Scottish Martial Arts wrote on Mar 13, 2016, 12:19:Quite right. People notice the pain of the switch but of course ignore the benefits after that. I sooo hate getting up an hour early since I get up at 4 AM most morning anyway. But you get used to it and the clocks agreeing with the sun is pretty nice after a while.
I'm always kind of surprised at the rancor directed at DST when its time to switch. The pain of the switch only lasts a day (or two I suppose if your internal clock is particularly slow to adjust) but the benefit of long summer evenings and of winter mornings where the sun is at least partly up by the time you get to work last for the rest of the year. Nice to see you distinguish between the switch and the concept in general, Blue. (I do however feel tired and grump from an hour less sleep in an already short night though!)
Blue wrote on Feb 5, 2016, 11:42:It's like one of those articles you read about people with strange diseases and the relief they feel when after years it's finally diagnosed. They're relieved there's a name for it and they're not the only ones. This is timely for me as I've recently been trying to adopt a friendlier, more open expression but it's hard for me to pull off without looking like a dork. I've seen people taken aback when they come up to talk to me and my expression changes so dramatically. They're like Oh, I guess he doesn't despise the world after all.Ratty wrote on Feb 5, 2016, 11:38:
I can't believe I've never heard of this. I have it big time.
I had the same reaction. MrsBlue is always getting on me for intimidating people with some sort of glare that I have no intention of giving off. My resting face apparently gives off a very strong "don't fuck with me" vibe.
Pigeon wrote on Jan 29, 2016, 10:54:That's exactly right. I think the worst change we've seen in recent decades is an obsession with short term profit over long term growth and sustainability. A new CEO comes into a bank or brokerage, focuses on risky investments and mortgages, the bank makes a bundle, shareholders are happy, CEO leaves with a multi-million dollar payout, market crashes, mortgages become toxic but everyone's happy because the government bails them out. No one's looking at the long term growth of the company because the short term is all that matters anymore. A lot of it has to do with the consolidation of small companies into large mega companies. There aren't any family-owned businesses anymore. They're just another asset for a mega corp to squeeze dry and sell to the next comapny down the line.Cutter wrote on Jan 29, 2016, 10:24:
When is it ever enough for the psychopaths of Wall St.?
Exactly; it's not that Amazon is a bastion of goodness in the business world, but their whole business model is built around providing good value to customers and continuing to add new and/or improved services. While those things take money and don't lead to as much profit as they theoretically could make, it does maintain a very, very large and stable customer base. Wallstreet isn't happy unless you're squeezing your customers like an orange, then discarding the husks to be used as mulch.
Creston wrote on Oct 1, 2015, 10:19:Um, it's more fun? I've always enjoyed letting other people or creatures do my dirty work for me in games. In Skyrim I always get 100 in Illusion as soon as I can so I can Frenzy anybody else to do my killing for me. I never get tired of that as many times as I've played through Skyrim. Ditto the Hypnotize Big Daddy plasmid in Bioshock. I'm a big old coward in the games I play and have always preferred stirring up trouble then running someplace to hide and watch the mayhem.
How is that going to be better than putting 10 points in strength and just chopping them to crap, or 10 in agility and having 900000000000000 AP, or 10 in perception and sniping things from 17 miles away.
Cutter wrote on Sep 16, 2015, 22:44:Exactly. I don't mind the concept of throttling but it shouldn't be legal to use the word unlimited in any of their ads or promotions.
It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad, throttled unlimited data. WTF is the point? 'Sure you can have all the data you like...at 1kbps.'
Verno wrote on Jun 15, 2015, 14:24:Or just used to an "ad-free" service on their Cable DVR. That is, I can fast forward through them anytime I want, no restrictions. It's the sole thing that keeps me from cutting the cable, even as much as I hate Comcast and pay through the nose. Not interested in sports packages and my local HDTV reception is great, plus I have netflix. But I've become too addicted to fast forwarding and there are a couple of shows I'm just not willing to wait until they show up on netflix.jdreyer wrote on Jun 15, 2015, 13:53:
I think making people pay and still forcing ads is probably the biggest reason, especially since the competition does not. If you're going to force ads on the pay option, have one short ad at the start and that's it. I agree that the limitation you mention is just stupid as well.
Agreed. A lot of people are just used to an ad free experience on Netflix now and good luck getting them to go back. If I'm paying a premium then I want an ad free tier, no silly device restrictions and other nonsense too. Hulu+ was stupid, I could watch some stuff from a PC and other stuff on a tablet but not on other devices. I found it a bizarre experience overall, I kept hoping the cable networks would sell it but they changed their mind at the last minute.
Jerykk wrote on Apr 26, 2015, 22:09:Lots of disagreement among the die-hard Thief fans. Thief 2 had a better engine and graphics (16-bit vs 8-bit) and far less focus on monsters and undead. I thi9nk if you took a poll you'd find Thief 2 is the favorite. Me, I loved the original Dark Project way more. I loved the undead and burricks and monsters and really missed them in Thief 2. The Haunted Cathedral is my all-time favorite Thief level, just dripping with atmosphere. Thief 2 had forced stealth levels, which I hate. Plus a more modern, officy setting.jacobvandy wrote on Apr 26, 2015, 21:12:Jivaro wrote on Apr 26, 2015, 18:57:
That said, some of my friends that played and liked Dishonored also liked this new Thief game. I have not played Dishonored yet (I know, the shame) but I assume it has something to do with the similar "focus" gameplay mechanic where you can slow down time to execute skills and moves with precision.
That tells you all you need to know. Dishonored is built around the protagonist exhibiting rare, magical abilities, but Thief? It's supposed to be more grounded than that.
Nonsense. All of the Thief games have had magical elements, whether it be zombies, skeletons, ghosts, beasts, elementals, mages, giant spiders, steampunk robots or magic potions that turn you invisible or let you fall in slow-motion. And again, the new Thief can be completed without ever using Focus mode. In fact, if you look at the enemies you face, the new Thief is more grounded than any of the previous games.
eRe4s3r wrote on Apr 7, 2015, 12:26:See I don't have a problem with that and I wouldn't call it illegal. Countries have spies. They have spy organizations. They spy on other countries. That's what they do. I'm glad the US does it. We crossed a line sometime back and started spying on our own citizens and yes I have a big problem with that. The Stasi is a good cautionary tale and Snowden did a great public service by revealing how far down that path we've gone but no, we're still a long way from Stasi 2.0.
What about the illegal surveillance of EVERYONE ELSE ON THE PLANET?
Jivaro wrote on Apr 7, 2015, 11:04:Totally agree. He did something that needed doing but released way more than was necessary. I don't admire Snowden but neither do I revile him. What he did took guts but I wished he would have stuck to releasing things related to the illegal surveillance of US citizens and an out of control security state.
Noble intentions do not negate possible consequences.