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[2011-02-07 18:04:49] - i guess it seems like there's really 3 choices, and (some) democrats are pushing for the "health care/emergency care for all", and some of you (i suspect) would prefer "health care/emergency care for the wealthy", and nobody (i think?) would prefer "health care for the wealthy; emergency care for all", but i'm worried that's where we'll end up - aaron
[2011-02-07 18:01:55] - where they'll be like, "did you pay for fire coverage? no? well, then we won't put out your fire. but, if there's people in the building, we'll save their lives". it seems like there's a parallel where, even the most hardcore "capitalism works dammit" idealists will draw the line when it comes to saving someone's life - aaron
[2011-02-07 18:00:55] - and between the two extremes, the latter seems more humane, and more similar to the system that we have now. that said, the former is more rational and closer to libertarian ideals (if i understand them.) but i'm reminded of like - volunteer fire departments in some areas, - aaron
[2011-02-07 17:59:19] - leads to universal coverage." does anybody disagree with that sentiment? i think some people here are on one side or the other, but it seems like the current "mandatory health insurance is consitutional" ruling is trying to put us back in the middle, which doesn't seem logical to me - aaron
[2011-02-07 17:57:51] - http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/fgvv9/can_someone_please_tell_me_the_pros_of_universal/ i thought this was a pretty good reddit thread about universal health care. my favorite comment was, "Right now, the laws in this country are only going half way there. Either we remove the laws that require hospitals to treat everybody, or we implement a system that... - aaro
[2011-02-07 17:01:46] - xpovos: oh you know ms. rage? - aaron
[2011-02-07 16:01:54] - Wow... MS rage, I haven't hit that in a while... -- Xpovos
[2011-02-07 15:57:52] - gurkie: Dual-flush toilets... yeah. I have no idea how to tell the two flushes apart either except by trial and error. It's probably in the user manual somewhere. -- Xpovos
[2011-02-07 15:40:57] - stephen: I just couldnt really tell which is which... is the one that looks like there is a line across the middle for 1? or 2? They are both full circles... ~gurkie
[2011-02-07 15:23:57] - Oh, and if you press the wrong button, the camera takes a picture of you and uploads it to a centralized database where you are either marked "environmentally-unfriendly" or "poopy". - Stephen
[2011-02-07 15:22:24] - Gurkie: One is for #1, the other for #2. Toilets like that are really common in Germany. - Stephen
[2011-02-07 14:39:01] - aaron: so I shouldnt have hit it 20 times to see what it does? ~gurkie
[2011-02-07 14:36:43] - gurkie: maybe one of the buttons controls the camera - aaron
[2011-02-07 14:33:12] - vinnie: I think one might be half strength flush and full flush, but I cant really tell by pressing them... ~gurkie
[2011-02-07 14:14:01] - gurkie: what do the two buttons do? flush down and flush up? - vinnie
[2011-02-07 14:13:13] - envirobear 2011: an envirobear odyssey - vinnie
[2011-02-07 13:55:26] - every time I use the bathroom here I am flummoxed by the 2 buttons for flushing.... I keep forgetting to tell you all... Does anyone else have 2 flushing options side by side on their toilets??? ~gurkie
[2011-02-07 13:33:40] - I can't wait for envirobear 2011. - mig
[2011-02-06 18:47:16] - aaron: haha, yes cutting edge graphics. i'll have to give it a try. ~a
[2011-02-06 14:14:32] - haha i'll let pierce or nina answer that one. its a tall bill and it depends on your definition of "nicer" and "awesome". i honestly dont know of more than a handfull of awesome veggie place anywhere let alone in alexandria!
~a[2011-02-06 12:43:30] - you are a bear and you drive through ponds and bushes to get fish and berries to fall into your car, and you try get fat enough to hibernate. cutting edge graphics, sensitive controls, catchy soundtrack. *****/**** - aaron
[2011-02-06 12:38:56] - a: i don't know if you have any games on your droid yet but i strongly recommend envirobear 2010 (youtube) - aaron
[2011-02-04 17:13:51] - also im scared of rosslyn... transferring there sux ~gurkie
[2011-02-04 16:50:03] - Anyone have good suggestions of places for my mom, sister, and I to grab lunch in Alexandria? Preferably a nicer, non-chain restaurant with great food and awesome veggie options... Oh yea where its free too
~gurkie[2011-02-04 13:31:19] - a: definately. ~gurkie
[2011-02-04 11:18:21] - gurkie: doesn't it seem like something aaron would write after a few? ~a
[2011-02-04 10:28:41] - http://i.imgur.com/ucTg2.jpg lady gaga vs rice ball... don't know why this made me laugh as hard as it did - aaron
[2011-02-04 09:47:19] - aaron: its amusing that the finger ALMOST covers the cc number... luckily it doesnt appear to have all of it... ~gurkie
[2011-02-04 09:08:55] - Xpovos: Nice. I beat a few levels on brutal this week (Maw of the Void, Engine of Destruction, Media Blitz and Piercing the Shroud). I don't remember exactly how many levels are left, but I can smell the end. -Paul
[2011-02-03 23:03:25] - hah! still, a 32% tip is pretty nice! ~a
[2011-02-03 22:50:14] - http://i.imgur.com/1ZzS4.jpg i can't math - aaron
[2011-02-03 22:50:07] - xpovos: yeah, brutal is bad. but good luck to you and congrats on hard - aaron
[2011-02-03 19:30:51] - I beat Welcome to the Jungle tonight. Hard. Don't think I'll try brutal for a bit. I feel a bit like a cheater, I watched a guy do it on Brutal on YouTube to see how bad it would be. PsiStorm. Crap. As a result, I was able to incorporate some of his strategy for Brutal into Hard. It was very manageable at that point. -- Xpovos
[2011-02-03 17:07:07] - Stepen: Ble, I guess my "" key is broken.
