Author | Lightnews

Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 1h

My preferred exercise is to take a negative thought and turn it into something constructive and actionable. This is how my Facebook profile 10 years ago turned into a never ending stream of posts on why and how we can act to stop or mitigate our (then) current issues with the government.

Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 2h

I guess we used to be too much of a Potato Country. But that might change.

(jeez, listen to me, talking like I know anything about alcohols, where in reality as far as I'm concerned the main ingredient of every drink is the company I'm drinking it in)

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 2h

Exactly, the culture has shifted from bimber (i.e. moonshine) to nalewka (i.e. custom recipes that vary in strength). And you generally drink it for the taste and not to get hammered.

(a friend of a friend makes a nice one, tastes a bit like Baileys, I'd give it about 20%)

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 2h

Some data that's relevant to my earlier entry.

Notes from Poland @notesfrompoland.bsky.social · 2h

Whisky is now Poland’s fastest-growing alcohol export, with overseas sales rising fivefold since 2021.

Meanwhile, the share of vodka among exported spirits has fallen from 80% two decades ago to 38% now.

Whisky now Poland's fastest-growing alcohol export after sales rise fivefold since 2021

notesfrompoland.com

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 2h

Oh absolutely! But I would say this already represents a departure from the stereotype in that vodka has become an ingredient rather than a drink of its own.

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3h

(I've already accounted for my personal preference for not having any alcohol at all and just sticking to tea)

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3h

My own intuition goes like this:
- social evening with friends, in the city - beer
- same, but at home - whatever the friends like best
- date - either wine or something fancy and not too strong

Vodka is a crude liquor for addicts.

But I'm a leftwinger from Warsaw, so a bit of an outlier.

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3h

I don't care much about ethnic stereotypes, because everybody knows they're kind of dumb, but if there's one thing you might want to update about your own stereotype of Poland, it's vodka. It's just not that popular anymore. Poland is very much a beer country now.

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 4h

To be fair, I don't actually recall playing any games set in Warsaw in the last 15 years or so. I do recall playing one set in the Białowieża Forest.

(btw, funny to see old stereotypes clash with new ones; we've gone from "basically Russians, only with Latin script" to "if you hear 'kurwa', run")

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 5h

[man I don't like phones] ...in tech where companies fall apart after 10-15 years typically.

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 5h

Not just a legal academia thing or even an academia thing. Lots of people I know are waiting for "stare dziady" to retire. Less of a problem in tec

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 14h

They weren't lying, "Seance of Blake Manor" really is quite good.

Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3d

Nawet gorzej niż na zawsze, bo do poniedziałku!

Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3d

If even the best of my clients have exactly zero trouble not giving me any paid leave or sick leave due to the freelance loophole, then you should never ever have any second thoughts about starting a trade union to improve your negotiating position.

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3d

Might even feel a little... trainsgressive.

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3d

This song is predated by the 1982 Motörhead song "GOTO Hell"

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Reposted by Jacek Wesołowski

IWGB Game Workers Union @gameworkers.co.uk · 3d

This is the most ruthless act of union busting in the history of the UK games industry. Yesterday, @rockstargames.com unfairly fired over 30 employees for union activity.

We won't back down, and we're not scared - we will fight for every member to be reinstated.

Jason Schreier @jasonschreier.bsky.social · 3d

BREAKING: Yesterday Grand Theft Auto VI maker Rockstar Games fired dozens of people, all of whom were involved in union efforts. A British union calls it "blatant and ruthless" union-busting. Take-Two Interactive says it was due to misconduct.

Here's the scoop: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

‘Grand Theft Auto’ Studio Accused of Union Busting After Firings

Union says 30 and 40 people were terminated. Rockstar Games’ parent company cites ‘gross misconduct’

www.bloomberg.com

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3d

Yeah, sure, dozens of people happen to commit misconduct all at the same time.

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3d

I do enjoy that kind of 3 humour, so I have no 4.

Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3d

It speaks volumes about the game that the last time I played it was like 20 years ago? 23? and yet I know exactly who you're talking about.

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Reposted by Jacek Wesołowski

Rebekah Valentine @duckvalentine.bsky.social · 3d

okay, update: i have had this question answered, and I am now looking to speak to game QA testers ON the record about the weirdest, silliest-sounding things they've had to do to make sure games work. the wackier the better. happy to keep folks anon if they prefer. DMs open, email/Signal in bio

Rebekah Valentine @duckvalentine.bsky.social · 3d

would anyone who works in or adjacent to game testing/QA be willing to answer a couple questions for me? off the record, not to be quoted - just need some background info on automations to know whether a scenario someone described in a talk is common or unusual.

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3d

And by "them" I mean the fucking neoliberals, their buddies conservatives and their secret crush, the fascists.

Oh, and they're going to tell you that you're not polite enough.

Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 3d

Remember kids: they're going to tell you that you're poor because you don't work enough and you spend too much, and then they're going to complain that you're too career-focused to start a family, and that you've killed entire industries because you didn't give them your money.

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 4d

My most painful example from career is Gollum, a game nobody liked, and I'm not saying they were right or wrong, but the team absolutely deserved to have their next project funded instead of getting fired, precisely because of all the experience they had gained along the way.

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Jacek Wesołowski @jzwesolowski.bsky.social · 4d

Not criticising, just making a side note: the industry is full of projects that didn't reach their full potential on their first iteration, usually because of money, risk mitigation, and/or missing experience. Most of them never get the chance to grow.

Elizabeth DeLoria, Pope of Chili-Town @yourdadloves.me · 4d

Like this game is genuinely everything I wanted the first to be. It's 100% built on all the potential that was there and everyone who worked on this should be so proud of their work here. It's filled to the brim with details and little sub-stories and cool things to learn and find.

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