prev <-> next
[2011-12-09 10:07:52] - a: Last I heard about the shooting, they had said they found the gun near the second body. I had assumed it meant the cop and shooter killed each other, but the article didn't say (or even imply that) at all. Seems strange how they both were shot and killed. -Paul
[2011-12-09 10:06:24] - Nina: Oh, ok. So it's more of a problem of gun control than any lack of compassion of the people who go there? -Paul
[2011-12-09 10:04:46] - nina: yeah the fact that the cho incident is still fresh in a lot of people's minds plays a large part in the coverage. Most incidents like this one wouldn't normally make it past the local news coverage. - mig
[2011-12-09 10:03:44] - http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepublicsquare/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die/read/nexus/ I thought this article was an interesting read about how a doctor views end of life treatment. -Paul
[2011-12-09 10:03:00] - a: i had heard speculation in a bunch of news reports about the 2nd person killed being the actual shooter but I wasn't sure if that was confirmed yet. - mig
[2011-12-09 10:00:45] - nonetheless, i think that part of VT's problems are around how easy it is to get guns there. similar problem throughout the south. the difference is that one guy took that opportunity and killed 32 other people -nina
[2011-12-09 09:59:32] - you guys did hear that the shooter was found, right? the shooter was the second man found dead. iow, the cop and the perp killed each-other, we just didn't know that until the evening. cnn ~a
[2011-12-09 09:57:44] - Pierce and I were talking about this last night. I can't really make broad brush strokes like that. Every campus has their problems. And there are probably one off shootings that happen on campuses across the country, but only VT gets national attention now. -Nina
[2011-12-09 09:54:23] - uh, heh. and what about the correct answer that daniel already proposed? (obviously correct, imo) "vt has terrible luck". ~a
[2011-12-09 09:38:31] - Nina: G seems to think it's part of their selection process. Do you agree? Do you think VT attracts people who lack compassion? Or do they just only accept people who lack compassion? Or do they turn people who have compassion into those that lack it? -Paul
[2011-12-08 17:51:16] - oh so now we're all sociopaths.
~a[2011-12-08 17:38:25] - a: no. . . more like a "i can care less" attitude. lack of compassion? -nina
[2011-12-08 17:30:04] - something uniquely violent? ~a
[2011-12-08 17:28:39] - Daniel: I don't think it's terrible luck. Based on my experience going to the VT v Boise game, there is something unique about VT culture. Can't put my finger on it. . . -Nina
[2011-12-08 16:21:41] - g: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6iImOyiuvo
[2011-12-08 16:13:38] - daniel: its their selection process for students. There is a slight psychopathic leaning in acceptances... ~g
[2011-12-08 16:05:41] - a: suspect is a white male, so probably not... ~g
[2011-12-08 16:01:52] - like. ~a
[2011-12-08 15:14:08] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C_HReR_McQ don't hug me i'm scared - aaron
[2011-12-08 15:08:33] - http://whygitisbetterthanx.com/ why git is better than X ~a
[2011-12-08 14:39:40] - VT has terrible luck? or something when it comes to these shootings. I don't get how they have had so many
-Daniel[2011-12-08 14:08:08] - a few years ago cho killed 32 people and himself, a year ago zhu killed one, and today two people have been shot. i hope the new guy doesn't have an asian sounding, three-letter-length name. ~a
[2011-12-08 13:30:11] - http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/08/justice/virginia-tech-incident/index.html?eref=rss_crime&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_crim ~g
[2011-12-08 13:30:02] - nina: I wanted to try it in Turks and Caicos, but there it makes more sense cause there is a lot to see in the water... ~g
[2011-12-08 13:29:21] - Just saw that there was a shooting at VT, campus police was killed and another injured... ~g
[2011-12-08 12:44:44] - g: i saw that as well. i'm kinda baffled by this new trend of stand up paddling. you see a lot of it on the Potomac now, and whenever you go to any beach resort. i'd imagine it'd be a good core work out. -nina
[2011-12-08 10:47:40] - stand up paddling seems like such a weird sport. everything seems unstable and uncomfortable. i'd go for some advanced-kayak, advanced-canoe, sail, row, or scuba. ~a
[2011-12-08 10:29:32] - Three Hour Stand Up Paddling Lesson for 62 bucks, who is interested? http://www.livingsocial.com/cities/1-washington-d-c/deals/199890-three-hour-stand-up-paddling-lesson ~g
[2011-12-07 14:12:26] - ~a
[2011-12-07 13:58:21] - a: why would the show want that kind of publicity for a stunt like that? - mig
[2011-12-07 13:49:23] - i was thinking along the lines of: hey, lets shoot a cannon ball through a bunch of people's houses. we'll get their approval, pay them for the damage, and it will make for a good story. pure speculation, and whatever, nm. ~a
[2011-12-07 13:44:46] - a: I suppose it could have been both a stunt and a mistake, but I don't think this is just a stunt. It's clear they miscalculated something. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-07 13:43:06] - daniel: well hmmm, probably not a stunt. possibly, but unlikely.
