prev <-> next
[2014-07-02 10:02:22] - http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/07/tim-howard-wikipedia-united-states-secretary-of-defense One of the better comedic wikipedia vandalizations in recent memory.
-Paul[2014-07-02 09:55:27] - a: http://www.cnet.com/news/single-bidder-takes-all-30k-bitcoins-in-silk-road-auction/#ftag=CAD590a51e Wow, I had no idea you were going to try to get all of them.
-Paul[2014-07-01 17:39:12] - http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Ex-New-Mexico-Gov-Johnson-named-pot-company-CEO-5593463.php I wonder if this means Gary Johnson won't be running for president in 2016. -Paul
[2014-07-01 15:00:20] - mig: Ah, missed that point. Classic Andrew. -- Xpovos
[2014-07-01 14:42:20] - xpovos: absolutely. I find it objectionable as well. I pointed out liberal outrage because I find it a wee bit hypocritical. - mig
[2014-07-01 14:19:34] - mig: That law could get some outcry from libertarians as well. I like open carry, but not on private property if the owner feels otherwise. I note that churches can "opt in". That does seem to imply that it's not "opt in" in general, which means they'd be required to permit open carry on their property. Seems a bad decision. -- Xpovos
[2014-07-01 14:16:23] - mig: i wish i could smoke canbe at bars (/joking) ~a
[2014-07-01 14:14:49] - If you accept that a wedding photographer can be forced to be hired for a gay wedding and that Smoking canbe banned at bars against the owners' wishes, then you have to accept that business owners will have to respect legal gun owners "right" to carry. - mig
[2014-07-01 14:10:10] - http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/georgia-guns-everywhere-bill-takes-effect I'm sure this will get some outcry from liberals. But if you buy into the legal rationale for "public accomodation" rules, I'm not sure those complaints have a leg to stand on. - mig
[2014-07-01 13:23:27] - Next up, in fact it's on the docket for next year, we'll get argument about that accommodation. Was it accommodating enough? That'll start to get into the nitty gritty of how compelling an interest the government has. Maybe. -- Xpovos
[2014-07-01 13:22:33] - In this particular case yesterday, the majority found that no matter how compelling the government interest was (it assumed maximum value for the purposes of the argument) the gov't failed to enact the law with the least restrictive means possible. This was given further credence because certain non-profits were given an accommodation. -- Xpovos
[2014-07-01 13:10:29] - Whatever compelling interest the gov't has in promoting coal consumption is not sufficient to require the individual to forgo his first amendment rights. So, it's always a test. Judges love tests. -- Xpovos
[2014-07-01 13:09:05] - The opposite would be a better example in those scenarios. Say you are a naturalist-pagan. You believe that burning fuels is dangerous to the planet and quite literally sickening or killing the Earth-mother. But now there's a new government regulation that says you have to get 10% of your electricity from coal sources. That would be similarly unconstitutional.
[2014-07-01 13:07:14] - Vaccines don't count, nor does climate change, because those are not religious beliefs. Your scientific beliefs are not protected under the first amendment. Your ability to speak about them is, however. -- Xpovos
[2014-07-01 13:06:25] - The test isn't whether the belief is right, but whether the government interest in curtailing the religion is compelling, and whether the curtailing is done in the least oppressive way possible. -- Xpovos
[2014-07-01 13:04:40] - The SCOTUS (and lower courts) absolutely can and do decide that my sincere religious beliefs in this instance are dangerous to society and can safely be trumped by a government interest, even though I still have a first amendment right to them. -- Xpovos
[2014-07-01 13:03:32] - I've used this thought experiment before, but it works here too, I think. Today I'm a believer in the Aztec religion. It is my firmly held religious belief, as held also as part of a legitimate religion of hundreds of thousands of people (ignore for a moment that they are all dead), that on occasion, we need to sacrifice a human to appease the gods. -- Xpovos
[2014-07-01 12:40:33] - mig: you're suggesting that beliefs should be taken into account in the SCOTUS? ~a
[2014-07-01 12:31:38] - a: why? - mig
[2014-07-01 12:29:24] - It's a good day to own 3D printing stocks... -Paul
[2014-07-01 11:50:14] - their belief is irrelevant. ~a
[2014-07-01 10:40:02] - so I'm not sure I would want the scotus to decide the "correct". belief in that case. - mig
[2014-07-01 10:38:44] - Also this was in the context of a particular belief which we don't have necessarily have a "right" answer to. We have data and facts to prove climate change is happening or that vaccines do not cause autism. However the Hobby Lobby objections to specific types of contraceptions because they may technically "abort" fertilized eggs gets a bit philosophical and/or
[2014-07-01 10:30:46] - a: he addresses that in point 3. - mig
[2014-07-01 10:25:05] - the supreme court absolutely analyzes the correctness of all kinds of beliefs. ~a
[2014-07-01 10:24:38] - "for the Supreme Court to analyze the 'correctness' of a belief would move us into really bad territory." i couldn't disagree more. ex. i believe that climate change isn't caused by humans so now all climate change legislation doesn't apply to me? i believe that the mercury in immunizations cause autism so now all public schools can't require immunizations? ~a
[2014-07-01 09:45:23] - http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/29h9u5/supreme_courts_birth_control_decision_redefines/cil6w3x i thought this was an informitive comment regarding some of he actual issues regarding the hobby lobby decision. Regrettably this effort was probably in vain on this subreddit. - mig
[2014-06-30 15:50:58] - mig: Yeah, totally understandable, but it's still funny reading the hate going their way (and their responses) knowing that those people think they're actually addressing the Supreme Court in some fashion. -Paul
[2014-06-30 15:44:50] - This one's one of my favorites. But I'll admit, it can be confusing trying to read this. Twitter is not made for comprehensible discussion. Probably one of the reasons I don't tweet. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 15:35:22] - Paul: I love their snark, though. It's probably the only sane way to handle that kind of confusion. Truth be told, though, even removing anonymity doesn't clean up the comments entirely. There's a real difference between possible accountability and real accountability, and there's just too much going on in the commentary for anyone to actually police it. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 15:28:48] - paul: to be fair if you were not familiar with the site and saw the handle, I could see people making that mistake. - mig
[2014-06-30 15:21:17] - https://twitter.com/SCOTUSblog Also, apparently a lot of people think SCOTUSblog has something to do with the actual Supreme Court. -Paul
[2014-06-30 15:18:34] - Xpovos: Yeah... that actually does seem like it would be not only effective, but not too controversial (like censoring more posts would be). -Paul
