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Penny Arcade - Comic - Afterburner

DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin

Afterburner!

Penny Arcade - Comic - Afterburner

Videogaming-related online strip by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Includes news and commentary.

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Posts

  • LttlefootLttlefoot Registered User regular
    80s: Join our mailing list
    90s: Get our smartcard
    00s: Join our website
    10s: Download our app
    20s: Buy our NFT
    30s: Wear our implant
    40s: Just buy our product and go away

  • Johnny17Johnny17 Registered User regular
    I guess once they know you long enough to be sure you aren't a cop it opens all kind of new business opportunities.

  • HevachHevach Registered User regular
    edited September 2022
    Hot coffee enema would still be better than a digital shirt for your Starbucks Metaverse avatar that says Hot Coffee Enema on it.

    Sounds like they're cancelling the free coffee reward program with extra steps to me.

    Hevach on
  • FireballDragonFireballDragon Registered User regular
    God, NFTs are being overused...

  • DjiemDjiem Registered User regular
    God, NFTs are being overused...

    Any use of NFT is overuse.

  • LucascraftLucascraft Registered User regular
    I saw Jerry tweet about this on Monday afternoon/evening and knew that a comic would be on the way.

    And also... I guess Starbucks doesn't know how to read the room? And haven't been following the NFT news cycle? And aren't aware that NFTs as a concept have basically crashed and burned and the idea is dead? And doesn't realize that they are so late to the party that the party is over?

  • YoungFreyYoungFrey Registered User regular
    edited September 2022
    Maybe, just maybe, Starbucks is using this clearly doomed NFT idea as a "dead cat" to distract from their ongoing anti-union operations.

    YoungFrey on
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    Lttlefoot wrote: »
    80s: Join our mailing list
    90s: Get our smartcard
    00s: Join our website
    10s: Download our app
    20s: Buy our NFT
    2020 We're taking this super seriously!
    2021 Fuck all y'all. Buy our shit
    30s: Wear our implant
    40s: Subscribe to our ezine.

  • dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    Normally I hate when technology terms get misused (my facebook account got hacked = someone created a duplicate account using my public information and invited all my friends), but... hear me out. What if we just turned a blind eye to all these idiot companies using "NFTs", but only if they didn't actually use any planet-destroying blockchain or any of that guff. Hell, they can call their stamp cards "NFTs". Not only would this feed their ravenous hunger to justify their job to their boss, but it'd dilute the actual NFT market and hopefully lead to its demise.

  • LucascraftLucascraft Registered User regular
    I also think it's brilliantly ironic that if you go to the Starbucks homepage, they have all these "green" initiatives and talk about how eco-friendly they are. And then they announce blockchain scam bullshit, which is the opposite of eco-friendly.

  • LttlefootLttlefoot Registered User regular
    That raises a good question, if the starbucks NFT can only be used at starbucks, what’s the point of decentralizing it?

  • Monkey Ball WarriorMonkey Ball Warrior A collection of mediocre hats Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Just so we are clear, an nft is... Just an entry in a database with a primary key constraint, but on a blockchain, which is frankly irrelevant in this context. This is a concept that literally predates *relational databases* and SQL.

    It's marketing nonsense targeted at people who either don't know what an nft is, or are to far deep into crypto crazy to care that none of it even makes any sense.

    "I resent the entire notion of a body as an ante and then raise you a generalized dissatisfaction with physicality itself" -- Tycho
  • Monkey Ball WarriorMonkey Ball Warrior A collection of mediocre hats Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Lucascraft wrote: »
    I also think it's brilliantly ironic that if you go to the Starbucks homepage, they have all these "green" initiatives and talk about how eco-friendly they are. And then they announce blockchain scam bullshit, which is the opposite of eco-friendly.

    It's possible they aren't using proof of work. In which case the energy impact would be about the same as any other database.

    Which they could just use. Any other database. It is fine. There is nothing wrong with postgres.

    "I resent the entire notion of a body as an ante and then raise you a generalized dissatisfaction with physicality itself" -- Tycho
  • LttlefootLttlefoot Registered User regular
    Blockchain can still exist after the world goes carbon neutral - it’s just electricity

  • islingtonislington Registered User regular
    Lttlefoot wrote: »
    Blockchain can still exist after the world goes carbon neutral - it’s just electricity

    That's not how this works... That's not how any of this works...