~a[2011-12-07 13:36:34] - a: No, I don't think it was a stunt. Did you watch the video? You think those people are actors or something? I'm confused why you would think it was a stunt. -Daniel
[2011-12-07 13:32:13] - xpovos: they're always very careful about safety precautions. they were on a bomb range, and they had a set of water barrels set up and if that failed the range had a raised berm which should have absorbed the force of the cannonball. i feel really bad something went wrong because i agree with daniel, they care about safety a LOT on that show - aaron
[2011-12-07 13:24:11] - so you assume it wasn't a stunt? ~a
[2011-12-07 13:22:41] - a: Huh? The cannon ball went through a bedroom with people sleeping in it. -Daniel
[2011-12-07 12:56:38] - daniel: if it was a stunt, and it indeed wasn't a mistake, then i doubt they could have killed someone. ~a
[2011-12-07 12:49:19] - Daniel: Yeah, they're usually very careful about safety precautions. Though I guess this does a good job of demonstrating that they actually are dealing with potentially significant hazards. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-07 12:45:35] - heh, amy's sister lives a couple blocks away from where that cannonball thing happened - vinnie
[2011-12-07 12:31:46] - I bet there were some people who got in a lot of trouble for that but I bet they also feel super terrible. Its the kind of accident that I think throws the whole show in jeopardy. They could have killed someone. Jamie doesn't seem the kind of person to take that lightly. -Daniel
[2011-12-07 11:53:18] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj-CErr0VOY&feature=youtube_gdata_player mythbusters cannonball experiment gone wrong... hits houses and car in dublin, ca - aaron
[2011-12-07 10:28:31] - if nothing else i could feed it into a markov chain algorithm and generate fake rennaissance-era tweets which would be really funny - aaron
[2011-12-07 10:27:39] - xpovos: yeah, while i don't personally use twitter i can definitely appreciate the value of having stuff like this in the national archives. if we had that twitter-level of visibility into people's thoughts 200, 300, 2000 years ago, historians would go nuts - aaron
[2011-12-06 17:55:13] - :fryeyes:
[2011-12-06 17:45:08] - "That said, I'm still happy about not having Twitter, because I don't need my random 'Go Hokies!' type comments preserved for historical purposes" yeah i don't think i appreciate those kinds of twitter feeds / facebook accounts. ~a
[2011-12-06 17:18:04] - a: I agree. The only difference, I think, is that it's the government doing the archiving, which is a little weird. But it's very clear that it's just public tweets. That said, I'm still happy about not having Twitter, because I don't need my random "Go Hokies!" type comments preserved for historical purposes. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-06 16:41:58] - xpovos: so why is this bad? i see this as similar to web.archive.org, which i think is a good thing (for the most part). ~a
[2011-12-06 15:45:38] - Daniel: Cool, thanks. I think for $0.10 it's worth a shot even if it turns out to be something terrible, which I doubt. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-06 15:43:39] - All tweets are already public, right? So this is kind of a non-story? Either way, I'm just as glad I don't have a Twitter account. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-06 15:23:34] - Android Market has mobile version of MineCraft available for 10 cents if anyone is into MineCraft. -Daniel
[2011-12-06 15:11:32] - "She threw 13 footballs threw a target at the Georgia Dome for the huge payday" ugh, bad editing. ~a
[2011-12-06 15:04:50] - http://www.amazon.com/Sharkbanana-11-Beanie/dp/B004FKKEW0/ Anybody have a Sharkbanana on their Christmas list? -Paul
[2011-12-06 14:09:05] - http://www.lostlettermen.com/12-5-2011-chip-kelly-ivon-padilla-rodriguez/ I will have you all know I called this. - mig
[2011-12-06 13:56:16] - Vinnie: I wouldn't feel bad about that. I estimate about 60% of my actual jokes (this wasn't a joke, IMO) go without being recognized because of a lack of proper frame of reference. That's not a failure on anyone else's part. It's a failure on me for not being able to relate humor without relaying it through an obscure reference. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-06 13:41:19] - I didn't get xpovos' joke but I had the knowledge necessary to - vinnie
[2011-12-06 13:37:33] - Hmm, fun related internet search. Kind of all over the place, but surprisingly common. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-06 13:34:54] - aaron: You, a and me, I guess. I enjoyed it. I don't know... for some reason it popped into my head. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-06 13:17:16] - i got the reference. ~a
[2011-12-06 13:14:52] - xpovos: really? an everybody wants to get down (except margaret) reference? who was that for
- aaron[2011-12-06 13:08:59] - a: I used to work there... the Amentra office moved and I currently am on project site in Crystal City anyway ~g
[2011-12-06 12:59:15] - Xpovos: Hmmm, it's possible my statement could mean only cool people work in Reston, and not cool people only work in Reston. -Paul
[2011-12-06 12:46:46] - a: With the exception of... Margaret. And me. Also, I guess Paul's right, I'm not cool. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-06 12:44:06] - a: Only the cool people. -Paul
[2011-12-06 12:36:20] - ok, so everybody works in reston now? ~a
