It’s not an easy transition. My partner works for DDG and I still don’t use it all the time. To their credit they are working to improve things but it’s a small team (comparatively). Their browser has some good features like app tracking protection just from having it installed and quick throwaway email support but isn’t quite up to Firefox’s standard (yet).
Don’t forgot the Blitzchung Hong Kong scandal - Blizzard has really gone from scandal to scandal the last few years.
I loved discovering all the little quirks of the character skins - I remember the stone golem was immune to fire.
The games industry is shrinking post COVID boom, companies expanded massively to try to capitalise on that and now the money isn’t there anymore. The games industry is always bad for layoffs, with staff being seen as an unnecessary expense post project in many cases. Additionally the tech sector is experiencing a unheard of levels of bad year (something like a 700%+ percent increase in layoffs according to at least one research group) which is contributing.
Also just to add I did more reading and technically they’re using a Lactobacillus which is a bacteria and not a yeast. Which makes more sense as that’s what’s responsible for yeast infections, just to add to the yuck factor.
Just to add technically I’m wrong, they’re using a Lactobacillus not a yeast.
Also not all yeast strains convert sugar into alcohol, the strain in question in this case will only produce lactic acid.
The kind of yeast in question can’t produce alcohol as far as I can tell, only lactic acid. Edit: Lactobacillus not yeast
I told myself I wouldn’t do it but I did the research: turns out there’s one company who claims to brew with “donor” yeast and that’s the company she’s talking about partnering with. As far as I can tell from everything I’ve found reporting on them these claims are unverified so everything below should be taken with a large amount of skepticism.
Their websites are pretty sparse with information (and unsurprisingly creepily neckbeardy) but looking at what’s available and been reported I’ve been able to piece together what I think is happening. They talk around it and try to couch it in scientific jargon, it sounds like they’re using it to produce lactic acid only, so no alcohol, which is then sterilised and filtered to death before being used as an additive.
All in all it seems that the steps they describe between “donor” and beer that would result in no actual yeasts from the “donor” in the beer at any point, or even any yeasts cultivated from the originals - Which would seem to be the ultimate intent, probably for food safety law complaince. And this all assumes that they aren’t just lieing about it.
They can, to an extent, if you had lots time and a staffed lab. Crossbreeding yeast strains is kind of tough as most of the ones used in industrial fermentation (ie the stable, commonly used ones) don’t breed well with others and when they do crossbreed, the resulting new strain is often infertile itself. It’s possible, but difficult, unreliable and the resources required put it well beyond the scope of people who don’t own a brewing company.
Without any additional research beyond my homebrewing experience, it’s possible but very unlikely - almost everything would be against you. Brewing is a pretty fragile process and whilst homebrewing with wild yeast is possible, its a struggle to keep it alive long enough for it to reproduce to sufficient quantities to do it’s thing. And that’s if it can even get the alcohol content high enough and you don’t get any bacterial or mold contamination.
Less competition for their farmers/Shortages mean higher grain prices.
This - wanted to add that it’s generally not a good idea to have radioactive elements not under under lock and key as they have a nasty habit of ending up in scrap yards and the like. Most nuclear accidents are from radiotherapy and x-ray machine sources not getting disposed of correctly and getting picked up by enterprising scrappers due to the high lead content of their housing.
I used to play dnd with an astronaught
I’m similar, except I collect rpg books and I’m 30. I haven’t sat down read a paper book properly in years, I just don’t have the attention span (thanks undiagnosed ADD). But I keep collecting because it brings me joy to do so and I enjoy the thrill of the chase going through second hand bookshops looking for deals.
These sort of hobbies are also great for bringing together like minded people, like you and your friend, so there are additional social benefits to them too if you’re looking for that. This is something Ive come to really come to appreciate more as I’ve aged and fallen out of contact with school friends and it gets harder to meet new people outside of your social circle.
Sorry for the ramble but I guess my main point is to ask yourself whether it brings you joy to continue collecting or not and if it doesn’t maybe to hold off for a few months and check back in with yourself then as you may feel different.
The industry is experiencing historic shrinkage post COVID due to unsustainable growth during COVID.