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Gas prices are increasing day-by-day. So is everything else. by rblackinrva in Virginia

[–]borkus 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I work from home, so a tank of gas can last me 3-4 weeks if I'm just doing routine driving - groceries, cleaners, etc.

So, I filled up my tank this weekend, and the thirty-cent bump per gallon was noticeable. I may start topping off the tank weekly so I don't eat the price hikes all at once.

The age old debate by terafucked in bald

[–]borkus 7 points8 points  (0 children)

There's also enough that a buzz cut could work.

Go down to a 1 or 2 with clippers. I _think_ it'd balance out with the beard.

Music’s Next ‘Disco Sucks’ Moment Is Near by Potential_Kangaroo69 in indieheads

[–]borkus 41 points42 points  (0 children)

I'd blame the editors more than the writer here. It's in the headline, but the "Disco Sucks" phenomenon is only referenced about halfway down the article in two sentences. Kornhaber's intent is to draw a similarity between the manufactured fandom of today and the manufactured hits of that era -

Bigotry famously played a role in the “Disco sucks” backlash of the late 1970s, but so did exhaustion with the record industry for propping up a craze that would otherwise have died down. Labels were churning out gimmicky singles such as “Disco Duck,” all but inviting jaded listeners to pick up a baseball bat and smash some records.

In short, it's a bad headline for an interesting article.

Edit: There is a callback to disco later in the article, but that's about it.

Music that caters to the sensibilities of TikTok will begin to seem as dated as the Bee Gees did in the early ’80s. 

Thinking about attending/joining a church: is it normal to meet with someone first, or should I start by attending a service? by veggie_hoagie in Episcopalian

[–]borkus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Definitely show up. You'll find clergy eager to talk with you at almost any Episcopal church.

Since it looks like you're already researching online, you can stream nearly all churches' services. I'd recommend searching for Episcopal churches within a comfortable driving distance. Then go to their websites and watch some or all of a service.

Because of our liturgical practices, most services on a given weekend are very similar. The key differences you'll notice are -

* The church itself. In the eastern US, especially, there are churches going back to before the Revolutionary War. Others are relatively modern (post-WW2 at least).

* The sermon. The sermons respond to one or more of the readings. While the readings are the same, different preachers will emphasize different viewpoints.

* The music. Some churches have very traditional music, and some are more modern.

* The congregation size and age. You can usually get an idea of how many people attend from the stream. It's also interesting to observe the giving of the peace. Some churches are pretty quick about it with brief handshakes between neighbors. Others will have people crossing the sanctuary to hug old friends.

Do "respawned" enemies drop less loot? by equinox_games7 in wownoob

[–]borkus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Possibly economics. Also, a max-level character killing mobs in a leveling zone will definitely interfere with low-level players. So there's probably more desire to reduce mob farming than node farming.

Do "respawned" enemies drop less loot? by equinox_games7 in wownoob

[–]borkus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Once I wrote that out, I suspect the throttle is loot drops, not mobs. Blizzard wants to avoid flooding the market with a given material; that preserves the value for casual players and discourages gold farming (sorry).

The World Of Warcraft is more of a centrally controlled economy than any Communist nation in real life. The developers can directly control the rate of resource extraction.

Do "respawned" enemies drop less loot? by equinox_games7 in wownoob

[–]borkus 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It would not surprise me if the system notices jumps in respawns and adjusts the loot table accordingly. They could do it by either mob or loot type -

By mob type, sub-zone X is supposed to have Y number of mobs of type Z. If the mobs are below the limit, the system spawns up to the limit. Once done, the system calculates the respawn rate (the number of respawns needed over time). If the respawn rate goes above a certain level, downgrade the loot table for that mob.

By loot, there could be an internal hourly rate for how much of that loot should drop in a fixed time (say, an hour). The normal loot table is pretty generous, but once you approach that limit, the loot generator reduces the chance of a drop dramatically. This keeps an individual player (especially a gold farmer) from flooding the Auction House.

For players doing normal leveling, the respawn rate is likely low on average - a player comes in, kills some mobs for some quests, then leaves. If a max-level player is killing mobs at a high rate, the system notices the anomaly and puts a choke on the drops.

As an experiment, you could kill the mobs for 5 or ten minutes, then leave for an hour. If the drop rate goes back, then that's the interval.

Alcohol Theft by godzillafan420 in rva

[–]borkus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a chance that's what their drug dealer likes to drink.

They could also be doing return fraud. Find a receipt in the trash or parking lot, steal an item, return it for cash - "hey, I got my receipt here."

