What I don't get...

[Ryllharu]

It and other penicillin-family antibiotics prevent bacteria from surviving their divisions by attacking the cell walls, slowing down their spread in your system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta-lactam_antibiotic#Mode_of_action

It's a medium-strength antibiotic, so you don't wreak as much havoc on your healthy systems as the stronger ones do, and there is less of a risk of creating resistant bacteria strains.

It's really only helping you naturally fight off infection. Just make sure you take it all, regardless of when you start to feel better.

[Nadouku]

Oh, that is really nice information. Guess I'll know the results when I see a change. Thanks!

[Buffalobiian]

Why are banned members like GodVIAGRA allowed to sign in? I'll assume they can't post anymore, but is there a rationale in keeping them here? Does it somehow trick them into thinking they're still "functional", and who/whatever's at the other end doesn't try to send any more bots this way?

Is that also what happens when we get banned as well?

[Nadouku]

Banning rather than deleting them helps so that they can't remake the same account and spam again, since they can't post anything. These bots come at a rather slow pace, but are easy to detect and it will trick them into thinking that they are still functional, like you said.

And we have a new bot coming up too: Phorse (http://forums.gotwoot.net/member.php?u=14422)

[enkoujin]

If irony is commonly defined in these simple terms (but not necessarily correct) as a "situation opposite of what the audience expects" and your audience is all-knowing (specifically, your audience are a bunch of intellectuals who expect everything and/or anything to happen and there were not any plot devices that gave away dramatic irony), could your story having irony despite not meeting the requirements of the outlined definition above?

[Kraco]

Hmm... Maybe it's because I've always live in a country without much stand-up comedy, but I don't tend to think quite so purely externally about things like irony. You can't control what an audience might or might not predict, so it's a poor technical standard for any definition. A person facing a twisted outcome could easily judge it ironic in RL by him/herself, without any audience. In fiction the ultimate purpose of course remains: It was all written for an audience to witness, but nevertheless it's opposite to what the particular character was expecting, even if a part of the audience predicted it (which probably always happens).

I think the good old Tree of Irony is still a perfect example of irony:

http://forums.gotwoot.net/gallery/files/9/7/6/2/treeofirony.jpg

[enkoujin]

While that is a very good picture of irony right there (shame that PBF has irregular updates), I seem to have derived my conundrum from a difference source, but this example should suffice:

http://www.brawlinthefamily.com/comic157.html

While it is the dentist informs the patient that he is about to "clean his [the patient's] teeth", one initial audience response would immediately think that the dentist would be thinking of performing physical assault on the patient. The other would be inclined to think that the dentist literally does clean up the patient's teeth. The last one would be that the audience would expect anything, including non sequitur humor to occur.

In all three scenarios, according to the poor-technical definition of irony above, they all satisfy the irony presented in the story. I guess that that is the beauty of clever writing - to entangle the threads of double entendre and [double] irony into such a scenario.

Maybe I have been overlooking and analyzing simple literary devices and I should enjoy them for what they are. Thank you, Kraco!

[Ryllharu]

Why music isn't sold everywhere, and has more restrictive region locking than DVDs. At least you can purchase DVDs (in your own regional format).

Try to buy a foreign album. Doesn't matter what language. Japanese, French, Spanish, whatever. Try and buy it legally for it's fair price (ie. not import for 6x the cost of the cd in country of origin). You can't.

I like the album enough to want to give them my money. Try as I might, I literally can't. They have a chance to take my money, and there is no legal avenue that will allow me to purchase the album. I could "import" it, but in many cases it would cost me less to drive to Canada, buy 5 albums, and drive home the same day. I could fly to Japan round trip, buy 15 albums, and it would still cost me less than import those same cds.

I want to give the modern Robber Barons my money, and they will not take it.

[Xelbair]

I would love to get, for example, Kamelot CDs but well - the only way to get them here is to import them. guess the price for their second from the end CD, nearly 50$ + shipping.
i hope i don't have to mention that usually CD's here cost 3 to 4 times less.

[Assertn]

While that is a very good picture of irony right there (shame that PBF has irregular updates), I seem to have derived my conundrum from a difference source, but this example should suffice:

http://www.brawlinthefamily.com/comic157.html

While it is the dentist informs the patient that he is about to "clean his [the patient's] teeth", one initial audience response would immediately think that the dentist would be thinking of performing physical assault on the patient. The other would be inclined to think that the dentist literally does clean up the patient's teeth. The last one would be that the audience would expect anything, including non sequitur humor to occur.

In all three scenarios, according to the poor-technical definition of irony above, they all satisfy the irony presented in the story. I guess that that is the beauty of clever writing - to entangle the threads of double entendre and [double] irony into such a scenario.

Maybe I have been overlooking and analyzing simple literary devices and I should enjoy them for what they are. Thank you, Kraco!
I wouldn't call that irony, its just a play on dramatic context. The classic example my jr high english teacher liked to use was a farside comic where a fuel truck runs out of gas.

[Buffalobiian]

Expiry dates and manufacturing dates.....

I'm sure I'm not the only one whose ever wondered whether a date printed on certain food items was the manufacturing date or the expiry date.

Logic would dictate that if only one date existed on the packaging, it should be the expiry date, since manufacturing date is possible to track based on batch numbers.

Sometimes though, when you buy a product, go home, then look at the date, you think:

"Heck!....that's the manufactured date, right?"

Is it illegal to sell expired foodstuff (knowingly or not)?

[SorC]

Is it illegal to sell expired foodstuff (knowingly or not)?

Yes it's illegal to sell food that has past it's "use by" date. However many canned products are marked "best before" meaning they don't have an effective "use by" date because of preservatives etc. Meaning that they should stay edible till you open the packaging (Although there's no guarantee).

Also by law (Australian at least) all of this should be clearly marked on the packaging. It shouldn't be possible to confuse any of the three dates mention so far (use by, best before, manufacture).

[Death BOO Z]

Logic would dictate that if only one date existed on the packaging, it should be the expiry date, since manufacturing date is possible to track based on batch numbers.



Logic sucks.


there's always the case that something goes horribly wrong with the machines one day, and the product from that day needs to be called back.
a manufacturing date is easier for the end consumer to find and recognize than a bunch of number who end in the same string.
imagine that you heard in the news that the food company calls back all products from one day, and there are seven different coding for that day, it'd be a mess to remember all them codes.

[itadakimasu]

In the last couple of weeks, gas here dropped to around $2.17 /gallon from around $2.40 a month or so ago. On my way to work I saw that not only did it go up 12 cents from 2-3 days ago to yesterday, but from yesterday to today another 10 cent increase to $2.39.

So i google to see why gas prices are going up and here is a blurb from the article I find on MSNBC...

"While crude demand hasn't rebounded yet, traders have begun to have more faith that consumption will eventually pick up. "
Why should we pay higher gas prices based on what some random douchebags think and not on actual factors like demand? Sorry to the people in europe that pay $2.40 / litre : ) I'm american !

[Buffalobiian]

From what I understand, instead of demand first going up and being reflected in sales, thereby reducing potential profit on the gas sold during the time delay between the demand is realised by the seller, the seller puts up the price in anticipation of the increasing demand to come.

If demand does increase as they predict, then they'll maximise the profit they would have lost if they waited.

They're also betting on demand not dropping off in the meanwhile from the price increase.

As for why you should pay higher gas prices because of what some individual thinks? Well, that individual happens to be the one selling the goods.

----------------------------------------------

Long answer short, because he thinks you'll pay for it.

[Assertn]

There's about a month lapse between fluctuations in crude oil prices and refined gas prices you find locally.

[Buffalobiian]

When you load a website and the picture comes out slowly, why is it that it appears blurry at first, then slowly gets more definition before it becomes crystal clear? The entire picture seems to slowly fix itself at the same time, rather than progressively from top to bottom etc.

On the other hand, the banners on gotwoot load pretty fast, and upon refreshing, the new image appears top first, revealing itself down to the bottom, and every step is crystal clear without the need to "fix" the image.

Why does all that happen? In the first case, why doesn't the picture load slowly but perfectly, rather than "fast loading", followed by "fixing"?

[Psyke]

I thought the difference is in the web browsers and how they handle the image files based on their compression types, but I'm not too sure :p

[darkshadow]

That only happens with FF iirc Buff, and even for that I think you can set it load the images completely. IE8 ( or any IE) is set to do this by default.
It is just a different way of loading images.

[complich8]

to answer that question, you should search for information on jpeg interlacing. "progressive image rendering" might be another informative search... if you feel lucky.

[Buffalobiian]

Ah, thanks for that guys. From the tips, here's the article I found, for those also interested:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000468.html

To clear the matter up a bit further, the article suggests that this is done by whoever made the compressed JPEG, but also mentioned Internet Explorer, as if the browser also plays a part.

Does that mean:

1) JPEG files are all the same. Browsers decide which method to retrieve the image with resulting bandwidth repercussions.



2) JPEG files are encoded in with "progressive" or "interlaced" method. The browser does not have a choice but to download in said method.


OR


3) JPEG files can be encoded in both "progressive" and "interlaced" format. If a browser was downloading an image in "interlaced" format, it can choose to retrieve it "interlaced" or "progressively". Progressive images can only be retrieved progressively

[complich8]

2. Your browser opens a single linear read of the file on the webserver serving it, the webserver feeds your browser a stream of bytes, the browser can either wait until the data's all there before drawing it, or it can render what it's got. If it renders what it's got in-flight, progressive encoded images will load left to right line by line, and interlaced will fade in. If it waits until it's got all the data to render it, the image will just sort of pop into existence.

[Buffalobiian]

Many English dubs for anime sound really over-the-top dramatic. They yell and talk in a distinctively "cartonny" sort of way which is different from TV/movie voices.

Do anime voices sound like that in Japanese to the Japanese?

[Animeniax]

Many English dubs for anime sound really over-the-top dramatic. They yell and talk in a distinctively "cartonny" sort of way which is different from TV/movie voices.

Do anime voices sound like that in Japanese to the Japanese?
I also notice they enunciate in anime and live action shows much better than they do in real life conversation. I imagine it's for the sake of viewers from the different parts of Japan where the dialects and speech patterns (and even words sometimes) differ, but it seems exaggerated and unrealistic at times.

[Assertn]

It's called voice "acting"
There are american cartoons where people talk exaggeratedly as well.

[Archangel]

What I don't get is if Michael Jackson has so many financial troubles, why doesn't he just release another song? It will be multi-platinum and make millions, almost guaranteed. People love his music, even if it's a mediocre effort and more than 10 years past its prime.


totally random topic >_>, but ok, isn't he making a comeback? i think he just released an album with kanye west and will.i.am and such, sure there will be real new stuff down the road.

Awkward~~

[Assertn]

Michael jackson completed a shit ton of songs that he never published, because he wanted his kids to inherit them so they wouldn't be stuck with his debt. He probably would've been shafted by whatever contracts he was under with the music industry if he published them himself.

[XanBcoo]

Many English dubs for anime sound really over-the-top dramatic. They yell and talk in a distinctively "cartonny" sort of way which is different from TV/movie voices.

Do anime voices sound like that in Japanese to the Japanese?
See, there's this one show called Naruto...

[Sapphire]

Does anyone feel a "tinge" like feeling in their blood (in an isolated part of their body) when they feel a strong emotion occasionally?

[Animeniax]

Does anyone feel a "tinge" like feeling in their blood (in an isolated part of their body) when they feel a strong emotion occasionally?
You mean like when my wiener reacts to a hot girl? Or like when my fingers tingle when I almost fall and catch myself.

