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[2011-05-09 10:21:22] - aaron: Wow, that's interesting. I actually got pretty disappointed during the middle of Portal 2 (not beaten yet, but close) because I felt like the game wasn't clever at all, but became exactly what you referred to: Find the mostly-hidden portable surface. -Paul
[2011-05-09 10:10:12] - that said i think portal 1 had harder puzzles? but wow, the 2-player stuff makes up for it, adrian and i have played some of the 2-player puzzles and they're very very tricky. we're essentially on chapter 3, and we've already gotten stuck enough that we were ready to give up on a puzzle last night after like 30 minutes of fumbling - aaron
[2011-05-09 10:08:47] - paul: yes, i beat it. i was impressed that they kept the gameplay fresh through the end; i felt with the original portal game that, by the end of the game, i was getting kind of bored of the "where's wally" style portable-surface hunting games. like they ran out of ideas? but the ending of portal 2, the puzzles stayed pretty fresh and interesting - aaron
[2011-05-09 10:03:19] - a: Some of the corrections are more mean-spirited than others, but then again, some of the misspellings are more severe than the others. My two favorite were board/bord, for the sheer insistence on ignorance and grandfather in a comma because of a similar continued stupidity, the tragedy of the situation added a nice schadenfreude sauce as well. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-09 08:59:11] - a: I think I am on chapter 8. -Paul
[2011-05-09 01:30:58] - in most of those, it seems like the misspellings are obnoxious, not the responses. ~a
[2011-05-09 00:38:38] - I know I don't post often, but saw this linked on FB and thought y'all would get a kick out of it, particularly Adrian and Pierce. http://www.someecards.com/2011/04/06/the-best-obnoxious-responses-to-misspellings-on-facebook. -Dewey
[2011-05-08 01:10:30] - i know you didn't ask, but i'm on chapter 3. ~a
[2011-05-06 20:32:42] - Aaron: Have you beaten Portal 2's single player campaign? -Paul
[2011-05-06 15:46:33] - got 3 on the color-blindness test. missed 3 adjacent colors in the blue-green area. and yet, I feel like people always correct me on things that are purple vs. pink - vinnie
[2011-05-06 14:15:16] - aaron: from your $25 thing, some people on slashdot noted that hdmi can output power. so if you have a powered monitor, you wouldn't even need a usb hub to use the device.
~a[2011-05-06 13:46:51] - Paul: Here's someone selling cool stuff you might like to try to convince gurkie to have in the wedding. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-06 13:45:52] - Stephen: Never heard of it before today. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-06 13:39:01] - Stephen: Hadn't even heard of it until today, while I was doing some research. -Paul
[2011-05-06 13:38:25] - Xpovos: Yeah, their wedding sounded fairly awesome. -Paul
[2011-05-06 13:36:48] - Xpovos & Paul: I have to ask, are either of you avid offbeatbride.com readers? - Stephen
[2011-05-06 13:32:30] - Paul: Sourced. There are some other lovely photos there. I particularly like the rings picture. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-06 13:26:29] - Paul: Fine by me, as long as the cake part of the cake isn't chocolate. - Stephen
[2011-05-06 13:26:03] - anyways, i don't think you have to work it in. "the cake is a lie" still involved real cake in portal 1. ~a
[2011-05-06 13:25:05] - the wedding is a lie? ~a
[2011-05-06 13:23:09] - *** Paul furiously starts thinking of a way to work in "the cake is a lie" while still having a wedding cake...
[2011-05-06 12:13:09] - my guess is her answer will be no. ~a
[2011-05-06 11:42:17] - g: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2558/4042445462_87f402a62c.jpg I thought about putting this in an email, but I thought some people here would appreciate it. Can we have this cake for our wedding?
-Paul[2011-05-06 11:03:03] - I wonder if in fact 'adjusting' the monitor hard into other hues would allow a more precise differentiation... if somehow we made the green look red. In which case we're back to the monitor making a difference again, so, who knows. Let's try science! -- Xpovos
[2011-05-06 11:02:04] - aaron: I'm curious about your results. I'm sure monitor quality affects the test some, but if the monitor's sufficiently high quality, as long as you're taking the entire test on one screen, I don't think it should bias the test any. It's a comparative thing, so all the hues will be 'off' by the same amount. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-06 10:47:04] - although i guess one hint that the test actually was accurate is that, i'm pretty sure men are more sensitive to "red" than any other color. you know, at home i have two different monitors from different manufacturers, i'm going to take this test on both monitors when i get home. i'm curious. - aaron
[2011-05-06 10:44:43] - i got 8; they were all adjacent in the blue-green spectrum. although i think any internet-based color blindness tests depend so much on the monitor you're using that it would be useless for detecting any kind of subtle "color impairedness" or anything - aaron
[2011-05-06 10:29:30] - I think I know a fair amount of the candy bars, by no means all of the though. ~g
[2011-05-06 10:29:09] - wow I did bad... I want to retry it... I got 34
~g[2011-05-06 09:54:57] - Paul: That seems to be the case, and the test site indicated that color-deficiency problems are something like 10x more common in men than women, so... yes? -- Xpovos
[2011-05-06 09:37:22] - Xpovos: Aren't women generally better at differentiating color then men? -Paul
[2011-05-06 09:31:48] - Paul: My cousin (female) who I got the test from scored 4. So did several of her acquaintances. The highest anyone of them scored was 8. I was actually content with 11, but maybe I wasn't impressed enough? -- Xpovos
[2011-05-06 09:16:49] - Xpovos: That's a pretty good name, too. Any idea if they are expanding outside of Australia? -Paul
[2011-05-06 09:15:58] - Xpovos: I got 14, which I thought was pretty good. -Paul
[2011-05-06 09:15:35] - Aaron: I think I would be lucky to get more than 7 of those chocolate bars. It would also involve a lot of guessing on my part. -Paul