[2014-06-30 15:17:42] - But then I realized, it's twitter, almost everything has to be overly-generalized and simplistic on there. So, does that make it acceptable? I feel like those kind of comments (while possibly therapeutic for some), don't really help move discourse forward. -Paul
[2014-06-30 15:13:17] - Ok, so Wil Wheaton (who, for the record, I do not follow, but it was retweeted by somebody I do) had a tweet that said: "So I guess #SCOTUS is saying that women need to incorporate, if they want to have things like "rights" and "freedom"". My first thought was that was, at best, a pretty simplistic and over-generalized way of looking at the court decisions. -Paul
[2014-06-30 15:11:15] - Paul: Remove anonymity? http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19 -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 14:49:48] - a: I never really thought of it, but you're right that the comments section usually reflects poorly on places like CNN and Washington Post. I guess there's really no easy solution, though. -Paul
[2014-06-30 14:23:22] - a: They actually are moderated, but lightly. The worst offenders are culled, but there's still a lot of just plain garbage in there. I'm with Paul, though, it's like a train wreck... can't look away even though I know I should. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 14:21:54] - yeah, i'm surprised that the comments sections aren't more moderated somehow. it makes them look bad, in my opinion. otoh, if things were moderated, people will complain about censorship. ~a
[2014-06-30 14:19:30] - a: Yeah, I've learned long ago that the comments section of almost all articles are like Mos Eisley (a wretched hive of scum and villainy). Still, I can't help myself sometimes. -Paul
[2014-06-30 13:49:20] - a: I could give you some of my popcorn. I mean, if Rome's burning... -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 13:48:20] - paul: i kind of wish i hadn't read any of the comments. ~a
[2014-06-30 13:47:42] - a: Having said that, I can understand some of the negativity from the teachers. I imagine it can be difficult teaching kids who are at drastically different levels (including some who can't speak English). -Paul
[2014-06-30 13:44:45] - a: Yeah, I was surprised it was a Washington Post article. I guess that's part of why the first paragraph surprised me. -Paul
[2014-06-30 13:38:11] - "We are required to educate their children, and we want to." as opposed to what? wtf, there is so much negative implication in his words. and in the author of the article's words. really, how is this from the washington post? ~a
[2014-06-30 13:34:30] - Anyway, my point is, that perhaps some of those commentators are in that group as well. Immigration was all well and good when it was creating a mixing bowl in Prince William county, but the prices were exclusive so they didn't have to be. And now somehow they're there anyway, and that's not what they wanted. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 13:33:18] - Paul: Yeah, I was highly amused (and saddened) by that on all counts. I do think that a lot of people are 'pro' something like immigration until it actually shows up. E.g. a lot of pro-immigration individuals are in states like Massachusetts which has relatively little of this type of immigration. NIMBYism at it's finest. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 13:27:51] - Xpovos: Which makes sense, considering the content of the article, I just completely wasn't expecting that kind of clincher. Also, the comments are surprisingly non-immigrant friendly considering it's for a news source I normally consider fairly liberal. -Paul
[2014-06-30 13:26:24] - Xpovos: The article was a little TLDR, but I laughed a bit at the first paragraph (sentence?). All this talk about how diverse the schools will be got me thinking that this would be some super upbeat article about the US being a mixing bowl... and then the last phrase basically makes it sound like that diversity is a negative.
-Paul[2014-06-30 12:59:57] - a: Yeah! That's one of the ones I was thinking of. Also, 1-800-CALL-ATT, right? -Paul
[2014-06-30 12:52:29] - paul: although i guess that's probably not a direct competitor. i think they competed with long-distance carriers. i think a competitor of 1-800-collect would be calling cards, which i used even as a software engineer until almost 2005. ~a
[2014-06-30 12:49:33] - paul: 10-10-321. ~a
[2014-06-30 12:35:38] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-fairfax-county-kindergarten-classes-school-systems-future-comes-into-focus/2014/06/28/1ced10d2-f25e-11e3-914c-1 Relevant for many of you. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 12:30:35] - http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/06/yup-1-800-collect-is-still-in-business-and-charging-massive-fees/#p3 Weren't there 1-800-COLLECT competitors, too? I seem to remember there eventually being different numbers. -Paul
[2014-06-30 12:23:54] - geez this iphone keypad is not kind to me today. - mig
[2014-06-30 12:23:00] - on the transitions thing I wonder if the calla for Ginsberg to retire now are going to fet louder. - mig
[2014-06-30 11:21:38] - So, maybe in 3 years? Depending on any Justice transitions, if any. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 11:21:11] - mig: There was a lot of discussion on that, but the general thought process is that Abood is on very shaky ground, but it might not be wise to push it right now, since it appears the justices are willing to uphold it for a while longer. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 11:14:41] - Am I reading that ruling right? - mig
[2014-06-30 11:13:56] - Going to Harris v Quinn so mandatory dues for "non-traditional" employees is out but it lolks like the court might be willing to overturn Abood if the challenge was made by more "traditional" employees? - mig
[2014-06-30 11:01:08] - Also, a further holding of corporations as 'people', and as people they can have moral objections. That's kind of a big deal too, and may actually play a bigger role in the decades to come. Like Citizens United, only moreso. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 11:00:09] - More specifically, even, is on the four types of contraceptive being adjudicated. This is definitely a blow for the ACA and Obama administration, but the biggest thing it means is: more lawsuits. Lots more. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:59:10] - mig: That one's already solved. It's totally OK for the government to collect taxes for things that people find morally objectionable. Taxes were specifically excluded from the HL ruling as well for the same rationale. The test will be arguments around whether the gov't has a compelling interest in zero-cost contraceptives. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:53:27] - And those media stores and articles are full of the vitriolic commentary I've come to expect. I should've brought more popcorn to work today. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:47:47] - Paul: Yes, Alito wrote both majority opinions today, which leaves Roberts without a majority opinion in this term, interestingly. I got the news fast because I was interested and I found a source to tap near the front of the queue for information.