[IFHTT]

Does anyone feel a "tinge" like feeling in their blood (in an isolated part of their body) when they feel a strong emotion occasionally?

It is to my understanding that the "tinge" feeling is caused by the increased blood flow and release of adrenaline as a result of emotionally stressful situations. I think the intensity of the feeling depends on how severe the situation is. For instance, occasionally I get a mild "rush" when watching or reading something that I become emotionally invested in. This feeling only lasts for a few seconds and usually feels, at least to me, like a cold chill running through my veins. For me, it usually occurs at points of high drama or actions sequences.

[XanBcoo]

This feeling only lasts for a few seconds and usually feels, at least to me, like a cold chill running through my veins. For me, it usually occurs at points of high drama or actions sequences.
Hell yeah, I get this all the time and love it.

Music, movies, manga, whatever. Though it happens more frequently when I re-watch/listen to/read something.

[Sapphire]

I don't get it when I'm reading something unless I'm instantly shocked, but I do get a sort of specified and momentary "heat in my veins that I can taste" feeling when I feel strong emotions such as sadness, love, jealousy, infactuation..

Like anywhere, from my hand to my neck/collar bone, to my stomach depending on the feeling.

[Kraco]

I only get such odd feelings when I suddenly for a moment believe I just did something catastrophically stupid or realise I am about to do something like that.

Like once back at the university there was the Japanese ambassador to Finland holding a Q&A session and I almost, for some reason, asked one Chinese lady if she isn't going to go to listen to their ambassador.

[XanBcoo]

I only get such odd feelings when I suddenly for a moment believe I just did something catastrophically stupid or realise I am about to do something like that.
I think you might be describing a different feeling. Like when you realize you've slept through a final or are 4 hours late for work. Kind of a sinking feeling where you think "I've done something irreparably wrong," and your stomach feels cold and empty? Or maybe a minor version of that.

Sapphire meant that other feeling when you're emotionally moved by something. I remember getting it during the first Naruto arc, for example. When Zabuza is crying over Haku's death, and Kakashi tosses him the knife to attack Gatou. The second that first guitar chord hits and you see the rage on Zabuza's face, all your hairs stand on end and a chill runs through you for a split second. Really great feeling,

[Ryllharu]

Sapphire meant that other feeling when you're emotionally moved by something. I remember getting it during the first Naruto arc, for example. When Zabuza is crying over Haku's death, and Kakashi tosses him the knife to attack Gatou. The second that first guitar chord hits and you see the rage on Zabuza's face, all your hairs stand on end and a chill runs through you for a split second. Really great feeling,I get a punched-in-the-gut hollow feeling from certain emotionally moving scenes. It depends on the genre of media whether I get that rush of electricity or an empty hole in my sternum.

[IFHTT]

It depends on the genre of media whether I get that rush of electricity or an empty hole in my sternum.

I like the way you described the latter feeling. I only get that feeling through fictional mediums on rare occasions. I usually get it upon the realization that I'm in some sort of jeopardy. :(

I just think it's interesting how the brain can evaluate an event or situation, whether it be something that is happening in real life or in a story while we're physically in a safe, controlled setting, and return identical neurological responses for either stimulus.

[Sapphire]

Sometimes something screwed up in my dream and I think it's real. Like something that's even physically impossible like flying. And my emotional reaction is as if it's really happening.

Unrelated but awesome.

@Xan: I do get the "icy vein chill" feeling occasionally (like nervousness or intense suspence), but what I mean by tinge is usually a "spill?" feeling, like I can literally feel/taste some sort of substance released and running through a specified part of my body momentarily. It's very very similar to the icy feeling though. Maybe the same thing but feels more like.. a "flavor" than a temperature.

[shinta|hikari]

Why the fucking hell do so many villains in anime snap their fingers when ordering someone or some cpu to do something for them (like fire missiles, shoot hidden machine guns, show screen images of the evil plot, make evil BLT sandwiches)?

[Death BOO Z]

before I quit my job (two weeks ago, actually), we had an electric door there, so at the end of each day, we would set it to 'exit only'.
and everyday, on my way out, I'd snap my fingers when going through the detector.

you should try it, it's awesome.

[Assertn]

I don't get how being nice and not ignoring a girl implies leading said girl on. This has happened to me a few times and is always awkward. Just yesterday I was at a party and a girl pulled me aside and asked why I didn't call her after the first party, then tried to figure out why she wasn't my type. Sigh.

Guys have to deal with this all the time, and I think most of us can usually tell when a girl is just being nice vs being interested. Girls don't tell every guy that advances on them whether or not she likes them and why they feel that way, so why should I have to?

[Uchiha Barles]

Did you find her physically attractive? Or more importantly, do you think she thinks most guys find her physically attractive? Those are usually the cases where I've experienced that. If it's the former, you may have betrayed that to her subconsciously. If it's the latter, she may have been too overconfident to consider that you were being social, and nothing more. It's not just a girl thing though, I usually see guys falling prey to that.

It's just one of those things you're going to have to deal with. Her reaction to the rejection though was a little much...

[Assertn]

I don't think its either. If a girl thinks most guys find her attractive, she's less likely to be proactive about it. She has confidence, but she probably doesn't have guys lining up to date her.

Oh I just remembered, she also asked me if I only date asians. Haha...

[Animeniax]

What I don't get is, if I only have $300 to spend, should I get a PS3 that I might use occasionally (once or twice a week for 6 hours total) or springs and suspension parts for my car which I drive daily?

[XanBcoo]

I really don't get why commercials keep telling me to "log on" to a website.

I have never "logged on" to anything. I "log in" to certain websites where I'm a member. I "sign in" to my instant messengers. Is that what they mean? Usually these websites are ones that don't require you to "log" in, on, or around anything, so it's just a meaningless term.

Advertisements seem to just use it to mean "go to" or "visit" a website, so I don't know why they just don't say that. It's as if they're stuck in the mid-90s and are still clamoring about this "internet craze," using buzzwords that make no sense at all.

[Buffalobiian]

I really don't get why commercials keep telling me to "log on" to a website.

I have never "logged on" to anything. I "log in" to certain websites where I'm a member. I "sign in" to my instant messengers. Is that what they mean? Usually these websites are ones that don't require you to "log" in, on, or around anything, so it's just a meaningless term.

Advertisements seem to just use it to mean "go to" or "visit" a website, so I don't know why they just don't say that. It's as if they're stuck in the mid-90s and are still clamoring about this "internet craze," using buzzwords that make no sense at all.

At first I would have blamed the whole "buzzword" thing, as well as people trying to say simple things (visit, go to) in a different, often wrong (log on) way in an attempt to make it sound less "simple", more sophisticated and less boring.

One example my teacher used to point out was the use of "in this day and age", whereas "now" or "nowadays" would have sufficed.

However, the fact that you brought up "mid-90s" reminds me of something. Back when broadband was still a relatively privileged technology, people did quite literally have to log in to the web, only to be disconnected when the phone rang.

[enkoujin]

What I don't get now is why I can't get laid.

Any serious pointers?

[Assertn]

What I don't get now is why I can't get laid.

Any serious pointers?
Step 1: Clean the cat mess on your floor.

[samsonlonghair]

Any serious pointers?
Shower daily; smile often; exude confidence.

[Marik]

What I don't get is the amount of Church's Chicken advertising in Tekken 6. There's even a Church's coupon in the Instruction Manual. Seriously, how did Tekken and Church's Chicken come together? They couldn't find a better sponsor or something?

[Buffalobiian]

I recently posted this sentence, and it's been bugging me:

"The dramatic outbursts and facial expressions are what make this show so awesome."

It sounds funny to me, because it sounds more right if it's written as

"The dramatic outbursts and facial expressions are what makes this show so awesome."

It "feels" right, but "dramatic outbursts and facial expressions" are two things, and so thinking-cap tells me the same rules as "They make this show so awesome" applies, and that it only sounded right because the part "What makes this show so awesome?" is the case in a standalone question.

So pretty much, what I can make of it is that "What" in a question is either singular, or a collective noun of all the possible answers, and hence the usage of "makes".

In my original sentence, the presence of "are" seems to suggest that "outbursts and expressions" are plural and require the plural form "make". However, the presence of "what" throws me off, thinking that they answer the "what" if the question was actually asked.

So dies the verb "make" follow "outbursts and expressions" or "what"?

[Uchiha Barles]

To me, your original sentence sounds right, and the one you think sounds right, sounds weird to me. The reason is, when you ask "What makes this show so awesome?", my answer is "A collection of things makes this show so awesome." and then I describe the items in the collection. At least, this is how I process it mentally before I change it into language. So the word "What" is always singular, within the context of this discussion. So to answer your question, "make" follows the enumeration of the items in the "collective". So it follows "outbursts and expressions" in this case. At least, in my mind it does.

[fahoumh]

Uchiha Barles is absolutely correct. The "make" follows the "outbursts and expressions" here. It's a common grammatical confusion, especially these days. Sometimes I catch myself using improper conjugations.

"...is what makes..."
"...are what make..."

[Uchiha Barles]

"Obvious troll is obvious" or "Bad poster is bad" or any statement of that format that you've undoubtedly run into on forums. Wtf are they about?

[XanBcoo]

"Obvious troll is obvious" or "Bad poster is bad" or any statement of that format that you've undoubtedly run into on forums. Wtf are they about?
It's an extension of the phrase "Longcat is long".

Longcat (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/longcat) comes from an old picture that used to circulate 2chan and 4chan. Who knows why the tautological statement was used in the first place, but it stuck.

Since 4chan is basically a cesspool of recycled jokes, it comes as no surprise that its own little lingo is used outside of the site by kids who think they're part of some secret club.

[Dark Dragon]

I have this friend who has been like my best friend since childhood.

I occasionally see him when i get back home on break from college. I remember him being a pretty smart guy, not straight A's or anything but does decent in school.

It's been 3 years since we graduated high school and he's almost 22 now. He started his first semester of college at a local community college and barely passed with straight C's. He's been living in his parents house since he graduated and held no stable jobs during the period. When we talk, he simply said that he doesn't want to do anything and he's only going to school because he's being forced to. He doesn't do anything but stay home and watch TV shows all day, and he doesn't even want to go hang out even if i offered to pay.

He's always been a bit lazy but nothing this bad. I just don't understand how a person can have absolutely no motivation to do anything with their life.

[darkshadow]

Perhaps he doesn't have a goal in life yet, thus having no motivation to do anything?

[enkoujin]

Get him to volunteer or do activities with him that would stimulate some sort of a strong epiphany, he probably just needs some a catalyst (an awfully inspiring or traumatic one, at least) to get his gears running properly. If at all necessary, you might need to intervene radically by taking something precious from him to instigate some action inside of him (like confiscating his video games or something).

[Buffalobiian]

I have this friend who has been like my best friend since childhood.

I occasionally see him when i get back home on break from college. I remember him being a pretty smart guy, not straight A's or anything but does decent in school.

It's been 3 years since we graduated high school and he's almost 22 now. He started his first semester of college 6 at a local community college and barely passed with straight C's. He's been living in his parents house since he graduated and held no stable jobs during the period. When we talk, he simply said that he doesn't want to do anything and he's only going to school because he's being forced to. He doesn't do anything but stay home and watch TV shows all day, and he doesn't even want to go hang out even if i offered to pay.

He's always been a bit lazy but nothing this bad. I just don't understand how a person can have absolutely no motivation to do anything with their life.

