The Mind Boggles...

The XboxOne and Being A Gamer

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:02:00 -0400

“Remember when game consoles used to play games?”

It’s such a bizarre thing that I keep hearing people say. “Remember when game consoles used to play games.”

The implication seems to be that at some point, gaming was…I dunno, tarnished somehow as companies like Sony and Microsoft moved away from making pure, gamer centric products and started to make consoles that were STILL game consoles but included more multimedia entertainment software.

Sony probably did the smartest (read: ass kissing-ist) thing every by insisting that their console was going to be strictly about the gamers. In a word, that’s bullshit.

In some words, Sony’s not dumb. They didn’t go on and on about the other multimedia functionality that the PS4 will have because they realized, probably better than Microsoft, that the vast majority of people watching their press conference watching are gamers.

And so they shifted their focus on put it on the games. And the games weren’t fantastically different fair than anything available on current gen consoles. Two of the games they showed were Watch.Dogs and Diablo III.

Killzone and Infamous are both sequels. They did some new IP, which was exciting, but I don’t remember people drooling over those properties, and I remember more than a few people being pissed that they didn’t actually see the console.

Microsoft’s press conference took on a decidely different note. Namely, they didn’t kiss gamers asses. And naturally, gamers got a teeny bit peeved.

Microsoft’s press conference, in a nutshell, was the exact opposite of Sony’s. Microsoft does not hide the fact that they want their gaming console to be a multimedia entertainment system.

Gamers don’t not like that.

And so I always come to this strange point during these press conferences where companies are showcase multimedia functionality and I’m thinking to myself “huh, that’s cool. That convenient. I love playing games, I’m mainly going to use the thing for games but I like being able to use it for other stuff…”

Only to be shouted at from all angles from my fellow gamers that this isn’t really a “gaming” console. That Microsoft doesn’t care about “real” gamers, that they only care about the casual gamers, the “bro” gamers who only play Call of Duty and Madden and soccer moms or something.

And I’m just sitting there, waving like “Hey guys…that’s not me.” I’ve been playing games just as long as most of my friends, I’ve blown into just as many cartridges as anyone else. And I like all that stuff.

And I sort of get lumped into this “mainstream gamer”, weird OTHER category.

It is weird that in a subsection of entertainment that is so heavily ostracized and treated as weird and treated as this immature thing only nerds that live at home in their mom’s basements do, get so obsessively snobby at the idea that anyone else plays besides them.

You’d think as gamers we’d be like “No, come on in! Play games! We don’t care what games you play, but just prove to people that gaming is a thing that everyone can do!”. But they’re just not. They’re almost hard wired to resist that very idea.

Microsoft, and yes, Sony, have a vested interest in trying to convince people other than gamers that spending $400-$600 on a console isn’t just paying for nothing. That’s why you see Microsoft talking about TV intergration and Netflix and having partnerships with ESPN and NFL, and why the emphasized Kinect.

it’s not because they’re ignoring you like your unrequited love interest did in high school. It’s because by their calculation, they already have your money. Or at least they think they do. But Microsoft can pretty much count on a certain base going in to buy their console.

That means they have to appeal to a wider demographics. Which is why the emphasis all the extra bells and whistles and what not is a necessary evil.

And again, those bell and whistles are useful to people like me.

There are plenty, PLENTY of reasons to think the Xbox One is going to be behind the ball. Like the stupid name. Or penalizing gamers for buying used games, or probably requiring an always-on connection.

But can we as a group please get over this “remember when game consoles used to play games?” thing? It’s still a gaming console. It just does other stuff too.

/rant

Hank's Tumblr: Thoughts on the Yahoo! Thing

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:55:20 -0400

Hank's Tumblr: Thoughts on the Yahoo! Thing:

edwardspoonhands:

First, I love Tumblr and want to keep loving it. And yes, it is immediately terrifying to hear that Yahoo (which, from a lot of our perspectives, is a laughably backwards and culturally irrelevant company) is going to own Tumblr. I sympathize.

But there are a number of circumstances in which…

datcatwhatcameback: katelikeskittens: badhoruss: thatpointless...

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:51:54 -0400

datcatwhatcameback:

katelikeskittens:

badhoruss:

thatpointlessidiot:

[a bunch of blindly mislead idiots redacted]

The milkshake: This is not limited to fast food nor to milkshakes. That ‘concoction’ is the industry standard artificial strawberry flavoring found in everything strawberry flavored that isn’t naturally flavored.

