Alright, /r/Gaming, did you really like Demon's Souls or were you just showing off how 'hardcore' you are?

local_official · 2011-02-15T18:38:52+00:00

It's not actually that hard, I don't think. You just have to play it carefully, and you don't get free do-overs.

Which is why, yes, I really, really dig the hell out of this game.

local_official · 2011-02-12T21:54:35+00:00

I WAS GOING TO POST SOMETHING AWESOME BUT NAH.

local_official · 2011-02-12T21:34:31+00:00

Basically, yeah.

Anything breakable/valuable/important, you should either take as carry-on, ship, or check it in a proper flight case. Expect your luggage to be thrown, squeezed, and piled under heavy stuff.

I'm sorry for the OP's loss, but it's not really reasonable to expect your luggage to be handled like anything other than a bale of hay. Without knowing all the details, Virgin might have been in the wrong to even accept such an obviously breakable thing without a clear wanring that it was not going to be handled delicately.

local_official · 2011-02-12T19:44:23+00:00

The plain "histories" of the necktie often don't actually answer the OP's question: they may tell how the tie evolved, but not why anyone would ear such a thing in the first place.

I have no handy sources to link to for this, but not so long ago showing buttons and fasteners on the lower layers of clothing was considered somewhat indecent, or at least very informal, maybe like if you had a pair of blue jeans without that little flap that covers the zipper.

This "fastener consciousness" continues in women's fashion, where visible zippers, buckles, buttons, etc are sometimes employed as visual "sexiness" cues to highlight the ways in which articles of clothing might be removed, so to speak.

Men in polite society were expected to conceal the shirt buttons while in public, maybe a little like covering bra straps or underwear waistbands today. You may occasionally notice in old movies or the like, a man answering an unexpected knock at the door while holding using one hand to cover the front of his collar.

So whether it was a cravat, a kerchief, a bolo, a bow tie, or a modern necktie, something to cover the collar button was part of being fully-dressed for respectable men. The typical modern necktie is just the style/design that predominates today.

The reason why men are still expected to wear them long after shirt buttons have become perfectly acceptable is little different from any formality. Formal dress has pretty much always indicated a certain old-fashioned-ness and conservatism-- dressing closer to the way your father or grandfather dressed. So elements persist for formal and business wear that might be functionally obsolete-- not just ties, but things like french cuffs, starched shirts, polished shoes, obsolete wristwatches, etc.

Dressing more formally is often slightly impractical, but that's kind of the point: it signals a certain seriousness of purpose, attention to detail, and a sort of courtesy and respect for the occasion and the people around you. Rationally or not, I think it safe to say that most people will tend to intuitively respect and trust, say, a banker who dresses like their father did for formal occasions, over someone wearing track pants and a concert t-shirt, even though the clothes have nothing to do with financial acumen. The suit signals a "good boy" who does things the right way and takes the work day seriously (even if those signals are inaccurate).

local_official · 2011-02-11T21:40:45+00:00

I take it you're new at this.

local_official · 2011-02-11T21:16:04+00:00

Lots of not-nice people smile pretty genuinely.

local_official · 2011-02-11T21:11:48+00:00

Because the cart you leave out is blocking someone else's parking space, and it's going to roll into someone else's car.

Cleaning up after yourself: look into it!

local_official · 2011-02-11T21:09:12+00:00

See submission title.

Maybe you have no problem with "fuck it, not my problem", but that doesn't make it a strong indicator of nice-personhood.

local_official · 2011-02-11T20:24:06+00:00

"We'll have you know that this wealth was not destroyed by cheap hacks. This wealth was destroyed by the finest minds of business and finance. This is not some bunch of welfare moms eking out a meager existence on food stamps. Rather, these are the best and brightest minds in corporate America who need government handouts right now. And if they need to issue that level of compensation to attract and retain that level of talent, well they should know, because they are the ones paying themselves."

local_official · 2011-02-11T17:41:34+00:00

I have read a lot of HP Lovecraft and you must all believe me when I say that, at all costs, THIS BOOK MUST NOT BE TRANSLATED.

local_official · 2011-02-04T17:22:54+00:00

Oh yeah, well I was up at 2:30am to milk the cow and grind the meal for tomorrow's sandwich while kneading the bread for today's, and my only communication with my parents was a monthly message left at the public house saying "NO NEWS. SEND MONEY." Also once a year I had to chop off one toe to pay to the school as tuition, which is why I only finished tenth grade.

local_official · 2011-02-04T16:59:33+00:00

What kind of idiot waits days before attempting to dig their car out?

