Lurker > wpot

Mead posted...

Lately I have been really into any kind of bourbon or whiskey flavors added to ice cream or cold drinks, its a great combo imo

That sounds interesting. I should try

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

LinkPizza posted...

But if it could, Im not sure Id like it

I don't miss the commute and I'm generally an introvert so I don't need a lot of interaction: I'm happy being here most of the time. Buut...SOME contact would be nice. Also, I used to be the "personable engineer" who could resolve disputes at in-person meetings: it's not quite so clear what purpose I have in this environment. Working on that.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

That sounds good in place of the smoke weather we've been having for weeks now. Could use some moisture here.

Anyways, early morning walks (often humid but quiet like you're describing here) are nice...if you can manage to be awake for them.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

LinkPizza posted...

Quite a few people, tbh

Oh I know. Just trying to rile people up on the internet, I suppose. :)

In all honesty I wish my department would identify an in-office day once per week so I could see the people I work with, but as is...I sit by myself at home. I COULD go in, but there's nobody there...so I don't see much of a reason to do so.


---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Who leaves for work anymore? It takes me 5 minutes between the time I wake up and the time I arrive at my desk to begin work.

Way back in the old days when I had to drive it was 25-30 minutes. Get up, shower, go.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

I turn it on intentionally, mostly because I dont have cable and its just about the only sports I can see. I kinda like watching the niche skill sports, but dont care much about the non-spectator-friendly (swimming) or scored (diving) sports.

I guess 6?

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Trying to think of any reason I would really care as an Americanyeah, not really. But if anyone in either country cares Id be happy to keep the status quo for $100,000.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Well, it's somewhere inbetween. So far as I can tell she has the gymnastic equivalent of the yips, i.e. when a baseball player (usually second baseman) loses confidence and can't make the simple throw from 2nd to 1st.

If she's mentally out of sorts that way, knows it, and will probably fail...then yeah, she might as well withdraw.

Should the media praise her for "taking care of her mental health", though? No, I don't think that's the correct phrasing: that makes it sound like she has/had a long running issue and a break will help. Quitting on a stage of this size would, I imagine, set in the "yips" mindset more firmly. If it is as it appears I can give her credit for doing what might be best for her team under the circumstances, but it's not the "yea, mental health is being recognized" kind of story the media wants.

Hopefully she'll figure it out!

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Well I understand he regrets the shows went past the books in interviews. That said, it sounds like he also signed a deal with HBO to do prequels, so


---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

~thumbs up~

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

I must not be organizing my thoughts clearly enough. The above is more or less exactly what I meant by:

wpot posted...

It's a weakness built in to the medium without strong source material or detailed plan.

...so agreed! It's possible, but the pressures of regular episodes, fan opinions, lazy writers, etc usually overtake any plans the writers may have started with. STRONG plans are rare.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

One could argue that their main flaw was that they got lost in the idea of having little moments or cool scenes, but never really thought about how they all flowed together as part of the larger narrative.

Which is the primary reason that, IMO, almost all TV series with continuing plots don't work very well. Lost would be the poster child. I you aren't going somewhere then you're just trying to get me to watch next week via fan service or something else: that doesn't do anything for me in the long run. It's a weakness built in to the medium without strong source material or detailed plan.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

LinkPizza posted...

You can. It just wont be school functions and stuff

Where I live the non-full-time options are poor for most sports/activities that my soon-to-be teenager would be interested in.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

@EvilMegas That's what I was saying in the last part of my quoted sentence, wasn't I?

I suppose the way I structured the sentence was a bit misleading. I fully agree, though: no source material = no complexity of thought.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

I worked in the backroom of a furniture store at 16 and mowed lawns before that. Given that I didn't work many hours (just picked up a few shifts) I think it was good for me.

I also avoided sports/commitments that required everyday attendance, as that burned me out instantly, so I had time to work. I believe those are a problem for American society right now. Either you devote your teenage years to one activity...or you don't have activities. What's wrong with enjoying a sport twice a week? Not everyone needs to try and make the pros.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

I have read the books: I'm on my third time through right now, actually. They're great, although the fifth wanders a bit.

However, I didn't watch the shows and am not at all surprised that people didn't like the ending. The series is based on a complicated world with complicated morality, which is exactly the sort of thing that TV fails to get across, especially if they're driving for some sort of happy series ending without source material to guide them. It was doomed to failure once ol' George stopped making progress, and now his all time classic ends with TV trash unless he manages to write the ending the series deserves.

Your fans were right all along, George!

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

11110111011 posted...

I finished it when I was like 7 without a guide. Unless you are counting the original documentation that came with it as a guide.

