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[2012-11-23 22:24:46] - yep. ~a
[2012-11-23 21:10:29] - a: Is that a graphical representation of states that align with my (the poll answer) choices? Nifty program. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-23 19:05:40] - http://aporter.org/states/ ~a
[2012-11-22 23:56:30] - Anybody interested in going to see the Wizards play the Spurs at the Verizon Center on November 26th? -Paul
[2012-11-21 13:46:50] - haha, it works! link ~a
[2012-11-21 13:46:17] - testing the thing from the xkcd today. ~a
[2012-11-21 09:58:17] - xpovos: i'll go with they'll be playing football in the SEC by 2016. - mig
[2012-11-21 09:53:07] - mig: In or has agreed to join in a few years as of 2016? -- Xpovos
[2012-11-21 09:38:51] - http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/21/hokie-ads-sec-comments-cause-fit-to-hit-twitter-shan/ I have a feeling VT is going to be in the SEC by .... let's say 2016. anyone want to start a pool? - mig
[2012-11-20 20:34:32] - a:I'm not going to deny a person the right to be pissed. But people tend to get pissed over pretty stupid things. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-20 20:34:05] - a: I'
[2012-11-20 18:52:09] - if i called my boss or my employee "gorgeous" they'd have every right to be pissed, right? ~a
[2012-11-20 18:24:43] - 's a virile (presumably horny) young man who just won a big game and is hitting on an attractive woman. It's not like he sexually assaulted her. He winked, for fuck's sake. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-20 17:27:56] - But there's still the heart of this issue, which is that the behavior was not unacceptable, at least by my standards. As i said, he'
[2012-11-20 17:27:02] - You can't assault your boss and expect to keep your job, even if he deserves it. Assault a client and all you lose is the client (unless it causes scandal which in turn causes bad press and you lose additional clients, but that's tangential anyway). -- Xpovos
[2012-11-20 17:25:37] - a: In a sense. Being harrassed by your boss is definitively different, it's abusive because you can't react normally due to the power discrepancy. Being harrassed by a client, the power discrepancy tends to flow the other way. It didn't here because it's not strictly a client model, but if (e.g.) Tafoya had decked Jones there would likely be no retaliation. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-20 16:34:19] - what are you implying? that harassment from a non-supervisor or harassment from a client should be treated differently? ~a
[2012-11-20 14:40:42] - a: If it did constitute harassment, it constituted harassment from a client, not a supervisor, or even a co-worker anyway. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-20 14:02:23] - ok good point. ~a
[2012-11-20 12:45:58] - a: Next paragraph - "And by that professional definition, I think it qualifies." - mig
[2012-11-20 12:44:01] - "there are many work environments in which this would officially constitute harassment." i don't think he called this harassment. ~a
[2012-11-20 12:39:30] - it's like the joke on the most recent family guy: you don't call "spider man" "spidey". ~a
[2012-11-20 12:38:36] - offended? no, but i'm usually like, wtf? ~a
[2012-11-20 12:17:52] - I'll even agree that it was probably unprofessional to a degree, because it was a post-game interview, even if those tend to be a bit more informal. But I think trying to claim it constitutes some sort of harrassment (as the author does) it's a bit of unnecessary freaking out. - mig
[2012-11-20 12:09:29] - I can understand instances where such a statement could be considered condascending and sexist, I just don't see how it qualifies here. If mid-interview he answered a question with "Well, toots, we just played harder than they did", then yeah I'd wholeheartadly agree that's offensive. - mig
[2012-11-20 12:07:30] - a: do you get offended when the waitress/bartender calls you hun/honey/sweetie? - mig
[2012-11-20 12:03:00] - and i agree even more! everyone, quick, act like it doesn't matter that some guys treat women like shit. in other words, i don't agree with you. if someone/anyone called me gorgeous, i'd probably be like, wtf? ~a
[2012-11-20 11:57:22] - mig: OMGs! A virile young man flirted with a woman. Everyone, quick, act offended! In other words, I agree with you, only perhaps more-so. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-20 10:43:23] - http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/ravens-wr-jacoby-jones-gives-michele-tafoya-wink-224156308--nfl.html I'm a bit mystified why anyone would consider this whole thing a "big deal". Yeah it's a bit corny and Jacoby Jones comes off as a bit of a doofus, but i'm not sure why the author is flipping his shit over what happened. - mig
[2012-11-19 20:52:10] - Thank you. I'll email her! - Katie
[2012-11-19 09:19:52] - or 1.7 bitcoin. ~a
[2012-11-19 09:01:50] - i have this and could part with it for the trade in price of $20. ~a
[2012-11-18 23:14:11] - Does anyone have a copy of the Star Wars (4-6) trilogy on DVD that they no longer want and are willing to part with for a reasonable price, let me know. I have a friend who is short on cash, but wants to give the movies to her son for Christmas. E.g. if you had DVD copies, but upgraded to Blu-Ray. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-15 23:51:34] - Awesomenauts free weekend on steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/204300) I like the game. I've played like 60+ hours in it according to steam. Its a 2d moba with less angst than other games. Let me know if you want to try it out and I'll play wiht you
-Daniel[2012-11-15 14:12:15] - mig: nah, i'm always slow on these things. if anything i should get a 3DS first, i'm just waiting for a game that really excites me - aaron
[2012-11-15 13:58:46] - Xpovos: I couldn't see a way to save it unless you balanced both. -Daniel
[2012-11-15 13:58:10] - a: Well, that's my assumption at least. Maybe I'm just an idiot who couldn't find the save function.
