Dominion Strategy Forum

Miscellaneous => General Discussion => Topic started by: KingZog3 on August 18, 2014, 05:14:02 pm

Title: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 18, 2014, 05:14:02 pm
Speaking of signatures, I think Andrew is slowly making his way into all of ours.

That's the plan! I think you should find a real quote of mine though.

KingZog3's quote seems legit to me

It's more of a paraphrase of something he said in a dominion game to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 18, 2014, 05:42:58 pm
#5000 Post!!

Haha, that was post #5001, now you lose all the internets.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Jimmmmm on August 18, 2014, 05:51:50 pm
#5000 Post!!

Haha, that was post #5001, now you lose all the internets.

Looks like #5000 to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 18, 2014, 05:59:36 pm
#5000 Post!!

Haha, that was post #5001, now you lose all the internets.

Looks like #5000 to me.

Now it's #4999.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on August 18, 2014, 06:10:39 pm
I'm equally confused by what's going on over there.  It seems to oscillate between 4999, 5000, and 5001.  To avoid further quantum effects I'm going to split this into a new topic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 18, 2014, 06:15:02 pm
I'm equally confused by what's going on over there.  It seems to oscillate between 4999, 5000, and 5001.  To avoid further quantum effects I'm going to split this into a new topic.

I know.... I presume Jimmmmm knows too...

Wait, it's back to 5000 in the original thread.  I will presume that theory knows. :P


For further confusion:

(https://36.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2cprpxk4e1qeo3wuo1_500.jpg)

I figured it out on a technical level in a way that a preschooler wouldn't be able to.  Had to look up a solution to realize what the intuitive answer is.  Still not sure a preschooler would get it, but it's more plausible now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 18, 2014, 06:17:49 pm
You post-deleting scum!

I'm equally confused by what's going on over there.  It seems to oscillate between 4999, 5000, and 5001.  To avoid further quantum effects I'm going to split this into a new topic.

I know.... I presume Jimmmmm knows too...

Wait, it's back to 5000 in the original thread.  I will presume that theory knows. :P


For further confusion:

(https://36.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2cprpxk4e1qeo3wuo1_500.jpg)

I figured it out on a technical level in a way that a preschooler wouldn't be able to.  Had to look up a solution to realize what the intuitive answer is.  Still not sure a preschooler would get it, but it's more plausible now.

The fact that pre-schoolers can do it in five to ten minutes gives it away instantly. The only thing they know is how to count.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 18, 2014, 06:38:05 pm
I'm equally confused by what's going on over there.  It seems to oscillate between 4999, 5000, and 5001.  To avoid further quantum effects I'm going to split this into a new topic.

I know.... I presume Jimmmmm knows too...

Wait, it's back to 5000 in the original thread.  I will presume that theory knows. :P


For further confusion:

(https://36.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2cprpxk4e1qeo3wuo1_500.jpg)

I figured it out on a technical level in a way that a preschooler wouldn't be able to.  Had to look up a solution to realize what the intuitive answer is.  Still not sure a preschooler would get it, but it's more plausible now.

I got it in about 15 seconds, using the hint that apparently pre-schoolers can solve it. The answer is 2 - you count how many areas inside numbers there are, basically. E.g. an 8 has two areas, while 7 has none
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on August 18, 2014, 06:49:00 pm
Why do we need a new thread?

Also, I don't see how you can need more than a couple of minutes to solve the above by regarding it as an equation system.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 18, 2014, 06:57:47 pm
Why do we need a new thread?

To avoid quantum effects, as theory said.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mail-mi on August 18, 2014, 07:07:59 pm
i was scared there for a second...I thought random stuff had closed!!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 18, 2014, 07:26:50 pm
Maybe those "quantum effects" were also related to the whole "have to scroll up a post to see new posts" thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mail-mi on August 18, 2014, 07:31:16 pm
question: how does one find their most respected post?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 18, 2014, 07:33:43 pm
question: how does one find their most respected post?

You post something that gets upvoted dozens and dozens of times. It then becomes your most respected post. You could try a pic of a sad kitten losing to a KC-masquerade-goons pin.

...Otherwise you need to keep the tally yourself.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 18, 2014, 07:40:41 pm
question: how does one find their most respected post?

It's been asked before.  I know mine (it's the most respected post on the forum), but I don't know about anybody else's.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 18, 2014, 07:53:17 pm
I know mine
Me too, it's the card from Base Dominion that expands Treasures.

EDIT: My most respected post is, as far as I know, this (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=10127.msg400507#msg400507).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on August 18, 2014, 08:02:24 pm
You'd think there'd be an easy way for me to find it, but sadly no :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 18, 2014, 08:15:16 pm
question: how does one find their most respected post?

You post something that gets upvoted dozens and dozens of times. It then becomes your most respected post. You could try a pic of a sad kitten losing to a KC-masquerade-goons pin.

I did it by photoshopping glorious facial hair onto a board game designer's face.

At least I think I did.  I don't remember another post of mine being so well received.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on August 18, 2014, 08:52:52 pm
question: how does one find their most respected post?

You post something that gets upvoted dozens and dozens of times. It then becomes your most respected post. You could try a pic of a sad kitten losing to a KC-masquerade-goons pin.

...Otherwise you need to keep the tally yourself.

Write some fanfiction, that's my suggestion.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 18, 2014, 08:55:06 pm
I think mine was when I stepped into a (serious) thread, didn't read it, made a completely serious reply (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9952.msg323424#msg323424), and managed to get message of the week from it.

Well, it's that or a post I made from an alt account (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9309.msg288743#msg288743). Probably the latter actually.

Edit: It's the latter. Sigh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 18, 2014, 09:15:59 pm
(https://36.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2cprpxk4e1qeo3wuo1_500.jpg)

If you assume each digits maps to a given number, there's enough information to solve it, but that overcomplicates things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on August 18, 2014, 09:19:00 pm
I think my most respected post is one in the Soviet Dominion thread (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=10847.0.). I don't know how to link to a specific post, but if you scroll down about halfway you'll see it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on August 18, 2014, 09:44:50 pm
I think my most respected post is one in the Soviet Dominion thread (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=10847.0.). I don't know how to link to a specific post, but if you scroll down about halfway you'll see it.

just click on the post itself.  So, in this case, you would click on the "Re: In Soviet Dominion... (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=10847.msg365896#msg365896)" that is just above "Reply #12 on: April 09, 2014, 03:34:55 am" and it will give you a url for that specific post.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on August 18, 2014, 09:50:20 pm
The male:female ratio is down from 15.5:1 to 15.3:1 on the forum!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SirPeebles on August 18, 2014, 09:52:27 pm
I think my most respected is my Escher meme (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=1204.msg367645#msg367645).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 18, 2014, 10:39:17 pm
The male:female ratio is down from 15.5:1 to 15.3:1 on the forum!

*Dries sweat from hands on his jeans, clears throat, puts on best charming smile*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on August 18, 2014, 10:48:05 pm
Man we already covered most respected posts just a few weeks ago guys.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 18, 2014, 10:49:24 pm
Man we already covered most respected posts just a few weeks ago guys.

question: how does one find their most respected post?

It's been asked before.  I know mine (it's the most respected post on the forum), but I don't know about anybody else's.

Man we already covered that response just a few hours ago guys.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on August 18, 2014, 10:59:02 pm
question: how does one find their most respected post?

It's been asked before.  I know mine (it's the most respected post on the forum), but I don't know about anybody else's.

What post is this?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 19, 2014, 12:07:43 am
I miss the old Random Stuff thread.  :-[
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on August 19, 2014, 12:47:02 am
I miss the old Random Stuff thread.  :-[
This one feels so...empty.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 19, 2014, 01:22:46 am
I miss the old Random Stuff thread.  :-[
This one feels so...empty.

Those were the days, brah.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 19, 2014, 01:29:22 am
I miss the old Random Stuff thread.  :-[
This one feels so...empty.

Those were the days, brah.

I'll go ahead and create the "Tribute To the Random Stuff Thread" thread. You're welcome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 19, 2014, 08:40:28 am
I miss the old Random Stuff thread.  :-[
This one feels so...empty.

Those were the days, brah.

I'll go ahead and create the "Tribute To the Random Stuff Thread" thread. You're welcome.

Homage to the best thread
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 19, 2014, 08:46:22 am
Man we already covered most respected posts just a few weeks ago guys.
My most respected post had changed since then, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 19, 2014, 09:50:22 am
So, got this email today from work about lost and found:

This month I have recovered the following lost items:

The accenting is from the email, not mine.  Phrasing is fun.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on August 19, 2014, 10:27:20 am
Is the woman black or are the sunglasses?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 19, 2014, 10:30:28 am
Is the woman black or are the sunglasses?

And, why is only "black" italicized and not other colors?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 19, 2014, 10:35:58 am
Apparently I overdrew my checking account. Thank god my bank decided to charge me a $10 overdraft fee. Thanks BOA for kicking me while I'm down.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on August 19, 2014, 10:47:23 am
Sucks to hear that.  Another casualty of debit cards?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 19, 2014, 10:48:25 am
Is the woman black or are the sunglasses?

And, why is only "black" italicized and not other colors?

I'm guessing it's to further set it apart from the surrounding text. The other colors are already eye-catching, but the rest of the text is already black. So they probably italicized it for good measure.

That being said, I don't know why they're coloring the words in the first place.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on August 19, 2014, 10:54:15 am
I would have announced that I have recovered the following lost items:
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 19, 2014, 10:57:59 am
I admit my immediate reaction the email was, "How does she know the glasses belong to a black woman?  Are they somehow different from other sunglas.... oh... I get it".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on August 19, 2014, 11:24:04 am
Brown is a terrible way to describe a wristwatch... Because I would hazard a guess at somewhere around 30% of watches have a brown strap.  However, a brown face is much less common.  Also, it's easy enough to find the brand of the watch, seeing as it's usually on the face...

Also, I need an excuse to post in this thread so I can be notified of the new random stuff going on
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on August 19, 2014, 11:37:49 am
Maybe I should start posting daily lost & found from work. It's amazing how many people lose things like wallets, keys, clothing...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SirPeebles on August 19, 2014, 11:38:36 am
Brown is a terrible way to describe a wristwatch... Because I would hazard a guess at somewhere around 30% of watches have a brown strap.  However, a brown face is much less common.  Also, it's easy enough to find the brand of the watch, seeing as it's usually on the face...

Also, I need an excuse to post in this thread so I can be notified of the new random stuff going on

Generally with a "lost and found" email you don't describe all of the identifying properties.  You announce that you have found a brown wristwatch, and then when someone claims that the watch is theirs, you ask them for the brand name or other identifying information in order to confirm that it is really their watch and that someone isn't just claiming a free watch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on August 19, 2014, 11:44:18 am
Brown is a terrible way to describe a wristwatch... Because I would hazard a guess at somewhere around 30% of watches have a brown strap.  However, a brown face is much less common.  Also, it's easy enough to find the brand of the watch, seeing as it's usually on the face...

Also, I need an excuse to post in this thread so I can be notified of the new random stuff going on

Generally with a "lost and found" email you don't describe all of the identifying properties.  You announce that you have found a brown wristwatch, and then when someone claims that the watch is theirs, you ask them for the brand name or other identifying information in order to confirm that it is really their watch and that someone isn't just claiming a free watch.
Yeah... but then it's basically wishing well :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 19, 2014, 11:46:28 am
Apparently I overdrew my checking account. Thank god my bank decided to charge me a $10 overdraft fee. Thanks BOA for kicking me while I'm down.

At least it doesn't sound like the spiral of overdraft fees that could easily be avoided by an ethical bank (ha!).

I had a scenario where I goofed on a money transfer. Then on the same day, the bank decided to clear my rent payment (the largest) and then my other bills. If it had just cleared the smaller amounts first, then I would have overdrafted only once when the rent bill cleared. But no, they cleared the rent first which triggered an overdraft and then cleared the others which each individually triggered overdraft fees. I was so livid.

And that's why I don't do business with Commerce bank anymore. Also, they charged me for account inactivity in my savings. Apparently they had to punish me for not causing more work on their end withdrawing money.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 19, 2014, 11:48:25 am
Apparently I overdrew my checking account. Thank god my bank decided to charge me a $10 overdraft fee. Thanks BOA for kicking me while I'm down.

At least it doesn't sound like the spiral of overdraft fees that could easily be avoided by an ethical bank (ha!).

I had a scenario where I goofed on a money transfer. Then on the same day, the bank decided to clear my rent payment (the largest) and then my other bills. If it had just cleared the smaller amounts first, then I would have overdrafted only once when the rent bill cleared. But no, they cleared the rent first which triggered an overdraft and then cleared the others which each individually triggered overdraft fees. I was so livid.

And that's why I don't do business with Commerce bank anymore. Also, they charged me for account inactivity in my savings. Apparently they had to punish me for not causing more work on their end withdrawing money.

Sorry sir, we need to charge you for giving us your money.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 19, 2014, 12:44:44 pm
Have you guys seen that Louis C.K. bit? Here I'll find it real quick:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gE_oV80L1s
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 19, 2014, 01:43:42 pm
Brown is a terrible way to describe a wristwatch... Because I would hazard a guess at somewhere around 30% of watches have a brown strap.  However, a brown face is much less common.  Also, it's easy enough to find the brand of the watch, seeing as it's usually on the face...

Also, I need an excuse to post in this thread so I can be notified of the new random stuff going on

Generally with a "lost and found" email you don't describe all of the identifying properties.  You announce that you have found a brown wristwatch, and then when someone claims that the watch is theirs, you ask them for the brand name or other identifying information in order to confirm that it is really their watch and that someone isn't just claiming a free watch.

But not just anyone can claim the watch.  Only a brown man.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 19, 2014, 02:05:36 pm
Brown is a terrible way to describe a wristwatch... Because I would hazard a guess at somewhere around 30% of watches have a brown strap.  However, a brown face is much less common.  Also, it's easy enough to find the brand of the watch, seeing as it's usually on the face...

Also, I need an excuse to post in this thread so I can be notified of the new random stuff going on

Generally with a "lost and found" email you don't describe all of the identifying properties.  You announce that you have found a brown wristwatch, and then when someone claims that the watch is theirs, you ask them for the brand name or other identifying information in order to confirm that it is really their watch and that someone isn't just claiming a free watch.

But not just anyone can claim the watch.  Only a brown man.

Unless you have a blue dog with you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 19, 2014, 02:35:50 pm
question: how does one find their most respected post?

It's been asked before.  I know mine (it's the most respected post on the forum), but I don't know about anybody else's.

What post is this?

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg285310#msg285310
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on August 19, 2014, 03:01:07 pm
Quote
Technically, you didn't specify positive or negative ...

did we use to have downvotes on posts?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 19, 2014, 03:07:35 pm
Quote
Technically, you didn't specify positive or negative ...

did we use to have downvotes on posts?

No, but he has the power.  He's done it before.

EDIT: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5644.msg143012#msg143012
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 19, 2014, 03:19:43 pm
I think, instead, Theory should remove all the upvotes from all your other posts and put them only on that one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on August 19, 2014, 03:25:19 pm
Wait, so you only *actually* have 500 respect or so?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 19, 2014, 04:11:02 pm
Wait, so you only *actually* have 500 respect or so?
No, that's only displayed on the post, and doesn't affect the actual respect count. Theory's post with negative respect was a clever plan to get people to upvote it in an attempt to bring it over 0.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 19, 2014, 04:27:01 pm
I think, instead, Theory should remove all the upvotes from all your other posts and put them only on that one.

But then it wouldn't be hundreds, it would be thousands.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 19, 2014, 04:31:20 pm
I think, instead, Theory should remove all the upvotes from all your other posts and put them only on that one.

But then it wouldn't be hundreds, it would be thousands.

It would be 14 hundreds.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on August 19, 2014, 06:19:10 pm
Tens of thousands.

(http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/avl/pics/lotr/ttt/army.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 19, 2014, 06:31:39 pm
I remember that post by sudgy. I think I actually reported it and made the joke theory then made (but it was a long time ago, so I might be misremembering).

Oh well. It's not like I care about imaginary internet points. Now everyone give me the imaginary internet points I deserve for the jokes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 20, 2014, 10:53:35 am
The kid upstairs has been running laps for about an hour now. When is nap time?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 20, 2014, 11:10:50 am

(https://36.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2cprpxk4e1qeo3wuo1_500.jpg)


No cheating I figured this out in 5 minutes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 20, 2014, 11:11:40 am
The answer is of course, 2. But you have to know why that is the answer so telling you the answer doesn't really answer why.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 20, 2014, 01:28:06 pm

Ridiculously simple puzzle.jpg


No cheating I figured this out in 5 minutes.

I'm shocked this took any normal adult more than about a minute.

That being said, I tried it on two pre-schoolers and all I got was whining about "I don't know how, I don't know what this means!" so take the first line of the puzzle with a grain of salt.  Apparently I need to give my daughters more puzzles.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 20, 2014, 01:48:12 pm
It doesn't seem obvious to me in the slightest.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 20, 2014, 02:05:55 pm
The preschool line is just the normal bullshit to challenge people's egos so that they will a) comment on it to look smart and give the post more visibility and b) share it to feel superior to their friends and give the post more visibility.

And I'm getting pretty sick of those "challenges" to people. This one is actually a legitimate puzzle; not a hard one, but it's a puzzle. It's tons better than "99% of Americans can't give a male name that begins with O within 2 minutes," or "Most people cannot find the 9 in this field of 8s within 15 seconds." They're both bullshit, but the average person (I really, really hope I am overexaggerating the term "average") feels like he just accomplished a task of smarts and then wants to show it off.

So while the puzzle is actually a good one, I doubt the preschool claim holds any water. It's just some group trying to get views.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 20, 2014, 02:36:21 pm
The pre-school line is a hint, people. It's a hint, not a scientific fact. I believe the puzzle would be orders of magnitude harder without the hint. I don't think it has anything at all to do with egos.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 20, 2014, 02:40:20 pm
I really don't understand that "hint".  What are preschooler's not able to do that nonpreschooler's can?  Lots of stuff, I guess.  That doesn't really tell me much.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 20, 2014, 02:43:10 pm
I really don't understand that "hint".  What are preschooler's not able to do that nonpreschooler's can?  Lots of stuff, I guess.  That doesn't really tell me much.

It means the problem is not of a mathematical nature, that is, there is no function to be discovered. Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions. Thus the implication is that you are counting something. Half of the puzzle is parsing the hint.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 20, 2014, 02:44:18 pm
Also, spare me the explanation that counting is addition by 1 recursive. By addition I mean the summing of whole numbers greater than 1.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 20, 2014, 02:55:41 pm
I really don't understand that "hint".  What are preschooler's not able to do that nonpreschooler's can?  Lots of stuff, I guess.  That doesn't really tell me much.

It means the problem is not of a mathematical nature, that is, there is no function to be discovered. Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions. Thus the implication is that you are counting something. Half of the puzzle is parsing the hint.

Count the number of loops?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 20, 2014, 02:57:56 pm

There is a function:

g(0) = 1
g(1) = 0
g(2) = 0
g(3) = 0
g(4) = 1*
g(5) = 0
g(6) = 1
g(7) = 0
g(8 ) = 2
g(9) = 1

f(d_n 10^n) = g(d_0) + g(d_1) + ... + g(d_n).

*or 0

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 20, 2014, 02:59:21 pm
I really don't understand that "hint".  What are preschooler's not able to do that nonpreschooler's can?  Lots of stuff, I guess.  That doesn't really tell me much.

It means the problem is not of a mathematical nature, that is, there is no function to be discovered. Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions. Thus the implication is that you are counting something. Half of the puzzle is parsing the hint.

Count the number of loops?

Kids call them circles
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 20, 2014, 03:00:20 pm
I really don't understand that "hint".  What are preschooler's not able to do that nonpreschooler's can?  Lots of stuff, I guess.  That doesn't really tell me much.

It means the problem is not of a mathematical nature, that is, there is no function to be discovered. Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions. Thus the implication is that you are counting something. Half of the puzzle is parsing the hint.

Count the number of loops?

Kids call them circles

Then the puzzle would depend on the font!  And be impossible to practically answer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 20, 2014, 03:02:17 pm
I thought I could escape the ice bucket challenge by going outside and playing basketball. I was wrong. Soon after I got there some dudes came and poured ice water on themselves. God make it stop.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 20, 2014, 03:03:19 pm
I thought I could escape the ice bucket challenge by going outside and playing basketball. I was wrong. Soon after I got there some dudes came and poured ice water on themselves. God make it stop.

I have no idea what you're talking about, but it sounds like these "dudes" are into some really strange things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 20, 2014, 03:03:42 pm
I thought I could escape the ice bucket challenge by going outside and playing basketball. I was wrong. Soon after I got there some dudes came and poured ice water on themselves. God make it stop.

Man, they all just coached the team to the championships.  That's how it's done.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 20, 2014, 03:05:03 pm
I really don't understand that "hint".  What are preschooler's not able to do that nonpreschooler's can?  Lots of stuff, I guess.  That doesn't really tell me much.

It means the problem is not of a mathematical nature, that is, there is no function to be discovered. Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions. Thus the implication is that you are counting something. Half of the puzzle is parsing the hint.

Count the number of loops?

Kids call them circles

Then the puzzle would depend on the font!  And be impossible to practically answer.

Which, ostensibly, is why the puzzle comes in the form of a static image.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 20, 2014, 03:06:46 pm
I really don't understand that "hint".  What are preschooler's not able to do that nonpreschooler's can?  Lots of stuff, I guess.  That doesn't really tell me much.

It means the problem is not of a mathematical nature, that is, there is no function to be discovered. Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions. Thus the implication is that you are counting something. Half of the puzzle is parsing the hint.

Count the number of loops?

Kids call them circles

Then the puzzle would depend on the font!  And be impossible to practically answer.

Which, ostensibly, is why the puzzle comes in the form of a static image.

Prove that they're circles.

(Edit: I mean, clearly they aren't.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 20, 2014, 03:07:51 pm
I really don't understand that "hint".  What are preschooler's not able to do that nonpreschooler's can?  Lots of stuff, I guess.  That doesn't really tell me much.

It means the problem is not of a mathematical nature, that is, there is no function to be discovered. Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions. Thus the implication is that you are counting something. Half of the puzzle is parsing the hint.

Count the number of loops?

Kids call them circles

Then the puzzle would depend on the font!  And be impossible to practically answer.

Which, ostensibly, is why the puzzle comes in the form of a static image.

Prove that they're circles.

(Edit: I mean, clearly they aren't.)


Hey this is fun!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 20, 2014, 03:11:02 pm
I really don't understand that "hint".  What are preschooler's not able to do that nonpreschooler's can?  Lots of stuff, I guess.  That doesn't really tell me much.

It means the problem is not of a mathematical nature, that is, there is no function to be discovered. Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions. Thus the implication is that you are counting something. Half of the puzzle is parsing the hint.

Count the number of loops?

Kids call them circles

Then the puzzle would depend on the font!  And be impossible to practically answer.

Which, ostensibly, is why the puzzle comes in the form of a static image.

Prove that they're circles.

(Edit: I mean, clearly they aren't.)


Like I said, Kids call them circles
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 20, 2014, 03:14:47 pm
Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions.
Depends on the preschooler. I remember adding and subtracting fractions at the age of four.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on August 20, 2014, 03:16:34 pm
Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions.
Depends on the preschooler. I remember adding and subtracting fractions at the age of four.

Well, sure, but by that standard you can never make any generalized statement on anything. A preschooler is not expected to be able to add and substract.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 20, 2014, 03:18:34 pm
Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions.
Depends on the preschooler. I remember adding and subtracting fractions at the age of four.

Early fraction arithmetic leads to anarchy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 20, 2014, 03:39:26 pm
Parsing the hint is half the work and the point is made if you struggle to simplify the problem sufficiently by interpolating your personal experiences as a pre-schooler. The problem is primarily one of inference as to the nature of the solution. The explicit obstacle lies in being overly literal. Thus, it is intended to be exceptionally hard for the mathematically minded. this is proven by the fact that once the solution is aired there remains debate as to whether the problem was correctly framed or not. In short, you still haven't solved the puzzle even though you have the answer and the function of solution.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 20, 2014, 03:43:21 pm
Actually g(4) is ambiguous.  Maybe it should be 1 instead of 0.  Though in my handwriting it would be 0.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on August 20, 2014, 03:45:55 pm
Actually g(4) is ambiguous.  Maybe it should be 1 instead of 0.  Though in my handwriting it would be 0.
conveniently, the puzzle has no 4s in it. Except for in the answers...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 20, 2014, 03:48:05 pm
Actually g(4) is ambiguous.  Maybe it should be 1 instead of 0.  Though in my handwriting it would be 0.
conveniently, the puzzle has no 4s in it. Except for in the answers...

Yeah, I went back and checked.  Plus, it causes problems with the loop/circle thing. 

But I mean, it would be weird if you couldn't plug any number into the question slot.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 20, 2014, 04:05:07 pm
Today, my 2-year-old nephew learned what purpose does a flyswatter have and it made him cry. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 20, 2014, 04:06:29 pm
I thought I could escape the ice bucket challenge by going outside and playing basketball. I was wrong. Soon after I got there some dudes came and poured ice water on themselves. God make it stop.

Oh wow do not get me started.  I could rant so much about that from so many different directions...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on August 20, 2014, 04:11:05 pm
I thought I could escape the ice bucket challenge by going outside and playing basketball. I was wrong. Soon after I got there some dudes came and poured ice water on themselves. God make it stop.

Oh wow do not get me started.  I could rant so much about that from so many different directions...

I've tangentially heard about this... celebrities are pouring ice water on themselves for some reason ? What ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 20, 2014, 04:14:16 pm
I thought I could escape the ice bucket challenge by going outside and playing basketball. I was wrong. Soon after I got there some dudes came and poured ice water on themselves. God make it stop.

Oh wow do not get me started.  I could rant so much about that from so many different directions...

I've tangentially heard about this... celebrities are pouring ice water on themselves for some reason ? What ?

I don't know how it started exactly, but the cause is awareness and donations to research for ALS (aka amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig's disease, and what Stephen Hawking suffers from).  The idea is, you donate less if you dump the ice on yourself, then you challenge other people to dump ice or have to donate more.

It's moronic... and yet it has indeed raised millions for ALS research.  Which is great news for ALS sufferers (if they live long enough to see treatment, which they likely won't), but not so great news for... other charities.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 20, 2014, 04:19:36 pm
I really don't understand that "hint".  What are preschooler's not able to do that nonpreschooler's can?  Lots of stuff, I guess.  That doesn't really tell me much.

It means the problem is not of a mathematical nature, that is, there is no function to be discovered. Pre-schoolers can count, they cannot add, subtract or any other higher mathematical functions. Thus the implication is that you are counting something. Half of the puzzle is parsing the hint.

Count the number of loops?

Kids call them circles

Then the puzzle would depend on the font!  And be impossible to practically answer.

Which, ostensibly, is why the puzzle comes in the form of a static image.

Prove that they're circles.

(Edit: I mean, clearly they aren't.)


Like I said, Kids call them circles

And this is why I never let kids perform open-heart surgery on me. They're too dumb for this puzzle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on August 20, 2014, 04:23:21 pm
By the way : isn't the answer to the whole circle/loop conundrum to call them holes ? That's how I'd say it anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 20, 2014, 04:23:36 pm
It's moronic... and yet it has indeed raised millions for ALS research.  Which is great news for ALS sufferers (if they live long enough to see treatment, which they likely won't), but not so great news for... other charities.

I view the ice-water gimmick as a good thing because it raises awareness. Well, really, it reminds people, because I think everyone knows of ALS, but sometimes it helps to remind people that it's still out there and could use more research. So these stupid stunts bring the disease to the foreground and raise money. Good on that!

Having said that, the stunt is really dumb because you're challenging someone to donate $100 (or whatever) or else pour ice water over your head. So when someone videos himself pouring water over his head, he is making a tacit admission that he would rather dump water on himself than donate $100 to ALS research. This is probably not true. I bet most of the people in the videos did donate something, though maybe not $100. But the statement is still there, so it's pretty dumb. The challenge really should be something like donating $100 and then proving it by videoing yourself with ice water on your head. Not that it proves much but again, awareness.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 20, 2014, 04:38:33 pm
It's moronic... and yet it has indeed raised millions for ALS research.  Which is great news for ALS sufferers (if they live long enough to see treatment, which they likely won't), but not so great news for... other charities.

I view the ice-water gimmick as a good thing because it raises awareness. Well, really, it reminds people, because I think everyone knows of ALS, but sometimes it helps to remind people that it's still out there and could use more research. So these stupid stunts bring the disease to the foreground and raise money. Good on that!

Having said that, the stunt is really dumb because you're challenging someone to donate $100 (or whatever) or else pour ice water over your head. So when someone videos himself pouring water over his head, he is making a tacit admission that he would rather dump water on himself than donate $100 to ALS research. This is probably not true. I bet most of the people in the videos did donate something, though maybe not $100. But the statement is still there, so it's pretty dumb. The challenge really should be something like donating $100 and then proving it by videoing yourself with ice water on your head. Not that it proves much but again, awareness.

A friend whose research is in water treatment and desalinization posted something to FB earlier today, pointing out that one of the major causes of death in the world is lack of access to fresh water.  And here we are dumping someone's daily supply of water over our heads as part of a bet to escape giving as much to charity.

As someone with little to donate to charity in any given year, I can think of a lot better causes than ALS research.  Consider that about 30000 people in the US suffer from ALS.  That's about the same as the number of people just in my home city (about 10% of the population) who rely on food banks for part of their sustenance.  A $10 donation to my local food bank is going to impact more lives today than a $100 donation to ALS research... for which a useful treatment is years or decades away.

I don't know, maybe I'm more "aware" than other people, but I wasn't ignorant of ALS prior to this.  I don't see awareness of a specific disease as a great goal.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 20, 2014, 04:40:19 pm
From the Canadian Press:

Quote
British Columbia's highest court is green-lighting medical marijuana in everything from oils and cookies to teas...

I have no idea whether the puns were intentional or not, but I find them hilarious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 20, 2014, 05:04:24 pm
I never even knew what the whole ice-water thing was, it was just one of those chain things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on August 20, 2014, 05:36:34 pm
From the Canadian Press:

Quote
British Columbia's highest court is green-lighting medical marijuana in everything from oils and cookies to teas...

I have no idea whether the puns were intentional or not, but I find them hilarious.

Puns ? Plural ? I get "green-lighting" but that's the only one I see.

Oh, "highest" I guess. That's a stretch, but ok.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on August 20, 2014, 07:15:49 pm
As someone with little to donate to charity in any given year, I can think of a lot better causes than ALS research.  Consider that about 30000 people in the US suffer from ALS.  That's about the same as the number of people just in my home city (about 10% of the population) who rely on food banks for part of their sustenance.  A $10 donation to my local food bank is going to impact more lives today than a $100 donation to ALS research... for which a useful treatment is years or decades away.

The problem with this line of thinking (and this is something I've struggled with before myself and I'm just sharing my current, malleable conclusion) is that for any donation $A to charity B, you can argue that a donation of $A to C would have done more good. What I'm saying is, at some point, you have to just go "Hey, $A was given to charity! That's great!" as long as the charity isn't obviously fraudulent or something.

I'm assuming, from the viral nature of the challenge at this point, that it's likely creating new charity dollars, not re-directing existing ones. Maybe it is, I don't know! That would be the interesting thing to me to know.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 20, 2014, 07:31:45 pm
I'm assuming, from the viral nature of the challenge at this point, that it's likely creating new charity dollars, not re-directing existing ones.
It's probably both.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 20, 2014, 08:18:26 pm
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/e8a4337d1f8f8a052a7a35f3f8ec4bdc/tumblr_nalwrwtmL01sszxiso1_500.jpg)

We haven't talked about metric vs. imperial enough.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on August 20, 2014, 08:20:27 pm
I tend to cater to my audience.  Although metric is so much cleaner
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 20, 2014, 08:24:27 pm
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/e8a4337d1f8f8a052a7a35f3f8ec4bdc/tumblr_nalwrwtmL01sszxiso1_500.jpg)

We haven't talked about metric vs. imperial enough.

What's this from?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on August 20, 2014, 08:26:20 pm
A lot of the celebrities probably already have their own personal causes, so they may not want to get involved in donating to a new one, but the challenge does raise awareness. Of course you also have a few people like Charlie Sheen who decide to go for the more direct option.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 20, 2014, 08:34:13 pm

What's this from?

I actually don't know.  I saw it on tumblr...

Hmm, looks like it may have originated from reddit.  Says the OP (http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/2e2do9/the_metric_system_vs_imperial/cjveisn):

Quote
"Wild Thing" by Josh Bazell. Sequel to "Beat the Reaper," not that there's any overlap plot-wise, just the same main character and occasional reference.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SirPeebles on August 20, 2014, 09:38:44 pm
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/e8a4337d1f8f8a052a7a35f3f8ec4bdc/tumblr_nalwrwtmL01sszxiso1_500.jpg)

We haven't talked about metric vs. imperial enough.

This is silly.  Those are just the definitions (at least historically) of those SI units.  Obviously the units will look easy to use when applied to their own definition.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 20, 2014, 10:13:40 pm
So there's been an apparent leak on the character roster and stages in the new Super Smash Bros. game(s). What makes it fun though is that the leak seems to be either legit or very well crafted - and that's led to a huge amount of argument and general flame wars. GameFAQs SSBU board is absolutely hilarious right about now, with rage flying all over the place. It's fun just to go over and read all the threads proving the leak is legit, and proving the leak is a fake, and watching the mix of passive aggressive comments people are throwing around about people who feel differently to themselves about it.

(I personally am still unconvinced by the leak either way, and will probably remain that way until there is definitive evidence, since that's reasonably likely to occur within the next week or so anyway).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on August 20, 2014, 10:29:25 pm
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/e8a4337d1f8f8a052a7a35f3f8ec4bdc/tumblr_nalwrwtmL01sszxiso1_500.jpg)

We haven't talked about metric vs. imperial enough.

This is silly.  Those are just the definitions (at least historically) of those SI units.  Obviously the units will look easy to use when applied to their own definition.

Also not accurate (at least the hydrogen part). If we say the hydrogen is a representative distribution of naturally occurring isotopes it's 1.00794 g/mol and if we're just talking about 1H then it's 1.00783 g/mol. So it's close, but definitely not exact; we're off by about 5*1021 atoms. The standard definition of the mole is based on the mass of 12C.

I do agree that SI and metric are mostly way better than the imperial system.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 20, 2014, 10:30:03 pm
So there's been an apparent leak on the character roster and stages in the new Super Smash Bros. game(s). What makes it fun though is that the leak seems to be either legit or very well crafted - and that's led to a huge amount of argument and general flame wars. GameFAQs SSBU board is absolutely hilarious right about now, with rage flying all over the place. It's fun just to go over and read all the threads proving the leak is legit, and proving the leak is a fake, and watching the mix of passive aggressive comments people are throwing around about people who feel differently to themselves about it.

(I personally am still unconvinced by the leak either way, and will probably remain that way until there is definitive evidence, since that's reasonably likely to occur within the next week or so anyway).

Care to summarize the arguments either way?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mail-mi on August 20, 2014, 10:53:02 pm
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/e8a4337d1f8f8a052a7a35f3f8ec4bdc/tumblr_nalwrwtmL01sszxiso1_500.jpg)

We haven't talked about metric vs. imperial enough.

This is silly.  Those are just the definitions (at least historically) of those SI units.  Obviously the units will look easy to use when applied to their own definition.

Also not accurate (at least the hydrogen part). If we say the hydrogen is a representative distribution of naturally occurring isotopes it's 1.00794 g/mol and if we're just talking about 1H then it's 1.00783 g/mol. So it's close, but definitely not exact; we're off by about 5*1021 atoms. The standard definition of the mole is based on the mass of 12C.

I do agree that SI and metric are mostly way better than the imperial system.
I like pounds, but metric is better in every other way.

though it's way better to go 65 mph than 65 kmph
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 20, 2014, 10:53:31 pm
So there's been an apparent leak on the character roster and stages in the new Super Smash Bros. game(s). What makes it fun though is that the leak seems to be either legit or very well crafted - and that's led to a huge amount of argument and general flame wars. GameFAQs SSBU board is absolutely hilarious right about now, with rage flying all over the place. It's fun just to go over and read all the threads proving the leak is legit, and proving the leak is a fake, and watching the mix of passive aggressive comments people are throwing around about people who feel differently to themselves about it.

(I personally am still unconvinced by the leak either way, and will probably remain that way until there is definitive evidence, since that's reasonably likely to occur within the next week or so anyway).

Care to summarize the arguments either way?

I've seen most discussion from the SmashBros subreddit, but didn't bother looking for too many details. So, I'm for sure missing some arguments.

+ The lines on the character select screen don't line up perfectly
- The image is tilted and slightly blurry, this doesn't matter, plus they don't line up perfectly in previous games either.
+ The background for Fox on character select is blue, but in the E3 build it was green.
- His background was changed to the same shade of blue in the 3DS box art, which is official
+ Characters from the same franchise aren't next to each other.
- They weren't necessarily next to each other in previous games either.
- Error level analysis doesn't detect anything (a decent test of whether an image is Photoshopped.)
+ If they faked it, then took a picture of the screen it was displayed on, it wouldn't detect anything either.
+ What the hell, the Duck Hunt Dog is a playable character? That's so ridiculous!
- It's too crazy to be a fake!

and then lots of insanely specific details that I stopped reading before I went insane.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 21, 2014, 08:02:09 am
though it's way better to go 65 mph than 65 kmph

But you must paint flames on your car. And not metric flames either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on August 21, 2014, 08:23:26 am
though it's way better to go 65 mph than 65 kmph

But you must paint flames on your car. And not metric flames either.

I just have angry birds on my dash.  I hope that is all right.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 21, 2014, 10:33:11 am
So there's been an apparent leak on the character roster and stages in the new Super Smash Bros. game(s). What makes it fun though is that the leak seems to be either legit or very well crafted - and that's led to a huge amount of argument and general flame wars. GameFAQs SSBU board is absolutely hilarious right about now, with rage flying all over the place. It's fun just to go over and read all the threads proving the leak is legit, and proving the leak is a fake, and watching the mix of passive aggressive comments people are throwing around about people who feel differently to themselves about it.

(I personally am still unconvinced by the leak either way, and will probably remain that way until there is definitive evidence, since that's reasonably likely to occur within the next week or so anyway).

Care to summarize the arguments either way?

I've seen most discussion from the SmashBros subreddit, but didn't bother looking for too many details. So, I'm for sure missing some arguments.

+ The lines on the character select screen don't line up perfectly
- The image is tilted and slightly blurry, this doesn't matter, plus they don't line up perfectly in previous games either.
+ The background for Fox on character select is blue, but in the E3 build it was green.
- His background was changed to the same shade of blue in the 3DS box art, which is official
+ Characters from the same franchise aren't next to each other.
- They weren't necessarily next to each other in previous games either.
- Error level analysis doesn't detect anything (a decent test of whether an image is Photoshopped.)
+ If they faked it, then took a picture of the screen it was displayed on, it wouldn't detect anything either.
+ What the hell, the Duck Hunt Dog is a playable character? That's so ridiculous!
- It's too crazy to be a fake!

and then lots of insanely specific details that I stopped reading before I went insane.

Yeah, that sounds like a good summary of the main things. Probably the biggest point against you're missing is that one of the images against shows the top and bottom screen of the 3DS version - but part of an image in the top screen seems to slightly overlap one on the bottom screen. There are however explanations for why this might appear to have happened, but it is a bit weird.

For your viewing pleasure:

http://i.imgur.com/9jIpHvK.jpg (note: some vulgar language)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 21, 2014, 10:35:35 am
though it's way better to go 65 mph than 65 kmph

But you must paint flames on your car. And not metric flames either.

I just have angry birds on my dash.  I hope that is all right.

Stop hitting birds with your car :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 21, 2014, 11:19:49 am
though it's way better to go 65 mph than 65 kmph

But you must paint flames on your car. And not metric flames either.

I just have angry birds on my dash.  I hope that is all right.

Stop hitting birds with your car :(

I've only hit 2 birds in my car during my 26 years of driving. It's not that I try to hit them. It's just that they are so adept at getting out of the way that I don't bother slowing down for birds anymore. Well, they're mostly adept. Two of them got Darwinned on my car apparently.

One night I was driving in the boonies and kept hitting rabbits. Not only was I not trying to hit bunnies, but I would swerve and still hit them somehow. I resigned myself to suicidal lepus.

Only hit one deer, and I was fortunate enough to slam on my brakes. I probably only hit him at a final speed of 10 MPH. He got up and tried to get traction on the road, so it looked kind of like a cartoon character trying to run away. He sped off, and I verified no significant damage to my car.

Oh, and I hit a kid on a bike. Actually, he hit me. He came barreling through a stop sign, and I veered enough that he only slammed into the side of my car. Fortunately, there was nothing on the sidewalk for me to hit when I swerved. I jumped out of my car, and he stood up in the middle of the intersection and proclaimed, "I'm all right!" I was muttering that the little shit better be. Free life's lesson for him.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 21, 2014, 11:35:16 am
My hit count is one bird, one deer, one human, and almost a cyclist who decided it was a good idea to stop right in front of my car while I was about to turn.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 21, 2014, 11:39:10 am
one human, and almost a cyclist
For me, it's the reverse. I've hit a cyclist, and almost one human, too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on August 21, 2014, 11:40:23 am
Wait are cyclists not humans?!?!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 21, 2014, 11:45:15 am
In 20 years of driving, I can safely say I've yet to hit a living thing larger than an insect.  I have technically hit the rear of two cars, but in both cases I was rear-ended first.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 21, 2014, 11:47:52 am
Wait are cyclists not humans?!?!
That's the joke

I haven't actually hit anyone
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 21, 2014, 11:48:20 am
My hit count is one bird, one deer, one human, and almost a cyclist who decided it was a good idea to stop right in front of my car while I was about to turn.

You've killed someone while driving? Gangster! Murderer! And it's ok to hit cyclists, they piss off everyone with their attitude.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 21, 2014, 12:05:53 pm
My hit count is one bird, one deer, one human, and almost a cyclist who decided it was a good idea to stop right in front of my car while I was about to turn.

You've killed someone while driving? Gangster! Murderer! And it's ok to hit cyclists, they piss off everyone with their attitude.

You mean the attitude that you should observe them as any other vehicle on the road with all the rights of way that entails since that is exactly how the law views them? Do you get pissed and throw your beer bottles and scream at the guy driving his tractor down the road too?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 21, 2014, 12:08:01 pm
Cyclist are fine.  Bikes aren't loud or annoying.

Motorcycles, however, are the worst thing I can ever envision existing on a street, and I'm including nuclear bombs in that set.  I'm convinced that people that ride motorcycles have no respect for any other thing---living or nonliving---on the planet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on August 21, 2014, 12:14:30 pm
Cyclist are fine.  Bikes aren't loud or annoying.

Motorcycles, however, are the worst thing I can ever envision existing on a street, and I'm including nuclear bombs in that set.  I'm convinced that people that ride motorcycles have no respect for any other thing---living or nonliving---on the planet.
My issue with cyclists is how they insist on riding on the road even when there is a perfectly good bike path built specifically for them right next to that road!  Where I live, there is one road where the speed limit is 50 mph and it's four lanes divided "highway" type road (even though it's not a highway) that has a bike path.  And yet, I often find bicyclists riding on the street rather than the bike path.  I understand bicyclists on roads without bike paths, fine.

Motorcyclists are often ok, but I have had issues with them being dumb.  Especially in traffic on the highway... ugh...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 21, 2014, 12:19:00 pm
The point is that their vehicles are loud and obnoxious and it fills me with blind, seething rage every time I hear one go by.  If I had one super power I could choose, it would be the ability to will the instantaneous explosion of motorcycles.  I'm not so concerned with the people on the motorcycles after the explosion.  They should have had some more respect for the people around them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 21, 2014, 12:21:55 pm
I can see where the rage is coming from, but let's not forget that there are cyclists and motorcyclists who are not utter douchebags. I wouldn't be surprised if douchebags are in the minority. You just pay attention to them more when they're disregarding traffic laws or zipping by between cars in rush hour traffic. You generally don't notice the guy who's following every rule and being considerate of other drivers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 21, 2014, 12:26:43 pm
My hit count is one bird, one deer, one human, and almost a cyclist who decided it was a good idea to stop right in front of my car while I was about to turn.

You've killed someone while driving? Gangster! Murderer! And it's ok to hit cyclists, they piss off everyone with their attitude.

You mean the attitude that you should observe them as any other vehicle on the road with all the rights of way that entails since that is exactly how the law views them?

He probably meant the attitude that they don't behave as any other vehicle on the road, with all the responsibilities that it entails even tough that is exactly how the law views them.

For the record, I cycle more often than I drive. Most cyclist I see are near-suicidal. Sometimes I just have to stop and salute them with an "ˇOle, torero!". Unfortunately nobody understands me when I am abroad.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 21, 2014, 12:54:48 pm
I was told that motorcycles are loud so that you notice them where you otherwise might not have, thus a safety measure. I'm not so sure that is the intended effect but it could be construed as a positive side effect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 21, 2014, 01:56:06 pm
The worst thing is when there's a lot of traffic, and two cyclists are riding side-by-side in the bike lane, basically being in the lane.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on August 21, 2014, 02:39:50 pm
Well, I am probably the only one on the forum who has hit a bear while driving.  Maybe that's what the birds on my dash are angry about.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on August 21, 2014, 03:53:56 pm
Well, I am probably the only one on the forum who has hit a bear while driving.  Maybe that's what the birds on my dash are angry about.

Were you trying to avoid a moose?

http://gawker.com/5935491/swerving-to-miss-moose-norwegian-man-slams-into-bear
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 21, 2014, 07:32:30 pm
Wait are cyclists not humans?!?!

Cyclists are like centaurs.  Half human, half bicycle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 21, 2014, 07:35:11 pm
Wait are cyclists not humans?!?!

Cyclists are like centaurs.  Half human, half bicycle.

I thought, "I would love to see fan art of this."  And then I did a google search.  And well...

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BLw2sIMCUAACC0r.jpg)

(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSH-Wo9eG5jI07Lgr437TYFKhloFYCoAMFjmr8t0NYAywLTpduntw)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Jimmmmm on August 21, 2014, 09:50:31 pm
What about this guy?

(http://www.drawnfrommybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Centaur-Bike.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 22, 2014, 05:01:04 am
Urrgh, okay. If you have not tried reading Worm, then you should read Worm because it's excellent.

If you have read Worm and liked it, then you should read Pact. It takes much, much longer to get interesting and as captivating, but when it does? It's so good, and then regular releases of next chapters? I want to fanboy about it so much but it's hard to do so without spoiling it.

Here's some favorite lines that I'm probably misremembering, and hopefully don't spoil anything.

"It's just like economics. Supply and demand. You have great demand for not dying horribly, and I can supply ways for you to not die horribly."

"Motorcycles rocked. Humanity? It varied."

"Oh god. You’re telling me that I have to work for my salvation by making friends?"

"I won. I'm weak and broken and flawed and I still beat you, you motherfucking fucker. I won, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 22, 2014, 11:36:02 am
My hit count is one bird, one deer, one human, and almost a cyclist who decided it was a good idea to stop right in front of my car while I was about to turn.

You've killed someone while driving? Gangster! Murderer! And it's ok to hit cyclists, they piss off everyone with their attitude.

You mean the attitude that you should observe them as any other vehicle on the road with all the rights of way that entails since that is exactly how the law views them? Do you get pissed and throw your beer bottles and scream at the guy driving his tractor down the road too?

Except here in Montreal, most cyclists don't follow traffic laws like other vehicles. They weaving between cars, go through stop signs AND red lights, and usually don't ride on the specified bikes paths even when they are on the street right next to them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 22, 2014, 11:54:01 am
Mathematicians never have unstable tables:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuF-WB7mD6k
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on August 22, 2014, 11:59:55 am
Mathematicians never have unstable tables:

totally doing this the next time I have an unstable table
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 22, 2014, 01:06:59 pm
At least one mathematician just eats the table, IIRC.

My phone juat turned a misspelling of "mathematician" into "maybe magician."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 22, 2014, 01:11:39 pm
At least one mathematician just eats the table, IIRC.

My phone juat turned a misspelling of "mathematician" into "maybe magician."
But didn't change "juat".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 22, 2014, 01:22:46 pm
I don't know juat you're talking about.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 22, 2014, 01:37:24 pm
At least one mathematician just eats the table, IIRC.

My phone juat turned a misspelling of "mathematician" into "maybe magician."

Well he better not eat me!

...

...

What?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 22, 2014, 03:37:56 pm
Urrgh, okay. If you have not tried reading Worm, then you should read Worm because it's excellent.

If you have read Worm and liked it, then you should read Pact. It takes much, much longer to get interesting and as captivating, but when it does? It's so good, and then regular releases of next chapters? I want to fanboy about it so much but it's hard to do so without spoiling it.

Here's some favorite lines that I'm probably misremembering, and hopefully don't spoil anything.

"It's just like economics. Supply and demand. You have great demand for not dying horribly, and I can supply ways for you to not die horribly."

"Motorcycles rocked. Humanity? It varied."

"Oh god. You’re telling me that I have to work for my salvation by making friends?"

"I won. I'm weak and broken and flawed and I still beat you, you motherfucking fucker. I won, and there's nothing you can do about it."

I've read Worm and I'm caught up on Pact.  Out of curiosity, what prompted this sudden advertisement?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 22, 2014, 04:37:47 pm
Real men just break a leg off of the table because they don't need math to prove that three legs are always stable. Unfortunately most 4 legged tables do not have the legs properly positioned for 3 legged standing. Thus, we tend to just smash the entire table and sit at the bar instead.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 22, 2014, 04:41:00 pm
Real men just break a leg off of the table because they don't need math to prove that three legs are always stable. Unfortunately most 4 legged tables do not have the legs properly positioned for 3 legged standing. Thus, we tend to just smash the entire table and sit at the bar instead.

They're talking about mathematicians, not men.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on August 22, 2014, 04:44:53 pm
My hit count is one bird, one deer, one human, and almost a cyclist who decided it was a good idea to stop right in front of my car while I was about to turn.

You've killed someone while driving? Gangster! Murderer! And it's ok to hit cyclists, they piss off everyone with their attitude.

You mean the attitude that you should observe them as any other vehicle on the road with all the rights of way that entails since that is exactly how the law views them? Do you get pissed and throw your beer bottles and scream at the guy driving his tractor down the road too?

Except here in Montreal, most cyclists don't follow traffic laws like other vehicles. They weaving between cars, go through stop signs AND red lights, and usually don't ride on the specified bikes paths even when they are on the street right next to them.

Fun fact, I don't ride entirely in the bike lanes because if I did I WOULD BE RIDING IN THE DOOR ZONE AND MORE LIKELY TO BE INJURED.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 22, 2014, 04:53:05 pm
My hit count is one bird, one deer, one human, and almost a cyclist who decided it was a good idea to stop right in front of my car while I was about to turn.

You've killed someone while driving? Gangster! Murderer! And it's ok to hit cyclists, they piss off everyone with their attitude.

You mean the attitude that you should observe them as any other vehicle on the road with all the rights of way that entails since that is exactly how the law views them? Do you get pissed and throw your beer bottles and scream at the guy driving his tractor down the road too?

Except here in Montreal, most cyclists don't follow traffic laws like other vehicles. They weaving between cars, go through stop signs AND red lights, and usually don't ride on the specified bikes paths even when they are on the street right next to them.

Fun fact, I don't ride entirely in the bike lanes because if I did I WOULD BE RIDING IN THE DOOR ZONE AND MORE LIKELY TO BE INJURED.

Here there's lanes that are between the parked cars and the sidewalk. There's no excuse
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 22, 2014, 05:51:22 pm
My hit count is one bird, one deer, one human, and almost a cyclist who decided it was a good idea to stop right in front of my car while I was about to turn.

You've killed someone while driving? Gangster! Murderer! And it's ok to hit cyclists, they piss off everyone with their attitude.

You mean the attitude that you should observe them as any other vehicle on the road with all the rights of way that entails since that is exactly how the law views them? Do you get pissed and throw your beer bottles and scream at the guy driving his tractor down the road too?

Except here in Montreal, most cyclists don't follow traffic laws like other vehicles. They weaving between cars, go through stop signs AND red lights, and usually don't ride on the specified bikes paths even when they are on the street right next to them.

Fun fact, I don't ride entirely in the bike lanes because if I did I WOULD BE RIDING IN THE DOOR ZONE AND MORE LIKELY TO BE INJURED.

Here there's lanes that are between the parked cars and the sidewalk. There's no excuse

I live in the middle of the Rust Belt.  We don't have your fancy bike lanes around here, because real Americans only drive huge cars.

No, but seriously, the lack of bike lanes here is sad.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 22, 2014, 07:24:04 pm
When my girlfriend and I were in Montreal we noticed a couple roads that had nice elevated bike paths on the side of the road that were really nice. We're fans of the whole "separate but equal" thing. Wait... no not like that!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 23, 2014, 01:03:35 am
I've read Worm and I'm caught up on Pact.  Out of curiosity, what prompted this sudden advertisement?

Combination of anticipation for the next update, and a delayed reaction to the end of Arc 9. I was expecting parts of it...but didn't expect what actually happened.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 23, 2014, 01:48:46 am
I've read Worm and I'm caught up on Pact.  Out of curiosity, what prompted this sudden advertisement?

Combination of anticipation for the next update, and a delayed reaction to the end of Arc 9. I was expecting parts of it...but didn't expect what actually happened.

So you're not caught up yet?  Arc 9 ended about a week ago.  It's been pretty crazy though, yeah. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 23, 2014, 05:11:23 am
I've read Worm and I'm caught up on Pact.  Out of curiosity, what prompted this sudden advertisement?

Combination of anticipation for the next update, and a delayed reaction to the end of Arc 9. I was expecting parts of it...but didn't expect what actually happened.

So you're not caught up yet?  Arc 9 ended about a week ago.  It's been pretty crazy though, yeah. :P

I'm caught up now. I read all of act 10 so far serially, just got a little antsy for the inevitable moment when everything goes to hell. Hopefully, in a metaphorical way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 23, 2014, 01:22:29 pm
Anyone know about this?  http://en.spaceengine.org/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 24, 2014, 07:12:07 am
I hope I didn't post this before, but I've been listening to this background music video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zkE-fxN-gE) for quite a while. I had it playing a few months back as well and my housemate (who is entirely not into video games) told me he liked it and wanted to know what it was. I've found it to be really great as background music - calm, varied and long.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 24, 2014, 11:26:19 am
I hope I didn't post this before, but I've been listening to this background music video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zkE-fxN-gE) for quite a while. I had it playing a few months back as well and my housemate (who is entirely not into video games) told me he liked it and wanted to know what it was. I've found it to be really great as background music - calm, varied and long.

Jesper Kyd is great. His music for Hitman is also really good and moody.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 24, 2014, 12:34:23 pm
Winnie the Pooh turns 100.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnie-the-pooh-saga-turns-100-years-old-today-1.2745104 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnie-the-pooh-saga-turns-100-years-old-today-1.2745104)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 24, 2014, 04:37:13 pm
Winnie the Pooh turns 100.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnie-the-pooh-saga-turns-100-years-old-today-1.2745104 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnie-the-pooh-saga-turns-100-years-old-today-1.2745104)

Oh bother.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Thisisnotasmile on August 25, 2014, 05:42:45 am
I just did a thing I read on the internet that wasn't labelled "lifehack" but probably should have been. It actually worked and didn't make me look like an idiot.

My hand does hurt, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on August 25, 2014, 05:56:12 am
Now I'm curious what it was.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Thisisnotasmile on August 25, 2014, 06:00:16 am
Removing festival wristband

Quote
I heard about a method using an unfolded crisp packet using the silvery greasy side against your wrist it helps it slide off easily. Not 100% sure of the process but it I've been told it works.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 25, 2014, 08:37:44 am
People react to me strangely when I explain the "lifehack" of eating an entire apple. I'm not sure if it truly constitutes a lifehack. I suppose it slightly improves your lifestyle in that you waste just a little less food.

Basically, you just eat the apple from the bottom up. You get that bitter core, but it's combined with the savory areas surrounding it, so it's not so bad.

And I guess we're so accustomed to fruits bred without seeds that the most incredulous question I get is, "You even eat the seeds?!"

The answer is that I don't normally eat the seeds because when I eat an apple that way, the seeds are fairly easy to just pop out. If I don't have a trash can handy, though, then I'll eat the seeds.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 25, 2014, 08:52:07 am
(http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s---D75eFui--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/18qo1hwto00mfjpg.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 25, 2014, 08:55:54 am
I so didn't need to see that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on August 25, 2014, 09:40:35 am
I so didn't need to see that.

butt really
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 25, 2014, 11:01:33 am
Our dog's isn't quite so obvious but then, I suspect some Photoshopping in the posted picture. At any rate, our dog has earned a new nickname; "Dirty Jeezus".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 25, 2014, 11:29:44 am
I think today's xkcd really embodies "Random Stuff":

(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles.png) (http://xkcd.com/1412/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 25, 2014, 11:36:59 am
I so didn't need to see that.

butt really

I'm so confused right now, I thought I was in the random stuff thread but it turns out it's the thread on the 206th card.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 25, 2014, 11:39:18 am
I so didn't need to see that.

butt really

I'm so confused right now, I thought I was in the random stuff thread but it turns out it's the thread on the 206th card.

Given enough time, the Random Stuff thread should eventually intersect every other thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 25, 2014, 11:43:38 am
You monkeys still haven't given me Shakespeare. Must add more monkeys.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 25, 2014, 11:50:21 am
You monkeys still haven't given me Shakespeare. Must add more monkeys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpcTyxisqOM
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 25, 2014, 01:03:21 pm
I have exactly +3000 respect!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on August 25, 2014, 01:24:10 pm
I have exactly +3000 respect!
Fixed that for you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 25, 2014, 01:33:16 pm
I so didn't need to see that.

butt really

I'm so confused right now, I thought I was in the random stuff thread but it turns out it's the thread on the 206th card.

Ah the memories.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on August 25, 2014, 01:34:06 pm
I have exactly +3000 respect!
you liar. i should punish you by removing a respect from one of your posts... but that wouldn't work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 25, 2014, 01:39:48 pm
And yes, there is an xkcd strip about this very thing:
http://thestack.com/password1-mnemonic-password-methods

I'm glad it acknowledged the problem with discussing security on the internet. Any solution they publish could be picked up by hackers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 25, 2014, 02:45:26 pm
Another Touhou mix. Mix of orchestrated songs and folk-like songs, personally like the ones starting at 6:35, 13:47, and the two songs by Frontier Aja.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLRyCGBamq0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Davio on August 25, 2014, 03:36:46 pm
I never thought my humble topic would grow to become a 5000+ post monster, but I'm glad we kept all of it out of the other topics. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 25, 2014, 06:41:22 pm
Removing festival wristband

Quote
I heard about a method using an unfolded crisp packet using the silvery greasy side against your wrist it helps it slide off easily. Not 100% sure of the process but it I've been told it works.

If you just start tearing it off from the place you put it on, it wrips the paper in two the really thin way and eventually just comes off.  It's really easy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 25, 2014, 06:54:34 pm
Removing festival wristband

Quote
I heard about a method using an unfolded crisp packet using the silvery greasy side against your wrist it helps it slide off easily. Not 100% sure of the process but it I've been told it works.

If you just start tearing it off from the place you put it on, it wrips the paper in two the really thin way and eventually just comes off.  It's really easy.

Since TINAS is talking about using grease, I'm assuming the key thing is to slip the wristband off without wrecking it, so that you can slip it on again later (or let somebody else put it on).  The method you describe for simply removing the band is well known, and even if TINAS didn't know it he would surely just use scissors or a knife rather than resorting to some obscure grease technique.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 25, 2014, 06:56:06 pm
Removing festival wristband

Quote
I heard about a method using an unfolded crisp packet using the silvery greasy side against your wrist it helps it slide off easily. Not 100% sure of the process but it I've been told it works.

If you just start tearing it off from the place you put it on, it wrips the paper in two the really thin way and eventually just comes off.  It's really easy.

Since TINAS is talking about using grease, I'm assuming the key thing is to slip the wristband off without wrecking it, so that you can slip it on again later (or let somebody else put it on).  The method you describe for simply removing the band is well known, and even if TINAS didn't know it he would surely just use scissors or a knife rather than resorting to some obscure grease technique.

Obscure Grease Technique is my next band name.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 25, 2014, 08:58:17 pm
Removing festival wristband

Quote
I heard about a method using an unfolded crisp packet using the silvery greasy side against your wrist it helps it slide off easily. Not 100% sure of the process but it I've been told it works.

If you just start tearing it off from the place you put it on, it wrips the paper in two the really thin way and eventually just comes off.  It's really easy.

Since TINAS is talking about using grease, I'm assuming the key thing is to slip the wristband off without wrecking it, so that you can slip it on again later (or let somebody else put it on).  The method you describe for simply removing the band is well known, and even if TINAS didn't know it he would surely just use scissors or a knife rather than resorting to some obscure grease technique.

Obscure Grease Technique is my next band name.

What's your current band name?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 25, 2014, 09:12:02 pm
Removing festival wristband

Quote
I heard about a method using an unfolded crisp packet using the silvery greasy side against your wrist it helps it slide off easily. Not 100% sure of the process but it I've been told it works.

If you just start tearing it off from the place you put it on, it wrips the paper in two the really thin way and eventually just comes off.  It's really easy.

Since TINAS is talking about using grease, I'm assuming the key thing is to slip the wristband off without wrecking it, so that you can slip it on again later (or let somebody else put it on).  The method you describe for simply removing the band is well known, and even if TINAS didn't know it he would surely just use scissors or a knife rather than resorting to some obscure grease technique.

Obscure Grease Technique is my next band name.

What's your current band name?

A Few Guys (And A Girl) Who Kinda Make Music Together Sometimes
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 25, 2014, 09:14:54 pm
What's your current band name?

A Few Guys (And A Girl) Who Kinda Make Music Together Sometimes

AFG(AAG)WKMMTS? Doesn't really roll off the tongue.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 25, 2014, 10:04:40 pm
What's your current band name?

A Few Guys (And A Girl) Who Kinda Make Music Together Sometimes

AFG(AAG)WKMMTS? Doesn't really roll off the tongue.

My girlfriend likes a band called The World Is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die.

I call them (and a lot of other bands she likes) Let's Get Pretentious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 25, 2014, 10:17:15 pm
A while ago, Extra Credits featured a game called Hands of Fate (via "James Recommends").  It's currently part of an EC-themed humble bundle, currently available here (https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly).  It's still in Early Access but looks like something that people here would like.  It mixes rogue-like elements with deckbuilding and Arkham City-style combat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju1IOCgn2kY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 25, 2014, 10:33:30 pm
Man, just tear the wristband off; it's not that hard.  Keep pulling until it breaks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on August 25, 2014, 11:21:48 pm
Mathematicians never have unstable tables:

totally doing this the next time I have an unstable table

This assumes that the ground is continuous though. What about bricks? Bricks are the worst. Also, I've definitely found that the problem is sometimes with the table and not with the ground.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 25, 2014, 11:32:04 pm
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/f0de347883ad304db58cce8d6bc0f0d6/tumblr_n6kavuFCCt1rnqlk4o1_500.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on August 26, 2014, 01:29:24 am
What's your current band name?

A Few Guys (And A Girl) Who Kinda Make Music Together Sometimes

AFG(AAG)WKMMTS? Doesn't really roll off the tongue.

My girlfriend likes a band called The World Is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die.

I call them (and a lot of other bands she likes) Let's Get Pretentious.
I call my ex pretentious. Coincidentally her name ended in "lie" as well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 26, 2014, 09:23:10 am
Mathematicians never have unstable tables:

totally doing this the next time I have an unstable table

This assumes that the ground is continuous though. What about bricks? Bricks are the worst. Also, I've definitely found that the problem is sometimes with the table and not with the ground.

At least it's not assuming a frictionless plane.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 26, 2014, 09:26:55 am
Mathematicians never have unstable tables:

totally doing this the next time I have an unstable table

This assumes that the ground is continuous though. What about bricks? Bricks are the worst. Also, I've definitely found that the problem is sometimes with the table and not with the ground.

At least it's not assuming a frictionless plane.

Well, if the table is on a large patch of wet grass, it's modeled fairly accurately as a frictionless plain.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 26, 2014, 09:27:31 am
Mathematicians never have unstable tables:

totally doing this the next time I have an unstable table

This assumes that the ground is continuous though. What about bricks? Bricks are the worst. Also, I've definitely found that the problem is sometimes with the table and not with the ground.

At least it's not assuming a frictionless plane.

Well, if the table is on a large patch of wet grass, it's modeled fairly accurately as a frictionless plain.

Never knew you liked hanging out on large patches of wet grass.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 26, 2014, 09:38:48 am
Mathematicians never have unstable tables:

totally doing this the next time I have an unstable table

This assumes that the ground is continuous though. What about bricks? Bricks are the worst. Also, I've definitely found that the problem is sometimes with the table and not with the ground.

At least it's not assuming a frictionless plane.

Well, if the table is on a large patch of wet grass, it's modeled fairly accurately as a frictionless plain.

Never knew you liked hanging out on large patches of wet grass.

That's what she said.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 26, 2014, 09:58:24 am
Mathematicians never have unstable tables:

totally doing this the next time I have an unstable table

This assumes that the ground is continuous though. What about bricks? Bricks are the worst. Also, I've definitely found that the problem is sometimes with the table and not with the ground.

At least it's not assuming a frictionless plane.

...in a vacuum.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 26, 2014, 12:54:01 pm
You know, I do love Excel... most of the time... but then sometimes you have to debug or edit formulae that look like this:

(http://i.imgur.com/1rZ7UPb.png)

This is the point someone says something like "You're trying to convert data from a spreadsheet to a wiki right? You know there's a much quicker way to do that by doing [X]". And then I feel stupid.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on August 26, 2014, 01:33:32 pm
Is that somehow Fire Emblem related?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 26, 2014, 01:34:40 pm
Yes. It's a spreadsheet with enemy stats in Awakening, which I'm now transferring from a spreadsheet into SerenesForest's wiki
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on August 26, 2014, 01:37:56 pm
Cool beans. I remember you being into FE and when there was Wyvern Rider, Steel Axe and stats that could very well be a Wyvern Rider's I had to ask. ;)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Thisisnotasmile on August 26, 2014, 01:39:33 pm
Removing festival wristband

Quote
I heard about a method using an unfolded crisp packet using the silvery greasy side against your wrist it helps it slide off easily. Not 100% sure of the process but it I've been told it works.

If you just start tearing it off from the place you put it on, it wrips the paper in two the really thin way and eventually just comes off.  It's really easy.

Since TINAS is talking about using grease, I'm assuming the key thing is to slip the wristband off without wrecking it, so that you can slip it on again later (or let somebody else put it on).  The method you describe for simply removing the band is well known, and even if TINAS didn't know it he would surely just use scissors or a knife rather than resorting to some obscure grease technique.

The idea is to remove it intact to hang with my other wristbands next to my collage of concert ticket stubs. I don't intend to re-wear it but I don't want it damaged. Also, it's a proper fabric wristband, not a shitty paper one. Shitty paper ones go straight in the bin.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 26, 2014, 01:41:43 pm
I really wish Excel displayed nested IF statements better. Stepping into the equation helps me a lot, but I wish it was more intuitive to follow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: StrongRhino on August 26, 2014, 08:57:39 pm
Just got Tomodachi Life for 3DS, it's pretty fun.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 26, 2014, 10:16:40 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/fIQ4CA4.png) (http://imgur.com/fIQ4CA4)

Sub 19 minutes! Sloppiness earlier got saved by a very clean endgame, if I could actually reproduce it consistently I can break 18 minutes very easily...but nailing all the platforming in the last couple of levels is really tough.

Edit:

(http://i.imgur.com/O1sFj4U.png)

Fuck this game :/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 27, 2014, 04:48:55 pm
A statement from the monkey (http://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/statement-monkey?utm_source=tny&utm_campaign=generalsocial&utm_medium=facebook&mbid=social_facebook)

EDIT: for context

(http://assets.zocalo.com.mx/uploads/articles/4/140745762779.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 27, 2014, 05:11:24 pm
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16948609/7women.png)

A list of fictional characters?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 27, 2014, 05:42:15 pm
Office food hacks

(http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/137774/MC-office-3.jpg) (http://www.vice.com/read/food-hacking-at-the-office?utm_source=vicetumblrus)

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 28, 2014, 04:33:40 am
In the middle of reading Ra by qntm. Here's a fairly interesting standalone chapter, it doesn't seem to spoil anything and the required background knowledge is mostly covered within the chapter. The main background you need is that magic is real, magic is a science with consistent + verifiable results, and doing anything in magic requires significant effort.

http://qntm.org/jesus
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 28, 2014, 06:35:48 am
Yesterday I won a game of Terra Mystica where I scored 51 points in endgame bonuses (uniquely first place in all four cults and largest area, plus 3 coins left over). I was playing against players with a few games behind them each but one only just connected his areas and mostly built up, not out, while the other had two totally separate areas. Neither competed cults very much either, letting me win two cults with 10/10/9/9.

I was playing Chaos Magicians and managed to end up with two towns, that I linked together via direct adjacency.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on August 28, 2014, 07:15:09 am
Winning every cult, really ? That's... interesting, of course the Chaos Magicians are the best equipped for this with the multiple favors, but in our games there's alwqays at least one cult that gets locked down since you can't lock all 4.

How much did you score total ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 28, 2014, 07:39:48 am
Winning every cult, really ? That's... interesting, of course the Chaos Magicians are the best equipped for this with the multiple favors, but in our games there's alwqays at least one cult that gets locked down since you can't lock all 4.

How much did you score total ?

I think it was about 138. So a pretty big chunk of my points were endgame scoring. I also did fairly well on some later round bonuses, which stacked with favour tiles (R4: Trading Posts I got 6+6 more from favour tile. R5: Towns I got 10. R6: Dwellings I got 8+8 more from favour tile).

Edit: And like I mentioned, nobody else really competed the cults too much. I think the highest anyone else got was to 8 on Air, which I promptly took as my second capped track (first was Fire).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 28, 2014, 09:12:54 am
http://imgur.com/gallery/Bq4D6

Read to the end.  Trust me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 28, 2014, 09:18:12 am
http://imgur.com/gallery/Bq4D6

Read to the end.  Trust me.

Can confirm, read to the end.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on August 28, 2014, 09:22:43 am
http://imgur.com/gallery/Bq4D6

Read to the end.  Trust me.

Worth it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on August 28, 2014, 10:02:39 am
Was that a Harry Potter interpretation? I've never read HP or seen the movies, so the joke went a bit over my head.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on August 28, 2014, 10:15:35 am
Was that a Harry Potter interpretation? I've never read HP or seen the movies, so the joke went a bit over my head.

Not an interpretation, an accurate summary of Snape's story.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 28, 2014, 10:21:46 am
Was that a Harry Potter interpretation? I've never read HP or seen the movies, so the joke went a bit over my head.

This was this person's real-life story.  JK Rowling once met this man in a bar, and after many a pint he started telling her his entire life story.  She took his story and wrote it into Harry Potter without giving this man any credit at all.  They are currently in litigation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Morgrim7 on August 28, 2014, 10:27:46 am
I enjoy eating dirt.

EDIT: not really. That's just an expression
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 28, 2014, 10:51:09 am
Cute:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ysyZF-DZFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 29, 2014, 10:49:12 am
Probably the best thing I've seen in a while:

http://imgur.com/gallery/3fMih
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on August 29, 2014, 12:32:19 pm
Have you guys played "Papers, Please"? It's been out for a little while but I just got around to playing it. It's a cool little game made by one guy, who describes it as a "dystopian document thriller."

Basically the premise is you play as a border control official between the fictional eastern bloc-style countries of Arstotzka and Kalechia. You must approve or deny entrants based on their documentation and Kafkaesque rules that change from day to day. This is the core mechanic, but you also have to earn enough to feed your impoverished family, and you encounter plenty of colorful characters and storyline along the way.

It's hard to describe this game and make it sound exciting but it's actually pretty awesome!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 29, 2014, 03:53:26 pm
Have you guys played "Papers, Please"? It's been out for a little while but I just got around to playing it. It's a cool little game made by one guy, who describes it as a "dystopian document thriller."

I have some Best Buy certificates I need to spend before they expire. I hoped to find it there, but no such luck. It looks like I could get it from Steam. I'm intrigued.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on August 29, 2014, 04:06:48 pm
Drummer cat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JwvrD7gykg
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on August 29, 2014, 04:07:58 pm
I haven't slept in 36 hours. And only slept 3 of the last 54 hours.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on August 29, 2014, 04:30:12 pm
I haven't slept in 36 hours. And only slept 3 of the last 54 hours.

I hope it have been worth it, and was at least partially of your own will.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 30, 2014, 01:12:13 pm
Drummer cat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JwvrD7gykg

Cleverly filmed, but that cat sure didn't look happy about it. Toward the end, I think he was slowly writhing himself away from it, but he was just too tired to try.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on August 31, 2014, 11:29:11 am
I haven't slept in 36 hours. And only slept 3 of the last 54 hours.
I remember when I was younger I got out of bed at noon on a Thursday and didn't go to sleep again until 4am Sunday morning. It wasn't even intentional.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 01, 2014, 03:46:19 pm
Not really sure what can be said about this one.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1471737999740818
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 01, 2014, 05:01:02 pm
I've just applied for a job for which I have great qualifications, but for various reasons won't likely be able to take the job even if offered; I just wanted a chance to polish my resume and interview skills.  Is this unethical?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 01, 2014, 05:11:45 pm
Not really sure what can be said about this one.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1471737999740818

Congratulations, you truly understand the spirit of the Random Stuff thread. You have achieved a higher level of enlightenment, there is nothing more we can teach you here. Go forth and spread the Wisdom.

I've just applied for a job for which I have great qualifications, but for various reasons won't likely be able to take the job even if offered; I just wanted a chance to polish my resume and interview skills.  Is this unethical?

IMHO, it depends on how likely you are to get a job elsewhere without this practice. If it's your first or second job (which I think it isn't?) or if you've been out of the job market for a while and need to brush up, I would say it isn't. However, if the interview process has multiple stages and (say) they are going to fly you across the country/continent for it, then yes, it is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on September 01, 2014, 05:12:35 pm
I've just applied for a job for which I have great qualifications, but for various reasons won't likely be able to take the job even if offered; I just wanted a chance to polish my resume and interview skills.  Is this unethical?

I don't think so at all. Who knows, you might get blown away and end up taking an offer you could get.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 01, 2014, 05:16:29 pm
I've just applied for a job for which I have great qualifications, but for various reasons won't likely be able to take the job even if offered; I just wanted a chance to polish my resume and interview skills.  Is this unethical?

I'd say it's very mildly immoral. You're wasting somebody else's time for your own gratification. It's not so immoral that I'd judge you badly for it, though. It's something I wouldn't feel too bad about doing myself, although I have trouble imagining myself doing job interviews for funsies.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 01, 2014, 05:33:18 pm
I've just applied for a job for which I have great qualifications, but for various reasons won't likely be able to take the job even if offered; I just wanted a chance to polish my resume and interview skills.  Is this unethical?

No.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 01, 2014, 06:50:12 pm
I've just applied for a job for which I have great qualifications, but for various reasons won't likely be able to take the job even if offered; I just wanted a chance to polish my resume and interview skills.  Is this unethical?

I’d say it’s a little unethical in that you wasted this interviewer’s time with no intent of following through with it. But I don’t think it’s a big deal. In business, people climb over each other all the time for their own benefits. You got a benefit out of interviewing, and you used a company to achieve it. How else are you going to get that practice? You could try a mock interview, but that wouldn’t have the same benefit.

The reason I think it’s so minor is that interviewers plan for people declining the job offers. They know that applicants are interviewing at multiple jobs at once, and the company may not even be their first choice. Or maybe it was, but they took too long to send an acceptance letter so that the applicant took a different offer.

I’d say yours is a trivial breach of etiquette, and it’s in an environment where it’s actually expected. So I wouldn’t feel guilty about it if I were you. It might be a bigger inconvenience for a small company where the owner/boss/janitor took time out to interview you, but honestly what else was that guy in HR going to do if he wasn’t interviewing you?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 01, 2014, 07:23:41 pm
I would say yes, though there are far more important things
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 02, 2014, 01:11:23 am
Truth.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/1610801_4569099521318_1748302147069894553_n.jpg?oh=07cc647ec8aaa0e18f44a90022082a0d&oe=547754A1&__gda__=1417383754_2756058de23405cb11ea6eaec0093675)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 02, 2014, 01:39:44 am
So a microphone equals 4 women? Damn, I have way more people in this room right now than I thought. EDIT: 20 actually, including me. And three cats.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 02, 2014, 09:18:27 am
Cue awful joke from Awaclus... oh wait.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 02, 2014, 02:33:54 pm
Cue awful joke from Awaclus... oh wait.
The jokes aren't meant to be funny, the fact that someone even bothers to make them is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 02, 2014, 05:13:45 pm
(https://41.media.tumblr.com/edc71685d373e50e500061322fe22c8d/tumblr_n9lz6v6zMm1qh9169o1_500.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 02, 2014, 05:25:14 pm
This guy wins everything. Even the Game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mail-mi on September 02, 2014, 06:57:15 pm
This guy wins everything. Even the Game.
You suck. I lost the game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on September 02, 2014, 07:02:59 pm
A goedendag (also rendered godendac, godendard, godendart, and sometimes conflated with the related plançon) was a weapon originally used by the militias of Medieval Flanders in the 14th century, notably during the Franco-Flemish War.

...

The name "goedendag" derives from Dutch, usually taken in English sources to have meant "good day", with reference to the revolt of Bruges in 1302, at which the guildsmen of Bruges purportedly took over the city by greeting people in the streets, and murdering anyone who answered with a French accent. This derivation of the name may however be spurious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 02, 2014, 11:46:30 pm
I saw this ad for a black metal CD tower and thought it was going to have pentagrams and satanic passages on it. Alas, it's just a black metal CD tower.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/fuo/4649044804.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 03, 2014, 09:13:36 am
yea because black metal is all about pentagrams and satanic passages
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 03, 2014, 09:38:30 am
yea because black metal is all about pentagrams and satanic passages

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_metal

Quote
Initially a synonym for "Satanic metal"...Many artists express extreme anti-Christian and misanthropic views, and several of the genre's "second wave" pioneers have been convicted for church burnings and murder.
Quote
Black metal was originally used as a term for extreme metal bands with Satanic and anti-Christian lyrics; today, the most common lyrical theme is opposition to Christianity and other organized religions. As part of this, many artists write lyrics that could be seen to promote atheism, antitheism, paganism or Satanism
Quote
Some bands consider their concerts to be rituals...are noted for their controversial shows, which have featured impaled animal heads, mock crucifixions, medieval weaponry and band members doused in animal blood.
Quote
The term "black metal" was coined by the English band Venom with their second album Black Metal (1982). Although deemed thrash metal rather than black metal by today's standards, the album's lyrics and imagery focused more on anti-Christian and Satanic themes than any before it.
Quote
In 1987, in the fifth issue of his Slayer fanzine, Metalion wrote that "the latest fad of Black/Satanic bands seems to be over",
Quote
The scene was bitterly opposed to Christianity and organized religion as a whole. In interviews during the early 1990s, members of the scene presented themselves as misanthropic Devil worshippers who wanted to spread hatred, sorrow and evil.
Quote
The current Swedish black metal scene has a particularly ambitious and articulate understanding of mysticism and its validity to black metal. Many Swedish black metal bands, most notably Watain and Dissection, are [or were] affiliated with the Temple of the Black Light, or Misanthropic Luciferian Order
Quote
Bands that were part of the 'first wave' had 'Satanic' imagery and lyrics, although most of them were not Satanists.[157] However, for the early 'second wave' bands in Norway, Satanism as an ideology defined black metal.
Quote
As part of this, some black metal artists have written about or focused on the ancient pre-Christian cultures of their homelands. Sam Dunn noted of the Norwegian scene that "unlike any other heavy metal scene, the culture and the place is incorporated into the music and imagery".
Quote
The pentagram is commonly used by bands in the genre
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on September 03, 2014, 10:27:20 am
Today I learned that the Stanford Prison Experiment is actually kinda BS.  The scientist in charge of it was the prison superintendent: he expected and encouraged guards to be sadistic, imposed arbitrary non-prison-like conditions (like not allowing prisoners to use their names), and overemphasized the guards that acted sadistically even though most of the guards were normal.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 03, 2014, 10:42:56 am
Today I learned that the Stanford Prison Experiment is actually kinda BS.  The scientist in charge of it was the prison superintendent: he expected and encouraged guards to be sadistic, imposed arbitrary non-prison-like conditions (like not allowing prisoners to use their names), and overemphasized the guards that acted sadistically even though most of the guards were normal.

That kind of truth doesn't make for good documentaries.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 03, 2014, 12:21:31 pm
Today I learned that the Stanford Prison Experiment is actually kinda BS.  The scientist in charge of it was the prison superintendent: he expected and encouraged guards to be sadistic, imposed arbitrary non-prison-like conditions (like not allowing prisoners to use their names), and overemphasized the guards that acted sadistically even though most of the guards were normal.


Not being true to a prison environment does not negate the change in demeanor among the guards and prisoners. They were just put through a more extreme scenario.

But overemphasizing the guards' sadism does say a lot about the accepted outcome of the experiment.

Which reminds me that I should dig out my Unknown Armies scenario that I wrote based on the Stanford prison experiment.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on September 03, 2014, 01:14:55 pm
The short version is, there was virtually nothing scientific about that experiment. It's a thing that happened, but pretty much every single conclusion most people draw from it is baseless.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 03, 2014, 01:20:55 pm
The short version is, there was virtually nothing scientific about that experiment. It's a thing that happened, but pretty much every single conclusion most people draw from it is baseless.

But if you tell them that, they will shock the hell out of you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 03, 2014, 02:18:30 pm
The short version is, there was virtually nothing scientific about that experiment. It's a thing that happened, but pretty much every single conclusion most people draw from it is baseless.

But if you tell them that, they will shock the hell out of you.

...isn't that the Milgram experiment?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 03, 2014, 02:53:21 pm
The short version is, there was virtually nothing scientific about that experiment. It's a thing that happened, but pretty much every single conclusion most people draw from it is baseless.

But if you tell them that, they will shock the hell out of you.

Isn't that just what happens when you throw holy water onto a socket?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 03, 2014, 03:17:58 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/VpsANYl.gif) (http://imgur.com/gallery/VpsANYl)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 03, 2014, 04:19:20 pm

I'm pretty sure I just saw jello turn inside out
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 03, 2014, 04:51:18 pm
People laughed when I suggested a Galaxy Trucker PBF*. People laughed when I said I was serious**. Now look who's laughing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIXd9RHdZDc#t=647)***.

Coming soon**** to your Forum Games section: The very first Galaxy Trucker, PBF.

*This is probably not true. Most likely they just read my posts all like 'oh Tables is trying to be funny again.
**I never said this, and so once again, people probably didn't laugh at the thing I didn't say.
***The answer to this one is probably the same as the above two. I mean I'm not laughing, are any of you? Honestly these rhetoical questions are terrible. Heck they aren't even question!
**** (http://memecrunch.com/meme/DFQM/soon/image.png?w=500&c=1)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 03, 2014, 04:53:04 pm

I'm pretty sure I just saw jello turn inside out

I'm assuming this is just another way to say "thank you", so, you're welcome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 03, 2014, 04:53:25 pm
Quote
they aren't even question!

there needs to be an s
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 03, 2014, 04:58:02 pm
People laughed when I suggested a Galaxy Trucker PBF*. People laughed when I said I was serious**. Now look who's laughing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIXd9RHdZDc#t=647)***.

Coming soon**** to your Forum Games section: The very first Galaxy Trucker, PBF.

*This is probably not true. Most likely they just read my posts all like 'oh Tables is trying to be funny again.
**I never said this, and so once again, people probably didn't laugh at the thing I didn't say.
***The answer to this one is probably the same as the above two. I mean I'm not laughing, are any of you? Honestly these rhetoical questions are terrible. Heck they aren't even question!
**** (http://memecrunch.com/meme/DFQM/soon/image.png?w=500&c=1)

oh Tables is trying to b funny again.




But that is an interesting way to implement asynchronous play for a real time game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on September 03, 2014, 05:03:25 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8o8V8znUlA
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 03, 2014, 07:25:28 pm
The short version is, there was virtually nothing scientific about that experiment. It's a thing that happened, but pretty much every single conclusion most people draw from it is baseless.

But if you tell them that, they will shock the hell out of you.

...isn't that the Milgram experiment?

Just to make sure I re-looked up the Milgram experiment, and by my extensive research (meaning, only Wikipedia), that one is actually a legitimate result and has been replicated.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 03, 2014, 07:55:50 pm
At first, I was like, "14 minutes? Ugh. I'll just watch a little bit to get the gist."

Then I was like, "Well, I can probably move on. What do you mean I've watched 13 minutes already?"

People laughed when I suggested a Galaxy Trucker PBF*. People laughed when I said I was serious**. Now look who's laughing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIXd9RHdZDc#t=647)***.

Coming soon**** to your Forum Games section: The very first Galaxy Trucker, PBF.

*This is probably not true. Most likely they just read my posts all like 'oh Tables is trying to be funny again.
**I never said this, and so once again, people probably didn't laugh at the thing I didn't say.
***The answer to this one is probably the same as the above two. I mean I'm not laughing, are any of you? Honestly these rhetoical questions are terrible. Heck they aren't even question!
**** (http://memecrunch.com/meme/DFQM/soon/image.png?w=500&c=1)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 03, 2014, 08:46:36 pm
Found this, thought it appropriate for this forum.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10628357_10100774120762733_317589599662364800_n.jpg?oh=f6329e2282bc42f64919e6d9c422142b&oe=546793D9&__gda__=1417437920_7702914fdd3de632991f5adeb22e6837)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 03, 2014, 08:49:18 pm
Found this, thought it appropriate for this forum.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10628357_10100774120762733_317589599662364800_n.jpg?oh=f6329e2282bc42f64919e6d9c422142b&oe=546793D9&__gda__=1417437920_7702914fdd3de632991f5adeb22e6837)

He is tau-tally correct!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 03, 2014, 09:35:09 pm
Found this, thought it appropriate for this forum.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10628357_10100774120762733_317589599662364800_n.jpg?oh=f6329e2282bc42f64919e6d9c422142b&oe=546793D9&__gda__=1417437920_7702914fdd3de632991f5adeb22e6837)

He is tau-tally correct!

It's funny because FTTW doesn't know what radians are.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on September 03, 2014, 09:40:55 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/VpsANYl.gif) (http://imgur.com/gallery/VpsANYl)
At first I thought that this was a packet of ketchup.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 03, 2014, 10:20:47 pm
It's funny because FTTW doesn't know what radians are.

That may or may not be true.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 04, 2014, 01:58:39 am
I was in the middle of editing some dotfiles when I realized I actually care about my shell configuration, and want things like shorter aliases for "git checkout" and "git status" and a specific color scheme for vim. Suddenly I feel like much less of a UNIX noob.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 04, 2014, 05:14:40 am
It's funny because FTTW doesn't know what radians are.

That may or may not be true.

That is true.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on September 04, 2014, 06:04:43 am
People laughed when I suggested a Galaxy Trucker PBF*. People laughed when I said I was serious**. Now look who's laughing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIXd9RHdZDc#t=647)***.

Coming soon**** to your Forum Games section: The very first Galaxy Trucker, PBF.

*This is probably not true. Most likely they just read my posts all like 'oh Tables is trying to be funny again.
**I never said this, and so once again, people probably didn't laugh at the thing I didn't say.
***The answer to this one is probably the same as the above two. I mean I'm not laughing, are any of you? Honestly these rhetoical questions are terrible. Heck they aren't even question!
**** (http://memecrunch.com/meme/DFQM/soon/image.png?w=500&c=1)

I thought about that when I saw your post on BGG earlier, but it might be better to just wait for the app to come out.
Then again, it doesn't look like it will feature the expansions from what I saw, which I'm kinda bummed about, since that was one of the main things I was looking forward to. I rarely find people to play the base game with, yet alone the expansions :(
So maybe we should do a PBF with the expansions.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 04, 2014, 06:40:35 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOXQo7nURs0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 04, 2014, 10:19:09 am
The short version is, there was virtually nothing scientific about that experiment. It's a thing that happened, but pretty much every single conclusion most people draw from it is baseless.

But if you tell them that, they will shock the hell out of you.

...isn't that the Milgram experiment?

Just to make sure I re-looked up the Milgram experiment, and by my extensive research (meaning, only Wikipedia), that one is actually a legitimate result and has been replicated.

Yes, I was just making light of the "shock the hell out of you" part.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 04, 2014, 10:23:59 am
I mean, I thought that would be funnier and easier to say than continuing with the prison one, and the two experiments are sort of used by laymen to conclude the same thing (that people are bastards).  I know it was a different experiment.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 04, 2014, 11:39:07 am
I just started watching Parks and Rec (watched the pilot and episode 2 this last hour) and it is hilarious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on September 04, 2014, 11:43:00 am
Interesting, because Season 1 of P&R is notoriously poor compared to subsequent seasons.  You don't really miss much by skipping it all and just starting with Season 2.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 04, 2014, 11:46:21 am
Interesting, because Season 1 of P&R is notoriously poor compared to subsequent seasons.  You don't really miss much by skipping it all and just starting with Season 2.

While that is a popular opinion, I feel it is an overstatement. Season 1 is certainly the worst of the bunch, but it's still decent, and starting with the pilot is definitely better I think. People fail to account that this kind of comedy benefits greatly from familiarity with the characters, which is partly why it keeps getting better at first (that's before it gets stale, which would be this season).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 04, 2014, 11:50:04 am
I think that can be said of any series. Watch a season 1 episode of Seinfeld and then watch a season 6 episode right after. There's no comparison but that's because the characters hadn't developed at all yet in season 1. It usually takes a couple seasons for everyone to feel out their characters and settle in and for the writers to adapt to it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on September 04, 2014, 12:01:02 pm
http://jayisgames.com/archives/2013/09/my_fathers_long_long_legs.php (http://jayisgames.com/archives/2013/09/my_fathers_long_long_legs.php)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on September 04, 2014, 12:05:50 pm
It is true that sitcoms tend to get better over time (though I think several of Friends' best episodes were in Season 1), but P&R in particular had a seismic shift between Season 1 and Season 2 which allowed it to redefine itself as not just an Office knockoff.  I agree that Season 1 is still good and funny, but Season 2+ are why it's one of my favorite shows of all time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 04, 2014, 12:41:32 pm
Parks and Rec is amazing.  Except for Jerry.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on September 04, 2014, 12:43:33 pm
Parks and Rec is amazing.  Except for GaryJerryLarryTerry.

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on September 04, 2014, 12:51:18 pm
Parks and Rec is amazing.  Except for Jerry.

And also Mark Brendanawicz amirite? That's what we're talking about here?

Although I'm glad I stuck with it. Even season 1 had its moments..."The Pit" had me in stitches
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 04, 2014, 12:58:59 pm
Anyone watch Rick and Morty?  If not, you're bad and you should feel bad.  And start watching it.  Funniest thing in quite a while.  (It's on Adult Swim.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 04, 2014, 01:37:28 pm
I stopped watching new stuff on Adult Swim. Too much of the new stuff seemed neat but ended up being disappointing.

But Sealab, Venture Brothers, and Home Movies were hard acts to follow. Robot Chicken is still quite good, though.

Then again, I realized that I'm not watching as much TV as I used to, so even the promise of a good Adult Swim show might not be enough for me.

I may put Parks & Rec on my queue. I've been hearing about it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 04, 2014, 01:39:10 pm
Venture Brothers is fantabulous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 04, 2014, 01:55:55 pm
It's definitely true that comedies get better over time. I can't think of a single comedy that was at its best in season 1. A lot of what make comedies work is that you get attached to the characters, which obviously takes some time, and of course comedy is a lot harder to manufacture than drama if that makes sense, a lot of it is based on a dynamic among the cast, which takes some time to develop.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 04, 2014, 02:45:44 pm
Parks and Rec is amazing.  Except for GaryJerryLarryTerry.

FTFY

I didn't do that because they are spoilers!

I wrote Larry before deciding to look up what the "original" name was.  I couldn't remember.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on September 04, 2014, 02:53:41 pm
Parks and Rec is amazing. The first season is pretty meh, but only compared to the rest of the seasons. I'd still pick it over something like Big Bang Theory.

And for the record, it's Gerry!

Edit: double checking wikipedia suggests that it's actually actually Garry. Well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 04, 2014, 03:39:38 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/f8c6d5bcd4eed72eabd5bdb0055e2eb3/tumblr_n9njwufjTv1r5tut2o1_250.gif)(https://38.media.tumblr.com/815e9a8c2590cf2dc80d46cd8633ea31/tumblr_n9njwufjTv1r5tut2o2_250.gif)

Also, how about Guardians of the Galaxy?

(https://38.media.tumblr.com/aa62c901a537969002e5b9ee999d7b66/tumblr_nabj7kKWuY1qbzbu6o2_500.png)

(I haven't actually watched Guardians of the Galaxy.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 04, 2014, 06:33:42 pm
Actually, knowing that Andy Dwyer is actually the Star-Lord named Peter Quill made P&R all the more funny.  And one of the reasons that I started watching it in the first place.  I finished season 1, and will say that I enjoyed episodes 1-2 more than 3-6, but still enjoyed the season, however short it was.  If you all say that the rest of the seasons just keep getting better, then I will just have to keep watching.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 04, 2014, 08:35:02 pm
(I haven't actually watched Guardians of the Galaxy.)

You should.

That said, you shouldn't wait for the after-credit thing.  Totally not worth it this time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on September 04, 2014, 09:27:17 pm
It's definitely true that comedies get better over time. I can't think of a single comedy that was at its best in season 1. A lot of what make comedies work is that you get attached to the characters, which obviously takes some time, and of course comedy is a lot harder to manufacture than drama if that makes sense, a lot of it is based on a dynamic among the cast, which takes some time to develop.
Modern Family.

But yeah, I agree with the principle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on September 04, 2014, 09:28:02 pm
(I haven't actually watched Guardians of the Galaxy.)

You should.

That said, you shouldn't wait for the after-credit thing.  Totally not worth it this time.
No way it was that good. Just no.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 04, 2014, 09:38:05 pm
I thought the first (there's twenty characters let's present them all in five minutes!) and last (gravity is cool, let's put all clichés that involve it one after the other) 20% were pretty bad. But the middle was really funny, and a couple of well-done poignant moments here and there. I don't think I've laughed that much in a Marvel movie before.

And the post-credit scenes is just a cameo of an obscure character, I guess testing the waters to see if they can introduce it in a future film. Not worth it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on September 04, 2014, 10:36:15 pm
It's moronic... and yet it has indeed raised millions for ALS research.  Which is great news for ALS sufferers (if they live long enough to see treatment, which they likely won't), but not so great news for... other charities.

I view the ice-water gimmick as a good thing because it raises awareness. Well, really, it reminds people, because I think everyone knows of ALS, but sometimes it helps to remind people that it's still out there and could use more research. So these stupid stunts bring the disease to the foreground and raise money. Good on that!

Having said that, the stunt is really dumb because you're challenging someone to donate $100 (or whatever) or else pour ice water over your head. So when someone videos himself pouring water over his head, he is making a tacit admission that he would rather dump water on himself than donate $100 to ALS research. This is probably not true. I bet most of the people in the videos did donate something, though maybe not $100. But the statement is still there, so it's pretty dumb. The challenge really should be something like donating $100 and then proving it by videoing yourself with ice water on your head. Not that it proves much but again, awareness.

A friend whose research is in water treatment and desalinization posted something to FB earlier today, pointing out that one of the major causes of death in the world is lack of access to fresh water.  And here we are dumping someone's daily supply of water over our heads as part of a bet to escape giving as much to charity.

As someone with little to donate to charity in any given year, I can think of a lot better causes than ALS research.  Consider that about 30000 people in the US suffer from ALS.  That's about the same as the number of people just in my home city (about 10% of the population) who rely on food banks for part of their sustenance.  A $10 donation to my local food bank is going to impact more lives today than a $100 donation to ALS research... for which a useful treatment is years or decades away.

I don't know, maybe I'm more "aware" than other people, but I wasn't ignorant of ALS prior to this.  I don't see awareness of a specific disease as a great goal.
That water would never have gone to Africa anyway, way too expensive to ship water that distance, your friend should know this. Research that goes into ALS doesn't just help ALS. Discoveries found in the research can help with many other kinds of similar diseases and can help our understanding about how the brain works in general.

This video seems to cover most of the complaints people have about giving money to ALS research and the ice bucket challenge. It's long (27 minutes) but it's worth the watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDGu33F-mCY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 04, 2014, 10:53:43 pm
ANyone get the XKCD "What If?" book?  I did and it's so awesome.  I haven't had a ton of time to read it, but there are things about the book itself that are awesome without having to read it yet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 04, 2014, 11:16:57 pm
ANyone get the XKCD "What If?" book?  I did and it's so awesome.  I haven't had a ton of time to read it, but there are things about the book itself that are awesome without having to read it yet.

Is there more than what's online?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 04, 2014, 11:35:05 pm
Yeah.  A lot of them are from the blog, but there are also ones that he wanted to go more in depth than he would for the blog and also a few really random/dumb/terrifying/weird questions he got and doesn't answer.  I think he may have expanded some of the ones from the blog, but I'm not sure since I've only read the first 2 or 3
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on September 04, 2014, 11:51:26 pm
ANyone get the XKCD "What If?" book?  I did and it's so awesome.  I haven't had a ton of time to read it, but there are things about the book itself that are awesome without having to read it yet.
Ordered. Thanks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 05, 2014, 12:34:02 am
ANyone get the XKCD "What If?" book?  I did and it's so awesome.  I haven't had a ton of time to read it, but there are things about the book itself that are awesome without having to read it yet.

I got it yesterday at dinner time and read the whole thing that night, even though I had a meeting that night.  It was amazing.

All of the ones on the blog, from what I saw, seemed to be the same.

My favorite new one was the neutron-star bullet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 05, 2014, 03:47:46 am
Got it also, since I'm close enough to one of the book tours that I can (hopefully) get it signed.

I haven't read much of it, but the neutron-star bullet one is pretty good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 05, 2014, 03:54:34 am
Actually, knowing that Andy Dwyer is actually the Star-Lord named Peter Quill made P&R all the more funny.  And one of the reasons that I started watching it in the first place.

For me it was the other way around.

I din't catch much of the first season. I think I got in somewhere during the second season. But now, I love the show. Someday I'll probably watch the first season and the episodes from the second one that I've missed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 05, 2014, 05:20:22 am
http://youtu.be/YoB8t0B4jx4
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 05, 2014, 09:37:37 am
Actually, knowing that Andy Dwyer is actually the Star-Lord named Peter Quill made P&R all the more funny.  And one of the reasons that I started watching it in the first place.

For me it was the other way around.

I din't catch much of the first season. I think I got in somewhere during the second season. But now, I love the show. Someday I'll probably watch the first season and the episodes from the second one that I've missed.

You know, it could be that the world of Parks and Rec is a parallel universe to the one in Guardians of the Galaxy where Peter Quill never got picked up by the Ravagers.  So really, Andy Dwyer is the Star-Lord, but he just doesn't know because he never realized his destiny because he never got abducted.  I think it works.  But I need to watch more P&R to really tell.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 05, 2014, 12:27:04 pm
Accurate graph is accurate

(http://i.imgur.com/d2lkpf8.jpg) (http://imgur.com/gallery/d2lkpf8)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 05, 2014, 12:31:22 pm
Uhhh.... Dr. Nick?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 05, 2014, 01:31:42 pm
Uhhh.... Dr. Nick?

Hi, everybody!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 05, 2014, 03:29:35 pm
Uhhh.... Dr. Nick?

Hi, everybody!

You're a mobster, not a doctor.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on September 05, 2014, 04:00:57 pm
Speaking of doctors ....

I just passed my dissertation defense! Henceforth I will require you all to refer to me as Dr. Jonts.

And no, I won't take a look at that rash, but it's probably terminal.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on September 05, 2014, 04:09:54 pm
It's psychosomatic.  You'll need a lobotomy.  I'll get a saw.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 05, 2014, 04:09:59 pm
Speaking of doctors ....

I just passed my dissertation defense! Henceforth I will require you all to refer to me as Dr. Jonts.

And no, I won't take a look at that rash, but it's probably terminal.

My foot hurts. Is it pneumonia?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on September 05, 2014, 04:27:32 pm
Speaking of doctors ....

I just passed my dissertation defense! Henceforth I will require you all to refer to me as Dr. Jonts.

And no, I won't take a look at that rash, but it's probably terminal.

My foot hurts. Is it pneumonia?

It's a common side effect of forum trolling. I recommend cutting out sarcastic remarks for at least a week.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 05, 2014, 04:30:17 pm
Speaking of doctors ....

I just passed my dissertation defense! Henceforth I will require you all to refer to me as Dr. Jonts.

And no, I won't take a look at that rash, but it's probably terminal.

What field?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on September 05, 2014, 04:32:09 pm
Speaking of doctors ....

I just passed my dissertation defense! Henceforth I will require you all to refer to me as Dr. Jonts.

And no, I won't take a look at that rash, but it's probably terminal.

What field?

Dominionology, I think. Or at least, that's where I spent most of my research efforts in the past 5 years.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 05, 2014, 05:05:22 pm
Speaking of doctors ....

I just passed my dissertation defense! Henceforth I will require you all to refer to me as Dr. Jonts.

And no, I won't take a look at that rash, but it's probably terminal.

What field?

Dominionology, I think. Or at least, that's where I spent most of my research efforts in the past 5 years.

Makes sense.  You are henceforth Dr. Dominion.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on September 05, 2014, 10:00:14 pm
It's psychosomatic.  You'll need a lobotomy.  I'll get a saw.

I like Calvin & Hobbes too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 06, 2014, 12:52:49 pm
So this is awesome:

http://www.watchingtheleftovers.com/blog/2014/7/4/abcs-of-the-sudden-departure

I really really like the art.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 06, 2014, 01:35:11 pm
What's up with October 14?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 06, 2014, 01:38:55 pm
What's up with October 14?

I have no clue, but if you want a countown, here you go (http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/to?iso=20141014T00&p0=%3A&fg1=000&msg=Supernatural+Season+10&csz=1&swk=1)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 06, 2014, 01:42:37 pm
Ha.  It relates to the show The Leftovers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2699128/?ref_=nv_sr_1).  October 14 was the day of The Departure. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 06, 2014, 02:42:14 pm
Ha.  It relates to the show The Leftovers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2699128/?ref_=nv_sr_1).  October 14 was the day of The Departure.

Oh whew. I just thought I was totally unaware of some important historical event
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on September 06, 2014, 02:57:27 pm
Ha.  It relates to the show The Leftovers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2699128/?ref_=nv_sr_1).  October 14 was the day of The Departure.

Oh whew. I just thought I was totally unaware of some important historical event

You mean you don't remember that time millions of people suddenly vanished?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 06, 2014, 08:26:04 pm
experiments with e have shown that I'm one of the 10% most blacklisted people. for some reason. which is bad. but it explaines some kicks from people who i know don't dislike me. at least that's something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 06, 2014, 08:38:07 pm
experiments with e have shown that I'm one of the 10% most blacklisted people. for some reason. which is bad. but it explaines some kicks from people who i know don't dislike me. at least that's something.

Hmmm... This makes me less trustful of the blacklist top x% most blacklisted people. I assumed it would just catch the slow-players and people who curse at you for winning.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 06, 2014, 08:40:54 pm
experiments with e have shown that I'm one of the 10% most blacklisted people. for some reason. which is bad. but it explaines some kicks from people who i know don't dislike me. at least that's something.

Hmmm... This makes me less trustful of the blacklist top x% most blacklisted people. I assumed it would just catch the slow-players and people who curse at you for winning.

Yeah, I never felt the "most blacklisted" list made for a good idea in the first place.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 06, 2014, 09:50:01 pm
experiments with e have shown that I'm one of the 10% most blacklisted people. for some reason. which is bad. but it explaines some kicks from people who i know don't dislike me. at least that's something.

You just maybe talk to AI about it instead of posting it in the random stuff thread...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 06, 2014, 10:03:04 pm
experiments with e have shown that I'm one of the 10% most blacklisted people. for some reason. which is bad. but it explaines some kicks from people who i know don't dislike me. at least that's something.

You just maybe talk to AI about it instead of posting it in the random stuff thread...

Except it's not necessarily a bug. I would post this in the salvager discussion thread instead though
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 06, 2014, 10:03:38 pm
experiments with e have shown that I'm one of the 10% most blacklisted people. for some reason. which is bad. but it explaines some kicks from people who i know don't dislike me. at least that's something.

You just maybe talk to AI about it instead of posting it in the random stuff thread...

Except it's not necessarily a bug. I would post this in the salvager discussion thread instead though

Well yeah, that's more what I meant.  I wasn't very clear/didn't quite say the right thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 06, 2014, 10:47:23 pm
Well, after playing Pathfinder today, I am reminded why Experience Points in RPGs is such a dumb concept. Somehow, bringing more people along means that you learn less.

And when an adventure path assumes that you'll be X level at a certain point, it's hard to be at X level if you have more than four players.

I'm a huge fan of the GM telling you when you level. That way it's appropriate for the story. I like how 13th Age handles levels (though levels are also a horrible way to track an RPG, but it'll do).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 06, 2014, 10:50:24 pm
Well, after playing Pathfinder today, I am reminded why Experience Points in RPGs is such a dumb concept. Somehow, bringing more people along means that you learn less.

And when an adventure path assumes that you'll be X level at a certain point, it's hard to be at X level if you have more than four players.

I'm a huge fan of the GM telling you when you level. That way it's appropriate for the story. I like how 13th Age handles levels (though levels are also a horrible way to track an RPG, but it'll do).

I've never seen any game where the more party members you have, the less experience each party member gets.  I've always seen it say you get x experience points and each party member gets x experience.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 06, 2014, 10:54:16 pm
Well, after playing Pathfinder today, I am reminded why Experience Points in RPGs is such a dumb concept. Somehow, bringing more people along means that you learn less.

And when an adventure path assumes that you'll be X level at a certain point, it's hard to be at X level if you have more than four players.

I'm a huge fan of the GM telling you when you level. That way it's appropriate for the story. I like how 13th Age handles levels (though levels are also a horrible way to track an RPG, but it'll do).

I've never seen any game where the more party members you have, the less experience each party member gets.  I've always seen it say you get x experience points and each party member gets x experience.

D&D 3E and on up have been about, "You get X XP, so each party member receives X/N XP." This is also popular in video games where the larger your party, the smaller the individual awards.

But it's not as bad as the original Wasteland (and probably original Bard's Tale, though I don't remember that very well) where you get XP based on how much damage you did to the baddie, thus making it hard to level support characters, like healers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 06, 2014, 11:38:01 pm
You have a combo problem:  If you have more than 4 players, the GM is supposed to scale up the encounters so they're worth more XP.  They'll also be harder, but hey, you have six adventurers, what could go wrong, right?

That way, when you get to the end of the adventure path, you're where you're supposed to be.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 06, 2014, 11:58:05 pm
I've never seen any game where the more party members you have, the less experience each party member gets.  I've always seen it say you get x experience points and each party member gets x experience.

I assume you're talking about video games. Most games just pre-divide it for you, then tell you how much each character gets. Test it right now. Turn on an RPG where the number of characters in your party varies over the course of the game (e.g. Final Fantasy IV). Fight an encounter and note how much XP you got. Then gain or lose a party member and fight the same encounter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 07, 2014, 12:01:56 am
You have a combo problem:  If you have more than 4 players, the GM is supposed to scale up the encounters so they're worth more XP.  They'll also be harder, but hey, you have six adventurers, what could go wrong, right?

That way, when you get to the end of the adventure path, you're where you're supposed to be.

In theory, this should balance itself out without that change. Each character gets less XP and so your party is slightly behind in levels. But that should be balanced by the fact that there are more of you. Again, this is the theory. Does not always work in practice and it certainly breaks down as the number of PCs gets ridiculous (like 10).

In general, you shouldn't have to make changes for a party of 5. With a party of 6, I could see adjustments being necessary.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 07, 2014, 12:08:36 am
Well, after playing Pathfinder today, I am reminded why Experience Points in RPGs is such a dumb concept. Somehow, bringing more people along means that you learn less.

And when an adventure path assumes that you'll be X level at a certain point, it's hard to be at X level if you have more than four players.

I'm a huge fan of the GM telling you when you level. That way it's appropriate for the story. I like how 13th Age handles levels (though levels are also a horrible way to track an RPG, but it'll do).

There is some thematic justification for it.  Experience points are an abstract measurement of a player becoming more skilled through practice.  If you have lots of people helping to do the same task, you get less practice over all.  Suppose the task is "chopping wood" and there is a set amount of wood to chop.  If you are going it alone, you chop a lot of wood and reap a lot of experience.  If you have somebody helping you chop the wood, you both chop half the amount, get half the practice and receive half the XP.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 07, 2014, 12:09:51 am
I've never seen any game where the more party members you have, the less experience each party member gets.  I've always seen it say you get x experience points and each party member gets x experience.

I assume you're talking about video games. Most games just pre-divide it for you, then tell you how much each character gets. Test it right now. Turn on an RPG where the number of characters in your party varies over the course of the game (e.g. Final Fantasy IV). Fight an encounter and note how much XP you got. Then gain or lose a party member and fight the same encounter.

I don't have any RPGs at a good place to check, but I did just look in the source code for RPG Maker and it does what I said, not what you said.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 07, 2014, 12:11:11 am
For video game RPGs, I've seen the following systems

1. Everyone gets the same amount of EXP
2. You have an active party of everyone you can bring, and a non-active party of everybody else. Your active party gets the same amount of EXP, no one else gets any.
3. The active party gets the same amount of EXP, the non-active party gets a smaller fraction (like 80%)

In all the above, dead people get no exp, and having dead people doesn't give anyone else more EXP, even though there's fewer people to take it.

In MMORPGs, it's often split based on character level within the party, with higher levels getting more to mitigate people power-leveling lower level players. I think most MMORPGs multiply the EXP based on the number of people in the party before splitting it - that way, although you get less exp per monster, when you add up the contributions from everybody it works out to more exp for everyone.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 07, 2014, 12:30:58 am
In games like Shining Force (I and II), characters get experience per action.  And you get more if you kill an enemy, as long as they're within level range (up to a max).  Support characters keep up because they get to use their abilities often enough.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 07, 2014, 12:55:47 am
You have a combo problem:  If you have more than 4 players, the GM is supposed to scale up the encounters so they're worth more XP.  They'll also be harder, but hey, you have six adventurers, what could go wrong, right?

That way, when you get to the end of the adventure path, you're where you're supposed to be.

In games like D&D and its clones, there can be a significant change in strength. A group of four level 11s will pretty much outshine a group of five 10s. The 11s will have an additional iterative attack for martial characters and 6th-level spells for spellcasters. That fifth character at 10th won't be as impressive.

There is some thematic justification for it.  Experience points are an abstract measurement of a player becoming more skilled through practice.  If you have lots of people helping to do the same task, you get less practice over all.  Suppose the task is "chopping wood" and there is a set amount of wood to chop.  If you are going it alone, you chop a lot of wood and reap a lot of experience.  If you have somebody helping you chop the wood, you both chop half the amount, get half the practice and receive half the XP.

I see what you're getting at, but it quantifies experience and makes it clunky. Doing half the work of chopping wood would not make you half as experienced. You learn a lot from watching the others.

But then again I've always scowled at the notion of merit-based XP. I believe it was "Over the Edge" that suggested giving more XP when the characters fail because they learned more. It's not something I'd do all the time, but there's better justification of that.

The most fun I had in a D&D game was where the GM took the suggestion to level the party when it made good story sense. There was no worrying about tracking XP. And there wasn't any of that nonsense of, "I know we beat the main villain, but we should explore every nook and cranny so we can get more XP."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 07, 2014, 01:14:41 am
And there wasn't any of that nonsense of, "I know we beat the main villain, but we should explore every nook and cranny so we can get more XP."

Rather, you do it to find every possible bit of loot. ;)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 07, 2014, 01:36:04 am
For TTRPGs, I have mostly just played RuneQuest. The "level-upping" in RQ works so that you have a % of success for each skill, and you try to roll below the number with 1d100, and if you succeed, you check a box and once per in-game week, all %s with their boxes checked increase and the checks are erased. For skills that are already over 50%, you need a special or a critical success. In my playgroup, the GM usually makes it smoother so that a 40% skill doesn't necessarily get checked if you roll 40, and a 60% skill might still get checked if you roll, say, 17. It isn't super realistic, but it makes the characters better over time and keeps the focus on the story rather than grinding for XP.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 07, 2014, 02:17:56 am
You have a combo problem:  If you have more than 4 players, the GM is supposed to scale up the encounters so they're worth more XP.  They'll also be harder, but hey, you have six adventurers, what could go wrong, right?

That way, when you get to the end of the adventure path, you're where you're supposed to be.

In games like D&D and its clones, there can be a significant change in strength. A group of four level 11s will pretty much outshine a group of five 10s. The 11s will have an additional iterative attack for martial characters and 6th-level spells for spellcasters. That fifth character at 10th won't be as impressive.

Exactly.  That's why the DM has to level up the encounters.

Quote
The most fun I had in a D&D game was where the GM took the suggestion to level the party when it made good story sense. There was no worrying about tracking XP. And there wasn't any of that nonsense of, "I know we beat the main villain, but we should explore every nook and cranny so we can get more XP."

I agree.  This is what I did toward the end of the campaign I ran many years ago under 3/3.5.  "You guys just defeated the guy you thought was the big bad, but he turned out to be possessed by the goddess of Destruction, and she just used him to destroy herself.  Oh, that second, red sun you guys have dealt with the whole campaign?  Yeah, that's her embodiment, and she just went all supernova.  Sooooo.  Yeeeeah, you guys should probably level before trying to take care of that."

(It was a weird campaign.  Homebrew world, planets and stars as literal embodiments of the gods, ridiculously powerful magical artifacts that end up inherited by a feisty teenage girl, time travel.  You know, all the usual stuff.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on September 07, 2014, 02:38:15 am
So that last bundle of posts just felt like an airshow buzzing around my head. Nothing ever landed though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 07, 2014, 07:28:04 am
experiments with e have shown that I'm one of the 10% most blacklisted people. for some reason. which is bad. but it explaines some kicks from people who i know don't dislike me. at least that's something.

You just maybe talk to AI about it instead of posting it in the random stuff thread...

what for, if i'm in the top 10%, then I'm in the top 10%. the option is there to not play with people that are in the top 10%, so it does what it's for. there is nothing broken with it, there is nothing to fix.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 07, 2014, 09:22:03 am
Am I the only one who plays TTRPGS wihtout levels?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 07, 2014, 09:31:42 am
Am I the only one who plays TTRPGS wihtout levels?
I guess you could say that the BRP based games don't have levels, though they still have the concept there, it's just more direct.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 07, 2014, 09:38:03 am
Well, you get better at stuff you're doing. It feels more thematic to me. Not where you whack a goblin and learn how to swim or produce a fireball.

I mean, most games have some sort of experience points. Games that haven't tend to feel flat and you hardly ever want to play more than a couple of sessions.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on September 07, 2014, 10:28:30 am
I've played a number of FATE games where we never leveled. Probably some of the most fun I've had with tabletop. If you've never played FATE i strongly recommend it. You could play with experience and leveling, but overall the system feels more narrative focused and the gameplay is a it more flexible and inventive.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 07, 2014, 10:49:49 am
Am I the only one who plays TTRPGS wihtout levels?

There are plenty of games without levels. The ones off the top of my head that I've played and/or ran included GURPS, Torg, Call of Cthulhu, Over the Edge, Unknown Armies, and Mutants and Masterminds (though there are levels, but they do not have inherent bonuses in them like D&D).

Actually, Call of Cthulhu has one of the more interesting experience systems. No XP. Did you use that skill? Roll percent dice. If you get over that skill, then you learned something and can increase it. Albeit, that system wouldn't hold the attention of the average gamer, but nobody expects CoC characters to survive for long anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 07, 2014, 09:13:54 pm
experiments with e have shown that I'm one of the 10% most blacklisted people. for some reason. which is bad. but it explaines some kicks from people who i know don't dislike me. at least that's something.

You just maybe talk to AI about it instead of posting it in the random stuff thread...

what for, if i'm in the top 10%, then I'm in the top 10%. the option is there to not play with people that are in the top 10%, so it does what it's for. there is nothing broken with it, there is nothing to fix.

It might call into question the statement in the help that top 20% is a "sane" setting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 07, 2014, 09:35:22 pm
well e had it on top 80%. but you got a point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 07, 2014, 10:12:34 pm
Today was Day 1 of Week 3 of the 100 push-up challenge (http://hundredpushups.com/).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 07, 2014, 10:13:51 pm
I should note I completed the challenge about 4 years ago and I work in the 3rd column but I am not at all strong.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 08, 2014, 08:14:53 am
Today was Day 1 of Week 3 of the 100 push-up challenge (http://hundredpushups.com/).

I'm on week two of a couch to 10m.  Up to 3 m yesterday!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on September 08, 2014, 11:26:26 am
I did 5 push ups before my ice cream last night. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 08, 2014, 11:45:54 am
My ice cream is a Push Up.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 08, 2014, 11:54:29 am
I did 5 push ups before my ice cream last night. :)
Okay, then I'm going to do 5 push ups before my next ice cream as well!

I don't like ice cream and I never have any.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 08, 2014, 12:05:10 pm
I did a 14-18-14-14 string last night, then did maybe 10ish for the final "until you tire" set.  Though I needed some extra time between the third and fourth set.  I like this idea, but I always find it really hard to remember to do a pushup routine every day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 08, 2014, 03:22:25 pm
I did a 14-18-14-14 string last night, then did maybe 10ish for the final "until you tire" set.  Though I needed some extra time between the third and fourth set.  I like this idea, but I always find it really hard to remember to do a pushup routine every day.

It's every other day and it helps to have a buddy where one of you can remind the other. For reference, I maxed at 30 after the 14-18-14-14 string. This would have been impossible even a week ago.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 08, 2014, 03:23:57 pm
I did a 14-18-14-14 string last night, then did maybe 10ish for the final "until you tire" set.  Though I needed some extra time between the third and fourth set.  I like this idea, but I always find it really hard to remember to do a pushup routine every day.

It's every other day and it helps to have a buddy where one of you can remind the other. For reference, I maxed at 30 after the 14-18-14-14 string. This would have been impossible even a week ago.

I need to build a robot that can count pushups.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 08, 2014, 04:35:10 pm
Story time!

Last night I was playing in Baltimore and some girl told me I looked like Michael Phelps which I get a lot in Baltimore. She proceeded to ask if she could take a picture with me to which I said no. She asked why and I answered "because fuck no."

Kingzog would you like to hear that again?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 08, 2014, 05:34:03 pm
Story time!

Last night I was playing in Baltimore and some girl told me I looked like Michael Phelps which I get a lot in Baltimore. She proceeded to ask if she could take a picture with me to which I said no. She asked why and I answered "because fuck no."

Kingzog would you like to hear that again?

No it's all good. This one is genuinely very funny. "Because fuck no" is a perfect response for someone trying to force a picture on you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 08, 2014, 05:43:49 pm
Story time!

Last night I was playing in Baltimore and some girl told me I looked like Michael Phelps which I get a lot in Baltimore. She proceeded to ask if she could take a picture with me to which I said no. She asked why and I answered "because fuck no."

Kingzog would you like to hear that again?

No it's all good. This one is genuinely very funny. "Because fuck no" is a perfect response for someone trying to force a picture on you.

Pretty sure it's  a perfect response for just about anything. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 08, 2014, 05:45:53 pm
It snowed this morning.

Autumn lasted approximately one week.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on September 08, 2014, 06:09:55 pm
It snowed this morning.

Autumn lasted approximately one week.

Where do you live?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 08, 2014, 06:24:37 pm
It snowed this morning.

Autumn lasted approximately one week.

Autumn doesn't start for another two weeks!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 08, 2014, 06:30:58 pm
It snowed this morning.

Autumn lasted approximately one week.

Autumn doesn't start for another two weeks!

For him, autumn lasted -2 weeks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 08, 2014, 06:35:27 pm
It snowed this morning.

Autumn lasted approximately one week.

Where do you live?

Alberta, Canada.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 08, 2014, 06:40:45 pm
It snowed this morning.

Autumn lasted approximately one week.

Where do you live?

Alberta, Canada.

Still a nice 20 here in quebec.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 08, 2014, 06:42:46 pm
It snowed this morning.

Autumn lasted approximately one week.

Where do you live?

Alberta, Canada.

One Minnesotan says to another, "So, do you have any plans for the Spring?"

The other replies, "We're planning on a family picnic if it falls on a weekend!"

Goddamn temperate climate.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Hydrad on September 08, 2014, 08:45:47 pm
It snowed this morning.

Autumn lasted approximately one week.

Where do you live?

Alberta, Canada.

It's not even stopping :( I can't see anything green anymore
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 08, 2014, 09:17:20 pm
It snowed this morning.

Autumn lasted approximately one week.

Where do you live?

Alberta, Canada.

It's not even stopping :( I can't see anything green anymore

I'm jealous. If you had mountains you could ski. Downhill, not that silly cross country stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 08, 2014, 09:26:32 pm
I usually only get snow one day out of the year on average...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 08, 2014, 09:37:04 pm
It snowed this morning.

Autumn lasted approximately one week.

Where do you live?

Alberta, Canada.

It's not even stopping :( I can't see anything green anymore

Hmm, where I am, it's still warm enough (hovering between -4 and +1 C) that the snow is melting when it hits the ground.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Hydrad on September 08, 2014, 09:52:20 pm
I usually only get snow one day out of the year on average...

I hate winter... so jealous. I should not be in canada lol
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 08, 2014, 10:41:21 pm
So this is awesome:

http://www.watchingtheleftovers.com/blog/2014/7/4/abcs-of-the-sudden-departure

I really really like the art.

Just realized a friend of mine is an assistant director for The Leftovers. Pretty cool.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on September 08, 2014, 11:40:55 pm
Debated whether this belonged in let's take things completely out of context or not, but that's the thing, the context doesn't save it.

In my History class today before the teacher shows up. Some guy is playing Hearthstone on his laptop and talking to this girl (they talk all the time, and no one else in the class does, so it's slightly odd).

Guy: "Man, I am getting my butt kicked."
Girl: --mild agreement--
Guy: "That's the thing about card games though, they're all luck anyway."


I don't even know what to say to that. . .
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 08, 2014, 11:57:13 pm
Debated whether this belonged in let's take things completely out of context or not, but that's the thing, the context doesn't save it.

In my History class today before the teacher shows up. Some guy is playing Hearthstone on his laptop and talking to this girl (they talk all the time, and no one else in the class does, so it's slightly odd).

Guy: "Man, I am getting my butt kicked."
Girl: --mild agreement--
Guy: "That's the thing about card games though, they're all luck anyway."


I don't even know what to say to that. . .

In the immortal words of AdamH(?), you make your own shuffle luck.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 09, 2014, 01:31:30 am
Finished all that's currently posted for Ra by qntm. It's all but what is going to be the last chapter.

Overall...I don't know how I feel about it. There's a transition in tone between the beginning of the story and the end of it. I will say that it's the "smartest" thing I've ever read - it's not something you can casually browse through, you have to think about it. Plus, there are casual references to all sorts of sciences and science fiction. Quines, Kardashev scales, heavy detail on the inner workings of the Space Shuttle...

It took a very long time for me to get into it. The entire work is framed around, "how does this world work?" Once you get into it though, it's very good. Would recommend.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 09, 2014, 08:29:38 am
Smart reading, try House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. Or anything by Danielewski.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 09, 2014, 09:08:17 am
So this is awesome:

http://www.watchingtheleftovers.com/blog/2014/7/4/abcs-of-the-sudden-departure

I really really like the art.

Just realized a friend of mine is an assistant director for The Leftovers. Pretty cool.

I just looked the show up, and it says the plot is that 2% of the world population just mysteriously vanished. But like, that's 120 000 people, and if that's worldwide the effect of that would be minor, traumatising some people but leaving large cities, and probably most towns totally unaffected. I'm starting to doubt the premise before I've even seen the show.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 09, 2014, 09:30:31 am
7billion * 0.02 = 140million >> 120,000
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 09, 2014, 09:50:11 am
7billion * 0.02 = 140million >> 120,000

Right, I missed a bunch of zeros, silly me. And I also used 6billion, not 7.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 09, 2014, 10:26:34 am
So this is awesome:

http://www.watchingtheleftovers.com/blog/2014/7/4/abcs-of-the-sudden-departure

I really really like the art.

Just realized a friend of mine is an assistant director for The Leftovers. Pretty cool.

I just looked the show up, and it says the plot is that 2% of the world population just mysteriously vanished. But like, that's 120 000 people, and if that's worldwide the effect of that would be minor, traumatising some people but leaving large cities, and probably most towns totally unaffected. I'm starting to doubt the premise before I've even seen the show.

The point of the disaster is not how many people departed, it's about what it means about why they did, why the people who stayed didn't, and the spiritual/metaphysical implications on that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 09, 2014, 10:35:57 am
So this is awesome:

http://www.watchingtheleftovers.com/blog/2014/7/4/abcs-of-the-sudden-departure

I really really like the art.

Just realized a friend of mine is an assistant director for The Leftovers. Pretty cool.

I just looked the show up, and it says the plot is that 2% of the world population just mysteriously vanished. But like, that's 120 000 people, and if that's worldwide the effect of that would be minor, traumatising some people but leaving large cities, and probably most towns totally unaffected. I'm starting to doubt the premise before I've even seen the show.

The point of the disaster is not how many people departed, it's about what it means about why they did, why the people who stayed didn't, and the spiritual/metaphysical implications on that.

I understand the point, but say only 5 people disappeared. I wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief enough to accept everyone getting worked up about 5 people gone missing. So the number actually does matter, since it needs to be big enough to have some sort of global effect and not just a local disaster.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 09, 2014, 11:24:53 am
So this is awesome:

http://www.watchingtheleftovers.com/blog/2014/7/4/abcs-of-the-sudden-departure

I really really like the art.

Just realized a friend of mine is an assistant director for The Leftovers. Pretty cool.

I just looked the show up, and it says the plot is that 2% of the world population just mysteriously vanished. But like, that's 120 000 people, and if that's worldwide the effect of that would be minor, traumatising some people but leaving large cities, and probably most towns totally unaffected. I'm starting to doubt the premise before I've even seen the show.

The point of the disaster is not how many people departed, it's about what it means about why they did, why the people who stayed didn't, and the spiritual/metaphysical implications on that.

I understand the point, but say only 5 people disappeared. I wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief enough to accept everyone getting worked up about 5 people gone missing. So the number actually does matter, since it needs to be big enough to have some sort of global effect and not just a local disaster.

I imagine that if 5 people vanished before my very eyes I might be about as disconcerted if 150 million people went poof without me actually seeing it take place. But I do get your point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 09, 2014, 11:29:36 am
So this is awesome:

http://www.watchingtheleftovers.com/blog/2014/7/4/abcs-of-the-sudden-departure

I really really like the art.

Just realized a friend of mine is an assistant director for The Leftovers. Pretty cool.

I just looked the show up, and it says the plot is that 2% of the world population just mysteriously vanished. But like, that's 120 000 people, and if that's worldwide the effect of that would be minor, traumatising some people but leaving large cities, and probably most towns totally unaffected. I'm starting to doubt the premise before I've even seen the show.

The point of the disaster is not how many people departed, it's about what it means about why they did, why the people who stayed didn't, and the spiritual/metaphysical implications on that.

I understand the point, but say only 5 people disappeared. I wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief enough to accept everyone getting worked up about 5 people gone missing. So the number actually does matter, since it needs to be big enough to have some sort of global effect and not just a local disaster.

I imagine that if 5 people vanished before my very eyes I might be about as disconcerted if 150 million people went poof without me actually seeing it take place. But I do get your point.

Of course you would be disconcerted, but worldwide no one would notice. Also people would just think you're crazy. Those guys who think aliens abducted them are pretty sure it happened too.

This isn't to bash the show, I got the numbers wrong that's all. Just saying that the fact that it's 140million people instead of just 10 matters a lot.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 09, 2014, 11:49:17 am
The story takes place in a town of about 80,000 people.  That's, on average, 1600 people that disappeared.  It's too large to not go universally noticed by everyone. 

Imagine, some of those 1600 people were driving vehicles.  Some where operating dangerous machinery.  One could have been a bus driver.  One could have been flying a plane.  There would be accidents leading to deaths and injuries.

In our network of society, it doesn't take much disruption to have an effect on a large number of people.  If some guy killed himself today in his own home, that would effect his immediate family deeply (could be on the order of a dozen if he has a wife and children and parents and siblings), plus extended family somewhat, plus friends, plus coworkers.  If he did it in public, the people witnessing would also be effected. 

If thousands of people in a community died, that would be an incredible tragedy that effects the entire community.  People would eventually cope, though. If it was, say, a terrible accident, people know that these terrible things happen and you get through them.  Some might turn to religion when they weren't before.

If thousands of people simultaneously and instantaneously disappeared, people would not know what to do.  Imagine you're a parent.  People can't cope because they can't explain what happened.  Nothing in our experience can adequately explain what was witnessed.  People would be lost, hurt, searching for answers. 

2% is a pretty huge number when you start to think of all the people that any individual effects.  Something like 10% would be catastrophic.  It's also not, of course, equally distributed in every possible grouping of individuals you can come up with.  Some people would know no one that departed, and some would know many.  Some individuals could lose their entire family.  Some cities may lose 5-10%, while some lose almost none. But even those that didn't directly know anyone are still affected.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 09, 2014, 12:00:18 pm
I never watched the show, but I would imagine that 2% of the population disappearing would be significant. There would be a huge freak-out factor because people generally don't just vanish. There is general concern when a townsperson goes missing, but you just assume that he ran away or got knocked into a ditch by a train or was kidnapped--bad things but mundane enough to accept. When 1 out of every 50 have gone missing, and you hear on the news that this has happened worldwide, people are going to freak the fuck out.

I canceled HBO before the show started (I was in it for GoT anyway), but it sounds like an interesting premise. It kind of reminds me of the premise of Flash Forward, where everyone blacks out at the same time for about 2 minutes. It's freaky, and people should be questioning what the hell it all means. Too bad the show didn't deliver, but the premise was interesting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 09, 2014, 12:09:35 pm
The point of the disaster is not how many people departed, it's about what it means about why they did, why the people who stayed didn't, and the spiritual/metaphysical implications on that.

I was commenting on this, how the number does matter as 5 people would cause a global problem, but yes, 2% would be serious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 09, 2014, 12:11:59 pm
The point of the disaster is not how many people departed, it's about what it means about why they did, why the people who stayed didn't, and the spiritual/metaphysical implications on that.

I was commenting on this, how the number does matter as 5 people would cause a global problem, but yes, 2% would be serious.

Right, it has to be enough so that everyone knows it was a real thing that happened, with no doubt.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 09, 2014, 01:00:45 pm
I'm curious about how religious it gets. The premise takes obvious inspiration from the Christian concept of Rapture, particularly the version seen in the Left Behind series.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on September 09, 2014, 01:03:43 pm
I'm curious about how religious it gets. The premise takes obvious inspiration from the Christian concept of Rapture, particularly the version seen in the Left Behind series.

No spoilers, I don't think - I listened to an interview with the author/also showrunner I think? and it sounds like the show gets fairly religious but that's because that's how many/most people respond to it, not insomuch that the show itself gets religious in a meta way (if that poorly explained distinction makes sense).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 09, 2014, 01:09:35 pm
I'm curious about how religious it gets. The premise takes obvious inspiration from the Christian concept of Rapture, particularly the version seen in the Left Behind series.

No spoilers, I don't think - I listened to an interview with the author/also showrunner I think? and it sounds like the show gets fairly religious but that's because that's how many/most people respond to it, not insomuch that the show itself gets religious in a meta way (if that poorly explained distinction makes sense).

Yeah, OK. The true in-show explanation may not be religious in nature, but many characters will interpret the event as something spiritual.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 09, 2014, 01:36:31 pm
It gets very religious in the sense that there is a cult (although it's not a religious cult really) that is one of the most important parts of the show, there's also a guru which a cult around him in one of the storylines, and one of the secondary characters is a christian (not sure which denomination) priest. So religion gets discussed a fair amount, and the opening credits sequence references the Sistine Chapel, so yeah.

I doubt there will ever be an explanation for the event itself. I don't believe the book explains it, and the showrunner is not exactly known for his prowess at explaining big mysteries. Which is good, I'd rather have it be about the characters in the show and how they deal with it (which is very much what season 1 was about).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 09, 2014, 02:10:31 pm
...Some individuals could lose their entire family.  Some cities may lose 5-10%, while some lose almost none. But even those that didn't directly know anyone are still affected.

Just posting to say, this is extremely unlikely. If the global disappearance percentage is exactly 2% Almost all "cities" (large population areas) will lose very close to 2%. For example the chance a given city of 1,000,000 people will lose at least 2.05% of it's population is about one in 5,300. The chance it loses at least 2.1% of it's population is somewhere in the order of magnitude of one in a trillion. And the bigger a city is the more likely it is to be closer to 2%. Similar numbers occur if you want to look at a percentage decrease.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 09, 2014, 02:14:05 pm
Nowhere is it implied that the vanishings are perfectly random though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 09, 2014, 02:40:18 pm
Nowhere is it implied that the vanishings are perfectly random though.

I don't even know what exactly is being talked about, and I stated my assumption - a random 2% exactly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 09, 2014, 03:01:48 pm
Tables trying to be funny again...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 09, 2014, 03:07:42 pm
http://what-if.xkcd.com/27/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 09, 2014, 03:51:44 pm
Tables trying to be funny again...

I... when?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 09, 2014, 03:56:41 pm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307068/

Comedic but somewhat realistic look at what would happen when we all know when we are all going to die.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 09, 2014, 03:56:54 pm
http://badassdigest.com/2012/06/07/the-true-story-behind-safety-not-guaranteeds-time-travel-ad/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on September 09, 2014, 04:59:47 pm
I really think by going from the relative 2 percent to an absolute number you're making this a lot more complicated than it is. One in 50 people disappears. Even you yourself wouldn't notice their disappearance, it's really likely you know someone who noticed a disappearance, which he will tell you about.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 09, 2014, 05:13:28 pm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307068/

Comedic but somewhat realistic look at what would happen when we all know when we are all going to die.
http://machineofdeath.net/

I don't know if anyone has heard or read this, but basically it's a collection of short stories all written around the same idea: There is a machine that tells you how you die.  It's cool to see how different people interpret what would happen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 09, 2014, 06:17:05 pm
...Some individuals could lose their entire family.  Some cities may lose 5-10%, while some lose almost none. But even those that didn't directly know anyone are still affected.

Just posting to say, this is extremely unlikely. If the global disappearance percentage is exactly 2% Almost all "cities" (large population areas) will lose very close to 2%. For example the chance a given city of 1,000,000 people will lose at least 2.05% of it's population is about one in 5,300. The chance it loses at least 2.1% of it's population is somewhere in the order of magnitude of one in a trillion. And the bigger a city is the more likely it is to be closer to 2%. Similar numbers occur if you want to look at a percentage decrease.

You're flipping causality.  It isn't "let's give every person a 2% chance of disappearing and see who does."  It's "a bunch of people disappeared.  How many?  Oh, about 2% of the population."  We have no idea what, if any, force chose the disappearance.  The number of just ~2%.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 09, 2014, 06:18:51 pm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307068/

Comedic but somewhat realistic look at what would happen when we all know when we are all going to die.
http://machineofdeath.net/

I don't know if anyone has heard or read this, but basically it's a collection of short stories all written around the same idea: There is a machine that tells you how you die.  It's cool to see how different people interpret what would happen.

I read the first book, the pdf is free to download on the site. I feel some of the stories were just okay, but there were a couple I really liked. ALMOND is probably my favorite, MISCARRIAGE is close, HIV INFECTION FROM THE MACHINE OF DEATH NEEDLE is also pretty good.

I've been meaning to read the 2nd compilation, but haven't gotten the motivation to start it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 09, 2014, 06:19:50 pm
I really think by going from the relative 2 percent to an absolute number you're making this a lot more complicated than it is. One in 50 people disappears. Even you yourself wouldn't notice their disappearance, it's really likely you know someone who noticed a disappearance, which he will tell you about.

Huh?  Not at all.. just take a high school.  Every other room will have one student---maybe the teacher!---that suddenly disappears.  Most likely someone could see them at the time.  Then they simply disappear.  I don't know how you think that wouldn't cause a panic.  Even if it didn't cause a huge issue at the moment (trust me, it would), what about when their parents to go pick them up or expect them home that night?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on September 09, 2014, 06:45:43 pm
I really think by going from the relative 2 percent to an absolute number you're making this a lot more complicated than it is. One in 50 people disappears. Even you yourself wouldn't notice their disappearance, it's really likely you know someone who noticed a disappearance, which he will tell you about.

Huh?  Not at all.. just take a high school.  Every other room will have one student---maybe the teacher!---that suddenly disappears.  Most likely someone could see them at the time.  Then they simply disappear.  I don't know how you think that wouldn't cause a panic.  Even if it didn't cause a huge issue at the moment (trust me, it would), what about when their parents to go pick them up or expect them home that night?

I'm with Tables in not having a clue what you're all talking about, but I can say that you two are in violent agreement: if it helps to see why, add the missing "if" in "Even if you yourself wouldn't notice...".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 09, 2014, 06:51:21 pm
The truth of the matter is that the squid overlords are already removing 2% of our population every year, and you never notice.

Even though you now know this, you still cannot recall any of those disappearances.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a knock at my door. I almost didn't hear it over the sounds of black helicopters.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on September 09, 2014, 06:52:07 pm
The truth of the matter is that the squid overlords are already removing 2% of our population every year, and you never notice.

Even though you now know this, you still cannot recall any of those disappearances.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a knock at my door. I almost didn't hear it over the sounds of black helicopters.

Welcome...to Nightvale.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 09, 2014, 06:52:48 pm
The truth of the matter is that the squid overlords are already removing 2% of our population every year, and you never notice.

Even though you now know this, you still cannot recall any of those disappearances.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a knock at my door. I almost didn't hear it over the sounds of black helicopters.

This reminds me of Pact (http://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/)...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on September 09, 2014, 06:57:32 pm
I really think by going from the relative 2 percent to an absolute number you're making this a lot more complicated than it is. One in 50 people disappears. Even you yourself wouldn't notice their disappearance, it's really likely you know someone who noticed a disappearance, which he will tell you about.

Huh?  Not at all.. just take a high school.  Every other room will have one student---maybe the teacher!---that suddenly disappears.  Most likely someone could see them at the time.  Then they simply disappear.  I don't know how you think that wouldn't cause a panic.  Even if it didn't cause a huge issue at the moment (trust me, it would), what about when their parents to go pick them up or expect them home that night?

I'm with Tables in not having a clue what you're all talking about, but I can say that you two are in violent agreement: if it helps to see why, add the missing "if" in "Even if you yourself wouldn't notice...".

Thanks for clarifying what I meant, of course you're right.

I think the high school thing is kind of a bad example, since that's a place with rather high social interaction.
Also, I was operating under the assumption that the disappearances would happen without anyone seeing it happen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 09, 2014, 06:58:56 pm
I really think by going from the relative 2 percent to an absolute number you're making this a lot more complicated than it is. One in 50 people disappears. Even you yourself wouldn't notice their disappearance, it's really likely you know someone who noticed a disappearance, which he will tell you about.

Huh?  Not at all.. just take a high school.  Every other room will have one student---maybe the teacher!---that suddenly disappears.  Most likely someone could see them at the time.  Then they simply disappear.  I don't know how you think that wouldn't cause a panic.  Even if it didn't cause a huge issue at the moment (trust me, it would), what about when their parents to go pick them up or expect them home that night?

I'm with Tables in not having a clue what you're all talking about, but I can say that you two are in violent agreement: if it helps to see why, add the missing "if" in "Even if you yourself wouldn't notice...".

Oh.. that makes more sense.  Thanks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 10, 2014, 02:00:52 am
The truth of the matter is that the squid overlords are already removing 2% of our population every year, and you never notice.

Even though you now know this, you still cannot recall any of those disappearances.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a knock at my door. I almost didn't hear it over the sounds of black helicopters.

This reminds me of Pact (http://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/)...

Hm, kind of...

It also reminds me of Background Pony (http://www.fimfiction.net/story/19198/background-pony). I've only read the first chapter, and it already feels like I got hit with a ton of bricks...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 10, 2014, 03:08:37 am
Tables trying to be funny again...

I... when?

Most likely they just read my posts all like 'oh Tables is trying to be funny again.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 10, 2014, 10:38:08 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrZHPOeOxQQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 10, 2014, 11:26:27 am
^Song of the day thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 10, 2014, 12:25:43 pm
Tables trying to be funny again...

I... when?

Most likely they just read my posts all like 'oh Tables is trying to be funny again.


Oh, okay. That was a week ago. I figured you were talking about something more recent.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 10, 2014, 12:44:02 pm
Tables trying to be funny again...

I... when?

Most likely they just read my posts all like 'oh Tables is trying to be funny again.


Oh, okay. That was a week ago. I figured you were talking about something more recent.

Hahaha OMG stop my sides are hurting so much
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 11, 2014, 05:30:09 pm
That awkward and embarrassing moment when you read your friend's conversation with a pet medium.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/197883513712356/

Not going to call out which one, but it's public, and there are plenty of examples on this page.

It just seems so criminal to charge someone $11 to make him/her feel warm and fuzzy. I'm disgusted.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on September 11, 2014, 05:54:06 pm
somehow I can't believe that's real...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 11, 2014, 05:57:15 pm
It just seems so criminal to charge someone $11 to make him/her feel warm and fuzzy. I'm disgusted.
It would really suck to have your Colony swindled into a feeling of warmness and fuzziness.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on September 11, 2014, 05:59:09 pm
somehow I can't believe that's real...
There are so many pet versions of human things that I can't believe are real.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on September 11, 2014, 06:10:44 pm
I had a pet medium once, but I forgot to feed it. Afterwards I sought consolation from a pet medium medium.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on September 11, 2014, 06:13:07 pm
I guess I would eat pets medium, but eating cats and dogs is frowned upon here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 11, 2014, 06:14:47 pm
I had a pet medium once, but I forgot to feed it. Afterwards I sought consolation from a pet medium medium.

I had a pet medium once, but I forgot to feed it.  It became a pet small.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 11, 2014, 07:18:49 pm
somehow I can't believe that's real...
somehow I can't believe that's real...

I would hope it's not, but I do know one of the clients. I can't imagine the person faking all that for the sake of the medium.

Which means that the other discussions on there could possibly belong to other legitimate people. I wouldn't be survived if she hired out some shills or made fake accounts to give herself credibility, but I know at least one of them is real.

Grief can make us do foolish things. It just angers me to know that someone is making money off of the grief-stricken (especially since I know one of them).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on September 11, 2014, 07:23:07 pm
I had a pet medium once, but I forgot to feed it. Afterwards I sought consolation from a pet medium medium.

I had a pet medium once, but I forgot to feed it.  It became a pet small.

Then it escaped and became a small pet medium at large.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 11, 2014, 07:37:13 pm
I had a pet medium once, but I forgot to feed it. Afterwards I sought consolation from a pet medium medium.

I had a pet medium once, but I forgot to feed it.  It became a pet small.

Then it escaped and became a small pet medium at large.

We put up signs in coffee shops.  Starbucks made us change it to "short pet tall at grande."  Or is that "tall pet grande at venti"?  I've never been sure.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 11, 2014, 08:01:24 pm
somehow I can't believe that's real...
somehow I can't believe that's real...

I would hope it's not, but I do know one of the clients. I can't imagine the person faking all that for the sake of the medium.

Which means that the other discussions on there could possibly belong to other legitimate people. I wouldn't be survived if she hired out some shills or made fake accounts to give herself credibility, but I know at least one of them is real.

Grief can make us do foolish things. It just angers me to know that someone is making money off of the grief-stricken (especially since I know one of them).

I dislike all kinds of lies, but I have a particularly strong loathing for the people who perpetrate these ones.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 11, 2014, 09:09:47 pm
Kangaroof - We hop to it

^A real business.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 12, 2014, 02:33:03 am
Got my What If? book signed by Randall Munroe.

yaaaaaaaay

...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLTZctTG6cE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLTZctTG6cE)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on September 12, 2014, 03:55:45 am
It just seems so criminal to charge someone $11 to make him/her feel warm and fuzzy. I'm disgusted.

I'm not on facebook, so can't read the page, but $11 to relieve grief could be very cheap.  Would you be disgusted by a good counsellor charging $11 for the same result?  I completely agree that there's something off about mediums, so there has to be more to it than taking money off grieving people.  Perhaps it's that encouraging belief in the supernatural will lead to changes that might be damaging in the long term?

There's a similar situation with homeopaths.  If a placebo effect is enough to make someone feel better then that's great, but you don't want people to rely on homeopathy if they have a problem that a placebo won't fix.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 12, 2014, 09:56:08 am
I would not be as disgusted if a counselor made someone feel better. That's because typically the counselor relies on training to get the person through tough times. Often these are tried-and-true methods—perhaps with a little controversy—but generally accepted and tested.

This person is claiming to be able to talk to dead animals. The target audience is people who have such a strong emotional attachment to animals that their pain and/or guilt brings them to charlatans. This person is lying about her abilities and perpetuating wrong beliefs. I'm glad that my friend feels better about the outcome of the animal, but that could have been done in any number of ways not involving shelling out money to a hack. I don't know how much my friend paid in the end, but you're right that $11 (or $121 if it was 11 additional questions) is a small price to pay for peace of mind, but I vehemently oppose this woman getting that money for cold reading.

And if you look at the page, you can see the cold reading happening.

"Your dog loved eating bacon on Sundays."
"We never gave him bacon."
"He might be thinking of previous owners."
"Probably; we didn't know what his previous owners fed him."

It's glaringly obvious that she's fishing, but the client is obviously grieving and willing to overlook that.

In a sense, I'm kind of awed by how effective cold reading can be. It's beautiful how the human brain works, even to its own disadvantage, but the scams perpetuated with cold reading do disgust me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 12, 2014, 10:22:36 am
All I can say is Penn and Teller had more than one episode on hacks like this on their Bullshit show, and they make these points while at the same time showing how ridiculous these people are.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 12, 2014, 04:15:48 pm
(https://40.media.tumblr.com/bcff4acb9b7fa57426978f9aaa16bd6f/tumblr_n7dcxb5B7F1r57531o1_500.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 13, 2014, 05:37:05 am
If anyone wants a PAL download code for the Super Smash Bros for 3DS demo, I have two available to offer. Note that I don't think they work on NSTC so you need to actually be PAL for it to work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 13, 2014, 06:48:34 am
I'd take one if you still have any left. ;)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 13, 2014, 02:08:47 pm
Was anybody into Runescape back in the day? Or maybe even the original PSO?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 13, 2014, 02:09:10 pm
No.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 13, 2014, 02:43:13 pm
Was anybody into Runescape back in the day? Or maybe even the original PSO?

When I was in grade 5. I was level a lot in smithing and mining. Like top 100 in smithing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 13, 2014, 02:43:58 pm
Was anybody into Runescape back in the day? Or maybe even the original PSO?
I was into RuneScape in 2005. I have some items from a Christmas event that year, it's still sometimes amusing to log in and walk around with them on and watch people's reactions.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 13, 2014, 02:45:29 pm
I wish I still had my account. I was like lvl 119 or so all f2p. I think someone hacked my account somehow and it got deleted. Were you guys in any clans?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 13, 2014, 02:53:57 pm
No I just played f2p to level up.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 13, 2014, 03:34:47 pm
Or maybe even the original PSO?

I've played the GC version. A LOT. Love that game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 13, 2014, 03:39:02 pm
Or maybe even the original PSO?

I've played the GC version. A LOT. Love that game.

Yeah it's awesome, I played the original on Dreamcast with Seganet. The game was ruined for me when I walked into a room and found a few piles of the max amount of meseta. I've been trying to find videos on youtube of the original but they're aren't many.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Thisisnotasmile on September 13, 2014, 04:14:25 pm
If anyone wants a PAL download code for the Super Smash Bros for 3DS demo, I have two available to offer. Note that I don't think they work on NSTC so you need to actually be PAL for it to work.

I'd almost forgotten I even own a 3DS. No idea where it is. I'm surprised how quick I went off digital games when I discovered boardgames but I've got almost zero interest in them any more.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 13, 2014, 05:45:24 pm
I just googled recursion. It was awesome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 13, 2014, 06:00:37 pm
I just googled recursion. It was awesome.

Also try the following searches:

- tilt
- do a barrel roll
- anagram
- define anagram
- atari breakout (image search)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on September 13, 2014, 09:41:05 pm
I cracked up really hard at the scene at 1:04 of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNbZmcTSmEM
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 14, 2014, 01:30:18 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZND9dApFKU
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on September 14, 2014, 07:03:41 am
Was anybody into Runescape back in the day?
Me and my brother definitely went to the library a few time to play since dialup at home doesn't really let you play together. I wonder if my character still exists!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 14, 2014, 10:56:32 am
Was anybody into Runescape back in the day?
Me and my brother definitely went to the library a few time to play since dialup at home doesn't really let you play together. I wonder if my character still exists!
I used to play in middle school.  I went back a few years ago and still had my character :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 15, 2014, 01:06:47 pm
Found this. You can see my name briefly around 6:59 and then you can see me getting my ass beat around 8:55. Ah the memories.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXs6F7fbYyw
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 15, 2014, 03:15:34 pm
My family has weekly meetings to plan out the week.  In the summer, it was usually just "Oh, I have one or two things this week."  Even after school started, it still wasn't much since I'm homeschooled.

Yesterday: "I have something going on every day this week."

Oh boy...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 15, 2014, 10:38:42 pm
Did 100 pushups tonight!  25, 20, 15, (long break), 20, 20.  Needed the break though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 15, 2014, 11:09:29 pm
Baseball and crotch grabbing.

http://cespedesfamilybarbecue.com/2014/04/14/chris-resop-the-most-interesting-reliever-in-the-world/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 16, 2014, 12:16:21 am
Got 17:55 in VVVVVV 100%, which is the first time I've gotten sub-18 :D

Highlights include losing 5 seconds because I had the game muted to listen to music, causing me to miss an audio cue for failing one of the sequence breaks that I get 99% of the time, and 1st try Veni Vidi Vici.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 16, 2014, 05:11:49 am
Did 100 pushups tonight!  25, 20, 15, (long break), 20, 20.  Needed the break though.

Do you do the pushups quickly or slowly? How do you position your hands?

Not trying in any way to minimize your achievement (congrats!), just curious. I bet by now you must have nailed the technique.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 16, 2014, 09:47:05 am
Did 100 pushups tonight!  25, 20, 15, (long break), 20, 20.  Needed the break though.

Do you do the pushups quickly or slowly? How do you position your hands?

Not trying in any way to minimize your achievement (congrats!), just curious. I bet by now you must have nailed the technique.

I vary sometimes.. I try to stay with a narrow hand position, under my shoulder socket, and keep my elbows behind me (not out).  I don't really pause at all during each set of 15-25, though last week I had to at some of them as I was tiring out.  I don't go really fast, though.. just down-up-down at a comfortable and fluid pace.

One weird thing I noticed.. when I look back at my feet, it looks like they're always to my left, so my legs are slightly angled.  When I worry about straightening them, I feel slightly less balanced while doing the pushup.  Probably has something to do with my right arm being stronger than my left (or my right shoulder moving weirdly from a lot of volleyball).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 16, 2014, 11:45:45 am
The wider you place your hands when doing pushups the more you engage your chest. If you put your hands close together (diamond pushup) you engage more of your triceps. Regular pushups are still more chest than triceps but using the other two hand placements you can focus more on certain muscles. If I'm incorporating pushups into a workout I usually use all three hand placements. Also I would recommend the perfect pushup:

http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Fitness-PP6105-Pushup-Original/dp/B000KDM3BG

They're harder than regular pushups and really make you work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 16, 2014, 11:55:57 am
I only prancercise.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 16, 2014, 12:38:08 pm
Uwe Rosenberg is the Tim Burton of boardgaming.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 16, 2014, 01:36:14 pm
They're harder than regular pushups and really make you work.

"Harder" is a very loose term here I think.  Rather, I would say that they force you to use more muscle groups in a single pushup than when you regularly do  them.  Really, the biggest benefit I see from using the "perfect pushup" or something like it is to relieve the stress on your wrists.  Which can be important. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 16, 2014, 01:50:25 pm
Yeah I think they engage your core muscles more than when you would do a regular pushup. I haven't used them in a long time though so t take my word for it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 16, 2014, 02:35:30 pm
I have the perfect pushup, and I actually don't think it's better.  I find that if I spend a while doing these, then I'm not really any better at doing regular pushups.. actually worse than if I had spent that time doing regular pushups.  It's probably good to alternate, to activate different muscles, or the muscles in different ways.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 16, 2014, 06:31:27 pm
Real men just do them on their fists. Regular push-ups wear on my wrists so I alternate to my fists and back.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 16, 2014, 07:03:58 pm
Real men just do them on their fists. Regular push-ups wear on my wrists so I alternate to my fists and back.

I like rotating through hands, fists, fingers
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mail-mi on September 16, 2014, 07:20:50 pm
Real men just do them on their fists. Regular push-ups wear on my wrists so I alternate to my fists and back.

I like rotating through hands, fists, fingers

I also do finger push ups.

wait that's when your fingers go down and up on the keyboard, right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 16, 2014, 08:51:08 pm
Real men just do them on their fists. Regular push-ups wear on my wrists so I alternate to my fists and back.

I like rotating through hands, fists, fingers

I also do finger push ups.

wait that's when your fingers go down and up on the keyboard, right?

No, no. Those are finger push-downs. Easy mistake to make :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 17, 2014, 09:23:29 am
Man, that was probably the most efficient all-employee meeting I've been in. The question box allowed her to address our concerns with nobody offering up any follow-up questions. I hope all meetings are like this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 17, 2014, 09:30:18 am
Real men just do them on their fists. Regular push-ups wear on my wrists so I alternate to my fists and back.

I like rotating through hands, fists, fingers

I also do finger push ups.

wait that's when your fingers go down and up on the keyboard, right?

No, no. Those are finger push-downs. Easy mistake to make :P

That's just a change of coordinate system.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 17, 2014, 10:08:35 am
So I have a playful discourse with someone in the office who laments that she doesn't have anything in her inbox. So I drew a picture of a dam and put it in there to counter my "I don't give a damn" attitude.

Then I drew a picture of a rat's ass and put it in there.

If my work environment was less restrictive (and I knew she wouldn't be offended), I would consider drawing a flying fuck, but I think that will just have to stay in my head and off the paper.

Any other metaphor-like stuff (not that metaphor is the correct term but whatever)?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 17, 2014, 10:12:28 am
So I have a playful discourse with someone in the office who laments that she doesn't have anything in her inbox.

You totally dropped the ball with some sexual-harassment innuendo.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 17, 2014, 11:44:38 am
So I have a playful discourse with someone in the office who laments that she doesn't have anything in her inbox.

You totally dropped the ball with some sexual-harassment innuendo.

I think of it less of dropping balls and more of ensuring my balls don't end up in HR having a stern talking-to.

But sexual innuendos did fill my head.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on September 17, 2014, 12:01:08 pm
So I have a playful discourse with someone in the office who laments that she doesn't have anything in her inbox. So I drew a picture of a dam and put it in there to counter my "I don't give a damn" attitude.

Then I drew a picture of a rat's ass and put it in there.

If my work environment was less restrictive (and I knew she wouldn't be offended), I would consider drawing a flying fuck, but I think that will just have to stay in my head and off the paper.

Any other metaphor-like stuff (not that metaphor is the correct term but whatever)?
(http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/header_img/2009/Jan/21/theflyingfork_t300.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 17, 2014, 02:48:48 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/t6uWYpQ.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 17, 2014, 02:51:44 pm
Repost!

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg411606#msg411606
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 17, 2014, 04:44:48 pm
Wonder if this is the kind of stuff that can be found in Goko's code:

http://imgur.com/gallery/KAh1J

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 17, 2014, 04:48:08 pm
Wonder if this is the kind of stuff that can be found in Goko's code:

http://imgur.com/gallery/KAh1J

My favorite so far:

Code: [Select]
// I can't divide with zero, so I have to divide with something very similar
result = number/0.00000000000001;
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 17, 2014, 04:56:12 pm
Wonder if this is the kind of stuff that can be found in Goko's code:

http://imgur.com/gallery/KAh1J

My favorite so far:

Code: [Select]
// I can't divide with zero, so I have to divide with something very similar
result = number/0.00000000000001;
+1 for having the correct number of 0s.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 17, 2014, 09:17:11 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmTUW-owa2w

Really interesting mini-documentary about the nature of internet celebrity.  As usual, the youtube comments are depressing and filled with people missing (and proving) the point.  But the video is worth the watch!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 17, 2014, 09:30:49 pm
Really interesting mini-documentary about the nature of internet celebrity.  As usual, the youtube comments are depressing and filled with people missing (and proving) the point.  But the video is worth the watch!

I watched that the other day. Interesting film. I thought of it again when Notch recently sold Mojang (Minecraft) to Microsoft. It seems that part of the reason he did it was because a vocal minority on the internet was mad at him over Minecraft's EULA. I guess I don't know for certain how I would react in a similar situation, but damn that seems like overkill.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 17, 2014, 09:33:32 pm
Really interesting mini-documentary about the nature of internet celebrity.  As usual, the youtube comments are depressing and filled with people missing (and proving) the point.  But the video is worth the watch!

I watched that the other day. Interesting film. I thought of it again when Notch recently sold Mojang (Minecraft) to Microsoft. It seems that part of the reason he did it was because a vocal minority on the internet was mad at him over Minecraft's EULA. I guess I don't know for certain how I would react in a similar situation, but damn that seems like overkill.

The billions of dollars was probably part of the consideration as well. :P  What was wrong with the EULA?

I've never paid much attention to Minecraft.  Not sure if it's because the game just never appealed to me, or I never gave it a chance out of some hipster desire to not enjoy the latest trend.  I never actually tried it out, beyond watching friends play it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 17, 2014, 09:52:17 pm
Really interesting mini-documentary about the nature of internet celebrity.  As usual, the youtube comments are depressing and filled with people missing (and proving) the point.  But the video is worth the watch!

I watched that the other day. Interesting film. I thought of it again when Notch recently sold Mojang (Minecraft) to Microsoft. It seems that part of the reason he did it was because a vocal minority on the internet was mad at him over Minecraft's EULA. I guess I don't know for certain how I would react in a similar situation, but damn that seems like overkill.

The billions of dollars was probably part of the consideration as well. :P  What was wrong with the EULA?

I've never paid much attention to Minecraft.  Not sure if it's because the game just never appealed to me, or I never gave it a chance out of some hipster desire to not enjoy the latest trend.  I never actually tried it out, beyond watching friends play it.

Nothing was wrong with the EULA. It didn't change. Some other Mojang employee reminded folks that they weren't allowed to charge real moneys for server perks (like in-game items and abilities). Some parasites people who were making tons of money off these sorts of servers were enraged and spewed hatred at Notch, among others. Apparently this hurt his feelings.

EDIT: Here, you can read his take on it on his website (http://notch.net/). The post titled "Literally worse than EA" is about the EULA stuff. The post titled "I'm leaving Mojang" is about the sale to Microsoft. I try not to be a hipster, but the guy literally sold out. And he sold out all his employees in the process.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 17, 2014, 10:33:39 pm
Really interesting mini-documentary about the nature of internet celebrity.  As usual, the youtube comments are depressing and filled with people missing (and proving) the point.  But the video is worth the watch!

I watched that the other day. Interesting film. I thought of it again when Notch recently sold Mojang (Minecraft) to Microsoft. It seems that part of the reason he did it was because a vocal minority on the internet was mad at him over Minecraft's EULA. I guess I don't know for certain how I would react in a similar situation, but damn that seems like overkill.

The billions of dollars was probably part of the consideration as well. :P  What was wrong with the EULA?

I've never paid much attention to Minecraft.  Not sure if it's because the game just never appealed to me, or I never gave it a chance out of some hipster desire to not enjoy the latest trend.  I never actually tried it out, beyond watching friends play it.

Nothing was wrong with the EULA. It didn't change. Some other Mojang employee reminded folks that they weren't allowed to charge real moneys for server perks (like in-game items and abilities). Some parasites people who were making tons of money off these sorts of servers were enraged and spewed hatred at Notch, among others. Apparently this hurt his feelings.

EDIT: Here, you can read his take on it on his website (http://notch.net/). The post titled "Literally worse than EA" is about the EULA stuff. The post titled "I'm leaving Mojang" is about the sale to Microsoft. I try not to be a hipster, but the guy literally sold out. And he sold out all his employees in the process.

Hmm, maybe it's because I'm not a Minecraft player, but he seems pretty reasonable when he lays it out.  I don't know what it means for Mojang or Minecraft though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 17, 2014, 10:47:54 pm
Really interesting mini-documentary about the nature of internet celebrity.  As usual, the youtube comments are depressing and filled with people missing (and proving) the point.  But the video is worth the watch!

I watched that the other day. Interesting film. I thought of it again when Notch recently sold Mojang (Minecraft) to Microsoft. It seems that part of the reason he did it was because a vocal minority on the internet was mad at him over Minecraft's EULA. I guess I don't know for certain how I would react in a similar situation, but damn that seems like overkill.

The billions of dollars was probably part of the consideration as well. :P  What was wrong with the EULA?

I've never paid much attention to Minecraft.  Not sure if it's because the game just never appealed to me, or I never gave it a chance out of some hipster desire to not enjoy the latest trend.  I never actually tried it out, beyond watching friends play it.

Nothing was wrong with the EULA. It didn't change. Some other Mojang employee reminded folks that they weren't allowed to charge real moneys for server perks (like in-game items and abilities). Some parasites people who were making tons of money off these sorts of servers were enraged and spewed hatred at Notch, among others. Apparently this hurt his feelings.

EDIT: Here, you can read his take on it on his website (http://notch.net/). The post titled "Literally worse than EA" is about the EULA stuff. The post titled "I'm leaving Mojang" is about the sale to Microsoft. I try not to be a hipster, but the guy literally sold out. And he sold out all his employees in the process.

Hmm, maybe it's because I'm not a Minecraft player, but he seems pretty reasonable when he lays it out.  I don't know what it means for Mojang or Minecraft though.

It's perfectly reasonable. I guess I just held him to a higher standard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 18, 2014, 08:36:11 am
I don't know much about the guy or his game, but I presume he built it from the ground up? If so, then he watched his quaint little game turn into this creeping kudzu fungus virus plague monster and may have just said, "fuck this shit."

Wild speculation on my part having no idea what is really going on.

I did try Minecraft, but I found it tedious for my tastes. I also tried Terraria, which I understand is a 2D Minecraft. I found that tedious as well. Apparently that type of game holds no interest for me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 18, 2014, 09:35:48 am
Someone is playing this kingdom against 5 bots right now: Haggler, Cultist, Count, Border Village, Altar, Steward, Market Square, Upgrade, Torturer, Knights.


Why would anyone do that?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 18, 2014, 09:43:45 am
I watched a video of a woman wearing a bikini and some animal mask pulling up in a high-end car and getting out. Then a man, also wearing a mask, groped her breasts with a rubber glove attached at the end of a trombone as he played Yankee Doodle. Upon the song's completion, the woman got in the car and drove off.

I would hunt down the video and link it, but I think the description is weird enough.

Not sure if hawt.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 18, 2014, 09:44:23 am
I watched a video of a woman wearing a bikini and some animal mask pulling up in a high-end car and getting out. Then a man, also wearing a mask, groped her breasts with a rubber glove attached at the end of a trombone as he played Yankee Doodle. Upon the song's completion, the woman got in the car and drove off.

I would hunt down the video and link it, but I think the description is weird enough.

Not sure if hawt.

I saw a gif of this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 18, 2014, 12:26:59 pm
I watched a video of a woman wearing a bikini and some animal mask pulling up in a high-end car and getting out. Then a man, also wearing a mask, groped her breasts with a rubber glove attached at the end of a trombone as he played Yankee Doodle. Upon the song's completion, the woman got in the car and drove off.

I would hunt down the video and link it, but I think the description is weird enough.

Not sure if hawt.

I saw a gif of this.

I assure you that having sound did not enhance it in any way, so you're good to go.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 18, 2014, 12:28:33 pm
So I have a playful discourse with someone in the office who laments that she doesn't have anything in her inbox. So I drew a picture of a dam and put it in there to counter my "I don't give a damn" attitude.

Then I drew a picture of a rat's ass and put it in there.

If my work environment was less restrictive (and I knew she wouldn't be offended), I would consider drawing a flying fuck, but I think that will just have to stay in my head and off the paper.

Any other metaphor-like stuff (not that metaphor is the correct term but whatever)?


Update: I did include a flying fig, as that expression sees some use.

But now, aside from not giving a damn, a rat's ass, or a flying fig, I've run out of idioms along this thought. I'm about to start making things up like not giving a bear on a trike.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on September 18, 2014, 01:05:39 pm
You could always give a shit. Which is fairly vulgar I suppose, so maybe you could give a Shih Tzu or a shiitake?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 18, 2014, 01:30:35 pm
You could always give a shit. Which is fairly vulgar I suppose, so maybe you could give a Shih Tzu or a shiitake?

I like it. The group isn't very prudish, so the play on words that sounds like shit would go over well without the awkwardness of drawing something crude. Excellent suggestion.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 18, 2014, 01:35:49 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAuolj8pXlY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 18, 2014, 03:05:28 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/3b5cf1510bb7c6a48b7c3c75837a0342/tumblr_na6pteZjN71qdlh1io1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 18, 2014, 10:55:10 pm
I have a script that pings/scrapes info from a website every hour. I was just about to freak out about it, since I got an email notification that goes off when something goes wrong with getting the data...and then it turns out the site was down and it wasn't my fault.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 19, 2014, 02:24:30 pm
Anyone follow Imgur and see the "Danquan" stuff?

Part 1 (http://imgur.com/gallery/XO685d2)
Part 2 (http://imgur.com/gallery/u92ZogX)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 19, 2014, 02:42:42 pm
I'm not sure if I'm good or just plain lucky when I manage to type this in without any errors:
=IF(AND($L3=-1, IF(AND(OR(WEEKDAY(NOW()) = 5, WEEKDAY(NOW()) = 6), $C3<NOW()+4), TRUE, IF($C3<NOW()+2, TRUE, FALSE))), 1, 0)

Now if only I could be that good with my more complex Excel formulas. *shakes tiny fist*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 19, 2014, 03:28:13 pm
I'm not sure if I'm good or just plain lucky when I manage to type this in without any errors:
=IF(AND($L3=-1, IF(AND(OR(WEEKDAY(NOW()) = 5, WEEKDAY(NOW()) = 6), $C3<NOW()+4), TRUE, IF($C3<NOW()+2, TRUE, FALSE))), 1, 0)

Now if only I could be that good with my more complex Excel formulas. *shakes tiny fist*

I can't even tell what that is for...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on September 19, 2014, 03:38:14 pm
If L3 is -1, and one of the following two things is true, then return 1, otherwise return 0

It's Thursday or Friday AND C3 is less than 4 days after from today
OR
C3 is less than 2 days after from today

I don't really get that second part though.  So you're trying to capture all situations where C3 is less than 2 days away from today, but you're also interested in situations where C3 is a Monday/Tuesday when it's currently Thursday or Friday?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 19, 2014, 04:19:23 pm
Correct. The intent is to see if a task is past due. The task should be done prior to 2 business days before the date in C. If the task is done, then the value in L will not be -1. If the date is more than 2 days, then it doesn't matter if L is -1 because the task isn't due yet.

Hmm, I forgot there's a WORKDAY function. I bet I could have used that. It'd also handle those pesky holidays it seems, but that means maintaining the holidays every year. Not sure if it's worth redoing now at this point, but I may do it just because I like keeping things neat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on September 19, 2014, 05:01:14 pm
Yeah that sounds like it'd be a lot easier to be honest.  IF($C3<WORKDAY(NOW(),2), etc.  Would certainly be easier to maintain.  And I imagine there are "libraries" of pre-generated holidays.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 20, 2014, 03:11:59 am
Recently watched The Prestige.  Question for those who also watched it (and if you haven't, this really is a big spoiler, though I'll try to be ambiguous about it).

Do you think that the final solution to the trick really was just the sci-fi explanation as given?  I'm leaning towards the alternative, that this is just a trick on us, the real life audience of the film, and that the solution is that Angier managed to find and wrangle his previous body double before committing that final act of revenge.  All the sci-fi business was just Algier's story to reel in Borden.

Edit: The more I read online, the more I see that most people want to believe in the sci-fi solution, and the more I am convinced that it isn't.  I am finding it incredibly frustrating.  I think I will have to watch it again and write up my own interpretation, trying to address all the criticisms of the "machine did not work" theory.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 20, 2014, 05:32:02 am
Recently watched The Prestige.  Question for those who also watched it (and if you haven't, this really is a big spoiler, though I'll try to be ambiguous about it).

Do you think that the final solution to the trick really was just the sci-fi explanation as given?  I'm leaning towards the alternative, that this is just a trick on us, the real life audience of the film, and that the solution is that Angier managed to find and wrangle his previous body double before committing that final act of revenge.  All the sci-fi business was just Algier's story to reel in Borden.

Edit: The more I read online, the more I see that most people want to believe in the sci-fi solution, and the more I am convinced that it isn't.  I am finding it incredibly frustrating.  I think I will have to watch it again and write up my own interpretation, trying to address all the criticisms of the "machine did not work" theory.

I've only seen the Prestige in passing, but isn't there a scene at the end lots of hats everywhere, maybe with 2 identical cats? I dislike the argument that these are all details that suggest the sci-fi solution, and are in the movie only for throwing people off.

Also, Borden manages to recognize the body double from last time, and the non-sci-fi solution means Algier let the body double drown for his revenge, and although the cloning explanation also involves that, it's a bit more likely for him to decide that he's taking the risk of dying every time for the sake of revenge than to kill some other guy for revenge.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 20, 2014, 12:49:47 pm
Recently watched The Prestige.  Question for those who also watched it (and if you haven't, this really is a big spoiler, though I'll try to be ambiguous about it).

Do you think that the final solution to the trick really was just the sci-fi explanation as given?  I'm leaning towards the alternative, that this is just a trick on us, the real life audience of the film, and that the solution is that Angier managed to find and wrangle his previous body double before committing that final act of revenge.  All the sci-fi business was just Algier's story to reel in Borden.

Edit: The more I read online, the more I see that most people want to believe in the sci-fi solution, and the more I am convinced that it isn't.  I am finding it incredibly frustrating.  I think I will have to watch it again and write up my own interpretation, trying to address all the criticisms of the "machine did not work" theory.

I've only seen the Prestige in passing, but isn't there a scene at the end lots of hats everywhere, maybe with 2 identical cats? I dislike the argument that these are all details that suggest the sci-fi solution, and are in the movie only for throwing people off.

Also, Borden manages to recognize the body double from last time, and the non-sci-fi solution means Algier let the body double drown for his revenge, and although the cloning explanation also involves that, it's a bit more likely for him to decide that he's taking the risk of dying every time for the sake of revenge than to kill some other guy for revenge.


Funny, I've been talking about something related with people that had also watched Trascendence (spoilers for The Prestige, not really for Transcendence, unless you haven't watched the trailer).

Do any of you think that Algier's clones were himself? Or somebody else with identical memories?
Do you think that the computer version of Johnny Depp (in Trascendence) was Johnny Depp, or something else entirely?
Would your consider that they are the same only in the very precise instant of their creation? For either of them?


I've been surprised to discover that among my group of friends (physicists, mathematicians, programmers), the answer is yes, they are the same, for any relevant/consistent definition of "being the same".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 20, 2014, 01:16:00 pm
Recently watched The Prestige.  Question for those who also watched it (and if you haven't, this really is a big spoiler, though I'll try to be ambiguous about it).

Do you think that the final solution to the trick really was just the sci-fi explanation as given?  I'm leaning towards the alternative, that this is just a trick on us, the real life audience of the film, and that the solution is that Angier managed to find and wrangle his previous body double before committing that final act of revenge.  All the sci-fi business was just Algier's story to reel in Borden.

Edit: The more I read online, the more I see that most people want to believe in the sci-fi solution, and the more I am convinced that it isn't.  I am finding it incredibly frustrating.  I think I will have to watch it again and write up my own interpretation, trying to address all the criticisms of the "machine did not work" theory.

Um, the room where Borden kills Angiers contains dozens of water tanks each containing a dead copy of Algiers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 20, 2014, 01:30:45 pm
Yeah, I can't see any ambiguity in how The Prestige played out.  Unless you're going to go metaphorical or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: florrat on September 20, 2014, 03:11:12 pm
Recently watched The Prestige.  Question for those who also watched it (and if you haven't, this really is a big spoiler, though I'll try to be ambiguous about it).

Do you think that the final solution to the trick really was just the sci-fi explanation as given?  I'm leaning towards the alternative, that this is just a trick on us, the real life audience of the film, and that the solution is that Angier managed to find and wrangle his previous body double before committing that final act of revenge.  All the sci-fi business was just Algier's story to reel in Borden.

I like your interpretation, never thought of it myself, but I agree with "the internet" here. I think the arguments by LastFootnote and Titandrake are pretty strong against your interpretation.

@pacovf: I'd say they're two different entities who have exactly the same memories in the instant of their creation. After that, they are clearly not the same: they have different thoughts and feelings (which is pretty clearly depicted in Angier's "test run" where he kills his clone).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 20, 2014, 04:29:24 pm
I'm going to need to rewatch it to take notes, especially of how the characters react to each other and various revelations.  But here is some reasoning based on what I remember from the first viewing:

There are two theories here.  The most popular one is the clone theory.  The machine worked.  Clones were killed.  The other theory, which I favour, is the illusion theory.  The machine never worked.  It was all an elaborate con by Algiers.

First, note that all the stuff about clones is coming from Algiers' diary.  It was a fake diary written as an insult to Borden, the very epitome of the unreliable narrator.  The cats and hats?  Either deception by Tesla or fiction by Algiers.  The scene where Algiers saw his first clone and shot him?  Pure fiction.  Algiers was fooled by Borden and then conned by Tesla, but he turned it around to take down Borden.

Algiers was fully committed to the deception, and the audience was Borden, not the people who came to see his show.  He went as far as having blind men move a water tank away at the end of every show.  This was misdirection from the truth -- that Algiers had brought his double back into the act.  Borden couldn't believe Algiers would do such a thing because of how disastrously it went for Algiers the first time around.  He also knew that Algiers hated having to hide beneath the stage while his double got all the applause.  Borden needed only a small push to get him searching for another answer -- thus the water tanks.

I'll have to watch it again, but I remember Algiers telling Cutter that he didn't want him backstage "this time", for the last performance.  It implied that Cutter had been there before, but this particular performance was special.  It would be the last performance, the one where curiosity got the better of Borden and end with him framed for murder.

On the question of the body double, Root.  There are plenty of reasons why he would agree to work with Algiers again, and reasons why Algiers was willing.  Money is the easy answer.  Another is that Root was not a willing participant when Borden trussed him up and made him a fool.  Root could have been resentful that Borden had manipulated him and caused him to screw up a decent job. 

The first time they worked together, Algiers was resentful that he was not the prestige part of the act.  Root, on the other hand, was unhappy that the others didn't think he was capable of leading the act (Cutter commented that they would be found out as soon as Root opened his mouth).  But we already got a taste of Root's acting ability, and he rattled off a list of past roles he'd played.  I think he very well could have been a capable actor.  Algiers let Root back in for Roots to prove his ability and for Algiers to get his chance to shine in the prestige.  And of course, Algiers had further ambition -- to enact revenge upon both Root and Borden.

Cutter ID'd the body at the morgue, but he was too sad to look too closely.  He realized the truth when he found Algiers alive.  He was disgusted at Algiers then.  He had come to beg the lord to destroy the machine, but he would do so no longer because he realized it was all a fraud.  The machine never worked.

Finally, all those dead Algiers at the end.  I have two possible explanations right now, and I think there could be others.  One is that the bodies are fakes, maybe wax doubles, placed in the theatre by Cutter as admonishment for the murder of Root.  Heck, one of them might have been Root himself.  "Look at what you've done, Algiers!"

The second possibility is that they are fakes brought them by Algiers himself.  Algiers was at the theatre to destroy the machine to get rid of evidence -- specifically, the evidence that the machine was nothing more than a sparkly prop. Algiers was so committed to the clone deception that he not only had blind men moving water tanks, he even put fake doubles of himself in those tanks in case Borden went so far as to sneak a peek.  Now that his scheme was complete, all the fake bodies were brought back so that he could dispose of everything cleanly.

I think all those bodies are actually a point against the clone theory.  Suppose he really had been killing clones every night.  Why in the world would he have them all moved back into the theatre?  Actual human bodies would be far more difficult to dispose of than wax duplicates.  He would have found a way to get rid of them each night.

And finally finally, there is a meta argument.  The closing narration says:

Now you’re looking for the secret…
But you won’t find it…
…because you don’t really want to know…
…you want to be fooled.

We are looking for the trick to the film, but we won't find it because we don't really want to know the truth.  We want to be fooled into believing the solution right in front of us -- that the machine was real all along.  But the secret is that it was just one big con.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 20, 2014, 04:41:41 pm
RE: The Prestige

Wow.... I didn't even stop to think that the ending could be something other than what they tell you...  Mind blown for today
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 20, 2014, 05:04:40 pm
I guess that argument works.  Interesting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 20, 2014, 07:56:29 pm
@pacovf: I'd say they're two different entities who have exactly the same memories in the instant of their creation. After that, they are clearly not the same: they have different thoughts and feelings (which is pretty clearly depicted in Angier's "test run" where he kills his clone).

One of my (physicist) friends pointed out that, if you created a perfect copy of a person down to quantum level, for any practical sense of the word "same", the copy and the original are more than indistinguishable, they are the same.  Furthermore, entanglement effects would mean that interacting with one of them would actually have an effect on the other*! So he was of the opinion that a perfect copy would be the same person.

Another argument that he put forward: we can consider that you are the same person you were an infinitesimal amount of time before; yet in that amount of time, you've changed. How can the person who is identical to you not be the same person you are, when he actually ressembles you more than yourself from an infinitesimal amount of time before?


*Because physics. Of course, this effect decreases quickly with time and interactions.

PS: I think discussing philosophy (and ethics) in random stuff is relevant.  :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 20, 2014, 08:04:59 pm
Quantum entanglement may apply, but if you weren't entangled with your clone and if the world were not deterministic,  then the clones would evolve differently.

Plus, even so, you don't occupy the same space.  You turn left to go somewhere and your clone walks off a roof elsewhere.  Things would be quite different.

But.. quantum entanglement doesn't mean the particle just copies another, right?  If you have two entangled photons hurrying off separate directions, and you put a barrier in front of one, their experiences will be different.

I'm not a physicist, though... I'm sure Peebles will come in and correct things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on September 20, 2014, 08:13:19 pm
If two particles are quantumly entangled, it'd only affect the spin of the particles. Movement in space of one particle doesn't affect the other (except normally like if they collide or whatever)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 20, 2014, 08:27:07 pm
If two particles are quantumly entangled, it'd only affect the spin of the particles. Movement in space of one particle doesn't affect the other (except normally like if they collide or whatever)

Right.  So that was my point.  Clones would still be different, because they exist separately in space.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 20, 2014, 09:11:03 pm
eHalcyon, that all just amounts to a conspiracy theory. The movie hints at none of that. This ain't Inception, where the ending is left purposefully ambiguous. You (or someone else) has created this interpretation from whole cloth. If the movie really is trying to tell the story as you describe, it does a tremendously bad job of it.

I could say that the events of Groundhog Day all took place in the unhinged mind of Bill Murray's character. I could easily concoct a whole detailed description of what the events of the movie actually signified was happening in reality. It would all be internally consistent, but that wouldn't matter because the movie is already a work of fiction and that's not the story it's trying to tell.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on September 21, 2014, 12:00:50 am
One of my (physicist) friends pointed out that, if you created a perfect copy of a person down to quantum level, for any practical sense of the word "same", the copy and the original are more than indistinguishable, they are the same.  Furthermore, entanglement effects would mean that interacting with one of them would actually have an effect on the other*! So he was of the opinion that a perfect copy would be the same person.
Objects like people exist only to us, at a high level. To the universe, there is just a pile of stuff that we are drawing a box around. You aren't the same as the copy; there are two piles of stuff with the same pattern. They are, at the very least, located in different places, which is enough to distinguish them. I can see turning over in your mind the idea that all photons are the same photon, since they lack identity, but applying this to patterns of stuff just means throwing out location as meaning anything and well. Ask someone who's horny; location is everything.

I do like Borges though. Well you know. Ficciones.

Quote
Amongst the doctrines of Tlön, none has merited the scandalous reception accorded to materialism. Some thinkers have formulated it with less clarity than fervor, as one might put forth a paradox. In order to facilitate the comprehension of this inconceivable thesis, a heresiarch of the eleventh century (3) devised the sophism of the nine copper coins, whose scandalous renown is in Tlön equivalent to that of the Eleatic paradoxes. There are many versions of this "specious reasoning," which vary the number of coins and the number of discoveries; the following is the most common:

On Tuesday, X crosses a deserted road and loses nine copper coins. On Thursday, Y finds in the road four coins, somewhat rusted by Wednesday's rain. On Friday, Z discovers three coins in the road. On Friday morning, X finds two coins in the corridor of his house. The heresiarch would deduce from this story the reality - i.e., the continuity - of the nine coins which were recovered. It is absurd (he affirmed) to imagine that four of the coins have not existed between Tuesday and Thursday, three between Tuesday and Friday afternoon, two between Tuesday and Friday morning. It is logical to think that they have existed - at least in some secret way, hidden from the comprehension of men - at every moment of those three periods.

The language of Tlön resists the formulation of this paradox; most people did not even understand it. The defenders of common sense at first did no more than negate the veracity of the anecdote. They repeated that it was a verbal fallacy, based on the rash application of two neologisms not authorized by usage and alien to all rigorous thought: the verbs "find" and "lose," which beg the question, because they presuppose the identity of the first and of the last nine coins. They recalled that all nouns (man, coin, Thursday, Wednesday, rain) have only a metaphorical value. They denounced the treacherous circumstance "somewhat rusted by Wednesday's rain," which presupposes what is trying to be demonstrated: the persistence of the four coins from Tuesday to Thursday. They explained that equality is one thing and identity another, and formulated a kind of reductio ad absurdum: the hypothetical case of nine men who on nine nights suffer a severe pain. Would it not be ridiculous - they questioned - to pretend that this pain is one and the same? They said that the heresiarch was prompted only by the blasphemous intention of attributing the divine category of being to some simple coins and that at times he negated plurality and at other times did not. They argued: if equality implies identity, one would also have to admit that the nine coins are one.

Another argument that he put forward: we can consider that you are the same person you were an infinitesimal amount of time before; yet in that amount of time, you've changed. How can the person who is identical to you not be the same person you are, when he actually ressembles you more than yourself from an infinitesimal amount of time before?
This is straightforward. What are "you?" How can we define the concept so that a statement like "I used to live in Florida" (supposing you did) is true? It's not the physical stuff; that's all been replaced. What has been maintained is an illusion of continuity.

You are the illusion of continuity. That continuity is different for you and the copy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 21, 2014, 12:16:24 am
It's my birthday and I can post in the Random Stuff thread if I want to.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on September 21, 2014, 12:17:03 am
It's my birthday and I can post in the Random Stuff thread if I want to.

Hap birth.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 21, 2014, 12:17:27 am
It's my birthday and I can post in the Random Stuff thread if I want to.

You would post in the Random Stuff thread too if it happened to you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 21, 2014, 01:12:19 am
Yeah that sounds like it'd be a lot easier to be honest.  IF($C3<WORKDAY(NOW(),2), etc.  Would certainly be easier to maintain.  And I imagine there are "libraries" of pre-generated holidays.

But it also needs to take into account that I'll be running this all five workdays. I've considered modding, but I think that may be making it too complex. In any case, my mini-boast wasn't for the efficiency of the formula (which is actually quite sloppy) but that I actually managed to type that in without generating an error. I almost always have to play bug hunt with Excel formulas and sometimes have to test out portions before piecing everything together.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 21, 2014, 01:58:24 am
eHalcyon, that all just amounts to a conspiracy theory. The movie hints at none of that. This ain't Inception, where the ending is left purposefully ambiguous. You (or someone else) has created this interpretation from whole cloth. If the movie really is trying to tell the story as you describe, it does a tremendously bad job of it.

I could say that the events of Groundhog Day all took place in the unhinged mind of Bill Murray's character. I could easily concoct a whole detailed description of what the events of the movie actually signified was happening in reality. It would all be internally consistent, but that wouldn't matter because the movie is already a work of fiction and that's not the story it's trying to tell.

I respectfully disagree.  I think there are multiple hints.  The closing narration is one hint, as is the very theme of the film itself.  I also noted the comment made by Algiers to Cutter, about not being backstage.  I think there are more.  But again, that's from what I remember on first viewing, which is why I want to watch it again.  This is the impression that the film left on me from the first viewing, and not just something come up with on reflection.  This theory occurred to me right when Tesla implied that he could build a machine to scientifically teleport somebody and it only grew stronger when when the cats and hats cloning was revealed.  I thought it had to be deception, and nothing I saw seemed contradictory to that theory.  I was only surprised that they didn't come right out and confirm the deception, but it fit the theme of the film to leave it ambiguous
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 21, 2014, 02:08:40 am
On pacovf's question...

Do any of you think that Algier's clones were himself? Or somebody else with identical memories?
Do you think that the computer version of Johnny Depp (in Trascendence) was Johnny Depp, or something else entirely?
Would your consider that they are the same only in the very precise instant of their creation? For either of them?

There's actually a pokemon answer to this as well.  Background: It's possible to clone pokemon.  Even in XY, if you shut off one DS in the middle of a trade and time it correctly, you can end up with two copies of the same pokemon.  This devalues the pokemon in the eyes of many players.  There are subreddits for trading pokemon, and the biggest one rules that no cloned pokemon can be traded.  Enforcement of this rule is tricky, of course.

So the question is, can you trade the original pokemon and just keep the clone?  The answer is no.  They say:

"When you clone something, you cannot then trade the original. There is no original. There are just two clones."

You can't really tell the difference between either, so both are clones.


I'm not sure if I agree with that, but it's an interesting interpretation.  If the copy is indistiguishable from the original, I think the differentiating factor is in how the machine works.  If it's supposedly a teleporting machine that leaves a copy behind, then the original is the one that ends up in the new location.  If it creates a copy at the other location, then the one that did not move is the original.  But this is really a semantic argument, I guess?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on September 21, 2014, 03:00:31 am
The thing that bugged me most about the plot of The Prestige is if you have a device that can duplicate things, there are a huge number of ethically sound and financially more rewarding things you can do with it. The implausibility of the sci-fi tech is way out of proportion with the purpose that it's put to. It's been a while since I watched the movie, so maybe that's explained away somehow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 21, 2014, 04:27:30 am
The thing that bugged me most about the plot of The Prestige is if you have a device that can duplicate things, there are a huge number of ethically sound and financially more rewarding things you can do with it. The implausibility of the sci-fi tech is way out of proportion with the purpose that it's put to. It's been a while since I watched the movie, so maybe that's explained away somehow.

Part of the point of The Prestige is that both of the main characters are super obsessed/crazy. There are things they could do, but creating the perfect trick is strong enough to overpower all their other desires.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 21, 2014, 08:03:55 am
the illusion theory is awesome. dunno if it's likely, but it's awesome. I really want to believe that it's true, or, at least that nolan considered it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 21, 2014, 10:30:28 am
The thing that bugged me most about the plot of The Prestige is if you have a device that can duplicate things, there are a huge number of ethically sound and financially more rewarding things you can do with it. The implausibility of the sci-fi tech is way out of proportion with the purpose that it's put to. It's been a while since I watched the movie, so maybe that's explained away somehow.

It was never about the money. Algiers actually comes from a rich family.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 21, 2014, 10:00:03 pm
i just saw a guy on goko with 5,5k pro rating and an ISO lvl of -6

 ???
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on September 21, 2014, 10:05:15 pm
i just saw a guy on goko with 5,5k pro rating and an ISO lvl of -6

 ???
he probably had only played a few pro games or played a bunch of bots.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 21, 2014, 10:30:39 pm
Quote
888poker makes every effort to ensure that your withdrawal request is processed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

the withdrawal process takes between 5 and 10 days. first there is a completely unnecessary ~3-8 day "awaiting process" time frame, during which you can cancel your withdrawal (which you get rubbed into your face constantly), and then there is a ~2 day "processing" frame.

if you deposit money, it takes -literally- less than 20 seconds. the quoted statement is such a blatant lie, it's ridiculous. you should sue them for it.

dunno why i posted this.  :-X
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 21, 2014, 11:50:26 pm
dunno why i posted this.  :-X

/me points at the thread title
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on September 22, 2014, 01:50:36 am
The thing that bugged me most about the plot of The Prestige is if you have a device that can duplicate things, there are a huge number of ethically sound and financially more rewarding things you can do with it. The implausibility of the sci-fi tech is way out of proportion with the purpose that it's put to. It's been a while since I watched the movie, so maybe that's explained away somehow.

It was never about the money. Algiers actually comes from a rich family.
Fair point, but I was just using financials as an example. Having a exact duplicator is like a cheat code to the universe. There's barely anything that you CAN'T do with it, given enough creativity. To use it to fake teleporting across a room is just mind-bogglingly small-minded.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 22, 2014, 02:13:56 am
The thing that bugged me most about the plot of The Prestige is if you have a device that can duplicate things, there are a huge number of ethically sound and financially more rewarding things you can do with it. The implausibility of the sci-fi tech is way out of proportion with the purpose that it's put to. It's been a while since I watched the movie, so maybe that's explained away somehow.

It was never about the money. Algiers actually comes from a rich family.
Fair point, but I was just using financials as an example. Having a exact duplicator is like a cheat code to the universe. There's barely anything that you CAN'T do with it, given enough creativity. To use it to fake teleporting across a room is just mind-bogglingly small-minded.

Yeah, that's true enough.




On a completely different note...

(https://38.media.tumblr.com/4f7a50ef586137b1f7c67e6569155397/tumblr_nbz5yx3xv11rn8gxao1_500.jpg)



Edit: and also...

(https://40.media.tumblr.com/9b070c0b5265e292c60cd10276718187/tumblr_n7mkym1FVo1smcay7o1_500.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 22, 2014, 07:15:54 am
Enjoy the nostalgia.

(http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq259/Lekkit/cartograph2.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 22, 2014, 11:14:34 am
eHalcyon, that all just amounts to a conspiracy theory. The movie hints at none of that. This ain't Inception, where the ending is left purposefully ambiguous. You (or someone else) has created this interpretation from whole cloth. If the movie really is trying to tell the story as you describe, it does a tremendously bad job of it.

I could say that the events of Groundhog Day all took place in the unhinged mind of Bill Murray's character. I could easily concoct a whole detailed description of what the events of the movie actually signified was happening in reality. It would all be internally consistent, but that wouldn't matter because the movie is already a work of fiction and that's not the story it's trying to tell.

I respectfully disagree.  I think there are multiple hints.  The closing narration is one hint, as is the very theme of the film itself.  I also noted the comment made by Algiers to Cutter, about not being backstage.  I think there are more.  But again, that's from what I remember on first viewing, which is why I want to watch it again.  This is the impression that the film left on me from the first viewing, and not just something come up with on reflection.  This theory occurred to me right when Tesla implied that he could build a machine to scientifically teleport somebody and it only grew stronger when when the cats and hats cloning was revealed.  I thought it had to be deception, and nothing I saw seemed contradictory to that theory.  I was only surprised that they didn't come right out and confirm the deception, but it fit the theme of the film to leave it ambiguous.

As for the comment to Cutter, you said that you thought it meant just for that one show (when Borden would be there).

I'll have to watch it again, but I remember Algiers telling Cutter that he didn't want him backstage "this time", for the last performance.  It implied that Cutter had been there before, but this particular performance was special.  It would be the last performance, the one where curiosity got the better of Borden and end with him framed for murder.

But that's just wrong. It's clear from the way the two are speaking that this is the first time they've met since Angiers's return and Angiers doesn't want Cutter backstage for any of these performances. He says "this time" because Cutter had been backstage for all of Angiers's other runs, the ones before he went to meet with Tesla.

Compare the movie's actual twist to the one you've concocted. The actual twist is that Borden is two different people. There are all sorts of hints to that throughout the movie (he acts radically differently toward the two women in his life depending on who he is; his wound suddenly gets worse as if he'd just sustained it; he immediately understands the goldfish bowl trick). The film gives you zero hints that the machine doesn't actually work. Your explanation involves Root coming back. That's not hinted at. You say the bodies in the tanks at the end are fakes. That also isn't hinted at. So as I said, if your story is meant to be the real one, the film does a spectacularly bad job at telling that story. On the other hand, it does a great job at telling the story it actually presents.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 22, 2014, 12:11:51 pm
(counter-arguments)

As I recall, Cutter met Algiers earlier, when he had returned and was setting up the theater.  Algiers even called upon Cutter for help from his contacts (one of whom to which he demonstrated the trick).  The comment about not wanting Cutter backstage is not made until the night of the performance where Borden was caught.

As for the lack of hints, I already listed a few hints that suggest that there is a trick, though there aren't so many hints as to how the trick was performed.  And that's how it should be for this kind of film.  For the former, I think I can find more when I watch it again.  Again, if they were really clones, it sounds like an enormous plot hole that Algiers would keep dozens of human bodies floating in tanks, where they should have been rotting and attracting attention from people at the theatre.  And even the closing narration suggests that there is a trick!  For the latter, by my theory, the film tells the story exactly as it wants to, fitting with several of its themes: illusion, misdirection, and deception.

Like any good film about magicians, it quickly establishes that there is no real magic.  There are only illusions.  This immediately suggests that there is more to the story than what we see, and it would be poor form for the film to spell it out to us, the audience.

Misdirection is a key part of magic acts.  Magicians get you to watch one thing ("are you watching closely?") when the real trick is happening elsewhere.  They may even let you think you've discovered the trick, just so you don't notice the mischief going on somewhere else.  Misdirection is key!  It's also key to the interaction between Algiers and Borden, and I believe it is key to the story behind the machine.

Borden misdirects Algiers by pointing him to Tesla, and he does it by letting Algiers think that he was the one that was two steps ahead.  Algiers thought he had stolen the diary with the help of his ex-assistant, but it was planted by Borden and she was in on it.  He thought he had forced Borden to give him the cypher key when that was Borden's plan all along.

In the prison, Borden misdirects a prison guard by performing a simple little trick.  The guard jeers when Borden appears to make a mistake, but it was all a distraction from the real trick -- slipping the chains and tying up the guard.

I believe Algiers misdirects Borden with his own act, both during the show and outside of the show, with the blind stage hands and moving of tanks, and later with his own fake diary.  And I believe that the film is misdirecting us in the way it presents the ending, showing us something astonishing and magical when the truth is much more mundane.  We are handed the explanations to many other tricks so that when no explanation is given for this final trick, we'd assume that the magic is real.

Finally, deception.  The old Chinese magician with the goldfish trick commits entirely to his deception of frailty in order to perform his trick successfully.  Borden commits entirely to his deception of being just one man, again to perform a very convincing illusion.  Tesla commits to his deception of having built Borden a teleportation machine (whether acting as an opportunist or having been tipped off by Borden previously) and keeps Algiers on the hook for two years, funding his research!  Algiers is deceptive as well, hiding his true identity and wealth from his colleagues until the very end.  Is it really a surprise that the film would deceive us in its final act?

I'd say that you are right -- the film does a great job at telling the story it presents... just like a magician!  And it's not that the film does a bad job at telling my version of the events.  Rather, the film does a great job at hiding that real story -- again, just like a magician.  My explanation may not be perfect, since it's little better than if I were to try to guess at how a magician performs his act IRL.  But that's not important.  The point is that the magic -- and the cloning -- was never real.  That's just the story we are sold.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 22, 2014, 12:38:20 pm
As much as I enjoy looking at big walls of spoilered texts, shouldn't this be in the movie thread ? Or a specific one ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 22, 2014, 12:41:19 pm
As much as I enjoy looking at big walls of spoilered texts, shouldn't this be in the movie thread ? Or a specific one ?

It's just random characters inside the spoiler tags.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on September 22, 2014, 01:48:12 pm
As much as I enjoy looking at big walls of spoilered texts, shouldn't this be in the movie thread ? Or a specific one ?

It's just random characters inside the spoiler tags.
That's one interpretation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 22, 2014, 02:08:24 pm

As I recall, Cutter met Algiers earlier, when he had returned and was setting up the theater.  Algiers even called upon Cutter for help from his contacts (one of whom to which he demonstrated the trick).  The comment about not wanting Cutter backstage is not made until the night of the performance where Borden was caught.

I should rewatch the movie too, but I'm 98% sure that's all one scene. They're setting up the theater and Angiers immediately tells Cutter that he doesn't want him backstage this time.

Finally, all those dead Algiers at the end.  I have two possible explanations right now, and I think there could be others.  One is that the bodies are fakes, maybe wax doubles, placed in the theatre by Cutter as admonishment for the murder of Root.  Heck, one of them might have been Root himself.  "Look at what you've done, Algiers!"

The second possibility is that they are fakes brought them by Algiers himself.  Algiers was at the theatre to destroy the machine to get rid of evidence -- specifically, the evidence that the machine was nothing more than a sparkly prop. Algiers was so committed to the clone deception that he not only had blind men moving water tanks, he even put fake doubles of himself in those tanks in case Borden went so far as to sneak a peek.  Now that his scheme was complete, all the fake bodies were brought back so that he could dispose of everything cleanly.


So, according to your theory, either Cutter or Angiers himself filled dozens of water tanks with wax duplicates of Angiers. First of all, that's way out of character for Cutter. His whole "revenge is a young man's game" seemed pretty heartfelt to me. And unlike Angiers, he almost certainly doesn't have the financial means to buy that many water tanks, let alone wax copies of Angiers to fill them all.

So that leaves the possibility that those duplicates were put there by Angiers just in case Borden happened to sneak a peek into that room. Why? "So committed to the deception" doesn't cut it. Angiers only needed Borden backstage near the actual water tank in order to have him arrested. In fact, a crazy distraction—like say easy access to a room filled with dead bodies—would tip Borden off or at least keep him from being where Angiers needed him to be. And if Borden was Angiers's intended audience, he certainly didn't need the tanks and duplicates after Borden was arrested and hanged. So tell me again why there was a room full of water tanks and duplicates of Angiers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 22, 2014, 02:14:32 pm
http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140922/log.512f4c81e4b08cb66ebe711c.1411408592556.txt (http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140922/log.512f4c81e4b08cb66ebe711c.1411408592556.txt)

random game report. I opened silver/masquerade, and for some reason I hit  5$ seven times during turns 3-8 with that opening. i kept thinking OH MY GOD I CAN'T BUY SILVER WITH 5$ WHAT DO I DO and OH MY GOD I WILL LOSE BECAUSE I DONT BUY ANY ECONOMY AND WILL NEVER GET GRAND MARKETS and OH MY GOD I HAVE SO MUCH LUCK AND DONT MAKE ANYTHING OUT OF IT. it was nerv wrecking, and it took nine turns until i could finally buy a second silver. dominion is really stressful sometimes...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 22, 2014, 02:19:35 pm
Some good points, but this has nothing to the Prestige, so there's nothing to see here.

Although in writing that, it occurs to me how easy it is to accidentally type [/soiler] which would hilariously fail to close the spoiler tag. And why isn't there a soiler tag? I demand satisfaction!

But what everybody has failed to mention is how much I love peanut butter. Man, that is some good food. I like peanut butter flavors too. Delicious!

You could disagree with me, but you'd be wrong.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on September 22, 2014, 02:22:04 pm
Peanut butter must be the most american thing ever. I don't think I've ever seen peanut butter, let alone tasted it, and quite frankly the whole idea sounds thoroughly unappealing to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 22, 2014, 02:25:32 pm
Peanut butter must be the most american thing ever. I don't think I've ever seen peanut butter, let alone tasted it, and quite frankly the whole idea sounds thoroughly unappealing to me.

Nutella is tastier at first, but it didn't take me long to get tired of it. Peanut butter is forever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 22, 2014, 02:32:04 pm
Peanut butter must be the most american thing ever. I don't think I've ever seen peanut butter, let alone tasted it, and quite frankly the whole idea sounds thoroughly unappealing to me.

Congratulations on being wrong.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 22, 2014, 02:47:12 pm
There are some peanut butter that are less appealing than others.

I've actually come to really enjoy Reduced Fat Jif. I normally eschew reduced fat anything, but I tried this, and I prefer it to fatty peanut butter. Other peanut butter seem to be oily in comparison. I suppose they make up for it in that Jif by adding sugar, which may be another reason it tastes better to me.

I've been cutting down on the peanut butter as it is far too efficient at delivering calories to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on September 22, 2014, 02:50:56 pm
Natural / fresh peanut butter is truly a gift from the heavens.  Fresh almond butter too. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on September 22, 2014, 02:54:48 pm
Peanut butter must be the most american thing ever. I don't think I've ever seen peanut butter, let alone tasted it, and quite frankly the whole idea sounds thoroughly unappealing to me.

Congratulations on being wrong.
I didn't mean to bash on your beloved national treat, sorry for being unclear! As I said, I haven't even tried it ever. I was merely observing a big cultural difference. It's just not a thing here! I've never seen peanut butter in anyone's fridge in Finland, and it seems to be all the rave over there, big enough that people routinely mention it as a gift from heavens in random occasions.

I try not to eat bread, and I don't even like chocolate (enough to justify eating it), I didn't mean to start a competition on who has the best taste buds.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 22, 2014, 02:58:35 pm
Peanut butter must be the most american thing ever. I don't think I've ever seen peanut butter, let alone tasted it, and quite frankly the whole idea sounds thoroughly unappealing to me.

Congratulations on being wrong.
I didn't mean to bash on your beloved national treat, sorry for being unclear! As I said, I haven't even tried it ever. I was merely observing a big cultural difference. It's just not a thing here! I've never seen peanut butter in anyone's fridge in Finland, and it seems to be all the rave over there, big enough that people routinely mention it as a gift from heavens in random occasions.

I try not to eat bread, and I don't even like chocolate (enough to justify eating it), I didn't mean to start a competition on who has the best taste buds.

Peanut butter goes well with apples :P

Peanut butter is gift from the gods.  Ancient Greek "Ambrosia" translates roughly to "creamy buttery substance made from mashing up peanuts".[Citation needed]
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 22, 2014, 03:13:36 pm
I tried vegemite once. It wasn't for me, but it seems to be a fave with the Aussies…at least according to American media, which routinely reinforces stereotypes like the English having bad teeth, Germans being frightening, and American Chinese restaurants serving dog.

I watched an episode of Chopped where one of the mystery ingredients was cricket flour. I had hoped that maybe it was flour that cricket players use on their bats when they don't have talcum powder, but nope. Flour made from crickets. I suppose I would eat it, but it does strike me as an odd food option. Might be the best option in some places.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 22, 2014, 03:15:05 pm
Same as Eevee here, peanut butter barely exists in France. We're all about Nutella here.

And peanut butter sounds disgusting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 22, 2014, 03:16:05 pm
Same as Eevee here, peanut butter barely exists in France. We're all about Nutella here.

And peanut butter sounds disgusting.

you mean the word?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 22, 2014, 03:23:07 pm
The description of it. I don't think I've ever actually seen it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 22, 2014, 03:23:35 pm
brummm
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 22, 2014, 03:30:12 pm
Perhaps the discussion should be forked to its own thread.

So tell me again why there was a room full of water tanks and duplicates of Angiers.

I watched the movie more recently, so I stand by my statement that those were separate scenes.  But I intend to rewatch the movie sometime this week, and I'll report back. :P

As for my explanation on why the duplicates where there, I gave an explanation in my first long post.  Cutter could have done it, not as revenge, but as admonishment.  Perhaps the financials wouldn't work out after all, but there could be other explanations.  Maybe he found where Algiers had been stashing all the tanks from his earlier performances and had them moved back.

Alternatively, Algiers could have had the fake tanks moved back to the theater himself, for evidence disposal.  Maybe he'd planned to burn everything to the ground, duplicates, machine, theater and all.

But even if these explanations aren't satisfactory, they don't need to be for my theory.  For the clone theory, the fact that there is no reasonable explanation for having all those bodies returned to the theater is a plot hole.  I ask you, why is there a room full of water tanks and dead clones of Angiers?  He'd had them all moved off site.  If they were actual clones, he surely would have had them disposed of as well.

The point is, the film is itself a magic trick.  I couldn't tell you how Penn and Teller do their tricks, but I know it's all sleight of hand, misdirection and illusion.  The same is true here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 22, 2014, 03:32:34 pm
Peanut butter must be the most american thing ever. I don't think I've ever seen peanut butter, let alone tasted it, and quite frankly the whole idea sounds thoroughly unappealing to me.

Congratulations on being wrong.
I didn't mean to bash on your beloved national treat, sorry for being unclear! As I said, I haven't even tried it ever. I was merely observing a big cultural difference. It's just not a thing here! I've never seen peanut butter in anyone's fridge in Finland, and it seems to be all the rave over there, big enough that people routinely mention it as a gift from heavens in random occasions.

I try not to eat bread, and I don't even like chocolate (enough to justify eating it), I didn't mean to start a competition on who has the best taste buds.

Peanut butter goes well with apples :P

Peanut butter is gift from the gods.  Ancient Greek "Ambrosia" translates roughly to "creamy buttery substance made from mashing up peanuts".[Citation needed]

I took ancient greek in college.  I can confirm this[citation needed]
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 22, 2014, 03:35:22 pm
I find it odd that having not tried it appears to equate with finding the thought of it disgusting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on September 22, 2014, 03:36:44 pm
Well, have you ever eaten worms?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on September 22, 2014, 03:39:15 pm
I find it odd that having not tried it appears to equate with finding the thought of it disgusting.
Well, on the flip side, if I found the idea appealing, surely I would have made the effort of finding some at some point in my life?

Also, it doesn't seem to be a good habit to develop. It sounds kind of unhealthy? I don't want to start liking something unhealthy if I'm perfectly happy without it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 22, 2014, 03:40:12 pm
Well, have you ever eaten worms?

Only of the variety Lumbricus gummicus.

Granted, they are still fairly disgusting.

(http://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/largest-gummy-worm.gif?w=680)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on September 22, 2014, 03:40:55 pm
Well, have you ever eaten worms?

Well, nobody loves me and everybody hates me. So yes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 22, 2014, 04:00:59 pm
Perhaps the discussion should be forked to its own thread.

So tell me again why there was a room full of water tanks and duplicates of Angiers.

I watched the movie more recently, so I stand by my statement that those were separate scenes.  But I intend to rewatch the movie sometime this week, and I'll report back. :P

As for my explanation on why the duplicates where there, I gave an explanation in my first long post.  Cutter could have done it, not as revenge, but as admonishment.  Perhaps the financials wouldn't work out after all, but there could be other explanations.  Maybe he found where Algiers had been stashing all the tanks from his earlier performances and had them moved back.

Alternatively, Algiers could have had the fake tanks moved back to the theater himself, for evidence disposal.  Maybe he'd planned to burn everything to the ground, duplicates, machine, theater and all.

But even if these explanations aren't satisfactory, they don't need to be for my theory.  For the clone theory, the fact that there is no reasonable explanation for having all those bodies returned to the theater is a plot hole.  I ask you, why is there a room full of water tanks and dead clones of Angiers?  He'd had them all moved off site.  If they were actual clones, he surely would have had them disposed of as well.

The point is, the film is itself a magic trick.  I couldn't tell you how Penn and Teller do their tricks, but I know it's all sleight of hand, misdirection and illusion.  The same is true here.


I don't think he'd moved them off-site at all. I'm pretty sure the reason they were all in the theater is because he couldn't risk moving them out, at least not one per day. When is it revealed that the tanks left the theater?

You're looking at all this from the wrong direction. Why was there more than one tank in the first place? Again, it can't have been for Borden's benefit, because seeing them might have kept him from being where Angier needed him to be. Angier only needed one tank to drown Root, if that indeed what was happening. So why did all those tanks exist?


The reason that I'm arguing all this is that I think of you as an intelligent person and I hate to see you succumbing to conspiracy theories, even concerning a work of fiction. Because that's exactly what's going on here. You want to believe something, so you're inventing a convoluted story that has no facts to back it up.

I agree that it would be interesting and appropriate if there were some hidden side to the events of the film, but I'm not buying any of the versions you've proposed because there's zero hard evidence to support any of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 22, 2014, 04:48:34 pm
I don't think he'd moved them off-site at all. I'm pretty sure the reason they were all in the theater is because he couldn't risk moving them out, at least not one per day. When is it revealed that the tanks left the theater?

You're looking at all this from the wrong direction. Why was there more than one tank in the first place? Again, it can't have been for Borden's benefit, because seeing them might have kept him from being where Angier needed him to be. Angier only needed one tank to drown Root, if that indeed what was happening. So why did all those tanks exist?


The reason that I'm arguing all this is that I think of you as an intelligent person and I hate to see you succumbing to conspiracy theories, even concerning a work of fiction. Because that's exactly what's going on here. You want to believe something, so you're inventing a convoluted story that has no facts to back it up.

I agree that it would be interesting and appropriate if there were some hidden side to the events of the film, but I'm not buying any of the versions you've proposed because there's zero hard evidence to support any of it.

I'm pretty sure they were moved off site.  It was an actual plot point.  Borden and Fallon were discussing how Algiers did his new version of the Transported Man.  They noted that the stage hands were blind (presumably so that they could not see the "clones") and Borden/Fallon watched them move a water tank away from the theater.  They specifically noted that this was done after every performance.  They were completely confounded as to the purpose of it all.

The purpose was, of course, to misdirect Borden.  While he obsessed about these enigmatic details, he could not see that it was really the exact same trick with a body double.


This is not a conspiracy theory.  It's fully valid, matching the themes of the film (not to mention the history of the director).

But again, I'll rewatch the film and take notes.  Maybe I misunderstood some parts the first time around.  I think you're misremembering some things yourself.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 22, 2014, 04:56:22 pm
LF, shouldn't you at least rewatch the movie before you claim that there are no hints to the theory?

or did you rewatch it recently?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 22, 2014, 05:00:05 pm
LF, shouldn't you at least rewatch the movie before you claim that there are no hints to the theory?

or did you rewatch it recently?

I have seen it several times, but not as recently as eHalcyon.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 22, 2014, 05:09:31 pm
I'm pretty sure they were moved off site.  It was an actual plot point.  Borden and Fallon were discussing how Algiers did his new version of the Transported Man.  They noted that the stage hands were blind (presumably so that they could not see the "clones") and Borden/Fallon watched them move a water tank away from the theater.  They specifically noted that this was done after every performance.  They were completely confounded as to the purpose of it all.

The purpose was, of course, to misdirect Borden.  While he obsessed about these enigmatic details, he could not see that it was really the exact same trick with a body double.

Man, that is a good call. I remember that conversation between Fallon and Borden now. Are we sure that the scene where Borden shoots Angier is in the theater, though? It's not just in a warehouse somewhere? Maybe the tanks were just never moved back. Anyway, that potentially explains why there would be multiple tanks: piquing Borden's curiosity. But does it explain why each one had an Angier duplicate in it? I suppose in case Borden decided to pay the warehouse a visit before sneaking backstage for the trick. But what would he have done if he found the tanks? Maybe he wouldn't have snuck backstage, realizing it was all a trick. Probably empty tanks would have been more likely to make him sneak backstage, since they would provide no clues as to how the trick was performed. But it's tough to say.

Anyhow, another question is, if it was Root that was drowned, how did Angier know which show to do it in? He only had one shot at that. Sure, he could maybe spot Borden and tell the stagehands to put the tank under the stage, but there's no guarantee that Borden would sneak backstage the first time he saw the act. In fact, he probably wouldn't. Oh, but wait. Borden volunteered for the act that time, right? So it's conceivable that Angier would have time to somehow tip off the stagehands while that trick was being performed. Hmm…
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 22, 2014, 05:31:12 pm
I'm pretty sure they were moved off site.  It was an actual plot point.  Borden and Fallon were discussing how Algiers did his new version of the Transported Man.  They noted that the stage hands were blind (presumably so that they could not see the "clones") and Borden/Fallon watched them move a water tank away from the theater.  They specifically noted that this was done after every performance.  They were completely confounded as to the purpose of it all.

The purpose was, of course, to misdirect Borden.  While he obsessed about these enigmatic details, he could not see that it was really the exact same trick with a body double.

Man, that is a good call. I remember that conversation between Fallon and Borden now. Are we sure that the scene where Borden shoots Angier is in the theater, though? It's not just in a warehouse somewhere? Maybe the tanks were just never moved back. Anyway, that potentially explains why there would be multiple tanks: piquing Borden's curiosity. But does it explain why each one had an Angier duplicate in it? I suppose in case Borden decided to pay the warehouse a visit before sneaking backstage for the trick. But what would he have done if he found the tanks? Maybe he wouldn't have snuck backstage, realizing it was all a trick. Probably empty tanks would have been more likely to make him sneak backstage, since they would provide no clues as to how the trick was performed. But it's tough to say.

Anyhow, another question is, if it was Root that was drowned, how did Angier know which show to do it in? He only had one shot at that. Sure, he could maybe spot Borden and tell the stagehands to put the tank under the stage, but there's no guarantee that Borden would sneak backstage the first time he saw the act. In fact, he probably wouldn't. Oh, but wait. Borden volunteered for the act that time, right? So it's conceivable that Angier would have time to somehow tip off the stagehands while that trick was being performed. Hmm…


I reported my first post about The Prestige in this thread, to ask theory to fork the discussion to its own thread.

I think it's in the theatre because Cutter was there and walked out afterwards, even recognizing Borden/Fallon on his way out.  But that's something I'll need to confirm on rewatching.

I think Angiers could have put a duplicate in each tank before moving it out of the theater so that there would be something to see if Borden had tried to sneak a peek at one of them while it was getting moved out.

If Borden saw it he'd probably be even more confused and sneak back stage to see.  But it's hard to say.

Re: how Angier knew which show to do it, yes Borden volunteered that time.  I have an answer that needs re-watching to confirm, but the same question can be posed to the clone theory.  Suppose Angiers was drowning a clone every show in hopes that Borden would sneak back stage and trigger the trap.  How does the living Angiers know that he should hide and let everybody think he had died in the tank?  If you can answer that, the same answer could probably be used for drowning Root.  If there is no satisfactory answer for either case, then I count it a plot hole for the clone theory and just another mystery for my theory.

My current idea is based on the fact that Angiers specifically scheduled exactly 100 shows.  No more, no less.  I think Borden and Fallon debated about that point as well.  My theory is that the 100 days was motivated by how long he thought he could keep Root on a leash and also to put a clock on Borden to act.  Borden tried to leave well enough alone, but he couldn't resist sneaking back stage for the final performance, since it was his last chance to find out Angiers' secret.  For his part, Angiers would have kept an eye out for Borden and perhaps would have drowned Root whether or not Borden got himself involved.  Last show, last chance.  And the plan to drown Root is also why he told Cutter not to go backstage.

Whether it was actually the last performance is something I'd need to check for when rewatching.

I'd also want to confirm that they were wheeling water tanks out of the theater.  It's possible that I misunderstood and they where actually wheeling tanks in.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 22, 2014, 07:17:06 pm
eHalc: I really love the theory, I really do.  It makes a lot of things make a lot more sense.

I actually typed that up with the intention of bringing up a point that disproves it... However, thinking about it it doesn't.  Anyways, my point was at the very end when Angier is dying, Cutter walks up and reminds Angier of what he had told him when his wife died: That he had told him a story of a sailor who drowned and came back and the sailor said that it was the most peaceful death, like falling asleep.  And then he tells Angier that he lied and the sailor actually said that it was hell.  When Angier hears this he has a look of pure horror on his face and I wanted to attribute that to the clone theory because he was able to walk into the machine every night knowing that he was killing himself peacefully or you know, in the same way as his wife.  But thinking about it he could have had that same look feeling sorry for the way he killed Root.  Or just how that thought has given him some comfort all these years and Cutter was taking that away.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 22, 2014, 07:22:17 pm
Well, have you ever eaten worms?
Actually, yes.  I have eaten rice crispy treats with mealworms on them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on September 22, 2014, 07:50:07 pm
I think peanut butter tastes pretty bad.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 22, 2014, 07:58:02 pm
I think peanut butter tastes pretty bad.

^ This
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 22, 2014, 09:36:40 pm
I think peanut butter tastes pretty bad.

^ This

Fine.  Give me all your peanut butters.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on September 22, 2014, 10:09:31 pm
The Prestige was based on a book. The book does not leave any question as to what was a trick.

You can say, so what, the screenwriters meant something different. Man I didn't catch any of that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 22, 2014, 10:47:11 pm
The Prestige was based on a book. The book does not leave any question as to what was a trick.

You can say, so what, the screenwriters meant something different. Man I didn't catch any of that.

I'm aware of that!  But the book went much further with it.  The film barely delves into the sci-fi/fantasy storyline, making it stand out like a sore thumb and leaving open an alternative explanation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 22, 2014, 11:01:13 pm
Can we at least all agree on that it was an amazing movie?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 23, 2014, 12:22:28 am
Can we at least all agree on that it was an amazing movie?

I can't agree, because I haven't seen it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on September 23, 2014, 12:37:03 am
Can we at least all agree on that it was an amazing movie?

I would say this, but the last time I praised a Nolan movie I got called names. :o
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 23, 2014, 12:58:41 am
it's 7am. i can't sleep.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 23, 2014, 01:02:50 am
Can we at least all agree on that it was an amazing movie?

I would say this, but the last time I praised a Nolan movie I got called names. :o

well I've seen all of his movies except the first one I think, and all of them were great.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on September 23, 2014, 08:39:56 am
Can we at least all agree on that it was an amazing movie?

I would say this, but the last time I praised a Nolan movie I got called names. :o

well I've seen all of his movies except the first one I think, and all of them were great.

You can't say that 'round these parts! Danger! Danger!!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 23, 2014, 09:08:36 am
Can we at least all agree on that it was an amazing movie?

I would say this, but the last time I praised a Nolan movie I got called names. :o

well I've seen all of his movies except the first one I think, and all of them were great.

You can't say that 'round these parts! Danger! Danger!!

Geez, man. What happened last time? I am willing to say right now that his movies are generally fantastic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on September 23, 2014, 10:33:38 am
I tried vegemite once. It wasn't for me, but it seems to be a fave with the Aussies…at least according to American media, which routinely reinforces stereotypes like the English having bad teeth, Germans being frightening, and American Chinese restaurants serving dog.
I would say that Vegemite is *more* popular among Australians than anyone else, and it definitely is quite popular over here. I find I only really eat it when I've been ill and want something nostalgic and nourishing. Interestingly, while it was originally designed as a competitor to Marmite, it's rare to find someone who enjoys the taste of both products. There's also the whole "Vegemite is owned by Kraft which is American" thing that spawned a product called Ozemite (Aussie-mite) that I've never tasted so I won't try to compare it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 23, 2014, 10:46:16 am
at least according to American media, which routinely reinforces stereotypes like the English having bad teeth, Germans being frightening, and American Chinese restaurants serving dog.
At least I understand why someone would think the last one is true, but what's up with the other two?  ???
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 23, 2014, 10:53:12 am
The Prestige was based on a book. The book does not leave any question as to what was a trick.

You can say, so what, the screenwriters meant something different. Man I didn't catch any of that.

The book was just part of living the illusion.  The ultimate trick was pulled off by the writer, ultimately intending a different interpretation through the movie.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 23, 2014, 10:58:11 am
Peanut butter is tasty. Nutella is tasty. Vegimite and marmite is pretty yucky. That marshmallow fluff is mainly weird, but doesn't taste bad.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 23, 2014, 10:59:21 am
Peanut butter is tasty. Nutella is tasty. Vegimite and marmite is pretty yucky. That marshmallow fluff is mainly weird, but doesn't taste bad.

This sounds pretty definitive to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 23, 2014, 11:14:04 am
Peanut butter is tasty. Nutella is tasty. Vegimite and marmite is pretty yucky. That marshmallow fluff is mainly weird, but doesn't taste bad.
mmmm... fluffernutter...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 23, 2014, 11:19:12 am
Peanut butter is tasty. Nutella is tasty. Vegimite and marmite is pretty yucky. That marshmallow fluff is mainly weird, but doesn't taste bad.

Nutella is the god of all tasty spreads.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 23, 2014, 11:50:20 am
Peanut butter is tasty. Nutella is tasty. Vegimite and marmite is pretty yucky. That marshmallow fluff is mainly weird, but doesn't taste bad.

Nutella is the god of all tasty spreads.

...because it is almost entirely fat and sugar.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 23, 2014, 12:13:53 pm
at least according to American media, which routinely reinforces stereotypes like the English having bad teeth, Germans being frightening, and American Chinese restaurants serving dog.
At least I understand why someone would think the last one is true, but what's up with the other two?  ???

I read a little bit on why, and if I had time, I could find that article and link it. It might be on Snopes.

The important thing to note is that crooked teeth are not a sign of bad oral hygiene. Maybe it's because Americans have this obsession with beauty, and we throw all our kids in braces (who can afford it) at the first sign of crookedness. And certainly I recall some pictures of Brits with wonky teeth. The article points out that Brits actually have one of the best oral hygiene rates, so the joke's on us.

I'm not sure if German just sounds angry normally or if it's an association with Hitler's speeches. Aside from hanging out with actual Germans, I think Americans get their exposure to Hitler speeches, which are certainly passionate. I'm sure most of his speeches were not about "Kill everyone you find and murder their children." I bet a lot of them were the same kind of speeches other leaders give to boost morale. But there is forever the dark cloud of the Holocaust looming over those speeches, so even though I bet 0% of his speeches involved, "Fire up the ovens," history has forever overlaid that sentiment on his speeches.

Now I've heard German being spoken in nice conversant tones, and it's not frightening, but nobody keeps track of nonthreatening speech. Hitler, however, stands out and is a continual black eye in the realm of stereotypes. There does seem to be a bit more throatiness when I hear German versus Spanish, Japanese, or French. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 23, 2014, 12:31:25 pm
Peanut butter is tasty. Nutella is tasty. Vegimite and marmite is pretty yucky. That marshmallow fluff is mainly weird, but doesn't taste bad.

Nutella is the god of all tasty spreads.

...because it is almost entirely fat and sugar.

That's entirely beside the point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 23, 2014, 12:35:35 pm
Quote
That's entirely [...] the point.
cool
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 23, 2014, 12:50:18 pm
@Kuildeous : Yes, German's rputation as a language is largely related to the fact that the first German words most people hear are Hitler's speeches.

Not only is that horrible because Hitler was, well, Hitler, but even worse : he was Austrian. With a strong accent. Not a pleasant accent in any situation, even worse when it's an angry dictator screaming about the Jews.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 23, 2014, 02:25:33 pm
@Kuildeous : Yes, German's reputation as a language is largely related to the fact that the first German words most people hear are Hitler's speeches.

That or youtube videos like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlATOHGj9EY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 23, 2014, 04:29:18 pm
The butterfly example is one I've used countless times as a joke (it's a great one because there aren't that many words that are different in French, Italian, Spanish, German AND English), because yeah, German is a guttural language.

I know it's weird but I find it beautiful for its structures. I just love how sentences in German sound, it's... I don't know, fluid.

Is this a good time to say I hate the English language ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 23, 2014, 04:36:25 pm
I think French sounds very weird and aggressive. And kind of ugly. Most people don't agree with me. And also, I don't mean it as an insult to the French speakers. It's just that I don't find it very nice to listen to.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 23, 2014, 04:39:15 pm
I think French sounds very weird and aggressive. And kind of ugly. Most people don't agree with me. And also, I don't mean it as an insult to the French speakers. It's just that I don't find it very nice to listen to.

Comment oses-tu ?

Obviously I don't mean it as an insult either when I say I hate English. And it might be an overstatement, but I never, ever, hear or read a sentence in English and think "that's a beautiful way of saying it". Which I do often in French and German.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 23, 2014, 04:51:21 pm
Quote
And it might be an overstatement, but I never, ever, hear or read a sentence in English and think "that's a beautiful way of saying it". Which I do often in French and German.
man, I think the exact opposite is true. well, I don't know about french, because I don't speak it well enough, but sentence structure in german really sucks. it's so much better in English.

It enlightened my deafened scream,
Where hatred was reigning supreme,
Thus switching ways, inverting nights and days
And breaking the walls of my rational maze.


it's impossible to even write german poetry that sounds this good. if you try it, and I had to in school n stuff, it sounds lengthy, awkward, and forced. german. sucks. not to  mention that there are words in english that are literally missing in german.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 23, 2014, 04:58:21 pm
not to  mention that there are words in english that are literally missing in german.

Well, that's because English aggressively steals words from other languages. If we don't have a word for something, we find a language that does.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 23, 2014, 05:25:31 pm
not to  mention that there are words in english that are literally missing in german.

Well, that's because English aggressively steals words from other languages. If we don't have a word for something, we find a language that does.

e.g. schadenfreude
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 23, 2014, 05:34:48 pm
gemüdlich is another German word that doesn't really exist in French (or in English AFAIK).

Every language has these little untranslatable words.

I think I like German because I like long, complicated sentences. I dislike English for its relative grammatic simplicity.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 23, 2014, 05:35:06 pm
not to  mention that there are words in english that are literally missing in german.

Well, that's because English aggressively steals words from other languages. If we don't have a word for something, we find a language that does.

All languages do that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on September 23, 2014, 05:36:44 pm
Languages?

Latin is pretty cool.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 23, 2014, 05:42:03 pm
not to  mention that there are words in english that are literally missing in german.

Well, that's because English aggressively steals words from other languages. If we don't have a word for something, we find a language that does.

All languages do that.

I have heard tell that French in particular does not. That there is a movement to keep French pure. Is this not the case?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 23, 2014, 05:42:27 pm
Quote
And it might be an overstatement, but I never, ever, hear or read a sentence in English and think "that's a beautiful way of saying it". Which I do often in French and German.
man, I think the exact opposite is true. well, I don't know about french, because I don't speak it well enough, but sentence structure in german really sucks. it's so much better in English.

It enlightened my deafened scream,
Where hatred was reigning supreme,
Thus switching ways, inverting nights and days
And breaking the walls of my rational maze.


it's impossible to even write german poetry that sounds this good. if you try it, and I had to in school n stuff, it sounds lengthy, awkward, and forced. german. sucks. not to  mention that there are words in english that are literally missing in german.
If you "have to try" writing poems, of course it's going to sound horrible regardless of the language. If they told everyone at school to compose a funk song, would you compare them with Mirrorthrone and conclude that symphonic black metal is better than funk?

My favorite languages are Dutch and Chinese. I can't speak either language and understand very little of both, but they sound incredibly awesome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 23, 2014, 05:46:21 pm
it's impossible to even write german poetry that sounds this good. if you try it, and I had to in school n stuff, it sounds lengthy, awkward, and forced.

Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind ?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm
Er fasst ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.

[...]

Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort
Erlkönigs Töchter am düsteren Ort ? –
Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh’ es genau,
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau. –

„Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt,
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt !“


I mean, tastes are what they are, but there is gorgeous poetry in German.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 23, 2014, 05:49:51 pm
not to  mention that there are words in english that are literally missing in german.

Well, that's because English aggressively steals words from other languages. If we don't have a word for something, we find a language that does.

All languages do that.

I have heard tell that French in particular does not. That there is a movement to keep French pure. Is this not the case?

People bitch about the "intrusion" of English words in the French language yeah, but it's utterly stupid and mostly without effect. We have adopted a lot of English words. Then the Académie Française comes up with French words for "hashtag" or "marketing", and no one uses them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on September 23, 2014, 06:02:50 pm
Is this a good time to say I hate the English language ?

Yes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 23, 2014, 06:27:05 pm
Languages?

Latin is pretty cool.

No way, when it comes to ancient languages greek is so much better than Latin.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 23, 2014, 06:27:49 pm
Languages?

Latin is pretty cool.

No way, when it comes to ancient languages greek is so much better than Latin.

Definitely.  Greeks had a word for peanut butter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 23, 2014, 06:44:47 pm
Languages?

Latin is pretty cool.

No way, when it comes to ancient languages greek is so much better than Latin.

Definitely.  Greeks had a word for peanut butter.

It's true. I heard it from a pretty credible source.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 23, 2014, 06:45:39 pm
Quote
gemüdlich
*gemütlich :P

and... comfortable?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 23, 2014, 06:48:52 pm
it's impossible to even write german poetry that sounds this good. if you try it, and I had to in school n stuff, it sounds lengthy, awkward, and forced.

Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind ?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm
Er fasst ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.

[...]

Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort
Erlkönigs Töchter am düsteren Ort ? –
Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh’ es genau,
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau. –

„Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt,
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt !“


I mean, tastes are what they are, but there is gorgeous poetry in German.

actually, this is probably the poem that I was going to use in response to Awaclus' post.  this is established german poetry, and, well, I wouldn't describe it as gorgeous. this specific poem to me is particularly unimpressive, because it uses dialogue that noone would ever say in this way. It doesn't feel believable. and it doesn't read well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 23, 2014, 07:03:06 pm
Poetry isn't really concerning itself with sounding believable, that's entirely beside the point...

I've been spelling gemütlich wrong for a while apparently. Comfortable is what comes closest to it, but you'll agree that it's not exactly it ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on September 23, 2014, 07:07:37 pm
My language could beat up your language
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 23, 2014, 07:13:21 pm
Quote
Poetry isn't really concerning itself with sounding believable, that's entirely beside the point...

that completely depends on the perceiving perspective. I read this poem, and I can't stand the dialogue, that takes me out of the experience. though I'm of course biased because this is a classic piece to cover in school.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 23, 2014, 07:52:57 pm
I really like English for its huge variety of potential words for similar concepts that allows for a number of nuanced meanings. It is, of course, difficult for me to compare other languages, since I speak none very well and certainly no where close to as well as I know English.

My perception though (and please someone with more data correct me if I'm wrong), is that English has made a habit of stealing words from other languages (much more so than other languages) and was already a mash of romance languages onto some kind of old German to begin with (which just makes English spelling a nightmare). I think this means that English usually has a wider variety of words to express the nuances of a topic. My dad used to live in the Netherlands, and commented that Dutch seemed to have far fewer words to express things. Of course, his opinion might also have been colored by being a native English speaker.

English still has a number of failings though. The one that most bothers me is the huge number of meanings for "love": which can express the type of feeling you have for a restaurant you've visited a few times, for your family, or for someone with whom you are romantically involved (with the whole aspect of sexuality). The confusion and apprehension this linguistic failing creates is extraordinarily frustrating.


Also I'm taking Elementary German this semester and enjoying it a fair bit. Except for genders. Those just seem entirely arbitrary.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on September 23, 2014, 08:09:55 pm
Languages?

Latin is pretty cool.

No way, when it comes to ancient languages greek is so much better than Latin.
I believe you. Latin's still pretty cool though.

(haven't studied ancient greek, have studied latin).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 23, 2014, 08:13:44 pm
Quote
I've been spelling gemütlich wrong for a while apparently. Comfortable is what comes closest to it, but you'll agree that it's not exactly it ?

I'm... not sure. I think it's pretty safe to assume that I know exactly what gemütlich means. I use comfortable pretty much as a synonym.

where do you think lies the difference?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on September 23, 2014, 09:16:39 pm
If "gemütlich" doesn't exist in english, what does Baloo sing in the jungle book?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 23, 2014, 09:31:15 pm
it's impossible to even write german poetry that sounds this good. if you try it, and I had to in school n stuff, it sounds lengthy, awkward, and forced.

Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind ?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm
Er fasst ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.

[...]

Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort
Erlkönigs Töchter am düsteren Ort ? –
Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh’ es genau,
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau. –

„Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt,
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt !“


I mean, tastes are what they are, but there is gorgeous poetry in German.

actually, this is probably the poem that I was going to use in response to Awaclus' post.  this is established german poetry, and, well, I wouldn't describe it as gorgeous. this specific poem to me is particularly unimpressive, because it uses dialogue that noone would ever say in this way. It doesn't feel believable. and it doesn't read well.

Would you prefer some Nena?

Neunundnuenzig Kriegsminister
Streichholz und Benzinkanister
Hielten sich für schlaue Leute
Witterten schon fette Beute
Riefen Krieg und wollten Macht
Mann, wer hätte das gedacht
Dass es einmal soweit kommt
Wegen neunundneunzig Luftballons
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 23, 2014, 09:48:56 pm
well, it sounds clunky and somewhat awkward. for a poem that doesn't take itself seriously and is mostly meant to be funny, that's not a bad thing. these kinds of poems work decently I'd say.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on September 23, 2014, 10:07:02 pm
not to  mention that there are words in english that are literally missing in german.

Well, that's because English aggressively steals words from other languages. If we don't have a word for something, we find a language that does.

All languages do that.

I have heard tell that French in particular does not. That there is a movement to keep French pure. Is this not the case?

People bitch about the "intrusion" of English words in the French language yeah, but it's utterly stupid and mostly without effect. We have adopted a lot of English words. Then the Académie Française comes up with French words for "hashtag" or "marketing", and no one uses them.
That's what I'd heard from my fiancée (whose course on language policy last semester used France as a case study). So there's a political (or at least organisational) push to create some kind of "pure" French, but it's not really reflected in society's use of the language. Similar to attempts in other countries to create some kind of national language and force local dialects out.

In terms of which languages sound "nicer" than others, I think German sounds angrier because it I always think of it as having a lot of hard or abrasive consonant sounds like "t", "d" and "sch", whereas a language like French tends to evoke softer sounds (like "ll" which is pronounced almost like a "y" sound). I also find many Chinese dialects sound angry to some extent (Cantonese more than Mandarin), and there a lot of the words are very syllabic which probably produces a very short, curt sounding language.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on September 23, 2014, 11:03:19 pm
My language could beat up your language
Them's fighting words.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on September 23, 2014, 11:04:37 pm
Peanut butter is my go-to example of foods that should NOT be natural. It tastes worse than regular and separates. You mean every time I open a jar I have to stir it? No thank you.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 23, 2014, 11:50:55 pm
Speaking of schadenfreude, I saw a video posted of a toddler "playing" with an iguana. I use quotes because the child smacked the lizard around and roughly manhandled it to the point that I feared for some snapped bones. Then he proceeded to taunt it by waving his finger in front of its mouth. Finally, it got a lucky strike and latched right onto that little shit's finger. I generally do not like the sound of children wailing, but this was actually welcomed.

And then I was wondering, "Who the fuck videos a child abusing an animal without interference?"

I hope that child learned a lesson about the iguana, but he clearly has some shitty role models, so he has a long ways to go to learn to be a decent human. I hope he can overcome his environment.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 24, 2014, 12:03:14 am
English still has a number of failings though. The one that most bothers me is the huge number of meanings for "love": which can express the type of feeling you have for a restaurant you've visited a few times, for your family, or for someone with whom you are romantically involved (with the whole aspect of sexuality). The confusion and apprehension this linguistic failing creates is extraordinarily frustrating.

Especially when my main definition is to choose to put another's needs above your own (a.k.a. not a feeling at all (of course, there are other definitions which are feelings that I use)).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 24, 2014, 05:51:24 am
I've heard that Icelandic doesn't borrow words. If they need a new word, they either make one up or translates a foreign one. I'm not sure if this is true or not. But they have some very weird words.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 24, 2014, 07:18:02 am
Quote
I've been spelling gemütlich wrong for a while apparently. Comfortable is what comes closest to it, but you'll agree that it's not exactly it ?

I'm... not sure. I think it's pretty safe to assume that I know exactly what gemütlich means. I use comfortable pretty much as a synonym.

where do you think lies the difference?

gemütlich has a notion of warmth associated with it, and the idea of "home". So it's more precise than just "comfortable". I would translate comfrotable as bequem in most situations. You couldn't apply gemütlich to something like "comfort food" for example, nor would you say that your seat in a hotel is gemütlich. You would probably bequem (or komfortabel for that matter).

Maybe that's just where I lived (Bonn) and the word has a simpler meaning elsewhere, but I'm pretty sure I've heard gemütlich being referred to as untranslateable by other people.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 24, 2014, 09:11:45 am
Read this coincidentally yesterday and seems apropos:
http://boingboing.net/2014/09/22/ten-untranslatable-words.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 24, 2014, 11:21:10 am
Read this coincidentally yesterday and seems apropos:
http://boingboing.net/2014/09/22/ten-untranslatable-words.html

They should have included the language, hm.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 24, 2014, 11:30:32 am
Mĺngata and Tretĺr is Swedish.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 24, 2014, 01:32:14 pm
Read this coincidentally yesterday and seems apropos:
http://boingboing.net/2014/09/22/ten-untranslatable-words.html

They should have included the language, hm.
They should have included a readable font.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 24, 2014, 01:34:36 pm
challenge: find an edgecase where the order in which you put your own cards back with oracle matters

there is none                                                                 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 24, 2014, 01:38:20 pm
challenge: find an edgecase where the order in which you put your own cards back with oracle matters

there is none                                                                 

New reaction card with condition "When you put a card on top of your deck" or "When you would put a card on top of your deck".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 24, 2014, 01:49:06 pm
challenge: find an edgecase where the order in which you put your own cards back with oracle matters

there is none                                                                 

New reaction card with condition "When you put a card on top of your deck" or "When you would put a card on top of your deck".

this is very useful (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=114.msg423473#msg423473)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 24, 2014, 02:24:33 pm
Hypothesis: It is mathematically impossible for a person to remain or get angry whilst listening to "Mr. Blue Sky."

Rebuttals and confirmations welcome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 24, 2014, 02:26:13 pm
Hypothesis: It is mathematically impossible for a person to remain or get angry whilst listening to "Mr. Blue Sky."

Rebuttals and confirmations welcome.

The old dude form A Clockwork Orange thought the same thing about "Singing in the Rain".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 24, 2014, 05:24:10 pm
Quote
I've been spelling gemütlich wrong for a while apparently. Comfortable is what comes closest to it, but you'll agree that it's not exactly it ?

I'm... not sure. I think it's pretty safe to assume that I know exactly what gemütlich means. I use comfortable pretty much as a synonym.

where do you think lies the difference?

gemütlich has a notion of warmth associated with it, and the idea of "home". So it's more precise than just "comfortable". I would translate comfrotable as bequem in most situations. You couldn't apply gemütlich to something like "comfort food" for example, nor would you say that your seat in a hotel is gemütlich. You would probably bequem (or komfortabel for that matter).

Maybe that's just where I lived (Bonn) and the word has a simpler meaning elsewhere, but I'm pretty sure I've heard gemütlich being referred to as untranslateable by other people.

Your description sounds like "cozy" to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on September 24, 2014, 07:19:44 pm
If "gemütlich" doesn't exist in english, what does Baloo sing in the jungle book?
"ease"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 24, 2014, 07:34:44 pm
OH MY GOD I'M GETTING SLOW PLAYED FOR THE FIRST TIME AND IT'S HILARIOUS!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 24, 2014, 07:35:49 pm
Nevermind he quit. Lame.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 24, 2014, 08:21:05 pm
Nevermind he quit. Lame.

you really suck at being slowplayed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on September 24, 2014, 09:02:24 pm
OH MY GOD I'M GETTING SLOW PLAYED FOR THE FIRST TIME AND IT'S HILARIOUS!

That's a sign that you are good enough for idiots to think they just get unlucky against you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 24, 2014, 09:36:53 pm
Nevermind he quit. Lame.

you really suck at being slowplayed.

I think that's a compliment?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 25, 2014, 04:42:07 am
Guys get a thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: shraeye on September 25, 2014, 11:02:27 am
so, what's the deal with essential and quintessential being similar, huh?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 25, 2014, 11:46:18 am
so, what's the deal with essential and quintessential being similar, huh?

It's five times more essential!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 25, 2014, 11:46:25 am
You see, my dear, all things quintessential are essential but all things essential are not necessarily quintessential (bonus points if you get this arcane reference).

This wholly unlike the relationship between ultimate and penultimate.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 25, 2014, 11:48:45 am
so, what's the deal with essential and quintessential being similar, huh?

I'm a bit more concerned that "flammable" and "inflammable" are synonymous. That has to have caused some problems somewhere that is not in a Simpsons episode.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 25, 2014, 11:51:21 am
You can thank the NFPA for that, they created confusion where there was none in order to avoid the confusion that never existed to begin with.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on September 25, 2014, 06:21:38 pm
You know what makes me crazy? Amicable and amiable. There is no need for two distinct words there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 25, 2014, 06:25:18 pm
You know what makes me crazy? Amicable and amiable. There is no need for two distinct words there.

I don't c the need either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 25, 2014, 06:34:36 pm
random question: you can change your name on goko right? do you know of any good players that have done that/is there any efficient way to check for that?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 25, 2014, 06:58:46 pm
random question: you can change your name on goko right? do you know of any good players that have done that/is there any efficient way to check for that?
I don't know of any good players, but I've changed my name on Goko (used to be my actual name).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 25, 2014, 07:13:21 pm
wasn't there a guy who called himself fap_on_it and was famous for being super BM? i haven't seen him in forever.

i remember that because i found his username stupid and offensive
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 25, 2014, 07:29:57 pm
wasn't there a guy who called himself fap_on_it and was famous for being super BM? i haven't seen him in forever.

i remember that because i found his username stupid and offensive
There still is, he appears on the partial Isotropish leaderboard. Though I haven't played against him in ages either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on September 26, 2014, 07:41:31 am
random question: you can change your name on goko right? do you know of any good players that have done that/is there any efficient way to check for that?
I don't know of any good players, but I've changed my name on Goko (used to be my actual name).

I have changed my username on Goko back and forth to my actual name (when playing with friends).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on September 26, 2014, 07:51:15 am
random question: you can change your name on goko right? do you know of any good players that have done that/is there any efficient way to check for that?
I don't know of any good players, but I've changed my name on Goko (used to be my actual name).

I have changed my username on Goko back and forth to my actual name (when playing with friends).

I periodically get annoyed with Goko and change my name to IsotropicWasBetter for a couple of days. Also, I randomly decided to play a few games as TheRiemannHypothesis once.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 26, 2014, 12:40:48 pm
I just joined a wedding band so I'm learning a bunch of shitty pop songs... and I'm starting to like them. God help me. God help us all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 26, 2014, 01:16:00 pm
is it just me or is the ISO board not working? it doesn't update my lvl anymore and it keeps saying

Quote
Last recorded game finished 46 min, 45 sec ago

if it is in fact not working, does it catch up on the games played now later, or does it, you know, not?

also RIP andrew
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 26, 2014, 01:24:27 pm
I just joined a wedding band so I'm learning a bunch of shitty pop songs... and I'm starting to like them. God help me. God help us all.

I was in a choreographed dance set to One Direction for a wedding last summer.  I learned all the lyrics and everything.

:|
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 26, 2014, 02:12:14 pm
Miiverse Penis Drawing Detection (http://www.p4rgaming.com/iwata-asks-miiverse-penis-drawing-detection-took-weeks-to-develop/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 26, 2014, 02:41:41 pm
I just joined a wedding band so I'm learning a bunch of shitty pop songs... and I'm starting to like them. God help me. God help us all.

I was in a choreographed dance set to One Direction for a wedding last summer.  I learned all the lyrics and everything.

:|

I've started calling them "One Dimension," which conveniently applies to all similar music groups.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 26, 2014, 03:30:34 pm
I've started calling them "One Dimension," which conveniently applies to all similar music groups.

Thanks to some meme, I always thought that was their name.

Sometimes satire is truer to real life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 26, 2014, 04:41:04 pm
Miiverse Penis Drawing Detection (http://www.p4rgaming.com/iwata-asks-miiverse-penis-drawing-detection-took-weeks-to-develop/)

Yesterday's xkcd is relevant here: http://xkcd.com/1425/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 26, 2014, 05:36:38 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVeHxUVkW4w

Best carnival rides ever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 26, 2014, 05:55:22 pm
Things I have heard of and/or observed in school recently:

"Bill Gates graduated from university in 1793," in a students ICT homework.

Pupils opening the internet, which defaults to the MSN homepage, then using the search bar there to search for google, so they can search for whatever they wanted to search for in the first place.

A pupil, at the end of a C1 differentiation lesson (i.e. differentiating x^n and not too much less) asked the teacher, "Can you differentiate anything?"
"Well, more or less, yeah"
"So... how do you differentiate the sun?"

I'm loving this new job. Not just for kids saying/doing hilarious things but actually for what I do.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 26, 2014, 06:32:14 pm
The sun is the really bright one in the sky during the daytime.  Pretty easy to differentiate from other things in the sky.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on September 26, 2014, 06:56:02 pm
...

Best carnival rides ever.
Even if 90% of the commenters are joking, it makes me sad to see so many people unsure of if it's fake or not.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 26, 2014, 08:14:02 pm
...

Best carnival rides ever.
Even if 90% of the commenters are joking, it makes me sad to see so many people unsure of if it's fake or not.

Obviously it is all 100% real.  All of those rides make perfect logical sense.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 26, 2014, 08:31:35 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVeHxUVkW4w

Best carnival rides ever.
Is this video, like, the best thing ever or am I just tired?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 26, 2014, 09:18:47 pm

Best carnival rides ever.
Is this video, like, the best thing ever or am I just tired?

It's not bad.  I've seen better CGI though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 27, 2014, 10:16:55 pm
Relevant to a recent discussion in this thread:

(https://33.media.tumblr.com/836240756cea66c79d7acd86612affbf/tumblr_ncbsjcfsSY1qdlh1io1_400.gif)

(I've never tried Marmite, myself.)

Edit: Completely unrelated, but...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCEFMY4TWGw
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on September 28, 2014, 12:46:05 am
I just joined a wedding band so I'm learning a bunch of shitty pop songs... and I'm starting to like them. God help me. God help us all.

Pop music has gone from 99% unlistenable when I was growing up to about 50% actually pleasant (what I would rate today). It's weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on September 28, 2014, 01:05:41 am
Edit: Completely unrelated, but...
I can't believe how excited I am for this! Putting spoiler tags on this just to be super careful. Not even too sure why I'm writing it, just want to rave about the show I guess.
Season 3 really redeemed the show to me and introduced some very surprising elements (no pun intended).
I have watched every episode of the original A:TLA probably 5-7 times--and it will always stand as an incredible classic to me. However, I appreciate that Korra targets a more mature audience, allowing for real deaths and darker themes. I view the two shows as more independent of each other though. In particular, I didn't find the explanation for the Avatar's origin and bending to be that believable considering information present in the original show. Of course, there's a lot that can be lost in ten thousand years, but I personally liked the shadowy origins of bending and the theme they had going of people learning it from animals (air bison, badger moles, the moon, dragons). Granted the moon isn't an animal, but the other three are. So, a few minor gripes (almost all about season 2), but on the whole Korra's characterization, plots, and animation are stellar--and really do evoke some of the same emotions of serious issues coupled with incredible humor that the original show possessed. The trailer you posted looks amazing--like they're pulling out all the stops. Every new season of Korra I wonder how they'll be able to top the last one, but they always manage to.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 28, 2014, 01:30:01 am
In particular, I didn't find the explanation for the Avatar's origin and bending to be that believable considering information present in the original show.

Care to elaborate?  I'd love to discuss it.  If it's the stuff about the animals/moon being the teachers, I can see them co-existing.  Perhaps the lion turtles gave people the ability but not the skill.  They learned to master the elements by watching the natural benders.

On the trailer, I'm very curious as to what the plot will be.  Looks like a 3 year timeskip and... maybe Kuvira is leading metal bending elitists in a bid to rule the world?  I hope it's something more than that, because it would just be a re-hash of ATLA crammed into much fewer episodes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on September 28, 2014, 02:01:20 am
In particular, I didn't find the explanation for the Avatar's origin and bending to be that believable considering information present in the original show.

Care to elaborate?  I'd love to discuss it.  If it's the stuff about the animals/moon being the teachers, I can see them co-existing.  Perhaps the lion turtles gave people the ability but not the skill.  They learned to master the elements by watching the natural benders.

On the trailer, I'm very curious as to what the plot will be.  Looks like a 3 year timeskip and... maybe Kuvira is leading metal bending elitists in a bid to rule the world?  I hope it's something more than that, because it would just be a re-hash of ATLA crammed into much fewer episodes.

Well it does solve the problem of why some people have bending and others don't--which is nice I guess. I'm one of these people that thinks that authors shouldn't reveal certain things--and I think the origin of bending is something that might have been cooler if they never actually went into the mechanics of it. Korra definitely has more fanservice than the original show did--so I think some of it could be related to that.

I feel that things went too far with Korra fighting basically the anti-avatar spirit in season 2. He didn't seem strong enough to me--but I guess he's gone for good since he merged with Unalaq. I like that they have Zuko around--because he's one of my favorite characters, but he's not really important to the plot at all, and it feels like more fanservice to me. I feel that all of the villains throughout the show have been very strong with good characterization and complex motives. And there were definitely some parts of season 2 that were really amazing. In general though, I just had a hard time getting into the later parts of season 2 because too much of it was focused on the spirit world--which is something else I think is best left unknown.

Of course, as time goes on, they want to explorer more creative design space to keep things fresh, which is understandable. I liked the concept of lavabending and the introduction of new airbenders. But they mostly explain things I don't want explanation for and then ignore stuff like why/how some people can lavabend now when we've never seen it before. As a subset skill of a bending form (like lightning used to be, and metalbending still is) other special skills normally have some explanation.

I hope I'm not coming off as too down on the show, because I've enjoyed about 95% of it. I just wanted to touch on the stuff I felt they could have done better.

As to theories about Kuvira and everything, I think it's interesting how she requested to come with them when rescuing the airbenders from the Red Lotus. They make it sound like the order has other members, so it's possible that she's a part of it--though they may want to take it in a new direction. From the trailer, it almost looks like people are in smaller versions of the robots from the first season--maybe with some form of artificial bending. I like the new look they gave Korra with shorter hair, and it looks like she's wearing more earthbender style clothing.

All in all, I have really high hopes for this season, and it'll be fun to speculate more about it--a ton can happen in three years!
And sorry for wall of text, but I'm really a passionate follower of both shows, so it's a ton of fun for me to discuss it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 28, 2014, 03:23:09 am
ATLA and LoK stuff

Yeah, some things are best left to the imagination.  Though to be fair, the time before Wan is still pretty mysterious!  Have you read the comics?  They tell some other neat stories (including some closure for the Ursa plot).

The stuff with Vaatu was pretty weird, definitely.  I enjoyed it, but the season 2 plot of Korra did feel a bit off and over-the-top.  Part of it was because it didn't fully mesh with what I thought the spirit world was, but I can't even articulate what that might have been anyway.  The final battle with a giant Korra was also a bit crazy.  Even so, it was all very intriguing and I can see now how the season 2 plot really opened up the possibilities for the universe.  Season 3 was brilliant and it'll be really fun to see what season 4 is like.

I'm perfectly happy with them leaving the background of lavabending up in the air.  There's just so much possible creative space in the various uses of bending, maybe it just takes a unique mind or critical moment to uncover those cases.  Just off the top of my head...

Imagine a waterbender with the subtlety to freeze little patches of ice on the ground just as opponents are making a move to throw them off balance.  Or an earthbender shifting the earth for the same effect, hidering opponents and helping himself.  Imagine a lightning bender who can hold the electricity in her hands and feet for close combat like what Asami has demonstrated with her glove.  Imagine an airbender manipulating sound waves for espionage, or even using sonic attacks or throwing sounds to distract and mislead (IIRC Aang has used airbending at times to increase the volume of his voice, so there is basis for sound manipulation). 

Outside of a family-friendly setting, it can get even better.  Earthbenders and water benders who specializes in controlling small projectiles (read: psychic bullets) instead of chucking giant boulders and torrents of water.  Earthbenders who work with razor sharp crystal and waterbenders who actually use their ice to cut and pierce.  Metal bloodbenders who use the iron in blood instead of the water. Man, now that there's lavabending, there could even be an airbender who can control air temperature.  Or vacuums!  And even lightning bending could be so much more deadly.  It could all get so ridiculously destructive. 

So yeah, I don't think lavabending needs much more of an explanation.  I don't think combustion was ever elaborated on, was it?


Totally happy to discuss this show.  Maybe a separate thread would be worthwhile.  We might already have one floating around somewhere...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 28, 2014, 04:49:20 am
A lot more stuff

I'm not really sure I agree with you.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.


Anyway, that's how I interpret things. Also these huge walls of spoilered text are probably annoying to people who don't follow those series, but I guess this is random stuff...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on September 28, 2014, 07:11:56 am
I haven't seen all the latest season, so I haven't read the spoilers. Love the series, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on September 28, 2014, 04:22:12 pm
I haven't seen all the latest season, so I haven't read the spoilers. Love the series, though.
Glad I put spoiler tags then.

Also, @eHalcyon I'd love to discuss this more, but it would probably be better in a different thread like you mentioned. Is there another one you had in mind? Or we could always just make a new one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 28, 2014, 04:32:52 pm
A lot more stuff

I'm not really sure I agree with you.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.


Anyway, that's how I interpret things. Also these huge walls of spoilered text are probably annoying to people who don't follow those series, but I guess this is random stuff...

That's a  good point, but

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam diam est, semper eu commodo vitae, fermentum at sapien. Donec congue lectus in sodales sagittis. Fusce sagittis efficitur eros, vitae tristique diam sodales consequat. Fusce rutrum, mauris vel hendrerit vestibulum, lacus mi interdum nibh, ac vehicula risus odio in dui. Nam vel nibh nibh. Quisque vel mi gravida, commodo mauris eu, facilisis nulla. Vestibulum pharetra tincidunt libero, sit amet tristique metus. Praesent semper massa non nunc convallis, vitae commodo lectus sodales. Pellentesque eu nulla et justo venenatis porta. Sed blandit volutpat condimentum. Suspendisse scelerisque orci efficitur commodo lacinia. Cras eu consectetur lorem, eu egestas dui. Aliquam in turpis tellus. Praesent porttitor quam in nibh elementum, tincidunt scelerisque arcu venenatis. Cras hendrerit, elit et malesuada pulvinar, sapien massa finibus orci, ac consequat purus ante ut nibh. In dignissim velit nec risus varius, in aliquam nisi vestibulum.

Donec molestie eros a diam imperdiet, ut faucibus nisl molestie. Aenean a lacinia diam, ut gravida dolor. Quisque odio leo, faucibus ac augue at, tempor volutpat risus. Aliquam felis augue, pharetra ut posuere porttitor, mollis a nulla. Fusce vehicula metus vitae accumsan tincidunt. Phasellus et est eget odio sodales placerat quis in neque. Nulla quis velit vel lorem posuere finibus at eget nisi. Phasellus sollicitudin libero eget risus pharetra, sit amet maximus odio pellentesque. Phasellus elementum varius arcu eu ullamcorper.

Aliquam tortor nisl, volutpat sed justo ac, condimentum dignissim orci. Donec sed dignissim erat. Nullam hendrerit risus eget nisl mattis efficitur sed eu mauris. Praesent vel nunc sollicitudin est aliquam semper in sit amet tortor. Nunc id quam cursus, condimentum sem ut, finibus dui. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Sed cursus eu turpis in rutrum. Nunc sed risus sed ligula pharetra rhoncus vestibulum quis arcu. Maecenas et varius diam, sit amet ullamcorper urna.

Suspendisse finibus porttitor lorem, eget cursus nisi lobortis mattis. Aliquam sit amet felis imperdiet, interdum sapien eget, cursus quam. Cras sit amet enim tristique, efficitur dolor vitae, scelerisque sem. Etiam aliquet quam vitae massa finibus, commodo ultricies leo tincidunt. Aenean ut est eu nunc consectetur fermentum ac sed ante. Praesent interdum purus quis nisi varius gravida. Etiam vitae nisl aliquam, euismod ligula at, hendrerit mi. Etiam rhoncus purus sed leo iaculis gravida. Proin aliquet sapien scelerisque iaculis tincidunt. Duis eget finibus arcu. Curabitur sed euismod urna. Praesent lobortis pretium odio et volutpat.

Etiam id velit finibus, pretium sapien nec, mollis ante. Vivamus mi dolor, vestibulum vitae vulputate nec, aliquam non turpis. Ut eu augue in magna aliquam sollicitudin vel ut velit. Donec convallis condimentum turpis, at sagittis lorem sodales eget. Ut ipsum metus, aliquam in diam sit amet, pulvinar pulvinar urna. Praesent auctor eros nulla, convallis vestibulum dui lobortis quis. Nunc eget felis dictum, venenatis metus sit amet, sagittis dui. Ut sit amet commodo massa.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 28, 2014, 04:36:11 pm
I haven't seen all the latest season, so I haven't read the spoilers. Love the series, though.
Glad I put spoiler tags then.

