The Chat Thread

[mn dave]

Rachel Barton Pine rocks!

http://rock.rachelbartonpine.com/

[ibanezmonster]

Hahaha... any advice?

Spent a few minutes browsing match.com out of curiosity...

Related to this...
I was talking to this nice old lady in my line and then she says, "you're such a handsome young man, I bet you have to fight the women off." 
All I can say is "thank you" and "well, I stay out of trouble..." 
Now I feel weird again... I mean, not going on dates my whole life has felt like a completely normal thing. It's just how it is. And possibly the weirder part of it is that I don't even want to go on a date right now (reasons mentioned above), but only have been thinking about it because it's something that I should do at least before I turn 30 (less than 4 years to go)... Maybe I just have the soul of a modern Japanese person, even though I'm American. 

Pointless personal observation I guess, but whatever. 

[ibanezmonster]

Finished building my PC yesterday, and it's a beast. 
Intel i7 CPU, GTX760 GPU, Corsair 650W PSU, 8 GB RAM, 2 TB Hard Drive, Cooler Master HAF 912 case, DVD drive, ASUS motherboard (had to buy a sound card, though, because onboard sound was dead), not to mention nice speakers, mouse, keyboard, monitor, desk...

Anyone else build their own machine?

[DavidW]

Anyone else build their own machine?

I've considered it, but I am waiting for the video card revolution to happen.  There is a push to really transform the pc scene with video cards that have cpu, gpu integrated into one unit with shared ram.  That and the steam boxes make me want to just wait and see how it unfolds.  Buying something post console launch means that it would not take long before I'm upgrading obsolete equipment imo.

I would need something where the pc is not constantly in flux.  The cool thing about consoles is that they are a fixed point for both end users and developers, there hardware frozen in place for an entire generation.  PC gaming on the other hand is an exercise in frustration, following that peak performance.  I need to see steam boxes where upgrading is not needed.  I need to see change.

[ibanezmonster]

I coulda swore I saw this bumper sticker (it was far away, though) that said "God. Family. Guns." 
Oh, they just meant "Allah. Family with 2 gay dads. Rocket launchers." Ah, okay. 

I've considered it, but I am waiting for the video card revolution to happen.  There is a push to really transform the pc scene with video cards that have cpu, gpu integrated into one unit with shared ram.  That and the steam boxes make me want to just wait and see how it unfolds.  Buying something post console launch means that it would not take long before I'm upgrading obsolete equipment imo.

I would need something where the pc is not constantly in flux.  The cool thing about consoles is that they are a fixed point for both end users and developers, there hardware frozen in place for an entire generation.  PC gaming on the other hand is an exercise in frustration, following that peak performance.  I need to see steam boxes where upgrading is not needed.  I need to see change.

I've never heard of this before...
I think there will always be a crowd that doesn't mind getting the newest stuff every year or few months. But if you buy good enough equipment, it'll last a while. I don't see myself needing to upgrade anything on my PC for another five years, unless I need another GPU for the Oculus Rift.

[Ken B]

Feeling glad to be alive is the good thing!

Overrated.

[DavidW]

I've never heard of this before...
I think there will always be a crowd that doesn't mind getting the newest stuff every year or few months.

I know.  But I'm saying that I'm not that crowd.  And most people are not.

But if you buy good enough equipment, it'll last a while. I don't see myself needing to upgrade anything on my PC for another five years, unless I need another GPU for the Oculus Rift.

You just keep telling yourself that.  I give you two years, three at the most.  You will lose the ability to max out the settings on games.  And at first you won't mind, but it will bug you more and more that you can no longer take pride in your build.  By the time you have to decide upon graphics settings, 60 fps, or resolution you will start to tell yourself that it's time for an upgrade. 

It is a slippery slope.  I've seen people that start with common sense and frugality in mind and end up paying tons of money for that extra ounce of performance.  But even if you don't become like them, you'll still fall victim to the first scenario because everyone does that is serious about PC gaming.  The only people I see that get it worse are audiophiles and videophiles.

[ibanezmonster]

https://www.youtube.com/v/V3ECIJGeGO0

Beautiful interview with a composer who has had the same obsession I've had, but even more intensely and for longer; to the point where it's taken over his life. That obsession is Meshuggah's album, Catch 33.