[2011-05-06 08:57:37] - Paul: Get on this. We need a franchise. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-06 06:59:30] - a: I scored 11 in three batches, 3, 4, and 4 all in the green to blue area of the chart. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-05 21:58:11] - what was your score? ~a
[2011-05-05 21:32:22] - Am I color blind? Not as bad as I feared, but not good news either. http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=77&Lang=en -- Xpovos
[2011-05-05 19:06:40] - a: sheeva plug is probably about 100 times bigger too! i think it's cool how it's just got an HDMI plug and a keyboard plug and that's all. very amusingly minimal - aaron
[2011-05-05 19:03:37] - no slouch? 128mb is pretty low, actually. there's a lot of stuff in linux that's hard for me to do in less than .5gb. olpc from 2007 even had .25gb of memory and sheeva plug has .5gb. the $25 is pretty sweet i'll admit. ~a
[2011-05-05 18:30:04] - i'm pretty bad at this, i think i know like 9... and that involves a lot of guessing. i THINK i know 4 out of five of the first column - but i'm not 100% sure of that first one. i think it's either a "krackel" or a "heath", probably "krackel" although i'm kind of skeptical cause i never see "big bar" versions of krackel - aaron
[2011-05-05 18:23:41] - http://i.imgur.com/9zdh6.jpg name that candy bar! - aaron
[2011-05-05 18:01:47] - http://www.geek.com/articles/games/game-developer-david-braben-creates-a-usb-stick-pc-for-25-2011055/ $25 pc - aaron
[2011-05-05 17:52:47] - a: You could probably drink an entire bottle of tequila if you hear Ron Paul mention that. My guess is he has no idea what that is. -Paul
[2011-05-05 17:38:04] - or bitcoin? ~a
[2011-05-05 17:28:04] - a: You could turn it into a drinking game. Take a shot every time Ron Paul mentions the Federal Reserve or sound money.
-Paul[2011-05-05 17:21:14] - boring!
~a[2011-05-05 16:43:30] - a: Watching the South Carolina GOP debate? Ron Paul and Gary Johnson will be on.
-Paul[2011-05-05 16:18:26] - eeewwww http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/05/05/computer.kiss.device/index.html?iref=NS1 ~g
[2011-05-05 16:04:45] - and of course, that being said: is anyone doing anything fun for cinco de mayo? ~a
[2011-05-05 15:57:43] - title: you're boring! mexican food, drinking, and variety == the spice of life. ~a
[2011-05-05 12:07:53] - g: Osama bin Laden was married 6 times, and divorced (at least?) once. He was following Islamic law permitting up to 4 wives for those that can support them. I can't explain the extra, I don't have enough data. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-05 12:02:02] - stephen: yes it's absurd. Unfortunately, absurdity is the foundation for US foreign policy. - mig
[2011-05-05 11:58:06] - Paul: Beats me, to be honest. I know people don't have the stomach for nation building, but it seems absurd to fight a war for ten years over one man. I think a lack of clarity as to why we were in Afghanistan is as good a reason as any to withdraw, though. - Stephen
[2011-05-05 11:51:00] - Stephen: I suppose. I thought we were mostly there to find OBL and not nation building, though. -Paul
[2011-05-05 11:45:13] - Paul: One reason is that Afghanistan will probably revert back to being a failed nation-state if we leave. Whether that's worth the cost of staying is certainly debatable, though. - Stephen
[2011-05-05 11:31:30] - Stephen: I thought of that but I am not sure how recently she has posted so I guess I think of her as someone who has left the msg board. ~g
[2011-05-05 11:31:16] - g: http://reason.com/archives/2011/05/04/no-surrender You might enjoy this article. It talks about how Presidents are technically not allowed to order the assassination of individuals, which is why we generally just shoot missiles at them instead. -Paul
[2011-05-05 11:28:39] - Aaron: I would rather that it was the actually endgame, instead of the beginning of the endgame, but I suppose it's a positive development. G has a good point, now that Osama is dead, why do we need to stick around? -Paul
[2011-05-05 11:21:42] - I think that pulling out of Afghanistan could be good... and this gives us an out... I mean really what are we hoping to accomplish there? Okay, that probably showed my ignorance but I dont really get it. ~g
[2011-05-05 11:21:14] - g: Amy kind of fits the description. Mexican food isn't vegan-friendloy, and she doesn't drink much. - Stephen
[2011-05-05 11:20:17] - paul: well, according to the washington post article, a senior administration official has said "bin laden's death is the beginning of the endgame in afghanistan", so that's grounded in something the administration has said. although sure, not an official statement - aaron
[2011-05-05 11:19:48] - http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/bin.laden.legal/index.html?hpt=T1 interesting to me article about the legality of attacking/killing Osama. ~g
[2011-05-05 11:18:06] - aaron: I've heard some hopeful speculation, but I don't think it's grounded in anything that the administration has said. -Paul
[2011-05-05 11:13:59] - aaah, I was trying to guess which of our posters dont eat mexican food and dont drink... I think there might be some of each but the venn diagram wasnt working in my brain. ~g
[2011-05-05 11:00:43] - g: not meant to describe anyone on here. twas on a random nba player's twitter. - title
[2011-05-05 11:00:36] - title: are you daniel? or did someone come back who isnt usually here... ~g
[2011-05-05 10:58:28] - aaron: I believe Obama's speech announcing the death of Osama implied that this didnt signify a withdrawal... But I could be mistaken. ~g
[2011-05-05 10:57:24] - Title: who is your author... I am trying to figure out who posts here who doesnt like mexican food and doesnt drink... ~g
[2011-05-05 10:57:22] - aaron: I think that might speak to a general mood of the country to lean towards getting out of Afghanistan post-haste. I'm not sure the administration itself has such desires (It pretty recently had 2nd thoughts about the Iraq withdrawal timetable). Though they may be forced to by that public sentiment. - mig
[2011-05-05 10:53:05] - also i am probably late to the party on this, but apparently he wasnt armed either... I knew they had said he didnt have a gun but that he may have still been holding a weapon and now he was unarmed... ~g
[2011-05-05 10:51:39] - did anyone see the fake picture that was on the web? I saw it and it wasnt as greusome as I expected... ~g