-Paul[2011-02-03 16:59:58] - oops, I guess that was me... ~paul
[2011-02-03 16:54:55] - Paul: A hypen? - Stephen
[2011-02-03 16:46:09] - Yikes, I am talking to myself... and using a tilde instead of a hypen! -Paul
[2011-02-03 16:44:14] - I've been working on the blue line, all the livelong day ~gurkie
[2011-02-03 16:17:34] - Paul: ah but I cant see the US govt banning it as there is nothing in it which negatively impacts Americans... ~paul
[2011-02-03 16:16:16] - Gurkie: Allowing it to be banned? Wouldn't the US government be the one to be doing the banning? -Paul
[2011-02-03 16:07:56] - Daniel: I think she recused herself from a case that she had been involved with as a member of the Obama administration. At least I thought I remember hearing about that. -Paul
[2011-02-03 15:50:37] - Stephen: its interesting that they stopped banning it, they excused their behavior with "hey its legal"... ~gurkie
[2011-02-03 15:48:16] - Paul: I cant see the US govt allowing it to be banned... It didnt reflect badly on us... ~gurkie
[2011-02-03 15:39:16] - Gurkie: In Japan. The Japanese government didn't want its citizens to know what was going on. - Stephen
[2011-02-03 15:36:44] - -Daniel
[2011-02-03 15:36:42] - They talked about it on npr at one point because Kagan recused herself from the DC gun case maybe? Or didn't recuse herself? I don't remember but it came up with that too. I think if you have dealt with the case before (as a judge in a lower court) then you aren't supposed to rule again on the SC on that same case I think. I dont remember all the rules they said though
[2011-02-03 15:28:29] - I don't know if there really is any precedent, guidelines, or examples of SC justices ever recusing themselves from cases, though. - mig
[2011-02-03 15:16:51] - I can't really say whether she should be obligated to recuse herself or not, but it would be an interesting question to see play out. - mig
[2011-02-03 15:15:05] - The talk about whether Kagan should recuse herself is interesting. There is a case to be made that since Obama has a lot personally and politically invested in the law and that she was appointed while the law was being debated that he could have appointed kagan with the idea in mind that she would rubber stamp the law's constitutionality. - mig
[2011-02-03 15:07:21] - paul: well the vote was along party lines. not really too surprising. - mig
[2011-02-03 14:59:47] - http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/02/03/virginia-attorney-general-urges-supreme-court-hear-health-law-challenge/ An article about fast-tracking the Obamacare challenge to the Supreme Court. I'm surprised the repeal vote in the senate was as close as 51-47. -Paul
[2011-02-03 14:52:09] - Gurkie: Why could you see them banning it in Japan but not in the US? Because it uses footage of the cove? -Paul
[2011-02-03 14:25:22] - Stephen: there was a ban on showing the cove? In Japan? Or in the US, cause I dont see how they could ban it in the US... ~gurkie
[2011-02-03 13:59:22] - gurkie: That was such a disturbing documentary. Good one, though, and the Japanese finally lifted the ban on showing it. - Stephen
[2011-02-03 13:22:08] - paul: the hippies were protesting the dolphin killing as well... Taiji the town which apparently started modern whaling now does the dolphin hunts... Its where Hayden Panneteria (sp) was protesting ~gurkie
[2011-02-03 13:11:01] - Gurkie: Probably because all those hippies keep protesting their whaling vessels.
-Paul[2011-02-03 13:09:11] - also guess what, I actually voluntarily watched a documentary!!! ~gurkie
[2011-02-03 12:55:26] - Paul: yea well apparently in Japan they often package Dolphin meat as Whale meat... which is bad cause Dolphin meat is dangerously high in mercury and can cause a bunch of problems.... ~gurkie
[2011-02-03 12:51:53] - apparently BNL and a bunch of other bands do a cruise to Cozumel which my new lead is going on next weekend... A big music festival cruise, sounds like it could be fun for people who like music
~gurkie[2011-02-03 12:12:41] - Gurkie: Just because all you ate in Japan was rice doesn't mean that other people shouldn't eat anything in Japan.