-- Xpovos[2012-11-15 13:41:27] - "The problem is the program wouldn't let me save/share unless both were balanced" ah, i didn't realize that. ~a
[2012-11-15 13:23:54] - so, is anyone going to be ending up with a wii u this weekend? - mig
[2012-11-15 12:39:20] - a: I agree. Particularly if growth actually picks up eventually. The current budget was balanced, so I was happy. The problem is the program wouldn't let me save/share unless both were balanced. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-15 12:11:14] - since many of these are completely impossible to pass through this congress, it's all moot. worrying about <100b (let alone <.1b) is a little meaningless. ~a
[2012-11-15 11:05:47] - I should say that I solved the 2015 budget, but the 2030 I was still short by about $100M. So my additional (clearly not-politically palatable) spending cut options would be pretty mild for balancing the budget, but I'd like to actually run a surplus for a few years all the same. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-15 11:00:04] - I failed to solve the budget with those options, but I did OK, I guess. My T/S breakdown was at 30/70. I would guess the tax choices I made would be unpalatable to a lot of Republicans, but they seemed the most sensible and growth-oriented of the ones provided. (Lincoln-Kyl, payroll taxes in excess of $106K, Bowles-Simpson, and mortgage reduction.) -- Xpovos
[2012-11-15 09:57:48] - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html?choices=07bsp4qs Thats what I came up with. 60/40 (taxes/cut spending) split seems not crazy to me but I guess with R's not taking a deal weighted heavily the other way it probably means mine wouldn't go anywhere either. -Daniel
[2012-11-14 17:39:09] - don't forget the bush tax-cuts. ~a
[2012-11-14 16:14:33] - a: yeah i was about to say, I entered i fiddle around with both the clinton era options and got a # that was far less than 93%. - mig
[2012-11-14 15:52:41] - oops, i also apparently clicked on "Cap Medicare growth starting in 2013". ~a
[2012-11-14 15:31:37] - hah, yeah probably. but . . . all i did was click on the "the bush tax-cuts" and "return ... to clinton-era levels" and i got 93% of the way there. ~a
[2012-11-14 15:29:30] - sent. ~a
[2012-11-14 15:01:41] - a: Also, are you planning ultimate this week or am I? -Paul
[2012-11-14 15:01:02] - a: Just bringing taxes back to Clinton era levels almost gets there? I hadn't heard that. I HAD heard that bringing spending to Clinton era levels would, though. -Paul
[2012-11-14 13:35:16] - come around and impact either government revenue or spending. - mig
[2012-11-14 13:34:31] - a: yes that is a problem, which is why I usually don't take these type of things way too seriously. there are definitely other factors to consider when looking at things. Take "elminate farm subisides" for example. It's a small number in terms of just looking at the deficit, but has impact in other areas of the economy (notably food and gas prices) that eventually
[2012-11-14 13:26:11] - bringing taxes back to the clinton-era, gets you 93% of the way there. it's so weird that the economy was so sucky back then. wait, what? ~a
[2012-11-14 13:21:12] - it just says: you solved the deficit. yay. ~a
[2012-11-14 13:20:22] - it's weird that the budget puzzle doesn't ever reply with: your solution will break the economy, or your solution will cause panic, or your solution will never pass, or your solution will cause a revolution. ~a
[2012-11-14 12:38:35] - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html?choices=zzx17010 my cruel, heatless (according to democrats, anyways) answers. - mig
[2012-11-14 12:36:28] - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html yet another fix the budget interactive thingy. - mig
[2012-11-13 22:30:03] - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1268472090/brand-new-mindless-self-indulgence-record i don't know if anybody liked MSI but they're doing a kickstarter thing to fund their new album - aaron
[2012-11-13 10:10:46] - Heart of the Swarm is coming out 3/12/13. - mig
[2012-11-13 09:52:14] - a: I think MS's issues might lie more with the next batch of windows 8 phones and Surface. I've been reading rumours that if those both don't do well Ballmer may be on his way out as CEO. - mig
[2012-11-13 09:45:11] - a: it's ... usable? i don't really make much use of the metro live tiles or whatever they call them, so the user experience is pretty much like windows 7 I guess. - mig
[2012-11-13 09:19:56] - the guy who wrote windows 8, just left microsoft. so, uhhhh, is this a bad sign for windows 8? what are your thoughts on windows 8? ~a
[2012-11-12 13:04:22] - http://blog.bioware.com/2012/11/12/an-update-from-bioware-montreal/ more or less confirmation that there will be a mass effect 4. - mig
[2012-11-09 21:09:28] - daniel: nm, the person who runs my guild found that they could save $11/month switching to mumble. that made the decision a no-brainer. - mig