[2011-05-05 10:51:00] - did you guys know he apparently had wives? well the presses wording was "previously identified by U.S. officials as a wife of bin Laden" which to me implies he has many... ~g
[2011-05-05 10:50:03] - I did find it surprising that in the "breaking news" article stating the woman may not have been used as a shield they specifically stated another woman believed to have been one of Osama's wives had attacked a US soldier, one could call it defended since the US was breaking into their home... ~g
[2011-05-05 10:47:53] - didnt check yesterday so I missed some things... I was reading articles on CNN Monday AM and didn't get the feeling that they were saying Osama used the woman as a shield or that it was his wife. I must have missed those articles. ~g
[2011-05-05 10:34:52] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/with-bin-ladens-death-us-sees-a-chance-to-hasten-the-end-of-the-afghan-war/2011/05/03/AFOtOukF_print.html has anybody heard speculation that obama was focusing attention on osama's capture as a part of an exit strategy for afghanistan? - aaron
[2011-05-04 15:09:04] - http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/116/1166006p1.html Mass Effect 3 delayed until 2012. Sad. -Paul
[2011-05-04 14:11:32] - Aaron: TMaybe they are hiding something about Saddam, but it seemed pretty legit (except for how the Iraqis killed him). There wasn't a bunch of conflicting information and complete lack of evidence beyond what the government told us. -Paul
[2011-05-04 12:52:59] - aaron: Yeah, apparently there is some internal disagreement within the administration as to whether they should be released, as additional evidence, or not released, as inflammatory and plain ole gross. - Stephen
[2011-05-04 12:26:45] - paul: hmm okay, i always felt a similar way about saddam hussein. the circumstances of his capture, his trial, the circumstances of his return to iraq, and whether the US had some kind of a hand in deciding his execution and stuff. i'm surprised you don't think the U.S was hiding anything there! - aaron
[2011-05-04 12:25:25] - stephen: there are images of bin laden's body? i haven't heard about that - aaron
[2011-05-04 12:23:32] - mig: yeah, it'll be interesting to see who (if anyone) is held accountable for the factual errors. - aaron
[2011-05-04 10:31:19] - Aaron: Maybe, but I didn't feel that way about Saddam Hussein necessarily. There are just things about this (changing story, lack of body, still few details days later) that seems like they are hiding something. -Paul
[2011-05-04 10:19:54] - aaron: I wish the government would withhold the apparently gruesome images of bin Laden's body! - Stephen
[2011-05-04 10:19:06] - aaron: I'm just not really sure why the administration should really get any praise for this at all. I do admit it is refreshing the administration has fessed up quickly to any factual errors about the incident (the previous administration definitely would not have been as forthcoming), but they should have never gotten the story wrong in the first place. - mig
[2011-05-04 10:10:58] - paul: i agree that it seems like there's things they're not telling us, but i guess i just feel like it's always that way, with any government, to some degree, and i feel like new/contradictory information is being disseminated much more rapidly in this instance, which makes it seem like they're hiding less (although sure, maybe they're still hiding something) - aaron
[2011-05-04 10:08:26] - ah cool. yeah it sounds like that john brennan guy either received or fabricated some false information. i'm willing to understand how you might "get the feeling" that the administration is withholding information - how about this, can you think of any time in the history of forever that you've felt like a government wasn't withholding information? - aaron
[2011-05-04 05:02:22] - -
[2011-05-04 01:09:56] - http://reason.com/blog/2011/05/03/all-those-operation-details-th a little more on the incorrect details of the first white hosue narrative. - mig
[2011-05-03 16:47:06] - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/brennan-we-would-have-taken-bin-laden-alive_n_856541.html It looks like it was John Brennan (Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser) who claimed that Bin Laden was using his wife as a shield. -Paul
[2011-05-03 16:06:17] - mig: Yeah, I don't know if anything has been reported as fact beyond him being killed (originally I think they even said he had only been shot once) and dumped in the sea. I guess that's why I feel like the administration hasn't been entirely open about what happened. -Paul
[2011-05-03 16:04:06] - Aaron: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/2/us-osama-used-wife-human-shield/ Here is an article from the Washington Times (although it's not what I originally read). -Paul
[2011-05-03 16:03:27] - I do recall a few articles talkinga about that speculation, I don't think anyone reported it as fact, though. - mig
[2011-05-03 16:01:48] - Aaron: You could do a google search and find plenty of results for that rumor, I don't think it was limited to CNN. -Paul
[2011-05-03 16:01:17] - Aaron: It was on CNN, but I can't find it anymore (it was more than one "article", or at least numerous updates to the same one). The article contained a lot of speculation (from who, I don't know). It was known that a woman was dead, and she was thought to have been Osama's wife and to have been used (by Osama) as a human shield, but none had been confirmed. -Paul
[2011-05-03 15:52:00] - paul: i never heard "osama used his wife as a human shield", i heard that osama had some people protecting him, and *those* people used human shields. do you remember where you heard the statement you're talking about? - aaron
[2011-05-03 15:43:48] - g: Yeah, we still don't know who the woman was and if she was being used as a shield. It seems a little surprising that the story went from Osama using his wife as a human shield and resisting with a gun, to him not being armed at all and the woman (possibly) not being his wife or used as a shield. -Paul
[2011-05-03 15:20:44] - like the link you sent out now says that their is no evidence that the woman was being used as a human shield ... ~g
