Random Post - The Sequel [Archive] - Discussion World Forum

partofme

Aug 28th 2009, 10:44 AM

I went to a informational panel on health care last night. The panel featured a doctor in the area that is a well known republican supporter and two journalists who work for a web site and radio station that are both right leaning. In fact the radio station is who put it on and it plays Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck if that tells you anything. Surprisingly they where upfront about their bias and put nonsense like the "death panels" down as being hogwash but that didn't stop people in the audience from bringing it up in every other question. What really made me mad is that the only supporters of reform in the place where so disruptive they didn't look much better and only reinforced perceptions people have to left wingers. Overall the event just made me sad.

Michael

Aug 28th 2009, 10:45 AM

This class I'm sitting in right now is, um, very strange. Who ever would have thought that "Environmental Lit" would be so touchy feely... Right now my teacher is talking about the spiritual experience he had with a rattle snake.

I'd expect "Environmental Lit" would be exactly that. What else could it be? Novels about peak oil or global warming?

Margot

Aug 28th 2009, 10:56 AM

I'd expect "Environmental Lit" would be exactly that. What else could it be? Novels about peak oil or global warming?

Hardly. Think wayyy back. Boo anthropocentric philosophies (boo Plato!). Yay paleolithic lifestyle! Global Warming is far too trendy. Oh, the things we do to graduate.

Michael

Aug 28th 2009, 11:33 AM

(boo Plato!)

Blasphemy!

I firmly believe that Plato is the master that all students must humble themselves before if they seek deep wisdom and understanding of politics.

It is not so much that Plato is popular or inspiring or that you should follow his words. Rather, Plato is the ultimate foil for every argument. If you want to challenge your political views, challenge Plato's arguments. It is much more difficult than you might think. ;)

Michael

Aug 28th 2009, 11:37 AM

Hardly. Think wayyy back. Boo anthropocentric philosophies (boo Plato!). Yay paleolithic lifestyle! Global Warming is far too trendy. Oh, the things we do to graduate.

I think I remember reading something called "Clan of the Cavebears" - a series I think about paleolithic lifestyles. :ummm:

drgoodtrips

Aug 28th 2009, 01:49 PM

I remember that book. It was about a group of Neanderthals stumbling upon and adopting a Homo Sapiens child.

Margot

Aug 29th 2009, 12:26 AM

I remember that book. It was about a group of Neanderthals stumbling upon and adopting a Homo Sapiens child.

Also, it was cave porn.

Lily

Aug 29th 2009, 12:44 AM

I'm going to walk out into the yard in a few minutes to see if I can spot the Shuttle taking off. It's scheduled launch time is 11:59pm. Night launches are always dramatic.

Lily

Aug 29th 2009, 01:11 AM

Margot

Aug 29th 2009, 12:51 PM

Well that was really cool! I could see the sky light up beyond the trees on the horizon, then that bright streak of light arching up and over the treetops as Shuttle Discovery shot into the heavens. Never gets old. Safe journey, guys.

That's so cool! I've heard that you can see the launches from here, but I never have. I'd do pretty much anything to go into space- astronauts make me so jealous.

Donkey

Aug 29th 2009, 01:44 PM

This class I'm sitting in right now is, um, very strange. Who ever would have thought that "Environmental Lit" would be so touchy feely... Right now my teacher is talking about the spiritual experience he had with a rattle snake.
Is "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" on your reading list?
Blasphemy!

I firmly believe that Plato is the master that all students must humble themselves before if they seek deep wisdom and understanding of politics.

It is not so much that Plato is popular or inspiring or that you should follow his words. Rather, Plato is the ultimate foil for every argument. If you want to challenge your political views, challenge Plato's arguments. It is much more difficult than you might think. ;)
I agree with Freya on this one. I think Plato is vastly overrated, and I think his arguments rely more on tripping up his opponents than making his own points.

I tend to agree with Thrasymachus (not the might makes right part), when he goes off on a vitriolic rant against Socrates' argument style.

I much prefer Aristotle's political bent, minus all the misogyny.

:p

Margot

Aug 29th 2009, 03:33 PM

Is "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" on your reading list?

No, that sort of awesome is most definitely not allowed to be experienced in this class.

We are reading a book called Dwellings, though. I can't tell if it's because I bought the book for a penny on Half.com or if it's because it's considered "modern literature" that half of the pages are upside down.

Donkey

Aug 29th 2009, 03:45 PM

Wtf. What could be more environmental lit than PATC?

Michael

Sep 1st 2009, 10:55 AM

I agree with Freya on this one. I think Plato is vastly overrated, and I think his arguments rely more on tripping up his opponents than making his own points.

I tend to agree with Thrasymachus (not the might makes right part), when he goes off on a vitriolic rant against Socrates' argument style.

I much prefer Aristotle's political bent, minus all the misogyny.

:p
You two are apparently showing your youth. What you say is almost a stereotype opinion of youth (at least amongst those who have encountered Plato).

With age and further study, you will come to appreciate the true depth of Plato's brilliance and the comparatively shallowness Aristotle. For a serious thinker, Aristotle poses no real challenges - he is the philosopher of the comfortable bourgeoisie - he will not scare you or challenge you - he will only make you feel good about yourself, justify your own selfishness and help you to defend the status quo and the mediocre.

Plato on the other hand is the sublime master. Love him or hate him (and you should do both), it is Plato's politics that are in the norm and tend to dominate amongst our elite rulers. Ignore Plato at your political peril. Our elites are platonists and they are winning the game.

Only Nietzsche can be compared to Plato for depth of philosophical thought.

Professing a passion for Aristotle over Plato may be trendy and popular with youth (especially nowadays) but it won't go far around people who take their philosophy seriously.

Margot

Sep 2nd 2009, 01:23 AM

You two are apparently showing your youth. What you say is almost a stereotype opinion of youth (at least amongst those who have encountered Plato).

With age and further study, you will come to appreciate the true depth of Plato's brilliance and the comparatively shallowness Aristotle. For a serious thinker, Aristotle poses no real challenges - he is the philosopher of the comfortable bourgeoisie - he will not scare you or challenge you - he will only make you feel good about yourself, justify your own selfishness and help you to defend the status quo and the mediocre.

Plato on the other hand is the sublime master. Love him or hate him (and you should do both), it is Plato's politics that are in the norm and tend to dominate amongst our elite rulers. Ignore Plato at your political peril. Our elites are platonists and they are winning the game.

Only Nietzsche can be compared to Plato for depth of philosophical thought.

Professing a passion for Aristotle over Plato may be trendy and popular with youth (especially nowadays) but it won't go far around people who take their philosophy seriously.

Hey man, I'm not saying that I agree with the sentiment of the class ("boo Plato" is a quote from the dreadlocked "Environmental Communications" major (don't ask, I can't even possibly fathom how that becomes a degree.))

I'll be reading a shit-ton of both Plato and Aristotle in my Rhetoric and Argumentation class. I've never actually paid attention to either- my opinions now are purely conjecture. (BTW, my presentation on das Cave was, both "brilliant" and thoroughly despised).

And speaking of philosophy, what do you know about the book "I and Thou?" I have a class with some philosophy majors who were ranting about it. It's a very passionately hated book.

Michael

Sep 2nd 2009, 08:58 AM

Hey man, I'm not saying that I agree with the sentiment of the class ("boo Plato" is a quote from the dreadlocked "Environmental Communications" major (don't ask, I can't even possibly fathom how that becomes a degree.))

I'll be reading a shit-ton of both Plato and Aristotle in my Rhetoric and Argumentation class. I've never actually paid attention to either- my opinions now are purely conjecture. (BTW, my presentation on das Cave was, both "brilliant" and thoroughly despised).
Just to be clear about Plato. I say one has to respect Plato, not love him. I personally hate Plato's politics with a passion and oppose everything he stands for.

Btw, you never shared your "das Cave" thing with us here... ;)

And speaking of philosophy, what do you know about the book "I and Thou?" I have a class with some philosophy majors who were ranting about it. It's a very passionately hated book.
Put me with the other philosophy majors. I loathe that book and the ideas behind it.

My principle critique with that book/idea is the same as the critique I bring to bear on a variety of issues - the question of motive. Seems to me that the key distinction that Martin Buber makes is one of motive. Motives can never be discerned by anyone except the self. As such, theories built upon asserting particular motives in other people are, by definition, deeply flawed.

I don't think that any theory predicated upon the interpretation of 'motives' can be considered intellectually substantial. It is all just projections, wishful thinking and/or authoritarianism.

Michael

Sep 7th 2009, 11:55 AM

Members of the forum are encouraged to engage in a posting orgy.

:banana: (I love this smilie!)

Summer forum traffic has been very light - we need a traffic boost!!! :)

Michael

Sep 8th 2009, 09:52 AM

Summer is over. So is my vacation. Alas.

Michael

Sep 9th 2009, 11:46 AM

I haven't seen a word posted about "Twitter" on any blogs in at least three months now.

That fad sure passed faster than normal.

Speaking of passing fads, does anyone remember the Sedgeway scooter thing that was going to change the world? :rofl:

Americano

Sep 9th 2009, 12:04 PM

Summer is over. So is my vacation. Alas.

Summer isn't over until Sept. 21.

Michael

Sep 9th 2009, 03:38 PM

Summer isn't over until Sept. 21.
Try telling that to the kids.

Americano

Sep 10th 2009, 10:45 AM

Try telling that to the kids.

I stay away from kids as much as possible.

Michael

Sep 10th 2009, 08:35 PM

I stay away from kids as much as possible.

That's probably a good thing. :lol:

And speaking of annoyances, my fair town is now officially under seige right now as the Hollywood red carpet brigades descend upon Toronto for the big Film Fest (Toronto International Film Festival - aka TIFF).

:rant:

And yes, I am bitter about it. I used to take a week or two off work in September every year just so I could do the film fest. I used to buy a 30 film coupon pass that allowed me to go to any 30 films I wanted over ten consecutive days. That's a pretty funky head-trip (average 3 films per day).

Anyway, to make a long story short, I can't even be bothered to go to a single showing any more. The old Toronto Film Festival, that I know and loved for so many years, died about a dozen years ago - a victim of success. Now, as far as I'm concerned, all the elements that made the Toronto Film Fest so fantastic are mostly all gone now. It's now just a Hollywood celebrity-festival with sky-high ticket prices and 100% reserved seating only (tickets booked in advance).

The glory of the old Film Festival, for real film lovers (not celebrity worshippers) was that you would be standing in line to get into one movie and you'd be talking to other people in the lineup about what other movies they saw and would recommend - it all worked like 'word of mouth' to find the best films - lots of surprises and oddball films out there. :)

Reserve seating only for all shows killed that. Now you have to buy seats for every showing weeks in advance. This of course is to get rid of the lineups which the old film fest was famous for. The lineups were the best part because they were filled with other people interested in films - it was always very sociable because of that. Not any more - nothing like that at all. Now its all about invites to Galas, red carpets and 'afterparties' (and mass-mobs of paparazzi).

For various reasons, the types of films that I always liked best (European art-house films and North American Indie films) which used to be very big part of the Film Fest (and the main reason for its long success) don't show here anymore. Rumor has it that the NY Festival has picked up the slack and is now much like Toronto's used to be - the true 'ground zero' of the art-house film festivals in North America. Toronto's film festival is all Hollywood glitz and endless 3rd World Retrospective Documentaries now. Very boring (except when Atom Egoyan has a new film to open of course - he's Toronto's own homegrown art-house film maker whom I love very much).

partofme

Sep 12th 2009, 03:50 PM

Why oh why are we so damn ignorant?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6173399/Charles-Darwin-film-too-controversial-for-religious-America.html

Michael

Sep 13th 2009, 10:38 AM

Why oh why are we so damn ignorant?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6173399/Charles-Darwin-film-too-controversial-for-religious-America.html

:eek: That's so ugly.

Though, it is good to see that the film opened the Toronto Festival and is apparently due for distribution in most OTHER western countries.