-Paul[2011-02-03 11:59:26] - amy: have you seen the cove? It streams from netflix... its pretty depressing and scary and reaffirms why you shouldnt eat fish... or anything in Japan. ~gurkie
[2011-02-03 11:47:28] - aaron: Yeah, Miguel explained it well. It's all about perfectly positioning your tanks and marines and not moving too far forward, or else they'll explode (seige tanks) and likely draw their friends forward into a bloodbath. It can get ugly. -Paul
[2011-02-03 10:47:56] - mig: oh okay i understand, yeah if they're talking about high ground siege tanks and stuff. i've only ever watched TvT in spectator mode, so i never really realized how much thought they have to put into staying out of siege range, it always seems obvious as a spectator - aaron
[2011-02-03 10:45:26] - hence the exploding. - mig
[2011-02-03 10:45:08] - aaron: the "invisible" refers to high ground units you can't see and the siege tanks obscene range. - mig
[2011-02-03 10:43:43] - Almost all TvT games (pretty much all the ones I've played) invovle agonizingly slow viking/tank pushes that just drag a game on forever. You either have to chip away at somebody's tank wall or hope he's an idiot and just runs into your big wall of tanks. - mig
[2011-02-03 10:41:58] - paul: also with sensor towers and drop ship play as common as it is, i'd say TvT is the only matchup for which that analogy absolutely makes no sense. i could rationalize, maybe, that ZvZ and PvP or PvT or ZvT or ZvP you could complain that your opponent has invisible pieces (obs, burrowed stuff) and stuff is exploding randomly... TvT i just don't get it - aaron
[2011-02-03 10:40:12] - paul: in SC2? i've seen some TVT matches but i don't understand. seemed like TvT ismostly about biomech and occasionally, i've seen the "big ball of ravens" strategy work well - aaron
[2011-02-03 10:38:10] - "TvT is like chess if your opponents pieces were invisible and your pieces randomly fucking exploded every time you tried to move them." A funny quote I just read on a message board. -Paul
[2011-02-03 00:49:47] - i read sarcasm? ~a
[2011-02-03 00:29:45] - oh for me, being vegan means avoiding animals in any way shape or form! -amy
[2011-02-02 20:55:20] - and the groundhog itself? mostly vegan i think. it only rarely eats meat? -title
[2011-02-02 20:53:26] - vegan? do people eat groundhogs on groundhog day? i think bill murray forgot to mention this to me. -title
[2011-02-02 19:48:37] - The economy went south for 2007-2009 particularly, but was decent in 2004-2006. A lot of businesses followed the same patterns. The problem is 2010 should've been a return to profitability, or at least a much smaller loss... not a much bigger one. So--yeah, I'll agree that's a boatload. -- Xpovos
[2011-02-02 19:47:31] - OK, I'll grant 8.5B on 67B of revenue is pretty bad. So I looked back at some other years. 2009: -$3.8B, 2008: -$2.8B, 2007: -$5.1B. So, it's definitely not looking good there for the past three to four years. 2006: +$900M, 2005: +$1.4B 2004: +$3.1, 2004: +$3.9B. So there are some good years in there too, and it seems very cyclical. -- Xpovos
[2011-02-02 14:03:33] - http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_revenge_of_comic_sans/ - vinnie
[2011-02-02 14:02:54] - amy: au contraire! You are vegan _because_ you celebrate groundhogs (and other life) so much. - Stephen
[2011-02-02 12:34:18] - title: thanks but i don't really celebrate groundhogs.. you know, being vegan and all -amy
[2011-02-02 10:54:55] - xpovos: I would definte this as a boatload. - mig
[2011-02-02 10:52:23] - Xpovos: I can't find results for previous years, but it looks like the USPS lost over $8 billion last year. -Paul
[2011-02-02 10:51:43] - i know they're only like, a "publisher" or a "distributor" or something but for whatever reason, they seem to push out a lot of really bizarre innovative games which reinvent or expand game genres. maybe i just like japan, but i don't know. atlus seems like a really quality company - aaron
[2011-02-02 10:50:43] - daniel: i also thought Puyo Pop Fever was a pretty awesome adaptation of Puyo Puyo, and i heard great things about Ogre Battle 64 and Trauma Center. they also distributed a puzzle game on the neo geo called "Oh My God!" - aaron
[2011-02-01 21:28:01] - Paul: Except they don't lose boatloads of money every year. -- Xpovos
[2011-02-01 20:56:04] - Xpovos: Fair enough. although I still don't know how a company with not only government approved, but government enforced monopoly powers which also loses boatloads of money every year without going bankrupt could be considered to be run "essentially capitalistically". -Paul
[2011-02-01 17:41:40] - a: And then you can reddit the ad. -- Xpovos
[2011-02-01 17:20:56] - Paul: The issue there is mail vs. parcels. To most of us they're the same thing. Not to the USPS. Regarding their finances, the first thing they'd do if they were public would be stop funding their pension plans @100%. No other private company is doing that, but Congress won't let them stop. -- Xpovos
[2011-02-01 16:42:04] - hmm, kind of an interesting move from redit's ad team. advertisement on the side of that article says "redit would like to use this ad space to say 'thanks for not using adblock!'" ~a
[2011-02-01 16:06:16] - aaron: Its not like Disgea. -Daniel
[2011-02-01 15:57:33] - a: oh! no way! atlus, i love almost all their stuff. i will have to read up on this game - aaron
[2011-02-01 15:11:02] - That’s right, when you fail in this game, it gets harder. Why? Because fuck you is why. ~a
[2011-02-01 14:51:13] - a: although it does beg the question of where i go if i want my skinny google back - aaron
[2011-02-01 14:50:59] - Xpovos: And while I don't fully understand how it's finances work, I'm not so sure the USPS would survive as a private company if it wasn't able to borrow money so easily from the government. -Paul
[2011-02-01 14:49:28] - a: i used bing a few times and though it was pretty cool, it was about as good as google with a lot of fluffy domain-specific stuff like "find a restaurant" or "find plane tickets" which seemed practical. but recently google got fluffy too so now if i need a fluffy search engine i just use google again - aaron
[2011-02-01 14:46:47] - Xpovos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#Universal_Service_Obligation_and_monopoly_status "Congress has delegated to the Postal Service the power to decide whether others may compete with it". I'm not sure I agree that the USPS runs essentially capitalistically. -Paul
[2011-02-01 14:28:37] - aaron: bing stands for "bing is now google"?
