By 'fastmail masked', you mean an email on the fastmail domain, right? I.e. something123@fastmail.com? So that if there is a problem with your domain, you can still login to your registrar even if they want to say verify your identity by sending a code to your registered email address?
Yes. Fastmail has a feature that allows you to generate masked email addresses, e.g. "funny.hat123@fastmail.com" (also known as temporary email addresses). Emails sent to these addresses still arrive in your inbox, but you can easily block them any time. They are suitable for making accounts at garbage websites, so that you can block their spam any time. In fastmail though those email addresses are permanent (they won't disappear on their own after X minutes or anything like that).
The big difference/problem I think is the social aspect. With AAA at least you can expect large numbers of people enjoying them at the same time, so you can share the experience with others (and even then, good luck finding anyone IRL to relate to if you're 35+). People tend to be social creatures, and are largely driven by what 'everyone else' is doing. It's amazing how peoples' tastes miraculously change depending on what their peer group is at.
But if you discover some gem of a game from 1997? You will unfortunately likely feel quite alone playing it.
I don't really have an answer to this. I somewhat envy the game streamers that have a small community around them, so they can play some old game live and get the experience of enjoying it with others.
In terms of energy, certainly. Generate electricity with non-carbon sources, then use electricity. The main difficulty would be aviation, because current batteries are too heavy, but there you could use biofuels until someone comes up with something better.
You're left with things like concrete that emit CO2 from something other than burning fossil fuels. But none of those things are strictly required. There are alternatives to them with various trade offs. Some that are essentially a drop-in replacement, basically different kinds of cement that don't emit CO2, others that operate differently but get you the same result, like using entirely different building materials. The main reason these aren't already used is cost, but that doesn't mean you can't pay the cost, it just means nobody is going to do it voluntarily. It also doesn't mean that no one could come up with some new alternative with a lower cost going forward -- that sort of thing happens all the time.
Not entirely, but a considerable portion can. However, the modern supply chain has to be fully tracked down first, to uncover exactly where most emissions are coming from, and then focus on understanding how to decarbonise those sectors as much as possible.
Is Monkey Island 2 even possible to beat without a hintbook?
I enjoyed Monkey Island 1 a lot, but with 2 there was a combinatorial explosion of items/locations, and it just seemed too difficult/unfair. I got the impression they wanted you to have to call the hint phoneline.
I am going through the Monkey Island games the last week and I can confirm that in the second game there are several puzzles that I would never have deduced without looking up solutions. It's a sequel that explores what is possible in a way that considerably deviates from the glow of the original.
That said, it executes at times considerably better and you can see the seeds of what would become some of the legendary Lucasarts games to follow.
I am not even sure I can finish it due to some timing sensitive buggy quirks towards the end, It would be rage inducing but it's not, just awww. It's obvious the game is reveling in its own unraveling. In a really special way.