Also, @eHalcyon I'd love to discuss this more, but it would probably be better in a different thread like you mentioned. Is there another one you had in mind? Or we could always just make a new one.

A a quick search doesn't turn up an existing thread, so a new one would be fine.

@Tables and Witherweaver, =rand(32).

And on a completely different note,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB_0vRnkeOk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on September 28, 2014, 09:20:05 pm
So it appears as though I have a $900 golf club order to fill. First full set that I'll be paid for. I'm pretty excited about this. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 28, 2014, 10:09:55 pm
So it appears as though I have a $900 golf club order to fill. First full set that I'll be paid for. I'm pretty excited about this. :)
You selling golf clubs?  Neat! Golf is great
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 28, 2014, 10:30:17 pm
I have some Callaway Big Bertha X-12s that I have had forever that I love, but think that my game would really benefit from getting a new set of clubs fitted to me.   Any f.ds discounts?  (although I don't really golf enough right now to justify spending a bunch of money on new clubs)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 28, 2014, 10:37:12 pm
It might be cheaper to get new shafts and have those fitted to you.  But I don't know, I haven't shopped for golf stuff in a while. I know when I got my clubs I have the shafts about an inch longer and the grips have an extra wrap under them, and I think that helped me get better.  At this point though, clubs wouldn't make much of a difference in my crappy game :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on September 28, 2014, 11:57:36 pm
So it appears as though I have a $900 golf club order to fill. First full set that I'll be paid for. I'm pretty excited about this. :)
You selling golf clubs?  Neat! Golf is great
Yeah, a little hobby I picked up. My dad had built sets for his friends years ago. After I bought my house, I dug up his old tools and built a few test clubs. Then my lefty friend picked up the game, so I made him a short set (14*D, 3h, 5i, 7i, 9i, 52*W) to learn with.

I have some Callaway Big Bertha X-12s that I have had forever that I love, but think that my game would really benefit from getting a new set of clubs fitted to me.   Any f.ds discounts?  (although I don't really golf enough right now to justify spending a bunch of money on new clubs)
Depends on the board what you want. I can make irons for under $20 each (plus shipping... to wherever) with a generic steel shaft. I certainly wouldn't be against it. I usually charge cost+30% for supplies and labor.

It might be cheaper to get new shafts and have those fitted to you.  But I don't know, I haven't shopped for golf stuff in a while. I know when I got my clubs I have the shafts about an inch longer and the grips have an extra wrap under them, and I think that helped me get better.  At this point though, clubs wouldn't make much of a difference in my crappy game :P
There are so many fitting factors in the game. Usually a "good" fitter is proficient in maybe 2, sometimes 3, of those parameters. Length/Lie are important after you have solved weight and flex. Something most fitters don't take into consideration is how the person will setup with each club, and instead fit for 2 or 3 clubs then interpolate the rest of the set. My clubs have a 3/8" stagger. Standard is 1/2" stagger. This means my long irons are relatively shorter and my wedges are relatively longer than a set built at 0.5" long. But as I am comfortable addressing the ball in nearly the same place in my stance, this helps the swing feel right.

You do make a great point though. The shaft is the most critical piece of the club. If you have the wrong shaft, any other corrections you make will only be marginal.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 29, 2014, 01:02:13 am
If you have the wrong shaft, any other corrections you make will only be marginal.

That's what she said.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on September 29, 2014, 01:25:10 am
you have the wrong shaft

That's what she said.
Wrong thread?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 29, 2014, 03:12:11 am
"Wait, you're a teenage witch?"

"NO. I'm a teenage apprentice to a witch. There's a difference."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 29, 2014, 08:46:29 am
"Wait, you're a teenage witch?"

"NO. I'm a teenage apprentice to a witch. There's a difference."
What's this from?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 29, 2014, 08:58:34 am
"Wait, you're a teenage witch?"

"NO. I'm a teenage apprentice to a witch. There's a difference."
What's this from?

One imagines it's from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but it could very well be Willow from Buffy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 29, 2014, 09:14:56 am
I was thinking buffy, but mostly because I Just started watching that
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 29, 2014, 09:46:02 am
I'm at the last four episodes of BSG. I had to power-watch the final season this weekend when I saw that Netflix will stop carrying the show at the end of this month. Looks like I'll be able to complete it, and then I can engage in all the spoilers I want.

I will say this much: When the fifth of the Final Five was revealed, I was disappointed at first. I hated that character. Then I hoped that the reveal will result in a personality change as the Cylon programming kicks in. Looked like it at first but no. Turns out that the character is just as annoying.

The bright side to this character is that it makes Cavil much more interesting. It does explain his earlier behavior, in a sick sort of way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 29, 2014, 11:07:36 am
And on a completely different note,

[Traffic Light Video]

Of course, as soon as these became common place, no one would be excited by them anymore, so not actually a real solution for safety. Also they would distract drivers. Still a cool project though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 29, 2014, 11:20:45 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnk15Wf6xMU
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 29, 2014, 12:02:21 pm
I am about as psyched as I can be about Legend of Grimrock 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex8kDMKnLaE

If you enjoyed Dungeon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon_Master_(video_game)) Master (http://dmweb.free.fr/) back in the day, then you will probably love Legend of Grimrock.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on September 29, 2014, 04:34:02 pm
I'm at the last four episodes of BSG. I had to power-watch the final season this weekend when I saw that Netflix will stop carrying the show at the end of this month. Looks like I'll be able to complete it, and then I can engage in all the spoilers I want.

I will say this much: When the fifth of the Final Five was revealed, I was disappointed at first. I hated that character. Then I hoped that the reveal will result in a personality change as the Cylon programming kicks in. Looked like it at first but no. Turns out that the character is just as annoying.

The bright side to this character is that it makes Cavil much more interesting. It does explain his earlier behavior, in a sick sort of way.
The BSG plot became such a mess later on. My favourite part of the show was the early season fighter ship combat with the drum music, I think.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 29, 2014, 04:37:28 pm
I'm at the last four episodes of BSG. I had to power-watch the final season this weekend when I saw that Netflix will stop carrying the show at the end of this month. Looks like I'll be able to complete it, and then I can engage in all the spoilers I want.

I will say this much: When the fifth of the Final Five was revealed, I was disappointed at first. I hated that character. Then I hoped that the reveal will result in a personality change as the Cylon programming kicks in. Looked like it at first but no. Turns out that the character is just as annoying.

The bright side to this character is that it makes Cavil much more interesting. It does explain his earlier behavior, in a sick sort of way.
The BSG plot became such a mess later on. My favourite part of the show was the early season fighter ship combat with the drum music, I think.

I didn't have any issues with late-season BSG plot.  I loved the later episodes.  I thought the whole thing was great, really.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 29, 2014, 04:41:27 pm
Fun fact, a number of Battlestar Galactica actors were in The Killing.  (Well, that number is at least two.)  Including the guy that played Leoben.  I couldn't place him for a while, but I had this extreme distrust towards his character.. I kept expecting him to turn up as the bad guy at any point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 29, 2014, 05:19:48 pm
And on a completely different note,

[Traffic Light Video]

Of course, as soon as these became common place, no one would be excited by them anymore, so not actually a real solution for safety. Also they would distract drivers. Still a cool project though.

Maybe only use them at particularly problematic intersections?  You're right that they'd have to be careful about distracting drivers though.

(https://38.media.tumblr.com/2d853a1b5619598518edfcaaea8b30b7/tumblr_nc2if5eHMc1rq7z94o1_250.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 29, 2014, 05:26:52 pm
Talking about problematic intersections, I am partial to the magic roundabout.

(http://db2.stb.s-msn.com/i/3A/7F6D3B6C683CD465AE2DD234E5FC8.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 29, 2014, 06:10:35 pm
"Wait, you're a teenage witch?"

"NO. I'm a teenage apprentice to a witch. There's a difference."
What's this from?

One imagines it's from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but it could very well be Willow from Buffy.

It's not from anything. Think of it as a potential reaction a character from Gunnerkrigg Court could have, if they were in a world where Sabrina the Teenage Witch existed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 29, 2014, 07:12:12 pm
"Wait, you're a teenage witch?"

"NO. I'm a teenage apprentice to a witch. There's a difference."
What's this from?

One imagines it's from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but it could very well be Willow from Buffy.

It's not from anything. Think of it as a potential reaction a character from Gunnerkrigg Court could have, if they were in a world where Sabrina the Teenage Witch existed.

This was like this internship I was at this summer: When one of the interns would say "I'm an engineer" or "We're engineers" my roommate would always append "-ing student." There is a difference.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 29, 2014, 07:37:02 pm
"Wait, you're a teenage witch?"

"NO. I'm a teenage apprentice to a witch. There's a difference."
What's this from?

One imagines it's from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but it could very well be Willow from Buffy.

It's not from anything. Think of it as a potential reaction a character from Gunnerkrigg Court could have, if they were in a world where Sabrina the Teenage Witch existed.

This was like this internship I was at this summer: When one of the interns would say "I'm an engineer" or "We're engineers" my roommate would always append "-ing student." There is a difference.
Very very true
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on September 29, 2014, 08:15:47 pm
This was like this internship I was at this summer: When one of the interns would say "I'm an engineer" or "We're engineers" my roommate would always append "-ing student." There is a difference.

... One still has hope for a bright future?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 29, 2014, 08:18:50 pm
This was like this internship I was at this summer: When one of the interns would say "I'm an engineer" or "We're engineers" my roommate would always append "-ing student." There is a difference.

... One still has hope for a bright future?

Nah, I don't think that's even true :P Everyone's got a reason to be disappointed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 29, 2014, 09:37:42 pm
"Wait, you're a teenage witch?"

"NO. I'm a teenage apprentice to a witch. There's a difference."

I didn't say I was powerful, I said I was a wizard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on September 29, 2014, 10:15:28 pm
This was like this internship I was at this summer: When one of the interns would say "I'm an engineer" or "We're engineers" my roommate would always append "-ing student." There is a difference.

... One still has hope for a bright future?

Nah, I don't think that's even true :P Everyone's got a reason to be disappointed.
While I was in school for engineering, the professors consistently referred to the students as "engineers" so I wouldn't blame the interns.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 29, 2014, 10:18:38 pm
This was like this internship I was at this summer: When one of the interns would say "I'm an engineer" or "We're engineers" my roommate would always append "-ing student." There is a difference.

... One still has hope for a bright future?

Nah, I don't think that's even true :P Everyone's got a reason to be disappointed.
While I was in school for engineering, the professors consistently referred to the students as "engineers" so I wouldn't blame the interns.

It's also part of the refrain for the Engineer's Drinking Song (http://www.mit.edu/people/mrbonk/engineers.html), which is commonly sung or chanted by engineering students as part of orientation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 29, 2014, 11:32:08 pm
This was like this internship I was at this summer: When one of the interns would say "I'm an engineer" or "We're engineers" my roommate would always append "-ing student." There is a difference.

... One still has hope for a bright future?

Nah, I don't think that's even true :P Everyone's got a reason to be disappointed.
While I was in school for engineering, the professors consistently referred to the students as "engineers" so I wouldn't blame the interns.

And I consistently refer to my students as "scientists."

An engineering intern is acting in the capacity of a junior engineer.  Unlike "Doctor," "engineer" is not denoted by a degree; it is denoted by job title.  Obviously the intern cannot claim the rank of Professional Engineer, but then neither can a junior engineer in their second year on the job--who is probably doing a lot of the same work as the intern, and with only slightly less oversight.

Speaking of "Doctor," remember that interns at your hospital are doctors by degree.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on September 29, 2014, 11:33:39 pm
Professional Engineer
Uggghhh... Don't remind me... I have to take that exam at the end of this year...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 30, 2014, 12:39:06 am
So cool.

http://kotaku.com/fans-are-remaking-ocarina-of-time-in-2d-1640594819
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 30, 2014, 01:14:47 am
Professional Engineer
Uggghhh... Don't remind me... I have to take that exam at the end of this year...

By the time I finished my engineering degree, I knew I had no plans to become an actual engineer, so I never even took the FE exam.

--------

Speaking of education and academic pursuits, this was a good read from Steven Pinker, about why academics are horrible writers:

http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Academics-Writing-Stinks/148989
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 30, 2014, 02:16:52 am
(http://d3gqasl9vmjfd8.cloudfront.net/352be5c5-4766-42d5-8e4f-ae84a8ecf717.png) (http://shirt.woot.com/offers/handelbrot-mustache?ref=cnt_wp_0_10)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 11:52:53 am
I'm just being slowplayed...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 12:05:48 pm
it's not like I did anything to provoke this... he just got pissed off that he lost and then started explaining me that he's better because he has a higher goko rating, and I explained him why that's probably not true.

maybe I could have avoided it by not doing that. mh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 12:10:20 pm
it is only a matter of days until this game is finished
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 12:15:43 pm
seriously: brb, ur mom wants to *******
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 30, 2014, 12:19:47 pm
seriously: brb, ur mom wants to *******

Just report it using the report button.

Well, first report to Goko the lack of a report button, and when they add one, report it using the button.

Actually, first report to Goko the lack of a report button. Then take bets on which will happen first: The game will finish, or Goko will actually add a report button. Then if/when they add a report button, report it using that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 12:21:13 pm
yea or i just counter slowplay him. that's actually kind of fun. i never did it before.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 12:21:38 pm
does anyone know the exact time I am allowed to take between two actions? is it 10 minutes?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 30, 2014, 12:30:48 pm
This is great stuff. Please, continue.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 30, 2014, 12:32:40 pm
seriously: brb, ur mom wants to *******

"I doubt that, she only likes guys that don't suck at Dominion."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 12:33:36 pm
seriously: brb, ur mom wants to *******

"I doubt that, she only likes guys that don't suck at Dominion."

well he does have a better ranking than my mom
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 12:47:03 pm
He took over 5 minutes, so i'll take 5 minutes as a guideline when I get another turn.

the board is a slog, which means there are approximately 3 actions average in the action phase plus 6 or so in the buy phase. so, every turn will take about 45 min.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 12:48:06 pm
This can easily last another 10 turns. which would mean, 10*3/4 = 3*2,5 = 7,5 hours.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 12:48:30 pm
I actually don't want to stay awake that long...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 30, 2014, 12:50:11 pm
…and Battlestar Galactica is complete. Finally watched the entire series before Netflix could drop it.

Not sure how I feel about the ending. It was very pretty, but the whole starting-over thing is kind of bugging me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 12:51:01 pm
silverspawn_ by the way I asked my mom if she's interested
silverspawn_ she says she only likes good dominion players
seriously i know, thats why shes been bobbing on my canoli the last 20 min
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 01:03:47 pm
hey, just as i happened to look, he played 2 treasures and once and bought something instantlly.

or maybe the animation caught up because I had the window minimized. does it do that? probably not. well, to be completely safe, I played one treasure

but if he thinks we can finish this normally, he's wrong. too late for that bitch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 01:06:38 pm
seriously i think u have some real anger issues my friend
seriously (all *** talking aside0
seriously i have an uncle who is a really good shrink
seriously he could probably recommend a colougue in your area
seriously you really need help
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 01:10:33 pm
seriously posting all this online like u are doing is a cry for attention and help
seriously im serious dude, u need some help
seriously like i feel bad for u, life must be misreable for u


haha he's reading the forum. this is actually hilarious. I'm really glad this happened.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 30, 2014, 01:11:38 pm
Will you make the "silverspawn slowplay adventures" thread already?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 01:12:23 pm
no... i don't think that's a good idea.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 01:15:16 pm
but you can upvote all my posts to motivate me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 01:20:03 pm
seriously so this happens to u alot, seriously, that's a sign, something is wrong with u...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 01:21:06 pm
oups. i waited to long. just wanted to do something.

well at least it's over now. not too bad.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 30, 2014, 01:24:27 pm
It's what you deserve for slowplaying this thread, silverspawn. You should have posted something once per second rather than only every few minutes. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 30, 2014, 01:25:51 pm
I don't know why you put yourself through that. Couldn't you have gotten in like five games during that time?

Then again, I think that coping with over 25 years of trolls has given me the proper outlook regarding trolls.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 30, 2014, 01:39:09 pm
seriously posting all this online like u are doing is a cry for attention and help
seriously im serious dude, u need some help
seriously like i feel bad for u, life must be misreable for u


haha he's reading the forum. this is actually hilarious. I'm really glad this happened.

Plot twist: It's Wandering Winter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on September 30, 2014, 02:34:28 pm
or maybe the animation caught up because I had the window minimized. does it do that? probably not.

It does, actually! I think it does that even if you have another window maximized over top of the game. I am not sure of the exact conditions, but I take advantage of that when someone is playing a scrying pool engine. It's like you get a quick replay without having to look at the log or pay attention for the whole turn.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 30, 2014, 02:35:06 pm
but you can upvote all my posts to motivate me.

Motivating and encouraging are two different things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on September 30, 2014, 02:43:25 pm
but you can upvote all my posts to motivate me.

Motivating and encouraging are two different things.

Enlighten me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 30, 2014, 02:54:58 pm
but you can upvote all my posts to motivate me.

Motivating and encouraging are two different things.

Enlighten me.

Patience, grasshopper.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 30, 2014, 03:18:58 pm
But really, can the random stuff actually be random and not slowplay adventures?  I feel like there are plenty (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11834.0) of threads (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11815.0) about slowplaying (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11773.0) elsewhere, and the proper place for that discussion is in Dominion Online (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=28.0) where those other threads exist.

I come here to discover that "With this post, this thread passes "Decline of Civility on Isotropic?" on the post count list" can turn into "This costume and other cultural materials. The text in the list below" (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg281983#msg281983) with enough translations.  Or that Tuvalu is a real country (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg342776#msg342776).  Or that unicorns suck (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg374700#msg374700).  But not a diary of a slowplay experience. 

Although who am I kidding?  This is a random stuff thread, so anything should be able to go here.  Including my opinion on what should go here
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 03:21:34 pm
But really, can the random stuff actually be random and not slowplay adventures?  I feel like there are plenty (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11834.0) of threads (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11815.0) about slowplaying (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11773.0) elsewhere, and the proper place for that discussion is in Dominion Online (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=28.0) where those other threads exist.

I come here to discover that "With this post, this thread passes "Decline of Civility on Isotropic?" on the post count list" can turn into "This costume and other cultural materials. The text in the list below" (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg281983#msg281983) with enough translations.  Or that Tuvalu is a real country (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg342776#msg342776).  Or that unicorns suck (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg374700#msg374700).  But not a diary of a slowplay experience. 

Although who am I kidding?  This is a random stuff thread, so anything should be able to go here.  Including my opinion on what should go here

indeed

i don't like to open threads. i always feel like they're not important enough. i've actually been about to open threads multiple times and then not done it

also the last one i opened was kind of unsuccessful
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 30, 2014, 03:23:35 pm
But really, can the random stuff actually be random and not slowplay adventures?  I feel like there are plenty (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11834.0) of threads (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11815.0) about slowplaying (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11773.0) elsewhere, and the proper place for that discussion is in Dominion Online (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=28.0) where those other threads exist.

I come here to discover that "With this post, this thread passes "Decline of Civility on Isotropic?" on the post count list" can turn into "This costume and other cultural materials. The text in the list below" (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg281983#msg281983) with enough translations.  Or that Tuvalu is a real country (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg342776#msg342776).  Or that unicorns suck (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg374700#msg374700).  But not a diary of a slowplay experience. 

Although who am I kidding?  This is a random stuff thread, so anything should be able to go here.  Including my opinion on what should go here

I'm really glad he set the record straight on unicorns.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 30, 2014, 03:29:07 pm
Speaking of reporting slow-rollers, I went to look at that google-doc someone created at some point to register slow rollers to see if silverspawn had added his and discovered everything had been deleted. Then I went to the thread in which it was introduced and it looked like it was locked (there was no reply button, though there was also no post saying it was being locked). Did a mod do this? If so, why?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 30, 2014, 03:40:58 pm
btw

(http://s7.directupload.net/images/140930/8fltlv5y.png)

@^ no idea
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on September 30, 2014, 03:56:52 pm
Speaking of reporting slow-rollers, I went to look at that google-doc someone created at some point to register slow rollers to see if silverspawn had added his and discovered everything had been deleted. Then I went to the thread in which it was introduced and it looked like it was locked (there was no reply button, though there was also no post saying it was being locked). Did a mod do this? If so, why?

Because slow-roll registries and centralized blacklist discussions and calling people out by name has no place on this forum (in my opinion).  This particular behavior (calling out particular individuals to be blacklisted) has consistently been shut down by theory (here (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=10602.msg352118#msg352118) and here (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=6910.msg192328#msg192328) as some older examples).  Sure, you can tell a funny story about getting slowplayed and what you did to counter it.  You can share your opinion about why blacklisting is a good idea.  You can discuss what types of behaviors you find particularly offensive.  But please, please, please leave out names.  Blacklisting is available to everyone.  If you feel like a person deserves to be blacklisted, do it!  But I don't need to know about it.  And they don't need to know about it (if they ever visit f.ds).  And we don't need to discuss those people and what they did. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 30, 2014, 04:10:08 pm
Speaking of reporting slow-rollers, I went to look at that google-doc someone created at some point to register slow rollers to see if silverspawn had added his and discovered everything had been deleted. Then I went to the thread in which it was introduced and it looked like it was locked (there was no reply button, though there was also no post saying it was being locked). Did a mod do this? If so, why?

Because slow-roll registries and centralized blacklist discussions and calling people out by name has no place on this forum (in my opinion).  This particular behavior (calling out particular individuals to be blacklisted) has consistently been shut down by theory (here (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=10602.msg352118#msg352118) and here (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=6910.msg192328#msg192328) as some older examples).  Sure, you can tell a funny story about getting slowplayed and what you did to counter it.  You can share your opinion about why blacklisting is a good idea.  You can discuss what types of behaviors you find particularly offensive.  But please, please, please leave out names.  Blacklisting is available to everyone.  If you feel like a person deserves to be blacklisted, do it!  But I don't need to know about it.  And they don't need to know about it (if they ever visit f.ds).  And we don't need to discuss those people and what they did.

See I'm not sure I agree on this one because it was an off-forum google spreadsheet. Someone deleted the spreadsheet, which seems not cool (unless it was the original author). Obviously the mods have authority to lock threads though.

I definitely see the dangers of a public blacklist, but in general I trust that anyone an f.dser reports as slow-rolling while complaining about luck (or insulting the other player) is someone I never want to play. I do want to know. Someone's already done the experiment once, and I have no desire to repeat it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 30, 2014, 04:16:32 pm
That guy was discussing various levels of fornication with Silver's mom... I'm not really too concerned with his bad name being spoiled.

Though, I do understand what e is saying, that collecting lists of 'people we don't like' shouldn't really be on the forum, because then we're kind of elitist jerks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 30, 2014, 04:26:56 pm
i don't like to open threads. i always feel like they're not important enough. i've actually been about to open threads multiple times and then not done it

Well, if they're really not important enough, then they'll scroll off into the obscurity of subsequent pages. I've had a few threads like that.

I'll be in the mood to discuss something, I'll create a thread, I and a few others may engage in that topic for a few days, and it'll scroll on away due to inactivity.

In fact, I'd like to see more topic-specific threads in the General subforum. It feels like I mostly come here to see what random stuff is being said, which is neat, but then sometimes the thread goes on about something I don't care about and the one active thread here just slogs for me.

And I can properly ignore the threads about specific shows. I do check in on Dr. Who, though. I promptly ignore the baseball thread.

But sometimes it's just good to unload something into Random, but I don't think it's a bad thing if a thread is started. If it loses interest after a while, the forum sorts itself out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on September 30, 2014, 04:43:36 pm
But really, can the random stuff actually be random and not slowplay adventures?  I feel like there are plenty (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11834.0) of threads (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11815.0) about slowplaying (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11773.0) elsewhere, and the proper place for that discussion is in Dominion Online (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=28.0) where those other threads exist.

I come here to discover that "With this post, this thread passes "Decline of Civility on Isotropic?" on the post count list" can turn into "This costume and other cultural materials. The text in the list below" (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg281983#msg281983) with enough translations.  Or that Tuvalu is a real country (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg342776#msg342776).  Or that unicorns suck (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg374700#msg374700).  But not a diary of a slowplay experience. 

Although who am I kidding?  This is a random stuff thread, so anything should be able to go here.  Including my opinion on what should go here

indeed

i don't like to open threads. i always feel like they're not important enough. i've actually been about to open threads multiple times and then not done it

also the last one i opened was kind of unsuccessful

This message board is for discussing anything you want. And it doesn't matter if a thread is "successful" or not. If you've got something to say then say it (in the appropriate place).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on September 30, 2014, 04:45:20 pm
Speaking of education and academic pursuits, this was a good read from Steven Pinker, about why academics are horrible writers:

http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Academics-Writing-Stinks/148989

This is good stuff. Thank you. The "Curse of Knowledge" he references is something that I discovered on my own writing a scholarship application last year that was intended for a general scientific audience. I ended up just getting random people I knew who were reasonably scientifically literate to read it and tell me which parts they didn't understand. After working on the project for 400+ hours it had become nigh on impossible to remember what it was like when I first heard about it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on September 30, 2014, 05:36:48 pm
Not sure how I feel about the ending. It was very pretty, but the whole starting-over thing is kind of bugging me.
The dancing-robot montage is hilarious. Hard to believe that it wasn't intentional trolling on the part of the show runners.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on September 30, 2014, 05:45:19 pm
Not sure how I feel about the ending. It was very pretty, but the whole starting-over thing is kind of bugging me.
The dancing-robot montage is hilarious. Hard to believe that it wasn't intentional trolling on the part of the show runners.

I hosted a massive 10+ person viewing of that finale, live. We were all obsessed. So into the show we'd stab anyone who coughed during a new episode, let alone talk (but we were all like that, so it was fine). We watched the finale in the dark, for a movie-esque atmosphere, for those two highly-anticipated hours.

When the lights came up, we all wandered off alone, too ashamed to look each other in the eyes, to find holes to die in.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 01, 2014, 07:10:49 am
this is really bad. now it looks like i'm gaming the system. i only wanted to transfer my ranking, not get into the top 5

and of course this is the time where i stop having bad luck every game and win the real games i play instead, so that it looks even more like I'm trying to cheat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: shraeye on October 01, 2014, 07:18:02 am
so, what's the frustration with getting slowplayed?  I don't play often enough (or well enough) to run into those people, but I feel like I'd just open a freecell game in the background (or Minecraft, or Minimetro, or Hearthstone, or Minesweeper, or read some article, edit my webpage....I got too many activities :()
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 01, 2014, 07:31:56 am
(http://s7.directupload.net/images/141001/92lhusxm.png)

YIKES. nononono
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on October 01, 2014, 07:32:50 am
21 games huh?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 01, 2014, 08:48:20 am
well yea it's a new account. it has a " " at the end. look closely  :P

i wanted to get my old account down so that there aren't 2 silverspawns chilling in the top lvls. apparently that doesn't work though, because it skyrockets my new account farther up than I want it. I wanted it to be just as high as the old one, but with so few games, the rating is incredibly swingy.

so... i'll just play with the new one, and leave the old one be.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 01, 2014, 09:32:33 am
Not sure how I feel about the ending. It was very pretty, but the whole starting-over thing is kind of bugging me.
The dancing-robot montage is hilarious. Hard to believe that it wasn't intentional trolling on the part of the show runners.

I hosted a massive 10+ person viewing of that finale, live. We were all obsessed. So into the show we'd stab anyone who coughed during a new episode, let alone talk (but we were all like that, so it was fine). We watched the finale in the dark, for a movie-esque atmosphere, for those two highly-anticipated hours.

When the lights came up, we all wandered off alone, too ashamed to look each other in the eyes, to find holes to die in.

Heh, I didn't quite feel that bad, but the finale did make me raise an eyebrow. Was technology so awful that you have to chuck it into the sun?

They could have at least paid homage to the distribution of people. Why is it that the Greek gods only flourished in Greece and not in Australia? Did they try to preserve the ethnicity of the regions they seeded?

I'm also left a little unclear about Starbuck. I thought they would explain her, but they didn't. But there's nothing wrong with a little mysticism. After all, Star Wars is still great with the Force being unexplained (since Episode I never existed). So why not leave Starbuck unexplained? Still, they covered so much so it felt odd that her story ends the way it did. Or maybe I was too distracted to notice.

I popped on the pilot of the original BSG for shits and giggles. Man, that acting was terrible. I have to remember that this was back when a reshoot would cost valuable film, so if that actor sucked balls, then they had to either pay to get a better scene or just suck it up. The special effects were pretty decent for 1978, though, so I can see why they abandoned reshooting a terrible scene. I didn't realize that the BSG reboot kept a lot of the names (Tigh, Baltar). I knew about Starbuck. I may have been only a kid when that show came out, but I remembered Starbuck being the hero.

I did find Caprica on Netflix though. Looks like it was canceled after the first season, but reviews seem to be favorable, so I'll give it a shot. I had to make sure it wasn't going to disappear off Netflix like BSG.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 01, 2014, 12:28:53 pm
Hey, can somebody go wake up Green Day?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 01, 2014, 12:35:27 pm
I never listened to that album.  I only know of the reference because I was browsing Imgur 10 minutes ago.

But that reminds me, I was watching TV last night and in the middle of commercials this band started singing, kind of like a music video.  It was U2, and it seemed to be the entirety of one of songs on their new album.  I thought to myself, "Thank god I don't have any Apple products or I'd have that terrible music on my devices."

Yeah, the song was really bad and I can see why they're giving it away for free.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 01, 2014, 12:57:49 pm
I never listened to that album.  I only know of the reference because I was browsing Imgur 10 minutes ago.

But that reminds me, I was watching TV last night and in the middle of commercials this band started singing, kind of like a music video.  It was U2, and it seemed to be the entirety of one of songs on their new album.  I thought to myself, "Thank god I don't have any Apple products or I'd have that terrible music on my devices."

Yeah, the song was really bad and I can see why they're giving it away for free.
I guess that explains why it was in my iTunes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 01, 2014, 01:00:36 pm
That's such an obnoxious and pretentious attitude to think that people would just want to have your music without actively pursuing it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 01, 2014, 05:39:54 pm
That's such an obnoxious and pretentious attitude to think that people would just want to have your music without actively pursuing it.

I don't get that. It's a free album. It's called advertising. If you don't like it, no one's making you listen to it.

I really don't get the controversy around this. I don't think the obnoxiousness/pretensiousness is on the side you think it is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 01, 2014, 05:43:37 pm
No, but they are (hypothetically) making me go have to delete the music to prevent having to listen to it.

Sort of like McDonald's putting a happy meal in my fridge.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 01, 2014, 06:16:26 pm
No, but they are (hypothetically) making me go have to delete the music to prevent having to listen to it.

Sort of like McDonald's putting a happy meal in my fridge.

That's because people have a misguided sense of privacy. iTunes is not the same as your fridge, not even close. iTunes is not something you own (nor is Spotify or whatever else).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 01, 2014, 06:18:44 pm
No, but they are (hypothetically) making me go have to delete the music to prevent having to listen to it.

Sort of like McDonald's putting a happy meal in my fridge.

That's because people have a misguided sense of privacy. iTunes is not the same as your fridge, not even close. iTunes is not something you own (nor is Spotify or whatever else).

Man, when people complain about stuff, they don't want to having flaws in their underlying assumptions pointed out to them.  That's like Complaining 101.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 01, 2014, 06:19:19 pm
All I'm really trying to say is that U2's song sucked. And I don't like iTunes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 01, 2014, 06:21:53 pm
iTunes is not the same as my fridge?

That explains why the milk spoiled...and my mp3s are cold
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 01, 2014, 06:46:45 pm
All I'm really trying to say is that U2's song sucked. And I don't like iTunes.

I don't like iTunes either (I'm meh on U2, haven't actually heard the new album), I was just surprised by the response to the free album thing.

I don't like when people complain, I often do this and annoy people, sorry. This is why I tend to avoid RSP forums ^^
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 01, 2014, 06:51:23 pm
I don't like when people complain

Oh, here's Teproc again, always complaining.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 01, 2014, 06:52:23 pm
I don't like when people complain

This sounds suspiciously like a complaint!

Edit: whoa, didn't even notice I got ninja'd.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 01, 2014, 06:53:10 pm
All I'm really trying to say is that U2's song sucked. And I don't like iTunes.

I don't like iTunes either (I'm meh on U2, haven't actually heard the new album), I was just surprised by the response to the free album thing.

I don't like when people complain, I often do this and annoy people, sorry. This is why I tend to avoid RSP forums ^^

Must have been hard for you when you heard about the Internet :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 01, 2014, 08:37:08 pm
Must have been hard for you when you heard about the Internet :(

Must of*

Also:

(https://33.media.tumblr.com/7edd2bd7b5f49879176101db558ec2c4/tumblr_nc2flsaqZX1rpco88o1_500.gif)


I know it's "must have".  I'm just joking!  Internet!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Hydrad on October 01, 2014, 08:42:46 pm
Must have been hard for you when you heard about the Internet :(

Must of*

Also:

(https://33.media.tumblr.com/7edd2bd7b5f49879176101db558ec2c4/tumblr_nc2flsaqZX1rpco88o1_500.gif)


I know it's "must have".  I'm just joking!  Internet!

I stared at this for a while wondering why you would post it. Looked away for a few seconds and when I looked back was so confused.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 01, 2014, 10:11:04 pm
Why is it so fucking difficult for people to dismiss information that is clearly and demonstrably untrue?

/headdesk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 01, 2014, 10:16:04 pm
Why is it so fucking difficult for people to dismiss information that is clearly and demonstrably untrue?

/headdesk

It's probably a result of vaccines.  Those things are dangerous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 01, 2014, 10:31:27 pm
Why is it so fucking difficult for people to dismiss information that is clearly and demonstrably untrue?

/headdesk

It's probably a result of vaccines.  Those things are dangerous.

I was gonna say. Are we talking about vaccines here?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 01, 2014, 11:06:20 pm
On the topic of headdesk, I played a great board game recently that I think some of the hard core strategy gamers here might like.

The board1 had different areas marked off,2 each labeled with a different challenge.3 Play consisted of advancing into an area4 and attempting to meet the challenge3 there or refusing and instead entering a war of attrition5 whose length was determined by the time until another player refused a challenge.6


1. Ok, well really it was a paper grocery bag
2. Literally, with marker
3. Dare
4. Flipping a quarter onto the board1
5. Placing one's face on the table. "Tableface"
6. You tableface until someone else has to tableface



Joking aside, it was actually pretty entertaining. Amusing dares included "lick mustard off of someone's back" and "eat compost"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on October 02, 2014, 01:42:40 am
So is it normal that I have been doing my homework until past midnight every day this week or am I doing something wrong.

Note: I start my homework essentially as soon as I get home from cross country practice.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 02, 2014, 02:16:53 am
So is it normal that I have been doing my homework until past midnight every day this week or am I doing something wrong.

Note: I start my homework essentially as soon as I get home from cross country practice.

Depends on what level of education you're at, and when you get home, as well as how hard you're working. I had a friend who started a PGCE (teacher training) course and had a problem like that, and was eventually diagnosed with Dyslexia, so it might have a cause.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 02, 2014, 02:23:38 am
So is it normal that I have been doing my homework until past midnight every day this week or am I doing something wrong.

Note: I start my homework essentially as soon as I get home from cross country practice.

It's pretty normal (posting at 2:23AM)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 02, 2014, 08:24:15 am
Are the rest of your cross country teammates having the same trouble?

Also I assume this is high school?  Six hours a night would be pretty excessive... but if other people aren't spending that long, then we have to consider poor study habits or, as Tables says, undiagnosed learning disability.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 02, 2014, 08:35:02 am
So is it normal that I have been doing my homework until past midnight every day this week or am I doing something wrong.

Note: I start my homework essentially as soon as I get home from cross country practice.
Sounds normal enough if it's just this week and not something that constantly happens.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 02, 2014, 10:04:21 am
My healthy breakfast today:

Blueberries, raspberries, sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seed, blueberry kefir.

I think that means I win, right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on October 02, 2014, 10:08:10 am
Nope.  Off brand cocoa pebbles FTW
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 02, 2014, 10:09:17 am
My healthy breakfast today:

Blueberries, raspberries, sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seed, blueberry kefir.

I think that means I win, right?

"My" "healthy" "breakfast" "today":
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 02, 2014, 10:17:28 am
Oh shit I forgot the coconut. I lose.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 02, 2014, 11:03:13 am
I'm enjoying watching Caprica more than I expected. I was uncertain about the pilot when it seemed more like a Gilmore Girls episode (as I assume GG is like). But it picked up in the second hour and poses some interesting questions…nothing new in the world of sci-fi, but it's nice to see it done in a manner accessible to the hoi polloi.

It is kind of weird to think of this great genocidal powerful robot race starting off as a teenaged girl, though.

I'm only 5 episodes in. I am aware the show didn't make it past the first season, and I'm kind of afraid to see what may have caused that. Then again, Firefly was canceled after one season so we already know that's not a standard to judge a show.

I forget this was a Sci-Fi Channel (or SyFy) original. Effects have their cheesy moments, but it definitely harkens back to the days when SyFy actually cared about sci-fi.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 02, 2014, 11:25:11 am
I was uncertain about the pilot when it seemed more like a Gilmore Girls episode (as I assume GG is like).

I'm interested to hear what you assume Gilmore Girls is like...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 02, 2014, 11:27:48 am
I was uncertain about the pilot when it seemed more like a Gilmore Girls episode (as I assume GG is like).

I'm interested to hear what you assume Gilmore Girls is like...

Lorelai was a Cylon.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 02, 2014, 11:35:15 am
I was uncertain about the pilot when it seemed more like a Gilmore Girls episode (as I assume GG is like).

I'm interested to hear what you assume Gilmore Girls is like...

No wait, Dawson's Creek. I get those two shows confused. They came out roughly at the same time, and I never saw either of them, so they are forever conflated in my mind as similar shows, regardless of what their content is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 02, 2014, 11:52:29 am
this just popped up while I was reading

Quote
“Platinum?!  Pffft!  More like fool's gold!”  Trixie folded her forelimbs and frowned over the counter of her shack at the top of the quarry.

I don't think this was an intended reference, but...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 02, 2014, 02:46:07 pm
Since Teproc likes to see people complain, I'll complain more.

Why do all the service employees on the East Coast call me "boss"?  Every time I get a coffee or a slice of pizza, it's "there you go, boss" or "thanks, boss".  Where did this come from?  Do I emanate some kind of aura of authority?  What if I go with my direct manager and get a cup of coffee, and now the cashier puts me in the uncomfortable position of correcting or neglecting to correct this.  Also, what's the point of addressing at all?  Is it any more personal than just saying "thank you", especially if they say it to everyone?  Or, why not just "sir"?

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 02, 2014, 02:56:06 pm
Since Teproc likes to see people complain, I'll complain more.

I suggest we start a new trend. Whenever something annoys you, send a PM to Teproc complaining about it. He will understand your plight and share comforting words.

Quote
Why do all the service employees on the East Coast call me "boss"?  Every time I get a coffee or a slice of pizza, it's "there you go, boss" or "thanks, boss".  Where did this come from?  Do I emanate some kind of aura of authority?  What if I go with my direct manager and get a cup of coffee, and now the cashier puts me in the uncomfortable position of correcting or neglecting to correct this.  Also, what's the point of addressing at all?  Is it any more personal than just saying "thank you", especially if they say it to everyone?  Or, why not just "sir"?

I would guess they get less complaints than if they actually say the similar-sounding "ass".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 02, 2014, 02:57:05 pm
Since Teproc likes to see people complain, I'll complain more.

I suggest we start a new trend. Whenever something annoys you, send a PM to Teproc complaining about it. He will understand your plight and share comforting words.

Quote
Why do all the service employees on the East Coast call me "boss"?  Every time I get a coffee or a slice of pizza, it's "there you go, boss" or "thanks, boss".  Where did this come from?  Do I emanate some kind of aura of authority?  What if I go with my direct manager and get a cup of coffee, and now the cashier puts me in the uncomfortable position of correcting or neglecting to correct this.  Also, what's the point of addressing at all?  Is it any more personal than just saying "thank you", especially if they say it to everyone?  Or, why not just "sir"?

I would guess they get less complaints than if they actually say the similar-sounding "ass".

Thanks, ass.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 02, 2014, 02:59:29 pm
I was uncertain about the pilot when it seemed more like a Gilmore Girls episode (as I assume GG is like).

I'm interested to hear what you assume Gilmore Girls is like...

No wait, Dawson's Creek. I get those two shows confused. They came out roughly at the same time, and I never saw either of them, so they are forever conflated in my mind as similar shows, regardless of what their content is.

/shudder

Dawson's Creek : Gilmore Girls :: Phantom Menace : Wrath of Khan
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 02, 2014, 03:03:36 pm
I was uncertain about the pilot when it seemed more like a Gilmore Girls episode (as I assume GG is like).

I'm interested to hear what you assume Gilmore Girls is like...

No wait, Dawson's Creek. I get those two shows confused. They came out roughly at the same time, and I never saw either of them, so they are forever conflated in my mind as similar shows, regardless of what their content is.

/shudder

Dawson's Creek : Gilmore Girls :: Phantom Menace : Wrath of Khan

I'll try to remember that Dawson's Creek is the insipid, vacuous show while Gilmore Girls is something else.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 02, 2014, 04:05:15 pm
Hey, can somebody go wake up Green Day?

OK so apparently that song was written about the death of the singer's father.  He was just a kid.  The day of the funeral he went to his room and said "wake me up when September ends".

So I won't be making that joke again.  :-\
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 02, 2014, 05:02:04 pm
I feel somehat obligated to respond here WW.

You mention that a different possibility would be "sir". Are you of noble descent ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 02, 2014, 05:06:23 pm
I feel somehat obligated to respond here WW.

You mention that a different possibility would be "sir". Are you of noble descent ?

"Sir" isn't a noble word, at least where I am.  It's more of a sign of respect.  I've been called sir, and it always makes me feel good about myself.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on October 02, 2014, 05:08:21 pm
Murica
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 02, 2014, 05:09:05 pm
I feel somehat obligated to respond here WW.

You mention that a different possibility would be "sir". Are you of noble descent ?

"Sir" isn't a noble word, at least where I am.  It's more of a sign of respect.  I've been called sir, and it always makes me feel good about myself.

That's my point. In the situation WW is describing, "boss" is just used as a term of respect, much like "sir", and doesn't have that much to do with its original meaning.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 02, 2014, 05:11:43 pm
I was uncertain about the pilot when it seemed more like a Gilmore Girls episode (as I assume GG is like).

I'm interested to hear what you assume Gilmore Girls is like...

No wait, Dawson's Creek. I get those two shows confused. They came out roughly at the same time, and I never saw either of them, so they are forever conflated in my mind as similar shows, regardless of what their content is.

/shudder

Dawson's Creek : Gilmore Girls :: Phantom Menace : Wrath of Khan

I'll try to remember that Dawson's Creek is the insipid, vacuous show while Gilmore Girls is something else.

GG is on Netflix now.  You should go watch some!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 02, 2014, 05:40:56 pm
Not sure if I can really tell the difference here.

http://www.clickhole.com/video/watch-big-bang-theory-more-laughter-added-1132
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 02, 2014, 05:42:24 pm
I feel somehat obligated to respond here WW.

You mention that a different possibility would be "sir". Are you of noble descent ?

"Sir" isn't a noble word, at least where I am.  It's more of a sign of respect.  I've been called sir, and it always makes me feel good about myself.

That's my point. In the situation WW is describing, "boss" is just used as a term of respect, much like "sir", and doesn't have that much to do with its original meaning.

Right, well, I said "sir" because that's the sort of default.  So I'm wondering why it changed to boss.  Though "sir" sounds aesthetically better to me than "boss" does.  Being called "boss" isn't too far from being called "bro".

Personally, I'd prefer no title.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 02, 2014, 05:58:23 pm
Dawson's Creek : Gilmore Girls :: Phantom Menace : Wrath of Khan

I caught bits of Gilmore Girls back in the day when my mother and sister watched it. The thing that threw me about it was the rapid-fire conversation saturated with witticisms. I'm mean really rapid. The characters in that show think and talk faster than in any other piece of media I've ever seen. It didn't sound natural at all and prevented me from suspending my disbelief.

Gilmore Girls : The Big Lebowski :: Cold : Hot
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 02, 2014, 06:17:27 pm
Shawshank redemption : Matrix :: Pulp Fiction : banana
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 02, 2014, 06:26:59 pm
: : :: :: i : ii
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 02, 2014, 06:27:11 pm
Dawson's Creek : Gilmore Girls :: Phantom Menace : Wrath of Khan

I caught bits of Gilmore Girls back in the day when my mother and sister watched it. The thing that threw me about it was the rapid-fire conversation saturated with witticisms. I'm mean really rapid. The characters in that show think and talk faster than in any other piece of media I've ever seen. It didn't sound natural at all and prevented me from suspending my disbelief.

Have you ever watched The West Wing ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 02, 2014, 06:29:04 pm
: : : :: :: : ::
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 02, 2014, 06:35:58 pm
: : : :: :: : ::

That's tautological.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 02, 2014, 06:45:44 pm
: : : :: :: : ::

That's tautological.

Tautologies usually are.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 02, 2014, 06:47:07 pm
:( : :) :: :[ : :]
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on October 02, 2014, 07:01:04 pm
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :: : : : :  ::  11 : 10 :: 2 : 1
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 02, 2014, 07:13:43 pm
I caught bits of Gilmore Girls back in the day when my mother and sister watched it. The thing that threw me about it was the rapid-fire conversation saturated with witticisms. I'm mean really rapid. The characters in that show think and talk faster than in any other piece of media I've ever seen. It didn't sound natural at all and prevented me from suspending my disbelief.

But not faster than people talk in real life.

Have you ever watched The West Wing?

This.  The judges would also have accepted almost anything else by Aaron Sorkin.

Also:  http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB1037053554251611508

And as that article points out, Moonlighting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 02, 2014, 07:24:21 pm
Sports Night for the win.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 02, 2014, 11:34:07 pm
:(){ :|:& };:
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 02, 2014, 11:52:12 pm
:(){ :|:& };:

Asmodeus and 10 objects come into view. --More--
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 03, 2014, 12:17:22 am
I'm sorry, fellas, I cannot play Dominion tonight. I've been eaten by a grue.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 03, 2014, 03:35:27 am
i had a dominon dream! (well, sort of)

we (no idea who we is, but I was one of them) were testing the new promo. unfortunately, I don't remember the text, although I think it was read out loud twice, but it started with "nudge the first card of your deck," then there was a "resolve this: " clause and some more obscure stuff that was neither a real sentence nor did it make much sense. something about gold. when I read it, I was like, "but donald always payed so much attention to wordings, this is weird. maybe he is trolling us?" I also remembered an older version of this promo, which was something like "+1 action, either draw to x, or dig for an action card and put it into your hand. If you have already played this card this turn, instead draw a card". That (not what I just paraphrased) was worded correctly and made at least some sense, but for the new one, I couldn't figure out what it even does, so I didn't get why he changed it.

Then I played it to see what it does. my opponent got a gold in his hand. I believed to understand that, if I have a gold in my hand too, this card allows me to discard it and get it/a new one in my hand again, but my opponent just gets a gold in his hand, so I assumed there must have been something that I was missing.

and that was it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 03, 2014, 06:44:11 am
I think this is relevant again.

(http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic801746_md.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 03, 2014, 11:48:39 am
Just started watching Gilmore girls now it's on netflix. I shouldn't be surprised it's so good conifer ing how many friends have recommended it. But for reals, watch this show.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 03, 2014, 12:01:44 pm
Just started watching Gilmore girls now it's on netflix. I shouldn't be surprised it's so good conifer ing how many friends have recommended it. But for reals, watch this show.

I guess I should give it a shot for-reals. Probably I'll get used to the unnatural-sounding dialogue if I can watch it from the beginning and get to know the characters.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 03, 2014, 12:08:06 pm
Just started watching Gilmore girls now it's on netflix. I shouldn't be surprised it's so good conifer ing how many friends have recommended it. But for reals, watch this show.

I guess I should give it a shot for-reals. Probably I'll get used to the unnatural-sounding dialogue if I can watch it from the beginning and get to know the characters.

Just start talking liket hat in every day life.  It will catch on.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 03, 2014, 12:18:19 pm
Is suspicious.

The show never really interested me before. Maybe I'll give Gillmore Girls a shot. I was wrong about Fight Club until online people I trust showed me the errors of my ways (technically, the errors of the marketing department, because Fight Club trailers looked dumb as shit).

First I need to finish up Caprica. I have other shows I intend to watch (Dexter, for example), but I may bump up Gillmore Girls. Oof, 7 seasons. That could be quite a stretch. I was so exhausted watching all 7 seasons of Buffy that I still haven't brought myself to watch Angel.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 03, 2014, 12:18:59 pm
My healthy breakfast today:

Blueberries, raspberries, sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seed, blueberry kefir.

I think that means I win, right?

Remembered the coconut today. Now I actually do win.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 03, 2014, 12:27:33 pm
Kuildous, if you ever watch Dexter, I recommend either :
- stopping at the 2nd season
- stopping at the 4th season (which is good but the 3rd season is meh)
- stopping at the 5th season (which I found decent but many people hate)

The 6th, 7th and 8th seasons are horrible. Horrible. Don't listen to the people who will tell you that the 7th season had a creative resurgence : they are lying/wrong. You can still watch the finale and enjoy it in all its glory (it doesn't make more sense if you've watched the previous seasons anyway).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on October 03, 2014, 12:29:05 pm
You cannot be a Dexter fan and not watch the 4th season.  The season four finale is one of the all-time great episodes of television.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 03, 2014, 12:29:09 pm
Sounds like a complaint to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 03, 2014, 12:31:10 pm
Sounds like a complaint to me.

Nope. Nobody forced me to watch all those seasons of Dexter, I did it to myself !
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 03, 2014, 12:32:23 pm
Sounds like a complaint to me.

Nope. Nobody forced me to watch all those seasons of Dexter, I did it to myself !


Bet you'd be pissed if you woke up tomorrow and the 8th season was on your iPad!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 03, 2014, 01:08:24 pm
Sounds like a complaint to me.

Nope. Nobody forced me to watch all those seasons of Dexter, I did it to myself !


Bet you'd be pissed if you woke up tomorrow and the 8th season was on your iPad!

Easy workaround : I don't own an iPad !
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 03, 2014, 01:37:58 pm
Kuildous, if you ever watch Dexter, I recommend either :
- stopping at the 2nd season
- stopping at the 4th season (which is good but the 3rd season is meh)
- stopping at the 5th season (which I found decent but many people hate)

The 6th, 7th and 8th seasons are horrible. Horrible. Don't listen to the people who will tell you that the 7th season had a creative resurgence : they are lying/wrong. You can still watch the finale and enjoy it in all its glory (it doesn't make more sense if you've watched the previous seasons anyway).

Wow, so it sounds like I should treat Dexter in a similar way as the Machete method Star Wars (which is to watch 4, 5, 2, 3, and 6 in that order, and fuck episode 1—assuming you have to watch the prequels, which you don't).

I wonder if a huge pan has compiled a list of must-watch episodes. I suppose that going by season will work, especially since I'm sure it's serial and not granular. I may ask my co-worker her thoughts on your suggestion. I know she hated the finale, so she's not afraid to share her opinion. 

Speaking of which, you used "finale" and "glory" in the same sentence. I've heard people bitch about the finale. Is it really because it's the pinnacle of a shitty season?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 03, 2014, 01:49:43 pm
It's the pinnacle of three awful years. It is probably the worst finale in in the history of TV shows that were once good.

Dexter has a per-season structure, so I don't think there is a list of episodes to avoid. If you watch a season, you should watch it entirely. It would probably work the other way around : avoid season X, but still watch that one episode out of that season for whatever reason.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 03, 2014, 02:35:25 pm
It's the pinnacle of three awful years. It is probably the worst finale in in the history of TV shows that were once good.

Dexter has a per-season structure, so I don't think there is a list of episodes to avoid. If you watch a season, you should watch it entirely. It would probably work the other way around : avoid season X, but still watch that one episode out of that season for whatever reason.

That's one great thing about American Horror Story. If there's a bad season* then you can easily skip to the next season with no loss whatsoever.

*They haven't yet had a bad season.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 03, 2014, 06:48:47 pm
So... Smash Bros!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on October 03, 2014, 06:54:34 pm
It's really not that difficult with Dexter. Like with any other show, if you are not liking it for a prolonged period of time, stop watching. Whatever you do, don't continue past the finale of the 4th season. If you somehow forgot and started with season 5, for the love of god stop there. If you feel an urge to break these rules, watch the last episode of the series and you'll understand what everyone was talking about.

Honestly, if I were to describe the ending of the show to you right now, you would straight up think I'm making it up. It's that ridiculous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 03, 2014, 07:11:07 pm
I think I'll watch just Season 8.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 03, 2014, 07:30:57 pm
Julia Stiles or Yvonne Strahovski?

I think I was partial to the latter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on October 03, 2014, 07:34:08 pm
Julia Stiles or Yvonne Strahovski?

I think I was partial to the latter.
Oh god. How about neither? Horrible, horrible characters.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 03, 2014, 07:49:31 pm
Julia Stiles or Yvonne Strahovski?

I think I was partial to the latter.
Oh god. How about neither? Horrible, horrible characters.

characters? who's talking about characters? I'm talking about women.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 04, 2014, 05:05:19 am
Julia Stiles or Yvonne Strahovski?

I think I was partial to the latter.
Oh god. How about neither? Horrible, horrible characters.

Lumen was an interesting character. I'm a season 5 apologist and I will fight for it to be recognized as an interesting season with a terrible finale !

And the answer depends : in terms of hotness, Yvonne Strahovski. For acting ability, Julia Stihles.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 04, 2014, 07:18:23 am
So... Smash Bros!

Personally I'm waiting for the Wii U version. Although if it's not being released until February or something, I might change my mind. And sadly I'm slowly beginning to suspect that (announcing a December release date in mid October seems a little late, when we've known the SSB3DS release date for like 4 months or something).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 04, 2014, 07:39:01 am
Haven't they said, like... Holidays? Wouldn't it be SUPER bad not to have it available for christmas?

The 3DS version is very enjoyable. Me, luliin and a couple of friends got together yesterday to play some, and we intend to continue today and tomorrow. And probably everytime we meet for as long as we have 3DS. But being a Smash Bros game, I'm not that surprised.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 04, 2014, 08:02:00 am
Haven't they said, like... Holidays? Wouldn't it be SUPER bad not to have it available for christmas?

The 3DS version is very enjoyable. Me, luliin and a couple of friends got together yesterday to play some, and we intend to continue today and tomorrow. And probably everytime we meet for as long as we have 3DS. But being a Smash Bros game, I'm not that surprised.

They said Winter 2014 for the Wii U version, and Summer 2014 for the 3DS version. The 3DS version came out in September, which is technically still summer but is late Q3, so buisness wise it's more what they'd call Autumn.

I expect that if the game were/is very close to finished they'd rush for a Christmas release, which is why I said February. I think a January release is very unlikely, since it'd just get rushed through.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 04, 2014, 10:53:14 am
How do the controls on 3DS compare to console? I've never played it on my own time so I always just ended up button smashing with friends. I'm seriously considering getting the 3DS version just so I don't embarrass myself in the future.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 04, 2014, 10:58:09 am
How do the controls on 3DS compare to console? I've never played it on my own time so I always just ended up button smashing with friends. I'm seriously considering getting the 3DS version just so I don't embarrass myself in the future.

I keep on attacking instead of jumping on accident on the 3DS, so I have no idea.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 04, 2014, 12:00:15 pm
I want a 3DS for Ocarina of Time. I just realized how nerdy that sounded taking into account I already have OoT on N64.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 04, 2014, 12:01:38 pm
I want a 3DS for Ocarina of Time. I just realized hiw nerdy that sounded taking into account I already have OoT on N64.

The 3D is nice. Also, the graphics are updated with better textures. Most importantly, it includes the 2nd quest, although unfortunately you have to beat the game normally first to unlock it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 04, 2014, 12:14:30 pm
13 was our lucky number last night at Factory of Terror in Canton, OH. It always helps to bring a few "scaredy cat" types as well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 04, 2014, 01:23:15 pm
13 was our lucky number last night at Factory of Terror in Canton, OH. It always helps to bring a few "scaredy cat" types as well.

Whoa, whoa, there's another Ohio person here??
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 04, 2014, 01:29:36 pm
Terrifying, right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 04, 2014, 03:08:29 pm
Quote from: dominion wiki
Apprentice and Market Market Square is a very strong combo, nearly as strong as Hermit and Market Square.

argh
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 04, 2014, 03:31:03 pm
Quote from: dominion wiki
Apprentice and Market Market Square is a very strong combo, nearly as strong as Hermit and Market Square.

argh
Often, it is exactly as strong as Hermit/Market Square would be if it was in the kingdom (you have to go for it or you lose).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 04, 2014, 03:42:15 pm
This is where I'm playing tonight.

(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/AndrewisFTTW/Mobile%20Uploads/20141004_135138_zps6ykm5jm5.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 04, 2014, 03:53:22 pm
Quote from: dominion wiki
Apprentice and Market Market Square is a very strong combo, nearly as strong as Hermit and Market Square.

argh
Often, it is exactly as strong as Hermit/Market Square would be if it was in the kingdom (you have to go for it or you lose).
man, it's better. for some reason hermit/MS gets more attention, but apprentice/MS is the stronger combo. and for some reason this sentence bothers me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 04, 2014, 03:55:50 pm
or maybe my intuition is just way off and i'm complaining for no reaosn
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on October 04, 2014, 04:55:11 pm
Quote from: dominion wiki
Apprentice and Market Market Square is a very strong combo, nearly as strong as Hermit and Market Square.

argh
Often, it is exactly as strong as Hermit/Market Square would be if it was in the kingdom (you have to go for it or you lose).
man, it's better. for some reason hermit/MS gets more attention, but apprentice/MS is the stronger combo. and for some reason this sentence bothers me.
In my opinion, the reason Hermit/MS gets attention is that it's a tricky combo to pull off. First you need to hit particular numbers of every card that is in your deck. Then you must patiently wait until the appropriate time to fire the combo, because once the Madmen are gone you can't combo off anymore.

Apprentice/MS on the other hand is straightforward, unless there is some subtlety that I'm missing. Buy Apprentices, buy Market Squares, trash Golds, win.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 04, 2014, 06:53:31 pm
The question is, 1. who wins in a head to head matchup? It seems to me that Hermit/MS would win. Maybe (probably) a mix is better than both. 2. who wins more often against other strong strategies?

It seems to me that Hermit/MS is more resilient to junking, but less resilient to discard attacks. Apprentice/MS, OTOH, is more able to incorporate other powerful stuff (like Goons, Bridge, KC, Possession), so its not a strategy but a combo that can run different strategies. Also, App/MS can use support a lot, while most cards do not help Hermit/MS too much.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on October 04, 2014, 08:33:43 pm
In a kingdom with only hermit, market square, and apprentice, I would ignore apprentice. If there are 7 other cards, more often than not I still ignore apprentice, but not always.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 04, 2014, 11:18:59 pm
Hey, I actually did semi-okay in a programming competition! Not super good, just barely into ~top third of participants at my school, but that was good enough to win a duffel bag with Google's logo on it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 04, 2014, 11:24:14 pm
Hey, I actually did semi-okay in a programming competition! Not super good, just barely into ~top third of participants at my school, but that was good enough to win a duffel bag with Google's logo on it.

When was this? It is possible that I wrote the problems.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 05, 2014, 01:00:02 am
Hey, I actually did semi-okay in a programming competition! Not super good, just barely into ~top third of participants at my school, but that was good enough to win a duffel bag with Google's logo on it.

When was this? It is possible that I wrote the problems.

Today. I don't think it's likely you wrote the problems, unless you happen to be the professor who wrote the contest.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 05, 2014, 01:48:05 am
In a kingdom with only hermit, market square, and apprentice, I would ignore apprentice. If there are 7 other cards, more often than not I still ignore apprentice, but not always.


I'll do a bunch of single player games later today and see which is faster. though it's probably more accurate to race for 4 provinces, not 8.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 05, 2014, 01:56:55 am
In a kingdom with only hermit, market square, and apprentice, I would ignore apprentice. If there are 7 other cards, more often than not I still ignore apprentice, but not always.


I'll do a bunch of single player games later today and see which is faster. though it's probably more accurate to race for 4 provinces, not 8.

Keep in mind that in a matchup, both people want market squares.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 05, 2014, 02:14:26 am
In a kingdom with only hermit, market square, and apprentice, I would ignore apprentice. If there are 7 other cards, more often than not I still ignore apprentice, but not always.


I'll do a bunch of single player games later today and see which is faster. though it's probably more accurate to race for 4 provinces, not 8.

Keep in mind that in a matchup, both people want market squares.

that doesn't matter though, you don't need more than 3 market squares for the combo with apprentice. more don't hurt, but don't add much either.

with hermit, you probably want more, but I doubt that you want more than 7.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 05, 2014, 02:14:37 am
In a kingdom with only hermit, market square, and apprentice, I would ignore apprentice. If there are 7 other cards, more often than not I still ignore apprentice, but not always.


I'll do a bunch of single player games later today and see which is faster. though it's probably more accurate to race for 4 provinces, not 8.
Hermit/Market Square's speed is usually highly dependent on the opponent's speed, though; you can get 9 Hermits and a million Market Squares if your opponent is slow to guarantee that your attempt to go off won't fail and that you will have enough money and buys to win the game, but if you're in a pinch, you can pull it off with as few as 4 Hermits in a very short amount of time (especially if the piles are low and you can 3-pile instead of having to rely on Provinces).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 05, 2014, 04:26:23 am
okay... it's not that clear cut, but I believe hermit/MS is actually slightly better. but mostly apprentice/MS is just more swingy. I think with perfect draws it's better, but you often get random dead turns in between. it's hard to say. but hermit seems better on average. so, props to the article.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 05, 2014, 07:06:36 am
How do the controls on 3DS compare to console? I've never played it on my own time so I always just ended up button smashing with friends. I'm seriously considering getting the 3DS version just so I don't embarrass myself in the future.

The big difference, in my opinion, is the 3DS control stick. It's very different from that of a GC, Classic Controller or a Nunchuck. Or even an N64 one. It took me some time getting used to it, but now I rarely do a forward B when I intend to do up B. Aside from that, I did have the same problem as Sudgy (attacking instead of jumping) but that was very easy to get used to.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 05, 2014, 11:28:49 am
Today. I don't think it's likely you wrote the problems, unless you happen to be the professor who wrote the contest.

:). I used to write lots of problems for some programming contests Google ran on colleges like 4 or 5 years ago.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 05, 2014, 03:15:38 pm
I was bored so I designed a maze.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16948609/stupid%20maze.png)

I'm still a newbie at this. Any comments?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 05, 2014, 03:28:09 pm
I'm not letting you design my dreams.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 05, 2014, 03:30:53 pm
and breaking the walls of my rational maze
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 05, 2014, 07:23:31 pm
This is what I've been working on recently:

(http://i.imgur.com/rjFPni6.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 05, 2014, 07:26:50 pm
Do the colours mean anything?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 05, 2014, 08:00:40 pm
Do the colours mean anything?

...Yes.  It's a four dimensional Rubik's Cube.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 05, 2014, 08:10:58 pm
Does it not show the eighth cell?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 05, 2014, 08:15:19 pm
Does it not show the eighth cell?

No, it doesn't.  You can rotate it so it shows it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 05, 2014, 08:38:41 pm
How do the controls on 3DS compare to console? I've never played it on my own time so I always just ended up button smashing with friends. I'm seriously considering getting the 3DS version just so I don't embarrass myself in the future.

The big difference, in my opinion, is the 3DS control stick. It's very different from that of a GC, Classic Controller or a Nunchuck. Or even an N64 one. It took me some time getting used to it, but now I rarely do a forward B when I intend to do up B. Aside from that, I did have the same problem as Sudgy (attacking instead of jumping) but that was very easy to get used to.

Did they flip the buttons for attacking and jumping?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on October 05, 2014, 08:46:24 pm
How do the controls on 3DS compare to console? I've never played it on my own time so I always just ended up button smashing with friends. I'm seriously considering getting the 3DS version just so I don't embarrass myself in the future.

The big difference, in my opinion, is the 3DS control stick. It's very different from that of a GC, Classic Controller or a Nunchuck. Or even an N64 one. It took me some time getting used to it, but now I rarely do a forward B when I intend to do up B. Aside from that, I did have the same problem as Sudgy (attacking instead of jumping) but that was very easy to get used to.

Did they flip the buttons for attacking and jumping?
3DS button layout is different from the typical Smash bros. (Gamecube controller) layout.  Same named button does the same things, but they aren't quite in the same place.  I had issues with this too when I played the demo on my friend's 3DS
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 05, 2014, 08:57:02 pm
Is there a way to change the input?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 05, 2014, 11:49:28 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VufDd-QL1c0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 06, 2014, 12:17:16 am
Wow, that brings back memories!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on October 06, 2014, 01:42:03 am
How do the controls on 3DS compare to console? I've never played it on my own time so I always just ended up button smashing with friends. I'm seriously considering getting the 3DS version just so I don't embarrass myself in the future.

The big difference, in my opinion, is the 3DS control stick. It's very different from that of a GC, Classic Controller or a Nunchuck. Or even an N64 one. It took me some time getting used to it, but now I rarely do a forward B when I intend to do up B. Aside from that, I did have the same problem as Sudgy (attacking instead of jumping) but that was very easy to get used to.

Did they flip the buttons for attacking and jumping?
3DS button layout is different from the typical Smash bros. (Gamecube controller) layout.  Same named button does the same things, but they aren't quite in the same place.  I had issues with this too when I played the demo on my friend's 3DS

It's interesting that so many people are having trouble with this; I didn't even think about it and was automatically pressing the right buttons for jumping/attacking.  Maybe it's a difference between people who are used to Y-jumping on the GC controller and people who are used to X?  (I usually used X in Brawl/Melee.)

What I found disorienting was L to grab; I'm used to using R to shield and Z to grab on the GC controller, so I want that finger to do both.  I set Y to grab instead (since I can't have R grab and shield), which I like better than L, though I'm probably in the minority on that.

Is there a way to change the input?

Yeah, controls are customizable like in Brawl.  It feels like there's less flexibility though, probably because there are fewer buttons/sticks on the 3DS than the GC controller (well, I guess just one fewer button and one fewer stick, but the absence of the C-stick is a big difference I think).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 06, 2014, 08:44:42 am
i just replayed the campaign of sc1 + bw. will blizzard ever make something that's anywhere near as good as this game?

the answer is no.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 06, 2014, 08:57:19 am
Especially since you can't play SC2 without an internet connection.

So I'm definitely hanging onto my copy of SC1. Next internet outage, I may boot it back up.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 06, 2014, 09:34:41 am
I saw Hair over the weekend. I'm not sure that I'm that impressed by it. The music was good, and the production value was extraordinary. I guess I just expected more of a plot. It reminds me of Cats where the story takes a back seat to song and dance.

But we don't get enough naked hippies on stage, so that was fun too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 06, 2014, 10:43:56 am
can someone explain in a few words what μ and 3σ mean on the leaderboard? is μ the estimated skill and σ the estimated uncertainty?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 06, 2014, 10:47:28 am
can someone explain in a few words what μ and 3σ mean on the leaderboard? is μ the estimated skill and σ the estimated uncertainty?
Pretty much.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 06, 2014, 10:47:50 am
can someone explain in a few words what μ and 3σ mean on the leaderboard? is μ the estimated skill and σ the estimated uncertainty?

yes
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 06, 2014, 10:49:18 am
Good work on sticking to "a few words", guys.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 06, 2014, 11:05:53 am
I took a deep breath and started reading "A Crown of Swords". Wish me luck, I may not make it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on October 06, 2014, 11:09:20 am
I took a deep breath and started reading "A Crown of Swords". Wish me luck, I may not make it.

Sounds like a game of thrones knock off. I don't like the sound of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on October 06, 2014, 11:16:13 am
It's part of the famous A Ballad of Cold and Hot series.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 06, 2014, 11:17:14 am
I took a deep breath and started reading "A Crown of Swords". Wish me luck, I may not make it.

Sounds like a game of thrones knock off. I don't like the sound of it.

It was published the same year as Game of Thrones but don't worry, nobody is going to argue about which is better.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 06, 2014, 11:25:41 am
anyone knows why this guy (http://www.quicktopic.com/50/H/tpCqbcZdyTCBM) left the community? he seems pretty awesome
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 06, 2014, 11:28:00 am
anyone knows why this guy (http://www.quicktopic.com/50/H/tpCqbcZdyTCBM) left the community? he seems pretty awesome

School maybe?  ADK knows him in real life, I think.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 06, 2014, 11:29:28 am
Quote
   HAHAHAHAHHAHA I WANT THE SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETS
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 06, 2014, 11:32:23 am
"Damn it Andrew, you're onto me."

I had him pegged!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 06, 2014, 12:07:02 pm
Why did I wait until a Sunday evening to start playing Wasteland 2? Now I have to wait until I get home to continue playing. I have no one to blame but myself.

Interesting how they reference some of the iconic characters from the first Wasteland.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 06, 2014, 01:49:38 pm
I only have the demo, but I like the controls of SSB4 on 3DS. It's not as good as GCN controller control, but that controller was pretty much the best controller any console I've played has had, so whatever. L for grab, R for shield is nice and effective, and for me felt fairly intuitive although I know for others it wasn't. It's tough to do tilt attacks, but that's always been the case really.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 06, 2014, 02:19:11 pm
I think the tilt attacks are easy to do. Except for up tilt if you have tap jump enabled. On the other hand, I sometimes fail making smash attacks. I blame the silly circle pad thingie...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 06, 2014, 02:45:26 pm
Except for up tilt if you have tap jump enabled.

That's why my first thing is always disable tap jump (not really, but it's pretty quick).

Also, Eevee, they put you in the game!  But he doesn't do much...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 06, 2014, 03:36:18 pm
"Damn it Andrew, you're onto me."

I had him pegged!
I keep forgetting to trust your reads!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 06, 2014, 03:39:34 pm
"Damn it Andrew, you're onto me."

I had him pegged!

I ended up following you on this, but by that time you wanted to lynch me instead :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 06, 2014, 04:36:09 pm
anyone knows why this guy (http://www.quicktopic.com/50/H/tpCqbcZdyTCBM) left the community? he seems pretty awesome

that was a good read, thanks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 06, 2014, 04:36:57 pm
http://eduscapes.com/nonfiction/images/nprinfographic.jpg
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on October 06, 2014, 05:23:09 pm
http://eduscapes.com/nonfiction/images/nprinfographic.jpg
Speaking of awesome sci-fi/fantasy books... Anyone here read Red Rising?  I got the audiobook in the last audiobook humble bundle and let me just say, it's the new hunger games but much much better.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 06, 2014, 07:03:48 pm
http://eduscapes.com/nonfiction/images/nprinfographic.jpg

I am kind of disappointed where they put Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles on this chart.  I could really see those books following the flow chart down to where A Song of Ice and Fire and The Stormlight Archive are located under incomplete series.  Speaking of which, I need to start reading The Way of Kings, which a friend recommended to me, I bought, but have yet to begin reading.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mail-mi on October 06, 2014, 09:39:51 pm
http://eduscapes.com/nonfiction/images/nprinfographic.jpg

I am kind of disappointed where they put Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles on this chart.  I could really see those books following the flow chart down to where A Song of Ice and Fire and The Stormlight Archive are located under incomplete series.  Speaking of which, I need to start reading The Way of Kings, which a friend recommended to me, I bought, but have yet to begin reading.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YOU DO.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 06, 2014, 11:13:29 pm
No Glen Cook is an issue.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 07, 2014, 08:21:56 am
I've started to chew on my hair a lot... but hair tastes really bad. i should try to drop this habit, but that's not easy. maybe i have to get short hair again.

difficult problems right here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 07, 2014, 08:27:09 am
You are not eating your hair, right? The stomach can't digest hair, so it will eventually build up there and you would need an operation to get rid of it.

I am a supporter of short hair. It's so much more convenient.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 07, 2014, 08:27:43 am
It could be the pink dye....
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 07, 2014, 08:36:55 am
but hair tastes really bad.
You should try washing it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 07, 2014, 08:44:07 am
Quote
You are not eating your hair, right?
no. that would be gross.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 07, 2014, 08:45:53 am
but hair tastes really bad.
You should try washing it.
why do you think it smells so good? <_<
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 07, 2014, 08:46:41 am
(http://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/w634/brandoneqy26/61062237-F82D-4357-961D-EF73912C16FB-789-0000011CA50C5F85_zps81e51b1d.jpg)

(http://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/w634/brandoneqy26/71C81818-DD97-4B2B-8C9B-6D2ABCBD37CA-278-0000001E1910A610_zps00ef07d8.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 07, 2014, 09:29:16 am
I've started to chew on my hair a lot... but hair tastes really bad. i should try to drop this habit, but that's not easy. maybe i have to get short hair again.

difficult problems right here.

When I had long hair, I had a habit of chewing on it. I've seen some girls do it too. It's just one of those habits that some people have when they have long hair.

My cure was to shave it all off, but I didn't shave it off because I was chewing it. Really, I didn't even see the chewing as a problem. I suppose it might have been unsightly. Certainly it would have been offputting if I did that during a business meeting, but I don't think my habit was so bad that I made it a public spectacle.

So no idea how to solve that, other than removing the hair. That's not something I endorse easily because I know that when it's gone, you can't really get it back.

Well, okay, I probably could grow my hair out again, but I would end up looking a lot like Riff Raff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 07, 2014, 10:20:59 am
http://eduscapes.com/nonfiction/images/nprinfographic.jpg

I am kind of disappointed where they put Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles on this chart.  I could really see those books following the flow chart down to where A Song of Ice and Fire and The Stormlight Archive are located under incomplete series.  Speaking of which, I need to start reading The Way of Kings, which a friend recommended to me, I bought, but have yet to begin reading.

I enjoyed it. Is this series ever gonna get finished? I haven't heard anything in a long time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 07, 2014, 10:26:03 am
You are not eating your hair, right? The stomach can't digest hair, so it will eventually build up there and you would need an operation to get rid of it.

No.  The stomach also can't digest cellulose, but you're supposed to eat several grams a day of cellulose.  Your body will pass hair out of your intestines just like poorly-chewed food.

Also, dude, my three-year-old has almost stopped chewing her hair.  You can too...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 07, 2014, 10:27:31 am
Alright who the hell took the username AndrewisFTTW on Spotify? This isn't funny.

EDIT: Oh, I did. Weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 07, 2014, 10:30:14 am
Man, got stomped by Omnitron last night in Sentinels. That normally doesn't happen.

Our first mistake was fighting it in Rook City. It also doesn't help that Haka and the Naturalist couldn't keep the damage output consistently high. Absolute Zero and Argent Adept theoretically could kick ass, but Omnitron has a nasty habit of wiping cards in play, and they both just floundered the entire game.

It was brutal.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 07, 2014, 10:34:12 am
http://eduscapes.com/nonfiction/images/nprinfographic.jpg

I am kind of disappointed where they put Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles on this chart.  I could really see those books following the flow chart down to where A Song of Ice and Fire and The Stormlight Archive are located under incomplete series.  Speaking of which, I need to start reading The Way of Kings, which a friend recommended to me, I bought, but have yet to begin reading.

I enjoyed it. Is this series ever gonna get finished? I haven't heard anything in a long time.

The Kingkiller Chronicles?  Probably 2015 for the third book.  Stormlight Archive just released its second book not too long ago, so I wouldn't expect the next one for a couple years.  The nice thing about Sanderson is he actually tells you his progress on his page: http://brandonsanderson.com/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 07, 2014, 10:40:05 am
(http://i.imgur.com/crY3dEs.jpg) (http://imgur.com/crY3dEs)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 07, 2014, 11:11:48 am
http://eduscapes.com/nonfiction/images/nprinfographic.jpg

I am kind of disappointed where they put Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles on this chart.  I could really see those books following the flow chart down to where A Song of Ice and Fire and The Stormlight Archive are located under incomplete series.  Speaking of which, I need to start reading The Way of Kings, which a friend recommended to me, I bought, but have yet to begin reading.

I enjoyed it. Is this series ever gonna get finished? I haven't heard anything in a long time.

The Kingkiller Chronicles?  Probably 2015 for the third book.  Stormlight Archive just released its second book not too long ago, so I wouldn't expect the next one for a couple years.  The nice thing about Sanderson is he actually tells you his progress on his page: http://brandonsanderson.com/

The other nice thing about Sanderson is he's a writing machine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mail-mi on October 07, 2014, 11:24:38 am
http://eduscapes.com/nonfiction/images/nprinfographic.jpg

I am kind of disappointed where they put Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles on this chart.  I could really see those books following the flow chart down to where A Song of Ice and Fire and The Stormlight Archive are located under incomplete series.  Speaking of which, I need to start reading The Way of Kings, which a friend recommended to me, I bought, but have yet to begin reading.

I enjoyed it. Is this series ever gonna get finished? I haven't heard anything in a long time.

The Kingkiller Chronicles?  Probably 2015 for the third book.  Stormlight Archive just released its second book not too long ago, so I wouldn't expect the next one for a couple years.  The nice thing about Sanderson is he actually tells you his progress on his page: http://brandonsanderson.com/

The other nice thing about Sanderson is he's a writing machine.
Sanderson is, like, the best author EVUR.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 07, 2014, 11:25:35 am
His standalone books are really good, too.  Elantris and Warbreaker were exceptional.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on October 07, 2014, 11:36:54 am
Someone mentioned Elantris on here somewhere and I picked it up on Amazon. Reading it now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 07, 2014, 11:38:10 am
You are not eating your hair, right? The stomach can't digest hair, so it will eventually build up there and you would need an operation to get rid of it.

No.  The stomach also can't digest cellulose, but you're supposed to eat several grams a day of cellulose.  Your body will pass hair out of your intestines just like poorly-chewed food.

Hair gets stuck in your stomach just the same way it gets stuck in your sink. The clinical name of the condition is Trichobezoar (google it if you want pretty pictures); note that cats vomit hairballs, rather than get rid of them the normal way.
It's usually only a problem for humans when they are compulsively eating hair, which is rare, but it can prove fatal if not treated in time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 07, 2014, 11:49:19 am
Bear in mind though that a bezoar acts as an antidote to most poisons. So it might actually be a benefit.

(Note however I am not a licensed doctor or potions master)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 07, 2014, 12:02:38 pm
Well, you need to add mandragora root, and the screaming variety is pretty hard to find these days.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 07, 2014, 12:05:13 pm
I think the tilt attacks are easy to do. Except for up tilt if you have tap jump enabled. On the other hand, I sometimes fail making smash attacks. I blame the silly circle pad thingie...

I have to disagree. Lightly tap the control stick (or circle pad on 3DS), do a Smash attack. Tilt it more slowly, do a jab. I've never managed to find a middle ground that makes tilts easy to do quickly.

Fortunately, the GCN controller has the C stick for tilts, which is nice.

In other Smash news, release date finally announced: 5th December. I'm happy about that as a release date, except for one little thing: Why does the US get it two weeks earlier, when we got a simultaneous 3DS release?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 07, 2014, 12:22:04 pm
In other Smash news, release date finally announced: 5th December. I'm happy about that as a release date, except for one little thing: Why does the US get it two weeks earlier, when we got a simultaneous 3DS release?

We're, uh, tasting it for you. To make sure it's not poisoned.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: shraeye on October 07, 2014, 01:05:24 pm
I shouldn't be surprised it's so good conifer ing
I am surprised that it's so good conifering.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 07, 2014, 02:39:00 pm

In other Smash news, release date finally announced: 5th December. I'm happy about that as a release date, except for one little thing: Why does the US get it two weeks earlier, when we got a simultaneous 3DS release?

My first guess is that they fell behind on the localization for some regions. This is too important a game for the holiday season to delay all versions until the last one is done.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 07, 2014, 04:52:17 pm

In other Smash news, release date finally announced: 5th December. I'm happy about that as a release date, except for one little thing: Why does the US get it two weeks earlier, when we got a simultaneous 3DS release?

My first guess is that they fell behind on the localization for some regions. This is too important a game for the holiday season to delay all versions until the last one is done.

Yes, probably. Something in the European version that needed a little extra time - or possibly for the US release to hit that Friday which is Black.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 07, 2014, 08:35:50 pm
I guess there's a new video game coming out that will be a big deal? I'm waiting for Fallout 4.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 07, 2014, 08:49:19 pm
I am waiting for the game that will make me feel again like the first time I played Golden Sun.

...I write things like this and I realize that I am old despite being young.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 07, 2014, 08:53:33 pm
I am waiting for the game that will make me feel again like the first time I played Golden Sun.

...I write things like this and I realize that I am old despite being young.

I recently played through Golden Sun and Lost Age. They were pretty good but there were some things that annoyed the hell out of me that I just can't get past.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 07, 2014, 08:54:06 pm
I am waiting for the game that will make me feel again like the first time I played Golden Sun.

That's how I feel about Phantom Brave.

I couldn't get into Golden Sun. I tried, but the intro was interminable. I guess I'm spoiled, but it's nice when a game throws you right into the action and saves some exposition for later.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 07, 2014, 09:05:26 pm
It was more a comment about the fact that you lose that capacity to feel awed when you are not a kid anymore. That game was magical for mini-me. Much more than the other games I had played before.

With some distance, the game itself is just a well-executed jRPG. It has an original approach to classes, some cute puzzles, beautiful graphics for its era, and more random encounters than any game should have, but the last one comes with the genre. Oh, and the inventory interface was so good, it spoiled me for all other games afterwards. I didn't mind the cutscenes: when you are a kid the limiting resource is not time, but money, so I enjoyed them.

The second was nice because of the new perspective on the World events, but the gameplay had lost a little bit of the spirit from the first one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 07, 2014, 09:23:11 pm
Speaking of nostalgia, I loved Secret of Mana when I was a kid. Looking back now, I still like its characters, world, art style, and music. But the combat is just a list of things not to do in that kind of adventure game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 07, 2014, 09:31:18 pm
Probably the first jRPG I played was Chrono Trigger and I played the hell out of it. So I guess I'm spoiled because of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on October 07, 2014, 09:36:43 pm
I've never played a JRPG, but the first CRPG I played was Geneforge 1, eight years ago. It is still my favorite RPG.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on October 07, 2014, 09:59:53 pm
Probably the first jRPG I played was Chrono Trigger and I played the hell out of it. So I guess I'm spoiled because of it.
Chrono Trigger is so great. It ages really well, maybe because it didn't have random encounters. My first JRPG was FF7, and although I enjoyed it at the time, I think the random encounters would get annoying if I played it again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 07, 2014, 10:01:44 pm
Morbid humor is like a right leg: some people have it, and some people don't.

Sorry, I could not take any more videogame talk in a non-videogame thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 07, 2014, 10:06:57 pm
Morbid humor is like a right leg: some people have it, and some people don't.

Sorry, I could not take any more videogame talk in a non-videogame thread.

I used to have a right leg like you.  Then I took an arrow to the knee.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on October 07, 2014, 10:16:05 pm
Morbid humor is like a right leg: some people have it, and some people don't.

Sorry, I could not take any more videogame talk in a non-videogame thread.

I used to have a right leg like you.  Then I took an arrow to the knee.
I see what you did there... Not sure if I should upvote because "funny", or not because terrible...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 07, 2014, 10:19:21 pm
Auctioneers love morbid humor.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 07, 2014, 10:32:23 pm
Dammit. I avoided cookie clicker. Then I found this sonuvabitch:
http://www.clickerheroes.com/

*glare*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 07, 2014, 10:34:07 pm
Speaking of nostalgia, I loved Secret of Mana when I was a kid. Looking back now, I still like its characters, world, art style, and music. But the combat is just a list of things not to do in that kind of adventure game.

I remember leveling up all the weapon and magic skills to like 12 or whatever.  so much grinding..

Did you play Secret of Evermore?  That was a heck of a grinding system.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 07, 2014, 11:01:20 pm
Speaking of nostalgia, I loved Secret of Mana when I was a kid. Looking back now, I still like its characters, world, art style, and music. But the combat is just a list of things not to do in that kind of adventure game.

I remember leveling up all the weapon and magic skills to like 12 or whatever.  so much grinding..

Did you play Secret of Evermore?  That was a heck of a grinding system.

Secret of Evermore had a lot going for it. I haven't played it quite as recently as Secret of Mana, but I don't remember as much grinding. Wait, it's coming back to me. Yes, grinding magic (or alchemy) could be extremely tedious in both games. And it's worse in Evermore because it uses ingredients rather than MP, so you had to buy or find more rather than just sleeping in an inn.

Anyhow, the grinding isn't mandatory in either game, though it helps. Secret of Evermore had a lot of the same combat issues that Secret of Mana had, although at least, being a single-player game, it didn't have Mana's fundamentally flawed multi-player elements.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 07, 2014, 11:03:06 pm
Sorry, I could not take any more videogame talk in a non-videogame thread.

Man, this is random stuff. Most things are fair game except Dominion and RSP topics.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 07, 2014, 11:19:58 pm
Speaking of nostalgia, I loved Secret of Mana when I was a kid. Looking back now, I still like its characters, world, art style, and music. But the combat is just a list of things not to do in that kind of adventure game.

I remember leveling up all the weapon and magic skills to like 12 or whatever.  so much grinding..

Did you play Secret of Evermore?  That was a heck of a grinding system.

Secret of Evermore had a lot going for it. I haven't played it quite as recently as Secret of Mana, but I don't remember as much grinding. Wait, it's coming back to me. Yes, grinding magic (or alchemy) could be extremely tedious in both games. And it's worse in Evermore because it uses ingredients rather than MP, so you had to buy or find more rather than just sleeping in an inn.

Anyhow, the grinding isn't mandatory in either game, though it helps. Secret of Evermore had a lot of the same combat issues that Secret of Mana had, although at least, being a single-player game, it didn't have Mana's fundamentally flawed multi-player elements.

Well, when I was a kid I'd play games to the maximum.. I'd always have to max out all levels and skills.. all characters to Lv. 99, etc.  Evermore was a pain because of alchemy.. you'd have to run all over getting components for stuff and use abilities over and over. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on October 08, 2014, 12:23:42 am
Auctioneers love morbid humor.
Why haven't more people upvoted this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 08, 2014, 01:58:18 am
I'm considering buying a PS4.  This is mainly due to my brother-in-law being a Call of Duty fanatic and wanting me to join his team online.

For reference, I've been a Nintendo guy forever (although not seriously since Gamecube) and have an XBox360 for kids/kinect games.

Do I do it?  If I do, do I get get Destiny?  It looks awesome, but then the reviews by gamers panned it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 08, 2014, 02:21:22 am
Don't ever do anything that involves Call of Duty.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 08, 2014, 03:56:28 am
Obtain a PS2/backwards compatible PS3, play Kingdom Hearts, if you like 1 + 2 then you can start preparing for KH3 finally coming out.

By Nintendo guy, do you mean Nintendo platformers or Nintendo RPGs, or something else entirely?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 08, 2014, 04:13:39 am
Obtain a PS2/backwards compatible PS3, play Kingdom Hearts, if you like 1 + 2 then you can start preparing for KH3 finally coming out.

By Nintendo guy, do you mean Nintendo platformers or Nintendo RPGs, or something else entirely?

Zelda/Secret of Mana/Kart, etc. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 08, 2014, 04:36:07 am
Auctioneers love morbid humor.
Why haven't more people upvoted this.

I am ashamed to say that I'm not getting the reference.

Oh wait. Oh. Wow. OK.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 08, 2014, 04:45:50 am
I'm considering buying a PS4.  This is mainly due to my brother-in-law being a Call of Duty fanatic and wanting me to join his team online.

The Last of Us Remastered. That should be reason enough for you to get a PS4. If you don't allready have a PS3 and the original game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 08, 2014, 06:10:02 am
I'm considering buying a PS4.  This is mainly due to my brother-in-law being a Call of Duty fanatic and wanting me to join his team online.

The Last of Us Remastered. That should be reason enough for you to get a PS4. If you don't allready have a PS3 and the original game.

Watched a trailor...looks cool.  Is it sort of an FPS Walking Dead with a plot?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 08, 2014, 06:16:10 am
I'm considering buying a PS4.  This is mainly due to my brother-in-law being a Call of Duty fanatic and wanting me to join his team online.

The Last of Us Remastered. That should be reason enough for you to get a PS4. If you don't allready have a PS3 and the original game.

Watched a trailor...looks cool.  Is it sort of an FPS Walking Dead with a plot?

Kind of. It's third person over the shoulder cover based shooter. But the main thing is the plot. I'm not a huge fan of shooters like this one, but it's still one of my favorite games of late.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 08, 2014, 06:20:43 am
Auctioneers love morbid humor.
Why haven't more people upvoted this.

I am ashamed to say that I'm not getting the reference.

Oh wait. Oh. Wow. OK.

Why would you do this? I still don't get it. I mean, I think I don't get it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 08, 2014, 06:22:03 am
I didn't get it either. Then I did. And it's great. :D
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 08, 2014, 06:47:08 am
It's a terribad pun.  Just enunciate every syllable.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 08, 2014, 07:22:31 am
"More bid, who more"?

Uuuuggggghhhh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 08, 2014, 08:21:25 am
I knew about the lunar eclipse last night, but I didn't realize it'd still be happening at 6:45 this morning. So that was cool.

I had only seen a lunar eclipse once, and I stayed up late for it (confession: It was in college so I was awake that late anyway). I didn't bother with all the other lunar eclipses since then.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on October 08, 2014, 08:36:05 am
It's a terribad pun.  Just enunciate every syllable.
and here I was thinking "auct-she-un-ear? huh?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 08, 2014, 08:59:30 am
It's a terribad pun.  Just enunciate every syllable.
and here I was thinking "auct-she-un-ear? huh?"

awk shun ear where I'm from
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 08, 2014, 09:02:54 am
I knew about the lunar eclipse last night, but I didn't realize it'd still be happening at 6:45 this morning. So that was cool.

I had only seen a lunar eclipse once, and I stayed up late for it (confession: It was in college so I was awake that late anyway). I didn't bother with all the other lunar eclipses since then.


We got the kids up at 05:40 and watched from about half umbral until a couple minutes into totality; they wouldn't have lasted much longer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 08, 2014, 09:33:23 am
Ach! She near!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 08, 2014, 10:51:40 am
I found some two-dimensional Braille. Someone printed a sign on typical paper and posted it on the wall. It has the dots for Braille, but it's completely flat.

I feel like I should be outraged, but I'm overcome by the absurdity of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 08, 2014, 11:04:26 am
It's a terribad pun.  Just enunciate every syllable.
and here I was thinking "auct-she-un-ear? huh?"

awk shun ear where I'm from

Why would auks shun ears?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 08, 2014, 11:16:33 am
It's a terribad pun.  Just enunciate every syllable.
and here I was thinking "auct-she-un-ear? huh?"

awk shun ear where I'm from

Why would auks shun ears?

Auks never hear anything nice about them, so they've grown to shun their ears.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 08, 2014, 12:07:51 pm
I knew about the lunar eclipse last night, but I didn't realize it'd still be happening at 6:45 this morning. So that was cool.

I had only seen a lunar eclipse once, and I stayed up late for it (confession: It was in college so I was awake that late anyway). I didn't bother with all the other lunar eclipses since then.

Aw, why didn't someone mention this in advance? I did not know but would have gotten up early.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 08, 2014, 01:00:51 pm
I still don't get the auctioneer joke...  Could someone blatantly explain it for me?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 08, 2014, 01:01:45 pm
More bid. Bid more. Auctions are bidding.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on October 08, 2014, 01:11:02 pm
"morbid humor" sounds like "more bid, who more", and an auctioneer would like people bidding more.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 08, 2014, 01:13:52 pm
"morbid humor" sounds like "more bid, who more", and an auctioneer would like people bidding more.

Chinese auctioneer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 08, 2014, 02:01:01 pm
I want to write a strategy article, but I don't know about which card. If I make a thread asking people to decide, does that come across as arrogant? I kind of fear that it does.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 08, 2014, 02:05:18 pm
I want to write a strategy article, but I don't know about which card. If I make a thread asking people to decide, does that come across as arrogant? I kind of fear that it does.

I nominate Scout.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 08, 2014, 02:07:38 pm
I want to write a strategy article, but I don't know about which card. If I make a thread asking people to decide, does that come across as arrogant? I kind of fear that it does.

I don't think so.  I mean, there are lots of cards without articles (or cards with really old articles) that can definitely be done.  I think you should make a poll between like 5 or so cards that you would consider writing about and see which one the community wants to see written.  I don't think writing articles is a matter of skill level, but more of desire to put the thought and effort into that card.  Because rest assured, we will analyze your article and find ALL the mistakes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 08, 2014, 02:17:30 pm
Î would be fine with almost all cards though, I actually made a list (https://www.dropbox.com/s/yb566agzlk7qixl/cards.txt?dl=0) of cards I wouldn't want to write, and it's pretty short.

It's interesting that you think it's not a question of skill, I think it probably is. at least part of it.

well I could probably pick a bunch of cards that I like. A poll with almost all cards would look really weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 08, 2014, 02:19:42 pm
Î would be fine with almost all cards though, I actually made a list (https://www.dropbox.com/s/yb566agzlk7qixl/cards.txt?dl=0) of cards I wouldn't want to write, and it's pretty short.

It's interesting that you think it's not a question of skill, I think it probably is. at least part of it.

well I could probably pick a bunch of cards that I like. A poll with almost all cards would look really weird.

Take list of all cards.  Remove cards you don't want to write.  Remove cards that already have articles.  Add back those cards where you think the articles are outdated, or could be improved a lot, or you just have a lot to add.  Then select your favourites from that list and put those in the poll.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 08, 2014, 02:25:23 pm
Quote
Take list of all cards.  Remove cards you don't want to write.  Remove cards that already have articles.  Add back those cards where you think the articles are outdated, or could be improved a lot, or you just have a lot to add.  Then select your favourites from that list and put those in the poll.

the idea is not bad, except I have to read over 200 articles to see which ones are outdated. that's kind of exactly what I wanted to avoid by asking people.

also, I have the feeling that if I do something like that, people would inevitably just vote for Prince anyway. Maybe I should just do prince?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 08, 2014, 02:27:01 pm
Quote
Take list of all cards.  Remove cards you don't want to write.  Remove cards that already have articles.  Add back those cards where you think the articles are outdated, or could be improved a lot, or you just have a lot to add.  Then select your favourites from that list and put those in the poll.

the idea is not bad, except I have to read over 200 articles to see which ones are outdated. that's kind of exactly what I wanted to avoid by asking people.

also, I have the feeling that if I do something like that, people would inevitably just vote for Prince anyway. Maybe I should just do prince?

Well after you decide what card to do, you should then write an article about the how to decide what card to write an article about.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 08, 2014, 02:31:59 pm
Quote
Take list of all cards.  Remove cards you don't want to write.  Remove cards that already have articles.  Add back those cards where you think the articles are outdated, or could be improved a lot, or you just have a lot to add.  Then select your favourites from that list and put those in the poll.

the idea is not bad, except I have to read over 200 articles to see which ones are outdated. that's kind of exactly what I wanted to avoid by asking people.

also, I have the feeling that if I do something like that, people would inevitably just vote for Prince anyway. Maybe I should just do prince?

Mm, fair enough.  You could reverse the order.  Pick your favourites, then check to see which have good articles already.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 08, 2014, 02:33:32 pm
oookay screw this. I'll make a list here:

Quote
Prince, Scout, Island, Lookout

whoever reads this can add as many cards to that as he wants (as long as they're not this list (https://www.dropbox.com/s/yb566agzlk7qixl/cards.txt?dl=0)), and I'll put those in the poll. that's basically the exact thing that I wanted to do all along, except this way it's much more casual.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 08, 2014, 02:36:34 pm
It's interesting that you think it's not a question of skill, I think it probably is. at least part of it.

The reason I say that is because I think it is important for anyone with the desire to write an article to feel free to do so.  The biggest thing to understand is that we will critique the article as a community, so the more skillful you are, the fewer "negative" comments you will get.  So if you don't have thick skin, and aren't that good, I wouldn't recommend writing an article.   However, if you can take constructive criticism, there is a lot you can learn by putting everything you know about a card down in writing, then getting critiques, improving your original article, and learning a bunch from it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 08, 2014, 02:41:49 pm
so the more skillful you are, the fewer "negative" comments you will get

I actually think being really thorough in both what to include and how to express it are more important than being really good at the game. I feel that after some level of play, which is not that high, what can be taught in something as broad as a single card article is really little.

This should be no surprise, as a similar thing happens with science: you do need to be a bit good to teach advanced classes, but after some point, which is not that high, how well you prepare and how good you are at communication is a much bigger deal than whether you are Nobel-prize/Fields-medal/Turing-award level or just a decent researcher a couple of years after getting your PhD. And at the same time, even shortly after your PhD, is really little what you can still learn from general books (of your own field), and you need to start talking to people and attending specific seminars.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 08, 2014, 02:51:32 pm
I found some two-dimensional Braille. Someone printed a sign on typical paper and posted it on the wall. It has the dots for Braille, but it's completely flat.

I feel like I should be outraged, but I'm overcome by the absurdity of it.

I work with a blind (legally, he has some very limited sight) guy and he said this happens fairly regularly. It's... amazing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 08, 2014, 02:54:53 pm
I found some two-dimensional Braille. Someone printed a sign on typical paper and posted it on the wall. It has the dots for Braille, but it's completely flat.

I feel like I should be outraged, but I'm overcome by the absurdity of it.

I work with a blind (legally, he has some very limited sight) guy and he said this happens fairly regularly. It's... amazing.

Lazy blind people.  They should just learn to read 2D Braille. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 08, 2014, 02:59:29 pm
I found some two-dimensional Braille. Someone printed a sign on typical paper and posted it on the wall. It has the dots for Braille, but it's completely flat.

I feel like I should be outraged, but I'm overcome by the absurdity of it.

I work with a blind (legally, he has some very limited sight) guy and he said this happens fairly regularly. It's... amazing.

If its printed, it's not really 2D. Maybe with a magnifying glass they can perceive the small change in texture.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 08, 2014, 03:00:14 pm
It's interesting that you think it's not a question of skill, I think it probably is. at least part of it.

The reason I say that is because I think it is important for anyone with the desire to write an article to feel free to do so.  The biggest thing to understand is that we will critique the article as a community, so the more skillful you are, the fewer "negative" comments you will get.  So if you don't have thick skin, and aren't that good, I wouldn't recommend writing an article.   However, if you can take constructive criticism, there is a lot you can learn by putting everything you know about a card down in writing, then getting critiques, improving your original article, and learning a bunch from it.

Do you mean good in that context as in good at the game or as in good at writing articles?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 08, 2014, 03:02:06 pm
It's interesting that you think it's not a question of skill, I think it probably is. at least part of it.

The reason I say that is because I think it is important for anyone with the desire to write an article to feel free to do so.  The biggest thing to understand is that we will critique the article as a community, so the more skillful you are, the fewer "negative" comments you will get.  So if you don't have thick skin, and aren't that good, I wouldn't recommend writing an article.   However, if you can take constructive criticism, there is a lot you can learn by putting everything you know about a card down in writing, then getting critiques, improving your original article, and learning a bunch from it.

Do you mean good in that context as in good at the game or as in good at writing articles?

good at the game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 08, 2014, 03:09:41 pm
I found some two-dimensional Braille. Someone printed a sign on typical paper and posted it on the wall. It has the dots for Braille, but it's completely flat.

I feel like I should be outraged, but I'm overcome by the absurdity of it.

I work with a blind (legally, he has some very limited sight) guy and he said this happens fairly regularly. It's... amazing.

One of my friends took the effort to translate what's actually on the sheet. I don't know braille, but I do have a book at home that I briefly looked at, and something did seem wrong. My friend confirmed (and I should have noticed just by the pattern) that the braille on the sheet just reads OVERY over and over again. It has nothing to do with the text on the sign.

So the conjecture is now that the sign is just to act as a placeholder for an expensive sign, and the braille template is there just as a reminder that this sign will have braille (not sure if there's a height expectation for signs in braille). At least that's what I hoping for because, as jaded as I generally can be, I cannot believe that someone would copy and paste five characters and expect it to pass as braille when printed on ordinary paper.

But your co-worker's statement does make me cringe.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 08, 2014, 03:10:46 pm
I'm confused. but in any case, I have a very thick skin. It's not like this is the first thing I've done that will receive harsh criticism, I mean I've written guides, music reviews, fanfiction, made a dominion expansion and I'm even trying a mafia setup. and for a forum, this site has really considerate users. so, I'm not concerned about harsh feedback.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 08, 2014, 03:35:50 pm
oookay screw this. I'll make a list here:

Quote
Prince, Scout

whoever reads this can add as many cards to that as he wants (as long as they're not this list (https://www.dropbox.com/s/yb566agzlk7qixl/cards.txt?dl=0)), and I'll put those in the poll. that's basically the exact thing that I wanted to do all along, except this way it's much more casual.
Island.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 08, 2014, 03:55:43 pm
I'm confused. but in any case, I have a very thick skin. It's not like this is the first thing I've done that will receive harsh criticism, I mean I've written guides, music reviews, fanfiction, made a dominion expansion and I'm even trying a mafia setup. and for a forum, this site has really considerate users. so, I'm not concerned about harsh feedback.

We even dissected your Facebook love life at one point.

Man, we get really personal sometimes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 08, 2014, 03:57:11 pm
I'm confused. but in any case, I have a very thick skin. It's not like this is the first thing I've done that will receive harsh criticism, I mean I've written guides, music reviews, fanfiction, made a dominion expansion and I'm even trying a mafia setup. and for a forum, this site has really considerate users. so, I'm not concerned about harsh feedback.

We even dissected your Facebook love life at one point.

Man, we get really personal sometimes.

Did she ever accept the friend request?  Or was it just a message?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 08, 2014, 04:10:43 pm
My "friend" accepted my friend request, after I invited her to lunch.

Somehow, lunch took 3 hours that day...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 08, 2014, 04:12:12 pm
oookay screw this. I'll make a list here:

Quote
Prince, Scout

whoever reads this can add as many cards to that as he wants (as long as they're not this list (https://www.dropbox.com/s/yb566agzlk7qixl/cards.txt?dl=0)), and I'll put those in the poll. that's basically the exact thing that I wanted to do all along, except this way it's much more casual.
Island.

or Lookout.

Seriously. There was a "light trashers" article started, but I think some of the individual light trasher articles could be updated/rewritten.

Prince is a safe bet, too, since it's the newest card.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 08, 2014, 04:14:07 pm
oookay screw this. I'll make a list here:

Quote
Prince, Scout

whoever reads this can add as many cards to that as he wants (as long as they're not this list (https://www.dropbox.com/s/yb566agzlk7qixl/cards.txt?dl=0)), and I'll put those in the poll. that's basically the exact thing that I wanted to do all along, except this way it's much more casual.
Island.

or Lookout.

But silverspawn doesn't want to share what he knows about Lookout with the community.  :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 08, 2014, 04:43:08 pm
"morbid humor" sounds like "more bid, who more", and an auctioneer would like people bidding more.
It was only supposed to be "more bid humor" but I like seeing how the joke is evolving without my presence.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 08, 2014, 04:46:39 pm
I found some two-dimensional Braille. Someone printed a sign on typical paper and posted it on the wall. It has the dots for Braille, but it's completely flat.

I feel like I should be outraged, but I'm overcome by the absurdity of it.

I work with a blind (legally, he has some very limited sight) guy and he said this happens fairly regularly. It's... amazing.

One of my friends took the effort to translate what's actually on the sheet. I don't know braille, but I do have a book at home that I briefly looked at, and something did seem wrong. My friend confirmed (and I should have noticed just by the pattern) that the braille on the sheet just reads OVERY over and over again. It has nothing to do with the text on the sign.

So the conjecture is now that the sign is just to act as a placeholder for an expensive sign, and the braille template is there just as a reminder that this sign will have braille (not sure if there's a height expectation for signs in braille). At least that's what I hoping for because, as jaded as I generally can be, I cannot believe that someone would copy and paste five characters and expect it to pass as braille when printed on ordinary paper.

But your co-worker's statement does make me cringe.

He's a school pupil, actually, not a co-worker (I can see how you'd make that mistake from my wording though). I spend a lot of my time working with him because I'm the best mathematician among the TAs.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 08, 2014, 05:06:42 pm
He's a school pupil, actually, not a co-worker (I can see how you'd make that mistake from my wording though). I spend a lot of my time working with him because I'm the best mathematician among the TAs.

How many Twistedarchers are there?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on October 08, 2014, 05:43:15 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/4AA9axD.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 08, 2014, 05:50:37 pm
Is that a street near you? They need better drainage...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 08, 2014, 05:51:24 pm
I want to see the Polk man fly!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 08, 2014, 07:16:28 pm
I knew about the lunar eclipse last night, but I didn't realize it'd still be happening at 6:45 this morning. So that was cool.

I had only seen a lunar eclipse once, and I stayed up late for it (confession: It was in college so I was awake that late anyway). I didn't bother with all the other lunar eclipses since then.

Aw, why didn't someone mention this in advance? I did not know but would have gotten up early.

...Sorry?

I guess I just assume that anyone who engages with the internete extent that people on a large forum do, and who is interested in science, keeps track of at least one, but likely more, places that would mention it.  Reminders started showing up in my Facebook feed over a week ago.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on October 08, 2014, 07:34:39 pm
I just look at the sky somewhere that the moon isn't, and pretend I am seeing an eclipse.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 08, 2014, 07:48:02 pm
I knew about the lunar eclipse last night, but I didn't realize it'd still be happening at 6:45 this morning. So that was cool.

I had only seen a lunar eclipse once, and I stayed up late for it (confession: It was in college so I was awake that late anyway). I didn't bother with all the other lunar eclipses since then.

Aw, why didn't someone mention this in advance? I did not know but would have gotten up early.

...Sorry?

I guess I just assume that anyone who engages with the internete extent that people on a large forum do, and who is interested in science, keeps track of at least one, but likely more, places that would mention it.  Reminders started showing up in my Facebook feed over a week ago.

I mean this was kind of preordained... written in the stars, so to speak.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 08, 2014, 08:05:10 pm
I've heard Soulnet likes videogames, so let's go back to that.

Who is excited about Civ: Beyond Earth? Who intends to buy it at release?

I for one can answer that I do to the first question, but not so much to the second. I got pretty burnt out after buying Civ 5 at full price at release date.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 08, 2014, 08:19:56 pm
I've heard Soulnet likes videogames, so let's go back to that.

Who is excited about Civ: Beyond Earth? Who intends to buy it at release?

I for one can answer that I do to the first question, but not so much to the second. I got pretty burnt out after buying Civ 5 at full price at release date.

I've preordered it. I've been playing Civ forever (since I was like 5 years old and my older siblings and father introduced me to Civ I) but I've never been as enamored and involved with the game as with Civ V. I was probably still in my WoW phase when it came out, I have the GotY edition so I never had that bad experience that a lot of people seem to have had with the Civ V release, but I doubt Civ BE will have those problems, as it is basically a Civ V spinoff, based on the Civ V engine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 08, 2014, 08:28:22 pm
I knew about the lunar eclipse last night, but I didn't realize it'd still be happening at 6:45 this morning. So that was cool.

I had only seen a lunar eclipse once, and I stayed up late for it (confession: It was in college so I was awake that late anyway). I didn't bother with all the other lunar eclipses since then.

Aw, why didn't someone mention this in advance? I did not know but would have gotten up early.

...Sorry?

I guess I just assume that anyone who engages with the internete extent that people on a large forum do, and who is interested in science, keeps track of at least one, but likely more, places that would mention it.  Reminders started showing up in my Facebook feed over a week ago.

It just slipped my radar somehow.  I don't know.   :-[
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 08, 2014, 09:15:47 pm
I knew about the lunar eclipse last night, but I didn't realize it'd still be happening at 6:45 this morning. So that was cool.

I had only seen a lunar eclipse once, and I stayed up late for it (confession: It was in college so I was awake that late anyway). I didn't bother with all the other lunar eclipses since then.

Aw, why didn't someone mention this in advance? I did not know but would have gotten up early.

...Sorry?

I guess I just assume that anyone who engages with the internete extent that people on a large forum do, and who is interested in science, keeps track of at least one, but likely more, places that would mention it.  Reminders started showing up in my Facebook feed over a week ago.

It just slipped my radar somehow.  I don't know.   :-[
There's a good one every year or something like that, you shouldn't have to wait too much longer to see it. There's probably a list on Wikipedia of the next events or something
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 08, 2014, 09:23:52 pm
I knew about the lunar eclipse last night, but I didn't realize it'd still be happening at 6:45 this morning. So that was cool.

I had only seen a lunar eclipse once, and I stayed up late for it (confession: It was in college so I was awake that late anyway). I didn't bother with all the other lunar eclipses since then.

Aw, why didn't someone mention this in advance? I did not know but would have gotten up early.

...Sorry?

I guess I just assume that anyone who engages with the internete extent that people on a large forum do, and who is interested in science, keeps track of at least one, but likely more, places that would mention it.  Reminders started showing up in my Facebook feed over a week ago.

It just slipped my radar somehow.  I don't know.   :-[
There's a good one every year or something like that, you shouldn't have to wait too much longer to see it. There's probably a list on Wikipedia of the next events or something

Yeah, I know.  I tend to miss them all though. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on October 08, 2014, 09:38:16 pm
Well there will be a partial solar eclipse on the 23rd in North America and the Pacific just so you guys know.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 08, 2014, 10:07:02 pm
There's a good one every year or something like that, you shouldn't have to wait too much longer to see it. There's probably a list on Wikipedia of the next events or something

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html  <-- more information than you could possibly need about eclipses, up to the end of the millennium

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEdecade/SEdecade2011.html <-- more detailed info for the rest of the decade, solar.
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEdecade/LEdecade2011.html <-- and lunar
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 08, 2014, 10:23:25 pm
Related but separate thought:  In 36 years I still have yet to see a total solar eclipse--the closest I've been was to be the southwest during the 1991 Mexico eclipse.  The 2017 one is the first one I'll actually have a chance to see.  These things are truly rare; the last total solar eclipse to be visible from CONUS was in 1979.

However, I live very close to the point of greatest eclipse for the 1994 annular eclipse.  Thankfully we had entirely reasonable teachers who let us go out to watch.  Sadly, only about a fourth of the students cared. :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 08, 2014, 11:15:11 pm
Related but separate thought:  In 36 years I still have yet to see a total solar eclipse--the closest I've been was to be the southwest during the 1991 Mexico eclipse.  The 2017 one is the first one I'll actually have a chance to see.  These things are truly rare; the last total solar eclipse to be visible from CONUS was in 1979.

However, I live very close to the point of greatest eclipse for the 1994 annular eclipse.  Thankfully we had entirely reasonable teachers who let us go out to watch.  Sadly, only about a fourth of the students cared. :(
I remember the 1994 eclipse. After that I started using a sheet of white paper with my telescope to look at the sun.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 09, 2014, 03:13:25 am
oookay screw this. I'll make a list here:

Quote
Prince, Scout

whoever reads this can add as many cards to that as he wants (as long as they're not this list (https://www.dropbox.com/s/yb566agzlk7qixl/cards.txt?dl=0)), and I'll put those in the poll. that's basically the exact thing that I wanted to do all along, except this way it's much more casual.
Island.

or Lookout.

But silverspawn doesn't want to share what he knows about Lookout with the community.  :P

nah, i can do lookout. I think that would be much easier than island or prince, it's a pretty straight forward card.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 09, 2014, 03:20:24 am
I was pleased to have caught the lunar eclipse being advertised by the BBC.  They even had a helpful chart.

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/78065000/jpg/_78065853_78065852.jpg)

Thanks for the warning BBC.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 09, 2014, 03:31:40 am
Well, look at that. Sweden. Right in the middle of the dark area.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 09, 2014, 04:49:31 am
Well, look at that. Sweden. Right in the middle of the dark area.

I was wondering why I hadn't heard about that eclipse at all, now I know !
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 09, 2014, 09:53:43 am
So, anyone else have an issue that Google chooses the hardest to read fonts for all their sites?  E.g.,

https://developers.google.com/edu/

This is also used for maps, Google+, etc.  I tried playing around with the browser fonts, but it doesn't seem to do anything.  This site is perfectly readable.  In that developer site, random letters are bolded, it's very blurry, and it's all-around hard to read. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on October 09, 2014, 10:01:24 am
It looks fine to me.  Did you recently upgrade your browser or OS?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 09, 2014, 10:02:04 am
I'm using Chrome.  Though it looks the same in Firefox.  And this is Windows 7 I think.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 09, 2014, 10:04:23 am
So, anyone else have an issue that Google chooses the hardest to read fonts for all their sites?  E.g.,

https://developers.google.com/edu/

This is also used for maps, Google+, etc.  I tried playing around with the browser fonts, but it doesn't seem to do anything.  This site is perfectly readable.  In that developer site, random letters are bolded, it's very blurry, and it's all-around hard to read.

I should say, by "this site" I mean f.ds.  The fonts look perfectly fine here.  The fonts on any Google page (well, not the search engine, but Google Maps, Google+, etc.) are horribly hard to read.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 09, 2014, 10:05:38 am
Oh weird, it's legible in Internet Explorer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 09, 2014, 10:07:52 am
Dammit. I avoided cookie clicker. Then I found this sonuvabitch:
http://www.clickerheroes.com/

*glare*

Why did I click on this?  Why?  I am at level 75 now, after having it up and running in the background (mostly) after you posted this
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 09, 2014, 10:09:25 am
Oh weird, it's legible in Internet Explorer.

Repent of your sins. The End is nigh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 09, 2014, 10:12:50 am
I'm using Windows 7, I had both Opera and Chrome open at the moment so I tried that site on both browsers and everything was fine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 09, 2014, 10:37:04 am
So I attached screen captures of https://developers.google.com/edu/python/regular-expressions on both ie and Chrome.  Firefox looks basically like Chrome does.

(No quality was lost in the screen capturing.. or at least not enough to make a difference.  That's exactly what it looks like in my browser.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on October 09, 2014, 10:46:00 am
Check to see if Chrome is fully updated.  Also try this: http://www.reddit.com/r/chrome/comments/2en8j0/just_got_chrome_37_its_resolution_is_really_low/

I had similar issues when I upgraded to Win8 but it's fixed now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 09, 2014, 11:09:27 am
Check to see if Chrome is fully updated.  Also try this: http://www.reddit.com/r/chrome/comments/2en8j0/just_got_chrome_37_its_resolution_is_really_low/

I had similar issues when I upgraded to Win8 but it's fixed now.

Chrome is of the latest version, and I tried the suggestions in that link, but they didn't do anything.  For clarity, it's not all sites in Chrome.. it's only those Google sites.  Most other web pages render fine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 09, 2014, 11:15:33 am
Font smoothing.  I don't remember where the settings are, but that's the problem.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 09, 2014, 11:23:52 am
Font smoothing.  I don't remember where the settings are, but that's the problem.

Well, that led me to turning on ClearType, which did solve the issue. Google's font is now readable.

Though it makes this page look... glossier or something. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 09, 2014, 03:59:29 pm
They set up a camera behind a horse and what they got was craptacular!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 09, 2014, 04:21:24 pm
 :( why is Andrew screaming?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 09, 2014, 04:32:15 pm
:( why is Andrew screaming?

I think he's drunk.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: shraeye on October 09, 2014, 07:56:13 pm
I only slightly scan this thread, and i really really reallyhope that andrew's comment has absolutely no context.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 09, 2014, 08:23:57 pm
I only slightly scan this thread, and i really really reallyhope that andrew's comment has absolutely no context.

I'm pretty certain it's meant to be a parody of clickbait headlines.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 09, 2014, 10:28:15 pm
I only slightly scan this thread, and i really really reallyhope that andrew's comment has absolutely no context.

I'm pretty certain it's meant to be a parody of clickbait headlines.

Yes, although if I was striving for accuracy I would've said "simply craptacular" instead of just "craptacular".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 10, 2014, 12:01:50 am
They set up a camera behind a horse and what they got was craptacular!

I keep clicking the text but it won't take me anywhere. I'll keep trying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 10, 2014, 05:38:36 am
important website:

https://isitchristmas.com/ (https://isitchristmas.com/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 10, 2014, 06:08:03 am
important website:

https://isitchristmas.com/ (https://isitchristmas.com/)
Almost as important as this: http://www.hasthelhcdestroyedtheearth.com/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: RAwaclus on October 10, 2014, 06:25:03 am
important website:

https://isitchristmas.com/ (https://isitchristmas.com/)
Almost as important as this: http://www.hasthelhcdestroyedtheearth.com/
sup
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 10, 2014, 06:29:20 am
First KinZong and now RAwaclus...

Long gone are the days when keeping O and Ozle apart was hard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 10, 2014, 06:45:50 am
so it's your smurf?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 10, 2014, 08:18:05 am
important website:

https://isitchristmas.com/ (https://isitchristmas.com/)


abevigoda.com (http://abevigoda.com)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 10, 2014, 03:54:40 pm
Not sure if combining an et cetera with an ellipsis is contradictory or overkill.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 10, 2014, 04:16:50 pm
important website:

https://isitchristmas.com/ (https://isitchristmas.com/)

Personally I just like to throw open my shutters and shout at strangers on the street. "You there! What day is to-day?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 10, 2014, 04:22:24 pm
Not sure if combining an et cetera with an ellipsis is contradictory or overkill.

You win all the points for knowing it's "et cetera" rather than "excetera".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 10, 2014, 04:35:37 pm
Not sure if combining an et cetera with an ellipsis is contradictory or overkill.

You win all the points for knowing it's "et cetera" rather than "excetera".

Hold your horses. We don't know how he pronounces it, yet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 10, 2014, 04:50:08 pm
Hold your horses. We don't know how he pronounces it, yet.

looking at your avatar...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 10, 2014, 05:13:55 pm
Someone sent me a link to an article on the seven ways to pronounce et cetera.  Mine was the sickth.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on October 10, 2014, 05:23:33 pm
Not sure if combining an et cetera with an ellipsis is contradictory or overkill.

You win all the points for knowing it's "et cetera" rather than "excetera".
Oh no. I didn't realize there were people like that. The only two ways I could imagine pronouncing it would be et setera or et ketera (hard or soft c).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 10, 2014, 05:36:42 pm
Not sure if combining an et cetera with an ellipsis is contradictory or overkill.

You win all the points for knowing it's "et cetera" rather than "excetera".
Oh no. I didn't realize there were people like that. The only two ways I could imagine pronouncing it would be et setera or et ketera (hard or soft c).

Depending on who you ask, the c before an e in non-Classical Latin might be pronounced as s, k, ts, or ch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Latin#Pronunciation
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 10, 2014, 05:51:27 pm
I just tried my first expresso today! It's a mute point, but I should of tried it sooner. I might start drinking it alot, irregardless of if I need the energy or not. For all intensive purposes, I could care less what people think about my caffeine consumption.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 10, 2014, 05:55:35 pm
It's a mute point,

You can't talk?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 10, 2014, 06:40:36 pm
I thought it was a moo point. A cow's opinion.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 10, 2014, 06:56:00 pm
Moo's Point: A remote cape on the southeastern tip of Argentina, in which Axxle and his small colony of cows reside peacefully, eating cheese and drinking milk three times a day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 10, 2014, 07:47:56 pm
I just tried my first expresso today! It's a mute point, but I should of tried it sooner. I might start drinking it alot, irregardless of if I need the energy or not. For all intensive purposes, I could care less what people think about my caffeine consumption.

You almost, almost got me on this because I missed all of them except intensive purposes on my first scan.

Well played.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 10, 2014, 07:49:40 pm
Guys it's mule's point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mail-mi on October 10, 2014, 08:00:58 pm
Guys it's mule's point.
No, it's a Groot point. He is Groot.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 10, 2014, 08:51:02 pm
I just tried my first expresso today! It's a mute point, but I should of tried it sooner. I might start drinking it alot, irregardless of if I need the energy or not. For all intensive purposes, I could care less what people think about my caffeine consumption.

You almost, almost got me on this because I missed all of them except intensive purposes on my first scan.

Well played.

Whereas I was about to dash off a one-liner about how, dude, we were just discussing that very thing!, after encountering just the first one.

I would up vote for humor, but it caused my head to hurt.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 10, 2014, 09:51:16 pm
I just tried my first expresso today! It's a mute point, but I should of tried it sooner. I might start drinking it alot, irregardless of if I need the energy or not. For all intensive purposes, I could care less what people think about my caffeine consumption.

I could care less. Caffeine addicts are such loosers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 11, 2014, 02:12:40 am
It's a mute point,

You can't talk?

Ok, here's a test. Point at your toes. Did that? Ok. Did you say anything when you pointed at them? No? There you go.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 11, 2014, 02:13:10 am
Moo's Point: A remote cape on the southeastern tip of Argentina, in which Axxle and his small colony of cows reside peacefully, eating cheese and drinking milk three times a day.
Goddammit, now I have to moove, thanks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 11, 2014, 02:13:58 am
Guys it's mule's point.
Mule's points are pretty lame, since mules can't even reproduce it...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 11, 2014, 02:14:30 am
Guys it's mule's point.
No, it's a Groot point. He is Groot.
No1

1No
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 11, 2014, 02:15:25 am
I just tried my first expresso today! It's a mute point, but I should of tried it sooner. I might start drinking it alot, irregardless of if I need the energy or not. For all intensive purposes, I could care less what people think about my caffeine consumption.

You almost, almost got me on this because I missed all of them except intensive purposes on my first scan.

Well played.

Whereas I was about to dash off a one-liner about how, dude, we were just discussing that very thing!, after encountering just the first one.

I would up vote for humor, but it caused my head to hurt.
Imagine how much it hurt to type it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 11, 2014, 02:15:51 am
I just tried my first expresso today! It's a mute point, but I should of tried it sooner. I might start drinking it alot, irregardless of if I need the energy or not. For all intensive purposes, I could care less what people think about my caffeine consumption.

I could care less. Caffeine addicts are such loosers.
:'(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 11, 2014, 04:53:59 am
Not sure if combining an et cetera with an ellipsis is contradictory or overkill.

You win all the points for knowing it's "et cetera" rather than "excetera".

Isn't it "et caetera" ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 11, 2014, 07:58:39 am
I just tried my first expresso today!

I think you mean et spresso.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 11, 2014, 10:04:59 am
A buddy of mine who also plays dominion:

"Stuck in airport- bad. Free wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

...15 hours later...

"Stuck in hotel room with still asleep wife- bad. Hotel wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 11, 2014, 10:08:50 am
A buddy of mine who also plays dominion:

"Stuck in airport- bad. Free wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

...15 hours later...

"Stuck in hotel room with still asleep wife- bad. Hotel wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

Does this "buddy" happen to be named a transcendental number?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 11, 2014, 10:12:57 am
A buddy of mine who also plays dominion:

"Stuck in airport- bad. Free wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

...15 hours later...

"Stuck in hotel room with still asleep wife- bad. Hotel wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

Does this "buddy" happen to be named a transcendental number?

no.  He actually introduced me to the forum here, even though he isn't a member.  He just came to look at the Homage to the Best Card thread.  I came and got addicted.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 11, 2014, 10:33:34 am
A buddy of mine who also plays dominion:

"Stuck in airport- bad. Free wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

...15 hours later...

"Stuck in hotel room with still asleep wife- bad. Hotel wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

Does this "buddy" happen to be named a transcendental number?

no.  He actually introduced me to the forum here, even though he isn't a member.  He just came to look at the Homage to the Best Card thread.  I came and got addicted.
Well that's Natural.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 11, 2014, 11:41:55 am
A buddy of mine who also plays dominion:

"Stuck in airport- bad. Free wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

...15 hours later...

"Stuck in hotel room with still asleep wife- bad. Hotel wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

Does this "buddy" happen to be named a transcendental number?

no.  He actually introduced me to the forum here, even though he isn't a member.  He just came to look at the Homage to the Best Card thread.  I came and got addicted.

I think I came via the Homage thread too and registered after I was tired of losing all the time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 11, 2014, 11:48:30 am
A buddy of mine who also plays dominion:

"Stuck in airport- bad. Free wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

...15 hours later...

"Stuck in hotel room with still asleep wife- bad. Hotel wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

Does this "buddy" happen to be named a transcendental number?

no.  He actually introduced me to the forum here, even though he isn't a member.  He just came to look at the Homage to the Best Card thread.  I came and got addicted.

I think I came via the Homage thread too and registered after I was tired of losing all the time.

Tss, I was reading the blog before there even were forums !  "Beyond Silver" blew my mind at the time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 11, 2014, 12:38:11 pm
Moo's Point: A remote cape on the southeastern tip of Argentina, in which Axxle and his small colony of cows reside peacefully, eating cheese and drinking milk three times a day.

There are (almost) no cows in the far south of Argentina. It is too cold there for cows. Maybe you mean a sheep's point. Or, more importantly, an oil or natural gas point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 11, 2014, 01:35:09 pm
A buddy of mine who also plays dominion:

"Stuck in airport- bad. Free wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

...15 hours later...

"Stuck in hotel room with still asleep wife- bad. Hotel wifi plus dominion- not so bad after all"

Does this "buddy" happen to be named a transcendental number?

no.  He actually introduced me to the forum here, even though he isn't a member.  He just came to look at the Homage to the Best Card thread.  I came and got addicted.

I think I came via the Homage thread too and registered after I was tired of losing all the time.

Tss, I was reading the blog before there even were forums !  "Beyond Silver" blew my mind at the time.

Remember when we would try to have discussions in the comment threads?  Obviously it mostly didn't work, hence the forum.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: shraeye on October 11, 2014, 05:01:13 pm
the blogs was were it was at!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 12, 2014, 03:55:24 am
playing poker... my opponent bets 724 chips... i go allin with 725 chips... he folds. okay?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ehunt on October 12, 2014, 07:50:35 am
Speaking of nostalgia, I loved Secret of Mana when I was a kid. Looking back now, I still like its characters, world, art style, and music. But the combat is just a list of things not to do in that kind of adventure game.

Can you explain? (I am just curious because it is basically the only game of its genre I ever played.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 12, 2014, 11:30:00 am
Speaking of nostalgia, I loved Secret of Mana when I was a kid. Looking back now, I still like its characters, world, art style, and music. But the combat is just a list of things not to do in that kind of adventure game.

Can you explain? (I am just curious because it is basically the only game of its genre I ever played.)

A lot of it boils down to the fact that they were an RPG company and they tried to turn an RPG into an adventure game instead of just making an adventure game.

There's a Miss Chance: This is maybe the most egregious holdover. In a tabletop RPG, a lot of the fun and tension comes from rolling dice to determine if your character succeeds or fails at tasks, including hitting foes with their weapons. A lot of early console RPGs (like Final Fantasy) stuck with this mechanic. (The first Final Fantasy game is basically a carbon copy of D&D, right down to the monsters.) I don't think it's really necessary in a console RPG, but it's not objectionable, especially because most of these games also held over multiple attacks; even if just some of your attacks hit, you were still dealing damage to your target. And if your casters missed because they only had one attack and a poor chance to hit, well what were they doing attacking with a weapon anyway?

But in an adventure game where you actually in control of your character's position relative to your target, a miss chance is unacceptable. If you play Secret of Mana, you'll notice this a lot. You'll swing or fire your weapon and the monster will do a little dodge animation and take no damage. It doesn't even say, "Miss!" Two early examples in the game are at the ruins south of Pandora. First there are the flying tomato men, which are essentially invincible to physical attacks due to their high evasion rate. Then there are the chess knights who, if you let them cast Speed Up on themselves, will dodge all of your attacks and then hop of you and smack you to the ground.

If you want to make a monster difficult to hit, actually make it difficult to hit! Maybe it moves quickly to dodge your attacks. Or it might be protected by a shield on some sides or at certain times, making you time your attacks accordingly. Giving your attacks—which you've already aimed—a flat-out percentage chance to not deal damage isn't fun and is just bad game design.

Your Attacks Need to Charge: In an adventure game where you're walking up to opponents to hit them, you have to make sure the player can't just endlessly juggle enemies by attacking relentlessly. You have to space out the attacks to make the combat longer and more interesting. Secret of Mana does this in what might be the worst possible way. After you attack with your weapon, there's a cooldown meter that starts counting up (quickly) from 0% to 100%. If you attack again before the meter reaches 100%, your attack has a much higher chance to miss and does drastically less damage.

When I first saw somebody else complaining about this feature, I was defensive. As a system, it works and you get used to it before too long. But the reality is that it's a huge copout and almost any other solution provides for more interesting and fun gameplay. Even the next-biggest copout—a monster being invincible for a short time after it gets hit—would be worlds better because then you could divide your attacks between multiple foes, trying to keep them all from getting too close to you, etc. As it is, you hit (or miss) a monster, then run around avoiding combat until your meter charges.

Worse yet are the attacks you can charge even further for more power. While charging above 100%, you move incredibly slowly, yet have to avoid getting hit. And the punchline is that many of the attacks take long enough to execute that you're likely to miss your target entirely (because you don't connect with it, not because of the percentage miss chance).

Again, there are much better ways to handle this. Some monsters can retreat quickly when hit. Others can teleport away. Or some can force you to use a hit and run strategy in order to avoid their counterattacks.

Magic Freezes the Action (In More Than One Way): Secret of Mana has supports up to three players simultaneously with each player controlling one of the three characters. The game was the first I was aware of to have a "ring" menu system, where you could select a spell or item to use without a big menu covering the whole screen. Of course, this was completely pointless because the entire game paused whenever any player had the ring menu open anyway! This just kills multiplayer. Do you know how frustrating it is for the player with the warrior character when the magic-users are constantly pausing your game in order to cast spells? And if the casters hold off, it's less fun for them because they can't deal much weapon damage.

But even playing single-player, you can't escape the breaks in the action. Whenever a character or monster casts a spell, the caster and all of the targets are immobile and invincible. Or at least they don't take the damage they're accruing until after the spell is over. Then they suddenly get thrown back and take all the accumulated damage at once. One upshot of this is that it's trivially easy to kill almost any boss by chain-casting an attack spell that it's weak to over and over. If you cast it fast enough, the boss never gets a chance to attack or move. What fun is that?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 12, 2014, 12:55:34 pm
tl;dr

I just had a game with a hand with moneylender, copper, Market Square, Market Square, Market Square, but didn't play the moneylender because I didn't want 3 gold. dominion is a weird game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on October 12, 2014, 01:20:09 pm
Discarding Market Square is optional?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 12, 2014, 01:21:16 pm
i mean, I didn't want it enough to make it stop my turn. i wanted a deck with 23742964789364789 action cards and procession and snowball and that stuff without any golds, and played them for cards instead. at the end of the turn I played moneylender as my last action.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 12, 2014, 03:44:03 pm
Is Beyond Gold a thing?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 12, 2014, 05:42:35 pm
Is Beyond Gold a thing?

Marin was ahead of the curve on this - I remember a post where he said Gold was the most overrated card in the game.

It's a thing on certain boards. IIRC Beyond Silver was about taking the bare minimum of Silvers you needed, usually 1 or 2, and on sufficiently good engine boards the same is true for Gold - take only that which you need for payload. How much that is, well that's where Dominion gets tricky.

I also remember a league game I was watching with MarkowKette where we both agreed that not taking the triple Province was the right move. Dominion is a really, really neat game once you get deep enough.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Hydrad on October 12, 2014, 06:00:00 pm
playing poker... my opponent bets 724 chips... i go allin with 725 chips... he folds. okay?

I'm trying to understand someones reasoning for this. were there other players in the pot that he might of just wanted to give up now? even though its a terrible idea still...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on October 12, 2014, 06:02:22 pm
When there is a way to gain provinces (or just points in general) using only action cards, treasure cards are usually bad. 1, rarely 2 silvers, and 0 gold is the way to go quite often.

playing poker... my opponent bets 724 chips... i go allin with 725 chips... he folds. okay?

I'm trying to understand someones reasoning for this. were there other players in the pot that he might of just wanted to give up now? even though its a terrible idea still...
there is none, that's the point. It's a ridiculous move. I can imagine the edgiest of edge cases where it is possible to be 100% certain that you have a losing hand, and he was bluffing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 12, 2014, 06:19:19 pm
playing poker... my opponent bets 724 chips... i go allin with 725 chips... he folds. okay?

I'm trying to understand someones reasoning for this. were there other players in the pot that he might of just wanted to give up now? even though its a terrible idea still...

Well, I've had people fold when there wasn't any betting yet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 12, 2014, 06:21:07 pm
playing poker... my opponent bets 724 chips... i go allin with 725 chips... he folds. okay?

I'm trying to understand someones reasoning for this. were there other players in the pot that he might of just wanted to give up now? even though its a terrible idea still...

Well, I've had people fold when there wasn't any betting yet.

Isn't that actually a good idea fairly often? If your hand sucks, don't bet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on October 12, 2014, 06:24:44 pm
playing poker... my opponent bets 724 chips... i go allin with 725 chips... he folds. okay?

I'm trying to understand someones reasoning for this. were there other players in the pot that he might of just wanted to give up now? even though its a terrible idea still...

Well, I've had people fold when there wasn't any betting yet.

Isn't that actually a good idea fairly often? If your hand sucks, don't bet.
You can check if nobody has bet yet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 12, 2014, 07:21:02 pm
playing poker... my opponent bets 724 chips... i go allin with 725 chips... he folds. okay?

I'm trying to understand someones reasoning for this. were there other players in the pot that he might of just wanted to give up now? even though its a terrible idea still...

Well, I've had people fold when there wasn't any betting yet.

Isn't that actually a good idea fairly often? If your hand sucks, don't bet.
You can check if nobody has bet yet.

This depends on your betting system - in Hold'Em with small blind + big blind you have to at least match big blind. Unless you mean that people are folding after seeing the flop, but before anyone has bet. Then that's weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 12, 2014, 07:21:18 pm
playing poker... my opponent bets 724 chips... i go allin with 725 chips... he folds. okay?

I'm trying to understand someones reasoning for this. were there other players in the pot that he might of just wanted to give up now? even though its a terrible idea still...

Well, I've had people fold when there wasn't any betting yet.

Isn't that actually a good idea fairly often? If your hand sucks, don't bet.
You can check if nobody has bet yet.

Ah, I thought you meant they hadn't bet yet. I'm used to hold 'em where there's always some bet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Rubby on October 13, 2014, 02:53:53 pm
playing poker... my opponent bets 724 chips... i go allin with 725 chips... he folds. okay?

I'm trying to understand someones reasoning for this. were there other players in the pot that he might of just wanted to give up now? even though its a terrible idea still...

Well, I've had people fold when there wasn't any betting yet.

If there is little or no money in the pot, this is much, much less bad than folding to a raise of 1 after betting 724.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 13, 2014, 03:57:24 pm
Whew, it's good to know my area is not affected by the reorg. There were others who need new jobs, though. Hopefully they can stay within the company.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on October 13, 2014, 11:48:56 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IedGs6Y4kLE

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on October 14, 2014, 01:22:57 pm
There may be a "new" box for Dominion? Copy we just got in at the store has a "Made in USA" logo in place of where the Spiel des Jahres logo used to be. I think this is a recent change? Or maybe I just noticed it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 14, 2014, 01:30:30 pm
There may be a "new" box for Dominion? Copy we just got in at the store has a "Made in USA" logo in place of where the Spiel des Jahres logo used to be. I think this is a recent change? Or maybe I just noticed it.

Could you take a picture of it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on October 14, 2014, 04:16:36 pm
There may be a "new" box for Dominion? Copy we just got in at the store has a "Made in USA" logo in place of where the Spiel des Jahres logo used to be. I think this is a recent change? Or maybe I just noticed it.
Confirm. I looked at a printing in mid-September to see if there were problems, since Jay was out of the country.

The printer is Hasbro now, which explains the new logo. The SdJ logo, I didn't notice that it was gone but see that it is. I believe you have to pay for it, so that might explain it. Possibly at this point the logo on the box isn't contributing to sales in the USA, dunno. Seems hard to get that data.

The copy I looked at had a few small mistakes, but nothing that had to be fixed. I believe they were going to fix "Labratory" on the insert for this printing, but weren't going to change two places where rulebook card images had a white border around them (around the black border). I argued for moving the USA logo to the opposite corner from the RGG logo, rather than having it directly above it; I personally don't like it, it seems like an appeal to bigotry to me, but what can you do. Dunno if it moved. The age on the box is 14+ rather than 8+; that's a necessary move to avoid raising the price due to awful laws in the US that protect us from killing our children with Dominion cards.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on October 14, 2014, 04:34:42 pm
Here's a photo of the bottom-right of the box, the only outward distinction I noticed.

(http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii200/tytrain/DominionUSA_zpsc6cceb41.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on October 14, 2014, 05:02:40 pm
Just noticed the Dominion logo now has a Ⓡ after it in each instance it appears on the box, too.

(sorry for making the random stuff thread about absurd Dominion minutiae, everyone)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 14, 2014, 05:31:47 pm
The age on the box is 14+ rather than 8+; that's a necessary move to avoid raising the price due to awful laws in the US that protect us from killing our children with Dominion cards.

What law is this? Things for children aren't allowed to be affordable?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 14, 2014, 05:41:13 pm
What law is this? Things for children aren't allowed to be affordable?

Probably some material restriction, like what type of cartboard or ink or something like that can you use, or some shape / size thing to avoid killing kids by slaying them with a Thief. It was not so underpowered after all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 14, 2014, 05:44:03 pm
I'm guessing it's just expensive to have a product certified as safe for children.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on October 14, 2014, 05:49:43 pm
The age on the box is 14+ rather than 8+; that's a necessary move to avoid raising the price due to awful laws in the US that protect us from killing our children with Dominion cards.

What law is this? Things for children aren't allowed to be affordable?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Product_Safety_Improvement_Act
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 14, 2014, 06:04:45 pm
I'm guessing it's just expensive to have a product certified as safe for children.

Should've thought of that.

The age on the box is 14+ rather than 8+; that's a necessary move to avoid raising the price due to awful laws in the US that protect us from killing our children with Dominion cards.

What law is this? Things for children aren't allowed to be affordable?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Product_Safety_Improvement_Act


Haha. Check out the "Criticism" section.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on October 14, 2014, 06:43:48 pm
I'm guessing it's just expensive to have a product certified as safe for children.

Should've thought of that.

The age on the box is 14+ rather than 8+; that's a necessary move to avoid raising the price due to awful laws in the US that protect us from killing our children with Dominion cards.

What law is this? Things for children aren't allowed to be affordable?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Product_Safety_Improvement_Act


Haha. Check out the "Criticism" section.

I read up to where it said it was signed off by George W. Bush, then realised it must be stupid.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 14, 2014, 07:42:34 pm
I'm guessing it's just expensive to have a product certified as safe for children.

Should've thought of that.

The age on the box is 14+ rather than 8+; that's a necessary move to avoid raising the price due to awful laws in the US that protect us from killing our children with Dominion cards.

What law is this? Things for children aren't allowed to be affordable?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Product_Safety_Improvement_Act


Haha. Check out the "Criticism" section.

I read up to where it said it was signed off by George W. Bush, then realised it must be stupid.

Har Har har. Read the sponsors list. This is one of those highly coveted bipartisan bills everyone wishes we had more of. I believe the commission that issued the findings was Waxmans.

I was so angry when this passed. Made me almost as angry a the light bulb ban. Another bipartisan jewel.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 14, 2014, 07:50:42 pm
I'm guessing it's just expensive to have a product certified as safe for children.

Should've thought of that.

The age on the box is 14+ rather than 8+; that's a necessary move to avoid raising the price due to awful laws in the US that protect us from killing our children with Dominion cards.

What law is this? Things for children aren't allowed to be affordable?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Product_Safety_Improvement_Act


Haha. Check out the "Criticism" section.

I read up to where it said it was signed off by George W. Bush, then realised it must be stupid.

Har Har har. Read the sponsors list. This is one of those highly coveted bipartisan bills everyone wishes we had more of. I believe the commission that issued the findings was Waxmans.

I was so angry when this passed. Made me almost as angry a the light bulb ban. Another bipartisan jewel.

How can you be anti child safety? You monster!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 15, 2014, 12:38:46 am
Just sharing this because I love the rendition of this song. I love the production value of it too. You don't even have to watch the show to appreciate this (I hope).

www.youtube.com/embed/3YKRnElsHHc
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 15, 2014, 01:33:44 am
^ video not available in my country. :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 15, 2014, 01:41:57 am
^ video not available in my country. :(

Wha? Well, that's full of suck.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 15, 2014, 01:45:32 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_KeZnsddH0

^ same video?  I can see this one.  But it seems lower quality and the audio is not synced properly...

And... it's tilted?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 15, 2014, 02:17:17 am
Just another Onion short I found funny.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/guard-in-video-game-under-strict-orders-to-repeate,37177/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 15, 2014, 08:00:00 am
How do you kill in this MUD?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 15, 2014, 08:59:46 am
Just another Onion short I found funny.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/guard-in-video-game-under-strict-orders-to-repeate,37177/

The international press interviewing a low-ranked soldier? A soldier claiming he cannot stray from his duty has time for a press conference? This seems like a giant hoax.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 15, 2014, 11:01:49 am
You know what the onion is, right? right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 15, 2014, 11:58:05 am
Just another Onion short I found funny.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/guard-in-video-game-under-strict-orders-to-repeate,37177/

The international press interviewing a low-ranked soldier? A soldier claiming he cannot stray from his duty has time for a press conference? This seems like a giant hoax.

I'm sure the guy isn't on duty 24/7. He can give an interview during lunch or whatever. People get interviewed by reporters without the need for a press conference all the time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 15, 2014, 12:04:14 pm
I'm sure the guy isn't on duty 24/7.

[citation needed]

That is not what happens in every video game I have seen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 15, 2014, 12:05:57 pm
I'm sure the guy isn't on duty 24/7.

[citation needed]

That is not what happens in every video game I have seen.

Have you sat there for over 24 hours, watching the whole time to make sure there isn't a shift change?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 15, 2014, 01:11:18 pm
Have you sat there for over 24 hours, watching the whole time to make sure there isn't a shift change?

I wish I could say no.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 15, 2014, 01:45:23 pm
I'm sure the guy isn't on duty 24/7.

[citation needed]

That is not what happens in every video game I have seen.

Have you sat there for over 24 hours, watching the whole time to make sure there isn't a shift change?

I am totally doing this if I ever make a video game of this type.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 15, 2014, 02:17:47 pm
I'm sure the guy isn't on duty 24/7.

[citation needed]

That is not what happens in every video game I have seen.

Have you sat there for over 24 hours, watching the whole time to make sure there isn't a shift change?

I am totally doing this if I ever make a video game of this type.

No-kills walkthrough:

Go straight, then turn left, open the door, hide in the box close to the guard looking straight at the next door with his back to you, leave the game running 24 hours sharp, open the door after the guard leaves, go straight again...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 15, 2014, 02:50:27 pm
I just went into a ridiculously overpriced toy/game store. $50 for Majora's Mask. $28 for GBA Pokemon. $100 for an NES. Thanks but not thanks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 15, 2014, 02:56:20 pm
I just went into a ridiculously overpriced toy/game store. $50 for Majora's Mask. $28 for GBA Pokemon. $100 for an NES. Thanks but not thanks.

You're paying antique prices.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 15, 2014, 03:00:36 pm
No-kills walkthrough:

Go straight, then turn left, open the door, hide in the box close to the guard looking straight at the next door with his back to you, leave the game running 24 hours sharp, open the door after the guard leaves, go straight again...

The real trick is to bring enough food and to somehow mask the scent of your excrement from the pacing guard.

I have never played Metal Gear Solid 3, but I watched my roommate play some of it in college. In that game, one of the boss fights is a sniper battle against a very old man. The battle takes place in three large, forested areas and both of you are wearing camouflage. From my vantage as a spectator, the whole thing looked very epic.

Anyway, apparently you can start that battle, save your game, and wait three (real-world) days. When you load your save, the boss will have died from old age. You don't get very good loot by killing him that way, but I think it's awesome that it's even an option.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 15, 2014, 03:02:32 pm
I just went into a ridiculously overpriced toy/game store. $50 for Majora's Mask. $28 for GBA Pokemon. $100 for an NES. Thanks but not thanks.
Those prices don't sound that high, tbh. A quick ebay search seems like those prices are pretty accurate. If you want a NES you probably should get one of those newer third party consoles, looks like it's around $50. http://www.nintendosforsale.com/NES-and-SNES-Combo-Console-FC-Twin-p/12.htm?gclid=Cj0KEQjwtvihBRCd8fyrtfHRlJEBEiQAQcubtEgKrJPt6HCxCa1s_dhv4WfaXyooSoFy8JkwAOGIvX0aAkW98P8HAQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 15, 2014, 03:17:32 pm
This is relevant!

http://imgur.com/a/dDum7 (http://imgur.com/a/dDum7)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 15, 2014, 03:18:35 pm
This is relevant!

That's a fun sentence for a "Random Stuff" thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Hydrad on October 15, 2014, 03:22:11 pm
I just went into a ridiculously overpriced toy/game store. $50 for Majora's Mask. $28 for GBA Pokemon. $100 for an NES. Thanks but not thanks.

Some games like I believe super mario RPG sell for a few hundred dollars. Its crazy
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 15, 2014, 03:23:21 pm
This is relevant!

That's a fun sentence for a "Random Stuff" thread.

"Random" does not mean "Markov"!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 15, 2014, 03:25:03 pm
I just went into a ridiculously overpriced toy/game store. $50 for Majora's Mask. $28 for GBA Pokemon. $100 for an NES. Thanks but not thanks.
Those prices don't sound that high, tbh. A quick ebay search seems like those prices are pretty accurate. If you want a NES you probably should get one of those newer third party consoles, looks like it's around $50. http://www.nintendosforsale.com/NES-and-SNES-Combo-Console-FC-Twin-p/12.htm?gclid=Cj0KEQjwtvihBRCd8fyrtfHRlJEBEiQAQcubtEgKrJPt6HCxCa1s_dhv4WfaXyooSoFy8JkwAOGIvX0aAkW98P8HAQ

Nah I don't want an NES. Majora's Mask goes for about $30-$35 on ebay and GBA Pokemon games go for about $20.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 15, 2014, 03:26:50 pm
I just went into a ridiculously overpriced toy/game store. $50 for Majora's Mask. $28 for GBA Pokemon. $100 for an NES. Thanks but not thanks.

Some games like I believe super mario RPG sell for a few hundred dollars. Its crazy

A few years ago I achieved my lifelong dream of owning a copy of Soul Blazer for the SNES. Walked into a used game shop for the first time looking for a new copy of Disgaea for the PS2. Saw Soul Blazer behind the counter for $20, I believe. I bought it immediately. On eBay it seems to range from $80 to $200. I guess the moral of the story is that eBay sucks? I don't buy anything there, so take my opinion with a large cube of salt.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 15, 2014, 03:29:44 pm
Nah I don't want an NES. Majora's Mask goes for about $30-$35 on ebay and GBA Pokemon games go for about $20.
But stuff is usually cheaper online than in physical stores, $50 and $28 still sound like reasonable prices to me if that's how expensive they are online.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 15, 2014, 03:41:27 pm
I know of a couple other places whose prices are compareable to those on ebay which is how it should be considering I could place an order for any given item whenever and wherever I want.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 15, 2014, 03:49:44 pm
This (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/58521856-78/video-feminist-sarkeesian-women.html.csp) kind of stuff is quite sad. And scary.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 15, 2014, 03:58:47 pm
This (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/58521856-78/video-feminist-sarkeesian-women.html.csp) kind of stuff is quite sad. And scary.

Can you expound on this? Generally speaking, people who observe the law closely enough to obtain a concealed carry permit are not the type to make death threats nor to act upon them. In fact, if the death threat was legitimate then the presence of CCWs would be desirable. I find it sad and scary that a woman thinks her fears are sufficient grounds to usurp federal and state constitutional protections.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 15, 2014, 04:03:02 pm
This (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/58521856-78/video-feminist-sarkeesian-women.html.csp) kind of stuff is quite sad. And scary.

Wait.. a school can't disallow guns to be taken to class?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 15, 2014, 04:04:57 pm
The sad part is people making (multi-)death threats over a feminist speaker going to give a talk in a university.

The specific stance of the State of Utah on the matter is more complex than sad. And not a subject that I want to touch with a ten-foot pole. Not like I could from the other side of the Ocean, anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 15, 2014, 04:06:12 pm
This (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/58521856-78/video-feminist-sarkeesian-women.html.csp) kind of stuff is quite sad. And scary.

Wait.. a school can't disallow guns to be taken to class?

A state school cannot override state laws.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 15, 2014, 04:07:40 pm
The sad part is people making (multi-)death threats over a feminist speaker going to give a talk in a university.

There are sad people in the world. This one was successful in his endeavors.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 15, 2014, 04:10:32 pm
I know of a couple other places whose prices are compareable to those on ebay which is how it should be considering I could place an order for any given item whenever and wherever I want.
You're paying a premium to have it now, not pay shipping, for being able to see the product before hand, and (most likely) it being easier to return it to the store. It's a lot more expensive and you reach a lot fewer people having a brick and mortar store than having an online one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 15, 2014, 04:13:43 pm
I just went into a ridiculously overpriced toy/game store. $50 for Majora's Mask. $28 for GBA Pokemon. $100 for an NES. Thanks but not thanks.
Those prices don't sound that high, tbh. A quick ebay search seems like those prices are pretty accurate. If you want a NES you probably should get one of those newer third party consoles, looks like it's around $50. http://www.nintendosforsale.com/NES-and-SNES-Combo-Console-FC-Twin-p/12.htm?gclid=Cj0KEQjwtvihBRCd8fyrtfHRlJEBEiQAQcubtEgKrJPt6HCxCa1s_dhv4WfaXyooSoFy8JkwAOGIvX0aAkW98P8HAQ

I've seen places where you can buy a NES online for $30-$40.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 15, 2014, 04:25:37 pm
I know of a couple other places whose prices are compareable to those on ebay which is how it should be considering I could place an order for any given item whenever and wherever I want.
You're paying a premium to have it now, not pay shipping, for being able to see the product before hand, and (most likely) it being easier to return it to the store. It's a lot more expensive and you reach a lot fewer people having a brick and mortar store than having an online one.

Yes but nowadays shipping is quick and sometimes free and the product is usually guarenteed. I understand the expenses of having a physical store but if you're buying games for what they're going for on ebay and marking them up $15 you're not going to sell them anytime soon. They should be buying them for $15 less than the ebay price and selling them at that price or maybe $5 more than that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on October 15, 2014, 04:43:24 pm
I find it sad and scary that a woman thinks her fears are sufficient grounds to usurp federal and state constitutional protections.
I guess this is RSP but singling out "her fears" here strikes me as a highly biased viewpoint. I think most reasonable people would be afraid for their safety in a situation where they receive specific death threats. I can see that there's a reasonable argument to be had about whether specific death threats are sufficient justification for banning firearms in a venue, as long as we're clear that the death threats themselves are the problem, not the fear they cause.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on October 15, 2014, 04:58:46 pm
Yes but nowadays shipping is quick and sometimes free and the product is usually guarenteed. I understand the expenses of having a physical store but if you're buying games for what they're going for on ebay and marking them up $15 you're not going to sell them anytime soon. They should be buying them for $15 less than the ebay price and selling them at that price or maybe $5 more than that.

By what magic means do you propose stores acquire games at prices cheaper than anyone will sell them? (we are talking about used goods here, correct?)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 15, 2014, 05:00:06 pm
Oh hey, the discussion on the feminist, the death threat and guns and stuff is interesting, so let's continue it here (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11906.0).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 15, 2014, 05:41:19 pm
Yes but nowadays shipping is quick and sometimes free and the product is usually guarenteed. I understand the expenses of having a physical store but if you're buying games for what they're going for on ebay and marking them up $15 you're not going to sell them anytime soon. They should be buying them for $15 less than the ebay price and selling them at that price or maybe $5 more than that.

By what magic means do you propose stores acquire games at prices cheaper than anyone will sell them? (we are talking about used goods here, correct?)

The magic of parents selling their kid's old games, the magic of basic negotiating skills, the magic of immediate payoff, etc.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on October 15, 2014, 05:51:10 pm
Yes but nowadays shipping is quick and sometimes free and the product is usually guarenteed. I understand the expenses of having a physical store but if you're buying games for what they're going for on ebay and marking them up $15 you're not going to sell them anytime soon. They should be buying them for $15 less than the ebay price and selling them at that price or maybe $5 more than that.

By what magic means do you propose stores acquire games at prices cheaper than anyone will sell them? (we are talking about used goods here, correct?)

The magic of parents selling their kid's old games, the magic of basic negotiating skills, the magic of immediate payoff, etc.

A store that follows your pricing strategy, btw, will be a store that goes out of business. Simply not enough profit left in such a supply.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 15, 2014, 06:14:48 pm
Yes but nowadays shipping is quick and sometimes free and the product is usually guarenteed. I understand the expenses of having a physical store but if you're buying games for what they're going for on ebay and marking them up $15 you're not going to sell them anytime soon. They should be buying them for $15 less than the ebay price and selling them at that price or maybe $5 more than that.

By what magic means do you propose stores acquire games at prices cheaper than anyone will sell them? (we are talking about used goods here, correct?)

The magic of parents selling their kid's old games, the magic of basic negotiating skills, the magic of immediate payoff, etc.

A store that follows your pricing strategy, btw, will be a store that goes out of business. Simply not enough profit left in such a supply.

Well I'm not talking a 100% video game store. Usually record shops also sells video games as wella s DVDs and blue-rays and some toy stores also sell video games. I agree there's not enough meat on the bone to make a lot on video games alone unless you specialize in rare games.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 15, 2014, 06:16:07 pm
Everyone can probably tell I've never taken a business class in my life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 15, 2014, 06:18:28 pm
Everyone can probably tell I've never taken a business class in my life.

As someone who has also never taken a business class, I cannot tell.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on October 15, 2014, 06:18:58 pm
Everyone can probably tell I've never taken a business class in my life.

Don't worry. Neither have I. I just a) work in a brick-and-mortar store now and b) grew up in a home where the "family business" involved flea markets, toy shows, antique malls, and related resale environments.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 15, 2014, 06:19:03 pm
There's a place I know that is a pure video game store that sells old NES games cheap.  He probably makes most of his money on newer stuff, but it's nice to have old cheap stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on October 16, 2014, 01:19:29 am
A high school friend of mine was the MVP of the Women's Indoor Volleyball World Championship game on Sunday. She delivered the winning spike to give the US their first women's gold medal ever at the World Championships in that event. We would joke together in geometry class.

A college friend of mine is in a picture on Reddit that was briefly the top post of the site today. If you happen to track down the comments on the picture: she is, in fact, married (recently so, and yes she is very much of legal age), but not to the OP. I've no clue who the OP is, but it's one of the husband's facebook friends apparently.

(http://i.imgur.com/r9jxyFM.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on October 16, 2014, 01:28:05 am
Just for kicks and giggles (and uh, proof), here's a photo of myself, manda2014, and my reddit-famous friend from a photoshoot.

(http://i.imgur.com/0BqsiGm.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 16, 2014, 02:14:23 am
Why do you look so angry and/or suspicious?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 16, 2014, 05:10:32 am
Do you always dress like that?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 16, 2014, 07:37:53 am
A high school friend of mine was the MVP of the Women's Indoor Volleyball World Championship game on Sunday. She delivered the winning spike to give the US their first women's gold medal ever at the World Championships in that event. We would joke together in geometry class.

A college friend of mine is in a picture on Reddit that was briefly the top post of the site today. If you happen to track down the comments on the picture: she is, in fact, married (recently so, and yes she is very much of legal age), but not to the OP. I've no clue who the OP is, but it's one of the husband's facebook friends apparently.

(http://...)

Wait, you have a friend on the women's national team?  Who is it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on October 16, 2014, 08:05:38 am
That bit of wall over your head is not well placed. Is it supposed be right behind your head? Personally I would have made you stand a bit over so that we don't get this things coming out of your head.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on October 16, 2014, 08:39:40 am
Why do you look so angry and/or suspicious?

This is high fashion. No fun allowed.

But seriously, kind of. These were serious photoshoots, and the prompts for us across various shoots ranged from "tortured artist" to "dead" to "insane." We're having a lot more fun than we look. Although, I look particularly tart in this shot.

Do you always dress like that?

At the time, certainly not. :P I had several amateur photographer friends in college (and am one myself, though I'm rubbish at shooting people) and so each year they put together at least one themed photoshoot that I would always participate in. Themes like "Avant Garde," "Alice in Wonderland," this one was just "Black and White."

Anyway, now that I have a job with a dress code an outfit like that wouldn't be too far outside the norm, which is fun. Though you'll never find my hair slicked back like that. It's shorter now, anyway.

Wait, you have a friend on the women's national team?  Who is it?

Kim Hill!

That bit of wall over your head is not well placed. Is it supposed be right behind your head? Personally I would have made you stand a bit over so that we don't get this things coming out of your head.

I had never noticed that until you pointed it out. :o
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 16, 2014, 10:38:08 am
A high school friend of mine was the MVP of the Women's Indoor Volleyball World Championship game on Sunday. She delivered the winning spike to give the US their first women's gold medal ever at the World Championships in that event. We would joke together in geometry class.

A college friend of mine is in a picture on Reddit that was briefly the top post of the site today. If you happen to track down the comments on the picture: she is, in fact, married (recently so, and yes she is very much of legal age), but not to the OP. I've no clue who the OP is, but it's one of the husband's facebook friends apparently.

(http://...)

Ha, just saw this browsing Imgur: http://imgur.com/gallery/gmIhHXK

Fun comment: "I thought child brides were illegal."

Quote
Quote from: Witherweaver on Today at 07:37:53 am
Wait, you have a friend on the women's national team?  Who is it?

Kim Hill!

That's pretty awesome!   I watched one of their earlier games this World Championship against Russia. (I think it was first round.) I would have watched a lot more, but my cable provider doesn't include Universal Sports in its regular package, even though it includes all kinds of useless ESPN and football and golf channels. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 16, 2014, 10:42:30 am
My brain switched letters around to make that read as "Kill Him," which actually is a pretty good swap.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 16, 2014, 10:48:45 am
My brain switched letters around to make that read as "Kill Him," which actually is a pretty good swap.

I did exactly this.  I was confused, and then I read it again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 16, 2014, 10:49:03 am
This is probably old, but I hadn't seen it before: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sea/2597736393.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 16, 2014, 11:44:30 am
I need help. Itunes is a piece of shit and apparently I don't have Windows Media Player. Is there another comparable program that's better?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 16, 2014, 11:45:53 am
I need help. Itunes is a piece of shit and apparently I don't have Windows Media Player. Is there another comparable program that's better?

VLC Media Player is what I use, it's pretty good. I don't use it for anything fancy though, so there might be better options.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 16, 2014, 11:59:05 am
I need help. Itunes is a piece of shit and apparently I don't have Windows Media Player. Is there another comparable program that's better?

This is akin to saying, Nylon rope doesn't cut it and I don't have any woven wire cable, is there anything comparable I can use?

This begs the question, what exactly are you trying to achieve? I don't know if you might need to be using monofilament or hemp rope.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 16, 2014, 12:02:15 pm
I need help. Itunes is a piece of shit and apparently I don't have Windows Media Player. Is there another comparable program that's better?

This is akin to saying, Nylon rope doesn't cut it and I don't have any woven wire cable, is there anything comparable I can use?

This begs the question, what exactly are you trying to achieve? I don't know if you might need to be using monofilament or hemp rope.

Lately Itunes has been refusing to rip certain CDs and sometimes it rips the whole CD except for the last song. All I want is to have all my music in one place (by way of my external hard drive), rip music from CDs, and burn CDs.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 16, 2014, 12:05:03 pm
For ripping and burning music I use EAC. well, actually, i don't remember the last time I burned a CD, people still do that?

I use XBMC to filter my collection.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 16, 2014, 12:09:28 pm
You might like foobar2000
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 16, 2014, 12:10:48 pm
I just download the albums.

Also, I use MPC-HC because it's by far the best for videos and it also works for music so I haven't gotten another media player for that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 16, 2014, 12:17:19 pm
I know some people on here make videos, and things like this are annoying to google, does anybody know a good-enough free video editor?  I don't need to do much, I'm just doing a cover of a song and it has multiple voices and I want all voices on screen at once.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 16, 2014, 12:20:35 pm
Alright I think part or most of the problem is the computer not recognizing certain CDs. Now I just need a laptop of my own (I always use my girlfriend's).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 16, 2014, 03:08:56 pm
I know some people on here make videos, and things like this are annoying to google, does anybody know a good-enough free video editor?  I don't need to do much, I'm just doing a cover of a song and it has multiple voices and I want all voices on screen at once.
AviSynth. It's brilliant, although it might be a bit difficult to use if you're not familiar with programming (which, if I'm remembering correctly, shouldn't be a problem).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 16, 2014, 03:19:29 pm
I know some people on here make videos, and things like this are annoying to google, does anybody know a good-enough free video editor?  I don't need to do much, I'm just doing a cover of a song and it has multiple voices and I want all voices on screen at once.
AviSynth. It's brilliant, although it might be a bit difficult to use if you're not familiar with programming (which, if I'm remembering correctly, shouldn't be a problem).

Looking it up, this looks interesting.  I'll probably use it.  Thanks!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on October 16, 2014, 04:04:22 pm
A high school friend of mine was the MVP of the Women's Indoor Volleyball World Championship game on Sunday. She delivered the winning spike to give the US their first women's gold medal ever at the World Championships in that event. We would joke together in geometry class.

A college friend of mine is in a picture on Reddit that was briefly the top post of the site today. If you happen to track down the comments on the picture: she is, in fact, married (recently so, and yes she is very much of legal age), but not to the OP. I've no clue who the OP is, but it's one of the husband's facebook friends apparently.

(http://...)

Ha, just saw this browsing Imgur: http://imgur.com/gallery/gmIhHXK

Fun comment: "I thought child brides were illegal."

Some people are just taking it all way too far, even the title of that post is uncalled for.

Obviously, people are jerks on the internet, but it does kinda hit home when the internet takes aim at a friend.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 16, 2014, 04:15:00 pm
I need help. Itunes is a piece of shit and apparently I don't have Windows Media Player. Is there another comparable program that's better?

This is akin to saying, Nylon rope doesn't cut it and I don't have any woven wire cable, is there anything comparable I can use?

This begs the question, what exactly are you trying to achieve? I don't know if you might need to be using monofilament or hemp rope.

Biggest pet peeve ever.

http://begthequestion.info/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 16, 2014, 06:22:56 pm
I know some people on here make videos, and things like this are annoying to google, does anybody know a good-enough free video editor?  I don't need to do much, I'm just doing a cover of a song and it has multiple voices and I want all voices on screen at once.
AviSynth. It's brilliant, although it might be a bit difficult to use if you're not familiar with programming (which, if I'm remembering correctly, shouldn't be a problem).

Looking it up, this looks interesting.  I'll probably use it.  Thanks!

It's always a good sign when you need to edit the registry to get something to work... ::)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 16, 2014, 07:21:19 pm
I need help. Itunes is a piece of shit and apparently I don't have Windows Media Player. Is there another comparable program that's better?

This is akin to saying, Nylon rope doesn't cut it and I don't have any woven wire cable, is there anything comparable I can use?

This begs the question, what exactly are you trying to achieve? I don't know if you might need to be using monofilament or hemp rope.

Biggest pet peeve ever.

http://begthequestion.info/
I mean that's because "beg" in most contexts means "asks".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 16, 2014, 07:56:35 pm
I need help. Itunes is a piece of shit and apparently I don't have Windows Media Player. Is there another comparable program that's better?

This is akin to saying, Nylon rope doesn't cut it and I don't have any woven wire cable, is there anything comparable I can use?

This begs the question, what exactly are you trying to achieve? I don't know if you might need to be using monofilament or hemp rope.

Biggest pet peeve ever.

http://begthequestion.info/
I mean that's because "beg" in most contexts means "asks".

Except it doesn't in that specific phrase.

I know you meant "that makes me wonder, what exactly are you trying to achieve?" but that isn't what you said.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 16, 2014, 08:22:34 pm
I agree that I misused the phrase. "Raises the question" was the appropriate phrase to use.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 16, 2014, 08:49:28 pm
I need help. Itunes is a piece of shit and apparently I don't have Windows Media Player. Is there another comparable program that's better?

This is akin to saying, Nylon rope doesn't cut it and I don't have any woven wire cable, is there anything comparable I can use?

This begs the question, what exactly are you trying to achieve? I don't know if you might need to be using monofilament or hemp rope.

Biggest pet peeve ever.

http://begthequestion.info/
I mean that's because "beg" in most contexts means "asks".

Except it doesn't in that specific phrase.

I know you meant "that makes me wonder, what exactly are you trying to achieve?" but that isn't what you said.
I meant "It's understandable that people make that mistake because *reason*." I personally think that "begs the question" is a confusing phrase unless you've looked at logical reasoning, debate, etc. I mean it's even more confusing than I said because not only does "Beg" usually mean "ask", the word "question" points that way too (edit: reading the full article, I realize the author raises this point too). Like, why not just "Presumes the premise" or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 16, 2014, 08:58:46 pm
I got the first flu shot that I have ever had, and now I feel sick.  I have survived all these years without a flu shot never getting the flu, why did I have to get one now?

Because I was mandated to get one by work, but really, who cares about that
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 16, 2014, 09:08:21 pm
I've survived all these years without a flu shot, too.



I've gotten the flu a few times, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 16, 2014, 09:35:46 pm
Getting a flu vaccine is a civic duty, and the only reasons not to get one are if you're allergic, or if you can't afford it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 17, 2014, 05:08:22 am
Getting a flu vaccine is a civic duty, and the only reasons not to get one are if you're allergic, or if you can't afford it.

Allergic to a flu shot ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 17, 2014, 05:12:04 am
I don't know about flu shots, but I've been allergic to stuff that have made me unable to take some shots.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 17, 2014, 08:20:28 am
Getting a flu vaccine is a civic duty, and the only reasons not to get one are if you're allergic, or if you can't afford it.

Allergic to a flu shot ?

The most common allergy is egg. There are now egg-free alternatives. There are some other legitimate objections to taking a flu shot that are either religious or ethic in nature. Personally, I don't do them because I see them as a high risk low reward scenario. If influenza were not a mutating virus with multiple strains floating around at a given time they would make more sense to me. There will have to be very clear benefits before I am injecting anything intravenously into my body.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 17, 2014, 08:21:58 am
Getting a flu vaccine is a civic duty, and the only reasons not to get one are if you're allergic, or if you can't afford it.

Allergic to a flu shot ?

The flu virus used for the shots are grown in eggs.  A significant portion of the population (0.1% to 1%) are allergic to eggs and therefore allergic to the vaccine.  There are other components to the vaccine* that can cause allergic or similar reactions; those are rarer but not completely uncommon.

But this applies to about 1% of the population as a whole.

*I know people who are allergic literally to the sulfate and sulfite anions.  You can be allergic to damned well anything.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 17, 2014, 08:25:07 am
There will have to be very clear benefits before I am injecting anything intravenously into my body.

(1) The flu vaccine is around 70% effective.  The risks are essentially zero; you cannot get the flu from the vaccine.  The risk of not getting the vaccine is about five days of agony and time off work, plus medication costs.  I'm not sure how you aren't seeing benefits there.

(2) The vaccine is IM, not IV.  (You can also get the nasal spray, of course.)  This doesn't actually make a difference, but let's have our terminology straight.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 17, 2014, 08:41:38 am
I didn't know about the egg thing.

What risks are you talking about PPS ? Aside from weird conspiracy theories that have been debunked five billion times I mean ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 17, 2014, 09:12:53 am
I understand that the flu vaccine should not be able to infect you with the flu but intravenous injections on the whole carry the risks of upsetting a body's natural balance even if only temporarily. That the "flu shot got me sick" myth continues to thrive does not necessarily mean these people are subjects to coincidence. Going out into the rain on a cold night doesn't, by itself, make you sick but the old wives tale holds truth because doing that does suppress the immune system and make you more susceptible to already present bugs. In effect, going out into the rain on a cold night is a great way to get sick and I have observed that getting shots when you are not sick is a great way to get sick too.

That I rarely if ever contract the flu (let's say 5 times in my 36 years and 4 of those before I was 12) suggests there may not be such a necessity as is perceived. Granted, I may be benefiting from the hiding in the herd concept because everyone else around me is vaccinated. The argument I would make is every year I am in close proximity to multiple flu-sick individuals and I still don't get sick. In fact, recently when my wife was pregnant she contracted the flu (when she actually had a very strong case for taking the shot) and I was directly exposed for a long duration without getting sick. During this time I was repeatedly offered the shot which I refused on the basis that I expected the shot to be the thing that pushed me over the edge into sickness. Taking the shot at that time would have made some sense if there was a guarantee that the shot being offered was an exact match to the strain my wife was carrying but then there is no such guarantee and thus the risks I describe above were present.

In short, I have found through my own experience that proper diet, exercise regimen and good hygiene are acceptable forms of protection without having to resort to pharmaceutical means that carry the risks of compromising otherwise healthy systems. the one time I got the flu in my early twenties I can say with emphasis that my lifestyle was one that welcomed such things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 17, 2014, 09:20:21 am
I didn't know about the egg thing.

What risks are you talking about PPS ? Aside from weird conspiracy theories that have been debunked five billion times I mean ?

The allergies that Kirian mentioned are not conspiracy theories. In addition, some people have side effects from the vaccine that are mild (I usually get these) to as severe as actually having the flu.

But the important thing is that people get vaccinated even if the personal costs outweigh the personal benefits because the public benefits outweigh the costs (vaccination is a public good). Healthy, fit people can actually spread the disease without showing symptoms themselves. A person deciding whether to get vaccinated on their own will not appropriately weigh these public benefits and costs.

Also, if you are actually injured by a vaccine, you can be compensated: http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/index.html

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 17, 2014, 09:32:43 am
What risks are you talking about PPS ? Aside from weird conspiracy theories that have been debunked five billion times I mean ?

Wasn't there some proven connection between the swine flu vaccine and cases of narcolepsy?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 17, 2014, 09:37:04 am
Healthy, fit people can actually spread the disease without showing symptoms themselves.

A healthy fit, vaccinated, person can spread the disease without showing symptoms themselves. Being vaccinated does not prevent one from spreading the disease. Flu vaccines are not a replacement for proper hygiene which does, in fact, prevent transmission.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 17, 2014, 09:41:41 am
Getting a flu vaccine is a civic duty

Is this your personal opinion or some official policy?

(1) The flu vaccine is around 70% effective.

Do you have the reference? Medical research is often biased/flawed. The medical researchers I know are horrible in correctly interpreting their data, and I think there is an interest in keeping it that way because it makes it so much easier for the drug companies to request papers that praise their products without compromising the researcher's ethics too much.

I am asking because here (Argentina) the shot is only indicated (and as such, given for free in hospital) for people in a risk group: infants, old people, pregnant women and health workers. I am not sure about people working in schools, and I am sure I am forgetting some minor groups (maybe people with HIV can take it?), but you get the idea.

The US seems to have a tendency to use a lot more medications than Argentina. This may very well be because they can afford it more, but I did not get that impression about other developed countries. So, I tend to think there is a lot of overmedication in the US, although this is just a sensation. I would love some counterpoints if you have them.


The risks are essentially zero

There is such thing in medicine, because there is a lot of unknown things. Aspirin for instance, was used a lot for many years with no knowledge of its risks on the stomach.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 17, 2014, 09:53:08 am
I don't think vaccines are overmedicated.  There is a lot of overmedication in America, but I think it's more in the form of antidepressants and that sort of thing.

Vaccines get a stigma because of bad science, but vaccines really are good and people should be educated about that.

That being said, I've never gotten a flu vaccine.  I don't think I've ever gotten the flu, though maybe I had it last year.  I tend to get a lot of colds/sinus infections (maybe around 3-5 a year), so I don't know if it was just a bad virus or the actual "flu". 

I'm thinking of getting one this year.  I am a little (maybe irrationally) nervous about getting one at a point where I don't feel 100% strong.  Usually during the work week I'm pretty under-rested, and I feel like I could easily get sick.  When feeling like that, I'd get nervous about getting the vaccine because I feel the side effects may tip me over the edge.. the logic would be that my immune system has to work to fight the effects of the vaccine, so it isn't as effective as keeping me healthy from other things.  But that reasoning could be complete garbage.. I don't have anything more than a rudimentary understanding of how the immune system works.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 17, 2014, 10:16:04 am
So, I tend to think there is a lot of overmedication in the US, although this is just a sensation. I would love some counterpoints if you have them.

I was reading a Cracked article about how the US is part of a minority that allows pharmaceuticals to be advertised on television. If true, then I do not doubt your observation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 17, 2014, 10:23:48 am
I was reading a Cracked article about how the US is part of a minority that allows pharmaceuticals to be advertised on television. If true, then I do not doubt your observation.

Do you allow Cigarettes advertisement on TV? How about on the streets or print media?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on October 17, 2014, 10:35:03 am

The risk of not getting the vaccine is about five days of agony and time off work, plus medication costs.


In the UK the converse is true- most people don't get the flu vaccine because you have to pay for it, and if you get ill, you just go get free treatment.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 17, 2014, 10:38:18 am

The risk of not getting the vaccine is about five days of agony and time off work, plus medication costs.


In the UK the converse is true- most people don't get the flu vaccine because you have to pay for it, and if you get ill, you just go get free treatment.

That seems backwards.  Wouldn't making the vaccine "free" be more cost effective over all?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 17, 2014, 12:40:07 pm

The risk of not getting the vaccine is about five days of agony and time off work, plus medication costs.


In the UK the converse is true- most people don't get the flu vaccine because you have to pay for it, and if you get ill, you just go get free treatment.

That seems backwards.  Wouldn't making the vaccine "free" be more cost effective over all?

No, prevention can be more costly because you pay for EVERYONE. You treat only those who get sick (a much smaller number, unless there is an epidemic). Even if treatment is more expensive, overall it can be cheaper to only treat the sick.

EDIT: clarified. Prevention can be cheaper or treatment can be cheaper. It depends.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 17, 2014, 12:46:17 pm
Healthy, fit people can actually spread the disease without showing symptoms themselves.

A healthy fit, vaccinated, person can spread the disease without showing symptoms themselves. Being vaccinated does not prevent one from spreading the disease. Flu vaccines are not a replacement for proper hygiene which does, in fact, prevent transmission.

In general, vaccination does in fact reduce the spreading of the disease because your body better wipes out the disease if you are vaccinated. There is absolutely a public good component (minimize spreading of disease) to vaccination.

Whether this effect is present depends on the disease, and I have to say I don't know the research on the flu vaccine in particular.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 17, 2014, 12:47:57 pm

The risk of not getting the vaccine is about five days of agony and time off work, plus medication costs.


In the UK the converse is true- most people don't get the flu vaccine because you have to pay for it, and if you get ill, you just go get free treatment.

That seems backwards.  Wouldn't making the vaccine "free" be more cost effective over all?

No, prevention is often more costly because you pay for EVERYONE. You treat only those who get sick (a much smaller number, unless there is an epidemic).

I would have thought the vaccine cost was significantly lower than the treatment cost.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 17, 2014, 12:59:46 pm

The risk of not getting the vaccine is about five days of agony and time off work, plus medication costs.


In the UK the converse is true- most people don't get the flu vaccine because you have to pay for it, and if you get ill, you just go get free treatment.

That seems backwards.  Wouldn't making the vaccine "free" be more cost effective over all?

No, prevention is often more costly because you pay for EVERYONE. You treat only those who get sick (a much smaller number, unless there is an epidemic).

I would have thought the vaccine cost was significantly lower than the treatment cost.

Per person, yes. But you can still have this effect overall:

Example (not based on flu numbers -- I have no idea what they are):
vaccine (100% effective): cost $10 per person.
treatment for disease (100% effective): $10,000 per person.

If no one gets vaccinated, 10,000 get sick. Population 50,000,000

Cost of vaccination: $500,000,000.
Cost of treatment: $100,000,000.

Letting people get sick is cheaper.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 17, 2014, 01:07:35 pm
Right, I mean, obviously it depends on the numbers.  I just (without really thinking about it) guessed they would work out the other way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on October 17, 2014, 01:08:20 pm
Yes, this is basically the reason behind it. Also, those most at risk (kids, elderly, those who work for NHS) do get free flu jab, but the rest of us don't. :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 17, 2014, 01:11:59 pm

The risk of not getting the vaccine is about five days of agony and time off work, plus medication costs.


In the UK the converse is true- most people don't get the flu vaccine because you have to pay for it, and if you get ill, you just go get free treatment.

That seems backwards.  Wouldn't making the vaccine "free" be more cost effective over all?

No, prevention is often more costly because you pay for EVERYONE. You treat only those who get sick (a much smaller number, unless there is an epidemic).

I would have thought the vaccine cost was significantly lower than the treatment cost.

Per person, yes. But you can still have this effect overall:

Example (not based on flu numbers -- I have no idea what they are):
vaccine (100% effective): cost $10 per person.
treatment for disease (100% effective): $10,000 per person.

If no one gets vaccinated, 10,000 get sick. Population 50,000,000

Cost of vaccination: $500,000,000.
Cost of treatment: $100,000,000.

Letting people get sick is cheaper.

You're assuming that everyone has to get vaccinated for the vaccine to be effective. Not the case: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity Also, you're neglecting the cost in lost productivity (and general human well-being) that is much higher for the disease than for the vaccine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 17, 2014, 01:16:22 pm

The risk of not getting the vaccine is about five days of agony and time off work, plus medication costs.


In the UK the converse is true- most people don't get the flu vaccine because you have to pay for it, and if you get ill, you just go get free treatment.

That seems backwards.  Wouldn't making the vaccine "free" be more cost effective over all?

No, prevention is often more costly because you pay for EVERYONE. You treat only those who get sick (a much smaller number, unless there is an epidemic).

I would have thought the vaccine cost was significantly lower than the treatment cost.

Per person, yes. But you can still have this effect overall:

Example (not based on flu numbers -- I have no idea what they are):
vaccine (100% effective): cost $10 per person.
treatment for disease (100% effective): $10,000 per person.

If no one gets vaccinated, 10,000 get sick. Population 50,000,000

Cost of vaccination: $500,000,000.
Cost of treatment: $100,000,000.

Letting people get sick is cheaper.

You're assuming that everyone has to get vaccinated for the vaccine to be effective. Not the case: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity Also, you're neglecting the cost in lost productivity (and general human well-being) that is much higher for the disease than for the vaccine.

I assumed simplicity for an EXAMPLE. More complicated scenarios can absolutely can work out the same way.

Oh, did I not mention costs were economic costs? Cost of the pain of being jabbed, lost productivity, pain and suffering, driving around to get care, etc? $10 and $1000 of economic costs.

And all numbers are expectations.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 17, 2014, 01:21:22 pm
Right, I mean, obviously it depends on the numbers.  I just (without really thinking about it) guessed they would work out the other way.

I don't know. I assume they go the other way for flu (and other strongly encouraged vaccines). In fact, I would hope that public policy is set so that you are encouraged to get the vaccine/preventative treatment for exactly the set of diseases where the prevention is cost-effective. Could depend on country, too.

Just wanted to point out they may not.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 17, 2014, 01:31:08 pm
I would hope policy would include moral and ethical considerations as well as economic ones.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 17, 2014, 02:16:58 pm
I would hope policy would include moral and ethical considerations as well as economic ones.

Yeah, that too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 17, 2014, 02:29:26 pm

The risk of not getting the vaccine is about five days of agony and time off work, plus medication costs.


In the UK the converse is true- most people don't get the flu vaccine because you have to pay for it, and if you get ill, you just go get free treatment.

That seems backwards.  Wouldn't making the vaccine "free" be more cost effective over all?

No, prevention is often more costly because you pay for EVERYONE. You treat only those who get sick (a much smaller number, unless there is an epidemic).

I would have thought the vaccine cost was significantly lower than the treatment cost.

If a typical working age person happens to get flu then there won't be any treatment.  The advice (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Flu/Pages/Treatment.aspx) is just to rest, drink water, and take paracetamol or ibuprofen if you like.

For those who might get serious complications the vaccine is provided free of charge.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 17, 2014, 02:36:36 pm
Not everyone who is high risk for complications can get the vaccine due to allergies or other health risks. Also getting the vaccine is not a guarantee to avoid catching the disease. This is why herd immunity is so critical and everyone should get vaccinated who is able. You might save someone else's life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 17, 2014, 03:17:45 pm
Not everyone who is high risk for complications can get the vaccine due to allergies or other health risks. Also getting the vaccine is not a guarantee to avoid catching the disease. This is why herd immunity is so critical and everyone should get vaccinated who is able. You might save someone else's life.

So you're saying they should pay me to take the shot?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 17, 2014, 03:35:01 pm
Not everyone who is high risk for complications can get the vaccine due to allergies or other health risks. Also getting the vaccine is not a guarantee to avoid catching the disease. This is why herd immunity is so critical and everyone should get vaccinated who is able. You might save someone else's life.

So you're saying they should pay me to take the shot?

For matters of public safety like this they should probably incentivize you to get vaccinated. Probably would be more cost effective to fine you for not getting it though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 17, 2014, 04:02:40 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/51cc898e1eba4119a818965a84fc4616/tumblr_n9edw6JbZI1slik4to1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 17, 2014, 04:04:58 pm
For matters of public safety like this they should probably incentivize you to get vaccinated. Probably would be more cost effective to fine you for not getting it though.

Thanks, Obama.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 17, 2014, 04:14:44 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/51cc898e1eba4119a818965a84fc4616/tumblr_n9edw6JbZI1slik4to1_400.gif)

What does that say at the end?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 17, 2014, 04:26:34 pm
What does that say at the end?

No idea.  Not even sure if this was an actual game by a very skilled player or just an animation.  I want to believe though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 17, 2014, 04:31:08 pm
What does that say at the end?

No idea.  Not even sure if this was an actual game by a very skilled player or just an animation.  I want to believe though.

My guess is someone wrote a program to try to optimize the pathing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 17, 2014, 04:54:02 pm
What does that say at the end?

No idea.  Not even sure if this was an actual game by a very skilled player or just an animation.  I want to believe though.
It's not that difficult. At least it wasn't when all Nokia phones still had that game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 17, 2014, 05:09:38 pm
you can just pick one route that covers any point on the field and go through that over and over again, and you win.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 17, 2014, 05:20:32 pm
you can just pick one route that covers any point on the field and go through that over and over again, and you win.

That wouldn't be optimal though. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 17, 2014, 05:46:39 pm
you can just pick one route that covers any point on the field and go through that over and over again, and you win.

That works but not what's shown there, there are some pretty impressive skills involved towards the middle of ehalcyon's thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 17, 2014, 05:55:07 pm
Fun fact: Giuseppe Peano first discovered his eponymous space-filling curve while playing Snake on a graphing calculator.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on October 17, 2014, 10:49:43 pm
ADK and I discovered yesterday that we share a mutual friend (in real life). The world is tiny.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 17, 2014, 11:27:15 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/51cc898e1eba4119a818965a84fc4616/tumblr_n9edw6JbZI1slik4to1_400.gif)

What does that say at the end?

I just looked it up on google translate, and according to it it says:

"Now we will show you a cartoon.

Compound no connection with the server. Thank you, all free."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 18, 2014, 12:51:59 am
Oh my goodness is Dustforce an addictive game. If you like platforming games, highly recommend it. There's an in-browser version you can try out for free at Humble Bundle right now - I got a copy from another bundle a while back.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 18, 2014, 02:50:09 am
Fun fact: Giuseppe Peano first discovered his eponymous space-filling curve while playing Snake on a graphing calculator.

This seems legit.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Hydrad on October 18, 2014, 03:05:33 am
Oh my goodness is Dustforce an addictive game. If you like platforming games, highly recommend it. There's an in-browser version you can try out for free at Humble Bundle right now - I got a copy from another bundle a while back.

Its also super hard and made me give up way to many times.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 18, 2014, 03:34:07 am
Getting a flu vaccine is a civic duty

Is this your personal opinion or some official policy?

Obviously personal opinion.  Though many hospital campuses do require it of their staff, but that's separate.  Similarly, I feel that voting is a civic duty, but I only know one democracy (Australia) with mandatory voting.  There may be others though.  (Edit:  Apparently most of South America has it as well.  Very interesting!)

Quote
(1) The flu vaccine is around 70% effective.

Do you have the reference?

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/benefit-publications.htm

Quote
Medical research is often biased/flawed. The medical researchers I know are horrible in correctly interpreting their data, and I think there is an interest in keeping it that way because it makes it so much easier for the drug companies to request papers that praise their products without compromising the researcher's ethics too much.

This is why peer review exists.  Crappy data interpretations don't get you published in research journals.  They can, however, get you through a nation's approval process.

Quote
So, I tend to think there is a lot of overmedication in the US, although this is just a sensation. I would love some counterpoints if you have them.

There has been a tendency to overmedicate here in the US, though that tendency has been, surprisingly, waning.  However, vaccination is not medication per se; barring allergies, there is no good reason not to vaccinate as many people as possible.  (There is doubt as to whether we could actually produce enough vaccine doses each year to actually vaccinate everyone on the planet, but given that we have difficulty actually getting some of the most educated populaces in history to actually get the vaccine, I don't think we need to worry about that.)

Quote
The risks are essentially zero

There is such thing in medicine, because there is a lot of unknown things.

You're splitting hairs; obviously the incidence of some form of side effect is greater than zero.  By "essentially zero," I mean that hundreds of millions of doses have been given over the course of several decades, and ignoring a few one-in-a-million cases, the only adverse effects have been allergic reactions.  But... man, if you're going to skip a vaccination because of a one-in-a-million risk, then I sure hope you weren't planning on driving anywhere anytime soon.  Or walking anywhere:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micromort

Quote
Aspirin for instance, was used a lot for many years with no knowledge of its risks on the stomach.

(http://persephonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/mal-speechless.gif)

Aspirin was developed because its predecessor, salicylic acid, was a stomach irritant.  Aspirin was expected to be irritating to the stomach from its first use; it was merely a matter of "is this less irritating than what we had before?"  (Yes, it is.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 18, 2014, 07:33:44 am
Don't argue with the Alchemist about Aspirin.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 18, 2014, 08:29:08 am
Klein bottle... hats (https://www.kleinbottle.com/klein_bottle_hats.htm)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 18, 2014, 09:08:31 am
This is why peer review exists.  Crappy data interpretations don't get you published in research journals.  They can, however, get you through a nation's approval process.

Peer review is also flawed and biased, specially when the journal is funded by a pharmacological company and the editors are paid. I have only seen a handful of medical papers, and every single one of them has errors in the use of the data because they are horrible at math/statistics. Moreover, in my experience with my own experience (that are not medical, but it is the only experience I have) only about 25-30% of the reviewers actually read the paper deeply/carefully enough to find non-obvious technical problems.


You're splitting hairs; obviously the incidence of some form of side effect is greater than zero.  By "essentially zero," I mean that hundreds of millions of doses have been given over the course of several decades, and ignoring a few one-in-a-million cases, the only adverse effects have been allergic reactions.  But... man, if you're going to skip a vaccination because of a one-in-a-million risk, then I sure hope you weren't planning on driving anywhere anytime soon.  Or walking anywhere:

I agree that everything has side effects. I do get medications and get vaccinated. But the flu shot is a vaccine that is only good for one season, that it is not as nearly as effective as other well known vaccines, and that only prevents against a disease which is non-lethal in almost every case. You are usually fine within 2 days, and describing those days as "agony" is an overstatement for me. I mean, if you show me studies that show lives are saved because of a population takes the shot instead of only the people in risk groups, I will definitely take it. I have not seen such studies, and the public health authorities here say you do not need the shot if you are not at risk (though you can take it if you want, and it is cheap, and my university gives it for free if you are willing to stand in line for a couple of hours).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 18, 2014, 09:32:33 am
Klein bottle... hats (https://www.kleinbottle.com/klein_bottle_hats.htm)

Yes!  Cliff Stoll is awesome.

Don't argue with the Alchemist about Aspirin.

Indeed, there's a reason I use that avatar...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 18, 2014, 10:20:39 am
This is why peer review exists.  Crappy data interpretations don't get you published in research journals.  They can, however, get you through a nation's approval process.

Peer review is also flawed and biased, specially when the journal is funded by a pharmacological company and the editors are paid. I have only seen a handful of medical papers, and every single one of them has errors in the use of the data because they are horrible at math/statistics. Moreover, in my experience with my own experience (that are not medical, but it is the only experience I have) only about 25-30% of the reviewers actually read the paper deeply/carefully enough to find non-obvious technical problems.

(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/wikipedian_protester.png)

Specifically, an example of a respected journal and/or editor actually funded by a pharmaceutical company.  Certainly there are journals out there where you can publish anything you want, but those niche journals have names like (I'm making this one up) Journal of the Alaskan Surgeons Society and an impact factor of zero.

The complaint that peer review is biased/flawed generally comes from people who deliberately misunderstand science, e.g., anti-vaxxers, global warming deniers, conspiracy theorists.  It eventually ends up repeated by people who didn't check their sources properly when something was posted to their Facebook wall.

You are usually fine within 2 days, and describing those days as "agony" is an overstatement for me.

OK, actual question:  Have you experienced influenza?  Or have you merely experienced what people call "the flu" but is really just a bad head cold?  The course of influenza is 4-7 days, assuming no secondary pneumonia infection.  The symptoms are a lot more than just a severe cold, and include moderate muscle pain, severe lethargy, difficulty swallowing, etc.

"Agony" is perhaps overstatement, depending on what you feel is agonizing.  Two years ago I fucked up badly, putting off getting the vaccine because of other illnesses (I later learned that you can get the vaccine while you have even a bad cold, so long as you do not have a fever) and life stressors.  I got influenza early in the season, and it knocked me on my ass.  I could hardly move for the first two days, I probably slept for 18-20 hours each of those days, and I wasn't able to eat much more than water and saltines/bread.  The remainder of the week got better, but I was mostly bedridden and utterly useless for any purpose for 5 days, and still very ill on days 6 and 7.  No, this wasn't pain level 8, but as an otherwise somewhat healthy* 30-something adult, being unable to do much of anything is pretty agonizing to me, psychologically.  The associated economic and psychological costs--my wife had to take several days off of work; the kids (who were one and three) had to be kept out of my bedroom, kept entertained in abnormal fashion, and of course worried about why they couldn't see daddy except from a distance and why he was so sick--were no fun either.

Quote
I mean, if you show me studies that show lives are saved because of a population takes the shot instead of only the people in risk groups, I will definitely take it. I have not seen such studies

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15694506

Five minutes on Google.  Alas, without academic access you can generally only see abstracts.

*I say somewhat healthy; I am epileptic and have persistent depressive disorder, both medicated.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 18, 2014, 10:49:04 am
Specifically, an example of a respected journal and/or editor actually funded by a pharmaceutical company.  Certainly there are journals out there where you can publish anything you want, but those niche journals have names like (I'm making this one up) Journal of the Alaskan Surgeons Society and an impact factor of zero.

I have 0 idea of what journals are respected or not in medical science, and there are LOTS of journals. Moreover, the one you cited before is the 2nd abstract I have read in my life about non-psychiatry non-neurology medical science, so it is possible that only mental health papers do bullshit in their math. But I have been to the doctor many many times and heard ridiculous statistical interpretations.

The complaint that peer review is biased/flawed generally comes from people who deliberately misunderstand science, e.g., anti-vaxxers, global warming deniers, conspiracy theorists.  It eventually ends up repeated by people who didn't check their sources properly when something was posted to their Facebook wall.

Well, I do not belong in any of the groups you mention in that paragraph, including the group "people with facebook". I certainly do not think I misunderstand science, and if I do, I am certainly not doing it on purpose. Specifically, I did not say peer review IS biased or flawed. Well, I may say it is biased, because it is. It is biased towards the current scientific consensus in the discipline of what is interesting or relevant, which is something entirely subjective. And it is biased towards the current scientific consensus of what is "true" which hopefully approaches truth, but it is not equivalent to it. Scientific consensus once disbelieved the existence of germs and the most respected doctors suggested bleeding people to cure them, so... I am pretty sure that whatever we are doing today is going to be deemed as barbaric and/or stupid in some time, a couple of centuries at best.

That is not to say we should not do it. I certainly support scientific research. I do use medicine and trust the research behind it. And I mostly disregard 95% of "alternative medicine" due to being not scientific (there is some scientific alternative medicine, but I will digress a lot if I go into that).

OK, actual question:  Have you experienced influenza?  Or have you merely experienced what people call "the flu" but is really just a bad head cold?  The course of influenza is 4-7 days, assuming no secondary pneumonia infection.  The symptoms are a lot more than just a severe cold, and include moderate muscle pain, severe lethargy, difficulty swallowing, etc.

I did have all of those symptoms but the difficult swallowing simultaneously, and had to remain in bed for 3 days and to remain in the house for 7. It was the week before graduating, though, so not the best case study for a general discussion. It is not like that every time nor every year, though. Mostly, I am in decent shape to go out and work (in my desk-job) after only 2 days of bed time. And the people I know have usually even better health in this regard.

"Agony" is perhaps overstatement, depending on what you feel is agonizing.  Two years ago I fucked up...

I am really sorry about that. The only time there were a lot of reported cases of several influenza here was a couple of years ago with the H1N1 thing. And the regular vaccine did not work on that, so I did not consider those when thinking about whether the vaccine is / would have been a good idea. Are you certain that the strain you got would have been prevented by the vaccine? Is there a significant amount of those cases (i.e., strong flu's that the vaccine available at the time would have prevented)?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15694506

Five minutes on Google.  Alas, without academic access you can generally only see abstracts.

I read the abstract, but it seems to me to be saying the opposite: vaccinating only ~25% of the children helped immunize the adults to some extent. That seems completely within reason even without a paper to support it. My point is whether immunizing risk groups is enough, that is, whether immunizing risk groups only vs immunizing everyone has a significant difference in the numbers.
 

*I say somewhat healthy; I am epileptic and have persistent depressive disorder, both medicated.

Everyone has something. I hope you are one of the many people that have the mild epilepsy variants and that it is the curable kind.

BTW, are you a medical researcher of some kind? I was under the impression you were a mathematician.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 18, 2014, 11:26:25 am
As much as I enjoy learning about vaccinations and all that fun stuff, it probably deserves a rsp topic rather than Random Stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 18, 2014, 11:30:20 am
As much as I enjoy learning about vaccinations and all that fun stuff, it probably deserves a rsp topic rather than Random Stuff.

As long as there are no real conflict and that we are not taking up too many pages, it seems harmless to keep it here. Videogames also took up a couple of pages for a while, and then the randomizer did its job.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 18, 2014, 11:43:18 am
As much as I enjoy learning about vaccinations and all that fun stuff, it probably deserves a rsp topic rather than Random Stuff.

Are vaccinations religious, sexual, or political?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on October 18, 2014, 11:43:48 am
As much as I enjoy learning about vaccinations and all that fun stuff, it probably deserves a rsp topic rather than Random Stuff.

Are vaccinations religious, sexual, or political?

Well I worship them if that counts. Otherwise not really.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on October 18, 2014, 11:47:47 am
As much as I enjoy learning about vaccinations and all that fun stuff, it probably deserves a rsp topic rather than Random Stuff.

Are vaccinations religious, sexual, or political?
They're pretty political, right? And some people turn them down for religious reasons.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 18, 2014, 12:09:40 pm
I find this discussion arousing, therefore it is sexual.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 18, 2014, 12:21:06 pm
Though I do not mind it, this discussion is definitely political : we are talking aout wether or not it is worth it for our society to get everyone vaccinated against the flu, as opposed to only vaccinating risk groups.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on October 18, 2014, 12:32:07 pm
Vaccines can totally be bad for people. Consider the case of the chickenpox vaccine:

Quote
Adults with latent VZV infection who are exposed intermittently to children with chickenpox receive an immune boost.[14][64] This periodic boost to the immune system helps to prevent shingles in older adults. When routine chickenpox vaccination was introduced in the United States, there was concern that, because older adults would no longer receive this natural periodic boost, there would be an increase in the incidence of shingles.

Multiple studies and surveillance data, at least when viewed superficially, demonstrate no consistent trends in incidence in the U.S. since the chickenpox vaccination program began in 1995.[68] However, upon closer inspection, the two studies that showed no increase in shingles incidence were conducted among populations where varicella vaccination was not as yet widespread in the community.[69][70] A later study by Patel et al. concluded that since the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine, hospitalization costs for complications of shingles increased by more than $700 million annually for those over age 60.[71] Another study by Yih et al. reported that as varicella vaccine coverage in children increased, the incidence of varicella decreased, and the occurrence of shingles among adults increased by 90%.[72] The results of a further study by Yawn et al. showed a 28% increase in shingles incidence from 1996 to 2001.[73] It is likely that incidence rate will change in the future, due to the aging of the population, changes in therapy for malignant and autoimmune diseases, and changes in chickenpox vaccination rates; a wide adoption of zoster vaccination could dramatically reduce the incidence rate.[5]
(Vaccines are obv. awesome.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on October 18, 2014, 02:35:15 pm
http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/04/28/the-control-group-is-out-of-control/

This might be relevant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 18, 2014, 02:43:02 pm
As much as I enjoy learning about vaccinations and all that fun stuff, it probably deserves a rsp topic rather than Random Stuff.

Are vaccinations religious, sexual, or political?
They're pretty political, right? And some people turn them down for religious reasons.

People also turn down bacon for religious reasons, but I think we can safely discuss bacon here.

As to whether it's political... I don't see it.  The closest is my suggestion that getting the vaccine is a civic duty, but even with that I'm not going to advocate for mandatory flu vaccination.  The discussion of whether it's sufficient to only vaccinate risk groups is a public health discussion that ought to be apolitical.

The HPV vaccine is sexual, I suppose.  Or at least, its existence is an acknowledgement of human sexuality.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 18, 2014, 03:38:27 pm
Public health is political. Who is taking these decisions ? Politicians. Something being political doesn't mean it's about poltics, it can also be about policy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 18, 2014, 03:43:20 pm
Probably the fact that we are discussing whether this is political or not should already be a hint that this is better in RSP.

Not that I mind the discussion, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 18, 2014, 04:58:40 pm
http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/04/28/the-control-group-is-out-of-control/

This might be relevant.

OK, I was going to post something really snarky, but that would have gotten this split to RSP.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 18, 2014, 05:52:51 pm
Science must be critiqued. That is what science is all about. Everything needs to be questioned. Something being questioned does not mean it is not true. Quite the opposite. Prohibition to question something is a great indicator that there is something wrong there.

(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/science.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 18, 2014, 07:31:08 pm
Agreed, the best definition I have for science is "the search for disproof".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on October 18, 2014, 07:42:18 pm
Everything needs to be questioned.
At the same time, if there is lots of evidence that something is helpful, and no evidence that it's harmful, it's probably better to act on the assumption that it's helpful. I have never, ever heard of a legit general safety concern with getting a flu shot, whereas plenty of people die from the flu every year.

Concerns over vaccinations seem to me mostly about the reaction "ew needles" and then inventing post hoc rationalizations for not getting them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: florrat on October 18, 2014, 10:48:30 pm
http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/04/28/the-control-group-is-out-of-control/

This might be relevant.

That is pretty depressing... I knew statistics in psychology (and other fields) is messed up, but not that it is so messed up to get 9 out of 9 positive results...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 19, 2014, 05:04:40 am
http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/04/28/the-control-group-is-out-of-control/

This might be relevant.

That is pretty depressing... I knew statistics in psychology (and other fields) is messed up, but not that it is so messed up to get 9 out of 9 positive results...

Parapsychology. The "para" is important.

That article (and others it links to that discuss the same issue) point out that the methology* used in that publication was actually above average for research in general, but that if they made rigour conditions more stringent so as to avoid that this kind of thing gets published, a lot of relevant research would never get published either.

I thought that it was a fantastic read by the way, both because of the discussion on rigour - innovation, and because I didn't even know that parapsychology was a research field at all. And the fact that an article can be "flawless" (in a sense) and prove something that is considered ridiculous is fantastic, because it forces people to think about what it means; and usually the unexpected makes science advance faster than the expected. Not saying that the human race was secretly psionic all along, but it can point out that there can be other unknown effects at play here.

Thanks for linking!

*Here I mean the part of the methodology that is concerned with eliminating noise, in a sense. One of the articles examines in detail this aspect of the publication and notices that, while it is good compared to what is usually considered "enough", there are still some flaws that mean that it could just be noise and preselection bias. Others accept that it is improbable that it was just noise, and try to find a problem in the experiment itself that would lead to a systematic error.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 19, 2014, 05:19:14 am
http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/04/28/the-control-group-is-out-of-control/

This might be relevant.

Thanks for linking!

You don't need me to tell you what to do, but I will anyway: Scott is an excellent writer, and you could do far worse than read through some old posts on his blog.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 19, 2014, 07:17:48 am
i just had a game  where i bought possession turn 3 with CCCSP and a coin token from baker, and my opponent instantly resigned. that was by far the best possession game I've ever played.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 19, 2014, 07:45:10 am
Nice.

Is there any way to get a possession turn 3 without baker? I can think of at least one.

EDIT: I can think of a couple of ways, but only one of them that lets you do it as the first player. That one is kinda boring though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 19, 2014, 08:09:59 am
I guess Beggar/Potion is boring.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 19, 2014, 08:43:33 am
Nice.

Is there any way to get a possession turn 3 without baker? I can think of at least one.

EDIT: I can think of a couple of ways, but only one of them that lets you do it as the first player. That one is kinda boring though.

well, there are the 3 cards that make your opponent draw, soothsayer, council room, and governor. then there are gold equivalents... I think beggar is the only one for 3$. smithy, baron, and death cart would do it, but they cost 4$. with Noble brigands and more than 2 players, that certainly works. and, your opponent could play a swindler and trash your overgrown estate.

beggar is the only one I see that works as #1 player.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 19, 2014, 09:08:12 am
That covers everything as far as I know, yes. As the first player, the only way to do it is with beggar, or -if there are more than two players- noble brigand shenanigans that let player 3 play council room (or equivalent) in turn 2.

As player 2, either you benefit from player 1 T3 council room (or equivalent), or from player 1 T1 noble brigand shenanigans. You need a drawer or sifter in that case if you want both the bought card and the potion to get to your hand somewhere during T3. You can do it with envoy for example, assuming a strangely collaborative opponent.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 19, 2014, 09:14:18 am
i just realized, you can open death cart/silver, get 10$ in T3, buy stonemason and get 2 Prince's, then prince both ruins.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on October 19, 2014, 11:04:20 am
i just realized, you can open death cart/silver, get 10$ in T3, buy stonemason and get 2 Prince's, then prince both ruins.

Or you can open Death Cart/potion, and get 8+P turn 3 and get 2 possessions (with stonemason)!!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 19, 2014, 11:55:52 am
(http://images-cdn.dashdigital.com/golfdigeststix/20140305/data/imgpages/mobile/0011_isgtkf.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 19, 2014, 12:03:34 pm
<image>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZG11UBoj-o
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 20, 2014, 08:43:42 am
Did someone mention bacon?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 20, 2014, 01:39:37 pm
http://www.housespecial.com/all/#cgwork
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 20, 2014, 02:16:47 pm
This feels relevant to the science discussion:

http://imgur.com/gallery/ZpgQz
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 20, 2014, 06:18:38 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMq-FyDBeBA
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 21, 2014, 08:16:02 am
Finally finished watching Caprica, the spin-off of the Battlestar Galactica reboot.

I enjoyed it. A couple of times things did seem too soap opera-ish, but it was couched in a sci-fi wrapper, which is generally interesting. I'm actually kind of glad it didn't survive past the first season. I think it told the story just fine in those 20 episodes. If it had been allowed another season, I fear it would have struggled to maintain consistency in the universe (the danger of telling prequel stories) while trying to remain interesting.

I read an interesting article about why the show didn't rate so highly. Soap opera fans didn't want to watch sci-fi, and sci-fi fans didn't want to watch soap operas. The latter part kind of amuses me, because I think the real point is that sci-fi action fans would not be interested. I actually found the ethical and philosophical points to be interesting, and those feature prominently in many sci-fi works.

I have to admit that it's funny that the near-universal destruction of humanity blossomed from an angsty teenaged girl. Maybe too funny to be taken seriously?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 21, 2014, 01:13:43 pm
I have to admit that it's funny that the near-universal destruction of humanity blossomed from an angsty teenaged girl. Maybe too funny to be taken seriously?

I think it is quite a good metaphor but I won't bother explaining why as this is not RSP (it's RSP2).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 21, 2014, 04:53:53 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7K91g8yG_w

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 21, 2014, 05:51:37 pm
StrongRhino, I will catch up to you in post voting eventually!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 21, 2014, 06:05:52 pm
StrongRhino, I will catch up to you in post voting eventually!

Less than 1000 to go!  Upvoting this will get you there faster
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 21, 2014, 06:13:39 pm
So tonight I'm a judge at Guitar Center's Drum Off competition. As to why anyone would think I was qualified to be a judge is beyond me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 21, 2014, 06:20:26 pm
StrongRhino, I will catch up to you in post voting eventually!

Less than 1000 to go!  Upvoting this will get you there faster

But that's only one post...

You could upvote all my posts instead, and you would be halfway there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 21, 2014, 06:28:29 pm
So tonight I'm a judge at Guitar Center's Drum Off competition. As to why anyone would think I was qualified to be a judge is beyond me.

fake it until you make it.  Obviously some people have seen you fake it enough
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on October 21, 2014, 09:27:11 pm
So tonight I'm a judge at Guitar Center's Drum Off competition. As to why anyone would think I was qualified to be a judge is beyond me.

You seem pretty judgmental. They just need people with opinions and who are willing to say them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 22, 2014, 12:40:01 am
So tonight I'm a judge at Guitar Center's Drum Off competition. As to why anyone would think I was qualified to be a judge is beyond me.

The bigger question is why a Guitar Center is qualified to host a Drum Off.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 22, 2014, 09:44:54 am
So tonight I'm a judge at Guitar Center's Drum Off competition. As to why anyone would think I was qualified to be a judge is beyond me.

The bigger question is why a Guitar Center is qualified to host a Drum Off.

If you have a lot of money you can host anything you want. You should've seen these drummers last night. *Shudder*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 22, 2014, 12:48:08 pm
New favorite meme, Noir Dog:

(http://i.imgur.com/uYViiT2.png?1)

More: http://imgur.com/gallery/F7KgH
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 22, 2014, 01:45:38 pm
there's a game open that's called "Game". Man, that's some useful information right here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 22, 2014, 01:47:32 pm
there's a game open that's called "Game". Man, that's some useful information right here.

And everyone here just lost, thanks to you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 22, 2014, 04:14:43 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2b660faa5e5f63eb61cc9d888f36fa15/tumblr_ncfqet6ZBT1syb332o1_500.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 22, 2014, 05:12:36 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2b660faa5e5f63eb61cc9d888f36fa15/tumblr_ncfqet6ZBT1syb332o1_500.png)

That took way too long for me to realize, because it took a bit for my computer to load it anyway...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 22, 2014, 05:16:54 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2b660faa5e5f63eb61cc9d888f36fa15/tumblr_ncfqet6ZBT1syb332o1_500.png)

That took way too long for me to realize, because it took a bit for my computer to load it anyway...

Maybe you should stop using Internet Explorer .......
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 22, 2014, 05:17:28 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2b660faa5e5f63eb61cc9d888f36fa15/tumblr_ncfqet6ZBT1syb332o1_500.png)

"They can't all be the best browser ever"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 22, 2014, 05:20:47 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2b660faa5e5f63eb61cc9d888f36fa15/tumblr_ncfqet6ZBT1syb332o1_500.png)

That took way too long for me to realize, because it took a bit for my computer to load it anyway...

Maybe you should stop using Internet Explorer .......

I'm not.  It maybe might have to do with the fact that there are two cookie clickers on.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 22, 2014, 05:23:15 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2b660faa5e5f63eb61cc9d888f36fa15/tumblr_ncfqet6ZBT1syb332o1_500.png)

That took way too long for me to realize, because it took a bit for my computer to load it anyway...

They're such a great puns when you do figure it out though, right?  I mean, the caption has at least 3 different interpretations.  The wordplay is ingenious!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 22, 2014, 05:40:42 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2b660faa5e5f63eb61cc9d888f36fa15/tumblr_ncfqet6ZBT1syb332o1_500.png)

That took way too long for me to realize, because it took a bit for my computer to load it anyway...

Maybe you should stop using Internet Explorer .......

Stop! It's dead! Let it be dead!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on October 22, 2014, 05:45:50 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2b660faa5e5f63eb61cc9d888f36fa15/tumblr_ncfqet6ZBT1syb332o1_500.png)

That took way too long for me to realize, because it took a bit for my computer to load it anyway...

They're such a great puns when you do figure it out though, right?  I mean, the caption has at least 3 different interpretations.  The wordplay is ingenious!

*Gasp* it loads up on top but not down on the bottom!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 23, 2014, 01:09:35 am
I solved the 4d cube, by the way.  I'm the first person to ever solve that big of one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 23, 2014, 08:31:25 am
Drat. This is one of those sites that is blocked at work. It just shows up as a blank post for me. *shakes tiny fist* Maybe when I get home.

(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2b660faa5e5f63eb61cc9d888f36fa15/tumblr_ncfqet6ZBT1syb332o1_500.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 23, 2014, 09:25:56 am
Oops, I may have been a bit too emphatic in my disdain for baseball this morning. I try not to let that come out too much since people have their own tastes, and I won't begrudge people for liking it.

I just blurted it out when I was shocked that my co-worker would forego watching American Horror Story for baseball. I won't have anyone to talk with around here about AHS for several days.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2014, 09:28:58 am
Oops, I may have been a bit too emphatic in my disdain for baseball this morning. I try not to let that come out too much since people have their own tastes, and I won't begrudge people for liking it.

I just blurted it out when I was shocked that my co-worker would forego watching American Horror Story for baseball. I won't have anyone to talk with around here about AHS for several days.

Some people want to spend a good chunk of time being bored.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 23, 2014, 09:50:48 am
Does it help if I said I disliked American Horror Story? (And most other television programs.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 23, 2014, 10:31:45 am
Oops, I may have been a bit too emphatic in my disdain for baseball this morning. I try not to let that come out too much since people have their own tastes, and I won't begrudge people for liking it.

I just blurted it out when I was shocked that my co-worker would forego watching American Horror Story for baseball. I won't have anyone to talk with around here about AHS for several days.

Some people want to spend a good chunk of time being bored.

The thing is that they're not bored with it. They like the pauses in the action. I guess it builds tension for when something actually happens.

But then, different tastes. I'm sure I can find people who would find playing Dominion to be tedious. None of them are my friends, of course, but such a thing is possible. After all, how many conversations have come up on BGG and here about finding more accessible board games to play that appeal to the diehard board gamer and the casual nongamer? I would be perfectly content playing a 12-hour-long game of Advanced Civilization, but even some of my avid gaming buddies shy away from that. So yeah, I find baseball boring as hell, but the excitement of this week proves that there's enough who disagree with me to make it worthwhile.

But hey, at least I'm not playing baseball. That's one of the few sports that where I find it more boring to participate than to watch. If I had to do a sport, I'd do something with very few pauses in the action, like futbol, hockey, or basketball.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2014, 10:56:27 am
Oops, I may have been a bit too emphatic in my disdain for baseball this morning. I try not to let that come out too much since people have their own tastes, and I won't begrudge people for liking it.

I just blurted it out when I was shocked that my co-worker would forego watching American Horror Story for baseball. I won't have anyone to talk with around here about AHS for several days.

Some people want to spend a good chunk of time being bored.

The thing is that they're not bored with it. They like the pauses in the action. I guess it builds tension for when something actually happens.

But then, different tastes. I'm sure I can find people who would find playing Dominion to be tedious. None of them are my friends, of course, but such a thing is possible. After all, how many conversations have come up on BGG and here about finding more accessible board games to play that appeal to the diehard board gamer and the casual nongamer? I would be perfectly content playing a 12-hour-long game of Advanced Civilization, but even some of my avid gaming buddies shy away from that. So yeah, I find baseball boring as hell, but the excitement of this week proves that there's enough who disagree with me to make it worthwhile.

But hey, at least I'm not playing baseball. That's one of the few sports that where I find it more boring to participate than to watch. If I had to do a sport, I'd do something with very few pauses in the action, like futbol, hockey, or basketball.

Impossible.  Baseball is boring; therefore, people that watch it must be bored.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 23, 2014, 11:15:58 am
Impossible.  Baseball is boring; therefore, people that watch it must be bored.

Not necessarily. Maybe they're doing something interesting while watching baseball.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2014, 11:18:19 am
Impossible.  Baseball is boring; therefore, people that watch it must be bored.

Not necessarily. Maybe they're doing something interesting while watching baseball.

Like changing the channel?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 23, 2014, 11:22:47 am
Oops, I may have been a bit too emphatic in my disdain for baseball this morning. I try not to let that come out too much since people have their own tastes, and I won't begrudge people for liking it.

I just blurted it out when I was shocked that my co-worker would forego watching American Horror Story for baseball. I won't have anyone to talk with around here about AHS for several days.

Some people want to spend a good chunk of time being bored.

The thing is that they're not bored with it. They like the pauses in the action. I guess it builds tension for when something actually happens.

But then, different tastes. I'm sure I can find people who would find playing Dominion to be tedious. None of them are my friends, of course, but such a thing is possible. After all, how many conversations have come up on BGG and here about finding more accessible board games to play that appeal to the diehard board gamer and the casual nongamer? I would be perfectly content playing a 12-hour-long game of Advanced Civilization, but even some of my avid gaming buddies shy away from that. So yeah, I find baseball boring as hell, but the excitement of this week proves that there's enough who disagree with me to make it worthwhile.

But hey, at least I'm not playing baseball. That's one of the few sports that where I find it more boring to participate than to watch. If I had to do a sport, I'd do something with very few pauses in the action, like futbol, hockey, or basketball.

Impossible.  Baseball is boring; therefore, people that watch it must be bored.

This begs the question, why would they even watch baseball at all?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2014, 11:24:32 am
Oops, I may have been a bit too emphatic in my disdain for baseball this morning. I try not to let that come out too much since people have their own tastes, and I won't begrudge people for liking it.

I just blurted it out when I was shocked that my co-worker would forego watching American Horror Story for baseball. I won't have anyone to talk with around here about AHS for several days.

Some people want to spend a good chunk of time being bored.

The thing is that they're not bored with it. They like the pauses in the action. I guess it builds tension for when something actually happens.

But then, different tastes. I'm sure I can find people who would find playing Dominion to be tedious. None of them are my friends, of course, but such a thing is possible. After all, how many conversations have come up on BGG and here about finding more accessible board games to play that appeal to the diehard board gamer and the casual nongamer? I would be perfectly content playing a 12-hour-long game of Advanced Civilization, but even some of my avid gaming buddies shy away from that. So yeah, I find baseball boring as hell, but the excitement of this week proves that there's enough who disagree with me to make it worthwhile.

But hey, at least I'm not playing baseball. That's one of the few sports that where I find it more boring to participate than to watch. If I had to do a sport, I'd do something with very few pauses in the action, like futbol, hockey, or basketball.

Impossible.  Baseball is boring; therefore, people that watch it must be bored.

This begs the question, why would they even watch baseball at all?

Ahserksy!  Alert!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 23, 2014, 11:26:09 am
I just hate it when people have different interests then me. How dare someone enjoy something I don't.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 23, 2014, 11:38:45 am
From an outsider perspective : baseball is boring. This is not a "your American sports are stupid" thing (although they are), because I also find soccer boring.

There is a caveat there though : they're not boring if you're rooting for a team. Because once you're really rooting for someone, there's tension at every step. I've actually been in a baseball stadium during a holiday in America : I went to a Cubs game in Chicago, and I had a lot of fun, because I was rooting for the home team (and they actually won, which I'm led to believe is unusual for them).

Truly great sports are the ones you can enjoy without rooting for a particular team. Like rugby for example.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2014, 11:43:15 am
From an outsider perspective : baseball is boring. This is not a "your American sports are stupid" thing (although they are), because I also find soccer boring.

There is a caveat there though : they're not boring if you're rooting for a team. Because once you're really rooting for someone, there's tension at every step. I've actually been in a baseball stadium during a holiday in America : I went to a Cubs game in Chicago, and I had a lot of fun, because I was rooting for the home team (and they actually won, which I'm led to believe is unusual for them).

Truly great sports are the ones you can enjoy without rooting for a particular team. Like rugby for example.

*coughvolleyballcough*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 23, 2014, 12:00:06 pm
From an outsider perspective : baseball is boring. This is not a "your American sports are stupid" thing (although they are), because I also find soccer boring.

Basketball is awesome (I assume by American sports you mean sports popular in the US). And the macho culture around rugby is awful, worst than football (the real one, the one you strangely call soccer). Maybe the game itself would be nice if it wasn't for that, but hey, can you really separate the two?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 23, 2014, 12:15:10 pm
From an outsider perspective : baseball is boring. This is not a "your American sports are stupid" thing (although they are), because I also find soccer boring.

I wonder if this is why the "World Series" consists of teams only from America and Canada. The rest of the world doesn't care about baseball (though I seem to recall that Japan and Cuba have an interest in it).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 23, 2014, 12:17:08 pm
how about: physical sports are boring?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 23, 2014, 12:20:13 pm
I wonder if this is why the "World Series" consists of teams only from America and Canada. The rest of the world doesn't care about baseball (though I seem to recall that Japan and Cuba have an interest in it).

Baseball is the most popular sport in Venezuela and Cuba (actually, in Cuba they are shifting to football, but Baseball was their main sport until recently).

Calling something national (or bi-national) World Series is just one of the many expression of the US-centric (or North American-centric) way of doing things. I have also heard the NBA Champion be called "World Champion" many times on US's ESPN (even before there were Canadian teams in the NBA), and Basketball is popular in many places outside the US from at least 50 years ago.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 23, 2014, 01:00:29 pm
how about: physical sports are boring?

I think most people in the world would disagree with you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 23, 2014, 01:07:39 pm
From an outsider perspective : baseball is boring. This is not a "your American sports are stupid" thing (although they are), because I also find soccer boring.

I wonder if this is why the "World Series" consists of teams only from America and Canada. The rest of the world doesn't care about baseball (though I seem to recall that Japan and Cuba have an interest in it).

Baseball isn't so popular in Canada either. The stereotype is true, it's mostly hockey hype here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 23, 2014, 01:09:06 pm
how about: physical sports are boring?

I think most people in the world would disagree with you.

yes most people in the world also don't play dominion. do you agree with not playing dominion? q.e.d
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 23, 2014, 01:29:55 pm
how about: physical sports are boring?

I think most people in the world would disagree with you.

yes most people in the world also don't play dominion. do you agree with not playing dominion? q.e.d

What does Dominion have to do with sports?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 23, 2014, 01:32:32 pm
Most people not playing Dominion is not a judgement but a fact, so there is nothing to agree or disagree on it. People not liking Dominion would be different, but people can only not like it if they know it, and I am not sure whether most people that know Dominion dislike Dominion (yes, that's how great I think the game is).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 23, 2014, 01:34:12 pm
how about: physical sports are boring?

I would say that physical sports are boring to me, but I wouldn't generalize it too much. For example, if the television is showing volleyball, tennis, or hockey, I'd even find myself drawn in a little bit as it is constant action. Granted, for volleyball and tennis, you have a slight delay as you reset the court, but the game is afoot fairly quickly.

Baseball and American football are dreary for me. Oh, look, a little action. Okay, now they're talking about it. Yeah, players are shuffling a bit. Oh, they're lining up. Oh, look, a little action. Okay, now more talking about it.

How it is that American football surpasses futbol in popularity in the States I will never understand. At the very least, how is it more popular than basketball?

They all bore me, but I'm not the norm. But at least those sports aren't golf or auto racing. Those are complete snooze fests to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 23, 2014, 01:43:58 pm
The constant action of soccer and hockey is exciting but there's something to be said for the drama of waiting for that next pitch or that next throw because it only takes one to change a whole game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 23, 2014, 01:51:01 pm
The fact that "grown ups" got a sequel proves that there is a portion of people that enjoys paying to watch something where NOTHING happens.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 23, 2014, 01:51:14 pm
I said soccer because saying football is confusing when you're on an international forum. If I were to mention both in a sentence I would say football and American football but I wasn't so I said soccer for the sake of clarity.

Basketball is the most enjoyable of the American sports (and, unsurprisingly, the most popular around the world), but I still don't like it. It's fun to play, but not to watch : it's just very repetitive and too many points are scored.

@soulnet : I mean there is a macho culture around sports in general. In France, rugby players have a much better image than soccer players as being down-to-earth people, though that's fading as the Top14 is transforming into the equivalent of the Premier League.

@WW : Volley-ball is awesome, I play it every week ! I enjoy watching rugby more though.

PPE : Hockey is great too, I always forget about it because it's not played a lot around here, but I always enjoy watching it in the WInter Olympics.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2014, 01:54:17 pm
I said soccer because saying football is confusing when you're on an international forum. If I were to mention both in a sentence I would say football and American football but I wasn't so I said soccer for the sake of clarity.

Basketball is the most enjoyable of the American sports (and, unsurprisingly, the most popular around the world), but I still don't like it. It's fun to play, but not to watch : it's just very repetitive and too many points are scored.

@soulnet : I mean there is a macho culture around sports in general. In France, rugby players have a much better image than soccer players as being down-to-earth people, though that's fading as the Top14 is transforming into the equivalent of the Premier League.

@WW : Volley-ball is awesome, I play it every week ! I enjoy watching rugby more though.

PPE : Hockey is great too, I always forget about it because it's not played a lot around here, but I always enjoy watching it in the WInter Olympics.

What position do you play?

I really only watch volleyball.. I have particular interest in it because I can learn from what I see the athletes do, and I can understand from personal experience certain situations/decisions/etc.  (Even though they play at a much higher level than me.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 23, 2014, 02:14:08 pm
football (the real one

Neither football is the real one. One of them is handegg and the other one is divegrass.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 23, 2014, 03:41:03 pm
As someone that grew up playing a lot of sports, I enjoy watching American football more than any other sport I can play. I enjoy hockey more than any sport I cannot play. Anything else I either prefer playing, or prefer ignoring.

Also, it should be noted that football (NFL/NCAA) are typically enjoyed in a group setting, where there is interaction outside the actual game being watched.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 23, 2014, 04:22:56 pm
Apparently cockroaches are better at cooperating than people are.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/04/03/1607034.htm

:|
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 23, 2014, 04:49:35 pm
Apparently cockroaches are better at cooperating than people are.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/04/03/1607034.htm

:|

I believe that cockroaches and termites are relatively closely related phylogenetically? I wonder if that has something to do with this social behavior.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 23, 2014, 06:08:12 pm
I practice reciprocal respect: I am much more likely to +1 your posts if you +1 mine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2014, 06:17:29 pm
Apparently cockroaches are better at cooperating than people are.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/04/03/1607034.htm

:|

Also, rocks are really great at cooperating.  They never fight or argue with each other, or cut each other off in traffic, or anything.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 23, 2014, 06:18:09 pm
I practice reciprocal respect: I am much more likely to +1 your posts if you +1 mine.

...how much more likely are we talking here?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 23, 2014, 06:37:49 pm
I practice reciprocal respect: I am much more likely to +1 your posts if you +1 mine.

...how much more likely are we talking here?

 ;D

...Quite a bit.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 23, 2014, 06:38:39 pm
I practice reciprocal respect: I am much more likely to +1 your posts if you +1 mine.

Whereas if you give me +1 respect, I will give you +1/respect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 23, 2014, 07:12:26 pm
Apparently cockroaches are better at cooperating than people are.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/04/03/1607034.htm

:|

I believe that cockroaches and termites are relatively closely related phylogenetically? I wonder if that has something to do with this social behavior.

I don't think the cockroach behaviour can really be said to be democratic. I mean, termites are the classic example of emergent behaviour. None of them actually know that they're building a termite mound; they just do a few repetitive tasks following a few simple rules and when all of them work this way they get a mound.

In the same way, bacteria form biofilms and release proteins that control the group behaviour. You have a whole bunch of bacteria in a group all emitting the same protein, then that protein reaches a threshold at which individual bacteria will start doing something (this is called quorum sensing). So are the bacteria really "living in a democracy"? I don't think so. Of course, the study referenced is still interesting, but as usual the article and headline are somewhat misleading.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 23, 2014, 07:49:50 pm
Apparently cockroaches are better at cooperating than people are.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/04/03/1607034.htm

:|

I believe that cockroaches and termites are relatively closely related phylogenetically? I wonder if that has something to do with this social behavior.

I don't think the cockroach behaviour can really be said to be democratic. I mean, termites are the classic example of emergent behaviour. None of them actually know that they're building a termite mound; they just do a few repetitive tasks following a few simple rules and when all of them work this way they get a mound.

In the same way, bacteria form biofilms and release proteins that control the group behaviour. You have a whole bunch of bacteria in a group all emitting the same protein, then that protein reaches a threshold at which individual bacteria will start doing something (this is called quorum sensing). So are the bacteria really "living in a democracy"? I don't think so. Of course, the study referenced is still interesting, but as usual the article and headline are somewhat misleading.

There's always the economists' go-to phrase: They act AS IF....
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 23, 2014, 07:56:32 pm
Apparently cockroaches are better at cooperating than people are.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/04/03/1607034.htm

:|

I believe that cockroaches and termites are relatively closely related phylogenetically? I wonder if that has something to do with this social behavior.

I don't think the cockroach behaviour can really be said to be democratic. I mean, termites are the classic example of emergent behaviour. None of them actually know that they're building a termite mound; they just do a few repetitive tasks following a few simple rules and when all of them work this way they get a mound.

In the same way, bacteria form biofilms and release proteins that control the group behaviour. You have a whole bunch of bacteria in a group all emitting the same protein, then that protein reaches a threshold at which individual bacteria will start doing something (this is called quorum sensing). So are the bacteria really "living in a democracy"? I don't think so. Of course, the study referenced is still interesting, but as usual the article and headline are somewhat misleading.

No, cockroaches are democratic and they will rise up and destroy us all in the name of invertebrate freedom.  :'(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2014, 10:06:55 pm
Oops, I may have been a bit too emphatic in my disdain for baseball this morning. I try not to let that come out too much since people have their own tastes, and I won't begrudge people for liking it.

I just blurted it out when I was shocked that my co-worker would forego watching American Horror Story for baseball. I won't have anyone to talk with around here about AHS for several days.

The background noise (or "music" or whatever) of American Horror Story is really, really, really bad.  I really want to get into it, but it's making it very hard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2014, 10:26:29 pm
Like, the sound issue is single,-handedly ruining the show.  Had to stop watching Episode 2 halfway through. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on October 23, 2014, 10:41:54 pm
I browse the forum from my phone most of the time so I am much stingier with respect than I'd like to be because the button is just so hard to push accurately. I like you all a lot better than my respect-giving probably suggests. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 24, 2014, 01:32:10 am
This begs the question, why would they even watch baseball at all?

Dude...

http://begthequestion.info/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 24, 2014, 01:41:57 am
I browse the forum from my phone most of the time so I am much stingier with respect than I'd like to be because the button is just so hard to push accurately. I like you all a lot better than my respect-giving probably suggests. :P

Sometimes I browse the forum with the mousepad, which tends to click around randomly, so I actually like you all less than my respect giving suggests. No offense :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 24, 2014, 01:44:20 am
This begs the question, why would they even watch baseball at all?

Dude...

http://begthequestion.info/

Sorry. It was a weak joke that didn't land. WW said "Impossible.  Baseball is boring; therefore, people that watch it must be bored." Which, if I understand it correctly, is actually an instance of begging the question. In addition, I was referencing the previous discussion of this topic in this thread, for a layer of "meta-humor".

In retrospect, the joke probably could have been funnier. I thought it was pretty clever this morning, but I had just woken up, so  perhaps my judgment was clouded. I should have done more to emphasize the sarcastic tone of my comment, and that I was responding specifically to WW's statement. Perhaps it was just better left unposted.

Now that I've explained myself, you can see how hilarious my joke truly is. We appreciate your time and laughter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 24, 2014, 04:29:44 am
can you see lobby msg's that were sent while you were in game? you can't, can you?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 24, 2014, 04:38:24 am
also, why do people answer to "glhf" with "hi". "good luck " - "hi", that doesn't even make sense.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 24, 2014, 05:37:49 am
This begs the question, why would they even watch baseball at all?

Dude...

http://begthequestion.info/

Sorry. It was a weak joke that didn't land. WW said "Impossible.  Baseball is boring; therefore, people that watch it must be bored." Which, if I understand it correctly, is actually an instance of begging the question. In addition, I was referencing the previous discussion of this topic in this thread, for a layer of "meta-humor".

In retrospect, the joke probably could have been funnier. I thought it was pretty clever this morning, but I had just woken up, so  perhaps my judgment was clouded. I should have done more to emphasize the sarcastic tone of my comment, and that I was responding specifically to WW's statement. Perhaps it was just better left unposted.

Now that I've explained myself, you can see how hilarious my joke truly is. We appreciate your time and laughter.

I think "baseball is boring because it's not fun" is begging the question.  "People who watch baseball are bored because baseball is boring" isn't an actual logical fallacy, I think, as it has actual cause and effect.

"Your joke is now funny because you explained it" is also true.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 24, 2014, 08:27:47 am
also, why do people answer to "glhf" with "hi". "good luck " - "hi", that doesn't even make sense.

It does if that's the first thing they are saying to you. They were going to say hi, you just said glhf too fast, and they still want to salute. It is noticeable that Goko loads at different speeds, so it is likely that someone enter the game when you already wrote glhf in the chat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on October 24, 2014, 08:39:18 am
Some may not know what "glhf" even means.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 24, 2014, 08:43:43 am
Some may not know what "glhf" even means.

It is a sound showing displeasance because only the middle row of your keyboard works, right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 24, 2014, 09:47:08 am
Besides, isn't glhf so ubiquitous that it has turned into a greeting? Or at least could be viewed that way by some players?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: shraeye on October 24, 2014, 10:06:25 am
I never fail to read it as "good luck high five"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 24, 2014, 10:13:51 am
also, why do people answer to "glhf" with "hi". "good luck " - "hi", that doesn't even make sense.

It does if that's the first thing they are saying to you. They were going to say hi, you just said glhf too fast, and they still want to salute. It is noticeable that Goko loads at different speeds, so it is likely that someone enter the game when you already wrote glhf in the chat.

sure but they don't do that. They wait until I say "glhf" or just "gl" and then answer "hi"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 24, 2014, 10:33:59 am
also, why do people answer to "glhf" with "hi". "good luck " - "hi", that doesn't even make sense.

It does if that's the first thing they are saying to you. They were going to say hi, you just said glhf too fast, and they still want to salute. It is noticeable that Goko loads at different speeds, so it is likely that someone enter the game when you already wrote glhf in the chat.

sure but they don't do that. They wait until I say "glhf" or just "gl" and then answer "hi"

It makes sense if they interpret glhf as a salutation.

Like:
"Good morning!"
"Hi!"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 24, 2014, 10:42:51 am
Unless I have a specific reason for unmuting all of my devices are muted all the time; computer, ipad, phone, etc. When I use someone else's device and all the bleeps and bloops and dings and whizzes I just don't know what the hell people are doing with their sound on. I recently watched a hearthstone stream and was flabbergasted at how amazingly annoying it is with sound.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 24, 2014, 11:01:31 am
Unless I have a specific reason for unmuting all of my devices are muted all the time; computer, ipad, phone, etc. When I use someone else's device and all the bleeps and bloops and dings and whizzes I just don't know what the hell people are doing with their sound on. I recently watched a hearthstone stream and was flabbergasted at how amazingly annoying it is with sound.

And playing a video game isn't a specific reason for unmuting?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 24, 2014, 11:13:55 am
Unless I have a specific reason for unmuting all of my devices are muted all the time; computer, ipad, phone, etc. When I use someone else's device and all the bleeps and bloops and dings and whizzes I just don't know what the hell people are doing with their sound on. I recently watched a hearthstone stream and was flabbergasted at how amazingly annoying it is with sound.

And playing a video game isn't a specific reason for unmuting?

No, it is not. I do not recall the last game where I needed sound in order to play. Watching a Youtube clip or similar or streaming a TV episode is about the only time I unmute.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 24, 2014, 11:16:06 am
Unless I have a specific reason for unmuting all of my devices are muted all the time; computer, ipad, phone, etc. When I use someone else's device and all the bleeps and bloops and dings and whizzes I just don't know what the hell people are doing with their sound on. I recently watched a hearthstone stream and was flabbergasted at how amazingly annoying it is with sound.

And playing a video game isn't a specific reason for unmuting?

Depends on how essential the sounds are for the video game. I play Marvel Avengers Alliance, which is a FB game that has fights similar to Final Fantasy/Bard's Tale. The sounds are amusing, but they aren't essential to the game. So I mute it.

FPS games, of course, need sound. Most RTS games do too simply because the audio cue is harder to miss than the message that pops up in the corner.

Technically, I don't need sound for Wasteland 2, but I have it on anyway because it's Wasteland, man.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on October 24, 2014, 11:17:12 am
Unless I have a specific reason for unmuting all of my devices are muted all the time; computer, ipad, phone, etc. When I use someone else's device and all the bleeps and bloops and dings and whizzes I just don't know what the hell people are doing with their sound on. I recently watched a hearthstone stream and was flabbergasted at how amazingly annoying it is with sound.

And playing a video game isn't a specific reason for unmuting?

No, it is not. I do not recall the last game where I needed sound in order to play. Watching a Youtube clip or similar or streaming a TV episode is about the only time I unmute.

Depends on the game. I'd like to see you play Left 4 Dead without sound as the game uses many changes in music and zombie sounds to warn you have what's going on.

EDIT: But yes hearthstone can be annoying. I actually like all the little catch phrases, but I usually turn the music off.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 24, 2014, 11:18:17 am
Unless I have a specific reason for unmuting all of my devices are muted all the time; computer, ipad, phone, etc. When I use someone else's device and all the bleeps and bloops and dings and whizzes I just don't know what the hell people are doing with their sound on. I recently watched a hearthstone stream and was flabbergasted at how amazingly annoying it is with sound.

And playing a video game isn't a specific reason for unmuting?

No, it is not. I do not recall the last game where I needed sound in order to play. Watching a Youtube clip or similar or streaming a TV episode is about the only time I unmute.

Muting e.g. Online Dominion is perfectly acceptable. Muting e.g. Ghost Trick makes you history's greatest monster.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 24, 2014, 11:19:09 am
There are definitely games that require sound but apparently I am not playing those games. I have played several FPS quite fine without sound.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 24, 2014, 11:19:31 am
No, it is not. I do not recall the last game where I needed sound in order to play.

Blind people also probably don't recall the last time they needed to see in order to walk.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 24, 2014, 12:58:19 pm
Unless I have a specific reason for unmuting all of my devices are muted all the time; computer, ipad, phone, etc. When I use someone else's device and all the bleeps and bloops and dings and whizzes I just don't know what the hell people are doing with their sound on. I recently watched a hearthstone stream and was flabbergasted at how amazingly annoying it is with sound.

And playing a video game isn't a specific reason for unmuting?

Depends on how essential the sounds are for the video game. I play Marvel Avengers Alliance, which is a FB game that has fights similar to Final Fantasy/Bard's Tale. The sounds are amusing, but they aren't essential to the game. So I mute it.

FPS games, of course, need sound. Most RTS games do too simply because the audio cue is harder to miss than the message that pops up in the corner.

Technically, I don't need sound for Wasteland 2, but I have it on anyway because it's Wasteland, man.


I'll second RTS needing sound.

I have my computer's sound routed to my headphones only, and in terms of games I used the sound only for Starcraft, which I haven't played in a while, and back when I was raiding in WoW.  Hearthstone's sounds are horribly annoying.

Dominion, HS, Civ, Factorio, KoL... no need for sound.  (In the last case, no need for graphics either!)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 24, 2014, 01:13:22 pm
I never fail to read it as "good luck high five"

glfb is more sanitary.

Unless I have a specific reason for unmuting all of my devices are muted all the time; computer, ipad, phone, etc. When I use someone else's device and all the bleeps and bloops and dings and whizzes I just don't know what the hell people are doing with their sound on. I recently watched a hearthstone stream and was flabbergasted at how amazingly annoying it is with sound.

And playing a video game isn't a specific reason for unmuting?

No, it is not. I do not recall the last game where I needed sound in order to play. Watching a Youtube clip or similar or streaming a TV episode is about the only time I unmute.

Muting e.g. Online Dominion is perfectly acceptable. Muting e.g. Ghost Trick makes you history's greatest monster.

It's true. All those evil tyrants from human history? Almost none of them played Ghost Trick with sound on.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 24, 2014, 02:10:08 pm
Muting e.g. Online Dominion is perfectly acceptable. Muting e.g. Ghost Trick makes you history's greatest monster.

It's true. All those evil tyrants from human history? Almost none of them played Ghost Trick with sound on.

Q.E.D.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 24, 2014, 02:28:02 pm
For me, playing video/computer games without sound is kind of like watching a movie without sound. There are some movies that you don't need sound to fully appreciate. Like most silent movies. The same goes for video/computer games. You don't need it for games like Battle Chess, Dominion or Hearthstone.

But to me, playing Heroes of Might & Magic III without sound is like watching The Godfather subtitled without sound. And as mentioned some games have pretty distinct audio cues, which makes them almost unplayable without sound.

All that aside, the guys working with the music and sound effects also worked on the game. But I guess the graphics guys are more important?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 24, 2014, 02:33:51 pm
All that aside, the guys working with the music and sound effects also worked on the game. But I guess the graphics guys are more important?

Nope. See Isotropic as a perfect example. Gameplay is most important with interface accessibility coming in close second. Everything else is quite literally window dressing.

Obviously FPS improves with better graphics but there is a point of diminishing returns. Obviously sound can be an integral part of a game (say DDR), but those are typically games I won't be playing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 24, 2014, 02:53:23 pm
For me, playing video/computer games without sound is kind of like watching a movie without sound. There are some movies that you don't need sound to fully appreciate. Like most silent movies. The same goes for video/computer games. You don't need it for games like Battle Chess, Dominion or Hearthstone.

But to me, playing Heroes of Might & Magic III without sound is like watching The Godfather subtitled without sound. And as mentioned some games have pretty distinct audio cues, which makes them almost unplayable without sound.

All that aside, the guys working with the music and sound effects also worked on the game. But I guess the graphics guys are more important?

Well, most of my gaming is of the RPG family (Final Fantasy, Shining Force, etc.), so while the sound and music is generally pretty awesome, you eventually don't need to hear the fight music for the 10,000,000 time.  I would turn sound off and play my own music.  It's kind of funny that some songs still remind me of certain dungeons/battles where I happened to spend a lot of time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 24, 2014, 03:05:10 pm
grammar question:

if I say "it was so XX that YY" there doesn't belong a comma behind XX, right?

but what if I say, "it was so XX, and A was so B that YY"? Do I need a comma behind B here? Putting one feels wrong, but not putting it feels wrong too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on October 24, 2014, 03:07:04 pm
Yes, you add a comma there.  "and A was so B" is a nonrestrictive clause and should be set off with a comma.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 24, 2014, 05:18:09 pm
http://game.ioxapp.com/color/

Find the square that's a different colour.  You have one minute to get as many as you can.  The best I've done is 27.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 24, 2014, 05:32:51 pm
http://game.ioxapp.com/color/

Find the square that's a different colour.  You have one minute to get as many as you can.  The best I've done is 27.

I got 26 on my first try and 34 on my second try. Cool game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 24, 2014, 05:47:06 pm
Haha, 27 on my first try!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 24, 2014, 05:47:54 pm
http://game.ioxapp.com/color/

Find the square that's a different colour.  You have one minute to get as many as you can.  The best I've done is 27.

I got 26 on my first try and 34 on my second try. Cool game.

I got 26 on my first try, then did much worse for a few tries.  Took a break after 27, just got 36!  I think I need to unfocus my eyes more. :P  If you got 34 on your second, you could probably get way further.  You have good eyes, sir.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on October 24, 2014, 06:24:12 pm
http://game.ioxapp.com/color/

Find the square that's a different colour.  You have one minute to get as many as you can.  The best I've done is 27.

Stupid blue...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 24, 2014, 06:45:35 pm
Also, piss off your colorblind friend in one easy step!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 24, 2014, 06:46:45 pm
Chalk me up for another 27 first try.  I'm surprised how doable it felt: clever thing the human brain.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 24, 2014, 06:47:51 pm
Also, piss off your colorblind friend in one easy step!

Would it? The different square seems to be brighter than the others, not a different hue.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: florrat on October 24, 2014, 06:47:57 pm
Nice. 28, 31, 38 in order... In the third game I realized there was no penalty for misclicking, which helps quite a bit (by not having to double check when you see something a little off).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 24, 2014, 07:22:21 pm
http://game.ioxapp.com/color/

Find the square that's a different colour.  You have one minute to get as many as you can.  The best I've done is 27.

Stupid blue...

!!!!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 24, 2014, 07:25:21 pm
Reminds me of this color discrimination test/game (not sure if posted here before):

http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 24, 2014, 09:15:09 pm
Also, piss off your colorblind friend in one easy step!

Would it? The different square seems to be brighter than the others, not a different hue.

Yes. I'm colorblind and I got to the 8x8 and can't find the odd one out at all.


Reminds me of this color discrimination test/game (not sure if posted here before):

http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge

I failed the crap out of this one too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on October 24, 2014, 09:27:30 pm
Some of the colors, e.g. yellow, are way easier than others. Which is odd, since on that xrite thing the only errors I made were in the yellow hues. I guess it might also be related to my display, especially since I use a program which modifies the colors displayed.

Edit: My best is 35 36 43.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on October 25, 2014, 12:08:17 am
I've always appreciated hatch #40, "Which is more." You have to click left a bunch of times but you will see some stuff on the way. http://www.eyezmaze.com/eyezblog_en/blog/2005/01/hatch_today.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 25, 2014, 12:09:42 am
31 on my first try, but I would have failed on certain colors--I'm not technically color blind but I have a rare color sense deficiency.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 25, 2014, 01:48:14 am
I've always appreciated hatch #40, "Which is more." You have to click left a bunch of times but you will see some stuff on the way. http://www.eyezmaze.com/eyezblog_en/blog/2005/01/hatch_today.html

Once I figured out what I was doing, I got about 34. Tough game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 25, 2014, 04:40:57 am
Reminds me of this color discrimination test/game (not sure if posted here before):

http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge

Man, that was horribly difficult (just spent 15 minutes trying to get it right), and that is coming from someone who has no colour blindness. It must be hell for someone with one.

It is clear Walrus hates colour blind people.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on October 25, 2014, 01:35:30 pm
http://game.ioxapp.com/color/

Find the square that's a different colour.  You have one minute to get as many as you can.  The best I've done is 27.

Yeah a friend just showed me this yesterday. May record is now 42. I don't have colour blindness.

The green annoys me the most, I think. It's the only colour I messed up in the eye test.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on October 25, 2014, 04:06:22 pm
http://game.ioxapp.com/color/

Find the square that's a different colour.  You have one minute to get as many as you can.  The best I've done is 27.
1st try: 38. The most confusing part was how the last square you hit blinked. It confused me...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 25, 2014, 11:16:40 pm
https://vine.co/v/hdKWjxhDhze

This is wonderful.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 26, 2014, 03:39:31 pm
https://vine.co/v/hdKWjxhDhze

This is wonderful.

I don't get it... He's poking a bird?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 26, 2014, 03:43:36 pm
https://vine.co/v/hdKWjxhDhze

This is wonderful.

I don't get it... He's poking a bird?

Unmute button is in the top left of the video.  It's hard to see.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 26, 2014, 03:47:50 pm
https://vine.co/v/hdKWjxhDhze

This is wonderful.

I don't get it... He's poking a bird?

Unmute button is in the top left of the video.  It's hard to see.

Aaaah. That is very hard to see. Makes a lot more sense now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 26, 2014, 05:52:13 pm
Dustforce, it's so good and I love it and I hate it and if you are at all a fan of platformers you should go buy the current Humble Bundle because it has it right now. Back to grinding out Clocktower...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Hydrad on October 26, 2014, 05:54:10 pm
Dustforce, it's so good and I love it and I hate it and if you are at all a fan of platformers you should go buy the current Humble Bundle because it has it right now. Back to grinding out Clocktower...

I love platformers but this game is just such and extra difficulty jump then I'm use to. It doesn't help that I play a level until i get a SS so it takes me a while to play through all of them.

I would still reccomend this game though. I love it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 26, 2014, 06:45:06 pm
Dustforce, it's so good and I love it and I hate it and if you are at all a fan of platformers you should go buy the current Humble Bundle because it has it right now. Back to grinding out Clocktower...

I love platformers but this game is just such and extra difficulty jump then I'm use to. It doesn't help that I play a level until i get a SS so it takes me a while to play through all of them.

I would still reccomend this game though. I love it.

The team behind it released an update a few days ago that tries to fix this - they added 2 extra tutorials + 16 easier levels. The easier levels give you bronze keys that unlock the levels that were normally unlocked by default.

Personally, I feel like the new tutorials aren't as good and go a bit slow, but the advanced tutorial is the exception and is very nice.

For difficulty, the wall between silver key levels and gold key levels is really ridiculous, but up til there it's well done. Generally forest/mansion levels are easier than city/lab levels for people who do try it out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 27, 2014, 10:28:57 am
A* search algorithm, apparently:

(http://i.imgur.com/YjfzxXY.gif) (http://imgur.com/gallery/YjfzxXY)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 27, 2014, 11:19:05 am
A* search algorithm, apparently:

(http://i.imgur.com/YjfzxXY.gif) (http://imgur.com/gallery/YjfzxXY)

That just looks like Breadth-First Search to me. If it's doing A*, I think it must be doing it pretty terribly, since the heuristic distance could easily be Δx+ Δy, which is the minimum distance between any two nodes on a grid. In that case, it really shouldn't explore that far out to the side. What are other people's thoughts?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 27, 2014, 11:19:15 am
A* search algorithm, apparently:


I don't get it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 27, 2014, 11:28:53 am
A* search algorithm, apparently:


I don't get it.

It's the name of the search algorithm, and that's a visualization of someone's implementation. (wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A*_search_algorithm))
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 27, 2014, 11:30:47 am
A* search algorithm, apparently:

...

That just looks like Breadth-First Search to me. If it's doing A*, I think it must be doing it pretty terribly, since the heuristic distance could easily be Δx+ Δy, which is the minimum distance between any two nodes on a grid. In that case, it really shouldn't explore that far out to the side. What are other people's thoughts?

Hmm.. I'm not sure what you mean.. if you just start going in the y-direction, you have no guarantee there won't be a barrier that makes you backtrack all the way to the beginning. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 27, 2014, 11:32:10 am
For clarity (from the source (http://imgur.com/gallery/YjfzxXY)):

Quote
A* is a pathfinding algorithm. Its purpose is to find the best path between two points.

Green = path (the first 2 are the start/goal).
Cyan = in queue to be evaluated
Blue = evaluated
Black = obstacle

If you're curious
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A*_search_algorithm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A*_search_algorithm)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 27, 2014, 11:35:13 am
Or maybe it really isn't A*.  I don't actually know.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 27, 2014, 11:44:12 am
A* search algorithm, apparently:

...

That just looks like Breadth-First Search to me. If it's doing A*, I think it must be doing it pretty terribly, since the heuristic distance could easily be Δx+ Δy, which is the minimum distance between any two nodes on a grid. In that case, it really shouldn't explore that far out to the side. What are other people's thoughts?

Hmm.. I'm not sure what you mean.. if you just start going in the y-direction, you have no guarantee there won't be a barrier that makes you backtrack all the way to the beginning.

If you look at the wiki, the way A* works is that it explores "more promising" nodes first, those where (the distance from the start) + (a heuristic lower bound on the distance to the goal) is smallest. I think with a good heuristic (like the minimum distance on an obstacle-free grid between the current node and the goal) it wouldn't explore that far out to the side before finding the goal. This is just my intuition, but I may very well be wrong.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 27, 2014, 11:48:57 am
Yeah I started reading after that.  I think you're right, based on that and the comments.  This gif may be using no weight (so Dijkstra).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 27, 2014, 11:52:56 am
Yeah I started reading after that.  I think you're right, based on that and the comments.  This gif may be using no weight (so Dijkstra).

Yeah, and since every edge is presumably weighted the same, Dijkstra's is in turn just BFS.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 27, 2014, 11:55:22 am
Yeah I started reading after that.  I think you're right, based on that and the comments.  This gif may be using no weight (so Dijkstra).

Yeah, and since every edge is presumably weighted the same, Dijkstra's is in turn just BFS.

Would be neat if they showed the gif for different weighting functions.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 27, 2014, 12:18:31 pm
Yeah I started reading after that.  I think you're right, based on that and the comments.  This gif may be using no weight (so Dijkstra).

Yeah, and since every edge is presumably weighted the same, Dijkstra's is in turn just BFS.

Would be neat if they showed the gif for different weighting functions.

I'm kind of tempted to implement it now. Next time I have free time, I might do so.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 27, 2014, 03:33:05 pm
It doesn't look like BFS because some nodes towards the end aren't expanded as much, but the heuristic used doesn't seem that good either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 28, 2014, 06:02:47 pm
I won a Snapfish 5x7" Photo Book at McDonald's Monopoly.  I have no desire to get a photo book.  Does anyone want it?  This is Canadian, so you might have to be Canadian to redeem it...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: florrat on October 28, 2014, 06:51:08 pm
Similar animation for different heuristics:

No weights (Dijkstra's algorithm) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dijkstras_progress_animation.gif)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Dijkstras_progress_animation.gif)

Euclidean distance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Astar_progress_animation.gif)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Astar_progress_animation.gif)

Inconsistent heuristic. Fast, but finds solution which is not optimal. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Weighted_A_star_with_eps_5.gif)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Weighted_A_star_with_eps_5.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on October 28, 2014, 07:00:00 pm
Euclidean distance is a weird heuristic to pick if your moves are compass directions and diagonals. Maximum of absolute coordinate distances would make more sense, since that's what the distance would be if there are no obstacles. Edit: Never mind, I didn't realize that the moves were being costed by their Euclidean distance. Still, a tighter heuristic would be  sqrt(2)*min + (max - min).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on October 28, 2014, 07:09:58 pm
Fun fact: In my mind, pacovf is pronounced pakov-vee.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 28, 2014, 07:11:16 pm
Fun fact: In my mind, pacovf is pronounced pakov-vee.

That fact was not as fun as I hoped it'd be.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on October 28, 2014, 07:24:37 pm
I won a Snapfish 5x7" Photo Book at McDonald's Monopoly.  I have no desire to get a photo book.  Does anyone want it?  This is Canadian, so you might have to be Canadian to redeem it...

Give it to a family member who's in to that sort of thing. My mom makes Shutterfly (a competitor with a similar product) books all the time and loves them. They're really cool for documenting trips or occasions or just a year in the life. They're basically digital scrapbooks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 28, 2014, 07:25:51 pm
Fun fact: In my mind, pacovf is pronounced pakov-vee.

That fact was not as fun as I hoped it'd be.

But it is random!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 28, 2014, 07:51:00 pm
Fun fact: In my mind, pacovf is pronounced pakov-vee.

In my mind, it's Pavlov.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 28, 2014, 07:57:51 pm
Inconsistent heuristic. Fast, but finds solution which is not optimal. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Weighted_A_star_with_eps_5.gif)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Weighted_A_star_with_eps_5.gif)

Why is this non-optimal? It looks like it's the shortest distance to me, assuming we're counting distance in number of points not in actual line length.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 28, 2014, 08:38:48 pm
Inconsistent heuristic. Fast, but finds solution which is not optimal. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Weighted_A_star_with_eps_5.gif)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Weighted_A_star_with_eps_5.gif)

Why is this non-optimal? It looks like it's the shortest distance to me, assuming we're counting distance in number of points not in actual line length.

It's counting actual distance. If you look at the description "The graph is created by uniform square discretization of a 2-dimensional planar region, placing a node in each discretized cell, and connecting each node with its 8 neighbors using bidirectional edges. Cost of edges are same as their Euclidean lengths."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 28, 2014, 09:14:16 pm
Fun fact: In my mind, pacovf is pronounced pakov-vee.

In my mind, it's Pavlov.

Whenever pacovf hears a bell, he feels the need to feed a dog.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 28, 2014, 09:52:52 pm
How awesome is falafel?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on October 28, 2014, 09:56:41 pm
How awesome is falafel?
It has nothing on the kebab
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 28, 2014, 10:26:30 pm
Similar animation for different heuristics:

[images]

So the bottom one gets an answer that's suboptimal by about 5%, but only takes 30% as long to complete... isn't that the one to go with so long as you don't need a perfectly optimal path?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 28, 2014, 10:47:48 pm
How awesome is falafel?

Well, it's not awful.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 28, 2014, 10:54:55 pm
How awesome is falafel?

There was a restaurant a block away from my college house which was open until 3 AM and had $2 falafel sandwiches...so awesome
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 29, 2014, 12:08:48 am
Similar animation for different heuristics:

[images]

So the bottom one gets an answer that's suboptimal by about 5%, but only takes 30% as long to complete... isn't that the one to go with so long as you don't need a perfectly optimal path?

Given your assumption, yes. Approximation techniques are extremely powerful. If you're willing to settle for something a little bit less than optimal, then all kinds of problems become far more tractable (e.g. polynomial-time solutions for NP-hard problems).

Sometimes you really do want the very best solution though, and computers are so fast that it is also quite frequently worth it to use an algorithm that gives the optimal. Path finding is very much polynomial.

It depends on what you care about and what your constraints are.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 29, 2014, 01:18:51 am
I can't tell if my internet is dead and I'm seeing cached content or if it's just really slow, the forum still loads so here's a test post.

Edit: have confirmed that I can load this page and someone who hasn't been to the forum can load this page, but literally no other site is loading, so it's not a speed issue...

Edit 2: Somehow the DNS server was completely dead, except for on this site, which also explains why Hearthstone + Skype were still working. Pointing at Google's DNS, all good now, thank you for taking part in this real-time blogging of technical issues.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 29, 2014, 02:36:30 am
I can't tell if my internet is dead and I'm seeing cached content or if it's just really slow, the forum still loads so here's a test post.

Edit: have confirmed that I can load this page and someone who hasn't been to the forum can load this page, but literally no other site is loading, so it's not a speed issue...

Edit 2: Somehow the DNS server was completely dead, except for on this site, which also explains why Hearthstone + Skype were still working. Pointing at Google's DNS, all good now, thank you for taking part in this real-time blogging of technical issues.

3/5 stars. Intense and suspenseful with a nice plot twist, but on the short side. Might watch again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 29, 2014, 05:54:37 am
Inconsistent heuristic. Fast, but finds solution which is not optimal. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Weighted_A_star_with_eps_5.gif)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Weighted_A_star_with_eps_5.gif)

Why is this non-optimal? It looks like it's the shortest distance to me, assuming we're counting distance in number of points not in actual line length.

It's counting actual distance. If you look at the description "The graph is created by uniform square discretization of a 2-dimensional planar region, placing a node in each discretized cell, and connecting each node with its 8 neighbors using bidirectional edges. Cost of edges are same as their Euclidean lengths."

Right, okay. I thought that might be it but the use of dots made me suspect otherwise (and people are often bad at noticing in the kind of geometry where you move along a grid orthogonally or diagonally that zig-zagging is just as fast as a straight line).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 29, 2014, 09:32:44 am
Sometimes you really do want the very best solution though, and computers are so fast that it is also quite frequently worth it to use an algorithm that gives the optimal. Path finding is very much polynomial.

Minimum path is actually linear. However, sometimes linear is not enough. Just imagine the number of nodes in the graph used to search for directions in Google Maps when entering addresses in different continents.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 29, 2014, 09:53:34 am
Smashed my pinkie in a door that we move around on stage. Thankfully, the door's been redesigned so that that shouldn't happen again, but the damage has been done. I'll just be grateful that it wasn't too damaging.

Still not as bad as the time I did a stage fight and sliced my thumb on a rusty sickle. That was worrisome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 29, 2014, 10:12:31 am
Smashed my pinkie in a door that we move around on stage.

(http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/200H/i/2012/148/5/b/sad_pinkie_pie_by_erisgrim-d51ekn5.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on October 29, 2014, 11:03:58 am
Sometimes you really do want the very best solution though, and computers are so fast that it is also quite frequently worth it to use an algorithm that gives the optimal. Path finding is very much polynomial.

Minimum path is actually linear. However, sometimes linear is not enough. Just imagine the number of nodes in the graph used to search for directions in Google Maps when entering addresses in different continents.

Right, linearpolynomial, but I didn't go into specifics since it's linear wrt to edges, not nodes and a few other things depend on your implementation (which in turn probably depends on how complete you think your graph is). Certainly there are many cases where you'd like the speed, which is why I said sometimes. I think google does something where they break the world into chunks and work on the smaller sub-graphs and then cleverly stitch them together if necessary.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 29, 2014, 11:30:15 am
Right, linearpolynomial, but I didn't go into specifics since it's linear wrt to edges, not nodes and a few other things depend on your implementation (which in turn probably depends on how complete you think your graph is).