~a[2011-02-01 13:59:18] - Paul: That the USPS runs essentially capitalistically, despite being hampered by government regulations that its competitors don't have to deal with. I'm not sure I think you're wrong (you probably were, I was certainly at least a little) but you were definitely arguing different things. -- Xpovos
[2011-02-01 13:45:44] - aaron: Hilarious. -- Xpovos
[2011-02-01 13:04:33] - Xpovos: Which part was he right about? Since I appear to be his foremost sparring partner there, I'm assuming you think I was wrong.
-Paul[2011-02-01 12:49:17] - http://searchengineland.com/google-bing-is-cheating-copying-our-search-results-62914 bing is cheating; copying google's search results. this article goes in depth about how google set up a "honeypot" of bogus search terms which bing ended up copying the results for. bad bing! - aaron
[2011-02-01 12:30:53] - Hmm, I'm not sure from reading the context around the sub-post if dewey won that argument or not, but he should have. He was right. -- Xpovos
[2011-02-01 11:09:12] - Judge Vinson's ruling, a rather long read, but interesting nonetheless. - mig
[2011-01-31 16:38:01] - gurkie: Meg and Will have Pandemic, as do Lauren and Sam. - Stephen
[2011-01-31 16:37:16] - Yeah I was pretty sure it wasn't which is why waiting doesn't seem like its going to change it anything on the supreme court. -Daniel
[2011-01-31 16:33:10] - Daniel: Well Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the oldest justice right now, so it might not be swaying to the left anytime soon. -Paul
[2011-01-31 16:21:18] - Well unless Obama is hoping that a conservative retires so he can add a new less conservative judge before the case makes it all the way up it just seems that we should go ahead and get an answer to the question instead of messing around for the next year or two. -Daniel
[2011-01-31 16:17:40] - Apparently there is a "let's take it to the SCOTUS now" motion or procedure, it just isn't used very often. - mig
[2011-01-31 16:17:05] - daniel: I forget where I read this, but I do recall reading that the plantiffs in the virginia case asking for something like that (of course, "express" would still be a relative term here), but the administration didn't seem enthusiastic about the idea. - mig
[2011-01-31 16:13:23] - Paul: I don't think I'm going to be to interested in court's rulings on health care until it gets to the Supreme Court. In cases like these there should be an express path to the Supreme Court because everyone knows its headed there. -Daniel
[2011-01-31 16:12:47] - ok, I'm a little shocked actually about the other part of the ruling declaring the entire law essentially void. - mig
[2011-01-31 16:04:38] - if this is the florida case, I'm not terribly shocked. - mig
[2011-01-31 16:02:11] - Did everybody hear that the Individual Mandate was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal judge today? -Paul
[2011-01-31 15:58:47] - aaron: I knew that, I thought someone else said they did... Maybe it was Sam. ~gurkie
[2011-01-31 15:49:06] - gurkie: travis and faith have pandemic - aaron
[2011-01-31 15:48:55] - gurkie: i've never played the europe expansion, i forgot it existed. i see - aaron
[2011-01-31 15:47:56] - gurkie: I don't have Pandemic but I've heard positive things about it. -Daniel
[2011-01-31 15:45:20] - who has pandemic? I want to play it sometime... Daniel did you say you have it? I know Travis does too.... ~gurkie
[2011-01-31 15:44:06] - aaron: you are right though about the 1910 expansion coming out after europe was made and before the europe expansion... I think Marklin and possibly Nordic Countries came out before the expansion though. ~gurkie
[2011-01-31 15:43:23] - I like the europe expansion better than the america expansion but Paul and I very rarely play with the original rules, we play our own adopted style... ~gurkie
[2011-01-31 15:40:05] - aaron: they made expansions for both america and europe. it makes sense they would make the america expansion first, probably more people owned that game - vinnie
[2011-01-31 15:35:52] - I hate TTR: Nordic Countries. For whatever reason, I end up spending half the game drawing random cards desperately looking for a color that I absolutely need to complete my destination... which I never end up getting. -Paul
[2011-01-31 15:14:36] - didn't ttr europe have an expansion though? or am i thinking about 1910. - mig
[2011-01-31 14:51:08] - stephen: yeah i don't know about that one. although if i remember the timetable, it went america, europe, then 1910... i was always confused by that. if europe was seen as the superior game, why wasn't 1910 made as an expansion to TTR: europe? - aaron
[2011-01-31 14:50:21] - I've only played TTR America so I would give that a thumbs up while Europe wouldn't get a rating. Feeds into Aaron's arguement. Maybe American't isn't better but if more have played it? -Daniel
[2011-01-31 14:48:22] - aaron: I guess that makes sense to some degree... I think Ill have to try Nordic Countries some more, cause while I really like the TtR series that one I didnt much like. ~gurkie
[2011-01-31 14:47:56] - aaron: I think that makes sense. I just don't get why people would prefer America to Europe, unless they are rabid believers in American exceptionalism. - Stephen
[2011-01-31 14:35:45] - sorry, i don't think i expressed myself well. what i meant, was that since so many people played TTR america and TTR europe, those will get a higher volume of negative reviews than the comparatively less popular sequels; even if the sequels were just as bad (or worse) - aaron
[2011-01-31 14:33:21] - gurkie: it's weird to judge things like an artist's different albums, or movies in a series, or games like this based on user reviews. like "TTR europe" might just get a lot of thumbs down based on its unpopularity, while "TTR nordic countries" gets mostly thumbs up because only hardcore TTR players will bother to find it - aaron
[2011-01-31 14:22:40] - gurkie*