Chicken nuggets: Total lies. My sister works at the Tyson plant that provides KFC and McDonalds their nuggets. There’s no ‘pink paste’ stage. ’Reflavoring’ is an injection of mostly salt into the meat in order to give it some taste because modern day chicken is nearly flavorless. If you want to disgust people, show them the conditions of the processing plants that dismantle the chickens.

The pubic hair one: You eat more of your family’s pubic hairs cooking in your own home. You think you don’t shed once you walk in your own door?

Peanut butter: This is a cold hard truth of food mass production. There will be insects. You can never get rid of them or take them out of the process. The FDA places limits on how much can be allowed into specific foods so that food manufactories don’t get lazy and just say ‘Well we can’t keep it out.’ The FDA limit helps immensely because it makes these places try to keep the insect population down through keeping things clean.

Shellac: Oh my god this is so stupid. ’Shellac’ is an INGREDIENT. It’s a NATURAL PRODUCT produced by INSECTS. It is then PROCESSED into food-grade glaze or colorants, OR into wood and furniture polish. They don’t just take wood polish and dump it on your jawbreakers. Grow up.

Bacteriophages: The ‘phages of which you speak are used to kill the listeria virus. Listeria is a bacteria that attacks the immune system and has a one in five mortality rate. Bacteriophages? They’ve been used as an alternative to antibiotic medications in Russia and France for 90 years. That’s really disgusting and dangerous!

Coke: This is total and complete bunk. It would have been far more effective to point out that colas and carbonated drinks have been linked to weakened bones in those who overconsume them, but this is complete lies here. Again.

Salads: I think you mean propylene glycol. And again, this is bullshit. PG only causes reactions in those allergic to it. It has a very low toxicity and can only negatively affect human health if very large amounts are ingested very quickly and over a very short period of time. By which I mean ‘Find a vat of it and start drinking it and nothing else.’ Again you go for the lie instead of pointing out that fast food salads are processed and contain as much fat and cholesterol as most of the other foods offered by a fast food place.

Beef additives: This has nothing to do with fast food. This is common in MOST meats in the US. This is because the US has become so obsessed with the fat content of meat and making it ‘healthy’ that we have literally bred almost all the flavor out of every food animal breed we currently use. Flavorants are almost ALWAYS injected during processing or most of our meat would be bland and tasteless. ‘Flavorants’ typically being concentrated broth and/or salt and seasoning.

Cheese: Lies again. Only those cheeses labelled as ‘Pasteurized process cheese food’ and ‘Pasteurized process cheese spread’ match these stats. Pasteurized process cheese is simply a blended cheese made to have a sharp taste and be easily melted. Your lie here is that the 47% is referring to the cheese’s fat content, not cheese content.

This image is full of lies and misrepresented half-truths and anyone spreading this as truthful should rethink their approach.

thank you oh my god

I’m so glad the block of text I found under this bullshit was debunking it.

EVERYBODY READ THE ABOVE COMMENTS.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your post on Doctor Who and the Doctor not being infallible. It's like you reached inside my head and pulled out my thoughts and put them into words - far more eloquently than I ever could have. It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who has liked this new, "darker," side of the Doctor and the direction the show is going.

Sun, 19 May 2013 01:10:04 -0400

Sometimes darker is better. And it’s not like The Doctor isn’t still a goofball. He’s just a wiser goofball.

just the first one :) we arrived at the same conclusion, check my post out.

Sun, 19 May 2013 01:08:17 -0400

Funny thing is I came up with like three other theories after that one. This is what good TV does; makes you think. A lot.

Is The Doctor Infallible?

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:52:41 -0400

I’m gonna blog about The Doctor. Like, a lot, probably.

One of the things I see people say when they talk about their problems with Steven Moffit’s time as show runner on Doctor Who is that he has, in essense, made The Doctor fallible That he has made The Doctor “less wonderful”.

The Doctor is a mad man in a blue box that has wondrous adventures with many people, who saves worlds and civilizations, who’s name is quite literally written across the stars. That’s what River said, right? That we got the name “Doctor” from him.

