Sunday, April 6, 2025
On West Pender Street in Downtown Vancouver. Summer of 2018.
West Pender Street is a key artery in Downtown Vancouver, running parallel to East Pender Street but situated closer to the central business district. It’s a hub for commerce, education, and historical architecture, blending Vancouver’s modern growth with its rich past.
West Pender Street stretches through the heart of Downtown Vancouver, west of Main Street, where East Pender Street transitions into Chinatown. It runs roughly east-west, connecting key areas of the city’s financial and cultural districts.
West Pender Street is near major landmarks like the Vancouver Lookout (at 555 West Hastings Street, just a block south), Gastown to the northeast, and the waterfront along Burrard Inlet to the north. It’s also close to transit hubs like Waterfront Station, making it highly accessible.
One of the standout features on West Pender Street is the London Building, located at 626 West Pender Street, as mentioned in the web search results (web ID: 0). This heritage structure, built in 1912 during Vancouver’s pre-Great War building boom, is a fine example of Edwardian-style commercial architecture. Designed by the architectural firm Somervell & Putnam, the building features an embellished cornice, decorative coursing, medallions at the upper levels, and a richly ornamented iron storefront at street level. Constructed for the London and British North American Company, it reflects Vancouver’s early 20th-century growth as a commercial hub. The building is 113 years old as of 2025, blending historical charm with modern amenities. Today, the London Building houses the West Pender Campus of University Canada West (UCW), a private university offering business and technology-focused programs.
West Pender Street is dotted with other historic buildings, such as The Permanent (at 330 West Pender Street), a former bank turned event space built in 1907. These structures highlight the area’s role in Vancouver’s early development as a financial center.
University Canada West's West Pender Campus is located in the London Building. This campus is strategically positioned for students. Many of the world’s biggest companies have offices within walking distance, providing students with access to a network of prospective employers in Vancouver’s financial district. The campus offers an inspiring setting, combining the historic ambiance of the London Building with modern facilities for education.
West Pender Street is part of Vancouver’s central business district, with numerous office buildings, including 905 West Pender Street. This reflects the street’s role as a commercial hub, attracting businesses, law firms, and tech companies.
West Pender Street balances historical architecture with modern development. While buildings like the London Building evoke the past, the area is bustling with contemporary office towers, cafes, and restaurants catering to professionals and students. The street is close to cultural attractions. The Permanent is a heritage event space that hosts private events, weddings, and cultural gatherings, adding a social vibrancy to the area. A short walk from West Pender Street takes you to Gastown (known for its cobblestone streets and Victorian buildings), the Vancouver Lookout, and the waterfront at Canada Place. West Pender Street is highly walkable, with wide sidewalks and proximity to public transit options like the SkyTrain (Waterfront Station) and bus routes. It’s also bike-friendly, aligning with Vancouver’s emphasis on sustainable transport.
The street’s central location means it’s often on the route for parades, festivals, and markets, such as the Vancouver Christmas Market or Pride Parade, which pass through nearby areas. Given its proximity to corporate offices, West Pender Street is a hotspot for professional events, networking meetups, and industry conferences. West Pender Street is generally safe, being in the bustling financial district. However, as with any urban area, it’s wise to stay aware, especially in the evenings, given its proximity to the Downtown Eastside, which faces social challenges.
Thursday, April 3, 2025
.jpg)
Is This The End For Nintendo Switch's Game Preservation?
 |
| https://screenrant.com/nintendo-switch-game-emulation-preservation/ |
This has been a terrible year for game preservation, and Nintendo’s latest moves have shut down Ryujinx, the second most advanced Nintendo Switch emulator, which leaves the future of Switch game preservation in jeopardy. Some might frame the legal action against Yuzu and Ryujinx, the two most high-profile Switch emulators, as an effort to curb piracy. This sort of myopic, short-term thinking has plagued the gaming industry. Nintendo has shut down its e-stores for the Wii, the Wii U, and the 3DS. At some point, Nintendo will undoubtedly do the same for Switch and its upcoming Switch 2 successor.