But HL is big enough that the media stories are coming out now. -- Xpovos[2014-06-30 10:47:14] - xpovos: yeah that doesn't make much sense to me. Its not ok to force a company to pay for the coverage but ok to force the general taxpayer populace to? - mig
[2014-06-30 10:46:20] - So, the final take away is actually not much. A certain group of companies will not be required to provide coverage. If the government intervenes and moves to the next step, as I noted below, there will be further lawsuits (likely to occur at some point anyway) where the "assumed" government interest actually gets argued. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:44:53] - Xpovos: Ah, okay. Alito got both of today's, then? I don't know how you guys get this info so fast. It's usually another hour before I start seeing news articles crop up. -Paul
[2014-06-30 10:40:08] - Paul: Yes. Harris was also delivered by Alito. Simpler 5-4 majority, same people though. Could not be required to contribute. A lot of other technicalities as well, of course. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:36:21] - Xpovos: So, wait, is the Harris decision out? -Paul
[2014-06-30 10:35:19] - mig: To me, that takes skill and is part of the game. Having the best players just decide to join up and play together as a super team doesn't particularly take skill and kind of ruins the game. Is the distinction a little arbitrary? Sure. But like I said before, most of sports fanship is arbitrary. -Paul
[2014-06-30 10:34:11] - mig: Regarding the Spurs, my take is that they "deserve" to be able to have those guys together since the front office put them together pretty much since the beginning of their careers. In my mind, that's how teams should work in sports. You draft well, develop your guys and reap the rewards. -Paul
[2014-06-30 10:34:05] - Kennedy's concurrance has a weak spot, though. Basically he points out that the government could just pay for it, and that would solve this issue for him, which takes it 5-4 the other way. So if Congress can act, or Obama decides on a strange new executive order, we could see tax payers on the hook for this. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:23:14] - Alito, Thomas, Scalia and Roberts on the majority. Kennedy concurrion. Ginsburg writes the dissent joined by Sotomayor, with Breyer and Kagan going their own routes for dissent. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:22:06] - There are five seperate opinions though. The majority, a concurring, a dissent, and two dissent join in part. That is a fractured result. Not that it could really be expected to be anything else. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:19:54] - And boom goes the "closely held corporations". Cannot be required to provide contraceptives. Doesn't go any broader, so we're still looking for a rebellious shareholder held company, I guess. Narrowly held to contraceptives, so other moral objections need to be retested later. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:16:01] - Daniel: There are two cases in that vein. Hobby Lobby is the big on, and yes, you have the gist of it. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:10:31] - Xpovos: Was Hobby Lobby the one where htey didn't want to give birth control as part of their health plan because of religious reasons or am I confusing it with another case? -Daniel
[2014-06-30 10:08:52] - I expect both today will be 5-4 with the straight-forward breakdown. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:08:31] - Alito will wrote the opinion for Hobby Lobby, but it's not announced yet; but that's being taken as "very very" good news for Hobby Lobby. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:07:37] - Wade was drafted by the Heat. He's probably going to take less money because it was obvioulsy hamstringing the Heat to pay $20 million to a guy who's just a good player who will have to miss 25% of the regular season. I'm going out on a limb and guess instead of being commended he will be derided for it. - mig
[2014-06-30 10:05:49] - SCOTUS rules against expanding Abood. Good news for right to work folks. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 10:00:38] - Daniel: That's a large part of it. There's also a potential issue specifically for LeBron because he very publicly and in a way that cost him a lot of popularity, decided NOT to be loyal for both more money and a chance at championships. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 09:57:12] - I think drafted stars are treated differently than FA stars because when you take less money for the team that drafted you you are being "loyal" but when you move to a different team for less money you are "colluding". Thats my take. -Daniel
[2014-06-30 09:49:05] - Not to mention the year before where the Spurs breezed through the Western conference playoofs. - mig
[2014-06-30 09:47:27] - SCOTUS takes another stab at nullifying software patents. This term has not been kind to patent trolls at all. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-30 09:46:40] - Then aren't the Spurs ruining the fun and he competitive balance too? Their 3 stars willingness to take less money alllowed them to assemble a super deep team that was provably the best team on the NBA all year long. And yes they struggled against Dallas but that was probably an aberration because they obliterated everyone else, the Heat included. - mig
[2014-06-30 09:30:40] - mig: Since the Heat have such a strangle hold on the top spot. -Paul
[2014-06-30 09:30:16] - mig: I understand what you're saying, and I do completely understand why the players would want to do it, I just think it ruins the competitive balance and the fun of the game. If you've been in the Eastern Conference for the past few years, then the plan has pretty much been to clear cap space to try to lure LeBron later or tank for high draft picks. -Paul
[2014-06-30 09:14:38] - paul: sure I think its ridiculous how NBA are judged and great players like Iverson and Carmelo get labelled as "losers", but given that's the way it is i think its equally ridiculous to criticize players for trying to put themselves in the better position to win a title like the Heat's Big 3 looks to be doing now. - mig