[2011-12-06 12:35:01] - Did we talk about Neal Stephenson's "Big Thing" initiative? I thought his prepared speech did a worse job of articulating it than this random interview does. That's gotta be unusual. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-06 12:20:06] - a: I also worked near there... 1775 Wiehle Ave. ~g
[2011-12-06 12:06:51] - a: Well, I work within walking distance of there now. -Paul
[2011-12-06 11:55:54] - a: Prag is located real close to that now, so several of us work very close to it. -Daniel
[2011-12-06 11:50:27] - oh wait, you were on the parkway and sunset, not wiehle and sunset. ~a
[2011-12-06 11:49:12] - wow, i didn't know the book The Hot Zone (based on a true story) happened in reston, virginia. in fact, they named the virus the Reston virus? wow. my coworker said he used to work in a building right next door. wait, wtf? paul, didn't you work here too? maps. ~a
[2011-12-06 11:42:20] - xpovos: i think the biker might have had some additional friction added in maybe? like he might have had studs or something on his tires? that's the only way i think he could have landed some of those jumps on the hard-pack and accelerated as well as he did on the flats. ~a
[2011-12-06 11:39:19] - daniel: yeah i don't think it was set up to be a fair fight. it was just for fun i think. but i do sometimes see a long flat part at the end of some snowboard cross races. ~a
[2011-12-06 11:34:45] - aaron: i was talking about that with my coworker yesterday. we were trying to figure out why the biker didn't wipe the floor with the snowboarder. basically i think it comes down to agility on the turns. the biker has no agility on turns. ~a
[2011-12-06 09:05:35] - a: I'm not sure how these races races are designed but the really long flat part at the end seemed to favor the bike. -Daniel
[2011-12-06 08:54:26] - Fun watching how the friction works against the biker, then for him, as it allows him the additional propulsion. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-06 08:21:44] - a: wow, i'm surprised it was that close! - aaron
[2011-12-05 18:17:34] - my two favorite sports, in one race! ~a
[2011-12-05 14:51:32] - Aaron: Haha, that was my first thought too. -Paul
[2011-12-05 12:32:11] - daniel: I don't know the ins and outs of trademark law but I think there would probably be some legal hurdles if you wanted to change your name to Adidas or Nike. - mig
[2011-12-05 12:24:17] - g: at first i thought it was going to be about this... http://notalwaysright.com/never-coming-backflow-to-this-place/14647 - aaron
[2011-12-05 10:26:24] - mig: It was an ugly loss. If we lose to Michigan... oh that will be bad. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-05 10:24:18] - and seriously down from 5th to 17th in the polls? I realize it was a bad game, but it seems the pollsters always hammer us harder than other teams when we do lose. - mig
[2011-12-05 10:22:40] - I was surprised we were even under consideration. Honestly, though the teams that we passed over that were under consideration were not without their own flaws, either. - mig
[2011-12-05 10:18:38] - Xpovos: As for the Sugar Bowl, I was shocked, especially considering HOW we lost. I don't think we deserve making it, but I also don't have as big of a problem with it as some columnists do. We might not be an elite team, but I think we're good enough to be in the discussion of a BCS bowl. -Paul
[2011-12-05 10:16:54] - Xpovos: I think Metta World Peace is more amusing. -Paul
[2011-12-05 10:15:36] - Daniel: But the number isn't even grammatically correct. And given that it's his jersey number, it's something that's ephemeral--subject to change at a moment's notice--certainly more so than a name. At least World Peace isn't going anywhere. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-05 10:04:53] - xpovos: over boise. yes. over k-state ... i dunno. - mig
[2011-12-05 10:02:01] - I <3 it: http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/drinking_fountains.png ~g
[2011-12-05 09:51:42] - I think "Metta World Peace" is worse than Chad Ochocinco. I think making your name into a phrase is worse than makeing a spanish number your last name. -Daniel
[2011-12-05 09:40:53] - Also Poll: Does VT deserve getting selected for the Sugar Bowl? -- Xpovos
[2011-12-05 09:22:13] - Poll: Is this better or worse than Chad Ochocinco? -- Xpovos
[2011-12-05 09:13:38] - a: yeah, the 1st, 10th, 20th and 30th are the most difficult
- aaron[2011-12-05 09:07:50] - i had heard that your legal name couldn't have profanities in it. but maybe if you use common law, you can? it's possible fuckface could be your name, but courts (and tv announcers) wouldn't recognize it? ~a
[2011-12-05 09:04:44] - Do you think an athlete could get a bigger dollar amount if they changed their last name to 'Nike' or 'Adidas'? Is that even legal? Can you make anything your name? Like could I be Daniel Fuckface if I wanted to? That would be quite the challenge for any announcers if I was a pro athlete. -Daniel
[2011-12-05 08:52:27] - Vinnie: Yeah, I'm eagerly looking forward to how the announcers refer to him. Do they use his full name? Just the last name? What is his last name? Peace? World Peace? -Paul
[2011-12-04 23:32:26] - paul: lol I just learned what Ron Artest changed his name to a couple months back. I don't think I can say it with a straight face - vinnie
[2011-12-02 16:23:39] - aaron: yesterday i had to solve the full layer on my calendar cube . . . since it was december 1st.