[2012-11-09 20:06:40] - daniel: what hosting service do they use? - mig
[2012-11-09 17:43:54] - Way to stay classy DC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcNe-USn09U -- Xpovos
[2012-11-09 15:56:53] - mig: They use mumble now. I think they decided it had better performance or sound or something. -Daniel
[2012-11-09 14:44:08] - so -- with optimal play, does player A win, lose, or tie? i calculated the answer in a long boring meeting today... ahhaha. i'm curious if you guys reach the same conclusion - aaron
[2012-11-09 14:43:09] - vinnie thought of a simple nim variation. there are 21 objects; player A goes first and takes 1, 2, or 3 of the objects. player B goes next and also takes 1, 2, or 3 objects, but the variation is that he can't take the same number of objects. the player who takes the last object loses. if there's no legal move left, it's a tie - aaron
[2012-11-09 10:04:29] - daniel: I forget, do your gw2 people use mumble or ventrilo? My guild is trying to decide whether we should dump ventrilo? - mig
[2012-11-09 09:12:44] - http://www.examiner.com/article/george-p-bush-nephew-of-president-george-w-bush-to-run-for-office-texas I suppose the real question here is who has more of an affinity for the name George: The Bush family or the Foremans? - mig
[2012-11-08 14:53:15] - I love working with odd names. Two I found today: Tina Fish and Mary Sadick. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-08 10:08:13] - a: I'd prefer we were more polarized, but better filtered. The coalitions built to make up the two major parties are both anathema. But you're right that the FPTP results in two party systems, which necessarily causes the kind of coalition problems we're seeing. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-08 09:58:44] - oooh, cool map on election systems. ~a
[2012-11-08 09:56:27] - i voted for johnson for a number of reasons. he agrees with me on a bunch of things that i disagree with obama on (the patriot act, AF, war on drugs, dmca, sopa, unions, drinking age, etc). more importantly though, i hate that the two party system has us so polarized. our fptp system forces the two party system and vice versa. ~a
[2012-11-08 00:36:32] - there, now that i answered that question, i can ignore all of the others, right? ~a
[2012-11-08 00:34:44] - i wasn't going to plan it. if you'd like to, go ahead. ~a
[2012-11-08 00:06:07] - a: Is ultimate happening this weekend? -Paul
[2012-11-07 16:56:43] - a: Is it because his name is Johnson? -Paul
[2012-11-07 16:44:45] - a: why did you vote for johnson then?? to support a third party? ~g
[2012-11-07 16:38:12] - *sigh* I might as well have voted for Gary Johnson. I don't know if I'd feel less soiled or more. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-07 16:15:51] - regardless, i'm happy with the result. very much so. ~a
[2012-11-07 16:14:51] - i voted for gary johnson, but not because i thought he'd make a great president nor because i thought he'd be better than obama. ~a
[2012-11-07 14:44:28] - a: Like most things, there's probably a spectrum. Die-hard Romney fans are extremely unhappy. Some other folks are slightly less unhappy (like me), no tears over a Romney loss, but very disappointed in an Obama win. All the way up to people like you who are content despite not getting what is presumably your first choice. Unless you were a non-voter. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-07 14:40:35] - a: non-voter? left it blank? johnson? - mig
[2012-11-07 14:06:19] - meh, i disagree. i'm happy with the result, and i didn't vote for the winner. ~a
[2012-11-07 13:47:52] - a: United States? Population at large? If you're in the 50.3% that voted for a winner, great, but the collective us is still 49.7% miserable. But that's true of any close election is my point. Day after the election, in a close one, slightly less than half the population is unhappy with the result. Go democracy! -- Xpovos
[2012-11-07 13:24:41] - us? ~a
[2012-11-07 12:46:18] - vinnie: Hee. It's not true (in case you were wondering), but it's one of those beautiful and plausible bits of political humor that we desperately need the day after an election, as 49.7% of us are miserable. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-07 12:00:06] - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/06/1156936/-George-Bush-voted-for-Obama-by-mistake - vinnie
[2012-11-07 11:32:33] - Huh, apparently Puetro Rico apparently voted to be state #51. Means very little without some sort of approval from congress, but that would be interesting. - mig
[2012-11-07 11:11:05] - Daniel: Yeah, I was an "election officer" for my precinct. (602 - Beville) Prince William County. So being a major election in a swing county in a swing state was very 'fun'. I arrived at 0500 and got home (5 minute drive) at 0030 this morning. So I'm pretty sure that counts as 'all day', but it does fall short of a full 24 hours.