    Electricity has to be generated, performing highly inefficient (by design) mathematical operations to generate arbitrarily large numbers for frivolous use cases is a massive waste of that electricity and the resources consumed to generate it. The laws of thermodynamics have a thing or two to say about this.

  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    Lttlefoot wrote: »
    Blockchain can still exist after the world goes carbon neutral - it’s just electricity

    Carbon neutral means the electricity generation or product creation/function offset the carbon creation.

    If we as a civilization manage to reach carbon free and plentiful energy generation, NFTs would still be a massive waste of electricity while simultaneously providing zero benefit.

  • dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    edited September 2022
    Just so we are clear, an nft is... Just an entry in a database with a primary key constraint, but on a blockchain, which is frankly irrelevant in this context. This is a concept that literally predates *relational databases* and SQL.

    It's marketing nonsense targeted at people who either don't know what an nft is, or are to far deep into crypto crazy to care that none of it even makes any sense.

    While the "thing you own" can be an entry in a database, the actual "NFT" which shows you own it is an entry on blockchain. That's definitional. If it's not on the blockchain, it's not an NFT.

    That said, most everyone criticizing NFTs understand that the NFT part of it is a totally unnecessary addition in almost every case, and DLC and such can easily be tracked without it (and has been, for decades). The NFT part is frankly relevant because that's the whole thing people are saying is stupid.

    dennis on
  • V1mV1m Registered User regular
    edited September 2022
    As far as I can understand it, there are two main use-cases for NFTs
    1. Scamming money out of people who have no idea what NFTs are but are experiencing extreme FOMO on the "next big thing" or whatever and will thus throw money at this cool new computer sorcery that will turn bullshit into gold or something.
    2. Enabling the original seller of something to reliably take a transactional fee every time the thing they sold changes ownership on their database

    Neither of these use cases seems like a compelling reason to be interested in NFTs, as even the second can be managed with, Oh I don't know, a goddamb registry or something.

    And that's been the trouble with every blockchain ever invented that I've heard of: every use that isn't flatly facilitating criminal activity is is a highly complex and very clever solution to problems that have already been solved considerably more simply and cheaply with existing methods.

    I await my NFT NHS card with dreary anticipation.

    V1m on
  • OverkillengineOverkillengine Registered User regular
    edited September 2022
    You really don't want to know what their "Kopi Luwak" supremium Star.bucks tier reward is.
    V1m wrote: »
    As far as I can understand it, there are two main use-cases for NFTs

    And that's been the trouble with every blockchain ever invented that I've heard of: every use that isn't flatly facilitating criminal activity is is a highly complex and very clever solution to problems that have already been solved considerably more simply and cheaply with existing methods.

    I await my NFT NHS card with dreary anticipation.

    Plus if I understand it correctly, the issue wherein if some party manages to control the majority of the nodes, they control consensus about your transactions with no effective redress. Which is very abusable, and surely no organizations or persons would ever seek out such a state.

    Overkillengine on
  • LttlefootLttlefoot Registered User regular
    edited September 2022
    Bitcoin isn’t just for criminals. It’s also for avoiding inflation, for people who don’t trust banks, or for people who don’t trust the govt not to seize their bank account under manifest destiny (or your local equivalent)

    Actually I wonder if the queen’s death caused a surge of buying crypto in commonwealth countries

    Lttlefoot on
  • DjiemDjiem Registered User regular
    edited September 2022
    Lttlefoot wrote: »
    Bitcoin isn’t just for criminals. It’s also for avoiding inflation, for people who don’t trust banks, or for people who don’t trust the govt not to seize their bank account under manifest destiny (or your local equivalent)

    It's also for people who don't care about the value of their money. My dollar isn't worth 10 dollars tomorrow, 25 cents the day after tomorrow, 4 dollars next week and a penny next month.

    Djiem on
  • dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    edited September 2022
    Lttlefoot wrote: »
    Bitcoin isn’t just for criminals. It’s also for avoiding inflation, for people who don’t trust banks, or for people who don’t trust the govt not to seize their bank account under manifest destiny (or your local equivalent)

    Actually I wonder if the queen’s death caused a surge of buying crypto in commonwealth countries

    Except for edge cases like Zimbabwe, for any normal person, inflation doesn't hold a candle to this:
    cfh41bt2wd2f.png

    A lot of bitcoin owners' money is worth 1/3rd of what it was less than a year ago. "Raging" inflation of 10% seems like a dream in comparison.

