Poll of the Day > Geek+: Streaming Nerdy Nostalgia in 480i

(+) Yeah! (+)

The Wave Master posted...

What did everyone get for Christmas?

Giftcards, mostly, because most of my friends and family are lazy assholes. Granted, I will say that there's a certain clarity that comes with giftcards because on some level you can see exactly how much people value you. If they aren't finding something for you and then giving you a tiny giftcard, it speaks volumes about your relationship.

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I like getting gift cards

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I hate gift cards. It's like a restricted form of cash that you forget about half the time and, depending on the state iirc, can expire.

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Zeus posted...

I hate gift cards. It's like a restricted form of cash that you forget about half the time and, depending on the state iirc, can expire.

Someone gave me a $25 gift card to Virgin Megastore once. I proceeded to lose it for like 10 years, and then when I finally found it again, Virgin Megastore no longer existed.
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My brother in law gave us a 25 dollar Amazon gift card. Not sure what to get, but there has to be a cheap video game I can get, or I'm just going to let my wife decide.

But yeah, I don't like gift cards either. They feel lazy and impersonal. Like, "Hey, I like you, but not enough to make the effort to find something personal." Plus, I too forget o have gift cards all the time too. They are just a lazy waste.

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I received about 150 in Amazon gift cards, plus more for Target and Trader Joe's. I picked up a few DVDs I wanted, but I totally need new DVD racks. I'd look at getting a large one, but I sort of need the flexibility that comes from having two or three that can be moved around easily, especially with my limited space in my small 1-bed apartment.

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I got a $30 Amazon gift card and turned it into CDs. Good use of that, IMO.

Also got a new pair of fuzzy slippers. It's the small things in life, folks.

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Oh, between me and my gf, I got a pressure cooker, a blender, some silverware, and I'm looking to buy a Variable DC Power Supply unit with some money.

I've realized that I got really adult-y when I get excited about having more kitchen tools that we need, but, at the same time, whatever, this baby is going to produce so much rice and hardboiled eggs, look out world.

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shadowsword87 posted...

I've realized that I got really adult-y when I get excited about having more kitchen tools that we need

I said years ago that you know you're an adult when people give you socks or underwear as a present and you sincerely appreciate it.

I've also pointed out that I realized I was an adult when I developed an insatiable desire for Ryubi power tools, and I would suddenly be happy whenever I had an excuse to go to Home Depot to just buy household repair stuff.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

I said years ago that you know you're an adult when people give you socks or underwear as a present and you sincerely appreciate it.

I didn't get the white t-shirts I asked for.
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I did get the pair of khakis I asked for

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I got an air fryer from my in laws. I'm super excited to give it a try this weekend. I too believe getting socks, underwear, and T shirts, power tools, and kitchen appliances are a sign of being an adult, and I gladly accept it all.

I also got a toy Millennium Falcon that the cats have claimed as their own. The toy has lights and makes noises so it's fun and they love it...

Funny thing about that damn toy Millennium Falcon is that I got Resident Evil 2 Remake for Christmas, and I started playing, and all of a sudden the damn Falcon starts to make noises scaring the poop out of me.

It's like the cats know when I'm playing and sense the tension. think they know. I'm sure they know. Yup, they're trying to give me a heart attack because they just did it again.

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shadowsword87 posted...

I've realized that I got really adult-y when I get excited about having more kitchen tools that we need, but, at the same time, whatever, this baby is going to produce so much rice and hardboiled eggs, look out world.

I knew I was an adult when I got excited about trying out a new brand of toothpaste.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I said years ago that you know you're an adult when people give you socks or underwear as a present and you sincerely appreciate it.

No matter the age, it's an awful gift. I have a hard enough time finding underwear I like, how could anybody reasonably expect to find it for me? Then socks are the worst.


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I'm comfortable with socks as a present, so long as I can 100% replace my entire sock line, and they're all the same socks.

I don't want to deal with pairing up socks, so I have all of the exact same socks, so they all go out, and then a bunch of new socks come in.

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Gotta get the socks in bulk

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Not to interrupt the riveting and mildly homoerotic conversation about male undergarments, powertools, and kitchen appliances, but how are none of you geeks talking about the season finale for The Mandalorian? Like holy shit.

Despite a few missteps here and there over the season, this last episode redeems it all in full.

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Bulk socks are the only way to go.
My gf likes to have cute socks where she can pair them up, and forgets them most of the time and just mixes and matches because she's tired.

EDIT: No! We must talk about the incredibly mundane things that would make 13 year old me cry.

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I don't have Disney Plus yet

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Metalsonic66 posted...