[2011-05-03 15:20:08] - Paul: I think it interesting that they say he had a weapon but that he didnt fire and that he was resisting... but dont say what type of weapon... I feel like they are trying to get the truth out, but trying to release it piecemeal to try and avoid public backlash. ~g
[2011-05-03 15:02:09] - paul: hmm interesting! i guess there's two sides to every coin - aaron
[2011-05-03 15:00:01] - Euthanasia Coaster someone made a bigger roller coaster than the Intimidator 305!! who wants to ride it - aaron
[2011-05-03 14:58:52] - Aaron: Maybe it's just the bizarre way it seemed to go down (culminating in the dumping of his body into the sea). I don't think they're hiding anything, but they appear to be acting as if they are, if that makes any sense. -Paul
[2011-05-03 14:57:23] - Aaron: That's kinda funny, because I keep on getting the feeling that the administration is withholding information (contrary to being open about things). It's been over 24 hours since this happened, I would've thought the president would have an intricately detailed report of what happened from multiple sources by now. -Paul
[2011-05-03 14:41:21] - well, okay, maybe john brennan made up some stuff about osama being armed; and the actual navy SEALs who conducted the operation (and some of their superiors) knew the truth and were going to tell people. but in any case, i think it speaks positively about the openness of this administration that it's contradicting itself in such a timely manner - aaron
[2011-05-03 14:38:56] - paul: maybe i'm weird for thinking it's good that we're receiving contradictory messages from the white house? but i think it's kind of good. it's hard for me to imagine a plausible explanation where they'd be forced to tell us obama was unarmed, against their will. i'm glad they're (seemingly) being very open about the situation - aaron
[2011-05-03 14:35:21] - vinnie: or... 20 years in the future rather - aaron
[2011-05-03 14:35:12] - vinnie: 20 years ago when kids are studying 2011 in their history books, that's going to be a real mnemonic... just you wait! - aaron
[2011-05-03 14:35:04] - http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/03/white-house-bin-laden-was-unarmed-when-killed/?hpt=T1 Looks like Osama wasn't armed when he was killed. -Paul
[2011-05-03 14:31:49] - still laughing at "sand guy" - vinnie
[2011-05-03 14:25:37] - i mean... i can relate to him feeling so frustrated and so sad that he can't rationalize it, and that's fine too. hatred doesn't have to be rational. anger doesn't ahve to be rational. but you can't be irrational and also talk down to other people for behaving irrationally, that makes you a hypocrite - aaron
[2011-05-03 14:24:03] - i guess my summary of his opinion was something like, "i'm not happy with bin laden's death, because i still miss my son. i want them to hold some americans responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Then i will be happy." ergo, "if they hold americans responsible for the 9/11 attacks i will not miss my son anymore" - aaron
[2011-05-03 14:19:51] - g: sure, as an emotional piece, i think it had its place, of course it's very moving and tragic. it sounded to me like he was trying to rationalize his emotions. "i'm sad and here is the rational reason why i will only be happy if x happens." if that's what he was trying to do, his explanation wasn't rational to me. - aaron
[2011-05-03 14:11:15] - aaron: I thought there were elements of his piece that were interesting, there were also a lot of places where he fell apart a bit. I liked the part on different peoples views/understanding of 9-11 in terms of an attack on the nation vs. an attack on your family. ~g
[2011-05-03 13:52:37] - g: i think i understand his core point, which is probably that like - there are lots and lots of radical destructive people, and it's more important to improve security, than to try and wipe out all of the radicals... but if that's what his point was he didn't express it very well. his point just seemed menadering and self-contradictory - aaron
[2011-05-03 13:51:16] - g: that seems a little contradictory; it's like he's saying "i didn't celebrate... because my son is still fresh in my memory... and killing bin laden doesn't help that. but i'll celebrate if they punish some government officials who are tangentially responsible for the attacks" - aaron
[2011-05-03 13:18:37] - I thought this was an interesting opinion piece, written by the father of one of the 3000 who died on 9/11 http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/02/gadiel.son.killed.bin.laden/index.html ~g
[2011-05-03 11:00:45] - I thought the bike one was kinda sweet.... ~g
[2011-05-03 09:53:00] - xpovos: i really hope at least the last one is a joke, ahhaha - aaron
[2011-05-03 09:31:46] - After reading this, I wish it were just people partying on the White House lawns. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-03 09:07:49] - aaron: once they fix the bugs in the wine version, i'll play. i actually just tried running it for myself. i get the same problem as all the windows people did: it closes after the startup steam video. lmk next time you want to play and i guess i'll see if it works on my xp install. ~a
[2011-05-03 08:25:38] - title: i don't think he killed him. it was murder for hire. ~a
[2011-05-02 19:41:04] - cool, i just figured out that i can enable driving directions (not navigation) on my droid at work; it estimates travel time without requiring GPS, and it updates every couple minutes. really useful on days like today when the traffic is unusual - aaron
[2011-05-02 17:49:55] - http://i.imgur.com/eJge4.png SC2 win percentages over time - aaron
[2011-05-02 17:30:52] - http://trafficland.com/city/WAS4/index.html if anybody takes 66 west home, they're forcing people off at the US50 exit. you might want to take a different way home or delay your commute - aaron
[2011-05-02 15:38:18] - paul: yes that's right, the PS3 and PC are compatible! i think the chat might be compatible too, although of course we'd have to use the in game chat for that (no skype unless i guess you want to skype over your laptop) - aaron
[2011-05-02 15:32:27] - aaron: You are possibly right. My statement that Obama was luckier than Bush wasn't really based on any facts, which is not surprising given that I don't have Top Secret clearance. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 15:27:43] - Aaron: I would be up for it, although I hardly ever have the time. Do I need to have beaten the single player first? I have the PS3 version, but I hear I can play with PC people. -Paul