I totally understand him. In fact, I can't say we're very different (but I'm probably not quite as worse as it's coming off as). I've got a job, I'm passing solidly (but I don't get my straight A's anymore), with the exception of one course this year.

Has this guy's parents pushed him a lot in his younger years to do well in school? I find that to be my own case. He (and I I suppose) probably set "do well in school" as his goal, a goal that was sort of forced onto him. Then when you finish high school, parents think "Oh good, he's graduated. I'm glad he did well. He can do whatever course he wants now. Go do it son. Since you're a university student now, I guess I should give you some freedom too."

Sudden increase in freedom, lack of any prior experiences (probably due to study and stricter parents), leaves him hanging. He doesn't have to do well in university anymore. He's not forced to do anything anymore. Since he doesn't know what he wants to do himself, life kind of just drifts by him.

[Animeniax]

I have this friend who has been like my best friend since childhood.

I occasionally see him when i get back home on break from college. I remember him being a pretty smart guy, not straight A's or anything but does decent in school.

It's been 3 years since we graduated high school and he's almost 22 now. He started his first semester of college 6 at a local community college and barely passed with straight C's. He's been living in his parents house since he graduated and held no stable jobs during the period. When we talk, he simply said that he doesn't want to do anything and he's only going to school because he's being forced to. He doesn't do anything but stay home and watch TV shows all day, and he doesn't even want to go hang out even if i offered to pay.

He's always been a bit lazy but nothing this bad. I just don't understand how a person can have absolutely no motivation to do anything with their life.
He needs a near-death or life-altering experience to change his outlook on life. Hire some thugs to kidnap him and hold him hostage for a few days. Or go for a drive with him and intentionally get in a severe wreck.

Best bet is to go pick a fight with some guys while hanging out with your friend. When your friend gets his ass kicked, it will motivate him to workout and do something with his life.

[Ryllharu]

Why there was a dead fox in my front yard when I came home.

(no apparent signs of injury)

[Kraco]

Could have died of malnutrition, poisoning, sickness, internal bleeding, or various other reasons that wouldn't be evident without an autopsy. And I suggest you don't try to perform one on a dubious dead fox. Lest we will a week from now wonder why there's a dead Ryllharu in Gotwoot's front yard.

[Ryllharu]

I'm guessing it was "softly" hit by a car and succumbed to injuries. No worries though, it was tossed into a ditch across the street using a shovel and assistance with another shovel-wielding resident.

I was very cautious. It wasn't too long ago that there was a news story about someone who went to investigate a fox struck by their car only to discover it wasn't quite dead when it latched onto their arm.

As such, this particular dead fox was poked several times with various objects to verify that it was dead.

[Buffalobiian]

Was it still warm?

[Ryllharu]

There was no way in hell I was touching it with gloved hands, much less bare hands.

[Buffalobiian]

If it's dead, why does it matter? Is there some dead-animal handling protip I'm missing?

Last time I encountered something like this was years ago when we found a non-moving possum in the middle of the road. Can't say for sure if we ran into it ourselves.

Mum ended up taking it to the ambulance station near our house because she didn't know what else to do with it (she wanted to do something about it).

We didn't hear back about it since. I'm pretty sure it died from internal bleeding.

[Ryllharu]

Is there some dead-animal handling protip I'm missing?
Your continent might be rabies free, but mine sure isn't. You just don't handle dead things here, especially when they are mysteriously dead.

Info on rabies (Australian Dept of Health) (http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/Publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-communic-factsheets-rabies.htm)

[Buffalobiian]

Your continent might be rabies free, but mine sure isn't. You just don't handle dead things here, especially when they are mysteriously dead.

Info on rabies (Australian Dept of Health) (http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/Publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-communic-factsheets-rabies.htm)

Yeah, it's good. Possibly the only good thing that comes out of being an isolated island/continent.

I had a hunch this was about rabies, but I ignored it when you said you all but certified it dead. Better safe than sorry huh?

[Kraco]

I don't even remember how young I was when my parents were already telling me to never touch dead animals (like birds killed by window collisions). Salmonella was mainly mentioned back then, but rabies is naturally such a horror story that it doesn't need a separate mentioning.

[Buffalobiian]

I don't even remember how young I was when my parents were already telling me to never touch dead animals (like birds killed by window collisions). Salmonella was mainly mentioned back then, but rabies is naturally such a horror story that it doesn't need a separate mentioning.

We scoop up dead birds in our yard whenever they happen to be there with pretty much zero awareness for safety. It's not like we lick them since they're dirty and all, but we don't particularly think about diseases when we're handling them.

It's usually some cat's handiwork.

[XanBcoo]

I stuck my webcam in front of my dog's face last night and went on Chatroulette, speaking to people as if I were him, and I'm legitimately surprised that I had far more conversations with men than women.

Guys were more likely to say stuff like "Hey it's a dog!" "Hello dog!" and most of the girls gave him a disgusted look and nexted me immediately.

[KitKat]

Xan you always design the most interesting social experiments. I love it.

[XanBcoo]

Well, it didn't start out as an experiment. Just a trend I noticed.

The only females to have a conversation with my dog were a group of 3 Korean girls, an elderly woman from France, and a girl cuddling with her boyfriend. All the rest (at least 12 or 13) were males from every age group.

Though admittedly, it might have something to do with the ratio of men to women on the site. Next time I'm stuck inside and bored, I'm gonna do this right. Comparing males and females encountered to males and females willing to have a conversation with a doggie.

[Animeniax]

Korean girls talking to your dog? They were probably looking for dinner.

I saw the Daily Show take on chatroulette. They were making fun of other news outlets for saying what dangers lurk on this new chatroulette that's taking the world by storm... the same dangers that have existed on every other video service on the internet since it's inception.

[Psyke]

I'd love to chat with a dog. :p I've never heard of chatroulette though....

[Animeniax]

It's a video chat site where you randomly video chat with someone for as long as you like or immediately pass them and move on to the next random chat. In the news report expose, the reporter moved from chat to chat, and one of the chats was a guy standing in his birthday suit.

It's all the rage on the internet.

[XanBcoo]

I'd love to chat with a dog. :p I've never heard of chatroulette though....
Here's the Daily Show segment Animeniax mentioned: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-4-2010/tech-talch---chatroulette

It's good for a laugh, but at least half of the matches will give you some guy either rubbing his crotch, or out and out masturbating. The people who stuck around for a conversation with my dog were really nice though.

[darkshadow]

Haha that was pretty good.

[Animeniax]

The entire "reporters on chatroulette" thing reminded me of when Jane Pauley (another well known news mouthpiece) did a segment about the internet way back around 1995. She was giddy with excitement, calling herself a newbie and using some other n00b tech jargon. I hate pop media.

[Buffalobiian]

When I run my teeth itch. I think it's more the lower front gums, and it tends to happen after exerting myself a bit, such as a short sprint.

I haven't been able to find an answer. Anybody else have this Run'n Itch Syndrome?

[Sapphire]

Hah - I accidentally emailed my dad the following rant:

If people can admit that psychosis exists why can't they admit ADD exists? The inability to pay attention - is that really so hard to believe? Not saying that it's not over-diagnosed - it certainly is. But people who write off an entire issue as laziness... just seems ignorant to me.

-------------

Anyway - ADD. I do believe it exists, but I believe this disorder can be overcome by a majority of people afflicted by it (even if the people actually afflicted by it are only a small fraction of those diagnosed) with sheer will. Your thoughts?

[fahoumh]

Hah - I accidentally emailed my dad the following rant:

If people can admit that psychosis exists why can't they admit ADD exists? The inability to pay attention - is that really so hard to believe? Not saying that it's not over-diagnosed - it certainly is. But people who write off an entire issue as laziness... just seems ignorant to me.

-------------

Anyway - ADD. I do believe it exists, but I believe this disorder can be overcome by a majority of people afflicted by it (even if the people actually afflicted by it are only a small fraction of those diagnosed) with sheer will. Your thoughts?

This reminds me of an episode of South Park: Sit down and study! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW7cO01SpzI)

[Buffalobiian]

I don't get the point of "equaliser pre-sets" you have on music players.

If a certain genre was to typically have certain frequencies boosted/weakened, then wouldn't it be done in the recording studio already?

To me, equalisers' only real point is to counter any deviations your sound equipment or room acoustics would have, in order to achieve a flat output response.

Presets won't let you do that.

Are they just a gimmick, or do they actually have a proper use?

[Animeniax]

I think equalizers are for the artsy-fartsy musical types who pretend they can actually tell the difference with the slightest changes in music. It's similar to TVs advertising 16 million color reproduction when the human eye can't see even a small fraction of that. I suppose it lets people feel special like they have some uncommon ability.

[Xelbair]

And guys who can tell the difference(even the slightest) hate equalizers because they usually ruin the music..

[Ryllharu]

Sometimes they work well for talk radio. I can turn the volume down on the stations that use weaker power, which normally make me crank the volume to hear it in my poorly sound-insulated car with its noisy winter tires.

That's about all the presets are good for.

...and sometimes they make the station even more tinny, or worse, even painful on the ears during volume spikes.

[Kraco]

It seems to me that between real speakers (stuff sounds as intended) and headphones with the obviously reduced bass output, a preset equalizer trying to compensate for that might be useful.

At least that's what I've been using a preset equalizer setting for ages on my mini hifi stereo system to which my computer is connected. Since I use 99% of time headphones, not speakers. Though I have somewhat decent German headphones, not some made in China bubbles, so I might be slightly off topic considering Bill's original question (if he meant portable mp3 players and such).

[darkshadow]

Indeed, if you are wearing some decent cans, some preset can actually improve your experience, which is entirely subjective ofcourse. You should try increase clarity without gaining too much distortion (to be noticable). Also decent phones and even some of the in-ear earbuds definitly benefit from a "bass-boost" setting.

The reason why the studio doesn't do this themselves, is because not everyone has speakers with drivers that can produce the extra range reasonably distortion free, in fact, most people don't. Also like I said, what gains are preferable is entirely subjective.

[Buffalobiian]

It seems to me that between real speakers (stuff sounds as intended) and headphones with the obviously reduced bass output, a preset equalizer trying to compensate for that might be useful.

At least that's what I've been using a preset equalizer setting for ages on my mini hifi stereo system to which my computer is connected. Since I use 99% of time headphones, not speakers. Though I have somewhat decent German headphones, not some made in China bubbles, so I might be slightly off topic considering Bill's original question (if he meant portable mp3 players and such).

I meant any media player, such as portable ones (ipods), and software ones (WMP).

@real speakers: equalisers are supposed to be used when real speakers are in use as well to compensate for room acoustics, standing waves and such in this case. That would be via special tuning, and not selecting a preset.

As for turning up the bass when wearing headphones to compensate, that would be similar to the example above about compensating for the inconsistent frequency response of your equipment. Only difference is that "lacking bass" is such a general feature of open circumaural headsets that a "bass boost" preset will probably do the job nicely.

edit: oh, DS mentioned this.


The reason why the studio doesn't do this themselves, is because not everyone has speakers with drivers that can produce the extra range reasonably distortion free, in fact, most people don't. Also like I said, what gains are preferable is entirely subjective.

So studios don't generally equalise the record?


Also decent phones and even some of the in-ear earbuds definitly benefit from a "bass-boost" setting.

Wouldn't you expect better cans to produce more accurately and therefore reduce any beneficial effect presets would have?

I used to do the treble boost like Ryll on radios to hear voices better.. I guess that's one usefulness I can agree with.