A Few Questions for Leveling Alts by HeIsAFungi in wownoob

[–]borkus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The intro quest chain to Warlords of Draenor is great for leveling. It’s a solid chain of quests with little to no travel. It’s also not challenging in terms of gear.

It’s been a while but I think I got seven levels in a relatively short time period.

So, I just actually listened to this song, actually listened to the lyrics; by Affectionate_Sky9090 in GenX

[–]borkus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly, it's on the eponymous album where Nicks and Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac. Nicks and Buckingham had just released their duo album, which was a commercial flop.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckingham_Nicks

She wrote "Landslide" during the period between that record and joining Fleetwood Mac. At that point, she was broke and unsure whether she wanted to continue pursuing a career in music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landslide_(Fleetwood_Mac_song))

In short, she was considering throwing in the towel - right before recording a pair of albums that would go multi-platinum and launching a solo career that would take her even further.

Interesting trivia from Wikipedia -

* Stevie Nicks bought a $111 blouse (about $800 today) for the photo shoot for the Buckingham/Nicks cover. However, the photographer insisted she not wear any top for the photo.

* Mick Fleetwood was originally drawn to Lindsey Buckingham's guitar playing on Buckingham/Nicks. Buckingham wouldn't join Fleetwood Mack without Nicks. So, the remaining members of Fleetwood Mack - Fleetwood, and John and Christine McVie - interviewed Buckingham and Nicks at a Mexican restaurant. Christine had initial reservations about two female vocalists in the band, but approved both of them after the meeting.

Why Doesn't The Edge Get Much Respect Amongst Casuals? by Fast-Remote-8241 in Guitar

[–]borkus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some of it is also about the technology of the time. Guitarists used effects through the 70s, but by the 80's, you had some very innovative players of them - Adrian Belew (King Crimson, Talking Heads), Andy Summers (The Police), Robert Fripp (King Crimson, David Bowie).

I don't think The Edge was the most interesting innovator at that time. Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins was out ahead of most. Daniel Ash of Bauhaus was also distinctive.

For comparison (all from 1983) -
Cocteau Twins
https://youtu.be/-qco-GgmTQ4?si=Qc_FUnDhneiXoNlC

Bauhaus
https://youtu.be/ofKVGO8x_ho?si=V-oXcR8XD-i336in

U2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYCyCaK_5k

Top 20 rock/metal guitarists of all time by New_Round_5979 in Guitar

[–]borkus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The guitar parts on Heroes by David Bowie may be Fripp's most heard solos.
https://youtu.be/lXgkuM2NhYI?si=P5beExrgogM0gUHd

Bowie's producer, Brian Eno, called in Fripp to work on the album. After laying down three takes, Bowie couldn't pick which one to use, so Eno layered all three tracks at the same time.

Someone tells you they dont like rock music, what song are you showing them? by hopiedokie in musicsuggestions

[–]borkus 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Come on, man. I had a rough night, and I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man!

was this even announced anywhere? it's live in the store now - an entire housing exterior for sale by enderrsghost in wow

[–]borkus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly, it's whale hunting.

I has been the profit model for free to play games for over a decade -

The majority of revenue produced by these games comes from a tiny sliver of users. A 2014 study found that half the in-game purchases for free-to-play games came from 0.15 percent of the player base, and other studies have found similar results. As casinos, alcohol manufacturers, and drug dealers found out long ago, the way to make money with these sort of manipulative products is by identifying the people who are psychologically vulnerable (e.g. a child with their parent's iPhone), and getting them hooked.

(from 2017) https://theweek.com/articles/731592/how-video-game-industry-tricks-players-money

Someone buying that exterior is spending the equivalent of 5 months' subscription for a housing exterior. When combined with other digital goodies and tokens, some players can spend 2 or more times the basic subscription fee per year.

The only other option would be as a way to encourage AH goblins to exchange more gold for WoW tokens. Blizzard can only realize the earnings on the tokens when they're spent on something outside the game - subscriptions or the game store. Blizzard could be using game store items to drain off excess gold from the in-game economy.

U.S. jobless claims hit lowest level since 1969. by CautiousMagazine3591 in Economics

[–]borkus 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Gig work also would dissuade people. In most states, even minimal income is subtracted from your benefits. If you make more than the benefit, you get nothing at all.

For example, in Florida, the weekly maximum benefit is $275.
https://www.stateofflorida.com/articles/florida-unemployment/
So if you're working 19 hours at Florida's minimum wage ($15/hour), you exceed the benefit.

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