My point was not to correct you, but to show that even extremely efficient things like min-path have to use heuristics in many applications. BTW, linear (or any other class) is always wrt size of the input. In a graph, the size of the input is reasonably approximated by number of nodes + number of edges (though, in a closer look, it is not, but we are getting way too technical for a random stuff thread).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on October 29, 2014, 03:05:09 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 29, 2014, 03:08:27 pm
So, here's me doing a cover of Brass Goggles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2gFEO19NJ0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 29, 2014, 03:16:14 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?

What does he look like?

EDIT: How about "Scout"?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on October 29, 2014, 03:28:04 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?

What does he look like?

EDIT: How about "Scout"?

He's almost entirely black with a little white on his chest.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 29, 2014, 03:29:05 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?

What does he look like?

EDIT: How about "Scout"?

He's almost entirely black with a little white on his chest.

"Scout" seems like the perfect name, then. Yes, I would have said this regardless of what he looked like.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 29, 2014, 03:43:49 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?

What does he look like?

EDIT: How about "Scout"?

He's almost entirely black with a little white on his chest.

Well, for a black cat, there are plenty of standbys.

Midnight
Shadow
Onyx
Jet
Nazgul

Okay, maybe that last one isn't too standard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 29, 2014, 03:50:18 pm
Meowth Vader.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 29, 2014, 03:50:41 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?

Mortimer Aloysius Bandersnatch III
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 29, 2014, 04:07:15 pm
He's almost entirely black with a little white on his chest.

Familiar? Marauder? Rogue?

Joat? (like that, no 4 words)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on October 29, 2014, 04:33:33 pm
Cat names:

Sir Michael
Sir Bailey
Sir Vander
Sir Destry

... Scout really is a good choice, too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 29, 2014, 04:59:19 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?

What does he look like?

EDIT: How about "Scout"?

He's almost entirely black with a little white on his chest.
Vagrant?

Would you say that the kernel of white is drowned by the black fur?

edit: If it's black with a single white spot it sounds like he's got a "Yang" color scheme. Might be weird to have a Yang without a Yin though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 29, 2014, 05:03:21 pm
Albert.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 29, 2014, 05:28:19 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?

What does he look like?

EDIT: How about "Scout"?

He's almost entirely black with a little white on his chest.
Vagrant?

Would you say that the kernel of white is drowned by the black fur?


So you should name him ADrownedKernel?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on October 29, 2014, 05:48:57 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?

What does he look like?

EDIT: How about "Scout"?

Sorry, that's already taken.

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5727.msg399133#msg399133
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 29, 2014, 05:52:07 pm
So, here's me doing a cover of Brass Goggles:


I was hoping that was some sort of version of Brass Monkey.  But it wasn't.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 29, 2014, 09:17:50 pm
Found some Korean boxes during my trip!

(https://scontent-b-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10411896_10102723645808795_3693396126119009907_n.jpg?oh=22aac2c175e18c80d701a4f659f4fe2c&oe=54AEAF71)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on October 29, 2014, 09:30:35 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?

You need to post a pic of the cat for accurate naming! And plus it's probably cute
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on October 29, 2014, 09:34:56 pm
I have a new cat and can't decide on a name for him. Any suggestions?

Depends on the board.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 29, 2014, 09:39:25 pm
Found some Korean boxes during my trip!

My wife says it's transliterated rather than translated, which is kinda lame.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on October 29, 2014, 10:18:47 pm
Found some Korean boxes during my trip!

My wife says it's transliterated rather than translated, which is kinda lame.
Is that lame? English does the same thing with game names from other languages. Example: Sudoku.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 29, 2014, 10:31:24 pm
Found some Korean boxes during my trip!

My wife says it's transliterated rather than translated, which is kinda lame.
Is that lame? English does the same thing with game names from other languages. Example: Sudoku.

I think it's lame in English too!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 29, 2014, 10:41:13 pm
It's horrible in Japanese.  They do it so much to English words, then think that their mispronunciation is the correct way to say it.  I was talking to a Japanese person and he was really surprised when I told him everybody thinks of "anime" as a Japanese word (when it's actually their version of "animation").
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 29, 2014, 10:55:59 pm
It's horrible in Japanese.  They do it so much to English words, then think that their mispronunciation is the correct way to say it.  I was talking to a Japanese person and he was really surprised when I told him everybody thinks of "anime" as a Japanese word (when it's actually their version of "animation").
I'm really surprised too. Isn't it obvious that it's not?

EDIT: I just finished doing some homework that I should have turned in 3 years ago and now I meet the requirements for graduating from high school!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 29, 2014, 11:36:57 pm
It's horrible in Japanese.  They do it so much to English words, then think that their mispronunciation is the correct way to say it.  I was talking to a Japanese person and he was really surprised when I told him everybody thinks of "anime" as a Japanese word (when it's actually their version of "animation").

You are oversimplifying how the language works.  For many things, there was no "original" Japanese word.

"pasokon" is a great example.  It's "paso" from "pasonaru" and "kon" from "konpyuutaa," or "personal computer (PC)."  There's no old Japanese word for computer (in the modern sense), so they take the English word and make it their own.

It's not like English doesn't do this.  The next time you eat lasagna or pizza, think about where those words come from. 

So a laptop is a "nouto" because it comes from "notebook."  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gairaigo and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gairaigo_and_wasei-eigo_terms for more.



It is not horrible, it's the evolution of a language.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 29, 2014, 11:40:23 pm
It's horrible in Japanese.  They do it so much to English words, then think that their mispronunciation is the correct way to say it.  I was talking to a Japanese person and he was really surprised when I told him everybody thinks of "anime" as a Japanese word (when it's actually their version of "animation").

You are oversimplifying how the language works.  For many things, there was no "original" Japanese word.

"pasokon" is a great example.  It's "paso" from "pasonaru" and "kon" from "konpyuutaa," or "personal computer (PC)."  There's no old Japanese word for computer (in the modern sense), so they take the English word and make it their own.

It's not like English doesn't do this.  The next time you eat lasagna or pizza, think about where those words come from. 

So a laptop is a "nouto" because it comes from "notebook."  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gairaigo and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gairaigo_and_wasei-eigo_terms for more.



It is not horrible, it's the evolution of a language.

I was more saying the fact that they think it's how you pronounce the words in English when you're not.  Putting words into your language is fine, as long you either pronounce them correctly or know it's not pronounced the way it is in the original language (which is fine).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 29, 2014, 11:47:49 pm
I think everyone should learn to speak American or get the hell out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 29, 2014, 11:51:34 pm
I was more saying the fact that they think it's how you pronounce the words in English when you're not.  Putting words into your language is fine, as long you either pronounce them correctly or know it's not pronounced the way it is in the original language (which is fine).

I've met many Japanese people who do not believe that, so I think you are mistaken about the horrible nature of how "they" think.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 30, 2014, 02:31:58 am
It's horrible in Japanese.  They do it so much to English words, then think that their mispronunciation is the correct way to say it.  I was talking to a Japanese person and he was really surprised when I told him everybody thinks of "anime" as a Japanese word (when it's actually their version of "animation").

You are oversimplifying how the language works.  For many things, there was no "original" Japanese word.

"pasokon" is a great example.  It's "paso" from "pasonaru" and "kon" from "konpyuutaa," or "personal computer (PC)."  There's no old Japanese word for computer (in the modern sense), so they take the English word and make it their own.

It's not like English doesn't do this.  The next time you eat lasagna or pizza, think about where those words come from. 

So a laptop is a "nouto" because it comes from "notebook."  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gairaigo and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gairaigo_and_wasei-eigo_terms for more.



It is not horrible, it's the evolution of a language.

I was more saying the fact that they think it's how you pronounce the words in English when you're not.  Putting words into your language is fine, as long you either pronounce them correctly or know it's not pronounced the way it is in the original language (which is fine).

To be perfectly fair, there are a lot of words in English that are borrowed from French, and their current pronunciation is impossible to recognize because the languages don't have the same sounds.

What the Japanese do add to the confusion is their huh original way of contracting words.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: shraeye on October 30, 2014, 06:21:38 am
also, English does terribly at borrowing Italian words.  Apparently none of us fat people are willing to eat just one panino, but when it comes to lasagne everybody suddenly is watching their figure and only wants exactly one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on October 30, 2014, 07:01:03 am
Borrowing from other languages is what they do, it's how they work (languages I mean), sometimes with funny results. For example in English you can use the word "ennui", which just means boredom (or annoyance) in French. In English though, it means more than that, and the best translation I could come up with in French would be... "spleen".

Languages : they're wacky.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 30, 2014, 08:38:48 am
I think everyone should learn to speak American or get the hell out.

I agree. Stop using that European language you dirty immigrant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 30, 2014, 10:34:37 am
I think everyone should learn to speak talk American or get the hell out.

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 30, 2014, 10:41:02 am
I think everyone should learn to speak talk American 'Murican or get the hell out.

FTFY

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 30, 2014, 10:45:21 am
I think everyone should get the hell out.

FTFY

FTFY

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 30, 2014, 11:29:30 am
Lice sucks

FTFY

FTFY

FTFY

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 30, 2014, 12:32:46 pm
FTFY

FTFY

FTFY

FTFY

FTFY

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 30, 2014, 12:33:19 pm
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 30, 2014, 01:01:32 pm
I think everyone should learn to speak talk American or get the hell out.

FTFY

Sorry, my grammar was showing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 30, 2014, 01:53:50 pm
I think everyone should learn to speak talk American or get the hell out.

FTFY

Sorry, my grammar diction was showing.

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 30, 2014, 02:04:14 pm
I think everyone should learn to speak talk American or get the hell out.

FTFY

Sorry, my grammar diction was showing.

FTFY

Thanks buddy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 30, 2014, 02:05:41 pm
I think everyone should learn to speak talk American or get the hell out.

FTFY

Sorry, my grammar diction was showing.

FTFY

Thanks buddy.

Any time, man.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 30, 2014, 02:33:08 pm
Careful LastFootnote, KingZog3 is gonna get jealous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 30, 2014, 02:45:48 pm
Careful LastFootnote, KingZog3 is gonna get jealous.

I only worry about KingZong3. His opinion means a great deal to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on October 30, 2014, 02:47:36 pm
Careful LastFootnote, KingZog3 is gonna get jealous.

I am?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 30, 2014, 02:48:50 pm
Careful LastFootnote, KingZog3 is gonna get jealous.

I am?

You are, dude. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon, and for the rest of your life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 30, 2014, 03:22:25 pm
Ladies, ladies! There's plenty of me to go around!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 30, 2014, 03:29:04 pm
Careful LastFootnote, KingZog3 is gonna get jealous.

I am?

You are, dude. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon, and for the rest of your life.

"The Simpson story begins back in the old country.
I forget which one exactly. My father would drone on and on about America. He thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, sliced bread having been invented the previous winter."

*Flashback*

"See this, Son? That's where we're going to live. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But someday."

*Flashforward*

"Later that day, we set sail for America."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 30, 2014, 03:30:29 pm
Careful LastFootnote, KingZog3 is gonna get jealous.
I read that as KingZong3 first.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on October 30, 2014, 03:31:22 pm
Personally that episode is in my Simpsons Pantheon, and it mystifies me that it's never in other people's "Top X Episodes" lists. 

"What do you say we take a relaxed attitude towards work and watch the baseball game?  The nye Mets are my favorite squadron."

Proctor: All right, here's your last question.  What was the cause of
         the Civil War? 
    Apu: Actually, there were numerous causes.  Aside from the obvious
         schism between the abolitionists and the anti-abolitionists,
         there were economic factors, both domestic and inter--
Proctor: Wait, wait... just say slavery.
    Apu: Slavery it is, sir.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 30, 2014, 03:38:34 pm
Some of my favorite quotes are from that episode:

"A large bearlike animal, most likely a bear, has wandered down from the hills in search of food or, perhaps, employment."

"We're here! We're queer! We don't want anymore bears!"

"The immigants I knew it was them! Even when it was the bears I knew it was them!"

"Hello, Selma? Selma, my dear. How are ya? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Listen, shut up for a second."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 30, 2014, 04:25:07 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/481a1e49797e08769c2df88ef7fb616a/tumblr_ndim5j3jES1sn75h6o1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 30, 2014, 08:07:30 pm
So Kingzog is looking for people to jam with.
  https://westernmass.craigslist.org/muc/4725917328.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on October 30, 2014, 08:13:06 pm
So Kingzog is looking for people to jam with.
  https://westernmass.craigslist.org/muc/4725917328.html

Indeed I have been looking to jam since before I was born!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 30, 2014, 08:20:10 pm
Does anyone know the origin of using the word "jam" to mean "get together and play music"?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on October 30, 2014, 08:30:30 pm
I think it came out of the same group of jazz slang. Also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM40sCMO_qk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 30, 2014, 10:17:07 pm
Does anyone know the origin of using the word "jam" to mean "get together and play music"?

It developed in the early 1600s when the fine art of wine-making was undergoing a bit of a revolution.  Much of Europe had been under prohibition law, first enacted by Queen Elizabeth I in England following a rather rowdy birthday party for the Queen's pet turtle.  Historians still believe her hangover was the greatest ever experienced in recorded history.  Most European leaders who had been in attendance soon followed suit, having witnessed first hand the dangers of alcohol in the hands of royalty.  They felt they should abstain (lest there be a repeat of the Greenwich Shelling Tragedy of 1561, which you should have learned about in high school) and felt that it would be unfair if their peasant subjects continued to drink while the nobility teetotaled.  It would be unseemly for the low-born to enjoy a privilege denied to their betters!  (Please note that this was their sentiment, not mine.)

So anyway, Prohibiton had recently ended and the industry was finally innovating again, and there were even annual international conventions for vintners across Europe and Asia.  European winemakers were eager to learn from their Asian counterparts since they had not suffered under any sort of prohibition and had been developing new techniques for the last several decades.

The 1618 Celebration of Wine, held in Prague, was especially well attended.  Vintners, viticulturalists, coopers, nobility, microbrewers (then known as "les brasseurs petites") and drunkards all flocked to this particular event because a rumour had spread: the "Son of Dionysus" (hereafter referred to as just "Dionysus, for the sake of brevity) would be in attendance.  (This was merely a monicker given to the secretive man.  Despite developing the legendary Italian drink "Il Cacciavite", still renowned worldwide today, nobody knew his real name or background.  Undoubtedly this sense of mystery only fuelled his fame and notoriety.  He even had a small cult following that all but worshipped him.)  It was whispered that Dionysus would be delivering a lecture on some new techniques.  More importantly, people said that he would have a new consumable available to sample.

It is unclear what actually transpired at the 1618 Celebration.  Historians only agree on two things: nearly all in attendance (including historians) were inebriated pretty much from start to finish, and at least two men were thrown out of a window (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defenestrations_of_Prague).  It was a 70 foot drop, but both survived.  Due to the mass drunkenness, it is unknown how they avoided death.  There were few witnesses, let alone any who were reliable.

The events during the event are not important to the question at hand.  After the festival had ended, the numerous guests had to leave.  However, their egress was made difficult by two factors: the sheer size of the crowd, all attempting to move past each other; and the fact that many of the draft animals were somehow also intoxicated.  The wagons could not move.

It took 2 weeks for the crowd to properly disperse.  Luckily, people had nourishment in the form of grape preserves in jars.  Many historians believe that this preserved product was the work of Dionysus, despite it not being a potable.

But how to pass the time when you are stuck in a foreign place?  Of course, some simply continued drinking.  Others turned to more carnal pursuits.  (It was near the end of this congestion, in early June, that Cyrano de Bergerac (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrano_de_Bergerac_%28person%29) was conceived.  He would be born about 9 months later on 6 March 1619.  His conception is actually featured as the opening aria of the 1913 opera Cyrano (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrano_%28Damrosch%29), which was based on Edmond Rostand's play about Cyrano's life.  The aria remains an incredibly popular performance piece for sopranos around the world.)

But there happened to be several groups of travelling musicians.  Historians believe that the first to start the music was a quartet of German musicians who had been planning to go to Bremen.  Others soon joined them.  Remember that these people had come from all across the continent, so it was rare for them to get together.  People from many different musical backgrounds played together in this unprecedented, impromptu gathering.  In fact, many who joined were not musicians at all.  They were typically engaged in more prosaic activities -- agriculture, woodworking, debauchery.

It was a fortnight of sweet songs, where wealth and status were set aside and only your volume and sincerity mattered.  The whole thing was so entertaining that the revellers did it again at the 1619 Festival of Wine, and it became a regular feature of all subsequent festivals.

Although records confirm that listeners enjoyed these performances overall, it was not all euphonious.  This should be unsurprising given the unfamiliarity of the musicians with one another, the presence of numerous amateurs, and the blood alcohol content of all those involved.  Often, a group of musicians would fall off the rhythm of the rest of the crowd.  Sometimes it would actually work out, but often it did not.  When it happened, people would laugh and say "they're jamming the beat!"  Note that the primary definition of "jam" at this point in history was "to interfere with". 

Indeed, different musicians would "jam the beat" many times in each song, but it would always work out in the end.  Eventually, these casual assemblies would become known as "jam sessions".

Incidentally, these events also give us two other uses of the word "jam".  First: the sweet grape preserves that fed the masses became a popular food item at the festival, and its association with that first jam session of 1918 gave it it's name: "grape jam".  (The preserves were typically served with a hypogaeac oleo spread atop a slab of heated dough.)  Granted, some etymologists believe that the name is derived from a less direct route.  Since the initial consumers of the jelly did not know how it was made, they had to improvise and experiment until finding a suitable process.  Of course, improvisation was now colloquially known as "jamming"!

Second: all the travellers to these festivals had difficulty leaving when the events finished.  Though the troubles were small compared to the 1618 congestion, they would occur annually anyway.  Eventually, the phenomenon came to be known as a "traffic jam", because drivers would have to be creative in finding ways out of the blockage.

Anyway, sorry for rambling on.  I just find history so interesting.

Edit: spelling, adding a few details.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 30, 2014, 10:40:39 pm
Does anyone know the origin of using the word "jam" to mean "get together and play music"?

It developed in the early 1600s when the fine art of wine-making was undergoing a bit of a revolution.  Much of Europe had been under prohibition law, first enacted by Queen Elizabeth I in England following a rather rowdy birthday party for the Queen's pet turtle.  Historians still believe her hangover was the greatest ever experienced in recorded history.  Most European leaders who had been in attendance soon followed suit, having witnessed first hand the dangers of alcohol in the hands of royalty.  They felt they should abstain (lest there be a repeat of the Greenwich Shelling Tragedy of 1561, which you should have learned about in high school) and felt that it would be unfair if their peasant subjects continued to drink while the nobility teetotaled.  It would be unseemly for the low-born to enjoy a privilege denied to their betters!  (Please note that this was their sentiment, not mine.)

So anyway, Prohibiton had recently ended and the industry was finally innovating again, and there were even annual international conventions for vintners across Europe and Asia.  European winemakers were eager to learn from their Asian counterparts since they had not suffered under any sort of prohibition and had been developing new techniques for the last several decades.

The 1618 Celebration of Wine, held in Prague, was especially well attended.  Vintners, viticulturalists, coopers, nobility, microbrewers (then known as "les brasseurs petites") and drunkards all flocked to this particular event because a rumour had spread: the "Son of Dionysus" (hereafter referred to as just "Dionysus, for the sake of brevity) would be in attendance.  (This was merely a monicker given to the secretive man.  Despite developing the legendary Italian drink "Il Cacciavite", still renowned worldwide today, nobody knew his real name or background.  Undoubtedly this sense of mystery only fuelled his fame and notoriety.  He even had a small cult following that all but worshipped him.)  It was whispered that Dionysus would be delivering a lecture on some new techniques.  More importantly, people said that he would have a new consumable available to sample.

It is unclear what actually transpired at the 1618 Celebration.  Historians only agree on two things: nearly all in attendance (including historians) were inebriated pretty much from start to finish, and at least two men were thrown out of a window (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defenestrations_of_Prague).  It was a 70 foot drop, but both survived.  Due to the mass drunkenness, it is unknown how they avoided death.  There were few witnesses, let alone any who were reliable.

The events during the event are not important to the question at hand.  After the festival had ended, the numerous guests had to leave.  However, their egress was made difficult by two factors: the sheer size of the crowd, all attempting to move past each other; and the fact that many of the draft animals were somehow also intoxicated.  The wagons could not move.

It took 2 weeks for the crowd to properly disperse.  Luckily, people had nourishment in the form of grape preserves in jars.  Many historians believe that this preserved product was the work of Dionysus, despite it not being a potable.

But how to pass the time when you are stuck in a foreign place?  Of course, some simply continued drinking.  Others turned to more carnal pursuits.  (It was near the end of this congestion, in early June, that Cyrano de Bergerac (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrano_de_Bergerac_%28person%29) was conceived.  He would be born about 9 months later on 6 March 1619.  His conception is actually featured as the opening aria of the 1913 opera Cyrano (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrano_%28Damrosch%29), which was based on Edmond Rostand's play about Cyrano's life.  The aria remains an incredibly popular performance piece for sopranos around the world.)

But there happened to be several groups of travelling musicians.  Historians believe that the first to start the music was a quartet of German musicians who had been planning to go to Bremen.  Others soon joined them.  Remember that these people had come from all across the continent, so it was rare for them to get together.  People from many different musical backgrounds played together in this unprecedented, impromptu gathering.  In fact, many who joined were not musicians at all.  They were typically engaged in more prosaic activities -- agriculture, woodworking, debauchery.

It was a fortnight of sweet songs, where wealth and status were set aside and only your volume and sincerity mattered.  The whole thing was so entertaining that the revellers did it again at the 1619 Festival of Wine, and it became a regular feature of all subsequent festivals.

Although records confirm that listeners enjoyed these performances overall, it was not all euphonious.  This should be unsurprising given the unfamiliarity of the musicians with one another, the presence of numerous amateurs, and the blood alcohol content of all those involved.  Often, a group of musicians would fall off the rhythm of the rest of the crowd.  Sometimes it would actually work out, but often it did not.  When it happened, people would laugh and say "they're jamming the beat!"  Note that the primary definition of "jam" at this point in history was "to interfere with". 

Indeed, different musicians would "jam the beat" many times in each song, but it would always work out in the end.  Eventually, these casual assemblies would become known as "jam sessions".

Incidentally, these events also give us two other uses of the word "jam".  First: the sweet grape preserves that fed the masses became a popular food item at the festival, and its association with that first jam session of 1918 gave it it's name: "grape jam".  (The preserves were typically served with a hypogaeac oleo spread atop a slab of heated dough.)  Granted, some etymologists believe that the name is derived from a less direct route.  Since the initial consumers of the jelly did not know how it was made, they had to improvise and experiment until finding a suitable process.  Of course, improvisation was now colloquially known as "jamming"!

Second: all the travellers to these festivals had difficulty leaving when the events finished.  Though the troubles were small compared to the 1618 congestion, they would occur annually anyway.  Eventually, the phenomenon came to be known as a "traffic jam", because drivers would have to be creative in finding ways out of the blockage.

Anyway, sorry for rambling on.  I just find history so interesting.

Edit: spelling, adding a few details.

This is all well and good, but I would point out that the Wine Festival was held in September, so your supposition that Cyrano de Bergerac was conceived there is dubious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 30, 2014, 10:52:54 pm
This is all well and good, but I would point out that the Wine Festival was held in September, so your supposition that Cyrano de Bergerac was conceived there is dubious.

Uh, no.  It's well known that the second Defenestration of Prague (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defenestrations_of_Prague#Second_Defenestration_of_Prague) happened on May 23.  As this is one of the only fully accepted events of the 1618 festival, we can conclude that the festival was held in late May.

You may be thinking of the Champagne Carnival that became popular early in the 18th century soon after the adoption of the modern schooling schedule.  Parents in the Champagne region of France would celebrate their freedom as children returned to school.  One vintner was so joyful that she was inspired to develop a sparkling wine, known today as "champagne".

It's said that she was also a proponent of the Vodka Memorial Weekend, traditionally held on the last weekend of June.  But that's probably just a folktale.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 30, 2014, 11:05:22 pm
This is all well and good, but I would point out that the Wine Festival was held in September, so your supposition that Cyrano de Bergerac was conceived there is dubious.

Uh, no.  It's well known that the second Defenestration of Prague (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defenestrations_of_Prague#Second_Defenestration_of_Prague) happened on May 23.  As this is one of the only fully accepted events of the 1618 festival, we can conclude that the festival was held in late May.

You may be thinking of the Champagne Carnival that became popular early in the 18th century soon after the adoption of the modern schooling schedule.  Parents in the Champagne region of France would celebrate their freedom as children returned to school.  One vintner was so joyful that she was inspired to develop a sparkling wine, known today as "champagne".

It's said that she was also a proponent of the Vodka Memorial Weekend, traditionally held on the last weekend of June.  But that's probably just a folktale.

It's well documented that the wine festivals of Prague are held at the time of the harvest, in September.  You must be confusing your 1618 festival with another one, unrelated to the wine festivals.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 30, 2014, 11:36:01 pm
This is all well and good, but I would point out that the Wine Festival was held in September, so your supposition that Cyrano de Bergerac was conceived there is dubious.

Uh, no.  It's well known that the second Defenestration of Prague (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defenestrations_of_Prague#Second_Defenestration_of_Prague) happened on May 23.  As this is one of the only fully accepted events of the 1618 festival, we can conclude that the festival was held in late May.

You may be thinking of the Champagne Carnival that became popular early in the 18th century soon after the adoption of the modern schooling schedule.  Parents in the Champagne region of France would celebrate their freedom as children returned to school.  One vintner was so joyful that she was inspired to develop a sparkling wine, known today as "champagne".

It's said that she was also a proponent of the Vodka Memorial Weekend, traditionally held on the last weekend of June.  But that's probably just a folktale.

It's well documented that the wine festivals of Prague are held at the time of the harvest, in September.  You must be confusing your 1618 festival with another one, unrelated to the wine festivals.

Ah, I see the confusion now.  Yes, Prague did hold wine festivals in September.  However, those were local affairs.  The international Celebration of Wine was hosted by a different country each year, much like the Olympics.  In fact, this tradition continues even now, but the celebration lost its alcoholic origins and became entirely about the music.  Today, it is known as Eurovision (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 31, 2014, 12:15:48 am
It is documented.  Right here on f.ds.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 31, 2014, 01:07:13 am
OK, so Neil deGrasse Tyson voiced Waddles on Gravity Falls.  Yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YIcH2vzGMQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 31, 2014, 01:23:28 am
(http://i.imgur.com/N5nqKrW.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 31, 2014, 01:38:11 am
And now I am the 2nd person ever who has subscribed to Walk Through Fire's YouTube channel.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on October 31, 2014, 07:06:30 am
Splitting to "avoid" quantum effects? That's a bit strange.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 31, 2014, 08:12:06 am
I just had the pleasure of playing a game of Dominion with Marin. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on October 31, 2014, 08:40:21 am
I was skimming over the James Bond Mafia flavor and laughed especially hard at this part. Some of my best work!

Bond had been dreading this moment. Ever since he took on this mission he had been meticulously scouring the f.ds forums so of course he had heard all about the impending meetup in Chicago. He had become intimate with the forum members and had developed the reputation of a skilled but bold Dominion player and a charming but low-key forum member.

Part of why he was not looking forward to the meetup was that he just couldn't relate to these people. In fact it would be safe to say he loathed nerds. Maybe it was their sloppy appearance or the fact that they talk too much and too fast. Or maybe it was the fact that they all wore glasses. Every single one of them! Nonetheless, Bond walked up to the Cat and Mouse Game Store and slapped on his A Drowned Kernal nametag. Before he could even step onto the sidewalk someone appeared out of nowhere to block his path. "Hi! Hello! Hi! I'm Adam!" Bond swore under his breath. "And you are... A Drowned Kernal! Hey buddy! I'm so glad you showed up! We got Mountain Dew Code Red and seaweed snacks and a bunch of Dominion cards. How many Dominion cards?" Adam stopped and grinned at Bond in anticipation. Bond sighed. "All the Dominion cards." Adam was so excited he almost forgot to open the door. "Yes! Yes! Oh this is going to be great! I'm so excited..."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 31, 2014, 08:46:19 am
I just had the pleasure of having my ass handed to me by Marin. :)

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on October 31, 2014, 09:21:00 am
That's not really what happened, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on October 31, 2014, 12:29:25 pm
That's not really what happened, though.

No throne room in the kingdom then?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 31, 2014, 12:29:40 pm
I suppose it's a good thing when my 45-minute meeting with my new boss to explain my duties becomes a 70-minute meeting. But now I'm exhausted.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 31, 2014, 01:10:41 pm
I suppose it's a good thing when my 45-minute meeting with my new boss to explain my duties becomes a 70-minute meeting. But now I'm exhausted.

Shouldn't your boss have already known your duties?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 31, 2014, 01:28:16 pm
I suppose it's a good thing when my 45-minute meeting with my new boss to explain my duties becomes a 70-minute meeting. But now I'm exhausted.

Shouldn't your boss have already known your duties?

Not my new one. He got thrown into the deep end with the reorg. He's not even fully aware of all the tools available to him now. It'll be quite an eye opener.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 31, 2014, 01:35:13 pm
I suppose it's a good thing when my 45-minute meeting with my new boss to explain my duties becomes a 70-minute meeting. But now I'm exhausted.

Shouldn't your boss have already known your duties?

Not my new one. He got thrown into the deep end with the reorg. He's not even fully aware of all the tools available to him now. It'll be quite an eye opener.

I hope he is not going to open his eye with one of those tools though, sounds painful.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 31, 2014, 01:37:23 pm
Ah, my flippant comment has clarified the situation.  I thought that you had moved.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on October 31, 2014, 01:44:52 pm
I suppose it's a good thing when my 45-minute meeting with my new boss to explain my duties becomes a 70-minute meeting. But now I'm exhausted.

http://vimeo.com/54739845
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on November 01, 2014, 03:37:13 am
I suppose it's a good thing when my 45-minute meeting with my new boss to explain my duties becomes a 70-minute meeting. But now I'm exhausted.

Shouldn't your boss have already known your duties?

Not my new one. He got thrown into the deep end with the reorg. He's not even fully aware of all the tools available to him now. It'll be quite an eye opener.

I hope you are not a tool.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 01, 2014, 06:46:58 pm
Today I played a Megagame (http://vimeo.com/96203590) (not the one in the video - we played one that had never been played before, in fact). It was great fun, and I would recommend them. A megagame is kinda a mix of an RPG and board game - there's no strict goal or winning condition, but everyone has goals they're working towards and you can choose to not roleplay at all and just try and solve or optimise the problems thrown at them. Meanwhile other teams are trying to do the same - and their goals may well be at odds with yours. On top of that, some individual people may have specific extra information or goals that either run contrary to their team or that they want to keep quiet, for whatever reason - betraying isn't a major element, but it does mean some people on your team may prioritise goals differently to how you do.

The one we played was called "Planet of the Damned." Humanity in the distant future, has colonised multiple star systems around the sun (Sol), and multiple 'nations' of multiple star systems have emerged - e.g. the Earth empire centered at Sol, the Martian Association formed by former citizens of Mars who split off and so on. I was a member of Wolf359, essentially the British Empire, in space.

In this distant future, humanity had briefly bandied together to defeat a common threat - the Roach - who had attacked and devastated various human worlds, killing around 2bn people. We defeated them over the star system Zubat, where half their remaining fleet left and the remainder, around 80K sentients, surrendered, settled on one of the star Zubat's planets, and attempted to survive on their own.

At the same time, research on the Forerunners, a species of space colonising sentients who lived millions of years before humanity has begun to throw up interesting finds. It's possible some kind of major breakthrough might be imminent, potentially providing advanced technology or other benefits. Of course, many of the various polities want to get in on this research, to be the first to take advantage of the technology.

The game starts in the aftermath of this, as the human factions decide on what to do about the Roach, the Forerunner Archaeology and so on  - and deal with all their other issues going on.

Well, that was a long intro! But I think it's important because 1) It's all relevant to the game and 2) It highlights just how complex these things are. A lot of the fun comes through the issues you deal with being complex with no correct answer, you just have to make decisions about what you think is best and see what happens.

In our game, my polity (Wolf359) was the most anti-Roach of all of them, with a goal to exterminate the surrendered Roach. We pursued anti-Roach measures very early in the game, having a battle fleet stationed over the planet ready to attack. However, everyone else wanted to research them, and focus on getting tech. We wanted to do what the majority of our population asked. This resulted in, at two summit meetings between the various polity leaders, our Prime Minister up and walked out half way through in protest (which incidentally made our political party extremely popular on our homeworlds, basically guaranteeing re-election...). We became social pariahs, and perhaps the only things keeping other polities from wanting to attack us was the fact we weren't being TOO aggressive on Zubat, and the fact we had lent quite a lot of ships to Supreme Humanity Command, who kinda had a lot of power. Eventually, other people managed to understand the Roach language to a point they could talk normally or close to it, and discover their true intentions.

Meanwhile the research on Mystery, the Forerunner homeworld, provided some very exciting and interesting information. It showed among other things the true goals of the Roach (as well as corroborating their stories), the origins of humanity and some other vital details. This lead to a massive shift of almost everyone's fleets towards Mystery. One polity was unhappy with an aspect of the research, relating to sentient AIs, and as a result took the  step of nuking the planet. Believe it or not, this was an entirely justifiable action - there are strict treaties in place everyone had agreed to regarding interaction with AIs, and nuking is considered a necessary step under certain conditions with them.

The end result of the game was that everyone knew what the Roaches goals were, about humanities origins and also Mars accidentally triggered an event that wlll wipe out all sentient life within the area of space the game occured in (a few hundred square parsecs - yeah it was two dimensional) over the next hundred or so years. Overall, it was a great game and I think Wolf359 did fairly well - we didn't kill the Roach, but we achieved some of our research goals, with solidified our position in the galaxy as a polity willing to act in our people's best interests, and our fleet wasn't caught in the black hole Mars created.

(Note: I've intentionally withheld a number of key details about why certain things happened - if you ever happen to play the game, you'll therefore not have those details spoiled. The game is designed so it can be replayed by the same people, although obviously you lose some of the surprise element that way).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 01, 2014, 07:08:19 pm
Wolf359 -- why the numbers? 

Zubat -- was this named by the players or by the game designers?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 01, 2014, 07:23:19 pm
I don't know - presumably it was a minor star until it was inhabited (many have numbers in their name, I think Wolf359 is the star with numbers in it's name with largest population by probably an order of magnitude or two) and as our home system, gave our name.

The game designers. A lot of planets and star systems have interesting names. Particular favourites of mine were Disney World (which incidentally was one of the main casualties of the Roach attack), Icebox, Zubat, Lonely (which has a population of about 10bn) and Gorilla. From what I understand the universe the game is set in has been developed over the best part of two decades during a proper RPG, so I expect people from that named some elements of the game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 01, 2014, 08:02:04 pm
Wolf 359 is the star system where the major battle of Best of Both Worlds took place.

It's also the fifth closest star system outside our own star system.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 01, 2014, 08:03:54 pm
[Wolf 359 is] the fifth closest star system outside our own star system.

Well there you go, Kirian dropping a bit of reality on us. Wasn't even aware it was a real star name.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 02, 2014, 02:26:54 am
Remember to set your clocks back tonight, if you have clocks that need to be set back and you live in a region where DST ends tonight (most of Canada, US, probably a few others).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 02, 2014, 02:57:19 am
Also remember to set them back a week ago if you live in a region where DST ended a week ago.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 02, 2014, 10:04:53 am
Also remember to not set them back if you live in a region that doesn't use DST, or if you want to be an hour early for everything.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 02, 2014, 12:13:58 pm
My dad is a pastor, and he says that in spring it's really funny when people will come to church an hour late, have a confused look on their face, then realize what's going on.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 02, 2014, 01:12:01 pm
My dad is a pastor, and he says that in spring it's really funny when people will come to church an hour late, have a confused look on their face, then realize what's going on.

But that's what's funny about everyone going everywhere once the clocks change. It also makes organizing anything insane. 3pm. Old time? New time! Is that forward or backward? Backward dammit!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 02, 2014, 01:22:56 pm
What was worse was last year I was studying in France, taking classes brodcast from the US.  So, while my friends were sitting in an 8AM, I was in the same class at 2PM.  Except that one week where Europe changed time before the US... It was really really confusing.  I was late for gokodom games, late for skype with family/friends... it was rough
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 02, 2014, 02:47:08 pm
This weekend (in addition to the Megagame I talked about before) I played a few other board game expansions for the first time (or perhaps parts of their expansion).

T'zolkin's Tribes and Prophecies really change the game. You can't ignore the Prophecies - and there's a lot of potential points from them if you adjust your play right. The Tribes seem very fun as well - it's cool to have a unique racial power in each game.

7 Wonders: Babel seems to change to game a lot to me - moreso than any other expansion. The Babel Tower can really mess people up, either because tiles come out that make things difficult to work around, or because things you wanted to take advantage of disappear at a moment's notice. It also gives an extra option instead of discarding three times in the game, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing. The great projects we had seemed to just be painful most of the time - none got more than half finished, and the penalties hurt a lot. But it could be cool if the first one does get finished.

Pandemic: In the Lab's team variant is actually pretty fun, but I don't think it's as good as the co-op version. Too luck driven in what cards you draw, I feel.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: florrat on November 02, 2014, 04:17:11 pm
My birthday is 25 hours this year ;D
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 03, 2014, 03:19:51 am
My birthday is 25 hours this year ;D

You're not the first person I've heard that from.  You're not them, are you?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 03, 2014, 12:17:30 pm
Heh, not sure if this girl is attracted to me or is just super playful. Backstage during a show, she grabbed my hat and put it on her head. Considering how much I sweat in that hat (and possibly how many other actors did as well *shudder*), I was surprised she was being that playful.

It'd be kind of cool to go out with her, but she's 20 years younger than me. It couldn't be an ongoing relationship. Besides, she wouldn't be my primary, and I have no idea how she'd respond to that, so I best leave it alone.

Still, donning someone else's clothes/accessories can often be seen as a sign of flirting—a nasty hat, even more.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 03, 2014, 12:43:20 pm
Two things:

A) This should go in the bragging thread.

B)

(http://33.media.tumblr.com/78f6aa17412891f0533d6aedf59c1d1c/tumblr_n1op3gMXhy1six0yvo10_r1_500.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 03, 2014, 02:10:58 pm
Heh, not sure if this girl is attracted to me or is just super playful. Backstage during a show, she grabbed my hat and put it on her head. Considering how much I sweat in that hat (and possibly how many other actors did as well *shudder*), I was surprised she was being that playful.

It'd be kind of cool to go out with her, but she's 20 years younger than me. It couldn't be an ongoing relationship. Besides, she wouldn't be my primary, and I have no idea how she'd respond to that, so I best leave it alone.

Still, donning someone else's clothes/accessories can often be seen as a sign of flirting—a nasty hat, even more.

A girl takes your hat off and puts it on her head and you're not sure if she's attracted to you? Are you serious?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 03, 2014, 02:15:11 pm
Heh, not sure if this girl is attracted to me or is just super playful. Backstage during a show, she grabbed my hat and put it on her head. Considering how much I sweat in that hat (and possibly how many other actors did as well *shudder*), I was surprised she was being that playful.

It'd be kind of cool to go out with her, but she's 20 years younger than me. It couldn't be an ongoing relationship. Besides, she wouldn't be my primary, and I have no idea how she'd respond to that, so I best leave it alone.

Still, donning someone else's clothes/accessories can often be seen as a sign of flirting—a nasty hat, even more.

A girl takes your hat off and puts it on her head and you're not sure if she's attracted to you? Are you serious?

Well, it sounds like it's a piece of a costume that he was wearing, not necessarily a hat he owned. Not to be a downer, but it's a reasonable doubt to have.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 03, 2014, 02:24:26 pm
It'd be kind of cool to go out with her, but she's 20 years younger than me. It couldn't be an ongoing relationship. Besides, she wouldn't be my primary, and I have no idea how she'd respond to that, so I best leave it alone.

Still, donning someone else's clothes/accessories can often be seen as a sign of flirting—a nasty hat, even more.

Definitely, definitely flirting.  That said, if you're poly* and don't know whether she is or not, probably best to, at the least, let her make any further moves.  Of course, my dating advice is best taken with a heaping teaspoon of salt.

*I'm assuming this from your using the word 'primary' up there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 03, 2014, 02:26:04 pm
Heh, not sure if this girl is attracted to me or is just super playful. Backstage during a show, she grabbed my hat and put it on her head. Considering how much I sweat in that hat (and possibly how many other actors did as well *shudder*), I was surprised she was being that playful.

It'd be kind of cool to go out with her, but she's 20 years younger than me. It couldn't be an ongoing relationship. Besides, she wouldn't be my primary, and I have no idea how she'd respond to that, so I best leave it alone.

Still, donning someone else's clothes/accessories can often be seen as a sign of flirting—a nasty hat, even more.

A girl takes your hat off and puts it on her head and you're not sure if she's attracted to you? Are you serious?

Well, it sounds like it's a piece of a costume that he was wearing, not necessarily a hat he owned. Not to be a downer, but it's a reasonable doubt to have.

It doesn't matter if he was wearing a cat, that's about as unsubtle as women get.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 03, 2014, 02:34:09 pm
Interesting:

Quote
Foreign language translations had to change Tom Marvolo Riddle's name so that an appropriate anagram could be formed from "I am Lord Voldemort." In Spanish, his name became "Tom Sorvolo Ryddle," which transforms into "Soy Lord Voldemort." In French, his name is "Tom Elvis Jedusor," which becomes "Je suis Voldemort." In Dutch, his name is "Marten Asmodom Vilijn" which is an anagram for "Mijn naam is Voldemort". In Turkish the name is "Tom Marvoldo Riddle" which makes up "Adim Lord Voldemort". In Brazilian Portuguese the name is "Tom Servolo Riddle" which makes up "Eis Lord Voldemort". In Danish, his name is "Romeo G. Detlev Jr." which makes up "Jeg er Voldemort". In Italian his name is "Tom Orvoloson Riddle", which makes up "Son io Lord Voldemort". In Swedish his name is "Tom Gus Mervolo Dolder", which makes up "Ego sum Lord Voldemort".

Source (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295297/trivia)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 03, 2014, 02:40:57 pm
...
If I had your problems...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 03, 2014, 02:52:41 pm
Heh, not sure if this girl is attracted to me or is just super playful. Backstage during a show, she grabbed my hat and put it on her head. Considering how much I sweat in that hat (and possibly how many other actors did as well *shudder*), I was surprised she was being that playful.

It'd be kind of cool to go out with her, but she's 20 years younger than me. It couldn't be an ongoing relationship. Besides, she wouldn't be my primary, and I have no idea how she'd respond to that, so I best leave it alone.

Still, donning someone else's clothes/accessories can often be seen as a sign of flirting—a nasty hat, even more.

I don't see why, during a show I one time grabbed a girl's (actually my wife in the show) hat and put it on top of my hat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 03, 2014, 03:05:47 pm
Kirian you and I should start a dating adviice thread in which questions will be formatted like this:

Dear F.ds Dating Superstuds,

[Insert query here]

Sincerely,

Loveless in Louisville
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 03, 2014, 03:20:40 pm
I just realized what this would sound like to an outsider hearing about it secondhand. "One of the guys on this card game internet forum had this girl take his hat and all of us card game nerds are trying to decide if she was flirting."

Not saying it's a bad conversation to have. Just had a momentary paradigm shift and wanted to share.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 03, 2014, 03:35:54 pm
So I'm definitely a nerd? I mean I played Magic cards in middle school and I was a casual member of the chess club but I never really considered myself as part of the club. When do I get my membership card?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 03, 2014, 03:45:45 pm
Definitely, definitely flirting.  That said, if you're poly* and don't know whether she is or not, probably best to, at the least, let her make any further moves.  Of course, my dating advice is best taken with a heaping teaspoon of salt.

*I'm assuming this from your using the word 'primary' up there.

You assume correctly. I'm letting her make the blatant moves, because I don't want to make things weird. If she's that interested in me, then she'll bring it up. I do wonder if she is put off by the fact that I am married. I did recently post an article about poly on Facebook, so she may put two and two together. But then, there's also the fact that she wouldn't want to be a secondary.

I actually suspect this will turn out to be ships passing in the night. She seems pretty cool, and I don't want to jeopardize a friendship just because I want to jump her. If it happens, it happens.

The reason for the doubt is that up until then, I haven't seen any interest from her. Sometimes you can just tell based on what the person is doing. For example, finding excuses to sit nearby. I had one girl who said, "Didn't you notice I was coming to see your show?" Okay, that was more arrogance on my part as an actor than a fuckbuddy. I thought she wanted to see the show. Heh.

This girl just didn't send out those vibes until the hat incident. Made me raise an eyebrow. But then again, actors are really, really friendly and don't quite have the boundaries like normal people ("We are actors; we're the opposite of people!").

I'll just keep on trucking and leave her opportunities to approach me. I also don't want to be the creepy old guy trying to mack on younger girls (even though she's out of college).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on November 03, 2014, 03:48:26 pm
So how many pages does this thread have to reach before we get a Random Stuff III?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 03, 2014, 03:49:39 pm
So how many pages does this thread have to reach before we get a Random Stuff III?

Enough to cause more quantum fluctuations.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 03, 2014, 03:56:53 pm
So how many pages does this thread have to reach before we get a Random Stuff III?

Enough to cause more quantum fluctuations.

Did you know you can remove your own posts?

...I'm just leaving it there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on November 03, 2014, 04:01:47 pm
So I'm definitely a nerd? I mean I played Magic cards in middle school and I was a casual member of the chess club but I never really considered myself as part of the club. When do I get my membership card?
As captain of my school's chess club, I resent this comment. Chess club is where the cool kids go.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 03, 2014, 04:08:01 pm
So I'm definitely a nerd? I mean I played Magic cards in middle school and I was a casual member of the chess club but I never really considered myself as part of the club. When do I get my membership card?
As captain of my school's chess club, I resent this comment. Chess club is where the cool kids go.

Nerd kids ARE the cool kids. I resent your resentment.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 03, 2014, 04:10:52 pm
In other random news: my top choice company called me back today and I have an interview with them in 2 weeks!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 03, 2014, 04:13:23 pm
Not to be a buzzkill, but in my experience, flirting backstage =/= anything serious
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on November 03, 2014, 04:18:55 pm
Interesting:

Quote
Foreign language translations had to change Tom Marvolo Riddle's name so that an appropriate anagram could be formed from "I am Lord Voldemort." In Spanish, his name became "Tom Sorvolo Ryddle," which transforms into "Soy Lord Voldemort." In French, his name is "Tom Elvis Jedusor," which becomes "Je suis Voldemort." In Dutch, his name is "Marten Asmodom Vilijn" which is an anagram for "Mijn naam is Voldemort". In Turkish the name is "Tom Marvoldo Riddle" which makes up "Adim Lord Voldemort". In Brazilian Portuguese the name is "Tom Servolo Riddle" which makes up "Eis Lord Voldemort". In Danish, his name is "Romeo G. Detlev Jr." which makes up "Jeg er Voldemort". In Italian his name is "Tom Orvoloson Riddle", which makes up "Son io Lord Voldemort". In Swedish his name is "Tom Gus Mervolo Dolder", which makes up "Ego sum Lord Voldemort".

Source (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295297/trivia)

In German, its Tom Vorlost Riddle -> Ist Lord Voldemort. Not too bad considering some of those alternatives.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 03, 2014, 04:26:16 pm
Not to be a buzzkill, but in my experience, flirting backstage =/= anything serious

I do believe you're correct. Actors are notorious teases. It's part of the fun, after all.

Ships passing in the night.

Although I did buy a new hat the other day. I should wear it to the cast party. *smirk*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 03, 2014, 04:28:41 pm
Allegedly, when translators were working on the 6th Harry Potter book, many had to figure out who R.A.B. was on their own, so that they could use the correct initials.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 03, 2014, 04:43:07 pm
Allegedly, when translators were working on the 6th Harry Potter book, many had to figure out who R.A.B. was on their own, so that they could use the correct initials.

Luckily, that one was at least easy to guess.

Of course, I was also dead certain that the real villain of the entire series would be the alarmingly-named Professor Sinistra, who, despite being the Astronomy instructor at Hogwarts all throughout Harry Potter's time there and despite the main characters taking Astronomy for most of their school career, never once had a single line of dialogue. The books contain zero information about her or the classes she supposedly taught. Which is more likely: that nothing of note ever happened during Astronomy class during Harry's entire event-filled tenure at Hogwarts OR that Professor Sinistra was wiping the children's memories for her own nefarious purposes? I think the answer is clear.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on November 03, 2014, 04:49:42 pm
Romeo G. Detlev Jr.

This is the best.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 03, 2014, 05:04:07 pm
Allegedly, when translators were working on the 6th Harry Potter book, many had to figure out who R.A.B. was on their own, so that they could use the correct initials.

Luckily, that one was at least easy to guess.

Of course, I was also dead certain that the real villain of the entire series would be the alarmingly-named Professor Sinistra, who, despite being the Astronomy instructor at Hogwarts all throughout Harry Potter's time there and despite the main characters taking Astronomy for most of their school career, never once had a single line of dialogue. The books contain zero information about her or the classes she supposedly taught. Which is more likely: that nothing of note ever happened during Astronomy class during Harry's entire event-filled tenure at Hogwarts OR that Professor Sinistra was wiping the children's memories for her own nefarious purposes? I think the answer is clear.

Man, there's nothing wrong with Professor Sinistra.  This is yet another example of the marginalization of left-handed people.  Just because we use the sinister hand doesn't mean we are doing secret nefarious things all the time.  There are holidays.  Most of the plots aren't even deadly probably.

(I am left handed!  Anybody else?)

Romeo G. Detlev Jr.

This is the best.

With a name like that, how could you not turn out evil?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 03, 2014, 05:08:36 pm
(I am left handed!  Anybody else?)
High-left-handed-five!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 03, 2014, 05:11:48 pm
Man, there's nothing wrong with Professor Sinistra.

They can't all be the best professor ever.


(Also, I'm ambidextrous. Does that count?)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 03, 2014, 05:17:58 pm
Tom Marvolo Riddle, really ? I like the French name much better.

I actually read half the books in English (5 and on, I was younger and not able to read in English when I read the first four), and I just realized he had that name. RAB must have been explained to me by someone I think.

Come to think of it, it's weird that I don't remember that his English name is Marvolo Riddle since it's definitely mentioned in those later books... maybe I just blocked it out because really ? What is he, a Batman villain ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 03, 2014, 05:24:49 pm
Tom Marvolo Riddle, really ? I like the French name much better.

I actually read half the books in English (5 and on, I was younger and not able to read in English when I read the first four), and I just realized he had that name. RAB must have been explained to me by someone I think.

Come to think of it, it's weird that I don't remember that his English name is Marvolo Riddle since it's definitely mentioned in those later books... maybe I just blocked it out because really ? What is he, a Batman villain ?

Marvolo was his grandfather's name, and Riddle is a real surname (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddle_%28disambiguation%29), believe it or not.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 03, 2014, 06:51:21 pm
In the last 20 minutes, my total respect has gone up by 30 35 36 43 48 52 63 points, and counting. I've checked my last (hilarious, if I must say so myself) posts, and none of them have been upvoted. So either someone is upvoting all my old posts (in which case, thank you, but it's bugging the hell out of me), or there is some sort of bug or bot that is causing respect to go up.

Has anyone noticed anything?

EDIT: Walrus, I don't know what sort of joke you are building up towards, but you've got too much free time on your hands.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on November 03, 2014, 07:04:01 pm
In the last 20 minutes, my total respect has gone up by 30 35 36 43 48 52 points, and counting. I've checked my last (hilarious, if I must say so myself) posts, and none of them have been upvoted. So either someone is upvoting all my old posts (in which case, thank you, but it's bugging the hell out of me), or there is some sort of bug or bot that is causing respect to go up.

Has anyone noticed anything?

EDIT: Walrus, I don't know what sort of joke you are building up towards, but you've got too much time on your hands.
Why, oh why can't we see the respect for each post when viewed in the "show posts" page. Maybe you can only see your own?

I understand that the features on this website were part of a template or something and thay Theory doesn't have that much power to modify/add things to it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 03, 2014, 07:04:15 pm
I just discovered, hidden in a random MTG Twitter thread, that WanderingWinder was on Twitter.

If I get my mythology straight, does that mean that all of f.ds is on Twitter ? Definitely following that account.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on November 03, 2014, 07:04:22 pm
...
If I had your problems...
I personally would rather not have a six year old hitting on me, thanks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 03, 2014, 07:28:19 pm
In Spanish, his name became "Tom Sorvolo Ryddle," which transforms into "Soy Lord Voldemort."

...which is frankly a terribly bland, mostly flavorless imitation of the real Lord Voldemort.

(not originally my joke)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on November 03, 2014, 07:37:55 pm
...
If I had your problems...
I personally would rather not have a six year old hitting on me, thanks.

A two-year old hitting on me might be cute. I'm not sure what it would look like, but most things two-year-olds do are cute, so.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 03, 2014, 07:38:40 pm
In Spanish, his name became "Tom Sorvolo Ryddle," which transforms into "Soy Lord Voldemort."

...which is frankly a terribly bland, mostly flavorless imitation of the real Lord Voldemort.

(not originally my joke)

More estrogen, too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 03, 2014, 11:52:23 pm
Kirian you and I should start a dating adviice thread in which questions will be formatted like this:

Dear F.ds Dating Superstuds,

[Insert query here]

Sincerely,

Loveless in Louisville

Seriously though.  The story of how I met my current wife and why my first marriage lasted effectively a year is this gigantic red flag saying "Do not take dating advice from this guy."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 03, 2014, 11:59:30 pm
...
If I had your problems...
I personally would rather not have a six year old hitting on me, thanks.

A two-year old hitting on me might be cute. I'm not sure what it would look like, but most things two-year-olds do are cute, so.

What about a -3 year old?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 04, 2014, 12:18:03 am
Kirian you and I should start a dating adviice thread in which questions will be formatted like this:

Dear F.ds Dating Superstuds,

[Insert query here]

Sincerely,

Loveless in Louisville

Seriously though.  The story of how I met my current wife and why my first marriage lasted effectively a year is this gigantic red flag saying "Do not take dating advice from this guy."

What are the stories?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on November 04, 2014, 12:25:38 am
...
If I had your problems...
I personally would rather not have a six year old hitting on me, thanks.

A two-year old hitting on me might be cute. I'm not sure what it would look like, but most things two-year-olds do are cute, so.

What about a -3 year old?
Darn it, you beat me to it. For me it'd be -2
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 04, 2014, 12:31:27 am
How big does the age difference have to be before it's creepy? The formula I've heard is half your age plus 7 years. If you date someone younger than that, you are officially a cradle robber. Seems reasonable to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 04, 2014, 12:56:37 am
...
If I had your problems...
I personally would rather not have a six year old hitting on me, thanks.
Well, you got me there...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on November 04, 2014, 12:59:19 am
How big does the age difference have to be before it's creepy? The formula I've heard is half your age plus 7 years. If you date someone younger than that, you are officially a cradle robber. Seems reasonable to me.

Andy Dwyer: Let me ask you a quick question: what's the youngest a girl can be that if uh, we go out, I'm not a total scumbag?
Tom Haverford: You know the old rule. Half your age plus seven.
Andy Dwyer: Half my age, plus seven. Oh, okay. Well I'm 29, so half of... 29, add seven... that's only 20, is...
Tom Haverford: Twenty...
Andy Dwyer: 20 years old.
Tom Haverford: ...one.
Andy Dwyer: 21.
Tom Haverford: and a half.
Andy Dwyer: Yep.
Tom Haverford: Yep.
Andy Dwyer: We got the same thing with the equation on that one. Here's the thing, what if she's slightly younger? Can I go out with someone younger than that?
Tom Haverford: Please! You totally can!
Andy Dwyer: Yeah!
[In confessional]
Andy Dwyer: Tom says it's okay!... That probably means it isn't okay.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 04, 2014, 01:03:16 am
How big does the age difference have to be before it's creepy? The formula I've heard is half your age plus 7 years. If you date someone younger than that, you are officially a cradle robber. Seems reasonable to me.

Why would love be creepy?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 04, 2014, 01:23:54 am
How big does the age difference have to be before it's creepy? The formula I've heard is half your age plus 7 years. If you date someone younger than that, you are officially a cradle robber. Seems reasonable to me.

Is a 40-something dating a 20-something creepy?  Not as long as they share the same interests, desires, what-have-you, but I can't imagine there's going to be a huge overlap there.

I actually think this comes down more to personal preference.  At 36, that formula outputs 25... now, I know a number of 25-year-olds.  Nice enough people, most of 'em, but at my age I sure as hell don't want to deal with their issues.  I certainly wouldn't want to deal with myself at that age, knowing what I know, except maybe to smack some sense into him.  And I suspect Kuildeous won't likely want to deal with the issues of someone twenty years younger, except as a fling, and flings can be dangerous things indeed.

Seriously though.  The story of how I met my current wife and why my first marriage lasted effectively a year is this gigantic red flag saying "Do not take dating advice from this guy."

What are the stories?

If I have time some evening I'll tell you the short version.  The ultra-short version is that my (current) wife and I, both very intelligent people, made some impressively, stupendously, un-fucking-believably dumb decisions regarding the expression of feelings, back in... 2001 IIRC, which, hey look, it's 23-year-old me!  Seriously, I could smack that idiot.  Actually, a big hug and a stern talking-to, of the sort I give to my five-year-old, would likely be a better idea.

Here, have some sappy but relevant Indigo Girls harmonies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mut_T0GcehI
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 03:20:29 am
Twitter is like Rebuild.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 04, 2014, 05:28:33 am
Twitter is like Rebuild.

I'm intrigued, please go on.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 08:06:04 am
Twitter is like Rebuild.

I'm intrigued, please go on.

It may have been made for a specific purpose, but it turned out an overused annoyance that takes a lot of the fun out of an otherwise interesting thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 04, 2014, 08:10:16 am
what is the otherwise interesting thing?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 08:13:33 am
what is the otherwise interesting thing?

The internet. It is not completely ruined, but Rebuild did not completely ruin Dominion either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 04, 2014, 08:30:23 am
It's amazing how different a 20-year-old is compared to a 40-year-old. It's not always something you notice until you look at it from the outside. I find it interesting that I cannot remember being that different in my 20s. I'm sure I was, but confirmation bias tells me that I've had a lot of my current wisdom back in my 20s (for example, I've advised people for years not to marry until their 30s). Surely I had some dumb philosophies in my 20s, but I must have repressed them because my smug self seems to think that I've always been this awesome.

But I do remember some poor actions in my 20s. But hey, I've made mistakes in my 40s too.

And yeah, if this 22-year-old girl actually does like me, it'd have to be a fling. She does seem smart, and she's quite the nerd, so common interests are there. Even if she's not interested in me in that way, she seems like a cool person to be with. Pity there's not enough time during the show to play Dominion, or I'd find out just how much of a nerd she is. I wonder if I can bring some quick games. Piece o' Cake is pretty fun.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 08:48:21 am
Even if she's not interested in me in that way, she seems like a cool person to be with. Pity there's not enough time during the show to play Dominion, or I'd find out just how much of a nerd she is.

So you made all this fuzz about this thing without even confirming she likes Dominion first??? What a waste of time this was!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 04, 2014, 09:45:11 am
Twitter is like Rebuild.

I'm intrigued, please go on.

It may have been made for a specific purpose, but it turned out an overused annoyance that takes a lot of the fun out of an otherwise interesting thing.

I disagree, I take great enjoyement in Twitter... it seems to me that it's very easy to let Twiter what you want ito be by crafting your timeline in such a way that it's entertaining/informative/whatever.

Also i'm not sure how people who don't use Twitter are negatively affected by people who do. Whereas if I were refusing to use Rebuild in a game where it's present, that will obviously go badly for me (most of the time).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 04, 2014, 09:46:38 am
Come on Uncie Kirian! Tell us a story!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 09:50:42 am
I disagree, I take great enjoyement in Twitter... it seems to me that it's very easy to let Twiter what you want ito be by crafting your timeline in such a way that it's entertaining/informative/whatever.

I don't have a twitter account and only go on to the twitter site to find really specific information once every couple of months. And still, twitter annoys me a great deal, because lots of sites have some twitter feed embedded and it makes frivolity appear more prominently in the media when lots of articles are about who twitted what. Twitter is all about frivolity, and that frivolity is spreading to the rest of the internet, even if you avoid twitter.com and twitter apps completely.

I remember a video publicizing twitter a long time ago, in its early days, promoting the fact that you could tell what you were doing all the time. Through some icons they were promoting letting people know you were having coffee, leaving from work, getting on the bus, etc. So maybe its not like Rebuild, because even its origins are ill-intended.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 04, 2014, 09:59:08 am
Right, you have this idea that Twitter is about people posting pictures of their food, that's fine. Some people do that, sure. That's not even close to what I and many people use Twitter for. Like many things, it's an excellent tool but because some people use it "frivolously" (which, frankly, there's nothing wrong with that either), it gets derided.

It's like saying the Internet is bad because it's all about trolling in the comments or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 10:02:45 am
Right, you have this idea that Twitter is about people posting pictures of their food, that's fine. Some people do that, sure. That's not even close to what I and many people use Twitter for. Like many things, it's an excellent tool but because some people use it "frivolously" (which, frankly, there's nothing wrong with that either), it gets derided.

It's like saying the Internet is bad because it's all about trolling in the comments or something.

I think your analogy is backwards. Internet is a great tool that is often misused. Twitter is a horrible tool that it is eventually used in a good way. Maybe comments on videos (or some other places) are a bad tool either.

Twitter is more like the atom bomb. Sure, you can probably find an armageddon-like nice usage for it, but its existence is mostly bad for humanity.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on November 04, 2014, 10:05:53 am
How can a form of communication be universally bad?  Do you think the existence of SMS messages is equally bad for humanity? 

It's like people who protest too much against Facebook.  No one forces you to do anything with it. Facebook is whatever what you choose to make of it.   
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 04, 2014, 10:11:43 am
Right, you have this idea that Twitter is about people posting pictures of their food, that's fine. Some people do that, sure. That's not even close to what I and many people use Twitter for. Like many things, it's an excellent tool but because some people use it "frivolously" (which, frankly, there's nothing wrong with that either), it gets derided.

It's like saying the Internet is bad because it's all about trolling in the comments or something.

I think your analogy is backwards. Internet is a great tool that is often misused. Twitter is a horrible tool that it is eventually used in a good way. Maybe comments on videos (or some other places) are a bad tool either.

Twitter is more like the atom bomb. Sure, you can probably find an armageddon-like nice usage for it, but its existence is mostly bad for humanity.

You seem to have an awful lot of confidence of what Twitter it for someone who doesn't use it.

Sorry, that's kind of a specious argument, but I feel like you are letting your perception of it be shaped by clichés.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 04, 2014, 10:16:23 am
It's like people who protest too much against Facebook.  No one forces you to do anything with it. Facebook is whatever what you choose to make of it.
I don't think this way of arguing works. Maybe for this case, but not in general. Noone forces people to kill themselves because of what they believe. In fact, objectively, there is no reason why anyone should have a problem with what anyone else believes (unless part of what he believes in is that he has to fight people who believe in it). Still, I can say that religions are bad for humanity, because people keep killing themselves over them. A thing that's often misused can still be a bad thing because of that, even if it's not inherently bad for everyone.

For facebook, you could make the argument that people aren't very bright and post too much stuff there, which comes back to hurt them later (like intimate pictures or something, it was just a phase, but later others can still find that about them). I don't really know to which extent this is true though, so I'm not saying FB is bad or anything.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on November 04, 2014, 10:20:03 am
People are arguing facebook is bad because their news feed is stupid. Hey, guess what, facebook offers plenty of tools for customizing your news feed. I genuinely like reading mine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 10:21:44 am
How can a form of communication be universally bad?  Do you think the existence of SMS messages is equally bad for humanity? 

It's like people who protest too much against Facebook.  No one forces you to do anything with it. Facebook is whatever what you choose to make of it.

I don't think SMSs are bad for humanity.

And Facebook is not whatever I choose to make of it, nor is Twitter, (and nor is Rebuild, as long as there is no ban-list or similar), for the reasons I explained before: they get picked up by media and mentioned in conversations all the time and their influence in shaping the society is significant. And there is no escaping the society.

Nothing in the public sphere is really what you choose to make of it, but rather, what the society picks up. The problem is that those companies for an oligopoly, much like media companies. Would you say that TV or press is what I choose to make of it? Theoretically, I could choose not to read the press or watch TV, but it will still pop-out everywhere, much like the ****ing birdie or the worse f-word.

You seem to have an awful lot of confidence of what Twitter it for someone who doesn't use it.

Sorry, that's kind of a specious argument, but I feel like you are letting your perception of it be shaped by clichés.

The fact that I don't want to use Twitter does not mean I don't know what it is. And, as I said several times before, twitter does appear everywhere even if I don't want to use it. So, I don't want to use twitter, but unfortunately, they are forcing it on me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 10:24:20 am
I feel like I already said this elsewhere, but I have a general problem with social networking: their usage gives too much power to a single company that controls all communications through them. I prefer communications to be open-protocol and carried out by several companies if they need some centralization. Notice that phone, SMS, e-mail, jabber, are all like that. I can choose to switch providers if I don't like mine and not loose my access to the network.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on November 04, 2014, 10:25:16 am
I love Twitter, because of it I am best buds with E-list celebrities talking about their dogs and begging me to watch their videos. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on November 04, 2014, 10:43:08 am
soulnet, how about stuff like the Arab spring, when protestors used platforms like Twitter and Facebook to organize themselves and spread the message? Is this a legitimate non-atom bomb use of Twitter?

Mind you, I don't really care for social media either, but that just means I ignore them most of the time. I think your statements are quite hyperbolic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 04, 2014, 10:50:11 am
I think the impact of social media in general and Twitter in particular on our society is a net positive, but that's not a particularly popular opinion I suppose.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 04, 2014, 10:57:13 am
I find it odd that anonymous people can often find more information about someone without needing a Facebook or twitter account than people who have one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 11:24:27 am
soulnet, how about stuff like the Arab spring, when protestors used platforms like Twitter and Facebook to organize themselves and spread the message? Is this a legitimate non-atom bomb use of Twitter?

Yes it is. I have no real information about the impact, but, would they have not used other platforms like email, newgroups, IRC, should twitter have not been the de facto standard at the time?

Also, I have heard accusations on twitter selling information to some Country's oppressive regime. This was only rumors, and it was several years back, so please forgive my lack of sources. This is a random stuff thread after all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 04, 2014, 12:28:37 pm
soulnet, how about stuff like the Arab spring, when protestors used platforms like Twitter and Facebook to organize themselves and spread the message? Is this a legitimate non-atom bomb use of Twitter?

Yes it is. I have no real information about the impact, but, would they have not used other platforms like email, newgroups, IRC, should twitter have not been the de facto standard at the time?

I'm sure they did in the past. Twitter and Facebook both have optimized mobile experiences, email/IRC less so, and working well on smartphones helps a lot when you're not necessarily going to have access to a laptop/desktop all the time.

i.e. someone organizes a protest, it goes south, now even people en route to said protest can find out about this. Plus, given that people are likely using their phones as cameras to record everything, working well on mobile is a big plus in that direction.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 12:33:12 pm
i.e. someone organizes a protest, it goes south, now even people en route to said protest can find out about this. Plus, given that people are likely using their phones as cameras to record everything, working well on mobile is a big plus in that direction.

I am not an expert, but I would be surprised if there weren't good tools for using email on smartphones.

Maybe we should go ahead and do the opposite of twitter: make an easy accessible social network with rules that make the posts tend towards being informative and relevant instead of frivolous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 04, 2014, 12:47:18 pm
Have you ever joined an ongoing conversation? Most of the discussion is often frivolous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 04, 2014, 01:01:54 pm
Maybe we should go ahead and do the opposite of twitter: make an easy accessible social network with rules that make the posts tend towards being informative and relevant instead of frivolous.

We call those sites "news."  Most (all?) of the posts on this site are frivolous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 04, 2014, 01:16:15 pm
Yeah, I'm not sure why stuff being frivolous is bad. Most of what humanity does is frivolous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 01:17:54 pm
It's not that frivolity is bad in itself. Opt-in or opt-out frivolity boards are fine. The problem is that twitter spreads frivolity in other stuff, like news shows and printed press. It is making politics be even more about appearances than about actual discussion.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 04, 2014, 01:32:21 pm
WHy is that Twitter's fault ? Isn't it a problem of news shows and the printed press relaying it ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 02:18:27 pm
WHy is that Twitter's fault ? Isn't it a problem of news shows and the printed press relaying it ?

Twitter promotes its usage as a news source as one of its top 3 uses:

Quote from: twitter.com
Welcome to Twitter.

Connect with your friends — and other fascinating people. Get in-the-moment updates on the things that interest you. And watch events unfold, in real time, from every angle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 04, 2014, 03:23:26 pm
I'm not sure how you could misconstrue any of these 3 items as being "tweet pictures of food !".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on November 04, 2014, 03:52:57 pm
I'm not sure how you could misconstrue any of these 3 items as being "tweet pictures of food !".

woah, now.  Pictures go on instagram  (another lovely social media tool)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 03:57:09 pm
I'm not sure how you could misconstrue any of these 3 items as being "tweet pictures of food !".

You asked how it was twitter's fault that media picks up twits. I just answered that. Then it seems you decided I was actually saying something else.
Title: Re: The Decline of Frivolity on f.ds
Post by: ashersky on November 04, 2014, 04:07:48 pm
Someone change the thread title.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 04, 2014, 04:34:45 pm
(http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/55943985.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 04, 2014, 05:01:21 pm
I'm not sure how you could misconstrue any of these 3 items as being "tweet pictures of food !".

You asked how it was twitter's fault that media picks up twits. I just answered that. Then it seems you decided I was actually saying something else.

Nah, I just misread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 04, 2014, 06:12:23 pm
(http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20120310.gif) (http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=2545)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 04, 2014, 09:43:50 pm
I love SMBC.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 09:46:44 pm
I love SMBC.

Well, it is the start of the weekend, what's not to love?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 04, 2014, 10:30:23 pm
Ellen Page is awkwardly hot in Super... I don't know if I should feel this way...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 04, 2014, 10:45:23 pm
Ellen Page is awkwardly hot in Super... I don't know if I should feel this way...

I did not know that movie. From the IMDB summary, it looks like a copy of kick-ass (wonderful movie, btw). Is it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 04, 2014, 11:35:13 pm
It's similar to Kick-Ass, though I think I enjoyed it a little more.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 04, 2014, 11:51:48 pm
Here's a wedding I just played. I've only heard part of the first track so far but my drums sound so good that I just had to share. That's not me in the photo, that's a friend of the bride and groom that sat in for a couple songs. Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-leonardo/sets/gena-tjs-wedding-reception-9-1
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on November 04, 2014, 11:53:24 pm
Here's a wedding I just played. I've only heard part of the first track so far but my drums sound so good that I just had to share. That's not me in the photo, that's a friend of the bride and groom that sat in for a couple songs. Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-leonardo/sets/gena-tjs-wedding-reception-9-1

You're a wedding drummer?  You are like a real-life Adam Sandler movie.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 04, 2014, 11:56:36 pm
Here's a wedding I just played. I've only heard part of the first track so far but my drums sound so good that I just had to share. That's not me in the photo, that's a friend of the bride and groom that sat in for a couple songs. Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-leonardo/sets/gena-tjs-wedding-reception-9-1

I was going to say that I didn't think you could grow that kind of hair. Plus you mentioned you don't like white guys with dreads.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 05, 2014, 12:00:07 am
Here's a wedding I just played. I've only heard part of the first track so far but my drums sound so good that I just had to share. That's not me in the photo, that's a friend of the bride and groom that sat in for a couple songs. Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-leonardo/sets/gena-tjs-wedding-reception-9-1

I was going to say that I didn't think you could grow that kind of hair. Plus you mentioned you don't like white guys with dreads.

I like them just fine, I said you can't trust white guys with dreads. And that's true.

Also the first track is the only time the drums sound decent. Ah well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 05, 2014, 08:21:39 am
Ellen Page is awkwardly hot in Super... I don't know if I should feel this way...

Well, she's an attractive person playing an awkward role. The awkwardness of that role doesn't really hide her beauty.

And, well, there is something endearing about awkward girls. Of course, there are limits, like where she basically rapes him. That was significantly less endearing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on November 05, 2014, 08:22:55 am
I love SMBC.
Tell me about it. I've read every single SMBC so far. Same with XKCD.

Yeah, I've been reading a lot of webcomics recently. I blame that webcomic thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 05, 2014, 09:34:01 am
Ellen Page is awkwardly hot in Super... I don't know if I should feel this way...

If you're going to find Ellen Page hot, at least it's better done in this movie than in Hard Candy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 05, 2014, 09:45:38 am
I just put some raspberries on a plate and I'm eating them with a spoon. Yeah, I don't get it either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 05, 2014, 09:52:53 am
I just put some raspberries on a plate and I'm eating them with a spoon. Yeah, I don't get it either.

Were you wearing a Raspberry Beret* whilst doing it?


I prefer the Warren Zevon cover, even though I am traditionally against covers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 05, 2014, 10:17:52 am
In 2009 I read all xckd comics in existence in 3 days straight, withoutt realizing about the extra hover text. When a friend told me, I read them al over again including the text.However,  the second time I took my time
 5 days. This was all while I was finishing my masters thesis.

This year, when finishing my PhD thesis, I did the same with SMBC. And I forgot the red button.

The good news is: no more thesis.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on November 05, 2014, 10:19:08 am
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on November 05, 2014, 12:05:30 pm
In 2019 I read all xckd comics in existence in 3 days straight, withoutt realizing about the extra hover text. When a friend told me, I read them al over again including the text.However,  the second time I took my time
 5 days. This was all while I was finishing my masters thesis.

This year, when finishing my PhD thesis, I did the same with SMBC. And I forgot the red button.

The good news is: no more thesis.
Happened to me with both XKCD and SMBC (and Dr. McNinja). I did start reading the voteys for SMBC around halfway through. With all those webcomics, I only found out about the extra text/votey through the TV tropes website. I usually read webcomics on my mobile phone, which doesn't have mouse over.

Thankfully, XKCD has a mobile mode if you add "m." to the front of the URL. That adds a button to read the alt text.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 05, 2014, 12:22:42 pm
I'm not a fan of the United Way, but I just donated $5 so I could be entered into a drawing for a free vacation day.

Talked my wife into it. Even though that money could be put to better use in another charity, I told her that this is more like a $5 raffle ticket.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on November 05, 2014, 12:53:09 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button
Somewhat Reasonable with Perry Bible Fellowship or Poorly Drawn Lines (my favorite webcomic so far).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 05, 2014, 12:53:25 pm
In 2019 I read all xckd comics in existence in 3 days straight, withoutt realizing about the extra hover text. When a friend told me, I read them al over again including the text.However,  the second time I took my time
 5 days. This was all while I was finishing my masters thesis.

This year, when finishing my PhD thesis, I did the same with SMBC. And I forgot the red button.

The good news is: no more thesis.

Greetings, man from the future!  It must be hard reading it all in three days when there's ~750 in more comics in your time than we have!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 05, 2014, 01:08:47 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/WwhsMTJ.gif) (http://imgur.com/gallery/WwhsMTJ)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 05, 2014, 01:16:26 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button

I'm in the process of doing this with SMBC
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 05, 2014, 01:50:12 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button

I'm in the process of doing this with SMBC

(http://www.quickmeme.com/img/84/845885b76f31d8ddd689990d316516f3c6b35a2cd5babe28397122ee572f2e88.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on November 05, 2014, 03:20:15 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button

I'm in the process of doing this with SMBC
I've been doing this too, except whenever I find a new one I go forward/backward until I find one I've seen already (at first I only did random for a while). There are so many that the number of repeats hasn't gotten too high yet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 05, 2014, 03:37:27 pm
For SMBC, I found that reading them in order you can perceive the evolution of the technique. Also, sometimes there are subtle and nice back-references that you will miss if you did not read the referenced joke. I seem to remember that XKCD had some back-references too. Unfortunately, XKCD has declined a lot in joke-quality lately (although the introduction of what-if compensates a great deal) so I am not following it as closely and often forget to check the updates for a week or so.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 05, 2014, 05:03:40 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5q77MQzU2Q
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 05, 2014, 05:29:17 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/9f644671e8984198132149cccff5e400/tumblr_mpcryy3Cam1spaqpio1_r1_1280.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on November 05, 2014, 05:47:26 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button

I'm in the process of doing this with SMBC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupon_collector's_problem
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on November 05, 2014, 06:53:11 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button

I'm in the process of doing this with SMBC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupon_collector's_problem

This applies to Hearthstone cards or baseball cards via buying packs, right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on November 05, 2014, 07:29:15 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button
Super hard mode: Doing this for xkcd. (I'm assuming that Random still sometimes sends you to Comic #404).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on November 05, 2014, 08:02:25 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button
Super hard mode: Doing this for xkcd. (I'm assuming that Random still sometimes sends you to Comic #404).
SMBC has way more comics than xkcd
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 05, 2014, 08:04:40 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button
Super hard mode: Doing this for xkcd. (I'm assuming that Random still sometimes sends you to Comic #404).
SMBC has way more comics than xkcd

The problem is that, if you get sent to xkcd comic #404, your random journey ends.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on November 05, 2014, 09:54:34 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button
Super hard mode: Doing this for xkcd. (I'm assuming that Random still sometimes sends you to Comic #404).
SMBC has way more comics than xkcd

The problem is that, if you get sent to xkcd comic #404, your random journey ends.
Exactly. It's the roguelike of Random-button archive binging.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on November 05, 2014, 10:01:32 pm
hard mode: go through an entire comic archive with only the random button
Super hard mode: Doing this for xkcd. (I'm assuming that Random still sometimes sends you to Comic #404).
SMBC has way more comics than xkcd

The problem is that, if you get sent to xkcd comic #404, your random journey ends.
Exactly. It's the roguelike of Random-button archive binging.
I don't think random ever takes you to comic 404.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 06, 2014, 12:14:32 am
She wore my hat again. Confound it, woman, you're raising my hopes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 06, 2014, 12:28:39 am
She wore my hat again. Confound it, woman, you're raising my hopes.

Maybe she just likes the hat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 06, 2014, 12:38:38 am
She wore my hat again. Confound it, woman, you're raising my hopes.

Maybe she just likes the hat.

Yeah. Is it a cool hat?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 06, 2014, 01:20:59 am
Please don't listen to Awaclus. Next thing you know she'll take off your shirt and you'll say "maybe she just likes my shirt".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 06, 2014, 01:37:16 am
Please don't listen to Awaclus. Next thing you know she'll take off your shirt and you'll say "maybe she just likes my shirt".

By induction, I think he will reach the same conclusion anyway.

DISCLAIMER: this joke works best in Latin American Spanish.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 06, 2014, 03:42:04 am
You need 405, not 404:

(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/journal_3.png) (http://xkcd.com/405/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 06, 2014, 09:12:27 am
She wore my hat again. Confound it, woman, you're raising my hopes.
I'm getting the impression that your hopes may not be the only thing she is raising...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 06, 2014, 09:14:37 am
Please don't listen to Awaclus. Next thing you know she'll take off your shirt and you'll say "maybe she just likes my shirt".

Next thing you know she'll take out his ...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 06, 2014, 09:25:45 am
Though powerful, the INDEX function in Excel must be watched carefully, especially when you hardcode a reference and insert a new column in the middle of the range.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 06, 2014, 09:31:07 am
Though powerful, the INDEX function in Excel must be watched carefully, especially when you hardcode a reference and insert a new column in the middle of the range.

Though powerful, abrupt subject changes need to be done carefully, especially when you are hardened and want to refrain from looking suspicious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 06, 2014, 09:39:17 am
Please don't listen to Awaclus. Next thing you know she'll take off your shirt and you'll say "maybe she just likes my shirt".

Next thing you know she'll take out his ...

Wallet? I know I was thinking the same thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 06, 2014, 09:40:52 am
Please don't listen to Awaclus. Next thing you know she'll take off your shirt and you'll say "maybe she just likes my shirt".

Next thing you know she'll take out his ...

Wallet? I know I was thinking the same thing.

So it goes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 06, 2014, 09:45:56 am
Yeah, and then my advice is good again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 06, 2014, 12:18:06 pm
It really disturbs me when I see someone pluralize as "do's and don'ts." The tendency for some people to use apostrophes for plurals appalls me as it is, but that phrase is not even consistent in its usage.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 06, 2014, 12:25:33 pm
I d'ont see what youre talking about.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 06, 2014, 12:30:48 pm
It appall's me too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 06, 2014, 12:32:32 pm
It really disturbs me when I see someone pluralize as "do's and don'ts." The tendency for some people to use apostrophes for plurals appalls me as it is, but that phrase is not even consistent in its usage.

Clearly that should be "do's and don't's".

Edit: Oh I gue's's you 'said that, I did'nt even read the re'st of the 'sentence.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 06, 2014, 01:03:22 pm
So what's the proper contraction for a list of do is and do not is?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 06, 2014, 01:20:08 pm
So what's the proper contraction for a list of do is and do not is?

(do | !do)+
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on November 06, 2014, 01:31:32 pm
booze & donuts
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 06, 2014, 02:09:37 pm
So what's the proper contraction for a list of do is and do not is?

(do | !do)+

There is no try.

(There is no spoon, either.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 06, 2014, 02:30:39 pm
I wonder...  How long would it take for me to get a 1:1 Post:Respect ratio if I stopped posting...

Because old posts do get upvoted every once in a while.  Maybe I should just do good things in places where it doesn't count to get an upvote so that people would link to a random post of mine to upvote ;)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 06, 2014, 02:38:56 pm
I wonder...  How long would it take for me to get a 1:1 Post:Respect ratio if I stopped posting...

Because old posts do get upvoted every once in a while.  Maybe I should just do good things in places where it doesn't count to get an upvote so that people would link to a random post of mine to upvote ;)

I'm going to use this as a euphemism the next time I want to tell someone to STFU.

"Hey, I see your upvote:post ratio isn't quite 1:1. You should work on that."

Yes, that just might work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on November 06, 2014, 03:05:17 pm
I wonder...  How long would it take for me to get a 1:1 Post:Respect ratio if I stopped posting...

Because old posts do get upvoted every once in a while.  Maybe I should just do good things in places where it doesn't count to get an upvote so that people would link to a random post of mine to upvote ;)

I tried this once. It doesn't work. You just get forgotten.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 06, 2014, 03:21:29 pm
I wonder...  How long would it take for me to get a 1:1 Post:Respect ratio if I stopped posting...

Because old posts do get upvoted every once in a while.  Maybe I should just do good things in places where it doesn't count to get an upvote so that people would link to a random post of mine to upvote ;)

Just make a new account an upvote all the posts from this account.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 06, 2014, 03:35:08 pm
I wonder...  How long would it take for me to get a 1:1 Post:Respect ratio if I stopped posting...

Because old posts do get upvoted every once in a while.  Maybe I should just do good things in places where it doesn't count to get an upvote so that people would link to a random post of mine to upvote ;)

Ah, the problem is, once somebody has read a post and not upvoted it, the likelihood of that person to upvote it later is close to zero. So as time goes on, the chances that an old post will get upvoted decrease roughly at the same rate as the temporal rate of new forum members. So if your posts are old enough and your respect:post ratio is not high enough, you might never reach 1:1.

The corollary is that the winning strategy is to keep posting, unless you have so few posts that you want to rely on a statistical anomaly to reach the magical 1:1. Of course, you should avoid question posts, which almost never give upvotes.

However, not all posting strategies are equal. We could extract three parameters from any one thread:
-V = visibility of the post: how many people are likely to see it. This depends mainly on the board, and the thread title. You want to maximize this.
-T = half-time of post creation: how difficult it is to find something to say in that thread, measured in the amount of time spent reading/thinking/writing. This depends on the subject of the thread. While it technically doesn't affect the capacity to increase your respect:post, because we have a finite amount of time, you want to minimize this.
-A = Affinity of readers: how likely each reader is of upvoting any single post. This depends on the subject of the thread. You want to maximize this.

And a constant:
-K = Respectless Board Proportionality Constant: the conversion rate between "virtual" upvotes and actual "random post" upvotes in boards where it is not possible to upvote, because people mostly can't be arsed to do that. If you expect a lot of respect from one such post, consider if it's possible to post it elsewhere.

You will notice that you have no control over these parameters (mostly; when respect reaches a critical mass, its visibility gets maxed out independently of its parent thread; and some forum members are known to game the affinity of readers). You can, however, choose where you spend your time. This explains, for example, why the Random Stuff Thread is a good source of respect: it has high A, low T and high V. Conversely, trying to get respect from RSP is madness, because not only A and V are low and T is high, but K is in effect too!

Another technique not to be dismissed is thread creation: because you control the title and subject, you can set V and T as high or low as you want, and then you've only got to work on A. Coming up with a thread takes time though, so your perceived T will be lower; try to make it a long lived thread if you want to minimize your relative T.

Now of course, the problem is being able to get V, T and A from all threads, and the exact value of K, to be able to work out your strategy... But I am sure that with some data gathering algorithms and a bit of machine learning, it shouldn't take excessively long. The sky's the limit!

Respect is a science, gentlemen.

(http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/56012197.jpg)

PS: I've got that plugin that changes respect into VPs...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 06, 2014, 03:50:53 pm
The thing is, VAT is not a constant, it varies depending on the location.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 06, 2014, 03:58:06 pm
True!

You can easily deduce from it that Celestial Chameleon lives in Bahamas.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 06, 2014, 05:03:26 pm
I wonder...  How long would it take for me to get a 1:1 Post:Respect ratio if I stopped posting...

Because old posts do get upvoted every once in a while.  Maybe I should just do good things in places where it doesn't count to get an upvote so that people would link to a random post of mine to upvote ;)

I tried this once. It doesn't work. You just get forgotten.

Holy crap, Polk is still alive?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on November 06, 2014, 10:20:56 pm
Toy Story 4 has been announced!

http://www.polygon.com/2014/11/6/7170793/toy-story-4-pixar
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 06, 2014, 10:26:15 pm
Toy Story 4 has been announced!

http://www.polygon.com/2014/11/6/7170793/toy-story-4-pixar

Well, each Toy Story has arguably been better than one before it (and the first one was great), so I have high hopes here. I'll try not to raise my expectations too much, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 07, 2014, 08:07:58 am
Toy Story 4 has been announced!

http://www.polygon.com/2014/11/6/7170793/toy-story-4-pixar

Well, each Toy Story has arguably been better than one before it (and the first one was great), so I have high hopes here. I'll try not to raise my expectations too much, though.

Yes, I'm wary but still showing signs of optimism. If any franchise has the expectation to be lauded for announcement of a sequel, Toy Story easily earns that right. I've heard less than favorable things about the Cars sequel(s), but aside from that, Pixar has a pretty remarkable track record (which could be seen as a Cars pun, but it's best if you don't).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 07, 2014, 08:25:05 am
Cars 2 would have been better if it wasn't Mater jokes the entire time. It was like Pixar wanted to make an Austin Powers movie. Planes was released under DisneyToons so it's not part of Pixar or Walt Disney Animation canon.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on November 07, 2014, 11:13:57 am
Did you see the Toy Story of Terror! short last year for Halloween? It was really great, too. I am looking forward to the Christmas special this year, Toy Story That Time Forgot.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 07, 2014, 03:54:42 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/d281cdf61efa86d3aae54e84241fbd72/tumblr_ne4ycuJfsC1qewacoo1_r1_500.jpg)

(https://33.media.tumblr.com/d8a91f9070a2c798aecda86a174d5af6/tumblr_ne4ycuJfsC1qewacoo3_500.jpg)

And also,

(https://33.media.tumblr.com/1b70d003d3ce245984c750cfebd48341/tumblr_ne0sq8ilrV1s6z1y0o1_500.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 07, 2014, 04:10:14 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/3k5qL
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 07, 2014, 04:26:05 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/3k5qL

Descriptions and more pictures at the source, which was linked at the bottom of that gallery:

http://twistedsifter.com/2014/11/austin-light-illustrates-movie-titles-with-one-letter-removed/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 07, 2014, 04:33:56 pm
I burst out laughing on "O Bother, Where Art Thou?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 07, 2014, 04:56:45 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/3k5qL

Descriptions and more pictures at the source, which was linked at the bottom of that gallery:

http://twistedsifter.com/2014/11/austin-light-illustrates-movie-titles-with-one-letter-removed/

Even better, the imgur that the artist maintains:

http://imgur.com/a/f2wSg
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 07, 2014, 04:59:38 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/3k5qL

Descriptions and more pictures at the source, which was linked at the bottom of that gallery:

http://twistedsifter.com/2014/11/austin-light-illustrates-movie-titles-with-one-letter-removed/

Even better, the imgur that the artist maintains:

http://imgur.com/a/f2wSg

Now someone just needs to link this post on imgur somewhere.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 07, 2014, 05:26:06 pm
Heck while we're at it, the artist's webpage:

http://www.austindlight.com/

and you can order shirts:

http://www.austindlight.com/pre-order/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 07, 2014, 05:39:54 pm
Let's go one more step further up!  Here's a website with links to tons of awesome stuff:

http://www.google.ca
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 07, 2014, 05:49:43 pm
Here's a website with a link to a link of the previous one: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=google
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 07, 2014, 05:51:52 pm
Here's a link to a cool website with all sorts of awesome links as well: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 07, 2014, 05:52:36 pm
Also for reference:

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11642.msg436777#msg436777
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 07, 2014, 06:11:44 pm
Also for reference:

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11642.msg436777#msg436777

Okay, how did you know exactly what post number that was going to be? Or did you do some things like guessing, making multiple posts and deleting incorrect ones?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 07, 2014, 06:12:28 pm
Also for reference:

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11642.msg436777#msg436777

Okay, how did you know exactly what post number that was going to be? Or did you do some things like guessing, making multiple posts and deleting incorrect ones?

I used the link from my previous post, added one, but it was actually wrong so I edited the link to be the right one :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 07, 2014, 06:25:19 pm
Let's go one more step further up!  Here's a website with links to tons of awesome stuff:

http://www.google.ca

I have examined your links, but they all seem to be in Canadian.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 07, 2014, 06:36:51 pm
Also for reference:

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11642.msg436777#msg436777

Okay, how did you know exactly what post number that was going to be? Or did you do some things like guessing, making multiple posts and deleting incorrect ones?

I used the link from my previous post, added one, but it was actually wrong so I edited the link to be the right one :)

See I'd have assumed you edited it, but there's no indication the post was edited... I thought that was a thing?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on November 07, 2014, 06:43:50 pm
Also for reference:

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11642.msg436777#msg436777

Okay, how did you know exactly what post number that was going to be? Or did you do some things like guessing, making multiple posts and deleting incorrect ones?

I used the link from my previous post, added one, but it was actually wrong so I edited the link to be the right one :)

See I'd have assumed you edited it, but there's no indication the post was edited... I thought that was a thing?
If you edit it within a very short time of it being posted it doesn't show up as being editted.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 07, 2014, 06:52:03 pm
Let's go one more step further up!  Here's a website with links to tons of awesome stuff:

http://www.google.ca

I have examined your links, but they all seem to be in Canadian.

It's pretty similar to the US.  Just slightly more polite and with more letters in some words.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 08, 2014, 04:46:35 am
Let's go one more step further up!  Here's a website with links to tons of awesome stuff:

http://www.google.ca

I have examined your links, but they all seem to be in Canadian.

It's pretty similar to the US.  Just slightly more polite and with more letters in some words.

I'm afraid I can only read Proper English, which has even more letters and is even more polite.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 08, 2014, 04:59:34 am
Quote from: chrome
500 Internal Server Error

Sorry, something went wrong.

A team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation.

If you see them, show them this information:
AB38WENcscTtuY9ptG-l-ONiM0MpKTLzwZUEsUIenQhaoOqvkxNnVRWxtuslanditgoeslikethatfor50morelines
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 08, 2014, 05:03:40 am
Which website?  That's probably a message from them, rather than Chrome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 08, 2014, 05:05:37 am
Which website?  That's probably a message from them, rather than Chrome.
it was an evil spam-you-full-with-ads extension, and the site I was trying to load was a youtube video explaining how you remove this extension. i opened it in firefox, the video totally didn't answer the question, but a comment did, and now it is dead.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 08, 2014, 05:06:09 am
but the error message was funny
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 08, 2014, 06:25:26 am
All Dustforce golds beaten :D

I don't think I can SS the X-Difficult levels, but I'll probably try to SS one or two of the easier ones and see if the others look any more tractable.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 08, 2014, 06:40:59 am
All Dustforce golds beaten :D

I don't think I can SS the X-Difficult levels, but I'll probably try to SS one or two of the easier ones and see if the others look any more tractable.

Did you use an Xbox controller, or a keyboard?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 08, 2014, 06:58:22 am
All Dustforce golds beaten :D

I don't think I can SS the X-Difficult levels, but I'll probably try to SS one or two of the easier ones and see if the others look any more tractable.

Did you use an Xbox controller, or a keyboard?

Keyboard. I've heard Dustforce is actually better on keyboard, or at least better on digital input instead of analog input. I don't have a controller either way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 08, 2014, 07:17:22 am
All Dustforce golds beaten :D

I don't think I can SS the X-Difficult levels, but I'll probably try to SS one or two of the easier ones and see if the others look any more tractable.

Did you use an Xbox controller, or a keyboard?

Keyboard. I've heard Dustforce is actually better on keyboard, or at least better on digital input instead of analog input. I don't have a controller either way.

Good to know, I've got Dustforce in my library, but didn't try it after being burnt on SuperMeatBoy (it's close to impossible with a keyboard, as the game constantly reminds you during the loadscreens).

PS: readers, please spare a thought for soulnet. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 08, 2014, 07:31:12 am
All Dustforce golds beaten :D

I don't think I can SS the X-Difficult levels, but I'll probably try to SS one or two of the easier ones and see if the others look any more tractable.

Did you use an Xbox controller, or a keyboard?

Keyboard. I've heard Dustforce is actually better on keyboard, or at least better on digital input instead of analog input. I don't have a controller either way.

Good to know, I've got Dustforce in my library, but didn't try it after being burnt on SuperMeatBoy (it's close to impossible with a keyboard, as the game constantly reminds you during the loadscreens).

PS: readers, please spare a thought for soulnet. :P

As someone who did 106% Super Meat Boy with a keyboard, I disagree...I'm pretty sure controller is better for SMB, but keyboard is still entirely fine.

(I only got 106% through being really stubborn at beating certain levels and brute-forcing them. I still think I'm pretty bad at the actual game.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 08, 2014, 08:14:25 am
All Dustforce golds beaten :D

I don't think I can SS the X-Difficult levels, but I'll probably try to SS one or two of the easier ones and see if the others look any more tractable.

Did you use an Xbox controller, or a keyboard?

Keyboard. I've heard Dustforce is actually better on keyboard, or at least better on digital input instead of analog input. I don't have a controller either way.

Good to know, I've got Dustforce in my library, but didn't try it after being burnt on SuperMeatBoy (it's close to impossible with a keyboard, as the game constantly reminds you during the loadscreens).

PS: readers, please spare a thought for soulnet. :P

As someone who did 106% Super Meat Boy with a keyboard, I disagree...I'm pretty sure controller is better for SMB, but keyboard is still entirely fine.

(I only got 106% through being really stubborn at beating certain levels and brute-forcing them. I still think I'm pretty bad at the actual game.)

I'm sure it's possible, it's just not precise enough for my tastes, too "all-or-nothing". I mean, I managed to 100% the original flash version, but too many "flybies" on the Steam version for me to actually have fun.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 08, 2014, 11:07:13 am
Let's go one more step further up!  Here's a website with links to tons of awesome stuff:

http://www.google.ca

I have examined your links, but they all seem to be in Canadian.

It's pretty similar to the US.  Just slightly more polite and with more letters in some words.

I'm afraid I can only read Proper English, which has even more letters and is even more polite.

All your politeness is sarcastic though. Canadian politeness is actual earnest and full of good will, believe it or not!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 08, 2014, 11:11:03 am
Let's go one more step further up!  Here's a website with links to tons of awesome stuff:

http://www.google.ca

A website of... websites? Mind blown.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on November 08, 2014, 11:40:49 am
Let's go one more step further up!  Here's a website with links to tons of awesome stuff:

http://www.google.ca

A website of... websites? Mind blown.

Only in Canada!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 08, 2014, 11:43:18 am
I just opened up the container of raspberries I bought a couple days ago to find a cricket leg. Now that's organic!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 08, 2014, 11:58:28 am
I just opened up the container of raspberries I bought a couple days ago to find a cricket leg. Now that's organic!

In some countries you pay more for cricket legs in your raspberries.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 08, 2014, 02:09:42 pm
I just opened up the container of raspberries I bought a couple days ago to find a cricket leg. Now that's organic!

In some countries you pay more for cricket legs in your raspberries.

That's weird. You can just catch cricket legs in the wild. Raspberries are much more difficult to obtain.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 08, 2014, 02:17:48 pm
I just opened up the container of raspberries I bought a couple days ago to find a cricket leg. Now that's organic!

In some countries you pay more for cricket legs in your raspberries.

That's weird. You can just catch cricket legs in the wild. Raspberries are much more difficult to obtain.

Raspberries don't move. Crickets hop away.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 08, 2014, 02:18:15 pm
hop hop 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 08, 2014, 03:06:23 pm
I just opened up the container of raspberries I bought a couple days ago to find a cricket leg. Now that's organic!

In some countries you pay more for cricket legs in your raspberries.

That's weird. You can just catch cricket legs in the wild. Raspberries are much more difficult to obtain.

Raspberries don't move. Crickets hop away.

Maybe domesticated raspberries don't move. Wild raspberries are elusive though. Very dangerous too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 08, 2014, 03:12:25 pm
(http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/images/nuclearfission.gif) (http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/pages/nuclearfission.htm)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 08, 2014, 03:52:14 pm
I just opened up the container of raspberries I bought a couple days ago to find a cricket leg. Now that's organic!

In some countries you pay more for cricket legs in your raspberries.

That's weird. You can just catch cricket legs in the wild. Raspberries are much more difficult to obtain.

Raspberries don't move. Crickets hop away.

Maybe domesticated raspberries don't move. Wild raspberries are elusive though. Very dangerous too.

I usually lure them with lesser berries. They can be quite viscous to the inferior berry families.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 08, 2014, 03:59:26 pm
My experience is the birds get them before they are ripe for the picking.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 08, 2014, 04:02:42 pm
I just opened up the container of raspberries I bought a couple days ago to find a cricket leg. Now that's organic!

In some countries you pay more for cricket legs in your raspberries.

Like Canada?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 08, 2014, 04:29:22 pm
I just opened up the container of raspberries I bought a couple days ago to find a cricket leg. Now that's organic!

In some countries you pay more for cricket legs in your raspberries.

Like Canada?

For a member of the Commonwealth Canada has a notable shortage of cricket.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 08, 2014, 04:47:19 pm
I just opened up the container of raspberries I bought a couple days ago to find a cricket leg. Now that's organic!

In some countries you pay more for cricket legs in your raspberries.

Like Canada?

Um...your face? Take that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 08, 2014, 04:49:38 pm
So's your face


Is how that is used...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 08, 2014, 04:51:22 pm
So's your face


Is how that is used...

Your face is how you use your face.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 08, 2014, 06:52:30 pm
So's your face


Is how that is used...

Yo momma is so fat, she's your face

Am I doing it right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 08, 2014, 06:54:33 pm
So's your face


Is how that is used...

Yo momma is so fat, she's your face

Am I doing it right?

That's what she said!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 08, 2014, 08:39:40 pm
So's your face


Is how that is used...

Yo momma is so fat, she's your face

Am I doing it right?

That's what she said!

Butts.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 08, 2014, 09:25:36 pm
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Workers-Uncover-19th-Century-Shipwreck-in-South-Jersey-Town-281373921.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_PHBrand

I love stuff like this!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 09, 2014, 11:10:07 pm
http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/china-eastern-airlines-passenger-uses-first-class-ticket-for-free-meals/story-e6frfq80-1226811109390
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 10, 2014, 01:35:04 am
So, I'm only a few likes away from a custom URL! :)
(Still undecided if I officially want to create a "company" yet, as this is still a hobby)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/JDs-Custom-Clubs/381280525371114
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 10, 2014, 10:24:13 am
Never has there been a more appropriate link for the Random Stuff thread:

http://www.pointerpointer.com/ (http://www.pointerpointer.com/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on November 10, 2014, 02:57:08 pm
Clannad fans (sudgy) may be interested:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/clannad-official-english-release (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/clannad-official-english-release)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 10, 2014, 03:01:34 pm
Clannad fans (sudgy) may be interested:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/clannad-official-english-release (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/clannad-official-english-release)

I've actually never played the visual novel...  I've thought about it before, but never have.  This would increase the chances of me playing it, though...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 11, 2014, 02:35:17 am
I played Guilds for the first time tonight.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 11, 2014, 07:23:46 am
I played Guilds for the first time tonight.

I have a confession to make... I've never played Dark Ages.

Where I "live", the physical version got sold out in less than a month, and it never got reprinted...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 11, 2014, 07:44:10 am
I played Guilds for the first time tonight.

I have a confession to make... I've never played Dark Ages.

Where I "live", the physical version got sold out in less than a month, and it never got reprinted...

Are you a ghost that can only interact with the physical world through a fixed conduit?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 11, 2014, 11:19:08 am
I played Guilds for the first time tonight.

And? Was it not a crazy experience? I got my mind blown with the overpay cards the first time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 11, 2014, 12:42:31 pm
I played Guilds for the first time tonight.

And? Was it not a crazy experience? I got my mind blown with the overpay cards the first time.

It was a bit overwhelming and I played it, well not terribly, but not nearly as well as I could have.

Kingdom: Stonemason, Doctor, Adviser, Herald, Plaza, Soothsayer, Baker, Butcher, Merchant Guild, Prince
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 12, 2014, 09:50:43 am
Ooh, Halloween content for Team Fortress 2. Nice. It's a goofy mod, and I probably won't be sad when it expires Nov 12. But it did cause me to boot up TF2 for the first time in a long time.

Someday I'm going to get back to my Wasteland 2 game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 12, 2014, 10:25:33 am
I'm considering opening my copy of Fallout New Vegas. I just haven't convinced myself yet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 12, 2014, 10:29:49 am
I'm considering opening my copy of Fallout New Vegas. I just haven't convinced myself yet.

I really enjoyed New Vegas. I recently bought all the DLC so I'm playing it again (5th time actually that I'm playing it again). Some of the DLC is good, some not so good. But I really liked the amount of stuff to do in the world, and I really liked how there were more settlements than in fallout 3. It felt like you can really take a side in the story, go and wipe out other factions or just take over New Vegas for yourself.

Also a lot of the locations are smaller, but with more locations. It made things like the Vaults feel really important as going through them took much longer than a regular location, and large locations were quite unique, often hiding actual good loot as opposed to just random chests with generic guns in them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 12, 2014, 11:12:01 am
Humanity just landed on a comet :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 12, 2014, 11:35:41 am
Humanity just landed on a comet :)

People complaining about Earth being overcrowded will miss it now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on November 12, 2014, 11:50:05 am
What English sounds like to non-native English speakers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj5TL1l9QYQ&t=105)

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 12, 2014, 12:05:06 pm
What English sounds like to non-native English speakers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj5TL1l9QYQ&t=105)



Accurate.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 12, 2014, 12:21:20 pm
What English sounds like to non-native English speakers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj5TL1l9QYQ&t=105)

I heard about this (or something very like it) on public radio a few months ago. I honestly couldn't decide whether to be offended.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 12, 2014, 12:35:43 pm
What English sounds like to non-native English speakers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj5TL1l9QYQ&t=105)

As a native English speaker, this is what English sounds like. Really, English is all in the hips.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 12, 2014, 12:51:40 pm
What English sounds like to non-native English speakers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj5TL1l9QYQ&t=105)

I heard about this (or something very like it) on public radio a few months ago. I honestly couldn't decide whether to be offended.

I think this could reasonably be labeled "What Indo-European language X sounds like to non-X (but still Indo-European) speakers"

I was hearing hints of Spanish and Russian.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 12, 2014, 01:46:31 pm
I think this could reasonably be labeled "What Indo-European language X sounds like to non-X (but still Indo-European) speakers"

Sure, but it's still racist, or something very like that.

I was hearing hints of Spanish and Russian.

Yeah, English doesn't roll its 'R's like that song does in places.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 12, 2014, 02:06:31 pm
I think this could reasonably be labeled "What Indo-European language X sounds like to non-X (but still Indo-European) speakers"

Sure, but it's still racist, or something very like that.

I don't know how you could consider this offensive, it looks like a pretty harmless, natural reaction to the omnipresence of English in a country that doesn't speak the language. Like, it's just lampshading that non-anglophones speak utter nonsense when singing, say, the Beatles, same way nobody cares whether they are singing gangnam style properly. Or, more precisely, that all English songs sound the same to the non-trained ear.

Compare this to the routinely expressed opinion that German sounds like barking...

Quote
I was hearing hints of Spanish and Russian.

Yeah, English doesn't roll its 'R's like that song does in places.

I'm pretty sure that's just because the singer's accent is showing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 12, 2014, 02:13:36 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sJcIYuHZZc
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 12, 2014, 02:48:53 pm
Humanity just landed on a comet :)

I had no idea this was a thing before you mentioned it, and now it is freaking everywhere. Google, Facebook, xkcd...

How many of you knew this was going on two days ago?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 12, 2014, 02:50:21 pm
Humanity just landed on a comet :)

I had no idea this was a thing before you mentioned it, and now it is freaking everywhere. Google, Facebook, xkcd...

How many of you knew this was going on two days ago?

I've heard of the mission before, but didn't really know much about it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 12, 2014, 02:56:08 pm
Humanity just landed on a comet :)

I had no idea this was a thing before you mentioned it, and now it is freaking everywhere. Google, Facebook, xkcd...

How many of you knew this was going on two days ago?

I found out first from xkcd (http://xkcd.com/1446/).

Edit: You might want to click through the previous status updates: http://xkcd1446.org/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 12, 2014, 02:59:59 pm
Humanity just landed on a comet :)

I had no idea this was a thing before you mentioned it, and now it is freaking everywhere. Google, Facebook, xkcd...

How many of you knew this was going on two days ago?

I first heard about it about a month ago I think, but yeah most media outlets only started caring today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on November 12, 2014, 04:44:02 pm
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zulEMWj3sVA
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on November 12, 2014, 04:44:35 pm
Humanity just landed on a comet :)

I had no idea this was a thing before you mentioned it, and now it is freaking everywhere. Google, Facebook, xkcd...

How many of you knew this was going on two days ago?
I could have sworn it was planned for 2015, but might be remembering a different mission?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 12, 2014, 05:05:26 pm
Humanity just landed on a comet :)

I had no idea this was a thing before you mentioned it, and now it is freaking everywhere. Google, Facebook, xkcd...

How many of you knew this was going on two days ago?
I could have sworn it was planned for 2015, but might be remembering a different mission?

Maybe you're thinking of this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons) one?  Pluto and comets aren't too far off.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on November 12, 2014, 05:20:25 pm
Humanity just landed on a comet :)

I had no idea this was a thing before you mentioned it, and now it is freaking everywhere. Google, Facebook, xkcd...

How many of you knew this was going on two days ago?
I could have sworn it was planned for 2015, but might be remembering a different mission?

Maybe you're thinking of this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons) one?  Pluto and comets aren't too far off.
Ok, I think I know what happened. The mission *ends* in 2015 and I probably had assumed that's when the landing was supposed to happen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 12, 2014, 06:22:49 pm
I just got an email

(translate)

Quote
dear telekom customer,
your current bill for your customer ID 69583 is ready in PDF format for you *link*

in your account, you will find all bills in the bills-overview
the immediate value of 230,38€ will shortly be charged from your account

best regards,
your telekom

I don't have an account, or have done anything that could warrant such a high bill. the link contains a .zip which contains an .exe with an icon that resembles .pdf. Upon running it (I know, I shouldn't have), it deleted itself.

I got a bad feeling. I think I recall a virus once that I installed which took effect after restarting my PC. what should I do?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 12, 2014, 06:23:49 pm
oh yea, my PC also warned me that the files could be dangerous when I unpacked. ahm. No idea why I ran it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 12, 2014, 06:26:13 pm
I just got an email

(translate)

Quote
dear telekom customer,
your current bill for your customer ID 69583 is ready in PDF format for you *link*

in your account, you will find all bills in the bills-overview
the immediate value of 230,38€ will shortly be charged from your account

best regards,
your telekom

I don't have an account, or have done anything that could warrant such a high bill. the link contains a .zip which contains an .exe with an icon that resembles .pdf. Upon running it (I know, I shouldn't have), it deleted itself.

I got a bad feeling. I think I recall a virus once that I installed which took effect after restarting my PC. what should I do?

You should Google for information on this email and find out how to deal with the virus you just installed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 12, 2014, 06:30:48 pm
I just got an email

(translate)

Quote
dear telekom customer,
your current bill for your customer ID 69583 is ready in PDF format for you *link*

in your account, you will find all bills in the bills-overview
the immediate value of 230,38€ will shortly be charged from your account

best regards,
your telekom

I don't have an account, or have done anything that could warrant such a high bill. the link contains a .zip which contains an .exe with an icon that resembles .pdf. Upon running it (I know, I shouldn't have), it deleted itself.

I got a bad feeling. I think I recall a virus once that I installed which took effect after restarting my PC. what should I do?

I know a nigerian prince who is an expert in dealing with these sorts of things. Just give me $1000 and I'll get you in touch with him.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 12, 2014, 06:34:06 pm
But on a serious note, do what last footnote said, run an anti-virus program, and dont use your computer for anything which would involve sensitive information, or really anything at all besides getting rid of the virus.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 12, 2014, 06:36:39 pm
I'm lucky that not too many telemarketers have my phone number. Occasionally I'll get a call from one. As soon as I'm certain the person I'm talking to is a telemarketer, I hang up. I don't say "Goodbye" or "No thank you" or "I'm not interested". It's their job not to take "No" for an answer, so I feel being polite is a waste of my time and their time.

That's my random contribution for today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 12, 2014, 06:38:58 pm
okay, I found a bunch of sites that warn about this email and say it's spam. I didn't find anything about a virus though, I think most people were smart enough not to run it.

I panicked when read the mail, because I thought I might have screwed up somehow and wasted a lot of money, that's why I didn't think more before opening it.

I also googled the email address and found a facebook page of a chinese "company". the site has 1 like. okay.

I guess I'll install a virus program... I don't have one yet :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 12, 2014, 06:44:03 pm
okay, I found a bunch of sites that warn about this email and say it's spam. I didn't find anything about a virus though, I think most people were smart enough not to run it.

I panicked when read the mail, because I thought I might have screwed up somehow and wasted a lot of money, that's why I didn't think more before opening it.

I also googled the email address and found a facebook page of a chinese "company". the site has 1 like. okay.

I guess I'll install a virus program... I don't have one yet :)

You should really have an anti-virus program. But after the whole email attachment debacle of 2014 I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you don't.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 12, 2014, 07:02:58 pm
You don't have an anti-virus ? You do know there are a bunch of free ones that are pretty decent yes ?

I mean how is that even possible, don't computers come with anti-virus already installed anyway ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 12, 2014, 07:09:58 pm
You don't have an anti-virus ? You do know there are a bunch of free ones that are pretty decent yes ?

I mean how is that even possible, don't computers come with anti-virus already installed anyway ?

I bought this PC from a guy who didn't need it anymore ages ago. and I re-installed windows a bunch of times

man, I don't like anti virus programs. They are annoying. Keep telling you not to do stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 12, 2014, 07:12:13 pm
You don't have an anti-virus ? You do know there are a bunch of free ones that are pretty decent yes ?

I mean how is that even possible, don't computers come with anti-virus already installed anyway ?

I bought this PC from a guy who didn't need it anymore ages ago. and I re-installed windows a bunch of times

man, I don't like anti virus programs. They are annoying. Keep telling you not to do stuff.

Yeah... Most of the things they tell you not to do involve installing viruses...

Edit: Also, at this point you want a virus scanner and destroyer. Probably several, since they frequently do slightly different jobs. MalwareBytes and Spybot are both good ones, I believe. I would also look in the install and see what the files are called. Try googling those file names as well to see if people have specific advice on getting rid of them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 12, 2014, 07:15:26 pm
yea, or... I could just not install anything and keep things simple. it has worked for several years now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 12, 2014, 07:22:40 pm
Assuming Windows (which it should be if you're running .exe), run a System Restore to revert your computer to a time before you opened it. You should have one at least within the past day/week/month, and in theory it shouldn't delete any documents, it'll only revert installed programs.

If you can't do that, you can either Google all the things if you remember what it was called, or backup everything then factory reset. I recommend the 2nd because deleting viruses can be notoriously hard. The revert is 99.9% likely to work, and the reset is 100% likely to work. (I've yet to see a virus that manages to embed itself into the recovery files used in System Restore, but it could happen. I have, however, had a virus that embedded itself into a critical system file, and any attempts to remove that file caused the whole computer to become unusable.)

In either case, once done download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and run a scan to be sure, then download any free anti-virus that sounds good. (MBAM is very good at catching things once they're on the computer, but the free version doesn't do anything to stop them in the first place IIRC.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 12, 2014, 07:28:57 pm
Assuming Windows (which it should be if you're running .exe), run a System Restore to revert your computer to a time before you opened it. You should have one at least within the past day/week/month, and in theory it shouldn't delete any documents, it'll only revert installed programs.
well I downloaded a scanner for this occasion, ran it, and then restarted. my computer didn't explode, so I'll assume the problem is solved and I don't need a system restore anymore. I'm not sure yet if I keep it (that is, the virus program). It already annoyed me by requesting a restart twice in a row, and wanting to install all kinds of browser addons.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 12, 2014, 07:32:31 pm
While most people intend to not install viruses and spyware on their computers, it's still recommended to get an anti-virus to make it tougher for those programs that try to install themselves without your permission.  It's very possible that your computer has been infected for several years now without you even being aware of it.

I use Avast Anti-Virus.  It updates automatically.  About once a year it makes me to renew my free license.  Every couple of months it tells me that some of my programs are not up-to-date and suggests that I update them.  Sometimes it tells me that I almost stepped into a virus-y webpage off of some random link or a popup ad, but hey -- it blocked it.  Thanks Avast!  Other than these rare instances, it doesn't get in the way at all.

If you really can't stand the idea of having an antivirus, you should really run some flavour of Linux instead.  I mean, if you aren't going to be installing anything, then why would you want Windows anyway?

PPE: what scanner did you download that's prompting you to install browser addons?  I hope you didn't just download another virus...  ???
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 12, 2014, 07:33:46 pm
Assuming Windows (which it should be if you're running .exe), run a System Restore to revert your computer to a time before you opened it. You should have one at least within the past day/week/month, and in theory it shouldn't delete any documents, it'll only revert installed programs.
well I downloaded a scanner for this occasion, ran it, and then restarted. my computer didn't explode, so I'll assume the problem is solved and I don't need a system restore anymore. I'm not sure yet if I keep it (that is, the virus program). It already annoyed me by requesting a restart twice in a row, and wanting to install all kinds of browser addons.

Well, if it's asking that, it means it's still there...

The idea with malware/viruses is that you don't give them any chances, you purge them with cleansing fire, or in this case cleansing backups. If you have a restore point it's ~10-20 minutes of downtime tops.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 12, 2014, 07:39:16 pm
It's very possible that your computer has been infected for several years now without you even being aware of it.
that's not very likely, because I am re-installing windows about once a year

PPE: what scanner did you download that's prompting you to install browser addons?  I hope you didn't just download another virus...  ???
It was asking rather nicely, and it didn't do anything when I said no, so I doubt that it is. I just typed "virus cleaner" or something like that in google, and clicked on the first link. it's called kaparsky.

the thing with anti virus software is, everyone always says it's absolutely necessary and you can't possibly not have it. I never had any, and I never got in trouble for it. So... why start? I mean you could call what happened now trouble, but a) I was being stupid, and even windows warned me, and b) nothing bad has actually happened. Maybe something would have happened if I didn't run the scan before rebooting, but I don't even know that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on November 12, 2014, 07:46:44 pm
Wearing a seat belt is also stupid. Never had any use for the thing in my life! Same goes for wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle and home insurance too, totally useless.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 12, 2014, 07:48:49 pm
I'm lucky that not too many telemarketers have my phone number. Occasionally I'll get a call from one. As soon as I'm certain the person I'm talking to is a telemarketer, I hang up. I don't say "Goodbye" or "No thank you" or "I'm not interested". It's their job not to take "No" for an answer, so I feel being polite is a waste of my time and their time.

That's my random contribution for today.

I HATE telemarketers. With a passion. I would dig up whoever invented the concept, take a dump in his grave, and bury him/her again for him/her to rot in my feces, and still think I am being kind to his/her memory. HatehatehateHATE them.

I get called an average of five times a day, especially right after lunch. It is really distressing. Because they call numbers automatically, it usually takes ~2 secs for them to actually pick up the phone after I do, so I usually hang up if there is no sound during the first two seconds.

It does mean that I tend to hang up on my older relatives, but they tend to call again right after anyway.


Back to silver: the problem with virus is not only that they can brick your computer. The problem is that they can collect private information (passwords, credit card number, etc.).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 12, 2014, 07:50:45 pm
Wearing a seat belt is also stupid. Never had any use for the thing in my life! Same goes for wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle and home insurance too, totally useless.

There is no comparable risk though. worst case, I can't do anything anymore, then I do a data restore and that's that. and even if I didn't have one, worst case is I lose everything on my hard drive. I could live with that.

Back to silver: the problem with virus is not only that they can brick your computer. The problem is that they can collect private information (passwords, credit card number, etc.).

sigh. okay, you convinced me. I'll install all the fluff. but not today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 12, 2014, 08:01:10 pm
It's very possible that your computer has been infected for several years now without you even being aware of it.
that's not very likely, because I am re-installing windows about once a year

PPE: what scanner did you download that's prompting you to install browser addons?  I hope you didn't just download another virus...  ???
It was asking rather nicely, and it didn't do anything when I said no, so I doubt that it is. I just typed "virus cleaner" or something like that in google, and clicked on the first link. it's called kaparsky.

the thing with anti virus software is, everyone always says it's absolutely necessary and you can't possibly not have it. I never had any, and I never got in trouble for it. So... why start? I mean you could call what happened now trouble, but a) I was being stupid, and even windows warned me, and b) nothing bad has actually happened. Maybe something would have happened if I didn't run the scan before rebooting, but I don't even know that.

Man, I think the inconvenience of re-installing windows annually far outweighs the inconvenience of having an antivirus program.  But OK, if you do that and you're careful, cool.  But I still really want to ask -- why would you subject yourself to this when it isn't necessary?

Is that Kaspersky?

The thing about viruses is that the trouble isn't necessarily something you will notice, or something that you'd attribute to a malicious program.  If your computer is slowing down, it's easy to blame it on the machine getting older, for example.

The best thing you can do to stay safe online is to be vigilant, but nobody can be 100% on guard.  You could restrict your activity to a small subset of trusted websites, but that's boring and still not a guarantee of safety.  A trusted website can be breached and start infecting visitors, for example.  An antivirus program adds an extra layer of security that can protect you when you are stupid or when something bad happens that is beyond your control.

Anyway, I highly recommend Avast.  I already outlined how obtrusive it is above -- not at all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 12, 2014, 08:06:53 pm
Is that Kaspersky?
uh, yea. that.

Man, I think the inconvenience of re-installing windows annually far outweighs the inconvenience of having an antivirus program.  But OK, if you do that and you're careful, cool.  But I still really want to ask -- why would you subject yourself to this when it isn't necessary?
that is a very interesting question, and I don't think I can answer it... I do/used to do that with a bunch of things. It's probably a psychological thing. there is no rational reason why I used to prefer reinstalling windows over an anti virus program.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 12, 2014, 08:55:49 pm
Avast is also what I'd recommend, along with Malwarebytes, which has also been mentioned already. Both free, easy to use, non-obtrusive (as long as you put Avast on mute, otherwise it tells you every time it's updated and it's annoying) and effective.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 12, 2014, 09:21:44 pm
Avast is also what I'd recommend, along with Malwarebytes, which has also been mentioned already. Both free, easy to use, non-obtrusive (as long as you put Avast on mute, otherwise it tells you every time it's updated and it's annoying) and effective.

Is it that annoying?  It's a small popup in the corner of the screen that disappears after a delay, or if you click the X.  I remember older versions had a voice that said something like "Avast updated" and that was sometimes a very mild disturbance, but now it's just a quick ding or something.  It doesn't really bother me at all.

@silverspawn, three cheers for irrationality. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 12, 2014, 09:42:45 pm
The voice was what I was referring to, it was pretty loud (maybe that's just the French version or something), though I also found the pop-up itself somewhat annoying since I really don't care all that much that avast is updating. But it's easy enough to disable, so.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 12, 2014, 09:44:02 pm
The one thing about Avast is that it's constantly telling me Goko Salvager is bad.  That's, like, the unpardonable sin.

I still use it though (both).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 12, 2014, 11:16:12 pm
I've been using the windows virus software for several years myself. Until they stopped supporting XP.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 12, 2014, 11:29:50 pm
I've been using the windows virus software for several years myself. Until they stopped supporting XP.

Microsoft Security Essentials used to be very good, and it's almost entirely invisible. I've heard that protection wise, it's not longer good enough though...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 12, 2014, 11:54:27 pm
I've been using the windows virus software for several years myself. Until they stopped supporting XP.

Microsoft Security Essentials used to be very good, and it's almost entirely invisible. I've heard that protection wise, it's not longer good enough though...

Microsoft security essentials is also discontinued as of windows 8 I think. It's windows defender now. It seems to work pretty well but I use avast also, because I just dont trust microsoft that much.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 13, 2014, 02:03:07 am
The voice was what I was referring to, it was pretty loud (maybe that's just the French version or something), though I also found the pop-up itself somewhat annoying since I really don't care all that much that avast is updating. But it's easy enough to disable, so.

"La base virale... a été mise ŕ jour". If you forget to mute your computer in my university, people around you would spontaneously sing the second part aloud.

In Spanish, it's "La base de datos de virus... ha sido actualizada". You can hear the woman smile during the second part. It's weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 13, 2014, 03:56:04 am
You can hear the woman smile

I sometimes smile out loud too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 13, 2014, 08:05:00 am
I can't believe it has been two pages talking about viruses and no-one suggested getting rid of the damned virus sponge: windows. If you like easy things, install Ununtu: WAY easier than windows to use.

BTW, before someone makes the claim "I am used to windows": that stupid OS changes its look and feel every 2 years. The change from 3.11 to 95 and from XP to windows 7 is enormous, and yet, people did it anyway without even considering that changing into a different OS would be just as difficult.

I get called an average of five times a day, especially right after lunch. It is really distressing. Because they call numbers automatically, it usually takes ~2 secs for them to actually pick up the phone after I do, so I usually hang up if there is no sound during the first two seconds.

The day I manage to do this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hllDWSbuDsQ) will be a really good day.

Back to silver: ...

I was expecting an article highlighting the huge benefits of BM.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 13, 2014, 08:54:02 am
I don't have an account, or have done anything that could warrant such a high bill. the link contains a .zip which contains an .exe with an icon that resembles .pdf. Upon running it (I know, I shouldn't have), it deleted itself.

...

...

I'm utterly speechless.  People actually click on the links in spam email?  I mean... anyone able to properly reinstall system software... I... who...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 13, 2014, 08:55:04 am
Back to silver: ...

I was expecting an article highlighting the huge benefits of BM.

It removes lots of waste from your system.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 13, 2014, 08:57:42 am
I'm utterly speechless.  People actually click on the links in spam email?  I mean... anyone able to properly reinstall system software... I... who...

well i didn't know it was spam. it wasn't identified as spam.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 13, 2014, 09:09:24 am
I just got an email

(translate)

Quote
dear telekom customer,
your current bill for your customer ID 69583 is ready in PDF format for you *link*

in your account, you will find all bills in the bills-overview
the immediate value of 230,38€ will shortly be charged from your account

best regards,
your telekom

I don't have an account, or have done anything that could warrant such a high bill. the link contains a .zip which contains an .exe with an icon that resembles .pdf. Upon running it (I know, I shouldn't have), it deleted itself.

I got a bad feeling. I think I recall a virus once that I installed which took effect after restarting my PC. what should I do?


Welcome to the world of phishing. It is a truly low tactic designed to frighten people to the point that they don't think about the link or attachment they're opening.

I don't know what schools are teaching nowadays in regards to computers, but I would seriously hope there's a section on phishing and other malicious tactics. The Nigerian Prince could be a school play.

Phishing is exactly why I never did buy a computer for my mother to use. Keeping her in touch with e-mail would have been very handy, but she wasn't worldly at all. I feared that she would see an e-mail from some bank prompting her to open it up and reveal her SSN, mother's maiden name, and city where she was born.

Although, I guess yours is just a virus since they didn't get any personal information out of you. I'd say that propagating viruses is even lower, because at least phishing is done for the sake of greed. I can understand greed as a motivator, even if it is deplorable.

And as for people having access to your personal information, it can be more of a hassle than you think. It took the better part of a year to get rid of some bad accounts on my credit report. Some dickhead in Ohio got my information (probably SSN) and opened up a few accounts in my name. I had to convince those creditors that I'm not the person they're looking for. That included sending copies of utility bills to prove I didn't live in Ohio at the time. Do you keep your utility bills from past years? I don't. It's a pain in the ass to request that proof from the utilities.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 13, 2014, 09:14:37 am
I'm utterly speechless.  People actually click on the links in spam email?  I mean... anyone able to properly reinstall system software... I... who...

well i didn't know it was spam. it wasn't identified as spam.

Spam notification is kind of like grammar check in Word. It can provide some useful information, but it is not 100% reliable. Spammers are always coming up with new workarounds to bypass the algorithms. Of course, spam filters could be more aggressive, but that leads to your uncle's e-mail being thrown into the spam pile because the filter is too aggressive. It's a tough balancing act, and you are the final judge in what constitutes spam or not.

That's why I like the idea of pay e-mails. I don't remember the exact concept, but the gist is that you have an e-mail address that can only receive messages if the sender pays a one-time fee (I forget if it was 5 cents or 5 dollars but something to discourage mass mailings). What's that? You don't want to have your uncle pay to send you a birthday announcement? No problem. You can put certain people on a list that lets them e-mail you for free.

I don't think this would work with only one e-mail provider. If Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail all adopted this, it could make a pretty serious dent in spam traffic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 13, 2014, 09:14:57 am
I can't believe it has been two pages talking about viruses and no-one suggested getting rid of the damned virus sponge: windows. If you like easy things, install Ununtu: WAY easier than windows to use.

BTW, before someone makes the claim "I am used to windows": that stupid OS changes its look and feel every 2 years. The change from 3.11 to 95 and from XP to windows 7 is enormous, and yet, people did it anyway without even considering that changing into a different OS would be just as difficult.

Actually it was suggested. And it's not a super useful suggestion, because the different operating systems are useful for different things and if you're someone who uses Windows, then you probably need Windows for whatever it is that you're using it for.

I'm utterly speechless.  People actually click on the links in spam email?  I mean... anyone able to properly reinstall system software... I... who...

well i didn't know it was spam. it wasn't identified as spam.

A lot of stuff isn't identified as spam, so you should still use common sense with emails that seem odd.

I'd say that propagating viruses is even lower, because at least phishing is done for the sake of greed. I can understand greed as a motivator, even if it is deplorable.

Oh, it is done for the sake of greed as well in many cases.

Step 1: develop a virus
Step 2: make a website telling people how to get rid of the virus, have lots of ads there too
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit!

Well, that applies for viruses that are just annoying, but then there are those that also do something useful for someone propagating the virus in addition to being annoying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 13, 2014, 09:16:55 am
I'm utterly speechless.  People actually click on the links in spam email?  I mean... anyone able to properly reinstall system software... I... who...

well i didn't know it was spam. it wasn't identified as spam.

A person you don't know, using an email address you've never seen, claims you have a bill due at an unidentified company, and sends you an "invoice" that can only be found in an attachment with an indeterminate file type.  That's the very definition of a phishing scam.

Software spam filters are fallible; sometimes you have to use the information processing system between your ears.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 13, 2014, 09:26:10 am
I just got an email

(translate)

Quote
dear telekom customer,
your current bill for your customer ID 69583 is ready in PDF format for you *link*

in your account, you will find all bills in the bills-overview
the immediate value of 230,38€ will shortly be charged from your account

best regards,
your telekom

I don't have an account, or have done anything that could warrant such a high bill. the link contains a .zip which contains an .exe with an icon that resembles .pdf. Upon running it (I know, I shouldn't have), it deleted itself.

I got a bad feeling. I think I recall a virus once that I installed which took effect after restarting my PC. what should I do?


Welcome to the world of phishing. It is a truly low tactic designed to frighten people to the point that they don't think about the link or attachment they're opening.

I don't know what schools are teaching nowadays in regards to computers, but I would seriously hope there's a section on phishing and other malicious tactics. The Nigerian Prince could be a school play.

Phishing is exactly why I never did buy a computer for my mother to use. Keeping her in touch with e-mail would have been very handy, but she wasn't worldly at all. I feared that she would see an e-mail from some bank prompting her to open it up and reveal her SSN, mother's maiden name, and city where she was born.

Although, I guess yours is just a virus since they didn't get any personal information out of you. I'd say that propagating viruses is even lower, because at least phishing is done for the sake of greed. I can understand greed as a motivator, even if it is deplorable.

And as for people having access to your personal information, it can be more of a hassle than you think. It took the better part of a year to get rid of some bad accounts on my credit report. Some dickhead in Ohio got my information (probably SSN) and opened up a few accounts in my name. I had to convince those creditors that I'm not the person they're looking for. That included sending copies of utility bills to prove I didn't live in Ohio at the time. Do you keep your utility bills from past years? I don't. It's a pain in the ass to request that proof from the utilities.
"I don't have an account, so I opened the link to my account." What?

And Identity Theft is a serious problem. It can take years to overcome the credit problems it can create. Not to mention the endless hassle of proving you are you and no one else is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on November 13, 2014, 09:27:42 am
The real lesson here is that banks, companies, utilities, etc. NEVER send you weird emails.  They never have attachments.  They universally say, come to our website and look at it.  Much of the time they don't even include a link; they force you to type out www.bankofamerica.com or whatever.  This is because they want to distinguish themselves from phishing scams.

If I get an email that doesn't look like all of these other emails, I never open it. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 13, 2014, 09:30:34 am
The real lesson here is that banks, companies, utilities, etc. NEVER send you weird emails.  They never have attachments.  They universally say, come to our website and look at it.  Much of the time they don't even include a link; they force you to type out www.bankofamerica.com or whatever.  This is because they want to distinguish themselves from phishing scams.

If I get an email that doesn't look like all of these other emails, I never open it. 

I was half hoping the link in that text would be a rickroll.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 13, 2014, 09:48:23 am
Actually it was suggested. And it's not a super useful suggestion, because the different operating systems are useful for different things and if you're someone who uses Windows, then you probably need Windows for whatever it is that you're using it for.

That is false. The number of people that uses windows because they actually need windows is really small. Most people just need a browser. An even larger number are ok with just browser + e-mail program + office suite. If you include that ubuntu also covers media players, pictures organizing software, compressors/decompressors, professional-level photo editing software and Dominion Salvager... there is not that much left. Moreover, most other things (like gaming or auto-cad or some very specific software) you can get by with having a virtual machine with windows JUST for that. That way, your VM will be clean from any malicious emails or websites, so no viruses there, and VMs are way easier to restore than whole machines. Moreover, for many of those (like many online games) you do not even need to store data on your windows VM, so you can restore the original image over and over again, making the machine run as good as a new one every time.

Regarding identity theft: How can that even happen? How come you have to prove to the companies you did not hire them instead of them being responsible for proving you did hire them in order to collect? It sounds like the burden of proof is reversed. I have never heard of a single case of identity theft in Argentina, and we are supposed to be the undeveloped country. Don't you have security measures to detect fraud? Like, requesting an actual photo ID instead of just a number?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 13, 2014, 09:55:53 am
Actually it was suggested. And it's not a super useful suggestion, because the different operating systems are useful for different things and if you're someone who uses Windows, then you probably need Windows for whatever it is that you're using it for.

That is false. The number of people that uses windows because they actually need windows is really small. Most people just need a browser. An even larger number are ok with just browser + e-mail program + office suite. If you include that ubuntu also covers media players, pictures organizing software, compressors/decompressors, professional-level photo editing software and Dominion Salvager... there is not that much left. Moreover, most other things (like gaming or auto-cad or some very specific software) you can get by with having a virtual machine with windows JUST for that.

While I agree with your first statement--most people don't need Windows, and the absolute basics are available in Linux--I have to disagree with this last part.  Sure, you can have a VM.  But plenty of games won't work on a VM, or won't work well enough.  And you have to hope that the VM is compatible, etc.


Quote
Regarding identity theft: How can that even happen? How come you have to prove to the companies you did not hire them instead of them being responsible for proving you did hire them in order to collect? It sounds like the burden of proof is reversed. I have never heard of a single case of identity theft in Argentina, and we are supposed to be the undeveloped country. Don't you have security measures to detect fraud? Like, requesting an actual photo ID instead of just a number?

Welcome to American capitalism, where literally every problem is the fault of the consumer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 13, 2014, 10:00:14 am
While I agree with your first statement--most people don't need Windows, and the absolute basics are available in Linux--I have to disagree with this last part.  Sure, you can have a VM.  But plenty of games won't work on a VM, or won't work well enough.  And you have to hope that the VM is compatible, etc.

Well, I trust you on the gaming part, I was just saying what I have heard from some friends. I am not a gamer myself. Still, gamers are not the majority.

Welcome to American capitalism, where literally every problem is the fault of the consumer.

Does that fault actually hold in court or it is "just" an oligopoly that ruins your ability to get the service from a different company?

EDIT: "just"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 13, 2014, 10:16:16 am
Just because you haven't heard of identity theft happening in Argentina doesn't mean it's not happening... I don't believe this is an American specific problem at all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on November 13, 2014, 10:20:34 am
Actually it was suggested. And it's not a super useful suggestion, because the different operating systems are useful for different things and if you're someone who uses Windows, then you probably need Windows for whatever it is that you're using it for.

That is false. The number of people that uses windows because they actually need windows is really small. Most people just need a browser. An even larger number are ok with just browser + e-mail program + office suite. If you include that ubuntu also covers media players, pictures organizing software, compressors/decompressors, professional-level photo editing software and Dominion Salvager... there is not that much left. Moreover, most other things (like gaming or auto-cad or some very specific software) you can get by with having a virtual machine with windows JUST for that. That way, your VM will be clean from any malicious emails or websites, so no viruses there, and VMs are way easier to restore than whole machines. Moreover, for many of those (like many online games) you do not even need to store data on your windows VM, so you can restore the original image over and over again, making the machine run as good as a new one every time.
If you are going to fall for phishing scams like the one in the email you are not really the target consumer for Linux.

Also, identity theft certainly happens in Argentina.  Some of it in the US is because of our no-chip credit card system, but I think part of it is just that identity theft is more lucrative here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 13, 2014, 10:31:49 am
Maybe no one wants to pretend to be someone from Argentina~ :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 13, 2014, 10:49:03 am
Just because you haven't heard of identity theft happening in Argentina doesn't mean it's not happening... I don't believe this is an American specific problem at all.

What a way to twist my words. Of course it does not mean it is not happening, but the fact that living in Argentina I hear so much more about identity theft in the US than here says something about the relative frequency with which it happens in both places.

I also never heard of identity theft happening in any other country than the US, but barring Argentina, me not having heard of it is pretty meaningless. Please, do share how the situation is in France.

Also, identity theft certainly happens in Argentina.  Some of it in the US is because of our no-chip credit card system, but I think part of it is just that identity theft is more lucrative here.

I don't think chipped credit cards have anything to do with that, especially because they were introduced in Argentina only recently and are still very far from being universally implemented. However, you do have to sign the receipt and can refuse payment for a charge to your credit card if you did not (at least for non-online shopping).

I think it comes down mostly to companies requiring more from you than just a number to give you a service (specifically, usually and ID and a proof of address which you can only get by showing a recent utility bill on your name or pay the police to go you your house and check that you are actually there). The lack of a universal ID in the US is really strange, and probably causes lots of trouble (like, people being able to vote without an ID sounds completely ridiculous to me, we ask for ID for people to vote even for the student's center elections).

So, if I happen to get a bill for something I did no signed up for, I will just refuse to pay. It will never go to court nor mediation anyway, but if they try, they will have nothing on me unless they have proof that I did sign for the service, which they won't if I did not sign for it.

If you are going to fall for phishing scams like the one in the email you are not really the target consumer for Linux.

I would think it is the opposite, those are probably the people that need it the most. Linux may have been hard to use 10 or even 6 years ago, but it is not anymore. It is really much easier than windows. And you can find smarter and free tech support online any time of the day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on November 13, 2014, 11:28:30 am
The real lesson here is that banks, companies, utilities, etc. NEVER send you weird emails.  They never have attachments.  They universally say, come to our website and look at it.  Much of the time they don't even include a link; they force you to type out www.bankofamerica.com or whatever.  This is because they want to distinguish themselves from phishing scams.

If I get an email that doesn't look like all of these other emails, I never open it.
I get an email from my mobile carrier every month with the bill attached as a pdf.

.. or alternatively I'm very stupid and in serious trouble right now, huh?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 13, 2014, 11:32:23 am
Welcome to American capitalism, where literally every problem is the fault of the consumer.

Does that fault actually hold in court or it is "just" an oligopoly that ruins your ability to get the service from a different company?

EDIT: "just"

It certainly can hold in court.  Half the problem is that any given large company has multiple good lawyers on the payroll, while most consumers can't afford a lawyer, especially when the dispute is less than the cost of an hour of the lawyer's time.  The burden of proof is generally on the consumer, but there are a number of legal protections.

It's not always the case.  I would say that most fraud is captured before it becomes a problem.  This certainly is my experience; I've had my card number used a few times, and every time I've received a call from the card company.  "It looks like someone is trying to use your card in Bulgaria.  Have you traveled to Bulgaria lately, sir?"  The charges get reversed and a new card is issued immediately.

I'm not certain what leads to the larger and worse cases of fraud, though.

I would think it is the opposite, those are probably the people that need it the most. Linux may have been hard to use 10 or even 6 years ago, but it is not anymore. It is really much easier than windows. And you can find smarter and free tech support online any time of the day.

Most people can't install an operating system.  Most people can barely install a printer when given step-by-step IKEA-style instructions.  And since these same people can't put a computer together from scratch, the computer is going to have whatever OS comes pre-packaged with it.  It's not going to get changed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 13, 2014, 11:41:02 am
I am not a gamer myself.

Whuh? What do all your posts encouraging us to tell you more about the latest videogames mean, then?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 13, 2014, 12:46:53 pm
Most people can't install an operating system.  Most people can barely install a printer when given step-by-step IKEA-style instructions.  And since these same people can't put a computer together from scratch, the computer is going to have whatever OS comes pre-packaged with it.  It's not going to get changed.

Well, you can get someone to install your IKEA furniture, printer or OS for you. That's just a one-time thing. If you live close to a university with CS, or maybe even math, it is likely you can get someone to do it for free (is this true everywhere? I guess I was extrapolating the situation here without real knowledge).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 13, 2014, 01:25:02 pm
The real lesson here is that banks, companies, utilities, etc. NEVER send you weird emails.  They never have attachments.  They universally say, come to our website and look at it.  Much of the time they don't even include a link; they force you to type out www.bankofamerica.com or whatever.  This is because they want to distinguish themselves from phishing scams.

If I get an email that doesn't look like all of these other emails, I never open it.
I get an email from my mobile carrier every month with the bill attached as a pdf.

.. or alternatively I'm very stupid and in serious trouble right now, huh?

Which carrier?





@soulnet, I did suggest Linux.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 13, 2014, 01:34:59 pm
"I don't have an account, so I opened the link to my account." What?

I'm sure this is something that victims of phishing come to realize. Logically speaking, how can you be instructed to log into an account that you don't have?

That's where the fear comes in. People don't like the idea of being charged for something they didn't buy into. I've seen two main motivators for these types of scams: Fear and greed.

The Nigerian prince scam easily preys upon your greed. "Golly gee, I just have to provide a bank account to temporarily hold 30 million dollars, and I'll get a hundred grand out of it. Easy money!"

Bill phishing scemes play upon your fear. "Unauthorized access that could get my credit card turned off?! ABORT! ABORT! Let me log in real quick and tell you to cancel it!"

Both of which can be overcome with simple logic, but that's why they use dodgy language—to make you forget the logical side momentarily so that you're ruled by your greed or fear.

Sometimes it doesn't take much to make an otherwise rational person give in to his irrational side.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 13, 2014, 01:41:45 pm
Sometimes it doesn't take much to make an otherwise rational person give in to his irrational side.

...would you say that it is like gravity?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 13, 2014, 02:02:08 pm
Too big to show the full picture, but this is cool:

http://imgur.com/gallery/yImjQ

Artist's website: http://magicalgametime.com/


Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 13, 2014, 02:02:42 pm
Also, this

(http://i.imgur.com/55A1eDK.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 13, 2014, 02:04:44 pm
Also, this

(http://i.imgur.com/55A1eDK.gif)

hah, I know that scene from the most-difficult-game-of-all-time I wanna be the guy.

except if you try to take the sword there, you die and the guy makes fun of you for jumping into a sword.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 13, 2014, 02:13:18 pm
@soulnet, I did suggest Linux.

Sorry, I must have overlooked it.

Sometimes it doesn't take much to make an otherwise rational person give in to his irrational side.

Usually, a not so big amount of alcohol would do it. Or a really attractive prospective partner. Or a playful girl taking your hat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 13, 2014, 02:15:19 pm
Usually, a not so big amount of alcohol would do it.

Something I was just learning in Driver's Ed, is that alcohol affects judgment instantly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on November 13, 2014, 02:17:08 pm
Usually, a not so big amount of alcohol would do it.

Something I was just learning in Driver's Ed, is that alcohol affects judgment instantly.

Never trust Driver's Ed. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 13, 2014, 02:18:28 pm
Usually, a not so big amount of alcohol would do it.

Something I was just learning in Driver's Ed, is that alcohol affects judgment instantly.

Never trust Driver's Ed.

Why not?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 13, 2014, 02:25:08 pm
Usually, a not so big amount of alcohol would do it.

Something I was just learning in Driver's Ed, is that alcohol affects judgment instantly.

Never trust Driver's Ed.

Why not?

Ol' Driver Eddy's always been a shady guy. The kind to slip you Viagra and steal your golf clubs just to drive a point home. He was quite motivated. I was never clear on the point though, other than puns.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on November 13, 2014, 03:12:22 pm
The real lesson here is that banks, companies, utilities, etc. NEVER send you weird emails.  They never have attachments.  They universally say, come to our website and look at it.  Much of the time they don't even include a link; they force you to type out www.bankofamerica.com or whatever.  This is because they want to distinguish themselves from phishing scams.

If I get an email that doesn't look like all of these other emails, I never open it.
I get an email from my mobile carrier every month with the bill attached as a pdf.

.. or alternatively I'm very stupid and in serious trouble right now, huh?

Which carrier?
DNA. Do you have extensive knowledge of finnish telephone companies?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 13, 2014, 04:17:00 pm
Well, you can get someone to install your IKEA furniture, printer or OS for you. That's just a one-time thing. If you live close to a university with CS, or maybe even math, it is likely you can get someone to do it for free (is this true everywhere? I guess I was extrapolating the situation here without real knowledge).

It certainly seems unlikely to me that you could get someone to install Linux on a box for you for free, in the US.  Plus you have to spend time to do it.  It's just not worth it when you can start using the computer on Windows immediately.

The only people who would even think to install Linux are going to be able to do it themselves.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 13, 2014, 04:18:54 pm
Well, you can get someone to install your IKEA furniture, printer or OS for you. That's just a one-time thing. If you live close to a university with CS, or maybe even math, it is likely you can get someone to do it for free (is this true everywhere? I guess I was extrapolating the situation here without real knowledge).

It certainly seems unlikely to me that you could get someone to install Linux on a box for you for free, in the US.  Plus you have to spend time to do it.  It's just not worth it when you can start using the computer on Windows immediately.

The only people who would even think to install Linux are going to be able to do it themselves.

You can just download Linux.  I don't quite get how you do it, but you download it, then put it on something (like a thumb drive or something), then load it right when you start up the computer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 13, 2014, 04:22:56 pm
Moist
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 13, 2014, 04:23:15 pm
It certainly seems unlikely to me that you could get someone to install Linux on a box for you for free, in the US.  Plus you have to spend time to do it.  It's just not worth it when you can start using the computer on Windows immediately.

Quote from: https://linux.ucla.edu/
LUG hosts Linux installfests each quarter on Saturday of second week. If you want help installing Linux or just want to eat and hang out, come to installfest!

I am sure there are plenty more LUGs that do more or less the same.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 13, 2014, 04:25:22 pm
The real lesson here is that banks, companies, utilities, etc. NEVER send you weird emails.  They never have attachments.  They universally say, come to our website and look at it.  Much of the time they don't even include a link; they force you to type out www.bankofamerica.com or whatever.  This is because they want to distinguish themselves from phishing scams.

If I get an email that doesn't look like all of these other emails, I never open it.
I get an email from my mobile carrier every month with the bill attached as a pdf.

.. or alternatively I'm very stupid and in serious trouble right now, huh?

Which carrier?
DNA. Do you have extensive knowledge of finnish telephone companies?

No, I do not. :(

Well, you can get someone to install your IKEA furniture, printer or OS for you. That's just a one-time thing. If you live close to a university with CS, or maybe even math, it is likely you can get someone to do it for free (is this true everywhere? I guess I was extrapolating the situation here without real knowledge).

It certainly seems unlikely to me that you could get someone to install Linux on a box for you for free, in the US.  Plus you have to spend time to do it.  It's just not worth it when you can start using the computer on Windows immediately.

The only people who would even think to install Linux are going to be able to do it themselves.

You can just download Linux.  I don't quite get how you do it, but you download it, then put it on something (like a thumb drive or something), then load it right when you start up the computer.

"Put it on something" is beyond the ability of many.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 13, 2014, 04:28:34 pm
Well, you can get someone to install your IKEA furniture, printer or OS for you. That's just a one-time thing. If you live close to a university with CS, or maybe even math, it is likely you can get someone to do it for free (is this true everywhere? I guess I was extrapolating the situation here without real knowledge).

It certainly seems unlikely to me that you could get someone to install Linux on a box for you for free, in the US.  Plus you have to spend time to do it.  It's just not worth it when you can start using the computer on Windows immediately.

The only people who would even think to install Linux are going to be able to do it themselves.

I don't understand why computers don't just come with Linux (say, Ubuntu) installed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 13, 2014, 04:33:59 pm
Moist

Dry-humping
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 13, 2014, 04:50:29 pm
I don't understand why computers don't just come with Linux (say, Ubuntu) installed.

My guess is that at least some parts do not have official drivers for Linux and the manufacturer (of the final computer, which usually buys most of the parts) needs official drivers for everything in order to offer some kind of warranty. In here, if you buy a computer from a place that builds it for you (which is less usual nowadays when laptops are used for everything), there are plenty that offer Linux. At some point, Dell offered Linux for some models too. The installation may be part of what stops the majority of people from using it, but it is not the main problem. The main problem is people not willing to try and being convinced by the marketing that windows is the "user friendly" option.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on November 13, 2014, 05:23:12 pm
These days, every time someone mentions Dell, my first thought is "how do they know Dsell?".

edit: I might be dyslexic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on November 13, 2014, 05:38:28 pm
I don't understand why computers don't just come with Linux (say, Ubuntu) installed.

My guess is that at least some parts do not have official drivers for Linux and the manufacturer (of the final computer, which usually buys most of the parts) needs official drivers for everything in order to offer some kind of warranty. In here, if you buy a computer from a place that builds it for you (which is less usual nowadays when laptops are used for everything), there are plenty that offer Linux. At some point, Dell offered Linux for some models too. The installation may be part of what stops the majority of people from using it, but it is not the main problem. The main problem is people not willing to try and being convinced by the marketing that windows is the "user friendly" option.

I recently switched to Linux, it's very refreshing after dealing with Windows 8...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on November 13, 2014, 07:40:14 pm
These days, every time someone mentions Dell, my first thought is "how do they know Dsell?".

edit: I might be dyslexic.

Aha! My brain parasite is hatching!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 13, 2014, 08:02:13 pm
Usually, a not so big amount of alcohol would do it.

Something I was just learning in Driver's Ed, is that alcohol affects judgment instantly.

Never trust Driver's Ed.

Why not?

Because that's not true. At least if we're talking about the chemical effects of alcohol on the brain.* Ingestion is one of the slowest drug uptake methods. Alcohol doesn't have to get digested, but most of it is diffused through the small intestine into your blood stream and that takes some time (though not a ton). The alcohol doesn't get down into your stomach and small intestine, through the lining into your blood stream, and into your brain instantly. Rates of absorption vary, depending on how much and what you've eaten, the concentration of the alcohol, and whether you've drunk carbonated beverages, but it usually takes around five minutes to get into your bloodstream at all and half an hour or more to fully absorb.

In general I would trust very little you hear in drivers ed regarding anything remotely scientific. You should probably believe them on what traffic signs mean, but not much else.


*People may very well start acting stupid immediately after drinking just because "Wheeeee, shots!" but that is just a placebo effect and is not really due to the alcohol.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on November 13, 2014, 08:06:34 pm
somewhat relevant (but hey, it's random stuff!)

http://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/2m4yru/tifu_by_telling_my_doctor_i_smoke_weed/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 13, 2014, 08:14:48 pm
Usually, a not so big amount of alcohol would do it.

Something I was just learning in Driver's Ed, is that alcohol affects judgment instantly.

Never trust Driver's Ed.

Why not?

Because that's not true. At least if we're talking about the chemical effects of alcohol on the brain.* Ingestion is one of the slowest drug uptake methods. Alcohol doesn't have to get digested, but most of it is diffused through the small intestine into your blood stream and that takes some time (though not a ton). The alcohol doesn't get down into your stomach and small intestine, through the lining into your blood stream, and into your brain instantly. Rates of absorption vary, depending on how much and what you've eaten, the concentration of the alcohol, and whether you've drunk carbonated beverages, but it usually takes around five minutes to get into your bloodstream at all and half an hour or more to fully absorb.

In general I would trust very little you hear in drivers ed regarding anything remotely scientific. You should probably believe them on what traffic signs mean, but not much else.


*People may very well start acting stupid immediately after drinking just because "Wheeeee, shots!" but that is just a placebo effect and is not really due to the alcohol.

My point was actually the "affects judgment first" not "instantly".

And, most of the class was "this is good driving technique" not "this is what traffic signs mean" or "this is scientific stuff" (other than lots of statistics).

Also, regarding scientific stuff, I'm always very wary of accepting anything people say in regards to science, figuring things out for myself first.  Alcohol affecting judgment first makes sense, so I think that's right, but I still prefaced it with "Driver's Ed said this".

They did at one point say that kinetic energy is 0.5 * mass * velocity one time...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 13, 2014, 08:21:54 pm
Alcohol affects judgement first... compared to what?  I mean, my personal ethics affect my judgement before alcohol.  And alcohol probably affects my wallet before my judgement.

Also, "first" and "instantly" have vastly different meanings. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 14, 2014, 09:55:42 am
Alcohol affects judgement first... compared to what?  I mean, my personal ethics affect my judgement before alcohol.  And alcohol probably affects my wallet before my judgement.

Also, "first" and "instantly" have vastly different meanings. :P

Yeah, I agree.  I didn't start drinking until I was 29, and I pretty quickly learned that everything people told me about alcohol is basically wrong.  Yeah, if you drink a lot you feel dizzy and it's hard to walk straight.  But you don't really want to drink a lot.

I never drank before because I would see people drink and act stupid, and I would think "I don't want to be stupid."  But then  I realized, alcohol doesn't make people stupid---they're just stupid people.  Alcohol maybe makes it easier for their stupidity to show.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 14, 2014, 11:53:36 am
In my mandatory driver education lesson here in Argentina I learned all the details about the laws, but the guy was mostly interested in telling us repeatedly that train crossings are extremely dangerous and not be messed with. That seems fine, considering how awful traffic and accident stats are here.

Regarding science stuff, he did say (and I found out later it was true) that the speed limits in highways here (130 km/h) are not bound by the quality of cars, drivers or wheels, but by the quality of the asphalt. I guess Germany's asphalt is awesome, right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 14, 2014, 12:07:01 pm
In my mandatory driver education lesson here in Argentina I learned all the details about the laws, but the guy was mostly interested in telling us repeatedly that train crossings are extremely dangerous and not be messed with. That seems fine, considering how awful traffic and accident stats are here.

Regarding science stuff, he did say (and I found out later it was true) that the speed limits in highways here (130 km/h) are not bound by the quality of cars, drivers or wheels, but by the quality of the asphalt. I guess Germany's asphalt is awesome, right?

Speed limits in the US were originally enforced to save fuel, according to my high school history teacher.

Edit: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_States#Federal_speed_controls) agrees:

Quote
In response to the 1973 oil crisis, Congress enacted the National Maximum Speed Law that created the universal 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) speed limit. Whether this reduced gasoline consumption is debated and the impact on safety is unclear; studies and opinions of safety advocates are mixed.

The law was widely disregarded by motorists, even after the national maximum was increased to 65 miles per hour (105 km/h) on certain roads in 1987 and 1988. In 1995, the law was repealed, returning the choice of speed limit to each state.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 14, 2014, 12:08:59 pm
The 55mph highway speed limit was enforced to save fuel in the 70s.


Edit: it seems you found that out before I told you so.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: shraeye on November 14, 2014, 12:27:44 pm
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zulEMWj3sVA
Fun fact; I went to school with this guy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 14, 2014, 12:43:01 pm
I've heard it said that US interstates are designed to accommodate the landing of an airplane and to be safe at speeds of 100 mph. I can attest to the latter but nit the former.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 14, 2014, 12:53:24 pm
Is there a reason why US speed limits are still so slow or is it just political inertia?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on November 14, 2014, 01:13:49 pm
Slower speed limits cause people to drive slower, which saves fuel + lives.  The same road at 55mph will lead to people driving at 60-70mph, but raising it to 65mph will lead to people driving at 70-80mph.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 14, 2014, 01:16:03 pm
Slower speed limits cause people to drive slower, which saves fuel + lives.  The same road at 55mph will lead to people driving at 60-70mph, but raising it to 65mph will lead to people driving at 70-80mph.

I'm not completely convinced of this.  Differences in speed is a big factor, too. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 14, 2014, 01:19:32 pm
Someone going 50mph on a highway has very different results when the speed limit is 60mph than when it is 80mph.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 14, 2014, 01:42:25 pm
Slower speed limits cause people to drive slower, which saves fuel + lives.  The same road at 55mph will lead to people driving at 60-70mph, but raising it to 65mph will lead to people driving at 70-80mph.

At higher speeds, though, I don't know if this happens as much.  I was driving on a freeway once where the speed limit started at 55 mph, everybody was zooming by me, but later when it was 70 mph I was moving along with most of the traffic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 14, 2014, 02:33:30 pm
Given a reaction time of 0.5s, at 60mph you will have travelled 44ft and at 80mph nearly 15ft further.

Factor in visibility in the area: hills, curves, etc. Probability of road hazards: animals, pedestrians, debris, etc. And volume of traffic until you have a good basis for what a reasonable speed should be.

Factors that are outside the equation are road conditions, driver skill, distractions, and vehicle capabilities.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 14, 2014, 04:21:56 pm
I've heard it said that US interstates are designed to accommodate the landing of an airplane and to be safe at speeds of 100 mph. I can attest to the latter but nit the former.

The first one is an old, old legend.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/airstrip.asp
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 14, 2014, 04:35:39 pm
I've heard it said that US interstates are designed to accommodate the landing of an airplane and to be safe at speeds of 100 mph. I can attest to the latter but nit the former.

The first one is an old, old legend.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/airstrip.asp

Cool, never heard the 1:5 bit nor the notion it was for military purposes, both of which do add absurdity to the myth. The idea that any commercial or private plane in distress could land if needed is more believable. Also, it should be noted that there is that kernel of truth that at least explains why the myth exists.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 14, 2014, 05:04:53 pm
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/c618a4253bff67bf2fb93f3a6b9ebd7a/tumblr_n3tl26kRL81sn5m44o7_400.jpg)

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on November 14, 2014, 05:23:28 pm
(http://www.0-60mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/montana-speed-limit-sign.jpg)

...is how Montana speed limit signs looked between 1995-1999, after federal speed limits were abolished. With this policy, traffic accidents were at a modern low. The average vehicle speed didn't increase much, but the attitude of the drivers towards safety improved. No worries about outrageous traffic cops who will ticket you not because you were traveling at an unsafe speed, but because the county government needs money. And then when the speed limits were reinstituted in 1999, the accident rate more than doubled.

Counterpoint: Montana is a wide open space with nothing to hit, and the number of accidents over this time period is statistically small. Accident rates might be expected to increase due to confusion after such a drastic reversion in 1999.

Countercounterpoint: Most states increased the speed limit after the 55 mph limit was abolished, and in general accident rates decreased or stayed constant, contrary to doomsayers' predictions.

I'm not really sure if this is accurate, but I've heard that modern engines actually perform more efficiently at >55 mph, and so the fuel saving argument is also not necessarily valid.

So basically, bring on the autobahn. Also, the advent of self-driving cars may necessitate a complete overhaul of traffic law and infrastructure, so all this may be irrelevant in the near future.

Massive bias warning: I have few statistics to back up my claims. I hate speed limits. I hate cops. I had to wake up at 6 AM to drive to traffic court two weeks ago. Bah humbug.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on November 14, 2014, 05:45:52 pm
It all depends on the road. Grade-separated highway/freeway/I-know-those-are-different-things-but-nobody-in-American-knows-the-difference-including-me, go nuts. City streets, 20 MPH would be great (many are 35 MPH). Twisting country road, it's probably not safe to go over 55 MPH at any point.

I grew up in "twisting country road" country, and it drove me crazy that drivers didn't like me doing 45 MPH at night, which was about the fastest that was safe, when the speed limit was 55 MPH.

Now that I live in a city, I want to scream when I see people driving 35 MPH (technically only 5 MPH over). It's so wantonly reckless.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 14, 2014, 07:48:03 pm
Joseph2302 doesn't want me to tell you all that this hidden piece of information which does actually exist, but I'm keeping hidden, which is something I realised a while ago. He's been using it to this sentence doesn't end properly on Goko, particularly when people are streaming. I think I probably should also mention I'm talking about his novelty account IsotropicWasBetter - what, did you think I really wasn't going to tell you what this was about? I'm far too much of a dick to Joseph for that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: IsotropicWasBetter on November 14, 2014, 08:20:22 pm
Joseph2302 doesn't want me to tell you all that this hidden piece of information which does actually exist, but I'm keeping hidden, which is something I realised a while ago. He's been using it to this sentence doesn't end properly on Goko, particularly when people are streaming. I think I probably should also mention I'm talking about his novelty account IsotropicWasBetter - what, did you think I really wasn't going to tell you what this was about? I'm far too much of a dick to Joseph for that.

Clearly Tables is looking for his 5 minutes of fame, after trying to be a troll, and being massively upstaged by me. And theres a dynamic relationship between Tables and Joseph2302 which is clear, so of course Tables would accuse Joseph, if it could give him some fame. I'm tempted to sue for defamation of character.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 14, 2014, 09:40:38 pm
(http://www.picturesinboxes.com/comics/2014-08-24-image.jpg)

Source: http://www.picturesinboxes.com/2014/08/24/dangerous/ 

They're all pretty good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 15, 2014, 12:07:24 am
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/c618a4253bff67bf2fb93f3a6b9ebd7a/tumblr_n3tl26kRL81sn5m44o7_400.jpg)

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

The roses are bacon, FYI.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 15, 2014, 12:25:16 am
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/c618a4253bff67bf2fb93f3a6b9ebd7a/tumblr_n3tl26kRL81sn5m44o7_400.jpg)

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

The roses are bacon, FYI.
I still can't smell them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 15, 2014, 09:23:10 am
Bacon for breakfast is outrageous. It has to be some demographic control conspiracy or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 15, 2014, 09:36:20 am
Bacon for breakfast is outrageous. It has to be some demographic control conspiracy or something.

Baked beans are good, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 15, 2014, 09:48:29 am
Bacon for breakfast is outrageous. It has to be some demographic control conspiracy or something.

To add to the demographic control conspiracy theory: it has not been banned by the Chinese government. Coincidence? I don't think so.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 15, 2014, 10:55:28 am
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/c618a4253bff67bf2fb93f3a6b9ebd7a/tumblr_n3tl26kRL81sn5m44o7_400.jpg)

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

The roses are bacon, FYI.

That doesn't make them any more appealing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sitnaltax on November 15, 2014, 12:44:26 pm

Source: http://www.picturesinboxes.com/2014/08/24/dangerous/ 

They're all pretty good.

Neat. It feels a lot like Perry Bible Fellowship, in a good way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 15, 2014, 03:54:35 pm
where should you post puzzles that aren't dominion related?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 15, 2014, 04:05:24 pm
where should you post puzzles that aren't dominion related?

So's your face.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 15, 2014, 04:06:34 pm
where should you post puzzles that aren't dominion related?

So's your face.

Your face still needs to make your face jokes that at least incorporate the previous comment.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 15, 2014, 04:15:33 pm
Your face incorporates the previous comment...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 15, 2014, 04:17:31 pm
Your face incorporates the previous comment...

Your face IS the previous comment.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 15, 2014, 04:27:50 pm
Your mom is your face.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 15, 2014, 04:28:56 pm
Your mom is your face.

Your FACE is your face.

BURN
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 15, 2014, 04:45:16 pm
my question was actually serious
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 15, 2014, 04:48:29 pm
my question was actually serious

Wherever you post puzzles, make sure it's in the correct subforum or we will all be very very angry and the mod (or Kingzong) might even ban you. Seriously. No, I'm serious. Really. Be afraid.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 15, 2014, 04:49:16 pm
my question was actually serious

so's your face

(http://38.media.tumblr.com/90cdf4b739a01921490f1eb1eb69bed8/tumblr_naunn3fsx71s63babo1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 15, 2014, 04:54:31 pm
my question was actually serious

Your face was serious.

My face says you should probably just make a new thread for non-dominion puzzles.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 15, 2014, 04:59:26 pm
gif

Dat quality.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 15, 2014, 05:09:04 pm
guys, you just have no design sense. flutterbat is just straight up the best thing since forever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on November 15, 2014, 05:22:56 pm
guys, you just have no design sense. flutterbat is just straight up the best thing since forever.
Your face has no design sense.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 15, 2014, 05:28:23 pm
riiiiiiiiiiiight
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 15, 2014, 07:05:13 pm
riiiiiiiiiiiight

Your face is riiiiiiiiiiiight. Wait....
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 15, 2014, 07:28:16 pm
gif

Dat quality.

Point taken, gif changed.

Better?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 15, 2014, 07:30:13 pm
gif

Dat quality.

Point taken, gif changed.

Better?

No. Much much worse.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 15, 2014, 07:39:41 pm
flutterbat is just straight up the best thing since forever.

So's my face.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on November 15, 2014, 07:40:54 pm
riiiiiiiiiiiight


(http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/43279852.jpg)

Edit:
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 15, 2014, 07:42:54 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88ZDo3-m_KQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 15, 2014, 07:47:58 pm
gif

Dat quality.

Point taken, gif changed.

Better?

No. Much much worse.

 :'(

I try so hard to please you people... but it's never enough... never enough...

Please -sniff- don't mind me while I go cry in a corner...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on November 15, 2014, 08:37:52 pm
Tomorrow morning is my one-year anniversary at f.ds
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Hydrad on November 15, 2014, 08:41:47 pm
Tomorrow morning is my one-year anniversary at f.ds

Happy early... account creation day?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on November 15, 2014, 08:47:44 pm
Thanks bro!
I promise I wasn't vote whoring
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 15, 2014, 09:00:11 pm
I promise I wasn't vote whoring

That's nothing to be ashamed of!

...I have upvoted you. Now you have to upvote me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Hydrad on November 15, 2014, 09:01:54 pm
I promise I wasn't vote whoring

Don't worry because apparently I have move votes on my comment then yours. muhahaha
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on November 15, 2014, 09:03:36 pm
What have you done! Why did I just upvote all those posts?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 15, 2014, 09:10:38 pm
is it just me or are you all being stupid?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 15, 2014, 09:11:42 pm
is it just me or are you all being stupid?

Yes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 15, 2014, 09:20:08 pm
is it just me or are you all being stupid?

Yes.

So's your face.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 15, 2014, 09:40:34 pm
I think it's time for a "Decline of Civility on the Random Stuff Part II thread" thread
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 15, 2014, 09:48:15 pm
I think it's time for a "Decline of Civility on the Random Stuff Part II thread" thread

your momma has declined my stuff.


...wait.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 16, 2014, 12:57:30 am
> read past page

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mB2Cx3d05u4/UOoAHp1BU0I/AAAAAAAAFBc/SWdJcAmH7Vk/s1600/troy-barnes.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 17, 2014, 09:53:55 am
I love humor in a website: http://www.q39kc.com/location/

As a Kansas City native, I can attest to the weirdness of that intersection. Advanced users indeed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on November 17, 2014, 10:09:01 am
I'm visiting KC in two weeks!  Any suggestions?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 17, 2014, 10:11:33 am
I'm visiting KC in two weeks!  Any suggestions?

I heard about this place called Q39.  Traffic patterns are a little wonky nearby, but maybe you should check it out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on November 17, 2014, 10:12:20 am
I'm visiting KC in two weeks!  Any suggestions?

Other KC's. And some +Cards. You can't really not get that engine going.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 17, 2014, 10:20:33 am
I'm visiting KC in two weeks!  Any suggestions?

Yes! Um... uhhh.... OH! BB's Lawnside BBQ is cool if you like blues and BBQ. Yeah, I know like two places in KC and they're both blues clubs.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 17, 2014, 10:32:04 am
Actually, when I was there we went to this barbecue place, Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, on W22nd street. (At least I'm almost sure that was the one, it was quite a while ago.) It was good.. huge portions.    Well reviewed online too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 17, 2014, 10:33:57 am
I'm visiting KC in two weeks!  Any suggestions?

Other KC's. And some +Cards. You can't really not get that engine going.

Well, even with just one KC, he's going to find 6 Treasure cards so that should be pretty good already.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 17, 2014, 11:14:35 am
I'm visiting KC in two weeks!  Any suggestions?

Sadly you're going to miss KC Game Fair, which is coming up this weekend.

Got any days free? Maybe we can grab a beer or BBQ.

Naturally, being a resident, I don't pay attention to the sightseeing stuff. I hear the Steamboat Arabia museum is interesting, but I've never been. Same with Liberty Memorial, which I believe is the only national WWI memorial (in America anyway). Depends on your tastes. Nelson-Atkins museum is decent, but I seem to recall you're in NYC, so you have your pick of art museums. I suppose if you are an art aficionado, then Nelson-Atkins would be good for seeing what else is out there. It also has giant shuttlecocks. That's…a big deal for some people.

If you like Christmas stuff, the Plaza will be lit up as of Thanksgiving. It's not my bag, but a lot of people really like it. And I have to admit that there are a shit-ton of lights. It's a place to walk around and listen to buskers. There's carriage/wagon rides for people who like to ride in carriages/wagons.

I could tell you my favorite Thai place, Indian place, and German place, but you could get those foods elsewhere. I presume BBQ is the food to get while you're visiting. Jack Stack is indeed pretty decent. I like Smokehouse. Out in Lee's Summit is Hickory Pit.

Many locals swear by Oklahoma Joe's (I think it's called Joe's now). It's pretty good, though I probably wouldn't swear by it. Funnily enough, I don't really have a favorite BBQ joint. I rate them all by good or fair. I generally don't find bad BBQ around here. If such a place exists, it wouldn't last long.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 17, 2014, 11:20:16 am
Actually, when I was there we went to this barbecue place, Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, on W22nd street. (At least I'm almost sure that was the one, it was quite a while ago.) It was good.. huge portions.    Well reviewed online too.

I've been there, well maybe not that location but I think it's a local chain. Not bad BBQ.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 17, 2014, 12:10:48 pm
We're really close to crossing the streams with Random Stuff II here.

Why is that noticeable?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on November 17, 2014, 12:37:57 pm
Somehow this guys' videos amuse me more than they should:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrKY1vVoq6c
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 17, 2014, 03:43:03 pm
Somehow this guys' videos amuse me more than they should:

My favourite part is the cube flying up from the floor onto the cube.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 17, 2014, 04:12:35 pm
I just noticed this in my profile:

Posts: 3440 (5 per day)

This is the first time I see an integer there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 17, 2014, 04:14:01 pm
I kind of cry a little bit when I send a Word document to someone who dislikes the Track Changes feature and wants me to mark all the changes in manual redline instead. It hurts so, so much.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 17, 2014, 04:32:48 pm
I kind of cry a little bit when I send a Word document to someone who dislikes the Track Changes feature and wants me to mark all the changes in manual redline instead. It hurts so, so much.

Well... use a revision control system + LaTeX and problem solved. Plus, your documents will look better and be more portable. Although, if even biologists still insist on using Word...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 17, 2014, 04:46:21 pm
I just noticed this in my profile:

Posts: 3440 (5 per day)

This is the first time I see an integer there.

Now you must post exactly five posts every day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 17, 2014, 05:13:40 pm
I kind of cry a little bit when I send a Word document to someone who dislikes the Track Changes feature and wants me to mark all the changes in manual redline instead. It hurts so, so much.

Well... use a revision control system + LaTeX and problem solved. Plus, your documents will look better and be more portable. Although, if even biologists still insist on using Word...

LaTeX is the best document creation software that no one uses.

Seriously though, it's basically for mathematicians and physicists, with maybe some computer scientists?  Chemists certainly don't use it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 17, 2014, 05:20:59 pm
Really? I though pretty much all science research papers were written in LateX. Although now that I think about it, I've only read Math/CS/Physics ones. The one Biology one I read doesn't count because it's the "Tai's Method" paper.

LaTeX is very clean and pretty, but it has some really obscure errors that may or may not actually affect the final rendering, and gets annoying to debug at times.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 17, 2014, 05:37:16 pm
I think this is the best video I've watched in the last several months.  Couldn't help smiling through the whole thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcx6YyXvvRI
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 17, 2014, 05:38:18 pm
Seriously though, it's basically for mathematicians and physicists, with maybe some computer scientists?

I would say it is for CSists and mathematicians and physicists take advantage of it. It is still a shame nobody else does. I mean, you can use a wysiwyg editor if you want something that looks like your regular word processor.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 17, 2014, 05:45:40 pm
What is "Sarnath"?  I keep seeing people say it instead of "ninja'd".  Is it some ninja from pop culture that I am unaware of?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on November 17, 2014, 06:01:22 pm
I think this is the best video I've watched in the last several months.  Couldn't help smiling through the whole thing.

...
Turn that smile upside-down!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nua1aQeFF0s
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 17, 2014, 06:05:22 pm
Latex was widely used in grad school by most STEM majors I knew.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 17, 2014, 06:14:07 pm
What is "Sarnath"?  I keep seeing people say it instead of "ninja'd".  Is it some ninja from pop culture that I am unaware of?

He was a MiseTings (an MTG site/forum) user who was known for often beating people to the punch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 17, 2014, 06:18:51 pm
I would say Latex is used most by CS, then math, then physics, then chem. Certainly ACS (American Chemical Society) has style guides and stuff for it, and a chemistry paper I'm working on right now is in latex (granted it is a computational chemistry paper). I use it for my proof-based problem sets and I'm currently using it for a chemistry lab report. Successfully got BibTex working, modified the ACS style guide to not mark corresponding author, and added subschemes! (those were my primary accomplishments this morning, as opposed to, say, writing anything)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 17, 2014, 06:46:06 pm
I would say Latex is used most by CS, then math, then physics, then chem. Certainly ACS (American Chemical Society) has style guides and stuff for it, and a chemistry paper I'm working on right now is in latex (granted it is a computational chemistry paper). I use it for my proof-based problem sets and I'm currently using it for a chemistry lab report. Successfully got BibTex working, modified the ACS style guide to not mark corresponding author, and added subschemes! (those were my primary accomplishments this morning, as opposed to, say, writing anything)

Well, that's not nothing. I spend my last year of undergrad and my entire PhD trying to make a Babel style for my research group and failed at doing anything but a reusable .tex template.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 17, 2014, 07:01:11 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrSPuBYm-Cw

Is this the first meme to become a legitimate movie?

I can't believe they got Aubrey Plaza to sign on.  Perhaps I am overestimating her stardom.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 17, 2014, 07:05:21 pm
Certainly ACS (American Chemical Society) has style guides and stuff for it

Huh, that appears to have been added in the 2006 style guide; mine is from an earlier time...

Seriously though, it's basically for mathematicians and physicists, with maybe some computer scientists?

I would say it is for CSists and mathematicians and physicists take advantage of it. It is still a shame nobody else does. I mean, you can use a wysiwyg editor if you want something that looks like your regular word processor.

I didn't know there was a WYSIWYG editor for it.  Interesting...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 17, 2014, 07:08:57 pm
Is this the first meme to become a legitimate movie?

[inigomontoya.jpg]

It's on Lifetime.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 17, 2014, 07:14:41 pm
Certainly ACS (American Chemical Society) has style guides and stuff for it

Huh, that appears to have been added in the 2006 style guide; mine is from an earlier time...

Seriously though, it's basically for mathematicians and physicists, with maybe some computer scientists?

I would say it is for CSists and mathematicians and physicists take advantage of it. It is still a shame nobody else does. I mean, you can use a wysiwyg editor if you want something that looks like your regular word processor.

I didn't know there was a WYSIWYG editor for it.  Interesting...

I didn't know these existed either. Cool. Really I just want to find an editor that will use a different color for math mode. The number of times I've had to do binary search on a document to figure out where my "missing or extra $" was...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 17, 2014, 07:23:10 pm
Certainly ACS (American Chemical Society) has style guides and stuff for it

Huh, that appears to have been added in the 2006 style guide; mine is from an earlier time...

Seriously though, it's basically for mathematicians and physicists, with maybe some computer scientists?

I would say it is for CSists and mathematicians and physicists take advantage of it. It is still a shame nobody else does. I mean, you can use a wysiwyg editor if you want something that looks like your regular word processor.

I didn't know there was a WYSIWYG editor for it.  Interesting...

It's called LyX, but it sucks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 17, 2014, 07:25:25 pm
Certainly ACS (American Chemical Society) has style guides and stuff for it

Huh, that appears to have been added in the 2006 style guide; mine is from an earlier time...

Seriously though, it's basically for mathematicians and physicists, with maybe some computer scientists?

I would say it is for CSists and mathematicians and physicists take advantage of it. It is still a shame nobody else does. I mean, you can use a wysiwyg editor if you want something that looks like your regular word processor.

I didn't know there was a WYSIWYG editor for it.  Interesting...

I didn't know these existed either. Cool. Really I just want to find an editor that will use a different color for math mode. The number of times I've had to do binary search on a document to figure out where my "missing or extra $" was...

Um... lots of editors will syntax highlight.  I generally use MiKTeX as my LaTeX installation, which comes with the TeXWorks editor.   It generally works well, and syntax coloring is helpful.

Oh.. I just realized you probably meant highlight everything inside mathmode.  I don't know of any that do this, though I don't see why there couldn't be one.  But it would require some overhead of parsing your document as you type.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 17, 2014, 08:03:37 pm
Certainly ACS (American Chemical Society) has style guides and stuff for it

Huh, that appears to have been added in the 2006 style guide; mine is from an earlier time...

Seriously though, it's basically for mathematicians and physicists, with maybe some computer scientists?

I would say it is for CSists and mathematicians and physicists take advantage of it. It is still a shame nobody else does. I mean, you can use a wysiwyg editor if you want something that looks like your regular word processor.

I didn't know there was a WYSIWYG editor for it.  Interesting...

I didn't know these existed either. Cool. Really I just want to find an editor that will use a different color for math mode. The number of times I've had to do binary search on a document to figure out where my "missing or extra $" was...

Um... lots of editors will syntax highlight.  I generally use MiKTeX as my LaTeX installation, which comes with the TeXWorks editor.   It generally works well, and syntax coloring is helpful.

Oh.. I just realized you probably meant highlight everything inside mathmode.  I don't know of any that do this, though I don't see why there couldn't be one.  But it would require some overhead of parsing your document as you type.

Yeah, I use TeXWorks too. I haven't actually searched for one that does what I want, but it's on my to-do list.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 17, 2014, 08:12:03 pm
Um... lots of editors will syntax highlight.  I generally use MiKTeX as my LaTeX installation, which comes with the TeXWorks editor.   It generally works well, and syntax coloring is helpful.

Oh.. I just realized you probably meant highlight everything inside mathmode.  I don't know of any that do this, though I don't see why there couldn't be one.  But it would require some overhead of parsing your document as you type.

So, you will use LaTeX, but still cling on to windows? Why would you do that?

BTW, Geany syntax highlights all sorts of stuff, including LaTeX.

I prefer to write the code, but many people I know use Kyle, which has both syntax highlighting and WYSIWYG.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 17, 2014, 08:44:38 pm
Um... lots of editors will syntax highlight.  I generally use MiKTeX as my LaTeX installation, which comes with the TeXWorks editor.   It generally works well, and syntax coloring is helpful.

Oh.. I just realized you probably meant highlight everything inside mathmode.  I don't know of any that do this, though I don't see why there couldn't be one.  But it would require some overhead of parsing your document as you type.

So, you will use LaTeX, but still cling on to windows? Why would you do that?

BTW, Geany syntax highlights all sorts of stuff, including LaTeX.

I prefer to write the code, but many people I know use Kyle, which has both syntax highlighting and WYSIWYG.

Work systems are Windows-based.  I had Ubuntu on my PC, but it died and I got a laptop.  Haven't bothered to put anything else on it.  Linux is only really aesthetic for me . there isn't much more of an advantage for what I do except that I like the look and feel.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 17, 2014, 08:50:14 pm
Work systems are Windows-based.  I had Ubuntu on my PC, but it died and I got a laptop.  Haven't bothered to put anything else on it.  Linux is only really aesthetic for me . there isn't much more of an advantage for what I do except that I like the look and feel.

That is by far the strangest OS opinion I have ever heard. May I ask what is that you do?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 17, 2014, 09:07:16 pm
Um... lots of editors will syntax highlight.  I generally use MiKTeX as my LaTeX installation, which comes with the TeXWorks editor.   It generally works well, and syntax coloring is helpful.

Oh.. I just realized you probably meant highlight everything inside mathmode.  I don't know of any that do this, though I don't see why there couldn't be one.  But it would require some overhead of parsing your document as you type.

So, you will use LaTeX, but still cling on to windows? Why would you do that?

BTW, Geany syntax highlights all sorts of stuff, including LaTeX.

I prefer to write the code, but many people I know use Kyle, which has both syntax highlighting and WYSIWYG.

I'm not clinging to windows, I use software that doesn't work on linux. I dual-booted with ubuntu when I got my new laptop, but I couldn't get it onto the network where I was working this summer, so I never finished setting it up.

Geany is my editor for most everything and I figured it would do syntax highlighting for LaTeX too, but, again, haven't gotten around to setting it up. (sense a theme?)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on November 17, 2014, 09:24:03 pm
Is this the first meme to become a legitimate movie?

[inigomontoya.jpg]

It's on Lifetime.
eHalcyon killed your father? :'(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on November 17, 2014, 09:26:12 pm
If you want to know why more people don't use LaTeX, read this thread. Even super people who use it don't use the right tools available for it properly. The learning curve is high.

In econ, it depends on your sub-field. Theory uses LaTeX almost exclusively. Presentations are usually done using Beamer. More empirical work uses Word. Whether you need to type a bunch of equations is usually the distinguishing feature of who uses LaTeX, it seems. When I use LaTeX, I use LyX.

Word with MathType is a quite excellent WYSIWYG environment, actually. Use styles, too, and it's pretty easy to get stuff looking great now. Heresy, I know.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 17, 2014, 09:57:35 pm
I think the other distinguishing feature is citations and references to figures. The last lab report I wrote I did in word and I spent way way too long at the end making sure all of my citation and figure references pointed to the right things. And then I realized I forgot to include a citation and had to do it all over again. Never again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 17, 2014, 10:47:49 pm
Work systems are Windows-based.  I had Ubuntu on my PC, but it died and I got a laptop.  Haven't bothered to put anything else on it.  Linux is only really aesthetic for me . there isn't much more of an advantage for what I do except that I like the look and feel.

That is by far the strangest OS opinion I have ever heard. May I ask what is that you do?

On my home computer?  Primarily just I just use a browser.  Netflix sometimes.  Every once and a while document editing.  Pretty limited use.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on November 17, 2014, 11:21:37 pm
What is "Sarnath"?  I keep seeing people say it instead of "ninja'd".  Is it some ninja from pop culture that I am unaware of?

He was a MiseTings (an MTG site/forum) user who was known for often beating people to the punch.
Not so! Don't just go by what mtgsal's wiki says, they don't even cite a source.

Sarnath was a MiseTings poster who was known for often posting the same thing just ahead of Gisgo - Gisgo, specifically. "Sarnath'd" caught on; "Gisgo'd," not so much. "Annorax'd" caught on to mean "I don't get it" - nothing to do with ninja-ing people. I was there and the mtgsal wiki writers apparently were not.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 18, 2014, 03:51:14 am
Theory uses LaTeX almost exclusively.

I should hope so.

On revision control: what I want is a system that lets me say, "What did this file look like two weeks ago on Thursday?" but whenever I look into it that doesn't seem to be what they do.  (There's some large chain of diffs or something.)  Am I missing something?  What revision control system should I be looking at?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 18, 2014, 04:21:34 am
Theory uses LaTeX almost exclusively.

I should hope so.

On revision control: what I want is a system that lets me say, "What did this file look like two weeks ago on Thursday?" but whenever I look into it that doesn't seem to be what they do.  (There's some large chain of diffs or something.)  Am I missing something?  What revision control system should I be looking at?

Okay, version control 101.

The idea of version control is that you have a long series of commits, or diffs. You can think of each commit as an operation which was applied to the previous version to get the next version. So for example, your commit could be "Add the line 'hello' to the end of file 'foobar'". More commonly, people think of a commit as a marker that says "I want to save my work up to this point", I'll explain why in a bit.

Once you have a series of commits, you can use software on top of it to get the system you want. The most common one nowadays is git, but that's not too important for the main idea.

Let's say you want to see the file from last week. Then, you can say, "From the current version, rewind the commits I made until I get to this version from last week". Since you have a record of every change you made, all you need to do is apply the operations from each commit in reverse. Note that you don't actually delete the commits you've made from the record. What you've done is traveled back along what's called the source tree. Whenever you want to go back to the most recent version, you can travel up the source tree to the last commit you made earlier, reapplying the commits you've made, and at the end it'll bring you to the version of the file you just left. This is why commits can be thought of as saving your work - whenever you make a new commit, you implicitly create a marker that lets you return to how the file looks right now, because once you've described exactly how you got here, anything can follow the steps you made and get the same result.

Essentially, version control stores a list/tree of operations to apply to files, rather than exact copies of the file at every point in time you want a backup. Whenever you want to see a version of the file, it applies/reverses those operations on the fly to generate the version of the file you want. The upside of this is that doing these operations isn't very costly in terms of time, and many commits are small and easy to store because you only need to record the difference between the two versions of the file, rather than the entire file itself. This makes it very easy to have thousands of files versions available at a moment's notice, while spending a relatively small amount of space.

Most version control systems aren't that user friendly, but I'm pretty sure there are GUIs for git that can make things easier.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 18, 2014, 10:58:45 pm
What the hell is this crap in our meme forum?  >:(

(http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=11642.0;attach=1957)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: dondon151 on November 19, 2014, 12:00:05 am
What the hell is this crap in our meme forum?  >:(

Welcome to f.DS.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 19, 2014, 12:52:57 am
How I feel about the meme thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Npo0cmp-VY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 19, 2014, 05:59:10 am
I can't stop watching that scene. Why is he moving his head so much?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 19, 2014, 08:56:31 am
I can't stop watching that scene. Why is he moving his head so much?

Because they are pretending they are on horses.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on November 19, 2014, 09:25:49 am
On topic version control:

I believe Git also stores the full files in compressed form in order to prevent data corruption. If you only store diff files, then the whole data breaks if the top file gets corrupted. Git has a way of telling if a committed file has been corrupted. Each commit has an ID generated with the file contents as the input to a hash function. Corruption is identified if the file doesn't yield the ID when passed through the hash function.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on November 19, 2014, 01:37:25 pm
I think the other distinguishing feature is citations and references to figures. The last lab report I wrote I did in word and I spent way way too long at the end making sure all of my citation and figure references pointed to the right things. And then I realized I forgot to include a citation and had to do it all over again. Never again.

OH NO! Please say you didn't type them by hand instead of using cross-references. Word can absolutely do this for you. And of course, LaTeX can, too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 19, 2014, 04:41:11 pm
I think the other distinguishing feature is citations and references to figures. The last lab report I wrote I did in word and I spent way way too long at the end making sure all of my citation and figure references pointed to the right things. And then I realized I forgot to include a citation and had to do it all over again. Never again.

OH NO! Please say you didn't type them by hand instead of using cross-references. Word can absolutely do this for you. And of course, LaTeX can, too.

Wooooowwwwwwww. I feel really dumb now
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 19, 2014, 05:33:25 pm
I just learned how to use format painter today. To be fair, I only use Windows at work and then I am rarely in Word.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 20, 2014, 02:24:49 pm
I'm sure everyone is missing World Cup, so here's an exciting penalty kick video I found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F9jXYOH2c0#t=284
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on November 20, 2014, 07:34:41 pm
I'm sure everyone is missing World Cup, so here's an exciting penalty kick video I found:

[video]

I didn't realize it was fake until I saw that no one had beards.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 20, 2014, 11:34:57 pm
"Velvet, you're with SteelHooves. Between the two of you, I'm sure you can greet them with the appropriate amount of compassionate kindness or overwhelming force."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 21, 2014, 06:07:04 pm
Minor spoilers for How to Train Your Dragon 2:

Was watching this tonight with a few friends, and we were discussing cliches and the like post film. I said "After he mentioned never knowing him mother near the start of the film, I thought it was inevitable he'd bump into her."

On of my friends replied: "Yeah, that's just Chekhov... Chekhov's mum."


I was much impressed by the pun.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on November 21, 2014, 06:37:08 pm
Was watching this tonight with a few friends,

Wait, that is surprising. Since when have you had friends?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 21, 2014, 09:34:17 pm
Minor spoilers for How to Train Your Dragon 2:

Was watching this tonight with a few friends, and we were discussing cliches and the like post film. I said "After he mentioned never knowing him mother near the start of the film, I thought it was inevitable he'd bump into her."

On of my friends replied: "Yeah, that's just Chekhov... Chekhov's mum."


I was much impressed by the pun.
Wrong thread? Kinda?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 22, 2014, 01:59:02 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrs4I7zZ-rc

Dog is scared of doors.  Comes up with a workaround.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 22, 2014, 04:02:58 am
Minor spoilers for How to Train Your Dragon 2:

Was watching this tonight with a few friends, and we were discussing cliches and the like post film. I said "After he mentioned never knowing him mother near the start of the film, I thought it was inevitable he'd bump into her."

On of my friends replied: "Yeah, that's just Chekhov... Chekhov's mum."


I was much impressed by the pun.
Wrong thread? Kinda?

Well, where else could it possibly go? Random Stuff for a random pun seems appropriate to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 22, 2014, 05:09:23 am
Well, there is a movie thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 22, 2014, 07:26:05 am
any anime fans? anyone knows this show? (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xzb3ks_garzey-s-wing-the-movie-part-1-english-dubbed_shortfilms) such as smart plot. and the incredibly natural-feeling english dub. and the animation quality. and the character designs. and have I mentioned the dub? it's amazing. seriously, this dub... wow. best series ever, 10/10.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 22, 2014, 10:24:44 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrs4I7zZ-rc

Dog is scared of doors.  Comes up with a workaround.
[/quote

How to overcome your fears: Go through life ass-backwards.

Ok now that I say that, the expression kind of sounds like forwards because your ass is backwards. Weird...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 22, 2014, 10:32:48 am
GeoLib, are you trapped in there?  Do you need help to get out?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 22, 2014, 10:39:49 am
Well, there is a movie thread.

Oh, yeah. Still, it's not really movie related. It's more just random stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 22, 2014, 02:00:48 pm
This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rado_graph) is really awesome random stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 23, 2014, 02:08:09 am
Actual randomness.  At least, probably pseudo-randomness:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 23, 2014, 09:20:28 am
Actual randomness.  At least, probably pseudo-randomness:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

I think it's random enough to constitute randomness.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on November 24, 2014, 10:15:07 am
Minor spoilers for How to Train Your Dragon 2:

Was watching this tonight with a few friends, and we were discussing cliches and the like post film. I said "After he mentioned never knowing him mother near the start of the film, I thought it was inevitable he'd bump into her."

On of my friends replied: "Yeah, that's just Chekhov... Chekhov's mum."


I was much impressed by the pun.

You might have expected this quote would reappear after some time. That's because it's Chekhov's pun
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 24, 2014, 11:56:15 am
I just read through a locked thread that I somehow missed which I will not link to and I just want to say you guys rock and I love you all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 24, 2014, 12:17:03 pm
I just read through a locked thread that I somehow missed which I will not link to and I just want to say you guys rock and I love you all.

Would you say that we're the bomb?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 24, 2014, 12:28:16 pm
I love you too!

Now quick some randomness.

(http://demotywatory.pl//uploads/201301/1357300525_rhj8ny_600.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on November 24, 2014, 02:42:59 pm
[Giraffic Park]

This reminds me of a dream I had about a week ago where I was trying to get on a freeway but there was a giant giraffe in the way on the on-ramp.  Then I wasn't in my car any more and then I was running away from it because I thought it was going to sneeze on me, and then I had to do this crazy thing to get around it and jump onto the freeway.  Then I was just running down the freeway even though everyone else was driving on it, but somehow I was fast enough to keep up with traffic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on November 24, 2014, 03:30:45 pm
Actual randomness.  At least, probably pseudo-randomness:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
When I clicked on this I expected a wikipedia article on random and pseudo-randomess... instead I just got Aledo, Illinois.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 24, 2014, 03:39:59 pm
Actual randomness.  At least, probably pseudo-randomness:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
When I clicked on this I expected a wikipedia article on random and pseudo-randomess... instead I just got Aledo, Illinois.

I got Odeon of Agrippa.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on November 24, 2014, 04:11:49 pm
[Giraffic Park]

This reminds me of a dream I had about a week ago where I was trying to get on a freeway but there was a giant giraffe in the way on the on-ramp.  Then I wasn't in my car any more and then I was running away from it because I thought it was going to sneeze on me, and then I had to do this crazy thing to get around it and jump onto the freeway.  Then I was just running down the freeway even though everyone else was driving on it, but somehow I was fast enough to keep up with traffic.

You did the right thing by running from the sneeze.  I can attest from personal experience, it is not pleasant getting sneezed upon by a large ungulate.

I recognize that this post now becomes fodder for the "out of context" thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on November 24, 2014, 04:27:18 pm
Actual randomness.  At least, probably pseudo-randomness:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
When I clicked on this I expected a wikipedia article on random and pseudo-randomess... instead I just got Aledo, Illinois.

I got Arrondissement of Villefranche-sur-Saône, which sounded cooler than it actually is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 24, 2014, 04:38:08 pm
It doesn't sound cool to me at all, that's not a very nice place to live in.

I got Roman Catholic Diocese of Long Xuy, which is a diocese around Ho Chi Min Cit. 6% of that population's area is catholic, that's a little less that I would have expected I suppose.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 24, 2014, 04:47:01 pm
You know what really grinds my gears?  When people do things that they recognize is more complicated and do it anyways.

Example:  Me writing a MATLAB script, I use "!=" to mean "not equals", like every other programming language out there.  It puts a red squiggly under that telling me it is wrong.  I mouse over it and it says "In MATLAB, Not equals is represented by '~='"  Really?  You recognize what I'm trying to do, even took the time to code a tip telling me I was wrong.  Why not just use the standard most other languages use? Ugh
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 24, 2014, 07:39:39 pm
You know what really grinds my gears?  When people do things that they recognize is more complicated and do it anyways.

Something else that's incredibly annoying is when you're trying to do something for hours, then find the solution is really simple (when you've tried a bunch of more complicated solutions too).  I have spent hours trying to figure something out, and I learned it was as simple as a single command in the terminal.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 25, 2014, 12:12:52 am
So I was watching this video on natural remedies for sinus issues when I got to 4:10 and my eyes popped out of my head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT7fn-gmaRA
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 25, 2014, 01:02:55 am
That, uh, cleared my sinuses too...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 25, 2014, 01:10:00 am
You know what really grinds my gears?  When people do things that they recognize is more complicated and do it anyways.

Example:  Me writing a MATLAB script, I use "!=" to mean "not equals", like every other programming language out there.  It puts a red squiggly under that telling me it is wrong.  I mouse over it and it says "In MATLAB, Not equals is represented by '~='"  Really?  You recognize what I'm trying to do, even took the time to code a tip telling me I was wrong.  Why not just use the standard most other languages use? Ugh

MATLAB actually does that a lot. It tries to conform to standard mathematical notations (like ~ for not), but there's no reason it shouldnt accept standard programming notation as well. I actually have the opposite problem though. Almost all of my coding is in MATLAB so when I code in a real language, it takes me a while to debug sometimes for stupid MATLABy reasons.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 25, 2014, 08:25:11 am
You know what really grinds my gears?  When people do things that they recognize is more complicated and do it anyways.

Example:  Me writing a MATLAB script, I use "!=" to mean "not equals", like every other programming language out there.  It puts a red squiggly under that telling me it is wrong.  I mouse over it and it says "In MATLAB, Not equals is represented by '~='"  Really?  You recognize what I'm trying to do, even took the time to code a tip telling me I was wrong.  Why not just use the standard most other languages use? Ugh

MATLAB actually does that a lot. It tries to conform to standard mathematical notations (like ~ for not), but there's no reason it shouldnt accept standard programming notation as well. I actually have the opposite problem though. Almost all of my coding is in MATLAB so when I code in a real language, it takes me a while to debug sometimes for stupid MATLABy reasons.

I would say ¬ is the standard for boolean not. ~ is the standard for bitwise not.

BTW, I am not sure how standard != is, but I guess just C/C++, Java and Python are enough to call it standard. I remember at least <> and /= being used as well for "not equals to".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 25, 2014, 09:23:18 am
I've only programmed with Basic languages and both <> and != sound familiar. Never had to use /= or ~=.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 25, 2014, 09:28:06 am
Dream Time. This one was clearly inspired by a piece of fanfiction that I read about a week ago, so here is what happens there: the main characters summon a fictional character from a novel. she is supposed to be like a machine, able to talk and answer questions but without feelings and self-conscience, and the spell is only supposed to just last three weeks and then "send her back into the story" (i.e. killing her because the story is not real). Something goes wrong, and she is really alive. at some point she has a talk with her creator about all of this, and it turns out that she doesn't have a pulse, or a heart, or blood, or even bones, but is still sentient (they then decide to keep her alive and in the end she dies for reasons, but that's not important for the dream.)

So, in the dream I had to prepare for a test/exam (I think for school (although I don't go to school anymore)). It was about this real person that is living in the real world. He/she (further called it) was created by accident, and it is the only person that ever lived significantly longer than a normal life spawn, in fact it has been alive for hundreds of years and is essentially immortal (someone was telling me all of this the day before the exam to prepare me for it). Although it hasn't done anything evil, many people fear or hate it, simply because it doesn't consist of flesh but instead of a kind of solid gold under normal-looking skin. The name of this creature is XerxesPraelor. I never got to write the exam though, the dream ended before that.

the dream was sorta nightmare-ish, so now the name of XP has this kind of scary tone...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on November 25, 2014, 09:40:20 am
the dream was sorta nightmare-ish, so now the name of XP has this kind of scary tone...

I feel the same way about Vista
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 25, 2014, 09:51:04 am
the dream was sorta nightmare-ish, so now the name of XP has this kind of scary tone...

I feel the same way about Vista

Vista was great.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on November 25, 2014, 11:40:27 am
the dream was sorta nightmare-ish, so now the name of XP has this kind of scary tone...

I feel the same way about Vista

Vista was great.

They can't all be the best OS ever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 25, 2014, 11:51:54 am
I mean, Vista had its problems, but at least ASIO4ALL2 worked on it. Now I'm using Windows 7 and it might or might not work depending on its mood and if it doesn't, the only way to fix it is changing a couple of settings, rebooting your computer, rebooting again, praying to 16 different gods from different religions, rebooting your mixer and your guitar amp, changing back to the original settings, changing your media player settings, giving up, figuring out an inconvenient way to do whatever it was that you were going to do without having to use ASIO4ALL2 and doing it like that and once you're finished, the next time you reboot your computer, it probably works again but now your media player settings suck.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on November 25, 2014, 11:54:35 am
You know what really grinds my gears?  When people do things that they recognize is more complicated and do it anyways.

Example:  Me writing a MATLAB script, I use "!=" to mean "not equals", like every other programming language out there.  It puts a red squiggly under that telling me it is wrong.  I mouse over it and it says "In MATLAB, Not equals is represented by '~='"  Really?  You recognize what I'm trying to do, even took the time to code a tip telling me I was wrong.  Why not just use the standard most other languages use? Ugh

MATLAB actually does that a lot. It tries to conform to standard mathematical notations (like ~ for not), but there's no reason it shouldnt accept standard programming notation as well. I actually have the opposite problem though. Almost all of my coding is in MATLAB so when I code in a real language, it takes me a while to debug sometimes for stupid MATLABy reasons.

I would say ¬ is the standard for boolean not. ~ is the standard for bitwise not.

BTW, I am not sure how standard != is, but I guess just C/C++, Java and Python are enough to call it standard. I remember at least <> and /= being used as well for "not equals to".
Hmm...I believe <> is used for not equals in OCL (object constraint language), which is an extension of UML diagrams. <> might also represent not equals in Prolog and /= might be in Lisp.

Objective-C uses != too. I think != is an Object-Oriented thing.

You know what grinds my gears? Coding in MATLAB. Period. It's too quick and dirty for my tastes, and yet it's so powerful what with all those Matrix Computations. MATLAB is really good for numerical methods analysis though. Simulink is pretty nifty as well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 25, 2014, 12:10:45 pm
So, fun MATLAB story.  For my thesis I had to do a little root finding method.  Basically Newton's Method in many dimensions.  So, make a big matrix, compute a big "derivative" matrix, solve Ax=b to find the direction to go. The variables I was solving for were coefficients in a basis expansion (basis elements were spherical harmonics).  I was only looking for real solutions, but the solver would actually go off the real axis before converging on a real solution, even with real initial data.  In certain situations, there would always be a really weird reflection in some sense that essentially amounted to a sign issue.  I couldn't figure out what it was, so I ended up just adding a negative sign to "fix" the problem.  It didn't make any sense to me, but the answer was right so I let it sit like that for a while.  (I only had to do the computation some of the time.. the bulk of the work was just proofs.) 

Finally towards the end of the thesis I went back to it and had to adjust some of the code.  I still came across this confusing sign issue.  Finally I realized that I was taking matrix transposes with the '  operator (i.e., A' for transpose(A)) because, well, I assumed that was the transpose and it seemed like it was.  But, A' is really the conjugate transpose, and A.' is the nonconjugate transpose.  I didn't need the conjugate; I only needed to switch rows and columns for the dimensions to correspond correctly.  Of course, this made all i's into -i's, and this gave rise to the reflection issue in those situations.  I felt pretty silly after I realized it.

(If you're wondering why i -> -i gave rise as a reflection issue, it's because part of the basis functions were of the form e^{m i x} for m = -N, ..., 0 , ..., N.  So, flipping i to -i flipped m to -m, which made those basis functions mismatch with the other m's.  The solver converged to real solutions, so the complex component was always 0, so when looking at the solution you couldn't really see the i to -i issue.)

tl;dr; I used conjugate transpose instead of transpose (' instead of .') without realizing it and hacked a fix to correct it without discovering the obvious reason for, like, years.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 25, 2014, 12:50:41 pm
Hmm...I believe <> is used for not equals in OCL (object constraint language), which is an extension of UML diagrams. <> might also represent not equals in Prolog and /= might be in Lisp.

Objective-C uses != too. I think != is an Object-Oriented thing.

How young are you? != is of course popular due to C and/or Perl (and maybe earlier than that?). <> goes all the way back to Pascal and Cobol. Way before OO. Smalltalk is the first OO language with operators (I think), and it used, guess what? ~=...

About /=, I know it from Haskell, but it seems Lisp is the same, and, more importantly, Fortran!

So, this nonsense about (at least) 3 different "not equal to" operators is a really old issue of programming languages.

BTW, I am pretty melancholic nowadays, so this is great...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 25, 2014, 01:27:54 pm
Best part of my dominion program so far:

Code: [Select]
deck.unshift(deck.pop)
What is it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 25, 2014, 01:30:49 pm
Objective-C uses != too. I think != is an Object-Oriented thing.

How young are you? != is of course popular due to C and/or Perl (and maybe earlier than that?). <> goes all the way back to Pascal and Cobol

According to The Internet, the != first appeared in B, the precursor to C; it was apparently not in BCPL.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 25, 2014, 01:46:00 pm
~= for unequal makes no sense though. it's like similar. /= would be okay, except I'm used to it meaning "divide itself with..."

I used to be all for <>, but that stops making sense once your elements aren't ordered anymore.

I think != is okay.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on November 25, 2014, 03:18:11 pm
You know what really grinds my gears?  When people do things that they recognize is more complicated and do it anyways.

Example:  Me writing a MATLAB script, I use "!=" to mean "not equals", like every other programming language out there.  It puts a red squiggly under that telling me it is wrong.  I mouse over it and it says "In MATLAB, Not equals is represented by '~='"  Really?  You recognize what I'm trying to do, even took the time to code a tip telling me I was wrong.  Why not just use the standard most other languages use? Ugh

MATLAB actually does that a lot. It tries to conform to standard mathematical notations (like ~ for not), but there's no reason it shouldnt accept standard programming notation as well. I actually have the opposite problem though. Almost all of my coding is in MATLAB so when I code in a real language, it takes me a while to debug sometimes for stupid MATLABy reasons.

I would say ¬ is the standard for boolean not. ~ is the standard for bitwise not.

BTW, I am not sure how standard != is, but I guess just C/C++, Java and Python are enough to call it standard. I remember at least <> and /= being used as well for "not equals to".
I'm pretty sure I've used ~= for no caps sensitive string compare equals in c++, though that might have been object specific. Doesn't ~ usually mean approximately?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on November 25, 2014, 03:18:52 pm
Best part of my dominion program so far:

Code: [Select]
deck.unshift(deck.pop)
What is it?
It's it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 25, 2014, 03:33:31 pm
Best part of my dominion program so far:

Code: [Select]
deck.unshift(deck.pop)
What is it?
Draw a card?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 25, 2014, 03:48:02 pm
There are too many different standards (http://xkcd.com/927/)!  We need to make a new one which every language can adopt so they can all be consistent!

I propose:

&==

Because ampersands are all twisty and look like knots.  It is very intuitive.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 25, 2014, 04:45:23 pm
I propose:

&==

But I already use that for modular addition in Haskell!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on November 25, 2014, 04:57:26 pm
I've only programmed with Basic languages and both <> and != sound familiar. Never had to use /= or ~=.
SAS programmer here. Don't forget ^= (because I do, and then I wonder why my code using != doesn't work).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 25, 2014, 05:00:53 pm
My Python projects usually fail because I've used ^ for exponentiation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 25, 2014, 05:04:15 pm
(http://th07.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/002/c/8/the_dealer_by_mistermech-d4l4n5n.png)

I really, really like this drawing. I don't even know much about this character and this picture has almost convinced me to read the story he's from.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on November 25, 2014, 05:35:30 pm
Hmm...I believe <> is used for not equals in OCL (object constraint language), which is an extension of UML diagrams. <> might also represent not equals in Prolog and /= might be in Lisp.

Objective-C uses != too. I think != is an Object-Oriented thing.

How young are you? != is of course popular due to C and/or Perl (and maybe earlier than that?). <> goes all the way back to Pascal and Cobol. Way before OO. Smalltalk is the first OO language with operators (I think), and it used, guess what? ~=...

About /=, I know it from Haskell, but it seems Lisp is the same, and, more importantly, Fortran!

So, this nonsense about (at least) 3 different "not equal to" operators is a really old issue of programming languages.

BTW, I am pretty melancholic nowadays, so this is great...
Uh, did I say something I should be embarassed about? For the record, I'm 23. The post I made was based on what I know from the Software Engineering courses I've been taking for the last couple of years.

Oh, and I've never actually seen any Smalltalk code.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 25, 2014, 05:58:09 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/d73e5b7a2d91f3097618f797686b0219/tumblr_nceindAmtd1qjnhqgo1_500.jpg)

(https://33.media.tumblr.com/9769aa587e6f2a4b580cbc58deafe48b/tumblr_nf0eg4pZAo1qb5gkjo1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 25, 2014, 05:59:17 pm
Uh, did I say something I should be embarassed about? For the record, I'm 23. The post I made was based on what I know from the Software Engineering courses I've been taking for the last couple of years.

Why would you be embarrassed about being young? I just like to play the "old guy" card whenever I can. I am newly old :).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 25, 2014, 06:06:05 pm
I just like to play the "old guy" card
Hermit?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 25, 2014, 06:08:08 pm
Best part of my dominion program so far:

Code: [Select]
deck.unshift(deck.pop)
What is it?
Draw a card?

Nope.  It's Pearl Diver.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 25, 2014, 06:11:42 pm
I just like to play the "old guy" card
Hermit?

can you explain your avatar?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 25, 2014, 06:15:26 pm
I just like to play the "old guy" card
Hermit?

can you explain your avatar?

Yes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 25, 2014, 06:41:39 pm
I just like to play the "old guy" card
Hermit?

can you explain your avatar?

Yes.

this reminds me of eragon. have you read that? anyway, so what does it show and what is the meaning behind it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 25, 2014, 06:56:20 pm
I just like to play the "old guy" card
Hermit?

can you explain your avatar?

Yes.

this reminds me of eragon. have you read that? anyway, so what does it show and what is the meaning behind it?

Haven't read that, I have one book from the series but it started with a massive lore nuke (http://www.thenoobcomic.com/index.php?pos=392) explaining what happened in the previous books and it magically erased all of the motivation I had for reading it.

It shows a stylized standby symbol and the meaning behind it is that I wanted to try something different for a while. Not sure if I like this though, will probably switch back to my previous evolved red circled A soon.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 25, 2014, 07:02:03 pm
the reason I said eragon is that there is a scene

A: can you tell us where we can find C?
B: yes
A: will you tell us?
B: yes
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on November 25, 2014, 07:03:28 pm
So I was watching this video on natural remedies for sinus issues when I got to 4:10 and my eyes popped out of my head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT7fn-gmaRA

Was expecting something like this:

(http://i.imgur.com/cwUOLWb.gif)

Was very disappointed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 25, 2014, 08:40:05 pm
It shows a stylized standby symbol and the meaning behind it is that I wanted to try something different for a while. Not sure if I like this though, will probably switch back to my previous evolved red circled A soon.

Yeah, fuck that. I love this avatar and now I feel bad for cheating on it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 25, 2014, 08:41:17 pm
It shows a stylized standby symbol and the meaning behind it is that I wanted to try something different for a while. Not sure if I like this though, will probably switch back to my previous evolved red circled A soon.

Yeah, fuck that. I love this avatar and now I feel bad for cheating on it.

yay. this looks much better on you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 25, 2014, 08:53:29 pm
It shows a stylized standby symbol and the meaning behind it is that I wanted to try something different for a while. Not sure if I like this though, will probably switch back to my previous evolved red circled A soon.

Yeah, fuck that. I love this avatar and now I feel bad for cheating on it.

Apparently I entirely missed the other avatar, and was wondering "What, no one knows the anarchist symbol?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on November 26, 2014, 03:12:55 am
So I was watching this video on natural remedies for sinus issues when I got to 4:10 and my eyes popped out of my head.

Am I missing a joke?  I need it explained.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on November 26, 2014, 07:44:31 am
I took it to mean that he found the young woman extremely attractive.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 26, 2014, 08:24:43 am
Sometimes little reminders of how much older you are to others can pop up unexpectedly.

I was talking with a guy about the scene in Coming to America where the two villains from Trading Places made a cameo. He scratched his head for a moment and asked, "So Trading Places came out before Coming to America?"

While 5 years is not a whole lot of difference when you're looking at IMDB, it really sticks with you when you grow up with the movies because I knew of a 5-year period where Trading Places existed while Coming to America did not. That'd be like some kid 20 years from now not knowing that Iron Man came out before the Avengers.

But then, I’m not immune, am I? Without consulting IMDB, I don't really know which came first: Breakfast at Tiffany's or Some Like It Hot. And I'm sure that someone out there would be sputtering, "How could you not know?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on November 26, 2014, 08:54:01 am
I know the feeling (regarding being older than the median here).  Imagine how I felt one day in the 80's, standing in a record store (you know, the kind with big vinyl discs)  and hearing a young woman about 16 or so say to her friend "did you know that Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 26, 2014, 09:13:05 am
I know the feeling (regarding being older than the median here).  Imagine how I felt one day in the 80's

You could have ended there... I would guess at least half of this forum was not alive during the 80s. However, a vinyl store was already kind of retro in the 80s, since the casette (and even the walkman!) already existed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 26, 2014, 09:21:53 am
I know the feeling (regarding being older than the median here).  Imagine how I felt one day in the 80's

You could have ended there... I would guess at least half of this forum was not alive during the 80s. However, a vinyl store was already kind of retro in the 80s, since the casette (and even the walkman!) already existed.

But cassettes were awful, while vinyls are still a reasonable option.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 09:23:39 am
I know the feeling (regarding being older than the median here).  Imagine how I felt one day in the 80's

You could have ended there... I would guess at least half of this forum was not alive during the 80s. However, a vinyl store was already kind of retro in the 80s, since the casette (and even the walkman!) already existed.

But cassettes were awful, while vinyls are still a reasonable option.

They can't all be the best medium of recorded music ever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 09:29:05 am
Games are cool; people suck:

http://imgur.com/gallery/FrUU1
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 09:57:59 am
(http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/100/1/0/super_smash_e_mons_by_jhallpokemon-d7dvlhp.jpg) (http://jhallpokemon.deviantart.com/art/Super-Smash-e-mons-446572429)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 26, 2014, 10:14:18 am
I know the feeling (regarding being older than the median here).  Imagine how I felt one day in the 80's

You could have ended there... I would guess at least half of this forum was not alive during the 80s. However, a vinyl store was already kind of retro in the 80s, since the casette (and even the walkman!) already existed.

In the late '80s, yes, but vinyl was still big in the early '80s and were in shops as often as cassettes. And cheaper too!

But the '80s saw a huge leap in technology. It didn't take much to go from viable to obsolete.

And then there's the poor laserdisc. Bastard didn't even stand a chance.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 26, 2014, 11:17:54 am
Sometimes little reminders of how much older you are to others can pop up unexpectedly.

I was talking with a guy about the scene in Coming to America where the two villains from Trading Places made a cameo. He scratched his head for a moment and asked, "So Trading Places came out before Coming to America?"

While 5 years is not a whole lot of difference when you're looking at IMDB, it really sticks with you when you grow up with the movies because I knew of a 5-year period where Trading Places existed while Coming to America did not. That'd be like some kid 20 years from now not knowing that Iron Man came out before the Avengers.

But then, I’m not immune, am I? Without consulting IMDB, I don't really know which came first: Breakfast at Tiffany's or Some Like It Hot. And I'm sure that someone out there would be sputtering, "How could you not know?"


Note that this is also a matter of knowing pop culture and pop culture references *and* having particular tastes in movies.  While it's certainly less obscure than asking whether the bottom or top quark was discovered first, it's much more obscure than asking whether Challenger exploded before or after the Berlin Wall fell.

I've never actually seen Coming to America, though I have seen Trading Places.

Fun useless trivia: the parents in Coming to America... also voiced Simba's parents in The Lion King.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 26, 2014, 11:19:42 am
My high school physics teacher used laserdiscs in class
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 26, 2014, 11:56:43 am
One of my college CS Professors used an overhead projector with transparencies. The angle that the ceiling projector was such that he couldn't write on the portion of the whiteboard it projected onto like he wanted to. He still had all his transparencies, so the second day of class he wheeled in an overhead projector. It was pretty hilarious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 11:59:10 am
I had when teachers use projectors or powerpoint to lecture.  It's a lecture; you should be writing stuff on the board.  If there's so much stuff to write that it's not efficient to write it on the board, you probably shouldn't be displaying it anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 26, 2014, 12:04:12 pm
I had when teachers use projectors or powerpoint to lecture.  It's a lecture; you should be writing stuff on the board.  If there's so much stuff to write that it's not efficient to write it on the board, you probably shouldn't be displaying it anyway.
My professors use a program called Dyknow, which is like powerpoint, but the slides appear on your computer when the professor gets to them.  They can write and draw on the slides (because everyone has tablet PC's here), so it's a lot like writing on the board.  Some professors just use it like powerpoint though and it's really frustrating... I need to be able to write down things so I don't lose concentration in class.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 26, 2014, 12:11:23 pm
I had when teachers use projectors or powerpoint to lecture.  It's a lecture; you should be writing stuff on the board.  If there's so much stuff to write that it's not efficient to write it on the board, you probably shouldn't be displaying it anyway.

I have been attending and giving lectures for quite some time, and in my opinion slides can easily be overused, but the board can be too.

For instance, large drawings are nice to have in slides. Animations are also nice and they just don't work on the board. Visualization of functions in 3d, for instance, usually take too much time to draw "on the fly", and they don't look as nice. Also, if you are teaching programming, especially functional or logical programming, changing the code and showing the output on a projected screen is WAY better than writing it on the board.

Of course, having a slide with equations to do a proof or a solution to an exercise is usually pretty bad, because sometimes the audience will have the ideas in a different order, or a different implementation, and you want to follow that instead of squeezing them into your previously thought proof. If you are not trying to engage the audience into building the proof/solution with you, you are doing it wrong.

That being said, I tried to get a parallel degree in philosophy while being an undergrad in CS* and there were lecturers that used no visual aid. No slide, no transparency, no writing on the board, no nothing. That was enough for me to leave the school and never come back. That is not a class.

*: Small explanation for people who went to college in the US or somewhere else with a similar system: In here, university is usually 6 years (which is roughly BS + Ms for scientific disciplines, and usually ends with a thesis) of classes that are directly related to your career. For CS you have math, some intro to physics and chemistry, CS-specific classes and nothing more. In my understanding, degrees in the US are a lot more broad-spectrum, with about half of it actually teaching the specifics of your "major". CS is in the exact and natural science school and philosophy is in the humanities school, so classes are completely separate.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 26, 2014, 12:21:18 pm
I think I'm more inclined to agree with Soulnet here. Watching profs stumble through a complicated diagram can be really frustrating when they could have just prepared one beforehand that would have been easier to read. I think it is most effective when professors use slides and a board together.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 26, 2014, 12:29:14 pm
The (imo) best prof in my university doesn't use a board at all, but has a program thing where there are some parts of the slides prepared, and then he writes on them during the lecture like you write on a tablet. that's kind of a mixture, but it works really well.

generally though, I dislike the usage of boards in lectures.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 12:34:49 pm
Okay, yes, there are good cases for using AV aids.

I'm talking about when teachers prepare the entire lecture on powerpoint (or through slides) and just talk while they put them up.  And then say stuff like "you can go download these slides online".  Hey, I already have a book; why do I need your slides?

Also, my education is in math, so most of my courses were math courses, where you really should be going through almost everything on the board.  (Some things can be helpful like using Maple/Matlab/Mathematica to demonstrate or display something.)  I had one undergrad teacher that essentially taught through Maple.. I learned how to use Maple pretty well, but I really didn't like that as a lecturing method.  I took some physics classes that were the teacher showing their prepared slides the entire time and only making small disjoint and out-of-context notes on the board.  I quickly stopped paying attention or going to those classes.

I'm fine with a philosophy class not using visual aid, though I think if you're going to do a class that way it should be modeled a bit more around discussion than straight lecture (e.g., asking questions of the class, people sharing thoughts, etc.).  Though in most cases, highlighting some key points is probably a good idea.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 26, 2014, 12:44:42 pm
I get your point that you should not use prepared slides but instead do the thing that you want to explain why you're explaining it. But that really doesn't have to be on a board. The big advantage of writing on slides over writing on the board is that, after you are done, students can download the finished slides. With a board you either have to scan it somehow, but it doesn't look as nice, or you have to write during the lecture, which I absolutely hate.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 12:48:48 pm
I get your point that you should not use prepared slides but instead do the thing that you want to explain why you're explaining it. But that really doesn't have to be on a board. The big advantage of writing on slides over writing on the board is that, after you are done, students can download the finished slides. With a board you either have to scan it somehow, but it doesn't look as nice, or you have to write during the lecture, which I absolutely hate.

For me, downloading the slides is essentially useless.  I retain the knowledge by actually writing stuff down as the professor is doing it.  I guess differently learning styles.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 26, 2014, 12:58:53 pm
I get your point that you should not use prepared slides but instead do the thing that you want to explain why you're explaining it. But that really doesn't have to be on a board. The big advantage of writing on slides over writing on the board is that, after you are done, students can download the finished slides. With a board you either have to scan it somehow, but it doesn't look as nice, or you have to write during the lecture, which I absolutely hate.

I have never seen this writing on slides thing, so I don't know. Is it as flexible as writing on a board? If yes, then I agree it is preferable, but I cannot tell whether the cost will be worth it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 26, 2014, 01:10:29 pm
I get your point that you should not use prepared slides but instead do the thing that you want to explain why you're explaining it. But that really doesn't have to be on a board. The big advantage of writing on slides over writing on the board is that, after you are done, students can download the finished slides. With a board you either have to scan it somehow, but it doesn't look as nice, or you have to write during the lecture, which I absolutely hate.

I have never seen this writing on slides thing, so I don't know. Is it as flexible as writing on a board? If yes, then I agree it is preferable, but I cannot tell whether the cost will be worth it.

I'd say yes, from how I understand it, he has a small screen in front of him and writes on it using some kind of metal stick. His writing isn't exactly pretty, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't look better on a real board. what he writes down there then simultaneously appears on the large screen. you can use choose different colors and delete text like you would in paint. No idea about the cost though.

What I dislike is if a lecture forces you to take notes, because I just hate writing while I listen to something, plus my hand writing is really ugly and I don't want to look at it later. In maths, our prof only uses the board, so if you don't take notes, you just have to learn from the script, so that's what I'm doing, but it's pretty hard at times.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 26, 2014, 01:29:24 pm
The (imo) best prof in my university doesn't use a board at all, but has a program thing where there are some parts of the slides prepared, and then he writes on them during the lecture like you write on a tablet. that's kind of a mixture, but it works really well.

generally though, I dislike the usage of boards in lectures.
This is pretty much exactly what our pros do.  The best have the slides prepared with gaps in them that they fill in during the lecture.  Sometimes slides are just completely blank like a white/black board.  Their writings only get transmitted to students computers if the professor wants them to, otherwise the students have to fill in the writings on their own (which is 99% of the time)  When done right, it's good (I still take notes on paper though).  But just like powerpoint, it can be abused to the point that the students don't do anything
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 26, 2014, 01:52:45 pm
I've always had a strong preference for board over slides, as both a speaker and a listener.  Recently I've begun to think that it might be because slides are implicitly slightly rude, as they imply that the speaker has something in mind to say and is determined to say it.  I also think that a lot of people see preparing slides as the easy option.  I happen to think that it isn't (at least I find board talks much easier), but I suspect that it leads to a selection effect where the slide talks I sit through are disproportionately prepared by bad speakers.  Slides can be used brilliantly, but I think it's really hard and I very rarely see it done well.  (See here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYVBshcN7wU) for a particularly good example.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 26, 2014, 01:54:47 pm
I recall there being studies that showed the physical act of writing notes helped with information retention. The same was not true with typing though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 26, 2014, 02:24:02 pm
I recall there being studies that showed the physical act of writing notes helped with information retention. The same was not true with typing though.

There are also studies that show that for hard sciences (at least for math) the content in a typical lecture is usually hard enough that hand-writing while listening is actually detrimental (this studies are for high school students and professors, not sure how or if they would apply to university students and professors). Apparently the best practice is to have moments to speak and moments to write down without any new content being added, with the writing preferably being guided by some exercise or statement.

When I learned about this last year, I found it funny and sad, because in every university I know there is usually a big separation between theoretical lectures (given by professors) and practice session (given by professors with a lower hierarchy, with a position name that depends heavily on the particular hierarchy used in each place). Moreover, there is usually a subdivision within practice session between speaking outloud (basically giving lectures, although more practical ones) and leaving time for actual exercise solving (which is sometimes even done completely out-of-class). The only place where I have observed something different is in lab sessions, where it is not uncommon to have lectures and practical work interleaved.

To the board-defending speakers: you don't even like slides for showing things like a plot of f(x,y)=x^2-y^2 to first year calculus students? Or an animation of a graph algorithm? There are some things you cannot do on a board in a reasonable amount of time and/or with a good amount of detail. That being said, this semester I used only board for all my lectures and I did a downloadable writeup for those who don't like to take notes. But this was logic and computability and it is all symbolic manipulation so there is not a lot of graphical things to show, other than simple Venn diagrams or tables with arrows.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 26, 2014, 02:37:53 pm
There are also studies that show that for hard sciences (at least for math) the content in a typical lecture is usually hard enough that hand-writing while listening is actually detrimental

This is something that I worry about.  Undergraduate maths lectures for me consisted of 50 minutes of frantic scribbling and trying to follow on the board what had been said 2 minutes ago, but I still like that better than the situations in which notes are provided.  It's partly a case of saving people from themselves—if I'm given notes I won't read them in anything like the detail I should do.  The ideal might be handing out notes and having people write their own after each lecture, but I know that very few people would.  I actually liked one set of lectures I went to where the proofs on the board were as leaky as a sieve because working out how to fix things later left me with a brilliant understanding of why we were doing what we were doing.  But I can believe that I might be atypical, and I don't want to be responsible for inflicting harmful personal preferences on the next generation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 26, 2014, 02:41:22 pm
The only option I had in school was board or no board. Not even PowerPoint.

How times have changed. I help with education for adults, so I'm kind of thrilled with the prospect that educators have with teaching in school nowadays. I'm sometimes get quite envious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mpsprs on November 26, 2014, 02:42:22 pm
To the board-defending speakers: you don't even like slides for showing things like a plot of f(x,y)=x^2-y^2 to first year calculus students? Or an animation of a graph algorithm? There are some things you cannot do on a board in a reasonable amount of time and/or with a good amount of detail. That being said, this semester I used only board for all my lectures and I did a downloadable writeup for those who don't like to take notes. But this was logic and computability and it is all symbolic manipulation so there is not a lot of graphical things to show, other than simple Venn diagrams or tables with arrows.

I tend towards boards.  I like the flexibility to completely change if that's where the class goes.  But you've basically enumerated situations when I do add a computer or slides.  More complex pictures, things with unimportant details (like talking about the RSA algorithm where I don't want them to take notes-though technology failed that day, that was fun) get the computer treatment.  It's not a binary choice though.  Both can be used even within the same class, and probably should be according to the topics, speakers abilities, and so on.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mpsprs on November 26, 2014, 02:45:32 pm
This is something that I worry about.  Undergraduate maths lectures for me consisted of 50 minutes of frantic scribbling and trying to follow on the board what had been said 2 minutes ago, but I still like that better than the situations in which notes are provided.
...
But I can believe that I might be atypical, and I don't want to be responsible for inflicting harmful personal preferences on the next generation.

I too worry about this, but I may be even more atypical-I used my notes to try to anticipate steps in class, and consequently they were very good (especially later in undergrad and in grad.  But I know that's not the usual way.

Also on the personal preferences, I hated anything resembling group work or in class worksheets.  I find myself battling (myself) against those preferences now as a teacher.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 26, 2014, 04:24:50 pm
Oh man, you guys do not want to get me started about this.

TLDR version; I detest when people who haven't studied teaching try to tell someone how they should teach.

I know we gather a lot of science/math types, but I'm betting we don't have a ton of educators here.  Not professors or instructors, but people who have actually gone through a full teacher-training program and have a degree in education.  If any of you do have an education degree, hey, awesome, we should talk sometime.  But please do understand that just as there is a huge gulf between a degree in chemistry and a degree in chemical engineering, there's a huge gulf between a degree in chemistry and a degree in science education.  (I use those particular examples because those are where three of my degrees are.)

One major problem with college education is that it's (usually) taught not by teachers, but by academics.  Most college professors and instructors aren't trained to teach, and in many schools they have no incentive to learn to do so.  (Don't get me started on Powerpoint presentations in a business setting.)

Now, you guys have already touched on learning styles in this thread.  Consider that every single student is different.  Some of you find writing notes to be helpful, some do better by listening and absorbing the information.  Some want to see the word portion of the information presented as it's spoken about, others are OK with having a slide and following along.  Some prefer working in groups, some prefer working alone.  A good teacher is going to use a mix of styles, because we have to.  There's just no way around it.  So statements like

I ha[te] when teachers use projectors or powerpoint to lecture.  It's a lecture; you should be writing stuff on the board.

are incredibly aggravating to me; they're a blatant display of the Dunning-Kruger effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect).  Sometimes things can't be written on the board as you're doing them.  Sometimes you have to present a picture or a diagram.  Complex diagrams--say, a midsaggital section of the brain--aren't something you can draw on the fly, especially if you're then going to draw on it to label/explain the various structures.

Now, some simple diagrams can be drawn by hand as you go, and in many cases that is likely to be the best way to get the information across; for example, a static diagram of the temperature as height in the atmosphere increases, showing the atmospheric layers, is likely to have less impact than a diagram drawn from scratch.  Of course, some students will find the static diagram more useful, so a good teacher will also have that handy, possibly in the textbook, possibly as a handout. 

Certainly there are things that usually should not be presented as a single slide.  Math and scientific math problems should be presented step-by-step, because that's what you're likely to expect from the students on an exam.  This can be done entirely with Powerpoint, if you spend the time on it, but it's usually easier to write it out as you go.  Nonetheless, you're going to have some students who will follow better if the entire problem is in front of them at the start, and they can follow the steps as they go.

The single best system I've used, in terms of technology, is the Smart-board-like system described a couple of times above, I don't remember by whom.  Being able to write notes onto a virtual "board," which can be superimposed onto a Powerpoint slide or diagram if you want, or just left blank if that's better, is a huge, huge advantage.  It's something you can't do with just a blackboard or just a whiteboard.  It allows a huge amount of flexibility, including the ability to fluidly switch from lecture/presentation to class participation/practice.  I love the classrooms I've been in that have had that setup, and they're thankfully becoming more common.

OK, rant off.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 04:34:52 pm
I was referring to things that have a natural step-by-step process and merit explanation as they are written.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 26, 2014, 04:48:37 pm
So I sometimes watch videos from Extra Credits, and watching this recent upload I found it... confusing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM2dDF4B9a4

They video starts off fairly normally - critiquing a commonly used system (difficulty setting in games) and then moves on to praising Dark Souls 2 on it's more subtle and effective difficulty system. Except... their description of the system made it sound so bad that I was left wondering if this video was meant to be a parody (I don't think it is, but...). They praised things like some weapons and styles of play being naturally much more effective, therefore lowering the games difficulty - which is generally something most people would just call an overpowered/underpowered weapon. Another benefit they mentioned of this is that the player doesn't feel like they're choosing the easy route, they just feel like they're playing the game. I dunno, I think that if I found a weapon way more effective I'd notice. They also commented on how there are 'intentional AI bugs' in the pathfinding, to make these more effective 'easy' weapons even better. So are people not going to notice they're exploiting the pathfinding AI in this kind of game? Not to mention, how would they know it's intentional? That's a really odd claim to make.

By comparison they have in the past criticised the difficulty of Fire Emblem: Awakening. As best I can tell, this has a lot of the same things that Dark Souls has, except that it also has difficulty choices in addition. For example there's things you can use from not too far into the game that are significantly more effective, and many people realise are fairly quickly. There are things you can do that completly removes the difficulty, or ways you can play that make things more challenging, which seem to be intentional as options. In other words, very similar to the things they're describing in DS2. But nobody praises that for it's difficulty options - and they shouldn't, since those things are more signs of the game's imbalance in your options, rather than the designers trying to give you difficulty options.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 26, 2014, 04:57:06 pm
I was referring to things that have a natural step-by-step process and merit explanation as they are written.

Then I hope you've learned today to properly clarify what you mean the first time you say/write something, especially in a situation where you can't immediately clarify because the conversation isn't live.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 05:05:31 pm
I was referring to things that have a natural step-by-step process and merit explanation as they are written.

Then I hope you've learned today to properly clarify what you mean the first time you say/write something, especially in a situation where you can't immediately clarify because the conversation isn't live.

I'M A BAD PERSON.

Okay, yeah, you're right.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 26, 2014, 05:05:56 pm
This website (http://theworstthingsforsale.com/) about the worst things for sale is the best... hum... thing... for... free?

Hum my oneliner lost steam there, but yeah, funny site.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 26, 2014, 05:15:13 pm

good post. also, it has lead me to some really interesting wikipedia articles related to the Kruger effect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 26, 2014, 05:18:23 pm
I've could talk so much about this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief_bias)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 26, 2014, 05:18:39 pm
Can someone explain the math/science distinction you have in the States? Isn't Mathematics a science?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on November 26, 2014, 05:26:51 pm
This will be an interesting set of responses.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 26, 2014, 05:28:31 pm
Can someone explain the math/science distinction you have in the States? Isn't Mathematics a science?

Mathematics is the study of manipulating abstract quantities, while science is the study of the universe through the scientific method.  I would say they are a lot different.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 05:30:11 pm
Can someone explain the math/science distinction you have in the States? Isn't Mathematics a science?

No problem:

(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/purity.png) (http://xkcd.com/435/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 26, 2014, 05:35:45 pm
I hate this xkcd comic so much, I can't even express it accurately into words. The French educative system worships at the altar of mathematics and it's just infuriating.

You know the guys that created the elaborate financial systems that led to the 2008 crisis* ? French people from prestigious schools (Polytechnique in particular) who thought everything and anything can be solved by maths.

* Not talking about the subprimes aspect of it, that's on you guys.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 26, 2014, 05:37:38 pm
I hate this xkcd comic so much, I can't even express it accurately into words. The French educative system worships at the alter of mathematics and it's just infuriating.

You know the guys that created the elaborate financial systems that led to the 2008 crisis* ? French people from prestigious schools (Polytechnique in particular) who thought everything and anything can be solved by maths.

* Not talking about the subprimes aspect of it, that's on you guys.

the comic doesn't judge usefulness or importance though, just purity. Maybe it's misinterpreted, but I don't see anything wrong with it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 05:38:54 pm
I hate this xkcd comic so much, I can't even express it accurately into words. The French educative system worships at the alter of mathematics and it's just infuriating.

You know the guys that created the elaborate financial systems that led to the 2008 crisis* ? French people from prestigious schools (Polytechnique in particular) who thought everything and anything can be solved by maths.

* Not talking about the subprimes aspect of it, that's on you guys.

Does that mean I won't get a "+1" from you? :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on November 26, 2014, 05:40:27 pm
Oh yeah, maybe that wasn't clear : I'm not saying my haterd of that comic is justified, the guy is probably just making a joke, I'm saying it infuriates me because it's an attitude that is dominant here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 26, 2014, 05:40:43 pm
To quote a pure math major I know, "Only math is legit. Computer science is bullshit. Applied math is slightly less bullshit."

More seriously, the core of math is coming up with useful definitions of what an object is, then proving properties that arise from this through logically consistent proofs that are impossible to dispute once properly understood, while science is about trying to model parts of the universe by coming up with theories that empirically match observations we can make about the universe. There's no longer a guarantee of logical consistency, and that's the main distinction. It's also why getting interested in anything after math can be kind of tricky...

Edit: When it comes to financial models, I don't think there exists a system that can provably generate value. If there was, it would be in ridiculously high demand. More accurately, there are reasonable underpinnings on which mathematics can operate on data generated by other means. For example, maybe we make lots of observations on different stock prices, and we assume it follows some distribution of values. Then math gives tools to manipulate that distribution and give useful information, but it's all still underpinned on the assumption that the distribution we use is correct/accurate enough. The 2008 crisis was caused in part because those assumptions weren't true.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on November 26, 2014, 05:48:39 pm
To quote a pure math major I know, "Only math is legit. Computer science is bullshit. Applied math is slightly less bullshit."

More seriously, the core of math is coming up with useful definitions of what an object is, then proving properties that arise from this through logically consistent proofs that are impossible to dispute once properly understood, while science is about trying to model parts of the universe by coming up with theories that empirically match observations we can make about the universe. There's no longer a guarantee of logical consistency, and that's the main distinction. It's also why getting interested in anything after math can be kind of tricky...
I like this definition much better than sudgy's. Definitions and making logical conclusions from definitions.

In regard to the last sentence... uh-oh...

Out of curiousity, what was the distinction between applied math and computer science that made applied math "slightly less bullshit"?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 26, 2014, 05:55:22 pm
The vibe I am getting from this is that Maths is not considered a science because it is -pardon the speech- masturbatory in its nature, which I disagree with.
Mathematics don't exist in a vacuum, research is guided (loosely) by real life problems, whether in physics, criptography, computer science, what have you. There's not a clear cut distinction between some maths fields and theoretical physics, for example; it's not like the latter is super-super concerned about whether this particle can be observed or that spatial configuration can be interacted with. Respectively, statistical mathematics and probability are so much more in touch with reality.
So from the moment you have a continuum between maths and the "sciences", I am not sure the distinction isn't purely artificial.

EDIT: oh hey I am a jester now how fitting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 26, 2014, 06:12:53 pm
my favorite teacher in my old school taught us that there are two different types of scholarships. I'll call them "science" and "arts" although I'm not sure if that really fits. basically, everything that is based on nature is science, everything that's not is arts. He also said it's not a clear distinction, and there are people who claim that almost everything is science. For example, astronomy is clearly science, and astrology is probably arts. However, you could make the argument that even astrology is science because it's based on things in nature, and likewise, many scholarships that are widely considered arts are in fact science. He concluded that the only scholarship which is clearly not science is maths, because it is purely based on definitions. That always made sense to me.

The translation is iffy here though. In german, there are three terms:
Wissenschaft, which is translated science
Geisteswissenschaft, which literally means "science of the mind" and which I translated with arts, and
Naturwissenschaft, which literally means "science of nature" but which is used as a synonym for science.

So everything is called a science, it's just a question of what kind of science it is. The distinction in this case is between the latter two.

well anyway, I do think a distinction exists here. The English terms seem unfortunate though, because why should maths not be a science just because it's masturbatory. unless that's the kind of definition people have for science.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 26, 2014, 06:21:31 pm
Just so we're clear, I don't fully agree with that quote, although I do think there's an elegance in pure math that is hard to describe, and that elegance doesn't exist in other fields because there's complicated things like the real world in the way :P

There's definitely a sliding scale - I'd say that theoretical computer science and physics might as well be branches of math. The important distinction for me is "purity". I think a field of science is more pure if you can solve more problems by only logical thinking, or at least be able to make conjectures that are reasonably likely of being true because of a line of logical thinking you can create (for example, whatever people in string theory are doing right now. There's still not a way of showing that theory is correct, but that doesn't stop them from thinking through implications despite there being no real-world analogue to the work they are doing.)

Maths and Sciences are generally lumped together before college level education. I think that once you get into more advanced material, it makes more sense to differentiate subjects. You don't say Maths and Sciences, you say Math or Science. Then subdivide Science into Chemistry/Physics, and divide those further, and so on. I suppose that if you divide everything in small enough categories, some of those categories are going to start to look similar or overlap.

I think the reason he said that applied math was less bullshit is because all the methods you learn along the way are proven to work on any possible input values. The "bullshit" part is that it doesn't feel like you necessarily get an understanding of how this method may lead into other methods that give better approximations/results, and that's it's more interesting from a pure math perspective to operate on as abstract an object as possible. Something that approximates derivatives in the reals is kinda-boring, but something that generalizes a derivative to any collection of objects that allows addition + multiplication (aka a field) is more interesting, because it has more explanatory power.

TL;DR I got opinions man.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on November 26, 2014, 06:29:09 pm
I think people refer to math and science separately primarily because that's how it's generally understood in the language. I'm taking German right now, and my understanding is that Wissenschaft, which is translated to science, basically just means "knowledge creation" such that any academic is a Wissenschaflter. In English, people don't necessarily assume you're including math when you say "science," so you say both. That being said, math counts as natural science in my college curriculum.

I would say that math underpins science such that there is a lot of overlap between studying one or the other. However, math is not experimentally rooted, whereas science is. I can come up with a mathematical framework completely disconnected from reality and that's fine, but if your scientific theory doesn't actually predict anything about the way the world works it isn't much of a theory. However, people keep discovering that the weird artificial system mathematicians came up with is perfect for understanding some real-world problem. I was speaking with someone earlier today and he mentioned that when complex numbers were first invented, they were (with tongue firmly in cheek) lauded as having no practical applications, and then now of course they have a ton.

On the education discussion, I personally love doing in-class problems. I find it very frustrating when lecture is exclusively the teacher telling us things and much prefer to work things out myself when possible. Of course, the degree to which this is possible varies with the material. Probably my favorite class this semester is an algorithms course in which the professor has slides (where the different things appear one at a time), and the general format is that she explains what a problem is, usually with visual aids, and then challenges us to work in groups to figure out how to do it. Then we return to the full class and people offer up their suggestions and she works from however far we got to a full solution.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 26, 2014, 06:29:34 pm
my favorite teacher...

My favourite teacher was my grade 3 teacher.  He was kind and funny, and he engaged with students using an in-class currency as a reward for various things.  Every Friday there would be a "store day" where a rotating group of students could bring in home-made crafts and treats to sell to the other students using the in-class currency.  There were regular contests where he would give us a category and then we would go home and make lists of things relating to that category.  We would earn currency based on how long our lists were.  I remember spending a couple hours trying to think of things related to astronomy for this.  It was really good for creative thinking.  At the end of the year, he brought in a bunch of random stuff and held an auction with everyone in the class.

I was stoked when I got him again for grade 4, but he disappeared halfway through the year.  We had a series of substitute teachers before getting a more permanent replacement.  I learned later on that he had been busted for illegal drug use.  I can't remember exactly what it was; I think it was marijuana and minors were involved.  Little 10 year old me was crushed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on November 26, 2014, 07:01:28 pm
random stuff

And we've come full circle! Good work, guys! Let's pack it up.



P.S. that sucks :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 26, 2014, 07:12:20 pm
random stuff

And we've come full circle! Good work, guys! Let's pack it up.



P.S. that sucks :(

It was not the greatest thing when I was a kid, but I got over it.  Life happens, and now I have a neat anecdote about it.

In Alberta, grade 7-9 is Jr. High (some other places have grades 6-8 as middle school, I think... it varies).  While elementary grades stick with one teacher in one room, Jr. High is when you start to move around to different teachers for different subjects.  We still stuck with the same classmates though, and we had a homeroom.

There was to be a school-wide canned food drive, with homerooms competing.  It was announced early, and the prize was a pizza party.  With such high stakes, there was no way we would play by the rules.  We began collecting food in advance, hiding our illegal goodwill in the cupboards beneath the desk "islands" (hexagonal stations with sinks and such; it was a science classroom).  We easily won.  The pizza was delicious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 26, 2014, 07:17:36 pm
Re: Math/science discussion
I was in Engineering Math last semester (Basically a class that fills in the gaps from the math classes we took, so it took parts from classes like stats, and linear algebra because those aren't required courses). I remember my prof was teaching us about eigenvectors, and gave us the definition that it's the vector you multiply some vector by to get the same vector multiplied by some scalar (correct me if that's wrong... this is just from memory and wikipedia).  Well, some students of course didn't quite understand this definition, because as engineers, most of us require some kind of application in order to understand.  So he goes and shows us how you can use eigenvectors/eigenvalues to solve (I think it was) mass+spring oscillatory systems.  He told us a story about how he was at some kind of academic conference once, talking to a mathematician and telling him how he loved to teach his engineering students about eigenvectors by showing them how to solve mass+spring problems and how it helped them understand the concept.  To which the mathematician replied "Well then they don't really understand eigenvectors".  And this is my biggest beef with mathematicians in general: they seem to deny the practical use of what they are doing and are merely concerned with the theoretical and philosophical value in mathematics.  I know there are probably many who don't think that and I'm not saying I think mathematicians don't recognize applications, but it just doesn't feel right to tell me I don't understand something because I require some application of the concept.

TL;DR - eigenvectors
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 26, 2014, 07:32:17 pm
Re: Math/science discussion
I was in Engineering Math last semester (Basically a class that fills in the gaps from the math classes we took, so it took parts from classes like stats, and linear algebra because those aren't required courses). I remember my prof was teaching us about eigenvectors, and gave us the definition that it's the vector you multiply some vector by to get the same vector multiplied by some scalar (correct me if that's wrong... this is just from memory and wikipedia).  Well, some students of course didn't quite understand this definition, because as engineers, most of us require some kind of application in order to understand.  So he goes and shows us how you can use eigenvectors/eigenvalues to solve (I think it was) mass+spring oscillatory systems.  He told us a story about how he was at some kind of academic conference once, talking to a mathematician and telling him how he loved to teach his engineering students about eigenvectors by showing them how to solve mass+spring problems and how it helped them understand the concept.  To which the mathematician replied "Well then they don't really understand eigenvectors".  And this is my biggest beef with mathematicians in general: they seem to deny the practical use of what they are doing and are merely concerned with the theoretical and philosophical value in mathematics.  I know there are probably many who don't think that and I'm not saying I think mathematicians don't recognize applications, but it just doesn't feel right to tell me I don't understand something because I require some application of the concept.

TL;DR - eigenvectors

For a given matrix A, an eigenvector V of eigenvalue (a number) λ is a vector such that:

A*V = λ*V


About the mathematician example, it's just like saying that people don't know how to use Windows just because they know how to Google stuff and open Word. It's not about the applications per se, I don't think there's nothing wrong about his opinion, but not being there, I can't say how much of a dick he was about it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on November 26, 2014, 07:56:58 pm
I would say that math underpins science such that there is a lot of overlap between studying one or the other. However, math is not experimentally rooted, whereas science is. I can come up with a mathematical framework completely disconnected from reality and that's fine, but if your scientific theory doesn't actually predict anything about the way the world works it isn't much of a theory. However, people keep discovering that the weird artificial system mathematicians came up with is perfect for understanding some real-world problem. I was speaking with someone earlier today and he mentioned that when complex numbers were first invented, they were (with tongue firmly in cheek) lauded as having no practical applications, and then now of course they have a ton.

I think you could argue that Math is experimentally rooted in a way. Everything is derived from an axiom system that we assume to be true based on our naive thinking and observation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 26, 2014, 07:57:48 pm
Re: Math/science discussion
I was in Engineering Math last semester (Basically a class that fills in the gaps from the math classes we took, so it took parts from classes like stats, and linear algebra because those aren't required courses). I remember my prof was teaching us about eigenvectors, and gave us the definition that it's the vector you multiply some vector by to get the same vector multiplied by some scalar (correct me if that's wrong... this is just from memory and wikipedia).  Well, some students of course didn't quite understand this definition, because as engineers, most of us require some kind of application in order to understand.  So he goes and shows us how you can use eigenvectors/eigenvalues to solve (I think it was) mass+spring oscillatory systems.  He told us a story about how he was at some kind of academic conference once, talking to a mathematician and telling him how he loved to teach his engineering students about eigenvectors by showing them how to solve mass+spring problems and how it helped them understand the concept.  To which the mathematician replied "Well then they don't really understand eigenvectors".  And this is my biggest beef with mathematicians in general: they seem to deny the practical use of what they are doing and are merely concerned with the theoretical and philosophical value in mathematics.  I know there are probably many who don't think that and I'm not saying I think mathematicians don't recognize applications, but it just doesn't feel right to tell me I don't understand something because I require some application of the concept.

TL;DR - eigenvectors

For a given matrix A, an eigenvector V of eigenvalue (a number) λ is a vector such that:

A*V = λ*V


About the mathematician example, it's just like saying that people don't know how to use Windows just because they know how to Google stuff and open Word. It's not about the applications per se, I don't think there's nothing wrong about his opinion, but not being there, I can't say how much of a dick he was about it.
True.  I wasn't there either, but that isn't quite the same... The person who understands what an eigenvector is completely doesn't mean they know how to use it to solve a spring+mass problem.  But is it better to understand everything about the concept "eigenvector", or to have a working knowledge of them, but be able to use them to solve real problems?  I don't know, it's mostly my bias as an engineer, but I'd say the latter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 26, 2014, 08:09:41 pm
It depends.

I read the mathematician's point as "engineers don't really understand what eigenvectors ARE", and the engineer point as "the mathematician doesn't understand what eigenvectors are USED for". I don't think either view is better than the other.

The engineer does have a disadvantage, in that he lacks a part of the picture, so if he encounters a problem in his reasoning, he can't be sure if he is the one that made a mistake, or if there's something in his understanding of whichever mathematical object that is only an approximation of the real thing.
I've had to explain some fairly basic stuff about linear algebra to some friends late in their engineering careers because their teachers never bothered to properly define some objects before using them. The problem here is the teacher, who made a bad call about what was and what wasn't required to be known to work effectively.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2014, 08:16:14 pm
Next time someone goes off on a tangent about eigenvectors, just stand up, grab his papers from him, scream "Those are MY vectors!", and storm off. Or violently erase what he wrote from the blackboard if he's not writing it on something grabbable. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on November 26, 2014, 08:34:57 pm
Pure mathematicians care about applications too. It's just that those applications consist of applying math to other math. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on November 26, 2014, 08:42:32 pm
I am the math that cries.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on November 26, 2014, 08:46:17 pm
(http://24.media.tumblr.com/9daac2c42bb26c55ae00b2ed35efb6eb/tumblr_mr4694Wq5S1rrzx66o1_500.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 26, 2014, 08:48:49 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xi2Bl50XPc
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 26, 2014, 09:27:22 pm
Next time someone goes off on a tangent about eigenvectors,

But what about if someone goes off on a sine or cosine?

Sorry about this co-tangent...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on November 27, 2014, 01:57:25 am

I think I agree that EC seemed to have at least put a really optimistic spin on what seem to be more design flaws than anything else.  But I do see where they're coming from.  (Disclaimer: I know approximately zero things about Dark Souls II.)  I think I agree with basically everything they say at the beginning, talking about why letting the player choose an explicit difficulty level is bad, why offering help can be bad (I always get offended in the newer Nintendo platformers when they offer help after you die a certain number of times), and why giving you an option to switch difficulty in the middle of a game is bad (I think they even understate this point; I feel like much of the point of playing a really difficult game is to be able to say you did it, but if I'm constantly switching difficulty throughout the game, there's no record of my having done the hard parts (though I guess some games fix this by keeping track of which levels you did on which difficulties or level-specific collectibles/achievements, etc.)).

So, I guess what their point is is that DS2 avoids all of these issues by making a much more implicit "difficulty setting" system.  You don't go choose "easy mode" or "hard mode", you play with weapons or whatever that make it easier or harder.  And I can understand why this is better than an explicit difficulty setting, but I do agree that EC seems to overstate it.  I imagine it's somewhat similar to maining a low-tier character in Smash Bros.  In theory if your goal is to win, you should really just play MetaKnight (or Pikachu or whoever's top tier in Melee or Smash 4).  But there's a certain satisfaction you get from being able to say, yeah I play Yoshi even though he sucks, I play him because he's an adorable green dino and how can you not love that.  And I think EC is saying it's that same sort of feeling when you play with a "bad" weapon in DS2, you feel like, yeah I know weapon X is bad, but I just like it because it's fun.  And then they're saying, most people will find themselves more attached to suboptimal weapons, but if they need the game to be easier, they can just switch to the "better" weapons, and they don't feel like they're cheating or doing anything they're not supposed to.

So I do see their perspective, but I have trouble agreeing with it.  No one says it's a good thing in Smash Bros. that there are bad characters and good characters just because it gives you that sense of satisfaction when you win with a bad character.  Everyone would surely rather have it be as balanced as possible.  And same goes for FE, EC complains about lack of balance in FE (I think, I don't really remember that episode), rather than praising it for giving you an implicit "easy" or "hard" mode.  However, I think there are good reasons to say that a game like DS2 is very different from Smash Bros. or FE in a way that makes EC's perspective on this more plausible.  First, DS2 is (I think?) a single-player game (or at least non-competitive).  So unlike Smash Bros., you don't feel like you're disadvantaging yourself by playing a bad character.  You just feel like you're setting yourself up to try something new, and maybe more challenging.  And second, I think (again I'm talking about a game I know nothing about) DS2 is a more action-based game, in contrast with something like FE.  In FE, the game is all about making the decisions that maximize your chances of winning, so if you give players options that are better than other options, well, they should just pick the better options.  If they didn't do that, they wouldn't really be playing the game, since the whole point of the game is to pick the right options.  Whereas in an action-based game, the choices like that are presumably not really the main point, they're there to give you diversity, both in playstyle and in difficulty level.

Anyway, I really like Extra Credits normally so I probably have an irrational instinct to defend them.  I think at the very least they really overstate the "genius" of Dark Souls II in this regard though.  But there is probably something to be learned from it; I think it's good for game designers to be thinking about alternate ways to go about difficulty options, and the way DS2 does it is probably better than most games, just not by as much as EC is stating it in this episode.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 27, 2014, 09:10:39 am
Ok, you really pushed my buttons with this Math vs Science thing.

Education:

I kind-of agree with Kirian on the teaching training, although I am not sure there is enough time for people being fully trained and updated on a specific discipline to also go through that. I went to some educator classes and have a mother and best friends educators, so I am constantly researching those (primarily because of interest, not because there is any incentive from the university to do it), but that is far from being a full-training. In any case, at this point I think the main problem is that (most) academics don't even care about classes, because their science is just SO important [sarcastic mark]. Just making them care about enough to put some thinking into classes will likely improve things a lot. After that, we can think of specific training. It would be pointless now.

Math vs? Science:

I think math IS a science. Of course, if in some culture the accepted categorization is to separate math, I am fine with that, but I think there are no "scientific method not being applied" reasons for it. You can very much apply the scientific method to abstract objects. The experiments are just your peers believing your proofs. Given that in modern mathematics most proofs are non-decidable and use higher-order logics, their correctness (i.e., the "truth" notion in math) is based on consensus. So, math is really closer to political science than to physics in this sense.

Mathematicians are usually smug, so, please be a mathematician, but don't believe that bullshit about purity or math being the only "legit" thing. It is not true that more general is always better: sometimes, generalizing too much makes the proofs lose focus on the meaning and just become manipulation of symbols. That is not the good math. Good math uses proofs to assign meaning / purpose to its definitions. For that to happen, the proofs need to resonate with something within your head that is not quantifiable. They need to be "natural". They need to "feel ok".

Mathematicians usually claim that their findings are "more true" because they are not based on inaccurate experiments (or a similar reason), but they don't even care about logic enough to know what "true" means. They usually have no idea what logic power is used in their reasonings and why that is important. Ironically, CS people usually DO care about that when doing theoretical proofs.

I did not know the complex numbers were disregarded as useless at first, but that happens in every discipline. The periodic table was disregarded as useless. And it was the mathematicians who laughed at Gödel. That's the level of their smugness.

BTW, this attitude was what got me in CS. CS is the place in which you can do mathematics without having to deal with those self-involved mathematicians. However, when I applied for full-time researcher job at our national science council, they put me in math :(.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 27, 2014, 09:48:33 am
I am the math that cries.

someone want to explain this joke?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on November 27, 2014, 10:09:18 am
I am the math that cries.

someone want to explain this joke?
You know, there is a separate thread for that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 27, 2014, 10:12:19 am
the world will end if you explain it here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on November 27, 2014, 10:58:44 am
I am the math that cries.

someone want to explain this joke?
It's not a joke. It's uh. An insight? A way of looking at things. Contrasting different ends of the spectrum.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 27, 2014, 11:09:24 am
Next time someone goes off on a tangent about eigenvectors, just stand up, grab his papers from him, scream "Those are MY vectors!", and storm off. Or violently erase what he wrote from the blackboard if he's not writing it on something grabbable.

So the joke here is that "eigen" means own in German.. so.. like.. they are your vectors...

...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 27, 2014, 11:50:54 am
Ok, you really pushed my buttons with this Math vs Science thing.

Education:

I kind-of agree with Kirian on the teaching training, although I am not sure there is enough time for people being fully trained and updated on a specific discipline to also go through that. I went to some educator classes and have a mother and best friends educators, so I am constantly researching those (primarily because of interest, not because there is any incentive from the university to do it), but that is far from being a full-training. In any case, at this point I think the main problem is that (most) academics don't even care about classes, because their science is just SO important [sarcastic mark]. Just making them care about enough to put some thinking into classes will likely improve things a lot. After that, we can think of specific training. It would be pointless now.

Math vs? Science:

I think math IS a science. Of course, if in some culture the accepted categorization is to separate math, I am fine with that, but I think there are no "scientific method not being applied" reasons for it. You can very much apply the scientific method to abstract objects. The experiments are just your peers believing your proofs. Given that in modern mathematics most proofs are non-decidable and use higher-order logics, their correctness (i.e., the "truth" notion in math) is based on consensus. So, math is really closer to political science than to physics in this sense.

Mathematicians are usually smug, so, please be a mathematician, but don't believe that bullshit about purity or math being the only "legit" thing. It is not true that more general is always better: sometimes, generalizing too much makes the proofs lose focus on the meaning and just become manipulation of symbols. That is not the good math. Good math uses proofs to assign meaning / purpose to its definitions. For that to happen, the proofs need to resonate with something within your head that is not quantifiable. They need to be "natural". They need to "feel ok".

Mathematicians usually claim that their findings are "more true" because they are not based on inaccurate experiments (or a similar reason), but they don't even care about logic enough to know what "true" means. They usually have no idea what logic power is used in their reasonings and why that is important. Ironically, CS people usually DO care about that when doing theoretical proofs.

I did not know the complex numbers were disregarded as useless at first, but that happens in every discipline. The periodic table was disregarded as useless. And it was the mathematicians who laughed at Gödel. That's the level of their smugness.

BTW, this attitude was what got me in CS. CS is the place in which you can do mathematics without having to deal with those self-involved mathematicians. However, when I applied for full-time researcher job at our national science council, they put me in math :(.

Then again, the guy from CS saying that CS is better than maths is not particularly surprising :P

I am currently working with a group that is analysing results from an experiment in huh particle physics. They don't say very nice things about theoretical physicists.



Next time someone goes off on a tangent about eigenvectors, just stand up, grab his papers from him, scream "Those are MY vectors!", and storm off. Or violently erase what he wrote from the blackboard if he's not writing it on something grabbable.

So the joke here is that "eigen" means own in German.. so.. like.. they are your vectors...

...

Looks like you should go back to jokes about all things not being the best things, this is too high level for us. I thought you were asking us to be assholes, which was kinda funny but came out of nowhere.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 27, 2014, 12:34:28 pm
Next time someone goes off on a tangent about eigenvectors, just stand up, grab his papers from him, scream "Those are MY vectors!", and storm off. Or violently erase what he wrote from the blackboard if he's not writing it on something grabbable.

So the joke here is that "eigen" means own in German.. so.. like.. they are your vectors...

...

Looks like you should go back to jokes about all things not being the best things, this is too high level for us. I thought you were asking us to be assholes, which was kinda funny but came out of nowhere.

They can't all be the best eigenvector joke ever :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 27, 2014, 01:04:15 pm
Next time someone goes off on a tangent about eigenvectors, just stand up, grab his papers from him, scream "Those are MY vectors!", and storm off. Or violently erase what he wrote from the blackboard if he's not writing it on something grabbable.

So the joke here is that "eigen" means own in German.. so.. like.. they are your vectors...

...

Looks like you should go back to jokes about all things not being the best things, this is too high level for us. I thought you were asking us to be assholes, which was kinda funny but came out of nowhere.

They can't all be the best eigenvector joke ever :(

Eigenvector? I hardly knew her!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: florrat on November 27, 2014, 02:11:04 pm
I agree with your general sentiment that math is a science.  You might not be experimenting which things are true, but you are experimenting with which things are most useful, natural and general. However, I disagree on some points you make

Given that in modern mathematics most proofs are non-decidable and use higher-order logics, their correctness (i.e., the "truth" notion in math) is based on consensus.
Wait, that's not a given. I think no mathematician works in logical frameworks where proof checking is undecidable (except for some logicians working in exotic logics, if you want to call them mathematicians (which I typically do)). Given a potential formal proof, there is a total algorithm checking that it is a correct proof. Of course, that it different from saying that provability is decidable: in most logics it is indeed the case that given a statement, it is undecidable to check whether the statement is provable.