[2011-01-31 14:22:35] - xpovos: yea I always have something I wasnt sure if filling out tons of paperwork counted as "working" i mean its necessary but non-productive from the work side of things its all administration stuff... ~gurkiw
[2011-01-31 14:13:26] - gurkie: There's probably less work, but I generally end up spending the first day dealing with PITA HR forms or reading obscure tech manuals to prep for when I do have the computer. So, that's definitely work. Just not gainful type. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-31 13:59:03] - I should probably buy some more of the games on this list http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/63735/if-women-ruled-the-geek-the-female-gamer-top-50-ra ~gurkie
[2011-01-31 13:58:46] - on BGG someone wrote a list of women's rankings of games... apparently for TtR women like: Nordic Countries, America, Marklin, and then Europe... Seems weird to me ~gurkie
[2011-01-31 13:56:11] - sigh, when I started writing that it was meant to be sarcastic... then I realized day 1 at client site (for me) there often isnt much to do yet... ~gurkie
[2011-01-31 13:55:43] - xpovos: rule number 8 is kinda demanding isnt it? I mean the first day often times your computer is being set up and you might fill out some paperwork but cant effectively work... ~gurkie
[2011-01-31 13:36:08] - Rule #9: if this isn't your first day of work, you have to work - vinnie
[2011-01-31 13:24:55] - Rule #8: If this is your first day at work; you have to work. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-31 13:11:56] - Rule #1, you don't talk about fight club. Rule #2, you don't talk about fight club. that would also make your workplace awesome. ~a
[2011-01-31 13:03:40] - Rule #3 is broken constantly, but that's OK, because enforcing it is my job, so if everyone obeyed, I might be out of a job. Today, though, it's been Rules #1 and #2. Multiple times, and sometimes in conjunction with each other. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-31 13:02:02] - Rule #1: Do your job. Actually, I'm pretty lenient with this one too, until the failure to do the job impacts my ability to do mine, so more specifically: do your job, don't make me do your job. #2: Don't fuck with my data. Rule #3: Stay in compliance with policy. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-31 13:00:22] - aaron: Hah, no... it would also negate rules #2 and #3. I might go Monty Python and say that there is no rule #6, but not no rules. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-31 12:44:37] - xpovos: is the first workplace rule, "there are no workplace rules"? because that would make your workplace awesome - aaron
[2011-01-31 12:13:08] - I have three workplace rules. I don't think they're that demanding, and if everyone I work with follows them, there are never any problems... and yet, there are problems. Amazing. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-31 10:57:37] - I think I'd prefer approval voting over IRV. Hard to say. My preference is for a modified variant of cumulative voting, but that does necessitate multiple winners, so it's not suitable for things like electing the President. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-31 10:48:41] - Aaron: My concern is that I honestly don't think the majority of voters have enough knowledge to make a good decision with our current system, let alone a system which is going to require more research and knowledge. -Paul
[2011-01-31 10:42:27] - paul: "approval voting" requires more knowledge than "first-past-the-post" voting, and "instant runoff voting" requires more knowledge than both of those. also, based on the wikipedia article, it seems equal to "first past the post" but that's probably a wikipedia problem, or just me misreading it - aaron
[2011-01-31 10:28:42] - aaron: I think it would be an improvement too, although I am partial to instant runoff voting. -Paul
[2011-01-31 10:07:51] - http://freekeene.com/2011/01/28/will-nh-adopt-approval-voting/ four republican state reps have proposed a bill in new hampshire which would put in place an "approval voting" system, where voters check off all candidates they approve of; rather than just voting for one person... i think this would be an improvement over the current system - aaron
[2011-01-31 08:39:44] - Quiet weekend. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-29 14:30:24] - the do what the fuck you want to public license. in many jurisdictions, it's basically "public domain". ~a
[2011-01-29 00:23:10] - xpovos: thank you for reminding me about fake science!!! i liked that one a lot. although the "clear head screw" made me lol: http://fakescience.tumblr.com/post/2627182436/the-screw - aaron
[2011-01-28 18:10:46] - Yeah I hate ohl but I'll try not to complain too loudly ~a
[2011-01-28 17:18:26] - whats the title from? ~gurkie
[2011-01-28 16:29:46] - Fake Science: What is an amphibian? -- Xpovos
[2011-01-28 15:03:52] - a: Cool. You know it's Omaha High-Low, right? -Paul
[2011-01-28 14:42:07] - paul: ill be there. ~a
[2011-01-28 14:33:57] - http://i.huffpost.com/gen/242169/TACO-BELL-MEAT-BEEF-LAWSUIT-NEWSPAPER-ADS.jpg i was talking to someone the other day about the "38% meat" statistic or whatever, that had been spreading about taco bell. i guess taco bell heard about the rumor, too - aaron
[2011-01-28 13:25:15] - aaron: considering he got off while the bus was stuck in snow I agree... ~gurkie
[2011-01-28 13:24:03] - they should put that right on the front of the box, really - aaron
[2011-01-28 13:23:50] - paul: i'm sure rajinikanth will be flattered to hear that his movie "sounds a lot better than human centipede"
- aaron[2011-01-28 13:12:46] - Aaron: Hadn't heard of it until now, but it sounds a lot better than Human Centipede... or whatever it was. -Paul
[2011-01-28 13:07:14] - daniel: yes!!! you saw the clip too? man i want to see the whole movie, that clip was nuts - aaron