[Kraco]

Wouldn't you expect better cans to produce more accurately and therefore reduce any beneficial effect presets would have?

Since it's a physical limitation of small items trying to reproduce low sounds, I'd say higher quality equipment has better chances of benefitting from any equalization, like DS also kind of said when he mentioned poor equipment can't handle it. The worst cheap earbuds can't produce anything one would call, with any honesty, bass sounds. They won't much benefit from sound shaping either.

You will never get amazing bass from small things unless somebody invents something Nobel worthy...

[Animeniax]

Since it's a physical limitation of small items trying to reproduce low sounds, I'd say higher quality equipment has better chances of benefitting from any equalization, like DS also kind of said when he mentioned poor equipment can't handle it. The worst cheap earbuds can't produce anything one would call, with any honesty, bass sounds. They won't much benefit from sound shaping either.

You will never get amazing bass from small things unless somebody invents something Nobel worthy...
Check out some of the higher end Shure and Ultimate Ears ear buds, they reproduce bass and everything else at a very high level, but you get what you pay for. I had a pair of $180 UEs and they failed after 1.5 years. Since Logitech bought the company, there's only a 1 year warranty on them.

[darkshadow]

Wouldn't you expect better cans to produce more accurately and therefore reduce any beneficial effect presets would have?


Basically what Kraco said ^



So studios don't generally equalise the record?


Nope, they actually record it with certain settings from the get go and after that they tweak it here and there, but more often then not, they just raise the dB of everything (making it louder).

[Animeniax]

Is there a term whereby a person fulfills more racial stereotypes to spite people who judge him based on his race?

Alternatively, is there such a thing as "racial guilt" whereby someone is ashamed of stereotypes of their race so they purposefully behave in ways to contradict those stereotypes (like when I over-tip to compensate for the stereotype that Asians do not tip)?

[Death BOO Z]

finally, a chance to employ my knowledge, thousands of dollars finally being put to good use.

first of all, it's a sign of being high on the 'self monitoring' scale.
case A might be a case of self-handicapping. creating a chance to blame racism for failure to achieve success. alternatively, Sasha-Baron-Cohen.
both cases can be caused by priming someone to notice racial stereotypes.



I thought I had more, but no

[Animeniax]

Thanks for the reply, but is there a term for that kind of behavior?

Also, the second scenario is something I've heard or read before, but when I googled and wiki'd it, no results.

[XanBcoo]

Alternatively, is there such a thing as "racial guilt" whereby someone is ashamed of stereotypes of their race so they purposefully behave in ways to contradict those stereotypes (like when I over-tip to compensate for the stereotype that Asians do not tip)?

I know people who do something similar to this. One of my closest friends has specifically told me that he knows that there are a lot of negative stereotypes about black men and that he consciously tries to do his best to comport himself respectfully around everyone so that he can properly represent himself.

I don't know that there's a term for it.

[Animeniax]

I know people who do something similar to this. One of my closest friends has specifically told me that he knows that there are a lot of negative stereotypes about black men and that he consciously tries to do his best to comport himself respectfully around everyone so that he can properly represent himself.

I don't know that there's a term for it.I've heard it called "racial guilt", but a google search yielded poor results and had few suggestions. I'm also interested in the reverse trend where people act "more their race" in defiance of those who judge them by racial stereotypes that don't normally apply to them. Considering I'm a sociology major, I imagine I can ask one of my teachas, my professas, my RAs, or my deans."

[Death BOO Z]

well, as usual. If I had bothered more yesterday, today's test would have gone better.

what you're describing is close to the term known as stereotype threat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat).

for over-compensation of racial stereotypes, I don't know whether there's a term for that. besides, well, over-compensation.

[complich8]

The alternate (overcompensation) might be one manifestation of self-hating. So like, a black student who throws a lot of energy into academics in the face of the stereotype that black people don't do well in school might be reacting to the negative stereotype by engaging in positive behavior (ie: "acting white").

[Death BOO Z]

I feel that I have to state that terms such as 'overcompensation, self-hate, manifestation, a friend of mine' and 'Sasha-Baron-Cohen' aren't generally used in modern scientific psychology.

sure, psychoanalysis is fun when trolling on the internet and poking fun at Kubo, but once you get into academic studies of psychology, it's basically there only for tradition's sake.

(of course, maybe things change once you get to the 3rd year, and suddenly Freud is back to being Napoleon, Jesus and Moses combined)

[XanBcoo]

I feel that I have to state that terms such as 'overcompensation, self-hate, manifestation, a friend of mine' and 'Sasha-Baron-Cohen' aren't generally used in modern scientific psychology.

sure, psychoanalysis is fun when trolling on the internet and poking fun at Kubo, but once you get into academic studies of psychology, it's basically there only for tradition's sake.

My post was only a place-holder until I get my thesis written.

[rockmanj]

I would jump in on this, but something tells me I would actually end up writing quite a few pages.

[Animeniax]

I would jump in on this, but something tells me I would actually end up writing quite a few pages.

Do it, do it. Or maybe just give us the main points of your ideas.

[Buffalobiian]

I don't why many of the hairdressers I've been to (not all, but many) know how to cut hair, but not style it with product after the cut. It always looks shit until I wash it out and towel-dry myself.

[darkshadow]

Find a better hairdresser? Most experienced ones know how to style, you prolly hang with the novices ;s

[enkoujin]

The better question is - why would anyone want to go out in public immediately after a haircut? I mean, really, you're going to have hair flying all over the place like a dog during shedding season. Maybe this is the reason why they don't spend so much time on the detail work - they'll know you're just going to take a shower afterwards and wash away any of the effort they're going to put in it.

That or they want your tips/want to get to other customers as soon as possible.

[Animeniax]

I like to get my haired shampooed and rinsed by the stylist after it's cut, then gel'd if I have plans right after. Usually costs an extra $3-5, but then you don't have to rush home and wash your hair and risk getting hair all over your car and/or couch.

[Buffalobiian]

This guy at work thought that doctors were male and nurses were female (and that it was the only difference).

He was 15...

[XanBcoo]

As someone who works with poorly-educated, apathetic 15 year-olds living below the poverty line, that misunderstanding seems pretty tame to me.

[Buffalobiian]

Hmm, I thought you might say something like that.

He knew his spirits, which wasn't actually that surprising.

[Animeniax]

I see a lot of movies that are well made with a good storyline, good character development, and good cinematography with a powerful and moving message. But due to the nature of the subject matter, the story and characters are frustratingly obnoxious, everyone dies, and nothing good comes of it. Is it wrong to say it's a terrible movie?

[shinta|hikari]

Yes. You say you hated the movie in that case.

[Animeniax]

Yes. You say you hated the movie in that case.

Is that because all movies should be tidy and final and have happy endings?

[shinta|hikari]

Er, no?

I said that the description of movies that you provided is not necessarily a bad movie. If you (as in you as a person specifically) dislike it, you should just say that you hate it, not that it was a bad movie.

I personally really like tragedies when they are executed well.

[Sapphire]

Good movies should be movies you like and bad movies should be movies you don't like. Movies are designed for you to like them. Well made movies... that's a different story.

[shinta|hikari]

Good = Well made

I don't see how they differ.

Movies are designed for most people to like them, and that does not make them right either.

I like/dislike vs Good/Well made is a lot clearer.

Like/Dislike is clearly preference, while Good/Bad or Well made/Not well made is a judgment based on an external standard. Of course, all of this is opinion in the end.

[Sapphire]

Avatar - Extremely well made, not the best movie.

[shinta|hikari]

Are you referring to strictly production values when you say well made?

I think good/well made includes the script, characters, acting, and well, everything that makes up the movie.

[Sapphire]

All of the above can be well executed and still come out to be something that's not very likable.

[darkshadow]

Good/Bad are too universally accepted, a good movie is a movie that is actually universally seen as good; same with bad, even if you (the minority) disagrees with it. If you personally didn't like it, you need to think if it was just because the production (sfx,plot,acting) was genuinly bad or if you simply didn't like it for some other personal reason. In that case say you think or feel it was bad/horrible.

In the end movies are too subjective, so even a stupid B movie can be enjoyable in the end; "it was so bad it was good ;D", universally bad movie, subjectively good opinion.

[shinta|hikari]

Exactly. "Likable" itself is very subjective. A person can dislike the Mona Lisa even if it is such a well known painting, widely accepted as one of the best.

If all the elements are well executed, it is a good movie. If you don't like it, that is your preference.

[Sapphire]

If someone hates the the Mona Lisa and thinks its a pile of crap, even though everyone else seems to think it's the best painting ever made, that person shouldn't have to agree with everyone else and call it "good". To them, it's "bad".

People tend to say, "it's good, I just don't like it" and it's almost always to keep other people from getting pissed off at them or offended. If that person wasn't worried about everyone else, they'd prolly say "I hate that shit, it sucks." (It's bad)

[shinta|hikari]

I'm not saying that the minority has to agree with the majority. The majority is stupid most of the time anyway.

I'm just saying that using the word "good" without any qualifiers (i.e. good for me) when expressing pure preference is not a good idea. It is better to distinguish between personal opinion and what is accepted by society. I am not saying either is correct or better, just that the distinction has to be made.

[Animeniax]

The movie that raised this question is The Stoning of Soraya M., which is about Middle Eastern culture and the accepted punishment for adultery. Looking at it objectively, you would say the storyline was solid, the characters are developed, and the message is moving and heart-wrenching.

But looking at it subjectively through the eyes of an American, it was impossible to fully understand the cultural mores and underlying contexts that governed the action in the plot and the behavior of the characters. So instead of feeling sympathy for them, I only felt anger and disgust as they went headfirst into their fates. With that disgust, I could only walk away from the movie feeling terrible. So if anyone asked me what I thought of the movie, I'd have to say I hated it. Is that a fair assessment of the movie?

[shinta|hikari]

I would say it's fair. Hating something does not make it bad. I dislike some shows that I consider good and excellently made, too.

[Buffalobiian]

Sapphi, would you say your way of rating things apply to food as well?

[Sapphire]

Most definitely.

[Buffalobiian]

So no matter how well made something is, as long as you don't like it you won't call it good or well made at all? That it's just shit because you don't like it?

I can recognise a good dish, even if it contains fake-seafood-stick-red/white stuff that I find disgusting and won't touch again.

[Sapphire]

I'll call something well made for what it is, but tastes bad is bad to me.

[Edort4]

I prefer honest and simple opinions about movies and so. Art is filled with some premade standards that a bunch of guys came together with and decided what could be called good or bad in terms of creation/production.

I hate that people that start explaining about characters, plot, acting, sfx, ost etc. Most of the times just to match if they liked the movie or not. Subjective opinions disguised as arguments. Sometimes "bad" movies give me good times and "good" ones bore me to dead. So not trying to fool myself or anyone if what I watched felt good its good for me.

[Sapphire]

I don't get why people like beer. It's bitter man. I'm drinking one right now. Can't get past it.

[Animeniax]

I don't get why people like beer. It's bitter man. I'm drinking one right now. Can't get past it.

It took me a while to develop a taste for beer. Then I mostly drank it socially due to an unspoken peer pressure to conform. Now I mostly drink it on appropriate occasions because it feels right. I try not to finish my meal with a swig of beer, as it overshadows the taste of the meal with its bitterness.

Consider yourself lucky you don't have a taste for the stuff. It's lowbrow and unsatisfying.

[Lucifus]

I don't get why people like beer. It's bitter man. I'm drinking one right now. Can't get past it.

Quoted for truth. I really feel the same way.