-- Xpovos[2012-11-07 11:03:36] - Xpovos: You volunteered at a polling place I presume? How long were you there? All day? Any fun stories? Was it interesting or boring? -Daniel
[2012-11-07 10:56:38] - It made his vote messy. I think he got on the machines in the end, but it took a lot longer. But if he'd just 'told' me that his registered address was his current one instead of giving me the slip of his paper saying that was his correct address, I'd have let him vote. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-07 10:55:41] - aaron: Sucky. I'm always sorry when that happens. But a clarification, you weren't re-registered, you were redistricted. Unless you had a change of address that caused the problems. It's funny how we sometimes end up punishing people for their honesty. I had a voter who had a driver's license with one addy, registered a second, and had third 'current'. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-07 10:46:57] - I'll have to say though it's quite pleasing to see all the gay marriage initiatives passing. And as an added bonus Big Labor took it on the chin bigtime in Michigan with prop 2 getting defeated pretty soundly. - mig
[2012-11-07 10:42:25] - aaron: it's the beginning of the end. The people fighting for drug reform have finally clued in that getting the change they want is going to happen through state initiatives. We'll probably see a few more states trying it in the next few years. - mig
[2012-11-07 10:17:49] - a: i was even more surprised that it passed in maryland! that's crazy - aaron
[2012-11-07 09:54:40] - yeah, this election had all kinds of surprises i didn't even know were up for vote. the gay marriage proposals in maine and maryland were surprising. ~a
[2012-11-07 09:50:20] - http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/Washington-Colorado-Allow-Recreational-Use-of-4015844.php anybody hear about colorado/washington becoming the first states to legalize recreational marijuana use? obviously doesn't affect federal law, but still seems like a big step - aaron
[2012-11-07 09:34:13] - BUT i got ice cream after
- aaron[2012-11-07 09:33:38] - xpovos: that happened to me in 2004, i went to my elementary school where i had always voted before -- but i had been reregistered to a new precinct closer to my new apartment in arlington... waiting in line several hours, and having to drive between the two locations during rush hour meant that it was not a fun day - aaron
[2012-11-07 09:31:57] - http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/ 2008 election results map with states/counties scaled according to population, or according to number of electoral votes. helps visualize why some states like florida/virginia were "swing states" despite being 90% red - aaron
[2012-11-07 09:20:51] - Our polls closed at 1900, our last voter entered the voting booth at 2130. The only people who waited less than two hours, it seems, were handicapped individuals who got a free pass to the front of the line and those people "wise" enough to line up at 0530, since they got their votes cast between 0600 and 0700. Definitely the shortest wait of the day. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-07 09:19:08] - We probably turned away twenty people total (and I'm rounding up here to include situations I might not have seen) or less than one percent because of registration issues. Of those, most were properly registered, but they'd showed up to vote in the wrong precinct. But we did have 150 minute lines all day long. It never got shorter. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-07 08:49:00] - this isn't directed at anyone here, but i also saw the same argument come up on two other message boards yesterday, it seems to be one of those things a lot of people arrive at independently - aaron
[2012-11-07 08:48:17] - i'm baffled by how many americans follow this logic and decide it's rational, and i just wonder how people like this get anything in their lives done if they genuinely believe that tiny insignificant things like this don't contribute to a larger whole. or maybe they're all chain-smoking out-of-shape dropouts, i don't know - aaron
[2012-11-07 08:43:21] - paul: i think there are some legitimate reasons not to vote, i just don't like the whole "a single vote doesn't matter so i shouldn't vote", it's the same broken logic for "oh why should i exercise, i'll still be fat after" or "a single slice of cake won't make me fat" or "it's not like i'll fail this class by sleeping in just this once" - aaron
[2012-11-07 01:05:51] - so, ummm, who wants to go to pax prime next year ... just askin for no particular reason ... - mig
[2012-11-07 00:04:27] - paul: yeah i've been paying attention to more important issues but I was just concerned about another 2000 debacle potentially happening. - mig
[2012-11-06 23:49:02] - mig: Outside of a few ballot issues and congressional race, I'm most interested in seeing Johnson's vote total and whether Romney wins the popular vote total. -Paul
[2012-11-06 23:28:11] - looks like that won't matter. thank god. - mig
[2012-11-06 22:34:00] - are we headed for another recount debacle in florida? what as the margin threshold that triggers the mandated recount? - mig
[2012-11-06 21:18:34] - What really annoys me (and I know this surprises nobody) is the whole concept of a wasted or non-wasted vote or a vote for a non-major candidate being a vote for one of the major candidates. -Paul
[2012-11-06 21:17:04] - I know I'm late to this, but i think there are some fairly legitimate (and non-ignorant) reasons to not vote. I generally don't agree with them, but I understand them. -Paul
[2012-11-06 18:08:02] - mig: i don't really get it, the graph goes up over time and spikes every 4 years?? is that interesting or funny for some reason? - aaron
[2012-11-06 15:48:48] - mig: I don't know that the process was that unefficient, it was just they had like 10 polling stations (paper/electric combined) and a shit ton of people that showed up to vote in the morning. There were probably 300+ people ahead of me easy. -Daniel
[2012-11-06 15:47:37] - a: I didn't anticipate a 2.5 hour vote time. In 08 I think it only took me like an hour? I might have gone after work that time though I dont remember. -Daniel
[2012-11-06 14:47:47] - http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/11/an-inquiring-nation-wants-to-know-who-is-running-for-president/264606/ I are amused. - mig
[2012-11-06 14:47:07] - i have to wonder how many registrations were "lost" here. ~a
[2012-11-06 14:46:16] - a bunch of people on slashdot were reporting they weren't allowed to vote in VA because their registrations were lost. ~a
[2012-11-06 14:23:37] - daniel: why didn't you vote in the middle of the day? ~a
[2012-11-06 13:59:14] - daniel: voters in florida have been recorded as waiting between six to nine hours to cast a ballot... - aaron
[2012-11-06 13:52:07] - a: sadly, I suppose I have to consider that a possibilty. - mig
[2012-11-06 13:23:25] - what makes you think they aren't making it hard to vote on purpose? ~a
