General

Within the next few generations, it is inevitable that China or India (most likely China) will supplant the US as the "Leader of the Free World". There was a PowerPoint (now a video) that came out about 20 years ago (and it frequently updated) that is kind of a "did you know" of eye-opening facts. China will soon become the largest English speaking country. India has more honor students than the US has students.https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=did+you+know+...

It used to be that one competed with others from their state or their country for the best jobs, but now you are competing with students from all around the world.

An episode of Adam Ruins Everything explains how China is situated to be the world leader in manufacturing a lot of products because of its large, inexpensive workforce, government support of education and training, and location in regards to receiving raw materials and shipping products. https://econ.video/2020/09/21/adam-ruins-manufactu...

i wouldn’t worry about it

DrizzDrizzDrizz wrote:

hahaha...this made me lol...well done :D

I love Adam Ruins Everything. Kinda forgot about him until recently. Found him on TikTok and the dude is unfiltered, and awesome on there! Looks like his show was moved to HBO Max and he has a Netflix satire that I definitely want to watch (may do that tonight).

But yeah ... the good ol' USA is feeling less and less healthy in many ways as of late.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDrfE9I8_hs

I miss ice cream trucks. In south Texas it was an almost everyday thing.

When we lived in FL, there was an ice cream truck that would come around our neighborhood semi-regularly. Since we moved though, we haven't seen a single one. I'm glad my kids at least got to experience it when they were younger.

Scott wrote:
What tune did it play?

Most ice cream trucks that I've heard have a certain tune, but once in a while they change it.

nonamesleft wrote:

The one where I grew up was always Scott Joplin's The Entertainer.

We also had a bread truck that would come through the neighborhood and just honk "beeeep be-beep beep!"

That was the last place I remember being able to buy candy cigarettes (at least until I moved to Kentucky)

benstylus wrote:

Yeah, this is the one. Same as the ice cream trucks I remember from when I was a kid.

@Scott @benstylus

The tune I hear the most from ice cream trucks is the tune that's playing at the beginning of this video:
https://youtu.be/5w09zIROwIE

MrBean wrote:

I guess the format of the show and his acting are necessary for presenting the information in an entertaining way, but I do like that he is educating people. One of the cable channels started running a few episodes of Adam and Mythbusters again recently. I like that both were educational and Mythbusters even tried to teach people how to think critically, but both often took too long to present the information.

In KC some ice cream trucks also sold weed.

KCPenguins wrote:


I think thats across the country.

So is it me, or is Witcher 3 combat ... kinda ... boring and lame? I'm only at the start, but I'm already feeling like it's gonna be rough and instead want to pivot before I get too invested (although the story seems like it could be good).

I always thought the combat in Witcher 3 was bad, but it’s worth it for the story/lore. The world-building and character development are great in that game.

MrBean wrote:

MrBean wrote:

I’ve started and stopped W3 at least 3 times. The last run I think I put about 12hrs into it and bailed for something else. It just eventually feels stagnant and I start game wandering until I find something else.

I also have never been able to get far into Witcher 3 despite owning in on multiple systems.

that's because it's not very good. but don't tell anyone

I really need a new house ... for many reasons, but most of all, because I am out of room for video game crap!

Just got these two guys, super cool and surprsingly heavy/well detailed! Cleared out room on the shelf below, Red XIII should be here next week!

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MrBean wrote:
I like that black mage. Classic with the hat.

Who's near Cactuar? Tonberry?

nonamesleft wrote:

That's Vivi from FFIX, one of my all time favorites! Sadly, his staff broke ... wompers.


Yup, just got 'em today, super cool. The Tonberry is insanely heavy for how small it is.

MrBean wrote:


I forced my way 30+ hours into Witcher 3 if I remember correctly. It's a massive game, but not my cup of tea. Some stories/missions were interesting, most were not. I think I would've like it more the Geralt were more interesting, but it's tough to put that many hours in a game where you have to tolerate your character. Felt the same way about Arthur Morgan in RDR2 which really made me sad as I wanted this to be a top 3 all time game. Not my only major gripe, but in the top 3 for that game.

Appreciate the feedback on Witcher 3 ... maybe it is the right move to bail now before I'm too invested. FFXII it is!

Can’t go wrong with FF12, playing that now, but Witcher 3 was amazing IMO. Took me a bit to get the hang of combat but once I did I enjoyed it. I can see the lack of Geralt interest I guess but it’s really everyone and everything else that makes it interesting

I know i asked this before, probably here, but what the hell is up with EA Play on playstation, they havent added a game in months, it’s the only subscription I’m considering cancelling, really only use it for Fifa

MrBean wrote:
Interesting you should say that about Tonberry, because I recall in one of the FF games I played that although they're small they really packed a punch.

nonamesleft wrote:


Oh yeah, they can one shot ya!

Always debated a dash cam. Ring finally releasing theirs and it seems promising. Discount for prebuy + discount if existing subscriber.

Think I'm gonna give it a shot. Biggest beef is that each cam needs a plan if you do LTE. I have ten cameras on my annual (grandfathered) plan now and it's amazing ($100 a year, unlimited cams). Not yet sure about this idea and LTE.

https://ring.com/products/car-cam

Beanman....what are those armored busts from? D'ey tight!

rayzor6 wrote:

FFXII Zodiac Age Collectors Edition

After I get my next big item, I think I may finally do a walkthrough of my tiny ass office via video. Long overdue for an update.

Holy crap... This box is massive!

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MrBean wrote:

I’ve encountered bigger ahh cha chaa

theJaw wrote:

Haha, I lol'd

All that comes to mind is Deuce Bigalow, Male Jigalow... "That's a huge dog!" "Behemoth!"

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Just because you turned on your hazard lights doesn't make it okay to park your car in the middle of the street and block an entire lane of traffic in order so that you can go to the nearby store.

Folks need to stop sugar coating bullcrap.

nonamesleft wrote:

This annoys me to no end. There is a shopping plaza I go to where people do this. The main problem is there are only two lanes of traffic. Of course, not five feet away are 10-min parking spots...

I don't like when people use the phrase "for a number of years." What's that supposed to mean? That number could be as low as 2 or a super high number. It's just ridiculous.

My favorite is "not gonna lie" as someone rolls into a statement... Why would you tell us you're not gonna lie, do you normally lie that you need to forewarn us of your upcoming innocence?

Not gonna lie, I've been using my hazard lights instead of finding a parking spot for a number of years.

MrBean wrote:

That's a good one too. Saying "honestly" is the same thing. I am to assume that you aren't typically honest?