The passion he has for the album is just nuts, although it's something I personally understand- he's spent years (since 2005) trying to transcribe every note perfectly and create a score of it. When he first heard the music, he was driven like a madman to figure out exactly how it works, and I like how he noted about the rhythms being stimulating to the brain because you are in multiple realms at the same time (one of 4/4 stability, another of irregularity, and the combined world of both, which creates the unique groove).

I would like to add that there is something about this album which is unique and transcendent, as if it were revealing the truth about reality and consciousness. (To be honest, I just think that they got their hands on DMT at some point).  Maybe part of that is the lyrics, which for me have blown away any other lyrics I've ever read from any music ever.

[ibanezmonster]

Is it illegal to make a U-turn at a median? (can't seem to find the answer to that) If so, then I felt like reporting a police officer who did that last night AND less than a minute later failing to pull to the side of the road because of a fire truck.

And a few months ago I saw an officer make a U-turn at a "No U-turn" sign. These people need to set better examples. Their lights were off, so they should be driving like normal people.

[kishnevi]

Is it illegal to make a U-turn at a median? (can't seem to find the answer to that) If so, then I felt like reporting a police officer who did that last night AND less than a minute later failing to pull to the side of the road because of a fire truck.

And a few months ago I saw an officer make a U-turn at a "No U-turn" sign. These people need to set better examples. Their lights were off, so they should be driving like normal people.

In some jurisdictions,  Uturns are allowed if there's no sign saying they're prohibited; in other places it's the reverse.  Of course it's been a long time since I last actually checked on it, but it can vary from city to city and county to county, at least here in Florida.

Perhaps the first police officer was intending to accompany the fire truck?

But police officers do seem to have a general attitude of "rules of the road are for OTHER people."

[ibanezmonster]

In some jurisdictions,  Uturns are allowed if there's no sign saying they're prohibited; in other places it's the reverse.  Of course it's been a long time since I last actually checked on it, but it can vary from city to city and county to county, at least here in Florida.

Perhaps the first police officer was intending to accompany the fire truck?

But police officers do seem to have a general attitude of "rules of the road are for OTHER people."

Not accompanying, since the fire truck was in the other lane, heading toward us. On this same two-way street, the officer basically U-turned from one lane to the other; the only thing that made it possible was that the yellow lines widened to form a median, but there was no sort of turning lane involved at all. It could very well be legal, but it looked illegal and I wouldn't have done it around a cop.

Would be difficult to look that up specifically... I do U-turns often, but I know they are legal ones. But yeah, they seem to have that mindset if they drive like that and every night when I come home I always find at least one person pulled over. It just seems so hypocritical.

[ibanezmonster]

I dreamed I googled "The Five Giants," but my alarm went off before I could see the results. So, I googled it and found this book:

The Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare State Paperback – July 16, 2001
by Nicholas Timmins (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Five-Giants-Biography-Welfare/dp/000710264X

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beveridge_Report

[Moonfish]

another test for Henk

Greg,  i suppose the most pungent way to illustrate the difference is that studying STEM will prepare you to make al iving;  studying humanities will prepare you to live. 

I suppose the best choice is to do as much of both as you can, not necessarily in a formal college setting.  (And in a way, Greg, that's what you're doing.)

Hmm, you posted this on April 1st.....

Why not combine STEM and the humanities in a more elaborate fashion? That is a powerful combination that is lacking way too often. I think the two actually need each other quite a bit. I always think one should consider one's passions before the "job requirements" and salaries.

[Szykneij]

I always think one should consider one's passions before the "job requirements" and salaries.

I agree. People with a passion for what they are doing are usually the ones who get hired, succeed, and are happy with their careers.

[Karl Henning]

Singular?

Adjectival, e.g. scissor kick, a manner of swimming.

[Philo]

Not to say that you ought at all to have done otherwise . . . but I studied music in college, because it was what I wished to study, what I wished to know more of.  Some of us find it worthwhile to pursue a course of study, even if we do not expect that field to be where one earns one's living.

I back this sentiment wholly. It's better to go to school for something that you actually want to do. If you go to school for something you dislike, with only money as a motive, you'll be sorely disappointed.

[mn dave]

get this iphone crack away from me!!   

[Karl Henning]

English words ending in -v? (Which are not either borrowed from another language, nor abbreviations . . . .)

[North Star]

Not borroved, you say?
Chav, spiv, and rev.  ...

[Karl Henning]

Well, rev is ultimately an abbreviation of revolution.

Spiv my dictionary gives as a slangy variant of spiff (itself, dialectish . . . and derived from the slangy spiffy).

Chav, I know not . . . .