It is not true that more general is always better: sometimes, generalizing too much makes the proofs lose focus on the meaning and just become manipulation of symbols. That is not the good math. Good math uses proofs to assign meaning / purpose to its definitions. For that to happen, the proofs need to resonate with something within your head that is not quantifiable. They need to be "natural". They need to "feel ok".
I think if you generalized some topic so far that you can prove deep results just by manipulating symbols, you're doing something really well. I'm now mainly thinking about category theory, which is awesomely general. And the fact that it is so general, leads to new interesting discoveries. The "symbol manipulation" proof in category can be the essence of different proofs in different fields, and because you work in the general theory of categories, you see the connection between these different proofs or techniques in different fields, which itself is a useful insight.

I see your point that proofs "need to resonate with something within your head" and I agree with that. But when you're getting more and more used to a new general theory, I think that also happens in the general theory. If you're just learning it, you should just look what the things you're proving mean in examples.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 27, 2014, 05:33:19 pm
Quote from: John Horton Conway
It‘s a thing that nonmathematicians don‘t realize. Mathematics is actually an aesthetic subject almost entirely.

I view mathematics as an art.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 27, 2014, 07:15:10 pm
Quote from: John Horton Conway
It‘s a thing that nonmathematicians don‘t realize. Mathematics is actually an aesthetic subject almost entirely.

I view mathematics as an art.

Most things that require skill are. But I wouldn't consider mathematics to BE art.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on November 27, 2014, 07:28:41 pm
Quote from: John Horton Conway
It‘s a thing that nonmathematicians don‘t realize. Mathematics is actually an aesthetic subject almost entirely.

I view mathematics as an art.

Most things that require skill are. But I wouldn't consider mathematics to BE art.

Up for Dominion?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on November 27, 2014, 07:32:30 pm
Quote from: John Horton Conway
It‘s a thing that nonmathematicians don‘t realize. Mathematics is actually an aesthetic subject almost entirely.

I view mathematics as an art.

Most things that require skill are. But I wouldn't consider mathematics to BE art.

Up for Dominion?

I'm actually leaving soon but will be back around 9ish. Dominion then.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 27, 2014, 07:58:32 pm
Wait, that's not a given. I think no mathematician works in logical frameworks where proof checking is undecidable (except for some logicians working in exotic logics, if you want to call them mathematicians (which I typically do)). Given a potential formal proof, there is a total algorithm checking that it is a correct proof. Of course, that it different from saying that provability is decidable: in most logics it is indeed the case that given a statement, it is undecidable to check whether the statement is provable.

Mathematicians rarely prove things in a logic where proof-checking is decidable. They prove things in some form of intuitionisitic logic, usually with higher-order functions. SOME (possibly most, but I don't know) of those proofs COULD be translated into a proof in a logical system with computable proof-checking available, but (almost) nobody does it. And few people care enough to even have a sentence that says "this proof can *clearly* be made using this amount of logical power, so, we are cool".


I think if you generalized some topic so far that you can prove deep results just by manipulating symbols, you're doing something really well. I'm now mainly thinking about category theory, which is awesomely general. And the fact that it is so general, leads to new interesting discoveries. The "symbol manipulation" proof in category can be the essence of different proofs in different fields, and because you work in the general theory of categories, you see the connection between these different proofs or techniques in different fields, which itself is a useful insight.

I see your point that proofs "need to resonate with something within your head" and I agree with that. But when you're getting more and more used to a new general theory, I think that also happens in the general theory. If you're just learning it, you should just look what the things you're proving mean in examples.

There is some value in the generalization, of course, which is mostly connecting things that were seemingly disconnected. My point is that there is also a loss in value because the proof done directly on the subject at hand is much more illustrating on the phenomena the person reading the theorem is interested in. So, my point is not that category theory is useless (although I think category theory is a drug at this point, kind of like string theory for mathematicians), but that it is over-praised as the ultimate tool and even the only thing that is worthy (or legit...).

So, to come back to my original post, more general is not always better. I agree with you that it is sometimes better and I would add that it is usually incomparable.

Caveat + example: My very first paper on my PhD topic is a simple combinatorial proof of a fact that was already known, but required to combine more general results from three different papers. Doing that lead to the ability to produce results for similar scenarios which an author of one of those papers was unable to get despite working in the question for some time.

Stupid remark: Chrome seems to think "combinatorial" is not a word. What kind of programmers is Google hiring?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on November 27, 2014, 09:32:00 pm
And few people care enough to even have a sentence that says "this proof can *clearly* be made using this amount of logical power, so, we are cool".
I'd argue that, for most purposes, restricting the logical power available to you is like travelling cross country on a bicycle instead of a car: more effort to get to the same destination slower. There's nothing wrong with that if that's what you're into, but most people would prefer to drive.

(By the way, I'm sure that most mathematicians do not restrict themselves to intuitionistic logic, which as I understand it means the same thing as constructive logic. Proof by contradiction is handy!)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on November 27, 2014, 10:45:42 pm
I'm sorry for opening so many cans of worms.  While we're at it, anybody want to go fishing?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on November 28, 2014, 01:41:53 am
Science > Math
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 28, 2014, 01:45:30 am
Quote from: John Horton Conway
It‘s a thing that nonmathematicians don‘t realize. Mathematics is actually an aesthetic subject almost entirely.

I view mathematics as an art.

Most All things that require skill are.

Etymology:

art (n.)
early 13c., "skill as a result of learning or practice," from Old French art (10c.), from Latin artem (nominative ars) "work of art; practical skill; a business, craft,"

The more you know!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 28, 2014, 02:13:48 am
Science > Math

But how can Science be better than itself?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on November 28, 2014, 10:41:29 am
This website (http://theworstthingsforsale.com/) about the worst things for sale is the best... hum... thing... for... free?

Currently in my top10 websites (together with XKCD, SMBC, various newspapers and f.DS). So, to summarize, I hate you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 28, 2014, 11:45:14 am
Math is language, science is discourse.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mpsprs on November 28, 2014, 12:33:06 pm
"Math" and "Arts" both have 4 letters, hence Math and Arts are the same.

Science is obviously different.  It has 7 letters.

(Using the obvious equivalence relation a~b iff a and b have the same number of characters).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on November 28, 2014, 12:40:17 pm
Science > Math

Burn the heratic!!! Maths >> all other sciences (excluding Physics & Engineering) > social sciences > humanities > arts > engineering >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> physics
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 28, 2014, 12:59:24 pm
Math > Maths
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 28, 2014, 01:05:25 pm
No math > Math > Maths
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 28, 2014, 01:24:12 pm
Science > Math

Math > Science

Yeah, I went there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on November 28, 2014, 01:49:41 pm
If you guys had used ≥ instead of >, we would have been able to prove that Math = Science, thus ending the debate about whether or not Math is a Science!

But I guess that didn't happen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: florrat on November 28, 2014, 06:34:26 pm
Let's move this discussion over to the math(s) thread (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11041.msg443716#msg443716). It is statistically unlikely that there's so much advanced math in this thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on November 29, 2014, 07:42:39 pm
Amazon has a special currently, 30% of any physical book.  Turns out it it literally one time use, so keep that in mind.

I finally bought the Mistborn Trilogy, given it was on sale for 15 bucks, then took the 30% off that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: mail-mi on November 30, 2014, 10:47:34 pm
Amazon has a special currently, 30% of any physical book.  Turns out it it literally one time use, so keep that in mind.

I finally bought the Mistborn Trilogy, given it was on sale for 15 bucks, then took the 30% off that.
YES YOU'LL LOVE IT YES YOU MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE YES YES YES YES
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on December 01, 2014, 12:09:02 am
Amazon has a special currently, 30% of any physical book.  Turns out it it literally one time use, so keep that in mind.

I finally bought the Mistborn Trilogy, given it was on sale for 15 bucks, then took the 30% off that.
YES YOU'LL LOVE IT YES YOU MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE YES YES YES YES

And yet no upvote.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 01, 2014, 08:41:42 am
poobum
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 01, 2014, 10:24:21 am
Science > Math

But how can Science be better than itself?

He forgot to add a constant.

Science + Bacon > Math

Universally true.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on December 01, 2014, 10:42:49 am
poobum

A Wild Ozle Appears!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on December 01, 2014, 11:49:36 am
OZLE IS BACK !!!

(http://media.tumblr.com/276b625a2eb49eb8db487df4cfa041b6/tumblr_inline_na11owXJew1s4672p.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 01, 2014, 12:25:04 pm
Agh, plus 3 respect just for writing poobum (1 more than ash got while actually asking for it) you guys have not changed, bless ya hearts!

What I miss? More marriages, religious arguments, goko bashing and millions of Danish mafia games?

Is there a new release for Dominion yet?

(Edit: that was supposed to say Sameish, but autocorrect changed it, I think I'm going to leave it, damn Danes! I can never forgive them for the death of my boy!)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 01, 2014, 12:27:44 pm
Agh, plus 3 respect just for writing poobum, you guys have not changed, bless ya hearts!

What I miss? More marriages, religious arguments, goko bashing and millions of Danish mafia games?

Is there a new release for Dominion yet?

Play a Mafia game!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 01, 2014, 12:28:39 pm
Agh, plus 3 respect just for writing poobum, you guys have not changed, bless ya hearts!

What I miss? More marriages, religious arguments, goko bashing and millions of Danish mafia games?

Is there a new release for Dominion yet?

Play a Mafia game!

Ugh. No.
I'd rather play Risk...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 01, 2014, 12:32:30 pm
Agh, plus 3 respect just for writing poobum, you guys have not changed, bless ya hearts!

What I miss? More marriages, religious arguments, goko bashing and millions of Danish mafia games?

Is there a new release for Dominion yet?

Play a Mafia game!

Ugh. No.
I'd rather play Risk...

Risk Mafia?  Okay I think we can do that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 01, 2014, 12:33:37 pm
Agh, plus 3 respect just for writing poobum, you guys have not changed, bless ya hearts!

What I miss? More marriages, religious arguments, goko bashing and millions of Danish mafia games?

Is there a new release for Dominion yet?

Play a Mafia game!

Ugh. No.
I'd rather play Risk...

Risk Mafia?  Okay I think we can do that.

TANGENT!
I got a risk based question wrong in my usual pub quiz last night! Bloody disgraceful!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on December 01, 2014, 12:44:19 pm
Other tangent:

Today I saw a presentation where Timchen's avatar appeared. So now I know what his avatar actually represents.

Now I only need to know what witherweaver's avatar represents, and I will understand all graph-like avatars in this forum.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on December 01, 2014, 12:45:03 pm
Agh, plus 3 respect just for writing poobum, you guys have not changed, bless ya hearts!

What I miss? More marriages, religious arguments, goko bashing and millions of Danish mafia games?

Is there a new release for Dominion yet?

Play a Mafia game!

Ugh. No.
I'd rather play Risk...

Risk Mafia?  Okay I think we can do that.

TANGENT!
I got a risk based question wrong in my usual pub quiz last night! Bloody disgraceful!

A disgrace to Tuvaluans everywhere
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on December 01, 2014, 12:46:12 pm
if only I had bought the new adapter sooner instead of waiting until juggling the cable doesn't fix it anymore. Now I have to live with this horrible graphic bug for two days.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 01, 2014, 12:46:49 pm
I am a hero of the Tuvaluan people I'll have you know!

I'll have them know as well someday...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on December 01, 2014, 12:56:23 pm
Today I couldn't find my keys before leaving the house.

Then I found them.

More riveting stories tomorrow!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 01, 2014, 01:02:17 pm
So I made another cover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjeae5g3nGY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 01, 2014, 01:42:26 pm
I'm sad that my Risk Legacy game isn't seeing any more play.

Yeah, I know, it's Risk, and fuck that noise. I get it. But Legacy is such a fun way to play Risk. For one, the game is shortened so you can win without global conquest. For another, you can watch the world change. I enjoy that part. I like that the Ukraine is a radioactive wasteland. I like that Central America is not a chokepoint anymore because it's hard to set up a defense there. I like that I get a bonus if I control Europe and that players keep me from controlling Europe.

I think Legacy games are a neat idea, and I will probably buy Pandemic Legacy. It has the benefit of not being Risk, so I might see more play in my group. Still, I can't believe I have a hard time finding players for a game that evolves like that, even with Risk. Hell, because it's Risk. One of the most notorious classic board games, and it gets warped.

Oh well, it sits on my shelf for now. It's probably about halfway through. I haven't even tried opening the packet that warns you not to open the packet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 01, 2014, 02:17:29 pm
Other cotangent:

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 01, 2014, 04:39:59 pm
What I miss? More marriages, religious arguments, goko bashing and millions of Danish mafia games?

You missed some of my most respected posts ever, in the Homage thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on December 01, 2014, 04:45:26 pm
What I miss? More marriages, religious arguments, goko bashing and millions of Danish mafia games?

You missed some of my most respected posts ever, in the Homage thread.

(http://www.troll.me/images/toy-story-everywhere/memes-memes-everywhere.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 01, 2014, 04:50:00 pm
Pretty sure you missed 'Stache, too, which should make you feel like a terrible, terrible person.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 01, 2014, 04:56:38 pm
Pretty sure you missed 'Stache, too, which should make you feel like a terrible, terrible person.

Stache'gate?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 01, 2014, 05:01:53 pm
Pretty sure you missed 'Stache, too, which should make you feel like a terrible, terrible person.

Stache'gate?

Too lazy to find my post in the Homage thread, but here's the image.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8930421/dominion/stache.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 01, 2014, 05:11:17 pm
Now it can get 2x the upvotes.  I approve.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 01, 2014, 05:20:00 pm
Now it can get 2x the upvotes.  I approve.

Hahaha.  Full disclosure, that thought did occur to me, though the primary reason is still laziness.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on December 01, 2014, 05:23:46 pm
Perhaps this will help, Ozle  :P

search basically everything (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?action=search2;params=eJw9j1trg0AQhf_K0JdCOA_O3hIfhVgiFIXUPstGl2iJGoy9BPzxHUvo2_m-nWHO-ubLD3VolueFl6flFvxUt_P9GkQoEb3_8ecV2DjB07ROWgULvYWDjsBQO6gYbMExjIY22IEdtlBgSQwtQUFpKAZvoWVMVgUVXASnoB3YwOxgNSzDxlAGMayDYzgNjqAtlIOJYBhG7kuBv8Lt-F3VY3-9hHmtuarP00eo52ocLveHGae5arpJyN_qhxDomqq_nf-_LeYYaBxobgPN47Wryc_UDdSMfTd08rAJGyoPdEgpySnLKT1SkdMxpXRP-Z4OCSUlpeLfqHihXHJCZUZlQVlBryll4t9_AWM7ah8.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 01, 2014, 05:26:43 pm
Perhaps this will help, Ozle  :P

search basically everything (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?action=search2;params=eJw9j1trg0AQhf_K0JdCOA_O3hIfhVgiFIXUPstGl2iJGoy9BPzxHUvo2_m-nWHO-ubLD3VolueFl6flFvxUt_P9GkQoEb3_8ecV2DjB07ROWgULvYWDjsBQO6gYbMExjIY22IEdtlBgSQwtQUFpKAZvoWVMVgUVXASnoB3YwOxgNSzDxlAGMayDYzgNjqAtlIOJYBhG7kuBv8Lt-F3VY3-9hHmtuarP00eo52ocLveHGae5arpJyN_qhxDomqq_nf-_LeYYaBxobgPN47Wryc_UDdSMfTd08rAJGyoPdEgpySnLKT1SkdMxpXRP-Z4OCSUlpeLfqHihXHJCZUZlQVlBryll4t9_AWM7ah8.)



I don't read everything I actually reply too, let alone anything else
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on December 01, 2014, 06:15:43 pm
Perhaps this will help, Ozle  :P

search basically everything (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?action=search2;params=eJw9j1trg0AQhf_K0JdCOA_O3hIfhVgiFIXUPstGl2iJGoy9BPzxHUvo2_m-nWHO-ubLD3VolueFl6flFvxUt_P9GkQoEb3_8ecV2DjB07ROWgULvYWDjsBQO6gYbMExjIY22IEdtlBgSQwtQUFpKAZvoWVMVgUVXASnoB3YwOxgNSzDxlAGMayDYzgNjqAtlIOJYBhG7kuBv8Lt-F3VY3-9hHmtuarP00eo52ocLveHGae5arpJyN_qhxDomqq_nf-_LeYYaBxobgPN47Wryc_UDdSMfTd08rAJGyoPdEgpySnLKT1SkdMxpXRP-Z4OCSUlpeLfqHihXHJCZUZlQVlBryll4t9_AWM7ah8.)

While intensely interested in the outcome, I could not bring myself to click on the link, for fear the world would end (or Goko would suddenly become as good as Isotropic, or something).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 01, 2014, 06:31:05 pm
Is there a new release for Dominion yet?

There's one announced for 2015. So not yet, but soonish?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 02, 2014, 01:32:02 am
There's now a game in Counting House called "Based game". Doesn't look very based to me, there's no draw and the only thing you can do is Workshop/Gardens.  :-\

EDIT: And I just played against someone whose browser extension linked to http://dom.retrobox.eu/vp.html.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 02, 2014, 10:04:20 am
There's now a game in Counting House called "Based game". Doesn't look very based to me, there's no draw and the only thing you can do is Workshop/Gardens.  :-\

EDIT: And I just played against someone whose browser extension linked to http://dom.retrobox.eu/vp.html.

So it was supposed to be "Biased"?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on December 02, 2014, 10:35:35 am
castration
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 02, 2014, 10:42:32 am
castration

That's not nuts at all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on December 02, 2014, 11:16:48 am
castration

That's not nuts at all.

Alan Turing
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 02, 2014, 11:20:35 am
Alan Turing

Am I the only one appalled that the British government apologized for castrating Turing in the 50s? I mean, was it ok to castrate people as long as they were not geniuses?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on December 02, 2014, 11:31:19 am
Alan Turing

Am I the only one appalled that the British government apologized for castrating Turing in the 50s? I mean, was it ok to castrate people as long as they were not geniuses?

Delilah
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 02, 2014, 11:40:27 am
Speaking of which, anyone seen The Imitation Game yet?  It looks like it would be good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 02, 2014, 12:21:45 pm
There's now a game in Counting House called "Based game". Doesn't look very based to me, there's no draw and the only thing you can do is Workshop/Gardens.  :-\

EDIT: And I just played against someone whose browser extension linked to http://dom.retrobox.eu/vp.html.

So it was supposed to be "Biased"?

There's some new slang the kids are using these days. I think "based" means "blessed" or "wonderful" or something?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 02, 2014, 12:27:59 pm
There's now a game in Counting House called "Based game". Doesn't look very based to me, there's no draw and the only thing you can do is Workshop/Gardens.  :-\

EDIT: And I just played against someone whose browser extension linked to http://dom.retrobox.eu/vp.html.

So it was supposed to be "Biased"?

There's some new slang the kids are using these days. I think "based" means "blessed" or "wonderful" or something?

Pretty much.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on December 02, 2014, 12:47:53 pm
Alan Turing

Am I the only one appalled that the British government apologized for castrating Turing in the 50s? I mean, was it ok to castrate people as long as they were not geniuses?
Isn't this argument basically saying that it's not okay for the government to apologize for one wrong thing it did if it doesn't also apologize for every other wrong thing it did at the same time?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on December 02, 2014, 12:52:20 pm
Alan Turing

Am I the only one appalled that the British government apologized for castrating Turing in the 50s? I mean, was it ok to castrate people as long as they were not geniuses?
Isn't this argument basically saying that it's not okay for the government to apologize for one wrong thing it did if it doesn't also apologize for every other wrong thing it did at the same time?
People lobbied to get that apology. So it could be an argument to not bow down to pressure from the masses.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 02, 2014, 01:10:35 pm
Isn't this argument basically saying that it's not okay for the government to apologize for one wrong thing it did if it doesn't also apologize for every other wrong thing it did at the same time?

No. The British government could not function if they were to apologize for all the wrong in their history.

But, as long as you are apologizing for that particular wrong, you could at least apologize to everyone you did it to. It just feels wrong that it is so particular.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 02, 2014, 01:19:13 pm
So we're apologizing for castration now?  How soon before this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGFev2BmnhE
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 02, 2014, 01:26:13 pm
There's the question of how much merit an apology has when it's done for the sake of looking good.

Turing is a high-profile name, and the nature of his "crime" is also high profile. The apology happened after a petition was submitted. That makes the apology suspect.

If the government had done so on its own rather than be swayed by public opinion, then the apology would be more meaningful.

The fact that the apology did not extend to all others who were punished for being gay does make this look more like a publicity event. The apology looks more political than it is sincere.

I myself am not appalled by it, but I find no warmth in it either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on December 02, 2014, 02:23:58 pm
I can't believe the amount of press coverage in the last two weeks about the predicted chocolate shortage in the next few years.  I see a new article just about every day.

First world problem.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 02, 2014, 02:52:12 pm
They can't pardon everyone.....a lot of them are still alive....and that would open them up to MASSIVE lawsuits.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 02, 2014, 02:58:35 pm
They can't pardon everyone.....a lot of them are still alive....and that would open them up to MASSIVE lawsuits.

Wait…I should know better than to take this seriously, but is this true? First of all, are homosexual acts still illegal in the UK? And if not, haven't all the offenders been released already? In the US, if you're in prison for a crime and that thing ceases to be a crime, I'm pretty sure you get released.

EDIT: Huh, after a little research, it would appear I am wrong. That's pretty fucked up.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 02, 2014, 02:59:52 pm
They can't pardon everyone.....a lot of them are still alive....and that would open them up to MASSIVE lawsuits.

Wait…I should know better than to take this seriously, but is this true? First of all, are homosexual acts still illegal in the UK? And if not, haven't all the offenders been released already? In the US, if you're in prison for a crime and that thing ceases to be a crime, I'm pretty sure you get released.

I don't really know anything about this, but I'm guessing that, while they may not be in prison, they still are without testicles.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 02, 2014, 03:22:02 pm
He was pardoned wasn't he?
Which means he has been forgiven for his crime...not that he was wrongly convicted.

In 1950, however wrong, it was a crime.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 02, 2014, 03:25:44 pm
It could be a language thing.  We use "pardon" often to refer to someone being released from a sentence. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 02, 2014, 03:33:30 pm
It could be a language thing.  We use "pardon" often to refer to someone being released from a sentence.

Yes, thats the same thing, you forgive them the crime and cancel the sentance.
You don't remove the fact they are convicted.
(You can't in fact...because then you would have nothing to officially pardon....which means they would need a pardon....argh time travel loop!)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 02, 2014, 04:23:07 pm
It could be a language thing.  We use "pardon" often to refer to someone being released from a sentence.

Yes, thats the same thing, you forgive them the crime and cancel the sentance.
You don't remove the fact they are convicted.
(You can't in fact...because then you would have nothing to officially pardon....which means they would need a pardon....argh time travel loop!)

Right, but if the punishment is something that is done to you---like castration, or the death penalty---then "canceling the sentence" doesn't really do anything.  "Ooops, we were wrong.  Sorry."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on December 02, 2014, 09:31:39 pm
I can't believe the amount of press coverage in the last two weeks about the predicted chocolate shortage in the next few years.  I see a new article just about every day.

First world problem.

1984
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on December 03, 2014, 03:38:46 am
I am really liking the music made by Floating Cloud. They do Celtic arranges of Touhou songs, and it works surprisingly well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on December 03, 2014, 10:43:46 am
I'm visiting KC in two weeks!  Any suggestions?

Sadly you're going to miss KC Game Fair, which is coming up this weekend.

Got any days free? Maybe we can grab a beer or BBQ.

Naturally, being a resident, I don't pay attention to the sightseeing stuff. I hear the Steamboat Arabia museum is interesting, but I've never been. Same with Liberty Memorial, which I believe is the only national WWI memorial (in America anyway). Depends on your tastes. Nelson-Atkins museum is decent, but I seem to recall you're in NYC, so you have your pick of art museums. I suppose if you are an art aficionado, then Nelson-Atkins would be good for seeing what else is out there. It also has giant shuttlecocks. That's…a big deal for some people.

If you like Christmas stuff, the Plaza will be lit up as of Thanksgiving. It's not my bag, but a lot of people really like it. And I have to admit that there are a shit-ton of lights. It's a place to walk around and listen to buskers. There's carriage/wagon rides for people who like to ride in carriages/wagons.

I could tell you my favorite Thai place, Indian place, and German place, but you could get those foods elsewhere. I presume BBQ is the food to get while you're visiting. Jack Stack is indeed pretty decent. I like Smokehouse. Out in Lee's Summit is Hickory Pit.

Many locals swear by Oklahoma Joe's (I think it's called Joe's now). It's pretty good, though I probably wouldn't swear by it. Funnily enough, I don't really have a favorite BBQ joint. I rate them all by good or fair. I generally don't find bad BBQ around here. If such a place exists, it wouldn't last long.

Sadly it turns out I only had a few hours in KC.  Flew in on Monday night and flew out on Tuesday night.  In that time I visited a law firm for a lot of hours and ate some BBQ, as per below.  I also ate at the airport restaurant which was decidedly less exciting: do I want reheated meat entree #1 or #2?

Actually, when I was there we went to this barbecue place, Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, on W22nd street. (At least I'm almost sure that was the one, it was quite a while ago.) It was good.. huge portions.    Well reviewed online too.

This was the place that was closest by my hotel so I figured I would go.  Turns out my cabbie, the concierge, and random security guards all told me to go there.

(http://i.imgur.com/mNtw6e3.jpg)

The prime beef ribs (far right) were out of this world.

In other news Union Station is very (http://imgur.com/C0uW61G) pretty (http://imgur.com/a1syFu0) (though what is up with their museum that I walked through via The Link?) and man, Boulevard is an amazing brewery.  Apparently it's related to Ommegang brewery here in NY?  I loved all of the Boulevard beers I tried.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 03, 2014, 10:50:35 am
I see you went for the "dinosaur" sized ribs.

Which hotel did you stay at? 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on December 03, 2014, 11:13:09 am
Westin at Crown Center.  Also pretty though breakfast there was putrid.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 03, 2014, 11:32:28 am
Westin at Crown Center.  Also pretty though breakfast there was putrid.

That's the one connected to a little mall/shopping center?  That's where I stayed, too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 03, 2014, 12:14:54 pm
Sadly it turns out I only had a few hours in KC.  Flew in on Monday night and flew out on Tuesday night.  In that time I visited a law firm for a lot of hours and ate some BBQ, as per below.  I also ate at the airport restaurant which was decidedly less exciting: do I want reheated meat entree #1 or #2?

Very familiar with the Westin. We have employee meetings there, and I get to partake in filming them.

Sorry you only had Monday evening. I was busy that night anyway, as it turned out.

The little museum in Union Station is a little interesting. I'm glad it's mostly just pictures on the wall, though the last time I went there for breakfast, I saw a monitor running some commentary. I usually find those annoying.

And yep, airport restaurants are never really special unfortunately.

Well, glad you got to experience good BBQ. As I said, I don't think bad BBQ would last long around here. The worst I've had was adequate.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on December 03, 2014, 03:00:33 pm
I'm ashamed I didn't know Theory is important enough to warrant security when he travels.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 03, 2014, 03:04:22 pm
I'm ashamed I didn't know Theory is important enough to warrant security when he travels.

I was assuming he meant random hotel and mall guards...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on December 03, 2014, 03:06:26 pm
Why not both?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 03, 2014, 03:31:49 pm
(http://forums.watchuseek.com/attachments/f71/1428118d1395431461-mg-aquaterra-mars-why-not-zoidberg-vyotfu.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 03, 2014, 04:57:10 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/5835068b79ed2bfab558f88a63cfffe6/tumblr_n696gppvOH1qhowxao1_1280.png)
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/53aba8b52464ae4c2889bd7f6813d27e/tumblr_n696gppvOH1qhowxao2_1280.png)
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/0756669fb1376509844be904fbdfac64/tumblr_n696gppvOH1qhowxao3_1280.png)
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/cf8953a190e54264720efe01f5fd2371/tumblr_n696gppvOH1qhowxao4_1280.png)
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/c53aa3c510a7b1c6b0befc5d6d003452/tumblr_n696gppvOH1qhowxao5_1280.png)
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/859f3c2cad91a2616edfce3e74c1582b/tumblr_n696gppvOH1qhowxao6_1280.png)
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/f46b32e9f8fda47a7af548b343187c19/tumblr_n696gppvOH1qhowxao7_1280.png)
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/c15f434ef6a9162df7ed3d7f25a951ef/tumblr_n696gppvOH1qhowxao8_1280.png)
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/38a22743052b2061327c52239c61a564/tumblr_n696gppvOH1qhowxao9_1280.png)
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/c02e739888248c528381523a2eff3927/tumblr_n696gppvOH1qhowxao10_1280.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on December 03, 2014, 08:24:06 pm
Kuildeous, I knew you were in the middle of the country somewhere but never actually knew where. I'm hoping to go there a couple of times in the next few months. I think my weekends would likely be super super full, but hey it's something to think about.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 04, 2014, 11:18:08 am
Kuildeous, I knew you were in the middle of the country somewhere but never actually knew where. I'm hoping to go there a couple of times in the next few months. I think my weekends would likely be super super full, but hey it's something to think about.

Cool deal. I'm up for meeting. F.DS has become my online hangout kinda. It's not like I hang out online as much as I used to, so this is a pretty good speed for me. And we all have Dominion in common, so that's pretty cool.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Elanchana on December 04, 2014, 08:51:19 pm
Hey guys check it out. My rating and my ranking are the reverse of each other.

(http://media.tumblr.com/942f915a9b4257768d208160a389ff51/tumblr_inline_ng36g6Hgzz1ql24zr.png)


In other news, my "title" on the forum matches my avatar.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 04, 2014, 09:07:17 pm
Hey guys check it out. My rating and my ranking are the reverse of each other.

(http://media.tumblr.com/942f915a9b4257768d208160a389ff51/tumblr_inline_ng36g6Hgzz1ql24zr.png)


In other news, my "title" on the forum matches my avatar.

This is it.  This is the highpoint of your life.  It's all downhill from here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on December 04, 2014, 09:27:42 pm

In other news, my "title" on the forum matches my avatar.

Not as much as it matches MY avatar!

Edit: conjugation
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 04, 2014, 10:16:52 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/SH9lKxu.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 05, 2014, 10:09:57 am
Hey guys check it out. My rating and my ranking are the reverse of each other.

(http://media.tumblr.com/942f915a9b4257768d208160a389ff51/tumblr_inline_ng36g6Hgzz1ql24zr.png)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DAnHlOLAn0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 05, 2014, 03:48:43 pm
While the higher-suicide-rate-during-Christmas rumor has been debunked, I'm sure thoughts of suicide increase—if only to get away from repetitive Christmas music.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on December 05, 2014, 04:40:21 pm
While the higher-suicide-rate-during-Christmas rumor has been debunked, I'm sure thoughts of suicide increase—if only to get away from repetitive Christmas music.

There is some good Christmas music.  But there is so much more awful Christmas music. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 05, 2014, 04:55:31 pm
There is some good Christmas music.  But there is so much more awful Christmas music.

Well of course there is good Christmas music. No law against cranking up Pink Floyd on any particular day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on December 05, 2014, 05:02:34 pm
While the higher-suicide-rate-during-Christmas rumor has been debunked, I'm sure thoughts of suicide increase—if only to get away from repetitive Christmas music.

I'm legitimately curious : where are you hearing unwanted Christmas music ?

Because I agree that most Christmas music is annoying, but I have no problem avoiding it entirely without making much of an effort.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on December 05, 2014, 05:06:46 pm
While the higher-suicide-rate-during-Christmas rumor has been debunked, I'm sure thoughts of suicide increase—if only to get away from repetitive Christmas music.

I'm legitimately curious : where are you hearing unwanted Christmas music ?

Because I agree that most Christmas music is annoying, but I have no problem avoiding it entirely without making much of an effort.

For me: At work, while shopping and passing certain areas of the city center are big ones. Not to mention at kids groups (although as the AV guy it's kinda my fault).

Then again I mostly like Christmas music, so whatever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on December 05, 2014, 05:16:00 pm
Trans-Siberian Orchestra makes the best Christmas music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv32mtW4p-k&list=PLbysyGLi9cwi3SsL2W_IbV8KiCKA_Yx2c
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on December 05, 2014, 05:18:08 pm
They do have great Christmas music.  But I saw them live two Christmases ago in Vegas and was very disappointed.  Their non-Christmas stuff is just.... meh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 05, 2014, 05:24:14 pm
They do have great Christmas music.  But I saw them live two Christmases ago in Vegas and was very disappointed.  Their non-Christmas stuff is just.... meh.

Just like Santa!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 05, 2014, 05:28:38 pm
They do have great Christmas music.  But I saw them live two Christmases ago in Vegas and was very disappointed.  Their non-Christmas stuff is just.... meh.

Just like Santa!

Santa has great Christmas music?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on December 05, 2014, 05:35:44 pm
The song I most closely relate Christmas to is this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTlGr1KGdLU

Took forever to find a simple version where the choir didn't have a terrible pronunciation. Anyway I like this song.

EDIT: What are the carols people hate?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 05, 2014, 05:44:22 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/LLnMbO0.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 05, 2014, 05:49:49 pm
They do have great Christmas music.  But I saw them live two Christmases ago in Vegas and was very disappointed.  Their non-Christmas stuff is just.... meh.

Just like Santa!

Santa has great Christmas music?

He does. Unless you were naughty...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 05, 2014, 06:17:00 pm
Not to mention at kids groups (although as the AV guy it's kinda my fault).

Why would you show adult videos at kids groups, and how it is related to Christmas music?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on December 05, 2014, 06:50:00 pm
The song I most closely relate Christmas to is this one:

[video]

Took forever to find a simple version where the choir didn't have a terrible pronunciation. Anyway I like this song.

EDIT: What are the carols people hate?

Stuff like this is good when done well, but I think people are referring to pervasive crappy popified christmas music. In the US it's everywhere this time of year.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on December 05, 2014, 11:25:31 pm
The song I most closely relate Christmas to is this one:

[video]

Took forever to find a simple version where the choir didn't have a terrible pronunciation. Anyway I like this song.

EDIT: What are the carols people hate?

Stuff like this is good when done well, but I think people are referring to pervasive crappy popified christmas music. In the US it's everywhere this time of year.

Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpxNNalLTB4
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 05, 2014, 11:41:45 pm
While the higher-suicide-rate-during-Christmas rumor has been debunked, I'm sure thoughts of suicide increase—if only to get away from repetitive Christmas music.

I'm legitimately curious : where are you hearing unwanted Christmas music ?

Because I agree that most Christmas music is annoying, but I have no problem avoiding it entirely without making much of an effort.

My work's cafeteria is piping in the music. It's going to be a long two-and-a-half weeks. I might take my extra vacation days during that time rather than clump them all at the end of the year (eight-day weekend, biatches!).

And I find the music to be tedious at shopping centers too, but I rarely have reason to visit them.

In general, I find Christmas music to be obnoxious. If it was any good, then it'd be worth hearing any time. For example, I do love Carol of the Bells, and I could listen to that song any time of year. There are some songs I don't downright hate, but most of the stuff just grates on me. It's probably a temporal thing. If I heard the songs like only twice a month all year, then they wouldn't annoy me. But this super concentrated period of time where they have to make up for 10 months of non-Christmas music just grates on my nerves.

And really, why not just play it when you're actually celebrating? Say on Christmas and Christmas Eve? Why all the time a month in advance? Well, okay, shopping centers have good reason for that. Reminding people to do their Christmas shopping in that particular store makes good business sense.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on December 05, 2014, 11:44:25 pm
Not being into sci-fi at all (just ask robz, I can't even pronounce the word) and not being particularly interested in watching something that's just going to leave me sad it got cancelled, should I watch Firefly? If it matters, Morena Baccarin is amazingly beautiful.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 05, 2014, 11:52:55 pm
Not being into sci-fi at all (just ask robz, I can't even pronounce the word) and not being particularly interested in watching something that's just going to leave me sad it got cancelled, should I watch Firefly? If it matters, Morena Baccarin is amazingly beautiful.

If you're just watching for beautiful women, you should likely look elsewhere, especially if you don't like SF.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on December 06, 2014, 05:08:26 am
Not being into sci-fi at all (just ask robz, I can't even pronounce the word) and not being particularly interested in watching something that's just going to leave me sad it got cancelled, should I watch Firefly? If it matters, Morena Baccarin is amazingly beautiful.

It depends what you don't like about sci-fi. I'd suggest watching the pilot, it gives you a pretty good idea of what the show is, and deciding from there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on December 06, 2014, 05:28:43 am
While the higher-suicide-rate-during-Christmas rumor has been debunked, I'm sure thoughts of suicide increase—if only to get away from repetitive Christmas music.

I believe that there is a higher death rate just after Christmas and other similar days.  This might be because of patchier access to care (as happens at weekends) or because in the week leading up to Christmas people make a special effort to stay alive.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 06, 2014, 06:16:35 am
I love Sci-Fi, but refuse to watch Firefly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 06, 2014, 06:16:50 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on December 06, 2014, 06:36:05 am
All I Want for Christmas Is You
The best pop Christmas song.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on December 06, 2014, 07:28:49 am
All I Want for Christmas Is You
The best pop Christmas song.

Thanks Ozle, I have to learn that for a gig tonight... in Nashville!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 06, 2014, 09:29:20 am
All I Want for Christmas Is You
The best second worst pop Christmas song.

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on December 06, 2014, 10:26:12 am
A lot of Christmas music may be crap. But I love the old school carols that make me feel like I'm in medieval Europe. Adeste Fideles is really solid. Probably my favorite is God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Coventry Carol is beautiful and slightly disturbing.

One year I decided to make a figgy pudding, and carolers actually showed up demanding figgy pudding. I think they were suitably impressed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 06, 2014, 02:02:35 pm
Whenever I hear "little drummer boy" I always think he's saying "Rum pum pum pum, me and my bum." I can't unhear it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 06, 2014, 02:28:05 pm
Rum tum tugger!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 07, 2014, 01:39:29 am
Firefly is a pretty strong, character-driven show. It takes place in space, but it's more like a western. That's odd for me to say because I am not a fan of westerns.

It has space themes, and they try to adhere to physics well enough (no sound in space, killing the engines doesn't mean you stop, etc.), but I wouldn't say it's too hard of sci-fi to chase off people who don't like sci-fi. All you can do is watch a couple of episodes and see if they're up your alley.

I think Shindig and the Train Job (see, western) are really great episodes for a newcomer to watch. They sucked me in. Naturally you'll want to eventually see the pilot so you can see how some of the characters came on board, but I think you can do fine watching either one of those episodes without the context of other episodes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on December 07, 2014, 06:55:00 am
Add me to the "absolutely never ever watch Firefly" camp.  I've seen the entire series and the movie, so I am speaking from experience.

I'm also a huge Buffy/Angel/Avengers fan, so it's not like I'm a Whedon hater.  I'm also partial to a number of actors on the show, as they've been in some of my favorite series at other times (Baccarin, Staite specifically, but of course the entire cast was on Buffy/Angel at some point).

It's just a terrible, terrible, terrible show.  (That's a grand exaggeration, by the way.  It's not all that terrible.  It's just that the only way to combat the extreme fanboi love of most Firefly fans is to really go to the other end of the spectrum.)

If you are a huge fan of a show bashing you in the face with the horrendous gimmick of using Mandarin Chinese to replace swear words (it's worse than the "frack" thing in Battlestar), then by all means, watch the show.

But really, don't ever watch it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on December 07, 2014, 09:29:08 am
It's important to remember that only one season exists. Since when is the first season ever the best season? Since never. It's not so much that the episodes that exist are really good (they're ok) , it's the missed potential of a promising series.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on December 07, 2014, 01:13:31 pm
If you are a huge fan of a show bashing you in the face with the horrendous gimmick of using Mandarin Chinese to replace swear words (it's worse than the "frack" thing in Battlestar), then by all means, watch the show.

This was your takeaway from Firefly...?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 07, 2014, 06:30:23 pm
Don't know how many of you are interested in heavier stuff, but here's another cover by me. And no, the previous ones weren't heavy. This one is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVvIAmBA-uU
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on December 07, 2014, 06:51:24 pm
@ash : Besides the mandarin thing, which I'd agree is cute at first, but not very well executed and a little grating after a while, why do you have against the show ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 07, 2014, 09:06:53 pm
I do agree that the swear replacement in Firefly can get old, but I also view it as a cultural shift. Languages evolve all the time. Just look at how language was changed for A Clockwork Orange. Actually, A Clockwork Orange handles that way better than Firefly, which seems to only change swear words while not changing anything else.

But you get over it (unless you're ashersky, apparently).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 08, 2014, 11:36:16 am
I do agree that the swear replacement in Firefly can get old, but I also view it as a cultural shift. Languages evolve all the time. Just look at how language was changed for A Clockwork Orange. Actually, A Clockwork Orange handles that way better than Firefly, which seems to only change swear words while not changing anything else.

Well, A Clockwork Orange is a masterpiece. Being worse than it does not really mean that much. I have not seen Firefly, so please, do not take this as a judgement of how masterpiece-y Firefly is.

BTW, the Spanish translation of the title actually means "The Clockwork Orange" instead of "A".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on December 08, 2014, 11:41:45 am
The French translation forgeoes the article entirely, it's just "Orange Mécanique".

@Kuildeous : Yeah, that's the point of the mandarin thing, but it's half-assed, becase everyone still speaks English. SUre, they have a few specific words like "shiny" and "gorram" but really it's impossible to handle language evolution realistically so it ends up just being a gimmick.

Which I'm not too bothered with, but I can see ash's point. I doubt that's the onlything he has against the show though.

If you think about it, the way fantasy handles languages in general is really dumb. The whole idea of a "common tongue" which is very often used is pretty ridiculous : try walking around 14th century Europe speaking only latin, good luck getting understood by anyone other than monks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 08, 2014, 11:44:19 am
If you think about it, the way fantasy handles languages in general is really dumb. The whole idea of a "common tongue" which is very often used is pretty ridiculous : try walking around 14th century Europe speaking only latin, good luck getting understood by anyone other than monks.

I wanted to experiment this, but those damn airlines are only selling tickets to 21st century Europe.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 08, 2014, 12:13:08 pm
The French translation forgeoes the article entirely, it's just "Orange Mécanique".

@Kuildeous : Yeah, that's the point of the mandarin thing, but it's half-assed, becase everyone still speaks English. SUre, they have a few specific words like "shiny" and "gorram" but really it's impossible to handle language evolution realistically so it ends up just being a gimmick.

Which I'm not too bothered with, but I can see ash's point. I doubt that's the onlything he has against the show though.

If you think about it, the way fantasy handles languages in general is really dumb. The whole idea of a "common tongue" which is very often used is pretty ridiculous : try walking around 14th century Europe speaking only latin, good luck getting understood by anyone other than monks.

Yeah, I think I'd prefer the very alien environment to continue using contemporary language if it's not going to go all out. Battlestar Galactica was mentioned, and I have to admit that I cringed every time I heard "frak." It doesn't strike me as a curse word, even though it was used interchangeably with "fuck." Farscape did the same thing, only it makes even less sense to use "frell" in place of "fuck" because the little Babel fish that was injected into Crichton really should just translate it correctly so he never hears "frell."

The "common" tongue is a convenient conceit that allows the story to progress without bogging it down with linguistic gymnastics. It's not realistic, but it provides greater entertainment. Star Trek wouldn't be nearly as interesting if Worf had to have a translator on bridge with him. Sometimes, a story plays up the language barrier, which can still be amusing.

There's an RPG called Witch Hunter which takes place in the 16th century. The publishers tried to be somewhat historically accurate by allowing for different languages, but it's a real buzzkill when you have characters traveling to London who don't speak English. For that matter, they perhaps can only barely speak to each other. The Spanish monk can speak Latin to the French scholar who can then translate it to Arabic adventurer who can then translate it to his American Indian that he befriended on his travels. That shit gets old real fast in an RPG.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Elanchana on December 08, 2014, 12:19:38 pm
Ć̗̞͡ͅO̬̳̦̯͎̞̰̼͟͞M̸̗̘͉͇̀͘ͅE̶̡͔̟̣̱ ̭̰͖͙͇̭͕́͢P̮͓͇̻̲̗̤̰͢͟ͅĹ̘͘A̻͢Y̵̼͚̜̹̠̜ ̴͇̠͉̮̙ͅW҉̲̭̩̩̦̳̜̦I̧̞͖̭ͅŢ̹͖̺̩H̡̢̜̳̗̦̰͠ ̢̳̟̠͈͕̺͕̀U̹̺͜Ş̴̩̭̯̕ (http://www.twitch.tv/elatalkstoherself/c/5642826)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on December 08, 2014, 12:24:09 pm
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on December 08, 2014, 01:57:34 pm
I finished watching Season 2 of Homeland. I was pretty disappointed about the episode where someone gets killed by hacking his step maker at first. It seemed really far-fetched to me and destroyed the believability of the story.
Then I googled to find out wether others felts similarly, and it turned out that this could indeed happen. That really baffles me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 08, 2014, 02:05:38 pm
Re: Homeland, is "step maker" supposed to mean "pace maker"?

The main thing that bothered me about the Chinese in Firefly is that it was all pronounced really poorly. You can fudge that as more language evolution, but it always sounded wrong to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on December 08, 2014, 02:29:56 pm
Ć̗̞͡ͅO̬̳̦̯͎̞̰̼͟͞M̸̗̘͉͇̀͘ͅE̶̡͔̟̣̱ ̭̰͖͙͇̭͕́͢P̮͓͇̻̲̗̤̰͢͟ͅĹ̘͘A̻͢Y̵̼͚̜̹̠̜ ̴͇̠͉̮̙ͅW҉̲̭̩̩̦̳̜̦I̧̞͖̭ͅŢ̹͖̺̩H̡̢̜̳̗̦̰͠ ̢̳̟̠͈͕̺͕̀U̹̺͜Ş̴̩̭̯̕ (http://www.twitch.tv/elatalkstoherself/c/5642826)

Uh, spam?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 08, 2014, 02:32:03 pm
Ć̗̞͡ͅO̬̳̦̯͎̞̰̼͟͞M̸̗̘͉͇̀͘ͅE̶̡͔̟̣̱ ̭̰͖͙͇̭͕́͢P̮͓͇̻̲̗̤̰͢͟ͅĹ̘͘A̻͢Y̵̼͚̜̹̠̜ ̴͇̠͉̮̙ͅW҉̲̭̩̩̦̳̜̦I̧̞͖̭ͅŢ̹͖̺̩H̡̢̜̳̗̦̰͠ ̢̳̟̠͈͕̺͕̀U̹̺͜Ş̴̩̭̯̕ (http://www.twitch.tv/elatalkstoherself/c/5642826)

Uh, spam?

Possibly the scariest 10 seconds I have heard all year! (And that includes listening to your music andrew!

Sorry, i joke of course....I've never bothered listening to your music!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on December 08, 2014, 03:16:41 pm
Re: Homeland, is "step maker" supposed to mean "pace maker"?

Yeah, that's what I meant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 08, 2014, 04:20:03 pm
Okay, Einstein was definitely as classy as fuck.

http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/12/6/7342171/trolls-einstein-curie

I hope it's not fake.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 08, 2014, 05:56:19 pm
6 year old girl writes letter, changes company policy (http://mic.com/articles/105710/one-girl-s-letter-just-changed-an-entire-company-s-stance-on-gender)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 08, 2014, 08:46:08 pm
Okay, Einstein was definitely as classy as fuck.

http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/12/6/7342171/trolls-einstein-curie

I hope it's not fake.


Someone posted a link to the docs on the Einstein papers website.  I cant find the link, but it's legit. And awesome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 08, 2014, 11:49:49 pm
So, I made a new Facebook header for my hobby page. I'm thinking I could have done a solid color background.

(https://fbcdn-photos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-0/10858582_397243887108111_3219287180013959444_n.jpg?oh=fa8be45aa031f567e2f1b8812c9ae562&oe=55175687&__gda__=1427817051_1d679e3b09ce757196fa1cbe2e824ac6)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on December 09, 2014, 01:46:55 am
Ć̗̞͡ͅO̬̳̦̯͎̞̰̼͟͞M̸̗̘͉͇̀͘ͅE̶̡͔̟̣̱ ̭̰͖͙͇̭͕́͢P̮͓͇̻̲̗̤̰͢͟ͅĹ̘͘A̻͢Y̵̼͚̜̹̠̜ ̴͇̠͉̮̙ͅW҉̲̭̩̩̦̳̜̦I̧̞͖̭ͅŢ̹͖̺̩H̡̢̜̳̗̦̰͠ ̢̳̟̠͈͕̺͕̀U̹̺͜Ş̴̩̭̯̕ (http://www.twitch.tv/elatalkstoherself/c/5642826)

Uh, spam?

Possibly the scariest 10 seconds I have heard all year! (And that includes listening to your music andrew!

Sorry, i joke of course....I've never bothered listening to your music!

I don't even have music so you're making fun of something that doesn't exist. That's a new low, Ozle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on December 09, 2014, 03:11:07 am
So, I made a new Facebook header for my hobby page. I'm thinking I could have done a solid color background.

(https://fbcdn-photos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-0/10858582_397243887108111_3219287180013959444_n.jpg?oh=fa8be45aa031f567e2f1b8812c9ae562&oe=55175687&__gda__=1427817051_1d679e3b09ce757196fa1cbe2e824ac6)
Is the hobby graphic design?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on December 09, 2014, 07:42:57 am
So, I made a new Facebook header for my hobby page. I'm thinking I could have done a solid color background.

[img]
Is the hobby graphic design?

No, it is the golf club part (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11642.msg437385#msg437385)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 09, 2014, 08:51:39 am
Huh, when I first saw this (on a mobile screen), I thought those were collapsed soccer balls.  With sticks in the background for some reason.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 09, 2014, 12:04:42 pm
It's that bad, huh? Oh well... I'm used to editing official artwork for film releases and less used to creating from scratch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 09, 2014, 12:25:24 pm
It's that bad, huh? Oh well... I'm used to editing official artwork for film releases and less used to creating from scratch.

Oh, no, it's not bad.  Just the picture was shrunk to fit on my phone screen, and I wasn't looking at it that carefully, and I saw what I thought were differently colored facets for a soccer ball, except the ball was not a sphere so I thought it was deflated.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 09, 2014, 12:40:51 pm
I guess someone that is more familiar (Action- 3P) with soccer than golf can be excused from associating an image with something they know well. So you are forgiven. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 09, 2014, 01:48:54 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/Yrr4y2i
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 09, 2014, 05:30:05 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/Yrr4y2i

That... is actually a brilliant move on the part of the instructor.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 09, 2014, 05:55:04 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/Yrr4y2i

"he finally realized he wasn't decrypting a study guide at all"

That makes it sound like he didn't actually finish decrypting it, which makes you wonder how he realized what the thing was.  Assuming he did decrypt it properly, why should he look so defeated in that picture?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on December 09, 2014, 05:57:07 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/Yrr4y2i

That... is actually a brilliant move on the part of the instructor.

If it was a "wax on, wax off" kind of move, yes (not sure what the exam was about)

If he wanted to ensure that the student would pay for not studying earlier, it's more like a dickish move.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 09, 2014, 06:17:18 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/Yrr4y2i

That... is actually a brilliant move on the part of the instructor.

If it was a "wax on, wax off" kind of move, yes (not sure what the exam was about)

If he wanted to ensure that the student would pay for not studying earlier, it's more like a dickish move.

I suppose it's possible he was being a dick... but I try to think better of my fellow academics.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 09, 2014, 06:25:25 pm
Ć̗̞͡ͅO̬̳̦̯͎̞̰̼͟͞M̸̗̘͉͇̀͘ͅE̶̡͔̟̣̱ ̭̰͖͙͇̭͕́͢P̮͓͇̻̲̗̤̰͢͟ͅĹ̘͘A̻͢Y̵̼͚̜̹̠̜ ̴͇̠͉̮̙ͅW҉̲̭̩̩̦̳̜̦I̧̞͖̭ͅŢ̹͖̺̩H̡̢̜̳̗̦̰͠ ̢̳̟̠͈͕̺͕̀U̹̺͜Ş̴̩̭̯̕ (http://www.twitch.tv/elatalkstoherself/c/5642826)

Uh, spam?

Possibly the scariest 10 seconds I have heard all year! (And that includes listening to your music andrew!

Sorry, i joke of course....I've never bothered listening to your music!

I don't even have music so you're making fun of something that doesn't exist. That's a new low, Ozle.


YESSSSS! New Low achieved!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 09, 2014, 06:50:04 pm
Little puzzle for you this evening, came up in our pub quiz.

D=100
E = 0
F = 4
G = 8
H = 3
I = 5
J = N/A
K = N/A
L = 11
?
N = 1
0 = O
?

What should go where the ? are
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 09, 2014, 07:31:53 pm
M and P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on December 09, 2014, 07:34:52 pm
M = 1000000, P = 1000000000000000000000000.

Although, why is it 0 = O instead of O = 0?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 09, 2014, 09:09:40 pm
Little puzzle for you this evening, came up in our pub quiz.

D=100
E = 0
F = 4
G = 8
H = 3
I = 5
J = N/A
K = N/A
L = 11
?
N = 1
0 = O
?

What should go where the ? are

Is it Moat?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on December 10, 2014, 07:41:04 am
M and P

My first thought exactly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 10, 2014, 11:52:03 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgACcUDttQ0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 10, 2014, 07:41:10 pm
There was a question in my physics that I was stuck on...  It said someone was holding a ball, with his arm at a right angle so his lower arm was parallel to the floor (it had a diagram, it's simpler than you think), and the ball weighed a certain amount, the biceps connected to the lower arm at this point at this angle, and I had to find what force the biceps and the humerus (upper arm bone) were exerting.  It turned out it assumed the lower arm doesn't weigh anything and didn't put that in the equation (which it had done things similar to it in the past)...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 10, 2014, 09:01:07 pm
That's a statics equation, as nothing is moving, of a beam at a fixed length. Your result will be in the form of torque, because the lower arm has length to it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 10, 2014, 09:38:21 pm
That's a statics equation, as nothing is moving, of a beam at a fixed length. Your result will be in the form of torque, because the lower arm has length to it.

Well, it was in my physics book.  I saw the answer, and I did everything exactly as it did but I had an extra variable (the weight of the arm), so I wasn't able to solve it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on December 10, 2014, 10:24:14 pm
That's a statics equation, as nothing is moving, of a beam at a fixed length. Your result will be in the form of torque, because the lower arm has length to it.

Well, it was in my physics book.  I saw the answer, and I did everything exactly as it did but I had an extra variable (the weight of the arm), so I wasn't able to solve it.
The weight of the arm complicates it... You would need to find the center of mass of the arm (which depending on how you are modeling the arm, can be fairly simple to quite complex) and then you get a moment from that.  In general, what I've found in text books is if it doesn't give you something, you need to make an assumption about it.  In high school physics (if I recall correctly, you are doing high school physics sudgy?) I would not be surprised that you are ignoring the mass of the beam.  I don't recall doing much with finding centers of mass until college level statics. 

Either that or you could find a density of bone/muscle/human arm in the back of the book and calculate a mass from that. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 10, 2014, 11:38:10 pm
The question should be worded to indicate you don't need to to the arm's mass into account.. like it should have asked what force was exerted to hold the ball up, or what force the ball's weight was exerting, or something to that effect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 11, 2014, 12:06:25 am
I am doing advanced high school physics (which I've heard is actually partly beginning college level).  In the example before this question, they had multiple things not mentioned in the question be a part of the answer, including something similar to the arm.  Although, that did have a well defined center of mass.

This was just a practice problem so it didn't matter whether or not I got the question right, anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on December 11, 2014, 12:10:43 am
I am doing advanced high school physics (which I've heard is actually partly beginning college level).

Depends on which high school and which college you are talking about.

This was just a practice problem so it didn't matter whether or not I got the question right, anyway.

Any reasonable teacher should give you credit for an answer that can trivially be shown to be right by plugging in 0 for the mass of the arm.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 11, 2014, 02:54:41 am
Don't make me go and start a Physics thread like I did maths now.....
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on December 11, 2014, 01:57:33 pm
Any reasonable teacher should give you credit for an answer that can trivially be shown to be right by plugging in 0 for the mass of the arm.

Only if the answer is correct if the mass of the arm is non-zero, too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 11, 2014, 02:00:42 pm
Why is it that talking about a belligerent drunk guy in an edamame costume is the only time that I can get uproarious laughter from saying, "He puts the FU in 'tofu'"? That should be a universal greeting or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on December 11, 2014, 03:55:05 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N5kWu1ifBGU
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GendoIkari on December 11, 2014, 03:57:31 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N5kWu1ifBGU

I've seen pretty much every CH original video. I'm really annoyed that they've pretty much stopped making good stuff within the last year. I really miss all those actors/characters that they had.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on December 11, 2014, 04:24:54 pm
The De Beers diamond monopoly is really old, well documented news. Actually, it's so old news that it is close to not being true anymore for close to two decades. Mainly, Russia happened. Depending on how the market stabilizes, prices might actually start to drop!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 11, 2014, 05:08:47 pm
Any reasonable teacher should give you credit for an answer that can trivially be shown to be right by plugging in 0 for the mass of the arm.

Only if the answer is correct if the mass of the arm is non-zero, too.

I disagree, on the assumption that the student expresses the assumption and/or indicates how the answer would change if the arm had mass.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on December 11, 2014, 06:18:23 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRPp1YCNH0Q
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on December 11, 2014, 06:22:48 pm
Any reasonable teacher should give you credit for an answer that can trivially be shown to be right by plugging in 0 for the mass of the arm.

Only if the answer is correct if the mass of the arm is non-zero, too.

I disagree, on the assumption that the student expresses the assumption and/or indicates how the answer would change if the arm had mass.

It depends. If the problem was supposed to be for a zero-mass arm, and giving the arm mass makes it more difficult and then the student gets an answer that isn't the right way of dealing of an arm with mass, but the part for the massless arm is right, I would certainly give them credit. I mean, if you were trying to see if they could solve one problem and then in their solution they answer a harder problem and demonstrate they know how to solve the original problem, they should get credit. I would also, of course, note to them that their solution was not correct (and where the error was).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 12, 2014, 10:56:31 am
I'm a little creeped out by my friend's Facebook account. He got married 5 years ago, and they both deleted their FB accounts and created a joint account. It has both their names on it. When I see a status update, I rarely know which one posted it, which gets a little awkward when they talk about their father being in the hospital. Wait? Which one? How do I ask this without looking inconsiderate?

Today is their "birthday." Not the husband's birthday. Not the wife's birthday. The FB birthday is actually their anniversary date. So there's even more confusion as people send happy birthdays to them. They didn't know which one was having the birthday, and it turns out that they were wrong anyway.

And then there's also the implications of what a shared FB account means. It sounds more like trust issues to me, but I'm sure it is viewed as romantic by others.

It's just further evidence that he and I have drifted apart. I definitely would not picture him doing that 20 years ago. But he seems happy with it now, so more power to him.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on December 12, 2014, 10:57:21 am
That's uh, definitely unusual.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 12, 2014, 11:06:15 am
I'm a little creeped out by my friend's Facebook account. He got married 5 years ago, and they both deleted their FB accounts and created a joint account. It has both their names on it. When I see a status update, I rarely know which one posted it, which gets a little awkward when they talk about their father being in the hospital. Wait? Which one? How do I ask this without looking inconsiderate?

Today is their "birthday." Not the husband's birthday. Not the wife's birthday. The FB birthday is actually their anniversary date. So there's even more confusion as people send happy birthdays to them. They didn't know which one was having the birthday, and it turns out that they were wrong anyway.

And then there's also the implications of what a shared FB account means. It sounds more like trust issues to me, but I'm sure it is viewed as romantic by others.

It's just further evidence that he and I have drifted apart. I definitely would not picture him doing that 20 years ago. But he seems happy with it now, so more power to him.

Sounds like it's time to unfriend!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 12, 2014, 11:26:38 am
Yeah, shared FB accounts seems like a really, really weird thing.

I bet it fucks up FB's advertising algorithms something good though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 12, 2014, 12:35:37 pm
Real friends are the ones that say happy birthday even if they cannot get the date from Facebook.

Can't they maintain their own profiles AND get a joint one for the romantic stuff?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 12, 2014, 12:45:29 pm
Real friends are the ones that say happy birthday even if they cannot get the date from Facebook.

Can't they maintain their own profiles AND get a joint one for the romantic stuff?

Fixed that for you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 12, 2014, 01:32:41 pm
That's the really weird thing. They did have separate accounts. I even accepted her friend request because I'll generally accept the friend request of a friend's spouse if they want to friend me…at least if I've met them.

So they had individual accounts and then decided it was easier to have just one. I don't recall if they actually deleted both or deleted one and just changed the remainder. But it was a very conscious decision they made to have only one account with both their names on it.

Hopefully they won't divorce, but if it should happen, then the FB account would become either very amusing or very tragic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 12, 2014, 01:37:19 pm
It would be like those facebook accounts that get turned into memorials...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 12, 2014, 01:39:42 pm
Why does it matter? Facebook is used less for communication and more for advertising narcissism. I have a Facebook page for my little golf club hobby, but I don't have a personal page full of "look at me" stuff. Not so long ago, joint/family emails were the norm. Who decided this digital media was going to restrict people to individual use? As a society we are moving away from community, and in doing so become numb to the world around us. It's a very cold place to be.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 12, 2014, 01:54:52 pm
Why does it matter? Facebook is used less for communication and more for advertising narcissism. I have a Facebook page for my little golf club hobby, but I don't have a personal page full of "look at me" stuff. Not so long ago, joint/family emails were the norm. Who decided this digital media was going to restrict people to individual use? As a society we are moving away from community, and in doing so become numb to the world around us. It's a very cold place to be.

Believe it or not, some people do use Facebook for communication and catching up with old friends.

As for community, I don't think it means that the individuals should be subsumed.  We may all be Wandering Winder, but we still keep separate accounts here.  For people who aren't all the same person, how much weirder is it that they merge into one account?  I think Kuildeous' point is that their adoption of a single Facebook page kind of suggests that this married couple are no longer really individuals.  That's highly unlikely of course -- they probably still have individual interests, some friends that the spouse can't stand, etc. -- but the single Facebook page recalls the trope of the couple that is always joined at the hip and seem to have melded into one being.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on December 12, 2014, 03:13:27 pm
For people who aren't all the same person, how much weirder is it that they merge into one account? .... recalls the trope of the couple that is always joined at the hip and seem to have melded into one being.

That is an ideal for some people, not a trope.

Married couples often merge all their assets and accounts (e.g. bank accounts). Why should Facebook be different? I know couples who use one page jointly because they only want to use it for family updates (much like the family email account enfynet mentioned earlier.)

Facebook is a tool to be used, and it can absolutely be successfully used jointly (though I refuse to use it at all).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 12, 2014, 04:03:17 pm
For people who aren't all the same person, how much weirder is it that they merge into one account? .... recalls the trope of the couple that is always joined at the hip and seem to have melded into one being.

That is an ideal for some people, not a trope.

Married couples often merge all their assets and accounts (e.g. bank accounts). Why should Facebook be different? I know couples who use one page jointly because they only want to use it for family updates (much like the family email account enfynet mentioned earlier.)

Facebook is a tool to be used, and it can absolutely be successfully used jointly (though I refuse to use it at all).

I understand that.  If they want to have an account for family updates, that makes sense.  Nonetheless, it's strange to get rid of the individual facebook accounts.  The difference between that and merging assets is that your Facebook profile is an online persona, an avatar, an individual.  Note that corporations and clubs and such may maintain pages on Facebook as well, but they don't have personal profiles.  So it's strange to see the individual wiped away and replaced by a joint account.

To put it another way, it's like if you got married and proceeded to delete all of your online accounts on f.ds, reddit, BGG, whatever and then made brand new joint accounts for all of them, even if your partner was not a part of those communities previously.

As far as this trope being an ideal... I totally get that marriage is a sacred, meaningful bond, and that the idea of two becoming one can be taken very seriously.  Even so, I don't think rational human beings in a healthy relationship will spend every single moment of their married lives together.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 12, 2014, 11:42:33 pm
So, I'm going over some of our financial reports at work and I feel the need to change the format I came up with a few years ago. I feel like I am trying to display too much information at one time. I'd also like to add comparisons for 1-year (last year vs this year), 5-year (last 5 average vs this year), and 10-year trends. We look at these reports weekly, as an overview of our performance for the year vs last year.

I'm not sure if I should try consolidating this information, or just leaving it as it is already. I spent a lot of time setting up these Excel sheets 5 years ago, but I'm not sure if this is really the best way to present all the information.

This is what my reports currently display, with each week on a new line:
YTD Total, Attendance, Box Office, Concession Gross, Average Ticket, Concession Per Cap, Payroll Hours, Payroll Dollars, Efficiency, along with last year-same week comparisons for nearly each category.

I'm currently inputting 5 variables, and resulting in a sheet that has almost 20 columns of information, for 52 weeks. Surely there has to be a cleaner way to do this?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on December 13, 2014, 03:08:35 pm
Marriage is basically two people becoming one, so I think it isn't that weird, even though most people don't do it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 13, 2014, 08:30:15 pm
Marriage is basically two people becoming one

Are you married? The classic vows may indicate this, but I don't think it's really how it shakes out, even metaphorically.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on December 13, 2014, 09:28:50 pm
it would be really sad if you lost all of your individuality upon being married
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on December 13, 2014, 11:03:13 pm
Marriage is basically two people becoming one

Are you married? The classic vows may indicate this, but I don't think it's really how it shakes out, even metaphorically.

I'm not making any statements about how it works out; just that it isn't simply two people being weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on December 14, 2014, 07:18:21 am
I was browsing the Smashboards (the main site for competitive Super Smash Bros. discussion) and noticed a reference to one popsofctown in a rules discussion. Didn't know he played Smash competitively - and apparently he's a "Smash champion", whatever that means (I assume it means he's won at least one tournament?). Maybe he can chime in, perhaps that's just a title he chose for himself, or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 14, 2014, 10:50:27 am
Marriage is basically two people becoming one

Are you married? The classic vows may indicate this, but I don't think it's really how it shakes out, even metaphorically.

I'm not making any statements about how it works out; just that it isn't simply two people being weird.

I did touch on that in my posts.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 14, 2014, 11:25:41 am
Actually, the Argentinian state and both religions I know of (Jewish and Catholic) describe marriage as a contract, not a contraction of both people into one.

Of course, the level of "togetherness" of each couple is personal. I know couples that I think share excessively to the point of making it impossible for each person to be without the other, and couples that feel like business partners to my eyes. And I am sure my own couple looks a lot like the former to the later.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on December 14, 2014, 11:41:01 am
Is that last word a Freudian slip?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 14, 2014, 11:44:08 am
It's my birthday today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on December 14, 2014, 11:51:51 am
Happy Happy Joy Day!
Happy Happy Joy Day!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on December 14, 2014, 11:56:42 am
It's my birthday today.
And your gift is: +1 VP
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on December 14, 2014, 12:28:56 pm
Marriage is basically two people becoming one

Huh ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 14, 2014, 12:43:39 pm
It's my birthday today.
But when is KingZong's birthday!?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 14, 2014, 01:27:09 pm
It's my birthday today.
But when is KingZong's birthday!?

Only he can answer that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on December 14, 2014, 06:00:40 pm
Only one mafia game going.  Weird.

Only one mafia game ready to launch, and it can't get started.  Weirder.

No one posting in the ongoing game.  Very weird.

Must be the holidays.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 14, 2014, 06:13:08 pm
Only one mafia game going.  Weird.

Only one mafia game ready to launch, and it can't get started.  Weirder.

No one posting in the ongoing game.  Very weird.

Must be the holidays.

Maybe it's Maybelline.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 14, 2014, 06:17:54 pm
Maybe we're all caught up in this hot new research:

http://oneweirdkerneltrick.com/catbasis.pdf
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 14, 2014, 09:04:35 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/35d8d24c4f8ad379e7cbb7fa120064ae/tumblr_nf5rnlmrHL1tvc4g4o1_500.gif)

You can follow a cell from the center until the soul at the end.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on December 14, 2014, 09:28:43 pm
Only one mafia game going.  Weird.

Only one mafia game ready to launch, and it can't get started.  Weirder.

No one posting in the ongoing game.  Very weird.

Must be the holidays.

that's not just weird, it's horrible. But I don't know if there's anything left I can do.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on December 14, 2014, 09:57:28 pm
that's not just weird, it's horrible. But I don't know if there's anything left I can do.
Have you tried writing an article about Island?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 14, 2014, 10:45:32 pm
that's not just weird, it's horrible. But I don't know if there's anything left I can do.
Have you tried writing an article about Island?

I'm pretty sure he's going to write it about Prince.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 15, 2014, 12:19:22 am
Goddammit. I saw a mouse. I live on the second floor. How did a mouse get in here? Time to go shopping for a trap.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 15, 2014, 12:26:29 am
Goddammit. I saw a mouse. I live on the second floor. How did a mouse get in here? Time to go shopping for a trap.

You probably carried it there in order to move your cursor?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 15, 2014, 12:44:54 am
Goddammit. I saw a mouse. I live on the second floor. How did a mouse get in here? Time to go shopping for a trap.

You probably carried it there in order to move your cursor?

It's funny because mouse has a second meaning besides a rodent, which is that of being a tool used to operate a computer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on December 15, 2014, 12:58:32 am
Goddammit. I saw a mouse. I live on the second floor. How did a mouse get in here? Time to go shopping for a trap.

You probably carried it there in order to move your cursor?

It's funny because mouse has a second meaning besides a rodent, which is that of being a tool used to operate a computer.
It's funny because you have now explained the joke
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 15, 2014, 12:59:40 am
Goddammit. I saw a mouse. I live on the second floor. How did a mouse get in here? Time to go shopping for a trap.

You probably carried it there in order to move your cursor?

It's funny because mouse has a second meaning besides a rodent, which is that of being a tool used to operate a computer.
It's funny because you have now explained the joke

It's funny because I'm hilarious at explaining other hilarious stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on December 15, 2014, 01:32:36 am
No. The buck stops here.

Also why are tomatoes sometimes classified as a fruit again? Which is it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 15, 2014, 01:37:58 am
No. The buck stops here.

Also why are tomatoes sometimes classified as a fruit again? Which is it?

They are a fruit. They are sometimes classified as vegetables though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on December 15, 2014, 01:44:46 am
I believe they are a fruit botanically speaking, but a vegetable in terms of how they are generally eaten and prepared as they are not as sweet as most fruits. Apparently, they are not alone though. Wikipedia offers this: "Tomatoes are not the only food source with this ambiguity: green beans, eggplants, cucumbers, and squashes of all kinds (such as zucchini and pumpkins) are all botanically fruits, yet cooked as vegetables." Kind of makes me wonder why everyone always seems to get hung up tomatoes in particular as being fruits.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 15, 2014, 01:51:39 am
I eat tomatoes like I eat most fruits.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 15, 2014, 01:56:04 am
I eat tomatoes like I eat most fruits.

Which is how?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 15, 2014, 01:58:18 am
I eat tomatoes like I eat most fruits.

Me too!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 15, 2014, 02:08:35 am
I eat tomatoes like I eat most fruits.
I don't eat tomatoes either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on December 15, 2014, 02:28:35 am
I have never heard anyone describe a cucumber or green bean as a fruit. My guess is that people tend to associate fruit with taste/sweetness, and tomatoes are just in the gray area where you could describe them as a fruit, have the listener think of fruit <=> sweetness, and decide that's buyable.

Then again, I think cucumbers are a bit sweeter than tomatoes and no one confuses those. I guess that's more of a shape thing. Fruits are generally round and sweet, and tomatoes are approximations of round and sweet things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 15, 2014, 02:33:18 am
I have never heard anyone describe a cucumber or green bean as a fruit. My guess is that people tend to associate fruit with taste/sweetness, and tomatoes are just in the gray area where you could describe them as a fruit, have the listener think of fruit <=> sweetness, and decide that's buyable.

Then again, I think cucumbers are a bit sweeter than tomatoes and no one confuses those. I guess that's more of a shape thing. Fruits are generally round and sweet, and tomatoes are approximations of round and sweet things.

Weird, I find tomatoes much sweeter than cucumbers.

Granted, my favourite way to eat tomatoes is raw and salted, and salt brings out sweetness (if you don't believe me, try it with tomatoes, pineapples or watermelon).  Then again, I salt cucumbers too and they still don't match tomatoes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 15, 2014, 02:48:31 am
I eat tomatoes like I eat most fruits.

Which is how?

I believe it's how most people eat fruits.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 15, 2014, 02:52:14 am
I have never heard anyone describe a cucumber or green bean as a fruit.

You don't know many botanists then.  Certainly no one is going to cook green beans or cucumber as if they were fruits.  But botanically, the cucumber is most closely related to the melons--all are in the same genus!  The family (Cucurbitaceae) also includes watermelon, squash, and other gourd fruits.

Basically, any fleshy mass derived from the plant's ovaries are fruits.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on December 15, 2014, 08:18:46 am
Maybe we're all caught up in this hot new research:

http://oneweirdkerneltrick.com/catbasis.pdf

This made me laugh, the bibliography was a scream.  My favorite citation:

Maturana, Daniel and Fouhey, David F.  You only learn once: A stochastically weighted aggregation approach to online regret minimization.  In SIGBOVIK, 2013.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Rubby on December 15, 2014, 11:24:37 am
I eat tomatoes like I eat most fruits.

Which is how?

I believe it's how most people eat fruits.

Orally?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 15, 2014, 11:25:48 am
I eat tomatoes like I eat most fruits.

Which is how?

I believe it's how most people eat fruits.

Orally?

Yes, really!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 15, 2014, 11:25:55 am
My company is giving each employee a free turkey. Yay!

My wife also works at the company. Yay!

We're getting two turkeys. Um…

First-world problems indeed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Rubby on December 15, 2014, 11:30:27 am
I eat turkey like I eat most fruits.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on December 15, 2014, 11:35:51 am
Well they can't all be the best fruits.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 15, 2014, 11:47:38 am
My company is giving each employee a free turkey. Yay!

My wife also works at the company. Yay!

We're getting two turkeys. Um…

First-world problems indeed.

There's a way to opt out, right? I assume your company is willing to hire vegetarians, etc.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on December 15, 2014, 11:53:59 am
My company is giving each employee a free turkey. Yay!

My wife also works at the company. Yay!

We're getting two turkeys. Um…

First-world problems indeed.

There's a way to opt out, right? I assume your company is willing to hire vegetarians, etc.

They work in a rehab company. It doesn't accept opt outs, because getting rid of all those turkeys in any other way would be more expensive.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 15, 2014, 12:24:20 pm
My company is giving each employee a free turkey. Yay!

My wife also works at the company. Yay!

We're getting two turkeys. Um…

First-world problems indeed.

My mom gets a bunch of turkeys every year and cooks them throughout the year.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on December 15, 2014, 02:17:45 pm
I eat tomatoes like I eat most fruits.

Which is how?

I believe it's how most people eat fruits.

Oh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 15, 2014, 02:37:40 pm
I eat tomatoes like I eat most fruits.

Which is how?

I believe it's how most people eat fruits.

Oh.

But how do you think most people eat fruits?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on December 15, 2014, 04:20:01 pm
Granted, my favourite way to eat tomatoes is raw and salted, and salt brings out sweetness (if you don't believe me, try it with tomatoes, pineapples or watermelon).  Then again, I salt cucumbers too and they still don't match tomatoes.

Came across this article (http://sciencefare.org/2013/07/10/why-does-salt-make-almost-everything-taste-better/) and thought you might find it interesting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 15, 2014, 05:38:44 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqqOZPcfAIM
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on December 15, 2014, 05:51:43 pm
I lost it at:

"No."
"... he lied"
"Stop it!"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 15, 2014, 06:46:14 pm
I forget how nerve-wracking setting mousetraps can be.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on December 15, 2014, 06:49:10 pm
One would guess that cleaning them would be more nerve-wracking.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on December 15, 2014, 06:51:37 pm
I always found the nerve-wracking part was setting them off and hoping the guy would jump into the pool properly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 15, 2014, 08:41:35 pm
I eat tomatoes like I eat most fruits.

Which is how?

I believe it's how most people eat fruits.

Oh.

But how do you think most people eat fruits?

The way I eat tomatoes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on December 15, 2014, 10:26:25 pm
Thomas Sanders video

Is this guy funny?  I'm not convinced he's funny.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 15, 2014, 10:58:15 pm
One would guess that cleaning them would be more nerve-wracking.

They cost 50 cents. No need to clean them. Just dump them along with the mouse.

If anything, there'd be a mixture of relief that the vermin is no longer running rampant in my home and a little sadness because mouse.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 15, 2014, 11:42:11 pm
Thomas Sanders video

Is this guy funny?  I'm not convinced he's funny.

I don't know in general, but I found that video funny.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 15, 2014, 11:59:26 pm
Thomas Sanders video

Is this guy funny?  I'm not convinced he's funny.

I don't know in general, but I found that video funny.

I laughed a lot when I first saw that video. I don't know if he' always funny either, but I thought this one is pretty creative.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on December 16, 2014, 12:42:45 am
I didn't laugh because they're all clearly actors. Lame.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 16, 2014, 01:06:38 am
I didn't laugh because they're all clearly actors. Lame.

I think they're just people that he asked to do a video. Not real actors.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on December 16, 2014, 03:07:34 am
I didn't laugh because they're all clearly actors. Lame.

I think they're just people that he asked to do a video. Not real actors.

Some of the reactions seemed genuine enough to be real.  Some were clearly staged.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 16, 2014, 03:13:57 am
I didn't laugh because they're all clearly actors. Lame.

I think they're just people that he asked to do a video. Not real actors.

Some of the reactions seemed genuine enough to be real.  Some were clearly staged.

I don't know, nothing seemed obviously staged to me.  Probably some of the people know him IRL (like that teacher), but none of the reactions look scripted.  Does this guy have a poor track record or something?  Maybe I just want to believe.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 16, 2014, 08:11:33 am
The mousetrap worked. Little carcass behind the fridge. Hopefully that's the only culprit, but I'll leave the other traps out just in case.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 16, 2014, 08:55:26 am
When you receive your free turkey, make sure that they don't give you the part with ISIS on it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 16, 2014, 03:27:08 pm
That was the strangest trip to facebook ever.  First, my grandma died last night, so it started with all of my family members saying stuff about her.  Then, it was a friend liking EVERY SINGLE POST HIS GIRLFRIEND EVER SAID.  I tried to get through it all to other things but gave up...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on December 16, 2014, 05:06:31 pm
That was the strangest trip to facebook ever.  First, my grandma died last night, so it started with all of my family members saying stuff about her.

Condolences for the loss of your grandmother, man.

I hope you are immersed in great memories.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 17, 2014, 01:28:03 am
http://vimeo.com/36749324
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 17, 2014, 03:14:07 am
http://vimeo.com/36749324

What?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 18, 2014, 09:44:22 am
Ah, first snow always throws my city for a loop. They forget what it's like to drive in snow.

What's sad is that this snow isn't even so bad. It's a few inches, which is nothing to sneeze at, but it's so fluffy that you just knock it off your car. The highways aren't even iced over. Of course, side streets may be an issue, but that's also why I live in downtown.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on December 18, 2014, 09:54:22 am
Here it's just ice everywhere. And some snow on top of it in some places. So traffic is chaos. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 18, 2014, 11:28:12 am
We already had the first snow storm last week. But it's so normal it only really affects things for the day it happens, then over night all the streets get cleared.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GendoIkari on December 18, 2014, 11:59:41 am
This is old, but I just rewatched it yesterday for the first time in a long time. Still great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEs7Bu9c2GI
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 18, 2014, 02:19:16 pm
I never get snow where I live, except maybe once a year.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 18, 2014, 02:39:16 pm
Is this the best video ever or the best video ever?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQpOl7I6Sc4
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on December 18, 2014, 07:13:55 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLxr6pWYR-s&index=4&list=PL-9qiMf_Dqe64A7l998iUnloDdI4p_v8x
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 18, 2014, 07:17:38 pm
<How to walk>

Such a rip-off: http://expatmadrid.com/2010/01/18/instructions-for-climbing-a-staircase/

(original in Spanish is much better because of extra wordplay)

EDIT: I am so glad I found an English translation to link here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 18, 2014, 07:33:04 pm
He spelled "segue" incorrectly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 18, 2014, 09:58:51 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/ymosUgA.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on December 19, 2014, 02:55:24 pm
My first post in the heck that is Random Stuff. Oh my.

My soul will be CORRUPTED just like it was in the Games Section.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 19, 2014, 03:56:13 pm
Ayn Rand Reviews Children's Movies (http://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/ayn-rand-reviews-childrens-movies).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on December 19, 2014, 06:48:19 pm
I just had the most ridiculous game of werewolf IRL earlier today. It involved no deaths until night 4 due to me as the alien (effectively jailkeeper who lets people know they've been targetted) managing to hit the werewolf target twice and there being a no lynch every day and no kill night 1. This combined with a seer who managed to investigate everyone that wasn't a werewolf and thus getting an innocent on every night, let many people to believe the game was a troll game with no wolves. Even more fun - the first death was a generic villager, leading that villager to STILL believe it was a troll game of 8 villagers, with the mod throwing a single kill in for chaos.

Good fun. We won shortly after - the seer helped a lot of course, and we lynched a werewolf on day 4 and the other on day 5.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 19, 2014, 06:57:30 pm
I just had the most ridiculous game of werewolf IRL earlier today. It involved no deaths until night 4 due to me as the alien (effectively jailkeeper who lets people know they've been targetted) managing to hit the werewolf target twice and there being a no lynch every day and no kill night 1. This combined with a seer who managed to investigate everyone that wasn't a werewolf and thus getting an innocent on every night, let many people to believe the game was a troll game with no wolves. Even more fun - the first death was a generic villager, leading that villager to STILL believe it was a troll game of 8 villagers, with the mod throwing a single kill in for chaos.

Good fun. We won shortly after - the seer helped a lot of course, and we lynched a werewolf on day 4 and the other on day 5.

Back in the summer, I was in a tense game of Mafia.  IIRC there was a cop, no doctor, 3 mafia.  I was one of them.  We ended up lynching Mafia on the first day because she made a really huge slip up.  She became one of the targets of suspicion and got flustered enough to fakeclaim cop.  Most people started backing off (partially led by me, of course) but some were still doubtful so she tried to bolster her claim by giving a cop result -- she investigated that person and found her to be a regular townie.  Except... it was the first day.  No night yet, thus no chance of an investigation at all.  Obvious lie, easy lynch.

Mafia was on the backfoot from then on.  I can't remember if the cop got a positive result before being eliminated, but I did have to vote against my remaining partner at one point.  But I managed to talk my way out of some sticky situations.  I managed to sway the deciding vote to my side to keep myself in the game, and then I chose to target her rather than either of the people who had been against me.  And then I used that to turn one of those doubters against the other, for the win.  It was easily the best performance I'd ever had in a Mafia game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on December 19, 2014, 07:25:05 pm
Back in the summer, I was in a tense game of Mafia.  IIRC there was a cop, no doctor, 3 mafia.  I was one of them.  We ended up lynching Mafia on the first day because she made a really huge slip up.  She became one of the targets of suspicion and got flustered enough to fakeclaim cop.  Most people started backing off (partially led by me, of course) but some were still doubtful so she tried to bolster her claim by giving a cop result -- she investigated that person and found her to be a regular townie.  Except... it was the first day.  No night yet, thus no chance of an investigation at all.  Obvious lie, easy lynch.

Mafia was on the backfoot from then on.  I can't remember if the cop got a positive result before being eliminated, but I did have to vote against my remaining partner at one point.  But I managed to talk my way out of some sticky situations.  I managed to sway the deciding vote to my side to keep myself in the game, and then I chose to target her rather than either of the people who had been against me.  And then I used that to turn one of those doubters against the other, for the win.  It was easily the best performance I'd ever had in a Mafia game.

You just went in all guns blazing, huh? I had fun reading this. Mafia is awesome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 20, 2014, 01:24:57 am
So, I can populate this spreadsheet with the sheet range I want to evaluate. However, I cannot evaluate these formulas/references unless I hardcode the references into the formulas. I found an add-on for excel 2007 to do this, but found no way to do this in 2010. Anyone here know excel?

(http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=11642.0;attach=1976)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on December 20, 2014, 12:20:47 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/ymosUgA.gif)
Don't try that at home. You're supposed to roll on your shoulder, not your head.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on December 20, 2014, 12:26:31 pm
(http://img.ffffound.com/static-data/assets/6/048df2384e5aff4df36a07b2814cdfa09eafd780_m.gif)

Hi there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on December 20, 2014, 07:14:04 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/ymosUgA.gif)

Do you have the original version of this gif? As in, without the laser effects?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on December 20, 2014, 10:11:52 pm
Today I have discovered one of the laws of the universe. If you have chocolate on your desk, it will disappear by the end of the day, one way or another.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on December 20, 2014, 10:24:16 pm
Today I have discovered one of the laws of the universe. If you have chocolate on your desk, it will disappear by the end of the day, one way or another.
I got a small amount of chocolate from my lovely grandma a week ago and placed it on my living room table right away. I've had two house parties since (its christmas season), and despite the size of the initial amount, there is still like half of it left. I feel the health kick is especially strong right now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on December 21, 2014, 01:22:27 am
(http://i.imgur.com/c5ACUIs.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 21, 2014, 03:52:09 am
Today I have discovered one of the laws of the universe. If you have chocolate on your desk, it will disappear by the end of the day, one way or another.
I got a small amount of chocolate from my lovely grandma a week ago and placed it on my living room table right away. I've had two house parties since (its christmas season), and despite the size of the initial amount, there is still like half of it left. I feel the health kick is especially strong right now.

Put it on a table you can reach while you're on a computer, and when you finish doing stuff on the computer, you will notice that the chocolate is now gone.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on December 21, 2014, 09:28:06 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN_PK5pXmIY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 21, 2014, 02:38:21 pm

Do you have the original version of this gif? As in, without the laser effects?

Are you suggesting that the lasers weren't in the original?

(No I don't, sorry.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on December 21, 2014, 04:37:39 pm

Do you have the original version of this gif? As in, without the laser effects?

Are you suggesting that the lasers weren't in the original?

(No I don't, sorry.)

I thought the panda was edited in?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on December 22, 2014, 05:50:35 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HE9OQ4FnkQ

Apparently this is old.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 22, 2014, 04:15:44 pm
My wife wants a critter for a pet. I'm generally opposed to this sort of thing because if it eats or poops, I don't want to deal with it. But she's cool with taking on most of the responsibility of said critter. And I'll try to get more involved with it.

Now it's a matter of which critter. We're narrowing down between gerbils and rats. I'm in favor of rats. She's not entirely sold on the idea because rats look freaky to her. We're going to have a play date with a friend's rat to see if my wife can become comfortable with the idea of rats. I think they're cute as hell, so I don't see the problem. Different folks.

But the gerbils seem like they'd be fun pets too, so if she doesn't take a shine to rats, then we'll get a pair of gerbils. At least we wouldn't need as large a cage for them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 22, 2014, 04:23:28 pm
Why a rat instead of a mouse?

Edit: also, just learned that the most common type of pet rat is called the Fancy Rat.  Awesome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on December 22, 2014, 04:47:38 pm
You should get a guinea pig first just to test how well you handle having a small critter around.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 22, 2014, 04:51:18 pm
Critters (http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs14/f/2007/073/9/8/Critter_by_EspenG.jpg) do not make good pets. Also, if you get Rats, make sure not to invite Lord Bottington to your house, unless you want your precious Princess to end up in the trash.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 22, 2014, 05:01:50 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HE9OQ4FnkQ

Apparently this is old.

Ah yes. I believe the original (apparently not made by the same people) was Total Eclipse of the Heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsgWUq0fdKk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on December 22, 2014, 05:30:49 pm
Wikipedia (and the maker of the Take on Me video) claim that Take on Me was the original, but that one's pretty old.  If I can say that about something from 2009.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on December 22, 2014, 05:51:10 pm
Wikipedia (and the maker of the Take on Me video) claim that Take on Me was the original, but that one's pretty old.  If I can say that about something from 2009.

The "Total eclipse of the heart" one is much better though (not the original nor the song, but the achieved comedy).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 22, 2014, 07:30:42 pm
Seen the Beck - Loser one?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on December 22, 2014, 10:23:55 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/wrqFM5m.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on December 23, 2014, 02:10:04 am
Probably the cleverest crossword puzzle ever: http://www.crosswordunclued.com/2009/01/nyt-election-day-crossword.html?m=1
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 23, 2014, 08:11:14 am
Why a rat instead of a mouse?

Edit: also, just learned that the most common type of pet rat is called the Fancy Rat.  Awesome.

Mice seem okay, but they don't seem as personable as rats. I'm sure there are very friendly mice, but they seem to want to do their own thing. In that regard, mice strike me as being as friendly a pet as fish. But you can actually cuddle a mouse, I suppose.

Or in short, mice just don't interest me. But I admit they are cute.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on December 23, 2014, 08:42:57 am
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjGi3s8P3FA
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on December 23, 2014, 11:53:24 pm
I'm 12 upvotes away from 1000.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 23, 2014, 11:55:33 pm
I'm 12 upvotes away from 1000.

Fascinating.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on December 24, 2014, 12:04:10 am
I have so much respect it's gross.

At the time of this post, this user's respect count was equal to exactly 144. At this very moment, which represents the future relative to this edit, it will be imperative to trick your mind into believing this to be true--so that everyone may then share in the merriment.
(cause we all know jokes are funnier when you explain them)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 24, 2014, 12:14:28 am
I have so much respect it's gross.

I'd upvote this, but I don't want to make your comment not true.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on December 24, 2014, 12:26:52 am
I have so much respect it's gross.

I'd upvote this, but I don't want to make your comment not true.
Why must my best material produce such conundrums? I'll add an explanation so it's upvotable. Or maybe I'll be cursed to have the same amount of respect forever just to support this joke  :D
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 24, 2014, 12:29:57 am
No, you're just never going to get upvoted again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on December 24, 2014, 12:32:46 am
What have I done?  :'(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 24, 2014, 02:25:08 am
Vacations are cool.  I get to stay up until 2 AM doing work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 24, 2014, 08:35:30 am
I have so much respect it's gross.

My respect is just two gross.

I have no idea what my respect is when I typed this, so if it's not 288, please upvote/downvote my posts accordingly to make my sentence true. kthxbai
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on December 24, 2014, 09:17:45 am
Wow, that would be a LOT of downvoting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 24, 2014, 09:39:26 am
Wow, that would be a LOT of downvoting.


I see that now. I was unaware I posted so much stuff. Well, okay, I knew I post a lot. I just didn't know how much they accumulated.

Well, there aren't many number homonyms I can use here. If two gross is too difficult to achieve, I'll think up something about four gross or that I eight gross.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on December 24, 2014, 10:09:15 am
Wow, that would be a LOT of downvoting.


I see that now. I was unaware I posted so much stuff. Well, okay, I knew I post a lot. I just didn't know how much they accumulated.

Well, there aren't many number homonyms I can use here. If two gross is too difficult to achieve, I'll think up something about four gross or that I eight gross.
You could 'av a gadro.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on December 24, 2014, 10:13:59 am
Wow, that would be a LOT of downvoting.


I see that now. I was unaware I posted so much stuff. Well, okay, I knew I post a lot. I just didn't know how much they accumulated.

Well, there aren't many number homonyms I can use here. If two gross is too difficult to achieve, I'll think up something about four gross or that I eight gross.
You could 'av a gadro.
Wow, that would be a LOT of upvoting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 24, 2014, 11:15:42 am
A great gross is 12^3 = 1728.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on December 24, 2014, 12:21:10 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/oyPFqcv.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 28, 2014, 09:00:27 pm
Does anyone know a reason why I shouldn't buy an Asus X550JK-XO065H? I need a more portable PC for my home studio/live electronic music performances and it seems to be one of the very few options that are powerful enough and within my budget. Windows 8) and the low resolution are annoying, but probably not going to be problematic, and I'm not going to need the laptop for gaming.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on December 28, 2014, 10:58:38 pm
Does anyone know a reason why I shouldn't buy an Asus X550JK-XO065H? I need a more portable PC for my home studio/live electronic music performances and it seems to be one of the very few options that are powerful enough and within my budget. Windows 8) and the low resolution are annoying, but probably not going to be problematic, and I'm not going to need the laptop for gaming.

As someone who recently spent forever trying to find a laptop with similar specs - no, this is pretty much the best you're going to get that's within a budget of <$1000. The closest alternatives I could find was the Lenovo Y50, which is more expensive but has a slightly better graphics card. Probably not enough to matter.

I ended up buying a Lenovo Edge 15, which is Best Buy exclusive as it turns out, so unless you have a local store it might not even be an option for you. That one was $899 for everything the same, a slightly weaker processor (i7-4700 vs i7-4710). It's a bit thinner but a bit wider and I preferred the thinness.

The ASUS is probably a little worse on battery life but it still looks like a good machine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 29, 2014, 11:03:39 am
My computer is broke'd

Boots up fine, loads windows fine. Can start opening up stuff, then about 2 minutes later....poof, restarts.

Very annoying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on December 29, 2014, 05:04:46 pm
(http://uproxx.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/superman2.gif)

Wut.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 30, 2014, 12:44:26 am
(http://uproxx.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/superman2.gif)

Man, I wish I could get myself a super ho.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 30, 2014, 01:24:54 am
My computer is broke'd

Boots up fine, loads windows fine. Can start opening up stuff, then about 2 minutes later....poof, restarts.

Very annoying.
virus?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 30, 2014, 03:11:23 pm
Finally gave in and bought a PS4, though their games so far seem pretty lacking.  I bought Diablo III, and am waiting for a (long) download.  The purchase came with a voucher for one of: Destiny, Farcry 4, Little Big Planet 3, or lame_sports_game_0001.  Obviously lame sports game is out. (I'm not sure why they even make those games.)  Both Destiny and Farcry 4 look to be first-person shooters, and therefore pretty weak.  (The last first-person shooter game I played was Doom.)  Is there anything to those games?  I read Destiny has some RPG elements.

Little Big Planet is a puzzle game, apparently, so it looks like a winner.  Has anyone played it?

Has anyone tried the PSNow thing?  It looks like they offer PSX, X<4, games for streaming, but apparently they charge per time unit, which seems pretty bad for any kind of game you'd actually want to play.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 30, 2014, 03:24:46 pm
Farcry 4 I heard is the same as Farcry 3, which to be fair I really really enjoyed. It's not just a blast em' up. There are stealth elements, RPG elements, as the level design in Farcry 3 was pretty good. Also if you like exploration, they usually have some cool stuff to see around the map. The stealth was the big part, with lots of cool moves and options on how to complete areas.

I only know Little Big Planet by name, but I think people said it was good. I don't know anything about it though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on December 30, 2014, 03:49:14 pm
Little Big Planet is mostly platformer. From what I've seen of it, it's not really a puzzle game. There might be some small puzzles in figuring out the right way to go through the level, but it's a platforming game first.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on December 30, 2014, 04:36:04 pm
The platforming aspects of Little Big Planet are solid. But if you're anything like me, the real appeal is the creative, sandboxy nature of the game. I don't own a Playstation, but there was one in our dorm one summer, and my buddy and I spent hours designing enormous glass calculators, flying segmented dragon robots, war elephants that spawn other paratrooping mini-elephants, etc. Really addictive and fun.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 30, 2014, 05:37:30 pm
Finally gave in and bought a PS4, though their games so far seem pretty lacking.  I bought Diablo III, and am waiting for a (long) download.  The purchase came with a voucher for one of: Destiny, Farcry 4, Little Big Planet 3, or lame_sports_game_0001.  Obviously lame sports game is out. (I'm not sure why they even make those games.)  Both Destiny and Farcry 4 look to be first-person shooters, and therefore pretty weak.  (The last first-person shooter game I played was Doom.)  Is there anything to those games?  I read Destiny has some RPG elements.

Little Big Planet is a puzzle game, apparently, so it looks like a winner.  Has anyone played it?

Has anyone tried the PSNow thing?  It looks like they offer PSX, X<4, games for streaming, but apparently they charge per time unit, which seems pretty bad for any kind of game you'd actually want to play.

I've tried but not owned Little Big Planet 1 and 2. Both were super fun and I imagine it's only going to get better if you actually own the game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 30, 2014, 07:46:38 pm
I think I'm done with the Moat joke, time to find a new one
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on December 30, 2014, 08:14:51 pm
I think I'm done with the Moat joke, time to find a new one

Is it mint?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 30, 2014, 08:25:37 pm
I think I'm done with the Moat joke, time to find a new one

JoaT?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 30, 2014, 09:24:45 pm
I think I'm done with the Moat joke, time to find a new one

You?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 30, 2014, 09:55:50 pm
Finally gave in and bought a PS4, though their games so far seem pretty lacking.  I bought Diablo III, and am waiting for a (long) download.  The purchase came with a voucher for one of: Destiny, Farcry 4, Little Big Planet 3, or lame_sports_game_0001.  Obviously lame sports game is out. (I'm not sure why they even make those games.)  Both Destiny and Farcry 4 look to be first-person shooters, and therefore pretty weak.  (The last first-person shooter game I played was Doom.)  Is there anything to those games?  I read Destiny has some RPG elements.

Little Big Planet is a puzzle game, apparently, so it looks like a winner.  Has anyone played it?

Has anyone tried the PSNow thing?  It looks like they offer PSX, X<4, games for streaming, but apparently they charge per time unit, which seems pretty bad for any kind of game you'd actually want to play.
If I had to chose between lame-future-rpg, or lame-open-world-shooter, or lame-platformer-puzzle-game, or lame-sports-clone... I'd choose something from the mid-late 90s.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 30, 2014, 10:14:28 pm
Finally gave in and bought a PS4, though their games so far seem pretty lacking.  I bought Diablo III, and am waiting for a (long) download.  The purchase came with a voucher for one of: Destiny, Farcry 4, Little Big Planet 3, or lame_sports_game_0001.  Obviously lame sports game is out. (I'm not sure why they even make those games.)  Both Destiny and Farcry 4 look to be first-person shooters, and therefore pretty weak.  (The last first-person shooter game I played was Doom.)  Is there anything to those games?  I read Destiny has some RPG elements.

Little Big Planet is a puzzle game, apparently, so it looks like a winner.  Has anyone played it?

Has anyone tried the PSNow thing?  It looks like they offer PSX, X<4, games for streaming, but apparently they charge per time unit, which seems pretty bad for any kind of game you'd actually want to play.
If I had to chose between lame-future-rpg, or lame-open-world-shooter, or lame-platformer-puzzle-game, or lame-sports-clone... I'd choose something from the mid-late 90s.

Yeah, not all games are terrible. But the choices presented aren't great. Did you play Dishonored? The Evil Within? GTA V? Those are all worth the money. Ubisoft games are not worth buying new ever, and Destiny looks generic. Sports games aren't games. LBP I know nothing about like I said. Also, not all 90's games are good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on December 30, 2014, 11:00:55 pm
I've played GTA V story mode. Not online. It was pretty good. So far, the "newest" game(s) I've enjoyed the most are the Portal games, and Fallout 3. Sadly, I cannot usually stay interested in a game long enough to finish something like Skyrim. It was a beautiful game though.

Also, I suck at video games. Except the Madden series and Tiger Woods series, which, as mentioned before, aren't really video games. I'd rather play real football or real golf instead anyways.

I do enjoy SketchUp. Also, NoLimits Coaster Simulation with FVD design software.

On PC I like playing Age of Empires II, on easy difficulty. RollerCoaster Tycoon is fun sometimes too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 31, 2014, 01:30:07 am
I've played GTA V story mode. Not online. It was pretty good. So far, the "newest" game(s) I've enjoyed the most are the Portal games, and Fallout 3. Sadly, I cannot usually stay interested in a game long enough to finish something like Skyrim. It was a beautiful game though.

Also, I suck at video games. Except the Madden series and Tiger Woods series, which, as mentioned before, aren't really video games. I'd rather play real football or real golf instead anyways.

I do enjoy SketchUp. Also, NoLimits Coaster Simulation with FVD design software.

On PC I like playing Age of Empires II, on easy difficulty. RollerCoaster Tycoon is fun sometimes too.

GTA online isn't that good. Easily skipable. Skyrim is fun, but it does get repetitive. I just really enjoy exploration. Fallout 3 and New Vegas were amazing, NV being the only game I've played more than 3 times. I found something new everytime I played.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 31, 2014, 05:00:41 am
I think I'm done with the Moat joke, time to find a new one

JoaT?

Naah, a whole new fun thing to put in threads.

Being Eevee on Isotropic....Done
Alternate Accounts...Done
Is Isotropic Down....Done
Moat......Done
Hiding random song lyrics in posts.....Done
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 31, 2014, 05:01:45 am
I've played GTA V story mode. Not online. It was pretty good. So far, the "newest" game(s) I've enjoyed the most are the Portal games, and Fallout 3. Sadly, I cannot usually stay interested in a game long enough to finish something like Skyrim. It was a beautiful game though.

Also, I suck at video games. Except the Madden series and Tiger Woods series, which, as mentioned before, aren't really video games. I'd rather play real football or real golf instead anyways.

I do enjoy SketchUp. Also, NoLimits Coaster Simulation with FVD design software.

On PC I like playing Age of Empires II, on easy difficulty. RollerCoaster Tycoon is fun sometimes too.

GTA online isn't that good. Easily skipable. Skyrim is fun, but it does get repetitive. I just really enjoy exploration. Fallout 3 and New Vegas were amazing, NV being the only game I've played more than 3 times. I found something new everytime I played.

fallout 3 was awesome

But I dont have the time to invest 40+ hours into games, and I hate missingthings, two things that do not go well together.

Has anyone played 80 days game on the ios yet? Quite enjoyed that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 31, 2014, 12:21:00 pm
I think I'm done with the Moat joke, time to find a new one

JoaT?

Naah, a whole new fun thing to put in threads.

Being Eevee on Isotropic....Done
Alternate Accounts...Done
Is Isotropic Down....Done
Moat......Done
Hiding random song lyrics in posts.....Done

Is the hidden song lyric in this post the pause suggested by "..."?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 31, 2014, 12:53:43 pm
The hidden lyric is from "Daybreaker" by ELO. Very clever, Ozle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on December 31, 2014, 03:56:19 pm
I just played my first game of Dominion in months and I won pretty convincingly. After the game I said my customary "gg" and clicked done but not before seeing my opponent say "no". I'm glad I didn't catch what he was about to say after that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on December 31, 2014, 04:17:18 pm
I just played my first game of Dominion is months and I won pretty convincingly. After the game I said my customary "gg" and clicked done but not before seeing my opponent say "no". I'm glad I didn't catch what he was about to say after that.

Oooh! A return to the online etiquette debate. I've heard a number of people say that they consider it poor form to say "gg" as the winner before the loser says "gg." Personally, I would not be offended, but I have changed my behaviour so as to avoid causing offense to others.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on December 31, 2014, 04:35:40 pm
I just played my first game of Dominion is months and I won pretty convincingly. After the game I said my customary "gg" and clicked done but not before seeing my opponent say "no". I'm glad I didn't catch what he was about to say after that.

Oooh! A return to the online etiquette debate. I've heard a number of people say that they consider it poor form to say "gg" as the winner before the loser says "gg." Personally, I would not be offended, but I have changed my behaviour so as to avoid causing offense to others.

I say it even if I lose, but yeah I'm not going to get into that whole debate.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on December 31, 2014, 06:23:28 pm
I just played my first game of Dominion is months and I won pretty convincingly. After the game I said my customary "gg" and clicked done but not before seeing my opponent say "no". I'm glad I didn't catch what he was about to say after that.

Oooh! A return to the online etiquette debate. I've heard a number of people say that they consider it poor form to say "gg" as the winner before the loser says "gg." Personally, I would not be offended, but I have changed my behaviour so as to avoid causing offense to others.

I say it even if I lose, but yeah I'm not going to get into that whole debate.

No, you say bg when you lose to me (which is always), and act all unhappy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 31, 2014, 09:17:03 pm
I think we'd be far better off without "gg" (and "glhf" for that matter). But I recognize that "gg" is here to stay, so here's how I use it.

• If I lose a game, I will say "gg" usually followed by "Well played." In this case, "gg" means "Thanks for playing this game with me".
• If I win a game and my opponent says "gg" and doesn't immediately leave, I will say "gg" back. In this case, "gg" means "Thank you for not leaving right after saying "gg".
• In rare cases, if a game has been extremely close and interesting, I will say "gg" even if I have won. In this case, "gg" means "That was a good game."
• In very rare cases, I will say "gg" even if none of the above apply. In these cases, "gg" means "That's right, fuckwad! I beat your goddamn bog-standard Minion enigne! How does that taste, you incredible asshole!?"

EDIT: • I also say it right before I ragequit. Sort of a courtesy so they're not caught off-guard when I ragequit.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on December 31, 2014, 11:56:06 pm
How you end up feeling when your opponent buys as much VP as possible even though he already bought the game winning card:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2-4XxkOnqs

Way to rub it in, Desean.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on January 01, 2015, 03:46:45 am
How you end up feeling when your opponent buys as much VP as possible even though he already bought the game winning card:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2-4XxkOnqs

Way to rub it in, Desean.
This is my favorite thing of 2015 and the year has just started.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: soulnet on January 01, 2015, 06:20:41 am
I say gg when I ride my bike. When I am happy. When the day feels too long.

Mmm, gg is starting to feel like a female-exclusive hygiene product.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 01, 2015, 12:51:29 pm
First post!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on January 01, 2015, 01:03:53 pm
First post!
Of 2015? What timezone are you in?

Also, halfway to where Random Stuff Part I left off...

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 01, 2015, 02:45:53 pm
First post!

No, KingZog3 was the first.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on January 01, 2015, 02:55:20 pm
First post!

No, KingZog3 was the first.

Actually Theory just chopped the random stuff I thread at my post, so really it's Theory who posted first with my account.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 01, 2015, 02:57:42 pm
First post!

No, KingZog3 was the first.

Actually Theory just chopped the random stuff I thread at my post, so really it's Theory who posted first with my account.

I meant the first to post in 2015, which is what I thought Kirian meant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on January 01, 2015, 02:59:42 pm
First post!

No, KingZog3 was the first.

Actually Theory just chopped the random stuff I thread at my post, so really it's Theory who posted first with my account.

I meant the first to post in 2015, which is what I thought Kirian meant.

that's what I thought too, but I didn't make the first post in 2015 did I? Which thread?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 01, 2015, 03:10:09 pm
First post!

No, KingZog3 was the first.

Actually Theory just chopped the random stuff I thread at my post, so really it's Theory who posted first with my account.

I meant the first to post in 2015, which is what I thought Kirian meant.

that's what I thought too, but I didn't make the first post in 2015 did I? Which thread?

This thread. This post:

I just played my first game of Dominion is months and I won pretty convincingly. After the game I said my customary "gg" and clicked done but not before seeing my opponent say "no". I'm glad I didn't catch what he was about to say after that.

Oooh! A return to the online etiquette debate. I've heard a number of people say that they consider it poor form to say "gg" as the winner before the loser says "gg." Personally, I would not be offended, but I have changed my behaviour so as to avoid causing offense to others.

I say it even if I lose, but yeah I'm not going to get into that whole debate.

No, you say bg when you lose to me (which is always), and act all unhappy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on January 01, 2015, 03:14:56 pm
It was December 31st 6pm here when I posted that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 01, 2015, 03:20:16 pm
First post!

No, KingZog3 was the first.

Actually Theory just chopped the random stuff I thread at my post, so really it's Theory who posted first with my account.

I meant the first to post in 2015, which is what I thought Kirian meant.

I was meaning nothing other than being entirely random (see the thread title).  I've never actually done the "first post" thing before, except in jest.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 01, 2015, 06:43:31 pm
Who was the first to post here in 2015 FT?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 01, 2015, 06:44:29 pm
I think we'd be far better off without "gg" (and "glhf" for that matter). But I recognize that "gg" is here to stay, so here's how I use it.

• If I lose a game, I will say "gg" usually followed by "Well played." In this case, "gg" means "Thanks for playing this game with me".
• If I win a game and my opponent says "gg" and doesn't immediately leave, I will say "gg" back. In this case, "gg" means "Thank you for not leaving right after saying "gg".
• In rare cases, if a game has been extremely close and interesting, I will say "gg" even if I have won. In this case, "gg" means "That was a good game."
• In very rare cases, I will say "gg" even if none of the above apply. In these cases, "gg" means "That's right, f***wad! I beat your godd*** bog-standard Minion enigne! How does that taste, you incredible a******!?"

Hey, everything but that last one is what I do!  My best story is after winning through pure tournament luck, I said "I feel like I shouldn't say gg..." and he replied "agreed." and left.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 02, 2015, 03:42:22 pm
Hrm, according to this, Statistics >> Mafia

http://www.cracked.com/article_21940_5-mathematical-strategies-dominating-popular-kids-games_p2.html

Grain of salt because, I mean, it's Cracked... but I think the point may well be correct.  Obviously this ignores all of the extra roles and stuff you crazy Mafia-ers... Mafiators?  Whatever... that you do.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on January 02, 2015, 04:03:06 pm
Hrm, according to this, Statistics >> Mafia

http://www.cracked.com/article_21940_5-mathematical-strategies-dominating-popular-kids-games_p2.html

Grain of salt because, I mean, it's Cracked... but I think the point may well be correct.  Obviously this ignores all of the extra roles and stuff you crazy Mafia-ers... Mafiators?  Whatever... that you do.
Nope, that's just nonsense. Scumhunting is always at the very worst the same as random lynch, which is what they are suggesting. How much better than random lynch it actually is I don't think is very much, but it is still better.

EDIT: I went and read the rest of the article. The one about Memory might have been interesting if they actually explained it, but instead they said "AAHHHH! MATH IS SCARY!"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 02, 2015, 10:17:30 pm
I got LBP3 free with my PS4.  It's cool if you like kids platformers.  It does have a minecraft mode if you like that.

I was never an fps guy, but now all I do is play Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on January 03, 2015, 10:26:59 am
Hrm, according to this, Statistics >> Mafia

http://www.cracked.com/article_21940_5-mathematical-strategies-dominating-popular-kids-games_p2.html

Grain of salt because, I mean, it's Cracked... but I think the point may well be correct.  Obviously this ignores all of the extra roles and stuff you crazy Mafia-ers... Mafiators?  Whatever... that you do.

The problem with the strategy they're suggesting is that all scum has to do is kill the people lower on the list than them, so it's not just a matter of making sure the last person is town. Suppose you have a game with 2 mafia and 7 town- in order for the "random list" to result in a town win, both of the mafia players have to be in the first four players on the list, which gives very good odds for mafia. Picking someone random every day might be more successful, but I think most setups are meant to be balanced that randomness works out at least slightly in scum's favor.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 03, 2015, 01:00:19 pm
New forum game for us. Go!

http://existentialcomics.com/comic/58
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on January 03, 2015, 01:52:57 pm
New forum game for us. Go!

http://existentialcomics.com/comic/58

The funniest part of this comic is that sometimes they explain the jokes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on January 03, 2015, 02:04:17 pm
New forum game for us. Go!

http://existentialcomics.com/comic/58
In French class, I reskinned Candyland to the theme of Le Petite Prince.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 03, 2015, 02:16:39 pm
New forum game for us. Go!

http://existentialcomics.com/comic/58
In French class, I reskinned Candyland to the theme of Le Petite Prince.

Despite not having actually read that, I somehow feel that's a horrible insult to the book.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 03, 2015, 04:17:23 pm
(http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/1-03-2015/8iCQeW.gif)

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 04, 2015, 10:03:25 am
If I new how to make a meme, it would be some sad-faced person and this:



Makes an animated captioned meme


Plug for free meme-generating software covers up part of the caption







Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 04, 2015, 01:00:05 pm
If I new how to make a meme, it would be some sad-faced person and this:



Makes an animated captioned meme


Plug for free meme-generating software covers up part of the caption









Probably socially awkward penguin.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 04, 2015, 03:30:57 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/838747c8f540127e2b28fa0cfef6c0f8/tumblr_nh7iplQrit1s02vreo1_400.gif)

Edit:

And something unrelated:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E3i7lNHIfk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on January 04, 2015, 04:41:29 pm
I've seen that Pac Man strategy. It's really not broken, since it's so easy to gimp in sudden death, but it is a reliable way to FORCE a sudden death match, and just get good at those... so I guess it is broken.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 05, 2015, 08:24:08 am
New forum game for us. Go!

http://existentialcomics.com/comic/58

The funniest part of this comic is that sometimes they explain the jokes.

I'm okay with that. While I'm sure my philosophy knowledge exceeds the median, I'm still woefully ignorant about many philosophers and what they espoused. I don't mind a little heavy-handedness in these jokes.

I mean, I wouldn't explain them if I wrote them, but I'm a dick that way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 05, 2015, 12:24:04 pm
Aw, sad AA. She asked me a question about a formula in Excel. I pointed out two errors with it. One being a simple matter of dividing by the wrong line. Then I had to show her how Excel does not store time passed in a format of mm:ss and that when she tried to record 6 minutes and 15 seconds, Excel actually calculates it as 0.26, which totally throws their numbers out of whack.

What's sad is that this report has apparently been in use for a long while. The problem didn't come to light until someone tried to input 24:02, which Excel does not recognize as a legitimate time value. Now she's aware of just how flawed the report is. I bear bad news from Excelland.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 05, 2015, 01:34:31 pm
(http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1083461_lg.jpg)

This needs to happen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 05, 2015, 01:35:37 pm
I was trying to log in to my Twitch account, but instead I accidentally followed myself with my old Justin.tv account. Now I get emails every time I stream.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 05, 2015, 01:40:12 pm
I was trying to log in to my Twitch account, but instead I accidentally followed myself with my old Justin.tv account. Now I get emails every time I stream.

That sucks. I'll watch yo stream if you do that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 05, 2015, 03:54:53 pm
I just learned the alt code for pi...  Now let's hope I remember it...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on January 05, 2015, 03:57:38 pm
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/designing-the-best-board-game-on-the-planet/

References twilightstrugglestrategy.com
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on January 05, 2015, 07:13:21 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/MU7KJku.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 05, 2015, 07:33:29 pm
I just learned the alt code for pi...  Now let's hope I remember it...

Is it Moat?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on January 05, 2015, 11:31:23 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/MU7KJku.jpg)
Is it wrong that I know exactly at which point in the movie this happens?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 06, 2015, 01:41:50 am
Is it wrong that I know exactly at which point in the movie this happens?

Open one box:

Box (http://www.todoporlapraxis.es/wp-content/oqey_gallery/galleries/antriball-no/galimg/no.jpg)       Box (http://www.nkkhoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/yes.jpg)

Don't cheat!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 06, 2015, 02:03:44 am
Is it wrong that I know exactly at which point in the movie this happens?

Open one box:

Box (http://www.todoporlapraxis.es/wp-content/oqey_gallery/galleries/antriball-no/galimg/no.jpg)       Box (http://www.nkkhoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/yes.jpg)

Don't cheat!

And this is why you mouse over links to see where they point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on January 06, 2015, 08:04:55 am
Is it wrong that I know exactly at which point in the movie this happens?
I know too, so no :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 06, 2015, 08:14:18 am
Is it wrong that I know exactly at which point in the movie this happens?

Open one box:

Box (http://www.todoporlapraxis.es/wp-content/oqey_gallery/galleries/antriball-no/galimg/no.jpg)       Box (http://www.nkkhoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/yes.jpg)

Don't cheat!

And this is why you mouse over links to see where they point.

I did just that. But then I figured that whoever created those pages would anticipate people mousing over links and therefore reversed them. I clearly cannot choose the glass in front of me.

So I was a little disappointed that the trick was done…unless the trick was meant to catch people who are expecting a trick.

Perhaps this is why they say don't cheat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 06, 2015, 11:38:04 am
Is it wrong that I know exactly at which point in the movie this happens?

Open one box:

Box (http://www.todoporlapraxis.es/wp-content/oqey_gallery/galleries/antriball-no/galimg/no.jpg)       Box (http://www.nkkhoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/yes.jpg)

Don't cheat!

And this is why you mouse over links to see where they point.

...cheater.

I did just that. But then I figured that whoever created those pages would anticipate people mousing over links and therefore reversed them. I clearly cannot choose the glass in front of me.

So I was a little disappointed that the trick was done…unless the trick was meant to catch people who are expecting a trick.

Perhaps this is why they say don't cheat.


Huh, this is something I put together in 3 minutes with google images, so you are overanalyzing it.

If anyone can explain how to use those fancy redirections (or whatever) to hide the real links, I promise I won't use it for evil.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 06, 2015, 11:45:53 am
Is it wrong that I know exactly at which point in the movie this happens?

Open one box:

Box (http://www.todoporlapraxis.es/wp-content/oqey_gallery/galleries/antriball-no/galimg/no.jpg)       Box (http://www.nkkhoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/yes.jpg)

Don't cheat!

I cheated! I opened both boxes!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 06, 2015, 12:09:48 pm
Huh, this is something I put together in 3 minutes with google images, so you are overanalyzing it.

It's in my nature. It's how I lost at Mafia. I knew that just randomly hanging someone on the first day was the better choice, but I let myself get dragged into the analysis.

If anyone can explain how to use those fancy redirections (or whatever) to hide the real links, I promise I won't use it for evil.

You don't even need a redirect. Just name the graphics incorrectly so that people who hover over the link get the wrong answer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 06, 2015, 12:18:41 pm
But anyway, here is the code I put in the head section of the page:

<meta http-equiv="Refresh" content ="0;url=http://www.google.com">
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on January 06, 2015, 12:21:35 pm
Huh, this is something I put together in 3 minutes with google images, so you are overanalyzing it.

It's in my nature. It's how I lost at Mafia. I knew that just randomly hanging someone on the first day was the better choice, but I let myself get dragged into the analysis.

Has this become an inside joke now, then?


...

Could someone explain it to me?

(Edit: Post #2500, nice)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 06, 2015, 12:48:06 pm
But anyway, here is the code I put in the head section of the page:

<meta http-equiv="Refresh" content ="0;url=http://www.google.com">

Sorry, could you go into more detail? What do I have to change to make it work in a random post in this forum?

(Edit: Post #2500, nice)

Technically, post 2501.

Even more technically, post 7502.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 06, 2015, 02:00:30 pm
But anyway, here is the code I put in the head section of the page:

<meta http-equiv="Refresh" content ="0;url=http://www.google.com">

Sorry, could you go into more detail? What do I have to change to make it work in a random post in this forum?

Oh, sorry, I just thought you wanted to have the status bar read one URL while redirecting to another URL so you can obfuscate the real destination. I was just giving a redirect code.

Randomizing from a list of topics in the board is a bit beyond me. I'm sure I could do it, but I'd have to devote time to research, and it'd be faster for someone else to answer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 06, 2015, 03:25:41 pm
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on January 06, 2015, 03:53:24 pm
(Edit: Post Reply #2500, nice)

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 06, 2015, 03:54:53 pm
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.

"This chart documents the origin and evolution of intellectual property."

*This chart contains a lot of gratuitous curves that really confuse the graphic and make it look like a lot more is happening than really is, which is somewhat the point of this document, it seems.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 06, 2015, 03:58:03 pm
This really bothers me.. it feels like the same kind of rhetoric that people make to show that Quantum Mechanics proves that we don't know anything and mysticism is real.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 06, 2015, 03:58:38 pm
But anyway, here is the code I put in the head section of the page:

<meta http-equiv="Refresh" content ="0;url=http://www.google.com">

Sorry, could you go into more detail? What do I have to change to make it work in a random post in this forum?

Oh, sorry, I just thought you wanted to have the status bar read one URL while redirecting to another URL so you can obfuscate the real destination. I was just giving a redirect code.

Ah sorry, that's exactly what I was looking for. I was asking how to use this huh grammar. Where do I put this snippet? Where does the real URL go? And the fake one?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 06, 2015, 04:07:53 pm
But anyway, here is the code I put in the head section of the page:

<meta http-equiv="Refresh" content ="0;url=http://www.google.com">

Sorry, could you go into more detail? What do I have to change to make it work in a random post in this forum?

Oh, sorry, I just thought you wanted to have the status bar read one URL while redirecting to another URL so you can obfuscate the real destination. I was just giving a redirect code.

Ah sorry, that's exactly what I was looking for. I was asking how to use this huh grammar. Where do I put this snippet? Where does the real URL go? And the fake one?

In the code, replace Google with your new destination. You edit your source page and place that code between <head> and </head>. Then when that page is run, it'll automatically direct the user to that page (assuming he forbids his browser from running any commands).

If you don't have access to the HTML code, then I don't know how to proceed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 06, 2015, 04:09:22 pm
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.

...I can't believe I read the whole entire thing...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 06, 2015, 04:22:14 pm
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.

...I can't believe I read the whole entire thing...

I didn't.  I read maybe the first 5 pages and then scrolled through the rest.

But now that you've done so, how has your life changed?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 06, 2015, 04:26:27 pm
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.

It is a caricature. Right? Please tell me it's a caricature. It must be a caricature.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 06, 2015, 04:32:00 pm
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.

It is a caricature. Right? Please tell me it's a caricature. It must be a caricature.

Apparently it's not!  There are news articles from back when this was something new.  For example:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pepsis-nonsensical-logo-redesign-document-1-million-for-this/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 06, 2015, 04:33:00 pm
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.

It is a caricature. Right? Please tell me it's a caricature. It must be a caricature.

It loos so much like it is that I'm pretty sure it isn't :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 06, 2015, 04:41:12 pm
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.

It is a caricature. Right? Please tell me it's a caricature. It must be a caricature.

Apparently it's not!  There are news articles from back when this was something new.  For example:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pepsis-nonsensical-logo-redesign-document-1-million-for-this/

Do you ever get that feeling watching movies or something where you're so embarrassed for the people on screen that you just want to burrow into the couch and hide? That is how I feel right now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 06, 2015, 05:37:25 pm
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.

...I can't believe I read the whole entire thing...

I didn't.  I read maybe the first 5 pages and then scrolled through the rest.

But now that you've done so, how has your life changed?

It has changed it profoundly.  I now realize that the fundamental laws/constants/anythingwhatsoever of the universe is pepsi.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 06, 2015, 05:37:38 pm
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.

It is a caricature. Right? Please tell me it's a caricature. It must be a caricature.

Apparently it's not!  There are news articles from back when this was something new.  For example:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pepsis-nonsensical-logo-redesign-document-1-million-for-this/

Do you ever get that feeling watching movies or something where you're so embarrassed for the people on screen that you just want to burrow into the couch and hide?

All the time...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on January 06, 2015, 06:13:53 pm
I'm pretty sure they hired the timecube (http://www.timecube.com/) guy to write that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on January 06, 2015, 08:17:02 pm
From what I remember, Arnell is a brander/designer who did really good work which had good results and got praise from both designers and consumers. Then he went kinda crazy and overboard, but still got good results, so people put up with him. Then he didn't have as many slam-dunk results. Not sure what's going on with him now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 07, 2015, 08:44:36 am
http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf

The seriousness of this document makes it feel like a caricature of marketing and design.  It blows my mind.

It is a caricature. Right? Please tell me it's a caricature. It must be a caricature.

It looks like something that came from the mind of Terry Gilliam.

Speaking of which, The Zero Theorem has a ridiculous swarm of signs telling people what not to do at a park. It amused me greatly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 07, 2015, 05:25:56 pm
(http://meuk.anthrax-online.com/images/twitch_banner.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on January 07, 2015, 06:59:03 pm
BP spent over $7 million on their logo change back in 2000

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/849475.stm

They basically came up with a green and yellow flower to link them to green and clean technologies, wonder how that worked out for them...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 07, 2015, 08:13:00 pm
Well, I'm still not even buying Exxon gas, so it's not going to work out very well for them with regards to me.

My favorite (and ongoing) logo fiasco is for a United States insurance company called Nationwide. About 10 years ago they changed their logo to a blue rectangular (nearly square) outline surrounding white space.  Singularly unimpressive.

Edit: Correct typo
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on January 07, 2015, 08:48:17 pm
urg, I seem to always do the wrong thing if I'm opening threads
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on January 07, 2015, 08:50:59 pm
urg, I seem to always do the wrong thing if I'm opening threads

Or maybe you're opening threads in the strategy article section, where people post a little less.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on January 07, 2015, 09:02:25 pm
BP spent over $7 million on their logo change back in 2000

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/849475.stm

They basically came up with a green and yellow flower to link them to green and clean technologies, wonder how that worked out for them...

I know a guy who until very recently was a higher-up in BP in the environmental side of things. He was doing some work on the cleanup. From what I understand, BP was (maybe still is) doing a lot of work in energy sources other than fossil fuels. Anyway according to him (and he would know), when the spill first happened and they were ordered to pay out such-and-such huge amounts of dollars, they didn't even fight it. They were trying to take responsibility as best they could. But it got to the point where everybody and their brother in the affected areas were trying to get a piece of that sweet BP money pie, even for stuff completely unrelated to the spill. Basically the lawyers smelled blood and would have been happy to bankrupt BP completely. So of course BP eventually started fighting all the court battles to keep themselves in business.

Anyway, this is secondhand info, so don't quote me. It's interesting how there are always multiple sides to the story.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 07, 2015, 09:03:58 pm
don't quote me

 :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 07, 2015, 11:43:37 pm
Well, I'm still not even buying Exxon gas, so it's not going to work out very well for them with regards to me.

I... don't understand what you're saying here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on January 08, 2015, 12:10:05 am
Well, I'm still not even buying Exxon gas, so it's not going to work out very well for them with regards to me.

I... don't understand what you're saying here.

I think SCS is talking about the Exxon oil spill, which was...around 25 years ago. Meaning, SCS is going to avoid BP to stay consistent.

The new logo happened before Deepwater Horizon though, so I think it's a little off target.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on January 08, 2015, 02:22:48 am
BP spent over $7 million on their logo change back in 2000

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/849475.stm

They basically came up with a green and yellow flower to link them to green and clean technologies, wonder how that worked out for them...
If you compare to their previous logo, maybe it was worth it:
http://www.inc.com/ss/evolution-corporate-logos?slide=1 (http://www.inc.com/ss/evolution-corporate-logos?slide=1)
Their new logo is pretty nice, and the previous logo was boring/ugly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on January 08, 2015, 03:07:34 am
I'm not fussed as I just fill my car with whatever petrol is closest to hand when I run out and is the cheapest

 if it was cheaper and was an ok substitute I'd even fill it with Nestle Baby milk'
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 08, 2015, 08:10:34 am
Well, I'm still not even buying Exxon gas, so it's not going to work out very well for them with regards to me.

I... don't understand what you're saying here.

Titandrake is correct.  I don't buy Exxon gas because of Valdez, so I'm not buying BP either, post-Gulf spill.  Logo, or the timing thereof, has nothing to do with that decision.

The other part of that post, about the Nationwide logo, wasn't linked to thought about oil companies, but was linked to the concept of logos in general, after the post about the Pepsi stuff and the mention of BP's logo.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 08, 2015, 08:12:32 am
I always found the logo and slogan for Sherwin-Williams kind of disturbing.

"Cover the Earth" ….with paint…apparently.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 08, 2015, 08:20:33 am
It's a small world... but I wouldn't want to have to paint it. - Steven Wright

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 08, 2015, 11:43:09 am
Sherwin Williams would be sad to see this (https://what-if.xkcd.com/84/)...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 08, 2015, 11:43:42 am
Oh yeah, also, who were those people who said that they were unique being 18 on here?  Because it's not so unique anymore...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on January 08, 2015, 12:02:31 pm
Oh yeah, also, who were those people who said that they were unique being 18 on here?  Because it's not so unique anymore...
present.

But (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9959.msg448422#msg448422) I already had it taken from me. Now we're a trio (at least for another month ;D).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on January 08, 2015, 12:25:15 pm
Was just reminded of a game I absolutely loved as a kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYzg8TO2WLk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on January 08, 2015, 01:27:16 pm
Was just reminded of a game I absolutely loved as a kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYzg8TO2WLk

I presume because of the AGDQ (https://gamesdonequick.com/) run?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on January 08, 2015, 01:52:57 pm
Yeah! I'm looking forward to the Zelda block tomorrow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on January 08, 2015, 02:35:22 pm
Over the past few weeks I've been rewatching the Harry Potter movies, so here is the definitive ranking :

The Prisoner of Azkaban (3)
The Goblet of Fire (4)
The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (7)
The Half-Blood Prince (6)
The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (8 )
The Order of the Phoenix (5)
The Philosopher's Stone (1)
The Chamber of Secrets (2)

Discuss ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 08, 2015, 02:43:44 pm
Over the past few weeks I've been rewatching the Harry Potter movies, so here is the definitive ranking :

The Prisoner of Azkaban (3)
The Goblet of Fire (4)
The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (7)
The Half-Blood Prince (6)
The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (8 )
The Order of the Phoenix (5)
The Philosopher's Stone (1)
The Chamber of Secrets (2)

Discuss ?

I like Prisoner of Azkaban being on top.  Alfonso Cuaron!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 08, 2015, 02:45:30 pm
Over the past few weeks I've been rewatching the Harry Potter movies, so here is the definitive ranking :

The Prisoner of Azkaban (3)
The Goblet of Fire (4)
The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (7)
The Half-Blood Prince (6)
The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (8 )
The Order of the Phoenix (5)
The Philosopher's Stone (1)
The Chamber of Secrets (2)

Discuss ?

Yes, I'm pretty sure this ranking is objectively correct. Although you could add a few hundred empty lines between The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and The Order of the Phoenix.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on January 08, 2015, 02:50:33 pm
Over the past few weeks I've been rewatching the Harry Potter movies, so here is the definitive ranking :

The Prisoner of Azkaban (3)
The Goblet of Fire (4)
The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (7)
The Half-Blood Prince (6)
The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (8 )
The Order of the Phoenix (5)
The Philosopher's Stone (1)
The Chamber of Secrets (2)

Discuss ?
I agree with this like 99%, but I'd personally put Goblet of Fire on top. The first two movies are somewhat meh to me. I watched all the movies before I read the books (I know, probably sacrilege), and I still feel like there's a lot of stuff in the last book (and movie) I don't "get".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 08, 2015, 02:56:50 pm
(I know, probably sacrilege)

If the books were sacred, but they're not.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on January 08, 2015, 03:02:51 pm
(I know, probably sacrilege)

If the books were sacred, but they're not.
Not to me and you they aren't  ;).

I meant it in the context of the "the book is always better than the movie; read the book first" thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 08, 2015, 03:28:03 pm
Han Solo when he sees a Chapel in a Kingdom:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BuoXPdEIYAEtqMK.jpg:large)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on January 08, 2015, 03:32:03 pm
Yes, I'm pretty sure this ranking is objectively correct. Although you could add a few hundred empty lines between The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and The Order of the Phoenix.

You know, before I rewatched them, I would have put Order of the Phoenix last, below even the first two, but... I don't know, it wasn't that awful. It's not good, but it's better than I remembered it.

@Ichi : Goblet of Fire really nails the Cedric Digorry thing which is probably the most important thing in the whole series, but it does have pacing problems. I remember there being talk of splitting it in two at the time, and you can feel it at the start of the movie where the editing feels really rushed.

As far as reading the book first... well if you are going to read the book, yeah it's better to read it first because you get to imagine the characters and setting your own way... but that's your loss, I'm not sure why people would get upset about that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 08, 2015, 03:42:23 pm
Yes, I'm pretty sure this ranking is objectively correct. Although you could add a few hundred empty lines between The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and The Order of the Phoenix.

You know, before I rewatched them, I would have put Order of the Phoenix last, below even the first two, but... I don't know, it wasn't that awful. It's not good, but it's better than I remembered it.

@Ichi : Goblet of Fire really nails the Cedric Digorry thing which is probably the most important thing in the whole series, but it does have pacing problems. I remember there being talk of splitting it in two at the time, and you can feel it at the start of the movie where the editing feels really rushed.

As far as reading the book first... well if you are going to read the book, yeah it's better to read it first because you get to imagine the characters and setting your own way... but that's your loss, I'm not sure why people would get upset about that.

I actually kind of like how Goblet of Fire feels really slow and then gets a little bit super dark super fast in the last 15 minutes or so.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 08, 2015, 04:01:58 pm
I only watched like half the movies. Was generally extremely unimpressed. I recall that PoA was just ruined for me by the stupid looking werewolf.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on January 08, 2015, 04:06:27 pm
I think Goblet of Fire has the best RiffTrax.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on January 08, 2015, 04:38:42 pm
Over the past few weeks I've been rewatching the Harry Potter movies, so here is the definitive ranking :

The Prisoner of Azkaban (3)
The Goblet of Fire (4)
The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (7)
The Half-Blood Prince (6)
The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (8 )
The Order of the Phoenix (5)
The Philosopher's Stone (1)
The Chamber of Secrets (2)

Discuss ?

they all sucked.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 08, 2015, 04:45:44 pm
i thought the movies were OK, but they don't stand out to me enough to say one is better than another.  Books aren't always better than the movie, but they certainly are with Harry Potter. 

I do remember being disappointed with Goblet of Fire.  It was my favourite of the books, but the length of the movie vs. the book definitely meant a lot had to be cut.  There were some changes that stood out a lot to me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on January 08, 2015, 05:04:10 pm
I only watched like half the movies. Was generally extremely unimpressed. I recall that PoA was just ruined for me by the stupid looking werewolf.

It doesn't take much for you to ruin a movie then...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 08, 2015, 05:22:09 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/e657e040014af21fb74e30117916abb8/tumblr_nhtd09VTcp1rq1pj8o1_400.gif)

Security issues.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on January 08, 2015, 05:33:40 pm
i thought the movies were OK, but they don't stand out to me enough to say one is better than another.  Books aren't always better than the movie, but they certainly are with Harry Potter. 

I do remember being disappointed with Goblet of Fire.  It was my favourite of the books, but the length of the movie vs. the book definitely meant a lot had to be cut.  There were some changes that stood out a lot to me.
And this is why I think goblet of fire was the worst movie
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on January 08, 2015, 05:45:09 pm
Also, I just finished reading Golden Son (http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Son-Red-Rising-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00I765ZEU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420757004&sr=8-1&keywords=golden+son), the sequel to Red Rising (http://www.amazon.com/Red-Rising-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00CVS2J80/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420757004&sr=8-2&keywords=golden+son), and wow... I don't know what to do with myself now... It's like finishing a GoT all over again (which I did about a week ago)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 08, 2015, 08:56:57 pm
Poker is over.  Well, at least Texas Hold-em is.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/game-theorists-crack-poker/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on January 08, 2015, 09:00:40 pm
Poker is over.  Well, at least Texas Hold-em is.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/game-theorists-crack-poker/
*two player limit texas hold-em
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on January 08, 2015, 10:02:35 pm
Quote
incapable of losing against any opponent in a fair game”.

eh... that's impossible, because you can just have better cards? or does fair mean everyone has the same luck? no game is fair then.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on January 08, 2015, 10:04:21 pm
Quote
Of course, no poker algorithm can be mathematically guaranteed to win every game, because the game involves a large element of chance based on the hand you’re dealt. But Bowling and his colleagues have demonstrated that their algorithm always wins in the long run.

ah, fair enough
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 08, 2015, 10:16:43 pm
Quote
Michael Bowling and his colleagues at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, along with Finnish software developer Oskari Tammelin, plays perfectly, to all intents and purposes.

We've found Eevee, I think.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on January 08, 2015, 10:44:00 pm
Quote
Michael Bowling and his colleagues at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, along with Finnish software developer Oskari Tammelin, plays perfectly, to all intents and purposes.

We've found Eevee, I think.

Let's go to his door, ring the doorbell and run! Teeheehee!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on January 09, 2015, 01:22:41 am
I feel like the article leaves out the most interesting part: how does the bot play?  How often does it bluff?  How often does it slow play?  How aggressive is it?  How important is position?  What percentage of hands does it play?  How often does it take the pot with the weaker hand?  And for me the most interesting question would be, if it plays against itself, what percentage of hands make it to showdown?

It's pretty surprising to me that limit hold 'em is now solved (even only for heads up), I would have guessed at least another 5-10 years.  But still, I think we're a long, long way off from solving no limit hold 'em, which is a much more interesting and popular game anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 09, 2015, 02:06:05 am
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/600997

What happens when you combine me with boredom, 80s synths, and an actual videogame track I'm supposed to be making.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on January 09, 2015, 03:59:55 am
I feel like the article leaves out the most interesting part: how does the bot play?  How often does it bluff?  How often does it slow play?  How aggressive is it?  How important is position?  What percentage of hands does it play?  How often does it take the pot with the weaker hand?  And for me the most interesting question would be, if it plays against itself, what percentage of hands make it to showdown?

After Googling around, it seems like the original paper has some stats on how it plays - for instance, it called on the first action 0.06% of the time. The actual paper is going to be trickier to get access to.

I'm not sure if that's from a large sample of possible states, or explicitly from every possible state. For qualitative questions, it's very hard to quantify some of them, and it's entirely possible the bot pays wildly differently on states that appear to be similar in value, so at best you can hope that you can play the bot yourself somehow...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on January 09, 2015, 09:49:15 am
I actually met this guy last summer; he said he had it down to one milli-big blind off the nash equilibrium, but hadn't published yet. I guess now he has :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on January 09, 2015, 01:24:49 pm
I actually met this guy last summer; he said he had it down to one milli-big blind off the nash equilibrium, but hadn't published yet. I guess now he has :P

Huh - my impression was that it wasn't the exact solution to the nash equilibirum, and was generated from a very, very large sample of actual game states of poker. Maybe I'm wrong though. Or, maybe they did it over all states, and worked on it til convergence. That way, it's not necessarily exactly perfect because of built-in limitations to how accurately the computer can represent decimals, but it's close enough to not even matter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on January 09, 2015, 01:36:58 pm
I actually met this guy last summer; he said he had it down to one milli-big blind off the nash equilibrium, but hadn't published yet. I guess now he has :P

Huh - my impression was that it wasn't the exact solution to the nash equilibirum, and was generated from a very, very large sample of actual game states of poker. Maybe I'm wrong though. Or, maybe they did it over all states, and worked on it til convergence. That way, it's not necessarily exactly perfect because of built-in limitations to how accurately the computer can represent decimals, but it's close enough to not even matter.

The "poker is solved" headline has been giving me mathematical twinges too.  Going on nothing else but the news coverage, this is roughly what I'm imagining has happened.

I've a vague idea I heard once that, in the same way that there's an algorithm that will provide a proof for any provable statement, there's an algorithm that is asymptotically optimal at playing games (or maybe it was trading, or perhaps there's no difference).  The idea is that you just try all of the possible strategies and measure how well they all do, and spend progressively more of your time using the better ones.  So what I imagine is that an algorithm like this has been run on this type of poker for a really long time, and that all of the clever work has gone into making it remotely computationally feasible.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on January 09, 2015, 01:41:21 pm
Right, the exact perfect strategy isn't known, but I guess it is known just how good it is. Their solution loses on average 1000th of a big blind each hand against a perfect strategy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 09, 2015, 06:33:44 pm
If you (or your educational institution) have the proper subscriptions, you can find the paper here: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6218/145
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Elanchana on January 09, 2015, 10:07:09 pm
(http://media.tumblr.com/96a2fe1d110841d1467a84d0c2bcd100/tumblr_inline_nhxxz7peZk1ql24zr.png)

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on January 09, 2015, 10:11:25 pm
For some reason Elanchana's message isn't marked as read for me, even though I read it several times and even hit the mark all as read button. Weird.

Edit: Fixed now that I posted. Still weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 09, 2015, 10:13:05 pm
For some reason Elanchana's message isn't marked as read for me, even though I read it several times and even hit the mark all as read button. Weird.

Are you sure you didn't hit the "mark unread" button by accident?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on January 09, 2015, 10:14:42 pm
For some reason Elanchana's message isn't marked as read for me, even though I read it several times and even hit the mark all as read button. Weird.

Are you sure you didn't hit the "mark unread" button by accident?

Quite certain. Oh well, it seems to be fixed now; your post did not have that problem.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 09, 2015, 10:40:07 pm
That's just your subconscious telling you you missed something important in her message.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 09, 2015, 10:43:50 pm
For some reason Elanchana's message isn't marked as read for me, even though I read it several times and even hit the mark all as read button. Weird.

Edit: Fixed now that I posted. Still weird.

It's happened to me several times before too...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 10, 2015, 12:03:25 am
(http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/useravs/avatar_2782_1415821849.png)
(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/thumb/9/9e/Young_Witch.jpg/200px-Young_Witch.jpg)

Woah. Ela's in Dominion!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 10, 2015, 12:42:44 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5wpm-gesOY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 10, 2015, 01:21:04 am
So I've read the full poker paper. Here's my understanding of what's going on.

I actually met this guy last summer; he said he had it down to one milli-big blind off the nash equilibrium, but hadn't published yet. I guess now he has :P

Huh - my impression was that it wasn't the exact solution to the nash equilibirum, and was generated from a very, very large sample of actual game states of poker. Maybe I'm wrong though. Or, maybe they did it over all states, and worked on it til convergence. That way, it's not necessarily exactly perfect because of built-in limitations to how accurately the computer can represent decimals, but it's close enough to not even matter.

The "poker is solved" headline has been giving me mathematical twinges too.  Going on nothing else but the news coverage, this is roughly what I'm imagining has happened.

I've a vague idea I heard once that, in the same way that there's an algorithm that will provide a proof for any provable statement, there's an algorithm that is asymptotically optimal at playing games (or maybe it was trading, or perhaps there's no difference).  The idea is that you just try all of the possible strategies and measure how well they all do, and spend progressively more of your time using the better ones.  So what I imagine is that an algorithm like this has been run on this type of poker for a really long time, and that all of the clever work has gone into making it remotely computationally feasible.

Counterfactual Regret Minimization (CFR) has been used on poker for a while now. The innovations in this paper are to:
- store everything compressed on disk to deal with the storage problem
- use a variant called CFR+ that looks at the whole game tree at each iteration and constrains regrets to be non-negative. This means that actions that appeared to be bad and then some evidence suggested that they were actually good will immediately have positive regret (indicating some regret for having not played them) rather than being weighed down by a bunch of negative regret. So they will be entered into the pool of possible actions to choose immediately upon proving at all useful.
- Normally the strategy that is used is the average of all strategies used, but they observed that the exploitability of the current strategy tends towards zero, so they use that instead of the average.

In order to determine the exploitability of a strategy, they pit it against the worst-case opponent strategy. They were able to make this calculation computationally feasible by exploiting some details of the structure of the imperfect information game. That's how they got the <1/1000 of a big blind per game.

I feel like the article leaves out the most interesting part: how does the bot play?  How often does it bluff?  How often does it slow play?  How aggressive is it?  How important is position?  What percentage of hands does it play?  How often does it take the pot with the weaker hand?  And for me the most interesting question would be, if it plays against itself, what percentage of hands make it to showdown?

After Googling around, it seems like the original paper has some stats on how it plays - for instance, it called on the first action 0.06% of the time. The actual paper is going to be trickier to get access to.

I'm not sure if that's from a large sample of possible states, or explicitly from every possible state. For qualitative questions, it's very hard to quantify some of them, and it's entirely possible the bot pays wildly differently on states that appear to be similar in value, so at best you can hope that you can play the bot yourself somehow...

In the paper they put exact bounds on the value of the game at between 0.0877 and 0.0897 big blinds per game in favor of the dealer.

Some strategy details that they talk about are that the dealer almost never calls and usually raises. The strategy almost never raises all the way to the betting limit on the first round of betting. It folds on fewer hands than humans do (as non-dealer. It very rarely folds as dealer).

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 10, 2015, 09:28:45 am

....Some strategy details that they talk about are that the dealer almost never calls and usually raises. The strategy almost never raises all the way to the betting limit on the first round of betting. It folds on fewer hands than humans do (as non-dealer. It very rarely folds as dealer).

In heads up, the button (dealer) raising instead of calling has been a good strategy for a long time, nothing shocking there.

I can't get to the paper itself, so can you clarify your second comment? The phrase "almost never raising to the betting limit" is a little confusing.  In fixed limit holdem, any raise will be to the "betting limit", as the limits are fixed.  Do you mean that the strategy almost never puts in the final raise (in a structure allowing the original bet and say 3 raises)?  That would seem obvious, as the opponent would have to be putting in raises as well for anyone to have an option to put in the final raise - this is heads up after all. The opponent not raising would by obviate your ability to raise to the maximum.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 10, 2015, 10:09:39 am
Can I ask for random tech support here?

I have a problem with my internet connection. I live in a student residence. At first the internet was free access, and there was no problem.

Then they added some control on the internet connection: when I open a browser, it automatically opens a login page where I have to identify myself before I can actually go on the internet. The problem is, it seems to have broken something, because I can't see embedded youtube images, I can't access half my google results (and can only access google image results when using google chrome instead of firefox), a lot of sites take forever to open (20-30 secs), and very often I have to manually type the site address with https:// in front to actually open a page (ex: I can't access wikipedia otherwise), and some random sites are completely blocked (particularly annoying when trying to download things from sourceforge, for example). I've complained to the internet provider, but they are not helping.

Now, today I've tried connecting with my work laptop, uses Ubuntu instead of Windows Vista (yes, I know, who uses Vista), and I have none of this problems.

So, does anyone have any idea what is the problem I have, and how to fix it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on January 10, 2015, 10:26:00 am
Possibly it's this new internet security they put up. If they're using some service to make their internet secure then it may blocking too many things. I've been on connections that won't let me connect to f.ds because it's a "threat."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 10, 2015, 10:31:23 am
But that isn't the problem. They aren't blocking the sites because they are a threat, I just cannot connect to these sites for some unexplained reason (the browsers try loading the site for a minute or so, and then it timeouts or something). If they were blocking the sites for security reasons, I wouldn't be able to access them by using another computer with the same internet connection.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on January 10, 2015, 01:12:42 pm
I'm looking to buy my first pair of reasonable headphones, and some of you seem to know about this kind of thing.  I listen to very little music, and mostly want them for listening to soundscapes on youtube recorded with binaural microphones.  At the moment I'm using a Ł10 headset; I suspect I'm missing detail, and am prepared to spend some money to find out.

I'm aiming to spend around Ł50, but am looking for value rather than cheap.  My searching so far has led me to the Sony MDR7506 (Ł75) and the Sennheiser HD449 (Ł60).  Any thoughts?  One potential problem with the MDR7056 appears to be that they might provide extremely accurate reproduction of people's not-that-great microphones.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on January 10, 2015, 01:36:19 pm
Actually I'm also interested in headphones. Preferably ones that are easy enough to wear while taking public transit to listen to music, and also for editing film stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 10, 2015, 01:41:31 pm
Actually I'm also interested in headphones. Preferably ones that are easy enough to wear while taking public transit to listen to music, and also for editing film stuff.

Don't buy Skullcandy or Beats Audio. Those suck, and are dumb because they charge tons for something that is completely inferior. Think of Macbooks and their pricing vs. windows computers, except they aren't actually as useful as a Macintosh in functionality. The best high end headphones are usually Sony and Bose.

Spending $75 (50 pounds about) isn't going to cut it if you want full quality. Full quality costs about $500. But let me be clear, you don't need full quality to listen to great sound. So...

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2287680,00.asp

These are generally high rated headphones for about your price range.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on January 10, 2015, 01:56:34 pm
Do you want over-the-ear, on-ear, or in-ear?  That makes a significant difference.  For traveling I prefer in-ear earbuds and highly recommend the M9 (or M9P if you need a mic).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on January 10, 2015, 02:08:01 pm
Do you want over-the-ear, on-ear, or in-ear?  That makes a significant difference.  For traveling I prefer in-ear earbuds and highly recommend the M9 (or M9P if you need a mic).

I think that's more directed at KingZog, but since I didn't state it explicitly I'm after over ear (with a closed back).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 10, 2015, 02:28:26 pm
I'm looking to buy my first pair of reasonable headphones, and some of you seem to know about this kind of thing.  I listen to very little music, and mostly want them for listening to soundscapes on youtube recorded with binaural microphones.  At the moment I'm using a Ł10 headset; I suspect I'm missing detail, and am prepared to spend some money to find out.

I'm aiming to spend around Ł50, but am looking for value rather than cheap.  My searching so far has led me to the Sony MDR7506 (Ł75) and the Sennheiser HD449 (Ł60).  Any thoughts?  One potential problem with the MDR7056 appears to be that they might provide extremely accurate reproduction of people's not-that-great microphones.

I'm familiar with both units.  There are lots of reviews online for each of these, so google is your friend.  Audio reviews are like wine reviews though (sound is subjective), so use them as a starting point, then arrange a demo of each at all possible.  The good news is that your source material is accessible from your phone or tablet, or an in-store computer.

A few general thoughts:  a) I think you are doing the right thing by looking at around-the-ear models.  b) With around-the-ear phones, how comfortable they are during extended wearing is very nearly as important as how they sound (unless you only have them on for 3 or 4 minutes at a time).  If you demo them, keep them on for at least 15 or 20 minutes (more on this in a moment).

In terms of features, the Sennheiser is going to be a little lighter in weight, but comes with a shorter cord. Sennheisers do not fold, the Sony pair does, if storage is an issue.  Both are wired, with the cord attaching only to the left earpiece.  That sometimes matters if you are moving around in a studio, at a mixing board, or similar.  Sitting in one spot plugged into your computer it would be less of a factor.  Ear pads on both are user replaceable and inexpensive.  (This will matter only if you keep the headphones a long time, and either of these will last you a VERY long time if not chewed on by dogs or thrown about by kids).

The Sonys have been around since 1991.  I own a pair of their precursor/older bother that is in the same price range in the US, the MDR-V6.  Both Sony models are well respected headphones designed many years ago (1985 and 1991).  They are very similar.  The V6 has just recently been discontinued by Sony, so you may begin seeing it at clearance prices in your area.  Full retail was about $100 here (67 pounds?).

Now I'm going to throw you a curve.  You don't say what your current headphones are, but I can suggest/strongly recommend a VERY comfortable, very capable around-the-ear headphone for about $25 (16 pounds?) - the JVC HA-RX500.  This is one of 3 pairs I own (the third pair being two orders of magnitude more expensive), and unless I am sitting down for extended critical listening, I reach for the JVC's first.  Why? Comfort.  They (arguably) don't have some of the strengths of the V6's, but they don't miss by much, and they are much more comfortable, so when I'm streaming Pandora for hours at a time while at my desk, I want them over the Sonys.  At that price point, their value is enormous, and I don't think you can go wrong.  They are almost guaranteed to be a step up from what you have, they will last a long time, and you'd get an answer to your question about source material issues without a huge investment.  And in the off chance that you didn't like the actual headphone (for reasons other than source material), you'd still have most of your budget in your pocket to try one of the models you enumerated.

TL:DR - You can't go wrong with either choice, but given your concern about source material, a third option in my final paragraph may be an attractive option.

Edit: To eliminate a double negative, and clarify one point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on January 10, 2015, 02:55:46 pm
I'm looking to buy my first pair of reasonable headphones, and some of you seem to know about this kind of thing.  I listen to very little music, and mostly want them for listening to soundscapes on youtube recorded with binaural microphones.  At the moment I'm using a Ł10 headset; I suspect I'm missing detail, and am prepared to spend some money to find out.

I'm aiming to spend around Ł50, but am looking for value rather than cheap.  My searching so far has led me to the Sony MDR7506 (Ł75) and the Sennheiser HD449 (Ł60).  Any thoughts?  One potential problem with the MDR7056 appears to be that they might provide extremely accurate reproduction of people's not-that-great microphones.

I'm familiar with both units.  There are lots of reviews online for each of these, so google is your friend.  Audio reviews are like wine reviews though (sound is subjective), so use them as a starting point, then arrange a demo of each at all possible.  The good news is that your source material is accessible from your phone or tablet, or an in-store computer.

A few general thoughts:  a) I think you are doing the right thing by looking at around-the-ear models.  b) With around-the-ear phones, how comfortable they are during extended wearing is very nearly as important as how they sound (unless you only have them on for 3 or 4 minutes at a time).  If you demo them, keep them on for at least 15 or 20 minutes (more on this in a moment).

In terms of features, the Sennheiser is going to be a little lighter in weight, but comes with a shorter cord. Sennheisers do not fold, the Sony pair does, if storage is an issue.  Both are wired, with the cord attaching only to the left earpiece.  That sometimes matters if you are moving around in a studio, at a mixing board, or similar.  Sitting in one spot plugged into your computer it would be less of a factor.  Ear pads on both are user replaceable and inexpensive.  (This will matter only if you keep the headphones a long time, and either of these will last you a VERY long time if not chewed on by dogs or thrown about by kids).

The Sonys have been around since 1991.  I own a pair of their precursor/older bother that is in the same price range in the US, the MDR-V6.  Both Sony models are well respected headphones designed many years ago (1985 and 1991).  They are very similar.  The V6 has just recently been discontinued by Sony, so you may begin seeing it at clearance prices in your area.  Full retail was about $100 here (67 pounds?).

Now I'm going to throw you a curve.  You don't say what your current headphones are, but I can suggest/strongly recommend a VERY comfortable, very capable around-the-ear headphone for about $25 (16 pounds?) - the JVC HA-RX500.  This is one of 3 pairs I own (the third pair being two orders of magnitude more expensive), and unless I am sitting down for extended critical listening, I reach for the JVC's first.  Why? Comfort.  They (arguably) don't have some of the strengths of the V6's, but they don't miss by much, and they are much more comfortable, so when I'm streaming Pandora for hours at a time while at my desk, I want them over the Sonys.  At that price point, their value is enormous, and I don't think you can go wrong.  They are almost guaranteed to be a step up from what you have, they will last a long time, and you'd get an answer to your question about source material issues without a huge investment.  And in the off chance that you didn't like the actual headphone (for reasons other than source material), you'd still have most of your budget in your pocket to try one of the models you enumerated.

TL:DR - You can't go wrong with either choice, but given your concern about source material, a third option in my final paragraph may be an attractive option.

Edit: To eliminate a double negative, and clarify one point.


Tl dr Summary for everyone:   Just use the standard Apple ones
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 10, 2015, 03:06:44 pm
Edit: To eliminate a double negative
(http://i.qkme.me/3uio8v.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 10, 2015, 03:08:53 pm
Actually I'm also interested in headphones. Preferably ones that are easy enough to wear while taking public transit to listen to music, and also for editing film stuff.

Don't buy Skullcandy or Beats Audio. Those suck, and are dumb because they charge tons for something that is completely inferior. Think of Macbooks and their pricing vs. windows computers, except they aren't actually as useful as a Macintosh in functionality. The best high end headphones are usually Sony and Bose.

I agree about Skullcandy and Beats Audio, but Sony and Bose? Not AKG, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Audio-Technica, Shure or Ultrasone?


I have positive experiences about Shure SE-215 earphones, which I mostly use for drumming. I've used them for editing film stuff and public transit and they're good for both purposes, especially the latter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on January 10, 2015, 03:09:36 pm
That's very useful, thank you.

Now I'm going to throw you a curve.  You don't say what your current headphones are, but I can suggest/strongly recommend a VERY comfortable, very capable around-the-ear headphone for about $25 (16 pounds?) - the JVC HA-RX500.  This is one of 3 pairs I own (the third pair being two orders of magnitude more expensive), and unless I am sitting down for extended critical listening, I reach for the JVC's first.  Why? Comfort.  They (arguably) don't have some of the strengths of the V6's, but they don't miss by much, and they are much more comfortable

I'm glad you mentioned these.  I've half-heartedly looked at getting some headphones once before, and ran across a similar very cheap and highly regarded set then (I think they were also JVC).  There happened to be a pair in a filing cabinet in my office (or perhaps that's where I first found the name) and I'd tried them a couple of times at work, but they had absolutely no padding across the top band and hurt quite a bit after half an hour or so.  If you say that these are comfortable then I've no reason not to buy a pair.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a helpful response.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 10, 2015, 03:29:02 pm


Tl dr Summary for everyone:   Just use the standard Apple ones
Nooooooooooooooooooo............

That would be like buying a toothbrush from Toyota, or a chainsaw from Merrill Lynch.


@qmech - You are most welcome, glad it helped.  These are indeed comfortable, and though inexpensive, are not at all cheap.  They represent great value, IMO.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on January 10, 2015, 04:22:44 pm


Tl dr Summary for everyone:   Just use the standard Apple ones
Nooooooooooooooooooo............

That would be like buying a toothbrush from Toyota, or a chainsaw from Merrill Lynch.


@qmech - You are most welcome, glad it helped.  These are indeed comfortable, and though inexpensive, are not at all cheap.  They represent great value, IMO.

Woah! Toyota do toothbrushes! I want one...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on January 10, 2015, 04:27:50 pm


Tl dr Summary for everyone:   Just use the standard Apple ones
Nooooooooooooooooooo............

That would be like buying a toothbrush from Toyota, or a chainsaw from Merrill Lynch.

Woah! Toyota do toothbrushes! I want one...

Make sure you go for a diesel.  The electric ones are a menace; I never hear them coming.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 10, 2015, 07:22:09 pm

....Some strategy details that they talk about are that the dealer almost never calls and usually raises. The strategy almost never raises all the way to the betting limit on the first round of betting. It folds on fewer hands than humans do (as non-dealer. It very rarely folds as dealer).

In heads up, the button (dealer) raising instead of calling has been a good strategy for a long time, nothing shocking there.

I can't get to the paper itself, so can you clarify your second comment? The phrase "almost never raising to the betting limit" is a little confusing.  In fixed limit holdem, any raise will be to the "betting limit", as the limits are fixed.  Do you mean that the strategy almost never puts in the final raise (in a structure allowing the original bet and say 3 raises)?  That would seem obvious, as the opponent would have to be putting in raises as well for anyone to have an option to put in the final raise - this is heads up after all. The opponent not raising would by obviate your ability to raise to the maximum.

I have no experience with high-level strategy, but the paper claimed that there was still disagreement about whether it was advisable to "limp" (i.e. call instead of raise) amongst human players. They do say that conventional wisdom is that limping is bad and then say that their algorithm supports said wisdom.

Yes, it doesn't make the final raise. I'll just quote the article "The strategy almost never “caps” (i.e., makes the final allowed raise) in the first round as the dealer, whereas some strong human players cap the betting with a wide range of hands."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 10, 2015, 07:24:28 pm
Can I ask for random tech support here?

I have a problem with my internet connection. I live in a student residence. At first the internet was free access, and there was no problem.

Then they added some control on the internet connection: when I open a browser, it automatically opens a login page where I have to identify myself before I can actually go on the internet. The problem is, it seems to have broken something, because I can't see embedded youtube images, I can't access half my google results (and can only access google image results when using google chrome instead of firefox), a lot of sites take forever to open (20-30 secs), and very often I have to manually type the site address with https:// in front to actually open a page (ex: I can't access wikipedia otherwise), and some random sites are completely blocked (particularly annoying when trying to download things from sourceforge, for example). I've complained to the internet provider, but they are not helping.

Now, today I've tried connecting with my work laptop, uses Ubuntu instead of Windows Vista (yes, I know, who uses Vista), and I have none of this problems.

So, does anyone have any idea what is the problem I have, and how to fix it?

This sounds like something that you're not really going to be able to get help with except by complaining to your school. If sites are blocked you could try using a VPN like hola (http://hola.org).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 10, 2015, 07:45:20 pm
I shouldn't have used the word "blocked", it throws people off. It is not my internet provider which is "blocking" these sites, it is some mix of their authentication program and my computer settings that breaks something down when trying to access some sites (an example being wikipedia), since I didn't encounter this problem before they set up the authentication, nor do I encounter it now when I use a different computer but the same internet connection (same plug, same login).

Thanks for helping anyway. I've tried complaining to my internet provider (repeatedly), but they just ignore me, probably because it is the society that manages the residence that choses the provider, not me...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on January 10, 2015, 07:51:14 pm
Yes, it doesn't make the final raise. I'll just quote the article "The strategy almost never “caps” (i.e., makes the final allowed raise) in the first round as the dealer, whereas some strong human players cap the betting with a wide range of hands."

Well, probably this is something that depends on who you're playing against.  Since the bot is trying to find the Nash equilibrium, it's going to assume that if the other player raises repeatedly, it most likely has a very strong hand (assuming that's the right thing to do and bluffing pre-flop is rare enough to be a negligible consideration).  But if you know your opponent, you can jam the pot to get some extra money in there for your big hands (if they're too loose), or to get them to fold against your weaker hands (if they're too tight).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 11, 2015, 12:24:22 am
I'm looking to buy my first pair of reasonable headphones, and some of you seem to know about this kind of thing.  I listen to very little music, and mostly want them for listening to soundscapes on youtube recorded with binaural microphones.  At the moment I'm using a Ł10 headset; I suspect I'm missing detail, and am prepared to spend some money to find out.

I'm aiming to spend around Ł50, but am looking for value rather than cheap.  My searching so far has led me to the Sony MDR7506 (Ł75) and the Sennheiser HD449 (Ł60).  Any thoughts?  One potential problem with the MDR7056 appears to be that they might provide extremely accurate reproduction of people's not-that-great microphones.

Don't forget the $15000 gold-encrusted diamond-coated Monster cables, forged in Mt. Doom, then assembled on the ISS for special vacuum-proofing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 11, 2015, 09:57:46 am
God, I hope that if you spend $15,000 on cables (and that is not impossible, between speakers, interconnects, D/A converters, etc.) that you don't shop for THAT brand.  There are MANY much much better choices.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on January 11, 2015, 03:10:59 pm
Don't forget the $15000 gold-encrusted diamond-coated Monster cables, forged in Mt. Doom, then assembled on the ISS for special vacuum-proofing.

Hmm, I do have a problem with vacuuming my cables.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 11, 2015, 09:12:49 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/f14db9a43835b254a02b3e4dc96b7e95/tumblr_n57bzbThoO1r99lieo1_500.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 12, 2015, 03:44:48 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/d4b69c55041e6f458a95d17d4c76e381/tumblr_ni1o69Pu8H1rhw6umo1_1280.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 12, 2015, 03:49:21 pm
eHalcyon, which parts of the web do you usually hang around? Because I wanna go there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 12, 2015, 04:05:25 pm
I'm just hanging around on tumblr.

Probably a lot of these things showed up first on 4chan or reddit though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on January 12, 2015, 04:17:12 pm
Reddit is a good place to share humour. Here, you can get maybe 20 or 30 internet points for a good joke. There, you can get thousands!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 12, 2015, 04:38:14 pm
thousands!

(http://cdn.yourepeat.com/media/gif/001/341/861/86b15c348b2210e162fa511f238775a6.gif) (http://yourepe.at/1u0n8AS)

(it would be better with captions... but all of you already know the words, right?)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on January 12, 2015, 04:46:42 pm
I for one don't know the words...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 12, 2015, 04:55:22 pm
I for one don't know the words...

You don't recognize it?  That's the scene where Frodo says, "One does not simply walk into Mordor".  But the colour is off.

No wait, that's Gandalf.  So the caption is, "With great power comes great responsibility".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 12, 2015, 04:57:18 pm
I for one don't know the words...

You don't recognize it?  That's the scene where Frodo says, "One does not simply walk into Mordor".  But the colour is off.

No wait, that's Gandalf.  So the caption is, "With great power comes great responsibility".

It's Dumbledorf, and the quote is, "I sense a great disturbance in the force."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 12, 2015, 04:59:57 pm
It's Noah, and the caption is "We're gonna need a bigger boat".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on January 12, 2015, 05:00:48 pm
I've only seen the LotR films once, and mostly don't remember a lot of them due to watching all three at once. So I can only guess one of the characters says the word thousands at some point, probably. It doesn't seem like an iconic or recognisable scene.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on January 12, 2015, 05:01:32 pm
Tens of thousands.

(http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/avl/pics/lotr/ttt/army.jpg)

From the dawning of the Second Age of Random...it seems so long ago now, almost as if a dream...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 12, 2015, 05:17:20 pm
Nonono, it's Dracula saying "Twice the pride, golden the gun!"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 12, 2015, 05:20:18 pm
It's definitely Michael Corleone, saying "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 12, 2015, 05:21:05 pm
[Pokemon comic clipped]

Can someone make this funnier for me?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 12, 2015, 05:23:06 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/f14db9a43835b254a02b3e4dc96b7e95/tumblr_n57bzbThoO1r99lieo1_500.gif)

I think the end text should just be "Rekt"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 12, 2015, 05:35:38 pm
[Pokemon comic clipped]

Can someone make this funnier for me?

It's actually not a comic for humor.

The pokedex entry for Cubone says that it wears the skull of its dead mother.  In the original Pokemon games, there is a subplot at one point where you actually encounter an orphan Cubone as well as the ghost of a Marowak (the evolved form of Cubone) who was killed by Team Rocket.  When you defeat the ghost Marowak, it says that her soul has finally moved on.

Because of that and a similar plot in the anime, millions of children were traumatized.  The comic just expounds on the tragic backstory of Cubone.  All the pokemon games also feature fossil pokemon.  You can obtain fossils of extinct pokemon and then have them brought back to life at a lab.  So here, Cubone hears about this science and is asking for the researcher to bring its mother back to life by using the skull.

In fact, this back story is apparently common to all Cubone.  If you think about it though, that makes no sense.  But it's just one more reason to believe the theory (http://i.imgur.com/Ntv6QJZ.jpg) that the pokedex is being written by these adventurous children who really have no idea what they're talking about.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 12, 2015, 05:59:41 pm
I for one don't know the words...

*Sigh* I'll bite.

Saruman: If the firewall is breached, Reddit will fall.
Wormtongue: Even if it is breached, it will take a number beyond reckoning, thousands, to crash the site.
Saruman: Tens of thousands.
Wormtongue: But my lord, there is no such force.
[Outside: "Memes! Memes!"]

It was an epic scene, personally I can't hear someone talk about "thousands!" without adding "tens of thousands" (EDIT: then "dundunduunnn... DUN-DUN-DUN!") in a deep voice.

I might have taken some artistic license with my quote though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 12, 2015, 06:02:13 pm
It's actually not a comic for humor.

The pokedex entry for Cubone says that it wears the skull of its dead mother.  In the original Pokemon games, there is a subplot at one point where you actually encounter an orphan Cubone as well as the ghost of a Marowak (the evolved form of Cubone) who was killed by Team Rocket.  When you defeat the ghost Marowak, it says that her soul has finally moved on.

Because of that and a similar plot in the anime, millions of children were traumatized.  The comic just expounds on the tragic backstory of Cubone.  All the pokemon games also feature fossil pokemon.  You can obtain fossils of extinct pokemon and then have them brought back to life at a lab.  So here, Cubone hears about this science and is asking for the researcher to bring its mother back to life by using the skull.

In fact, this back story is apparently common to all Cubone.  If you think about it though, that makes no sense.  But it's just one more reason to believe the theory (http://i.imgur.com/Ntv6QJZ.jpg) that the pokedex is being written by these adventurous children who really have no idea what they're talking about.

That's actually really sad and really awesome.  They need more real things like this in cartoons.

Like the opening montage of Up.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 12, 2015, 07:21:11 pm
[Pokemon comic clipped]

Can someone make this funnier for me?

Add "in bed" to the end.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 12, 2015, 07:31:44 pm
[Pokemon comic clipped]

Can someone make this funnier for me?

Add "in bed" to the end.

"My mother is dead, could you use this skull to bring her back to life... in bed?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 12, 2015, 08:45:18 pm
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wputsO05mA0/TiJh-KGsjhI/AAAAAAAAZFg/K0xn5WYE4H4/s1600/tumblr_loabksZzoS1qanb21o1_500.png)

Because it's relevant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 14, 2015, 04:13:15 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeG3dwk8D6w
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 14, 2015, 04:37:41 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeG3dwk8D6w

I was worried because most "hilarious banned commercials" are just the horrifically sexist creations of Axe, but this was some good clean fun :-P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on January 14, 2015, 06:46:02 am
(http://i.imgur.com/sBC8IKM.png)

So close!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 14, 2015, 08:13:47 am
I think the end text should just be "Rekt"

Hey, I've seen that term used in Clicker Heroes (why am I still "playing" this game?). Is that term unique to that game, or has it gained a more universal acceptance that was just used by Clicker Heroes?

In any case, I find "rekt" to be amusing. Rekt him? I destroyed him!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 14, 2015, 09:46:29 am
I think the end text should just be "Rekt"

Hey, I've seen that term used in Clicker Heroes (why am I still "playing" this game?). Is that term unique to that game, or has it gained a more universal acceptance that was just used by Clicker Heroes?

In any case, I find "rekt" to be amusing. Rekt him? I destroyed him!

This more or less is indicative:

http://imgur.com/gallery/weNzG
http://imgur.com/gallery/OCJd6
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 14, 2015, 10:03:59 am
I think the end text should just be "Rekt"

Hey, I've seen that term used in Clicker Heroes (why am I still "playing" this game?). Is that term unique to that game, or has it gained a more universal acceptance that was just used by Clicker Heroes?

In any case, I find "rekt" to be amusing. Rekt him? I destroyed him!

This more or less is indicative:

http://imgur.com/gallery/weNzG
http://imgur.com/gallery/OCJd6

Definitely less.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 14, 2015, 11:05:12 am
(http://i.imgur.com/BFMWjvn.gif)

Rekt?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 14, 2015, 11:25:51 am
I want my new cage to come in now. It's scheduled for tomorrow. Then I'll have a super deluxe cage for my ratties. May even look into getting another one. Supposedly, this cage could house nine adult rats, though I don't foresee getting that many. We're happy with the two we have, and I would like to get one or two more companions to give them more complex relationships.

And now I'm just thinking of various things to do or get to make the cage more fun.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 14, 2015, 11:29:44 am
(http://i.imgur.com/BFMWjvn.gif)

Rekt?

☐ Not REKT ☑ REKT
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 14, 2015, 11:33:44 am
I want my new cage to come in now. It's scheduled for tomorrow. Then I'll have a super deluxe cage... We're happy with... more complex relationships.

And now I'm just thinking of various things to do or get to make the cage more fun.

Hey, whatever you want to do in your own house, man.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on January 14, 2015, 01:34:14 pm
Why do we say that something "works like a charm"? Do charms usually work?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on January 14, 2015, 01:40:53 pm
My charms always work.  ;)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on January 14, 2015, 03:37:52 pm
though I don't foresee getting that many. We're happy with the two we have

Make sure you didn't accidentally get a male and a female or you will definitely have that many.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 14, 2015, 04:08:06 pm
I want my new cage to come in now. It's scheduled for tomorrow. Then I'll have a super deluxe cage for my ratties. May even look into getting another one. Supposedly, this cage could house nine adult rats, though I don't foresee getting that many. We're happy with the two we have, and I would like to get one or two more companions to give them more complex relationships.

And now I'm just thinking of various things to do or get to make the cage more fun.

(http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=11642.0;attach=1996)

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 14, 2015, 05:53:42 pm
Cones of Dunshire kickstarter campaign. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/152274765/the-cones-of-dunshire)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 14, 2015, 06:31:48 pm
Short list of bars/cafes around the country were you can game:


http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/game-on-bars-and-cafes-where-you-can-bond-with-friends-over-games/ss-AA8afL4?ocid=mailsignout
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on January 15, 2015, 01:03:19 am
Today, I found out that I have SSed more levels in Dustforce than one of the developers of the game. That's interesting food for thought.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 15, 2015, 05:46:40 am
Today, I found out that I have SSed more levels in Dustforce than one of the developers of the game. That's interesting food for thought.

What does "SS" mean here?  Super Special?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on January 15, 2015, 06:39:17 am
Today, I found out that I have SSed more levels in Dustforce than one of the developers of the game. That's interesting food for thought.

What does "SS" mean here?  Super Special?

When you beat a level, you are graded on Completion and Finesse.

Completion = how much of the dust you cleared in the level
Finesse = how well you kept your combo. You lose combo if you get hit, die, or go too long without collecting dust

Ranks are from D to S for both. An SS means you cleared all the dust while keeping a full combo. On the later levels this gets really, really hard.

The dev has SSed all but 7 levels, I've SSed all but 1.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 15, 2015, 08:06:23 am
Short list of bars/cafes around the country were you can game:


http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/game-on-bars-and-cafes-where-you-can-bond-with-friends-over-games/ss-AA8afL4?ocid=mailsignout

Just as I suspected: nothing listed for Kansas City.

But we will be getting a Barcade soon. That's not quite what I think of when they say gaming, but it is technically correct.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on January 15, 2015, 08:21:14 am
Maybe the Dev just made the game to make money from it and is now spending his time on more worthwhile pusuits?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on January 15, 2015, 12:11:04 pm
Every time I decide to browse Facebook I immediately regret the decision. Today's Facebook ragequit was brought to you in part by some idiot who thought the phrase "draw-dropping" made sense.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 15, 2015, 12:12:16 pm
Every time I decide to browse Facebook I immediately regret the decision. Today's Facebook ragequit was brought to you in part by some idiot who thought the phrase "draw-dropping" made sense.

... did your jaw drop when you read it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on January 15, 2015, 12:13:35 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/BFMWjvn.gif)

Rekt?

From a band I used to be in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI-bccVmwHs
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on January 15, 2015, 12:30:08 pm
Oh and then there's this from another forum:

Quote
the game literally eats my cpu

That's literally not how you use the word literally.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on January 15, 2015, 12:41:35 pm
Oh and then there's this from another forum:

Quote
the game literally eats my cpu

That's literally not how you use the word literally.

But the word literally is literally used to mean figuratively in certain contexts. It's literally an acceptable thing to do.


And I'm not telling you if I mean literally in a figurative sense in that last sentence.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on January 15, 2015, 12:48:23 pm
Oh and then there's this from another forum:

Quote
the game literally eats my cpu

That's literally not how you use the word literally.

But the word literally is literally used to mean figuratively in certain contexts. It's literally an acceptable thing to do.


And I'm not telling you if I mean literally in a figurative sense in that last sentence.

Literally not even gonna go there. To Cuba.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 15, 2015, 12:49:36 pm
Oh and then there's this from another forum:

Quote
the game literally eats my cpu

That's literally not how you use the word literally.

But the word literally is literally used to mean figuratively in certain contexts. It's literally an acceptable thing to do.


And I'm literally not telling you if I mean literally in a figurative sense in that last sentence.

Fixed that for you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 15, 2015, 12:51:42 pm
Every time I decide to browse Facebook I immediately regret the decision. Today's Facebook ragequit was brought to you in part by some idiot who thought the phrase "draw-dropping" made sense.

What's the problem? You get called out in the Wild West, and when you draw you gun, you drop it. Usually ends in a loss with the victor saying "gg" over your corpse.

That's literally not how you use the word literally.

I blame Rob Lowe's character in Parks and Rec for overusing "literally." The funny thing is that I don't think he actually misuses it. When he says, "You are literally my favorite person in the whole universe," it could be true. It's not blatantly false like, "Gays are literally steamrolling us."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 15, 2015, 01:26:14 pm
Every time I decide to browse Facebook I immediately regret the decision. Today's Facebook ragequit was brought to you in part by some idiot who thought the phrase "draw-dropping" made sense.

Really should be "draw-jopping".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 15, 2015, 02:06:18 pm
Facebook's interface makes me want to put my face into a book. So I guess it works...?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on January 15, 2015, 04:01:24 pm
Oh and then there's this from another forum:

Quote
the game literally eats my cpu

That's literally not how you use the word literally.

It is now, yay for evolution of language!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 15, 2015, 04:41:17 pm
Oh and then there's this from another forum:

Quote
the game literally eats my cpu

That's literally not how you use the word literally.

But the word literally is literally used to mean figuratively in certain contexts. It's literally an acceptable thing to do.


And I'm not telling you if I mean literally in a figurative sense in that last sentence.

I don't think this is really it. I will readily admit that the word "literally" is now grossly overused, but when people use it like that they are not using it to literally mean "figuratively." They are merely using it in a metaphoric sense.

In the same way that when I say "my blue dog pooped a million times when I took him for a walk," I am not being literal, when I say "my blue dog literally pooped a million times when I took him for a walk," I am still not being literal, nor am I using "literally" to indicate that I am being figurative, I am just using literally in an overall figurative sentence. Now one could very well argue that using a word that literally means "not figurative" in a figurative sentence is rather unhelpful, but it does not mean that the word "literally" is literally being used to mean "figuratively."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on January 15, 2015, 04:54:52 pm
The entire point of the word "literally" when used like this is to explain that what the listener might think is figurative is in fact not figurative, but actually happened. Now that that has been taken away through this type of usage, we have no word to use for that situation. Our language is poorer for it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 15, 2015, 05:09:01 pm
Yes... yes... keep using literally as an intensifier... and when the entire English language will be devoid of meaning... we will hold all early 21st century dictionaries for ransom... for ONE MILLION DOLLARS (http://netdna.copyblogger.com/images/dr-evil.jpg)!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on January 15, 2015, 05:19:32 pm
The entire point of the word "literally" when used like this is to explain that what the listener might think is figurative is in fact not figurative, but actually happened. Now that that has been taken away through this type of usage, we have no word to use for that situation. Our language is poorer for it.
What about "actually?"

The current non-controversial meaning of "literally" was itself fought against by people who wanted to only use the word to mean "word for word," which is what it started out as. We didn't suffer that much there.

I have never heard someone use "literally" in a way that did not make it immediately clear to me whether they meant "actually" or were exaggerating. Whereas, it comes up all the time that someone says "you" and you don't know if they mean singular or plural. What was wrong with "thou" for the singular, that's what I'd like to know.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 15, 2015, 05:32:20 pm
I notice that the best way to summon Donald to a thread is to resurrect the descriptivism vs. prescriptivism debate.

FWIW, I think English not having a distinct singular 2nd person is quite the oversight, so there, one point for prescriptivism!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on January 15, 2015, 05:51:00 pm
Whereas, it comes up all the time that someone says "you" and you don't know if they mean singular or plural. What was wrong with "thou" for the singular, that's what I'd like to know.

No argument from me there. I am all for bringing back "thou".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on January 15, 2015, 06:15:50 pm
Whereas, it comes up all the time that someone says "you" and you don't know if they mean singular or plural. What was wrong with "thou" for the singular, that's what I'd like to know.

No argument from me there. I am all for bringing back "thou".
Be the change thou wouldst see in the world! Like you're already showing what for to printers trying to protect their fragile punctuation.

Of course y'all has addressed this already regionally. I personally use "you" to mean "one" all the time, even though sometimes it must be confusing. I do say you-all on occasion. I just want to be understood in my lifetime.

Game Theory - I've Tried Subtlety
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 15, 2015, 06:17:42 pm
The plural form of "y'all" is "all y'all".

Source: My relatives are from N'awlins. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 15, 2015, 06:24:21 pm
The entire point of the word "literally" when used like this is to explain that what the listener might think is figurative is in fact not figurative, but actually happened. Now that that has been taken away through this type of usage, we have no word to use for that situation. Our language is poorer for it.

Here I think I agree to some extent. At the very least I wish people would not use it so frequently.

Whereas, it comes up all the time that someone says "you" and you don't know if they mean singular or plural. What was wrong with "thou" for the singular, that's what I'd like to know.

No argument from me there. I am all for bringing back "thou".
Be the change thou wouldst see in the world! Like you're already showing what for to printers trying to protect their fragile punctuation.

Of course y'all has addressed this already regionally. I personally use "you" to mean "one" all the time, even though sometimes it must be confusing. I do say you-all on occasion. I just want to be understood in my lifetime.

Game Theory - I've Tried Subtlety


Oh man I really want to be able to use y'all, but it's just so hard because I'm not from the south and it always sounds affected. I use it in informal writing sometimes, but never really in speech.

Also, gender neutral singular third person pronoun? I'm all for they, personally, but it's really hard to call a specific singular person "they" (as opposed to using "they" with e.g. every).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 15, 2015, 06:24:50 pm
Whereas, it comes up all the time that someone says "you" and you don't know if they mean singular or plural. What was wrong with "thou" for the singular, that's what I'd like to know.

No argument from me there. I am all for bringing back "thou".
Be the change thou wouldst see in the world! Like you're already showing what for to printers trying to protect their fragile punctuation.

Of course y'all has addressed this already regionally. I personally use "you" to mean "one" all the time, even though sometimes it must be confusing. I do say you-all on occasion. I just want to be understood in my lifetime.

Game Theory - I've Tried Subtlety

...That was...confusing.

I personally say "all of you" when it's plural.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on January 15, 2015, 07:19:10 pm
Every time I decide to browse Facebook I immediately regret the decision. Today's Facebook ragequit was brought to you in part by some idiot who thought the phrase "draw-dropping" made sense.

Maybe you need better friends. Or not look at facebook. Or not take people's stupidity so personally.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jonts26 on January 15, 2015, 07:21:08 pm
Every time I decide to browse Facebook I immediately regret the decision. Today's Facebook ragequit was brought to you in part by some idiot who thought the phrase "draw-dropping" made sense.

Maybe you need better friends. Or not look at facebook. Or not take people's stupidity so personally.

Or just hide the feeds form people who submit stupid things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 15, 2015, 08:43:24 pm
Whereas, it comes up all the time that someone says "you" and you don't know if they mean singular or plural. What was wrong with "thou" for the singular, that's what I'd like to know.

No argument from me there. I am all for bringing back "thou".
Be the change thou wouldst see in the world! Like you're already showing what for to printers trying to protect their fragile punctuation.

Of course y'all has addressed this already regionally. I personally use "you" to mean "one" all the time, even though sometimes it must be confusing. I do say you-all on occasion. I just want to be understood in my lifetime.

Game Theory - I've Tried Subtlety


I use "y'all" all the time, even though I'm not from the right region (though close enough).  It's an affectation, yes, but it's a grammatically useful one, which is more than I can say for other verbal tics I have.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 15, 2015, 09:12:51 pm
I've gotten used to "you guys" for the plural.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Throwaway_bicycling on January 16, 2015, 12:15:13 am
I have never heard someone use "literally" in a way that did not make it immediately clear to me whether they meant "actually" or were exaggerating. Whereas, it comes up all the time that someone says "you" and you don't know if they mean singular or plural. What was wrong with "thou" for the singular, that's what I'd like to know.

Apologies in advance; still new here. Is this literally a request for an explanation of how the T-V distinction destroyed the singular/plural contrast in most English dialects in the first half of the seventeenth century and therefore actually an opportunity for me to cash in on my dearly gained knowledge of obscure points of the History of English, or is this more a "get off my lawn" kind of thing?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 16, 2015, 12:30:13 am
I have never heard someone use "literally" in a way that did not make it immediately clear to me whether they meant "actually" or were exaggerating. Whereas, it comes up all the time that someone says "you" and you don't know if they mean singular or plural. What was wrong with "thou" for the singular, that's what I'd like to know.

Apologies in advance; still new here. Is this literally a request for an explanation of how the T-V distinction destroyed the singular/plural contrast in most English dialects in the first half of the seventeenth century and therefore actually an opportunity for me to cash in on my dearly gained knowledge of obscure points of the History of English, or is this more a "get off my lawn" kind of thing?

Well I don't think it was, but now I'm interested, so please expound.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on January 16, 2015, 01:23:30 am
Apologies in advance; still new here. Is this literally a request for an explanation of how the T-V distinction destroyed the singular/plural contrast in most English dialects in the first half of the seventeenth century and therefore actually an opportunity for me to cash in on my dearly gained knowledge of obscure points of the History of English, or is this more a "get off my lawn" kind of thing?
It is literally a request... naw I'm just exaggerating.

It was the lawn joke, but feel free to tell us whatever interesting things you know. Let's see. In a possessive, the apostrophe still represents a missing letter, it's an "e." Well, I'm out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 16, 2015, 01:43:43 am
I have troves of near useless information on the language of Latin. The Roman kind, not ecclesiastical.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 16, 2015, 11:54:45 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgP__vo_r5E

One of my most favorite YouTube videos of all time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 16, 2015, 01:19:07 pm
I have troves of near useless information on the language of Latin. The Roman kind, not ecclesiastical.
I'm surprised you didn't just jump in with hic, haec, hoc.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 16, 2015, 01:21:33 pm
I have troves of near useless information on the language of Latin. The Roman kind, not ecclesiastical.
I'm surprised you didn't just jump in with hic, haec, hoc.

Nah, but I can do this:

(http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs12/i/2006/291/a/e/Liguist_puns_by_bensen_daniel.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 16, 2015, 01:25:04 pm
And apparently has no interest in ablative plural.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 16, 2015, 01:57:15 pm
Yours in science. (https://40.media.tumblr.com/0ea0092b56600cb963bb29420126e38d/tumblr_ni3dbe6ARS1rsramuo1_1280.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 16, 2015, 03:08:29 pm
...and just like that, I now am the top post voter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 16, 2015, 03:22:20 pm
I'll just post this so that StrongRhino can upvote it in order to become the #1 again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 16, 2015, 03:23:58 pm
Oooh, it is on, ladies and gentlemen.

Will StrongRhino take up the gauntlet? Will we be witnesses to an upvoting surge the likes of which f.ds hasn't seen since Walrus spree in the roguelike thread? There's only one way to know!

Everybody take one last look at your respect:post ratio, 'cos it is gonna assssssplode!!

(http://cache.blippitt.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Popcorn-02-Stephen-Colbert.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 16, 2015, 03:25:26 pm
I'll just post this so that StrongRhino can upvote it in order to become the #1 again.

Can't Sudgy just upvote every post StrongRhino does?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 16, 2015, 03:34:22 pm
I'll just post this so that StrongRhino can upvote it in order to become the #1 again.

Can't Sudgy just upvote every post StrongRhino does?

thatsthejoke.jpg
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 16, 2015, 03:36:07 pm
Actually, in the end, StrongRhino could beat me if we both upvoted every post we can, since I have more posts than he does...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 16, 2015, 03:37:48 pm
Actually, in the end, StrongRhino could beat me if we both upvoted every post we can, since I have more posts than he does...

Easily solvable, go back and delete all your posts.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 16, 2015, 03:48:48 pm
Reminder that you, yes you could be the one to help me hit a 1:1 respect:post ratio.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 16, 2015, 03:50:30 pm
If you keep using f.ds as a tumblr repository, you'll eventually get there! :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 16, 2015, 03:56:49 pm
If you keep using f.ds as a tumblr repository, you'll eventually get there! :P

I come across way more stuff that I like than I actually post here.

https://www.tumblr.com/liked/by/ehalcyon

Which reminds me, I wanted to post one of the more interesting not-funny things I saw on tumblr recently:

http://vimeo.com/86466357

It's a video about how wolves impacted the ecosystem in Yellowstone National Park.  It has the intriguing title, "How Wolves Change Rivers".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 16, 2015, 03:59:07 pm
If you keep using f.ds as a tumblr repository, you'll eventually get there! :P

I come across way more stuff that I like than I actually post here.

https://www.tumblr.com/liked/by/ehalcyon

Which reminds me, I wanted to post one of the more interesting not-funny things I saw on tumblr recently:

http://vimeo.com/86466357

It's a video about how wolves impacted the ecosystem in Yellowstone National Park.  It has the intriguing title, "How Wolves Change Rivers".

Wow, I just clicked on that tumblr link, and it took me to a login page, which is really lame.  Except the background of the login page was Special Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry S. Truman from Twin Peaks in the background.  So that made it a lot less lame.  Not that I'm going to log in or anything, but seeing that image made me happy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 16, 2015, 04:09:18 pm
Huh, I did not realize that tumblr locked that page from public viewing.  Sorry!  FWIW, the stats say that I have "liked" 17,617 posts.  Many of them are posts about horrible clients (http://clientsfromhell.net).  Some are just cute animal gifs (https://33.media.tumblr.com/d73507e14cc264d58bce760b0981a7b5/tumblr_ncnb4zKVqD1qlrl8mo1_400.gif) and videos.  Others are dumb jokes (https://40.media.tumblr.com/85d63f82a0f36f360e29377481fe7794/tumblr_nhruynAii91so0sfmo1_1280.jpg).

There are examples of real life stupidity (http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/27p6z3) and also neat things like this short documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JK9uQNBDxQ) where 4 Disney artists draw the same tree.  Also there is a lot of pokemon stuff (https://41.media.tumblr.com/b4030ac27bf83d69e748f8df60ea42aa/tumblr_nhu7f63apq1t7xcnbo4_1280.png).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 16, 2015, 06:24:50 pm
Yours in science. (https://40.media.tumblr.com/0ea0092b56600cb963bb29420126e38d/tumblr_ni3dbe6ARS1rsramuo1_1280.jpg)

I was really entertained by this until I hit the misuse of "it's" for "its" twice. It completely shatters the illusion.

But I give bonus points for the elegant pomposity of "loathe to come to contradiction with your findings".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 17, 2015, 12:08:36 am
Wow. Really? (http://"http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/27p6z3/doctors_of_reddit_whats_something_youve_had_to/ci35out")
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: adf on January 17, 2015, 12:55:40 am
DXV: favorite Game Theory song?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on January 17, 2015, 03:29:10 am
DXV: favorite Game Theory song?
Maybe The Waist and the Knees or Last Day That We're Young. For Loud Family, Where They Go Back to School But Get Depressed. [For Alternate Learning, Another Wasted Afternoon.]
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 17, 2015, 10:39:29 am
DXV: favorite Game Theory song?

"Don't Hit on That One" by John Nash.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 17, 2015, 12:24:15 pm
Best way to train up for that Season 6 debut?

Also, my Respect upvote count is 64. My avatar is Mario. Mario 64! :D To keep it that way, all I have to do is never say something funny or smart ever again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on January 17, 2015, 12:29:58 pm
Best way to train up for that Season 6 debut?

Also, my Respect upvote count is 64. My avatar is Mario. Mario 64! :D To keep it that way, all I have to do is never say something funny or smart ever again.
..ooops, sorry.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 17, 2015, 01:30:45 pm
Best way to train up for that Season 6 debut?

Also, my Respect upvote count is 64. My avatar is Mario. Mario 64! :D To keep it that way, all I have to do is never say something funny or smart ever again.

But that Mario is not any Mario: it's Paper Mario, from Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door, a game for the Game Cube. So you are fine until you reach 128 respect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on January 17, 2015, 04:31:23 pm
Best way to train up for that Season 6 debut?

Also, my Respect upvote count is 64. My avatar is Mario. Mario 64! :D To keep it that way, all I have to do is never say something funny or smart ever again.

But that Mario is not any Mario: it's Paper Mario, from Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door, a game for the Game Cube. So you are fine until you reach 128 respect.
Hate to burst your bubble, but isn't that from sticker star?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 17, 2015, 04:51:51 pm
Best way to train up for that Season 6 debut?

Also, my Respect upvote count is 64. My avatar is Mario. Mario 64! :D To keep it that way, all I have to do is never say something funny or smart ever again.

But that Mario is not any Mario: it's Paper Mario, from Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door, a game for the Game Cube. So you are fine until you reach 128 respect.
Hate to burst your bubble, but isn't that from sticker star?

I hate to burst your bubble-bursting, but no (http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5600000/Paper-Mario-The-Thousand-Year-Door-paper-mario-2-5614125-1024-768.jpg):

(http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5600000/Paper-Mario-The-Thousand-Year-Door-paper-mario-2-5614125-1024-768.jpg)

EDItT: added redundant link because I do not know if the bubble-burster-bursting image is visible or not.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: popsofctown on January 18, 2015, 07:41:03 pm
How do you meet women?  I'm pretty sure the only good way is to not try and to do it by accident. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 18, 2015, 07:45:44 pm
The best way is actually to have friends introduce you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 18, 2015, 07:47:20 pm
How do you meet women?  I'm pretty sure the only good way is to not try and to do it by accident.

Stay in shape, be generally nice, go to social events, and these things happen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on January 18, 2015, 07:53:53 pm
I'm generally nice.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 18, 2015, 07:55:31 pm
I'm generally nice.

There you go!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 18, 2015, 07:56:17 pm
If you are in an IT school or university, you don't.

Otherwise, I don't know. I've heard of this concept, "going out", but I don't quite understand it yet. The Sun hurts my eyes.

EDIT:
Stay in shape

After seeing WW's Adonisian manliness in the relevant thread, I feel compelled to add that staying in shape is not strictly necessary to meet women.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 18, 2015, 08:21:19 pm
If you are in an IT school or university, you don't.

Otherwise, I don't know. I've heard of this concept, "going out", but I don't quite understand it yet. The Sun hurts my eyes.

EDIT:
Stay in shape

After seeing WW's Adonisian manliness in the relevant thread, I feel compelled to add that staying in shape is not strictly necessary to meet women.

Har har.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 18, 2015, 08:40:05 pm
Har har.

I'm completely serious dude, that picture of you made me grow ovaries just so that they could explode. I'm just pointing out that the rest of the population still manages to find a partner despite the tough competition.

Second addendum: while being in shape is not strictly necessary, being clean absolutely is. Make sure you don't smell (this can be hard if you transpire a lot, try different deos), that your breath doesn't smell either (just brush your teeth), that your clothes are washed and ironed. If you are not particularly attached to your facial hair, shave often. Anyway, you don't need to go overboard, but know that if you neglect your general aspect, you will make things much harder for you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 18, 2015, 08:54:26 pm
Har har.

I'm completely serious dude, that picture of you made me grow ovaries just so that they could explode. I'm just pointing out that the rest of the population still manages to find a partner despite the tough competition.

Second addendum: while being in shape is not strictly necessary, being clean absolutely is. Make sure you don't smell (this can be hard if you transpire a lot, try different deos), that your breath doesn't smell either (just brush your teeth), that your clothes are washed and ironed. If you are not particularly attached to your facial hair, shave often. Anyway, you don't need to go overboard, but know that if you neglect your general aspect, you will make things much harder for you.

I'm just a normal looking guy; I think the lighting just helps in that picture. 

Yeah, being in shape isn't strictly necessary, but it is helpful.  I wasn't athletic growing up (high school, most of college).  I started exercising more in college and grad school.  I found that I get more attention if I'm more fit.  Not that I, like, talk or anything, of course.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 19, 2015, 12:37:00 am
How do you meet women?

I don't.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 19, 2015, 12:47:50 am
this can be hard if you transpire a lot

I was going to say that it should be "perspire", but it seems that "transpire" works too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on January 19, 2015, 01:47:06 am
How do you meet women?  I'm pretty sure the only good way is to not try and to do it by accident.
You could always randomly message people on Facebook. That works about 0.024% of the time.

Although, personally I've met girls mostly through school, work, and internet. Social events (parties, etc) haven't really been a comfortable place for me, so it wasn't a comfortable place to meet people. Your best chance is to meet someone by being comfortable with yourself. You will seem more welcoming and most people will pick up on that and respond positively.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on January 19, 2015, 02:03:22 am
How do you meet women?  I'm pretty sure the only good way is to not try and to do it by accident.

Pro tip: If you want a second date, have a clean car. If you want a third date, have a clean bathroom.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 19, 2015, 03:02:28 am
this can be hard if you transpire a lot

I was going to say that it should be "perspire", but it seems that "transpire" works too.

The difference between the two is that whether you do the latter or not is up to the Emperor.

... I wonder how many people will get this one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 19, 2015, 08:55:32 am
How do you meet women?  I'm pretty sure the only good way is to not try and to do it by accident. 

I'm going to need your age and general situation (college or not/after, etc.)

If you have a large enough social circle, having friends introduce is going to be a good start.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on January 19, 2015, 09:09:38 am
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 19, 2015, 10:18:31 am
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

This is great advice if you're not looking for anything long-term.  Hoping to get into a long-term relationship with a recent divorcee is a quest that is likely to fail.

Edit: Full disclosure: my current wife succeeded in that quest, though the relationship there started before I was actually a divorcee.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 19, 2015, 10:23:58 am
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

This is great advice if you're not looking for anything long-term.  Hoping to get into a long-term relationship with a recent divorcee is a quest that is likely to fail.

Somehow I think this advice was not meant to be taken seriously. I would recommend against hooking up with your friend's ex-wife on the rebound...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 19, 2015, 10:31:20 am
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

Best post ever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 19, 2015, 10:31:46 am
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

This is great advice if you're not looking for anything long-term.  Hoping to get into a long-term relationship with a recent divorcee is a quest that is likely to fail.

Edit: Full disclosure: my current wife succeeded in that quest, though the relationship there started before I was actually a divorcee.

You dog you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 19, 2015, 11:32:09 am
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

This is great advice if you're not looking for anything long-term.  Hoping to get into a long-term relationship with a recent divorcee is a quest that is likely to fail.

Edit: Full disclosure: my current wife succeeded in that quest, though the relationship there started before I was actually a divorcee.

You dog you.

I recall saying (somewhere upthread?  Or perhaps in another thread?) that I would tell this story someday.  I may actually have time for that at some point.  As a bonus teaser, my current wife was a groomsperson in my first wedding.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 19, 2015, 11:34:44 am
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

This is great advice if you're not looking for anything long-term.  Hoping to get into a long-term relationship with a recent divorcee is a quest that is likely to fail.

Edit: Full disclosure: my current wife succeeded in that quest, though the relationship there started before I was actually a divorcee.

You dog you.

I recall saying (somewhere upthread?  Or perhaps in another thread?) that I would tell this story someday.  I may actually have time for that at some point.  As a bonus teaser, my current wife was a groomsperson in my first wedding.

Ermagerd where is the kickstarter for the novel?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 19, 2015, 12:15:43 pm
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

This is great advice if you're not looking for anything long-term.  Hoping to get into a long-term relationship with a recent divorcee is a quest that is likely to fail.

Edit: Full disclosure: my current wife succeeded in that quest, though the relationship there started before I was actually a divorcee.

You dog you.

I recall saying (somewhere upthread?  Or perhaps in another thread?) that I would tell this story someday.  I may actually have time for that at some point.  As a bonus teaser, my current wife was a groomsperson in my first wedding.

I call dibs on licensing the story for flavor in a Mafia game on f.DS.  Would your current wife be available to co-mod?

Uh-oh, more fodder for out of context.

Edit: What are the freakin odds that my posts are almost always at the top of the next page?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 19, 2015, 12:25:41 pm
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

This is great advice if you're not looking for anything long-term.  Hoping to get into a long-term relationship with a recent divorcee is a quest that is likely to fail.

Edit: Full disclosure: my current wife succeeded in that quest, though the relationship there started before I was actually a divorcee.

You dog you.

I recall saying (somewhere upthread?  Or perhaps in another thread?) that I would tell this story someday.  I may actually have time for that at some point.  As a bonus teaser, my current wife was a groomsperson in my first wedding.

I call dibs on licensing the story for flavor in a Mafia game on f.DS.  Would your current wife be available to co-mod?

Uh-oh, more fodder for out of context.

Edit: What are the freakin odds that my posts are almost always at the top of the next page?

About 1 in 25.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 19, 2015, 12:44:51 pm
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

This is great advice if you're not looking for anything long-term.  Hoping to get into a long-term relationship with a recent divorcee is a quest that is likely to fail.

Edit: Full disclosure: my current wife succeeded in that quest, though the relationship there started before I was actually a divorcee.

You dog you.

I recall saying (somewhere upthread?  Or perhaps in another thread?) that I would tell this story someday.  I may actually have time for that at some point.  As a bonus teaser, my current wife was a groomsperson in my first wedding.

I call dibs on licensing the story for flavor in a Mafia game on f.DS.  Would your current wife be available to co-mod?

Uh-oh, more fodder for out of context.

Edit: What are the freakin odds that my posts are almost always at the top of the next page?

About 1 in 25.

Only if you're one of those lame people who leaves the default 25 messages per page.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on January 19, 2015, 12:56:42 pm
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

This is great advice if you're not looking for anything long-term.  Hoping to get into a long-term relationship with a recent divorcee is a quest that is likely to fail.

Edit: Full disclosure: my current wife succeeded in that quest, though the relationship there started before I was actually a divorcee.

You dog you.

I recall saying (somewhere upthread?  Or perhaps in another thread?) that I would tell this story someday.  I may actually have time for that at some point.  As a bonus teaser, my current wife was a groomsperson in my first wedding.

I call dibs on licensing the story for flavor in a Mafia game on f.DS.  Would your current wife be available to co-mod?

Uh-oh, more fodder for out of context.

Edit: What are the freakin odds that my posts are almost always at the top of the next page?

About 1 in 25.

Only if you're one of those lame people who leaves the default 25 messages per page.

yeah.  50 messages per page is the only way to go
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 19, 2015, 01:03:20 pm
Psche.

(http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=11642.0;attach=2005)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 19, 2015, 03:23:41 pm
One effective technique is to have lots of married friends. When the inevitable divorce occurs be there for the rebound.

This is great advice if you're not looking for anything long-term.  Hoping to get into a long-term relationship with a recent divorcee is a quest that is likely to fail.

Edit: Full disclosure: my current wife succeeded in that quest, though the relationship there started before I was actually a divorcee.

You dog you.

I recall saying (somewhere upthread?  Or perhaps in another thread?) that I would tell this story someday.  I may actually have time for that at some point.  As a bonus teaser, my current wife was a groomsperson in my first wedding.

I call dibs on licensing the story for flavor in a Mafia game on f.DS.  Would your current wife be available to co-mod?

Uh-oh, more fodder for out of context.

Edit: What are the freakin odds that my posts are almost always at the top of the next page?

About 1 in 25.

Only if you're one of those lame people who leaves the default 25 messages per page.

yeah.  50 messages per page is the only way to go
Mine only goes to 11.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 19, 2015, 03:29:10 pm
When I was in Iraq, I saw so many men who cheated on their wives.

So sorry, I cannot say I'm a fan of the action.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 19, 2015, 03:39:05 pm
When I was in Iraq, I saw so many men who cheated on their wives.

So sorry, I cannot say I'm a fan of the action.

But how many messages per page did they display while they cheated on their wives?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 19, 2015, 04:27:16 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcK9OwNKOt8

Best moment in the entire 4 1/2 hour Stream with Elanchana. If you can't view it yet, that's because it is still processing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 19, 2015, 04:36:55 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcK9OwNKOt8

Best moment in the entire 4 1/2 hour Stream with Elanchana. If you can't view it yet, that's because it is still processing.

I read "processing" as "processioning" like four times.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 19, 2015, 04:39:28 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcK9OwNKOt8

Best moment in the entire 4 1/2 hour Stream with Elanchana. If you can't view it yet, that's because it is still processing.

I read "processing" as "processioning" like four times.

Video Processing

Play a video in your YouTube channel twice. Delete the video, and gain a subscription.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 19, 2015, 04:42:44 pm
*Sigh*, I guess I'll explain my own joke then.

I was going to say that it should be "perspire", but it seems that "transpire" works too.

The difference between the two is that whether you do the latter or not is up to the Emperor.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVl_sjUrNQE


...I'm still sad no one got my Christopher Lee triple reference, though. I thought it was moderately witty.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 19, 2015, 04:48:10 pm
popsofctown: How do you meet women?

pacovf: Make really, really obscure references.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 19, 2015, 04:53:33 pm
This belongs here:

(http://i.imgur.com/2Ld9r5W.png) (http://imgur.com/gallery/EBXeZ)
(http://i.imgur.com/mL7Klu7.png) (http://imgur.com/gallery/EBXeZ)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 19, 2015, 04:57:26 pm
Looks like this goes here, too.  And, I want it.

(http://i.imgur.com/yt8NbAz.jpg) (http://imgur.com/gallery/yt8NbAz)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 19, 2015, 05:04:40 pm
popsofctown: How do you meet women?

pacovf: Make really, really obscure references.

References to Star Wars are not obscure!

They are either light or dark.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 19, 2015, 05:06:04 pm
popsofctown: How do you meet women?

pacovf: Make really, really obscure references.

References to Star Wars are not obscure!

They are either light or dark.

"Do or do not.  There is no try." is not obscure.  That reference to Star Wars was obscure.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 19, 2015, 05:13:22 pm
When I was in Iraq, I saw so many men who cheated on their wives.

So sorry, I cannot say I'm a fan of the action.

To be honest, it's one of the worst things I've ever done to someone.  As I said, it's a very long and nuanced story.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 19, 2015, 05:39:43 pm
popsofctown: How do you meet women?

pacovf: Make really, really obscure references.

References to Star Wars are not obscure!

They are either light or dark.

"Do or do not.  There is no try." is not obscure.  That reference to Star Wars was obscure.

Wait, you are telling me you still don't know all Palpatine quotes by heart? Well then, let me help you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKWVCv8uWDI

(starts at 1m12s)
(definitely belongs here)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 19, 2015, 05:41:46 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL9AR9I4eco

I apologize. This is the link.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 19, 2015, 05:44:48 pm
When I was in Iraq, I saw so many men who cheated on their wives.

So sorry, I cannot say I'm a fan of the action.

To be honest, it's one of the worst things I've ever done to someone.  As I said, it's a very long and nuanced story.

Well, now you have my curiosity: what is the worst thing you've ever done to someone? Should we be afraid?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on January 19, 2015, 06:02:53 pm
This one is unlikely, but... anyone who wants a PAL Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate demo download code, I have 3 spare and probably one person IRL who might be interested. So PM me if you want one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on January 19, 2015, 06:32:49 pm
This reminds me. I have an extra copy of Titan Quest Gold on Steam that I have no use for. Also 2 copies of Castle Crashers. They're just sitting in my inventory doing nothing--and probably will forever.

PM me if you want one.

Edit: 1 copy of Castle Crashers taken.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sitnaltax on January 19, 2015, 11:39:14 pm
How do you meet women?  I'm pretty sure the only good way is to not try and to do it by accident.

Two ways.

The first way, as several others have suggested, is to meet friends-of-friends. If this isn't proceeding as quickly as you'd like, try to consciously increase the variety of your social engagements--go out with people you otherwise wouldn't from work/school/church/hobbies/whatever. Overextend yourself and plan to cut back later. In this step the object is not to meet women; it's to meet people you get along with well, eventually you will meet up with their broader social groups, and this is the wide pool of people where you are likely, eventually, to run across someone.

Note: At some point in this process you are going to run into someone who is OMGPERFECT except she will be totally taken/about to take monastic vows/not interested in you/moving across the country next month. Don't despair. Iit means you're on the right track, and also, she has friends.

The other method is online dating. This works best if you are good at expressing your personality and sense of humor in writing, and ideally if you are reasonably photogenic. You'll hear scary stories of the gender ratio being awful. That may be the case, but the ratio of quality men to quality women isn't that bad. As a guy online dating, the difficulty you will encounter is that you'll encounter the profiles of women who seem totally perfect, but they won't write back. This will be frustrating to you unless you understand the difficulty of women online dating, which is this: being swamped by unwanted attention from low-quality men who are either flailing around desperately, or who are just there to get their rocks off by harassing women. My understanding is that being on the receiving end of this is emotionally draining--this seems reasonable--so sometimes, through nobody's fault, your heartfelt greetings fall into a pit of frustration and anger. To avoid too much pain on your own end, then, be sincere, kind, funny, and brief. Don't invest too much emotional energy in anyone online until you've met.

Depending on your levels of enthusiasm and energy, you can try these methods in parallel.

There is a popular idea about meeting people on the street or in bars and clubs. I suppose this works for some people, but if you were the kind of person this worked for, you would know. I am definitely not one of those people.

If you have ever seen the TV show How I Met Your Mother, do your best to forget everything in it. Ted is a tool who goes about pretty much everything completely wrong, from the idea that there is a "The One" out there to the way he meets women to the way he treats them at every turn; and then fails to learn from his mistakes, or does it painfully slowly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on January 19, 2015, 11:45:09 pm
If you have ever seen the TV show How I Met Your Mother, do your best to forget everything in it.
But what about Three's Company? I can still rely on that, right? I hope so, I've got two dates tonight that I have to manage at the same time in different restaurants.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on January 20, 2015, 08:44:22 pm
I was reading the directions page for MAGfest and came across this gem:

BY MOTHERFUCKING BOAT

If you have a motherfucking boat, you're welcome to dock it right next to the hotel. Find more information about reserving a space for your motherfucking boat at the National Harbor Marina information page.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 21, 2015, 12:20:02 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84359240&v=XuUjl20EHHk&x-yt-ts=1421782837

:|
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on January 21, 2015, 12:39:24 am
This guy is incredible.

http://textastrophe.com/

I don't really know what else to say beyond I've read every story he's ever posted and couldn't stop laughing the entire time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 21, 2015, 11:00:33 am
I did an online matching site once, and I think I found a very useful way of finding quality women. Now, for a caveat: This was more of a sex site (technically BDSM), so people were far more upfront about hooking up for just sex. While dating sites are different, I doubt I'd change anything if I were to put up a profile in OKCupid or some such. Also, I paid the premium fee to get my profile at the top of the search lists. I don't know about other sites, but this one allowed for a lot of free profiles, and it was easy to get yours lost in a sea of free "do me plz" profiles. I shelled out a couple months' worth of fees to make my profile show up at the top of the lists.

What I did was use language to hook interesting people. I don't remember what exactly my profile said, but I did use words like concupiscence, persiflage, and cupidity. That may not work for everyone, but for someone who engages in the occasional bout of magniloquence, it was perfect for me. Now, being at the top of the search lists for a while, I'm sure my profile was seen by several women. I only got to hook up with four of them. My profile picture was not sexy, but my writing was. All four of them said that they were intrigued by my vocabulary.

I haven't done any formal research into this, but I would wager that Dominion players are smarter than the average schmoe. Showcase that intelligence. If someone wrinkles her nose because you said you want to break the ennui, then you're probably better off without her. I only had those four bites (kind of literally actually), but I consider my foray into online hookups wildly successful.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 21, 2015, 11:07:50 am
I was reading the directions page for MAGfest and came across this gem:

BY MOTHERFUCKING BOAT

If you have a motherfucking boat, you're welcome to dock it right next to the hotel. Find more information about reserving a space for your motherfucking boat at the National Harbor Marina information page.

(Insert Lonely Island video here)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 21, 2015, 11:13:01 am
This guy is incredible.

http://textastrophe.com/

I don't really know what else to say beyond I've read every story he's ever posted and couldn't stop laughing the entire time.

I read the first two... he seems like a bit of a dick to people who weren't already being dicks.  (Contrast 27/b who generally doesn't initiate the dickish behavior.)

Also, my phone wanted to correct "dickish" to "rockfish."  This amuses me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on January 21, 2015, 11:15:41 am
Makes me think of http://dontevenreply.com/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 21, 2015, 11:22:00 am
I did an online matching site once, and I think I found a very useful way of finding quality women. Now, for a caveat: This was more of a sex site (technically BDSM), so people were far more upfront about hooking up for just sex. While dating sites are different, I doubt I'd change anything if I were to put up a profile in OKCupid or some such. Also, I paid the premium fee to get my profile at the top of the search lists. I don't know about other sites, but this one allowed for a lot of free profiles, and it was easy to get yours lost in a sea of free "do me plz" profiles. I shelled out a couple months' worth of fees to make my profile show up at the top of the lists.

What I did was use language to hook interesting people. I don't remember what exactly my profile said, but I did use words like concupiscence, persiflage, and cupidity. That may not work for everyone, but for someone who engages in the occasional bout of magniloquence, it was perfect for me. Now, being at the top of the search lists for a while, I'm sure my profile was seen by several women. I only got to hook up with four of them. My profile picture was not sexy, but my writing was. All four of them said that they were intrigued by my vocabulary.

I haven't done any formal research into this, but I would wager that Dominion players are smarter than the average schmoe. Showcase that intelligence. If someone wrinkles her nose because you said you want to break the ennui, then you're probably better off without her. I only had those four bites (kind of literally actually), but I consider my foray into online hookups wildly successful.

Clamps make SO MUCH more sense now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on January 21, 2015, 11:27:45 am
The Textastrophe guy is just a jerk. There's very little good humor to it. That said, I literally LOL'd at The Graphic Designer (http://textastrophe.com/post/89883536350/the-graphic-designer). That is good humor.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on January 21, 2015, 12:22:42 pm
This guy is incredible.

http://textastrophe.com/

I don't really know what else to say beyond I've read every story he's ever posted and couldn't stop laughing the entire time.

I read the first two... he seems like a bit of a dick to people who weren't already being dicks.  (Contrast 27/b who generally doesn't initiate the dickish behavior.)

Also, my phone wanted to correct "dickish" to "rockfish."  This amuses me.
Yeah. I don't agree with everything he does. I actually find that a lot of his earlier stuff is much funnier. Although it's somewhat difficult to navigate the 21 pages since you have to go through them one by one.

The Textastrophe guy is just a jerk. There's very little good humor to it. That said, I literally LOL'd at The Graphic Designer (http://textastrophe.com/post/89883536350/the-graphic-designer). That is good humor.
I'm not someone who finds pranks that really harm people to be funny, but the worst I see here is him wasting a bit of people's time and getting them worked up a bit. Far and above, he also tends to pick on people with weird and/or useless advertisments, so there's that too. There's a number of them where people end up playing along, which normally leads to some pretty funny stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 21, 2015, 03:21:15 pm
Makes me think of http://dontevenreply.com/

That Fish Tank one is incredible.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 22, 2015, 04:18:14 pm
I'm going to IKEA for the first time ever. And it's all because I heard of these great door mats that soak up rat pee very well, and I'm going to attempt to line my cage with them. They're even machine-washable, I hear.

But while I'm there, I'll take a gander around.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 22, 2015, 04:24:19 pm
I'm going to IKEA for the first time ever. And it's all because I heard of these great door mats that soak up rat pee very well, and I'm going to attempt to line my cage with them. They're even machine-washable, I hear.

But while I'm there, I'll take a gander around.

Bring water, some perishables, a change of clothes, a tent, and maybe a tinder kit.  Just in case you get lost and have to live off the land for a few weeks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 22, 2015, 04:26:26 pm
But while I'm there, I'll take a gander around.

Is this that programming joke again?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 22, 2015, 04:35:33 pm
I'm going to IKEA for the first time ever. And it's all because I heard of these great door mats that soak up rat pee very well, and I'm going to attempt to line my cage with them. They're even machine-washable, I hear.

But while I'm there, I'll take a gander around.

Bring water, some perishables, a change of clothes, a tent, and maybe a tinder kit.  Just in case you get lost and have to live off the land for a few weeks.

I think I've been to IKEA once in my life. It was a horrible experience and I'm never going again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on January 22, 2015, 04:53:56 pm
I've been offered the opportunity to visit IKEA on multiple occasions. I've refused every time because I have more self-respect than that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 22, 2015, 04:58:30 pm
I've been offered the opportunity to visit IKEA on multiple occasions. I've refused every time because I have more self-respect than that.

What's up with that?  Is it a Canadian thing?  What's not respectable about IKEA?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 22, 2015, 05:17:20 pm
IKEA is fine.  It's just a big store now.  It was a "cool kids only" thing before, but really, it's just accessible, cheap furniture.  Plus, the food court is great.

Instead, you all should join me in irrationally hating all things hipster.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 22, 2015, 05:19:18 pm
I've been offered the opportunity to visit IKEA on multiple occasions. I've refused every time because I have more self-respect than that.

What's up with that?  Is it a Canadian thing?  What's not respectable about IKEA?

I'm Canadian and I have nothing against IKEA.  I do enjoy the usual IKEA jokes though (getting lost inside, arcane assembly instructions).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 22, 2015, 05:19:53 pm
IKEA is fine.  It's just a big store now.  It was a "cool kids only" thing before, but really, it's just accessible, cheap furniture.  Plus, the food court is great.

Instead, you all should join me in irrationally hating all things hipster.

(http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/140/2/0/hypster_by_the_art_fart-d65zc5f.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 22, 2015, 05:46:30 pm
IKEA is fine.  It's just a big store now.  It was a "cool kids only" thing before, but really, it's just accessible, cheap furniture.  Plus, the food court is great.

Instead, you all should join me in irrationally hating all things hipster.

(http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/140/2/0/hypster_by_the_art_fart-d65zc5f.png)

Too many pokemon jokes.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8ULnN-MbnCU/UfHwljREvpI/AAAAAAAAAH8/pT5Z7858haQ/s1600/onixbubble.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 22, 2015, 05:53:14 pm
IKEA is fine.  It's just a big store now.  It was a "cool kids only" thing before, but really, it's just accessible, cheap furniture.  Plus, the food court is great.

Instead, you all should join me in irrationally hating all things hipster.

Well it's been a while since I've gone, so perhaps things have changed, but I recall that you had to follow a certain path through the store and wind through all kinds of unnecessary things, and my mom and sister insisted on looking at a whole bunch of carpets and it was excruciatingly boring.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 22, 2015, 05:56:05 pm
Ah.  The dreaded yellow brick road syndrome.  If you are ever talked into going again, ask for a printed map of the store (they have them).  On it you can find the cut throughs from various areas to others.  You don't necessarily have to walk through x and y to get to Z.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 22, 2015, 05:59:46 pm
There's also an escalator next to the food court (usually) that lets you skip the showroom part and go to the shopping part.

Part of how IKEA keeps its prices low is reduction of what we have come to see as normal retail customer service and forcing you to put it together yourself.  That's the deal.

Costco has used some of the same counter-philosophies to succeed with their model, too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 22, 2015, 06:00:04 pm
Relevant: http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-real-brainwashing-techniques-every-ikea-using-you/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 22, 2015, 06:09:22 pm
I just recently bought a living room table from Ikea.  I'm very, very happy with it.  It was cheap, it was easy to put together, and it does exactly what it is supposed to do.  It was also easy to get from the showroom.

I mean, I had no living room table for like two years before this, so maybe that's a big factor, but my roommate and I spent a good deal of time looking around for things that would be good, and everything that looked nice enough was like $1000.  Ikea filled the gap between really-cheap-and-looks-bad and I-don't-want-to-spend-that-much-money-on-this.  And if it ever gets banged up to the point where a new one is needed, it was such a minor investment that it can be easily replaced or upgraded.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 22, 2015, 06:19:57 pm
I've driven to Ikea just for a meal in the cafe place.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 22, 2015, 06:21:26 pm
Relevant: http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-real-brainwashing-techniques-every-ikea-using-you/

Now that I've been in one, that article makes sense to me.

It was interesting. I really did only have one thing to purchase. I could have just walked in and out--after asking where Borris is--but I figured I should at least meander. I didn't know about the labyrinthine path. I found the concept clever, and the article highlights that cleverness. It's an insidious plot to get you to see all sorts of shit you probably don't need.

I found the model homes interesting. Here's how you can live in 280 sq ft. As someone who lives in a space not even triple that, I found it relevant to my interests. I do like the idea of wardrobes going to the ceiling.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 22, 2015, 06:22:46 pm
Back when I was a bachelor and furnishing my own place, Ikea was fantastic.  $1 beer glasses?  I'll take a carton.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on January 22, 2015, 06:32:20 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUPu_ipbVB0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 22, 2015, 07:45:38 pm
IKEA is fine.  It's just a big store now.  It was a "cool kids only" thing before, but really, it's just accessible, cheap furniture.  Plus, the food court is great.

Instead, you all should join me in irrationally hating all things hipster.

I hated hipster crap before it was cool.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Elanchana on January 22, 2015, 07:57:29 pm
You would not believe your eyes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsGc6-lNAHQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 24, 2015, 12:28:41 am
Does anyone else receive an error message when clicking on the "Miscellaneous" link in the breadcrumb? Since I really only read the Misc section nowadays, I click on that a lot, but now I get an error.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 24, 2015, 01:04:43 am
Does anyone else receive an error message when clicking on the "Miscellaneous" link in the breadcrumb? Since I really only read the Misc section nowadays, I click on that a lot, but now I get an error.

Yes. (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=12383.0)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 25, 2015, 04:00:26 am
Everyone has probably seen this already, but I'll post it anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEG-ly9tQGk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 25, 2015, 09:54:48 am
Everyone has probably seen this already, but I'll post it anyway.

Dude is pretty awesome.  But I don't remember ever putting my arrows on the left side of the bow. I suppose it's possible I was doing it wrong for many years though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 25, 2015, 10:45:54 am
Everyone has probably seen this already, but I'll post it anyway.


Now it makes sense how your Rogue in Diablo is able to shoot a hoard of enemies surrounding him.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on January 25, 2015, 08:33:39 pm
Everyone has probably seen this already, but I'll post it anyway.

Dude is pretty awesome.  But I don't remember ever putting my arrows on the left side of the bow. I suppose it's possible I was doing it wrong for many years though.
I remember being yelled at during 6th grade camp for putting my arrows on the "wrong" side of the bow... Apparently this says otherwise.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 25, 2015, 08:44:57 pm
Everyone has probably seen this already, but I'll post it anyway.

Dude is pretty awesome.  But I don't remember ever putting my arrows on the left side of the bow. I suppose it's possible I was doing it wrong for many years though.
I remember being yelled at during 6th grade camp for putting my arrows on the "wrong" side of the bow... Apparently this says otherwise.

Time to write a nasty letter to someone...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on January 26, 2015, 04:30:53 am

Relevant: http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-real-brainwashing-techniques-every-ikea-using-you/


1 and 3 dont seem to apply to my local IKEA, its in the middle of a massive retail district. Also, the food court is right at the end, so you dont get to it until after you have been through 90% of the store.

And 4 is every furniture store ever isn't it?

2 is funny, I once got to the end of my local IKEA and the lift wasn't working to get back down the first floor, and they were sending everyone all the way back to the middle of the store again to the other lift. I took my Nan in the wheelchair down one of those slope escalators they had instead, but steep but I managed to hang on, she loved the ride!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 26, 2015, 08:29:45 am
Hope this doesn't change the brand too much.  Article says not, but we will see.

http://www.inquisitr.com/1785041/seattle-brewery-sold-elysian-brewing-is-now-owned-by-anheuser-busch/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 26, 2015, 09:19:25 am
I took my Nan in the wheelchair

Check your script, it's throwing weird errors.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 26, 2015, 11:35:42 am
I took my Nan in the wheelchair

Check your script, it's throwing weird errors.
It can't throw, it doesn't have hands.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on January 26, 2015, 05:46:27 pm
I took my Nan in the wheelchair

Check your script, it's throwing weird errors.
It can't throw, it doesn't have hands.

More discrimination!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on January 26, 2015, 05:51:42 pm

Dear Canada...what the fuck is this?


(http://assets.vancitybuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/miss-universe-canada-hockey-2015-4.jpg?f91710)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 26, 2015, 05:54:24 pm
Hey man, they needed all those bootlaces.  It's hard to get steam irons to stay on the bottom of boots.  You wouldn't want a girl to lose her balance, would you?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 26, 2015, 05:55:54 pm
Clearly, she's not well trained.  Everyone knows that the stick should be on the right side of the microphone.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on January 26, 2015, 05:56:18 pm
Also, I don't know much about Ice Hocky...but isnt that a bit of a high score....

And also also, if the pagent isn't in Canada..they would be the Guest team and be losing right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on January 26, 2015, 11:02:19 pm
I think there's an attractive woman under that nonsense... somewhere.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 26, 2015, 11:38:17 pm
Clearly, she's not well trained.  Everyone knows that the stick should be on the right side of the microphone.

But it is...?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on January 27, 2015, 01:13:37 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQoA_wjmE9w
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 27, 2015, 10:32:19 am
Finally I'll get to play in a Mutants and Masterminds campaign. As far as d20 systems go, I still feel this is the best one, but it is crunchy-intimidating.

Making a voodoo priest character who can bop people to sleep with his staff (and it hurts even if the person is mean and doesn't fall asleep). Ought to be fun.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on January 27, 2015, 04:59:44 pm
Grim Fandango Remastered (http://store.steampowered.com/app/316790/) was apparently released today. Time to find out what all the fuss is about.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on January 27, 2015, 09:42:08 pm
Finally I'll get to play in a Mutants and Masterminds campaign. As far as d20 systems go, I still feel this is the best one, but it is crunchy-intimidating.

Making a voodoo priest character who can bop people to sleep with his staff (and it hurts even if the person is mean and doesn't fall asleep). Ought to be fun.


Reminds me that "Dungeons and Discourse" is hilarious and I wish I could be in a campaign of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 28, 2015, 02:27:32 am
Wouldn't it be tight if everyone was chill to each other?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 28, 2015, 03:19:17 am
Wouldn't it be tight if everyone was chill to each other?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD4sxxoJGkA

Please forgive me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 28, 2015, 03:37:43 am
That's a Parks and Rec reference, by the way.  I am very much enjoying the final season.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on January 28, 2015, 04:57:06 pm
Grim Fandango Remastered (http://store.steampowered.com/app/316790/) was apparently released today. Time to find out what all the fuss is about.

This game was badass. Definitely worth a look. I hadn't heard about the remake until now!

Anything Tim Schafer is generally excellent. Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, Psychonauts...all masterpieces. Brutal Legend seemed underwhelming but I appreciated the style.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 28, 2015, 04:59:11 pm
Can somebody help me with this?  I occasionally get an ad (don't we all) before one of the games on the Yahoo games site.  Today I've encountered the same ad twice.  It's about 70 seconds long (according to the timer that appears early), but it doesn't play to the end.  Therefore, I can't tell you who the ad is for.  I'd like to see it in its entirety.  The principal defining characteristics are:

1) Young attractive woman who is a snowboarder and a double amputee, she boards while wearing prosthetics.  Lots of on-snow shots.
2) She is also a dancer, or perhaps is cross training with (ballroom) dancing.
3) Voiceover is by Mohammed Ali, reciting one of those poems from the sixties and seventies he would deliver before a fight.
4) There is a brief scene of her getting into and starting a car with push button start, so it may be a car commercial.

Has anyone seen this?  If so, can you post a link?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Rabid on January 28, 2015, 05:07:45 pm
http://www.fastcocreate.com/3041476/super-bowl-xlix/paralympian-amy-purdy-and-the-voice-of-muhammad-ali-star-in-toyotas-super-bo
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 28, 2015, 05:45:51 pm
Thanks very much.  Turns out I was watching an abbreviated/edited version - the full version would have let me know immediately that it was a car commercial.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 28, 2015, 10:35:21 pm
One time I was watching TV and this commercial started playing where these people were somewhere, all of these bubbles started coming out of nowhere, and it was getting really weird, then the commercial got cut off and switched to another one.  I still don't know what it was about.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 28, 2015, 11:37:39 pm
I saw a commercial of someone buying razor blades, and someone at the cash register said they sucked or something. It cut off, and this happened twice during the Patriots Ravens game. :/

It was really odd.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on January 29, 2015, 03:48:04 am
I saw a commercial of someone buying razor blades, and someone at the cash register said they sucked or something. It cut off, and this happened twice during the Patriots Ravens game. :/

It was really odd.

Don't know why your commercial cut off, but I assume you are (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ds-82SYmLs&src_vid=PWPkZH_UicU&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_3550907597) referring to one  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbsJPO-ZreM)of the Dollar Shave Club (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWPkZH_UicU&src_vid=Pui78pskx24&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_2470588899) commercials (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pui78pskx24). 

I can't comment on the commercial failure, but I can comment on the Dollar Shave Club because that is where I get all my razors from.  Their Blades are F***ing Great (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI). 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 29, 2015, 08:11:01 am
I can't comment on the commercial failure, but I can comment on the Dollar Shave Club because that is where I get all my razors from.  Their Blades are F***ing Great (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI). 

I have been ignoring their ads, but this is making me take notice. It's the first testimony I've read about them. Yeah, sure, I could go out to some list of reviews, but I don't know any of those people.

I don't know e either, but I have a higher regard for people on this forum than the average netizen. Besides, he chose e as his handle. How bad can his judgment be?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 29, 2015, 08:53:45 am
People watch commercials??

Can somebody help me with this?  I occasionally get an ad (don't we all)

We don't all, because AdBlock Plus is awesome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 29, 2015, 02:27:03 pm
People watch commercials??

Can somebody help me with this?  I occasionally get an ad (don't we all)

We don't all, because AdBlock Plus is awesome.

I turn off Adblock for YouTube and creative commons websites where average joes make money off of ads, but for everywhere else, adblock on.

Also, I'm super hyped for Season 6 in February 2nd. Sure, most of the top players won't be there, but that's okay. I'll likely enter in subsequent seasons if possible. :p
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 29, 2015, 04:16:52 pm
Does anyone recommend anything in Dallas?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 29, 2015, 04:39:10 pm
Does anyone recommend anything in Dallas?

Getting out as fast as possible.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 29, 2015, 04:46:10 pm
Does anyone recommend anything in Dallas?

Tell Jerry Jones never to select a draft pick again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on January 29, 2015, 06:06:30 pm
Does anyone recommend anything in Dallas?

Don't drive around in a convertible ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on January 29, 2015, 08:30:38 pm
So, just in case, whenever I want to go to an article linked on facebook, I copy the url, log out of facebook, then go to the site.  I just did that to some random url that was not facebook and it wanted me to log on with facebook...  Nice try...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 29, 2015, 08:46:55 pm
Does anyone recommend anything in Dallas?

Don't drive around in a convertible ?

Also, don't try to be cute with slogans:

(http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/quickfix/5/8/0/358580_v1.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on January 29, 2015, 09:26:25 pm
Oh my God is that for real ?

Edit : My best friend Google confirms it is. That's... wow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on January 29, 2015, 09:49:10 pm
Oh my God is that for real ?

Edit : My best friend Google confirms it is. That's... wow.
I didn't see it on the first look, but when I saw this post I looked back and it was immediately obvious... so I can see how the mistake was made.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WanderingWinder on January 30, 2015, 07:28:33 am
Does anyone recommend anything in Dallas?

What kinds of stuff are you interested in, and how long are you in town?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 30, 2015, 07:36:12 am
Does anyone recommend anything in Dallas?

What kinds of stuff are you interested in, and how long are you in town?

Arrive on a Monday, fly out on Friday.

Things to see (evenings), maybe some good shopping, especially restaurants.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WanderingWinder on January 30, 2015, 09:11:03 am
Does anyone recommend anything in Dallas?

What kinds of stuff are you interested in, and how long are you in town?

Arrive on a Monday, fly out on Friday.

Things to see (evenings), maybe some good shopping, especially restaurants.

"Things to see" is kinda vague, but I'll try.

There's Dealey plaza, you can go see the Grassy Knoll, the Sixth-Floor Museum, which used to be the Texas Schoolbook Repository, where Oswald shot Kennedy from (if you aren't a conspiracy theorist - if you are and thus don't believe the Oswald story, I refer you again to the Grassy Knoll, though really, it's not very impressive); it's now a museum about, essentially, the Kennedy assassination. There's a Holocaust museum you could look up. The SMU campus has Bush 43's Presidential Library. If you're into art, there's the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Garden. There's an Opera house whose name escapes me at the moment. Dallas Symphony Orchestra plays at the Meyerson. There are several little theaters around, though I don't really know any to recommend. I guess the one I heard about most recently was the Wylie theater which is supposed to have some kind of interesting/progressive stuff, but that's just from what I hear. There's a Natural Sciences and history museum named after Ross Perot, which I've only heard good things about (though I wasn't very impressed with it - I think it's because I have my degree in Physics, so get annoyed at their oversimplifications; it's intended for children, but I hear most adults like it). Shopping I don't know a lot about, but I think the 'it' place to shop is the Galleria. Or maybe now it's the Shops at Willow Bend, though that's a little ways north.

Restaurants, I know there are a lot, but I've never eaten out tons, and when I do, I usually don't spend all that much. The one recommendation I could make, assuming you are happy spending a fair amount, would be Bob's Steak and Chophouse. Get something with a glazed carrot - surprisingly good. iirc, entrees are kind of $40-60 there, which is really above my price range. If you want to go REALLY high-end, the super expensive place is supposed to be Three Forks. There's also supposed to be a good Wolfgang Puck Restaurant at the top of Reunion Tower, but again, I've never been there.


If you're looking for more Texas-y things to do, and don't mind going a little ways, you can head to Fort Worth, where you can go see the Stockyards, or Sundance Square. You can also go to the Mesquite Championship Rodeo (probably that's not all year-round?), which is the rodeo you'd want to see, if you want to see a rodeo.

Dallas and Fort Worth both have zoos. Dallas Zoo has supposedly gotten a bunch better recently, but Ft Worth Zoo is better - and very good. Along those lines, you could go see the Dallas World Aquarium, which honestly I'd probably prefer to either zoo.

That's all I've got off the top of my head, I'm sure there's more.



Most of all, dress clothes for a variety of climes - weather flips 40+ degrees Fahrenheit within a 24 hour time span REGULARLY. Well, unless you're coming mid-summer. Then it will just be hot, no question.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 30, 2015, 11:04:34 am
Oh my God is that for real ?

Edit : My best friend Google confirms it is. That's... wow.
I didn't see it on the first look, but when I saw this post I looked back and it was immediately obvious... so I can see how the mistake was made.
I didn't get it on first or second look, mainly because I didn't see the word Dallas, but also because I was just reading the "out of context" thread.  So, my first thought was about JFK's alleged proclivities.  My second thought was about his vision of putting a man on the moon, because he appears to be looking up. I know, it's lame, but if you weren't alive to see his speeches, you don't have a feel for the leadership qualities he projected when he spoke, and how energized you felt while listening to him.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on January 30, 2015, 02:25:04 pm
I saw a commercial of someone buying razor blades, and someone at the cash register said they sucked or something. It cut off, and this happened twice during the Patriots Ravens game. :/

It was really odd.

Brady and Bellicheck obviously got to the Ads before they went on air (But after the watchdog approved them) to edit them to be a little bit shorter
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 30, 2015, 02:28:53 pm
I saw a commercial of someone buying razor blades, and someone at the cash register said they sucked or something. It cut off, and this happened twice during the Patriots Ravens game. :/

It was really odd.

Brady and Bellicheck obviously got to the Ads before they went on air (But after the watchdog approved them) to edit them to be a little bit shorter

I guess that deflates the ad's chances of making it to the Super Bowl.

This picture pretty much sums up how excited I am for the Super Bowl this year:

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-internet-reacts-to-the-patriots-deflate-gate-scandal-15-photos-8.jpg?w=600&h=851)

Like, I've never not been excited for the Super Bowl before. Both teams are dirty cheaters. I wish there was a way neither of these teams win.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on January 30, 2015, 02:57:23 pm
Donald decides to bake us a cake.  Its base is 30cm square, and it's 10cm high.  How can he cut it to share it equally between the first 9 to reply?

Donald decided to bake us another cake of the same shape, and covers the top and sides with chocolate.  How can he cut it to share the cake and the chocolate equally between the first 9 to reply?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 30, 2015, 02:59:04 pm
Donald decides to bake us a cake.  Its base is 30cm square, and it's 10cm high.  How can he cut it to share it equally between the first 9 to reply?

Donald decided to bake us another cake of the same shame, and covers the top and sides with chocolate.  How can he cut it to share the cake and the chocolate equally between the first 9 to reply?

I would argue that once the second cake had the top and sides covered with chocolate, the two cakes are not the same shame.  The second cake is more shameful.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 30, 2015, 03:23:55 pm
This picture pretty much sums up how excited I am for the Super Bowl this year:

(http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/4db77_ORIG-look_at_all_the_fucks_i_give.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on January 30, 2015, 03:25:57 pm
Donald decides to bake us a cake.  Its base is 30cm square, and it's 10cm high.  How can he cut it to share it equally between the first 9 to reply?

Donald decided to bake us another cake of the same shame, and covers the top and sides with chocolate.  How can he cut it to share the cake and the chocolate equally between the first 9 to reply?

This problem is cute but I've been spoiled on the answer a long time ago.


Measure around the perimeter of the square. Make markings when you've travelled 1/9th of the way around the square, then cut from those markings to the center of the square.

Proof:

The volume of each slice is the height times the base. The height of each slice is the same. The area of the base is 1/2 * 15 cm * length of perimeter for this piece. If the part of the perimeter is all on one side, it's a triangle and this is pretty clear. If it's split across multiple sides, you can divide that piece into triangles and get the same result.

So, the volume of each slice is the same. For the surface area, you can show the amount of chocolate is: area of base + height * perimeter of the piece. We showed the bases of each piece have the same area, and the perimeter/height of each piece is the same too, so it also evenly splits the chocolate.

As a side note, this works for cutting any regular-polygon into any number of pieces.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on January 30, 2015, 04:21:49 pm
I'm just replying because I want in on this cake deal.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 30, 2015, 09:34:53 pm
We're playing Pathfinder Iron Gods this Sunday. People are like, "You ready for the big game on Sunday?" and I'm like, "Hell yeah, fifth level, bitches!"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on January 30, 2015, 11:27:41 pm
Does anyone recommend anything in Dallas?

What kinds of stuff are you interested in, and how long are you in town?

Arrive on a Monday, fly out on Friday.

Things to see (evenings), maybe some good shopping, especially restaurants.

"Things to see" is kinda vague, but I'll try.

There's Dealey plaza, you can go see the Grassy Knoll, the Sixth-Floor Museum, which used to be the Texas Schoolbook Repository, where Oswald shot Kennedy from (if you aren't a conspiracy theorist - if you are and thus don't believe the Oswald story, I refer you again to the Grassy Knoll, though really, it's not very impressive); it's now a museum about, essentially, the Kennedy assassination. There's a Holocaust museum you could look up. The SMU campus has Bush 43's Presidential Library. If you're into art, there's the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Garden. There's an Opera house whose name escapes me at the moment. Dallas Symphony Orchestra plays at the Meyerson. There are several little theaters around, though I don't really know any to recommend. I guess the one I heard about most recently was the Wylie theater which is supposed to have some kind of interesting/progressive stuff, but that's just from what I hear. There's a Natural Sciences and history museum named after Ross Perot, which I've only heard good things about (though I wasn't very impressed with it - I think it's because I have my degree in Physics, so get annoyed at their oversimplifications; it's intended for children, but I hear most adults like it). Shopping I don't know a lot about, but I think the 'it' place to shop is the Galleria. Or maybe now it's the Shops at Willow Bend, though that's a little ways north.

Restaurants, I know there are a lot, but I've never eaten out tons, and when I do, I usually don't spend all that much. The one recommendation I could make, assuming you are happy spending a fair amount, would be Bob's Steak and Chophouse. Get something with a glazed carrot - surprisingly good. iirc, entrees are kind of $40-60 there, which is really above my price range. If you want to go REALLY high-end, the super expensive place is supposed to be Three Forks. There's also supposed to be a good Wolfgang Puck Restaurant at the top of Reunion Tower, but again, I've never been there.


If you're looking for more Texas-y things to do, and don't mind going a little ways, you can head to Fort Worth, where you can go see the Stockyards, or Sundance Square. You can also go to the Mesquite Championship Rodeo (probably that's not all year-round?), which is the rodeo you'd want to see, if you want to see a rodeo.

Dallas and Fort Worth both have zoos. Dallas Zoo has supposedly gotten a bunch better recently, but Ft Worth Zoo is better - and very good. Along those lines, you could go see the Dallas World Aquarium, which honestly I'd probably prefer to either zoo.

That's all I've got off the top of my head, I'm sure there's more.



Most of all, dress clothes for a variety of climes - weather flips 40+ degrees Fahrenheit within a 24 hour time span REGULARLY. Well, unless you're coming mid-summer. Then it will just be hot, no question.

Thanks! This is great.

As for food, I'm into dives, local spots, etc.

Oh, and any Texas BBQ to recommend?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 31, 2015, 09:53:18 am
Oh, and any Texas BBQ to recommend?

Wars have been started in Texas over that question.  I'll just say that if you like barbeque from anywhere else in the country, Texas BBQ will be....... different.

All of WW's suggestions are good ones, but I'd like to second one in particular that may come as a surprise.  If you have never been to a rodeo, it's worth going.  Even if you are the kind of person who thinks they won't like a rodeo, I'd wager you would be surprised. There is a lot of athleticism being exhibited, and not all of it is from humans. It's a wonderful combination of brute force and finesse - big things and small details. The only downside is that it is typically a 3 to 4 hour commitment, if that is important.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 31, 2015, 11:43:57 am
All of WW's suggestions are good ones, but I'd like to second one in particular that may come as a surprise.  If you have never been to a rodeo, it's worth going.  Even if you are the kind of person who thinks they won't like a rodeo, I'd wager you would be surprised. There is a lot of athleticism being exhibited, and not all of it is from humans. It's a wonderful combination of brute force and finesse - big things and small details. The only downside is that it is typically a 3 to 4 hour commitment, if that is important.

Out of curiosity, is it nigh impossible to leave a rodeo in the middle? Most events that are that long can at least be left in the middle if necessary. Is there a parking situation that makes getting out early a pain in the ass?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on January 31, 2015, 04:06:58 pm
All of WW's suggestions are good ones, but I'd like to second one in particular that may come as a surprise.  If you have never been to a rodeo, it's worth going.  Even if you are the kind of person who thinks they won't like a rodeo, I'd wager you would be surprised. There is a lot of athleticism being exhibited, and not all of it is from humans. It's a wonderful combination of brute force and finesse - big things and small details. The only downside is that it is typically a 3 to 4 hour commitment, if that is important.

Out of curiosity, is it nigh impossible to leave a rodeo in the middle? Most events that are that long can at least be left in the middle if necessary. Is there a parking situation that makes getting out early a pain in the ass?

Not that I'm aware of.  I suspect there are people who leave after their favorite event, and I suspect that there are people who arrive late to skip the events they don't care about.  I've only been to about 4 in Texas, but they all seemed to run the events in the same order, and each started with an event I was careful not to miss - barrel racing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on January 31, 2015, 05:04:20 pm
I'm getting better at this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIx00qtdnxY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 31, 2015, 10:27:58 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/CsaCFLc.jpg) (http://imgur.com/gallery/CsaCFLc)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on January 31, 2015, 10:35:05 pm
(http://www.funniestmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/Funniest_Memes_mario-luigi-go-sailing_8500.jpeg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on January 31, 2015, 10:36:19 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/CsaCFLc.jpg) (http://imgur.com/gallery/CsaCFLc)

I would listen the hell out-a that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 01, 2015, 01:45:36 am
So, is my brother right to get mad at me for sequence breaking in Super Metroid by walljumping?  I've gotten a couple missile tanks and the wave beam before I was supposed to already.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on February 01, 2015, 02:28:49 am
So, is my brother right to get mad at me for sequence breaking in Super Metroid by walljumping?  I've gotten a couple missile tanks and the wave beam before I was supposed to already.

As a person who has done speedruns, no.

The argument that you shouldn't sequence break is even weaker for Super Metroid than for other games - if I remember correctly, Super Metroid has special endings for beating the game with as few items as possible. Doing so requires you to do some sequence breaks that the devs themselves found out.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 01, 2015, 07:20:03 am
So, is my brother right to get mad at me for sequence breaking in Super Metroid by walljumping?  I've gotten a couple missile tanks and the wave beam before I was supposed to already.

As a person who has done speedruns, no.

The argument that you shouldn't sequence break is even weaker for Super Metroid than for other games - if I remember correctly, Super Metroid has special endings for beating the game with as few items as possible. Doing so requires you to do some sequence breaks that the devs themselves found out.

Isn't Super Metroid the one where bomb jumping basically lets you pick and choose what you want to do next?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WanderingWinder on February 01, 2015, 07:58:25 am
Does anyone recommend anything in Dallas?

What kinds of stuff are you interested in, and how long are you in town?

Arrive on a Monday, fly out on Friday.

Things to see (evenings), maybe some good shopping, especially restaurants.

"Things to see" is kinda vague, but I'll try.

There's Dealey plaza, you can go see the Grassy Knoll, the Sixth-Floor Museum, which used to be the Texas Schoolbook Repository, where Oswald shot Kennedy from (if you aren't a conspiracy theorist - if you are and thus don't believe the Oswald story, I refer you again to the Grassy Knoll, though really, it's not very impressive); it's now a museum about, essentially, the Kennedy assassination. There's a Holocaust museum you could look up. The SMU campus has Bush 43's Presidential Library. If you're into art, there's the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Garden. There's an Opera house whose name escapes me at the moment. Dallas Symphony Orchestra plays at the Meyerson. There are several little theaters around, though I don't really know any to recommend. I guess the one I heard about most recently was the Wylie theater which is supposed to have some kind of interesting/progressive stuff, but that's just from what I hear. There's a Natural Sciences and history museum named after Ross Perot, which I've only heard good things about (though I wasn't very impressed with it - I think it's because I have my degree in Physics, so get annoyed at their oversimplifications; it's intended for children, but I hear most adults like it). Shopping I don't know a lot about, but I think the 'it' place to shop is the Galleria. Or maybe now it's the Shops at Willow Bend, though that's a little ways north.

Restaurants, I know there are a lot, but I've never eaten out tons, and when I do, I usually don't spend all that much. The one recommendation I could make, assuming you are happy spending a fair amount, would be Bob's Steak and Chophouse. Get something with a glazed carrot - surprisingly good. iirc, entrees are kind of $40-60 there, which is really above my price range. If you want to go REALLY high-end, the super expensive place is supposed to be Three Forks. There's also supposed to be a good Wolfgang Puck Restaurant at the top of Reunion Tower, but again, I've never been there.


If you're looking for more Texas-y things to do, and don't mind going a little ways, you can head to Fort Worth, where you can go see the Stockyards, or Sundance Square. You can also go to the Mesquite Championship Rodeo (probably that's not all year-round?), which is the rodeo you'd want to see, if you want to see a rodeo.

Dallas and Fort Worth both have zoos. Dallas Zoo has supposedly gotten a bunch better recently, but Ft Worth Zoo is better - and very good. Along those lines, you could go see the Dallas World Aquarium, which honestly I'd probably prefer to either zoo.

That's all I've got off the top of my head, I'm sure there's more.



Most of all, dress clothes for a variety of climes - weather flips 40+ degrees Fahrenheit within a 24 hour time span REGULARLY. Well, unless you're coming mid-summer. Then it will just be hot, no question.

Thanks! This is great.

As for food, I'm into dives, local spots, etc.

Oh, and any Texas BBQ to recommend?

There are several places, mostly chains. I don't have any super-particular recommendations. Spring Creek is usually where I go when I get barbecue, but it's not that I think it's particularly better than wherever else.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on February 01, 2015, 01:00:37 pm
So, is my brother right to get mad at me for sequence breaking in Super Metroid by walljumping?  I've gotten a couple missile tanks and the wave beam before I was supposed to already.

As a person who has done speedruns, no.

The argument that you shouldn't sequence break is even weaker for Super Metroid than for other games - if I remember correctly, Super Metroid has special endings for beating the game with as few items as possible. Doing so requires you to do some sequence breaks that the devs themselves found out.

Super Metroid's endings are for finishing in under 9 hours (okay ending) or finishing in under 3 hours (good ending). Item percent never matters. You're thinking of Zero Mission, which has low% rewards.

Super Metroid specifically doesn't seem to have been set up with the intent that you break it, however it is often possible. Single wall wall jumps I don't think were a planned feature (at least I don't think there's any evidence they were), it just happens that because you can turn around in the air, you can do them. This lets you get a few things early, such as Wave. Most of the sequence breaks in the game involve either exploiting glitches, or using mechanics in ways that were never intended (such as single wall jumps).

So, is my brother right to get mad at me for sequence breaking in Super Metroid by walljumping?  I've gotten a couple missile tanks and the wave beam before I was supposed to already.

Why is your brother mad at you for playing a game the way you want to play it? Just spite him further, quick kill Kraid and skip Spore Spawn.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 01, 2015, 06:13:48 pm
Is it me or did Seagawks come out to Bittersweet Symphony by the verve?!

Great song but not the right choice I feel...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on February 02, 2015, 06:48:33 am
WHAT.

If you are currently following Darths and Droids: what in the world just happened? I completely did not expect this, but after reading some analysis it's plausible and brilliant.

If you are not following Darths and Droids: start it. But, skip directly to http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html and bypass the homepage for at least a week (possibly 2 or 3) while the current twist gets resolved.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 02, 2015, 08:19:13 am
Dear bulletin board system (not f.ds):

You are not a bank. I should not need to change my password every 180 days. Nobody is interested in hacking my account to read my thoughts on a video game. Also, I doubt your method will stop hackers anyway, especially since I'm just going to reuse the same password because your site is not important enough for me to generate a unique password.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on February 02, 2015, 11:44:21 am
Does your password have to be 12 characters long, 2 caps, 2 lowercase, 2 numbers, 2 special characters, and can't include a word?  Because I hate those passwords. 

(although the simple asdfASDF1234!@#$ usually works.  Then when they make you change is just move over one spot to sdfgSDFG2345@#$%.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 02, 2015, 11:55:51 am
What I started doing when these sites started requiring ridiculous passwords was to divide my passwords in two parts: a constant 8 character part that includes numbers, special characters and caps, and a variable 4 lowercase part related to the site. Not supersecure if someone finds out one of my passwords, but at least separately they are ok, and they are not too difficult to remember.

I use something else for the bank accounts, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 02, 2015, 12:35:08 pm
Seattle's OC needs to be fired. You obviously run the ball in that scenario, and the Patriots can't stop you. They haven't stopped the run all game. You waste time on the clock too if you miss, with 2 timeouts left on Seattle's part and 2 more plays to go. There's just so much going for that run play. In the throw play, if you miss, the clock stops. You could get picked off. Even if they scored the touchdown, I would have called that decisionmaking dumb. Man.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 02, 2015, 02:04:04 pm
WHAT.

If you are currently following Darths and Droids: what in the world just happened? I completely did not expect this, but after reading some analysis it's plausible and brilliant.

If you are not following Darths and Droids: start it. But, skip directly to http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html and bypass the homepage for at least a week (possibly 2 or 3) while the current twist gets resolved.

What analysis did you read?  I'm following the comic but the plot is twisty enough that some things don't make sense to me (the mirror-world robots thing still confuses me).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 02, 2015, 02:06:31 pm
Does your password have to be 12 characters long, 2 caps, 2 lowercase, 2 numbers, 2 special characters, and can't include a word?  Because I hate those passwords. 

(although the simple asdfASDF1234!@#$ usually works.  Then when they make you change is just move over one spot to sdfgSDFG2345@#$%.)

Not as bad. Only nine characters, but that's still more than my generic password (also not to be used for e-mail, banks, or anything that has a credit card attached [like Facebook]).

I suppose I could up my generic password. But then there are the really dumb sites that have a maximum limit on password length. Like we're back in the '80s where password storage hogged too many resources and it took 500000000 years to crack a 10-character password.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 02, 2015, 02:07:25 pm
Seattle's OC needs to be fired. You obviously run the ball in that scenario, and the Patriots can't stop you. They haven't stopped the run all game. You waste time on the clock too if you miss, with 2 timeouts left on Seattle's part and 2 more plays to go. There's just so much going for that run play. In the throw play, if you miss, the clock stops. You could get picked off. Even if they scored the touchdown, I would have called that decisionmaking dumb. Man.
I agree on all counts.  Though running at Wilfork, which they tried way too much, isn't always a good plan.

Given that the DC is about to leave, to become head coach of the Falcons, it will be a long time before we see Seattle in this position again.

Wonder if they throw money at Lynch to make it up to him.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on February 02, 2015, 03:01:06 pm
Seattle's OC needs to be fired. You obviously run the ball in that scenario, and the Patriots can't stop you. They haven't stopped the run all game. You waste time on the clock too if you miss, with 2 timeouts left on Seattle's part and 2 more plays to go. There's just so much going for that run play. In the throw play, if you miss, the clock stops. You could get picked off. Even if they scored the touchdown, I would have called that decisionmaking dumb. Man.
I agree on all counts.  Though running at Wilfork, which they tried way too much, isn't always a good plan.

Given that the DC is about to leave, to become head coach of the Falcons, it will be a long time before we see Seattle in this position again.

Wonder if they throw money at Lynch to make it up to him.

Ok, I have thought about this play a lot (living here in the Seattle area and all).  I think calling a passing play there is a fine decision.  Why?  Catch the pats off guard.  As SfS mentioned, running through Wilfork isn't always going to work.  In order to intercept the ball you have to jump the route.  Which is usually very dangerous.  That being said, I think they called the wrong passing play.  You have to do play action there if you are going to pass.  Setting up in the shot-gun is just advertising a pass play.  Before the play started I was yelling at the TV because I saw the formation that they were in.  Russell Wilson has to line up under center.  But now we see one weakness in Wilson's game: his height (which isn't really a weakness, but is just something that needs to be taken into account when calling plays).  Because he is so short, he can't line up under center, two step drop, and throw that slant.  He has to line up in the shotgun.  Which advertised to the defense pass play.  Which allowed Malcolm Butler to read the play and jump the route.  Watching the replay, you can clearly see the point where he makes the decision to jump in front.  As a rookie, this was an incredible play.  And it takes incredible plays to win a Super Bowl.  I mean, an incomplete pass there and the Seahawks would probably have won.  On a pass play I would have liked to see something that played more to Wilson's strengths.  Play action roll-out with Wilson starting under center or something where he can scramble into the end-zone, pass, or just lob something over everyone's head.

So as disappointed as I am that the Seahawks lost, I don't know which would have been worse.  The annoying, complaining Seahawks fans that we have now; or the gloating, superficial Seahawks fans that I would have been around.  It's really a tough call.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on February 02, 2015, 03:06:43 pm
Meh.  I think the decision is suboptimal but not as obviously wrong as everyone makes it out to be.  A failed run on 2nd down is disastrous: you have to take your TO immediately, and now it's 3rd down and you have no choice but to pass (and NE is well aware of that).  With that in mind, and NE lining up in a formation that looks like it's selling out against the run, and seeing exactly the matchup you want in exactly the coverage you want, a pick play is reasonable.

Look at this picture.  If Wilson throws back-shoulder that's likely a TD, or at worst an incompletion.  What happened in this game was a freak 5% occurrence, showcasing the Patriots' extreme defensive preparation (Butler recognized the play and started cutting inside even before Lockette did), Butler making an incredible play (Browner as well, for jamming the receiver to stop the pick in the first place), and Wilson's inexperience.

(http://i.imgur.com/7kRihvY.jpg?1)

I still don't really like the call, but I understand the logic. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on February 02, 2015, 03:14:17 pm
Is it me or did Seagawks come out to Bittersweet Symphony by the verve?!

Great song but not the right choice I feel...
Seahawks obviously misunderstood the meaning of the "coming-out" song.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on February 02, 2015, 03:25:26 pm
WHAT.

If you are currently following Darths and Droids: what in the world just happened? I completely did not expect this, but after reading some analysis it's plausible and brilliant.

If you are not following Darths and Droids: start it. But, skip directly to http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html and bypass the homepage for at least a week (possibly 2 or 3) while the current twist gets resolved.

What analysis did you read?  I'm following the comic but the plot is twisty enough that some things don't make sense to me (the mirror-world robots thing still confuses me).

I'm not sure what you mean.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 02, 2015, 03:36:59 pm
Seattle's OC needs to be fired. You obviously run the ball in that scenario, and the Patriots can't stop you. They haven't stopped the run all game. You waste time on the clock too if you miss, with 2 timeouts left on Seattle's part and 2 more plays to go. There's just so much going for that run play. In the throw play, if you miss, the clock stops. You could get picked off. Even if they scored the touchdown, I would have called that decisionmaking dumb. Man.
I agree on all counts.  Though running at Wilfork, which they tried way too much, isn't always a good plan.

Given that the DC is about to leave, to become head coach of the Falcons, it will be a long time before we see Seattle in this position again.

Wonder if they throw money at Lynch to make it up to him.

Seahwaks are going to fall apart. They want to pay tons of money to Wilson, AND Lynch? When the cheap contracts of the LoB run out of time, Seattle is going to have to let go a lot of people. This was their last realistic shot at the Super Bowl, with the Cardinals getting screwed hard with injuries over and over (despite getting 11 wins), and the DC leaving. Now the Rams and Cardinals are likely going to compete for the top. We shall see what transpires.

My favorite team is Arizona, so man I hope they win it all this year. All those injuries piling up was almost certainly a fluke. Man. I'm so bummed out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 02, 2015, 04:34:21 pm
Does your password have to be 12 characters long, 2 caps, 2 lowercase, 2 numbers, 2 special characters, and can't include a word?  Because I hate those passwords. 

(although the simple asdfASDF1234!@#$ usually works.  Then when they make you change is just move over one spot to sdfgSDFG2345@#$%.)

Or just use a service like LastPass and don't worry about these problems.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 02, 2015, 04:40:43 pm
WHAT.

If you are currently following Darths and Droids: what in the world just happened? I completely did not expect this, but after reading some analysis it's plausible and brilliant.

If you are not following Darths and Droids: start it. But, skip directly to http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html and bypass the homepage for at least a week (possibly 2 or 3) while the current twist gets resolved.

What analysis did you read?  I'm following the comic but the plot is twisty enough that some things don't make sense to me (the mirror-world robots thing still confuses me).

I'm not sure what you mean.

There were a bunch of comics where the droids were speaking with flipped Ls and Rs, like they were being controlled or something.  You can see it most clearly in 1147, where R2 seems to have a split personality (exemplified by mirrored images) with some control by the player and some by the GM.  I am still confused by what exactly happened there and in several of the preceding pages.  You said you read some analysis, so I was hoping that the source of that analysis (some blog or fan site?) might have clarifications on those events that I could peruse.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 02, 2015, 05:23:54 pm
Amazing Super Bowl, managed to record it and not watch it till this evening!

What game!
I feel Brady really earned that title, always under pressure and even after making a couple of mistakes went on to make some great decisions.