~a[2011-12-02 15:30:39] - mig: okay. - aaron
[2011-12-02 15:03:40] - aaron: anyways, I don't see why the S&P would have found the obama-boehner deal to be acceptable in their eyes. They had set a clear deficit reduction threshold as the terms whether they would downgrade (which that deal didn't meet), and other parameters (being "open" to entitlement reform is a far cry from actually doing entitlement reform). - mig
[2011-12-02 14:19:58] - aaron: ah. i misread what was meant by "conservative" in that paraphrase. - mig
[2011-12-02 14:19:11] - mig: so i mean it's not there in those exact words, but I think the overall message is that the debt's going to grow unless big changes are made, and this plan isn't a "big change", and that democrats/republicans aren't capable of agreeing on big changes - aaron
[2011-12-02 14:17:49] - mig: "Republicans and Democrats have only been able to agree to relatively modest savings..." "the plan envisions only minor policy changes on Medicare and little change in other entitlements..." "Even assuming that at least $2.1T of the spending reductions... are implemented... government debt burden will likely continue to grow" - aaron
[2011-12-02 13:55:33] - "bipartisan efforts at debt reduction are too conservative," where in their statements do they say that? - mig
[2011-12-02 13:44:25] - but regardless, i guess my point is when you're talking about "why did US's credit rating degrade?" it doesn't really matter what your opinion is, it matters what S&P's opinion is. so it seems weird to back that up with personal opinions/anecdotes. S&P published why they downgraded us, there's no need for speculation - aaron
[2011-12-02 13:39:30] - mig: hmm actually they do kind of talk about that, "even assuming the $2T of spending reductions.... debt will continue to grow..." so, actually i take that back. i think S&P could be interpreted as saying that the tax cuts don't go far enough to improve america's financial standing - aaron
[2011-12-02 13:36:49] - mig: you might be right. but, when it comes to why the S&P downgraded something, i'll take the S&P's word over anybody elses. if the S&P says something like, "bipartisan efforts at debt reduction are too conservative," or "3T savings over 10 years is just a drop in the bucket," i'll believe them. - aaron
[2011-12-02 12:42:31] - aaron: It comes down to my opinion that I don't think the Boehner-Obama "grand bargain" deal would have prevented a downgrade from the S&P. Beymar seemed to think it would have and I don't agree with that. - mig
[2011-12-02 12:27:03] - i don't think beymar was describing his personal assessment on why U.S's credit rating dropped; i think he was referencing S&P's official statement which was (paraphrasing S&P) that congress was unable to agree on spending cuts/tax increases - not that the proposed spending cuts/tax increases weren't significant enough - aaron
[2011-12-02 12:24:37] - mig: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2011-08-05-s-and-p-downgrades-credit_n.htm fyi, i think the specific thing beymar was talking about at lunch was S&P's official statement about, "the majority of republicans in congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues," etc - aaron
[2011-12-02 12:22:57] - nina: i think diaspora is going for some more moderate growth than we saw on googleplus. for comparison, much of facebook's growth was something that happened over a five/six year period instead of a five/six day period. ~a
[2011-12-02 12:17:16] - diaspora also came about during the height of facebook privacy fears. given the latest settlements with FTC, i don't think there will be as much of a facebook flee as the diaspora founders hoped for. -nina
[2011-12-02 12:00:04] - paul: there are lots of things to like about it, sure. but without users facebook/myspace/googleplus/diaspora will die off. ~a
[2011-12-02 11:58:35] - nina: there are four founders. but the software is super distributed and free/open. even if all four of them died, other people could "git clone" and keep the movement going forward. ~a
[2011-12-02 11:47:26] - Paul: I'm using G+, but as much as I like it more than Facebook, they're already doing things that annoy me, just like Facebook. I think I'm just not cut out for social-internet sites. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-02 11:12:20] -
-title[2011-12-02 11:02:38] - title: Loved that xkcd comic. -Paul
[2011-12-02 11:01:10] - a: I actually like Google Plus a lot more than Facebook, and would totally use it more if other people used it more. -Paul
[2011-12-02 10:43:34] - a: didn't the diaspora founder die recently? -Nina
[2011-12-02 08:48:46] - yeah, i figured. looks like i saved myself some time by not jumping on that bandwagon. that, and myspace. ~a
[2011-12-02 08:30:43] - a: google+ hasn't even taken over for google+ yet
- aaron[2011-12-01 17:01:56] - if anybody is using diaspora, lmk. i'd be ecstatic if this took over for facebook/google+, but i strongly doubt it'll happen. ~a
[2011-12-01 15:39:48] - aaron: windmills do not work that way! ~a
[2011-12-01 15:11:48] - xpovos: that makes sense. ~g
[2011-12-01 15:07:18] - http://fakescience.tumblr.com/post/9088322340/get-tattoos-wisely get tattoos wisely - aaron