I don't have Disney Plus yet

Get your shit together, Summer.

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Yer killin' me, Smalls

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Last Christmas my brother was recovering in a nursing facility, and they gave out Christmas gifts to all the residents, and they gave him a pair of socks.

Normally not a bad gift, but he had both of his legs amputated earlier that year. He was super upset that they didn't take the time to get him something that he could actually use.

I miss him, and it was shocked to see him upset over something as he never got upset over anything.

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The Wave Master posted...

Last Christmas my brother was recovering in a nursing facility, and they gave out Christmas gifts to all the residents, and they gave him a pair of socks.

Normally not a bad gift, but he had both of his legs amputated earlier that year.

This sounds like something that would happen on South Park.

Only one pair too? Damn

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A couple of video game related things since sone peeps don't think kitchen. Appliances, dead brother socks, and power tools is Geek enough.

1. I finished the main story in Octopath Traveler today.

It took a long time because it's been a rough year. Anyway, I'm just proud I finished a game. My brother died right in the middle of me playing Spider-man, and I didn't pick up a game for a long time after I finished that game. Now I'm doing the optional side quest dungeons, and I'm having a blast.

2. Because I am handicapped I have the ps4 set up in the bedroom, and I play while I'm sitting on the edge of the bed next to my wheelchair.

The boss lady works a late schedule so sometimes she's asleep when I'm gaining. Other household noises don't seem to bother her, dishes, vacuum, cat death battle at the foot of the bed, but the sound of that ps4 beeping to urn on instantly wakes her up.

She wakes up yells at me and then proceeds to go back to sleep. Never realizing she said anything when I ask her about it later that day.

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The Wave Master posted...

A couple of video game related things since sone peeps don't think kitchen. Appliances, dead brother socks, and power tools is Geek enough.

They're not, but since when have these topics strictly stuck to the theme?

The Wave Master posted...

1. I finished the main story in Octopath Traveler today.

It took a long time because it's been a rough year. Anyway, I'm just proud I finished a game. My brother died right in the middle of me playing Spider-man, and I didn't pick up a game for a long time after I finished that game. Now I'm doing the optional side quest dungeons, and I'm having a blast.

One of these days I'll get around to buying Octopath... although I should probably play some of my other games before buying more new ones.

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Just saw tRoS and I'll say this much. If I went in to it blind, knowing nothing about Star Wars or Jedi or Sith or any established canon, I'd say it wasn't a terrible movie.

That being said, what the fuck did I just watch? That's not how this works. That's not how ANY of this works. Ass-pull doesn't even begin to cover what I just saw.

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The Force, uh, finds a way...

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Zeus posted...

One of these days I'll get around to buying Octopath... although I should probably play some of my other games before buying more new ones.

Well, there is a winter sale on Steam going, and Octopath is 40% off making it a decent price for the entire experience. I have it now, but need the time to actually play it.


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Also back from Rise of Skywalker.

Disappointing, especially from a writing standpoint. The pacing was spastic, to say the least.

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Speaking of Rise of Skywalker, P.O. was right. It turns out that it was Kathleen Lennedy was resp8for changing the screenplay for the film, and bringing The Empreror back. It originally was not the plan, which really should have been the name of this last film.

Star Wars: This Clearly Was Not Originally The Plan.

Although, I like the film a lot still.

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The Wave Master posted...

It turns out that it was Kathleen Lennedy was resp8for changing the screenplay for the film

Uh, what?

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I think that's Broken WaveBot for "responsible."

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Allegedly JJ brought Lucas on to make his cut of the film that had Matt Smith as the villain instead of the emperor and at the end Iger/KK didn't approve it. Though I believe it still would be crap even if JJ had complete control.

I'm sorry, I was sick the other day.

Turns out Kathleen Kennedy was responsible for The Emperor returning in Skywalker.

P.O. was right, and I started the original Breath of Fire yesterday. Boy that game is rough, but fun.

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You keep saying PO was right, but I don't remember saying that.

I remember saying she's responsible for the trilogy sucking because she was hands off and should have been more like Kevin Feige on the Marvel movies, and jokingly alluded to the idea that she was a deliberate saboteur Lucas hired to run Lucasfilm before Disney acquired it to ruin it on them, but I don't remember explicitly saying she was directly responsible for Episode IX being terrible. I mostly blame Rian Johnson for that.



WhiskeyDisk posted...

what the fuck did I just watch? That's not how this works. That's not how ANY of this works. Ass-pull doesn't even begin to cover what I just saw.

I've already given up on the Doctor Who franchise entirely forever. It's not a huge leap to give up on Star Wars forever as well.