Nintendo has not shown any particular skill at in-house emulation, as the Switch’s N64 emulation was initially terrible. The fidelity of Switch emulation was relatively advanced for a currently active console, thanks to Yuzu and Ryujinx, and the cessation of these projects due to legal pressure from Nintendo makes it less likely there will be successors taking up the mantle any time soon. Nintendo is not going to preserve the entirety of the Switch library and make it perpetually available to the public, as the shutdown of its legacy console e-stores confirms. This is where emulation could help preserve games.
Every time Nintendo wins a lawsuit or pressures an out-of-court settlement in its favor, like Nintendo’s $2 million lawsuit against hackers, it simply reinforces the notion that Nintendo is a draconian legal juggernaut, ready and willing to throw its dollars at getting its way. The legitimacy of their legal arguments is irrelevant, since almost every worldwide legal system favors the party with deeper pockets. Whether a defendant could win is irrelevant – they cannot afford to win. For that reason, both Yuzu and Ryujinx folded, shutting down their operations and deleting the emulators to avoid being steamrolled by Nintendo.
Anyone arguing that Nintendo was in the right in these lawsuits should be reminded that the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con lawsuits ended in Nintendo’s favor. It is a universally known and undeniable fact that Switch Joy-Cons suffer from drift. A legal victory by Nintendo does not change that, it is simply a testament to the efficacy of the company’s legal team. Past lawsuits, like those of Sony against Bleem, show emulation is protected by legal precedent. A hypothetical suit between equally funded parties could have resulted in a similar result for Yuzu or Ryujinx, but realistically, they cannot match Nintendo’s resources.
A Steam Deck trailer removed Switch emulation footage, and the fact that portable form factor computers can emulate the Switch better than the Switch itself runs its own game library is a reason some gaming fans prefer to play via emulation than on the native hardware, even for games they own. Nintendo shutting down the major emulators for Switch is of dubious value, even to the company, as it is hard to correlate piracy with genuine lost revenue. The blow to game preservation is far more tangible. The increasing momentum of Nintendo’s aggressive litigation practice certainly shows no signs of slowing.
Consider Nintendo’s lawsuit against Palworld on patents, not copyrights. Nintendo has patented a massive number of game design elements over the years. Much like the emulation argument, if two equally funded sides were to duke it out in the courts, it is likely that many of Nintendo’s patents could not hold up, as they are intuitive and necessary aspects of modern game design. Few parties are as well funded as Nintendo. Against any smaller company, Nintendo can simply leverage the threat of protracted litigation, and force the smaller company to back down, even if the legal argument ultimately lacks substance.
When Nintendo ordered destruction of ROM files, it was not a victory over piracy, but a blow to preservation, akin to burning books. The industry and its lobbyists consistently focus on lost revenue - even hypothetical, potential lost revenue for games not currently in circulation. There may be a vibrant Switch e-store now, and it might remain so if the Switch’s successor is backward compatible, but in one or two decades, this becomes more uncertain. Emulators take time to develop, particularly as they are usually the passion projects of hobbyists. Few such hobbyists will poke the bear, given Nintendo’s aggressive legal tactics.
Any infringement, big or small, may eventually put a fan game and its developer in the crosshairs of Nintendo’s legal team. A Mario Kart knockoff costume rental service was sued, and numerous nonprofit fan games and tributes, and nonprofit emulation projects, have faced similar pressures. After seeing the hard work done towards the creation of Yuzu and Ryujinx abruptly erased, any other emulation pioneers would likely hesitate to repeat such efforts, knowing they could be the next ones targeted by Nintendo. Had Yuzu and Ryujinx persisted, by the time the Switch e-stores closed there could have been a flawless emulation alternative.
Recently, the Hachette v. Internet Archive lawsuit resolved with another blow to media access and preservation, but when it comes to gaming, Nintendo leads the pack with its inappropriate and overzealous litigation. Academics have struggled to legally access game ROMs for preservation and academic research, as the video game industry’s lobbyists focus on even the remote possibility that legacy games might be repackaged and resold to a new generation. Video game companies seem to have no inherent interest in preserving the legacy of the medium or treating video games as something of lasting artistic value, only in their bottom line.
