Been stuck trying to figure out why #VR code in #UnrealEngine runs fine in the editor but not in a packaged build.  It turns out when packaged, the "Is Head Mounted Display Enabled?" function will not actually detect the headset until half a second or so after the game starts.  Janky way to fix this for now is to delay all VR code by a half second, but my worry is that this will vary depending on the computer we're running on.



Oh and for those who can't get even get the game to run in VR mode at all in the packaged game, you have to check "Start in VR" in the project settings.  This will still start in non-VR if no headset is connected, so it's annoying this isn't just a default option to begin with.

Tried to sign on to my remote workstation this morning only to get some error about "CredSSP encryption oracle mediation." It turns out my laptop installed Windows Updates overnight.  The below updates are what you'll want to uninstall and then restart to be able to use RDP again.  They're basically updates installed on 2018-05-09.
KB4103725
KB4103727
KB4338819 (July 2018)
KB4464218 (Sep 2018)
KB4462919 (Oct 2018)
KB4467702 (Nov 2018)

It looks like the issue is that both server and client need the updates installed to be able to connect (in other words, no backwards/legacy support).  Will be holding off on these updates until Microsoft fixes the compatibility issues, as I'm not inclined to install anything that might accidentally lock me out of my servers.

To permanently disable an update from being reinstalled each time you restart, see:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3183922/how-to-temporarily-prevent-a-windows-update-from-reinstalling-in-windo

Update: Looks like there is a new way to keep the update and disable the CredSSP only:
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/mckittrick/unable-to-rdp-to-virtual-machine-credssp-encryption-oracle-remediation/
1. Run > gpedit.msc
2. Browse to Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / System / Credentials Delegation in the left pane.
3. Change the Encryption Oracle Remediation policy to Enabled, and Protection Level to Vulnerable.
If you don't have gpedit.msc, install: https://www.deviantart.com/drudger/art/Add-GPEDIT-msc-215792914

It seems I can't get a dinner anymore without overhearing talk about blockchain. One point I keep hearing that irks me though is that government wouldn't restrict the crypto industry because of how much money they could make by letting it flourish.  That is just wrong on so many levels.  Whether a law exists or not has nothing to do with making money.  It doesn't matter if everyone got paid or the government gets a cut.  Otherwise by that logic, you might as well say the government should let drug trafficking and black markets flourish because of "how much money they could make."  It's like if a cop let someone go for stealing because the cop got a share.  As long as everyone gets a piece, what's the harm? Unfortunately this kind of thinking seems to be the norm in crypto and really just finance in general, where right or wrong is decided solely by whether money is made.

Marble Machine by Wintergatan (@wintergatan)

If a few hours on a larger planet with higher gravity can be years on Earth, then any advanced alien life is most likely from a smaller planet with much lower gravity than us, where each year for us can be millions for them. #interstellar

Sound is just a concept, a label to a group of molecules moving together in tandem.  There is no "thing" called sound that actually travels.  It's just a domino effect.

After splitting my time evenly between New York, San Francisco, and LA for about three years, a semi-humorous comparison of the three cities.

NYC	SF	LA
Money.	Make the world a “better” place.	I just want to be “happy.”
Honor.	Righteousness.	Entitlement.
Luxury.	Gadgetry.	Comfort.
Live to work.	Work is play.	Work to live.
Materialism and consumerism.	Tech and health.	Feelings and feel good.
Hardened.	Pampered.	Doesn’t want to move.
Does it make money?	How's it improve society?	What's it got to do with me?
Sell and finance things.	Create things.	Stylize things.
Mechanical Turk.	Machine automation.	No automation.
Tech = Man on foot fetched by app.	Tech = Autonomous drone.	Tech = Laundry machine w/o coins.
Backup servers in the same building.	Backup servers across the globe.	Still moving past CDs and VHS tapes.
GPS doesn’t work.	Can’t drive w/o GPS.	Can’t drive with a GPS.
Drives competently without tech.	Tries to follow GPS into a river.	Drives past you 4 times at full speed.
Four seasons.	Fog.	Smog.
City never sleeps.	Even the mall closes by 8pm.	Regular hours.
Can get 3 things done a day.	Can get 10 things done a day.	Takes all day just to get somewhere.
Subway goes everywhere.	Subway literally on one street only.	"Subway."
$1M for an apartment.	$1M for a closet.	$1M for brand new house of wood.
Old but quality buildings.	Tries to look like an old warehouse.	Actually is an old warehouse.
Having elevator operators is normal.	Sewage smell every block is normal.	Paper-thin walls & roof leaks normal.
People everywhere.	Siren noises everywhere.	Motorcycle noises everywhere.
Homeless give speeches.	Homeless scream all day and night.	Homeless rant about politics.
Rats on the subway tracks.	Needles and human feces on ground.	Garbage on every sidewalk.
Musicians jamming on street corner.	Homeless peeing on street corner.	Get shot on street corner.
Celebrate with festivals.	Celebrate by burning down own city.	Celebrate by being stuck in traffic.
Orderliness in desperate times.	Violence in the name of justice.	Punch whoever’s in closest proximity.
Shop away your tears.	Celebrate your failures.	Take pride in your weaknesses.
Spend free time trying to kill time.	Spend free time working or serving.	Spend free time "chilling."
Broadway.	N/A.	Hollywood.
Silicon Alley (Midtown).	Silicon Valley (Entire Bay).	Silicon Beach (Santa Monica).
Wall Street.	Embarcadero / SOMA.	N/A.
Brooklyn.	Oakland.	Los Angeles.
Service oriented no matter what it is.	Doors open wrong way (fire hazard).	15 minutes just to get the menu.
Decent food at all prices.	Expensive food or crap food.	Expensive crap food.
High cultured.	Mono cultured.	Blurgh-whatever cultured.
Rules.	Numbers.	I tried.
Punctual.	10 minutes late.	Hours to days late.
Passive aggressive.	Aggressively passive.	Blatantly shameless.
Conformatively independent.	Independently conformative.	Misery loves company.
Backed by what famous people said.	Backed by correlation = causation.	Backed by gut-feel.
Offended by how you do things.	Offended by your opinions.	Offended by your success.
Trying to politely be impolite.	Trying to save you from yourself.	Trying to justify taking from you.
Because you're uncivilized.	Because you're literally a bad person.	Because you have more than enough.
Think of how others remember you.	Think of your impact on the world.	What’s it matter if you die anyway?
B+ on everything.	Always either A+ or F.	A for effort.
Everything works at least half decent.	Half new, half assed.	At least there's the beach.

Another story I watched play out like a movie in my dream - ironically this one about a character dreaming...

A man lives his life through many lucid dreams.  In them, he is aware he is dreaming and can pick the setting or story he wants to live in.  One thing he can't control though is that the dreams seem to randomly end and reset.  While he keeps his memories from past dreams, no one else in the dream seems to remember.  Over time, he starts noticing a person who is always in the dream.  It starts off with them just passing each other by, walking in the same direction, or other small coincidences, but eventually they end up in the same scenes or situations as well.  She ends up being the only constant between each dream, and they share many adventures together.  However, whenever he tries to talk directly with her and figure out who she is, the dream cuts off.  It doesn't help that she also always forgets everything as well, so every...[More]