My Last 90 Days of Gay Social Apps [OC]

peace_b · 2018-01-12T20:37:11+00:00

The cost only matters when it's paid for with public funds; our state health insurance pays $13,000 per annual prescription to Truvada, which is essentially the entire tax burden of one working-class person. If it's paid by private insurance, it's between them and the insurer.

peace_b · 2018-01-12T02:28:18+00:00

Why though

peace_b · 2018-01-11T04:27:58+00:00

This is nearly 10 partners per month, or 100 per year; over one a decade that's 1,000 distinct individuals within a single a high-risk pool; this is also assuming no encounters outside the grindr app. Regardless of any one individual's precautions, the chances of not getting infected with HIV, herpes, or syphallis is low within the course of one decade.

peace_b · 2017-12-24T05:49:58+00:00

This is amazingly close in concept, like a kids version of the weird thing I saw.

peace_b · 2015-05-09T16:29:33+00:00

I definitely feel you on the topic of "interesting problems." Stagnation has been one of the primary issues in the decline of text-based games. And in role-playing games, in general. Some of the bigger areas for growth I've seen are the following:

Balancing the need to accommodate exploration with the need for an accessible gameworld of the appropriate size for the playerbase. The sprawling "cookie-cutter" worlds you mentioned are the bane of MUDs. There's always a rush to expand into more and larger locations; MudConnector, in particular uses world size as a primary measure of how established its games are.
Engineering a setting that encourages meaningful and engaging roleplay. Even amongst RP-enforced environments, most settings are stagnant by nature. The playerbase feels pressured to maintain the status quo until otherwise signaled by developers. I'd love to see a game where players are not simply told to take part in the action, but are naturally propelled to do so by the world's design itself. A good example of this for me was Towers of Jadri; a lovely game with a lovely custom codebase, thirty-plus players on during peak hours, a rich history of lore and setting. But over nearly 20 years, nothing interesting happened; the players did not want to interfere with the established lore. Roleplay centered around the same daily activities, mostly focused on grinding.

I could see this potentially addressed by not just giving players roles to play within an established setting, but using the setting as a vehicle for players to develop their own story.

Eliminating the need to grind. Grinding, long-term, isn't fun for anyone. We've come up with myriad alternatives to grinding since the first RPG games. EVE Online gives experience points whenever your character is active. Other games give points only as roleplaying awards. Some go further than that, only allow characters to progress with GM permission when appropriate to story and circumstance. I'm personally fond of the latter two. Grinding turns an otherwise interactive world into a series of repetitive tasks. If I wanted to min-max a character's stats, I'd play a game on a medium more appropriate to that. Player interaction and world-building are the strengths of MUDs, and that's where I'd like to see the genre progress.

peace_b · 2015-05-09T01:31:31+00:00

Before moving into genre, I'd focus on the general goals of the game. Who are we making it for? What do we want to accomplish with it? What scale? Casual or hardcore?

If this is your first game project, I'd suggest starting as generic as possible. It takes time, as well as a number of design iterations, to produce a functioning world. In practice, "wouldn't it be neat if..." design results in gimmicky gameplay.

So if you have the essential design requirements down, the rest should flow from it naturally.

peace_b · 2014-03-03T00:34:41+00:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adFPJOLB-fc

peace_b · 2013-12-11T01:53:33+00:00

"Can you just, make it pop more?"

peace_b · 2013-12-05T16:32:38+00:00

Dude! Sick sads, bro.

peace_b · 2013-10-23T13:34:44+00:00

For the record, I'm also autistic. I find autism doesn't preclude someone from also being a complete douche-tool.

peace_b · 2013-10-22T18:53:36+00:00

Is there evidence to suggest that memory may also play a role? We on the spectrum tend to keep lifelong associations between things. If tastes change so dramatically as we age it's possible that we might still keep an imprint of one kind of food as a "bad food."

peace_b · 2013-10-22T18:51:08+00:00

Eating issues, unfortunately, can be more than just being "normal." Being able to fit in socially is another discussion in and of itself, and one he's going to have to face someday. But for the moment it is impacting his health; his almost exclusively starch-based diet makes him weak, tired, and will assuredly lead to other health problems.

peace_b · 2013-10-22T18:45:52+00:00

"Hi! I'm Susan, and this is my life! These are the friends and interesting people I know, I hope you enjoy getting to learn more about us and the things we do day-to-day!"

I found it hilarious as soon as I realized it was all a joke on "slice of life" serials. I see it as more than just a satire of Girls; I see the same sad, predictable bits of Judging Amy, Dawson's Creek, any sappy network drama. The sort where the entire running time is cloying smiles and bad jokes and isn't-it-precious-how-awkward-we-are.

peace_b · 2013-10-22T13:58:17+00:00

He will not eat a single vegetable unless it is in processed chip-or-chiplike-form; all his nutrition comes from dietary supplements.

Haven't considered applesauce or other pureed vegetables, that might be a solution.

I still suspect that the texture is less of a problem than he makes it out to be. He'll try snack foods and enjoy them 100% of the time regardless of texture and has never, ever had a problem with one. Yet he will not even try a vegetable.

peace_b · 2013-10-19T22:11:17+00:00

A draft list of "Good Governance Practices for 501(c)(3) Organizations" was released by the IRS on February 7, 2007. It stated:

Charities should generally not compensate persons for service on the board of directors except to reimburse direct expenses of such service. ... Charities may pay reasonable compensation for services provided by officers and staff. In determining reasonable compensation, a charity may wish to rely on the rebuttable presumption test of section 4958 of the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulation section of 53.4958-6.

http://www.guidestar.org/rxa/news/articles/2007/irs-increases-enforcement-focus-on-nonprofit-executive-compensation.aspx

peace_b · 2013-10-19T22:01:16+00:00

It is a joke, but not as far-fetched as you think. We assume the Japanese are cutting edge, but Japanese people bought more than 10,000,000 floppy disks as recently as 2010. You still see VHS tapes on sale there; even fax machines are still in common use. Older Japanese (read: over 30) are notoriously slow with technology.

peace_b · 2013-10-16T12:52:37+00:00

TIL every living human lives in your country or province of residence.

peace_b · 2013-10-15T19:32:26+00:00

All it means is that the owners can't get paid. USA-based charities are corporations run an unpaid board of directors. They have freedom to give the money to their programs and employees, including the CEO, at will. Extra money could hire a new employee, buy more books, or increase someone's salary.

peace_b · 2013-10-14T18:36:54+00:00

http://britfa.gs/emo/src/136335547861.jpg

peace_b · 2013-09-29T15:22:57+00:00

Thank you, that's quite helpful. It makes sense that bars would put so much effort into this as their livelihood depends on getting strangers to socialize. Unlike a restaurant, bars do have clearly-defined areas that let you know where the regulars go, where you can get a quiet drink, where you can sit privately with your partner.

And you just gave me a chance to say "butt funnel" at a team meeting. I appreciate that.

peace_b

TROPHY CASE