[2014-06-27 17:06:40] - Daniel: How many NBA players (some of them pretty good ones too) had never progressed past the first round of the playoffs, let alone making it to the Finals and consistently making it into the second and third rounds? -Paul
[2014-06-27 17:05:46] - Daniel: Sure, maybe. I guess I might've taken Miguel's point a little differently. I wasn't trying to say the Cavs were doing a lot to help LeBron out. I was more saying that his situation was by no means horrible. He had more success in Cleveland during his early years than a lot of NBA players ever see. -Paul
[2014-06-27 16:01:10] - Paul: I would say that level of success though was pretty much all Lebron so I don't think he has to credit the Cavs any. -Daniel
[2014-06-27 14:57:19] - Daniel: I mean, compare his Cavs with the Thunder under Durant so far. It's about the same amount of time, and I think both teams have/had made the Finals once and made it deep into the playoffs a few times. -Paul
[2014-06-27 14:56:23] - Daniel: I know, and I'm not trying to defend their management. All I'm saying is that Cleveland actually had a LOT of success while LeBron was there. More success than a lot of NBA players have had. It's not like he was jumping ship from some absolutely miserable situation. -Paul
[2014-06-27 14:43:05] - Paul: Cleveland wasn't exactly hiring great coaches or pulling off shrewd personnel moves while Lebron was there. -Daniel
[2014-06-27 13:57:13] - mig: Oh, and while Cleveland's management certainly leaves a lot to be desired lately, it's hard for me to agree that it was a cesspool of ineptitude when they made the finals and were constant fixtures late in the playoffs. I know most of that is LeBron, but the point is he wasn't exactly dealing with constant horrible losing seasons while there. -Paul
[2014-06-27 13:55:48] - mig: Maybe it's splitting hairs, but I'm not necessarily blaming the Heat, I am blaming LeBron. The Heat took advantage of the situation that LeBron created. Something else that I find interesting, though, is that people bash LeBron but Bosh largely escapes the same criticism. -Paul
[2014-06-27 13:34:22] - Cleveland and Toronto lost their players because they were cesspools of ineptitude. Again thats not the Heats fault. - mig
[2014-06-27 13:32:03] - mig: So, yeah, while I admit it's a little arbitrary and irrational for rooting against LeBron for just trying to do everything within his power to win as many championships as possible... I don't see that as any worse than rooting against the Cowboys just because somebody was born in the DC area. -Paul
[2014-06-27 13:30:56] - mig: I dunno, the way I figure it, most of sports is ultimately based on irrational stuff anyway. Most people cheer for teams based on nothing but geographical location and free agency has made it so people tend to cheer for the jersey more than the player. -Paul
[2014-06-27 13:29:37] - mig: No, but it IS their fault that Cleveland lost their best player (and apparently the only thing that made them good) and Toronto likewise lost theirs. Imagine what would happen in the Western Conference if Chris Paul and Kevin Durant joined the Spurs. Every other team might as well write off any chance at a title for years. -Paul
[2014-06-27 13:15:43] - paul: I guess that's fair but its not exactly the Heat's fault that Derrick Rose tore up his knee 2 years in a row, Bostons Big 3 got too old, and every other team in the East is managed terribly. - mig
[2014-06-27 13:15:26] - Mig: I still think it's different (players were on the downside of their careers, and were acquired via trade instead of free agency), but it seems like a better comparison than what the Spurs have done. -Paul
[2014-06-27 13:14:20] - mig: Honestly, though, if you want to throw some words back in my face, I wouldn't attack me with the Spurs example. Instead, I would try pointing out that the Celtics did a very similar thing.
-Paul[2014-06-27 13:13:16] - mig: And at worst, a conference where Miami has been clearly the favorite and no other team in the conference has much of a chance to make the finals. -Paul
[2014-06-27 13:12:39] - mig: 5+ years ago, the Eastern Conference used to be fairly competitive. Since the Heat put their super-team together, the Eastern Conference has been, at best, a conference with two teams at the top who are clearly better than the rest... -Paul
[2014-06-27 13:11:41] - mig: Personally, the money thing is mostly irrelevant to me. I'm fine with players taking less money. I just don't like how it so completely upsets the competitive balance. -Paul
[2014-06-27 13:06:50] - I don't think whether they were drafted originally there is relevant. The fact remains that Parker/Duncan/Ginobli have all colluded to take less money so the Spurs can brin in players like Steve Kerr, Robert Horry or Khawi Leonard. I don't see who that's any different to what the Heat currently do. - mig
[2014-06-27 13:05:17] - mig: Fair enough, but none of us play professional sports so I don't know how else to compare my feelings towards LeBron with something more relatable.
-Paul[2014-06-27 13:03:46] - paul: the false equivalence was comparing a sport where the demands are to win a championship every year to a casual game amongst friends. - mig
[2014-06-27 12:57:48] - mig: How is it a false equivalence? I think the reason the Spurs are viewed differently is because they grew the team themselves through the draft. Their big three have been Spurs their entire (NBA) career. -Paul
[2014-06-27 12:51:40] - Also how is the way the Spurs operate any different than Miami. They have their 3 stars who take less money so they can build a good team. Yet they get elevated to the level of sainthood among franchises while James and the Heat are the Great Satan. - mig
[2014-06-27 12:48:57] - paul: that's a bit of a false equivalence, isn't it? - mig
[2014-06-27 12:27:27] - mig: I mean, what if we had somebody at our weekly ultimate game who was always trying to choose the teams and always putting all the good players on his team? Wouldn't that be obnoxious? -Paul