Well, there used to be something called Nintendo Power. It wasn't really a "guide", per se...but it told you how to do the couple things you were less likely to figure out on your own (the repeating forest, the location of the Master Sword, etc). Most people enjoying Zelda either had NP or had a friend who did. Were you in that group?

Regardless of your answer, I'm not dumping on you: spending hours on trial and error wasn't unusual in the NES era...and when you discovered something after all of that work is was pretty awesome. That feeling of great discovery is more or less lost in today's RPGs.

Anyways, Zelda is a great NES game, but I would vote for LTTP as being closest to Zelda perfection.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Ehhh. I really SHOULD like Chrono Trigger: I grew up on Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy and love both. I'm also a sucker for good music, and CT has several strong tracks.

Buuut...I didn't play it when it came out. I tried to go back several times and it just never grabbed me. I didn't find either the battle/leveling system or the characters/storyline to be deep enough to engage me outside of a couple segments (Frog, etc). I WANTED to like it, but I find it merely OK.

I'm wrong, I know.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

The problem with kittens is that they turn into cats. But theyre cute until then. :)

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

?? Thatsinteresting. How do you figure?

After Pearl Harbor I dont think much excuse was needed to want to fight the Japanese. Also, sure, they werent hosting the Holocaust, but they were doing some extremely nasty things in China also.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Mead posted...

dude have you ever actually watched a fucking Disney movie

Indeed I have. They add lore and visuals from lots of localities, but the smiley personalities are very American. That's not BAD for an American company, it just sets up my next point.

Coco, which was recognizably Pixar (as opposed to classic Disney), used personalities that seemed better matched to the locale IMO.

Mead posted...

argh I cant believe disney keeps portraying positive yet relatable characters for young girls, the nerve

Argh, unnecessary overreaction!

ArvTheGreat posted...

Can the movie onward be added in to the list

That one was solid with fresh character personalities...although, again, it was Pixar. Great movie.

They're all great movies. My point is simply that Raya was perhaps a bit more good than great in part because the character tropes are getting a bit stale. Also, the strong "don't be so polarized" message didn't quite work for me. It's easy to get along if there are external threats. If I were to blindly trust others to share my values and not take advantage of me without a threat...yeah, not right now.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

adjl posted...

I mean, not having seen Raya yet, I can still tell that she's also water-themed, and that the movie's central conflict involves her recognizing and acting against a growing threat that her traditionalist society isn't willing or able to deal with, partnering with a divine being who isn't as powerful as she expects and learning how to work with and around that limitation. The fact that they're both ethnic is pretty secondary to identifying them as similar.

Yes, this (although Raya isn't water themed so much as the dragon) and even more to the point Moana and Raya have very similar personalities and values. The Anna/Moana/Raya determined-and-effective-but-pleasantly-perky princess character is a good one, but it's now overdone. Frankly, it also would have been better if the ethnic differences went more than skin deep, but as is they're all recognizable Americans if you close your eyes. I don't want to give them too hard a time - they're good movies - but it's a fair criticism.

And before someone tries to call me on it, yes, many ethnicities can be American...of course. But non-American viewpoints (be they Anna's Norwegian or what have you) could mix things up a little.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Clench281 posted...

Moana is fantastic
Raya was ok
Coco is amazing
Haven't seen Luca

This. But yeah, the Moana and Raya characters felt too close.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Gross...sorry on behalf of males. :/

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Blightzkrieg posted...

He's such a boring pointless character in the show too.

Spoilers are for all of season 2.

Unpopular opinion, I hate that they retconned him to be a mandalorian. Ironically, the fact that he was just a normal dude had become what made him stand out.

if he had said he was a mandalorian, tagged along for a couple episodes, then backstabbed Djin and been like "lulz my dad killed six hundred mandalorians and stole their armour cause they're fucking lame" I would have been a million times more into his revival.

Three things there:
1) Agreed. If he had to show up I would like that backstory better.
2) I still wish he didn't show up at all. It makes Mando seem less and less special.
3) Of course, the whole show was rather obviously built to follow "a Boba clone" from the start and give his kind a backstory. (Well...not a clone in the Jango/Clone Wars sense, of course - that's been done) If wouldn't make much sense for Boba to be different if he turns out to be alive, as I think everyone assumed he must have been one.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

papercup posted...

How did Boba survive the sarlacc :0

That was a bit of a shark-jumping moment for me. I hate it when dead characters are revived just because they're good characters.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

I used to shower in the morning. Post covid in the new perma-remote work worldwho the hell knows?

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

As with anything, being absolute about it isn't wise. Some restaurants are gross, but you can generally tell which those are. Many restaurant items are unhealthy, but you can go/order whatever you like (even though the healthy stuff is likely more expensive).

I don't see anything wrong with twice per week. (Or more, if the budget allows and you develop the ability to cook on your own at some point)

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

zebatov posted...