[Buffalobiian]

I don't know..perhaps the same reason why people all have different tastes for food/drink? I don't get how people can like seafood-sticks. I think it's disgusting.

I have to say I didn't like beer when I first tasted it. It's not even an aquired taste because I haven't tried to like it, but now I find some quite tasty. Note that you don't necessarily have to like ALL beers. There's a lot of variety out there, and they sure don't taste the same. (well, some do).

[shinta|hikari]

I absolutely agree with every single word you said.

[Edort4]

I have the exact same problem not only with beer (wich can be tolerated) but with wine. In every business lunch Ive been bosses drink wine like sponges and almost force others to do so. Some kind of social pressure. But even if Ive tasted lots of expensive wines I cant come to like em so im labeled as a rare one.

[Sapphire]

I tried Blue Moon and I tried Corona, and I like Blue Moon more because it tastes less "beer-y". I still can't get past the lingering bitter taste, though.

[Edort4]

The ones I find more bearable are the ones with high parts of lemon to the point of not being able of calling it beer any longer. At parties I use to drink half beer and half lemon fanta/kas.

[Xelbair]

Sapphi - try Corona with lime(drop 1/8 of whole lime into the bottle) it tasted really not like a beer - that combination allowed me to really enjoy beers.

You also have to try some darker beers - porters, stouts etc. they are very different from your typical lager. Plus there are some great honey flavored beers available.

The only wine that i liked was a port roso and port tawny, i can't get how someone might enjoy drinking wines.

[Buffalobiian]

If you don't like bitterness, the tasteless Extra/Super Dry beers might work.

Something like the Hahn's Super Dry that Xel posted the (awesome) ad of. (I don't like that one, it tastes like off-water, but it sells really well.) Heinekin's really light as well, but I can't remember how bitter it was.

[Xelbair]

Heinekin is not a beer. period.
Edit at post below:
it does not even deserve to be called that.

[shinta|hikari]

Yeah, Heineken is.

[enkoujin]

I don't get why people like beer. It's bitter man. I'm drinking one right now. Can't get past it.

The reason why most people drink beer is for social leisure and not because it tastes good.

They're average people; high school/college students, office workers, blue-collared workers, etc. who drink alcohol as an escape from their lives just as how people would play video games. It basically provides the drinkers with a fabricated sense of happiness and activates peoples' latent personality traits. We all know someone in our lives who is cold or is unable to open up to others, but once they socialize [with alcohol], they won't stop talking.

Often, it's the businesspeople who have developed this trend - years of tradition passed down in European culture has made drinking an activity of socialization. This socialization is very important in closing business deals because a good atmosphere/environment will have a great influence on, typically, impulsive decisions. For example, in the retail world, you are less likely to impulsively buy accessories for your product if you had terrible customer service.

All in all, it comes down to primitive nature. Next to survival, all humans have an unnecessary desire to socialize with more emphasis on having common interests and acknowledgement. As you all know, when you drink alcohol, people will drop their standards. If you're drinking with someone, that satisfies the first condition of having a common interest of drinking and since people lower their standards while drinking, others will be more acknowledged and appreciated (kind of hard to explain, but hopefully, you get my message).

Incidentally, I've been sobre for a year. I've only drank about four different kinds of alcohol, but it's not that bad. I think I prefer wine, though, since it does have a richer flavour than most others and is also very classy.

[Sapphire]

That is a very disillusioning yet thorough explanation.

[XanBcoo]

The reason why most people drink beer is for social leisure and not because it tastes good.

They're average people; high school/college students, office workers, blue-collared workers, etc. who drink alcohol as an escape from their lives just as how people would play video games. It basically provides the drinkers with a fabricated sense of happiness and activates peoples' latent personality traits. We all know someone in our lives who is cold or is unable to open up to others, but once they socialize [with alcohol], they won't stop talking.

Often, it's the businesspeople who have developed this trend - years of tradition passed down in European culture has made drinking an activity of socialization. This socialization is very important in closing business deals because a good atmosphere/environment will have a great influence on, typically, impulsive decisions. For example, in the retail world, you are less likely to impulsively buy accessories for your product if you had terrible customer service.

All in all, it comes down to primitive nature. Next to survival, all humans have an unnecessary desire to socialize with more emphasis on having common interests and acknowledgement. As you all know, when you drink alcohol, people will drop their standards. If you're drinking with someone, that satisfies the first condition of having a common interest of drinking and since people lower their standards while drinking, others will be more acknowledged and appreciated (kind of hard to explain, but hopefully, you get my message).

Incidentally, I've been sobre for a year. I've only drank about four different kinds of alcohol, but it's not that bad. I think I prefer wine, though, since it does have a richer flavour than most others and is also very classy.

"Webster's defines socializing as..."

I think her question was more along the lines of "Why do people drink beer rather than other alcohol?" to which I think Animeniax and Buff summed it up pretty well. It's an easily-accessible, low-alcohol-content beverage which some people legitimately enjoy because of the taste.

[Dark Dragon]

I really enjoy hard liquor, but i absolutely despise beer.

I don't see how people can drink beer while eating a meal, that would just completely kills my appetite.

[Sapphire]

After a few beers my tongue began to get desensitized to the bitterness. Not quite sure how I feel about that. My tongue is already desensitized to spiciness. I have to ask my friends, "is this spicy?" nowadays. But I still pour red pepper on my food because it does have a nice taste to it (that's not spicy).

[Buffalobiian]

My tongue can handle spices really well too. I love it.

[Sapphire]

Oh my, looks like our tongues are compatible, kukukuku.

[rockmanj]

Mods: Why not move this to a "beer" thread? I could talk about beer all day, and I usually drink it at home (alone). I would say that my favorite type is the "Belgian Dark Ale", but there are a number of other types I enjoy as well. My current favorite is this: http://www.unibroue.com/en/beers/maudite/

[Animeniax]

If I'm late to eat a meal or if I skip a meal, I get the shakes. I'm not particularly famished or hungry when this happens, but I get the shakes and feel really wobbly and agitated until I'm halfway through my next meal. Some people are lucky to get one meal a day... I get the shakes if I miss one meal. Does this make me a pansy?

[darkshadow]

Yes it does ;[.

[Buffalobiian]

I think people just get used to it. I know people who eat regularly and feel hungry whenever they're 3 hours without food. They never told me, but my guess is that they probably trained themselves into that pattern and their body simply because adapted to it and expects food at that time.

My brother also sucks at dealing with hunger. We were 1 hour late or something driving around trying to find this restaurant and he was complaining about wanting to vomit and stuff. For a high-hunger-tolerance person such as myself, my first thought back then was indeed "suck it up you pansy".

Now, I'm more tolerant of other people's differences.


-edit:

My mum and aunt have had a bit of a run in with various groups in the social circle of my area and shit. I don't get why she's trying so hard to derive meaning from all this spam mail that she's getting.

It's FUCKING SPAM. IT HAS NO MEANING. STOP MAKING ME TRANSLATE USELESS, MEANINGLESS, WORTHLESS PILES OF CRAP.

Some of the shit she's made me sit through and translate include:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdeb7qGSnP4&feature=related
From: xxxxxxxxx
Subject: Fwd: Chinese Courier Service
To:
Received: Tuesday, 28 June, 2011, 11:05 PM

Just got this from a Chinese, Tai Chi lady, so it's even more interesting... All the BEST

Subject: Fw: Chinese Courier Service



Another reason why Chinese are successful,they never miss any opportunity!

Chinese courier service -
Forget about DHL,UPS, or FEDEX!!
This beats them all!

A family in the Southern Province of China were puzzledwhen the coffin oftheir dead grandmother arrived from the States.
It was sent by one of the daughters.The dead body was so tightly squeezed inside the coffin.

When they opened the lid, they found a letter on top of the corpse which read as follows:


"Dear Cousins, I am sending Ah-po's (grandma) body to you
since it was her wish that she should be crematedin the compound of our ancestral home in Tung Shin.Sorry, I could not come along as all of my paid leaves are consumed.

You will find inside the coffin, under Ah-po's body,12 bottles of Yomeitsu tonic, 10 boxes of American Ginsengand 10 packets of Chinatown Chinese sausageLap Cheong.Please divide these among all of you.

On Ah-po's feet you will find a new pair of Nike Air shoes (size 10) for Ah boy.Also there are 2 pairs of shoes for Ah Mei's and Ah Lien's sons.Hope the sizes are correct. Ah-po is wearing 6 Calvin Klein T-shirts.Thelarge size is for Ah Bak and the others are for my nephews.Just distribute them among yourselves.The 2 new Armani Jeans that Ah-po is wearing are for 2nd uncle boys.The Rolex watch that Har Cheong wanted is on Ah po's left wrist.




Aunty Pei Pei, Ah po is wearing the Tiffany necklace, earrings and ring that you asked for. The 6 white Polo cotton socks that Ah po is wearingare to be divided among my teenage cousins.

P.S. Let me know what else you need, as Ah Gung (Grandpa)also not feeling well nowadays. I can send all required things when Ah Gung goes back, too."

The answer to this question (too long to put into this post)

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110303094801AAk8sC5

[Animeniax]

My mum and aunt have had a bit of a run in with various groups in the social circle of my area and shit. I don't get why she's trying so hard to derive meaning from all this spam mail that she's getting.

It's FUCKING SPAM. IT HAS NO MEANING. STOP MAKING ME TRANSLATE USELESS, MEANINGLESS, WORTHLESS PILES OF CRAP.
My dad is involved with the same shit... Asian mailing groups that circulate nonsense spam email. He forwards on all of these ridiculous email to me and my sister, which we promptly delete. I've told him several times they are 99.99999999999999% false and should not be heeded, but in some cases he's actually made lifestyle/product choice changes based on these spam email. Old people will never learn.

[Buffalobiian]

My dad is involved with the same shit... Asian mailing groups that circulate nonsense spam email. He forwards on all of these ridiculous email to me and my sister, which we promptly delete. I've told him several times they are 99.99999999999999% false and should not be heeded, but in some cases he's actually made lifestyle/product choice changes based on these spam email. Old people will never learn.

Oh, mine's a little worse than that. But run in, I mean dramas, rumours and bitching. She's trying to decrypt these emails for any underlying meaning. For example regarding the Ice Age link, she was saying that the sender meant that the world is messed up today because of little shits ("small people", meaning people with little {narrow} hearts in Chinese) like them.

You know what I think? "Oh, look! This is funny, take a look at this! /forward."

Oh, and the sender is white.


But yeah, your dad's just like mine, my aunt and my other aunt. They don't seem to understand that useless emails are just that. Useless.

It's only on the rare occasion that they ask me to read/translate something useful, like this email about identifying signs of a stroke.

[Death BOO Z]

my mom has two facebook accounts she uses to converse with her middle-school friends, one with her current name and one with the maiden name. she anonnces to the whole world that she's having a conversation with herself, no matter how many times we tell her we don't care about her high-school 'gang'.

also, my father think that I'm internet magician. asking me to find a phone number or private mail address of someone. it doesn't matter that he sees that all I do is google, he still insists on me doing it.

[Buffalobiian]

also, my father think that I'm internet magician. asking me to find a phone number or private mail address of someone. it doesn't matter that he sees that all I do is google, he still insists on me doing it.

My mum also thinks that I can just yell out a question to the internet and they will all answer my problems for me.

"How can I lift my legs higher?"..

[Sapphire]

Damn, glad my family is more adept at computers than me.