Note: Yuzu was shut down as part of an out-of-court settlement associated with a lawsuit by Nintendo against its developers. The details of the Ryujinx shutdown are hazier, but Nintendo contacted the developers and reached an agreement for them to cease the project, suggesting the mere threat of legal action was sufficient to persuade the developer to abandon Ryujinx.
For those trained to think like stockholders, concerns over potential lost sales due to piracy could make the downfall of both major Switch emulators seem like a victory of some kind. For real fans of video games, this is clearly a worst-case outcome. If video games truly matter as an art form, if the medium has any lasting value that deserves to be preserved for future generations, fans cannot count on gaming companies to preserve that legacy. Gaming fans can count on Nintendo targeting any successors to Yuzu and Ryujinx, however, ensuring the Nintendo Switch library dies when its e-store closes.
ASMR Ear Exam & Intense Cleaning ~ A Sticky Situation! | Soft Spoken Medical RP
Bringing back the ol' 3Dio for a good ol' fashioned ear exam & outer ear cleaning RP :D so, you've gotten yourself in a very ~sticky~ situation – like losing a fight with a roll of packaging tape. Oddly enough, it's only on your ears. Curious. There are some intense-ish and straight intense parts of this video, those parts have been marked in the timestamps so one can avoid the heavy sounds if they wish!
Introduction ~ 00:00 – 03:05
Inspecting Your Ears ~ 03:05 – 06:08
Pulling Off The Tape (Intense-ish) ~ 06:08 – 14:07
Double Checking Your Ears ~ 14:07 – 15:00
Palpating Your Ears (Intense) ~ 15:00 – 17:01
Assembling Otoscope ~ 17:01 – 17:55
Looking Inside Your Right Ear (Intense-ish) ~ 17:55 – 20:36
Looking Inside Your Left Ear (Intense-ish) ~ 20:36 – 22:30
Getting Ready For Ear Cleaning (Intense-ish) ~ 22:30 – 24:28
Wiping Off Your Left Ear ~ 24:28 – 26:51
Wiping Off Your Right Ear ~ 26:51 – 29:39
Cleaning Your Left Ear w/ Cotton Buds ~ 29:39 – 33:36
Cleaning Your Right Ear w/ Cotton Buds ~ 33:36 – 36:51
Wiping Off Your Left Ear Again (Intense-ish) ~ 36:51 – 37:58
Wiping Off Your Right Ear Again (Intense-ish) ~ 37:58 – 39:09
Swabbing Your Left Ear Dry ~ 39:09 – 40:21
Swabbing Your Right Ear Dry ~ 40:21 – 41:52
Drying Off Your Left Ear (Intense) ~ 41:52 – 43:22
Drying Off Your Right Ear (Intense) ~ 43:22 – 45:45
Double Checking Your Ears (Intense-ish) 45:45 – 46:40
Aftercare (Intense-ish) ~ 46:40 – 47:47
Taking Notes 47:47 – 48:40
Final Bits ~ 48:40 – 50:09
Hope y'all enjoy, have a whale of a day! :)
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Bigfoot Proof…Why It Wasn’t a Suit in the Patterson-Gimlin Film
Was the Patterson-Gimlin film really just a man in a suit, or is it the most compelling Bigfoot evidence ever captured? In this video, we’ll break down why the famous footage isn’t as easily dismissed as skeptics claim. From the anatomy of the creature to the technology of the 1960s, to debunking the stories of Bob Heironimus, Philip Morris, and Greg Long, we’ll explore the reasons why this footage remains unmatched. Whether you’re a believer, a skeptic, or just curious, this deep dive into the Patterson-Gimlin film might just make you rethink what you know about Bigfoot. Let’s get into it!
Monday, March 31, 2025
Saturday, March 29, 2025
On Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver. Summer of 2018.
Lonsdale Avenue has been a cornerstone of North Vancouver since the city’s early days. When North Vancouver was first established, Lonsdale was planned as a prominent thoroughfare, running right down the middle of the city’s layout. Its strategic importance was tied to its role in transportation—originally, the ferry at the foot of Lonsdale (in Lower Lonsdale) was a key connection point. These ferries, initially privately owned, were later managed by the government as the city grew, ensuring steady access to resources and workforce mobility. This made Lonsdale a vital lifeline for the burgeoning community, connecting it to downtown Vancouver and beyond.