    Of course, all this ignores one point:
    No one was even talking about bitcoin, you goose.

    dennis on
  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    If you want to avoid inflation just get a mutual fund.

    People who say they don't trust banks all the time. If they didn't they wouldn't ever convert or measure BTC in dollars. BTC also doesn't come with FDIC.

    BTC has plummeted every time a government has cracked down on it. For all its ability to "circumvent government regulation" it seems to be very easily regulated or outright banned by governments.

  • dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    Quid wrote: »
    If you want to avoid inflation just get a mutual fund.

    People who say they don't trust banks all the time. If they didn't they wouldn't ever convert or measure BTC in dollars. BTC also doesn't come with FDIC.

    BTC has plummeted every time a government has cracked down on it. For all its ability to "circumvent government regulation" it seems to be very easily regulated or outright banned by governments.

    And you forgot "BTC's value has far to much to do with how some multi-billionaire feels today".

    bxogcj5edvp3.png

    5xgoqq1ctmvq.png

  • V1mV1m Registered User regular
    dennis wrote: »
    Lttlefoot wrote: »
    Bitcoin isn’t just for criminals. It’s also for avoiding inflation, for people who don’t trust banks, or for people who don’t trust the govt not to seize their bank account under manifest destiny (or your local equivalent)

    Actually I wonder if the queen’s death caused a surge of buying crypto in commonwealth countries

    Except for edge cases like Zimbabwe, for any normal person, inflation doesn't hold a candle to this:
    cfh41bt2wd2f.png

    A lot of bitcoin owners' money is worth 1/3rd of what it was less than a year ago. "Raging" inflation of 10% seems like a dream in comparison.

    Of course, all this ignores one point:
    No one was even talking about bitcoin, you goose.

    To be fair, I did widen the scope of the discussion by talking about Blockchain in general.

    However if Littlefoot wants a highly volatile, intrinsically useless hedge against inflation that is completely controlled by private entities that he cannot influence or seek redress from, he can also put his money into gem diamonds.

    NB that bitcoin to the dollar graph is especially hilarious because the dollars that bitcoin is valued in are, erm, subject to inflation lol

  • CowboyCaseCowboyCase Registered User regular
    Every time I hear about how Bitcoin is going to prevent your government from seizing your money -
    security.png

  • DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    Yeah maybe the government can't get at your bitcoin, but neither can you if you're in guantanamo bay

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    How hot is the coffee for a coffee enema?

    Can I get a cold brewed enema?

  • V1mV1m Registered User regular
    Delzhand wrote: »
    Yeah maybe the government can't get at your bitcoin, but neither can you if you're in guantanamo bay

    Also it turns out that if you're annoying enough that the government starts paying attention then it, um, can get at your bitcoin.

    Anyway taking this back to NFTs:

    LOL

    LMAO

    NFTs

  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    Lttlefoot wrote: »
    people who don’t trust the govt not to seize their bank account under manifest destiny (or your local equivalent)

    omfg im dying

    rRwz9.gif
  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    V1m wrote: »
    Delzhand wrote: »
    Yeah maybe the government can't get at your bitcoin, but neither can you if you're in guantanamo bay

    Also it turns out that if you're annoying enough that the government starts paying attention then it, um, can get at your bitcoin.

    Anyway taking this back to NFTs:

    LOL

    LMAO

    NFTs
    It's actually a lot easier for them to seize your bitcoin than it is to get at your bank account. Not as easy as say cash, but still pretty easy. They may not be able to access your bitcoins, but I don't know anyone who does crypto who has hand written notes in a stash spot to be able to get back their crypto, so if say the government raids their house, and takes all of their electronics, which they may do. They are going to be without their crypto until they get their electronics back, and that may be never. Whereas money in a bank. They have to take a lot of administrative steps to seize that, show probable cause.

    Generally the civil asset forfeitures are money and goods, because going after a bank account is tough and requires a lot of paperwork.

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