Maybe just try to sit down and really really simply explain the general concepts of the Internet to them? And show them the Nightline NBC shows about Internet scammer... like the spinoff of To Catch A Predator show is To Catch A Con Man. And those NBC Nightline shows are designed for old people anyway so that might help.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--RfZoqOHDo



"How can I lift my legs higher?"..

Stretch. Hehehe.

She probably just wants to be able to kiss her knees. It's fun.

[KitKat]

He forwards on all of these ridiculous email to me and my sister, which we promptly delete.
So you have a sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her too. Obi Wan was wise to hide her from the forum.


also, my father think that I'm internet magician. asking me to find a phone number or private mail address of someone. it doesn't matter that he sees that all I do is google, he still insists on me doing it.
My roommates are exactly the same. They have this running joke that I can answer any question, but a lot of the time when they ask me stuff they watch me google it and I read out the answer from Wikipedia or wherever.

[Sapphire]

They probably just want to hang out with you.

My hilarious Internet story is having to tell my roommate who is a Mac user that her browser's download list and and Download folder weren't the same thing...

I've never owned a Mac. She's been a Mac user for years.

[XanBcoo]

If I'm late to eat a meal or if I skip a meal, I get the shakes. I'm not particularly famished or hungry when this happens, but I get the shakes and feel really wobbly and agitated until I'm halfway through my next meal. Some people are lucky to get one meal a day... I get the shakes if I miss one meal. Does this make me a pansy?

It's a self-imposed mental problem. This used to happen to me to when I was obsessed with putting on weight and would actually get dizzy or feel sick when I missed a meal.

Then I learned to stop panicking and it doesn't happen anymore. It's amazing how your body reacts to mental stimuli.


my mom has two facebook accounts she uses to converse with her middle-school friends, one with her current name and one with the maiden name. she anonnces to the whole world that she's having a conversation with herself, no matter how many times we tell her we don't care about her high-school 'gang'.
This made me laugh. I want to be facebook friends with your moms.

[Buffalobiian]

Stretch. Hehehe.

She probably just wants to be able to kiss her knees. It's fun.

Nah, my mum's been doing Tai Chi for the last few months. She's trying be able to raise her leg vertically to maybe at least 45-degrees above the horizontal. Stretching works, sure, but I also believe she needs to improve on all her leg muscles as well as her core. As for what exercises will get her there specifically, I don't know. Just because I did a pharmacy degree, she expects me to an internal medicine specialist in everything - as well as her personal trainer.

[Sapphire]

That's when you throw the question at the Internet.

[shinta|hikari]

And lie about the answer to your mother.

Believe me, it works.

Have fun with it.

[Animeniax]

It's a self-imposed mental problem. This used to happen to me to when I was obsessed with putting on weight and would actually get dizzy or feel sick when I missed a meal.

Then I learned to stop panicking and it doesn't happen anymore. It's amazing how your body reacts to mental stimuli.
I guess it's like when you need to poop real bad. You can keep it in until you're about 5 seconds from the toilet, then it just has to come out.

Essentially mind over matter. I need to work on that.

[Sapphire]

Dunno about that. Sometimes if I don't eat, I get a huge headache. I pretty much have no concept of an eating schedule.

[shinta|hikari]

When I start dieting, I get headaches when I skip meals. But after 1 or 2 days into the diet, it all fades away.

[Uchiha Barles]

Nah, my mum's been doing Tai Chi for the last few months. She's trying be able to raise her leg vertically to maybe at least 45-degrees above the horizontal. Stretching works, sure, but I also believe she needs to improve on all her leg muscles as well as her core. As for what exercises will get her there specifically, I don't know. Just because I did a pharmacy degree, she expects me to an internal medicine specialist in everything - as well as her personal trainer.

If she continues stretching and doing tai chi alone, she'll get there. She'll need to be dedicated though and overcome the desire to stop or not push to her physical limits though. That's true for any set of exercises though.

[Buffalobiian]

When someone asks "Do you drink?", what do they mean?

-Do you regularly drink? (and if so, how regular is regular?)
-Do you voluntarily choose to drink disregarding special occasions etc?
-Do you compulsively drink?

[Sapphire]

They probably mean "Do you ever drink for fun with your friends?". But if you want to say you drink but add a disclaimer you can say "Not really, only on special occasions" or something.

But when people say the latter it usually eliminates them as a viable "get drunk and spontaneously have fun one day" friend.

[Edort4]

Just try to be as precise as posible but if you drink slightly 1-2 day a week you should say that you dont do it. This prevents from having a check mark at the heavy drinker box when you have medical examination for the company. I had to clarify this misunderstanding with my boss 3 years ago.

[Kraco]

Yeah, it certainly depends on the situation just like that. If officially asked if you drink, it means almost certainly a drinking problem or a potential problem to keep an eye on. Otherwise it should simply mean that somebody wants to know if he needs to fill your glass.

But then again, asking here about semantics means you do have a drinking problem. But of course we already knew that, Bill.

[Ryllharu]

I just don't understand why everyone feels the need to get so uppity and defensive about a given product. It's been around for as long as I can remember, and I've certainly been guilty of it on occasion. SNES versus Genesis, Xbox360 versus PS3, Mac versus PC. Toyota versus any American automaker, Android versus iPhone, etc.

But for some reason, it seems worse these days. Like they've got their entire personal reputation on the line. If it isn't #1 in everyone else's mind, they'll just die. Before it was like, "Sonic sucks," versus "Mario is lame," and left at that. Now they'll go so far as to act as individual PR managers. Twisting stories and switching their opinion on an issue in the opposite direction from month to month just to maintain allegiance. Anyone who would dare insult their chosen product/service must clearly be either: a fanboy of [opposing product], or a "corporate shill."

Sometimes it feels like people are worshiping their chosen set of products rather than evaluating anything objectively.

[Death BOO Z]

Marks has said that men lost their feelings towards each other and shifted it to products.
we lost our ability to connect to other people, and recreated it in connecting to objects.
I'm not sure what the english terms for this are... maybe Objectification men and personifying products?

(check this out, I brought up Marks in an online arguments! that's half the checklist of getting a degree, isn't it?)

[Buffalobiian]

I just don't understand why everyone feels the need to get so uppity and defensive about a given product. It's been around for as long as I can remember, and I've certainly been guilty of it on occasion. SNES versus Genesis, Xbox360 versus PS3, Mac versus PC. Toyota versus any American automaker, Android versus iPhone, etc.

But for some reason, it seems worse these days. Like they've got their entire personal reputation on the line. If it isn't #1 in everyone else's mind, they'll just die. Before it was like, "Sonic sucks," versus "Mario is lame," and left at that. Now they'll go so far as to act as individual PR managers. Twisting stories and switching their opinion on an issue in the opposite direction from month to month just to maintain allegiance. Anyone who would dare insult their chosen product/service must clearly be either: a fanboy of [opposing product], or a "corporate shill."

Sometimes it feels like people are worshiping their chosen set of products rather than evaluating anything objectively.

I think it's perhaps the idea of "belonging" to some sort of camp - and the need to show that the "camp" you're in is the best one.

eg. I'm in the iPad camp. iPads are better than laptops. Because I recognise that, I'm better than those in the laptop camps. You must know this, and acknowledge me.

[enkoujin]

In my views, this is the fine result of very successful corporate advertising.

Nowadays, the corporations and companies do not just sell their product by listing its technical specifications or its features. They sell motivation and confidence in the product and endorse their product(s) as a "way of life". They brand these products as a new lifestyle with glamorous luxury that only the upper hierarchy can only obtain. If you get a very popular electronic device or gadget, chances are that there will be hundreds and thousands of accessories to accompany that single device for customization and such.

Because we live in an information age with the internet, data spreads fast from influential celebrities, bloggers, politicians, etc. are able to share their lives with their entire networks. Attributing to the fact that now that a single product can be a new type of lifestyle/fad, the common population will have access to this information and will be bombarded by the immate volumes of their networks who are living in such a fad and positive word-of-mouth spreads exponentially.

The greatest example exists with Apple. Apple took a simple MP3 player, which many did not care for, put in something innovative like the scroll wheel or an LCD screen and marketed it very aggressively. It attracted the artists, technological hobbyists, businesspeople and their, usually, vast networks as trendy and whatnot. The campaign doesn't just trickle down to the masses as the companies of the past century have ventured. This age is where a snowflake can snowball into an avalanche!

This also intertwines closely into simple human psychology desires. Nobody wants to be wrong. Nobody wants to feel left alone in their "way of life". Nobody wants to admit that they are mediocre people who have nothing in their lives to live for and are living mundane lives. These are some of the reasons why zealous religious people are very sensitive to any "attack" or commentary on their faiths even if some of the arguments are reasonable and logical. Nobody wants to think, feel wrong and be wrong in terms of how they live their own lives and steadily write their legacies.

Most humans, as I've said before, need their basic physiological needs met first. After being fed and whatnot, humans then desire social approval as the greatest need to be met. This desire has spawned very familiar concepts we have found on the Internet. Most commonly on Youtube, you will see this formulated comment:


(number of "dislikes" of current video - usually smaller than the "likes") people (predicate)ed ...

e.g. 44 people love dogs rather than cats

This mentality or paradigm embedded within these individuals seek to say a general statement everyone will agree with and seek to fulfill their need of social approval because they will know that people will support them. As they go on, their confidences and, unfortunately, their self-righteousness increases. They will know that their ideas will be more correct because society agrees with them more than other ideas.

tl;dr

In essence, all of these factors combine to what we have concurrently. The products Ryllharu has mentioned have marketed their products with motivation that their products are the best and people are dumb enough to buy into it because they can't they can't think for themselves. They're usually influenced by their friends, bloggers or celebrities who are powerful in influence. The mentality rises and because these products do become a lifestyle (through vast accessories, media attention, owned by many other people, social media, jokes, comics, writings, etc.), people are more likely to get into these debates about which lifestyle is the best because no one wants to be wrong like Buffalobiian has said (maybe DBZ has an interesting point I should look into).

Every time one were to start up a debate between two products, even if the participants are arguing for or against their side, they are simply reinforcing the concepts already implanted or brainwashed into their heads. Every time one of these threads pop up, the companies involved gain free (and often good) publicity and the posters or debaters act as tools - results of, yet again, ingenious marketing.

In fact, in this post, I was a tool. Good job, Ryllharu.

[dragonrage]

I'm better than those in the laptop camps. You must know this, and acknowledge me.


I beg to differ, everyone needs are different and what a person can use one thing for, others would not. No one is better than anyone just because he owns this or that.

Of course this is all just my opinion.

[Buffalobiian]

I seem to have to justify the logic and reasoning behind my posts a bit of late.

Are they that incomprehensible?...




("have to", if I wish to correct any misinterpretations/misunderstandings/misreading)

[Sapphire]

Yes. You tend to nitpick at inconsequential details of other people's posts so any straightforward statement you try to make yourself is lost due to meandering.

[Buffalobiian]

Yes. You tend to nitpick at inconsequential details of other people's posts

I pick at things for a reason, and if I don't specify that reason, then it becomes nitpicking (or even groundless nitpicking).


so any straightforward statement you try to make yourself is lost due to meandering.

Said "nitpicking" leads to my statement, so it's not clearcut. Following on from here (http://forums.gotwoot.net/showthread.php/20073-Stickies?p=497094&viewfull=1#post497094), paraphrasing by nature loses detail and meaning. This (http://forums.gotwoot.net/showthread.php/20073-Stickies?p=497093&viewfull=1#post497093) already has.

[Sapphire]

You asked, I answered.

[Buffalobiian]

You asked, I answered.

