It’s not as hard as you’d think! 🙂 Mostly because of advances in HPM tech in the last couple years.
https://www.emsopedia.org/entries/high-power-microwave-hpm/
Even 9 years ago, you could build one from an old microwave, that could likely cause a lot of issues near a data center:
Nothing says billionaires are geniuses like building a giant multi billion dollar data center that can easily be taken out with a big enough EMP, and then choose to guard it with $300k robots that also can be taken out with that same EMP.
These people should not be allowed around money. Next they’re gonna hire Superman to guard their Kryptonite factory.
Hey! I think this is a FANTASTIC question, because the answers reveal the diverse ways we all categorize what a “good” game is.
The straightforward simple nature of it like TicTacToe makes it good.
The easy on boarding to new players makes it good.
The simple task and challenge while not deep, is competitive enough to make it good.
Even bad games can become good under the right circumstances or perspectives. Sonic 06 is generally considered to be one of the worst games in the franchise, and an overall bad game. But it’s great to watch others play it because of how bad it is. It’s great to watch speed runs, or the odd glitch hunting videos. Playing it JUST to experience how bad it is can even be enjoyable and “good” to anyone that likes playing bad games.
My point is, what makes a game truly “good” isn’t just a single thing about it that someone might like, but rather, a combination of all those “good” things about it that work together in a way to create a better experience than the sum of its parts. Multiple “good” things all working together to make an experience that is uniquely “good” to that game.
So what’s interesting, is that all the different perspectives in this thread prove fairly well that Flappy Bird was indeed a good game.
However, the one part about it that people haven’t mentioned yet that I appreciated about it most:
Was the fact that the bird had some of the worst physics ever.
Having a linear jump up, but an accelerating decent down that despite its description, felt like juggling a rock in high gravity more than making a bird flap it’s wings.
It was SO UNINTUITIVE, that even with the quick onboarding it felt like playing a carnival game that was rigged for you to lose. And just like those games, there was a trick to getting good at it. And that trick created a learning curve needed to actually get gud at Flappy Bird. One that in combination with its easy and simple concept, quick onbaording, and competitive design (leader boards) made it honestly a great experience at the time that I feel hasn’t quite been captured since.
(With the closest being maybe Baby Steps or Getting Over It, but neither have such a simple design. Rather a simple mechanic pushed to its limit.)
Anyway, thanks for asking this! Imo, Flappy Bird was definitley a good game worth talking about.
Well said! I just appreciate the visual of Fox News covering someone named Mario firing a homemade shoulder mounted missile into the executive floor of Twitter HQ. It’s funnier than ever now that it’s actually plausible.
Bingo. 👍 Well said. I was using the housing market as just another indicator of the exact problem you are talking about. Mostly because it’s much easier to understand in the context of determining Americans total “savings / net worth” which relates closer to the OP.
I appreciate your critical analysis and doubt, but from my perspective I’ve been watching this problem grow for the last 20 years and it’s indeed as abysmal as this article makes it out to be. (If not worse…)
In short, real wages haven’t increased in America in well over 30ish years. Federal minimum wage hasn’t budged in nearly 20.
People have so little money now, the average American is now buying their first house at the age of 40. (The average age was around 28 in the 80’s for comparison) 40 is now the new average age of first time home buyers in America, and I find that a far better metric to analyze in determining Americans current level of savings than what’s contained in this article.
As it goes to show that working for 20 years for the average American is now how long it takes to earn enough for a house. So that’s 20 years every average American is spending at work to save for the biggest “retirement” investment this article doesn’t account for.
Home ownership is literally going to be non-existant for Gen alpha at this current rate it is changing at. As in addition to wages not increasing in decades, costs for all the basics have been increasing in that same time. Insurance rates gave increased nearly 5x in the last 20 years. Rent has more than doubled, as well as the price of all American made cars. All expenses coming from a pool that hasn’t increased in 30 years of flat wages. Which is why it’s taking so long for most Americans to save enough for their first house, let alone retirement.
It’s far worse than what this article is saying imo, because there are far better red flags to analyze than how this article approaches it. I completly agree this article isn’t doing well at supporting their claim, but also encourage a look at alternate data points, as the picture is actually far worse than what this article and most others make it seem. Imo, that’s why this study left out assets like Roth IRAs and Homeownership, because it would have painted an even worse picture, not a better one. At least imo, based on the other facts I’ve provided (but admittedly haven’t sourced, going by recent memory, so feel free to correct me).
