They solved that problem by just making the models a bit boring. In the end, it's just another batch of space marines

I am once again suffering from technology. So my university has introduced compulsory two-factor-authentication using a Cisco smartphone app in order to access JSTOR and the like, which was already a hassle. I had to hand-write a letter to IT because I couldn't get to campus to set it up, lol. Now Google has updated their "integrity" standards and my cheap Chinese phone is no longer allowed to use said Cisco app at all, which means I'm forced to buy a new phone and contact IT again to set it up. All this because some IT people got it into their heads that the normal method of JSTOR authentication is nonviable or insecure or something. Frankly, I'm hoping those kickbacks from Cisco are worth it.

I've got a question for all of you: What's the best way to run a leftist reading group? And where to start? For context, this is going to be a small number of young people who do not habitually read, so my academic instincts are useless here. Someone suggested reading during the meeting, which is maybe more approachable but I don't see how would this work logistically (do we read out loud? Do we wait for the slowest reader to finish and then talk?). And I need to suggest a text. Presumably, people would get intimated by Capital, so something introductory with short chapters might be better. Any ideas?

My favorite memory of the two Pathfinder games, and I mean this unironically, is doing that infamous quest in Kingmaker right near the start where you have to fight swarms. Level 1 combat against enemies immune to weapon damage – you have to actually consider your options and possibly accept turning down the difficulty. That interplay of character options and enemy immunities is, in my opinion, the core gameplay of CRPGs.

What a cute little rat! They're really the sweetest-looking pets.

North Dakota: Annual income needed to live comfortably: $52,807

That's way lower than every other state. What's up with that?

Not trying to sound conspiratorial, but I feel like summer and winter have been getting longer the last decades. Surely it didn't always take heavy coats to go outside in March?

Reminds of a German TERF who tried to advocate for "sex-based rights". But her English wasn't very good, so in her translation, it came out as "sexual intercourse-based rights". Nevertheless, she still got a number of votes because no one pays any attention to language if hate is on the menu.

On a related note, have Israelis reached level of Apartheid delusion where they larp as the people they despise and constantly demand to be called Palestinian/Mena?

It's sometimes done in relation to the whole claim about being "indigenous" to the Middle East. Read this article for some particularly embarassing examples, featuring the appropriation of Native American headdresses for a double slam of racism.

The post seems oddly trusting towards the game developers and hostile towards the people playing it. I don't really care whether some auteur followed his vision of making a game with lots of "friction"; I want to know whether that results in an interesting experience that tells us something about the medium. Maybe it does, but the argument that some hypothetical gamer (who's also excessively anti-microtransactions in a bad way?) wouldn't like this game isn't cutting it for me. Especially when the positive comparisons in this post are to Dark Souls (as usual) – isn't that universally beloved by critics and gamers alike? That's not a strong argument for explaining why DD2 may be unpopular, if it even is, for which I have seen no evidence.

Incidentally, this also describes the basic plot of Goethe's Faust, a classic of Western literature which also features a man getting sidetracked from his intellectual pursuits by chasing underage women.

I don't think you'd gain much enjoyment of 3 by replaying the originals. The characters that come back are basically just for fanservice and the story kind of acknowledges the premise of the originals but conflicts heavily with Throne of Bhaal. Other than that, there's just a few written jokes referencing various old characters. So if you want to play 3, just go for it.