I opened up a discussion, but I suppose it was a short one.

Appreciate the input.

[shinta|hikari]

I don't think Buff nitpicks at all. He may be detail oriented, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

People tend to dislike that kind of argumentation though.

What I don't get is when people try to forcibly "move on" or change the topic when a discussion or argument is getting heated but not really stuck, and there is still more to be said. They seem to think that any conflict is bad conflict.

[enkoujin]

I don't think Buff nitpicks at all. He may be detail oriented, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

People tend to dislike that kind of argumentation though.

What I don't get is when people try to forcibly "move on" or change the topic when a discussion or argument is getting heated but not really stuck, and there is still more to be said. They seem to think that any conflict is bad conflict.

I do this a lot with my keyboard-typing fora.

The way I see it is that sometimes their discussions are meaningless to the individuals who try to change the topic. More so over there than here (where they complain about cheaters with their typing speed than, say, politics here), but most people enjoy stability and consistency where they can contribute to discussions with their less-intellectual ideas because they often can't argue/debate properly, but still want to be able to post.

Additionally, as you've said, those same people will always try to break up fights. They're probably people who have seen one too many arguments/verbal fights mutate into fist fights and subconsciously try to prevent these things from happening.

[Animeniax]

With all of the potentially awesome games coming out soon (BF3, MW3, Gears 3, Skyrim) would it be worth it to get a PS3 now so I can play Heavy Rain, Infamous 2, and Resistance 3 until the aforementioned blockbusters come out?

[enkoujin]

I'd get a PS3 on Black Friday or Boxing Day when the consoles are super marked-down.

By then, other games will be added to the "Greatest Hits" list and you'll be able to play them all at a very low price if you're really sure about getting one.

[Animeniax]

Yeah but then I won't have any games to play until the new games come out, and by mid-Nov there will be plenty of X360 and PC games to play so I won't need the PS3 or have time to play the games for it. Anyway I wonder if the savings will be worth the wait. Since I finished Deus Ex HR a couple days ago, been bored as far as gaming goes, and replay value on DEHR is low.

[Buffalobiian]

Yeah but then I won't have any games to play until the new games come out, and by mid-Nov there will be plenty of X360 and PC games to play so I won't need the PS3 or have time to play the games for it. Anyway I wonder if the savings will be worth the wait. Since I finished Deus Ex HR a couple days ago, been bored as far as gaming goes, and replay value on DEHR is low.

Pick up some cheap indie games, or higher profile games from Steam, unless you're actually interested specifically in the above mentioned games.

[Uchiha Barles]

Yeah but then I won't have any games to play until the new games come out, and by mid-Nov there will be plenty of X360 and PC games to play so I won't need the PS3 or have time to play the games for it. Anyway I wonder if the savings will be worth the wait. Since I finished Deus Ex HR a couple days ago, been bored as far as gaming goes, and replay value on DEHR is low.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It's an indie game for the PC that I cannot recommend enough. I still get nightmares about it every once in awhile.

[Animeniax]

Pick up some cheap indie games, or higher profile games from Steam, unless you're actually interested specifically in the above mentioned games.Yeah I'm actually interested in playing those games. Gears 3 comes out on Tuesday, but after that, it will be 2 weeks until Rage arrives, and 3 weeks after that BF3. Lots of time in there that could be spent playing these modern classics, just would require $3-400.


Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It's an indie game for the PC that I cannot recommend enough. I still get nightmares about it every once in awhile.DL'ing the demo now. Graphics look old, but maybe good gameplay and storyline will make it worth getting.

[Uchiha Barles]

Definitely, story and gameplay are quite good, but atmosphere is the show stealer. The atmosphere is quite tightly intertwined with the story actually.

[Animeniax]

Played the demo, it's pretty intense. I'm not the kind of person who can get completely lost in a game or movie's atmosphere and story, so I might not get the full effect. But this game did have my heart racing at times.

I like the disclaimer at the start of the game... "don't play to win the game, play to get immersed in the role and story".

[Animeniax]

What I don't get is... was The Big Bang Theory ever such a hit show that now both Fox and TBS are both playing the show in syndication, apparently multiple times a day?

[Death BOO Z]

apparently it is. as always with comedies, their success is inverse to how much I enjoy them: I liked the idea and the first season, and it was mildly successful. I hate the later season that revolve around Sheldon (the guy who wins the awards) and they seem to be the greatest hit on TV nowadays.

(second of course, to two and a half men. which I don't think counts as a comedy)

[Uchiha Barles]

Yeah, here's a quote on the show's success taken from wikipedia, they also have the ratings there.

"The Big Bang Theory has been highly rated since its premiere. During its fourth season, it became television's highest rated comedy, just barely beating out eight-year champ Two and a Half Men. However, in the age 14-49 demographic (the show's target age range), it was the second highest rated comedy, behind ABC's Modern Family."

[Splash!]

Modern Family... ah yes, apparently if you take 3 horribly cliched ideas and put them together, you get an original one.

[Animeniax]

Modern Family... ah yes, apparently if you take 3 horribly cliched ideas and put them together, you get an original one.I think that's part of the concept of the show... 3 disparate scenarios that normally constitute 3 different sitcoms mixed together to see weirdos in one cliched situation react to the weirdos in another.

Works for me, I like the show, though I haven't seen episode 20 something of the first season.

[rockmanj]

Do people really fap to facebook photos? I keep hearing about this in various fictional stories and cannot believe that people would actually do that (and if they do, admit it to people).

[Animeniax]

It's just another layer of social networking. I've seen plenty of "hot girls from facebook" image libraries on sites like The Chive. Some of them are pretty hot. I guess it's not much different from enjoying a Victoria's secret catalog.

[XanBcoo]

Do people really fap to [insert basically anything here]?

Yes.

Have you not met people?

[Buffalobiian]

Did the USA actually land on the moon? I haven't been able to sort out all the conspiracy theories as to whether they are more factual or fictitious.

[Ryllharu]

Yes, we did. (http://www.space.com/12835-nasa-apollo-moon-landing-sites-photos-lro.html) Multiple times. At incredible cost and expense.

If the Chinese or Indians have good enough cameras on board their probes, they should also be able to spot the landing sites. Oh wait, India already did that with their probe (http://www.physorg.com/news171102159.html).

edit: I'm hoping the Chinese give landing on the moon a go as well. That'll be cool.

[Animeniax]

Re-watched Quantum of Solace, the latest Bond movie, and it's much better than people give it credit for. I thought the underlying story was strong and the action was great. Not sure why so many dismissed the movie when it came out.

[Buffalobiian]

Why do old people keep repeating themselves?

Do they really forget they just told me something like... a minute ago? Sometimes they can say the same thing 4+ times in a 10 minute conversation (though it felt like hours).

[Kraco]

Just wait until you are as old as they. With all the canned food and booze you consume, you'll be lucky if you remember any stories to tell in the first place, not only if you have already told them before.

[Dark Dragon]

I just assume that by that point Buff will just become some sort of half machine/half junk food creature whose sole purpose is to consume more.

But yeah, people are afraid of getting old for a reason. Apparently, it's very easy for your brain to stop functioning properly if you neglect to constantly use it during your senior years. I know many of my dad close friends who constantly work in their late 60's and 70's despite being wealthy. They're afraid that they'll become senile if they don't keep their brain active by keeping busy.

[Buffalobiian]

I don't get why ebay sellers limit themselves to delivering only within their country. You obviously want to sell something, so the bigger the market the better. Simply reflect your costs in the postage. Now you get people who can't sell something, and you get people who can't buy it. :(

[Y]

I just assume that by that point Buff will just become some sort of half machine/half junk food creature whose sole purpose is to consume more.

But yeah, people are afraid of getting old for a reason. Apparently, it's very easy for your brain to stop functioning properly if you neglect to constantly use it during your senior years. I know many of my dad close friends who constantly work in their late 60's and 70's despite being wealthy. They're afraid that they'll become senile if they don't keep their brain active by keeping busy.

Just a note: the truly awful thing about senility is that this doesn't prevent it. Sometimes the dice just roll the wrong way biologically and your brain eats itself alive.

Also, yes, we went to the moon. If you have access to powerful Earth-bound telescopes, you could check out all the shit we left up there. The only "conspiracy" that is true about it is that the Moon race was obviously just an extension of the arms race and was being conducted to find a possible military advantage in space, which is barely even a secret, really.

[Ryllharu]

The only "conspiracy" that is true about it is that the Moon race was obviously just an extension of the arms race and was being conducted to find a possible military advantage in space, which is barely even a secret, really.True, but strangely, the US signed a treaty to keep weapons of mass destruction out of LEO and outer space (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty) with the USSR long before the US landed on the moon, or even orbited it.

[Buffalobiian]

I don't get why ebay sellers limit themselves to delivering only within their country. You obviously want to sell something, so the bigger the market the better. Simply reflect your costs in the postage. Now you get people who can't sell something, and you get people who can't buy it. :(

I ask him, and he replied:


Sorry, no international postage.

>_>...

[Animeniax]

International postage is outrageous and often makes a good deal a bad one after you add shipping. Unless it's impossible to find local, buy local.

[Buffalobiian]

International postage is outrageous and often makes a good deal a bad one after you add shipping. Unless it's impossible to find local, buy local.

I found that out, yeah. UK shipping seems to be one of the culprits, amongst others.

I ended up ordering from a store based in the UK (instead of ebay.co.uk), and paid fairly heftily for the product, though the postage wasn't that unreasonable. Another store I found had the products for a good 30$ cheaper, but wanted to charge me 160$ postage instead.

But in the end, it still works out better for the seller to list international postage. Ebay will display the domestic price for local bidders, while changing the rate for international folks. This is particularly true since the product is hard to find, and buying used is significantly cheaper regardless.

[Animeniax]

International shipping is not only cost-prohibitive, it is also a mess of time and fraught with potential problems. You have to fill out customs forms, possibly purchase international shipping insurance, and good luck if your package is lost when it's shipped to some podunk country with no sensible addressing infrastructure. Unless it's impossible to find locally, buy it locally.

[Animeniax]

When did the '#' character become hashtag instead of the pound symbol? Is this some hipster online thing to make twitting sound more hip and less nerdy?

[Buffalobiian]

When did the '#' character become hashtag instead of the pound symbol? Is this some hipster online thing to make twitting sound more hip and less nerdy?

I don't even get what you're saying..

[Splash!]

When did the '#' character become hashtag instead of the pound symbol? Is this some hipster online thing to make twitting sound more hip and less nerdy?

According to Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign):

"In Commonwealth English, the symbol is usually called the hash and the corresponding telephone key is called the hash key. In American English and Quebec English, the symbol is usually called the pound sign (outside the US, this term often refers instead to the British currency symbol "£") and the telephone key is called the pound key.[1] In Canadian English, this key is most frequently called the number sign key."

In my experience, I have heard both 'hash' and 'pound' very frequently to refer to that symbol far before the invention of twitter. So the word 'hashtag' comes from that, and is not something completely made up.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the word 'hashtag' was originally used in HTML. So twitter just borrowed a word from existing web jargon.

[Buffalobiian]

According to Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign):

"In Commonwealth English, the symbol is usually called the hash and the corresponding telephone key is called the hash key. In American English and Quebec English, the symbol is usually called the pound sign (outside the US, this term often refers instead to the British currency symbol "£") and the telephone key is called the pound key.[1] In Canadian English, this key is most frequently called the number sign key."

In my experience, I have heard both 'hash' and 'pound' very frequently to refer to that symbol far before the invention of twitter. So the word 'hashtag' comes from that, and is not something completely made up.