Michael

Sep 13th 2009, 12:12 PM

Hey, check out what's coming up on September 19th! :rofl:

Donkey

Sep 13th 2009, 12:52 PM

Hey, check out what's coming up on September 19th! :rofl:
Avast ye pontificatin' rogue!

Michael

Sep 14th 2009, 09:42 AM

Avast ye pontificatin' rogue!

Arrr! You scurvy dog - who you be callin' a rogue?

Donkey

Sep 14th 2009, 02:38 PM

Arrr! You scurvy dog - who you be callin' a rogue?
A rogue by any other name be still a rogue! Arg!

Zarquon

Sep 15th 2009, 03:25 PM

whats on the 19th?

Donkey

Sep 15th 2009, 03:25 PM

The day in which we be speakin' like pirates.

The Drunk Girl

Sep 15th 2009, 04:02 PM

The day in which we be speakin' like pirates.

Looks like you have been celebrating a little early on that one :lol:

Donkey

Sep 15th 2009, 04:04 PM

Looks like you have been celebrating a little early on that one :lol:
But I am a pirate.

The Drunk Girl

Sep 15th 2009, 04:12 PM

But I am a pirate.

You're starting to remind me of Steve the Pirate from Dodgeball :erm:

Lily

Sep 16th 2009, 07:47 AM

What the...? Who let these pirates in here? Shouldn't you people be out pillaging, pilfering and yo-ho-hoing?

Donkey

Sep 16th 2009, 12:49 PM

What the...? Who let these pirates in here? Shouldn't you people be out pillaging, pilfering and yo-ho-hoing?
Save it for the bedroom. ;)

Michael

Sep 16th 2009, 12:55 PM

Save it for the bedroom. ;)

<cue Captain Highliner voice which is very Pirate-like>

Ever been to sea Billy?

(I don't know if this joke-reference will carry to Americans - this is a famous commerical on tv in Canada for many years and it has become a pop-culture staple for various jokes)

Greendruid

Sep 16th 2009, 02:45 PM

<cue Captain Highliner voice which is very Pirate-like>

Ever been to sea Billy?

(I don't know if this joke-reference will carry to Americans - this is a famous commerical on tv in Canada for many years and it has become a pop-culture staple for various jokes)

... also known as Captain Behind-Grinder :rofl:

Michael

Sep 16th 2009, 02:50 PM

... also known as Captain Behind-Grinder :rofl:
Yes, that's the fellow!

I'm figuring this might be Canada-only since Highliner is a Maritimes company.

Hey Billy... ever been sucked off by a fillet of fish?

Hey Billy... every been buggered up the ass by an old sea dog?

etcetera, etcetera. I've heard literally hundreds of these stupid jokes.

Greendruid

Sep 16th 2009, 02:54 PM

Michael

Sep 16th 2009, 02:59 PM

On a mostly unrelated topic, and I swear it to you I was thinking about this question in the car on the way to work long before I even browsed the forum this morning, does anyone happen to know the Canadian military's policy on homosexuality? I'm going to guess that they don't have one and that the Charter trumps such internal policies anyway but I wondered if anyone knew for sure. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the US came to mind this morning due to an unrelated news story about gay penguins :p
The Canadian military was dishonorably discharging those accused of homosexuality right up until the early 1990s.

That's changed - one can now 'openly' serve. I believe this is the same status as most other countries in NATO (except the USA and the Mediterranean/Eastern Europe set that are still trying to come to grips with the rights of women).

Btw, about the Gay Penguins - are you referring to the famous pair at the Berlin Zoo?

Michael

Sep 16th 2009, 03:19 PM

Actually, now that I think about it, just to show how far things have changed over the years, the Canadian Armed Forces were listed as one of the official sponsors of Toronto's Gay Pride Parade starting in 2008.

They set up a very large and fully staffed recruiting station right there on Church Street as part of the "Pride Week" festivities for the last two events. From what I remember from an article I read, the Canadian Armed Forces intend to be a "long term" sponsor of the Pride Week festivities as part of their long term efforts to undo the PR damage from past policies. According to the same article, the Canadian Armed Forces also regularly place recruiting advertisements in gay publications now.

Greendruid

Sep 16th 2009, 03:35 PM

The women of the Isle of Lesbos would be proud!

An indeed I was referring to the penguins in the Berlin Zoo. So funny how this is even a story but, the status quo never ceases to be amazed by things that are different than themselves.

Americano

Sep 16th 2009, 04:44 PM

Michael

Sep 16th 2009, 07:16 PM

It's my understand that they also allow gay marriages of service members on military bases, just like the heteros.

That would be much more recent, in keeping with the formal/legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Canada in 2004 (I think).

Michael

Sep 18th 2009, 11:27 AM

Gosh... its so exciting getting so close to ITLAPD!!!!

ARRG! :rofl:

I guess today might be "Pirate's Eve"? :ummm:

Americano

Sep 18th 2009, 12:14 PM

Gosh... its so exciting getting so close to ITLAPD!!!!

ARRG! :rofl:

I guess today might be "Pirate's Eve"? :ummm:

You're getting mighty desperate for holidays.

Michael

Sep 18th 2009, 12:28 PM

You're getting mighty desperate for holidays.
Aye, ye land-lubbing son of a whore, that may be true! :D

Americano

Sep 19th 2009, 11:58 AM

Aye, ye land-lubbing son of a whore, that may be true! :D

Some naked spinnaker flying while ingesting large quantities of recreational substances would be an appropriate celebration, but most real sailors don't need a reason to do that.

Michael

Sep 19th 2009, 12:01 PM

Some naked spinnaker flying while ingesting large quantities of recreational substances would be an appropriate celebration, but most real sailors don't need a reason to do that.

Arrrg! Sounds like the lily-livered landlubber is trying to make fun of us pirate folk!

Keelhaul the scurvy dog I say!

(but be sure to confiscate his stocks first though!)

Americano

Sep 19th 2009, 12:14 PM

Arrrg! Sounds like the lily-livered landlubber is trying to make fun of us pirate folk!

Keelhaul the scurvy dog I say!

(but be sure to confiscate his stocks first though!)

Pirates are best dealt with using a clip of 5.56 on full auto.

Michael

Sep 20th 2009, 11:27 AM

Pirates are best dealt with using a clip of 5.56 on full auto.

Alas, the day is past. :sad:

Next special date up on the calendar is the Equinox and that means the end of summer! :sad:

Michael

Sep 20th 2009, 07:34 PM

I failed yet again on the BPOTW thing. I really need to make notes during the week when I see a good one. It is blasted difficult to go back through last weeks posts to fine one... :o

Greendruid

Sep 20th 2009, 09:39 PM

Americano

Sep 20th 2009, 10:20 PM

I failed yet again on the BPOTW thing. I really need to make notes during the week when I see a good one. It is blasted difficult to go back through last weeks posts to fine one... :o

Bookmark anything that looks commendable in a BPOTW folder with weekly folders?

Michael

Sep 21st 2009, 09:41 AM

If you were a really dedicated forum host you'd carry a personal notepad or dictation-taking device around with you so that whenever, wherever you access the forum you can mark down little stars next to each post as you read them. At the end of the week, you'll have many fewer to go through. That's seems so very anal though and, not you at all.

Bookmark anything that looks commendable in a BPOTW folder with weekly folders?

As Greendruid correctly noted, I'm not anal and/or organized enough for that! :o

Michael

Sep 21st 2009, 09:43 AM

Btw, I was just thinking that this forum doesn't have much in the way of endless arguments about insoluable debates that are always a popular feature of every other forum out there...

1. Homosexuality is a sin
2. Abortion is murder
3. Gunlovers are fascists
4. 9/11 was an inside job

Any others we're missing here? :erm:

What's wrong with this forum? Why can we be like the other forums?

Americano

Sep 21st 2009, 10:57 AM

Michael

Sep 21st 2009, 11:12 AM

That a majority of posters are educated and not dedicated to belief in mythology could answer 1 & 2.

You mean that all is not lost and that we still have a chance for numbers 3 & 4? :ummm:

Americano

Sep 21st 2009, 02:41 PM

You mean that all is not lost and that we still have a chance for numbers 3 & 4? :ummm:

Even though I like firearms I avoid the purely emotional furor of gun discussions. As to alternative theories, doesn't interest me but perhaps others here enjoy them?

The Drunk Guy

Sep 22nd 2009, 08:21 AM

Even though I like firearms I avoid the purely emotional furor of gun discussions. As to alternative theories, doesn't interest me but perhaps others here enjoy them?
I'm not a "gun lover," but I appreciate my right to bear arms and plan to keep it.

I do like conspiracies, but I'm not passionate enough to argue the entire case. I would have to re-read the research before I stepped into an argument, too.

Zarquon

Sep 22nd 2009, 09:27 AM

I have a certain affinity for 3, but I realize that's an over-simplification.

wphelan

Sep 22nd 2009, 11:27 AM

No, it's the Gun controllers are the fascists! :sneaky:

;)

Michael

Sep 22nd 2009, 11:28 AM

No, it's the Gun controllers are the fascists! :sneaky:

;)
No, the control fanatics are socialists. ;)

The Drunk Guy

Sep 22nd 2009, 06:59 PM

No, the control fanatics are socialists. ;)
Same thing! When are you blues ever gonna learn? :shrug:

Michael

Sep 22nd 2009, 07:07 PM

Same thing! When are you blues ever gonna learn? :shrug:

Sorry, that "blue-red" thing in the USA is ass-backwards to the rest of the planet and doesn't translate well at all.

Indeed US media used to alternate between 'red and blue' for the parties in election coverage each election but arbitrarily stopped in Reagan's day - freezing the colors at that time for 'red-blue'.

Everywhere else, "blue" is always associated with "rightwing" while "red" is associated with "leftwing" - as it has been for over a century.

The Drunk Guy

Sep 22nd 2009, 07:20 PM

Sorry, that "blue-red" thing in the USA is ass-backwards to the rest of the planet and doesn't translate well at all.

Indeed US media used to alternate between 'red and blue' for the parties in election coverage each election but arbitrarily stopped in Reagan's day - freezing the colors at that time for 'red-blue'.

Everywhere else, "blue" is always associated with "rightwing" while "red" is associated with "leftwing" - as it has been for over a century.
So, you're a commie, eh? :mad:

Michael

Sep 22nd 2009, 07:25 PM

So, you're a commie, eh? :mad:
Given the amount of time and energy I've spend studying Marx, that argument shouldn't be hard to make.

Indeed, I'd argue that anyone who isn't a true communist is one of those fascist-socialists that are so popular these days.

True capitalists are the only true communists. :commie:

I might add that "true communists" are indeed, pro-capitalists. That's the only way you can spot the real ones. If a person claims to be a capitalist and denigrates Marx, they are ill-educated idiots. If a person claims to be a communist and disparages the capitalist system, they are utopian socialist-fascists. It really is that simple. ;)

Donkey

Sep 23rd 2009, 02:25 AM

Michael

Sep 23rd 2009, 08:07 AM

Did that start with the French revolution?

I don't think so. I believe the British Tories claimed blue as their color in the 19th century and that set the pattern.

Michael

Sep 23rd 2009, 09:46 AM

Hey cool ... checkout the next 'calendar event'!!! :cool:

Michael

Sep 29th 2009, 09:32 AM

Today is Michaelmas! :)

The Drunk Girl

Sep 29th 2009, 12:12 PM

Today is Michaelmas! :)

Sounds a lot better than "Lasher-mas."

Michael

Sep 29th 2009, 12:22 PM

Sounds a lot better than "Lasher-mas."
And unlike "Lasher-mas", Michaelmas is officially listed as a sacred date on the Catholic calendar. :)

Michael

Sep 29th 2009, 01:58 PM

Gosh, forum seems quiet today without a hundred new posts...