[2012-11-06 13:18:42] - every election i've participated in in alexandria, we've had touch screen voting machines. this was the first time we used scan tron sheets. scan tron is definitely more reliable. -nina
[2012-11-06 12:58:28] - It amazes me though in this day and age we haven't modernized the process to make it more efficient. - mig
[2012-11-06 12:56:21] - daniel: I'm glad I didn't bother then. - mig
[2012-11-06 12:55:27] - It took me 2.5 hours to vote today. Bleh... -Daniel
[2012-11-05 15:36:42] - that said, I don't know anyone that falls into that boat so it could very well be a strawman - vinnie
[2012-11-05 15:35:28] - and there's a lot of caveats there, lest people jump on me. if you're in a locked-up state, fine, don't vote. if you protest the system or don't like either major candidate, fine. but in a swing state, I think the process of even deciding to vote can be contagious and could add up - vinnie
[2012-11-05 15:33:07] - I don't know if ignorant is the word I would use. I actually don't know what word I would use. it does bug me to some minor extent when someone would vote but doesn't because their vote doesn't matter. the recycling analogy is a perfect example - vinnie
[2012-11-05 13:23:44] - "how is the act of not voting ignorant?" because all of the reasons are ignorant? i take that back: there are a few reasons i can agree with that are ok for not voting, but most of them are . . . statistically insignificant. ~a
[2012-11-05 13:17:10] - a: how is the act of not voting ignorant? There may be some ignorant reasons to make that decision, but I don't see how the act is in of itself ignorant. - mig
[2012-11-05 13:11:30] - a: but yeah it sounds like the kind of fallacy that might have been popular circa 490 BC back before the concept of differential calculus made people realize that a billion infinitely small numbers don't sum up to zero.... i'm really surprised that fallacy's still around but there it is - aaron
[2012-11-05 13:08:21] - a: i can't think of a time in my life when a single penny has ever made a difference for that matter, but.... - aaron
[2012-11-05 13:06:17] - the reason "i don't vote" pisses people off is because it's ignorant. ~a
[2012-11-05 13:05:53] - mig: "every vote counts" is the same thing as "any single vote is statistically significant"?! those very much aren't the same. the reason wikipedia and recycling work is because many people don't use the mindset of "if i contribute or don't contribute, the result is the same". instead of "am i changing the result" it should be "am i helping". ~a
[2012-11-05 12:33:14] - And have vehement and potentially violent disagreements about what ought to be controlled/permitted. That may be their cop out to a three dimensional trait, but I'm guessing they're just mis-measuring something. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-05 12:32:26] - Just with different views on what to regulate socially and how to regulate it. All said, I like a two-dimensional approach better, but I think the scale on this one is off. And it's also very interesting in that the way they seem to be defining Authoritarian/Libertarian means that one could end up at the mid-point on that scale and perfectly aligned with another...
[2012-11-05 12:30:51] - But on a scale, I think his position w/r/t/ Romney and Obama is acceptable. The Romney vs. Obama question is very interesting, though. They're not very 'Right' by my (mig's) laissez faire standards, but they are quite 'Right', even Obama, compared to much of Europe, so I can live with that. And they're both fairly authoritarian.... -- Xpovos
[2012-11-05 12:29:12] - aaron: OK, I see now. Then it's just their definition of libertarian that is perplexing, basically they really mean libertine. Using this" Right is "laissez faire", left is state controlled economy, then Gary Johson is pretty "Right", as depicted. But his social positions are the ones that are ranked oddly now. He's more libertine than depicted, I'd guess. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-05 11:52:09] - a: it got zero sentences probably because it's an unknowable hypothetical. There's still enough people voting that any singular vote is still statistically insignficant. The article author is a she, btw. - mig
[2012-11-05 11:18:24] - i read his result to "Every Vote Counts" and decided based on that section alone, reading the rest was probably not worth my time. he spent most of the time saying "it never comes down to one vote", and only two sentences on "change national policy". zero sentences on "more than one person using that logic can change an election". ~a
[2012-11-05 10:48:12] - http://reason.com/archives/2012/10/03/your-vote-doesnt-count happy election eve! - mig
[2012-11-05 10:09:15] - mig: http://www.politicalcompass.org/euchart this chart shows their mapping of different modern countries in europe, and they all fall in that same area too... honestly the guys who fall outside of that quadrant are people or regimes that i've either never heard of, or which have no relevance to me at all (ireland's green party) - aaron
[2012-11-05 10:06:42] - mig: they have an answer for that but i'm not smart enough to understand it. i think what they're saying is that modern developed countries are all "neo-liberal" and they all fall in that same quadrant.... - aaron
[2012-11-05 09:53:38] - aaron: i find it odd because I wouldn't classify either Obama or Romney on the "right" as far as economics go. - mig
[2012-11-05 09:44:27] - xpovos: but reading some of their documentation, their "left" versus "right" is based solely on the economic role of government and nothing else, i don't know if maybe that contradicts your understanding of gary johnson - aaron
[2012-11-05 09:41:31] - xpovos: i have no idea how they generate the data for political figures. they seem to put a lot of thought into it, given the length to which they describe recent news which impacted their placement. it seems like it's very subjective and they just discuss it with eachother until they come to an agreement - aaron
[2012-11-04 13:40:38] - aaron: Under what set of circumstances is Gary Johnson further "Right" than either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama? Even Virgil Goode! I fail to understand so badly that I have to assume we're using the word differently. -- Xpovos
[2012-11-03 23:44:41] - http://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2012 i like this graph even though it makes me sad - aaron
[2012-11-03 12:31:56] - yah! ~a
[2012-11-02 19:00:40] - a: offering you a job? or an interview anyway? ~g
[2012-11-02 17:23:07] - http://www.nicksheridan.com/2012/07/talk-like-elcor-day-walk-with-aliens.html november 7 is international talk like an elcor day - aaron
[2012-11-02 16:44:10] - vinaaron: http://espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId=2694335 the saga of the synthetic leather ball in the NBA. - mig
[2012-11-02 16:18:04] - haha, i just got a phone call from google.