[2011-12-01 14:22:53] - g: The random house I selected was in Prince William rather than Fairfax, so that explains the larger drop. At least partially. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-01 14:15:47] - xpovos: not sure where you are looking but paul's place dropped 15% between 2006-2011 mine dropped 22%... So yes its down a lot but not to the degree of the place you were looking at... ~g
[2011-12-01 13:21:16] - a: Locally, I'll try zillow and take a random house: 12/2006 = $431,000 12/2011 = $271,000. So the resale market is down 37.1% meaning we'd need a 63.8% rebound. 14 even 15% over 5 years is doable. That's basically inflation the way inflation is going right now. 64% is a little bit more out of reach. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-01 13:18:55] - a: I used this site for one data point. It's new home sales which aren't indicative of resale prices which are down more. http://www.wsjprimerate.us/new_home_sales_price_history.htm But using this data 9/2006 is $226,700 and 9/2011* is $204,400. That data alone indicates a 9.8% drop, meaning we need a 14.2% increase. So yeah, you're about right. -- Xpovos
[2011-12-01 12:59:44] - honestly, a 14% gain over a five year period isn't unprecedented. ~a
[2011-12-01 12:58:50] - xpovos: does that mean we've gone down 9.6% in the past five years? or did i do the math incorrectly? ~a
[2011-12-01 12:38:56] - g: oh i didn't see that in the thread. though i'm not surprised that the vendors can hide whether an app is installed since they have complete control over the operating system. ~a
[2011-12-01 11:43:19] - I looked at Daniel's thread and dont see instructions, there is an update which says that a lot of phones hide that it is installed though and the only way to know for sure is to monitor your phone traffic. ~g
[2011-12-01 10:55:11] - a: I did check in "All" on my phone. didn't see anything with "IQ" in the name like they said to look for - vinnie
[2011-12-01 10:12:45] - Wow, September of 2006 had some interesting conversations. The sub-post today is from that era. A short while later there was some housing discussion with an article estimating that housing would only increase ~3% over the 'next' ten years. Given that we're five years in, the same estimate would mean a 14% increase over the remaining time. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-30 15:57:55] - a: Ok, that makes sense for having a scrip then. Even if it does seem slightly odd to have fractional scrip. If you have scrip, you have a check-in;check-out. Wouldn't that be sufficient to upgrade coinage and maintain it at the location? But I guess if it weren't scrip people would just walk off with it. Gresham's law in action. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-30 15:44:09] - a: well yes, the hardware capability is certainly there, but what about the software? - mig
[2011-11-30 15:43:21] - xpovos: shipping american coinage overseas is prohibitively expensive. also it's a constant cost since people pocket 90% of the coins that they're given. ~a
[2011-11-30 15:35:01] - they're computers. their CPU has an ALU like all of the rest. ~a
[2011-11-30 15:28:49] - a: I'll admit not knowing much of cash registers, it just seems like a obscure enough mathematical operation that i would be surprised if they could handle that sort of thing. - mig
[2011-11-30 15:18:19] - a: Paper coins? That's so backwards. One of the things I liked about my trip to Germany was dealing with 5 mark coins. At the time that was roughly $2.50 Coins are fantastic for most forms of cash money. Anything bigger than coins can handle in the modern society would be electronic or plastic anyway. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-30 15:05:46] - it's interesting that he mentioned the armed forces. when i was over seas, pennies weren't the only thing not being distributed. they didn't distribute any metal coinage: they had paper coins with no real value except in the PXs, but even they didn't have .01 paper coins. ~a
[2011-11-30 15:02:13] - ~99% of cash registers are equipped to handle math that most non-us countries currently do. ~a
[2011-11-30 14:59:02] - mig: most? 50% or more? i'll take that wager. ~a
[2011-11-30 14:58:04] - a: rounding a decimal to a whole number is trivial to do. Rounding a number to a multiple of .05 isn't something i'm wagering most cash registers are equipped to handle. - mig
[2011-11-30 14:50:01] - oh no, you have to round transactions? ummm, wait. you already do that. you round every transaction to the nearest penny. i love how he pointed out the half penny argument: getting rid of the nickel and dime is something i've often argued. ~a
[2011-11-30 14:47:34] - mig: did you even watch the video? ~a
[2011-11-30 14:44:43] - if you get rid of the penny, all transactions have to be rounded to the nearest $.05. Who decides how to round it? Sales taxes and the like could be majorly affected as well. - mig
[2011-11-30 14:42:50] - daniel: oh for lots of dumb reasons. http://wiki.aporter.org/wiki/adrian links to penny debate in the United States. i think metrication is more important, but i doubt either will move forward in the short term: congress is polarizing and less stuff is getting done. ~a
[2011-11-30 14:41:46] - daniel: i detest pennies, but there's lots of complications in getting rid of them. - mig
[2011-11-30 14:36:23] - Is there anything keeping the penny around? Like who wants it still? Or is it just a momentum thing? -Daniel
[2011-11-30 14:35:52] - Death To Pennies : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5UT04p5f7U I'm a fan of a lot of this guy's videos actually. -Daniel
