What gets to me about Vorbis is that he's sincere. He's not corrupt, he's not a hypocrite; he is a pious follower of the Church of Om who obeys every rule. And yet he is one of the evilest people on the Disc.

I'm only casually familiar, but I get the feeling that there's a common plot where there's a corrupt and decadent religion that is returned to its good roots by a humble believer. The villains are often priests who put up a veneer of piety in public while they secretly hoard wealth and get drunk in violation of their religion's tenets.

Small Gods is not that plot. Brutha isn't fighting the corruption of Om's words, nor is he fighting people who use religion as a means to wealth and power. If anything, he's the one who 'corrupted' Omnianism into a religion of peace and debate.

The church under Vorbis isn't a corruption of Om's words as much as a distillation; at the very start, Om only cared about getting new followers and putting unbelievers to the sword, and now he has countries conquered in his name and heretics put to the knife. And Vorbis doesn't seek wealth or power for himself; he denies himself pleasures of the flesh, and dedicates himself entirely to his religion (or so he thinks).

When Vorbis kills the porpoise, not even Brutha can find a word in the books of the Prophets against that. When Didactylos burns the Library of Ephebe, he says it's in part a way to keep its knowledge out of Vorbis's hands, but Brutha knows that Vorbis would not read a single scroll. And the scene where Om and Brutha are eating the melon in Ephebe hits me every time; Om thinks that Vorbis is feasting, while Brutha says that he only eats stale bread. He adds that he sits and waits for the bread to get stale.

What Brutha had thought was a rock in the sand was a hunched figure, sitting clutching its knees. It looked paralyzed with fear.

He stared.

"Vorbis?" he said.

He looked at Death.

"But Vorbis died a hundred years ago!"

YES. HE HAD TO WALK IT ALL ALONE. ALL ALONE WITH HIMSELF. IF HE DARED.

[...] The black-on-black eyes stared imploringly at Brutha, who reached out automatically, without thinking...and then he hesitated.

HE WAS A MURDERER, said Death. AND A CREATOR OF MURDERERS. A TORTURER. WITHOUT PASSION. CRUEL. CALLOUS. COMPASSIONLESS.

"Yes. I know. He's Vorbis," said Brutha. Vorbis changed people. Sometimes he changed them into dead people. But he always changed them. That was his triumph.

He sighed.

"But I'm me," he said.

Vorbis stood up, uncertainly, and followed Brutha across the desert.

Death watched them walk away.

Terry Pratchett, Small Gods

Reposted to make Granny's eyes slightly less wonky...

Discworld Inktober day 10, Crabby: the avatar of crabbiness herself, Granny Weatherwax

And day 11, Eagle with Vorbis!

My Personal List of Most Horrific Things in Discworld So Far (in no particular order)

-the Rat King from The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. Eight rats with their tails tied together and mind control powers? Horrifying *bristles in disgust*

-the wolf-man hybrid who begs for death in Witches Abroad. So sad and disturbing, I wish he could have been saved

-Vorbis in Small Gods, he is just terrifying everything he does, chilling--especially because there is nothing supernatural about him, there are real people in this world just like him

changing my mind on webm (we'll see about webp) but the filesize difference between two identical video streams in mp4 and webm, plus vp8/9 and vorbis/opus being open codecs (even if vp8/9 was developed by a company google acquired, and vorbis is kinda old now). i hope av1 ends up making it as standard in webm since it's completely open (no google offering it openly but also holding patents on some parts nonsense).

i do wish they'd pick a different file extension (i'm a bikeshedder, alright ? )

i like that you can just upload audio on tumblr, it’s very nice. Listen to the little music I made.

vorbis's mental gymnastics tho

Vorbis is terrifying! I think this book is going to say things about the banality of evil and extremism! Exciting!

Get Geneforge 2 - Infestation: The Enhanced RPG Experience

Geneforge 2 - Infestation open-ended adventure game is playable on Linux via Proton with Windows PC and Mac. Thanks to the skilled team at Spiderweb Software for making this happen. Available on both Steam and GOG. If you're into RPGs and looking for something new to dive into, check this out: Geneforge 2 - Infestation has just landed on PC and Mac, and it's playable on Linux. This isn't just any release; it's a complete overhaul of the cult favorite "Geneforge 2" from 2003.