Lily

Oct 1st 2009, 01:19 AM

Best headline of 2009:
Saudi investigation: Would-be assassin hid bomb in underwear

Alrighty then. :dumbass:

Source (http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/09/30/saudi.arabia.attack/index.html)

Michael

Oct 1st 2009, 06:55 PM

Best headline of 2009:
Saudi investigation: Would-be assassin hid bomb in underwear

Alrighty then. :dumbass:

:rofl:

Anyway... I don't think there can be any doubt upon the question of what city is the world's international capitol of hockey!

Today is the official opening day of the NHL and the first game of the season. Of course, six blocks of downtown Toronto streets were closed for all day 'Pep Rally' for the Leafs at Dundas Square in preparation for the first game of the season. This is yet another Toronto hockey tradition. All kinds of famous old-timer Leaf players from the past show up for a road-hockey game on Yonge Street.

Seriously... Toronto is obsessed with hockey - and are die-hard Maple Leaf fans even though they always lose (much like Cubs fans I should think). All Maple Leaf games are always soldout and has been that way for decades. Leaf season tickets get passed down in families for generations! :shrug:

The Drunk Girl

Oct 1st 2009, 09:12 PM

:rofl:

Anyway... I don't think there can be any doubt upon the question of what city is the world's international capitol of hockey!

Today is the official opening day of the NHL and the first game of the season. Of course, six blocks of downtown Toronto streets were closed for all day 'Pep Rally' for the Leafs at Dundas Square in preparation for the first game of the season. This is yet another Toronto hockey tradition. All kinds of famous old-timer Leaf players from the past show up for a road-hockey game on Yonge Street.

Seriously... Toronto is obsessed with hockey - and are die-hard Maple Leaf fans even though they always lose (much like Cubs fans I should think). All Maple Leaf games are always soldout and has been that way for decades. Leaf season tickets get passed down in families for generations! :shrug:
Well this weekend is my birthday and we're gonna shut down all of downtown Richmond. So take that Toronto!:party: (if there were a raspberry blowing smiley I would put it there)

Michael

Oct 1st 2009, 10:13 PM

Well this weekend is my birthday and we're gonna shut down all of downtown Richmond. So take that Toronto!:party: (if there were a raspberry blowing smiley I would put it there)
I don't particularly like hockey or any other professional sport. :shrug:

I just like observing the sociology of cities. :)

Certain teams in certain cities have phenomenal local popularity. I find this interesting. And they do have the "Hockey Hall of Fame" in Toronto. Besides, does Chicago or NY or SF or LA or whatever close some downtown streets for an annual party on opening day of football, basketball or baseball season? Just curious... I can well imagine some smaller towns doing that.

Greendruid

Oct 2nd 2009, 12:26 AM

I don't particularly like hockey or any other professional sport. :shrug:

I just like observing the sociology of cities. :)

Certain teams in certain cities have phenomenal local popularity. I find this interesting. And they do have the "Hockey Hall of Fame" in Toronto. Besides, does Chicago or NY or SF or LA or whatever close some downtown streets for an annual party on opening day of football, basketball or baseball season? Just curious... I can well imagine some smaller towns doing that.

When I lived in Columbia, MO there were definitely aspects of this at the beginning of the college football season. The main circuit around campus (four roads) were essentially brought to a standstill due to people parking for the game and bringing in there doolies for the tailgate parties. Then there is March Madness for basketball. I don't think that gets quite the same welcome because the host city is different every year but the social scene is quite busy at both times of the year. I've heard Knoxville, TN is crazy during almost every football game that the Vols play.

The Drunk Girl

Oct 2nd 2009, 09:41 AM

I don't particularly like hockey or any other professional sport. :shrug:

I just like observing the sociology of cities. :)

Certain teams in certain cities have phenomenal local popularity. I find this interesting. And they do have the "Hockey Hall of Fame" in Toronto. Besides, does Chicago or NY or SF or LA or whatever close some downtown streets for an annual party on opening day of football, basketball or baseball season? Just curious... I can well imagine some smaller towns doing that.

I would be excited, too, and I'm sure if I lived further north I would probably be a hockey fan as well. But, down here in the Bluegrass it's basketball that we live for. And, I can't flippin' wait until college basketball season starts up!!! :)

It seems that the only time a downtown is closed is after a team wins a big game or championship (i.e.: the Lakers), and even at that it's not an all day event. It always seems to just be a big mess and people that don't know how to act. People "rioted" in Lexington after beating LSU in football a few years back :tape:

And, I wasn't trying to put down Toronto or anything. Just having fun...that's all you can do when you realize you aren't getting any younger. So just keep your fingers crossed that me or TDG don't end up with a P.I. tomorrow night

Michael

Oct 3rd 2009, 10:06 AM

In case anyone is interested, I've "promoted" the Computers & Technology forum up into the Discussion Forums section based on the fact that this forum is fairly popular (30 threads).

I've also turned "off" the Non-English Forum due to the lack of an available moderator for it. I'm legally responsible for every word posted at the forum, and if I can't read it, I'm not going to be responsible for it. :)

If/when someone with sufficient language proficiency is available to moderate/monitor that forum, then it will be re-opened.

The Drunk Girl

Oct 4th 2009, 12:50 PM

Thank you for the bright red Happy Birthday banner on every page of the forum I go to :D

Americano

Oct 4th 2009, 12:56 PM

Thank you for the bright red Happy Birthday banner on every page of the forum I go to :D

We're waiting on our presents from you.

Michael

Oct 4th 2009, 12:59 PM

Thank you for the bright red Happy Birthday banner on every page of the forum I go to :D

Well then, Happy Birthday to you! :party: :bdaycake: :party:

(none of us see those banners except you - I set up the software to do that for everyone's birthday)

Michael

Oct 4th 2009, 01:00 PM

We're waiting on our presents from you.

Indeed! I wonder what gifts she will bring! :banana:

The Drunk Girl

Oct 4th 2009, 01:10 PM

Indeed! I wonder what gifts she will bring! :banana:

My charm and beauty, of course :)

Americano

Oct 4th 2009, 01:31 PM

My charm and beauty, of course :)

If it's not a problem I prefer beer.

Michael

Oct 4th 2009, 02:20 PM

Thank you for the bright red Happy Birthday banner on every page of the forum I go to :D

We're waiting on our presents from you.

My charm and beauty, of course :)

If it's not a problem I prefer beer.

:rofl:

The Drunk Girl

Oct 4th 2009, 04:49 PM

If it's not a problem I prefer beer.

Me, too :cheers:

There is still plenty left here, along with some gin and Beam...

bad hangover

The Drunk Girl

Oct 4th 2009, 07:23 PM

THE DRUNK GUY AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!! :banana:

wphelan

Oct 4th 2009, 08:23 PM

THE DRUNK GUY AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!! :banana:

Congrats! :clap:

Lily

Oct 5th 2009, 05:07 AM

THE DRUNK GUY AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!! :banana:

Congratulations! Did you get drunk? :p

The Drunk Girl

Oct 5th 2009, 09:11 AM

:lol:...no, that was Saturday. I think the hangover postponed the proposal a little bit yesterday.

dilettante

Oct 5th 2009, 10:05 AM

THE DRUNK GUY AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!! :banana:

Congratulations to both of you!
:cheers:

Americano

Oct 5th 2009, 10:11 AM

Congratulations.

Michael

Oct 5th 2009, 10:51 AM

Woohoo! :banana:

Congratulations and all that of course! :)

Michael

Oct 7th 2009, 01:57 PM

Today's random thought...

If color-blindness mostly affects the green-blue spectrum, do color-blind people see a green sky? :ummm:

Donkey

Oct 7th 2009, 02:02 PM

Today's random thought...

If color-blindness mostly affects the green-blue spectrum, do color-blind people see a green sky? :ummm:
I don't really know anything about colorblindness, aside from basic general knowledge, but according to this, it would seem like they would not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness#Classification_of_color_deficienci es

Apparently we can always see blue of some sort?

Greendruid

Oct 7th 2009, 02:54 PM

Today's random thought...

If color-blindness mostly affects the green-blue spectrum, do color-blind people see a green sky? :ummm:

Yes, and no. My experiences are mostly with people I know. It's not really discernible as far as I can tell because I've actually asked this question of them. But because it's the same colour to them, they can't really objectively tell which colour it is. Getting them to wear pink pants when they think they're grey - that's good times! :rofl:

Lily

Oct 8th 2009, 09:19 AM

Hmmm. I've always had a problem distinguishing between blues and greens. I knew I had some kind of color-blindness, but not which kind. I just did a quick wiki search and the page had a little test, one of which I failed miserably. So, I guess I have this kind:

Tritanomaly (equally rare for males and females [0.01% for both]):[15] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness#cite_note-KallColor-15) Having a mutated form of the short-wavelength (blue) pigment. The short-wavelength pigment is shifted towards the green area of the spectrum. This is the rarest form of anomalous trichromacy color blindness. Unlike the other anomalous trichromacy color deficiencies, the mutation for this color blindness is carried on chromosome 7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromosome_7).[16] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness#cite_note-TMMac-16) Therefore it is equally prevalent in both male & female populations. The OMIM gene code for this mutation is 304000 “Colorblindness, Partial Tritanomaly”.[17] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness#cite_note-17)

I don't see a green sky, though.

Michael

Oct 8th 2009, 10:17 AM

Interesting stuff on color-blindness! (I'm woefully ignorant of most biomedical issues).

Anyway... today is a special day! It is a quirk of the Canadian tax system that the two largest payroll taxes (CPP is Canada Pension Plan = Social Security) and EI (Employment Insurance) both have maximum caps. Well, I hit the cap for EI on September 1st and hit the cap on CPP on October 1st.

The upshot of this is that today is payday and my 'takehome pay' portion of my paycheck jumps up by about 15%! Bonus!

Its like getting a mini-short-term raise from October to December each year. :lol:

Michael

Oct 8th 2009, 10:48 AM

Donkey

Oct 8th 2009, 11:32 AM

I'm curious about US $1 coins... are they actually being used as normal coinage?

Or are they just rare curiosities like every other US $1 coin? :shrug:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_$1_Coin_Program
They are legal tender, and not particularly valuable as collectables, but I think they never really caught on.

Michael

Oct 8th 2009, 11:51 AM

They are legal tender, and not particularly valuable as collectables, but I think they never really caught on.

I can't imagine why not. Up here, the $1 coin was so successful we now have a $2 coin as well.

Vending machines and parking meters are particuarly notable applications.

drgoodtrips

Oct 8th 2009, 11:58 AM

I've found that the $1 coins are a lot more prevalent in the South. A year and a half ago or so, I was spending a lot of time in Tampa and they had vending machines down there that dispensed them, as well as change machines that would take $5/$10 and spit them out. It was really handy for buying sodas (although I'm still waiting for more vending machines to take credit cards). I also remember buying smokes in North Carolina or somewhere when I gave the guy a five for a ~$2 pack and he handed me a few coins. I stood there for a minute, saying, "uhhh..." and he pointed out that they were dollar coins. :lol:

Generally speaking, they were common enough in the South and rare enough up here that I'd wind up with a few in my pocket and give them to people here as "souvenirs".

partofme

Oct 8th 2009, 12:09 PM

The problem is that even though they are not valuable old people tend to collect them anyway so most of them are not in circulation but instead locked away. Idiots.

The Drunk Girl

Oct 8th 2009, 12:51 PM

The problem is that even though they are not valuable old people tend to collect them anyway so most of them are not in circulation but instead locked away. Idiots.

No different than my grandparents or great-grandparents holding onto fifty cent pieces. I always enjoyed getting those when I was little (ahh...to be a kid again).

I'm curious about US $1 coins... are they actually being used as normal coinage?

Or are they just rare curiosities like every other US $1 coin? :shrug:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_$1_Coin_Program

I still see Coca-Cola machines with the Sacagawea sticker on them saying, "We take these!!!" I think since these coins have been in circulation I have had a total of five, if even that, and that's due to the same situation as Dr. was referring to. I prefer having a big wad in my pocket anyways...wait! That didn't sound too good :ummm:

Michael

Oct 8th 2009, 01:06 PM

Greendruid

Oct 8th 2009, 01:18 PM

Paper money is a health hazzard - and the smaller the denomination the higher the risk from touching it.