~a[2012-11-02 15:32:41] - vt_football: think we may finally see stinespring go once this season is over? This season has been really difficult to stomach, and while the defense has certainly been bad, the offense has just been absolutely dreadful. While I'm not a fan of the knee-jerk reaction firing but this he's been a lingering problem for several years.- mig
[2012-11-02 13:20:15] - Europe in general is a lot less crazy about drug enforcement so I think you can probably find drugs cheaper over there. Either way, the article says its likely he gave the kids the drugs on accident. - mig
[2012-11-02 13:19:23] - based on the "woman" being involved, i think maybe the woman was giving away the man's drugs. ~a
[2012-11-02 12:59:13] - http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/2012/11/01/trick-treaters-given-cocaine-man-charged/QxNGr8PCiHdWqzYHA4J99N/story.html trick-or-treaters given cocaine, man charged... aren't drugs expensive?? why did someone do this? - aaron
[2012-11-01 15:09:57] - mig: most games like wing commander or starfox or zaxxon restrict you to a single plane of movement -- even if you can move in "all six directions", you can only pitch your ship up, down, left, or right... descent gave you so much freedom in your movement, it was really novel, but overwhelming - aaron
[2012-11-01 14:59:15] - aaron: yeah i was not very good at getting the hang of the controls. It was kind of like playing a Wing Commander or Tie Fighter but in an enclosed space which made it weird. - mig
[2012-11-01 14:56:14] - mig: i played a bunch of descent as a kid, i think i beat episode 1 but it got hard pretty quickly, and it was very difficult to keep the maps straight in my mind!! definitely a different kind of challenge - aaron
[2012-11-01 13:07:12] - i played a couple of level's on dan's computer. i don't think i actually installed it. ~a
[2012-11-01 13:05:30] - http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/11/indie-dev-remaking-descent-with-modern-graphics-sound/ I don't know who in here played descent back in the day but this could be interesting (I played a couple levels of episode 1 but never really got into it). - mig
[2012-11-01 09:27:59] - Well Harden certainly had no problems being "the man" in his first game out as a Rocket. We'll see how much he can continue that now. -Daniel
[2012-10-31 15:21:01] - For anyone else wondering its Talia pronouned Tall-yah. Knowing is half the battle. GI Joe! -Daniel
[2012-10-31 15:05:28] - xpovos: that person just won the internet for a few days. - mig
[2012-10-31 14:02:27] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjrthOPLAKM -- Xpovos
[2012-10-31 13:17:00] - I read the Zahn books a long time ago so I don't really remember them in detail but I remember liking them so if they were able to turn them into movies I'd be interested in them. -Daniel
[2012-10-31 12:51:02] - I am totally revealing my nerdiness but there are a ton of books I would love for them to turn into movies. ~g
[2012-10-31 12:50:25] - mig: not sure they specified. They mentioned 7/8/9 coming out in consecutive years or maybe every other year... But they also gave no indication that it would just be 7/8/9 and that they would be done... Sounded more like they would keep going from there. ~g
[2012-10-31 12:26:04] - also they did say there are doing 7/8/9 but are they necessarily going to be a connected trilogy? - mig
[2012-10-31 12:22:01] - But there's precedent with Star Trek I guess. I may hate the new Star Trek with a passion but I'll admit at least they did a stellar job with the casting. - mig
[2012-10-31 12:20:23] - g: I've heard 2 arguments against using the Zahn series: One is that the books may not necessarily translate well into movies (I haven't read them, so I can't comment on that). The other is that the stories have Luke Skywalker as kind of a major character, and it'd be kind of weird and potential fan backlahing if they don't handle his character right. - mig
[2012-10-31 12:10:35] - also... I am wondering what they will do for 7/8/9 if they will stick with the Zahn series which is what Lucas had said was the last trilogy. Or if they will go with whatever Lucas originally had in mind for 7/8/9... Or if they will be creating complete new stories. I heard them say they were in talks with authors. ~g
[2012-10-31 12:08:27] - mig: it sounded like he has storyboards compiled but he will be hands off on creating the movies. ~g
[2012-10-31 11:55:21] - Xpovos: yeah i guess that'd be my only concern. I want him nowhere near having director control on any new films. - mig
[2012-10-31 11:48:02] - mig: He can be involved; just so long as he doesn't direct! -- Xpovos
[2012-10-31 11:31:01] - So, about the Lucas/Disney deal, does this mean that Lucas is no longer going to be involved in upcoming Star Wars films? He is quoted as saying, “now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.”, but from the details of the deal I've been reading it's not all that clear. - mig
[2012-10-31 10:24:10] - The next question is who else are we able to pursue/get in order to push the Rockets further up the Western Conference standings. Unless Lin reverts back to Linsanity form I'm not sold on the Rockets even making the 8th seed currently. If Linsanity comes back then Lin/Harden could be very potent. -Daniel
[2012-10-31 10:22:05] - However we have been looking to trade Martin for something of value for awhile now so giving him up for a 23 year old who is already a really good player seems like a good move. If we could have given up a few less first round picks that would have been better obviously but I'm not complaining to much about what we gave up for Harden. -Daniel