But as great a man as The Doctor is, I don’t think he’s ever been infallible. He’s not a God. (Well, maybe he’s not a God.) He is an extremely intelligent, extremely clever, resourceful man, with centuries upon centuries of knowledge and wisdom and 10 (or 11) lifetimes worth of experiences and tragedies and triumphs, of badassery and cowardice and hysterical happiness and immense sorrow…

But he is not infallible. And he should never be infallible. The Doctor (far as we know) is just a man. A mad man with a blue box, who just so happens to do extraordinary things.

Stealing the TARDIS and leaving to travel the galaxy was not the act of an infallible man. The Doctor has made mistakes.

What Moffat has done is what Russell T. Davies started (probably by accident) in “The Waters of Mars”; the Doctor’s actions have consequences. He is not The Time Lord Victorious. He is not ruler of all time and space.

He’s not always right.

Before, The Doctor could flit in and out of people’s lives, leaving them forever changed, witnessing wonders and civilizations and cabbages and aliens and boots that few other humans will ever see. And then he could leave and never see the again.

Sarah Jane was sure the Doctor was dead. Dead. Because after Sarah Jane left…well, that was it.

Rose in the alternate dimension. Donna with her memories erased. The Pond’s. River. Eventually Clara. The Daleks, the Cybermen, the genocide of the Time Lords and destruction of Gallifrey.

The Doctor stole the TARDIS all those years ago hoping to run away. To escape. Now, the events of his past, the mistakes he’s made, the enemies he’s wronged, the good and bad he’s done, is all coming back. You can’t run forever. No man can.

Moffat has added depth to The Doctor. And some people don’t like that; the less known about The Doctor, the better. Let him be the mad, weird alien in his blue box saving people all the time. Sometimes it gets dark, sure, but The Doctor doesn’t become weakened by experiences that prove he’s fallible; he becomes stronger.

The best Series of the Russell T. Davies era was Series 4, precisely because they gave The Doctor a companion who was willing to tell him he wasn’t so bloody perfect. Rose and Martha worshipped the Doctor.

Donna respected the Doctor, was intrigued, probably even impressed by the Doctor. But she never worshiped him. Never treated like him was perfect.

Neither did Amy. God knows Rory didn’t. Clara doesn’t either. And that, my friends, is when The Doctor is at his best. At least to me.

When he’s more than just a man in a blue box who fixes problems and saves the universe and everyone gets to marvel at how friggin’ awesome he is. Because that’s kind of our job, as the viewer.

What we’re witnessing is the Doctor actually mature. I mean, he’s still the doctor, with the hair and the screwdriver and the broken blue box taking pretty girls around the universe and getting into wacky misadventures…

But I guess the point is, how much wackiness with a perfect man can you have before you just want something…more? I mean yeah, the show is darker, and Series 7 wasn’t perfect (probably because Moffat didn’t write most of the episodes and it lacked some of the same focus that the previous seasons had), but…is getting darker a bad thing for THe Doctor?

Is it me? I dunno.

In The Name Of The Doctor and Doctor Who Theories

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:33:56 -0400

It’s it weird that I’ve basically all but eliminated the possibility that John Hurt is the 12th Doctor? I don’t think they’d do that, and I don’t think they’d make the 12th Doctor older again.

Which leaves me thinking one thing; the John Hurt Doctor is the 9th Doctor.

Which leads to two possibilities in my mind.

1.) The 9th (John Hurt) Doctor is the one who killed all the Time Lords in the Time War. That broke the Doctor’s ultimate rule; genocide. Planetary genocide of all the Time Lords and of all Gallifreyans (because they’re different things.) The Daleks survived, other races it seemed the Doctor had defeated have survived. But the Time Lords? Gallifrey? Gone. Dead. Time locked. (Except for that whole “End of TIme” thing but Russell T. Davies sucks so I’m ignoring that.)

The 9th Doctor, devastated with pain, guilt, sorrow, anger, torment, absolute agony, for breaking his one and only rule and killing his people, exterminating them, obliterating them from all of history, has to atone for his great sin. And thus, he erases any and all memory of him from history…somehow. And after that, he vows to never tell who truly destroyed Gallifrey. He forces regeneration, and becomes the Christopher Eccleston Doctor.

Or…

2.) The 9th Doctor (John Hurt) does all of the above. But, a young, newly branded Time Lord assists the Doctor, never knowing what the Doctor is going to do. The 9th Doctor makes his decision to end the Time War. His companion objects.