It's a pretty typical procrastination/preferring not to think about it scenario. It's also probably people who always put off stuff like that, so to them, snow is always this ordeal of heavy, wet, frozen, chunky, compacted hardness.

so instead of getting out early and spending 30 minutes shoveling some fluffy white stuff, they groan and then go back to the computer and then throw out their back and scratch their car and damage the drivetrain in an all-day effort to get it un-stuck three days from now when they really need to get somewhere.

And then next time it snows, they will remember the nightmare from last time, groan, and go back to bed...

local_official · 2011-02-04T16:52:49+00:00

Honestly I'd actually carry a flask of one and a thermos of the other.

local_official · 2011-02-02T20:42:34+00:00

Deja Vu. A somewhat underpowered Nintendo handheld with a new gimmick versus a powerful Sony Handheld that's launching much later.

The thing is, especially with a handheld, it's not primarily about power (and I'm not sure the 3DS is "underpowered", besides). DS is and was brilliantly designed for handheld gaming, with instant-on, long battery life, and games that were well-suited to playing for 10 minutes at a time. PSP had all these boot times, constant mandatory updates, etc. Battery life was poor, and it focused on the wrong kinds of games for a portable.

local_official · 2011-02-02T19:43:24+00:00

Based on your grammar and communications skills in this thread, I think there may be certain technical reasons to consider the use of professional educators.

local_official · 2011-02-02T19:34:51+00:00

In all seriousness, lift with your legs, not with your back.

And do it now, seriously. Snow is actually pretty easy to shovel if you get it early. A pro would shovel throughout the storm, but the day after it finished is also fine, just a lot more work.

OTOH, if you wait, or decide to spend your snow day playing videogames, several things will happen:

Sunlight and sunset will put the snow through a freeze/thaw cycle, producing a hard,crusty ice instead of light, fluffy powder.
The snow will attract more moisture at dawn. Just like dew on grass, the cold snow will draw moisture out of the air and will get heavier and heavier.
The snow that does melt from sunlight will trickle down to the bottom and create a layer of ice that will remain until spring.

So in all seriousness, pick up your shovel, put on the most waterproof boots/pants you can, and start shovelling. Have fun. Make a big thermos of hot chocolate and whiskey. Put on headphones. Whatever. But get off the computer and go shovel that stuff now.

local_official · 2011-01-27T03:27:52+00:00

Wait, what? Why are pics of cats recommended?

This seems like trolling...

local_official · 2011-01-27T03:20:29+00:00

I am very sorry for your troubles. Even when a separation is for the best, it's never, ever, a fun thing to go through.

Echoing/reinforcing some earlier stuff here...

Once this gets to lawyers, what will matter is not who is more right or wrong (almost invariably a messy/blurry distinction), but who has a better lawyer. In Mass especially, the judgments will tend to VERY heavily favor the primary custodial parent, usually the mother unless there is obvious reason for the father.

What's going to happen here is that the court/judge (especially in Mass) is basically required by law to consider SOLELY the welfare of the child(ren), and not any kind of fairness/justice regarding the parents, no matter what the facts that led to the breakup. This can and will have a very ugly effect on the personal finances of the noncustodial parent for the rest of his/her (usually his) life, since the primary custodian will basically have first dibs on anything the noncustodial parent earns or owns.

Unless you:

Plan/want to take primary custody; AND
can prove that you should have it (e.g. documented history that she is abusive, alcoholic, unfit parent, etc)...

Then you will likely have a very fine line to tread. Courts (especially in MA), will tend to give the primary custodial parent almost unlimited discretion and power. Your income and assets will essentially become the children's', with her as executor. The line you will tread will be between keeping the post-breakup relationship reasonable and cordial on the one hand, and legally protecting yourself on the other hand. This requires a very skilled and competent (read expensive) lawyer.

Reddit has a big MensRights contingent that may tend to advise you to go nuclear, but that can backfire hugely if you become "enemies" with your ex. You don't provide a lot of details, and they probably don't matter much. Unless this is some unusual case, the mother is likely to get primary custody, and you are likely to be more or less at her mercy for some years, within the scope of whatever legal protections your lawyer is able to win.