[2012-10-31 10:20:52] - mig: I'm up in the air about the Harden trade currently. Harden is a really good player but I've read articles that talked about him being good in OKC because he didn't want to be "the man" so liked having Durant/Westbrook there so he didn't have to be. How that translates to the Rockets where he will be the best player will be interesting to see. -Daniel
[2012-10-31 09:32:18] - https://xkcd.com/1127/large/ of course this graphic assumes politics is one-dimensional. ~a
[2012-10-30 14:46:20] - xpovos: I guess there's that. Most of the discrepencies that I know about between the NFL and college seem to have some sort of functional purpose though. No clock stops on first downs helps keep the game clock moving. Two feet down instead of one on receptions helps keep scoring from reaching AFL levels (high scores are good, but only up to a point). - mig
[2012-10-30 12:42:28] - daniel: James Harden to Rockets? Surprised OKC just let him go over a couple million per year, though I guess they got a good haul for him. - mig
[2012-10-30 09:33:00] - Work is for suckers - Sandy
[2012-10-29 18:19:03] - To quote TMQ from last week: all sports rules are arbitary. The fact that they're arbitrarily different between levels is not the oddest bit. 48 minutes in two halves for college basketball? Really? -- Xpovos
[2012-10-29 10:39:46] - http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/panthers-bears-rules-refresher-2-point-conversion-gets-010923920--nfl.html hmm, i guess this begs the question ... why is the 2-pt/blocked pat rule different in the NFL than college? Rather unfortunate for Carolina as those 2 points could have made a difference. - mig
[2012-10-28 22:04:16] - hmmm that bathtub thing sounds like fun! - aaron
[2012-10-28 21:00:49] - filling up the bathtub with water. that's about it for me. but i already have a propane stove and whatnot. i think there's a chance this will be nothing, but whatever. ~a
[2012-10-28 16:10:17] - are you guys doing anything to prepare for the hurricane? - aaron
[2012-10-26 15:26:32] - boo! i want an ultimate game
where the heck is tim? ~a[2012-10-26 13:46:45] - My SIL periodically posts videos to FB of people doing freakishly awesome things with their bodies... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9PlWQNO0i0 -- Xpovos
[2012-10-26 11:43:42] - ok cool, have fun! ~a
[2012-10-26 11:39:55] - a: no can do, I'm gonna be out of town - vinnie
[2012-10-26 11:32:06] - vinnie: ultimate? we have "7" solid "yes"s, and 2 "maybe"s. so close to a game! ~a
[2012-10-26 09:42:59] - mig: Yeah I don't know that I would want it on air either if I were ESPN and yeah if its already on YouTube then its kinda dumb to deny it. -Daniel
[2012-10-26 09:33:48] - daniel: I understand that part of it. And I certainly not advocating that Smith should be fired. But to just deny that it happened? Also, it's pretty clear from his denial that he doesn't think it's acceptable from him to say it. ESPN certainly doesn't either, because they edited out the word from the re-airing. - mig
[2012-10-26 09:25:14] - mig: In the context it doesn't seem as bad. Among racial slurs that one seems the most context sensitive to me given its usage by rap / hip hop / etc communities. Whereas I don't think there are any Chinese communities that use "chink" in any way among themselves that I'm aware of. -Daniel
[2012-10-26 08:45:49] - Also, apparently nothing is going to happen to Smith by all accounts, which is unbelievable consdering how quickly heads rolled over the unfortunately worded Jeremy Lin headline on the ESPN website a few months ago. The general lack of outrage over this compared to the Lin incidents is also disturbing too. - mig
[2012-10-26 08:43:23] - It's not about the racial slur per se, it's just the audacity of Smith to claim he never said the word, contrary to all the audio evidence that he did (there's videos of the original broadcast all over youtube that clearly show him saying it, and it was edited out of re-airings and the podcast audio). - mig
[2012-10-26 08:39:01] - http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2012/10/25/stephen-a-smith-first-take-please/1658329/ just curious about thoughts on this. I find the whole situation unbelievable, and this might be the first time I find myself actually considering boycotting a particular show (and yeah, I'm a little embarassed to admit I do listen to first take from time to time). - mig
[2012-10-25 14:11:50] - He might own it once the election is done. I bet he attempts to ignore it as an issue until then. -- Xpovos
[2012-10-25 12:39:53] - a: like this shirt for your interests! you could bump into their people and they'd be like, "hey i love free software movement too" - aaron
[2012-10-25 12:30:15] - a: well the point of the site is that you can make a cool "lacrosse" shirt, or an "ultimate frisbee" shirt which matches your interest, but they include some words like "itchy" or "american football" which just look really tacky on a shirt - aaron
[2012-10-25 12:24:49] - i don't get it. ~a
[2012-10-25 12:23:58] - http://www.idakoos.com/kiss-im-itchy,799343 i can't get enough of these shirts - aaron
[2012-10-25 11:56:27] - a: well if he does own it, i'll definitely be impressed, then. - mig
[2012-10-25 11:55:13] - or he'll own it. i bet he doesn't mind being thought of as a bad-ass-mother-fucker. ~a
[2012-10-25 11:31:51] - I'll be dissappointed though, when he inevitably issues his fake apology once the inevitable outrage happens. - mig
[2012-10-25 11:27:10] - http://theweek.com/article/index/235414/rolling-stone-president-obama-calls-mitt-romney-a-bullshtter url pretty much says it all. Honestly, if it wasn't somewhat hypocritical with all that talk of needing to bring civility back to politics, I'd be a little impressed by Obama here. - mig
[2012-10-25 10:54:09] - http://www.idakoos.com/only-care-about-two-things-sex-watching-sporting-events,1976824 this web sites generates mad-lib style "fill-in-the-blank" tee-shirts using different hobbies, religions, sports, etc... some of them are inadvertently really funny - aaron