Can’t wait for the next Luigi to use one of these on an Epstein CEO. Polymarket, please let me make that bet.
I deeply appreciate the small detailed Cuban flag on the Astronaut suit. Well done.
My dude. You can just look at the current stock market and compare it to the Nifty 50 bubble from the late 70’s to see how fucked everything is about to become.
You don’t need anything you just said. You’re just making excuses to avoiding engaging with the very valid points I made because you incorrectly assume I don’t have a masters in economics likely more recent that yours.
So here’s a bunch of easily comprehensible facts that competely disproves your bullshit entirely:
First-time home buyers now make up just 21% of the market—the lowest share since NAR began tracking.
First time home buyers are at record lows.
The median age of first-time buyers is 40—a record high
Highest average home buying age ever recorded is now, and it’s 40.
Which means, clearly, for the first time ever recorded, Americans need to work into their 40’s to be able to buy their FIRST HOUSE. You likely bought your first house when that average was 20.
the typical age of home sellers this year is 64, the highest ever recorded… those between the ages of 60 and 78, are the largest share of both home buyers and sellers—moving markets more than younger generations often due to their better financial position.
Younger generations do not have boomer money. They don’t because real wages have stayed stagnant for 40 years.
… despite the strong labor market, wage growth has lagged economists’ expectations. In fact, despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today’s real average wage (that is, the wage after accounting for inflation) has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago.
So a 2026 dollar is now worth about the same as a dollar earned in 1989. Wages have not grown, only prices. So Americans can’t afford homes until their 40’s.
This is basic economics. I don’t even need to calculate trends or slopes to understand how this is just cause and effect.
You have no idea what you’re talking about. Please read the above to expand your education rather than hiding behind it as if it’s something incomprehensible.
What was the average age of homebuyers when you were young? Was it over 40 like it is now? No. How many times have you had federal minimum wage increase when you were young? It’s increased 0 times in the last two decades. Likely close to 11 for you. What was the rate of suicide in adults over 20 when you were young? Currently it’s the 3rd highest rate of death in 2026 just under heart disease and cancer.
You have near monthly school shootings, or none at all?
You’re cherry picking. The future we live in now is awful in comparison to what you lived.
It says I like making dogs like you do tricks for lulz. Responses to this comment are reserved for idiots, assholes, and cucks only. But no worries, I checked, and you’re already pre-approved to respond.
Yeah, but your kids don’t which is my point.
Kids invent new words for their current culture. They in no way organically invent words that are friendly to advertisers. You should be disgusted that corporations are now such an invasive species they are affecting the language our youth is inventing. This is poison. It is not at all normal.
Dude. Bro. Radical. Excellent. Tubular. Fleek. Ratchet.
Are not at all the same as:
Sewerslide. Unalive. Junocide.
Oligarchs are forcing kids to learn a new language that downplays the very suffering they are causing worldwide.
You should be furious, not apathetic. Or your kids will never learn the meaning of those words as they aren’t productive to the oligarchy.
Says the dog I accurately predicted would roll in shit, and now are. Just because you can keep barking doesn’t mean it will ever be worth listening to.
I’m not. This is only my second response. Not OP.
I’m just responding again because your asshole nature compels you to be the last to say something.
So go on. Keep choosing to waste time saying something assholish instead of constructive. How long do you think it will take before you realize you’re appealing to your insecurities instead of your brain?
My guess is forever because your an asshole.
I don’t need a crystal ball to read your multiple comments acting like an idiot that doesn’t know what they’re talking about. I can just read them.
Not OP by the way. Just followed this conversation long enough to let you know that no crystal ball is needed to make such a determination of your character when the poor decisions you made leading to each of your statements already exist.
Maybe stop acting like an asshole that thinks people are psychic when they figure out your an asshole? It’s just obvious from your behaviour.
If there is no due process served than these people are not detained. So that’s not a detention camp. It has a different name.
Google, the point is we’re all worried that when Gemini actually places itself into a robot body that the resulting literal Terminator is what AI models think perfection is.
I’ve learned over the last decade that in 2016, it was actually: “fuck your feelings (we prefer ours)”
No sane person is going to spend that massive amount of money just to see what AI thinks their games could look like. The people who buy games want to see what the devs made them look like. Not what an AI thinks the devs made. Absolutley no one wants a middleman between the art and artist. As that’s supposed to be you. We don’t need AI there. That’s dumb as shit, and expensive as shit to boot.