[2011-05-02 15:18:34] - hey does anybody have portal, and want to do some of the coop stuff?? i have it on the PC and i'm looking for a PC portal buddy - aaron
[2011-05-02 15:17:32] - stephen: playing devil's advocate a bit; i would argue that obama wasn't necessarily luckier, but that he just but a greater emphasis on catching bin laden (kind of a token victory) versus addressing the roots of the problem via regime change/increased military presence in iraq/afghanistan - aaron
[2011-05-02 15:17:27] - g: If the Republicans are going 'throw their nomination' away, I'd at least like to get some real nutballs up there. (Paul/Johnson per mig is good). Why settle for half-crazy? -- Xpovos
[2011-05-02 15:13:59] - g: I would find a Paul/Johnson ticket to be much more palatable. - mig
[2011-05-02 15:12:26] - I was really hoping for the Trump/Palin ticket... I mean... what could be better? ~g
[2011-05-02 15:10:48] - mig: I'm looking forward to the Republican primaries. No clear front runner and a bunch of flawed candidates. I agree that Obama will probably trounce whoever ends up being the nominee, even if he might not necessarily be hugely popular at the time. -Paul
[2011-05-02 15:10:27] - stephen: I guess Romney is probably the most competent of the mainstream candidates. Romneycare would make him DOA for the general election though. - mig
[2011-05-02 15:09:20] - Stephen: I found it amusing that we invaded two countries since 9-11 and we found Osama living in an allied country. In fact, I learned that Osama had been killed by a tweet which said, " Good news. Can we get out of Afghanistan now?". -Paul
[2011-05-02 15:05:12] - mig: Romney is kind of competent (aside from having passed a state version of "Obamacare") - do you think the Republicans will elect someone else? - Stephen
[2011-05-02 15:05:01] - tor. And certain opponents might still be able to use it as a weapon or leverage. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-02 15:04:28] - it's probably a non-fac
[2011-05-02 15:04:20] - g: Way too early to know. I mean we're assuming Obama takes the Dem nomination (safe assumption, I think, but an assumption still) and we have zero insight on a possible contender from the major party, let alone any minor opposition. I think it has the potential to strengthen Obama--he can now point to evidence that he's not weak on terrorism--but -- Xpovos
[2011-05-02 15:01:42] - g: while that is true, I considered him a shoe-in for 2012 before this because I have no faith in the republican party to nominate a competent candidate. - mig
[2011-05-02 15:00:58] - g: I think it'll be interesting. Bin Laden's death will result in increased pressure to withdraw from Afghanistan - if that happens, and if there's another attack from Al-Qaeda, it'll be pretty bad for the Democrats. Otherwise, this will probably be a net gain, because people are too stupid to realize that Obama was just luckier than Bush. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 15:00:03] - It's very possible that some borderline democrat rep/senator may be able to ride Obama's coat-tails to victory in 2012, but I doubt this is going to give an overall surge to the democrats in general. - mig
[2011-05-02 14:59:48] - mig: I didnt realize that Obama was a shoe-in for the next term... I thought a lot of people were unhappy with him and our current economic standing... While I don't blame him, I could see a lot of people saying something is broken lets put a new person in charge. ~g
[2011-05-02 14:56:34] - g: in terms of presidential part of it, very little. Obama's chances of being a 1-termer were already low, now it's about as close to 0% as you can get. On the congressional side, Getting bin laden was a fairly bipartisan issue, so I'm not sure anyone really nets any gains on this news. - mig
[2011-05-02 14:56:16] - g: i think obama's counting on it; that would be a good explanation for why he made bin laden's capture a top priority after entering office - aaron
[2011-05-02 14:49:45] - do you think last night's events will affect the election? ~g
[2011-05-02 14:33:50] - Xpovos: O'Sam(a) bin LAD(en) could totally pass for an Irish name in reverse. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 14:04:08] - Stephen: Who knew Osama bin Laden was Irish? -- Xpovos
[2011-05-02 13:47:58] - Its interesting, I would have expected to feel a bit more jubilation, however I am definately more somber about it all, possibly even wary... ~g
[2011-05-02 13:42:43] - Paul: Some of my liberal friends were partying outside the White House last night, which surprised me as well. Who knew someone's death was a great excuse for a party! - Stephen
[2011-05-02 13:32:05] - paul: i imagine that's one of the reasons why they buried him at sea. i can't imagine maintaining any kind of public grave/crypt on US soil, it would be desecrated many many times a day - aaron
[2011-05-02 13:29:36] - mig: Yeah, I expected the "celebration" to be a bit more somber and reflective. I've seen facebook posts by liberal friends mentioning wanting to piss on his grave, which surprises me. -Paul
[2011-05-02 13:04:55] - mig: He's been painted as everything that's wrong with America since 9/11 and evil in the world for almost a decade. Say what you will, but propaganda works. There are fully rational young'uns out there who have never known a world where Osama wasn't Undesirable #1. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-02 12:58:01] - the level of celebration that's going on (especially in the immediate aftermath) is a bit disturbing to me. I understand being happy, relieved, satisfied, or a sense that justice was served, that's normal. But some of this "ding dong the witch is dead" type jubilation strikes me as both silly and a little creepy. - mig
[2011-05-02 11:44:18] - James: sorry, history just doesn't take you seriously when you share a name with a lasagna-eating cat - vinnie
[2011-05-02 11:37:04] - Why can't I be used as the poster child of the innocent assassinated US President instead of that jerk, JFK? I'm sure the Vietnamese and Cubans would have something to say about him. - James A. Garfield