And yeah, great read by the rookie on the interception!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on February 02, 2015, 05:28:28 pm
There were a bunch of comics where the droids were speaking with flipped Ls and Rs, like they were being controlled or something.  You can see it most clearly in 1147, where R2 seems to have a split personality (exemplified by mirrored images) with some control by the player and some by the GM.  I am still confused by what exactly happened there and in several of the preceding pages.  You said you read some analysis, so I was hoping that the source of that analysis (some blog or fan site?) might have clarifications on those events that I could peruse.
Cloud City was taken over by the Trade Federation, complete with stereotypical Asian accents. All the spiky speech bubbles are their announcements over the PA system, mostly involving random marketing slogans. R2 was trying to hack the Cloud City network at the time of the takeover, and he got hit with some feedback that installed a GM-controlled alternate personality in him for a while that also swapped Rs and Ls and was trying to destroy the party but got thwarted by R2's lack of any offensive capability (in terms of weapons at least). It was being played a little like Gollum/Smeagol but seems to be over for now.

But the big spoiler that just got revealed is that Vader isn't Anakin, it's Padmé. Which probably means I'm going to have to go back and read from Revelation of the Sith again to see how they managed to plant that without anyone picking up on it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on February 02, 2015, 05:32:22 pm
I agree with theory, and seeing this shot really just confirms it.  See the distance between receiver and cornerback?  A good 4 yards.  If I saw what Russell Wilson saw here, I would have thrown the ball.  Not a bad play, just great read.  You can see Butler beginning to make a move on the ball, but to close that ground in the half second that he did and then make the INT?  Great play by him.

(http://i.imgur.com/mHiFWXg.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on February 02, 2015, 06:26:48 pm
Being from Seattle, I am also inclined to be all bent out of shape about the play call, but I think this is a classic case of 20/20 hindsight. Any schmuck can say that this was obviously the wrong call, but they have the advantage of seeing exactly what actually happened.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on February 02, 2015, 06:36:48 pm
Being from Seattle, I am also inclined to be all bent out of shape about the play call, but I think this is a classic case of 20/20 hindsight. Any schmuck can say that this was obviously the wrong call, but they have the advantage of seeing exactly what actually happened.

They had to pass on either 2nd or 3rd down, so it doesn't seem like the worst call. I agree that when he threw it, it looks like a TD. Could Wilson have run with it though, and scrambled for the goalline?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 02, 2015, 06:39:35 pm
There were a bunch of comics where the droids were speaking with flipped Ls and Rs, like they were being controlled or something.  You can see it most clearly in 1147, where R2 seems to have a split personality (exemplified by mirrored images) with some control by the player and some by the GM.  I am still confused by what exactly happened there and in several of the preceding pages.  You said you read some analysis, so I was hoping that the source of that analysis (some blog or fan site?) might have clarifications on those events that I could peruse.
Cloud City was taken over by the Trade Federation, complete with stereotypical Asian accents. All the spiky speech bubbles are their announcements over the PA system, mostly involving random marketing slogans. R2 was trying to hack the Cloud City network at the time of the takeover, and he got hit with some feedback that installed a GM-controlled alternate personality in him for a while that also swapped Rs and Ls and was trying to destroy the party but got thwarted by R2's lack of any offensive capability (in terms of weapons at least). It was being played a little like Gollum/Smeagol but seems to be over for now.

But the big spoiler that just got revealed is that Vader isn't Anakin, it's Padmé. Which probably means I'm going to have to go back and read from Revelation of the Sith again to see how they managed to plant that without anyone picking up on it.

Ahh, OK, that helps.

I have no problem with the new development.  It seems like a standard twist for Darths and Droids.  I was only mildly surprised because they pulled two reversals.  I was expecting the "I am your son" twist, but not the follow-up "I am your mother" twist.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 03, 2015, 12:06:58 pm
Being from Seattle, I am also inclined to be all bent out of shape about the play call, but I think this is a classic case of 20/20 hindsight. Any schmuck can say that this was obviously the wrong call, but they have the advantage of seeing exactly what actually happened.
And to be fair, I bitched about the Hawks not kicking a field goal with about 6 seconds left in the first half, figuring that in typical Hawks fashion, they'd screw something up and run out the whole 6 seconds with no FG attempt at all.  Instead, they threw a touchdown.  Was that was a good call?  Based on the result, and 20/20 hindsight, sure.

Hey, they can't all be the best Super Bowl result.

Plus, as a long-time Seahawk fan, I'm thrilled that the team finally has a real quarterback (instead of Hassel-blech and Mr. Fumble).  Now at least every game will be watchable/interesting, win or lose.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 03, 2015, 12:18:55 pm
Well, I played my first Dominion League match today. While I played really clumsily (and dropped 2 as a result) once I got 3-1 to eventually get 3-3, I thought I overall did well enough to pat myself on the back.

All games are watchable on my channel, but I didn't really try to give amazing commentary, so it's kind of boring.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on February 03, 2015, 12:34:55 pm
Being from Seattle, I am also inclined to be all bent out of shape about the play call, but I think this is a classic case of 20/20 hindsight. Any schmuck can say that this was obviously the wrong call, but they have the advantage of seeing exactly what actually happened.
And to be fair, I bitched about the Hawks not kicking a field goal with about 6 seconds left in the first half, figuring that in typical Hawks fashion, they'd screw something up and run out the whole 6 seconds with no FG attempt at all.  Instead, they threw a touchdown.  Was that was a good call?  Based on the result, and 20/20 hindsight, sure.

Hey, they can't all be the best Super Bowl result.

Plus, as a long-time Seahawk fan, I'm thrilled that the team finally has a real quarterback (instead of Hassel-blech and Mr. Fumble).  Now at least every game will be watchable/interesting, win or lose.

Exactly. The 6-sec TD attempt or the fake FG in the NFC championship were both way riskier calls that no one complained about because they worked.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on February 03, 2015, 02:51:33 pm
Okay, can someone help me out with this physics problem:

You have a marble moving in a hemispherical (frictionless) "bowl".  The vertical distance from the marble to the bottom of the bowl is y, and the radius of the hemisphere is R.  What is the minimum angular velocity, in terms of R, y, and g (acceleration of gravity), at which the marble will continue to move in a circle (rather than sliding down to the bottom of the bowl)?

For context, this is the second part of a three-part problem.  The first part asked for an expression for the angular velocity, and I got sqrt(g/(R-y)), which was correct.

I want to set the y-component of the Normal force greater than or equal to mg, because that would make the net acceleration vector point downward (and toward the center of the circle).  But whenever I do that, I just end up with the same thing that I got for the first part (sqrt(g/(R-y))), which is wrong.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 03, 2015, 04:29:37 pm
Are you supposed to know the formula of the centrifugal force for a circular motion?

EDIT: or equivalently, basic non Galilean frame transformations?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on February 03, 2015, 04:54:31 pm
Okay, can someone help me out with this physics problem:

You have a marble moving in a hemispherical (frictionless) "bowl".  The vertical distance from the marble to the bottom of the bowl is y, and the radius of the hemisphere is R.  What is the minimum angular velocity, in terms of R, y, and g (acceleration of gravity), at which the marble will continue to move in a circle (rather than sliding down to the bottom of the bowl)?

For context, this is the second part of a three-part problem.  The first part asked for an expression for the angular velocity, and I got sqrt(g/(R-y)), which was correct.

I want to set the y-component of the Normal force greater than or equal to mg, because that would make the net acceleration vector point downward (and toward the center of the circle).  But whenever I do that, I just end up with the same thing that I got for the first part (sqrt(g/(R-y))), which is wrong.

Pretty sure the answer is: Moat     
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on February 03, 2015, 05:21:35 pm
Are you supposed to know the formula of the centrifugal force for a circular motion?

EDIT: or equivalently, basic non Galilean frame transformations?

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking.  Centrifugal force is not a real thing, right?  I don't know what a non Galilean frame transformation is, that sounds too fancy for a high school physics class (I'm not in high school, but I'm working with someone who is).  Centripetal force should be mv^2/r (where lowercase r is the radius of the circle the ball is moving in; you could use Pythageorean theorem to get little r in terms of big R and y), which should be equal to the x-component of the Normal force.  (I assume that part is right, because I used that in my solution to the first part, which was correct.)  My intuition says that in order for the ball to not slide into the bottom of the bowl, the y-component of the Normal force must be greater than or equal to the weight.

In a somewhat related problem, I had a bunch of people in an amusement park ride that spun in a vertical circle (like a ferris wheel, but with the people inside the circle), and I needed to find the minimum angular velocity to keep the people from falling down at the top of the circle.  For this one, I just set the normal force greater than or equal to the weight and solved for v (and then converted linear velocity to angular velocity), and that worked.

So I thought something similar should work for the original problem.  The difference is that now the Normal force points at an angle (instead of completely vertically), so I thought now we should be looking at just the y-component of the Normal force in comparison to weight.  But that doesn't seem to work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 03, 2015, 05:46:48 pm
Are you supposed to know the formula of the centrifugal force for a circular motion?

EDIT: or equivalently, basic non Galilean frame transformations?

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking.  Centrifugal force is not a real thing, right?  I don't know what a non Galilean frame transformation is, that sounds too fancy for a high school physics class (I'm not in high school, but I'm working with someone who is).  Centripetal force should be mv^2/r (where lowercase r is the radius of the circle the ball is moving in; you could use Pythageorean theorem to get little r in terms of big R and y), which should be equal to the x-component of the Normal force.  (I assume that part is right, because I used that in my solution to the first part, which was correct.)  My intuition says that in order for the ball to not slide into the bottom of the bowl, the y-component of the Normal force must be greater than or equal to the weight.

In a somewhat related problem, I had a bunch of people in an amusement park ride that spun in a vertical circle (like a ferris wheel, but with the people inside the circle), and I needed to find the minimum angular velocity to keep the people from falling down at the top of the circle.  For this one, I just set the normal force greater than or equal to the weight and solved for v (and then converted linear velocity to angular velocity), and that worked.

So I thought something similar should work for the original problem.  The difference is that now the Normal force points at an angle (instead of completely vertically), so I thought now we should be looking at just the y-component of the Normal force in comparison to weight.  But that doesn't seem to work.

You can work it out with what you call the centripetal force too.

You got the right intuition, but you are trying to compensate the wrong component of the weight. You have to compensate the projection of the weight on the (local) surface of the bowl.

Aside: To the best of my knowledge, centrifugal and centripetal forces are names applied to any number of forces in circular motions. When people say that "centrifugal force is not a real thing", what they really mean (if they know what they are talking about) is that it does not exist when studying circular motions in Galilean frames. However, if you place yourself in a non-Galilean frame, independently of your motion in the new frame, a series of inertial forces appear (among them, the "centrifugal force"), which you have to take into account in your analysis.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on February 03, 2015, 06:38:43 pm
Are you supposed to know the formula of the centrifugal force for a circular motion?

EDIT: or equivalently, basic non Galilean frame transformations?

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking.  Centrifugal force is not a real thing, right?  I don't know what a non Galilean frame transformation is, that sounds too fancy for a high school physics class (I'm not in high school, but I'm working with someone who is).  Centripetal force should be mv^2/r (where lowercase r is the radius of the circle the ball is moving in; you could use Pythageorean theorem to get little r in terms of big R and y), which should be equal to the x-component of the Normal force.  (I assume that part is right, because I used that in my solution to the first part, which was correct.)  My intuition says that in order for the ball to not slide into the bottom of the bowl, the y-component of the Normal force must be greater than or equal to the weight.
If you use co-ordinates that are rotating, then there is an additional acceleration that appears, which is the centrifugal force. It doesn't behave quite like normal forces because it's an artifact of the co-ordinate system, and so it's called a virtual force. This is one of those things where you get told something, then get told it's a lie and told something else, then get told that that too is a lie and the original lie is not quite so untrue from a certain perspective.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on February 03, 2015, 06:50:30 pm
You got the right intuition, but you are trying to compensate the wrong component of the weight. You have to compensate the projection of the weight on the (local) surface of the bowl.

Okay, I think I see what you're saying.  Just to make sure, here's a picture I drew in paint.net:

(http://i.imgur.com/x9TfSd4.png)

So I wanted to set N_y (which is just Nsin(theta)) equal to mg, but you're saying it should be N=mgsin(theta).  And that makes sense, because the other component of the weight isn't doing anything to the Normal force.  I can also see how that's analogous to the other problem with the vertical circle.  Then I should be able to get the rest of it from there.

Thanks for your help!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 03, 2015, 06:51:49 pm
I'm pretty sure centrifugal force is a real thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 03, 2015, 06:54:15 pm
Ah, θ.  So hard to type.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 03, 2015, 06:54:54 pm
Ah, θ.  So hard to type.

Theta?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 03, 2015, 07:07:00 pm
So I wanted to set N_y (which is just Nsin(theta)) equal to mg, but you're saying it should be N=mgsin(theta).  And that makes sense, because the other component of the weight isn't doing anything to the Normal force.  I can also see how that's analogous to the other problem with the vertical circle.  Then I should be able to get the rest of it from there.

Thanks for your help!

No problem. It took me more than I would care to say to find out which component of the weight you wanted to compensate...

Note that if you use the "centripetal force" analysis, you aren't actually compensating anything. You are finding the value of y for which the weight plus the normal reaction of the surface equate the required centripetal force to sustain the circular motion.

The reason why, when you look at it backwards (or using centrifugal force analysis instead), you are trying to compensate the projection of the weight on the local surface of the bowl is because the projection of the weight on the normal of the surface of the bowl is always compensated by the reaction of the surface, so you don't care about it.

... I don't know if that makes anything clearer, or quite the opposite.

EDIT: I've reread your analysis. Yes, you want N_y = mg to force the sum of the weight and the normal reaction to be horizontal. You were forgetting the principal characteristic of the normal reaction, which is to compensate all forces in the direction of the normal to the surface. Since here the only other force is the weight, this is what gives the relation |N| = mg*sin(theta).


I'm pretty sure centrifugal force is a real thing.

One thing I've learnt during my short existence on this Earth is how irredeemably subjective the word "real" is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 03, 2015, 10:25:59 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqbomTIWCZ8
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on February 04, 2015, 02:35:39 am
I've watched Meet the Soldier around 10 times, and only noticed one of the jokes after somebody pointed it out to me.

At the end of the video, when the Soldier says "And that's why whenever there's a bunch of animals in one place it's called a ZOO!", he's actually saying, "And that's why whenever there's a bunch of animals in one place it's called a TZU!" His speech is about Sun Tzu building an ark, getting two of every animal and beating the crap out of all of them, and that's where he thinks the name comes from.

This whole time I thought it was just a non-sequitur.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on February 05, 2015, 01:24:57 am
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FuYQ6U9EUBE
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 05, 2015, 09:56:31 am
Mate came to the pub the other day
'Get Ozle, you like games, I've got a great new one you should try. It's called Dominion!"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 05, 2015, 09:57:32 am
Mate came to the pub the other day
'Get Ozle, you like games, I've got a great new one you should try. It's called Dominion!"

Take him up on the offer.  Propose playing for money to make things more interesting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on February 05, 2015, 10:13:31 am
Mate came to the pub the other day
'Get Ozle, you like games, I've got a great new one you should try. It's called Dominion!"

I don't even care if you just made this up. I could totally see this happening to me, too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 05, 2015, 10:19:28 am
Aside: To the best of my knowledge, centrifugal and centripetal forces are names applied to any number of forces in circular motions. When people say that "centrifugal force is not a real thing", what they really mean (if they know what they are talking about) is that it does not exist when studying circular motions in Galilean frames. However, if you place yourself in a non-Galilean frame, independently of your motion in the new frame, a series of inertial forces appear (among them, the "centrifugal force"), which you have to take into account in your analysis.

XKCD:  A relevant comic for almost any scientific subject.

(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/centrifugal_force.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 05, 2015, 11:51:18 am
Mate came to the pub the other day
'Get Ozle, you like games, I've got a great new one you should try. It's called Dominion!"

Do you hear that sound? That is the sound of free money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNkrF43SZEU
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 05, 2015, 12:04:35 pm
Mate came to the pub the other day
'Get Ozle, you like games, I've got a great new one you should try. It's called Dominion!"

Do you hear that sound? That is the sound of free money.

The con may be up when he buys a Chapel despite having no Witch on the board.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 05, 2015, 12:06:50 pm
So, I just finished watching Evangelion just to see what all the fuss was about (spoiler alert: naked 14 year old kids).

Well, it was something, that much I can say. I wasn't particularly offended by the final two chapters, knowing that the studio was basically bankrupt by then, although they definitely could have dedicated a bit more than two frames and five sentences to the actual plot, and the congratulations were uncalled for.

Then I watched the End of Evangelion. It was hard to follow the plot even before it got mythological, then it got even harder as huh well shit goes down, and then there's the choking thing and my brain just BSoD'd.

So of course I went to the interwebs to seek answers. And in the end I kinda understood the mythos; in hindsight there are hints here and there in the series, even though a lot of them are of the blink-and-miss variety (and bad subs don't help). I'm still completely at a loss about the choking thing though, so huh any fellow geek wants to try to explain it to this troper?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 05, 2015, 12:16:09 pm
I thought the choking was one of the more straightforward parts of EoE. I've only seen it twice, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 05, 2015, 12:36:25 pm
I saw it for the first time a few months ago. I don't pretend to be an expert on it. However, the explanation I normally here is Shinji was the first one to emerge from the LCL and had been by himself for awhile. He was already pretty emotionally unstable for a lot of the show and had some conflicted feelings about Asuka--and was also confused about sex and relationships and in general. So being in isolation just made him even more insane. He might have seen Asuka as trying to kill him (sometimes sexual attraction is viewed as an attack) and responded in "self-defense". Also, there's the whole thing with Instrumentality making the world perfect--something, something that means everything he did was permissible. I don't know. I just enjoyed the whole thing for what it was. Definitely one of the better animes I've watched, though it is very polarizing in terms of whether people love the show or hate it. I fall into the category of preferring the movie ending, which I'm fairly certain is the minority.

Edit: added a few more details
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 05, 2015, 12:44:43 pm
I thought the choking was one of the more straightforward parts of EoE. I've only seen it twice, though.

There's two choking scenes. The first one, Shinji is the focus of the End of the World, and dreaming some sort of nightmare. The choking is just whatever.

The second one, however, Shinji has just reached the conclusion that he needs other people if he ever wants to be happy; I read that, if not necessarily as the end of his depression, at least as a will to improve. So he stops the Human Complementation, and is deposited back on Earth, together with his "it's complicated" partner, Asuka, apparently sleeping. For all he knows, it might be the only human he is going to see in a long, long time.

His first reaction is to choke her.

That would have been surprising at certain points of his character development, and outright impossible at others. By the end of the movie, I just don't see how that makes sense.


tl;dr: your definition of straightforward is different from mine.

PPE: Shinji wasn't violent during the whole Instrumentality thing. He went from afraid and disgusted with himself to accepting himself and others, both in the anime and in the movie. I mean, the whole purpose of the Instrumentality plan was to heal humanity. I just don't see the rape-violence right after he wakes up.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 05, 2015, 12:52:13 pm
The other major answer I hear is that reasons behind Shinji's reaction are unknowable or unexplained (2deep4me). I'm betting there was a difference between being part of Instrumentality and then returning to a human body--I don't think you keep the same connection with others once you separate. I don't think the humans had perfect knowledge about exactly what Instrumentality would mean either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 05, 2015, 01:21:17 pm
The other major answer I hear is that reasons behind Shinji's reaction are unknowable or unexplained (2deep4me).

That seems like a lazy answer to me. Shinji's reaction cannot be unknowable, since someone wrote that scene. It is unexplained, sure, but because of the placement of the scene, I understand that we are expected to glean some meaning from it, even if that meaning is not unique.

Quote
I'm betting there was a difference between being part of Instrumentality and then returning to a human body--I don't think you keep the same connection with others once you separate. I don't think the humans had perfect knowledge about exactly what Instrumentality would mean either.

Eh, I guess you could say that scene can be explained by the shock of Shinji coming back, assuming that it was the oneness with others which let him get over his depression, and not something coming from himself. So suddenly he is back to Earth, and so is the despair, and he is momentarily overwhelmed from being back to square one... I guess... Not the most uplifting of endings, then.


Also, don't you like big chunks of black, Ichi? I sure do.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 05, 2015, 01:56:40 pm
I think it turned out to be all a dream
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 05, 2015, 02:03:21 pm
Someone sent this to me, and I laughed out loud.  Watch it to the end.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/_CwHrJt8Oz8?rel=0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 05, 2015, 02:19:23 pm
That seems like a lazy answer to me. Shinji's reaction cannot be unknowable, since someone wrote that scene.

What about Moat's reaction?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on February 05, 2015, 02:21:15 pm
I watched some of Evangelion. For me, characters really make the story, and I couldn't like any of Evangelion's characters (except maybe the penguin). They're all unlikeable in their own unique way; it's really quite impressive.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 05, 2015, 02:36:12 pm
I found the first half pretty cliche'd. Hadn't I known that it would evolve into, well, the thing it turned into around episode 16 or so, I would have dropped it earlier than that. It is not helped by how often the series have been emulated, so the archetypes don't even feel fresh anymore after nearly 20 years of copies.

But really, the main point of the series is how most characters are psychologically screwed up, and how they try (or not) to piece together the wretches of their lives. So well, they are hard to like.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 05, 2015, 02:57:37 pm
Rat ownership is better than I thought. They have all the cuddliness of a kitten or a puppy, but you don't have to feel guilty putting them into a cage (especially considering the spacious monstrosity I have for them). They're litter-trained, and I am working on getting them to learn basic commands.

Gotta say that I don't regret adopting rats. Yeah, their home is expensive, but it's been worthwhile.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 05, 2015, 07:14:15 pm
I can see the cuddly factor, but what about the cuteness factor (when little) and the flat out gorgeous factor (when grown).  Are they beautiful when they move?  Can you actually watch the musculature in action, and note the flexibility of their (speaking of cats now) spine? 

Can you ever let go of your desire to feed them to an exquisitely reticulated python?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 05, 2015, 07:19:22 pm
I had rats pretty much my whole life while I was growing up. They're really great pets. I have a lot of fond memories of them. Although (the ones we got at least) do tend to develop tumors later on in life--so there's some sad memories as well.

They can be snuggly and are really intelligent and curious animals too. I'm glad you have more than one, since they can keep each other company.

Edit: le grammar
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 05, 2015, 07:21:04 pm
Have you checked to make sure your rats aren't actually dark wizards in disguise?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 05, 2015, 07:39:08 pm
The problem with Rats is that you can get too much of them too quickly.  You need to find some way to trash them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 05, 2015, 07:46:45 pm
The problem with Rats is that you can get too much of them too quickly.  You need to find some way to trash them.

You could, for example, butcher them and turn them into a feast.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 05, 2015, 07:50:00 pm
The problem with Rats is that you can get too much of them too quickly.  You need to find some way to trash them.

You could, for example, butcher them and turn them into a feast.

No, I would rather just trade them for gold with the butcher.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 05, 2015, 09:14:16 pm
You can always sacrifice your Rats to your local priest and get some nice bonus reward bucks for your credit card.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 07:31:15 am
North London Derby on Saturday.,...possibly the most important game in football!!!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on February 06, 2015, 07:52:52 am
North London Derby on Saturday.,...possibly the most important game in football!!!
I think the Manchester Derby is more important, as probably is El Clasico, and most importantly the Old Farm Derby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Anglian_derby).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 07:58:08 am
North London Derby on Saturday.,...possibly the most important game in football!!!
I think the Manchester Derby is more important, as probably is El Clasico, and most importantly the Old Farm Derby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Anglian_derby).

Pfft, Manchester Derby....Uniteds biggest game isnt even against City, its against Liverpool.
And El Classico, pffft, no heart or passion in it!

The mighty perennial underdog Tottenham Hotspur against the evil plastic fan worshipped nomadic Woolich ARSEnal
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 06, 2015, 08:24:42 am
I had rats pretty much my whole life while I was growing up. They're really great pets. I have a lot of fond memories of them. Although (the ones we got at least) do tend to develop tumors later on in life--so there's some sad memories as well.

They can be snuggly and are really intelligent and curious animals too. I'm glad you have more than one, since they can keep each other company.

Edit: le grammar

Yeah, not looking forward to when they pass. Only a couple of years. The one that made my wife fall in love with the idea of rats will break her heart when she passes. We had been looking at the idea of rats for a while and decided to stop at a few pet stores to see their rats. At the time, my wife wasn't convinced she'd want a rat, so we were test-driving, so to speak. First store had an impressive reptile collection, but their rats were feeders, which aren't very cuddly. The second store had Latte, which was the rat that made my wife's heart melt. We moved on to a third store that wasn't very impressive and decided to go ahead and pick up Latte and a cage. The store employees could tell we would be back. They didn't even put Latte back on display. We got her and a companion. Sadly, that rat died of an URI 3 days later. The store has a 7-day guarantee, so we replaced her with another rat.

I had read that you should never own single rats. I'd hate to think of Latte being bored while I'm at work or asleep. We got her another companion, so all three of them will hop along and play.

Females tend to get tumors, which is unfortunately what we have. We didn't want males marking up everything, so we went with the prone-to-gigantic-growths rats.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on February 06, 2015, 08:29:08 am
North London Derby on Saturday.,...possibly the most important game in football!!!
I think the Manchester Derby is more important, as probably is El Clasico, and most importantly the Old Farm Derby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Anglian_derby).

Pfft, Manchester Derby....Uniteds biggest game isnt even against City, its against Liverpool.
And El Classico, pffft, no heart or passion in it!

The mighty perennial underdog Tottenham Hotspur against the evil plastic fan worshipped nomadic Woolich ARSEnal
At least in that derby, both teams might win the league, neither of the North London derby teams will. But still, Old Farm Derby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Anglian_derby) is the best.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 08:32:11 am
Pretty sure United are nowhere near winning the league. In that case the City/Chelsea game would have been bigger

And that's not what makes a derby special, it's the rivalry between the teams.

If spurs win this match they will go above arsenal into thier precious 4th spot (which according to wenger is 'just like winning a trophy')
Granted well probably choke on the last game if the season again but hey, can still dream!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 06, 2015, 09:27:48 am
Is it true that there is a programming language that uses Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes as syntax?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 06, 2015, 09:30:01 am
Is it true that there is a programming language that uses Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes as syntax?

"Come into this loop if you want to live"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on February 06, 2015, 09:38:11 am
North London Derby on Saturday.,...possibly the most important game in football!!!
The Super Bowl was last weekend.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 09:50:29 am
North London Derby on Saturday.,...possibly the most important game in football!!!
The Super Bowl was last weekend.

Not really the same as a Derby though, thats a final.

Also, American Football or Gridiron

Also, even by viewership its not the best, 111m estimated viewers against FA Cups estimated 500m (I have no idea where they get these figures from though)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 06, 2015, 09:56:52 am
People watch the Superbowl?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 10:03:06 am
I did, was great.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 10:17:06 am
On a slightly related note....bidding to show Premiership football rights in the UK start oday...expecting to go for around Ł4billion!!

Crazy when you consider thats JUST the rights to show it in the UK, and thats not even every match, usually its between 5 - 8 a week (out of 10)

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on February 06, 2015, 10:30:57 am
North London Derby on Saturday.,...possibly the most important game in football!!!

I'm so excited for this. I'm thinking spurs have a great chance. Which probably means we'll get crushed.

Also, the game starts at 5:45 am here...yuck.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 10:35:36 am
Yep,l no Ox or Sanchez for the Gooners means they will hopefully lack a creativity. Stambouli in the midfield to shackle Cazorla.

most confident for ages...which yes means we'll concede an early goal and then Adebyour will come on, do nothing and then get sent off.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WanderingWinder on February 06, 2015, 11:00:08 am
North London Derby on Saturday.,...possibly the most important game in football!!!

Surely that would be the World Cup Final?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on February 06, 2015, 11:05:03 am
Wasn't the most important game in football played this past Sunday?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 11:06:35 am
North London Derby on Saturday.,...possibly the most important game in football!!!

Surely that would be the World Cup Final?

A mere trifle compared to the North London Derby!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 11:07:04 am
Wasn't the most important game in football played this past Sunday?

West Ham vs Hull?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on February 06, 2015, 11:13:12 am
Yep,l no Ox or Sanchez for the Gooners means they will hopefully lack a creativity. Stambouli in the midfield to shackle Cazorla.

most confident for ages...which yes means we'll concede an early goal and then Adebyour will come on, do nothing and then get sent off.

I'm reading that sanchez is going to play, i really hope he doesn'tthough. I'm hoping our lineup is:
lloris, walker fazio vertonghen rose, stambouli mason, townsend eriksen chadli, kane
although I would guess lamela would start (and maybe dembele too)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 11:32:30 am
Ugh, hopefully no Townsend, running at Arsenal with pace and then losing the ball is the last thing we want.
And i'd put Davis in instead of Rose, but not much to choose between them.

I think Dembele might actually start, despite Mason/Stam being better overall. Someone to keep the ball when he runs forward.
Shame Betaleb probably wont be fit in time

Our new found fitness will be the key here, one silly mistake and they will score. Got to keep concentration to the end, and hopefully go in 3-0 up

Ugh, I hope Sanchez doesnt play, as the ability to tear Fazio apart...

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 06, 2015, 11:45:02 am
North London Derby on Saturday.,...possibly the most important game in football!!!

Surely that would be the World Cup Final?

Maybe, but don't call me Shirley.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on February 06, 2015, 11:48:28 am
Ugh, hopefully no Townsend, running at Arsenal with pace and then losing the ball is the last thing we want.
And i'd put Davis in instead of Rose, but not much to choose between them.

I think Dembele might actually start, despite Mason/Stam being better overall. Someone to keep the ball when he runs forward.
Shame Betaleb probably wont be fit in time

Our new found fitness will be the key here, one silly mistake and they will score. Got to keep concentration to the end, and hopefully go in 3-0 up

Ugh, I hope Sanchez doesnt play, as the ability to tear Fazio apart...

would you rather see lamela? i guess i'm just not a lamela fan but he never seems effective to me. i'd almost rather see eriksen-dembele-chadli than chadli-eriksen-lamela.

no bentaleb is a shame, i think he's our best central mid. i'm assuming he's sitting this one out, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 06, 2015, 12:09:18 pm
Is it true that there is a programming language that uses Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes as syntax?

Of course.

https://github.com/lhartikk/ArnoldC/wiki/ArnoldC

EDIT: prettier link http://lhartikk.github.io/ArnoldC/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 06, 2015, 12:13:07 pm
Is it true that there is a programming language that uses Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes as syntax?

Of course.

https://github.com/lhartikk/ArnoldC/wiki/ArnoldC

That's incredibly stupid and awesome at the same time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 06, 2015, 01:59:38 pm
With some explanation:

http://www.i-programmer.info/news/85-humour-/7014-arnold-c-a-schwarzenegger-based-language.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 06, 2015, 02:14:14 pm
Ugh, hopefully no Townsend, running at Arsenal with pace and then losing the ball is the last thing we want.
And i'd put Davis in instead of Rose, but not much to choose between them.

I think Dembele might actually start, despite Mason/Stam being better overall. Someone to keep the ball when he runs forward.
Shame Betaleb probably wont be fit in time

Our new found fitness will be the key here, one silly mistake and they will score. Got to keep concentration to the end, and hopefully go in 3-0 up

Ugh, I hope Sanchez doesnt play, as the ability to tear Fazio apart...

would you rather see lamela? i guess i'm just not a lamela fan but he never seems effective to me. i'd almost rather see eriksen-dembele-chadli than chadli-eriksen-lamela.

no bentaleb is a shame, i think he's our best central mid. i'm assuming he's sitting this one out, though.

Chadli isn't fit I thought?
And Lamela while not being the most direct player had been doing a lot of running back and defending lately, which is really been needed, and has been linking up with Kane really well. It's the sort of unglamerous plays that don't really make it into highlights, keep an eye on him specifically next game see what you think
I feel if he had been home grown rather than cost 30m people would be a lot more on his side.

And I'd Definately have Chadli over Townsend. Can actually pass and score.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 06, 2015, 03:04:25 pm
I can see a Dominion based code for the lulz.

Chapel would remove data, like "info.chapel(2)" would remove the second char in the info variable or something :p
Herald would be some sort of a recursive variable, calling itself and some other thing.
Mine multiplies, Smithy adds, Militia subtracts, and Saboteur divides.
Swindler replaces variables with new information.

I can see it now. VaccarinoOS.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 06, 2015, 03:07:42 pm
I can see a Dominion based code for the lulz.

Chapel would remove data, like "info.chapel(2)" would remove the second char in the info variable or something :p
Herald would be some sort of a recursive variable, calling itself and some other thing.
Mine multiplies, Smithy adds, Militia subtracts, and Saboteur divides.
Swindler replaces variables with new information.

I can see it now. VaccarinoOS.

Challenge: Design the language, program a Dominion client in that language, get it up and running before Making Fun releases their new online Dominion version.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on February 06, 2015, 04:31:11 pm
Saboteur divides.

Stonemason should divide.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on February 06, 2015, 07:02:13 pm
Ugh, hopefully no Townsend, running at Arsenal with pace and then losing the ball is the last thing we want.
And i'd put Davis in instead of Rose, but not much to choose between them.

I think Dembele might actually start, despite Mason/Stam being better overall. Someone to keep the ball when he runs forward.
Shame Betaleb probably wont be fit in time

Our new found fitness will be the key here, one silly mistake and they will score. Got to keep concentration to the end, and hopefully go in 3-0 up

Ugh, I hope Sanchez doesnt play, as the ability to tear Fazio apart...

would you rather see lamela? i guess i'm just not a lamela fan but he never seems effective to me. i'd almost rather see eriksen-dembele-chadli than chadli-eriksen-lamela.

no bentaleb is a shame, i think he's our best central mid. i'm assuming he's sitting this one out, though.

Chadli isn't fit I thought?
And Lamela while not being the most direct player had been doing a lot of running back and defending lately, which is really been needed, and has been linking up with Kane really well. It's the sort of unglamerous plays that don't really make it into highlights, keep an eye on him specifically next game see what you think
I feel if he had been home grown rather than cost 30m people would be a lot more on his side.

And I'd Definately have Chadli over Townsend. Can actually pass and score.

Chadli missed the last couple cause his Dad passed away, he should be ready to go for today though I believe -- I haven't heard otherwise. I think we're at full strength minus Bentaleb (who's back but I doubt will play).

Agree that Lamela's put in a good shift helping out Walker, but so has Townsend. He's also been linking up well with Eriksen and Kane sometimes, but I think that more often than not he ends up trying to work into the same space that Eriksen occupies, and Eriksen is better. Too many times Lamela puts himself into situations where he'll only succeed if he can beat multiple defenders, and it's just so hard to beat multiple defenders. He's been doing fairly well this year, and I think he has the most assists on the team, but I think Eriksen has more influence when Lamela isn't playing. Kane's also better at ceding space to Lamela/ERiksen than either Adebayor or Soldado was, which has helped Lamela out. Lamela also makes more room for Walker on the right flank.

Townsend will make more runs down the right -- Lamela's spacing is fairly mediocre IMO, and Townsend opens up a lot more room for Kane. I think Lamela produces more when he plays than Townsend does, but Townsend's presence allows Kane/Eriksen more room to thrive, if that makes any sense.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 07, 2015, 02:46:52 am
(http://36.media.tumblr.com/fde85c632d0aca79f0f25856d2ea04cd/tumblr_ndpmyacj201r3gb3zo1_500.jpg)

(http://41.media.tumblr.com/c5d9675c647c3cfcc6a8e4779bb9dd92/tumblr_ndpmyacj201r3gb3zo2_500.jpg)

(http://40.media.tumblr.com/d96c032d9462820b139a70c6e9211214/tumblr_ndpmyacj201r3gb3zo3_500.jpg)

(http://36.media.tumblr.com/b6875645f4daf35bc56026c3c80a699c/tumblr_ndpmyacj201r3gb3zo4_500.jpg)

(http://33.media.tumblr.com/329286b769fe79c79e3b64b1a7b5fff5/tumblr_ndpmyacj201r3gb3zo5_400.gif)

I don't know if this is specifically a tumblr thing or if it was imported from some other site, but sometimes I see illustrated back stories for random gifs.  I came across this one recently and it is glorious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on February 07, 2015, 03:10:24 am
I don't know if this is specifically a tumblr thing or if it was imported from some other site, but sometimes I see illustrated back stories for random gifs.  I came across this one recently and it is glorious.

http://www.reddit.com/r/behindthegifs/top
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 07, 2015, 07:43:44 am
Behind the Gifs do not disappoint.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 07, 2015, 08:40:16 am
Argh, 1-0 to the goober scum at half time. They scored off a flukey deflection from an offside position (although only marginally to be fair). It's been thier only chance of the game so far. But we can't break through thier 10 man defence now.

Chadli hopefully coming on for second half, no idea who for yet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on February 07, 2015, 08:45:37 am
Argh, 1-0 to the goober scum at half time. They scored off a flukey deflection from an offside position (although only marginally to be fair). It's been thier only chance of the game so far. But we can't break through thier 10 man defence now.

Chadli hopefully coming on for second half, no idea who for yet.

Lamela! Lamela!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 07, 2015, 08:56:38 am
Probably, let Bentaleb pick up some more defence duties, is he even on the pitch or is Mason doing all his work as well?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 07, 2015, 09:06:27 am
Yessss, harry Kane scores!!

A player who has come through the acadamy ranks for Tottenham and is arguably the best striker in the country at the moment!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on February 07, 2015, 09:38:02 am
what a finish!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on February 07, 2015, 09:38:22 am
YESS
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on February 07, 2015, 09:38:40 am
Yessss, harry Kane scores!!

A player who has come through the acadamy ranks for Tottenham and is arguably the best striker in the country at the moment!
He's scored twice now, looks so good, better than any other English striker. Can't believe his progression, he was at my club Norwich 3 years ago, and wasn't very good there (although he was like 18 then).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 07, 2015, 09:40:33 am
https://vine.co/v/OUWKmz1PeM7


YESSS IN YOUR FACE ARSENAL!!

The boy is a legend.

I also wrote him off last year, no sense of positioning or pace. But he has really proved me wrong!!

Surely a definite call up for England now
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 07, 2015, 10:29:58 am
Oh. Soccer speak. I see.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on February 07, 2015, 10:31:17 am
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 07, 2015, 10:48:20 am
Oh. Soccer Football Divegrass speak. I see.
FTFY

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 07, 2015, 10:48:30 am
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY

Not the football I know.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 07, 2015, 10:50:01 am
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY

Not the football I know.

Of course, but don't worry, we will educate you so you don't continue to live in misunderstanding
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on February 07, 2015, 10:50:10 am
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY

Not the football handegg I know.
FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on February 07, 2015, 11:03:52 am
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY

Not the football I know.


I will never understand why you guys don't just call it "European football".

Oh wait, that's because the whole world actually plays it, unlike a certain other sport.

P.S. : Football isn't that great, but american football is worse, it's just a poor imitation of rugby. Did anyone watch England/Wales btw ? Pretty impressive comeback by the English there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 07, 2015, 11:32:34 am
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY

Not the football I know.


I will never understand why you guys don't just call it "European football".

Oh wait, that's because the whole world actually plays it, unlike a certain other sport.

P.S. : Football isn't that great, but american football is worse, it's just a poor imitation of rugby. Did anyone watch England/Wales btw ? Pretty impressive comeback by the English there.

American football is amazing. Don't get me wrong, I like a good soccer match, and I think the US Soccer is a joke compared to Barclays and the World Cup, but I enjoy American football a bit more.

I pull for Manchester City. Let the hate begin.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on February 07, 2015, 11:37:18 am
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY

Not the football I know.


I will never understand why you guys don't just call it "European football".

Oh wait, that's because the whole world actually plays it, unlike a certain other sport.

P.S. : Football isn't that great, but american football is worse, it's just a poor imitation of rugby. Did anyone watch England/Wales btw ? Pretty impressive comeback by the English there.

American football is amazing. Don't get me wrong, I like a good soccer match, and I think the US Soccer is a joke compared to Barclays and the World Cup, but I enjoy American football a bit more.

I pull for Manchester City. Let the hate begin.

At least tell me you will be pulling for their minor league team once the MLS season starts and I won't hate you as much
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 07, 2015, 11:51:07 am
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY

Not the football I know.


I will never understand why you guys don't just call it "European football".

Oh wait, that's because the whole world actually plays it, unlike a certain other sport.

P.S. : Football isn't that great, but american football is worse, it's just a poor imitation of rugby. Did anyone watch England/Wales btw ? Pretty impressive comeback by the English there.

American football is amazing. Don't get me wrong, I like a good soccer match, and I think the US Soccer is a joke compared to Barclays and the World Cup, but I enjoy American football a bit more.

I pull for Manchester City. Let the hate begin.

At least tell me you will be pulling for their minor league team once the MLS season starts and I won't hate you as much

I don't watch MLS. I think it's a watered down version of Barclays.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on February 07, 2015, 11:53:27 am
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY

Not the football I know.


I will never understand why you guys don't just call it "European football".

Oh wait, that's because the whole world actually plays it, unlike a certain other sport.

P.S. : Football isn't that great, but american football is worse, it's just a poor imitation of rugby. Did anyone watch England/Wales btw ? Pretty impressive comeback by the English there.
Rugby was so good, especially as it was a weakened England team. I do actually like (gridiron) football, but football is better IMO. Norwich City are the best!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 07, 2015, 12:10:39 pm
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY

Not the football I know.


I will never understand why you guys don't just call it "European football".

Oh wait, that's because the whole world actually plays it, unlike a certain other sport.

P.S. : Football isn't that great, but american football is worse, it's just a poor imitation of rugby. Did anyone watch England/Wales btw ? Pretty impressive comeback by the English there.

American football is amazing. Don't get me wrong, I like a good soccer match, and I think the US Soccer is a joke compared to Barclays and the World Cup, but I enjoy American football a bit more.

I pull for Manchester City. Let the hate begin.

No hate for supporting Man City, not sure how long you have been a city fan, but they have a lot of foreign country supporters with all the success they have bought lately.

Also, don't hate the MLS because it's no premier league (and I am going to hate myself for this)..... They can't all be the best football leagues
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 07, 2015, 01:12:46 pm
Oh. Soccer Football speak. I see.
FTFY

Not the football I know.


I will never understand why you guys don't just call it "European football".

Oh wait, that's because the whole world actually plays it, unlike a certain other sport.

P.S. : Football isn't that great, but american football is worse, it's just a poor imitation of rugby. Did anyone watch England/Wales btw ? Pretty impressive comeback by the English there.

American football is amazing. Don't get me wrong, I like a good soccer match, and I think the US Soccer is a joke compared to Barclays and the World Cup, but I enjoy American football a bit more.

I pull for Manchester City. Let the hate begin.

No hate for supporting Man City, not sure how long you have been a city fan, but they have a lot of foreign country supporters with all the success they have bought lately.

Also, don't hate the MLS because it's no premier league (and I am going to hate myself for this)..... They can't all be the best football leagues

I didn't really watch soccer much until a few years ago. My dad was a supporter of Man City for years, so I just kind of went with them passively. It was a bit weird that in the year I finally decided to really get into soccer more, Man City wins it all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 07, 2015, 01:38:43 pm
I don't know if this is specifically a tumblr thing or if it was imported from some other site, but sometimes I see illustrated back stories for random gifs.  I came across this one recently and it is glorious.

http://www.reddit.com/r/behindthegifs/top

Does anyone else remember the far past, when GIF was just another graphics file format, and didn't automagically imply animation?

Also, my phone just autocorrected some misspelling of "automatically" to "automagically." I think I'll keep it this way though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on February 07, 2015, 01:41:15 pm
Choosing what foreign team to support is kind of weird -- i only support spurs because my brother does, but i'm not 100% why he supported spurs. honestly i think it was more of an arbitrary choice than anything else.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 07, 2015, 01:41:41 pm
I don't know if this is specifically a tumblr thing or if it was imported from some other site, but sometimes I see illustrated back stories for random gifs.  I came across this one recently and it is glorious.

http://www.reddit.com/r/behindthegifs/top

Does anyone else remember the far past, when GIF was just another graphics file format, and didn't automagically imply animation?

Also, my phone just autocorrected some misspelling of "automatically" to "automagically." I think I'll keep it this way though.

Yup.  It also implied transparency!  But at this point, animation is pretty much all it has going for it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 07, 2015, 03:24:32 pm
Me and my siblings, we play this weird game sometimes where we will send this note or something like it, and somewhere on the back, it will have a picture of a bomb, with the words "BOOM U R DED". The game is interesting, because some notes will have actual important things on them, and some of the notes will just be elaborate traps with a IRL 'click bait'.

 The goal of the game is to not read the bomb (because then you die), but read all the info on the safe notes. It's a stupid game, but it's really fun how creative we get with hard reads sometimes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 07, 2015, 03:37:06 pm
(http://www.giantitp.com/comics/images/oots0317.gif)

EDIT: gaah, I have no idea why it doesn't work. The pic is here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0317.html).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 07, 2015, 05:19:50 pm
Me and my siblings, we play this weird game sometimes where we will send this note or something like it, and somewhere on the back, it will have a picture of a bomb, with the words "BOOM U R DED". The game is interesting, because some notes will have actual important things on them, and some of the notes will just be elaborate traps with a IRL 'click bait'.

 The goal of the game is to not read the bomb (because then you die), but read all the info on the safe notes. It's a stupid game, but it's really fun how creative we get with hard reads sometimes.

Hrm.  Pacovf provided the relevant link to Order of the Stick, but the image isn't showing up.  Here's a comic link (the first appearance):

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0092.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on February 07, 2015, 09:09:01 pm
About to pull the trigger on a poor man's es-335.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 08, 2015, 07:37:07 am
Theory, you reading here, can't seem to create new threads on the treasure hunt board (but can on the secret one)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 08, 2015, 03:31:33 pm
About to pull the trigger on a poor man's es-335.
Very cool.  What are you getting, an Epiphone Dot, or somebody's knockoff, or what?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 09, 2015, 08:41:03 am
Does anyone else remember the far past, when GIF was just another graphics file format, and didn't automagically imply animation.

I still sometimes work with GIFs, but I prefer PNG-24s. They fill the same niche as GIFs but are lossless. The only thing that GIFs have over PNG-24s is the animation. [Edit: And file size, but that's mostly a nonissue nowadays.]

But yes, it was a valuable lesson of why the hell can't I insert a JPG and still see the background.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 09, 2015, 10:38:36 am
What does happen with the Facebook update for Android? I had heard that it changes your FB mail to IMs. I haven't updated the Facebook app in probably at least a year. I've been intentionally avoiding it.

But my FB crashes more and more now. I'm sure I could improve the stability with an update, but I don't want to lose the functionality I have now. Only, I'm not really sure what functionality I would lose.

Can I still access my FB mail as usual with the updated app? It's fairly similar to browsing Facebook in Chrome on my desktop. Does the updated app change that?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on February 09, 2015, 04:14:43 pm
Does anyone have a suggestion for a cross-platform to-do/tasks list?

I currently use outlook exclusively for that purpose, but I want something that works on my android phone and my ubuntu boot and syncs automatically. I've tried out a couple of things (Wunderlist, google tasks), but found them lacking. Specifically, I want each task have a category, details, a due date, and a "complete" check box and be able to sort by complete then due date (or just have complete things disappear, though I'd prefer they were recoverable if I misclick). This seems to me like the obvious way to organize tasks, and I've been surprised that the highly-rated to-do list apps I've found don't seem to have even this functionality. Another thing that would be nice is recurring tasks, but that is not a high priority.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 09, 2015, 04:18:27 pm
Does anyone have a suggestion for a cross-platform to-do/tasks list?


(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4145/5065046259_9ce1285dc7.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on February 09, 2015, 04:20:08 pm
Does anyone have a suggestion for a cross-platform to-do/tasks list?


(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4145/5065046259_9ce1285dc7.jpg)

Har har har. You are not the first to make that joke.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WanderingWinder on February 09, 2015, 04:21:32 pm
Human Brain
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 09, 2015, 04:29:26 pm
That is prone to memory leaks, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 09, 2015, 04:29:52 pm
Plus, this is Geolib we're talking about...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 09, 2015, 04:31:23 pm
Does anyone have a suggestion for a cross-platform to-do/tasks list?


(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4145/5065046259_9ce1285dc7.jpg)

Har har har. You are not the first to make that joke.

But I had a nice shaprened pencil and everything, thats gotta count for something!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 09, 2015, 04:39:11 pm
Does anyone have a suggestion for a cross-platform to-do/tasks list?
I use Todoist (https://en.todoist.com/), which I have found to be pretty useful. I just use the free version--though there's some cheap subscription you can get for additional functionality. It's simple, cross-platform--and it sounds like it has the features you want. It has project creation, sorting by due date, and completed tasks are archived and sorted by project.

A few years ago, I tried like a gazillion different task apps; this is the only one I still use.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 09, 2015, 04:47:39 pm
Darn it. We were not supposed to give serious answers?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 09, 2015, 04:55:11 pm
To-Do list:

1) Program to-do list app.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 09, 2015, 04:56:42 pm
To-Do list:

1) Get To Do list App
2) Program to-do list app.

Updated
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 09, 2015, 05:35:21 pm
If you need a to-do-list app to create a to-do-list app so you can use the to-do-list app, how can you use the to-do-list app if the to-do-list app has not been created yet?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 09, 2015, 05:44:22 pm
If you need a to-do-list app to create a to-do-list app so you can use the to-do-list app, how can you use the to-do-list app if the to-do-list app has not been created yet?

Sounds like a serious catch-twenty-to-do.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 09, 2015, 06:29:39 pm
Poeple wanted for opinions and to do a couple of test puzzles.

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=12558.0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 09, 2015, 06:29:47 pm
Poeple wanted for opinions and to do a couple of test puzzles.

I also want people
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 09, 2015, 07:11:57 pm
If you need a to-do-list app to create a to-do-list app so you can use the to-do-list app, how can you use the to-do-list app if the to-do-list app has not been created yet?

Sounds like a serious catch-twenty-to-do.

icwudt
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on February 09, 2015, 07:54:27 pm
I also want people to read my new memoir, "Toodaloo from Tuvalu: Deja Vu in the London Zoo, Part Two".

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silvern on February 09, 2015, 09:40:11 pm
Just watched Spirited Away for the first time over the weekend....I didn't know you could DO that with a movie.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on February 09, 2015, 09:55:31 pm
Just watched Spirited Away for the first time over the weekend....I didn't know you could DO that with a movie.

Yea, it blew my mind to when I realized that I was supposed to do something with movies besides look at the box.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silvern on February 09, 2015, 10:50:29 pm
Just watched Spirited Away for the first time over the weekend....I didn't know you could DO that with a movie.

Yea, it blew my mind to when I realized that I was supposed to do something with movies besides look at the box.
Hmmm….look at the box. Interesting idea. We had just been tossing the disc back and forth, Frisbee-style, up until that point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on February 10, 2015, 12:43:12 am
What does happen with the Facebook update for Android? I had heard that it changes your FB mail to IMs. I haven't updated the Facebook app in probably at least a year. I've been intentionally avoiding it.

But my FB crashes more and more now. I'm sure I could improve the stability with an update, but I don't want to lose the functionality I have now. Only, I'm not really sure what functionality I would lose.

Can I still access my FB mail as usual with the updated app? It's fairly similar to browsing Facebook in Chrome on my desktop. Does the updated app change that?

It'll force you to download the Messenger app to receive Facebook messages. In particular, you'll get Messenger chat heads - these are small circles that show up in the corner of the screen whenever you get a new FB message, even over other apps like Chrome. From there you can either dismiss them or tap them to open them (which will bring you to the chat interface directly)

Tapping the message button in the main FB app will open up Messenger. It'll basically look and act the same as Facebook on desktop, the main difference is the chat heads. Personally I didn't like them at first, but it's grown on me.

+ Faster send/receive message times than the main FB app (this is the argument for why FB forced people to Messenger, people reply quicker when they use it but that doesn't help very much unless both people in the conversation use it.)
+ Easier to go to the chat window when you receive a new message
+ Easier to go back to what you were doing before after replying to a message
+/- Will immediately get a visual notification when you have a new message (whether you like this will vary)
- You'll lose some MB of space on your phone (this usually doesn't matter)
+/- Your load times on the main FB app may change (this is hard to estimate without knowing how old your phone/app is.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on February 10, 2015, 01:33:41 am
I love Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke is just as good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on February 10, 2015, 01:41:50 am
I love Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke is just as good.

I think I like Howl's Moving Castle slightly better than both of those.

I'd like to see Porco Rosso again. It's surreal in a slightly different way than most Miyazaki films.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on February 10, 2015, 01:46:01 am
I love Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke is just as good.

I think I like Howl's Moving Castle slightly better than both of those.

These are the three I have seen and I have to say I'm not as blown away as all my friends are. I find the stories a little mashed together, just stuff happening and then a little conclusion. The animations are great of course, and his independent attitude to his movies is amazing too. But with all his movies I've left feeling like I wanted a little more unison with all the things in the movies.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 10, 2015, 01:49:41 am
Castle in the Sky still ranks as one of my favorites. I just saw From Up on Poppy Hill last week. It was nice, different, but a good film nonetheless. I'm aware it didn't have the best reception, which I think is a shame.

It's strange. I will only watch subbed anime with the exception of the Miyazaki films. The english voiceovers are very well done.

The Wind Rises is the only film I have yet to see. I would unwatch Arrietty if I could.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on February 10, 2015, 06:57:39 am
Having rewatched Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro recently, I actually now think Totoro is his best work, at least from those I've seen (those two, Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Moving Castle) . I thought it was a bit too light when I first saw it a few years ago, but rewatching it it was simply perfect. It reminded me of Le Petit Prince, in that what's great about that book is how enchanting it is to read as a child, and how interestnig it is to rediscover as an adult. I would say the same of My Neighbor Totoro, whereas I don't think Spirited Away and Mononoke work as well for children. They're also longer, and I've come to really appreciate brevity in movies.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 10, 2015, 07:55:03 am
Princess Mononoke is definitely the best out of those I've seen (haven't seen Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Ponyo or The Wind Rises, but I've seen the rest). It's the only one I still occasionally want to rewatch. I liked Spirited Away a lot when I was a bit younger though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 10, 2015, 07:59:09 am
I was completely creeped out by My neighbour Totoro as a child.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 10, 2015, 08:12:29 am
Oh and I should post this just to make sure that it's ruined for everyone and not just me. http://nerdreactor.com/2014/01/07/is-my-neighbor-totoro-actually-the-god-of-death/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 10, 2015, 08:42:41 am
Spirited Away was a horror movie as far as I could tell, and one with an incoherent plot to boot.  It completely put me off watching anything Miyazaki again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on February 10, 2015, 10:09:31 am
Oh and I should post this just to make sure that it's ruined for everyone and not just me. http://nerdreactor.com/2014/01/07/is-my-neighbor-totoro-actually-the-god-of-death/

I've heard that one before, and I really hate that interpretation, because it doesn't really make any sense. A huge chunk of Miyazaki's works involve kids coming of age while interacting with supernatural beings, and that's pretty much what My Neighbor Totoro is. The "dark" interpretation is kind of tenuous (you see the kids playing with their parents in the credits sequence which kind of contradicts the theory that they're actually dead at the end of the movie), doesn't really add anything meaningful to movie, and doesn't seem like the kind of movie that Miyazaki would make.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 10, 2015, 10:50:36 am
Did you guys hear about this?

http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/9/8008387/wheel-of-time-pilot-fxx

Edit: A likely explanation was that the rights to make a production out of the books was about to expire, so the company holding the rights hurried and made something so they could extend it, or fund a full project, or something like that.  I think it's a little unclear.  The general people involved with Jordan (i.e., his wife) did not have any knowledge of this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on February 10, 2015, 11:03:16 am
Does anyone have a suggestion for a cross-platform to-do/tasks list?
I use Todoist (https://en.todoist.com/), which I have found to be pretty useful. I just use the free version--though there's some cheap subscription you can get for additional functionality. It's simple, cross-platform--and it sounds like it has the features you want. It has project creation, sorting by due date, and completed tasks are archived and sorted by project.

A few years ago, I tried like a gazillion different task apps; this is the only one I still use.

Thanks! I've checked it out. It looks about right, though not as clean as outlook. I'll give it a shot. I wish there was a way to have a category field as well as some text about the task (basically I want a drop down because I like categorizing my tasks based on what class they're for). Maybe I'll use projects for that purpose.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 10, 2015, 02:25:17 pm
Yeah. I mostly use it for school and do exactly that--have each one of my classes as a project and assign tasks accordingly. The "next seven days" view is mostly what I keep it on, so I can view all my homework and assignments one week ahead sorted by project and date.

Also--random stuff. One of my classes was canceled today, and on top of that my headphones broke. You never really appreciate something until it's gone :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 10, 2015, 02:29:21 pm
Also--random stuff. One of my classes was canceled today, and on top of that my headphones broke. You never really appreciate something until it's gone :(

My headphones broke a while ago, and my birthday was in a couple days.  I had already said I didn't need anything for my birthday, but then I was like "GIVE ME HEADPHOOOOOOOOONES"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 10, 2015, 02:30:07 pm
Also--random stuff. One of my classes was canceled today, and on top of that my headphones broke. You never really appreciate something until it's gone :(

My headphones broke a while ago, and my birthday was in a couple days.  I had already said I didn't need anything for my birthday, but then I was like "GIVE ME HEADPHOOOOOOOOONES"
That's incredibly ironic since my birthday is Saturday. Guess I know what I'll be getting  ::)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 10, 2015, 02:48:13 pm
Also--random stuff. One of my classes was canceled today, and on top of that my headphones broke. You never really appreciate something until it's gone :(

My headphones broke a while ago, and my birthday was in a couple days.  I had already said I didn't need anything for my birthday, but then I was like "GIVE ME HEADPHOOOOOOOOONES"
That's incredibly ironic since my birthday is Saturday. Guess I know what I'll be getting  ::)

A make-up class?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 10, 2015, 03:01:42 pm
Also--random stuff. One of my classes was canceled today, and on top of that my headphones broke. You never really appreciate something until it's gone :(

My headphones broke a while ago, and my birthday was in a couple days.  I had already said I didn't need anything for my birthday, but then I was like "GIVE ME HEADPHOOOOOOOOONES"
That's incredibly ironic since my birthday is Saturday. Guess I know what I'll be getting  ::)

A make-up class?

Wait, like, a class where you learn how to put on makeup?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 10, 2015, 03:19:22 pm
Beats business law...maybe.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on February 10, 2015, 03:21:00 pm
Also--random stuff. One of my classes was canceled today, and on top of that my headphones broke. You never really appreciate something until it's gone :(

My headphones broke a while ago, and my birthday was in a couple days.  I had already said I didn't need anything for my birthday, but then I was like "GIVE ME HEADPHOOOOOOOOONES"
That's incredibly ironic since my birthday is Saturday. Guess I know what I'll be getting  ::)

A make-up class?

Wait, like, a class where you learn how to put on makeup?

That reminds me: be very careful to read the ad before you sign up for tutoring work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 10, 2015, 03:31:59 pm
Also--random stuff. One of my classes was canceled today, and on top of that my headphones broke. You never really appreciate something until it's gone :(

My headphones broke a while ago, and my birthday was in a couple days.  I had already said I didn't need anything for my birthday, but then I was like "GIVE ME HEADPHOOOOOOOOONES"
That's incredibly ironic since my birthday is Saturday. Guess I know what I'll be getting  ::)

Will you be getting an explanation of what ironic means?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on February 10, 2015, 03:34:41 pm
Also--random stuff. One of my classes was canceled today, and on top of that my headphones broke. You never really appreciate something until it's gone :(

My headphones broke a while ago, and my birthday was in a couple days.  I had already said I didn't need anything for my birthday, but then I was like "GIVE ME HEADPHOOOOOOOOONES"
That's incredibly ironic since my birthday is Saturday. Guess I know what I'll be getting  ::)

Will you be getting an explanation of what ironic means?

I was sorely tempted, but he actually gave me a helpful response about the task manager thing, so I felt bad.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 10, 2015, 03:35:31 pm
Also--random stuff. One of my classes was canceled today, and on top of that my headphones broke. You never really appreciate something until it's gone :(

My headphones broke a while ago, and my birthday was in a couple days.  I had already said I didn't need anything for my birthday, but then I was like "GIVE ME HEADPHOOOOOOOOONES"
That's incredibly ironic since my birthday is Saturday. Guess I know what I'll be getting  ::)

Will you be getting an explanation of what ironic means?

I was sorely tempted, but he actually gave me a helpful response about the task manager thing, so I felt bad.

Luckily I have no qualms.

PLus Ichmichimaru is cool, I am sure he will laugh...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 10, 2015, 03:36:39 pm
Sometimes having that edit indicator is more embarrassing than just rolling with it. Next time I'll trust my better judgement.

But hey, at least I act as an enabler for your guys' jokes.

PPE: ahahahaha. Coolness confirmed.

Edit: Yes, I was born on Valentine's day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 10, 2015, 03:50:11 pm
Now quick! Someone sidetrack the conversation for me, so I can pretend this never happened.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 10, 2015, 03:56:18 pm
Wouldn't it be ironic if I, the king of sidetracking, actually kept this one topic on topic about the irony mix up.

Its just like rain on your wedding day
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 10, 2015, 03:58:05 pm
Talking about weddings, Ichi was born on Valentine's day, and it's been a while since the last relationship discussion around here, and Ichi is trying to switch the conversation away from things that embarrass him.

So I think we should try to set Ichi up.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 10, 2015, 03:59:52 pm
Have mercy on me sire.

Mightn't be ironic if I used the word ironic correctly in this sentence?

PPE: luvily
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 10, 2015, 04:07:09 pm
C'mon. I just broke up with my headphones a few hours ago...Yeah, I'm already looking for a new pair, so what?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 10, 2015, 04:07:26 pm
Talking about weddings, Ichi was born on Valentine's day, and it's been a while since the last relationship discussion around here, and Ichi is trying to switch the conversation away from things that embarrass him.

So I think we should try to set Ichi up.

Maybe someone from the makeup class?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 10, 2015, 04:40:06 pm
Harry Kane Update


Spurs vs Liverpool
Scored an equaliser against the Red Chavs, then set up Dembele for the second equaliser.

Now has scored more goals than Man City or Man U have in the calendar year.

10 minutes left for a winner....games been played at breakneck speed, could go ANYWHERE
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 10, 2015, 05:03:31 pm
Speaking of headphones, who was it recently that started the thread on investing in some better headphones?  I've searched and can't find it, but I'd like to know if they bought the JVC model I recommended, and what they think.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 10, 2015, 05:04:11 pm
Speaking of headphones, who was it recently that started the thread on investing in some better headphones?  I've searched and can't find it, but I'd like to know if they bought the JVC model I recommended, and what they think.

Echidna
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 10, 2015, 05:12:10 pm
Should I be able to do more press ups than sit ups?
That cant be right surely?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 10, 2015, 05:19:30 pm
Speaking of headphones, who was it recently that started the thread on investing in some better headphones?  I've searched and can't find it, but I'd like to know if they bought the JVC model I recommended, and what they think.

You're in that thread right now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on February 10, 2015, 05:22:17 pm
Speaking of headphones, who was it recently that started the thread on investing in some better headphones?  I've searched and can't find it, but I'd like to know if they bought the JVC model I recommended, and what they think.

It was in here.  I did.  I'm pleased with them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 10, 2015, 06:24:48 pm
Awesome!  Are you hearing stuff you've never heard before?  That's always the cool part of upgrading equipment.

More importantly, do you find them comfortable?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 10, 2015, 06:48:18 pm
Awesome!  Are you hearing stuff you've never heard before?  That's always the cool part of upgrading equipment.

I didn't upgrade anything, and I can hear stuff I didn't before.

Mostly things like why it's a good idea to burn down the house. Not sure why that's getting louder.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on February 10, 2015, 07:27:13 pm
Awesome!  Are you hearing stuff you've never heard before?  That's always the cool part of upgrading equipment.

I didn't upgrade anything, and I can hear stuff I didn't before.

Mostly things like why it's a good idea to burn down the house. Not sure why that's getting louder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dJznTAwLSY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 10, 2015, 08:19:40 pm
(https://36.media.tumblr.com/a4f6739aec10c4fd5321c558103f68f7/tumblr_nj44h7kKEV1qb5gkjo1_540.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 11, 2015, 12:32:39 am
Awesome!  Are you hearing stuff you've never heard before?  That's always the cool part of upgrading equipment.

I didn't upgrade anything, and I can hear stuff I didn't before.

Mostly things like why it's a good idea to burn down the house. Not sure why that's getting louder.

The louder it is, the more urgent it is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on February 11, 2015, 04:20:57 am
Awesome!  Are you hearing stuff you've never heard before?  That's always the cool part of upgrading equipment.

More importantly, do you find them comfortable?

I think the sound is better.  My old headset sounds "further away".

When I started typing this I was going to mention that I could now hear hissing at low volumes that I couldn't before.  It turns out this is a known issue with the Realtek driver that can be "fixed" by uninstalling it.  So I should get on much better with them now!

They are comfortable.

EDIT: I'm pretty sure I just heard a microphone cover resonating.  I'm impressed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 11, 2015, 09:04:52 am
Speaking of headphones, who was it recently that started the thread on investing in some better headphones?  I've searched and can't find it, but I'd like to know if they bought the JVC model I recommended, and what they think.

It was in here.  I did.  I'm pleased with them.

Can you share a link to the product?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 11, 2015, 09:09:45 am
So, wow. 

http://xkcd.com/1485/

That's actually from a real Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromance
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on February 11, 2015, 09:13:21 am
Original discussion (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11642.msg452958#msg452958), manufacturer's webpage (http://www.jvc.co.uk/product.php?id=HA-RX500-E&catid=100161).  Not sure what the extra E is about: might just mean "Europe" for all I know.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 11, 2015, 09:55:06 am
C'mon. I just broke up with my headphones a few hours ago...Yeah, I'm already looking for a new pair, so what?

Do you really want rebound headphones, though?

I got a rebound keyboard a couple of weeks ago when my G15 gave up the ghost... and it's just not the same.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on February 11, 2015, 10:35:55 am
I just wrote up a very solid case for how my employer buying me what amounts to a $400 mouse is a smart business move.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on February 11, 2015, 11:03:12 am
I just wrote up a very solid case for how my employer buying me what amounts to a $400 mouse is a smart business move.
For 3D modeling I assume? I know those aren't cheap...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on February 11, 2015, 11:21:18 am
I just wrote up a very solid case for how my employer buying me what amounts to a $400 mouse is a smart business move.
For 3D modeling I assume? I know those aren't cheap...

Yep. I've been using a standard mouse for years.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on February 11, 2015, 11:27:21 am
I just wrote up a very solid case for how my employer buying me what amounts to a $400 mouse is a smart business move.
For 3D modeling I assume? I know those aren't cheap...

Yep. I've been using a standard mouse for years.
Yeah, that's what I use too... A guy I worked with over the summer had one of these (http://www.amazon.com/3Dconnexion-3DX-700028-SpaceNavigator-3D-Mouse/dp/B000LB7G00/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423671882&sr=8-1&keywords=3d+mouse) that was pretty cool.  Really hard to get used to and ultimately I found a regular mouse was easier for me...  We have a box full of these (http://www.amazon.com/HP-A4992B-Motion-Controller-Designing/dp/B00008SCFV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423671948&sr=8-1&keywords=HP+space+ball) in our computer lab at school, but nobody knows how to hook them up/the computers won't allow us to install the appropriate software because of permissions or something... Seems pretty wasteful.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on February 12, 2015, 10:21:35 am
Yeah, my writeup was saying that the $300 extra to get the full fledged 3D Connexion mouse easily paid for itself in productivity increase considering that $100 was an appropriate cost for productivity increase seeing as the full version keeps your hand on the mouse instead of transitioning back and forth to the keyboard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on February 12, 2015, 11:24:08 am
Yeah, my writeup was saying that the $300 extra to get the full fledged 3D Connexion mouse easily paid for itself in productivity increase considering that $100 was an appropriate cost for productivity increase seeing as the full version keeps your hand on the mouse instead of transitioning back and forth to the keyboard.
I've been considering getting the $100 version for my own recreational 3D use.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 12, 2015, 02:45:51 pm
FLASH!!!! AaaaaHHHHHH
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 12, 2015, 02:49:40 pm
Another hero, another mindless crime...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 12, 2015, 02:52:54 pm
The show must go on.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 12, 2015, 03:00:29 pm
Like a Virgin
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 12, 2015, 03:02:57 pm
Forget your singalongs and your lullabies
Surrender to the city of the fireflies
Dance with the devil in beat with the band
To Hell with all of you hand-in-hand
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 12, 2015, 03:12:11 pm
Oh, I'm burnin' through the sky, yeah.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 12, 2015, 03:15:32 pm
That's why they call me Mr. Fahrenheit
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 12, 2015, 03:20:25 pm
Cuz' I'm flyin' through the air like a champagne supernova

Oops, did I break your combo?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 12, 2015, 03:23:46 pm
...

???
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 12, 2015, 03:25:52 pm
Cuz' I'm flyin' through the air like a champagne supernova

Oops, did I break your combo?

Who said that my party was all over?
Huh, huh,
I'm in pretty good shape
The best years of my life are like a supernova
Huh, huh,
Perpetual craze
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 12, 2015, 03:27:35 pm
Cuz' I'm flyin' through the air like a champagne supernova

Oops, did I break your combo?

Can't we give ourselves one more chance?

EDIT: WW is crushing this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 12, 2015, 03:32:03 pm
Cuz' I'm flyin' through the air like a champagne supernova

Oops, did I break your combo?

Can't we give ourselves one more chance?

EDIT: WW is crushing this.

Just one year of love
Is better than a lifetime alone
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 12, 2015, 03:47:47 pm
God knows, got to make it on my own.
So baby can't you see, I've got to break free.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 12, 2015, 03:53:21 pm
I thought we were doing a different segue.

I figured it went from Queen's Flash Gordon to Queen's The Show Must Go On to Moulin Rouge's The Show Must Go On to Moulin Rouge's Like a Virgin. I don't know what the next step would have been. Maybe, "That's a lot of dicks," from Reservoir Dogs.

But I'm never upset by a Queen fest.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 12, 2015, 03:54:27 pm
[Yakety Sax]
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 12, 2015, 03:55:14 pm
If I could only reach you
If I could make you smile
If I could only reach you
That would really be a breakthru
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 12, 2015, 04:01:16 pm
No mortal man can win this day.

(I concede)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 12, 2015, 04:08:43 pm
No mortal man can win this day.

(I concede)

When your problems seem like mountains
You feel the need to find some answers
You can leave them for another day
Don't try so hard
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 12, 2015, 04:13:20 pm
I'm not really sure what's happening now.  Was [yakety sax] not appropriate?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 12, 2015, 04:14:09 pm
I'm not really sure what's happening now.  Was [yakety sax] not appropriate?

Bring back that Leroy Brown!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 12, 2015, 04:18:57 pm
Baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than 'ol King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 12, 2015, 05:04:11 pm
Not really a joke to begin with, but I guess some explaining is still funnifying.

I'm not really sure what's happening now.  Was [yakety sax] not appropriate?

I dunno. What were you trying to convey?

Turns out that witherweaver is a Serious Queen Fan, so we were throwing song lyrics at each other after Ozle started singing some Queen:

#3502: Flash
#3503 and 3504: The show must go on
#3506: March of the Black Queen
#3507, 3508 and 3059 (parody): Don't stop me now
#3061: Khashoggi's Ship
#3062: Under pressure
#3063: One year of love
#3064: I want to break free
#3067: Breakthru
#3068: A kind of magic
#3069: Don't try so hard
#3071: Bring back that Leroy Brown
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 12, 2015, 05:20:38 pm
I saw them performing with Adam Lambert in Atlantic City last year!  They were really amazing, and I was really impressed by the singer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 12, 2015, 05:49:17 pm
Oh, I didn't know they were specifically Queen songs.  I thought it was just music!

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 12, 2015, 07:12:48 pm
I saw them performing with Adam Lambert in Atlantic City last year!  They were really amazing, and I was really impressed by the singer.

The singer they had in '80s wasn't too bad either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 12, 2015, 07:20:17 pm
I saw them performing with Adam Lambert in Atlantic City last year!  They were really amazing, and I was really impressed by the singer.

The singer they had in '80s wasn't too bad either.

Haha.  What I mean was, I was a little wary going in, knowing I would be hearing the songs from someone else, and an unknown.  But his voice was incredible, and he had an awesome stage presence.

I've only seen Freddie Mercury in video.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 12, 2015, 07:44:38 pm
I thought we were doing a different segue.

I figured it went from Queen's Flash Gordon to Queen's The Show Must Go On to Moulin Rouge's The Show Must Go On to Moulin Rouge's Like a Virgin. I don't know what the next step would have been. Maybe, "That's a lot of dicks," from Reservoir Dogs.

But I'm never upset by a Queen fest.


The next steps would be Madonna's Like a Virgin, her Holiday, then Holiday in Cambodia.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 12, 2015, 08:37:02 pm
Awaclus shared this amazing song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H367O_T4DU

Here it is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 13, 2015, 08:29:14 am
Well, there's always my favorite hate song. Of course, it's tame by today's standards, but it still has bite. And it's a rocking song, to boot.

Insane, you should be put inside.
You're a sewer rat decaying in a cesspool of pride.
Should be made unemployed
Make yourself null and void
Make me feel good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on February 13, 2015, 11:35:40 am
You are the smartest rat in the sewer
You know all the nooks and the cracks, to allure
Unsuspecting mice, they don't have to think twice
You are the smartest rat, in the sewer
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 13, 2015, 11:40:27 am
Diverse unpleasantnesses gather around our bed
Like pigeons 'round a park bench clamoring to be fed
Let us kill all these rats with wings by feeding them poisoned bread
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 13, 2015, 11:43:02 am
Well, there's always my favorite hate song. Of course, it's tame by today's standards, but it still has bite. And it's a rocking song, to boot.

Insane, you should be put inside.
You're a sewer rat decaying in a cesspool of pride.
Should be made unemployed
Make yourself null and void
Make me feel good.

I particularly love the line

"Make yourself null and void"

Just an awesome way to tell someone to disappear and die.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 13, 2015, 06:28:47 pm
I just sliced open my right middle finger fixing my fridge's freezer's clogged defrost drain. I think the problems fixed though. It's been annoying everyone in my house for awhile now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 13, 2015, 06:30:32 pm
Hope it's not too serious.  Make sure you clean it up and keep an eye on it.  Refrigerators are pretty filthy environments.

Are you up to date on your tetanus booster?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 13, 2015, 06:40:57 pm
Hope it's not too serious.  Make sure you clean it up and keep an eye on it.  Refrigerators are pretty filthy environments.

Are you up to date on your tetanus booster?
It's relatively shallow and only bled for perhaps a minute. It's been about 12 years since I got a tetanus booster.

I sliced it on one of the thin metal strips surrounding the evaporator coils (it was actually the freezer, it's one of those combined fridge and freezer units). I bandaged it and got some antibiotic ointment on it. It took me about 5 minutes before I realized I had cut myself as my fingers were pretty numb from the cold.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 13, 2015, 06:53:09 pm
I'm not terribly concerned about it. Though reading up on tetanus, I see that it's recommended to get a booster shot every 10 years. I had the whole round of vaccinations as a child though. It'd probably be a good idea to get that done. When I was a kid, I poked myself with some random (I assume) diabetic's lancet left laying around at a park, so that was kind of scary.

Edit: Maybe this was a little too random  :o
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on February 14, 2015, 01:57:57 pm
I wrote this on a touchscreen using a sponge.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on February 14, 2015, 02:19:31 pm
So to update on what I'm sure was everyone's favorite topic in Random Stuff Part II, Todoist is awesome and I'm quite pleased with it. Thanks Ichi! You will find your stories about tetanus slighly more popular than they perhaps warrant on their own merit :P
It even has a widget for android so I can have my tasks on my home screen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 14, 2015, 02:30:42 pm
So to update on what I'm sure was everyone's favorite topic in Random Stuff Part II, Todoist is awesome and I'm quite pleased with it. Thanks Ichi! You will find your stories about tetanus slighly more popular than they perhaps warrant on their own merit :P
It even has a widget for android so I can have my tasks on my home screen.
Awesome! I'm glad I could help out. ;D

And yeah, I saw the quote of me in the other thread  :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 14, 2015, 02:33:26 pm
Oh wait. I see now. Thanks  8)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 14, 2015, 04:07:13 pm
Yo, I'm happy for you, and imma let you finish, but Seprix has the worst vocals of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfeHYouo5E8
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 14, 2015, 04:42:07 pm
I thought Rebuild was not great in Colony games?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 14, 2015, 04:52:19 pm
[streamin' and singin']

You shoulda gotten with the times and sung some Queen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3ubLOKbx-Y) instead.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on February 14, 2015, 05:03:47 pm
I made this today for no particularly good reason:

(http://i.imgur.com/c5TuQiA.png)

It was surprisingly difficult to coordinate the balance to take this picture...



...I could barely mustard up the strength.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 14, 2015, 05:22:59 pm
Was it because the guy on the right could balance pretty well, but the guy on the left just couldn't ketchup to his level?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 14, 2015, 05:43:45 pm
Welcome back to the mayorly bad puns thread!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 14, 2015, 06:06:32 pm
In a dance for a musical, we all have to lift our partners at the end.  My partner says, "Please don't drop me," to which I reply, "I won't let you down."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 14, 2015, 06:08:34 pm
In a dance for a musical, we all have to lift our partners at the end.  My partner says, "Please don't drop me," to which I reply, "I won't let you down."

Sounds like she needs a little pick-me-up.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on February 14, 2015, 06:11:01 pm
...I could barely mustard up the strength.

"I barely mustard", Shirley?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 14, 2015, 10:47:13 pm
In a dance for a musical, we all have to lift our partners at the end.  My partner says, "Please don't drop me," to which I reply, "I won't let you down."

Fuckin' nailed it.  I'm proud of you, man. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on February 14, 2015, 11:15:53 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/sKRlWCIl.png)

This is mostly for sudgy
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 14, 2015, 11:18:57 pm
All that glitters is gold...

(https://31.media.tumblr.com/cb97a268eb975133ea7a1f9a1a119ae6/tumblr_inline_niwu6hSjso1r0nk99.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Darth Vader on February 14, 2015, 11:35:55 pm
When I play Dominion, I like to to have a Goons Engine, and then my opponents wonder at the technological terror I've constructed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 15, 2015, 12:38:51 am
(http://i.imgur.com/sKRlWCIl.png)

This is mostly for sudgy

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=1204.msg463506#msg463506
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on February 15, 2015, 01:56:25 am
(http://i.imgur.com/sKRlWCIl.png)

This is mostly for sudgy

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=1204.msg463506#msg463506
Wow. I really need to get outside of the Miscellaneous section more often.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 16, 2015, 02:08:48 am
Welcome back to the mayorly bad puns thread!

Oh, but I do relish the puns.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 16, 2015, 02:47:40 am
Welcome back to the mayorly bad puns thread!

Oh, but I do relish the puns.

It's like we're asalted with them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 16, 2015, 03:19:06 am
Welcome back to the mayorly bad puns thread!

Oh, but I do relish the puns.

It's like we're asalted with them.

That's how you become a seasoned internet user.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on February 16, 2015, 11:20:51 am
I bought Twilight Struggle yesterday and it comes tomorrow.  Here's to hoping I can find opponents to play it with me and make it worth it...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 16, 2015, 11:46:16 am
I hear Twilight Struggle is good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 16, 2015, 12:30:35 pm
I hear Twilight Struggle is good.

I don't like the theme that much.  Vampires and werewolves aren't my thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 16, 2015, 12:59:36 pm
Still a better love story than 50 Shades of Grey.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 16, 2015, 12:59:48 pm
I hear Twilight Struggle is good.

I don't like the theme that much.  Vampires and werewolves aren't my thing.

Cue parody re-theme of TS.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on February 16, 2015, 01:27:52 pm
I hear Twilight Struggle is good.

I don't like the theme that much.  Vampires and werewolves aren't my thing.

Cue parody re-theme of TS.

Goblins and Gnomes....?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 16, 2015, 01:49:12 pm
I hear Twilight Struggle is good.

I don't like the theme that much.  Vampires and werewolves aren't my thing.

But vampires are awesome!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on February 16, 2015, 07:11:30 pm
I bought Twilight Struggle yesterday and it comes tomorrow.  Here's to hoping I can find opponents to play it with me and make it worth it...

It's a good game. Does require two players with similar levels of knowledge of the game to be good though.

Edit: Also, a question (most likely for theory):

Two of my friends were playing TS in the same room as me this weekend (it was a board gaming weekend at university). On turn 7, one of them called me over and asked about a weird situation. They were about to go into the Late War, with only a single Mid-war card in the deck, meaning the deck on turn 8 was entirely Late War with a single Mid War card. They asked if this is actually something that can happen or if the deck is meant to reshuffle before then. I told them it was rare but yeah, it could happen (and also based on the board position, GG USSR). Was I correct? How often does this happen, if so?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 16, 2015, 07:38:36 pm
I hear Twilight Struggle is good.

I don't like the theme that much.  Vampires and werewolves aren't my thing.

But vampires are awesome!

Maybe it's just the source material.

(http://i.imgur.com/EUS4uz5.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 16, 2015, 07:43:53 pm
They were about to go into the Late War Eclipse, with only a single Mid-war New Moon card in the deck, meaning the deck on turn 8 was entirely Late War Eclipse with a single Mid War New Moon card.

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on February 16, 2015, 08:32:03 pm
I bought Twilight Struggle yesterday and it comes tomorrow.  Here's to hoping I can find opponents to play it with me and make it worth it...

It's a good game. Does require two players with similar levels of knowledge of the game to be good though.

Edit: Also, a question (most likely for theory):

Two of my friends were playing TS in the same room as me this weekend (it was a board gaming weekend at university). On turn 7, one of them called me over and asked about a weird situation. They were about to go into the Late War, with only a single Mid-war card in the deck, meaning the deck on turn 8 was entirely Late War with a single Mid War card. They asked if this is actually something that can happen or if the deck is meant to reshuffle before then. I told them it was rare but yeah, it could happen (and also based on the board position, GG USSR). Was I correct? How often does this happen, if so?
Yeah that can happen.  The discard isn't shuffled into the main deck until you need to draw and can't.  It kinda sucks but is pretty rare.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on February 16, 2015, 11:53:44 pm
I bought Twilight Struggle yesterday and it comes tomorrow.  Here's to hoping I can find opponents to play it with me and make it worth it...

It's a good game. Does require two players with similar levels of knowledge of the game to be good though.

Actually one of my friends is really interested in it, so we're planning on learning it together (I made him commit to at least 5 plays though.... Nothing worse than someone saying they'll play and they only play once...)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on February 17, 2015, 12:39:07 am
The acting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2r_qjEHf7c
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 17, 2015, 11:48:09 am
The acting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2r_qjEHf7c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvmytj56Tck#t=32
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 17, 2015, 11:58:29 am
Best Mark Wahlberg movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw3G80bplTg
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 17, 2015, 12:24:38 pm
(http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/27696102.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 17, 2015, 02:53:47 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/OYJSVmO.jpg)


I freakin give up on how to actually get the image here.  I've been told before, and have now looked up the syntax, but can't get it to work.  Probably because I can't figure out how to enter a pipe delimiter.
Thank you all for the help.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 17, 2015, 03:06:41 pm
http://i.imgur.com/OYJSVmO.jpg


I freakin give up on how to actually get the image here.  I've been told before, and have now looked up the syntax, but can't get it to work.  Probably because I can't figure out how to enter a pipe delimiter.

(http://i.imgur.com/OYJSVmO.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 17, 2015, 03:10:29 pm
Now you are just showing off.  (And collecting my respect points, no doubt.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on February 17, 2015, 04:28:55 pm
http://i.imgur.com/OYJSVmO.jpg


I freakin give up on how to actually get the image here.  I've been told before, and have now looked up the syntax, but can't get it to work.  Probably because I can't figure out how to enter a pipe delimiter.

There aren't any pipes involved: just square brackets and a slash.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 17, 2015, 05:04:12 pm
You just right click and copy image source link.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 17, 2015, 05:10:20 pm
You just right click and copy image source link.
Right click on what?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 17, 2015, 05:10:44 pm
http://i.imgur.com/OYJSVmO.jpg


I freakin give up on how to actually get the image here.  I've been told before, and have now looked up the syntax, but can't get it to work.  Probably because I can't figure out how to enter a pipe delimiter.

There aren't any pipes involved: just square brackets and a slash.
So what does the syntax look like?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on February 17, 2015, 05:15:17 pm
http://i.imgur.com/OYJSVmO.jpg


I freakin give up on how to actually get the image here.  I've been told before, and have now looked up the syntax, but can't get it to work.  Probably because I can't figure out how to enter a pipe delimiter.

There aren't any pipes involved: just square brackets and a slash.
So what does the syntax look like?

[ img ]http://whatever[ /img ]

without the spaces.

You can also reply to a post with an image to see how it was done.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 17, 2015, 05:17:18 pm
There's also a button on the text editor that automatically wraps a link with those tags. Select the url, then click on the button with the painting (on the left, between a button that looks like a blue arrow, and the one with the World and a page), and voilŕ!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 17, 2015, 05:20:26 pm
Thanks guys.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on February 17, 2015, 11:12:37 pm
Whoever recommended Darths & Droids, thanks. It rocks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 18, 2015, 01:02:19 pm
Whoever recommended Darths & Droids, thanks. It rocks.

It was me!

You are welcome!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 18, 2015, 01:04:36 pm
Whoever recommended Darths & Droids, thanks. It rocks.

It was me!

You are welcome!
I thought he was WW.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 18, 2015, 01:42:12 pm
The important thing is that we are all the walrus.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on February 18, 2015, 02:09:01 pm
The important thing is that we are all the walrus.
WW is a Walrus?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 18, 2015, 02:10:30 pm
The important thing is that we are all the walrus.
WW is a Walrus?

Goo goo, goo joob.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 18, 2015, 02:32:01 pm
The important thing is that we are all the walrus.
WW is a Walrus?

Well, sure. If you look at it carefully, you'll see that WW actually portrays one walrus eating another.

Or one walrus mounting another. Depends on your mindset and how close you are to your mother.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 18, 2015, 03:26:23 pm
The important thing is that we are all the walrus.
WW is a Walrus?

Well, sure. If you look at it carefully, you'll see that WW actually portrays one walrus eating another.

Or one walrus mounting another. Depends on your mindset and how close you are to your mother.

Some cigars are just cigars...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on February 18, 2015, 04:40:15 pm
Andrewis
Fatter
Than
The
Walrus
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 18, 2015, 05:50:53 pm
I read this fascinating article (http://ragbag.tumblr.com/post/111402489176/a-tale-of-two-dinners) about Charles Dickens' two visits to New York and learned that avocados used to be called "Alligator Pears".  Now I really want there to be a pokemon named Guacodile.

Edit: a google search shows that "Guacodile" already appears in popular culture as a plant in Plants vs. Zombies.  I wonder if they got it from the same "alligator pear" origin as I did.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on February 18, 2015, 10:01:18 pm
Andrewis
Fatter
Than
The
Walrus

Wow, how much weight did you put on since August? Walruses I've seen are pretty big.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 18, 2015, 10:08:23 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6IKTNmn3Uo
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on February 19, 2015, 12:04:06 am
I haven't seen any Strongbad stuff in years and that was awesome.

Speaking of that song, I like it less and less every time I hear it. It's just so... generic. Fun fact, I went to school with the dude in the gold jacket.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on February 19, 2015, 04:25:34 am
If you like Harry Potter or DnD, you will probably like Harry Potter and the Natural 20 and should go read it now. I went in with lots of Harry Potter knowledge and cursory DnD knowledge and enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure if you have lots of DnD knowledge and cursory Harry Potter knowledge, you'll have a similar experience.

(You should also read Methods of Rationality, but I suspect many people here already know about it.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 19, 2015, 06:36:47 am
Happy Chinese New Year!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on February 19, 2015, 09:08:38 am
新年快乐!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 19, 2015, 09:52:55 am
Next week, I'm moving to a new cubicle, so that means it's time to clean out unnecessary shit from my current cubicle. Man, I accumulate a lot of useless shit. Well, they were useful at the time. I still have some documents from when I started 10 years ago. When I get too entrenched in a cubicle, I tend to just gather. It wouldn't take much to turn me into a hoarder, I think.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 19, 2015, 09:56:56 am
Next week, I'm moving to a new cubicle, so that means it's time to clean out unnecessary shit from my current cubicle. Man, I accumulate a lot of useless shit. Well, they were useful at the time. I still have some documents from when I started 10 years ago. When I get too entrenched in a cubicle, I tend to just gather. It wouldn't take much to turn me into a hoarder, I think.

Maybe do it during the evening.  Going to be a little awkward if your coworkers see you pull out those shackles and nipple clamps from your file cabinet.   
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on February 19, 2015, 10:56:24 am
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 10:58:26 am
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.

The "new" 3DS XL is pretty awesome. I picked it up a couple days ago, and it was worth my money to replace my old 3DS for sure! Smash Bros 4 is pretty awesome on it, as is Kingdom Hearts: DDD. Haven't tried Kid Icarus: Uprising or Mario Kart 7 on it yet, but bet they're pretty awesome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on February 19, 2015, 11:11:01 am
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.

The "new" 3DS XL is pretty awesome. I picked it up a couple days ago, and it was worth my money to replace my old 3DS for sure! Smash Bros 4 is pretty awesome on it, as is Kingdom Hearts: DDD. Haven't tried Kid Icarus: Uprising or Mario Kart 7 on it yet, but bet they're pretty awesome.

I also upgraded from the original 3DS to the "New" 3DS XL, and the difference is huge. I haven't gotten Smash Bros for the 3DS since I want to keep my circle pad intact, but I do look forward to playing Kid Icarus on it. Right now I'm playing Majora's Mask.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 11:23:52 am
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.

The "new" 3DS XL is pretty awesome. I picked it up a couple days ago, and it was worth my money to replace my old 3DS for sure! Smash Bros 4 is pretty awesome on it, as is Kingdom Hearts: DDD. Haven't tried Kid Icarus: Uprising or Mario Kart 7 on it yet, but bet they're pretty awesome.

I also upgraded from the original 3DS to the "New" 3DS XL, and the difference is huge. I haven't gotten Smash Bros for the 3DS since I want to keep my circle pad intact, but I do look forward to playing Kid Icarus on it. Right now I'm playing Majora's Mask.

The Circle Pad won't break if you aren't ultra violent with it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on February 19, 2015, 11:29:57 am
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.

The "new" 3DS XL is pretty awesome. I picked it up a couple days ago, and it was worth my money to replace my old 3DS for sure! Smash Bros 4 is pretty awesome on it, as is Kingdom Hearts: DDD. Haven't tried Kid Icarus: Uprising or Mario Kart 7 on it yet, but bet they're pretty awesome.

I also upgraded from the original 3DS to the "New" 3DS XL, and the difference is huge. I haven't gotten Smash Bros for the 3DS since I want to keep my circle pad intact, but I do look forward to playing Kid Icarus on it. Right now I'm playing Majora's Mask.

The Circle Pad won't break if you aren't ultra violent with it.

I have heard (and believe) that it's hard not to be violent with it when playing Smash Bros. Back in college we went through a dozen GameCube controllers because their control sticks all eventually gave out while playing Smash Bros. Melee. It's a game that encourages controller abuse and I don't want to play it enough to justify that risk. I also have the WiiU version and have barely touched that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 11:37:26 am
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.

The "new" 3DS XL is pretty awesome. I picked it up a couple days ago, and it was worth my money to replace my old 3DS for sure! Smash Bros 4 is pretty awesome on it, as is Kingdom Hearts: DDD. Haven't tried Kid Icarus: Uprising or Mario Kart 7 on it yet, but bet they're pretty awesome.

I also upgraded from the original 3DS to the "New" 3DS XL, and the difference is huge. I haven't gotten Smash Bros for the 3DS since I want to keep my circle pad intact, but I do look forward to playing Kid Icarus on it. Right now I'm playing Majora's Mask.

The Circle Pad won't break if you aren't ultra violent with it.

I have heard (and believe) that it's hard not to be violent with it when playing Smash Bros. Back in college we went through a dozen GameCube controllers because their control sticks all eventually gave out while playing Smash Bros. Melee. It's a game that encourages controller abuse and I don't want to play it enough to justify that risk. I also have the WiiU version and have barely touched that.

Well, I'm pretty much addicted to Smash Bros, and have Melee and Brawl, so I kinda had to get SSB4. I don't have a Wii U and probably won't get one, which is sad, but I have a PS4 with Destiny so yeah.

(Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Nintendo fan, and I'd love a Wii U. But with college looming, I can't afford to sink hundreds of dollars into another gaming console right now.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 19, 2015, 12:39:30 pm
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.

The "new" 3DS XL is pretty awesome. I picked it up a couple days ago, and it was worth my money to replace my old 3DS for sure! Smash Bros 4 is pretty awesome on it, as is Kingdom Hearts: DDD. Haven't tried Kid Icarus: Uprising or Mario Kart 7 on it yet, but bet they're pretty awesome.

I also upgraded from the original 3DS to the "New" 3DS XL, and the difference is huge. I haven't gotten Smash Bros for the 3DS since I want to keep my circle pad intact, but I do look forward to playing Kid Icarus on it. Right now I'm playing Majora's Mask.

The Circle Pad won't break if you aren't ultra violent with it.

Yeah, but without some ultraviolence you might not play as well against your droogs.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 12:48:01 pm
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.

The "new" 3DS XL is pretty awesome. I picked it up a couple days ago, and it was worth my money to replace my old 3DS for sure! Smash Bros 4 is pretty awesome on it, as is Kingdom Hearts: DDD. Haven't tried Kid Icarus: Uprising or Mario Kart 7 on it yet, but bet they're pretty awesome.

I also upgraded from the original 3DS to the "New" 3DS XL, and the difference is huge. I haven't gotten Smash Bros for the 3DS since I want to keep my circle pad intact, but I do look forward to playing Kid Icarus on it. Right now I'm playing Majora's Mask.

The Circle Pad won't break if you aren't ultra violent with it.

Yeah, but without some ultraviolence you might not play as well against your droogs.

In all my years of playing Smash, I've never broken a GCN controller and I've absolutely dominated my friends.

EDIT: Okay, completely dominated was a lie. :p
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 19, 2015, 12:49:55 pm
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.

The "new" 3DS XL is pretty awesome. I picked it up a couple days ago, and it was worth my money to replace my old 3DS for sure! Smash Bros 4 is pretty awesome on it, as is Kingdom Hearts: DDD. Haven't tried Kid Icarus: Uprising or Mario Kart 7 on it yet, but bet they're pretty awesome.

I also upgraded from the original 3DS to the "New" 3DS XL, and the difference is huge. I haven't gotten Smash Bros for the 3DS since I want to keep my circle pad intact, but I do look forward to playing Kid Icarus on it. Right now I'm playing Majora's Mask.

The Circle Pad won't break if you aren't ultra violent with it.

Yeah, but without some ultraviolence you might not play as well against your droogs.

In all my years of playing Smash, I've never broken a GCN controller and I've absolutely dominated my friends.

Have your friends broken controllers?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 19, 2015, 12:50:52 pm
I played Smash Brothers once and ended up beating some woman to death with a giant porcelain penis, so controller safety is definitely a factor.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 12:54:08 pm
I played Smash Brothers once and ended up beating some woman to death with a giant porcelain penis, so controller safety is definitely a factor.

Remind me to never play at your house.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 12:56:22 pm
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.

The "new" 3DS XL is pretty awesome. I picked it up a couple days ago, and it was worth my money to replace my old 3DS for sure! Smash Bros 4 is pretty awesome on it, as is Kingdom Hearts: DDD. Haven't tried Kid Icarus: Uprising or Mario Kart 7 on it yet, but bet they're pretty awesome.

I also upgraded from the original 3DS to the "New" 3DS XL, and the difference is huge. I haven't gotten Smash Bros for the 3DS since I want to keep my circle pad intact, but I do look forward to playing Kid Icarus on it. Right now I'm playing Majora's Mask.

The Circle Pad won't break if you aren't ultra violent with it.

Yeah, but without some ultraviolence you might not play as well against your droogs.

In all my years of playing Smash, I've never broken a GCN controller and I've absolutely dominated my friends.

Have your friends broken controllers?

The only controllers that have ever broken in my house was a Mad Catz, which was broken after one day of use (we didn't even have Smash Bros. Mat Catz things are just broken pieces of crap anyways), and the second controller broke, which was when we were playing Smash, but it was a cheap Chinese knockoff (and I think it broke because my bro was storing it in his backpack, where it got really jostled). All of the official Nintendo controllers have been perfect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 19, 2015, 01:20:15 pm
I played Smash Brothers once and ended up beating some woman to death with a giant porcelain penis, so controller safety is definitely a factor.

Remind me to never play at your house.

I'm just saying, escalation is a thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 01:24:27 pm
I played Smash Brothers once and ended up beating some woman to death with a giant porcelain penis, so controller safety is definitely a factor.

Remind me to never play at your house.

I'm just saying, escalation is a thing.

The real question is why you have a white vitrified translucent ceramic object shaped like a phallus lying around your house.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 19, 2015, 01:35:24 pm
I never said it was my house.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 19, 2015, 01:41:37 pm
I played Smash Brothers once and ended up beating some woman to death with a giant porcelain penis, so controller safety is definitely a factor.

Remind me to never play at your house.

I'm just saying, escalation is a thing.

The real question is why you have a white vitrified translucent ceramic object shaped like a phallus lying around your house.

It keeps the cats entertained.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 19, 2015, 01:42:02 pm
The 3D effect on the New 3DS is really amazing. But sometimes after using it for a while, my eyes will try to apply the same effect to 2D screens, resulting in slightly wavering text and such.

The "new" 3DS XL is pretty awesome. I picked it up a couple days ago, and it was worth my money to replace my old 3DS for sure! Smash Bros 4 is pretty awesome on it, as is Kingdom Hearts: DDD. Haven't tried Kid Icarus: Uprising or Mario Kart 7 on it yet, but bet they're pretty awesome.

I also upgraded from the original 3DS to the "New" 3DS XL, and the difference is huge. I haven't gotten Smash Bros for the 3DS since I want to keep my circle pad intact, but I do look forward to playing Kid Icarus on it. Right now I'm playing Majora's Mask.

The Circle Pad won't break if you aren't ultra violent with it.

Yeah, but without some ultraviolence you might not play as well against your droogs.

In all my years of playing Smash, I've never broken a GCN controller and I've absolutely dominated my friends.

EDIT: Okay, completely dominated was a lie. :p

Come on, that reference was not even close to obscure.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 19, 2015, 01:44:56 pm
I tried to make it..... blunter for you, Kirian.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 19, 2015, 01:48:06 pm
Clockwork orange is 44 year old. That's twice as many years as the age of most people here.

Haha, Kirian is old.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 01:51:03 pm
Clockwork orange is 44 year old. That's twice as many years as the age of most people here.

Haha, Kirian is old.

I have plans on watching that movie one day. Or reading the book. Probably both.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 19, 2015, 03:53:42 pm
I tried to make it..... blunter for you, Kirian.

I helped!

Though my reference was not as obvious, but anyone who's seen the movie should get it.

And I do recommend that people read the book if they haven't already. It's quite the read. And I suggest doing it without a glossary. I didn't even know that some copies have a glossary. Mine did not, and I like to think that my reading experience was enhanced by my need to determine the vocabulary of Alex and his droogs without having a cheat sheet.

The movie is good to watch too. Very stylistic.  It's a tad less abhorrent than the events in the book (for example, the movie's sex scene involves girls who are not minors), but it should build up a healthy degree of disgust within you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 19, 2015, 03:57:15 pm
Oh man, I saw the movie back in high school but never read the book. It was always one of those "I should get around to reading this..."  But now I should really get around to reading it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 03:58:15 pm
I tried to make it..... blunter for you, Kirian.

I helped!

Though my reference was not as obvious, but anyone who's seen the movie should get it.

And I do recommend that people read the book if they haven't already. It's quite the read. And I suggest doing it without a glossary. I didn't even know that some copies have a glossary. Mine did not, and I like to think that my reading experience was enhanced by my need to determine the vocabulary of Alex and his droogs without having a cheat sheet.

The movie is good to watch too. Very stylistic.  It's a tad less abhorrent than the events in the book (for example, the movie's sex scene involves girls who are not minors), but it should build up a healthy degree of disgust within you.

That explains a lot, primarily why my parents wouldn't let me watch the movie or read the book.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 19, 2015, 04:15:15 pm
It'll teach you how to pick up girls in the record store.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 19, 2015, 04:23:57 pm
The only controllers that have ever broken in my house was a Mad Catz, which was broken after one day of use (we didn't even have Smash Bros. Mat Catz things are just broken pieces of crap anyways), and the second controller broke, which was when we were playing Smash, but it was a cheap Chinese knockoff (and I think it broke because my bro was storing it in his backpack, where it got really jostled). All of the official Nintendo controllers have been perfect.

If your friends broke controllers you wouldn't be able to dominate them. ;)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 19, 2015, 04:24:14 pm
(https://40.media.tumblr.com/716ab5b7886a5c26bc2c39a7760469e7/tumblr_nk15zmTRTu1qzcv7no7_540.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 19, 2015, 04:28:53 pm
That explains a lot, primarily why my parents wouldn't let me watch the movie or read the book.

Yeah, it's a pretty adult book.

And not just for the sex, violence, and rape (though it has all of them). It has very adult themes about free will and morality.

If someone walks away from the movie about how he loved the Singing in the Rain scene, then he's not one to fully understand the meaning of the story. Also, he's probably a psychopath, and you should avoid him.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on February 19, 2015, 04:37:36 pm
Game Theory - All Clockwork and No Bodily Fluids Makes Hal a Dull Metal Humbert
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 04:42:35 pm
That explains a lot, primarily why my parents wouldn't let me watch the movie or read the book.

Yeah, it's a pretty adult book.

And not just for the sex, violence, and rape (though it has all of them). It has very adult themes about free will and morality.

If someone walks away from the movie about how he loved the Singing in the Rain scene, then he's not one to fully understand the meaning of the story. Also, he's probably a psychopath, and you should avoid him.

I'm an intelligent person, and my parents are cool with me thinking for myself. They probably just don't like all the bad stuff in the book.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on February 19, 2015, 06:00:24 pm
I don't have a Wii U and probably won't get one, which is sad, but I have a PS4 with Destiny so yeah.

Is Destiny worth getting?  I got a PS4 basically for Call of Duty (my brother-in-law plays and we were supposed to bond), but Destiny looks cool from a 1-player perspective...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 19, 2015, 07:11:09 pm
I don't have a Wii U and probably won't get one, which is sad, but I have a PS4 with Destiny so yeah.

Is Destiny worth getting?  I got a PS4 basically for Call of Duty (my brother-in-law plays and we were supposed to bond), but Destiny looks cool from a 1-player perspective...

Destiny is awesome. Some people hate it, but I like it a lot.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 19, 2015, 07:21:27 pm
I projects a GameCube controller once, but the doctor did say it wasy fault for putting it there in the first place....
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on February 19, 2015, 07:47:35 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKAbh3Q2c_w
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on February 19, 2015, 07:55:03 pm
That sounds nothing like and Ocarina :o
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on February 20, 2015, 01:29:58 am
I tried to make it..... blunter for you, Kirian.

I helped!

Though my reference was not as obvious, but anyone who's seen the movie should get it.

And I do recommend that people read the book if they haven't already. It's quite the read. And I suggest doing it without a glossary. I didn't even know that some copies have a glossary. Mine did not, and I like to think that my reading experience was enhanced by my need to determine the vocabulary of Alex and his droogs without having a cheat sheet.

The movie is good to watch too. Very stylistic.  It's a tad less abhorrent than the events in the book (for example, the movie's sex scene involves girls who are not minors), but it should build up a healthy degree of disgust within you.

Man figuring out the slang was so fun. I realized a little ways in that it was all bastardized Russian and it was cool drawing the connections. Beautifully constructed. (My mom is a Russian interpreter/translator)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 20, 2015, 12:18:06 pm
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/fundamental_forces.png) (http://xkcd.com/1489/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 20, 2015, 12:23:24 pm
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/fundamental_forces.png) (http://xkcd.com/1489/)

The funny thing is how true this is...  This is how I've always heard them described.  Are the equations for the strong and weak forces just too complicated to say?  And I've never seen anything describe how the weak force does anything with radioactive decay...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 20, 2015, 12:24:25 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weak_interaction
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 20, 2015, 12:34:20 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weak_interaction
Oh, so it's like Scout + Explorer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 20, 2015, 12:50:37 pm
My understanding is that there is no convenient formula for large distance interactions involving the strong or the weak force. You have to describe them with sums of Feynman diagrams. More specifically in the case of the strong force, people try to describe it with supercomputers. In the case of the weak interaction, they just don't try.

The weak force is weak, so difficult to perceive directly, BUT, it has the "advantage" of not caring about a whole lot of quantum numbers that the other forces keep constant. For example, a proton all by itself will stay a proton under the other 3 forces, but it can "randomly" release an electron and an anti-neutrino to become a neutron (or viceversa) through the weak interaction. This is one kind of radioactive decay. Not all radioactive decays require the weak interaction though, IIRC.

This rabbit hole goes a lot deeper, of course.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on February 20, 2015, 12:51:37 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weak_interaction
Oh, so it's like Scout + Explorer.
Dude, scout draws your province so explorer can gain a gold. That's at least as strong as the gravitational force.

The joke is that gravity is the weakest of the four forces.

EDIT: The comic says the strong force holds protons and neutrons together. I know the strong force is why the nucleus doesn't fly apart because of the electromagnetic force, but I thought it was more a force between two protons, or is there also an interaction between neutrons and protons? I suppose there must be, otherwise neutrons would just sort of float around...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 20, 2015, 01:00:23 pm
The joke is that gravity is the weakest of the four forces.
They can't all be the strongest force ever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 20, 2015, 01:22:15 pm
EDIT: The comic says the strong force holds protons and neutrons together. I know the strong force is why the nucleus doesn't fly apart because of the electromagnetic force, but I thought it was more a force between two protons, or is there also an interaction between neutrons and protons? I suppose there must be, otherwise neutrons would just sort of float around...

The strong interaction is a force between quarks and gluons, mediated by gluons. Quarks are the thingies that make up protons (quarks up, up, down, and a soup of temporary particles) and neutrons (quarks up, down, down, and a soup of temporary particles). Protons, neutrons, and other exotic particles made of quarks exist because the strong force binds their components together.

Atoms are similar, only more complicated, because it's the "residual" part of the strong force that binds protons and neutrons together; some models of atomic interactions dispense with the complex strong force altogether, and modelize the "nuclear force" as protons and neutrons exchanging pions (the lightest particle made of quarks) with each other. As far as the strong force is concerned, there's not much difference between neutrons and protons, they are just "bags" of quarks.

So, neutron-neutron, proton-proton and neutron-proton can interact through the strong force.


Addendum: the electromagnetic interaction is not the only mechanism that tries to split atoms apart. The other is Pauli repulsion (it also goes by other names). The basic concept is that two fermions can't be in the same quantum state, so if you want two protons (resp. neutrons) in an atom, they must have different energies. So as an atom becomes larger, the extra protons (resp. neutrons) in the atom must have increasingly large energies. And because matter tries to minimize its energy, that means that the extra protons (resp. neutrons) will try to leave the atom. The strong force is what keeps them together.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on February 20, 2015, 02:06:35 pm
EDIT: The comic says the strong force holds protons and neutrons together. I know the strong force is why the nucleus doesn't fly apart because of the electromagnetic force, but I thought it was more a force between two protons, or is there also an interaction between neutrons and protons? I suppose there must be, otherwise neutrons would just sort of float around...

The strong interaction is a force between quarks and gluons, mediated by gluons. Quarks are the thingies that make up protons (quarks up, up, down, and a soup of temporary particles) and neutrons (quarks up, down, down, and a soup of temporary particles). Protons, neutrons, and other exotic particles made of quarks exist because the strong force binds their components together.

Atoms are similar, only more complicated, because it's the "residual" part of the strong force that binds protons and neutrons together; some models of atomic interactions dispense with the complex strong force altogether, and modelize the "nuclear force" as protons and neutrons exchanging pions (the lightest particle made of quarks) with each other. As far as the strong force is concerned, there's not much difference between neutrons and protons, they are just "bags" of quarks.

So, neutron-neutron, proton-proton and neutron-proton can interact through the strong force.


Addendum: the electromagnetic interaction is not the only mechanism that tries to split atoms apart. The other is Pauli repulsion (it also goes by other names). The basic concept is that two fermions can't be in the same quantum state, so if you want two protons (resp. neutrons) in an atom, they must have different energies. So as an atom becomes larger, the extra protons (resp. neutrons) in the atom must have increasingly large energies. And because matter tries to minimize its energy, that means that the extra protons (resp. neutrons) will try to leave the atom. The strong force is what keeps them together.
The Force is strong with this one?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 20, 2015, 02:11:28 pm
EDIT: The comic says the strong force holds protons and neutrons together. I know the strong force is why the nucleus doesn't fly apart because of the electromagnetic force, but I thought it was more a force between two protons, or is there also an interaction between neutrons and protons? I suppose there must be, otherwise neutrons would just sort of float around...

The strong interaction is a force between quarks and gluons, mediated by gluons. Quarks are the thingies that make up protons (quarks up, up, down, and a soup of temporary particles) and neutrons (quarks up, down, down, and a soup of temporary particles). Protons, neutrons, and other exotic particles made of quarks exist because the strong force binds their components together.

Atoms are similar, only more complicated, because it's the "residual" part of the strong force that binds protons and neutrons together; some models of atomic interactions dispense with the complex strong force altogether, and modelize the "nuclear force" as protons and neutrons exchanging pions (the lightest particle made of quarks) with each other. As far as the strong force is concerned, there's not much difference between neutrons and protons, they are just "bags" of quarks.

So, neutron-neutron, proton-proton and neutron-proton can interact through the strong force.


Addendum: the electromagnetic interaction is not the only mechanism that tries to split atoms apart. The other is Pauli repulsion (it also goes by other names). The basic concept is that two fermions can't be in the same quantum state, so if you want two protons (resp. neutrons) in an atom, they must have different energies. So as an atom becomes larger, the extra protons (resp. neutrons) in the atom must have increasingly large energies. And because matter tries to minimize its energy, that means that the extra protons (resp. neutrons) will try to leave the atom. The strong force is what keeps them together.
The Force is strong with this one?

The Force is strong with atom.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 20, 2015, 02:15:29 pm
Title text: "Of these four forces, there's one we don't really understand." "Is it the weak force or the strong--" "It's gravity."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 20, 2015, 02:17:22 pm
The joke is that gravity is the weakest of the four forces.
They can't all be the strongest force ever.

I was going to give you a +1 for this one, but I used up all my mouseclicks making it readable.

Nonetheless, I say to you:  very nicely done.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 20, 2015, 02:18:36 pm
The Force is strong with this one?

You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 20, 2015, 03:05:43 pm
Title text: "Of these four forces, there's one we don't really understand." "Is it the weak force or the strong--" "It's gravity."

Or as it's known in Kansas, Intelligent Falling.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 20, 2015, 03:06:28 pm
Well, it's confirmed. I suck at New York accents. But, hey, it was my first time "auditioning" with one. I'm sure it'll get better with practice. I put audition in quotes because I'll be doing a skit for training purposes, and I'm of two guys being considered for a skit with two guys. I'm going to do it; I just need to work on my accent. Good thing it's supposed to be humorous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 22, 2015, 10:20:00 am
I know how obviously interested you all are in the fortunes of Harry Kane, so here is a quick update.

Led te line against the scummy West Ham today, and despite being outplayed we had a last 5 minute fight back led by the Hurri-Kane!

A goal ruled (correctly) offside signalled the start! Leading to a goal to bring it back to 2-1, then in the last seconds of injury time Kane bursts into the box and gets pulled down for a penalty!!

Up he steps... And it's poor, just where the keeper would want it!
But wait, the pace means the keeper can only party it, and Kanes rushing in and buries it!!!!!!
Final whistle blows, 2-2!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on February 23, 2015, 10:05:06 am
I just went to take an exam I was convinced was today, only to figure out it's actually on Thursday.
I'll have to rmember this trick since it gives me 3 extra days to prepare, bbut the necessity of actuallly believing in the wrong date might be a problem.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 23, 2015, 10:15:47 am
Have you tried making your watch go three days fast?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 23, 2015, 12:57:23 pm
I just went to take an exam I was convinced was today, only to figure out it's actually on Thursday.
I'll have to rmember this trick since it gives me 3 extra days to prepare, bbut the necessity of actuallly believing in the wrong date might be a problem.

I hope it wasn't a Time Management exam
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 23, 2015, 01:39:36 pm
I just went to take an exam I was convinced was today, only to figure out it's actually on Thursday.
I'll have to rmember this trick since it gives me 3 extra days to prepare, bbut the necessity of actuallly believing in the wrong date might be a problem.

I hope it wasn't a Time Management exam

Maybe it was a Time Travel class, and you passed!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 23, 2015, 01:44:32 pm
It's an exam on Special Relativity, and now he has to figure out how fast he needs to have been traveling to make it happen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 23, 2015, 02:10:01 pm
So, Tottenham play in the League Cup Final next week....and they have gone and released a Cup Final Song! not seen one of these for years!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jMX5-Yu-iM
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on February 25, 2015, 09:58:23 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 25, 2015, 10:10:27 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.

I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't let you talk about that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on February 25, 2015, 11:07:11 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.
The hype is FAR out of proportion with actual technology that exists. So my advice is, don't worry about it. There are much more realistic near-term existential threats, like climate change.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on February 25, 2015, 11:10:23 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.
The hype is FAR out of proportion with actual technology that exists. So my advice is, don't worry about it. There are much more realistic near-term existential threats, like climate change.

Also, some people care:

http://www.wired.com/2015/01/elon-musk-ai-safety/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 25, 2015, 11:19:30 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.

It's no big deal.  The machines already won the war.  Just relax and enjoy the matrix.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on February 25, 2015, 11:30:48 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.
I think the bigger concern is someone programming a computer/robot that breaks Asimov's laws of robotics and exterminates human life.  I don't think the intelligence of it really matters that much...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 25, 2015, 11:37:08 pm
Lego Stephen Hawking.

(http://i.imgur.com/ZrcHJ.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on February 26, 2015, 01:12:40 am
That's really cool. For so many reasons.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on February 26, 2015, 01:52:25 am
(http://i.imgur.com/2ypgHC9.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 26, 2015, 02:46:00 am
Agricola is full of easter eggs like that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 26, 2015, 03:15:24 am
Speaking of that song, I like it less and less every time I hear it. It's just so... generic. Fun fact, I went to school with the dude in the gold jacket.

How about this version?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjRlJvOxIY0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on February 26, 2015, 12:18:32 pm
Better.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on February 26, 2015, 12:29:59 pm
If you like Harry Potter or DnD, you will probably like Harry Potter and the Natural 20 and should go read it now. I went in with lots of Harry Potter knowledge and cursory DnD knowledge and enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure if you have lots of DnD knowledge and cursory Harry Potter knowledge, you'll have a similar experience.

(You should also read Methods of Rationality, but I suspect many people here already know about it.)

This is so awesome.  Link for people too lazy to google: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8096183/1/Harry-Potter-and-the-Natural-20
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 26, 2015, 01:30:25 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.
Then don't read Prey by Michael Crichton.  I'm in the middle of it now, and it is a disturbing scenario.

On the other hand, I agree with blueblimp, there are other much more likely scenarios.  The one that worries me perhaps the most (though again unlikely) is EMP on a continental scale.

And no, I'm not talking about Frank Gehry architecture, though that would be pretty bad also.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 26, 2015, 01:37:34 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.
The hype is FAR out of proportion with actual technology that exists. So my advice is, don't worry about it. There are much more realistic near-term existential threats, like climate change.

See, the whole climate change hype is just fearmongering to make us ignore the impending dangers of AI.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 26, 2015, 02:59:11 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.
The hype is FAR out of proportion with actual technology that exists. So my advice is, don't worry about it. There are much more realistic near-term existential threats, like climate change.

See, the whole climate change hype is just fearmongering to make us ignore the impending dangers of AI.

Maybe the climate thing is coming from the AIs themselves!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 26, 2015, 03:17:55 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.
The hype is FAR out of proportion with actual technology that exists. So my advice is, don't worry about it. There are much more realistic near-term existential threats, like climate change.

See, the whole climate change hype is just fearmongering to make us ignore the impending dangers of AI.

Maybe the climate thing is coming from the AIs themselves!

Guys, the climate is already ruined.  It was all covered in that 1999 documentary by the Wachowskis.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 26, 2015, 03:19:01 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.
The hype is FAR out of proportion with actual technology that exists. So my advice is, don't worry about it. There are much more realistic near-term existential threats, like climate change.

See, the whole climate change hype is just fearmongering to make us ignore the impending dangers of AI.

Maybe the climate thing is coming from the AIs themselves!

Guys, the climate is already ruined.  It was all covered in that 1999 documentary by the Wachowskis.

Bound?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 26, 2015, 03:20:45 pm
So, is anybody else worried about smarter-than-human artificial intelligence becoming a threat to humanity? Because I'm terrified of it and the people working on developing it don't seem to care.
The hype is FAR out of proportion with actual technology that exists. So my advice is, don't worry about it. There are much more realistic near-term existential threats, like climate change.

See, the whole climate change hype is just fearmongering to make us ignore the impending dangers of AI.

Maybe the climate thing is coming from the AIs themselves!

Guys, the climate is already ruined.  It was all covered in that 1999 documentary by the Wachowskis.

Bound?

That Matrix thing?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on February 27, 2015, 03:37:39 am
There are probably more likely scenarios than an indifferent AI tiling the universe with computronium.  But even severe climate change is very unlikely to lead to human extinction.  I don't think that AI is an imminent danger, but I'm glad that there are people thinking hard about the possibilities.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on February 27, 2015, 03:39:42 am
(https://36.media.tumblr.com/e1567b551e156332ca14d54119eade72/tumblr_njn6ifsUFH1qewacoo1_540.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 27, 2015, 09:09:06 am
Now THAT is true AI.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on February 27, 2015, 09:14:30 am
I worry about ethically immature people destroying the world; people doing things because they can, not because it's right.

I worry about smart coders writing AI unchecked. Or a biologist not being careful accidentally releasing a genetically enhanced disease that is in the lab "only for research" and causing an unstoppable pandemic.

I wouldn't be surprised if the apocalypse comes because of some smart person doing "what they think is right", either; not even an accident. Restraints on doing things never go over well, especially with smart people who don't believe safety precautions or rules apply to them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 27, 2015, 09:30:17 am
I worry about ethically immature people destroying the world; people doing things because they can, not because it's right.

I worry about smart coders writing AI unchecked. Or a biologist not being careful accidentally releasing a genetically enhanced disease that is in the lab "only for research" and causing an unstoppable pandemic.

I wouldn't be surprised if the apocalypse comes because of some smart person doing "what they think is right", either; not even an accident. Restraints on doing things never go over well, especially with smart people who don't believe safety precautions or rules apply to them.

Then you CLEARLY aren't watching enough sci fi!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 27, 2015, 09:55:10 am
...all those things concern you more than nuclear weapons? Like the huge stockpile of them that have basically disappeared in the former Soviet countries? Or those that may or may not be developped by suicidal states?

At least an AI will encounter an out-of-bounds exception at some point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on February 27, 2015, 10:06:26 am
I for one worry about both nuclear weapons and AI's, and climatic change above all else.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on February 27, 2015, 10:08:11 am
...all those things concern you more than nuclear weapons? Like the huge stockpile of them that have basically disappeared in the former Soviet countries? Or those that may or may not be developed by suicidal states?

No, but if a rogue nuke or three gets detonated, it's not the apocalypse, even if it is a very bad thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 27, 2015, 11:00:02 am
AI isn't bad at all, until you get to the last 20 minutes or so that are horribly tacked-on.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 27, 2015, 11:01:38 am
AI isn't bad at all, until you get to the last 20 minutes or so that are horribly tacked-on.

I feel like you're having a good couple weeks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 27, 2015, 11:19:02 am
AI isn't bad at all, until you get to the last 20 minutes or so that are horribly tacked-on.

I feel like you're having a good couple weeks.

Huh?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 27, 2015, 11:22:30 am
AI isn't bad at all, until you get to the last 20 minutes or so that are horribly tacked-on.

I feel like you're having a good couple weeks.

Huh?

With clever comments.

Well, not to imply that you don't normally have clever comments.  It's just been standing out lately.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 27, 2015, 11:36:46 am
So, this just happened to me:

"Ahh!!  So many people on facebook are talking about that dress!  Get away!  Hmm...  I'll go check xkcd (http://xkcd.com/1492/)."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 27, 2015, 11:39:39 am
So, this just happened to me:

"Ahh!!  So many people on facebook are talking about that dress!  Get away!  Hmm...  I'll go check xkcd (http://xkcd.com/1492/)."

I don't  understand what the xkcd comic is doing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on February 27, 2015, 02:01:06 pm
There are probably more likely scenarios than an indifferent AI tiling the universe with computronium.  But even severe climate change is very unlikely to lead to human extinction.  I don't think that AI is an imminent danger, but I'm glad that there are people thinking hard about the possibilities.

I don't think that climate change will lead directly to human extinction, but I do think that if left unchecked it will lead to resource scarcity, unrest, war, etc. which could result in human extinction (see "nukes" above)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on February 27, 2015, 02:24:43 pm
So, this just happened to me:

"Ahh!!  So many people on facebook are talking about that dress!  Get away!  Hmm...  I'll go check xkcd (http://xkcd.com/1492/)."

I don't  understand what the xkcd comic is doing.

It's being brilliant by taking a silly argument and making it worse.

What colors is the dress on the left? What colors is the dress on the right?

They're both the same colors. I verified this in Photoshop.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 27, 2015, 02:33:40 pm
So, this just happened to me:

"Ahh!!  So many people on facebook are talking about that dress!  Get away!  Hmm...  I'll go check xkcd (http://xkcd.com/1492/)."

I don't  understand what the xkcd comic is doing.

It's being brilliant by taking a silly argument and making it worse.

What colors is the dress on the left? What colors is the dress on the right?

They're both the same colors. I verified this in Photoshop.

I wasn't sure if that was the case, because the heads were different colors.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on February 27, 2015, 03:08:18 pm
So, this just happened to me:

"Ahh!!  So many people on facebook are talking about that dress!  Get away!  Hmm...  I'll go check xkcd (http://xkcd.com/1492/)."

I don't  understand what the xkcd comic is doing.

It's being brilliant by taking a silly argument and making it worse.

What colors is the dress on the left? What colors is the dress on the right?

They're both the same colors. I verified this in Photoshop.

I verified it in MS Paint.  I don't know if I just one-upped you or if that's worse...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 27, 2015, 03:55:11 pm
There are probably more likely scenarios than an indifferent AI tiling the universe with computronium.  But even severe climate change is very unlikely to lead to human extinction.  I don't think that AI is an imminent danger, but I'm glad that there are people thinking hard about the possibilities.

I don't think that climate change will lead directly to human extinction, but I do think that if left unchecked it will lead to resource scarcity, unrest, war, etc. which could result in human extinction (see "nukes" above)

I've been beaten to the punch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 27, 2015, 04:19:45 pm
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/610514

I made this. I think the viola staccato is too loud, but other than that, how's it sound?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 27, 2015, 04:54:23 pm
Leonard Nimoy died today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on February 27, 2015, 05:19:32 pm
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/610514

I made this. I think the viola staccato is too loud, but other than that, how's it sound?

You're right, the viola staccato is way too loud. And the ending is pretty abrupt in a way that I'm not a huge fan of. Other than that, it sounds pretty good. What did you use for the brass?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on February 27, 2015, 06:03:04 pm
I worry about smart coders writing AI unchecked.
The thing is, the technology just doesn't exist for anyone to write the kind of AI that would be required to take over the world. These doomsday scenarios tend to require an AI capable of applying engineering prowess to improve itself, and an engineering AI is way beyond the capabilities of current algorithms. Assuming technological progress continues in the future, we'll get to that point eventually, but it's pretty far off.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 27, 2015, 06:04:28 pm
I worry about smart coders writing AI unchecked.
The thing is, the technology just doesn't exist for anyone to write the kind of AI that would be required to take over the world. These doomsday scenarios tend to require an AI capable of applying engineering prowess to improve itself, and an engineering AI is way beyond the capabilities of current algorithms. Assuming technological progress continues in the future, we'll get to that point eventually, but it's pretty far off.

Or it just has to think it's playing a game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on February 27, 2015, 06:19:46 pm
I worry about smart coders writing AI unchecked.
The thing is, the technology just doesn't exist for anyone to write the kind of AI that would be required to take over the world. These doomsday scenarios tend to require an AI capable of applying engineering prowess to improve itself, and an engineering AI is way beyond the capabilities of current algorithms. Assuming technological progress continues in the future, we'll get to that point eventually, but it's pretty far off.

Or it just has to think it's playing a game.
Existing AI algorithms aren't really capable of the kind of long-term planning and out-of-the-box thinking that drives technological progress. AI game players dodge this weakness by abusing their capacity to do a lot of exact computation, but that works mostly because games are a constrained setting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on February 27, 2015, 06:22:34 pm
(http://media.tumblr.com/1bda6cf64ef2209470c7db1f78feb7cb/tumblr_inline_nk01bmu7Wi1rqu8d1.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on February 27, 2015, 06:37:04 pm
But even severe climate change is very unlikely to lead to human extinction.
In my view, the danger here is not immediate species extinction, but rather rapid disruption of civilization leading to technological regression. It would be quite hard to recover from a technological regression, because we've already consumed the easily-extractable resources to bootstrap our current civilization. Doing it a second time might be impossible, even if the world is hospitable enough otherwise.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on February 27, 2015, 06:40:00 pm
I worry about smart coders writing AI unchecked.
The thing is, the technology just doesn't exist for anyone to write the kind of AI that would be required to take over the world. These doomsday scenarios tend to require an AI capable of applying engineering prowess to improve itself, and an engineering AI is way beyond the capabilities of current algorithms. Assuming technological progress continues in the future, we'll get to that point eventually, but it's pretty far off.

Or it just has to think it's playing a game.

If it's playing a game then we will be gone as it will soon learn the only way to win is not to play....
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 27, 2015, 06:50:50 pm
I worry about smart coders writing AI unchecked.
The thing is, the technology just doesn't exist for anyone to write the kind of AI that would be required to take over the world. These doomsday scenarios tend to require an AI capable of applying engineering prowess to improve itself, and an engineering AI is way beyond the capabilities of current algorithms. Assuming technological progress continues in the future, we'll get to that point eventually, but it's pretty far off.

Or it just has to think it's playing a game.

If it's playing a game then we will be gone as it will soon learn the only way to win is not to play....

No, no, you have to say "This statement is a lie" to defeat rogue AIs. I saw it in a movie.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on February 27, 2015, 06:54:23 pm
I worry about smart coders writing AI unchecked.
The thing is, the technology just doesn't exist for anyone to write the kind of AI that would be required to take over the world. These doomsday scenarios tend to require an AI capable of applying engineering prowess to improve itself, and an engineering AI is way beyond the capabilities of current algorithms. Assuming technological progress continues in the future, we'll get to that point eventually, but it's pretty far off.

Or it just has to think it's playing a game.

If it's playing a game then we will be gone as it will soon learn the only way to win is not to play....

No, no, you have to say "This statement is a lie" to defeat rogue AIs. I saw it in a movie.
Or just give it a Comedy Award.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 27, 2015, 07:07:30 pm
It was a War Games reference :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on February 27, 2015, 07:09:18 pm
So was Ozle's!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on February 27, 2015, 07:10:48 pm
It was a War Games reference :(
Haven't seen it, sorry. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on February 27, 2015, 09:22:43 pm
Guinness for strength.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on February 28, 2015, 04:05:58 pm
It was a War Games reference :(
Haven't seen it, sorry. :)

Go see it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on February 28, 2015, 04:08:34 pm
For "that dress", does anyone else here see it as brownish-gold/faded blue? That's the only way I can see it and feel like a minority in the debate.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on February 28, 2015, 04:12:57 pm
For "that dress", does anyone else here see it as brownish-gold/faded blue? That's the only way I can see it and feel like a minority in the debate.

Considering that those are the actual colours (having checked using paint to identify the RGB makeup), no, you aren't alone. It's what I see too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 28, 2015, 06:04:16 pm
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/610514

I made this. I think the viola staccato is too loud, but other than that, how's it sound?
I didn't think the violas were too loud at all - they provide the rhythmic drive given that there were no drums (at least early).  In fact I thought the mix overall was pretty superb, and I was listening through tiny little computer speakers.   A possible exception was at about the 2:10 or 2:20 mark, during the crescendo phase, the staccato actually got a little lost, and I missed them because they formed (for me) the theme of the piece.

I read your comments but not the commenters' comments.  You think "the ending is too short".  I don't think it ended too suddenly, if that is what you meant by "too short".  If instead you mean "not fully formed" then I think that depends on what (if anything) the piece is to be used for.

I liked it a lot, and I am a former (part time) musician.  How was it created?  All synths?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 28, 2015, 06:05:54 pm
On an unrelated note:

RIP Leonard Nimoy
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on February 28, 2015, 08:41:56 pm
For "that dress", does anyone else here see it as brownish-gold/faded blue? That's the only way I can see it and feel like a minority in the debate.

Considering that those are the actual colours (having checked using paint to identify the RGB makeup), no, you aren't alone. It's what I see too.

It's what I saw too. I could extrapolate to either direction, but the actual colors I saw were definitely a light blue and a browny gold.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on February 28, 2015, 08:49:38 pm
Oops.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 28, 2015, 08:50:31 pm
S'okay.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on February 28, 2015, 08:52:01 pm
You did the right thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on February 28, 2015, 09:17:07 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/4x5cHv2.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on February 28, 2015, 09:22:59 pm
I noticed that in the same thread we brought up "Climate Change" and Michael Crichton but failed to reference State of Fear.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on February 28, 2015, 09:39:22 pm
I noticed that in the same thread we brought up "Climate Change" and Michael Crichton but failed to reference State of Fear.

We'll get to that the day after tomorrow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on February 28, 2015, 11:08:12 pm
I noticed that in the same thread we brought up "Climate Change" and Michael Crichton but failed to reference State of Fear.

We'll get to that the day after tomorrow.
What if it happens two days before the day after tomorrow?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 01, 2015, 02:32:39 am
My printer is not printing black for some reason.  Ink cartridge is nearly full.  I think I'll need to find some time to try to clean the print head.  Don't really have a clue how to do that; hopefully the internet is sufficient.  Ugh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on March 01, 2015, 04:27:55 pm
You have a bigot printer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 01, 2015, 10:24:24 pm
Internet was helpful, but the process did not actually work.  I think the problem is beyond amateur attempts.  Oh well, the printer is old anyway.  Time for a new one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 03, 2015, 09:39:21 am
Rats make awesome pets, but they can leave inconvenient scratches on your hands, especially at the wrist where it can hurt when typing. Grr.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 03, 2015, 09:40:44 am
Rats make awesome pets, but they can leave inconvenient scratches on your hands, especially at the wrist where it can hurt when typing. Grr.

Be careful, they multiply. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 03, 2015, 10:35:43 am
Rats make awesome pets, but they can leave inconvenient scratches on your hands, especially at the wrist where it can hurt when typing. Grr.

That's how they trash Cartographers too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on March 04, 2015, 09:13:00 am
Just read through 30+ pages of unread Random Stuff.

Aw, sad AA. She asked me a question about a formula in Excel. I pointed out two errors with it. One being a simple matter of dividing by the wrong line. Then I had to show her how Excel does not store time passed in a format of mm:ss and that when she tried to record 6 minutes and 15 seconds, Excel actually calculates it as 0.26, which totally throws their numbers out of whack.

What's sad is that this report has apparently been in use for a long while. The problem didn't come to light until someone tried to input 24:02, which Excel does not recognize as a legitimate time value. Now she's aware of just how flawed the report is. I bear bad news from Excelland.

I recently battled with Excel as well. Apparently people who had my position have been reporting WAY wrong for like a year. And since I was the one who found out they had, I had to not only correct the Excel sheet, but also redo all the monthly reports... Fun times.

PS4 and games for it was mentioned a couple of times. I still recommend The Last of Us. Probably one of my favorite games of all time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 04, 2015, 10:48:01 am
I recently battled with Excel as well. Apparently people who had my position have been reporting WAY wrong for like a year. And since I was the one who found out they had, I had to not only correct the Excel sheet, but also redo all the monthly reports... Fun times.

Hmm, it makes me wonder if you can rig up an Excel sheet to accept values that represent time durations without converting it to a ratio to a 24-hour day. My first thought was to report time in terms of how many hours and how many seconds. The problem is that most people just want to enter 2 minutes and 13 seconds as 2:13 and not 2, tab, 13.

I suppose I could rig a cell to be text only and then create a formula from that cell to give a decimal representation of the time. This formula could work: =LEFT(A1, FIND(":", A1, 1)-1)*60 + RIGHT(A1, 2)

But then what if there is a decimal portion? Then I suppose I should go with: =LEFT(A1, FIND(":", A1, 1)-1)*60 + RIGHT(A1, LEN(A1)-FIND(":", A1, 1))

Then there's the need to error-check it, either through validating the original cell's value or including another IF statement in the formula to return a blank value if the cell does not contain a colon, which then opens up other cans of worms if someone types in something weird like 23:1a.87:1
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on March 04, 2015, 02:41:19 pm
To tell the truth, I'm really bad with Excel. We had an Office class in school, but that was VERY basic. Also, my problems weren't really related to time. It was just basic sums and stuff. And yet, people did it wrong. Every day I'm amazed at how much people just drone away at work without really thinking.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 04, 2015, 02:48:47 pm
... And yet, people did it wrong. Every day I'm amazed at how much people just drone away at work without really thinking.
It is widespread enough to be worrisome.  I saw some unbelievable things working QA in environmental chemistry labs.  Analysts (with 4 year degrees in chemistry) who couldn't verify the math on an instrument's result.  Or couldn't calculate concentrations in units of mass/mass (as opposed to mass/volume).  No one wants to be a subject matter expert anymore, and employers don't expect them to be.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 04, 2015, 02:49:10 pm
To tell the truth, I'm really bad with Excel. We had an Office class in school, but that was VERY basic. Also, my problems weren't really related to time. It was just basic sums and stuff. And yet, people did it wrong. Every day I'm amazed at how much people just drone away at work without really thinking.

Work harder, not smarter. Less thinking, more working.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 04, 2015, 03:00:02 pm
I have a test, anyone who says they are good with excel are basic users. Because the more you know that Excel does, the more you realise its waaay beyond the normal skillset.

I recently interviewed three people, all said they were experts at excel, none of them got past my question 1, which was basic text to columns!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on March 04, 2015, 03:02:05 pm
I have a test, anyone who says they are good with excel are basic users. Because the more you know that Excel does, the more you realise its waaay beyond the normal skillset.

I recently interviewed three people, all said they were experts at excel, none of them got past my question 1, which was basic text to columns!

Text to columns, as in, press one button and go through a bunch of basic options? That one? Yeesh.

I certainly wouldn't say I'm an expert in Excel, but I know more than the average Joe for sure. I do only know some very basic VB though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on March 04, 2015, 03:10:11 pm
Text to columns, as in, press one button and go through a bunch of basic options? That one? Yeesh.

I certainly wouldn't say I'm an expert in Excel, but I know more than the average Joe for sure. I do only know some very basic VB though.

The sad part is. If you know how to do tha very basics. You know more than the average swede. People here DOES NOT EXCEL! I'm a wizard at Excel to most of the people I meet. Every once in a while, I get to meet someone who actually knows something about the application and they REALLY outshine me when it comes to that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 04, 2015, 04:16:21 pm
I was actually somewhat disappointed when I prepped for the Excel expert certification. I was familiarizing myself with LOOKUPs, INDEXes, and FINDs. I wasn't even asked about a single LEFT or SUMIF. Expert certification did ensure that I knew how to make a PivotTable. Fuck, I don't even use PivotTables in the wild.

And moving on from Excel woes to Word woes, it's difficult being one who respects consistencies in Word templates and working with people who are a) not that good at using Word and b) not interested in maintaining internal consistencies. Why even bother building a Word template to keep things consistent? Let's just roam around an electronic wasteland flinging different fonts and paragraph spacings like Mad Max villains.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 04, 2015, 04:45:13 pm
Why even bother building a Word template to keep things consistent? Let's just roam around an electronic wasteland flinging different fonts and paragraph spacings like Mad Max villains.

Speaking of which, don't you hate it when people use Comic Sans for things that are supposed to be professional?  I recently discovered this wonderful new font that makes everything much classier.  It's called Papyrus.  We should all use that instead!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 04, 2015, 04:49:16 pm
I have a test, anyone who says they are good with excel are basic users. Because the more you know that Excel does, the more you realise its waaay beyond the normal skillset.

I recently interviewed three people, all said they were experts at excel, none of them got past my question 1, which was basic text to columns!

So I looked it up to see if Text to Columns is what I thought it was, and it is readily deducible just from the name... but why would you ever want to use that??
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on March 04, 2015, 05:09:59 pm
I have a test, anyone who says they are good with excel are basic users. Because the more you know that Excel does, the more you realise its waaay beyond the normal skillset.

I recently interviewed three people, all said they were experts at excel, none of them got past my question 1, which was basic text to columns!

So I looked it up to see if Text to Columns is what I thought it was, and it is readily deducible just from the name... but why would you ever want to use that??

I actually use it pretty often (like, maybe about 5-10 times per year), generally for grabbing data from a table on a website and putting it into an excel document or something similar to that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 04, 2015, 05:45:01 pm
Why even bother building a Word template to keep things consistent? Let's just roam around an electronic wasteland flinging different fonts and paragraph spacings like Mad Max villains.

Speaking of which, don't you hate it when people use Comic Sans for things that are supposed to be professional?  I recently discovered this wonderful new font that makes everything much classier.  It's called Papyrus.  We should all use that instead!

Fortunately, font type is always consistent. Our brand standards state that everything must be in Verdana. Yep, including headings and captions. So very bland. But at least we don't have 20 font types floating around.

Heh, my favorite today was helping someone fix a heading of "10 Reasons..." I forget what it was, but it was a top 10. However, the heading had a number style, so when I fixed the style to be Normal, the 10 went away because it was automatic numbering. I really hate some of the shortcuts people use in Word. You can create such great documents that are neat, but some people don't realize that tab characters are and indent by pressing spacebar a bunch of times. Ouch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 04, 2015, 05:46:33 pm
... you make documents in Word?  *shudders*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on March 04, 2015, 09:57:06 pm
I have a test, anyone who says they are good with excel are basic users. Because the more you know that Excel does, the more you realise its waaay beyond the normal skillset.

I recently interviewed three people, all said they were experts at excel, none of them got past my question 1, which was basic text to columns!

So I looked it up to see if Text to Columns is what I thought it was, and it is readily deducible just from the name... but why would you ever want to use that??

I actually use it pretty often (like, maybe about 5-10 times per year), generally for grabbing data from a table on a website and putting it into an excel document or something similar to that.

I use text-to-column for a weekly report that I do for work.  But I wouldn't have been able to tell you anything about it until after I was shown how to use it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on March 04, 2015, 09:58:18 pm
... you make documents in Word?  *shudders*

yeah.....I wish I could just LaTeX everything.  But no one seems to know what I am talking about.....
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on March 04, 2015, 11:08:00 pm
I'm the Excel "expert" at work. The other guys use a calculator to add up receipts before entering the value they need.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 05, 2015, 12:58:10 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05gPzM7OJ34
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 05, 2015, 05:44:24 am
Why even bother building a Word template to keep things consistent? Let's just roam around an electronic wasteland flinging different fonts and paragraph spacings like Mad Max villains.

Speaking of which, don't you hate it when people use Comic Sans for things that are supposed to be professional?  I recently discovered this wonderful new font that makes everything much classier.  It's called Papyrus.  We should all use that instead!

You know what I hate more than stupid fonts?

People who have background pictures and colours on their work emails.

If I have a client email me and their background is pink, or they have some life affirming quote in their signature, they automatically get rated as not important in my brain, cant help it.

And I work with big companies, this isnt some small time store owner.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 05, 2015, 09:08:34 am
Why even bother building a Word template to keep things consistent? Let's just roam around an electronic wasteland flinging different fonts and paragraph spacings like Mad Max villains.

Speaking of which, don't you hate it when people use Comic Sans for things that are supposed to be professional?  I recently discovered this wonderful new font that makes everything much classier.  It's called Papyrus.  We should all use that instead!

You know what I hate more than stupid fonts?

People who have background pictures and colours on their work emails.

If I have a client email me and their background is pink, or they have some life affirming quote in their signature, they automatically get rated as not important in my brain, cant help it.

And I work with big companies, this isnt some small time store owner.

Yes, that sort of thing is horrible.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 05, 2015, 11:46:47 am
... you make documents in Word?  *shudders*

Word works fine for most of what we need. It's not like there's room in the budget for other Word processing.

But Word is plenty powerful on its own. If I'm working with a more fluid layout—like a newsletter—I might use InDesign. Aside from that, Word handles everything I need. Although those muthafucking numbered lists are a pain.

Hmm, LaTeX looks like something I don't need. I suppose I can appreciate that the author can just type everything out without worrying about layout, but I'm not one of those authors. I have to worry about layout, so I use styles in Word. I suppose if I could be responsible for writing while someone else does the layout, I would see the appeal in LaTeX.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 05, 2015, 11:51:55 am
Yep, Word is fine for me, I write all my documents in it.

If i want something technical done with words I will use TextPad
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 05, 2015, 12:54:03 pm
... you make documents in Word?  *shudders*

Word works fine for most of what we need. It's not like there's room in the budget for other Word processing.

But Word is plenty powerful on its own. If I'm working with a more fluid layout—like a newsletter—I might use InDesign. Aside from that, Word handles everything I need. Although those muthafucking numbered lists are a pain.

Hmm, LaTeX looks like something I don't need. I suppose I can appreciate that the author can just type everything out without worrying about layout, but I'm not one of those authors. I have to worry about layout, so I use styles in Word. I suppose if I could be responsible for writing while someone else does the layout, I would see the appeal in LaTeX.

I author (almost exclusively) in LaTeX, and I'm concerned with both layout and content.  It's not like "someone else does the layout".  It's more, like, the TeX processing takes care of things like typesetting, margins, spacing, numbering (equations, sections, lists, pages), etc.  However, you have control of those things.  When you make a document, you can adjust margins, fonts, and all that stuff.  You can even set all the things up in an external style/class file, so all the controls are set in one master location.  This has a big advantage, because then other people that write a LaTeX document with the same style file can't actually change it.  (As opposed to, say, Word, where you can simply change the template.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 05, 2015, 12:55:27 pm
I mean, what makes more sense?  Hitting return and having some random number from some random pattern with some random indentation automatically appear?  Or saying

\begin{enumerate}
\item First point
\item Second point
\item
   \begin{itemize}
   \item Bullet one
   \item Bullet two
   \item Bullet three
   \end{itemize}
\item Third point
\end{enumerate}

You have complete control over the formatting there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 05, 2015, 01:32:59 pm
I mean, what makes more sense?  Hitting return and having some random number from some random pattern with some random indentation automatically appear?  Or saying

\begin{enumerate}
\item First point
\item Second point
\item
   \begin{itemize}
   \item Bullet one
   \item Bullet two
   \item Bullet three
   \end{itemize}
\item Third point
\end{enumerate}

You have complete control over the formatting there.

Well, that's where the template comes in useful. And a stern warning for people to not jack with the template.

But the people who cannot understand how not to break a Word template would be confused by LaTeX's format. It's not the tool that's the problem.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 05, 2015, 02:39:26 pm
I mean, what makes more sense?  Hitting return and having some random number from some random pattern with some random indentation automatically appear?  Or saying

\begin{enumerate}
\item First point
\item Second point
\item
   \begin{itemize}
   \item Bullet one
   \item Bullet two
   \item Bullet three
   \end{itemize}
\item Third point
\end{enumerate}

You have complete control over the formatting there.

To be fair to Word here, you can easily turn off automatically making numbered lists, and can pretty easily format a non numbered list into a numbered one without much trouble.  It's the fact that the automation sucks that is trouble.

However, most of what we're talking about here is PEBIAC error anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 05, 2015, 02:47:16 pm
And most PEBIAC errors are PEBUE issues.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 05, 2015, 04:26:35 pm
Oh fun, I get to meet with IT tomorrow to explain why my team needs SnagIt. They figure that we can use MS Office and the Windows Snipping Tool to get the same results. I'll be surprised if they show me something that can be done. I see some features SnagIt offers that don't seem possible in Office.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 05, 2015, 10:03:15 pm
Is anybody here a fan of Storage Wars?  There is a game on Kickstarter (designed by one of the designers of Dead of Winter) called "Vault Wars (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/floodgategames/vault-wars-bidding-and-bluffing-game-by-jon-gilmou)" based on that concept.  It looks pretty good, and the price is relatively low (unless you want to spring for the deluxe version, which adds metal coins).

I"m hesitating only because I am backing a different kickstarter right now...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 06, 2015, 03:33:38 am
Storage Wars is funny to a point, as long as you realise it's all faked
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 06, 2015, 06:31:46 am
I was debating whether this was better in the Song of the Day thread or here, but then 2:35 decided for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2INJiNpZFBI
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 06, 2015, 07:09:19 am
Good choice, its not metal enough for Song of the Day thread
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 06, 2015, 07:15:33 am
Is anybody here a fan of Storage Wars?  There is a game on Kickstarter (designed by one of the designers of Dead of Winter) called "Vault Wars (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/floodgategames/vault-wars-bidding-and-bluffing-game-by-jon-gilmou)" based on that concept.  It looks pretty good, and the price is relatively low (unless you want to spring for the deluxe version, which adds metal coins).

I"m hesitating only because I am backing a different kickstarter right now...

I had a look at this, expecting it to be shit because of the linkto Storage Wars.

I think you are selling it short as it looks quite fun quirky and interesting.

And as its only $20 and ships free to UK, I'm going to give it a punt.

Cheers for the recomendation
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 06, 2015, 07:19:58 am
Ohh, grrrrr, misleading shipping charges.

If something says $20 and underneath says 'Ships Anywhere in the world' I'm sort of not expecting to have to pay anymore. It should say 'All Regions, Shipping Charges not included'
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 06, 2015, 09:20:22 am
Just finished the latest draft of my Detective Hunt round London, quite pleased with it so far.

Got a run through with my girlfriend tomorrow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on March 06, 2015, 10:19:05 am
and i totally forgot to try it so far, sorry about that
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 06, 2015, 10:42:45 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JxsZEZPkYE

I love this movie.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 06, 2015, 11:11:19 am
and i totally forgot to try it so far, sorry about that

Still needs doing if you fancy it?

Ill put a new version up somewhere
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 06, 2015, 11:20:11 am
http://www.filedropper.com/manuscriptv3

Here it is, now with snazzy front cover featuring my favourite 20 odd detectives!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 06, 2015, 01:23:27 pm
Ohh, grrrrr, misleading shipping charges.

If something says $20 and underneath says 'Ships Anywhere in the world' I'm sort of not expecting to have to pay anymore. It should say 'All Regions, Shipping Charges not included'

That is unfortunately due to a recent change in how Kickstarter handles shipping.  Many projects used to split up reward tiers based on shipping region and actually state in the description how much shipping costs, but KS wanted it unified with shipping added separately.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on March 06, 2015, 07:16:25 pm
I'm late, but Last Footnote and others might want to look at MIRI. It's an organization dedicated to stopping existential threat from AI.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 07, 2015, 01:06:25 am
This is why Goko is broken:

(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/hard_reboot.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on March 08, 2015, 03:14:41 am
Hey guys,  I should post here more. Or drink more so that I'm more motivated to post more. Maybe I'll even get back into mafia. Maybe.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on March 08, 2015, 10:14:57 am
Hey guys,  I should post here more. Or drink more so that I'm more motivated to post more. Maybe I'll even get back into mafia. Maybe.

There's lots of things you should do. Like play hearthstone. Doesn't mean you will.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 08, 2015, 10:17:54 am
I find the best way to cheer yourself up is to just send me money

Its a win/win situation. No Edge cases
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 08, 2015, 10:57:49 am
I find the best way to cheer yourself up is to just send me money

Its a win/win situation. No Edge cases

Genius! (http://gimmeabuck.com/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AndrewisFTTW on March 08, 2015, 02:19:05 pm
Simpsons did it!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on March 08, 2015, 07:37:16 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voq3iI0ObOk&feature=youtu.be

EDIT: Yes, this is me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 08, 2015, 10:33:59 pm
EDIT: Yes, this is me.

Whoa hey why did you change your avatar to Inn?  That's confusing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on March 08, 2015, 10:38:27 pm
I thought it was going to be the new trend and everyone would be doing it. So wanted to get on before the bandwagon. Also, it looks like a nice inn. I'll think I'll stay a couple days.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 08, 2015, 10:39:45 pm
I thought it was going to be the new trend and everyone would be doing it. So wanted to get on before the bandwagon. Also, it looks like a nice inn. I'll think I'll stay a couple days.

Just don't be expecting me to change my avatar if you for some reason want to use the same one after you're done with this Inn nonsense!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on March 08, 2015, 10:52:34 pm
Why would I do that? As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 08, 2015, 10:53:53 pm
I thought it was going to be the new trend and everyone would be doing it. So wanted to get on before the bandwagon. Also, it looks like a nice inn. I'll think I'll stay a couple days.

You can stay in it for a couple of days, but two other people with Inn as their avatar have to go change it now. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on March 09, 2015, 02:51:14 am
This entire channel is awesome, but his newest video is so cool.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Yp9SjCU5E
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on March 09, 2015, 03:11:06 am
This entire channel is awesome, but his newest video is so cool.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Yp9SjCU5E

impressive.  But I still think Lars Andersen is better (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11642.msg457499#msg457499)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 10, 2015, 12:20:09 am
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 10, 2015, 12:34:40 am
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

Probably? Usually people who want longer beards just wait a while.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 10, 2015, 12:56:21 am
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

Probably? Usually people who want longer beards just wait a while.

No, I was thinking because I'm in a musical (Mulan), and we're all supposed to have really dark hair.  My hair is dark enough but my beard is lighter for some reason.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 10, 2015, 01:26:16 am
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

Probably? Usually people who want longer beards just wait a while.

No, I was thinking because I'm in a musical (Mulan), and we're all supposed to have really dark hair.  My hair is dark enough but my beard is lighter for some reason.

Someone close to you is pranking you and has been dyeing your hair in your sleep for years.  The only question is which hair they've been dyeing...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on March 10, 2015, 01:33:13 am
kinda freaky... I'm sitting here watching your avatar change several times. I think you may have found the necronomicon during your stay in the library...

So you've narrowed it down to about 5. Make up your mind already.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 10, 2015, 01:34:59 am
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

Probably? Usually people who want longer beards just wait a while.

No, I was thinking because I'm in a musical (Mulan), and we're all supposed to have really dark hair.  My hair is dark enough but my beard is lighter for some reason.

Someone close to you is pranking you and has been dyeing your hair in your sleep for years.  The only question is which hair they've been dyeing...

As I was reading this, your avatar continued to change.

You're a chameleon. Or to be specific, Celestial Chameleon.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 10, 2015, 01:37:01 am
That or that's a very shoddy gif.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on March 10, 2015, 01:48:52 am
So who's excited for Overwatch? I know the danger's of overhyping things, but it looks really good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Darth Vader on March 10, 2015, 01:50:23 am
So who's excited for Overwatch? I know the danger's of overhyping things, but it looks really good.

I find your faith in Blizzard disturbing.

It's Blizzard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on March 10, 2015, 02:14:22 am
Someone close to you is pranking you and has been dyeing your hair in your sleep for years.  The only question is which hair they've been dyeing...

As I was reading this, your avatar continued to change.

You're a chameleon. Or to be specific, Celestial Chameleon.
That or that's a very shoddy gif.
I think it's a gif with part of it that doesn't show up (alternating between six avatars but one of them is blank).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 10, 2015, 02:45:02 am
Someone close to you is pranking you and has been dyeing your hair in your sleep for years.  The only question is which hair they've been dyeing...

As I was reading this, your avatar continued to change.

You're a chameleon. Or to be specific, Celestial Chameleon.
That or that's a very shoddy gif.
I think it's a gif with part of it that doesn't show up (alternating between six avatars but one of them is blank).

One of them is intentionally blank.  I used the cards for the most frequest posters who chose Dominion cards, plus blank, plus Stache (which cycles out faster than the others).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on March 10, 2015, 03:17:19 am
ok then, I guess you should've put "This space intentionally left blank." on that blank slide so we'd know it was intentional. But it'd be a lie cause then it wouldn't be blank...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 10, 2015, 09:12:34 am
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

Probably? Usually people who want longer beards just wait a while.

How has this not been upvoted yet?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 10, 2015, 09:12:52 am
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

I don't believe for a second that you have a beard.  Or hair.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 10, 2015, 12:00:24 pm
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

Probably? Usually people who want longer beards just wait a while.

No, I was thinking because I'm in a musical (Mulan), and we're all supposed to have really dark hair.  My hair is dark enough but my beard is lighter for some reason.

You're going to want something stronger than mascara.  Hair dye that matches your head hair at the least, but if you're willing to go for broke for the sake of a play, black hair dye for the whole head.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 10, 2015, 12:11:30 pm
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

Probably? Usually people who want longer beards just wait a while.

No, I was thinking because I'm in a musical (Mulan), and we're all supposed to have really dark hair.  My hair is dark enough but my beard is lighter for some reason.

You're going to want something stronger than mascara.  Hair dye that matches your head hair at the least, but if you're willing to go for broke for the sake of a play, black hair dye for the whole head.

I wasn't seriously considering it, it was just a random thought I had.  They haven't said I needed to do anything so it's fine anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 10, 2015, 12:13:51 pm
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

I don't believe for a second that you have a beard.  Or hair.

So, here's me doing a cover of Brass Goggles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2gFEO19NJ0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on March 10, 2015, 12:39:08 pm
So who's excited for Overwatch? I know the danger's of overhyping things, but it looks really good.

I find your faith in Blizzard disturbing.

It's Blizzard.
What are you trying to say?
I don't have faith, I have hope--there's a difference. And ftr I like most of Blizzard's games.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on March 10, 2015, 12:47:19 pm
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

I don't believe for a second that you have a beard.  Or hair.

So, here's me doing a cover of Brass Goggles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2gFEO19NJ0
Looks shopped.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Darth Vader on March 10, 2015, 01:01:20 pm
So who's excited for Overwatch? I know the danger's of overhyping things, but it looks really good.

I find your faith in Blizzard disturbing.

It's Blizzard.
What are you trying to say?
I don't have faith, I have hope--there's a difference. And ftr I like most of Blizzard's games.

A New Hope?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on March 10, 2015, 01:02:55 pm
Eh...Sure.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 10, 2015, 01:04:02 pm
So who's excited for Overwatch? I know the danger's of overhyping things, but it looks really good.

I find your faith in Blizzard disturbing.

It's Blizzard.
What are you trying to say?
I don't have faith, I have hope--there's a difference. And ftr I like most of Blizzard's games.

A New Hope?

lol
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 10, 2015, 01:17:09 pm
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

I don't believe for a second that you have a beard.  Or hair.

So, here's me doing a cover of Brass Goggles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2gFEO19NJ0

That's not a beard.....you should get some mascara on that
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 10, 2015, 04:03:30 pm
Back to normal now.  Apologies to anybody who was annoyed by the animated avatar!  Thanks for putting up with it for a day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 10, 2015, 05:31:40 pm
Back to normal now.  Apologies to anybody who was annoyed by the animated avatar!  Thanks for putting up with it for a day.

...that was only a day?  That felt like ten years...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on March 10, 2015, 05:32:32 pm
Woah woah woah, what's up with the new avatar ehalc??!?! I can't handle this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 10, 2015, 05:47:08 pm
Back to normal now.  Apologies to anybody who was annoyed by the animated avatar!  Thanks for putting up with it for a day.

I can make you an avatar if you give me something to work with.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 10, 2015, 06:04:03 pm
Back to normal now.  Apologies to anybody who was annoyed by the animated avatar!  Thanks for putting up with it for a day.

I can make you an avatar if you give me something to work with.

I don't get the joke.

Or if it's serious, I'm not sure why you are making the offer.  If I wanted a different avatar, I could make it myself.  I know my way around Photoshop!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on March 10, 2015, 06:52:12 pm
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

I don't believe for a second that you have a beard.  Or hair.

So, here's me doing a cover of Brass Goggles:
...
Pretty cool. I didn't expect to find other SPG fans here, seeing as they're a kindof obscure indie group. Brass Goggles is one of my favorites of theirs.

Back to normal now.  Apologies to anybody who was annoyed by the animated avatar!  Thanks for putting up with it for a day.
...If I wanted a different avatar, I could make it myself.  I know my way around Photoshop!
Your candle needs a beard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 10, 2015, 06:53:22 pm
I can't handle this.

But can you candle it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on March 10, 2015, 09:38:36 pm
Pretty cool. I didn't expect to find other SPG fans here, seeing as they're a kindof obscure indie group. Brass Goggles is one of my favorites of theirs.

Isn't Brass Goggles by the Beastie Boys?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 10, 2015, 10:40:48 pm
Pretty cool. I didn't expect to find other SPG fans here, seeing as they're a kindof obscure indie group. Brass Goggles is one of my favorites of theirs.

Isn't Brass Goggles by the Beastie Boys?

I believe you're thinking of Brass Monkey.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on March 10, 2015, 10:59:47 pm
Pretty cool. I didn't expect to find other SPG fans here, seeing as they're a kindof obscure indie group. Brass Goggles is one of my favorites of theirs.

Isn't Brass Goggles by the Beastie Boys?

I believe you're thinking of Brass Monkey.

Isn't Brass Monkey by the Foo Fighters?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 10, 2015, 11:03:54 pm
Pretty cool. I didn't expect to find other SPG fans here, seeing as they're a kindof obscure indie group. Brass Goggles is one of my favorites of theirs.

Isn't Brass Goggles by the Beastie Boys?

I believe you're thinking of Brass Monkey.

Isn't Brass Monkey by the Foo Fighters?

No.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on March 11, 2015, 12:30:04 am
They're bringing back Zoombinis! Any other 90s kids with nostalgia on here?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zoombinisgame/zoombinis
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on March 11, 2015, 12:36:06 am
Fleens? You're not Fleens!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on March 11, 2015, 12:39:55 am
They're bringing back Zoombinis! Any other 90s kids with nostalgia on here?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zoombinisgame/zoombinis

I remember it fondly -- but I'm hesitant to back. I don't know that the 15 dollars would be worth it, especially since it looks like it's going to be the exact same game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 11, 2015, 12:49:00 am
Fleens? You're not Fleens!

Whatever you are...

MAKE ME A PIZZA!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on March 11, 2015, 12:52:09 am
Pretty cool. I didn't expect to find other SPG fans here, seeing as they're a kindof obscure indie group. Brass Goggles is one of my favorites of theirs.

Isn't Brass Goggles by the Beastie Boys?

I believe you're thinking of Brass Monkey.

Isn't Brass Monkey by the Foo Fighters?

No.


Combo breaker.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 11, 2015, 09:41:44 am
Combo breaker.

Itself a C-C-C-C-C-Combo breaker of C-C-C-C-C-Combo breaker.  Way to think big picture.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 11, 2015, 10:19:36 am
Back to normal now.  Apologies to anybody who was annoyed by the animated avatar!  Thanks for putting up with it for a day.

I can make you an avatar if you give me something to work with.

I don't get the joke.

Or if it's serious, I'm not sure why you are making the offer.  If I wanted a different avatar, I could make it myself.  I know my way around Photoshop!

I was not joking, I was being entirely serious, but now I am explaining my non-joke in great detail, which makes it automatically funny. This creates a paradox that only adds even more hilarity and mirth to an already above average humorous scenario. You see, it's funny because you would expect a joke to be described in length, not a non-joke, which is why it is funny, and the act of a joke within a non-joke is a recursive effect the likes of which have never been seen, thus creating a huge tension only settled by either mirth or permanent isolation in a cave in Siberia. This makes you a Hermit, which makes it funnier because this is FD.S, and my ramblings could be mistaken for a Mad Man, adding even more to this incredible jocular moment. I must be a Jester! Oh look, more joke! And I will make it funny again by doing the unexpected and not explaining the joke, even though I explained that I wouldn't explain the joke, which is why it's funny.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 11, 2015, 10:31:13 am
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

I've put mascara in my beard. It's actually quite a striking change. Well, for me it was. I have a beard that is dark on the sides but white on the chin. I call it skunk face. Nobody else does, which I guess should be soothing to my ego really.

Anyway, when doing a show, contrast is important, so a director had me apply brown mascara to my chin to make my facial hair more visible on stage. It also made me look younger. I've had to look older too, which required lightening the sides of my face.

Sadly, my badly receding hairline ruins any further illusion of looking younger. I can fix that by shaving my head if that is within the director's vision.

If I ever want to try to pass for 30 in a bar, I suppose I shave everything but a goatee and darken that. Should work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 11, 2015, 11:56:36 am
I can appreciate that a newer version of Office now offers you Save and Don't Save when you're closing a document with unsaved changes, but I am still used to pressing Y. At the very least, couldn't they have changed it to Yes, Save? At least pressing N still works.

It's kind of aggravating watching applications drift away from keyboard navigation and being mouse only. So far, Office is doing pretty well maintaining the keyboard navigation while providing a mouse- (and tap-) friendly interface, but I run into some applications that don't even care about those of us who work faster with the keyboard. We're just an afterthought, like those horrible, horrible forms that don't have tab indexes set correctly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 11, 2015, 12:49:16 pm
Back to normal now.  Apologies to anybody who was annoyed by the animated avatar!  Thanks for putting up with it for a day.

I can make you an avatar if you give me something to work with.

I don't get the joke.

Or if it's serious, I'm not sure why you are making the offer.  If I wanted a different avatar, I could make it myself.  I know my way around Photoshop!

I was not joking, I was being entirely serious, but now I am explaining my non-joke in great detail, which makes it automatically funny. This creates a paradox that only adds even more hilarity and mirth to an already above average humorous scenario. You see, it's funny because you would expect a joke to be described in length, not a non-joke, which is why it is funny, and the act of a joke within a non-joke is a recursive effect the likes of which have never been seen, thus creating a huge tension only settled by either mirth or permanent isolation in a cave in Siberia. This makes you a Hermit, which makes it funnier because this is FD.S, and my ramblings could be mistaken for a Mad Man, adding even more to this incredible jocular moment. I must be a Jester! Oh look, more joke! And I will make it funny again by doing the unexpected and not explaining the joke, even though I explained that I wouldn't explain the joke, which is why it's funny.

You haven't explained anything!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 11, 2015, 12:50:06 pm
I can appreciate that a newer version of Office now offers you Save and Don't Save when you're closing a document with unsaved changes, but I am still used to pressing Y. At the very least, couldn't they have changed it to Yes, Save? At least pressing N still works.

It's kind of aggravating watching applications drift away from keyboard navigation and being mouse only. So far, Office is doing pretty well maintaining the keyboard navigation while providing a mouse- (and tap-) friendly interface, but I run into some applications that don't even care about those of us who work faster with the keyboard. We're just an afterthought, like those horrible, horrible forms that don't have tab indexes set correctly.

I always just used Tab and Enter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 11, 2015, 12:52:35 pm
They're bringing back Zoombinis! Any other 90s kids with nostalgia on here?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zoombinisgame/zoombinis

Triple post!

I remember being really stressed out with that game.  I'm not sure why, but I think it devastated me when I lost any Zoombinis on the way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 11, 2015, 01:25:48 pm
They're bringing back Zoombinis! Any other 90s kids with nostalgia on here?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zoombinisgame/zoombinis

Triple post!

I remember being really stressed out with that game.  I'm not sure why, but I think it devastated me when I lost any Zoombinis on the way.

Lemmings Clone?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on March 11, 2015, 01:47:32 pm
No, it was logic puzzles. I only remember it vaguely but it taught you things like deduction.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 11, 2015, 02:01:51 pm
Sometimes it was just figuring random stuff out (what type of pizza these guys wanted based on certain clues), and sometimes it was based on your character's appearance (all people with this hair go in this row, all people with this nose in this column, or things like that).  It was actually a really fun game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 11, 2015, 04:21:00 pm
Opinion: Sheldon from Big Bang Theory and Moss from IT Crowd are really quite similar to each other.
Fact: I loathe Sheldon.
Fact: I dig Moss.
Error: Contradiction

Why?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on March 11, 2015, 04:21:55 pm
Resolution: You have bad opinions.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 11, 2015, 04:23:57 pm
Opinion: Sheldon from Big Bang Theory and Moss from IT Crowd are really quite similar to each other.
Fact: I loathe Sheldon.
Fact: I dig Moss.
Error: Contradiction

Why?

Their hair is different.

Also,  you may be racist. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on March 11, 2015, 04:35:24 pm
They're bringing back Zoombinis! Any other 90s kids with nostalgia on here?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zoombinisgame/zoombinis
When they show the original graphics and the updated graphics side-by-side at 0:52 of the video, I kinda think the old graphics look better. Dunno if that's just nostalgia talking.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on March 11, 2015, 04:38:19 pm
Oh look, more joke!

F.ds distilled.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on March 11, 2015, 04:38:52 pm
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

I've put mascara in my beard. It's actually quite a striking change. Well, for me it was. I have a beard that is dark on the sides but white on the chin. I call it skunk face. Nobody else does, which I guess should be soothing to my ego really.

Anyway, when doing a show, contrast is important, so a director had me apply brown mascara to my chin to make my facial hair more visible on stage. It also made me look younger. I've had to look older too, which required lightening the sides of my face.

Sadly, my badly receding hairline ruins any further illusion of looking younger. I can fix that by shaving my head if that is within the director's vision.

If I ever want to try to pass for 30 in a bar, I suppose I shave everything but a goatee and darken that. Should work.

Just shave the white part.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 12, 2015, 08:08:01 am
Am I probably the only person who has thought of putting mascara in my beard?

I've put mascara in my beard. It's actually quite a striking change. Well, for me it was. I have a beard that is dark on the sides but white on the chin. I call it skunk face. Nobody else does, which I guess should be soothing to my ego really.

Anyway, when doing a show, contrast is important, so a director had me apply brown mascara to my chin to make my facial hair more visible on stage. It also made me look younger. I've had to look older too, which required lightening the sides of my face.

Sadly, my badly receding hairline ruins any further illusion of looking younger. I can fix that by shaving my head if that is within the director's vision.

If I ever want to try to pass for 30 in a bar, I suppose I shave everything but a goatee and darken that. Should work.

Just shave the white part.

I actually did that for a production of Jekyll and Hyde. I always thought the style would look funny on me, but it got a lot of positive responses. I may do it again when my beard gets fuller. The Franz Josef style is really quite underrated.

As a bonus, I can rock facial hair without getting milk caught in my beard when I eat cereal.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on March 12, 2015, 10:07:48 am
I should totally try that out!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on March 12, 2015, 11:39:16 am
Terry Pratchett died :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 12, 2015, 11:42:01 am
What?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 12, 2015, 11:45:52 am
What?

Terry Pratchett died :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on March 12, 2015, 11:46:35 am
http://www.pjsmprints.com/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 12, 2015, 11:47:30 am
I never really looked into his personal life.. I didn't even know he was sick, or that old :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 12, 2015, 12:07:58 pm
He died at an age one year older than my mother, so still kind of youngish. Not Janis Joplin young by any stretch, no.

I have not read that many of his books, but what I've read I enjoyed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 12, 2015, 12:09:13 pm
Well I didn't mean to say that old as in he's really old, but I didn't have any idea of his age.. I had for some reason thought he was a younger generation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 12, 2015, 02:48:52 pm
Terry Pratchett died :(

There are two books that will, likely, forever be on top of my favorites of all time.  Good Omens is one of them.

Neil Gaiman, who wrote that book with Sir Terry, said this on FB today:

"Thirty years and a month ago, a beginning author met a young journalist in a Chinese Restaurant, and the two men became friends, and they wrote a book, and they managed to stay friends despite everything. Last night, the author died."

And that was the moment I finally cried.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 12, 2015, 05:14:22 pm
I was playing Dwarf Fortress, and this is part of the description of one of my dwarves:

"She personally finds sacrifice to be the height of folly, is somewhat disgusted by romance and doesn't see cooperation as valuable.  She dreams of raising a family."

Good luck...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 13, 2015, 10:32:47 am
http://imgur.com/gallery/wueN9
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 13, 2015, 12:42:07 pm
I was playing Dwarf Fortress, and this is part of the description of one of my dwarves:

"She personally finds sacrifice to be the height of folly, is somewhat disgusted by romance and doesn't see cooperation as valuable.  She dreams of raising a family."

Good luck...

Maybe it's a typo.  Maybe it's supposed to say "razing a family".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 13, 2015, 07:04:20 pm
So, when I'm acting a father role I never feel like I'm doing much special, but I apparently do so good in this one that I make my mom cry every time at a certain scene...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on March 14, 2015, 06:36:53 am
I'm still, surprisingly, extremely angry about Survivor.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 14, 2015, 12:44:07 pm
Just watched the Turtles film, surprisingly it wasnt awful

Still think Megan Fox is hot.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on March 14, 2015, 08:58:25 pm
Today I played the most perfect game of Resistance. It was 5 player base, with let's call them Alice, Beth, Chris and Diane (clockwise from me). Obviously these names are changed.

I'm first mission leader and Resistance. I pick Chris fairly arbitrarily, but he's a quieter player so it's nice to get a little information on him. I downvote. So does he. Everyone else upvotes. Immediately this is weird and interesting. Everyone off mission voted yes, but the two on mission vote no? What does that even mean?

Mission 1 goes ahead and passes. Okay, 1-0 us.

I'm thinking through what this means and say actually, I think there is a deduction to make here. If he's resistance then the two spies voted up a mission with no spies on, while off mission. There's one new player (Alice), one second timer (Beth) and one who I know doesn't think through multiple layers of logic, instead relying on persuading others to do what she feels is best (Diane) so I feel this is very unlikely. As such I am reasonably suspicious of Chris, but play it down a little saying I'm just slightly worried about it. For now I just want to try and watch voting patterns, and proposal patterns.

Alice proposes A, me and D
Beth proposes B, C and D
Chris proposes C, me and A
Diane proposes D, A and B and it passes.

I know this mission is dirty as it's 5 player and I'm clean, so at most 2 of the three on mission are spies. I still suspect Chris so I figure, single spy, gonna fail. But it doesn't, and comes back a pass.

In the past, this might have thrown me off, but here, I immediately start thinking about what's going on. And of course, now Diane is saying oh, Tables and Chris are the spies, just send two of us and we're good, but he won't. Looking at the proposal list (or rather thinking about it), I feel that A and B would have to be partners if either is a spy, since I don't think either would be experienced enough to throw their partner onto the mission (also they'd been quietly talking a fair bit). But C and D looks even more likely. So I make possibly the best play I ever have in a Resistance game: I put A and B on the third mission (it's a two person one). I immediately feel good about this, and explain to everyone why they should be voting it up: If Diane is right, this mission is clean. If she's wrong (about me) then the mission is dirty, and might well contain two spies. So we vote for it.

And I throw in a no vote, entirely by accident. But it does convince A to propose the same thing, with B's backing. D doesn't even really try and fight it, since I promised to vote it up this time (it has A and B voting yes before and C and D vote it down). It's clear we've won as soon as it goes through - and it does.

The mission results come through... two passes. C and D try to fake ignorance of who the spies are, but it's pretty clear to me they've been caught. We all flip our loyalty and indeed, me, A and B won.

Now this probably isn't that exciting of a game to read, and of course my opponents didn't exactly play fantastically (Diane explained after the game, her goal was to try and shift all doubt onto me and keep it there, as I was the most dangerous player against her. But it backfired after I proposed a mission with the two other resistance quickly) but... I felt really good after that game. I read a difficult situation perfectly and responded with a winning move. It just feels so good to do that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 14, 2015, 09:15:30 pm
I don't understand. Where's the cryptography in all this?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 14, 2015, 10:13:40 pm
I don't understand. Where's the cryptography in all this?

There's no Bob or Eve, so it's not Cyptography.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on March 14, 2015, 10:48:31 pm
Today I learned that T is the fifth letter of the alphabet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 14, 2015, 11:26:54 pm
Today I learned that T is the fifth letter of the alphabet.

But... L is the fifth letter of "the alphabet."

...but seriously, what?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 14, 2015, 11:30:30 pm
Today I learned that T is the fifth letter of the alphabet.

But... L is the fifth letter of "the alphabet."

...but seriously, what?

Alice, Beth, Chris, Diane, Tables
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 15, 2015, 01:15:04 am
Today I learned that T is the fifth letter of the alphabet.

But... L is the fifth letter of "the alphabet."

...but seriously, what?

Alice, Beth, Chris, Diane, Tables

Charlie Oscar Oscar Lima - Sierra Tango Oscar Romeo Yankee - Bravo Romeo Oscar
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 16, 2015, 10:39:16 am
Poor Grampa McNinja  :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on March 17, 2015, 03:22:25 am
Poor Grampa McNinja  :(

I know, this is so sad :(

Also, if people haven't seen the SMBC Monocle kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weiner/the-gentlemans-single-use-monocle), it's great. I'm impressed by how many people have ended up backing it, but I suppose people have spent money on crazier things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 17, 2015, 03:57:41 pm
Internet Explorer is going away:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technologyinvesting/microsoft-is-scrapping-internet-explorer/ar-AA9ThZo


To make that happen, will they press a button marked "Start"?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 17, 2015, 04:02:19 pm
Internet Explorer is going away:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technologyinvesting/microsoft-is-scrapping-internet-explorer/ar-AA9ThZo


To make that happen, will they press a button marked "Start"?

So is this a completely new project from scratch, or just an exercise in re-branding?  Sounds like something new, but it's going to draw comparisons anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 17, 2015, 04:20:17 pm
I didn't read the whole article, but they've made it clear that the previously announced new product, codenamed Spartan, is a go.

IE will exist in systems up to and including Windows 10 for "compatability purposes", but they are clearly drawing a line in the sand, to distance themselves from the IE brand.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 17, 2015, 04:23:46 pm
I have a corded mouse that is on its way out.  I will replace it with cordless of course.  Any recommendations on specific mice that you like, and why? (features, battery life, ergonomics, whatever)

Also, pros and cons about laser versus just IR (or what ever the red light is).  My most common use is on a desk with no mousepad. Lack of a mousepad has never given me a problem with tracking.  I don't play MMO games (in fact, the only computer game I play is Starcraft).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 17, 2015, 04:27:08 pm
Wow. Oasis is amazing!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 17, 2015, 04:30:46 pm
Wow. Oasis is amazing!

Like, the band? They're OK, I guess. I haven't heard that much of their stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 17, 2015, 04:48:39 pm
Wow. Oasis is amazing!

Like, the band? They're OK, I guess. I haven't heard that much of their stuff.

(http://i.imgur.com/B8NlarK.jpg)

by

(http://www.playdominion.com/Dominion/CardBuilder/img/illustration/oasis.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 17, 2015, 05:20:06 pm
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Oasis_casino_in_the_Dunes_1990_PICT0001_%283%29.JPG)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 17, 2015, 05:31:28 pm
 :o

The aurora borealis tonight (http://yle.fi/uutiset/lukijoiden_kuvat_revontulista_haikaisevat__laheta_omasi/7873664) was super amazing. I just spent like two hours lying on the ground looking at the lights, the entire sky was full of them and they were bright and moving vividly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 17, 2015, 05:51:16 pm
Wow. Oasis is amazing!

Wow, have you missed out for the last 20 years....the prime components of 90's Britpop.

If you want more artists along that line let me know...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 17, 2015, 05:51:58 pm
Just in case any Europeans have managed to go even longer than me without hearing about this, there's a solar eclipse on Friday.

Seriously, why haven't I been looking forward to this since January?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 17, 2015, 05:53:32 pm
Just in case any Northern Europeans have managed to go even longer than me without hearing about this, there's a solar eclipse on Friday.

Seriously, why haven't I been looking forward to this since January?

FTFY

:(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 17, 2015, 05:54:07 pm
So my girlfriend is running her fast ever half marathon next week, and asked me to create the fundraising page for her....might have been a mistake. This is what I have so far...

In the dark dark wilds of East Sussex there stood an untamed Beast. A fearsome creature that went by the name of the Hastings Half Marathon. Its back was full of ridges and impossible scaled heights, its tail a never ending ribbon of tarmac that brushed against the sea.Its mighty strength had conquered many a poor soul as they tried in vain to slay it.

The people of Hastings cried out for a hero (or Heroine, its a very PC town) and each year the masses assembled ready to do battle with this behemoth of races.Who would save these poor fisher-folk from another year of torment. As the crowds huddled together, ready for the gun to sound that would start their journey into the unknown. The clouds parted, and for one brief moment a shaft of light broke through, casting a heavenly spotlight on one of the athletes waiting their fate.

The mob parted, and there in their midst stood a vision in pink, a beauty from afar, this was no ordinary woman, this was the might Asia and she stood unbowed before the Jabberwocky of the South.She would defeat this monster, not only with speed and stamina, but also with style and she would look good doing it!

As a reward the people of the land showered her with riches, but being the giving and just person she was, she turned down their offer of fame and fortune and instead told them that the money would be spent on the poor and homeless who need it most. For that was her cause.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 17, 2015, 06:01:06 pm
Some editing for you:

In the dark, dark wilds of East Sussex there stood an untamed Beast., A a fearsome creature that went by the name of the Hastings Half Marathon. Its back was full of ridges and impossible scaled heights, its tail a never ending ribbon of tarmac that brushed against the sea.  Its mighty strength had conquered many a poor soul as they tried in vain to slay it.

The people of Hastings cried out for a hero (or Hheroine, its a very PC town) and each year the masses assembled ready to do battle with this behemoth of races.  Who would save these poor fisher-folk from another year of torment.? As the crowds huddled together, ready for the gun to sound that would start their journey into the unknown., Tthe clouds parted, and for one brief moment a shaft of light broke through, casting a heavenly spotlight on one of the athletes awaiting their fate.

The mob parted, and there in their midst stood a vision in pink, a beauty from afar,; this was no ordinary woman, this was the might Asia and she stood unbowed before the Jabberwocky of the South.  She would defeat this monster, not only with speed and stamina, but also with style and she would look good doing it!

As a reward the people of the land showered her with riches, but being the giving and just person she was, she turned down their offer of fame and fortune and instead told them that the money would be spent on the poor and homeless who need it most. For that was her cause.

Some of that may be stylistic choice on your part though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 17, 2015, 06:02:59 pm
Some editing for you:

In the dark, dark wilds of East Sussex there stood an untamed Beast., A a fearsome creature that went by the name of the Hastings Half Marathon. Its back was full of ridges and impossible scaled heights, its tail a never ending ribbon of tarmac that brushed against the sea.  Its mighty strength had conquered many a poor soul as they tried in vain to slay it.

The people of Hastings cried out for a hero (or Hheroine, its a very PC town) and each year the masses assembled ready to do battle with this behemoth of races.  Who would save these poor fisher-folk from another year of torment.? As the crowds huddled together, ready for the gun to sound that would start their journey into the unknown., Tthe clouds parted, and for one brief moment a shaft of light broke through, casting a heavenly spotlight on one of the athletes awaiting their fate.

The mob parted, and there in their midst stood a vision in pink, a beauty from afar,; this was no ordinary woman, this was the might Asia and she stood unbowed before the Jabberwocky of the South.  She would defeat this monster, not only with speed and stamina, but also with style and she would look good doing it!

As a reward the people of the land showered her with riches, but being the giving and just person she was, she turned down their offer of fame and fortune and instead told them that the money would be spent on the poor and homeless who need it most. For that was her cause.

Some of that may be stylistic choice on your part though.

(Cheers. but pretty much all of it is stilistic on my part; I like like short snapy sentances on dramatics statements.]
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 17, 2015, 06:04:20 pm
Just in case any Northern Europeans have managed to go even longer than me without hearing about this, there's a solar eclipse on Friday.

Seriously, why haven't I been looking forward to this since January?

FTFY

:(

I now have more reasons to wish I was in Svalbard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on March 17, 2015, 06:37:58 pm
Just in case any Europeans have managed to go even longer than me without hearing about this, there's a solar eclipse on Friday.

Seriously, why haven't I been looking forward to this since January?
I know some people who have travelled from Australia up to Europe for the purpose of seeing the eclipse, as well as volcanos and other awesome things. I am very jealous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 17, 2015, 07:00:51 pm
http://imgur.com/a/JcZrb
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 17, 2015, 07:14:00 pm
I didn't read the whole article, but they've made it clear that the previously announced new product, codenamed Spartan, is a go.

IE will exist in systems up to and including Windows 10 for "compatability purposes", but they are clearly drawing a line in the sand, to distance themselves from the IE brand.

Reading about this, I came across some pretty self-aware commercials:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD9FAOPBiDk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 17, 2015, 07:58:50 pm
Nintendo announces that they are working on a new gaming platform, code-named "NX".  They're also partnering with a big company to do mobile-only Nintendo titles.  Right now, the latter is more exciting to me if only for the possibility of pokemon on my phone.  There's not much info on their upcoming platform.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/03/17/what-is-nintendos-new-nx-platform-2/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 17, 2015, 08:50:21 pm
Nintendo announces that they are working on a new gaming platform, code-named "NX".  They're also partnering with a big company to do mobile-only Nintendo titles.  Right now, the latter is more exciting to me if only for the possibility of pokemon on my phone.  There's not much info on their upcoming platform.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/03/17/what-is-nintendos-new-nx-platform-2/

That won't happen, dude. If Nintendo lets it's franchise games on mobile phones, it will cheapen the experience and Nintendo will essentially be shooting itself in the head financially. Everyone in Nintendo has said over and over they will not put their stuff on phones. It would be foolish. That being said, they may be developing a phone of their own, however unlikely.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 17, 2015, 08:56:02 pm
Wow. Oasis is amazing!

Like, the band? They're OK, I guess. I haven't heard that much of their stuff.

(http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/60349318.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 17, 2015, 09:00:00 pm
Nintendo announces that they are working on a new gaming platform, code-named "NX".  They're also partnering with a big company to do mobile-only Nintendo titles.  Right now, the latter is more exciting to me if only for the possibility of pokemon on my phone.  There's not much info on their upcoming platform.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/03/17/what-is-nintendos-new-nx-platform-2/

That won't happen, dude. If Nintendo lets it's franchise games on mobile phones, it will cheapen the experience and Nintendo will essentially be shooting itself in the head financially. Everyone in Nintendo has said over and over they will not put their stuff on phones. It would be foolish. That being said, they may be developing a phone of their own, however unlikely.

So what Nintendo IP do you think they are using?  Or if you just mean that they won't put out a full pokemon game on phones, well, sure.  The announcement said that the partnership is for mobile-only games, which implies that they aren't doing ports, and obviously they're not going to give up on doing their own games.  I'd rather play bigger games like that on my 3DS anyway.  But I'm excited for the potential mobile tie-ins and other games.

Here's the article focused on the mobile partnership announcement:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/03/17/nintendo-teams-up-with-dena-to-bring-games-to-smart-devices/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 17, 2015, 11:00:55 pm
Nintendo announces that they are working on a new gaming platform, code-named "NX".  They're also partnering with a big company to do mobile-only Nintendo titles.  Right now, the latter is more exciting to me if only for the possibility of pokemon on my phone.  There's not much info on their upcoming platform.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/03/17/what-is-nintendos-new-nx-platform-2/

That won't happen, dude. If Nintendo lets it's franchise games on mobile phones, it will cheapen the experience and Nintendo will essentially be shooting itself in the head financially. Everyone in Nintendo has said over and over they will not put their stuff on phones. It would be foolish. That being said, they may be developing a phone of their own, however unlikely.

So what Nintendo IP do you think they are using?  Or if you just mean that they won't put out a full pokemon game on phones, well, sure.  The announcement said that the partnership is for mobile-only games, which implies that they aren't doing ports, and obviously they're not going to give up on doing their own games.  I'd rather play bigger games like that on my 3DS anyway.  But I'm excited for the potential mobile tie-ins and other games.

Here's the article focused on the mobile partnership announcement:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/03/17/nintendo-teams-up-with-dena-to-bring-games-to-smart-devices/

Prepare your body for new IPs. Is your body ready?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 17, 2015, 11:25:04 pm
Nintendo announces that they are working on a new gaming platform, code-named "NX".  They're also partnering with a big company to do mobile-only Nintendo titles.  Right now, the latter is more exciting to me if only for the possibility of pokemon on my phone.  There's not much info on their upcoming platform.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/03/17/what-is-nintendos-new-nx-platform-2/

That won't happen, dude. If Nintendo lets it's franchise games on mobile phones, it will cheapen the experience and Nintendo will essentially be shooting itself in the head financially. Everyone in Nintendo has said over and over they will not put their stuff on phones. It would be foolish. That being said, they may be developing a phone of their own, however unlikely.

So what Nintendo IP do you think they are using?  Or if you just mean that they won't put out a full pokemon game on phones, well, sure.  The announcement said that the partnership is for mobile-only games, which implies that they aren't doing ports, and obviously they're not going to give up on doing their own games.  I'd rather play bigger games like that on my 3DS anyway.  But I'm excited for the potential mobile tie-ins and other games.

Here's the article focused on the mobile partnership announcement:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/03/17/nintendo-teams-up-with-dena-to-bring-games-to-smart-devices/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmohAouu1Vk

I 100% agree with what this guy says.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 18, 2015, 12:22:35 am
I can agree with that video too, except I am somewhat optimistic that they'll put out some things that are a bit more interesting or innovative than yet another endless runner.  But even if they only follow the usual mobile gaming archetypes, I will still be interested when they slap a Pokemon theme on top.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 18, 2015, 12:24:48 am
I can agree with that video too, except I am somewhat optimistic that they'll put out some things that are a bit more interesting or innovative than yet another endless runner.  But even if they only follow the usual mobile gaming archetypes, I will still be interested when they slap a Pokemon theme on top.

Ever played Pokemon Shuffle?

http://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/pokemon-shuffle

It's a freemium game for the 3ds. It's candy crush but worse actually, believe it or not.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 18, 2015, 12:49:03 am
I can agree with that video too, except I am somewhat optimistic that they'll put out some things that are a bit more interesting or innovative than yet another endless runner.  But even if they only follow the usual mobile gaming archetypes, I will still be interested when they slap a Pokemon theme on top.

Ever played Pokemon Shuffle?

http://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/pokemon-shuffle

It's a freemium game for the 3ds. It's candy crush but worse actually, believe it or not.

I know of it but I haven't played it, mainly because it's on the 3DS.  When I play on my 3DS, I want to play a full game.  But if they released it or an equivalent for mobile, I would probably be all over it!  I played Candy Crush into the 200s before getting stuck.  A pokemon theme would most likely sustain my interest for longer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 18, 2015, 01:31:44 pm
Thanks, Pandora, for reminding me that Marilyn Manson sucks by playing his cover of Nightmare Before Christmas. Ugh, downvote!

Conversely, I actually enjoy the covers by Panic at the Disco and Fallout Boy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 18, 2015, 06:44:09 pm
I have the big room drop stuck in my head. You know, the god damn drop that has to be in every big room song ever and it's the exact same drop every time. And now it's stuck in my head. :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 18, 2015, 08:26:48 pm
I have the big room drop stuck in my head. You know, the god damn drop that has to be in every big room song ever and it's the exact same drop every time. And now it's stuck in my head. :(

I see there are words there, but I'm still not certain what the meaning is.

Except that last part. You're talking about an arrow? Get to the ER, man.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 18, 2015, 08:33:25 pm
I have the big room drop stuck in my head. You know, the god damn drop that has to be in every big room song ever and it's the exact same drop every time. And now it's stuck in my head. :(

I have no idea what any of this means.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 18, 2015, 08:37:48 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/H2f81lK.gif)

?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 18, 2015, 09:25:08 pm
I have the big room drop stuck in my head. You know, the god damn drop that has to be in every big room song ever and it's the exact same drop every time. And now it's stuck in my head. :(

I have no idea what any of this means.

Awaclus says "I have the big room drop stuck in my head".  This means that Awaclus has something stuck in his head which he calls "the big room drop".  We do not yet know what this object actually is.  When he says that it is "stuck in his head", he may mean that there is a physical object embedded in his head.  However, this phrase is often used in English to describe when somebody cannot help but think about a certain concept or idea or other sort of thought.  The phrase is often used in a negative context for music, especially catchy sections of song that the speaker finds annoying.  Despite not considering it euphonious, they cannot help but dwell on it and continue to hear it replayed over and over again in their mind.  This may be a symptom of insanity.

In his next sentence Awaclus says, "You know, the god damn drop that has to be in every big room song ever and it's the exact same drop every time."  Indeed, he identifies the object stuck in his head as a song.  We can now assume that it is not a physical object embedded in his head (though this is not 100% certain; compact discs can become formidable projectile weapons in the right hands).  Let's break down the rest of this sentence.

Awaclus says "You know".  This may be an example of filler (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_%28linguistics%29), but it is more likely that Awaclus is suggesting that you, the reader, should understand what he is talking about.  If so, the statement carries an implication that the reader also has basic background knowledge of "the big room drop".

He then clarifies that he is speaking of "the god damn drop that has to be in every big room song ever and it's the exact same drop every time".  His profanity suggests that he has negative feelings about this "drop".  The sentence then describes a "big room song", revealing that "big room" is a modifier for both "song" and "drop".  This suggests that "big room" may be a specific musical act or a broader genre of music.  The free online encyclopedia Wikipedia has an article on Big Room House (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_room_house) (redirecting to "Electro House"), which is indeed a genre of music.

Now we just have to figure out what the "drop" is.  We know from Awaclus' statements that it is something in Big Room songs.  Moreover, it is in every Big Room song, and it is always exactly the same.  Those familiar with modern music may recognize the term, and an article about it can be found here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_%28music%29).  In short, the "drop" is a moment in a music track where the music crescendos to a high point before pausing suddenly and briefly, after which the music resumes.

If Awaclus is specifically referring to the portion of the drop that is a silent pause, then he may be saying that he is continuously hearing silence in his mind and he finds it maddening.  Perhaps he misses the voices.

If Awaclus is referring to the entire drop, then he is experiencing a repeated loop of deafening noise and stifling silence, an unceasing phantasm of staccato volatility that threatens to overwhelm the very core of his being.  His heart beats erratically and his breath shortens as the cacophony builds to a terrible roar.  When it breaks, he feels relief at the welcome respite.  Oh sweet silence, oh muted mercy!  But the peace is only temporary, he knows it cannot last.  Yet there is hope, every time there is hope.  Perhaps this time, he thinks.  Perhaps it is finally over now; perhaps I can rest at last.  And with the hope comes tension.  He yearns for release, his only desire is to hold onto the quiet, the ephemeral.  But like yo mama at the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet, the sound and the fury returns, crashing into him, filling his mind with rancorous rhythm and baleful bass melodies like so many day-old sweet-and-sour shrimp rolls filling yo momma.  There is no joy in this aural hell.  There is no solace, no deliverance. 

There is only the drop.  There is only the drop.  There is only the drop.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on March 19, 2015, 02:31:47 am
I just rewatched all Harry Potter movies - is it just me, or is the first movie really bad with horrible acting and stupid dialogue, the second one slightly less bad with slightly less horrible acting and slightly less stupid dialogue, the third one fantastic, the fourth one tasteless and borderline offensive, the fifth one alright-ish but kind of forgettable, the sixth one alright, the seventh one pretty good and the eight one sorta fun but completely nonsensical/arbitrary due to the complete lack of exposition despite plenty of run time?

honestly, the third one is so much better than any other one, it's crazy. I can't be the only one to think that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 19, 2015, 02:59:32 am
What did you find offensive about GoF?

I think this has come up before on f.ds with many disagreements.  My take on the movies is that they are all mediocre compared to the books, which is often the case for movie adaptations.  I watched each of them once just to have watched them and was never really impressed.  I remember finding GoF especially disappointing because it was my favourite book of the series, and there were various deviations from the source that I did not like (though I understand that they had to make changes to accommodate screen time).  While watching the films, I often had the feeling that the plot and pacing would have been extremely confusing had I not been familiar with the story already.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on March 19, 2015, 04:51:33 am
I just rewatched all Harry Potter movies - is it just me, or is the first movie really bad with horrible acting and stupid dialogue, the second one slightly less bad with slightly less horrible acting and slightly less stupid dialogue, the third one fantastic, the fourth one tasteless and borderline offensive, the fifth one alright-ish but kind of forgettable, the sixth one alright, the seventh one pretty good and the eight one sorta fun but completely nonsensical/arbitrary due to the complete lack of exposition despite plenty of run time?

honestly, the third one is so much better than any other one, it's crazy. I can't be the only one to think that.

I posted on this somewhat recently in the movies tread. I agree with most of what you said here, except that I find the fourth to be almost at the level of the third one, I'm curious what you find offensive about it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 19, 2015, 07:12:00 am
In short, the "drop" is a moment in a music track where the music crescendos to a high point before pausing suddenly and briefly, after which the music resumes.

Actually, that is an entire sequence of a buildup, a break, and a drop. The drop is just the part where the music resumes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 19, 2015, 08:52:47 am
I just rewatched all Harry Potter movies - is it just me, or is the first movie really bad with horrible acting and stupid dialogue, the second one slightly less bad with slightly less horrible acting and slightly less stupid dialogue, the third one fantastic, the fourth one tasteless and borderline offensive, the fifth one alright-ish but kind of forgettable, the sixth one alright, the seventh one pretty good and the eight one sorta fun but completely nonsensical/arbitrary due to the complete lack of exposition despite plenty of run time?

honestly, the third one is so much better than any other one, it's crazy. I can't be the only one to think that.

The third one was great.  Alfonso Cauron directed it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 19, 2015, 09:19:55 am
I just rewatched all Harry Potter movies - is it just me, or is the first movie really bad with horrible acting and stupid dialogue, the second one slightly less bad with slightly less horrible acting and slightly less stupid dialogue, the third one fantastic, the fourth one tasteless and borderline offensive, the fifth one alright-ish but kind of forgettable, the sixth one alright, the seventh one pretty good and the eight one sorta fun but completely nonsensical/arbitrary due to the complete lack of exposition despite plenty of run time?

honestly, the third one is so much better than any other one, it's crazy. I can't be the only one to think that.

I
The seventh one consisted of a small amount of exposition and like seven hours of camping in the woods doing nothing.  It's mostly skippable.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 19, 2015, 09:33:50 am
Why does everyone hate the second book of Harry Potter? That's like my favorite one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 19, 2015, 10:00:59 am
I dont hate it!

Although I have never read any of them, I gave up on childrens books ages ago
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on March 19, 2015, 10:01:52 am
Why does everyone hate the second book of Harry Potter? That's like my favorite one.
I know. They can't all be the best Harry Potter book ever!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 19, 2015, 10:04:16 am
Why does everyone hate the second book of Harry Potter? That's like my favorite one.
I know. They can't all be the best Harry Potter book ever!


Uh OH! Eeve's back....hide your valuables and your women! on second thought, probably just need to hide the valuables
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 19, 2015, 10:04:48 am
The first movie was good enough to make me read the books. The books are unsurprisingly better than the movies. If it weren't for RiffTrax, it's unlikely that I would have watched the rest of them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 19, 2015, 10:12:14 am
I dont hate it!

Although I have never read any of them, I gave up on childrens books ages ago

They were too tough?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 19, 2015, 10:30:29 am
This belongs here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmokqDrIBKg
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 19, 2015, 10:40:44 am
I dont hate it!

Although I have never read any of them, I gave up on childrens books ages ago

They were too tough?

Of course not, my mum would have explained all the big words.

No pictures though, thats the problem
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 19, 2015, 11:36:58 am
In short, the "drop" is a moment in a music track where the music crescendos to a high point before pausing suddenly and briefly, after which the music resumes.

Actually, that is an entire sequence of a buildup, a break, and a drop. The drop is just the part where the music resumes.

Wikipedia says it includes the build to the climax. I don't know.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 19, 2015, 11:48:35 am
In short, the "drop" is a moment in a music track where the music crescendos to a high point before pausing suddenly and briefly, after which the music resumes.

Actually, that is an entire sequence of a buildup, a break, and a drop. The drop is just the part where the music resumes.

Wikipedia says it includes the build to the climax. I don't know.

No, it says it follows the build to the climax. It mentions Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites by Skrillex (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw) as an example, and says that the drop begins at 0:41 (which is correct). The buildup begins at 0:27 and the break begins at 0:39. (It's worth noting, though, that this is a dubstep song, not a big room song, and thus, the drop isn't particularly uncreative or annoying).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 19, 2015, 11:49:12 am
I dont hate it!

Although I have never read any of them, I gave up on childrens books ages ago

They were too tough?

Of course not, my mum would have explained all the big words.

No pictures though, thats the problem

There most certainly were pictures.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 19, 2015, 12:06:03 pm
Quite enjoying this idle simulator

http://www.kongregate.com/games/swarmsim/swarm-simulator
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on March 19, 2015, 12:06:58 pm
Um. I'm confused how we got to a serious discussion involving dubstep. I didn't think that was possible.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 19, 2015, 12:10:44 pm
Um. I'm confused how we got to a serious discussion involving dubstep. I didn't think that was possible.

Dubstep is great, we should have serious discussions about it more often.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 19, 2015, 12:23:37 pm
In short, the "drop" is a moment in a music track where the music crescendos to a high point before pausing suddenly and briefly, after which the music resumes.

Actually, that is an entire sequence of a buildup, a break, and a drop. The drop is just the part where the music resumes.

Wikipedia says it includes the build to the climax. I don't know.

No, it says it follows the build to the climax. It mentions Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites by Skrillex (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw) as an example, and says that the drop begins at 0:41 (which is correct). The buildup begins at 0:27 and the break begins at 0:39. (It's worth noting, though, that this is a dubstep song, not a big room song, and thus, the drop isn't particularly uncreative or annoying).

Oh, whoops.  Guess I misread that part, my bad. (Or you edited the article to mess with me! ;))  Was the rest of my deduction correct though?  Are you trapped in an unending audio hellscape where even death cannot free your soul?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 19, 2015, 12:38:50 pm
In short, the "drop" is a moment in a music track where the music crescendos to a high point before pausing suddenly and briefly, after which the music resumes.

Actually, that is an entire sequence of a buildup, a break, and a drop. The drop is just the part where the music resumes.

Wikipedia says it includes the build to the climax. I don't know.

No, it says it follows the build to the climax. It mentions Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites by Skrillex (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw) as an example, and says that the drop begins at 0:41 (which is correct). The buildup begins at 0:27 and the break begins at 0:39. (It's worth noting, though, that this is a dubstep song, not a big room song, and thus, the drop isn't particularly uncreative or annoying).

Oh, whoops.  Guess I misread that part, my bad. (Or you edited the article to mess with me! ;))  Was the rest of my deduction correct though?  Are you trapped in an unending audio hellscape where even death cannot free your soul?

Well, I got rid of it when I went to sleep last night. But other than that, it was pretty much correct.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 19, 2015, 03:44:29 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcnb9usHsfQ

I'm beginning to think these guys might have a video for every situation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 19, 2015, 08:23:52 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/1c2791d92d2d201e6114dd06ea94d033/tumblr_njy35x0xZz1u8qysoo2_r2_540.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on March 19, 2015, 09:45:17 pm
What did you find offensive about GoF?

mostly the way the romance was handled. I can't properly explain that, but I thought it was really tasteless. Specifically the scene in the bath with harry and Myrtle was a slap in the face.

Also - there is a lot of yelling in this movie. Like, Dumbledore is yelling 80% of his lines. why? he comes across as an angry little man in this film, rather than as wise and calm like he did in the third one
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on March 19, 2015, 09:47:29 pm
Why does everyone hate the second book of Harry Potter? That's like my favorite one.

They do? I think it's fantastic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 19, 2015, 10:15:35 pm
What did you find offensive about GoF?

mostly the way the romance was handled. I can't properly explain that, but I thought it was really tasteless. Specifically the scene in the bath with harry and Myrtle was a slap in the face.

Also - there is a lot of yelling in this movie. Like, Dumbledore is yelling 80% of his lines. why? he comes across as an angry little man in this film, rather than as wise and calm like he did in the third one

The bath scene?  What romance was there?  Just Myrtle having a crush on Harry?  I don't remember how it was done in the film, but I thought the books were alright.  Anything that seems off I can brush off as them all being dumb hormonal teenagers.

As for Dumbledore, it's poor direction and/or acting, sure, but offensive?  I mean, I guess you could be like, "this movie is so bad I am offended". :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on March 19, 2015, 10:38:19 pm
What did you find offensive about GoF?

mostly the way the romance was handled. I can't properly explain that, but I thought it was really tasteless. Specifically the scene in the bath with harry and Myrtle was a slap in the face.

Also - there is a lot of yelling in this movie. Like, Dumbledore is yelling 80% of his lines. why? he comes across as an angry little man in this film, rather than as wise and calm like he did in the third one

The bath scene?  What romance was there?  Just Myrtle having a crush on Harry?  I don't remember how it was done in the film, but I thought the books were alright.  Anything that seems off I can brush off as them all being dumb hormonal teenagers.

right, but they are still teenagers in the next two movies, and they handle it just fine. The melodrama in the sixth film was actually quite touching.

What bothered me about the bath scene is that myrtle is virtually molesting harry - physically - unlike in the book.

Another thing was how harry is being disgusted by Hagrid showing interest in Maxime. what an jerk. I mean he has his flaws in the books, but never like this. I think the crux of why I found it offensive is that I felt like it misinterprets characters I kind of liked previously, both in case of Harry, Dumbledore, and tentatively Ron (during the ball).

Oh and, then there was the scene when Harry is trying to get the golden egg without flying, which just makes him an idiot and eats up running for something that's not even in the book.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 19, 2015, 10:42:18 pm
Well I was speaking of the books specifically.  Again, I don't remember how any it was handled in the films.  Were you offended by the books too?

I can see why Myrtle's behaviour (as you describe) could be offensive.  Still not sure what romance you are talking about.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on March 19, 2015, 10:50:24 pm
Well I was speaking of the books specifically.  Again, I don't remember how any it was handled in the films.  Were you offended by the books too?

No, the book is fine. It's great, actually.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on March 19, 2015, 11:07:09 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfUEdbveGYM
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 19, 2015, 11:15:16 pm
I thought the Goblet of Fire movie was just fine, really.

(Confession bear meme.)

I mean I guess I can see Dumbledore being a dick, but hey, he had to have all these thoughts of hunting down horcruxes in the back of his mind at this point, and I'm sure it weighed on his good spirits.

Honestly, I enjoyed the movie. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on March 20, 2015, 03:23:19 am
Am I the only one who dislikes the third book?

I think the first book is pretty neat. Then came the second book that I think is pretty much just boring. Third one have a plot that doesn't appeal to me, and it's really apparent that the main plot of all the books weren't thoroughly thought out. I'm sure there is some explanation as to why there is time travel that can be used to save Buckbeak from getting killed, but nobody else. But they aren't in the books, and the time travel is not really mentioned ever again.

Fourth through seventh books were more coherent and more enjoyable to me when I read them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 20, 2015, 03:51:16 am
Am I the only one who dislikes the third book?

Yes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on March 20, 2015, 04:50:42 am
Actually silver, both scenes youtalk about (Myrtle and Harry being disgusted by Hagrid and Maxime) are pretty true to the book...

Teenagers being disgusted by adults having romantic interests is a thing you know. As far as the Myrtle thing, I guess I can see what you're saying, but it's played for laughs so it doesn't bother me.

@Lekkit : Third book was always my favorite, rereading the series recently (on book 6 currently) I was a little disappointed by it, but it still has a special place in my heart. The thing is, it's the only book that doesn't involve Voldemort, and as a kid reading it, a lot of it was just awesome : Harry escaping the Dursleys on his own on the Knight BUs and leaving in the Leaky Cauldron for a while, Remus Lupin being an awesome dude, and I completely shared Harry's excitement about Sirius. Also, time travel is cool. It's also the first one where Hermione becomes ultra-competent and cool, as opposed to the first two where she really is just an annoying know-it-all.

Yeah, it doesn't really make sense that Time Turners can't be used for plenty of other things. But really, the HP books in general don't hold up to a lot of scrutiny, especially on how much Muggles are oblivious to wizards and vice versa really. Mr. Weasley, one of the most knowledgeable people about Muggles in the wizarding Britain, can't even pronounce "telephone" right and is constantly asking very basic stuff about it to Harry ?

What I mean is, the world doesn't really work anyway, so I'm fine with the Time Turner being used only at that point.

Oh, and the second book sucks. I'm not sure why, maybe because Hermione gets knocked off halfway through it, but it was always my least favorite, and it didn't change rereading. Mostly it's that the first two are pretty poorly written, but you can forgive the first one because at least you're discovering the world.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on March 20, 2015, 07:23:56 am
I also disliked 3, as Sirius was easily my least favorite character/plot device ever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on March 20, 2015, 08:06:10 am
Actually, time turners are mentioned after book 3. In the fifth one, when they break into the ministry, they destroy "the entire ministry's supply of time turners", most likely to have an excuse not to use them later. Of course, they're still a massive plot hole, but to be fair, it's very hard to include time travel without creating plot holes.

Generally, I feel like Rowling started to take things more seriously from the forth book on. Most of the elements that don't make a lot of sense (like the 3-coin currency, time travel, the broken point system in school, and most of all quidditch) are remnants of the first three books, and after that she just had to utilize them as best as she could. I'd also say she does a fantastic job with that, for the most part.

Harry being disgusted by Hagrid (...) are pretty true to the book
uh... ... really? I would say that you're wrong, but I'm not entirely sure. It's a while ago that I listened to the fourth book, but I don't remember that at all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 20, 2015, 08:40:34 am
The three coin currency is considerably simpler than what the British used to have...

It's a while ago that I listened to the fourth book

Doesn't listening to the books take way longer than reading them?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 20, 2015, 08:44:09 am
Doesn't listening to the books take way longer than reading them?

Depends on how fast you read. :D
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on March 20, 2015, 08:54:07 am
The three coin currency is considerably simpler than what the British used to have...

It's a while ago that I listened to the fourth book

Doesn't listening to the books take way longer than reading them?

oh, it does. I think the fourth is about 24 hours as an audio book. But you can do stuff while listening.

when I was younger, my sister and me used to listen to harry potter all the time. we had the first 4 books on cassette, and bought 5-7 on cd once they came out. now... well, no-one has cassette players anymore, so I just have 5-7 and 3

I would never actually read any of the early books...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 20, 2015, 09:14:30 am
The three coin currency is considerably simpler than what the British used to have...

Quote
NOTE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND AMERICANS: One Shilling = Five Pee. It helps to understand the antique finances of the Wichfinder Army if you know the original British monetary system:
Two farthings = One Ha'penny. Two ha'pennies = One Penny. Three pennies = A Thrupenny Bit. Two Thrupences = A Sixpence. Two Sixpences = One Shilling, or Bob. Two Bob = A Florin. One Florin and One Sixpence = Half a Crown. Four Half Crowns = Ten Bob Note. Two Ten Bob Notes = One Pound (or 240 pennies). One Pound and One Shilling = One Guinea.
The British resisted decimalized currency for a long time because they thought it was too complicated.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 20, 2015, 09:26:26 am
The three coin currency is considerably simpler than what the British used to have...

Quote
NOTE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND AMERICANS: One Shilling = Five Pee. It helps to understand the antique finances of the Wichfinder Army if you know the original British monetary system:
Two farthings = One Ha'penny. Two ha'pennies = One Penny. Three pennies = A Thrupenny Bit. Two Thrupences = A Sixpence. Two Sixpences = One Shilling, or Bob. Two Bob = A Florin. One Florin and One Sixpence = Half a Crown. Four Half Crowns = Ten Bob Note. Two Ten Bob Notes = One Pound (or 240 pennies). One Pound and One Shilling = One Guinea.
The British resisted decimalized currency for a long time because they thought it was too complicated.

I'm rereading that now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 20, 2015, 09:36:32 am
The three coin currency is considerably simpler than what the British used to have...

Quote
NOTE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND AMERICANS: One Shilling = Five Pee. It helps to understand the antique finances of the Wichfinder Army if you know the original British monetary system:
Two farthings = One Ha'penny. Two ha'pennies = One Penny. Three pennies = A Thrupenny Bit. Two Thrupences = A Sixpence. Two Sixpences = One Shilling, or Bob. Two Bob = A Florin. One Florin and One Sixpence = Half a Crown. Four Half Crowns = Ten Bob Note. Two Ten Bob Notes = One Pound (or 240 pennies). One Pound and One Shilling = One Guinea.
The British resisted decimalized currency for a long time because they thought it was too complicated.

I'm rereading that now.

Me too.  I just read that passage this morning~
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 20, 2015, 09:53:52 am
Farthing = 1/4 penny
Ha'penny = 1/2 penny
Thrupenny Bit = 3 pennies
Sixpence = 6 pennies
Shilling = 12 pennies

Florin = 2 shillings
Half a crown = 2.5 shillings
Ten Bob note = 10 shillings
Pound = 20 shillings
Guinea = 21 shillings (Guineas were used only for jewelry, IIRC)

To be fair, only half the reason this sounds so complicated is because they didn't use a decimal system. The other half is because a lot of the names seem to be completely unrelated to the value of the coin. For comparison:
Quote
two georges = one jeff;
two jeffs and a george = one abraham;
two abrahams = one alex
sounds equally confusing, and it uses the decimal system.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 20, 2015, 10:29:17 am
Farthing = 1/4 penny
Ha'penny = 1/2 penny
Thrupenny Bit = 3 pennies
Sixpence = 6 pennies
Shilling = 12 pennies

Florin = 2 shillings
Half a crown = 2.5 shillings
Ten Bob note = 10 shillings
Pound = 20 shillings
Guinea = 21 shillings (Guineas were used only for jewelry, IIRC)

To be fair, only half the reason this sounds so complicated is because they didn't use a decimal system. The other half is because a lot of the names seem to be completely unrelated to the value of the coin. For comparison:
Quote
two georges = one jeff;
two jeffs and a george = one abraham;
two abrahams = one alex
sounds equally confusing, and it uses the decimal system.

Sure, but decimalized American coins also don't relate to their values, excepting the quarter.  And multi-pound notes even in pre-decimal Britain were labeled like multi-dollar notes in the US.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on March 20, 2015, 10:35:40 am
bit = 12.5 cents
short bit = 10 cents
long bit = 15 cents
2 bits = shave and a haircut
4 bits = an 8 by 12 room
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 20, 2015, 10:38:52 am
bit = 12.5 cents
short bit = 10 cents
long bit = 15 cents
2 bits = shave and a haircut
4 bits = an 8 by 12 room

3 and 6 = The cost of everything expensive in Victorian movies
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on March 20, 2015, 10:44:04 am
0 ha'pennies = gesundheit
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 20, 2015, 10:47:13 am
0 ha'pennies = gesundheit

Damn you sir.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 20, 2015, 11:10:44 am
Sure, but decimalized American coins also don't relate to their values, excepting the quarter. And multi-pound notes even in pre-decimal Britain were labeled like multi-dollar notes in the US.

I don't know what you are trying to prove.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 20, 2015, 12:38:11 pm
Non decimalization of money is stupid. Americans 1 British 0

Non decimalization of distances is stupid. Americans 1 British 1
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 20, 2015, 12:39:09 pm
Non decimalization of money is stupid. Americans 1 British 0

Non decimalization of distances is stupid. Americans 1 British 1

Erm...The British use Miles...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 20, 2015, 12:45:12 pm
Non decimalization of money is stupid. Americans 1 British 0

Non decimalization of distances is stupid. Americans 1 British 1

Erm...The British use Miles...

Then nobody wins.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 20, 2015, 12:46:39 pm
Non decimalization of money is stupid. Americans 1 British 0

Non decimalization of distances is stupid. Americans 1 British 1

Erm...The British use Miles...

Then nobody wins.

Canada wins!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 20, 2015, 01:06:51 pm
I guess nobody finds sweeping generalizations as funny as I do. :/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on March 20, 2015, 01:07:30 pm
Non decimalization of money is stupid. Americans 1 British 0

Non decimalization of distances is stupid. Americans 1 British 1

Erm...The British use Miles...

Then nobody wins.

Canada wins!
Except the French part...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 20, 2015, 01:31:43 pm
I guess Nobody finds sweeping generalizations as funny as I do. :/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 20, 2015, 01:34:55 pm
Non decimalization of money is stupid. Americans 1 British 0

Non decimalization of distances is stupid. Americans 1 British 1

Erm...The British use Miles...

Then nobody wins.

Canada wins!
Except the French part...

Shhhh, we don't talk about them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 20, 2015, 03:01:00 pm
Someone once asked me to write a Dominion article on Village as a joke. I thought it would be funny if I actually did that. And then I got really sad and I decided I wanted to write something actually useful instead, so now I'm writing something about Farming Village instead. It's going to have some holes in it (because I'm not the best Dominion player ever), but I'm really thinking hard about this, as well as looking at other articles to see how they do things. Hopefully, there won't be too many problems. The main thing I want to try to do is to keep things short and sweet if possible. Any other tips?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 20, 2015, 03:02:13 pm
Someone once asked me to write a Dominion article on Village as a joke. I thought it would be funny if I actually did that. And then I got really sad and I decided I wanted to write something actually useful instead, so now I'm writing something about Farming Village instead. It's going to have some holes in it (because I'm not the best Dominion player ever), but I'm really thinking hard about this, as well as looking at other articles to see how they do things. Hopefully, there won't be too many problems. The main thing I want to try to do is to keep things short and sweet if possible. Any other tips?

Gaining a Silver is pretty much about the most powerful thing you can do in Dominion.  Be sure to emphasize the synnergy with Silver Gainers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 20, 2015, 03:02:48 pm
Someone once asked me to write a Dominion article on Village as a joke. I thought it would be funny if I actually did that. And then I got really sad and I decided I wanted to write something actually useful instead, so now I'm writing something about Farming Village instead. It's going to have some holes in it (because I'm not the best Dominion player ever), but I'm really thinking hard about this, as well as looking at other articles to see how they do things. Hopefully, there won't be too many problems. The main thing I want to try to do is to keep things short and sweet if possible. Any other tips?

Gaining a Silver is pretty much about the most powerful thing you can do in Dominion.  Be sure to emphasize the synnergy with Silver Gainers.

Lol, give actual good advice please. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 20, 2015, 04:01:21 pm
(https://41.media.tumblr.com/0f24ff5e20120c30372ea932401ba1ab/tumblr_nkv0yibl1D1rzry1fo1_540.jpg)
(https://41.media.tumblr.com/dabd199285393cb60770c67ad2db2edb/tumblr_nkv0yibl1D1rzry1fo2_540.jpg)
(https://36.media.tumblr.com/b45e6e2e4a9d312cb95735fc64a2ed7a/tumblr_nkv0yibl1D1rzry1fo3_540.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 20, 2015, 04:02:00 pm
Someone once asked me to write a Dominion article on Village as a joke. I thought it would be funny if I actually did that. And then I got really sad and I decided I wanted to write something actually useful instead, so now I'm writing something about Farming Village instead. It's going to have some holes in it (because I'm not the best Dominion player ever), but I'm really thinking hard about this, as well as looking at other articles to see how they do things. Hopefully, there won't be too many problems. The main thing I want to try to do is to keep things short and sweet if possible. Any other tips?

Gaining a Silver is pretty much about the most powerful thing you can do in Dominion.  Be sure to emphasize the synnergy with Silver Gainers.

Lol, give actual good advice please. :)

That was good advice.  Bureaucrat is the best card in Dominion, and Farming Village is an excellent counter.  It also works with Bureaucrat, allowing you to play more of them, so games with Bureaucrat and Farming Village tend to be degenerate.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 20, 2015, 04:05:08 pm
Someone once asked me to write a Dominion article on Village as a joke. I thought it would be funny if I actually did that. And then I got really sad and I decided I wanted to write something actually useful instead, so now I'm writing something about Farming Village instead. It's going to have some holes in it (because I'm not the best Dominion player ever), but I'm really thinking hard about this, as well as looking at other articles to see how they do things. Hopefully, there won't be too many problems. The main thing I want to try to do is to keep things short and sweet if possible. Any other tips?

Gaining a Silver is pretty much about the most powerful thing you can do in Dominion.  Be sure to emphasize the synnergy with Silver Gainers.

Lol, give actual good advice please. :)

That was good advice.  Bureaucrat is the best card in Dominion, and Farming Village is an excellent counter.  It also works with Bureaucrat, allowing you to play more of them, so games with Bureaucrat and Farming Village tend to be degenerate.

Lol, yes. Bureaucrat forever! I already put in Bureaucrat as a thing FV counters, as if that's something to be super proud about. :p
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on March 20, 2015, 06:37:20 pm
Non decimalization of money is stupid. Americans 1 British 0

Non decimalization of distances is stupid. Americans 1 British 1

Erm...The British use Miles...

Then nobody wins.

Canada wins!
Except the French part...

You mean Québecois. That language they speak, that's not the French I know.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on March 20, 2015, 07:03:39 pm
Sure, but decimalized American coins also don't relate to their values, excepting the quarter.  And multi-pound notes even in pre-decimal Britain were labeled like multi-dollar notes in the US.

This is one of the things that often throws me off when I see American context questions online. Like, I've never really researched it but from what I understand you have at least three coins, right? Pennies are 1c, Nickels are 10c and Quarters are 25c. Oh, and Dimes are... 50c? 5c? I genuinely don't know actually. With the Pound Sterling it's easy. Ł1 = 100p, and then you have the one pence, the two pence, the five pence, ten pence, twenty pence, fifty pence, one pound, two pounds, five pounds (switching to notes here, although five pound coins exist as legal tender but are rare, usually commemorative), ten pounds, twenty pounds and fifty pounds. All of those are very easy to work out the values of - and they follow a nice neat pattern as well (1, 2 and 5 of each multiple of 10). The only tricky thing might be if people talked about 'coppers' and 'silver' coins - coppers are 1/2p, silvers are 5-50p. Also another nice thing is that the 2p is exactly twice the size (volume wise) of the 1p and the 10p is twice the size of the 5p and in both cases the coins being compared are the same material.

Anyway while I'm on the matter of currency, and since this is random stuff, a friend of mine is a bank teller and thus works with different currencies daily. He handles about a half-dozen different ones with reasonable frequency (and a few others occasionally) and he's said that of those, the only one he dislikes working with is the US Dollar. I forget exactly why he dislikes them but I think two major issues are that it's not as easy to tell the notes apart at a quick glance as with most other currencies (I haven't done extensive research into it but IIRC US notes are all predominantly green with only slight hue changes, and only slight size variation? Most other countries change size and colour much more noticably between note values, making it far easier to tell them apart), and also he said they just feel a lot less pleasant in your fingers. I've never handled USD so I dunno how true that is, but eh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 20, 2015, 07:08:44 pm
Like, I've never really researched it but from what I understand you have at least three coins, right? Pennies are 1c, Nickels are 10c and Quarters are 25c. Oh, and Dimes are... 50c? 5c?

Even I know that a nickel is 5 cents and that a Dime was 35p until they changed the name a few years back.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 20, 2015, 07:12:26 pm
I believe US and Canada have similar coinage -- pennies, nickels (5 cents), dimes (10 cents), quarters (25 cents) and dollars.  I think the US also has a half-dollar coin?  Canada recently phased out pennies and we also have a two dollar coin.  For bills, Canada phased out $1 and $2 bills a while ago; we have $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills.  They are very colourful, but all the same size.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 20, 2015, 07:13:19 pm
Sure, but decimalized American coins also don't relate to their values, excepting the quarter.  And multi-pound notes even in pre-decimal Britain were labeled like multi-dollar notes in the US.

This is one of the things that often throws me off when I see American context questions online. Like, I've never really researched it but from what I understand you have at least three coins, right? Pennies are 1c, Nickels are 10c and Quarters are 25c. Oh, and Dimes are... 50c? 5c? I genuinely don't know actually. With the Pound Sterling it's easy. Ł1 = 100p, and then you have the one pence, the two pence, the five pence, ten pence, twenty pence, fifty pence, one pound, two pounds, five pounds (switching to notes here, although five pound coins exist as legal tender but are rare, usually commemorative), ten pounds, twenty pounds and fifty pounds. All of those are very easy to work out the values of - and they follow a nice neat pattern as well (1, 2 and 5 of each multiple of 10). The only tricky thing might be if people talked about 'coppers' and 'silver' coins - coppers are 1/2p, silvers are 5-50p. Also another nice thing is that the 2p is exactly twice the size (volume wise) of the 1p and the 10p is twice the size of the 5p and in both cases the coins being compared are the same material.

Nickels are 5c and Dimes are 10c (Dime used to be spelled "Disme", coming from the same root as "decimate": a tenth).

I agree that British currency is very simple now. The only thing that bothers me is that if you group coins by metal and shape, you have 1/2p, 5/10p, 20/50p, 1 Pound, 2 Pounds, while Euros are grouped as 1/2/5c, 10/20/50c, 1/2€, so it is quite confusing at first.

And for some reason people in the UK can refuse to be paid with 50 pound notes, while in the mainland they can only refuse 100€ notes and up.

PPE 2!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on March 20, 2015, 07:46:38 pm
(I haven't done extensive research into it but IIRC US notes are all predominantly green with only slight hue changes, and only slight size variation? Most other countries change size and colour much more noticably between note values, making it far easier to tell them apart), and also he said they just feel a lot less pleasant in your fingers. I've never handled USD so I dunno how true that is, but eh.
American bills are essentially all the same color (some of our most recent $100 bills have a purplish strip, and an orange bell and feather--with that being the only color deviation I can think of). And they're also all exactly the same size. I haven't handled much foreign currency, but I can agree that US bills are kind of boring and hard to tell apart. I think they tend to be thicker than other countries' notes as far as I can tell. "Crisp" bills that are newer are nice to handle, but older ones are more limp and kind of tattered. American bills seem to crumple easier and/or are difficult to remove folds from--which can be kind of annoying. I think this is likely due to the greater thickness of the bills.

But yeah, almost all other currencies seem more exciting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 20, 2015, 07:48:54 pm
American bills are essentially all the same color (some of our most recent $100 bills have a purplish strip, and an orange bell and feather--with that being the only color deviation I can think of). And they're also all exactly the same size. I haven't handled much foreign currency, but I can agree that US bills are kind of boring and hard to tell apart. I think they tend to be thicker than other countries' notes as far as I can tell. "Crisp" bills that are newer are nice to handle, but older ones are more limp and kind of tattered. American bills seem to crumple easier and/or are difficult to remove folds from--which can be kind of annoying. I think this is likely due to the greater thickness of the bills.

But yeah, almost all other currencies seem more exciting.

(http://cdn.randomfunnypicture.com/pictures/751animated-obama-money.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on March 20, 2015, 07:56:22 pm
Sorry. US money is still boring ;D
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 20, 2015, 08:00:01 pm
Sorry. US money is still boring ;D

(http://media.giphy.com/media/2WuHHWbGt3fY4/giphy.gif)
(http://media.tumblr.com/21155e0d9e49c629f14eebf480fb9d11/tumblr_inline_nis9bvriab1qm03pk.gif)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y107/KingGondo/Generic%20GIFs/2z6v0qc.gif)

More interesting money.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on March 20, 2015, 08:04:14 pm
Anyway while I'm on the matter of currency, and since this is random stuff, a friend of mine is a bank teller and thus works with different currencies daily. He handles about a half-dozen different ones with reasonable frequency (and a few others occasionally) and he's said that of those, the only one he dislikes working with is the US Dollar. I forget exactly why he dislikes them but I think two major issues are that it's not as easy to tell the notes apart at a quick glance as with most other currencies (I haven't done extensive research into it but IIRC US notes are all predominantly green with only slight hue changes, and only slight size variation? Most other countries change size and colour much more noticably between note values, making it far easier to tell them apart), and also he said they just feel a lot less pleasant in your fingers. I've never handled USD so I dunno how true that is, but eh.

Different colors for different values would be very nice, I don't know why we don't do that.  But other countries really have different size bills?  That sounds awful...

I'm still waiting for a country that has bill values that are all powers of 2, so you can pay for everything with at most one of each bill.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on March 20, 2015, 08:05:04 pm
interesting money.
Hey, you did that on purpose!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 20, 2015, 08:05:15 pm
I actually feel really evil for posting GIFs about money.

And yes, I specifically googled 'Interesting Money GIF'.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 20, 2015, 08:11:14 pm
Different colors for different values would be very nice, I don't know why we don't do that.  But other countries really have different size bills?  That sounds awful...

(http://www.fleur-de-coin.com/images/eurocoins/banknotes/specifications.jpg)

(the colours of the 5€ and 10€ have changed a bit since this picture though; 200€ and especially 500€ notes are really rare)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on March 21, 2015, 04:07:02 am
American money is the worst. I legit can't tell the value of the coins, and $100 is such a small bill to be the biggest one. Doesn't help that you can accidentally give a $100 instead of a $1 because they look so alike. And they are always dirty and disgusting too!

I have no complaints about euros, especially since my country was somehow smart enough to not introduce the two smallest coins.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 21, 2015, 04:19:47 am
On Ł50 notes: it's not just that some places won't accept them, it's that you're very unlikely to even see one.  I've seen perhaps two or three Ł50 notes in my life, and never touched one.  Banks just don't give them out; if you ask for several thousand pounds in cash you'll get twenties.  I'm pretty sure that gangsters and foreign tourists are the only people who ever come to possess them.

500 euro notes are almost illegal in the UK, as there is no conceivable lawful use for them.  (They're not illegal, but bureaux de change aren't allowed to buy them from wholesalers.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on March 21, 2015, 05:39:51 am
Different colors for different values would be very nice, I don't know why we don't do that.  But other countries really have different size bills?  That sounds awful...

I'm actually shocked that the US notes are all the same size. How do colourblind people tell them apart at a glance? Completely blind people? How do you tell if someone has hidden some smaller notes in a stack without looking through the entire stack to see if a note is different? How do you prevent a cashier accidentally putting a note in the wrong section? It just seems like there's too many advantages to different sized notes that help mitigate or remove these issues.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on March 21, 2015, 05:42:10 am
American money is the worst. I legit can't tell the value of the coins, and $100 is such a small bill to be the biggest one. Doesn't help that you can accidentally give a $100 instead of a $1 because they look so alike. And they are always dirty and disgusting too!

I have no complaints about euros, especially since my country was somehow smart enough to not introduce the two smallest coins.

Really ? So are there never costs that end in anything other than 0 or 5 in Finland ?

Sidenote : I have seen a 500€ bill exactly once, it was like 10 years ago and the reason was that we were reimbursed for accepting to take a later flight because ours was full. I kinda like that there's this mythical bill that most people rarely see, if ever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on March 21, 2015, 07:53:27 am
American money is the worst. I legit can't tell the value of the coins, and $100 is such a small bill to be the biggest one. Doesn't help that you can accidentally give a $100 instead of a $1 because they look so alike. And they are always dirty and disgusting too!

I have no complaints about euros, especially since my country was somehow smart enough to not introduce the two smallest coins.

Really ? So are there never costs that end in anything other than 0 or 5 in Finland ?

Sidenote : I have seen a 500€ bill exactly once, it was like 10 years ago and the reason was that we were reimbursed for accepting to take a later flight because ours was full. I kinda like that there's this mythical bill that most people rarely see, if ever.
The prices are shown normally, and if you pay with a credit card, they'll charge you 20.14 or whatever. But they round everything to 0 or 5 if you pay in cash. 1 and 2 cent coins are accepted, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WanderingWinder on March 21, 2015, 08:06:33 am
Different colors for different values would be very nice, I don't know why we don't do that.  But other countries really have different size bills?  That sounds awful...

I'm actually shocked that the US notes are all the same size. How do colourblind people tell them apart at a glance? Completely blind people? How do you tell if someone has hidden some smaller notes in a stack without looking through the entire stack to see if a note is different? How do you prevent a cashier accidentally putting a note in the wrong section? It just seems like there's too many advantages to different sized notes that help mitigate or remove these issues.

I believe there was actually a court case a few years ago where a blind person sued the US treasury about this and won, implying that they SHOULD be doing something about this...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 21, 2015, 08:16:40 am
On Ł50 notes: it's not just that some places won't accept them, it's that you're very unlikely to even see one.  I've seen perhaps two or three Ł50 notes in my life, and never touched one.  Banks just don't give them out; if you ask for several thousand pounds in cash you'll get twenties.  I'm pretty sure that gangsters and foreign tourists are the only people who ever come to possess them.

500 euro notes are almost illegal in the UK, as there is no conceivable lawful use for them.  (They're not illegal, but bureaux de change aren't allowed to buy them from wholesalers.)

Man, I didn't know about it, so when I went to the UK for a year, I arrived with a fair amount of cash just in case, and about half of it was 50 pound notes. It was really annoying to get rid of them.

Sidenote : I have seen a 500€ bill exactly once, it was like 10 years ago and the reason was that we were reimbursed for accepting to take a later flight because ours was full. I kinda like that there's this mythical bill that most people rarely see, if ever.

Unless you are a corrupt politician or a swiss bank, in which case you are going to see a lot of them. Gotta pack all that black money tightly!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on March 21, 2015, 08:20:32 am
Poker player also works. Drug dealer too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 21, 2015, 08:37:35 am
Drug dealer too.

I have no professional experience in that sector, but considering who their clients are, I don't see how they can get ahold of 500€ notes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 21, 2015, 09:31:27 am
The reason they were banned in the UK is that you take all the dirty Ł20 notes off the street and launder them into clean 500 euro notes that you can stuff in your socks or wherever.  So it's more of a higher-up thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 21, 2015, 09:35:21 am
...is the joke that Ł20 notes are purple too?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on March 21, 2015, 09:47:12 am
So what, Europeans have a different sized wallet for each bill denomination? Preposterous!

If anything we should change the texture of bills to aid the blind. $1 is rough like sandpaper, $5s are wet and slimy, and $20s are kept slightly warm using radioactive isotopes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on March 21, 2015, 10:33:14 am
Drug dealer too.

I have no professional experience in that sector, but considering who their clients are, I don't see how they can get ahold of 500€ notes.
Probably not someone selling crack in a corner, but think like a coke dealer for rich people.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 21, 2015, 10:40:06 am
Canadian banknotes have braille on them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 21, 2015, 11:15:30 am
I don't like different sizes for bank notes. I'm okay with lack of color variation with money, though I guess we can make money the color of the rainbow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 21, 2015, 11:22:26 am
Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum.  Just like every good RPG.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on March 21, 2015, 08:43:22 pm
I don't like different sizes for bank notes. I'm okay with lack of color variation with money, though I guess we can make money the color of the rainbow.

I'm gonna guess you're American? I feel like this is one of those things that you just don't see the advantages of because you've gotten used to what you already have. Like, when would it be inconvenient to have different sizes for bank notes? When you're stacking them together I suppose. Why would you be stacking notes of different denominations together? It just doesn't seem like something that happens; even in a bank they're kept separate, and in your wallet they're probably just stuffed in a pocket together, not laid out neatly. It's not like you're likely to have more than a few notes on you at one time after... oh, wait, the US also uses a note for $1 doesn't it? Yeah... still probably not an issue, but maybe you'll have more than a couple of notes at once.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on March 21, 2015, 09:29:08 pm
I don't like different sizes for bank notes. I'm okay with lack of color variation with money, though I guess we can make money the color of the rainbow.

I'm gonna guess you're American? I feel like this is one of those things that you just don't see the advantages of because you've gotten used to what you already have. Like, when would it be inconvenient to have different sizes for bank notes? When you're stacking them together I suppose. Why would you be stacking notes of different denominations together? It just doesn't seem like something that happens; even in a bank they're kept separate, and in your wallet they're probably just stuffed in a pocket together, not laid out neatly. It's not like you're likely to have more than a few notes on you at one time after... oh, wait, the US also uses a note for $1 doesn't it? Yeah... still probably not an issue, but maybe you'll have more than a couple of notes at once.

I usually keep bills of different denominations "stacked" together in my wallet, and they all fold in the same place.  I can just reach in the top and pull them all out if I need to.  I feel like if they were different sizes, I'd have to reach all the way down to make sure the smaller ones don't slide out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 21, 2015, 10:02:18 pm
Colors would be fine, but how am I going to store my money if everything is a different size? I use a wallet, not a storage case.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 21, 2015, 10:05:16 pm
Colors would be fine, but how am I going to store my money if everything is a different size? I use a wallet, not a storage case.

You only need a wallet sized to fit the biggest bill.  The smaller ones will also fit in the wallet.  Containers are interesting that way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 21, 2015, 11:11:28 pm
Colors would be fine, but how am I going to store my money if everything is a different size? I use a wallet, not a storage case.

You only need a wallet sized to fit the biggest bill.  The smaller ones will also fit in the wallet.  Containers are interesting that way.

But now those poor people like David Bowie can't carry giant wallets with their small pants! You are obviously an individual with an evil agenda.

(http://hellogiggles.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/21/david-bowie-labyrinth-bulge.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 22, 2015, 12:18:23 am
I don't like different sizes for bank notes. I'm okay with lack of color variation with money, though I guess we can make money the color of the rainbow.

I'm gonna guess you're American? I feel like this is one of those things that you just don't see the advantages of because you've gotten used to what you already have. Like, when would it be inconvenient to have different sizes for bank notes? When you're stacking them together I suppose. Why would you be stacking notes of different denominations together? It just doesn't seem like something that happens; even in a bank they're kept separate, and in your wallet they're probably just stuffed in a pocket together, not laid out neatly. It's not like you're likely to have more than a few notes on you at one time after... oh, wait, the US also uses a note for $1 doesn't it? Yeah... still probably not an issue, but maybe you'll have more than a couple of notes at once.

I have mine neatly stacked and folded in my wallet in order, which makes it easier to find.  I usually have several $1s, a few $5s, and a $10 or $20 in my wallet at all times.  It makes things a lot easier.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 22, 2015, 01:39:23 am
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 22, 2015, 02:00:56 am
Is there any font that looks good that is just black pixels or white pixels?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 22, 2015, 02:03:18 am
Is there any font that looks good that is just black pixels or white pixels?

http://www.dafont.com/bitmap.php
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 22, 2015, 08:13:55 am
ITT: people worried that different sized notes/bills will be harder to sort.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 22, 2015, 10:32:46 am
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe

Why oh why isn't there a downvote button!?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on March 22, 2015, 11:48:02 am
Oh, yeah, so I talked to that friend who works in a bank again today. He said that asides from the size and colour meaning you have to pay more attention while decanting them, he said the other issue is that they stick together due to the material they're made of. He says he can count up Ł1000 in Ł20's in the same time he can count $20 in $1's due to that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 22, 2015, 12:15:35 pm
That's only a 20% slowdown, which is probably made up by differences in tax rates.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on March 22, 2015, 12:21:00 pm
That's only a 20% slowdown, which is probably made up by differences in tax rates.

I laughed, but then realised it's actually a 60% slowdown, or 2.5 times slower if you prefer. It's quite a big difference.

Although while we're on the topic of tax rates and dollars... it surprises me that US stores don't include VAT in the price tag. Like, how do you keep a quick running total of prices for when you reach the checkout? Well I know it isn't that difficult to work out an expected final figure and than add in your 20% (or whatever US's VAT rate is), but it's an extra step that most people won't be able to do. Most people can go around and do a rough running total of their price and know if something has gone wrong at the end.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on March 22, 2015, 12:31:26 pm
That's only a 20% slowdown, which is probably made up by differences in tax rates.

I laughed, but then realised it's actually a 60% slowdown, or 2.5 times slower if you prefer. It's quite a big difference.

Although while we're on the topic of tax rates and dollars... it surprises me that US stores don't include VAT in the price tag. Like, how do you keep a quick running total of prices for when you reach the checkout? Well I know it isn't that difficult to work out an expected final figure and than add in your 20% (or whatever US's VAT rate is), but it's an extra step that most people won't be able to do. Most people can go around and do a rough running total of their price and know if something has gone wrong at the end.

My theory is that Americans hate taxes (more than most I mean) so they like to know exactly how much the mean evil big government is sucking out of they hard-earned money.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 22, 2015, 12:45:35 pm
Counting is hard: that's why I had to take a PhD in it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 22, 2015, 12:46:53 pm
That's only a 20% slowdown, which is probably made up by differences in tax rates.

I laughed, but then realised it's actually a 60% slowdown, or 2.5 times slower if you prefer. It's quite a big difference.

Although while we're on the topic of tax rates and dollars... it surprises me that US stores don't include VAT in the price tag. Like, how do you keep a quick running total of prices for when you reach the checkout? Well I know it isn't that difficult to work out an expected final figure and than add in your 20% (or whatever US's VAT rate is), but it's an extra step that most people won't be able to do. Most people can go around and do a rough running total of their price and know if something has gone wrong at the end.
I hate to be the one to break the bad news, but the US doesn't have a VAT.  There are however, various state and local sales taxes on most things that are sold (the exceptions and actual tax rates depend on where you are, and to some extent what you are purchasing).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on March 22, 2015, 01:01:09 pm
Counting is hard: that's why I had to take a PhD in it.
People always look at me funny when I say counting is hard completely seriously. I don't have a PhD in it or anything, but I know enough to know that it is hard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on March 22, 2015, 01:27:52 pm
That's only a 20% slowdown, which is probably made up by differences in tax rates.

I laughed, but then realised it's actually a 60% slowdown, or 2.5 times slower if you prefer. It's quite a big difference.

Although while we're on the topic of tax rates and dollars... it surprises me that US stores don't include VAT in the price tag. Like, how do you keep a quick running total of prices for when you reach the checkout? Well I know it isn't that difficult to work out an expected final figure and than add in your 20% (or whatever US's VAT rate is), but it's an extra step that most people won't be able to do. Most people can go around and do a rough running total of their price and know if something has gone wrong at the end.
I hate to be the one to break the bad news, but the US doesn't have a VAT.  There are however, various state and local sales taxes on most things that are sold (the exceptions and actual tax rates depend on where you are, and to some extent what you are purchasing).

Isn't that just the same thing but with a different name? An extra cost added to products you're buying that goes to the government, excluding certain necessities. I think I did know it was state dependent but forgot that in my post.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 22, 2015, 01:37:19 pm
Taxes are stupid, and pointless too since we just 'borrow' money ad infinitum anyways.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 22, 2015, 02:34:34 pm
That's only a 20% slowdown, which is probably made up by differences in tax rates.

I laughed, but then realised it's actually a 60% slowdown, or 2.5 times slower if you prefer. It's quite a big difference.

Although while we're on the topic of tax rates and dollars... it surprises me that US stores don't include VAT in the price tag. Like, how do you keep a quick running total of prices for when you reach the checkout? Well I know it isn't that difficult to work out an expected final figure and than add in your 20% (or whatever US's VAT rate is), but it's an extra step that most people won't be able to do. Most people can go around and do a rough running total of their price and know if something has gone wrong at the end.
I hate to be the one to break the bad news, but the US doesn't have a VAT.  There are however, various state and local sales taxes on most things that are sold (the exceptions and actual tax rates depend on where you are, and to some extent what you are purchasing).

Isn't that just the same thing but with a different name? An extra cost added to products you're buying that goes to the government, excluding certain necessities. I think I did know it was state dependent but forgot that in my post.

VAT is paid by everybody (who sells enough) on the difference between what they paid for an item and what they sell it for.  Sales tax is paid only on sales to consumers.  The effects are similar: more money moves around under the VAT system, but you don't have to define what counts as selling to consumers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 22, 2015, 03:00:10 pm
(http://media.giphy.com/media/Ff1BpZco3ukVy/giphy.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 22, 2015, 03:00:36 pm
That's only a 20% slowdown, which is probably made up by differences in tax rates.

I laughed, but then realised it's actually a 60% slowdown, or 2.5 times slower if you prefer. It's quite a big difference.

Although while we're on the topic of tax rates and dollars... it surprises me that US stores don't include VAT in the price tag. Like, how do you keep a quick running total of prices for when you reach the checkout? Well I know it isn't that difficult to work out an expected final figure and than add in your 20% (or whatever US's VAT rate is), but it's an extra step that most people won't be able to do. Most people can go around and do a rough running total of their price and know if something has gone wrong at the end.
I hate to be the one to break the bad news, but the US doesn't have a VAT.  There are however, various state and local sales taxes on most things that are sold (the exceptions and actual tax rates depend on where you are, and to some extent what you are purchasing).

Isn't that just the same thing but with a different name? An extra cost added to products you're buying that goes to the government, excluding certain necessities. I think I did know it was state dependent but forgot that in my post.

It's not just state-dependent, either; it often varies from county to county (which are somewhat, but not really, analogous to counties in Britain), and in some cases city to city.

Also--I cannot make this shit up--in some places, you can be charged sales tax on your fast food if you sit down in the restaurant to eat it, and not be charged the same tax if you get it as take-out.

Not including the tax in the price makes things seem cheaper.  I think that's the single reason we don't do it.  Americans have an aversion to taxes for some reason.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 22, 2015, 03:06:53 pm
That's only a 20% slowdown, which is probably made up by differences in tax rates.

I laughed, but then realised it's actually a 60% slowdown, or 2.5 times slower if you prefer. It's quite a big difference.

Although while we're on the topic of tax rates and dollars... it surprises me that US stores don't include VAT in the price tag. Like, how do you keep a quick running total of prices for when you reach the checkout? Well I know it isn't that difficult to work out an expected final figure and than add in your 20% (or whatever US's VAT rate is), but it's an extra step that most people won't be able to do. Most people can go around and do a rough running total of their price and know if something has gone wrong at the end.
I hate to be the one to break the bad news, but the US doesn't have a VAT.  There are however, various state and local sales taxes on most things that are sold (the exceptions and actual tax rates depend on where you are, and to some extent what you are purchasing).

Isn't that just the same thing but with a different name? An extra cost added to products you're buying that goes to the government, excluding certain necessities. I think I did know it was state dependent but forgot that in my post.

It's not just state-dependent, either; it often varies from county to county (which are somewhat, but not really, analogous to counties in Britain), and in some cases city to city.

Also--I cannot make this shit up--in some places, you can be charged sales tax on your fast food if you sit down in the restaurant to eat it, and not be charged the same tax if you get it as take-out.

Not including the tax in the price makes things seem cheaper.  I think that's the single reason we don't do it.  Americans have an aversion to taxes for some reason.

Also why we price things $7.99 instead of $8.00, makes things look cheaper. It's a con, and I hate that. That's the one thing I love about Europe, they don't try to lie to you, and when you go to the 2 Euro Store, that's all you pay, compared to a Dollar Store being more than a dollar here in the US.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on March 22, 2015, 03:13:54 pm
One of my pet peeves: when something at a store is, say, $7.99, and someone says it's seven dollars.  NO!!!  IT'S EIGHT!!!!

Also, I don't have sales tax where I live ;D
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 22, 2015, 03:29:37 pm
One of my pet peeves: when something at a store is, say, $7.99, and someone says it's seven dollars.  NO!!!  IT'S EIGHT!!!!

Also, I don't have sales tax where I live ;D

My lucky friend, we usually do not have sales tax where we live either. :) I think one of the few exceptions is organic produce or something like that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 22, 2015, 03:31:24 pm
Also--I cannot make this shit up--in some places, you can be charged sales tax on your fast food if you sit down in the restaurant to eat it, and not be charged the same tax if you get it as take-out.

That also happens over here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 22, 2015, 04:10:23 pm
I was scrolling through some question and answers site, and the majority of it all were all odd or weird questions like these:

(http://i.imgur.com/3xtdKDG.png)

Other questions were whether the Earth was bigger than the Sun, and whether .05 was bigger than .5, and other stuff like that. And every answer is always simple with a short explanation, and the people answering these questions have PhDs and high caliber ranks in education. They must be pulling their hair out. XD
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 22, 2015, 04:41:10 pm
Grandma's chemistry tips:

If you have an oven that you care about keeping clean and do not have a sack of bicarbonate of soda then one of those things has to change.  It's fairly well known that bicarb and a little water will clean things (it's abrasive), but the real trick is to cover the entire base with a thin layer.  That stops stuff from reaching the oven in the first place.  A friend of mine suggest that saponification may be involved in binding the fats, but whatever the mechanism, it works: I've not touched my oven for 6 months and it wiped perfectly clean in a few minutes earlier today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 22, 2015, 04:46:45 pm
A neat Q&A site is Quora.  People ask all kinds of random questions, and some are pretty interesting.  Lots are based on experience or opinion ("what's it like to do this?", "what are some of the key features or qualities of that", etc.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on March 22, 2015, 04:50:09 pm
I think of Quora as the obnoxious site that pesters you to sign up, but a few of the (first answers to) "What's it like to be a ..." type questions that I've been linked to have been interesting.  In my mind Quora is a cross between Yahoo Answers and the abomination that is ResearchGate, but apparently that's unfair.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 22, 2015, 04:56:21 pm
When my friend first told me about Quora, I had exactly the same feeling.  "I have to sign up for this?  What kind of world do we live in?"  But I eventually did, and since gmail separates the emails they send into the "Social" box, which I never have to pay much attention to, every once and a while I read the email and check out a few questions/answers when one looks interesting.  Usually it's worthwhile for the amount of time/effort. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on March 22, 2015, 07:28:32 pm
I don't like different sizes for bank notes. I'm okay with lack of color variation with money, though I guess we can make money the color of the rainbow.

I'm gonna guess you're American? I feel like this is one of those things that you just don't see the advantages of because you've gotten used to what you already have. Like, when would it be inconvenient to have different sizes for bank notes? When you're stacking them together I suppose. Why would you be stacking notes of different denominations together? It just doesn't seem like something that happens; even in a bank they're kept separate, and in your wallet they're probably just stuffed in a pocket together, not laid out neatly. It's not like you're likely to have more than a few notes on you at one time after... oh, wait, the US also uses a note for $1 doesn't it? Yeah... still probably not an issue, but maybe you'll have more than a couple of notes at once.

Just coming late to the party, but wanted to chime in as an American who has lived abroad a lot.

I have used the US dollar, the Euro, the Lira, the Yen, the Rupee (Mauritius), and the Aussie dollar (among others) as my main currency at one time or another.  I can say, after many years of experience, that I strongly prefer bills of the exact same size.  I do like different colors for different denominations, though.

The reason I prefer single-size money is that I prefer a small wallet.  Big bills, even Australian 50s, are a pain to fit into a small wallet.  USD always fits just fine.  If you are going to change the size of your money, though, do it like the Japanese -- yen vary only in length, not height, and only by a few mm.  There are no bills the size of paperback pages (Euro) that won't fit in a purse, let alone a wallet.  When the height of a bill doesn't change, you can use the same size wallet for all the bills, even if you have to fold one end.  To make a big Euro note fit in a small wallet, it's two folds (lengthwise and vertical) to make it fit, and that's horrific.

And really, if you can't pay attention to the gigantic number on the bill, it's your own fault.  (Unless, as mentioned previously, you can't see.  I think braille is the way to go there, or notches, or something.  We definitely should do something about that.  I remember taking money as a cashier and most blind customers folded each bill a different way.)

I will say, we need to retire the penny and just round up/down as needed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 22, 2015, 07:48:03 pm
But without ridiculously large notes, you don't have a reason to use a large wallet, and without a large wallet, how are you supposed to show how stupidly rich you are!?

(http://satwcomic.com/art/wealth-is-such-a-burden.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 22, 2015, 10:34:35 pm
The reason I prefer single-size money is that I prefer a small wallet.  Big bills, even Australian 50s, are a pain to fit into a small wallet.  USD always fits just fine.  If you are going to change the size of your money, though, do it like the Japanese -- yen vary only in length, not height, and only by a few mm.  There are no bills the size of paperback pages (Euro) that won't fit in a purse, let alone a wallet.  When the height of a bill doesn't change, you can use the same size wallet for all the bills, even if you have to fold one end.  To make a big Euro note fit in a small wallet, it's two folds (lengthwise and vertical) to make it fit, and that's horrific.

And really, if you can't pay attention to the gigantic number on the bill, it's your own fault.  (Unless, as mentioned previously, you can't see.  I think braille is the way to go there, or notches, or something.  We definitely should do something about that.  I remember taking money as a cashier and most blind customers folded each bill a different way.)

I will say, we need to retire the penny and just round up/down as needed.

From you explanation, what you prefer are small-sized bills, not uniformly-sized bills.  Even varying both height and length, a country could still make the biggest bills small enough to fit in your small wallet.  Alternatively, even with a single size, a country could make all bills obnoxiously big.

Also,

(https://31.media.tumblr.com/1e921e7f3b454bef161d051eca5daecd/tumblr_nkqe6reXtN1t8shjio1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on March 22, 2015, 10:46:12 pm
The reason I prefer single-size money is that I prefer a small wallet.  Big bills, even Australian 50s, are a pain to fit into a small wallet.  USD always fits just fine.  If you are going to change the size of your money, though, do it like the Japanese -- yen vary only in length, not height, and only by a few mm.  There are no bills the size of paperback pages (Euro) that won't fit in a purse, let alone a wallet.  When the height of a bill doesn't change, you can use the same size wallet for all the bills, even if you have to fold one end.  To make a big Euro note fit in a small wallet, it's two folds (lengthwise and vertical) to make it fit, and that's horrific.

And really, if you can't pay attention to the gigantic number on the bill, it's your own fault.  (Unless, as mentioned previously, you can't see.  I think braille is the way to go there, or notches, or something.  We definitely should do something about that.  I remember taking money as a cashier and most blind customers folded each bill a different way.)

I will say, we need to retire the penny and just round up/down as needed.

From you explanation, what you prefer are small-sized bills, not uniformly-sized bills.  Even varying both height and length, a country could still make the biggest bills small enough to fit in your small wallet.  Alternatively, even with a single size, a country could make all bills obnoxiously big.

Actually, the nonuniformity of Australian dollars is a pain.  I drop money all the time due to this.  My current wallet requires all bills be folded in half, creating a shorter rectangle.  I currently put the smallest bills on the inside of the fold (5s being the smallest), which makes getting small denominations out of the wallet annoying at best and excrutiating at worst.

I will concede though, that if the bills aren't too small or too large, I could easily survive nonuniform sizes (a la the Yen).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 22, 2015, 10:58:17 pm
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe

Why oh why isn't there a downvote button!?

I upvoted it just to spite your impudence.

Also, I laughed like a maniac at this posting.
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/1e921e7f3b454bef161d051eca5daecd/tumblr_nkqe6reXtN1t8shjio1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 22, 2015, 11:05:32 pm
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe

I just saw that. :p

I love that movie to death despite it's faults. There are rumors of a possible sequel that I would totally watch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on March 22, 2015, 11:33:18 pm
Am I thinking of the same film you guys are?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 22, 2015, 11:39:42 pm
Am I thinking of the same film you guys are?

Labyrinth?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 22, 2015, 11:41:10 pm
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe

I just saw that. :p

I love that movie to death despite it's faults. There are rumors of a possible sequel that I would totally watch.

I think it's a fine movie except for that song.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on March 22, 2015, 11:41:56 pm
Nevermind. I haven't seen that one. I have seen the film whose lines it references though.

I was pretty sure I was confused since the movie I'm thinking of has no faults that I can remember.

Edit: yeah I had googled it with the lines WW used. It certainly looks...interesting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 22, 2015, 11:45:54 pm
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe

I just saw that. :p

I love that movie to death despite it's faults. There are rumors of a possible sequel that I would totally watch.

I think it's a fine movie except for that song.

You think THAT song is bad? You must have not seen the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiUt5HuW3xc

And this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-pSbKnjrA

Don't you dare tell me Magic Dance is worse than those two songs.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 22, 2015, 11:53:22 pm
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe

I just saw that. :p

I love that movie to death despite it's faults. There are rumors of a possible sequel that I would totally watch.

I think it's a fine movie except for that song.

You think THAT song is bad? You must have not seen the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiUt5HuW3xc

And this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-pSbKnjrA

Don't you dare tell me Magic Dance is worse than those two songs.

It is. Chilly Down is the best song in that film.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 22, 2015, 11:57:04 pm
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe

I just saw that. :p

I love that movie to death despite it's faults. There are rumors of a possible sequel that I would totally watch.

Ahem... faults?  Kindly withdrawal your comment, sir, for that movie was god-damned perfect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 22, 2015, 11:57:33 pm
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe

I just saw that. :p

I love that movie to death despite it's faults. There are rumors of a possible sequel that I would totally watch.

I think it's a fine movie except for that song.

You think THAT song is bad? You must have not seen the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiUt5HuW3xc

And this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-pSbKnjrA

Don't you dare tell me Magic Dance is worse than those two songs.

It is. Chilly Down is the best song in that film.

WHAT!?

When I watched that movie, that was easily the worst scene in the movie. It came out of nowhere, it didn't fit with the rest of the movie, and I remember watching this with my sister, and though we loved most of the movie (when she wasn't constantly commenting about the status of Bowie's 'magic stick' being overtly visible with his tights), we both looked at each other when that scene happened, and we were just appalled. It's soooooo bad..
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 22, 2015, 11:58:40 pm
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe

I just saw that. :p

I love that movie to death despite it's faults. There are rumors of a possible sequel that I would totally watch.

Ahem... faults?  Kindly withdrawal your comment, sir, for that movie was god-damned perfect.

It really wasn't, but man watching that movie makes me feel like a kid again.. It's really a good movie.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 23, 2015, 12:00:30 am
The scene is bad, sure. The song is good. Labyrinth is my sister's favorite film, so I've seen it a bunch AND listened to the soundtrack a bunch. Chilly Down is the high point for me. Dance Magic Dance is tear-your-ears-off annoying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 23, 2015, 12:02:35 am
You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
You remind me of the babe

I just saw that. :p

I love that movie to death despite it's faults. There are rumors of a possible sequel that I would totally watch.

Ahem... faults?  Kindly withdrawal your comment, sir, for that movie was god-damned perfect.

It really wasn't, but man watching that movie makes me feel like a kid again.. It's really a good movie.

No, anything that would normally be a problem in any other movie just becomes more awesome and hilarious because it's Labrynth.  David Bowie walks around with a football stuffed down his rights and we're all just like, "... alright, that works".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 23, 2015, 12:19:21 am
There are two types of people in this world: Those who appreciate all Labyrinth songs and Nazis.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 23, 2015, 12:21:09 am
I'd rather be a Nazi than listen to David Bowie.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on March 23, 2015, 05:50:48 am
There are two types of people in this world: Those who appreciate all Labyrinth songs and Nazis.

Am I a Nazi for never having heard about it before today ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 23, 2015, 06:18:25 am
There are two types of people in this world: Those who appreciate all Labyrinth songs and Nazis.

Am I a Nazi for never having heard about it before today ?

You are Schrödinger's Nazi.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 23, 2015, 09:43:33 am
There are two types of people in this world: Those who appreciate all Labyrinth songs and Nazis.

Am I a Nazi for never having heard about it before today ?

No, you're just a sad, sad man living an empty life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on March 23, 2015, 12:19:20 pm
Nazi Jokes? That seems to be taking it a bit too far, anne frankly it's kind of unsettling.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 23, 2015, 12:56:00 pm
Nazi Jokes? That seems to be taking it a bit too far, anne frankly it's kind of unsettling.
Especially when on the whole, a caustic approach seems to be the norm.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on March 23, 2015, 01:10:21 pm
panzer!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 23, 2015, 01:29:06 pm
Nazi Jokes? That seems to be taking it a bit too far, anne frankly it's kind of unsettling.
Especially when on the whole, a caustic approach seems to be the norm.

Nazi jokes are a hit! Leroy loves them too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 23, 2015, 02:19:23 pm
Im definately in the Pro-Labyrinth camp.

Although I do have a fondness for Nazi's as well, but mainly when they are in Space!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jth4yATniS4
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 23, 2015, 03:39:50 pm
I am too terrified to progress to Iron Skies 2. The first one was enough to traumatize me.

Huh, I just learned of the CCYYMMDD date format. What a difficult concept. Sure, people could get used to today being 21150323, but what happens at year 00? Even though 2000 was still the 20th century, did people mistakenly say it was the 21st century?

I don't know how far-reaching CCYYMMDD got, but I'm glad it's officially dead.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 23, 2015, 04:56:51 pm
Nazi Jokes? That seems to be taking it a bit too far, anne frankly it's kind of unsettling.

I did notsee this coming.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 23, 2015, 05:03:23 pm
Nazi Jokes? That seems to be taking it a bit too far, anne frankly it's kind of unsettling.

I did notsee this coming.

I did notsee it first! (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5896.msg473830#msg473830)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 23, 2015, 07:45:13 pm
Nazi Jokes? That seems to be taking it a bit too far, anne frankly it's kind of unsettling.

I did notsee this coming.

I did notsee it first! (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5896.msg473830#msg473830)
And it was you that inspired me!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on March 23, 2015, 08:02:12 pm
Nazi Jokes? That seems to be taking it a bit too far, anne frankly it's kind of unsettling.

I did notsee this coming.