The Doctor does not kill, he does not commit genocide, he always finds another way.

But the 9th Doctor goes forward with his plan. And in the process nearly kills himself. The 9th Doctor begins to re-generate, but sends his regeneration energy into the new Time Lord.

The Christopher Eccleston Doctor gets all the original Doctor’s memories, and is treated like a complete regeneration of the Doctor. But he’s not the 9th Doctor; he’s the 1st Doctor. Tennant is the 2nd, and Smith is the 3rd.

…I have spent far too much time coming up with bullshit reasons for this. But I guess that’s part of the point…

2460onetruepairing: kairisma: melbudz: swing-set-in-december: ...

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:45:35 -0400

2460onetruepairing:

kairisma:

melbudz:

swing-set-in-december:

YEP.

THE ACCURACY OF THIS HURTS A LITTLE.

THE ACCURACY OF THIS HURTS A LOT.

GPOY

At this point I reblog food just for the “WTF!”...

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:53:50 -0400

At this point I reblog food just for the “WTF!” reaction Duos has. Also, I want pancakes now. Someone get me pancakes!

idiotsonfb: nerd humor.

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:51:55 -0400

idiotsonfb:

nerd humor.

bethrevis: trishisthinkingagain: sarahnicolas: elsiechapmanaut...

Mon, 13 May 2013 01:57:33 -0400

bethrevis:

trishisthinkingagain:

sarahnicolas:

elsiechapmanauthor:

elloellenoh:

This is me… right now…

that can’t be you because that’s me.

Hahaha, yes

GPOY

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it’s sad because it’s true.

sexwithsquidward: “Same sex couples shouldn’t be able to adopt because their kids will get bullied...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:06:48 -0400

sexwithsquidward:

“Same sex couples shouldn’t be able to adopt because their kids will get bullied for having two moms or two dads”

hey

instead of not allowing same sex couples to adopt

maybe you should teach your little shitty kids not to bully

skepticalavenger: anonymous-atheist: A man stopped by the...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 23:06:19 -0500

skepticalavenger:

anonymous-atheist:

A man stopped by the Applebees that fired that waitress for posting the receipt from a pastor who didn’t want to give her a tip. This was the letter he left. It reads:

Dear Applebee’s:

Let me cut to the chase: I find your termination of Ms. Chelsea Welch (an otherwise excellent and hard working employee) downright deplorable and appalling. As far as I’m concerned, she did absolutely NOTHING “wrong” when posting the image of that receipt with that insulting comment made by the customer Pastor Alois Bell.

First off, there was absolutely nothing mentioned in the employee handbook admonishing this kind of behavior, but more importantly (if you wish to argue otherwise) just how much “personal information” could have possibly been divulged to the public just by the customer’s signature? NOWHERE was the customer’s full name, credit card information, address or even YOUR restaurant’s name indicated on the photograph of that receipt which is far more incriminating and potentially damaging information than just a signature alone.

How is a mere signature going to help a criminal commit an act of identity theft? Local health inspectors and fire/safety inspectors have their signatures prominently displayed on certificates posted publicly by restaurants like yours… can THEY complain that you publicly displayed their “private information”?

As far as I’m concerned the only “damage” done was to the pastor’s shallow and “precious” ego. Nothing more, nothing less. She could’ve have simply ignored the post, not said anything and just went on with her cheap and inconsiderate, stingy ways. No one would’ve been the wiser. But no. She HAD to complain to the manager and have an otherwise fantastic employee fired simply because she was embarrassed.

Ms. Welch did absolutely NOTHING to publicly embarrass/humiliate her…. MS. BELL DID. And cared more about her ego than actually righting a wrong and offering to not only fairly tip what was rightfully due to Ms. Welch, but fight to get her re-hired. Ms. Alois Bell, the pathetic excuse of a human being she is, did absolutely NONE of that… and YOUR company has the NERVE to stand by her side???

As a part time pizza delivery driver myself, I KNOW first hand what its like to work for a less than minimum wage depending almost entirely on tips just to pay basic necessities such as food and rent. Yeah, I get the “average” principle and try not to take the occasional stuff so seriously, however, on some really bad days when I have runs that I have to drive far, using MY personal vehicle and MY personal gas, and get nothing, its not only very frustrating but completely unfair that I get taxed at federal minimum wage rate when [I’m] actually making LESS in that hour delivering to these inconsiderate customers who have no clue as to what SERVICE is all about. Essentially getting taxed on money that I’m NOT making. And THIS is what your company CONDONES and is PROUD OF?!?!?!