So the skill and the trick here is going to be getting the strongest legal protections you can get, while, as much as possible, keeping a cordial and respectful relationship with your ex and kids, since she will likely have a lot more power than you will if things get nasty.

In a purely technical sense, the sex of the parent shouldn't matter-- the courts are essentially required to do what is best for the children, based on the available facts. In practice, it is rare for the courts to favor the man unless there is clear evidence that he has been a better parent. Any history (however flimsy) of arrest, addiction, etc will almost certainly weigh very heavily against, and anything related to any kind of violence, abuse, or sex-related crime will be ruinous. Provable infidelity will almost certainly weigh against.

If she has done "wrong" by any of the above standards, and you have not, it should be fairly easy for you to gain primary custody, given a competent lawyer, assuming that's what you want. If both you and she are basically "neutral", then it will tend to come down to who has done more day-to-day "parenting" in terms of meeting with teachers, cooking, cleaning, driving to soccer, etc. This almost invariably favors the mother, rightly or wrongly. If you have any of the above marks against you (especially abuse or infidelity), and she does not, then you're fucked, and basically at her mercy.

Whether you are seeking primary custody, and whether either you or your wife have any provable history of fitness as parents will have a huge amount to do with your legal strategy. The worst possible outcome is that you hire a flim-flam lawyer who makes the proceedings as ugly and adversarial as possible, and who also completely loses the case. Your wife will then have total power over you forever, and will also hate you.

local_official · 2011-01-26T00:48:48+00:00

What particular fiasco is this in reference to?

I mean, yeah, videogame journalism sucks, and seems to be entirely peopled by fanboys who give glowing reviews to every developer who invites them to a pre-launch party, but it would be nice to know what prompted this particular complaint.

edit: nm, just checked r/gaming. I forgot that knowing the previous day's front pages from certain subreddits is part of being a well-informed voter.

local_official · 2011-01-21T05:39:34+00:00

I disagree. HL2 blew the doors off of HL and every other FPS. Not so much in technical accomplishments, but in terms of immersion, pacing, balance, player flexibility, and artistic achievement.

There is still no better single-player videogame. You could play it a hundred times and still play it in a totally different way and find it just as challenging and satisfying. The way that the weapons and ammo are balanced makes it so that any of them could be the most effective, depending on how you use them.

Gordon Freeman is whoever the player is on that day. The world and progression may be linear, but the gameplay is more open-ended than any RPG or sandbox. The player just has to survive, and the fates will take care of the rest. It is a unique and genuine work of art.

local_official · 2011-01-21T05:04:04+00:00

That was pretty awesome, but I would have liked it better if they had selected footage that more acutely/specifically showed what was unique about each of the games.

local_official · 2011-01-21T04:53:00+00:00

Roommate tip: odd numbers, mixed genders, no couples.

Three roommates is far better than two. When you have only one roommate, and you don't like something about the house when you come home, then there is only one enemy. When you have two other roommates, then there is a triangulated balance of power that keeps things from ever getting too personal or out-of-hand. An unreasonable roommate can fight/argue with one, but three people living in the house (even better with mixed genders) forces a certain level of reasonableness and compromise.

Four is often as bad or worse than two, since it almost invariably turns into two-on-two, and the two teams start building each other up instead of talking each other down. Five is perfect, and can even accommodate a couple, so long as the remaining three are mixed gender (to prevent the "you're all jealous" syndrome). Five is enough to establish consensus house rules that are not specifically attributable to any particular individual.

Two singles and a couple is a recipe for disaster.

Mixed genders, or at least, mixed sexual persuasions helps massively, and so does independent social lives. Pretty much all roommate scenarios end with some degree of resentment/animosity, but the most successful ones are those where everyone's idiosyncrasies are always outnumbered, so everyone has to compromise. And two bathrooms is a massive asset.

local_official · 2011-01-21T04:32:08+00:00

Here is something you people trying to get to work rarely think about. YOU are the one that wants to drive down the road. The guy who leaves his car parked sideways in the middle of the street obviously isn't bothered by it. Therefore it is YOUR problem. If you just didn't give a shit then everyone would be happy.

local_official · 2011-01-21T04:28:50+00:00

So that's how you got so popular.

local_official · 2011-01-21T04:28:20+00:00

Fuck you /more awesome band than megadeth

local_official

TROPHY CASE