The people can regulate themselves

I seriously doubt that: they're going to pass on self-interest in order to address a greater good? I don't see much evidence for that. Regardless, the word "regulated" in a constitution would heavily imply a government role in said regulation.

As for the definition, sure, it's a group of people that form a military force for...some reason. That is a broad enough definition to encompass more or less any group of people getting together with weapons.

As for the government and "terrorist", now you're touching on the absolutism that is ruining everything right now. Both right wingers and left wingers are guilty here. Yes, the government has problems that would meet the definition of some bad things: outright "terrorist" is a stretch, but whatever.

Point being: it took hundreds of years to build the government and traditions that we have. Do you see an alternative to our system that is something you would like to have? If not, it would be wise to focus your rhetoric on the portion of the government you believe is in need of reform. There are certainly options available.

I don't want to see a mob of people who were whipped up by incendiary - but limited - issues (abortion, guns, whatever from either the left or right viewpoints) break our entire system and destroy everything that DOES work without a plan for something better. But nobody appears to think any further than "I hate these issues: burn the whole thing down!" Life isn't that easy.

Of course, the reality is that the system is going to break on it's own under the weight of greed and partisanship unless there's another WWII or something to remind us why we need to get along.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

EvilMegas posted...

Because employees aren't fucking cops. It's not their job to confront thieves.

No, but they can call the cops if that's the store policy. If they choose to let it go, makes no difference to me.

Well, no difference except that I would hate to be the only chump buying stuff in a constantly-robbed store where everything is marked up 20% to cover thievery. I don't think we're there yet, but...

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

adjl posted...

This is pretty much how I apply it, too. It's never a sure thing, by the nature of random chance, but this is all you really need to do to be able to say "it'll probably take me about this long." If you want to be really thorough about that, you can figure out the standard deviation on that and get an even better idea of how long it'll probably take (it follows a normal distribution, so you've got a 68% chance of being within one SD of the 50% mark and a 95% chance of being within two), but all you really need is to evaluate whether or not farming a given drop is going to be worthwhile, and you don't need really detailed probabilities for that.

Right. Of course my focus on 50/50 tricks my brain into expecting to get a drop around 178 tries for my 1/256 odds and makes me mad when I hit 400 without seeing anything, even though 400 tries is far from rare for 1/256. To calm myself down (and out of boredom) I multiply it out:

75% odds after 178 x 2 = 356 tries.
87.5% odds after 178 x 3 = 534 tries, etc etc.
...which is more or less the same as standard deviations without using the formal terms.

Sometimes that makes me feel better. Other times... :)

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Yeah, I dunno. People are going to be concerned about whatever the newest form of entertainment is, whether it was TV in the 50s or roller skating around the 1900s. Right now it's video games.

ANY entertainment is going to have a negative effect on a person's development (and, ultimately, their happiness) if they spend 99% of their free time doing it. But no entertainment is going to be a problem if it's played with friends or played as part of a more balanced life.

To go further, video games COULD be viewed more like books or "quality" TV if there were a few more games with intelligent adult interactions and storylines. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much demand for such things (or companies willing/capable of producing them, maybe). The real problem is the internet and smartphones which, despite all of their benefits, have reduced people's attention span to about 5 seconds and kept them in a state or more or less permanent semi-distraction. (I'm not exempting myself from that) Video games which appeal to that mindset have amplified the problem.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

It's situational. Some desperate-looking lady walking out with food? No. Some guy carrying out a armload of electronics? I probably tell someone in the store. Capitalism has problems, but the solution is to reform it...not destroy all social norms and burn it down without a better plan. There are worse systems.

But I'm not going to tackle someone either way.


---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

As a video gamer, I find the only thing I really need to know is that there's a 50/50 chance of getting a drop that I want after I try 69% of the "1 in ___" times. (Which is a specific usage of the equation in the above post)

For example, if something has one of those old 1 in 256 drop rates I'll have a 50/50 chance of getting what I want after killing 178 of them. (I wish I didn't know that off the top of my head)

For 1 in 9 odds you'll need to try 6.25 times ON AVERAGE. Of course, you might get it on your first try...or 50th.


---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

I mean, if I were creating new awards today I would probably tie them to roles. Maybe "Lead" and "Supporting", although those have always been rather confusing. "Best Superhero"? "Best love interest"? "Best horror victim"?

That said, getting rid of the "gendered" roles now with their long history would just make the Oscars even more irrelevant than they already are.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

papercup posted...

Watched the first 2 episodes. What the hell? Disney is actually capable of producing a good Star Wars thing? I'm shocked! Shocked!

I had the same reaction. Credit to Favreau.

It stays solid through season 2, although as mentioned it loses some steam once it shifts away from doing "it's own thing" and starts integrating more into the known storylines/characters.

papercup posted...