Canadian $1 and $2 coins are so popular in common usage that the mint discontinued the $1 and $2 bill.

Besides, coin money is way cheaper for the mint to produce than the paper variety since it has a lifespan measured in decades rather than 3-6 months.

When I lived in the US (for five years) I came across a single dollar coin in regular circulation. However, I did come across a neat phenomenon in the little university town we lived in. This was back when I smoked and this fantastic little smoke and liquor store (huge humidors for cigars) made a point of giving changes in $2 bills and 50¢ pieces. It was a real novelty to have these on me because then I'd use the $2 for tips in restaurants and especially at the barber shop. There was this whole subculture of using the $2 bills for barber shop tips. Does this exist anywhere else outside of Columbia, MO?

dilettante

Oct 8th 2009, 05:34 PM

When I lived in the US (for five years) I came across a single dollar coin in regular circulation. However, I did come across a neat phenomenon in the little university town we lived in. This was back when I smoked and this fantastic little smoke and liquor store (huge humidors for cigars) made a point of giving changes in $2 bills and 50¢ pieces. It was a real novelty to have these on me because then I'd use the $2 for tips in restaurants and especially at the barber shop. There was this whole subculture of using the $2 bills for barber shop tips. Does this exist anywhere else outside of Columbia, MO?

My dad used to go to a local bank in George every few months and get a few hundred dollars in $2 bills. The bank had stacks of them that were never used because no one wanted them, so if you asked you get could them still bound in sequential, un-circulated packs. He also mostly used them for tips, but once we had a garage sell and put half a dozen of them in a display case and offered them for $2.50 each - we sold 'em all.

Donkey

Oct 8th 2009, 05:41 PM

A friend used to get $2 bills and use them almost exclusively, just for the novelty. The local drive-in movie costs $16 so they stock the $2 bills to simplify change for the 20.

It is fun to tip with them, actually.

wphelan

Oct 8th 2009, 07:08 PM

I love $2 bills. I just requested a bunch of them when I went to the bank a few weeks ago. A surprising number of people ask if they're real. I don't know if they're being serious. But anyway, they're fun to use when tipping or buying beers at bars.

Americano

Oct 8th 2009, 10:00 PM

I don't see $2 bills or $1 coins. It's a rural area. When I lived in Vegas $2 and $50 bills were considered unlucky by gamblers, which made them scarce there.

Donkey

Oct 8th 2009, 10:28 PM

Does it cost any more to order them? Or do you just ask at the bank?

The Drunk Guy

Oct 9th 2009, 08:22 AM

Does it cost any more to order them? Or do you just ask at the bank?
Yeah, just ask a teller if they happen to have any in house.

My folks have a nice stash of them somewhere back home. A few dollar coins and fifty cent coins, too. Probably the coolest currency collection they have is a full denomination set of Stearns Coal & Lumber scrip. Rather than paying their employees with USD, the local companies would pay with their own currency, forcing them to buy everything at the company stores.

Michael

Oct 9th 2009, 06:26 PM

I have a nasty head-cold. All stuffed up, sneezing, coughing and headache. No fever though. Either way, I'm not a happy camper right now! :(

The Drunk Guy

Oct 9th 2009, 06:48 PM

I have a nasty head-cold. All stuffed up, sneezing, coughing and headache. No fever though. Either way, I'm not a happy camper right now! :(
Two options.

1: Go to a doctor. I hear its free up there.

2: OTC Mucinex, BC Powder, and a heated humidifier in your bedroom. Doctors aren't free here, so this is how I've been fighting it off.

Americano

Oct 9th 2009, 07:34 PM

Greendruid

Oct 10th 2009, 01:24 AM

Two options.

1: Go to a doctor. I hear its free up there.

2: OTC Mucinex, BC Powder, and a heated humidifier in your bedroom. Doctors aren't free here, so this is how I've been fighting it off.

Nope, if I know Michael he's going to go for the Buckley's Mixture (http://www.buckleys.com/index.html). This is a Canadian sure-fire cure to what ails you. One of its main ingredients is fucking pine sap for gods' sakes! I can't take the stuff - makes me gag. Their tag-line is one of the better examples of honesty in the advertising industry: "It tastes awful, and it works!" :rofl:

Get better Michael!

Michael

Oct 10th 2009, 09:28 AM

Yes, Greendruid knows me well. :lol:

Buckley's rulz! It tastes really bad and it works! That and a couple of aspirin is all I take (not to mention a box of kleenex!).

I'm actually feeling quite improved today. :)

(though, whenever I get sick with a cold or flu, I always suffer a breakout of acne!)

The Drunk Guy

Oct 10th 2009, 12:24 PM

What can a physician do for a head cold? I thought they had to run their course?
My head colds quickly turn into bronchitis, so I try to go to the doctor when I get sick. Antibiotics can help, but the good shit is nebulizer meds and other steroids that help you feel like you're not sick.

Americano

Oct 10th 2009, 12:29 PM

My head colds quickly turn into bronchitis, so I try to go to the doctor when I get sick. Antibiotics can help, but the good shit is nebulizer meds and other steroids that help you feel like you're not sick.

I understand the bronchitis concern but I'd rather suffer through the misery of a head cold than ingest any type of steroid.

drgoodtrips

Oct 10th 2009, 12:52 PM

I understand the bronchitis concern but I'd rather suffer through the misery of a head cold than ingest any type of steroid.

+1

Steroids produce every kind of horrendous side effect possible in me. Upset stomach, insomnia, excessive sweating, irritability, etc. I'd rather just have the cold, myself.

Americano

Oct 10th 2009, 01:45 PM

Interesting article on nebulizer meds:

http://www.futurehealthcareus.com/?mc=illegal-nebulizer&page=res-viewresearch

Donkey

Oct 10th 2009, 03:45 PM

Whenever I sick, I prescribe myself a few doses of sleep and that generally sorts me out.

Zarquon

Oct 10th 2009, 04:46 PM

Have a nose allergy myself, have to take nasal spray for next 15 days.

Lily

Oct 10th 2009, 09:27 PM

Americano

Oct 10th 2009, 10:29 PM

Packing sucks. My house is torn up. I've scraped my shin on a framed picture, stubbed my toe on a bookcase and I have boxes lined up along the entire length of my hallway. I'm uncovering dead bodies along my way. That's a mixed bag of emotions.

I've never found any way to make moving fun. Regardless of how it's accomplished, full crews and as little physical effort expended as possible or doing it myself, it's always been a hassle since long ago when everything but the stereo fit in the car.

Michael

Oct 12th 2009, 11:27 AM

Americano

Oct 12th 2009, 11:41 AM

Its Canadian Thanksgiving today. Aka "turkey day" so its a long weekend up here.

What's Columbus Day all about? Is it a long weekend? Does anyone do anything? Do people celebrate by getting sick? :lol:

It's basically a US government/bank holiday. Some school districts close, but that's selective dependent on the district. With the massive funding cutbacks no school districts in my area observe it as they're too close to the wire on federal attendance requirements to receive federal funding.

Donkey

Oct 12th 2009, 11:53 AM

I'd rather celebrate "national memorial for indigenous populations day." :ummm:

The Drunk Girl

Oct 12th 2009, 12:49 PM

Fall Break starts today...a whopping two days. It really is of no significance to me since I only have Tues/Thurs classes and I typically work the other days of the week, which is where I am at now :( So I guess tomorrow is cleaning day at the house, a few beers, and the 360; I need some pointless fun...

Americano

Oct 12th 2009, 01:54 PM

I'd rather celebrate "national memorial for indigenous populations day." :ummm:

It's my understanding many despise being called Native Americans.

Donkey

Oct 12th 2009, 05:41 PM

It's my understanding many despise being called Native Americans.
Really?

They can call themselves whatever they want, really. My post was more a tongue in cheek jab at the fact that we celebrate Columbus.

Michael

Oct 13th 2009, 10:44 AM

Only in China eh?

Seems that the Chinese obsession with odd shaped buildings continues... of course this proposed Chinese Pentagon is planned to be a shopping mall! :lol:

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shanghailaine/pentagon_mall.jpg

Something deeply ironic about that - supposedly free market and democratic USA builds massive pentagon-shaped national security bunker in the capital. Authoritarian Communist China builds massive pentagon-shaped shopping mall. :ummm:

Zarquon

Oct 13th 2009, 03:24 PM

Ironic indeed, but bear in mind that a pentagon is a geometrical shape, and I don't think the shopping mall builders know or care about the American DoD building or were consciously emulating it.
And even if they were, its not as if Americans own that shape or it is to be built for defence ministries only.
And contemporary China is about as 'communist' as the US is laissez-faire.

The Drunk Guy

Oct 17th 2009, 12:34 PM

The Drunk Fiance and myself are headed to Cincinnati tonight to catch The Mars Volta (http://www.themarsvolta.com/) live at Bogart's Showcase. I'm seriously pumped as they're rumored to be the best live show since Zeppelin. Expect a full review with pics when we return tomorrow. :D

partofme

Oct 17th 2009, 04:33 PM

Honestly I feel like the thing that is more dangerous about H1N1 isn't the disease itself but the stupidity of the American public. People seem to either think the vaccine doesn't work or that it will make them sick and is actually riskier than getting swine flu. I sure am glad this movement didn't show up back in the days of smallpox and polio. By not getting a H1N1 vaccine people are not only putting themselves at risk but others that can catch it from them. I don't think they should be required to get it but considering the odds of it benefiting them in comparison with the odds of any negative consequences it is a very illogical choice.

I also hate it when people bring up the profit of people that make vaccines. Do you know who else makes a big profit? The makers of little child size coffins.

dilettante

Oct 17th 2009, 08:20 PM

Honestly I feel like the thing that is more dangerous about H1N1 isn't the disease itself but the stupidity of the American public. People seem to either think the vaccine doesn't work or that it will make them sick and is actually riskier than getting swine flu. I sure am glad this movement didn't show up back in the days of smallpox and polio.

Actually there was massive resistance to smallpox inoculations, and possibly for good reason since it involved giving people a mild form of the disease which could still kill you and, at the least, was extraordinarily unpleasant. More distressingly, people infected with the mild inoculation-form of smallpox could infect others with full-blown smallpox. A good many people died in colonial New England because inoculated individuals didn't appropriately isolate themselves before their symptoms appeared.

Anyway, I imagine things were a good bit calmer by the time they started using cowpox instead.

Americano

Oct 17th 2009, 10:37 PM

Actually there was massive resistance to smallpox inoculations, and possibly for good reason since it involved giving people a mild form of the disease which could still kill you and, at the least, was extraordinarily unpleasant. More distressingly, people infected with the mild inoculation-form of smallpox could infect others with full-blown smallpox. A good many people died in colonial New England because inoculated individuals didn't appropriately isolate themselves before their symptoms appeared.

Anyway, I imagine things were a good bit calmer by the time they started using cowpox instead.

I've never taken any flu prevention shot. I did the childhood requirements and then whatever was required for visa purposes, but good luck trying to shoot me up with the flu.

Lily

Oct 18th 2009, 11:08 AM

I've never taken any flu prevention shot. I did the childhood requirements and then whatever was required for visa purposes, but good luck trying to shoot me up with the flu.

What do you mean "shoot me up with the flu?" The flu vaccine in shot form does not contain any live virus.

Americano

Oct 18th 2009, 11:26 AM

What do you mean "shoot me up with the flu?" The flu vaccine in shot form does not contain any live virus.

Out of curiosity what do they contain?

My avoidance of flu shots has had more to do with the relatively few strains they protect against versus what's normally going around.

Michael

Oct 18th 2009, 12:27 PM

I think this topic came up previously.

I too tend to avoid flu shots because I don't seem to suffer much from any flu at all - except the really nasty two-week long flu I get immediately after having a flu shot. :shrug:

I'm 'three for three' with that reaction in my lifetime so I don't volunteer for any flu shots ever since.