[2011-01-28 12:48:40] - is that the robot movie that had the clip on reddit recently? That was a crazy looking movie if so. -Daniel
[2011-01-28 12:43:29] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enthiran also has anybody heard anything about this movie, "enthiran"? it was released in late 2010 and is india's most expensive and highest grossing film to date. i saw some clips and it kind of looked like terminator, but with the level of ridiculousness of some of the matrix sequels. they had fight scenes with like 100-200 cg guys - aaron
[2011-01-28 11:52:39] - gurkie: so like 2 or 3 miles? that's pretty bad. but yeah not as bad as it would have been waiting on the bus, probably - aaron
[2011-01-28 11:51:55] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihon_Igai_Zenbu_Chinbotsu Out of context, "Everyone Other Than Japan Sinks" is a pretty funny premise for a film. As a result of the catastrophic earthquakes North and South America, Eurasia, Africa and Australia have sunken underwater while the Japanese islands remain untouched. - aaron
[2011-01-28 11:51:52] - from what I gather he was moving a lot faster than the bus was ... I think at one point they hadnt moved in like an hour and he was standing on the bus... ~gurkie
[2011-01-28 11:51:16] - aaron: the bus got stuck on the toll road between Wiehle and Reston Parkway and he walked past the Chipotle/Potbelly/Target/Fairfax County Parkway area on Sunset Hills... If you know where all that is... ~Gurkie
[2011-01-28 11:39:20] - Daniel: Sounds good. Hopefully see you tonight. Make sure you study up on Omaha High-Low.
-Paul[2011-01-28 11:29:28] - Paul: I think andrea and I are a maybe for poker, sorry I didn't click it on gmail. I think we are waiting to see how Andrea feels and how the roads are tonight. -Daniel
[2011-01-28 11:06:32] - or you can type in the first syllable or so of your name and it generates rad nicknames for you. like the "paulator", or the "adritoripter" - aaron
[2011-01-28 11:03:08] - http://www.fourteenminutes.com/fun/words/ i wasn't the only one to think of the idea of generating english-like words letter-by-letter with a markov chainer. i'm using this web site to generate short lorum ipsum type stuff for unit tests. - aaron
[2011-01-28 11:01:57] - gurkie: wow that's awful, how far did he have to walk? - aaron
[2011-01-28 11:01:55] - a: You coming to poker tonight? I think we have enough people, but having at least one more would help. -Paul
[2011-01-28 10:27:18] - my bro-in-law ended up getting off a bus which was stuck on the toll road and walking home... Or for awhile til someone came to pick him up unfortunately my sister has 4 kids and no 4 wheel drive vehicles to go get him in... ~gurkie
[2011-01-28 09:29:23] - sorry, let me think about that again. i was going westbound... and the eastbound lanes were blocked - aaron
[2011-01-28 09:28:57] - daniel: OH YEAH I FORGOT! when i was stuck eastbound on 66 on wednesday, i passed by a scene where a fedex truck had swerved sideways and police had all four lanes eastbound on 66 blocked. i mean, luckily there probably weren't as many people going eastbound at 66 at 7:00 pm on a weekday.... but still i bet it was totally miserable - aaron
[2011-01-28 08:50:47] - I took the GW parkway south the other night and at 1 am the north bound side was still bumper to bumper because of an accident on the other side. It looked pretty tragic for those people. -Daniel
[2011-01-27 23:28:40] - a: geez i'm sorry adrian - aaron
[2011-01-27 19:38:34] - today it took me 20 minutes to get home. HOW HORRIBLE. ~a
[2011-01-27 19:38:03] - yeah coworker's sister was in it 13 hours. that's the worst i heard too. ~a
[2011-01-27 16:44:17] - Yeah, sounds like the GW Parkway was the absolute pits. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/26/AR2011012608980.html -- Xpovos
[2011-01-27 16:42:14] - It was bad. The worst I heard was someone got in at 5:30 AM after a a 13 hours trip home. But 9 hours is pretty stupid no matter how you slice it. I got lucky. Mine was only 2.5. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-27 14:04:25] - OMG that is ridiculous, im sorry you guys! ~gurkie
[2011-01-27 13:32:02] - I left work at 4, made it like 1/4 of a mile maybe in an hour, turned around and spent another hour going back to work. Then hung out at work till midnight. Then it only took an hour to get home. It was ridiculous yesterday. -Daniel
[2011-01-27 09:23:00] - sorry guys, that sucks! - vinnie
[2011-01-27 07:59:50] - yikes. 9 hours? thats horrible. i was able to sneak around a bunch of broken down cars to make a 3 hour commute. and i was feeling bad about my coworker with the 5 hr commute. ~a
[2011-01-27 01:30:18] - I also can't help feeling bad because as I walked to my house I saw the UPS driver leave our complex. I feel bad for him. - mig
[2011-01-27 01:29:35] - also, about 9 hour drive. - mig
[2011-01-27 01:29:27] - I almost ran out of gas on the way, was runningon E for about 30 minutes before i rolled on in to the gas station. - mig
[2011-01-27 00:17:37] - blegh 9 hours commute. left at 3:00 just got in at 12:16. couple cars broke down at some very annoying places. downed tree at the exit for 28. and a couple cars couldn't handle themselves when exit ramps iced over. also i had to shovel. somebody feel bad for me!! - aaron
[2011-01-26 17:35:49] - A little Davos humor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk -- Xpovos
[2011-01-25 23:06:46] - The previous statement is endorsed by Xpovos. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-25 23:06:28] - aaron: There are societal norms and expectations, and it's not unreasonable to expect those we employ to fit within that framework. It's not unreasonable to demand that employees bathe regularly, e.g. But if their beliefs (religious or not) put them outside the mainstream with regards to that--they're welcome to practice their religion, but there's no right to a job.