[2011-11-30 13:10:03] - aaron: Sprint is the carrier that is having the most reports of visible processes. T-mobile customer service confirmed that they use it, but not on which devices. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-30 12:59:16] - vinnie: http://i.imgur.com/YzQva.png morrissey gets a job - aaron
[2011-11-30 12:58:15] - a: mine doesn't have it. looking at the thread, it looks like most people with verizon phones don't report it? - aaron
[2011-11-30 12:41:49] - vinnie/daniel: you saw in the link that you have to go to settings->applications->manager_applications->all, right? ~a
[2011-11-30 12:24:20] - a: Based on that, I don't have it either. But I don't trust that it's as obvious as a separate process. If it's really integrated it's deeper than that. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-30 12:17:28] - I have a very new phone but I didn't see any app that looked like it either - vinnie
[2011-11-30 11:59:26] - I have a Droid Bionic. -Daniel
[2011-11-30 11:59:15] - I didn't see anything that looked like it looking through my phone's apps. -Daniel
[2011-11-30 11:58:06] - also based on that link, i'm guessing it's only the newer phones that have this. ~a
[2011-11-30 11:53:30] - based on daniel's link. ~a
[2011-11-30 11:39:50] - a: How are you determining that it's not on the phone? -- Xpovos
[2011-11-30 11:30:17] - The Matrix has you, Neo
[2011-11-30 11:29:48] - Eh, sorry. That should have been addressed to a: I hit a formatting glitch and I lost my place. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-30 11:29:31] - daniel: super interesting. does anybody with an android phone have this? my htc incredible doesn't have it and my coworker's droid x doesn't have it either. ~a
[2011-11-30 11:28:30] - Daniel: If you don't know, you do. At least that's the way it seems. I did a quick search and found a lot of people asking the same question this morning. The answers recieved from customer support from major carriers have been "yes, it's there, don't believe the news." It's there. I'll believe the news. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-30 10:52:13] - a: http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/muj4d/busted_secret_app_on_millions_of_phones_logs_key/c33yqsj -Daniel
[2011-11-30 10:48:08] - hmmm, how do i know if i have carrieriq software on my phone or not? ~a
[2011-11-30 09:54:57] - So... Carrier IQ? -- Xpovos
[2011-11-29 15:14:04] - I joked with Andrea this morning that maybe Cain's policy gaffes were on purpose to try and move himself back down the polls so that he didn't get all the scrutiny to dig up the dirt but allow him to continue to get publicity for himself/his book. -Daniel
[2011-11-29 15:12:22] - would bet*
[2011-11-29 15:12:12] - My theory is that after Palin more people realize how running for office can be a great way to get lots of publicity and use that to economic advantage. I don't know but I would be that Bachmann/Cain/Gingrich all end up richer for having run for president and combo'ed that in with book sales. -Daniel
[2011-11-29 14:36:27] - Scandal sells the rags. I won't be sorry to see him go, but I don't think his departure will improve the political climate in the Republican primary much. It's sad that despite an almost non-existent platform, and now the scandal, he was still one of the better candidates. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-29 14:21:49] - mig: they made a joke about that on TDS, about how Cain's handlers are telling the media to focus MORE on the harassment stuff, rather than his policies or lack of foreign policy knowledge
- vinnie[2011-11-29 14:04:47] - Yeah I think Cain is pretty much done now, and probably will drop out soon. Though I wish he was dropping more for the fact that his campaign platform was fucking terrible. - mig
[2011-11-29 13:41:21] - I find it amusing that Cain's attorney is arguing that whether he had a 13 year extramarital affair should be off limits to reporters, while for Clinton it was completely fair game. ~g
[2011-11-29 09:56:05] - haha, the sub-sub-title is here again today because i haven't set up the crontab yet on the other computer. here's the actual link. ~a
[2011-11-29 09:10:52] - I heard on NPR his district got redrawn to be less of a democratic powerhouse. So apparently R's are more hopeful about winning that seat than they otherwise would have been. -Daniel
[2011-11-28 18:33:31] - a: Quite possibly the single-most liberal district in the country. My aunt and uncle live there... *shudder*. I didn't think Scott Brown had a chance, either. But Frank was getting sufficiently less popular that a challenge was possible. Maybe still a long shot, but plausible. At least IMO. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-28 17:38:57] - My thoughts on Barney Frank are similar to Miguel's. I respect his consistency and boldness on certain positions he took, but I also disagree with a lot of the issues he is more associated with. -Paul
[2011-11-28 17:27:38] - aaaron: http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/28/lego-smartphone-robot-solves-rubiks-cube-in-a-flash/?hpt=hp_bn6 Android phone powered robot solves Rubik's Cube in under 6 seconds. -Paul
[2011-11-28 17:25:25] - yeah i think he's cool too, but for different reasons: he was an interesting guest on the daily show and i like the sound of his voice.
