ClassyHatter

Alan Wake's American Nightmare. Just finished the story mode. It’s Steam Deck Verified, so it runs and plays well, and it’s easy to play with a controller because it has a bit of auto-aim/aim correction.

I did enjoy it. Not a must play by any means, but it does add to the lore of the Alan Wake series. If you are a fan of that game series, I recommend playing this. And if you aren’t, you probably should play the other games in the series. 😉

This is a Bluetooth issue, not Linux or Deck specific. When microphone is enabled on a headset, Bluetooth will switch to a different audio codec. That codec supports one output channel (microphone) and one input channel, so it will be mono audio. The sound quality is good enough for audio calls but not for anything else. The only thing you can do is to disable the microphone. Or, you can do what people have done for couple decades now: complain at Bluetooth Special Interest Group until they improve the standard.

This diet is based on Dr. Roy Taylor’s research on Type 2 Diabetes, and its reversal. He and his team noticed that people with T2D have fat in their liver and pancreas. They confirmed this with a new MRI imaging technique that they developed. Regardless of body weight, if you have fatty liver/pancreas you have T2D or at least pre-diabetes. But, if your liver and pancreas are healthy, you can be overweight and not have T2D.

They call it the twin cycle hypothesis. Google it up, but short is this. If fat builds up in your liver, it starts a cycle that among other things causes the liver to send fat in to your pancreas, which starts another cycle in the pancreas, which feeds the liver’s cycle. As the pancreas gets more and more fatty, the insulin producing beta-cells begins to de-activate, which leads to T2D.

They wanted to test whether this hypothesis is true, and if so, is T2D reversible. How to do that? Their T2D test subjects must loose weight. What’s the fastest way to do that? Extreme caloric restriction.

They put their subjects on a diet consisting of 4 doses of meal replacement formula per day (800kcal/day). Their subjects noticed that it’s actually quite easy to stick to that diet after couple days.

The results of their studies is that if people loses enough fat to free their pancreas from fat, their pancreas can heal and return to normal, reversing T2D. But, there is always a but. If T2D has been going for too long (over 6 years in their studies), too many of the beta-cells have died, and full reversal of T2D is not possible.

Note: Extreme caloric restriction is very dangerous if you are on T2D medication. Do your own research and talk to your doctor. I tried to use correct terms so it’s easy to check the things.

Ozempic's maker is just trying to protect Americans from the harmful side effects with the unconscionably high price.

Loose-leaf tea steeped in a gaiwan, which ever tea leaves I happen to have.

I am so oversensitive to caffeine, that I tend to lose my sleep if I drink even a cup of coffee a day. So, if I drink coffee, I prefer decaf. There are some good decaf coffees nowadays.

Fun fact: Black tea is called red tea in China, because of the color.

L-theanine might help with caffeine's side effects. Theanine is a compound found in tea. It's believed to reduce the negative side effects of caffeine, without affecting the positive effects of it.

American Healthcare

Remedy is making Codename Condor which is a co-op multiplayer game set in the Control Universe, namely in the Oldest House.

From Remedy’s business review JANUARY–MARCH 2024:

Codename Condor, a part of the Control franchise, moved to full production meaning it has reached the final development stage before a game is launched. Based on wide internal playtests, we can see that the core loop is engaging, and the game brings a unique Remedy angle to the genre.

From Remedy's business review JANUARY–MARCH 2024

Codename Condor, a part of the Control franchise, moved to full production meaning it has reached the final development stage before a game is launched. Based on wide internal playtests, we can see that the core loop is engaging, and the game brings a unique Remedy angle to the genre.

Control 2 team has focused on finalizing the proof-of-concept stage, in which the game world, game mechanics and visual targets are proven. We expect the project to advance to the production readiness stage during the second quarter of 2024.

Max Payne 1&2 remake continued in the production readiness stage. The game is expected to move into full production during the second quarter of 2024.

Codename Kestrel continued in the concept stage. The team works to refine the game concept.

Or just wait for the reviews, and then the next sale. These Steam sales aren't one-off special offers, they happen a few times every year.

He's the savior of our planet!