[2011-01-25 21:10:55] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml9hAN5km14 what pixar's "up" might have looked like if it had been made in 1965 - aaron
[2011-01-25 19:07:59] - ("flat earther" and "agnostic" representing, in my mind, the two extremes of people who are, arguably, "not sciencey enough" to be scientists) - aaron
[2011-01-25 19:05:14] - i guess on some level you could also decide that these two kinds of people hold foolish beliefs and that they should be relagated to the walmarts of the world, kept away from making important decisions. i mean somewhere in between "flat earther" and "agnostic" there is a line, and i guess it's just a weird line i don't really want to think about cos it's prejudicey - aaron
[2011-01-25 19:03:38] - xpovos: i mean i think i'm kind of weakly in favor of his point, that yes, people's personal beliefs should come into play in extreme cases but it also sets kind of a weird and bad precedent. like replace "young earth creationist" with something like "homosexual" or "libertarian" and it's like, yeah okay, - aaron
[2011-01-25 19:01:27] - xpovos: yeah, dawkins addressed that by saying that, the situation itself implies that "the other candidates must be so bad that we should re-advertise and start afresh" - aaron
[2011-01-25 15:54:41] - Man, we really don't make presidential candidates like T. Roosevelt anymore. Best we can get are Senate candidates like Angle and O'Donnell. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-25 15:49:51] - aaron: Probably not. And in many cases they already aren't. E.g. my employer is permitted to legally discriminate in favor of certain people. That issue, though, has a deeper one. How is he able to hold 'erroneous' views, and yet still be the clearly best candidate. That has to be extremely rare. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-25 15:41:32] - aaron: Looks like Theodore Roosevelt, though Polk is most famous for it. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-25 15:15:47] - xpovos: when's the last time that didn't happen? - aaron
[2011-01-25 15:15:06] - http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/24/should-employers-be.html should employers be blind to private beliefs? - aaron
[2011-01-25 15:09:24] - Paul: You're assuming Obama gets the Dem nod. Probably a safe assumption, but it's not 100% -- Xpovos
[2011-01-25 14:53:01] - Honestly, I can't wait for the 2012 presidential campaign to start gearing up. Should be interesting to see who gets the Republican nomination. It'll probably be significantly less exciting after that point, though. -Paul
[2011-01-25 14:46:09] - on a completely different note, somehow my current WORK laptop doesnt have .Net or Java installed... UGH ~gurkie
[2011-01-25 14:45:11] - a: i saw your message without clues from paul... also those conversations sound dull... ~gurkie
[2011-01-25 14:44:05] - -Daniel
[2011-01-25 14:44:03] - that wasn't clear at all but the it was supposed read that tiered data plans don't discrimate on the data they send you
[2011-01-25 14:43:41] - 8=*
[2011-01-25 14:43:36] - because those DONT8 discriminate the data
[2011-01-25 14:43:12] - Paul: I don't it affects tiered data plans because those discriminate the data you get just means you get a set amount at a set price with extra past that limit costing extra. However it should all get there at the same speed. -Daniel
[2011-01-25 14:42:25] - Paul: I'd be interested. Unfortunately, it's a no go for me, given the kids. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-25 14:38:41] - mig: I realized too late that the SOTU was tonight, otherwise I might've tried hosting a party complete with a drinking game. Not sure how many people would've come, considering it's on a Tuesday, though. -Paul
[2011-01-25 14:30:44] - http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/01/metropcs-piles-on-sues-fcc-to-stop-net-neutrality-regulations.ars Do FCC Network Neutrality apply to wireless providers' tiered data plans? -Paul
[2011-01-25 13:52:37] - Obama: Great President or Greatest President? -Daniel
[2011-01-25 13:45:51] - SOTU is tonight, and we've hit the halfway point of his first term. I'm sure that generates some discussion. - mig
[2011-01-25 13:32:29] - sorry for the power outage. i had to get ready in the dark this morning. AND the message board was even "deader" than usual. ~a
[2011-01-24 20:31:52] - gurkie: there are "off" days and "on" days. you seem (for example) to have missed all of the interesting conversation recently about global climate change, the conversation about health insurance, and the conversation about the deficit. in fact, unless paul clues you in, you'll probably miss this message.