As of 2019, Lonsdale has become a desirable area for young professional families, business owners, and investors. With the cost of living in downtown Vancouver skyrocketing, many are drawn to North Vancouver for a high quality of life while still being close to the city. The avenue features art installations, new parklet outdoor spaces, and some of the North Shore’s best restaurants, shops, cafes, and parks.
Lower Lonsdale, closer to the waterfront, is known for its real estate market, with a mix of houses, apartments, condos, and vacant lots for sale. It’s also home to the Lonsdale Quay Market and the Shipyards, a popular spot for dining, events, and waterfront views.
Further up the avenue, Central Lonsdale is more residential but still vibrant with charming coffee shops, restaurants, and boutique stores. It’s a walkable area with a community feel, often highlighted for its rows of shops and eateries.
Lonsdale Avenue encapsulates the evolution of North Vancouver—from a ferry-dependent settlement to a modern, thriving community. It’s a place where history meets contemporary living, offering a balance of cultural richness, accessibility, and community spirit.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Demon's Souls Remake is an artistic disaster.
Thank you for watching! This video is a detailed analysis and comparison between the Demon's Souls PS5 remake and the original PS3 japanese version. I explain in detail why the remake's changes ruin the original game's story.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
On the Seawall Water Walk in Downtown Vancouver. Summer of 2018.
The Vancouver Seawall is part of the world's longest uninterrupted waterfront path, the 28 km Seaside Greenway, stretching from the Vancouver Convention Centre to Spanish Banks Park. The downtown portion, particularly around Coal Harbour, is a popular segment for walking, offering a mix of natural beauty, urban views, and historical landmarks. Based on the web results, the Coal Harbour Seawall Destination Walk is a 5.77 km (approximately 7,572 steps) circular route that starts and ends at Canada Place, a notable landmark in downtown Vancouver. This walk takes you through lush green spaces, past prominent buildings, and provides exceptional views of the waterfront and the North Shore mountains.
Key highlights of this downtown seawall walk include passing through Harbour Green Park, the longest continuous waterfront park in the downtown area, which was constructed between 1997 and 2002. This park features a water feature that doubles as a spray park in the summer, with stepping stones winding through it. You’ll also get views of the Vancouver Rowing Club, several marinas, and Devonian Harbour Park, which serves as a gateway to Stanley Park. Along the route, you can spot artwork near the Coal Harbour Community Centre, inspired by the old boat sheds that once lined the shore, reflecting the area’s history.
The seawall in this area is designed for accessibility, with separate paths for walkers/joggers (closer to the water) and cyclists/inline skaters (on the inner path), ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience. The route showcases a blend of natural beauty and human ingenuity, with prominent buildings, green spaces, and the multi-use seawall path. It’s a great way to explore Vancouver’s history, architecture, and waterfront scenery, all while getting some fresh air and exercise.
If you’re looking to extend your walk, the Stanley Park Seawall, which connects to the Coal Harbour section, offers a longer 10 km loop (13,123 steps) that takes about 2-3 hours to walk. This loop is famous for its scenic vistas, landmarks, monuments, and sculptures that connect Vancouver’s past and present. Note that sections of the Stanley Park Seawall, like those between Prospect Point and Third Beach, may close briefly in winter for maintenance, such as rock scaling to prevent debris slides caused by weather conditions like heavy rain or spring thaw.
In short, the Seawall Water Walk in Downtown Vancouver, likely centered around the Coal Harbour area, is a picturesque and accessible way to experience the city’s waterfront, history, and urban-nature blend, making it a must-do for locals and visitors alike.
Friday, March 21, 2025
Putin's Creaky War Machine Gets Lifeline From Trump-Led Thaw
 |
| https://www.newsweek.com/russia-war-putin-sanctions-2047151 |
U.S. President Donald Trump's pursuit of a better relationship with Moscow must not include easing sanctions on Russia that impact Vladimir Putin's ability to wage war, a Ukrainian think tank has told Newsweek.
After a phone call with Trump on Tuesday, Russian President Putin agreed to a limited ceasefire in Ukraine but pushed back on plans for an immediate 30-day truce.