I did notsee it first! (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5896.msg473830#msg473830)

Well obviously Kirian did notsee that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 23, 2015, 08:26:40 pm
I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 24, 2015, 12:44:03 am
Say what you will about Hitler, but at least he killed Hitler.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 24, 2015, 01:00:08 am
Say what you will about Hitler, but at least he killed Hitler.

Wait, didn't someone on this very board already use that one?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 24, 2015, 01:01:20 am
Separately:  English needs a word for excellent execution of a terrible idea.  Does German, everyone's favorite essentially-agglomerative-even-though-it-isn't language, happen to have a word for it?  Or anyone else here who speaks multiple languages?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Elanchana on March 24, 2015, 01:06:36 am
So my casual ranking right now is kinda... special

(https://36.media.tumblr.com/b750848dabea829ed6bcd4774a061f3b/tumblr_inline_nlpa4tBq8y1ql24zr_500.png)

I got that after I pulled off a pretty spectacular forced win (http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?20150323/log.516d6859e4b082c74d7be605.1427173163123.txt) out of nowhere. Coincidence? (answer: yes)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 24, 2015, 08:05:42 am
Say what you will about Hitler, but at least he killed Hitler.

Wait, didn't someone on this very board already use that one?

Shh. Don't call attention to it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 24, 2015, 08:05:52 am
Man, it's been a while since I played Small World. And since I got the Spider's Web expansion, we got to break in a little bit of that.

Marauding Gypsies did me a lot of good. I'd conquer a bunch of empty-ish regions and then conquer again. Then next turn, abandon with reckless….er, abandon and conquer again. It helped that one player took Cursed Priestess and only took up two spaces so that I pretty much had half the map to myself while the Trolls and Ice Queens duked it out on the other half.

It feels good to dust off a board game and come back to it. I forgot so much about it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 24, 2015, 09:25:38 am
She wore my hat again. Confound it, woman, you're raising my hopes.

I feel like it's time for an update on this.  Did she continue to take the hat?  Did she take other articles of clothing?  Does she now dress like a man?  Did she steal your identity?  Did you give her the clamps?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 24, 2015, 10:47:15 am
She wore my hat again. Confound it, woman, you're raising my hopes.

I feel like it's time for an update on this.  Did she continue to take the hat?  Did she take other articles of clothing?  Does she now dress like a man?  Did she steal your identity?  Did you give her the clamps?

Ha, no, nothing came out of this. She's 20 years younger than me, so she should hang out with guys her age. If she threw herself on me, I certainly would have obliged her, but she didn't, and I don't want to be one of those guys that misread a woman's attention as anything more. Many women I know get upset at how they act friendly toward a guy only to have it backfire because now the guy thinks she likes him. And I can't blame them.

If this girl meant for anything to happen between us, then it's my loss for not interpreting her signals correctly, but I'd rather risk that than lose her as a friend because I make things weird. My dating scene tends to be more direct, exactly because I want to avoid awkward situations. Still, it was nice to have that attention.

Sorry for the boring outcome. I tend not to be high drama.

Although there is the story of my cousin-in-law who allowed her girlfriend to live in her house until she learned that her ex fell madly in love with a male inmate at the prison where she works and looks forward to when he's released so she can move in with him and his two kids because the courts will totally rule against the mom in favor of a two-time incarcerated burglar who claims that burglary is a victimless crime. Makes me actually pretty happy about my boring outcome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on March 24, 2015, 10:51:30 am
So I was right, she just likes the hat!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 24, 2015, 11:42:48 am
So I was right, she just likes the hat!

I feel so used. I thought she liked me, but she only liked me for my hat.

(http://www.funfancydress.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/S/A/SANC_2868.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on March 24, 2015, 01:26:41 pm
OKCupid Profile Translator:

http://userscripts-mirror.org/scripts/review/125481
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 24, 2015, 01:31:51 pm
OKCupid Profile Translator:

http://userscripts-mirror.org/scripts/review/125481

Code: [Select]
// God does not play dice, MOTHERFUCKER.
  "random": "banal",

$$$
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 24, 2015, 05:18:33 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea_xOqNvntA

The video is about sunglasses that enable colour-blind people to see colour.  I can't tell if this is legit, but the glasses are actually being sold (http://enchroma.com/).  I'm guessing it is legit because Valspar is big company, and if this were just a publicity stunt it would be in seriously bad taste. 

With my limited knowledge of colour-blindness, I don't understand how an external lens could allow people to see colour when they couldn't before.  Is it that it only works with people who have weak colour vision, rather than total colour blindness?  Can somebody explain the basic theory behind this technology?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 24, 2015, 05:28:39 pm
Here's an article by someone who says they didn't really do anything for him: http://mashable.com/2015/03/23/glasses-solve-color-blindness/.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 24, 2015, 07:03:09 pm
It's a filter (http://www.enchroma.com/technology/). It cuts out the light frequencies for which your "red" and "green" (don't know the scientific name) detectors have very similar sensitivities. It only works if there are frequencies for which both of them don't have the same sensitivity, and obviously doesn't work if you are missing one kind of detector to begin with.

EDIT: I gather that different colour-blind people have different frequency sensitivities, so single-measure-fits-all glasses will not work for all. Maybe they could tailor them to each person if they become popular.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 24, 2015, 07:07:08 pm
Ah, cool.  I guess I should have spent a bit more time checking their website.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 24, 2015, 07:07:39 pm
Here's an article by someone who says they didn't really do anything for him: http://mashable.com/2015/03/23/glasses-solve-color-blindness/.

So the guy says he was diagnosed with anomalous trichromacy, and that the glasses don't work for him, and that the sales guys said it won't work for true dichromatic colorblindness.

I suspect he is actually a dichromat (completely missing green cones) rather than a trichromat (altered function of green cones).

I'd be interested to try these out, but my colorblindness is extremely mild and limited, so it wouldn't be worth it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 24, 2015, 07:43:46 pm
Quote
I was asked if I could pass a drug test. I politely responded I need 2 weeks to study. I was hired on the spot.

I read this in a list of weird job interview moments that actually got people hired. I thought it was funny (and short) for you TL;DR people.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 24, 2015, 08:24:47 pm
Am I the only one tired of the misuse of "orientated" when "oriented" is the correct word?  Orientated is not even a word.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 24, 2015, 08:52:16 pm
Am I the only one tired of the misuse of "orientated" when "oriented" is the correct word?  Orientated is not even a word.

"Orientated" is to "oriented" as "colour" is to "color." Though I think "orientated" is uncommon in Canada.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 24, 2015, 08:59:41 pm
Am I the only one tired of the misuse of "orientated" when "oriented" is the correct word?  Orientated is not even a word.

"Orientated" is to "oriented" as "colour" is to "color." Though I think "orientated" is uncommon in Canada.

It's more complicated than that.

http://grammarist.com/usage/orientate/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 25, 2015, 08:07:20 am
Am I the only one tired of the misuse of "orientated" when "oriented" is the correct word?  Orientated is not even a word.

Or you could just not be racist.

</couldnotresist>
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 25, 2015, 08:53:42 am
Am I the only one tired of the misuse of "orientated" when "oriented" is the correct word?  Orientated is not even a word.

Or you could just not be racist.

</couldnotresist>
I think you mean ignorant, as I had no idea it was a Brit thing.  Which is embarassing, because I religiously (could not resist) spell the word "judgement" thusly, which is definitely the British way.  I do it for philosophical reasons, as seeing the entire word "judge" in there reminds me that that is what judgements are, a form of judging.

Upon more thought, racist is still not the right word here.  If I were anti-Brit, wouldn't I be a jingoist?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on March 25, 2015, 09:02:15 am
Methinks it was a pun on Oriental and stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 25, 2015, 09:06:41 am
Methinks it was a pun on Oriental and stuff.
Ah, now I get it. Thanks.

Funny how I've never linked those two words at all, even with 6 years of Latin. But it's the same root word.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 25, 2015, 09:13:52 am
"Dude, 'Chinaman' is no longer the preferred nomenclature."

Edit: Also, two Lebowski quotes within two pages.  This is now a Lebowski thread.  And therefore a pony thread.

(http://www.toplessrobot.com/tr-mlp-biglebowski.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 25, 2015, 09:31:11 am
Am I the only one tired of the misuse of "orientated" when "oriented" is the correct word?  Orientated is not even a word.

Or you could just not be racist.

</couldnotresist>

I was trying to come up with a way to turn it into a sexuality thing (i.e., sexual orientation), but I like the direction you went here. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 25, 2015, 09:31:46 am
"Dude, 'Chinaman' is no longer the preferred nomenclature."

Edit: Also, two Lebowski quotes within two pages.  This is now a Lebowski thread.  And therefore a pony thread.

(http://www.toplessrobot.com/tr-mlp-biglebowski.jpg)

That image really brings the thread together.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 25, 2015, 09:32:26 am
Am I the only one tired of the misuse of "orientated" when "oriented" is the correct word?  Orientated is not even a word.

"Orientated" is to "oriented" as "colour" is to "color." Though I think "orientated" is uncommon in Canada.

It's more complicated than that.

http://grammarist.com/usage/orientate/

It gets more complicated if you consider right-hand and left-hand conventions.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 25, 2015, 02:35:25 pm
Am I the only one tired of the misuse of "orientated" when "oriented" is the correct word?  Orientated is not even a word.

"Orientated" is to "oriented" as "colour" is to "color." Though I think "orientated" is uncommon in Canada.

It's more complicated than that.

http://grammarist.com/usage/orientate/

It gets more complicated if you consider right-hand and left-hand conventions.
That's a sinister thought.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 25, 2015, 06:57:02 pm
Am I the only one tired of the misuse of "orientated" when "oriented" is the correct word?  Orientated is not even a word.

"Orientated" is to "oriented" as "colour" is to "color." Though I think "orientated" is uncommon in Canada.

It's more complicated than that.

http://grammarist.com/usage/orientate/

It gets more complicated if you consider right-hand and left-hand conventions.
That's a sinister thought.

+1 Latin puns forever
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 25, 2015, 07:18:14 pm
Just wanted to give a final shout out for Above and Below (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/953146955/above-and-below-storytelling-board-game/), currently on Kickstarter.  The campaign ends in 5 hours and all stretch goals are unlocked.

It's a mash-up of standard euro game mechanisms combined with whimsical story-telling.  Ryan Laukat has a fantastic track record with his kickstarter campaigns.  This campaign has a somewhat exclusive "expanded edition" with content that will apparently never be in retail (only through this campaign and at conventions). 

For those interested, here is Rahdo's run through of the game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41PrfdsRHkQ

In his final thoughts, he brings up a couple of suggestions (more key cards for variety, more ways to get the re-roll ability) which the designer has said he will do.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on March 25, 2015, 11:05:40 pm
"Dude, 'Chinaman' is no longer the preferred nomenclature."

Edit: Also, two Lebowski quotes within two pages.  This is now a Lebowski thread.  And therefore a pony thread.

As much as I welcome pony content, those two really don't follow one another. Like, at all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on March 26, 2015, 12:09:44 am
My spring shopping list is over $4k and my tax return is only 17% of that... :(

https://www.americanmuscle.com/build-list.html?build=90839
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 26, 2015, 12:41:45 am
My spring shopping list is over $4k and my tax return is only 17% of that... :(

https://www.americanmuscle.com/build-list.html?build=90839

Buy a high-power computer instead.  A different kind of muscle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 26, 2015, 01:24:09 am
"Dude, 'Chinaman' is no longer the preferred nomenclature."

Edit: Also, two Lebowski quotes within two pages.  This is now a Lebowski thread.  And therefore a pony thread.

As much as I welcome pony content, those two really don't follow one another. Like, at all.

I tried to find an appropriate pony meme as a counter-argument, but alas, I could not find one.

Being dad to two small girls + hyperactive imagination + overly analytic mind = startlingly detailed headcanon of MLP politics and economics.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on March 26, 2015, 08:41:41 am
My spring shopping list is over $4k and my tax return is only 17% of that... :(

https://www.americanmuscle.com/build-list.html?build=90839
Start a Kickstarter campaign?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on March 26, 2015, 09:05:59 am
Just heard someone refer to a situation in American football as a possession game.  I loled.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 26, 2015, 09:54:56 am
Just heard someone refer to a situation in American football as a possession game.  I loled.

Because it's not fun?  Because the players aren't the ones making the decisions?  Because there's all this bloated overhead involved in actually playing the game?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on March 26, 2015, 10:03:50 am
Just heard someone refer to a situation in American football as a possession game.  I loled.

Because it's not fun?  Because the players aren't the ones making the decisions?  Because there's all this bloated overhead involved in actually playing the game?

Let me explain the joke.  I don't actually know what it means in relation to football.  I just posted this because it's a Dominion forum and possession games are a different thing in Dominion.

This is me, in a nutshell:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msN7HNncHik
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 26, 2015, 10:11:04 am
That episode was fantastic.

I don't know anything about Football, either. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on March 26, 2015, 10:20:40 am
That episode was fantastic.

I don't know anything about Football, either. 

All I know about (American) football is that it's a lot like chicken:  slightly unsanitary to handle raw, but quite tasty when fried or baked.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 26, 2015, 10:23:01 am
That episode was fantastic.

I don't know anything about Football, either. 

All I know about (American) football is that it's a lot like chicken:  slightly unsanitary to handle raw, but quite tasty when fried or baked.

Well I'm pretty sure it's made out of pig skin.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 26, 2015, 11:56:20 am
My favorite IT Crowd episode is the work outing. I just recently rewatched that, and I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so much. So very absurd. Also, a statement about being so overly polite and unwilling to make a fuss that will cause the person to lose face (even if the people he meets are complete strangers), which actually causes a much bigger fuss. Hilarity.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on March 26, 2015, 12:17:04 pm
The work outing is indeed hilarious.  Most of season 1 is top notch, really.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 26, 2015, 02:04:29 pm
My favorite IT Crowd episode is the work outing. I just recently rewatched that, and I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so much. So very absurd. Also, a statement about being so overly polite and unwilling to make a fuss that will cause the person to lose face (even if the people he meets are complete strangers), which actually causes a much bigger fuss. Hilarity.

I was just about to explain the episode that had me rolling in tears, and then I realized it's exactly the one you're talking about. 

It was when he had to continue to play the part of the paraplegic, and then when the group of actual disabled people came out... I ws already at full laughter capacity at that point, and it brought me over the edge.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on March 26, 2015, 02:16:58 pm
I really loved the sucker punch where Roy asks Jen to get him a drink and there's Moss in an equally absurd pickle.

I like Work Outing way better than the episode with the shoes. The shoes episode just turned Jen into a caricature of a shoe-pursuing woman's woman. Work Outing just had more layers of humor.

I also liked the haunting episode. About as absurd as Work Outing, but it had its slow moments.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on March 26, 2015, 02:36:04 pm
My spring shopping list is over $4k and my tax return is only 17% of that... :(

https://www.americanmuscle.com/build-list.html?build=90839
Start a Kickstarter campaign?
Maybe a GoFundME too?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 26, 2015, 10:40:49 pm
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/6d8eb5de2924be8950415c0307501a18/tumblr_njn4dmtsFO1s02vreo1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 27, 2015, 03:12:27 am
Just updated to Android L and I'm not happy.  Three things that bug me so far.

1. White backgrounds for all sorts of menus and notifications.  Whyyyy.
2. Sometimes there is this circle animation... on long press, I think?  It's unnecessary and I find it weirdly distracting.  I think it used to just highlight the tile or button or whatever.
3. I use Nova Launcher, and one of my favourite features is gestures.  I added a gesture to expand notificaions via downward swipe, which means I can swipe down anywhere on a homescreen to expand rather than having to swipe from the top.  It is a small thing, but it's such a nice little thing to have.  But the update broke it!  This is actually on the Nova Launcher devs to fix, but man is this bothering me.  Muscle memory is killing me here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 27, 2015, 03:27:23 am
I used to love Android, and I still like it. Recently I got an Apple phone which I was not crazy about, but as I've used it, I've grown to absolutely love it. Android is buggy sometimes, and things would freeze on me and stuff. I've never really had this issue with Apple phones in the year that I switched from my HTC (which is an excellent phone brand which I highly recommend)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 27, 2015, 04:06:10 am
4. Icons in the notification bar are no longer visible from the lock screen.  To be fair, there is now an option to display full notifications, but that eats up way more screen space... sigh.



To be clear, I still like Android.  I just don't like change.  Especially changes that remove features.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 27, 2015, 09:35:13 am
4. Icons in the notification bar are no longer visible from the lock screen.  To be fair, there is now an option to display full notifications, but that eats up way more screen space... sigh.



To be clear, I still like Android.  I just don't like change.  Especially changes that remove features.

Icons in notifications cannot be seen from the lock bar? How hard is it to add a little 20x20 pixel image? It can't take up phone space, Google phones are bigger than iPhones in general! Ugh, what are they doing..

And white backgrounds with the phone? Hrm... Looks like they are trying to pioneer some sort of unique look. That's fine, just don't remove stuff...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on March 27, 2015, 12:50:29 pm
Yeah, it's for their Material Design.  I think it is nice enough, except it would be better if there was an option for a dark version.  Eh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 28, 2015, 06:28:26 am
Quick Harry Kane update....

He is now the highest scoring player in the premier league.

More so, made his England debut last night, came on in the 71st minute..... Scored within 79 seconds!!!

Legend
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on March 28, 2015, 07:13:17 pm
That episode was fantastic.

I don't know anything about Football, either. 

All I know about (American) football is that it's a lot like chicken:  slightly unsanitary to handle raw, but quite tasty when fried or baked.

That took a while for me to get. I guess that's a good sign?

Also, by some metrics, I am now one of the top 100 players in Dustforce.

(http://i.imgur.com/apArbQF.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on March 29, 2015, 04:31:39 pm
I played some odd games of Dominion today. The first was a clear Highway combo board, and yet due to some bad luck on the 2nd shuffle (I opened Nomad Camp/Silver, drew $7 turn 3 and $2 turn 4) I only managed to get two Highways before they piled out. Somehow still won, probably because all but one person also ended up with two, and the one with four had suboptimal midgame luck, while I made my deck work with what I had.

Second game was a Ghost Ship/IGG game with Oracle. I opened Crossroads/Ghost Ship (2/5), so did someone else, and we bought the same cards turns 2 and 3... then I proceeded to get smashed by every single attack that came, my two terminals (Ghost Ship and Oracle) collided literally every single shuffle for the rest of the game, missed some reshuffles or got discarded, I played the three Crossroads I ended up with a total of two times due to constantly drawing them uselessly, and other such things, and I didn't get another $5 until about the 3rd last turn, ending up managing to just about buy one Duchy in the entire game. He on the other hand bought many Bazaars, Crossroads and Oracles, kept drawing 1-2 Estates with each Crossroad despite not buying green until very late, and basically ran away with the game.

Third game was a really interesting one - it was a Tunnel game with Margrave, Cartographer, Oasis, Thief, Loan and Adventurer to activate your Tunnels, along with Spice Merchant for thinning, Village and... something else. Two people opened with Margrave, so me and one other player ended up opening Spice Merchant/Tunnel. He constantly had his Tunnel (later Tunnels) discarded by Margrave and Thief, while I had the one Gold I got during the 3rd shuffle stolen, then proceeded to never match up my Oases with either Tunnel, missed during Margrave turns and Thief never hit. I think he had about 7 or 8 gold by the time I got to play my first one. But from there, I got an Adventurer... which was one of the most powerful Adventurer boards I think I've ever played. Asides from all the other treasures in my deck having been trashed so I only had (3) golds, Adventurer was also able to activate Tunnels as it went, so it not only picked up three Golds but it also gave me two golds the first two times I played it, and more golds on later plays, which was pretty huge. It pulled me straight back into the game, and I managed to come second.

Three very strange games. I was the strongest player in the group, but the player on my right is pretty decent as well (he'd probably be around Iso level 25-30 I expect, while I'm around 30-35 IIRC), and was the player who was generally doing something similar to me but without terrible luck. I know there's the saying "you make your own shuffle luck" but there's not always much you can do, especially getting wrecked early in the game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on March 29, 2015, 04:49:48 pm
Dominion Streaming seems to be dying. I'm getting no one watching my streams now, and the few that do stream don't have many views themselves..
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on March 29, 2015, 04:59:44 pm
Dominion Streaming seems to be dying. I'm getting no one watching my streams now, and the few that do stream don't have many views themselves..

The league was on break.  More people should start watching streams again soon.  I watched the last non-final stream of the league, and there were at least 18 people watching at one point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on March 29, 2015, 05:01:32 pm
Dominion Streaming seems to be dying. I'm getting no one watching my streams now, and the few that do stream don't have many views themselves..

Well, once Adventures is online, maybe it'll pick up again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 30, 2015, 05:21:03 pm
Include more scantily dressed women In Your streams. That will boost attendance
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on March 30, 2015, 05:21:42 pm
Oh oh, but a copy of the Pervy Japanese dominion! Problem solved
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on March 30, 2015, 05:22:02 pm
Include more scantily dressed women In Your streams. That will boost attendance

So say we all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 01, 2015, 03:12:27 pm
I wonder if the "amended" post counts that are today's April Fools joke are generated randomly, or from an algorithm based on correct post count.

+1 available for first documented correct answer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on April 01, 2015, 03:13:17 pm
I wonder if the "amended" post counts that are today's April Fools joke are generated randomly, or from an algorithm based on correct post count.

+1 available for first documented correct answer.

It's based on how much Theory likes you * the amount of times Robz says Scout - the amount of fingers you have on your left hand
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on April 01, 2015, 03:21:00 pm
Ozle's algorithm, while correct, is surprisingly equivalent to your actual number of posts, including forum games which are normally not counted.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 01, 2015, 03:23:10 pm
I wonder if the "amended" post counts that are today's April Fools joke are generated randomly, or from an algorithm based on correct post count.

+1 available for first documented correct answer.

The change is simply that posts in the Forum Games subforum are counted.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on April 01, 2015, 03:25:22 pm
I wonder if the "amended" post counts that are today's April Fools joke are generated randomly, or from an algorithm based on correct post count.

+1 available for first documented correct answer.

The change is simply that posts in the Forum Games subforum are counted.
Too slow! No +1 for you, the +1 is MINE!

Anyone who makes a joke about a dominion card I may have accidentally referenced or misspelled will NOT receive any +1s.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on April 01, 2015, 03:35:39 pm
That must be why I didn't notice a difference.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on April 01, 2015, 05:13:01 pm
Yeah. The Mafia players benefit most, shooting to the top. I haven't done badly myself, 7124 posts (at time of posting), the majority being in Non-Mafia games (4267 of them, to be precise).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 01, 2015, 05:18:27 pm
I wonder if the "amended" post counts that are today's April Fools joke are generated randomly, or from an algorithm based on correct post count.

+1 available for first documented correct answer.

The change is simply that posts in the Forum Games subforum are counted.
Too slow! No +1 for you, the +1 is MINE!

Anyone who makes a joke about a dominion card I may have accidentally referenced or misspelled will NOT receive any +1s.

Your post is misleading because you acknowledge Ozle's algorithm.  One should never acknowledge Ozle's algorithms.

I'm curious how many forum games posts I have.  I haven't played Mafia in ages.  Current post count is 9737...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 01, 2015, 05:23:08 pm
Holy crap, I'm actually in the Top 10.  I think I've been playing way too much Mafia.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on April 01, 2015, 05:29:34 pm
I wonder if the "amended" post counts that are today's April Fools joke are generated randomly, or from an algorithm based on correct post count.

+1 available for first documented correct answer.

The change is simply that posts in the Forum Games subforum are counted.
Too slow! No +1 for you, the +1 is MINE!

Anyone who makes a joke about a dominion card I may have accidentally referenced or misspelled will NOT receive any +1s.

Your post is misleading because you acknowledge Ozle's algorithm.  One should never acknowledge Ozle's algorithms.

I'm curious how many forum games posts I have.  I haven't played Mafia in ages.  Current post count is 9737...


TOO LATE!

He has quoted the alogrithm....NOW ITS ALIVE!!!!!

Oh wait, short half life, its dead now
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 01, 2015, 05:34:15 pm
I wonder if the "amended" post counts that are today's April Fools joke are generated randomly, or from an algorithm based on correct post count.

+1 available for first documented correct answer.

The change is simply that posts in the Forum Games subforum are counted.
I suspect this is the correct answer, and it SOUNDS documented.

By the power vested in me by the state of affairs, I hereby award you the aforementioned, pre-specified, promised, talked about, and highly coveted +1.  Let it be written, let it be done.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 01, 2015, 05:41:29 pm
I wonder if the "amended" post counts that are today's April Fools joke are generated randomly, or from an algorithm based on correct post count.

+1 available for first documented correct answer.

The change is simply that posts in the Forum Games subforum are counted.
I suspect this is the correct answer, and it SOUNDS documented.

By the power vested in me by the state of affairs, I hereby award you the aforementioned, pre-specified, promised, talked about, and highly coveted +1.  Let it be written, let it be done.

Victory!  I will give lio a consolation +1 because he also gave the correct answer, just with less clarity.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 01, 2015, 05:46:41 pm
I wonder if the "amended" post counts that are today's April Fools joke are generated randomly, or from an algorithm based on correct post count.

+1 available for first documented correct answer.

The change is simply that posts in the Forum Games subforum are counted.
I suspect this is the correct answer, and it SOUNDS documented.

By the power vested in me by the state of affairs, I hereby award you the aforementioned, pre-specified, promised, talked about, and highly coveted +1.  Let it be written, let it be done.

Victory!  I will give lio a consolation +1 because he also gave the correct answer, just with less clarity.
Clarity is highly overrated, except when scuba diving.  Especially in a moat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 02, 2015, 04:02:31 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=11&v=oxmXnucXlMQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 03, 2015, 10:25:01 pm
(http://www.quickmeme.com/img/bd/bd2a13a7699e529af392864c63f25dc6291498515e552ad86999cefe9cf97b48.jpg)

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 03, 2015, 10:43:37 pm
I feel like if My Chemical Romance was around when I was in college, I would have listened the shit out of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on April 04, 2015, 01:09:07 am
I feel like if My Chemical Romance was around when I was in college, I would have listened the shit out of it.

Too bad you didn't, and the shit is still in it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on April 06, 2015, 01:51:29 am
Here's a really cool game I think a lot of people here would like: http://sineridergame.com/ (http://sineridergame.com/).

Basically, in each level, you're given a set of targets you need to pass through, and your goal is to make an equation for a graph such that when you are subjected to gravity, your dude will pass through the targets.  You can't control the dude except by writing the equation for the graph, so he'll just fall down on top of the graph and go (I don't know if I'm explaining this very well...).  You can also make the graph change over time (the equation is in the format y=f(x,t) for some function f).

My main complaint about it is that the collision detection seems kind of wonky (I'm not sure how they could fix that though, given how flexible the graphing capabilities are), and sometimes that messes up what you know should be a legitimate solution.  But it's a pretty cool game, and I also think it has a lot of educational potential to teach kids about graphing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on April 06, 2015, 09:00:05 am
I played some of Sine Rider a short time ago. I intended to show it to some of the maths teachers at the school I work at, although never quite got around to it. It does look good from an education standpoint, although it has a few slight issues there (inflexibility in the order you do things mainly).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 06, 2015, 02:00:12 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/a77ea6a856effda53c3e585d54cca894/tumblr_mymzqtopUI1qfx620o1_500.gif)

Polks, please explain.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 06, 2015, 02:04:56 pm
(http://c2.thejournal.ie/media/2014/04/cake-17.gif)

eHalcyon showing how impossible it is for him to be blown out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on April 06, 2015, 02:41:11 pm
Here's a really cool game I think a lot of people here would like: http://sineridergame.com/ (http://sineridergame.com/).

Basically, in each level, you're given a set of targets you need to pass through, and your goal is to make an equation for a graph such that when you are subjected to gravity, your dude will pass through the targets.  You can't control the dude except by writing the equation for the graph, so he'll just fall down on top of the graph and go (I don't know if I'm explaining this very well...).  You can also make the graph change over time (the equation is in the format y=f(x,t) for some function f).

My main complaint about it is that the collision detection seems kind of wonky (I'm not sure how they could fix that though, given how flexible the graphing capabilities are), and sometimes that messes up what you know should be a legitimate solution.  But it's a pretty cool game, and I also think it has a lot of educational potential to teach kids about graphing.

I just played it recently!  I did everything but the later Convergence levels.  I couldn't figure those out.

The best thing about the collision detection is asymptotes.  They're so wonky.  Just put in tan(x) as your function and you'll see what I mean.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on April 06, 2015, 02:59:29 pm
I think mine was when I stepped into a (serious) thread, didn't read it, made a completely serious reply (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9952.msg323424#msg323424), and managed to get message of the week from it.

Well, it's that or a post I made from an alt account (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9309.msg288743#msg288743). Probably the latter actually.

Edit: It's the latter. Sigh.

Good, that first one is so dull.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 06, 2015, 03:02:14 pm
I think mine was when I stepped into a (serious) thread, didn't read it, made a completely serious reply (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9952.msg323424#msg323424), and managed to get message of the week from it.

Well, it's that or a post I made from an alt account (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9309.msg288743#msg288743). Probably the latter actually.

Edit: It's the latter. Sigh.

Good, that first one is so dull.

Glad this got linked; I +1'd the second one.  Only skimmed the first one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on April 06, 2015, 03:04:49 pm
Can we just kill the random thread now and actually start new topics for things?
Would generate more quality posts!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 06, 2015, 03:05:26 pm
Can we just kill the random thread now and actually start new topics for things?
Would generate more quality posts!

Feel free to make a Nonrandom Stuff thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 06, 2015, 04:28:34 pm
This would be a group effort. Don't post to the random thread anymore. This would apply to everyone. But people would invariably post to it at some point, so the basic solution is to lock it.

I wouldn't object to it. There are times I feel that starting a new topic would be frivolous, so I post in here instead. I could create new threads on whatever floats my boat (hint: it's water).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 06, 2015, 04:29:46 pm
This would be a group effort. Don't post to the random thread anymore. This would apply to everyone. But people would invariably post to it at some point, so the basic solution is to lock it.

I wouldn't object to it. There are times I feel that starting a new topic would be frivolous, so I post in here instead. I could create new threads on whatever floats my boat (hint: it's water).

You should have started a new thread for this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 06, 2015, 04:39:47 pm
This is stupid. I love random thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on April 06, 2015, 05:40:06 pm
The thing is, its just a merge of all the other good threads that can hold thier own.
Look at the maths thread, thats now a great thread on its own, but that started off in here and if I hadnt posted it out there it would have died and gone away. More importantly, i would imagine loads of people see replies in the Random thread and dont bother to check it, because half of it is mindless.

Keep it for saying hello, posting silly stuff, but then if you have something you want to share, post it as normal.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on April 06, 2015, 05:42:54 pm
Long live random! This is my favorite thread on the forum.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 06, 2015, 05:52:59 pm
If Random dies, what will I talk about? Where will I share my funny pictures? Where will we talk about normal stuff?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on April 06, 2015, 05:58:03 pm
If Random dies, what will I talk about? Where will I share my funny pictures? Where will we talk about normal stuff?

Why not have a funny pictures thread? That way people who dont normally see the pictures might then see and maybe even contribute
And im not saying get rid of completely, but just leave it for the completely random non discussion stuff
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on April 06, 2015, 06:00:51 pm
Sorry for the Necro.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 06, 2015, 06:02:02 pm
If Random dies, what will I talk about? Where will I share my funny pictures? Where will we talk about normal stuff?

Why not have a funny pictures thread? That way people who dont normally see the pictures might then see and maybe even contribute
And im not saying get rid of completely, but just leave it for the completely random non discussion stuff

Well, let's certainly talk it through here!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on April 06, 2015, 06:55:28 pm
I think mine was when I stepped into a (serious) thread, didn't read it, made a completely serious reply (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9952.msg323424#msg323424), and managed to get message of the week from it.

Well, it's that or a post I made from an alt account (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9309.msg288743#msg288743). Probably the latter actually.

Edit: It's the latter. Sigh.

Good, that first one is so dull.

Glad this got linked; I +1'd the second one.  Only skimmed the first one.

Pretty much the line that got me most of that respect was:

Quote
In Dominion, the objective is not to have the most points when the game ends. The objective to have the game end when you have the most points.

The rest of the post was just explaining that statement a little more.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on April 06, 2015, 09:04:37 pm
If Random dies, what will I talk about? Where will I share my funny pictures? Where will we talk about normal stuff?

Why not have a funny pictures thread? That way people who dont normally see the pictures might then see and maybe even contribute
And im not saying get rid of completely, but just leave it for the completely random non discussion stuff

Wait. We're arguing with Ozle? Guys, clearly this must be trolling :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on April 07, 2015, 02:36:06 pm
If Random dies, what will I talk about? Where will I share my funny pictures? Where will we talk about normal stuff?

Why not have a funny pictures thread? That way people who dont normally see the pictures might then see and maybe even contribute
And im not saying get rid of completely, but just leave it for the completely random non discussion stuff

Wait. We're arguing with Ozle? Guys, clearly this must be trolling :P

Worse, I am agreeing with Ozle. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on April 07, 2015, 02:36:48 pm
Polks, please explain.

I love penguins?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 07, 2015, 04:18:49 pm

My rhyming skills are Lost Arts, so big they're Giant
Let me play Mountebank, gain the curse, be compliant
I'll Butcher your deck, make you wish you got Chancellor
This ain't Goko! no Resign Button, so no canceler
I'll be playin' my Thief, trashing your finances
My shuffle luck is perfect, you'll be running out of chances
I'm the very best player, as everyone can see
All my girls be playin' in League, Division D
I buy the last Province, and I always win with style
But your lines, they're already as empty as a 3-pile


Word.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on April 07, 2015, 05:32:20 pm
If Random dies, what will I talk about? Where will I share my funny pictures? Where will we talk about normal stuff?

Why not have a funny pictures thread? That way people who dont normally see the pictures might then see and maybe even contribute
And im not saying get rid of completely, but just leave it for the completely random non discussion stuff

Wait. We're arguing with Ozle? Guys, clearly this must be trolling :P

Worse, I am agreeing with Ozle.

You are my new favourite person
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on April 07, 2015, 05:35:28 pm
If Random dies, what will I talk about? Where will I share my funny pictures? Where will we talk about normal stuff?

Why not have a funny pictures thread? That way people who dont normally see the pictures might then see and maybe even contribute
And im not saying get rid of completely, but just leave it for the completely random non discussion stuff

Wait. We're arguing with Ozle? Guys, clearly this must be trolling :P

Worse, I am agreeing with Ozle.

(http://richard-wright.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/WOW_W17_A045_Fire_and_Brimstone_WS-650x365.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on April 07, 2015, 06:21:33 pm
If Random dies, what will I talk about? Where will I share my funny pictures? Where will we talk about normal stuff?

Why not have a funny pictures thread? That way people who dont normally see the pictures might then see and maybe even contribute
And im not saying get rid of completely, but just leave it for the completely random non discussion stuff

Wait. We're arguing with Ozle? Guys, clearly this must be trolling :P

Worse, I am agreeing with Ozle.

(http://richard-wright.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/WOW_W17_A045_Fire_and_Brimstone_WS-650x365.jpg)

Those austerity riots have got quite bad I see....
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 07, 2015, 10:18:31 pm
I'm really interested in a Kickstarter game that is coming to an end soon -- Valeria: Card Kingdoms (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dailymagic/valeria-card-kingdoms/).  I hadn't paid any attention until Rahdo's run-through:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuGtKxm8wT0

It looks like a dungeon-crawl themed Machi Koro with some elements of Splendor as well.  On your turn, you roll 2 dice.  As in Machi Koro, this triggers effects on your cards and those of your opponents.  The first interesting twist is that each roll can trigger up to 3 different values, because you count the number on each individual die as well as the sum.  This has an immediate advantage over Machi Koro in that it will ultimately trigger more cards, which should mean more fun.  The second twist is that every card can be triggered on an opponent's turn, and the effect you get is different depending on whether it's your turn or another's, giving some more variation to what happens.

Most (maybe all?) of the cards give you resources or allow you to convert resources.  There's Strength, Gold, and Magic.  You use Gold to buy more cards and Strength to defeat various monsters.  Magic is a wildcard that can be used to augment either Strength or Gold (but is useless on its own).

There are Domain cards that have prerequisites to building them (which reminds me of the Nobles in Splendor) which grant various effects.

It all looks very solid.  I'm on the fence mostly because the USD-CAD exchange rate is still terrible.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 08, 2015, 08:43:56 am
This would be a group effort. Don't post to the random thread anymore. This would apply to everyone. But people would invariably post to it at some point, so the basic solution is to lock it.

I wouldn't object to it. There are times I feel that starting a new topic would be frivolous, so I post in here instead. I could create new threads on whatever floats my boat (hint: it's water).
I think you missed an opportunity here. You could have gone with "hint: it's moat".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on April 08, 2015, 08:56:59 am
Quote from: Eliezer Yudkowsky
Also, if anyone is already working on any of the following projects, I would not mind being CC’d in on their email threads (especially if I can successfully ascend to angel investor):
  • All-robotic car fleets (cars that operate in environments where only other conforming robotic cars are around).
  • Cheaper pharmaceutical research and development outside of the US and European regulatory regimes.
  • Financialization of venture capital using non-US equity laws or cryptoequities.
  • Assaults on obesity that involve directly killing fat cells, rather than futile attempts to mess with the surrounding metabolic processes.
  • Movable houses that can be shifted between modularly designed house-foundations.
  • Trying to convince an otherwise residable country with available land to create a special district with econoliterate tax and finance laws (e.g., consumption taxes and land value taxes rather than capital-gains taxes and sales taxes, legal cryptofinance).
  • Cryptocurrencies that incorporate some form of inflation targeting or NGDP level targeting.
  • Continuously audited bank accounts.
  • Quadcopters armed with anti-mosquito lasers, especially if the same system is adaptable to target wasps/hornets/etcetera and other pests.
I would not especially recommend trying to infer what I might be plotting by trying to guess how all of these things fit together. Not all the elements belong to the same potential plots.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 09, 2015, 02:16:35 pm
Polk, I found a shirt for you:

http://www.headlineshirts.net/napoleon-beach-cruiser-t-shirt.html#.VSbBvfnF81I

(http://cdn2.headlineshirts.net/media/catalog/product/cache/3/thumbnail/584x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/n/a/napolean_v1_583.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 10, 2015, 02:46:05 am
This week's humble bundle is board games (https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly).  Complete packages of Small World 2 and TTR are there.  Also Catan and Talisman are both recognizable.  And apparently this 100% Orange Juice thing is well known too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 11, 2015, 07:51:15 am
This story did not turn out to be about the board game company:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/the-crimes-of-milton-bradley/ar-AAaESh9?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on April 11, 2015, 02:50:54 pm
Don't play with fire. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-32264914)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 11, 2015, 05:21:26 pm
The greatest website of all time (http://www.penisland.net/index.html)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 11, 2015, 11:28:58 pm
(https://41.media.tumblr.com/ca93999eed81372b1eb2b509105a47a5/tumblr_nmfoipD74O1rz64nto4_540.jpg)
(https://41.media.tumblr.com/5f6bb8ab5d86575f5382422ef1e13fc3/tumblr_nmfoipD74O1rz64nto5_540.jpg)

(https://41.media.tumblr.com/b00e8affa1e11bfef8de9b36b35cbb5e/tumblr_nmfoipD74O1rz64nto7_540.jpg)

More here (http://kerrycallen.blogspot.com.es/search/label/A%20Callen%20parody).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on April 13, 2015, 11:02:43 am
Don't play with fire. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-32264914)

I think I know a guy who has operated that trebuchet. Not the guy in the article, of course.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on April 13, 2015, 01:14:08 pm
Don't play with fire. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-32264914)

I think I know a guy who has operated that trebuchet. Not the guy in the article, of course.

It's the last time I give the intern any responsibility.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 14, 2015, 01:04:07 pm
Internment rarely works out for the best.  Though I guess it's better than interment, so no playing with fire.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 16, 2015, 09:04:07 pm
(http://www.loadingartist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-01-everyone-can-be-beautiful.png) (http://www.loadingartist.com/comic/everyone-can-be-beautiful/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 16, 2015, 10:52:19 pm
I may have loved this one a bit too much.

(http://www.loadingartist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-01-everyone-can-be-beautiful.png) (http://www.loadingartist.com/comic/everyone-can-be-beautiful/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 16, 2015, 10:55:06 pm
...

Hahahha... now I'm sad.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 17, 2015, 11:35:57 am
I'm going to get this over with.

I'm 19 today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on April 17, 2015, 12:05:48 pm
Happy Birthday!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 17, 2015, 12:53:28 pm
I'm going to get this over with.

I'm 19 today.

(http://th04.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2012/115/d/1/happy_birthday_neno__by_navitaserussirus-d4xjw7s.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on April 17, 2015, 01:44:18 pm
I'm going to get this over with.

I'm 19 today.

What a coincidence, me too!

I've been 19 for almost 10 months already!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 17, 2015, 01:45:41 pm
My little pony...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 17, 2015, 01:54:21 pm
My little pony...

you don't like?  :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 17, 2015, 02:08:12 pm
I'm going to get this over with.

I'm 19 today.

What a coincidence, me too!

I also have 19 years.*


* I have them twice and then some.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 17, 2015, 03:04:22 pm
My little pony...

you don't like?  :(

(http://rs1img.memecdn.com/spidey-is-now-a-brony_o_720170.jpg)

The infection is spreading..
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 17, 2015, 03:38:37 pm
I always get sad when I remember that there are people who don't consider it to be the greatest thing in the universe.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 17, 2015, 03:45:50 pm
I always get sad when I remember that there are people who don't consider it to be the greatest thing in the universe.

That's because Snake Plissken isn't a pony. Neither is Jack Burton. Huh, I see a theme here. Kurt = God?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 17, 2015, 03:59:42 pm
Okay, I've finally gotten off the fence. I was debating on auditioning for Assassins next weekend. I've committed to it now by scheduling a vocal lesson to freshen up my voice. I'm not actually auditioning for a singing role. I really want to play Samuel Byck. I think his monologues would be fucking awesome to do.

But if the director appreciates my singing enough to offer me the role of Charles Guiteau or the Proprietor, I certainly wouldn't say no to either one. Too bad I'm too old for Hinckley. I really like his duet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 17, 2015, 04:03:12 pm
I always get sad when I remember that there are people who don't consider it to be the greatest thing in the universe.

But it's not. Everything that isn't the greatest thing in the universe is not the greatest thing in the universe.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 17, 2015, 04:14:42 pm
I always get sad when I remember that there are people who don't consider it to be the greatest thing in the universe.

But it's not. Everything that isn't the greatest thing in the universe is not the greatest thing in the universe.
QED: They can't ALL be the greatest things in the universe.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on April 17, 2015, 05:26:54 pm
I always get sad when I remember that there are people who don't consider it to be the greatest thing in the universe.

But it's not. Everything that isn't the greatest thing in the universe is not the greatest thing in the universe.
QED: They can't ALL be the greatest things in the universe.

... unless you are indifferent among all things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on April 17, 2015, 05:28:40 pm
I always get sad when I remember that there are people who don't consider it to be the greatest thing in the universe.

I don't understand your point of view.

Http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fdVdpRzUzR0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on April 17, 2015, 06:19:38 pm
I always get sad when I remember that there are people who don't consider it to be the greatest thing in the universe.

But it's not. Everything that isn't the greatest thing in the universe is not the greatest thing in the universe.
QED: They can't ALL be the greatest things in the universe.

[cue heated debate on the ontological argument]
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on April 17, 2015, 09:55:07 pm
I'm going to get this over with.

I'm 19 today.
Hapy Birthday! You'll be happy to know I celebrated by watching Age of Ultron! It was a good day for a birthday! :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 17, 2015, 11:02:34 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/RAkXSNF.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on April 18, 2015, 06:33:02 am
I'm going to get this over with.

I'm 19 today.

Good, now get back to Ace Attorney. ;)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 18, 2015, 02:20:27 pm
I'm going to get this over with.

I'm 19 today.

Good, now get back to Ace Attorney. ;)

(http://stream1.gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs3/2042233_o.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 18, 2015, 05:00:13 pm
not sure if the video was supposed to be relevant for something, but that's equestria girls, which is terrible.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 18, 2015, 05:22:59 pm
not sure if the video was supposed to be relevant for something, but that's equestria girls, which is terrible.

Equestria Girls really, truly is awful.  I cringe every time my girls want to watch it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 18, 2015, 05:35:45 pm
not sure if the video was supposed to be relevant for something, but that's equestria girls, which is terrible.

But I thought friendship was magic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on April 18, 2015, 05:38:09 pm
Yeah, Equestria Girls is really not that good.

That being said, I do genuinely like some of the songs from Rainbow Rocks, even though I really shouldn't (many of them are pop songs, and only okay ones at best.) Under Our Spell + Shine Like Rainbows are still stuck in my head. And there are some good scenes from it, the Sunset Shimmer redemption arc saves the 2nd movie for me. Overall, the movies have bad pacing and silly plots. Whereas in the original show, most villains have good plans, and lose because they underestimate the threat level of the good guys.

(http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/133/d/7/twilight_breaker_by_pokemaster2185-d7i7ci8.gif) is a better representation of what the show can get away with. It definitely doesn't do stuff like that all the time, but it's great to have the potential for it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 18, 2015, 05:41:16 pm
I think Rainbow Rocks is better/less bad than the original movie, but I can't get over humanized ponies either way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 18, 2015, 05:46:27 pm
I think Rainbow Rocks is better/less bad than the original movie, but I can't get over humanized ponies either way.

y u no liek anthromorphic Equus Caballus?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on April 18, 2015, 05:50:10 pm
I think Rainbow Rocks is better/less bad than the original movie, but I can't get over humanized ponies either way.

It used to bother me, now it doesn't, but it still has the blatant let's-release-a-new-toy-line hanging over it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on April 18, 2015, 06:39:42 pm
I'm going to get this over with.

I'm 19 today.

Good, now get back to Ace Attorney. ;)

I've been playing through the Ace Attorney games recently (well, Ace Attorney Trilogy). I'm currently nearing the end of the second one, Justice For All. It's been good fun. Still haven't come across the infamous Godot though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 18, 2015, 06:45:17 pm
I'm going to get this over with.

I'm 19 today.

Good, now get back to Ace Attorney. ;)

I've been playing through the Ace Attorney games recently (well, Ace Attorney Trilogy). I'm currently nearing the end of the second one, Justice For All. It's been good fun. Still haven't come across the infamous Godot though.

He's in the third one. I'm playing that one now.

And I met someone more weird than that fabulous magician guy in this game. No, seriously.

(http://www.court-records.net/animation/armstrong-inviting(b).gif)

I think the game devs have a little too much fun with their characters.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on April 18, 2015, 06:51:54 pm
Still haven't come across the infamous Godot though.

By the end of the story he still hasn't showed up. I thing you're supposed to find some deep meaning in it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 18, 2015, 06:55:19 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/cdec58e28243882a79e6eecbd12d7d95/tumblr_nm9yljMb3i1s2yegdo1_500.gif)

This isn't an image of a lizard.  Look carefully.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on April 18, 2015, 07:41:56 pm
This isn't an image of a lizard.  Look carefully.

Some people have the weirdest fetishes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 18, 2015, 09:04:49 pm
Has anybody heard of Millenium Blades (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/level99games/millennium-blades-the-ccg-simulator-board-game)?  It's a meta board game, in that it's a board game about playing a (fictional) CCG game.  I never really got invested in any CCGs so this game doesn't interest me much, but I think the premise is amusing.

From what I gather, you have multiple rounds of two phases, Deckbuilding and Tournaments.  The deckbuilding phase is the more meta of the two phases; you buy, sell, trade and collect cards and build your competitive deck.  In the tournament phase, you actually play your deck against the other players.  But winning tournaments doesn't necessarily win you the game.  You can also earn points just by having a big collection or making a profit on the aftermarket.  You can even earn points by making friends with other players in the hobby.

Anyway, I'm not backing the game (haven't even read the rulebook), but I imagine that many of you may love this game just from the nostalgia factor from that feeling of being part of a CCG community.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on April 19, 2015, 12:48:45 am
Has anybody heard of Millenium Blades (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/level99games/millennium-blades-the-ccg-simulator-board-game)?  It's a meta board game, in that it's a board game about playing a (fictional) CCG game.  I never really got invested in any CCGs so this game doesn't interest me much, but I think the premise is amusing.

From what I gather, you have multiple rounds of two phases, Deckbuilding and Tournaments.  The deckbuilding phase is the more meta of the two phases; you buy, sell, trade and collect cards and build your competitive deck.  In the tournament phase, you actually play your deck against the other players.  But winning tournaments doesn't necessarily win you the game.  You can also earn points just by having a big collection or making a profit on the aftermarket.  You can even earn points by making friends with other players in the hobby.

Anyway, I'm not backing the game (haven't even read the rulebook), but I imagine that many of you may love this game just from the nostalgia factor from that feeling of being part of a CCG community.

This sounds pretty cool, but I need a reason why I should play this game, instead of actually being a player in another CCG. I suppose cost is a big one...

One of the big parts of CCGs is that you can speculate / theorycraft with other people online. I suppose you can do the same for this game, but you're one level removed from the theorycrafting because you're talking about the game that contains the other game (talking about how to play in the deckbuilding phase, rather than the tournament phase.) I don't know how well that would translate, but call me intrigued.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 19, 2015, 01:03:32 am
Has anybody heard of Millenium Blades (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/level99games/millennium-blades-the-ccg-simulator-board-game)?  It's a meta board game, in that it's a board game about playing a (fictional) CCG game.  I never really got invested in any CCGs so this game doesn't interest me much, but I think the premise is amusing.

From what I gather, you have multiple rounds of two phases, Deckbuilding and Tournaments.  The deckbuilding phase is the more meta of the two phases; you buy, sell, trade and collect cards and build your competitive deck.  In the tournament phase, you actually play your deck against the other players.  But winning tournaments doesn't necessarily win you the game.  You can also earn points just by having a big collection or making a profit on the aftermarket.  You can even earn points by making friends with other players in the hobby.

Anyway, I'm not backing the game (haven't even read the rulebook), but I imagine that many of you may love this game just from the nostalgia factor from that feeling of being part of a CCG community.

This sounds pretty cool, but I need a reason why I should play this game, instead of actually being a player in another CCG. I suppose cost is a big one...

One of the big parts of CCGs is that you can speculate / theorycraft with other people online. I suppose you can do the same for this game, but you're one level removed from the theorycrafting because you're talking about the game that contains the other game (talking about how to play in the deckbuilding phase, rather than the tournament phase.) I don't know how well that would translate, but call me intrigued.

The in-game CCG also has a bunch of included "expansion sets" with different (and ridiculous) themes and effects.  As I understand it, not every set is used in every game.  My guess (without reading the rule books) is that a new expansion is "released" at the start of each deckbuilding phase.  The theorycrafting is actually part of the game; during the deckbuilding phase you would have to figure out what to do with the cards available to you in order to build your deck for the tournament phase.

I think the idea is that, if you don't have the time or money to participate in the CCG hobby (long and intense theorycrafting, building huge collections, going to tournaments), you can get a similar, condensed experience with this game.  Also, it looks like a tongue-in-cheek parody what with expansion sets such as "Super Plumber Bros", "Legend of Tanananah" and "Fantasy Finale MCLXVII-2".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 19, 2015, 03:12:08 am
Mwahaha. Another party down, another unsuspecting fool who can no longer say he's never seen Shock Treatment.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on April 19, 2015, 08:15:57 am
Good, now get back to Ace Attorney. ;)

I've been playing through the Ace Attorney games recently (well, Ace Attorney Trilogy). I'm currently nearing the end of the second one, Justice For All. It's been good fun. Still haven't come across the infamous Godot though.
I look forward to downloading the trilogy soon, once I get through a few other games on my shelf. The third game was never released here, so I really have been waiting for Godot all this time. (I've played 4 & 5, and I need to play the 6th Professor Layton game before moving on to the crossover too.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on April 19, 2015, 10:27:42 am
Mwahaha. Another party down, another unsuspecting fool who can no longer say he's never seen Shock Treatment.
I can't tell if this is worse than tricking people into watching The Room
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 19, 2015, 10:51:47 am
This isn't an image of a lizard.  Look carefully.

Some people have the weirdest fetishes.

I didn't have this one, until now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 19, 2015, 02:16:41 pm
I got a quick question about how to use the ' symbol properly in English grammar. If something belongs to someone, do I say, e.g, "Donald's game," "Donalds game," or is both correct? Also, if the name ends with an s, is it "Hans property," "Hans' property," or "Hans's property?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on April 19, 2015, 02:27:41 pm
I got a quick question about how to use the ' symbol properly in English grammar. If something belongs to someone, do I say, e.g, "Donald's game," "Donalds game," or is both correct? Also, if the name ends with an s, is it "Hans property," "Hans' property," or "Hans's property?"

Donald's game is right, Donalds game isn't. If the name ends with an s, it's generally Hans's property, but for some names (such as Jesus and other old names), it's Hans' property.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 19, 2015, 02:38:45 pm
thanks
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 19, 2015, 03:45:49 pm
I got a quick question about how to use the ' symbol properly in English grammar. If something belongs to someone, do I say, e.g, "Donald's game," "Donalds game," or is both correct? Also, if the name ends with an s, is it "Hans property," "Hans' property," or "Hans's property?"

Donald's game is right, Donalds game isn't. If the name ends with an s, it's generally Hans's property, but for some names (such as Jesus and other old names), it's Hans' property.

Note that the case of apostrophes after old names is somewhat deprecated, so using "Jesus's property" is also fine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 19, 2015, 08:12:38 pm
I prefer to omit the s after the apostrophe if the name also ends in s, though I believe most style guides recommend that you include it.  The important thing is that you are consistent.  Either always omit it or always use it.  Also note that you don't use the apostrophe for possessive "its", e.g. "That is the monster's den" or "That is its den".

And for something completely different,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXqY8EZ21-g

Also,

(https://41.media.tumblr.com/bbcf37486073a736a5954c9f6aa15692/tumblr_nld6f8dxBG1reo2pbo5_540.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 19, 2015, 09:17:29 pm
I prefer to omit the s after the apostrophe if the name also ends in s, though I believe most style guides recommend that you include it.  The important thing is that you are consistent.  Either always omit it or always use it.  Also note that you don't use the apostrophe for possessive "its", e.g. "That is the monster's den" or "That is its den".

And for something completely different,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXqY8EZ21-g

After the first few seconds, even though I knew what was going on, I couldn't stop watching.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 19, 2015, 09:53:52 pm
There's also a part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrmhdGkdh-Q

There are a couple repeats in there though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Deadlock39 on April 20, 2015, 12:11:49 am
I think the only honorable way to handle a disconnect in the Dominion Leauge is to get out your cards IRL, recreate the gamestate, and play it out.

(I wanted to post this in the League thread, but decided to keep my jokes out of their serious discussion thread.  This was the first place to post it that came to my mind.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 20, 2015, 08:31:33 am
Mwahaha. Another party down, another unsuspecting fool who can no longer say he's never seen Shock Treatment.
I can't tell if this is worse than tricking people into watching The Room

I've not yet seen The Room so I cannot judge which movie is worse, but at least some of the songs in Shock Treatment are a little catchy.

What I noticed for the first time is that even the dialogue rhymed. I didn't focus so heavily on the dialogue to see if this happens throughout the entire film, but I had the CC on, and I realized that many of the spoken lines rhymed. It wasn't overly blatant like AABBCC; it was more like ABCADEFGF. It was there—at least for part of the movie—but you had to pay attention. I would study it in greater detail, but that would mean putting the movie back into the player, and I think I've fulfilled the once-a-decade quota already.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 20, 2015, 08:38:00 am
I got a quick question about how to use the ' symbol properly in English grammar. If something belongs to someone, do I say, e.g, "Donald's game," "Donalds game," or is both correct? Also, if the name ends with an s, is it "Hans property," "Hans' property," or "Hans's property?"

As already said, apostrophe is used for possessive (except its because English is dumb). Most style guides I read do suggest an apostrophe-S on names ending in S, so Hans's would be correct. In general, many people will accept Hans'. As stated, consistency is key. While I may wrinkle my nose at an instance of Hans', it's nothing compared to my mini-rage at seeing it written as Hans's later.

Personally, I prefer adding the apostrophe-S. It is consistent with all your other possessives, after all. But then this is the language of exceptions, so saying that you should add apostrophe-S except for names ending with S is no less weird than I before E except for after C and other arbitrary reasons.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 20, 2015, 09:53:36 am
I know of Shock Treatment thanks to the Cinema Snob.. The REAL reason to watch League of Super Critics.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on April 20, 2015, 10:02:00 am
except its because English is dumb

"Its" is either a possessive determiner/article or a possessive pronoun. It makes as much sense to write "it's head" when used that way as it would to write "I's head" or "she's head" (if your argument is that it should work that way, then you are self consistent, but I'd rather not have to relearn this).

Small addendum to the possessive "'s" discussion: for plural words ending in s, just write the apostrophe. For example, "my parents' house".

And since we are doing this, the oatmeal has us covered (http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 20, 2015, 10:04:39 am
I kind of wish the bottom text would have been:

"Lastly, when in doubt, dont use an apostrophe."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 20, 2015, 10:10:20 am
I think the only honorable way to handle a disconnect in the Dominion Leauge is to get out your cards IRL, recreate the gamestate, and play it out.

(I wanted to post this in the League thread, but decided to keep my jokes out of their serious discussion thread.  This was the first place to post it that came to my mind.)

I think the auxiliary game should be Rock-Paper-Scissors.  You can play some number of games with required wins for each player to match the perceived winning probabilities at the point of disconnect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on April 20, 2015, 10:23:35 am
I've not yet seen The Room so I cannot judge which movie is worse, but at least some of the songs in Shock Treatment are a little catchy.

Instead of songs, The Room just has about half a dozen terrible sex scenes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on April 20, 2015, 11:10:59 am
I've not yet seen The Room so I cannot judge which movie is worse, but at least some of the songs in Shock Treatment are a little catchy.

Instead of songs, The Room just has about half a dozen hilarious sex scenes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on April 20, 2015, 01:27:18 pm
I got a quick question about how to use the ' symbol properly in English grammar. If something belongs to someone, do I say, e.g, "Donald's game," "Donalds game," or is both correct? Also, if the name ends with an s, is it "Hans property," "Hans' property," or "Hans's property?"

As already said, apostrophe is used for possessive (except its because English is dumb). Most style guides I read do suggest an apostrophe-S on names ending in S, so Hans's would be correct. In general, many people will accept Hans'. As stated, consistency is key. While I may wrinkle my nose at an instance of Hans', it's nothing compared to my mini-rage at seeing it written as Hans's later.

Personally, I prefer adding the apostrophe-S. It is consistent with all your other possessives, after all. But then this is the language of exceptions, so saying that you should add apostrophe-S except for names ending with S is no less weird than I before E except for after C and other arbitrary reasons.
Apostrophes represent missing letters. "Can't" used to be "ca'n't" - two missing letters!

The apostrophe for possessives also represents a missing letter! That long-lost letter is an "e." In the murky past, it was "Donaldes game."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 20, 2015, 01:44:18 pm
Keeping up with the Joneses, who have a neighbor who stole the Jonseses car.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 20, 2015, 01:45:44 pm
I got a quick question about how to use the ' symbol properly in English grammar. If something belongs to someone, do I say, e.g, "Donald's game," "Donalds game," or is both correct? Also, if the name ends with an s, is it "Hans property," "Hans' property," or "Hans's property?"

As already said, apostrophe is used for possessive (except its because English is dumb). Most style guides I read do suggest an apostrophe-S on names ending in S, so Hans's would be correct. In general, many people will accept Hans'. As stated, consistency is key. While I may wrinkle my nose at an instance of Hans', it's nothing compared to my mini-rage at seeing it written as Hans's later.

Personally, I prefer adding the apostrophe-S. It is consistent with all your other possessives, after all. But then this is the language of exceptions, so saying that you should add apostrophe-S except for names ending with S is no less weird than I before E except for after C and other arbitrary reasons.
Apostrophes represent missing letters. "Can't" used to be "ca'n't" - two missing letters!

The apostrophe for possessives also represents a missing letter! That long-lost letter is an "e." In the murky past, it was "Donaldes game."

What if your name was Donalde?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 20, 2015, 01:54:48 pm
I got a quick question about how to use the ' symbol properly in English grammar. If something belongs to someone, do I say, e.g, "Donald's game," "Donalds game," or is both correct? Also, if the name ends with an s, is it "Hans property," "Hans' property," or "Hans's property?"

As already said, apostrophe is used for possessive (except its because English is dumb). Most style guides I read do suggest an apostrophe-S on names ending in S, so Hans's would be correct. In general, many people will accept Hans'. As stated, consistency is key. While I may wrinkle my nose at an instance of Hans', it's nothing compared to my mini-rage at seeing it written as Hans's later.

Personally, I prefer adding the apostrophe-S. It is consistent with all your other possessives, after all. But then this is the language of exceptions, so saying that you should add apostrophe-S except for names ending with S is no less weird than I before E except for after C and other arbitrary reasons.
Apostrophes represent missing letters. "Can't" used to be "ca'n't" - two missing letters!

The apostrophe for possessives also represents a missing letter! That long-lost letter is an "e." In the murky past, it was "Donaldes game."

What if your name was Donalde?
Then the spelling would be a wee bit different.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 20, 2015, 02:25:29 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV2UUWEiQOE&feature=youtu.be

I decided it would be funny to make a tiny little song and try out auto-tune, and I decided to try Adam's signature 'Screw this Game' video. I didn't do too hot, but the end result was funny enough (for me at least) to at least publish this. I do like the ending bit, where I actually got Adam to do the whole 'Auto-tune' thing to perfection. And that image you see is there because I wanted to make a picture with this song, and well, it looks cool enough. Might as well.

On an unrelated note, I have a lot to learn on how to auto-tune people.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Elanchana on April 20, 2015, 03:08:12 pm
Still perfection.

I discovered only yesterday that NepTune (the autotune processor in Reason) actually lets you program in a melody for the line to follow. As long as you have formant fixer on, you can give someone's voice completely new pitches.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 20, 2015, 07:12:42 pm
Mwahaha. Another party down, another unsuspecting fool who can no longer say he's never seen Shock Treatment.

Apparently, Shock Treatment is a gift from God. My friend's wife who had to endure the end of the movie posted this:

Quote
Thanks you God!!! You put Steve and I at the right place at the right time. Thanks to Kevin and letting Steve finish watching a movie he was watching we ended up at a scene of a really bad accident in time to help them instead of in time to be part of the serious accident. They were drinking and driving on Holmes Rd, went around the top curve on Holmes that turns into a down hill and hydroplaned and crashed head on into a tree. There were 3 young men, but we only saw 2, that Steve and I both agreed probably weren't old enough to drink. They were injured and pacing the street around the car when we drove up. Instantly we took action. Steve called 911 and I ended up having to use my mom voice and getting them to stay with the car because they wanted to wonder into the middle of the street. They also wanted us to lie and say we saw everything. When the police came we told them how we drove up and the cop even said he could tell how wasted they were.
So Thank you for letting us continue to watch our beautiful girls grow.

Divine providence!!!!!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on April 20, 2015, 11:11:15 pm
not sure if the video was supposed to be relevant for something, but that's equestria girls, which is terrible.

It's still My Little Pony.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 21, 2015, 04:00:22 am
not sure if the video was supposed to be relevant for something, but that's equestria girls, which is terrible.

It's still My Little Pony.

but they aren't ponies.

I mean, sure, it's part of the official output. But I never said I like every asset of generation 4. I also think hasbro is a horrible company which is purely interested in selling toys.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on April 21, 2015, 07:15:55 am
not sure if the video was supposed to be relevant for something, but that's equestria girls, which is terrible.

It's still My Little Pony.

but they aren't ponies.

I mean, sure, it's part of the official output. But I never said I like every asset of generation 4. I also think hasbro is a horrible company which is purely interested in selling toys.

Actually, they are, right? He movie starts as ponies, then they pass through a portal and get transformed, have a quest, then turn back into ponies.

It's a story arc.  If in the next HP book, Harry got turned into a frog but could talk and had to find an amulet to get turned back into a human, it'd still be Harry Potter, even if it sucked.  HP fans couldn't say "That's not Harry Potter because he's not a human wizard" just to exclude it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on April 21, 2015, 08:23:51 am
I ran out of tea at work. So now it's either Yellow Label or nothing. I think I'll go with nothing...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 21, 2015, 09:25:30 am
My Little Ponies is a metaphor for a Hell's Kitchen motorcycle gang.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 21, 2015, 09:59:33 am
not sure if the video was supposed to be relevant for something, but that's equestria girls, which is terrible.

It's still My Little Pony.

but they aren't ponies.

I mean, sure, it's part of the official output. But I never said I like every asset of generation 4. I also think hasbro is a horrible company which is purely interested in selling toys.

Actually, they are, right? He movie starts as ponies, then they pass through a portal and get transformed, have a quest, then turn back into ponies.

It's a story arc.  If in the next HP book, Harry got turned into a frog but could talk and had to find an amulet to get turned back into a human, it'd still be Harry Potter, even if it sucked.  HP fans couldn't say "That's not Harry Potter because he's not a human wizard" just to exclude it.

Not quite. The Equestria Girls content is specifically not part of the main series' canon, only vice versa. It's an alternate universe sidestory.

Also, only Twilight actually transforms into a human, the others just exist in two separate versions for whatever reason.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 21, 2015, 10:20:51 am
not sure if the video was supposed to be relevant for something, but that's equestria girls, which is terrible.

It's still My Little Pony.

but they aren't ponies.

I mean, sure, it's part of the official output. But I never said I like every asset of generation 4. I also think hasbro is a horrible company which is purely interested in selling toys.

Actually, they are, right? He movie starts as ponies, then they pass through a portal and get transformed, have a quest, then turn back into ponies.

It's a story arc.  If in the next HP book, Harry got turned into a frog but could talk and had to find an amulet to get turned back into a human, it'd still be Harry Potter, even if it sucked.  HP fans couldn't say "That's not Harry Potter because he's not a human wizard" just to exclude it.

Not quite. The Equestria Girls content is specifically not part of the main series' canon, only vice versa. It's an alternate universe sidestory.

Also, only Twilight actually transforms into a human, the others just exist in two separate versions for whatever reason.

Remember that Twilight also exists in humanoid form in the alternate universe, because Hasbro likes post credits sequences almost as much as Marvel.  This would seem to imply that the portal... thing... might also work both ways.  The lack of an original humanoid Sunset Shimmer has disturbing implications though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 21, 2015, 11:12:29 am
Still perfection.

I discovered only yesterday that NepTune (the autotune processor in Reason) actually lets you program in a melody for the line to follow. As long as you have formant fixer on, you can give someone's voice completely new pitches.

I hear the AutoTune in Logic Pro X is really weak, but I'm not sure yet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 21, 2015, 11:13:23 am
I ran out of tea at work. So now it's either Yellow Label or nothing. I think I'll go with nothing...

Why not Godot Blend #107?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on April 21, 2015, 11:51:27 am
I ran out of tea at work. So now it's either Yellow Label or nothing. I think I'll go with nothing...

Why not Godot Blend #107?

That's coffee... I usually don't do that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 21, 2015, 12:03:18 pm
I ran out of tea at work. So now it's either Yellow Label or nothing. I think I'll go with nothing...

Why not Godot Blend #107?

We're still waiting on that to be delivered.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 21, 2015, 12:33:54 pm
I ran out of tea at work. So now it's either Yellow Label or nothing. I think I'll go with nothing...

Why not Godot Blend #107?

We're still waiting on that to be delivered.

I tea what you did there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 21, 2015, 01:38:21 pm
I ran out of tea at work. So now it's either Yellow Label or nothing. I think I'll go with nothing...

Why not Godot Blend #107?

We're still waiting on that to be delivered.

I guess the shipment was a little latte.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 21, 2015, 01:41:33 pm
I ran out of tea at work. So now it's either Yellow Label or nothing. I think I'll go with nothing...

Why not Godot Blend #107?

We're still waiting on that to be delivered.

I guess the shipment was a little latte.

I was told it would not come today, but it will surely be here tomorrow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on April 21, 2015, 01:45:08 pm
Personally I love Godot - Fragrance of Dark Coffee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMnrl0tmd3k
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 21, 2015, 03:42:36 pm
I ran out of tea at work. So now it's either Yellow Label or nothing. I think I'll go with nothing...
I can wholeheartedly recommend Black Label and Red Label. Blue Label is overpriced, and I haven't tried the Green Label yet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on April 21, 2015, 04:06:39 pm
I ran out of tea at work. So now it's either Yellow Label or nothing. I think I'll go with nothing...
I can wholeheartedly recommend Black Label and Red Label. Blue Label is overpriced, and I haven't tried the Green Label yet.
Blue Label is good, but I agree it's a bit pricey. I guess that's part of the marketing for it though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on April 21, 2015, 05:39:19 pm
(http://www.nikoli.co.jp/images/books/dekabiro_slitherlink1200x650.jpg)

I need to get this.  If you can't tell, it's one huge logic puzzle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on April 21, 2015, 05:53:41 pm
I need to get this.  If you can't tell, it's one huge logic puzzle.

What kind?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on April 21, 2015, 05:54:02 pm
I can't tell. It's too zoomed out to tell what it is or work out what kind of puzzle it must be, for me.

Also a logic puzzle that big seems bad. Logic Puzzles are best as something smaller you can solve in a short time, I feel.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on April 21, 2015, 06:00:21 pm
It's Slitherlink.

I can't tell. It's too zoomed out to tell what it is or work out what kind of puzzle it must be, for me.

Also a logic puzzle that big seems bad. Logic Puzzles are best as something smaller you can solve in a short time, I feel.

I like both big  (http://sudgylacmoe.blogspot.com/2015/04/puzzle-14-polyominous-5.html)and small ones.  I think they're both good for certain times, and I get a kick out of the big ones.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on April 21, 2015, 06:18:58 pm
Looks like a knitting pattern......
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on April 22, 2015, 02:22:26 am
Personally I love Godot - Fragrance of Dark Coffee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMnrl0tmd3k

While I think Turnabout Jazz Soul is better in general, I think this song is better in the Orchestra version.

https://youtu.be/b9ybFVYg2no
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Mic Qsenoch on April 22, 2015, 10:22:45 am
Nice try Google. You might know where I live, what I like, and who I talk to. But you'll have to be a little subtler to find out what animal I am. I wasn't born yesterday.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 22, 2015, 10:26:14 am
Sooo... I'll just leave this here.

http://imgur.com/gallery/W8bDMzQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on April 22, 2015, 03:38:44 pm
Today i realized that if you go strictly by the wording, you could argue that after playing Bridge, Transmute should cost -1$,P (whatever that's supposed to mean). Because, you know, -1$,P is technically not less than $0.

Hmm... I guess this isn't really random, because it's Dominion related...

Is it better to state that my characters of choice in Super Smash Bros for Wii U are Mario, Kirby and Peach? I guess it is. If anybody with a Wii U and the game reads this, dare to send me a message here when you're on, and i'll royally wipe the floor with you. And get kidnapped afterwards. Or rescue myself. Who knows.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 22, 2015, 03:41:01 pm
Today i realized that if you go strictly by the wording, you could argue that after playing Bridge, Transmute should cost -1$,P (whatever that's supposed to mean). Because, you know, -1$,P is technically not less than $0.

Hmm... I guess this isn't really random, because it's Dominion related...

Is it better to state that my characters of choice in Super Smash Bros for Wii U are Mario, Kirby and Peach? I guess it is. If anybody with a Wii U and the game reads this, dare to send me a message here when you're on, and i'll royally wipe the floor with you. And get kidnapped afterwards. Or rescue myself. Who knows.

I have a 3DS. And I will wreck you as Mario.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on April 22, 2015, 03:46:35 pm
Today i realized that if you go strictly by the wording, you could argue that after playing Bridge, Transmute should cost -1$,P (whatever that's supposed to mean). Because, you know, -1$,P is technically not less than $0.

Hmm... I guess this isn't really random, because it's Dominion related...

Is it better to state that my characters of choice in Super Smash Bros for Wii U are Mario, Kirby and Peach? I guess it is. If anybody with a Wii U and the game reads this, dare to send me a message here when you're on, and i'll royally wipe the floor with you. And get kidnapped afterwards. Or rescue myself. Who knows.

I have a 3DS. And I will wreck you as Mario.

I don't have a 3DS, though :'(
If we ever meet, i'll send your fatty plumber down the tubes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 22, 2015, 09:23:43 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzBmkwJ-C3o

Me butchering French.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 22, 2015, 09:24:19 pm
For the first time in a while I feel pretty good about my singing. I'm going to audition for Assassins this Saturday, and I just got done meeting with a vocal coach to help me with my audition song. It went amazingly well. I didn't realize I had it in me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 22, 2015, 09:56:26 pm
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150415-the-buttons-that-do-nothing

I thought this was an interesting read (including several of the articles that it links to).  Placebo buttons, fake sounds, coding artificial stupidity into AIs, benevolent deceptions.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on April 22, 2015, 10:36:07 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/gwKOx.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 23, 2015, 02:38:25 am
What the actual f**k?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on April 23, 2015, 03:04:55 am
The random stuff thread was getting a bit too predictable.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 23, 2015, 09:32:27 am
...

(http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/2013/06/trying-to-remember.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 23, 2015, 10:11:38 am
You existentialist anti-conformistic anarchist of societal expectations and norms!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 23, 2015, 12:25:58 pm
Man, Photoshopping your own image is uncomfortable.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on April 23, 2015, 12:46:06 pm
Man, Photoshopping your own image is uncomfortable.
Millions of women do this every day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on April 23, 2015, 01:00:42 pm
Man, Photoshopping your own image is uncomfortable.
Millions of women do this every day.

Photoshop Kuildeous's image?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 23, 2015, 01:10:32 pm
I hear if you photoshop a person, you mutilate their soul.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 23, 2015, 01:15:02 pm
I hear if you photoshop a person, you mutilate their soul.

Models are soulless.  Yep, checks out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 23, 2015, 04:19:53 pm
That video hits me in the feels.

But my feels is my penis, so I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 23, 2015, 04:21:18 pm
What video?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on April 23, 2015, 04:24:07 pm
What video?

That video.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 23, 2015, 04:53:24 pm
What video?

That video.

Which is...?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on April 23, 2015, 04:54:28 pm
What video?

That video.

Which is...?

It's the video that hits him in the feels.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 23, 2015, 04:55:20 pm
Guys, he made it quite clear from the beginning:

That video hits me in the feels.

But my feels is my penis, so I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Obviously, he was talking about that one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 23, 2015, 06:26:10 pm
Hem.. I shared a video with Walrus as personal revenge for his Hitler post. Perhaps it is that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 23, 2015, 10:23:49 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2206e77cb04247d7dc9d2722df06ba6e/tumblr_n6wgweyd0N1qmz4rgo3_500.gif)

(https://38.media.tumblr.com/1fe8df794b3241a8837ef11d6096e205/tumblr_n6wgweyd0N1qmz4rgo1_500.gif)

(https://33.media.tumblr.com/652ff0e517d6d9c8cbad7d15d6ad85e7/tumblr_n6wgweyd0N1qmz4rgo2_500.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 23, 2015, 11:25:55 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46dHyGXHqUY

Yeah, I did it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 24, 2015, 04:40:56 pm
I was bored

(https://i.imgflip.com/kmfng.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on April 24, 2015, 06:14:12 pm
Today my copy of Ground Floor (the board game we PBF'd here a while ago) arrived. I might just be playing it tomorrow. I'm happy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on April 24, 2015, 06:20:21 pm
Today my copy of Ground Floor (the board game we PBF'd here a while ago) arrived. I might just be playing it tomorrow. I'm happy.
That was a good game. I hope I get a chance to play it IRL sometime.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on April 24, 2015, 06:57:35 pm
Today my copy of Ground Floor (the board game we PBF'd here a while ago) arrived. I might just be playing it tomorrow. I'm happy.
That was a good game. I hope I get a chance to play it IRL sometime.

Well, come to my house. We're playing tomorrow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 24, 2015, 07:27:46 pm
Today my copy of Ground Floor (the board game we PBF'd here a while ago) arrived. I might just be playing it tomorrow. I'm happy.
That was a good game. I hope I get a chance to play it IRL sometime.

Well, come to my house. We're playing tomorrow.

Just remember to reserve about an hour per player in playing time. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on April 25, 2015, 03:22:37 am
Does anyone on here use Evolve? I'm normally wary of things of that ilk, but I am impressed with its functionality so far. I mainly installed it because my brother and I like to play games together, and there's often trouble with port forwarding, and we have experienced some frustrating connection issues (something I have an admittedly semi-shallow understanding of). So far, it has served that purpose incredibly well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 25, 2015, 10:28:37 am
Does anyone on here use Evolve? I'm normally wary of things of that ilk, but I am impressed with its functionality so far. I mainly installed it because my brother and I like to play games together, and there's often trouble with port forwarding, and we have experienced some frustrating connection issues (something I have an admittedly semi-shallow understanding of). So far, it has served that purpose incredibly well.

You mean that game that has a cool idea, but they not only refuse to expand on it, but they also milk you for as much cash as they possibly can?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on April 25, 2015, 11:00:44 am
Naw. That game sucks from what I hear for the reasons you mention. The Evolve I'm talking about is like a game client.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 25, 2015, 11:03:22 am
Huh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on April 25, 2015, 11:31:01 am
My friend is a musical genius. I wish I could take credit for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rgu0yZqsSo
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on April 26, 2015, 09:47:13 pm
I hate group work  >:(.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 26, 2015, 09:55:16 pm
I hate group work  >:(.
Me too, but look on the bright side, it's not as bad as groupthink.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 27, 2015, 12:01:08 am
So yesterday I auditioned for Assassins. I did not receive a callback for next Saturday. This bums me out, but I'm holding out hope. A callback means that he is choosing from multiple candidates. Still, this is a fairly popular director, so I can't imagine that there's not competition for the roles I wanted.

I'll just keep my next 2 months open and be pleasantly surprised if he calls me with a role next week. I just wish I didn't have to wait a week.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 27, 2015, 09:32:01 am
So yesterday I auditioned for Assassins. I did not receive a callback for next Saturday. This bums me out, but I'm holding out hope. A callback means that he is choosing from multiple candidates. Still, this is a fairly popular director, so I can't imagine that there's not competition for the roles I wanted.

I'll just keep my next 2 months open and be pleasantly surprised if he calls me with a role next week. I just wish I didn't have to wait a week.

Did you audition for Sylvester Stallone's part or for Antonio Banderas'?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 27, 2015, 12:06:03 pm
More of this stuff needs to happen. It'd really brighten the mood of commuters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRAM8MpqIeA
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on April 27, 2015, 10:17:47 pm
I hate group work  >:(.

I had like a group test in English today, and half of my group was just browsing facebook on their phones the whole time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on April 27, 2015, 10:29:14 pm
I hate group work  >:(.

I had like a group test in English today, and half of my group was just browsing facebook on their phones the whole time.

This sounds like one of the worst ideas in education ever.

I don't like group projects, but at least they (can) teach the important skill of working effectively in a group of different personalities. A group test sounds...like it would have made me more popular. But not in the way you want. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 28, 2015, 12:24:11 am
Group work is bullshit. I got unlucky and landed two lazy girls who sat around and did nothing while I worked hard on a deadline timed project, and I ended up getting it all done. I hate reporting people, but I made an exception that time.

I've also done two group video projects by myself. I guess I'm just not a likable guy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on April 28, 2015, 12:33:44 am
I remember writing a group presentation and setting up the demonstration model, but spoke the least when actually giving the presentation so I got the lowest grade.

Fluid Dynamics, if I remember correctly. I think it was on a comparison of heart valve implants.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on April 28, 2015, 12:43:59 am
Handling your group members is also part of the group work.

Of course, people in a certain age range are particularly hard to handle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on April 28, 2015, 01:17:37 am
In theory, giving students work to do in groups is great.  In practice, it can be really tough to do it in a way that's fair.  I imagine most people on f.ds were/are generally really great, smart, hardworking students, and we've probably all had the frustrating experiences that come with that.  You get stuck in a group with people who just don't or can't work at your level, and "group project" just ends up meaning a mega-project, that you still do by yourself, and to make matters worse, they often still get equal credit for all of your work.

Managing your team is part of it, but there's only so much you can do.  I had a project I did last year, where I was the only one making any effort to do anything.  I would email, text, facebook message my partners, and get no response.  When we agreed upon a date and time to meet and work together on it (which was literally on the day it was due), I was the only one who showed up.  No responses when I tried to communicate with them in any way.  So I finally just sent an email to the professor the night it was due, saying "here's what I did, I've done everything I can and my partners aren't cooperating".

Anyway, it all ended up working out okay, because the professor was very reasonable, and gave us an extension.  I got an A, I don't know if my partners got the same grade or not, part of me hopes they didn't.  I think we had one of those things where, you get a certain amount of "points" to distribute among your partners after the project, to say how productive they were.  I really like those, that's the best way to do group projects.  It makes it so not everyone can just give each other 10/10, you actually have to compare them against each other.

So yeah, I think group work is fine if it's done reasonably.  That particular project was stressful for me, but it worked out okay because the professor was reasonable and gave everyone (I hope) the grades they deserved.  What I hate is how often that same situation occurs, and everyone in the group gets a grade that reflects the average of the work put in by all members.  Like, if I did A-level work and my partners did D-level work, so we all get C's.  That's the worst.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on April 28, 2015, 05:03:40 am
I hated group work in primary school/junior high school. Not because I had to do everything, but because usually some others in the group were doing more work than necessary and getting mad at me for not doing the same. In university prep high school, group work was usually pretty good because the atmosphere was super laid back, most others in the school shared my vision of how much work should be put into a project, and classes where we did group work were an excellent opportunity to play more Magic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 28, 2015, 08:35:07 am
I never assigned group work unless it was being done during class time, when I could assess what was happening in each group and, as necessary, redirect attention. Group work out of class was just asking for trouble.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on April 28, 2015, 08:39:55 am
Group work being bad is actually a great example of why communism can't work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 28, 2015, 09:19:22 am
Group work being bad is actually a great example of why communism can't work.
*downvote*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 28, 2015, 09:28:03 am
Group work being bad is actually a great example of why communism can't work.

Communism is a great example of why communism can't work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 28, 2015, 09:47:07 am
Group work being bad is actually a great example of why communism can't work.

Communism is a great example of why communism can't work.

Communism can't work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 28, 2015, 09:59:03 am
(http://media1.break.com/breakstudios/2011/9/19/clue%20miss%20scarlet.jpg)

Communism is just a red herring.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 28, 2015, 10:04:25 am
Group work being bad is actually a great example of why communism can't work.
*downvote*

But it's true. Communism is a great idea. It's so efficient. Everyone does what he can and only takes what he needs. It would be the most well-oiled machine in the world.

It'd be great if it weren't for the people. In general, people aren't so keen on doing what they can and taking only what they need. We like taking the easy route, and what's easier than taking what you need while your neighbor does enough work for you? Then the neighbor takes offense that you're not pulling your weight, and shit falls apart. And then there's just the fact that the leaders feel they are entitled to extra goodies so they take them. Corruption abounds.

People suck, and that's why communism fails.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 28, 2015, 10:07:10 am
Communism leads to extra Unhappiness, but those bonus Civil and Military actions can really be worth it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 28, 2015, 10:16:52 am
Group work being bad is actually a great example of why communism can't work.
*downvote*

But it's true. Communism is a great idea. It's so efficient. Everyone does what he can and only takes what he needs. It would be the most well-oiled machine in the world.

It'd be great if it weren't for the people. In general, people aren't so keen on doing what they can and taking only what they need. We like taking the easy route, and what's easier than taking what you need while your neighbor does enough work for you? Then the neighbor takes offense that you're not pulling your weight, and shit falls apart. And then there's just the fact that the leaders feel they are entitled to extra goodies so they take them. Corruption abounds.

People suck, and that's why communism fails.

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.  If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.

James Madison, Federalist #51

There was more to the quote, but you get what I'm saying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 28, 2015, 10:21:00 am
Oh hey, look, two humorous posts wasn't enough, dammit.

<------  RPS is over there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 28, 2015, 10:25:02 am
This may be the longest that one of my treasure chests survived.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXzkjNYPmIk

I take toilet paper rolls and stuff them with treats. Then I put them somewhere so the rats have to work to get at them. Usually it's impossible to hang it somewhere that isn't easily accessible, but I currently have a big open space in a quadrant, so I hung this up just out of reach. It was fun watching the rats try to get at them.

If anyone has suggestions on how to make it more difficult (not lethal, you jerks!), I'd like to hear them. I mostly just recycle things. I've spent $200 on the cage, so I don't have a lot to spend on elaborate toys. And well, rats are pretty happy with cardboard. It's made me rethink my garbage before I throw things away. When I get enough boxes stored up, I make a little rat city where I clip them together and cut holes so that there's a little maze.

And I'm amused by the anti-shake technology and my improperly sized video. I could go back and size it correctly, but the bouncing black bars give me a chuckle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 28, 2015, 10:27:08 am
Group work being bad is actually a great example of why communism can't work.
*downvote*

But it's true. Communism is a great idea. It's so efficient. Everyone does what he can and only takes what he needs. It would be the most well-oiled machine in the world.

It'd be great if it weren't for the people. In general, people aren't so keen on doing what they can and taking only what they need. We like taking the easy route, and what's easier than taking what you need while your neighbor does enough work for you? Then the neighbor takes offense that you're not pulling your weight, and shit falls apart. And then there's just the fact that the leaders feel they are entitled to extra goodies so they take them. Corruption abounds.

People suck, and that's why communism fails.

Sounds like a pretty tremendous flaw if you're trying to design a system under which people can operate.  It's kind of like saying that building a house in the ocean is a great idea, if it wasn't for all the water.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 28, 2015, 10:27:54 am
Oh hey, look, two humorous posts wasn't enough, dammit.

<------  RPS is over there.

Please rephrase in the form of a meme.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 28, 2015, 10:30:50 am
Oh hey, look, two humorous posts wasn't enough, dammit.

<------  RPS is over there.

Please rephrase in the form of a meme.

(http://pollexworld.com/anudrake/meme/random/stay%20on%20topic.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 28, 2015, 10:52:14 am
Stay on... random topic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 28, 2015, 10:57:29 am
Don't let the apparent contradiction ruin a good meme.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on April 28, 2015, 11:12:24 am
I didn't say communism does or doesn't work, but the aforementioned argument is stupid.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on April 28, 2015, 12:35:27 pm
The most interesting group work I had in college was actually for a math class. The exam period was split 2/3 of the time to individual work, and 1/3 of the time to group work. After the individual exam, you turned it in and immediately got a fresh copy of the exam. Then you worked in groups of 3 to do the same exam again. Scores for questions you answered in the group portion were averaged with your score on the individual portion regardless of whether you answered correctly on the individual portion. If you left a question blank, the score from the individual exam was the full score.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on April 28, 2015, 12:37:38 pm
The most interesting group work I had in college was actually for a math class. The exam period was split 2/3 of the time to individual work, and 1/3 of the time to group work. After the individual exam, you turned it in and immediately got a fresh copy of the exam. Then you worked in groups of 3 to do the same exam again. Scores for questions you answered in the group portion were averaged with your score on the individual portion regardless of whether you answered correctly on the individual portion. If you left a question blank, the score from the individual exam was the full score.

That sounds more like a social experiment than a valid way to evaluate students.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on April 28, 2015, 12:47:17 pm
The most interesting group work I had in college was actually for a math class. The exam period was split 2/3 of the time to individual work, and 1/3 of the time to group work. After the individual exam, you turned it in and immediately got a fresh copy of the exam. Then you worked in groups of 3 to do the same exam again. Scores for questions you answered in the group portion were averaged with your score on the individual portion regardless of whether you answered correctly on the individual portion. If you left a question blank, the score from the individual exam was the full score.

That sounds more like a social experiment than a valid way to evaluate students.

Yeah, it was a little weird. This was for my complex analysis class in college. Other profs did a better version of this: Individual portion in class, then get a copy of the exam to take home and turn in again for some points back (say, quarter credit back). The brilliance of this is that it keeps students thinking about hard questions and learning right after the exam, but doesn't really impact grades, except if you slack off. Suppose everyone turns in a perfect take-home portion and the class is graded on a curve. Well, where's the individual variation coming from? The individual portion of the exam!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 28, 2015, 12:55:27 pm
The most interesting group work I had in college was actually for a math class. The exam period was split 2/3 of the time to individual work, and 1/3 of the time to group work. After the individual exam, you turned it in and immediately got a fresh copy of the exam. Then you worked in groups of 3 to do the same exam again. Scores for questions you answered in the group portion were averaged with your score on the individual portion regardless of whether you answered correctly on the individual portion. If you left a question blank, the score from the individual exam was the full score.

That sounds more like a social experiment than a valid way to evaluate students.

Yeah, it was a little weird. This was for my complex analysis class in college. Other profs did a better version of this: Individual portion in class, then get a copy of the exam to take home and turn in again for some points back (say, quarter credit back). The brilliance of this is that it keeps students thinking about hard questions and learning right after the exam, but doesn't really impact grades, except if you slack off. Suppose everyone turns in a perfect take-home portion and the class is graded on a curve. Well, where's the individual variation coming from? The individual portion of the exam!

Yeah, I like the method of students correcting exams/assignments; it forces you to actually learn a problem rather than just disregarding it.  Also, it allows for more difficult exam questions.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 28, 2015, 01:16:40 pm
After reading a list of 19 underrated horror movies, I saw a comment that said, "Literally 75% of this list is composed of actual Horror Classics."

I'm so disturbed by that comment.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on April 28, 2015, 01:22:27 pm
After reading a list of 19 underrated horror movies, I saw a comment that said, "Literally 75% of this list is composed of actual Horror Classics."

I'm so disturbed by that comment.

Share the list and you'll get a second opinion by someone who cares more about classics than about horror movies.

Hint: I'm talking about me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 28, 2015, 01:41:05 pm
The list is here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/annakopsky/candyman-candyman-candyman-candyman-candyman

It's actually not a bad list, for once. But I still wonder how the commenter believes that 14.25 of the movies are classics.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on April 28, 2015, 01:49:01 pm
Hmm... I counted 4 that i would consider "classics". Including "modern classics".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 28, 2015, 01:54:31 pm
The commenter could have just assumed the list was indexed at 0.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on April 28, 2015, 01:56:56 pm
Also, rounding isn't necessarily nonliteral.*

Also, if you're going to be pendantic, you should probably be more precisely pendantic. 

*Though, I guess it's still not an appropriate use of the word.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on April 28, 2015, 02:01:16 pm
So, true story from earlier: Today I was supporting a pupil in a year 13 maths lesson (as normal) and due to a discussion about what calculators are legal in the exam, the teacher pulled out the best legal calculator he had found from inside his suit pocket and talked about it's features.

This would all be well and good, until someone realised something was odd about this.

"Sir, do you REALLY carry a calculator around in your pocket all day?" the pupil asked.

"No", the teacher replied, putting his hand back into his pocket. "I carry two," and he pulled out a second calculator from the same place the first had been.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on April 28, 2015, 03:18:07 pm
So, true story from earlier: Today I was supporting a pupil in a year 13 maths lesson (as normal) and due to a discussion about what calculators are legal in the exam, the teacher pulled out the best legal calculator he had found from inside his suit pocket and talked about it's features.

This would all be well and good, until someone realised something was odd about this.

"Sir, do you REALLY carry a calculator around in your pocket all day?" the pupil asked.

"No", the teacher replied, putting his hand back into his pocket. "I carry two," and he pulled out a second calculator from the same place the first had been.

I've actually thought about carrying calculators around, because I sometimes wish I had one...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 28, 2015, 03:25:09 pm
I still cannot find anything useful to use Twitter for. I'm following people, but I either get links to longer articles or short quips that don't convey a whole lot of message.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on April 28, 2015, 03:43:16 pm
I still cannot find anything useful to use Twitter for. I'm following people, but I either get links to longer articles or short quips that don't convey a whole lot of message.

I use Twitter for following a couple of people who post videos or other stuff exclusively on Twitter, and for getting extra benefits in games etc. where you can get extra benefits by following the game's Twitter page or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 28, 2015, 04:22:24 pm
I still cannot find anything useful to use Twitter for. I'm following people, but I either get links to longer articles or short quips that don't convey a whole lot of message.

I use Twitter for following a couple of people who post videos or other stuff exclusively on Twitter, and for getting extra benefits in games etc. where you can get extra benefits by following the game's Twitter page or something.

Okay, bribery makes Twitter a little more appealing to me. I don't have any games that bribe through Twitter, but if I did, I certainly would follow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on April 28, 2015, 05:47:31 pm
So, true story from earlier: Today I was supporting a pupil in a year 13 maths lesson (as normal) and due to a discussion about what calculators are legal in the exam, the teacher pulled out the best legal calculator he had found from inside his suit pocket and talked about it's features.

This would all be well and good, until someone realised something was odd about this.

"Sir, do you REALLY carry a calculator around in your pocket all day?" the pupil asked.

"No", the teacher replied, putting his hand back into his pocket. "I carry two," and he pulled out a second calculator from the same place the first had been.

I think I should add one more detail to this. He actually carries two for practical reasons, not just to troll 6th formers. The first is his calculator, particularly useful in A level maths lessons and for showing kids what to do. The second is a spare, in case someone forgets theirs in lesson (it's rarer that multiple forget them but in that case you have to send a kid to the maths office to pick up the spares).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on April 28, 2015, 06:29:40 pm
If I had space in my jacket pockets, I would definitely carry a calculator around. Unfortunately, I am already carrying around tissues, gloves, a beanie, a small notepad, a pen, an umbrella, random stuff (keychains, candies, promotions, etc.), a scarf, and right now a bottle of water. There was a time I carried two umbrellas around because I really hate sharing umbrellas.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on April 29, 2015, 12:11:08 am
I need counsel that I will probably not heed and do whatever I want instead.

I recently moved to another city and left my board game collection very behind. I found a board game shop in my new city that sells Adventures, but not the Base Cards. I already own Intrigue, but not the Base Set. I could buy the Base Set and Adventures (expensive!). Or I could buy Adventures and order the Base Cards online, and maybe buy some other box when I have the money (Guilds or Dark Ages).

What do you recommend? "You know you are going to buy them all eventually" is not an answer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on April 29, 2015, 12:25:06 am

Hey Dominion players, should I buy more Dominion?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on April 29, 2015, 12:25:41 am
(oh, and "yes" is the answer)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on April 29, 2015, 12:26:08 am

I recently moved to another city and left my board game collection very behind. [...]
How much are you willing to spend? You may be able to order Adventures, Base Cards, and one of the other sets online for less than Adventures + Dominion at full retail.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on April 29, 2015, 12:29:57 am
(oh, and "yes" is the answer)

I don't know why I didn't see it coming that "Should I do A or B?" would be answered with a "yes", so shame on me.


I recently moved to another city and left my board game collection very behind. [...]
How much are you willing to spend? You may be able to order Adventures, Base Cards, and one of the other sets online for less than Adventures + Dominion at full retail.

Mmmm... I might look into it, but I do like giving money to the FLGS of the world.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on April 29, 2015, 12:32:24 am
(oh, and "yes" is the answer)

I don't know why I didn't see it coming that "Should I do A or B?" would be answered with a "yes", so shame on me.


I recently moved to another city and left my board game collection very behind. [...]
How much are you willing to spend? You may be able to order Adventures, Base Cards, and one of the other sets online for less than Adventures + Dominion at full retail.

Mmmm... I might look into it, but I do like giving money to the FLGS of the world.
So do I, but the ones near me either sell "AmeriTrash" (bgg, thanks) games or MtG... The only Dominion retailers near me have closed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on April 29, 2015, 12:41:35 am
You mean your copy of Intrigue is far away, right? I mean, buy Adventures, then sort everything else out.

If you're going to get everything all eventually there won't be a need for Base Cards, so consider that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on April 29, 2015, 12:52:45 am
You mean your copy of Intrigue is far away, right? I mean, buy Adventures, then sort everything else out.

If you're going to get everything all eventually there won't be a need for Base Cards, so consider that.

I don't expect that my Intrigue box will join whatever I buy here any time soon. I'm talking years, maybe.

I am not thrilled by the Base Set, that's my problem.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on April 29, 2015, 01:45:25 am
I recently moved to another city and left my board game collection very behind.

That's the saddest thing I've read today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on April 29, 2015, 08:06:35 am
There's only so many things you can carry on a plane... :(

I only managed to bring the Resistance with me, in my laptop bag.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on April 29, 2015, 10:52:09 am
I need counsel that I will probably not heed and do whatever I want instead.

I recently moved to another city and left my board game collection very behind. I found a board game shop in my new city that sells Adventures, but not the Base Cards. I already own Intrigue, but not the Base Set. I could buy the Base Set and Adventures (expensive!). Or I could buy Adventures and order the Base Cards online, and maybe buy some other box when I have the money (Guilds or Dark Ages).

What do you recommend? "You know you are going to buy them all eventually" is not an answer.

If you ask the local store to order the base set, then you can support the store and possibly encourage it to order an extra set to put on the shelves. It might be enticed to carry more Dominion, which means more players. And hey, if you bring your Dominion to the store for game nights, then you're going to make a few converts.

But it is usually cheaper to go online, and I respect that. I often buy online too, but I do try to support the local stores in some instances.

You say you're not impressed by the base set; I can see where you're coming from. After all, one danger of expansions is that they become more and more interesting, but keep in mind that you would likely be sprinkling base cards in there. If all 10 kingdom cards were from the base set, then I could see it looking kind of bland. On the other hand, some Adventures cards mixed in with the occasional Smithy or Witch or Throne Room can still be pretty exciting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on April 29, 2015, 11:34:21 am
Mixing Base with one or two expansions is a lot of fun for everyone, especially if you going with more complicated expansions like Dark Ages or Adventures. Base by itself if only fun for people learning the game for the first time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on April 29, 2015, 08:08:13 pm
getting back to the topic of random stuff...
(https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/11700_10152802200902338_5399111284669460342_n.jpg?oh=f92454e70166c20f27a60d3cc47bebdf&oe=55DDC847)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 29, 2015, 11:12:38 pm
I played Dominion today for the first time in months when I got Adventures today.

Shuffling sure is inconvenient.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Jimmmmm on April 29, 2015, 11:55:04 pm
I played Dominion today for the first time in months when I got Adventures today.

Shuffling sure is inconvenient.

With Adventures or Dominion in general?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on April 30, 2015, 05:00:00 am
I keep a bunch of cards next to my computer so I can shuffle cards whenever I'm watching a video, waiting for an opponent/friend/loading times.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 30, 2015, 09:33:55 am
I played Dominion today for the first time in months when I got Adventures today.

Shuffling sure is inconvenient.

With Adventures or Dominion in general?

Dominion in general is annoying for me in real life because I'm lazy and I've played online. :T
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on April 30, 2015, 12:28:57 pm
The pros of playing IRL:
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 30, 2015, 12:40:01 pm
The pros of playing IRL:
  • You can house rule BoM/Procession/Feast or Inheritence/Transmute.
  • You don't have to deal with Making Fun
  • People have claimed you can interact with others, but i don't really see what that's about

Upgraded Feast

Gain a card costing up to 5, and eat your opponent's sandwich.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on April 30, 2015, 01:10:33 pm
The pros of playing IRL:
  • You can house rule BoM/Procession/Feast or Inheritence/Transmute.
  • You don't have to deal with Making Fun
  • People have claimed you can interact with others, but i don't really see what that's about

Upgraded Feast

Gain a card costing up to 5, and eat your opponent's sandwich.
If there is any justice in the world, this post will get a lot of upvotes.  Well played Sir.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on April 30, 2015, 01:32:19 pm
I got my hands on The Magic Whip. Man, it's an awesome album. I can go more in depth into the songs and how I feel about them musically if anyone cares.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 01, 2015, 01:36:08 am
*rim shot*

http://gawker.com/5907337/zoo-keeper-helps-constipated-monkey-pass-peanut-by-licking-its-butt-for-an-hour
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 01, 2015, 09:11:19 am
I object.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 01, 2015, 09:32:51 am
I'm struggling with the grammar of this sentence - can someone tell me if it's correct like this:

Quote
One of my recent finds (...) was the theory that most people (...) much more seldom were unaware of things that they appeared to ignore than they were making contradicting decisions despite knowing about them.

?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 01, 2015, 09:35:36 am
I'm struggling with the grammar of this sentence - can someone tell me if it's correct like this:

Quote
One of my recent finds (...) was the theory that most people (...) much more seldom were unaware of things that they appeared to ignore than (when) they were making contradicting decisions despite knowing about them.

?

The bolded letter should fix it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 01, 2015, 09:38:36 am
Uh, grammatically correct, sure, but if you're writing it, I would look for  ways to rephrase.  The sentence parses like:

One of <A> was the theory that <B> more seldom do <C> than <D>.

That makes sense, but <C> and <D> sound a bit awkward.  You can drop "they were" from <D>.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 01, 2015, 09:38:57 am
I'm struggling with the grammar of this sentence - can someone tell me if it's correct like this:

Quote
One of my recent finds (...) was the theory that most people (...) much more seldom were unaware of things that they appeared to ignore than (when) they were making contradicting decisions despite knowing about them.

?

The bolded letter should fix it.

I think it tries to say something different now?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 01, 2015, 09:43:54 am
I'm struggling with the grammar of this sentence - can someone tell me if it's correct like this:

Quote
One of my recent finds (...) was the theory that most people (...) much more seldom were unaware of things that they appeared to ignore than (when) they were making contradicting decisions despite knowing about them.

?

The bolded letter should fix it.

I think it tries to say something different now?

Collateral damage.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 01, 2015, 09:48:16 am
Uh, grammatically correct, sure
oh, good

Quote
That makes sense, but <C> and <D> sound a bit awkward.
yeah

Quote
You can drop "they were" from <D>.
that sounds wrong to me though. you think it's better?

Quote
I think it tries to say something different now?
I think so too, also it seems to attempt a comparison now without actually comparing anything.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 01, 2015, 10:00:14 am
Er, I guess just drop the "they":

"One of my recent finds (...) was the theory that most people (...) much more seldom were unaware of things that they appeared to ignore than were making contradicting decisions despite knowing about them."

Further,

First, do you need "the theory that"?  Is it really a theory that you've found (like, someone else's theory), or is this the observation you made?  In the latter case, you can drop "the theory that" as it just serves to extend the sentence.

Second, "much more seldom to X than Y" has a bit of an odd emphasis, because the thing that comes first is the thing not being done.  You could rephrase it so that the emphasis that Y is done more.


Possible rephrasing:

"One of my recent findings was that when people make contradictory decisions involving things that they appear to ignore, they are actually much more often doing so despite knowledge of those things, rather than simply being unaware of them. "

(I think the emphasis on "unaware" can be dropped, and on "despite" either kept or dropped.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on May 01, 2015, 10:31:51 am
I'm struggling with the grammar of this sentence - can someone tell me if it's correct like this:

Quote
One of my recent finds (...) was the theory that most people (...) much more seldom were unaware of things that they appeared to ignore than they were making contradicting decisions despite knowing about them.

?

I am confused.

Are you trying to say something like the following?

"People sometimes seem to make contradictory decisions because they don't know something. I think, more often, people make contradictory decisions despite knowing enough to recognize that the decisions conflict."

edit: clarity.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 01, 2015, 02:56:55 pm
This video cracks me up. This guy has a whole series of songs done in ASL--mostly Jonathon Coulton, which is fine by me. I've never read captions to dictate how the syntax of ASL is laid out. What's interesting is that sign language was my primary language growing up, but because I was learning English with all the other hearing students, I would only speak in sign with proper English grammar. This would slow me down, but I could spell really quickly. I never claim to know ASL, as what I communicated around the house was limited only to that house. It does explain why my mother had bad grammar when writing, though. ASL syntax is a bit different.

Also, NSFW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEjRHFom1Kk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 02, 2015, 05:23:56 am
Are you trying to say something like the following?

"People sometimes seem to make contradictory decisions because they don't know something. I think, more often, people make contradictory decisions despite knowing enough to recognize that the decisions conflict."

not restrictively 'contradictory' decisions, but yes.

First, do you need "the theory that"?  Is it really a theory that you've found (like, someone else's theory), or is this the observation you made?  In the latter case, you can drop "the theory that" as it just serves to extend the sentence.

In this context it would be the latter; I added it because just saying "people do XX" is... well, you could always be wrong.

Possible rephrasing: (...)

I think I like that, though probably not literally. thanks!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on May 02, 2015, 08:04:53 am
Thoughts on Patron Reposado?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 03, 2015, 01:43:41 pm
Photoshop challenge! See what you all can do with my dog. :)

(http://i.imgur.com/gKmWtxj.jpg)

EDIT: ...And holy cow, that was a huge image. My iPhone takes freaking huge res images apparently.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 03, 2015, 01:59:41 pm
I don't have time to mess around in Photoshop, but a caption did enter my head. Basically it boils down to, "Dude, I'm so baked right now."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 03, 2015, 02:03:19 pm
Thoughts on Patron Reposado?

Never had it, but I did pick up some Herradura Reposado based on a top-10 list, and I was really impressed with it. I'm mostly a shooter because I hate the taste of alcohol. The faster it gets in my system, the better off I am. Of course, the problem with shooting is that it can be pretty rough on you. Therefore, I was really shocked when I tried my first Reposado and realized how smooth it was. It still tasted nasty, but the experience was much nicer than with cheap liquor.

And Patron is a quality name, so I'm sure it would be pretty good too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 03, 2015, 02:07:07 pm
I don't have Photoshop, but I have Harmor. So I did this with your dog: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16948609/seprixdog.mp3
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on May 03, 2015, 02:33:44 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/YrE26n3.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 03, 2015, 02:37:57 pm
Here you go.

(http://fs2.directupload.net/images/150503/5wb8eadb.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 03, 2015, 04:09:16 pm
Photoshopped to look younger and in a different pose, and maybe a different breed:

(http://www.shillingtonkennels.ca/images/shillington_beagle_puppy.jpg)

Photoshopped to be outdoors, and also as a cat:

(http://www.sidewalkshoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/20131005-calico-cat-2-M.jpg)

Photoshopped to look like a cartoon human who is his own grandfather:

(http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/131/399/fry.PNG)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on May 03, 2015, 04:52:25 pm
I don't really know how to use photoshop. I only DL'ed it to use one particular template:
(https://sites.google.com/site/dajangbandwebsite/my-pathfinder-setting-stuff/races/Seprixdog.gif?attredirects=0)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 03, 2015, 04:56:58 pm
I don't really know how to use photoshop. I only DL'ed it to use one particular template:
(https://sites.google.com/site/dajangbandwebsite/my-pathfinder-setting-stuff/races/Seprixdog.gif)

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on May 03, 2015, 05:05:51 pm
um, it didn't change?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on May 03, 2015, 05:11:07 pm
Thoughts on Patron Reposado?

Never had it, but I did pick up some Herradura Reposado based on a top-10 list, and I was really impressed with it. I'm mostly a shooter because I hate the taste of alcohol. The faster it gets in my system, the better off I am. Of course, the problem with shooting is that it can be pretty rough on you. Therefore, I was really shocked when I tried my first Reposado and realized how smooth it was. It still tasted nasty, but the experience was much nicer than with cheap liquor.

And Patron is a quality name, so I'm sure it would be pretty good too.

I can confirm it's quite smooth.  Great sipping tequila, so I assume you'll enjoy shooting it.

But really, if you are doing shots to get drunk, just buy something cheap.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 03, 2015, 06:18:31 pm
um, it didn't change?

Well, I can't see the first but can see the second for some reason.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 03, 2015, 07:01:09 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/12NGDa3.png)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/af/Eastwood_Good_Bad_and_the_Ugly.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on May 03, 2015, 07:12:08 pm
I had to quote both message to see what Awaclus did.  It seems the only difference was that my link had  "?attredirects=0" at the end of it. So why does it include that when I click "copy link address"?

PS: thanks Awaclus. Maybe the card images in my fan expansion thread will be visible to more people now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 03, 2015, 09:51:20 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIlNIVXpIns
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 03, 2015, 10:41:56 pm
Well, I'm convinced!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIlNIVXpIns
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on May 03, 2015, 11:18:33 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvCIhn7_FXI
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 04, 2015, 02:06:44 am
So. How quickly do you guys think mathematical knowledge/skills deteriorate?
I'm asking, because I'm changing majors and am having to take a lot more math starting next semester. The highest math course I've taken was Business Calculus 2 years ago, which I got an A in.

I know there's a lot of math heads on this forum. I vaguely remember matrices, and feel like I could pick up derivatives and most of the graphing stuff pretty quickly again. I don't know...I'll probably be less worried when I'm actually in the thick of it. And I have plans to use Khan Academy to refresh my memory.

I guess what I want to hear is that higher mathematics isn't the specter that popular belief makes it out to be.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on May 04, 2015, 02:59:52 am
If it's been a while since you've taken a math class, you'll probably be surprised at how much you've forgotten, but it won't take you more than a few weeks to be completely comfortable with it again.  I hadn't taken physics since my first year of college, and when I had to study it for a new job in September, I was amazed at how much I had forgotten.  It was like it all looked so familiar, and when I thought about it a bit I could remember how to do things, but it wasn't like I just knew how to do everything off the top of my head anymore.  It didn't take much practice though before I got back to that point.

So if you were good at math before, you'll be fine.  You might panic at the beginning because you feel like you've forgotten a lot, but it will come back to you really quickly.  I don't think you actually lose problem solving skills by being out of practice (though you don't improve them either), it's just that you might forget some information, and you'll be slower at things because you haven't had to use that information in a long time.

I'm assuming from your description that you're taking something like differential equations or multivariable, something closely related to the calculus class you took before.  If it's something completely unrelated like number theory or graph theory then you shouldn't be worried at all (I'm not guaranteeing you'll do well in those kinds of classes, but if you don't it won't be because you're out of practice).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 04, 2015, 03:28:10 am
Yeah. I'll be taking 3 levels of Calculus, and then Linear Analysis. I have quite a while to brush up on stuff too (at least a few months). I appreciate hearing your take on it.

I know myself well enough to know that I tend to put things off and possibly engage in wishful thinking (such as that I really haven't gotten rusty). I'm going to get back up to speed ahead of time though. I'll probably even hazard a few questions here if they happen to arise.

I switched from Business to Computer Science. I'm exceedingly happy with the change. It does set me back academically a bit, but there were a lot of compelling reasons to do it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 04, 2015, 09:10:12 am
Happy Star Trek day everyone! May the fourth be ever in your favour!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 04, 2015, 09:38:09 am
Man, the internet sure can disappoint. This is nothing new, but it's still annoying to be reminded of that.

I put up a poll on a Facebook group based on a game I play on there. I'll turn it into a Dominion analogy to make it not utterly boring for you guys.

So imagine I wanted some opinions on the best base set cards to buy in a 4/3 split. There are plenty of options, including some I didn't think of (not true in this analogy, but work with me here), so I made it an open poll where people could add their own suggestions. While there were some legitimate entries added, someone goes through adds Witch, Adventurer, Province, and other cards that are not legal. Then of course, some of those suggestions get voted on by others.

Even though I specifically listed the criteria that this was a 4/3 split, some people can't read directions. And I don't even think they're trolling. If they were trolling, then one of the poll options would be "Eat a dick." They just didn't bother to read my question and threw out the coolest card they could think of.

So, up yours, internet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on May 04, 2015, 09:44:57 am
https://youtu.be/eVSlE28hOgI
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 04, 2015, 10:03:04 am
Happy Star Trek day everyone! May the fourth be ever in your favour!

I'm going to strangle you. XD
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 04, 2015, 10:06:05 am
Happy Star Trek day everyone! May the fourth be ever in your favour!

I'm going to strangle you. XD

WITH THE FORCE
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Darth Vader on May 04, 2015, 10:07:11 am
Happy Star Trek day everyone! May the fourth be ever in your favour!

I'm going to strangle you. XD

WITH THE FORCE

YES
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on May 04, 2015, 10:29:45 am
So. How quickly do you guys think mathematical knowledge/skills deteriorate?
I'm asking, because I'm changing majors and am having to take a lot more math starting next semester. The highest math course I've taken was Business Calculus 2 years ago, which I got an A in.

There is only one way to find out! Can you answer the following without help?
1) Solve for x.
   a) 4x^3-9x=0
   b) 2x^2+x=-4.
2) What is the sum? (1/4) + (1/4)^2 + (1/4)^3+…
3) You put $100 in a bank account that pays 3% annual interest. How much is the account worth after 10 years if the bank…
   a) compounds annually?
   b) compounds monthly?
   c) compounds continuously?
4) What is the limit...
   a) ... as n approaches infinity? (n+n^2)/(3n^2)
   b) ... as n approaches 0 from the right? n^n
5) What is the derivative with respect to x of x^3*cos(x)?

edit: correction.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 04, 2015, 10:42:10 am
This is, indeed, the only way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 04, 2015, 10:55:22 am
Wow. I definitely have forgotten a lot. This is exactly the wake up call I needed. It pains me to admit it, but I couldn't solve any of those right now. It's frustrating, without any outside help, I can feel the right methods just out of my reach. For example, I know there was a formula we used for calculating interest (several actually, depending on the specifics)--business calculus emphasized such things. I can't recall if it's the Pe^rt or the other though for your 3a though.

This is good though. Being helpless in the face of stuff I knew 2 years ago isn't as bad as I thought. Really, I feel like I've just lost my knowledge of methods of solving specific problems as opposed to the skills of actually solving the problem if that makes sense. I guess kind of like scott said earlier. This motivates me to get cracking.

edit: grammar
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on May 04, 2015, 11:13:27 am
Wow. I definitely have forgotten a lot. This is exactly the wake up call I needed. It pains me to admit it, but I couldn't solve any of those right now. It's frustrating, without any outside help, I can feel the right methods just out of my reach. For example, I know there was a formula we used for calculating interest (several actually, depending on the specifics)--business calculus emphasized such things. I can't recall if it's the Pe^rt or the other though for your 3a though.

This is good though. Being helpless in the face of stuff I knew 2 years ago isn't as bad as I thought. Really, I feel like I've just lost my knowledge of methods of solving specific problems as opposed to the skills of actually solving the problem if that makes sense. I guess kind of like scott said earlier. This motivates me to get cracking.

edit: grammar

Good. :) Trying problems is really the only way to identify what you can do. And things like the interest problem, you know what you need to know, so that makes it easier to review.

If you had said, "oh, yeah, no problem," then you would be fine flipping through your old notes the week before class started.

Hints:
1) a) Factor out x. Factor again.
1) b) Quadratic formula. Solution to this one is imaginary (might not have seen this in business calc, but you should be able to apply the quadratic formula).
2) Geometric series.
3) a) and b) the other interest formula.
3) c) Pe^(rt) bonus exercise: where do these formulas come from?
4) a) Simplify and try taking the limit again.
4) b) L'Hospital's Rule.
5) Product Rule.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 04, 2015, 12:01:16 pm
4) b) L'Hospital's Rule.

L'Hopital's*

That one was lim(n->0+) n^n, right?  Because you can only use L'Hopital's rule for indeterminate quotients, and n^n isn't even a quotient...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 04, 2015, 12:02:50 pm
4) b) L'Hospital's Rule.

L'Hopital's*

That one was lim(x->0+) n^n, right?  Because you can only use L'Hopital's rule for indeterminate quotients, and n^n isn't even a quotient...

If you knew how n log n behaved as n->0^+, you may be able to deduce the behavior of n^n.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 04, 2015, 12:06:58 pm
Sweet. Those hints helped a lot.

So. Just using your hints. I worked out the first two problems. I feel fairly certain I got them right.
1)a) x= 2/9 , x= -2/9 x=0 , x=±3/2
1)b) x=(1/4) (-1±i√31)

PPEs:  :D
edit: fixed
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on May 04, 2015, 01:37:40 pm
This questions are not really the type of math I'd expect to be relevant in Computer Science. It should be much more about designing algorithms and proving their correctness / bounds for their running time, and much less about calculating stuff. Most of the concepts used will probably be new to you and hopefully will be explained.
Something you might wanna refresh is the concept of complete induction. For example, prove that the sum of the first n integers is equal to n*(n+1)/2.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 04, 2015, 02:17:33 pm
This questions are not really the type of math I'd expect to be relevant in Computer Science. It should be much more about designing algorithms and proving their correctness / bounds for their running time, and much less about calculating stuff. Most of the concepts used will probably be new to you and hopefully will be explained.
Something you might wanna refresh is the concept of complete induction. For example, prove that the sum of the first n integers is equal to n*(n+1)/2.
Yeah. I don't find it especially relevant at all, but those are the requirements  :-\.
I just changed my major this semester, so I haven't taken almost any of my core classes for CS yet. I agree with you though, in terms of what math is actually relevant to my major and what I will actually be using after I graduate.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on May 04, 2015, 03:05:48 pm
Very little math is directly relevant to CS, in that you will very rarely explicitly take an integral or take a limit, but mathematical intuition is much more important than it looks, and the strongest benefit of math is to train a proper mindset. Most important benefit, getting to the point where you assuming anything that could go wrong will.

IMO the core of math is the proofs, and many of the courses you take along the way are meant to be gentle introductions to proof-based classes. Personally, I think the current system takes too long to transition from computation-based to proof-based classes, but that's based on US education and is probably a discussion best left for RSP.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 04, 2015, 03:20:55 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcBsql9WBWU
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 04, 2015, 03:57:36 pm
Man, the internet sure can disappoint. This is nothing new, but it's still annoying to be reminded of that.

I put up a poll on a Facebook group based on a game I play on there. I'll turn it into a Dominion analogy to make it not utterly boring for you guys.

So imagine I wanted some opinions on the best base set cards to buy in a 4/3 split. There are plenty of options, including some I didn't think of (not true in this analogy, but work with me here), so I made it an open poll where people could add their own suggestions. While there were some legitimate entries added, someone goes through adds Witch, Adventurer, Province, and other cards that are not legal. Then of course, some of those suggestions get voted on by others.

Even though I specifically listed the criteria that this was a 4/3 split, some people can't read directions. And I don't even think they're trolling. If they were trolling, then one of the poll options would be "Eat a dick." They just didn't bother to read my question and threw out the coolest card they could think of.

So, up yours, internet.


What game was it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 04, 2015, 04:53:37 pm
does anyone know if there is a way to quickly get the entire content of a thread without losing BBC formatting?

You can go print -> CTRL + A -> Copy, which does almost what I need except that way, well, bolded letters get lost

edit: preferably something without the html tags which you get if you go print -> view source
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 04, 2015, 05:12:18 pm
I would guess there probably isn't I'm afraid. You could probably whip up some kind of program that reverse engineers stuff into BB code, but I think that loses the condition you placed of "quickly".

Also today I learn there's an option to put threads into a print friendly mode.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on May 04, 2015, 05:19:19 pm
does anyone know if there is a way to quickly get the entire content of a thread without losing BBC formatting?

You can go print -> CTRL + A -> Copy, which does almost what I need except that way, well, bolded letters get lost

edit: preferably something without the html tags which you get if you go print -> view source

Does All -> Print and then saving the page not work?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on May 04, 2015, 05:53:35 pm
Most important benefit, getting to the point where you assuming anything that could go wrong will.

This is an excellent description of the process of mathematical proof.  Another way to think of it is being sufficiently aware of possibilities that you know when you can't be sure.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 04, 2015, 06:25:59 pm
Does All -> Print and then saving the page not work?

ehh yeah that works of course, I wasn't formulating clearly. I need a way to move it into a .txt file without the bbc formating getting lost.

So... I ended up just rewriting my program to recognize the html source code rather than the print format. It wasn't even that much work... and it's actually less code now than it was before.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 04, 2015, 06:49:35 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/d6Bh1ZM.jpg)

I'm coming to get you.

(http://i.imgur.com/6YinBCo.jpg)

Too many mushrooms.

(http://i.imgur.com/C2BqMrg.jpg)

Too much swag.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on May 04, 2015, 07:13:26 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/N1d3S3z.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 04, 2015, 07:18:35 pm

Fractals are freaky.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 04, 2015, 07:26:57 pm
I can just hear the mouses of people editing images in the background.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on May 04, 2015, 07:29:21 pm
Needs more scout.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 04, 2015, 07:31:09 pm
Needs more scout.

I'm not really sure where the best place to put this is (likely nowhere), but I accidentally created an Infinite Scout Vortex and I thought I'd share...

(http://i.imgur.com/hPQu2GT.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 04, 2015, 07:40:41 pm
I have a confession to make.  Earlier, when Seprix asked for people to photoshop his dog, I posted several photoshopped images in reply.  But the truth is that I didn't actually make those images by photoshopping Seprix's photo.  They were actually just random images pulled from Google.  Shocking, I know!

But hey, have this:

(http://i.imgur.com/4nQR7Ex.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on May 04, 2015, 07:43:11 pm
Needs more scout.

I'm not really sure where the best place to put this is (likely nowhere), but I accidentally created an Infinite Scout Vortex and I thought I'd share...

(http://i.imgur.com/hPQu2GT.png)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xECUrlnXCqk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 04, 2015, 07:44:32 pm
Needs more scout.

I'm not really sure where the best place to put this is (likely nowhere), but I accidentally created an Infinite Scout Vortex and I thought I'd share...

(http://i.imgur.com/hPQu2GT.png)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xECUrlnXCqk
And that's the explanation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 04, 2015, 07:56:54 pm
Man, the internet sure can disappoint. This is nothing new, but it's still annoying to be reminded of that.

I put up a poll on a Facebook group based on a game I play on there. I'll turn it into a Dominion analogy to make it not utterly boring for you guys.

So imagine I wanted some opinions on the best base set cards to buy in a 4/3 split. There are plenty of options, including some I didn't think of (not true in this analogy, but work with me here), so I made it an open poll where people could add their own suggestions. While there were some legitimate entries added, someone goes through adds Witch, Adventurer, Province, and other cards that are not legal. Then of course, some of those suggestions get voted on by others.

Even though I specifically listed the criteria that this was a 4/3 split, some people can't read directions. And I don't even think they're trolling. If they were trolling, then one of the poll options would be "Eat a dick." They just didn't bother to read my question and threw out the coolest card they could think of.

So, up yours, internet.


What game was it?

It was for Marvel Avengers Alliance. It's my guilty pleasure on Facebook. But hey, it's been going strong for 3 years, which is pretty good for a FB game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 04, 2015, 08:00:36 pm
Photoshop challenge! See what you all can do with my dog. :)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v412/Kuildeous/seprix_dog.png) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Kuildeous/media/seprix_dog.png.html)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on May 04, 2015, 08:09:12 pm
And that's the explanation.
Oh, I get it now, thanks, much more funny.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 04, 2015, 11:01:20 pm
Is my dog squinting really going to be a thing now? Like, I was just editing the card avatar, and the squinting dog thing is still going strong.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 05, 2015, 08:04:53 am
Is my dog squinting really going to be a thing now? Like, I was just editing the card avatar, and the squinting dog thing is still going strong.

I was just hopping on the bandwagon. Someone else suggested the Inception meme, so I thought I'd take it one farther.

If I was better with shadows, I would have shaded his face like in the original. As a result, it looks a little off. I did try to match the lighting, though. The original really stood out.

But really, my greatest joy was decapitating Leonardo.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on May 05, 2015, 10:20:21 am
Sweet. Those hints helped a lot.

So. Just using your hints. I worked out the first two problems. I feel fairly certain I got them right.
1)a) x= 2/9 , x= -2/9 , x=0
1)b) x=(1/4) (-1±i√31)

Check your 1a. 4x^3-9x=x(4x^2-9)=x(2x-3)(2x+3) You can (should) check your answers by plugging your answers into the original equation. 1b is correct.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 05, 2015, 10:20:42 am
Is my dog squinting really going to be a thing now? Like, I was just editing the card avatar, and the squinting dog thing is still going strong.

I was just hopping on the bandwagon. Someone else suggested the Inception meme, so I thought I'd take it one farther.

If I was better with shadows, I would have shaded his face like in the original. As a result, it looks a little off. I did try to match the lighting, though. The original really stood out.

But really, my greatest joy was decapitating Leonardo.

I think that was me actually. :) I saw that squint and I compared it to Blondie and DeCaprio.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 05, 2015, 01:02:13 pm
Sweet. Those hints helped a lot.

So. Just using your hints. I worked out the first two problems. I feel fairly certain I got them right.
1)a) x= 2/9 , x= -2/9 , x=0
1)b) x=(1/4) (-1±i√31)

Check your 1a. 4x^3-9x=x(4x^2-9)=x(2x-3)(2x+3) You can (should) check your answers by plugging your answers into the original equation. 1b is correct.
Yeah. I messed up the factorization on it somehow. Thanks. Got to work to get myself back into the old mindset. Oftentimes, homework was never graded in my math classes, but the repetition of doing the same steps over and over (checking your work, etc) and working different types of problems  was essential to doing well on the test. If you didn't do the homework, it usually showed in the exam grades.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 05, 2015, 05:50:41 pm
I think we briefly talked about Phoenix Wright here before, yes? I'm currently on what (I think) is the final case of Phoenix Wright: Trilogy, (major series spoilers from here on I suppose, especially for Trials & Tribulations)Bridge to the Turnabout. And let me just say... damn, this case is good. I've been pretty much playing non-stop tonight for the best part of 2 hours because I want to know what the heck is going on. Thanks to the outside perspective on the game I think I have a better grasp of a few things than the characters - Godot is almost certainly Diego Armado, the attorney in the 4th case who was poisoned, judging from what's been said. But I have no idea why he's after Wright at the moment, unless it's some kind of revenge for Mia. Although considering his first and only encounter with Mia was helping on a single case before he got 'killed' that afternoon, I dunno if that makes sense. And Iris is either Dahlia Hawthorne or related to her in some way, but I know there's supposed to be some kind of double involved. I'm up to part 3-2, so many psycholocks I can't break at the moment, and now I need to go to bed, argh.

Anyway, I'll probably end up finishing it off tomorrow or Thursday. Trials and Tribulations has felt like a really good game, even by Phoenix Wright standards. I've seen people saying it's the best in the series, I think I can understand why.

No spoilers for the rest of the case though, please. That would be bad.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 05, 2015, 05:56:44 pm
I think we briefly talked about Phoenix Wright here before, yes? I'm currently on what (I think) is the final case of Phoenix Wright: Trilogy, (major series spoilers from here on I suppose, especially for Trials & Tribulations)Bridge to the Turnabout. And let me just say... damn, this case is good. I've been pretty much playing non-stop tonight for the best part of 2 hours because I want to know what the heck is going on. Thanks to the outside perspective on the game I think I have a better grasp of a few things than the characters - Godot is almost certainly Diego Armado, the attorney in the 4th case who was poisoned, judging from what's been said. But I have no idea why he's after Wright at the moment, unless it's some kind of revenge for Mia. Although considering his first and only encounter with Mia was helping on a single case before he got 'killed' that afternoon, I dunno if that makes sense. And Iris is either Dahlia Hawthorne or related to her in some way, but I know there's supposed to be some kind of double involved. I'm up to part 3-2, so many psycholocks I can't break at the moment, and now I need to go to bed, argh.

Anyway, I'll probably end up finishing it off tomorrow or Thursday. Trials and Tribulations has felt like a really good game, even by Phoenix Wright standards. I've seen people saying it's the best in the series, I think I can understand why.

No spoilers for the rest of the case though, please. That would be bad.

It was                               Moat.                   
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on May 05, 2015, 10:56:21 pm
I have a confession to make.  Earlier, when Seprix asked for people to photoshop his dog, I posted several photoshopped images in reply.  But the truth is that I didn't actually make those images by photoshopping Seprix's photo.  They were actually just random images pulled from Google.  Shocking, I know!

But hey, have this:

(http://i.imgur.com/4nQR7Ex.png)
At first (quick) glance I thought this was a duck decoy with a dog's head added.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 06, 2015, 12:00:07 am
I think we briefly talked about Phoenix Wright here before, yes? I'm currently on what (I think) is the final case of Phoenix Wright: Trilogy, (major series spoilers from here on I suppose, especially for Trials & Tribulations)Bridge to the Turnabout. And let me just say... damn, this case is good. I've been pretty much playing non-stop tonight for the best part of 2 hours because I want to know what the heck is going on. Thanks to the outside perspective on the game I think I have a better grasp of a few things than the characters - Godot is almost certainly Diego Armado, the attorney in the 4th case who was poisoned, judging from what's been said. But I have no idea why he's after Wright at the moment, unless it's some kind of revenge for Mia. Although considering his first and only encounter with Mia was helping on a single case before he got 'killed' that afternoon, I dunno if that makes sense. And Iris is either Dahlia Hawthorne or related to her in some way, but I know there's supposed to be some kind of double involved. I'm up to part 3-2, so many psycholocks I can't break at the moment, and now I need to go to bed, argh.

Anyway, I'll probably end up finishing it off tomorrow or Thursday. Trials and Tribulations has felt like a really good game, even by Phoenix Wright standards. I've seen people saying it's the best in the series, I think I can understand why.

No spoilers for the rest of the case though, please. That would be bad.

That case was lame. It was good, but it quickly got bad as it went on. It got gimmicky. The ending was sad though.

I can talk about any game or case you want. I've played all 3.

I'm playing the 5th game, which is Dual Destinies. Man, it freaking SUCKS so far. So much handholding.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 06, 2015, 12:55:45 am
So I live in Alberta and today was election day for the province.  The Progressive-Conservative Party (Centre-Right) has held power for 44 years, which is the longest run for any party in Canadian history.  They recently decided to call the next election a year earlier than required by law.  The stated reason was to confirm that he had support from the people for a tough proposed budget.  Though it's worth noting that two of the other Albertan parties were in the midst of leadership changes and thus not quite as stable.

Today, that dynasty is over.  We've elected the NDP with a resounding majority, a social-democratic party.  They've gone from 4 seats in government to over 50 (out of 87), whereas the PCs didn't even win enough seats to become the official opposition (where they had 70 seats before the election was called).  Without exaggeration, it is a cataclysmic shift.

It also makes the upcoming federal election (in October) a little more interesting.

As an aside, I'm watching the Premier-Elect Rachel Notley speak right now and she also noted that it looks like this will also be the most women elected to Alberta government in history.  So that's cool.

Edit: added more details.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on May 06, 2015, 07:50:04 am
Has anyone played Lifeline?  This is the type of game I'll pay for just to encourage more people to make stuff like this.

I wish I had an Apple Watch just for the experience of playing this truly on the go.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on May 06, 2015, 08:05:05 am
So I live in Alberta and today was election day for the province.  The Progressive-Conservative Party (Centre-Right) has held power for 44 years, which is the longest run for any party in Canadian history.  They recently decided to call the next election a year earlier than required by law.  The stated reason was to confirm that he had support from the people for a tough proposed budget.  Though it's worth noting that two of the other Albertan parties were in the midst of leadership changes and thus not quite as stable.

Today, that dynasty is over.  We've elected the NDP with a resounding majority, a social-democratic party.  They've gone from 4 seats in government to over 50 (out of 87), whereas the PCs didn't even win enough seats to become the official opposition (where they had 70 seats before the election was called).  Without exaggeration, it is a cataclysmic shift.

It also makes the upcoming federal election (in October) a little more interesting.

As an aside, I'm watching the Premier-Elect Rachel Notley speak right now and she also noted that it looks like this will also be the most women elected to Alberta government in history.  So that's cool.

Edit: added more details.

I think this switch to the NDP is what happened here in Quebec during the last federal election. It was pretty crazy to see the entire Province go orange instead of voting PQ.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on May 06, 2015, 08:13:28 am
We closed the Random Stuff Part I thread at 4000 posts.  Here we are again. Time for RS III?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on May 06, 2015, 08:34:06 am
We closed the Random Stuff Part I thread at 4000 posts.  Here we are again. Time for RS III?

It was actually closed at 5000.  And Theory just split it off.   So that is his call.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on May 06, 2015, 08:38:04 am
Quick - make 1000 posts!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 06, 2015, 09:00:35 am
Quick - make 1000 posts!

M
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 06, 2015, 12:15:01 pm
Has anyone played Lifeline?  This is the type of game I'll pay for just to encourage more people to make stuff like this.

I wish I had an Apple Watch just for the experience of playing this truly on the go.

Bah, read a review and was interested... iOS only.  Boo.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 06, 2015, 03:00:45 pm
Quick - make 1000 posts!

M

Other M. Worst. Metroid. Game. Ever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on May 06, 2015, 03:35:34 pm
Quick - make 1000 posts!

M

Other M. Worst. Metroid. Game. Ever.

I don't know, man. I got through Other M. I've never gotten through the original Metroid or Metroid: Hunters.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 06, 2015, 04:21:55 pm
Quick - make 1000 posts!

M

Other M. Worst. Metroid. Game. Ever.

I thoroughly enjoyed how Other M served my Super Metroid nostalgia. Phantoon alone was worth it for me.

I hate Metroid Prime II, that game was annoying and out of place, even in the Prime series, which was out of place itself. It just didn't feel "Metroid" to me. I mean, come on, the Metroids don't even matter for those games, not even on paper. And Phazon is just such a lame story device.

Other M was a playable nostalgic movie with a lot of issues, but it was not The. Worst. Possible. Thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 06, 2015, 04:46:39 pm
Quick - make 1000 posts!

M

Other M. Worst. Metroid. Game. Ever.

So much this. Some Twitch channels I'm on (that are Metroid related of course) have actually banned talking about MOM, because the same complaints always get raised about it every time. The terrible story. The awful characterisation of Samus, and awful voice acting. The controls being horrible. The powerup system in general. Concentration.

It did one or two things well, like some of the game's areas are genuinely quite neat, and there's some fun tools in there both new and classics revisited, such as Speed Booster. But the controls and everything else just makes it so hard to play. I beat it once, but when I went back to replay it I couldn't get beyond about an hour before deciding it was too bad.

The Metroid series hasn't been consistent knockout hits - it's had a few amazing games, most notably Super Metroid, Prime and Prime II, but then it's also had Hunters and Metroid II, which were maybe just merely good games. But MOM was so far below them. Hunters and Metroid II were maybe 7/10 games, while MOM was like a 3/10, maybe 4/10. I finished it, mainly because I wanted to give it a full look at and it wasn't so bad as to be unplayable. Also it's relatively short, which means it didn't feel as bad for long. But found it regularly frustrating, especially with the controls, and generally didn't get especially into it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 06, 2015, 04:55:42 pm
talking about MOM, because the same complaints always get raised about it every time.

That she's so fat?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on May 06, 2015, 05:23:12 pm
I thoroughly enjoyed how Other M served my Super Metroid nostalgia. Phantoon alone was worth it for me.

Phantoon is in Other M? I don't remember that at all. I believe you, but I have no memory of that part.

I hate Metroid Prime II, that game was annoying and out of place, even in the Prime series, which was out of place itself. It just didn't feel "Metroid" to me. I mean, come on, the Metroids don't even matter for those games, not even on paper. And Phazon is just such a lame story device.

Oh man, I love the Metroid Prime games, and Metroid Prime II is probably my favorite. The bosses in that game are the best, especially the ones that are using your power-ups against you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 06, 2015, 05:53:29 pm
I thoroughly enjoyed how Other M served my Super Metroid nostalgia. Phantoon alone was worth it for me.

Phantoon is in Other M? I don't remember that at all. I believe you, but I have no memory of that part.

He's a secret boss you can only access after you have finished the main story. Which makes that encounter even more awesome in my opinion.

I hate Metroid Prime II, that game was annoying and out of place, even in the Prime series, which was out of place itself. It just didn't feel "Metroid" to me. I mean, come on, the Metroids don't even matter for those games, not even on paper. And Phazon is just such a lame story device.

Oh man, I love the Metroid Prime games, and Metroid Prime II is probably my favorite. The bosses in that game are the best, especially the ones that are using your power-ups against you.

Part two is not without qualities. It has a rather athmospheric introduction, like i would want from a Metroid game. I just dislike the whole "Dark Aether" thing. It's annoying to be that immobile and always under pressure, and the "light vs darkness" story gives off an esoteric vibe that i wouldn't mind in a fantasy world but which bugs me in a science fiction setting. Also the story has nothing to do with anything, not even the rest of Prime. The II in Metroid Prime II seems to stand for the exactly 2 Metroids you'll meet in the game. The last boss is just some random goo, and some achievements are only accessible in non-repeatable situations.

But it's mostly the fact you have to run from one torch to another, having to switch around all the time, just to find that, no, you allready tried to go this path, you have to come from the other side, through the dark world, taking a long reroute, what the hell i have cleared this part hours ago why isn't there a shortcut.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 06, 2015, 06:01:01 pm
Quick - make 1000 posts!

M

Other M. Worst. Metroid. Game. Ever.

So much this. Some Twitch channels I'm on (that are Metroid related of course) have actually banned talking about MOM, because the same complaints always get raised about it every time. The terrible story. The awful characterisation of Samus, and awful voice acting. The controls being horrible. The powerup system in general. Concentration.

It did one or two things well, like some of the game's areas are genuinely quite neat, and there's some fun tools in there both new and classics revisited, such as Speed Booster. But the controls and everything else just makes it so hard to play. I beat it once, but when I went back to replay it I couldn't get beyond about an hour before deciding it was too bad.

The Metroid series hasn't been consistent knockout hits - it's had a few amazing games, most notably Super Metroid, Prime and Prime II, but then it's also had Hunters and Metroid II, which were maybe just merely good games. But MOM was so far below them. Hunters and Metroid II were maybe 7/10 games, while MOM was like a 3/10, maybe 4/10. I finished it, mainly because I wanted to give it a full look at and it wasn't so bad as to be unplayable. Also it's relatively short, which means it didn't feel as bad for long. But found it regularly frustrating, especially with the controls, and generally didn't get especially into it.

I agree with everything you said about Other M, but I will add this: Ridley looks like a duck...

I am surprised that you rank Echoes above Corruption. I loved Prime III. Prime II is nice, but it tends to drag at times, both during exploration and during boss fights.

Why no mention of Fusion or Zero Mission?

The problem with the Speed Booster is that it's always been very finnicky, and the fun thing about it was making it work despite it, because it looked cool and made you feel like a badass for pulling it off. It's fine in 2D, because there's really only two directions you can run towards. But it just doesn't work in 3D because all of the sudden there's infinitely many directions you can run towards, and that's even before you take into account the inherent finnickiness of the Speed Booster.

I thoroughly enjoyed how Other M served my Super Metroid nostalgia. Phantoon alone was worth it for me.

Phantoon is in Other M? I don't remember that at all. I believe you, but I have no memory of that part.

There's two endings to the game. Phantoon is in the second ending.

I never reached its boss fight either, I just stopped caring before that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 06, 2015, 06:08:08 pm
I am surprised that you rank Echoes above Corruption. I loved Prime III. Prime II is nice, but it tends to drag at times, both during exploration and during boss fights.

Prime III is great but it does have a small number of issues. Probably the worst of all is the PED. That thing is pretty ridiculous. Most fights more or less come down to "activate PED, kill enemy with own health, recover way more health than used from items" and bosses aren't much different. It makes most powerups, especially missiles, feel unnecessary in battle. Asides from that it's a lot less atmospheric, you don't feel nearly so alone. There's a lot more hand holding and direction. The whole multiple planet thing doesn't feel quite so impressive as exploring one planet in detail.

Quote
Why no mention of Fusion or Zero Mission?

Honestly just as I was finishing the post I thought "eh I could probably add Fusion and Zero Mission" but didn't because I'm lazy. I'd say they fall just below those three I named though. Fusion is actually a personal favourite, just below Super Metroid (which is probably my 2nd favourite video game) in the Metroid series, but I would say it's not as good as Prime despite that.

Quote
The problem with the Speed Booster is that it's always been very finnicky, and the fun thing about it was making it work despite it, because it looked cool and made you feel like a badass for pulling it off. It's fine in 2D, because there's really only two directions you can run towards. But it just doesn't work in 3D because all of the sudden there's infinitely many directions you can run towards, and that's even before you take into account the inherent finnickiness of the Speed Booster.

Fortunately, thanks to not having a control stick, there's not infinite directions, only 8 ::). But actually I feel that overall they implemented the speed booster fairly well.

Quote
I thoroughly enjoyed how Other M served my Super Metroid nostalgia. Phantoon alone was worth it for me.

Phantoon is in Other M? I don't remember that at all. I believe you, but I have no memory of that part.

There's two endings to the game. Phantoon is in the second ending.

I never reached its boss fight either, I just stopped caring before that.

Personally I only played beyond the endgame because I heard you got to fight Phantoon. It was something I suppose. Nothing too special. At least it was playing the game without Adam in the way constantly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on May 06, 2015, 06:18:45 pm
The only Metroid game I've finished is Super Metroid. It was good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on May 06, 2015, 06:50:56 pm
Prime III > Prime I >>> Prime II
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 06, 2015, 07:09:00 pm
Don't get me wrong, i don't claim Other M is brilliant. For example, things i didn't like were that some "puzzles" necessary for progressing the game were really hard to get, e.g. there was one tiny space in a wall you had to bomb open without you being able to lock on it, which made me believe you couldn't do it. Worst were those "puzzles" that had you looking for things in ego mode, especially the MB fight. Also the "powerup" system was absolutely ridiculous, i can't say anything to its defense. It was rubbish. Evasion made fights pretty trivial. The whole camera changing thing was annoying. I actually liked to have a 3rd person Metroid again, it was the fact that you had to become immobile to do certain things that annoyed me.

You can think of me what you wish, i liked the narrative. I liked the depiction of Samus, i think it makes sense, i didn't really like Ridleys new design, i liked his weird transformation. I like how the game starts of with Mother Brain and the baby, how it picks up that theme and builds around it, how the main enemies are callbacks to all 2D games (Nightmare from Fusion, the Queen from Metroid II, Phantoon from Super, Ridley from Metroid), and, again, think what you wish, i enjoyed the lack of Phazon, Dark Samus and Space Pirates that came off like a Military Organisation (i always felt this depiction in Prime made them less scary).

To me the best Metroid is Super Metroid. Other M wasn't that great as a game, but it continued the story i wanted to be continued.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 06, 2015, 07:23:39 pm
You can think of me what you wish, i liked the narrative. I liked the depiction of Samus, i think it makes sense

No. Nooooooooo. No. Nononononono. NO. So much no.

Like... no.


Nightmare from Fusion

I was really happy to see Nightmare, it's one of my favourite bosses from all Metroid games. It's a shame it was kind of botched in Other M, it's nowhere as menacing as it was in Fusion.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 06, 2015, 07:56:53 pm
You can think of me what you wish, i liked the narrative. I liked the depiction of Samus, i think it makes sense

No. Nooooooooo. No. Nononononono. NO. So much no.

Like... no.

I assume this means you are disagreing with me. Or that i'm disagreeing with you. Whatever. You can't please everyone.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 06, 2015, 08:07:18 pm
You can think of me what you wish, i liked the narrative. I liked the depiction of Samus, i think it makes sense

No. Nooooooooo. No. Nononononono. NO. So much no.

Like... no.

I assume this means you are disagreing with me. Or that i'm disagreeing with you. Whatever. You can't please everyone.

Even ignoring all the times she just lets the Federation tell her what she has to do even when it blatantly doesn't make any sense, I'm thinking specifically about Samus's reaction to Ridley. By then she had already defeated or outright killed him five times, and even before that she had been training all her life to fight Space Pirates in general and Ridley in particular. Why does she get a bad case of PTSD then!?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 06, 2015, 08:34:59 pm
You can think of me what you wish, i liked the narrative. I liked the depiction of Samus, i think it makes sense

No. Nooooooooo. No. Nononononono. NO. So much no.

Like... no.

I assume this means you are disagreing with me. Or that i'm disagreeing with you. Whatever. You can't please everyone.

Even ignoring all the times she just lets the Federation tell her what she has to do even when it blatantly doesn't make any sense, I'm thinking specifically about Samus's reaction to Ridley. By then she had already defeated or outright killed him five times, and even before that she had been training all her life to fight Space Pirates in general and Ridley in particular. Why does she get a bad case of PTSD then!?

The game takes place before Prime, directly after Super. At that point she beat Ridley twice, not five times. Also the last time she beat him she blew up the planet he was on. He practically came back from the dead. Before Zero Mission, you could very easily assume he wasn't dead after his first defeat, but returning after the world he was on was destroyed is plain wrong. Then again, Zero Mission itself allready reanimates Ridley for no apparent reason in it's "epilogue".

Edit: No, i think that's not actually accurate. I think Prime takes place directly after Metroid I.

Either way, how can you tell how Samus is like? Is it the look on her invisible face in Super Metroid when she sees Ridley after killing him the first fourth time? Her grim eyes and the smile that says: "Ha ha Ridley, i'm not scared at all! As my sprite obviously tells you!"? Or do you judge from the lack of a nervous brakedown in "I don't have any personality at all" Prime, which lacks any dialogue by her and plays after Other M? Seriously, what CAN you claim to know about the psyche of a character hidden so impenetrably after a mechanical suit that many people mistook her for a man until they beat her game? I believe you had a picture of the character in mind and the "official" depiction didn't match. That's a shame, but doesn't make the depiction bad or false.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 06, 2015, 08:36:21 pm
You can think of me what you wish, i liked the narrative. I liked the depiction of Samus, i think it makes sense

No. Nooooooooo. No. Nononononono. NO. So much no.

Like... no.

I assume this means you are disagreing with me. Or that i'm disagreeing with you. Whatever. You can't please everyone.

Even ignoring all the times she just lets the Federation tell her what she has to do even when it blatantly doesn't make any sense, I'm thinking specifically about Samus's reaction to Ridley. By then she had already defeated or outright killed him five times, and even before that she had been training all her life to fight Space Pirates in general and Ridley in particular. Why does she get a bad case of PTSD then!?

Well, that's how it works in real life.  The first four times you can shrug it off, but the fifth time!  That's when it'll getcha.  It's where we get the sardonic expression, "fifth time's the charm".  True story.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 06, 2015, 08:58:12 pm

Oh, so your position is that she reacted roughly the same way all the previous times, but is not shown due to limitations of the medium? I guess that's internally consistent, so that's fine if you want to interpret it that way.

Still, she is a bounty hunter by trade, and she gets into all these missions because she wants to. She could have been "Oh man, sure killing all those Zebesians and the guy who killed my family was stressful. I'll just buy a house with the bounty and become a space accountant". But she keeps doing this. The "Samus is a hardass" hypothesis seems a bit more likely.

The PTSD wouldn't have bothered me in Zero Mission or Prime, but by Other M her reaction should be more like "I don't know why they keep trying to clone this guy".

Sidenote: the thing in the epilogue of Zero Mission is not Ridley, just a robot shaped like him.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on May 06, 2015, 10:35:17 pm
Aaaaand... F.ds has gone to a land I don't understand.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 06, 2015, 10:41:40 pm

Oh, so your position is that she reacted roughly the same way all the previous times, but is not shown due to limitations of the medium? I guess that's internally consistent, so that's fine if you want to interpret it that way.

Still, she is a bounty hunter by trade, and she gets into all these missions because she wants to. She could have been "Oh man, sure killing all those Zebesians and the guy who killed my family was stressful. I'll just buy a house with the bounty and become a space accountant". But she keeps doing this. The "Samus is a hardass" hypothesis seems a bit more likely.

The PTSD wouldn't have bothered me in Zero Mission or Prime, but by Other M her reaction should be more like "I don't know why they keep trying to clone this guy".

Sidenote: the thing in the epilogue of Zero Mission is not Ridley, just a robot shaped like him.
Wrong. YOU ARE SAMUS. The player.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 07, 2015, 02:24:39 am
Prime III > Prime I >>> Prime II

Prime I > Prime II > Prime III.

Prime I and II are masterpieces of the Gamecube. Prime III is a decent Wii game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 07, 2015, 04:50:15 am

Oh, so your position is that she reacted roughly the same way all the previous times, but is not shown due to limitations of the medium? I guess that's internally consistent, so that's fine if you want to interpret it that way.

Still, she is a bounty hunter by trade, and she gets into all these missions because she wants to. She could have been "Oh man, sure killing all those Zebesians and the guy who killed my family was stressful. I'll just buy a house with the bounty and become a space accountant". But she keeps doing this. The "Samus is a hardass" hypothesis seems a bit more likely.

The PTSD wouldn't have bothered me in Zero Mission or Prime, but by Other M her reaction should be more like "I don't know why they keep trying to clone this guy".

Sidenote: the thing in the epilogue of Zero Mission is not Ridley, just a robot shaped like him.
Wrong. YOU ARE SAMUS. The player.

I don't know how many times you personally killed flying reptiles from outer space, but i myself would be rather irritated to be attacked by one.

Samus is a fictional character. Usually she doesn't speak, which is a classic story tool to make identification with the character easier. Mario does it, Link too. It's not even limited to video games. Making the main character "empty" to ease identification is around since forever. So, obviously giving the character a voice will rub some people the wrong way. If Mario or Link suddenly had dialogue, many people would hate it.

I think the real problem is that Prime and Other M interpret the character differently. For Prime she fills out the american ideal of a badass hero who shoots at things. If Samus spoke in Prime, it probably would be schwarzeneggeresque oneliners. Other M on the other hand is a japanese game, with silly japanese fantasy uniforms, and drama, and delicate women in mechanic suits. It's simply another genre. I personally prefer the japan-trash over the ameri-trash, but that's a matter of taste. There's not "one" Samus, and Other M doesn't break yours.

Here's an idea: We can either stop talking about this subject and just accept that we have differing opinions (which isn't going to change either way), or take this somewhere else. PEOPLE ARE STARING ALLREADY !
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 07, 2015, 07:29:02 am
I tried making one of my j-pop avant-garde metal covers in sync with an MMD dance motion. Also, it's pretty interesting to see how much I've improved as a music producer in just one year.

http://youtu.be/xyqqekUjRxs
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on May 07, 2015, 07:52:31 am
Prime III > Prime I >>> Prime II

Prime I > Prime II > Prime III.

Prime I and II are masterpieces of the Gamecube. Prime III is a decent Wii game.

The reason I dislike Prime II so much is that I couldn't get very far on the gamecube version. It was way too hard and I hated having to complete a harder, purpler version of an area I just cleared. When I got Metroid Trilogy, I was actually able to play through the game with the slightly reduced difficulty and much better control scheme. One of the few Nintendo games where I had zero desire to play it ever again after beating the final boss.

The art direction and variety of areas in Prime III was my favorite. Skytown, Elysia was my favorite area by far in the entire trilogy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 07, 2015, 08:03:47 am
Here's an idea: We can either stop talking about this subject and just accept that we have differing opinions (which isn't going to change either way), or take this somewhere else. PEOPLE ARE STARING ALLREADY !

*stares blankly*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 07, 2015, 08:15:01 am
[stoplikingwhatidontlikekid.jpg]
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 07, 2015, 08:40:54 am
Something changed in the restroom overnight. I realized that they replaced the divider between the two urinals. The top of the divider went up to my shoulder. Now it's to the top of my head. Not that I look in that direction anyway, but it does seem like overkill to obfuscate the other person entirely.

Then again, one of the directors on this floor stands at like 6'10", so maybe he was getting uncomfortable noticing people's junk over such an inadequate wall.

Or perhaps it just need replacing, and it's all just a coincidence. I didn't get much sleep last night, so who knows what weird topic my brain will cling to today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 07, 2015, 08:57:03 am
Aaaaand... F.ds has gone to a land I don't understand.

(http://fs1.directupload.net/images/150507/yf8fyzr7.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 07, 2015, 09:27:00 am
Ok, last thing I will say on the subject: Imagine that Link goes all the way up to Ganon's tower, sees Ganondorf, has a nervous breakdown, drops sword and shield, and lets himself be trashed by Ganondorf for a while before Zelda bails him out. Would that be good or bad characterization? It doesn't matter, because it's never going to happen.

The whole reasoning of the writing team behind that scene seems to be "Samus is a woman". There's nothing leading into it or out of it. It's incredibly lazy. Samus had already been given a voice in Fusion, and they had managed to show a more vulnerable side of her in a much better way.

In other news, I would love to have a Metroid take place after Fusion.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 07, 2015, 09:52:13 am
Ok, last thing I will say on the subject: Imagine that Link goes all the way up to Ganon's tower, sees Ganondorf, has a nervous breakdown, drops sword and shield, and lets himself be trashed by Ganondorf for a while before Zelda bails him out. Would that be good or bad characterization? It doesn't matter, because it's never going to happen.

The whole reasoning of the writing team behind that scene seems to be "Samus is a woman". There's nothing leading into it or out of it. It's incredibly lazy. Samus had already been given a voice in Fusion, and they had managed to show a more vulnerable side of her in a much better way.

In other news, I would love to have a Metroid take place after Fusion.

I can see how the "Samus is a woman" reasoning is a bad thing. Hmm... Funny, i didn't even think about it that way, before.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 07, 2015, 10:03:45 am
I don't like samus. she moves awkwardly in super smash brothers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on May 07, 2015, 10:14:06 am
Her wavedash is good though, especially her super wavedash (though that's really more for show).  And she has superb recovery on a stage like FD.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 07, 2015, 10:16:04 am

Oh, so your position is that she reacted roughly the same way all the previous times, but is not shown due to limitations of the medium? I guess that's internally consistent, so that's fine if you want to interpret it that way.

Still, she is a bounty hunter by trade, and she gets into all these missions because she wants to. She could have been "Oh man, sure killing all those Zebesians and the guy who killed my family was stressful. I'll just buy a house with the bounty and become a space accountant". But she keeps doing this. The "Samus is a hardass" hypothesis seems a bit more likely.

The PTSD wouldn't have bothered me in Zero Mission or Prime, but by Other M her reaction should be more like "I don't know why they keep trying to clone this guy".

Sidenote: the thing in the epilogue of Zero Mission is not Ridley, just a robot shaped like him.
Wrong. YOU ARE SAMUS. The player.

I don't know how many times you personally killed flying reptiles from outer space, but i myself would be rather irritated to be attacked by one.

Samus is a fictional character. Usually she doesn't speak, which is a classic story tool to make identification with the character easier. Mario does it, Link too. It's not even limited to video games. Making the main character "empty" to ease identification is around since forever. So, obviously giving the character a voice will rub some people the wrong way. If Mario or Link suddenly had dialogue, many people would hate it.

I think the real problem is that Prime and Other M interpret the character differently. For Prime she fills out the american ideal of a badass hero who shoots at things. If Samus spoke in Prime, it probably would be schwarzeneggeresque oneliners. Other M on the other hand is a japanese game, with silly japanese fantasy uniforms, and drama, and delicate women in mechanic suits. It's simply another genre. I personally prefer the japan-trash over the ameri-trash, but that's a matter of taste. There's not "one" Samus, and Other M doesn't break yours.

Here's an idea: We can either stop talking about this subject and just accept that we have differing opinions (which isn't going to change either way), or take this somewhere else. PEOPLE ARE STARING ALLREADY !

Nah though. Samus doesn't speak. :) not at all. link doesn't Either. Or Mario. That's not a coincidence. The devs did that on purpose. It's so you insert yourself as the character. Literally everyone talks but you in the games I mentioned. You're going on the adventure. You're talking. It's an awesome technique game developers use.

And who cares if we have different opinions? Is it killing you that much? Relax bro. I have to tell you, those caps were by accident. XD I was rushing to get to work and I didn't have time to fix it. No harm meant. There are things about other M l like a lot.

 The story is not one of them. The voice acting is not one of them. "they're coming outta the waaaaalllls!" The whole traitor thing was cool and then it was an anticlimax when you pretty much don't get to fight him or anything, he just gets tossed aside. Adam didn't have to die. The Queen Metroid boss fight where you use the power bomb you've NEVER USED WITHOUT ANY INDICATION is total bullshit. The soundtrack is horrendous, Hollywood cut and paste music compared to the tunes Metroid has always used. The game tries to pass itself as a movie game, which is something Metroid had never done. Samus is a whiny bitch who is a melodramatic emotional drone. She freaks out over Ridely even though she killed him tons of times. The Final Boss where you just shoot M is stupid and not very challenging.
The areas in the game are boring Fire, Ice, Jungle. Look at every Metroid game ever. There's so much biological diversity. But there's nothing on this (small) ship, which also has total short game play. It feels like a 3rd party game, but without any sort of positive element.


There are things I like, but they're small little things like actual gameplay and controls.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 07, 2015, 10:17:53 am
Ok, last thing I will say on the subject: Imagine that Link goes all the way up to Ganon's tower, sees Ganondorf, has a nervous breakdown, drops sword and shield, and lets himself be trashed by Ganondorf for a while before Zelda bails him out. Would that be good or bad characterization? It doesn't matter, because it's never going to happen.

The whole reasoning of the writing team behind that scene seems to be "Samus is a woman". There's nothing leading into it or out of it. It's incredibly lazy. Samus had already been given a voice in Fusion, and they had managed to show a more vulnerable side of her in a much better way.

In other news, I would love to have a Metroid take place after Fusion.

Fusion is one of the most underrated Metroid games ever, and it's one of the best.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 07, 2015, 10:20:24 am
For me, writing a human character is much more fun than writing an unrealistic stereotyped person, male or female, unless it's for satire or something of the sort. I don't get lazy writing :p Other M bugs me so much in that regard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 07, 2015, 10:30:31 am
I don't like samus. she moves awkwardly in super smash brothers.

My main problem with her is the fact that her Bomb move feels like a wasted slot. It's seemingly okay for keeping an opponent off, but it makes you move unvoluntarily and is goddamn slow. Also her grab. I still play as Samus for nostalgia reasons, especially as i feel nothing for her Zero Suit variant. It's obviously just there for sex appeal.

As we are talking about Smash, i'll take this as an excuse to ask this without necroing the SSB thread: Did anybody of you vote on the Super Smash Bros Ballot, and if yes, for whom? I personally did, and being the loner i am, i played by the rules, voting only once. My vote was for King K Rool from the Donkey Kong Country series.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 07, 2015, 10:36:27 am
Anyone have a 3DS and Smash Bros? I play a mean Mario. :) We can Skype and duel. Sounds fun actually.

Alternately, we can Skype and play Dominion. Both are fun creative pursuits I feel like doing, if anyone is up to it and not at work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 07, 2015, 10:53:58 am
Also, this.

(https://41.media.tumblr.com/2ec561587dd771179bd04031a1232415/tumblr_ndes3ex7qc1txhseao1_540.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 07, 2015, 12:00:18 pm
"Thanks for all your help. Want something to drink?"
"No, I'm good."
"Want some Cracker Jacks?"
"Yeah, I'll take some Cracker Jacks."

For some reason the offering of Cracker Jacks just seemed so random, but yet that was the appreciation that was accepted. Weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 07, 2015, 01:20:45 pm
That was a fun distraction. There's a barcade just 7 blocks from here, so I was able to go get lunch and play some video games. My muscle memory was still remarkably good for Lethal Enforcers. Glad to know those brain cells didn't go to waste.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 07, 2015, 01:33:12 pm
I just marked all my 1200 emails in the advertisement section as spam and told google to try to end like 30 subscriptions. good times.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 07, 2015, 04:22:32 pm
"Thanks for all your help. Want something to drink?"
"No, I'm good."
"Want some Cracker Jacks?"
"Yeah, I'll take some Cracker Jacks."

For some reason the offering of Cracker Jacks just seemed so random, but yet that was the appreciation that was accepted. Weird.

I'm going to start doing this, whether or not I actually have Cracker Jacks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 07, 2015, 10:55:09 pm
Where I work everybody has a Mac, myself included, but my home laptop is a Windows.

I have learned how to systematically scroll in the opposite direction I want to.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 07, 2015, 11:25:18 pm
Where I work everybody has a Mac, myself included, but my home laptop is a Windows.

I have learned how to systematically scroll in the opposite direction I want to.

I'm sure there's a setting on either machine that'll let you make them scroll the same way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on May 08, 2015, 11:23:01 am
Where I work everybody has a Mac, myself included, but my home laptop is a Windows.

I have learned how to systematically scroll in the opposite direction I want to.

I'm sure there's a setting on either machine that'll let you make them scroll the same way.

Yes. When they first implemented the backwards scrolling on OS X, I immediately changed it back.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 08, 2015, 11:31:17 am
I want to start wearing kilts. I hear they're so comfortable, and I wouldn't mind having some ventilation come summertime. But man, kilts online just seem so expensive. Sadly, I have no illusion that they're any cheaper in person. I know a few people through Ren Fest, so I have the means to get in touch with the right person to make one.

But it's not for Scottish heritage or anything like that. I just want a functional kilt.

Then the fun part is seeing how much grief my bosses would give me if I wore a kilt to work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 08, 2015, 11:35:46 am
I want to start wearing kilts. I hear they're so comfortable, and I wouldn't mind having some ventilation come summertime. But man, kilts online just seem so expensive. Sadly, I have no illusion that they're any cheaper in person. I know a few people through Ren Fest, so I have the means to get in touch with the right person to make one.

But it's not for Scottish heritage or anything like that. I just want a functional kilt.

Then the fun part is seeing how much grief my bosses would give me if I wore a kilt to work.

You don't just pay a monetary price.

(http://www.foundshit.com/images/world0007.jpg)

You pay a social price.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 08, 2015, 11:56:38 am
You pay a social price.

I've been paying social prices for 43 years. If kilts are only for men who just don't give a fuck, then I should've been wearing kilts decades ago.

The older I get, the fewer fucks I give, which explains a lot of the fashion solecisms I've seen committed by older people. In a couple of decades, I shall be one of those guys.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 08, 2015, 11:58:59 am
You pay a social price.

I've been paying social prices for 43 years. If kilts are only for men who just don't give a fuck, then I should've been wearing kilts decades ago.

The older I get, the fewer fucks I give, which explains a lot of the fashion solecisms I've seen committed by older people. In a couple of decades, I shall be one of those guys.

You'd be great friends with Noel Gallagher.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 08, 2015, 12:35:15 pm
Where I work everybody has a Mac, myself included, but my home laptop is a Windows.

I have learned how to systematically scroll in the opposite direction I want to.

I'm sure there's a setting on either machine that'll let you make them scroll the same way.

Yes. When they first implemented the backwards scrolling on OS X, I immediately changed it back.

Why would they even do something like that?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on May 08, 2015, 01:04:55 pm
I see some great potential in owning a kilt. Many a mediocre halloween costume turns into awesome when you make it scottish.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on May 08, 2015, 01:18:29 pm
You pay a social price.

I've been paying social prices for 43 years. If kilts are only for men who just don't give a fuck, then I should've been wearing kilts decades ago.

The older I get, the fewer fucks I give, which explains a lot of the fashion solecisms I've seen committed by older people. In a couple of decades, I shall be one of those guys.

I have found that perhaps THE major advantage to getting older (and there aren't all that many) is that I care less and less about what people think.  I'll raise a glass to you this evening, as you are wiser at 43 than I was.

I've never worn a kilt, but after my first month-long trip down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon, I gave up on pants (and shorts leave you vulnerable to sunburn while rowing).  On my second trip, I wore long lightweight cotton skirts, which allowed for much better ventilation, and still protected my legs.

Somebody in the boating arena is missing a marketing opportunity.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 08, 2015, 02:05:24 pm
And yet so many women want to wear pants instead of skirts. What's wrong with them? Well, okay, so wearing pants makes them less vulnerable to extra-grabby guys. Also, pants are a way to buck male-led oppression. All right, so I get their point.

But that means that men should fight for the acceptance of wearing skirts. Regardless of gender, if you want to wear pants, then wear pants. If you want to wear a skirt, then wear a skirt. If you want to go naked, put a towel down first.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 08, 2015, 02:17:36 pm
Sometimes I wear a yukata. It's pretty comfortable when you're doing nothing, but it's a lot easier to move around when you're wearing pants.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 08, 2015, 02:24:40 pm
Where I work everybody has a Mac, myself included, but my home laptop is a Windows.

I have learned how to systematically scroll in the opposite direction I want to.

I'm sure there's a setting on either machine that'll let you make them scroll the same way.

Yes. When they first implemented the backwards scrolling on OS X, I immediately changed it back.

Why would they even do something like that?

To be contrary.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on May 08, 2015, 02:26:45 pm
Where I work everybody has a Mac, myself included, but my home laptop is a Windows.

I have learned how to systematically scroll in the opposite direction I want to.

I'm sure there's a setting on either machine that'll let you make them scroll the same way.

Yes. When they first implemented the backwards scrolling on OS X, I immediately changed it back.

Why would they even do something like that?

To be contrary.

Actually, to make it the same as on a touchscreen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 08, 2015, 02:50:25 pm
Where I work everybody has a Mac, myself included, but my home laptop is a Windows.

I have learned how to systematically scroll in the opposite direction I want to.

I'm sure there's a setting on either machine that'll let you make them scroll the same way.

Yes. When they first implemented the backwards scrolling on OS X, I immediately changed it back.

Why would they even do something like that?

To be contrary.

Actually, to make it the same as on a touchscreen.

Scrolling on a mouse is a different motion though.  Reversing the scroll direction still doesn't make them the same.

The "contrary" comment was just snark, but I really don't see the benefit of making reverse scroll the default.  Out just confuses people.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on May 08, 2015, 03:49:13 pm
Where I work everybody has a Mac, myself included, but my home laptop is a Windows.

I have learned how to systematically scroll in the opposite direction I want to.

I'm sure there's a setting on either machine that'll let you make them scroll the same way.

Yes. When they first implemented the backwards scrolling on OS X, I immediately changed it back.

Why would they even do something like that?

To be contrary.

Actually, to make it the same as on a touchscreen.

Scrolling on a mouse is a different motion though.  Reversing the scroll direction still doesn't make them the same.

The "contrary" comment was just snark, but I really don't see the benefit of making reverse scroll the default.  Out just confuses people.

If you have a touchscreen and a trackpad it's probably the least confusing of the two options.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 08, 2015, 04:44:50 pm
I use touch screens and I use track pads.  I don't find it confusing.

I think I agree with this:

http://www.businessinsider.com/mac-os-x-lion-natural-scrolling-2011-7

If the screen were parallel with the touchpad, it would make more sense.  But the screen isn't.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on May 08, 2015, 06:35:58 pm
Where I work everybody has a Mac, myself included, but my home laptop is a Windows.

I have learned how to systematically scroll in the opposite direction I want to.

I'm sure there's a setting on either machine that'll let you make them scroll the same way.

Yes. When they first implemented the backwards scrolling on OS X, I immediately changed it back.

Why would they even do something like that?

To be contrary.

Actually, to make it the same as on a touchscreen.

Scrolling on a mouse is a different motion though.  Reversing the scroll direction still doesn't make them the same.

The "contrary" comment was just snark, but I really don't see the benefit of making reverse scroll the default.  Out just confuses people.

My favorite is that to turn it off you have to uncheck "Use natural scrolling"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 08, 2015, 06:41:44 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/122669ef9c16c9f4bbc18115bde97428/tumblr_inline_n0buj9ctJF1qzkvdk.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 08, 2015, 06:44:35 pm
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/122669ef9c16c9f4bbc18115bde97428/tumblr_inline_n0buj9ctJF1qzkvdk.gif)

does this happen in the movie?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 08, 2015, 06:45:33 pm
.seY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 08, 2015, 06:53:39 pm
.seY

(https://33.media.tumblr.com/3ad9e22e17459e0f7a52b73a63c5697e/tumblr_inline_n0hxzt7rqA1r4n3y3.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 08, 2015, 06:57:23 pm
That is perfect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 08, 2015, 07:00:20 pm
eh, I only approve of sexualized content from things I don't respect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 08, 2015, 07:02:22 pm
eh, I only approve of sexualized content from things I don't respect.

(http://i.imgur.com/oVnlsMA.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 08, 2015, 07:51:13 pm
FD.S is Brazzers 2.0.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on May 08, 2015, 09:57:47 pm
I, uh, think I need to watch Frozen again...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 08, 2015, 10:17:03 pm
It took me several minutes to figure out what was going on with these gifs.

I think people just need to let it go.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 08, 2015, 10:50:23 pm
It took me several minutes to figure out what was going on with these gifs.

I think people just need to let it go.

The only thing that needs to be let go are Frozen references.

Seriously. Snow more puns.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on May 09, 2015, 12:18:07 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfvEgWINUFc
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Elanchana on May 09, 2015, 12:27:40 am
A magpie, eh? It's a wonder it wasn't holding a Dominion treasure card.

Either that or the eyes didn't work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 09, 2015, 12:45:04 am
That's from Look Around You, right?  I recognize the bird watcher.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 09, 2015, 12:55:48 am
Who here likes Whose Line?

http://cwseed.com/shows/whose-line-is-it-anyway

Free to watch if you are (or appear to be) in the US. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on May 09, 2015, 01:27:45 am
Who here likes Whose Line?

http://cwseed.com/shows/whose-line-is-it-anyway

Free to watch if you are (or appear to be) in the US. :P
Guess I don't need Netflix for a few days.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 09, 2015, 10:22:37 am
Well, today has been odd. My YouTube video has now reached 20 million views. I don't know how on earth that happened, it's literally the stupidest video ever.

http://youtu.be/abERpos1k1g


Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on May 09, 2015, 02:51:50 pm
This isn't the bragging thread. >:(

Pretty impressive though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 09, 2015, 03:09:12 pm
This isn't the bragging thread. >:(

Pretty impressive though.

lol, it's really weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on May 09, 2015, 04:14:49 pm
I want to start wearing kilts. I hear they're so comfortable, and I wouldn't mind having some ventilation come summertime. But man, kilts online just seem so expensive. Sadly, I have no illusion that they're any cheaper in person. I know a few people through Ren Fest, so I have the means to get in touch with the right person to make one.

But it's not for Scottish heritage or anything like that. I just want a functional kilt.

Get a skirt. Seriously. Why are kilts ok for men to wear while skirts are frowned upon?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 09, 2015, 04:16:42 pm
well, to be fair it also has a third dislikes.

still, the idea that something you did has been seen by this number people is pretty incredible. wow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 09, 2015, 06:47:35 pm
Personally i'm scared of wearing things that people will think of as questionable. I'd always fear they'd believe it has to do with my sexuality - which bugs me mostly because, unlike a straight person, i can't really give a good answer to that.

Either way, i wore a skirt on 2013/2014's New Years eve. It was a murder mystery party, and we had more female roles than we had female participants. Great fun. Also i got to poisen the Butler.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 10, 2015, 12:38:29 am
So, as the Major-General, I have to shave so they can put other facial hair on me...  Sad days...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 10, 2015, 12:39:12 am
Personally i'm scared of wearing things that people will think of as questionable. I'd always fear they'd believe it has to do with my sexuality - which bugs me mostly because, unlike a straight person, i can't really give a good answer to that.

Either way, i wore a skirt on 2013/2014's New Years eve. It was a murder mystery party, and we had more female roles than we had female participants. Great fun. Also i got to poisen the Butler.

I hadn't really considered that particular thing from a gay man's perspective... though I could see people drawing conclusions about you from a skirt that you mightn't otherwise want to be drawn.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on May 10, 2015, 01:01:34 am
I'm astounded at the capacity for subreddit drama/subcommunity drama. It's surprisingly addictive to read through, but it's also really not worth getting into.

(For context, the dustforce subreddit had a lot of drama, but that's blown over. The speedrun subreddit has some present drama which people keep trying to bring up for shits and giggles.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 10, 2015, 02:19:13 pm
I'm astounded at the capacity for subreddit drama/subcommunity drama. It's surprisingly addictive to read through, but it's also really not worth getting into.

(For context, the dustforce subreddit had a lot of drama, but that's blown over. The speedrun subreddit has some present drama which people keep trying to bring up for shits and giggles.)

Are you talking about the whole *GDQ money grabbing/Mikuyama thing?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on May 11, 2015, 02:17:09 am
I'm astounded at the capacity for subreddit drama/subcommunity drama. It's surprisingly addictive to read through, but it's also really not worth getting into.

(For context, the dustforce subreddit had a lot of drama, but that's blown over. The speedrun subreddit has some present drama which people keep trying to bring up for shits and giggles.)

Are you talking about the whole *GDQ money grabbing/Mikuyama thing?

Yeah, although more accurately a small number of trolls keep trying to bring it up, then a larger-than-normal # of people comment on it saying "lol stop trying to start drama", but at that point it's still the most commented post on the subreddit.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 11, 2015, 08:42:35 am
When I see documentation that expresses excitement over a number, I want to be mathematically snarky.

Quote
What is the current level cap in Neverwinter?
. . . . . Level 60!

Man, do you know how long I'd have to grind to get 8.3*10^81 levels? You're killing me here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 11, 2015, 10:32:46 am
Good morning, Dominionites.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 11, 2015, 11:37:47 am
Good morning, Dominionites.

What's so good about it?

Well, I lived another day, so I'll concede that point. Suck it, natural selection.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 11, 2015, 12:02:54 pm
Good morning, Dominionites.

What's so good about it?

Well, I lived another day, so I'll concede that point. Suck it, natural selection.

You've just broken your personal record for longest time alive. Go for the record again tomorrow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 11, 2015, 12:15:37 pm
Good morning, Dominionites.

What's so good about it?

Well, I lived another day, so I'll concede that point. Suck it, natural selection.

You've just broken your personal record for longest time alive. Go for the record again tomorrow.

But don't get excited too soon. You're also closer to death than ever before.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Sidsel on May 11, 2015, 01:00:33 pm
I hate when the cat brings home dead animals. The 'crunch, crunch, crunch' of chewed mouse-bones... I have to look away, I'll clean up the floor after she's done. I admit the weather wouldn't have tempted me to eat outside, but if she finds 'em out there, she can jolly well eat 'em out there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 11, 2015, 04:42:28 pm
noooooooooooooo my GoT download stopped at ~90% and I wanted it to finish before I go to sleep. why :c

and now I still can't go to sleep because it might still finish at some point. or not.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 11, 2015, 05:09:18 pm
it moved!

it just took like 90 min for the last 0,3gb, whereas it made the first 4gb in like 2 hours.

it's toying with my sleep :X
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on May 11, 2015, 05:18:12 pm
Good morning, Dominionites.

What's so good about it?

Well, I lived another day, so I'll concede that point. Suck it, natural selection.

You've just broken your personal record for longest time alive. Go for the record again tomorrow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdIRrmNN_CQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 11, 2015, 05:47:21 pm
I like how no-one cares about my petty little problems.

it's finished! I can sleep!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 11, 2015, 05:54:29 pm
I am moderately concerned by your petty problems. Your loss of nearly one hour of sleep bummed me ever so slightly, but knowing that you still managed to go to bed before midnight made me feel mildly elated.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on May 11, 2015, 09:49:32 pm
Midnight? Psh... I usually don't leave work until after midnight.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 12, 2015, 12:47:49 am
Midnight? Psh... I usually don't leave work until after midnight.

Be careful, or you'll end up inadvertently divulging your profession.

Speaking of professions, it is good to revisit the classics from time to time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUeN6LZNPVQ

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 12, 2015, 08:23:19 am
I was amused by the grammar Nazi in this week's Game of Thrones.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 12, 2015, 10:23:50 am
Midnight? Psh... I usually don't leave work until after midnight.

Be careful, or you'll end up inadvertently divulging your profession.

Speaking of professions, it is good to revisit the classics from time to time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUeN6LZNPVQ

I could not stop laughing...

Faaahhhhsterrr, Fahhhhhster! That accent is so silly, the music is so silly, and it really fits the censoring more than the word 'count'.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on May 12, 2015, 12:34:22 pm
https://player.vimeo.com/video/127051771
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 12, 2015, 05:02:07 pm
So, I made up a new type of logic puzzle and need help coming up with a name.  I am absolutely horrible at coming up with names, and nobody I know is both good at names and logic puzzles, so I want to ask you guys.  Here (http://i.imgur.com/bworCxB.png) is an example puzzle (with a solution), and here (http://i.imgur.com/WPzZQEe.png) and here (http://i.imgur.com/942Aw2V.png) and some puzzles without solutions.  The rules are:

1. Divide the grid into rectangles along the grid lines.
2. Each rectangle must contain exactly two shapes.
3. Rectangles containing two circles may not be a square.
4. Rectangles containing at least one square must be a square.

Can anybody come up with a good name?  I tend to like the geeky names better, but any good one will do.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 12, 2015, 05:07:47 pm
So, I made up a new type of logic puzzle and need help coming up with a name.  I am absolutely horrible at coming up with names, and nobody I know is both good at names and logic puzzles, so I want to ask you guys.  Here (http://i.imgur.com/bworCxB.png) is an example puzzle (with a solution), and here (http://i.imgur.com/WPzZQEe.png) and here (http://i.imgur.com/942Aw2V.png) and some puzzles without solutions.  The rules are:

1. Divide the grid into rectangles along the grid lines.
2. Each rectangle must contain exactly two shapes.
3. Rectangles containing two circles may not be a square.
4. Rectangles containing at least one square must be a square.

Can anybody come up with a good name?  I tend to like the geeky names better, but any good one will do.

"Geometer's Sudoku"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on May 12, 2015, 05:08:52 pm
Why not just name it a sudgy?

Or sudgyku if you like cheesy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 12, 2015, 05:12:10 pm
I solved one! (http://imgur.com/lXi0jk4)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 12, 2015, 05:12:58 pm
And, for reference, this (http://sudgylacmoe.blogspot.com/p/rules.html) is a list of all of the puzzles currently on my blog, to get a feel for the types of names I like (all of these names are by others).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 12, 2015, 05:19:03 pm
So, I made up a new type of logic puzzle and need help coming up with a name.  I am absolutely horrible at coming up with names, and nobody I know is both good at names and logic puzzles, so I want to ask you guys.  Here (http://i.imgur.com/bworCxB.png) is an example puzzle (with a solution), and here (http://i.imgur.com/WPzZQEe.png) and here (http://i.imgur.com/942Aw2V.png) and some puzzles without solutions.  The rules are:

1. Divide the grid into rectangles along the grid lines.
2. Each rectangle must contain exactly two shapes.
3. Rectangles containing two circles may not be a square.
4. Rectangles containing at least one square must be a square.

Can anybody come up with a good name?  I tend to like the geeky names better, but any good one will do.

Moat?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 12, 2015, 05:20:03 pm
I solved the other one! (http://imgur.com/BnW0QTH)

These are pretty good. I've got them saved as "boxing match" because I don't know. Maybe something like Enclose would work as a name?

Edit: In solving these, I never needed to use the fact that two circles can't be a square, or at least I think I didn't. Maybe I just didn't get stuck enough or could see far enough ahead that I didn't need to.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on May 12, 2015, 05:26:17 pm
here (http://i.imgur.com/WPzZQEe.png) and here (http://i.imgur.com/942Aw2V.png) and some puzzles without solutions.

When you say "puzzles without solutions", I assume you mean puzzles for which there is no solution. Puzzles without given solutions?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 12, 2015, 05:29:23 pm
I solved the other one! (http://imgur.com/BnW0QTH)

These are pretty good. I've got them saved as "boxing match" because I don't know. Maybe something like Enclose would work as a name?

Edit: In solving these, I never needed to use the fact that two circles can't be a square, or at least I think I didn't. Maybe I just didn't get stuck enough or could see far enough ahead that I didn't need to.

I did that a bit in the example puzzle.  I guess I just didn't feel like using it.  I'll definitely make more of these at some point, hopefully I'll be able to use that more.

Also, I like "Boxing Match"!  Mathgrant, the guy that inspired my blog, called Slitherlink "Fencing Match", so there is precedent...  If nobody can think of a better name, I'll use it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 12, 2015, 05:29:33 pm
I watched some old Doctor Who episodes recently and noticed some new things i didn't see before. One was that the villainous Master seems to have beaten his wive offscreen, which explains why she shot him during the season finale. Another one was that in an episode taking place in Pompeji, when there's an earthquake and all members of a roman family run to take "positions" to save their valuables from breaking, is a 1:1 parody of a scene from Mary Poppins. I laughed tears.


Also i'm going to support a Kickstarter for the first time. It's Yooka-Laylee (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playtonic/yooka-laylee-a-3d-platformer-rare-vival/video_share) (Ukulele), a 3D platformer by the people who did my favourite N64 game, Banjo-Kazooie (which the new game is also supposed to be a "spiritual successor" to). I'm actually getting a credit card just to be able to support kickstarter projects (starting with this one).

Also my best friend and i happen to work on out own boardgame to get on Kickstarter ourselves.


So, I made up a new type of logic puzzle and need help coming up with a name.  I am absolutely horrible at coming up with names, and nobody I know is both good at names and logic puzzles, so I want to ask you guys.  Here (http://i.imgur.com/bworCxB.png) is an example puzzle (with a solution), and here (http://i.imgur.com/WPzZQEe.png) and here (http://i.imgur.com/942Aw2V.png) and some puzzles without solutions.  The rules are:

1. Divide the grid into rectangles along the grid lines.
2. Each rectangle must contain exactly two shapes.
3. Rectangles containing two circles may not be a square.
4. Rectangles containing at least one square must be a square.

Can anybody come up with a good name?  I tend to like the geeky names better, but any good one will do.

So... It's about not squaring the circle? Shame. I was going to suggest "Squaring the Circle".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 12, 2015, 05:30:09 pm
here (http://i.imgur.com/WPzZQEe.png) and here (http://i.imgur.com/942Aw2V.png) and some puzzles without solutions.

When you say "puzzles without solutions", I assume you mean puzzles for which there is no solution. Puzzles without given solutions?

Yes, puzzles without given solutions.  That was referring to how I said the example had a solution (which I realize also is weird).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 12, 2015, 05:30:45 pm
here (http://i.imgur.com/WPzZQEe.png) and here (http://i.imgur.com/942Aw2V.png) and some puzzles without solutions.

When you say "puzzles without solutions", I assume you mean puzzles for which there is no solution. Puzzles without given solutions?

The second puzzle isn't necessarily a puzzle without solution, but it has been shown to be np-hard.

Edit: In retrospect this joke seemed way funnier in my head. Ah well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 12, 2015, 05:31:05 pm
So, I made up a new type of logic puzzle and need help coming up with a name.  I am absolutely horrible at coming up with names, and nobody I know is both good at names and logic puzzles, so I want to ask you guys.  Here (http://i.imgur.com/bworCxB.png) is an example puzzle (with a solution), and here (http://i.imgur.com/WPzZQEe.png) and here (http://i.imgur.com/942Aw2V.png) and some puzzles without solutions.  The rules are:

1. Divide the grid into rectangles along the grid lines.
2. Each rectangle must contain exactly two shapes.
3. Rectangles containing two circles may not be a square.
4. Rectangles containing at least one square must be a square.

Can anybody come up with a good name?  I tend to like the geeky names better, but any good one will do.

So... It's about not squaring the circle? Shame. I was going to suggest "Squaring the Circle".

Hey, that one would actually work too...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on May 12, 2015, 05:33:42 pm
So, I made up a new type of logic puzzle and need help coming up with a name.  I am absolutely horrible at coming up with names, and nobody I know is both good at names and logic puzzles, so I want to ask you guys.  Here (http://i.imgur.com/bworCxB.png) is an example puzzle (with a solution), and here (http://i.imgur.com/WPzZQEe.png) and here (http://i.imgur.com/942Aw2V.png) and some puzzles without solutions.  The rules are:

1. Divide the grid into rectangles along the grid lines.
2. Each rectangle must contain exactly two shapes.
3. Rectangles containing two circles may not be a square.
4. Rectangles containing at least one square must be a square.

Can anybody come up with a good name?  I tend to like the geeky names better, but any good one will do.

So... It's about not squaring the circle? Shame. I was going to suggest "Squaring the Circle".

Hey, that one would actually work too...

Especially if you just switch squares and circles so that circles need squares and two squares can't have them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 12, 2015, 06:18:49 pm
So, I made up a new type of logic puzzle and need help coming up with a name.  I am absolutely horrible at coming up with names, and nobody I know is both good at names and logic puzzles, so I want to ask you guys.  Here (http://i.imgur.com/bworCxB.png) is an example puzzle (with a solution), and here (http://i.imgur.com/WPzZQEe.png) and here (http://i.imgur.com/942Aw2V.png) and some puzzles without solutions.  The rules are:

1. Divide the grid into rectangles along the grid lines.
2. Each rectangle must contain exactly two shapes.
3. Rectangles containing two circles may not be a square.
4. Rectangles containing at least one square must be a square.

Can anybody come up with a good name?  I tend to like the geeky names better, but any good one will do.

So... It's about not squaring the circle? Shame. I was going to suggest "Squaring the Circle".

Hey, that one would actually work too...

Especially if you just switch squares and circles so that circles need squares and two squares can't have them.

I like that. Three's a crowd.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 12, 2015, 07:59:35 pm
https://player.vimeo.com/video/127051771

Hmm, ok. I'm not sure if there's something to get.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 12, 2015, 11:16:58 pm
This is old news, but I just found it: researchers created a robotic fish (http://engineering.nyu.edu/press-release/2012/03/01/what-makes-robot-fish-attractive-hint-its-moves) that became leader of a school of fish.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 13, 2015, 03:07:55 am
This is old news, but I just found it: researchers created a robotic fish (http://engineering.nyu.edu/press-release/2012/03/01/what-makes-robot-fish-attractive-hint-its-moves) that became leader of a school of fish.

Has science gone too far?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 13, 2015, 08:55:58 am
This is old news, but I just found it: researchers created a robotic fish (http://engineering.nyu.edu/press-release/2012/03/01/what-makes-robot-fish-attractive-hint-its-moves) that became leader of a school of fish.

Has science gone too far?

(http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s---_eS-9bd--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/jgmwfb1yhywsllfc8mik.jpg)

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 13, 2015, 10:05:51 am
When someone's having a bad day, I can usually do an image search of "bucket of puppies" and find something cute to send. The opposite happens with "bucket of rats."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 13, 2015, 12:13:27 pm
When someone's having a bad day, I can usually do an image search of "bucket of puppies" and find something cute to send.

cookingwithcanines.org
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 13, 2015, 12:26:31 pm
When someone's having a bad day, I can usually do an image search of "bucket of puppies" and find something cute to send.

cookingwithcanines.org

Well, I eat with my canines, rather than cook with them. They cannot hold utensils well, but they do a great job of tearing meat so the molars can do their job.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 13, 2015, 03:15:22 pm
So, I don't want to switch the squares and circles, and Boxing Match is shorter than Squaring the Circle, so I'm going with Boxing Match instead.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 13, 2015, 05:21:30 pm
When those puzzles get famous I'm gonna eventually find my mum doing one and being like 'oh that looks cool... you know why they're called Boxing Match?' and blow her away.

Or something like that anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on May 13, 2015, 05:45:06 pm
I laughed pretty hard at this. You probably need at least first 2 episodes of MLP:FiM to get full enjoyment, but at least the animation is good.

Watch with subtitles on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RAQsdTQIcs
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 13, 2015, 10:09:09 pm
(http://0.media.collegehumor.cvcdn.com/57/22/ed86230041270b4a5a7e7b0ec4721755-most-epic-painting-in-history-bill-clinton-the-lady-killer.jpg)

God bless America.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 14, 2015, 09:09:41 am
I actually ended up using my main instrument (the cello) this time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHLETUuL7Nw
Title: Can you actually change the subject to whatever you want? That's so cool!
Post by: silverspawn on May 14, 2015, 01:09:05 pm
test
Title: Re: Can you actually change the subject to whatever you want? That's so cool!
Post by: Awaclus on May 14, 2015, 01:09:48 pm
test

Also, when someone replies to the post, it'll have the same subject by default. That's also pretty cool.
Title: We could have whole conversations just by changing the subjects!
Post by: silverspawn on May 14, 2015, 01:11:44 pm
(http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs40/f/2009/051/1/b/Nothing_by_Mr_Stamp.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on May 14, 2015, 01:54:42 pm
It doesn't work when you Quick Reply though...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 14, 2015, 01:55:26 pm
test

Did I pass?
Title: Yes
Post by: silverspawn on May 14, 2015, 03:04:19 pm
test

Did I pass?

No
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 14, 2015, 03:06:54 pm
So conflicted.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 14, 2015, 09:24:44 pm
(https://40.media.tumblr.com/f00a305045470c589fe509560ba289e8/tumblr_nak4pa6ZuN1swjueno1_500.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on May 15, 2015, 12:06:28 am
(https://40.media.tumblr.com/f00a305045470c589fe509560ba289e8/tumblr_nak4pa6ZuN1swjueno1_500.jpg)

Worst Pizza Ever?  :o
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 15, 2015, 12:12:53 am
I like the kiwis, strawberries, and blueberries. In fact, I've had those on a pizza before, but that was a graham cracker crust with cream cheese sauce. They worked well together. Not sure about mixing it with watermelon. I guess that should still work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on May 15, 2015, 12:17:02 am
As I'm not a fan of most fruits, I can see how I might disagree.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on May 15, 2015, 08:22:50 am
Had a piece of fruit yesterday that I had never seen before: dragonfruit.  It was quite beautiful, but nothing to get excited about taste-wise.  Mildly sweet, interesting texture, but after tasting it I understood it was there more for effect on the tray.  It didn't have the wow factor of say, a good mango.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 15, 2015, 09:03:06 am
Had a piece of fruit yesterday that I had never seen before: dragonfruit.  It was quite beautiful, but nothing to get excited about taste-wise.  Mildly sweet, interesting texture, but after tasting it I understood it was there more for effect on the tray.  It didn't have the wow factor of say, a good mango.

You can really tell people want you to buy that shit. Like, why else would you call it a Dragon Fruit?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 15, 2015, 09:34:13 am
Had a piece of fruit yesterday that I had never seen before: dragonfruit.  It was quite beautiful, but nothing to get excited about taste-wise.  Mildly sweet, interesting texture, but after tasting it I understood it was there more for effect on the tray.  It didn't have the wow factor of say, a good mango.

You can really tell people want you to buy that shit. Like, why else would you call it a Dragon Fruit?

It's a far more appealing name than Ugly Fruit. I think I had both, but I don't remember anything exceptional about either. I may have to try them again, but they're generally more expensive.

I do love a good mango, though. My wife hates chopping them, and I'm too lazy to learn, though it would be the right thing to do since I enjoy them way more than she does.

If I can get some cheap kiwi, that's an easy snack. Cut in half, scoop out with spoon. If it's a nice juicy kiwi, then you'll have to wash your hands afterwards, but it's worth it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on May 15, 2015, 10:03:19 am
It didn't have the wow factor of say, a good mango.
Icefrog detected.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on May 15, 2015, 10:27:56 am
My Samsung Galaxy S4 went kaput last weekend, so after some research I decided to get a Nexus 6, Google's (humongous) phone. So no, I'm not happy to see you, there's just a mini tablet in my pocket.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 15, 2015, 10:47:57 am
Is it bigger than the Note 4?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on May 15, 2015, 11:40:27 am
Is it bigger than the Note 4?

It's 2 bigger.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 15, 2015, 12:02:34 pm
Is it bigger than the Note 4?

It's 2 bigger.

But that was a Note; this is a Nexus. That's like comparing apples to oranges.

This analogy is not flawed in any way—much like a flawless apricot.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 15, 2015, 12:11:52 pm
Is it bigger than the Note 4?

It's 2 bigger.

But that was a Note; this is a Nexus. That's like comparing apples to oranges.

This analogy is not flawed in any way—much like a flawless apricot.

(http://static2.decosoon.com/68162-large_atch/funny-apricot-stickers.jpg)

Strangely, this looks like Lord Bottington.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on May 15, 2015, 12:12:38 pm
If I can get some cheap kiwi, that's an easy snack. Cut in half, scoop out with spoon. If it's a nice juicy kiwi, then you'll have to wash your hands afterwards, but it's worth it.

Spoon? Just cut it in half and suck out the inside directly. As you said, you're washing up afterward anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 15, 2015, 12:28:19 pm
Had a piece of fruit yesterday that I had never seen before: dragonfruit.  It was quite beautiful, but nothing to get excited about taste-wise.  Mildly sweet, interesting texture, but after tasting it I understood it was there more for effect on the tray.  It didn't have the wow factor of say, a good mango.

You can really tell people want you to buy that shit. Like, why else would you call it a Dragon Fruit?

Have you ever seen a dragonfruit?  The name fits perfectly.  But if you wish, you can call it a pitaya instead.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 15, 2015, 06:45:31 pm
Man, you guys make me Google stuff myself.

Nexus 6 is 6", while Galaxy Note 4 is 5.7".  I have the Note 4.  I could go for an even bigger screen.  I have big fingers.  Note 4 does have a few more pixels per inch though.

This is the first I've heard of the Nexus 6, though.  I didn't think there was anything competing with Note 4 in terms of phone/tablet hybrids.  (I don't count Apple products.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on May 15, 2015, 08:48:05 pm
Man, you guys make me Google stuff myself.

Nexus 6 is 6", while Galaxy Note 4 is 5.7".  I have the Note 4.  I could go for an even bigger screen.  I have big fingers.  Note 4 does have a few more pixels per inch though.

This is the first I've heard of the Nexus 6, though.  I didn't think there was anything competing with Note 4 in terms of phone/tablet hybrids.  (I don't count Apple products.)

I love it because it has no bloatware from the manufacturer or the carrier. The screen on this guy looks great, and I can reach the corners with one hand without too much trouble.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on May 16, 2015, 02:16:25 am
Man, you guys make me Google stuff myself.

Nexus 6 is 6", while Galaxy Note 4 is 5.7".  I have the Note 4.  I could go for an even bigger screen.  I have big fingers.  Note 4 does have a few more pixels per inch though.

This is the first I've heard of the Nexus 6, though.  I didn't think there was anything competing with Note 4 in terms of phone/tablet hybrids.  (I don't count Apple products.)

I love it because it has no bloatware from the manufacturer or the carrier. The screen on this guy looks great, and I can reach the corners with one hand without too much trouble.

I need to get a new phone. Are you considering rooting it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 16, 2015, 03:09:40 pm
(https://41.media.tumblr.com/a310945e91c956d26cdfa96847ea1948/tumblr_inline_no0g5weQ8r1snlghb_540.jpg)

wut
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 16, 2015, 03:14:12 pm
Some men just want to watch the world burn.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 16, 2015, 03:15:43 pm
Am I the only one who thought Elmo was female as a kid?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 16, 2015, 03:30:31 pm
Am I the only one who thought Elmo was female as a kid?

I think I thought that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 16, 2015, 03:42:34 pm
Am I the only one who thought Elmo was female as a kid?

When I was a kid, Elmo wasn't a even a character yet.

/my lawn, get off it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 16, 2015, 03:44:07 pm
Am I the only one who thought Elmo was female as a kid?

When I was a kid, Elmo wasn't a even a character yet.

/my lawn, get off it.

(http://www.thinkbluela.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Lawn-01.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 16, 2015, 03:49:35 pm
Oh no. I meant it like Elmo was female when they were young and became a man later in their life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 16, 2015, 03:51:10 pm
Oh no. I meant it like Elmo was female when they were young and became a man later in their life.

Yeah, think you're alone there. :p
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 16, 2015, 03:59:22 pm
...

When I was young, Elmo was disturbingly suggestive of molestation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 16, 2015, 04:04:28 pm
And this:

(http://i.imgur.com/rv2eDtk.png)

http://imgur.com/rv2eDtk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 16, 2015, 09:34:20 pm
...

When I was young, Elmo was disturbingly suggestive of molestation.
Wait. How so? I admittedly only have a cursory knowledge of the show. I didn't have cable tv growing up (still don't actually).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 16, 2015, 09:56:39 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/KHRDCuT.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/dt5jCms.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/H4Qfh7m.png)

(http://www.talkshoe.com/custom/images/icons/TC-114097-MainIcon.jpg)

I cannot be found.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 17, 2015, 01:28:46 am
My brother is doing some programming homework, and although it's in C++, which I don't really know, he keeps on showing me every function he writes, asking if I can tell what it is.  One function, at one point, did this type of thing:

Code: [Select]
while a or b
     do stuff to a and b

if a
     do stuff
else
     do different stuff

I realized something was wrong, and kept on telling him about it, and he was really thankful that I had caught it.  He kept on thinking I was saying something else at first...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 17, 2015, 03:08:32 am
...

When I was young, Elmo was disturbingly suggestive of molestation.
Wait. How so? I admittedly only have a cursory knowledge of the show. I didn't have cable tv growing up (still don't actually).

The Tickle-Me Elmo dolls with stickers saying "Touch Me" and that made weird noises.  They were kind of disturbing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 17, 2015, 05:41:25 am
My brother is doing some programming homework, and although it's in C++, which I don't really know, he keeps on showing me every function he writes, asking if I can tell what it is.  One function, at one point, did this type of thing:

Code: [Select]
while a or b
     do stuff to a and b

if a
     do stuff
else
     do different stuff

I realized something was wrong, and kept on telling him about it, and he was really thankful that I had caught it.  He kept on thinking I was saying something else at first...

it can never enter the if body? but I don't see the misunderstanding.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 17, 2015, 09:56:33 pm
My brother is doing some programming homework, and although it's in C++, which I don't really know, he keeps on showing me every function he writes, asking if I can tell what it is.  One function, at one point, did this type of thing:

Code: [Select]
while a or b
     do stuff to a and b

if a
     do stuff
else
     do different stuff

I realized something was wrong, and kept on telling him about it, and he was really thankful that I had caught it.  He kept on thinking I was saying something else at first...

it can never enter the if body? but I don't see the misunderstanding.

I was trying to say that, but he was just wasn't listening and thought it was some totally different thing that he said was correct.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 17, 2015, 11:50:54 pm
...

When I was young, Elmo was disturbingly suggestive of molestation.
Wait. How so? I admittedly only have a cursory knowledge of the show. I didn't have cable tv growing up (still don't actually).

The Tickle-Me Elmo dolls with stickers saying "Touch Me" and that made weird noises.  They were kind of disturbing.
Oh yeah...I had forgotten about those things. The mania surrounding owning one of them made it even creepier in some ways.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 18, 2015, 07:19:48 am
I just realized that the browser tab icon for Dominion Strategy is actually a Gold.  :o
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on May 18, 2015, 09:17:07 am
I just realized that the browser tab icon for Dominion Strategy is actually a Gold.  :o
It's not just gold, it's Dominion Gold.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on May 18, 2015, 09:56:24 am
Man, you guys make me Google stuff myself.

Nexus 6 is 6", while Galaxy Note 4 is 5.7".  I have the Note 4.  I could go for an even bigger screen.  I have big fingers.  Note 4 does have a few more pixels per inch though.

This is the first I've heard of the Nexus 6, though.  I didn't think there was anything competing with Note 4 in terms of phone/tablet hybrids.  (I don't count Apple products.)

I love it because it has no bloatware from the manufacturer or the carrier. The screen on this guy looks great, and I can reach the corners with one hand without too much trouble.

I need to get a new phone. Are you considering rooting it?

No I'm not. My understanding is that it's somewhat less necessary/useful the Nexus phones, but I've never rooted a device so I'm not really the person to discuss the pros and cons.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 18, 2015, 11:23:49 am
Thanks, Spotify, for making me feel good with the soundtrack from Tommy. While I do enjoy the original Who album and even the movie soundtrack, the original cast recording of the show is such a fuller sound, and I love rocking out to it.

But Spotify has some weird algorithms. When I try to create a radio station from the soundtracks of Tommy or Spring Awakening, I keep getting things like Barbara Streisand. Not so interested in that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 18, 2015, 11:35:53 am
Thanks, Spotify, for making me feel good with the soundtrack from Tommy. While I do enjoy the original Who album and even the movie soundtrack, the original cast recording of the show is such a fuller sound, and I love rocking out to it.

But Spotify has some weird algorithms. When I try to create a radio station from the soundtracks of Tommy or Spring Awakening, I keep getting things like Barbara Streisand. Not so interested in that.


You mean listening to the Tommy soundtrack doesn't make you want to hear the Yentl soundtrack?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on May 18, 2015, 04:58:05 pm
Thanks, Spotify, for making me feel good with the soundtrack from Tommy. While I do enjoy the original Who album and even the movie soundtrack, the original cast recording of the show is such a fuller sound, and I love rocking out to it.

But Spotify has some weird algorithms. When I try to create a radio station from the soundtracks of Tommy or Spring Awakening, I keep getting things like Barbara Streisand. Not so interested in that.

Pandora has some weirdness too.  My first foray was to create an Elton John station.  It started with an Elton tune, then didn't play another one for 4 hours.

On another try, it didn't take long for Emerson, Lake, and Palmer to morph into Stevie Ray Vaughan, via Yes and King Crimson.  I love all those bands, but I don't get the progression (pun intended).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 18, 2015, 07:08:32 pm
Am I the only one who thought Elmo was female as a kid?

I'm curious what makes you think Elmo had a sex change.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 18, 2015, 08:05:58 pm
That was just me exploiting the ambiguity present in my original post. I'm interested that people thought I was actually being serious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 18, 2015, 08:09:27 pm
That was just me exploiting the ambiguity present in my original post. I'm interested that people thought I was actually being serious.

"I did not think Elmo had a sex change." -Ichimaru Clinton

:)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on May 18, 2015, 08:17:18 pm
(http://i.giphy.com/5xaOcLISUrBchel7P2w.gif)
Edit: cause...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 20, 2015, 04:49:17 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJTe5fvozyg

This is amazing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 20, 2015, 05:48:03 pm
Rolled 1d1000 : 675, total 675
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 21, 2015, 03:03:15 pm
This is the best bug that ever happened in my whole dominion program (what happened when I played a Possession as player 1 and the turn ended):

Code: [Select]
Player 1 will now take an extraturn that Player 0 will control.
Player 2, it is now your turn.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on May 21, 2015, 11:04:39 pm
Inheritance is probably my favorite event. One of the many fun aspects of it is mixing the word estate with the inherited card. When I friend inherited Wandering Minstrel, before I knew what I was saying, I called it a Wandering Minstrate. So I got laughed at (which was what I deserved...).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 22, 2015, 08:11:30 am
I called it a Wandering Minstrate.

When is a period not a full stop?

When it's a Wandering Minstrate.

I'm sure that joke won't catch on in the mainstream, but for a brief moment, it was applicable.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 22, 2015, 11:57:20 am
I called it a Wandering Minstrate.

When is a period not a full stop?

When it's a Wandering Minstrate.

I'm sure that joke won't catch on in the mainstream, but for a brief moment, it was applicable.

(http://i.giphy.com/SUeUCn53naadO.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on May 22, 2015, 12:24:05 pm
why do my 1-life runs of gothic always end up with me dead? >_:_<
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 23, 2015, 01:26:34 pm
(http://cdn.yourepeat.com/media/gif/000/108/761/2821349df658d7aede726ed0a91716c7.gif)

GET REKT M8

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 23, 2015, 01:34:08 pm
I've moved recently, and I am seeing all these brown and black birds, with blue and green iridiscent spots on their back, orange beak, slightly smaller than a pigeon. They are quite common, but when I ask people about them, they have no idea what they are. I am assuming they must be some sort of migratory bird, because otherwise I would expect someone to know. It's driving me crazy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 23, 2015, 01:35:48 pm
I've moved recently, and I am seeing all these brown and black birds, with blue and green iridiscent spots on their back, orange beak, slightly smaller than a pigeon. They are quite common, but when I ask people about them, they have no idea what they are. I am assuming they must be some sort of migratory bird, because otherwise I would expect someone to know. It's driving me crazy.

*cues x-files music*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 24, 2015, 05:51:54 pm
So, uh.. John Nash died?

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/john-nash-nobel-prize-winner-subject-beautiful-mind-killed-crash-n363901
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 24, 2015, 06:43:35 pm
I've moved recently, and I am seeing all these brown and black birds, with blue and green iridiscent spots on their back, orange beak, slightly smaller than a pigeon. They are quite common, but when I ask people about them, they have no idea what they are. I am assuming they must be some sort of migratory bird, because otherwise I would expect someone to know. It's driving me crazy.

Take a photo.  Somebody will know.

Where are you now?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 24, 2015, 07:14:15 pm
I've moved recently, and I am seeing all these brown and black birds, with blue and green iridiscent spots on their back, orange beak, slightly smaller than a pigeon. They are quite common, but when I ask people about them, they have no idea what they are. I am assuming they must be some sort of migratory bird, because otherwise I would expect someone to know. It's driving me crazy.

I suggest not staying in front of places where they can gather without looking behind you for an extended period of time. Those birds are sneaky bastards.


Where are you now?

Bodega Bay?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 24, 2015, 07:54:09 pm
Where are you now?

Bodega Bay?

I was asking pacovf because it could help with identifying the birds.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on May 25, 2015, 06:17:28 am
I went paintballing for the first time in my life. Now I'm pretty sore...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 25, 2015, 10:50:20 am
I went paintballing for the first time in my life. Now I'm pretty sore...

I remember the only time I went paintballing. Ah, good times. I got screwed first round, and the second round, I was the last on my team to survive, and everyone surrounded me, but I like hid and I shot some dude in the chest who was bull rushing me. I had this sense of elation, and saw the brief moment of surprise on his face, and then that fun didn't last long, because then I had 50 bullets pelt me all at once.

Still, good times.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 25, 2015, 01:13:16 pm
So, uh.. John Nash died?

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/john-nash-nobel-prize-winner-subject-beautiful-mind-killed-crash-n363901

I guess all his biological processes have now reached equilibrium.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 25, 2015, 03:18:30 pm
TIL that in some places, kids receive "pen licenses" at school before they are allowed to write in pen.  And apparently it's a big deal.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 25, 2015, 03:30:08 pm
TIL that in some places, kids receive "pen licenses" at school before they are allowed to write in pen.  And apparently it's a big deal.

That kinda happened to me, although it wasn't a big deal, and I don't remember the details of how it worked any more. But I do remember that people were eventually given their 'handwriting pen' seemingly at random. And then when we got to secondary school everyone just used a biro anyway (well some people used a fountain pen but only a few)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 25, 2015, 03:31:58 pm
^ One of the posts about it online talked about how only a few people got the license and they had a school-wide assembly to give the award.  I guess that varies by region as well.

Randomize!  Jello Lego!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5O5eeuaREQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on May 25, 2015, 03:53:52 pm
I've moved recently, and I am seeing all these brown and black birds, with blue and green iridiscent spots on their back, orange beak, slightly smaller than a pigeon. They are quite common, but when I ask people about them, they have no idea what they are. I am assuming they must be some sort of migratory bird, because otherwise I would expect someone to know. It's driving me crazy.

Take a photo.  Somebody will know.

Where are you now?

Finally found someone that knew (but he was quick to point out that he only knew because his father likes feeding birds). They are starlings. After a quick Wikipedia trip, my curiosity is sated.

(http://www.itsnature.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/JR60951-starling-yap.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 25, 2015, 04:25:19 pm
Starlings are cool.  There are some amazing videos of giant murmurations wheeling through the sky.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 25, 2015, 05:41:09 pm
Where are you now?

Bodega Bay?

I was asking pacovf because it could help with identifying the birds.

Sorry, that was just a joke. Hitchcock's "The Birds" takes place in Bodega Bay. Maybe the movie is more present in my memory than in most people's.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 25, 2015, 08:16:25 pm
^ One of the posts about it online talked about how only a few people got the license and they had a school-wide assembly to give the award.  I guess that varies by region as well.

Yeah, huh. I really should emphasis the 'not a big deal' part. Like, it was maybe a minute or two, once per week, I don't think there was a certificate or anything. I think the names of people who had the pen were put up on a small display board (which of course grew from just a few to the entire class, over the course of a term or two), and it was just done with the people in the class, which was just under 30 I think.

I can't understand why it would be something you make a big deal out of, at least without seeing some of the logic behind why it's being done. For example, is it from a school in a socially deprived area, or one with low adult literacy rates? In that case bigging up kids whose writing is clear and coherent is a great thing, since it encourages literacy, as well as letting these kids achieve something. Hm, I'm curious now about why it was a big thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 25, 2015, 09:11:45 pm
I have much cooler font than you guys
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on May 26, 2015, 04:47:28 am
Some neat sci-fi/horror stories. If you don't like the first one, skip to the second. The first introduces the idea of antimemetics, but the format is a bit dry.

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-055
http://www.scp-wiki.net/we-need-to-talk-about-fifty-five
http://www.scp-wiki.net/introductory-antimemetics
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 26, 2015, 09:29:49 am
Some neat sci-fi/horror stories. If you don't like the first one, skip to the second. The first introduces the idea of antimemetics, but the format is a bit dry.

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-055
http://www.scp-wiki.net/we-need-to-talk-about-fifty-five
http://www.scp-wiki.net/introductory-antimemetics

That reminds me of the Doctor Who thingies that you immediately forget if you look away from them.

It's pretty cool though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 26, 2015, 10:10:18 am
Some neat sci-fi/horror stories. If you don't like the first one, skip to the second. The first introduces the idea of antimemetics, but the format is a bit dry.

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-055
http://www.scp-wiki.net/we-need-to-talk-about-fifty-five
http://www.scp-wiki.net/introductory-antimemetics

The whole of the SCP is very, very strange.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 26, 2015, 10:19:42 am
Some neat sci-fi/horror stories. If you don't like the first one, skip to the second. The first introduces the idea of antimemetics, but the format is a bit dry.

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-055
http://www.scp-wiki.net/we-need-to-talk-about-fifty-five
http://www.scp-wiki.net/introductory-antimemetics

That reminds me of the Doctor Who thingies that you immediately forget if you look away from them.

It's pretty cool though.

I recently realized that the Weeping Angels from Dr Who have the same main characteristics as the ghosts from the Super Mario games: Moving only when unwatched and pointy teeth.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on May 26, 2015, 10:57:11 am
Some neat sci-fi/horror stories. If you don't like the first one, skip to the second. The first introduces the idea of antimemetics, but the format is a bit dry.

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-055
http://www.scp-wiki.net/we-need-to-talk-about-fifty-five
http://www.scp-wiki.net/introductory-antimemetics

That reminds me of the Doctor Who thingies that you immediately forget if you look away from them.

It's pretty cool though.

I recently realized that the Weeping Angels from Dr Who have the same main characteristics as the ghosts from the Super Mario games: Moving only when unwatched and pointy teeth.

Wouldn't it be great if, when a Boo touched you, it rewound all your progress and you had to start from the beginning of the game? Or better yet, it put you back in a previous Mario game?

No. No it would not.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 26, 2015, 11:06:25 am
Some neat sci-fi/horror stories. If you don't like the first one, skip to the second. The first introduces the idea of antimemetics, but the format is a bit dry.

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-055
http://www.scp-wiki.net/we-need-to-talk-about-fifty-five
http://www.scp-wiki.net/introductory-antimemetics

That reminds me of the Doctor Who thingies that you immediately forget if you look away from them.

It's pretty cool though.

I recently realized that the Weeping Angels from Dr Who have the same main characteristics as the ghosts from the Super Mario games: Moving only when unwatched and pointy teeth.

Wouldn't it be great if, when a Boo touched you, it rewound all your progress and you had to start from the beginning of the game? Or better yet, it put you back in a previous Mario game?

No. No it would not.

I'm playing Super Mario Brothers, not Dark Souls.

Weeping Angels are some of the coolest things to come out of modern culture though. Man, they're awesome.

It's a shame Doctor Who really sucks now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on May 26, 2015, 11:54:12 am
Wouldn't it be great if, when a Boo touched you, it rewound all your progress and you had to start from the beginning of the game? Or better yet, it put you back in a previous Mario game?

No. No it would not.

I'm playing Super Mario Brothers, not Dark Souls.

But...it was a joke. See, because when a weeping angel touches you...

Never mind.  :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 26, 2015, 12:01:41 pm
Wouldn't it be great if, when a Boo touched you, it rewound all your progress and you had to start from the beginning of the game? Or better yet, it put you back in a previous Mario game?

No. No it would not.

I'm playing Super Mario Brothers, not Dark Souls.

But...it was a joke. See, because when a weeping angel touches you...

Never mind.  :(

I was joking too. Someone should make a Dark Souls version of Mario though. If you get hit twice, you die and have to restart the whole game. If you get hit once, you lose your ability for the duration of the level. You regain all health and abilities during the next stage.

There would be different classes based on different skills.

Fire Class

Shoot fireballs to kill enemies from a distance. Enemies can two-shot you, so this is nice to have with swarm enemy levels. Bosses only take a quarter damage from these fireballs like all Mario games, so attacking constantly with fireballs will take longer.

Jumping Class

Gain a double jump. This is nice, so you can avoid confrontations with enemies, and jump over pits more effectively, which can one shot you. Great for those side scrolling levels.

Health Class

You are faster, and you can survive three hits. If you get hit once, you lose your extra speed for the duration of the level. This is a forgiveness class, but you get no other benefits besides a speed buff, which can be a two-edged sword.

Boss-Bane Class

Bosses take double the damage to your jump attacks. This shortens boss battles, which are a big threat to your livelihood.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on May 26, 2015, 12:42:18 pm
Some neat sci-fi/horror stories. If you don't like the first one, skip to the second. The first introduces the idea of antimemetics, but the format is a bit dry.

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-055
http://www.scp-wiki.net/we-need-to-talk-about-fifty-five
http://www.scp-wiki.net/introductory-antimemetics

That reminds me of the Doctor Who thingies that you immediately forget if you look away from them.

It's pretty cool though.

I recently realized that the Weeping Angels from Dr Who have the same main characteristics as the ghosts from the Super Mario games: Moving only when unwatched and pointy teeth.

Wouldn't it be great if, when a Boo touched you, it rewound all your progress and you had to start from the beginning of the game? Or better yet, it put you back in a previous Mario game?

No. No it would not.

The game could take on the look of older games - same ghost house, but: WiiU/Wii looks -> N64 looks -> SNES looks -> NES looks -> Gameboy looks -> Game&Watch :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on May 27, 2015, 03:52:09 am
Headed to Origin I!  Go Blues!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 27, 2015, 06:34:16 am
Is anyone else going to be at UK Games Expo? I seem to recall meeting Qmech was there last year, but anyone else?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Rabid on May 27, 2015, 08:25:06 am
I wasn't planning to.
But would be able to if there is a Dominion meet up.
(I only have Base + seaside + promos)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 27, 2015, 08:43:02 am
Man, played Dominion last Sunday for probably the first time in several months. Still such a fun game, but it just doesn't come out that often anymore.

Part of that is that I still haven't consolidated all my cards yet. I have everything prior to Dark Ages crammed into my Intrigue box, but Dark Ages and Guilds are still in separate boxes. I don't even own Adventures yet.

I am not worthy to be on this forum.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 27, 2015, 09:06:55 am
Man, played Dominion last Sunday for probably the first time in several months. Still such a fun game, but it just doesn't come out that often anymore.

Part of that is that I still haven't consolidated all my cards yet. I have everything prior to Dark Ages crammed into my Intrigue box, but Dark Ages and Guilds are still in separate boxes. I don't even own Adventures yet.

I am not worthy to be on this forum.

Is that a confession of sin?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 27, 2015, 01:26:05 pm
Someone announced that he's an uncle again as his nephew was just born.

I was about to respond jokingly, "Did you stop being an uncle?" But I didn't know him enough to rule out that perhaps he had a sibling whose child died, which would make him no longer an uncle.

Unlikely, but I'm not about to open that door of pain just for a gag.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on May 27, 2015, 01:45:10 pm
Someone announced that he's an uncle again as his nephew was just born.

I was about to respond jokingly, "Did you stop being an uncle?" But I didn't know him enough to rule out that perhaps he had a sibling whose child died, which would make him no longer an uncle.

Unlikely, but I'm not about to open that door of pain just for a gag.

Good choice, and I applaud your sensitivity. You've made me curious though.

I am not a parent, but it is my belief that you never stop being a parent, once you are one.  If you only had one child, and the child died, are you really no longer a parent?  Similarly, do your brothers really quit being uncles, and your sisters quit being aunts?

On a semi-related note, there was a NC State men's basketball player back in the 70's who was quoted at press conference as saying "my sister is having a baby and I'm waiting to find out if I am an aunt or an uncle".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 27, 2015, 02:37:50 pm
I am not a parent, but it is my belief that you never stop being a parent, once you are one.  If you only had one child, and the child died, are you really no longer a parent?  Similarly, do your brothers really quit being uncles, and your sisters quit being aunts?


Hard to say. When a child grows up and even dies before the parent, the parent would certainly still claim to be a parent. I suppose the same would be true for uncles.

If you go by the strictest of definitions, then a definition based on another person would no longer apply if that person dies, but that would be a callous thing to say. I would never be so pedantic to say, "Sorry, Bruce Wayne, but you're no longer a son since both your parents died." Mostly because I wouldn't want to get punched.

What bugs me is that there is no gender-neutral term for uncle/aunt. We have parents, children, siblings, grandparents, and great-grandparents, but a mixed group of parents' siblings would be uncles and aunts. A mixed group of siblings' children would be nephews and nieces. I did start referring to my sisters-in-law's children as niephces. I don't think it's going to catch on, though.

Also, why no gender-specific form of cousin?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 27, 2015, 02:48:00 pm
What bugs me is that there is no gender-neutral term for uncle/aunt. We have parents, children, siblings, grandparents, and great-grandparents, but a mixed group of parents' siblings would be uncles and aunts. A mixed group of siblings' children would be nephews and nieces. I did start referring to my sisters-in-law's children as niephces. I don't think it's going to catch on, though.

What bugs me is that there are no gender-specific terms for uncle and uncle. We do in Finnish and it makes translation awkward at times.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 27, 2015, 03:01:44 pm
You mean whether you're referring to a man's uncle or woman's uncle?  Why would that be necessary?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 27, 2015, 03:02:45 pm
A mixed group of siblings' children would be nephews and nieces. I did start referring to my sisters-in-law's children as niephces. I don't think it's going to catch on, though.

The term for that is "niblings," apparently coined in the 50s.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 27, 2015, 03:08:25 pm
A mixed group of siblings' children would be nephews and nieces. I did start referring to my sisters-in-law's children as niephces. I don't think it's going to catch on, though.

The term for that is "niblings," apparently coined in the 50s.

That is truly awesome. Why has this never reached broader knowledge?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 27, 2015, 03:15:17 pm
It kind of sounds like something you may want for a midday snack.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 27, 2015, 03:36:24 pm
You mean whether you're referring to a man's uncle or woman's uncle?  Why would that be necessary?

Obviously the differentiation is made between your mother's brother and your father's brother. I don't think it's necessary.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 27, 2015, 03:36:33 pm
In Cantonese (and almost certainly Mandarin too, but I can't confirm that), there are different terms depending on whether the relative is from your mother's side of the family or your father's side of the family.

On a completely different note,

(https://41.media.tumblr.com/da412d46482b88af572d5fb92e957f48/tumblr_nntf39ijY91qbh1gso1_540.png)

(https://40.media.tumblr.com/467819e226d8b3c38163ddeb81852d90/tumblr_nntf39ijY91qbh1gso2_540.jpg)

(https://40.media.tumblr.com/3087e05b6aa185e5e2af4eb4f3cfd80b/tumblr_nntf39ijY91qbh1gso3_540.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 27, 2015, 04:04:38 pm
You mean whether you're referring to a man's uncle or woman's uncle?  Why would that be necessary?

Obviously the differentiation is made between your mother's brother and your father's brother. I don't think it's necessary.

You could just say maternal or paternal.  There's not one for grandfather   either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 27, 2015, 04:07:53 pm
Obviously the differentiation is made between your mother's brother and your father's brother. I don't think it's necessary.

I can see it being pretty useful, though. We insert "maternal" or "paternal" when talking about grandparents when it's necessary. I suppose one could say "maternal uncle," though that just sounds funny, and you might as well just say "mother's brother." Having one word could streamline it just a bit.

I'm more bugged by a lack of distinction between the siblings-in-law. If I tell you about my sister-in-law, then am I talking about my wife's sister or my sibling's spouse?

And if I refer to my wife's sister as my sister-in-law, is it appropriate to call her husband my brother-in-law? I think it is, though he's really another step removed from me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 27, 2015, 04:13:16 pm
And if I refer to my wife's sister as my sister-in-law, is it appropriate to call her husband my brother-in-law? I think it is, though he's really another step removed from me.

Brother-in-law-in-law?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on May 27, 2015, 04:25:29 pm
Obviously the differentiation is made between your mother's brother and your father's brother. I don't think it's necessary.

I can see it being pretty useful, though. We insert "maternal" or "paternal" when talking about grandparents when it's necessary. I suppose one could say "maternal uncle," though that just sounds funny, and you might as well just say "mother's brother." Having one word could streamline it just a bit.

I'm more bugged by a lack of distinction between the siblings-in-law. If I tell you about my sister-in-law, then am I talking about my wife's sister or my sibling's spouse?
Chinese (and probably some other languages too) distinguishes between all of these family members, which makes communication clearer but also makes learning the language harder.

Quote
And if I refer to my wife's sister as my sister-in-law, is it appropriate to call her husband my brother-in-law? I think it is, though he's really another step removed from me.
Yes, but technically you are co-[_]-in-law.  For example rrenaud's sister is my wife, rrenaud is my brother-in-law, and rrenaud's wife is my co-sister-in-law.  Whereas my brother's wife is merely my sister-in-law.  Practically most people aren't aware of this distinction so knowing it is primarily helpful for lecturing people on forums about it and looking like a pedantic ass.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 27, 2015, 05:01:27 pm
Obviously the differentiation is made between your mother's brother and your father's brother. I don't think it's necessary.

I can see it being pretty useful, though. We insert "maternal" or "paternal" when talking about grandparents when it's necessary. I suppose one could say "maternal uncle," though that just sounds funny, and you might as well just say "mother's brother." Having one word could streamline it just a bit.

I'm more bugged by a lack of distinction between the siblings-in-law. If I tell you about my sister-in-law, then am I talking about my wife's sister or my sibling's spouse?
Chinese (and probably some other languages too) distinguishes between all of these family members, which makes communication clearer but also makes learning the language harder.

Quote
And if I refer to my wife's sister as my sister-in-law, is it appropriate to call her husband my brother-in-law? I think it is, though he's really another step removed from me.
Yes, but technically you are co-[_]-in-law.  For example rrenaud's sister is my wife, rrenaud is my brother-in-law, and rrenaud's wife is my co-sister-in-law.  Whereas my brother's wife is merely my sister-in-law.  Practically most people aren't aware of this distinction so knowing it is primarily helpful for lecturing people on forums about it and looking like a pedantic ass.

Does it come up in legalese?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on May 27, 2015, 05:49:39 pm
Possibly?  I don't do that area of law so I wouldn't know.  Knowing lawyers a contract would probably both use "co-sister-in-law" while also having some section that says "CO-SISTER-IN-LAW IS HEREINAFTER DEFINED AS ______"

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on May 27, 2015, 06:47:28 pm
I was just reading some stuff and came across something implying that some people have to pay to receive texts and phone calls. Is that actually a thing anywhere in the world? It sounds pretty insane if it's true.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 27, 2015, 06:56:45 pm
I was just reading some stuff and came across something implying that some people have to pay to receive texts and phone calls. Is that actually a thing anywhere in the world? It sounds pretty insane if it's true.

I don't know, I just send texts from home all day, and I'm usually safe that way, since WiFi is awesome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 27, 2015, 07:02:33 pm
I was just reading some stuff and came across something implying that some people have to pay to receive texts and phone calls. Is that actually a thing anywhere in the world? It sounds pretty insane if it's true.

Such plans still exist. I suspect it's for people who don't want or can't afford the higher-priced data plans. For a while, I had a phone plan where I had 150 minutes per month for free. Each minute after that would cost something (7 cents a minute, maybe?). Each text I sent or received was 20 cents. It seems unfair to get charged for unsolicited phone calls or texts, but I imagine it was easy to call the phone carrier and get some of that waived if you can make your case that the phone call was from some politician.

What I don't miss is waiting until 5 PM or even 11 PM for long-distance rates to go down. I wonder if land-lines still have that. I imagine that long-distance charges are less common--at least in America.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 27, 2015, 07:06:38 pm
I was just reading some stuff and came across something implying that some people have to pay to receive texts and phone calls. Is that actually a thing anywhere in the world? It sounds pretty insane if it's true.

It's pretty common here that you have to pay for receiving texts and calls while you're abroad.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on May 27, 2015, 07:19:31 pm
I was just reading some stuff and came across something implying that some people have to pay to receive texts and phone calls. Is that actually a thing anywhere in the world? It sounds pretty insane if it's true.

Such plans still exist. I suspect it's for people who don't want or can't afford the higher-priced data plans. For a while, I had a phone plan where I had 150 minutes per month for free. Each minute after that would cost something (7 cents a minute, maybe?). Each text I sent or received was 20 cents. It seems unfair to get charged for unsolicited phone calls or texts, but I imagine it was easy to call the phone carrier and get some of that waived if you can make your case that the phone call was from some politician.

What I don't miss is waiting until 5 PM or even 11 PM for long-distance rates to go down. I wonder if land-lines still have that. I imagine that long-distance charges are less common--at least in America.

Who even calls a company to waive off a 1 minute 7 cent call? That's like that one man/woman everyone's encountered when working a minimum wage job, where you have to bend over backwards just to shave off a couple cents.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on May 27, 2015, 07:41:23 pm
And if I refer to my wife's sister as my sister-in-law, is it appropriate to call her husband my brother-in-law? I think it is, though he's really another step removed from me.

Brother-in-law-in-law?
Personally, I look forward one day to meeting my god-step-birth-father-in-law. I hear he's a nice guy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 27, 2015, 07:42:37 pm
I was just reading some stuff and came across something implying that some people have to pay to receive texts and phone calls. Is that actually a thing anywhere in the world? It sounds pretty insane if it's true.

I don't know, I just send texts from home all day, and I'm usually safe that way, since WiFi is awesome.

....

You realize that text messages don't go through WiFi, right?  SMS uses the carrier network.  I truly can't tell if you were being facetious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on May 27, 2015, 07:44:51 pm
And if I refer to my wife's sister as my sister-in-law, is it appropriate to call her husband my brother-in-law? I think it is, though he's really another step removed from me.

Brother-in-law-in-law?
Personally, I look forward one day to meeting my god-step-birth-father-in-law. I hear he's a nice guy.

(http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2745fnggV1qghlkao7_r2_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GeoLib on May 27, 2015, 08:59:09 pm
I was just reading some stuff and came across something implying that some people have to pay to receive texts and phone calls. Is that actually a thing anywhere in the world? It sounds pretty insane if it's true.

I don't know, I just send texts from home all day, and I'm usually safe that way, since WiFi is awesome.

....

You realize that text messages don't go through WiFi, right?  SMS uses the carrier network.  I truly can't tell if you were being facetious.

Depends on your plan. My dad has a plan whereby he can only send/receive texts over wifi.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on May 27, 2015, 11:57:17 pm
I'm fairly certain in the US it's the norm to pay for phone calls received on a cell phone.  As in, it eats up your minutes.

At least, it was when I lived there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on May 28, 2015, 12:51:05 am
Well of all things, can it be really?
Yes, no, ho-hi, oh my eye;
My mind may be wandering, but I confess
I believe it is Old Deuteronomy
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on May 28, 2015, 02:48:27 am
Regarding relatives. In Swedish pretty much every relative is a combination of words for the closest relative. So we have mother (mor), father (far), sister (syster), brother (bror), daughter (dotter) and son (son). So my maternal grandmother is mormor (mother mother) and my grandfather would be morfar (mother father). My paternal uncle would be farbror (father brother), however aunts have derived a bit from what you expect, due to syster being a two syllable word. So my paternal aunt is faster derived from farsyster (father sister), and the maternal counterpart is moster derived from morsyster (mother sister). Nieces and nephews are systerdotter (sister daughter), brorsdotter (brother's daughter [I have no idea why this one is possessive]), systerson (sister son) and brorson (brother son). Grandchildren are usually just called barnbarn (children children), but nobody will give it a second thought if you talk about your sonson (son son) or dotterdotter (daughter daughter) or something like that. Cousins and further away are just cousins, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Sidsel on May 28, 2015, 04:41:10 am
Regarding relatives.

 Cousins and further away are just cousins, though.

In norway that depends on where you live; sřskenbarn (sibling children) is the standard term for all cousins in the western area, while kusine (female cousin) / fetter (male cousin) is mostly used on the eastern side. Thanks to the capital being eastern and all kids having watched tv from Oslo all their lives, a westerner will understand kusine/fetter, but an easterner will be utterly confused at sřskenbarn.

Unlike sweden we don't specify our aunts and uncles; tante/onkel no matter which side. Mormor/morfar/farmor/farfar specify grandparents, but we can also say bestefar/bestemor/besteforeldre (grandfather, grandmother, grandparents) - lit. "best parent". It's also more of an affectionate term, and is occasionally used also about a nice elderly whether or not they have grandchildren, children or even are related to the speaker at all.

Barnebarn (children children aka grandchildren) is the same - but sřnnesřnn (son son) or datterdatter (daughter daughter) is archaic if used at all.

One step up from the grandparents are 'oldemor'/'oldefar' - greatgrandparents, literally elder parents. Then it's tipp-oldemor, tipp-tipp-oldemor, etc, etc, etc... And for other stranger terms; grandtante/grandonkel is your parents aunt and uncle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 28, 2015, 08:09:40 am
Okay, I've toyed around with the idea of moving to Sweden, and this just tilts me toward that way some more.

I'm quarter Swedish, though that's not my sole reason for looking into the move. It seems like a really neat country, and it sounds accommodating for unilingual barbarians (assuming that one language is English). Of course, I'd seriously try to learn the language, though my endeavors into Spanish and Japanese have shown me that I am a much better reader than a listener. I give blank stares when people speak to me in a different language, even if I've studied it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on May 28, 2015, 08:27:06 am
Regarding relatives. In Swedish pretty much every relative is a combination of words for the closest relative. So we have mother (mor), father (far), sister (syster), brother (bror), daughter (dotter) and son (son). So my maternal grandmother is mormor (mother mother) and my grandfather would be morfar (mother father). My paternal uncle would be farbror (father brother), however aunts have derived a bit from what you expect, due to syster being a two syllable word. So my paternal aunt is faster derived from farsyster (father sister), and the maternal counterpart is moster derived from morsyster (mother sister). Nieces and nephews are systerdotter (sister daughter), brorsdotter (brother's daughter [I have no idea why this one is possessive]), systerson (sister son) and brorson (brother son). Grandchildren are usually just called barnbarn (children children), but nobody will give it a second thought if you talk about your sonson (son son) or dotterdotter (daughter daughter) or something like that. Cousins and further away are just cousins, though.
This is elegant in its straightforwardness. Is Swedish a language that is this logical in most areas?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 28, 2015, 08:29:46 am
Regarding relatives. In Swedish pretty much every relative is a combination of words for the closest relative. So we have mother (mor), father (far), sister (syster), brother (bror), daughter (dotter) and son (son). So my maternal grandmother is mormor (mother mother) and my grandfather would be morfar (mother father). My paternal uncle would be farbror (father brother), however aunts have derived a bit from what you expect, due to syster being a two syllable word. So my paternal aunt is faster derived from farsyster (father sister), and the maternal counterpart is moster derived from morsyster (mother sister). Nieces and nephews are systerdotter (sister daughter), brorsdotter (brother's daughter [I have no idea why this one is possessive]), systerson (sister son) and brorson (brother son). Grandchildren are usually just called barnbarn (children children), but nobody will give it a second thought if you talk about your sonson (son son) or dotterdotter (daughter daughter) or something like that. Cousins and further away are just cousins, though.
This is elegant in its straightforwardness. Is Swedish a language that is this logical in most areas?

No.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on May 28, 2015, 08:47:48 am
No.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on May 28, 2015, 08:54:08 am
Okay, I've toyed around with the idea of moving to Sweden, and this just tilts me toward that way some more.

I'm quarter Swedish, though that's not my sole reason for looking into the move. It seems like a really neat country, and it sounds accommodating for unilingual barbarians (assuming that one language is English). Of course, I'd seriously try to learn the language, though my endeavors into Spanish and Japanese have shown me that I am a much better reader than a listener. I give blank stares when people speak to me in a different language, even if I've studied it.

If you know English, which I kind of assume you do, getting by in larger cities isn't hard here. If you want to live in the countryside, you might have to learn Swedish.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 28, 2015, 09:18:06 am
If you know English, which I kind of assume you do, getting by in larger cities isn't hard here. If you want to live in the countryside, you might have to learn Swedish.

I'm not a country kind of guy anyway.

So, my cultural exposure is limited to the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy (I forget the official trilogy name). It seems like northern Sweden just prepares itself for shitty winters, which sounds like something Alaskans would do. I've not been in either place. In fact, the most northern I've gone when it was winter was in Boston, and that doesn't have a perpetual winter ready state. I've only swung up into Canada once, and it wasn't winter.

I'm used to shitty winters lasting no more than a couple of months. Then it's shitty summers 6 months later. I get all the bad weather but nothing prolonged.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on May 28, 2015, 05:17:36 pm
So I've had a fever pretty much all week and now I have a rash but for the most part I feel perfectly fine, especially in the morning. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to Penn State for ARML (a very fun math contest) this weekend and I was sad but today I went to the doctor and he was like you should totally go just don't kiss anyone or they'll get sick. Now I am happy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on May 28, 2015, 05:34:20 pm
So I've had a fever pretty much all week and now I have a rash but for the most part I feel perfectly fine, especially in the morning. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to Penn State for ARML (a very fun math contest) this weekend and I was sad but today I went to the doctor and he was like you should totally go just don't kiss anyone or they'll get sick. Now I am happy.
I am going to ARML this weekend too! I'm going to the one in Iowa though. I'm not sure that it's even closer, but I guess it's a midwest thing (I live in southern Michigan).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on May 28, 2015, 06:07:57 pm
So I've had a fever pretty much all week and now I have a rash but for the most part I feel perfectly fine, especially in the morning. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to Penn State for ARML (a very fun math contest) this weekend and I was sad but today I went to the doctor and he was like you should totally go just don't kiss anyone or they'll get sick. Now I am happy.

But what's the point of going to a math contest if you can't kiss anyone?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on May 28, 2015, 06:28:23 pm
So I've had a fever pretty much all week and now I have a rash but for the most part I feel perfectly fine, especially in the morning. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to Penn State for ARML (a very fun math contest) this weekend and I was sad but today I went to the doctor and he was like you should totally go just don't kiss anyone or they'll get sick. Now I am happy.

But what's the point of going to a math contest if you can't kiss anyone?

Just asymptotically kiss them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on May 28, 2015, 07:00:59 pm
So I've had a fever pretty much all week and now I have a rash but for the most part I feel perfectly fine, especially in the morning. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to Penn State for ARML (a very fun math contest) this weekend and I was sad but today I went to the doctor and he was like you should totally go just don't kiss anyone or they'll get sick. Now I am happy.
I am going to ARML this weekend too! I'm going to the one in Iowa though. I'm not sure that it's even closer, but I guess it's a midwest thing (I live in southern Michigan).

I'm from Iowa~
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 29, 2015, 03:14:16 pm
What's the best free antivirus software these days? I've been using avast! so far, but it kind of defeats the purpose if the antivirus software I'm using is a spyware/adware itself, so I want to try something else. I'm considering Comodo and Qihoo at the moment, does anyone have any experience about them and are there any better alternatives?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on May 29, 2015, 03:23:57 pm
talking about US editions throughout

Anyone know when Dominion "upgraded" the art on the box cover? I'm going through the store's old demos (which we got when the game was new), and I've noticed there's more detail on the current Hasbro USA version (easiest way to tell the difference is that there's a little cart on the road to the village bottom-right on the Hasbro cover, whereas the road is empty on the original version). However, I can't tell via BGG if this was true of the older, most-common Altenberger printings. All I've been able to confirm is that the first and second print run of Dominion has the "less detail" version, and the current Hasbro has the "more detail."

EDIT: This is a fool's errand. There appear to be a million variations on this art. The Brazilian version appears to use the "horse cart" version, but the art for the German special edition does too, except the knight bottom-left doesn't have a helmet in that one!

EDIT 2: Apparently no-helmet knight appears on the front of the rulebook of some (older?) versions.

This has been Voltaire, your guide to the world of facts.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 29, 2015, 03:50:46 pm
What's the best free antivirus software these days? I've been using avast! so far, but it kind of defeats the purpose if the antivirus software I'm using is a spyware/adware itself, so I want to try something else. I'm considering Comodo and Qihoo at the moment, does anyone have any experience about them and are there any better alternatives?

What's wrong with Avast?  Are you just annoyed at the regular popups?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on May 29, 2015, 04:05:33 pm
What's the best free antivirus software these days? I've been using avast! so far, but it kind of defeats the purpose if the antivirus software I'm using is a spyware/adware itself, so I want to try something else. I'm considering Comodo and Qihoo at the moment, does anyone have any experience about them and are there any better alternatives?

What's wrong with Avast?  Are you just annoyed at the regular popups?

Well, the ones that contain even remotely useful information (such as updates etc) aren't too annoying. The ones advertising their VPN every time I'm trying to watch porn or download torrents are.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on May 31, 2015, 06:43:02 pm
(http://0.media.dorkly.cvcdn.com/40/75/6a4e49ce95326d7a5ca16a24e99c10a3.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on May 31, 2015, 09:22:11 pm
So I've had a fever pretty much all week and now I have a rash but for the most part I feel perfectly fine, especially in the morning. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to Penn State for ARML (a very fun math contest) this weekend and I was sad but today I went to the doctor and he was like you should totally go just don't kiss anyone or they'll get sick. Now I am happy.

Well Friday night I felt horrible so maybe this was a bad idea but I felt okay during the contest and performed decently I guess. Today I went to the hospital and they checked out my blood and stuff and apparently I have Honech-Schölein Purpura. The cause is unknown, but probably it's some issue where my immune system got a little too excited fighting off an infection. Now the blood vessels in my ankles (and a little bit in my fingers too I think) are swollen and it bruised my ankles from the inside. Apparently I'll be sick for at least another week but oh well. It's not the most uncomfortable illness and my urine didn't have any blood in it which means my kidneys are probably fine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 01, 2015, 10:57:46 am
I made a discovery. Each draw of a card costs $2. Moat and Courtyard both cost $2, with a draw gain of +1. Smithy is $4, with a draw gain of +2. Hunting Grounds is $6, with a draw gain of +3. You can infer a draw gain of +4 is an $8 card. Proof of this? Ranger is $4, and you get a draw gain of +4 half the time.

I'm trying to put prices on vanilla bonuses right now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 01, 2015, 11:00:10 am
I made a discovery. Each draw of a card costs $2. Moat and Courtyard both cost $2, with a draw gain of +1. Smithy is $4, with a draw gain of +2. Hunting Grounds is $6, with a draw gain of +3. You can infer a draw gain of +4 is an $8 card. Proof of this? Ranger is $4, and you get a draw gain of +4 half the time.

I'm trying to put prices on vanilla bonuses right now.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on June 01, 2015, 11:04:40 am
I made a discovery. Each draw of a card costs $2. Moat and Courtyard both cost $2, with a draw gain of +1. Smithy is $4, with a draw gain of +2. Hunting Grounds is $6, with a draw gain of +3. You can infer a draw gain of +4 is an $8 card. Proof of this? Ranger is $4, and you get a draw gain of +4 half the time.

I'm trying to put prices on vanilla bonuses right now.

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=699.msg9670#msg9670

Quote
(4) Myth: Each functional component of a card has a cost. Add those costs up, and that's what the whole card should cost.

It might be tempting to say every +Buy costs $1, and every +Card costs $2, every Curse attack costs $3, and so on. But it doesn't work like that. For example, add +2 Actions to Woodcutter, which costs $3, and you get Festival, which costs $5. You might then think that each +Action should increase a card's cost by $1. But add just a single +Action to Moat, and now you've got something strictly superior to Laboratory. At minimum, it's a $6 card, up from $2. Add +2 Actions to Moat, and you probably have to go to $7, an increase of $5.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 01, 2015, 11:06:18 am
I made a discovery. Each draw of a card costs $2. Moat and Courtyard both cost $2, with a draw gain of +1. Smithy is $4, with a draw gain of +2. Hunting Grounds is $6, with a draw gain of +3. You can infer a draw gain of +4 is an $8 card. Proof of this? Ranger is $4, and you get a draw gain of +4 half the time.

I'm trying to put prices on vanilla bonuses right now.

True. When you put an extra +1 card on Hamlet, it's balanced at $4. When you put it on Peddler, it's balanced at $10.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 01, 2015, 12:15:00 pm
I guess I wasn't sarcastic enough.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on June 01, 2015, 12:16:04 pm
I guess I wasn't sarcastic enough.

I'd say not. My sarcasm detector didn't even blip.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 01, 2015, 12:16:21 pm
I guess I wasn't sarcastic enough.

Never use sarcasm, when you can use a Sarlaac chasm.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 01, 2015, 12:38:13 pm
I guess I wasn't sarcastic enough.

I'd say not. My sarcasm detector didn't even blip.

Your evidence is all circumstantial! Your DNA readings are only partial! You can't PROVE it was me!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 01, 2015, 12:45:59 pm
Poe's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law) in action?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 01, 2015, 12:56:53 pm
Poe's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law) in action?

See also: List of Internet phenomena

Guess I'm not doing any more work today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 02, 2015, 01:15:00 pm
Anyone else avoid certain cards on Goko because of the interface/resolution time?  Like "Yeah, I could pick up a Pawn for free here, but I don't really want to have to deal with all that clicking every time I play it."  I would also likely get more Urchins if I weren't constantly asked to trash them, would use Cartographer more, etc.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 02, 2015, 03:05:05 pm
Anyone else avoid certain cards on Goko because of the interface/resolution time?  Like "Yeah, I could pick up a Pawn for free here, but I don't really want to have to deal with all that clicking every time I play it."  I would also likely get more Urchins if I weren't constantly asked to trash them, would use Cartographer more, etc.

I worry about the best play. I don't have time to think about time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 02, 2015, 09:45:49 pm
Ever wanted to learn about the economy?

http://www.altfeldinc.com/pdfs/BASICECONOMICS.pdf

Yay! It's simplified, so it's not too difficult to understand.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 03, 2015, 12:47:26 am
Ever wanted to learn about the economy?

http://www.altfeldinc.com/pdfs/BASICECONOMICS.pdf

Yay! It's simplified, so it's not too difficult to understand.

Eh, I can think of better places to go for economic theory than a hyperconservative who actually thinks the minimum wage is a bad thing, or an African-American who believes affirmative action doesn't work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 03, 2015, 12:50:49 am
Huh. I didn't read the whole thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on June 03, 2015, 01:17:51 am
Huh. I didn't read.
FTFY

 8)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 03, 2015, 02:44:45 pm
I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes.


Sam Lowry: See you, Jack. Give my regards to Allison and the twins.
Jack Lint: Triplets.
Sam Lowry: Triplets? God... how time flies.


Bloody brilliant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 03, 2015, 02:46:58 pm
I didn't remember that line, but brilliant movie.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 03, 2015, 03:23:55 pm
(https://36.media.tumblr.com/3596fd8e8b48f7322e1dbb4433b394a6/tumblr_n2nu0w0As71qgmvb3o1_540.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 03, 2015, 03:26:02 pm
Wow.  Such meta.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on June 03, 2015, 03:31:06 pm
Ever wanted to learn about the economy?
http://nedroid.com/2011/08/economoline/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 03, 2015, 03:55:26 pm
I just unsubscribed from a random spam e-mail newsletter that I was receiving for whatever reason. Where most such pages will annoy you with an "are you sure" question and a "yes" button, this one had "you have now successfully unsubscribed" and an "opt back in" button. It was a sly trick, but I did not fall for it!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 03, 2015, 04:14:18 pm
I just unsubscribed from a random spam e-mail newsletter that I was receiving for whatever reason. Where most such pages will annoy you with an "are you sure" question and a "yes" button, this one had "you have now successfully unsubscribed" and an "opt back in" button. It was a sly trick, but I did not fall for it!
I had one the other day that wanted me to enter the email address I was unsubscribing, in duplicate!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 03, 2015, 04:19:57 pm
I didn't remember that line, but brilliant movie.

It's such a throwaway line. I'm pretty sure I didn't pick up on it the first few times I watched it. I couldn't tell you when I noticed it.

It's also one reason why I watch everything with CC on. Not just because my acuity is not up to snuff. You can pick up on some throwaway lines, especially if they're against a loud backdrop.

And as I noticed while watching Arrow and the Flash, there are some lines that clearly were in the original script, but the audio was cut in post. Sometimes these extra lines tell you a little bit more about the action.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 03, 2015, 04:37:07 pm
I can't stand CCs.  I use them if there's something I can't understand, so I rewind, put them on, then turn them back off.  But it really, really, really interferes with my viewing experience.  My roommate insists on having them on, so on the common TV we're always toggling the setting back and forth.  It's a bit of an issue if we're both watching the same show in the common room, but I have my own (smaller) TV in my bedroom, so if he wants to watch with CC on, I'll just go watch it on my TV the way that isn't painful.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 03, 2015, 05:09:09 pm
I can see comfort level being an issue. I'm perfectly fine with reading the words and seeing the action at the same time. But then I've been watching CC for over 30 years, so I'm comfortable with it.

It does mean that I'm never the person to say, "That foreign film is subtitled? I don't feel like reading."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 03, 2015, 05:11:50 pm
Agreed, subtitles suck. I started watching TV shows without subtitles at one point just because it was easier to find on the Internet, and I'm so glad I did. Especially in comedies, subtitles can ruin jokes. Just recently I went to see Avengers Age of Ultron (not a comedy but still) and you had people laughing in the theater before the jokes actually landed because they were reading the subtitles, which is very annoying. Obviously in the case of a theater showing I support subtitles because it's way, way better than dubbed and showing it without subtitles would be a little too exclusive, but I'm always surprised to hear that people willingly use them for stuff in their native language (unless you're actually deaf obviously).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 03, 2015, 05:13:12 pm
Well subtitles don't bother me that much, but of course if I understood the language I wouldn't want them.  They're also usually not as obtrusive as closed captions. 

But, basically, I can't not read the closed captions, which means I'm not looking at other stuff, like background, scenery, and probably most importantly, the actors' facial expressions.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 03, 2015, 05:19:08 pm
Don't closed captions include subtitles ? Or do they only include sound effects and stuff ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on June 03, 2015, 05:22:04 pm
It's odd. I exclusively watch subbed anime--and I don't find the subtitles distracting at all since I have a relatively shallow knowledge of the language.
But when I'm watching a movie in English with subtitles--I find them very distracting. I wonder if both hearing the words and reading them makes it more difficult to focus?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 03, 2015, 05:22:29 pm
Um, I'm not sure what you mean.  Closed Captions and Subtitles are separate things.  They both print stuff.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 03, 2015, 05:40:48 pm
Um, I'm not sure what you mean.  Closed Captions and Subtitles are separate things.  They both print stuff.

Subtitles are generally translations of the dialogue into another language.

Closed captioning also includes descriptions of sounds, and sometimes actions of screen that you can only hear, such as footsteps, for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 03, 2015, 06:21:45 pm
I don't find subtitles annoying. If I'm watching a movie in English, I prefer watching it with English subtitles because sometimes characters talk in unusual accents or something and it's a bit difficult to understand as an EFL. If subtitles aren't easily available, then I'll obviously watch it without them and usually there aren't any major problems, but if it's as simple as just enabling the subtitles that I already have, I always do it by default just to make sure.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 03, 2015, 06:58:24 pm
It's odd. I exclusively watch subbed anime--and I don't find the subtitles distracting at all since I have a relatively shallow knowledge of the language.
But when I'm watching a movie in English with subtitles--I find them very distracting. I wonder if both hearing the words and reading them makes it more difficult to focus?

There is a distraction to reading and hearing the dialogue. One thing that they try to teach in eLearning is to not just have the narration on the screen. And I understand that. I hate seeing a wall of text in PowerPoint (I hate seeing wall of text, period) while someone reads the whole thing aloud.

With CC, I don't mind, because they're short sentences. I absorb the text in a split second and then listen to the dialogue. And it does help me grok everything on the screen. Sometimes words are muffled or obfuscated by loud noise. Sometimes I'm just not in the best place.

I suppose growing up with CC, I learn to watch everything holistically. The words on the screen are part of the scene. It's like how I have nonprinting characters turned on in Word. I work better knowing what is on the screen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 03, 2015, 07:10:15 pm
I agree with Kuildeous.  CC also helps me when people mumble or slur words or something.  When CC isn't available (e.g. with some streaming video), sometimes I have to repeat a scene multiple times to figure out what somebody is saying, if I can figure it out at all.

And⸱I⸱also⸱turn⸱on⸱non-printing⸱characters⸱in⸱Word.⸱⸱High⸱five!¶
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 03, 2015, 07:22:12 pm
Subtitles are generally translations of the dialogue into another language.

In French "closed captioning" is called "subtitles for deaf and hard-of-hearing people", so I thought CC was just a type of subtitles.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 03, 2015, 07:27:01 pm
Well, speaking generally it is, but subtitles that come with, say, physical version (e.g., DVD) of a TV show or movie, or those that appear in theater, are separate from the "Closed Caption" option that you enable on your TV.

Well, I've never done a test, but I bet if you get a DVD and choose the "Subtitles" option in the DVD setup, and then turn on Closed Captions on your TV, you will get two separate sets of stuff appearing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 03, 2015, 07:35:09 pm
When I was little, I loved fullscreen. I could never understand why my dad loved widescreen. I hated those black bars. Now it's obviously way better because TVs aren't square anymore.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on June 04, 2015, 12:43:25 am
When I was little, I loved fullscreen. I could never understand why my dad loved widescreen. I hated those black bars. Now it's obviously way better because TVs aren't square anymore.
TV and movies are still in different aspect ratios
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 04, 2015, 12:47:25 am
When I was little, I loved fullscreen. I could never understand why my dad loved widescreen. I hated those black bars. Now it's obviously way better because TVs aren't square anymore.
TV and movies are still in different aspect ratios

You're in a different aspect ratio!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on June 04, 2015, 12:33:52 pm
When I was little, I loved fullscreen. I could never understand why my dad loved widescreen. I hated those black bars. Now it's obviously way better because TVs aren't square anymore.
TV and movies are still in different aspect ratios

You're in a different respect ratio!
FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 04, 2015, 01:09:22 pm
When I was little, I loved fullscreen. I could never understand why my dad loved widescreen. I hated those black bars. Now it's obviously way better because TVs aren't square anymore.
TV and movies are still in different aspect ratios

You're in a different respect ratio!
FTFY

(http://img.pandawhale.com/87523-Doctor-Who-upvote-gif-Imgur-kCZb.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 04, 2015, 02:09:25 pm
I have a 4-minute long full-HD 60 fps 88.6 GB wmv file and I'm trying to convert it to an avi file of a reasonable file size (like maybe around 500 MB or 1 GB or something like that) without losing too much quality (it's going to get re-rendered twice after this and it should still be of high quality after that) on Windows. I tried Avidemux, Vegas and Windows Live Movie Maker, but the file made them all crash on my computer. Would anyone happen to know how to do this?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on June 05, 2015, 09:46:40 am
Often subtitles give context and clues otherwise missed such as the title of a song in the background or that someone is whistling.

I am a huge subtitle fan and almost can't bear to watch things without them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on June 05, 2015, 10:56:43 am
I use subtitles if its late and people are trying to sleep. Or if I don't understand the spoken language in the film.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 05, 2015, 04:07:39 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_2pKNWthJ4
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on June 05, 2015, 04:26:26 pm
I really hate that someone would do that to Duck Tales...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 05, 2015, 08:05:18 pm
I love this line so much.

Quote
She types in "cli" and, because this is TV, "Clifton Bowles" is the one and only suggested phrase. On the phone of a woman who's never heard of the guy until 10 seconds ago. Nice try; a real Bing search for "cli" reveals far more interesting search results -- especially with safe search off.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 06, 2015, 05:26:13 am
I love this line so much.

Quote
She types in "cli" and, because this is TV, "Clifton Bowles" is the one and only suggested phrase. On the phone of a woman who's never heard of the guy until 10 seconds ago. Nice try; a real Bing search for "cli" reveals far more interesting search results -- especially with safe search off.

Tried searching it. Not what I expected at all. No clitoris suggestion at all. Clip converter, clip art, Clive Jones, Clinton Cards etc.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 06, 2015, 10:32:46 am
I love this line so much.

Quote
She types in "cli" and, because this is TV, "Clifton Bowles" is the one and only suggested phrase. On the phone of a woman who's never heard of the guy until 10 seconds ago. Nice try; a real Bing search for "cli" reveals far more interesting search results -- especially with safe search off.

Tried searching it. Not what I expected at all. No clitoris suggestion at all. Clip converter, clip art, Clive Jones, Clinton Cards etc.

Tables--the guy with the world's most boring search history.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 06, 2015, 11:00:51 am
I love this line so much.

Quote
She types in "cli" and, because this is TV, "Clifton Bowles" is the one and only suggested phrase. On the phone of a woman who's never heard of the guy until 10 seconds ago. Nice try; a real Bing search for "cli" reveals far more interesting search results -- especially with safe search off.

Tried searching it. Not what I expected at all. No clitoris suggestion at all. Clip converter, clip art, Clive Jones, Clinton Cards etc.

Tables--the guy with the world's most boring search history.

Hey. Incognito mode is a thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 06, 2015, 11:03:07 am
I love this line so much.

Quote
She types in "cli" and, because this is TV, "Clifton Bowles" is the one and only suggested phrase. On the phone of a woman who's never heard of the guy until 10 seconds ago. Nice try; a real Bing search for "cli" reveals far more interesting search results -- especially with safe search off.

Terribly unrealistic, who uses Bing?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 06, 2015, 11:05:48 am
I love this line so much.

Quote
She types in "cli" and, because this is TV, "Clifton Bowles" is the one and only suggested phrase. On the phone of a woman who's never heard of the guy until 10 seconds ago. Nice try; a real Bing search for "cli" reveals far more interesting search results -- especially with safe search off.

Terribly unrealistic, who uses Bing?

(http://www.bevreview.com/wp-content/image_bing_energydrink1.jpg)

I use Bing all the time!

Wait, you mean there's a search engine called Bing? Never heard of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on June 06, 2015, 11:16:47 am
Wait, you mean there's a search engine called Bing? Never heard of it.

bing is bad. you haven't missed much.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 06, 2015, 11:20:59 am
Wait, you mean there's a search engine called Bing? Never heard of it.

Then duckduckgo it!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 06, 2015, 11:21:34 am
I love this line so much.

Quote
She types in "cli" and, because this is TV, "Clifton Bowles" is the one and only suggested phrase. On the phone of a woman who's never heard of the guy until 10 seconds ago. Nice try; a real Bing search for "cli" reveals far more interesting search results -- especially with safe search off.

Terribly unrealistic, who uses Bing?

That quote came from a Cracked article about crazy product placement in TV shows. Apparently, Microsoft wants TV viewers to believe that cops use Bing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 06, 2015, 11:27:02 am
I love this line so much.

Quote
She types in "cli" and, because this is TV, "Clifton Bowles" is the one and only suggested phrase. On the phone of a woman who's never heard of the guy until 10 seconds ago. Nice try; a real Bing search for "cli" reveals far more interesting search results -- especially with safe search off.

Tried searching it. Not what I expected at all. No clitoris suggestion at all. Clip converter, clip art, Clive Jones, Clinton Cards etc.

Tables--the guy with the world's most boring search history.

Hey. Incognito mode is a thing.

Come on, let's go with the even more realistic option here - we're talking about Bing and nobody uses that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 06, 2015, 12:23:53 pm
I love this line so much.

Quote
She types in "cli" and, because this is TV, "Clifton Bowles" is the one and only suggested phrase. On the phone of a woman who's never heard of the guy until 10 seconds ago. Nice try; a real Bing search for "cli" reveals far more interesting search results -- especially with safe search off.

Tried searching it. Not what I expected at all. No clitoris suggestion at all. Clip converter, clip art, Clive Jones, Clinton Cards etc.

Tables--the guy with the world's most boring search history.

Hey. Incognito mode is a thing.

Yeah, it'd be super embarrassing if anyone found out that you've used Bing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 06, 2015, 12:30:30 pm
Wait, you mean there's a search engine called Bing? Never heard of it.

bing is bad. you haven't missed much.

I know what Bing is, lol. It's just so... Irrelevant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 06, 2015, 12:31:21 pm
But cops use Bing!  TV said so!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 06, 2015, 12:49:02 pm
You can't spell eHalcyon without spelling Hal.

HAL is the primary antagonist of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

2001: A Space Odyssey is about going into space.

Space is cold.

Ice cubes are cold.

Ice cubes are found on Antartica.

Antartica has the word 'art' in it.

Art is found on the dollar bill.

And what kind of art is on the dollar bill?

(http://www.debate.org/photos/albums/1/1/104/10213-104-d35vy-a.jpg)

Illuminati confirmed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 06, 2015, 12:55:03 pm
Antartica. At the other side of the world than Artica. Antartica has Pengins, Artica has Ice Bars. Everybody knows that. I love how you even use the spelling mistake to back the conclusion.

Also, yes, i know South Park :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 06, 2015, 01:15:21 pm
Antartica. At the other side of the world than Artica. Antartica has Pengins, Artica has Ice Bars. Everybody knows that. I love how you even use the spelling mistake to back the conclusion.

That was part of the joke.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 06, 2015, 02:20:59 pm
Antartica. At the other side of the world than Artica. Antartica has Pengins, Artica has Ice Bars. Everybody knows that. I love how you even use the spelling mistake to back the conclusion.

That was part of the joke.