For me, getting the flu isn't very much of a problem since I tend to shake if off pretty damn quick anyways (2-3 days max).

partofme

Oct 18th 2009, 01:33 PM

The Drunk Guy

Oct 19th 2009, 08:24 AM

Americano

Oct 19th 2009, 10:05 AM

Just to follow up, the show was cancelled. The singer lost his voice the night before in Cleveland. :sad:

Did you make the drive or learn about the cancellation beforehand?

Michael

Oct 19th 2009, 10:17 AM

My wife and I as well as our two kids all get the flu shot every year and none of us have ever gotten the flu from it. Neither have my parents and they always got one as far back as I can remember. Strange.
Nothing strange about it. They always say there is a 1-2% failure rate with these vaccines.

You're in the 99%, I'm in the 1% failure group. :shrug:

Michael

Oct 19th 2009, 10:18 AM

Just to follow up, the show was cancelled. The singer lost his voice the night before in Cleveland. :sad:

That sucks! I hope you didn't drive to Cleveland just to find out!

The Drunk Girl

Oct 19th 2009, 10:22 AM

Did you make the drive or learn about the cancellation beforehand?

We already had made the drive to Cincinnati. Check-in for the hotel was at 4 and the concert was supposed to start at 9. His cousin came down from Dayton to go to the concert with us, so he wound up giving us a tour of the city since he used to go to UC and then Sunday we went to the zoo. Lots of cute kids running around the zoo dressed up for some trick-or-treat event there.

Michael

Oct 19th 2009, 10:42 AM

We already had made the drive to Cincinnati. Check-in for the hotel was at 4 and the concert was supposed to start at 9. His cousin came down from Dayton to go to the concert with us, so he wound up giving us a tour of the city since he used to go to UC and then Sunday we went to the zoo. Lots of cute kids running around the zoo dressed up for some trick-or-treat event there.

So some free candy at the zoo made up for the canceled concert? :ummm:

The Drunk Girl

Oct 19th 2009, 12:49 PM

So some free candy at the zoo made up for the canceled concert? :ummm:

:lol: that would have been nice, but we were not of the age "12 and under." But, we got some good pictures. Little buddy in the pictures was entertaining to watch swing around and then pose in front of the glass though.

I just pictured him saying, "Game...blouses" after the Chappelle skit where Charlie Murphy plays Prince and the Revolution in a game of basketball.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boul6y3JoNE)
I'll let TDG go off on his rant with Orbitz and the hotel if he wants when he gets home...

Greendruid

Oct 19th 2009, 02:49 PM

:lol: that would have been nice, but we were not of the age "12 and under." But, we got some good pictures. Little buddy in the pictures was entertaining to watch swing around and then pose in front of the glass though.

I just pictured him saying, "Game...blouses" after the Chappelle skit where Charlie Murphy plays Prince and the Revolution in a game of basketball.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boul6y3JoNE)
I'll let TDG go off on his rant with Orbitz and the hotel if he wants when he gets home...

Looks like a black-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps - cute lil' buggers.

Michael

Oct 19th 2009, 05:01 PM

I'll just leave this here for amusement.

It is from Life Magazine, circa 1949. :lol:

http://www.kieranhealy.org/files/misc/highbrow-sm.png

(apparently I won't - for some reason this photo won't link up!)

The Drunk Guy

Oct 19th 2009, 08:07 PM

Looks like a black-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps - cute lil' buggers.
Sorry, but that's a lesser ape pictured. Yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae). Notice the lack of tail and long arms.

As for the hotel...Orbitz asked me if I wanted a smoking room when I booked the place. Of course! (What self-loathing alcoholic doesn't want a smoking room?) So, we arrived, checked in, and checked out the room. There were no ashtrays, but there were no signs saying, "No Smoking," so we lit up.

This morning, I checked my bank account to find a $250 charge. Turns out all Marriott's have a smoking ban in every room. So I called the hotel to explain the situation. I was denied a refund because I should have read the warning, located on the room key card holder (behind where the key cards go), or I should have called the front desk.

My argument is that I requested a smoking room and was never explicitly told there was no smoking. Their argument is that I should have looked harder before lighting up. What do you all think?

Note: I'm calling my lawyer friend in a few minutes to get some advice. $250 is too much to just say, "Eh, whatever."

Michael

Oct 19th 2009, 08:41 PM

What do you all think?
You have my sympathy, but that I think you will need $250.

Far too much falls under the principle of 'caveat emptor'. Unless you can show some kind of willfull attempt to deceive you, I don't see any grounds for legal challenge. But I'm not a lawyer, so who knows. The law can be very complicated sometimes. :shrug:

Michael

Oct 19th 2009, 08:48 PM

Random food post!

Didn't we have a Food/Cooking thread hanging around here? :ummm:

Anyway, three cheers for urban gentrification! :thumbsup:

A nice new 'upscale' butchershop just opened up just a ten minute walk from my place. All free-range, organic and/or hormone-free meat products. It ain't cheap, but not much more expensive, but the quality is very noticable. :banana:

On a second note, I just purchased ingredients for brewing up the first batch of Michael's Manly Minestrone soup of the season!

That's about the only good news I see around these days - and the soup is actually bad news since I associate that soup with the fall and winter months. :shrug:

Americano

Oct 20th 2009, 08:41 PM

Sorry, but that's a lesser ape pictured. Yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae). Notice the lack of tail and long arms.

As for the hotel...Orbitz asked me if I wanted a smoking room when I booked the place. Of course! (What self-loathing alcoholic doesn't want a smoking room?) So, we arrived, checked in, and checked out the room. There were no ashtrays, but there were no signs saying, "No Smoking," so we lit up.

This morning, I checked my bank account to find a $250 charge. Turns out all Marriott's have a smoking ban in every room. So I called the hotel to explain the situation. I was denied a refund because I should have read the warning, located on the room key card holder (behind where the key cards go), or I should have called the front desk.

My argument is that I requested a smoking room and was never explicitly told there was no smoking. Their argument is that I should have looked harder before lighting up. What do you all think?

Note: I'm calling my lawyer friend in a few minutes to get some advice. $250 is too much to just say, "Eh, whatever."

Good luck. I use American Express as they'll suspend payment of disputed charges. In this instance you could spend a lot of lawyer money and still pay the $250.

Michael

Oct 20th 2009, 10:03 PM

The Drunk Guy

Oct 21st 2009, 08:18 AM

Good luck. I use American Express as they'll suspend payment of disputed charges. In this instance you could spend a lot of lawyer money and still pay the $250.
Actually, I just went to the BBB with it. After I did some research, the manager I appealed to actually lied to me about a couple things, so I think I have a decent shot at getting my money back. With the lack of signage and no mention of what the fee would be, I feel that the BBB will back me up.

But, you never know. :shrug:

Michael

Oct 21st 2009, 11:02 AM

That sounds promising... I give high marks to the BBB. Great organization they are! :thumbsup:

drgoodtrips

Oct 21st 2009, 12:15 PM

Sorry, but that's a lesser ape pictured. Yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae). Notice the lack of tail and long arms.

As for the hotel...Orbitz asked me if I wanted a smoking room when I booked the place. Of course! (What self-loathing alcoholic doesn't want a smoking room?) So, we arrived, checked in, and checked out the room. There were no ashtrays, but there were no signs saying, "No Smoking," so we lit up.

This morning, I checked my bank account to find a $250 charge. Turns out all Marriott's have a smoking ban in every room. So I called the hotel to explain the situation. I was denied a refund because I should have read the warning, located on the room key card holder (behind where the key cards go), or I should have called the front desk.

My argument is that I requested a smoking room and was never explicitly told there was no smoking. Their argument is that I should have looked harder before lighting up. What do you all think?

Note: I'm calling my lawyer friend in a few minutes to get some advice. $250 is too much to just say, "Eh, whatever."

Oh, I could have told you that about Marriott. That's where I always stay on business and I was a smoker until about 3 months ago. Sorry I didn't get a chance to save you the trouble. :(

The Drunk Girl

Oct 21st 2009, 12:28 PM

Oh, I could have told you that about Marriott. That's where I always stay on business and I was a smoker until about 3 months ago. Sorry I didn't get a chance to save you the trouble. :(

Did you quit cold-turkey? We both need to quit, even though we both "enjoy" smoking. I would go with the patches, but hell they're about as much as a carton now (if not more) and I don't have insurance (he does) so the pill is out of the question.

It's getting to be too much especially considering we smoke two different kinds of cigarettes at $40 a carton each! Not to mention how much more we smoke when we drink. We'll have to quit together, so if you all hear a news story of a young Kentucky couple that have went ape-shit crazy and killed one another, ya'll know who it is :lol:

Michael

Oct 21st 2009, 05:24 PM

...We'll have to quit together, so if you all hear a news story of a young Kentucky couple that have went ape-shit crazy and killed one another, ya'll know who it is :lol:

We'll keep an eye on the wire services for this one. ;)

drgoodtrips

Oct 21st 2009, 08:11 PM

Did you quit cold-turkey? We both need to quit, even though we both "enjoy" smoking. I would go with the patches, but hell they're about as much as a carton now (if not more) and I don't have insurance (he does) so the pill is out of the question.

It's getting to be too much especially considering we smoke two different kinds of cigarettes at $40 a carton each! Not to mention how much more we smoke when we drink. We'll have to quit together, so if you all hear a news story of a young Kentucky couple that have went ape-shit crazy and killed one another, ya'll know who it is :lol:

I chew the nicotine gum. I quit once some years back and didn't smoke for two years, but then went through a bit of a rough patch in my life and wound up smoking again. I chewed the gum the first time I quit and found it helpful, and I actually had a much easier time quitting this time around, with the gum again.

I get the gum at target for about $35, which lasts me a little under a month. I contrast this with the $150 per month I was probably spending on cigarettes (not too bad, considering that I found a good discount place - smokes in this area range from $7 to $10 per pack). For reference, I smoked about a pack a day and chew the 4 milligram gum.

I like the gum because it decouples quitting into two phases. You change your behavior without worrying about the physical addiction. Then, when you're no longer used to the behavior and are used to not smoke, you deal with the physical withdrawal from nicotine. Last time, I weaned myself off the gum by chewing my first piece progressively later in the day until I just didn't chew it anymore. There was a time when I would chew the gum only when drinking, but even that stopped after a while.

Greendruid

Oct 22nd 2009, 12:58 AM

Sorry, but that's a lesser ape pictured. Yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae). Notice the lack of tail and long arms.

Hmmm, I should have looked closer at the second picture. The first one definitely looks like there's a big tail hanging down with a curl to it at the end at the bottom of the picture. Probably lighting though. If I would have bothered to check the second picture the gibbon features are clearly distinguishable there. My mistake.

The Drunk Guy

Oct 22nd 2009, 08:30 AM

Hmmm, I should have looked closer at the second picture. The first one definitely looks like there's a big tail hanging down with a curl to it at the end at the bottom of the picture. Probably lighting though. If I would have bothered to check the second picture the gibbon features are clearly distinguishable there. My mistake.
The lighting was atrocious. This fellow was in one of two jungle creature houses. They kept the lighting in both to near nocturnal levels to give the effect of walking in the shade of a jungle canopy. While I understand the idea, it sure makes it hard to catch a glimpse of some of those little guys.

We got to see some bonobos, too. Besides some minor coloring and facial structure difference, the only thing that I really noticed to separate them from chimpanzees was their genitalia. I've read about their curious sexual behavior (sex for pleasure), but now it makes a little more sense. I'll put it this way: if my junk was that big, I'd want to use it more, too. :eek:

The Best Performer of the Day award will have to go to this guy...
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff70/maeson_68/100_0749.jpg

He did the Alpha Male Stare for a good 15 minutes. I kept waiting on a redneck to holler, "What're you lookin' at, darkie?" but then I remembered we were in Ohio.