[2014-06-27 12:26:33] - mig: Heh, I think I'm the opposite in that I don't understand your hatred of the Spurs and Patriots (is it because they win too much?) but I completely understand the dislike of what LeBron does (and I count myself as somebody who feels that way). -Paul
[2014-06-27 11:52:30] - And its less the fan criticism that perplexes but more so from media type, like Charles Barkley saying it would be a "travesty" if Melo and LeBron teamed up together somewhere. It makes no sense to me. - mig
[2014-06-27 11:35:08] - http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/why-is-it-such-a-terrible-thing-that-lebron-james-wants-to-play-with-good-basketball-players-221213420.html while I admit I have my own irrational hatreds towards sports entities (spurs and patriots) I don't get the level of vitriol that gets put James way. - mig
[2014-06-27 09:42:50] - On the Steam summer sale note.... anybody know if Long Live the Queen is any good? It looks like it might be worth $2.50. -Paul
[2014-06-27 09:40:34] - Xpovos: But I do currently have three Xbox360 retail games that are either completely unplayed (Borderlands 2) or mostly unplayed (Rage, Dishonored) that I really should give another try to. -Paul
[2014-06-27 09:39:42] - Xpovos: I'm not sure if I have the same problem, but I've definitely been spending too much money on games through the Steam summer sale that I'll likely not play more than once. The good thing is none of it has been over $5.... yet. -Paul
[2014-06-27 09:38:45] - aaron: Either way, though, I did feel like I wanted to start fresh, now that I have a better sense of the game. -Paul
[2014-06-27 09:38:24] - aaron: Honestly, I hadn't even thought about that (despite realizing that it was weird that I needed to scroll all the way to the left to start a new game). In fact, considering the tree-like way it saved my second game, that should've been obvious. -Paul
[2014-06-27 09:27:30] - I have a bad habit of buying games that are interesting just because they're on discount. The number of times a game has hit $20, so I say, "oh, that's a good price" then it sits on my shelf for several years is sad. I'd probably feel better with those $20 back in my wallet. So, failing that, I should at the very least play them. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-27 09:27:17] - paul: cool, you understood the save system right? you don't have to start all the way over if you don't want, you can just go back one or two days and un-make the mistake you made. of course i don't blame you if you want to save your uncle
- aaron[2014-06-27 09:26:29] - Paul: Two parts. 1) Some people enjoy the schadenfreude on the completion % decline. In my case, it'll just finally feel like that stat is finally accurate. 2) It's an extra incentive to actually play all those games I've paid for but never actually played. Which perhaps might keep me from doing something like that again. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-27 09:21:22] - Xpovos: And what's the point of that? -Paul
[2014-06-27 09:15:25] - Paul: A Bean Dive is that I'm going to start all those games on my shelf that I own, but have never played, all at once. It'll tank my completion %. If I'm able to dive everything I'm expecting to, it'll go from about 72% down to about 39%. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-27 09:10:30] - So, who's interested in a field trip to Bristow? http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2014/0626/Concert-subculture-under-scrutiny-after-dozens-hospitalized-at-Avicii-concert -- Xpovos
[2014-06-27 08:57:49] - Aaron: I ended up getting arrested on my 15th day, but I did manage to keep my entire family (except my uncle) alive. I'm on my second play through now and already doing better thanks to some knowledge gleamed from the first time. -Paul
[2014-06-27 08:57:03] - Xpovos: Not sure what a bean dive is (and my google-fu is apparently weak), but I definitely recommend the Mass Effect series. The gameplay for the first game is kinda weak, but the story is awesome. -Paul
[2014-06-26 19:29:39] - Paul: I need to add Mass Effect to my Bean Dive list, I guess... assuming I can find a copy. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-26 17:40:10] - Xpovos: Regarding your commercial, that is.
-Paul[2014-06-26 17:39:59] - Xpovos: It's Garrus! -Paul
[2014-06-26 17:03:05] - "Historically, the Justice Department has won about 70 percent of its cases before the high court. But in each of the last three terms [SCOTUS terms, October-June], the Court has ruled against the administration a majority of the time. " -- Xpovos
[2014-06-26 16:26:50] - more than likely the US will be playing Belgium on Tuesday 4pm est. - mig
[2014-06-26 13:13:13] - No, must have been the 2004. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-26 13:02:34] - How true to life: http://www.marketmenot.com/hyundai-world-cup-spoilers-commercial/ Reminds me of World Cup 2000? Was it really that long ago? -- Xpovos
[2014-06-26 12:50:01] - both us and germany are playing very risk aversive, though I think the soggy field has more to do with that than just being content for a draw. - mig
[2014-06-26 12:13:09] - It would have been nice to see a government power that was perverted way beyond its original intent to be slapped down completely. - mig
[2014-06-26 12:11:25] - xpovos: I'm disappointed because it seemed during oral arguments it seemed Kagan and Breyer seemed to lean towards "obsoleting" the recess power, both noting that its intent was for the horse-and-buggy era. - mig
[2014-06-26 11:52:07] - mig: I haven't had a chance to read up on it yet, but I think it was narrow because Roberts wanted the 9-0 to send the strongest possible message, even if that meant on a narrower scope. They can take another case later if need be. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-26 11:16:30] - paul: indeed though Canning ended up being dissappointingly narrower than it should have been. - mig
[2014-06-26 10:51:31] - mig: And a number of them have gone against the executive branch.