THAT's what they want you to believe!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on June 06, 2015, 03:16:18 pm
Bing is actually not that bad, it performs similarly to Google in blind trials. (You can look this up. Depending on which sources you trust, Bing performs at least within +/- a few percentage points of Google). However, Google has way better branding, and those trials are done with no prior search history. With history, Google outperforms Bing by a lot. Since people have been using Google for much longer, by the time Bing came out Google already gave most people personalized results and there was no incentive to switch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 06, 2015, 03:50:45 pm
Hm.. I read this article about Bing being the defacto engine for searching for porn.  Did someone link that from here?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 06, 2015, 05:15:59 pm
Hm.. I read this article about Bing being the defacto engine for searching for porn.  Did someone link that from here?

Why should that matter? Is it easier to find incognito mode so 40-year olds with yealous wifes (or husbands) won't get problems? Or is there a specialized filter? Or, maybe it tailors its searches according to your history: "People who watched 'Coffee klatsch gets freaky' also liked..."

Tell me, i need to know! For... uh... science.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 06, 2015, 06:45:50 pm
No, like the results are much different.  I'll try to find the article.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 06, 2015, 06:59:18 pm
Hm.. I read this article about Bing being the defacto engine for searching for porn.  Did someone link that from here?

I've definitely seen things like that quoted online before, dunno if I saw it here.

Bing is actually not that bad, it performs similarly to Google in blind trials. (You can look this up. Depending on which sources you trust, Bing performs at least within +/- a few percentage points of Google). However, Google has way better branding, and those trials are done with no prior search history. With history, Google outperforms Bing by a lot. Since people have been using Google for much longer, by the time Bing came out Google already gave most people personalized results and there was no incentive to switch.

The other thing is a search engine isn't just necessarily about the information displayed, but how it's displayed. Part of this will come down to google being familiar but in the past when I've used bing I remember disliking how the data was displayed (possibly more ad links first or big blocks of useless information to scroll past, I forget exactly).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Roadrunner7671 on June 06, 2015, 07:24:01 pm
Bing is actually not that bad, it performs similarly to Google in blind trials. (You can look this up. Depending on which sources you trust, Bing performs at least within +/- a few percentage points of Google). However, Google has way better branding, and those trials are done with no prior search history. With history, Google outperforms Bing by a lot. Since people have been using Google for much longer, by the time Bing came out Google already gave most people personalized results and there was no incentive to switch.
Ha! You're funny! 'Bing is actually not that bad' lol!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 06, 2015, 08:14:22 pm
Bing is actually not that bad, it performs similarly to Google in blind trials. (You can look this up. Depending on which sources you trust, Bing performs at least within +/- a few percentage points of Google). However, Google has way better branding, and those trials are done with no prior search history. With history, Google outperforms Bing by a lot. Since people have been using Google for much longer, by the time Bing came out Google already gave most people personalized results and there was no incentive to switch.
Ha! You're funny! 'Bing is actually not that bad' lol!

Well, he's right. I actually do enjoy Bing juice. I showed a picture of it beforehand. It wasn't just some random image to be funny. Bing juice is actually pretty neat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 06, 2015, 09:44:30 pm
Yeah, Bing is pretty cool.  Chandler was actually my favourite character!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 06, 2015, 09:52:38 pm
Mmm, Bing cherries.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on June 06, 2015, 10:22:28 pm
Oh, yeah, I definitely, uh, read an article about using Bing to find porn once. The conclusion of the article was that uh, yeah, it seems to work pretty well. It gives the impression of being less puritanical than Google, especially with the video results. And it has the secondary benefit of acting as a de facto incognito mode.

Sometimes I reread that article, that's how informative it was.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 06, 2015, 11:26:34 pm
Finished my D&D 5th Edition character. Now to see if he doesn't get kilt on Monday.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 07, 2015, 12:10:11 am
BGG Store has copies of Oink games.  They are a Japanese publisher and it's pretty expensive to import.  Unfortunately, the extra shipping from BGG Store is pretty high as well, enough to scare me away.  But for those of you in the US, it might be worth checking out.

The one that is most interesting to me is Deep Sea Adventure.  In short, it's a push your luck dice game where you are divers trying to bring back treasure from the ocean floor (the deeper you go, the more valuable the treasure is).  The trick is that, once you pick up treasure, you begin to deplete oxygen from the communal air supply.  It also weighs you down, reducing your movement.  When the air supply runs out, any divers who have not made it back to the sub get yanked back and drop all their treasure.

The other games look neat too.  A Fake Artist Goes to New York actually sounds hilarious, though I think you could easily play it with pen and paper.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 07, 2015, 11:27:45 am
Here's the article:

http://www.dailydot.com/technology/bing-porn-search-engine/

I believe there is nothing NSFW in the article itself (but maybe don't read it at work anyway), though some of the links are.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 07, 2015, 12:58:30 pm
Thanks to Pocket Tactics, I was pointed to the game Big Pharma.  Its Spacechem meets Transport Tycoon meets Theme Hospital.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 07, 2015, 09:06:40 pm
Here's the article:

http://www.dailydot.com/technology/bing-porn-search-engine/

I believe there is nothing NSFW in the article itself (but maybe don't read it at work anyway), though some of the links are.

Interesting. Devilfinder is interesting, but it is probably riskier. My anti-malware software sometimes goes nuts. There's something to be said for Bing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 08, 2015, 12:02:27 pm
This makes me sad:  http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/05/opinions/marciano-america-go-metric/index.html

Quote
I readily admit that the decimal math of the metric system is easier, but not that it is in all ways better. The fact is that decimals are lousy at real-life division. Try cutting an orange or a pizza into five or ten slices. Two of the most basic fractions are the third and the quarter. A third and quarter of a foot are four and three inches; the same for a meter are 25cm and .33333-on-to-infinity cm.

They're also, you know, 1/4 and 1/3 meters.  Plus, how is four inches for a third of a foot in any way simpler than 25 cm for a quarter of a meter (or simply 0.25 m)?  Plus, 0.3~ (denoting repeating) cm is not a third of a meter, obviously. 

I think just the line "A third and quarter of a foot are four and three inches" should clue in anyone that these units are not very natural to use with base-10 numbers.

Quote
Think of trying to remember different units another way. Learning other languages isn't only a benefit in the international workplace, it makes you realize that there is more than one way to approach everything in this world. The same goes for learning two systems of measurement. It allows us to recognize that distance, weight, and volume can be measured and conceived of in more than one way. Those who have grown up with only the metric system find this an alien and unpleasant concept. But don't blame them -- they've only ever had to learn one system. In the 21st century, Americans have to learn two. That's an advantage that Lincoln Chafee should embrace.

This seems like an awfully contrived argument to me.  I'm not sure that the recognition that observables can be measured and conceived of in more than one way is lost by anyone that didn't grow up with American units.  However, a good deal of intuition is lost by not growing up with metric units, since our calculations (e.g., basic physics) are natural in metric, but we need to convert the numbers back to our units to picture in our head what the event would actually be like in life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 08, 2015, 12:11:22 pm
Well, it's not an advantage at all. I've had to memorize one transition point, where 2.54 cm is an inch. From there, I can figure out any measurement in either category, but it's pretty annoying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 08, 2015, 12:15:59 pm
This makes me sad:  http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/05/opinions/marciano-america-go-metric/index.html

Quote
I readily admit that the decimal math of the metric system is easier, but not that it is in all ways better. The fact is that decimals are lousy at real-life division. Try cutting an orange or a pizza into five or ten slices. Two of the most basic fractions are the third and the quarter. A third and quarter of a foot are four and three inches; the same for a meter are 25cm and .33333-on-to-infinity cm.

They're also, you know, 1/4 and 1/3 meters.  Plus, how is four inches for a third of a foot in any way simpler than 25 cm for a quarter of a meter (or simply 0.25 m)?  Plus, 0.3~ (denoting repeating) cm is not a third of a meter, obviously. 

I think just the line "A third and quarter of a foot are four and three inches" should clue in anyone that these units are not very natural to use with base-10 numbers.

Quote
Think of trying to remember different units another way. Learning other languages isn't only a benefit in the international workplace, it makes you realize that there is more than one way to approach everything in this world. The same goes for learning two systems of measurement. It allows us to recognize that distance, weight, and volume can be measured and conceived of in more than one way. Those who have grown up with only the metric system find this an alien and unpleasant concept. But don't blame them -- they've only ever had to learn one system. In the 21st century, Americans have to learn two. That's an advantage that Lincoln Chafee should embrace.

This seems like an awfully contrived argument to me.  I'm not sure that the recognition that observables can be measured and conceived of in more than one way is lost by anyone that didn't grow up with American units.  However, a good deal of intuition is lost by not growing up with metric units, since our calculations (e.g., basic physics) are natural in metric, but we need to convert the numbers back to our units to picture in our head what the event would actually be like in life.

People are idiots, and have difficulty changing how they do things; film at 11.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 08, 2015, 12:19:41 pm
That writer is a moron.

We should embrace our differences? Okay, yeah, that's fine when you're talking about preserving Indian culture or celebrating Oktoberfest, but standing out is a bad thing when moving something across multiple platforms. If you hire a Japanese engineering firm, then you want to make sure that both of you are on the same page. Being different is not good in this case; it makes you look ridiculous. I remember Adobe Acrobat v3 (or maybe v4) tried something different. I was editing a bookmark and used Ctrl plus the left and right arrow to navigate across words. After all, this is standard in anything Microsoft and many things not Microsoft. But Adobe just had to be different and have that key combination do something else. It wasn't clever. It wasn't good to be different. It just pissed me off because something I did out of habit was ruining my productivity.

If the world uses the same standard, then business and science can flow seamlessly across nations. So which standard should we convert to? As the author admits, metric is easier. The fraction part is dumb, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 08, 2015, 01:16:19 pm
Quote
Learning other languages isn't only a benefit in the international workplace, it makes you realize that there is more than one way to approach everything in this world. The same goes for learning two systems of measurement.

I don't know. I think this particular point isn't exactly bad. Being aware that some words we use are just abstract ways to describe something and are not necessarily the thing per se may actually be beneficial. I believe it may be particularly helpful for learning math in higher classes and accepting the concept that things are often matters of definition.

Not saying the point's good enough to validate the opinion, but i don't think every point made is worthless.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 08, 2015, 01:20:17 pm
I like using keyboard commands. I have a Mac. The Command key is right next to the spacebar, so you can simply press it unawkwardly with your thumb and not slow down. Every time I use a Windows computer, I always forget the command key is waaaaaay out there, and I press the Alt key next to the spacebar instead.

I know, first world problems, right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 08, 2015, 01:35:46 pm
Quote
Learning other languages isn't only a benefit in the international workplace, it makes you realize that there is more than one way to approach everything in this world. The same goes for learning two systems of measurement.

I don't know. I think this particular point isn't exactly bad. Being aware that some words we use are just abstract ways to describe something and are not necessarily the thing per se may actually be beneficial. I believe it may be particularly helpful for learning math in higher classes and accepting the concept that things are often matters of definition.

Not saying the point's good enough to validate the opinion, but i don't think every point made is worthless.

It's not like the fundamental idea is bad that learning about different ways to view/describe things has benefits, but I'm not so convinced that this lesson would be lost if we didn't have these units.  Even so, it's a pretty forced point.. if it were really a significant benefit, then why use standardized units at all?

Edit: What I mean is it's kind of like someone asked "what possible reasons can I come up with that not changing to metric is good?" and then really scraped the bottom of the barrel to come up with arguments.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 08, 2015, 01:38:56 pm
Quote
Learning other languages isn't only a benefit in the international workplace, it makes you realize that there is more than one way to approach everything in this world. The same goes for learning two systems of measurement.

I don't know. I think this particular point isn't exactly bad. Being aware that some words we use are just abstract ways to describe something and are not necessarily the thing per se may actually be beneficial. I believe it may be particularly helpful for learning math in higher classes and accepting the concept that things are often matters of definition.

Not saying the point's good enough to validate the opinion, but i don't think every point made is worthless.

It's not like the fundamental idea is bad that learning about different ways to view/describe things has benefits, but I'm not so convinced that this lesson would be lost if we didn't have these units.  Even so, it's a pretty forced point.. if it were really a significant benefit, then why use standardized units at all?

Edit: What I mean is it's kind of like someone asked "what possible reasons can I come up with that not changing to metric is good?" and then really scraped the bottom of the barrel to come up with arguments.

Every discipline should have its own system of measurement.  How else would we emphasize the particular approach to life taken by physics, chemistry or biology?  And when you get into higher level specialization within those fields, well, that's when units get really interesting...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 08, 2015, 01:56:36 pm
Quote
Learning other languages isn't only a benefit in the international workplace, it makes you realize that there is more than one way to approach everything in this world. The same goes for learning two systems of measurement.

I don't know. I think this particular point isn't exactly bad. Being aware that some words we use are just abstract ways to describe something and are not necessarily the thing per se may actually be beneficial. I believe it may be particularly helpful for learning math in higher classes and accepting the concept that things are often matters of definition.

Not saying the point's good enough to validate the opinion, but i don't think every point made is worthless.

It's not like the fundamental idea is bad that learning about different ways to view/describe things has benefits, but I'm not so convinced that this lesson would be lost if we didn't have these units.  Even so, it's a pretty forced point.. if it were really a significant benefit, then why use standardized units at all?

Edit: What I mean is it's kind of like someone asked "what possible reasons can I come up with that not changing to metric is good?" and then really scraped the bottom of the barrel to come up with arguments.

Every discipline should have its own system of measurement.  How else would we emphasize the particular approach to life taken by physics, chemistry or biology?  And when you get into higher level specialization within those fields, well, that's when units get really interesting...

This sounds like satire... but that's exactly how things work right now. So I am confused.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 08, 2015, 02:02:27 pm
It is?  I thought we all used metric/SI, even including American scientists.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 08, 2015, 02:20:05 pm
Have an example. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Units_of_energy)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 08, 2015, 03:22:54 pm
Have an example. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Units_of_energy)

Mostly still metric though, right? We might define units like eV that are handier, but they all still use SI prefixes and such.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 08, 2015, 03:26:18 pm
Have an example. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Units_of_energy)

Mostly still metric though, right? We might define units like eV that are handier, but they all still use SI prefixes and such.

Yes, of course, any other way (greater) madness lies.

EDIT: although then some bright mind comes up with the kWh/y, and you just have to weep.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 08, 2015, 04:30:51 pm
I like using keyboard commands. I have a Mac.

There's your problem.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 08, 2015, 11:23:36 pm
In other news, I subscribed to ClickHole's YouTube channel a while ago. Now YouTube thinks that BuzzFeed's channel is recommended for me.  :-\
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 09, 2015, 12:26:08 am
I like using keyboard commands. I have a Mac.

There's your problem.

Mac > Windows

Let WWIII begin.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 12:50:41 am
Oh look, witherweaver is complaining about another standard that is dominantly used in the United States (although it's definitely not American in origin).

Anyone surprised?  Anyone?

Care to add anything else to the self-loathing list?  Do you insist in saying petrol instead of gas(oline)?  Do you take the lift instead of the elevator?  Perhaps you'd prefer to drive on the left side of the road?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 09, 2015, 12:57:56 am
I like using keyboard commands. I have a Mac.

There's your problem.

Mac > Windows

Let WWIII begin.

Macs are designed to be computers that you can just purchase without having to think too hard, and then you can just boot them and they'll work just fine with the default settings and you can immediately start using it without having to worry about finding your way around the OS. A Mac is definitely a fine choice if that's what you're looking for. As a result however, some stuff for more advanced users (like keyboard commands  ::)) is somewhat neglected in Macs.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 12:58:38 am
Oh look, witherweaver is complaining about another standard that is dominantly used in the United States (although it's definitely not American in origin).

Anyone surprised?  Anyone?

Care to add anything else to the self-loathing list?  Do you insist in saying petrol instead of gas(oline)?  Do you take the lift instead of the elevator?  Perhaps you'd prefer to drive on the left side of the road?

Also, for the record, I live in a metric country that drives on the left.  The temperature is also measured in Celsius.  I've survived just fine, even though I grew up with inches, miles, and Fahrenheit.

I loathe the metric system and for all it stands.  It's a perfect emblem for all that is wrong in this world.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 12:59:24 am
I like using keyboard commands. I have a Mac.

There's your problem.

Mac > Windows

Let WWIII begin.

Macs are designed to be computers that you can just purchase without having to think too hard, and then you can just boot them and they'll work just fine with the default settings and you can immediately start using it without having to worry about finding your way around the OS. A Mac is definitely a fine choice if that's what you're looking for. As a result however, some stuff for more advanced users (like keyboard commands  ::)) is somewhat neglected in Macs.

I've been using keyboard commands forever on Mac computers.  Could it be that Windows users just never learned them on Macs (and vice versa)?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 09, 2015, 01:06:48 am
I like using keyboard commands. I have a Mac.

There's your problem.

Mac > Windows

Let WWIII begin.

Macs are designed to be computers that you can just purchase without having to think too hard, and then you can just boot them and they'll work just fine with the default settings and you can immediately start using it without having to worry about finding your way around the OS. A Mac is definitely a fine choice if that's what you're looking for. As a result however, some stuff for more advanced users (like keyboard commands  ::)) is somewhat neglected in Macs.

I've been using keyboard commands forever on Mac computers.  Could it be that Windows users just never learned them on Macs (and vice versa)?

So, what's the Mac keyboard command for, say, starting up Opera?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 01:14:38 am
So, what's the Mac keyboard command for, say, starting up Opera?

I don't think you can open an app with a keyboard command on a Mac without personally creating the shortcut.

If there are keyboard commands on my windows machine to open applications, I don't know any.

(By keyboad commands, I assume we are talking about a single-press combination to make something happen, such as CTRL-C for copy.  There is no CMD-O for Opera.  If there's a CTRL+C+H to open Chrome on Windows, someone please tell me.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 09, 2015, 01:20:32 am
So, what's the Mac keyboard command for, say, starting up Opera?

I don't think you can open an app with a keyboard command on a Mac without personally creating the shortcut.

If there are keyboard commands on my windows machine to open applications, I don't know any.

(By keyboad commands, I assume we are talking about a single-press combination to make something happen, such as CTRL-C for copy.  There is no CMD-O for Opera.  If there's a CTRL+C+H to open Chrome on Windows, someone please tell me.)

Windows key + number key opens the program pinned to your taskbar in the position indicated by the number. If the program is already open, it becomes active.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 01:34:52 am
So, what's the Mac keyboard command for, say, starting up Opera?

I don't think you can open an app with a keyboard command on a Mac without personally creating the shortcut.

If there are keyboard commands on my windows machine to open applications, I don't know any.

(By keyboad commands, I assume we are talking about a single-press combination to make something happen, such as CTRL-C for copy.  There is no CMD-O for Opera.  If there's a CTRL+C+H to open Chrome on Windows, someone please tell me.)

Windows key + number key opens the program pinned to your taskbar in the position indicated by the number. If the program is already open, it becomes active.

What do I hit to open an application that isn't pinned or open?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 09, 2015, 03:10:14 am
Oh look, witherweaver is complaining about another standard that is dominantly used in the United States (although it's definitely not American in origin).

Anyone surprised?  Anyone?

Care to add anything else to the self-loathing list?  Do you insist in saying petrol instead of gas(oline)?  Do you take the lift instead of the elevator?  Perhaps you'd prefer to drive on the left side of the road?

Also, for the record, I live in a metric country that drives on the left.  The temperature is also measured in Celsius.  I've survived just fine, even though I grew up with inches, miles, and Fahrenheit.

I loathe the metric system and for all it stands.  It's a perfect emblem for all that is wrong in this world.

Not sure how you meant it, but labelling Witherweaver as "self-loathing" seems both unfounded and incredibly rude.

Saying "metric country with Celcius" pretty much just means "not America".

I can't quite tell if you are aggressively patriotic to the point where America can do no wrong in your eyes, dead set on following traditions just because you're used to it, trolling, joking or merely exaggerating because why not.  What reason could you possibly have for *loathing* the metric system?  How is it reasonable at all to describe it as "a perfect emblem for all that is wrong in this world"?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 04:02:07 am
I didn't mean "self-loathing" rudely -- I see a series of posts thrashing "American" things as the bane of his existence while simultaneously knowing he's "American."

If that isn't self-loathing, my bad on word choice.

I think the patriotism argument is silly, as using inches and feet isn't inherently American -- came from the Brits, right?

The metric system is ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 09, 2015, 07:15:26 am
So, what's the Mac keyboard command for, say, starting up Opera?

I don't think you can open an app with a keyboard command on a Mac without personally creating the shortcut.

If there are keyboard commands on my windows machine to open applications, I don't know any.

(By keyboad commands, I assume we are talking about a single-press combination to make something happen, such as CTRL-C for copy.  There is no CMD-O for Opera.  If there's a CTRL+C+H to open Chrome on Windows, someone please tell me.)

Windows key + number key opens the program pinned to your taskbar in the position indicated by the number. If the program is already open, it becomes active.

What do I hit to open an application that isn't pinned or open?

You can hit Windows key + R and type in the application.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 09, 2015, 09:08:11 am
Oh look, witherweaver is complaining about another standard that is dominantly used in the United States (although it's definitely not American in origin).

Anyone surprised?  Anyone?

Care to add anything else to the self-loathing list?  Do you insist in saying petrol instead of gas(oline)?  Do you take the lift instead of the elevator?  Perhaps you'd prefer to drive on the left side of the road?

Also, for the record, I live in a metric country that drives on the left.  The temperature is also measured in Celsius.  I've survived just fine, even though I grew up with inches, miles, and Fahrenheit.

I loathe the metric system and for all it stands.  It's a perfect emblem for all that is wrong in this world.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not someone who likes to troll people. I really like arguing farily. But this post is just utterly ridiculous, and i admit that i had to laugh out audibly in the office.

The last sentence is especially nice. It basically implies that any part of the world but america is the wrong part of the world. A more absurd self-parody of patriotism is hardly possible.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 09, 2015, 09:11:51 am
Oh look, witherweaver is complaining about another standard that is dominantly used in the United States (although it's definitely not American in origin).

Anyone surprised?  Anyone?

Care to add anything else to the self-loathing list?  Do you insist in saying petrol instead of gas(oline)?  Do you take the lift instead of the elevator?  Perhaps you'd prefer to drive on the left side of the road?

Also, for the record, I live in a metric country that drives on the left.  The temperature is also measured in Celsius.  I've survived just fine, even though I grew up with inches, miles, and Fahrenheit.

I loathe the metric system and for all it stands.  It's a perfect emblem for all that is wrong in this world.

Are you really going to argue this?  I suppose you like using slugs instead of kilograms, too.  Maybe in a world where you never need to do computations involving anything, your system of measurement doesn't matter.  But it's silly---and extremely inconvenient---to have numbers expressed in base 10 but units not based off of 10. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 09, 2015, 09:30:12 am
I didn't mean "self-loathing" rudely -- I see a series of posts thrashing "American" things as the bane of his existence while simultaneously knowing he's "American."

Quote
I think the patriotism argument is silly, as using inches and feet isn't inherently American -- came from the Brits, right?

Aren't these two statements contradictory?

In any case, tying something as arbitrary as the temperature unit or the lane you drive on to your national identity seems reactionary. There is nothing inherently meaningful in these conventions.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on June 09, 2015, 09:46:31 am
I prefer my fuel prices in gallons. Anytime I'm buying liters, it costs significantly more.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on June 09, 2015, 09:53:27 am
So, what's the Mac keyboard command for, say, starting up Opera?

I don't think you can open an app with a keyboard command on a Mac without personally creating the shortcut.

If there are keyboard commands on my windows machine to open applications, I don't know any.

(By keyboad commands, I assume we are talking about a single-press combination to make something happen, such as CTRL-C for copy.  There is no CMD-O for Opera.  If there's a CTRL+C+H to open Chrome on Windows, someone please tell me.)

Windows key + number key opens the program pinned to your taskbar in the position indicated by the number. If the program is already open, it becomes active.

What do I hit to open an application that isn't pinned or open?

You can hit Windows key + R and type in the application.

You can do that on Mac. Command-Spacebar, then type the name of the application.

Keyboard shortcuts are plentiful on Mac.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 09, 2015, 10:22:09 am
I didn't mean "self-loathing" rudely -- I see a series of posts thrashing "American" things as the bane of his existence while simultaneously knowing he's "American."

If that isn't self-loathing, my bad on word choice.

I think the patriotism argument is silly, as using inches and feet isn't inherently American -- came from the Brits, right?

The metric system is ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying.

Lol, what?

Milli. Latin for 1000. There are 10 mm in a cm.

Centi. Latin for 100. There are 10 cm in a m.

Kilo is Greek for 1000. And it's literally 100 Meters in a Kilometer, even though they switch from Latin to Greek. Totally logical.

And a Kilometer is equal to 4.59×107 Planck masses. How could you not know this, you degenerate!?

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 09, 2015, 10:51:39 am
Equating Kilometers and masses is the kind of confusion inherent in the Imperial system, not metric/SI.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 09, 2015, 10:58:28 am
Lol, what?

Milli. Latin for 1000. There are 10 mm in a cm.

Centi. Latin for 100. There are 10 cm in a m.

Kilo is Greek for 1000. And it's literally 100 Meters in a Kilometer, even though they switch from Latin to Greek. Totally logical.

And a Kilometer is equal to 4.59×107 Planck masses. How could you not know this, you degenerate!?
LOL, WHAT?

Milli. Latin for 1000. There are 1000 mm in a m.  Hence the "milli".

Centi. Latin for 100. There are 100 cm in a m. (Fixed that outright mathematical error for you.)  Hence the "centi". (The thing there are 10 of in a meter is a decimeter, from the latin for 10.  A liter of volume is a cubic decimeter.)

Kilo is Greek for 1000. And it's literally NOT 100 Meters in a Kilometer, it's 1000.

And a Kilometer is equal to 4.59×107 Planck masses. How could you not know this, you degenerate!?  Kilometer is a unit of measure that describes length, which is not the same as mass. A Planck length can be described in meters, and there for kilometers, but a Planck mass cannot be equated with any number of meters or kilometers (it would convert, in SI units, to a number of kilograms).

Your post definitely made a point very well.  Though probably not the point you envisioned.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 09, 2015, 11:04:34 am
He meant 1 kg = 4.59*10^7 Planck mass units.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 09, 2015, 11:15:51 am
Although in HEP, there is this convention that says ħ and c equal 1. So distances, masses and time are regularly expressed in terms of energy. So much for dimensional analysis.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 09, 2015, 11:17:38 am
Lol, what?

Milli. Latin for 1000. There are 10 mm in a cm.

Centi. Latin for 100. There are 10 cm in a m.

Kilo is Greek for 1000. And it's literally 100 Meters in a Kilometer, even though they switch from Latin to Greek. Totally logical.

And a Kilometer is equal to 4.59×107 Planck masses. How could you not know this, you degenerate!?
LOL, WHAT?

Milli. Latin for 1000. There are 1000 mm in a m.  Hence the "milli".

Centi. Latin for 100. There are 100 cm in a m. (Fixed that outright mathematical error for you.)  Hence the "centi". (The thing there are 10 of in a meter is a decimeter, from the latin for 10.  A liter of volume is a cubic decimeter.)

Kilo is Greek for 1000. And it's literally NOT 100 Meters in a Kilometer, it's 1000.

And a Kilometer is equal to 4.59×107 Planck masses. How could you not know this, you degenerate!?  Kilometer is a unit of measure that describes length, which is not the same as mass. A Planck length can be described in meters, and there for kilometers, but a Planck mass cannot be equated with any number of meters or kilometers (it would convert, in SI units, to a number of kilograms).

Your post definitely made a point very well.  Though probably not the point you envisioned.

I don't think you got the same point I was trying to make. :p
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on June 09, 2015, 11:18:17 am
I think seprix was trying to troll ash with his post and deliberately put errors in it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 09, 2015, 11:19:19 am
I think seprix was trying to troll ash with his post and deliberately put errors in it.

If you want to explain the joke-

OH WAIT THIS IS F.DS

(https://i.imgflip.com/mnq1x.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 09, 2015, 11:35:33 am
Planck units aren't SI though; they're a rescaling based on the size of certain physical constants. (It normalizes them to one.). More convenient in certain cases, but you wouldn't use them in most day-to-day measurements.  "Is that interesection 1*10^35 Planck lengths way or 1.0000......1*10^35 Planck lengths away?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 09, 2015, 11:45:41 am
I loathe the metric system and for all it stands.  It's a perfect emblem for all that is wrong in this world.

I have no idea how to react to this.  I have to assume you're not a moron.  Are you just trolling?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 09, 2015, 11:45:46 am
He meant 1 kg = 4.59*10^7 Planck mass units.
That could be, and makes me wonder if he was being arch, given that NOTHING in the post was accurate.

I submit that if he doesn't understand the difference between length and mass, or simply can't distinguish between the words kilogram and kilometer, then his problem is not with the metric system.  Further, if he doesn't actually understand the fundamental relationships between units and their subunits, he is not qualified to pass judgement on how good or bad the metric system is.

Edit:  I've now read the newest posts, and I get he was trolling.  Sorry Seprix, I should have known better, given your posting history, and the quality of your arguments heretofore, on a variety of subjects.

Perhaps I am still reacting to the following from yesterday.  I'm doing some part-time bartending, and my boss, while consulting with a potential client on renting one of our facilities for a wedding, yells from across the room "how many glasses of champagne can we get from a bottle?"  I literally laughed out loud, and said "I suspect that depends on the size of the glasses you are using".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 09, 2015, 11:47:51 am
It's not so much that the length of a foot and a meter are different.  You need some length, so fine.  It's that there aren't 10 inches in a foot---why on earth (or any other planet) not?  "A third of a foot is four inches and a fourth of a foot is three inches" provides some nice insight into twelveness but is indicative of why this standard is weird.  If we uses a base-12 number system, fine.  But we don't.  So why make things intentionally more difficult?

Notably, metric isn't perfect---hours are bad units if you take seconds to be standard.  Or, seconds are bad if you're thinking of dividing  day.

The other point is that Imperial units contain inherent  confusion in types of quantities, specifically mass and force. 

Also, that we have these other units (like Planck units or eV's) shows that the argument that switching to metric would somehow make us miss out on the recognition of perspective has no merit.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on June 09, 2015, 12:22:37 pm
I'm not sure ash is a moron, I feel more like I don't get his logic/reasoning.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 09, 2015, 12:22:54 pm
The metric system is ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying.

I'm trying to figure out how metric is more ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying than imperial.

Those terms are subjective, so I cannot fault someone for saying something is ghastly, but is the implication that it's more ghastly than imperial? If so, then how?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 09, 2015, 12:25:51 pm
I loathe the metric system and for all it stands.  It's a perfect emblem for all that is wrong in this world.

I have no idea how to react to this.  I have to assume you're not a moron.  Are you just trolling?

I propose a new "Ash" unit, which is a standardization of the number of inflammatory comments that are contained in a given post.  A representative (pick one for standardization) post from Ashersky defines one Ash.  Your average f.ds post is closer to 0 Ash's than 1 Ash.  The gunpowder thread was clocking around 20 Ash's at one point.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on June 09, 2015, 12:31:27 pm
I loathe the metric system and for all it stands.  It's a perfect emblem for all that is wrong in this world.

I have no idea how to react to this.  I have to assume you're not a moron.  Are you just trolling?

I propose a new "Ash" unit, which is a standardization of the number of inflammatory comments that are contained in a given post.  A representative (pick one for standardization) post from Ashersky defines one Ash.  Your average f.ds post is closer to 0 Ash's than 1 Ash.  The gunpowder thread was clocking around 20 Ash's at one point.

"Ashes", not "Ash's".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 09, 2015, 12:31:48 pm
I didn't mean "self-loathing" rudely -- I see a series of posts thrashing "American" things as the bane of his existence while simultaneously knowing he's "American."

If that isn't self-loathing, my bad on word choice.

I think the patriotism argument is silly, as using inches and feet isn't inherently American -- came from the Brits, right?

The metric system is ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying.

As pacovf pointed out, it's contradictory to call Witherweaver a self-loathing American and then say it's not about patriotism.

What is confusing or obtuse about metric?  Pretty much the whole world uses it, and you apparently get along fine living in that world outside the USA.  The prefixes are all easy to understand.  The only thing annoying really is that you're not used to it, which isn't an issue with metric itself.

To put it in Creative Writing terms, this is like saying that non-English languages are an emblem of all that is wrong in the world because you don't understand them.  It's actually worse than that because metric is an international standard with logical roots, unlike language.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 09, 2015, 01:05:56 pm
The best argument against the metric system I ever heard was that it was invented by the French.

I admit that's nearly enough to make me want to switch to anything else. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 09, 2015, 01:16:09 pm
The best argument against the metric system I ever heard was that it was invented by the French.

I admit that's nearly enough to make me want to switch to anything else. :P

Even better/worse, it's instrinsically linked to the French Revolution. Everyone using the metric system has blood on their hands !
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 09, 2015, 01:21:05 pm
The best argument against the metric system I ever heard was that it was invented by the French.

I admit that's nearly enough to make me want to switch to anything else. :P

Even better/worse, it's instrinsically linked to the French Revolution. Everyone using the metric system has blood on their hands !

LITRES of blood.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 09, 2015, 02:39:39 pm
The best argument against the metric system I ever heard was that it was invented by the French.

I admit that's nearly enough to make me want to switch to anything else. :P

Alors, petit homme, c'est trop! Nous francais sont les plus sympathiques personnes du monde! Et si tu ne comprends ca, je croi que tu a besoin que je te passe ŕ tabac avec une affiche gigantesque d'art harem!

No, actually, i don't see where all this hate for the french comes from. They make amazing cheeze, are a grande nation of comics and have an impressive cultural heritage. And they invented french freedom fries*.

*Unpatriotic words were changed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 09, 2015, 02:52:05 pm
The best argument against the metric system I ever heard was that it was invented by the French.

I admit that's nearly enough to make me want to switch to anything else. :P

Alors, petit homme, c'est trop! Nous francais sont les plus sympathiques personnes du monde! Et si tu ne comprends ca, je croi que tu a besoin que je te passe ŕ tabac avec une affiche gigantesque d'art harem!

No, actually, i don't see where all this hate for the french comes from. They make amazing cheeze, are a grande nation of comics and have an impressive cultural heritage. And they invented french freedom fries*.

*Unpatriotic words were changed.

Oh don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the French, other than the fact that they are French.

Parisians, on the other hand...

You might need to brush up on your French though :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on June 09, 2015, 03:16:43 pm
Here Tables, this puzzle is partially dedicated to you: http://sudgylacmoe.blogspot.com/2015/06/puzzle-44-boxing-match-3.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GendoIkari on June 09, 2015, 03:30:54 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1S32ISJJVs
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 09, 2015, 03:43:37 pm
You might need to brush up on your French though :P

I have become rather rusty. You just never speak french if you are not from/in a french-speaking Country. :-\
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 09, 2015, 04:45:47 pm
Here Tables, this puzzle is partially dedicated to you: http://sudgylacmoe.blogspot.com/2015/06/puzzle-44-boxing-match-3.html

Solved (http://imgur.com/mGtUhmp).

I've even coloured blue when I used this rule, and numbered the order I deduced things in (note that 2 only refers to part of the line below, it got finished off by box 9). The place it has to be used is box 8, since without the rule you could just extend box 2 and have box 8 as a square as a valid alternative solution

Edit: Just noticed I repeated a number. Not going to re-upload. Small box 5 came first, big box 5 should be 6 and so on
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GendoIkari on June 09, 2015, 05:22:10 pm
Here Tables, this puzzle is partially dedicated to you: http://sudgylacmoe.blogspot.com/2015/06/puzzle-44-boxing-match-3.html

Solved (http://imgur.com/mGtUhmp).

I've even coloured blue when I used this rule, and numbered the order I deduced things in (note that 2 only refers to part of the line below, it got finished off by box 9). The place it has to be used is box 8, since without the rule you could just extend box 2 and have box 8 as a square as a valid alternative solution

Edit: Just noticed I repeated a number. Not going to re-upload. Small box 5 came first, big box 5 should be 6 and so on

Confused, where are the rules to this puzzle?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 09, 2015, 05:25:28 pm
Here Tables, this puzzle is partially dedicated to you: http://sudgylacmoe.blogspot.com/2015/06/puzzle-44-boxing-match-3.html

Solved (http://imgur.com/mGtUhmp).

I've even coloured blue when I used this rule, and numbered the order I deduced things in (note that 2 only refers to part of the line below, it got finished off by box 9). The place it has to be used is box 8, since without the rule you could just extend box 2 and have box 8 as a square as a valid alternative solution

Edit: Just noticed I repeated a number. Not going to re-upload. Small box 5 came first, big box 5 should be 6 and so on

Confused, where are the rules to this puzzle?

http://sudgylacmoe.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/rules-boxing-match.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on June 09, 2015, 06:13:37 pm
Here Tables, this puzzle is partially dedicated to you: http://sudgylacmoe.blogspot.com/2015/06/puzzle-44-boxing-match-3.html

Solved (http://imgur.com/mGtUhmp).

I've even coloured blue when I used this rule, and numbered the order I deduced things in (note that 2 only refers to part of the line below, it got finished off by box 9). The place it has to be used is box 8, since without the rule you could just extend box 2 and have box 8 as a square as a valid alternative solution

Edit: Just noticed I repeated a number. Not going to re-upload. Small box 5 came first, big box 5 should be 6 and so on

When making it, I also used it on box 3.  I'm not sure how you figured that out without it...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on June 09, 2015, 10:24:44 pm
Although in HEP, there is this convention that says ħ and c equal 1. So distances, masses and time are regularly expressed in terms of energy. So much for dimensional analysis.
And in GR, c = G = 1 for similar reasons, although it's typical to put everything in terms of length.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 10:36:55 pm
I get the feeling that half of f.ds things I'm a moron; 99% of the other half things I'm an idiot.

The remainder (whatever that may be) just doesn't understand me, but might give me the benefit of the doubt.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 10:44:07 pm
I didn't mean "self-loathing" rudely -- I see a series of posts thrashing "American" things as the bane of his existence while simultaneously knowing he's "American."

Quote
I think the patriotism argument is silly, as using inches and feet isn't inherently American -- came from the Brits, right?

Aren't these two statements contradictory?

In any case, tying something as arbitrary as the temperature unit or the lane you drive on to your national identity seems reactionary. There is nothing inherently meaningful in these conventions.

I don't think so.

My point was that Witherweaver was bashing an "American" thing that he hates (Imperial units), but that Imperial units are actually British in origin.  This comes after he was pointedly bashing another "American" thing that he hates (punctuation within quotation marks), which was ALSO shown to not be American by definition.  So, he posts twice about how much he hates specifically American things, and neither of them are actually American.

For the second quote, I was responding the to accusation that I was being patriotic.  I was pointing out that I can't be patriotic about this if they aren't even American things.  There's zero patriotism involved in this discussion.

So, those two quotes, regardless of them being juxtaposed against each other, aren't about the same thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 10:55:21 pm
The metric system is ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying.

I'm trying to figure out how metric is more ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying than imperial.

Those terms are subjective, so I cannot fault someone for saying something is ghastly, but is the implication that it's more ghastly than imperial? If so, then how?

21.4mU/l
11.2pmol/l

Can someone equate this to numbers I understand?  Remember, this is SI, not Imperial.  I have no frame of reference for this -- so what if it's base 10?  Even if I know how many milliliters are in a liter, that doesn't help me at all.

Metric is no easier than imperial.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on June 09, 2015, 10:58:22 pm
In the sense that there is no good reason to be base 10-centric, metric isn't better than imperial. Some SI units are defined very conveniently though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 09, 2015, 11:05:40 pm
My point was that Witherweaver was bashing an "American" thing that he hates (Imperial units), but that Imperial units are actually British in origin.  This comes after he was pointedly bashing another "American" thing that he hates (punctuation within quotation marks), which was ALSO shown to not be American by definition.  So, he posts twice about how much he hates specifically American things, and neither of them are actually American

I am pretty sure that Witherweaver wasn't bashing those conventions because he thought they were American, but because he genuinely dislikes them (for whatever reason that you disagree with). To be completely fair, you were the first one to bring nationalisms into the discussion.

Quote
For the second quote, I was responding the to accusation that I was being patriotic.  I was pointing out that I can't be patriotic about this if they aren't even American things.  There's zero patriotism involved in this discussion.

Fair enough. Why do you like the Imperial System then? What is so wrong with the metric system?

Please don't answer that the latter is confusing, because which one is more confusing only depends on how often one uses each.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 09, 2015, 11:39:44 pm
The metric system is ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying.

I'm trying to figure out how metric is more ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying than imperial.

Those terms are subjective, so I cannot fault someone for saying something is ghastly, but is the implication that it's more ghastly than imperial? If so, then how?

21.4mU/l
11.2pmol/l

Can someone equate this to numbers I understand?  Remember, this is SI, not Imperial.  I have no frame of reference for this -- so what if it's base 10?  Even if I know how many milliliters are in a liter, that doesn't help me at all.

Metric is no easier than imperial.

It's easier to convert, and people born into measuring with metric units can envision them in that way. If you knew metric units when you were born in contrast to imperial, you'd hate imperial units. It has nothing to do with actual use and everything to do with what you are familiar with due to social constructs in the region you were born in.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 11:51:06 pm
The metric system is ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying.

I'm trying to figure out how metric is more ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying than imperial.

Those terms are subjective, so I cannot fault someone for saying something is ghastly, but is the implication that it's more ghastly than imperial? If so, then how?

21.4mU/l
11.2pmol/l

Can someone equate this to numbers I understand?  Remember, this is SI, not Imperial.  I have no frame of reference for this -- so what if it's base 10?  Even if I know how many milliliters are in a liter, that doesn't help me at all.

Metric is no easier than imperial.

It's easier to convert, and people born into measuring with metric units can envision them in that way. If you knew metric units when you were born in contrast to imperial, you'd hate imperial units. It has nothing to do with actual use and everything to do with what you are familiar with due to social constructs in the region you were born in.

So you "know" how much each of those measurements is just by looking at them?

You made a nice statement, but ignored my example.

I'm also not sure what's "easier" to convert -- as you said, it's just what you are used to, right?  If duodecimal is something you are more familiar with, it'll be "easier" to convert than using the metric system.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 09, 2015, 11:54:00 pm
To be completely fair, you were the first one to bring nationalisms into the discussion.

To be completely unfair, you mean?  Witherweaver called them "American" units, and also mentioned "growing up with them."  Here's the quote (bold is mine):

This makes me sad:  http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/05/opinions/marciano-america-go-metric/index.html

Quote
I readily admit that the decimal math of the metric system is easier, but not that it is in all ways better. The fact is that decimals are lousy at real-life division. Try cutting an orange or a pizza into five or ten slices. Two of the most basic fractions are the third and the quarter. A third and quarter of a foot are four and three inches; the same for a meter are 25cm and .33333-on-to-infinity cm.

They're also, you know, 1/4 and 1/3 meters.  Plus, how is four inches for a third of a foot in any way simpler than 25 cm for a quarter of a meter (or simply 0.25 m)?  Plus, 0.3~ (denoting repeating) cm is not a third of a meter, obviously. 

I think just the line "A third and quarter of a foot are four and three inches" should clue in anyone that these units are not very natural to use with base-10 numbers.

Quote
Think of trying to remember different units another way. Learning other languages isn't only a benefit in the international workplace, it makes you realize that there is more than one way to approach everything in this world. The same goes for learning two systems of measurement. It allows us to recognize that distance, weight, and volume can be measured and conceived of in more than one way. Those who have grown up with only the metric system find this an alien and unpleasant concept. But don't blame them -- they've only ever had to learn one system. In the 21st century, Americans have to learn two. That's an advantage that Lincoln Chafee should embrace.

This seems like an awfully contrived argument to me.  I'm not sure that the recognition that observables can be measured and conceived of in more than one way is lost by anyone that didn't grow up with American units.  However, a good deal of intuition is lost by not growing up with metric units, since our calculations (e.g., basic physics) are natural in metric, but we need to convert the numbers back to our units to picture in our head what the event would actually be like in life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 09, 2015, 11:56:20 pm
I'm also not sure what's "easier" to convert -- as you said, it's just what you are used to, right?  If duodecimal is something you are more familiar with, it'll be "easier" to convert than using the metric system.

It's what you're used to. Nothing else really matters. Metric systems are just 'easier' to memorize for youth.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 10, 2015, 12:19:43 am
To be completely fair, you were the first one to bring nationalisms into the discussion.

To be completely unfair, you mean?  Witherweaver called them "American" units, and also mentioned "growing up with them."  Here's the quote (bold is mine):

He called them American because that's where those units are used. That's very different from tying them to nationalisms.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 12:25:13 am
Fair enough. Why do you like the Imperial System then? What is so wrong with the metric system?

I think the "difficulty" issue of measurement systems is moot -- the ability to learn a system is dependent on the learner, not the system itself.  If someone is better at dividing by 12 than by 10, that's not the system of measurement's fault.  It's the same as learning languages -- I think Japanese is insanely easy as a language to learn, but found Italian very difficult; many people would disagree with me on that.  But neither of us would be wrong, we just learn differently and/or are better at different things.

So I think any argument for either system of measurement that is based on "difficulty" is irrelevant.  It has nothing to do with the relative merits of the system, just the merits of the users.

So, when you remove the users from the equation, and try to appreciate each system in a vacuum, it becomes a subjective discussion about what any one person finds pleasing, right?

I think the Imperial System is much, much more regal, for example.  Metric feels very pedestrian and bland.  If measurement systems were ice cream, Imperial is chocolate and Metric is cardboard.  Imperial presents the more interesting set of vocabulary, with words that fit oddly in the mouth like "quart" and "pint" (which, by the way, is how we measure ice cream).  Only in the imperial can you see for leagues and leagues or lose yourself in the countless fathoms of the deep ocean.  In Imperial you can have a gill of water, a rood of forestland, or drachm of poison.

Really, if King Lear had been poisoned by a daughter, would you rather hear that she had slipped a drachm of poison in his wine, or that...

As the old king clutched his chest, he looked around and saw Goneril grinning maniacally...she had slipped 3.5516328125 ml of poison in his wine...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 12:26:06 am
I'm also not sure what's "easier" to convert -- as you said, it's just what you are used to, right?  If duodecimal is something you are more familiar with, it'll be "easier" to convert than using the metric system.

It's what you're used to. Nothing else really matters. Metric systems are just 'easier' to memorize for youth.

You cannot back that statement up with proof.  Has there been a scientific study that confirms one is easier to learn than the other?

Also, that doesn't matter at all, and has nothing to do with this argument.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 12:27:52 am
To be completely fair, you were the first one to bring nationalisms into the discussion.

To be completely unfair, you mean?  Witherweaver called them "American" units, and also mentioned "growing up with them."  Here's the quote (bold is mine):

He called them American because that's where those units are used. That's very different from tying them to nationalisms.

But that's not what those units are, specifically.  He wasn't specifying that he meant the "United States customary units" of measurement, which vary slightly from true imperial.  He was clearly (to me) talking about the imperial versus metric.  Using the word "American," then, was a statement attempting to nationalize (incorrectly) something he feels is inferior.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 10, 2015, 12:34:46 am
(https://fusiondotnet.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/murica-1.gif?h=300&w=400)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 12:39:17 am
So, what's the Mac keyboard command for, say, starting up Opera?

I don't think you can open an app with a keyboard command on a Mac without personally creating the shortcut.

If there are keyboard commands on my windows machine to open applications, I don't know any.

(By keyboad commands, I assume we are talking about a single-press combination to make something happen, such as CTRL-C for copy.  There is no CMD-O for Opera.  If there's a CTRL+C+H to open Chrome on Windows, someone please tell me.)

Windows key + number key opens the program pinned to your taskbar in the position indicated by the number. If the program is already open, it becomes active.

What do I hit to open an application that isn't pinned or open?

You can hit Windows key + R and type in the application.

So I did Windows key + R and then typed "calculator" and it didn't work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 10, 2015, 12:40:10 am
Fair enough. Why do you like the Imperial System then? What is so wrong with the metric system?

I think the "difficulty" issue of measurement systems is moot -- the ability to learn a system is dependent on the learner, not the system itself.  If someone is better at dividing by 12 than by 10, that's not the system of measurement's fault.  It's the same as learning languages -- I think Japanese is insanely easy as a language to learn, but found Italian very difficult; many people would disagree with me on that.  But neither of us would be wrong, we just learn differently and/or are better at different things.

So I think any argument for either system of measurement that is based on "difficulty" is irrelevant.  It has nothing to do with the relative merits of the system, just the merits of the users.

So, when you remove the users from the equation, and try to appreciate each system in a vacuum, it becomes a subjective discussion about what any one person finds pleasing, right?

I think the Imperial System is much, much more regal, for example.  Metric feels very pedestrian and bland.  If measurement systems were ice cream, Imperial is chocolate and Metric is cardboard.  Imperial presents the more interesting set of vocabulary, with words that fit oddly in the mouth like "quart" and "pint" (which, by the way, is how we measure ice cream).  Only in the imperial can you see for leagues and leagues or lose yourself in the countless fathoms of the deep ocean.  In Imperial you can have a gill of water, a rood of forestland, or drachm of poison.

Really, if King Lear had been poisoned by a daughter, would you rather hear that she had slipped a drachm of poison in his wine, or that...

As the old king clutched his chest, he looked around and saw Goneril grinning maniacally...she had slipped 3.5516328125 ml of poison in his wine...

I don't agree with some parts of your reasoning, but at least now I understand where you come from. Thanks for the explanation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 10, 2015, 02:09:50 am
The metric system is ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying.

I'm trying to figure out how metric is more ghastly, confusing, obtuse, and annoying than imperial.

Those terms are subjective, so I cannot fault someone for saying something is ghastly, but is the implication that it's more ghastly than imperial? If so, then how?

21.4mU/l
11.2pmol/l

Can someone equate this to numbers I understand?  Remember, this is SI, not Imperial.  I have no frame of reference for this -- so what if it's base 10?  Even if I know how many milliliters are in a liter, that doesn't help me at all.

Metric is no easier than imperial.

For obscure units like those imperial is no easier than metric either.  Or can you give me imperial units for those measurements that you understand?  Is there even an Imperial unit like mol?  lbmol, apparently?

I'm also not sure what's "easier" to convert -- as you said, it's just what you are used to, right?  If duodecimal is something you are more familiar with, it'll be "easier" to convert than using the metric system.

Are there actually people who are more familiar with duodecimal?  I find it highly doubtful when most languages (including English) use a decimal numeral system.

Fair enough. Why do you like the Imperial System then? What is so wrong with the metric system?

I think the "difficulty" issue of measurement systems is moot -- the ability to learn a system is dependent on the learner, not the system itself.  If someone is better at dividing by 12 than by 10, that's not the system of measurement's fault.  It's the same as learning languages -- I think Japanese is insanely easy as a language to learn, but found Italian very difficult; many people would disagree with me on that.  But neither of us would be wrong, we just learn differently and/or are better at different things.

So I think any argument for either system of measurement that is based on "difficulty" is irrelevant.  It has nothing to do with the relative merits of the system, just the merits of the users.

So, when you remove the users from the equation, and try to appreciate each system in a vacuum, it becomes a subjective discussion about what any one person finds pleasing, right?

I think the Imperial System is much, much more regal, for example.  Metric feels very pedestrian and bland.  If measurement systems were ice cream, Imperial is chocolate and Metric is cardboard.  Imperial presents the more interesting set of vocabulary, with words that fit oddly in the mouth like "quart" and "pint" (which, by the way, is how we measure ice cream).  Only in the imperial can you see for leagues and leagues or lose yourself in the countless fathoms of the deep ocean.  In Imperial you can have a gill of water, a rood of forestland, or drachm of poison.

Really, if King Lear had been poisoned by a daughter, would you rather hear that she had slipped a drachm of poison in his wine, or that...

As the old king clutched his chest, he looked around and saw Goneril grinning maniacally...she had slipped 3.5516328125 ml of poison in his wine...

But nobody is better at dividing by 12 than by 10, unless we are using base 12.  That is a completely legitimate reason to prefer metric, and it's why the entire scientific community uses it.  It's also why your statement that metric is "confusing [and] obtuse" is itself incredibly confusing and obtuse.

And while there's no way I can argue which system sounds more regal to you, I find it an odd argument.  Dost thou wish to return to middle English?  Even if you do, I still don't see how it justifies saying that metric is an "emblem for all that is wrong in this world".  Was I correct in my first response that you were exaggerating?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 10, 2015, 02:32:16 am
Here Tables, this puzzle is partially dedicated to you: http://sudgylacmoe.blogspot.com/2015/06/puzzle-44-boxing-match-3.html

Solved (http://imgur.com/mGtUhmp).

I've even coloured blue when I used this rule, and numbered the order I deduced things in (note that 2 only refers to part of the line below, it got finished off by box 9). The place it has to be used is box 8, since without the rule you could just extend box 2 and have box 8 as a square as a valid alternative solution

Edit: Just noticed I repeated a number. Not going to re-upload. Small box 5 came first, big box 5 should be 6 and so on

When making it, I also used it on box 3.  I'm not sure how you figured that out without it...

Uhh maybe I did use it there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 02:58:33 am
For obscure units like those imperial is no easier than metric either.  Or can you give me imperial units for those measurements that you understand?  Is there even an Imperial unit like mol?  lbmol, apparently?

I'm not arguing that imperial is easier, just that metric isn't (see above, where I say "no easier" instead of "harder").  I was just illustrating that equating "metric" with "easy" is wrong.

Are there actually people who are more familiar with duodecimal?  I find it highly doubtful when most languages (including English) use a decimal numeral system.

Maybe?  It's impossible to say with any amount of certainty.  The inventors of the current system of time seemed to prefer it.  I'd disagree with your statement that English is decimal, when it's roots are actually dozenal.  (Why do you think the teens start at 13?)

But nobody is better at dividing by 12 than by 10, unless we are using base 12.  That is a completely legitimate reason to prefer metric, and it's why the entire scientific community uses it.  It's also why your statement that metric is "confusing [and] obtuse" is itself incredibly confusing and obtuse.

And while there's no way I can argue which system sounds more regal to you, I find it an odd argument.  Dost thou wish to return to middle English?  Even if you do, I still don't see how it justifies saying that metric is an "emblem for all that is wrong in this world".  Was I correct in my first response that you were exaggerating?

At least some scientists have argued for a dozenal system, although they are in the minority.  And if you prefer dividing by 10, that IS in fact a legitimate reason to prefer metric to imperial.  Then again, I'm not arguing that anyone should change from metric to imperial.

As for my previous posts -- was I exaggerating?  It's possible that there was some hyperbole implemented in making my stance known.  But do I find the metric system despicable?  Absolutely.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 10, 2015, 06:48:28 am
We use 10-based numbers for 90% of everyday math. Having a 10-based measurement system seems to go nicely with that.
If we used hex-numbers in everyday live, i'd make the same point in favour of hex-based measurement and against the metric system. We don't, though. Having our standard numbers and measurement using the same base means you only have to learn one system. And i'd argue it's pretty close to trivial to show that learning one system is easier than learning two systems.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 10, 2015, 07:27:33 am
I think the "difficulty" issue of measurement systems is moot -- the ability to learn a system is dependent on the learner, not the system itself.  If someone is better at dividing by 12 than by 10, that's not the system of measurement's fault.  It's the same as learning languages -- I think Japanese is insanely easy as a language to learn, but found Italian very difficult; many people would disagree with me on that.  But neither of us would be wrong, we just learn differently and/or are better at different things.

I'm under the impression that Japanese is actually simpler than Italian, though. Japanese has less in common with English, which is why a lot of English speakers might find it more difficult to learn. It most certainly has been easier for me to learn than any Indo-European language I've tried to learn (although a part of that might be that Finnish has more in common with Japanese, but obviously a couple of coincidences between two languages can't be compared to two languages actually being in the same language family).

So I did Windows key + R and then typed "calculator" and it didn't work.

It would work with "calc.exe" instead of "calculator". If the program is in your start screen/start menu though, then you can just press the Windows key to open the start screen/start menu, type in a couple of the first letters and press Enter.

Anyway, the point is that Windows has built-in keyboard shortcuts for the programs that you're using the most. AFAIK, Mac doesn't. That's a pretty huge deal if you like using keyboard shortcuts. I also think that the keyboard shortcuts that actually exist in both operating systems are generally better in Windows, but that might be just because I'm more used to the Windows version.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 08:21:15 am
We use 10-based numbers for 90% of everyday math. Having a 10-based measurement system seems to go nicely with that.
If we used hex-numbers in everyday live, i'd make the same point in favour of hex-based measurement and against the metric system. We don't, though. Having our standard numbers and measurement using the same base means you only have to learn one system. And i'd argue it's pretty close to trivial to show that learning one system is easier than learning two systems.

How, exactly, would you show that?

Remember, we are talking about the diverse population of Earth, and the many languages, modes of learning, etc. that come with it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on June 10, 2015, 08:26:07 am
We use 10-based numbers for 90% of everyday math. Having a 10-based measurement system seems to go nicely with that.
If we used hex-numbers in everyday live, i'd make the same point in favour of hex-based measurement and against the metric system. We don't, though. Having our standard numbers and measurement using the same base means you only have to learn one system. And i'd argue it's pretty close to trivial to show that learning one system is easier than learning two systems.

How, exactly, would you show that?

Remember, we are talking about the diverse population of Earth, and the many languages, modes of learning, etc. that come with it.
What are you questioning here? His point is just that:

1) Everyone in the world uses base-10
2) Therefore a base-ten measurement system makes sense.

Why everyone in the world should use base-10, no good reason, but since we do we should make our measurement system accordingly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 10, 2015, 08:51:50 am

21.4mU/l
11.2pmol/l

Can someone equate this to numbers I understand?  Remember, this is SI, not Imperial.  I have no frame of reference for this -- so what if it's base 10?  Even if I know how many milliliters are in a liter, that doesn't help me at all.

Metric is no easier than imperial.

I can't tell if your request is about the quantities themselves or the units, which is unfortunate, as the units are not metric per se, but specialized to scientific fields.  Nonetheless, here is an attempt to help you out.  Both of these are concentrations, as they are mass per volume (assuming the lowercase "l" means liters, which should actually be represented by "L").  The first, mU/l [sic] is milliunits per liter (mU/L) , and is used in the medical testing industry. Although you can visually equate the volume of a liter (a cube 10 cm, or about 4 inches, on each edge), you can't equate this mass to anything specific without more information.  The "U" here is a variable standing in for whatever the standard unit of mass would be for the specific test being conducted (e.g., Bodansky unit, Svedberg unit, Somogyi unit), and the "milli" means 1/1000th of that.  In medical terms, a "unit" is an amount of a biologically active agent (as a drug or antigen) required to produce a specific result under strictly controlled conditions.

The second example is picomoles per liter. A mole is a chemistry concept. It is that mass of a substance that contains Avagodro's number (6.02 times 10^23) of molecules or atoms. A picomole is one-trillionth of a mole.  So depending on the substance (e.g., salt vs. sugar), a picomole would vary in mass.

So neither term is likely to equate to something that is particularly obvious or helpful, but for these two examples that is more about education and field of work than any shortcoming in the measurement system.  One could provide concentrations in other specialized (and equally difficult-to-visualize) units too, like 3.6 drams/gill.  Such a number likely doesn't equate to anything that makes sense to most people (especially if you are not told whether the dram in question is avoirdupois or apothecary).

I think the folks that are arguing in favor of the metric system would agree that it is a system.  It follows the same rules for dividing units into subunits (or multiplying units into superunits).  Imperial doesn't.  It's all over the map.  We divide our volume unit (gallon) into four quarts, but divide our quarts into two pints, then our pints into two cups, but then, wait for it, our cups into 8 fluid ounces. But our unit of length, a yard, we divide by 3, then by 12, then by fractions.  Mmm, wonder what happened to the 4 and 2 and 8 system? For mass, we need a changeup.  What haven't we tried? Ah, let's divide a pound into 16 pieces. There, all nice and tidy.  And don't get me started on superunits.  1760 yards in a mile, but 2000 pounds in a ton.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 10, 2015, 09:07:08 am
Sure, people who are used to one system of measurement will be able to work with that system more easily. I can visualize 18 inches, but I would need to convert 75 centimeters. I would feel comfortable carrying a backpack that was 10 pounds, but I'd have to think twice if the backpack was 8 kilograms. Familiarity is a big deal, and I think that's why America cannot quite fully adopt the metric system (and those countries that have took so long).

But even as someone who lives his life by the Imperial Standard, I can see how much easier metric would be to convert. If for whatever reason I need to know how many inches are in 1/4 mile, I have to pull out a calculator to divide (5280 feet to a mile; 12 inches to a foot) before coming up with 15,840. On the other hand, if I need to know how many centimeters are in 1/4 kilometer, I don't need a calculator. I know that 1000 meters are in a kilometer and that 100 centimeters are in a meter. I easily can work out that there are 100,000 centimeters in a kilometer. Therefore 1/4 km = 25,000 cm.

If people's familiarity were equal, then the metric system would be easier to use. The tricky part is that familiarity is not equal among all people. And if a society is slow to adopt change (e.g., America), then the metric system may never take hold, no matter how much easier it is to convert. Who cares that you can easily swap out 1.8 m and 180 cm in your head when you can't even visualize 1.8 m?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 09:14:44 am
I called them "American units" because it's what we used here, in America, when I was a person existing in America.  It's not the technical name, and I never said it was, and I didn't feel bothered to go look up that they're actually called "Imperial". 

And what the fuck do I care?  All that matters is that they're bad, not their formal name or country of origin.

I can refer to them
To be completely fair, you were the first one to bring nationalisms into the discussion.

To be completely unfair, you mean?  Witherweaver called them "American" units, and also mentioned "growing up with them."  Here's the quote (bold is mine):

He called them American because that's where those units are used. That's very different from tying them to nationalisms.

But that's not what those units are, specifically.  He wasn't specifying that he meant the "United States customary units" of measurement, which vary slightly from true imperial.  He was clearly (to me) talking about the imperial versus metric.  Using the word "American," then, was a statement attempting to nationalize (incorrectly) something he feels is inferior.

This is bullshit and you know it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 09:17:10 am
I get the feeling that half of f.ds things I'm a moron; 99% of the other half things I'm an idiot.

You've left out the possibility of trolling.

21.4mU/l
11.2pmol/l

Can someone equate this to numbers I understand?  Remember, this is SI, not Imperial.  I have no frame of reference for this -- so what if it's base 10?  Even if I know how many milliliters are in a liter, that doesn't help me at all.

There is no SI unit with the symbol U, so I've no idea where you're getting that (do you mean u, the atomic mass unit?  I guess that makes sense in context, though it's not an SI unit).  Interestingly, the liter is also not an SI unit, though it's approved for use with SI--I guess you could call it extended SI?  Let's look at the other.

Units of pmol/L.  Let's write that out as picomoles per liter.  This is a unit of concentration that's 10-12 moles of a substance per liter.  The mole is an odd SI unit because it's not based directly on powers of ten; it's defined naturally based on the number of formula units of a substance in one gram of the substance, which turns out to be 6.022 × 1023 for any substance.

I've never seen anyone use units of atomic mass unit (amu for short, symbol u) per liter.  It... doesn't make any sense.  The number you give would be a literally homeopathic concentration, i.e., less than one atom per liter.

If someone is better at dividing by 12 than by 10, that's not the system of measurement's fault.

You've described exactly zero humans.  Every society now uses mathematical systems based on the number ten.  While English and other (Indo-European) languages still have words that fit with a dozenal system, and those words are sometimes used for counted objects, no one can divide by 12 faster than by 10, because the former requires math, and the latter requires only moving the decimal point.

If you want to postulate an alien society that has 12 symbols for numbers and uses dozenal math--and therefore, for whom moving their sub-fractional indicator one space to the left would be dividing by 12--then, OK, I suppose aliens are unlikely to use SI.

Quote
So, when you remove the users from the equation, and try to appreciate each system in a vacuum, it becomes a subjective discussion about what any one person finds pleasing, right?

Only if some of the users are aliens.

Quote
I think the Imperial System is much, much more regal, for example.  Metric feels very pedestrian and bland.  If measurement systems were ice cream, Imperial is chocolate and Metric is cardboard.  Imperial presents the more interesting set of vocabulary, with words that fit oddly in the mouth like "quart" and "pint" (which, by the way, is how we measure ice cream).  Only in the imperial can you see for leagues and leagues or lose yourself in the countless fathoms of the deep ocean.  In Imperial you can have a gill of water, a rood of forestland, or drachm of poison.

This isn't the most ridiculous argument I've heard for the US customary system, but only because appeals to tradition and "some people might divide by twelve more readily" are both worse.  Seriously, you're going to suggest that a system of units is better because the names sound more interesting? While there certainly have been scientists who have become poets and writers, they still kept the poetry out of their scientific papers.

This example also points up a major flaw in your reasoning; the ancient units aren't all based on division by twelve.  Consider length, because it's one I know, and one that uses 12 in exactly one conversion.

4 inches = 1 hand
3 hands = 12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
22 yards = 1 chain
4 rods = 1 chain (making 1 rod... 16.5 feet, try to divide by 16.5)
10 chains = 1 furlong
8 furlongs = 1 mile
3 miles = 1 league

There are 6 different numbers you need to remember here, not counting the other conversions that you need to remember because no one uses chains or furlongs (1760 yards = 1 mile, 5280 feet = 1 mile).  And that's just for length!  Now contrast to the commonly-used metric length units:

1 micrometer = 1000 (103) nanometers
1 millimeter = 1000 (103) micrometers
1 centimeter = 10 millimeters
1 meter = 100 (102) centimeters = 1000 (103) millimeters
1 kilometer = 1000 (103) meters

--------

Now let me blow your mind about something.  The word "mile" comes from the Latin root "mille," same as the prefix "milli-".  This is because originally, 1 mile was... 1000 paces.  Even the Romans had already figured out that powers of ten were useful.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 09:17:48 am
Fair enough. Why do you like the Imperial System then? What is so wrong with the metric system?

I think the "difficulty" issue of measurement systems is moot -- the ability to learn a system is dependent on the learner, not the system itself.  If someone is better at dividing by 12 than by 10, that's not the system of measurement's fault.  It's the same as learning languages -- I think Japanese is insanely easy as a language to learn, but found Italian very difficult; many people would disagree with me on that.  But neither of us would be wrong, we just learn differently and/or are better at different things.

So I think any argument for either system of measurement that is based on "difficulty" is irrelevant.  It has nothing to do with the relative merits of the system, just the merits of the users.

So, when you remove the users from the equation, and try to appreciate each system in a vacuum, it becomes a subjective discussion about what any one person finds pleasing, right?

I think the Imperial System is much, much more regal, for example.  Metric feels very pedestrian and bland.  If measurement systems were ice cream, Imperial is chocolate and Metric is cardboard.  Imperial presents the more interesting set of vocabulary, with words that fit oddly in the mouth like "quart" and "pint" (which, by the way, is how we measure ice cream).  Only in the imperial can you see for leagues and leagues or lose yourself in the countless fathoms of the deep ocean.  In Imperial you can have a gill of water, a rood of forestland, or drachm of poison.

Really, if King Lear had been poisoned by a daughter, would you rather hear that she had slipped a drachm of poison in his wine, or that...

As the old king clutched his chest, he looked around and saw Goneril grinning maniacally...she had slipped 3.5516328125 ml of poison in his wine...

Like I said before, when you don't actually need to measure stuff, units of measurement don't matter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 09:18:21 am
I get the feeling that half of f.ds things I'm a moron; 99% of the other half things I'm an idiot.

You've left out the certainty of trolling.

Fixed that for you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 09:35:21 am
(murica)

You should include a footnote there stating that

The volume of tears that the eagle is crying precisely one "fluid ounce."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 09:39:36 am
Oh!  This is relevant again!

Quote
NOTE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND AMERICANS: One shilling = five pee. It helps to understand the antique finances of the Witchfinder Army if you know the original British monetary system:

Two farthings = one ha'penny. Two ha'pennies = one penny. Three pennies = a thrupenny. Two thrupences = a sixpence. Two sixpences = one shilling, or bob. Two bob = a florin. One florin and one sixpence = half a crown. Four half crowns = ten bob note. Two ten bob notes = one pound (or 240 pennies). One pound and one shilling = one guinea.

The British resisted decimalized currency for a long time because they thought it was too complicated.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 10, 2015, 09:44:01 am
Oh!  This is relevant again!

NOTE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND AMERICANS: One shilling = five pee.
So if I pee 5 times, I can trade it in for a shilling? That's not a lot. Man, I'm pretty piss poor.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on June 10, 2015, 10:52:27 am
I get the feeling that half of f.ds things I'm a moron; 99% of the other half things I'm an idiot.

The remainder (whatever that may be) just doesn't understand me, but might give me the benefit of the doubt.

I don't think any of the above. By the way, is it pronounced a-SHER-skee or Asher sky?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 10, 2015, 11:17:14 am
Aliens use base-10 too. Really, all number systems are base-10.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 11:21:48 am
Aliens use base-10 too. Really, all number systems are base-10.

Tens of Sci-Fi movies have taught me that aliens use binary.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Jimmmmm on June 10, 2015, 11:31:31 am
Aliens use base-10 too. Really, all number systems are base-10.

Oh don't be silly. You know the 10 in base-10 means 1010.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 11:32:41 am
Aliens use base-10 too. Really, all number systems are base-10.

Tens of Sci-Fi movies have taught me that aliens use binary.

In binary notation, base 2 is.... base 10.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 11:46:39 am
Aliens use base-10 too. Really, all number systems are base-10.

Tens of Sci-Fi movies have taught me that aliens use binary.

In binary notation, base 2 is.... base 10.

In N-ary notation, base N is... base 10.  (Which was the point.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 10, 2015, 11:52:04 am
Look, when you stop using base 10, you  get wonderful numbers such a sixty-ten-nine, or four-twenty-two and four-twenty-fifteen*, so I don't know why you would ever use base 10, it's clearly no fun at all.

*Those are the literal translations for how you'd say 79, 82 or 95 in France**. This is due to us using a base 20 system at some point, which I believe we inherited from the Celts.

** Belgium, Switzerland and Québec somehow did not keep that wonderful numbering system.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GendoIkari on June 10, 2015, 12:14:00 pm
So, what's the Mac keyboard command for, say, starting up Opera?

I don't think you can open an app with a keyboard command on a Mac without personally creating the shortcut.

If there are keyboard commands on my windows machine to open applications, I don't know any.

(By keyboad commands, I assume we are talking about a single-press combination to make something happen, such as CTRL-C for copy.  There is no CMD-O for Opera.  If there's a CTRL+C+H to open Chrome on Windows, someone please tell me.)

Windows key + number key opens the program pinned to your taskbar in the position indicated by the number. If the program is already open, it becomes active.

Holy crap. I've been using Windows for a living, as well as during the majority of my free time, for as long as I can remember... and I had no clue about this! When did this happen; starting in Windows 7 or 8? Thanks!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 12:29:51 pm
The average human has slightly less than two arms, slightly less than one testicle, and slightly less than one ovary.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 10, 2015, 12:42:01 pm
The average human has slightly less than two arms, slightly less than one testicle, and slightly less than one ovary.

"That's kinda freaky", said Mohammed Lee.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on June 10, 2015, 12:46:03 pm
slightly less than one testicle, and slightly less than one ovary.
How can both be true? Aren't there slightly more males than females in the world?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 12:47:39 pm
slightly less than one testicle, and slightly less than one ovary.
How can both be true? Aren't there slightly more males than females in the world?

Not all men have two testicles.  I'm wondering if he did the calculation, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on June 10, 2015, 12:49:01 pm
slightly less than one testicle, and slightly less than one ovary.
How can both be true? Aren't there slightly more males than females in the world?

Not all men have two testicles.  I'm wondering if he did the calculation, though.
I highly doubt there are more men with fewer than two testicles than there are more men than woman. The ratio is something like 1.01:1, that's ~35 million extra men.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ghostofmars on June 10, 2015, 01:40:26 pm
One advantage of the metric system for everyday life, is that the density of water is ~1kg/L. The same holds for most organic matter.

You can use that when you are cooking. Suppose you need 100mL of milk but don't have a measuring cup ready. Just weigh 100g on a scale. Or vice versa, if you want to know the weight of something, put it with water in a measuring cup and look at the difference in volume when you remove it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 10, 2015, 02:00:24 pm

The ninja'd post gets more respect than the original.  I need to be more patient.

By the way, the "U" in his example was the abbreviation for "Unit".  Not SI, I agree, but see #4436 for more info.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 10, 2015, 02:07:43 pm
slightly less than one testicle, and slightly less than one ovary.
How can both be true? Aren't there slightly more males than females in the world?

I was pretty sure it were more females. Soooooo...

WIKIPEDIA TIME! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_sex_ratio)

...which confirms that a slight majority of the living human population is male.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 10, 2015, 02:16:21 pm
An astronaut met an alien for the first time. The astronaut splays his fingers* and says, "We have 10 fingers." The alien—being a match physiologically except for missing two pinkies—says, "We have 10 fingers." The astronaut chuckles and says, "No, you have 8 fingers." The alien asks, "What the hell is an 8?"



* Yeah, yeah, thumbs aren't fingers. Go tell your own joke.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 03:21:36 pm
slightly less than one testicle, and slightly less than one ovary.
How can both be true? Aren't there slightly more males than females in the world?

Not all men have two testicles.  I'm wondering if he did the calculation, though.
I highly doubt there are more men with fewer than two testicles than there are more men than woman. The ratio is something like 1.01:1, that's ~35 million extra men.

Hysterectomies and oophorectomies are as common as orchidectomies, and the former often remove both while the latter only very rarely removes both.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 03:23:14 pm

The ninja'd post gets more respect than the original.  I need to be more patient.

By the way, the "U" in his example was the abbreviation for "Unit".  Not SI, I agree, but see #4436 for more info.

Hey, I gave you a +1.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 05:30:10 pm
I get the feeling that half of f.ds things I'm a moron; 99% of the other half things I'm an idiot.

The remainder (whatever that may be) just doesn't understand me, but might give me the benefit of the doubt.

I don't think any of the above. By the way, is it pronounced a-SHER-skee or Asher sky?

Asher (like in My Name is Asher Lev) - Sky (as in the big blue area over our heads...I think in metric it's pronounced "celestial dome").
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 05:38:40 pm
Fair enough. Why do you like the Imperial System then? What is so wrong with the metric system?

I think the "difficulty" issue of measurement systems is moot -- the ability to learn a system is dependent on the learner, not the system itself.  If someone is better at dividing by 12 than by 10, that's not the system of measurement's fault.  It's the same as learning languages -- I think Japanese is insanely easy as a language to learn, but found Italian very difficult; many people would disagree with me on that.  But neither of us would be wrong, we just learn differently and/or are better at different things.

So I think any argument for either system of measurement that is based on "difficulty" is irrelevant.  It has nothing to do with the relative merits of the system, just the merits of the users.

So, when you remove the users from the equation, and try to appreciate each system in a vacuum, it becomes a subjective discussion about what any one person finds pleasing, right?

I think the Imperial System is much, much more regal, for example.  Metric feels very pedestrian and bland.  If measurement systems were ice cream, Imperial is chocolate and Metric is cardboard.  Imperial presents the more interesting set of vocabulary, with words that fit oddly in the mouth like "quart" and "pint" (which, by the way, is how we measure ice cream).  Only in the imperial can you see for leagues and leagues or lose yourself in the countless fathoms of the deep ocean.  In Imperial you can have a gill of water, a rood of forestland, or drachm of poison.

Really, if King Lear had been poisoned by a daughter, would you rather hear that she had slipped a drachm of poison in his wine, or that...

As the old king clutched his chest, he looked around and saw Goneril grinning maniacally...she had slipped 3.5516328125 ml of poison in his wine...

Like I said before, when you don't actually need to measure stuff, units of measurement don't matter.

Isn't that my point, and the one no one has been able to refute?  We aren't just talking about measuring things.  We are talking about a way of life, of expressing ourselves, our feelings and emotions.  Metric is terrible at all the things that are important to me, and many others.

I keep reading long posts defending this "divide by 10" characteristic as so fantastic, but I keep contending that once you take ease of use out of the discussion, metric loses by a mile.  In my daily life, in my work, in my home, I rarely divide by ten.  I do divide by 15, 16, 4, 3, and others.  I have less experience with base 10 than anything else.

But listen, we are comparing two systems on every level, not just one.  Even if I conceded ease of division, I still win overall.

Someone please record themselves singing "500 Miles" by The Proclaimers in metric, please.  That's 804.672 kilometers, by the way.  Per the defenders of metric trying to state it is superior to imperial, please show me how that goes for you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 05:39:53 pm
I get the feeling that half of f.ds things I'm a moron; 99% of the other half things I'm an idiot.

You've left out the certainty of trolling.

Fixed that for you.

I can promise you one thing.  I am not "trolling."

I don't really even understand the method.  I don't do memes either.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on June 10, 2015, 05:41:35 pm
slightly less than one testicle, and slightly less than one ovary.
How can both be true? Aren't there slightly more males than females in the world?

I was pretty sure it were more females. Soooooo...

WIKIPEDIA TIME! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_sex_ratio)

...which confirms that a slight majority of the living human population is male.
Hey, I would have guessed it was more females too, but then I checked that very wikipedia page before posting :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 05:49:34 pm
...

We are talking solely about measuring things.  For literature, songs, art, whatever, I could not have less of a preference for how you choose to phrase things.

The numerical examples of conversion are obviously terrible.  If a mile were defined to be a kilometer, the song would not lose any meaning. 

Quote
I keep reading long posts defending this "divide by 10" characteristic as so fantastic, but I keep contending that once you take ease of use out of the discussion, metric loses by a mile.  In my daily life, in my work, in my home, I rarely divide by ten.  I do divide by 15, 16, 4, 3, and others.  I have less experience with base 10 than anything else.

So when you write 15, 16, you mean... 17, 18 in base 10?  Since you're not using base 10..?

See, this is the thing.  When you say things like this I can't actually tell if you're intentionally being absurd, or you are unaware of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 05:51:16 pm
I'm not a mathematician or a scientist.  All I meant was I rarely, if ever, divide by 10 in my everyday life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 10, 2015, 05:56:19 pm
How do you guys get Base 10!? I can only get to 2nd Base...  :'(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 06:03:20 pm
How do you guys get Base 10!? I can only get to 2nd Base...  :'(
http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3683
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on June 10, 2015, 06:03:46 pm
It's not about dividing by anything. It's about when, if you're counting, you increment the next digit. We count, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... when does it become a two digit number? After 10 increments. When talking about big a thing is approximately, we talk about how many digits it has. The prefixes give you how many more or how many fewer digits it has. All you need to know is how long a meter is, and you can get a sense for how long any distance is. If I say "23 kilometers" That immediately means "woah, the number of meters has 5 digits!" The same goes for other base units.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 06:03:49 pm
The point is that the numbers you are using are *inherently* base 10.

When you say

2394.493,

it literally means

2*1000 + 3*100 + 9*10 + 4*1 + 4/10 + 9/100 + 3/1000. 

Each "decimal place" (note "deci" = "ten") denotes an additional power of 10.  This is why multiplying or dividing by 10 is trivial.

2394.493/10 = (2*1000 + 3*100 + 9*10 + 4*1 + 4/10 + 9/100 + 3/1000)/10 = 2*100 + 3*10 + 9*1 + 4/10 + 4/100 + 9/1000 + 3/10000 = 239.4493.

You can simply move the decimal place.  There is no actual computation, because the notation itself incorporates the arithmetic. 

Our numbers imbue tenness.

You could set up a number system to be of a different base, like 8 instead of 10.  That would be fine.  Then when you say

423 you would mean [4*8^2 + 2*8+ 2 = 274] in base ten.  And then I would totally agree that it doesn't make sense to use dm, cm, mm, instead we should have made up words for 1/8 m, 1/64 m, 1/512 m. 

But our numbers are naturally aligned with ten, so our units should be as well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 10, 2015, 06:31:14 pm
I'm not a mathematician or a scientist.  All I meant was I rarely, if ever, divide by 10 in my everyday life.

When we talk about a number system with a base of ten, we don't talk about division by ten. We talk about the fact that it has ten basic numbers: 0,1, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. From these we can build something like 379424, 6, or 45.293.

We mostly take the base of ten as a given, but there are many alternatives: 20 for example, can be expressed in a variety of ways: XX. 10100. 14. 20. The first is roman numbers, the second binary, the third hexadecimal, and the last 10-based. It's not trivial how you write the triple of 20, but we all know what to do. Try that in roman, or binary, or hexadecimal.

When i divide a meter by 4, i get 0.25 meters, like the math we all know tells me. If i want to have Centimeters, i just shift the comma/dot accordingly. Voilá, 25.0 centimeters. Millimeters? Just a little shift and we have 250 Millimeters. Kilometer? Shifting time says it's 0.00025 Kilometers.

I can do all of these with ease simply because i know how to divide everyday "ten-base" numbers. The only thing you need to remember is what Kilo, Deci, Milli, Centi, etc stand for, but only once and it's there in the name (for those of us that care a bit about words), anyhow.

Edited because i got my hexadecimals wrong.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 06:33:05 pm
The point is that the numbers you are using are *inherently* base 10.

When you say

2394.493,

it literally means

2*1000 + 3*100 + 9*10 + 4*1 + 4/10 + 9/100 + 3/1000. 

Each "decimal place" (note "deci" = "ten") denotes an additional power of 10.  This is why multiplying or dividing by 10 is trivial.

2394.493/10 = (2*1000 + 3*100 + 9*10 + 4*1 + 4/10 + 9/100 + 3/1000)/10 = 2*100 + 3*10 + 9*1 + 4/10 + 4/100 + 9/1000 + 3/10000 = 239.4493.

You can simply move the decimal place.  There is no actual computation, because the notation itself incorporates the arithmetic. 

Our numbers imbue tenness.

You could set up a number system to be of a different base, like 8 instead of 10.  That would be fine.  Then when you say

423 you would mean [4*8^2 + 2*8+ 2 = 274] in base ten.  And then I would totally agree that it doesn't make sense to use dm, cm, mm, instead we should have made up words for 1/8 m, 1/64 m, 1/512 m. 

But our numbers are naturally aligned with ten, so our units should be as well.

Am I misunderstanding your argument then?  I thought you didn't like Imperial Units because it wasn't based on Base 10, but you are clearly showing that:

12.00 miles uses a base 10 numbering system, just like 19.3121 kilometers.  In both cases, you can just move the decimal point to get 1/10 or 10x the number.  In the shown example, it turns out that the Imperial Unit happens to be even easier to divide (by numbers of than 10) than the Metric Unit.  That's just because of the numbers I chose, though.

So, as you just proved, if both set of measurements use Base 10 numbering systems, you are actually arguing about the words we use to denote specific amounts of those numbers, which again (when ease of use/math is removed) is just an aesthetic argument, which I'm making in favor of Imperial.

1 kilometer = 10 decimeter = 100 centimeters = 1000 millimeters = 10000 µm (whatever that is)
1 mile = 8 furlongs = 1760 yards = 5280 feet = 63360 inches

That's a fair comparison, when it comes to length?  Now take out the numbers, because we've now agreed (as you've taught me) that both systems use the same number system.

kilometer = decimeter = centimeters = millimeters = µm
mile = furlongs = yards = feet = inches


This is the discussion we're having.  I can see why some people might prefer the top line (those who like repeating letters, rhyming patterns, etc.), and I can see why some people might prefer the bottom line.

In the end, though, there is no definitive argument one way of the other than can convince either party.  It's completely subjective.

(Note: it took me a million clicks on wikipedia to find the next step down from millimeter; why is it not all on one page?)


Edit: fixed my math
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 06:36:11 pm
I'm not a mathematician or a scientist.  All I meant was I rarely, if ever, divide by 10 in my everyday life.

When we talk about a number system with a base of ten, we don't talk about division by ten. We talk about the fact that it has ten basic numbers: 0,1, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. From these we can build something like 379424, 6, or 45.293.

We mostly take the base of ten as a given, but there are many alternatives: 20 for example, can be expressed in a variety of ways: XX. 10100. 14. 20. The first is roman numbers, the second binary, the third hexadecimal, and the last 10-based. It's not trivial how you write the triple of 20, but we all know what to do. Try that in roman, or binary, or hexadecimal. When i divide a meter by 4, i get 0.25 meters, like the math we all know tells me. If i want to have Centimeters, i just shift the comma/dot accordingly. Voilá, 25.0 centimeters. Millimeters? Just a little shift and we have 250 Millimeters. A Kilometer? Shifting time says it's 0.00025 Kilometer.

I can do all of these with ease simply because i know how to divide everyday "ten-base" numbers. The only thing you need to remember is what Kilo, Deci, Milli, Centi, etc stand for, but only once and it's there in the name (for those of us that care a bit about words), anyhow.

Edited because i got my hexadecimals wrong.

This is a good explanation and illustration.  Thanks.  I appreciate it.

I mean, you've already seen why I prefer Imperial to Metric, and it has nothing to do with any of this.  But it really helps me understand why some folks really find metric to be so nice.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 06:39:12 pm
The issue is

12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
5280 feet = 1 mile  (well, or 1760 yards = 1 mile, but for some reason we never use that one...)

That's annoying.

10 inches = 1 thing
10 things = 1 other thing
10 other things = 1 other other thing
...

That's how to do things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 10, 2015, 06:41:03 pm
I'm not a mathematician or a scientist.  All I meant was I rarely, if ever, divide by 10 in my everyday life.

Money?  That's a system based on tens.

What things are you doing in your life where you are using multiples of 16, 12, 8 regularly?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on June 10, 2015, 06:42:19 pm
1 kilometer = 10 decimeter = 100 centimeters = 1000 millimeters = 10000 µm (whatever that is)
1 mile = 8 furlongs = 220 yards = 660 feet = 7920 inches

That's a fair comparison, when it comes to length?  Now take out the numbers, because we've now agreed (as you've taught me) that both systems use the same number system.

kilometer = decimeter = centimeters = millimeters = µm
mile = furlongs = yards = feet = inches

You removed the wrong stuff.

1 = 10 = 100 = 1000 = 10000
1 = 8 = 220 = 660 = 7920
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 06:43:57 pm
The issue is

12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
5280 feet = 1 mile  (well, or 1760 yards = 1 mile, but for some reason we never use that one...)

That's annoying.

10 inches = 1 thing
10 things = 1 other thing
10 other things = 1 other other thing
...

That's how to do things.

Not an issue for me.  Also, we seem to be arguing past each other.  You keep adding numbers to this, I keep taking them away.  I think foot, yard, and mile sound better than their metric cousins, which I guess would be decimeter, meter, and kilometer, and should be the words we use to define length.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 06:44:24 pm
It's also not true that 1 mile = 220 yards or 660 feet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 06:44:35 pm
1 kilometer = 10 decimeter = 100 centimeters = 1000 millimeters = 10000 µm (whatever that is)
1 mile = 8 furlongs = 220 yards = 660 feet = 7920 inches

That's a fair comparison, when it comes to length?  Now take out the numbers, because we've now agreed (as you've taught me) that both systems use the same number system.

kilometer = decimeter = centimeters = millimeters = µm
mile = furlongs = yards = feet = inches

You removed the wrong stuff.

1 = 10 = 100 = 1000 = 10000
1 = 8 = 220 = 660 = 7920

I have a feeling both of those lines become "wrong" at that point, since in both cases, the numbers changes, so they aren't equal.

Again, I'm not a mathematician, so I can't be sure.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 06:44:57 pm
The issue is

12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
5280 feet = 1 mile  (well, or 1760 yards = 1 mile, but for some reason we never use that one...)

That's annoying.

10 inches = 1 thing
10 things = 1 other thing
10 other things = 1 other other thing
...

That's how to do things.



Not an issue for me.  Also, we seem to be arguing past each other.  You keep adding numbers to this, I keep taking them away.  I think foot, yard, and mile sound better than their metric cousins, which I guess would be decimeter, meter, and kilometer, and should be the words we use to define length.

You're missing the point.

Fine, use feet, inches, miles, whatever.  As long as

10 inches = 1 foot
1000 feet = 1 mile.

I'm happy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 06:47:24 pm
It's also not true that 1 mile = 220 yards or 660 feet.

You are right.  I messed up the math there.  Fixed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on June 10, 2015, 06:48:07 pm
Again, I'm not a mathematician, so I can't be sure.

 ::)

If you just like the word "mile" better than "kilometer", sure, fine, end of discussion. Is that really all this has been?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 06:49:18 pm
You're missing the point.

Fine, use feet, inches, miles, whatever.  As long as

10 inches = 1 foot
1000 feet = 1 mile.

I'm happy.

That's fine with me.  I'll gladly support you cause to redefine the length of a mile down to 1000 feet and 10000 inches.

I think it might be better to go for 10000 feet and 100000 inches, though.

At least we've now agreed that Imperial Units are agreeable.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on June 10, 2015, 06:51:08 pm
It's easy to remember how many feet are in a mile. Just think "Five Tomatoes" (5-2-8-0 feet).

It's always worked for me, anyway. ::)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pubby on June 10, 2015, 06:51:12 pm
We should bond over the fact that both Imperial and SI use seconds to measure time. Hooray for seconds!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 07:08:03 pm
The issue is

12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
5280 feet = 1 mile  (well, or 1760 yards = 1 mile, but for some reason we never use that one...)

That's annoying.

10 inches = 1 thing
10 things = 1 other thing
10 other things = 1 other other thing
...

That's how to do things.

Not an issue for me.  Also, we seem to be arguing past each other.  You keep adding numbers to this, I keep taking them away.  I think foot, yard, and mile sound better than their metric cousins, which I guess would be decimeter, meter, and kilometer, and should be the words we use to define length.

One set of conversions requires you to remember multiple numbers, and keep track of which conversion goes where, and doesn't use the same set of numbers for length/mass/volume.

The other set uses powers of 10 for all conversions, and uses the same prefixes to denote multiples or fractions of a base measurement.

We aren't adding numbers to the discussion; the US customary unit system is doing it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 10, 2015, 07:08:49 pm
Instead of redefining inches, feet, etc. (which is totally impractical, of course), the better solution would be:

1. Use metric units for real life applications where calculations and conversions actually matter.
2. Relegate imperial names to poetry and prose, if you feel it is more appropriate for your purpose, alongside things like "thee" and "thou" and "wherefore".

This is pretty much happening already.

Personally, I think "metre" is more euphonious than "foot" or "yard".  Metre is poetic; foot and yard are pedestrian.

Neither "centimetre" nor "inch" are particularly pleasant in sound.  I don't find "mile" to be so great either, though I guess it sounds better than "kilometre".

But how the word sounds is not a good reason to enforce its use when it is inferior for practical use.  You can use the metric system and still turn to the older, "regal" terms in literature. 

In fact, I argue that retiring them from regular everyday use will make them sound better to future generations.  This is already in effect for some words!  For example, I think the words "league" and "furlong" are cool, and that's in large part because they're obsolete.  They hearken back to days of yore when it was important to everyday life how far you could walk in one hour, or the length of a furrow in a field.  If you also retire inches, feet and miles, they'll be elevated in the same way.  It's a win for everybody!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 07:10:04 pm
We aren't adding numbers to the discussion; the US customary unit system is doing it.

I'm saying the numbers have nothing to do with the discussion whatsoever.  Just remove all numbers and math and division and all that from the discussion, and instead focus on the two sets of units that we're debating.

That's all I've been trying to do.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 07:14:57 pm
We should bond over the fact that both Imperial and SI use seconds to measure time. Hooray for seconds!

I would much prefer a system with 10 hours of 100 minutes, each of 100 seconds.  Who thought borrowing the Babylonian sexagesimal system for time was a good idea?

Doing that, however, would even destroy SI.  If we make it to space, where we stop caring about the current length of the day, I suspect we'll see eventual use of kiloseconds (10 decimal minutes = 16.6 Earth minutes) and megaseconds (=100 decimal hours =10 decimal days = about 11.5 Earth days).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 07:15:09 pm
Instead of redefining inches, feet, etc. (which is totally impractical, of course), the better solution would be:

1. Use metric units for real life applications where calculations and conversions actually matter.
2. Relegate imperial names to poetry and prose, if you feel it is more appropriate for your purpose, alongside things like "thee" and "thou" and "wherefore".

This is pretty much happening already.

Personally, I think "metre" is more euphonious than "foot" or "yard".  Metre is poetic; foot and yard are pedestrian.

Neither "centimetre" nor "inch" are particularly pleasant in sound.  I don't find "mile" to be so great either, though I guess it sounds better than "kilometre".

But how the word sounds is not a good reason to enforce its use when it is inferior for practical use.  You can use the metric system and still turn to the older, "regal" terms in literature. 

In fact, I argue that retiring them from regular everyday use will make them sound better to future generations.  This is already in effect for some words!  For example, I think the words "league" and "furlong" are cool, and that's in large part because they're obsolete.  They hearken back to days of yore when it was important to everyday life how far you could walk in one hour, or the length of a furrow in a field.  If you also retire inches, feet and miles, they'll be elevated in the same way.  It's a win for everybody!

Thank you so much for making an argument that fits this discussion!

Isn't #1 already happening, regardless of personal preference?  I know just as readily what 28 degrees celcius means now, even though I wish I didn't.  I can approximate a 5 kilometer drive in my head, even though it makes me sick.  Metric untis have been forced upon us like so many other tyrannical systems in the world.  They aren't going away.

As for retiring words to make them cooler...I see where you are coming from.  But the hard part for me would be that, while it might benefit future generations, it comes at a great cost to myself and others like me, who prefer Imperial Units.  Why must we, just because we are in the minority, be marginalized and erased?

As for prefering the sound of "metre" (how do you say it... Met-Ray?) over yard...that's a disagreement we'll have to agree to maintain.

(Bravo for the "foot is pedestrian" pun, though.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on June 10, 2015, 07:15:45 pm
We aren't adding numbers to the discussion; the US customary unit system is doing it.

I'm saying the numbers have nothing to do with the discussion whatsoever.  Just remove all numbers and math and division and all that from the discussion, and instead focus on the two sets of units that we're debating.

That's all I've been trying to do.

But the only difference is the numbers used to convert between units in each system, so how can you discuss this without the numbers?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on June 10, 2015, 07:18:32 pm
Edit: fixed my math
The fact that you could get the math wrong is exactly people are talking about when they say the metric system is easier.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 07:20:08 pm
Edit: fixed my math
The fact that you could get the math wrong is exactly people are talking about when they say the metric system is easier.

I've stated that it could definitely be easier for some people.

And that we're not debating the relative ease of a system.  We're debating the overall "goodness" of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 07:21:27 pm
We aren't adding numbers to the discussion; the US customary unit system is doing it.

I'm saying the numbers have nothing to do with the discussion whatsoever.  Just remove all numbers and math and division and all that from the discussion, and instead focus on the two sets of units that we're debating.

That's all I've been trying to do.

That's a bit like discussing cooking without talking about food.  Or playing Dominion and without cards.  These units mean nothing without numbers, and measurements mean nothing without units.

If you don't care about measuring things, why are we even talking about measurement systems?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 07:22:20 pm
We aren't adding numbers to the discussion; the US customary unit system is doing it.

I'm saying the numbers have nothing to do with the discussion whatsoever.  Just remove all numbers and math and division and all that from the discussion, and instead focus on the two sets of units that we're debating.

That's all I've been trying to do.

But the only difference is the numbers used to convert between units in each system, so how can you discuss this without the numbers?

The system is a list of units.  Or, put another way, we have two lists of words that different sets of people use to stand in for different things (mass, length, etc.).

I think one set of words is better.  Others think the other set of words is better.  Very few people have been able to articulate why they think their set of words is better than my set of words.

Again, we're not talking about the things being described by the words (that is, the measurement of length, mass, weight, etc.).  We're talking about the words themselves.  The system.  The units.

No numbers required.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 07:24:19 pm
We aren't adding numbers to the discussion; the US customary unit system is doing it.

I'm saying the numbers have nothing to do with the discussion whatsoever.  Just remove all numbers and math and division and all that from the discussion, and instead focus on the two sets of units that we're debating.

That's all I've been trying to do.

That's a bit like discussing cooking without talking about food.  Or playing Dominion and without cards.  These units mean nothing without numbers, and measurements mean nothing without units.

If you don't care about measuring things, why are we even talking about measurement systems?

Man, I made this point already.  I care about how a drachm of poison sounds much better than 3.6966911953125 ml of poison.  That's measuring something.

But I'm not arguing that we should use the number 1 instead of the number 3.6966911953125.  Just that drachm is better than milliliters.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 07:24:58 pm
Edit: fixed my math
The fact that you could get the math wrong is exactly people are talking about when they say the metric system is easier.

I've stated that it could definitely be easier for some people.

And that we're not debating the relative ease of a system.  We're debating the overall "goodness" of it.

When it comes to measurements, parsimony and ease of use are equivalent to goodness.  These are actual things used by actual people who have to do actual math, and things that make that easier are important.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 10, 2015, 07:27:32 pm
We aren't adding numbers to the discussion; the US customary unit system is doing it.

I'm saying the numbers have nothing to do with the discussion whatsoever.  Just remove all numbers and math and division and all that from the discussion, and instead focus on the two sets of units that we're debating.

That's all I've been trying to do.

This is like saying you want to talk about Dominion strategy, but wish to ignore card effects and costs and just focus on the card names and art.  You can do that (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=11525.0), but then you're not actually talking about strategy anymore.  You can ignore the practical use of measurements and just focus on the words used, but that's no longer an argument that supports continued practical use of a system.

This is why so many people are bringing up conversions and number bases and all that.  You argued that the US should keep using the Imperial system, but your reasons for it are unrelated.

(PPE: somewhat ninja'd on the above.)

Instead of redefining inches, feet, etc. (which is totally impractical, of course), the better solution would be:

1. Use metric units for real life applications where calculations and conversions actually matter.
2. Relegate imperial names to poetry and prose, if you feel it is more appropriate for your purpose, alongside things like "thee" and "thou" and "wherefore".

This is pretty much happening already.

Personally, I think "metre" is more euphonious than "foot" or "yard".  Metre is poetic; foot and yard are pedestrian.

Neither "centimetre" nor "inch" are particularly pleasant in sound.  I don't find "mile" to be so great either, though I guess it sounds better than "kilometre".

But how the word sounds is not a good reason to enforce its use when it is inferior for practical use.  You can use the metric system and still turn to the older, "regal" terms in literature. 

In fact, I argue that retiring them from regular everyday use will make them sound better to future generations.  This is already in effect for some words!  For example, I think the words "league" and "furlong" are cool, and that's in large part because they're obsolete.  They hearken back to days of yore when it was important to everyday life how far you could walk in one hour, or the length of a furrow in a field.  If you also retire inches, feet and miles, they'll be elevated in the same way.  It's a win for everybody!

Thank you so much for making an argument that fits this discussion!

Isn't #1 already happening, regardless of personal preference?  I know just as readily what 28 degrees celcius means now, even though I wish I didn't.  I can approximate a 5 kilometer drive in my head, even though it makes me sick.  Metric untis have been forced upon us like so many other tyrannical systems in the world.  They aren't going away.

As for retiring words to make them cooler...I see where you are coming from.  But the hard part for me would be that, while it might benefit future generations, it comes at a great cost to myself and others like me, who prefer Imperial Units.  Why must we, just because we are in the minority, be marginalized and erased?

As for prefering the sound of "metre" (how do you say it... Met-Ray?) over yard...that's a disagreement we'll have to agree to maintain.

(Bravo for the "foot is pedestrian" pun, though.)

#1 is happening in science and research and probably industry that is at all international, but is it happening at the day-to-day level?  Are kids learning metric in grade school?

We can retire the words slowly.  Phase it in.  Teach the next generation metric and imperial.  Drop imperial from practical use the generation after.  It's not really so simple as this, but it's the general direction you should go.  You won't be erased.  You'll be remembered fondly as quaint.

Note that Canada is already like this.  We use metric for everything, but we also use inches, feet and pounds in everyday life because of American influence.

You may be more familiar with "meter".  It's the same word for rhythm in poetry.  You see, it was a double pun!  Granted, "foot" is also a poetic measurement, but as a single word it doesn't sound as nice.

We aren't adding numbers to the discussion; the US customary unit system is doing it.

I'm saying the numbers have nothing to do with the discussion whatsoever.  Just remove all numbers and math and division and all that from the discussion, and instead focus on the two sets of units that we're debating.

That's all I've been trying to do.

That's a bit like discussing cooking without talking about food.  Or playing Dominion and without cards.  These units mean nothing without numbers, and measurements mean nothing without units.

If you don't care about measuring things, why are we even talking about measurement systems?

Man, I made this point already.  I care about how a drachm of poison sounds much better than 3.6966911953125 ml of poison.  That's measuring something.

But I'm not arguing that we should use the number 1 instead of the number 3.6966911953125.  Just that drachm is better than milliliters.

The unit used in Shakespearean time and place aren't even the same one that you use now.  You can still use that word even after switching to metric.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 07:29:13 pm
So Ash just had a five page argument about a unit system without any relevance to units.

Anyway, that we should switch to metric is obvious.  That non scientists shouldn't have any influence over it is clear as well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 10, 2015, 07:30:44 pm
We aren't adding numbers to the discussion; the US customary unit system is doing it.

I'm saying the numbers have nothing to do with the discussion whatsoever.  Just remove all numbers and math and division and all that from the discussion, and instead focus on the two sets of units that we're debating.

That's all I've been trying to do.

That's a bit like discussing cooking without talking about food.  Or playing Dominion and without cards.  These units mean nothing without numbers, and measurements mean nothing without units.

If you don't care about measuring things, why are we even talking about measurement systems?

Man, I made this point already.  I care about how a drachm of poison sounds much better than 3.6966911953125 ml of poison.  That's measuring something.

But I'm not arguing that we should use the number 1 instead of the number 3.6966911953125.  Just that drachm is better than milliliters.

OK, this is where I bow out.  You're trying to argue that words don't have meanings, and only have... sound, I guess?  And if words don't have meanings, then you can happily claim that black is white, and any further conversation with you is meaningless, and therefore useless.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pubby on June 10, 2015, 07:33:22 pm
Quote
is it happening at the day-to-day level?  Are kids learning metric in grade school?
Most kids in the US are exposed to metric in school, no? Maybe not grade school, but certainly middle and high school. It's been this way since the 60s/70s.

Quote
Anyway, that we should switch to metric is obvious.
I don't see how this is obvious at all. Switching is a large undertaking and Imperial is good enough for most people.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 10, 2015, 07:36:36 pm
Because it's bad and the other way is not bad.  It may be effort now, but your future generations will thank you by never knowing how terrible their lives could have been.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 10, 2015, 08:11:16 pm
Because it's bad and the other way is not bad.  It may be effort now, but your future generations will thank you by never knowing how terrible their lives could have been.

Imperial isn't bad. Professors aren't always right.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 10, 2015, 08:51:15 pm
(p + l)(a + n) = pa + pn + la + ln

I just foiled your plan.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 10:02:10 pm
Because it's bad and the other way is not bad.  It may be effort now, but your future generations will thank you by never knowing how terrible their lives could have been.

This seems as hyperbolic as anything I've said all thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 10, 2015, 10:03:26 pm
witherweaver: Apples are more nourishing than Oranges.
Ashersky: You are horrible. Orange blossoms smell nicer than Apple blossoms.
witherweaver (&co): Nonsense. Apples are more nourishing than Oranges.
Asherky: Bullshit. Orange blossoms are pure fragance. Apple blossoms repugn me.
witherweaver (&co): That's completely irrelevant! Apples are the more nourishing fruit!
Ashersky: Why do you even keep bringing that up, that's not what I am discussing! You monster want to replace all Orange trees with Apple trees!

EDIT: now you don't need to read the past 5 pages.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 10:04:25 pm
Quote
is it happening at the day-to-day level?  Are kids learning metric in grade school?
Most kids in the US are exposed to metric in school, no? Maybe not grade school, but certainly middle and high school. It's been this way since the 60s/70s.

Quote
Anyway, that we should switch to metric is obvious.
I don't see how this is obvious at all. Switching is a large undertaking and Imperial is good enough for most people.

I know the first rule I ever owned had centimeters on it, even though it was a foot long.  I think it'd odd for people to claim metric doesn't or hasn't existed in the United States, like it's a shunned practice or something.

Both seem to live just fine together.  I know there are a few dozenists or whatever that are trying to eradicate metric systems out there.  It just seems like there are way more supporter of metric trying to exterminate all users of the Imperial units.

And really, that seems too extreme to me.

tldr; I agree with pubby.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 10:06:41 pm
witherweaver: Apples are more nourishing than Oranges.
Ashersky: You are horrible. Orange blossoms smell nicer than Apple blossoms.
witherweaver (&co): Nonsense. Apples are more nourishing than Oranges.
Asherky: Bullshit. Orange blossoms are pure fragance. Apple blossoms repugn me.
witherweaver (&co): That's completely irrelevant! Apples are the more nourishing fruit!
Ashersky: Why do you even keep bringing that up, that's not what I am discussing! You monster want to replace all Orange trees with Apple trees!

etc.

I'm fairly certain this is wrong on multiple levels.

Mostly you are missing where witherweaver wants to chop down all orange trees and smash orange farmers' heads to pulp with the dead branches because oranges are the bane of his existence.

Also, no capital "a" in my username.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 10, 2015, 10:12:45 pm
#1 is happening in science and research and probably industry that is at all international, but is it happening at the day-to-day level?  Are kids learning metric in grade school?

We can retire the words slowly.  Phase it in.  Teach the next generation metric and imperial.  Drop imperial from practical use the generation after.  It's not really so simple as this, but it's the general direction you should go.  You won't be erased.  You'll be remembered fondly as quaint.

Note that Canada is already like this.  We use metric for everything, but we also use inches, feet and pounds in everyday life because of American influence.

You may be more familiar with "meter".  It's the same word for rhythm in poetry.  You see, it was a double pun!  Granted, "foot" is also a poetic measurement, but as a single word it doesn't sound as nice.

Ah, meter.  Yes, another great pun.  I like it.

As mentioned above, metric is taught in U.S. schools, along with Imperial units.  I'm not familiar with Canadian customs, but do the roads switch from MPH to KMPH for speed limits when you drive across the border?  Or do they have a / and list both?


The unit used in Shakespearean time and place aren't even the same one that you use now.  You can still use that word even after switching to metric.

I mean, I have already switched to metric, haven't I?  My car only shows KMPH, the gas station only sells "petrol" by the liter, and the temperature outside (and inside) is shown with little numbers and the letter C.  I was never given the option to switch.

But if I were to ask for 270.512182 drams of Diet Coke, I'm pretty sure I'd fail in getting that 1 liter bottle.  So I don't know that I can still use the word after having switched.

(Note: I don't know that Goneril actually used a drachm of poison for anything; I was just inventing an example.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 10, 2015, 10:16:13 pm
I'm fairly certain this is wrong on multiple levels.

Mostly you are missing where witherweaver wants to chop down all orange trees and smash orange farmers' heads to pulp with the dead branches because oranges are the bane of his existence.

Also, no capital "a" in my username.

My point is, you are arguing about different things, and neither side is interested in arguing about what the other side is arguing about (save eHalcyon, maybe). So this whole conversation is pointless.

Sorry about the capital "a" in your username.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on June 10, 2015, 11:39:48 pm
Just a random thing I realized that makes the names in the metric system a bit better is that no matter what the type of unit, the different sizes have the same names.  In metric, you have a meter, and you put the different prefixes on it to make the centimeter, the millimeter, kilometer, etc.  In Imperial, you just have several unrelated words, inch, foot, yard, mile, etc.

But, in another area, let's say volume, you have the liter in metric.  You put the same prefixes to make centiliters (which I've never heard of), milliliters, kiloliters, etc.  Now, in the Imperial system, you have to memorize several new words, the ounce, the cup, the pint, the quart, etc.

In the end, there's less words to memorize as in metric you just memorize one word for each type of unit (and a few prefixes that apply to all units), where in Imperial, you have several words to memorize for each type of unit.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 11, 2015, 12:15:07 am
As mentioned above, metric is taught in U.S. schools, along with Imperial units.  I'm not familiar with Canadian customs, but do the roads switch from MPH to KMPH for speed limits when you drive across the border?  Or do they have a / and list both?

Canada officially uses metric, like the rest of the world other than the USA and a feel hold outs.  Speed limits are all in kph.  I don't know if roads near the border have signs with both to make it easier for Americans.

But we commonly use inches, feet and pounds in everyday speech.  Just those 3.  We don't use yards (though most know that one yard is 3 feet, approximately 1 meter) and we don't use miles.  I know pounds are made up of some number of ounces which I can never remember (12 or 16?) but I don't know what the next unit of weight up is.  Tons?  As for volume, I believe Canadian use of quarts, pints, cups, etc. depends largely on how much one is involved in cooking, though metric is used there too.

As for rulers, they probably come with both inches and cm because manufacturers are lazy and want to sell on both sides of the border.

Actually looking it up, it appears that Canada underwent metrification in the 1970s.  The older generations still primarily use imperial units while younger ones do not as much (though there is some mixing, of course).  The passage about it on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_system#Canada) is pretty interesting even for me.

Glancing briefly at the sections for other nations, I've just learned that the UK's metrification is even more recent (1995).  Huh.  Also, there is apparently a different between Imperial and something called "US Customary", so it turns out that we're all confused.

The unit used in Shakespearean time and place aren't even the same one that you use now.  You can still use that word even after switching to metric.

I mean, I have already switched to metric, haven't I?  My car only shows KMPH, the gas station only sells "petrol" by the liter, and the temperature outside (and inside) is shown with little numbers and the letter C.  I was never given the option to switch.

But if I were to ask for 270.512182 drams of Diet Coke, I'm pretty sure I'd fail in getting that 1 liter bottle.  So I don't know that I can still use the word after having switched.

(Note: I don't know that Goneril actually used a drachm of poison for anything; I was just inventing an example.)

Yeah, but you don't live in the States.  And you are apparently really grumpy about it. :P

Can you ask for drinks in drams in the US?  I thought it was all measured in ounces.  But the point is, you could still use it in your literature, just like you could use "thou art" and "wherefore".

By the way, I find it totally wild that you are using the British spelling "drachm".

My point is, you are arguing about different things, and neither side is interested in arguing about what the other side is arguing about (save eHalcyon, maybe). So this whole conversation is pointless.

Well, ashersky started out arguing that metric was more (or at least as) confusing as imperial, but I think he ceded that pretty quickly even if he didn't outright admit it.  I just noticed when he started arguing for the aesthetic instead. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 11, 2015, 12:23:57 am
I keep reading long posts defending this "divide by 10" characteristic as so fantastic, but I keep contending that once you take ease of use out of the discussion, metric loses by a mile. 

So you're saying that if you remove the part that makes metric easier than imperial, then metric is not easier. Okay, that's a strange argument, but I admit that it is indeed not easier if you remove that which makes it easier. I'm still hazy on why metric is so much worse.

Someone please record themselves singing "500 Miles" by The Proclaimers in metric, please.  That's 804.672 kilometers, by the way.  Per the defenders of metric trying to state it is superior to imperial, please show me how that goes for you.
Man, I made this point already.  I care about how a drachm of poison sounds much better than 3.6966911953125 ml of poison.  That's measuring something.

But I'm not arguing that we should use the number 1 instead of the number 3.6966911953125.  Just that drachm is better than milliliters.

The crux of your argument is that imperial units just sound better? That's a weird argument. That's like arguing that a Smart Car is better than a Porsche because you think the Smart Car looks cooler (trick analogy; nobody thinks that).

And besides, no one says you have to stick to those numbers. Did the Proclaimers think that 1000 miles is some mystical, ideal length that converting it to metric would be disastrous? No, it's just something cute to throw into a love song. It could have been 1000 kilos. Or even 1000 meters (which is a long ways for a fatty like me). Or, you know, just stick with miles because it fits the song so well.

Also, nobody cares that it's 3.7 mL of poison. The exact amount of poison is irrelevant to the story. You could get the same effect by saying a "drop of poison" or a "dollop of wallop." Whatever, man. This is one the worst straw men I've seen. We're talking about using the metric system in place of imperial in everyday usage. Literature and music are their own thing, and nobody is saying that we need to go back and convert all imperial units to metric. The nice thing about the arts is that they can retain their poetry.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 11, 2015, 01:32:50 am
How do you guys get Base 10!? I can only get to 2nd Base...  :'(
Just be more patient.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 11, 2015, 01:44:44 am
(p + l)(a + n) = pa + pn + la + ln

I just foiled your plan.
And yet multiplied it as well.

Oh, got it. Very nice.  Very subtle.

Man, that is just lovely.  Very nicely played sir.  F O I L.

F'kin awesome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on June 11, 2015, 01:49:38 am
(p + l)(a + n) = pa + pn + la + ln

I just foiled your plan.
And yet multiplied it as well.

Oh, got it. Very nice.  Very subtle.

Man, that is just lovely.  Very nicely played sir.  F O I L.

F'kin awesome.

I don't get it...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 11, 2015, 01:51:01 am
(p + l)(a + n) = pa + pn + la + ln

I just foiled your plan.
And yet multiplied it as well.

Oh, got it. Very nice.  Very subtle.

Man, that is just lovely.  Very nicely played sir.  F O I L.

F'kin awesome.

I don't get it... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOIL_method)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 11, 2015, 01:54:10 am
(p + l)(a + n) = pa + pn + la + ln

I just foiled your plan.
And yet multiplied it as well.

Oh, got it. Very nice.  Very subtle.

Man, that is just lovely.  Very nicely played sir.  F O I L.

F'kin awesome.

I don't get it...

The way to multiply out the terms in the first part of the equation is to multiply the First term in each parenthetical, repeat for the Outer terms, repeat for the Inner terms, and then finally the Last terms, while adding all the resulting multiplicands together.  The mnemonic is First, outer, inner, last. FOIL.  So he foiled the plan.

Edit:  I know I am a nerd, but I nominate this as a best Dominion moment of 2015, and it's not even Dominion related.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 11, 2015, 02:33:50 am
Canada officially uses metric, like the rest of the world other than the USA and a feel hold outs.  Speed limits are all in kph.  I don't know if roads near the border have signs with both to make it easier for Americans.

But we commonly use inches, feet and pounds in everyday speech.  Just those 3.  We don't use yards (though most know that one yard is 3 feet, approximately 1 meter) and we don't use miles.  I know pounds are made up of some number of ounces which I can never remember (12 or 16?) but I don't know what the next unit of weight up is.  Tons?  As for volume, I believe Canadian use of quarts, pints, cups, etc. depends largely on how much one is involved in cooking, though metric is used there too.

Technically, the next weight up from pound is stone (14 pounds), but we don't use it in the US.  The Brits use it religiously, though, even after metrification.

Yeah, but you don't live in the States.  And you are apparently really grumpy about it. :P

Can you ask for drinks in drams in the US?  I thought it was all measured in ounces.  But the point is, you could still use it in your literature, just like you could use "thou art" and "wherefore".

By the way, I find it totally wild that you are using the British spelling "drachm".

I suspect that drams are only available in the most hipster of bars.  And I would punch them.

Besides, don't we all order our drinks by the number of fingers we want?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 11, 2015, 08:32:44 am
Besides, don't we all order our drinks by the number of fingers we want?

I do.  And I specify that the vessel into which the spirit is to be poured is a foot tub.  :D

Although there is another British unit of volume, used in such circumstances:  the Moat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on June 11, 2015, 01:29:15 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKiMYH9bHcY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 11, 2015, 01:47:49 pm
Can you ask for drinks in drams in the US?  I thought it was all measured in ounces.  But the point is, you could still use it in your literature, just like you could use "thou art" and "wherefore".

It's "fluid ounces", and nobody, I mean nobody, knows what that means.*

Though you could measure fluid in ounces, it just wouldn't be the same amount as the same number fluid ounces.  Except for the ones with unit density in those units.  Unless you're using ounces to mean a volume based on some other standard density.

*Okay it must be something, like, the volume of one ounce of some liquid at some conditions (STP or something).  But is that ounce a unit of force or mass?  Who knows?  So maybe you have to specify that it's being done at a particular location relative to some heavy object (like, at sea level). 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 11, 2015, 01:55:59 pm
Cooking measurements are the worst.  When you have a recipe in a country using the metric system, how to you measure everything?  We have things like teaspoons, tablespoons (why?  For the love of god, WHY??????), cups, ounces (what is this?!?!?  I don't even know what fundamental property I'm measuring), and other things.

Oh, and naturally, things are denominated in fractions, generally based on powers of 2.  So you'd have, like, 1/2 tsp, 1/4 tsp, 1/8 tsp, etc.  "tsp" means "teaspoon", which means something but who knows what.  "tbsp" means "tablespoon" which means something bigger.  Like a bigger spoon.  I mean, you have spoons, too, but these are not standardized, because anyone can make a spoon.  But some spoons are special spoons, and some of them you use to drink tea, and the others you use to drink tables.  Okay it's probably bigger because it goes on the table to use for other things (e.g., soup, cereal).  I guess it's okay to use the same sized spoon for soup or cereal, but god forbid it goes near your teacup. 

We also have the cup.  Cups are also things that can contain liquid, but don't confuse cups with cups or you may end up with too much stuff. 

I honestly don't know how cooks don't go insane. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 11, 2015, 01:58:36 pm
Oh, yes, we have pints.  I've never known what a pint is, except some cups are the size of pints.  Oh, you never have cups that are the size of cups; that would be silly.

There are also quarts, which are a quarter of something.  I know these because they sometimes sell milk in them. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on June 11, 2015, 02:24:45 pm
I also don't know what a pint is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 11, 2015, 02:25:58 pm
I also don't know what a pint is.

It depends where you are, and what you are measuring.  Just like any good unit of measurement.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 11, 2015, 02:33:28 pm
Goko is completely down.

There's supposed to be the open beta going to the public TODAY, so keep a Lookout (http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php/Lookout) for that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 11, 2015, 02:46:31 pm
Cooking measurements are the worst.  When you have a recipe in a country using the metric system, how to you measure everything?  We have things like teaspoons, tablespoons (why?  For the love of god, WHY??????), cups, ounces (what is this?!?!?  I don't even know what fundamental property I'm measuring), and other things.

Oh, and naturally, things are denominated in fractions, generally based on powers of 2.  So you'd have, like, 1/2 tsp, 1/4 tsp, 1/8 tsp, etc.  "tsp" means "teaspoon", which means something but who knows what.  "tbsp" means "tablespoon" which means something bigger.  Like a bigger spoon.  I mean, you have spoons, too, but these are not standardized, because anyone can make a spoon.  But some spoons are special spoons, and some of them you use to drink tea, and the others you use to drink tables.  Okay it's probably bigger because it goes on the table to use for other things (e.g., soup, cereal).  I guess it's okay to use the same sized spoon for soup or cereal, but god forbid it goes near your teacup. 

We also have the cup.  Cups are also things that can contain liquid, but don't confuse cups with cups or you may end up with too much stuff. 

I honestly don't know how cooks don't go insane.

We also have teaspoons and tablespoons. A teaspoon is 5 ml, a tablespoon is 1 cl.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 11, 2015, 03:27:00 pm
Can you ask for drinks in drams in the US?  I thought it was all measured in ounces.  But the point is, you could still use it in your literature, just like you could use "thou art" and "wherefore".

It's "fluid ounces", and nobody, I mean nobody, knows what that means.*

Though you could measure fluid in ounces, it just wouldn't be the same amount as the same number fluid ounces.  Except for the ones with unit density in those units.  Unless you're using ounces to mean a volume based on some other standard density.

*Okay it must be something, like, the volume of one ounce of some liquid at some conditions (STP or something).  But is that ounce a unit of force or mass?  Who knows?  So maybe you have to specify that it's being done at a particular location relative to some heavy object (like, at sea level). 

This is one of the very few places the old system has a match for the metric system.  One fluid ounce of water has a weight of one ounce, and one pint of water has a weight of one pound.  (Both come from the same root word I believe).  With slight error depending on the temperature, of course, just as the density of water is not sure exactly 1000 kg/m3.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 11, 2015, 03:29:23 pm
Another bit of unit ridiculousness:  a pound of water weighs more than a pound of gold, but an ounce of gold weighs more than an ounce of water.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 11, 2015, 03:31:33 pm
Another bit of unit ridiculousness:  a pound of water weighs more than a pound of gold, but an ounce of gold weighs more than an ounce of water.

See, I have no idea what those words mean.

I actually can't determine whether "pound" means pound-mass or pound-force.  Well, okay, you're using mass there, but I mean in regular day use.  I always assumed pound-force.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on June 11, 2015, 03:32:30 pm
Pound never means mass. Pound is a unit of weight, which is Force.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 11, 2015, 03:35:14 pm
Pound never means mass. Pound is a unit of weight, which is Force.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_(mass)

YBW'd

(You've Been Wikipedia'd)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on June 11, 2015, 03:37:11 pm
Pound never means mass. Pound is a unit of weight, which is Force.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_(mass)

YBW'd

(You've Been Wikipedia'd)
That's stupid :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 11, 2015, 04:05:41 pm
In other news, anyone can edit anything so that anyone can say anything in Wikipedia.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on June 11, 2015, 04:06:07 pm
In other news, anyone can edit anything so that anyone can say anything in Wikipedia.
Not even true though. Ugh, I hate when people say this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on June 11, 2015, 04:06:52 pm
In other news, anyone can edit anything so that anyone can say anything in Wikipedia.

for 0.3 seconds
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 11, 2015, 04:20:09 pm
But, in another area, let's say volume, you have the liter in metric.  You put the same prefixes to make centiliters (which I've never heard of), milliliters, kiloliters, etc. 

Just FYI, centiliters are used pretty commonly, for example everyone knows that a soda can is 33cl and a small soda bottle is (generally) 50cl (whereas a big soda bottle is either a liter or 1.5 liter). Milliliters are sometimes used in cook books I think. I don't think I've ever used or seen used "kiloliter" in my life, though obviously I know what it is, since as you pointed out it's pretty easy to get.

You also forgot the very rarely used hectometer/hectoliter etc. (one hectometer = 100 meters), which I just like the sound of.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 11, 2015, 04:23:20 pm
Thinking about it, I realized that we actually do use a semi-non-metric thing in France, the hectare. It actually is metric, because it is precisely 10.000 square meters, but it doesn't really fit in the system.

Clearly the metric system is thus hypocritical and should be dropped immediately.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 11, 2015, 04:39:15 pm
kilo, hecto, deca, (unit), deci, centi, milli. Everybody forgets about poor deca. And nobody says "kilogram", we all say "kilo". I guess back during the French revolution people only weighted food, and that's why we have such a small unit of mass?

I've seen cans both say 33cl and 330ml. Same for bottles.

Cooking instructions are just as bad in the metric countries.

Hectares exist in Spain too. I always thought it meant (hm)2, but it turns out that it's actually h(are), where an "area" = 100m2. They are only used to measure tracts of land (farms, forests, etc.).

Metric countries describe TV screen width in terms of inches, for some reason. Rulers usually have one side in cms and the other in inches. And in Spain, we call a square of chocolate an "ounce" ("onza"). Clearly we have to defend ourselves from American influence.

I am sure I am forgetting more cases were the metric system is not used as it should.

EDIT: A megagram (1000 kg) is always called a ton. 100 kg is called a quintal (this is regional, I think).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 11, 2015, 04:41:01 pm
But, in another area, let's say volume, you have the liter in metric.  You put the same prefixes to make centiliters (which I've never heard of), milliliters, kiloliters, etc. 

Just FYI, centiliters are used pretty commonly, for example everyone knows that a soda can is 33cl and a small soda bottle is (generally) 50cl (whereas a big soda bottle is either a liter or 1.5 liter). Milliliters are sometimes used in cook books I think. I don't think I've ever used or seen used "kiloliter" in my life, though obviously I know what it is, since as you pointed out it's pretty easy to get.

You also forgot the very rarely used hectometer/hectoliter etc. (one hectometer = 100 meters), which I just like the sound of.

Must be regional.  I've never seen cL used anywhere IRL.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 11, 2015, 05:12:28 pm
Pound never means mass. Pound is a unit of weight, which is Force.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_(mass)

YBW'd

(You've Been Wikipedia'd)

As someone who has an engineering degree and was forced to use pounds-mass as a unit all the time, I can say that we never used the pound as a unit of mass.  Pound was force only.

Another bit of unit ridiculousness:  a pound of water weighs more than a pound of gold, but an ounce of gold weighs more than an ounce of water.

See, I have no idea what those words mean.

I actually can't determine whether "pound" means pound-mass or pound-force.  Well, okay, you're using mass there, but I mean in regular day use.  I always assumed pound-force.

In this particular context, though, the distinction between force and mass doesn't matter.  The point was that we have a specific measurement system used for previous metal weights and nothing else... which is as dumb as it gets.  Yet if you go look up the price of gold, it'll be listed in Troy ounces, which have slightly more mass than Avoirdupois ounces.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 11, 2015, 06:02:16 pm
Oh yes, tons and quintals here too, thought quintals are very rarely used. And TV/computer screens in France are actually in "pouces" (=thumbs), which always confused the heck out of me. I understand 13 thumbs is bigger than 10, but I would have a lot of trouble converting that. I genuinely don't know how many thumbs the screen I'm writing on measures... in centimeters I'd guess somewhere between over 25 just looking at it ? *

We also use "kilo" for "kilogramme", never for kilometer (or any other one).

* after checking looks like 10 thumbs = 25.4 centimeters.

ETA : our rulers only have centi/millimeters on them though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on June 11, 2015, 06:03:51 pm
Oh yes, tons and quintals here too, thought quintals are very rarely used. And TV/computer screens in France are actually in "pouces" (=thumbs), which always confused the heck out of me. I understand 13 thumbs is bigger than 10, but I would have a lot of trouble converting that. I genuinely don't know how many thumbs the screen I'm writing on measures... in centimeters I'd guess somewhere between over 25 just looking at it ? *

We also use "kilo" for "kilogramme", never for kilometer (or any other one).

* after checking looks like 10 thumbs = 25.4 centimeters.

Then thumbs are inches, my continental friend.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 11, 2015, 06:04:49 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYb0-HW1VFo

I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 11, 2015, 06:35:42 pm
...
I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time...

I live in the city where that thing happens.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 11, 2015, 08:08:39 pm
So, Christopher Lee passed away today. Very sad news.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Jimmmmm on June 11, 2015, 08:29:32 pm
So, Christopher Lee passed away today. Very sad news.

It was actually on Sunday. But yes, very sad.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 11, 2015, 10:57:05 pm


I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time...

I guess it may be funny, but I couldn't get past the female characters. I guess this is normal on that show?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 11, 2015, 11:01:43 pm


I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time...

I guess it may be funny, but I couldn't get past the female characters. I guess this is normal on that show?

Yeah, pretty much. They're kind of stupid. You haven't seen Cake Boss, you wouldn't get why the entire video was funny.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 11, 2015, 11:24:29 pm
Cooking measurements are the worst.  When you have a recipe in a country using the metric system, how to you measure everything?  We have things like teaspoons, tablespoons (why?  For the love of god, WHY??????), cups, ounces (what is this?!?!?  I don't even know what fundamental property I'm measuring), and other things.

Oh, and naturally, things are denominated in fractions, generally based on powers of 2.  So you'd have, like, 1/2 tsp, 1/4 tsp, 1/8 tsp, etc.  "tsp" means "teaspoon", which means something but who knows what.  "tbsp" means "tablespoon" which means something bigger.  Like a bigger spoon.  I mean, you have spoons, too, but these are not standardized, because anyone can make a spoon.  But some spoons are special spoons, and some of them you use to drink tea, and the others you use to drink tables.  Okay it's probably bigger because it goes on the table to use for other things (e.g., soup, cereal).  I guess it's okay to use the same sized spoon for soup or cereal, but god forbid it goes near your teacup. 

We also have the cup.  Cups are also things that can contain liquid, but don't confuse cups with cups or you may end up with too much stuff. 

I honestly don't know how cooks don't go insane.

You know they sell things that measure these exact things, right?  And they even look like spoons.

http://www.amazon.com/b?node=289788
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 11, 2015, 11:25:12 pm
Cooking measurements are the worst.  When you have a recipe in a country using the metric system, how to you measure everything?  We have things like teaspoons, tablespoons (why?  For the love of god, WHY??????), cups, ounces (what is this?!?!?  I don't even know what fundamental property I'm measuring), and other things.

Oh, and naturally, things are denominated in fractions, generally based on powers of 2.  So you'd have, like, 1/2 tsp, 1/4 tsp, 1/8 tsp, etc.  "tsp" means "teaspoon", which means something but who knows what.  "tbsp" means "tablespoon" which means something bigger.  Like a bigger spoon.  I mean, you have spoons, too, but these are not standardized, because anyone can make a spoon.  But some spoons are special spoons, and some of them you use to drink tea, and the others you use to drink tables.  Okay it's probably bigger because it goes on the table to use for other things (e.g., soup, cereal).  I guess it's okay to use the same sized spoon for soup or cereal, but god forbid it goes near your teacup. 

We also have the cup.  Cups are also things that can contain liquid, but don't confuse cups with cups or you may end up with too much stuff. 

I honestly don't know how cooks don't go insane.

You know they sell things that measure these exact things, right?  And they even look like spoons.

http://www.amazon.com/b?node=289788

Hilariously, this one also lists the metric equivalents on the spoons themselves:

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisipro-Stainless-Steel-Measuring-Spoon/dp/B00004SU1I/ref=lp_289788_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1434079426&sr=1-2

1 tsp = 5 ml
1 tbsp = 15 ml
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 12, 2015, 03:21:55 am
I haven't played Pokemon Online in ages.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 12, 2015, 07:10:08 am


I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time...

I guess it may be funny, but I couldn't get past the female characters. I guess this is normal on that show?

Yeah, pretty much. They're kind of stupid. You haven't seen Cake Boss, you wouldn't get why the entire video was funny.

The only thing i thought was funny was how he makes his cakes of everything but cake. It's pretty much what he actually does. The rest was typical internet "parody" humor, which becomes all too predictable after a while.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 12, 2015, 08:20:02 am
We also have teaspoons and tablespoons. A teaspoon is 5 ml, a tablespoon is 1 cl.

The former is a bit imprecise, the latter is outright wrong, given that there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon.

1 teaspoon = 0.492892159 centiliters
1 tablespoon = 1.478 cL

And for those inclined to argue about the placement of punctuation inside or outside the quotation marks, the abbreviation for liters is "L", not "l".

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 12, 2015, 08:34:05 am
We also have teaspoons and tablespoons. A teaspoon is 5 ml, a tablespoon is 1 cl.

The former is a bit imprecise, the latter is outright wrong, given that there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon.

1 teaspoon = 0.492892159 centiliters
1 tablespoon = 1.478 cL

And for those inclined to argue about the placement of punctuation inside or outside the quotation marks, the abbreviation for liters is "L", not "l".

Well, they aren't really teaspoon and tablespoon, they are teelusikka and ruokalusikka (which are the Finnish words for those items, respectively). A teelusikka is exactly 5ml and a ruokalusikka is exactly 1cl.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 12, 2015, 09:12:30 am
We also have teaspoons and tablespoons. A teaspoon is 5 ml, a tablespoon is 1 cl.

The former is a bit imprecise, the latter is outright wrong, given that there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon.

1 teaspoon = 0.492892159 centiliters
1 tablespoon = 1.478 cL

And for those inclined to argue about the placement of punctuation inside or outside the quotation marks, the abbreviation for liters is "L", not "l".

"teaspoon" and "tablespoon"  have different meanings depending on where you are.  American ones are different than other ones; in some places they're defined as an integer number of ml (as in Awaclus') case.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 12, 2015, 09:13:38 am
See "cooking measures" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_customary_units.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 12, 2015, 09:15:12 am
Cooking measurements are the worst.  When you have a recipe in a country using the metric system, how to you measure everything?  We have things like teaspoons, tablespoons (why?  For the love of god, WHY??????), cups, ounces (what is this?!?!?  I don't even know what fundamental property I'm measuring), and other things.

Oh, and naturally, things are denominated in fractions, generally based on powers of 2.  So you'd have, like, 1/2 tsp, 1/4 tsp, 1/8 tsp, etc.  "tsp" means "teaspoon", which means something but who knows what.  "tbsp" means "tablespoon" which means something bigger.  Like a bigger spoon.  I mean, you have spoons, too, but these are not standardized, because anyone can make a spoon.  But some spoons are special spoons, and some of them you use to drink tea, and the others you use to drink tables.  Okay it's probably bigger because it goes on the table to use for other things (e.g., soup, cereal).  I guess it's okay to use the same sized spoon for soup or cereal, but god forbid it goes near your teacup. 

We also have the cup.  Cups are also things that can contain liquid, but don't confuse cups with cups or you may end up with too much stuff. 

I honestly don't know how cooks don't go insane.

You know they sell things that measure these exact things, right?  And they even look like spoons.

http://www.amazon.com/b?node=289788

Hilariously, this one also lists the metric equivalents on the spoons themselves:

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisipro-Stainless-Steel-Measuring-Spoon/dp/B00004SU1I/ref=lp_289788_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1434079426&sr=1-2

1 tsp = 5 ml
1 tbsp = 15 ml

That's not true, though.   Not for US tsp and tbsp.  Well I guess you can say it's rounded.. the more precise measures are what SfS said.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 12, 2015, 09:15:56 am
So on that measuring spoon that says "1 Tbsp" and "15 mL", I don't know which one of those labels is true.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 12, 2015, 09:17:54 am
So on that measuring spoon that says "1 Tbsp" and "15 mL", I don't know which one of those labels is true.

In the US, both are correct to two significant digits.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 12, 2015, 09:19:25 am
But it's misleading, because "1 Tbsp" is exact.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 12, 2015, 09:48:27 am
If you are cooking something that requires more than two significant digits of precision... I want in.

My favourite cooking measure is the "while".

"Let it stew for a while before adding the carrots..."

Does someone really get paid for writing that!?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Cuzz on June 12, 2015, 10:15:59 am
If you are cooking something that requires more than two significant digits of precision... I want in.

My favourite cooking measure is the "while".

"Let it stew for a while before adding the carrots..."

Does someone really get paid for writing that!?

Just think of all the recipes that all somehow call for an integer number of "eggs."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 12, 2015, 10:18:46 am
If you are cooking something that requires more than two significant digits of precision... I want in.

My wife bakes bread as a hobby.  Many of her recipes do require two places of precision.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 12, 2015, 10:54:40 am
If you are cooking something that requires more than two significant digits of precision... I want in.

My wife bakes bread as a hobby.  Many of her recipes do require two places of precision.

Two or three? I don't think I've ever seen something go more precise than two digits (something like 175g doesn't count: the intended precision is really 25g, not 5g).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 12, 2015, 01:03:40 pm
If you are cooking something that requires more than two significant digits of precision... I want in.

My wife bakes bread as a hobby.  Many of her recipes do require two places of precision.

Two or three? I don't think I've ever seen something go more precise than two digits (something like 175g doesn't count: the intended precision is really 25g, not 5g).

Bread that calls for 250 g of X will be noticeably wrong with 240 or 260 g.  So, definitely not three digits of precision; a 1 g difference wouldn't change much.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 12, 2015, 01:07:06 pm
We also have teaspoons and tablespoons. A teaspoon is 5 ml, a tablespoon is 1 cl.

The former is a bit imprecise, the latter is outright wrong, given that there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon.

1 teaspoon = 0.492892159 centiliters
1 tablespoon = 1.478 cL

And for those inclined to argue about the placement of punctuation inside or outside the quotation marks, the abbreviation for liters is "L", not "l".

Well, they aren't really teaspoon and tablespoon, they are teelusikka and ruokalusikka (which are the Finnish words for those items, respectively). A teelusikka is exactly 5ml and a ruokalusikka is exactly 1cl.

That's very interesting.  So the latter is exactly two of the former, as contrasted with a multiplier of 3 for the american (approximate) analogs.  Do I get extra respect for the alliteration?

As an aside: the past several pages of discussion has got me thinking, and I realized that after 35+ years in laboratories, identifying the less frequently encountered term between the pair {decimeter, centiliter} is frighteningly easy.  Though both are not encountered routinely, I have spoken or written "decimeter" probably two or three times a year.  I cannot think of a single time where I have read or used "centiliter" in a professional setting. 

I would have thought is would have been the reverse, as volumes are much more important in applied chemistry settings than lengths.  On the other hand, most of my use of "decimeter" has been to remind fresh graduates what a liter "looks like" in an easily visualized regular vessel.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 12, 2015, 01:29:50 pm
Well, we have pointless measurements. Now all we need are pointless stories and we'll be a fully functioning Austere Academy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 12, 2015, 02:24:04 pm
I just discovered this list (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flags_by_color_combination#Red.2C_white_and_black) and I am doing my best to forget it exists, or else I know I won't get any work done for the rest of today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Cuzz on June 12, 2015, 02:38:14 pm
I'm at exactly 1 respect per post. Please kindly do not ruin it by +1-ing this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on June 12, 2015, 04:45:51 pm
I'm at exactly 1 respect per post. Please kindly do not ruin it by +1-ing this.

you just need to post more now I guess.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 12, 2015, 05:25:09 pm
I'm at exactly 1 respect per post. Please kindly do not ruin it by +1-ing this.

you just need to post more now I guess.

Perhaps in Forum Games.. have you checked them out?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Cuzz on June 12, 2015, 05:34:02 pm
I'm at exactly 1 respect per post. Please kindly do not ruin it by +1-ing this.

you just need to post more now I guess.

Perhaps in Forum Games.. have you checked them out?

Ha
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 13, 2015, 01:36:46 am
I'm at exactly 1 respect per post. Please kindly do not ruin it by +1-ing this.

you just need to post more now I guess.

Perhaps in Forum Games.. have you checked them out?

Ha

Hilarious because Cuzz is a vet.  He debuted the same game as me, I believe.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 13, 2015, 11:38:25 am
I'm at exactly 1 respect per post. Please kindly do not ruin it by +1-ing this.

you just need to post more now I guess.

Perhaps in Forum Games.. have you checked them out?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc90KBuElG0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: GendoIkari on June 13, 2015, 11:44:43 am
I'm at exactly 1 respect per post. Please kindly do not ruin it by +1-ing this.

you just need to post more now I guess.

Perhaps in Forum Games.. have you checked them out?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc90KBuElG0

Love Doug Walker.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 13, 2015, 12:37:44 pm
I'm at exactly 1 respect per post. Please kindly do not ruin it by +1-ing this.

you just need to post more now I guess.

Perhaps in Forum Games.. have you checked them out?

Ha

Hilarious because Cuzz is a vet.  He debuted the same game as me, I believe.

The joke.  That was the it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 13, 2015, 07:45:14 pm
Debuted in the famous "Robz suggest newbies should be first lynched in a newbies game". Guess who the day 1 lynch was ?

Also this is a game where town!ash almost lost the game for town for not understanding that his PR invalidated a scum fakeclaim. And Voltaire debuted by replacing Morgrim. Crazy.

Wait, this isn't the mafia game thread ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on June 13, 2015, 09:00:31 pm
Debuted in the famous "Robz suggest newbies should be first lynched in a newbies game". Guess who the day 1 lynch was ?

Also this is a game where town!ash almost lost the game for town for not understanding that his PR invalidated a scum fakeclaim. And Voltaire debuted by replacing Morgrim. Crazy.

Wait, this isn't the mafia game thread ?
Robz, of course.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 15, 2015, 11:42:15 am
It's time like this when I am dealing with a pretty nasty head cold that I can fully appreciate the origins of the word phlegmatic.

When my head is full of snot, I feel miserable and listless. When I clear my head of that snot, I feel quite energetic. The ancients certainly knew what they were talking about when describing something as phlegmatic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ehunt on June 15, 2015, 01:49:59 pm
You might need to brush up on your French though :P

I have become rather rusty. You just never speak french if you are not from/in a french-speaking Country. :-\

ben, moi j'ai trouvé que les francophones qui jouent ŕ Dominion sont heureux de me parler en français, bien que le mien soit un peu... nul.

j'avais envie de jouer au Mafia en français mais je n'ai jamais trouvé neuf personnes qui

1) parlent français
et
2) veulent le jouer

mais un jour !! un jour je les trouverai, moi, préparez-vous... quoi
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 15, 2015, 03:05:42 pm
At least there are no more measurements.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 15, 2015, 03:07:16 pm
Except, I just found this today on imgur:

(http://i.imgur.com/05bU8Yt.jpg) (http://imgur.com/gallery/05bU8Yt)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 15, 2015, 04:35:17 pm
Except, I just found this today on imgur:

(http://i.imgur.com/05bU8Yt.jpg) (http://imgur.com/gallery/05bU8Yt)

Just playing devil's advocate for a bit here (I think pretty much everyone can agree that metric is a more useful system in general) but this is a pretty ridiculous argument. "Metric can relate the quantities in exactly the way it's designed to do better than another system" is meaningless. Imperial (or "English units" as my parents/grandparents insist on calling it, ugh) has some advantages, such as some quantities relate in much better every day ways - you can approximate a foot from your body, a yard is roughly a stride... uhh... struggling on others though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 15, 2015, 04:43:41 pm
Tables, I believe the response you're looking for is, "haha".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Mic Qsenoch on June 15, 2015, 04:55:37 pm
Imperial (or "English units" as my parents/grandparents insist on calling it, ugh) has some advantages, such as some quantities relate in much better every day ways - you can approximate a foot from your body, a yard is roughly a stride... uhh... struggling on others though.

A gallon is how much milk you can't drink in an hour without vomiting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 15, 2015, 05:06:32 pm
You might need to brush up on your French though :P

I have become rather rusty. You just never speak french if you are not from/in a french-speaking Country. :-\

ben, moi j'ai trouvé que les francophones qui jouent ŕ Dominion sont heureux de me parler en français, bien que le mien soit un peu... nul.

j'avais envie de jouer au Mafia en français mais je n'ai jamais trouvé neuf personnes qui

1) parlent français
et
2) veulent le jouer

mais un jour !! un jour je les trouverai, moi, préparez-vous... quoi

Ton français n'est pas si nul, il n'y aucune erreur dans ce message (si ce n'est des majuscules manquantes mais ça ce n'est pas spécifique au français).

Pour ce qui est d'une partie de mafia en français, je suis toujours disponible.

9 people is enough by the way, but I'm guessing all 9 haven't necessarily been willing to play at the same time ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 15, 2015, 05:22:16 pm
You might need to brush up on your French though :P

I have become rather rusty. You just never speak french if you are not from/in a french-speaking Country. :-\

ben, moi j'ai trouvé que les francophones qui jouent ŕ Dominion sont heureux de me parler en français, bien que le mien soit un peu... nul.

j'avais envie de jouer au Mafia en français mais je n'ai jamais trouvé neuf personnes qui

1) parlent français
et
2) veulent le jouer

mais un jour !! un jour je les trouverai, moi, préparez-vous... quoi

Ton français n'est pas si nul, il n'y aucune erreur dans ce message (si ce n'est des majuscules manquantes mais ça ce n'est pas spécifique au français).

Pour ce qui est d'une partie de mafia en français, je suis toujours disponible.

9 people is enough by the way, but I'm guessing all 9 haven't necessarily been willing to play at the same time ?

Viva a la fromauge, comprendo? Hahahahahaha
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 15, 2015, 05:31:42 pm
Achtung! Pain ŕ la chocolatine !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXoxHStbAFE

Na zdorovie!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 16, 2015, 02:14:58 am
I'm reading this book (because I have to) on the environment for my college English class. This one 'story' is the stupidest thing I've ever read in my entire life. Basically, this guy is throwing out food he never even uses and donates it all to the food bank, which is fine and dandy. I mean, I never buy food I won't use, but okay. But then he goes on about how embarrassed he would be if people knew what sort of food used to be in his fridge, describing things like cake mix and Nutella. He gets sad when he finds out his can of fish is from the same area where people hunt dolphins, and then he freaks out about how blood could be in his can. Then he goes on a rage about how we must eat only organic natural things and not processed food, but even that's not good enough for him, because he threw out a bottle of organic pumpkin because it wasn't local enough for him. He then compares cowboys drinking alcohol to the fall of Rome and then says America is next to go, because we eat and drink bad food. I mean, the guy has some valid points throughout the story, but it's so convoluted and dumb that I can't take it seriously.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on June 16, 2015, 03:04:38 am
Is it possible the point of the story is how you can take a good point too far?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 16, 2015, 03:18:36 am
Is it possible the point of the story is how you can take a good point too far?

Nah, the guy just likes whipping himself for the sin of liking food.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on June 16, 2015, 02:18:14 pm
This is my tenth post. Do I get a third star yet?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on June 16, 2015, 02:18:37 pm
Damn it, apparently not.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Darth Vader on June 16, 2015, 02:20:01 pm
Damn it, apparently not.

The post count is with you, young Wooznum, but you are not a 3-star yet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on June 16, 2015, 02:27:22 pm
Damn it, apparently not.

The post count is with you, young Wooznum, but you are not a 3-star yet.
well you have one so I at most need 20. How long do you think we can drag this conversation on?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Darth Vader on June 16, 2015, 02:34:22 pm
Damn it, apparently not.

The post count is with you, young Wooznum, but you are not a 3-star yet.
well you have one so I at most need 20. How long do you think we can drag this conversation on?

We could discuss the location of any secret bases you have.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on June 16, 2015, 02:41:03 pm
Damn it, apparently not.

The post count is with you, young Wooznum, but you are not a 3-star yet.
well you have one so I at most need 20. How long do you think we can drag this conversation on?

We could discuss the location of any secret bases you have.
that wasnt part of the deal!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Darth Vader on June 16, 2015, 02:42:43 pm
Damn it, apparently not.

The post count is with you, young Wooznum, but you are not a 3-star yet.
well you have one so I at most need 20. How long do you think we can drag this conversation on?

We could discuss the location of any secret bases you have.
that wasnt part of the deal!

Pray I do not Altar the deal any further. Because you know, I could trash you. For any $5 cost.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 16, 2015, 02:44:56 pm
My reaction to all of this:

(http://littlefun.org/uploads/51fd6132c85611338f000026_736.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 16, 2015, 02:59:40 pm
We're debating rescuing a rat. Pet store has two rats returned to it, and they are not at all social. In fact, one of them bit me when I tried to pick her up, and rats aren't known for biting.

But the super-aggressive one looks like she may have a tumor. We're new rat owners, and I don't think we have the experience and resources to care for two rehab rats. If the entumored one passes and leaves her cagemate alone, then we could consider rehabilitating her. Even then that's kind of sketchy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 16, 2015, 03:12:38 pm
There has to be some joke available here regarding gaining rats, and trashing your house, or something, but I can't quite grab it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 17, 2015, 01:09:03 am
https://www.change.org/p/nintendo-petition-for-cancelation-of-metroid-prime-federation-force
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 17, 2015, 02:32:08 am
https://www.change.org/p/nintendo-petition-for-cancelation-of-metroid-prime-federation-force

Oh man. That game looked like a generic first person Sci-Fi shooter, not like any Metroid game I can think of. I'll keep an eye on it just in case it turns out good (I'm a sucker for Metroid after all) but I don't have my hopes up.

Nintendo's E3 was really not that amazing this year. Had a few nice games but nothing too hype.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 17, 2015, 02:33:12 am
https://www.change.org/p/nintendo-petition-for-cancelation-of-metroid-prime-federation-force

Quote
(Please notice the 90% dislike ratio. NO ONE wants this game.)

Blatantly untrue.  That statistic suggests that 10% of people want this game. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 17, 2015, 08:48:11 am
OMGWTFBBQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8X-vLGUPjc

This video has used up all the awesome.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AHoppy on June 17, 2015, 09:26:19 am
Just... wow.  That's too good to be true...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 17, 2015, 09:48:08 am
Now they only need to add Dr McNinja and the Universe will implode, expand, and implode again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 17, 2015, 12:10:53 pm
So I saw this article pop up on Facebook news feed and only briefly scanned:

http://fantasy-faction.com/2015/breakfast-of-bullshit-futurephobia-the-hugos-and-the-invention-of-sfs-past?utm_content=buffer5786f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

It sounds like there are people that think SciFi isn't about  political/social/etc. issues.  Does anyone know anything about this or the "Hugo Controversy"?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on June 17, 2015, 12:22:56 pm
It sounds like there are people that think SciFi isn't about  political/social/etc. issues.  Does anyone know anything about this or the "Hugo Controversy"?

It's 100% RSP. I was typing up a "short version" and even that was pretty crazy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 17, 2015, 12:46:23 pm
It also doesn't even seem worth responding to. Claiming science-fiction shouldn't be (and hasn't been) political is like claiming that the Earth is flat. It's not a political statement, it's a flat-out lie or mistake.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 17, 2015, 12:50:45 pm
It also doesn't even seem worth responding to. Claiming science-fiction shouldn't be (and hasn't been) political is like claiming that the Earth is flat. It's not a political statement, it's a flat-out lie or mistake.

Anyone who says this idiotic statement that science fiction has never been political clearly has never read Philip K. Dick or Ray Bradbury...

Part of the magic of science fiction is the weird. The what-if. I love science fiction for the ability to criticize everything by taking it to the extreme.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 17, 2015, 12:51:20 pm
So I saw this article pop up on Facebook news feed and only briefly scanned:

http://fantasy-faction.com/2015/breakfast-of-bullshit-futurephobia-the-hugos-and-the-invention-of-sfs-past?utm_content=buffer5786f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

It sounds like there are people that think SciFi isn't about  political/social/etc. issues.  Does anyone know anything about this or the "Hugo Controversy"?

Very interesting read, thanks for sharing :)
I have no clue about this "Hugo" thing.

Where i live, Hugo is either a rare, anachronistic name or a sweet alcoholic beverage.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 17, 2015, 01:09:54 pm
So I saw this article pop up on Facebook news feed and only briefly scanned:

http://fantasy-faction.com/2015/breakfast-of-bullshit-futurephobia-the-hugos-and-the-invention-of-sfs-past?utm_content=buffer5786f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

It sounds like there are people that think SciFi isn't about  political/social/etc. issues.  Does anyone know anything about this or the "Hugo Controversy"?

Very interesting read, thanks for sharing :)
I have no clue about this "Hugo" thing.

Where i live, Hugo is either a rare, anachronistic name or a sweet alcoholic beverage.

Haven't read yet.  I don't know what the controversy specifically is, but I'd bet that it involves the Hugo Awards.  Probably they nominated or awarded something controversial.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 17, 2015, 01:12:46 pm
Science Fiction is an incredibly broad genre.

"From Earth to the Moon" by Jules Verne is something i'd consider Science Fiction. It has barely any social commentary and doesn't play in the future. It's still science fiction in the strictest meaning of the words, an adventure novel based on a technological premise.

"A Clockwork Orange" plays in the future, and boy, everything that plays in the future is science fiction, right? Well, future should bring scientific/technological evolvements, so fictional science is bound to be part of it, so - it's science fiction, isn't it? Either way, that book has a whole lot of social commentary.

An then there's stuff like "Star Wars". A long time ago, in a far far away galaxy. So, no future, no social stuff, but IN SPACE! And space, again, implies (fictional) technology/science, so hey, those definitions seem to get along after all. I assume that Star Wars is closest to what a certain "Nutty Nuts" person from that blog post might like, because it spends no thought on how human society might evolve (as it's neither about humans nor the future), and is basically an adventure tale with lasers and space ships. That's one of the reasons why i can understand people considering Star Wars "not exactly Sci-Fi", though obviously it fits the definition i gave.

It all comes down to what you expect from Sci-Fi. And whether you think a story about Cowboys in space can be any good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 17, 2015, 01:21:26 pm
It all comes down to what you expect from Sci-Fi. And whether you think a story about Cowboys in space can be any good.

Firefly would like to have a word with you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 17, 2015, 01:23:51 pm
I don't think any genre of literature precludes social, political, religious, or any other kind of commentary.  I think SciFi especially examines "the human condition" and what it is to be human, which tends to go into those other things.  But it need not be SciFi to do this; it could have been Fantasy, Horror, or just general Fiction.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 17, 2015, 01:24:48 pm
So I saw this article pop up on Facebook news feed and only briefly scanned:

http://fantasy-faction.com/2015/breakfast-of-bullshit-futurephobia-the-hugos-and-the-invention-of-sfs-past?utm_content=buffer5786f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

It sounds like there are people that think SciFi isn't about  political/social/etc. issues.  Does anyone know anything about this or the "Hugo Controversy"?

As a frequenter of fan-run coins planning to go to WorldCon this year, I've been following quite closely.

As Voltaire noted, even a vague summary is so RSP that it's ridiculous.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 17, 2015, 01:38:10 pm
So I saw this article pop up on Facebook news feed and only briefly scanned:

http://fantasy-faction.com/2015/breakfast-of-bullshit-futurephobia-the-hugos-and-the-invention-of-sfs-past?utm_content=buffer5786f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

It sounds like there are people that think SciFi isn't about  political/social/etc. issues.  Does anyone know anything about this or the "Hugo Controversy"?

As a frequenter of fan-run coins planning to go to WorldCon this year, I've been following quite closely.

As Voltaire noted, even a vague summary is so RSP that it's ridiculous.

I don't understand what this is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 17, 2015, 01:43:55 pm
OK, just read up on the controversy and wow, that is disgusting and deluded. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 17, 2015, 01:47:46 pm
So I saw this article pop up on Facebook news feed and only briefly scanned:

http://fantasy-faction.com/2015/breakfast-of-bullshit-futurephobia-the-hugos-and-the-invention-of-sfs-past?utm_content=buffer5786f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

It sounds like there are people that think SciFi isn't about  political/social/etc. issues.  Does anyone know anything about this or the "Hugo Controversy"?

As a frequenter of fan-run coins planning to go to WorldCon this year, I've been following quite closely.

As Voltaire noted, even a vague summary is so RSP that it's ridiculous.

I don't understand what this is.

Fan-run coins are gatherings of numismatics enthusiasts.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on June 17, 2015, 01:54:12 pm
The thing I think I can safely say, RSP excluded, is to remember that those who attend WorldCon themselves are actually an incredibly diverse group, and the people who care/run/obsess over the Hugos are actually a tiny percentage of the "organization".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on June 17, 2015, 02:38:51 pm
I think it is a perfect encapsulation of The Toxoplasma of Rage (http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/12/17/the-toxoplasma-of-rage/):

“YOU KNOW WHAT NOBODY HATES EACH OTHER ABOUT YET? THE HUGOS.”
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 17, 2015, 02:52:59 pm
Quote
Look – just Google science fiction. You’ll find it doesn’t really resemble what you think it is.


This is my favorite dismissive line.

That article was a hoot to read.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 17, 2015, 03:00:09 pm
So I saw this article pop up on Facebook news feed and only briefly scanned:

http://fantasy-faction.com/2015/breakfast-of-bullshit-futurephobia-the-hugos-and-the-invention-of-sfs-past?utm_content=buffer5786f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

It sounds like there are people that think SciFi isn't about  political/social/etc. issues.  Does anyone know anything about this or the "Hugo Controversy"?

As a frequenter of fan-run coins planning to go to WorldCon this year, I've been following quite closely.

As Voltaire noted, even a vague summary is so RSP that it's ridiculous.

I don't understand what this is.

Fan-run coins are gatherings of numismatics enthusiasts.

Bloody fucking autocorrect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 17, 2015, 04:10:03 pm
Yes!

My department is booking a team-building exercise at Escape Room (http://www.escaperoomkc.com). There's been a lot of buzz about this since it opened, but I wanted to wait to see if our team could go. Luckily, we're there.

I'm doing the prison break. No black holes for me, but now that I know which scenarios are which, I'll have to do the other two later.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 17, 2015, 05:50:49 pm
It all comes down to what you expect from Sci-Fi. And whether you think a story about Cowboys in space can be any good.

Firefly would like to have a word with you.

That word would be "overrated."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 17, 2015, 05:51:32 pm
It all comes down to what you expect from Sci-Fi. And whether you think a story about Cowboys in space can be any good.

Firefly would like to have a word with you.

That word would be "overrated."

Displeased Seprix is displeased.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 17, 2015, 05:55:22 pm
It all comes down to what you expect from Sci-Fi. And whether you think a story about Cowboys in space can be any good.

Firefly would like to have a word with you.

The tank?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 17, 2015, 05:56:40 pm
In other news, I might change my username to Seprix..,,. The confusion would be hilarious. Everyone would feel awkward reading and addressing me, saying, "Seprix..,,, why don't you change your username back?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 17, 2015, 05:58:15 pm
It all comes down to what you expect from Sci-Fi. And whether you think a story about Cowboys in space can be any good.

Firefly would like to have a word with you.

The tank?

(http://static1.972mag.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/10/Michael_Dukakis_in_tank1.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on June 17, 2015, 06:28:22 pm
Yes!

My department is booking a team-building exercise at Escape Room (http://www.escaperoomkc.com). There's been a lot of buzz about this since it opened, but I wanted to wait to see if our team could go. Luckily, we're there.

I'm doing the prison break. No black holes for me, but now that I know which scenarios are which, I'll have to do the other two later.
I just did this (the NYC version) as a work event and am going again this weekend for my wife's birthday. 

We lost, by the way.  The absolute nadir of the whole experience was a group of grown, mature attorneys, barred and licensed by the State of New York, telling knock-knock jokes to an inanimate refrigerator door.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Cuzz on June 17, 2015, 06:47:03 pm
It all comes down to what you expect from Sci-Fi. And whether you think a story about Cowboys in space can be any good.

Firefly would like to have a word with you.

That word would be "overrated."

#slatepitch
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 17, 2015, 07:40:34 pm
This thing. (http://listen.hatnote.com/) Simply perfect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on June 17, 2015, 08:49:17 pm
Yes!

My department is booking a team-building exercise at Escape Room (http://www.escaperoomkc.com). There's been a lot of buzz about this since it opened, but I wanted to wait to see if our team could go. Luckily, we're there.

I'm doing the prison break. No black holes for me, but now that I know which scenarios are which, I'll have to do the other two later.
I just did this (the NYC version) as a work event and am going again this weekend for my wife's birthday. 

We lost, by the way.  The absolute nadir of the whole experience was a group of grown, mature attorneys, barred and licensed by the State of New York, telling knock-knock jokes to an inanimate refrigerator door.
I did one in Kuala Lumpur with my fiancée when we visited there last year. Now someone's running a Kickstarter to open one up here (in Canberra), which I'm excited for.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 17, 2015, 10:17:48 pm
Yes!

My department is booking a team-building exercise at Escape Room (http://www.escaperoomkc.com). There's been a lot of buzz about this since it opened, but I wanted to wait to see if our team could go. Luckily, we're there.

I'm doing the prison break. No black holes for me, but now that I know which scenarios are which, I'll have to do the other two later.
I just did this (the NYC version) as a work event and am going again this weekend for my wife's birthday. 

We lost, by the way.  The absolute nadir of the whole experience was a group of grown, mature attorneys, barred and licensed by the State of New York, telling knock-knock jokes to an inanimate refrigerator door.

Isn't that badgering the witness?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 17, 2015, 10:18:57 pm
Isn't that badgering the witness?

(http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/RV-AP670_PUTIN_12S_20150220173227.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Elanchana on June 18, 2015, 01:54:24 am
Being sick SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS. I've been on vocal rest for the past few days and I haven't even gone outside since Sunday. I've also had to miss the first ever staging rehearsal of my opera scenes so I have to do a ton of catching up and fast learning and crap. GUH.

In other news, I got a new amp
(https://igcdn-photos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t51.2885-15/11325842_923879097650426_92662184_n.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on June 18, 2015, 03:20:39 am
If ive calculated correctly, this post should secure me my third star. I'm ecstatic
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 18, 2015, 08:01:08 am
Being sick SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS. I've been on vocal rest for the past few days and I haven't even gone outside since Sunday. I've also had to miss the first ever staging rehearsal of my opera scenes so I have to do a ton of catching up and fast learning and crap. GUH.

I hear you. I was pretty much sleeping all the time from last Wednesday evening to Sunday. I'm able to come back to work, but I am still puny.

Fortunately I'm not in any shows right now to be interrupted. I had considered auditioning for Seussical the Musical, but I wisely chose not to. Last weekend would have been closing weekend for that show. I can only imagine how miserable I'd have been.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on June 18, 2015, 11:54:15 am
My friend got appendicitis a week before tech week once...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 18, 2015, 12:16:58 pm
I was in a show of Once Upon a Mattress where the Minstrel (a pretty prominent role) had an inner ear infection that caused him to collapse and hit his head. This was 3 days before opening night. Rather than canceling the show, our director talked the musical director into filling in. He knew all the songs already. We had to be very liberal with him when it came to lines and choreography, though.

Fortunately, the real Minstrel was able to make it for the second weekend. Kudos to the orchestra for being able to make their own way without the music director conducting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Cuzz on June 18, 2015, 01:49:04 pm
I was in a show of Once Upon a Mattress where the Minstrel (a pretty prominent role) had an inner ear infection that caused him to collapse and hit his head. This was 3 days before opening night. Rather than canceling the show, our director talked the musical director into filling in. He knew all the songs already. We had to be very liberal with him when it came to lines and choreography, though.

Fortunately, the real Minstrel was able to make it for the second weekend. Kudos to the orchestra for being able to make their own way without the music director conducting.

My class did this show in 6th grade. Fun times!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 18, 2015, 02:26:28 pm
If ive calculated correctly, this post should secure me my third star. I'm ecstatic

Did you discard your deck to celebrate ?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on June 18, 2015, 08:23:20 pm
I love the psychology at play in this ad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB2dg5ZSdQE

"The only card that lets you earn cash back twice on every purchase with 1% when you buy and 1% as you pay."

I assume they must have discovered that people feel like 1+1 is greater than 2.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on June 18, 2015, 08:36:39 pm
so it's 2%?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 18, 2015, 08:40:21 pm
Actually, it might be a bit less than 2%. You get your 1% of the cost subtracted from the total, then you get 1% of that taken away. It might not be that way, but knowing companies, it very well could be.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on June 18, 2015, 08:41:57 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhT_gVh_73w
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 18, 2015, 11:26:45 pm
Happy congrats to me! I broke 5000 on Goko for the first time, and my Iso is at an all time high at 23! :D
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 19, 2015, 06:24:18 am
Happy congrats to me! I broke 5000 on Goko for the first time, and my Iso is at an all time high at 23! :D

Wow, my Iso has never been as high as 23!.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 19, 2015, 07:44:20 am
Happy congrats to me! I broke 5000 on Goko for the first time, and my Iso is at an all time high at 23! :D

Wow, my Iso has never been as high as 23!.
I have to win a game for this to happen, right?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 19, 2015, 09:38:44 am
Happy congrats to me! I broke 5000 on Goko for the first time, and my Iso is at an all time high at 23! :D

Wow, my Iso has never been as high as 23!.

I would have upvoted this, but GendoIkari did the same joke a bit too recently.

I have pointed out that your post was a joke, though, so other people might upvote it. No need to thank me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 19, 2015, 11:04:05 am
Happy congrats to me! I broke 5000 on Goko for the first time, and my Iso is at an all time high at 23! :D

Wow, my Iso has never been as high as 23!.

Aren't you one of the better players though? :p
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 19, 2015, 11:11:47 am
Happy congrats to me! I broke 5000 on Goko for the first time, and my Iso is at an all time high at 23! :D

Wow, my Iso has never been as high as 23!.

Aren't you one of the better players though? :p

Well, I guess you could say that, but I'd still need to level up around 25 sextillion times to get that high.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 19, 2015, 11:14:14 am
Happy congrats to me! I broke 5000 on Goko for the first time, and my Iso is at an all time high at 23! :D

Wow, my Iso has never been as high as 23!.

Aren't you one of the better players though? :p

Well, I guess you could say that, but I'd still need to level up around 25 sextillion times to get that high.

Dude, I know 23 isn't high. I'm not that good, which is why I'm happy I got that (kinda) high. You're probably 50 or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 19, 2015, 11:21:22 am
Happy congrats to me! I broke 5000 on Goko for the first time, and my Iso is at an all time high at 23! :D

Wow, my Iso has never been as high as 23!.

Aren't you one of the better players though? :p

Well, I guess you could say that, but I'd still need to level up around 25 sextillion times to get that high.

Dude, I know 23 isn't high. I'm not that good, which is why I'm happy I got that (kinda) high. You're probably 50 or something.

The joke is that 23 ≠ the factorial of 23.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 19, 2015, 11:30:40 am
Oh. That's funny, but to quote Gollum, that's tricksy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on June 19, 2015, 12:01:30 pm
Actually, it might be a bit less than 2%. You get your 1% of the cost subtracted from the total, then you get 1% of that taken away. It might not be that way, but knowing companies, it very well could be.

It's marketed as 1% and 1% because you get 1% back when you buy stuff and 1% back when you pay for that stuff.  If you don't pay off your bill in full then you don't get that second 1%.

That being said, if you aren't paying off your bill in full I don't know why you'd ever want a cashback rewards card instead of a card with lower APR.  (Frankly I think if you aren't paying off your bill in full, credit cards are extremely dangerous, but that's another discussion.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 19, 2015, 12:18:32 pm
In a sense, I almost hope that the question of whether Game of Thrones is based on a true story is not satirical.

But I don't know that my face can withstand that much palm.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 19, 2015, 12:22:56 pm
It's inspired by the War of the Roses.

But I guess that's not what you meant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 19, 2015, 12:24:14 pm
In a way, GoT/ASoIaF IS based on a true story. In that GRRM sees Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings) as a big source of inspiration, and those are based on historical events and characters.

The Wars of the Roses as well, with the whole York/Lancaster = Stark/Lannister.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 19, 2015, 01:25:25 pm
In a way, GoT/ASoIaF IS based on a true story. In that GRRM sees Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings) as a big source of inspiration, and those are based on historical events and characters.

The Wars of the Roses as well, with the whole York/Lancaster = Stark/Lannister.

I suspect the snow zombies part might not be based on a true story though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 19, 2015, 01:25:55 pm
Actually, it might be a bit less than 2%. You get your 1% of the cost subtracted from the total, then you get 1% of that taken away. It might not be that way, but knowing companies, it very well could be.

It's marketed as 1% and 1% because you get 1% back when you buy stuff and 1% back when you pay for that stuff.  If you don't pay off your bill in full then you don't get that second 1%.

That being said, if you aren't paying off your bill in full I don't know why you'd ever want a cashback rewards card instead of a card with lower APR.  (Frankly I think if you aren't paying off your bill in full, credit cards are extremely dangerous, but that's another discussion.)

Extremely dangerous.  I learned that lesson the hard way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 19, 2015, 01:31:07 pm
In a way, GoT/ASoIaF IS based on a true story. In that GRRM sees Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings) as a big source of inspiration, and those are based on historical events and characters.

The Wars of the Roses as well, with the whole York/Lancaster = Stark/Lannister.

I suspect the snow zombies part might not be based on a true story though.

This is a prime example of how American education ignores important Canadian history.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 19, 2015, 01:37:00 pm
This is a prime example of how American education ignores important Canadian history.

Hey! I'm not an ignorant American! I know about the great Syrup Wars of 1782!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 19, 2015, 02:00:21 pm
In a way, GoT/ASoIaF IS based on a true story. In that GRRM sees Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings) as a big source of inspiration, and those are based on historical events and characters.

The Wars of the Roses as well, with the whole York/Lancaster = Stark/Lannister.

I suspect the snow zombies part might not be based on a true story though.

Hey, that series (The Accursed Kings) has, as its name would seem to indicate, a series of kings who all die very young because of a curse thrown upon them by the Knight Templars, so it wouldn't even be that much of a stretch.

OK, maybe it would.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 19, 2015, 03:35:05 pm
So on IMDB I see the new Ghostbuster's:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289401/?ref_=hm_nw_tp1_lk2

and Melissa McCarthy is one of the main characters.  I find her really, really, really not funny.  Like at all.  Kristin Wiig strikes me as not too funny, either.

I'm a bit disappointed, because I remember at one point I saw Jesse Eisenberg and Michael Cera being tossed around for the new Ghostbusters movie, and I think they would have been great. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 19, 2015, 04:13:41 pm
(http://www.qwantz.com/comics/comic2-2850.png)

Dinosaur Comics have taught me something new.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 20, 2015, 12:41:51 am
I just finished watching Forrest Gump for the first time in my life.

I cried.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Cuzz on June 20, 2015, 03:14:00 am
So on IMDB I see the new Ghostbuster's:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289401/?ref_=hm_nw_tp1_lk2

and Melissa McCarthy is one of the main characters.  I find her really, really, really not funny.  Like at all.  Kristin Wiig strikes me as not too funny, either.

I'm a bit disappointed, because I remember at one point I saw Jesse Eisenberg and Michael Cera being tossed around for the new Ghostbusters movie, and I think they would have been great.

Boo. Go watch Spy, which is fantastic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 20, 2015, 02:13:12 pm
Really?  The previews look so horrible...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 20, 2015, 02:19:54 pm
Coincidentally enough, I caught Ghostbusters on TV last night just flipping through, and almost at the beginning.  I haven't seen it in a long time; it was even better than I remembered.  Also, now that I'm in the Manhattan area I actually recognized the buildings and scenes and stuff.

Bill Murray's comedic delivery is just perfect, and there are a lot of things I didn't notice when I was younger, like the looks he would give the other two when they would say things. (Ray: "Listen!  Do you smell something?" and Peter deadpan looks at him and starts pointedly sniffing.)  Also, there were a number of little things I didn't pick up on as a kid, mostly sexually. Like when he goes to Dana's apartment and opens a door and she says, "That's the bedroom, but nothing ever happened in there," to which he replies, "What a crime."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on June 20, 2015, 03:35:55 pm
I'm playing hide and seek. Currently hiding in a closet. I wonder if they'll ever find me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 20, 2015, 04:38:32 pm
I'm playing hide and seek. Currently hiding in a closet. I wonder if they'll ever find me.

They will if they check this forum.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Jimmmmm on June 20, 2015, 04:41:44 pm
I'm playing hide and seek. Currently hiding in a closet. I wonder if they'll ever find me.

Oh man I'm in so much suspense. Did they find you?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 20, 2015, 04:50:46 pm
I'm playing hide and seek. Currently hiding in a closet. I wonder if they'll ever find me.

They will if they check this forum.

Plot twist: They are playing in a closet factory.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on June 20, 2015, 06:29:20 pm
Random thing I need to say somewhere: there is this guy who hates me and tried really hard to ruin my life a while ago. Now, whenever I get into contact with someone online and I don't know who it is, I'm afraid it's him.

A while ago, some girl msg'd me on skype (it honestly looked like she was adding random people, looking for cs), but I was immediately paranoid that it might be him and was afraid to say anything. In this forum I wasn't suspecting him - though that's not really rational - and then he did actually show up in Blarnia mafia under a false name, so now I'm also paranoid about every new member who shows up in mafia. And just now someone commented on one of my stories -  I checked his profile and he's really new; so now I'm afraid to answer because it might be him.

I mean I think it's more likely that he doesn't even care about me anymore, but even so... yeesh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 20, 2015, 06:47:13 pm
That sounds like harassment to me, but IANAL.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 20, 2015, 06:57:06 pm
Random thing I need to say somewhere: there is this guy who hates me and tried really hard to ruin my life a while ago. Now, whenever I get into contact with someone online and I don't know who it is, I'm afraid it's him.

A while ago, some girl msg'd me on skype (it honestly looked like she was adding random people, looking for cs), but I was immediately paranoid that it might be him and was afraid to say anything. In this forum I wasn't suspecting him - though that's not really rational - and then he did actually show up in Blarnia mafia under a false name, so now I'm also paranoid about every new member who shows up in mafia. And just now someone commented on one of my stories -  I checked his profile and he's really new; so now I'm afraid to answer because it might be him.

I mean I think it's more likely that he doesn't even care about me anymore, but even so... yeesh.

If you don't know him in real life and he doesn't know where you live, it's the internet. You'll just have to live with it, unfortunately. You can simply ignore him. On the other hand, if you do know him in real life, and/or he knows where you live, you probably should contact the authorities. :/

But hey. If you ever see him, I'll tell him to fuck off. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on June 20, 2015, 07:19:17 pm
I have no idea where he lives. He did send me a picture though... twice actually, the second one is real afaik
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 20, 2015, 07:31:31 pm
I have a 4-minute long full-HD 60 fps 88.6 GB wmv file and I'm trying to convert it to an avi file of a reasonable file size (like maybe around 500 MB or 1 GB or something like that) without losing too much quality (it's going to get re-rendered twice after this and it should still be of high quality after that) on Windows. I tried Avidemux, Vegas and Windows Live Movie Maker, but the file made them all crash on my computer. Would anyone happen to know how to do this?

Still looking for a solution.

EDIT: found one! In case someone else is wondering this, I used ffmpeg.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 20, 2015, 07:34:06 pm
I have no idea where he lives. He did send me a picture though... twice actually, the second one is real afaik

Not sure I want to know. Creepy people on the internet.. *shudder*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on June 20, 2015, 11:30:08 pm
I'm playing hide and seek. Currently hiding in a closet. I wonder if they'll ever find me.

Oh man I'm in so much suspense. Did they find you?
I was third to last to be found (of ten), it took maybe 20 minutes. A guy that was hiding under the stairs that go to the sauna won.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on June 21, 2015, 01:39:38 am
1/16 of an ounce, times the speed of light squared, divided by the amount of caloric energy in a McDonald's Big Mac, is about 73 million (http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%281%2F16+oz+*+c%5E2%29%2F%28calories+in+Big+Mac%29&x=-285&y=-72).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 21, 2015, 01:52:25 am
Random thing I need to say somewhere: there is this guy who hates me and tried really hard to ruin my life a while ago. Now, whenever I get into contact with someone online and I don't know who it is, I'm afraid it's him.

A while ago, some girl msg'd me on skype (it honestly looked like she was adding random people, looking for cs), but I was immediately paranoid that it might be him and was afraid to say anything. In this forum I wasn't suspecting him - though that's not really rational - and then he did actually show up in Blarnia mafia under a false name, so now I'm also paranoid about every new member who shows up in mafia. And just now someone commented on one of my stories -  I checked his profile and he's really new; so now I'm afraid to answer because it might be him.

I mean I think it's more likely that he doesn't even care about me anymore, but even so... yeesh.

Blarnia was half a year ago, no? Was that the last attack?

In any case, even though it's hard, there is no sense in living in fear. Everytime you don't do something because you are afraid of him, it's a time he wins. Don't let it govern your decisions.

Best of lucks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on June 21, 2015, 07:32:41 am
Blarnia was half a year ago, no? Was that the last attack?

yes, though the second last one was a while before that, too. but you're right of course.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 21, 2015, 08:19:30 am
I'm playing hide and seek. Currently hiding in a closet. I wonder if they'll ever find me.

Oh man I'm in so much suspense. Did they find you?
I was third to last to be found (of ten), it took maybe 20 minutes. A guy that was hiding under the stairs that go to the sauna won.

Wow, a sauna? I say, that's a fancy closet factory.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on June 21, 2015, 04:36:04 pm
I'm playing hide and seek. Currently hiding in a closet. I wonder if they'll ever find me.

Oh man I'm in so much suspense. Did they find you?
I was third to last to be found (of ten), it took maybe 20 minutes. A guy that was hiding under the stairs that go to the sauna won.

Wow, a sauna? I say, that's a fancy closet factory.

Closet?  You'll love it!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 22, 2015, 01:00:07 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tF2dF67Q2c

Foot Powder Sprrrraaaaaayyyyyyyyy
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 22, 2015, 09:11:23 am
1/16 of an ounce, times the speed of light squared, divided by the amount of caloric energy in a McDonald's Big Mac, is about 73 million (http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%281%2F16+oz+*+c%5E2%29%2F%28calories+in+Big+Mac%29&x=-285&y=-72).


Whelp, it checks out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 22, 2015, 09:35:28 am
Not sure if IANAL acronym is ironic or just a divine joke.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ehunt on June 22, 2015, 09:54:20 am
I'm playing hide and seek. Currently hiding in a closet. I wonder if they'll ever find me.

Oh man I'm in so much suspense. Did they find you?
I was third to last to be found (of ten), it took maybe 20 minutes. A guy that was hiding under the stairs that go to the sauna won.

Wow, a sauna? I say, that's a fancy closet factory.

in finland there have got to be more saunas than people
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 22, 2015, 10:03:52 am
I'm playing hide and seek. Currently hiding in a closet. I wonder if they'll ever find me.

Oh man I'm in so much suspense. Did they find you?
I was third to last to be found (of ten), it took maybe 20 minutes. A guy that was hiding under the stairs that go to the sauna won.

Wow, a sauna? I say, that's a fancy closet factory.

in finland there have got to be more saunas than people

Not true. We're a family of three and we only have two saunas.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 22, 2015, 03:09:36 pm
I'm playing hide and seek. Currently hiding in a closet. I wonder if they'll ever find me.

Oh man I'm in so much suspense. Did they find you?
I was third to last to be found (of ten), it took maybe 20 minutes. A guy that was hiding under the stairs that go to the sauna won.

Wow, a sauna? I say, that's a fancy closet factory.

in finland there have got to be more saunas than people

Cue sauna pic from Frozen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 22, 2015, 07:01:34 pm
Frozen reference!?

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a8/06/21/a80621c2f028d7bde69e6183f1bdb525.jpg)

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 22, 2015, 07:03:01 pm
Frozen reference!?

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a8/06/21/a80621c2f028d7bde69e6183f1bdb525.jpg)

You mustn't be afraid to dream a little cuter, darling.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 22, 2015, 07:10:05 pm
You mustn't be afraid to dream a little cuter, darling.

(http://s.likes-media.com/img/50683e3a73dd51cc27297a4e7ce80d35.600x.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 22, 2015, 10:10:44 pm
Wow, the cat looks just like my 8th grade algebra teacher.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 22, 2015, 11:52:33 pm
I just realized I'm a very high up poster here. Like, wow. We have all these people joining from 2011 and 2012, and then I'm the only guy from almost 2015 just up there. I guess I'm part of that privileged 1% now. So, where's my obligatory Ferrari?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on June 22, 2015, 11:55:29 pm
I just realized I'm a very high up poster here. Like, wow. We have all these people joining from 2011 and 2012, and then I'm the only guy from almost 2015 just up there. I guess I'm part of that privileged 1% now. So, where's my obligatory Ferrari?
You'd have one if you weren't wasting all that time posting here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 22, 2015, 11:57:40 pm
I just realized I'm a very high up poster here. Like, wow. We have all these people joining from 2011 and 2012, and then I'm the only guy from almost 2015 just up there. I guess I'm part of that privileged 1% now. So, where's my obligatory Ferrari?

It will be sent to your home address. You just need to send 100$ to cover the administrative fees. Please send it cash to me. You should receive your Ferrari less than one month later.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 23, 2015, 12:01:25 am
I just realized I'm a very high up poster here. Like, wow. We have all these people joining from 2011 and 2012, and then I'm the only guy from almost 2015 just up there. I guess I'm part of that privileged 1% now. So, where's my obligatory Ferrari?
You'd have one if you weren't wasting all that time posting here.

That's not very nice! D: WWDD? (What Would Donald Do?)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 23, 2015, 12:37:40 pm
I recently got my username on Gamefaqs.com changed to Tables (from I_Eat_Tables). This might not sound interesting but I think it is. Mainly because, GFaqs is a big, old site. The username Tables being available after all this time is pretty surprising. On top of that, the rules for changing your username are pretty strict. You can only ever do it once, and only under specific circumstances (for me, it was that my account is 10 years old and I have a good reason for wanting the change). This also marks - I believe - the last site I went by I_eat_tables at least semi-regularly (or more frequently) now using Tables instead. So I_Eat_Tables is finally a thing of the past.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 23, 2015, 12:48:23 pm
I recently got my username on Gamefaqs.com changed to Tables (from I_Eat_Tables). This might not sound interesting but I think it is. Mainly because, GFaqs is a big, old site. The username Tables being available after all this time is pretty surprising. On top of that, the rules for changing your username are pretty strict. You can only ever do it once, and only under specific circumstances (for me, it was that my account is 10 years old and I have a good reason for wanting the change). This also marks - I believe - the last site I went by I_eat_tables at least semi-regularly (or more frequently) now using Tables instead. So I_Eat_Tables is finally a thing of the past.

But what about you actually eating tables?  Is that also a thing of the past?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 23, 2015, 12:55:46 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/0zl6Yfk.png)

Great. Now I'm the Antichrist, along with Obama and the Credit Card. The cryptic Greek letters and the ominous Augustus bust for an avatar doesn't help.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on June 23, 2015, 01:11:16 pm
I recently got my username on Gamefaqs.com changed to Tables (from I_Eat_Tables). This might not sound interesting but I think it is. Mainly because, GFaqs is a big, old site. The username Tables being available after all this time is pretty surprising. On top of that, the rules for changing your username are pretty strict. You can only ever do it once, and only under specific circumstances (for me, it was that my account is 10 years old and I have a good reason for wanting the change). This also marks - I believe - the last site I went by I_eat_tables at least semi-regularly (or more frequently) now using Tables instead. So I_Eat_Tables is finally a thing of the past.

But what about you actually eating tables?  Is that also a thing of the past?

Some college class was challenged by its professor to do something interesting over the summer, so they decided to eat a chair.

...I'm not joking.  They shaved off pieces of it and put it in their food and ate it over the summer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 23, 2015, 01:17:47 pm
That could not have possibly sat well with their stomach.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 23, 2015, 01:21:01 pm
That could not have possibly sat well with their stomach.

I thought I'd skip out on the pun wars this time, but then I thought to myself, "I ottoman."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 23, 2015, 01:24:33 pm
I would never sit out a pun war.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d3/91/ff/d391ff356d1eb2df8d3ac7594ee8f597.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 23, 2015, 01:32:15 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/Mg0c7ZW.png) (http://imgur.com/gallery/Mg0c7ZW)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on June 23, 2015, 01:36:25 pm
That could not have possibly sat well with their stomach.

They went to a doctor beforehand and said it would be fine.  They said it actually tasted pretty good in salad and cereal.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 23, 2015, 01:39:03 pm
Some college class was challenged by its professor to do something interesting over the summer, so they decided to eat a chair.

I hope they all went to jail. Cannibalism is no laughing matter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 23, 2015, 01:41:26 pm
Some college class was challenged by its professor to do something interesting over the summer, so they decided to eat a chair.

I hope they all went to jail. Cannibalism is no laughing matter.

I disagree. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115819/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on June 23, 2015, 02:17:48 pm
That could not have possibly sat well with their stomach.

...I just realized, just now, that this was a pun.  Wow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 23, 2015, 03:57:47 pm
That could not have possibly sat well with their stomach.

...I just realized, just now, that this was a pun.  Wow.

Gags that don't stand out are the best.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on June 23, 2015, 04:57:41 pm
Is anybody else playing Splatoon? I don't have as much console gaming time as I'd like, but so far this game has really hooked me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on June 23, 2015, 05:02:44 pm
Is anybody else playing Splatoon? I don't have as much console gaming time as I'd like, but so far this game has really hooked me.

Not yet, but it's on my buy list. I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 23, 2015, 05:20:26 pm
I recently got my username on Gamefaqs.com changed to Tables (from I_Eat_Tables). This might not sound interesting but I think it is. Mainly because, GFaqs is a big, old site. The username Tables being available after all this time is pretty surprising. On top of that, the rules for changing your username are pretty strict. You can only ever do it once, and only under specific circumstances (for me, it was that my account is 10 years old and I have a good reason for wanting the change). This also marks - I believe - the last site I went by I_eat_tables at least semi-regularly (or more frequently) now using Tables instead. So I_Eat_Tables is finally a thing of the past.

But what about you actually eating tables?  Is that also a thing of the past?

Some college class was challenged by its professor to do something interesting over the summer, so they decided to eat a chair.

...I'm not joking.  They shaved off pieces of it and put it in their food and ate it over the summer.

This has to be the most interesting thing i heard this day. Take this upvote.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 25, 2015, 09:25:43 am
That moment where someone upvotes you, but you have no idea what was upvoted.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on June 25, 2015, 09:30:00 am
Have a random upvote!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 25, 2015, 09:50:34 am
Law of Human Contention via Internet: State you don't like X. If X can easily be performed, X will inevitably happen as a direct result of your claim.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on June 25, 2015, 10:03:07 am
Assuming I told the truth. ;)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 25, 2015, 10:14:13 am
That moment where someone upvotes you, but you have no idea what was upvoted.

I know that I'm just that brilliant and never question upvotes.

It's the lack of upvotes that ought to confuse me, but I just figure nobody else has evolved to my level.

That's what helps me sleep at night.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 25, 2015, 10:14:41 am
Assuming I told the truth. ;)

You did. I had a +2 upvote differential, and only one of them was explained away via pacovf.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on June 25, 2015, 10:23:56 am
Unless you find the post that I may or may not have upvoted, it doesn't count!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 25, 2015, 10:48:21 am
Did you randomly upvote me again!?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 25, 2015, 10:52:04 am
Did you randomly upvote me again!?
That was me.

Or not.

Meaning, if it was me, it wasn't random, as I just upvoted multiple posts on merit, while getting caught up.
So if I upvoted one of yours, it wasn't random.  I just can't remember if one of the posts I upvoted was yours, hence the "or not".
And the period outside the quote marks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on June 25, 2015, 11:22:27 am
I would make fun of you guys for caring so much about your respect ratio, but I feel my own is too low for me to feel legitimate in doing so.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 25, 2015, 11:36:21 am
I would make fun of you guys for caring so much about your respect ratio, but I feel my own is too low for me to feel legitimate in doing so.

You're just jealous of our respectability.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 25, 2015, 11:53:28 am
I would make fun of you guys for caring so much about your respect ratio, but I feel my own is too low for me to feel legitimate in doing so.

Ah, but if you don't care about your respect count, then you can point at your own and say, "Behold, how little I care about this."

Although, honestly, someone with a high count can say that too. As long as your apathy is genuine, you have all the leg to stand on when laughing at people's obsession over respect.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 25, 2015, 11:55:40 am
If I post about how little I care about respect counts, will you upvote it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on June 25, 2015, 12:01:45 pm
 Why isn't there an emoticon that's rolling its eyes while frowning?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 25, 2015, 12:19:55 pm
That moment where someone upvotes you, but you have no idea what was upvoted.

I know that I'm just that brilliant and never question upvotes.

It's the lack of upvotes that ought to confuse me, but I just figure nobody else has evolved to my level.

That's what helps me sleep at night.

I upvoted this for mentioning the word "ought". Such a pretty word.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on June 25, 2015, 12:22:44 pm
That could not have possibly sat well with their stomach.

...I just realized, just now, that this was a pun.  Wow.

Gags that don't stand out are the best.

See, now I'm trying to decide if "stand out" is a pun because they no longer have a chair.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 25, 2015, 12:45:48 pm
That could not have possibly sat well with their stomach.

...I just realized, just now, that this was a pun.  Wow.

Gags that don't stand out are the best.

See, now I'm trying to decide if "stand out" is a pun because they no longer have a chair.

...that might not be the only purposefully chosen word in that sentence. Because they are trying to eat that chair, you see.

Ok, it was a bit forced.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 25, 2015, 12:51:14 pm
That could not have possibly sat well with their stomach.

...I just realized, just now, that this was a pun.  Wow.

Gags that don't stand out are the best.

See, now I'm trying to decide if "stand out" is a pun because they no longer have a chair.

...that might not be the only purposefully chosen word in that sentence. Because they are trying to eat that chair, you see.

Ok, it was a bit forced.

I've stopped chairing about forced puns a long time ago.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on June 25, 2015, 01:47:43 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/sl1qOys.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 25, 2015, 02:52:59 pm
That could not have possibly sat well with their stomach.

...I just realized, just now, that this was a pun.  Wow.

Gags that don't stand out are the best.

See, now I'm trying to decide if "stand out" is a pun because they no longer have a chair.
That doesn't matter.  We still have Tables.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on June 25, 2015, 02:54:46 pm
That could not have possibly sat well with their stomach.

...I just realized, just now, that this was a pun.  Wow.

Gags that don't stand out are the best.

See, now I'm trying to decide if "stand out" is a pun because they no longer have a chair.
That doesn't matter.  We still have Tables.

Fortunately for the class, he wasn't the one to come up with the idea.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 25, 2015, 03:00:11 pm
I would make fun

There is a group already doing that, at least according to their name.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 25, 2015, 03:05:16 pm
I would make fun

There is a group already doing that, at least according to their name.

It's actually just shortened.  It really stands for Making Fun... of How Seriously You Guys Take Your Game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 25, 2015, 03:54:19 pm
Woot. I was on the fence about partaking in group tickets for Hairspray this Saturday. In the end, I chose not to because I had a chance of a conflict. Now I have no plans on Saturday, and one of my co-workers had a date who flaked out (real asshole of a husband, so she's better off going alone). So now I get to go after all. This is good because one of my friends is in the cast, so I get to see her.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 25, 2015, 04:18:13 pm
Why does Microsoft Word think I would want to scroll sideways through a document?  Are there literally people at Microsoft just trying to troll their user base?  Do they just not care any more?

Also, can people just stop writing things in Word? 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 25, 2015, 04:24:25 pm
Why does Microsoft Word think I would want to scroll sideways through a document?  Are there literally people at Microsoft just trying to troll their user base?  Do they just not care any more?

Also, can people just stop writing things in Word?

And use what? LibreOffice? Pages? TextEdit?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 25, 2015, 04:26:12 pm
.txt extensions for simple communications.  Easy to read, easy to edit.  Notepad++ is really nice.

If you need formatting and special typesetting, use LaTeX like any normal person.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 25, 2015, 04:28:22 pm
.txt extensions for simple communications.  Easy to read, easy to edit.  Notepad++ is really nice.

If you need formatting and special typesetting, use LaTeX like any normal person.

While i find LaTeX rather useful for professional/scientific documents, "like any normal person" strikes me as overly normative.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 25, 2015, 04:29:01 pm
I don't use latex. I've never even heard of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Cuzz on June 25, 2015, 04:36:32 pm
.txt extensions for simple communications.  Easy to read, easy to edit.  Notepad++ is really nice.

If you need formatting and special typesetting, use LaTeX like any normal person.

While i find LaTeX rather useful for professional/scientific documents, "like any normal person" strikes me as overly normative.

He was just suppressing the standard "with a Ph.D. in the hard sciences," as one typically does.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 25, 2015, 04:38:18 pm
"Normal" means "in the proper manner".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on June 25, 2015, 04:38:32 pm
I don't use latex. I've never even heard of it.

Have you heard of Knuth?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on June 25, 2015, 04:43:18 pm
.txt extensions for simple communications.  Easy to read, easy to edit.  Notepad++ is really nice.

If you need formatting and special typesetting, use LaTeX like any normal person.

While i find LaTeX rather useful for professional/scientific documents, "like any normal person" strikes me as overly normative.

He was just suppressing the standard "with a Ph.D. in the hard sciences math, physics, or computer science," as one typically does.

Chemists don't use LaTeX often (edge case: computational chemists, see also computer science).

Wait, I'm all but positive we've had this conversation before here.

Edit:  Yep, page 78 (or 39) of this thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on June 25, 2015, 04:53:45 pm
is anything wrong with open office?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 25, 2015, 04:55:19 pm
is anything wrong with open office?

I haven't noticed anything, but I only used it when I had Unix machines.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 25, 2015, 05:01:33 pm
is anything wrong with open office?

It's not very good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on June 25, 2015, 06:15:24 pm
is anything wrong with open office?

It's not very good.

how so?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on June 25, 2015, 06:33:52 pm
is anything wrong with open office?

It's not very good.

how so?

It's slow and uncomfortable to use.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on June 25, 2015, 06:39:32 pm


It's not very good.

how so?

It's slow and uncomfortable to use.

Take it outside guys, this isn't the beta thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 25, 2015, 06:40:36 pm
is anything wrong with open office?

It's not very good.

how so?

It's slow and uncomfortable to use.

http://imgur.com/gallery/IPLmlJJ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 25, 2015, 07:08:52 pm
Stop saying things that can be so easily be taken out of context guys. I'm having a field day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 25, 2015, 07:38:04 pm
"Normal" means "in the proper manner".

That's not what it normally means.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 25, 2015, 08:04:25 pm
is anything wrong with open office?

It's not very good.

If i had a penny for each time i witnessed Awaclus making a snarky "because (dismissive opinion)" post, i'd actually have to ponder whether to go to the bank and exchange them for money i can even use over here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 26, 2015, 04:42:46 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/xjFp21r.jpg) (http://m.imgur.com/gallery/xjFp21r)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 26, 2015, 04:47:01 pm

What the actual moat!?

Reminds me of this thing that I will wish I never watched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oE0Km0ix3k
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on June 26, 2015, 10:49:46 pm
I saw that on tosh.o.

Also, can we take a moment to honor how I am the first poster in the random stuff 2 thread by arbitrary post cut decision?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on June 27, 2015, 01:16:46 am
Suppose there is a steam locomotive in the old west traveling at 110 km/h. Assuming the speed of sound as 343 m/s, that means that the Doppler shift for an approaching train would be about 1.098, while for a receding train would be about 0.918 ... dividing the two to find the overall frequency difference gives about 1.196 .

This is very nearly 1.2, or 6/5, the interval of a justly-tempered minor third, which is scientifically known to be the saddest musical interval. Even if it's moving at an angle, or slower due to inferior-quality scrap rail, an equally-tempered minor third is tighter, about 1.189 . This is my scientific justification as to why the wail of a steam train is often described as "mournful" or a "wail".

However, I am suspicious as to why the steam train in the old west is using metric units. It may have been infiltrated by the French, or possibly Doc Brown.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on June 27, 2015, 10:09:50 am

What the actual moat!?

You let the gays get married and all hell breaks loose. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on June 28, 2015, 08:46:05 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0dbJj6x0eU

Quote from: Cookie Monster
What the H-word?  What the H-word?!?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on June 29, 2015, 07:52:55 pm
(https://36.media.tumblr.com/13fb30b5be5523bf8b42801a38581882/tumblr_nqqa9cwtDM1qh66wqo3_1280.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 30, 2015, 07:50:24 am
Might want to tell someone about the roof leak.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 30, 2015, 07:52:10 am
Might want to tell someone about the roof leak.

The ceiling is very unstable. Actually, that's Ceiling Cat breaking through from above.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on June 30, 2015, 07:56:37 am
Might want to tell someone about the roof leak.

The ceiling is very unstable. Actually, that's Ceiling Cat breaking through from above.
Then it's likely to happen again from the corner in the background.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on June 30, 2015, 08:02:25 am
Might want to tell someone about the roof leak.

The ceiling is very unstable. Actually, that's Ceiling Cat breaking through from above.
Then it's likely to happen again from the corner in the background.

Does "It's raining cats (and dogs)" ring a bell?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on June 30, 2015, 08:24:34 am
The ceiling is very unstable. Actually, that's Ceiling Cat breaking through from above.

Dammit, Ceiling Cat, can't you wait until I'm finished?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on June 30, 2015, 03:42:11 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSujEFY6NWg

 :) :D :))
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 01, 2015, 02:17:21 am
Isn't my new avatar fabulous?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 01, 2015, 03:16:26 am
Isn't my new avatar fabulous?

You're quite right. It isn't.

In other news, I got accepted into The University of Eastern Finland and now I'm going to study computer science there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on July 01, 2015, 01:22:37 pm
It's really warm right now. Like 35°C+ (which is about 95°F apparently). This isn't supposed to happen here, we've got the Channel right there !
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on July 01, 2015, 03:06:54 pm
Good thing we don't have to worry about global warming.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on July 01, 2015, 03:16:31 pm
It's really warm right now. Like 35°C+ (which is about 95°F apparently). This isn't supposed to happen here, we've got the Channel right there !

I'm at 31C.  Channel knows who's boss.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Elanchana on July 01, 2015, 03:36:55 pm
Has anyone here asked Siri what 0 divided by 0 is? It's hilarious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 01, 2015, 03:37:51 pm
Has anyone here asked Siri what 0 divided by 0 is? It's hilarious.

It's not hilarious, it's indeterminate. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 01, 2015, 03:38:27 pm
I always wrinkle my nose when people refer to a single day or even a period of several days as an indication of global warming. I hear it from both ends, actually.

"Man, it's freezing out there. Clearly global warming is a hoax."
"Man, it's so hot. And people are dumb enough to deny global warming?"

I guess it just bugs me because I can understand that modeling the climate is a monumental undertaking with several variables in play. It's like examining the averages of averages to other averages of averages. So I understand that extreme cases can happen.

Not to pick on SFS or even accuse him of doing this. I think he was just joking, but I've seen people say these things in earnest on Facebook.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on July 01, 2015, 03:50:34 pm
That's why you'll notice global warming is not such a popular expression anymore, it had faded out in favor of "climate change", which is a much better descriptor anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on July 01, 2015, 03:59:52 pm
That's why you'll notice global warming is not such a popular expression anymore, it had faded out in favor of "climate change", which is a much better descriptor anyway.
In the State of Florida, the governor has forbidden state employees from using the terms "global warming" and "climate change".  But the sand in Florida is warm, so sticking your head in it shouldn't be problematic.

And yes, I was being arch with my earlier post.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on July 01, 2015, 04:07:18 pm
Has anyone here asked Siri what 0 divided by 0 is? It's hilarious.

I don't have an iPhone, could someone tell me what happens?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on July 01, 2015, 04:09:17 pm
Has anyone here asked Siri what 0 divided by 0 is? It's hilarious.

I don't have an iPhone, could someone tell me what happens?
Ah, now I know you weren't referring to some viral video about Tom Cruise's daughter in first grade math or something.

(I have an Android.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on July 01, 2015, 04:14:23 pm
Has anyone here asked Siri what 0 divided by 0 is? It's hilarious.

I don't have an iPhone, could someone tell me what happens?

It explodes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 01, 2015, 04:15:50 pm
Has anyone here asked Siri what 0 divided by 0 is? It's hilarious.

I don't have an iPhone, could someone tell me what happens?

It explodes.

THAT'S THE BEST IPHONE APP EVER!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on July 01, 2015, 04:23:16 pm
Has anyone here asked Siri what 0 divided by 0 is? It's hilarious.

I don't have an iPhone, could someone tell me what happens?

Just tried it, and I agree it's pretty hilarious. Found a youtube video of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlQrgH0r0EA

EDIT: In retrospect, Siri can't really pull off comedic timing. What we need is GLaDOS.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 01, 2015, 04:29:48 pm
But the sand in Florida is warm, so sticking your head in it shouldn't be problematic.

Oh, that's very nicely said.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 01, 2015, 08:04:45 pm
(https://cdnexpat.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/noble-beaver-canada.jpg)

Happy Canada Day!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 01, 2015, 08:37:52 pm
(http://media.veryfunnypics.eu/2012/07/funny-picture-canada-attacked-us-with-nickleback-and-justin-bieber.jpg)

We actually lost to Canada. Let that sink in.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 01, 2015, 08:40:17 pm
We actually lost to Canada. Let that sink in.

>two watermarks
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 01, 2015, 08:43:58 pm
We actually lost to Canada. Let that sink in.

>two watermarks

It's from Europe. Probably some authoritarian international law set up by the EU.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on July 01, 2015, 11:08:30 pm
That awkward moment when your facebook feed starts filling with both music festivals and weddings...

In unrelated news, my parents are going South for the weekend. They expect temperatures of 44şC during the day. That's just ridiculous for the beginning of July.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 01, 2015, 11:12:51 pm
That awkward moment when your facebook feed starts filling with both music festivals and weddings...

In unrelated news, my parents are going South for the weekend. They expect temperatures of 44şC during the day. That's just ridiculous for the beginning of July.

#globalwarming
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 01, 2015, 11:37:10 pm
In unrelated news, my parents are going South for the weekend. They expect temperatures of 44şC during the day. That's just ridiculous for the beginning of July.

That's ridiculous for any time of the year.  Like, that's literally a temperature that most humans can't actually deal with.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on July 02, 2015, 01:09:52 am
You learn to tolerate it when you live there, but yes, people try to avoid being outside from 12 to 4. Sevilla (hottest city in Spain) usually reaches the low 40s at the beginning of August, and Granada (where they are going) is usually a bit below that. But it's not common at all to expect these sort of temperatures in early July. This looks like it's going to be a hot summer.

I have no idea how greenhouse farmers survive through the summer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on July 02, 2015, 02:32:24 am
This week I seem to have an interesting choice each night:

Go to bed with the windows open, and be nice and cool and unable to breath properly because of hay fever; or go to bed with the windows closed and suffer 30 degrees plus temperature in the middle of the night.

I'm so tired this week, even when I go to bed early.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 02, 2015, 02:51:46 am
This week I seem to have an interesting choice each night:

Go to bed with the windows open, and be nice and cool and unable to breath properly because of hay fever; or go to bed with the windows closed and suffer 30 degrees plus temperature in the middle of the night.

I'm so tired this week, even when I go to bed early.

I usually go to bed with Windows open.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on July 02, 2015, 07:53:44 am
In unrelated news, my parents are going South for the weekend. They expect temperatures of 44şC during the day. That's just ridiculous for the beginning of July.

That's ridiculous for any time of the year.  Like, that's literally a temperature that most humans can't actually deal with.
That is way hot.  I've only experienced as high as 41.6 C (117 F), several times in Las Vegas.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 02, 2015, 08:30:06 am
This week I seem to have an interesting choice each night:

Go to bed with the windows open, and be nice and cool and unable to breath properly because of hay fever; or go to bed with the windows closed and suffer 30 degrees plus temperature in the middle of the night.

I'm so tired this week, even when I go to bed early.

Ugh, thats awful.  No AC?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on July 02, 2015, 09:03:12 am
This week I seem to have an interesting choice each night:

Go to bed with the windows open, and be nice and cool and unable to breath properly because of hay fever; or go to bed with the windows closed and suffer 30 degrees plus temperature in the middle of the night.

I'm so tired this week, even when I go to bed early.

Can't you take drugs for your allergies?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on July 02, 2015, 09:11:39 am
I have allergies. While drugs make it better, it doesn't make them go away completely. And I know people who are worse off than I am.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 02, 2015, 09:52:19 am
I have allergies. While drugs make it better, it doesn't make them go away completely. And I know people who are worse off than I am.

You take drugs!?

OBJECTION!!!

(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/aceattorney/images/c/ca/Phoenix_Objection.gif/revision/latest?cb=20130329201545)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 02, 2015, 10:02:46 am
I'm so soft. I don't think I could ever live without air conditioning. I also don't want to live in a place that doesn't have a washer/dryer hookup.

In short, I'm one of the first ones dead in an apocalypse.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 02, 2015, 10:09:04 am
I'm so soft. I don't think I could ever live without air conditioning. I also don't want to live in a place that doesn't have a washer/dryer hookup.

In short, I'm one of the first ones dead in an apocalypse.

I was just reading an article on why capitalism is bad, and this was one of the major points. I think capitalism is great, I just found it funny that someone mentions this as I'm reading it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 02, 2015, 11:51:51 am
I'm so soft. I don't think I could ever live without air conditioning. I also don't want to live in a place that doesn't have a washer/dryer hookup.

In short, I'm one of the first ones dead in an apocalypse.

I was just reading an article on why capitalism is bad, and this was one of the major points. I think capitalism is great, I just found it funny that someone mentions this as I'm reading it.

I certainly wouldn't blame capitalism. It may have helped me become who I am, but I really only have myself to blame for not choosing to take a harder road. So please no apocalypse until after I'm dead.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 02, 2015, 01:42:30 pm
I'm so soft. I don't think I could ever live without air conditioning. I also don't want to live in a place that doesn't have a washer/dryer hookup.

In short, I'm one of the first ones dead in an apocalypse.


Even ignoring comforts, I'm dead in an apocalypse--dependent on medication for survival.  Might as well be comfortable until an apocalypse actually hits.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on July 02, 2015, 01:46:15 pm
agar.io (http://agar.io)

Sorry for showing you another game that will eat your life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on July 02, 2015, 01:47:21 pm
Can't you take drugs for your allergies?

Probably should get some antihistamines. It's usually not that bad though, and we do seem to be past the worst of it, but if I remember I should pick some up.

This week I seem to have an interesting choice each night:

Go to bed with the windows open, and be nice and cool and unable to breath properly because of hay fever; or go to bed with the windows closed and suffer 30 degrees plus temperature in the middle of the night.

I'm so tired this week, even when I go to bed early.

Ugh, thats awful.  No AC?

ACs are pretty rare in homes in the UK, at least as far as I've ever seen.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 02, 2015, 01:59:21 pm
agar.io (http://agar.io)

Sorry for showing you another game that will eat your life.

Whenever I press the split button, it sends the bare minimum. How am I supposed to eat people if I'm that small?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on July 02, 2015, 02:12:58 pm
agar.io (http://agar.io)

Sorry for showing you another game that will eat your life.

Whenever I press the split button, it sends the bare minimum. How am I supposed to eat people if I'm that small?

Eat little pieces of food to get bigger.  When you're big and split, you just split in half.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on July 02, 2015, 03:01:03 pm
I am very sad and feeling very old.  I just found out that Chris Squire died a few days ago.  Such a giant, physically and musically.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 02, 2015, 04:50:43 pm
agar.io (http://agar.io)

Sorry for showing you another game that will eat your life.

Interesting, but too much lag to be playable.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on July 02, 2015, 06:29:53 pm
I think I would liked to have known this man:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/01/obituary-two-words-doug-died_n_7710444.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on July 02, 2015, 10:37:58 pm
I suffered through 50+ C degree days in Baghdad.

You all lose.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on July 02, 2015, 10:49:08 pm
agar.io (http://agar.io)

Sorry for showing you another game that will eat your life.

I've played 40 minutes. It seems kind of pointless.

I suffered through 50+ C degree days in Baghdad.

You all lose.

Damn, I was really hoping to win this one. Now I have to be assigned to Antarctica to win the next round :'(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Darth Vader on July 02, 2015, 10:54:16 pm
agar.io (http://agar.io)

Sorry for showing you another game that will eat your life.

I tried playing this game. I really did. I gave it a fair try. And I was winning too. But in my moment of triumph, my winning streak blew up in my face. And I didn't want to go through the trouble of building another winning streak like last time, so...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on July 04, 2015, 12:50:01 am
Dunno if anyone follows the mainstream videogame scene. I don't really do it anymore because of reasons, but I've kept watching the reviews by Yahtzee because I find them particularly funny. This one in particular goes over the latest E3.

Warning: extreme levels of profanity. Don't watch if that is something that offends you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVhA2dnoQCs
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on July 04, 2015, 01:05:10 am
In unrelated news, my parents are going South for the weekend. They expect temperatures of 44şC during the day. That's just ridiculous for the beginning of July.

That's ridiculous for any time of the year.  Like, that's literally a temperature that most humans can't actually deal with.
That is way hot.  I've only experienced as high as 41.6 C (117 F), several times in Las Vegas.
41.6˚ C is actually only 107˚ F (sorry for being pedantic).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on July 04, 2015, 12:05:52 pm
In unrelated news, my parents are going South for the weekend. They expect temperatures of 44şC during the day. That's just ridiculous for the beginning of July.

That's ridiculous for any time of the year.  Like, that's literally a temperature that most humans can't actually deal with.
That is way hot.  I've only experienced as high as 41.6 C (117 F), several times in Las Vegas.
41.6˚ C is actually only 107˚ F (sorry for being pedantic).

Correcting mathematical errors is never pedantic.  Nice catch - I shouldn't do math in my head.  The 117 F is correct, and I should have said 47.2 degrees C.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on July 04, 2015, 03:43:44 pm
How is the thing called that's left of an apple when you eat most of it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on July 04, 2015, 03:44:41 pm
How is the thing called that's left of an apple when you eat most of it?

The core?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 04, 2015, 03:44:54 pm
How is the thing called that's left of an apple when you eat most of it?

The core? There is very little of the core actually though, and you can eat it all easily.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 05, 2015, 01:48:53 am
I eat the entire apple, so this concept of "that's left of an apple" confuses me? You mean the stem, because I never eat that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on July 05, 2015, 06:35:40 am
I eat the entire apple, so this concept of "that's left of an apple" confuses me? You mean the stem, because I never eat that.

well I thought there was a name for the little bit of apple that's left around the stem... but maybe there isn't. I guess core works.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on July 05, 2015, 10:04:57 am
(http://appleparermuseum.com/Images/AppleLongSection560.jpeg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 05, 2015, 11:06:48 am
How is the thing called that's left of an apple when you eat most of it?

The core? There is very little of the core actually though, and you can eat it all easily.

When you have small children, you realize this is no longer true.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on July 05, 2015, 11:30:51 am
How is the thing called that's left of an apple when you eat most of it?

The core? There is very little of the core actually though, and you can eat it all easily.

When you have small children, you realize this is no longer true.

Only until they realise it's a great way to gross out other children.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on July 05, 2015, 03:07:36 pm
But the seeds will kill you if you eat them!
/s
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on July 05, 2015, 04:14:05 pm
But the seeds will kill you if you eat them!
/s
And it's a horrible death, with an apple tree growing inside you.  The only thing worse is eating a watermelon seed.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 05, 2015, 07:28:16 pm
But the seeds will kill you if you eat them!
/s

Yeah. Thousands of seeds.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 05, 2015, 07:30:53 pm
Thousands of seeds.

I wish the torrent I'm trying to download had thousands of seeds. Alas, it only has one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on July 05, 2015, 08:12:14 pm
Thousands of seeds.

I wish the torrent I'm trying to download had thousands of seeds. Alas, it only has one.

You probably don't want to eat torrent seeds either.

On another note, I wish I had more people to play IRL Dominion with.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on July 05, 2015, 11:17:46 pm
Thousands of seeds.

I wish the torrent I'm trying to download had thousands of seeds. Alas, it only has one.

You probably don't want to eat torrent seeds either.

On another note, I wish I had more people to play IRL Dominion with.

Where do you live?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on July 05, 2015, 11:30:06 pm
Thousands of seeds.

I wish the torrent I'm trying to download had thousands of seeds. Alas, it only has one.

You probably don't want to eat torrent seeds either.

On another note, I wish I had more people to play IRL Dominion with.

Where do you live?

San Antonio Texas
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 06, 2015, 09:29:46 am
People have asked me my thoughts on America winning the World Cup. I didn't even know America was in the running, but I never pay attention to such things. I couldn't even tell you if America makes it to the Super Bowl.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on July 06, 2015, 12:21:20 pm
People have asked me my thoughts on America winning the World Cup. I didn't even know America was in the running, but I never pay attention to such things. I couldn't even tell you if America makes it to the Super Bowl.

My understanding is that we were something of a dark horse in the cup, which regardless of nationality is always a little interesting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 06, 2015, 12:25:17 pm
People have asked me my thoughts on America winning the World Cup. I didn't even know America was in the running, but I never pay attention to such things. I couldn't even tell you if America makes it to the Super Bowl.

My understanding is that we were something of a dark horse in the cup, which regardless of nationality is always a little interesting.

*nods blankly*

Go sports go!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 06, 2015, 12:41:44 pm
Women's Team lost to Japan in the World Cup a couple years back, which makes this amazing revenge.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 06, 2015, 02:42:34 pm
People have asked me my thoughts on America winning the World Cup. I didn't even know America was in the running, but I never pay attention to such things. I couldn't even tell you if America makes it to the Super Bowl.

My understanding is that we were something of a dark horse in the cup, which regardless of nationality is always a little interesting.

*nods blankly*

Go sports go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fraSdN-PG8
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on July 06, 2015, 02:45:55 pm
People have asked me my thoughts on America winning the World Cup. I didn't even know America was in the running, but I never pay attention to such things. I couldn't even tell you if America makes it to the Super Bowl.

My understanding is that we were something of a dark horse in the cup, which regardless of nationality is always a little interesting.

On the women's side, the US team is never a dark horse in the World Cup.  (men's is completely different)  Since the Women's World Cup was established in 1991 we have won 3 times, got 3rd place 3 times, and runner-up once.  Not quite a dark horse in international Women's soccer.

That game was amazing though.  My favorite moment was at the second goal.  First goal happens.  Stadium erupts.  Japan gets in their huddle to tell each other it is all right, we can come back.  We go back down.  Get a free kick.  I tell my buddy, "I am going to film this next goal."  And it happens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnV6uLgLb5w
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 06, 2015, 02:55:56 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fraSdN-PG8

After I walked away I realized I had the quote wrong. I can't even get a simple song right. I blame getting old. Or communism. Yeah, I'll blame communism.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 06, 2015, 05:07:57 pm
(http://40.media.tumblr.com/b8640d016676644f313f88bdd7b6728b/tumblr_n8h9enpjOR1sqx8y7o4_500.jpg)

(https://41.media.tumblr.com/5fd237fa916854e0226cd587dcd40442/tumblr_n8h9enpjOR1sqx8y7o2_1280.jpg)

(http://40.media.tumblr.com/eb2250124e83e2998a20a31cbbdeba90/tumblr_n8h9enpjOR1sqx8y7o5_500.jpg)

(http://40.media.tumblr.com/733d2f105b7ceca25ae2fae838d9fd1f/tumblr_n8h9enpjOR1sqx8y7o7_500.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 06, 2015, 06:00:16 pm
Man, Steve Harvey is really a funny guy. I am amused by his reactions. It's such a shame that he's an utter ass in person...or at least in the personality he shows the public.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on July 06, 2015, 07:19:58 pm
'name something that gets hard when it's cold'

bread. yesterday, I took a loaf out of the freezer. it was hilariously hard to cut off slices.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 06, 2015, 07:26:01 pm
'name something that gets hard when it's cold'

bread. yesterday, I took a loaf out of the freezer. it was hilariously hard to cut off slices.

Other acceptable answers: Just about everything we come into contact with in daily life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 06, 2015, 07:39:42 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAxFjVCkpRY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 07, 2015, 03:21:09 am
Just got Final Cut Pro. I've never used a heavy-duty editor in my entire life, so this is pretty nuts. I'm just messing around with it, so I took good ol' Shia's speech, and put tons of stupid effects on it. I can do so much more, I only have to discover it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJhhM4ok1kg

Yeah, there's a random explosion at 0:36 for no reason other than to be stupid and funny.

I only wish I put in a spinning fruit in there at one point. :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on July 07, 2015, 06:10:37 am
'name something that gets hard when it's cold'

bread. yesterday, I took a loaf out of the freezer. it was hilariously hard to cut off slices.

Solution (that doesn't help you at all at this point): Cut the bread before you put it in the freezer.

Nothing better than putting it in the toaster and experiencing pseudo-freshly-baked bread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on July 07, 2015, 11:43:20 am
In 2009 I read all xckd comics in existence in 3 days straight, withoutt realizing about the extra hover text. When a friend told me, I read them al over again including the text.However,  the second time I took my time
 5 days. This was all while I was finishing my masters thesis.

This year, when finishing my PhD thesis, I did the same with SMBC. And I forgot the red button.

The good news is: no more thesis.
Bad news, it appears SMBC has added the votey red button to all the old comics that previously didn't have them.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on July 07, 2015, 11:43:41 am
'name something that gets hard when it's cold'

bread. yesterday, I took a loaf out of the freezer. it was hilariously hard to cut off slices.

Other acceptable answers: Just about everything we come into contact with in daily life.

I can think of something that I come into contact with every day that gets softer when it gets cold.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on July 07, 2015, 11:57:13 am
'name something that gets hard when it's cold'

bread. yesterday, I took a loaf out of the freezer. it was hilariously hard to cut off slices.

Other acceptable answers: Just about everything we come into contact with in daily life.

I can think of something that I come into contact with every day that gets softer when it gets cold.

Ebenezer Scrooge's heart? I cannot possibly think of anything else you might be referring to.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 07, 2015, 12:01:08 pm
In 2009 I read all xckd comics in existence in 3 days straight, withoutt realizing about the extra hover text. When a friend told me, I read them al over again including the text.However,  the second time I took my time
 5 days. This was all while I was finishing my masters thesis.

This year, when finishing my PhD thesis, I did the same with SMBC. And I forgot the red button.

The good news is: no more thesis.
Bad news, it appears SMBC has added the votey red button to all the old comics that previously didn't have them.

Wait, what?  When did this happen?  Oh noooooooo.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 07, 2015, 12:32:22 pm
I can think of something that I come into contact with every day that gets softer when it gets cold.

The colder it is, the softer your will to survive becomes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 07, 2015, 01:06:26 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/aprnjLH.gif) (http://imgur.com/gallery/xoAIn)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 07, 2015, 01:15:22 pm
Man, must be a statue party going on in the background, because man, they sure aren't moving.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 07, 2015, 01:49:46 pm
Man, must be a statue party going on in the background, because man, they sure aren't moving.

They move between the frames.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 07, 2015, 02:01:48 pm
Man, must be a statue party going on in the background, because man, they sure aren't moving.

They move between the frames.

No they don't. Maybe they're the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who.

Well, Elanchana has to comment here now. It's my Maxim of Doctor Who. Mention Doctor Who and a female fangirl will arrive to talk about it. This also applies to Teen Wolf, Supernatural and Sherlock.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 07, 2015, 02:43:28 pm
Well, Elanchana has to comment here now. It's my Maxim of Doctor Who. Mention Doctor Who and a female fangirl will arrive to talk about it. This also applies to Teen Wolf, Supernatural and Sherlock.

What would you have to mention to make a male fangirl show up?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 07, 2015, 02:47:56 pm
Well, Elanchana has to comment here now. It's my Maxim of Doctor Who. Mention Doctor Who and a female fangirl will arrive to talk about it. This also applies to Teen Wolf, Supernatural and Sherlock.

What would you have to mention to make a male fangirl show up?

You already commented.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BKEZRpUCUAEcACZ.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 07, 2015, 02:55:24 pm
Teen Wolf has fangirls? Aren't they like 50 now? So about the same age as Twilight fangirls?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 07, 2015, 03:09:00 pm
Teen Wolf has fangirls? Aren't they like 50 now? So about the same age as Twilight fangirls?

I knew two girls who love that show.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on July 07, 2015, 03:09:35 pm
In 2009 I read all xckd comics in existence in 3 days straight, withoutt realizing about the extra hover text. When a friend told me, I read them al over again including the text.However,  the second time I took my time
 5 days. This was all while I was finishing my masters thesis.

This year, when finishing my PhD thesis, I did the same with SMBC. And I forgot the red button.

The good news is: no more thesis.
Bad news, it appears SMBC has added the votey red button to all the old comics that previously didn't have them.

This might make things better or worse: I assert that this is false, but do not give an example.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 07, 2015, 03:24:07 pm
In 2009 I read all xckd comics in existence in 3 days straight, withoutt realizing about the extra hover text. When a friend told me, I read them al over again including the text.However,  the second time I took my time
 5 days. This was all while I was finishing my masters thesis.

This year, when finishing my PhD thesis, I did the same with SMBC. And I forgot the red button.

The good news is: no more thesis.
Bad news, it appears SMBC has added the votey red button to all the old comics that previously didn't have them.

This might make things better or worse: I assert that this is false, but do not give an example.

If you jump to the oldest strip, there really is a red button panel.

(http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20020905-2.gif)

(http://smbc-comics.com/comics/20020905-2after.png)



Oh, I should also add that SMBC started adding tooltip text over the last few months.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on July 07, 2015, 03:25:50 pm
You know that SMBC now has both hover text and the red-button extra panel, right?

Happy reread!

EDIT: Ninja'd, of course.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 07, 2015, 03:27:08 pm
Teen Wolf has fangirls? Aren't they like 50 now? So about the same age as Twilight fangirls?

I believe there is a "new" Teen Wolf.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 07, 2015, 03:27:12 pm
You know that SMBC now has both hover text and the red-button extra panel, right?

Happy reread!

EDIT: Ninja'd, of course.

There is also hover text over the red button with a delay, so be sure to wait before you click it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on July 07, 2015, 03:34:25 pm
You know that SMBC now has both hover text and the red-button extra panel, right?

Happy reread!

EDIT: Ninja'd, of course.
Maybe if I read random comics enough times I'll get through all the new voteys and tooltips I missed. The new red-button panels have art consistent with the author's modern style, so it looks like they were made recently. What possessed him to go back and add red-button panels for old comics anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 07, 2015, 03:43:38 pm
You know that SMBC now has both hover text and the red-button extra panel, right?

Happy reread!

EDIT: Ninja'd, of course.
Maybe if I read random comics enough times I'll get through all the new voteys and tooltips I missed. The new red-button panels have art consistent with the author's modern style, so it looks like they were made recently. What possessed him to go back and add red-button panels for old comics anyway.

To destroy our lives.

I'm still curious how markusin discovered this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on July 07, 2015, 03:54:49 pm
You know that SMBC now has both hover text and the red-button extra panel, right?

Happy reread!

EDIT: Ninja'd, of course.

There is also hover text over the red button with a delay, so be sure to wait before you click it.

...

no way!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 07, 2015, 04:49:48 pm
This video has lots of swearing, and stupidity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmPWfhO1LAU

I really want to say this is a troll. I really do. I can't stop laughing at this.

>Smash Bros is a ripoff of Halo
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on July 07, 2015, 05:54:52 pm
You know that SMBC now has both hover text and the red-button extra panel, right?

Happy reread!

EDIT: Ninja'd, of course.
Maybe if I read random comics enough times I'll get through all the new voteys and tooltips I missed. The new red-button panels have art consistent with the author's modern style, so it looks like they were made recently. What possessed him to go back and add red-button panels for old comics anyway.

To destroy our lives.

I'm still curious how markusin discovered this.
The answer to this is quite simple

I've read the entire archive of SMBC starting from the comic you posted in this thread earlier.
+
I read random SMBC comics for a few minutes from time to time just because I feel like it.

You can tell which comics are older by the art and the subversive dark-comedy, though that's not to say dark comedy can't be found in some of the newer comics.

SMBC is a nice example of a webcomic that's improved over the years. Towards the beginning, you could make a reasonably accurate guess as to what the punchline would be.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on July 07, 2015, 05:57:26 pm
Speaking of webcomics, Poorly Drawn Lines has changed the layout of the mobile version of it's website recently. It doesn't let me zoom in on my mobile phone anymore. How frustrating!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on July 07, 2015, 06:00:32 pm
You know that SMBC now has both hover text and the red-button extra panel, right?

Happy reread!

EDIT: Ninja'd, of course.

There is also hover text over the red button with a delay, so be sure to wait before you click it.

Wait, what? I went to check this immediately but it's not working for me on Firefox.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 07, 2015, 06:01:47 pm
.. it was a joke...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on July 07, 2015, 07:44:09 pm
.. it was a joke...

One does not simply joke about hidden content on a webcomic.

As you can see, we're a very productive forum.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on July 07, 2015, 07:50:29 pm
.. it was a joke...

One does not simply joke about hidden content on a webcomic.

As you can see, we're a very productive forum.
I fell for it too!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on July 07, 2015, 07:59:12 pm
I wish there was an easy way to vote for certain webcomics and keep track of favorites so you could share with your friends.

Basically, I wish there was some sort of meta-comic website where you could view a whole bunch of comics, rate individual daily comics, rate webcomics, etc.  You can then save certain ones as favorites and share them easily, and have a recommendation engine suggest new comics you'd like.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 07, 2015, 08:02:09 pm
I wish there was an easy way to vote for certain webcomics and keep track of favorites so you could share with your friends.

Basically, I wish there was some sort of meta-comic website where you could view a whole bunch of comics, rate individual daily comics, rate webcomics, etc.  You can then save certain ones as favorites and share them easily, and have a recommendation engine suggest new comics you'd like.

Why did you say that out loud? It's too late to even start now, some Zuckerberg will make millions off your idea.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 07, 2015, 08:05:23 pm
forum.webcomicsrtrategy.com
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sitnaltax on July 07, 2015, 08:44:37 pm
You know that SMBC now has both hover text and the red-button extra panel, right?

Happy reread!

EDIT: Ninja'd, of course.
Maybe if I read random comics enough times I'll get through all the new voteys and tooltips I missed. The new red-button panels have art consistent with the author's modern style, so it looks like they were made recently. What possessed him to go back and add red-button panels for old comics anyway.

At a certain Patreon threshold, which was hit, he offered to do 1/day until the backlog was filled in.

About 1000 comics in, SMBC really turned the corner from "pretty good most days" to "incredible". I don't know if it was sheer practice or a conscious decision to make the humor a little less dark and a little more absurd, but whenever I'm recommending the comic, I recommend that new readers start from the present and work backwards.

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on July 07, 2015, 09:34:43 pm
I wish there was an easy way to vote for certain webcomics and keep track of favorites so you could share with your friends.

Basically, I wish there was some sort of meta-comic website where you could view a whole bunch of comics, rate individual daily comics, rate webcomics, etc.  You can then save certain ones as favorites and share them easily, and have a recommendation engine suggest new comics you'd like.

The problem is that sites like this already exist. The recommendation engine may not be there, but the voting certainly exists.

The issue is that there's more than one such site (although you can probably get away with looking only at the most popular one), and the rankings depend a lot on how much webcomic creators ask their audience to vote on their comic. The votey from SMBC was originally a bonus panel that was added only if Zach got enough votes on a top 100 webcomics site for that day. Eventually he decided to do them every day and stopped pushing people to vote as much.

The end result is that if you go to the first Google result, SMBC is ranked #390 with 28 votes this month. The webcomic audience (meaning the audience that cares about a webcomic enough to vote for it) is small enough that the creator recommendation bump can bring a comic up by a lot. Plus there were some comics that actually locked content until enough people voted for it that day, although I'm pretty sure those comics get blacklisted pretty fast.

For comics with Patreons, seeing the Patreon pledge amount is usually a good sign of how much people like that comic, since it's basically impossible to convince someone who's only ambivalent about your work to pay you money every month. Unfortunately, Patreon's search isn't very good.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 07, 2015, 09:50:30 pm
Aren't those sites like daily votes or something though?  I think theory is asking for something more like BGG where you just rank webcomics a single time, as a whole.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on July 07, 2015, 10:26:35 pm
webcomicsstrategy.com
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 07, 2015, 10:41:13 pm
webcomicsstrategy.com

...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 07, 2015, 11:36:54 pm
webcomicsstrategy.com

...

twoplayersonedominion.com
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 08, 2015, 01:43:41 am
You know that SMBC now has both hover text and the red-button extra panel, right?

Happy reread!

EDIT: Ninja'd, of course.
Maybe if I read random comics enough times I'll get through all the new voteys and tooltips I missed. The new red-button panels have art consistent with the author's modern style, so it looks like they were made recently. What possessed him to go back and add red-button panels for old comics anyway.

At a certain Patreon threshold, which was hit, he offered to do 1/day until the backlog was filled in.

About 1000 comics in, SMBC really turned the corner from "pretty good most days" to "incredible". I don't know if it was sheer practice or a conscious decision to make the humor a little less dark and a little more absurd, but whenever I'm recommending the comic, I recommend that new readers start from the present and work backwards.

Should we be waiting for him to start back-filling tooltip jokes too?

(http://smbc-comics.com/comics/1425480743-20021007-2after.png) (http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=13)

Already worth it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on July 08, 2015, 08:42:06 am
Another noteworthy one:

(http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20021126-2.gif)

(http://smbc-comics.com/comics/1425481214-20021126-2after.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 08, 2015, 09:29:29 am
I may have cackled too heartily last night. I had butter on my hands from eating a grilled cheese sandwich. I opened my rat cage to let the rats lick the butter off. I didn't have time to wait around so I just grabbed one of my rats and rubbed my hands all over her fur. One of the other rats kept following her around and licking her, which annoyed her, but it was just too funny.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on July 08, 2015, 09:51:22 am
I may have cackled too heartily last night. I had butter on my hands from eating a grilled cheese sandwich. I opened my rat cage to let the rats lick the butter off. I didn't have time to wait around so I just grabbed one of my rats and rubbed my hands all over her fur. One of the other rats kept following her around and licking her, which annoyed her, but it was just too funny.

So... You ate a butter-cheese-sandwich, made a mess, and because you found it too bothersome to even wait for your rats to lick it off you, you used one as a towel? That's... really gross. I mean, cheese and butter on the same sandwich? Yuk.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 08, 2015, 11:31:25 am
I may have cackled too heartily last night. I had butter on my hands from eating a grilled cheese sandwich. I opened my rat cage to let the rats lick the butter off. I didn't have time to wait around so I just grabbed one of my rats and rubbed my hands all over her fur. One of the other rats kept following her around and licking her, which annoyed her, but it was just too funny.

So... You ate a butter-cheese-sandwich, made a mess, and because you found it too bothersome to even wait for your rats to lick it off you, you used one as a towel? That's... really gross. I mean, cheese and butter on the same sandwich? Yuk.

Usually the butter goes on the outside, so that you get browning.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 08, 2015, 11:32:04 am
Aren't those sites like daily votes or something though?  I think theory is asking for something more like BGG where you just rank webcomics a single time, as a whole.

Yeah, a BGG but for comics would be quite awesome actually.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 08, 2015, 11:55:09 am
I may have cackled too heartily last night. I had butter on my hands from eating a grilled cheese sandwich. I opened my rat cage to let the rats lick the butter off. I didn't have time to wait around so I just grabbed one of my rats and rubbed my hands all over her fur. One of the other rats kept following her around and licking her, which annoyed her, but it was just too funny.

So... You ate a butter-cheese-sandwich, made a mess, and because you found it too bothersome to even wait for your rats to lick it off you, you used one as a towel? That's... really gross. I mean, cheese and butter on the same sandwich? Yuk.

Usually the butter goes on the outside, so that you get browning.

Technically he's right that the butter and cheese are on the same sandwich.

But it's not a lot of butter like you'd find on garlic toast. Just a thin spread of butter to allow browning. I spread it so thin that my knife threatens the structural integrity of the bread.

I rethink things now that I have pet rats. Any ole box usually can make a play toy before I throw it away. And now after eating, I can stick my hands in the cage before washing them.

Wiping the butter on a rat is actually not a bad thing. Some rat owners will apply vanilla or yogurt onto a new rat so the old ones will groom her and bond with her. That's just unnecessary for my current mischief.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on July 08, 2015, 12:53:32 pm
Aren't those sites like daily votes or something though?  I think theory is asking for something more like BGG where you just rank webcomics a single time, as a whole.
Sort of both.  I was thinking that you would have an overall ranking of webcomics, but more importantly, that you would rank individual comics within a webcomic to compare those comics internally.  For example, I'd like to be able to compare Penny Arcade #342 to #585, not to SMBC #4441.  This is a good way of seeing which comics people think are the "best" for a particular webcomic series.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 08, 2015, 12:58:34 pm
Aren't those sites like daily votes or something though?  I think theory is asking for something more like BGG where you just rank webcomics a single time, as a whole.
Sort of both.  I was thinking that you would have an overall ranking of webcomics, but more importantly, that you would rank individual comics within a webcomic to compare those comics internally.  For example, I'd like to be able to compare Penny Arcade #342 to #585, not to SMBC #4441.  This is a good way of seeing which comics people think are the "best" for a particular webcomic series.

webcomicsmash.com !
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 08, 2015, 01:00:32 pm
Aren't those sites like daily votes or something though?  I think theory is asking for something more like BGG where you just rank webcomics a single time, as a whole.
Sort of both.  I was thinking that you would have an overall ranking of webcomics, but more importantly, that you would rank individual comics within a webcomic to compare those comics internally.  For example, I'd like to be able to compare Penny Arcade #342 to #585, not to SMBC #4441.  This is a good way of seeing which comics people think are the "best" for a particular webcomic series.

I think that would be unrealistic though.  I still haven't bothered to put my board game collection on BGG and rate them.  Rating every individual comic is just blah.  Maybe if there were a widget right from the comic page, but that's not going to help with the backlog.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 08, 2015, 03:23:15 pm
So this is a little awkward.

The intranet has a link to e-mail HR. I had a health insurance question, so I clicked on the link to ask my question. I realize now that the link sends it to a distribution list and not a shared mailbox, so I sent the same question to 10 people, including the VP of HR. Who advertises a distribution list as a means of contact anyway?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on July 08, 2015, 09:15:23 pm
So this is a little awkward.

The intranet has a link to e-mail HR. I had a health insurance question, so I clicked on the link to ask my question. I realize now that the link sends it to a distribution list and not a shared mailbox, so I sent the same question to 10 people, including the VP of HR. Who advertises a distribution list as a means of contact anyway?
Did you mean to post this in the "f.ds at work" thread?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on July 09, 2015, 04:43:06 am
So this is a little awkward.

The intranet has a link to e-mail HR. I had a health insurance question, so I clicked on the link to ask my question. I realize now that the link sends it to a distribution list and not a shared mailbox, so I sent the same question to 10 people, including the VP of HR. Who advertises a distribution list as a means of contact anyway?

That's by the by now.  The answers are no, yes, and I can't see why you'd want to but yes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 09, 2015, 02:22:11 pm
I just can't win a game of Dominion today. I went from 5000 to 4600.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 09, 2015, 03:27:14 pm
I'm doing my part as a Nielsen family! Yay!

Like many surveys, this one entices you to participate with cash incentives. That's all well and good, but I would think that the ability to shape future entertainment decisions would be motivation enough.

Although there is some bias already at work. By knowing that my viewing habits will be recorded this week, I can't help but decide to skip over bad shows/movies and watch all the good shows on my DVR. Not that I need to rewatch the last episode of Game of Thrones, but I might be tempted to go ahead and do so over the weekend.

It's really hard to be without bias here. Granted, I'm sure that everyone else with a diary isn't being without bias.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 09, 2015, 03:29:16 pm
I'm doing my part as a Nielsen family! Yay!

Like many surveys, this one entices you to participate with cash incentives. That's all well and good, but I would think that the ability to shape future entertainment decisions would be motivation enough.

Although there is some bias already at work. By knowing that my viewing habits will be recorded this week, I can't help but decide to skip over bad shows/movies and watch all the good shows on my DVR. Not that I need to rewatch the last episode of Game of Thrones, but I might be tempted to go ahead and do so over the weekend.

It's really hard to be without bias here. Granted, I'm sure that everyone else with a diary isn't being without bias.

Please go skew Hannibal ratings favorably.  kthx.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 09, 2015, 03:34:16 pm
I'm doing my part as a Nielsen family! Yay!

Like many surveys, this one entices you to participate with cash incentives. That's all well and good, but I would think that the ability to shape future entertainment decisions would be motivation enough.

Although there is some bias already at work. By knowing that my viewing habits will be recorded this week, I can't help but decide to skip over bad shows/movies and watch all the good shows on my DVR. Not that I need to rewatch the last episode of Game of Thrones, but I might be tempted to go ahead and do so over the weekend.

It's really hard to be without bias here. Granted, I'm sure that everyone else with a diary isn't being without bias.

Please go skew Hannibal ratings favorably.  kthx.

I might have upvoted this, but then I didn't want to break your quadros.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on July 09, 2015, 03:37:30 pm
I'm doing my part as a Nielsen family! Yay!

Like many surveys, this one entices you to participate with cash incentives. That's all well and good, but I would think that the ability to shape future entertainment decisions would be motivation enough.

Although there is some bias already at work. By knowing that my viewing habits will be recorded this week, I can't help but decide to skip over bad shows/movies and watch all the good shows on my DVR. Not that I need to rewatch the last episode of Game of Thrones, but I might be tempted to go ahead and do so over the weekend.

It's really hard to be without bias here. Granted, I'm sure that everyone else with a diary isn't being without bias.

Please go skew Hannibal ratings favorably.  kthx.

I might have upvoted this, but then I didn't want to break your quadros.

You could also have upvoted 1.110 more of his posts.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 09, 2015, 03:38:00 pm
Or just upvote me 40,000 more times.  Easy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 09, 2015, 03:45:25 pm
I'm doing my part as a Nielsen family! Yay!

Like many surveys, this one entices you to participate with cash incentives. That's all well and good, but I would think that the ability to shape future entertainment decisions would be motivation enough.

Although there is some bias already at work. By knowing that my viewing habits will be recorded this week, I can't help but decide to skip over bad shows/movies and watch all the good shows on my DVR. Not that I need to rewatch the last episode of Game of Thrones, but I might be tempted to go ahead and do so over the weekend.

It's really hard to be without bias here. Granted, I'm sure that everyone else with a diary isn't being without bias.

Please go skew Hannibal ratings favorably.  kthx.

I might have upvoted this, but then I didn't want to break your quadros.

You could also have upvoted 1.110 more of his posts.

I know how to upvote 1 more of his posts, but how can I upvote 0.110 of them?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on July 09, 2015, 03:56:06 pm
It's really hard to be without bias here. Granted, I'm sure that everyone else with a diary isn't being without bias.
Once, some people wanted to make a documentary about Nielsen families. The Nielsen people did not cooperate. They explained that a show about Nielsen families would be of special interest to Nielsen families, and so would wreck their ratings for that night.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 09, 2015, 03:58:47 pm
It's really hard to be without bias here. Granted, I'm sure that everyone else with a diary isn't being without bias.
Once, some people wanted to make a documentary about Nielsen families. The Nielsen people did not cooperate. They explained that a show about Nielsen families would be of special interest to Nielsen families, and so would wreck their ratings for that night.


Not sure if joke or just a hilarious true story.

Also, I wrecked your even 9000 respect, so take that, Dominion creator.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 09, 2015, 04:03:04 pm
inb4 Vegeta
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 09, 2015, 04:08:55 pm
you just lost the game.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on July 09, 2015, 04:27:55 pm
I'm doing my part as a Nielsen family! Yay!

Like many surveys, this one entices you to participate with cash incentives. That's all well and good, but I would think that the ability to shape future entertainment decisions would be motivation enough.

Although there is some bias already at work. By knowing that my viewing habits will be recorded this week, I can't help but decide to skip over bad shows/movies and watch all the good shows on my DVR. Not that I need to rewatch the last episode of Game of Thrones, but I might be tempted to go ahead and do so over the weekend.

It's really hard to be without bias here. Granted, I'm sure that everyone else with a diary isn't being without bias.

Please go skew Hannibal ratings favorably.  kthx.

I might have upvoted this, but then I didn't want to break your quadros.

You could also have upvoted 1.110 more of his posts.

I know how to upvote 1 more of his posts, but how can I upvote 0.110 of them?

I forgot americans use the dot where we use a comma... You see, where i come from, the dot is, if anything, used to mark the thousand. So i'm talking about 1110 posts.

I would be worried that this makes me look like a fool, but on the other hand it gave me the opportunity to explain a joke, and we all know that's good per se.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 09, 2015, 04:31:08 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jMLq1MS550
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 09, 2015, 07:47:49 pm
OMG! How could he hold the laser still in that bowl? Is he a wizard?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 10, 2015, 01:36:05 am
inb4 Vegeta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaY6BIgFf18&feature=youtu.be
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 10, 2015, 02:36:38 pm
I will recall an e-mail message and resend it just to make sure the comma I omitted is omitted no longer. I am that serious about punctuation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Darth Vader on July 10, 2015, 10:53:24 pm
I will recall an e-mail message and resend it just to make sure the comma I omitted is omitted no longer. I am that serious about punctuation.

You seem competent. Want a job on with deck crew, to prepare for my arrival? I have to replace the guy I choked  :'(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 12, 2015, 12:16:17 pm
My face is now firmly planted within my palm.

One of my Facebook friends took that online IQ test that is going around. You may have seen it with the claim that the average US IQ is 98, so let's see how well you do. I'm not sure if the quiz automatically shares to Facebook or if my friend made the conscious decision, but now everyone on Facebook knows that he scored 81 (the top 79%!). I just kind of cringed at that.

Not that I place any stock in online IQ tests anyway, but one should hide all evidence of getting an 81.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 12, 2015, 12:26:57 pm
Not that I place any stock in online IQ tests anyway, but one should hide all evidence of getting an 81.

Well, if anything, online IQ tests give you higher results than you should be getting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 12, 2015, 12:36:58 pm
My face is now firmly planted within my palm.

One of my Facebook friends took that online IQ test that is going around. You may have seen it with the claim that the average US IQ is 98, so let's see how well you do. I'm not sure if the quiz automatically shares to Facebook or if my friend made the conscious decision, but now everyone on Facebook knows that he scored 81 (the top 79%!). I just kind of cringed at that.

Not that I place any stock in online IQ tests anyway, but one should hide all evidence of getting an 81.

IQs are a total lie.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on July 12, 2015, 12:38:26 pm
The last time I took an IQ test was over a decade ago. My IQ was 30-something. I can't remember my exact score because I'm not very bright.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on July 12, 2015, 12:56:22 pm
well if the average is really 100 (or lower), then a score of 81 shouldn't be that uncommon. why should you hide it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on July 12, 2015, 01:09:22 pm
Personally, I think that IQ tests can be useful, but they do have to be taken with a very large grain of salt. IIRC, IQ does tend to correlate quite strongly with a number of interesting measures - level of education attained, annual income etc. On top of that, most 'online IQ tests' are really not. Many have similarities to IQ tests, but aren't necessarily accurate. Most don't take into account your age, which a well conducted IQ test should do. And some are just awful, asking trivia questions and the like, which is just crazy.

They're far from perfect, however. They measure your ability in specific skills - things like pattern recognition, some stuff with language and reasoning etc. But a 45 minute test (or whatever) isn't going to give a perfect value for how intelligent you are, that's just not viable. Too many people take them too seriously, using their IQ as a bragging point or to try and denigrate others (I used to do this, as a kid ¬_¬), or else feel ashamed of their low I, when really they could have intelligence in other forms. Conversely many people write them off as worthless - until recently I did this as well, saying the only thing IQ tests are good for is measuring how good you are at IQ tests. Well, that's a bit extreme in the other direction. They do give a decent indication of intelligence, at least, even with their flaws.

Anyway, that's just my view on the topic.

The last time I took an IQ test was over a decade ago. My IQ was 30-something. I can't remember my exact score because I'm not very bright.

You're probably misremembering this. Like, somewhere around 70 IQ is the point you're classified as having learning difficulties, IIRC, and around 50 or below is considered pretty severe. An IQ of 30 would be pretty incredible, in a bad way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 12, 2015, 01:27:56 pm
Well, an IQ of 81 is more than 1 standard deviation from the mean, so it is on the lower end of the spectrum.

However, I decided to give it a try (at https://raven-online.com/en/ if you want to try it out yourself). Total shit.

Three of the questions didn't even display for me, so I had to answer blindly. And then at the end, I couldn't even see my result unless I was willing to shell out $3. I'm not shelling out money for an online IQ test, especially one that is technically flawed.

It was a decent test for measuring abstraction, though. A few of the questions at the end had some tricky patterns.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 12, 2015, 01:47:28 pm
I took one of those stupid tests. Never have done it before. I got 139, but I feel that if there was a time limit involved, I would score lower. It takes more time for me to figure things out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 12, 2015, 02:17:13 pm
using their IQ as a bragging point or to try and denigrate others (I used to do this, as a kid ¬_¬)

/raises hand

This was me too.  When my parents were trying to get me to start school early, I had to take the official Stanford Binet test.  Telling a five year old that his IQ is too high to be measured really fucks with his ego.

Quote
The last time I took an IQ test was over a decade ago. My IQ was 30-something. I can't remember my exact score because I'm not very bright.
You're probably misremembering this. Like, somewhere around 70 IQ is the point you're classified as having learning difficulties, IIRC, and around 50 or below is considered pretty severe. An IQ of 30 would be pretty incredible, in a bad way.

I'm pretty certain he was being sarcastic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on July 12, 2015, 02:23:58 pm
The last time I took an IQ test was over a decade ago. My IQ was 30-something. I can't remember my exact score because I'm not very bright.

You're probably misremembering this. Like, somewhere around 70 IQ is the point you're classified as having learning difficulties, IIRC, and around 50 or below is considered pretty severe. An IQ of 30 would be pretty incredible, in a bad way.

Well the full story is: I took a Psychology 101 class in college. One day we learned that, at one time, it was believed that intelligence was correlated with visual acuity. Two days later, during the next session, the class took an IQ test. Through sheer coincidence, I had forgotten to bring my glasses to class that day, and the test questions were on an overhead projector. I could barely read them even while squinting. Result: I have a 30-something IQ.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on July 12, 2015, 02:33:02 pm
Well, an IQ of 81 is more than 1 standard deviation from the mean, so it is on the lower end of the spectrum.

However, I decided to give it a try (at https://raven-online.com/en/ if you want to try it out yourself). Total shit.

Three of the questions didn't even display for me, so I had to answer blindly. And then at the end, I couldn't even see my result unless I was willing to shell out $3. I'm not shelling out money for an online IQ test, especially one that is technically flawed.

It was a decent test for measuring abstraction, though. A few of the questions at the end had some tricky patterns.

I just spent 20 minutes of my life to answer every question of this test and then they ask me to pay them money for access to my results. I must have done really poorly if they believe i'd do that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on July 12, 2015, 02:34:26 pm
Does anyone else feel like they "grew into" their intelligence?
Like remembering myself as a kid 10-13ish range, I feel like I was way smarter relative to my age back then. But as I got older, I didn't really keep the same ratio I had as a kid.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 12, 2015, 02:52:42 pm
The last time I took an IQ test was over a decade ago. My IQ was 30-something. I can't remember my exact score because I'm not very bright.

You're probably misremembering this. Like, somewhere around 70 IQ is the point you're classified as having learning difficulties, IIRC, and around 50 or below is considered pretty severe. An IQ of 30 would be pretty incredible, in a bad way.

Well the full story is: I took a Psychology 101 class in college. One day we learned that, at one time, it was believed that intelligence was correlated with visual acuity. Two days later, during the next session, the class took an IQ test. Through sheer coincidence, I had forgotten to bring my glasses to class that day, and the test questions were on an overhead projector. I could barely read them even while squinting. Result: I have a 30-something IQ.

I hope your psych professor used that as a shining example of the visual acuity thing after the test was over.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on July 12, 2015, 02:56:52 pm
https://youtu.be/af2dyK2owCc?t=255

(If timestamp doesn't work, skip to 4:15)

No knowledge of Age of Empires is needed to enjoy this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on July 12, 2015, 05:38:22 pm
Not sure if joke or just a hilarious true story.
It's true (or at least was presented as true when I read it), as is this:

In a survey of Americans, 95% of those surveyed said they were of above average intelligence. My theory is, the other 5% just didn't understand the question.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on July 12, 2015, 05:42:27 pm
Does anyone else feel like they "grew into" their intelligence?
Like remembering myself as a kid 10-13ish range, I feel like I was way smarter relative to my age back then. But as I got older, I didn't really keep the same ratio I had as a kid.

Even more than that, I think I reached my intellectual peak at 16 and went all downhill since. Not just relatively.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on July 12, 2015, 09:30:46 pm
http://imgur.com/tlCvx79

It begins.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 12, 2015, 09:45:27 pm
http://imgur.com/tlCvx79

It begins.

That's one idea that will never take off.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on July 12, 2015, 09:47:18 pm
Does anyone else feel like they "grew into" their intelligence?
Like remembering myself as a kid 10-13ish range, I feel like I was way smarter relative to my age back then. But as I got older, I didn't really keep the same ratio I had as a kid.

The most likely explanation is changes in your peer group as you age. For people who go to college and higher levels of education, the average peer definitely becomes more intelligent the further into your education you get. People who are relative overachievers in middle school / high school place into schools where the average student is much smarter (or has been given the opportunity to excel in school, whatever measure you want to use) -- it probably affects everyone except for the very smartest of the smart. I know it definitely happened to me as well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 12, 2015, 09:53:18 pm
Does anyone else feel like they "grew into" their intelligence?
Like remembering myself as a kid 10-13ish range, I feel like I was way smarter relative to my age back then. But as I got older, I didn't really keep the same ratio I had as a kid.

The most likely explanation is changes in your peer group as you age. For people who go to college and higher levels of education, the average peer definitely becomes more intelligent the further into your education you get. People who are relative overachievers in middle school / high school place into schools where the average student is much smarter (or has been given the opportunity to excel in school, whatever measure you want to use) -- it probably affects everyone except for the very smartest of the smart. I know it definitely happened to me as well.

This sounds about right. I've never experienced this myself, despite being in college now. But it sounds about right.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Twistedarcher on July 12, 2015, 10:01:14 pm
Does anyone else feel like they "grew into" their intelligence?
Like remembering myself as a kid 10-13ish range, I feel like I was way smarter relative to my age back then. But as I got older, I didn't really keep the same ratio I had as a kid.

The most likely explanation is changes in your peer group as you age. For people who go to college and higher levels of education, the average peer definitely becomes more intelligent the further into your education you get. People who are relative overachievers in middle school / high school place into schools where the average student is much smarter (or has been given the opportunity to excel in school, whatever measure you want to use) -- it probably affects everyone except for the very smartest of the smart. I know it definitely happened to me as well.

This sounds about right. I've never experienced this myself, despite being in college now. But it sounds about right.

Well, congratulations on being the smartest of the smart, I suppose
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 12, 2015, 10:03:39 pm
Does anyone else feel like they "grew into" their intelligence?
Like remembering myself as a kid 10-13ish range, I feel like I was way smarter relative to my age back then. But as I got older, I didn't really keep the same ratio I had as a kid.

The most likely explanation is changes in your peer group as you age. For people who go to college and higher levels of education, the average peer definitely becomes more intelligent the further into your education you get. People who are relative overachievers in middle school / high school place into schools where the average student is much smarter (or has been given the opportunity to excel in school, whatever measure you want to use) -- it probably affects everyone except for the very smartest of the smart. I know it definitely happened to me as well.

This sounds about right. I've never experienced this myself, despite being in college now. But it sounds about right.

Well, congratulations on being the smartest of the smart, I suppose

I'm just anti-social like that, and I didn't even realize I was implicitly saying I was uber-smart in what I said. Wow, that was a really egotistical post. WOW. How did I not see that?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 12, 2015, 10:17:34 pm
The most likely explanation is changes in your peer group as you age. For people who go to college and higher levels of education, the average peer definitely becomes more intelligent the further into your education you get. People who are relative overachievers in middle school / high school place into schools where the average student is much smarter (or has been given the opportunity to excel in school, whatever measure you want to use) -- it probably affects everyone except for the very smartest of the smart. I know it definitely happened to me as well.

I think some of it is also explained by the fact that as you get older, being more intelligent than other people will also become less and less apparent. When you're like 3 years old and you learn to read and write, it's pretty obvious that you're more intelligent than the other kids who are 3 years old who can't read and write yet. When you're 25 and you're better at Dominion than your friends, it doesn't feel like a big difference because your friends don't need the skill to play Dominion in their daily lives.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LibraryAdventurer on July 12, 2015, 11:36:17 pm
The most likely explanation is changes in your peer group as you age. For people who go to college and higher levels of education, the average peer definitely becomes more intelligent the further into your education you get. People who are relative overachievers in middle school / high school place into schools where the average student is much smarter (or has been given the opportunity to excel in school, whatever measure you want to use) -- it probably affects everyone except for the very smartest of the smart. I know it definitely happened to me as well.

This sounds about right. I've never experienced this myself, despite being in college now. But it sounds about right.

Well, congratulations on being the smartest of the smart, I suppose

I'm just anti-social like that, and I didn't even realize I was implicitly saying I was uber-smart in what I said. Wow, that was a really egotistical post. WOW. How did I not see that?
Maybe you're not as smart as you (subconciously?) think you are.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 12, 2015, 11:42:29 pm
The most likely explanation is changes in your peer group as you age. For people who go to college and higher levels of education, the average peer definitely becomes more intelligent the further into your education you get. People who are relative overachievers in middle school / high school place into schools where the average student is much smarter (or has been given the opportunity to excel in school, whatever measure you want to use) -- it probably affects everyone except for the very smartest of the smart. I know it definitely happened to me as well.

This sounds about right. I've never experienced this myself, despite being in college now. But it sounds about right.

Well, congratulations on being the smartest of the smart, I suppose

I'm just anti-social like that, and I didn't even realize I was implicitly saying I was uber-smart in what I said. Wow, that was a really egotistical post. WOW. How did I not see that?
Maybe you're not as smart as you (subconciously?) think you are.

So basically, I post something which then subconsciously implies I think I'm super smart, which then proves itself wrong on the fact that I did not know of its existence. Welp, I'm studying for a film degree. Guess I know my first movie.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 13, 2015, 01:09:05 am
http://imgur.com/tlCvx79

It begins.

Is there some sort of context for this?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on July 13, 2015, 03:13:10 am
http://imgur.com/tlCvx79

It begins.

Is there some sort of context for this?

Hatoful Boyfriend is a parody of Japanese dating sims. Everything about the dating sim genre is played straight, except all the characters are pigeons and you're the only human.
It was released a while ago, I picked it up during the Steam sale for $2.50. I've run into some bugginess, but so far it's been worth at least the little I've paid for it.

Endings obtained so far:
- Brought about the end of the world (maybe) (it's complicated)
- Reunited two long lost lovebirds, literally
- Been assassinated by an extremist group

Your enjoyment is going to depend on how familiar you are with relationship conventions from VNs/anime/manga, but even if you aren't that familiar with those it's still wonderfully silly. It's a joke premise with real gameplay behind it, which makes it better than joke games which rely entirely on their gimmick and nothing else.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 13, 2015, 08:25:06 am
http://imgur.com/tlCvx79

It begins.

Is there some sort of context for this?

Hatoful Boyfriend is a parody of Japanese dating sims. Everything about the dating sim genre is played straight, except all the characters are pigeons and you're the only human.
It was released a while ago, I picked it up during the Steam sale for $2.50. I've run into some bugginess, but so far it's been worth at least the little I've paid for it.

Endings obtained so far:
- Brought about the end of the world (maybe) (it's complicated)
- Reunited two long lost lovebirds, literally
- Been assassinated by an extremist group

Your enjoyment is going to depend on how familiar you are with relationship conventions from VNs/anime/manga, but even if you aren't that familiar with those it's still wonderfully silly. It's a joke premise with real gameplay behind it, which makes it better than joke games which rely entirely on their gimmick and nothing else.

So, better than Goat Simulator, which tons of people have paid actual money for, for no conceivable reason.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 13, 2015, 10:37:10 am
So yeah, that IQ test I was talking about is definite bullshit. Another friend posted her IQ of 0 (Top 100%!). She was just messing around with it and didn't realize that it posted her result on FB. Now when I took it, it did ask me for permission to post. I gave it permission to post only to me. It didn't show at first, but I finally found it. I wonder what my "IQ" would have been if I could have answered those three questions appropriately.

I'm a little curious about what the $3 would get you. After all, it published my score. I should have looked more carefully at the sample report. But it doesn't matter. I'm not paying $3 to an online test result that does nothing for me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on July 13, 2015, 10:46:16 am
http://imgur.com/tlCvx79

It begins.

Is there some sort of context for this?

Hatoful Boyfriend is a parody of Japanese dating sims. Everything about the dating sim genre is played straight, except all the characters are pigeons and you're the only human.
It was released a while ago, I picked it up during the Steam sale for $2.50. I've run into some bugginess, but so far it's been worth at least the little I've paid for it.

Endings obtained so far:
- Brought about the end of the world (maybe) (it's complicated)
- Reunited two long lost lovebirds, literally
- Been assassinated by an extremist group

Your enjoyment is going to depend on how familiar you are with relationship conventions from VNs/anime/manga, but even if you aren't that familiar with those it's still wonderfully silly. It's a joke premise with real gameplay behind it, which makes it better than joke games which rely entirely on their gimmick and nothing else.

So, better than Goat Simulator, which tons of people have paid actual money for, for no conceivable reason.

Not strictly better. In Goat Simulator, you get to play as a goat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 13, 2015, 10:50:43 am
Not strictly better. In Goat Simulator, you get to play as a goat.

Truly the GOAT.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 13, 2015, 11:00:11 am
Not strictly better. In Goat Simulator, you get to play as a goat.

Truly the GOAT.

Peyton Manning?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on July 13, 2015, 11:20:07 am
I see having and using a Facebook page as being a negative indicator of IQ.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 13, 2015, 11:34:54 am
I see having and using a Facebook page as being a negative indicator of IQ.

I see it as an indicator of wanting to keep touch of far-flung acquaintances and friends that you can't see every month (or even every decade).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 13, 2015, 11:35:43 am
I see having and using a Facebook page as being a negative indicator of IQ.

What universe are you from?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 13, 2015, 11:49:55 am
I see having and using a Facebook page as being a negative indicator of IQ.

I see it as an indicator of wanting to keep touch of far-flung acquaintances and friends that you can't see every month (or even every decade).

I recently unfollowed all of my friends. My news feed suddenly became a lot more interesting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 13, 2015, 12:08:44 pm
I see having and using a Facebook page as being a negative indicator of IQ.

That's just confirmation bias.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on July 13, 2015, 12:53:50 pm
Re Goat Simulator: I haven't played it, but I wouldn't say it's that dumb off the bat. My understanding is that it's a sandbox game...with goats. Which doesn't sound that different from a dating sim game...with pigeons,

Also, see http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ArminIbrisagic/20150220/236427/Goat_Simulator_Post_Mortem.php for a developer's thoughts on making the game. It shows that the developers did put real work into it, albeit very silly work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 13, 2015, 01:30:36 pm
Shocking news. (http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/nintendo-president-satoru-iwata-dies-55-n390901)

Iwata has passed away.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on July 13, 2015, 02:23:41 pm
I recently read a paper by the Japanese mathematician Satoru Iwata for a seminar talk. In the process, I looked for his email address to ask him a question, which is when i found out that  apparently he shares his name with the Nintendo president.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on July 13, 2015, 03:05:58 pm
Hatoful Boyfriend is a parody of Japanese dating sims. Everything about the dating sim genre is played straight, except all the characters are pigeons and you're the only human.