The Drunk Girl

Oct 22nd 2009, 09:38 AM

Michael

Oct 22nd 2009, 10:04 AM

Anyone still into vinyl records? A friend of mine took up collecting them a year or so ago and is supposed to bring me Led Zeppelin IV today. So I thought, "what the hell" and ordered Zeppelin I yesterday off of Amazon. :banana: I had thought about possibly collecting them before, but it seems as collecting the "good ones" can become pretty tedious (my friend has traveled out of state several times as an example). I'm just hoping my mom still has her old record player as a make-shift until we can get one of our own...
I don't collect vinyl but I do know that a couple of the high-end stereo shops here do regularly advertise about selling turn-tables so those are definitely still around. Apparently they are fairly hot selling items. :shrug:

Greendruid

Oct 22nd 2009, 01:17 PM

The lighting was atrocious. This fellow was in one of two jungle creature houses. They kept the lighting in both to near nocturnal levels to give the effect of walking in the shade of a jungle canopy. While I understand the idea, it sure makes it hard to catch a glimpse of some of those little guys.

We got to see some bonobos, too. Besides some minor coloring and facial structure difference, the only thing that I really noticed to separate them from chimpanzees was their genitalia. I've read about their curious sexual behavior (sex for pleasure), but now it makes a little more sense. I'll put it this way: if my junk was that big, I'd want to use it more, too. :eek:

The bonobos are a curious bunch for sure. They have some very slight differences in proportion of arm and leg length that makes them look a little more like us and their heads are shaped a little differently. Hair patterning is also more eerily human. Behaviourally they also walk upright A LOT more than the common chimp does.

Michael

Oct 27th 2009, 11:54 AM

dilettante

Oct 27th 2009, 04:37 PM

I've been playing a new compluter game! :)

Space Empires IV - excellent turn-based space strategy game.

http://www.malfador.com/se4.html

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

It is a typical "4x" type game - steep learning curve and games that go on for a long time. Price is right - costs $10 USD through electronic download. It has a PBEM feature built-in (I used to play SE III that way with some friends). There is also support for Play-By-Web.

I looked at the demo of Space Empires V a while back; that family of games does have a steep learning curve; even among 4X games they're incredibly deep and detailed (or at least that was the impression I got from playing with the demo and reading about it online). Sounds like something you should be good at. :)

I got Civilization IV a few weeks back to scratch my TBS itch. For some reason my wife really enjoys the Civ series (she plays more than I do) but just doesn't get into any of the space-themed games, and I usually try to find things we'll both play.

Let me know what you think of SE IV when you get into it. Did you ever play the original Master of Orion?

Michael

Oct 27th 2009, 05:09 PM

I looked at the demo of Space Empires V a while back; that family of games does have a steep learning curve; even among 4X games they're incredibly deep and detailed (or at least that was the impression I got from playing with the demo and reading about it online). Sounds like something you should be good at. :)

I got Civilization IV a few weeks back to scratch my TBS itch. For some reason my wife really enjoys the Civ series (she plays more than I do) but just doesn't get into any of the space-themed games, and I usually try to find things we'll both play.

Let me know what you think of SE IV when you get into it. Did you ever play the original Master of Orion?
My love affair with CIV ended with Civiliztion II. After that, the series just got boring and tedious. :shrug:

I still play CIV 2 and enjoy it immensely.

As for Space Empires, I have been playing Space Empires III for many years so SE IV is just an advanced version of SE3 (better graphics, better AI, more units, more races, etc, but the same game). SE IV is generally considered the best of the whole genre. SE V is considered a bug-infested mess and is very different from Space Empires versions 2/3/4.

And yes, I do like deeply complicated strategy games. I like the 'research-tree', planetary management and 'ship design' features of Space Empires. I've always liked naval fleet operations with battleships and aircraft carriers and that's what space-battles are most similar to.

As for SE V, it is next to impossible to find a 'kind' review of SE V at all. It gets panned in every game review. Quite the opposite with SE IV.

As for Masters of Orion, I'm familiar with it, but never got into it. I believe MOO2 is considered the masterpiece in that series.

Btw, it doesn't suprise me that your wife likes Civ but not space-games. I've known a few women play Civ - none ever play space-based games. I don't know why this is, just an observation. :shrug:

drgoodtrips

Oct 27th 2009, 06:49 PM

Donkey

Oct 27th 2009, 06:58 PM

You guys are making me miss Age of Empires II, with the expansion (Age of the Kings).

That game was just so much fun.

dilettante

Oct 27th 2009, 07:26 PM

Did you ever try Civ IV? I remember Civ 3 and its expansion, and from what I recall, Civ IV is much better. I still play it to this day from time to time (this is about the only game I can make time for - with two monitors in my office, I can play a turn based game while still getting some work done).

They introduced some very cool concepts into the game, such as religions, strategic resources (uranium for nukes, iron for sword units, coal for ironclads, etc), national wonders, etc. The terrain is a lot cooler too.

(I'm starting to itch to play it now, which isn't good because I have endless work to do this week both at the office and at home for school and other. Not to mention that my girlfriend is moving in with me this week, so that's going to take some time as well)

Yeah, Civ IV is surprisingly different from the earlier incarnations of the game, and certainly better than Civ III, IMO.

The 'Beyond the Sword' and 'Warlord' expansions adds corporations to the mix as well, and a set of scenarios/mods which entirely change the nature of gameplay. One can play as Genghis Khan and be essentially nomadic instead of bound to cities, for instance, or play another mod which more-or-less mimics an X-COM style strategy game. It's really pretty impressive the amount of variety they managed to get out of their basic engine.

drgoodtrips

Oct 27th 2009, 07:30 PM

Yeah, Civ IV is surprisingly different from the earlier incarnations of the game, and certainly better than Civ III, IMO.

The 'Beyond the Sword' and 'Warlord' expansions adds corporations to the mix as well, and a set of scenarios/mods which entirely change the nature of gameplay. One can play as Genghis Khan and be essentially nomadic instead of bound to cities, for instance, or play another mod which more-or-less mimics an X-COM style strategy game. It's really pretty impressive the amount of variety they managed to get out of their basic engine.

I haven't heard of those. Are they cheap to pick up (or even downloadable)?

Michael

Oct 27th 2009, 07:46 PM

Did you ever try Civ IV? I remember Civ 3 and its expansion, and from what I recall, Civ IV is much better. I still play it to this day from time to time (this is about the only game I can make time for - with two monitors in my office, I can play a turn based game while still getting some work done).

They introduced some very cool concepts into the game, such as religions, strategic resources (uranium for nukes, iron for sword units, coal for ironclads, etc), national wonders, etc. The terrain is a lot cooler too.

(I'm starting to itch to play it now, which isn't good because I have endless work to do this week both at the office and at home for school and other. Not to mention that my girlfriend is moving in with me this week, so that's going to take some time as well)
After spending $60 on CIV3 and throwing it in the garbage after a few hours, I will not ever spend a penny with that company. Ever - no matter what product they sell, I won't buy it. That's just the way I am.

You guys are making me miss Age of Empires II, with the expansion (Age of the Kings).

That game was just so much fun.
:eek:

Some adrenalin junky is praising some 'real-time' crap here!

Suffice it to say that if you find yourself in the middle of a bunch of guys talking about high quality turn-based strategy games, you really shouldn't pipe up about your pleasure playing 'real-time' crap. Okay? It really is for your own good you know... ;) (its like saying to a bunch of chess players that "checkers" is the best game in the world!)

Heck, you might as well praise 'first-person-shooter' games. :shrug:

The Drunk Guy

Oct 27th 2009, 08:06 PM

Suffice it to say that if you find yourself in the middle of a bunch of guys talking about high quality turn-based strategy games, you really shouldn't pipe up about your pleasure playing 'real-time' crap. Okay? It really is for your own good you know... ;) (its like saying to a bunch of chess players that "checkers" is the best game in the world!)

Heck, you might as well praise 'first-person-shooter' games. :shrug:
I enjoy turn-based strategy as much as anyone else, but there is something primal about watching fronts smash into each other in Total War. I'm no fan of all those shitty WarCraft clones like AoE, though. Building a base and streaming an army across the map is silly. I like my army whole and staring down the enemy at the beginning of the battle.

And FPSs are fantastic for blowing off steam. Boss got you down? Go shoot some Nazi's in the face.

drgoodtrips

Oct 27th 2009, 08:14 PM

This is just the thing:

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/hot_new_video_game_consists

(Video)

Donkey

Oct 27th 2009, 08:22 PM

I'm just sayin' it is/was a damn good game. :p

dilettante

Oct 27th 2009, 09:50 PM

You guys are making me miss Age of Empires II, with the expansion (Age of the Kings).

That game was just so much fun.

I enjoy turn-based strategy as much as anyone else, but there is something primal about watching fronts smash into each other in Total War. I'm no fan of all those shitty WarCraft clones like AoE, though. Building a base and streaming an army across the map is silly. I like my army whole and staring down the enemy at the beginning of the battle.

And FPSs are fantastic for blowing off steam. Boss got you down? Go shoot some Nazi's in the face.

I enjoyed AoE for a while, but RTS games usually start to feel pointless to me pretty quickly; you build up your base, research tech, amass an army and attack...rinse and repeat.

I got a big kick out of Warcraft 3, though, since they went through the trouble of really constructing a real storyline; I played to see what happened next as much as to enjoy the actual mechanics of the fighting. I doubt I'll play another RTS until Starcraft 2 comes out next year; I hear it's also supposed to have a compelling storyline behind it.

dilettante

Oct 27th 2009, 09:57 PM

I haven't heard of those. Are they cheap to pick up (or even downloadable)?

We got them bundled with the original (Civilization IV: Complete), but you can get them separately on Amazon ($10-$20?). Beyond the Sword is the more impressive of the two for adding sheer variety to the game. Between them they add a bunch of mods and scenarios, corporations, espionage, the ability to have vassal states, several new civilizations, and the Apostolic Palace which makes it possible to win a "Religious Victory".

http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/beyondthesword/
http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/warlords/

Michael

Oct 28th 2009, 10:43 AM

So far I've spent about one hour playing the new game and about a dozen hours reading the manual and various on-line help sites. :eek:

I tend to be an 'economics' guy in these meta-strategy games. I study the economic engine and end up with a super wealthy economy and that enables me to pay for overwhelmingly massive superior force - which is fun to play with! Unfortunately, economics is usually the hardest part to figure out in any strategy game. They have whole chapters devoted to ship design and combat in the manual - virtually nothing about how the economy works.

My longtime obessive interest in naval ship design really gets an opportunity to shine here in this game since you get to custom design/build ships and fleets with dozens of different type platforms, engine types, weapon systems, etc. This is all very cool since you can create fleets of a hundred ships of all varieties and operate them as a single unit. :)

I also must confess that I've downloaded a bunch of 'race-ship-sets' off the internet - Borg, Romulans, Klingons, Federation, Ferengi, Imperial Empire, Rebel Alliance, etc. My absolute favorite is the Imperial Empire - I am always Darth Michael. :D

Michael

Oct 28th 2009, 11:00 AM

That being said, I suppose I've been neglecting my "create new threads" duty around here...

drgoodtrips

Oct 28th 2009, 12:16 PM

We got them bundled with the original (Civilization IV: Complete), but you can get them separately on Amazon ($10-$20?). Beyond the Sword is the more impressive of the two for adding sheer variety to the game. Between them they add a bunch of mods and scenarios, corporations, espionage, the ability to have vassal states, several new civilizations, and the Apostolic Palace which makes it possible to win a "Religious Victory".

http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/beyondthesword/
http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/warlords/

Thanks for the info :)

dilettante

Oct 28th 2009, 02:26 PM

So far I've spent about one hour playing the new game and about a dozen hours reading the manual and various on-line help sites. :eek:

Sometimes that can be as much fun as playing the game.
The Official Strategy Guide (http://www.amazon.com/Master-Orion-Official-Strategy-Secrets/dp/1559585072) for MOO is 430 pages of sheer joy from the days when such books actually went into deep discussion of alien cultures, various ship design and battle tactics, and detailed descriptions of how the game calculates everything behind the scene (complete with countless tables and formulas). I actually found (and bought) the guide before the game because I thought it was so entertaining. I still flip through it occasionally in my more geeky moments.