[2011-05-02 11:36:58] - xpovos: True! Quick, somebody post on this msg board from 2016 and let us know! - Stephen
[2011-05-02 11:35:52] - Stephen: Except we are right now. History isn't written yet on this issue. And the 'official sources' are finding it harder and harder to control the message to that degree with more open information. So, will Wikipedia call it an assassination 5-years hence? If so, I think that's pretty telling. --Xpovos
[2011-05-02 11:33:49] - xpovos: I agree with that. It's why we'd never call Osama's killing an assassination, but I'm sure other countries might. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 11:31:03] - Stephen: Hence my initial caveat. Morality is a place of subjectivity for most. And perhaps your 100% right on Lincoln and it's just that North won and got to write the history? Maybe if the South won it wouldn't be called the assassination of Lincoln, but rather the coup d'grace of revolution. Course we'd be calling it the War of Northern Agression, too. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-02 11:30:29] - vinnie: lol - aaron
[2011-05-02 11:29:56] - Paul: Definitely worse PR, I agree. I don't think that killing Osama was the moral equivalent of killing JFK, but I think it's at least slightly less moral than killing a soldier on a battlefield. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 11:27:54] - Xpovos: That's a matter of perspective (although not for MLK and JFK). I'm pretty sure from the Confederate standpoint, Lincoln did plenty of things that would warrant death. From an Iraqi standpoint, Bush probably deserves death, too. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 11:26:20] - Stephen: I think we would still call it an assassination, but hypothetically if we stormed into a house and shot him in the head while he was just sitting at the dinner table, I would think that would be worse PR than if we stormed in and killed him in a firefight when he fought back. -Paul
[2011-05-02 11:25:10] - I believe Lincoln also used a civilian woman as a human shield - vinnie
[2011-05-02 11:24:28] - aaron: Like I said, I think in the grand scheme of things that the death of bin Laden was probably justified, but I feel like the whole event has been somewhat whitewashed so that we can continue to feel like we are always the good guys. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 11:23:51] - Paul: he fought back once the attack started. Him and three other guys were shooting at our guys, one used a civilian (?) woman as a human shield... They didnt say which. ~g
[2011-05-02 11:23:40] - Whereas we basically hung up a "Wanted: Dead or Alive" poster on Osama because of his criminal actions and intent to continue with them. We got him dead. We'll take it. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-02 11:22:45] - Stephen: Interjecting morality into this situation is asking for trouble, but one difference that affects people on the issue is morality. That's why the combativeness of the deceased matters at least somewhat, but also prototypical assassination targets are innocent. MLK, JFK, Lincoln, etc. may have done bad things, but nothing that would warrant death. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-02 11:21:57] - stephen: if osama bin laden was in a movie theater - i'd be more inclined to call it an assassination as well. but i think you're right, i think a lot of it is just dealing with the cognitive dissonance that our country assassinates people - aaron
[2011-05-02 11:20:32] - stephen: i haven't been following any mainstream media (i actually learned about the assassination this morning on slashdot) but yes, i'd be surprised if they used the word "assassinate" simply because fo the anti-american sentiment it would evoke. and yeah you're right, i know what you mean about "pro government euphamisms" - aaron
[2011-05-02 11:18:21] - Paul: Like one of the comments in Aaron's reddit thread - if Lincoln had fought back against Booth (and lost), would we still call Lincoln's death an assassination? I think we would, I just don't think Americans want to think our country assassinates people. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 11:16:35] - aaron: You are right that it is an evocative word. It's no less deliberate a choise than McDonald's saying it raises 8,000 cattle for a year, though, omitting what it does with the cattle it raises. Look at some of the euphemisms the Bush administration concocted to make its civil liberties violations look more palatable. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 11:16:09] - Does anybody know if he was fighting back at all? Because I could see that being a big difference in terms of perception. -Paul
[2011-05-02 11:13:41] - aaron: I get what you mean. The archetypal assassination is a surprise attack against someone who has no time to retaliate. And obviously, our government (and probably our media) doesn't to use the word assassinate in this context, because the word has such a negative connotation. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 11:12:08] - i guess to me it sounds like someone using an unnecessary evocative word for the sake of provoking controversy. like if i read an article saying "mcdonalds murders over 8,000 cattle per year" versus "mcdonalds raises over 8.000 cattle per year". the former, i'm going to assume, is by someone with a very strong opinion - aaron
[2011-05-02 11:10:43] - Reports are particularly clouded at the moment, but one I read indicated he used human shields within the combat activities as well. I'm personally fine with calling it an assassination, but then again, I'm also find with making it a policy that we assassinate certain targets. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-02 11:10:38] - ...by a sudden attack is "assassinated" regardless of the circumstances or whether they fight back. it's just unintuitive to me but that's fine, it just seems like strange word choice given the circumstances. - aaron
[2011-05-02 11:09:28] - like, if ghadafi conducted a military raid on some well-known libyan rebel leader and bombed them and killed them, as well as a bunch of their supports, i wouldn't say the libyan rebel leader was assassinated. i would say he was killed by a successful military operation. to me there's a difference but yeah maybe it doesn't matter. maybe public figure who is killed...