Ah.. now Ani's post makes sense.

Being the Commonwealth English citizen I am, I could not understand why Ani's having trouble with the "hash key" being called the "hash key".. and bringing up the GBP into the conversation..

[Kraco]

So, what do Americans call the pound symbol then if they call that hash symbol pound? Surely not "British currency" symbol? That would equal to calling banana a curved yellow fruit...

[complich8]

Americans don't talk about the GBP except referring to it as "British pounds" or "the GBP", and usually not even then. We're too busy using pounds as a unit of weight to acknowledge it as a currency, much less a symbol for that currency.

[Animeniax]

Edit: I forgot to mention that the word 'hashtag' was originally used in HTML. So twitter just borrowed a word from existing web jargon.

So people say "hashtag" when twitting to pretend like their coding or doing something meaningful rather than just being deluded that people actually give a shit about some random thought they have any time of the day.

[Buffalobiian]

So people say "hashtag" when twitting to pretend like their coding or doing something meaningful rather than just being deluded that people actually give a shit about some random thought they have any time of the day.....

tell me Ani.. what exactly do people use # for?

I've only ever used it when describing numbers (#1) etc.. in which case we never say "hash one" since it's more like No. 1.

The only time I've heard it is when telephone instructions tell me to "press the hash key, which is located underneath the NINE key on your phone".

[Splash!]

So people say "hashtag" when twitting to pretend like their coding or doing something meaningful rather than just being deluded that people actually give a shit about some random thought they have any time of the day.

The developers at Twitter decided to call it that. They use words starting with '#' in tweets to classify and group them, for ease of searching and browsing. Basically, the user tags certain words with the hash symbol in their tweet to point out which topics it is relevant to (or at least that is my understanding, I am not much of a twitter user). The concept of tagging has been there in blogs and forums long before Twitter. Twitter just decided to implement the feature using the hash sign.

You can't blame people for calling a functional feature in Twitter what it is supposed to be called. Sure, the word originally comes from HTML but it makes complete sense in this context too, given the tagging and the use of the hash symbol.

[Sapphire]

Why is something that's 5 dollars here also around 5 pounds in London?

Why isn't a sandwich some crazy number like .05 pounds or 128291812 pounds? It's pretty much the same numerical number as here.... W_W

Yes, I get that the actual values of the money are different, but why is the actual numerical NUMBER of the price pretty much the same? It's REALLY weird. Canada too. And Japan if you just take off two zeroes.

[darkshadow]

Because everything has different values in different economies, not just the money; the value of products is completely relative to the average amount any single person can spend, amongst things.

[Sapphire]

How does that answer my question?

Oh I think I get you. I get that. But why is it the same NUMBER? The same digit more or less?

[darkshadow]

That it is the exact same number is probably a coincidence, an indirect result of the different spending powers; if the market of your example is anything like the electronics market though, then $=€, or in this case $=£.

[Ryllharu]

Saph: Typically the disparity between European and American prices is due to the Value Added Taxes of the European countries.

[Sapphire]

I wasn't asking about the disparity... >_>

And is it really a coincidence..? I can't believe that.

[Kraco]

A big part of pricing is also played by the particular practical and psychological requirements of the vendor. Some small snack seller would likely stick to simple prices in order to avoid the need for massive amounts of change, whereas bigger sellers very often stick to nonsensical but apparently psychologically effective pricing like 4.99, which is exactly the same as 5 for all practical purposes as long as you don't buy at least a hundred pieces of the thing at once. This is also one reason, in addition to what DS and Ryll said, that drives prices directly incomparable between countries. Prices generated by currency conversion are rarely visible to customers, unless you buy directly from a foreign country and the site happens to do it that way.

[Buffalobiian]

She's doubting the reason behind the numbers matching more than anything here.

[Ryllharu]

Take the price of something, let's say DS wants to buy a video game.

That game costs $59.99 in the US. Converting that price would make it cost €44.80. The VAT for his country is 19%. That makes the game now cost €53.76. So they round it back up to €59.99 for the practical and psychological factors that Kraco was talking about.

It isn't a coincidence, it's silly economics.

Now, Australian and Canadian prices, those are bullshit. Australia's GST is lower than the European VATs, and our currencies are about equal these days. Games that are $60 in the US are $80 in Australia! Canada's taxes are lower than that, yet a book for instance that is $8 USD still lists for $11 CAD.

[Buffalobiian]

There was an article that I was reading that accused the Australian gaming retailers being a cartel. Can't find it anymore though.

But it's only in semi-recent times that our currency has been on par with the US. It used to be more like 1AUD=0.7USD or something. Perhaps they're doing the same sort of rounding just because they can (and they think we're used to it enough that we won't give a shit)?

[Sapphire]

What Haru and Kraco said makes sense. Thanks guys.

It really is trippy going to London and seeing things as all the SAME numerical price as it would be here in the US. (But my dollar still only buys half as much... lol...)

[Xelbair]

Take the price of something, let's say DS wants to buy a video game.

That game costs $59.99 in the US. Converting that price would make it cost €44.80. The VAT for his country is 19%. That makes the game now cost €53.76. So they round it back up to €59.99 for the practical and psychological factors that Kraco was talking about.

It isn't a coincidence, it's silly economics.

Now, Australian and Canadian prices, those are bullshit. Australia's GST is lower than the European VATs, and our currencies are about equal these days. Games that are $60 in the US are $80 in Australia! Canada's taxes are lower than that, yet a book for instance that is $8 USD still lists for $11 CAD.

Did you remove VAT from the US price too? seems not.

[Ryllharu]

We don't have a VAT. We have sales tax (which is a different), and they are much lower than Europe's VATs. Several of our states don't have a sales tax at all. Buying online generally has no taxes.

edit: Highest sales taxes in the US (which includes additional county/city/municipality taxes) is maxed out at 11.5%. Lowest as previously mentioned, is 0%.

[rockmanj]

And as my English friends have explained to me, the purchasing power of a pound in England would be analogous to the purschasing power of a Dollar in the US. I believe the others explained the economics behind it.

[Animeniax]

I don't get it, but I don't like to rewatch movies/tv series, even if I loved them the first time. It's like I feel there's so many other things to experience/view, so why waste time rewatching something I've already seen, even though there's not that much on TV worth seeing. I know people who rewatch movies 10 times and know lines by heart. I can't bring myself to watch most movies/TV series episodes more than once.

[Buffalobiian]

I don't get it, but I don't like to rewatch movies/tv series, even if I loved them the first time. It's like I feel there's so many other things to experience/view, so why waste time rewatching something I've already seen, even though there's not that much on TV worth seeing. I know people who rewatch movies 10 times and know lines by heart. I can't bring myself to watch most movies/TV series episodes more than once.

It comes down to whether you think there are better things to watch I suppose.

Like.. when I was a kid, I had all these video tapes that I just rewatched and rewatched and rewatched.. there wasn't terribly much on TV..

..and I knew everything line by line.

These days my scope is bigger and I have more access to new material, so I don't really rewatch shows for that reason.

That said, I do revisit epic moments of new anime episodes a few times after they air occasionally.

[Animeniax]

I imagine there are better things to watch, but in reality there aren't. But even then, it's like replaying video games to me. If you've played through once, maybe twice at most, then any further run-throughs seem like a waste of time that could be spent doing something more useful.

[rockmanj]

I don't really get why...hmm, it is hard to explain it, but I have had a lot of strange and finny things happen to me, and when I tell people these hilarious stories, usually everyone enjoys them but afterward women make me out to be bizarre, even though I am not really doing anything that strange. I wish I knew what was going on.

[Kraco]

I don't get it, but I don't like to rewatch movies/tv series, even if I loved them the first time.

I do. When you rewatch a quality show or movie for the second time, you'll catch a lot of things that escaped you the first time through, because you were initially captivated by the larger things on screen. After that, though, it's clearly a personal taste. For some reason I can enjoy watching stuff even though I know precisely what's going to happen next. Maybe even because of that. Sometimes I find myself wanting to watch something I know to be jolly good beforehand, not something unknown to me. Like Bill said, epic moments are still epic, no matter how many times you've seen them. Good writing in general still remains good.

[Xelbair]

We don't have a VAT. We have sales tax (which is a different), and they are much lower than Europe's VATs. Several of our states don't have a sales tax at all. Buying online generally has no taxes.

edit: Highest sales taxes in the US (which includes additional county/city/municipality taxes) is maxed out at 11.5%. Lowest as previously mentioned, is 0%.
11.5%? damnit - VAT for most stuff over here is 23%, only stuff like bread etc has 8% VAT... not to mention 47%(yes, forty seven percent) tax on your all earnings - literal translation would be 'social insurance tax'.. that should theoretically go to your retirement pension...but you'll be lucky if you get 10% back of it..

[Ryllharu]

not to mention 47%(yes, forty seven percent) tax on your all earnings - literal translation would be 'social insurance tax'.. that should theoretically go to your retirement pension...but you'll be lucky if you get 10% back of it..
Our Income Tax and all the benefits programs like Medicare, or Social Security (which is a parody of a "retirement pension" for people like me, who will never get anything out of what we put into it) total to approximately 33%. My 401k/Roth Retirement fund is separate, 6% on top of that. As is health insurance, but that's a separate issue.

So it's not too far off there at least. Mine just gets wasted by the government more efficiently.

[XanBcoo]

Google Image Search "Christmas tree"

Pictures of real trees (the most common result is the fir tree):

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/3484/firtree.jpg

Alongside artistic depictions of trees:

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4459/christmastreed.gif

Branches up or branches down??

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH THE BRANCHES?

I feel like I've stumbled onto the Davinci Code of Christmas Trees. Every image is like this.

[Ryllharu]

Branches up or branches down??

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH THE BRANCHES?

I feel like I've stumbled onto the Davinci Code of Christmas Trees. Every image is like this.
(At least for the two images you've chosen) It's called...gravity. Ornaments are heavy, they weigh the branches of many species down.

[XanBcoo]

Branches up
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/261/christmastreeornaments.jpg

up
http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/3764/christmastreeornaments2.png

up
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/6351/christmastreeornaments3.jpg

Even the most heavily ornamented branches maintain an upward or outward appearance. All the cartoony trees look like they're flying through a wind tunnel.

I think the ubiquitous image of the tree has colored the reality of the situation. I just asked my brother and my friend which way Christmas tree branches pointed. "Down" was their answer.

[rockmanj]

Branches up
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/261/christmastreeornaments.jpg

up
http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/3764/christmastreeornaments2.png

up
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/6351/christmastreeornaments3.jpg

Even the most heavily ornamented branches maintain an upward or outward appearance. All the cartoony trees look like they're flying through a wind tunnel.

I think the ubiquitous image of the tree has colored the reality of the situation. I just asked my brother and my friend which way Christmas tree branches pointed. "Down" was their answer.

Be careful...the christmas people tree will get on your case. You don't want that shit.

[Ryllharu]

Depends on the species. Scotch Pine is popular too (though I think they're ugly).

Many branches down.
http://i.imgur.com/eVx4z.jpg


Or in their natural state, also drooping branches, since snow is even heavier.
http://i.imgur.com/ykJVV.jpg

[XanBcoo]

It must be the snow thing. Even in that first picture many of the branches extend upward, and most of the cartoony trees appear to be firs, rather than pines.

Edit: Fuckers!

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/5647/christmastreesnow.jpg

[Animeniax]

I imagine it's like depictions of hair in anime:

1121