All of our games run well under WINE emulation. We’ve done it in the past, and I’m afraid they don’t sell.

Although Spiderweb Software doesn't offer native ports, their games are compatible with WINE, which extends to Proton too. It's a bit of a letdown not to have a native build, but at least there's a workaround for Linux players. The team at Spiderweb Software has gone all out here, expanding on the original into Geneforge 2 - Infestation. Along with added storylines, quests, and adventures, not to mention a slick, updated UI. But don't worry, they've kept all the elements that made fans like the original. It's all about striking that balance between the new and the nostalgic, and it looks like they've nailed it.

Geneforge 2 - Infestation Trailer

You get to play as Shapers, incredibly powerful wizards with the ability to create life. The twist? Your creations, once loyal, are now rebelling. Caught in the middle, you're faced with a huge decision: support the Shapers or join forces with the rebels. It's a complex setup that offers a ton of freedom in how you approach the situation. The enthusiasm for the Geneforge 2 - Infestation release is a given. A hugely successful Kickstarter campaign raised over $76,500, thanks to more than 1,500 backers. This support has allowed the developers to pack in even more content. We're talking about over 50 hours of playtime, multiple endings, and loads of replay potential. Whether you're into direct combat or prefer a more strategic, diplomatic approach, there's a playstyle for everyone. And choices matter here; they shape the world and your experience. Geneforge 2 - Infestation isn't just a simple touch-up; it's a full revamp with new areas, quests, characters, and dialogue. The team has reworked everything to bring it up to modern standards without losing the charm of the original. Jeff Vogel, the founder of Spiderweb Software, sums it up well. He's a veteran in the industry, and "Geneforge 2" is one of their biggest successes. According to him, the depth and variety in player choices. Such as being able to go through the entire thing without fighting. While making it stand out even two decades later. So, if you're on the hunt for a solid, old-school open-ended adventure game with a fantastic story and lots of freedom, Geneforge 2 - Infestation is definitely worth checking out. It's available right now Windows PC and Mac, but playable on Linux via Proton on Steam and GOG. Priced at $16.99 USD / £14.23 / 16,57€ with the 15% discount.

all my OCs in their halloween costumes =)

L’audio digitale rappresenta il suono tramite una serie di valori discreti, chiamati campioni, che sono convertiti in una sequenza di numeri binari (0 e 1). Il metodo più utilizzato per rappresentare segnali audio in formato digitale è il  PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) . È un tipo di modulazione utilizzata per convertire segnali analogici, come la musica o la voce, in segnali digitali che possono essere memorizzati, elaborati e trasmessi.  Il processo di conversione implica due fasi principali: la quantizzazione e il campionamento. Nel campionamento, il segnale analogico viene misurato a intervalli regolari di tempo per produrre una sequenza di valori discreti. Durante la quantizzazione, questi valori vengono arrotondati a un insieme limitato di valori possibili, che vengono poi rappresentati come numeri binari. Dopo la rappresentazione in segnale audio digitale PCM il file può essere inviato senza compressione alcuna oppure compresso cercando comunque di mantenere la qualità audio entro valori accettabili [continua...] AAC bitrate cuffie dolby dolby atmos dolby true hd dts-hd dts:x flac mp3 mqa napster ogg vorbis opus pcm picks tidal wma

"You could have helped people," said Brutha. "But all you did was stamp around and roar and try to make people afraid. Like...like a man hitting a donkey with a stick. But people like Vorbis made the stick so good, that's all the donkey ends up believing in."

"That could use some work, as a parable," said Om sourly.

"This is real life I'm talking about!"

"It's not my fault if people misuse the--"

"It is! It has to be! If you muck up people's minds just because you want them to believe in you, what they do is all your fault!"

Terry Pratchett, Small Gods

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Vorbis being Terrifying and Murdering Innocent People in Cold Blood

Nothing graphic, and yet much scarier and more disturbing than most of the gory horror movies I've seen.