[2011-05-02 11:06:42] - g: http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/h20hg/the_guy_who_inadvertently_livetweeted_the_obama/c1s01zd i guess this thread captures what i'm getting at. it somehow seems less "assassinationny" to me if he's actively shooting back. but i guess none of that is captured in the definition, so that's fine - aaron
[2011-05-02 11:03:30] - What g said. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 11:03:11] - The always authoritative Wiktionary definition of assassinate: To murder someone, especially an important person, by a sudden or obscure attack, especially for ideological or political reasons. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 11:03:10] - Aaron: I am fairly certian that the targetted planned murder of an individual qualifies as an assassination. Also he died of a bullet to the head, doesnt sound like being blown up... ~g
[2011-05-02 11:00:46] - counts, not sounds.
[2011-05-02 11:00:36] - aaron: I don't think living in a villa, even an armed one, in the middle of a city sounds as a military bunker. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 10:59:57] - aaron: The State Department has indicated that they did not inform the Pakistani government before the assassination. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 10:59:43] - g: well maybe you're right, it's probably the right word to use. i guess when i think "assassinate" i think of, like, a targeted killing of a public figure, like a celebrity or politician who's out in public and they get snipered. i don't think of someone in a military bunker and people storm in with guns/missiles and blow them up. - aaron
[2011-05-02 10:56:59] - g: is that true? it seems like if there's military involved on both sides, it's arguably not an assassination anymore. it's easy to think of lots of people killed by american military that aren't really "assassinated" - aaron
[2011-05-02 10:55:00] - that said what makes you think we didn't inform them first? - aaron
[2011-05-02 10:54:42] - aaron: according to CNN the objective was to kill him not capture him. That is an assasination. ~g
[2011-05-02 10:53:57] - Stephen: I am not sure it would have worked if we had informed them... It shows a lack of trust in their govt to not tell them but I think its an acceptable risk. Hopefully there wont be much backlash from that. I think thats why Obama put the Pakistan bits in the speech to hopefully soothe them. ~g
[2011-05-02 10:52:37] - http://www.amazon.com/gp/movers-and-shakers/dmusic/digital-music-track/ref=zg_bs_tab Not sure how long this will last, but the #1 song in the movers and shakers for the Amazon MP3 store is "America, Fuck Yeah" from Team America.
-Paul\[2011-05-02 10:52:04] - stephen: i'm not 100% sure of the circumstances, but does it really count as an assassination if your government (the pakistani government) requests for you to surrender yourself willingly, and you say "no" and hide in some kind of bunkered military compound, and they murder you with weapons? "assassinate" seems like a loaded word and i'm not sure it applies here - aaron
[2011-05-02 10:51:57] - Stephen: Im also disturbed by the burial at sea, it seems l ike they might be hiding something by getting rid of the body so quickly. But who knows. ~g
[2011-05-02 10:48:53] - Ok that sentence had too many modifiers and phrases. - Stephen
[2011-05-02 10:48:30] - I think overall that the death of Bin Laden was a good thing, but am I the only person a bit perturbed that none of the pundits seem the least bit concerned that our moral victory consisted of assassinating someone on a nominal ally's soil without even informing them first? - Stephen
[2011-05-02 10:41:25] - I really liked the beginning and end, in the middle when describing the attack in Pakistan and our political state with them I thought it was a bit weak but other than that a good speech. ~g
[2011-05-02 10:40:29] - Say what you will about Obama and his politics, but he is a good speaker or has good speach writers... http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.announcement/index.html I found it moving. ~g
[2011-04-30 01:28:59] - Apr 20, 2011 … Unfortunately, no one can be told what The Matrix is. You have to see it foryourself. …
[2011-04-29 18:59:03] - Keynes vs. Hayek I think I posted part one. Part 2[YouTube.com] is up now... better production values, they've clearly found a niche they want to exploit. -- Xpovos
[2011-04-29 13:25:56] - aaron: Yeah, currently ranked #1 and was curious if anyone had tried it out. -Daniel
[2011-04-29 12:40:06] - daniel: gurkie doesn't have it. it gets really good reviews on boardgamegeek right? is that why you heard of it? - aaron
[2011-04-29 11:22:13] - Gun to my head need to pick at #1 this year with the draft class on the board and wanting the least risk with the most potential? Ignoring team needs: Nick Fairly, maybe Marcell Dareus. Neither is as good as Ndamukong Suh, but I'm really liking the Lion's picks lately. -- Xpovos
[2011-04-29 10:31:18] - mig: Honestly, if I were a GM with the #1 overall pick, I would always look to trade down some. I would much prefer picking 8-10 with an upgrade in the second round. -Paul
[2011-04-29 10:29:13] - mig: I don't follow the draft all that much, but from what I understand, every QB in the draft this year had question marks, while I've heard that there are a lot safer bets at defensive tackle and wide receiver. -Paul
[2011-04-29 10:28:41] - daniel: sadly you would have to look at my board games to determine if I have it... or you could check out boardgamegeek.com and look at my collection... maybe. I don't think I have it but I am by no means certain... I have Die Macher - highly rated war/strategy game that I will likely never play. ~g
[2011-04-29 10:27:50] - mig: I disagree to an extent. Certain positions are much safer bets in terms of being less likely to be busts, and almost any other position is also going to cost a lot less (and therefore set you back less if they turn out to be a bust). -Paul