Oh also I like how The Marshal's speeder bike is one of the engines from Anakin's old Podracer

The smaller subtle stuff like that is what works the best.

wolfy42 posted...

Jedi were still fairly rare even before the purge. Remember in many jedi missions in shows before that, people still had never seen a jedi until the show/movie. Just because Yoda is well known to us (from movies) doesn't make him well known to everyone in the universe. Even Vader (who was arguably the most known/feared jedi/sith) wasn't known most places he went (if you read the comics at least).

I can generally agree with this, but when they start visiting primary locations from the Star Wars franchise the lack of knowledge does feel a bit stretched.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

zebatov posted...

So no, he isnt. And yes, you can.

What that link says is that the amendment was not followed up by laws that specifically regulated cannons/etc. What that link DOESN'T address is the central point: i.e. whether the language of the amendment ALLOWS for the government to pass such a law if they wanted to. In the context of a REGULATED militia, yes, it appears to...which would be the Democrats' point. There's no reason whatsoever to use the word "regulated" in that sentence if such laws were not foreseen by the founders.

We could possibly argue about whether the word "regulated" applies to individuals versus groups (militias), however, given that individuals turn into groups constantly the distinction is likely meaningless in practice.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Nichtcrawler X posted...

Are you calling me nobody?

Apparently so. :)

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

MeteoricBurst posted...

You'd be surprised how good cold sweet potato pie tastes. I actually prefer it now over having it warm. Potato salad can go either way.

Well, I doubt that would do it for me...but I haven't tried so who knows?

Potato salad ranges from "bleh" to "OK" for me. I'm usually disappointed to see it at the BBQ potluck.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Mead posted...

Yeah you gotta go with all beef hot dogs in my experience otherwise its just a big bologna noodle

*Signs*

Wranglers used to be the only ones I would eat, but I'm not sure if they make those anymore. Hebrew National are OK.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

And yet, despite calling them "phones" and everyone having them, nobody makes phone calls.

It takes my 11-yr-old a minimum of half of an hour to make a plan to go to someone's house because they insist on doing it over text. If two friends are involved it may or may not happen in a day.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Mead posted...

Most potato salad is gross. Potatoes should be hot dangit.

*Signs*

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

They ignore you the way you ignored me? For shame.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

papercup posted...

Trump literally encouraged American citizens to try to violently overthrow an election because he lost fair and square.

Literally? OK, to be fair...no, not literally. I can't think of a case where Trump said anything policy-related or otherwise meaningful in "literal" clear English. Everything that comes out of his mouth is designed to work exactly as planned on his base at an emotional level...but not be taken literally. Demagogue 101.

Soo...yes, he whipped up a group of people into a raving frenzy with tales of stolen elections and told them that the people who were persecuting him so badly were just over there. But he didn't TELL them to attack them! I guess it's OK to yell fire in a packed theater after telling everyone on the way in that a fire is possible.

And as long as we're on the subject, read this again:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The right loves to forget the first half of that sentence. The whole amendment is written in the context of a well-regulated militia! If that had been written in anything close to modern English is would read something like "The right of people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed with the goal of maintaining a well-regulated militia". Do you think the founders would allow unstable Joe Sixpack to own a dozen cannons? No - that doesn't sound very well-regulated to me. Biden is exactly on point.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

People should advocate for a fitting place in society for themselves given their skills (and basic needs). Pushing beyond that is a problem, though. Ambition needs limits.

So yes, although "embarrassment" isn't the worst of it.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

LinkPizza posted...

Mead posted...
I want to try scrapple it looks and sounds really tasty

You should. I love it!

I've:
1) Never met anyone who knew what it was and
2) Didn't like it after they tried it

Lokarin posted...

Is scrapple the same as offaloaf?

I....couldn't say, although if you're thinking of the "pinch" version...then no. :)

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

LinkPizza posted...

I love scrapple and eat it every time I visit home. My grandma cooks it for me

Excellent. We took over the cooking duties a few years ago in the wpot family.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Pikazard1 posted...

cheesy scrambled eggs with scrapple

I didn't know anyone other than my family ate scrapple until now. It's what we have on the mornings of major holidays. Do you go with corn meal-Jimmy Dean loaf baked with an egg on top? Or something else?

According to the scrapple Wikipedia entry...
The mush is formed into a semi-solid congealed loaf...
.....yesss, that's the stuff. :)

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

Tom Hanks in The Terminal?

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.

shadowsword87 posted...

American cheese is to other cheeses as sausage is to other meats.

That is an insult to sausage.

I probably have to go with ye olde filet mignon, medium rare, with buttery-garlicy mashed potatoes. But good sushi is up there also.

---

Pronounced "Whup-pot". Say it. Use it.