-Paul[2014-06-26 10:51:08] - mig: Ah, ok. I see the decisions now. I read an article about how, despite the controversial cases in front of them and how split the other branches of government has been, the Supreme Court has actually had a ton of unanimous decisions lately. -Paul
[2014-06-26 10:45:25] - I know it doesn't quite work that way because of taxes and the premium a buyout would demand, and I always knew Apple had silly amounts of money, but comparing their cash stores to the size of a company like Disney really puts it into perspective. -Paul
[2014-06-26 10:44:21] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/06/25/apple-buying-disney-a-consultant-explains-why-he-thinks-a-deal-is-frighteningly-obvious/?tid=pm_na Obviously when I read the headline, I thought it was completely ridiculous just based on how big Disney is. I had no idea Apple technically has enough cash to cover Disney's market cap. -Paul
[2014-06-26 10:40:45] - mig: Two more decisions were released? Which ones? I can't find any news about it. -Paul
[2014-06-26 10:36:54] - 2 9-0 decisions today. There've been a lot of those lately. - mig
[2014-06-26 10:30:21] - mig: Yeah, I could've sworn Nina had some post about how conservative justices didn't understand technology. I was going to find that post and ask Nina what she thought about how the conservatives sided with Aereo, but I couldn't find the post (stupid FB). -Paul
[2014-06-26 10:27:26] - paul: I thought that was interesting, considering how they were being mocked (though rightly so) for an antiquated understanding of the technology involved with Aerero. - mig
[2014-06-26 10:05:34] - I picked up Papers Please via GoG recently. I'll have to try it out too. 10-15 days, huh? -- Xpovos
[2014-06-26 09:53:44] - I don't know why, but I find it a little interesting that the 3 dissenting justices for the Aereo decision were largely considered the three most conservative ones. -Paul
[2014-06-26 09:41:57] - aaron: I feel like the only choice I made which went counter to this is when I denied the pimp. -Paul
[2014-06-26 09:41:05] - aaron: I'm not really playing as "myself" this first time through. I feel like I'm more playing as the game wants me to, in the sense that I am basically taking every opportunity given to me (or at least trying to). -Paul
[2014-06-26 09:39:52] - aaron: Wait, so you CAN play with it before the clock starts? How? Does the clock not start until you call in the first person? I've been running through my morning instructions as fast as possible because I didn't want to waste time with it. -Paul
[2014-06-26 09:27:29] - paul: my first game, where i was making my decisions "as myself", you know, role-playing -- my game ended when i was detained some time between days 10 and 15. vinnie's game ended when he was killed at some point betweeen days 15 and 20. i'll be curious how this compares to your first game. - aaron
[2014-06-26 09:22:37] - paul: yeah, i messed up that part too! for that EZIC group right? you don't have to solve every puzzle in the game, some of them are very hard. but, i figured out the cipher because you keep it on your desk overnight, so you can play with it before the next day begins - aaron
[2014-06-26 09:10:33] - aaron: I think I accidentally denied the agents access twice because I didn't know how to tell who they are. I assume I am suppose to use that cypher to get a name, but I don't know how to use it and I'm afraid to take up too much time trying to figure it out. -Paul
[2014-06-26 00:07:53] - a: I can't find the facebook post, but it essentially amounted to how un-regulated Uber is and how un-protected consumers are and how under-insured Uber drivers are. -Paul
[2014-06-25 23:28:57] - I agree with all of what has been said. out of curiosity what was dee's perspective? ~a
[2014-06-25 17:53:13] - I think it is completely reasonable to assume that they are, in fact, not sufficiently insured. We over-insure everything even mildly risky, though. Hell, that's my job in a nutshell. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 17:52:19] - All of those services are examples of situations where companies are trying to move away from over-regulated environments. But at the same time, those environments are so heavily regulated because they are risky. And risk requires insurance... and on from there. If Uber claims that they are sufficiently insured, but offer their product at a significant discount...
[2014-06-25 17:43:01] - a: Uber is seemingly (I've never used it, so I can only go by what I've heard) great despite being largely unregulated by the government, yet those regulations are harmful enough to supposedly make it difficult for the taxis to be able to compete. -Paul
[2014-06-25 17:41:57] - a: But I do think Uber is a shining example of how we really don't need most of the regulations out there and how those regulations can be harmful. -Paul
[2014-06-25 17:40:51] - a: At the same time, though, many of these taxi companies have been reaping the benefits of government granted and enforced monopolies for years (decades?) now, so it's a little rich to hear the arguments coming from them. -Paul
[2014-06-25 17:39:41] - a: While I'm mostly against the taxi monopolies and and over-regulation and the governments who are stupidly trying to shut Uber down... I am a little sympathetic to the "unfair advantage" argument. -Paul
[2014-06-25 17:39:25] - also instead of fighting uber, why not fight to change the stupid rules instead? - mig
[2014-06-25 17:38:50] - a: Dee doesn't like Uber. Her, Dewey, Nina and I (and a few others) debated it a bit on a Facebook post of hers. -Paul
[2014-06-25 17:38:09] - seriously though while they are similar, there are very stark differences between a cab and an uber driver in how both businesses operate that it makes no sense for them to be governed by the same rules. - mig
[2014-06-25 17:35:33] - a: boo fucking hoo. - mig
[2014-06-25 17:24:47] - "they have an unfair advantage over regular cabs since they don’t have to follow the same rules and pay the same fees" thoughts? ~a
[2014-06-25 17:24:42] - uber is awesome. i've never tried sidecar, uberx, or lyft, but i think they're awesome in concept too. it shouldn't be a surprise that not everybody likes them. ~a
[2014-06-25 15:50:51] - mig: McCullen v. Coakley. Pretty technical, but I'm interested in it. Then there are the two ACA vs. Religious Freedom cases (Hobby Lobby and Conestoga). Canning. And then two more that are really very minor. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 13:45:30] - so whats left for scotus bow that's relatively major other than canning and hobby lobby. - mig
[2014-06-25 12:41:36] - But, net neutrality! http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/18/t-mobile-stops-counting-data-used-with-spotify-pandora-itunes-radio-and-certain-other-music-services/ -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 11:57:13] - Xpovos: I'll tentatively claim Thomas as the guy who I seem to agree with the most. -Paul
[2014-06-25 11:54:23] - Once again, Scalia is my guy. He may be insane, but he's my brand of insane; certainly more than the rest of that lot. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 11:50:55] - mig: Beat me to it. At least the cellphones was unanimous. That's particularly good news. And frankly, I'll take the constitutional overreach of government into privacy over the lesser issue of legal, but stupid copyright laws any day. Copyright can still be fixed with legislation. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 11:45:32] - re: Facebook. I hate whatever algorithm Facebook uses to determine what "liked" and "commented on" statuses by my friends that it shows me and I wish I could change it. -Paul
[2014-06-25 11:40:55] - as usual it seems scotus likes being a mixed bag in its rulings. Aerero loses
but smart phones can't be searched without a wartant - mig[2014-06-25 11:39:50] - I made the mistake of telling somebody I would be available to talk on the phone anytime tomorrow or Friday, and they chose noon tomorrow. Don't they know the US world cup game is on then? -Paul