~a[2011-11-28 17:07:44] - a: personally, i'm a big fan of barney frank. first of all, he's openly gay. secondly, he proposed a lot of great reforms during the foreclosure crisis, as chair of the financial services committee. -nina
[2011-11-28 16:43:46] - xpovos: "it's probably more of a win for team blue, as the longer he kept doing the stuff he did the more likely it was that his solid blue district would throw a plausible purple-red candidate against him" according to someone in the know, it's a super liberal district, home of the kennedys, and they loved frank. a purple-red candidate would lose. ~a
[2011-11-28 15:20:17] - a: Ticketmaster, belike. Though I'm given to understand Faith is undertaking an effort to buy tickets in bulk tomorrow, so if you get in touch with her it might be easier. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-28 15:11:31] - Feed Settings on Google Reader -> Sort by Newest, Sort by Oldest, Sort by Magic. Mine is totally set to sort by magic
~g[2011-11-28 15:05:13] - or status information on the inside of the car... baby crying, toddler spilled all over, driver cleaning up while driving and talking on the phone. ~g
[2011-11-28 15:04:39] - nina: yea that would be kinda awesome. ~g
[2011-11-28 15:00:54] - xpovos/mig: i'm in! lmk when/where to buy tickets? ~a
[2011-11-28 14:51:51] - g: i wish it would show information about the driver. Such as "this driver has 5 speeding tickets, 3 points on his license, and received a DUI in 1993.", so that way you know to avoid them on the road. -Nina
[2011-11-28 14:34:33] - xpovos: I know where that is. I'll probably ask her to buy me a ticket. - mig
[2011-11-28 14:29:24] - mig: No. Some place called "First Mariner Arena". -- Xpovos
[2011-11-28 14:26:11] - maybe if you could define a small window... even then no thanks... Plus what if someone else starts using your car while you arent there and then your door is a search for something nasty. ~g
[2011-11-28 14:25:29] - nina: ACCH! Can you imagine using your car for the internet? I mean that thing is huge... do you really want to be that public about what you are looking for
[2011-11-28 14:22:41] - xpovos: is it at ram's head? - mig
[2011-11-28 14:16:12] - Is there a general consensus or plan to see Rammstein in April? They closest venue they'll play is Baltimore. I know Faith was asking about it, but anyone else? -- Xpovos
[2011-11-28 13:20:30] - touch screen car doors. http://gizmodo.com/5863017/toyotas-insane-concept-car-has-giant-touch+screen-doors -Nina
[2011-11-28 12:54:06] - xpovos: as far as anti-war, his replacement may be, but probably will be more partisan anti-war (Iraq = bad, Libya = good) than Frank was. - mig
[2011-11-28 12:48:46] - xpovos: ok, maybe anti-fed is a little strong of a description but he certainly is no friend of the fed. - mig
[2011-11-28 12:41:36] - g: mmm, yes, the reds are probably universally elated today. - mig
[2011-11-28 12:40:39] - mig: did you mean people who are on the red side who view politics as blue and red will be elated? ~g
[2011-11-28 12:37:06] - mig: I doubt the replacement will be any less anti-war, disagree that Frank was anti-fed, and figure it's a toss-up on pro-drug. BF may have come to the position in a roundabout way, but he had the right one there. Something about a stopped clock? -- Xpovos
[2011-11-28 12:32:02] - xpovos: ultimately, I can't disagree that he was overall a disaster. I tend to have a soft spot though for the anti-war, anti-fed, pro drug legalization congress critters, though, even if I do find the rest of their views unpalatable. - mig
[2011-11-28 12:21:35] - g: Blue. And I'm elated, but not because I view it as a win for team red. Honestly, it's probably more of a win for team blue, as the longer he kept doing the stuff he did the more likely it was that his solid blue district would throw a plausible purple-red candidate against him. I'm elated because he was a disaster. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-28 12:17:26] - blue. ~a
[2011-11-28 12:13:47] - is Barney Frank red or blue? ~g
[2011-11-28 12:03:28] - though I suppose those who view politics only in terms of red and blue team scorekeeping are probably elated. - mig
[2011-11-28 12:00:31] - xpovos: i guess i have no real reaction. his time in congress was kind of a mixed bag in my view. - mig
[2011-11-28 11:12:02] - Barney Frank is retiring (won't seek re-election). -- Xpovos
[2011-11-28 09:57:39] - He gasps: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says: "Calm down, I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a gunshot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: "OK, now what?"
[2011-11-28 09:57:37] - Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy takes out his phone and calls the emergency services.
[2011-11-28 09:57:35] - haha, nice. here's one from slashdot... ~a
[2011-11-28 09:45:11] - "never go to the grocery store hungry." "my friend died because he followed that advice..."