It's actually kind of relaxing to stop caring about things. It certainly saves a lot of time for all the shows and movies I'll never bother watching.
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Ever see writing of a self-absorbed awfulness that it makes you feel more self-conscious about the stuff you've written over the years?

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/1342-casuals/77939993

The format for his ideas reminds me a little of how I jotted down ideas in the past (ie, parts of concept, random snippets of dialogue, random scenes, etc, which I later intended to build upon) and just how bad everything is automatically makes me question my own musings.

Korruptor posted...

Matt Smith as the villain instead of the emperor and at the end

Of Doctor Who fame? Oo

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I've already given up on the Doctor Who franchise entirely forever.

I still want to watch it, but it's not on any of the streaming sites I use. Granted, I think I more or less checked out on some level during the season with the Pandoricon or whatever.

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How is the new female Doctor Who? I have like 15 episodes saved on the DVR; and I want to know if it is worth my time. The new season is starting, and I have so many other things to watch, like Good Omens, The Boys, and finishing The Mandalorian.

Has anyone seen it, and is it worth our time?

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It starts sort of OK, gets preachy and on-the-nose with one or two political matters, and the Doctor herself has trouble taking charge of so many situations unlike her previous incarnations. Apparently Chibnall saw and heard enough complaints that he's making the next season more DW-like in nature, with a running theme and what-not. We'll see, but hopes are a mixed bag covered in years' worth of filth.

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I need to get more of the Big Finish audio dramas for Doctor Who. Love my Eighth Doctor stories. But I have not bothered watching any of the show since ... late David Tennant and early Matt Smith, perhaps? (When my kids still lived here, one of them hogged the main TV and marathoned DW to death, so I developed a distaste for large swaths of it.) And many people told me not to bother with the Peter Capaldi arc, despite how much I adore that man (and In the Thick of It).

The Wave Master posted...

I started the original Breath of Fire yesterday. Boy that game is rough, but fun.

Underrated. I love the original BOF. Alas, my SNES copy was "borrowed" by a friend back in '97, and it remains missing to this day (along with Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, so that asshole owes me over $100 U.S.), but I picked up the GBA version as soon as I discovered its existence.

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ParanoidObsessive posted...

I remember saying she's responsible for the trilogy sucking because she was hands off and should have been more like Kevin Feige on the Marvel movies, and jokingly alluded to the idea that she was a deliberate saboteur Lucas hired to run Lucasfilm before Disney acquired it to ruin it on them, but I don't remember explicitly saying she was directly responsible for Episode IX being terrible. I mostly blame Rian Johnson for that.

Most people seem to think KK is responsible for most of the boondoggle that is the ST, so if you want anyone one person having complete control, it'd probably best not to be her. At the same time, no single entity having complete control was the first and most obviously predictable fuck-up for the ST, so perhaps controlled shit would have been better than chaotic shit.

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Entity13 posted...

It starts sort of OK, gets preachy and on-the-nose with one or two political matters

The impression that I get is that the full-on headlong rush into SJW pandering isn't really what makes the new stuff terrible, as much as they combine the preachiness with god-awful writing. So the end result feels like a Tumblrite hitting you in the face with a sledgehammer while screaming about privilege.

Politics or ideology you disagree with can still make for a good story if it's done well, but minimal effort and/or arrogance strawmanning tends to result in people turning off.

But again, I stopped watching about five years ago, so I have no first-hand experience to really judge from. Only comments from people whose opinions I tend to trust, and the occasional video or article I see talking about how a given episode is terrible (the one that apparently existed solely to shit on a Trump analogue character being a major one there).
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While I have an interest in DW, the problem with watching those particular seasons is contributing to a problem through participating in viewing; basically the only way to respond to SJW seasons is to take a SJW approach to problematic content and avoid it completely.

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Oh, in other news, I was in my local Walgreens and noticed either the newest or a recent MtG expansion: The Throne of Eldraine. I have to take my hat off to WotC/Hasbro, even the name is pure geekbait (and that's not even counting the generic fantasy mage-knight chick on the cover-art). I was tempted to pick up a pack right on the spot.

And just googling it (because I wanted to make sure I got the name right) geekbaited me even harder with the new card design.
https://media.wizards.com/2019/eld/en_Zx0iMNIVbb.png

...granted, it seems to be tied into some mechanic for the set. Was pretty disappointed to learn that *all* of the card designs weren't like that. Most of the rest is the more recent generic-looking garbage card designs. Hell, even the art is nicer on the storybook-design cards; it almost looks like a throwback to older sets like when WotC had artists like Melissa Benson with the company before they replaced her work with soulless (but higher-detailed) art.