~a[2011-01-24 20:26:09] - pierce: i'll be there! ~a
[2011-01-24 16:54:24] - i mean we used to at least get some stuff past you, but lately.... - aaron
[2011-01-24 16:52:25] - gurkie: i swear, your active porno vocabulary has like tripled since you started going out with paul - aaron
[2011-01-24 16:25:43] - urm and thats an interesting sub title... ~gurkie
[2011-01-24 16:24:55] - who killed the msg board? ~gurkie
[2011-01-23 16:37:10] - hey, for those of you who are interested -- Nina's friend Dayana has a band, and they have their first official gig Monday night with the opening band starting at 8. It's at Iota in Arlington if anyone would like to come along. - pierce
[2011-01-22 10:41:12] - http://www.cleverthingstosay.com/2010/01/28/space-and-the-y-axis/ why is the enterprise never upside-down? - aaron
[2011-01-21 15:53:46] - I was walking down frat row at college one year and there was a small bill ($1 or $5) on the sidewalk, with no one around. So I bent down to pick it up... they'd pranked it by pushing the bill onto a dog turd. So, they come out of hiding on their porch and laugh. I picked up the bill and kept on walking. They stopped laughing and asked for their money back. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-21 15:42:13] - "fake hundred at the bottom of a messy urinal prank" - LOL - so your number used to lower but now because you've been burned its higher? Thats pretty funny. -Daniel
[2011-01-21 15:31:45] - daniel: i think my price would be pretty high for pee too. maybe like $50 but maybe more than that. i've fallen prey to the "fake hundred at the bottom of a messy urinal prank" way too many times - aaron
[2011-01-21 15:30:27] - daniel: hmmmm how much poo? floaters or sinkers? probably no amount of money for poo. although - if it were like, a ring, or something of similar sentimental value, i might take it to the bar owner. although i probably wouldn't fetch it with my hands either - aaron
[2011-01-21 14:46:20] - I think if the water was clean I would probably go in for as little as a couple of bucks. Pee? Definitely not for less than 5. Probably yes for more than 10. Somewhere in the middle? Hard to say. Poo? Definitely not for less than 20 I think. Probably yes for more than 50. Again in the middle is uncertain based on how gross it is. -Daniel
[2011-01-21 14:26:27] - Daniel: It depends, right? How broke am I that day. Is it paper or metal (saturated or coated). That one actually works inversely too, because just having a shitload (heh) of coins is annoying even if they're easier to clean than the paper and ultimately worth the same. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-21 14:21:53] - Random Question inspired by the penny in the toilet at work. How much money would have to be in a public toilet for you to reach in and get the money? What if there was pee already in the toilet? What if there was poo? Hmmmmm. -Daniel
[2011-01-21 14:15:48] - Jamaican a mockery of our Constitution! -- Xpovos
[2011-01-21 14:14:07] - xpovos: well, for now anyways... one thing is that we wouldn't need artificial term limits, president bolt would eventually have to yield to a newer sleeker president - aaron
[2011-01-21 14:10:53] - he can't be president! he's jamaican. unless he wins the footrace to convince us that jamaicans can be president... -Daniel
[2011-01-21 14:01:32] - aaron: And I for one welcome our new President, Usain Bolt. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-21 14:00:37] - Logic will get you to any answer you desire if you don't define your terms first. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-21 13:56:58] - daniel: debate is boring. how about a footrace. america would be a much healthier place if debate was replaced with footraces - aaron
[2011-01-21 13:52:22] - -Daniel
[2011-01-21 13:52:14] - But then we would have to be able to decide on the best definition of best which would then be recursive! aaaahhhhhhhh!
[2011-01-21 13:51:34] - So first we need to debate the definition of "best" then we will debate what fits that definition.
-Daniel[2011-01-21 13:50:18] - i'm not even a huge fan, it's just one of those shows that's had such a huge impact that the number of movies/tv shows it's influenced is immeasurable. easily in the hundreds. i don't know if anything that big has come out of the last 20 years, entertainment wise. but if anything, i guess maybe the simpsons. - aaron
[2011-01-21 13:48:34] - i guess i'm thinking of "best tv show ever", as having the greatest impact on the largest amount of people's lives. which includes influencing people, and influencing other TV shows, possibly influencing movies and maybe even inventing subcultures and languages and words and idioms. like, "best TV show ever?" i'd probably have to argue Star Trek the original series - aaron
[2011-01-21 13:47:21] - mig: yeah, i know, i would accept that firefly fits that niche also. i think it's totally fair to say that those shows are "good" i just think it's hard to argue that something as short-lived or niche as "arrested development" is the best TV show ever if it only ever reached (or appealed to) such a limited audience - aaron
[2011-01-21 13:08:47] - We start rating things like metacritic after a while, where the least bad and most broadly appealing rise to the top along with a handful of truly excellent things. But it does miss out on a lot of niche elements. -- Xpovos
[2011-01-21 12:55:00] - aaron: well what about highly critically acclaimed series but were cancelled anyways, like Arrested Development? - mig
[2011-01-21 12:54:24] - aaron: Ah, I see. Yeah, I was thinking good as in I personally thought it was good, not that it was generally accepted as good. -Paul
[2011-01-21 12:46:19] - aaron: interesting I think I was approaching it as my favorite... whereas you seem to be looking at it more like most monetarily successful ~gurkie
[2011-01-21 12:44:34] - paul: like obviously "my favorite movie" would be something shitty and actionney or sci-fiey. but if i had to say like, "the best movie ever" i'd probably sell out and go like, "Life Is Beautiful" or something just because it's got a much broader appeal - aaron
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