Further talks are scheduled between officials from Moscow and Washington on Sunday but whatever negotiations occur, the U.S.-led measures that have complicated Putin's ability to fund and equip its war machine should not cease, according to the Kyiv School of Economics think tank, the KSE Institute.
Analysis by the think tank outlines how despite Putin's record spending, Russia's military industrial complex (MIC) is still beset by labor and component shortages, a collapse in arms exports and difficulties in modernizing.
"This is the exact wrong time to take the foot off the gas," Benjamin Hilgenstock, KSE senior economist and one of the report's coauthors, told Newsweek.
Newsweek has contacted the State Department for comment.
Why It Matters
Russia has proposed closer economic cooperation with America, including a joint effort to exploit rare earth minerals, which is a priority for Trump in the face of China's dominance in the sector.
Reuters reported this month that the White House had asked the Treasury Department to explore easing energy sanctions ahead of the leaders' phone call, which would be a reversal of the policy of former President Joe Biden, whose administration tried to choke off funds for Russian aggression.
But the KSE says that easing up on sanctions that have hurt the MIC could allow a rejuvenation of Putin's war machine, posing an even greater security risk.
What To Know
Precise figures of Russia's defense budget are tricky to pin down but spending on its military has soared to the highest levels since the Cold War.
In 2022, the first year of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it reached $86.4 billion—a 31 percent increase from the previous year. It then ballooned to $109.5 billion in 2023 and hit $112 billion in 2024, according to Ukrainian estimates.
While Russia's military spending is projected to soar this year to $142 billion, or nearly one third (32.5 percent) of government outlays, the KSE has said this war economy only tells part of the story of Russia's ability to arm itself.
The think tank found that Russia's military faces significant challenges, including escalating funding costs, labor shortages, collapsing arms exports and sanctions.
While Russia has made strides in some areas, it struggles with the rapid pace of innovation required to maintain a competitive edge in modern warfare.
Hilgenstock said talks with Russia should take into account that sanctions and pressure on its MIC have worked, and it was the wrong time to ease them without any good reason. This poses a long-term challenge for the West to maintain such pressure.
Russia has faced huge losses of equipment, which it tried to offset with restoring stockpiled equipment, such as tanks, and Moscow has relied on cooperation with North Korea and Iran to overcome shortages in artillery shells, for example.
With direct supplies from Western countries drying up, China has become a lifeline for Russia, thanks to its imports of intermediate components, particularly high-tech electronics and industrial tools—many of which fall under export controls.
Putin is looking for sanctions relief from the U.S., but the KSE report says these measures should not cease because they have deteriorated macroeconomic conditions, caused acute labor shortages and disrupted supply chains for critical inputs.
KSE report co-author Pavlo Shkurenko said that North Korea supplies directly military products in terms of shells for their arterial and the artillery pieces, which show that the Russian military industry alone cannot satisfy its battlefield demands.
China is not directly supplying finished military products, but has given components such as electronics, radio and comms optics, he said.
Russia is also not able to produce large quantities of new advanced main battle tanks and the production of new equipment is limited.
This is why the focus should be not to devise new sanctions but to ensure the enforcement of existing ones and that the threat of secondary sanctions in the Chinese financial system has worked.
He said there was no U.S. self-interest in lifting sanctions on Russian military and that the military enterprises that would benefit from such a move would be ones that produce weapons that could one day pose a risk to the U.S. and Europe.
What People Are Saying
Hilgenstock: "U.S. sanctions and pressure on the Russian MIC have worked, and this is the exact wrong time to take the foot off the gas without any good reason to do so."
Shkurenko: "There is absolutely no self-interest from the US side in lifting sanctions on Russian military."
What Happens Next
The debate on whether the U.S. will ease sanctions on Russia will continue, but in the short term, talks between American and Russian officials are scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia on Sunday in the wake of the Trump-Putin phone call.
Easing sanctions are not touted as being part of the negotiations, which are likely to focus on an energy attack pause and talks of a possible maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea.