I tend to be an 'economics' guy in these meta-strategy games. I study the economic engine and end up with a super wealthy economy and that enables me to pay for overwhelmingly massive superior force - which is fun to play with! Unfortunately, economics is usually the hardest part to figure out in any strategy game. They have whole chapters devoted to ship design and combat in the manual - virtually nothing about how the economy works.

My longtime obessive interest in naval ship design really gets an opportunity to shine here in this game since you get to custom design/build ships and fleets with dozens of different type platforms, engine types, weapon systems, etc. This is all very cool since you can create fleets of a hundred ships of all varieties and operate them as a single unit. :)

I also must confess that I've downloaded a bunch of 'race-ship-sets' off the internet - Borg, Romulans, Klingons, Federation, Ferengi, Imperial Empire, Rebel Alliance, etc. My absolute favorite is the Imperial Empire - I am always Darth Michael. :D

I'm curious how well SE lets you really make use of carriers; I've never played a TBS game in which carrier combat felt right. It seems that either fighters end up acting like some sort of re-armable missile, that they're never as effective as an equally sized bank of standard weapons, and/or that there's no way to really give them fighter-ish missions.

The closest I've seen was in Pax Imperia II, where they at least gave you space to really deploy fighters far out ahead of the carrier groups and give them specific tasks (assault, C.A.P., escort, etc). Unfortunately the AI was so bad in that game it never came up with effective counters and half a dozen escort carriers could reliably win just about any war by themselves.

Michael

Oct 28th 2009, 03:48 PM

I'm curious how well SE lets you really make use of carriers; I've never played a TBS game in which carrier combat felt right. It seems that either fighters end up acting like some sort of re-armable missile, that they're never as effective as an equally sized bank of standard weapons, and/or that there's no way to really give them fighter-ish missions.

The closest I've seen was in Pax Imperia II, where they at least gave you space to really deploy fighters far out ahead of the carrier groups and give them specific tasks (assault, C.A.P., escort, etc). Unfortunately the AI was so bad in that game it never came up with effective counters and half a dozen escort carriers could reliably win just about any war by themselves.

SE3 and SE4 use Carriers reasonably well, though they aren't 'dominant'. Enemy AI also uses them quite well. I've always made carriers a central part of my offensive and defensive plans. I definitely build specialized "Carrier Group Fleets", though in SE3, the Fighters tended to become less valuable over time.

SE4 has a specific tech-tree to serve Fighters so you can upgrade them or customize them to suit your strategies. They have 'mini' versions of most of the standard components for ships so you can really customize them into a variety of roles.

There is however a popular mod for SE4 called "Carrier Battles" and it is entirely devoted to making the Carrier/Fighters the most dominant feature of the game (including specialized Fighter-classes). I've read the documentation on this and it looks very impressive.

It is important to note that the Space Empires franchise fully and officially supports user-created Mods. My purchased copy of SE4 includes as an "extra" the top ten most popular user-created mods. :)

Non Sequitur

Oct 29th 2009, 02:20 AM

reading the earlier posts on this thread, I'm surprised to read that people didn't like civ III. I actually prefer civ III to IV. IV got to complicated with the religion thing.

drgoodtrips

Oct 29th 2009, 12:03 PM

reading the earlier posts on this thread, I'm surprised to read that people didn't like civ III. I actually prefer civ III to IV. IV got to complicated with the religion thing.

It wasn't that I didn't like it, personally. I just liked IV better.

Speaking of religion, I pulled out the instruction manual a week or two ago when my girlfriend expressed some interest in learning to play. I was thumbing through it and saw that in the religion section, they had practically tripped over themselves with pre-emptive PR. There was a whole paragraph dedicated to saying "we're not saying that any religion is better than any other religion, and really, they're all the same and they're all equal, and they're all great... etc"

I felt a little bemused.

The Drunk Girl

Oct 29th 2009, 02:57 PM

Waiting on getting my nursing letter this week is horribly painful. I'm almost to the point of drinking my anxiety away :erm:

Zarquon

Oct 29th 2009, 03:59 PM

got my SAT score:2060/2400.

dilettante

Oct 29th 2009, 04:07 PM

got my SAT score:2060/2400.

Hold on...must recalculate...

2060/2400 ~= 1373/1600

Ah, that's better. Well done :thumbsup:

Zarquon

Oct 29th 2009, 04:13 PM

Hold on...must recalculate...

2060/2400 ~= 1373/1600

Ah, that's better. Well done :thumbsup:
thanks

Donkey

Oct 29th 2009, 04:13 PM

got my SAT score:2060/2400.
Entirely respectable. ;) Nicely done.

Donkey

Oct 29th 2009, 04:16 PM

Hold on...must recalculate...

2060/2400 ~= 1373/1600

Ah, that's better. Well done :thumbsup:
That's not actually the best way to calculate it.

Old SAT was 800 + 800. New is 800 + 800 + 800. There is a new section/subject, "writing."

The best way is to take the separate Math and Reading scores and add them to get your old SAT score.

If you use your way, it actually bumps up my old SAT score. :lol:

dilettante

Oct 29th 2009, 04:29 PM

That's not actually the best way to calculate it.

Old SAT was 800 + 800. New is 800 + 800 + 800. There is a new section/subject, "writing."

The best way is to take the separate Math and Reading scores and add them to get your old SAT score.

Well, I didn't know the break down, and I'm used to thinking of SAT scores as going up to 1600.

My dad was a big believe in practicing for those tests. I must have taken half a dozen full practice SATs before I ever saw a real one.

If you use your way, it actually bumps up my old SAT score. :lol:

Clearly my way is the one you should use then. :)

Donkey

Oct 29th 2009, 04:36 PM

Well, I didn't know the break down, and I'm used to thinking of SAT scores as going up to 1600.

My dad was a big believe in practicing for those tests. I must have taken half a dozen full practice SATs before I ever saw a real one.

Clearly my way is the one you should use then. :)
:lol:

I was the first class to take the new test. Since there was no point of reference, the word on the street was that colleges weren't even looking at the third score.

Your dad is right. While an uncommonly brilliant person could probably ace it either way, knowing how the test works is just as important as knowing the material (at least, relatively important). Practice is essential.

Zarquon

Oct 29th 2009, 04:53 PM

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3769/capturehi.jpg
Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT#Raw_scores.2C_scaled_scores.2C_and_percentiles )

Here's my score breakdown if anyone's curious:
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/8713/satreasoningtestresult.jpg

Donkey

Oct 29th 2009, 04:55 PM

You got 12 on your essay? I hate you.

drgoodtrips

Oct 29th 2009, 05:03 PM

I remember taking the SAT out of 1600. I still had to take the writing one, but that was reported as a separate score.

I think they were just introducing that when I was a kid because I took the SAT every year from age 11 on up, and it was only when I was a junior in high school and taking it "for real" that I had to do that writing portion.

Standardized testing is incredibly trite. I remember in the verbal analogies portions for instance, thinking "I could make a case for three of the four of these, but I know that A is what they probably want." Same goes for the mathematical pattern matching. I was of half a mind to write out an inductive proof of "B" when I knew they were looking for "A", just to throw a wrench in the works. I never did that - those tests were expensive.

drgoodtrips

Oct 29th 2009, 05:32 PM

Well, I didn't know the break down, and I'm used to thinking of SAT scores as going up to 1600.

My dad was a big believe in practicing for those tests. I must have taken half a dozen full practice SATs before I ever saw a real one.

Dear God, the Humanity!

Kids around me had the Princeton Review Prep (guaranteed to boost your scores with practice, vocabulary, and such pearls of wisdom as "if you can eliminate two answers, you should guess" and "for the math, plug each multiple choice answer into the equation and see if it works"). That was expensive and onerous sounding, so I opted to prepare on my own. I seem to recall trying on a few occasions to take a practice test and not being able to get through even a fraction of it before wanting to end my life.

I suppose taking it in junior high was good practice though - that was practice with the real, actual environment and everything rather than me doing it while watching TV.

dilettante

Oct 29th 2009, 06:55 PM

Dear God, the Humanity!

Kids around me had the Princeton Review Prep (guaranteed to boost your scores with practice, vocabulary, and such pearls of wisdom as "if you can eliminate two answers, you should guess" and "for the math, plug each multiple choice answer into the equation and see if it works"). That was expensive and onerous sounding, so I opted to prepare on my own. I seem to recall trying on a few occasions to take a practice test and not being able to get through even a fraction of it before wanting to end my life.

I suppose taking it in junior high was good practice though - that was practice with the real, actual environment and everything rather than me doing it while watching TV.

We went with Kaplan. They had a bunch of tips like that too and a whole slew of tests they'd constructed from earlier SATs. The first test they gave you was built out of questions most people got right, the next test was supposed to be slightly harder...and so on and until the last practice test you got was the 'SAT from hell'.

It was a royal pain to endure but in the end I did really well on the actual test and, thanks in part to that, made it through college on scholarships (which might have been why my father was so devoted to test preparation...)

drgoodtrips

Oct 29th 2009, 07:02 PM

We went with Kaplan. They had a bunch of tips like that too and a whole slew of tests they'd constructed from earlier SATs. The first test they gave you was built out of questions most people got right, the next test was supposed to be slightly harder...and so on and until the last practice test you got was the 'SAT from hell'.

It was a royal pain to endure but in the end I did really well on the actual test and, thanks in part to that, made it through college on scholarships (which might have been why my father was so devoted to test preparation...)

Nice work, then. I know that it isn't easy to earn academic scholarships. If you can toss a ball half a mile, then all doors are open, but if you want a scholarship to college for, you know, being good at academics, then you'd better graduate in the top 5 of your class, score north of 1500 on the SAT, join a varsity sport and be the captain of the debate club.

Out of curiosity, did you have a "before and after" scenario to see how your scores improved? In college, I found out that I was qualified to teach Princeton Review classes based on my SAT scores, and while I never actually wound up doing it, I remember thinking it would be interesting to have access to empirical data on how effective that kind of thing really was.

Michael

Oct 30th 2009, 01:05 PM

Woohoo! :banana:

I launched my first "Carrier Fleet" and "Battle Fleet" last night - captured three planets - all 'homeworld' designated planets of my closest rival. :)

I ended up losing almost all my fighters and ships except my two carriers. :(

But capturing three fully loaded planets is well worth the expense - plus it was a debilitating blow to my opponent! :)

The 'fleet' designation system is excellent - that feature was always 'buggy' in SE3 but seems to be well-designed in this version (Fleet organization is critical when you have more than 100 ships just to be organized - giving 100 individual ships individual orders is the kind of tedium that is beyond me!)

dilettante

Oct 30th 2009, 02:23 PM

Out of curiosity, did you have a "before and after" scenario to see how your scores improved? In college, I found out that I was qualified to teach Princeton Review classes based on my SAT scores, and while I never actually wound up doing it, I remember thinking it would be interesting to have access to empirical data on how effective that kind of thing really was.

No, I only took it the once. I got a better score on the SAT than I did on the PSAT (which was before I did any of the Kaplan stuff), but I'm not sure if that's relevant. On the other hand, I got exactly the same score on the GRE as I did on the SAT, and all I had to prep for that was a book from Barnes and Noble and some homemade vocabulary cards... :shrug:

dilettante

Oct 30th 2009, 02:33 PM

Michael

Oct 30th 2009, 03:58 PM

Nice.
Are you playing against humans or the computer?
Computer opponents. About 10 of them I believe.

Multiplayer is not for the faint of heart or newbies. Its been on the market for a couple of years so the competition level is extreme.

I may have to look this game up. I don't see myself buying another game any time soon, but I'm always kind of fascinated to see how different TBS games work.
I posted a couple of links above. There is a wiki page for the manual as well, so there's lots you can read about the game.

The game is also pretty cheap (I paid $10 to download SE4 Deluxe).