[2012-10-25 10:26:36] - and here's a classic one: http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_105.html - vinnie
[2012-10-25 10:24:55] - http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/maps.html - maps of dialect and phrase differences across the US. my favorite one was this: http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_77.html apparently choice c is popular in Minnesota?? - vinnie
[2012-10-24 17:49:19] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6ZSZbNfSpk gangnam style without music - aaron
[2012-10-24 16:42:51] - http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/10/how-team-obama-justifies-the-killing-of-a-16-year-old-american/264028/ obama campaign aid suggests that 16 year old killed by a drone strike should have had a more responsible father. - mig
[2012-10-24 16:40:45] - vinnie: i also liked obama takes out romney with mid-debate drone attack, if only for the graphic - aaron
[2012-10-24 16:37:49] - vinnie: "Women have a weakness for men in powerful positions, and Mr. Edwards expertly exploited that weakness"
- aaron[2012-10-24 16:04:46] - http://www.theonion.com/articles/the-onion-endorses-john-edwards-for-president,29989/ - vinnie
[2012-10-24 12:39:16] - aaron: “We are looking at something that is potentially indefinite,”
[2012-10-24 12:35:35] - mig: wait, we've reached the midpoint of the war on terrorism? does that imply it's going to end in 2023?? that seems like good news. have we reached the midpoint of the war on drugs? - aaron
[2012-10-24 11:53:32] - 'twas a joke. ~a
[2012-10-24 10:12:16] - even in cases of gross misconduct. - mig
[2012-10-24 10:12:05] - a: the judge parallel doesn't really fit. Most of the time when a judge lets a guilty person off, it's because the law requires it. If there's prosecutorial misconduct or incriminating evidence that ends up being inadmissible, the judge's hands are tied to the law. Regardless, people in the judicial system are usually granted total immunity from their actions ...
[2012-10-24 10:05:30] - I like the phrase "chilling effect". though not the actual effect - vinnie
[2012-10-24 10:00:25] - aaron: even assuming they actually did do that, whose fault is that? If the government has already taken action against someone for predicting an earthquake, they've created a chilling effect that will make seismologists in italy try to not conclude that earthquakes will happen. - mig
[2012-10-24 09:48:08] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/plan-for-hunting-terrorists-signals-us-intends-to-keep-adding-names-to-kill-lists/2012/10/23/4789b2ae-18b3 don't call it a kill list, it's a "disposition matrix". scary details inside. - mig
[2012-10-24 09:41:47] - also, supposedly the scientists "were not charged with failing to predict the earthquake but with pocketing the money they were paid without actually carrying out the work needed for a proper assesment" (not my words) - aaron
[2012-10-24 09:41:01] - aaron: yeah I heard that detail and that definitely makes this whole thing even more ridiculous. - mig
[2012-10-24 09:39:55] - italy?! you're killing me, man. wait, poor choice of words, oh no. ~a
[2012-10-24 09:36:07] - paul: it goes further back than that, supposedly there was a case before that where a guy warned people that there was going to be a catastrophic earthquake in italy over the next 5 years, and he was charged for inciting panic... then two years later, this happens - aaron
[2012-10-24 09:33:48] - tell randy we want to play ultimate this weekend and we're super short on people. also tell yourself that. ~a
[2012-10-24 09:28:31] - Anybody watch the third party debate last night? I'm guessing not, but I figured I would ask. -Paul
[2012-10-24 09:28:13] - I can see the logic of bringing up the manslaughter charge, and I guess it's possible there are facts we don't know about (although I can't see why anybody would purposely try to downplay a potentially devastating earthquake), but it does fairly ridiculous. -Paul
[2012-10-24 09:01:01] - actually convicted, I meant - vinnie
[2012-10-24 09:00:36] - a: oh. I didn't actually read the article, which might have helped (randy told me about the case yesterday). didn't see that they brought a specific charge of manslaughter and didn't see that they were actually charged! god, that's completely ridiculous. this sets a horrible precedent - vinnie
[2012-10-24 08:55:23] - manslaughter (voluntary or involuntary) doesn't require something deliberate. then there is criminally negligent homicide and things like that: even less deliberateness required. ~a
[2012-10-24 08:51:02] - yeah I don't see how there's a case there at all, seems almost frivolous. unless they suspect the seismologists of purposely trying to hide the fact that a major earthquake would happen?? who assumes that someone is deliberately doing their job wrong? - vinnie
[2012-10-24 08:45:30] - Also, the subtitle is still right. I'm offensive. -- Xpovos
[2012-10-24 08:45:15] - a: And then soon the whole world is blind; or at least out of people willing to become seismologists. The story is patently ridiculous. -- Xpovos
[2012-10-23 22:30:42] - or the punishment fits the crime. i'm not sure which. ~a
[2012-10-23 22:30:28] - uhh, so lets say that judge in L'Aquila lets a guilty person off. and that guilty person kills again. we charge that judge with manslaughter. seems cut-and-dry to me. an eye for an eye. ~a
[2012-10-23 18:13:30] - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/shock-over-italian-quake-scientists-kill-verdict/story-fnb64oi6-1226501812363 Sounds like being a seismologist in Italy is a dangerous job. -Paul
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