Elana, the Squalid Queen – Souls Lore – Wikidot
 |
| http://soulslore.wikidot.com/data:elana-the-squalid-queen |
Elana is a child of dark, one of the abyss spawn, a confounded quintessence of Manus and his Dark Soul. Like her sisters; Nashandra, Nadalia and Alsanna, Elana is a fragment of Manus’ emotions. She represents wrath or anger.
There is no mention of Elana outside of her soul and weapon. This is interesting to note in connection with her moniker “the Squalid Queen”. Squalid describes something that is extremely dirty and unpleasant, most often due to poverty or neglect. A Queen is not likely to live in poverty, but perhaps there is no mention of Elana because while she was the Queen, she was largely ignored by the Sunken King who focused on his Eternal Sanctum and the worship of the Slumbering Dragon. Perhaps she grew bitter due to this neglect, and allowed herself to fade into obscurity, all the while plotting vengeance against her King. How was it that Sir Yorgh managed to reach the Dragon’s Rest when all we find is Elana barring our way? When the entrance to the Eternal Sanctum was so heavily guarded, by those who would sacrifice even their physical form to eternally guard the Dragon? Perhaps there was someone on the inside, plotting vengeance upon the Sunken King.
How Elana came to be the Queen is unclear, but it is likely that in a similar way to the other shards of Manus, she took form and came to the Sunken King. She courted this monarch of considerable power, and desired to make the Sunken King’s power her own (see Chime of Want description). Why the shards of Manus seek power is not known. As they are children of Dark, it is likely that they seek to spread the Dark of the Abyss, and therefore extinguish the Light. Or perhaps, like Manus, they are simply driven by powerful emotions and these emotions are best expressed when wielded with great power.
Elana is amassing souls in anticipation of the coming day of vengeance. She is gathering more and more power so that either she can carry out vengeance (as this seems most likely) or so that she can defend herself against vengeance, in a similar way that Alsanna devotes herself to a ritual to escape the coming apocalypse.
We know that Elana sings to the dragon, the same song as the Sanctum Priestesses. The Priestesses also sing to the Dragon, and it is said that they sing to preserve the Dragon’s deep slumber. Elana rests beside the slumbering dragon, Sinh who resides in the Eternal Sanctum built by the Sunken King. She is said to accompany (as in go somewhere with or escort) Sinh. We are encouraged to view the song they sing as a sort of lullaby, but one wonders if a single phrase of their song ever reached the Dragon’s ears. How was it that Sinh became filled with poison? That he continued to fill with poison? From what we have seen of dragons, they do not naturally fill with poison. It therefore may have been that while the priestesses sang, their song cast a spell upon Sinh, and the spell filled Sinh with poison. The Sanctum Priestess tiara says it prevents effects that block spells. Sinh’s soul description says that when Sinh’s rain of death toppled the city, the dragon’s purity was restored. It is interesting that the Dragon had become impure, almost dirty and squalid. Elana and the priestesses’ association with poison indict them further. Elana’s Wrathful Axe creates a cloud of dark poison when its strong attack is used, while when the Priestesses die, they sometimes create pools of dark poison where they fall, almost as if they are filled with it.
The information we know about Elana raises more questions than it answers. How is she amassing souls? From what we know of her, she simply seems to be standing before a shrine dedicated to Sinh, singing her lullaby. How can this then be construed as soul amassing? The only way that souls appear to come to her is when the Player comes to kill her. Are we fulfilling the role of other would-be monarchs who she has slaughtered before?
Who does she wish to gain vengeance upon? Elana is an augur of wrath (extreme anger) and her axe is described as an armament (a military weapon). It may be that she wishes to avenge her dead husband, whose home was invaded and whose life was taken by unnecessary brutality. Or perhaps she wishes to carry out vengeance on a more grand scale, by making everything one with the Dark and extinguishing the would-be monarchs who seek after the Light. Perhaps she is simply driven by a strong emotion, and this emotion does not necessarily have a particular goal, only that it is enacted upon any it can be. The answer is illusive and illumination of her intentions go with her to the grave.
Sanders is not a Socialist, Neither are You
NOT A SOCIALIST. NOT A SOCIALIST. NOT A SOCIALIST. NOT A SOCIALIST. NOT A SOCIALIST. NOT A SOCIALIST. NOT A SOCIALIST. NOT A SOCIALIST.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)