I had not realised that it was a parody.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 13, 2015, 03:24:28 pm
I just told the IT guy not to upgrade my IE from v8 to v11. It's bad enough that I have to use IE, but this just makes it doubly dirty. Time to get drunk.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 13, 2015, 03:26:22 pm
Shocking news. (http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/nintendo-president-satoru-iwata-dies-55-n390901)

Iwata has passed away.

(http://i.imgur.com/iyciF2t.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on July 13, 2015, 03:37:00 pm
I just told the IT guy not to upgrade my IE from v8 to v11. It's bad enough that I have to use IE, but this just makes it doubly dirty. Time to get drunk.

What makes it doubly dirty? The fact that you have to stick with IE8 for some perverse reason?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on July 13, 2015, 11:52:10 pm
I hiked 16 miles today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on July 14, 2015, 12:00:24 am
I ran/jogged one early this morning. Been trying to be less sedentary. It's tough.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 14, 2015, 12:15:42 am
(http://media.giphy.com/media/zSvJGBS7phmes/giphy.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 14, 2015, 12:22:28 am
I commented angrily on a web site. I'm not proud of it, but there it is.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on July 14, 2015, 05:29:35 am
http://imgur.com/tlCvx79

It begins.

Is there some sort of context for this?

Hatoful Boyfriend is a parody of Japanese dating sims. Everything about the dating sim genre is played straight, except all the characters are pigeons and you're the only human.
It was released a while ago, I picked it up during the Steam sale for $2.50. I've run into some bugginess, but so far it's been worth at least the little I've paid for it.

Endings obtained so far:
- Brought about the end of the world (maybe) (it's complicated)
- Reunited two long lost lovebirds, literally
- Been assassinated by an extremist group

Your enjoyment is going to depend on how familiar you are with relationship conventions from VNs/anime/manga, but even if you aren't that familiar with those it's still wonderfully silly. It's a joke premise with real gameplay behind it, which makes it better than joke games which rely entirely on their gimmick and nothing else.

Also, once you get all the good endings for all the birds, you get to play a MUCH darker storyline.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 14, 2015, 11:32:25 am
http://imgur.com/tlCvx79

It begins.

Is there some sort of context for this?

Hatoful Boyfriend is a parody of Japanese dating sims. Everything about the dating sim genre is played straight, except all the characters are pigeons and you're the only human.
It was released a while ago, I picked it up during the Steam sale for $2.50. I've run into some bugginess, but so far it's been worth at least the little I've paid for it.

Endings obtained so far:
- Brought about the end of the world (maybe) (it's complicated)
- Reunited two long lost lovebirds, literally
- Been assassinated by an extremist group

Your enjoyment is going to depend on how familiar you are with relationship conventions from VNs/anime/manga, but even if you aren't that familiar with those it's still wonderfully silly. It's a joke premise with real gameplay behind it, which makes it better than joke games which rely entirely on their gimmick and nothing else.

Also, once you get all the good endings for all the birds, you get to play a MUCH darker storyline.

That seems like an overly complicated way to adjust monitor brightness.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 14, 2015, 12:47:31 pm
(http://www.agent-x.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Nigerian-Prince-ee88ad3.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 14, 2015, 01:02:16 pm
(http://www.agent-x.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Nigerian-Prince-ee88ad3.jpg)

I know for a fact that's not true. My wife's ex-coworker fell for this. Sadly, I'm sure she's not alone.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 14, 2015, 01:06:19 pm
I know for a fact that's not true. My wife's ex-coworker fell for this. Sadly, I'm sure she's not alone.

The Nigerian Prince scam has to be one of the oldest tricks in the book. If people are still falling for it, there's no hope left for humanity.

In other news...

(http://new2.fjcdn.com/gifs/Michael_e98c0a_5302686.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 15, 2015, 10:32:21 am
Shameless respect-whoring post!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on July 15, 2015, 01:44:02 pm
I know for a fact that's not true. My wife's ex-coworker fell for this. Sadly, I'm sure she's not alone.

The Nigerian Prince scam has to be one of the oldest tricks in the book. If people are still falling for it, there's no hope left for humanity.

In other news...

(http://new2.fjcdn.com/gifs/Michael_e98c0a_5302686.gif)

https://www.reddit.com/r/michaelbaygifs/top/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 16, 2015, 12:16:56 pm
Shameless respect-whoring post!

So you want me to mark all my posts with 18+ now?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on July 16, 2015, 12:21:56 pm
Shameless respect-whoring post!

So you want me to mark all my posts with 18+ now?

I didn't see Kirian quoting you, so I assumed he himself was posting a shameless respect-whoring post. Which admittedly seemed a bit out of character.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 16, 2015, 12:22:54 pm
Shameless respect-whoring post!

So you want me to mark all my posts with 18+ now?

I didn't see Kirian quoting you, so I assumed he himself was posting a shameless respect-whoring post. Which admittedly seemed a bit out of character.

Gotta get that upvote.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 16, 2015, 12:26:22 pm
Shameless respect-whoring post!

So you want me to mark all my posts with 18+ now?

I didn't see Kirian quoting you, so I assumed he himself was posting a shameless respect-whoring post. Which admittedly seemed a bit out of character.

Unless he was being satirical, which I could totally see.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 16, 2015, 02:16:41 pm
http://agar.io/

THERE IS A PARTY MODE! WE CAN PLAY F.DS AGAR.IO!!!!!!!!!!!!

agar.io/#FEPDU
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on July 16, 2015, 02:28:17 pm
http://agar.io/

THERE IS A PARTY MODE! WE CAN PLAY F.DS AGAR.IO!!!!!!!!!!!!

agar.io/#FEPDU

How do I get in? is the code just "fepdu"?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 16, 2015, 02:31:04 pm
http://agar.io/

THERE IS A PARTY MODE! WE CAN PLAY F.DS AGAR.IO!!!!!!!!!!!!

agar.io/#FEPDU

How do I get in? is the code just "fepdu"?

Copy/Paste the entire link. Sad part is, there is no private rooms right now. But at least you can play in the same room as friends.

Once someone leaves a party who created it, it's gone. Try this link instead:

agar.io/#U4DCL
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 16, 2015, 03:29:06 pm
Shameless respect-whoring post!

So you want me to mark all my posts with 18+ now?

I didn't see Kirian quoting you, so I assumed he himself was posting a shameless respect-whoring post. Which admittedly seemed a bit out of character.

Unless he was being satirical, which I could totally see.

Out of character, satirical, hey it's the random thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on July 17, 2015, 05:16:28 pm
(http://img12.deviantart.net/162d/i/2013/220/8/0/tomoko_kuroki_happy_by_darkflaretj-d6h631r.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 17, 2015, 07:57:59 pm
I... I don't understand...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 17, 2015, 11:33:04 pm
I took one of those stupid tests. Never have done it before. I got 139, but I feel that if there was a time limit involved, I would score lower. It takes more time for me to figure things out.

Ignore this comment. When Kud referred to the IQ test, I did a simple google search and took the first FREE test online. Just now I took the Facebook test, and I'm positive I got most (if not all) of the answers right. But then I was hit by a paywall. And here's where the real test begins. I passed because I didn't pay.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on July 18, 2015, 04:49:39 am
IQ tests mean nothing anyway. I passed one when I was 10 or so, and there were vocabulary questions... the sheer stupidity of including vocabulary in something supposed to measure "intelligence" (an already vague, ill-defined concept) completely discredited them for me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 18, 2015, 01:02:03 pm
I took one of those stupid tests. Never have done it before. I got 139, but I feel that if there was a time limit involved, I would score lower. It takes more time for me to figure things out.

Ignore this comment. When Kud referred to the IQ test, I did a simple google search and took the first FREE test online. Just now I took the Facebook test, and I'm positive I got most (if not all) of the answers right. But then I was hit by a paywall. And here's where the real test begins. I passed because I didn't pay.

Oh wow, ignore this comment again. It apparently posted my IQ without me knowing on my Facebook account. I got a 139.2 IQ. Weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on July 18, 2015, 01:28:47 pm
I'm pretty sure IQ tests almost always mean something. A higher result will certainly mean a higher intelligence on average, it's just a question of accuracy, which can go from very low to I have no idea how high, that's the interesting question. It certainly never reaches 100%.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on July 18, 2015, 02:56:05 pm
I took one IQ test online that seemed pretty good.  It was long, and gave me an answer that I wasn't surprised at (given the definition of IQ).  I tried a bunch of other ones, and they were all horrible (one of which was short saying "Your IQ is some big number, or maybe even MORE!  Buy our full test to get more definite results.").
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on July 18, 2015, 05:56:54 pm
I moved to London today!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 18, 2015, 06:41:47 pm
I moved to London today!

England or Ontario?  Or US (various)?  Or France, or Chile, or Oceania?  Or the asteroid?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 18, 2015, 07:03:29 pm
I moved to London today!

Welcome to London. (http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4580.msg511162#msg511162)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on July 19, 2015, 01:24:16 pm
I moved to London today!

You have my sympathy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 19, 2015, 07:21:23 pm
(http://i.jootix.com/o/unnamed--fd625aaf5b.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pubby on July 20, 2015, 06:13:34 am
Quote
Joining Mensa means that you are a genius, and enables you to meet other members who will undrestand what the hell you are talking about when you say, for example, "That lamppost is tawdry." That's the kind of person they're after. Joining Mensa instills in one a courtly benevolence toward nonmembers, who would pretend to know what you know, think what you think, and stultify what you perambulate.

I worried about the arbitrary 132 cut-off point, until I met someone with an I.Q. of 131 and, honestly, he was a bit slow on the uptake.
http://www.aj.cz/celeb/sm5.htm
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on July 20, 2015, 03:23:57 pm
I moved to London today!

England or Ontario?  Or US (various)?  Or France, or Chile, or Oceania?  Or the asteroid?
England. Started job as software tester today.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 20, 2015, 03:39:10 pm
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

And my Respect is currently at 2222. Lots of fun numeral coincidences happening with this post.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 20, 2015, 03:50:18 pm
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

And my Post Count is currently at 2222. Lots of fun numeral coincidences happening with this post.

ftfy
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on July 20, 2015, 03:52:30 pm
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

And my Post Count is currently at 2222. Lots of fun numeral coincidences happening with this post.

ftfy

Unless someone saw this post and rushed to unlike 795 of Kuildeous' posts! What a jerk.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on July 20, 2015, 03:55:19 pm
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

And my Post Count is currently at 2222. Lots of fun numeral coincidences happening with this post.

ftfy

Unless someone saw this post and rushed to unlike 795 of Kuildeous' posts! What a jerk.

I won't confess!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 20, 2015, 11:49:14 pm
I am writing a 2 1/2 page essay due tomorrow, and I have not started at all until now. Here is an excerpt of what I have written so far in it's full legalistic glory:

Quote
Dear Mr. Speaker:

My name is _______, and I have taken my pen to write to you in order to display an essay written on the environment and the economy at large in the present day, which will be beneficial towards the House and Congress making decisions in regards to future lawmaking. Given that you are the current residing Speaker of the House of Representatives and that you have much influence and authority within the House, I direct this letter and its contents to your attention.

Let the bullshitting begin.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on July 21, 2015, 12:13:34 am
I am writing a 2 1/2 page essay due tomorrow, and I have not started at all until now. Here is an excerpt of what I have written so far in it's full legalistic glory:

Quote
Dear Mr. Speaker:

My name is _______, and I have taken my pen to write to you in order to display an essay written on the environment and the economy at large in the present day, which will be beneficial towards the House and Congress making decisions in regards to future lawmaking. Given that you are the current residing Speaker of the House of Representatives and that you have much influence and authority within the House, I direct this letter and its contents to your attention.

Let the bullshitting begin.

If I were Speaker of the House, I'd stop reading midway through that paragraph. It shows a total lack of respect for the reader's time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 21, 2015, 12:18:26 am
I am writing a 2 1/2 page essay due tomorrow, and I have not started at all until now. Here is an excerpt of what I have written so far in it's full legalistic glory:

Quote
Dear Mr. Speaker:

My name is _______, and I have taken my pen to write to you in order to display an essay written on the environment and the economy at large in the present day, which will be beneficial towards the House and Congress making decisions in regards to future lawmaking. Given that you are the current residing Speaker of the House of Representatives and that you have much influence and authority within the House, I direct this letter and its contents to your attention.

Let the bullshitting begin.

If I were Speaker of the House, I'd stop reading midway through that paragraph. It shows a total lack of respect for the reader's time.

How so? :p
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on July 21, 2015, 12:36:36 am
Too much fluff, too long for the amount of relevant information, I guess is what LastFootnote is saying. I have no idea how this sort of stuff is graded, or how much padding is half-expected to reach that 2 1/2 page limit, so I don't know if it's that important.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 21, 2015, 12:38:08 am
Too much fluff, too long for the amount of relevant information, I guess is what LastFootnote is saying. I have no idea how this sort of stuff is graded, or how much padding is half-expected to reach that 2 1/2 page limit, so I don't know if it's that important.

Oh, I'll slim it down. I like to write the whole thing big, and then slim it down. Also, I wouldn't actually write like this, I believe in short and concise wording whenever possible in theory.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on July 21, 2015, 01:18:03 am
That's why I hate length requirements for most assignments.  It trains students to think that the length is what matters, and not the content.  If they get into a habit of writing that way in the real world (or thinking that that's how they're supposed to write), it will make things harder on themselves, and a lot harder on everyone who has to read what they write.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 21, 2015, 01:27:52 am
That's why I hate length requirements for most assignments.  It trains students to think that the length is what matters, and not the content.  If they get into a habit of writing that way in the real world (or thinking that that's how they're supposed to write), it will make things harder on themselves, and a lot harder on everyone who has to read what they write.

I think the laziness factor kicks in later on, and students using their writing skills will inevitably write less filler, but it may still impact their ability to present strong arguments and points.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on July 21, 2015, 01:33:43 am
I think the laziness factor kicks in later on, and students using their writing skills will inevitably write less filler, but it may still impact their ability to present strong arguments and points.
Seven years out of university, and I still find myself writing unnecessarily wordy sentences (but at least I can now identify it in others' writing, so I can help them out of the habit a little quicker).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 21, 2015, 01:40:17 am
I think the laziness factor kicks in later on, and students using their writing skills will inevitably write less filler, but it may still impact their ability to present strong arguments and points.
Seven years out of university, and I still find myself writing unnecessarily wordy sentences (but at least I can now identify it in others' writing, so I can help them out of the habit a little quicker).

Ah, but you did it less than you did in college?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on July 21, 2015, 02:36:51 am
Well now I do, but it's taken me all this time to get there. And that's not even counting the couple of years of uni I wasn't even writing essays.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on July 21, 2015, 03:01:09 am
There's a secondhand rule I've heard someone else learn in a writing course. First, write something. Then, make it as short as possible. Once you do so, it's still 10% too long - find that 10% and cut it out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on July 21, 2015, 03:19:10 am
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

Didn't Random Stuff II branch off from the original Random Stuff at around this size?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 21, 2015, 03:32:46 am
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

Didn't Random Stuff II branch off from the original Random Stuff at around this size?

Do we really need a trilogy?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on July 21, 2015, 07:28:40 am
I am writing a 2 1/2 page essay due tomorrow, and I have not started at all until now. Here is an excerpt of what I have written so far in it's full legalistic glory:

Quote
Dear Mr. Speaker:

My name is _______, and I have taken my pen to write to you in order to display an essay written on the environment and the economy at large in the present day, which will be beneficial towards the House and Congress making decisions in regards to future lawmaking. Given that you are the current residing Speaker of the House of Representatives and that you have much influence and authority within the House, I direct this letter and its contents to your attention.

Let the bullshitting begin.
It may get more attention than you think written exactly the way it is.  It reads a lot like resolutions do.  I think the fluff and puffery is well matched to your audience/recipient.

One correction though - I can't verify where the speaker sleeps, showers, and stores his clothes, but I think you meant "presiding Speaker of the House".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 21, 2015, 09:21:54 am
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

Didn't Random Stuff II branch off from the original Random Stuff at around this size?

Do we really need a trilogy?

We all know how the third movie of a trilogy works out...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 21, 2015, 09:46:22 am
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

And my Post Count is currently at 2222. Lots of fun numeral coincidences happening with this post.

ftfy

Unless someone saw this post and rushed to unlike 795 of Kuildeous' posts! What a jerk.

YOU BASTARDS! I'LL FIND WHOEVER STOLE MY RESPECT AND MAKE YOU PAY!

Yeah, that's what I'll claim rather than a lame cursory reading of numbers on the left side.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 21, 2015, 10:04:48 am
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

And my Post Count is currently at 2222. Lots of fun numeral coincidences happening with this post.

ftfy

Unless someone saw this post and rushed to unlike 795 of Kuildeous' posts! What a jerk.

YOU BASTARDS! I'LL FIND WHOEVER STOLE MY RESPECT AND MAKE YOU PAY!

Yeah, that's what I'll claim rather than a lame cursory reading of numbers on the left side.

Ah, you are an advocate of nice stories over facts~

This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

Didn't Random Stuff II branch off from the original Random Stuff at around this size?

Do we really need a trilogy?

We all know how the third movie of a trilogy works out...

Sans Return Of The King ofc.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 21, 2015, 11:08:10 am
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

Didn't Random Stuff II branch off from the original Random Stuff at around this size?

Do we really need a trilogy?

We all know how the third movie of a trilogy works out...

Hey, while people have dismissed Superman III, I am firmly of the opinion that it is a thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on July 21, 2015, 11:20:43 am
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Die Hard with a Vengeance are pretty good too! And they are both trilogies, so they count.

Ok, ok, Live Free or Die Hard was actually enjoyable.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 21, 2015, 08:44:40 pm
So I got to this SMBC comic (http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=203) and it doesn't have a votey.  Nor do the ones that come after, as far as I was willing to check... is it still being updated?  I was under the impression that Zach had caught up already.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on July 21, 2015, 08:49:28 pm
So I got to this SMBC comic (http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=203) and it doesn't have a votey.  Nor do the ones that come after, as far as I was willing to check... is it still being updated?  I was under the impression that Zach had caught up already.
Yeah I noticed that the voteys stopped at some point when reading some comics at random. It seems he began filling up the voteys from the start onward rather than backwards form date. I don't know if he'll continue to fill up the voteys.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on July 23, 2015, 10:08:38 am
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

Didn't Random Stuff II branch off from the original Random Stuff at around this size?

Do we really need a trilogy?

We all know how the third movie of a trilogy works out...
Retun of the Jedi; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on July 23, 2015, 01:18:14 pm
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

Didn't Random Stuff II branch off from the original Random Stuff at around this size?

Do we really need a trilogy?

We all know how the third movie of a trilogy works out...
Retun of the Jedi; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

One of those is not an example of a third movie working out well. Return of the King is the movie yuo're looking for.

Also, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Back to the Future III.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on July 23, 2015, 01:18:43 pm
Oh, oh, and Prisoner of Azkaban, unless we're restricted to triolgies only (in which case I guess Indiana Jones doesn't work either).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 23, 2015, 01:21:09 pm
I think I'm the only person on earth who likes the second book of Harry Potter.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on July 23, 2015, 01:39:15 pm
I think I'm the only person on earth who likes the second book of Harry Potter.

Definitely not. But if it's your favorite, yeah.

I was talking about the movie above by the way. Prisoner of Azkaban didn't hold up as well when I reread it (though it's miles above Chamber of Secrets still).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on July 23, 2015, 02:35:10 pm
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

Didn't Random Stuff II branch off from the original Random Stuff at around this size?

Do we really need a trilogy?

We all know how the third movie of a trilogy works out...
Retun of the Jedi; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

One of those is not an example of a third movie working out well. Return of the King is the movie yuo're looking for.

Also, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Back to the Future III.
what's wrong with return of the jedi?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Teproc on July 23, 2015, 04:40:43 pm
I'll get back to you on that in a few days, last time I watched it was 10 years ago. I remember not liking it, I think it was just too... light. It's basically a giant happy ending which was very disappointing to me after how dark Empire Strikes Back was. Not that dark = better, but in that case I think it all feels too easy.

Also, ewoks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on July 23, 2015, 06:21:27 pm
I think I'm the only person on earth who likes the second book of Harry Potter.

I think it's fantastic. probably my favorite from the first three?

the movie was pretty bad though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 23, 2015, 11:44:30 pm
I had a friend who was afk for awhile. When she came back and I asked why she was gone, she said that she was 'talking with her fam'. When she asked me what I did while she was away, I promptly told her that I was 'listening to the mus', and patted myself on the back for the amazing pun.

I now know what hell looks like.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 24, 2015, 08:54:58 am
what's wrong with return of the jedi?

Two burp jokes, an anachronistic Tarzan joke, a hare-brained scheme to rescue Han that could only work through dumb luck (which of course it did), a lame ending to the supposedly badass Boba Fett, and the Stormtroopers being shredded by Ewoks Home-Alone style.

That's not to say that Return of the Jedi is a bad movie. Jabba's palace was really beautifully crafted, and there are some good tender moments throughout the film. But those elements kept it from being a great movie. Episodes 4 and 5 had great buildup and stayed true to the atmosphere. Episode 6 shattered that atmosphere. I suppose on a bright note, it paved the way for Episodes 1 through 3, for what that's worth.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pubby on July 24, 2015, 01:49:13 pm
Army of Darkness is pretty good
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 26, 2015, 03:20:09 am
So I got to this SMBC comic (http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=203) and it doesn't have a votey.  Nor do the ones that come after, as far as I was willing to check... is it still being updated?  I was under the impression that Zach had caught up already.
Yeah I noticed that the voteys stopped at some point when reading some comics at random. It seems he began filling up the voteys from the start onward rather than backwards form date. I don't know if he'll continue to fill up the voteys.

It seems he's still filling them up.  The one I mentioned now has a votey, and it stops again a few comics after that.  So he's doing maybe one a day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on July 26, 2015, 09:45:52 am
So I got to this SMBC comic (http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=203) and it doesn't have a votey.  Nor do the ones that come after, as far as I was willing to check... is it still being updated?  I was under the impression that Zach had caught up already.
Yeah I noticed that the voteys stopped at some point when reading some comics at random. It seems he began filling up the voteys from the start onward rather than backwards form date. I don't know if he'll continue to fill up the voteys.

It seems he's still filling them up.  The one I mentioned now has a votey, and it stops again a few comics after that.  So he's doing maybe one a day.
I always seem to tune in to this thread right when SMBC is mentioned again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 26, 2015, 06:05:53 pm
(http://38.media.tumblr.com/d6ac0eeb72fab03ead76c02b3271fa68/tumblr_mp2k1cWEEu1rome1po1_r1_400.gif)

It's a slippery slope to becoming a drug lord...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 27, 2015, 08:31:48 am
Is that the episode where Hal plumps up Lois for his own sexual desires?

That show was so warped. Maybe it went on a tad bit longer than it should have, but it was mostly genius. And he'll always be Hal to me, though he really showed off his range with Heisenberg.


(http://38.media.tumblr.com/d6ac0eeb72fab03ead76c02b3271fa68/tumblr_mp2k1cWEEu1rome1po1_r1_400.gif)

It's a slippery slope to becoming a drug lord...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on July 27, 2015, 11:15:27 am
Is that the episode where Hal plumps up Lois for his own sexual desires?

That show was so warped. Maybe it went on a tad bit longer than it should have, but it was mostly genius. And he'll always be Hal to me, though he really showed off his range with Heisenberg.

It's a slippery slope to becoming a drug lord...

He'll always be that guy who featured heavily in the Godzilla trailer then died 3 minutes into the film.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on July 28, 2015, 10:20:06 am
I'm so sad. I failed at my first attempt at Escape Room (http://www.escaperoomkc.com/).

I could blame this on being on a team with nonpuzzlers, but everything was theoretically solvable by me, so I can't really blame them. I overlooked a couple of things. There was an equation where I should have mixed the units. There was also a substitution that would have been so easy to figure out if only I spent enough time in one area to see the clue written on the wall. Instead, I relied on other people being there, and they didn't mention the clue. They probably didn't realize it was a clue. Would I have realized it if I saw it? I'd like to think so, but I'm speaking entirely in hindsight. That's my second error.

I will take solace in knowing that I faced the most difficult room. The owner said that only 4% of teams have successfully solved it. I was hoping to be in that 4% but sad trombone. It was tricky, though. I counted no fewer than five combination locks requiring anywhere from three to five digits, one lock even within another lock! There were also red herrings. We had a lot of numbers thrown at us and had to figure out which numbers were relevant. I would concur that this is indeed a difficult room, and I kind of want to get a group of my friends together and send them through it. I obviously cannot participate now, but I would like to watch them work it out.

Oh, and I shouldn't mention that I had to do this challenge in handcuffs. We did find the key (after using our hint) after 40 minutes or so.

I feel I must redeem myself by signing up for one of the easier rooms. My coworkers were able to solve those. It was my room that was such a bitch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 29, 2015, 04:10:46 pm
Is that the episode where Hal plumps up Lois for his own sexual desires?

I am not sure, but that sounds about right.

(https://31.media.tumblr.com/de9d960425fdcbdcd1151830b2a074c6/tumblr_mlpzr7yzhB1qasthro1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on July 29, 2015, 05:20:31 pm
When your bank offers you a pre-approved line of credit, is there any reason to refuse?  I don't need the credit now, but I am told that it will be a hassle if I wait until I do and it doesn't hurt me to get it now.  Anything I should be wary of?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on July 29, 2015, 06:44:04 pm
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

Didn't Random Stuff II branch off from the original Random Stuff at around this size?

Do we really need a trilogy?

We all know how the third movie of a trilogy works out...

The Empire Strikes Back was the best movie of the trilogy {Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back}.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on July 29, 2015, 07:59:08 pm
This is the 5000th reply. I wish I had something more meaningful to include here.

Didn't Random Stuff II branch off from the original Random Stuff at around this size?

Do we really need a trilogy?

We all know how the third movie of a trilogy works out...

The Empire Strikes Back was the best movie of the trilogy {Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back}.
I thought this was an incorrect usage, so I looked it up, and it's not. You learn something new every day.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on July 29, 2015, 09:28:19 pm
When your bank offers you a pre-approved line of credit, is there any reason to refuse?  I don't need the credit now, but I am told that it will be a hassle if I wait until I do and it doesn't hurt me to get it now.  Anything I should be wary of?

Fees mostly? It's plausible that they'd approve you because it sounds like you're already a customer, so they know you, so it's not like you're a stranger off the street they're shouting "pre-approved" at.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on July 30, 2015, 10:43:15 am
When your bank offers you a pre-approved line of credit, is there any reason to refuse?  I don't need the credit now, but I am told that it will be a hassle if I wait until I do and it doesn't hurt me to get it now.  Anything I should be wary of?

Possibly a minor ding on your credit score, possibly hidden fees, but not much else.  If you don't have credit cards with a high limit for emergencies, it could be useful to draw on if you have a sudden 5k expense.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on July 30, 2015, 12:22:53 pm
When your bank offers you a pre-approved line of credit, is there any reason to refuse?  I don't need the credit now, but I am told that it will be a hassle if I wait until I do and it doesn't hurt me to get it now.  Anything I should be wary of?

I did this back when I needed a loan for a car. during the auto loan creation we also setup this credit line. I've never used it and don't even remember the credit amount but I remember it being sufficient to do a major car repair or significant home renovation project and went for it since there are no fees and it saves me the hassle should I need it in an emergency or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on July 30, 2015, 10:14:53 pm
Things that make me regret a high-cholesterol diet: learning two weeks before an intercontinental flight that you need a visa to transit through the USA.

Fortunately I am a citizen of a Visa Waiver Program designated country, so I can ask for a travel authorization online, without interviews in the local consulate. Hopefully it will be approved before then...

EDIT: it appears that an ESTA application can be approved pretty much instantly for transits, so I should be good to go. Problem solved in a couple of hours, phew! You can all start breathing again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on July 31, 2015, 11:43:42 am
Is there a thread where people post riddles? Not dominion riddles, just regular riddles.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on July 31, 2015, 11:46:50 am
Is there a thread where people post riddles? Not dominion riddles, just regular riddles.

Create one!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on August 02, 2015, 01:02:22 am
Quote from: Wikipedia
"Some checkers sets have red and black pieces. Then the red pieces are called "White" and the black pieces "Red."

This seems like a logical naming convention.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on August 02, 2015, 08:01:08 am
Is there a thread where people post riddles? Not dominion riddles, just regular riddles.

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=13128.msg487080#msg487080

Kinda
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 02, 2015, 10:38:02 am
Is there a thread where people post riddles? Not dominion riddles, just regular riddles.

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=13128.msg487080#msg487080

Kinda
thanx! Exactly what I wanted
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 02, 2015, 03:12:02 pm
YouTube told me to watch this again. So I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlUXDs6mrtI
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 02, 2015, 03:27:08 pm
More terrible talk about the Metric system:

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2015/07/us/metric-road-american-story/

Quote
''I hear that the meter is based on a rod somewhere outside of Paris,'' Wolfe said, according to the Times story. ''To use that as a basis for measurement is completely arbitrary and intellectual. I should say I have tremendous admiration for the French, but a matter of this importance should not be left to them. I like the idea of the foot - as a measurement in relation to the human body.''

Know what a foot is based on?  I'll give you a hint.  It has to do with the length of a piece of metal somewhere outside of a city in France:

Quote
A foot (pl. feet; abbreviation: ft; symbol: ′, the prime symbol) is a unit of length in the imperial and US customary systems of measurement. Since 1959, both units have been defined by international agreement as equivalent to 0.3048 meters exactly. In both systems, the foot comprises 12 inches and three feet compose a yard.

Edit: (The article is somewhat about the history of the argument; I think that quote was back in the 80s.)

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 02, 2015, 04:54:54 pm
More terrible talk about the Metric system:

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2015/07/us/metric-road-american-story/

Quote
''I hear that the meter is based on a rod somewhere outside of Paris,'' Wolfe said, according to the Times story. ''To use that as a basis for measurement is completely arbitrary and intellectual. I should say I have tremendous admiration for the French, but a matter of this importance should not be left to them. I like the idea of the foot - as a measurement in relation to the human body.''


Know what a foot is based on?  I'll give you a hint.  It has to do with the length of a piece of metal somewhere outside of a city in France:

Quote
A foot (pl. feet; abbreviation: ft; symbol: ′, the prime symbol) is a unit of length in the imperial and US customary systems of measurement. Since 1959, both units have been defined by international agreement as equivalent to 0.3048 meters exactly. In both systems, the foot comprises 12 inches and three feet compose a yard.

Edit: (The article is somewhat about the history of the argument; I think that quote was back in the 80s.)


WHY!? ITS ALWAYS THE METRIC SYSTEM IN RANDOM!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on August 02, 2015, 05:08:31 pm
Wait that's not even right. The meter is NOT defined in terms of 'some rod'. It used to be in terms of a platinum-iridium bar, but now it is defined as the distance light travels in --very small but specific amount of time--. The speed of light in a vacuum is a constant, defined to be EXACTLY 2.99*10^8 m/s, though the actual number is written out to more digits. Instead of measuring more precisely the speed of light, we measure more precisely how long a meter is.

Wait, how long is a second? I'm glad you asked. It's the amount of time it takes a caesium-133 atom to oscillate a whole bunch of times, or something like that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on August 02, 2015, 05:26:30 pm
Wait, how long is a second? I'm glad you asked. It's the amount of time it takes a caesium-133 atom to oscillate a whole bunch of times, or something like that.

Of course, the actual number is written out to more digits.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 02, 2015, 05:47:02 pm
Wait that's not even right. The meter is NOT defined in terms of 'some rod'. It used to be in terms of a platinum-iridium bar, but now it is defined as the distance light travels in --very small but specific amount of time--. The speed of light in a vacuum is a constant, defined to be EXACTLY 2.99*10^8 m/s, though the actual number is written out to more digits. Instead of measuring more precisely the speed of light, we measure more precisely how long a meter is.

Wait, how long is a second? I'm glad you asked. It's the amount of time it takes a caesium-133 atom to oscillate a whole bunch of times, or something like that.

I believe that was before they changed the definition. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 02, 2015, 08:35:01 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-UmfqFjpl0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on August 03, 2015, 05:17:26 pm
Here's a question I'm having surprisingly difficulty answering: is it possible to block all third party cookies except those set whilst using a fixed first party website?  My particular problem is that Twitch no longer saves quality settings, but whitelisting the appropriate domains seems to get overridden by the global third party block.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 03, 2015, 09:29:10 pm
I ran two kilometers today.

My kidney nearly fell out of my ear.

I think I should exercise more.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 03, 2015, 11:40:01 pm
Wait that's not even right. The meter is NOT defined in terms of 'some rod'. It used to be in terms of a platinum-iridium bar, but now it is defined as the distance light travels in --very small but specific amount of time--. The speed of light in a vacuum is a constant, defined to be EXACTLY 2.99*10^8 m/s, though the actual number is written out to more digits. Instead of measuring more precisely the speed of light, we measure more precisely how long a meter is.

Wait, how long is a second? I'm glad you asked. It's the amount of time it takes a caesium-133 atom to oscillate a whole bunch of times, or something like that.

I believe that was before they changed the definition. 

Nope.  The definition was changed in 1960, and Wolfe's quote in that article was from 1979.

But that's still not the whole story, since the metal bar was never anything but a reference standard.  The original definition was based on a reference every reasonable person should think makes sense, an easily measurable distance on the surface of the Earth.  The fact that the Earth's circumference is within much less than 1% error from 40 000 km is not an accident or coincidence.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 03, 2015, 11:41:14 pm
(https://40.media.tumblr.com/b006df86635b43d695e748bc99462eca/tumblr_nru6mcrkOp1sfxd21o1_500.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 03, 2015, 11:42:09 pm

Seen it. Thanks based Tumblr.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on August 04, 2015, 01:04:57 am
I ran two kilometers today.

My kidney nearly fell out of my ear.

I think I should exercise more.

A 5k is right around the corner.  Just train hard and you will get there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on August 04, 2015, 02:00:17 am
Today I hiked ~12 miles, most of which was uphill. I saw a spectacular waterfall. Probably as tall as some of the things we call mountains back in Maryland.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 04, 2015, 09:13:17 am
I ran two kilometers today.

My kidney nearly fell out of my ear.

I think I should exercise more.

A 5k is right around the corner.  Just train hard and you will get there.

I don't know about this garbage at all. I am very fit and strong with a significantly higher than average daily activity level.
That said, I hate running and it is not included in my fitness routine.
Recently I decided I would participate in a local annual 5K that my coworkers sponsor.
I got the Couch 2 5K program and $120 fitted shoes and started the program. The program expects you to run 3 days in every 7. Impossible for me. The beating my knees and ankles take is excruciating and it is taking longer and longer between each session to feel like maybe I can do the next. The actual running isn't a big deal at all. I ran this morning and now I can barely walk. I had hoped that there was just going to be an adjustment period where my joints adapted to the abuse but it does not seem to be the case. I was just thinking I would have experienced less punishment to have just run the 5K on the day of and taken that beating instead of 27 beatings beforehand.

Before you tell me I  must be doing ti wrong, I've consulted with a few coworkers who are avid runners and with the staff at the running store and everyone says my gait and pace seems fine. I'm beginning to think all runners are idiotic masochists who want to be wheelchair bound in their old age.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 04, 2015, 10:48:39 am
When your bank offers you a pre-approved line of credit, is there any reason to refuse?  I don't need the credit now, but I am told that it will be a hassle if I wait until I do and it doesn't hurt me to get it now.  Anything I should be wary of?

There is such a thing as having too much credit. Potential lenders may think you're a risk if you have too many lines of credit open. How much of a risk? I honestly don't know. It might not even be that big of a deal.

But if you don't already have credit cards, then take one. Not having credit also hurts you later because lenders can't gauge what kind of risk you are. If you have a line of credit open that isn't really used, then that shows up, and they know that you are not a credit risk.

So already got a bunch of credit? You can decline this offer. Have only one or two? Sure, why not? Just make sure there are no hidden fees now or after the introductory period.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 04, 2015, 11:16:08 am
I ran two kilometers today.

My kidney nearly fell out of my ear.

I think I should exercise more.

A 5k is right around the corner.  Just train hard and you will get there.

I don't know about this garbage at all. I am very fit and strong with a significantly higher than average daily activity level.
That said, I hate running and it is not included in my fitness routine.
Recently I decided I would participate in a local annual 5K that my coworkers sponsor.
I got the Couch 2 5K program and $120 fitted shoes and started the program. The program expects you to run 3 days in every 7. Impossible for me. The beating my knees and ankles take is excruciating and it is taking longer and longer between each session to feel like maybe I can do the next. The actual running isn't a big deal at all. I ran this morning and now I can barely walk. I had hoped that there was just going to be an adjustment period where my joints adapted to the abuse but it does not seem to be the case. I was just thinking I would have experienced less punishment to have just run the 5K on the day of and taken that beating instead of 27 beatings beforehand.

Before you tell me I  must be doing ti wrong, I've consulted with a few coworkers who are avid runners and with the staff at the running store and everyone says my gait and pace seems fine. I'm beginning to think all runners are idiotic masochists who want to be wheelchair bound in their old age.

Well, it's more of a brisk jog than full-on running, although I don't know when one becomes the other. I don't intend to start doing long runs every day of the week, but 2 km is very little compared to what most of my friends of my age can do. Well, those that aren't entering a symbiotic relationship with their chair like I am.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 04, 2015, 11:18:09 am
I ran two kilometers today.

My kidney nearly fell out of my ear.

I think I should exercise more.

A 5k is right around the corner.  Just train hard and you will get there.

I don't know about this garbage at all. I am very fit and strong with a significantly higher than average daily activity level.
That said, I hate running and it is not included in my fitness routine.
Recently I decided I would participate in a local annual 5K that my coworkers sponsor.
I got the Couch 2 5K program and $120 fitted shoes and started the program. The program expects you to run 3 days in every 7. Impossible for me. The beating my knees and ankles take is excruciating and it is taking longer and longer between each session to feel like maybe I can do the next. The actual running isn't a big deal at all. I ran this morning and now I can barely walk. I had hoped that there was just going to be an adjustment period where my joints adapted to the abuse but it does not seem to be the case. I was just thinking I would have experienced less punishment to have just run the 5K on the day of and taken that beating instead of 27 beatings beforehand.

Before you tell me I  must be doing ti wrong, I've consulted with a few coworkers who are avid runners and with the staff at the running store and everyone says my gait and pace seems fine. I'm beginning to think all runners are idiotic masochists who want to be wheelchair bound in their old age.

Well, it's more of a brisk jog than full-on running, although I don't know when one becomes the other. I don't intend to start doing long runs every day of the week, but 2 km is very little compared to what most of my friends of my age can do. Well, those that aren't entering a symbiotic relationship with their chair like I am.

Maybe you could put wheels on the chair and power them through a motor to outperform your friends.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 04, 2015, 12:05:01 pm
Super Mario Sunshine is great.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 04, 2015, 12:08:50 pm
I ran two kilometers today.

My kidney nearly fell out of my ear.

I think I should exercise more.

A 5k is right around the corner.  Just train hard and you will get there.

I don't know about this garbage at all. I am very fit and strong with a significantly higher than average daily activity level.
That said, I hate running and it is not included in my fitness routine.
Recently I decided I would participate in a local annual 5K that my coworkers sponsor.
I got the Couch 2 5K program and $120 fitted shoes and started the program. The program expects you to run 3 days in every 7. Impossible for me. The beating my knees and ankles take is excruciating and it is taking longer and longer between each session to feel like maybe I can do the next. The actual running isn't a big deal at all. I ran this morning and now I can barely walk. I had hoped that there was just going to be an adjustment period where my joints adapted to the abuse but it does not seem to be the case. I was just thinking I would have experienced less punishment to have just run the 5K on the day of and taken that beating instead of 27 beatings beforehand.

Before you tell me I  must be doing ti wrong, I've consulted with a few coworkers who are avid runners and with the staff at the running store and everyone says my gait and pace seems fine. I'm beginning to think all runners are idiotic masochists who want to be wheelchair bound in their old age.

Well, it's more of a brisk jog than full-on running, although I don't know when one becomes the other. I don't intend to start doing long runs every day of the week, but 2 km is very little compared to what most of my friends of my age can do. Well, those that aren't entering a symbiotic relationship with their chair like I am.

Right, the C25K program begins with Run 1 minute and Walk 1 minute 30 seconds for 8 intervals. It increments from there with each increment being repeated 3 times within a 7 day period. I'm on day 5 of the program. Within this amount of time I am doing just over 4K pretty much every time. Sometimes I go a little farther and sometimes I go a little faster. At any rate it hurts during and well after.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 04, 2015, 12:18:57 pm
Dunno anything about this, but you might want to check with a physician before you break something important?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 04, 2015, 02:34:46 pm
Sell me a game console.

Lego Dimensions is coming, I need a new DVD player (and I guess Blu-Ray as well), and the kids are getting old enough that it's time to really game with them.

I despise the FPS genre, sometimes enjoy puzzle-platforms and ARPGs.  Strategy gaming probably stays on the PC because who wants to play Civ with a hand controller?

I have never owned a console, and the last one I spent significant gaming time on was an Atari 2600.  What should I get?  Help me f.ds, you're my only hope.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 04, 2015, 03:26:00 pm
Sell me a game console.

Lego Dimensions is coming, I need a new DVD player (and I guess Blu-Ray as well), and the kids are getting old enough that it's time to really game with them.

I despise the FPS genre, sometimes enjoy puzzle-platforms and ARPGs.  Strategy gaming probably stays on the PC because who wants to play Civ with a hand controller?

I have never owned a console, and the last one I spent significant gaming time on was an Atari 2600.  What should I get?  Help me f.ds, you're my only hope.

Wii U has all Nintendo games, and practically no FPS (Splatoon is TPS, but eh). Nintendo games are never bad. There's Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros Wii U, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Super Mario 3D World, and on and on and on. Really, you're set if you have just a Wii U and a PC unless you want to play Destiny or some console exclusive once and awhile.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 04, 2015, 03:37:13 pm
I get mail for people wanting to partner with my YouTube channel and try to cheat me out of my money all the time, but this interaction takes the freaking cake:
,
(http://i.imgur.com/QNbtM8w.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 04, 2015, 03:38:58 pm
Tell him about tree fiddy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 04, 2015, 03:39:18 pm

This is a random question I've been wondering, but how much money do you actually make with youtube?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 04, 2015, 03:45:43 pm

This is a random question I've been wondering, but how much money do you actually make with youtube?

On my large channel, if I had no copyrights, I'd be swimming in thousands a year. Nice pocket money. (One of my videos has over 25M views, actually.)  I make really nothing, since all of my big videos are copyrighted because I made them long ago and didn't think they'd be big then. Really though, I make about a hundred every couple months or so. It never hurts to monetize your stuff and not use copyrighted music or anything. I make my own music, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 04, 2015, 04:10:49 pm
Lego Dimensions is coming, I need a new DVD player (and I guess Blu-Ray as well), and the kids are getting old enough that it's time to really game with them.

I despise the FPS genre, sometimes enjoy puzzle-platforms and ARPGs.  Strategy gaming probably stays on the PC because who wants to play Civ with a hand controller?

The WiiU doesn't play DVDs, let alone Blu-Ray. Hopefully that helps? If that weren't a concern, then I'd suggest the WiiU for sure.

Nintendo games are never bad.

Correction: Games developed internally by Nintendo are (almost) always great. Games that they outsource (Kirby's Epic Yarn, every Yoshi game since the N64 days, etc.) tend to be mediocre.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 04, 2015, 04:26:20 pm

This is a random question I've been wondering, but how much money do you actually make with youtube?

On my large channel, if I had no copyrights, I'd be swimming in thousands a year. Nice pocket money. (One of my videos has over 25M views, actually.)  I make really nothing, since all of my big videos are copyrighted because I made them long ago and didn't think they'd be big then. Really though, I make about a hundred every couple months or so. It never hurts to monetize your stuff and not use copyrighted music or anything. I make my own music, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. :)

So my channel full of covers and stuff wouldn't get anywhere...

Correction: Games developed internally by Nintendo are (almost) always great. Games that they outsource (Kirby's Epic Yarn, every Yoshi game since the N64 days, etc.) tend to be mediocre.

I have to rant a bit on this.  Yoshi's Island (and even Yoshi's Island DS) were great games, mostly because of how hard they are.  They provide a great challenge.  Then I recently heard someone at Nintendo (in a thing about Yoshi's Wooly World) say that one of the nice things about Yoshi games is how easy they are (talking about the more recent ones).  What did they do to Yoshi?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on August 04, 2015, 08:02:56 pm
We bought a Wii U a couple of weeks ago, and I think it has been played at least once almost every day since - mostly 3-player New Super Mario World 3D and 4-player Mario Kart 8, but also Splatoon and Pikmin 3. It has broadly been agreed that it is one of the best purchases the household has made in the 3 months we've been a household. Second best is probably the Chromecast.

As a sidenote, we currently have 6 different ways of playing YouTube videos on that TV, plus multiple ways to stream other services or watch DVDs/Blu-Rays.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on August 04, 2015, 08:22:49 pm
Sell me a game console.

Lego Dimensions is coming, I need a new DVD player (and I guess Blu-Ray as well), and the kids are getting old enough that it's time to really game with them.

I despise the FPS genre, sometimes enjoy puzzle-platforms and ARPGs.  Strategy gaming probably stays on the PC because who wants to play Civ with a hand controller?

I have never owned a console, and the last one I spent significant gaming time on was an Atari 2600.  What should I get?  Help me f.ds, you're my only hope.

If you primarily play strategy games and aren't looking to delve in to too many new genres you should just stick with PC and maybe add a 3DS. If you want to branch out, well, it's a tougher question since there are a large variety of console games that don't all appeal to the same people. You missed out on quite a legacy by skipping that much so it's hard to say. I can only recommend my favorite games (https://rateyourmusic.com/list/jsh357/favorite_games).

If all you want to do is play games with your kids, then go with Nintendo consoles for sure. First party games are almost always family friendly and good enough fun that you'll enjoy them too. Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros, and Mario 3D World all come recommended from me. If you're afraid of emulation, you can explore some of the back catalogue of Nintendo on the virtual console as well. 

The WiiU is also backwards compatible with the Wii, which had a couple of great games (sadly a lot of bad ones too, but you can avoid those). Since you like strategy games, I highly recommend Little King's Story, which is kind of a cross between Pikmin, a city building game, and an RPG. It has a great story and unique visual/audio style.  You may also enjoy the Fire Emblem series, which is a sometimes brutal but enjoyable strategy RPG series.  Fire Emblem 7 (called Fire Emblem in the west) is on the WiiU virtual console and FE:Awakening is on 3DS. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on August 04, 2015, 09:19:33 pm
Correction: Games developed internally by Nintendo are (almost) always great. Games that they outsource (Kirby's Epic Yarn, every Yoshi game since the N64 days, etc.) tend to be mediocre.

I have to rant a bit on this.  Yoshi's Island (and even Yoshi's Island DS) were great games, mostly because of how hard they are.  They provide a great challenge.  Then I recently heard someone at Nintendo (in a thing about Yoshi's Wooly World) say that one of the nice things about Yoshi games is how easy they are (talking about the more recent ones).  What did they do to Yoshi?

I don't think Yoshi's Island was really that hard.  That's certainly not the main appeal of it for me.  The reason Yoshi's Island is fantastic is the egg making/throwing mechanic, the tons of unique enemies and levels, and just the overall adorable feel of the game (music, art style, characters, etc.).  All of those things were present in Yoshi's New Island as well.  Yoshi's New Island was not nearly as good as the original, sure, but it was still a great game, and I don't think it was that much easier anyway.  It was probably much easier to 100% though since you no longer had to get flowers, stars, and red coins all together in one run of each level.

For hard platformers, they already had the DKC series, and they certainly kept that quality when they revived them.  I don't think they should be trying to make Yoshi games particularly hard.  Though I also don't think they should necessarily really easy.  I haven't played Yoshi's Woolly World (is it out yet?) so I guess I can't really comment on that one.  Have there been any other Yoshi games since Yoshi's Island DS?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on August 04, 2015, 09:28:07 pm
Yoshi's Island is plenty hard if you are going for 100%.  (It's not that tough if you aren't)

I have been disappointed with how Nintendo handles Yoshi games since Yoshi's Story, but Woolly World looks pretty cool, so hopefully I end up liking it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 04, 2015, 10:32:09 pm

Your words have no meaning when your avatar keeps diminishing in quality.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on August 04, 2015, 10:51:54 pm

Your words have no meaning when your avatar keeps diminishing in quality.

Do you judge everyone by their appearances? 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on August 04, 2015, 11:02:26 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/lCW5g2b.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 04, 2015, 11:31:54 pm

Your words have no meaning when your avatar keeps diminishing in quality.

Do you judge everyone by their appearances?

Yes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 04, 2015, 11:32:55 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/lCW5g2b.gif)

I am disappointed in the lack of rodent diners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqbYVr5jBVk

Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Voltaire on August 05, 2015, 01:26:32 am
So I recently moved and changed ISPs. I have my own modem. Previous provider had it "approved". Whatever. Used it for years.

I just called my new provider. Gave them all the info. Got bored on hold, tried to go online. Worked like a charm.

Hold ends. They say it's not approved, I have to get a different modem. I ask why, they just say, "Not approved." Whatever. I angrily hang up.

But the internet still works.

Is there any potential problem with continuing to use this "unapproved" modem? I assume they're not going to notice out of incompetence. Or will they and I'll be shut off in a few hours/days? Would that be a problem?

I once got free cable for a year because I called to cancel service, they closed my account, and it turns out never actually de-activated the service. Just turned the TV on once by mistake, there was cable. So...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 05, 2015, 07:50:41 am
Sell me a game console.

Lego Dimensions is coming, I need a new DVD player (and I guess Blu-Ray as well), and the kids are getting old enough that it's time to really game with them.

I despise the FPS genre, sometimes enjoy puzzle-platforms and ARPGs.  Strategy gaming probably stays on the PC because who wants to play Civ with a hand controller?

I have never owned a console, and the last one I spent significant gaming time on was an Atari 2600.  What should I get?  Help me f.ds, you're my only hope.

Wii U has all Nintendo games, and practically no FPS (Splatoon is TPS, but eh). Nintendo games are never bad. There's Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros Wii U, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Super Mario 3D World, and on and on and on. Really, you're set if you have just a Wii U and a PC unless you want to play Destiny or some console exclusive once and awhile.

I disagree that "Nintendo games are never bad". New Super Mario Bros U felt a lot like it was just new levels for a game they did a long time ago. Also, if you want to get a Wii U, i suggest keeping in mind that you are going to need a Wii Remote per player. Some games allow playing with the Wii U gamepad, too. Did i mention New Super Mario Bros U isn't one of them? That game just sucks so much and i hate myself for buying the console with it instead of Mario Kart 8.

Other than that, Nintendo has created some very, very good games for Wii U in the recent past. Super Smash Bros for Wii U is addictive and fun, Mario Kart 8 seems to be great (i wouldn't know it...), and even TPS Splatoon caught me by surprise. It's just remarkable how Nintendo did a twist to that genre. Also i love how Donkey Kong Country Returns (and, to some extend, Tropical Freeze) go against that awful trend of making games so absurdly easy it's no fun to play through them at all. It was one of the things i really disliked with Kirby - Return to Dreamland, allthough i loved the game other than that. If Yoshi's Wooly World is the same, i won't even bother, and i'm the hugest Yoshi's Island fan.

Long story short, i also think the Wii U is the best choice currently.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 05, 2015, 04:53:47 pm
The biggest reason to buy Nintendo consoles is that many Playstation/Xbox games (usually FPS) end up getting released on PC as well. There are some big exceptions - Metal Gear Solid, Kingdom Hearts, etc. However I can't remember the last Nintendo game that got ported to PC.

That being said, if you like JRPGs, Nintendo isn't a good choice, many of those get released on PS4.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 05, 2015, 05:11:10 pm
The biggest reason to buy Nintendo consoles is that many Playstation/Xbox games (usually FPS) end up getting released on PC as well. There are some big exceptions - Metal Gear Solid, Kingdom Hearts, etc. However I can't remember the last Nintendo game that got ported to PC.

That being said, if you like JRPGs, Nintendo isn't a good choice, many of those get released on PS4.

I think if you like JRPGs, the 3DS and Vita are your best bet these days.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on August 05, 2015, 05:45:38 pm
Yes, I agree that handhelds are the new home for old school sensibility games like JRPGs, but they are also great for visual novels, which took up a lot of my gaming time in the 00s. The 3DS is your best bet since it can play DS games too, but there are titles worth checking out on Vita too, though they are few in number.

The PS4 is a good home for action games like Souls/Bloodborne, Metal Gear, lots of titles that have not come out yet (I am especially looking forward to Nier 2 and Horizon: Zero Dawn). In spite of having been out for two years, the PS4's library is still kind of in wait mode, which is one reason the WiiU seems like a way better buy right now.

To be honest, the PS3 is still a pretty good buy too. Persona 5 is on the horizon, which should be awesome barring a disaster, and there's a great back catalogue of games on the system that still feel modern despite the system's age. I can't speak for the 360; I never got one.

Another advantage of the PS4/Xbone is that if you can't afford a quality gaming PC or don't have the patience to learn how to patch games and such, a console is guaranteed to play the games you buy with no fuss, so for many it's worth having the console version of a multiplat game even if it is "better" on PC.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 05, 2015, 06:03:22 pm
there are titles worth checking out on Vita too, though they are few in number.

Few in number? I must have a dozen Vita games, and that doesn't even count the PSP and PS1 games that I can play on it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 05, 2015, 06:45:36 pm
(http://40.media.tumblr.com/45f24f2575c2fb46974f2b02ad65eb07/tumblr_nsin11s0Ef1tb8alro4_540.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on August 05, 2015, 06:47:17 pm
I disagree that "Nintendo games are never bad". New Super Mario Bros U felt a lot like it was just new levels for a game they did a long time ago. Also, if you want to get a Wii U, i suggest keeping in mind that you are going to need a Wii Remote per player. Some games allow playing with the Wii U gamepad, too. Did i mention New Super Mario Bros U isn't one of them? That game just sucks so much and i hate myself for buying the console with it instead of Mario Kart 8.
Well the issue isn't that New Super Mario Bros U is bad. It's a solid platformer; not as good as Rayman Legends or Super Mario 3-D World, but totally worth playing. It just happens to be the same game as the previous one of those, which was the same as the previous one, which in turn was a nice polished version of a game they've been making for decades.

They have this issue with a lot of their games. Mario Kart 8 is the prettiest most polished Mario Kart ever. They redid a couple Wii levels for it and man they look so much better. But it's the same game, if you have the Wii one or 3DS one you have played it already. Driving on walls really doesn't change much. The sonic thing stops blue shells; I think that's the next most significant thing after the graphics. All these years and finally you can stop that shell. They changed how the karts interact in a nice way, but man, does that really deserve a new number. But if you haven't played a Mario Kart game, well, it's fun. The first DLC was weak but the second one was fine. Man they could have sold me more Pikmin 3 DLC.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 06, 2015, 12:02:09 am
(http://40.media.tumblr.com/45f24f2575c2fb46974f2b02ad65eb07/tumblr_nsin11s0Ef1tb8alro4_540.jpg)

... context?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on August 06, 2015, 12:17:42 am
... context?
I doubt it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 06, 2015, 09:05:21 am
http://imgur.com/gallery/8HeMutF

The guy seems genuinely impressed
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 06, 2015, 09:22:55 am
... context?

eHalcyon has captured the quintessence of this thread. He has transcended the need for context.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 06, 2015, 09:23:56 am
I'll be going to a Tapcade tonight for a birthday. My 15-year-old self would love the idea of unlimited video games for $5, but I don't play that much old-school games anymore. Oh well, it does allow me to go nuts with Gauntlet and Smash TV without fretting over quarters. Growing up I had to budget my quarters carefully. I used to be able to beat Black Tiger on one quarter, which took 40 minutes. Talk about stretching your entertainment dollar (quarter). I was never one of those prodigies who could play Pac-Man or Asteroids on one quarter for hours.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 06, 2015, 10:45:56 am
http://kitonin.deviantart.com/

Friendship is Magic the Gathering.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 06, 2015, 11:31:58 am
Some games allow playing with the Wii U gamepad, too. Did i mention New Super Mario Bros U isn't one of them? That game just sucks so much and i hate myself for buying the console with it instead of Mario Kart 8.

I played through the entirety of Super Mario Bros U on the WiiU gamepad. Maybe the European version is different, but that would be very strange. Are you 100% sure you can't use the WiiU gamepad to play your copy?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 06, 2015, 12:33:27 pm
Some games allow playing with the Wii U gamepad, too. Did i mention New Super Mario Bros U isn't one of them? That game just sucks so much and i hate myself for buying the console with it instead of Mario Kart 8.

I played through the entirety of Super Mario Bros U on the WiiU gamepad. Maybe the European version is different, but that would be very strange. Are you 100% sure you can't use the WiiU gamepad to play your copy?

My anger over the game caused me to be rather unprecise there: You can play single player mode with the Game Pad allright.

But if you want to play multiplayer, you have to get a Wii Remote per person. There is a way to "play" with the Game Pad in that mode, but it only allows you to make invisible items visible, build bridges and so on to support people that actually do something that deserves the word "playing" without quotations. I really don't see why the game prohibits you from playing, let's say, Luigi with the gamepad, while another player controls Mario with a Remote. When i bought the game i thought we could, and i was very, very annoyed to find out that we had to spend money on another remote when all we wanted to do was play 2P mode with two compatible controllers.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 06, 2015, 04:15:58 pm
I have the weirdest dreams. For example, I just had a dream I was dating Silverspawn. I don't even know what he looks like. His face was his avatar, but he was a human being at the same time. It's very odd.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 06, 2015, 04:23:47 pm
Silverspawn has weird dreams too! You two are going to be so happy together.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 06, 2015, 04:28:49 pm
Silverspawn has weird dreams too! You two are going to be so happy together.

I'm already preparing my body for the inevitable 'out of context' jokes. All in good fun. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on August 06, 2015, 04:31:44 pm
hah, that's not a weird dream at all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 06, 2015, 04:45:48 pm
hah, that's not a weird dream at all.

Translated: everybody that knows me dreams of dating me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on August 06, 2015, 04:56:10 pm
hah, that's not a weird dream at all.

Translated: everybody that knows me dreams of dating me.

that was the joke. thank you for explaining it! It is now at least 25% funnier.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 06, 2015, 05:23:10 pm
hah, that's not a weird dream at all.

Translated: everybody that knows me dreams of dating me.

that was the joke. thank you for explaining it! It is now at least 20% cooler.

I'm glad to hear i'm not the only person who had weird dating dreams recently...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 06, 2015, 05:28:40 pm
... context?

eHalcyon has captured the quintessence of this thread. He has transcended the need for context.

(http://40.media.tumblr.com/b88de5e38137a6c28803439d9b44394c/tumblr_nsin11s0Ef1tb8alro5_540.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 06, 2015, 05:32:36 pm
hah, that's not a weird dream at all.

Translated: everybody that knows me dreams of dating me.

that was the joke. thank you for explaining it! It is now at least 20% cooler.

I'm glad to hear i'm not the only person who had weird dating dreams recently...

I don't know why SS missed that obvious joke.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 06, 2015, 05:38:46 pm
I thought the 20% cooler joke was dying out. Now we have new options, like pancakes and fears of quesadillas.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on August 06, 2015, 05:42:35 pm
hah, that's not a weird dream at all.

Translated: everybody that knows me dreams of dating me.

that was the joke. thank you for explaining it! It is now at least 20% cooler.

I'm glad to hear i'm not the only person who had weird dating dreams recently...

ooh, now we need to share them! Because I had one too.

I dreamed that I was in a train driving home, and it was suppoed to halt at my city. But the stations it actually took were not those of the train leading to my home, it was those of one leading somewhere else. So I was confused. I kept asking people if it's the right one, but no-one was able to tell me.

Then I went down a floor, into the cellar. There was... I think a guy whom I asked and who said that the driver just liked to do random stuff, but that the train is still the one leading to the city I wanted to. Beside him was this girl who didn't talk. When she and I walked a bit away, she said something like she couldn't speak german and that's why she didn't say anything... or maybe it was the other way around? I don't remember.

We kept talking for a while, but I don't remember about what. When the train halted, something was weird with the exit. I don't remember what it was, but somehow she (or I?) was in danger of not getting out in time, so the other one pulled her/me out... or held the door open? Something like that.

At this point, I remember thinking about how to fit an antima comet into the... uh, situation? train? idk. that's a prismata unit. It made sense at the time. The thought kept being there for a while, but I don't think I ended up doing it.

We both got off the train, and I remember being really sad that she'd leave now because I began to like her a lot. I remember thinking about how I can't get her number because she's only there in the dream, even though I wasn't otherwise aware that I was dreaming. Then she slipped away and I think it ended there.

I also noticed how I'm dreaming a lot more when my window is wide open during the night.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 06, 2015, 05:43:10 pm
I thought the 20% cooler joke was dying out. Now we have new options, like pancakes and fears of quesadillas.

(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvn3ixyhZM1qe5hllo1_r2_250.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Drab Emordnilap on August 06, 2015, 05:59:28 pm
http://kitonin.deviantart.com/

Friendship is Magic the Gathering.

Are these your cards? Because if so, we're going to have a talk. A long talk. A talk about proper Magic templating.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 06, 2015, 07:02:49 pm
hah, that's not a weird dream at all.

Translated: everybody that knows me dreams of dating me.

that was the joke. thank you for explaining it! It is now at least 20% cooler.

I'm glad to hear i'm not the only person who had weird dating dreams recently...

I don't know why SS missed that obvious joke.

Joke aside, i actually had a weird dating dream. Even though "dating" is more of a family friendly euphemism. Hey, don't judge me, okay? Either way, the person was from my real live but looked a bit different, a detail which confused me even as i dreamt. Interestingly, what didn't confuse me back then was that said person not only isn't somebody i'm sexually interested in, but also has the wrong sex alltogether. That confusion came when i woke up, and comes back whenever i think of it.

Just telling so you guys know i'm not making fun of you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on August 06, 2015, 08:49:06 pm
All of my weird dating dreams involve radioactive isotopes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 06, 2015, 10:21:08 pm
hah, that's not a weird dream at all.

Translated: everybody that knows me dreams of dating me.

that was the joke. thank you for explaining it! It is now at least 20% cooler.

I'm glad to hear i'm not the only person who had weird dating dreams recently...

I don't know why SS missed that obvious joke.

Joke aside, i actually had a weird dating dream. Even though "dating" is more of a family friendly euphemism. Hey, don't judge me, okay? Either way, the person was from my real live but looked a bit different, a detail which confused me even as i dreamt. Interestingly, what didn't confuse me back then was that said person not only isn't somebody i'm sexually interested in, but also has the wrong sex alltogether. That confusion came when i woke up, and comes back whenever i think of it.

Just telling so you guys know i'm not making fun of you.

Those sorts of dreams are weird in general, the ones where you're not interested at all. I once had a dream where I was hugging this girl and I felt so comforted and peaceful and happy, and it was someone I could not care less about, if not slightly detest. I don't think she liked me either. Weird stuff, dreams.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 07, 2015, 02:31:42 am
http://kitonin.deviantart.com/

Friendship is Magic the Gathering.

Are these your cards? Because if so, we're going to have a talk. A long talk. A talk about proper Magic templating.

Nope.  Saw them via Geek and Sundry.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 07, 2015, 08:01:50 am
Man, I miss playing The Ship. I wonder if there's any multiplayer available if I boot up that game. It was already sparse back in its heyday. It was too slow and ponderous for the typical FPS player, but that thing was brilliant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 07, 2015, 09:51:48 am
Todays' xkcd is awesome:

(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/water_phase_diagram.png) (http://xkcd.com/1561/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 07, 2015, 04:18:59 pm
http://i.imgur.com/GGzR6Bb.png

(not embedding because it's a pretty big image)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 07, 2015, 04:28:20 pm
One of my Facebook friends posted the trope that she doesn't care who dies in a movie as long as the dog lives. I asked her what about Watership Down. She said she didn't know that movie.

I don't want to be around when she researches that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 07, 2015, 04:37:48 pm
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5133CZ3FJ0L._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 07, 2015, 05:37:35 pm
http://i.imgur.com/GGzR6Bb.png

(not embedding because it's a pretty big image)

Two Skeletons should loop back to Skeleton path.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on August 07, 2015, 06:20:37 pm

(http://t01.deviantart.net/smGWkU3wDQDV1I8LSvuxXAZk8ZM=/300x200/filters:fixed_height(100,100):origin()/pre12/6636/th/pre/i/2011/358/0/3/twilight_sparkle_by_xn_dragon-d4k3u5d.png)

he just added me in skype

unbelievable
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 07, 2015, 08:39:31 pm

he just added me in skype

unbelievable

If i were you i'd certainly contact the authorities. They have the time to halt cyclists who drive on the wrong side of the road. They have time to help you. That's what they are for.

Not sure how else to help than by making smart-ass suggestions.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on August 07, 2015, 08:44:07 pm
just letting me whine a little bit in this thread helps!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 07, 2015, 08:47:34 pm
If i were you i'd certainly contact the authorities. They have the time to halt cyclists who drive on the wrong side of the road.

Really?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 07, 2015, 08:52:17 pm
If i were you i'd certainly contact the authorities. They have the time to halt cyclists who drive on the wrong side of the road.

Really?

They do. I experienced that myself. Couldn't they, like, stop a bankrobbery or catch a terrorist, or get a cat out of a tree or something instead of stopping me?

Now i don't cycle anymore, and have become fat.

Or are you disagreeing to my suggestion in general?

Edit: Or are you saying that i probably wouldn't call the authorities if i was in Silverspawn's place? In that case, it depends on how insufferable the situation is. I certainly would be open to it. Also i allready acknowledged i was being a smart-ass.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 07, 2015, 09:37:45 pm
just letting me whine a little bit in this thread helps!

Great! Also, can I add you on the Skype?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 08, 2015, 04:48:08 am
If i were you i'd certainly contact the authorities. They have the time to halt cyclists who drive on the wrong side of the road.

Really?

They do. I experienced that myself. Couldn't they, like, stop a bankrobbery or catch a terrorist, or get a cat out of a tree or something instead of stopping me?

Now i don't cycle anymore, and have become fat.

Or are you disagreeing to my suggestion in general?

Edit: Or are you saying that i probably wouldn't call the authorities if i was in Silverspawn's place? In that case, it depends on how insufferable the situation is. I certainly would be open to it. Also i allready acknowledged i was being a smart-ass.

I was just surprised that they have time for anything.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on August 08, 2015, 05:34:31 am
just letting me whine a little bit in this thread helps!

Great! Also, can I add you on the Skype?

of course you can. it's silverspawn with an uppercase i instead of an l (?). you should find me.

and as for contacting, uh. it sounds like the smart thing to do, but I just don't know enough about him.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on August 08, 2015, 11:05:09 am
All of my weird dating dreams involve radioactive isotopes.
All of my weird dating dreams involve non-radioactive Isotropic.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 08, 2015, 08:04:02 pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33838937

https://twitter.com/IDontLikeSpurs/status/630067710752346113/video/1

Pretty odd end to a game of football.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on August 08, 2015, 08:21:32 pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33838937

https://twitter.com/IDontLikeSpurs/status/630067710752346113/video/1

Pretty odd end to a game of football.

Always good to see Cambridge top alphabetically.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on August 08, 2015, 08:25:33 pm
What used to be football in the US restarts tomorrow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on August 08, 2015, 11:09:44 pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33838937

https://twitter.com/IDontLikeSpurs/status/630067710752346113/video/1

Pretty odd end to a game of football.

The article isn't clear to me...I get that Bury had an own-goal, so the other team let them equalize.

That's...not normal.  Own goals happen.  It's your own fault.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Joseph2302 on August 09, 2015, 04:39:02 am
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33838937

https://twitter.com/IDontLikeSpurs/status/630067710752346113/video/1

Pretty odd end to a game of football.

The article isn't clear to me...I get that Bury had an own-goal, so the other team let them equalize.

That's...not normal.  Own goals happen.  It's your own fault.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33744346 is more clear. From what I can gather, there was an injury, and after that the usual procedure is for one team to give the ball back to the opposing team. Unfortunately whilst doing that, Forrester (Doncaster) accidentally scored instead, which is why they let Bury equalise.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 09, 2015, 04:56:05 am
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33838937

https://twitter.com/IDontLikeSpurs/status/630067710752346113/video/1

Pretty odd end to a game of football.

Always good to see Cambridge top alphabetically.

My hometown is quite near Cambridge, and so my dad & brother support them. I'm sure they'll be happy with this.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33838937

https://twitter.com/IDontLikeSpurs/status/630067710752346113/video/1

Pretty odd end to a game of football.

The article isn't clear to me...I get that Bury had an own-goal, so the other team let them equalize.

That's...not normal.  Own goals happen.  It's your own fault.

Watch the videos in the second link, you can see clearly what happened. The Doncaster player tried to kick the ball back to the Bury keeper, but he was off his line and so the Doncaster player accidentally scored a cracking 40 meter goal. He was apologetic, and initially tried to get it disallowed as a foul throw, but the Ref couldn't allow that (because it was all legal according to the game), so suggested they allow Bury to score an equaliser, which they did.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on August 09, 2015, 09:04:57 am
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33838937

https://twitter.com/IDontLikeSpurs/status/630067710752346113/video/1

Pretty odd end to a game of football.

The article isn't clear to me...I get that Bury had an own-goal, so the other team let them equalize.

That's...not normal.  Own goals happen.  It's your own fault.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33744346 is more clear. From what I can gather, there was an injury, and after that the usual procedure is for one team to give the ball back to the opposing team. Unfortunately whilst doing that, Forrester (Doncaster) accidentally scored instead, which is why they let Bury equalise.

Ah, that makes much more sense.

The "kick the ball into touch when someone is hurt" unwritten rule is my favorite thing in soccer.

That and the Suarez handball to save Uruguay in the South Africa WC.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 10, 2015, 06:39:49 pm
A program that me and my brother use a lot has a random part of it where you enter in four lines of text.  When he upgraded to Windows 10, it got messed up and there was only three lines.  This messed up anywhere where we had put in four lines.  Having three lines looked weird too.

We were looking it up for ages, and I finally found out about Resource Hacker, a program that lets you edit resources in .exe files (among a few others as well).  It fixed the problem.

Since then, I have been editing a bunch of things in different programs that have always annoyed me.  This is a fantastic program.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 10, 2015, 07:32:53 pm
Have you ever been dissatisfied with the current breed of your pet dog?  Well, worry no more with this fantastic product:

(https://33.media.tumblr.com/d02a15532a9cfa7b33635c62fb6042ba/tumblr_nqqhbvNLXF1tlb56zo1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 11, 2015, 04:33:29 am
My 100th post! Too bad I've got nothing to say.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Axxle on August 11, 2015, 09:42:37 am
I feel that 100 is probably one of the least random numbers, beaten out only by 7 and 1
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 11, 2015, 10:37:10 am
Ugh, that meeting could have been over 25 minutes ago.

Phone meetings are bad for me because I have no visual impetus to refrain from making faces and smacking my forehead. In face-to-face meetings I force myself not to show my annoyance, which allows me to pay more attention.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on August 11, 2015, 03:41:41 pm
0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 12, 36, 40, 100, 490, 666, 1296
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 11, 2015, 03:43:49 pm
0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 12, 36, 40, 100, 490, 666, 1296

470+188
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 11, 2015, 03:59:31 pm
Berenst#in Bears (http://www.avclub.com/article/how-you-spell-berenstain-bears-could-be-proof-para-223615)

This is hurting my head.  I remember it as Berenstein.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 11, 2015, 04:12:17 pm
20 9 36 45 4 41 5 32 10 45 22 32 18 51 5 36 7 33 10 30 21 39 20 33 15 44 20 35 6 47 53 7 28 40 36 13 10 28 44 49 10 46 9 30 18 25 42 46 15 8 44 2 42 9 51 45 41 8 15 41 31 13 47 4 38

:)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on August 11, 2015, 04:59:11 pm
You call that random? psh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 11, 2015, 05:02:15 pm
Who said it was random?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 11, 2015, 05:04:36 pm
Who said it was random?

You posted it in the random stuff thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on August 12, 2015, 12:56:16 am
Quote
"You've got a very strange accent on your Parseltongue."

"I think it's Scottish."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Lekkit on August 12, 2015, 03:44:32 am
Berenst#in Bears (http://www.avclub.com/article/how-you-spell-berenstain-bears-could-be-proof-para-223615)

This is hurting my head.  I remember it as Berenstein.

As someone who grew up without these stories, I can't say if I remember it being spelled as Berenstein or Berenstain. I read about this whole thing like a couple of weeks ago. There are some stuff I have thought of when it comes to this.

First of all. If our reality changed to Berenstain, why did the documents change to reflect this, but not people's memories?

More importantly, who spells stein stain? I'm pretty sure kids that grow up with these today, that are old enough to spell somewhat will spell it stain, while in a couple of years, they'll remember it as stein, as that's how you usually spell it. I'm not a linguist, but I'm pretty sure that if you hear a word a ton when you're a kid, you'll begin to think of it as the "usual" spelling when you grow up if you don't grow up actually seeing the word written often.

Basically, I think that it's a case of "we don't actually remember the spelling, but we think we do-syndrome".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on August 12, 2015, 07:40:46 am
Berenst#in Bears (http://www.avclub.com/article/how-you-spell-berenstain-bears-could-be-proof-para-223615)

This is hurting my head.  I remember it as Berenstein.

As someone who grew up without these stories, I can't say if I remember it being spelled as Berenstein or Berenstain. I read about this whole thing like a couple of weeks ago. There are some stuff I have thought of when it comes to this.

First of all. If our reality changed to Berenstain, why did the documents change to reflect this, but not people's memories?

More importantly, who spells stein stain? I'm pretty sure kids that grow up with these today, that are old enough to spell somewhat will spell it stain, while in a couple of years, they'll remember it as stein, as that's how you usually spell it. I'm not a linguist, but I'm pretty sure that if you hear a word a ton when you're a kid, you'll begin to think of it as the "usual" spelling when you grow up if you don't grow up actually seeing the word written often.

Basically, I think that it's a case of "we don't actually remember the spelling, but we think we do-syndrome".

I also grew up with these, and would have written Berenstein if I was looking to buy them again.  I think I'd pronounce in "Bern-Steen" in my head.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 12, 2015, 08:51:05 am
Joey Adams ............................. Joseph Abramowitz
Eddie Albert ............................Eddie Heimberger
Woody Allen............................. Allen Konigsberg
Lauren Bacall .......................... Joan Perske
Jack Benny ............................. Benny Kubelsky
Milton Berle ........................... Milton Berlinger
Ernest Borgnine .........................Effron Borgnine
George Burns ........................... Nathan Birnbaum
Joan Blondell........................... Rosebud Blustein
Joyce Brothers ..........................Joyce Bauer
Mel Brooks ............................. Melvin Kaminsky
Joey Bishop ............................ Joey Gottlieb
Charles Bronson ........................ Charles Buchinsky
Rona Barrett ............................Rona Burnstein
Cyd Chrisse .............................Tula Finklea
Tony Curtis ............................ Bernie Schwartz
Joan Crawford .......................... Lucille Le Sueur
Dyan Cannon ............................ Samile Friesen
Kirk Douglas ........................... Isadore Demsky
Bob Dylan ...............................Robert Zimmerman
Rodney Dangerfield ......................Jacob Cohen
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. ................. Douglas Ullman
Joel Grey .............................. Joel Katz
Elliott Gould ...........................Elliott Goldstein
Zsa Zsa Gabor ...........................Sara Gabor
John Garfield .......................... Jules Garfinkle
Judy Garland ........................... Frances Gumm
Paulette Goddard ....................... Paulette Levy
Eydie Gorme............................. Edith Gormezano
Cary Grant ............................. Larry Leach
Lorne Green .............................Chaim Leibowiz
Judy Holliday .......................... Judith Tuvin
Leslie Howard .......................... Leslie Stainer
Buddy Hackett .......................... Leonard Hacker
Jill St. John .......................... Jill Oppenheim
Danny Kaye.............................. David Kominsky
Alan King .............................. Irwin Kniberg
Larry King...............................Larry Zeiger
Tina Louise............................. Tina Blacker
Ann Landers..............................Esther Friedman
Dorothy Lamour ......................... Dorothy Kaumeyer
Miehael Landon ......................... Mike Orowitz
Steve Lawrence ......................... Sidney Leibowitz
Hal Linden.............................. Hal Lip****z
Jerry Lewis ............................ Joseph Levitch
Karl Maiden .............................Maiden Sekulovitch
Ethel Merman ........................... Ethel Zimmerman
Jan Murray ............................. Murray Janofsky
Walter Matthau ......................... Walter Matasschanskayasky
Lilly Palmer ........................... Maria Peiser
Jan Pierce.............................. Pincus Perelmuth
Roberta Peters...........................Roberta Peterman
Eleanor Parker.......................... Ellen Friedlob
Joan Rlvers .............................Joan Molinsky
Tony Randall ........................... Sidney Rosenberg
Edward G. Robinson ..................... Emanuel Goldenberg
Dinah Shore ............................ Fanny Rose
Shelly Winters ......................... Shirley Schrift
Gene Wilder............................. Jerome Silberman
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 12, 2015, 09:14:43 am
I'm not sure if this counts as NSFW, but I do think that it belongs in this thread:

http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j (http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 12, 2015, 10:25:24 am
This also exists:

https://youtu.be/pUbg6Y2hsMQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 12, 2015, 11:07:10 am
I'm not sure if this counts as NSFW, but I do think that it belongs in this thread:

http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j (http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j)

Almost positive that is a chimpanzee and not a gorilla. I'm actually most positive it is not a gorilla.
Truly impressive upper arms, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 12, 2015, 11:08:29 am
I'm not sure if this counts as NSFW, but I do think that it belongs in this thread:

http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j (http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j)

Almost positive that is a chimpanzee and not a gorilla. I'm actually most positive it is not a gorilla.
Truly impressive upper arms, though.

I agree, but I couldn't find a version of the picture with proper title.~
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 12, 2015, 11:26:48 am
I'm not sure if this counts as NSFW, but I do think that it belongs in this thread:

http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j (http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j)

Almost positive that is a chimpanzee and not a gorilla. I'm actually most positive it is not a gorilla.
Truly impressive upper arms, though.

And here I was thinking that shaved gorillas looked an awful lot like chimpanzees. It seemed almost plausible. I need to work on being a bit more skeptical.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 12, 2015, 11:28:03 am
I'm not sure if this counts as NSFW, but I do think that it belongs in this thread:

http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j (http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j)

Almost positive that is a chimpanzee and not a gorilla. I'm actually most positive it is not a gorilla.
Truly impressive upper arms, though.

And here I was thinking that shaved gorillas looked an awful lot like chimpanzees. It seemed almost plausible. I need to work on being a bit more skeptical.

I don't believe you thought that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 12, 2015, 11:46:59 am
I'm not sure if this counts as NSFW, but I do think that it belongs in this thread:

http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j (http://imgur.com/YuBRA7j)

Almost positive that is a chimpanzee and not a gorilla. I'm actually most positive it is not a gorilla.
Truly impressive upper arms, though.

And here I was thinking that shaved gorillas looked an awful lot like chimpanzees. It seemed almost plausible. I need to work on being a bit more skeptical.

I don't believe you thought that.

Well I didn't give it a lot of critical thought. If it mattered to my everyday life I might have examined it more closely.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 12, 2015, 11:50:18 am
Aw, you don't get the joke. I was being skeptical about you not being skeptical.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 12, 2015, 12:13:39 pm
I was being skeptical about you not being skeptical.

I doubt that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 12, 2015, 12:26:14 pm
I was being skeptical about you not being skeptical.

I doubt that.

I am feeling uncertainty and a lack of conviction towards your statement.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 12, 2015, 12:51:55 pm
Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this conversation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 12, 2015, 12:52:37 pm
Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this conversation.

I think you are.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 12, 2015, 12:53:25 pm
I'm beginning to doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 12, 2015, 12:54:24 pm
I'm beginning to doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.

(http://i.imgur.com/vncZ8J3.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 12, 2015, 01:06:22 pm
I'm certain you're all nerds.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 12, 2015, 02:50:34 pm
I'm certain you're all nerds.

Hell yes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 12, 2015, 04:10:50 pm
Any Japanese speakers on here? I have a question about a faux translation I want to do as a sort of joke, but I'm not sure how well it'd work. That probably wouldn't stop me from trying it, but I would like to know just how badly I'm going to mangle this translation.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on August 12, 2015, 04:11:25 pm
Any Japanese speakers on here? I have a question about a faux translation I want to do as a sort of joke, but I'm not sure how well it'd work. That probably wouldn't stop me from trying it, but I would like to know just how badly I'm going to mangle this translation.

I can try to help.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 12, 2015, 04:49:58 pm
I'm beginning to doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.

(http://i.imgur.com/vncZ8J3.gif)
nice reference.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 12, 2015, 04:53:34 pm
Any Japanese speakers on here?

Sorry, my speakers were made in China.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 12, 2015, 05:04:01 pm
Any Japanese speakers on here?

Sorry, my speakers were made in China.

Stop China make jokes.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 12, 2015, 05:23:50 pm
Any Japanese speakers on here?

Sorry, my speakers were made in China.

What's their user name?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 12, 2015, 06:31:51 pm
Any Japanese speakers on here?

Sorry, my speakers were made in China.

What's their user name?

Ozle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: assemble_me on August 13, 2015, 05:38:55 am
Yesterday, I recognized I'd always missed this guy without even knowing him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hUGL7IeqGE
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 13, 2015, 02:01:23 pm
Any Japanese speakers on here? I have a question about a faux translation I want to do as a sort of joke, but I'm not sure how well it'd work. That probably wouldn't stop me from trying it, but I would like to know just how badly I'm going to mangle this translation.

I can try to help.

Cool. Sent you a PM.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 13, 2015, 02:28:10 pm
So, I have a random question for you guys.  I want to study particle physics.  My dad will let me stay at home for free as long as I'm in college.  Because of how poor my family is, financial aid will pretty much pay for all of my tuition.  So, if I stay local, I'll go to college for free.

The problem is, no colleges near me have particle physics.  I'm sure that I'll need more than just a bachelor's degree, so I was wondering: would it be worth it to go to a local college to get a more general physics degree, then maybe save some money and go somewhere else for my master's (and maybe doctorate)?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 13, 2015, 02:33:08 pm
So, I have a random question for you guys.  I want to study particle physics.  My dad will let me stay at home for free as long as I'm in college.  Because of how poor my family is, financial aid will pretty much pay for all of my tuition.  So, if I stay local, I'll go to college for free.

The problem is, no colleges near me have particle physics.  I'm sure that I'll need more than just a bachelor's degree, so I was wondering: would it be worth it to go to a local college to get a more general physics degree, then maybe save some money and go somewhere else for my master's (and maybe doctorate)?

My vote is yes.  I think your personal dedication and desire to learn will do more than the advantages of a larger or more prestigious school.  I mean, you can always get books and read on your own.  The one issue to consider with particle physics is the availability of labs.  But I would think most schools have something reasonable. 

I'm assuming you have a least a regular full four-year college/university local to you.  A community college probably wouldn't cut it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on August 13, 2015, 03:09:14 pm
I would strongly recommend living away from home if possible.  I'd struggle to say exactly why, but I think it's an important part of the overall experience. 

I'd also recommend going to the absolute best place for particle physics that you can manage, especially if you want to do research.  There are three reasons.  The most important is that you want to be with other bright people with the same interests, and they will tend to congregate in places with a good reputation for the subject.  The second is that you want to have access to brilliant faculty.  The third, silly reason is that it sadly does matter what name is printed on your degree certificate: it's a certificate that you've enjoyed advantages 1 and 2.  It's not impossible to do well starting out anywhere, but there's a lot of competition for research places and coming from a background that people understand with references from stars in the field is much more reassuring to an admissions panel than a random university of uncertain quality.

Aim as high as you can.  I won't pretend to understand the US system, but in the UK the top universities offer a lot of support to students from poorer backgrounds (my education cost me essentially nothing, including my living costs).  Make sure you find out what's on offer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on August 13, 2015, 03:46:40 pm
From what I've heard, these days doing research as an undergrad is practically a requirement for graduate school. If you aren't able to do lots of research in what you're interested in at this college, probably better to go somewhere else.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 13, 2015, 04:02:10 pm
I won't pretend to understand the US system

And suddenly the rest of your post makes so much more sense.

I don't know anything about the field of particle physics. I think the university you choose should largely be a function of how many job openings/research grants there are for your chosen field. My sister just started her dissertation for her PhD in Philosophy. With a PhD in Philosophy, your ideal job is usually Professor of Philosophy, and there are precious few of those positions. There's not much point in spending the rest of your life in crippling student debt if you're not likely to be able to land a job where your degree pays off. If you do choose to pursue that kind of career, the pedigree of your university starts to matter a lot more, I would think.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 13, 2015, 04:11:28 pm
I dunno, I'm just going into film editing with my poor money.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 13, 2015, 04:59:06 pm
I won't pretend to understand the US system, but in the UK...

You could have started and ended your post there.  To paraphrase Douglas Adams, the university system in the US is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike university systems in Europe.

Tuition at my hometown college (University of Toledo, where I got my two BSs and one of my Masters) is currently $9200/yr, in-state tuition for a state-subsidized college.  (This is not quite double what it was when I went there 20 years ago, after adjusting for inflation, but the hyperinflation of tuition is a topic for a different time.)  Room and board is a bit more than that, about $10k/yr.

If you're lucky, smart, and poor, you'll be able to pull that tuition number down into the $2k/yr range, which you'll have to cover with loans.  If you only fit one or two of those categories, you're probably going to be stuck with 4-5k/yr in loans, though the variance is going to be higher (see "lucky.")

For someone coming from even a middle-class family, living away from home is an expensive proposition.  It's 20% of the median family income in the US, just for room and board, and unless your family has a ton of extra savings, that's 40k in non-dischargeable loans at 6% interest over 4 years.  Note that living off-campus isn't likely to help the situation all that much; while your rent will be lower with a roommate, you're still spending money on furnishings and the like... and you likely won't be able to use student loans for it, where you might be able to for on-campus housing.

For someone from a poor family, loans are the only way to go, and they follow you forever.

Aim as high as you can.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsiolkovsky_rocket_equation

You can aim for the stars, but if you don't have enough fuel, you're going to crash, or possibly burn up in the atmosphere.

--------

So to speak to sudgy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multistage_rocket

I've personally never heard of an undergraduate degree in particle physics; it's possible they exist, but that doesn't automatically mean you should go for it.  I'd say that yes, get a BS in physics from your local university.  Try to do some undergraduate research; if you're lucky, you may get paid for it, and if you're very, very lucky, you might have a paper with your name on it before your undergrad career is done.  Then once you've burned through your first stage rocket, aim high with the second stage and apply to a bunch of grad schools, especially if your grades are great.  You still might not end up in the most prestigious place possible--very few do so--but if your plan is to go into industry or practical research, rather than to attempt to go into academia, the pedigree on your diploma isn't nearly as important.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 13, 2015, 05:05:51 pm
Something that is really cool, no matter where you go:

REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates)

Basically a summer program where you do research with a professor.  I did one between my Junior and Seniors years of undergrad (at the same college I was attending, though in general you'd go to another one) in math.  It was a lot of fun.. worked on a problem, wrote a paper, did a little presentation.  The advisor for the project went on to publish a paper that used some of the things that come up in the REU research, so my name ended up as a coauthor.  You also usually get housing and a small stipend.  This was in math, but I'm sure there are many in physics, and probably a number that deal with your specific interest.

Wherever you go, consider this for a Summer or two, probably starting after Sophomore year (not sure if places accept finishing Freshmen). 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on August 13, 2015, 05:07:04 pm
While it wasn't very cool living with my parents all though undergrad, honestly, considering I managed to get out of undergrad with $0 in loans, I think I came off better than a lot of my friends did. If you can tolerate living with your family, consider the upside for sure. I do agree with qmech that living on your own is great, and you learn how to handle life better that way for sure, but it's just not realistic for some people in the States. Starting my Master's now (7 years later, should have been earlier) and tuition is $6500 a semester, which is less than for undergrads at only a pretty good school. I cannot imagine having to pay for that and housing. If you have a scholarship that covers costs, great, but no matter what idealists will tell you about education being the most important thing, there are some prices you should think twice about paying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on August 13, 2015, 05:14:20 pm
Quote from: all

Sorry, I forget exactly how messed up your education system is. :(  Take it as advice for a hypothetical European with their heart set on academia.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 13, 2015, 07:02:06 pm
Quote from: all

Sorry, I forget exactly how messed your education system is. :(

Man, "messed" is a severe understatement. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 13, 2015, 07:07:58 pm
Why do they keep changing YouTube!?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Eevee on August 13, 2015, 07:17:29 pm
I'm european, and one that hasn't gone to university at that, but I would strongly recommend moving away from your family and living on your own, all other things being equal. It's wonderful having to grow up, and at least for me it made me appreciate my family so much more, which resulted in me being a better son/brother for them. Of course that growth could have happened regardless of me moving out young, but I'm fairly certain it sped it up.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 13, 2015, 09:04:32 pm
It's wonderful having to grow up
you are aware that your avatar is a character from children's video game? ( :P [so that you know I'm only kidding and it's all in good fun])
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 13, 2015, 09:35:16 pm
It's wonderful having to grow up
you are aware that your avatar is a charcter from children's video game? ( :P [so that you know I'm only kidding and it's all in good fun])

This post almost made me change my avatar...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 13, 2015, 09:55:00 pm
It's wonderful having to grow up
you are aware that your avatar is a charcter from children's video game? ( :P [so that you know I'm only kidding and it's all in good fun])

This post almost made me change my avatar...
if eevee changed his avatar I would have immediately deleted it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 13, 2015, 10:34:55 pm
My avatar is definitely for adults.

"Da clamps!"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 13, 2015, 11:02:02 pm
It's wonderful having to grow up
you are aware that your avatar is a charcter from children's video game? ( :P [so that you know I'm only kidding and it's all in good fun])

Based on the tagline 'A Wild Eevee appears', I think he knows.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 14, 2015, 11:53:30 am
That little thrill when I realize that I could indeed conditionally format a cell in Excel to the minute by adding together the date and time to produce =IF($C2+$E2<NOW(), TRUE, FALSE)=TRUE

I do so much trial and error that it makes me giddy when I try something new that works on the first attempt.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on August 14, 2015, 12:11:48 pm
So, I'm thinking about studying Information Technology or Economics in college, and have a good GPA and ACT score, but don't know whether it would be better for me to go to attend a good school (University of Washington) for high fees or a decent school (Utah State University/Boise State University) for cheaper fees. I still have a while before I have to totally decide, but am interested in hearing your guys' opinions on whether a University's prestige will make up for it's high costs or if I would be better off worrying about this sort of thing for grad school.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 14, 2015, 01:28:31 pm
Twitch Plays Dark Souls (http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplaysdark)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 14, 2015, 03:39:12 pm
Does anyone play the Fallout Shelter game on a mobile device? I'm downloading it now, but I'm not sure if I should play it. It's gotten some really good reviews, so yay.

I'm sure it's one of those time sinks where you can do more stuff by spending money. I'm not opposed to that, though I doubt I'll spend money on it. Had to repair an AC unit, replace a shower, go to Gen Con, go to Florida, and fix a couple of surprises in our car this year. Trying to slow down the money trickle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sitnaltax on August 14, 2015, 06:31:18 pm
So, I'm thinking about studying Information Technology or Economics in college, and have a good GPA and ACT score, but don't know whether it would be better for me to go to attend a good school (University of Washington) for high fees or a decent school (Utah State University/Boise State University) for cheaper fees. I still have a while before I have to totally decide, but am interested in hearing your guys' opinions on whether a University's prestige will make up for it's high costs or if I would be better off worrying about this sort of thing for grad school.

Software developer here. Save the money. IT hiring is pretty egalitarian in my experience. Once you have 18 months of experience, nobody will care where you did your undergrad. There might be an exception to be made for MIT/Caltech, where you'll get an actually unusual education and reputation and build a network you can't get elsewhere. Even so I would be leery of spending the... how many hundreds of thousands of dollars?

If your interest is more strongly towards economics... I don't know how egalitarian that field is; maybe the reputation of the school matters more there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 16, 2015, 07:11:10 pm
I forgot to ask earlier... anyone here have Splatoon? I recently took the plunge (well, considering how much cheaper the game is than most Wii U games, I guess the splash) and got the game, so it'd be nice to add people from here if I haven't already.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on August 16, 2015, 11:21:16 pm
I forgot to ask earlier... anyone here have Splatoon? I recently took the plunge (well, considering how much cheaper the game is than most Wii U games, I guess the splash) and got the game, so it'd be nice to add people from here if I haven't already.
Yes. I've only played a couple of times, but I've really enjoyed it. I'll try to remember to get my details to add when I'm at home.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 17, 2015, 01:44:10 am
Okay, I have to ask, am I the only person who can gallop like a horse pretty fast on my hands and knees?  I was just googling for a while, and I only saw some random scientific paper saying one person did, and the paper said that that had never been recorded before or something.  Can anybody else do it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 17, 2015, 03:17:07 am
Okay, I have to ask, am I the only person who can gallop like a horse pretty fast on my hands and knees?  I was just googling for a while, and I only saw some random scientific paper saying one person did, and the paper said that that had never been recorded before or something.  Can anybody else do it?

I want what you're having.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on August 17, 2015, 03:34:59 am
Okay, I have to ask, am I the only person who can gallop like a horse pretty fast on my hands and knees?  I was just googling for a while, and I only saw some random scientific paper saying one person did, and the paper said that that had never been recorded before or something.  Can anybody else do it?

This isn't quite the same thing, but I think there is/was a family of quadruped humans in rural Turkey (they walk on their hands and feet in their normal every day lives).  I would imagine they run like that too.

What counts as "pretty fast"?  I kind of want to try it, but I don't want to look insane.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 17, 2015, 08:17:36 am
Okay, I have to ask, am I the only person who can gallop like a horse pretty fast on my hands and knees?

Not sure if hawt.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 17, 2015, 10:19:32 am
Okay, I have to ask, am I the only person who can gallop like a horse pretty fast on my hands and knees?  I was just googling for a while, and I only saw some random scientific paper saying one person did, and the paper said that that had never been recorded before or something.  Can anybody else do it?

I can't, my body is not balanced correctly for that sort of motion, because my legs are longer than my arms (duh) and I can't get my back in such a position that both reach the ground in a way that allows my arms to exerce power on the ground. So the motion becomes more like hopping than galloping, with the arms only there for balance, which is a terribly inefficient way to move because my forward momentum pretty much dies every time I get back on my fours. So I move a bit faster than walking, but not by much.

Now you only have to ask to ~6,999,999,999 more people to know the answer.

EDIT: wait, I thought you meant hands and feet, but you said knees. That changes things. I can't do that because I would abrade my knees in a couple of strides.

I kind of want to try it, but I don't want to look insane.

Boo!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 17, 2015, 10:50:44 am
Now you only have to ask to ~6,999,999,999 more people to know the answer.

He can stop asking when/if someone says they can.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 17, 2015, 11:03:16 am
Okay, I have to ask, am I the only person who can gallop like a horse pretty fast on my hands and knees?  I was just googling for a while, and I only saw some random scientific paper saying one person did, and the paper said that that had never been recorded before or something.  Can anybody else do it?

I used to do this when I was little, but only up stairs, which is the only way it works with hands and feet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on August 17, 2015, 11:27:00 am
This guy can:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc17_6HQdrQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 17, 2015, 12:49:23 pm
Everybody: I said hands and knees, not hands and feet.  I know plenty of people have done weird stuff on their hands and feet, but I've heard galloping on your hands and feet isn't really that practical.

What counts as "pretty fast"?  I kind of want to try it, but I don't want to look insane.

I've never lost a race when we're on our hands and knees.  I should maybe figure out how fast I'm moving.

EDIT: wait, I thought you meant hands and feet, but you said knees. That changes things. I can't do that because I would abrade my knees in a couple of strides.

It really hurts if you do it on a hard floor or something like it.  The only place I can do it for a while (but I run out of breath pretty quickly) is in a grassy field or a really soft carpet.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 17, 2015, 01:02:45 pm
How are you racing this way so often?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 17, 2015, 01:04:42 pm
How are you racing this way so often?

I'll just ask random people whenever I think of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 17, 2015, 01:08:57 pm
So are you beating out the other eight-month-olds?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 17, 2015, 01:12:09 pm
How are you racing this way so often?

Possible reasons to race on hands and knees:
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 17, 2015, 01:16:35 pm
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 17, 2015, 01:19:40 pm
How are you racing this way so often?

Possible reasons to race on hands and knees:
  • Has child
  • Is child
  • Wants to stay connected to inner child
  • Medical reasons
  • Alcohol
  • Does documentary and lives among animals
  • Remote relative of a family living in rural Turkey
  • Was raised by wolves
  • Moat
  • etc

...wants to win unfair races to feel good about myself?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 17, 2015, 01:20:40 pm
Oh, and to impress friends.  Conversations go this way a lot:

Me: "I can gallop."

Friend: "What?!?  Show me!"

*gallops*
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 17, 2015, 01:22:35 pm
How are you racing this way so often?

Possible reasons to race on hands and knees:
  • Has child
  • Is child
  • Wants to stay connected to inner child
  • Medical reasons
  • Alcohol
  • Does documentary and lives among animals
  • Remote relative of a family living in rural Turkey
  • Was raised by wolves
  • Moat
  • etc


http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/grownups-pay-big-bucks-attend-nyc-adult-preschool/story?id=29701836

...No, seriously.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 17, 2015, 01:27:24 pm
Oh, and to impress friends.  Conversations go this way a lot:

Me: "I can gallop."

Friend: "What?!?  Show me!"

*gallops*

Girls: "Wow, he gallops just like a horse.  I wonder if he has... other horse-like attributes".

Or, something like that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 17, 2015, 02:12:41 pm
  • Has no feet

That's a medical reason.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on August 17, 2015, 02:51:22 pm
Add me to the list of people who've failed to gallop particularly fast around the room.

I'd give it a good go on grass though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 17, 2015, 02:59:31 pm
Girls: "Wow, he gallops just like a horse.  I wonder if he has... other horse-like attributes".

Like... a diet high in oats and hay, loves carrots for treats, lives and poops outside?

Are those traits the ladies are looking for nowadays?  Crazy millennials...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 17, 2015, 03:06:56 pm
Girls: "Wow, he gallops just like a horse.  I wonder if he has... other horse-like attributes".

Like... a diet high in oats and hay, loves carrots for treats, lives and poops outside?

Are those traits the ladies are looking for nowadays?  Crazy millennials...

On the bright side, women get to ride on top.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 17, 2015, 03:12:30 pm
Girls: "Wow, he gallops just like a horse.  I wonder if he has... other horse-like attributes".

Like... a diet high in oats and hay, loves carrots for treats, lives and poops outside?

Are those traits the ladies are looking for nowadays?  Crazy millennials...

And a full, radiant mane.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 17, 2015, 03:13:26 pm
  • Has no feet

That's a medical reason.

So is "Is child".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on August 17, 2015, 03:27:57 pm
So is "has... other horse-like attributes".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 17, 2015, 04:23:49 pm
Girls: "Wow, he gallops just like a horse.  I wonder if he has... other horse-like attributes".

Like... a diet high in oats and hay, loves carrots for treats, lives and poops outside?

Are those traits the ladies are looking for nowadays?  Crazy millennials...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jooUElutTGo
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 17, 2015, 07:25:00 pm
Oh, and to impress friends.  Conversations go this way a lot:

Me: "I can gallop."

Friend: "What?!?  Show me!"

*gallops*

Girls: "Wow, he gallops just like a horse.  I wonder if he has... other horse-like attributes".

Or, something like that.

"Hey sudgy, why the long face?"

or maybe, "Hey sudgy, can you lend me 4 silver coins?"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 17, 2015, 07:26:58 pm
Oh, and to impress friends.  Conversations go this way a lot:

Me: "I can gallop."

Friend: "What?!?  Show me!"

*gallops*

Girls: "Wow, he gallops just like a horse.  I wonder if he has... other horse-like attributes".

Or, something like that.

"Hey sudgy, why the long face?"

or maybe, "Hey sudgy, can you lend me 4 silver coins?"

I don't follow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 17, 2015, 07:29:42 pm
Oh, and to impress friends.  Conversations go this way a lot:

Me: "I can gallop."

Friend: "What?!?  Show me!"

*gallops*

Girls: "Wow, he gallops just like a horse.  I wonder if he has... other horse-like attributes".

Or, something like that.

"Hey sudgy, why the long face?"

or maybe, "Hey sudgy, can you lend me 4 silver coins?"

I don't follow.

Horses have long faces.

Dependable horses are a source of silver.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 17, 2015, 07:32:54 pm
Oh, and to impress friends.  Conversations go this way a lot:

Me: "I can gallop."

Friend: "What?!?  Show me!"

*gallops*

Girls: "Wow, he gallops just like a horse.  I wonder if he has... other horse-like attributes".

Or, something like that.

"Hey sudgy, why the long face?"

or maybe, "Hey sudgy, can you lend me 4 silver coins?"

I don't follow.

Horses have long faces.

Dependable horses are a source of silver.

I guess I deserve a diadem for the most ultra super secret pun ever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 17, 2015, 07:33:50 pm
I guess I deserve a diadem for the most ultra super secret pun ever.

Ohhh.  +1.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 18, 2015, 07:54:03 am
"Hey sudgy, why the long face?"

or maybe, "Hey sudgy, can you lend me 4 silver coins?"

It's funny because you aren't loaned the 4 Silver.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 18, 2015, 07:55:59 am
"Hey sudgy, why the long face?"

or maybe, "Hey sudgy, can you lend me 4 silver coins?"

It's funny because you aren't loaned the 4 Silver.

Then why do you put the silver back after you finish playing the game?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 18, 2015, 03:05:31 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/0ced641d612d43908a3b70dd12d533ee/tumblr_mft1glsfWQ1qzft56o1_500.gif)

Pulling a loose tooth.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 18, 2015, 03:07:48 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/f7c4b69b4e98f4c8ec2047c6dd8e9435/tumblr_nsgko117b11tjdvfuo1_500.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on August 18, 2015, 05:40:19 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/0ced641d612d43908a3b70dd12d533ee/tumblr_mft1glsfWQ1qzft56o1_500.gif)

Pulling a loose tooth.

that's... so cute...

and mildly disturbing. but mostly cute.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 18, 2015, 09:48:17 pm
"Hey sudgy, why the long face?"

or maybe, "Hey sudgy, can you lend me 4 silver coins?"

It's funny because you aren't loaned the 4 Silver.

Then why do you put the silver back after you finish playing the game?

You... you do that?

Huh, I may have insight now as to why people stopped inviting me over for game days.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 18, 2015, 10:45:22 pm
Before:
(http://i.imgur.com/DFf029E.jpg)
After:
(http://i.imgur.com/EnYgoxb.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 19, 2015, 12:04:37 am
Wall calendars that begin on Monday instead of Sunday should be incinerated.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on August 19, 2015, 04:53:28 am
Wall calendars that begin on Monday instead of Sunday should be incinerated.

Wait what you have this exactly backwards.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: SwitchedFromStarcraft on August 19, 2015, 04:36:54 pm
Wall calendars that begin on Monday instead of Sunday should be incinerated.
I joined a forum yesterday that, in the profile settings, not only allowed me to set the time zone but also allowed me to specify what day of the week was considered the start to the week.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 19, 2015, 05:06:57 pm
If your week starts on Sunday, then does the word "weekend" just mean Saturday for you?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on August 19, 2015, 05:45:18 pm
If your week starts on Sunday, then does the word "weekend" just mean Saturday for you?

If Sunday is a day in the week, then does the word "weekday" include Sunday for you?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 19, 2015, 06:26:11 pm
If your week starts on Sunday, then does the word "weekend" just mean Saturday for you?

Sunday is the front end and Saturday is the back end.



I wonder if this is a regional thing.  I prefer Sunday at the start as well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 19, 2015, 06:46:35 pm
If your week starts on Sunday, then does the word "weekend" just mean Saturday for you?

Sunday is the front end and Saturday is the back end.

well if this were true, Saturday and Sunday would each be a separate "weekend". But in actuality, the weekend is Saturday AND Sunday, the last bit of the week.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on August 19, 2015, 07:01:01 pm
Night is the end of a day. But it includes both before the early morning and after the evening, yet it's still only one night! What could possibly be going on?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 19, 2015, 07:24:56 pm
If your week starts on Sunday, then does the word "weekend" just mean Saturday for you?

Of course not. The weekend ends on Sunday. The calendar just begins on Sunday. It's perfectly logical, like using inches and gallons.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 19, 2015, 07:32:47 pm
Kuildeous has 2 respect, qmech has 7.

The peole have spoken! The week starts on monday!

Disclaimer: I do not intend to keep this post up to date as more people upvote their posts.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 19, 2015, 07:52:46 pm
If your week starts on Sunday, then does the word "weekend" just mean Saturday for you?

Of course not. The weekend ends on Sunday. The calendar just begins on Sunday. It's perfectly logical, like using inches and gallons.

I say the week starts on Sunday.  The week includes both weekdays and weekends.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 19, 2015, 08:06:24 pm
Night is the end of a day. But it includes both before the early morning and after the evening, yet it's still only one night! What could possibly be going on?
if what I was saying wasn't clear:

eHalc was saying that "end" in this context means "the edge of", as opposed to what awaclus was assuming it meant, which is "the last bit". I'm arguing that if we subscribe to eHalc's interpretation of weekend, then Sunday and Saturday would each be a separate end of the week, or a separate weekend.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 19, 2015, 10:22:09 pm
Night is the end of a day. But it includes both before the early morning and after the evening, yet it's still only one night! What could possibly be going on?
if what I was saying wasn't clear:

eHalc was saying that "end" in this context means "the edge of", as opposed to what awaclus was assuming it meant, which is "the last bit". I'm arguing that if we subscribe to eHalc's interpretation of weekend, then Sunday and Saturday would each be a separate end of the week, or a separate weekend.

It was a joke.  ::)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 19, 2015, 11:09:37 pm
Night is the end of a day. But it includes both before the early morning and after the evening, yet it's still only one night! What could possibly be going on?
if what I was saying wasn't clear:

eHalc was saying that "end" in this context means "the edge of", as opposed to what awaclus was assuming it meant, which is "the last bit". I'm arguing that if we subscribe to eHalc's interpretation of weekend, then Sunday and Saturday would each be a separate end of the week, or a separate weekend.

It was a joke.  ::)
Really? It sounded like your explanation. Maybe use [sarcasm] tags.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 19, 2015, 11:19:47 pm
Night is the end of a day. But it includes both before the early morning and after the evening, yet it's still only one night! What could possibly be going on?
if what I was saying wasn't clear:

eHalc was saying that "end" in this context means "the edge of", as opposed to what awaclus was assuming it meant, which is "the last bit". I'm arguing that if we subscribe to eHalc's interpretation of weekend, then Sunday and Saturday would each be a separate end of the week, or a separate weekend.

It was a joke.  ::)
Really? It sounded like your explanation. Maybe use [sarcasm] tags.

I thought the wordplay was sufficient. :P

To be clear, only the explanation was a joke.  I do consider Sunday to be the start of the week, and I do wonder if the preference is a regional thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 19, 2015, 11:22:49 pm
Reading it again, it does sound like a joke. But that is a valid definition of end.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 20, 2015, 03:40:57 am
I hate long intros, so I went out of my way to create a short intro for my YouTube videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA5mTKlsbgA

What do you all think of it?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on August 20, 2015, 04:19:35 am
I hate long intros, so I went out of my way to create a short intro for my YouTube videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA5mTKlsbgA

What do you all think of it?

The start was promising, but I got bored with it by the end.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 20, 2015, 08:10:35 am
Weekends are like bookends. They're no fun when they're together.

I don't know where I'm going with that. Just drink some alcohol and pretend that's witty.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 20, 2015, 11:03:03 am
Weekends are like bookends. They're no fun when they're together.

I don't know where I'm going with that. Just drink some alcohol and pretend that's witty.

It's not the weekend on the outside that counts, but the weekend on the inside maaaaaaaaaaan...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 20, 2015, 11:20:47 am
I blame the Jews and the Seventh Day Adventists.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 20, 2015, 12:47:46 pm
I tried so hard and got so far, but in the weekend, it doesn't even matter. - Linkin Park

It is good to have a weekend to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the weekend. - Ursula K. Le Guin.

I used to think that the worst thing in life was to weekend up alone.  It's not.  The worst thing in life is to weekend up with people who make you feel alone. - Robin Williams

If life is worth anything, it must endure to the weekend of time. - Mahatma Gandhi

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's weekend. - Seneca
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 20, 2015, 12:50:44 pm
I think the weekend thing is regional. In Quebec, the French people put Monday at the start and English people put in Sunday at the start.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 20, 2015, 01:24:20 pm
I blame the Jews and the Seventh Day Adventists.
with no noticeable fear of the out of context thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 20, 2015, 07:18:03 pm
I played with Adventures for the first time yesterday. I used Save on a 2/5 opening, got a turn 2 Hoard, then used Save some more to spike $7 to get Inheritance on Monument, and man it was awesome. Two villages as well, and Monument every turn or even twice a turn, easy $8's, can get a Monustate and a gold as long any time I drew my Hoard (this actually only happened once when I couldn't afford a Province though). My opponents both went for Miser, which was fine, and Inherited Village, which I can understand why they did (suddenly turns your estates into cantrips and mean you're probably never going to run out of actions) but I don't think it was the right call due to a lack of draw, lots of extra actions were wasted.

I like Adventures.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 21, 2015, 02:01:12 am
I played with Adventures for the first time yesterday. I used Save on a 2/5 opening, got a turn 2 Hoard, then used Save some more to spike $7 to get Inheritance on Monument, and man it was awesome. Two villages as well, and Monument every turn or even twice a turn, easy $8's, can get a Monustate and a gold as long any time I drew my Hoard (this actually only happened once when I couldn't afford a Province though). My opponents both went for Miser, which was fine, and Inherited Village, which I can understand why they did (suddenly turns your estates into cantrips and mean you're probably never going to run out of actions) but I don't think it was the right call due to a lack of draw, lots of extra actions were wasted.

I like Adventures.
I hardly think this can be classified as "random stuff". I mean, you do know you're on a dominion forum?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 21, 2015, 04:51:18 am
I just had a pretty rad dream. Sorry if this post is a little messy, I tried to type it up as soon as I could in order to forget as little as possible.

It was based around a mechanic were multiple people could have the same vision/dream on purpose (I think it was because of supernatural powers that only a few people had) and have full control over their actions within that vision. And then there were these NPCs in the vision world whose purpose was to prevent people from having these visions for too long by attacking them. It was also possible to enter visions within visions, but it was a little dangerous, because then if the NPCs were coming for you, they could slowly blend into the vision within a vision and it would take you a while before you realized that they are NPCs in actuality and then there was very little time to wake up from that vision and start running in the other vision. However, it was possible to trick the NPCs if you managed to do something nonsensical enough that you would appear as though you were actually a part of that vision and not the person experiencing it, but it was difficult because overdoing it made it immediately obvious to the NPCs that you were just faking it. When you successfully managed to trick the NPCs, there would be a glitch in the vision which resets everything and turns the vision into something entirely different.

The first levels of visions were just more absurd versions of our current reality (but they did symbolically represent the stuff you would see at the deeper levels, but you could only understand that after you had seen the actual events). But the deeper you got, the more interesting they got; we could enter into visions to witness events that really happened in the past (well, at least until the NPCs started to blend into them and ruin everything — they would become characters like Gandalf and then you had to realize that Gandalf didn't really exist to tell that it's actually an NPC and you're being attacked in the previous level of visions). Then we used this to unveil the dark secrets of the Savonlinna Cathedral which actually had a hidden dungeon thing where lots of people were getting tortured and killed. We believed that those people were being targeted on purpose because they knew something that the church wanted to keep hidden, and we also intended to find out what it was that they knew (unfortunately, my dream ended before this could happen). The killed people were definitely a part of some sort of secret order, because they had a secret song (which was the Halo theme) that they sang to identify each other. The ones we managed to investigate further had also very tragic pasts in general, not just because of the church. We think the knowledge was also religious in nature. We also actually managed to correctly identify the song as the Halo theme in the dream, and I think we would have also looked into that later, but we didn't get that far either.

We had a team of 7 people consisting of me, Tsumugi Kotobuki from K-On, Wild Flower from Jade Empire, the bassist from my band, my childhood friend, a guy that I didn't know (who, in retrospect, was exactly like one of my online friends) and a girl I didn't know (I still don't think I know anyone who resembles her). The others had been doing it for a longer time, I just joined the group that day. The guy that I didn't know was clearly the most experienced person. Wild Flower especially had a strong connection to the Halo theme, and sometimes she had to enter some visions without the rest of us because she was the only one who could do it. Luckily, she also had the ability to describe what's going on in her vision to us that weren't in the vision. My childhood friend and the girl I didn't know turned out to be lesbians at one point, and they were harshly criticized for that by a random older woman who saw them kissing, and then I felt bad about myself because I couldn't defend them in that situation, but I did encourage them to be the people they really are as much as I could after the fact since they looked like they were troubled by it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 21, 2015, 07:27:21 am
Yo, make a novel.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 21, 2015, 11:01:44 am
The premise sounds like a cross between Sense8 and Inception.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 21, 2015, 03:33:48 pm
Well, my Galaxy S3 has lasted me decently enough, but it's starting to act weird. That sounds like the OS might be going wonky because my memory is full of crap. But it also has a hardware problem as one corner of my screen is radiating purple. This first happened about a year ago, and it was alarming but is pretty benign. I read horror stories of people who first had the purple splotch that quickly spread to the rest of the display until the phone was just a monochromatic slate. I was preparing to lose my phone at some point.

But it survived this long. I had other issues like my phone telling me that my data was corrupted a couple of times after a reboot. Another reboot got rid of the message. And today I restarted my phone, and it just kept rebooting over and over again. I shut it down and then started up after a pause. Back to normal now.

So yeah, time for a new phone. Galaxy S6 is the logical progression. My wife has one, and it seems to be working pretty well (not like the rumors I heard of the S5).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on August 21, 2015, 04:06:17 pm
I'm still using my Galadxy S2 (I replaced the speaker and USB connections though), but I'm starting to consider replacing it as well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 21, 2015, 04:47:56 pm
So yeah, time for a new phone. Galaxy S6 is the logical progression. My wife has one, and it seems to be working pretty well (not like the rumors I heard of the S5).

What rumours? My S5 is still holding up...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on August 21, 2015, 06:55:26 pm
My Nokia 3510 is doing fine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 21, 2015, 07:04:40 pm
*Post about iPhone Master Race and how everyone who doesn't use an iPhone is an anti-Jobs plebe*

...I actually liked my HTC One Phone better...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on August 22, 2015, 04:06:59 am
*Post about iPhone Master Race and how everyone who doesn't use an iPhone is an anti-Jobs plebe*

...I actually liked my HTC One Phone better...

I think that kind of lingo isn't as well suited for here, Seprix. I know you mean no harm by it, but this is fds, not 4chan.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 22, 2015, 04:21:45 am
*Post about iPhone Master Race and how everyone who doesn't use an iPhone is an anti-Jobs plebe*

...I actually liked my HTC One Phone better...

I think that kind of lingo isn't as well suited for here, Seprix. I know you mean no harm by it, but this is fds, not 4chan.

Yeah, you might offend the Ancient Romans.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 23, 2015, 01:01:28 am
This conversation happened while I was playing dominion online earlier:

Opponent: That didn't work right, did it?
Me: What didn't work right?
Opponent: King's Courting my Hunting Party.  I didn't draw any cards.
*short pause*
Me: You have no cards in your deck.
Opponent: lol
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on August 23, 2015, 08:52:02 am
So yeah, time for a new phone. Galaxy S6 is the logical progression. My wife has one, and it seems to be working pretty well (not like the rumors I heard of the S5).

What rumours? My S5 is still holding up...

Recently replaced my S3 with a S5. Chose the S5 over the S6 for 2 reasons; way more root and ROM options and the S5 was the zero price option. I've been extremely happy with it. Also, the removable battery and expandable memory.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 24, 2015, 01:13:52 pm
It's kinda telling that three fairly recent movies (Red State, Kingsmen, God Bless America) feature killings of the Westboro Baptist Church (but not really Westboro because we're not gonna get sued). It's like a revenge fantasy or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 25, 2015, 09:47:15 am
"Wait, why aren't you at the libbary?"
"My study group has already fallen apart. Can you teach me math?"
"Girl, didn't you just hear me say 'libbary'?"


That was an exchange from the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt series on Netflix, a series I'm starting to really fall in love with. That joke really cinched it for me. So meta.

I posted that on Facebook. I had three offers from people to tutor me in math. I has a sad. That meant they didn't read the humorous dialogue.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on August 25, 2015, 10:49:20 am
I don't get it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 25, 2015, 11:02:51 am
I don't get it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on August 25, 2015, 11:12:36 am
I don't get it.

I can explain.

Libbary is a math term that relates to a system of numerical notation that has base 2 instead of 10.

It's a math joke.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on August 25, 2015, 11:47:57 am
I don't get it.

I can explain.

Libbary is a math term that relates to a system of numerical notation that has base 2 instead of 10.

It's a math joke.
...no it isn't? A google search showed up nothing relevant for 'libbary'. It might be referencing something else in the show, since Kuildeous said it was so meta.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 25, 2015, 11:54:47 am
Hypothesis: someone that doesn't know how to say / pronounce "library" is not expected to have a good education, and hence is not supposed to be able to teach mathematics. It's meta because the character in that sketch doesn't know how to pronounce library, yet is somehow aware that he is not doing it right, and what it says about his education.

Am I making the joke funnier?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 25, 2015, 12:01:32 pm
That was so absurd that I did not even consider that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 25, 2015, 12:12:48 pm
Hypothesis: someone that doesn't know how to say / pronounce "library" is not expected to have a good education, and hence is not supposed to be able to teach mathematics. It's meta because the character in that sketch doesn't know how to pronounce library, yet is somehow aware that he is not doing it right, and what it says about his education.

Am I making the joke funnier?

I loved the explanation.

It may be more of an American thing. I'm sure all countries have their share of lazy talking, but in America there are some words that just really stand out. Library, ask, and nuclear are examples of words that often get mush-mouthed into something else.

And yeah, it's generally a stereotype that less educated people will pronounce those words incorrectly.

So it is indeed someone recognizing that he's not educated enough to tutor someone by pointing at a marker that demonstrates his lack of education, which implies that he is educated enough to know he used the word incorrectly—and not in an ironic way.

I had not taken into account that this joke wouldn't work so well outside of America. That still doesn't explain why three of my Facebook American friends thought I needed a math tutor.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on August 25, 2015, 12:37:55 pm
Hypothesis: someone that doesn't know how to say / pronounce "library" is not expected to have a good education, and hence is not supposed to be able to teach mathematics. It's meta because the character in that sketch doesn't know how to pronounce library, yet is somehow aware that he is not doing it right, and what it says about his education.

Am I making the joke funnier?
Much funnier.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 25, 2015, 01:09:58 pm
my Facebook American friends

I didn't know there was a Facebook America.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 25, 2015, 01:26:52 pm
my Facebook American friends

I didn't know there was a Facebook America.

That's a typo.

I meant Facebook-Americans.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 25, 2015, 01:38:36 pm
I had not taken into account that this joke wouldn't work so well outside of America. That still doesn't explain why three of my Facebook American friends thought I needed a math tutor.

I think a bigger part of it is just the body language that goes along with it in the show. When you actually hear Titus say it, the joke is obvious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 25, 2015, 02:58:38 pm
I had not taken into account that this joke wouldn't work so well outside of America. That still doesn't explain why three of my Facebook American friends thought I needed a math tutor.

I think a bigger part of it is just the body language that goes along with it in the show. When you actually hear Titus say it, the joke is obvious.

It's true. The way he delivers the punchline is hilarious.

And I normally am not a fan of the overused trope of flamboyant black gay man. I've had my fill of Mannequin, thank you very much. But the fact that Titus makes fun of that trope makes it amusing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on August 25, 2015, 03:57:55 pm
(http://plotculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/tumblr_mvp6zb6tYA1sghktno1_250.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 25, 2015, 04:00:16 pm
I actually liked Rhudy…as a background character. As soon as he became a sidekick, the movie became less enjoyable. Still a good movie, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on August 25, 2015, 05:01:34 pm
I don't get it.

I can explain.

Libbary is a math term that relates to a system of numerical notation that has base 2 instead of 10.

It's a math joke.
...no it isn't? A google search showed up nothing relevant for 'libbary'. It might be referencing something else in the show, since Kuildeous said it was so meta.

The joke was that it sounds like binary.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 25, 2015, 05:16:00 pm
I don't get it.

I can explain.

Libbary is a math term that relates to a system of numerical notation that has base 2 instead of 10.

It's a math joke.
...no it isn't? A google search showed up nothing relevant for 'libbary'. It might be referencing something else in the show, since Kuildeous said it was so meta.

The joke was that it sounds like binary.

(http://i.imgur.com/35nl3od.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on August 25, 2015, 05:58:38 pm
I disagree.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on August 25, 2015, 06:04:55 pm
I disagree.

Well you shouldn't actually feel bad, but I think "liberry" → "binary" is a stretch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 25, 2015, 06:19:12 pm
I disagree.

Well you shouldn't actually feel bad, but I think "liberry" → "binary" is a stretch.

And with that, LastFootnote has demonstrated that opinions are not all 1s and 0s.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 25, 2015, 06:28:15 pm
I had not taken into account that this joke wouldn't work so well outside of America. That still doesn't explain why three of my Facebook American friends thought I needed a math tutor.

I think a bigger part of it is just the body language that goes along with it in the show. When you actually hear Titus say it, the joke is obvious.

It's true. The way he delivers the punchline is hilarious.

And I normally am not a fan of the overused trope of flamboyant black gay man. I've had my fill of Mannequin, thank you very much. But the fact that Titus makes fun of that trope makes it amusing.


Mid-80s Kim Cattrall, and Starship, what else could you want?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 25, 2015, 07:29:36 pm
'February' is pronounced 'Febuary' by virtually everyone.

EDIT: I should point out that this is relevant to the discussion on page 212. I got to the end of the page and didn't realize there was a page 213 so I thought I was posting directly after the last post on 212. Thank you for your patience.

EDIT 2: after reading page 213, I've decided it's still relevant-ish
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 25, 2015, 09:02:48 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poncZ1K9Tio
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 25, 2015, 09:41:52 pm
Any suggestions on how to shuffle a ~1500 card deck well when the cards are all made of flimsy computer paper?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Dsell on August 25, 2015, 09:46:40 pm
'February' is pronounced 'Febuary' by virtually everyone.

I pronounce the R in February. But I also get made fun of/occasionally admired for speaking so properly.

Is "Wednesday" 3 syllables for anyone else? (This one might still sound like 2 syllables when I say it aloud, but I definitely make an effort to get it right).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on August 25, 2015, 11:14:10 pm
I also pronounce the r in February.  Wednesday is definitely just "Wensday" for me though.

Do people here say COMponent or comPOnent?  I always heard "comPOnent" until high school physics, where my teacher always said "COMponent", so I thought maybe that was supposed to be correct when used in a math/physics context or something, but then that pronunciation gradually overtook the normal one for me in all contexts, and now comPOnent sounds funny.  I feel like I usually hear math-y people say "COMponent" though and normal people say "comPOnent".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 25, 2015, 11:19:41 pm
Nah, I say comPOnent. But I do say HARassment instead of harA$$ment.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 25, 2015, 11:43:52 pm
I also pronounce the r in February.  Wednesday is definitely just "Wensday" for me though.

Do people here say COMponent or comPOnent?  I always heard "comPOnent" until high school physics, where my teacher always said "COMponent", so I thought maybe that was supposed to be correct when used in a math/physics context or something, but then that pronunciation gradually overtook the normal one for me in all contexts, and now comPOnent sounds funny.  I feel like I usually hear math-y people say "COMponent" though and normal people say "comPOnent".

I also pronounce the R in February, but it's affected and not natural to my dialect.

I say comPOnent most of the time, but when something is broken apart, it's reduced to its COMponent parts.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 25, 2015, 11:59:30 pm
'February' is pronounced 'Febuary' by virtually everyone.

In what region?  Most people I know pronounce the 'r' as written, as is good and proper.

For me, Wednesday is pronounced "wensssday".  The triple s is supposed to represent that there's a bit of a pause in there, which approximates the third syllable.

I've never heard it pronounced COMponent ever.  Well, maybe "COMponent parts" like in Kirian's example, but I'm not sure now. ???
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on August 26, 2015, 12:07:22 am
I pronounce Wednesday "Wedened... Wesned... Wensedd - the day after Tuesday".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 26, 2015, 12:07:28 am
'February' is pronounced 'Febuary' by virtually everyone.

In what region?
new york
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on August 26, 2015, 12:08:51 am
I pronounce Wednesday "Wedened... Wesned... Wensedd - the day after Tuesday".
the decision to upvote was partially affected by the fact that it would give you exactly 2500 respect, but only partially.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on August 26, 2015, 12:13:48 am
Ever since I heard someone give the full three-syllable pronunciation of Wednesday, I've tried to emulate that. The "dnes" bit feels a bit like you're swallowing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on August 26, 2015, 03:54:28 am
I pronounce Library and February with the Rs and Wednesday like Wensday. Both COMponent and comPOnent feel right, but I think I use the latter every time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 26, 2015, 09:40:30 am
I pronounce Wednesday "Wedened... Wesned... Wensedd - the day after Tuesday".

I just pronounce it, "Hey goth girl."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 26, 2015, 11:34:04 am
Any suggestions on how to shuffle a ~1500 card deck well when the cards are all made of flimsy computer paper?

I don't know what you're doing, but I'm almost certain there's a better method you could be using that doesn't involve shuffling a 1,500 card deck.

If you really don't have any alternatives, consider splitting the cards into a large number of smaller decks you can shuffle, then for each of those shuffle them, then take a few cards from each deck to make new piles, shuffle those, repeat a few times and finally put them back together. It won't be perfectly shuffled, but it should work reasonably well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 26, 2015, 11:34:44 am
deck.shuffle()
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on August 26, 2015, 11:48:15 am
http://www.zombo.com/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 26, 2015, 12:45:43 pm
Guy my wife knows is a bit of a conspiracy theorist and doesn't wish to invest his money in banks. Instead, he's buying gold and coins for the inevitable government collapse.

I'm trying to figure out what good will precious metals do him if that happens. It seems like buying guns and swords would be a better option. And even if the government doesn't crash, you can still deal in antique weapons.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 26, 2015, 01:33:55 pm
Ever since I heard someone give the full three-syllable pronunciation of Wednesday, I've tried to emulate that. The "dnes" bit feels a bit like you're swallowing.

Hmm, that's sort of what I was getting at when I said

Quote
For me, Wednesday is pronounced "wensssday".  The triple s is supposed to represent that there's a bit of a pause in there, which approximates the third syllable.

It feels more like half a syllable than a full third syllable though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 26, 2015, 03:12:23 pm
Any suggestions on how to shuffle a ~1500 card deck well when the cards are all made of flimsy computer paper?

I don't know what you're doing, but I'm almost certain there's a better method you could be using that doesn't involve shuffling a 1,500 card deck.

It's a card game my family made, and the deck size is always growing.  We rarely ever shuffle it, but for various reasons I just alphabetized it and I need to shuffle it again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 26, 2015, 04:26:21 pm
Any suggestions on how to shuffle a ~1500 card deck well when the cards are all made of flimsy computer paper?

I don't know what you're doing, but I'm almost certain there's a better method you could be using that doesn't involve shuffling a 1,500 card deck.

It's a card game my family made, and the deck size is always growing.  We rarely ever shuffle it, but for various reasons I just alphabetized it and I need to shuffle it again.

Should have gotten some index cards, dude.

Serious suggestion: find a clean, enclosed area.  Scatter the sheets.  Pick them up again.



And now for something completely different:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI4rLw6iqVg
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on August 26, 2015, 05:44:46 pm
Any suggestions on how to shuffle a ~1500 card deck well when the cards are all made of flimsy computer paper?

I don't know what you're doing, but I'm almost certain there's a better method you could be using that doesn't involve shuffling a 1,500 card deck.

It's a card game my family made, and the deck size is always growing.  We rarely ever shuffle it, but for various reasons I just alphabetized it and I need to shuffle it again.

Should have gotten some index cards, dude.

Well, it's too late now...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 26, 2015, 05:55:48 pm
Any suggestions on how to shuffle a ~1500 card deck well when the cards are all made of flimsy computer paper?

I don't know what you're doing, but I'm almost certain there's a better method you could be using that doesn't involve shuffling a 1,500 card deck.

It's a card game my family made, and the deck size is always growing.  We rarely ever shuffle it, but for various reasons I just alphabetized it and I need to shuffle it again.

Should have gotten some index cards, dude.

Well, it's too late now...

Don't shuffle the individual cards.  Put enumerative markers every 10 and 100 (different sizes), generate the sequence of cards to draw with a computer via simulated shuffling, and select those cards manually!

Of course, replacement will be annoying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 26, 2015, 07:21:56 pm
Not familiar with this artist, and I'm not a fan of rap in general, but I do appreciate this guy's wordplay. Not a fan of the transcript, but the person was close enough I guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1xK0JfAQ1w
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on August 26, 2015, 08:47:03 pm
Bo Burnham? All I know about him is the New Math video which went viral... like, years ago.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 26, 2015, 10:25:39 pm
Bo Burnham? All I know about him is the New Math video which went viral... like, years ago.

I recently watched the New Math video. It was amusing, but I can see why the audience wouldn't get all the jokes. Some of them require a bit of time to process, and the song just doesn't allow for that.

Even then, it took a lot of brain-stretching to get from Domain, Domain, Range to chromosomal issues. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on August 28, 2015, 04:58:41 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/Y2eGne4.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on August 29, 2015, 11:37:45 pm
Maybe it's a little cruel of me to log into these sites as the guy who keeps using my e-mail address for his profile and then change the e-mail to something bogus so that I never get notifications from those sites again and subsequently lock him forever out of those sites, but seriously dude, learn to type in your own e-mail address.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: KingZog3 on August 30, 2015, 12:03:56 am
Maybe it's a little cruel of me to log into these sites as the guy who keeps using my e-mail address for his profile and then change the e-mail to something bogus so that I never get notifications from those sites again and subsequently lock him forever out of those sites, but seriously dude, learn to type in your own e-mail address.

I was sure 12345abcde@hotmail. com wasn't used! Sorry about that!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on August 30, 2015, 01:23:05 am
Maybe it's a little cruel of me to log into these sites as the guy who keeps using my e-mail address for his profile and then change the e-mail to something bogus so that I never get notifications from those sites again and subsequently lock him forever out of those sites, but seriously dude, learn to type in your own e-mail address.

I was sure 12345abcde@hotmail. com wasn't used! Sorry about that!

That's the sort of email address an idiot would put on his luggage.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on August 30, 2015, 11:02:47 pm
(https://40.media.tumblr.com/7d89a2252d7dc53da68d7c58888a0ac8/tumblr_nszr39pZtw1qbeyaso1_540.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 01, 2015, 09:00:01 pm
I forgot to ask earlier... anyone here have Splatoon? I recently took the plunge (well, considering how much cheaper the game is than most Wii U games, I guess the splash) and got the game, so it'd be nice to add people from here if I haven't already.

I've been playing Splatoon a lot more recently. I'm interested in swapping Network IDs. I should really find that other thread where folks were posting theirs and enter a bunch.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 01, 2015, 11:00:35 pm
Today I ran 4km, up from my previous maximum of 2.5km, and still felt like I could have run a little bit more (rather than feeling like a facehugger just got me pregnant).

The main differences were:
-I hadn't been running as often the previous week (twice, rather than my "usual" every other day);
-I lowered my jogging rhythm a tiny bit, from a fast jog to a moderately brisk one;
-I modified my itinerary from a down-up one to a flatter one that went up-down instead,
-I had a Burger King meal 2.5 hours before, instead of a small snack an hour before (I don't eat much).

Now to find out which one did the trick...

EDIT: and in unrelated news, we've been having a lunar eclipse these past few days, but I didn't notice until tonight.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 01, 2015, 11:38:48 pm
EDIT: and in unrelated news, we've been having a lunar eclipse these past few days, but I didn't notice until tonight.

...

I'm not certain what you meant to type there, but it certainly was not "lunar eclipse."  Lunar eclipses last just several hours, and the next one won't happen until the end of this month.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 01, 2015, 11:49:15 pm
The moon was red for a couple of hours tonight, and I think yesterday too (I think I missed it, I just saw the moon being particularly yellow), is what I meant. But I've been mistaken before.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on September 01, 2015, 11:53:00 pm
It's probably not an eclipse, just really close to the horizon. The moon looks really orange/red when it's low, just like the sun gets really red when it sets.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 02, 2015, 12:05:04 am
Uuuuuh if you are using horizon in the same sense I do, then no. The Moon was a good 40ş up from the horizon when it got red.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 02, 2015, 12:39:44 am
It could be smoke somehow?  That happened around here recently.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 02, 2015, 12:43:07 am
EDIT: and in unrelated news, we've been having a lunar eclipse these past few days, but I didn't notice until tonight.

...

I'm not certain what you meant to type there, but it certainly was not "lunar eclipse."  Lunar eclipses last just several hours, and the next one won't happen until the end of this month.

Holy shit, have I got a cool idea to introduce in an RPG now. The days-long lunar eclipse, though I guess a days-long solar eclipse would be more terrifying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on September 02, 2015, 02:06:49 am
Okay, maybe someone here can give me advice on this.  I've been out of college for a year now, and I'm starting to look into grad school.  From what I can tell, most grad schools require three letters of recommendation, and most of them want at least one or two to be from professors.  I have a Bachelor's with a dual major in math and philosophy, and I'm looking at going for a Master's or maybe PhD in math.  My problem is that I was an idiot (and also have a very shy personality), and never made any effort to establish any kind of relationship with my professors.  If anything I tried to avoid that.  I have three work-related people (my current boss, my previous boss, and my boss's boss) who I think would all write me excellent recommendations if I asked.  (I tutor math and physics, so my job is clearly related to math, but I'm a little worried that they wouldn't really have the expertise to say that I'm great at math, just great at teaching and know enough math to teach it at a high school level.)  I have one philosophy professor who I think would write me an outstanding recommendation, and two other philosophy professors who would probably write me good recommendations, but I'm not going to grad school for philosophy.  I doubt that any of my math professors would remember me though.

So what should I do here?  I feel like I really need at least one professor, so my options are:
1. 2 from work, 1 from math prof
2. 2 from work, 1 from philosophy prof
3. 1 from work, 1 from math prof, 1 from philosophy prof
4. 1 from work, 2 from math profs
5. 1 from work, 2 from philosophy profs
6. Give up on going to grad school
I doubt I'd get all 3 from professors unless I really had to.  #2 or #3 look the best to me.  As I'm writing all this out, I'm starting to convince myself #3 is really the way to go, but #2 would be so much easier...

I live in the U.S. if that's relevant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Haddock on September 02, 2015, 06:18:03 am
Okay, maybe someone here can give me advice on this.  I've been out of college for a year now, and I'm starting to look into grad school.  From what I can tell, most grad schools require three letters of recommendation, and most of them want at least one or two to be from professors.  I have a Bachelor's with a dual major in math and philosophy, and I'm looking at going for a Master's or maybe PhD in math.  My problem is that I was an idiot (and also have a very shy personality), and never made any effort to establish any kind of relationship with my professors.  If anything I tried to avoid that.  I have three work-related people (my current boss, my previous boss, and my boss's boss) who I think would all write me excellent recommendations if I asked.  (I tutor math and physics, so my job is clearly related to math, but I'm a little worried that they wouldn't really have the expertise to say that I'm great at math, just great at teaching and know enough math to teach it at a high school level.)  I have one philosophy professor who I think would write me an outstanding recommendation, and two other philosophy professors who would probably write me good recommendations, but I'm not going to grad school for philosophy.  I doubt that any of my math professors would remember me though.

So what should I do here?  I feel like I really need at least one professor, so my options are:
1. 2 from work, 1 from math prof
2. 2 from work, 1 from philosophy prof
3. 1 from work, 1 from math prof, 1 from philosophy prof
4. 1 from work, 2 from math profs
5. 1 from work, 2 from philosophy profs
6. Give up on going to grad school
I doubt I'd get all 3 from professors unless I really had to.  #2 or #3 look the best to me.  As I'm writing all this out, I'm starting to convince myself #3 is really the way to go, but #2 would be so much easier...

I live in the U.S. if that's relevant.
For what it's worth, I like option #3.  Realise it means you have to go find a maths professor of course, and I know that as an undergrad I certainly didn't have much contact with my professors.  But I think it will be worth it if you can find one.  The strength in depth of doing one of each must count for something.  Did you have a maths tutor/mentor or anything as an undergrad?  That's probably the ideal starting point in terms of trying to find somebody.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 02, 2015, 07:43:43 am
Step 1, go talk to your math professors.  I'm sure they will be happy to write you letters, probably excited that you're interested in pursuing grad school.

Find one teacher that you liked, that you felt you learned a lot from and stop by his office.  Explain your situation and ask his advice.  My feeling is you should maybe get all of the recommendations from math professors, but 2 math/1 philosophy may work.  I'm sure your current boss would write you a very nice recommendation, but imagine it from the school's standpoint: why is this person able to judge whether the applicant has the ability to make it for a Master's/PhD?  Being a professor, having a PhD yourself, being at a school with reputation, having research.. those things carry quite a bit of weight.

It's not too late to build personal relationships.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 02, 2015, 07:48:17 am
And I'm pretty sure they will remember you.  Your degree does say Mathematics, and people that study math like it when other people like math.

Also, did you do well in your math classes?  Even if you've never talked to your professors, they'll notice that.  "Oh, this guy doesn't talk much and never comes to office hours, but he aces every exam so he knows what he's doing."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 02, 2015, 07:49:00 am
Hmm, I've been pondering getting my masters' as well. But I've been out of college for 18 years. It seems highly unlikely that my professors would remember me, assuming they're even still teaching. And, well, honestly I might not remember exactly who they were either.

How important are letters of recommendation, I wonder. Oh sure, I could get some from my bosses here at work, but they're not that well-versed in math.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on September 02, 2015, 07:50:11 am
I got 2 recommendations from professors recently, and I had been out of school 7 years. Everyone I managed to contact remembered me, to my surprise, and they were quite happy to recommend me. Pick professors you really liked who you are pretty sure don't hate you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on September 02, 2015, 02:59:03 pm
Thanks for the advice, everyone!

I forgot to mention, I now live on the other side of the country from where I went to school, so I can't just walk into my professor's office hours and ask for help, I'd be asking by email.  I do have a couple math professors in mind.

Hmm, I've been pondering getting my masters' as well. But I've been out of college for 18 years. It seems highly unlikely that my professors would remember me, assuming they're even still teaching. And, well, honestly I might not remember exactly who they were either.

How important are letters of recommendation, I wonder. Oh sure, I could get some from my bosses here at work, but they're not that well-versed in math.


Yeah, I find it frustrating that recommendations are usually a requirement and not just an extra thing you can do if it helps, though I guess I sort of understand it.  It still seems unfair to people who have been out of school for a long time.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 02, 2015, 03:02:16 pm
(https://41.media.tumblr.com/19a7a12c24f71af35e0e467147aa795a/tumblr_nu059tHf4U1qf6lhmo1_540.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on September 02, 2015, 03:04:17 pm
At first I couldn't tell that the shells were hollowed out and I thought there had to be some crazy Banach-Tarski stuff going on.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 02, 2015, 03:04:56 pm
Thanks for the advice, everyone!

I forgot to mention, I now live on the other side of the country from where I went to school, so I can't just walk into my professor's office hours and ask for help, I'd be asking by email.  I do have a couple math professors in mind.

Hmm, I've been pondering getting my masters' as well. But I've been out of college for 18 years. It seems highly unlikely that my professors would remember me, assuming they're even still teaching. And, well, honestly I might not remember exactly who they were either.

How important are letters of recommendation, I wonder. Oh sure, I could get some from my bosses here at work, but they're not that well-versed in math.


Yeah, I find it frustrating that recommendations are usually a requirement and not just an extra thing you can do if it helps, though I guess I sort of understand it.  It still seems unfair to people who have been out of school for a long time.

Ah, well that's okay, I think emailing would be fine. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 02, 2015, 03:07:30 pm
Hmm, I've been pondering getting my masters' as well. But I've been out of college for 18 years. It seems highly unlikely that my professors would remember me, assuming they're even still teaching. And, well, honestly I might not remember exactly who they were either.

How important are letters of recommendation, I wonder. Oh sure, I could get some from my bosses here at work, but they're not that well-versed in math.

I think in that case (since it's been so long), getting letters from your supervisors makes sense.  The people that look at the applications are going to see that you didn't just graduate last year, or even in the last handfull of years, but that you've been an employed worker for quite a long time and are going back to continue with education.  They wouldn't expect to see a letter from your math professor from 20 years ago.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 02, 2015, 03:32:03 pm
At first I couldn't tell that the shells were hollowed out and I thought there had to be some crazy Banach-Tarski stuff going on.

I half suspect that the shell is from a different watermelon because I don't know how they would have hollowed it out so neatly without destroying the, uh, ball.  Granted, I am not super familiar with modern watermelon-skinning techniques.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 02, 2015, 03:52:52 pm
At first I couldn't tell that the shells were hollowed out and I thought there had to be some crazy Banach-Tarski stuff going on.

I half suspect that the shell is from a different watermelon because I don't know how they would have hollowed it out so neatly without destroying the, uh, ball.  Granted, I am not super familiar with modern watermelon-skinning techniques.

They are indeed from two separate watermelons.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 02, 2015, 03:56:40 pm
EDIT: and in unrelated news, we've been having a lunar eclipse these past few days, but I didn't notice until tonight.

...

I'm not certain what you meant to type there, but it certainly was not "lunar eclipse."  Lunar eclipses last just several hours, and the next one won't happen until the end of this month.

Holy shit, have I got a cool idea to introduce in an RPG now. The days-long lunar eclipse, though I guess a days-long solar eclipse would be more terrifying.

The D&D campaign I ran several years back involved a red supergiant orbiting the main star about 1.5 light years out, bright enough to be visible in full daylight.  Half of the year, the nights weren't really night.  Then it went supernova...

Edit: A days-long lunar eclipse wouldn't be impossible for a moon orbiting at a very long distance.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 02, 2015, 04:05:21 pm
I know it doesn't make much sense to talk of a multiple day long lunar eclipse, but what possible explanation is there to why the moon was red yesterday night for one-two hours? Two different lunar eclipses in the same month?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on September 02, 2015, 04:43:46 pm
Thanks for the advice, everyone!

I forgot to mention, I now live on the other side of the country from where I went to school, so I can't just walk into my professor's office hours and ask for help, I'd be asking by email.  I do have a couple math professors in mind.

Hmm, I've been pondering getting my masters' as well. But I've been out of college for 18 years. It seems highly unlikely that my professors would remember me, assuming they're even still teaching. And, well, honestly I might not remember exactly who they were either.

How important are letters of recommendation, I wonder. Oh sure, I could get some from my bosses here at work, but they're not that well-versed in math.


Yeah, I find it frustrating that recommendations are usually a requirement and not just an extra thing you can do if it helps, though I guess I sort of understand it.  It still seems unfair to people who have been out of school for a long time.

The key is finding professors that attended the grad school to which you are applying, or applying to the grad schools your profs attended.  Those letters then count a bunch more.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 02, 2015, 06:06:58 pm
Countdown time!

The numbers are 50, 25, 6, 5, 9, 4. The target is 767. You have... 1 minute. GO!

(I reached 766 in one minute. About an hour later I'd reached 766 in 3 or 4 unique ways, and 766.33... in one way, but not 767).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on September 02, 2015, 06:19:46 pm
Here's one way:

(50 + 9)(6 log525 - floor(sin(4))) = 767. I use "- floor" because I assumed the 4 was a radian measure, the sine of which is negative. But I assume you meant using only the operations +, -, /, *, and maybe ^.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 03, 2015, 02:06:46 am
Fun stat fact: the chance of dying in a place crash is around 1 in 29 million.

http://www.statisticbrain.com/airplane-crash-statistics/

Edit: As for the countdown puzzle, I didn't have time to think about it too much, but I tossed it into a Countdown solver, and there is a solution that only uses the 4 basic operations.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Seprix on September 03, 2015, 02:35:08 am
http://dominionstrategy.com/2015/03/23/10-cards-to-victory/

There are giant Stonemasons and Vineyards.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 03, 2015, 11:33:31 am
I know it doesn't make much sense to talk of a multiple day long lunar eclipse, but what possible explanation is there to why the moon was red yesterday night for one-two hours? Two different lunar eclipses in the same month?

There most definitely was not a lunar eclipse the other night, that much I can say with certainty.  It is possible to have a pair of partial solar eclipses a month apart, though.

So the question is, where do you live?  There are multiple things that can cause a red/orange moon, including proximity to the horizon (usually more orange than red, sometimes called the "harvest moon" during the fall, but the color has nothing to do with the time of year), pollution (more common in/near cities, of course), or smoke from forest fires (large chunks of the northwestern US during the past couple of weeks).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 03, 2015, 11:52:52 am
I am in Kingston, Canada, so right above lake Ontario. It's a small city, I don't expect pollution to be that bad, and the moon could be seen above the houses, I'd say 40 degrees above the horizon, not much less in any case. I don't know anything about forest fires, I am not following the news lately.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 03, 2015, 01:38:17 pm
Hm.  From your position, on the last full moon (29 August), the moon would never have been higher than about 36° above the horizon, and that only after 11 PM.  My guess is that you're looking at it around 9-10 PM, at <30° altitude and with the moon in the east-southeast.  So the orange color is likely scattering due to particulate matter in the atmosphere, not necessarily from pollution near you, but from particulates from the Boston-NYC corridor to your southeast.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 03, 2015, 02:01:55 pm
It was around half past ten, I think, and the moon was straight east. But other than that it seems pretty accurate. Thanks for taking the time to explain!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 03, 2015, 06:12:05 pm
(http://fs2.directupload.net/images/150904/thmtrmft.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Polk5440 on September 03, 2015, 06:20:04 pm
Thanks for the advice, everyone!

I forgot to mention, I now live on the other side of the country from where I went to school, so I can't just walk into my professor's office hours and ask for help, I'd be asking by email.  I do have a couple math professors in mind.

Hmm, I've been pondering getting my masters' as well. But I've been out of college for 18 years. It seems highly unlikely that my professors would remember me, assuming they're even still teaching. And, well, honestly I might not remember exactly who they were either.

How important are letters of recommendation, I wonder. Oh sure, I could get some from my bosses here at work, but they're not that well-versed in math.


Yeah, I find it frustrating that recommendations are usually a requirement and not just an extra thing you can do if it helps, though I guess I sort of understand it.  It still seems unfair to people who have been out of school for a long time.

The key is finding professors that attended the grad school to which you are applying, or applying to the grad schools your profs attended.  Those letters then count a bunch more.

... or at least have connections so it's likely their name will be recognized (esp. important if you are coming from a lesser-know school).

I would recommend against getting a philosophy professor's recommendation for a math program unless you cannot get even a single math professor to write you a letter. When I applied to grad school, I asked a math prof to write letters for econ grad school.

In the end, it didn't help at all. My math professor outright told me he was disappointed that he was asked to write letters to non-math programs (even though econ programs like seeing heavy math) because I should definitely be doing pure math. He wrote a letter anyway. And having seen the other side of the decision process, I can say that having "out of field" professors write recs can only help at the best schools if the "in field" prof would write a BAD recommendation. 

Do have one person from work write a letter if they can speak to your skill and work ethic. Also, explain very clearly in your statement of purpose why you want to go back to school after working. Why didn't you/couldn't you pursue the degree right away?

And be REALLY SURE you DO want to pursue it now.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on September 05, 2015, 03:49:48 pm
I move to Italy and drink...Warsteiner.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 05, 2015, 08:39:08 pm
http://www.rustylake.com/tag/cube-escape-series/

I've only played Seasons. Not touching the other five just yet.

Seasons was pretty neat. It has a spooky Lynchian feel to it, and there is a sense of dread looming over you. You're not escaping a prison here. You're navigating your memories, I suppose. And it has a neat little mechanic for that.

Oh, doing them in order is helpful. I was asked for a code I got in chapter 1 in the chapter 2 game I'm playing. The Lake is not quite as fun. I'm not sure what I'm missing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on September 06, 2015, 06:18:06 am
(http://i.imgur.com/yNrbEr7.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/873yQJj.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on September 06, 2015, 08:18:56 pm
Am I the only one that renames .exe files into another file type to stop gmail from stopping me from attaching them?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on September 06, 2015, 08:19:40 pm
Am I the only one that renames .exe files into another file type to stop gmail from stopping me from attaching them?

No.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 07, 2015, 01:12:26 am
Usually I can get by with zipping them, though I haven't tried that lately, so I wouldn't know if Gmail searches zip files for .exe.

But I've renamed them before too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on September 07, 2015, 12:25:23 pm
Usually I can get by with zipping them, though I haven't tried that lately, so I wouldn't know if Gmail searches zip files for .exe.
It does or used to, however you can just rename the .zip.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 07, 2015, 01:45:32 pm
Take care and good luck!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 09, 2015, 04:48:44 pm
Take care and good luck!

So long, and thanks for all the fish!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on September 11, 2015, 10:12:09 am
http://i.imgur.com/YZbDVHK.gifv
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on September 11, 2015, 10:36:56 am
http://i.imgur.com/YZbDVHK.gifv

That's cute, but can't compare to the original. (I'll post the video once I'm on a real computer. Or you can search for "stalking cat".)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 11, 2015, 11:19:38 am
My cousin-in-law is having a rough time because she's going to put her dog to sleep today. Her hashtag has been #12yearsisnotenough. I haven't had a pet I loved until recently when my wife and I got a small mischief of rats. They're very personable and fun to play with, so it's going to really suck when they die in a year or two. I wish I could get that much time out of my rats. Score one for the dogs for longevity.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on September 11, 2015, 12:53:43 pm
My cousin-in-law is having a rough time because she's going to put her dog to sleep today. Her hashtag has been #12yearsisnotenough. I haven't had a pet I loved until recently when my wife and I got a small mischief of rats. They're very personable and fun to play with, so it's going to really suck when they die in a year or two. I wish I could get that much time out of my rats. Score one for the dogs for longevity.

I had no idea rats only lived that long.  I'd sort of guessed they were up nearer rabbits rather than down with the mice and hamsters.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 11, 2015, 02:02:48 pm
My cousin-in-law is having a rough time because she's going to put her dog to sleep today. Her hashtag has been #12yearsisnotenough. I haven't had a pet I loved until recently when my wife and I got a small mischief of rats. They're very personable and fun to play with, so it's going to really suck when they die in a year or two. I wish I could get that much time out of my rats. Score one for the dogs for longevity.

I had no idea rats only lived that long.  I'd sort of guessed they were up nearer rabbits rather than down with the mice and hamsters.

Yeah, that was a risk we took when we chose these animals. Chinchillas and Guinea pigs can live decently long lives, but we live in 720 sq ft, and these animals are happier in horizontal habitats. We chose rats because they thrive in a vertical habitat. And the 2'x3'x4' cage we got them is testament to their happiness.

It'd be awesome if they did live longer. They're really fun companions. I just hope that neither of us is too depressed to adopt new rats when these pass on.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 11, 2015, 02:15:28 pm
I had no idea rats only lived that long.

Well, I usually trash them after a few reshuffles.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on September 11, 2015, 07:44:20 pm
My cousin-in-law is having a rough time because she's going to put her dog to sleep today. Her hashtag has been #12yearsisnotenough. I haven't had a pet I loved until recently when my wife and I got a small mischief of rats. They're very personable and fun to play with, so it's going to really suck when they die in a year or two. I wish I could get that much time out of my rats. Score one for the dogs for longevity.

I had no idea rats only lived that long.  I'd sort of guessed they were up nearer rabbits rather than down with the mice and hamsters.

Yeah, that was a risk we took when we chose these animals. Chinchillas and Guinea pigs can live decently long lives, but we live in 720 sq ft, and these animals are happier in horizontal habitats. We chose rats because they thrive in a vertical habitat. And the 2'x3'x4' cage we got them is testament to their happiness.

It'd be awesome if they did live longer. They're really fun companions. I just hope that neither of us is too depressed to adopt new rats when these pass on.

The problem that my friend who has pet rats fell into is the situation of having two rats, and then one of them dies, and you get another rat so your remaining rat has a companion (might sound silly to non-rat owners but they're social enough animals that that's a concern), and of course your new rat outlives your original rat, so you need to get a companion for that one, and you enter into the "rat cycle".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 11, 2015, 08:54:36 pm
My cousin-in-law is having a rough time because she's going to put her dog to sleep today. Her hashtag has been #12yearsisnotenough. I haven't had a pet I loved until recently when my wife and I got a small mischief of rats. They're very personable and fun to play with, so it's going to really suck when they die in a year or two. I wish I could get that much time out of my rats. Score one for the dogs for longevity.

I had no idea rats only lived that long.  I'd sort of guessed they were up nearer rabbits rather than down with the mice and hamsters.

Yeah, that was a risk we took when we chose these animals. Chinchillas and Guinea pigs can live decently long lives, but we live in 720 sq ft, and these animals are happier in horizontal habitats. We chose rats because they thrive in a vertical habitat. And the 2'x3'x4' cage we got them is testament to their happiness.

It'd be awesome if they did live longer. They're really fun companions. I just hope that neither of us is too depressed to adopt new rats when these pass on.

The problem that my friend who has pet rats fell into is the situation of having two rats, and then one of them dies, and you get another rat so your remaining rat has a companion (might sound silly to non-rat owners but they're social enough animals that that's a concern), and of course your new rat outlives your original rat, so you need to get a companion for that one, and you enter into the "rat cycle".

That's eerily similar to the Dominion card.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 11, 2015, 11:25:32 pm
The problem that my friend who has pet rats fell into is the situation of having two rats, and then one of them dies, and you get another rat so your remaining rat has a companion (might sound silly to non-rat owners but they're social enough animals that that's a concern), and of course your new rat outlives your original rat, so you need to get a companion for that one, and you enter into the "rat cycle".

Yeah, I'm keeping in mind the social dynamics of the cage. We have three rats. As soon as one of them dies, I intend to get two baby rats. Then I'll likely get a third baby sometime after that, depending on when the other older rats die off.

The real problem is suppressing the urge to adopt new rats because you found a really sweet one at the pet store. Our litter trays are full enough with our three girls. If we get more, then that's even more litter to empty.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Drab Emordnilap on September 12, 2015, 10:39:38 am
On Hallowed Ground -- September 8, 2002 (http://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article1938637.html)

I read it. I felt things.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on September 12, 2015, 10:46:01 am
I thought rats bred like crazy, why do you need to keep buying them?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 12, 2015, 11:06:01 am
I thought rats bred like crazy, why do you need to keep buying them?

I don't think they breed all that much when they're all female.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on September 12, 2015, 11:12:45 am
I thought rats bred like crazy, why do you need to keep buying them?

(http://cdn.meme.am/instances2/500x/1833509.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 12, 2015, 02:22:07 pm
Sudden Clarity Clarence time:  I just realized that people putting "TLDR version" at the top of a long post is exactly equivalent to "Abstract" and "Executive Summary."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on September 12, 2015, 06:49:02 pm
I thought rats bred like crazy, why do you need to keep buying them?

I don't think they breed all that much when they're all female.

You just have to make damn sure they're all female. Rats are hard to sex.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 12, 2015, 09:15:38 pm
(https://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6zirsTYdJ1r5zq6ao1_400.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on September 12, 2015, 09:54:14 pm
I thought rats bred like crazy, why do you need to keep buying them?

I don't think they breed all that much when they're all female.

You just have to make damn sure they're all female. Rats are hard to sex.
My sister had what she thought were two female gerbils once. Then one day, there were more than two gerbils. Peaked at 18 in the end.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on September 13, 2015, 07:02:56 am
I thought rats bred like crazy, why do you need to keep buying them?

I don't think they breed all that much when they're all female.

You just have to make damn sure they're all female. Rats are hard to sex.
My sister had what she thought were two female gerbils once. Then one day, there were more than two gerbils. Peaked at 18 in the end.

If you're unlucky then you actually have two females, but they're already pregnant.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 13, 2015, 10:43:52 am
TLDR version: tldr acts as an abstract or summary.

Sudden Clarity Clarence time:  I just realized that people putting "TLDR version" at the top of a long post is exactly equivalent to "Abstract" and "Executive Summary."

Fixed that for you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 16, 2015, 03:03:46 pm
What's worse than reading some racist POS's comment on a news article?

Being bored enough to view the racist POS's Facebook page.

I need videos of animals doing tricks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 16, 2015, 03:54:54 pm
What's worse than reading some racist POS's comment on a news article?

Being bored enough to view the racist POS's Facebook page.

I need videos of animals doing tricks.

http://imgur.com/gallery/QblQ8cO
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 16, 2015, 03:57:14 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/ICXHJ5r
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 16, 2015, 11:18:23 pm
The Boxer chase is pretty awesome.

The goalie dog was an obvious camera trick. They just filmed the dog picking up the ball and launching it at 40 mph and then played it backward.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 17, 2015, 03:16:37 pm
Today I happened to be in two different maths lessons which were teaching multiplication methods. The two most standard ones used are the column method (the standard/traditional method, aka 'long multiplication') and the grid method.

I've decided I have a new favourite method. You take the two numbers you need to multiply, square their mean then subtract the square of half their range. Obviously you should intuitively know all your squares up to a few hundred for this method (including squares of all halves), but that's just rote learning, so it's fine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 17, 2015, 03:22:48 pm
Today I happened to be in two different maths lessons which were teaching multiplication methods. The two most standard ones used are the column method (the standard/traditional method, aka 'long multiplication') and the grid method.

I've decided I have a new favourite method. You take the two numbers you need to multiply, square their mean then subtract the square of half their range. Obviously you should intuitively know all your squares up to a few hundred for this method (including squares of all halves), but that's just rote learning, so it's fine.

After you show the kids that, throw on some polarized sunglasses and give them the "deal with it" face.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 17, 2015, 03:29:09 pm
Today I happened to be in two different maths lessons which were teaching multiplication methods. The two most standard ones used are the column method (the standard/traditional method, aka 'long multiplication') and the grid method.

I've decided I have a new favourite method. You take the two numbers you need to multiply, square their mean then subtract the square of half their range. Obviously you should intuitively know all your squares up to a few hundred for this method (including squares of all halves), but that's just rote learning, so it's fine.

After you show the kids that, throw on some polarized sunglasses and give them the "deal with it" face.

Sadly this year (or at least at the moment) I'm not working with any kids who are mathematically competent enough to even really understand this method, let alone enough to know I'm trolling them.

Although on a serious note, this method isn't entirely useless. With numbers that are reasonably close together, and whose mean is an easy number to square - e.g. one you already have memorised - it's actually very fast. For example I can instantly tell you that 16 * 24 = 384, since I know 20^2 = 400 and 4^2 = 16. But obviously, it's really just a shortcut for those kind of things. Don't try to use it for things like 24 * 342, because turning that into 183^2 - 159^2 really doesn't simplify the problem.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: heron on September 17, 2015, 03:37:20 pm
It's also a good method for calculating perfect squares: 38^2 = 36*40 + 2^2 = 1440 + 4 = 1444.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 17, 2015, 03:56:27 pm
At first I laughed at people who thought everything used vim keybindings, until I tried using vim keybindings in Microsoft Word. Now I sympathize with their struggle.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Roadrunner7671 on September 17, 2015, 03:58:15 pm
I don't think I ever posted in this thread, but it always pops up in my 'new replies to to your posts' section.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 17, 2015, 03:59:03 pm
I don't think I ever posted in this thread, but it always pops up in my 'new replies to to your posts' section.

Well, now it'll show up there for sure, so whether you posted in this before or not is now moot.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Roadrunner7671 on September 17, 2015, 04:03:54 pm
I don't think I ever posted in this thread, but it always pops up in my 'new replies to to your posts' section.

Well, now it'll show up there for sure, so whether you posted in this before or not is now moot.
Yep, I have decided that I will get spammed by people talking about rats having sex.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 17, 2015, 04:13:59 pm
Today I happened to be in two different maths lessons which were teaching multiplication methods. The two most standard ones used are the column method (the standard/traditional method, aka 'long multiplication') and the grid method.

I've decided I have a new favourite method. You take the two numbers you need to multiply, square their mean then subtract the square of half their range. Obviously you should intuitively know all your squares up to a few hundred for this method (including squares of all halves), but that's just rote learning, so it's fine.

After you show the kids that, throw on some polarized sunglasses and give them the "deal with it" face.

Sadly this year (or at least at the moment) I'm not working with any kids who are mathematically competent enough to even really understand this method, let alone enough to know I'm trolling them.

Although on a serious note, this method isn't entirely useless. With numbers that are reasonably close together, and whose mean is an easy number to square - e.g. one you already have memorised - it's actually very fast. For example I can instantly tell you that 16 * 24 = 384, since I know 20^2 = 400 and 4^2 = 16. But obviously, it's really just a shortcut for those kind of things. Don't try to use it for things like 24 * 342, because turning that into 183^2 - 159^2 really doesn't simplify the problem.

I have also used this method, again only for things that are nicely obvious like your example.

Also, your original post was missing something about the reason it works being left as an exercise for the student.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 17, 2015, 04:40:28 pm
Today I happened to be in two different maths lessons which were teaching multiplication methods. The two most standard ones used are the column method (the standard/traditional method, aka 'long multiplication') and the grid method.

I've decided I have a new favourite method. You take the two numbers you need to multiply, square their mean then subtract the square of half their range. Obviously you should intuitively know all your squares up to a few hundred for this method (including squares of all halves), but that's just rote learning, so it's fine.

After you show the kids that, throw on some polarized sunglasses and give them the "deal with it" face.

Sadly this year (or at least at the moment) I'm not working with any kids who are mathematically competent enough to even really understand this method, let alone enough to know I'm trolling them.

Although on a serious note, this method isn't entirely useless. With numbers that are reasonably close together, and whose mean is an easy number to square - e.g. one you already have memorised - it's actually very fast. For example I can instantly tell you that 16 * 24 = 384, since I know 20^2 = 400 and 4^2 = 16. But obviously, it's really just a shortcut for those kind of things. Don't try to use it for things like 24 * 342, because turning that into 183^2 - 159^2 really doesn't simplify the problem.

Well if they understand why it's important that your sunglasses are polarized, they definitely deserve the "A".
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on September 18, 2015, 04:46:53 pm
This DOES make it much easier to square large numbers. For instance, usually squaring a number like 73 for example is tedious, but instead calculate 70*76 + 3^2 = 5329. Okay, there was still work involved, but you saved at least half the time.

EDIT: I see I should have read more than just the most recent two posts, as this was already brought up. So this is redundant, but I don't want to delete it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 18, 2015, 07:14:05 pm
Well I could post this in "Song of the Day", but really the part I want to share is the video itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdkoZLdEz_U

I first saw this when I saw them live earlier this year; they showed it on a big screen behind the stage.  It was really, really cool. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Archetype on September 19, 2015, 09:04:32 pm
Not sure whether or not this should go in RSP
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RDrfE9I8_hs
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on September 20, 2015, 03:25:19 am
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/15/travel/bangkok-plane-graveyard/index.html
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on September 21, 2015, 03:04:46 pm
One of the great parts of GoPro / the Internet is that I can vicariously enjoy extreme thrills without the enormous expense and attendant risk of injury.  For example:

(http://i.imgur.com/MfHgPm8.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 21, 2015, 03:07:58 pm
I am not convinced that watching these videos is risk free for me.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 21, 2015, 06:45:04 pm
Nope.  Nope Nope Nope.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on September 22, 2015, 03:27:49 am
Mane6, the dev team behind Fighting is Magic, has a crowdfunding campaign for their legally distinct spiritual successor, Them's Fightin' Herds (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/them-s-fightin-herds#/story).

I'm mostly glad they pulled it off, since they had around 2 years of work before Hasbro sent a cease & desist for Fighting is Magic, and 2 years after the C&D they have this. Not sure if I'll back or not though, not that into traditional fighting games.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 22, 2015, 08:31:48 am
For the first time, I'm donating white-blood cells. A kid needs type-O blood, and I qualify. I've given blood before as well as platelets. This is all new to me. As it has been explained to me, I'll have one tube removing my blood where it is passed to the machine that separates out the WBCs. Then the blood is returned in my other arm. This could take up to 2 hours. So no phone use for me. I'm bringing a DVD player.

I had to take medicine that increases my WBC production for 17 hours (very specific number actually). It makes me feel warmer, so I guess this is what a hot flash may feel like. It did interfere with my sleeping, but my sleep schedule has always been one of my worst enemies anyway. No real difference there.

But unlike the normal blood donation, this has a much more immediate effect. They may even cart those WBCs to that kid in the next few hours, so that's a warm fuzzy feeling.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 22, 2015, 08:58:47 am
Mane6, the dev team behind Fighting is Magic, has a crowdfunding campaign for their legally distinct spiritual successor, Them's Fightin' Herds (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/them-s-fightin-herds#/story).

I'm mostly glad they pulled it off, since they had around 2 years of work before Hasbro sent a cease & desist for Fighting is Magic, and 2 years after the C&D they have this. Not sure if I'll back or not though, not that into traditional fighting games.

"Help a cast of cute animals beat each other up by making "Them's Fightin' Herds" become a reality!"

There's nothing about that that doesn't sound good!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on September 22, 2015, 09:25:51 am
the thing that doesn't sound good is that it isn't ponies anymore ;_;
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 22, 2015, 01:09:04 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/SN1c8mP.gif) (http://imgur.com/gallery/SN1c8mP)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 22, 2015, 01:57:17 pm
And then there is this:

(http://i.imgur.com/i6s6n42.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 23, 2015, 02:25:04 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj-Mf0ZVoGs

Blindfolded run of SMW.  At 13:16 he asks, "Did I split after Star World 3?  Because if I didn't, I'm a split behind."  Does anybody know what that means?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on September 23, 2015, 02:31:32 am
Splits are the times on the left, showing how long it took to reach each point. So if he didn't split, he didn't press the button to record his time and so his timer program would be showing the wrong information, and be one time record (split) behind.

Also after typing this post split doesn't even seem like a real word any more. Split. Yeah, that's definitely a word I just made up.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 23, 2015, 09:55:47 am
But unlike the normal blood donation, this has a much more immediate effect. They may even cart those WBCs to that kid in the next few hours, so that's a warm fuzzy feeling.


And that got sour pretty quickly. I went in to donate white blood cells, but they couldn't attach an IV to my left arm. They tried really hard. They stuck me five times, and now I know why they attempt the hand as a last resort. That shit hurts. Each time they just weren't able to get a good flow into my arm. Without the ability to cycle blood back into my body, they were unable to draw my blood, which is too bad because my right arm is super generous when it comes to spurting blood. I suggested trying to draw from my left arm and putting the IV in my right, but the left arm was already too marked up from the IV attempts so they couldn't draw from that.

So I was looking forward to helping someone out, but he didn't get any white blood cells yesterday. I just hope whoever they scheduled for today (if anyone) has better luck.

Now I feel bad and need pictures of animals or something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on September 23, 2015, 10:00:03 am
(http://www.dogguide.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/19608981_b7226b549a.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 23, 2015, 10:20:28 am
So I Gain a Silver, draw 1 Card and get +1 Action?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on September 23, 2015, 11:25:04 am
But unlike the normal blood donation, this has a much more immediate effect. They may even cart those WBCs to that kid in the next few hours, so that's a warm fuzzy feeling.


And that got sour pretty quickly. I went in to donate white blood cells, but they couldn't attach an IV to my left arm. They tried really hard. They stuck me five times, and now I know why they attempt the hand as a last resort. That shit hurts. Each time they just weren't able to get a good flow into my arm. Without the ability to cycle blood back into my body, they were unable to draw my blood, which is too bad because my right arm is super generous when it comes to spurting blood. I suggested trying to draw from my left arm and putting the IV in my right, but the left arm was already too marked up from the IV attempts so they couldn't draw from that.

So I was looking forward to helping someone out, but he didn't get any white blood cells yesterday. I just hope whoever they scheduled for today (if anyone) has better luck.

Now I feel bad and need pictures of animals or something.

How does that happen?  Is it that the staff were incompetent, or just your body not cooperating?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 23, 2015, 01:40:56 pm
How does that happen?  Is it that the staff were incompetent, or just your body not cooperating?

I'm not knowledgeable on that topic to pass judgment on the staff, but there were four people trying to place the IV in five different places, so there was a lot of school years crammed in that room. They seemed to know what they were talking about. My veins in my left arm just like to roll, and they didn't want to risk pushing too hard and puncturing the other side of the vein.

I told my wife that if I'm hospitalized, tell them to put the IV in my right arm. That is much more agreeable.

My wife offered to give white blood cells, since she's O-. She was told that they have drawn enough blood for the time period needed, so I feel better knowing that my body's failure didn't kill him. If the hospital needs to extend the request, then they may need to take my wife. Women typically aren't called in for this kind of donation because each pregnancy increases the levels of something in their body (look at me getting all technical). Since my wife's never been pregnant, this ought to not be a problem.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pubby on September 24, 2015, 07:57:01 pm
(http://www.spaceacts.com/square_peg_round_hole.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 26, 2015, 03:41:32 pm
I was on YouTube and one of the recommended videos on the home page had a transliterated Japanese title which I didn't understand. It took me several seconds to realize that it was actually not Japanese, but Finnish, and that I understood it perfectly well.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on September 26, 2015, 03:49:21 pm
The pope is releasing a prog-rock album

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6707929/pope-francis-wake-up-go-go-forward

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgnENsoCydY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on September 26, 2015, 04:35:25 pm
Mane6, the dev team behind Fighting is Magic, has a crowdfunding campaign for their legally distinct spiritual successor, Them's Fightin' Herds (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/them-s-fightin-herds#/story).

I'm mostly glad they pulled it off, since they had around 2 years of work before Hasbro sent a cease & desist for Fighting is Magic, and 2 years after the C&D they have this. Not sure if I'll back or not though, not that into traditional fighting games.

"Help a cast of cute animals beat each other up by making "Them's Fightin' Herds" become a reality!"

There's nothing about that that doesn't sound good!

It's also by people who really know how to make a mechanically sound, fun to play 2D fighting game. I played the tribute edition of "Fighting is Magic", and even though it was an unfinished game, it felt amazing. Sure, these guys have the woman who actually made people like Silverspawn and me like ponies as a character designer, they have the Skullgirls engine, they have some badass soundtrack writers, but before all, they know what they are doing, you can see their love for the genre and the will to create something great. It's going to be friggin' amazing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 29, 2015, 01:02:53 pm
I wonder if America will eventually abolish the area code.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 29, 2015, 01:31:04 pm
I wonder if America will eventually abolish the area code.

No, but we will at some point stop calling it that.  Well, maybe, momentum is hard to stop.  But it'll stop meaning area code.

We still need 10 digit numbers to distinguish phones, and possibly eventually 11.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 29, 2015, 01:33:25 pm
Is this conversation in the "Random Stuff" thread because it's actually continuing from another conversation elsewhere, but it's being in this thread is what makes it "random"?

Because it sounds like I walked in on the middle of it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 29, 2015, 09:43:23 pm
I wonder if America will eventually abolish the area code.

No, but we will at some point stop calling it that.  Well, maybe, momentum is hard to stop.  But it'll stop meaning area code.

We still need 10 digit numbers to distinguish phones, and possibly eventually 11.

That's actually what I meant. That we'll stop assigning the first three numbers to areas because some areas will become too saturated, and the area is meaningless in the cell phone age. Soon, the first three numbers will only be an indication of where you got your first phone--much like how the social security number tells people roughly where you were born.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on September 29, 2015, 09:43:47 pm
This is my favorite video ever now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEIzuJZj03U
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on September 30, 2015, 02:21:45 pm
http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2015/09/23/what-does-probability-mean-in-your-profession/

Someone needs to make a "gamer" drawing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on September 30, 2015, 02:23:53 pm
This is my favorite video ever now.

...

Oh, no... Beta.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on September 30, 2015, 02:33:05 pm
http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2015/09/23/what-does-probability-mean-in-your-profession/

Someone needs to make a "gamer" drawing.

"The RNG is rigged" all the way through from 0 to 1.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 02, 2015, 11:12:33 am
I thought this was interesting, a sort of "intuitive" large-scale analogy of quantum entanglement, and why it wouldn't violate Special Relativity:

Quote
In a darkened room, take one dollar bill and randomly tear it into two pieces. Put each piece into an envelope. The two pieces are now "entangled" in the sense that they share a mirror image border. Notice that you don't yet know anything about the exact shape of either piece.

Now mail one piece to your friend on the other side of the world. If your friend opens her envelope before you do, she instantly knows the exact shape of your half too even though you don't know it yet. Likewise, if you open yours before she opens hers, you instantly know the shape of her half, even if she doesn't.

That relationship is symmetric and it would still hold true, even if your friend was in another galaxy and the USPS could deliver her mail to her through a wormhole. The point is that no information actually "flows" between the two pieces when one of them is "observed". No laws are broken. Well, except for the part about tearing up a banknote.

Of course, the analogy should be taken with a grain of salt. (The author himself goes on to warn against taking it literally.)  Still, I hadn't thought of it in that way before.

More can be found here (https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Quantum-entanglement-not-prove-that-stuff-information-can-travel-faster-than-the-speed-of-light/answer/Chris-Craddock?srid=C34Q&share=1).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 02, 2015, 04:33:25 pm
Headline writing is generallly godawful in every imaginable way, but today on cnn.com I found the hardest-to-read headline I've seen in quite a while:

Quote
Tennis' tattooed teenage 'pit bull'

I don't know what this means, and I had to read it about ten times to figure out if there was an error or not.  I'm assuming it's actually grammatically correct, though, so apparently there is a "pit bull", that is a teenager, that has lots of tattoos, that is a professional tennis player.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 02, 2015, 05:18:49 pm
Headline writing is generallly godawful in every imaginable way, but today on cnn.com I found the hardest-to-read headline I've seen in quite a while:

Quote
Tennis' tattooed teenage 'pit bull'

I don't know what this means, and I had to read it about ten times to figure out if there was an error or not.  I'm assuming it's actually grammatically correct, though, so apparently there is a "pit bull", that is a teenager, that has lots of tattoos, that is a professional tennis player.

It's incorrect. It should be "tennis's" because "tennis" isn't plural.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 02, 2015, 05:29:25 pm
Headline writing is generallly godawful in every imaginable way, but today on cnn.com I found the hardest-to-read headline I've seen in quite a while:

Quote
Tennis' tattooed teenage 'pit bull'

I don't know what this means, and I had to read it about ten times to figure out if there was an error or not.  I'm assuming it's actually grammatically correct, though, so apparently there is a "pit bull", that is a teenager, that has lots of tattoos, that is a professional tennis player.

It's incorrect. It should be "tennis's" because "tennis" isn't plural.

I think that's actually a style; some styles simply add only an apostrophe for possession to any noun ending in "s".  So it may be incorrect by some particular style, but it's not universally agreed upon.

However, visually I kept on wanting to associate the first ' (after "tennis") with the next ' (before "pit").  So I kept on reading

' tattooed teenage '

as being "inside" the quotes.  And then I couldn't reconcile the last '.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 02, 2015, 11:47:45 pm
This is easy. The meaning is obvious.

The "tattooed" that is owned by "Tennis" just "teenaged" a "pit bull."

Perfect sense!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 03, 2015, 12:11:46 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3r51QI4Ctw

Instead of Al Jazeera reporter John Hendren, they accidentally booked comedian Jon Hendren for an interview about Edward Snowden.  He answered their questions as if they were about Edward Scissorhands and he actively talked about him having scissors for hands.  The interviewer didn't notice.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 03, 2015, 01:19:27 am
Shower thought someone posted elsewhere:  Millennials saying "I can't even!" is effectively the same as older generations saying "Well I never!"
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on October 03, 2015, 02:57:23 pm
Shower thought someone posted elsewhere:  Millennials saying "I can't even!" is effectively the same as older generations saying "Well I never!"

I've only heard "Well, I never!" In fiction relating to snooty rich people or olden times folk.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 03, 2015, 03:09:04 pm
Shower thought someone posted elsewhere:  Millennials saying "I can't even!" is effectively the same as older generations saying "Well I never!"

I've only heard "Well, I never!" In fiction relating to snooty rich people or olden times folk.

I can't even so insulted in my life.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 03, 2015, 04:26:36 pm
Shower thought someone posted elsewhere:  Millennials saying "I can't even!" is effectively the same as older generations saying "Well I never!"

Well, I never could even!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 03, 2015, 06:46:22 pm
Today if I had been 5 minutes slower getting to my destination and/or stopped to get money out, I'd have been killed by a bus crash. Literally a bus crashed into a bunch of ATMs about 5 minutes after I was walking past them, and a few people were killed.

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/live-boy-8-woman-killed-10189468 Scary stuff. Also the bus I got later was delayed because of htis.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 04, 2015, 10:13:49 am
(unrelated to anything, but this is pretty awesome)

(http://pre04.deviantart.net/92d7/th/pre/f/2013/214/8/d/elements_of_the_world_by_priteeboy-d6gexce.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 04, 2015, 10:45:17 am
...but then everything changed when Australia attacked.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 04, 2015, 12:48:36 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/mJiHAIv.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 04, 2015, 01:21:11 pm
...but then everything changed when Australia attacked.

This is why the only Risk I play is Risk Legacy. That bullshit tactic doesn't fly so well there. And if the game is played for any length of time, Australia's probably a radioactive crater by now anyway.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 04, 2015, 01:31:23 pm
(unrelated to anything, but this is pretty awesome)


Um, I'm pretty sure North America was fire and Europe was wind.  Africa and Asia are good.  To be fair I'm uncertain how the artist would have drawn Heart.

...but then everything changed when Australia attacked.

This is why the only Risk I play is Risk Legacy. That bullshit tactic doesn't fly so well there. And if the game is played for any length of time, Australia's probably a radioactive crater by now anyway.

Actually I think that was supposed to be an Avatar the Last Airbender reference.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 04, 2015, 04:31:13 pm
This is and old one but I just discovered it and it's awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_rttgtyigc
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 04, 2015, 04:41:10 pm
Well, when you have kicked the caffeine habit, it shows. I had some coffee just to keep it from going to waste, and I'm all sorts of buzzed from it. If I get a heart attack, avenge my death.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 04, 2015, 04:47:10 pm
Well, when you have kicked the caffeine habit, it shows. I had some coffee just to keep it from going to waste, and I'm all sorts of buzzed from it. If I get a heart attack, avenge my death.

Lesson: Don't stop drinking coffee. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on October 06, 2015, 03:18:16 pm
Has anyone played Undertale (http://store.steampowered.com/app/391540/)?
The game is just...I can't even say how good it is. The humor in it is right up this community's alley too.

Edit: it's also available directly from the creator's website if you don't have/want Steam.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on October 06, 2015, 03:28:58 pm
Undertale is fantastic. I was honestly blown away by it, even though I was trying to set aside the hype while playing. I highly recommend it to anyone who used to play or still plays jrpgs. (And anyone else too; that audience is just more likely to appreciate it from the get-go)

Sadly it is one of those games in which explaining too much about why it's good would spoil a lot. (same can be said of Ghost Trick, which everyone should also play) I will say it has awesome characters, a wonderful atmosphere and soundtrack, and by the end of the game I'd be surprised if it didn't get to you either through humor or emotion (or both).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 06, 2015, 03:30:39 pm
Undertale is fantastic. I was honestly blown away by it, even though I was trying to set aside the hype while playing. I highly recommend it to anyone who used to play or still plays jrpgs. (And anyone else too; that audience is just more likely to appreciate it from the get-go)

Sadly it is one of those games in which explaining too much about why it's good would spoil a lot. (same can be said of Ghost Trick, which everyone should also play) I will say it has a awesome characters, a wonderful atmosphere and soundtrack, and by the end of the game I'd be surprised if it didn't get to you either through humor or emotion (or both).

I'm intrigued, but I think their web designer (well, the person taht did the Steam page) needs to double check some things:

Buy Undertale  $9.99

Buy Undertale - Game + Soundtrack Bundle  $17.99
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on October 06, 2015, 03:47:31 pm
Sorry, what is the mistake you're trying to point out?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 06, 2015, 03:57:17 pm
I'm glad you asked, because now I can explain it for the funnys.  Basically,

Buy Undertale - Game + Soundtrack Bundle

reads like "Product minus game plus soundtrack", which sounds to me like basically just the soundtrack.  The person wants to use an em-dash---like this one---but instead they used a hyphen (-), which when spaced like it is on the Steam page  is naturally read as a minus sign, especially when there is already a plus sign in the same expression. 

But this also costs a lot more.  So you can pay $9.99 for product, or $17.99 for the product without the game, but you get a soundtrack. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 06, 2015, 04:15:19 pm
That's not at all how I read.  Yeah, they probably should have used a colon or em-dash, but people use hyphens in place of dashes all the time, and I don't think it's common for people to list "bundles" with parts subtracted.

Anyway, thanks for mentioning this game.  I went to add it to my wishlist and discovered that Child of Light is 75% off, so I picked that one up.  I thought Steam was supposed to send emails when wishlist games went on sale, but whatever.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 06, 2015, 04:24:41 pm
That's not at all how I read.  Yeah, they probably should have used a colon or em-dash, but people use hyphens in place of dashes all the time, and I don't think it's common for people to list "bundles" with parts subtracted.

It's still incorrect. Plus, if you ever write "A - B + C" (white-space counted), it's weird for "-" to not be a minus sign.  Also, I was joking; I obviously knew what they meant.  But when I first saw it, I immediately thought the "-" was a minus sign (like, on initial glance).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on October 06, 2015, 04:29:59 pm
That's not at all how I read.  Yeah, they probably should have used a colon or em-dash, but people use hyphens in place of dashes all the time, and I don't think it's common for people to list "bundles" with parts subtracted.

It's still incorrect. Plus, if you ever write "A - B + C" (white-space counted), it's weird for "-" to not be a minus sign.  Also, I was joking; I obviously knew what they meant.  But when I first saw it, I immediately thought the "-" was a minus sign (like, on initial glance).

I should mention that if you found this grammatical problem amusing, you will probably love the humor in Undertale.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 06, 2015, 04:31:27 pm
That's not at all how I read.  Yeah, they probably should have used a colon or em-dash, but people use hyphens in place of dashes all the time, and I don't think it's common for people to list "bundles" with parts subtracted.

It's still incorrect. Plus, if you ever write "A - B + C" (white-space counted), it's weird for "-" to not be a minus sign.  Also, I was joking; I obviously knew what they meant.  But when I first saw it, I immediately thought the "-" was a minus sign (like, on initial glance).

I should mention that if you found this grammatical problem amusing, you will probably love the humor in Undertale.

Maybe that was their point all along!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: blueblimp on October 06, 2015, 08:38:55 pm
I tried Undertale because of the good buzz it was getting, but it actively turned me off. I guess I was expecting something kinda relaxing to play when not in the mood for something requiring a lot of focus, so the twitch-based combat really drove me off, especially when combined with the lack of much tutorial. But I've never been a huge fan of JRPGs. (I still enjoy Chrono Trigger whenever I've revisited it, but it notably omits random encounters, which I can't stand.)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 07, 2015, 06:50:42 am
It's around a 3rd of the way through the semester and I'm already staying up until 4 am. The struggle is real...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 07, 2015, 08:05:43 am
It's around a 3rd of the way through the semester and I'm already staying up until 4 am. The struggle is real...

I didn't even need the excuse of school to stay up until 4 AM. Now I can't stay awake past 1 AM anymore. Although getting up at 5 AM may have contributed to that.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 07, 2015, 08:19:21 am
It's around a 3rd of the way through the semester and I'm already staying up until 4 am. The struggle is real...

I didn't even need the excuse of school to stay up until 4 AM. Now I can't stay awake past 1 AM anymore. Although getting up at 5 AM may have contributed to that.

Seconded.  We usually went out to eat around 1:30 a.m.  It's nice to have truck stops nearby.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 07, 2015, 08:59:23 am
I'm pretty sure Everquest (and some occasional Diablo II) was far more complicit in my staying up until 4AM than schoolwork ever was.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 07, 2015, 09:11:59 am
Dominion until 6am, surely?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: skip wooznum on October 09, 2015, 02:17:19 am
Fun Fact: I signed up on f.ds the day after Sir Peebles left.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 09, 2015, 11:23:16 am
I'm pretty sure Everquest (and some occasional Diablo II) was far more complicit in my staying up until 4AM than schoolwork ever was.

Goldeneye for us.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 09, 2015, 03:41:02 pm
Many of my Google Docs now say "Sorry, the file you have requested does not exist." when I try to access them.  They were working fine yesterday.  I am the only one who could have deleted them, and I didn't.  They still show up in My Drive too, but I just can't open them.

I have found some help requests about this exact problem in the Google Docs forums, but they fill me with dread because they all end unresolved.  :(

Edit: looks like it's not just me (https://twitter.com/googledocs/status/652557489209217024).  OK then.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 09, 2015, 11:37:57 pm
Anybody in Toronto for Halloween?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 10, 2015, 05:01:29 am
Anybody in Toronto for Halloween?

Probably. I would be pretty surprised if there was nobody in Toronto for Halloween.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 10, 2015, 04:25:41 pm
...I walked right into that one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 11, 2015, 07:56:46 pm
"That's in the 19th percentile. That's really high."

Between this and showing two computer experts stopping a hacker by both pounding on the same keyboard, how is NCIS not ranked as the worst show ever?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 15, 2015, 04:09:09 pm
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/db7b96817c632fcf98931a65a0adc595/tumblr_inline_nw16imSspF1r6ajml_500.gif)

Grim Reaper costume on a drone.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 15, 2015, 04:11:40 pm
...

Grim Reaper costume on a drone.

(http://i.imgur.com/GNDbNXG.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 15, 2015, 05:23:57 pm
...

Grim Reaper costume on a drone.

[duck of death]

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IYWeqsMFE3U/UoMJEvgTKaI/AAAAAAAA_hY/vvVTFvpIbr0/w506-h285/2.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 15, 2015, 05:40:37 pm
Don't you know better than to pick up a duck in a dungeon?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on October 15, 2015, 06:09:02 pm
Is it wrong to pick up ducks in dungeons?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: popsofctown on October 15, 2015, 06:12:24 pm
Is it wrong to pick up ducks in dungeons?
Is... is that the reference I think it is?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 15, 2015, 06:15:40 pm
Mine was a Munchkin reference.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 15, 2015, 06:31:17 pm
Mine was a Munchkin reference.

Cool, I didn't know that. Should we add it to the wiki?

http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php/Mine
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 15, 2015, 06:51:34 pm
Mine was a Munchkin reference.

Cool, I didn't know that. Should we add it to the wiki?

http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php/Mine

No
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ConMan on October 15, 2015, 07:08:59 pm
Is it wrong to pick up ducks in dungeons?
Is... is that the reference I think it is?
If you're thinking about a goddess with an impractical blue ribbon, then yes. But also playing on the Munchkin reference.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 15, 2015, 07:27:04 pm
Mine was a Munchkin reference.

Cool, I didn't know that. Should we add it to the wiki?

http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php/Mint

FTFY
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 17, 2015, 07:52:06 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_8Xhzt5YQI
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 18, 2015, 03:04:10 am
It's got to be a good sign when you're at theater rehearsal and the way you say your line makes the artistic team laugh so hard it interrupted the scene...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 18, 2015, 03:29:33 am
It's got to be a good sign when you're at theater rehearsal and the way you say your line makes the artistic team laugh so hard it interrupted the scene...
Depends on whether the line was a joke.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 18, 2015, 07:15:18 am
It's got to be a good sign when you're at theater rehearsal and the way you say your line makes the artistic team laugh so hard it interrupted the scene...
Depends on whether the line was a joke.

It is now!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 18, 2015, 04:35:48 pm
It's got to be a good sign when you're at theater rehearsal and the way you say your line makes the artistic team laugh so hard it interrupted the scene...

Hey, save it for brush-up!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 19, 2015, 03:28:41 pm
Man, if I didn't live so close to the courthouse and if I weren't asked so often to marry my friends, I'd never get any exercise.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 19, 2015, 03:29:14 pm
Man, if I didn't live so close to the courthouse and if I weren't asked so often to marry my friends, I'd never get any exercise.

... phrasing?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 19, 2015, 03:37:34 pm
Man, if I didn't live so close to the courthouse and if I weren't asked so often to marry my friends, I'd never get any exercise.

... phrasing?

I would explain, but for once, I think the joke is funnier this way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 20, 2015, 01:37:22 am
It's got to be a good sign when you're at theater rehearsal and the way you say your line makes the artistic team laugh so hard it interrupted the scene...
Depends on whether the line was a joke.

It is now!

Well, the show is comedic, so while (I think) the line wasn't intended to be funny, it's fine to make it funny.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 20, 2015, 09:40:37 pm
Has nobody noticed that I changed my avatar a couple of days ago? :'(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 20, 2015, 10:19:57 pm
Has nobody noticed that I changed my avatar a couple of days ago? :'(

I noticed. Sorry I didn't comment. I thought about commenting, if that makes you feel better, but sometimes I read stuff on my phone and then forget by the time I get to a real keyboard.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 20, 2015, 10:36:34 pm
Same here. I prefer the candle fox to the fox candle though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 21, 2015, 12:58:52 am
Same here. I prefer the candle fox to the fox candle though.

It's slowly fading away. :P
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 21, 2015, 04:23:48 am
candle >= fox candle > fox I think
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 21, 2015, 04:36:30 pm
candle >= fox candle > fox I think

I switched to the fox to celebrate Adventures.  Sometime after that it became a candle fox.  Now it is a fox candle.  Eventually it will be a regular candle again.

On an unrelated note, do you remember enough stuff from high school to get a diploma now?  Try this quiz (http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/could-you-possibly-get-a-high-school-diploma-now#.sg818p003) to find out!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 21, 2015, 04:39:54 pm
On an unrelated note, do you remember enough stuff from high school to get a diploma now?  Try this quiz (http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/could-you-possibly-get-a-high-school-diploma-now#.sg818p003) to find out!

8 out of 10! I get a degree!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on October 21, 2015, 04:47:00 pm
I got 9 out of 10, because I didn't recognize the scientist. (though I should have been able to guess) (also this isn't fair because I just graduated high school)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 21, 2015, 04:49:46 pm
I got 1 out of 10  :'(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 21, 2015, 04:56:22 pm
On an unrelated note, do you remember enough stuff from high school to get a diploma now?  Try this quiz (http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/could-you-possibly-get-a-high-school-diploma-now#.sg818p003) to find out!

On a note to self: never click links before checking the URL.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on October 21, 2015, 05:14:03 pm
I got 1 out of 10  :'(

I sincerely hope it wasn't the first one. :)

Edit: typo
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 21, 2015, 05:44:03 pm
I got 1 out of 10  :'(

I sincerely hope it was the first one. :)

it was the one with the rhyme  :c
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 21, 2015, 09:52:25 pm
I got 1 out of 10  :'(

I sincerely hope it was the first one. :)

it was the one with the rhyme  :c

Well, now you have learned that mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. :)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Hugovj on October 22, 2015, 05:17:58 am
You got 10 out of 10 right!
You got your degree!

Much like mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell, you are the powerhouse of this quiz. Like mitochondria.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 22, 2015, 11:47:51 am
I sat there for 10 seconds trying to remember Tim Allen's last name. Then I realized that's not a flaw.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 22, 2015, 12:43:31 pm
On an unrelated note, do you remember enough stuff from high school to get a diploma now?  Try this quiz (http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/could-you-possibly-get-a-high-school-diploma-now#.sg818p003) to find out!

Eh, I think this falls under the category of beating a dead joke.  Like, funny once, OK, funny twice, not really, OK now just stop, it's not funny any more.  This guy probably loved the "I'm not touching you" game with his siblings as a child.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 22, 2015, 01:03:15 pm
On an unrelated note, do you remember enough stuff from high school to get a diploma now?  Try this quiz (http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/could-you-possibly-get-a-high-school-diploma-now#.sg818p003) to find out!

Eh, I think this falls under the category of beating a dead joke.  Like, funny once, OK, funny twice, not really, OK now just stop, it's not funny any more.  This guy probably loved the "I'm not touching you" game with his siblings as a child.

I agree, except that I also think that it straps around to funny again by the end.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 22, 2015, 01:18:57 pm
On an unrelated note, do you remember enough stuff from high school to get a diploma now?  Try this quiz (http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/could-you-possibly-get-a-high-school-diploma-now#.sg818p003) to find out!

Eh, I think this falls under the category of beating a dead joke.  Like, funny once, OK, funny twice, not really, OK now just stop, it's not funny any more.  This guy probably loved the "I'm not touching you" game with his siblings as a child.

I agree, except that I also think that it straps around to funny again by the end.

Something something appropriate xkcd graph about movie badness.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on October 22, 2015, 01:29:56 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WZLJpMOxS4
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 22, 2015, 02:29:46 pm
On an unrelated note, do you remember enough stuff from high school to get a diploma now?  Try this quiz (http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/could-you-possibly-get-a-high-school-diploma-now#.sg818p003) to find out!

Eh, I think this falls under the category of beating a dead joke.  Like, funny once, OK, funny twice, not really, OK now just stop, it's not funny any more.  This guy probably loved the "I'm not touching you" game with his siblings as a child.

Aw, I liked it. If it were 100 questions long, the joke would have worn thin.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 22, 2015, 02:30:25 pm
Wait, there was a joke?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 22, 2015, 08:20:39 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-9OLJggcAk

Lost it at 0:33.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 22, 2015, 11:36:48 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-9OLJggcAk

Lost it at 0:33.

Ah, the Onion.  This is what good satire looks like, folks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on October 23, 2015, 01:44:27 am
I was just watching Pirates of the Caribbean and finally realized who Mystic reminds me of:

(http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32200000/Tia-Dalma-pirates-of-the-caribbean-32250736-200-200.jpg)

(http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/images/3/37/Mystic.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on October 23, 2015, 07:53:43 pm
I just read another person's fan card idea and thought: "No, no, that wouldn't work. What if somebody played a yellow card on me before?"
Then i realized my rules concerns came from my own boardgame and had nothing to do with Dominion.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2015, 08:01:28 pm
I just read another person's fan card idea and thought: "No, no, that wouldn't work. What if somebody played a yellow card on me before?"
Then i realized my rules concerns came from my own boardgame and had nothing to do with Dominion.

Pretty sure Uno has already been done. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 23, 2015, 08:05:22 pm


Lost it at 0:33.

Ah, the Onion.  This is what good satire looks like, folks.

I appreciate that the bell on the horn the women in the restaurant "put out" was bent and misshaped, like she had been doing that regularly.  Either they did a bunch of takes, or they were dedicated to paying attention to detail. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 24, 2015, 01:45:16 am
First time TAing, I have to correct 720 copies in 5 days yaaaaaaay...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on October 24, 2015, 05:10:04 am
I just read another person's fan card idea and thought: "No, no, that wouldn't work. What if somebody played a yellow card on me before?"
Then i realized my rules concerns came from my own boardgame and had nothing to do with Dominion.

Pretty sure Uno has already been done.

Didn't keep Donald from making green VP cards - or the Uno company from doing Uno a million more times.

I'm referring to "yellow cards" because that's the color scheme we use for playtesting, not because that's what they will be called. It has just been rather recently we settled for card names, and i was quoting what i was thinking. The actual card name is "Fata Morgana", in case you want to know (IIt's also in case you don't, actually).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on October 24, 2015, 11:10:53 am
Somebody start a petition against those killing machines!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 24, 2015, 12:50:10 pm
First time TAing, I have to correct 720 copies in 5 days yaaaaaaay...

That's... 144 per day?  Unless each one is a 4-page essay, you should be fine.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on October 24, 2015, 12:51:19 pm
I just read another person's fan card idea and thought: "No, no, that wouldn't work. What if somebody played a yellow card on me before?"
Then i realized my rules concerns came from my own boardgame and had nothing to do with Dominion.

Pretty sure Uno has already been done.

Didn't keep Donald from making green VP cards - or the Uno company from doing Uno a million more times.

Heck, it didn't stop Donald from remaking Uno (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/154479/pina-pirata).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 24, 2015, 07:05:37 pm
First time TAing, I have to correct 720 copies in 5 days yaaaaaaay...

That's... 144 per day?  Unless each one is a 4-page essay, you should be fine.

I'm correcting with an online program. Grading is easy, but putting in any sort of correction is really time consuming. Considering that this is not even my priority number one, I don't know how this is going to go down (hopefully not with a student gunning me down).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 24, 2015, 08:40:40 pm
Holy shit, I just realized that a part of the taste that I associate with toast is actually that the toast makes my mouth bleed a little. I just coincidentally happened to look into a mirror after eating a toast, and then I was like "what's this red stuff in the corner of my mouth, oh it tastes like toast" and then I was like "no wait, wtf, it's blood".

Now I can't untaste it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 24, 2015, 09:19:33 pm
Holy shit, I just realized that a part of the taste that I associate with toast is actually that the toast makes my mouth bleed a little.

I think you might be making toast wrong.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on October 24, 2015, 09:22:24 pm
Holy shit, I just realized that a part of the taste that I associate with toast is actually that the toast makes my mouth bleed a little.

I think you might be making toast wrong.

I think he might be doing dental hygiene wrong.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 24, 2015, 09:28:12 pm
I think he might be doing dental hygiene wrong.

Well, I'm doing it right now, but I just recently started.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on October 25, 2015, 03:12:58 am
I think he might be doing dental hygiene wrong.

Well, I'm doing it right now, but I just recently started.

Plot twist: you weren't actually bleeding; it was jam all along.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on October 25, 2015, 07:12:01 pm
I'm kind of worried about UoS. I feel like he might be... dead or something...

anyone happen to know anything?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on October 25, 2015, 07:21:52 pm
I'm kind of worried about UoS. I feel like he might be... dead or something...

I think it's pretty likely that if he's not dead, he's something.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on October 26, 2015, 07:21:07 pm
He disappeared once before.  He's basically Voltgloss.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on October 26, 2015, 08:48:38 pm
On the topic of people disappearing, I was recently updating a Through the Ages Play By Forum document, and it had Galzria on there. "Huh", I thought to myself. "Galzria hasn't been here on F.DS in a while. Wonder when he stopped coming here." So I looked up his profile. Active: Earlier today. Whoops, guess he wasn't so disappeared after all ::).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 27, 2015, 09:30:23 am
Had a surreal moment on Facebook. I was reminded of a friendship I had with someone with the On This Day feature. This girl was someone I dated very briefly in college. We really had nothing in common, so we drifted apart. Four years ago, she sent me a friend request. The intervening years didn't do anything to give us anything in common, so it was a distant friendship. She mostly played Farmville, and I sometimes read status updates related to that.

So I received this memory to look back on, and I realize I hadn't heard from her in a while. I wondered if she still even did Facebook, so I looked on her wall to see if anything was posted recently. I got past a few birthday posts on her wall but noticed that they were rather somber. It turns out she died of a blood clot in her lung 2 years ago.

I feel kind of bad because we interacted very little. We only reconnected due to a memory of a college romp. So that was a sobering moment for me yesterday.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ichimaru Gin on October 28, 2015, 08:05:40 pm
So. Did anyone make it into Overwatch beta?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on October 28, 2015, 10:34:21 pm
First time TAing, I have to correct 720 copies in 5 days yaaaaaaay...

That's... 144 per day?  Unless each one is a 4-page essay, you should be fine.

I'm correcting with an online program. Grading is easy, but putting in any sort of correction is really time consuming. Considering that this is not even my priority number one, I don't know how this is going to go down (hopefully not with a student gunning me down).

Done... 2h to correct the first 20, 4h to correct the next 80, 10h to grade the final 650. I don't think I am ever going to complain again when I get deducted points in a question without any explanation when I am in a large promotion.

Not like I am going to find myself in that situation again, but still...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on October 29, 2015, 03:53:36 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlKy9JtTYxQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Burning Skull on October 29, 2015, 07:09:18 am
...

I bet yudai214 did this.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 30, 2015, 08:20:50 am
How much of a keyboard user am I? Well, if I realize a typo I made half a sentence later, I will delete several words to get back to that word and retype everything afterward to save myself clicking the mouse twice.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: theory on October 30, 2015, 08:48:23 am
How much of a keyboard user am I? Well, if I realize a typo I made half a sentence later, I will delete several words to get back to that word and retype everything afterward to save myself clicking the mouse twice.
A true keyboard user would use ctrl-left arrow then ctrl-shift-left arrow to fix the typo.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 30, 2015, 09:02:02 am
How much of a keyboard user am I? Well, if I realize a typo I made half a sentence later, I will delete several words to get back to that word and retype everything afterward to save myself clicking the mouse twice.
A true keyboard user would use ctrl-left arrow then ctrl-shift-left arrow to fix the typo.


Yes, but then I have to reach all the way over to the End button to get back to where I was. So far.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: singletee on October 30, 2015, 10:04:36 am
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/real_programmers.png) (https://xkcd.com/378/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on October 30, 2015, 06:07:12 pm
How much of a keyboard user am I? Well, if I realize a typo I made half a sentence later, I will delete several words to get back to that word and retype everything afterward to save myself clicking the mouse twice.
A true keyboard user would use ctrl-left arrow then ctrl-shift-left arrow to fix the typo.


Yes, but then I have to reach all the way over to the End button to get back to where I was. So far.

I was being facetious when I typed that, but I realize that it's true. I'm either in write mode or edit mode. If I switch to edit mode, it takes longer than just repositioning my fingers back on the home row. I have to reboot my creative juices. Press Ctrl + Delete does not interrupt the flow. It is part of my writing process. Maybe I'm just weird that way.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on October 31, 2015, 04:24:45 pm
Sometimes it's really stupid how sometimes, you feel like the answer to a question is online somewhere, but you just can't find it by googling.  In this game I've been making, I've wanted to find the answer to questions like "How much ppm of dust in the air is when it's bad for you?" or "If you fall unconscious, does it rest yourself like sleep?" but I can never find them, and just have to make a wild guess.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: 2.71828..... on October 31, 2015, 05:03:43 pm
Sometimes it's really stupid how sometimes, you feel like the answer to a question is online somewhere, but you just can't find it by googling.  In this game I've been making, I've wanted to find the answer to questions like "How much ppm of dust in the air is when it's bad for you?" or "If you fall unconscious, does it rest yourself like sleep?" but I can never find them, and just have to make a wild guess.

The game is based on the concept of doing different things until you go unconscious, and see who lasts the longest.  Which is why sudgy needs all the details for falling unconscious and dust in the air.  He is trying to make sure his game passes health codes
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on October 31, 2015, 05:15:29 pm
Sometimes it's really stupid how sometimes, you feel like the answer to a question is online somewhere, but you just can't find it by googling.  In this game I've been making, I've wanted to find the answer to questions like "How much ppm of dust in the air is when it's bad for you?" or "If you fall unconscious, does it rest yourself like sleep?" but I can never find them, and just have to make a wild guess.
Being unconscious doesn't rest you like being asleep. Now, possibly you can fall asleep while unconscious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on October 31, 2015, 08:38:18 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/KV6GemY.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: jsh357 on November 01, 2015, 04:28:55 pm
Posting this so others who would appreciate it might appreciate it

https://www.reddit.com/r/dominion/comments/3r22zk/trashed_lots_of_coppers_this_halloween/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 02, 2015, 07:59:32 am
I happened to catch the final play of the World Series. I feel like I've participated enough. Time to get one of those blue-and-white doughnuts that people will undoubtedly bring into work today.

Still sad that Back to the Future failed us. I feel like there should be a meme where Doc and Marty are seeing the display of the Royals winning and fretting about what changed in the past.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 02, 2015, 11:23:17 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJaFAR1x0as&feature=youtu.be
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 03, 2015, 09:22:15 pm
There were an estimated 800k people showing up for the parade for the World Series victory. I can't even imagine most of them seeing anything parade-related.

My workplace was right across the street from ground zero. Fortunately, they closed the building down today, so I got to stay home. I was dreading going into work otherwise.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 04, 2015, 03:26:21 am
(http://i.imgur.com/cADbziS.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 04, 2015, 12:45:13 pm

Anyone feel like making this funnier for me by explaining the joke?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 04, 2015, 01:22:12 pm
Fortune cookie fortune: Don't Panic.

Someone just won everything.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 04, 2015, 02:18:44 pm

Anyone feel like making this funnier for me by explaining the joke?

That dude lives inside our cells and does work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on November 04, 2015, 02:33:18 pm

Anyone feel like making this funnier for me by explaining the joke?

That dude lives inside our cells and does work.

Don't be ridiculous, that guy doesn't work inside our cells.  The joke is that he lives in our cells, but all he ever does is dance; but with some clever editing, it looks like he's actually accomplishing something important.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 04, 2015, 05:32:50 pm

Anyone feel like making this funnier for me by explaining the joke?

Comments here may help:

http://imgur.com/cADbziS
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on November 04, 2015, 08:25:12 pm

Anyone feel like making this funnier for me by explaining the joke?

Comments here may help:

http://imgur.com/cADbziS

And i thought he was dancing to power house music in his powerhouse. Or, as he was doing cell stuff, in the powerhouse of the cell. You know, the Mitochondrion.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 04, 2015, 09:47:32 pm

Anyone feel like making this funnier for me by explaining the joke?

Comments here may help:

http://imgur.com/cADbziS

That... wasn't all that helpful.

The sodium/potassium pump (or Na/K pump) is found in polarizable membranes in your body, so mostly in neurons.  The pump keeps the cell polarized in two ways.  First, it moves sodium out and potassium in, creating a chemical gradient of both ions.  Second, it moves more positive ions in than out, so there's also an electrical gradient across the cell membrane.  One cycle of the pump uses the energy from one molecule of ATP.

I've no idea what's up with the dancing or the lighting.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: WalrusMcFishSr on November 04, 2015, 11:13:27 pm
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/hotline-bling
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 05, 2015, 09:22:44 am

Anyone feel like making this funnier for me by explaining the joke?

Comments here may help:

http://imgur.com/cADbziS

That... wasn't all that helpful.

The sodium/potassium pump (or Na/K pump) is found in polarizable membranes in your body, so mostly in neurons.  The pump keeps the cell polarized in two ways.  First, it moves sodium out and potassium in, creating a chemical gradient of both ions.  Second, it moves more positive ions in than out, so there's also an electrical gradient across the cell membrane.  One cycle of the pump uses the energy from one molecule of ATP.

I've no idea what's up with the dancing or the lighting.

Pretty sure that's exactly what I said:


Anyone feel like making this funnier for me by explaining the joke?

That dude lives inside our cells and does work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: singletee on November 06, 2015, 01:34:02 pm
YouTube Video about Surviving Town Center Fire (https://youtu.be/af2dyK2owCc?t=255)

(If timestamp doesn't work, skip to 4:15)

No knowledge of Age of Empires is needed to enjoy this.

So I got back into Age of Empires II because of this post. Played some against the computer, haven't played online yet. I just wanted to share this vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Czb64v3WMY

Well worth the 2 hours (!) to watch the entire saga IMO.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 06, 2015, 01:37:25 pm
If I had the patience I'd post a handfull of these at a time, like each day for a while, but instead I'll just link this:

http://imgur.com/gallery/taFOK

Edit: Oh, someone made a gif:

(http://i.imgur.com/xLIwSTx.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 06, 2015, 01:47:50 pm
YouTube Video about Surviving Town Center Fire (https://youtu.be/af2dyK2owCc?t=255)

(If timestamp doesn't work, skip to 4:15)

No knowledge of Age of Empires is needed to enjoy this.

So I got back into Age of Empires II because of this post. Played some against the computer, haven't played online yet. I just wanted to share this vid:

Ah, so that's how I ended up watching all those AoE videos over the last few months.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 06, 2015, 02:50:59 pm
If I had the patience I'd post a handfull of these at a time, like each day for a while, but instead I'll just link this:

http://imgur.com/gallery/taFOK

Edit: Oh, someone made a gif:

Nope.  All the nope.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 06, 2015, 04:19:18 pm
Today's Dinosaur Comic is pretty great.

(http://www.qwantz.com/comics/comic2-2907.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 06, 2015, 04:31:58 pm
YouTube Video about Surviving Town Center Fire (https://youtu.be/af2dyK2owCc?t=255)

(If timestamp doesn't work, skip to 4:15)

No knowledge of Age of Empires is needed to enjoy this.

So I got back into Age of Empires II because of this post. Played some against the computer, haven't played online yet. I just wanted to share this vid:

Well worth the 2 hours (!) to watch the entire saga IMO.

I watched that video a number of months back. I can confirm, it's a ridiculous game. I'm pretty sure you can almost tell the story of human civilisation through it as well, if you pick what each player represents carefully.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: A Drowned Kernel on November 09, 2015, 02:03:21 pm
Oh god, it's spreading. (http://smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3921)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 09, 2015, 02:04:02 pm
I AM SO MAD YOU NINJA'D ME
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 09, 2015, 02:04:23 pm
Oh no, an otter one. (http://smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3921)

Fixed that for you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 09, 2015, 02:04:49 pm
I AM SO MAD YOU NINJA'D ME

Well, maybe you otter be faster.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on November 10, 2015, 12:00:13 am
I was reminded of a Laurie Anderson bit from Stories from the Nerve Bible, about Jesse Helms and his reaction to Robert Mapplethorpe's provocative stuff. "We're not going to look at this, and you're not going to look at it either."

I wanted to get the quote right (then didn't post it, no points for guessing where). So I google'd "laurie anderson big black dick" (the name of the piece).

Google made me verify that I wasn't a bot. I didn't know that was a thing. Apparently all the robots want to see Laurie Anderson getting it on, or at least find out what she has to say about Jesse Helms.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 10, 2015, 03:07:59 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iAR1YBLkus
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 10, 2015, 04:10:48 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPQN6V-j2u8
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 10, 2015, 05:57:48 pm
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1561473.html

The Sea Witch defends herself...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 10, 2015, 07:39:08 pm
This weekend is the Midwest GameFest, and I'll be running my D&D adventure where each player is a familiar without his wizard. I'm looking forward to it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 10, 2015, 08:52:16 pm
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/death-metal-music-attracts-sharks-documentary-crew-finds-out-10381295.html

Death metal music attracts great white sharks, which a documentary crew discovered while trying to attract one nicknamed Joan of Shark.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Burning Skull on November 11, 2015, 02:15:10 am
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/death-metal-music-attracts-sharks-documentary-crew-finds-out-10381295.html

Death metal music attracts great white sharks, which a documentary crew discovered while trying to attract one nicknamed Joan of Shark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxMZxbOp8hk
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on November 13, 2015, 03:00:35 pm
(http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/bobby.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 13, 2015, 04:06:21 pm
(https://40.media.tumblr.com/6eefdffe803a56b3a9f24d0957c11cb6/tumblr_nx95bhRlKc1ufq0ayo1_540.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 15, 2015, 04:07:21 am
I've been playing the title theme for Them's Fightin' Herds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHCtGhXCKYI) for the past few days. I can't decide if it's a good song or not; I might be giving it a free pass because it's tangentially related to MLP.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on November 15, 2015, 08:33:24 am
I've been playing the title theme for Them's Fightin' Herds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHCtGhXCKYI) for the past few days. I can't decide if it's a good song or not; I might be giving it a free pass because it's tangentially related to MLP.

I think it's pretty good.

And i just now realized the last two projects i backed have dynamic music systems. TFH and Yooka-Laylee. Ever since Banjo-Kazooie i have loved when games change the instruments based on circumstances.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 15, 2015, 08:37:16 am
(http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/bobby.jpg)

Looks like E.T. has a very literal thinking process. Good grasp of arithmetic, though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 15, 2015, 09:26:10 am

Looks like E.T. has a very literal thinking process. Good grasp of arithmetic, though.

I deduce that a dime is worth more than 7.5 pennies.  I'm not prepared to admit how much more I know.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 15, 2015, 09:36:10 am

Looks like E.T. has a very literal thinking process. Good grasp of arithmetic, though.

I deduce that a dime is worth more than 7.5 pennies.  I'm not prepared to admit how much more I know.

It's got to be 10p. 25p is a quarter, you aren't going to have 20p (too close to 25p) and anything else is too weird.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 15, 2015, 02:55:23 pm

Looks like E.T. has a very literal thinking process. Good grasp of arithmetic, though.

I deduce that a dime is worth more than 7.5 pennies.  I'm not prepared to admit how much more I know.

It's got to be 10p. 25p is a quarter, you aren't going to have 20p (too close to 25p) and anything else is too weird.

It also helps to know that "dime" is distantly related to "decima," i.e. one-tenth (of a dollar).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 16, 2015, 04:30:16 pm
I would have never guessed the connection between dime and decima.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 19, 2015, 03:25:05 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnb7EqfykF4
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 19, 2015, 12:15:28 pm
I would have never guessed the connection between dime and decima.

I guess for that one it again helps to know that what we call a "penny" is properly a "cent," and that we call a tenth of a cent a "mil."  That makes it a bit more obvious.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 20, 2015, 01:29:27 pm
Oops, I forgot today was a pizza party we got for contributing the most in our building to United Way. I went and got lunch anyway.

It's just as well. I don't believe in giving to United Way so missing out on this pizza party was apropos.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on November 20, 2015, 03:05:33 pm
Oops, I forgot today was a pizza party we got for contributing the most in our building to United Way. I went and got lunch anyway.

It's just as well. I don't believe in giving to United Way so missing out on this pizza party was apropos.

At least it wasn't UNICEF.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 20, 2015, 03:21:06 pm
Perhaps this is an appropriate time to mention these people (http://www.givewell.org/).  If your motivation for charitable giving is genuinely helping people, do it right.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 20, 2015, 06:00:39 pm
Perhaps this is an appropriate time to mention these people (http://www.givewell.org/).  If your motivation for charitable giving is genuinely helping people, do it right.

That is a useful site. Thanks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Limetime on November 21, 2015, 01:30:01 pm
1st snow of the year!!!!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 21, 2015, 01:47:24 pm
1st snow of the year!!!!

I too would be this excited if it hadn't snowed in January or February.

I'm kidding, it never snows here. :(
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Burning Skull on November 21, 2015, 04:34:47 pm
1st snow of the year!!!!

Something wet falling from above for the last few days, resulting in ubiquitous formations of some gruesome porridge on the ground. So depressing
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 21, 2015, 04:39:23 pm
the absence of snow is depressing imo. even though snow itself isn't particularly, well, helpful.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 21, 2015, 04:40:54 pm
I hate snow.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on November 22, 2015, 11:50:31 am
So, i have been thinking about doing an online comic. Or rather, i have two ideas for online comics. Sadly, i'm not sure i am a good enough artist. Should i look for somebody who wants to draw my stuff? Where to even start? Or should i try to push myself to do it? Or should i maybe lower my expectations on how flashed-out my stuff has to look? There are a lot of webcomic formats that have a rather minimal style. Problem's just, my story isn't about one-strip jokes. Can i tell an actual story in a relatively simple style? Anybody knows examples that would help me?

I have been carrying the wish to do something like this around for years now. Maybe someone here has an idea. Thank you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 22, 2015, 12:09:19 pm
So, i have been thinking about doing an online comic. Or rather, i have two ideas for online comics. Sadly, i'm not sure i am a good enough artist. Should i look for somebody who wants to draw my stuff? Where to even start? Or should i try to push myself to do it? Or should i maybe lower my expectations on how flashed-out my stuff has to look? There are a lot of webcomic formats that have a rather minimal style. Problem's just, my story isn't about one-strip jokes. Can i tell an actual story in a relatively simple style? Anybody knows examples that would help me?

I have been carrying the wish to do something like this around for years now. Maybe someone here has an idea. Thank you.

Of course, there is xkcd (http://www.xkcd.com/).

And if you think you can't tell a good story with a minimalist style, xkcd's Time (http://geekwagon.net/projects/xkcd1190/) has some disagreeing to do.

Another note, this (http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=1) is how Andrew Hussie, creator of Homestuck, started.

Short answer, you aren't going to be able to improve if you don't do anything.  I would definitely tell you to just go for it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pacovf on November 22, 2015, 12:38:10 pm
From what I've read around, it's extremely hard to find artists for webcomics, because it's really time consuming, and there is no money to be made in the short-mid term. Maybe if you already have a very good friend who also happens to know how to draw, otherwise I wouldn't count on it. You're better off drawing yourself.

Lots of webcomics start with very basic art style and evolve over the years. Gunnerkrigg Court immediately springs to mind as an extreme example, but things like Questionable Content or Order of the Stick experienced very noticeable improvements too.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 22, 2015, 03:18:47 pm
Lot of webcomic artists will tell you to just do it.  If you have good story or good jokes, the art will hardly matter.  The practice of putting out a comic consistently will increase your drawing skill naturally.

Dinosaur Comics (http://qwantz.com) is a great example of a fun and funny web comic with virtually no artistic work needed at all.

A Softer World (http://www.asofterworld.com/) was another popular (and award-winning!) web comic that used somewhat abstract photography for a very different feel.

Depending on your story, you may not be able to get away with using the same image every week or using photography.  But you could probably make it work with just geometric shapes for different characters.  Art shouldn't be what stops you.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 22, 2015, 03:50:11 pm
http://imgur.com/gallery/4xPUS (http://imgur.com/gallery/4xPUS)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 23, 2015, 05:00:29 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/sJBnNLU.jpg) (http://imgur.com/gallery/sJBnNLU)

https://github.com/narkoz/hacker-scripts
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 23, 2015, 10:48:26 pm
Still not as cool as Mel the Real Programmer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 24, 2015, 05:03:03 pm
If you're in the UK, xkcd is doing some sort of puzzle treasure hunt thing.  Check it out? (http://blog.xkcd.com/2015/11/24/a-puzzle-for-the-uk/)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 24, 2015, 11:00:20 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL_6S94DuOM
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on November 24, 2015, 11:15:17 pm
If you're in the UK, xkcd is doing some sort of puzzle treasure hunt thing.  Check it out? (http://blog.xkcd.com/2015/11/24/a-puzzle-for-the-uk/)

I'm not in the UK, so xkcd isn't doing a puzzle treasure hunt thing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 24, 2015, 11:25:56 pm
If you're in the UK, xkcd is doing some sort of puzzle treasure hunt thing.  Check it out? (http://blog.xkcd.com/2015/11/24/a-puzzle-for-the-uk/)

I'm not in the UK, so xkcd isn't doing a puzzle treasure hunt thing.

Wrong; it was not an "if and only if" statement. However, we can infer that if xkcd isn't doing some sort of puzzle treasure hunt thing, then you must not be in the UK.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 25, 2015, 04:50:05 am
I don't want the world.

I just want your half.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 25, 2015, 07:48:50 am
I don't want the world.

I just want your half.

I've always loved that line. It sounds so innocuous at first, but the implication that the world is split in halves and that you can take one is horrifying.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on November 25, 2015, 01:19:56 pm
That disappointing moment when you see someone talking about why it'd be awesome to look at the full moon this weekend, and it's just astrology mumbo-jumbo.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2015, 09:40:10 am
So you guys seen this yet?

http://xkcd.com/1608/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 26, 2015, 10:00:33 am
So you guys seen this yet?

http://xkcd.com/1608/


"Use a proposition instead of a preposition if you need something to end a sentence with, baby."
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 26, 2015, 11:43:27 am
So you guys seen this yet?

http://xkcd.com/1608/

window.i.am.gandalf = true;
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 27, 2015, 01:55:32 pm
(https://49.media.tumblr.com/9d49c7e3c1885fa102855919876b0804/tumblr_nx5nb399bA1s02vreo1_500.gif)
(https://45.media.tumblr.com/6ca6e5ef5662996b9f1fd70e8ac6f3bf/tumblr_nx5nb399bA1s02vreo4_500.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on November 27, 2015, 02:20:12 pm
So you guys seen this yet?

http://xkcd.com/1608/

As much as I would like to find all the easter eggs, I just don't have the time for it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 27, 2015, 02:48:37 pm
So you guys seen this yet?

http://xkcd.com/1608/

As much as I would like to find all the easter eggs, I just don't have the time for it.

Some times you just have to reprioritize. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 27, 2015, 02:49:49 pm
So you guys seen this yet?

http://xkcd.com/1608/

As much as I would like to find all the easter eggs, I just don't have the time for it.

I found everything but the floating island my first time!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 27, 2015, 04:19:46 pm
So you guys seen this yet?

http://xkcd.com/1608/

As much as I would like to find all the easter eggs, I just don't have the time for it.

I found everything but the floating island my first time!

How do you know you found everything?  Is there a definitive list?  Is this map (http://1101b.com/xkcd1608/) confirmed to be complete?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 27, 2015, 05:01:06 pm
So you guys seen this yet?

http://xkcd.com/1608/

As much as I would like to find all the easter eggs, I just don't have the time for it.

I found everything but the floating island my first time!

How do you know you found everything?  Is there a definitive list?  Is this map (http://1101b.com/xkcd1608/) confirmed to be complete?

I saw maps that I'm pretty sure were generated by some program that looked through it all itself.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 27, 2015, 06:13:20 pm
I don't think there's a way to be completely sure though.  The game is programmed by trying to fetch an image corresponding to the player's coordinate position, and it's just blank white if no image is found.  The game has horizontal boundaries but not vertical; you can just keep jumping up forever.  Most of it will just be whitespace.  The people who auto-generated maps would have found a lot of empty space and decided to call it quits after some reasonable time, but there's still a small chance that Randall would have hidden some image way high up past what anybody would reasonably search.

On an unrelated note,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ3pU-saMLQ
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on November 27, 2015, 06:18:07 pm
So you guys seen this yet?

http://xkcd.com/1608/

Woah you get to see the whole world things from that other XKCD if you leave the box?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on November 27, 2015, 09:15:01 pm
I remember hearing that the coordinates of all of the coins is in the source code, and they're all in that area.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 28, 2015, 06:25:50 am
So you guys seen this yet?

http://xkcd.com/1608/

Woah you get to see the whole world things from that other XKCD if you leave the box?

It's not the same world.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 28, 2015, 07:06:56 am
I can't seem to figure out the controls.  I gave up the first time after repeatedly getting stuck on the right hand wall.   I'm glad people posted here so that I know it's worth persevering with: can anybody offer more specific instructions than simultaneously bashing both the arrow keys and WASD and hoping for the best?

I picked up the Microsoft RTS bundle in the Steam sale.  I played AoE2 and Rise of Nations the first time round, but AoE3 and Age of Mythology are new to me.  Sadly AoE2 HD means fixed size sprites at native monitor resolution, which is basically unplayable on a 3200x1800 13 inch laptop screen, so I'll probably wait a few more years before I get to actually play it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: markusin on November 28, 2015, 10:47:21 am
I can't seem to figure out the controls.  I gave up the first time after repeatedly getting stuck on the right hand wall.   I'm glad people posted here so that I know it's worth persevering with: can anybody offer more specific instructions than simultaneously bashing both the arrow keys and WASD and hoping for the best?

I picked up the Microsoft RTS bundle in the Steam sale.  I played AoE2 and Rise of Nations the first time round, but AoE3 and Age of Mythology are new to me.  Sadly AoE2 HD means fixed size sprites at native monitor resolution, which is basically unplayable on a 3200x1800 13 inch laptop screen, so I'll probably wait a few more years before I get to actually play it.

So far I've only tried it on mobile. The controls still suck on mobile. Pretty badly actually. The controls made me give up once I got too far into the caves.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 28, 2015, 02:56:22 pm
Pokemon or Big Data? (http://pixelastic.github.io/pokemonorbigdata/)  Probably easy for this crowd.

I should credit SlateStarCodex (http://slatestarcodex.com/).  If you want to be convince of Scott's genius try this recent gem (http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/10/15/it-was-you-who-made-my-blue-eyes-blue/).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on November 28, 2015, 03:41:59 pm
Witnessed a proposal at the park today.  First time I've seen one.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on November 28, 2015, 04:51:03 pm
Pokemon or Big Data? (http://pixelastic.github.io/pokemonorbigdata/)  Probably easy for this crowd.

I know nothing about Big Data, yet was somehow able to easily get 100% on this quiz.


Gotta catch 'em all.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 28, 2015, 07:40:11 pm
Pokemon or Big Data? (http://pixelastic.github.io/pokemonorbigdata/)  Probably easy for this crowd.

Super easy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 28, 2015, 08:15:34 pm
Pokemon or Big Data? (http://pixelastic.github.io/pokemonorbigdata/)  Probably easy for this crowd.

I got 53%  :(

I only played g1 and in german, but I still expected to get more. They all sound like pokemon!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 29, 2015, 12:00:39 am
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/21/beer-gut-mans-belly-brews-own-beer/

Auto-brewery syndrome, a condition which causes fermentation in your stomach whenever you eat a lot of carbs, causing you to get drunk even though you haven't had a drop of alcohol to drink.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: assemble_me on November 29, 2015, 09:04:04 am
For all the otter friends around

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO5VxVDmsG4
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Burning Skull on November 29, 2015, 10:04:42 am
Pokemon or Big Data? (http://pixelastic.github.io/pokemonorbigdata/)  Probably easy for this crowd.

http://ikeaordeath.com/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 29, 2015, 12:20:14 pm
Does someone know an online calculator who computes the parameters of a function based on a number of sample values?

e.g. I say f(x) = a + b *x and f(0) = 10 and f(1) = 12 and he tells me a = 10 and b = 2

I'm pretty sure it has to be there but I can't find one. Maybe I don't know how to phrase it correctly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 29, 2015, 01:06:10 pm
Does someone know an online calculator who computes the parameters of a function based on a number of sample values?

e.g. I say f(x) = a + b *x and f(0) = 10 and f(1) = 12 and he tells me a = 10 and b = 2

I'm pretty sure it has to be there but I can't find one. Maybe I don't know how to phrase it correctly.

Try googling "online polynomial interpolator".  I'm sure Wolfram Alpha has one, and I would guess other sites do as well as the problem is trivial.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on November 29, 2015, 02:32:10 pm
Pokemon or Big Data? (http://pixelastic.github.io/pokemonorbigdata/)  Probably easy for this crowd.

http://ikeaordeath.com/

55%
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sitnaltax on November 29, 2015, 02:42:36 pm
Does someone know an online calculator who computes the parameters of a function based on a number of sample values?

e.g. I say f(x) = a + b *x and f(0) = 10 and f(1) = 12 and he tells me a = 10 and b = 2

I'm pretty sure it has to be there but I can't find one. Maybe I don't know how to phrase it correctly.

Looks like trying to solve a system of linear equations?

http://wims.unice.fr/wims/wims.cgi?session=0A0E929B69.5&+lang=en&+module=tool%2Flinear%2Flinsolver.en&+method=coef&+cmd=resume
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 29, 2015, 03:54:07 pm
Does someone know an online calculator who computes the parameters of a function based on a number of sample values?

e.g. I say f(x) = a + b *x and f(0) = 10 and f(1) = 12 and he tells me a = 10 and b = 2

I'm pretty sure it has to be there but I can't find one. Maybe I don't know how to phrase it correctly.

Looks like trying to solve a system of linear equations?

http://wims.unice.fr/wims/wims.cgi?session=0A0E929B69.5&+lang=en&+module=tool%2Flinear%2Flinsolver.en&+method=coef&+cmd=resume


No, it isn't. It's taking a series of n points and generating the unique (n-1)th order polynomial that passes those points.

I worked out a way to do it for 3 points once, and have seen a way to generalise it to n points, although it's pretty time consuming. If you only have one or two equations you want to fit to I can probably explain the method for it if you'd like.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 29, 2015, 04:00:34 pm
Looks like trying to solve a system of linear equations?

http://wims.unice.fr/wims/wims.cgi?session=0A0E929B69.5&+lang=en&+module=tool%2Flinear%2Flinsolver.en&+method=coef&+cmd=resume

No, it isn't. It's taking a series of n points and generating the unique (n-1)th order polynomial that passes those points.

It kind of is: when you put in your n values of x you get n linear equations for the n coefficients.  And looking at them as a system of linear equations also tells you why you can't always expect a unique solution, and why degree n-2 is not going to suffice in general.

Edit: Anyone ever wanted to know what transcendental actually means?  Think of all the numbers you can write down of the form a_n x^n + a_{n-1} x^{n-1} + ... + a_1 x + a_0, where the a_n are integers and n can be as large as you like.  If you never get the same number in two different ways then x is transcendental.  A fun consequence of this is that, because pi is transcendental, if you want to check whether two polynomials (defined in some complicated way that you maybe don't even know exactly) are equal "all" you have to do is check whether they agree at pi. 
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 29, 2015, 04:10:51 pm
Guys it's trivial.  The unique Nth degree polynomial passing through (x0, y0), ..., (xN,yN) is

L_N(X) = (x-x1)...(x-xN)/((x0-x1)(x0-x2)...(x0-xN))y0 + (x-x0)(x-x2)...(x-xN)/((x1-x0)(x1-x2)...(x1-xN))y1 + ... + (x-x0)(x-x1)...(x-x{N-1})/((xN-x1)(xN-x2)...(xN-x{N-1}))yN

Expand and collect to get the form you want.  Still trivial to determine coefficients.

Edit: Fixed, typing on phone
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 29, 2015, 04:17:00 pm
It kind of is: when you put in your n values of x you get n linear equations for the n coefficients.  And looking at them as a system of linear equations also tells you why you can't always expect a unique solution, and why degree n-2 is not going to suffice in general.

The only case I can think of where you won't get a unique n-1th order polynomial is where two points have the say c co-ordinate - and in that case no polynomial (of you form y = ax^(n-1) + ... + c) will work. Maybe there's some weird stuff in higher order polynomials I'm overlooking but I don't think there is. As for the system of linear equations, yeah, that's one way to derive the solutions, I think, but it's not what's being asked for.

PPE: What Witherweaver just posted might well work. Although his definition of 'trivial' seems to not match up with my own, because that looks far from obvious that it's correct.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Limetime on November 29, 2015, 04:20:21 pm
BTW: Where did WanderingWinder go?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 29, 2015, 04:20:47 pm
You can directly set up a system if linear equations for the coefficients a0, ..., an for

f(X) = a0+ a1x + a2x^2+...+ aNx^N

but this requires solving an N+1 by N+1 system, and its quite ill conditioned (believe it's called the Van Der Wol matrix or something)

Form I wrote (Legendre) is much better because you immediately can just write it down.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 29, 2015, 04:23:17 pm
It's obvious because plug in each point.  Each term isolates exactly yi when x=xi, because all the other terms are zero, and denominator makes the yi multiplier 1.

There is only one Nth degree poly passing through N+1 points.  This is easy to show as well.  Since L_N does it, L_N is THE unique ibterpolant
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 29, 2015, 04:23:58 pm
Witherweaver's answer is trivial in the sense that it is easy to write down a polynomial of degree n-1 that vanishes at n-1 given points, and appropriately scaled versions of these (over all (n-1)-subsets of the n points you're interested in) will attain the desired values at each point.

Edit: And Tables is right that the polys are unique, as the difference of two examples has at least n roots, so must be the zero poly.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on November 29, 2015, 04:28:26 pm
Okay. Okay okay okay. I'm TAing a course right now where we actually teach polynomial interpolation. I'M QUALIFIED TO POST THINGS ON THE INTERNET.

If you have n points, one option is to say f(x) = a_0 + a_1x + a_2x^2 + ... + a_{n-1}x^{n-1}. That gives you n different variables in the coefficients, and n different equations through the points (x_1,y_1), ... , (x_n,y_n). You can then solve that system of equations.

Alternatively, you can use the thing Witherweaver is talking about, which is Lagrange interpolation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagrange_polynomial). The idea is that for every point (x_i, y_i), you define a polynomial f_i(x) such that
If you know f_i(x) for each i, then the polynomial

f(x) = y_1 f_1(x) + y_2 f_2(x) + ... + y_n f_n(x)

passes through all the n points.

Then, you can derive each f_i(x) through inspection. The way we define it, we want a polynomial with n-1 roots, and we know the value at x_i is 1, so you can write it as

f_i(x) = (x-x_1)(x-x_2)...(x-x_{i-1})(x-x_{i+1})....(x-x_n) * (1 / (x_i - x_1)(x_i-x_2) ... (x_i-x_n))

For any N points, there is exactly one polynomial of degree up to n-1 that goes through those points. At least one exists by the method above. If f(x) and g(x) go through the same n points and are both degree <= n-1, then f(x) - g(x) has n roots and is of degree <= n-1, which is only possible if f(x) - g(x) = 0.

PPE: I've been ninjaed by all the other math people here.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 29, 2015, 04:32:53 pm
I taught Numerical Analysis three or four times in grad school.. we covered interpolation quite heavily.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: ashersky on November 29, 2015, 04:34:23 pm
Okay. Okay okay okay. I'm TAing a course right now where we actually teach polynomial interpolation. I'M QUALIFIED TO POST THINGS ON THE INTERNET.

If you have n points, one option is to say f(x) = a_0 + a_1x + a_2x^2 + ... + a_{n-1}x^{n-1}. That gives you n different variables in the coefficients, and n different equations through the points (x_1,y_1), ... , (x_n,y_n). You can then solve that system of equations.

Alternatively, you can use the thing Witherweaver is talking about, which is Lagrange interpolation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagrange_polynomial). The idea is that for every point (x_i, y_i), you define a polynomial f_i(x) such that
  • f_i(x_j) = 0 for all j not equal to i
  • f_i(x_i) = 1
If you know f_i(x) for each i, then the polynomial

f(x) = y_1 f_1(x) + y_2 f_2(x) + ... + y_n f_n(x)

passes through all the n points.

Then, you can derive each f_i(x) through inspection. The way we define it, we want a polynomial with n-1 roots, and we know the value at x_i is 1, so you can write it as

f_i(x) = (x-x_1)(x-x_2)...(x-x_{i-1})(x-x_{i+1})....(x-x_n) * (1 / (x_i - x_1)(x_i-x_2) ... (x_i-x_n))

For any N points, there is exactly one polynomial of degree up to n-1 that goes through those points. At least one exists by the method above. If f(x) and g(x) go through the same n points and are both degree <= n-1, then f(x) - g(x) has n roots and is of degree <= n-1, which is only possible if f(x) - g(x) = 0.

PPE: I've been ninjaed by all the other math people here.

And I have a degree in creative writing, so...try again.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 29, 2015, 04:38:25 pm
Ah, yeah, I see how the formula works now. Lack of proper formatting due to being a forum made it a bit hard to see that was what was going on, but yeah it's not much effort to see that works. Takes a little bit more effort to prove it's unique but not especially hard I think.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: liopoil on November 29, 2015, 04:39:45 pm
Guys it turns out that the forum supportssuperscripts andsubscripts!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on November 29, 2015, 04:41:22 pm
Perhaps the numerical analysts would also like to explain why interpolation is a really bad way of approximating a function by a polynomial in practice due to overfitting...

Edit: Let's not be lazy.  Note that interpolation through n points is really bad way of approximating a function by a polynomial of degree n-1 due to overfitting.  By making sure you hit the value bang on at those n points you've used up all your degrees of freedom, so have no control of how closely you approximate the function away from the n special points.  Now I think I will leave the better alternatives to the numerical analysts.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 29, 2015, 04:42:58 pm
Guys it turns out that the forum supportssuperscripts andsubscripts!

That was hard enough to post on my phone!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on November 29, 2015, 04:46:45 pm
Perhaps the numerical analysts would also like to explain why interpolation is a really bad way of approximating a function by a polynomial in practice due to overfitting...

Well its bad because of the shape.  To fit N points you have an N+1 degree poly, which means (generally), N "wiggles" (changes of direction).  The thing you're fitting probably does not have that structure.

Piecewise poly interp (spline) is better, or if you need it just very near a point, take the Taylor poly.  Or you can fit some combination if function and derivative values at the point.

Can also consider regression (e.g., least squares best fit line).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: scott_pilgrim on November 29, 2015, 05:02:54 pm
BTW: Where did WanderingWinder go?

He's just been posting on all his other accounts.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on November 30, 2015, 05:48:29 pm
A lot of Nintendo fans online seem to enjoy complaining about NoA (Nintendo of America) being slow to do everything and generally worse all around compared to NoJ and NoE (Nintendo of Japan and Europe respectively). And I'm just sitting here in Europe, hoping NoE will put Xenoblade Chronicles X up for pre-buying and downloading before it's release date, which NoA did the best part of a month ago (along with free DLC data packs to speed up play if you're using the disk version, which NoE have just now put up today). And this of course after announcing the release date for the game about 2 1/2 months later than NoA did - despite the game ending up with the same release date. NoJ also made like NoA, although the game came out 8 months ago there (but data packs and pre-buy were also up a month before release, give or take).

It's not just XBX though - you also have a lot of games which tend to come out weeks or even months later in Europe than America, and it's been that way for decades. It's been a lot better recently, with us even getting a decent number of games a few weeks ahead of America (e.g. I think we got Yoshi's Wolly World slightly earlier), but we're still usually on the back foot, both for news of dates and release times. And the quality of news tends to be really bad as well. Just check out this guy's impressive confident body language (https://youtu.be/RcgxbB1BB9E?t=1148) and ability to pronounce the name of one of Nintendo's biggest franchies (https://youtu.be/RcgxbB1BB9E?t=1437). Yeah.

This is a game I'm super hyped to get, which is a pretty hefty download at 23GB, so I'd really like to get it downloaded in advance and not have to hope it can download and install in one night and work day before I get home. But NoE is going to do this to me by the looks of things. Sigh.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on November 30, 2015, 07:48:32 pm
apropos to nothing:

(http://netdna.walyou.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/09/Game-of-thrones-meme-242x300.jpg)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on December 02, 2015, 04:43:04 pm
A video that's rather amusing if watched from a certain point for about 10 seconds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh3GnmFSkeY&feature=youtu.be&t=157 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh3GnmFSkeY&feature=youtu.be&t=157)

The whole video is good if you're into AoE but this bit made me laugh. And if you're wondering what just happened watch from about 1:50.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 03, 2015, 01:05:23 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS-ErOKpO4E
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 03, 2015, 01:15:59 am
The whole video is good if you're into AoE but this bit made me laugh.

What if I'm not into area of effect?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on December 03, 2015, 02:22:16 am
The whole video is good if you're into AoE but this bit made me laugh.

What if I'm not into area of effect?

Then don't research Warwolf.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 03, 2015, 11:51:09 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/Y2XIXpe.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Qvist on December 04, 2015, 03:33:00 pm
I'm amazed that this is possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMH3wLuR9f0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: JW on December 05, 2015, 11:58:47 am
BTW: Where did WanderingWinder go?

He started a blog that discusses mainly Dominion strategy (but also Magic the Gathering) around the time he stopped posting on the forums: http://wanderingwindergames.blogspot.com/
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pubby on December 06, 2015, 12:23:57 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrKMiE9WII0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 06, 2015, 07:30:17 am
(http://41.media.tumblr.com/822b5c515140737682ad1f95733fc562/tumblr_nyhp1tGvkC1rjggr6o1_1280.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on December 06, 2015, 08:47:38 pm
(http://41.media.tumblr.com/822b5c515140737682ad1f95733fc562/tumblr_nyhp1tGvkC1rjggr6o1_1280.png)
I get:

i slept with someone in fall out boy lyrics
i slept in spanish
i slept in
i slept with my best friend
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 07, 2015, 09:58:58 am
Skullcrusher Mountain: The ultimate "nice guy" song.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 07, 2015, 11:05:22 am
Skullcrusher Mountain: The ultimate "nice guy" song.

Hey, even his henchmen think he's crazy.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on December 07, 2015, 11:16:59 am
(http://41.media.tumblr.com/822b5c515140737682ad1f95733fc562/tumblr_nyhp1tGvkC1rjggr6o1_1280.png)
I get:

i slept with someone in fall out boy lyrics
i slept in spanish
i slept in
i slept with my best friend

I get those 4, too.

Awaclus, what did you do?  ???
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 07, 2015, 11:17:44 am
Awaclus, what did you do?  ???

It's from Google Poetics and they have been inactive for a while before they just recently started posting again, it might be pretty old.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 07, 2015, 11:20:38 am
But if we all Google those specific phrases enough times, then the algorithm will bring them back to the top so that joke never gets old.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: singletee on December 07, 2015, 11:40:35 am
(http://i.imgur.com/dpAGjq3.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Awaclus on December 07, 2015, 11:49:14 am
But if we all Google those specific phrases enough times, then the algorithm will bring them back to the top so that joke never gets old.

It's not a joke, it's a poem.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 07, 2015, 11:52:52 am
But if we all Google those specific phrases enough times, then the algorithm will bring them back to the top so that joke never gets old.

It's not a joke, it's a poem.

All the best poems are jokes. Why, there once was a man from Nantucket…
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 07, 2015, 04:05:48 pm
But if we all Google those specific phrases enough times, then the algorithm will bring them back to the top so that joke never gets old.

It's not a joke, it's a poem.

All the best poems are jokes. Why, there once was a man from Nantucket…

Something something something Boston?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on December 09, 2015, 03:53:35 pm
I asked someone how many seconds there were in six weeks. He correctly replied "There's 10!"

Also one of my colleagues in the maths department was arrested today. They think he's part of the Al Gebra network, and might have been smuggling in weapons of maths construction. If he's found guilty he's going to be sent to prism.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Watno on December 09, 2015, 03:59:36 pm
I asked someone how many seconds there were in six weeks. He correctly replied "There's 10!"

Someone make this funnier pls. I don't get it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 09, 2015, 04:01:08 pm
I asked someone how many seconds there were in six weeks. He correctly replied "There's 10!"

Neat.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 09, 2015, 04:31:13 pm
I asked someone how many seconds there were in six weeks. He correctly replied "There's 10!"

Someone make this funnier pls. I don't get it.

These jokes always mess me up.  Factorials man (https://www.google.ca/search?q=10!+seconds+in+weeks&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=lZ1oVtm-DpfKjwPHu7iABw).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on December 09, 2015, 05:38:18 pm
woah
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Tables on December 09, 2015, 05:52:25 pm
Factorials can be pretty fun.
9! seconds is a little more than 4 days.
11! seconds is over a year and 3 months.
16! seconds is about three times the current lifespan of humanity (homo sapiens)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 10, 2015, 07:37:15 am
I asked someone how many seconds there were in six weeks. He correctly replied "There's 10!"

I liked that joke! I give it 4.9 out of 5!

Or maybe I didn't like it that much after all!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 13, 2015, 12:02:12 am
Have any of you ever found a good use for gotos?  I just had this type of thing happen in my code:

Code: [Select]
for loop {
    if condition {
        do stuff
        goto end
    }
}
other for loop {
    if other condition {
        do other stuff
        goto end
    }
}
another for loop {
    if another condition {
        do another stuff
        goto end
    }
}
end:
do some more stuff

I can't see a way to make this simpler and more readable without gotos...
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 13, 2015, 01:19:36 am
I suppose you could nest the loops, but I would definitely say that it's more readable with the gotos.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 13, 2015, 02:22:10 am
Are the for loops related in any way?  This seems like the sort of thing that would usually be taken care of by break(n);
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 13, 2015, 02:49:01 am
Are the for loops related in any way?  This seems like the sort of thing that would usually be taken care of by break(n);

Not really, it's basically trying to do one thing, and if that fails, it does another, and if that fails, then another.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 13, 2015, 03:00:37 am
Are the for loops related in any way?  This seems like the sort of thing that would usually be taken care of by break(n);

Not really, it's basically trying to do one thing, and if that fails, it does another, and if that fails, then another.

So, this?

loop 1
   if success
      break
end loop

if not success
   loop 2
      if success
         break
   end loop

if not success
   loop 3
      if success
         break
   end loop



Or it may be better to throw and catch errors.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on December 13, 2015, 07:17:40 am
Or it may be better to throw and catch errors.

Yes.  sudgy, this is a very common pattern, and people who think gotos are dangerous designed language features exactly for your situation.  If you're in a language without exceptions (which is what this feature is normally called) try looking up the standard work around.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on December 13, 2015, 07:52:41 am
You could put everything from the first for loop to just before end into a separate function, then replace all the gotos with returns. Depends on what exactly you're doing though.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: LastFootnote on December 13, 2015, 09:26:50 am
If you are in e.g. Java (and you don't consider a failure within the loops to be exception-worthy), then what you want it this:

Code: [Select]
label: {
    for loop {
        if condition {
            do stuff
            break label
        }
    }
    other for loop {
        if other condition {
            do other stuff
            break label
        }
    }
    another for loop {
        if another condition {
            do another stuff
            break label
        }
    }
}
do some more stuff

You don't have to have a while, for, if, etc. in order to throw up some brackets. You can just surround all the loops in one set of brackets, label that block of code, and then break out of the entire block by referencing the label.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on December 13, 2015, 09:36:08 am
I use goto in DOS batch files and the original BASIC language. The latter I have not touched in probably a decade or more. In the former I still write one or three a year. I write in several other languages and goto is something I would never even think of doing.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 13, 2015, 03:25:43 pm
It's c++, so I can't use break label.

I've heard people saying that exceptions can be performance heavy (or something like that), and I usually only use exceptions for actual errors.  I think the if not success way is more confusing and less readable than gotos.

As I said, I can't find a simpler and more readable way to write it.  I already thought of most of these ways, but I think using goto in this case is just more readable (at least more than all of these options).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 13, 2015, 04:08:04 pm
Hanabi becomes much, much harder when all the 1s in two suits are in the bottom half of the deck...

Edit:  Oh, and four of the 5s are in our hands already.  (Online game obviously)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on December 13, 2015, 04:17:40 pm
It's c++, so I can't use break label.

I've heard people saying that exceptions can be performance heavy (or something like that), and I usually only use exceptions for actual errors.  I think the if not success way is more confusing and less readable than gotos.

As I said, I can't find a simpler and more readable way to write it.  I already thought of most of these ways, but I think using goto in this case is just more readable (at least more than all of these options).

Are you sure the logic can't be switched?  You have to run each loop separately?
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 13, 2015, 09:14:12 pm
Hanabi becomes much, much harder when all the 1s in two suits are in the bottom half of the deck...

Edit:  Oh, and four of the 5s are in our hands already.  (Online game obviously)

I've put aside my deck of cards and play with the tiles, so this comment confused me at first.

That scenario is exactly why I don't like the rules as written. It seems like you are really hoping that the last 1s and 2s are not at the bottom of the deck. I think even the last 3s could be problematic.

So I play where we go through all the cards/tiles based on one of the variants, but we don't declare the game over if we lock ourselves out.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on December 13, 2015, 11:51:50 pm
It's c++, so I can't use break label.

I've heard people saying that exceptions can be performance heavy (or something like that), and I usually only use exceptions for actual errors.  I think the if not success way is more confusing and less readable than gotos.

As I said, I can't find a simpler and more readable way to write it.  I already thought of most of these ways, but I think using goto in this case is just more readable (at least more than all of these options).
Have you considered using self-modifying code?

It would be easier to make fun of your program if you provided actual code. As it stands I recommend making a function for "do a loop but stop if a condition is met and do special stuff then, with a return value telling you if the condition happened." I mean you do it 3 times there.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 14, 2015, 12:05:52 am
Have you considered using self-modifying code?

Is that... a thing?  I mean, I assume you're not talking about some sort of AI programmer, and I feel like I've heard the concept before... but I'm not certain what that means.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: XerxesPraelor on December 14, 2015, 12:10:29 am
It's c++, so I can't use break label.

I've heard people saying that exceptions can be performance heavy (or something like that), and I usually only use exceptions for actual errors.  I think the if not success way is more confusing and less readable than gotos.

As I said, I can't find a simpler and more readable way to write it.  I already thought of most of these ways, but I think using goto in this case is just more readable (at least more than all of these options).

I am probably at about your level or maybe a little lower, but the way I'd do it is make helper bool functions, pass everything in, and then use ||. Feel free to make fun of this too.

Have you considered using self-modifying code?

Is that... a thing?  I mean, I assume you're not talking about some sort of AI programmer, and I feel like I've heard the concept before... but I'm not certain what that means.
I think it's a common example of something that will mess your program really badly if you don't do it exactly right, and so shouldn't be done.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Titandrake on December 14, 2015, 03:10:09 am
Have you considered using self-modifying code?

Is that... a thing?  I mean, I assume you're not talking about some sort of AI programmer, and I feel like I've heard the concept before... but I'm not certain what that means.

It's a thing, but if you actually use it for anything people have the right to punch you in the head, because understanding what it does is so difficult.

The core idea is that in the end, everything breaks down to 0s and 1s arranged in a particular way. That image file is a sequence of bits describing pixel color values. This song file is a sequence of bits describing what frequencies to play at what time. Thus, if you're clever enough about it, there's no reason you can't interpret the same binary data in two different ways. Effectively, that means your program can write some data somewhere, treat that data as code, and start running from there.

Edit: A complicated example of this is http://web.mit.edu/puzzle/www/2014/puzzle/puzzle_with_answer_rice/, where each step modifies the behaviors of other steps.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on December 14, 2015, 08:03:42 pm
question: if I walk through an empty land and I come across some kind of structure, is that a 'change in geography?' Also, is it a 'change in landscape?' Also, is the 'change in' phrasing even correct for the latter?

I think the answers are yes / no / yes, but I'm not sure.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 14, 2015, 08:22:15 pm
No, no, sometimes.  "Change of [landscape|geography|venue]" is more common in English.

A single structure is a change of neither landscape nor geography.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: silverspawn on December 14, 2015, 08:57:09 pm
I see, thanks.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Donald X. on December 15, 2015, 04:21:52 am
Have you considered using self-modifying code?

Is that... a thing?  I mean, I assume you're not talking about some sort of AI programmer, and I feel like I've heard the concept before... but I'm not certain what that means.
I have seen it used.

It was easy to do when everything was in machine language. You have a program in 6502; it's just a bunch of hexadecimals. Your assembler translated LDA #0 to A9 00 and that's that. Your program is at some specific address in memory - it was very rare to have code that could execute from some random address. So, if your code isn't firmware, you can modify a byte to be a different instruction, or different data value or address, and then the code will do different things.

In practice it is really really bad to do this. Odds are your program is now impossible to debug. Odds are that whatever you were accomplishing, there was a better way to do it. The guy I saw using it, he didn't understand how indirect addressing worked. So he used direct addressing and modified the addresses in the code on the fly. He was bad. Later he was fired.

These days, self-modifying code has the additional problem of, your processor may be constantly trying to cache things to speed up. It caches the code, you modify it, it didn't modify it in the cache, now your code doesn't work.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: AdamH on December 15, 2015, 08:35:58 am
As I said, I can't find a simpler and more readable way to write it.  I already thought of most of these ways, but I think using goto in this case is just more readable (at least more than all of these options).

When I was in school, they said never use goto for any reason, you can always do without them and they're evil. I know why they teach you this, because if you don't use gotos properly your code turns into spaghetti. I don't get why they don't teach you the proper way to use gotos, though, that seems kinda wak.

The moment I stepped into the professional world, I was writing these nested for loops and everyone was all "what is this I can't even." They told me to use gotos to make the code more readable. I spit hot fire back "what if I write it in a function and use multiple returns, yo?" and they were like "you can do that, cuz, but I'd rather you just use gotos."

If you aren't allowed to use gotos, then that's silly, but I guess you aren't. The next best thing is multiple return statements, and after that you have to use the Nested Loops Of Sadness™ (NLOS).
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 15, 2015, 09:52:30 am
If you aren't allowed to use gotos, then that's silly, but I guess you aren't. The next best thing is multiple return statements, and after that you have to use the Nested Loops Of Sadness™ (NLOS).

Unrelated, but Nested Loop of Sadness is my new band name.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 16, 2015, 05:03:45 am
I've finally attained a 1:1 post-to-respect ratio!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: qmech on December 16, 2015, 05:26:29 am
I've finally attained a 1:1 post-to-respect ratio!

Congratulations!  Keep going and you'll have no trouble hitting 2:1.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 17, 2015, 12:44:47 am
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/science/physicists-in-europe-find-tantalizing-hints-of-a-mysterious-new-particle.html?_r=0
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 17, 2015, 01:45:48 pm
I've finally attained a 1:1 post-to-respect ratio!

Congratulations, have an upvote as a prize! DOH!

No, really you get Ozles internet admiration prize!
Don't get too excited though, the last person to get it was Colonel Gaddafi for his taking up of the FindMyFriends app....
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on December 17, 2015, 01:58:55 pm
I've finally attained a 1:1 post-to-respect ratio!

Congratulations, have an upvote as a prize! DOH!

No, really you get Ozles internet admiration prize!
Don't get too excited though, the last person to get it was Colonel Gaddafi for his taking up of the FindMyFriends app....

A wild OZLE appears!

It uses TERRIBLE JOKE.  It's super effective!

...

Seriously, welcome back dude!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 17, 2015, 04:08:42 pm
I've finally attained a 1:1 post-to-respect ratio!

Congratulations, have an upvote as a prize! DOH!

No, really you get Ozles internet admiration prize!
Don't get too excited though, the last person to get it was Colonel Gaddafi for his taking up of the FindMyFriends app....

I am upset that you did not actually upvote.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on December 17, 2015, 04:43:15 pm
I've finally attained a 1:1 post-to-respect ratio!

Congratulations, have an upvote as a prize! DOH!

No, really you get Ozles internet admiration prize!
Don't get too excited though, the last person to get it was Colonel Gaddafi for his taking up of the FindMyFriends app....

I am upset that you did not actually upvote.

He never said you won his upvote.

But you clearly won some upvotes. Man, some people are never satisfied.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on December 17, 2015, 05:27:43 pm
I've finally attained a 1:1 post-to-respect ratio!

Congratulations, have an upvote as a prize! DOH!

No, really you get Ozles internet admiration prize!
Don't get too excited though, the last person to get it was Colonel Gaddafi for his taking up of the FindMyFriends app....

I am upset that you did not actually upvote.

He never said you won his upvote.

But you clearly won some upvotes. Man, some people are never satisfied.

(http://theinfosphere.org/images/thumb/9/9f/Number_1.0.png/235px-Number_1.0.png)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Infthitbox on December 17, 2015, 09:56:37 pm
I've finally attained a 1:1 post-to-respect ratio!

If you had never posted at all, you could have any ratio you dreamed of!
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Ozle on December 18, 2015, 03:07:20 am
I've finally attained a 1:1 post-to-respect ratio!

Congratulations, have an upvote as a prize! DOH!

No, really you get Ozles internet admiration prize!
Don't get too excited though, the last person to get it was Colonel Gaddafi for his taking up of the FindMyFriends app....

I am upset that you did not actually upvote.

I would hope you would expect nothing less!

Upcoming takes effort....
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: sudgy on December 26, 2015, 01:07:00 pm
I got Thing Explainer for Christmas, and I'm surprised at how "heavy" of a book it is.  For only using a thousand words, it still gets my mind swimming with information after a few pages and I have to stop.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: pingpongsam on December 30, 2015, 08:25:29 am
Randall Munroe is indisputably smarter than me and supremely good at demonstrating it.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 01, 2016, 07:27:12 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9gkYw35Vws

Ikea Heights, a soap opera filmed inside an actual IKEA without authorization.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 03, 2016, 02:45:12 am
(http://i.imgur.com/dALC7eR.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kuildeous on January 05, 2016, 10:31:36 am
I was joking in our meeting today that picking someone to partner up with was like kickball all over again, but for once this was not a traumatic reliving of my school days.

a) Not only was I not picked last, but my partner and I paired up before the manager was done talking.
b) I chose the person that I'm most attracted to, and she chose me.

So very glad I wasn't reliving elementary school.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: enfynet on January 05, 2016, 12:13:13 pm
That sounds incredibly mature. I always preferred the socialist selection system as I never wanted to partner up with anyone, and therefore would be selected last as I made little to no effort otherwise.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Kirian on January 05, 2016, 02:11:53 pm
I was joking in our meeting today that picking someone to partner up with was like kickball all over again, but for once this was not a traumatic reliving of my school days.

a) Not only was I not picked last, but my partner and I paired up before the manager was done talking.
b) I chose the person that I'm most attracted to, and she chose me.

So very glad I wasn't reliving elementary school.


More exploits of Kuildeous the lady-killer.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: eHalcyon on January 06, 2016, 06:00:20 pm
(https://49.media.tumblr.com/339f8744e7fd083036df0061ec8464d1/tumblr_o08p8x6KLQ1qgqutho1_400.gif)
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Witherweaver on January 04, 2018, 09:41:39 am
random stuff part IV is #fakenews

What I do is generate an integer from 1 to random_stuff_index_max from a uniform distribution and then post in that thread.
Title: Re: Random Stuff Part II
Post by: Asper on January 04, 2018, 11:29:24 am
I was joking in our meeting today that picking someone to partner up with was like kickball all over again, but for once this was not a traumatic reliving of my school days.

a) Not only was I not picked last, but my partner and I paired up before the manager was done talking.
b) I chose the person that I'm most attracted to, and she chose me.

So very glad I wasn't reliving elementary school.


More exploits of Kuildeous the lady-killer.

(https://78.media.tumblr.com/243f10adf37feb38cc69749ce5634e88/tumblr_nwjiecYLE41r47mqto2_1280.png)