At any rate, I can't see every getting back into MtG, partly just on the basis of cost. (Not that I probably couldn't build a perfunctory inexpensive deck from newer stuff, but more because I kinda like the collectible aspect as well between the artwork and lore.)

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Zeus posted...

The Throne of Eldraine

It's their set like Arabian Nights was waaay back in the day. Arabian Nights was mostly based on stories out of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights, whereas The Throne of Eldraine is deliberately based on Grimm's Fairy Tales and Arthurian myth.



Zeus posted...

At any rate, I can't see every getting back into MtG, partly just on the basis of cost. (Not that I probably couldn't build a perfunctory inexpensive deck from newer stuff, but more because I kinda like the collectible aspect as well between the artwork and lore.)

Preconstructed decks are actually pretty competitive these days, so you could easily buy one for relatively cheap and play friendly games and not lose 100% of the time. You'd be worse off in the competitive scene, but I feel like the competitive scene is pretty much entirely unfun and no one should ever aspire to play it anyway.



Zeus posted...

And just googling it (because I wanted to make sure I got the name right) geekbaited me even harder with the new card design.

...granted, it seems to be tied into some mechanic for the set. Was pretty disappointed to learn that *all* of the card designs weren't like that.

They do unique card types every set or so. Like, for instance:

http://media.wizards.com/2018/dom/en_4c13RzPQap.png
http://cdn.pucatrade.com/cards/fulls/sm/38618.jpg

Those are "Saga" cards. The idea being that they symbolize a story taking place over time, with the card doing something different each turn, before ending after a short time (unlike most Enchantments, which stay until dispelled).

They've also had two-sided cards you flip during play (which is kind of shit, because you can't actually use them in your deck because they don't have backs, meaning you have to use proxy cards to represent them):

http://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51GfBc6NabL._SX300_.jpg
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/mtg/images/b/b5/Magic-The-Gathering-Innistrad-Daybreak-Ranger.jpg

Though that mechanic inspired this fan art, so I approve:

http://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/61a715c4-0d39-483e-be12-ec6348ccb957/d5fgrts-f96be3e0-9547-4164-972c-d69869e6916b.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwic3ViIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTpmaWxlLmRvd25sb2FkIl0sIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiIvZi82MWE3MTVjNC0wZDM5LTQ4M2UtYmUxMi1lYzYzNDhjY2I5NTcvZDVmZ3J0cy1mOTZiZTNlMC05NTQ3LTQxNjQtOTcyYy1kNjk4NjllNjkxNmIuanBnIn1dXX0.8UKarD_Z_-lJBvaYBAelT0He2nIJaqKKi9ds5umETJ0
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Yeah but can they handle Mirror Force?

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I listen to several of my coworkers talking about Magic: The Gathering, and it now sounds like it takes a degree in particle physics to make these modern-day Rube Goldberg decks work. Makes me miss the days when all I had to do was figure out how to make the most of my cheap-o Fallen Empires cards.

I remember the Arabian Nights expansion, though. Even back in the day, I usually only saw those cards under glass.

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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Preconstructed decks are actually pretty competitive these days, so you could easily buy one for relatively cheap and play friendly games and not lose 100% of the time. You'd be worse off in the competitive scene, but I feel like the competitive scene is pretty much entirely unfun and no one should ever aspire to play it anyway.

I've never been a fan of precons, plus the collectibility and customization aspects are of greater interest. If I just wanted to play in general, I still have my older decks.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

They do unique card types every set or so. Like, for instance:

Yeah, but at a glance, I thought it was something more than that. The card design change was among my major disenfrachisements.


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I_Abibde posted...

all I had to do was figure out how to make the most of my cheap-o Fallen Empires cards.

No one could ever make the most of those cards. It's pretty much the worst set they've ever released, possibly barring Homelands. And Homelands, for all its suck, actually had a few awesome cards hidden away in there.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

No one could ever make the most of those cards. It's pretty much the worst set they've ever released, possibly barring Homelands.

Hey, for a broke teenager in '95, Fallen Empires was all right. It just wasn't competitive. Like, at all.

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Nah, I WAS a mostly broke teen in '95, and I knew it was shit then. I actually paid more per pack to a local guy who was gouging people for leftover Dark boosters, and then eventually Ice Age happened and it was awesome.
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On that, I agree. Ice Age was a great expansion. Certainly good enough to kick the crap out of my Fallen Empires decks, heh. It was also a nice change after Tempest, which was the 'in' thing when I started trying to play.

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