[2014-06-25 11:36:55] - Completely unrelated anecdote. Priest walks by my office this morning; a common occurrence I should note. This particular one has walked past many times, but today he looks in and sees... "Is that a coffin on your desk?", "Yes." -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 11:31:37] - It's as I tell people who try to message me via FB, or send me FB event invites, etc. FB is not a method of communication. There's far too much randomness in it. If you want to talk to me, make sure you send your communique to me in a way that is bound to be received. I really wish we hadn't done away with telegrams. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 11:30:10] - But I brought the discussion here for a couple of reasons. 1) I figured it would be more productive without Facebook's benevolent interference. 2) I couldn't be sure you'd see it, particularly since it was just a like, not something actually on your own wall... there's no reason it would notify you if I tried to communicate with you via that method. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 11:28:36] - a: Totally agree on both parts. Still, this was probably the most innovative idea I saw in that space in ages, and it's still not even being talked about. Meanwhile, FB is trying to show it's smarter than we are. And it probably is. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 10:51:20] - a: What annoyed me about that article was the quip at the end: "What are we waiting for?". Implying we could actually do this now, i it weren't for the meanie oil/coal conspiracy. - mig
[2014-06-25 10:19:56] - xpovos: "unrealistic for a lot of reasons of course" i couldn't agree more. but that's not why i "liked" it. i liked it because it gives great perspective: the world is large and sun is powerful. can we do anything about that today? maybe not, but "orders of magnitude" are something that our feeble human brains need to wrap themselves around. ~a
[2014-06-25 10:17:54] - xpovos: i am disappointed in how facebook decides (instead of me deciding) which "likes" to propagate and which "likes" to not propagate. ~a
[2014-06-25 10:05:05] - Shows how little I paid attention to the draft this year. Logan Thomas went to Arizona in the 4th round. Not too shabby. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 10:01:11] - a: Regarding your like on FB, it's a useful depiction, but unrealistic for a lot of reasons of course. The issue has never been finding enough power, it's always been about transmission. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_power_transmission#Losses That actually implies better loss ratios than I was expecting and still excludes most theoretical grids. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-25 09:34:27] - Aaron: Yeah, and it's so annoying. I know I'm not really a neat freak, but it drives me crazy that I have to have all these overlapping passports and entry permits and maps and rules books and everything. Is it cheating to memorize the city names? Or are there too many to remember? -Paul
[2014-06-25 09:20:48] - paul: a part of the spirit of the game is that you've got all of the information in different places, and these giant books open on your very small desk. - aaron
[2014-06-25 09:20:17] - paul: tsk that's totally cheating
don't do that - aaron[2014-06-25 08:53:40] - aaron: Maybe I can cheat and have the map open in my web browser on my second monitor.
My uncle died after me skipping his medicine just once and my entire family is sick. It's almost as if not eating and being in freezing weather is detrimental to health. -Paul[2014-06-24 16:23:01] - paul: yeah, it's kind of a risk/reward thing. it might take you 10 seconds to check a person's documents, but an extra 10 seconds to flip through the rulebook and check the issuing city. working fast is more important than working well, the penalties aren't too severe until you start accruing a lot of mistakes. - aaron
[2014-06-24 15:30:27] - yeah this kind of thing shouldn't be spearheaded in virginia. virginia has a way-too-recent history of fucking this kind of thing up badly. ~a
[2014-06-24 15:22:57] - http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/06/23/virginia-mans-plea-deal-includes-vasectomy-requirement/ Hmm. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-24 13:35:23] - Aaron: Holy crap, I need to check that too? I thought that was there just to flesh out the story or something.
-Paul[2014-06-24 13:34:05] - paul: yeah the invalid city stuff is annoying!! there's a regional map included in the rulebook at your workstation - aaron
[2014-06-24 12:08:21] - Anybody here have any thoughts on if Simcity 4 is worth buying? -Paul
[2014-06-24 10:43:45] - oh, wait again, you didn't. that's a different bit.ly link. stupid URL shorteners. ~a
[2014-06-24 10:43:19] - oh, you did. ~a
[2014-06-24 10:42:58] - nina: if you post it to facebook, i'll "share" it (or retweet it or whatever facebook calls it). ~a
[2014-06-24 10:41:20] - Nina: Filled out. Don't spam me, please! -Paul
[2014-06-24 10:03:46] - Aaron: I'm still not sure some of the mistakes that I made, and I'm only on day 4 or 5. One time I was told about some invalid city and I don't even know how to check that. It's also not clear to me sometimes what's a country name and what is a city name. Doesn't help that they're all made up. -Paul
[2014-06-24 09:56:38] - paul: so in addition to adding more documents as the game goes on, they also add more possible mistakes to increase difficulty. to me, it was kind of frustratingly funny at times, "wait, i have to check THAT!?! are you kidding me, that's going to take forever!!" - aaron
[2014-06-24 09:55:23] - paul: the "i didn't know i had to check that" is on purpose, the game is not completely fair. you cannot finish with 100% score, there are mistakes you're expected to make throughout the game. if they told you on day 1, "make sure to check the expiration date and issuing city on their passport" it would be overwhelming, - aaron
[2014-06-24 09:48:40] - paul: hey cool! yeah, there are times when it's unintuitive how you have to point out a discrepancy. telling someone they have missing documents is one confusing thing (clicking the empty desk), telling someone that they said something inconsistent is the other huge thing people don't get (you have to pull up the chat transcript from the bottom, and click it) - aaron
[2014-06-24 09:40:26] - http://pattle.github.io/simpsons-in-css/ simpsons in CSS. there's a "how i did it" link at the bottom if you want to understand how it works - aaron
[2014-06-24 09:33:26] - I played some "Papers, Please" last night. It was strangely fun in a boring/repetitive way, although I wish the UI was a little more intuitive and the directions a little clearer. My speed has been horrible since it took forever to figure out how to tell a guy that he needed a passport and I've made mistake because I didn't even know I needed to check things. -Paul
[2014-06-24 09:33:10] - I'm taking a UX class, and would appreciate anyone taking a few minutes to take this survey. http://bit.ly/1qGQIYI -nina
[2014-06-24 09:23:01] - a: ha ha that's great! sounds a lot like uber to me, i guess the difference is that uber uses professional chauffers/taxi drivers, while lyft just uses random dudes - aaron
[2014-06-23 16:55:31] - aaron: crazy taxi now on android: it's called lyft. also, it's not a game. and, it's real life. ~a
[2014-06-23 16:45:54] - ymmv since employers are legally allowed to do all kinds of crazy stuff: like do contributions once per year and vesting can be done in one of a million different ways. ~a
[2014-06-23 16:43:24] - also, in your personal 401k, you'll usually see the vested portion listed as an amount of money. my company doesn't do vesting, but i can see the "employer match" section and it is definitely adjusted for investment gain or loss. ~a
[2014-06-23 16:42:19] - you can see an example here and you'll notice that the vested portion (both portions) are "adjusted for investment gain or loss". ~a
[2014-06-23 16:41:17] - daniel: yes. ~a
[2014-06-23 16:20:07] - I'm not quitting my job but I thought about that scenario and wasn't sure of the answer. -Daniel
[2014-06-23 16:19:33] - If you quit a job before you are fully vested in your 401k do you lose the gains as well as the base employer contribution or just the contributions? Anyone know? I'm trying to google it but everyone just keeps talking about the contributions but not the gains on those contributions. -Daniel
[2014-06-23 13:29:19] - http://www.wired.com/2014/06/net_neutrality_missing/ Not a huge amount of new information, but I thought this article did a good job discussing how many people have an oversimplified view of how the internet works. -Paul
[2014-06-23 13:23:13] - Xpovos: Honestly, I didn't hear the announcers much. Too busy chasing after Talia.