[2011-04-29 10:24:20] - paul: just a curious question, who would you have taken instead that you felt wouldn't have been such a gamble? - mig
[2011-04-29 10:22:31] - The same type of conversation would be happening if they took Julio Jones, A.J. Green, etc. - mig
[2011-04-29 10:19:26] - paul: the #1 pick is always going to be that type of gamble, regardless of who you pick, especially in this draft class. - mig
[2011-04-29 10:16:27] - Daniel: I'm with you. It wouldn't shock me if he became a great QB, but I certainly wouldn't want to gamble on him with the #1 overall pick (especially considering how much money they are going to end up paying him). -Paul
[2011-04-29 10:04:20] - On a different note anyone here played Twilight Struggle / own Twilight Struggle? -Daniel
[2011-04-29 10:03:59] - Paul: Yup, and I think I'm in the disbelieving camp when it comes to Newton. Perhaps he will prove me wrong but I wouldn't have picked him at number 1. -Daniel
[2011-04-29 09:49:42] - Daniel: No kidding, especially since they spent, what, a 2nd rounder on Jimmy Clausen last year? -Paul
[2011-04-29 09:07:37] - best comment I've read about Panthers drafting Cam Newton - "With the 1st pick in the 2012 draft the Carolina Panthers pick Andrew Luck from Stanford University." lol -Daniel
[2011-04-29 09:02:35] - vinnie: no.... the superbowl shuffle... i can't believe it... i won't believe it... let me out... i want out!! *boarrrphhh* - keanu
[2011-04-28 17:25:20] - vinnie: Tell me you wrote that in a "Morpheus" voice. -- Xpovos
[2011-04-28 17:06:38] - g: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Super_Bowl_Shuffle but really, text doesn't do it justice, you have to hear it for yourself - vinnie
[2011-04-28 16:46:50] - 2 out of 3 ain't bad. -Paul
[2011-04-28 16:42:29] - Paul: I don't forgive you. Things will never be the same. -Daniel
[2011-04-28 16:07:24] - Paul: I forgive you. - Stephen
[2011-04-28 15:57:34] - paul: i forgive you, and I bet stephen does too. ~g
[2011-04-28 15:34:12] - g: Haha, funny thing is I totally wasn't planning on replying until I saw Vinnie's response and realized that I had an even better reason to pass. By that point I had forgotten it wasn't addressed to me. Sorry! -Paul
[2011-04-28 15:03:25] - vinnie: what is the super bowl shuffle? ~g
[2011-04-28 14:46:25] - god help us if a sports team made two albums. the Super Bowl Shuffle is enough pro sports music for a lifetime - vinnie
[2011-04-28 14:30:06] - Paul: you may have noticed Stephen addressed it to Vinnie... Hence my lack of response ~g
[2011-04-28 14:13:17] - Stephen: I don't know if the Junior Boys are a band or a sports team, so I think I will also pass.
-Paul[2011-04-28 12:35:01] - stephen: I haven't heard their last two albums and I've already seen them twice, so probably gonna skip. but thanks for the heads-up - vinnie
[2011-04-28 11:24:27] - Vinnie: Junior Boys tickets go on sale tomorrow (they are playing at the Black Cat in June). - Stephen
[2011-04-28 10:11:26] - Searching for something on my phone (accidentally swyped) the first result was geeksguidetodating.com I didnt click through but it made me laugh... I think I had swyped not awkward instead of not always...
[2011-04-27 16:36:55] - paul: urm... I mean its a lovely couch, I bet we can get some smart college kids looking for a deal to grab it... We should take pics of it though and your other one, and my tv and post them all to craigslist. ~g
[2011-04-27 16:35:42] - http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/060209_Police_looking_for_man_baby i don't know why stupid town/city names still make me laugh but they do - aaron
[2011-04-27 16:33:44] - aww adrian and i looked at a lot of couches before picking that one!! i still think it's cool but it's too big to make it up my stairs. also i already have a couch - aaron
[2011-04-27 16:33:43] - g: Careful, or else I might decide to keep it and put your couch in the garage.
-Paul[2011-04-27 16:25:17] - in not im...
[2011-04-27 16:24:34] - mig: are bon fires illegal im non W. VA or MD? My parents have some land in Loudon that might as well be W. VA, we should burn it there. We can even have Dewey on hand in case it gets out of hand. ~g
[2011-04-27 16:23:43] - Ill start... Paul and Dave were moving the couch in to his place, after Faith told Travis to get rid of it and Paul says to Dave... "Gurkie is going to hate this, isnt it great!" and Dave said "so your goal is to have her hang around you less?" ~g
[2011-04-27 16:22:57] - g: we aren't in west virginia, or maryland, so no. - mig
[2011-04-27 16:22:34] - we can all reminisce about our good/bad memories related to the couch and pretend to be sad its gone... ~g
[2011-04-27 16:21:38] - Stephen: NOW THAT IS A GOOD IDEA!!!! Who wants to come over for the ugly couch bon fire? ~g
[2011-04-27 16:21:01] - xpovos: way to bring the topic back around... who said it was off topic
~g[2011-04-27 16:18:32] - g: Not me. Burn, baby, burn! - Stephen
[2011-04-27 16:16:06] - I have no need of a couch as it won't fit into my non-new office.
-- Xpovos[2011-04-27 15:47:33] - paul: yuriy might need couches for his place... ~g
[2011-04-27 15:47:21] - I know a ton of you guys have all defended that denim couch as something you guys would love to have whenever I insulted it... defend your views, take the couch! ~g
[2011-04-27 15:39:18] - *crickets*
[2011-04-27 14:04:29] - So... not to change the subject, but I'm going to throw out a last call for anybody interested in either the denim couch or the red loveseat that I have in the basement. You can have it for free if you can carry it away. Otherwise I'm going to donate it to charity. Thanks. -Paul
[2011-04-27 11:06:29] - I serve at the pleasure of the bishop. -- Xpovos
[2011-04-27 11:01:52] - xpovos: im sorry, that sucks. ~g
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