Long story short: I have come to your Easy Brunswick/Milltown restaurant NOT to order anything…but to simply use the restroom, get my complimentary water with lemon and just LEAVE but not without generously tipping your server for doing nothing more than bringing me menus and water.

Furthermore I promised the server that should this letter appear online and go viral, that I’ll be returning to the store and DOUBLING his/her tip. And since he/she has my full permission and consent to post this letter online with MY NAME and signature fully visible, there isn’t ANYTHING that you can do about it.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,

A now FORMER customer of yours,

Michael T. Zybura (attached $10)

(source)

Well, let’s make this thing go viral then. :)

"Oh please. Taxes are not your money. If people could give up the idea that it’s THEIR money being..."

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 23:13:27 -0500

“Oh please. Taxes are not *your* money. If people could give up the idea that it’s THEIR money being pried out of their hands, rather than just another bill, there’d be a lot less whining. You want lights, you pay the electric company. You want a place to live, you pay the bank or landlord. You want food, you pay the grocery store. You want to live in a civilized society, you pay taxes. Get. Over. It.”

- Comment of the Day: Paying For a More Civilized Society (via peekadora)

Things I Never Learned In High School

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 01:50:41 -0500

dontcomecryingtome:

How to do taxes

What taxes are

How to vote

What political parties are

How to write a resume/cover letter/anything related to getting a job

How to write a check/balance a check book

Anything to do with banking

How to do loans for college

How to jump start a car or other basic emergency things

How to buy a car or house

but I’m so glad I know the fucking pythagorean theorem

thank you

This the archway that leads to the Slave Burial Ground on George...

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:35:42 -0500

This the archway that leads to the Slave Burial Ground on George Washington’s Estate. It was weird, walking around that place, being intrigued by the history of George Washington, and the architecture, and the historical significance…and realizing how much of it was built and maintained by slaves.

And then to come home and realize that this guy is still our President.

Pretty fucking cool.

Childhood to adulthood, video game style…

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 20:36:56 -0400

Childhood to adulthood, video game style…

kevintut: Superman.Batman.Wonderwoman.

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:17:59 -0400

kevintut:

Superman.Batman.Wonderwoman.

thedailycurrant: “Because your ass is gonna fucking need it...

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 23:51:08 -0400

thedailycurrant:

“Because your ass is gonna fucking need it when I’m done whipping.”

Bill Nye challenges Todd Akin to a debate.

Bill Nye is my fucking idol.

John Green's tumblr: I Didn't Build That

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 02:37:42 -0400

John Green's tumblr: I Didn't Build That:

fishingboatproceeds:

So I own or co-own a few businesses that have experienced varying degrees of success. I am in the educational video business, and the book-writing business, and the merchandise distribution business, and the conference running business, and the making YouTube videos with my brother…

The Mind Boggles...

The XboxOne and Being A Gamer

Hank's Tumblr: Thoughts on the Yahoo! Thing

datcatwhatcameback: katelikeskittens: badhoruss: thatpointless...

just the first one :) we arrived at the same conclusion, check my post out.

Is The Doctor Infallible?

In The Name Of The Doctor and Doctor Who Theories

2460onetruepairing: kairisma: melbudz: swing-set-in-december: ...

At this point I reblog food just for the “WTF!”...

idiotsonfb: nerd humor.

bethrevis: trishisthinkingagain: sarahnicolas: elsiechapmanaut...

sexwithsquidward: “Same sex couples shouldn’t be able to adopt because their kids will get bullied...

skepticalavenger: anonymous-atheist: A man stopped by the...

"Oh please. Taxes are not *your* money. If people could give up the idea that it’s THEIR money being..."

Things I Never Learned In High School

This the archway that leads to the Slave Burial Ground on George...

Childhood to adulthood, video game style…

kevintut: Superman.Batman.Wonderwoman.

thedailycurrant: “Because your ass is gonna fucking need it...

John Green's tumblr: I Didn't Build That

"Oh please. Taxes are not your money. If people could give up the idea that it’s THEIR money being..."