-Paul[2014-06-23 13:20:28] - I thought the announcers last night were a little hard on Tim Howard, by the by. The complimented him on his quickness, which is his strength, of course. But they knocked him for being out of position at least twice, yet in both situations he made the saves. The two goals scored can't be held against him. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-23 13:19:09] - Even if there's no 'agreement' to play to a draw, you should expect both teams to keep 4 defenders back at essentially all times and try for goals only when there's no chance at a counter. That kind of game actually plays a lot to U.S. strengths, which is why Germany may not want to go that route. -- Xpovos
[2014-06-23 12:56:39] - So while what happened in 1982 was basically the aame thing as 2 teams playin for a draw. It looked a lot worse. - mig
[2014-06-23 12:54:32] - paul: true enough. But I guess the thing is it just feels a lot worse if you play for a specific score as opposed to something more general (like a draw). - mig
[2014-06-23 12:34:29] - mig: Right, I guess it makes sense, but it seems silly since Germany and the US can already screw over Portugal and Ghana by just playing for a tie. -Paul
[2014-06-23 12:29:49] - Obviously they can't prevent the US and Germany from both "conspiring" to playing for the draw, but they want to at least not render either game meaningless before they even play. - mig
[2014-06-23 12:26:20] - paul: the concurrent games thing for the last matches of group play was a response to a controversy in the 1982 wc where Algeria was eliminated because Germany and Austria sort of agreed to play to a specific result (1-0) that allowed both teams to advance. And they knew the precise result they needed because Algeria played before them. - mig
[2014-06-23 12:18:26] - Daniel: I might not play it for a few months at the earliest, but I'll let you know. -Paul
[2014-06-23 12:17:53] - mig: I understand the higher seed is desired, but Germany already has it on tiebreakers (right?) and I think the US would be content just guaranteeing that they make it. -Paul
[2014-06-23 12:17:38] - Paul: Let me know what you think. It entertained me for most of Saturday afternoon but I'm not sure it will have a lot of staying power. I'm ok with that though. -Daniel
[2014-06-23 12:17:13] - mig: Huh, that's interesting. They care about not making either game meaningless, but make it impossible to watch both. Also, as I think Daniel pointed out yesterday, why wouldn't Germany and the US just walk off the field (pitch?) and accept a tie? -Paul
[2014-06-23 12:13:47] - of course it'll be madebing to try and keep tabs on both games, but this is done for obvious reasons. - mig
[2014-06-23 11:57:16] - both games will be concurrent, to prevent either game from being meaningless (at the start time, anyways). - mig
[2014-06-23 11:51:51] - mig: Which game is happening first on Thursday? -Paul
[2014-06-23 11:51:18] - Daniel: Just bought the Stanley Parable. -Paul
[2014-06-23 11:46:19] - paul: strangely enough we are probably rooting for portugal to win pn thursday as they'd need to win by a large margin (and the us to lose by a similarly large margin) to even have a chance to advance. - mig
[2014-06-23 11:37:36] - mig: Ugh, I thought the top half would have more green than it does. Stupid last second goal... -Paul
[2014-06-23 11:35:47] - http://screamer.deadspin.com/what-has-to-happen-for-the-usmnt-to-advance-1594615051 breakdown on us advancement prospects for thursday. - mig
[2014-06-23 11:04:27] - "I came here just for the comments. I was not disappointed." http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/23/us-student-rescued-giant-vagina-sculpture-germany -- Xpovos
[2014-06-23 10:31:22] - mig: As big as that decision is, and will be over time, I'm waiting for the Aereo one even more. Patents and copyrights, oh my! -- Xpovos
[2014-06-23 10:18:02] - Daniel: Ah, ok. I heard good things about that one too. -Paul
[2014-06-23 10:02:37] - Paul: To the Moon was the third Steam game I've gotten as part of the sale. -Daniel
[2014-06-21 20:40:10] - http://www.wired.com/2014/06/supreme-court-deals-major-blow-to-patent-trolls/ major ruling on patent validity by scotus. I'm surprised at the relatively little attention its gotten. - mig
[2014-06-20 17:07:56] - mig: Hehehe, well, that's the plan, although I admit to having quite the game backlog right now. Gurkie is going on a trip with both girls sometime in the next few months, though, so I'm hoping to clear out some of the games then. -Paul
[2014-06-20 17:02:07] - paul: only if you're actually going to play them. - mig
[2014-06-20 16:44:57] - Anybody have any suggestions on PC games to look for on the Steam summer sale? I've got 5 items on my wishlist if the discounts get big enough. -Paul
[2014-06-20 16:19:31] - you need one more so they'll split evenly. who do you think i am, solomon? ~a
[2014-06-20 16:02:15] - I've got 3, there are days I'd gladly give up one and a half of them. -- Xpovos
prev <-> next