Lily

Oct 30th 2009, 09:12 PM

I'm nominating these two as Dumbass Criminals of the Week.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/CRIME/10/29/iowa.marker.disguise/t1larg.mugshots.carroll.pd.jpg

Yeah. Their disguise was to use permanent marker on their faces. :rofl:

Source (http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/29/iowa.marker.disguise/index.html)

Michael

Nov 1st 2009, 09:58 AM

I'm nominating these two as Dumbass Criminals of the Week.
...
Yeah. Their disguise was to use permanent marker on their faces. :rofl:

:rofl: Not too bright I guess!

Btw, it is All Hallow's Day!

Michael

Nov 1st 2009, 09:59 AM

I've been invited to my mother's house to do leaves today. I do get a decent roast of beef for lunch, so its not too bad...

Americano

Nov 1st 2009, 10:36 AM

I've been invited to my mother's house to do leaves today. I do get a decent roast of beef for lunch, so its not too bad...

One of the reasons (plus fire danger and rain gutters) I had all trees removed from around the house. I was in town yesterday and saw people with rakes knee-deep in leaves and tall ladders up on the sides of houses with obviously scared shitless people hanging on while cleaning out rain gutters.

Michael

Nov 1st 2009, 10:51 AM

One of the reasons (plus fire danger and rain gutters) I had all trees removed from around the house. I was in town yesterday and saw people with rakes knee-deep in leaves and tall ladders up on the sides of houses with obviously scared shitless people hanging on while cleaning out rain gutters.

Most people up here had the old gutters replaced years ago with a new design that doesn't get all stuffed full of leaves. Its been years since I've had to clean out the gutters (which used to be an annual event).

Unfortunately, I grew up in one of the nicest parts of the city's west end - where it isn't uncommon to have a couple of oak trees on the front lawn (as I always say, the land of 'two-car garages and backyard swimming pools'.

Michael

Nov 1st 2009, 10:53 AM

Today we set the clocks back one hour - so technically speaking, this is a long weekend! :D

Americano

Nov 1st 2009, 10:55 AM

Most people up here had the old gutters replaced years ago with a new design that doesn't get all stuffed full of leaves. Its been years since I've had to clean out the gutters (which used to be an annual event).

Unfortunately, I grew up in one of the nicest parts of the city's west end - where it isn't uncommon to have a couple of oak trees on the front lawn (as I always say, the land of 'two-car garages and backyard swimming pools'.

Decorative trees have always been a desired inconvenience in suburbia.

Americano

Nov 1st 2009, 10:59 AM

Today we set the clocks back one hour - so technically speaking, this is a long weekend! :D

I dislike setting the clocks back. We're no longer agrarian nations and darkness at 4PM just because the harvests are completed makes no sense.

partofme

Nov 1st 2009, 11:16 AM

I have mixed feelings about it. I like having more light on my way to work which makes it easier to get going but I can't stand it being dark so early in the day.

Lily

Nov 2nd 2009, 09:53 AM

Oh no. I just read in my local newspaper that the Nobelton Canoe Outpost is closing after nearly 35 years in business. The reason? The water level on the Withlacoochee River has been too consistently low to support the business.

The local water managment district wants to blame the low water levels on drought, but some experts blame the district itself, saying that water from this river has been diverted to the Hillsborough River, a water source supplying much of Tampa. Both rivers share the same watershed.

The Withlachoochee River is one of the most beautiful in Florida. A tannin-stained, winding river that flows past cypress and hardwood swamps and upland pine forests, it is one of the few rivers that flows south to north/northwest. It is home to myriad species of water fowl, reptiles and mammals, including black bear. There have even been reports of a rare Florida panther patrolling its banks.

My mother has had two homes on the river, one in the late 70s and another in the mid-80s, and I also had a house on the river for a short time when I was married. I've spent many, many hours boating, fishing and canoeing on that river, but in the past five years, those trips have been few and far between because of low water.

Sad to see the Outpost go, even sadder to see this gorgeous river go.

http://www.mysuncountry.com/realestate/000123/RiverView1_lrg.jpg

The Drunk Girl

Nov 2nd 2009, 04:41 PM

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

I GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE NURSING PROGRAM

Donkey

Nov 2nd 2009, 04:56 PM

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

I GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE NURSING PROGRAM
FUCK YEAH!

Woohoo!

dilettante

Nov 2nd 2009, 04:58 PM

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

I GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE NURSING PROGRAM

Way to go! :thumbsup:

The Drunk Girl

Nov 2nd 2009, 05:02 PM

Lily

Nov 2nd 2009, 05:57 PM

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

I GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE NURSING PROGRAM

Congratulations! :nice:

The Drunk Guy

Nov 2nd 2009, 06:44 PM

Lily

Nov 2nd 2009, 07:50 PM

Donkey, have you been drinking?! You've been throwing the word "fuck" around more than usual :lol:

And, thanks guys. I really had no clue what I was going to do if I didn't get in. Now, I have plenty of immunizations to look forward to and a dosage calculations test my first day back after Christmas Break.

Get used to those dosage calculations. They were on every single test I took in nursing school. And you had to pass or they sent you off for remedial instruction. If you still didn't get it, you failed the semester. :eek:

Michael

Nov 2nd 2009, 08:12 PM

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

I GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE NURSING PROGRAM

Congrats! I'd say that's worth another dancing banana! :banana:

Michael

Nov 2nd 2009, 08:12 PM

Get used to those dosage calculations. They were on every single test I took in nursing school. And you had to pass or they sent you off for remedial instruction. If you still didn't get it, you failed the semester. :eek:
That's reassuring.

It is nice to know that some schools do have some standards still. :)

Michael

Nov 2nd 2009, 08:34 PM

That was an extreme busy weekend (I didn't even get time to play my new Space Empires game!!!). :mad:

I always divide the weekend up into four segments - Friday night, Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday - and judge a busy weekend as one with four events/things to do taking up those four time blocks. I really hate having to go out all four times on the weekend. I like to have at least one and hopefully two of those time segments 'empty'.

Anyway, just a random thought. :shrug:

Donkey

Nov 2nd 2009, 08:44 PM

Donkey, have you been drinking?! You've been throwing the word "fuck" around more than usual :lol:

And, thanks guys. I really had no clue what I was going to do if I didn't get in. Now, I have plenty of immunizations to look forward to and a dosage calculations test my first day back after Christmas Break.
Not since Saturday night.

Though the level of obliteration was so comprehensive it might STILL be wearing off. :angel:

Michael

Nov 2nd 2009, 08:46 PM

Donkey, have you been drinking?! You've been throwing the word "fuck" around more than usual :lol:
More than usual? How can you tell? :ummm:

The Drunk Girl

Nov 3rd 2009, 01:08 AM

More than usual? How can you tell? :ummm:

Well, since I have been here I haven't notice him cussing frequently or using "harsh" curse words. Over the past few days, he has said "fuck yeah" and "fuck the Yankees." Just a silly observation and me having fun. Nothing against Donkey (I like him). :D

The Drunk Girl

Nov 3rd 2009, 01:10 AM

Not since Saturday night.

Though the level of obliteration was so comprehensive it might STILL be wearing off. :angel:

Well Saturday night I couldn't drink, due to working from 230p-11p and having to get up at 6am the next morning, but I always find time to drink in between! Have to keep my name, ya know? :lol:

(Waking up drunk sucks big hairy balls by the way)

Donkey

Nov 3rd 2009, 01:49 AM

Well, since I have been here I haven't notice him cussing frequently or using "harsh" curse words. Over the past few days, he has said "fuck yeah" and "fuck the Yankees." Just a silly observation and me having fun. Nothing against Donkey (I like him). :D
IRL I drop eff bombs like it's my job. I guess I hadn't noticed if I do it more or less on forums.
:)

Lily

Nov 3rd 2009, 08:28 AM

That's reassuring.

It is nice to know that some schools do have some standards still. :)

Believe it or not, nursing is one profession where we regularly need to solve algebraic equations. Most of our meds come in multi-dose vials. Oh, and everything is the metric system. An easy example: the doctor orders 2mg of morphine. You have a vial of 5mg of morphine in 1ml. How many mls do you give?

Michael

Nov 3rd 2009, 11:07 AM

An easy example: the doctor orders 2mg of morphine. You have a vial of 5mg of morphine in 1ml. How many mls do you give?
That's easy! You give them the slip and run away with the 5mg of morphine! :D

Zarquon

Nov 3rd 2009, 12:57 PM

0.4 Ml

Lily

Nov 3rd 2009, 04:13 PM

That's easy! You give them the slip and run away with the 5mg of morphine! :D

0.4 Ml

You're both right! Just depends on what kind of nurse you are. :lol:

Americano

Nov 4th 2009, 10:53 AM

I just read where Ohio has approved casino style gambling in an attempt to revitalize badly sagging tax revenue. I thought Ohio was a bible belt state?

Donkey

Nov 4th 2009, 01:13 PM

I just read where Ohio has approved casino style gambling in an attempt to revitalize badly sagging tax revenue. I thought Ohio was a bible belt state?
No way. Well. Depends on where you go. If you're in the deep south of Ohio, you might as well be the deep south of the country.

But, we have a democrat governor, a democrat controlled house (not senate, and our supreme court is stacked Republicans), etc. Cleveland is hosting the Gay Games in 2014, and we're the state that sends Dennis Kucinich to congress, for Christ's sake.

I would say that Ohio is actually a really accurate microcosm of the entire country.

Americano

Nov 4th 2009, 01:30 PM

No way. Well. Depends on where you go. If you're in the deep south of Ohio, you might as well be the deep south of the country.

But, we have a democrat governor, a democrat controlled house (not senate, and our supreme court is stacked Republicans), etc. Cleveland is hosting the Gay Games in 2014, and we're the state that sends Dennis Kucinich to congress, for Christ's sake.

I would say that Ohio is actually a really accurate microcosm of the entire country.

Never spent any time there other than business trips to Cleveland and Cincinnati and stayed in a forgettable Ohio rural small town before a Kentucky Derby week, but for some reason (no offense) I always had the impression it was a rust and bible belt sort of state.

Donkey

Nov 4th 2009, 01:34 PM

Never spent any time there other than business trips to Cleveland and Cincinnati and stayed in a forgettable Ohio rural small town before a Kentucky Derby week, but for some reason (no offense) I always had the impression it was a rust and bible belt sort of state.
That's not inaccurate. Bible belt at the bottom, Rust belt at the top.

Casinos were voted down a couple of years ago. I think people are just hurting and willing to buy into something that "promises" to help.

Americano

Nov 4th 2009, 01:48 PM

That's not inaccurate. Bible belt at the bottom, Rust belt at the top.

Casinos were voted down a couple of years ago. I think people are just hurting and willing to buy into something that "promises" to help.

Be interesting to see how they raise the capital, the US casino industry in general being in deep doo doo with bond defaults and serious revenue deficiency problems.

Donkey

Nov 4th 2009, 03:24 PM

Be interesting to see how they raise the capital, the US casino industry in general being in deep doo doo with bond defaults and serious revenue deficiency problems.
Apparently the capital is there, ready to roll in.

Zarquon

Nov 4th 2009, 04:55 PM

Whoa!
Some 700 million people worldwide, or 16 per cent of the adult population, think the grass is greener on the other side and want to move to another country, according to a new poll. Here are some of the other findings of Gallup's survey of people in 135 countries between 2007 and 2009, released yesterday after phone or face-to-face interviews with 260,000 people aged 15 years and older: U-S-A! U-S-A!
Nearly one-quarter of these respondents name the United States as their top destination, which translates to more than 165 million adults worldwide.
We're No. 2
An additional 45 million say they would like to move to Canada, and another 45 million would choose Britain or France, while 35 million say Spain, and 25 million Germany. Saudi Arabia is the top chose for 30 million people, and 25 million want to go to Australia.

Main Source (http://www.gallup.com/poll/124028/700-Million-Worldwide-Desire-Migrate-Permanently.aspx)
The global recession didn't change these sentiments either!