style. The latter two are basically nothing but screaming and are borderline unlistenable if you can't stomach that style of "singing." It took me a LONG TIME to get a tolerance for growling vocals, so I can easily understand someone never warming up to them. And it's just that... a tolerance so I can enjoy the rest of the bands and not immediately want to smash my headphones on the floor and stomp them into pieces when the vocalists start. It's opened up a lot of bands I would have otherwise enjoyed but could never get into. But those first two shouldn't stick out much from the other harder rock and commercial metal of the era. Too bad the singer revealed himself to be a hateful scumbag who did nazi salutes and chanted "white power" at shows long after Pantera broke up. I believe he has claimed it was the drugs and has apologized since, but that's not an easy thing to shrug off. But today I'm listening to Lizzo! And I agree that Panera, while delicious, is ludicrously overpriced for what it is.
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Post by impulse on May 6, 2022 10:53:32 GMT -5
My fingers ARE tired from too many heavy metal solos lol! I'm getting too old for this business (and was supposed to be "retired"). Oooh, tell me more.
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