[2011-11-28 09:14:49] - ok, my email works now maybe. ~a
[2011-11-28 09:05:03] - i guess nobody wanted to continue the star wars reference. ~a
[2011-11-28 09:04:20] - paul: working on it.
i've been having some hardware issues and no time to fix them. ~a[2011-11-28 08:59:11] - a: Are you aware that your email account appears to be bouncing back emails sent to it? -Paul
[2011-11-23 09:30:05] - Has anyone actually had Tofurky? -Nina
[2011-11-22 17:17:15] - i think my uncle knows of belk. he said belk was dead. ~a
[2011-11-22 16:54:23] - Belk! that's a name I've haven't heard in a while - vinnie
[2011-11-22 16:51:26] - NYC's trains and stations are much dirtier, and the system is complex to the point of major confusion. most of that has to do with the system being so old, but those are things DC does better - vinnie
[2011-11-22 16:49:47] - g: I guess it wasn't clear from what I was saying but I agree that NYC has a better system than DC overall. the primary thing I'm looking for in a public transit system is to be able to get to the most places in the shortest amount of time, and NYC does that. DC has some advantages on NYC, which is why I marked it as one of the best - vinnie
[2011-11-22 16:08:19] - according to google maps it's still there. - mig
[2011-11-22 16:04:46] - From the wiki article on it, it sounds like the southern version of Macy's or JCPenny - mig
[2011-11-22 16:03:51] - nina: I think so. The only reason I've heard of it is there was one of those stores by the mall we used to frequent at VT, and the name stuck out to me because it was kind of gross sounding. - mig
[2011-11-22 16:01:54] - mig: i've never heard of Belk, either. Are they a dept store? -nina
[2011-11-22 15:47:25] - the boston metro sucks ass. the stations are nice, but the trains themselves are super old and overcrowded (even compared to dc rush-hour). ~a
[2011-11-22 15:33:38] - g: yeah, blue line isn't as bad as orange. the orange trains leaving rosslyn are always 30% more packed than the blue line trains. sometimes, i can even get a seat, which is unheard of on orange. -Nina
[2011-11-22 15:27:48] - nina: I guess I have never consistently taken the subway for a 9-5 commute in NYC but I can say Metro is consistently awful on the way home on the Orange line... I have never seen the subway anywhere close to as bad as metro gets daily. ~g
[2011-11-22 15:13:32] - i think the primary problem is that WMATA thinks of metro as a commuter train for 9-5ers. MTA thinks of the subways as a true form of public transportation. -Nina
[2011-11-22 15:08:24] - g: i wouldn't say DC is more crowded during rush hour. it all depends on what train you're going on. orange line in DC is consistently crazy during rush hour. and i've done the commute in NYC, and it can be pretty brutal in the summer months. -Nina
[2011-11-22 15:04:55] - vinnie: and DC stops running a lot earlier and doesnt get you to nearly as many places as NYC does... ~g
[2011-11-22 15:04:00] - vinnie: agree to disagree, NYCs is ridiculously good compared to DC. DC is more crowded during rush hour has less consistent trains and run less frequently.~g
[2011-11-22 14:15:57] - xpovos: there was a belk by the mall in christiansburg. - mig
[2011-11-22 14:14:47] - mig: Well, I guess it's proof this kind of advertising 'works'. Previous to this I'd never heard of Belk. -- Xpovos
[2011-11-22 14:02:28] - Ugh, "leaves a lot to be lacking" is supposed to be "leaves a lot to be desired". Why can't my mind keep straight what I just typed?
-Paul[2011-11-22 14:01:55] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belk_Bowl the belk bowl. It exists. - mig
[2011-11-22 13:57:04] - Vinnie: It's interesting, because the inside of metro stations and trains are definitely a lot nicer than other places (like NYC), but I also feel like the availability of it (in terms of how often trains run, how late they run, and where it goes) leaves a lot to be lacking compared to other places. Again, though, I admit to not having a lot to compare to. -Paul
[2011-11-22 13:26:18] - preface: i work in a gigantic 12-floor office building in arlington. . . . something my 16-year-old intern coworker just said: "if anybody needs me, i'll be up on the roof" ~a
[2011-11-22 13:14:51] - g: she means compared to public transport systems in other US cities. DC's metro system fares favorably against the other systems in the US I've seen, I have to think its one of the best. even NYC's is kind of a mess comparatively but is a lot older and is amazing for its sheer extensiveness - vinnie
[2011-11-22 13:05:26] - g: and i guess it's lame but that's how the division system is supposed to work. division winners get 1 and 2 spots regardless of the records of non division winners. - mig
[2011-11-22 12:52:18] - When I lose, I lose big. I think my average point differential in losses is -48. -Paul
[2011-11-22 12:50:20] - mig: That's because Jules Winnfield opened up a can of whoop-ass on me.
-Paul[2011-11-22 12:49:28] - mig: ah Jules Winnfiedl managed to imporve his overall points to bump you down... He won his game against paul by 75 points... ~g
[2011-11-22 12:48:28] - 6th. - mig
[2011-11-22 12:47:05] - mig: where were you before?
[2011-11-22 12:27:33] - g: i won my game pretty handily this week and got bumped down to 7th overall. - mig
[2011-11-22 12:18:47] - also ... for TJ and Friends football people, I have an equal record to T Rex and more points but am ranked below him... That is lame. ~g
[2011-11-22 12:18:08] - nina: Im surprised you think DC's is better than 95% of the other options... are you saying of other existing options or of other cities options? I dont love ours by any means... except that I can use it to get to work. ~g
prev <-> next